//------------------------------// // Chapter 6 // Story: Veil of the City // by BlueyWaifu //------------------------------// Faltic didn't quite know where Klaven was taking him, nor where Restel had gone off to for his night out for food with his subject. All he knew was that he was walking the sidewalks of a post-workday Manehattan. The sun had begun to descend to the point where the sky was changing colors, and the chill night air had started setting in.  It seemed no matter the situation, Whimsy managed to creep her way into Faltic's mind. A 'subject.' A word changeling's commonly used to describe whatever pony they were siphoning love from. The word Faltic had just internally used to label Restel's food for tonight. The word just didn't serve any connection to Whimsy, other than the subject of his thoughts. Faltic wanted to use more friendly terms, like companion, partner... Even marefriend. But that was far down the road, should the road lead to it. Which, there were plenty of hopes in Faltic's mind for that to be the case. Faltic had also started to hope that Klaven knew where he was leading him. They'd been walking for just the right amount of time for him to start questioning why they still were. Faltic craned his neck up to observe the buildings lining the streets. It was almost to the point where he could notice which rooms had their lights on or not. "Alright." Faltic began as he returned his head to be level, looking to his right at the garnet unicorn beside him. "Do you really know where Restel went?" Klaven nodded, giving a side-eye to the light blue earth pony beside him. "Of course I do." Though, Klaven had been a bit quieter after the initial chatter from the beginning of their walk. "Well..?" Faltic inquired. "Well, we get there when we get there," Klaven answered, not turning his head to meet Faltic's glare. Faltic scrunched his brow, and briefly left the air between them silent. The only sounds to break it were those of ponies walking past, and their own conversations. "Sorry," Klaven began. "Just thinking about how exactly I'm going to secure a room for Whimsy." He took a quick glance at Faltic, showing attention. Faltic's brow unfurled at the understanding from Klaven. The idea of the moving parts needed for Whimsy to change locations to theirs started to come to mind. There was her personal belongings- Be real. She can't have that many. Finding the vacancy- Klaven's got that. Hopefully. "What impression are you trying to leave here, exactly?" Klaven's voice snapped Faltic from his mind. The answer came fast and unfiltered. "I want Whimsy to like me. That's the final goal here." "Right," Klaven responded, and after a short moment, picked back up. "But… what kind of impression are you trying to make?" Klaven was trying to pry into this idea, and Faltic knew it. What irked him though, was that he didn't know exactly what his answer was. The first one was rushed out of his mouth. Even just talking about her made him unsteady. Klaven halted in his walking, and it caused Faltic to pause with him as they stood close to the wall of a building near a street crossing. "Look, where's Restel?" Faltic deterred his answer into a subject change. Klaven shrugged and lifted a hoof defensively. "Just thought I'd try to clear things up. You know Restel isn't hyped about it." Faltic sighed. "I know." "And while I'd love to be of support, I will pull the plug if need be," Klaven continued. "I know." Faltic said a little more sternly. "But really, you don't know where Restel is?" Klaven chuckled briefly. "Well, you see, I only overheard that he'd be on or around this avenue." Faltic looked at Klaven, fully deadpan in his emotion with his head tilted slightly down.  "You really-" That was all Faltic could get out before a wheeze of a laugh escaped him. "Great." Klaven gestured out with his leg, wearing a contagious grin. "But look. We either go look for him, or plot your next move on him. I know you two keep score and it's not looking good for you right now." "How'd you know?" Faltic asked, having recovered from his brief fit. "Restel can boast a bit," Klaven answered. "That's the truth," Faltic agreed. "So-" Klaven began. "-I brought us to this gag store to either help you brainstorm, or take the lazy route and buy something here." "You what?" Faltic looked at the store behind Klaven. "That's an Equestrian Eagle clothing store," Faltic said in a monotonous voice. Klaven whipped his head around, then back at Faltic. "Uh, right. That's because it's a bit further up the road." Faltic blew a puff of exhaustion from his mouth, rolling his eyes and shaking his head, unable to hold back a grin. "I swear..." ***** A bell rang as the two disguised changelings entered. It was quiet, and only one other pony was inside: the cashier. Who was lounging on a stool, head against the wall behind him, forelegs behind his head, and back hooves on the counter. It was a rather small store, with most of its merchandise being compacted together. The walls were lined with either glass displays with gag gifts behind them, or wall hooks filled with something in a cardboard and plastic case. In the middle was a display table with a glass enclosure, which made the walking space form a square around the room. The place was only familiar to Faltic because he'd been here in the past. It's where he got the fake mustard bottle from, which he finally got to use recently on Klaven. If that was the caliber of jokes the rest of the shop followed, Faltic wanted nothing of it. It was petty, and Restel did not deserve petty, he deserved effort. "Are you sure about this place?" Faltic mumbled quietly to Klaven, who appeared to genuinely be browsing. "I mean, do you not think anything in here would work? I mean, look." Klaven unhooked a box and held it up for Faltic to see. Faltic read the label and spoke aloud with it. "Fake jelly bean game. Spoiled milk, lawn clippings, moldy cheese. Man, this is just petty. And a party game." "Is petty not what you're being with Restel?" Klaven asked. Faltic was stumped by that. He couldn't outright say no, since that would be somewhat lying. "Yes, but it's pettiness with effort," Faltic answered. "I suppose that's true," Klaven said as he placed the box back on its hook. "However, that does give me an idea. I'll need some help. You in?" Faltic looked determined as he asked Klaven, who nodded in response. "I'm all in for giving Restel pettiness with effort." Faltic nodded eagerly. "Good! We'll need to make a quick pit stop before we get back." ***** Ugh... "But that was when she said she didn't, but I was confused." Restel was fading in and out of actually listening to his company. His body and face showed attention, but his mind was completely elsewhere. They'd gone to a botany garden. Though Restel thought they were here for the actual greenery, it seemed she was just here to talk about her day. She still wore her formal button up shirt and had her mane in a bun. Ponies suck. "What do you think?" Her question didn't go unnoticed by Restel, as he still had to play the part of 'being interested.' "Oh yeah, she had it coming," Restel said with a bit of a smugness to it. "Right? Exactly what I was th-" Restel's attention faded back out to not listening. His answer satisfied her, seeing as he felt a bit of affection waft over. Usually he would be more immersed, but recent events took a portion of his thoughts. I hope Whimsy is nothing like this. The whole Whimsy situation did not excite him at all, but he'd agreed to see it through. See it. As in, watching. He didn't have to help. Oh well. Things should be wrapping up, and Restel would be able to get back to his room, full of love. Hopefully soon. ***** Back in the hotel room, the preparations for Restel's return were going smoothly, so thought Faltic. Klaven was going with whatever Faltic had told him to do. "Yeah, and just put this there. Make sure it covers up the side of the bed." Faltic ordered. Klaven carried out the order. Making sure the skirt of the bedsheet masked their setup from underneath. "Faltic?" Klaven asked. "Yeah?" Faltic answered, turning his attention to him. "I still want to know what exactly you're going for with Whimsy." Klaven was returning to the subject their previous conversation held. Again, it almost irked Faltic, and it was almost inexplicable as to why. "I just… want her to like me, like I said before." Faltic's words could only come out as a jumbled mess that somewhat made a conclusive answer. It shouldn't make him act the way it was, but for some reason, it did. "I get that. I'm just curious. Maybe that's a bad thing, but unlike Restel, I'd like to know more." Klaven made a move to sit on the edge of the bed, getting a hoof on it before Faltic quickly held out his own to stop him. "Hold it! Don't sit there. That's for Restel," Faltic hastily said. Klaven stepped back quickly. "Right, sorry." Faltic stepped in to pat the sheets flat where Klaven had nearly put all his weight on. It arguably wouldn't have undone much work, but redoing it would've felt redundant. "Have you at least brought it up to her? You know, her moving a good bit away to here?" Klaven asked, once again bringing the conversation back to Whimsy. "I haven't, no. But she'd like it I'm sure." Faltic took a pillow off of his bed and stuffed it underneath Restel's bed with some struggle. Restel's bed was the focal point of what they'd been working on for the last hour or so. "You're really betting on her being for it. I mean, what if she doesn't want to?" Klaven's words made Faltic's ears twitch. If she didn't want to? He didn't spend all of this time with her for her to say no, right? Ponies are a strange thing, but from the books he'd read and previous love subjects, this is how relationships start, isn't it? "Don't make me start second guessing this. I'm going to do what I can for Whimsy." Production halted as Faltic answered in a slight stern voice. "What do you think she thinks of you? On top of that, what about when you have to come clean as a changeling?" Faltic heaved a sigh and hung his head at Klaven's barrage of questions suddenly spewing out of his mouth. It wasn't like Faltic to get so irritated, but something just made him so defensive. Though, the answer was most likely Whimsy, no doubt about it. Faltic lifted his head to level it with Klaven's before he spoke. "I think she likes me, and I'll never out myself as a changeling if it means it'll stay like that!" Faltic stamped a hoof to the ground at the end of his response. It silenced Klaven from forming another question, which didn't go unappreciated by Faltic. Klaven's hoof idly traced the corner of the bed and his head now hung lower than usual, staying silent after the response he'd gotten. Faltic had turned away from him. His answer was the truth, and it was the first thing that came to mind when Klaven had asked his question. Why he got so loud with it and stomped, he didn't have an explanation for. Silence hung in the air as the time passed. At least, until Klaven spoke up again. "Why'd seeing a box of fake jelly beans make you think of doing this to Restel's bed?" It came out quietly. Faltic knew now that he was just trying to get past his unreasonable outburst. Faltic sighed before turning back to Klaven. "It wasn't the jellybeans, but the thought behind them. Making you think an object is something, when it's actually something else." A brief moment of silence again. "Right," Klaven started, still speaking at a lower volume.  Though, he didn't continue. Faltic knew that he had to for him. "I'm sorry for the... outburst," Faltic began. Klaven's ear twitched at that. Faltic continued, idly looking at anything but Klaven as he explained. "Didn't mean to be so harsh about it. Whimsy just... feels different. Like a different type of love. A connection that I don't think I've felt with any other pony I've fed from. I want to pursue it, and I suppose I got irked at your questions." Klaven was silent for a moment as he looked at Faltic, who, out of the corner of his eyes, could see him staring. Another thing he saw Klaven do was start to smile. "You should've said 'stop me if I sound stupid' before you went on that rant," Klaven said. "Pssh." Faltic huffed. "You want me to say something stupid too?" Klaven asked, still with that little grin on his face. Faltic bowed slightly and held a hoof forward towards Klaven. Klaven puffed his chest, rearing up his best speech. "However neatly I can word this. We're changelings. We choose whether we're the nice peach flavored jelly bean or the dog food one. You know, appearance wise. Though, the way I see it, with Whimsy, you relent that control to her. You can be all nice and sweet, but you'll still have to show out as a changeling one day. On that day, you'll see if you were the good or bad jellybean." Once Klaven was finished, Faltic was almost cackling behind his hoof he had over his mouth. "You call me a damn jellybean again and see what happens." It was hard for Faltic to convey that clearly, as the hidden laughter made it a struggle to speak. "Oh shut up. I was being nice." Klaven huffed. Powering through the little fit of laughter Faltic had been put into, Faltic was somewhat able to respond. "Oh no no I know, I just-" Faltic coughed. "-just think that was stupid, and nice too, yes." Faltic jerked his head backwards, motioning towards the identical bed beside the one they'd rigged. "Let's just look normal for when Restel comes back." ***** Restel stretched his forelegs, angling his back sharply as he did so. He stood in front of the door to the gang's room, and was more than ready to get inside and lay down. Walking along through a botanical garden was more tiring than it seemed. The garden just kept going... It felt as if every flower in that garden wanted him dead. Dead asleep. That, on top of acting the part of a lover for some pony, it could really get to a changeling when he has other things on his mind. Sighing, Restel knocked a hoof on the door once, and stood back to wait. As expected, the door creaked open just slightly, allowing room for him to just slide in. Once on the other side, Restel was greeted to the sight of Faltic laying on the first bed, head propped on a pillow, book in his face. Typical. Klaven was the one who answered the door. Restel kicked it shut with his back leg, and immediately reverted his form back to his natural changeling appearance, feeling an immediate relief. "So what were you two worms up to while I was out?" Restel asked, stepping into the room. The question almost answered itself when he watched Klaven trot back to the bed and pick up a book that had been sitting there. Faltic turned his head to Restel as he spoke. "Quick stop at the library. Nothing major." Restel stood silently in place as he surveyed the room. The first thing his eyes came across was that the window to the room was open again. Restel internally shrugged as he started trotting across the room. "You find out if there were any places to stay here?" Restel said with a yawn, covering it with a hoof. The question was directed at either changeling willing to answer. It was Klaven to answer, as Faltic looked at him. "Haven't looked. I will tomorrow." Restel watched as Klaven hopped up onto the bed that Faltic also occupied, sitting at the edge of it. Though today seemed long, there were sure to be longer ones ahead, specifically pertaining to whatever Faltic was doing. The bed could remedy that. Restel leaped up, clearing the bed's height, intending to land back-first on the mattress. As Restel made his leap for the center of his own bed, he could notice out of the corner of his vision that both Faltic and Klaven were giving him a side-eye. And he very quickly found out why. Instead of touching down on a mattress, ready and waiting to cushion his leap with a soft landing, he instead just kept falling. With a slight panic, Restel gasped and extended his legs, trying to reach for something to grasp onto. Nothing. The fall was only brief, as he did land on something soft, but not quite on the same caliber of a mattress. Restel landed with hardly a thud. His vision was obstructed by a blanket covering what was surrounding him. A fit of laughter from two familiar changeling voices filled his ears as he scrambled to try to get up, but nothing was catching, and he was stuck lying on his back. "What the hell is this?!" Restel almost yelled, the initial panic in his voice from the fall still keeping his volume steady. Faltic grabbed the blanket, and tugged it clean off like a tablecloth, causing Restel to make a full spin, coming to rest on his back again. "Squares!" Faltic said enthusiastically. Restel shifted his eyes from side to side, shuffling his hooves around in whatever the 'squares' were. They were cubes, and foamy. "Is this a foam pit?" Restel exclaimed. As he did, it exacerbated the laughing from the other two changelings in the room. "Yup," Klaven explained. "Not easy to get out of once you've fallen in. Especially back first." Assessing himself briefly, Restel tried again to yank himself out with his forelegs. Again, nothing caught. His body was cupped slightly, and he could hardly feel the floor beneath him. "How? Where'd you get these?" Restel was still making a faint effort to get himself out, which all attempts have yet to succeed. Both changelings standing before Restel shrugged with smiles on their faces, still coughing up some giggles at seeing him trapped. "Fine. You got me. Now help me out!" Restel wormed his body, but yet still, nothing budged. "Ehh, I think I'm good," Faltic said as he looked at Klaven. "My hooves are full," Klaven remarked. "Really? You're just going to leave me stuck like this?" Restel's body slumped, giving up on his attempts to escape. "We're not monsters. Here, have this," Faltic said. He'd stepped away for a moment. Restel could hear a bedside drawer open, and a small pill-shaped object land on his chest. "Jellybean,” Faltic proclaimed. "Oh wow. Thank you, Faltic," Restel said as sarcastically as possible. Not wanting to admit to his fate of being condemned to the foam pit, Restel huffed, and out slithered his tongue, catching the jellybean and pulling it into his mouth. Klaven looked at Faltic with a raised eyebrow of concern, though not without his smile still. "Stole it." Faltic put simply with a shrug. "Mm, tastes like peach,” Restel muttered. Faltic hopped back onto his own bed, satisfied with his work, to which he had Klaven to thank for his help. "Looks like Restel's turned in for the night," Faltic mentioned to Klaven, with them both taking a glance at the still trapped Restel. Restel, who was still chewing on the jellybean, didn't hesitate. "Shut up." Faltic and Klaven cackled at each other briefly as they both got comfortable in their own bed. "Oh hey, Faltic," Klaven spoke up. "Yeah?" Faltic turned to Klaven beside him. "Where was it you said you'd like to take us? You said we'd go after foam pit got back."  Klaven's casual snide remark didn't go unnoticed by Restel. "Did you just call me foam pit?" Faltic decided to ignore him for the humor of it. Though, Faltic's eyes also widened at the realization. "Oh. Shoot. We spent so much time setting up the pit that I'm sure they're closed by now." "What was it?" Klaven asked. "Oh, it was an arcade. I thought it'd be cool." From the foam pit, Restel's head poked up slightly as he tried to be a part of the conversation. "Arcade? Let's go tomorrow." "Though-" Faltic continued. "-They'll be open tomorrow. I'm all for going before meeting back up with Whimsy." Klaven nodded. "Oh yeah! Then after your date with Whimsy, we go to that convention thing?" Restel believed that he was speaking. He heard the words come out of his mouth. "Hello? I said that first?" "Yup. It'll be a busy day for me, but it'll work. All I need beforehoof is sleep." Faltic yawned as he stretched, slouching further onto the bed afterwards. "You said it." Klaven agreed, laying himself down on the bed. “Who knows? They might be open now, but I’m not getting up. I know for sure foam pit isn’t either.” Faltic turned his head slightly to where Restel still laid. Restel huffed, giving up on speaking to the opposing bed of changelings. “‘Foam pit.’” He muttered. "Oh hush, foam pit. Here." Faltic tossed another jellybean to Restel, it landing on his chest again. With that, Faltic switched the lamp off beside him, and the room was plunged into darkness, only to be reverted to light when he woke up in the morning. Tomorrow will be a good day. Arcade, Whimsy, and whatever mess Klaven was about to drag him into. After the arcade, Faltic would most likely have to make a beeline for Whimsy's little motel. It wasn't terribly far away from here, but given the added distance of where the trio will be in the morning, it wouldn't hurt to get a head start. Whimsy. Even when Faltic was doing anything else, she still crept up in his mind, and was even the subject of action. The only thing that could pry Faltic from his thoughts, and the inevitable sleep, was Restel's wretched gag slamming into Faltic's ears. "WHY DOES IT TASTE LIKE THAT?!"