Faltic laid still, unmoving, with his back pressed to the air condition unit atop the roof of one of the countless buildings Manehattan harbored. It felt as if no other pony existed other than him. The gentle flow of the wind was the only sound heard. The rhythmic rise and fall of his chest was the only thing moving, as far as Faltic could see.
His mind was anything but still. A slew of clarity, questions, and memories all tried to claw their way to the forefront of his thoughts. Nothing could have prepared him to learn that Whimsy wasn't real.
Technically, she was, but she was brought to life by another. In an odd way, Faltic felt a sadness knowing that an opportunity he had for a real connection was lost, in the almost literal blink of an eye.
It was sickening, and Faltic felt a twist in his gut. Changeling's have little regard for their food. To think there was a sliver of a chance to deviate. Thoughts of Restel opposing his desires for Whimsy came to mind, but they didn't linger for long.
Restel... Klaven...
Faltic's ears perked up upon remembering his friends. He'd promised to be back, and he left them. Faltic sluggishly rose to his legs. If he were to find them anywhere, it would back at their hotel. A quick flash of green flame and one random pegasus disguise later, Faltic unfurled his feathered wings and took off into the night sky, heading straight for the hotel.
*****
Faltic stepped into the room alone, with no sign of either changeling in the room. Immediately, he dropped his pegasus disguise. He didn't realize how cold he was until the warmth of the room hit him. Flying alone at night opened up his mind to thoughts and scenarios with Cyril. It explained why he was getting so tired during, and after spending time with Whimsy. Cyril was siphoning love from him, same as he was to her. Wouldn't that mean she got tired too? If so, she was much better at masking it than he was. Was any of it... genuine?
Faltic's thoughts were broken up as he stepped further into the room, and noticed the enclosure of foam cubes lying on the floor. There was no roof, just four walls, and there were still stray foam cubes strewn about the room. Not paying anymore mind to it, Faltic stepped past it for the window, and stared. Cyril was here, out there somewhere.
The sound of the door opening caused Faltic's head to snap to the source of the sound. Faltic stared as a garnet unicorn and green earth pony entered, both laughing with smiles on their face, and one holding a plastic bag.
Restel and Klaven.
When the door shut, both of them immediately reverted back into their normal changeling forms.
Klaven quickly swatted the handle of the bag he carried, extinguishing a small green flame that lingered on it.
"You really have to stop doing that." Restel poked fun at Klaven, before making eye contact with Faltic. "Look who's here," Restel said, losing any mirth he had in his voice.
Both Restel and Klaven stepped into the room, climbing atop the first bed together.
"I can explain," Faltic began, but quickly got cut off by Restel. "Better be a good explanation for ditching us the rest of the night."
Faltic hesitated, collecting himself before fully facing Restel across the room, and coming clean. "It's Cyril."
Both the other changelings gave Faltic their full attention, pausing for a second upon hearing the news.
"What? What's Cyril?" Restel asked.
Faltic stepped up to the other bed. "It's Cyril. Whimsy is Cyril."
Restel and Klaven shared a look at each other, before turning back to Faltic. "You're joking, right?" Restel asked.
Faltic's brow scrunched. "No, it's not a joke. I followed Whimsy after she left the convention. She dipped into some alley and dropped her disguise. Lo and behold, Cyril was standing there before becoming a pegasus and flying off."
There was a silence that hung in the air for a moment, before Restel sighed happily. "Thank goodness. You're not trying to get us all killed anymore."
"'Killed' is a bit of a strong word to use for that," Faltic defended. Restel shrugged in response. For the first time since entering the room, Klaven decided to speak up. "Restel told me about you and Cyril."
Faltic, still standing at the edge of the bed, faceplanted into the mattress. Restel's chuckling reached Faltic's ears.
Faltic picked up his face from the bed, resting his chin on it instead. "She was the only other one nice to me, alright? You really had to share my embarassment?"
Instead of Restel responding, Klaven kept going. "It was pretty bad, but look at it this way; You're right under her nose and she has no idea. You have an opportunity to make her like you."
Restel turned to look at Klaven with a quizzical face. "What do you mean by that?"
"I mean exactly what I said. Faltic continues to be Enthrall, hang out with Whimsy, A.K.A. Cyril, and try to get her to build a genuine liking towards you, like you have with Whimsy since the start."
Restel looked as if he was going to say something, but stopped himself. Instead, Faltic spoke up. "That... sounds complicated." Faltic gritted his teeth at the thought of how many layers of complexity would go into that.
"It sounds like something that could work," Restel chimed in, to Faltic's surprise. "Faltic, when we left the Hive to be scouts here, you and I both know that each of us left something behind to be here. What you left, is here. You've got another shot."
Faltic seemed to consider this for a few moments. Hesitation conflicted with agreement. A strong sense of inexplicable worry littered Faltic's mind. Stuttering slightly, Faltic agreed. "Alright, fine, I think we can make it work."
Faltic yawned after agreeing, a wall of tiredness felt like it slammed into him after his adrenaline wore off, and the bed in front of him never looked more comfortable. Though first, Faltic had to ask. "Also, what's with the box there?" Faltic pointed a hoof at the foam cube walls.
Restel sighed as Klaven laughed a bit and explained. "You said Restel was sleeping on the floor, so I built him a dog house."
Faltic climbed into Restel's bed as he and Klaven both laughed. Restel got off of the other bed, making his way to the dog house. "What-freaking-ever. Just knock before intruding on my property." Restel stepped inside the walls of the foam cube house, kneeling down and coming to a rest on his stomach.
"Finally, a bed all to myself," Faltic said as he sprawled out on Restel's bed.
"Don't get used to it." Restel's voice called out from the floor. "Also, could you be a dear and spare me a pillow?"
"Anything to make the dog comfortable," Faltic said, lobbing one of his pillows to the ground in front of Restel.
"Hey, I am a dog, but not a pet dog, I'm your dog, same as you're my dog." Restel slid the pillow close to him, and got comfortable on it.
Faltic chuckled. "Go to sleep, your brain isn't working anymore. Not like it ever worked in the first place, but still."
From the next bed over, Klaven held up the bag he had brought in. "Oh, Faltic, by the way, we won that costume contest thing. This was our prize." Klaven tossed the bag to the adjacent bed as it landed just beside Faltic.
Faltic sifted inside. "Really? There's no way we really won."
"Oh yeah, had us come back up and everything," Klaven assured.
Faltic pulled out a stuffed plush of some pony, and looked at Klaven, who wordlessly shrugged.
"Some cards in here too. Gift cards?" Faltic said, poking his snout into the bag.
Klaven nodded. "Yeah, I guess so."
Faltic held up the pony plush, and smirked. "I'll give this to the dog." The plush was then tossed to the floor, just poking Restel in the snout as it landed. "Oh haha, very funny," Restel mocked.
"It is funny, and I'm going to sleep now." Faltic turned over, pulling the blankets over him, reaching over to turn off the bedside lamp, swallowing the room into darkness. The bag was set on the floor in the small gap between Faltic's bed and Klaven's.
Faltic could thankfully count on the darkness to conceal his strained facial expressions as he recounted events. Today, the last few days, the last week. Whimsy, not being Whimsy. Him being the closest he ever had been to Cyril, without all the embarrassment. It felt natural, and he wanted nothing more than to have another chance with Cyril. This sort of opportunity doesn't just show up, not expecting any effort in return.
It's going to be a trip, for sure. Hopefully all he had already done was a strong starting point.
The drifting thoughts of Cyril carried Faltic off to sleep.
*****
The Hive...
The Hive stood in all its glory, that being the only 'structure' within countless miles around. The barren wasteland surrounding the hive was busy today. Changelings swarmed from one gap in the Hive to the next, as new holes opened and others closed, ever changing the layout of the place.
Faltic stood alongside Restel on the field of dirt neighboring the Hive. A few familiar looking changelings surrounded him as he nervously watched a few others attempting some obstacle course.
Faltic's mind drew a blank. Things were happening, but a response never came to mind.
Faltic suddenly came to a realization. Oh. I am dreaming.
Instead, something nudged Faltic's shoulder. As he turned to look who it was, he immediately recognized Restel standing beside him.
"First day actually doing physical stuff. I hated doing all the classroom work stuff. What's that going to do to help us be scouts?" Restel joked, holding a smile at the end of his sentence.
Faltic, standing amid a few dozen other changelings, picked out a few recognizable faces. The first being Pharynx: their scout instructor. His purple eyes, wings, and red webbed-mane stood out to make him look just as intimidating as he remembered.
What a guy.
"I think it helps if you're more of a visual learner, rather than hooves-on," Faltic responded. At least, his dream self did. To which, Restel shrugged. Immediately after, Pharynx called upon two more changelings at random from the pack, having them step forward as an impromptu duo. Pharynx blew a whistle, signaling for them to start.
Internally, Faltic wanted to get all of this over with. Being around so many others, whether it be in a situation like this, or just in general, never sat right. Restel was about all who he felt comfortable around. Around the many other pairs of prying eyes? Nothing could put him less at ease.
Across the herd of changelings, Faltic spotted his next familiar face: Cyril.
Is that... Cyril?
Despite changelings looking mostly uniform in appearance, Faltic had been silently observing Cyril throughout the course of classroom scout training. Again, aside from Restel, Faltic was quiet, hardly talked to another changeling unless he had to. Though, for Cyril, he could talk all day, or so the scenarios in his head told him.
"Faltic, you're staring," Restel said in a quiet monotone voice.
Faltic snapped his head to attention, escaping his thoughts. "Sorry."
Restel peered at Faltic, a brow raised and a smile forming. "Dude, you've been all over her case and she doesn't even know you. It's time you make a move."
Ah. Hell. It's this.
Faltic looked worried, and scared at the same time. "I don't really think I should. She's way out of my league."
At least I was aware.
Restel continued to press forward. "You miss all the shots you don't take." Restel leaned in close, shielding his mouth with a hoof. "Not to mention, she might like geeks like you."
Faltic scoffed and firmly nudged Restel's side. "Shut up. Don't give me hope. That is a fruitless endeavor."
Restel was chuckling. "Listen to you. Full. Geek. I'm going to set you up." Restel turned hoof and started walking in the direction of Cyril. Faltic attempted to grab Restel, but was unsuccessful. Through gritted teeth, Faltic tried to hiss at Restel to stop, but it didn't slow him down.
Faltic started to bite his hoof with angst, watching as Restel closed the gap between him and Cyril. Pharynx called upon two more changelings at random, and thankfully, neither of them was him or Restel.
Faltic draped a foreleg over his face, hoping to hide himself from his impending doom, peeking through a hole in his leg. However, Restel didn't stop at Cyril. Rather, he proceeded past her. Faltic blew a sigh of relief, setting his leg back down.
And thennn...
But, the next time he saw Restel, he was standing beside Pharynx, initiating a conversation he couldn't hear. Pharynx remedied the issue of not being able to hear them right away, giving Restel his two cents back to him, gradually getting louder as he spoke.
"This course is to build chemistry with every changeling being sent out to the field. By the end of it, you'll be well acquainted with every other changeling here. You do not get to choose your partner for any of this!" During which, Pharynx's hoof poked Restel in the chest, which Restel's ears nearly flattened against his head. "Now GET BACK IN THE PACK, AND DON'T ASK ANYMORE STUPID QUESTIONS. UNDERSTAND?!"
Faltic watched as Restel gave his salute, and scurried away, straight back to Faltic.
Yup. Best part of scout training.
Faltic was trying his best to hold in his laughter, pressing his lips shut with his hoof.
"Don't say anything," Restel huffed. Still, Faltic could hardly contain himself at Restel's expense.
"Faltic! Cyril!" Pharynx called out.
Every ounce of Faltic's amused demeanor came crashing down when he heard that voice call his name. From across the group of changelings, Faltic saw as Cyril stepped forward, turning to look around for Faltic. In one swift motion, Faltic ducked his head around, looking back at Restel, who was now the amused one.
"Wipe the damn look off your face!" Faltic said in a strained, hushed voice.
"Do this," Restel said, pulling a hoof to point at his own chest and inhaling deeply. Faltic mimicked it, taking a deep breath. Both changelings simultaneously exhaled as they reached their hooves out.
"Be calm, be cool, impress her a little. You didn't gain your weight for nothing." Restel smirked as he pushed Faltic's shoulder towards Cyril.
"Faltic! Hurry the hell up! This slack is what'll get you caught!" Pharynx shouted, causing a few changelings in the pack to chuckle amongst themselves.
The previous nerves and angst he felt before Restel's breathing exercise slowly returned, and only heightened as he stood next to Cyril on the mark.
And... yeah. The worst part of scout training.
Trying to look nice, Faltic looked beside him at Cyril. Cyril, who wasn't even looking back at him, bolted off the line when the blaring sound of a whistle rang into their ears. Faltic jumped, being caught off guard. Thankfully, Faltic got up to speed, only tripping over himself slightly as he started. The faint sound of other changelings chuckling again didn't affect him.
The first obstacle was immediately off the line. Faltic ran past a sign with dirt on it, and immediately shapeshifted into an earth pony. Just after, a wall too tall to jump over halted Faltic's progress. Cyril, being first off the line, was there waiting for him, albeit being an earth pony. Cyril knelt down slightly, offering a step for Faltic to ascend himself over the wall. Rather, Faltic was still running, and didn't slow down enough.
The first step he took on Cyril's back caused Faltic to slip, and plummet forward, catching a face-full of wooden wall. The more distant sound of changeling laughter wafted through the air as Faltic's ears caught it.
Cyril sighed. "C'mon," She muttered.
After the daze of the impact cleared up, Faltic properly stepped up on Cyril's back and climbed over the lip of the wall. Reaching back down, Faltic hung a foreleg out for Cyril to latch onto. Once she did wrap her hoof around his, Faltic slid forward, threatening to fall back down the way he came.
Thankfully, Cyril didn’t take long. Faltic put all his strength into pulling her up, and within a matter of seconds, Cyril was up and over. Faltic maintained his balance as both he and Cyril landed on the other side of the wall, immediately being greeted with a sign with wings on it.
For a brief moment, Faltic took a side-eye glance at Cyril, who was still an earth pony before becoming a different colored pegasus. Faltic's mind snapped back into place as he initiated a shapeshift. Instead of reappearing as a pegasus as the sign dictated, Faltic bore the appearance of Cyril herself. Faltic gasped in shock through gritted teeth.
Oh my... kill me.
Cyril had taken a short pause to look over at Faltic, only to see herself.
"Pegasus!" Was all she said to him as she ran for the next part of the course.
Immediately correcting himself, Faltic changed into a normal pony again, this time with wings. The next challenge he faced was cramped. Hay bales with various fragile objects on them stood wing-level with him. Faltic kept his pony wings tucked in close as he briskly trotted through the corridor.
Once out the other end, and managing not to knock anything over, there floated five hoops. The first two were side by side, one for him, one for Cyril. A second, slightly larger hoop was the next one, intended for both participants at the same time, and then another pair of hoops were just beyond that.
Faltic immediately spread his wings, taking to the air and passing through the first hoop without feeling anything on his wings as he passed through. Though, as he turned into the second one, the striking thought of considering where Cyril was came to mind. By then, it was far too late. Faltic felt something slam into his side, sending him barreling through the final hoop at the end.
Faltic crashed into the ground with a heavy thud.
"Depth perception, Faltic! Mind the other ponies!" Pharynx called out.
Faltic saw as the pegasus version of Cyril also had taken a dive. She was clawing her way back to her hooves, groaning as she made it up.
"S-sorry," Faltic said sheepishly. It earned him a scolding look from Cyril as she pressed on, not bothering to respond. Faltic fought his way back to his hooves, and carried on a few steps behind Cyril.
Just ahead lied the last portion of the course. A sign with a horn image on it signaled it was time to be a unicorn. Faltic, shaking his head and readjusting his mind, shapeshifted to lose the wings and gain a horn on his head. Changelings already had horns, but a unicorn's horn sat slightly higher on their head, pointed higher to the sky.
The last leg of the course had the two changelings navigate through an enclosed space full of balloons floating at head level and cluttering the ground, trying not to pop them in the process. Somewhere in the mess of balloons, two gold bits rested on the ground, and levitating it out would grant them success. All of the balloons were the same black color, making it difficult to have much depth perception to judge where they were in relation to Faltic's new horn. However, it did help when spotting a gold coin lying on the ground.
Faltic carefully approached the shiny object on the ground, and had little hassle levitating it to eye level. Normal changeling magic wasn't the strongest, especially without love, and with the extra spent energy on maintaining a disguise, properly channeling your magic was crucial.
Looking around for the exit, Faltic noticed another bit on the ground. Cyril hadn't found hers yet. Now was his chance to make it up to her for impeding on the rest of their run together. Faltic scampered through the dense packing of balloons with his head ducked slightly forward, careful not to poke any.
"Cyril?"
...
There was no response.
"Cyril, I found the oth-"
Faltic felt like he hit a wall, and was brought to his haunches after colliding with something in front of him. A harsh squeal emitted from whatever he had hit.
"Agh. Damn!" Cyril's voice yelped as she fully came into view. She was reaching up, covering her ear. A thin trail of blood flowed down the side of her head.
Faltic's chest sank further than he'd ever felt, and was paralyzed seeing what had happened. "Cyril, I'm so- I just- the bit-"
Cyril's glare felt like it shot actual daggers into Faltic's body. "Shut up Faltic." Cyril took a hoof off of her ear and looked at the blood that had collected on her hoof. Faltic saw her ear had reverted back to normal, and had a chunk of its length missing. Cyril reapplied her hoof to her ear as her horn lit up, snagging the bit from Faltic's magical grasp with her own.
Faltic sat quietly as she left him. He could feel a lump in his throat swell up as he sat in silence.
"Faltic? Don't tell me you're still in there!" Pharynx's voice called out from outside. Faltic jolted up to his hooves and quickly relocated the bit on the ground, levitating it with him as he exited the balloon filled enclosure.
Why was I so terrible?
The dream started to fade as the next thing Faltic saw was Restel, the feeling of a hoof on his shoulder attempting to comfort him.
Wait, wait. I'm dreaming. I can move arou-