Veil of the City

by BlueyWaifu

Chapter 13

Faltic woke up, and was greeted with nothing. Nothing but darkness to his eyes, and the faint sound of buzzing in his ears.

The usual morning in the Hive.

Faltic sat up in his bed, stretching his forelegs out. Nothing but pitch blackness; perfect for sleeping in. However, with the invasion of Canterlot soon approaching, sleep was soon to be a luxury, so he thought.

Today was the day of the draft for scouts, and every available, eligible, and changeling that even somewhat fit the bill were required to have signed up by last week. By now, everything was sorted out, and by the end of today, each changeling that got picked would have their notice that they had been selected.

It seemed odd. An invasion of this scale, that being one of the biggest cities in all of Equestria, which also housed the royal sisters, would it not make sense to just have every changeling on board? It seemed redundant to do this process, but who was Faltic to critique the workings of his Queen?

Faltic stood up, rolling his shoulders and craning his neck, preparing himself for today. If the opportunity presented itself, going to see Restel in his accommodative cave was on the list.

Faltic trotted in a straight line as a large opening suddenly presented itself in the wall of his rocky room. Dim light flooded in, and Faltic stepped out, not missing a beat that the ever shifting Hive produced.

Restel... right. There was no way Restel was going to the invasion. Restel held an essential role in the Hive, deeming him ineligible to be registered. That, and his 'sibling' who is deathly afraid of even thinking about leaving the Hive, let alone his room.

Sibling was a very loose term for changelings. Technically, changelings are all ‘of kin’. However, at birth, some form a near sibling-like bond to those other eggs that hatch just next to theirs at about the same time.

Sadly, Faltic didn't have that. Restel, however, did. Though, it didn't stop the two from forming their near lifelong camaraderie.

Faltic continued trotting along, keeping his gaze straight as he passed along the jagged, rocky walls on either side of him. Just on the other side of them were more hollow spaces where other changelings resided, some of which were emerging from them as gaps opened up from the wall.

In a way, Restel was providing for three: the Hive, himself, and his brother. With him being ineligible to join on the Canterlot raid, that would most likely leave Faltic alone, and the thought of that terrified him.

The dim light gradually became brighter as Faltic reached the end of the housing caves. It was the furthest location in the back of the Hive, so the journey out took a bit of navigation and time to exit. The next obstacle was the narrow, winding stairs. Finally, torches were placed along the walls, providing enough light so Faltic could see the steps.

Growing up, Faltic only ever had one friend, and it was Restel. The only other changeling he trusted. Being such a brutish species, having any sense of empathy, or having little desire to assert one's physical strength, yielded a more challenging youth among other changelings. In Faltic's case, both of those negatives applied. Restel was one of the few odd ones out who he could resonate with.

There had been a couple of exceptions, though. Cyril caught his eye early, and Faltic hadn't taken his eyes off of her since. She had all the characteristics of the typical ruffian changeling, but possessed something different. It became apparent after one such occasion when she was the one who stood up for him while backed into a corner.

Such was the motivation for Faltic. Gaining a few pounds and putting on some muscle. Faltic hadn't forgotten, and took any opportunity to be near Cyril, but hardly ever worked up any confidence to talk to her.

Of course, that opportunistic perception was shattered during mandatory changeling training, but Faltic would rather try not to dwell on stabbing Cyril's ear off.

Both Restel and Cyril had provided so much, but soon they would be split.

Once arriving at the top of the stairs, natural light lit up one of the largest openings in the Hive. Various sets of stairs scattered here and there, leading to different levels up and down. Other changeling's buzzed in differing directions, some flying into a suddenly appearing hole in the rocky wall of their home.

Faltic unfurled his own translucent wings as he took to the air. Outside was where he needed to go.

Of course, it wasn't just Cyril's differing nature that enthralled Faltic towards her. The shameless part of Faltic's mind couldn't help but admit that part of it was due to her appearance. What else could he say? She was pretty.

Faltic was snapped from his daydream of Cyril as another changeling narrowly avoided him, shouting something unintelligible back towards Faltic. Regaining his focus, Faltic pressed on, buzzing through the bustling Hive, ascending towards the top of the vast space.

The Canterlot invasion would be the cause of Faltic being torn from Restel. Faltic didn't want to be so far away from basically his only friend. As hopeless as it was, Faltic desperately wanted to believe he could make amends with Cyril after the incident. However, he hadn't seen her since, and for sure Cyril did not want to see him.

That could change today. Faltic knew she had duties sorting out whatever work was involved with coordinating many hundreds of changelings at one time. That sort of business, and section of the Hive, is exactly where Faltic was heading, so maybe he would see her there.

Faltic flew through another sporadically appearing hole in the wall, and emerged into open skies on the other end. The sun was starting to set, the sky orange with the sun's descent. Faltic hovered in the air, looking around. The sight of the barren, rocky wasteland around the Hive would never grow old. Especially when such a strong species' kingdom stood proud in the center of it. Many dozens of changelings swarmed in and out of the Hive, and Faltic began to press forward, starting to descend while circling the Hive.

Faltic wanted least to leave Restel behind. If he could, he would bring Restel with him. It was the boundary of law that held him back from being by Faltic's side. However, Faltic did want to go, as Cyril had made strides in becoming a scout for a while, and Faltic had applied himself the same way, earning him a spot in the upcoming Canterlot invasion. It was a fork in the road, and Faltic was doing his best to keep hooves in both roads. The further he tread, the harder that became.

Upon almost reaching the base of the Hive where rock met dirt, Faltic made a sudden turn towards the Hive, ducking into a gap that had appeared just a second before. All the light from outside diminished as it was replaced by torches along the wall. As discreet of a placement it was, this was where they would be profiling changelings and assigning them roles to the invasion.

More likely than not, Faltic already had his. More likely than not, he might stumble across his file. And most definitely, he would be finding Restel's. Sundown meant the end of working hours for most changelings, including Restel, so after this, a stop at his cave was in order.

For now, the narrow corridor made a slight bend, forming a blind corner that Faltic was grateful for, as he heard voices growing louder from around the bend. Faltic halted in his tracks, and quickly flashed a green flame around his body, shifting into a rock roughly the size of himself. Faltic shut his eyes so as to not expose them, and listened.

The voices became apparent that they were passing, and Faltic caught a snippet of their conversation as what sounded like only two changelings trotting past.

"-just so ready for it. I think we've got the numbers."

The voices Faltic eavesdropped on sounded feminine.

"Yeah, well, we'll see. We're about as ready for it as we can be."

The second one almost shook Faltic out of his rocky disguise. Without a doubt, it was Cyril. From what he could tell behind his eyelids, the only light of the torches was being extinguished, slowly bathing him in darkness.

Cyril's voice piped up again. "Definitely the numbers, hopefully the strength." She chuckled at the end of her sentence. Cyril and the mystery changeling's voices started to fade as they put distance on Faltic.

"Your ear not going to deter you?"

Faltic had to hold everything back to not give himself away with how heavy the feeling in his chest became.

Faltic could hear Cyril sigh. "Shouldn't. I should get something to cover it though."

The other changeling that was with Cyril said something, but it was unintelligible. Faltic waited like a stone. Leaning on his patience to make sure they were gone before dropping the veil of his disguise. Once Faltic shifted back into himself, he opened his eyes and began to pant slightly. Reaching a hoof to his chest, Faltic drew a deep inhale, and exhaled as he reached his hoof out.

After which, Faltic hit himself in the head before continuing.

As previously thought, it was completely dark. Near pitch-blackness bathed Faltic as he steeled himself, continuing one hoof in front of the other.

Second thoughts attempted to creep their way into the forefront of Faltic's mind. Ones of regret, hesitance, the long-term impact, but all were immediately shot down. Faltic's mind cleared when he finally approached a dead end, but continued walking into it. As expected, an entrance manifested itself in the wall, and Faltic stepped through.

More pitch-blackness enveloped the area. From what little silhouettes Faltic could make out, he started to run his hoof along some of the shelves that lined the walls, and found exactly what he needed. Faltic picked up the two rocks that sat on the alleged shelf, and immediately started feeling the wall now. His hoof bumped into something, and once feeling what was on the wall, Faltic held up the rocks and clacked them together, causing a spark to elicit flame onto the torch.

The room was dimly lit from the singular torch, but it was more than enough light for Faltic to find his way around. Shelves and filing cabinets lined the walls, and a desk in the back held several more. As scratchy as some of them were, most were labeled. Faltic scanned through every label, passing by everything he didn't need. There wasn't a need to be swift about it, no changeling would be coming back in here for a while. By now, notices had been sent out, so what need was there for all of this?

Faltic's eyes halted as he read the label 'ineligible.' Pulling the cabinet open revealed a long line of disheveled folders. A hoof of Faltic's started peeling them apart, briefly reading every name that he saw, and moving on to the next when it didn't say 'Restel.'

When this cabinet yielded no result, Faltic looked lower, and found the next one had also been labeled as 'ineligible.' It was rolled open immediately, being thoroughly and swiftly searched. Finally, Faltic came across Restel's name being printed on a folder.

Pulling it from the cabinet, Faltic also nabbed the torch from the wall, and brought it over with him to a table that sat nearby.

The folder silently came to rest on the table. A large red stamp was marked on the front.

There was a moment's hesitation as Faltic stared at the face of the folder. Previous pestering thoughts had started to creep back into his mind once again. Ones of regret, conseque-

Oh shut up. Faltic swatted the air with his hoof as he shook his head clear, dissipating any thoughts that clouded his intentions.

The torch was set on the corner of the table in a metal holder, and Faltic peeled open Restel's file.

Inside was... mostly empty. A couple of papers of which Faltic had no need to skim through. Rather, he quickly swiped whatever was inside, discarding the now empty folder. A cabinet full of empty folders was swung open as Faltic picked one out at random, quickly stuffing Restel's items inside the fresh file. Faltic scanned the table he was at, and then the room. What he needed now was the green eligibility stamp.

The only lit torch was picked up from its holder in Faltic's hoof as he took it around the room. Shadows rapidly cast themselves in response to the one moving light in the room. It was a quick hunt before Faltic came across two stamps in their respective holders across the room. Coincidentally, a small container of green ink lay beside it.

Faltic wasted no time in taking the stamp in his magic, pressing it firmly into the green ink, and floating it back to the table where he came from.

One last look of hesitation grabbed Faltic, before his magic pressed the stamp down, solidifying his actions. A green pair of fangs were left in the wake of the tool.

With that out of the way, now came delivering the notice to Restel. Possibly the most gut-wrenching part.

It was with good intentions, right? Faltic couldn't imagine himself in the field alone. The only one he shared any familiarity with was Cyril, and she hated him, for sure.

The freshly stamped folder was quick to be whisked away into the cabinet for eligibility. It was almost overflowing, so it had to be pushed in snugly.

Faltic turned hoof, casting the light of the torch around the room. A paper notice was how an invasion notice arrived, and undoubtedly, this room was full of papers.

Without wasting any time, Faltic began to scavenge. As many papers were skimmed over, Faltic couldn't help but wonder what could happen if he was caught. Punishment? Probably. However, who would notice? Hundreds, hundreds of changelings were to be in Canterlot, what was one more?

Of course, the one that would notice is Restel's kin. That changeling hadn't gone a day or night without Restel's aid, and practically needed him. But so did he! Faltic had just as much a friend in Restel as Restel did Faltic.

Thinking of it, Faltic had to hurry. It was sundown by the time he got here, and if there was any chance of seeing Restel before he turned in was most likely wearing thin by now.

His search finally yielded results when a stray stack of papers issuing an invasion notice was found. Possibly overflow, as these lacked credentials from Chrysalis herself. Forgery couldn't hurt.

Faltic swiftly took two of the papers, snagging a quill in the process. The notices were planted down on the table, and Faltic made quick work to forge Chrysalis' signature at the bottom, and writing in Restel's name where necessary. Two more things remained, and Faltic was quick to scribble in ‘Canterlot invasion’ and ‘To Manehattan.’ Faltic held it up to himself to look over one last time before mimicking what he wrote on the second paper.

This was it. His ticket to not being alone for the invasion and beyond.

Prying Restel away from home.

Faltic shook his head, dismissing any negative thoughts of selfishness. One paper was stuffed into a leg hole on Faltic's foreleg. A quick alteration to his foreleg was made, as the notice was then concealed by removing the leg hole it was in. After returning the torch to its mount on the wall, Faltic blew it out, and held the second paper in his mouth. The room was plunged back into its former darkness. Only one place to go now: Restel.

Faltic made a steady trot for where he came from, as a hole in the wall seamlessly opened up for him. A straight shot down the narrow, dark cave would be it before-

Faltic's heart almost stopped, as just up ahead, a hole in the wall appeared well before he got there, and another changeling flew in, halting upon seeing Faltic standing there. From what sparse light there was, Faltic could hardly make out the other changeling's outline.

The silhouetted figure spoke first as it stepped forward. "Excuse me, no other changeling's are allowed in here after close."

Faltic almost wished his heart had stopped. That voice was identical to earlier.

Cyril.

She continued advancing, and spoke again, more intimidatingly. "You better explain yourself. Why're you here so late? And who are you?"

Faltic drew heavy breaths, not far apart from one another as he faced exposure.

"Either you speak now, or I alert the guards."

Ideas and thoughts of what Faltic could say all crammed in his brain, each one trying to be the first to escape his mouth, but nothing came out. However, before he could make a sound, the sound of clacking reached his ears, as a torchlight suddenly lit, illuminating both his face and Cyril's as she had lit a torch on the wall.

Cyril looked as if she recoiled at the sight, and a hoof of hers halfway came up to her head. Faltic immediately saw why: her ear was practically almost gone.

"Faltic? What are you doing here?" Cyril stomped her raised hoof to the ground for emphasis on her question. Faltic's ears pinned back to his head as he sheepishly stayed quiet. It wasn't long until Cyril caught sight of what he had in his mouth.

"Why do you have that?" Cyril quietly gasped as she recognized it, tearing it from Faltic's mouth. "Do you know the punishment for something like this? What're you doing with this?"

Cyril's questions hammered Faltic as he had remained silent until now. "I-I was delivering it."

"You have zero authority to, and to who?" Cyril's countenance only grew more aggravated as her questioning continued, only to be met with Faltic's timid responses.

"Restel," Faltic mumbled quietly.

Cyril heaved a sigh as she craned her neck to the ceiling, rolling her eyes before looking down, shutting her eyes and putting a hoof to the bridge of her snout. "Faltic, he's ineligible. He has an essential presence in the Hive, and provides for another. He cannot be in the field for scouting, let alone an invasion. This isn't some 'in and out' thing. This is a long-term scouting notice being sent out to those that can do it. Like you and I."

Faltic nodded in response, rubbing his shoulder with a foreleg and looking down at the ground.

"You've been training to be a scout, you don't hold an essential presence, so you'll be in the field after the invasion. Not Restel. I'm going to get my water.”

Cyril didn't say another word as she pushed past Faltic, an extra pinch of agitation in her steps. As much as Faltic wanted to stop her, apologize, to say more… he knew he had to go, and did so, taking off in a brisk trot towards the wall. A gap opened up for him, allowing him to step back outside. Faltic unfurled his translucent wings and took off, completely retracing his path from earlier.

The moon had begun to rise, as expected, and it couldn't be too much longer before Restel would be lights out. The amount of changelings buzzing around the Hive were scarce now. A cool breeze whipped around Faltic as he hastily made his way back.

It was a good thing he made a copy.

*****

Faltic had returned to the narrow caves in the back of the Hive where changelings resided overnight. The journey back to the housing caves had been relatively quiet, bereft of other changelings in sight, save for a few exceptions. It was dark, quiet, but Faltic knew where Restel was.

Faltic had made sure he wouldn't forget, as he had previously scraped a thin line in the rocky wall, marking where Restel was. It wasn't difficult to find it, also since Restel didn't stay far in the back like he did. Faltic knocked on the rocky wall to the left of the marking, taking a step back to wait patiently. Hopefully it wasn't too late to make a visit.

While waiting, Faltic raised his foreleg where the crumpled invasion notice was held within, taking a deep breath before sighing it out.

A tiny gap opened up in the wall in front of Faltic, hardly the size of his eye, and a muffled voice called out from the other end.

"Now just who is knocking so late at night?"

Without a doubt, it was Restel. Faltic glared at the peephole, sheepishly smiling and waving. The peep hole vanished, and a much larger one opened up before him, revealing Restel fully.

"Faltic? What's up?" Restel asked, welcoming him into his room.

Inside was almost no different than Faltic's, similar to a hotel room. The one exception was that there were two scrappy looking beds instead of one.

"Wanted to visit before turning in for the night. And, well, before I leave for probably quite some time," Faltic said, and spoke almost quietly.

The changeling sized hole in the wall closed behind him, and Restel had gone back to his bed, taking a seat on it. "Yeah? How's all that scout training going? Aside from that mandatory thing."

Faltic's chest felt a little heavier than normal with that subject brought up, and tried to stray from it. "Oh, scout training is fine. In fact, I've been assigned a location after the invasion already."

"Where to?" Restel asked.

"Manehattan. They also already have a place for me to stay. Some hotel," Faltic stated, letting go of his timid nature earlier, and speaking with more confidence.

Restel whistled. "Manehattan? That's a huge city from what I've heard."

Faltic nodded, and Restel picked back up. "You know where Cyril is going by chance?"

Then Faltic shook his head. "Not a clue. It never occurred to me that I'd have a chance at not being where she is." Both changelings shared a small laugh at that before Restel picked up the conversation again. "I mean hey, this'll be good for you! You're serving the Hive well, and you've come a long way from being the small fry you were."

Before Faltic could respond, Restel suddenly piped up again. "Also, wait. There's what, hundreds of changelings going to this invasion? And you're still going to be active after?"

Faltic nodded. "Yup. A lot of participants are mostly just there for strength in numbers, and aren't actually scouts from what I hear."

"Ah. Oh, wait." Restel got on his stomach on the bed, dangling his head down, face first in the gap between the bed and the floor. "Yo, you can come out. It's just Faltic." Restel picked his head back up, and stayed looking down. Another changeling's head slowly peeked out from under the bed, looking around, then up at Faltic.

Faltic looked down at him, and offered a small wave. "Hey Skeps."

Skeps didn't expose any more of his head, and not even his neck was visible. "Oh, hi Faltic." After that, Skeps slowly receded back under the bed. Restel sighed, puffing one breathy chuckle from his snout.

Faltic mouthed something silently to Restel, which Restel responded by mouthing 'later' back to him.

"Well, I imagine it'd be quite the experience." Restel stood up from the bed, continuing talking as he did so. "I'd go but, you know, Hive work, Skeps, my hooves are tied."

Now Faltic sighed. "Yeah, I know." Restel made his way back towards the wall, as a hole opened up in the wall for him. "You're going to be fine, Faltic. You haven't toughened up for no reason. Once you get back, I'll be here for you."

Those words, as encouraging as they may have sounded, only stung Faltic with what he was doing right under Restel's nose.

"Thanks." Was Faltic's only response.

"I know it was short, but we've got to be getting to sleep soon. Still, enjoyed the visit." Restel held up his hoof for Faltic, which he accepted, hoof-bumping Restel on his way out. Before the wall shut closed, Restel halted Faltic, and both changelings stepped beyond the wall, the gap closing behind them. The two changelings were now alone in the dark tunnels of the housing caves.

"What? What is it?" Faltic asked.

Restel motioned his head back towards the wall. "I said later, now is later."

Faltic brought a hoof to his chin as he remembered. "Oh, yeah. Skeps. You know, I don't really know him well."

Restel rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, he's a special case. I don't know what's up, never have. He can't disguise, he can hardly leave the room. When he heard you knock, he bolted under the bed. But, hell, he's that kin of mine from birth since our eggs hatched right beside each other, and at the same time, and I love him to death no matter what.”

Every iota of Faltic's body felt like crumbling. Either that, or kicking himself. He wanted to do both. "You're the nicest changeling I know."

Restel chuckled. "Hah, I know it." Restel playfully bumped Faltic in the chest with his hoof. "Now get out of here, and goodnight."

Faltic watched as the hole in the wall closed shut in front of him. Taking a look up and down the cave, there was no other changeling in sight.

Not a sound.

Faltic lifted his foreleg, and slowly shifted it, revealing the crumpled paper in his leg hole. Pulling it out, Faltic smoothed it as best he could, and looked at it one more time.

Restel. Canterlot invasion. Send to Manehattan. Faltic read silently. As hesitant as it made him, Faltic reached out, and slid the paper in a small slit between the rocks; the changeling version of a mailbox.

With that, Faltic trotted away. It was done. Restel would wake up tomorrow and find out he was to be taken from the Hive.

Taken from Skeps.

As much as Faltic didn't want to think about it, nothing could shake the thought. Restel was always a happy changeling. Faltic couldn't recall a single time he'd been upset. Angry? Maybe, but never sad or anything. Restel was chipper, and always seemed to make the best of any situation. Faltic only hoped that would carry over to... this.

Faltic dipped through a hole in the wall that had appeared, trotting into his own space, and going straight for the bed.

Faltic laid still, eyes wide open. Sleep was the goal, but there were no steps taken towards achieving it.

Cyril would be out there somewhere, and Faltic was taking Restel for the ride, no matter what it took.

Comments

[Wooden Wheel]

This chapter is a great example of how to change the reader's perception of a character. Faltic is screwed no matter what.

[Lost_Data]

I now see why Cyril would have such a problem with Restel. Before I thought she was a stickler for rules, though now I can see that there was other reasons behind it... I don't what anything bad to happen to Faltic, but I don't see a way of weaseling out of this. If all happens as I think it is going to go, of which is like saying 'I think there is a crust on apple pie', Faltic is in for a really bad time.

[DullLight]

This turn of events is absolutely not what I could expect. I had been confused about Faltic's worries about Restel in the previous chapter, but now it's all clear.

It was heart wrenching to read while being aware that no, Faltic won't make the right choice in the end since we already know the outcome