Veil of the City

by BlueyWaifu

Chapter 19

The city of Manehattan, as tall as it was, now appeared as a mere bump in the distant horizon, soon to be lost in the distance the further Klaven flew away from it.

It was possibly the most head-on way to approach the situation, and despite the plan initially being a thought, Klaven eventually went along with it. In the night, a decoy of pillows was set up in his bed and, with some physical preparation for the flight ahead, Klaven had quietly escaped through the window, making his way towards the Hive.

Klaven flew alone, masked by the darkness of night so that he could be his normal changeling form without worry, preserving some energy. The constant buzzing of his wings and the breeze of air passing by his ears were the only sounds he heard for a while now. If Faltic and Restel weren't going to talk to each other, Klaven was going to do... something. Going back to the Hive and talking to Restel was about as far as he had planned.

Something was better than nothing, and Klaven wasn't about to mull around as two of his closest friends were cutting ties with one another, one more than the other.

To Klaven's motivation, the terrain beneath him had been gradually shifting from green to brown as the badlands were making its presence more clear. Opposite to Manehattan, the Hive had no lights illuminating itself at night, so it was more difficult to spot.

At least, difficult to spot for non-changelings. Knowing exactly where it was, Klaven came to land on the dirt, panting slightly from the long journey here. The translucent wings that carried Klaven all this distance hung limp to the sides of his body, worn by fatigue. Tenderly, Klaven rubbed his aching wings.

"Can't wait to do that again," Klaven mumbled to himself.

Looking up, it was obvious the Hive was in front of him, as rocks started to tower higher and higher, appearing more sharp along the way. Luna's moon gave a very faint silhouette of the Hive. If it weren't for that, the only hint of it being there would be the gap in the night sky where stars stopped appearing.

Klaven pressed forward, trotting towards one of the entrances, which was just a boulder. From two ends of the boulder, two smaller rocks flashed a bright green, and revealed two changelings decorated in armor.

Night guard. Klaven remembered. Every night, at various spots around the hive, several armored changelings would be stationed; impossible to spot in the event of intruders.

Or, in Klaven's case, a changeling returning to the Hive at such an odd hour.

The two armored changelings approached Klaven. The left one opened his mouth to speak, but the one on the right cut him off. "State your business, changeling."

Klaven noticed the left guard staring at the right one distastefully. Keeping a formal posture, Klaven spoke. "Routine trip to the Hive from scouting, sir."

Once again, the left guard opened his mouth to speak, but could hardly draw a breath before the right guard spoke again. "From where? Anything to report?"

Klaven's eyes flickered to the left guard, as he now flared his fangs towards the right guard, who took no notice of him. "Manehattan. Nothing to report."

This time, the left guard raised his hoof and drew a breath to speak, and for a third time, was cut off by the right guard.

"May I see your notice?"

Klaven would’ve begun to panic, if not for the left armored guard stepped to the side, bumping shoulders and clanging his armor to the right guard, shoving him over a step. "Would you let me say something for once?"

Klaven took a step back. The right guard returned the gesture, shoving himself into the shoulder of the left guard with more force. "Hey, not my fault you don't say anything."

The left guard lowered himself. "Agh. I would if you didn't run your jaw as much as you do!" After which, the left guard lunged forward, attempting to wrap his forelegs around the other guard's neck. The two fell to the ground, grunting and fighting for a hold over the other as the sound of the armors clashing filled the night air.

Klaven, looking around, cautiously stepped around the two other changelings. "I'll just... go in." Slowly, Klaven made his way towards the rocky wall face, the base of the Hive.

Turning around one more time, Klaven could see the two guards still locked in their fight.

"Maybe if you would shut up!"

Klaven shook his head, and pressed forward. A gap suddenly opened up in the rocks before him, allowing him entry into the Hive. Inside was near pitch black, with the only light sources being the scarce amount of torches that lit the walls. It was the main center of the Hive, the most spacious part that connected everything, similar to the lobby of the hotel back in Manehattan. Just more... changeling-y.

The housing caves.

It was Klaven's first thought on where to find Restel. At this time of night, where else would he be? Klaven unfurled his wings, but quickly stopped, feeling their soreness.

"Ouch... I'll just walk." Klaven mumbled, before trotting forward. The darkness was not much aid in finding where to go. Klaven did know that a long, winding staircase preluded the housing caves, and where it was, but was not adept at navigating the Hive in the darkness.

Suddenly, the floor gave way in front of Klaven's next step, causing him to tumble forwards, landing on the hard ground with a thud.

"Oof-"

Stairs...

The Hive had many stairs, especially in the heart of it, and Klaven had fallen victim to not seeing them.

Klaven picked himself up, reaching all fours and shaking himself free of dirt and pebbles. Just then, a thought struck his mind, one that would help him maneuver the dark spaces between the scarcity of light from the torches. Klaven lowered his head, and channeled magic into his horn. The tip of his horn sparked and flickered, before clicking into a small beacon of light, shining in front of him like a flashlight.

"Aha." Klaven muttered over his small idea. Looking back, Klaven saw the short flight of steps he had fallen down. Thankfully, it wasn't many steps. After all, it could've been more.

With some light leading the way, Klaven progressed onward. With his body on autopilot, headed for the lowest caves in the Hive, Klaven's mind was left to wander.

In the entire time he had spent planning, executing, and traveling here, not once did the thought of what to say to Restel come up. Only now did Klaven worry about that part. For sure, Restel would know why he was here, so getting to the point right away would be preferable.

Ducking through a hole that had recently appeared in the wall, as expected, there was a staircase going down. Torches were hung along the wall, lighting the steps, but having fallen earlier, Klaven didn't relent his magic light from his horn.

Another thought that hadn't crossed his mind was the question of where exactly Restel dwelled down here. Those with more essential Hive jobs had caves closer to the stairs, scouts weren't far behind in the middle, and those yet to serve or find a purpose in the Hive were towards the back.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Klaven was greeted with a long, dark corridor of rocks and stalactites. The light of torches ceased, and he only had his light to go off of. Slowly, Klaven trotted forward, looking both left and right, trying to make a guess on where Restel would be. It didn't help that every which way he looked appeared nearly identical to one another. There were changelings on the other side of these walls, many of them, but only one had Restel in it.

Even still, it was a guess if Restel would even be down here. However, Klaven knew with how late it was, it was a safe guess.

Oddly enough, the first thing to stand out was a thin line scratched into the rock wall. Vaguely, Klaven remembered something Faltic said about leaving a mark in the wall near Restel's room.

But... which side?

Klaven looked to the left of the scratch, then the right. Neither side looked any different than the other. Klaven shook his head, and decided to stop wasting time on a fifty-fifty guess. Stepping to the right, and raising a very confident hoof, Klaven knocked on the rock wall.

A moment passed...

Every ounce of confidence in Klaven's decision to knock on the rock wall shattered upon hearing a muffled voice arise from the other end of the stone. A voice that sounded nothing like Restel's. Jittering, Klaven looked down both ways of the cavern. There was nowhere to go. On a whim, Klaven shapeshifted into a rock, closing his eyes and hoping for the best.

It was already rude to knock so late at night. It was another thing if he had just woken somepony up.

The sound of a gap opening and a changeling stepping out echoed through the cave.

A changeling Klaven didn't know spoke up. "Oh, that's real nice."

Suddenly, Klaven was shoved, causing him to tumble to the ground and lose his disguise, returning to his normal changeling self.

"You think I wouldn't know that a rock sitting there wasn't you?" The unfamiliar changeling slowly approached Klaven, who stayed on the ground. Softly, Klaven spoke up, trying to reason. "Sorry, I was just... looking for someone else."

It didn't seem to do much, as the other changeling proceeded forward without missing a beat, a nasty scowl painting his face. "Looking for someone else. Yeah right. Or, you just think it's funny to wake some of us up?"

Now in a panic, Klaven ducked his head, covering it with his hooves while still looking up at the advancing irate changeling. "No no it's not that-"

Klaven was cut off by another voice, one more familiar, and quite stern.

"Will you get over yourself?"

It sounded exactly like Restel. Sure enough, when Klaven turned his head to see the source of the voice, there stood Restel, impeding in the closing gap between him and the unknown changeling, who now redirected his scowl to Restel. "Don't give me that, Restel. This grub thinks it's funny to go around playing a little 'ding-dong-ditch', so I'm showing him how I feel about that."

Klaven thought it was best to stay on the ground and let Restel handle things, but that wouldn't stop him from watching.

Restel now placed himself fully between Klaven and the other changeling, and held a hoof up in front of him. "He was probably just looking for me. Let it go."

The other changeling sighed and rolled his eyes, pointing a hoof past Restel towards Klaven. "Let it go. If I do, this little cretin will just keep this up."

Restel took a defensive step to the side, blocking off the accusing point the other changeling was giving Klaven. "Look, I'll handle the little cretin, you just go back to bed."

The changeling in front of Restel groaned. "Ugh. You're lucky I'm tired, Restel." Once again, the changeling redirected his speech and pointed at Klaven. "And you're lucky he's here."

With that, the annoyed looking changeling stormed back towards the wall, trotting through a hole in it before it shut behind him, leaving only Klaven and Restel in the cave. Getting to his hooves, Klaven smiled sheepishly at Restel, wiping the dirt from his body. "Aheh, thanks, Restel."

Restel gave Klaven the same annoyed look that the other changeling had just given, and wordlessly walked back towards the rock wall, a gap appearing before him. Just before he had cleared the opening, Klaven suddenly halted him, placing a hoof on Restel's shoulder. "Hey, wait-"

Klaven's hoof was quickly swatted away by Restel, who then proceeded into his living space. For a moment, Restel stood still, seemingly contemplating his next move. Klaven tilted his head with skepticism as he watched. For sure, Restel knew why he was there, and hopefully he'd allow him to speak.

Lowering his head, Restel sighed, and turned to Klaven, nudging his head backwards as an invitation to come in. "C'mon, don't want to wake anypony else up," Restel said softly. "And be quiet."

Though, with some hesitation, Restel paused. "And can you turn off that light on your horn?" Restel asked, squinting his eyes at the top of Klaven's head. "You're a changeling, you have a better sense of seeing in the dark."

Klaven looked up, trying to see his own horn. "Oh, right. Sorry." The light on Klaven's horn vanished with a light clicking sound. "I may have tripped on my way here, so I used that to make sure I didn't do it again and-"

Restel was staring at Klaven with a deadpan emotion, and one brow raised.

"-right. Sorry."

With a few quick steps, Klaven swiftly entered as the hole in the wall closed behind him. Restel's personal gallery didn't appear too different from his own. More or less, it was just closer to the way out of the housing caves. Two notable differences were that there were two rugged looking beds in this cave, and it was a little more spacious. A third thing that Klaven was quick to catch on to was that the rough looking bed furthest from him had a changeling sleeping in it.

Restel leaned against the wall, staring at Klaven with an ounce of annoyance, which Klaven got the hint.

Speaking in a hushed voice, Klaven spoke. "So, I assume you know why I'm here."

Restel raised his brow, mimicking Klaven's hushed tone. "You think?"

"Sorry. Yeah, It's about Faltic." Klaven internally winced, hoping for the best reaction from Restel.

All Restel did was roll his gradient blue eyes. "Like I'm in any mood to make amends with him."

"Faltic is really sorry, Restel." Klaven tried playing on Faltic's side, but even he knew that sentence was bland.

"Really sorry. Like Hell he is. He tore me away from Skeps there," Restel pointed behind Klaven at the asleep changeling. "And I'd been worrying myself to pieces on if he'd even be alive right now. Pardon my ranting, but my anger and frustration is still here. I'm just... I can't believe Faltic would do any of this."

Klaven was momentarily stunned, and at a loss of words. His ears were now pinned to the back of his head. Just one mention of Faltic set Restel off into a bitter speech. However, it did provide some insight, as Klaven still had yet to meet the changeling in question. For the moment, it was most likely better to leave Faltic out of the conversation.

Trying to play it off, Klaven nudged his head backwards towards the beds. "So... who's Skeps there?"

It seemed to ease Restel, just slightly. "Brother from birth. The whole 'eggs being hatched by one another forming a bond' thing. Love him to death, just... he's not your normal changeling."

Klaven tilted his head. "How so?"

"Well first of all, he can't change. He's bound to his natural changeling body. Second, and this isn't him being abnormal, but every single other changeling in this Hive, with our nature, just can't let him live it down. Constant harassment, bullying, the sorts."

Restel paused for a moment, and shook his head. Klaven waited it out for him to continue, watching with concern and intent.

"It got really bad at one point, and he couldn't take any more of it. So, we got him out of his room, moved him into mine, and the rest is how you see it. I keep him safe here."

Klaven's eyes drifted from Restel, turning around to peer at the bed with a lump in it, taking just a moment to observe the slow rise and fall of the figure's breathing. What Restel explained justified his anger towards Faltic, how being taken away could lead to harm. However, it also raised some questions. Klaven turned his head back to Restel. "I didn't know about all of that, I'm sorry. But... Why did you go along with leaving? It's been so long. The invasion, staying in Manehattan afterwards, I don't get it. Why not come back? Dispute the notice?"

Restel didn't meet Klaven's eyes, and sighed. Klaven deserved an explanation. After all, he'd just come all the way from Manehattan in the dead of night just to reach out to him. Just now thinking about it, Restel's ear twitched as he looked up at Klaven, tilting his head slightly. "I'll explain, after you tell me how you got here?"

Klaven slowly unfurled his transparent wings, stretching them slightly. "Oh, I flew. I made a pillow decoy of myself in your bed, climbed out the window, and came straight here."

Still, Restel was intrigued. "And the night guards outside the Hive?"

Klaven rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly. "They uh, sort of started fighting each other when they approached me. A petty rivalry, from what I gathered."

Restel blew a quiet raspberry from his mouth. "Pfft. Figures. That’s somewhat like how I got back in here." Suddenly, Restel's head perked up once more. "Wait wait wait... you hopped out the window?"

Klaven nodded. "Yes."

"You didn't just... go down the stairs?"

"Uhh. No? It was faster to go out the window. I think," Klaven explained. "Saves my legs from getting so fatigued from all the steps."

After a moment, Restel shrugged. "I suppose. Then, I guess you deserve some explanation."

Klaven nodded, and sat down on the earthy ground. "I'm all ears."

Following his lead, Restel took his spot on the floor as well, and began.

"I guess it really started the morning I received my scouting notice..."

*****

Mornings at the Hive were possibly the most repetitive part of the day. While on the outside, the rising sun warmed the towering rocks of their home, shining its rays and bringing light to the Hive, the same impact could not be felt from the inside. Particularly, the housing caves.

Restel's eyes popped open, only to be greeted with the most familiar sight: complete darkness. His internal clock of waking up on time was a blessing, despite having no indication of what time it was until he stepped outside of the caves.

Sitting up on his mediocre bed, Restel stretched out, fully waking himself up. Restel's ear twitched as he looked to his left, and to his surprise, Skeps was already up, laying belly-down on the bed and indulged in a book.

"You're already up? I'm surprised," Restel mentioned.

Skeps turned his head, and met Restel's eyes briefly before looking back to his book. "Yeah, I guess. I don't have a great internal clock. Plus, it's invasion notice day."

Restel looked around the room, his memories slowly returning to him. Last night, Faltic had paid him a visit regarding exactly what Skeps had just mentioned. Today was the day that any changeling involved with the invasion would be notified, and very shortly after, would be shipped out to Canterlot.

Rubbing his eye, Restel spoke up. "Oh yeah, that huge Canterlot invasion is soon, huh."

Skeps nodded in response. "Good for me. With so many changelings gone, I can leave the room and no other changeling will be here."

"You can do that anytime. I'd be right there with you," Restel mentioned casually, lifting a hoof to emphasize his point.

Skeps looked back at Restel, his ears pinned to his head and having recoiled slightly. "No. I'm not having that happen again. Doesn't matter if I'm with you, the whole Hive practically knows me."

Restel already knew that was the answer, and brushed it off. "I know, I know. But hey, if there's anhuagh-" Restel's mouth opened wide as a sudden yawn overtook him. He could hear Skeps' quiet snickering from beside him.

"Oh man. Yawn caught me. What was I saying?" Restel asked.

Skeps still had a slight curl on his lips from smiling. "If there's-"

"Oh right." Restel picked back up his train of thought. "If there's anything you need while I'm out today, let me know." Restel climbed off of his rough bed, fully stretching his body once his hooves reached the ground.

"Ah, I think I'm good. Just let me know when everypony out there is gone and away for this invasion," Skeps said before turning his head back down towards his book.

"You got it. I'll be back at around the usual time," Restel said, stepping through the hole in the wall that had manifested itself moments prior. Once stepping beyond it, the gap closed behind him. Typically, Restel was up early, more so than a majority of the Hive. The housing caves that Restel now stood in were eerily quiet. The long, narrow stretch of cave stretched on into darkness as Restel's vision could only carry so far. Examining the rocky walls of the housing caves, Restel spotted numerous slips of paper sticking out from the cracks in the walls, adjacent to where other changelings' doors would be.

So many... This invasion is a big deal.

Taking his first step, Restel's hoof failed to meet the ground as he was halted, a particular note catching his eye. One was in the wall, immediately next to his gallery. Brow scrunched, Restel looked around before returning his gaze to the particular paper of interest.

That's not for me, surely.

Curiosity took hold over Restel's body, and in a swift motion, the paper was snatched from its spot. Unfurling it, Restel's chest sank as it revealed that he had been selected to join the invasion.

"Restel... Canterlot invasion, secondary service in Manehattan..." Restel mumbled to himself.

*****

"So... why not dispute it? You know, you're an essential here. surely you thought there was a mistake?" Klaven halted Restel's story to ask his question again. Restel rubbed his foreleg as he answered. "Oh I thought about it, believe me. Just, the punishment due if I refused. I thought this was such a large scale invasion that they were pulling even essentials from the Hive to join in. Faltic had mentioned the night prior that some changelings, who aren't even scouts, were participating."

Klaven was still for a moment, then nodded in understanding. "I heard about that too. But then, what did you do after? We were shipped out pretty soon after that, which is when I met you."

"I found somepony to check up on Skeps regularly. You won't believe who helped me with that," Restel stated.

*****

Restel found himself trotting much more unsteadily than usual. He had stumbled several times while traversing the upward spiral of stairs to exit the housing caves. Trotting briskly through the large core of the Hive, Restel's head was on a swivel.

As changelings were waking up, the ambience of buzzing began to pick up, incessantly ringing in Restel's ears no matter where he went. The morning sun poured its way in through cracks and gaps between the tall rocky structure of the Hive, and countless other changelings were flying to and from destination.

Despite appearing as mindlessly wandering the interior of the Hive among the others, Restel did have a destination in mind. Though, it wasn't certain if the changeling he was looking for was going to be there.

Quickly taking a right turn, Restel ducked through a conveniently opening gap in the rocky wall, stepping outside the walls of the Hive and leaving its confines. The outside of the Hive looked exactly the same. Barren of vegetative life, a wasteland of nothing for a few miles. Still, other changelings traversed around the Hive.

Halting in his tracks, Restel looked in every direction, continuously unable to spot-

Just then, the changeling he was searching for passed alongside him.

Cyril.

Making the first move, Restel nearly stumbled over himself as he closed the distance. "Hey, Cyril!"

Cyril's head quickly turned towards the source of the voice calling her name. Her brow scrunched slightly before relaxing upon seeing who it was. "Oh, Restel, what's going on?"

In an attempt to calm himself, Restel rubbed the back of his head as he continued. "I need to ask a huge favor from you. You're the only changeling I know that works relations, so I came to you."

One of Cyril's brows raised in skepticism as she turned to fully face Restel. "Yeah?"

Still attempting to not look skittish, Restel looked around, mostly avoiding Cyril's eyes. "Can you possibly find somepony to check up on Skeps every now and then? Just for while I'm away. I worry, y'know?"

After a brief silence, which felt like an eternity for Restel, Cyril spoke up. "Uh, yeah. I mean, I bet I can get somepony to just check in for you."

Exhaling a sigh of relief, Restel lowered his shoulders and expressed his thanks. "Oh thank you. I'm sorry it's short notice, but I owe you one."

With that, Restel turned hoof and quickly sped off, leaving a slightly confused Cyril behind.

*****

"Huh." Klaven muttered while rubbing his chin. So in some way, Restel must have known Cyril prior to current events. "So you asked her and had her help you out?" Klaven asked.

Restel nodded. "Yup. She's the only changeling I knew who worked changeling relations, so I could go straight to her for quick help, rather than some red-tape crap."

"I understand," Klaven began. Though, with some hesitation, Klaven decided to take another shot. "So... is there something I could tell Faltic when I go back? Coming from you, of course."

Restel hung his head low and sighed. It was a notably softer reaction than last time, and Klaven was grateful for it.

"No... my feelings still stand on this. I feel betrayed, and everything I mentioned before. If Faltic wants to hear anything from me, he should've been the one to come here, not you. Of course, if it was him, I don't see a way I could've stopped myself from probably, most likely, punching him in the jaw."

While that might have typically been a joke followed by a wry smile or casual chuckle, there was no mirth on Restel's face as he stated his actions.

Klaven still decided to keep the subject going, seeing as how Restel didn't immediately shut it down again. "Can I at least tell Faltic I talked to you tonight? I'm really trying to help, and I hate to see you two like this."

Restel was silent, and had briefly peered beyond Klaven a time or two, catching a glimpse of the still unconscious Skeps in the bed. The silence carried on for so long that Klaven almost began worrying as to why he was so quiet for so long.

"Well..." Restel finally began. "There is one thing you can tell him, and you better not twist my words," Restel said sternly.

Comments

[Wooden Wheel]

Thankfully, I can appreciate Cyril more right now. Skeps has told me that she'd managed to coordinate a caretaker for him, after I asked her, of course. One that's good at their job, and not some brutish lackey who would screw it all up.

"I found somepony to check up on Skeps regularly. You won't believe who helped me with that: Cyril,"

The first line makes the second feels redundant, and consequently it takes away weight and importance from what it is revealing, since they both seem to convey the same information; but if I had to choose, the second line feels better placed than the first, which almost feels out of place in the middle of a rant against Falitc.

[BlueyWaifu]

11911127
Missed me entirely, thank you for pointing that out. Made a quick small adjustment to it