Behind the Veil

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 2
Chapter 12

Chapter 1

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 1
by FeralFox

[Authors Note] This is the first story I have ever written out of pleasure/boredom. I usually abhor writing, given that all of my previous writing has been lifeless, monotonous assignments given to me during school. I do not have any pre-readers, and am using a generic version of Microsoft Word. I am writing this in an attempt to find a creative outlet to wither down my vast amounts of free time that is not occupied by Television, Youtube, or Video Games. If I do enjoy writing and/or I receive requests to continue writing, I may. Again, this is all experimental. Thank you, and enjoy.

It was another average winter day as Marckus returned home to his chilly apartment. In his attempt to conserve his limited income, he decides to keep his thermostat low and just bundle up instead. He shut the door behind him and locked the deadbolt and doorknob, ensuring his peace would remain undisturbed. He stood in the entry landing, deciding against stripping of his insulated Carhartt Coat and his government mandated steel-toe boots, seeing as they weren't dirty. As he worked in the automotive repair industry, it was required, by OSCA regulations, that they be a part of his “uniform”. He walked to his living room and sat in his recliner and reached for the remote, but instead, decided to venture to bedroom in hopes of reading book and drifting to sleep. As he walked down the short hallway towards his room, he felt a strange force that seemed to be beckoning to him from his linen closet. He stopped and examined the simple wooden door before lightly grasping the handle. To his surprise, the handle seemed as though it had just been passed through a furnace, and he recoiled quickly. As the cold of his apartment began to slowly enrapture his hand he reached for it once again and held it firm. It was hot, but there was no pain. It burnt, but did not scald. He slowly turned the handle and opened the door. Where his towels, cleaning products and other toiletries once resided, a brilliant white light filled the air. A light that seemed to shine so bright that it seemed to be beyond white. He braced his hands on the door frame as he was soon encompassed by a vortex of gale-force winds that seemed to affect only him, as the rest of his apartment lay unscathed at the powerful gusts. He was drawn into the glorious abyss as the door shut ever so gently behind him.

As the light faded from his stunned gaze, he found himself in a state of weightlessness. On second observation, he was falling, and fast. He looked about himself, trying to find his bearings. Once oriented, he assumed the spread-eagle position, in order to increase drag, and slow his sudden decent. As he continued to fall, he attempted to gather his thoughts, which were racing through his mind as fast as his heart was pounding inside his chest. He looked down to see a strangely colorful town below him, approaching quickly. Between he and his almost certain encounter with the ground stood a strangely lone, small cloud. The sky seemed to have bled onto this cloud as a strange splotch of light-blue covered its center, and from that blue sprang the entire spectrum of color, a rainbow. Or two to be more specific, one from each “end” of this strange shape. The thought was quickly cast from his mind, however, as he concluded that he was hallucinating from his current situation. He fell through the cloud and something had grazed his arm. Now soaking wet, he plummeted directly towards a large hardwood tree. With a new spark of hope for his survival, he quickly assessed the situation and concluded that the best position to take the brutal impact of a 500 or so foot fall, into a tree at least, was to tuck his legs to his chest, and wrap his forearms around the front of his head, elbows touching knees, and let his limbs take the brunt of the damage, as they could recover much easier than his spine, or ribcage. He braced himself and solemnly awaited impact.

Twilight was in her bedroom reading one of her favorites, a fiction titled “Shamrock Holmes”, a story of a detective who worked alongside Scotland Yard, with his trusted partner, Hertzson. Just as Holmes seemed to have “The Case of the Masked Mass Murderer” under wraps, a sudden sensation of magic broke her focus. It felt strange, but apparently not strange enough for her to investigate herself, so she turned back to her novel. After a few seconds of reading, her attention was once again disrupted, but this time, by something crashing through the roof, and landing smack-dab on her floor. She nearly jumped out of her chair as spike rushed up the ladder exclaiming

“What the HEY are you doing up here?!”

“I didn't do anything!” She retorted. Upon further inspection, she realized that something living had just destroyed her ceiling. What it was, she couldn't be sure of, but it was hurt, that much she could tell. A Cyan pegasus with her iconic rainbow mane flew in from the newly added skylight and landed next to an extremely concerned and confused Twilight and looked, dumbfounded, at the strange being that lay broken before them.

“What is that thing? I was just snoozin' on a cloud above the library, when out of NOWHERE something flew passed and almost knocked me off! I heard a loud crash and thought I should check it out.”

“I really don't know what it is, but it's bleeding, and that's never good.” Twilight spoke in a strangely calm voice, given the situation. “You go get Fluttershy, maybe she'll know what it is. I'll go get nurse RedHeart. Spike, you stay here in case it gets up.”

“On it!” Rainbow Dash said as she rocketed off through the convenient hole in the roof, leaving her trademark rainbow in her wake.

“Don't leave me alone with this...thing! What if it gets up and decides that Baby Dragon sounds really good for lunch?!” Spike said, with a little more than a bit of worry in his voice.

“I don't think it's going to be getting up any time soon.” She said before galloping through the library and out the door. Spike now alone with a strange new creature, and a growing pool of blood.

As Rainbow approached the familiar cottage, she slowed down and gracefully landed on the doorstep and gave a triplet of quick, gentle knocks, hoping not to startle the owner, but still to convey a sense of urgency. As she was about to knock again, she heard the soft padding of hoofsteps coming towards the door and stopped. The door was opened, slowly, to reveal the canary-colored pegasus who resides in the quiet home. She nervously peeked through the crack in the doorway to get a good look at her visitor, her pink mane drooped lazily in front of her eye.

“Oh... hi, Rainbow, can I help you..?” She asked timidly.

“You need to follow me NOW!” Rainbow yelled. Fluttershy squeaked and backed up slightly at the unexpected shout, almost running away, but standing her ground as she could sense the worry in her friends usually relaxed and even tone.

“Oh my gosh, d-did something happen? You sound upset.” she said, just barely above a whisper, with a new layer of concern.

“Yeah something happened” she explained “something...some...creature crashed through Twilight's roof and she figured if anyone knew what is was, it was you, so let's hurry!” she said before taking off, worried friend in tow.

Galloping through the streets Twilight found herself in the Ponyville Immediate Care Clinic.

“Nurse RedHeart! Nurse RedHeart!” Twilight yelled.

“Oh, Twilight, how nice to see you. Did you come by for a check-up? Or perhaps you wish to borrow another medical text?” The white earth mare questioned.

“I wish it were that trivial, but you need to come with me, and quickly!” The lavender unicorn said, wishing eagerly to have already been heading back.

“Oh my, is somepony hurt?” A new expression of concern replaced her previous smile of a pleasant visit.

“Not somepony. In fact, I'm not really sure what it is. But all I know is that it crashed through my ceiling, and is currently bleeding all over my bedroom floor.” She said, ending the conversation by running out the door, calling back “Get what you need and meet me back at the library, ASAP!”

As she made it back to her room, she saw Rainbow and Fluttershy examining this creature intently, though not moving it in case of furthering any existing injuries.

“Oh, thank Celestia! Do you know what this is Fluttershy?” Twilight asked, relieved to have some much needed help.

“Um...I-I'm afraid I've never seen anything like this before. Poor fellow must be in a lot of pain.” She said, barely audible, though unfazed at the scene that lay before them.

“Great, you're back! Did you get Nurse RedHeart?” Asked Spike, no longer worried about becoming this thing's next meal.

“Yes, she's on her way. She just had to get some things and then she'll--”

“I made it here as fast as I could, now where is the injured?” Interrupted the pink maned nurse.

“It's in here! But unfortunately, Fluttershy doesn't know what it is, so helping might be a bit more difficult.” Explained the lavender mare.

“I-I'm sorry...I wish I could do more to help.” The shy pegasus said, shrinking back a bit.

“Don't fret, my dear! You can still help.” The nurse said as she gingerly placed a hoof on what she assumed to be the creatures head. “Oh my, the poor dear is sweating up a storm. Why don't you fetch some ice so we can cool 'em off.”

“O-of coarse! Right away!” she said, making her way downstairs.

“After a crash like this, there is sure to be some broken bones, if it has any bones, so Twilight, what I need you to do is to levitate it up really gently, make sure not to move it, and Rainbow, you grab some cushions for it to rest on.” Instructed the nurse, relying on the basics in hope of improving this poor soul's chances of survival.

“Yes ma'am!” Said Twilight before channeling magic into her horn. A blue aura enveloped the creature and slowly lifted it into the air, not a single hair out of place. The nurse's instructions seemed to snap Rainbow Dash out of a trance as she stared at the gruesome scene. She shook herself back into reality

“Huh..? Oh, right! Cushions! On it!” She began gathering all of the pillows off of Twilight's bed and couch and started to lay them out as a make-shift bed.

“Like that?” She asked, not wanting anything worse to happen. Especially because of her.

“Yes, that will have to do for now.” The nurse said as Twilight began to lower the creature back onto the newly padded area.

“I've got some ice, now what do we do?” The pink maned mare said as she delicately set the bag of ice down on its head.

“I'm not sure. We just have to wait until it wakes up, if it wakes up, and hope it can speak so that it can tell us what's wrong.” RedHeart said, sting of hopelessness that edged her voice resonated in the three others as they impatiently waited, hoping that their efforts were not in vain.

He began to slip back into consciousness when his senses were assaulted with pain, which, much to his discomfort, meant that he was still alive. For how long however, was unclear. As he opened his eyes, everything was a mess of blended colors and distorted shapes. His ears rang and prevented all perception. As his vision cleared his eyes went wide, for what he saw bewildered him. It was a soft purple in color and resembled something equine in form, though was too small to be a horse. Its head was large in proportion to its body and had what seemed to be a horn extending from beneath a similarly colored mane, which had a red streak through the middle. It was pacing back and forth in front of him and its mouth was moving as though it were saying something. The high pitch tone persisted, preventing any communication from being heard. Whether or not he would understand its speech, if in fact it was speaking, remained undetermined. He lay there in agony, when he realized that he had been placed on pillows. He concluded this seeing as if these were here beforehand, he might still be capable of movement. The dull noise quieted and he could here what sounded like, to his surprise, English! It seemed to be repeating the same phrase:

“Please don't be dead! Please don't be dead!”

He coughed and expelled some blood from his lungs. This caught what he determined by the voice was a female's attention. It turned and looked at him intently. He let out a faint moan of pain from the violent expulsion, and she jumped back and gasped. He attempted to raise himself up, but to no avail. His body was too badly damaged for any movement beyond looking. Suddenly he was being bombarded with a volley of questions.

“Oh my gosh, can you hear me?! Can you understand me?!” Shouted the purple creature. It was soon accompanied by several voices from creatures unknown as they jumped into his line of sight.

“Are you okay?! Can you breath?!” Interrogated a familiar Cyan creature with a rainbow mane.

“Oh...a-are you hurt? C-c-can I help?” Said another, this one yellow, with a pink mane, just barely audible over the other two.

“Girls, girls, girls!” Came a more authoritative voice. “Be quiet for a moment and please, move aside.” The three creatures responded and backed away as a fourth creature walked slowly into view, her coat white with a pink mane. She spoke softly and clearly. “Can. You. Hear. Me?”

He lifted his head into a feeble nod. Her eyes, along with the others' lit up with new-found hope.

“Thank the stars!” She proclaimed with a wary sigh of relief. “You can understand me?” She asked, not as slowly, but still just as softly. Another nod. It was met with more sighs and the exhalation of held breaths. “Please, if you can, tell me what's wrong with you.” She said. As he took in a ragged and pained breath to speak, the four all did the same in anticipation.

“Too. Hot. Coat's. Insu- Insulated.” The sun to what seemed was a bright summers day was roasting the bundled man as its merciless rays beat down on him through the fresh hole in the roof. “Please. Take it. Off.” They stood there, confused looks played across their faces collectively. The purple one spoke up and said

“Do you want us to shave it off?” Still confused.

“No. Zipper. In front.” He managed through more fits of coughing up blood.

“Oh!” exclaimed the timid yellow one, “O-oh, I'm sorry. I just thought that maybe it's a piece of clothing.” She said as she turned away, nervously drawing circles in the ground with what he could only assume was a hoof. This was met with another feeble nod.

“Okay, well, in that case, hold on a sec, you may feel a tingle.” spoke the purple one, its horn shimmering with a faint blue aura. Suddenly the arms on his Carhartt were emitting the same faint glow. The light seemed to be stretching down the length of the coat, as if it was feeling for every stitch and hem, until it completely enveloped his coat, giving him a feeling similar to the doorknob on his closet, but no where near as powerful. A flash of light, and the offending oven of a coat was off his body, only to be found floating past him, onto the floor. Without the bulky winter coat to hinder her vision, the white one glanced at his left arm and grimaced. Even without knowing his anatomy, it was obvious by the unnatural way it was bent in comparison to it's counterpart. His arm was broken, the tibia and fibula were snapped in half, to be exact. Lucky for him, it wasn't a compound fracture, or he could have gotten a serious infection. In addition to the break, his left shoulder was also dislocated from the looks of it.

“Oh dear, this is bad. Very bad.” Said the white one grimly, as the blue one cringed and shook in disbelief at the extent of the injury. The purple one looked as though she was going to vomit any second now. “Can you feel anything that we might not be able to see?” Continued the white one.

“Coughing. Blood. Maybe, Punctured lung. Definitely. Cracked ribs. Maybe broke. A few.” His voice was hoarse (please forgive the pun) from the dry blood that lined his throat. He made an attempt at wiggling his toes. All together, then individually. They were all present and accounted for. Good. He rotated his feet on his ankles. Nothing bad there. He bent his left leg at the knee, nothing. The right one, same. He went to move his left leg at the hip to find a jolt of searing pain rip through his leg and up through his spine. “Left. Femur. Leg above knee. Maybe fractured. Serious concussion. Lots of bruises.” He laughed sadly at the last item he listed off. It was quite small in comparison to the rest.

“Well” began the white one, “We're going to have to get you to the clinic, and soon.”

Nurse RedHeart turned to Twilight and shot a pleading look her way.

“Do you think you can levitate him to the clinic?” She asked

“Not without moving him too much. And that kind of trek would take a lot, and I'm not up to finding out whether or not I'll drop it half way there.”

“Him.” He spoke up, obviously listening to their conversation.

“Excuse me?” She said politely

“I'm. Male. Please. Him.” He said. An unusual calmness about him.

“Oh, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean anything by it!” She said, embarrassed. A light blush taking its place across her nose. He simply set his head down and rested for a moment.

“Well, if you can't levitate him, can you teleport him?” She asked in an almost pleading way.

“If I teleport him, he might end up above a bed, or miss one completely, and the last thing he needs is another fall.”

“Well, we're going to have to carry him.” she sighed, a look of dread in her face. “Rainbow, since you're the fastest one here, can you fly down to the clinic and tell them to send a- no wait, two stretcher teams out here?” Again lost in thought of the sheer pain this dude must be going through, and yet still be able to analyze his own wounds astounded her, but she snapped out of it, and with a salute, took off.

Several Minutes later the Rainbow returned with the stretcher teams and guided them to the bedroom. They consisted of four Stallions, each in a white uniform signifying them as part of the medical community, but the two stallions in front wore a horn around their collars used to warn pedestrians and carriages of their presence. They looked awe-struck at what they were instructed to carry. He was 6' 4” and even though he had a very small, lean build, he must have weighed at least 150 lbs. They had quite the task ahead of them. With the assistance of Twilight Sparkle's magic, they got him, and a few pillows, safely onto the stretcher. They walked carefully through the streets as the crowds of citizens gasped and groaned in both pity and fear as they saw the mangled body of Celestia knows what being carried through their fair village.

Once they had reached the clinic, Nurse RedHeart had gotten the large being onto a couple of beds, as he was a little wider than the average pony, but almost twice as long as they were lying down. After pulling the privacy curtain closed, Twilight merely sat and listened to the nurse and a crew of assistants work to heal this poor creature. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had left to inform their other three friends of this traumatic event. Although she could not see, Twilight could here sounds graphic enough to depict the scene for her. Nurse RedHeart had bandaged up his head and cleared his lungs of blood. Now came the truly awful part. She was glad she could not see this.

From behind the curtain Nurse Redheart could be heard saying

“Alright, now I'm going to try and re-locate your....um:

“Shoulder.” He said politely, and calmly. He was beginning to breath very deeply, as though he had only moments before his precious supply of air would soon dwindle.

“Ahem...right. I'm going to re-locate your shoulder. Are you ready?” There was no audible response. “Okay. One...Two...THREE!” there was a stomach turning “pop” as the joint fit back into its intended position. A long muffled shout came from the creature, and then more deep breathing as he tried to calm himself. Twilight could only cringe at the sound. “Bad news” began Nurse RedHeart. “that was the easy part. Now it's time to set your broken....arm was it?” Again no response was heard. “Alright then. Are you ready?” No response, only quickened breathing could be heard. “Oone.....Twoo.....THREE!” The most sickening “snap” could be heard immediately followed by the creature shouting without an attempt to hold back

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!” This made her almost jump completely out of here chair, and even startled a few other nurses in the area. The nurse slowly backed out of the hidden area with sweat lining her brow. She turned to twilight with a shaky grin

“W-well, thank goodness that's over.” She then wiped her brow with her forehoof and gave a light chuckle to the still shaken Twilight,

Maybe Continued....
Maybe.
If I feel like it.

Chapter 3

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 3
FeralFox

As Marckus finished the question he purveyed the faces of the creatures before him as they were all silent for one reason or another and he was curious to find out what exactly those reasons are. Laying down on his jury-rigged, extra-long hospital bed, his head elevated on several pillows, he could only see their faces. On the left was the canary creature, still holding firm to a look of timidness, or shyness. Beside her was the hat-clad orange creature, face a mix of disbelief and awe. Continuing to the right, there was the lavender, horned creature, whom he believed to possess some special power, as the strange aura that encompassed the floating glass seemed to be generated from said horn. On her face was an expression of befuddlement, or of one who cannot find the right words to begin speaking. This was strange to him as previously, this creature seemed to know what to do, even in the strange circumstances given in the short time he had been here. Wherever “here” was. On her right was the sky-blue creature, gaze still affixed at his newly unbent arm. On the far right was the comically pink creature, mane resembling cotton candy. This creature's eyes were wide, but not as wide as the grin was becoming on it's face. It seemed to ready to burst of energy, because it started bouncing slightly, which turned into small hopping, which in turn evolved into full-on jumping. To his dismay, he was suddenly bombarded with words spoken so quickly his mind could barely translate what his ears perceived in time to realize what exactly it was saying.

“OhMyGosh, YouCanTalk! Hi, I'mPin--” This statement, was cut short by the cyan one quickly breaking trance and tackling her to the ground and forcing her forelimb into the pink one's mouth.

“Twilight told you to be quiet!” She said in a contained shout, but getting the point across nonetheless, as the pink one stopped fidgeting and remained quiet, although he could still feel the energy seeming to radiate from her. They both rose to meet his own shocked expression. He was quite taken aback from this sudden outburst of violence, but distinguished any negative thoughts as this was clearly an attempt to help things remain quiet. Feeling uncomfortable at having to peer over his beard to see his company, he reached his hand behind his head and pushed the pillows towards the headboard and angled them to cover more vertically. The creatures stared intently, but cautiously at his every move. He leaned forward and pushed off of the bed with his right arm, being the unbroken one, and lifted himself up and back into a sitting position. The sudden movement sent a flare of pain from his fractured leg and he clenched his teeth and groaned. Once comfortable, or as close as he was going to get, he attempted to gather information on the situation.

“Please, can someone, anyone, tell me what is going on? Have I gone insane, or do my eyes tell the truth?” He spoke in a soft, but worried tone, concerned for his own mental well-being as well as his physical. Once more, the purple creature was the one to speak up. The pink one stayed hushed for obvious reasons.

“W-well, what do you want to know first?” Obviously just as lost as he was.

“Okay, number one: What are you? Number two: Where am I? And number three: What are your names, if you hold such titles?” He said, cutting straight to the chase.

“We are ponies, I more specifically, am a unicorn. You are in Ponyville, a city in the land of Equestria. And My name is Twilight Sparkle.” She said, pleased to have made some ground. “Now I'd like to ask some questions of you: who and what are you, and where did you come from?” She said, with more confidence in her voice, but still laced with fear. He could not blame her, or the rest of them for that matter, as he was foreign, and much larger than they.

“Fair enough. My name is Marckus DeLibra. I am a human, and I was in my apartment, in New York. A state within the sovereign nation of the United States of America, a country on the planet Earth.” He said, still keeping a calm, low voice to prevent the further spread of fear to these “ponies”. “Alright, you say that you are 'ponies'. That much I might be able to believe, given your resemblance to an equine creature, quadrupedal, hoofed legs, and a mane and tail, but it stops there.” As he finished this statement Twilight seemed to be taken aback by his description. Not so much insulted as intrigued at his knowledge and vocabulary. “Your heads are...not proportionate to the rest of your bodies, and I have never seen a horse of any kind with coats and manes of such an exaggerated color palate.” He said, beginning to think out loud as if to explain it to himself as well as to the creature claiming to be one of mythology. “Then again, this is apparently a completely different world where mythological creatures such as unicorns and pegasi are a reality.” As he finished his thought, he began to calm down. Rationalizing everything he couldn't have explained to himself previously by simply putting it under the Because I'm in a different world file in his head. One he did not believe he ever would have needed. Twilight looked at him with her head cocked slightly

“How did you know about pegasus ponies?” She said, suddenly confused at his level of knowledge. Then it dawned on her. “We're part of your world's mythology?!” She inquired with haste at his previous comment.

“W-well, not you specifically, but yes, unicorns and pegasi are part of one of my planet's many cultures' mythology. But I can tell you more about that another time.” He said as he rubbed the temple of his bandaged head, not wishing to delve deeper into his memories to retrieve any more information. He had a searing migraine from the concussion and was beginning to appreciate the quiet. He did not say this, because he did not want to offend her in her quest for knowledge of her species from another world. “As for now, how about some introductions? I have told you my name, and you are...?” He said politely and softly, gesturing to the yellow pegasus who was quivering slightly at the sudden attention.

“O-oh...m-my name...is....um...Fluttershy.” She said before turning her gaze to the ground and rubbing circles into the floor with her hoof.

“Pleased to meet you, but there's no need to be afraid. I mean you no harm.” He said with a comforting warm tone, and a smile to match.

“I wouldn't bother,” began the orange mare with the Stenson, “I've know her fer quite sum time, 'n she acts like that, even when it's just us.” He adjusted his gaze to meet her emerald green eyes. “Name's Applejack, it's a pleasure, 'specially knowin' ya ain't 'ere fer trouble.” She said with a nervous smile and a half-hearted chuckle, hoping not to offend him.

“Likewise.” He said with a smile before tipping an imaginary hat towards her. She eased at the gesture and held a genuine smile. He turned to Twilight and gave a quick nod “I believe we have already been acquainted.” The same soft smile still pulling at his cheeks. She gave a smile and a nod in return. He shifted his attention to the two still on the floor. “And what, may I ask, is your name?” The Rainbow-maned pegasus turned her attention from her task of silencing the pink pony and responded with a flick of her neck, bringing her mane about her face in a sweeping motion and holding a pose of pride and valor and exclaimed:

“I am the great Rainbow Dash! Fastest Flier in all of Equestria!” Having no hesitation in boasting. This was received with a collective of glares. She shrunk from her pose and looked away, embarrassed. “Heh...heh...nice to meet you.”

“It is truely an honor.” He said with a grin before giving a graceful, mock-bow at the outburst. Finally he looked over at the pink pony, exuberant when she realized it was her turn. She stood up on her rear legs and began an exaggerated inhalation only to look upon Twilight, who merely stared at the energetic mare, plain-faced with one eyebrow raised. She went back onto all-fours.

“Hi, my name's Pinkie Pie! I'm so happy to meet you!” She said with barely contained excitement. Her grin from ear to ear, blue eyes right with joy.

“I can see that!” He said with a wide smile himself, her energy almost contagious. “I'm glad to meet you too.” He directed them as a group now. “Well, now that introductions are out of the way,” He said as he reached to his right to grab a large branch with a “v” at one end and positioned it under his arm as a make-shift crutch. “ I really must get going. If I am to leave this place, which I hope is sometime soon, no offense, than I must find a place to reside. Do any of you know where one could earn a wage of some sort?” As he said this he swung his legs off the side of the cot and put pressure on his right leg and the crutch and lifted himself to his feet. The ponies stared up in awe, as he had never stood at full height in their presence. Sitting on the low bed he loomed over them somewhat, but standing tall, he towered over them. Twilight glanced at his left side, his arm in a cast and leg in a brace, both of which were fitted with his help.

“You can't go anywhere! You need to stay here and rest!” She protested. Her voice taking an authoritative tone now. “How can you expect to work in your current condition?!”

“If I can still breath, than I can still work.” His voice losing its softness for a more stoic tone. “I can still get around on my own, so that means that I shouldn't stay here and take up anymore valuable space needed by folks who've got it worse than me.” He began to make his way towards the door of his room. They looked on as he took long strides with his good leg and crutch, easily clearing the distance in a few steps. He was soon cut off by Twilight and Applejack who stood fast at the doorway, cutting preventing his exit.

“Now I'm all fer a hard worker 'n all, but you ain't gonna find any job in a cast 'n crutch. That is, if'n they can get past the fact that yur not from this world!” Said the Stenson-clad mere. He knew she had a point.

“That may be true, but I still won't stay here any longer.” His expression stone, unmoving. “I'll merely take refuge in that nearby forest.” He recalled seeing a forest in the near distance as he fell into this new world. He cringed in his mind at the memory.

“The EverFree Forest?! Oh no, you mustn’t!” Fluttershy said, her voice still low but now one of demand. A surprising act of boldness from the canary mare. “It's far too dark and scary in there. And there are so many dangerous creatures that live there, and you're in no shape to protect yourself!” She began walking towards the towering man. “Please, you just can't go in there.” Her normally averted gaze locked with his own, still unchanged.

“So be it, but I refuse to take up anymore of this place's resources. If I have to sleep on or under a bench, then let it be so.” His tone still stoic, but lined ever so slightly with anger at this unimpeded denial of his release. He could have easily pushed passed them, or maybe even intimidated his way out, but he was a man of peace, not anger. He would negotiate his way out before he would succumb to violence, especially against these small, innocent looking ponies.

“W-well...I suppose...if you don't have anywhere else to go.....” Twilight began, clearly nervous at the question she was about to pose. The other ponies exchanged glances, all knowing where this was going, and not liking it one bit.

To be continued...

Chapter 4

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 4
by FeralFox

Twilight's statement had been the pickaxe to shatter his expression of stone as a look of shock had plastered itself upon his face. Of all the possible things to say at that point, that had been the least expected.

“He can't stay with you! Are ya crazy?!” Shouted Applejack, blatantly objective to such an outlandish proposal. The others were about to further the argument when Twilight spoke up.

“And why not? The library is large enough to accommodate him, and if he tries anything I can just use my magic.” She said, confidence in her voice. “And besides, I've got a mountain of questions I want to ask him, so having him nearby would do quite nicely.” A look of defeat upon the tangerine pony's face had signified that she had won the argument, somewhat flawlessly.

“Fine, but that don't mean ah ain't gonna worry any less.” She said, shooting daggers at the man, still shocked at what had just been suggested. “Ah'm keepin' my eye on you.” He tucked his head between his shoulders and lifted a hand in a gesture of innocence.

“Well, what do you think?” Asked the lavender unicorn, turning to the man in question. “You do still have a choice in the matter.” He shifted uncomfortably on the make-shift crutch.

“I can't say that I've ever been shown such hospitality before,” Relief playing out across his features. “considering my options, it would only be rude to decline. Thank you very much!”

“Then it's settled! We should head out before it gets too dark, that is, if you're okay to walk.” Twilight said, unintentionally staring at the man's braced leg.

“I'll manage. I'd just like to thank that kind nurse before we leave.” He said, trying to keep his manners in mind. The group of ponies had started out of the door in front of him, as he didn't know the way. He soon followed out the small doorway, having to duck awkwardly to clear it only to have his head brush the low ceiling of the hallway as he stood back up.

“That shouldn't be a problem. She'll most likely be at the nurses station near the front lobby. You can thank her when we pass by.” Twilight said, walking beside him, silently observing the way he walked. As they continued down the hall, Marckus was met with many different looks from the staff and patients alike. Many of them were terrified at the sight of the towering man, but were calmed at the reassuring faces of the five that lead him. Few of them, mostly the nurses, had grimaced as they saw the all too familiar signs of someone in pain, his arm in a cast, leg in a brace, bandaged head, and hobbling along on a crutch. They had finally reached the Nurses' Station after a gauntlet of onlookers and a familiar white pony came out to greet them.

“Hello there, I'm glad to see you up and about, but please tell me you just want some fresh air, or you're just stretching out your legs.” The nurse said almost pleadingly.

“Unfortunately not, Nurse RedHeart, he was quite adamant in his decision to leave. There was no persuading him.” Twilight said flatly.

“Yes, no longer require your services and I wish to thank you for all that you have done for me.” Marckus said, a light smile on his face and a pleasant tone in his voice. “You have been all too kind. But unfortunately, I don't think my insurance covers other-worldly injuries.” He said with a chuckle as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I'm not really sure how I'm going to pay for the medical expenses.”

“Don't fret, my dear. I'm not sure I can charge for working on other-worldly patients.” She said with a smile and a wink. Marckus was taken aback by this. This kind of treatment was completely new to him. Where he was from, all that anyone cared about was getting as much as they could, giving little in return. He himself was quite different than these people, as he would give generously, with no thought in being repaid, time and time again. Although he had never expected to be treated in a similar way.

“I-I just don't know what to say....I...you're.....thank you.” He managed as he could feel his eyes begin to swell at the sheer selflessness he had been shown, even though he was a complete stranger. “I will repay you.” He said, retaking control over his emotions. “I promise.” With that he gave a light bow and proceeded out the door into the sleepy streets of the town with the rest of the group. It was getting late as the Sun's edge had met with the mountains face, casting long angled shadows of all that bathed in its glorious light. The group of ponies had formed a circle around Marckus, as though to protect him from the citizens that passed by, or more appropriately, protect them from him. Similarly to the halls of the hospital, he endured a long trek through an ocean of gasps, and shrieks. A mother had shielded her foal from seeing him with a foreleg over its eyes before escorting it away with a look of terror on her face. These ponies were not as forgiving as those in the hospital. Even though those who surrounded him gave the same reassuring glances as before, they still backed away, some even shutting down stalls, or closing shutters of windows. Such a feeling of collective rejection weighed heavy on his heart, but he new that if they were anything as kind-natured as the five that lead him, they would come around eventually. As they walked on, they left the busier streets in favor of an old trail that lead to an all too familiar hardwood tree. As they gathered outside the door to the cozy little building, Applejack turned to him and stared him dead in the eyes.

“We're leavin' fer now, but don't think that means ya can do as ya please.” She said, her voice strong and fierce. “If you think, just fer an apple pickin' second that I ain't watchin, think again.”

“Applejack, that's enough!” Demanded Twilight, upset at her friend's outburst. The hat-clad pony snorted and began to walk off, only shoot daggers at him once more before continuing on her way home. “I'm sorry about that, she's just worried about me, that's all. Once she sees that you're not a threat, she'll calm down. She's truly a good-hearted pony,” the unicorn argued for her on her friends behalf, only to see that there was no argument at all.

“It's okay. It's to be expected. I completely understand why she should behave like this.” He said as he put a hand up to stop her from going on. “I only hope your other friends don't see me in the same light.” he said turning to the others.

“You're okay with me, for now, at least. Don't do anything shifty and it'll stay that way” explained the cyan mare, lifting off the ground and slowly hovering away before turning around and rocketing away at immeasurable speeds.

“I'm always happy to meet someone new, and you seem REALLY nice! I should throw you a party! I'll invite the whole town!” Pinkie Pie began, already hopping in place. She barely came to his shoulders at the height of her bounds. “That way they can stop being so afraid of you! Ooh! I can't wait! There'll be cake and candy and streamers and balloons and.....” She rambled on as her bouncy gait took her down the street they had previously walked. The shuddering canary pegasus slowly walked away, hoping not to face the intimidating man.

“Oh Fluttershy!” Called Twilight, in a sing-song manner. The trembling mare jumped slightly and began to turn around, instinctively hiding behind her pink mane. “Aren't you going to say good-bye?”

“Oh, I-I'm sorry. Good-bye.” She whispered, before turning away and flying away with haste.

“I swear, sometimes it amazes me that she doesn't have a heart attack every time she looks in the mirror.” The lavender pony joked. The two shared a chuckle as she opened the door into the library. “Welcome to the Ponyville Public Library, a.k.a., my home!” She walked through the threshold and invited him in. Again, he was faced with the task of bending and hopping awkwardly through the low passageway. As she began to turn on the gas lamps that adorned the walls, he took in his new scenery. There were shelves that reached to the ceiling stuffed with literature of all kinds. The signs read that there was enough genres here to satisfy any reader. Fiction, Biography, Histories of all sorts, even a section dedicated to “old mares' tales” which he decided were the equivalent to old wives' tales. The smell of old parchment and ink entered his nose as he breathed in the warm dusk air. “The house area is over here.” She called out from a staircase in the corner of the large room. His face drooped from one of splendor to one of exhaustion as he looked upon his next task. He approached the wooden stairs and took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. “Oh, I almost completely forgot about your leg, did you want me to car--” She said before took off up the stairs, taking them two at a time due to their small size. In no time at all he had cleared them all and was waiting at the top, his breathing only slightly elevated.

“Stairs? No problem!” He said with a large grin across his face even though his leg felt like it was filled with magma, seeming to light his nerves on fire. Twilight stood still for a moment, not sure of what exactly happened, before walking up the stairs to meet him and showing him to the living area where he would be residing.

“This is where you'll be staying” She said waving her front leg in a sweeping motion, identifying the area. “You can sleep on the couch if you'd like, I'll be back with some pillows and blankets.” She turned to walk away until he spoke.

“No need, thank you though. It's warm enough to where I won't be needing a blanket, and I can just use my coat as a pillow. Speaking of, where is it exactly?” He inquired, seeking the return of his beloved old Carhartt. Twilight trotted out of the room and returned shortly with the item in question in magical tow. She levitated it over to him. Upon inspection of the heavy piece of clothing, he found that the front of the right sleeve and shoulder had been covered in dried blood. He gingerly rubbed his head and winced at the memory. “Anyway, you said that you had questions for me?” he asked as he made his way to the sofa, large enough to hold three ponies sitting, comfortably. He stuffed his coat into the corner of the couch, between the “armrest” and the cushions to be used as a pillow. Twilight was about to speak until he began to actually get from standing to laying on the relatively small piece of furniture. He leaned his crutch against the wall just next to the part of the couch where he intended to lay his head and hopped wobblingly in front of the sofa. He bent down and placed his right hand onto the center cushion and, with remarkable dexterity, jumped sideways so that his right leg landed on the other “armrest” with his body perpendicular to the floor. He then proceeded to slowly lower himself down before rolling onto his back, finally in a position comfortable enough to relax. His muscles still ached from walking all the way down here, not to mention he still had an uncounted number of bruises along his being from the crash. He turned to the purple unicorn expecting an onslaught of questions only to see her jaw almost touching the floor in awe at the athletic feat he had just performed. After seeing this expression his only reply was “Couches? No Problem!” After finally snapping back into reality with a shake of her head, she began the interrogation.

“Okay, wow...um....okay.” She began, her methods textbook examples of those used against hardened criminals. “Uhh....right, you said that your world had unicorns and pegasi as a part of its mythology, could you tell me more about that?” Finally finding a coherent sentence in the jumbled soup of words that spilled out of her mouth. Marckus shifted slightly in the sofa as he readied himself, meanwhile, Twilight had levitated a quill, ink, and plenty of parchment to take notes on and a large pillow to lie down on.

“Well, let's start with pegasi, shall we?” The quill quickly jotting something down as the lavender mare leaned closer, her eyes aglow. “The Pegasus, or Pegasos in its native language, is part of a mythology associated with the cultures of Ancient Greece, a relatively small country located in a temperate climate zone on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea, but I'll get more into geography another time.” The feather pen continuing to scribble down what seemed to be his every word. “He is a winged divine horse, usually white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god, and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa. He was the brother of Chrysaor, born at a single birthing when his mother was decapitated by Perseus. Greco-Roman poets write about his ascent to heaven after his birth and his obeisance to Zeus, king of the gods, who instructed him to bring lightning and thunder from Olympus. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mt. Helicon. He was captured by the Greek hero Bellerophon near the fountain Peirene with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits. His rider, however, falls off his back trying to reach Mount Olympus. Zeus transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him in the sky.”

As he finished his tale, he turned to face Twilight only to see her face bright with silent enthusiasm at all of these unknown names and places. The quill feverishly jotting down every last detail. She did so love the unknown, if only for the fact that what is unknown can be studied, and eventually become known. The smile on her face big enough to rival Pinkie's. He shuddered inwardly at the comparison, as something seemed amiss with that one. He couldn't put his finger on it but she definitely seemed out of the ordinary. Or maybe she wasn't, he couldn't tell. “That about sums it up.” He said, the unicorns mouth, still agape. “Shall I move onto unicorns, or do you want to take a break for the night”

“Uhh...abnu....wha...” was all she could manage as she looked over the new log of information floating next to her.

“I think it'd be best if we continued tomorrow.” He answered for her, subconsciously rubbing his eyes, trying to make his fiery torrent of a migraine ease. She complied by rolling up the scroll and placing it, the pen, and the ink well on a nearby table. “Oh, and again, I can't thank you enough for letting me stay here. I'll make sure to repay the favor somehow.” He said as the purple mare stood from the plush cushion and began to walk away.

“Don't worry about it, it's the least I could do.” She replied with a heart warming smile. She proceeded to walk to what he could only assume was her bedroom. '...the least I could do.' The thought played out in his mind. These ponies were so ready to give, wanting nothing in return. A moral he had been taught and followed his entire life, and yet, it was so foreign to him. He smiled to himself at the concept of selfless beings and turned on his good side, careful not to strain anything. He fluffed up the heavy-duty coat he was using as a pillow as much as he could before resting his head on it, slowly allowing the sand man to escort him to his own special world. In his slumber, he finally found peace. For once in what seemed to be a great while, he dreamed.

To be continued...

Chapter 5

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 5
by FeralFox

As the sun began its march towards its zenith, just peeking over the horizon, a small shaft of golden light permeated the room. Twilight began to stir from her pleasant slumber as the small bedchamber was relieved of the sleepy darkness. She gently stretched her limbs, quickly meeting their resistance, only wanting to remain in the comfortable position. As blood began to rejuvenate the waking unicorn, she rubbed the dried crusts that plagued her eyes. As she opened them she was greeted by the beautiful morning sky peering bashfully through partially closed curtains. She stood from her bed and opened them to allow the morning glory to flood her room and bathe her in its warmth. As her mind came to focus, she recalled the last days events. She quickly turned to see tiny beams of light drifting past the leaves of the great tree she resided in, through a rather large hole in her roof. With a hint of panic, she quickly trotted down the hall, into the living area to see Marckus still lying on the sofa. She let out a gentle sigh of relief at recalling that there was no threat to fear. She took note that he had stripped himself of his several layers of clothing that covered his torso during the night, preferring to use them as padding between his thighs. He lay on his right side, facing the back of the couch, only allowing Twilight to gaze at his long back and broad shoulders. His muscles were stretched taught against his small frame, which was notably smaller without his several shirts to increase his volume. His muscles were not bulky, but lithe and sculpted, boasting more strength than one would believe at first glance. Normally a pony's muscles couldn't be seen through their coats, unless they were performing some tasking labor, but that would give no time to take note. Twilight was captivated at this sight, seeing the different groups of fibrous tissue that provided motor function, perfectly symmetrical across his spine. It was so fascinating, so....exotic

She quickly shook the shook the strange thought away from her mind as she also noticed the bandages around his waist and the many bruises along his arms and sides. With a ginger touch she shook the man with her hoof, beckoning him back to the world of the waking. He began to shift and stretch delicately, minding his injuries. Twilight could only stare at the tight bundles of muscle as they contracted and relaxed, blood now circulating through them, only increasing their size ever so slightly. He rolled lazily onto his back, his incarcerated forearm sitting on his wrapped stomach, giving the bewildered mare another show of the result of the many years of manual labor he had performed. His chest was slightly lined with small, black hairs, similar to those which coated his jaw, but his toned physique could be seen just as clearly. The dual plateaus on his chest rose gently from his ribs, only to be parted by the valley that marked the location of his sternum, the bone-like mass of cartilage that connected his battered ribcage together. She could also not help but notice his nipples, something also normally hidden by fur, standing as lone points atop each of his mounds of strength. Twilight was once again entranced as she watched the steady rise and fall of his chest as he breathed softly in his sleep. She may have “studied” him like this for hours if not for the recall to reality in the form of a certain baby dragon pronouncing the day's first meal was almost complete. Once she snapped back, she raised a hoof, only to stop mid-motion, scanning the side she was presented with for a place to shake him from.

I don't want to touch his shoulder, because it might still be sore from being dislocated. Her hoof shifted down, under his arm to his side. Can't touch there, his ribs are cracked. It hovered down toward his leg. Nope, fractured. She glanced back up at his torso. As much as she didn't want to, or maybe she did want to, she reached over his arm and gently placed her hoof on his right pectoral, the relaxed muscle impressing slightly at the pressure, and she proceeded to shake him awake.

Marckus began to stir from his peaceful world, back into that of the conscious. He grumbled something incomprehensible at the unknown stimuli. He slowly opened his eyes, allowing them to adjust to the dim light that cascaded around him. As the images began to sharpen he noticed the pair of amethyst eyes looking back....all to closely. He gave a startled shout as his body tensed up in reflex to defend himself from whatever dominated his sight. Simultaneous a shriek of terror could be heard from whatever had been hovering over him, as it jumped away from the outburst. Quickly he braced himself with his right arm on the couch and raised himself into a sitting position, dragging his rear-end back towards where his head had rested. He looked on to see the kind, lavender unicorn standing across the room, cautious of his every movement.

“Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! You just startled me, that's all.” He gave a reassuring smile as she relaxed and began to walk back to his side. “Next time, be sure to give me a few inches of breathing room.” He said with a light chuckle as he retrieved his clothing from betwixt his legs. As he opened the bottom of the three articles of clothing, all still neatly inside one another, he softly slid his left arm through its proper sleeves, and repeated the process with his right, then he brought the clothes down over his head and squirmed his way to the neck hole. As he squirmed, he couldn't help but feel like he was being watched. As he popped his head out of the collective collars, he found a very intrigued Twilight, staring intently as he brought the base of the clothes down over his wounded abdomen. Dismissing it as observation of movement, he swung his legs off the side of the small furnishing on which he slept, and placed them on the floor. Reaching for his crutch, he heard a new voice call from beyond his sight.

“Twilight! Breakfast is ready!” The idea of food brought him great joy as he was berated by his gut in burbles and grumbles.

“Mmm, that sounds marvelous!” He said, rising to his feet, in favor of his right side.

“I agree,” Twilight said, turning from her “observations” and walking across the room to an adjacent kitchen area. “some food could do us both worlds of good right now.” Upon entering the smaller room with a crouch and a hop, he found himself confronted by another shriek of surprisingly similar pitch.

“AAH! Twilight, look out! Its gonna eat you!” Screamed the frightened reptilian-looking creature.

“Calm down, Spike, he's not going to be eating anypony. This is Marckus, and he's from a different world. He's very nice, so don't you worry your pretty little head. Now, what's for breakfast?” Spoke the purple pony. Spike returned from behind the small dining placement and grabbed two plates of what looked like roughage and different flowers.

“Breakfast, compliments of the chef!” He said, happy to serve another well cooked meal. The tall man's face dropped at this sight. “Oh...um...s-sorry, Marckus, but I-I wasn't expecting company.” Twilight's face gleamed as a thought entered her mind

“I'm so sorry to be rude, but what exactly do you eat for breakfast in your world? Do you even have a morning meal?” The interested unicorn inquired.

“Yeah, I have breakfast, but...” his face seemed to drop even more at the sight of what he believed to be a regular meal in this world. “I don't suppose you have any eggs, or bacon, or sausage, or pancakes?” The lavender mare's expression turned from one of interest to one of shock and disgust.

“You EAT eggs?!” Noticing the only familiar food he had listed. He let out an uncomfortable sigh as he readied himself to admit something that could prove terrifying to these herbivorous creatures.

“Well....yeah...I'm kinda an omnivore...” He reached up and put a hooked finger inside his mouth, pulling it back to reveal his sharper teeth, in addition to his flatter, grinding teeth. Torn between fascination at his beautifully unique dental structure and fear at his possible future blood-lust, she came to a satisfying middle-ground, hope that he would eat something else besides her and her friends.

“S-soo...that means that you don't have to eat meat....right?” She asked hesitantly.

“I could, but it wouldn't be too healthy. I need lots of protein. I could get some from nuts and legumes, but it wouldn't be enough, I'm afraid. But don't get me wrong, I would never eat you, or any of the other folks of this world.” She let out a sigh with a mix of relief and stress. “I don't really want to ask any more of you than I have to, but if I can at least be allowed a few eggs for breakfast, or catch some fish for lunch or dinner, I could prob'ly get by the rest of the day on fruits and veggies.” The hungry man attempted to reason to the logical pony, hoping that she would understand.

“Well...we're just gonna have to talk to Fluttershy about this. I know she'll be resistant at first, but she knows better that anypony else that carnivores have to eat other creatures to survive.” She glanced back up at him with a smile, which he returned with one of his own. “For now, would you mind if Spike and I ate our meals before we set out, I don't mean to be rude.”

“Not at all, but could I trouble you for a glass of milk, preferably that of a cow?” He specified, hoping not to disturb or offend the female mammal currently sitting in front of him. He wasn't quite sure if her species did in fact produce milk, but he wasn't going to chance an awkward conversation from his kind hostess.

“Of course. No trouble at all.” A bottle of milk levitated from the fridge in the corner of the kitchenette and a glass from a nearby cupboard. The glass landed on the counter as the bottle began to drain itself into the glass. Once the glass was topped off, it floated back to its home. He grabbed the glass and swirled the with liquid around before looking at it hesitantly. “Something wrong?” She asked with a concerned look on her face. She had given him what he had asked for, so why shouldn't she be concerned?

“Well, you see” he began, not wanting to reject the continued hospitality, “we pasteurize our milk, because it comes from a different animal and can tend to upset our stomachs.” he saw the disappointment on her face and quickly tried to change the outcome of the subject. “But I have a pretty strong stomach, and I have been drinking it for years, so no big deal!” He said with a smile before taking a hearty gulp of the bovine by-product. As he lowered the glass, the purple unicorn gave out a muffled snicker as she saw a mustache of milk covering his one of hair. She tried to cover her mouth with a forehoof, but to no avail, she couldn't stop herself from laughing. Spike turned from his plate to witness what hilarity issued behind him and burst out in a less controlled fit of laughter. Marckus glanced between them with a raised eyebrow to his ignorance at what was so funny. Soon he found his lip turning cold as the cow juice permeated his facial hair and soaked his skin. He looked down to see that he was the source of the bouts of giggles from the two seated in front of him, as his lip was now comically shaded a color that dittoed that of his beverage. As his cheeks burned with newly arriving blood, he sucked his lip into his mouth to extract the offending liquid and ending the hysterical event all too soon. Twilight and Spike calmed down and returned to eating as a pleasant silence rested amongst them.

The plates were cleared and placed in the sink to be cleaned by Spike as he and Twilight made their way out in to the living area.

“Now that that's out of the way, lets see about getting you some food.” She said, slowly walking down the stairs, as Marckus leaped past, taking the stairs three at a time, but remaining cautious. They made their way to the front of the library and Twilight opened the door with a quick use of what he believed now were telekinetic powers of some kind. He made his way quickly out of the building and into the street. He had become a master of traversing small doorways on one leg. Luckily for him, the library was near the edge of town and they passed only a few pedestrians on the way to Fluttershy's cottage. It was a quaint little thing, also a hollowed out great deciduous tree, stood at the edge of the forest that its occupant had so clearly been afraid of. They made their way to the front porch and Marckus had decided to stay back a bit for this confrontation, seeing how frightened the canary pegasus was of him, even before she knew he consumed meat. He could only imagine the reaction he would get upon her discovery of said eating habits.

Twilight advanced on the front door and gave a quiet triplet of knocks and waited for a response. Soon the door was cracked open to reveal a blue eye peeking out from behind the door.

“Oh, hello Twilight, what brings you down here?” She spoke no louder than a whisper.

“Well, I have to ask you something that you may not want to hear.” Explained Twilight. “It has to do with Marckus.” She sidestepped to reveal the tall man standing a safe distance away, waving slightly at the mention of his name. Fluttershy's eye went wide at the sight of him but she didn't run away, she simply nodded to signify that she understood. “You know better than anypony how certain creatures have to eat other creatures to survive, right?” She said, recalling an earlier statement. The blue eye bobbed up and down in a hesitant nod. “Well, you see, Marckus is an omnivore, so he can eat fruits and vegetables, but...” Fluttershy's eye widened and began to water as she realized what Twilight was about to say. “he needs protein to stay healthy, and to get that protein, he has to eat something like meat, or fish, or eggs. So, we were hoping that you could spare a few eggs, or some fish for today, but only a few!” She tried to reassure her teary friend “he says he can manage the rest of the day without any more.” The yellow mare closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Yes.”

“But, he doesn't have to take that many, and how many times have you given a bear a-- wait what?” The unicorn had a perplexed look on her face.

“I understand. He can have a few eggs, but only four or five.” She said, all too familiar with the circle of life, and what one must do to survive. It was her passion to take care of animals, but if a few of many had to die to save the one and only, than it had to be so. She opened the door wider and stepped out. “Follow me, I'll take you to the coop.”

“Thank you, so very much!” Marckus said, an expression of true thankfulness adorned his face. Fluttershy slowed down to hover next to the tall man, letting Twilight lead for the moment.

“No, thank you.” She said, only loud enough for him to hear.

“What are you talking about?” He said, honestly ignorant as to what he, of all people, should be thanked for.

“You're risking your own health trying to keep everything the way it was. I know, judging by how big you are, that a few eggs isn't really enough protein to keep you healthy for long. So, thank you.” He knew this to be true, but hoped that they would not know. Being so large, he did require much more than a few eggs, but these ponies had shown him such generosity in such a short time, he didn't feel that he could take any more from them. He would return the favor, if it was the last thing he did.

She flew ahead to lead them once again, to the chicken coop. She proceeded to carry a basket lined with hey into the coop and retrieve some eggs. She returned shortly with the basket full.

“One question, really quick. How do you eat the eggs anyway?” Twilight asked, her lust for knowledge once again taking priority in her mind.

Hmm, how should I cook these? Scrambled? No. Hard boiled? Nah. Sunny-side up? Maybe another time. Ah-ha! “I know a way that you may even want to try” He said with a happy grin on his face, the two mares looking at each other with a raised eye-brow.

They had returned to the library, eggs and Fluttershy in tow, and had entered the kitchen where Spike had long since finished cleaning up their breakfast. But now it was time to make his own.

“If you don't mind, I'll need a few things.” Marckus said, commanding the tiny kitchen.

“Sure, whatcha need?” Twilight asked, still interested in how he was going to make eating eggs appetizing.

“Let's see...I need a frying pan,” he said as he lit the stove burner with a match. A pan floated into his grasp and he set it down on the low flame. “Um...a bowl to mix, some flour, some milk, and some butter, please.” As he listed off the items, they floated onto the nearby counter. While holding his crutch under his arm with his arm from his shoulder to his elbow, he used what little mobility he had left in his forearm to cook. He awkwardly took an egg and cracked it on the counter's edge. The two mares flinched a bit. With surprising dexterity, he split the eggshell with his two fingers and his thumb, letting it's contents spill out into the bowl. He repeated the process with the other eggs and then dumped in about six cups of flour and almost a quart of milk into the bowl. Seeing as they she was a pony, he did not expect Twilight to keep a fork in her kitchen, so he reached into his jean's pocket to pull out a small rectangular object that consisted of a mess of metal components flanked by two beautifully crafted wooden pieces that made both a cover, and a handle. It was a Swill Army Knife. He used his teeth to extend the cork puller that he proceeded to use in place of a whisk. Twilight was once again fascinated by the strange object he pulled from his garments as he whisked the mixture in the bowl into a fluffy, soup-like texture. Carefully placing his tool in the sink to be washed and sanitized, he took a bit of butter from the tray and threw it onto the pan. He poured some of the batter into the pan and let it cook. After about thirty seconds or so, he flipped the solidifying disk with his hand and cooked it on its other side. Fluttershy, Twilight, and even Spike had been captivated by his cooking, not only because it was something completely new to them, but because he was doing this all with one arm, if that. He repeated the process numerous times until he had a stack of soft, fluffy, golden-brown disks all stacked neatly on top of one another. He placed the plate down on the table in front of the three bewildered spectators.

“May I present to you: Pancakes!” Marckus exclaimed, proud of his culinary feats. “Go ahead, try it. I don't expect you to like them, but it wouldn't hurt, right?” After Twilight levitated plates to the three of them, the one for Marckus being the one with the stack of pancakes on it, she placed a pancake on each of their plates. “Oh, and one more thing!” He said, reaching back and grabbing his tool from the sink. He washed off the corkscrew and put it away, only to produce a long knife. He used the knife to scoop some butter off of its tray and plop it down on his stack before viciously devouring it, while somehow minding his table manners. He was down to his last half-pancake and the others had only starred at his feast, seemingly with interest. He scarfed it down and the stared however impolitely at Twilight's delicious morsel of a breakfast food. “Um...you gonna eat that?” She shrugged her shouders slowly. “Why don't you try it? You don't have to like it.” Slowly but surely, the three of them all took one hesitant bite, chewing it just as slow. A collective of “mmm's” could be heard from the table as they seemed to have enjoyed their first bite. Marckus leaned in closer the the middle of the group, causing them to follow suit. “The best part is...” They leaned in closer “you don't have to use egg. You can use a soy replacement!” They all gasped collectively and then devoured their new meals, knowing now that it wouldn't be wrong for them to make more.

They all convened in the living area to digest, bellies bulging in delight, as Twilight wrote down the specifics of the recipe, mostly for Spike's sake, as she was a disaster in the kitchen. Suddenly, Fluttershy sat up, eyes wide.

“Fluttershy, whats wrong?” The lavender unicorn asked.

“Rarity's going to be back in town later today, and she still doesn't know about Marckus!” She explained. “We should probably stop by the Carousel Boutique as soon as she gets back.”

“That's a great idea, that way we can have the whole gang up to speed.” Twilight agreed. Marckus looked on with a worried expression on his face. “Don't worry, she's one of our friends, and I'm sure she'll be happy to meet you.” She gave a light smile and his expression softened.

To be continued...

Chapter 6

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 6
by FeralFox

Marckus, Spike, and the two ponies, Twilight and Fluttershy, had finished digesting their new favorite breakfast foods and had since been occupying their time with idle chatter. Marckus had mostly been listening intently at the stories the others were telling, even though they were quite trivial in their eyes. Twilight had spoken about her recent studies, after explaining her status as student under the tutelage of the ruler of this place: one known as Princess Celestia. Twilight had stressed several times that he meet with her in order to quell the situation and hopefully send him on his way back home, only to quickly decline her own offerings as she further explained that he was in no physical condition to make the trip all the way to a place called “Canterlot”. He had laughed at the similarity between his own world's Camelot, and how it seemed a portion of the name was replaced with a word used to describe the gait of a horse. Fluttershy had been recalling her experiences tending to most of the creatures that roamed the town and the nearby forests and such. She did not speak much, and what she did say was said in a hesitant, hushed tone. He was fascinated at how it was someone's job to feed and care to the animals, as opposed to letting natural instinct take course. Spike had been reveling in his attempts to gain the love of the last in their group of friends he was to meet: a unicorn by the name of Rarity. He recalled stories of manual labor and other such tasks that he performed only to be rewarded with a simple “thank you” and be sent on his way. Marckus had wondered how the scaly fellow hadn't noticed by now that she wasn't interested, but quickly put the thought out of his mind. As Spike had finished speaking, it seemed as though he had passed an invisible beacon into his lap, as the others, Spike included, shifted their collective attention to Marckus. He sat there quietly for a moment, still awaiting more from what he had been told was a baby dragon, he soon felt the eyes upon him. His mind drew a blank as he every conversation topic he thought of was quickly extinguished by him telling himself “they won't know what a quarter of what I say will mean.” He hastily attempted to change the situation.

“I...um...well the--...uhh.” His expansive vocabulary obviously earning the questioning looks on the others' faces. “Well, speaking of, if I'm to meet this friend of yours, I should probably clean myself up. I hope to make a better first impression on her than on you, considering I have the ability to do so.” He scratched the back of his neck and chuckled while looking down at the “impression” that he left on his arm. “You wouldn't happen to have a shower, would you?” He hoped that they at least had developed running water.

“Oh, of course, what a good idea. Right this way.” Twilight said, leaving his side from the sofa and walking down the hall, only to stop and wait for him. He placed his hand on the back of the couch and lifted himself to his feet, or to his foot, rather. He retrieved his crutch from the wall beside him and regained his balance.

“I'm sorry, but if you'll excuse me.” He said as he hobbled backwards, still looking at the two left sitting. They both nodded and he turned around to follow the lavender mare down the hall. After a small bend in the low corridor, she stopped at a simple wooden door. She opened it to reveal an equally simple bathroom. Small, with an oval, podium sink and mirror to the left, a small toilet just passed it, flanked by a wall in addition to the sink. In the center wall sat a small window with stained-glass for privacy, a classy touch. On the right was, to his dismay, a very small tub. It was a beautiful, classic four leg ceramic tub with a faucet in the middle on the side nearest the wall, but was small nonetheless. She pointed out the towels on the bar which hung on the opposite side of the door, currently banished from his sight by the completely visible side which faced him. She stepped aside after also pointing out the shampoos and soaps on the shelf that hung just above the tub, allowing him entrance. He walked in and shut the door behind him and placed his crutch in the corner of the room, just beside the sink.

As he lifted the bottom of his sweater and shirt to loosen his belt, he couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

Hmm... he thought to himself. He scanned the room once again, trying to find anywhere someone could be spying on him through. He leaned over the sink and touched his index finger the the mirror. He saw that there was a space between his “two” fingers. Not touching, single-sided. He looked more closely at the window. Can't see squat through that window... He looked over the solid-wood walls for any knots that might be pulled out, only to find none at all. Upon the close of his inspection, he dismissed the thought as he being nervous in someone else's bathroom.

He proceeded to remove the sling that held his arm aloft, keeping weight off of his shoulder, loosen his belt, and remove his shirts over his head. He had gotten his head and right arm out only to stop at what he thought to be the sound of scribbling on parchment. Again, he ignored it. Once his imprisoned arm was carefully extracted from its sleeve, he folded the three concentric shirts into a neat square and placed them on the sink. He carefully unwound the bandages that encased his abdomen and rolled them up for re-use, placing them on top of his shirts. He sat down on the edge of the tub and removed the custom-fit brace from his leg and set it on the sink as well, wincing at the pressure on his healing limb. He reached behind him and turned on the faucet, plugging the tub and monitoring the temperature of the water. He looked over the several bath soaps and salts, oils and bubble baths, and gave each an experimental sniff. Considering he hadn't taken a bath in a decade or so, he decided to give himself a treat. He selected a few mineral salts, and a bubble bath mixture that smelt of lavender and some tropical fruit, the name of which escaped his mind, and mixed them into the rising liquid. He bent over his lap and untied the laces on his boots and wiggled each off, letting it fall to the floor in a loud “thud”. It was a great relief to rid himself of the heavy things. Each weighed at least nine pounds, being made partially out of steel duo to his larger-than-average feet. He slipped off each of his socks and placed them into their corresponding boot, then sliding the boots to the base of the sink. Once the hot water had climbed to his liking, he shut off the faucet and stood. He undid the button and fly of his denim pants and gripped the waistline. Giving the room a last once-over, he dropped trou' and stepped out of the pant-legs, leaving his pants and boxers in a small lump on the floor. After bracing himself on the low tub he believed he heard a gasp from somewhere. He quickly stepped into the soothing mixture of minerals and bubbles and lowered himself in.

“Man, I really need this. I'm starting to get paranoid.” He thought to himself as he let a few groans of pleasure escape his lips. The tub only rose to meet his knees while he stood, forcing him to sink very low to submerge himself. The tub was also quite short leaving him in an awkward position. He managed to get most of his torso underwater, the water level now nearing the brim. He lay with his arms on each side of the tub, with his shoulders and above still dry. He intended to keep his cast-arm dry, but did want to wash his hair at some point, which now seemed to be more difficult than he believed. From the knees down, his legs jutted out of the water, forcing him to rest his feet on the far edge of the tub. He just relaxed and soaked in the warm substance, his mind drifting into a blissful haze. He had wanted to clean himself as quickly as possible, but now he questioned if he ever wanted to exit the increasingly comfortable fixture. He decided to do as he originally intended, but at a speed that would give praise to the word “snail”. With his more-or less undamaged arm, he draped water over his shoulders and scrubbed his chest and arms. He began washing his stomach, minding the bruises, but that quickly devolved into rubbing warm circles into his abdomen, causing him to slowly drift away into an ecstasy-induced half-sleep.

“Need any help?” The purple unicorn asked nonchalantly.

“Aah—mahrfbblrrllbbbbbrll!!!!” He jumped at the unexpected presence of anything else in the usually intimately private room. His feet slipped off the tub, causing the rest of his body to slide down, quickly bringing his head down under the bubbly surface. He flailed his arms about until he finally gripped the side with his good arm, bringing his soaking head back up to meet a less-than-should-be surprised Twilight. His face contorted in pain and shock, his eyes wide and his jaw nearly falling back into the water, while she wore a helpful smile. He breathed heavy as he tried desperately to cover himself up, in need of more arm to do so, he settled down lower into the water and spread a layer of foam over the entirety of the water. “Why are you in here?!” He practically shouted.

“I was just offering some help. I remembered that your arm was broken, so I thought I'd give you a hoof.” Considering the fact that they normally didn't wear cloths, at least not to his knowledge, he concluded that this was a standard occurance.

“Couldn't you have at least knocked?!” His voice still raised at the senseless intrusion on his pleasant bath time. He noticed his newly moistened hair and reached for a shampoo, pouring some directly onto his head, rubbing it into a lather, hoping to end this uncomfortable situation as soon as possible. Once it was thoroughly washed, he dunked his head back under the water and wiped the substance from his dark chestnut locks. As the water left his eyes, he saw lavender mare closing the already small gap between them with a brush telekinetically floating beside her. Just before she was about to lean over the edge of the tub he shoved an arm out defensively, trying to cover himself up more desperately than before. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! I-I've got it handled! No need to get closer or anything, in fact why don't you go talk with your guests?” He really wanted, no, needed her to leave the room. Not even in high school OR trade school did he shower with others, let alone female others. He never was a socialite, but he was even less-so around women. He tended to keep quiet to stop himself from inevitably making a fool of himself.

“Don't worry, Fluttershy just loves talking to Spike. She's been wanting to know everything about him since his birth but hasn't gotten a chance to talk, so this is a perfect opportunity. Besides, don't you need help with getting your harder to reach areas? Speaking of, where are those? How flexible are your limbs? Can you reach your back?” He felt the situation diffuse some as he was bombarded with questions of how limber he was. Leaning towards scientific inquiry, he felt more comfortable, some how. Like getting a physical from a female doctor, even though they handle your.....certain areas, it's much different than if you had your significant other putting you through such...procedures. He resumed washing himself as Twilight sat a safe distance away, firing off questions involving range of movement, ligaments, tendons, muscles and other technical aspects of organic locomotion. She once again retrieved her quill and parchment, excited to add a new chapter in the “human” section of her massive library. He had asked her to look over her extensive notes as an excuse for averting her gleaming eyes. As quickly as he possibly could with one arm, he washed “himself” and the inside of his thighs. As soon as she turned back from re-reading, he had finished and proceeded to wash his legs and achy feet. Once he finished washing his feet, the curious pony asked to examine them, wanting to know the inner workings of the strange platforms. After another session of question asking and note taking, she had been intellectually satisfied.

“Thanks for talking! I really appreciate it!” She said with a contented smile.

“Thanks for listening!” He truly enjoyed having intellectual conversations with her, even if they were almost completely one-sided. “And with your last question, my relaxing bath has sadly concluded.” He said as he lifted himself into an upright position.

“What good timing!” The unicorn said with a smile. Her horn began to glow with the faint blue aura as it usually does, except he didn't see what she was levitating. Suddenly the water level in the tub began to decline very quickly. She had unstopped the drain! Finding his cover slipping away faster than he'd like, Twilight had turned back to give him a towel from the bar. He leaned out as far as he could and grabbed it, to keep the distance between her and an uncomfortably exposed him at a maximum. Unfortunately, she continued to approach him, so he pushed his legs together, ignoring the searing hot pain that shot through his left thigh to avoid embarrassment, and shrouded his waist and groin with the linen. She stood there smiling, waiting for him to get out, blissfully unaware of the harsh scarlet that blossomed from his burning cheeks. “Well, come on, we don't have all day!” She beckoned, not moving otherwise.

“Uh...ya see...I can't really do that with you in here. Being bipedal, if I were to stand up, my ....anatomy...would be exposed. That's kinda why I always wear pants...” He quickly became more interested in a particular pattern of grain in the hard wood floor than anything else in the room. The sudden realization struck Twilight as she simply nodded and walked out, shutting the door. He didn't here her walk away, so he assumed she was waiting for him, but giving him a little much needed privacy. He dried himself off and donned his former attire, and left the room to see that Twilight had indeed been waiting for him, her collective notes floating lazily beside her. He reached back to close the door and took a moment to appreciate the brushed copper door knob. A simple lever parallel to the ground, to be pushed down and counter-clockwise. The small old-fashioned skeleton key hole.

Wait a minute. He bent down and peered through the key hole to reveal the entire bathroom playing out before his eyes. He turned back, eyes wide, mouth agape, to see a one Twilight Sparkle happily trotting down the hallway, back to the living area. Had he been crouched down any more, his mouth would have hit the floor.

To be continued...

Chapter 7

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 7
by FeralFox

As he hobbled down the small corridor, he frantically told himself that if she had been looking through that keyhole, it was purely for scientific study. Some such nonsense as not letting the subject know it's being observed. Once he entered the living area, Spike and Fluttershy had stopped talking and were standing by the staircase that led down to the library section of, well, the Library. Twilight had also joined them as they waited patiently for the crippled man. Once he reached them, they started down the steps, Marckus once again taking them three at a time due to their tiny size. They made their way out of the library, but to his discomfort, walked towards the center of town. It was midday and the sun showered them in its endless brilliance, leaving small shadows around their feet. The town was much busier than before, all the shops open, the vendors tending to their kiosks, and streets bustling with potential customers. As was to be expected, they let out a multitude of gasps and shouts, but only a few doors were shut. Most of the ponies stood and watched cautiously. The tension in the air was palpable. The four silently made their way to a circular building near the center of town, while most of the citizens quickly began going about their business in order to leave.

“Here we are” began the purple unicorn, “the Carousel Boutique! Home of our friend - Rarity.” She walked up to the door and gave a knock that sounded similar to “shave and a haircut, two bits” Twilight stepped back from the doorway, flanked on either side by Marckus and Spike. Fluttershy was timidly waiting behind them. The sound of hoofsteps could be heard from behind the elegant door, quickly approaching. It slowly opened to reveal another unicorn, with an alabaster coat and a beautifully quaffed mane of dazzling amethyst.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique,” she began, her eyes closed, her cheeks pulled into a polite smile, “where everything is shique, unique, and magnefique...” Her sentence trailed off as she opened her eyes to meet not only Twilight, but the waistline of a rather intimidating man, towering over her. Her brilliant blue eyes growing wide in expected terror. Marckus braced himself for what was sure to be a bout of screams, but instead, only hoarse rasps of attempted communication came from the startled mare. She began to wobble to and fro, until she collapsed on her side with a dull “thud”.

Inside the Boutique, Marckus could see what exactly was sold here. It appeared to be a haberdashery of some sorts. Pony mannequins lined the walls, dressed in very flashy gowns and suits. Many of them were drowning in feathers and sequins. Most of them seemed too formal to be worn to an event in such a quaint little village, but he didn't know their customs, so he couldn't tell. Spike was running about screaming for someone to do something, and had attempted what he assumed would have been cardiopulmonary resuscitation, but Twilight had quickly stepped in and banished him to the far wall opposite Marckus. He also stood at a wall, only to give the victimized pony “safety room”. He didn't want her to faint again, or hit him with something. These folks were getting harder and harder to predict. Fluttershy and Twilight surrounded the unconscious unicorn and waited for her to come about. She stirred slightly, slowly rising to her feet.

“Eh...wha-what happened?” She spoke quietly, trying to gather her thoughts. Twilight quickly moved in front of Rarity, hiding Marckus from view. “I remember opening my door and seeing you, Spike, and...” Suddenly her eyes went wide and she tensed up, “That beast! Where is it?!” She yelled out, frantically glancing around the room, looking for the creature in question.

“Calm down! Rarity! CALM DOWN!” Twilight screamed, collecting the attention of the frazzled mare. “Don't worry, you are in no danger.” Rarity began to calm down. “The beast you saw is actually a being from a different world, and he isn't here to cause any trouble.” The white unicorn once again became concerned as she slowly peered around Twilight's shoulder to see the ‘beast’ politely standing at the other end of the room, waving and smiling lightly. Her eyes widened again and she recoiled away.

“Twilight, look out! It's behind you, and it has a club!” She began backing away quickly, only to bump into the wall close behind her. She seemed to be trying to scramble up the wall, in search for higher ground. Twilight grabbed her with her forelegs and spun her around to face him. She struggled and tried to scream, but the lavender pony had bound her hooves to the floor and muzzled her snout with the same faint aura that came from her horn. “HMMM HRMRRRRMMRFFFRR!!!!” She stopped struggling and settled for shaking in her ethereal bonds.

“Calm down! He's not going to hurt you! Why don't you take a moment to tell me what you see about him. Maybe then you'll realize that you're in no danger.” The glow surrounding the shuddering unicorn faded away.

“I see a blood-thirsty monster with a club waiting to—mrrff.” Her sentence was cut short by the return of the translucent muzzle. Twilight walked in front of her and looked her dead in the eyes.

“I want you to calm down, and tell me what your brain sees, not just what your eyes see.” She hesitantly stepped aside. The gag had vanished once more.

“I...see some thing...with a brace on its leg...” She stopped shaking, “leaning on a crutch...” Her expression softened, “a bandaged head...and a smile on its face.” Her gaze dropped down to the floor, her face betraying an apology. “Oh dear, I seem to have been terribly mistaken. Twilight, I am so sorry.” She looked up with a sorrowful expression playing out across her seemingly flawless features.

“I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.” Twilight said with a tone of comfort and understanding. She motioned with her head towards Marckus, still silently watching from across the room, as the shackles around the other unicorn's hooves dissipating into thin air. She slowly approached Marckus, still cautious of his every move. He remained completely still, allowing her to stop in front of him and look up into his eyes, his face soft and friendly.

“I am sorry for being so rude, it was completely uncalled for. My name is Rarity, and what might yours be?” She asked, her soft, eloquent accent returning in full force. He picked up on this and assumed she was some sort of upper-class kind of pony.

“My name is Marckus, a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” He gave a courteous bow while keeping his smile firmly in place.

“Oh my, such a gentle...”

“Man. Gentleman.” He helped her with her lack of pronouns.

“Yes, quite so. And I acted so tastelessly towards you, I do apologize.” She dropped her gaze once again to the floor and was pawing at the floor.

“Don't worry about it. It seems that that is the popular response anyways. I'm just glad you cared to take a closer look.” His smile had shifted motionlessly from being polite to forgiving and heartwarming.

“I will admit, at first glance, your towering figure was quite horrifying,” She took a few steps back and looked him over once more. “But now, you look so, regal.” A thought was beginning to fester inside the snow-white mare's mind

“Regal? I beg your pardon, but I'm not entirely sure I understand you. I'm leaning on a crutch with my arm in a cast and sling. I'm having difficulty finding anything regal about my stature.” He wore a questioning look as he attempted to make sense of the compliment.

“Oh, of course, darling! With your long limbs and broad shoulders, oh my yes! The way your clothes decorate your entire body, not just your back or head, just simply a world of possibilities!” The obviously intrigued fashionista's endlessly creative mind already working out designs to fit the unique new shape standing before her. “Oh, you simply must let me make you a suit! I insist!” He staggered at the request. He enjoyed dressing up in one of is few suits, because he felt classy and sophisticated, also, he just like looking dapper. Only on very few occasions was formal attire called for, and they were usually just weddings or funerals.

“I'm not sure I would be able to pay for a new suit. In fact, I know I can't, I have no money.” He said, trying not to rain on this excited pony's parade.

“No money required, darling. It would be my treat, of course.” She was still smiling as her horn lit up with an aura similar to that of Twilight's very own, but of a slightly different hue. Several measuring tapes and rolls of fabric were being levitated into place around the artistically inclined unicorn. A thought suddenly entered the imminently trapped man's mind.

“Do all unicorns have telekinetic powers?” All motion stopped as the two unicorns had looked at one another, pondering the question.

“What do you mean, 'telekinetic'?” Rarity inquired

“The ability to manipulate matter with your mind.” He said as though he had been reading a definition out of a book. “Both you and Twilight can do it.”

“While we do use our minds, we don't technically have telekinesis.” explained the more well-read of the two unicorns. “We use the magic that all unicorns are gifted with to lift objects. It is one of the most basic spells a unicorn learns. While most of a unicorn's magic is dependent on what their particular talent is, levitation comes naturally to all.”

“Magic, eh? Just like in the myths and fairy-tales in my world.” The concept of her species being part of another world had instantaneously lit a fire in Twilight's eyes as she had teleported a quill, ink, parchment, and a large cushion into the room, as though she had been waiting for him to speak of his world once more. “I suppose there's no going back now.” He said as he scratched the back of his neck. “Well, why don't you get your measurements while I weave my yarn of myth and legend.” He said, hoping to kill two birds with one stone. Now it was Rarity's turn to get excited as the measure tapes and fabrics began floating around, swirling around him in an elegant dance of creation.

He cleared his throat and began. “Well, unicorns are most closely related to early Fourteenth century, during the medieval era. They were told to be brilliant white horses with long spiraling horns protruding from their foreheads. They represented the purest and most innocent of beings as they brought harm to no creature and lived wild in the forests. It was said that a unicorn's horn could make poisoned water potable, and even cure sickness.” The tapes wrapped around his various parts as Rarity went about her task, but she had become too enthralled in his story to give it her full attention. Even Fluttershy and Spike had joined them from standing at the opposite wall. “It was also said that the unicorns possessed magical abilities, but none had witnessed any acts of magical prowess. They believed that if one were to obtain the horn, or even the blood of the unicorn, that they themselves would be gifted with magical talent, such as performing alchemy. Alchemy is the act of transforming one thing into another without need of a middle-ground, such as turning iron or stone into gold.” Line after line had been feverishly scratched into the floating parchment and all of the probing and prodding tapes and rulers had all but stopped collecting data. “All of this is just superstition and legend, because to this day, at least in my world, not a single unicorn had been proven to have existed. That just about concludes my lecture on unicorns, at least for now. My back and legs are killing me from standing around all day.” He rolled his shoulders and stretched out his back slightly to emphasize the stress on his badly damaged body. Rarity quickly walked behind him, jumped up to her hind legs, and with a gentle touch, pressed on his non-slung shoulder.

“No wonder, deary, your muscles are so tense and cramped, it's a wonder you've been standing this whole time. You simply must let me take you out to the spa! We could bring Twilight, Fluttershy and Spike. Ooh, what a marvelous idea! Besides, after letting me measure you, and gracing us with such a riveting tale, you deserve it! You could think of it as an apology for calling you such harsh names earlier.” She began to float her multitude of tools and such back to their respective places as Twilight had finished sending her own supplies back to who-knows-where.

I deserve it? Marckus thought to himself. All I did was tell a story and she's inviting me to a day at the spa? He had always wondered what the spa was like, but never had the time nor the extra money to investigate into such matters. He simply slapped the word “pleasant” into where his mind would have put a detailed description of the experience and left it at that.

“Uhmm...it's not expensive...is it?” He wouldn't ever let anyone treat him to something too expensive, because he always felt that he didn’t deserve it.

“Not at all, dear. The girls down at the spa simply love my continued patronage and are always happy to give a discount to friends of mine. Fluttershy and I go down almost every week.” The mention of her name made the canary Pegasus shrink away however slightly.

“Y-yes, they are so very nice down there. And I always feel refreshed and relaxed after the day with Rarity.” She spoke in her usual hushed tone, hiding behind her pink mane as it drooped lazily over her face.

“Very well, I'll go with you, but only if you're one hundred percent sure that it won't be too costly to you.” Marckus spoke with a very firm, unwavering tone, getting his point across one way or another.

“Oh, now no wonder you are so tense, you stress over such trivial matters. I'm sure, completely, that it's fine. Now, let’s get a move on before you turn into one big knot.” She motioned with her head for the others to exit through the front door before leading the debilitated man out herself.

They made their way down the busy streets of Ponyville, towards the Spa, and Celestia's golden orb floated majestically high above all, signifying that it was still sometime in the middle of the day. Marckus was once again berated by the screams and shouts of the denizens of the humble community.

“I really hope this doesn't become a daily occurrence.” The saddening man said, making it clear of his uncomfortableness.

“I'm sure that it won't be. These are kindhearted folk, I'm sure they'll come around...eventually.” Twilight said with just enough hesitation to upset Marckus even more. They had reached the Spa in relative silence and walked in.

“Welcome, Meez Rarity! Are you having...the....uzua--” The light blue mare with a pink mane who stood behind the counter froze mid-sentence, stricken with fear at the sight of the large man before her.

“Hello, Aloe, I'll take five full treatments today. Oh, and don't mind Marckus, he may seem intimidating, but he's as kind as Fluttershy. Completely harmless, I assure you.” He gave a warm smile and a small wave to the flabbergasted earth pony still in abject-terror. She slowly calmed down and invited them into a large room with a huge hot tub, several mud baths, massage tables, and the entrance to a sauna. The ponies were each given exquisitely soft bath robes and slippers to increase the comfort of this temple of relaxation.

All of the walls were painted a very soft, earthy-neutral color, with small windows located near the top of the walls, not really meant to look through, but more to let the gentle warming rays of the sun through - just enough to dimly light the room, but not enough to make it too bright. The Spa workers had put together several massage tables in order for the tall man to lie down comfortably. Considering they didn't seem to have a robe his size in stock, he settled for relieving himself of his two outer shirts, his boots and socks, and his belt. He still wore his white cotton undershirt, politely tucked into his jeans, said pants, and his boxers, still nicely out of view, underneath his pants. He lied down on the tables only to be asked if he wanted to remove the rest of his clothing, in order to receive a more deep-tissue massage. He complied and removed his undershirt and the bandages that encased his abdomen and returned to laying down. After he explained his recent injuries, he turned to see what exactly was keeping his masseur from performing the service that his tired muscles so desperately craved. Not only was his masseur staring, but so were most of the others in the room. His naked chest was so foreign to them all as all of the creatures that lived here had thick coats of fur that normally hid all of the muscles and bones currently on display in front of them all. He merely shrugged and lied back down, and waited for his massage.

He was at first hesitant to the thought of hard, stiff hooves grinding against his flesh and bone, but to his surprise, the masseur was very skilled. The massage started off soft, just loosening up his stiff joints and just trying to make him relax. Soon it turned very rough, the masseur was kneading into his inflamed tissue quite hard in order to push the blood out of the knots and relieve the stress. He did this for an amount of time lost to Marckus as he was wracked with ecstasy as his battered body began melting into the table, leaving a blissful shell of his self. As the earth pony manipulated his joints ever-so-slightly, and rubbed every achy muscle just right, he finally felt no pain. He let slip groans of pleasure as the light-brown pony with a black mane, stripped with electric blue, began to massage his feet, stimulating his nerve endings and sending sensations throughout his entire body. He wasn't sure, but he thought he had been asked to try some of the other services that the Spa had to offer. All that he was sure of is that he didn't want this to stop.

After a few hours of heaven, the others had finished with doing whatever exactly it was that they were doing and had coerced him off of the table and back into his former attire. He thanked the masseur and the nice mare at the front desk at least a thousand times as they left. The walk back was also much easier on his body. All of his joints rolling freely in their place, his muscles felt like jelly and melted butter. Eventually, they reached a cross-road and had said their thank-you's and good-bye's to Rarity, whom was so generous as to treat them to such a wonderful day, even after being scared half to death. Then to Fluttershy, who seemed a great deal more comfortable around him. Maybe it was because she saw just how vulnerable even a large man such as himself could become. He couldn't be sure. The remaining three entered the Library and made their way up the stairs where Marckus took his place on the couch and Twilight and Spike retired to the lavender mare's bedroom. He couldn't think of a better way to spend a day. In his mind he replaced the word “pleasant” simply with the word “more”.

Chapter 8

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 8
by FeralFox

As the morning Sun had crested the distant mountains, it showered its light upon all those who lived in the thriving kingdom below it, and on one particular creature who did not want to acknowledge the passing of the previous day. That one such creature was Marckus. He woke not only to the pleasant warm sun that greeted his being, encasing him in its warm brilliance, but also to the more dominant aches and pains that burned throughout his damaged body. The trip to the Spa in the previous day had melted away all of the stress and knots that were all too numerous in his muscles, only to return worse and in greater numbers than before. His bruised limbs pulled persistently at his battered bones, causing significantly more pain. Every movement was a task and every breath created another chocked back scream. He desperately needed some form of relief. As he turned over onto his back he let out an audible groan as several joints were extended and gave a multitude of “pops” in a futile attempt to relieve some of the pressure that had built up over night. The kind unicorn that had gracefully given him refuge had heard the plethora of noises and had entered the small living area from her own domicile just down the hall.

“Good morning, Marckus” Twilight said with a smile. “I bet you feel a million times better after that massage.” Her smile soon faded as she gazed upon the writhing man, whose discomfort was clearly apparent.

“Not particularly,” He tried to hide his pain but to no avail. He attempted to achieve a sitting position, and in doing so caused every nerve in his body to begin a torrent of screams telling him to cease all movement entirely. He winced and inhaled sharply through barred teeth as he squeezed his eyes shut. “in fact, I feel worse than yesterday morning.” He noticed a new look of concern weave its way across the lavender mare's face. “Not to worry, I'm sure it's just the morning cramps is all.” He wore a fake smile as he tried to reassure his hostess, but there was no fooling her.

“Don't even try and pretend, I can clearly see you are in an enormous amount of pain. Something has to be done about this. Normally, somepony in your condition would still be in the hospital and receiving medicine to help with the pain” She stressed the word hospital to emphasize his previous decision to make a hasty escape from said facility. His face lost all traces of a smile and his tone once again became stoic and unwavering.

“I've told you time and again, I refuse to accept any more medical attention from that clinic.” Twilight's mind raced as she tried to think of a way to help the stubborn man.

“Fine. If you don't want to get professional help, so be it. Get up, I'm taking you out. Maybe a walk and some fresh air would do you some good.” She knew just the thing to help him, but it wasn't just a walk she had in mind.

The crippled man swung his tired legs around off of the sofa as he grabbed the crutch that had accompanied him through most of his stay in this world. He pushed himself off the couch with his good arm and leaned on the large piece of timber. He arched his back backwards to which it responded with several resounding “cracks” making the purple mare cringe. He begrudgingly accepted her offer of a morning stroll if not only to stop her from worrying. They once again descended the stairs and made their way to the front door of the house of knowledge. Twilight had stopped to retrieve some saddlebags filled with something he couldn't quite make out. He decided not to pry as it was surely none of his business. They left the great tree home and started off in the direction of Fluttershy's Cottage. He was glad to be going away from the center of Town. He certainly did not want to cause another scene. They slowly ventured down the old dirt road for what seemed to be a good ten minutes before the familiar Hardwood Tree came into view.

“Are we stopping by Fluttershy's for breakfast again?” The tired man inquired.

“Nope.” Was her only response. He shrugged and continued hobbling alongside the strangely abrupt mare.

Once they had passed the cottage they walked for a short time until the road came to the entrance of a dark forest, one which he was informed of being “far too dark and scary”.

“I thought no one was allowed in this forest.” He shot a questioning look at his escort, only receiving a nod in return. “Well...then why exactly are we going in here.” He wasn't exactly afraid of entering the forest, as much as he was confused. He didn't receive an answer to his question. They continued into the dark forest until they came to a strange looking hut in the middle of a small clearing. What looked like African Tribal Masks adorned the outside of the peculiar residence. As they neared the door, sounds of chanting could be heard. The language was foreign to him, but it was definitely chanting of some sort. “What are we doing here?” He said in a soft whisper, not wanting to disturb whoever was inside.

“Shh!” She turned back and pursed a hoof to her lips, giving the universal (and apparently multiversal) “be quiet” signal. He stayed quiet as she gave three light knocks to the door on the front of the decorated home. The chanting stopped and soon the door was opened to reveal the one who lived in the lone house. A Zebra with several piercings and leg bands stood in the doorway, with an expression he didn't expect to see.

“Ah, tis Twilight Sparkle, who graces my eyes,

but who is this fellow, of monstrous size?”

She spoke in rhymes with an accent he couldn't quite place, but that's not what shocked him. What shocked him the most is that she wasn't cowering in terror at the mere sight of his towering stature.

“Hi, Zecora, this is Marckus. He's from a different world, and he crashed through my ceiling.” She said nonchalantly.

“Um...hello...?” He gave an unsure smile and a halfhearted wave, unsure of why she wasn't so surprised at his appearance. Almost as if she was used to seeing other-worldly creatures. She smiled and gestured with her head, inviting them both into her home. The inside was also decorated with numerous masks and shelves lined with flasks, bottles, jars, and containers of every sort. In the center of the room, there was a large cauldron with some strange, green, bubbling brew festering inside.

“So what brings you, and this being of little words,

maybe to study the effects of plants and herbs?”

“Not today, Zecora. Actually, I was wondering if you might be able to help my friend here. He's in a lot of pain, and outright refuses to go back to the hospital.” She shot a glare at the man in question, who returned his face to one of unwavering certainty.

“A stubborn one, he seems to be,

but why did you both come to me?”

“I thought that you might have some kind of pain reliever, or something to numb his broken limbs. I have some notes on his biology, in case there's something that would react poorly to his system.” She pulled some notes from her saddlebags, levitating them over to the stripped mare.

“I don't know how I am helped with this picture,

as his inner workings it does not make sure.”

She looked at the picture with an awkward smile as Twilight turned it around to see just which picture she had retrieved. Marckus had been looking over the strange vials of who-knows-what on the various shelves when Twilight's face turned a dark crimson. She had shown Zecora one of her “less than scientific” drawings of the curious man.

“Ahem...yes...well, that's not the right one...um...let's see here, ah-hah!” After fumbling about with her notes she came to the section on his metabolism and the various enzymes she had been informed were produced in his body. The Zebra looked them over with surprising understanding of the scientific shorthand and cluttered chicken-scratch.

“Ah, it appears that I have just the thing,

but I warn you now, it will do more than just sting”

She turned to a shelf behind her and retrieved a small clear flask containing a morbid black liquid. She handed the flask to Marckus and gave him a dead-pan stare.

“Take a cap full on every hour,

no matter the level of sour.

For if you don't consume it whole

Death will surely take its toll.”

He looked at the ominous thick concoction in his hand with unease. A light blue aura grasped the flask and tore it from his hand.

“Zecora, how could you have him drink something that would kill him?!” Her eyes were wide as she pressed the zebra for answers.

“Worry not my frightened friend,

as his broken body, this drink will mend.

The potion will speed up his body's own growth

this, I provide you with my sincerest oath.

But in causing his body to grow,

it will cause immense pain, this, surely, you must know”

“So it's going to speed up his metabolism, causing his body to produce more tissue to heal what was broken faster?”

“Indeed, you have it correct

but that is but one side-effect.

All of his body’s functions will speed.

This warning, you will do well to heed.

The toxins that your body will make

may prove to be too much to take.

Your head will soon be feeling light

as the poisons inside you, your body will fight.

Be sure not to eat much for lunch

for you'll see it twice, I have a hunch.

I am telling you, it is no easy task

to drink what is inside that flask.”

Twilight floated the flask back to Marckus and looked him right in the eyes.

“Are you sure you want to go through with this? You don't have to if you don't want to. I completely understand if you're afraid to drink this, knowing what would happen.”

“Better to get this over with sooner, rather than later.” His face and voice were now stern with determination. “Thank you for your help, Miss Zecora.” He turned to her and bowed graciously.

“Thank me not for my time,

as a friend of Twilight's is a friend of mine.”

She smiled at him as he and Twilight made their way out of the small hut, back towards the exit of the forest. As they walked out of the forest and past Fluttershy's cottage, Marckus was anxiously gripping the bottle, squeezing it and clenching the neck of the flask, as though he were trying to strangle the evil out of the foreboding mixture.

“I can see that you're worried.” The purple unicorn said. “And that's okay. No one can be fearless, no matter how hard they try. You're going to be in a situation where you can't do anything about what happens to you, and I know that that's scary. It's scary being helpless, but just know that I'll be there to help you. When I first came here, I was faced with many challenges that I couldn't have gotten through without my friends. So that's why I’ll help you all the same, help you through your challenges, just as a friend should.” She looked up in his deep hazel eyes with a smile so soft and comforting; he visually eased as he walked.

”Friend? he thought to himself She hasn't even known me for a week, and yet she readily accepts me into her life? So much so as to call me a friend even? He had never before been shown such compassion and caring in his life. It truly warmed his heart.

The inspirational speech led them to the familiar hardwood tree that housed a vast amount of literature. They entered the Library and ascended the staircase into the living area. Marckus took a seat on the low sofa on which rested his beloved old Carhartt. Twilight left to gather what they might have needed, based on what Zecora had said. She returned with a bucket, several bags of ice and a pitcher of ice water. She placed the bucket down beside the couch and the rest on the coffee table. Marckus looked down at the empty metal container with anguish. He took solace in the fact that he had someone there supporting him through whatever ordeal he was about to get himself into. He took the flask and removed the cylindrical cap with his teeth, screwing it off of the glass bottle. He took the cap in his left hand, his arm resting in its sling, and poured the thick, black liquid from its container into the cap. He placed the flask on the table and held the cap up to his nose with his right arm and gave a curious sniff. The foul mixture gave off an odor to match its consistency. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves and threw his head and the cap back and swallowed the dose in one gulp. He cringed and winced as the acidic liquid squirmed its way down his throat, burning the whole way down. He gagged and chocked as it reached his stomach where it settled. He sat there staring at Twilight, who had been watching intently the entire time.

“...Well, that wasn't so b-” was all he could say before he was wracked with a pain he had never felt before. He clutched his chest as his heart began beating against his ribcage furiously, as though it was trying to escape his body. He wailed in agony as the liquid began its work. First, the most massive of his injuries, his snapped arm, began to regenerate at an unnatural pace. It felt like his arm was being torn in half and ripped apart at the seams. Every nerve was liquid fire, burning to the response of the very air coming into contact with it. His body writhed in torment as his blood was being replenished to its normal amount. His veins were a torrent of misery that seemed to be home to searing lightning that coursed through his body. He convulsed and twitched as the herbal drug made its way to repairing his ribs, thigh, and shoulder.

Twilight looked on in abject horror as all she could do is watch the poor man spasm in pain. This lasted for almost fifty minutes before he finally calmed down enough to reclaim his thoughts. His senses were now clear enough to make him physically sick, and so he turned over and vomited into the bucket he was provided. He sat up and wobbled uneasily back and forth before leaning over and heaving more bile into the steel container. Twilight had retrieved a rag and floated it to the sick man. He wiped his mouth and gestured to the pitcher of water. The lavender mare was beginning to pour him a glass when he waved his hand in objection and merely took the pitcher itself and drank great gulps of the precious liquid, desperately trying to reclaim some of the hydration he lost from throwing up. He set the pitcher down and just breathed heavily for a moment.

“How...much...longer...until next...dose?” He said through struggled breaths. She looked up at him with sad eyes and put a hoof on his good knee.

“Only about four minutes.” He looked down and smiled at the small comfort that came from a mere touch. He sighed in resignation as the only thing he could do now was press onward. He steeled himself once more as the clock on the wall opposite him clicked without wait towards the inevitable hour mark.

The time was reached and he held another putrid dose in his hand, which was now visibly shaking. He threw the shot back and underwent another gauntlet of horrible pangs and utter misery for another hour as Twilight could do nothing more but give moral support to the thrashing man.

What a horrible way to start the day off. Twilight silently thought as she watched in shock.
As he screamed in pain, the process began anew. It reached his outer extremities and back again, though this time, with slightly less intensity. His violent jerking had become less erratic and he seemed to be able to contain most of his howls of anguish. The torture only lasted about forty-five minutes this time and he had retained the contents of his stomach, much to the pleasure of both parties. During the fifteen minutes of rest, Twilight had placed a bag of ice on the now sweating man's head. He leaned back over the sofa and rested against the wall, breathing shallow, ragged breaths. He refused another helping of water, as he did not want to agitate his stomach any further. The clock, ever persistent in its duty to dictate the time marched on towards the next hour mark. As his thoughts cleared, all he muster inside his pounding skull was This is going to be a long day

To be continued...

Chapter 9

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 9
by FeralFox

As the wind howled past his ears, the sound was deafening. He opened his eyes and they instantly began to water, blurring his vision. He was hurtling towards the ground at blinding speed. He but his hand in front of his face to break the wind as he opened his eyes once more. Below him was none other than the Town of Ponyville, but it was missing one important thing, the somewhat forgiving great hardwood tree that broke his previous descent into this world. In its place there was only a single grave plot. The headstone was hundreds of feet away, and yet he could read its inscription clearly. “1983-2011 Marckus DeLibra”. His eyes went wide with astonishment as he gazed below the proclamation of his death to see that the plot had been freshly dug out, and inside the grave there laid an open casket. His speed increased as he soon found himself just above his apparent tomb. He let out a scream as he fell into the endless black void contained within the casket, as the lid slammed shut with a loud “bang”.

“AAAGGGHHH!!!” Marckus sat up on the couch in a cold sweat and was greedily taking air into his lungs with each breath, as though they were his last. He looked about himself to find that he was still in the living area of Twilight's Library. Judging by the amount of light coming in through a nearby window, he assumed that it was sometime in the early morning, perhaps just dawn. He also noticed that something had been flung from his forehead and landed in his lap - a bag of ice. He heard the sound of rapid clicking on the floor, it was the resident of the Library herself, Twilight, galloping into the small room.

“Marckus, are you okay?! I heard shouting.” His hostess had clearly been woken up by the commotion as her mane was a mess and she still had sleep in her eyes. She looked with concern for the answer.

“Yeah, I'm fine. Just had some bad dreams is all.” He gave a tired sigh and began to stretch out his limbs. He put his arms above his head and stretched to his maximum length, lifting himself off the sofa and arching his back so that only his thighs and shoulders touched the “arm” rests of the small furnishing. He relaxed and sat up, swinging his legs off the side and rolled his shoulders and neck.

“How are you feeling? Any better than last night?” The consumption of the toxic tonic lasted until the sun had completely set, and further still into the night. Although with each dose of the vile substance the side-effects became less intense, it never became a pleasant experience. “You passed out after the last dose, so I put a bag of ice on your forehead and let you rest.” He checked the status of his previously injured limbs by lightly squeezing and moving each part. He clenched his left hand and rolled his wrist to see if it had any negative effect, and to his surprise, he only found a slight, dull pain in the muscle, and almost nothing from his bones. He then gently pressed his hand against his ribs and again, nothing. He pushed himself off the couch and stood on one leg, slowly putting pressure on the other until all of his weight had shifted to his left leg. Nothing. He turned to Twilight with a smile so bright it almost lit the room up.

“It worked! I can't believe it, but it worked! I feel great!” He instantly removed the brace from his leg and began to shift from foot to foot, making they worked properly. He removed his arm from its sling and cautiously swept it in every direction, lightly stretching the newly healed ligaments. He knocked on the cast on his arm checking its integrity before he walked to a nearby door frame where he proceeded to slam the cast against the solid wood threshold, splitting the cast along the outside of his arm. He peeled the hard plaster of and instantly began to scratch an itch that had long been plaguing him.

“Well, you seem awful happy.” The lavender mare observed.

“How could I not be?!” He dropped to his belly and began doing pushups with a new found energy that was quite the contrast of his previous state. “Man, I just want to run, and jump, and...and...run!” Marckus said frantically, his face showing a previously hidden exuberance.

“Alright, alright, I'll tell you what, why don't we go visit the others and give them the good news? We can go to Fluttershy's first for breakfast, maybe stop off at Zecora's so that you can thank her for the potion.” She rubbed her waking eyes with her foreleg as she magically brushed out her mane. When she finished she offered the jubilant man the brush, to which he politely declined and settled for combing his hair out of its bed riddled state with his fingers. She began down the stairs when Marckus flew passed her, taking the first five steps at once before bounding over the remaining eight or so. She calmly walked the remaining steps and met him by the door, jogging in place. “Wow, you like you can't wait to get out of here.”

“Honestly, I can't stand being in one place for too long. I just didn't want to offend you. Besides, it's not like I had much of a choice, so complaining about it wouldn't have helped.” He eagerly awaited his escort to open the door and make her way through. Once the way was cleared he crouched through much quicker thanks to his newly mended second leg. Upon exiting the residence, he performed several cartwheels and front-handsprings. His heavy boots landed with a “whump” as he finished his short routine.

Marckus had finally contained his elation and they had began down the road towards Fluttershy's cottage. With his leg now intact, his strides almost reached the length of Twilight, who was walking beside the gargantuan man, carefully observing how he strolled without impediment. They reached the small tree-home much faster than previously. Twilight trotted up to the ornate wood door and gave a few knocks. After receiving no response for a moment, she knocked again. Once again, they were met with silence. Twilight turned back to look at Marckus when she noticed the canary pegasus they were seeking slowly fluttering towards them with a bag of feed in her mouth. She met them and set the bag down carefully, not spilling its contents. She looked at Twilight with an apologetic look on her face, half hidden by her long, droopy, pink mane.

“Oh, hello Twilight, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long. I was just out feeding some of the animals.”

“We weren't waiting long, it's no bother.” She waived a dismissive hoof at the apology.

“H-Hello to you too, Marckus. It looks like you're all better.” She looked him up and down, noticing his limbs free of their medical accessories. His smile grew again as he leaned forward and snatched the floating mare out of mid-air into a gentle hug.

“I am! I feel great!” He was spinning around with the shy pegasus still in hold when he noticed she had become stiff with shock. He instantly lost his smile and in its place was a look of worry and guilt. He released his hug and gingerly placed the petrified pony down on the ground and backed away. “Oh geez, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to scare you.” He was a good ten feet away when startled mare relaxed. “I was just excited is all, I'm sorry.” The frazzled pegasus shook off the shock and looked at the distant man.

“Oh, that's fine. I mean, how could you not be happy? You look much better than before. C-Can I help you with something?” She was about to pick up the large sack of feed when Marckus protested.

“Allow me, if I may.” She smiled at him and gave a nod before he picked up the bag of food with relative ease. He smiled to himself at the return of his strength, and in essence, his usefulness. Fluttershy led them into her home and instructed Marckus to drop the bag off in small store filled with a plethora of other animal feeds and such. He returned to the other two mares waiting in the living room. “Well, we came here to bring you the good news of my recovery.” He smiled at the animal caretaker before he turned his gaze to his boots and began scratching the back of his neck. “And...I was also wondering if....I might be able to get some more eggs...” His sentence trailed off as he hesitantly asked the sensitive mare to help him meet his carnivorous needs. He looked up to see that Fluttershy did not take on the somber expression she had the first time she was posed that question, but instead she had a soft smile and her eyes seemed to speak to him. They said “It's okay”. She nodded and trotted out to the chicken coop, basket in tow. After a short while she returned with quite a few more eggs than last time.

“The chickens have been really productive lately, so I don't mind giving up a few more eggs.” She flew up to his height and gave him the basket. She landed gracefully on the floor and regarded Twilight. “I was just about to eat breakfast myself. You're more than welcome to join me...i-if you want to.” She shied away and hid behind her mane as if by instinct.

“That sounds lovely, thank you.” She turned to her guest. “What about you, Marckus? Do you want to stay?” Again, he found his hand upon his neck, an unconscious reaction to an awkward situation.

“That is a very generous offer, but I don't want to spoil your meal by...well...” He lifted up the basket in his hand and shrugged his shoulders. “Besides, I couldn't eat them raw, and I'm not sure you'll appreciate my getting egg all over your cookware.”

“Oh, that's not a problem at all. Anything you use can be washed, and I'm fine with seeing things like that. I only worry about Twilight,” She turned to the unicorn in question, “I don't know if you'll lose your appetite. I know that you aren't used to seeing that sort of thing.” Her gaze drifted down to meet the part of the floor she was currently scuffing with her hoof. Twilight looked at her friends with soft and genuine smile.

“Thanks for the concern, but I'll be fine, trust me.” Fluttershy nodded in response to both of them. Their yellow companion led them into her small kitchenette. There wasn't much to it, just a sink, counters, cabinets and drawers, a small wood-burning stove with a range on top, and dining place with a table and a few chairs. Every thing had a very spring-like feeling to it, being in shades of yellow, green, or brown, or a natural wood finish. The atmosphere of the entire cottage brought feelings of calmness, or serenity. Although no matter how serene it felt, Marckus had always felt awkward and out of place being in someone else' home. That feeling had grown exponentially considering he was in the home of a sensitive pony half his size, whom he thought he owed big time. As they stood in the tiny room, Marckus was ridged, not moving even the slightest, settling for standing quietly to the side where he deemed was out of the way. Fluttershy went about retrieving a meal for her friend and herself, a small salad consisting mostly of lettuce and other roughage with some daffodils and daisies mixed throughout. She set the bowls down before her guest on the small table.

“Thank you, Fluttershy, although, you didn't have to do this for me.”

“Oh, no, I love having friends over. It's really no trouble at all.” She took her own seat at the table when she looked at the man who seemed to be trying to blend into the scenery. “Is something the matter, Marckus? Did I do something to upset you? Oh, I'm sorry” She turned her head down and began a staring contest with the grain of the wooden table.

“Oh, you didn't upset me, it's just...I don't feel right using someone else' things...” His deep bass voice almost hidden in a very hushed tone. He refused to move from his spot, standing as statuesque as an English Royal Guard. Fluttershy rose from her place at the table and looked him in the eyes. He looked back and saw nothing but the deep sapphire oceans of endless compassion. He relaxed from her gaze.

“Don't worry, Marckus, you don't have to do anything you're not comfortable doing. Would you like me to help you somehow?” Her usual bashful stutter was lost to a soothing tone that did not falter in the slightest. She smiled ever-so-slightly in a way that was not condescending, or pitiful, but instead was soft and warm. He was immediately reminded of his mother. He began fighting back tears in the company of the two ponies. He reached into the special key-pocket hidden inside the right pocket of his Carpenter's pants and retrieved a small token on a chain. Engraved on the small coin was the word “Mom” in elegant cursive, and on it's reverse was engraved “Love” in a similar print. He dangled the small item in front of himself as he looked it over like he had a thousand times before. His hand started to tremble slightly. Fluttershy noticed this behavior and backed away slightly. “A-are you okay? Did I say something wrong?” He slowly shook his head as he stared at the tiny trinket. He took the pendant in one hand and kept the chain suspended with the other as he crossed his left leg over his right and, without losing balance, lowered himself onto the floor to sit. Now at eye level, Fluttershy could read the emotion kept hidden deep within his smokey hazel eyes. She sat back on her haunches just in front of him and gently placed a comforting hoof on his knee. Twilight left her spot at the table and sat down beside him on his right. He took a shuddering breath as he readied himself to tell a story he'd much rather left untold, but at this point there was no way he couldn't. Both mares remained silent as they awaited his tale.

“My mother....you-you reminded me of her, the way you're so kind and understanding.” He never took his sight off of the keepsake. “She was the most kindhearted woman you'd ever meet. She was always there for those in need, even when she wouldn't get a single thing in return. I remember when she'd look at me with those of eyes, never once did she judge me when I came to her with a problem.” He sniffled and took another uneasy breath. “But when I was still a boy, she had a terrible accident and injured her spine, effectively crippling her. And even though she was almost always in agonizing pain, she was still there for me, no matter what. Things started to look up for once in years, she was finding it easier to cope with the pain, but then things took a turn for the worst. She was diagnosed with cancer when I was about sixteen. By that time I had began working part time as a carpenter beside my father to help pay for the medical bills. She fought bravely for a few years, but the medicine for her back left her immune system in shambles. She passed away shortly after my nineteenth birthday.” His words became shaky, as did the rest of him. “In her will, she asked that her old rings be melted down and made into pendants. One for me and one for my father. Although, he fell into depression shortly after and his health ran into a steep decline. He passed away a few years later. He chose to be cremated with his pendant.” He turned the coin over so the side that read “Love” faced him. He let it lie in the palm of his hand so that his company could also read it. “My mother always taught me that love is the most powerful thing in the world. She always told me that love should be without bounds, and without condition. And that's what she did.” He clutched the pendant tight in his hand. A weary smile slowly broke across his face as he felt the pressure well up behind his eyes. He turned his watery gaze towards the canary pegasus. She smiled back at him and got to her hooves. Twilight got up and stood beside her with the hint of a tear in her own eye. He took the pendant and hung it around his neck and looked at it once more, letting out a sigh. He brought the coin up to his mouth before silently sending a prayer to his mother, who he new, even in death, even in another world, she was still watching over him. He tucked the pendant into his shirt and lifted his left leg, planting his foot down and bracing himself on said leg with his left arm and pushed himself off the floor. He wiped the tears still in his eyes that threatened to stain his cheeks with his thumbs and steadied his nerves.

“There, there, you must feel much better now that you got that off your chest.” Fluttershy's tone was as warm and comforting as her smile.

“I do feel better. Thank you for listening. I hope I didn't spoil your meal.” He scratched the back of his head.

“Oh, don't worry about me, I'm fine. What about you, Twilight?” She turned to the lavender unicorn who was already taking her place at the table, making the question somewhat rhetorical. The yellow care-giver took her seat at the table before turning once again to Marckus. “Are you alright to make yourself breakfast?” He nodded slowly as he looked around the small area. He walked over to the small wood-burning stove and opened the grate, revealing the few cindered logs that were previously used for fuel. He took a few new logs from a nearby pile of firewood and threw them into the cage. He took his Swiss Army Knife out of his pocket and began carving a groove out of one of the logs. Once he was satisfied, he took a small rectangular block of metal out of his pocket that was attached to a ring of keys by a short chain. Twilight looked over as he placed the extended knife onto the metal block.

“What's that?” She asked, mouth full of food, ever thirsty for knowledge. He turned from his task and held up his knife.

“Steel.” He pointed to the shinier inner metal on the thin side of the rectangular block with the tip of the blade. “Flint. Flint and steel make a spark.” He pointed to the duller outer metal that covered the rest of the block. “Magnesium. Flint and steel make a spark, but magnesium burns really hot.” He turned back to the stove and pressed the knife onto the edge of the block with the exposed flint side, hovering just above the notch in the wood he just carved. He stroked the block with his blade and a bright spark flashed from the tip, landing on the log and fizzling out, leaving a scorch mark on the wood. He scrapped it again, and it yielded more burning sparks, this time they caught fire, lighting the stove ablaze. He closed the grate and stood up. “And voila, fire!” Fluttershy and Twilight both clicked their hooves together in applause to his performance. He retrieved the basket of eggs and set it on the counter. “Do you have a spare bowl that I could use?” The resident pegasus gestured to a cabinet above the sink, not fond of speaking with her mouth full as opposed to the other pony in the room. Marckus opened the cupboard and grabbed a decent sized bowl. He set the bowl down on the counter and began to crack eggs, two at a time, with one in each hand. As much as she disliked seeing the eggs being cracked, Twilight couldn't help but watch the deft movements of the man's hands, cracking and splitting each egg in half without crushing it entirely.

“You're very good at that.” She remarked. “Can a lot of humans do that?” He continued to go about his work, but looked over his shoulder to speak.

“Well, learning to crack eggs like this comes with practice. My father used to cook breakfast all the time when I was young. I loved to help and just got better over time. But using both hands is a talent that's pretty rare to humans. Usually most people are either right handed, or left handed, considering which hand they use dominantly to perform most tasks. People like me, on the other hand, are called 'ambidextrous'. That means that I don't have a dominant side, and can do most things as well left handed as right. But I do have a preference to my left side, just because my old man was a lefty.” With that, he turned back to his meal in progress, discarding the spent eggshells into the sink and extending the corkscrew on his handy gadget. He whipped the eggs in the bowl into a light soupy mixture before he took a frying pan off the rack that hung over the cooking range and placed on the now-hot stove. He rinsed off the corkscrew before retracting it, and once again bringing out the blade. He poured the eggs into the frying pan and pushed them around with the broad side of the knife, using is as a make-shift spatula. The eggs sizzled in the pan, slowly turning from a soup to a fluffy squishy texture. He dumped the eggs back into their original bowl and rinsed off the pan, rubbing off any leftover egg residue with his free hand. After depositing the eggshells into a nearby waste bin, and the pan in the sink, he began to eat his meal. A few minutes passed in comfortable silence as the unlikely trio ate their food, and one by one, they finished. The three walked to the door and exited the comfy home.

“That was really nice, thanks Fluttershy.” Twilight thanked her friend for the treat to her morning meal.

“Yes, thank you so much, for everything.” Marckus smiled a very heartfelt smile when he regarded his protein provider. Although, to him, she was already more than that. To him, she might be called a friend.

“It was nothing, really. I enjoyed having you over. I hope we can do this again sometime...i-if you want to, that is.” She instinctively hid behind her droopy mane. The purple pony and her companion said their goodbyes and thank yous and went on their way towards the EverFree Forest, where the creator of Marckus' miracle elixir lived.

To be continued...

Chapter 10

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 10
by FeralFox

After Twilight and Marckus had finished their business with Fluttershy, they had decided it best to visit the resident Herbalist, Zecora, and thank her for the astonishing elixir that had cured the previously crippled man of his ailments. They walked down a relatively unused dirt road that continued passed the canary pegasi's cottage, towards the dark and gloomy Everfree Forest. As they made their way past the almost physical threshold of shadows into the forest, the air itself seemed to drop in temperature, amplifying the evil atmosphere of the place. The forest had an unnatural silence about it, making every footfall and breath taken seem more significant. They continued on for a short while until they came to a familiar clearing, containing the tribal-esque hut that played home to the generous zebra. Twilight walked up the front steps and gave a quick triplet of knocks to the door. A moment passed and the sound of hoofsteps approaching could be heard. The door opened up to reveal the teal eyes of its inhabitant.

“Ah, young Twilight, what brings you to my hut?

Hopefully, not an issue with your friend’s gut.”

She looked past the purple unicorn at Marckus, and noticed his limbs free from their rehabilitative incarceration. He noticed her looking at him and raised his right hand above his head, with his first two fingers and thumb extended to resemble a check-mark, and swept it away from himself in a single wave. It was the personal greeting he used with most of his closer friends, whenever he got the chance to see them. She regarded the mare before her again and cocked her head to the side.

“It looks like your friend is doing just fine,

so what is it that I can do for you this time?”

Twilight looked back at the man and gestured with her head for him to approach them. He obeyed and took two massive strides to close the gap between them.

“Well, your potion worked so well, Marckus thought it would only be fitting that he come back and thank you.” Marckus crouched down on his left knee and looked down into his healer's eyes, locking gazes with a subtle intensity he used to emphasize his point.

“I can't thank you enough for what you did. You fixed what could have taken months in the matter of a single day. Words can't express how grateful I am for what you've done.” He reached out and offered her his left hand. She looked at his hand and blinked in confusion.

“I don't quite understand

what it is, this gesture demands.”

A bit embarrassed, he rubbed the back of his neck and gave a nervous chuckle. “Heh, sorry about that. Well, um, you're supposed to shake my hand. I guess you could say it's a human formality of sorts.” Zecora smiled and reached out with her left hoof and he grasped it gently, giving it a light shake, jostling her slightly. It was a bit awkward, but it felt right to him. Meanwhile, the lavender pony standing adjacent to them, eyes aglow, was getting giddy witnessing another aspect of human culture unfold before her. Once the act was finished, Twilight looked up at him with a large smile plastered across her face.

“What kinds of things do you use that gesture for? Are there different kinds? When did this take hold as a formality?” Marckus laughed to himself at the completely expected barrage of questions.

“Well, I'm not sure when exactly the handshake was first used, but it's been around for centuries, if not several millenniums.” Twilight's eyes seemed to sparkle at the thoughts of such an age-old tradition. “A handshake can be used for a cornucopia of different occasions. It can be used to finalize a transaction, as a show of thanks,” He motioned with his head to Zecora, showing what his had been an instance of, “but more often than not, it's used as a greeting. I'll get into the specifics some other time, I don't want to take up Ms. Zecora's time standing here at her doorway.”

He stood up as he finished his explanation and looked down on a very satisfied looking unicorn. “That about covers it.” He turned his gaze onto Zecora. “Again, I can't thank you enough.” She smiled and waved a hoof dismissively at him.

“Your thanks are enough, my gargantuan friend,

as it is my passion, to make potions that mend.

But if life ever takes another turn for the worst,

than you know which zebra to come see first.”

With a smile and a nod, he turned and started to leave, with Twilight's thirst for knowledge temporarily sated. He gave another check-mark wave over his shoulder as Zecora waved them off and shut the door. The two walked for a few minutes and passed Fluttershy's home. After another minute or so of walking, had made it back to the outer parts of town, so Marckus decided to break the silence.

“So, where exactly are we headed now?” He looked down to his little escort.

“Well, I was thinking about heading over to Sugar Cube Corner, that's where Pinkie Pie works, and lives. I figured she'd be happy so see you better. Well, she's happy to see just about anything, actually. You know, I don't really know if there's anything that upsets her.” They walked on and they reached the center of town, the streets were their usual hustle and bustle, ponies going this way and that about their business. The crowded streets seemed to clear in a wide radius around the two. Marckus never broke stride, though all of the constant reminders that he didn't belong in this world weighed heavily on his mind. He kept his gaze ahead and his expression was stoic, telling nothing of what he thought. They trekked on through the town until they reached a festive looking building that seemed unusually empty for this time of day. Twilight opened the door and walked through, causing the bell that hung just above the entrance to jingle, letting the patrons' presence known to those within. She held the door open with her back hoof and beckoned the man into the shop. He crouched through the doorway and stood in the lobby of what appeared to be a confectioner's shop of sorts.

Inside the colorful shop were shelves lined with equally colorful candies, pastries, and cupcakes. The counter at the front of the lobby was home to a display case filled with some of the most delectable looking cakes he had ever seen. Cakes of all shapes, sizes and colors, decorated to meet the theme of any event. He took a deep whiff of the shop and was overcome by waves of sweet, sugary smells. His mouth would have been watering if not for the fact that he had just recently eaten, and that it was still much too early to eat such treats. Twilight trotted up to the counter and tapped a small bell that lie on its top, summoning the clerk. Marckus approached the counter and waited beside his violet companion and peered over the short counter. Just as he leaned forward, a pink pony with a mane that resembled cotton candy shot up from behind the counter out of nowhere. The large man flinched back from the her unexplainable presence.

“Hi Twilight! Hi Marckus! What can I do ya for?” Pinkie said with an exuberant smile.

“Hey, Pinkie. Do you have a minute to spare?”

“Sure thing, Twi. It's been pretty slow today.” She hopped over the counter and between Twilight and Marckus, and trotted over to the door where she flipped the sign in the window at the front of the shop to display “closed” as opposed to “open” to prevent any interruptions. She happily trotted over to a shelf behind the counter and grabbed a tray of cupcakes, balancing it on her head while she walked over to a nearby table and set the tray down. “These cupcakes have been out too long for me to sell them.” she explained. “Want some?” She held a light blue cupcake in her hoof out to Twilight. She nodded and grasped it in her magic and levitated it to her mouth and took a bite, savoring the moist, sweet treat. Pinkie grabbed another and offered it to Marckus. He shook his head and politely declined.

“No thank you, it's too early for sweets.” The pink pony recoiled at his statement and stared at him in shock, mouth agape. He raised an eyebrow and blinked at her expression. He looked to Twilight, who had just finished her cupcake, a look of confusion still upon his face. “Was it something I said?”

“What do you MEAN 'it's too early for sweets'?! There's never a bad time to have a cupcake!” It seemed like he had said something wrong. “Is there something wrong with them? Do you hate cupcakes?” She gasped and looked at the floor, her ears laid flat against her head, her tone losing all of its happy energy. “Do you hate me?” The hyperactive mare said, instantly jumping from conclusion to conclusion as fast as they popped into her sugar-rushed mind. He was shocked at what he heard and instantly crouched down, sitting on his heels, and gently put a hand on the sad pony's shoulder.

“No, no, I don't hate you. Why would I hate you? All you've done is offer me a treat, that's no reason to hate you.” She lifted her head up and looked him in the eyes.

“So you don't hate me?” He shook his head. She immediately jumped into the air and began bouncing around the shop. “Yay! You don't hate me!” Suddenly, she stopped in mid-bounce, freezing in the air. Her jubilant expression turning to one of confusion. She dropped from her suspended place in the air and cocked an eyebrow at the man. “If you don't hate me, does that mean you hate cupcakes? Because they didn't do anything to you. Or did they? Did cupcakes steal your pet? Cuz one time, I thought that someone stole my pet Gummy, and when I found him, he was in a box of cupcakes, but I know they couldn't have taken him, because cupcakes have no arms!” Marckus raised an eyebrow and turned to Twilight for help deciphering what was just said. She merely shrugged and took a bite out of a second cupcake.

“Um.....no. Cupcakes didn't...steal my pet.” He said slowly, still processing what he just heard. He shook his head to rid himself of the thought. “No, I love cupcakes, it's just that now isn't the time for 'em. I enjoy snacks and the like later at night because having that much sugar too early would give the wrong kind of energy, and I'd end up getting exhausted half-way through a long day of work.” Pinkie closed her eyes and nodded once in understanding, then skipped over to the table on which the multicolored confections sat. She grabbed the end of the tray in her mouth and flicked it, sending the remaining five cupcakes into the air. She dropped the tray back onto the table and opened her mouth peculiarly wide, facing the ceiling, tongue hanging on her chin. The assortment of airborne sweets landed in her open maw and she shut like a bear trap, chewing her meal with her cheeks bulging out comically. He thought about raising an eyebrow to this strange behavior, but decided against it. Somehow, his gut told him that this was normal. Then his mind asked him if he even knew what normal was anymore.

Once finished with her mouthful of baked goods, she turned to Marckus with her head cocked to one side.

“If you didn't come here for cupcakes, that what did you come here for?” Her wide smile taking its permanent place on her face.

“Well, Twilight took me to Ms. Zecora's and she gave me a special tonic that healed my broken bones and such. So we thought it'd be nice to let y'all know that I'm all better now.” The bubbly baker looked him over and noticed that his cast, sling, and brace were all absent. Although it he didn't think it possible, Pinkie Pie's smile seemed to grow even wider. Suddenly, she was jumping all over, popping up in all different spots here and there. And with each time she reappeared, she would yell “You're better!”. She appeared one last time from behind the counter and threw her front hooves in the air, launching confetti over herself repeated once more, “Yippee! You're better!”. She bounced over to her two guests and proceeded to bounce in place between them.

“Oh my gosh, I'm so happy that you're better!” She jumped into the air extra high as she drew an irregularly large breath in the form of a gasp. “You know what we should do?! We should throw a pa-” She landed on the ground and stopped mid-sentence, her face instantaneously taking on a grim and serious expression. She looked Marckus dead in the eyes. “May Twilight and I speak privately for a moment?” She said flatly. Her voice lost all of its elation and glee. The man shifted uncomfortably at the sudden change in attitude, but nodded nonetheless. Pinkie looked at the lavender unicorn and she stood up. Pinkie led her into what he could tell was the kitchen area, from the large oven he could see through the doorway.

Peeking back through the doorway, Pinkie found the man distracting himself by spinning the tray that once held the cupcakes between his palms, looking in some nonspecific direction. She turned back to a now confused looking unicorn waiting for an explanation. She quickly leaned in close to her purple friend and the exaggerated smile she constantly wore returned in full force. She leaned even closer to Twilight.

“Twilight! I just had the most fantastically amazing idea!” She said in a whisper quiet enough to rival that of Fluttershy. Twilight didn't say anything in response, instead, she raised an eyebrow and looked at her bizarre friend with interest. “We should throw Marckus a 'Welcome to Equestria' party!” She jumped to her hind legs and threw her front hooves over her head as she whispered her plan. She landed quietly back on all-fours and continued. “We could also celebrate his speedy recovery!” Twilight smiled as Pinkie as she finished speaking.

“Pinkie, that's a wonderful idea! Although, who would be invited? If it's a 'Welcome to Equestria' party, than who would be invited? It wouldn't be very right for just the six of us to welcome him into a whole new world.” Pinkie brought a hoof to her chin as she thought for a moment.

“Why don't we invite the whole town? If everypony's there, maybe they'll see he's not a bad guy and warm up to him?” Twilight thought on this for a moment before her smile faded away.

“That's not a bad idea, but where would we hold the party? There's no way we'd be able to fit all of Ponyville into Sugar Cube Corner. And I'm pretty sure that Applejack wouldn't be to fond of the idea of holding a huge party in and around her barn at Sweet Apple Acres.” The Pink Premier Party Pony of Ponyville wracked her brain for the ideal location for a town-sized party that would also be of comfortable height for their guest of honor. Twilight could almost see the light bulb click on above her head.

“How about in that huge atrium in the library? We held your 'Welcome to Ponyville' party in there, and there were plenty of ponies at that party. Plus, the dome on that place is huuuuuge! We don't want Marckus hunched over during his whole party.” Twilight smiled as the memory of that amazing party.

“Wow, that's also a great idea! You're really on a roll today.” The bubbly mare cocked her head to the side and smiled brightly.

“I'm on a roll? Where am I rolling to?” Twilight rolled her eyes and smiled at the wise-crack from her friend. With that they turned back and trotted back into the lobby area, where Marckus was patiently leaning against a wall, his eyes closed, bobbing his head rhythmically to a song that most likely was playing in his head. He heard the clacking of the two mares returning to the room and he opened his eyes, pushed himself off the wall, and watched them silently. Twilight awkwardly smiled at him and shifted her eyes, obvious signs that she was about to lie, which he picked up on keenly.

“Oh, that wasn't anything important, Pinkie just wanted my opinion on a name for a new treat she made.” The cotton candy-maned pony looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

“Twilight, didn't you hear anything I just said? I wanted to throw a p-” Her sentence was ended abruptly from a hoof in the mouth, courtesy of the unicorn still trying to keep the secret party a secret.

“I liked the first one.” Twilight said through the teeth of a forced smile, her left eye twitched slightly when she turned to face the mare her hoof was currently silencing. The realization could be seen dawning on the muffled mare. She nodded her head and Twilight reclaimed her hoof from her mouth.

“Riiiiight, the first one. Meee toooo.” Pinkie said with an over-exaggerated wink. Marckus pressed his lips up and gave a nod showing that he voluntarily bought the lie. He didn't hear what was said, but he did know that it was none of his business, so he didn't press the matter.

“Well, I hope that your new treat is a success.” He said politely, then he was once again silent, his neutral face showing no hint of his perception of the deceit.

“Heh,” Twilight began with a nervous chuckle, “well, now that you know the good news, we should be off to tell the others.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie confirmed in a fashion very suiting of her. She trotted up to the door and flipped the sign in the window back to “open” and held the door open with her forehoof. Marckus smiled and thanked her for holding the door, and Twilight thanked her for the cupcakes as she passed. Just as they were only a few steps out the door, Pinkie shot out and grabbed Twilight's tail in her mouth, snatching her back into the shop, causing her to give a “whoof” as she was whisked away within the blink of an eye.

“Ow, Pinkie, that hurt.” The purloined purple pony pestered, rubbing her tail with her forehooves and sitting on her haunches. Pinkie checked the window and saw that Marckus had stopped to wait, not moving from his place. She turned back to her captive and whispered quickly.

“Sorry about that Twilight, I just wanted to remind you to keep you-know-who busy until the party's ready. I should be able to put a super-mondo-town-sized-mega-party together by nine tonight.”

“Pinkie, that's only ten hours away.” Twilight said in doubt. Pinkie simply sat back and raised her eyebrow. “A-alright Pinkie, I'll see what I can do.” She stood back up and trotted out the door to reunite with the patient man. They said their good-byes and Marckus waved over his shoulder in his signature manner, and Pinkie went back to her duties, minding the shop.

As they began walking, Marckus turned to his leader with a question.

“Where to now?” He asked casually. Twilight thought of who would be best at stalling them longest. Somepony far away. Somepony who might have work that needs doing.

“We're off to Sweet Apple Acres, home of my friend Applejack.” She said confidently. They began down the road frequented mostly by said pony and her family towards their destination, the sun close to reaching the climax of its daily climb.

To be continued...

Chapter 11

”Behind the Veil”

Chapter 11

by FeralFox

They traveled down the scarcely used dirt path as the midday sun warmed the morning. In the distance, Marckus could make out a small farmhouse just past a wooden gate, and a barn a ways past it. Beyond the generic farm setting laid a rolling sea of green, dotted with various reds and other greens as well. The pair crested the hill and he stopped to take in Sweet Apple Acres in its full glory. The timid sea of trees extended to a vast ocean that spanned the majority of his vision, all the way out to the horizon, painting an astonishing picture against the tall purple mountains that back-dropped it. Twilight looked back at the awestruck man and smiled.

“Beautiful, isn't it?” He responded simply with a nod. “Well, let's keep moving; it looks even better up close.” He nodded again and they set off towards the massive orchard. He rarely got to witness such a great display of nature from where he lived, but when he did, he'd learned to appreciate it for its simple beauty.

A few minutes more of walking, and the two came to the front gate of the property. A familiar aura enveloped the latch of the gate and lifted out of place, allowing the lavender unicorn to push it open with her hoof. She trotted through and Marckus followed close behind. He followed her up to the barn where they saw a crimson stallion, larger than any pony he had seen previously, hauling a large, four-wheeled cart brimming with apples. The two approached the red workhorse and he stopped and looked at them, tensing a bit, but showing no other signs of emotion in his stoic gaze. After a moment of silence, Twilight decided to introduce the towering man beside her, seeing that the workhorse wasn't going to flee.

“Hi, Big Macintosh, this is Marckus. He's from a different world....long story.” Marckus gave his personal check-mark wave to the large pony and smiled politely. Big Mac looked up at the tall man and shifted the piece of straw he was chewing to the other corner of his mouth before giving a silent nod. “Anyways, do you know where we could find your sister?” Big Mac motioned with his head back in the direction he came from.

“She's out workin' the orchard. We still got lots-a apples to harvest.” Twilight nodded and the two started off into the huge expanse of apple trees. After a short while they came across an area where all the trees had large bushels placed around the base of the trunks. They started to hear a loud cracking noise every few seconds and they came upon a tree that was shaking violently every time the noise sounded. With each shake a large amount of apples fell from their branches and landed in the strategically placed baskets. After the tree had become barren, a familiar orange pony, Stetson firmly in place, cantered out from behind it.

“Hey, Applejack.” Twilight said as she walked up to her friend.

“Howdy, Twilight. What brings you 'round these parts?” Twilight gestured to her companion with a hoof.

“Zecora gave Marckus a potion that healed up his wounds, so we thought it'd be nice to give you the good news.” The man smiled and waved his favorite wave at the tangerine work-pony.

“Congrats.” She said flatly. “Anythin' else Ah can help y'all with?”

“Actually, I was wondering if there's anything he'd be able to help you with. He's had all of this pent up energy, and I figured that helping you around the farm would be a great use of that.” She turned to Marckus who shrugged and nodded, agreeing. He hadn’t expected to be working, but any time he could give helping others was time well spent. She turned back to Applejack, who was now scowling at the idea.

“Twi, Ah don't know if you've exactly noticed, but Ah trust this feller 'bout as far as Ah can buck 'im.” The Stetson-clad mare said. Twilight cleared her throat intentionally, while looking nervously at Marckus out of the corner of her eye.

“Ah-hem! Applejack, you do know he's standing right there, right?” Making a point of the orange pony's severe lack of tact. She opened her mouth to speak again, but Marckus held up his hand to stop her.

“No, it's fine Twilight, I understand why she'd feel this way.” He turned his attention to the abrupt mare in front of him “They say that actions speak louder than words, so maybe instead of honest words, how 'bout an honest day's work, if you'd allow?” Applejack glared at the tall man as she mulled it over in her mind.

“An' you ain't just tryin' to weasel sum bits outta this?” She raised an eyebrow while maintaining the scowl. Marckus cocked his own brow and turned to Twilight.

“Bits are our currency.” She said informatively.

“Ah,right.” He nodded and stroked his beard as he breifly reconsidered the statement. “Absolutely not. I offer to do this for free in hopes that my place here is justly earned.” He locked eyes with her to show that his words held truth.

“Promise.” She said, her cold gaze unwavering.

“Alright, I promise.” His face determined and tone sincere.

“Pinkie Pie Promise!” She ordered. Once again, the man turned to Twilight to help him along. She sat back on her haunches and proceeded with gesture that consisted of making an “X” across her chest with a hoof and covering her eye. He pondered the motions for a moment before recognizing it as a particular promise that was often used by children in his world. He nodded again in realization before speaking again.

“Ah, alright. I promise, cross my heart,” He drew an imaginary “X” over his heart with his index finger, “hope to die, stick a needle in my eye.” He ended the ritual with the same finger resting on his closed eyelid. He looked down to see two very disturbed ponies before him. He looked down at them confused. He sighed in slight frustration as the severe culture barrier reared its ugly head. “I suppose that yours isn't quite that, hm?” Applejack was cautiously taking a few steps backward.

“I knew there was sumthin' wrong with 'im!” She scolded the lavender unicorn.

“Now, Applejack, I'm sure that he has an explanation.” She said defensively. She turned up to him, the look in her eyes showing just a hint of desperation. Marckus scratched the back of his neck as he thought of a good enough explanation as to avoid further distrust from the orange mare.

“Eh-heh...well, I'm not really sure where it originated. I'd say it's a child's equivalent to a blood-oath. But what I can assure you of is that that promise was completely sincere.” He knelt down on his right knee and brought out the pendant that hung around his neck, holding it up with his left hand and covering his heart with his right. “I swear on my mother's grave.” His face was straight and serious, and his deep bass voice took on a somber hint. Applejack's expression softened slightly and she turned to Twilight. Now she was unsure. Twilight also had a woebegone expression as she recalled the man's tragic story and nodded her head, answering the work-pony's silent question without hesitation.

“Awright, Ah'll give ya a shot.” Her expression softened more noticeably. Then her face hardened again. “One. Shot.” She emphasized. He tucked the trinket back in his shirt and nodded.

“Well, now that that's settled, what work did you have in mind?” He questioned as he stood, returning to his full height. Applejack looked him over, pondering the possibilities.

“Wull, yu're nice 'n tall, I bet yu'd be able to reach up an' just pick the apples right outta the trees...” She thought for a moment. “Nah, that'd take too long. Hmm...How good are ya at haulin' wagons?” The man scratched his chin before answering.

“I can't say that I've ever hauled a wagon before, but it shouldn't be too hard. I'm willin' to give it a shot.” He looked down to his new employer for her reaction. She sighed and looked up at him with a stern face.

“We'll just have ta find out then, won't we?” She asked rhetorically. Twilight and Marckus smiled as Applejack's face softened slightly. “Wull, let's git goin'. If ya can haul wagons, than that leaves Big Mac able to buck more apples.” A look of confusion spread across the man's face at the statement.

“I'm sorry, 'buck more apples'?” He asked. Applejack rolled her eyes and walked to the nearest tree. She reared up on her front legs and brought her hind legs up to her chest. In a second, she unloaded the energy in her legs into an explosive kick that landed square on the trunk of the tree, causing it to shudder and shake, relinquishing the fruit it bore into the baskets that lined the ground beneath. Marckus nodded with understanding. “Ah, now I see.”

“You better.” Applejack huffed. “Now let's git to it. We're burnin' daylight hours here.” Marckus held an arm out to the side in the intended direction.

“Lead on.” He said politely. The trio walked back to the barn where they met up with Big Mac, who had just finished unloading the wagon of apples into the cellar for storage. He was just about to fasten himself into the harness when Applejack curled her lower lip around her teeth, letting out a shrill whistle.

“Not today, Big Mac. We've got sum new help that'll be doin' that. Yu're on buckin' detail with me.” Big Mac got out of the harness and looked up at the new farmhand with his ever-stoic gaze.

“Eeeyup.” Was his only response. Applejack walked over to the wagon and gestured to it with her hoof.

“This here's the wagon yu'll be haulin'. Follow me.” He did as directed and followed her behind the cart to a large trapdoor in the ground. “This is where yu'll unload the apples from the wagon.” The man nodded silently. She walked over to the wagon and pointed to a pin on the back panel towards the top. “Just pull this pin an' its partner on the other side an' the gate'll drop down, lettin' gravity do most of the work fer ya.” He nodded again. He followed her back to the front of the vehicle. “Now, how exactly do ya intend to fit into the harness, what with bein' all upright and what-not?” The man took a step back and examined the cart for a moment. Then a thought entered his mind.

“Do you have any spare rope handy?” He asked, the idea festering in his mind.

“I reckon.” She said flatly. “Mac?” The scarlet stallion moseyed into the barn only to return shortly with a mouth full of rope. With a flick of his neck, he threw the rope bundle to Marckus who caught it easily.

“Eeyup.” The stoic stallion said again. Marckus set the rope down on the ground and went to work removing the harness from the two beams that connected it to the rest of the wagon. The three ponies stepped back and watched the man at work. With a few bolts undone, the harness was quickly removed, leaving an open space between the beams.

“Now, how in tarnation do ya expect ta pull the darn thing without the harness?” Applejack asked impatiently. Twilight cast a side-long glance at the orange mare, and returned to watching the man intently, whose concentration went unbroken. He took the rope and tied a knot around the left beam, behind the widened bulb at the end with one end of the rope, leaving the rest free. Using rest of the rope, he twisted it until there was a lone knot just about a quarter of the way from the shorter end. He then wrapped the rest of the rope around the other beam, doubling it back and tying a slip-knot just behind the other knot in the rope. The result of all of the twisting and tying of the rope was a single line that extended from the center of the rope, connected to either beam. He grabbed hold of the line and gave it a firm tug, jostling the wagon forward a bit, making sure it held firm. He stepped back to admire his work for a moment, only to have Applejack interrupt.

“Awright, now that that's said an' done with, let's git to work.” With that, Marckus nodded and grasped the bottoms of his sweater and outer shirts, lifting them over his head off his body, leaving him in his light, white cotton undershirt. He tied the sleeves of the sweater that still contained his other two shirts to the beam of the wagon and untucked his undershirt. He took hold of the rope and held it over his shoulder.

“After you.” He said to his new boss. She quickly turned and walked back into the orchard with the others following suit, Marckus now dragging the wagon behind him with ease. They made their way back to the section of trees that had baskets under them. The two work-ponies went to work slamming the trees with their powerful kicks, knocking the fruit free of their branches. In a moment, the trees were barren, and the baskets were full.

“Ya fill the wagon with these bushels of apples.” The Stenson-clad mare said. Marckus dropped the rope and hefted one of the decent sized baskets up to his chest with little effort. He walked back to the cart and dumped the contents of the bushel in, tossing the empty basket back to Applejack, repeating the process with the others. After a few trees, the wagon was brimming with apples, so he took hold of the rope once more and dragged the now significantly heavier cart back to the barn. Once in place, he opened the trap door to the cellar and pulled the pins out of the cart's gate, releasing the apples. He pushed the few remaining into the dark cellar and closed the gate, returning the pins to their slots. This went on for an hour or so until Twilight grew tired of watching the man work, no matter how much it fascinated her.

“Well, have fun with that.” She said waving good-bye to the Apple Siblings and their new help.

“See ya Twi'.” The tangerine pony called. Her brother merely waved before returning to his work.

“Catch ya later, Twilight. I suppose I'll be seeing you in a few hours or so?” The man said as he began hauling a full wagon back to the barn. The lavender unicorn nodded and set off down the road.

She walked back to the Library to check up on Pinkie Pie's party progress. She opened the door to the tree-building and stepped in to be greeted by her faithful companion and number one assistant, Spike, going through his daily chores of cleaning and organizing the Library.

“Hello Spike.” She said with a smile, always happy to see him.

“Oh, hey Twilight.” He turned from his duties to look at her. “Where's Marckus?” Concerned that the tall man wasn't still tagging along with one of the more responsible ponies in Ponyville.

“I left him to help Applejack around the farm. That should keep him occupied for a while.” She trotted over to the staircase to the living area, where even more stairs that led to the atrium were.

“Hey, Twilight?” Spike called.

“Yes, Spike?” She replied.

“What's going on upstairs? Pinkie came in earlier with some weird cannon and a bunch of balloons and streamers.” He said uneasily.

“We're planning a surprise party for Marckus and the whole town is invited.” the purple unicorn said matter-of-factly. Spike did a double-take at her and shuddered at the thought of having to inevitably clean up a town-sized party. With that, Twilight ascended the two sets of stairs to the atrium to find a certain pink pony bouncing about the giant room, hanging banners and tying balloons to rafters and such. She landed beside the aforementioned cannon and heaved its trigger. A resounding boom emanated from the black, iron device, blasting streamers onto the walls. “Looks like you've got this under control.” Twilight said, content with the progress made thus far.

“Yup-yup-yuparoo!” The over-zealous mare said before firing the cannon a second time, peppering another wall with streamers. Twilight slowly backed out of the room, uneasy at the prospect of giving Pinkie, of all ponies, free reign over a cannon, and returned to the Library to help Spike with chores.

After several hours and many, many more cannon shots fired, Twilight decided that it was time to collect her other-worldly companion and move on to tell another friend of his recovery/delay his return to the Library. The Sun had passed its zenith and was well on its way to its daily meeting with the face of the mountains. She trotted down the path and through the gates to see Marckus hauling a full wagon of apples from the orchard, accompanied by both Apple Siblings. His undershirt was now off and tucked into his belt, hanging from his hip. He walked behind the wagon and let loose an avalanche of apples as was routine. Once he locked the gate back up, he walked back to the front of the wagon and leaned on the beam. His muscles were swollen from labor, giving his body a more fine definition. His skin glistened with sweat from a long day's work in the hot sun, its lightly tanned color had darkened a few shades to a sort of dark beige. Twilight reached both he and Big Macintosh waiting by the cart as Applejack went and fetched some juice for them all. Marckus waved his usual wave as Twilight approached them. He took his shirt from his belt and wiped the sweat from his body, turning it to wipe the sweat from his face and head with the dry part. Once satisfied, he slung the moist shirt over his shoulder.

“Hi Marckus, Big Mac.” The red work-pony nodded silently.

“Hi Twilight!” Applejack called, having returned with a tray of bottles filled with apple juice balancing on her back.

“Hello, Applejack. You taking a break?” She asked as the hat-clad mare craned her neck back to grab hold of the tray off her back, turning to set it on the beam beside Marckus. The three each took a bottle, leaving one left on the tray. Figuring it was for her, Twilight grasped the bottle in her magic and levitated it to her.

“Takin' a break? Shoot, we're finished fer the whole day!” Applejack said with a bright smile. “With this fella' here to haul the wagon, both me and Mac were able to keep on buckin'. We met today's quota in record time, and then sum!” She turned up to the tall man. “You might not have earned any bits, but you sure earned that juice!” He lifted the bottle from his lips, into the air and nodded his head in a gesture of thanks and one of welcome. “Yu've also earned mah trust. Thank ya Marckus.” She said with a smile before taking a swig of juice. The man looked down with a smile of his own.

“I'm glad to hear that. And I'm happy to help, anytime.” He threw his head back as he finished the last of his bottle's worth of juice and set the empty container back onto the tray. Once she finished her own, Twilight turned to Applejack.

“I'm also glad to hear that, but I'm afraid we must get going. We've still got to tell the others about his recovery.” Applejack nodded. She turned back to Marckus who was now untying his multiple shirts from the cart.

“See ya Marckus, thanks again fer the help.” He grabbed the collars of the sweater and shirt, yanking the second out from within. He slipped it on over his head and rolled up the sweater, shirt, and undershirt, before he looked down at his no-longer-boss.

“No problem at all.” He said happily. On that note, he and Twilight turned from the two Apples and walked away, waving good-bye. As they walked, Twilight couldn't help but ponder the meaning of the graphic on the front of the man's shirt. It was a black shirt with words in silver lettering. It said: AC/DC, where the'/' was a lightning bolt, and just underneath those letters, in a smaller print, was the phrase “Back in Black”. He turned to Twilight and followed her gaze to the front of his Tee.

“Oh, this? It's the name of one of my favorite bands and one of their albums.” Twilight perked up at this. “But that's a whooooole 'nother subject.” He made a wide, sweeping motion with his head to accentuate the word 'whole'. Twilight slumped a bit as they walked. She really wanted to hear about his world's music. They continued back up the dirt path for a while. “So, who's next?” He asked, wiping his brow of the remaining sweat. Twilight narrowed her eyes as she thought of who would make the best distraction. A light bulb could be seen clicking on inside her head.

'I know! Hah, perfect!' She thought to herself.

To be continued...

Chapter 13

“Behind the Veil”

Chapter 13

by FeralFox

Marckus stood up from the floor, notebook and pen in hand - his purple companion ready to lead him to wherever else on a whim. She looked up at him with a smile.

“So, how was your first day of school?” She said in a slightly mocking tone.

“The little ones are quite adorable...that is, when they're not cowering in fear. Fortunately enough for me, that was only a few. For the most part, I was the one answering their questions. Mostly little silly things that you'd expect from children. That seemed to give Ms. Cheerilee enough time to conclude that I meant no harm, and calm down. She regained control of the class and proceeded with her lesson. Simple arithmetic and spelling, stuff like that. I didn't really learn anything until there was only a few minutes left.” He opened the black-covered notebook and showed his escort what little he had written. She was impressed at how neat the man's handwriting was, the cursive sweeping and elegant across the plain, lined pages.

As the pair left the old schoolhouse, Celestia's majestic heavenly body was well on its way through its decent to its inevitable meeting with the face of the mountains. The shadows the angled rays cast were long and deep. The warm day's air held a refreshing breeze that wafted through the town, carrying with it a variety of smells. Most of which were scents of nearby produce vendors, but as one neared the center of town, they could pick up the delightful aroma of pastries, sweets, and other confections, compliments of the Cake family.

As per usual, Twilight was leading the way, as Marckus continued to follow, still unfamiliar with the lay-out of the town for the most part. The lavender leader turned to the man with a bit of concern in her eyes. She looked to the make-shift bandages on his arm and leg. Although he was not limping, she still wondered if he was in pain. The wound on his leg wasn't life threatening by any means, but it was still fairly damaging. The gash started on the front of his shin and wrapped around the outside of his leg, ending a quarter of the way around. It was about quarter to half an inch deep, from the look of it, but with the red cloth covering it, she couldn't be certain of how it was healing, if at all. For one thing, the bleeding had stopped, or at least had slowed to the point that the strips of cloth were absorbing what little still seeped from the laceration. The bite on his arm did substantially less damage. The bleeding had stopped completely, and his arm hadn't swollen that much. No sign of infection so far. He had removed the piece of shirt from his arm and had stuffed it back into the role of clothing he held. Finding it better to get a direct answer rather than assuming, she looked up and met his wandering, thoughtful gaze.

“Is your leg going to be okay? That was quite a cut.” The tall man regarded her with an easy expression.

“I'm fine, thanks for asking. It's just a flesh wound, nothing to worry about. I used to get cut up all the time....at work.” He said almost longingly. He took his hands out of his pockets and bent down slightly to show Twilight the many scars that decorated his hands and arms from his many years working with sharp metal and dangerous moving parts. He let out a reminiscent sigh as he thought about his home. A thought entered the purple pony's mind: She never bothered to ask what his profession was. She recalled the story he told back in Fluttershy's cottage, about how he had worked in carpentry with his father, but she knew he said he moved on to another trade once he passed away.

“What exactly did you do in your world? It must be dangerous, by the looks of it.” She asked. Marckus thought for a moment about how he was to go about answering the question, considering that this world hadn't discovered the internal combustion engine yet. Although, he thought he had seen a locomotive with an external combustion engine riding out of town.

“I worked in the automotive industry.” He decided. Twilight stopped to ponder what he said.

“Auto...motive?” She asked hesitantly. He nodded. “So, you mean, things that move...themselves?”

“For the most part, yeah. You can think of it as a sort of a self-drawn carriage.” During the late 1800's, start of the twentieth century, that's pretty much, for all intents and purposes, exactly what they were. Twilight's eyes seemed to take on that certain glow that appeared when she was hearing something new and interesting.

“Actually,” the lavender mare said, “these two traveling salesponies rode into town on something like that, except it was also an apple harvesting machine. I'm not sure how they work in your world, but it looked like theirs was powered by their magic.” Not wanting to begin explaining the long and complicated workings of his field, he opted for a simpler explanation.

“Well, it's definitely not magic.” He said with a light chuckle. “I'll tell you how they work some other time, I'm not long-winded enough to get through it in one sitting. But on the topic of multipurpose machines, our automobiles come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and designations. One machine in particular is called a combine, and it's a massive machine that farmers use to clear their fields of crops in mere fractions of the time it would take to clear by hand. And that's only one of the many that are associated with agriculture. Autos dedicated to high-speed racing, hauling cargo, transporting multiple passengers, even flight! Aah, the list goes on.” He said admiringly. But then his face turned sour.

“But there's a catch.” He said. Twilight's expression turned from intrigue to confusion. “All of these wonderful machines run off of a very finite resource, one that causes vast amounts of pollution. The air, water, and land have all been poisoned by the emissions from burning these fuels. Not only has it done harm to nature, but also to society. Pointless wars have been fought over them. So many lives lost, and for what?” He sighed and shook his head disapprovingly. “Well, that's certainly enough on that dark topic.”

The two walked on in silence for a few moments. The silence wouldn't have been described as awkward, as much as uncomfortable. All the while, Twilight was trying to think of an actual destination for them. The preparations for Marckus' party wouldn't be compete for at least a few hours, if not more. Lucky for her, she didn't have to think on it much longer.

“Your friend, Ms. Rarity, she owns a haberdashery of sorts, right?” Twilight turned back with a nod.

“Yes, the Carousel Boutique. Why?”

“Well, I was wondering if perhaps we could drop by for a visit, both personal and business.” The purple escort raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Personal and business?”

“Yeah. We could give her the news of my recovery, and I was hoping she might be able to repair my clothes, considering they're the only ones I own now.” The lavender unicorn smiled at the prospect of another perfect distraction for him. She was sure that Rarity would pester the man about ditching the tattered remains of his current ensemble and letting her create a completely new outfit for him. Perfect!

“That sounds like an excellent idea! I'm sure Rarity would love another visit, that is, if she's not too busy with an order.” She said as she began to lead the man towards the Boutique. As they walked through the town, Marckus was once again at the mercy of the shouts and berating of its citizens. But much to his surprise, there was little, if any shouting. Most of the ponies shuffling about their business merely shot glances at him, some cautious, some bitter, but just glances all the same. The storefronts stayed open, and the kiosks remained attended. This was a very encouraging sight for the towering man. It meant that they might finally be warming up to him, or are at least getting used to his presence. Whichever the case may be, it didn't bother him one bit.

The circular building came into view, and they were soon upon the door. Twilight gave a quick few knocks to the elegant door and waited for a response. As they waited something suddenly came to her.

“Marckus, be sure not to mention what happened to your leg. Sweetie-Bell is Rarity's younger sister, and she would be furious if she ever found out that she was not only causing harm to others, but endangering her own life too.” The man's neutral expression told nothing of how he felt in this situation, but he nodded.

“And if it comes up in conversation?” He asked quickly.

“You're a smart fellow, I'm sure you'll think of something.” She said with a smile. He sighed inwardly as he feared she might say something like that. Just seconds later, the door opened to reveal a somewhat disheveled unicorn.

“Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, where everything is shique, unique, and magnifique!” The pewter pony said almost breathlessly. “Oh, Twilight, Marckus, what brings you to my shop?” She stepped aside and waved them in with her hoof. “Come in, darlings, come in.”

The shop looked like it had been ransacked by a kleptomaniac tornado. Various rolls of fabric were strewn about the large room. Ribbons and feathers and such were cast around the scene in such a manner of chaos that it was hard to believe it was the same pristine shop the man first entered those couple days ago. The alabaster seamstress walked through the room quickly picking up the clutter with her magic and putting it back where it belonged.

“I'm terribly sorry for the mess, I've just been swamped with this order, and the deadline is approaching faster than I had expected.” She said as she rolled up four different spindles of colored fabrics.

“It's no trouble, Rarity. We were just here for a friendly visit. Marckus thought it would be nice to tell you some good news.” Twilight said. Rarity stopped fussing with the mess and turned her attention to the towering man.

“Good news? Well, what is it dear? Do tell.” She said rather excitedly. It seemed that anything he could have said would have made her hectic day better, but he settled for what he intended to say originally.

“Well, the day after you had so generously taken us to the spa, I woke up in...well, let's just say an unfortunate state. So Twilight took me to her friend Zecora, and she gave me this strange tonic that completely healed my injuries! So I thought it would be nice to let you in on it.” Rarity beamed at the news.

“Oh, that's wonderful! I can see how well it worked, you look amazing!” She looked him over, but noticed his leg. “Oh my goodness! What happened?” Marckus opened his mouth to explain, but he was cut-off before he could even start. “Your pants, darling! They've been torn!” He gave a sigh of relief at her attention to the fabric's rip, as opposed to the one in his leg. She leaned forward to inspect the damage more clearly. After a moment she leaned back and regarded him with a queezy expression. “Is that bl- *gulp* blood?” Her flawless features seemed to turn a shade of green as she looked at the dark red stain on his pants, just below the tear. She peered through the hole in the pant-leg and saw the bright red strip of cloth wrapped around his leg. “My dear, what happened to you?” She asked with genuine concern in her voice.

“Well, I had an...altercation. I'd rather not go into detail, for your sake.” He didn't lie, per se, he just didn't tell the complete truth. That was still punishable in court, but he wasn't in court, now was he?

“I think that would be best. Will you be alright?” She asked, looking up into his face, not only to be polite, but to avoid looking at the “situation” on his leg.

“I'll be fine, but I'm afraid my pants and shirt are worse off than I am.” Rarity looked over his shirt, taking note of the graphic on the front, and returned to his face with a confused expression.

“Your shirt looks to be in fine condition. What seems to be the problem with it?” She asked with a raised eyebrow. He took the bundle of shirts from under his arm and took out the red tee. He unraveled it to reveal the torn bottom, and the bloody piece that he had taken off of his arm. She gasped at the sight of the shredded shirt.

“Oh my! What happened to it?” She said with a look of shock he hadn't expected.

“Well, I had to stop the bleeding from said altercation, so I tore some strips of cloth from the bottom to make some make-shift bandages.” She once again regarded his leg.

“So, that's a part of your shirt you have wrapped around your leg?” She asked. He nodded. “Oh, that will never do. Wait here one moment, I'll be right back.” She turned and trotted out of the room quickly before returning moments later with a red box magically in tow. “I always keep first aid supplies handy in case something goes awry with the fabric shears, pins, or needles. One can never be too prepared.” She stopped just in front of his leg. She looked up at him with an unsure expression. He reached forward and grabbed the first aid kit.

“Don't worry, I'll handle it, thank you.” At that, a look of relief spread across her face. He leaned down and sat on the floor with his leg extended. He pulled back on his pant leg to reveal a blood-caked shin that looked in worse condition than he had thought. He carefully untied the strip of shirt and began to remove it, wincing as the coagulated blood bonded the cloth to the edges of the wound, tearing away more bits of skin and hair as he pulled it off. With the wound now exposed, Rarity turned away, taking the strip with her telekinesis.

“I'll wash these bits of cloth for you while you properly dress that wound, and I'll see if I can't put the pieces back together for you.” Marckus looked up from his leg to meet her at eye-level.

“Wow, thank you very much! Much obliged, Miss Rarity.” He said. She smiled back at him.

“Not a problem at all, dear - always happy to help a friend in need! And there's no need for the formality, you may call me Rarity, if you like.” Marckus smiled back warmly at this. He still wasn't used to such unprovoked acts of generosity, but he appreciated it greatly. Rarity left to the other room again and Marckus turned to inspecting his healing leg. It was still bleeding, but not as bad as before. He opened the kit and looked through the supplies, taking out some sterile alcohol and cotton balls. He poured some on the ball of fluff and pressed it down on the gash. He winced and his face twisted in pain. He took a sharp breath through clenched teeth.

“Do you want some help?” Twilight asked from beside him. A look of concern found its way back across her features.

“Nah, I've got it, thanks. It just kinda’ sucks is all.” He said with his jaw clamped shut. He continued to move the sterile alcohol soaked cotton across the laceration, continuing to grunt and groan at the burning sensation on the ragged gash. As soon as it was disinfected to his satisfaction, he discarded the bloody cotton and retrieved several pads and bandages from the kit. He placed the long pad across the entirety of the wound and began to encase both it and his leg in the ace-bandage. He fastened the bandage tightly and patted it to make sure it held. He leaned back and looked at the fine job he had done before he pulled the leg of his pants back down over his own. Now, instead of seeing a tattered, bloody strip of a torn shirt through the hole in his pants, all you saw was the beige fabric of the bandage, neatly wrapped around his leg. He stood up and flexed his leg, making sure that the bandage was still holding firm. He settled and Rarity walked back into the room. She held the strips of cloth in her telekinetic field and proceeded toward on one of her sewing machines.

“Were you able to fix yourself up?” She asked as she began to feed the strips into the machine, bonding them back together with thread.

“Yes I did. Again, thank you very much. I owe you one, big time. Not only for the med supplies, but also for fixing the only clothing I have.” She turned to him with an over-dramatic gasp.

“This is all the clothing you own?!” She asked with quite an amount of surprise. He held up the bundle of clothing that still remained under his arm.

“Just this and my ol' Carhartt. But it's too heavy to wear that now. It's more winter apparel.” He said with a shrug.

“Oh, you poor thing! You simply must let me make you more! That would just be wonderful! Being the first pony ever to design and make clothes for a...man was it?” He slowly nodded, but his expression was slightly upset.

“That is very kind of you, but I won't have you using your own resources to make me new clothing when I have no way of paying you. I'm still going to pay you for that spa trip, and also for mending my shirt. I'm not exactly sure how, right now, but I will.” He said in a strong, determined tone. Rarity stopped her work and turned around to face him.

“Now darling, you don't have to wor-”

“Thank you!” He blurted. “I'm sorry for interrupting,” his voice grew softer, “But please, it just isn't in me to take from someone without paying them back. It's very considerate, but you've already done so much for me. It just wouldn't be right for me to ask for, or accept any more.” She nodded and turned back to her work, expertly stitching the remnants of the shirt back together. In a matter of moments, the job was done. She levitated the mended clothing item back to the equally patched up man. He held the shirt up by the shoulders and inspected it. Besides the small seams from the stitching, one would be unable to tell that the shirt had been torn to pieces. He rolled it up and placed it in the bundle under his arm.

“You have no idea how much this means to me.” He said, his voice blatant with gratitude.

“It's nothing, really. Just some simple patchwork was all.” Rarity replied modestly. The room fell silent for a moment before Twilight spoke up.

“Rarity, you wouldn't happen to have any work that Marckus could do for you, as payment towards his debt?” The lavender mare asked. Marckus turned to her quickly with an uneasy expression.

“Uh, Twilight? Let me just say something real quick. Now, I could haul supplies for days, build anything from a bookshelf to a house given enough supplies and time, and fix anything on wheels, but the most I know about stitching and sowing is what my Ma taught me when I was young, and that's taking a bit of denim from an old torn up pair of pants, and using it to fix a slightly less torn up pair of pants. And let me tell you, it doesn’t look to pretty when all's said and done. I'm not sure I've got the proper skill set for helping her.” He turned to her with a sullen expression. “You did look rather busy when we arrived, but I'm afraid I wouldn't do you any good.”

“That's quite alright, darling. And besides, that's always how this place looks when I get an order, just with varying levels of organized chaos.” She said softly. “Although,” She remarked, “I will need to make another gem run soon. I can't right now due to the upcoming deadline on this order, but sometime soon. If you'd like, you would be more than welcome to accompany me on it, if you'd like.” Marckus raised an eyebrow.

“Gem run? You mean, like heading to the market and buying some gemstones?” He asked. The pewter mare smiled in response.

“Oh, no, dear. Every so often, when my gem chest is running low, I go out into the lower parts of the mountain and dig up a batch of gems.” The statement did little to lower the man's questioning brow.

“So, wait. You're telling me that you just go out and...find gems just like that?” He inquired hesitantly.

“But of course. I'm not sure how it works in your world, but on a good day, I could maybe fill that chest there in a day or so of hunting. Usually I have the assistance of Spike, he digs them up when I find them. I also give him a few shiny stones to snack on as we go.” She responded.

“Well...gemstones are pretty few and far between in my world,” He said slowly, still processing what he heard, “but did you say that he eats them?”

“Yes, darling. He is a dragon, after all.” She said plainly.

“Oh yeah, a dragon, right.” He said. 'Different world, gotta keep that in mind. Very different world.' He thought to himself. “Well, when you do get the chance, I'd be more than happy to help you in your gem gathering endeavors. It's the least I could do.” He said after dismissing the other questions he had.

Twilight had been viciously thinking on anything that might stall the chivalrous man for at least an hour or so, but any plans of staying put were gone with the wind as he began saying good-bye.

“Well, I'd just like to thank you again for fixing my shirt, and for the bandages and whatnot. Especially considering you took time away from your own business just to help me. It really means a lot.” He said.

“Oh, nothing at all, darling. It was no trouble.” She replied warmly with a smile to match. “I'm just pleased to see you all better. But just so you know, that offer about the clothing still stands.” She said as he made his way for the door, Twilight following uneasily behind.

“When I raise enough money to pay for it, I'll take you up on it.” He said sternly. “But for now, I'll leave you to your prior obligations. Thanks again!”

“Yes, thank you, Rarity. It was a pleasure visiting.” Twilight managed with a smile to poorly mask her unease.

“Anytime, dears! It's been a real treat seeing you again. Don't be strangers!” She called with a telekinetic grasp full of various fabrics and materials as her guests made their way out the door.

The Sun was moments away from its ritualistic kiss with the mounts of the horizon, day nearing dusk, casting a calming, soft tone over the landscape. The steep shadows dimming the surfaces of the land. The clouds taking on the gentle blush of pink from witnessing the dramatic meeting of the bright orb and the ridged mountains. Twilight was trying to think of how to stall Marckus further, the party's preparations still a couple of hours from completion. And she was low on options.

to be continued...

Chapter 14

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 14
by FeralFox

Twilight began leading her charge in no particular direction in hopes of finding something convenient enough to stall him for another couple of hours. She silently cursed herself for allowing Pinkie Pie to spontaneously throw together a town-wide party in a matter of one day. And in her home, of all places! She just hoped that Spike was holding together through whatever storm of insanity the party pony was conjuring up. As she frantically scanned the area and wracked her brain for anything to distract Marckus, it seemed that time was slowing down in spite of her. They trekked through town, and even though it was nearing evening, it struck the man as strange how barren the place had suddenly become.

Seemingly out of nowhere, a sky-blue pegasus dropped from the air and landed smack-dab in front of Twilight, giving both of them a little start. She was wearing some aviator's goggles and they were fogged up to the point of blindness. She lifted them to her forehead and scanned the streets before making an about-face and almost crashing face to face into Twilight.

“Whoa! Sorry Twi, I didn't see ya’ there.” She said with a grin. She adjusted the saddlebags that rested on her back. They seemed to be filled with some kind of papers. Flyers, maybe? Marckus couldn't be certain. She didn't seem to notice Marckus, even though he was mere feet away, and was pretty hard to miss.

“Hi Rainbow, what are you doing here?” She said between the teeth of an obviously fake grin. She bobbed her head in her companion's direction, staring intently at the cyan mare. The pegasus turned and looked up at him, her grin instantly replaced with a shocked expression. She started backing up slowly.

“Uuhh...I-I just remembered that I...uh...I left the rainbow fountain running!” As finished her bizarre statement she bolted off in a streak of multicolor splendor. A few of the papers from her bags fluttered to the ground, blasted out of place by the shear force of the take-off. Marckus eyed the little thing curiously and reached his hand out to grab it, but a strange heat radiated from it. Soon the paper was engulfed in an intense flame and was incinerated in an instant. He quickly withdrew his hand and turned to Twilight, who's horn was shimmering from exerting magical energy. She laughed awkwardly as the rest of the papers erupted in a similar fashion.

“Heh heh...Just cleaning up the litter?” She said. The man shrugged and disregarded the strange behavior from both of the mares. For all he knew, Ms. Dash may actually have some kind of “rainbow fountain” and she left it running. Maybe incineration was standard procedure when dealing with litter. 'Phew...That was a close one.' She thought to herself. 'Darn it! I was hoping that Dash would be available to take Marckus off my hooves for a while.' She glanced around the deserted streets looking for somepony to talk to, anypony that could stall them for however long. Marckus laced his fingers behind his head and bent back, a few snaps sounding, and stretched. With a groan, he stretched arms above his head and shook himself.

“Hey, Twilight. It looks like everyone is in for the night.” He looked up from her and gazed out into the brilliant scarlet sunset, the sky closer to them turning a beautiful mix of mauves and lavenders. “It's getting pretty late, why don't we turn in too?” He asked. Twilight's eyes went wide and it seemed that her face drooped with unease.

“Uh...are you sure you don't want to, uh...um...Do you want to stay out and go star-gazing?” She asked desperately. He looked up into the dusk sky at the waning gibbous moon, slowly being surrounding by admiring stars of all colors.

“On any other night, I'd love to lie out in a field and look at those gorgeous stars, but I'm pretty worn out. You've got to admit, you have been dragging me around town all day. Plus there was the labor at the orchard, and that crazy attack by those little fillies. If you wouldn't mind, I'd just like to lie down and rest for the evening.” Marckus reasoned. Twilight grimaced inwardly.

'Of course I mind!' She screamed in her head, but stayed silent. That would bring about too many questions. So far, she hasn't had to lie, and she wanted it to stay that way. “Alright, let's get going then.” She said with a faked upset tone. She hung her head slightly and let her ears droop a bit. After a few steps, she peeked out of the corner of her eye to see if it had any effect on the man, and to her dismay, it had failed. He was still looking up at the stars. Twilight decided that she could still buy Pinkie some time if she walked really slowly. Even for a pony, she was walking comparatively at a snail's pace. Marckus' normally massive strides were reduced to tiny shuffles. He began intentionally dragging his heels along the dirt road, kicking up small dust clouds with each drag. The day's last rays glanced off of the hanging clouds, setting the sky ablaze in brilliant oranges and scarlets before finally burning out, leaving behind cool blues and purples in it's place.

Before long, the sun had completely set, and the pair walked the remainder of the way in a peaceful darkness. Marckus was absolutely stunned at how bright the night was, the moon and its entourage of stars giving any still awake a helpful guiding light. Where he lived prior to his fall into this world, the nights were blackened by a fairly persistent overcast, airborne contaminates giving perfect surfaces for forming clouds. Even on a clear night, he was never able to gaze at the stars because of the local light pollution. Living in the Empire State isn't the best decision if one wished to enjoy the beauty and tranquility of nature. After walking for much longer than needed, they finally arrived at the Library. Twilight took her time opening the door, as though it would fall off its hinges at any moment. The pair entered the place of study to find that all of the lights had been turned off.

“Hey, isn't there someone else that lives here...Spike?” The man asked.

“Yes, he lives here too. Why do you ask?” Twilight responded.

“Well, shouldn't he have the lights on if he's here?” He reasoned. The lavender mare was about to worry about the suspicious lack of illumination, but she had the perfect excuse.

“He's a baby dragon, so he heads to bed by the break of dusk.” She said with a confident smile. “I have Owluicious to help me around the Library at night.” She told him. He looked around and scratched his head in search of the other denizen of the place.

“Who's Owluic- UUAAH!!” He screamed as the nocturnal assistant to the unicorn flew through the room and began screeching and scratching at him with its razor sharp talons. Twilight's eyes went wide as she saw her pet try to tear her new friend to shreds. He crossed his arms over his head and kept his head down to protect his face from the sharp fury of the bird of prey.

“Owluicious, no! He's friendly! Owluicious STOP!” She shouted at the bird. She quickly engulfed the owl in a field of telekinesis and dragged it away from the man.

“What the fuck?!” He shouted in shock, not expecting to be attacked in the safety of the Library. In that moment his own eyes went wide with worry and he clamped his hand over his mouth. He was silently praying that Twilight wasn't paying enough attention to realize what he just said. When she had calmed her pet, she turned back to him with interest in her eyes.

“'Fuck'? What's 'fuck'?” She asked with genuine curiosity. In his mind, he screamed “Oops!” He took his hand away from his mouth slowly as he thought of what to say. He was truly at an internal impasse. Being a very eloquent and well-read man, he could appreciate the word's nigh infinite uses past the vulgarity, but it was vulgar and extremely informal nonetheless. Knowing that Twilight was studious herself, he would be sure that she'd also find such a multi-purposed word fascinating, but he would never live it down if he corrupted her with such a term.

“Uum...nothing. Nevermind. Forget it.... Just...just don't go repeating it again, please?” He pleaded. The last thing he wanted to do was to pollute this innocent pony's mind with cursing. She seemed rather knowledgeable, and she probably knew her fair share of slang, so he just hoped that his own world's curses were as foreign as he was. Twilight looked at him with a mild concern.

“Uh, okay then.” She said, slightly confused as to why he wouldn't share the meaning of a new word with her.

“So that's Owluicious?” Marckus asked, pointing a finger at the perched bird.

“Yep! He's nocturnal, so he can help me at night when Spike goes to bed. Speaking of, we might as well go upstairs. No sense in staying down here.” She said as she noticed the lack of preparation noises coming from above. They ascended the stairs, with Owluicious flying up ahead of them and landing on a floor lamp. Marckus walked over to the couch he had started taking a liking to and was about to flop down for the night when Twilight spoke up.

“Hey Marckus, don't sit down yet, please.” She said. He stood up from his half-crouch and straightened with a whispered sigh. “Sorry, but I may need your help with something in the Atrium upstairs.” She said as she trotted up the second flight of stairs. He stood with his hands in his pockets, waiting patiently for further direction. He rocked back and forth on his heels and looked over at the owl on the lamp.

“So, uh...do you talk?” He asked the bold-eyed bird.

“Who?” Owluicious responded. Marckus took a hand out of his pocket and pointed to the owl.

“You...wait, I'm not falling for that. I know your tricks.” He said somewhat frustrated.

“Who?” The owl replied.

“Yeah, that's what I thought.” Marckus said. A moment passed and he regarded the predatory bird once more.

“Nehehe...Hey, Owluicious, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?” The man said sarcastically.

“Two.” Quoth the…owl. Marckus raised his eyebrows in disbelief.

“Come again?” He said asked.

“Who?” Owluicious said almost mockingly.

“Feh...” The man said, waving a hand dismissively at the owl. After another moment of waiting, he heard Twilight call from the floor above.

“Marckus! Can you come up here?” She called. He rolled his shoulders and neck, and tried to shake himself back awake for whatever Twilight needed him for. Most likely just moving furniture or large equipment that was too big for her magic. He didn't know if there was a limit to her magic, but he was just guessing. He started up the stairs to find that the door was shut. He shrugged and reached for the door. He opened the door to reveal a room that was pitch-black.

In the matter of a moment, Marckus did the last thing he ever wanted to do. In a second, the dark was completely replaced by blinding light, the tranquil silence of the night taken over by a cacophony of loud, piercing noises. His vision dominated by a blur of bright color. His actions were instantaneously directed by reflex. In a single motion, he brought his right arm up and covered his face, wrenching his eyes shut, while his left hand balled into a fist and lunged out, striking whatever his body perceived was attacking him.

“GAAH!!!!” He screamed as the moment passed in an instant. He noticed that his hand had hit something, and he looked up from his arm to see his surroundings for what they really were. The noises that sounded was what seemed like the entire town screaming “SURPRISE!”, blasting confetti and rattling noise-makers. The flash of light was, of course, the lights being turned on all at once. The color that had obstructed his vision was the pink fur of a one Pinkie Pie's face. As he looked he saw that she must have been standing on the stool at his feet so that she was at an equal height, but was now lying sprawled out on the ground a couple of feet in front of him. The crowd gasped collectively and backed up in fear. Then, it burst into shouts and screams. Fluttershy and Rarity charged over to check on Pinkie, who's eyes were spiraling, and a thick line of crimson blood was running from her nose. Applejack and Rainbow Dash, on the other hand went straight for the stunned man.

“Ah knew it! Ah knew y'all were no good!” The workpony screamed at him. He shook his head and put his hands out defensively.

“I'm sorry! I didn't mean to-”

“Let's beat the tar outta him to make it even!” Rainbow Dash snarled in her friend's defense.

“No, wait! You don't understand!” He pleaded. Twilight jumped between them and tried to defuse the situation. The ponies began to bombard them with a volley of threats and the likes. Just as the whole crowd was either about to jump the shocked man, or escape through the nearest window, a voice rang out through all the chaos.

“HOLD ON A MINUTE!!!” Shouted the unknown source. The crowd came to an unsettling hush. A line was cleared through the crowd to the voice. It was Pinkie Pie. She was leaning against Fluttershy, her nose still slightly dripping blood.

“Pinkie Pie! I'm so sorry! Please, I didn't mean to, it was just-” Marckus' sentence was cut short by a raised hoof.

“Don't worry Marckus,” She said in her normal cheery manner, “I'm fine! Besides, isn't this supposed to be a party?! Where's the music? I wanna get my groove on!” She shouted.

“Are you sure that's such a good idea dear? That was quite a blow you suffered.” Rarity asked, concerned. The majority of the crowd shooting daggers at Marckus in response.

“I feel fiiiine, Rarity, trust me!” The pink pony said, twirling on her hoof with the slightest of ease. The crowd eyed Marckus in a mixture of fear and dislike. Noticing the general vibe of the entirety of the town, Pinkie skipped happily over to the man. “Hey, don't be like that, it's not his fault ol' Pinkie Pie gave him a scare.” She said, laughing and giving him a joking jab to the side from atop her stool. “Really guys, he's a super nice...um whatever-he-is!” She told the crowd with an amount of confidence that only she could have. Marckus didn't want to correct her in hopes that she would win over the crowd. With skepticism blatant in the crowd's glares, whoever was manning the music booth turned up the tunes.

“Yeah! Now THAT'S what I'm talking about!” Pinkie said as she began to sway, dip, and swirl to the upbeat music. “Wooh! Come on everypony! Let's get jiggy with it!” She cried to the crowd. It seemed that her enthusiasm was contagious, because not after long did most of the crowd join in and actually begin to party. Pinkie dissolved into the writhing mass of dancing party-goers as the music was kicked up to full blast.

Marckus took a minute to gaze in astonishment at the shindig a complete stranger had set up in his honor. There were streamers and banners strewn about the rafters and walls, entire tables set up with concessions, and towards the back of the gigantic room sat the music booth, its massive dual towers of pure amplifying power reaching for the proportionally gargantuan room. Between them sat the Disk Jockey's spin table. On the front was a label that read “DJ Pwn-3”. He chuckled to himself at the somewhat ironic use of his world's “1337-5P34l<” or “Leet Speak” as it were. He had been familiar with it during his time in the internet and gaming community before his work and other obligations had rendered his free time near extinct. The unicorn at the booth was sporting some interesting shades. Her mane was an electric blue, and her coat was white. He made a mental note to mingle his way over to the booth and ask her some questions, but for now, he took in the rest of his surroundings.

In the center of the room, hanging of the main cross member, there was a massive banner that read “Welcome to Equestria Marckus!” written in bright, bold-face print. He was still finding it a tad bit odd that someone would throw such a massive party just for him, only knowing him for a short time. Back home, he didn't even get parties on his birthday. Just a card here and there from friend who had began sadly drifting away from him for quite a while. They would usually send the obligatory Christmas or birthday card, but other than that, they rarely contacted one another. Just as his thoughts began drifting away from him, two very upset mares approached him.

“So, you think you can just clobber our friend in the snout and get away scott-free, huh?” The cyan pegasus asked rhetorically. The scowl that played across her face matched only by the anger in that of her orange friend.

“Ya think that just cuz we're smaller then y'all makes it okay fer ya to just prance around beatin' the snot outta mah friends?” Applejack asked with a threatening tone. The pair stalked closer to the man. “Well, Mister Tough Guy, just know that you'll be gettin' yers soon enough.” She said with a sense of foreboding.

“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash snickered mischievously, “when you least expect it, you'll get what's comin' to you.” Marckus tried to put the thoughts from his mind, seeing that he was in such a crowded place, but it seemed that the crowd would also like to see him get his just desserts. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Heh, come on ladies, it was an accident. Even Pinkie Pie said so.” He said partially pleading. The two mares exchanged a devious look and left, defusing back into the crowd. Suddenly, he felt utter disbelief. He had just been confronted by two pastel colored, talking ponies, and was actually worried. He had never been confrontational, always a gentleman, but that didn't mean that he couldn't handle himself in a tough situation. He cleared the thoughts from his mind and eased himself, allowing the music to reach further to him. He felt the deep, pounding pulses of the bass thumping in his chest. He bobbed his head to the intense techno that boomed from the DJ's booth. It was good to finally listen to music again. After a few minutes, the party was finally in full swing, and the adrenalin surge from the unfortunate incident gave Marckus a second wind, he was wide awake.

He strode across the giant room to the concession table. It was quite a spread! It seemed that the catering was also being taken care of by the zealous pink pony, the table was jam-packed with treats and goodies of all sorts. Cookies, donuts, brownies, cupcakes, and even a gigantic four-tier cake decorated with balloons and streamers made of frosting. It all looked delectable, but he chose to take part of the punch and leave the sugary delights for later. He poured himself some punch into one of the tiny cups provided and was about to take a sip until something nudged his leg. He set the drink down on the table and turned to see that it was Pinkie Pie trying to get his attention.

“What's up?” He asked the MC of the town-wide bash. She looked at him and giggled.

“He-he! You!” She said in her famous happy tone. Marckus chuckled at the crude joke.

“I can't thank you enough for this party. I mean, this is amazing! And you've only known me for a few days...I can only imagine what you do for one of your friends.” He said in astonishment and thanks.

“It's no biggie! I throw a party for everypony that comes to Ponyville! But this was your first time in Equestria, so I thought ‘This party has to be big enough to welcome someone to the whole world!'” She recanted with a beaming smile. Just then, the song ended and was quickly followed by another that was equally up-beat and intense. “OOH! This is my jam!” She shouted eagerly before zipping back into the oceanic crowd. They were all moving and grooving to the music happily.

“What song isn't your jam?” He thought out loud, but was most likely unheard over the thunderous music. He turned back around and retrieved his glass. He put the glass to his lips and downed the liquid. Suddenly, his tongue and throat began to burn and his eyes began to water. He coughed and gagged as the sensation intensified. “Hot! Mi- * cough * milk!” He cried. Soon, Rainbow Dash swooped in from overhead wielding a metal bucket.

“Aww, wussa matter? Too hot for ya? Here, this aughtta cool you off!” She said as she threw the water housed in the bucket right in his face. She dropped the bucket and fell to the floor, cracking up into hysterics. He also heard laughter coming from behind him. Applejack emerged from underneath the table, cleverly hidden by the tablecloth, also busting a gut. Soon, the crowd noticed his moistened state and joined in with bouts of laughter themselves. He had been set up! Marckus coughed and choked some more, his eyes dilating in terror. He gripped his throat with his right hand as he fell to his knees, holding on to the side of the table with his left. The laughter died out when they saw his declining status. Rainbow Dash got up from the floor and chuckled nervously a few times.

“Heh heh...Just look at him ham it up.” She said with a hint of worry in her voice. Marckus continued to wheeze and choke, his breaths becoming shallower as time passed.

“I'm...allergic! Can't...breathe!” He said with a harsh rasp. Rainbow lost her smile completely and rushed over to his side.

“Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! Wha- Can I help you?” She asked with genuine concern. He said something too quietly for her to hear. “What? What did you say?” He turned his head and looked at her with a dastardly smile playing across his face. He reached across the table with his left hand and gripped the punch bowl, bringing it above his head and down on top of the technicolor mare's, soaking her in the drink.

“Gotcha!” He said with a hearty laugh. The crowd gasped collectively. Dash's look of worry melted away to reveal an expression of total fury. She growled and glared intensely at the man. She took a few deep, infuriated breaths. She stood at him until her scowl began to twitch and waver. In a moment, she burst out laughing and removed the punch bowl from her head, placing it back on the table.

“That was pretty good, I'll give you that.” She said as she patted him on the back. Applejack joined her at her side. “Sorry about the prank, we just had a theory is all.” She said.

“What, if humans are immune to hot sauce?” He asked with a chuckle.

“No, nuthin' like that.” Applejack began. “Ah know Pinkie Pie, and Ah know she knows ponies. Now, y'all ain't much of a pony, but she can read folks all the same. If she says that yu're a good guy, then Ah got's ta’ listen, but Ah had to know fer sure. Me 'n Dash played this little trick on ya’ to see how you'd react, and it looks like you done proved me wrong again.” She explained. He shrugged and nodded.

“Eh, fair enough. No hard feelings...well from me, anyway. You're not mad, though, are you Miss Dash?” He asked.

“I will be if you keep calling me 'Miss', but other than that, nope, I'd say that we're even.” She said with a smile. Out of nowhere, Pinkie jumped up between the three of them and locked their heads into a big hug.

“Yay! We're all friends!!” She shouted gleefully. With that, she sprung from them and leaped back into the massive crowd. The music picked up again and all the ponies resumed dancing. Applejack and Rainbow Dash eased into the party with a new image of Marckus in their minds, taking any worry away. Marckus got too his feet and hurriedly reached for some chocolate fudge brownies, quickly scarfing them down. He breathed a sigh of relief as the dairy in the treats soothed his still burning mouth and throat.

The party raged on for quite a while, lasting far into the night. It seemed inconceivable, but Pinkie Pie had managed to keep the entire town entertained for the whole night. Any ponies who left were only gone long enough to make sure that their little ones were settled in for the night before returning. The music continued to boom throughout the amphitheater sized room, showing no sign of slowing down. Marckus drifted through the crowd, mingling with some of the ponies. It seemed that after the show that was put on, they also adopted a similar feeling towards him. Many of them were still stunned at first from his unusual looks and large stature, but they came around soon enough. He spoke to Golden Harvest, a local carrot farmer, and Lyra and Bon-Bon, a musician and a sweet's store owner respectively, they seemed to be exceptionally close, but Marckus threw any assumptions out of his mind.

He eventually made his way over to the DJ booth and finally chatted with her. It turned out that her real name was Vinyl Scratch, very suiting in his opinion. They talked the subject of music for a while, finding shared points and opinions on most of the matter. A few minutes into their conversation, a mare by the name of Octavia showed up. It seemed that she was a cellist in a classical orchestra and, on occasion, a four part band that performed for some of the more up-class balls and galas. They discussed different views on classical music, along with various other genres, until Octavia and Vinyl began to bicker and fight like an old married couple. Marckus shrugged and resumed enjoying his party.

At what seemed a couple of hours past midnight, Pinkie took hold of the crowd's attention once again.

“Hey everypony, now that the little fillies and colts are safely tucked away, let's really get this party started!” She shouted. The crowd cheered immensely as the party pony strutted through the crowd to the table carrying a platter of some kind of white cubes on her head and a keg on her back. He placed them both down on the table and the crowd started filtering over, taking some of the newly supplied refreshments. Marckus walked over to the gigantic keg that seemed far too heavy for such a little pony to heft, but he didn't really know their strength. Especially Pinkie's. For all he knew, she could break down an entire wall with ease, but he would rather not find that out the hard way. He took a cup and poured some of the liquid from the tap, giving it a sniff and a sip.

“Um...Pinkie Pie?” He said quizzically, turning to the pink mare.

“Mmmyyyeeeeees?” She responded enthusiastically.

“Is this...apple cider?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Yup-yup-yupparoo!” She said. He thought for a moment. Then, he reached for a cube, prodding it with his tongue, getting just a bit to taste. What he tasted only made him more confused.

“Is this salt?” He asked in complete ignorance. Pinkie giggled loudly.

“Hehehe, of course it is, silly! You're not gonna narc on me, are you Marckus-Parkus-Lemon-Larkus?” She asked playfully.

“Um, what would I have to narc on you about?” He asked as he scratched his head. As he took a sip of his beverage, Twilight emerged from the crowd with a frown on her face. She looked up at Marckus after she glared at the pink Master of Ceremonies.

“Marckus, salt and cider can have disorienting effects on ponies, and frankly, I'm very disappointed in Pinkie Pie for bringing them to this party.” She said as she returned to scowl at Pinkie.

“Oh, lighten up, Twilight. Why don't you have a lick and loosen up for a change?” Pinkie suggested.

“Absolutely not! I shall not be partaking of those mind-altering substances, thank you!” She said disapprovingly.

“Wait, so salt and cider...is like alcohol? I know that dehydration can bring on delirium, but cider? That's just like apple juice. I mean, sure, it's fermented and the tiniest bit alcoholic...” As he thought out loud, the realization began to fall on him. “Well, you are really small, so what little alcohol there is would have a decent effect on you.” As he finished putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Twilight nodded in approval.

“You see, Pinkie? Without those horrible things to pollute everypony's minds, they could all be thinking as clearly as Marckus is. I'm sure that you don't take part in such a repulsive tradition in your world, do you?” She asked, thinking she knew the answer.

“Well, I'd be lying if I said I've been completely without alcohol.” He said cautiously. Twilight gaped and looked at him, surprised. “Well, I only have a little during my birthday, and for New Year's, but it's only red wine. It tastes good and it's really good for the heart, but I never have enough to get really drunk, just a light buzz.” He said reassuringly. “But other than that, I can't stand alcohol. Everything else tastes like shi-” He caught himself as he almost let slip more of his informal vocabulary. “erm, tastes real bad.” He said. At this, Twilight turned back to Pinkie, shoving a hoof in the man's direction.

“See? Only a tiny bit AND it's healthy for him! But this...” She shook her head as she scolded the party mare for her irresponsibility. She opened her mouth to continue, but Marckus' hand on her shoulder caught her.

“Twilight, it is a party. You don't have to join them, but at least let them hang loose for the night. If they want to get a bit tipsy, so be it, right? I mean, so long as no one gets hurt and they all make it home safely, what's the harm? Especially considering both you and I will be sober, so if something does happen, which nothing should, we're here to take care of it, alright?” He reasoned. Pinkie beamed even brighter as he defended her. Twilight considered it for a while.

“Okay, I guess.” Twilight said, defeated. She glared at Pinkie again. “You're lucky Marckus is here to win me over with proper logic and reasoning!” Pinkie jumped into the air, clapping her hooves together happily.

“Hooray for proper larsoning and regic!” She said zealously. Twilight groaned and rolled her eyes at Pinkie's obvious lack of the two characteristics. Pinkie bounced over to the DJ's booth and took hold of the microphone, tapping it a few times to get everyone's attention. “Hey party ponies!!” She shouted to the crowd. They all quieted down, and Vinyl Scratch lowered the volume of the music so that Pinkie could use her normal voice, which consisted mostly of shouts and screams, to address the masses. “Let's here it for our guest of honor, Marckus!” She said, pointing a hoof over to the man still sipping at his cup of cider. The crowd erupted in a massive cheer, all turning to him and stamping their hooves against the floor, creating a resounding applause. A multitude of ponies approached him and welcomed him, some of the pegasi flying to him and patting him on the shoulders or back.

“Thanks, everyone, so much. You guys really know how to make a fella feel welcome in another world.” Marckus said sincerely. To this, the crowd gave another thunderous applause. “Okay, enough sentiments, let's get back to the party!” He called, to which the crowd answered with more applause. The music was cranked to eleven and the festivities were once again underway.

The party was soon kicked into over-drive by the new refreshments available and everypony was having a blast. As time went on all too quickly, the party ponies began to feel the effects of the cider and salt cubes. Speech became slurred and dancing became clumsy and wobbly. It was, unfortunately, around time to start seeing ponies off on their way home. The concessions were all but gone, and the party was finally winding down. It was at least four hours past midnight when the first groups of ponies began to leave. Marckus noticed them start out the exit and managed to thank them for coming and wish them a good night. He stood there the remainder of the night, drinking his cider and thanking everypony as they went.

Soon enough, the party had ended, and the DJ was packing up her equipment with the help of her friend, Octavia. Besides them, all that remained was Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. They all helped clean up the mess, but Applejack, Pinkie, and Rainbow were all hammered. Marckus gathered them together at a table and sat them down before returning to helping. With their combined efforts, the gargantuan atrium was clear of party trash and debris.

Once everything was cleared and cleaned, Marckus brought all six of the mares together one more time.

“I can't thank y'all enough all that you've done for me.” He said with his expression brimming with gratitude. “Fluttershy, helping me through an emotional crisis and for providing me with food. Twilight, for helping me heal, and allowing me to live under your roof. Applejack, for giving me a chance to prove my worth, and for helping to cater to this party. Rainbow Dash, for sending word out to everyone in town to come to a party for a guy you've barely met. Rarity, for that fantastic trip to the spa, and for mending my clothes. And finally, thank you Pinkie Pie, for putting together this monumental event just for the sake of welcoming me into your lives.” He leaned down and took them all in his arms and initiated a group hug. “Again, thank you all, so much, for everything.” They all happily and/or drunkenly returned the embrace with contented sighs.

In unison, they all answered “Your welcome, Marckus. Welcome to Equestria!”

They went downstairs and saw the seven remaining mares out the door. Twilight turned up to Marckus with a sleepy smile and motioned for them to return to the second floor and retire for the night. The tired man approached his little sofa and stopped in mid-flop, looking over at the lavender mare. With a snicker, she shook her head, signaling that it was okay for him to plop down and rest. And he did just that. As he was lying on the sofa, he reached out and unlaced his boots, sending each of them to the floor with a loud thump. He turned behind him and fluffed up his Carhartt before lying down with an exhausted moan. He laced his fingers behind his head and shut his eyes.

“Good night, Twilight.” He called to her.

“Good night, Marckus. And welcome to Equestria.” She responded before trotting off to her room for the night. He drifted slowly away to sleep with a truly contented smile on his lips.

To be continued...

[AUTHOR'S NOTE]

Attention readers, now that the story has finally reached a high point, it's bound to slow down from here. While I do have some ideas, they're only feasible once the story has progressed some more, so it'll take a while to implement them. So, I'm holding a contest. The first few people to give two damns about what I say, and would like to request something, PM me and I'll discuss more then. But don't worry, I'll drudge on through the dull parts as quickly as I can manage to keep the story at a decent pacing, but a lot is going to be filler.

Chapter 15

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 15
By FeralFox

*Tick tick tick tick*

*BBRDRDRDRDRDRDRDRDRDRD*

Marckus grumbled in notable displeasure, mumbling incomprehensible curses as his Circadian Rhythm told his internal clock to sound the alarm. He began moving in his place of rest to find out that he had ended up on the floor. He stretched his achy limbs, each giving several resounding cracks as joints popped to relieve pressure that had built up in them overnight. He flipped over onto his back and sat up, rubbing at his eyes, though he decided to keep them comfortably shut for the time being. He lifted himself to his feet and swayed slightly as the blood rushed from his head, dizzying him for a second. The moment passed and he took a few steps forward. Padding across the floor in his socks, he traversed his surroundings by memory, and knew to make a left turn after just a few steps. He turned and began walking sluggishly forward. Just a few more steps and he would be in his-

*SLAM*

The newly woken man crashed face-first into a wall and stumbled back, tripping over his heels and landing on his backside with an unpleasant thud.

“Uuh…who’s been putting walls up in my bathroom again?” He asked to no one in general. He rubbed his face and opened his eyes to see what exactly he had become acquainted with. It was the solid oak wall of some place that was familiar to him. With his hand still pressed against his face, he raised an eyebrow and, looking out through his parted fingers, observed his surroundings. “Oh yeah, right…” He said dejectedly as he realized that he was still in a different world. With a groan, he got back to his feet and looked for his initial target – the bathroom. Spotting the hallway, he lumbered sleepily through the small building, his bladder reminding him that this matter was soon to become life-and-death, and found the door to the Promised Land. He turned the handle and crouched through the small doorway, shutting the door behind himself.

With his business done, he knelt down in front of the sink and washed his hands. He then looked into the mirror. Again, the man found reason to frown. To his dismay, the man that stared back at him from the mirror was being attacked by a hairy face-demon. He turned on the faucet and looked around for some shaving cream. He soon realized that there would be no need for shaving cream in a pony’s home, and his frown soon degraded into an outright scowl. He took a bar of soap and lathered it up, spreading the suds across his overgrown facial hair. When his beard was coated to his liking, he withdrew his Swiss-Army-Knife from his pocket and extended the blade. It was a little dull from his years of extended use. He reached down and grabbed his pant leg, pulling it taught. He ran the blade across the denim numerous times, honing it and in-turn, making his hellish shave somewhat less hellish. He put the blade up to his neck, preferring to start under his chin when he heard a knocking at the door.

“Marckus? Are you in there? I heard a commotion and got worried.” His purple hostess called through the door.

“Yeah, I’m in here. Come on in, I’m decent.” He said as he began to slowly draw the blade up his neck. The door opened and there was a shrill shriek from the place’s resident. He flinched and almost dropped the knife, but accidently nicked his neck just above his Adam’s Apple.

“Marckus stop!” Twilight yelled. “It doesn’t have to end this way!”

“Wait what?” The confused man asked before the blade was ripped from his hands by a mauve aura.

“I know you’re sad, but that’s no reason to kill yourself! It’ll get better, I promise!” The unicorn shouted.

“Kill myself? What the he- er, what are you talking about?” The befuddled man asked with an eyebrow raised.

“Weren’t you about to kill yourself because you miss your world? I mean, the knife, a-and your neck?” The mare asked, now equally confused. Realizing how someone who has never shaved, nor witnessed someone shave, could easily think that he was about to commit suicide, he shook his head.

“Oh, no no no, I was about to shave my beard, that’s all.” He said, pointing to the soapy shag hanging off his chin. “Now, can I have my knife back?” He asked, extending his hand for his requested item.

“Shaving? Are you sure you’re not going to kill yourself?” She asked skeptically. Marckus rolled his eyes and snatched his knife out of the air.

“No, I’m not suicidal; I just want to get rid of this beard.” He reassured. With that he lifted his chin again and pressed the blade to his neck. Just as he was about to bring the tool up under his chin, his hostess interrupted again.

“Wait!” She shouted, freezing the knife in place with her magic. Marckus groaned and turned to her, using all his willpower not to let his morning irritability get the better of him. “Well, I was just going to say, I think Rarity might have some better tools for cutting hair. I mean, she does love to make her mane look perfect.” She suggested. Marckus sighed, but figured that anything would be better than the old knife he was about to use. He shrugged and folded the 7” blade back into the multi-tool’s handle and washed the soap off of his face.

“Alright…but I’m already in the hole enough as it is. I really don’t want to keep borrowing things from people.” He said in minor protest.

“Oh, I’m sure she won’t mind lending you a blade to cut your hair with.” The lavender mare reasoned. He dried his face off with a nearby…well, the equivalent of a hand-towel, and the two made their way back to the main living-area. Marckus looked to the grandfather clock that stood at one end of the room. The dials read 5:08.

“What’s today, Monday?” He asked. Twilight nodded her head, causing the man to sigh. “Yup…I woke up for work…” He said with a hint of sorrow in his tone. “Oh well, not much I can do about it now.” He concluded. As they passed through the living area, the man grabbed up his boots and laced them on. The two left the building where Marckus proceeded to stretch his arms out above his head, pushing up with his toes, extending himself out as far as he could. His spine cracked several times, making Twilight cringe. He moaned and groaned, finally relaxing and hunching over, bending his back the other way. Once he was finished limbering up for the day, he turned to a very disgusted-looking mare. “What?”

“Those noises are…disturbing.” She said, making her discontent of his stretches clear.

“Yeah, but it feels sooooo good…” He argued as he allowed the newfound comfort in his joints soak in. Twilight merely shook her head and the two started on their way.

As they walked through town, the looks he got from the townsfolk were completely changed. No longer did they stare awkwardly at him, or sneer and back away. Now they were content to politely disregarding him as they went about their business. Those that were not too occupied would nod, or even give a fine howdy-do. The walk to Rarity’s place of business was altogether a pleasant one. Twilight knocked on the front door and stepped back to wait.

“Are you sure she’s even awake? I mean, it’s only five in the morning.” Marckus commented. His question was soon answered by the door opening up to reveal Rarity, in all her fabulosity. Her mane was, of course, coiffed to perfection, and her coat held it’s normally marvelous sheen.

“Why, hello again Marckus, Twilight, what brings you two to my shop?” The pewter unicorn asked politely.

“I was just wondering if I might trouble you for a razor.” The bushy-bearded man asked.

“A razor? Why would you need a razor?” Rarity asked as she beckoned them inside.

“I’m looking to get rid of all this….this.” He said, tugging on his chin hair. “Come to think of it, I’d like to cut all of this hair off too.” He said idly, running his fingers through the shaggy mop that grew atop his head. “Before I came here, it was winter, so I let my hair grow out to keep my head n’ face warm, but now that it’s summer, I can finally chop it all off.” He said with a sigh of relief. Rarity on the other hand, gasped in horror.

“Why would you want to cut away those lovely locks? Oh, such a beautiful color, and so perfectly maintained. No split ends!” She remarked. “How did you keep it in such a fine condition?” She asked, looking at it closely from atop a high stool. Marckus merely shrugged.

“Eh-uh-know…” He said with a shrug, not giving it much thought. “It’s prob’ly hereditary. My dad had good hair. So did my Pa.” He recalled.

“Pardon me, but your ‘dad’ and your ‘Pa’?” Rarity asked. “Is that not the same person?”

“Well, ‘Pa’ is normally used in place of ‘dad’ but we always called my granddad ‘Pa’ because was Italian…that’s a nationality by the way.” He explained.

“Oh my, how fascinating.” The fashionista mused as she continued to gander at the man’s head.

“So does that mean that I can borrow a razor and some scissors?” He asked, now desperately wanting to rid himself of his overgrown hair.

“You can’t simply throw such beautiful hair away! Oh I can just picture the styles I could put your hair in!” She said, moving bits and pieces around with her hooves. Marckus crossed his arms calmly, but his signal was clear enough. “Hehe…Oh, if you are so insisted in ridding yourself of it then I suppose it would be wrong of me to try and stop you. Yes, I have a razor and some grooming scissors that you may borrow, but I am still against this I hope you know.” She said as she trotted out of the room. She returned with the items he requested – An old-fashioned straight-razor and a small pair of scissors. He took them and thanked her. He and Twilight were about to leave, but Rarity couldn’t help herself.

“Oh, wait! Please!” She called. They halted and Marckus grumbled, getting rather annoyed at how often he was being interrupted and stopped.

“What’s up?” He said, turning back to her, trying his hardest not to let it get to him.

“Well, if you are going to get rid of it, you may as well let a professional do it for you. I would gladly cut your hair to your preference just to see it done well.” She proposed. Now it wasn’t being interrupted that was causing the man such a grievance, it was the over-generousness of these ponies. He was going to end up being further in the hole from all these favors than he was with his credit debt. And he knew there was no turning it down, as Rarity seemed to be the most persistent at handing out favors. Marckus sighed and began to walk back to the generous mare.

“Alright…but you know you’re not making it any easier to repay my debt, right?” He said with a smirk. Rarity waved a dismissive hoof at his comment and sat him down on her second tallest stool, and proceeded to stand on the tallest directly in front of him.

“Now, how much? An inch? An inch and a quarter?” She asked, wondering how much to trim off.

“Ya know, I usually keep it three-eighths long, but now that I think about it, a quarter sounds better.” He said. Rarity quickly grabbed the man’s face in her hooves and turned his head to look him in the eyes.

“You want me to cut it all off?! Down to a quarter of an inch?!” She asked, astonished.

“Yeah, the perfect cut – a crew cut. No bed-head, easy to wash, stays cool, and I never have to worry about it looking nice, ‘cause it always looks nice.” He said matter-of-factly. It almost looked like a tear was brimming in Rarity’s eye. She looked at his hair almost longingly, but stood up and started her work, sheering off mounds of hair off Marckus’s head.

“I can’t believe you’d want to get rid of all this perfectly good hair…” Rarity said sadly as she looked down at the pile of trimmed hair that lay on her floor. Marckus was happily rubbing his freshly shaven head, moaning contentedly as he ran his fingers over the little bristles that adorned his scalp.

“AAaaahhaahaaa……I love the feeling of a crew cut.” He said with a beam. “Again, I can’t thank you enough for this, Rarity.”

“Marckus, dear, as much as I hate to see this hair go to waste, it was really no trouble.” She said as she used her magic to sweep the pile of hair into a bin.

“Aw man, I can’t wait to shave this beard and trim my ‘stache.” He said more to himself than the others as he ran his hands across his face. “C’mon Twilight, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get this done as soon as possible so that I can enjoy the rest of the day.” He said to his hostess.

“Sure thing. Thank you for having us Rarity.” Twilight said as Marckus began to examine the quality of the razor he was given.

“Actually…” Rarity began. Right then, Marckus knew he wasn’t leaving. “Why don’t you take care of that here? I’d love to see the end-product, especially if you’re so excited about it.” She said.

“Um…alright, I guess.” The man said with a shrug. “Do you mind if we stay?” He asked the lavender unicorn beside him.

“No, that’s fine with me.” She answered, equally intrigued by what their friend would look like at the end of his grooming session.

“Okay then. I need a sink, some shaving cream- er, some soap, and a mirror.” He said. With that, Rarity led him to a bathroom that had all three things he needed. Once again, he lathered up the soap and coated his beard with the suds, acting as a make-shift shaving cream. He sat on his knees as he had before and held the razor just in front of his neck. He paused to shoot the mares that watched him a side-long glance, checking to see if they were going to interrupt him. Seeing no signs of protest, he pressed the blade against his neck and pushed it up and off the tip of his chin, cutting a nice line through his beard. He then proceeded to shave off the remainder of his beard and side burns, making sure to go over it a few times to clear any remaining stubble. When his chin was clear, he quickly trimmed his moustache and rinsed off his face. He washed off the razor and cleared the sink of his facial hair before standing up and rubbing his chin, neck, and cheeks.

“Aaww…man does that feel better.” He said joyfully.

“Well, are you going to let us get a good look at your work?” Rarity asked politely. Marckus removed his hands and shifted his head from side to side to show off his smoothed face. “My my, that suits you quite nicely. I do say you look quite handsome.” She complimented.

“Yeah, I have to admit, you do look better now.” Twilight added. The freshly shaved man resumed rubbing his cheeks with a broad grin.

“I’ll never get tired of this feeling…” He said contentedly as his overly-sensitive face was tingling with the stimulation. Once he was done doing what he was doing, he handed the razor over to the fashionista. “Seriously, I can’t thank you enough.” He went on to thank the white unicorn for the third time this morning.

“Yes, yes, I know darling, and you’re quite welcome. It’s always a pleasure to help a friend.” Rarity said jovially. “Is there anything else I can help you two with?” She asked as the pair made their way to the door.

“Nah, I’m set.” The man said habitually rubbing the tip his chin with one hand.

“I’m fine. Thank you though.” Twilight replied politely. With that, they left the Boutique and made their way back to the Library. They went to the living area and the bald-faced man flopped down onto the sofa he had become so accustomed to. “Well, I’m off to do some research on the continuity between post-classical era transmogrification-spells and modern disguise charms.” She told her guest. The man sat with a blank expression, staring straight ahead as he tried to process what she said. Finding the effort in vain, he merely disregarded it.

“Well…normally I’d be at work until about six-ish. What am I supposed to do now?” He asked, not knowing what to do with his newly acquired spare-time.

“Why don’t you go back to sleep? I mean, Pinkie’s party ended around four, I can’t believe you’re up to begin with.” She noted.

“I could say the same thing about you.” He responded quickly.

“I’m used to late-night study sessions.” She replied.

“Long nights before workdays.” He explained himself. The mare nodded in understanding.

“Well, I don’t know what you can do. There’s an entire library downstairs if you’re interested in reading.” She suggested. He shook his head.

“Eh, reading’s better for winding down and relaxing, after a long day’s work. I don’t have the attention span, or the patience to read for an entire day.” He reasoned. She started off in the direction of her room, craning her neck to talk back to him.

“I’m not sure there’s anything else you can do. Well, you could go ask Applejack for some work. She might even pay you this time.” Twilight called back, turning into her room. Finding nothing better to do with his time, he pushed himself up off the sofa and headed down the stairs and out of the Library. Without having to match the slower pace of a pony escort, Marckus was free to walk at his normal gait, taking extremely long steps, as was his way, and made good time getting over to Sweet Apple Acres by memory.

Eventually finding his way to the massive expanse of farmland and apple trees, he hopped over the low gate and approached the farmhouse. He gave a few gentle knocks to the door. After a moment, the door opened up to reveal a little yellow filly.

“Howdy there, little miss.” Marckus said politely. “Um, is Applejack here?”

“She sure is.” She said cheerily. She leaned back into the house and took a deep breath. “APPLEJACK! DOOR FER YOU!” She hollered into the residence. Taken somewhat aback by the unexpected shout, the man waited for the filly’s call to get answered. Before long, the blonde, Stenson-clad mare trotted up to the door.

“Howdy Marckus, Ah almost didn’t recognize ya. What brings ya ‘round these parts?” She asked, tipping her hat in greetings.

“Well, I was actually wondering if you’d be willing to employ me here on your farm. Without my normal job to go to, my entire day has become depressingly empty.” He explained. The orange pony gave him a skeptical look, mulling the idea over.

“Ya do have a strong back. Ah can’t say ya didn’t surprise me when ya hauled that wagon.” She said as she thought. “Ah tell you what, Ah’ll give ya one week. If’n you’re capable for farm labor, I’ll hire ya, if not…wull, we’ll take care o’ that if we come to it.” She proposed.

“You’ve got yourself a deal!” The man said enthusiastically. Applejack turned over her hoof and spat a wad of saliva on it, holding it out to seal the deal. The man grimaced inwardly as he couldn’t help but imagine the disturbing feeling of a spit-shake. He resigned himself to the act and spat a healthy amount into his own palm and grabbed her hoof, shaking it firmly and holding back the urge to shudder from the slimy wetness against his hand, grinning and baring it. With the deal closed, he released his grasp and promptly wiped his hand on his jeans.

“We were actually gonna start in a few minutes, after breakfast. Yu’re welcome to join us if ya want.” The farm pony said warmly. Thinking of the strictly vegetarian meals the locals ate, he shook his head.

“No thank you, I’m fine.” He politely declined. He walked to the edge of the porch and sat down on the edge, waiting for the Apple Family to eat their morning meal.

After a few minutes, the family finished their meal and work quickly began. Long hours of hard labor in the hot sun passed with relative silence, save the occasional instructions. With the addition of man-power, the chores and jobs around the farm were all finished much faster than usual, leaving plenty of time for harvesting apples. At the end of the day, when the last wagon of apples was hauled in, the hard work of the two farm ponies plus one Marckus resulted in a near doubling of the average in apples harvested. With some strategy implemented into the work, the process was more streamlined, allowing for such a boost in gathering.

“I gotta say, Markus, havin’ you around is soundin’ pretty darn good.” Applejack said with a grin.

“Eeyup.” The large red stallion agreed simply.

“My pleasure. Honestly, I’d be going stir-crazy if I had to stay in that Library all day.” The man replied, wiping a line of sweat off his forehead with his arm.

“Keep this up an’ getting’ that job’ll be a shoo in.” She said with commends.

He thanked her for the opportunity and proceeded on his way back to the Library, taking note of the dozens of pegasi flying around in the air hurriedly. Not much later, he reached his destination, bending down low through the doorway.

“Twilight?” He called. In the corner of his eye he spotted a stack of books floating around behind the counter, though there was a mysterious absence of the usual aura that surrounded things the mare levitated. He walked to the counter and peered over it to see the lower half of the Library’s other resident. “Spike?” He said to the legs under the books.

“Nnngh, Hi Marckus, nngh” The dragon said, straining to carry the reasonably large stack of thick tomes.

“Here, lemme help you.” The man said, walking around the counter and taking up the Spike’s burdon.

“Wow, thanks Marckus. Those were really heavy.” The mythical reptile said, relaxing his arms and back.

“No prob.” The man said casually as he followed Spike to a section of shelves where he assumed some of the tomes went. Spike climbed a ladder and began to take some of the books off the top of the tall stack and place them in their proper place. “Hey, where’s Twi’?” He asked. Spike pushed off the shelf and slid himself along the book cases on the ladder, Marckus quickly following behind.

“She’s still up in her room, studying.” Spike replied. The man had figured that’s where she’d be, if anywhere else. Before long, the books had all found their proper places amongst the shelves with Spikes disciplined knowledge and Marckus’s help. “Thanks for the help!” Spike said gratefully.

“Yup.” Marckus simply said. Spike looked up to him and did a double-take.

“Woah, I didn’t even notice your face, and your head. All your hair is…gone.” The dragon observed.

“Yup. I cut it all off this morning.” The man explained.

“I’m digging the ‘stache!” Spike complimented enthusiastically. Marckus couldn’t help but smirk at the energetic remark from the young dragon. He figured that Spike had goals of his own moustache by the sounds of it.

“Heh, thanks. Welp, I’ll be seein’ ya ‘round.” Marckus said, heading up the stairs.

“Yeah, I’ll see you later.” Spike replied, turning to the rest of his duties. Marckus climbed the steps with ease and strode to Twilight’s room.

“Hey Twilight?” He called again. This time, there was actually a response from the bookish mare.

“Yes Marckus, what is it?” Twilight answered back. He walked in to see her flipping through seven separate books, seeming to read them all at once. The sight was truly amazing, if not a tad bit disturbing.

“Hey, why are the pegasi all in a buzz? On the way back from the farm I noticed a bunch of them flying around all hurriedly. I think I even saw Rainbow Dash zipping around with some purpose up there. Oh, by the way, Applejack’s almost assured me a job.” He said.

“Congratulations!” Twilight said happily before addressing his actual question. “Well, to answer you, the pegasi are busy putting together a huge thunderstorm to cover a missed drizzle last Wednesday.” She explained. Marckus blinked as he tried to grasp her statement.

“Wait…’putting together’ the storm?” He asked, baffled.

“Yes. Pegasi have the innate ability to make, and manipulate weather. Rainbow Dash is actually head manager on Ponyville’s Weather Team.” Twilight explained. The concept floated around in the man’s mind as he began making sense of it. Of course, there was no sense to be made, so he just stuck it in the quickly filling ‘Different World, different rules’ file in his brain. Apparently, the laws of physics are also different here, he thought.

Just as he finally got his head around the strange concept, a massive bolt of lightning streaked across the sky, and a tremendous clap of thunder boomed through the Library, marking the start of the storm.

To be continued…

Chapter 16

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 16
by FeralFox

The vicious boom of thunder sent a smile crawling across the man’s face. He immediately about-faced and walked briskly into his temporary dormitory, snagged his Carhartt and pulled his other shirts out from within. He tossed them onto the sofa and quickly walked down the stairs as he slipped the heavy coat over his arms.

“Where are you going in such a rush?” Twilight asked, following him with some concern.

“Outside.” He simply put, zipping up the front of his coat.

“Are you crazy? There’s a massive storm going on out there!” She shouted.

“I know!” He said excitedly. With that, he reached the front door and opened it a crack, immediately being greeted by the strong winds against the flat of the door. He crouched low and snuck out through, keeping the opening as narrow as possible to save any loose documents from being blown around. He shut the door behind himself, only to have Twilight open it back up and lean her head out.

“Marckus! What are you doing?!” She yelled over the howl of the storm. Another flash of lightening cast ominous shadows across her worried face. The following crash of thunder was rival only to the pounding rain as it pelted the Library’s roof and windows. Marckus had drawn up his hood over his head to block against some of the rain. He turned back to the mare screaming for him with a peaceful expression.

“I’m enjoying the show!” He yelled in reply. With that, he turned his back to the building and looked off into the distant sky with his hands in his coat pockets. Twilight looked at him in confusion and levitated a large umbrella from a container underneath a coat-rack before stepping out into the storm and standing beside the sky-gazing man.

“You watch storms?” She asked loud enough for him to hear over the fury of nature.

“Yup!” He answered plainly. And to almost compliment his response, another blinding bolt of lightning ignited the sky in a white-hot blaze, and let its presence be known with a deafening crack of thunder. “There’s just something so…beautiful about thunderstorms! I can’t rightly explain it, but the flashes of lightning and the booming thunder…amazing!” He explained, taking another pause to watch the formidable force of nature take command of the skies. “Plus, when all’s said and done, the rain drags all of the dirt and dust out of the air, giving it such a fresh, clean smell!” He concluded. The lavender mare was somewhat puzzled by his notions, but stood with him in the brunt of the weather, and watched.

The gale-force winds of the formidable storm pushed and shoved at the tall man standing in the middle of the cobblestone road, causing him to sway and adjust his stance to stay upright. The heavy rain buffeted his coat and pants as the gusts caught every single wrinkle, trying to pull him off-balance. Another bolt of electrical energy arced across the sky, its company of thunder shaking the entire Library, even startling a flinch out of the man. He stood still, gazing on in wonderment, basking in the normally terrifying maelstrom of nature’s, or in this case, pegasi’s mighty design. As he watched the brutality of the thunderstorm unfold in the air above the town, a small figure caught his sight. It was far too dark to see what exactly it was, but he could see that it was flying evenly, so it wasn’t something caught up in the winds.

Another bolt of lightning gave the object a distinct silhouette – a center mass with wings, some appendages extended out in front and in back and a large, round head – a pegasus. Marckus wasn’t sure if he should be concerned about the pony flying around so close to the clouds with all the lightening going off, considering they’re the ones who apparently hold control over the weather. He turned down and looked to Twilight with his question.

“Is it safe for pegasi to be out in the storm?!” He yelled, but his voice was lost to the thunder. Twilight was, at this point, too captivated by the raging storm to notice either his words, or the faint figure in the distance. He looked back up in time to see another arc of superheated energy to pass straight through the pegasus. He cringed at first, but when he saw the figure start to descend rapidly, he snapped alert and nudged Twilight on the side urgently. As she turned up to face him, she only had enough time to glimpse the worried expression on his face before he took off in a full-on sprint towards the falling pegasus.

“Marckus?!” She called, taking off after him, now equally concerned. Being of such a smaller stature, and not much of an athlete, it was futile for Twilight to try and keep pace with the large man. He was currently using his long legs to their fullest advantage. His heavy boots splashed through puddles of rainwater and mud as he sped off across the slick hills and roads.

As he rounded one last building, another flash of thunder displayed the pegasus spiraling towards the ground at a dangerous velocity. Moving as fast as his legs would carry him, he ran for all his worth, desperately trying to make it to the pony before they hit the ground. But with every footfall, the shaded figure came ever closer to impact. He was only dozens of yards away when the pegasus hit the ground, emphasized by another lick of lightning splitting the sky.

He reached the fallen figure seconds later and immediately dropped to his knees, his chest heaving as he gulped down lungful after lungful of air. From the close proximity, he could smell the charred fur. “Hello?! Can you hear me?!” He called, not being able to see the status of the pony through the darkness of the storm. He waited for a moment and received no response to his calls. “Fuck!” He cursed in frustration. He frantically looked around himself for any sign of Twilight’s pursuit. “TWILIGHT!!” He called, cupping his hands over his mouth to amplify himself. He looked back down at dark lump on the ground, unable to do anything without a proper light source. “Shit, shit, shit, shit!” He continued to swear. Again, he turned and shouted out for the lavender mare. “TWWIIIIILIIIGHT!!!” He called through the downpour. Seconds later, the unicorn could be seen rounding the same building he had, her horn glowing brightly through the thick sleet of rain.

As she neared him, the edges of the light illuminated the fallen pony. To his dismay, it was the spunky young mare from Twilight’s circle of friends – Rainbow Dash.

“Marckus?! What’s wro-“ She said before gasping in terror at the sight of her injured friend. “RAINBOW!” She cried and went to go help the mare up, only to be blocked by Marckus’s arm.

“Wait! Don’t move her!” He quickly ordered. Twilight halted and remained completely still. “Just hold the light over her!” He ordered over the roar of the storm. The light gave them sight to the extent of her injuries. There was a black patch on her right shoulder, right at the wing joint – where the bolt struck. Her front right leg was broken severely, as was her hind right leg. “She must’ve landed on her right side…” He thought out loud. Finally able to see how she was lying, he could actually start doing something. He carefully placed his hand on the back of Dash’s neck and pressed on it lightly, sliding his hand down the length of her spine. “Good, her back and neck aren’t broken.” He said, greatly relieved. Still acting quickly, he then gently turned Rainbow onto her back, minding her legs, and pressed his head to her chest. His eyes widened at what he found and he immediately placed his two hands on Rainbow’s sternum and began chest compressions.

“What is it?!” Twilight asked, the fear in her voice was clear through the storm.

“Cardiac arrhythmia!” He replied. “Twilight, I need you to shock her!” He directed.

“What?! Why?!” Twilight responded, confused.

“We need to stop her heart!” He shouted.

“Are you crazy?! Why would you want to that?!” The mare asked, astonished.

“Because it’s not gonna fix itself unless we stop it first! Right now, Dash’s heart is twitching and spazzing out from that lighting! It’s not circulating the blood! If we get it to stop completely, her body will restart it correctly so that it beats with rhythm!” He explained, recalling the basic principles of defibrillation. “Please! You have to trust me, Twilight! Every second you wait, Rainbow’s chances for survival slip away!” The man insisted as he repeatedly pressed down on the pegasus’s chest.

Listening to the logic in Marckus’s words, Twilight concentrated and wove together the strands of a simple shock spell. Her horn began to spark and snap as the electrical energy surged.

“You just need to get a straight shot through her heart! But it has to go in one side and out the other! It can’t stop inside her body!” He instructed as he backed up off of Rainbow, giving Twilight ample room to perform the spell. Taking his instructions into consideration, Twilight positioned her horn on Dash’s chest, just below and to the left of her heart. She closed her eyes and cast the spell, sending the bolt of energy into Rainbow’s body before moving her horn over to the opposite side of Dash’s heart, pulling the bolt back out. Rainbow’s body lurched from the jolt and Twilight backed up. Marckus put his ear to the mare’s chest once more, but shook his head, cursed under his breath, and resumed the chest compressions.

“No good! Give it fifteen seconds and try again!” He said, pressing down hard on Rainbow’s solar plexus.

After the dictated amount of time, the man backed off and let Twilight cast another spell. Dash’s body jumped again at the shock, and Marckus leaned down to listen for that desperately sought after sound.

*THUMP THUMP*

He quickly sat back up, hope in his eyes, before he listened for it one more time to make sure.

*THUMP THUMP*

“It worked!” He shouted. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, and Marckus immediately took off his coat, and slid it under the fallen weather-pony. Wrapping her up in it, he carefully picked her up and cradled her in his arms. “We need to move, quick! With the lack of blood flow, she could become hypothermic within minutes out in this weather!” He said, taking off in a run, minding the hard jostling of his gait. The magnificent storm boomed overhead and pelted the man with icy rain, soaking through his thin tee-shirt without much effort. Even with his slowed pace, Twilight struggled to keep up with the quick man.

They ran through the deserted streets of Ponyville towards Ponyville Urgent Care. From where they started, they were a dangerous distance away. Twilight’s hooves clacked on the cobblestone roads and Marckus’s boots thumped heavily as they rushed through the sheltered town. Many lights in the windows were still on, and every few houses or so, there would be somepony walking by their window in time to catch the pair dashing by.

Another bolt of lightning tore through the blackened sky, coupled with another shuddering boom of thunder as the two turned down the last street. Moments later, Twilight threw open the double doors to the medical facility as Marckus charged through. The nurses and orderlies that were meandering through the lobby immediately had their full attention on them.

“This pony was flying up real high and got struck by lightning!” Marckus shouted. Several of the nurses gasped, and within seconds there were teams of EMTs storming into the lobby. They ushered the man down the halls as they waited for someone to catch up with a gurney. “We’ve stabilized her heart-rate, but both of her right legs are broken and she’s in danger of hypothermia. That’s all I could gather.” He spoke quickly, leaving as little guesswork for the medical technicians as possible. At last, an orderly ran up from behind them with a gurney and they had the man set Rainbow down.

“You’ve done very well. We’ll take it from here.” One of the EMTs said. Marckus stopped and watched the team of medics rush down the hall and turn a corner, through a pair of saloon-hinged double doors. The man slowly walked back through the halls to the lobby where Twilight was still standing.

“Well, what now?” She asked, her concern and fear for her friend’s well-being plain in her tone.

“She’s in good hands now. Er, hooves, rather. All we can do is hope and pray.” He said solemnly.

After a moment, a nurse came by and showed them to a waiting room, where they were allowed to stay until further news on Dash’s condition. The staff gave them both towels and blankets to warm up with while they waited. Meanwhile, the storm raged on in all of its terrifying glory.

To be continued…

Chapter 17

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 17
by FeralFox

Twilight and Marckus sat in the waiting room, the worry on both of their minds building with each slow tick of the dial clock that rested above the check-in/out station. Being too big for the seats, the man resigned himself to sitting cross-legged on the floor. He had two towels covering either side of his back with a heavy blanket across his shoulders. As he sat on the floor, he put his elbows on the sides of his knees, laced his fingers, and rested his chin on his hands. Twilight was also donned in a towel and blanket, but she was only somewhat damp at this point. She looked at Marckus and noticed that he had started shivering.

“Marckus, are you okay?” She asked, hoping she wouldn’t have to worry about two of her friends’ health. He merely stared straight ahead and nodded silently. Twilight couldn’t help but be a little concerned, but she accepted his wordless answer, regardless.

Time went on as they waited and they watched all the other ponies in the room get escorted out one by one. Minutes passed as they witnessed the occupancy of the waiting area dwindle away. Minutes slowly turned into excruciating hours and the two were inevitably left alone in the room, waiting for any news on Rainbow’s condition. The room’s normal hushed atmosphere turned into a morbidly silent one, the clock’s rhythmic ticking resounding loudly in the vacant room. Every now and then, the chattering of the huddled man’s teeth could be heard through the dense quietness. The evening wore on and threatened to reach dawn as the pair waited patiently.

The sound of the door swinging open was instantly awarded with their full attention. A mint-green mare with a curly violet mane leaned into the room and silently gestured for them to follow her. They stood from their seats, Twilight having folded up her blanket and towel as she stood, but Marckus decided to keep his linen draped over his body for the time being.

As they walked out into the hallway, they were greeted by a slate-gray stallion in green hospital scrubs. They walked side-by-side down the sterile corridors towards where they assumed Rainbow was resting.

“I’ll tell you right now, it was touch and go for a while there.” The doctor said wearily. “Her heart was giving us some problems, and she was in the first stage of hypothermia.” With that, he turned up to face both of them, locking eyes with them for a moment each. “I’m going to be honest with you, if you hadn’t done what you did and got her here when you had, she most likely would have died out in that rain.” He spoke with a melancholic tone. “But thank Celestia that’s not the case.” He concluded with an air of relief, indirectly taking some weight off of the over-burdened shoulders of the two walking with him.

They rounded a corner and headed down a hall lined with patient rooms on both sides. When they approached a room marked “184C” the doctor stopped them.

“It’s not going to be pretty, and she’s sleeping, so please try to keep your voices down.” He said just above a whisper. They both nodded understandingly at the stallion and he let them in. They passed the first bed which lay empty and leaned beyond the blue privacy-curtain to see Rainbow Dash lying, asleep, her right side covered in bandages and plaster casting. Her head had a towel dampened with hot water resting across it, and her left arm was hooked up to a pick line, a steady stream of saline dripping into the tube. Any part that wasn’t covered in medical equipment was covered in thick blankets. The sight was truly un-nerving. Marckus would have been mildly shocked, had he not been at his mother’s bedside throughout her entire battle with cancer. Twilight, on the other hand, was finding it quite difficult not to gasp and cry in horror at the scene.

Marckus reached out of his veritable shell of fabrics and stroked the back of the lavender unicorn’s neck gently, consoling and comforting her. She turned up to him, her eyes quickly having fogged up with held back tears, and he withdrew his arm back into his cocoon of warmth.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be alright. She just needs a lot of rest.” He whispered softly, his tired eyes glancing over at the wounded mare. “Time cures all wounds, as they say. This one’s just gonna take a little while.” He reassured. He walked over to one of the large benches that sat against the wall in front of Dash’s bed and hesitantly sat on it, testing its strength. Finding it safe to rest on, he once again assumed the position of elbows on knees, fingers locked, chin on hands. “Speaking of rest, you might wanna head home, Twilight. It’s prob’ly really late…or early, I’ve lost track.” He suggested, turning his head to the mare so that he could keep his voice down.

“Well, what about you?” She asked, wondering what he would be doing in the meantime.

“I’m gonna stay here in case she wakes up so that I can tell her what happened. Seeing a friendly face should make it a little easier to bear.” He explained.

“Are you sure? I mean, where are you going to sleep?” She queried, concerned for the shivering man. He waved a dismissive hand at the comment.

“Never mind that, just go home and rest. You need it more than I do.” He said, a certain finality to his quietly given order.

"Marckus, you've done enough as it is, you should really get some sleep." The unicorn persisted. The man simply stared stoically at her, not vocalizing whatever he might have been thinking. "I'm serious, Marckus, come back to the Library and rest." She demanded.

"I'm not moving." He finally said, his tone more casual than the situation demanded. The lavender mare huffed quietly at his stubbornness and stared intently at him, as though she were trying to issue a silent ultimatum - Either get some rest or else...something. But alas, Twilight could see that there was no hope in budging the man from his seat, so she did as she was told, begrudgingly and sincerely thanking him, as well as many of the nurses and doctors she passed on the way out.

The storm had calmed down significantly, making the trot home much more tolerable than before. She made it home with no incident, heading straight for her bed, snuggling up under the warm comforters, and falling asleep.

Marckus sat and waited, ever-vigilant, watching and waiting for any signs of Dash’s waking. Once more subject to hours upon hours of silent waiting, the man’s exhausted eyes became heavy with the onset of sleep. His eyelids began to droop lower and lower, finally closing. Marckus had, after five hours of sitting in the same place, waiting, fallen asleep in the same position he had been sitting in.

The remnants of the night passed with usual pace, and Twilight was woken by the sound of a knock on the Library’s front door. She wrestled herself out of the bed and frantically brushed the tangled mess of her mane into something presentable as she made her way for the door. Placing the brush on a far-off bookshelf, Twilight answered the door. It was an orderly from the hospital. She came asking that Twilight come back to the hospital, but it wasn’t urgent. Twilight nodded to the mare and they made the trek back to Ponyville Urgent Care.

The two made their way up to Rainbow Dash’s room and Twilight could see the problem from the hallway. “We think he fell asleep like that around seven o’clock.” The mare said. “She still hasn’t woken up, but either has he.” The orderly explained. Twilight nodded and walked into the room quietly. She approached the sleeping man, still shrouded in his layers of blankets. Even in his slumber, he shook from whatever was ailing him. “Ma-“ Was all Twilight managed to say before Marckus’s eyes popped open, completely blood-shot. He turned his head to the lavender unicorn and put a finger up to his lips, giving the universal “Shh” order before pointing his finger at the still sleeping Rainbow Dash.

“She’s still asleep.” He said in a gravely whisper, his throat having dried out overnight. He then took back his arm and returned to his sitting position, staring drearily out at Rainbow Dash.

“Marckus, you should really get some rest.” Twilight insisted, seeing how obviously exhausted he was. Once again, he shook his head slowly.

“I’m fine.” He replied.

“Then what’s all that shivering about?” Twilight noted.

“My clothes are still damp from the rain last night, so they’re pretty cold.” He explained, pulling the thick blanket tighter around his shoulders. “But that’s not important right now. What is important right now is that you let your other friends know about what happened. I’ll stay here and keep an eye on her in case she wakes up while you’re gone.” He instructed. Twilight couldn’t help but worry about the man, but she nodded and looked at Rainbow Dash, staring worriedly. “Well, go on, get!” He shooed Twilight quietly. “Hurry and y’all might make it back before she wakes up!” He said, keeping his voice very low. Twilight snapped out of it and took off out of the room. Marckus readjusted himself to get more comfortable on the small wooden bench.

The closest stop was Sugar Cube Corner, so Twilight planned on going there last. She figured it would be easier to travel from place to place with fewer ponies, so making the last stop be the closest to the hospital made sense to her. Thinking on the other end of the spectrum, she headed for the farthest – Fluttershy’s cottage. She decided that, for the sake of time, she would just teleport herself there. She closed her eyes and wove the intricate strands of arcane power through her horn, conjuring up the spell. She cast it and a great ball of intense violet light encased her in a flash. In the blink of an eye, she traveled across the Town of Ponyville, arriving directly in front of her yellow friend’s home.

She trotted up to the beautifully crafted wooden door and gave a triplet of firm knocks. Within moments, the door was opened by the soft-spoken pegasus.

“Oh, hello Twilight, so nice to see you.” Fluttershy said with a warm smile. The look on the other mare’s face was much less soft and friendly.

“Hello, Fluttershy. There’s something that’s happened.” Twilight said in a grave tone.

“Oh dear, what’s wrong?” The timid pegasus asked, concerned.

“I’ll tell you once we’ve gathered everypony else.” The unicorn said, beckoning Fluttershy out of her home. The buttercup mare followed, shutting the door as she exited.

The next farthest stop was Applejack’s place, all the way at Sweet Apple Acres. That was quite the distance away, so Twilight once again decided to use the convenience of magic to transport both herself and Fluttershy to the farm in an instant. Summoning a great amount of power into her horn, Twilight cast a teleportation spell built for two, and the pair arrived just inside the gate of the work-pony’s property. The lavender mare stumbled and panted, having expended quite the deal of magic with that last spell. After a moment, she recovered and they both walked up to the large farmhouse in which Applejack lived.

Twilight knocked on the door loudly and waited for a response. After just a moment’s wait, the door was opened by somewhat bored-looking filly.

“Howdy Twilight, hey Fluttershy.” Applebloom greeted.

“Hello, Applebloom. Is your sister home?” She asked quickly, time being of the essence.

“She ain’t in the house, but she’s out workin’ the fields with Big Mac.” The yellow filly informed.

“Thank you.” Twilight said. With that, she turned away and the two mares headed towards the plots of land dedicated to the family’s other crops. Luckily, they didn’t have to look far; Applejack was walking out of the barn just a short distance away. “Applejack!” Twilight called, quickly trotting over to her with Fluttershy following closely behind.

“Well howdy Twi’, Fluttershy. What’re y’all doin’ here?” The farm-pony asked genially.

“Something’s happened.” Twilight said, just as grimly as before. AJ looked to Fluttershy with a silent question on her face. Fluttershy shrugged helplessly, so she turned back to Twilight with the same expression. “I’ll explain when we’ve got everyone together.”

With that, Applejack nodded and galloped to the farmhouse to inform her sister that she would be gone for a while before returning to join Twilight and Fluttershy. The pair-now-trio hastily made their way back into town, heading straight for the Carrousel Boutique – Rarity.

Quickly approaching the door to the elegant place of business, Twilight rapped on the door several times, to which the fashionista responded to in her normal way.

“Welcome to Carrousel Boutique – where everything is shique, unique, and magnifique!” She said while opening the door, only to see it was her friends, and not potential customers. “Oh, hello Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy. What brings you all to my shop?” The eloquent unicorn asked.

“Something’s happened.” Twilight repeated urgently.

“Oh dear! What’s happe-“ Rarity began to ask, only to see Applejack and Fluttershy shake their heads, indicating that there would be no answer to her question. Without any further delay, the pewter unicorn left her place of business and merged with the slowly building group.

Thankfully, Sugar Cube Corner was not very far away, so the walk there was a rather short one. They reached the confectionary store in just a couple minutes, and walked in to see their intended target waiting happily behind the counter.

“Hi-ya girls! Whatcha doing?” The pink mare asked jovially.

“Pinkie, you need to ask for a break, or something, because there’s an urgent matter that concerns us all.” Twilight said quickly.

“Okie-dokie-lokie!” Pinkie responded without the slightest waver in her smile. She bounced out from behind the counter and leaned her head into the kitchen. “Hey Mrs. Cake! Twilight says that I need to leave for something really urgent!” She said, her tone quite the contrast to the severity of the situation.

“Oh my, yes! Of course Pinkie! Go ahead and take the rest of the day off, it’s pretty slow today anyway.” The Mrs. of the Cakes replied. Now even happier by the day off, Pinkie bounced back to the others.

“Alrighty, I’ve got the day off. So what’s going on?” She asked. Now having gathered everyone together, Twilight could finally answer that same question that was on all of their minds.

“Rainbow Dash is in the hospital.” The purple unicorn said. The group gasped collectively.

“My goodness! What’s happened? Has there been another accident involving her amazing stunts?” Rarity asked, thinking that it might have been another flight routine gone wrong.

“No, I’m afraid it’s much worse.” Twilight said with a dark tone. This caused even more worry from the four others. “Last night, during that big storm, Rainbow was…doing something, and she was struck by lightning in midair.” The news gave reason for another collective inhalation by the others.

“How did you find out? Ah mean, Ah cain’t imagine who else would be out in that kinda storm.” Applejack asked.

“Marckus saw it happen. He and I were outside watching the storm and he just happened to notice Dash off in the distance.” The violet mare explained.

“Watching the storm?” Rarity questioned, raising an eyebrow.

“I don’t know either.” Twilight said with a shrug. “Speaking of, he’s been waiting at the hospital since it happened in case she woke up while I was gone. We’d better hurry there in case she’s still sleeping.” She said, receiving nods from the four other mares. They took off for the hospital, hoping that they’d be able to make it in time to comfort their friend as she woke.

They reached the large medical building not much later and followed Twilight up to Rainbow’s room. She stopped them in the hall and gave them the same warning the doctor had for Marckus and herself.

“It’s pretty bad, so if she’s still sleeping, be sure to keep your voices down.” Twilight warned. Again, they all nodded and quietly walked into the room to see the man still sitting on the bench as he was before, gazing tiredly at the fallen pegasus, only turning to the group for a quick glance. They rounded the blue curtain and immediately recoiled at the sight, though they were quick to suppress any noises they might have made. Even Pinkie’s unfailing grin fell at the morbid sight.

“She still hasn’t woken up.” Marckus said hoarsely. They all nodded and gathered around Dash’s bed, making sure not to bump into it or cause much noise. They looked down on their friend sadly, each wanting to take her place just so she wouldn’t have to wake to it.

“She looks awful.” Fluttershy commented even quieter than normal.

“She might not even have made it if it weren’t for Marckus.” Twilight whispered back. All eyes were suddenly on her, silently asking her to elaborate how such a thing was possible. “When she got hit, the lightning caused her heart to stop working properly. He told me what to do to get it back to normal. She could’ve died right there.” She explained with a sense of trepidation at recalling the frightening scene. “After that, he wrapped her in his coat and carried her here.” The four all had looks of awe on their faces and turned to see their friend’s savior, only to see the man lying across the bench, using his arm as a sort of pillow. He was out cold.

“How long has he been awake?” Pinkie Pie asked, still looking Marckus.

“He was up all night last night, until about seven. He fell asleep siting up on that bench and woke up not much longer after that.” Twilight recalled.

“Poor fellow. He definitely needs rest, though I wish he had fallen asleep on something a bit more comfortable than that little bench.” Rarity said, looking caringly at the sleeping man. They all nodded in agreement to her sentiment. Then, an idea struck Twilight.

She stepped away from Dash’s bed and took a moment to concentrate. Her horn glowed with a feint purple aura, then, an identical aura surrounded Marckus entirely. Using extreme care, Twilight lifted him off the bench and into the air, slowly bringing him over the empty hospital bed and setting him down gently. He grumbled something softly and curled up on his side into a tight ball, crossing his arms over his chest. The bed was just barely able to contain him in his current position. Twilight took the blanket that was still around his shoulders and did her best at covering him up with it, though the way he was lying left the large blanket with plenty of room to accomplish the job.

“Well done.” Rarity chimed with a thankful smile. The room returned to its near silence, Marckus’s light snoring being the only real noise in the room.

To be continued…

Chapter 18

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 18
by Feralfox

The five friends silently watched with sympathetic eyes as Rainbow Dash slept in the bed before them, surely about to wake up into a world of hurt. Every here and again, one of them would glance over to the newly slumbering man on the bed opposite Dash’s to see him still fast asleep, his face a grimace of worry. Even in the whimsical state of sleep, his mind was troubled with the thought of Dash’s condition, the expression on his weary face giving a clear indication of it. The room was unnervingly still, the only indication of the two bed-ridden folks’ vitality was the slow rise and fall of their chests.

Through the dense silence, a soft grumble sounded out from the cyan pegasus before the gathered mares. Within an instant, every eye was fixated on Rainbow. The downed weather mare mumbled quietly and began to show more signs of life; her undamaged limbs shuffling slightly underneath the layers of blankets. Her face twisted in expression, changing from the somewhat peaceful relaxed state of sleep to a contorted scowl of pain and being generally uncomfortable. The five watching over her held their collective breath as the pegasus stirred. Her eyelids opened after long moments of fussing under the covers. Dash groaned as she slowly blinked the haze out of her eyes, her vision slowly fading back to her to reveal five faces looking down over her.

“Uuuughh…wh-… Wha?” She spoke with a strain, looking up at the faces.

“Rainbow Dash? Are you okay?” Twilight asked softly.

“Twilight?” Rainbow asked, turning to the vaguely purple face, trying to blink more of the burdening fog out of her sight. With a few more irritated blinks, Rainbow’s sight returned enough for her to see the clear features of her bookish friend. “Twilight? Wha-…what’s going on?” The confused pegasus queried.

“Ya got hit by a bolt o’ lightnin’ last night durin’ that big storm.” Applejack calmly explained. The sound of the farm-pony’s voice drew Rainbow’s attention away, into noticing that the other once obscured faces were those of her closest friends. Whatever was going on, she was glad to see her friends were all here to help sort it out.

“Lightning…” The spectrum mare said, now gazing down in thought.

“Yeah! Twilight got us all together and told us that you got struck by lightning! I was so worried about you, Dashie!” Pinkie Pie said a tad bit too loudly. Rainbow winced at the sudden barrage of loud noise.

“Oh. Yeah…I guess that happened…” Dash replied, noting the searing pains in the right side of her body, glancing over to see it smothered by casts and bandages.

“What do you mean you ‘guess that happened’? What were you doing out in the storm last night?” Twilight demanded of her.

“I was- nngh… I was chasing down a loose thunder-head that broke… broke away from the storm. I didn’t want it flying into anything or… hitting anything important with a stray bolt… then I heard a loud bang, and then…black. N- ugh, next thing I know, I’m waking up here.” The injured pegasus explained. Then a thought came to her agonized mind. “Wait… who was outside in that- nrrh- very same storm? I mean, I don’t remember flying over the hospital, so it’s not l- …like I crashed into the lobby.” She reasoned.

“Rainbow, to put this as delicately as possible,” Rarity began, “the only reason you made it out of that storm alive is thanks to Marckus.” The pewter unicorn said in a dire tone, her face frighteningly serious. Rainbow’s expression changed as she faced the blunt reality check.

“H-he…saved my life?” Dash asked, her face a mix of feelings. She looked at her friends who all gave nods in reply.

“I was there with him that night. For some reason, he wanted to watch the storm – don’t ask – and he saw you get struck. He took off after you as you were falling, and I could barely keep up. Your heart stopped working correctly, so he told me how to fix it with my magic. After that, he wrapped you up in his coat and carried you all the way here.” Twilight explained. The look on the pegasus’s face was of awe and of disbelief.

“W-well, where is he?” She asked, looking through the group hovering over her for any sign of the tall figure. Fluttershy turned from Dash’s bed and pulled the privacy curtain back further. Rainbow craned her neck up and peered over her cast to see the large lump lying on the bed was the exhausted form of her rescuer. “Why’s he asleep?” She wondered.

“He was up all night, watching over you.” The buttercup pegasus explained, looking at Marckus with her soft, caring eyes.

“Really?” The injured mare asked, the amount of thanks she was readying to give just increasing by the ton.

“Yeah, he was up all night, right into the mornin’, in case ya woke up, so that he could comfort ya.” AJ further elaborated.

“Man…what a jerk.” Rainbow said as she flopped her head back down on the pillow, receiving very surprised looks from her friends. “I’m gonna owe him, like, a million favors for all this…” She said, the gratefulness in her eyes removing any doubt instilled by the feigned annoyance in her tone.

“Well, I know I speak for all of us when I say we’re very glad to see that you’re okay…em, for the most part, that is.” Rarity said sincerely.

“Ugh…I don’t even want to know how long I’ll be in here this time.” Dash groaned, looking sadly at her agonized limbs frozen in place by plaster.

“Well, at least this time you’ll have Daring Do to read while you’re here, unlike before when you spent most of your time trying to hide it.” Twilight said with a smile. Pinkie Pie snickered at the sentiment.

“You really thought we didn’t know, didn’t you?” The bubbly pink mare commented.

“Was it really that obvious?” Dash asked.

“Sugar cube, when you’re sittin’ all funny and lookin’ around like you’re tryin’ to act all casual, and Twi’s book ain’t on the table anymore, it’s pretty clear.” Applejack explained to the disappointed Rainbow Dash. “Just, next time ya try ta hide somethin’, don’t try ta hide it.” She advised.

“But we’re your friends! There’s no reason to hide something from us!” Pinkie interjected jovially.

“Yeah, I guess…” Dash replied half-heartedly, still a little bummed out that she did such a poor job at hiding her book love.

“Welp, I’d love to stay longer, but I’ve really got to get back to the farm. Lotta chores do be done. It’s good seein’ ya alive and well.” The blonde mare said, tipping her hat as she left. Dash waved her off with her good hoof.

“Hey Rainbow, whaddo ya say I go get some Daring Do books for you?” Twilight asked.

“Yeah, sounds good Twi’, thanks.” The pegasus said appreciatively. Twilight cantered out of the room just behind AJ.

“Um, Rainbow Dash? I, um, have to get home to feed my animals, I hope you don’t mind.” Fluttershy said nervously.

“Oh, sure thing Fluttershy. See ya later.” Rainbow fared her well, and waved her off as she left.

“Though I really do want to stay and keep you company, Rainbow Dash, I really must be getting back to the Boutique. Business is most active this day of the week.” Rarity said apologetically.

“No prob Rarity. I’m not going anywhere, so you can come back when it’s not busy.” Dash said rather optimistically.

“Again, I am very sorry, Rainbow. Do take care.” Rarity said as she made her way out the door.

“Yeah, yeah, you too Rarity.” Dash said with moderate sincerity. The technicolor pegasus turned to the energetic pink pony still beside her bed. “Don’t you have to be somewhere too?” She asked, seeing as everypony else did. Well, except Twilight, she would only be gone for a little bit.

“Nopey-nope-nopperoo!” Pinkie replied in her usual fashion – loudly. “Mrs. Cake gave me the whole day off! Isn’t that awesome?” She asked somewhat rhetorically. “Now I get to spend the entire day here with you, helping you get better!” She said with a cheer, bouncing up and down. Rainbow smiled at the joyful antics of her best friend. She was actually quite relieved to hear that she’d have some more company than Twilight and a book, not that she didn’t appreciate it or anything, it was just nice. Suddenly, there was a low grunt from the side of the room, followed by a soft snore.

“Oh yeah, I forgot he was still here… That guy sleeps like a rock. I’m surprised you haven’t woken him up.” Rainbow noted, once again having to peer painfully over her cast to see the slumbering man.

“Me too!” Pinkie replied without lowering her volume the slightest bit. She hopped over to Marckus’s bed and looked at him, a certain curiosity in her eyes. “How does a rock sleep, Dashie?” She asked, looking intently at his still worried face.

“I dunno… heavily, I guess.” Was the rainbow pegasus’s best answer, given the amount of thought she put into it.

“Ya don’t say…” Pinkie replied, not moving her gaze from the man’s face. “Well, he is really heavy, so it would make sense that he’s a heavy sleeper, right?” She inferred.

“That would make sense…I think…well, what are you getting at anyway?” Dash questioned.

“I just wanted to make sure.” Pinkie Pie said, moving around to the other side of his bed.

“Make sure of what?” Rainbow asked, concerned for what her unpredictable friend had in mind.

“That he wouldn’t wake up from this-” Pinkie explained before she hopped up onto his bed and laid down over his legs, her forelegs draped over his knees and her hind legs tucked in the crook of his own.

“Pinkie Pie? What are you doing?” Rainbow asked, astonished by her friend’s actions.

“What? The beds here are really comfy and this blanket looked suuuper soft! Besides, he doesn’t seem to mind.” She observed, noticing the lack of movement from the snoozing man. Also taking note of his undisturbed state, Rainbow couldn’t stay upset with Pinkie.

“Pinkie Pie, you are just so…random.” She commented, shaking her head with a smile.

“I know, ain’t it grand?” The pink mare asked happily. She and Rainbow Dash both shared a warm laughter, still being unable to rouse Marckus, which was good for all their sakes.

It didn’t take too long for Twilight to retrieve a few issues of the Daring Do series, having memorized their locations from her cyan friend’s repeated requests for the books. She trotted easily back to the hospital, her saddlebags holding the literary cargo, the sunny weather cast over her and the rest of the soggy town. The bookend made her way up to Rainbow’s room and stopped to gasp as she saw Pinkie Pie lying over Marckus’s legs, idly chatting with Rainbow.

“Pinkie Pie! What are you doing?” Twilight questioned in an whispered shout.

“It’s okay, Twilight, he hasn’t budged an inch. I really don’t think he minds.” Rainbow quickly reassured the lavender mare. Twilight trotted over to snag a peek at the man’s face to see he was in fact still sleeping, completely unphased by the resting mare atop his legs.

“Alright, just don’t move around too much.” Twilight said somewhat begrudgingly. Moving on from the scene, Twilight walked to Dash’s left bedside and levitated a book out of her bag. “Do you want to read some now, or would you like me to just set these down on your end table?” She asked.

“Um, Twilight, I don’t know if you’ve seen, but I got in a pretty bad accident and my arm is pretty banged up, so I can’t really hold books.” Rainbow replied sarcastically. Twilight rolled her eyes and set some books down on the nightstand.

“Alrighty then, Ms. Lightning Rod,” Twilight retorted, wiping the smug look off Rainbow’s face, “would you like me to read them to you?” She asked, her tone returning to a kind, nurturing one. Dash smiled at the suggestion.

“Yeah, that’d be great! Then I’d only have to listen and let my mind focus on picturing it!” Rainbow noted excitedly. Twilight reclaimed the book that was next in series order from the one Dash had recently returned and read the cover.

“’Daring Do: and the Dragonfire Diamond’?” Twilight asked to be sure.

“That’s the one!” Dash confirmed. With that, Twilight cracked open the novel and opened her mouth to begin reading the first lines when Pinkie gasped loudly.

“Twilight, wait!” The energetic mare shouted. The two others looked to her with concern.

“Pinkie, what’s wrong?” Twilight asked quickly.

“My tail’s twitch-twitch-twitching! Something’s gonna fall!” The pink party pony warned, turning her head up and around, inspecting every surface for anything that might be able to fall. Twilight immediately dove to the floor and hid under a chair.

“Hey! What about me?!” Dash exclaimed, still completely exposed in her current state. Thinking quickly, Twilight grabbed all of the books she brought with her magic and held them over Rainbow as a make-shift shield. “Thanks.” Rainbow said, now content to wait out the metaphorical storm. The three waited tensely as Pinkie’s tail continued to note her of the oncoming hazard.

“What’s gonna fall?” Twilight wondered, peeking out from under the chair periodically. Just then, a loud grumble came from the slumbering man still underneath Pinkie Pie. He stirred slightly before his entire body began to roll to the left as he tried to switch sides to get more comfortable.

“Woa-OH!” Pinkie exclaimed as Marckus rolled right off the side of the bed, taking her along for the ride. Lost behind the bed, all that could be heard was a mighty thud followed some rather annoyed mumblings. “Owie…” Pinkie Pie said as she clambered out from behind the bed.

“Nngh… Mother of all things fuck…” Marckus groaned as he slowly sat up, rubbing his now aching shoulder and bending his neck, cracking it along the joints. Once completely upright, he blinked the sleep out of his eyes and looked around lazily, finding himself in a hospital room with Twilight, Pinkie Pie, and a newly roused Rainbow Dash.

“Hey Marckus! What’s ‘Fuck’? And who’s its mother?” Pinkie Pie asked with all the ignorance and innocence plain in her jubilant expression. This caused the man to immediately slap his face with the palm of his hand, groaning in annoyance.

‘Damn it to its respective Hell… I did it again…’ He thought to himself. He removed his hand from his face to see three very interested ponies, wondering what exactly this ‘Fuck’ thing was.

“Ugh… Just, never mind I ever said that word. It’s a human term that’s pretty vulgar and inappropriate, and I accidently said it out of frustration.” He said, settling for the plain truth. However much he loved that word and its nigh limitless uses, it was, as he said, vulgar and inappropriate.

“OH! I wanna say it out of frustration!” Pinkie exclaimed, proceeding to put on her best frown, and exaggerating it in the process. “Oh fuck!” She shouted as angrily as possible. Within a fraction of a second, her bright smile returned tenfold and she let out a bout of giggles. “That’s really fun!” She concluded. Marckus’s eyes went wide as he witnessed the release of something truly terrifying – Pinkie Pie with access to one of the most prominent English curse words.

“Pinkie Pie, please! Don’t say that word! It’s really bad.” He pleaded, getting up from his seat on the floor.

“But it’s just so fun to say! Fuck, fuck, fuck!” The zealous pink mare continued to say, now in her usual, jovial tone. Marckus cringed at every utterance of the heinous word.

“Seriously Pinkie! Don’t say that word! I mean it.” Marckus said firmly, staring seriously straight at the cotton-candy maned pony.

“Oh okay.” Pinkie said, defeated.

“Promise?” He asked, pointing an accusing finger at her. Pinkie Pie proceeded to perform her patent-pending promise. “Good. That goes for you two as well.” The man demanded of the two other mares in audience. They both mimicked Pinkie’s moves, Rainbow using her good arm to do so. “Thank you.” Marckus said with a breath of relief. “Now, what shenanigans were y’all up to before I tipped out of bed?” He asked casually, rolling his shoulder around in its socket, trying to relieve some of the soreness.

“Oh, I was just about to read a book in Rainbow’s favorite series – Daring Do: and the Dragonfire Diamond. Would you like to stay and listen as well?” Twilight asked, showing the cover of the book to the man as she floated all the others into a neat pile beside the end table. Marckus shrugged and sat down on the bed, placing his elbows on his knees, lacing his fingers, and resting his chin on his hands.

“Sure, why not?” He reasoned, settling down for a reading of something that could be either fiction of fact, and he would be happily none the wiser.

“Hey, Marckus!” Pinkie said, looking up to the man’s face.

“Yeah, what’s up?” He asked, looking down to her with an eyebrow raised.

“Can I sit on your lap? Your legs are really comfy.” The pink mare said without the slightest hesitation, her beaming smile still firmly in place. The man blinked, stupefied by the request.

“Uh…sure…why not?” He responded somewhat hesitantly, sitting up and leaning back, using his arms to brace himself on the bed-top. The merry mare hopped up onto the bed and stepped onto Marckus’s thighs, lying down comfortably like it was any other thing. The man shifted slightly to get comfortable.

“Ready?” Twilight asked, looking to the contented pink pony and the moderately uneasy man on who’s lap she sat.

“Who cares? C’mon Twilight, I’m dying of boredom over here!” Rainbow complained, truly becoming bored from her inability to move more than her left half. And even then, doing so sent pangs of agony through her other side.

“Alright, alright, don’t get your tail in a knot.” Twilight said, turning down to the book after receiving silent nods from the two she had originally asked. “’The arid desert heat beat down on our heroine as she slowly made the trek across the scorched, cracked earth in search of the renowned temple hidden in the endless ocean of sand…’” Twilight began, drawing in the collective attention of all three present.

To be continued…

Chapter 19

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 19
By FeralFox

As Twilight reached the close of the second chapter, Marckus could tell that Rainbow was losing her ability to focus, the pain in her right half turning to be too much to bear. Although the story was doing well to distract the pegasus, it did little to actually reduce the pain. Just as Twilight began to read the first lines of the next chapter, a knock sounded from the door. All present turned their heads to the noise to see a nurse standing in the doorway, a small cart behind her.

“Excuse me, but it’s time for Ms. Dash’s medicine.” The nurse explained as she walked in, pushing the cart in with her. She approached Rainbow’s bed and glanced at the others. “The shots need to be administered to the flank. Would you like some privacy?” The nurse asked Dash. The mare’s eyes flooded with fear at those words.

“U-um, yeah, yes please.” Rainbow responded. The three others nodded and got up to leave the room. “Uh, Twilight, wait!” Dash called as they reached the door. Twilight turned to face Rainbow with an eyebrow raised. “C-…could you stay?” She asked quietly.

“Sure thing, Dash.” Twilight replied softly. As the others departed, Twilight returned to Rainbow’s bedside. The nurse began to prepare the needle and Rainbow swallowed down a lump in her throat. “Rainbow, are you afraid of needles?” The lavender mare asked without the slightest hint of mocking in her tone. Rainbow dropped her gaze to her side, avoiding eye contact. “Rainbow Dash, trypanophobia is nothing to be ashamed of.” Twilight reassured her. The weather mare lifted her eyes and looked at her horned friend hesitantly.

“R-really?” Dash questioned.

“Absolutely. A lot of ponies have an irrational fear of needles. And I don’t think any less of you for your fear.” Twilight said kindly. Rainbow smiled up at the violet unicorn gratefully.

“Thanks Twi’.” Rainbow said with sincerity. But her smile quickly faded as she saw the nurse walk around the foot of the bed and fold the blankets off of her. Twilight was fast to think and hastily moved to block Dash’s view of the nurse. She brought her hoof to Rainbow’s chin and forced her to lock eyes.

“Just look at me, Rainbow. It’s gonna be fine.” Twilight said calmly. Dash did find a sense of serenity in her close friend’s purple eyes, but couldn’t help but try and peer around Twilight. Good thing for her, Twilight kept a constant block of her view of the nurse. A sudden pinch of sharp pain resonated from her flank, causing her to wince and tense up. And just like that, the injection had been administered, and the nurse disposed of the hypodermic and taped a sterilized pad of cotton over the injection site. “There, that wasn’t so bad, was it?” Twilight asked, rubbing her shoulder comfortingly.

“I guess.” Dash said, grateful for her friend’s help.

Meanwhile, out in the hallway, a certain human was ecstatic to have his lap back to himself, but as he gazed down at his unoccupied legs, he frowned sadly. Marckus took hold of his left pant leg and moved it around, examining its poor condition and sighed heavily. Caked in dry mud from the cuffs all the way up to the knees, in addition to going who knows how long without a wash. The thought of his clothing brought something to his attention, so he made his way to the nurses’ station just a short distance away.

“Excuse me.” He asked the mare at the station. “Uh, one of the recent admissions came in here last night wrapped rather large coat. One that would seem to fit only me.” He said, describing his favorite coat to the nurse.

“Oh, yes, Ms. Rainbow Dash?” She asked, looking through some papers on a clipboard.

“That’s the one, though she’s apparently not too fond of ‘Ms.’.” He confirmed.

“Yes, they left the article of clothing at this station, as it is the one closest to her room.” The mare explained, moving to a large, transparent bin in the back of the station and sifting through its contents. “Ah, here it is.” She grabbed the heavy winter coat and brought it to the man. “Is this it?” Marckus sighed at the sight, both in relief, and in dismay, as the inside was covered in the mud that Rainbow landed in.

“Yep, that’s my coat. Thanks.” He said disappointedly, slinging the coat over his shoulder. He thanked the nurse and walked back to where Pinkie was waiting outside Rainbow’s room to see the nurse leaving with her cart in tow. They took that as their cue to enter the room. “So, I assume that was your pain meds?” He asked, receiving a nod from Twilight.

“I don’t think we’ll be able to make it through another chapter before the medicine kicks in and you get all loopy.” Twilight said to Dash, sliding a bookmark in between the pages to mark their progress.

“Aww…” Dash complained. “Well, what am I supposed to do in the mean time?” She asked in face of the impending boredom.

“Sleep. You’re gonna need the re-“ Marckus began to say before halting in the middle of his sentence, his face twisting strangely. The three mares looked at him, confused by his peculiar stop. He then whipped his upper body forward and stuffed his face in the crook of his elbow, and sneezed loudly before standing back upright and sniffling a few times. “rest.” He finished his incomplete thought.

“Gesundhoof.” Pinkie said happily, to which the man raised his brow. He found it peculiar that they would use a word so close to the German word gesundheit, meaning health. Disregarding the peculiarity, he thanked the pink pony and sniffled again.

“Anyways, you’re seriously gonna need to rest up if you want to get better any time soon.” He went on to say.

“Yeah, yeah, I don’t wanna hear anything outta you. You’ve already saved my life, I don’t need you giving me helpful advice too.” The weathermare said with feigned annoyance, to which Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. Marckus simply shrugged. “Suit yourself.”

“So, I suppose we should get going then.” Twilight suggested.

“Alright… So I’ll see you guys later, right?” Dash asked as they made their way for the door.

“Of course. I’ll come back tomorrow morning to see how you’re doing.” Twilight replied.

“Yeah, I’ll be sure to swing by after I’m done working for AJ.” Marckus said, slipping his arms through his heavy coat’s sleeves and grimacing inwardly as he felt the dry mud against his back and shoulders.

“What about you, Pinks?” Dash asked her bubbly friend.

“Are you kidding me? Of COURSE I’ll be here tomorrow!” She reassured enthusiastically. Rainbow smiled at the support her friends provided for her. She felt safe knowing she always had friends to count on, especially in times like this.

“Alright guys. I guess I’ll be seeing you then.” The pegasus said in farewell, waving them off with her good hoof. The trio waved in return as they left the room, Marckus having to once again crouch under the very low doorway.

They navigated the hospital’s hallways and found their way outside with no trouble. Twilight and Marckus parted ways with Pinkie, saying their good-byes and continuing towards the Library. As they walked, Twilight turned up to the man beside her.

“You want to grab some food before we go back to the Library?” She asked.

“Nah.” Was all he replied with. Twilight blinked at him skeptically.

“But you haven’t eaten anything all day. Come to think of it, you haven’t eaten since yesterday morning.” She recalled. He shrugged dismissively.

“Just not hungry.” He said casually.

“Somehow, I doubt that.” Twilight argued.

“I dunno what to tell ya.” He said, looking ahead as he walked.

“Why don’t you start with the truth. You’re obviously lying.” Twilight persisted, stopping on the lonely road they traveled.

“I’m really not, though.” He insisted, looking around, seemingly to avoid eye-contact.

“Then say it to my face.” The unicorn demanded. Marckus sighed, leaned over, and looked her dead in the eyes.

“I. Am. Not. Hungry.” He firmly stated, standing back upright. Twilight looked at him in continued skepticism.

“I don’t buy it.” She retorted. The man began to groan, but stopped abruptly. Again, he forced his face into the arm of his coat and sneezed loudly, twice in quick succession.

“Well fu-uuh…dge.” He said with contempt.

“Fudge? Do you want fudge?” Twilight asked curiously.

“No, never mind. It’s prob’ly nothing.” He replied. “Now, can we move? I think I’ve sunk a good five inches into this mud since I’ve been standing here.” He said, lifting his boot out of the sludgy mixture of trail dirt and water. Twilight reluctantly obliged and started walking.

“Don’t think that this is over.” She quipped.

“I try not to think too much in days of late.” He said jokingly. “I’m sure if I tried thinking any of the recent happenings out, my brain would catch fire.” He further stated. Twilight chuckled briefly before reestablishing her determined expression.

“You’re not getting out of it.” The mare sternly reminded him.

“I know, I know.” He replied, defeated. With that, the pair reached the massive hollow tree and entered. The warmth of the air therein was quite refreshing to them as they came in from the mid-fifty degree outside. Marckus wrung his hands and rubbed them together furiously, trying to bring heat to them.

“You still cold?” Twilight inquired. Marckus nodded as he blew hot air into his cuffed hands.

"Yeah. Don't know why, though." He replied.

“C’mon, I’ll get you warmed up.” She said kindly, leading him to the residential section of the Library, where the fireplace sat. She levitated some fresh firewood into the pit and set the logs ablaze with a simple touch of magic. Then, she brought a rather large cushion from a pile over and placed it down in front of the fireplace. “Go on, sit down.” She offered. He did as instructed and sat down on the seat provided, pleasantly surprised at just how comfortable it was. With his rear resting on the giant pillow, Twilight fetched a heavy quilt and offered it to him.

“Thanks, Twilight. Ya know, you didn’t have to do all this for me, I’m just a bit chilly.” The man said sincerely.

“It’s no problem. And yes, I did have to do this, because you’re my guest, and it’s my responsibility to see that you’re comfortable in my home.” She replied. Marckus smiled wearily at her act of generosity and unzipped his heavy coat, setting it on the floor. He then removed his still damp tee-shirt and hung it on a hook in the mantle, just above the fireplace. The warm glow of the fire wafted over his now exposed body and sent a chill over his skin. He unfurled the quilt and draped it over his shoulders, reveling in how soft it was. He hugged the quilt snug around his torso and began unlacing his boots, kicking them off and letting them dry out by the fire as well. He took a deep breath and just soaked in the gentle warmth of the fire on his face, the texture of the quilt over his body, and the overall serene atmosphere that encompassed the area.

“Seriously Twilight, thank you.” He repeated with excessive amounts of gratitude.

“It’s really no big deal. Now, can I get you anything to eat or drink?” She asked in a more polite tone than before.

“No, thank you. You’ve done more than enough already.” He further insisted. Twilight shook her head, but resigned to leaving him be. For now, at least. She cantered up to her bedroom to continue her studies, letting Marckus take full advantage of his comfort. The man stared into the flames, watching them dance in a sort of hypnotic trance. The complete relaxation he currently felt aptly reminded him that he only got a couple hours of rest at the hospital before somehow ending up on the floor beside one of the beds. Taking this into account, he moved off of the cushion, and laid down, resting his head on the plush seat, and curling up under the fittingly large quilt. In a matter of seconds, the man was out like a light.

Twilight returned to the room after a few minutes, determined to press the issue of his lack of nutrition, only to find him quietly sawing logs in the blissful presence of the flames. She smiled warmly at the scene, and returned to her room. There, she wrote a small note, reminding her to bring the food topic back up when he woke, and dove back into the ancient tome that had previously occupied her attention.

To be continued...

Chapter 20

”Behind the Veil”
Chapter 20
By FeralFox

In the faint glow of the streetlights, Marckus slowly walked down the disturbingly barren street, the concrete sidewalks covered in a layer of soft, powdery snow. As the piled flakes crunched under his boots, he glanced around, taking the calm of the silence. Silence – not something normally found on this usually busy street deep within the City that Never Sleeps. But he relished in its serenity, taking a deep breath of the crisp winter air. He went on walking and looked up, the clouds that were still lightly dispensing their frozen payload covered most of the sky. Except for a particular patch directly under the moon, currently shining full and brilliant amongst its black and gray backdrop. The man stopped his casual stroll as something strange caught his eye: the face of the moon seemed to have an image painted on it from the many craters and blemishes that adorned its surface. Although, this image was not the normally fabled “Man on the Moon”, no, this one was different. He stood for a long moment, looking intently at Earth’s natural satellite, but eventually shrugged, disregarding it, and resumed walking. He crossed a street, taking note of the bizarre lack of any traffic. Or vehicles, for that matter; all the parking spots along the curbs were completely vacant. Again, disregarding the irregularity, he continued walking, eventually making his way down into a subway station.

He walked down the stairs, passing the ticket office and walking through the turnstiles, and wandered through the identically empty station. After a few minutes, he made his way to the bathroom and pushed the door open, entering the kitchen of his older cousin’s home, where he was generously hosting Marckus’s 21’st birthday party. Marckus joined his long-time, now long-since-spoken-to friends and reluctantly shared one of the harsh beverages so many people seemed to enjoy in vast quantities. His cousin, with 8 years up on him, walked by with a wide grin and patted him on the shoulder as the young man grimaced sickly at the drink’s vile, burning taste. They knew he was still in dire straits since his father’s passing, and they did all that they could to brighten his day. Their rambunctiousness and laughter had definitely brought a smile to the young man on his birthday. He noticed his friend was left hangin’, so he quickly obliged and high-fived him, letting out a few light-hearted chuckles. With that, he left the kitchen in all its celebration, and found the bathroom, opening the door and stepping through.

His boots thudded dully on the paved stones of the park’s path as he continued to wander through, until he took rest on a nearby bench. He groaned as he leaned back, crossing his left leg over his right, and breathed in the sweet aromas of the springtime and all the blossoming flora that grew in the park. He hung his head back over the bench, looking at the peach tree that stood behind him and thought he noticed a figure lurking in its shadow. Returning his head to its normal position, he quickly spun around on the bench and peered at the tree with a new, not upside-down perspective. Finding nothing, he was quick to disregard it along with the rest of the strangeness and resume relaxing. He slouched down on the bench and closed his eyes, soaking in the warmth of the midday sun.

In the presence of the crackling flames – generously tended to by Twilight – Marckus slept through the remaining hours of the day, and well through the night, only waking into a sort of half-sleep to turn over, or adjust the quilt before promptly falling back asleep. Twilight had gone to sleep around ten after adding one final log to the fire, allowing the flames to burn for another hour or so. The man finally awoke at precisely five o’clock the next morning, feeling well-rested, yet not entirely energized. Less-so than usual, even. He sat up in the silence of the morning, the fire having died out long ago, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He dropped the quilt from his shoulders, immediately being greeted by the chilly open air of the early morning and shivered. He had half a mind to curl back up under the thick blanket, but the pressure in his lower abdomen ordered him otherwise. Heeding his body’s advice, he stood up and made quick for the bathroom, ducking through the doorway, and tending to his business.

He washed his hands and dried them on his pants, above the dried mud, and walked back to his little spot in front of the now dead fireplace. He snatched his shirt form the mantle, thankful that it had finally dried, and slipped it on, shivering at the now cold cotton piece. He got his boots on and laced them up before standing and finally cracked his back with a few twists and jerks. He became light-headed momentarily from a head rush, but settled down soon enough. Moments later, his hostess came trotting through and stopped when she noticed his woken state.

“Oh, hey Marckus. I’m surprised how long you slept. You were out since your head hit that pillow.” Twilight noted with a smile. Marckus rubbed his face with his hands and groaned.

“Uuuhg…I guess I did.” He grumbled in his deep bass tones.

“Are you alright?” She asked, noting his less-than ecstatic attitude toward being conscious.

“Yeah. Just slept like sh-…I didn’t sleep well.” Now able to listen to his other senses, this fact became abruptly apparent, his words muffled by his palms, which still rested over his face. He dragged his hands down, pulling his face into a strange expression, before dropping his hands to his sides and allowing his features to return to normal.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You’re looking a little pale. Well, you look paler than before.” Twilight asked, concerned by the change in his color.

“I dunno. I’ve been really sniffley lately. Might be the onset of something rather unpleasant. Dunno for sure.” He spoke lazily. He put his fists on his lower spine and bent backward, sending a wave of cracks along his vertebrae, causing the unicorn before him to cringe.

“Why must you do that?” Twilight asked with a grimace.

“Cuz.” He simply replied. With that, he made his way to the stairs and began descending them sluggishly.

“Where are you going?” The mare wondered.

“Applejack’s. I’ve got a job there, remember?” He answered.

“B-But don’t you at least want breakfast?” She asked quickly, chasing after him down the stairs.

“Nah, I’m good.” He said. Just then, a bright flash of violet light blinked in front of him, and as soon as it faded, Twilight was revealed to be directly in front of him.

“I’m not letting you leave without getting some food in your stomach!” The mare stated firmly. Marckus raised an eyebrow at the assertiveness of the bookend.

“I don’t like being to work late unless something emergent stopped me, and I don’t think breakfast is very emergent.” He said.

“Yes, but malnourishment is!” Twilight retorted. Marckus stood before the mare silently for a few moments, thinking of a response.

“Alright, fine.” He finally said, admitting defeat.

“And don’t think that I’m too small to- wait, what?” Twilight said, unsure if she heard correctly.

“I said ‘Alright, fine.’” He repeated. Twilight blinked in shock, finding it hard to believe she won, considering how stubborn he’d been before.

“O-Okay, let’s get you some breakfast then.” She responded, leading the way to the kitchen. Marckus was unsure what was more irritating: the sting of hunger pains in his gut, or the fact that he was still accumulating all sorts of debt with these ponies. He chuckled inwardly at the irony of the situation. Here, he thought, he should be worrying about credit debt, or mortgages, but instead he was faced with overly-generous ponies. On any other day, he would’ve thought he’d lost his mind. And as he followed his violet hostess into a kitchen that was roughly 2/3 the size of a normal kitchen – in every aspect – he wondered if he hadn’t already gone bonkers.

“Alright, what can I get you?” Twilight asked happily. Marckus vacantly scratched his chin in thought, having to sniffle a few times.

“Apples and peanut butter would do nicely.” He finally replied. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the strange request.

“Apples…and peanut butter?” She questioned while the two items requested were levitated onto the counter.

“Mhmm. Oh, a small plate and a spoon too, please.” He said as he removed the lid from the jar of creamy peanut-y goodness and deeply inhaled its intoxicating scent, sighing contentedly. Twilight retrieved the plate and spoon and set them both on the counter directly beside the apple. He then used the spoon to scoop out huge globs of peanut butter onto the plate. He put a rough estimation of a Cup of the stuff onto the plate before wiping the remnants off the spoon with his finger, and rinsing the utensil off, leaving it in the sink. With the ~cup of deliciousness sitting in a small heap on the plate, he took out his trusty knife and began cutting the apple in half, then into quarters, and finally into eighths. With the fruit now in eight pieces, he carved out the core, licked the sweet juices off of the blade, and wiped the rest on the thigh of his pants, before folding the tool up and returning it back to its home in his pocket.

“Yum-o.” He said with delight, mixed in with his early-morning drear. Taking one of the slices, he scooped up a healthy amount of peanut butter and consumed it with a pleased grin. Twilight shrugged, as the combination was the furthest thing from appealing to her, but was happy to see the man actually ingesting something. Going too long without any food was unhealthy, no matter the species.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?” She asked rhetorically. Marckus shrugged and scooped up another hefty glob with a fresh slice.

“It’s killing me.” He replied sarcastically before taking another bite. Twilight shook her head at him and smiled before leaving him to his breakfast and preparing her own.

“So, why peanut butter with the apple?” Twilight asked as she began collecting various ingredients and arranging them in meal-formation.

“It’s an excellent source of protein. Plus, I don’t have to slaugh- eeh…it’s not meat.” He explained, quickly rephrasing his second point to prevent disturbing his hostess. “That, and it’s just plain delicious.” He added with another bite. Twilight nodded in comprehension as she brought her breakfast to the table and sat down.

The two munched on in silence for a minute or so before Twilight turned to her guest, still leaning against the counter as he ate.

“You said that you didn’t sleep very well, right?” She recalled, to which he nodded. “Do you remember what you dreamed about last night? I know that we always dream, but only remember those dreams when we sleep well.” She wondered. Marckus scratched at his chin, trying to remember from his subconscious. He began recollecting vague images and words; those distant memories that stand just at the edge of one’s mind’s eye as is with all dreams.

“Yeah…I do remember a couple things.” He finally replied, taking another healthy bite of his coated apple.

“What are they?” The curious unicorn inquired.

“Well, I remember looking at the moon; Earth’s moon. Something didn’t seem very right about it though. It felt like there was something on it, or something.” He said, trying to bring those foggy memories into the focus of his mind.

“Mhmm…” Was Twilight’s only reply as she continued to stare at him intently, silently asking him to continue.

“Hmm… I remember being back in New York and walking around. It was winter, I think. And…my 21st birthday? Oh, but I do remember being in a park and feeling like I was being followed, or watched.” He added as the sensation of being stalked surfaced in his memory. “It was pretty weird.”

“Being watched? Hmm…” Twilight repeated back, mulling over the man’s dream. As she sat and thought over its implications, Marckus finished his apple slices, and the remainder of the peanut butter, rinsed off the plate, and set it in the sink.

“Now, unless you feel the need to tie me to the floor and force feed me a melon or something, I think I’ll be off to work.” He said, making his way out of the kitchen. His sudden departure broke Twilight out of her mini-trance.

“Oh, alright. Have a good day then.” She said, waving him off. As he neared the door, a thought crossed her mind. “Hey! If you think you’re coming down with something, don’t work too hard!” She called, hoping that the stubborn man would listen, but fretting the contrary. On that note, Marckus left the hollow tree and began walking down the slightly muddy road towards Sweet Apple Acres.

The walk didn’t take very long, only interrupted by the occasional sneeze. He was pleasantly surprised at how many strangers said “Gesundhoof” when he did, though. And so, nearly every break in his silent trek was a head-ache inducing sneeze, subsequently followed by a “Thank you.”

With all second-long breaks accounted for, he still made decent time and arrived on the farm just in time to see his employer walking to the massive barn. He caught up to her with a slight jog, regretting it as soon as he reached her, as the sinus head-ache was only aggravated by the quick motions.

“Howdy Marckus.” She greeted with a smile. He nodded down to her in acknowledgement. She turned back to the barn, but quickly looked back at him with unease written clear across her face. “Um…Marckus? You okay?” She asked with concern.

“I’m fine. Prob’ly just got the sniffles or a head cold. Nothin’ bad, I’m sure.” He replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. Applejack knit her brows in skepticism. “I’m see-eeri-uh *CHOO* Serious.” He attempted to reassure, having to stuff his face in his arm to avoid spraying it, as opposed to saying it.

“Sugarcube, I ain’t gonna have you workin’ all day in the heat while you’re nursin’ a cold. Ah want you to head on back to Twi’s and get some rest.” She said firmly, yet with caring undertones.

“I’m fine. Seriously, it’s nothing I can’t, and haven’t dealt with. A day of work won’t do any harm.” He argued.

“Marckus,” AJ said in a serious tone, “this ain’t up for discussion. You need get some rest, not pull a wagon.” It was at this point that the man had decided to forgo his politeness to make something abundantly clear to Applejack.

“No. Let me tell you what I need: I need a shower. I need to wash my clothes. I need a house. I need my own food.” He listed in a low voice that edged on anger. “And do you know what I need to get all of those things? I need money. And to get money, I need to work.” He stressed. With his problem off his chest, he eased up, and gave AJ a moment to absorb what he said. He drew a breath and got down on one knee, now eye-level with her. “Please, Applejack, I need this. I can’t keep living off the gifts of others. It’s not who I am, and I won’t let it be who I become.” He said, his plea now in a softer tone. Applejack looked into his eyes for a good few seconds, searching them for any sign of deceit.

“Alright.” She finally said. The single word visibly relieved the man before her, and he stood up. “But if whatever you have gets any worse, you’re outta here. Got it?” She stated with all sincerity.

“Yes ma’am.” He responded with a nod. “I can’t thank you enough, though.” He added as AJ opened the barn doors.

“Don’t thank me ’til the day’s out, sugarcube. Like Ah said, if what’cha got gets any worse, you’re gone.” She replied in a more light-hearted tone. With that, they hauled the wagons out to the orchards, where they met Big Mac, and laid out the bushels.

The day dragged on for Marckus, his head-ache not faring well from the rumble of the wagon, or the ruckus of the apples being loaded and unloaded. Though, he coped with it and soldiered on, wishing for just a single ibuprofen to help with the pain, but he knew that would never be.

At the end of the day, when all the bushels were collected and the last haul was deposited, Applejack approached Marckus with a stern look on her face.

“Marckus, as much as Ah hate to see you workin’ like this, Ah understand what you’re dealin’ with. Just…promise me that you’ll take it easy, alright?” Her expression was a mix of worry and sympathy. Marckus didn’t know whether to feel guilty that he made her worry, or grateful that she cared so much.

“I promise.” He said gently. AJ smiled slightly at his words, and he turned to leave. “See ya tomorrow.” He called back with a wave. She waved in return before making her way back to her own home.

As Marckus walked back across town, he pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. He knew that he wouldn’t be able to just “take it easy”. He’s been working his for the better half of his life, and working hard, at that. He’s always felt that if you did something, you should do it to the best of your ability. And unfortunately for him, a cold didn’t hamper his ability much at all. The sight of the Library in the distance brought him some comfort, as it meant that he could actually take a load off for a while. But as he neared the door, something crossed his mind.

“Aaw shit!” He cursed, immediately thrusting both of his hands upon his face. He just remembered that Twilight was at the hospital, visiting Rainbow Dash. He had already promised her that he would swing by after work was done, and considering the state she was in, he really didn’t want to disappoint her. Though, he wasn’t sure if his absence would make much of a difference to her, as they weren’t that close, but he couldn’t take that chance. So, with new purpose in his stride, he made haste for the hospital.

A short while later, he came upon the front doors of the medical facility and strode in, waving hello to the slightly concerned-looking nurses and orderlies as he made his way to Rainbow’s room. He ducked in to see Twilight, as well as Pinkie Pie, at her bedside. His heavy footsteps alerted the trio to his arrival, and they looked to the door.

“Hi Marckus.” Twilight greeted politely.

“Hiya, Marcky-meadow-larky!” Pinkie called, chipper as always.

“Hey Marckus.” Rainbow said from her bed. The man nodded to their greetings and approached them, but stopped a short distance away.

“Hey, how come you’re all the way over there?” Pinkie asked before standing up on the empty bed and looking at him. “Wow, you look terrible!” She said without the slightest falter in her tone, her wide grin still firmly in place. “Your eyes are all red and puffy and your face is all white and you’re all sniffley and are you getting sick?” She asked so quickly it took a moment for Marckus to realize that she had actually asked a question.

“Maybe, but it’s just a head cold or something. Nothing to worry about.” He replied dismissively.

“You’re getting sick?” Rainbow asked with genuine shock.

“It’s nothin’. Don’t worry about it.” He responded.

“It’s probably from when you saved me. When you wrapped…me in your coat and got all cold and wet. You should’ve kept it on for…yourself.” She said, wincing from the pain, feeling guilty for his ailment.

“Hmm… Get a cold, or let you die of hypothermia …” He held his palms up and moved his hands up and down as though he were using them as scales to weigh the options sarcastically. “Yeah, wasn’t even an option.” He said flatly. “Anyway, because of…whatever this is, I just came to say ‘howdy’ real quick. I don’t want to take the chance of getting anyone else sick. Especially you.” He said, singling out Rainbow Dash.

“Well, that was very thoughtful of you.” Twilight commended him.

“It’s no big deal. But really, I should get going. When I get over this thing I’ll come visit for more than a minute, alright?” He said lightly.

“Yeah, alright. Just don’t go getting pneumonia or…something like that, or I’ll be mad.” Dash replied, sounding somewhat upset.

“I won’t. Like I said, it’s prob’ly nothing, so don’t worry. You just focus on getting out of that bed.” He said, slowly backing up towards the door.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Weren’t you leaving?” She said, most likely trying to cover the fact that she really didn’t want him to leave. And on that note, he left the hospital and – again – made his way to the Library. He walked in to see Spike walking across the lobby, carrying a couple large tomes. The sound of his entrance caused the baby dragon to turn from his duties.

“Oh, hey Marckus. Woah, you don’t look so hot.” He remarked.

“Yeah, Twilight will tell ya. I’ve already said it half a dozen times, and I need to go lie down.” He said, trying to keep his tone light and not worry or upset the little guy.

“Alright. Well, if you need anything, just call.” Spike offered.

“Thanks, dude.” Marckus replied before dragging himself back to his bed, a.k.a. the sofa. He sat down, unlaced his boots and yanked them off, and lied down. He draped his arm over his face to block out the light and groaned. He had always had a strong immune system, but when he got sick, he got sick. And from his track record, he was not too excited about this most recent development. He just hoped that Twilight had a hefty supply of orange juice.

To be continued…

Chapter 21

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 21
by Feralfox

Marckus groaned to himself, like the noise would somehow alleviate the pressure that was building in his skull. Time seemed to stretch on forever for the man, sick as a dog as well as bored to tears. He wanted to read something, but small text would put a much unneeded strain on his eyes. Something his headache really didn’t need at the moment.

Hours later, or years for all the ailed man could tell,, Marckus finally gathered up the strength to remove his arm from his face. And put the other one in its place. The sunlight, even as it dimmed with the Sun’s setting, was his bane until further notice, and his arm an aegis to its retina-melting fury. He attempted a sniffle, but his sinuses were far beyond stuffed, nearly resulting in him imploding his head from the stopped inhalation. He moaned and rolled over onto his side, loathing his own existence, as well as the existence of many other things. Namely, whatever virus was attacking him currently.

“Uuhg...what I wouldn’t do for a bowl of some chicken noodle soup.” He grumbled to himself. “Or some beef stew.” He listed, fantasizing about his go-to sickness cures. The thoughts made his stomach growl. “Or a steak…” He added, gripping at his empty gut. Even during his most trying financial times, he had never had to go this long without some sort of delicious animal flesh.

And as though to spite him, his brain picked that very instant to remind him of every human delicacy he enjoyed back on Earth.

“Roast beef….pulled pork….salami….sausages….” He named off in fond memory. “Mmm...pepperoni pizza…” He recalled. Not much meat in regards to the rest of the dish, but it was most definitely his favorite. Every Saturday, he went to a small, family owned pizzeria called “Joey’s Pizzas” and ordered the same thing - a small cheese n’ pepperoni pizza, and a liter of cherry Pepsi. Not exactly a meal fit for kings, but it was his own little tradition to look forward to every week.

“What’s pepperoni?” A familiar female voice asked, shattering the man’s illusion of seclusion. Twilight’s sudden question had nearly caused him to leap clear to the ceiling.

“Oh, hey Twilight. They give Rainbow her meds already?” He asked once his heart settled, not realizing how much time had passed since he began writhing on the couch.

“Yeah.” She confirmed. “Though, I’m beginning to think that you should be getting some meds yourself.” She said with mixed teasing and genuine concern.

“I told you already, I’ll be fine. Just need some R&R.” He reassured for perhaps the billionth time. Twilight said nothing further on the matter, but she still had worries.

“Anyway, I heard you saying something as I was coming up, but the only words I caught were ‘pepperoni pizza’. What’s pepperoni?” She inquired.

“Nothing you want to know. Not even something some other humans want to know.” He simply put. Twilight grimaced and put the thoughts from her mind. But, in that moment, Marckus realized something. “Wait, so you guys have pizzas?” He asked in return.

“Yeah, why?” She answered. The man immediately fell from the couch, onto his knees, looked up to the ceiling, and clasping his hands together.

“You are merciful!” He said with an amount of joy never before seen felt for a food item.

“Who’s merciful?” The confused mare asked, raising an eyebrow in bewilderment. Marckus returned to his seat on the sofa and regarded her with a tired smile.

“Nothing, nevermind that.” He said, forgetting that she wouldn’t get the joke. Or perhaps it wasn’t a joke. Either way, he couldn’t be happier with the news. He lied back on the couch and placed his arm back over his eyes, fantasizing about the circular dish.

Twilight wasn’t sure what she had said or done, but seeing a smile on his sickly face was a bit of a relief. On that somewhat strange note, she left him to his happy pizza thoughts, and that much needed rest.

A short while later, Marckus became bored with being a vegetable and sat up. He stretched his back and shoulders, much to the discomfort of his brain, and leaned on his knees. He looked down at his pants - muddy and torn. He absentmindedly began picking away at the hardened mud. He grew tired of that and began examining the tear in the shin of his pant leg, and was struck by the remembrance of the ace-bandage around his calf. He rolled the pant leg up and looked at the cotton bandage. It had a thin stripe of dried mud on it from where the hole in his pants had ended up when he knelt down during the storm. Undoing the clips, he began rolling the bandage up as he unwrapped his leg. With it neatly rolled up, he set it aside and addressed the strip of gauze that was still covering his healing wound. He peeled up the corner and started pulling, wincing as it pulled some dried blood, scab, and hair up. Choking back a watery eye, he crumpled up the gauze and stuck it in his pocket, to be thrown out later. Leaning down over his knee, he examined how much it healed. Gently pressing along the edges of the scabbing laceration, he clearly felt that it was still tender. The man was relieved enough to see that it hadn’t become infected, though it was still quite a ways away from being a happy little scar across his shin. With that, he rolled his pant leg back down and reclined once more for some of that R&R he spoke about.

Too bad for him, he wouldn’t be getting much rest or relaxation for the rest of the day. His constant sniffling and sneezing would only make his headache worsen as time went on, and these three factors combined would make for one of the most unpleasant sleepless nights he’d had in quite a long time. No Nyquil to stop the coughing and sneezing. No hot soup to clear his sinuses. And no Aspirin to stop the pounding headache. His only option at this point was to suck it up and deal with it.

The night wore on longer than the day had in its entirety, and it had been a particularly chilly night at that. He curled up on the small couch and wrapped himself in his heavily soiled coat, only making him more uncomfortable. The feeling of having yet more dried mud on him, as well as blood from both himself and Rainbow Dash, was a feeling he would much rather do without. But more so than that, he wanted to stay warm.

About forty minutes of writhing beneath his coat, he recalled that he left Twilight’s quilt somewhere in front of the fireplace. Crumpling his coat back up into a pillow and stuffing it back into the corner of the couch, he stood up and shuffled across the floor with his arms tightly folded on his chest. He found the thick quilt and was quick to wrap himself with it. He attempted a sniffle in vain and carried himself back to the sofa. He looked miserably at it. Just staring, for minutes, at the unmoving piece of furniture. He mumbled something that even he didn’t understand, and sat down. Sitting, he glared out into the darkness of the night that enveloped the room. Somewhere in the vicinity, there was an obnoxious clock, ticking away the seconds. His ailed mind perceived the ticks as if they were gradually slowing down, just to spite him. He stood up, angered at the malicious clock, and shuffled through the room until he finally found it, perched on the wall. Its pendulum swayed back and forth, mocking him. He glowered at the wooden craft, like it had provoked him in some way.

“Why do you hate me?” He asked the clock.

Tick-tock-tick-tock

“Is it because of Sophomore year?” He wondered, remembering some obscure event involving a grandfather clock during his second year of high school. He stood and waited for the clock to reply, like the lunatic he was slowly becoming. He opened his mouth to address the clock again, but a low thunk sounded from within the timepiece.

CUCKOO! Ding! CUCKOO! Ding!

The cuckoo-clock chimed twice, signalling it was 2 AM. The head-splitting toles shocked some sanity back into the man. He rubbed his temples and inevitably began shuffling away towards Twilight’s room. The encounter with the clock had reminded him of a particular vitamin-c packed citrus fruit, and its delicious juice, and he was determined to get some by any means necessary. Up to and including asking politely. He dragged his feet with more purpose, and came up to Twilight’s bedroom door. He extended an arm from beneath the quilt and knocked a few times.

“Come in.” Called his hostess’s voice from within. He opened the door and ducked through. He found the lavender mare telekinetically juggling a dozen books, and even more sheets of parchment, each with a quill jotting things down.

“She would’ve been a great partner for doing book reports with back in middle school.” He thought to himself as he walked upon the scene.

“What’s up?” Twilight asked, turning from her multi-multi-tasking.

“I was wondering if you had any orange juice, and if I could trouble you for a glass.” He said, his words being changed by his severe congestion.

“Oh, of course! No problem at all.” She replied, setting down the tomes and note-sheets. She cantered out of the room, Marckus close behind, and made way to the kitchen. She retrieved a glass, and a carton of the desired beverage, filled the glass to brimming, and gave it to the sick man. He sipped the sweetly sour drink and grinned slightly at its taste. “Did you need anything else?” She asked as she put the carton away.

“No thank you, this should do fine.” He said with a gentle shake of his head.

“If you need anything else, don’t hesitate to ask. And have as much juice as you want.” Twilight said as she walked out of the kitchen. He nodded and took another sip from his glass and adjusted the quilt slightly around his shoulders. Of course, his brain reminded him that taking even a single drop from the carton would be taking advantage of his host’s generosity, even though it really wasn’t, and so he resigned to just having the single glass.

With his fruit beverage ingested, he rinsed out the glass, leaving it upside-down in the sink, and shuffled back to the living room. He sat back down on the sofa, grumbling quietly to himself. Only seconds after sitting down, he slowly lied down, resting his head on one of the few remaining clean spots left on his coat. His eyes drifted closed as the last ounce of energy within him was sucked away, drawn to his immune system to fight off the illness. After hours of miserable waiting, Marckus finally fell asleep, allowing his body to resort all of its resources to healing him while he lay in unconscious slumber.

His slumber was short-lived, as he woke with the sun’s appearance over the horizon, marking his ninth day in Equestria. He sat up and stretched, moaning quietly as he flexed and relaxed his muscles, making them nice and loose. Placing his hands on his knees, he pushed down and lifted himself to his feet. He twisted and bent, stretching his back and legs out before standing upright once more, sighing lazily. As the morning brisk rolled over his body, he took a deep inhalation, letting it out slowly.

He stood for a moment, feeling like he was missing something. He but his hand to his scruffy chin and thought on it, before realizing exactly what it was: he had taken a deep, cleansing breath through his nose, without having a coughing fit afterward. His nose was no longer stuffed, and he could feel his lungs free of mucous and fluids. The orange juice and rest must’ve given him the much needed boost to his immune system to get over his ailment. Or, at least most of it. His head still hurt, and his nose was a bit runny, but at least he could breath now.

A second realization dawned on him as well - he had a job still. He also figured that if he left the library now, he might be able to avoid another confrontation with Twilight about his eating habits. Or lack thereof.

He laced up his boots, tying them good and tight, and hastily but quietly made his way through the library, checking to see if the coast was clear as he gently opened the door and ducked out. Once he was a good dozen yards away from his lodging, he mentally pumped his arm at his small victory. But his internal smile was wiped away by the angry growl of his stomach.

“I’ll get paid soon. Just gotta wait it out.” He thought aloud to himself, motivating himself to continue on with this self-inflicted torment.

If there was one thing that he hated as much as he loved, it was his pride and stubbornness. He had to stand up for what he believed was right, no matter how stupid it seemed. He needed shelter, regardless of his penny-less state, but he could afford to refuse meals. At least for now. If anything, he could always just eat some of the bruised apples that don’t make it to the market while he worked in AJ’s orchard.

He made it to Sweet Apple Acres without incident, just as the sun had passed completely beyond the eastern mountains. He met up with Applejack and Big Macintosh like usual, and took hold of the wagon he was to haul when the middle Apple sibling approached him.

“Howdy, Marckus. You’re lookin’ better this mornin’.” She said with obvious relief.

“Feel better.” He simply replied.

“That’s good to hear. By the way you were lookin’ yesterday, I could've’ sworn that you were just gonna collapse at any point.” She expressed her concern as they began their walk into the orchard. Marckus chuckled grimly at how much he felt like collapsing that day. “Next time, though, just take a sick day, alright? You’re gonna drive me up a wall with all that worryin’.”

“Okay, okay. Next time I get sick, I’ll take the day off.” He said with unsure amounts of honesty.

On that note, the trio began their day’s work under Celestia’s blazing banner.

To be continued...

Author's Note

It's late, it's shorter than normal, and it's prob'ly sub-par in terms of quality. I suck, I know. I'm trying, guys, I really am. I've got plans, but it's gonna be a bit before I get there.

Geez...I'm worse than Jontron when it comes to updates.

Chapter 2

Behind the Veil
Chapter 2
by FeralFox

After many an hour of writhing in pain from his extensive injuries, Marckus found himself in an exhaustion induced sleep. Though this rest did not free him of his pain, as he were sure to awake in an equally terrible state as he passed out in, if not worse. The previous events had taken their toll on his mind just as much as his body, as he encountered strange, colorful, and even sentient new life-forms to which his eyes had never perceived beforehand. He wished that they could have just been hallucinations brought on by pain, or shock, but to his disdain, they were all too vivid to be anything but real. In his comatose, his mind raced, never at ease, trying desperately to make sense out of these bizarre happenings, to rationalize, to come to a viable conclusion where none could be found. Clinging to a lifetime of problem-solving and deductive skills, he could come to no reasonable answer. And so, his mind continued, patching together blurry images of strange creatures, strange feelings underlining the intense sensations of pain, the questions he had answered about his trauma, in an attempt to reclaim his sanity.

Twilight had been watching the slightly repaired creature diligently since he had passed out, for any signs of developing conditions, or in case he decided that he had no more reason to keep the ponies alive. One could never be too sure. He seemed to be in a tremendous amount of pain, even though he kept a somewhat calm facade throughout the whole ordeal. The nurses were not able to administer any sedatives, anesthesia, or narcotics, because they were unsure of how their medicine would affect his body, so he had to suffer through all that went into mending and casting his broken limbs. Something that she wished upon nopony. She had been the only one to stay at the hospital, as Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had vacated the gruesome scene with the intent to inform their other friends, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

The creature began to stir once again, forcing Twilight back to reality. She could see that he was in pain, and she was incredibly upset at her inability to ease it. Suddenly a though dawned on her:

Should I tell Princess Celestia about him? She might know what to do with him, or where he came from even! Oh...but wait, maybe I should let him recover more before he goes through anything else too dramatic. Maybe I should consult my friends, they might have something to say...

Another agonizing shuffle from the creature broke her attention as she gazed at the poor soul.

We'll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now, just get some rest.

“So what yur sayin' is that sum strange....thing just fell out uh the sky, busted through Twilight's roof, n' landed smack-dab in her bedroom,” inquired the orange earth mare. “and y'all just carried 'im through Ponyville to the hospital?”

“Yeah, I swear! No joke! Twilight is still there, right now, keeping an eye on him.” Replied the cyan pegasus.

“Him?” Applejack said, accenting the question with a raised eyebrow.

“That's what he said.” Rainbow said, sounding almost as confused as Applejack. “I still can't believe that he was able to talk at all. Poor fella' took some pretty massive damage by the looks of it. I mean, I've taken some good hits before, but I'm meant to be in the air. That guy just plummeted like a rock. I don't know exactly what Nurse RedHeart did to him, cuz I was outta there before I saw anymore blood. Uuggh” She cringed at the thought of it.

“Was it really that bad?” Asked the workpony, concern plain in her voice.

“You should have seen the way it's.....um...er....front leg was bent. Definitely broken. He said he had more injuries, but I kinda zoned out a bit.” She trailed off at the end of her statement, feeling embarrassed that she should have been more attentive.

“We should prob'ly head down there, see if there ain't sumthin' we can do do help. Besides, I wan'ta see wut this thing really looks like. He sounds kinda freaky how yur describin' 'im.” Suggested Applejack as she set down the dirt road that connected Sweat Apple Acres to town, Rainbow Dash hovering close by.

Fluttershy landed gently on the front porch of Sugar Cube Corner, residence of Ponyville's Premier Party Pony, Pinkamena Diane Pie. More commonly know as Pinkie Pie. The sun was well past its zenith, cresting high upon the mountains, casting long shadows, signifying the day's advance. Business was slow this time of day. The timid pegasus gave a triplet of knocks so quiet one had to be standing next to the door to hear them. Pinkie Pie appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, just behind Fluttershy, and gave an unnecessarily enthusiastic greeting.

“Hi Fluttershy!” She said, practically in a yell. This was met with a shriek from the unexpecting guest, as she sprung several feet in the air. Pinkie continued on, her signature smile undaunted. “You here to buy some goodies?!” Exclaimed the cotton candy maned mare.

“O-oh, hi pinkie” said the quivering pegasus, barely above a whisper “a-actually, I'm here to tell you about something important.” This caught the pink pony's attention. “Something bad happened, and Twilight told me to bring you to the hospital, i-if you have the time.” She sheepishly turned away, hiding her face behind her pink mane.

“OH MY GOSH DID SOMETHING HAPPEN?! IS TWILIGHT OKAY?! WHAT ARE WE STANDING AROUND HERE FOR?! LET'S GO!!” Without so much as a word in edgewise, the hyperactive pony was off in a flash, leaving a still shaken Fluttershy in her wake.

The four friends all arrived at nearly the same time. They were all silent, Pinkie included, as they made their way to the room in the hospital where the creature was lodged. One by one, they poked their heads around the door frame into the room. After seeing a nervous wreck of a Twilight meet their curious inspection and beckon them in, the slowly entered. Still, all remained silent. The privacy curtain was closed and Twilight could read the looks of Applejack and Pinkie Pie's faces, they wanted to see. In a whisper that would rival Fluttershy's, Twilight was the first to speak.

“I'm glad to see that you could make it, but where's Rarity?”

“She wasn't there. There was a note on her door sayin' that she went tah some fancy-schmancy fashion thing.” Responded Applejack, just as quiet. “Dash 'n me walked by the boutique on the way here.”

“Well seeing as there's nothing we can do about it, she'll have to find out later. But for now, you guys have to stay completely quiet” Twilight said, shooting an preemptive glance at Pinkie Pie, who only responded by mimicking the act of “zipping her mouth shut”. “I'll only open the curtain if you can promise me that.” A collective of nods from the four ponies, all eagerly anticipating the curtain being drawn back. “Okay then, here we go.” She said as a faint aura enveloped the curtain in it's entirety.

Marckus began to stir from his painful slumber into a more agonizing consciousness, his eyes once again blurred, his hearing impaired. As his perception came to be, he noticed not four, but five pairs of large, inquisitive eyes, lurking over his being. Strangely, he heard nothing. He cleared his throat to check his hearing, and as he expected he could still hear. His sudden act of dislodging phlegm caused the five pairs of eyes to shrink away and he could hear a few unconstrained gasps escaping from the owners of the eyes. As his vision focused, he could see what exactly owned those eyes, and to his disbelief, there were five creatures similar to the ones from before. What he believed to be visions brought by his unstable mind in order to help ease the pain were, in fact, real creatures, all standing before him. But in place of the white nurse-like creature was a similar creature, though dominantly orange in color with a sun-bleached mane. To make the situation even more unbelievable, it was wearing a brown, what may have been leather, Stenson. In addition to the hat-sporting creature was one of even more unimaginable features. It's main color was a vibrant pink with a mane that resembled cotton candy. He gathered what remained of his shattered sanity and began to speak.

“Hh-hello...?” He spoke, his voice dry and raspy. There were more gasps, but only from the new creatures. A familiar purple creature stepped into the center and began to speak in an almost inaudible voice, decidedly female.

“Hello, can you here me okay?” She said, concern abundant in her tone.

“Chhan I get some whhater please?” He said, in desperate need of hydration. A small glass of water was suddenly levitated in front of him, surrounded by a light blue aura, the same of which seemed to be emanating from horn that sat upon the creatures head. He grasped the glass with his good hand, which seemed to spark interest in the others, as they had leaned forward to inspect his movements more closely. He touched the glass to his lips and tipped it up, gradually emptying it of its contents. After setting the glass back onto the table beside him, he began to speak once again.

“Thank you, I was parched.” He said in a calm manor, trying to be as civilized as possible. “Now, can someone please tell me what is going on here?”

To be continued...

Chapter 12

“Behind the Veil”
Chapter 12
by FeralFox

Twilight walked along as her companion strode somewhat lazily beside her, his fingers laced behind his head, shirts slung over his shoulder, and his posture bent slightly backward so that his face could bask in the warm afternoon sun as they walked. He walked with a sense of accomplishment at assisting Applejack with her farm work. It always felt good to help others, even without the incentive of personal gain. Marckus blindly followed his purple guide. He had asked her several times as to where they were going, but she refused to tell. Marckus lifted his arm over his head and to eye-level, checking his wrist for the time out of habit. He scowled as he had so callously forgotten to bring said item when he was packing his things for the journey to this world. He chuckled to himself as he thought of how it must either still be sitting on his dresser, or who it was sold to when the superintendent of his apartment decided it was time to sell his things. He never did care much for him, but Marckus made sure to stay in line and at least try to act civil in front of the crotchety old man. Marckus let out a heavy sigh as he reminisced about his native world. He wondered if time was still passing, and if so, had there been a missing persons report? His boss would have definitely taken note of his unusual absence. Now there was a man he respected. Never harsh on those that worked under him, but still punished those who deserved it. Even had a good sense of humor.

The tall man was getting lost musing about things that had been so mundane and trivial to him just days ago. His daydreaming was disturbed by a strange sight, and coming from a man who had gone through everything he had, that's saying something. Just a short ways out, there were three little fillies running at him and Twilight. One was a yellow earth-pony with a red bow in her hair; another was a pewter unicorn with a curly purple mane, strangely similar to Miss Rarity, whom he had only met for a short while. The third one, taking the front-lines on a scooter, was an orange pegasus, also with a purple mane, though of a slightly darker tone. All three of them were wearing, to his surprise, little capes. At first he thought they might have been playing some kind of game, but when they neared, he could see that their faces were straight and serious, almost angry. He stopped walking and turned to them. The orange filly was getting very close and didn't look like she intended on slowing down. She zipped over to a small rock that stuck out of the grass and used is as a sort of ramp, propelling her off the ground. She dismounted her scooter in mid-air, giving herself a little boost. She was cruising straight for him.

Hoping to deflect the projectile pegasus, he put his arms up across his face, making a cross. The filly didn't attempt to roll or change her flight path. Instead, she opened her mouth up wide and clamped down on Marckus' right arm, biting down with a vice-grip. The man recoiled slightly from the intended assault and grunted through his teeth as the little filly bore down on his forearm. With his attention directed at the pegasus, he didn't see the two other fillies still charging at his legs. The unicorn used her horn to ram his shin, the hard spiral bone meeting the un-cushioned surface of his own bone. The blow was a direct hit to the center of his leg, but the two thin bones deflected one another, making it more glancing than it should have been. The horn slid off his calf, tearing a small hole in his jeans. He grunted again as he looked down at his tiny attackers. Just as he had caught sight of the unicorn, the earth-pony had reared up and let loose an astonishing kick from her small frame, scoring a painful hit on the back of his leg, almost making his knee buckle.

He regained his composure as Twilight had turned back to see the onslaught. “Oh my goodness! What do you think you are doing?!” She yelled, obviously just as confused as the man under siege. Marckus quickly prioritized his targets and made the proper strategy. First, he needed to free up his other arm. He reached over to the pegasus filly who was still gnawing away at his arm and grabbed her torso, his large hands and long fingers making it easy to get a firm grip on his tiny assailant. He squeezed her lightly, causing her to release her bite just enough for him to rip her from his arm. The filly began to squirm and pummel his wrist with her hooves, shouting indignantly. He snapped his attention to the unicorn. She was about ready to charge him again when he reached down and grabbed her, receiving the same reaction as the orange filly. The last one shouted at him in an eerily familiar southern drawl.

“Ah ain't gonna let you hurt mah friends!” With that, she turned and reared up to kick him again, but this time, he was ready. Keeping his boot planted on the ground as to avoid kicking her, he slid his leg forward, shoving her without much force. She toppled over and tried to scramble to her hooves, but he caught her hind leg over his boot and twirled her around on the ground, discombobulating her. When she was sufficiently spun, he placed his boot on top of her. Firm enough to keep her from escaping, but gentle enough to avoid crushing her or making it to difficult to breathe.

The three fillies each trashed and wriggled futilely in his grasp. During the short time the assault had taken place, Twilight was observing, baffled and awestruck. She was baffled as to why the three fillies had attacked the towering man in the first place, and awestruck as to how quickly and fluidly Marckus had subdued them. The feeling of awe, however, quickly faded to be replaced by anger.

“What in the name of Celestia were you fillies doing?!” She scolded. Marckus was still struggling with them, trying to keep his balance over the one under his hefty boot while keeping the others in his hands. The orange pegasus spoke up first.

“We're trying to, grrr, save you from this, nng, monster!” She said as she fought the tremendous man's steel hold. She tried several times to bite his hands, but on every attempt, he would give her a light squeeze and stop it short.

“He's NOT a monster!” She yelled. “I was in no danger! If anything, you're all lucky that Marckus is disciplined, or he might have hurt you. I wouldn't have blamed him either, considering you attacked him for no reason!” She shouted, giving each little filly a death stare. The fillies stopped struggling and finally noticed that they were not being killed by a giant monster, or even hurt for that matter. Marckus glanced over his extended arm to Twilight. She nodded and he set the orange and alabaster fillies down and removed his boot from the yellow one. They stood shoulder to shoulder with each other and stared at the ground. Twilight cleared her throat purposefully.

“Were sorry.” The trio said simultaneously.

“We just wanted ta’ get ar’ cutie marks 's all. We thought maybe we'd be good monster hunters, or maybe pony savers.” The one with the bow said sadly. Marckus shot a questioning look at Twilight. She turned her poisonous gaze from the fillies to him in turn.

“A cutie mark is something that-- Oh my goodness! Marckus, you're bleeding!” The lavender mare screamed. He raised an eyebrow and took note of the unusual coldness of his arm now that the adrenalin of the moment had worn off. He looked down at his right arm to see the hot, viscous, crimson liquid running down his arm from where the pegasus filly had bitten him. He turned his arm over to inspect the other side, only to see the same.

“Huh. So I am.” He said calmly. Upon inspecting his arm more, he remembered the horn he took to his shin. He peered through the tear in his right pant-leg reveal a small laceration that ran from the front of his leg around the outside. “Hmm...” He said as he reached down for his bundle of shirts that had fallen from his shoulder during the rumble. “It seems you little fillies did quite the number on me.” He retrieved a bright red shirt from within his gray sweater. He sighed to himself as he looked at the tee. It was one of his favorites, and currently one of his only, but alas, this was more important. He placed the bottom of the shirt in his mouth and tore a long strip from the base. He slung the remaining shirt over his shoulder and gave his arm a few good licks to clear away any contaminated blood from the wounds, then began to dress it. He tied the make-shift gauze tightly around his arm. Then he ripped another piece from the tee and tied it around his shin.

Once he was done patching himself up, he turned to the three fillies who had seen the damage they had done and were now looking up at him with wide, misty eyes.

“I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to hurt you.” The snow-white unicorn sobbed.

“Yeah, me too. Please don't hurt us.” The tangerine pegasus pleaded. Marckus thought for a moment before he sat down on his heels, still looming over the small fillies.

“Don't worry, no harm done...so to say.” His deep voice soft and easy. “Just promise me this: The next time you see someone you don't know, try and look past their appearance for who they really are. Otherwise, you might jump to some bad conclusions.” He looked each of them in the eyes as he spoke. “Can you do that for me?”

“We promise!” They said in unison. He smiled and patted them each on the head before returning to his full height. He turned to Twilight again.

“Anyways, you were about to explain...'cutie marks', was it?” The purple pony blinked for a moment before her mind returned to her.

“Uh, yes, cutie marks. They are special-- wait a minute.” She interrupted herself again, much to the patient man's disdain. “Why aren't you little fillies in school right now?” The trio of troublemakers shuffled nervously as they watched the grass grow.

“Wull...we were at recess when we saw y'all walkin' by...” The drawling filly began.

“And we thought you were in danger so...” The pewter unicorn continued.

“So we snuck out to save you.” The pegasus finished. Twilight scowled at them.

“So you went AWOL from school, and you didn't think to ask the teacher for help?” Having it said out loud made it abundantly clear how poorly thought out their plan was. “Well, as punishment, I'm going to escort you little rascals back to the schoolhouse and tell Ms. Cheerilee what you did, so that you are properly punished.” She looked on in frustration at the three little fillies.

Marckus chimed in. “Wait. Did you say you were looking for your 'cutie marks'?” He looked on questioningly. The little fillies perked up and exchanged smiles with one another.

“We're the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” They shouted in sync. “We go on lots of adventures, trying to find our cutie marks!” The unicorn filly said. “I'm Sweetie-Bell!” She said, taking a step to separate herself somewhat.

“May I assume you're Ms. Rarity's relative?” Marckus asked, curious about the similar colors.

“Yeah! She's my sister! Did you meet her?” He nodded and she smiled, but he said no more to allow introductions to continue.

“Ah'm Appelbloom!” The filly with the bow said, also taking a step. “Ya might've met mah sister, Applejack.” He nodded again, connecting the accents.

“And I'm Scootaloo!” The pegasus said, making the line solid once more, if not just a step forward. Marckus looked at the little pegasus and wondered if he had met one of her relatives yet.

'Ms. Fluttershy perhaps? The yellow and orange are kinda close, but the purple mane and outspoken voice make me want to say no.' He thought to himself 'Who was that other pegasus that I met....Rainbow Dash, that's right. I guess the colors don't really matter considering she's rainbow, so...ah, best not assume anything. I might ask one day, but not now.'

“I'd like to say 'nice to meet you', but your first impression isn't really winning me over.” He said cautiously, not wanting to upset the little fillies. “But hopefully you'll be able to change that so that I can.” He said with a smile. The Crusaders smiled along with him. He mentally wiped sweat off his brow at the save. “But as I've asked before, what exactly IS a cutie mark?” He repeated.

Twilight was about to open her mouth to explain, but then an idea stuck her. She turned up to her giant companion. “Marckus, what do you say about coming with us to the schoolhouse? Maybe you can learn some basic things about Equestria while you’re there.” The man scratched his beard with his non- bloody hand and pondered on this for a moment before he shrugged.

“Eh, might as well.” He didn't really like the idea of returning to school after the thirteen years he had gone through to graduate, plus the three years he went to trade school to get his auto technician's license. But then again, this was a whole new world, so he had to start somewhere. He gathered his spare clothing and they set off.

After a short while of walking in a somewhat awkward silence, a schoolhouse came into sight.

“Maybe I should warn them about you before you go in.” Twilight said as they neared the little building. Marckus nodded and the quartet of ponies entered the house of learning. He waited for a few moments patiently before Twilight returned to beckon him inside. He tried to walk as lightly as possible, but his heavy boots made staying quiet an impossibility. With each step, the floorboards creaked and a light thud sounded when rubber met wood. He ducked through the door to see a small classroom filled with similarly small colts and fillies. The sound of his muffled, yet thunderous approach made them all turn from their activities. The faces of the students were all pleasantly mixed. That is, not all of them frozen in abject-terror. Some of them were afraid and screaming in fear, yes, but some were exited, and were saying things to their desk-neighbors. Some were confused looking, or curious rather, and seemed to be asking others questions. But to the man's dismay, the mare he assumed was teacher was hiding behind her desk, terrified, ready to shriek. He decided to remain still as Twilight tried to disarm the teacher situation over the cacophony of shouts.

“Miss Cheerilee? This is Marckus! Don't worry; he won’t hurt you!” She shouted over the noise of the children. She explained the cloth on his arm and the ruckus that the Crusaders had made. Once she was coaxed out from behind her desk, the fuchsia mare stood at the front of the classroom, beside a podium, and cleared her throat loudly. Slowly but surely, the commotion died down. She coughed nervously as Twilight motioned for the large man to approach them.

“Class, this i-is...Marckus. He's from another world, and h-he's here to learn about ours.” Marckus waved to the class with a smile. “Don't be afraid of him, h-he won't be hurting anypony a-anytime soon.” She said as if she was trying to convince herself more than the children. She turned and looked up to the towering man. “W-why don't you take a seat in the back of the room and I'll resume the lesson. I-I'll be happy to answer any of your questions.” He nodded and made his way around the class, and sat down cross-legged in the back of the room.

He turned to Twilight and whispered. “You wouldn't happen to have anything I might be able to take notes with, would you?” Twilight smiled and her horn shown a brilliant purple light, before a small, black leather bound book materialized from thin-air, along with a quill and ink well. Marckus took the book, but stopped when he reached for the quill still hovering in the air. Being a dominant lefty, his hand would smear the ink if he wrote with that, and his right hand writing was...lacking to say the least. He thought for a moment before desperately patting down his right thigh. He dug through the pocked on the side of his leg designed to carry pencils and such, praying that he'd find something of use. Lo and behold, he found a broken pencil and an old ballpoint pen. He sent a silent 'thank you' to whoever was watching over him right now.

Twilight cocked an eyebrow at the strange instruments. Marckus opened the cover of the book and scratched back and forth on the corner of the page with the point of his pen. Nothing. He scratched faster and harder, but still, nothing. In despair, he looked down at the pen. He perked up when an idea came to him. He quickly unscrewed the front of the pen and took out the tip/inkwell assembly before regarding the lavender unicorn beside him.

“Excuse me, Twilight? Do you think you'd be able to put some of that ink in this little chamber?” He asked, pointing to the floating inkwell and the plastic tube on his pen. She nodded and her horn began to glow again. After a flash of light, Marckus reassembled his pen and scratched at the paper. After a few seconds a glorious black trail rode in the wake of the pen's scratches. A smile stretched across the man's face as something so trivial became so important, just because it's the only one in existence. “Thank you!” He said with a sigh of relief.

“You’re welcome!” She replied happily. “Now, I'll leave you to your learning. I've got to check up on Spike. I'll be back in a couple of hours, okay?” He nodded and directed his attention to the class, who had been watching his movements intently, including Ms. Cheerilee. Twilight left and the class had resumed to an almost normal pace as the man wrote down everything he deemed important. Which was everything, save the simple math and spelling lessons. He was once again astounded at how perfectly similar his world's arithmetic and his country's language were to that of this world's.

Twilight had made it back to the Library where Spike had set up a sandbag defensive position in the main living area, and had donned an olive drab green metal war helmet and was cowering in a fetal position, grasping a red-hot fire stoker. He jumped when Twilight entered the room and motioned for her to get behind cover, to which she rolled her eyes.

“Spike, what are you doing?” She asked the Hidden Dragon.

“There's been some really weird noises coming from the atrium, and I want to be prepared when whatever's making them comes down.” He said in a panicked tone. Twilight rolled her eyes once again and trotted up the stairs to the so called lair of the beast.

What she found was Pinkie Pie being........Pinkie Pie. The decorations had advanced quite a lot since her last visit, but there were also many other things that drew the Librarian's attention. Scattered about the room were several mini trampolines, from which Pinkie was bouncing, hanging ribbons and banners along the rafters. And on the floor, there were several boxes and baskets of party decorations that Pinkie Pie was throwing to Pinkie Pie, so that she could stay bouncing. In another section of the room was Pinkie Pie, launching streamer artillery at the wall. Near a table that looked to be for concessions, Pinkie Pie was blowing up balloons and handing them to Pinkie Pie, who was tying them up into various shapes. She were all laughing and giggling as she went about her work, telling her jokes that she'd almost keel over laughing at. Twilight blinked a few times before slowly backing away, breaking into a gallop down the stairs. She looked at Spike with wide, fearful eyes.

“Don't go in there!” She warned. The baby dragon looked back with an equally terrified expression.

“I told ya’ so!” He retorted. He tossed a similar helmet to Twilight, except there was a hole stamped out of the top. The lavender mare put on the helmet and waited behind the sandbag fort with Spike, ready to weather out the storm that was Pinkie Pie.

After an amount of time lost to the pair, Twilight realized that she had to retrieve Marckus from the schoolhouse and keep him from coming back to the Library for a while. She burst from the bunker at full gallop while calling back to Spike.

“Gotta go get Marckus don't let Pinkie burn down the library bye!” And in an instant she was out of the building. Her helmet was left spinning at the staircase in her hasty exit. She trotted quickly to the schoolhouse, hoping she wasn't too late. She came upon the building just as the class was getting let out - the colts and fillies cheering at the end of another monotonous school day, no doubt. Twilight entered the little building and saw Marckus feverishly writing down information, still seated in the back of the room. He clicked the pen away and shut the notebook just as Twilight came into the room. He smiled as he stood up. “Learn a lot today?” Twilight asked.

“Man, I'll tell ya, when you said 'whole new world', you meant whole new world” He said with a wave of his arms to accent his sentence. “Alright, where are we off to now?”

“How do you know I'm taking you somewhere new?” She asked jokingly.

“I catch on quickly.” He answered with a chuckle of his own.

To be continued...