//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18 
// Story: Behind the Veil 
// by FeralFox 
//------------------------------//


 “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…