//------------------------------//
// Chapter 19 
// Story: Behind the Veil 
// by FeralFox 
//------------------------------//


 “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...