Behind the Veil

by FeralFox

Chapter 13

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.