Beyond Infinity

by Pen Dragon

Chapter Seven- Half-Truths & An Unexpected Guest

Author's Note:

IMPORTANT NOTICE

Okay, so first off, I want you all to know that I am sorry this chapter took a little longer than it should have, but that's because I've been busy with work lately. So after you've read this chapter, I'll be going on a bit of a hiatus for a month to get some things in my life in order and to also get ahead again with this story. I hope you all understand, but that won't stop me from writing the story. By the time I come back from my hiatus, my goal is to have at least five chapters done and ready to go for you all by that time. It's tedious trying to write chapter to chapter and I want to stay ahead of this story so I can keep writing it out and surprising everyone.

Anyways, without further ado, here is Chapter Seven, I want to thank UnamusedWaffle & Wolven for helping me edit and write this chapter. Give them a follow and check out their stories! They're awesome! :)
I also want to thank MCShelster for making the artwork for this story, it's incredible and I can't thank her enough!:D

Chapter Seven- Half-Truths & An Unexpected Guest

The journey back to Ponyville went off without a hitch, which was saying a lot for Marcus as he expected a lot of things to go wrong. Thankfully, though, it seemed like the universe was throwing him a bone for once. By the time they reached the fountain at the center of Ponyville, he thought that things were going his way.

“OBSIDIAN!”

Or so he thought.

Pinkie told him about the dangers of the Everfree Forest, starting with Timberwolves, Manticores, Hydras, Cockatrices, dangerous plants, and other eldritch horrors. Right now, he was wishing that one of those things would attack him instead. Fluttershy’s intense stare beat down on him like when your Mom catches you playing Super Smash Bros. at 2 A.M. It was a feeling that he knew all too well, forcing him to cower in fear.

“Do you have any idea how worried we’ve all been?!” she bellowed, as Marcus immediately fell on his rump. His ears folded back as he scratched the back of his head.

“W-Well Fluttershy, I know you said ‘Not to go into the forest until my injuries healed,’ which they did by the way! Totally fine now, as you can see! But I needed to go in to get my things, and I didn’t go alone! Pinkie actually was a big help- OW!! OW-OW-OW-OW!” Marcus was cut off by the sudden bite to his left ear. Fluttershy was yanking on it as hard as she could, with Pinkie sitting back… and eating popcorn!?

WHY? AND HOW, PINKIE?!

“I thought you had gotten hurt, or worse! I am so cross with you right now that I could just scream! *GASP* Ahhh!” she shouted.

At least, that’s what Marcus was expecting, but it sounded more like a dying duck than anything resembling a shout.

“I’m sorry, geez! You didn’t have to bite my ear though, you could have ripped it off.”

“I’m… not sorry, you had me worried sick when you and Pinkie didn’t come back to the party.”

“Yeeeaah, about that, it’s a long story.”

“Well, perhaps you’d like to share it with all of us, Obsidian Coal,” Marcus heard, immediately turning to find Princess Twilight, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and an orange pony, with apples as a tattoo on her rump and a brown stetson hat sitting atop her golden mane, walking up to them.

“I have half a mind to report you to Princess Celestia, given that you were hiding the fact that you were an alicorn,” she stated.

Oh fuck me!! Marcus grimaced as he flared his wings before he could stop himself. The cat was out of the bag now.

“BUT… seeing that you stood up for Pinkie Pie,” Twilight sighed but spoke with a gentle edge, “I am willing to hear you explain yourself before I decide one way or another.”

“Alright, alright, I’ll be straight with you, Princess,” Marcus started, taking a deep breath as he collected his thoughts. “First off, I’m an alicorn, but I am nooo prince. That much I can promise.

“However, I was sent here to Equestria to look for artifacts concerning my mission. They are the key to finding my place in this world,” he explained. Though, he couldn’t help but shrink when he noticed glares from both the new pony and Rainbow Dash.

"Hey guys, come on! Don't look at him like that! He's a really good guy, Applejack!"

“Alright, calm down Pinkie! We're just concerned is all," The new pony named Applejack, explained. "So, y’all are sayin’ that you came here looking for some fancy trinkets, right? But ya haven’t explained why.”

“All I can say is that finding them is literally key to my survival,” he said, recalling his deadline of ten years.

But I still know nothing of this world…

“That’s not much to give us…” Twilight narrowed her eyes.

“Well, I barely know what these artifacts do myself. All I know is that my survival depends on finding them.”

“For what purpose? And who?” Twilight pressed.

“Can’t say for certain, but one moment I was living a normal life, the next I’m dropped from the sky into the… Everfree Forest, right, Pinkie?”

“That’s right! You remembered!”

“That’s all I can recall at the moment,” he replied, giving his best poker face.

Applejack narrowed her eyebrows, “Yer lyin’,” she stated, “or at least by omission.”

“Obsidian Coal, I am giving you a chance to be candid and you’re already sticking your hoof in your mouth,” Twilight warned.

“Well, even if I could tell you, I can’t! I’ve already lost everything! This is a second chance at starting over!” he argued, tears starting to form in his eyes. He wasn’t sure whether Death actually meant what she said about turning to dust, but he already lost one life to a maniac.

Not again, not ever again…

“J-Just… I can’t… I can’t explain it, but this mission… it’s the only chance I have left! To live a full life, to- …to be happy…”

The mares were all surprised, especially when they saw Marcus shed tears from his eyes. Seeing the fear he had, really made them feel sympathy. Twilight’s ears folded back, and she opened her mouth to speak, but she was cut off.

“Leave him alone! Coaly hasn’t done anything wrong, guys! He’s one of the nicest ponies I’ve ever met. He even stood up to Sombry when he was being really mean to me. It’s not fair for you to judge him when you don’t even know him!” Pinkie protested.

Now it was Marcus’ turn to be surprised.

“Pinkie’s right, Coal isn’t a bad pony, I’ve been with him the whole time, and he’s not a bad pony. If he’s not ready to tell us, then we need to respect his decision,” Fluttershy added.

Sighing, Twilight spoke, “I’m… not exactly okay with you keeping secrets from us, but I can tell that you spoke from the heart. If you quite literally can’t tell us, then I suppose, as long as you do no harm, I can accept that.

“However… it still puts me in a difficult position, Coal. You are an alicorn, and whether you claim to be royalty or not, that still casts a spotlight upon you, and I feel Princess Celestia would at the very least offer you some help with that. I won’t force you to see her and I won’t tell her about you. I only ask that you consider going to her for help.”

“...I’ll consider it,” Marcus wiped the tears away, feeling a bit wimpy but relieved at the same time.

“Well, I say we’ve had one doozy of a night! Coaly’s gonna need a place to stay for the time being! OH! That’s right! I offered to let him stay at Sugarcube Corner! We have an extra room he can stay in!” Pinkie offered, jumping up and down.

I completely forgot she did offer that before- Wait? Did I accept that though?

“Coal will be staying with me, actually, Pinkie,” Fluttershy stated, smiling at Marcus.

Why does that smile send a shiver down my spine?

“Well, Coaly already said yes before! Right, Coaly?!”

“Uh…”

“Coal needs more time to recover at my cottage, it’s the best place for him to rest,” Fluttershy started.

“But Coaly’s injuries have already healed! And he said he would LOVE to stay at Sugarcube Corner!” Pinkie countered.

“Well, truth be told I wasn’t-”

“Coal might look okay right now, but I remember he had broken ribs, those don’t heal immediately Pinkie,”

“Well, Twily can heal him with magic right now! Make sure he’s A-okay!”

Why are they fighting about this?

“Well, I did kinda agree to Pinkie’s offer before Fluttershy, though I wasn’t really paying attention at the time,” he explained.

“Lost in your thoughts again?” Fluttershy asked, trotting up to him.

“Yeahhh…”

Letting out a quiet giggle, she could help but smile at him. “You tend to do that quite often, don’t you?”

“It’s a habit that I’m trying to break,”

“Well, if you really want to stay at Pinkie’s place, I won’t stop you, but I want you to come by tomorrow. If that's okay for you, that is?” Fluttershy asked. Marcus knew she meant for him to come by no question. All she wanted was to make sure he was okay.

“YAY!” Pinkie cheered, wrapping her hooves around him and embracing him tightly. “It’ll be like a sleepover! But every night!”

Marcus couldn’t help but let out an awkward chuckle as his cheeks turned slightly red. He wasn’t the biggest fan of human contact. Especially how Pinkie was mushing her cheek to his own, and he started to wonder, What did I just get myself into…?

“Well, I say we should all head home and turn in, especially since somepony’s party ended twenty minutes ago,” Twilight said before she looked to Marcus, “So then, Obsidian, if you’re interested, I would like to discuss some things with you.”

“Like what?” Marcus asked, wary but keeping his tone casual.

“Like what kind of magic you know,” Twilight replied, a sparkle in her eyes, “where you came from, anything at all! We’d just like to get to know you.”

Hoo boy… Marcus was afraid of this. Per Death’s instructions, he couldn’t tell them the specifics of their deal, and he was reluctant to reveal his being from another world and originally another species altogether.

What will they think when I tell them I used to be a human?

“Well, I can definitely say that I can’t use magic, I spent most of my life… magicless,” he replied, scratching the back of his head. “But I’d like to learn at some point. Be the next ‘Gandalf’ you know?”

Twilight stared at Marcus for a split second, confused, before asking with a familiar twinkle in her eyes, “You weren’t always an alicorn, were you?”

“Well, you got me there. This is all still so new to me,” he answered.

“Well, if you’re in need of a magic teacher, Twilight would be perfect for you!” said a young male voice Marcus didn’t recognize.

He turned around and saw a cute, little, purple reptilian guy with green spines, giving Marcus an encouraging smile, “Nopony knows magic like she does, it’s her special talent!”

“Well, uh…hello there,” Marcus gave the little guy a smile, “You’re a talking lizard, aren’t you?”

“Spike the Dragon, at your service,” Spike gave a playful bow along with a friendly stink-eye. He must have heard that one before. “I’m Twilight’s Number One Assistant!”

“He’s practically my little brother,” Twilight confirmed as she went over and gave Spike a warm hug.

“Surprised I’m just noticing you now,” Marcus shrugged, “and… you don’t have wings.”

“From what we know about dragons, they don’t get their wings until they reach a certain age,” Twilight answered.

“I didn’t say anything before because… well, I didn’t want to interrupt things,” Spike wrung his tail a bit before lighting up, “But now we’re all friends here, right?”

“Sure… At least, we’re all cool now, but yeah if she doesn’t mind, I’d like to learn… eventually,” Marcus politely requested, somewhat hesitant.

Spike tilted his head as he noticed the metal brace the alicorn stallion wore around his neck, along with the blue stone on it, giving off a light dim glow. “That’s… a nice gem!”

“Uh, thanks…” Marcus didn’t like the way Spike licked his lips while looking at his stone. “It’s important to me, more than you can know.”

“Well, let’s discuss a good time for us to have a lesson together, but you should probably get settled with Pinkie Pie and the Cakes over at Sugarcube Corner,” Twilight suggested.

“Oh that’s right! I gotta tell Mr. & Mrs. Cake we have a new roomie!” Pinkie realized and she hopped off, singing “La, la-la, la-la…!”

“Well, I suppose this is where we must part ways, Obsidian Coal, it was truly a pleasure to meet you. And I’ll have a new custom-made jacket for you soon darling.” Rarity said, heading off in a different direction.

“Hey! Wait, there’s no need to do that!”

“Can’t hear you!~”

She totally can hear me Marcus thought with a flat look before cracking a smile.

“Hey, Coal, sorry about… what happened earlier today. It wasn’t right of me, so are we cool?” Rainbow Dash asked apologetically.

“Sure, just as long as you don’t kick me into a carrot cart again. I’ll be fine being friends with you,” Marcus replied, waving goodbye to the pegasus.

“Sweet! If you ever need help flying, I’ll be happy to help dude! Have a good night!” she offered, before taking off into the sky as a rainbow trail followed her.

“Y’all have a good night, I’m gonna hit the sack! Nice meetin’ ya, partner!” Applejack said, tipping her hat to him.

“I’ll see you tomorrow then, Coal?” Fluttershy asked with the barest edge in her voice, like a parent reminding one of their chores.

“Yes, Mom,” Marcus responded with playful sarcasm, only to get a cuff on the ear, “Ow!”

“I mean it…” Fluttershy said with a gentle firmness before giving him a smile and then taking her leave.

“You’d better get to Sugarcube Corner and meet with Pinkie Pie and the Cakes,” Twilight suggested and pointed down the street, “Just head that way and make the second right. You’ll know Sugarcube Corner when you see it.”

“Alright, we can talk magic lessons tomorrow or something,” Marcus shrugged.

Twilight nodded and let Spike hop onto her back before saying, “Good night Obsidian Coal! We’ve got a lot to go over, so I hope you’re ready for some learning.”

“Bye, Coal!” Spike waved as Twilight trotted off.

Finally, Marcus was alone.

Feeling exhaustion finally starting to catch up with him, Marcus phew’d and made his way to Sugarcube Corner. Once he made that second right, he chuckled at the sight of the bakery and thought, Yep, It’s quite unmistakable…

Needless to say, when he entered the bakery, Carrot Cake and his wife, Cup Cake, were rather surprised and not exactly pleased Pinkie Pie had invited a stranger - an alicorn no less! - into their home. Marcus honestly didn't think things through when he agreed to live at Sugarcube Corner.

"Um, Hello, I'm Obsidian Coal, it’s nice to meet you all." He waved awkwardly at the couple as they gawked at him.

I guess being an alicorn isn’t exactly normal if they’re just going to keep staring at me.

“Oh, remember how you guys were asking for more help here at the bakery!? Well, Coaly here said, he’s willing to help out here!” Pinkie said, smiling gleefully at the couple.

"Oh, yes! Terribly sorry, Mr. Obsidian, we don't want to come off as rude, but we just weren't expecting this all of a sudden," Mr. Cake said, sweating nervously as he looked up at the charcoal alicorn towering over him.

"It’s fine, I would be cautious too if our positions were reversed. Anyways, I know my words might not mean much, but I'll do what I can to help you guys out. Pay for rent so I'm not a freeloader here." Marcus explained calmly so as not to intimidate them.

"Well, we'll certainly talk more about this in the morning, but for now, I'll need to put-" Mrs. Cake was suddenly cut off by her twin foals, Pound Cake and Pumpkin Cake, who took a shine to Marcus as they suddenly leaped onto him.

“Ooh! This one’s going in the scrapbook!” Pinkie Pie pulled up a camera and took a photo of Pumpkin Cake on Marcus’s back, chewing on his ear while Pound Cake clutched the stallion’s face. Marcus couldn’t help himself from smiling ear to ear.

“Um! Uh! Help!?” Marcus chuckled, wincing just a bit because Pumpkin was teething.

“Alrighty, dearies, it’s past your bedtimes anyway,” Cup Cake and Carrot Cake collected their foals, who made just a little fuss until Marcus gave them each a tickle on their tummy, and they too felt the long day as they yawned, the sight of it melting Marcus’s heart.

“G’night, little guys,” he whispered to them.

“I got them,” Carrot took Pumpkin from Cup Cake and carried both foals to their room.

“Now, let’s get you settled in, dear,” Cup Cake offered, “There’s a guest room upstairs, but… I’m not sure if the bed is big enough for you.”

“I’m sure it’ll be fine, thank you for the hospitality. I’ll be sure to do my part and help out where I can.” Marcus stated, bowing his head to Mrs. Cake.

“Oh my, Pinkie didn’t mention you were such a gentlecolt,” She smiled, bowing her head to him. “Just try not to make too much noise, so you don’t wake up the foals.”

“Um, I’ll try not to?” he answered, raising a brow in confusion as she began giggling for some strange reason. “Have a good night.”

“Good night, Coal, we’ll discuss details about you starting work here in the morning,” she replied.

As he made his way upstairs, Pinkie came out of a room, smiling as she hopped over towards him. “Heya, Coaly! Everything’s ready for you!”

“Thanks, Pinks, for everything.”

“No problem Coaly, and I know you don’t want to tell them about that rock thingy, but promise me that you will eventually?” she asked, looking up at him and seeing her pleading eyes, made him just want to make her happy.

“I’ll-I mean, I’ll tell everyone about my mission when I’m ready, but I am glad that at least someone knows a bit about what’s going on,” Marcus replied, before he was suddenly hugged. It wasn’t a tight-squeezy, excitable hug. It was… nice. Soft, caring, and gentle.

“Have a good night Coaly! I’ll see you in the morning!”

“Goodnight Pinks.” he said, entering his room and closing the door. Now that he was finally alone, Marcus decided to take the time to look around his temporary room. The floor creaked with every step he made as he made his way towards what looked like a full-size bed, beside it a small nightstand and a lamp.

It's not a lot, but I'm not complaining.

Tossing his bag next to the bed, he plopped down face first onto the bed, turned on his back and just laid there. Staring at the ceiling as he began to recollect the events that happened.

I found the first stone, but I had to lie about everything to everyone. Especially to Fluttershy and Pinkie, those two deserve the truth.

*Ping*

Reaching into his bag, he pulled out his phone and noticed another text from Death.

LD
Hope you enjoyed your first day in the new world. Remember that I'll be checking on you periodically, so make sure you keep your phone close. Remember why you are there, and what your goal is.

Me
I know, but you need to explain to me how I found it. Cause I have no idea what happened?

LD
I'll explain everything to you sometime next week, I am busy after all. So be patient and get into a routine. After all, you are going to be here for a while now.

Me
Got it.

That was the final thing he texted before going to bed. Surprising even himself, sleep wasn’t far off once he closed his eyes.

---

“Coal, make sure you have those Cupcakes delivered to Carrot Tops’ Birthday Party ASAP! Pinkie already has the other party favors set up,” Carrot Cake called out to him, handing him two boxes.

“I got it, boss!” Marcus replied, grabbing the cupcakes in his hoof.

“I told you to just call me Carrot, Coal.”

“Whatever you say, boss, gotta go.” Coal said, rushing out the door.

It had been a week since he had started working at Sugarcube Corner as their new courier (he preferred to be called that over ‘delivery boy’). Not wanting to freeload off them, he figured he’d help out with the bakery. He wouldn’t admit it to Pinkie, but he greatly enjoyed it.

As he traveled the little town, most ponies, in the beginning, thought it was strange that an alicorn was living there. However, they eventually for the time being at least accepted that he was just a foreigner who had a pair of wings and a horn. Even if they had accepted him as an alicorn, that didn’t mean they weren't uncomfortable.

So he decided to take things slow and focus on helping out at Sugarcube Corner now that the Cakes were getting used to him being around. He'll help out everyone eventually, after all, he's always been helpful to others.

He noticed the florists tending to their flowers and as he waved to them, they started to back away with strained smiles on their faces. He rolled his eyes and continued to make his way toward the address he was given. It took him ten minutes to reach the address by hoof, while also trying to be careful with the baked goods. Once he spotted the party pony setting up the table, he smiled and made his way over. “Hey, Pinks! Special delivery!”

“Thanks, Coaly! Just in time too! After we finish setting up here, we can head back to the bakery! I gotta make one more batch of cookies before I go over to Twilight’s to pick up Sombry!” Pinkie explained.

Marcus frowned and his brows furrowed as he set the cupcakes down on the table.

“Great… Honestly, I don’t know why you're bothering with that guy.”

“Cause, the Princess wants me to reform him!” Pinkie replied cheerfully.

“I just think he wants to keep to himself, he’s not exactly a peo- I mean, a pony person.”

“Oh yeah! I just remembered that Rarity wanted me to give you this new jacket! Since, you know, you lost the other one,” she teased. She really wasn’t going to let him live that down.

Real subtle changing the subject, Pinkie.

“Mmhmm… Thanks for reminding me, Pinks,” he groaned in annoyance. He couldn’t really hold it against her since it was his dumbass thinking that got them into that situation. They had to come up with a convincing story and the excuse was that it got torn badly by some branches, after falling down.

“No problemo! Here, try it on!” She said, pulling a white box out and opening it, revealing a light blue jacket with a white cotton collar.

Rarity has really nice tastes, I'm not exactly stylish, but I like it! He thought, putting the jacket on excitedly.

“So? How do I look?”

“Dashing,” she replied bluntly.

“Huh?”

“I said dashing! You look dashing in the jacket, Coaly!” She said confidently.

“Oh, uh, thanks, Pinks,” He replied, his cheeks turning slightly red.

“No problemo! Anyways, I got everything handled here!” Pinkie offered, setting out the cupcakes on a display tray.

“Are you sure? I mean, I can still help out if you need me.”

“It’s okay, Coaly! You’ve been a big help lately at the bakery! I’ll let Mr. and Mrs. Cakes know that I gave you the rest of the day off. Plus, I know you don’t want to come with me afterward to see Sombry.” Pinkie explained, patting his shoulder, which he understood.

“Well, I am living there, so it's only fair that I pull my own weight at the bakery, but anyways, come get me if you need my help.”

“Okie dokie!”

Well, I guess getting a new coat won’t kill anyone, plus it looks like it’s going to rain today, Marcus thought as he saw Rainbow Dash and some of the local weather pegasi lining the sky with clouds.

It still baffled him how the weather was controlled by pegasus ponies in towns and cities. There was still wild weather, of course, but only out in the wilderness, such as the Everfree Forest.

But, it’s a magical world, so why not? he thought with a shrug. But his attention was forced towards the sky as he felt something wet plot onto the bridge of his snout.

Slowly but surely, drops of water began to fall in a gentle drizzle. The kind where a raincoat or umbrella wasn’t immediately required and actually quite enjoyable. Recalling what he used to do as a kid, Marcus held his head back, opened his mouth, and let the rain fall onto his tongue while he listened to the soft pitter-patter of it falling around him.

But then… the subtle music of rainfall stopped, and he no longer tasted any rainwater.

“Huh?” Marcus opened one eye… and what he saw shocked him!

It was as though someone had paused a movie, because everything and everyone around him was completely immobile. Ponies frozen in mid-walk, a couple of birds halted in mid-flap, it was as if… time had stopped!

Okay, I might not be an expert on magic but even I know it’d take something powerful to do something like this… Marcus thought as he moved cautiously around, stopping in front of the town square fountain.

Then… he heard it. A sound like a chord or singing, he couldn’t be sure, but almost immediately he knew. “An Infinity Stone?!” he whispered.

Following that mysterious sound, noting how similar yet different the tone was from how the blue stone had been, he noticed it was coming from around the fountain. Though his mind didn’t go blank or such, like before, Marcus felt it in his gut. Something… or someone was here, not just this new stone.

Keeping his guard up, he slowly made his way around the fountain until a unicorn mare comes into view, sitting next to the fountain, gazing into the water, her back to him. She had a coat of pale cold white while her mane was colored in two shades of icy blue, one darker than the other, held back by a mane-band, with the rest tied into a braid that rested against her neck. He noticed her cutie mark too, what appeared to be an open storybook with a blue star on the cover and a golden ribbon for a bookmark.

Part of him considered saying something, and yet another was cautious and hesitant to disturb this mare’s apparent reflecting… when she turned to face him, her turquoise eyes narrowed coldly. There, on her neck, he saw it!

It was embedded in a golden pendant that hung from her neck. It seemed to thrum with a power that was somehow completely foreign, yet entirely familiar to Marcus. At the sight of it, he couldn’t back away, nor could he run away in terror. Instead, he stood there, defiant against the wielder of this green infinity stone.

“Obsidian Coal?” she asked slowly, as if she was unsure of his name. Her voice was subtle, yet edged.

“Who’s asking?” Marcus furrowed his brows and tensed his muscles.

“No one special, just a pony wanting to ensure that the flow of time is corrected, is all,” she answered.

Marcus glared harder at her.

“So I take it you aren’t here to make friends with me, are you?” he asked, stepping up closer to her.

“No, we need to talk.”

Comments

[battleship]

oh that last part is a nice little cliffhanger wonder how long she has had that stone

[Voltaje]

I really don't like this Fluttershy, she just hit and scream, as if coal is her foal or brother, Pinky's been a better host than Fluttershy.

[Mr_Perlimpinpin]

Well, I'm certainly intrigued! Finding the first stone was maybe a little rushed, it would have been better to split it into two chapters, but it's still really nice. The art is also a VERY good point!

On a side note, I'm not sure we had a description of his cutie mark? Does he even have one?

[Rubae]

Is this dead, or am I just getting paranoid

[Pen Dragon]

11571849
No it is not dead, I'm on hiatus for another month or so. There are things I need to take care, but I promise more is coming soon my friend. :)