Prologue- A Fateful Meeting

Heroes, they can be found in many ways and in many forms, throughout time and space, but there are those who wish that they weren’t at all and desire to live a normal life. Still sometimes there are those who can’t help but try and be a hero. But on this day, a young man shall soon learn that being a hero, isn’t what it was cut out to be.

Like any other Saturday, Marcus, a young man with black and hazel eyes, only wanted to stay home and sleep in, but the morning rays of the sun had managed to peek through the curtains in his bedroom and shine directly on his, causing him to stir from his slumber. His eyes opened slightly only to shut them quickly as he pulled the bedcovers over him. Just as he was about to fall asleep, his alarm went off and all he could do was groan in frustration as his hand peeked out from under the covers and reached out to a small dresser besides his bed and grabbed his smart phone that was going off and immediately turned off the alarm. Seeing that it was 9:30 A.M he only moaned before setting his phone back down.

“Ugh… I really wish I could have slept for another hour… I was having such a good dream.” He whispered to himself, grabbing the covers and moving them to the side as he sat up straight on his bed. His eyes were barely able to stay open as he let out a loud yawn and began to stretch his arms.

Marcus’s room was relatively small, having only dark blue curtains over his window and a few posters hanging on his wall of an anime he got into watching lately called Fate/Stay Night: Unlimited Blade Works. One of his favorite shows and he didn’t care what others thought of it. Marcus then hopped off his bed and began to make his way out of his room and proceeded to a small closet that was cracked opened. He opened it all the way and pulled out an orange towel and made his way to the bathroom door that was not too far from the closet and entered inside it to take a shower to hopefully wake himself up for the day ahead of him.

Meanwhile his other family members had also gotten up and began to get ready for the day as well, but one in particular though was impatient and that was Marcus’s little sister, Emma. She was ten years old and like her older brother she too had hazel eyes and blond hair. She began to knock on the bathroom door as she began to shout. “Marcus! Hurry Up! I have to get ready for my basketball game this afternoon!”

“Just give me five more minutes and I’ll be out soon Emy!” He said, washing away any shampoo that was left on his hair and body and turned the shower off. Marcus then reached out and wrapped the orange towel around his waist and proceeded to brush his teeth. By the time he was done he had exited the bathroom and made his way back into his room and opened his closet and grabbed a pair of underwear and jeans and put them on, before grabbing some socks and a red t-shirt with the words ‘Just Do It’ on it.

He had everything on and he looked to the mirror hanging on the wall and noticed how messy his hair was, but other then that he was (alright) to say the least, he wasn’t the tallest, but he wasn’t ashamed of his height or his looks, he was in shape. As he exited his room, he made his way downstairs where his mother had started to cook scrambled eggs while the bacon was cooking in the microwave “Morning Marcus, did you sleep alright?” She asked.

“I slept fine. Anyways what are we doing today?” He asked as he took a seat at the kitchen table.

“After your sister’s basketball game, we’re going to Applebee’s for lunch. Since it’ll be the last game of the season for her. We figured we should do something special for her.” She answered as Marcus nodded his head before being handed a plate with scrambled eggs with bacon on the side and a glass of orange juice.

He immediately dug in before turning to his mom. “Thank Mom.”

Celestia’s sun shined brightly in the sky as a yellow pegasus named Fluttershy trotted cheerfully out of her cottage with her saddlebags strapped on. She smiled as the little birds chirped from their little bird houses. She couldn’t help but gently wave her hoof at the small birds before she continued to make her way to Ponyville’s Food Market.

Once a week, she’d go out and buy extra food supplies for her animal friends that she looks after at her little abode. Just in case she’d run out and she’d have extra in hoof whenever that happens. Although, all she really wanted was to start an animal sanctuary so her animal friends could all be safe and live together, but she didn’t know how she’d accomplish it on her own, but she tried to focus on what she could do for now.

Fluttershy then pulled out a list from her saddlebags that she was wearing and went over it once again. ‘Alright, let’s see, I need carrots, cabbages, bird feeder, peanuts, and fish food. Maybe I can pick up a feel apples as well.’ She thought to herself as she looked at her grocery list.

She began to look around the market for any carrot stands or even one of her friends apple stands, but before she could continue her search, there was this tiny scream, that began to get louder. “FLLLLLLLUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEERRRRSSSSSHHHHYYYYY!!!”

Before Fluttershy could even react, she was tackled to the ground by her old friend Pinkie Pie. “Hiya Fluttershy! I didn’t think I’d run into you here, but then again this is a really, really, really, really small town, but what are the odds! Anyways I was on my way to Twilight’s to see Sombry, but when I saw ya, I was like ‘GASP!!!’ And I got this really great idea! Would you like to come over to SugarCube Corner with me and Sombry!?”

The pegasus groaned as her friend stood over her with a wide grin. “O-Oh, Hi Pinkie… I wasn’t expecting to run into you either… Um, could you please hop off me please? If that’s okay with you that is?”

“Oh, sorry Flutters.” The pink pony said sheepishly before offering a helping hoof for her friend, which Fluttershy took kindly. “Anyways, will ya, will ya, will ya?!”

“I would Pinke, but I have to get a lot of things for my animal friends back at the cottage,” The pegasus told her. “Maybe some other time?”

“Please?! It’ll be good for Sombry, since he’s a big meany ol’ poopy pants! Although he doesn’t really wear pant, just a lot of metal and a red cape- Wait! I just had the best idea ever!” She said laughing before calming herself down. “What if Sombry and I help you?! That way you can get all the food for your animals and then be able to be with us!” When Fluttershy heard that, a couple of thoughts ran through her mind. Sure, it would be nice to have some extra help… but the appearance of King Sombra may scare some of them. Especially after what happened last time she saw him. He tried to bite her hoof off and called her friend Rarity fat.

“W-Well some more help would be nice.” She replied before receiving a hug very, very tight hug from the hyperactive pony.

“I knew you’d like that idea! And don’t worry about Sombry, I’ll make sure he’s well behaved and helps out!” Pinkie said cheerfully before releasing her friend and began to make her way to the Golden Oaks Library.

Meanwhile, Marcus and his family watched Emma’s basketball game against the Douglas County Huskies. It was an amazing game so far, but her team was down by three point and only had twenty seconds on the clock and Emma had managed to steal the ball away. Everyone in the court was cheering for their team.

‘Come on, you can do it Emma.’ Marcus thought as he watched her sister dribble the ball and began to make her way over to the three pointer mark and began to line up her shot as one of the girls from DC, trying to block her shot, but had only barely touched the ball before it hit the rail of the net and bounced off as the clock went off. Everyone began to cheer, despite Emma’s team losing, it was a really good and everyone was proud of her.

After shaking hands with the opposing team, Marcus and his parents waited outside as Emma’s team talked with their coach. “Emma did a great, don’t you think Marcus?” His dad asked.

“Yeah, she did good and she was so close to making the last shot!” Marcus replied, laughing as his mother rolled her eyes at them. She wasn’t into sports like his father was, but she did enjoy watching her daughter play. A few minutes had passed before Emma came out of the locker room, fully dressed as she smiled at them.

“Oh, Emy! You did amazing in that game!” Their mother said out loud before hugging her.

“Mom! You’re embarrassing me!” She rebutted, but their mom didn’t care in the least as she kept hugging her as Marcus snickered in the background.

“It’s my job sweetie!” She replied.

“Still you did good sweetheart and we’re all proud of you.” Their dad added.

Marcus could only smile before giving her a thumbs up before pulling out his phone and took a picture of Emma and her mother hugging. “Yep, and everyone is going to know about it too.” He replied as he pulled up his instagram as his sister was finally released and she tried to take his phone, but she was too short and tried jumping up and down to but she still couldn’t reach.

“Marcus! Please just delete that photo! My social life will fall apart if everyone see’s that!” She exaggerated as both Marcus and their mom laughed together as their father sighed, not realizing that she was embarrassing herself at the moment.

“Come on Emma, it’s just a picture of you and mom hugging. It isn’t going to ruin your social life. Fine if it makes you feel better, I won’t post it on Instagram okay!” He said, rolling his eyes as Emma finally calmed down.

“Alright, if you're all done playing, we better get going before Applebee’s gets packed, because I have a feeling that we’re not going to be the only ones on our way there.” Their father said as everyone nodded and exited school, making their way towards the car, but as they started to cross the street, Marcus heard the sounds of screeching cars and police sirens. But could not tell where they were coming from.

“Marcus, move-!!”

As he turned to his right though, that was when it was too late and everything around him, faded into darkness. After what felt like an eternity, he was finally able to open his eyes once again. It was when he did that he soon laid eyes upon a woman with black hair, extremely pale skin and was wearing a long black dress… all while sitting at a table as she looked at him.

“Tough day, hunh?”

“W-What?! What is this?!” Marcus said, getting up on his feet before tripping over and landing on his back before crawling backwards away from the pale women. “Where am I?!”

“Calm yourself Marcus…” The woman told him, snapping her fingers and a chair emerged from underneath Marcus and sitting him upright. “Geez, only five seconds in the underworld and you're making a commotion.”

“C-Calm down!? I’m who knows where and you're telling me to calm down?! Who are you!? And how do you know my name!?” Marcus shouted, standing from his seat before the woman motioned her finger, forcefully making him sit back down..

“Normally I try to make myself look decent,” She said, moving a hand over her face… as Marcus was now looking at what looked like a skeleton. “But since you asked… I’m Death… and as for you… well… I know every soul both living and dead. Meaning I know you as well.”

“D-De-Death?!” After hearing that, Marcus placed both his hands over his head as he looked down from the former women as he tried to process everything around him. “No… No, no, no, no, no, no, NO! This… This is a load of crap! If this is some sort of prank, well you got me! You can cut the act now! I’d like to go home now!”

“Really? You think this is all this is?” She asked, the woman returning herself to normal. “This is real, Marcus… In fact, see this for yourself.” As she said that, a small box the size of a miniature TV appeared as it showed a brief clip from a news program.

‘…Tragedy had struck when a family murderer, James Matthews had escaped prison and had run over a young man by the name of Marcus Phillips had been struck by the killer’s car, but authorities had managed to arrest the psychotic killer and take him into custody while the young man’s family mourns over his death.’

“It is truly a travesty and a cruel way to die…” She said, having the box disappear. “But other then that man’s soul destined for eternal damnation… But you should have lived all the way to your sixties.”

Her skeletal had slowly dissipated and reformed to what Marcus had seen earlier. It was unlike anything he had ever seen and after watching the news of his own death, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Hahaha! This… This can’t be real… None of this is real! I-I-I I’m obviously dreaming. Yeah, I’m asleep right now, in the car with my parents and sister who is probably drawing on my face. You’re not real and this is all a dream.”

He was so sure of himself that he began to pinch himself as hard as he could, but… he didn’t feel anything. “You can try all you want Marcus… but I assure you that you are indeed dead.” Death said as she watched Marcus struggle to prove her wrong, but to no avail.

“Why? Why is this happening… this can’t be real… I… I can’t be dead.” He argued as he began to cry. He had barely lived the life he wanted and because of the bastard that took his life, he had lost everything he cared for. As tears fell from his cheeks, he felt cold hands over his shoulders, but he didn’t move.

“What happened to you is cruel, but what if I told you that you could live again? Start over with a clean slate in a new world and… a new body?” She whispered as she kneeled down and grabbed his chin and turned him toward her. “Well… what do you think?”

Marcus simply wiped away his tears before looking at her once more. “Y-You mean… I can go back?” He asked, as hope filled his eyes.

“No… I said you’ll live again. I never said anything about returning you to your old life.” She replied before standing up and walking over to her chair and sat down once again. “But it is entirely up to you.”

After hearing that, a little bit of hope had died, but living again meant a second chance and maybe he’ll finally accomplish his goals, but a part of him had a feeling that this was still too good to be true. In so many movies, tv shows, and anime, there was always some kind of catch when dealing with death. “So everything you say is true? I’ll live again?”

“Yes, that is what I said no?” She rebutted as a grin appeared on her face.

“W-What’s the catch?” He asked, standing up from his seat after finally calming down and accepting his death.

“What do you mean?” She asked slyly, but she wasn’t fooling Marcus.

“I think you know exactly what I mean… If I’m really dead then you would have sent me to heaven and we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Y-You obviously have me here for a reason and I want to know why?” Marcus said sternly, as death got up from her chair and walked over to Marcus who back up slowly before sitting back down.

“Well… it seems your a lot smarter than I give you credit for.” She replied, smirking at him before she went on. “I grow tired of this world… It gets dull and I’d like a change of pace, but when you died, you began to interest me.”

“So what… I’m special?”

“No, you aren’t… you’re quite dull like the other million souls that pass through here, but like I said previously… you weren’t supposed to die today. That’s what makes you so interesting and your ideals… interest me.” She answered.

“I am so flattered! You must say that to all the guys that go through here!” He said sarcastically. “And what do you mean? You don’t know anything about me?!”

“I know everything about you Marcus… You have two loving parents and a little sister who looks up to you, You are kind to everyone you meet and wish to make the world a better place and desire nothing more than to be like your favorite super heroes, but right now… you feel anger, hatred for having your life taken and want to return to your love one… so you can say goodbye… You never did get to say goodbye did you?” She explained.

“You’re right… I never got a chance to say goodbye to my parents or my sister. This sucks!” He said angrily, but death placed her cold hand against his cheek, wiping away the tears streaming down his face.

“It does suck, but I’m giving you a chance to live again, but you’ll be running a few… errands for me.” She said, causing Marcus to raise a brow at her.

“What do you mean errands? Death?”

“You see… Like I said already, I grow tired of this universe and desire something more… thrilling I suppose is the correct word… You see in this new world you’ll be living in… possesses stones of great power called Infinity Stones.” She explained, turning her head towards her guest before taking a seat once again. “Unlike Earth, this world has real magic… and because of it, I can’t enter the world physically and that’s where you will come in… In your state you will not be able to wield an Infinity Stone and your mortal body will disappear forever. So I shall transform you into something that’ll be able to wield all six of the Infinity Stones.”

“A-Alright… What exactly am I supposed to do when I find them?” Marcus asked.

“You will use their power to… liberate their universe and ours. After that you can go from there.” Death replied before placing both her hands on his shoulders. “Of course… there are rules that you must follow.”

“Rules? Liberate? What are you talking about?” Marcus asked, shoving Death’s cold hands away as he backed up from her, only for her to chuckle.

“I shall explain more about what you must do later, but first you must know that with every deal, there is a catch and what you must do for me is nothing more than payment for what I shall be granting you.”

“Alright, then tell what the rules are already?” He asked.

“Very well, I shall explain them to you as best I can.” She replied as she summoned a blank piece of paper and a parchment covered in black ink. Marcus jaw dropped as the parchment began writing on it’s own.

Rule 1: You must never reveal your identity to anyone unless you possess more than two Infinity Stones.

Rule 2: No more than five individuals may know of your true intentions.

Rule 3: You must report to Death whenever you discover an Infinity Stone.

“Okay hold on for a second! How am I supposed to report to you? I seriously doubt I’ll get any reception wherever it is I’m headed.” Marcus rebutted before his own cell phone appeared in his hands once more.

“You cell phone will allow you to message me through text while you're searching for the stones, but only me.” She replied. “And don’t worry about it running out of battery… it’s unlimited now.”

“Okay then… Carry on.”

Rule 4: You must maintain physical health in order to wield all stones of power.

Rule 5: The Time you have is limited to ten years until body dissipates to dust.

Rule 6: You must master each Infinity Stone, before finding the others.

“Uh… come again?” Was all he asked as Death began to laugh.

“It’s exactly as it says Marcus. My powers aren’t infinite and the new body I’ll be creating for you will only have a limited amount of time, but for good reason.” She explained.

“H-How so?”

“In this world, you’ll become superior than most of the planet's species, which will allow you to posses all six of the infinity stones. But your time will be limited due to the amount of magic and energy I’ll be putting in to create your new body.” She answered, but in all honesty, Marcus was still unsure what to make of this? He may have accepted that he was indeed killed, and accepted the fact that he was talking with death, but there were still a lot of unanswered questions that he’d like to address. “So tell me Marcus? What do you think of… Ponies?

“Uh, excuse me?” He asked, wondering why she suddenly changed the topic. “What do you mean by that?”

“What do you think of ponies? It’s a simple question Marcus.” She replied.

“Well… I honestly don’t care about ponies. Not that there’s anything wrong with them, I just don’t find them interesting, but they're fine I guess.” He answered and that was all Death needed to hear as she gave the young man a sly grin.

“Thank you for letting me know… Oh, and by the way, you’ll be going by the name of Brave Shine from now on.” She added as Marcus gave her a deadpanned stare.

“Why am I getting a name like that?” He asked.

“The rules that were written down should explain why… Brave… Oh and before you go, is there anything you want?” She asked nicely.

“Well… I guess having my music wouldn’t hurt with my headphones?” He asked and suddenly his phone turned on and showed more than two hundred songs had just downloaded and his old headphones appeared around his neck.

“It was a pleasure having you here Brave Shine, but I believe this is where we must part ways. Enjoy your time in Equestria… my little pony.” She smirked as the young man now known as Brave Shine, his body began to go through immense pain as he watched his own hands vanish before his eyes and transforming into red stubby hooves and before he could say anything, his vision began to go blurry until he finally passed out.

After a long afternoon, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and the former tyrant King Sombra had managed to drop off all the food she needed for her animals while also having time to buy extra food for herself. They all had a good time, even if Sombra had refused to help at the beginning, but thanks to Pinkie convincing him. He managed to help out despite the disagreements they all have.

“If we’re done with carrying all of this pointless slop for your pets?! Then I’d like to retire for the remainder of the day!” Sombra shouted as both Pinkie and Fluttershy rolled there eyes.

“Oh, come on Sombry, it wasn’t that bad! Besides we still have to head over to Applejack’s to see if she’ll be showing up for Twilight’s picnic in two weeks!?” Pinkie replied with a smirk as she grabbed hold of Sombra’s hoof. “See ya later Flutters!”

“Release my hoof you impudent mare!” He argued as he tried to pull away, only to be dragged away by Pinkie and Fluttershy couldn’t help but giggle silently as she watched the pair disappear for her view.

“Maybe if he wasn’t such a bad pony, he’d be more fun to have around.” She said to herself as she entered her home and closed the front door and was greeted by a small bunny who eagerly hugged her hoof. “Hi Angel… Did you behave yourself while I was gone?”

With a quick nod, Fluttershy couldn’t help but smile at her little friend. “Thank you for being good Angel… I’ll get started on dinner right away.”

Fluttershy had soon started cutting the carrots she had purchased and made a salad for both Angel and herself. As she ate she began to realize that despite having friends in Ponyville, she was alone at her cottage. ‘I never realized how… quiet it is around here without somepony to talk to.’ She thought to herself.

But her own thoughts were soon interrupted by the sounds of groaning coming from outside her backyard. She wasn’t sure if it was one of her animal friend hurt or something scary, but she took a deep breath and slowly crept to her window and took a quick peek outside. Only to see a red stallion with a black mane and tail, with a large horn atop of his head and he was wearing an old brown cloak slowly limping towards her cottage before collapsing to the ground.

Without a second thought she rushed outside and began to help the poor stallion up on his hooves. “Oh, goodness! Are you okay?” She asked, seeing the stallion’s eyes barely opened.

“N-No… Everything hurts…” He muttered, she noticed the many scrapes and burnt marks over his face and hooves as she helped him inside and did her best to carry him towards her couch and laid him gently there..

“Let’s get that cloak off you and see if I can help.” She said, taking his cloak off, but what she saw next only shocked the mare as her eyes laid upon a pair of wings.

She then pieced that he wasn’t an ordinary unicorn, but an Alicorn. The stallion was covered in scrapes, cuts, and parts of his fur burnt off. Blood began to drip from his wounds. “Angel, get the first aid kit! Hurry!”

“Don’t worry sir… we’re going to make you all better soon.” She whispered as the stallion grunted before opening his eyes slightly.

“I-I… I’m sorry… that you have to… do this.” He said quietly before Fluttershy placed her hoof over his head.

“It’s alright… We’re gonna make you feel all better.” She said as Angel struggled to carry a white box with a red plus, which Fluttershy grabbed and opened it up and pulled out a small bottle and cotton balls. “This’ll hurt a bit, but I promise it’ll help.”

Fluttershy then opened the bottle and poured a little bit of the substance onto the cotton ball and gently rubbed it against his cuts, causing the stallion to hiss in pain before she began to wrap his leg that she treated with bandages. “I know it hurts, but we need to treat these wounds… I’m sorry if I’m hurting you too much.”

“N-No… it’s alright… It’s just hard to see right now… I barely arrived here today.” He replied as he tried not to scream from the stinging medicine that the pegasus was applying to his torso and later wrapping him in bandages.

“Oh, well I’m sorry, but I’m sure you’ll feel better in the morning… B-by the way what's your name?” She asked as she looked over to his wings and started to treat those next.

“I’m M… I’m Brave… Shine.” He replied squinting at the yellow blur in front of him. “W-who are you?”

“I’m… Fluttershy… it’s nice to meet you.”

“S-Same to… you.” He said before his eyes began to close and fell into a deep slumber.

End of Prologue.

Author's Note

Hey guys, after two months I've finally was able to get this story out. Now I know some of you are going to rage in the comments about Marcus/Brave Shine about being an alicorn, but I have my reasons and I don't regret it. Please give FrostTheWolf a special thanks for helping me edit this story. Now some of you may have a few questions so I'll answer them as best I can right now.

This story takes place after season 3 and also takes place sometime after Harmony Charmer's story The Cake Batter Incident. Which is also mentioned in the description.

Why is death and the Infinity Stones in this story?
Well I wanted to make a story that was different from the other ones I've made in the past. No displaced, no super heroes (Like Iron Man or Captain America) crossovers. And I wanted to make something that is more unique that everyone will be able to enjoy as well.

Why an Alicorn?
Well you'll find out in the next chapter probably? ;P

Why have the Infinity Stones in the first place?
Well to answer that question, this story is to commemorate the up coming Avengers Infinity War Part One and it's something that I've been looking forward to and I felt like making something that everyone would feel a little nostalgic but at the same time, give it a different element.

Anyways I hope you all enjoy this chapter and feel free to comment down below and do give me some good criticism, cause it'll help me to improve and make better chapters and I know I suck at writing, but what else is new. Still anything helps if it's from you guys.

Also do let me know about any errors I've made (Which there are probably a ton lols) and I'll do my best to fix them. Just Pm me.

Anyways have a good day