Chapter Fourteen - Who are you inside?

When Marcus opened his eyes, he was greeted by nothing more than a dark empty void that stretched out endlessly in all directions. He wasn’t sure how he ended up here, one moment he was tossing and turning in the guest bedroom at Fluttershy’s and now he was here.

“Greeeat, Death. If you’re here, you can come out now, not in the mood for jokes! We really need to-”

“Talk?” A grave, foreboding voice that sent shivers down his spine spoke for him. Slowly turning, he was greeted by a black alicorn who had red markings slashed across his face and crimson-piercing eyes that only accentuated the shadowy miasma flowing out the corners. His mane was a blood-red writhing vaporous smog that made Marcus want to puke, while his hulking body enveloped the entirety of Marcus’ vision, as if commanding his entire being to pay attention. “Ugh! So annoying. Why talk to her when you should be focusing on finding those Infinity Stones!”

“Wha-!? Who… what… are you?!” In a near-frenzy, Marcus almost tripped over his own hooves, stepping back from this unknown figure. A yawning abyss opened in his stomach to swallow his soul as he fully took in the sight before him.

“Whatsamatter, buddy?” the fiend smiled. For a moment, the darkness that seemed to pour out of his mouth and threaten to envelop his entire body parted, only to reveal crookedly sharp and yellow teeth. , “Can’t recognize your handsome mug when you see it?”

“What-NO! That- You’re fucking lying! Who are you, really!?” Marcus demanded, adopting a wide stance.

“That’s no way to greet your… not-so-nicer half!” the horrific visage sneered as it began to walk around Marcus like a shark, “After all, you can see it with your own eyes: I’m your mirror image! Only… I’m the ugly darkness inside of you brought to the surface. You should be thankful, Marcus. Not many get the opportunity to confront their own inner darkness…”

“Yeah, it’s truly an honor meeting a complete prick! Like I’m gonna buy that kinda bullshit!” Marcus shouted, trying his best to glare a hole through this imposter.

“It’s only bullshit because you want it to be… or else you’d have to accept what a completely selfish prick you really are,” tall, dark, and gruesome retorted, shining his hoof before blowing on it, as if without a care in the world.

Marcus turned his back towards the dark entity and tried anything to wake himself up, slapping his face with his hoof several times, even pinching his face with his magic, but nothing worked. It only began to anger him more and more. The rising, searing anger was bubbling up within, and Marcus didn’t even notice.

“Come on, come on, come on!”

“That’s not gonna work, Marcus…!” the nightmarish freak taunted in a singsong voice before it asked, “Or is it Coal Obsidian? It’s so confusing, you flitting between one identity and that, is nothing working? Heheheh…!”

“Shut up! You are not real! I am Marcus Philips! A human, you son of a bitch!” Marcus snarled.

The dark reflection reappeared before Marcus, like smoke coalescing into flesh, as it sneered, “So, then you really don’t care about all those pretty little ponies after all…”

“I-I never said that, stop putting words into my mouth!”

“But if you’re Marcus Philips, then Coal Obsidian… is a lie!”

“What? That’s…I’m not-”

Growling in anger, Marcus wanted to rebut that, but the words died in his throat over and over as he tried to formulate some kind of response. This… thing had rung a bell and it knelled with a discordant ring of truth. A truth that Marcus realized he was no longer one hundred percent certain of.

“Hmm… or perhaps the truth is something a little more… gray?” the creature chuckled darkly, “Perhaps the human Marcus Philips is stubbornly holding onto the past and denying the pony Coal Obsidian a future…”

“I think that is enough out of you, mister~” The voice of Death echoed throughout the dark void as the dark entity was suddenly restrained in a black crystal substance, as though he were flash-frozen in ice. “Ah, it’s good to see you again Marcus. You seem to be getting more and more interesting by the second. In all my time dealing with wayward souls, this is the first I’ve seen a split.”

“Death…” was all Marcus could utter as the entity struggled to break free, making subtle yet noticeable herky-jerky movements within his faceted cell.

“I’m sure you have plenty of questions, especially concerning… this,” Death gestured to the twisted visage of Marcus she’d sealed into crystal before continuing, “I’ll explain everything to you, but not now… You have a lot of work to do. For the time being, you shouldn’t have to worry about these… outbursts for a while.”

“No! NO! I need to know what the hell is happening to me, NOW!” Marcus shouted.

Fuck respect, fuck formalities, I’m DONE WITH IT! I CANNOT KEEP BEING A PAWN IN HER DAMN GAME! “You need to tell me what is happening to me! What the hell is going on here in Equestria?! Why do you need me specifically to do your dirty work?!”

Death looked upon Marcus, this poor soul who’d been robbed of what should have been a long and fulfilling life. Though he was an adult, at that moment, his visage seemed to morph into…a boy—a scared, angry, desperate boy in need of compassion, understanding, and guidance.

It was the tears that began to flow from his incensed eyes that finally broke Her heart, causing a sigh to escape her lips, “Very well, Marcus Phillips. Equestria is not like other worlds. It’s unique and is one of the most peaceful planets in the infinite cosmos. However, that peace was threatened by a being that I’m… not familiar with. Once upon a time, I knew what this being was, but when the timeline of the universe split in two, my knowledge of those souls had vanished. Over a million souls were wretched out of my reach, but even now, I can still sense their presence,”

Ignoring the darker half, Death continued. “As for why I’ve chosen you, I’ve told you from the very moment we met. You weren’t supposed to die that day, you were meant to live a long life, but something changed that. I believe the answers lie within Equestria somewhere. Oh, it looks like it’s time for you to wake up now. I’ll make sure he doesn’t come out for a while, but at some point, you will have to face this part of yourself. You can only run away for so long…”

“WAIT!” Marcus shouted, gasping for air as his hoof extended outward. The sun’s rays that soaked through the curtains momentarily blinded him before the world around him came into focus. He could feel the sweat on his fur, as he tried to slow his breathing.

Right. In bed. Windows opposite to me. Desk adjacent to me. Closet in the corner. The room in Fluttershy’s house.

“Coal, are you okay? Can I come in?” Fluttershy called out to him from outside the door to the guest room, tearing him out of his stupor.

“Oh! Uh-Yeah! Yeah, you can come in!” He said, climbing out of bed immediately and starting to fix it as soon as the door opened.

“G-Good Morning Coal, I-um… I was going to ask if you’d like some breakfast before I heard you yell. A-Are you sure you're okay?” She asked, twirling her hoof on the ground as she looked away nervously.

“Oh! W-Well yeah, I’m fine, just a bad dream is all. I’m fine…” He replied, the words as hard to pull out as he was sure his expression was.

“W-Well, if you change your mind, you can always come to me. I’m always happy to lend an ear… if you don’t mind that is?” She suggested. The smile she shot at him offered a pang through his heart, one that Marucs couldn’t help but accept.

He wanted more than anything to tell Fluttershy the truth about who he was and why he was really here, to spill to her everything he could and more, but he couldn’t. He had already told the one pony he had trusted the most about himself and now he couldn’t tell anyone else.

… But I could still try, right?

“Fluttershy, I want to tell you something,” Marcus blurted out suddenly, catching the pegasus off guard as she suddenly jolted and looked up at him.

“Y-Yes!?”

“Look I need to tell you that I-” Marcus started, but suddenly the words just died in his mouth.

Quite literally.

His throat was suddenly collapsing in on itself the more he tried to force the truth out. It was like a hand was clasping his neck and strangling him, preventing him from saying anything.

No, this was different. It was coming from within, like something was inside of him that had stopped him from saying anything about who he was or where he had come from. This was… frustrating, not only did he not get the answers he wante- No that he needed from Death, but now he couldn’t even tell Fluttershy anything!

“Coal? Are you okay?! Why are you crying?!” She had asked, feeling her hoof gently wipe away his tears before caressing his cheek.

“I-I… I just-I I’m sorry… I wish I had been a better friend to you!” Marcus said right as the waterworks began. Despite possessing an ancient artifact of infinite power, he had never in all his life felt so powerless to do anything.

I want to tell her Fluttershy everything! She was the first person to have helped me, to trust me, to show me around and make new friends. Things would have been a lot worse if I didn’t meet her first. She was my first friend, and now I can’t even fucking tell her the truth!

As these thoughts ran through his head, his legs gave way, slowly collapsing to the floor in a sob as Fluttershy began to caress his head gently.

“It’s okay… it’s okay…” she whispered to him, feeling her own tears stream down her cheeks as she tried to comfort the alicorn.

“I’m-I’m sorry! I’m sorry sorry sorry sorry!” Marcus sobbed out.

The Infinity Stones I have to look for… my deal with Death, this thing inside of me, and Midnight speeding up my training so suddenly. All of this is too much…

“I-I don’t know… why but something bad is gonna happen… I can feel it and I’m honestly scared, Fluttershy! I don’t know what happened to me at the party, and I’m so scared.”

Fluttershy meanwhile continued to stroke his head gently as she listened to every word, every tear that came out of her friend. In the short amount of time since meeting him, she honestly didn’t expect him to break down like this. Truth be told, she didn’t think he was one to cry like this, she thought at most he’d shed a few tears and put up the whole “macho stallion” act and keep his feelings bottled up. “It’s okay, everything is going to be okay, Coal. Whatever happens, I’ll be there with you no matter what.”

After hearing that Marcus couldn’t help himself as he just let it all out, his tears stained the mare’s yellow coat as he rested his head on her chest. They weren’t sure how long they sat there on the floor. Minutes, hours, they really didn’t know, but they stayed together like that until Fluttershy’s ear twitched at the sound of knocking at her door.

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

“O-Oh, I’ll be there shortly!” Fluttershy called out, before turning back to the alicorn. “Coal, will you be okay wait-”

“N-No… It’s fine… I-I don’t want to be alone right now,” he said, rubbing his cheeks as he got up.

“O-Okay…” she replied, leading her friend out of the guest room and down the stairs towards the front entrance.

*Knock, Knock, Knock*

Fluttershy almost responded before noticing the dark silhouette of a hooded figure standing outside her door. There came another knocking, a tad harder and more persistent, spurring her on, “Oh goodness! I’m coming, I’m coming!”

She opened the door and released her characteristic ‘Eep!’ to see a large figure standing there, garbed in a black hooded cloak, with a unicorn horn poking out of the brim of the hood which concealed a face apart from a sapphire-colored snout…that had a pair of fangs poking out from the upper lips.

“Uh- Pardon me, but I really need to speak with Coal Obsidian,” the figure said in a gentle voice that gradually deepened into growls, “It’s urgent!”

“I’m here Mid-Woah!” Marcus had stepped forward, coming up beside Fluttershy, and was startled at the sight of his friend. “What happened to you? You were just a unicorn last night, and now you look like a fucking tank!”

“A… tank?” Midnight tilted his head in confusion, not understanding the word.

“It’s- Right… different place, not my home. A-Anyways, my point is you were a lot shorter!”

“My time appearing in my unicorn form is limited, and almost up,” explained Midnight, taking notice of Fluttershy’s presence, “so my body is just starting to transition back to my… other form.

“But that’s not important. Coal, we must begin your training, immediately,” Midnight declared with authoritative urgency. “I need you to return to my home with me so we can discuss what comes next.”

“H-Hold on a minute! Who are you? Why are you even here?! Coal hasn’t even had breakfast yet, and he’s had a rough night,” Fluttershy immediately spoke up with concern.

“I am Coal’s mentor, helping him master his own latent potential. Bring your meal with you if you must, you’ll need your strength,” instructed Midnight with a tone that made it clear he would hear no arguments as he turned. “I’ll wait for you at my home. And come alone, Coal, this one will only be a distraction.”

Then, before either Marcus or Fluttershy could say anything else, a blaze of fiery blue mana enveloped the hooded pony and he vanished in a flaming teleport, leaving singe marks on Fluttershy’s welcome mat.

“That totally wasn’t rude. Not one bit,” Marcus said sarcastically, before letting out a deep sigh. “Look, I know mentally I’m… I probably shouldn’t just be leaving, but he wouldn’t be asking for me to come if it wasn’t important, `Shy, so do you think you can pack my breakfast for me, please?”

“I-I can do that for you… J-Just please be safe? There are a lot of things I want to ask you about,” Fluttershy asked, her cheeks reddening a little for some reason the stallion couldn’t put his hoof on.

The trek through the Everfree took him longer than he’d have liked, but Marcus was glad he encountered no beasts or other dangerous creatures that made their home in the forbidden woods. Remembering the way, he soon arrived at the clearing that opened before the cave of his new mentor.

And there, standing before its mouth, stood Midnight, having shed his cloak. Marcus almost called out to him, but the moment surrounding the sapphire unicorn was pregnant with tension and fragility. Marcus almost felt as though he were intruding upon something sacred… when he saw the change.

Granted, Marcus had known previously that Midnight was both dragon and unicorn, yet only able to assume the latter physically for a limited period of time. Yet he had never witnessed nor even considered the transformation.

He saw the way Midnight, now standing taller than any pony he’d met, hunched over, looking like he was about to heave, as though he were sick and in pain. At the very least, Midnight was experiencing some form of discomfort. In an instant, his back arched like a cat as his wings flared to the heavens in a blaze of fiery aura. The tail adorning his back extended and thickened into that of a writing snake, sturdy enough to topple anything and yet lithe enough to flick around. With a sickening CRACK, his hooves split apart, revealing rapidly growing claws that tore themselves as much space in his flesh as possible.

Midnight’s ears and horn receded into his head, replacing themselves with reptilian frills and a pair of draconic horns that split open his head and pierced the sky. His body lengthened, his girth ballooned, and his coat burned away, revealing rows of scales piercing his flesh. The fur on his belly melted away, smoothening out like frosting in a chilly refrigerator. His face contorted in pain as the bones in his face forcefully broken themselves before knitting back together, revealing a reptile’s snout, and rows of sharp teeth, all complimented by his forked tongue.

Panting in near exhaustion, his eyes threatened to glaze over. And yet, after gathering himself, Marcus could see the conflict in them.

As though Midnight were despondent over something he clearly could not control.

“...Midnight?” The dragon flinched and turned his large head to see his new apprentice, staring at him with a look that was at a loss for words, other than, “Are… are you alright?”

“Hello, Coal…” Midnight responded with a glum tone, before straightening himself out and clearing his throat, “I apologize that you had to see that. My transformation isn’t pleasant, to say the least.”

“You looked like you were in a lot of pain,” Marcus noted.

“I was… the change is mostly discomforting, but it also has a… odd sensation that I actually like,” Midnight explained, a tad uncomfortable, “but… there are certain points during it that are truly agonizing to the point where I can’t maintain any composure.

“But never mind that. Let’s eat, and we’ll discuss your training.”

Marcus followed Midnight into his cave, where he flicked the tip of his tail, conjuring a pony-sized table for Marcus to settle at. At first, they ate in silence, Marcus enjoying the meal Fluttershy had made for him while Midnight ate an entire basketful of zap apples he’d collected from the Everfree Forest.

After minutes of silence had passed, Marcus had enough.

“Okay, I get you want to move up my training with the Space Stone suddenly, but I didn’t appreciate what you said to Fluttershy… You may have offered to teach me, but I’m not going to tolerate you belittling my friends. You haven’t even told me why my training is being moved up so suddenly.” Marcus spoke, setting his meal down as he glared at the dragon.

“I meant no offense, but it was the truth,” Midnight responded with the barest edge in his tone, “I must train you in the Art of Mana Wielding, and train you I will. Which means we cannot afford distractions of any kind-”

“Distractions! Are you fucking serious right now!?”

“Mind your tone, because I don’t care whether you’re an alicorn or not…! We don’t have much time-

“Oh, that’s rich! I just love being left completely in the dark! No one is telling me anything! YOU keep saying ‘We don’t have time!’, but what do you mean? What the fuck does mana wielding have to do with the Infinity Stones!? What am I training for?!” Marcus shouted.

“Faerie Tail!!” Midnight roared in frank response, stunning Marcus. Midnight sighed and explained, “She came to me last night concerned about you being the new holder of the Infinity Stone… and she’s given me only a month to train you…”

“Faerie Tail? You’ve gotta be kidding me! She seriously can’t leave me alone- Hold on… You know her and you didn’t tell me?! I’ve dropped by bringing you food and not once did you mention that you knew her the whole time?!”

“Coal, there are things in Equestria that even you do not understand. When you encountered her a few weeks back, I had to appear as though I’ve never known of her for the sake of keeping each other's secret,” Midnight responded softly, lowering his gaze for a moment. “Faerie Tail and I… have a history, to say the least. I wouldn’t call us friends, but we share common goals. One of which is keeping the Infinity Stones out of the wrong hooves, claws, whatever.

“I discovered the Space Stone, and Faerie Tail holds the Time Stone, as you already know,” Midnight went on, “But after you proved yourself to me, I knew I could bestow the Space Stone upon you, recognizing you would be able to wield it far more effectively than I ever could. Faerie Tail doesn’t agree…”

“Of course she doesn’t… Well, glad to know my unpopularity with girls hasn’t changed,” Marcus muttered quietly before facing the dragon. “But what does she have to do with you suddenly training me? Why?”

“She was not happy that I’d passed the Space Stone onto you,” answered Midnight, “which is why she confronted you, intending to take it away. But, you impressed her enough for me to convince her that you deserve a chance to truly prove yourself. We have only a month for me to train you as much as I can, in Mana Wielding, in how to wield the powers of the Space Stone itself, and anything else to give you every advantage you can attain.”

“But why? Why is this happening? Why? You’ve told me everything except why?!”

“Because once the month is past…” Lowering his head so they would be eye-level, Midnight spoke to Marcus with soft yet unmistakable emphasis, “you and her will duel again. If you can best her, you can keep the Space Stone. If not, she will take it back… and Coal, she is all but certain that you will fail and that she will indeed take the stone back. I intend to make you prove her wrong.”

“I can’t afford to lose this stone, my life depends on it. I don’t plan to give this stone up to her without a fight. However, if you are going to be training me, I determine what is a distraction to me and what isn’t.”

“I understand you are frustrated, Coal,” Midnight said, his words carrying the weight of thousands of years of experience, “but Faerie Tail is a pony who has lost hope. It’s why she is as she is. It’s why she is so desperate to control anything she can.

“To prevent his return.” Midnight closed his eyes, looking truly afraid, enough for Marcus to deflate a little of his tension.

“His return?”

“There is an enemy, Coal Obsidian…” Midnight answered, his voice heavy with trepidation and concern. “An enemy so vile and monstrous… that the only way Faerie Tail was able to defeat him was to use the Time Stone to imprison him–in a branched timeline from our own. Although, ‘defeat’ isn’t exactly the word for it.”

“What do you mean? Who is this enemy?”

“To tell you the truth, I’ve never faced him myself, but the ways Faerie Tail has described him…” For a moment, Marcus thought he saw Midnight shutter before he shook his head. “This is no average foe. The so-called villains faced by and vanquished by the heroes in this timeline? Nightmare Moon, Discord, Queen Chrysalis, even King Sombra? They are nothing compared to what this wretch is capable of.

“Faerie Tail faced him, with help, of course,” Midnight went on, “but her allies and friends are all gone. Some fell in the struggle against this fiend. Others willingly gave their lives to thwart his ill intentions. But it was a war of attrition, and the good guys were losing.”

“So then… What happened? What did Faerie Tail do?”

“The conflict soon reached its apex, and it was in that moment, when all seemed lost,” Midnight recounted, nearly with awe, “that Faerie Tail dug deep, and wielded the Time Stone as she never had before. Desperate to stop him. Desperate to save all she still had and held dear to her heart. Her gambit paid off, and the powers of the Time Stone split that moment into two. Faerie Tail remained in one, and her enemy was cast into the other.

“By the power of the Time Stone, Faerie Tail had rent the flow of time in twain, creating a branched timeline and imprisoning the enemy there with naught but his own forces while the main timeline, in which we stand, was saved.”

Marcus bowed his head in silence, a flurry of thoughts assaulting him all at once. “So… all of this… is because of her? The split in the timelines, the reason why I’m here to begin with, is all because of her? This-I-Just-WHAT!?”

“It’s more complicated than that, but I assure you she has good intentions, especially when it concerns her-

“Stop! I don’t want to hear what excuse she has. I’ll learn what I can from you, but they are going to be on my terms from now on. For starters, we’re going to tell Fluttershy what we’re doing and who you really are!”

The dragon could only look at him, flabbergasted. “You can’t be serious!? I can’t afford any others know who I really am-”

“Midnight, you said so yourself that we don’t have time to argue. I’m not allowed back in Ponyville, and I don’t have anyone else right now. She’s someone I can trust with what’s going on.”

Pinching the bridge of his nose with his paw, Midnight let out a low groan.

“You are infuriating beyond measure, Coal Obsidian… Very well, the pegasus may join us for your training, but if she in any way distracts you or interferes with your training, she is to leave immediately,” Midnight uttered with the firmness of a boulder.

“She won’t be, and I promise that.”

“Hmm… Fine. We shall begin at dawn first thing in the morning. I don’t know what transpired with you last night, but you don’t look well. Get some rest, you're gonna need it.”

“Noted,” Marcus replied, picking up his leftovers and bag and making his way out of Midnight’s cave. Once he had reached the outskirts of the clearing, he felt a shiver run down his spine. Flicking his head back…and forth, he found nothing, and so proceeded onwards.

After his meeting with Midnight, Marcus had trotted slowly back to Fluttershy’s cottage. He took the time to contemplate everything that had happened and what he was going to say, so much so that his head was down and he already felt like everything that was going on was just building more and more problems like a tower of flimsy legos. Eventually, it was all going to come crashing down on him and he wasn’t quite sure he was up for it anymore. The pressure was becoming overwhelming for the stallion and his nightmare with Death didn’t help one bit.

Only one thing came to his mind.

“I really want to hit something…”

“Coal?” Immediately looking up, he saw Fluttershy, waiting outside by the front door, looking at him the same way his mother would look at him whenever he did something wrong.

Concern.

“Hey, Shy, um… you didn’t have to wait up for me-” Before he could finish, he was suddenly pulled into an embrace. His heart started racing all of a sudden as the color of his face turned slightly red. “H-Hey! What are-”

“You shouldn’t have gone out today, you were having a hard time, and the fact that this stranger demanded you go with him and I didn’t do anything to stop him. I-I was so worried,” she said, her eyes shut tightly as her wings tightened around her.

I really haven’t been a good friend to her at all. I’ve barely visited her and yet… she’s still taking me in when I got kicked out. She really is the kindest pony I’ve ever met. I need to tell her what’s going on at the very least.

Pulling away from the pegasus, Marcus inhaled and exhaled as he looked at Fluttershy. “I have a lot to explain to you Fluttershy, but we should probably do it inside.”

“Oh, of course, come in!” Fluttershy ushered him in, closing the door behind her.

Once the two sat down on Fluttershy’s couch, Marcus began to explain everything that he could without violating the rules Death had set for him. From his first meeting with Midnight to his encounter with Faerie Tail and how he’s been trying to learn how to use the Space Stone and his overall mission to find the remaining Infinity Stones.

“So that’s why Midnight asked for you to come to his cave? So he could train you?” Fluttershy asked.

“Yeah, he wants to start training me, and this “Mana Wielding” is supposed to help me with my duel with Faerie at the end of the month. Honestly, I think I’m in over my head right now. I never wanted any of this, but this is something that I have to do. There’s so much I want to tell you, but… I just can’t yet,” he explained, having a small grin on his face, but the look in his eyes showed sorrow. Before she could say anything, however, he continued.

“I did talk with Midnight about his attitude towards you, and I managed to convince him to allow you to attend my training whenever you feel like it. I’d appreciate the company, but it’s up to you! I’m not forcing you or anything like that!” Marcus sputtered.

“I’d definitely like to join you, Coal, but what about Midnight? From what you said, he doesn’t seem to want others getting in the way and I’d hate to just get in the way-”

“Fluttershy, I honestly would like to have you with me, and you don’t have to worry about Midnight, if he does anything to you, I’ll set him straight.”

“Okay… I-I’ll join you, but I’m going to make sure you don’t push yourself too hard, I want to make sure you are okay.”

“Thank you.”

“O-Of course… Coal… It’s what friends do.”

Author's Note

I want to thank UnamusedWaffle for helping edit this chapter and for being an amazing friend in general.

I decided to post this for you guys cause you all have been patient. But this does not mean I am officially back, since I’ve been busy. By December I should officially be back to posting chapters regularly. Anyways I hope you all have an amazing day.