Spiritus Malum

“Hmm,” Twilight said to herself, tapping a quill against her chin thoughtfully.

The purple unicorn may have been tired as all hell, but she was determined as much as well. Her bleary, bloodshot eyes scanned over a few lines before she realized that she wasn’t actually reading them.

Twilight shook her head violently, reread the lines, and scribbled down some notes.

Her body told her that she was tired by letting off a massive yawn, which Twilight failed to completely stifle.

“Not yet,” She told herself, “Just need to finish this. Now who in Ponyville might take the marble stone?”

Twilight sat in silence whilst her tired mind tried to come up with an answer and drawing a blank.

“Twilight,” a voice came from behind her.

Twilight jerked upright, startling at the sound of Spike’s voice. She turned her head around with a blush to see the dragon holding a steaming cup of black tea, the scents of lemon and honey lingering within, “Thanks Spike,” Twilight said, taking the beverage with her magic.

“You’ve been up all night again,” Spike commented, a tone of worry in his voice.

“Just as soon as I can at least find a few suspects, then I’ll rest,” Twilight said, nose already buried in her notes.

Spike fiddled with his hands nervously, this was starting to feel like that time that Twilight had visited her past self and ended up sending her on an adventure of semi-sanity, except with a lot less ice cream.

He wasn’t sure if he should try to intervene, his negligence that time after they had defeated Discord had ended up dragging Celestia in to help clean up the mess.

Spike opened his mouth to speak, raising a finger to make a point, but then let his mouth shut closed. Twilight had learned her lesson the last time, he was sure that she wouldn’t be foalish enough to make the mistake again. It sounded like a dumb excuse even to him and he knew it, but he still picked up a broom and started sweeping instead of trying to help Twilight.
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“Surprise!” Pinkie called, popping up on the other side of the table.

Stirrups only barely flinched, “Oh, Pinkie,” he stated.

“You’re a hard pony to find, but I found you!” Pinkie said, happily placing Stirrup’s present on the table before him and then waiting expectantly.

Stirrups would have loosed a low grumble of annoyance, but both Malum and him were above that. Instead, Stirrups lifted the present off the table and set it on the ground beside him, content to open it at a later date if at all.

“Aren't you gonna open it?” Pinkie asked, only slightly confused, “You said that you’d open it ‘some time’ and it’s some time!”

Stirrups stared back at the smiling pony, trying to decide on whether or not to open the gift.

‘It should get her off my back,’ he reasoned, “Okay,” he said.

Stirrups lifted the box to the table and undid the bow tie and lifted the lid. Inside were a few rows of cupcakes, Stirrups froze as the rows of sweets caught his eye.

“Cupcakes,” he commented in an oddly shaky voice.

“Yep!” Pinkie exclaimed, “I didn’t know which was your favorite so I just put a whole bunch in there.”

Stirrups tore his eyes from the box and met Pinkie’s expectant gaze.

‘Keep control of yourself, foal,’ Malum warned from Stirrup’s head.

Stirrups lifted one of the cupcakes into the air and in front of himself, taking a small bite from the icing covered top. As the taste assailed his tastebuds, a memory unearthing from a time long ago...
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A young darkly colored unicorn colt sniffed the air. A genuine smile crossed his features and he galloped down the stairs and into the kitchen.

In said room, an older unicorn...his mother, perhaps? Was waiting before the oven, an oven mitt clutched in her magical grip. After a time, she lifted the cast iron door to the old oven and peered inside.

She threw a loving glance to the darkly colored unicorn colt before bringing out a crude metal plate with a series of depressions filled with cooked batter.

The delectable smell in the air only increased in magnitude as the piping hot pastries were set to cool by a window.

But there was a crash and the memory faded, leaving the young unicorn stranded in a plane of darkness. A swirling mass of shadow shot forth, stopping before him...
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‘Snap out of it, damn you!’ Malum yelled from Stirrup’s mind, blowing the memory to oblivion.

Stirrups squeezed his eyes shut before blinking rapidly to concentrate. He looked across the table to see Pinkie continuing to hold onto that expecting face.

Stirrups placed the cupcake he had taken a nibble from back in the box, “Thanks,” he said simply, “Don’t you have somewhere to be, though?”

Pinkie tapped her chin, pondering, “Oh yeah!” She exclaimed, rushing off with a cry of, “See you later!”

“I would hope not,” Stirrups muttered. He threw a cautious glance around before popping an entire cupcake in his mouth and trotting off as he munched with a degree of happiness, Malum holding in a groan of disgust.
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She had double and triple-checked the list, but still found nopony who fit the picture.

Twilight grumbled and rested her head on the floor, her eyes drifting closed and...

“No!” Twilight cried, snapping herself awake, “There has to be something that I’m missing!”

The outburst had a similar effect on Spike, snapping him out of his own little train of thought. He looked down at the ground to find that he was just brushing around a small pile of debris.

“What about that weirdo who didn’t like your tea?” Spike suggested absentmindedly.

Twilight looked back at him with tired eyes.

“I-I mean, he showed up the day after it got stolen and we don’t really know anything about him. That’s something, right?” Spike asked cautiously.

“You’re right!” Twilight exclaimed, she knew that it wasn’t nice to judge, but she hadn’t actually suspected the strange unicorn at all, what had Pinkie called him? Metal Stirrups? That was it.

Twilight scribbled down the name on a roll of blank parchment.

“But what should I do? Invite him over for a little chat? Meet him outside and get some background? Or maybe...” Twilight’s head hit the floor as her eyes snapped closed and she started to gently snore.

Spike cringed at the sound of impact, but let out a sigh of relief when he saw that Twilight was okay.

The little dragon knew that he couldn’t possibly lift Twilight and get her to her room, so instead he brought down a blanket and pillow. He threw the former over her and lifted her head to slip the pillow under her head.

Pausing but for a moment, he leaned close to plant a kiss on her forehead, “Sweet dreams,” He said with a smile.
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The next day...

Metal Stirrups made sure to not go past Sugarcube Corner on his way into town the next morning.

He had plucked a few apples from the same farm as yesterday and his belly was full.

‘Perhaps I should have saved some of those cupcakes for later,’ he thought to himself. Now that he didn’t have any left, the unicorn-spirit wanted more.

‘Do not let simple pastries distract you from the task at hoof,’ Malum shot back.

‘Which is...’ Stirrups replied.

‘We still need to find a way to destroy the Elements of Harmony!’

‘So let’s just kill them,’ Stirrups suggested, annoyed at Malum’s lack of simplicity.

‘It is not so simple as that. These ponies were chosen by the Elements of Harmony, I fear that simply killing them may not be good enough. We must ensure that if we kill them, that they’ll stay dead.’

Stirrups snorted, ‘They’re mere ponies, if you kill them they die.’

‘It is not so simple...you...you wouldn’t understand, not being born immortal. Suffice to say that if we kill them in a certain manner they will most certainly not come back and it will even increase our reserves of the Essences,’ Malum replied.

‘Fine, what do we need to do?’

Malum pondered on this for a while before replying, ‘Go to the library, we have research to do.’
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As Twilight became conscious, she felt the soft touch of a blanket around her and a pillow under her head. Once she became more aware, she felt the hard surface of the floor underneath her.

Still tired, her mind drew a blank and she opened her eyes to find herself laying on the floor of the library.

‘This isn’t my bed,’ she realized, annoyed that she had fallen asleep after a relentless bout of studying, ‘Well at least now I’ll be able to concentrate better,’ Twilight reasoned, looking on the bright side.

She gave the library a quick once-over with her eyes, stopping when they fell on the only pony in the room besides her: Metal Stirrups.

The dark unicorn had his back turned to Twilight, lazily flipping through a book before him.

Twilight rubbed her eyes and got to her hooves. She took the pillow and blanket in her magical grasp and set them neatly by the stairs.

“Good, um...” Twilight began, she threw a glance out a window to try and determine the time, “Afternoon,” she finished, “Wow, I slept a while.”

Stirrups gave her a simple glance before going back to reading.

“I don’t suppose I could interest you in a cup of tea?” Twilight asked, trotting to the kitchen to make herself some.

“That would be correct,” Stirrups replied flatly.

Slightly perturbed by the unicorn’s rather rude response, Twilight set about making herself a pot of black tea. As the water was set out to boil, she trotted back to the main room. Metal Stirrups was here now and she wanted to see if he would hold up as a suspect for the theft of the marble sphere.

“So...I see you met Pinkie Pie,” she said with casual friendliness.

Stirrups flinched, “How do you put up with...her in general?”

Twilight chuckled, “Don’t worry, you’ll get used to her in no time...I mean, if you’re staying a while in Ponyville.”

“So you’re telling me that if you get a thorn in your side you should just wiggle, writhe, and let it be instead of removing it?” Stirrups replied.

“I wouldn’t go so far as calling Pinkie’s antics that bad,” Twilight answered with a mild frown, noting the fact that Stirrups confirmed that he would be staying in Ponyville a while. She wasn’t sure how that worked as evidence, but it was evidence nonetheless.

Stirrups snorted rather rudely, “I would.”

Twilight changed the subject, “I’ve been wondering about your cutie mark. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a tragedy mask mark like yours, are you a writer?”

“Yes,” Stirrups said after a pause, “I suppose that you could say that tragedy is my forte.”

“Oh,” Twilight said, “Do you have any favorite works by other authors? Like Shakesteer?”

Stirrups looked over his shoulder at her oddly before replying, “No,” he said, killing the conversation and going back to reading.

Twilight looked over at the paper on the floor, the one with Stirrup’s name written on it. A single bullet point sat under the name.

“I was wondering...” Twilight began, looking from the paper to the pony, “...where...”

The sound of a teapot whistling cut her off, letting her know that the water was ready.

“Oh, excuse me for a second,” Twilight said, trotting off to the kitchen.

‘Take a look at that paper behind you, the ones by where the unicorn was sleeping,’ Malum ordered, ‘Quickly!’

‘Why?’ Stirrups asked, getting up and trotting over. He looked at the top paper and saw his name, or at least the name he was using, written on it. He lifted it and looked at the paper below it, reading the details.

‘It would seem that she suspects us of stealing our prison,’ Malum stated.

‘What should we do?’

‘Hmm, leave. Leave and listen, I have a plan.’

Stirrups did as he was told, leaving the library as quietly as a cat.

The entirety of the main room was equally quiet for a few moments before Twilight came back from the kitchen, a cup of steaming tea following her with a purple glow.

“So as I was say...” Twilight stopped as she noted that a the pony she had planned to interrogate was nowhere to be seen. The book he had been reading still lay open where he had left it and with a mild grumble, Twilight trotted over and slipped it back into its spot on the shelf.

Had she been less annoyed, she may have noticed the title of the book: Engineering one-oh-one. If she had been more awake, she may have wondered just what a pony who was a writer was doing looking up different mechanical contraptions...the world may never know...

The readers on the other hand might, or at least will in a chapter or two.
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“I’m tellin' ya!” Apple Bloom slammed a hoof on a table, spilling a drop of juice from her cup, “We should go back’n investigate that well! I know I saw somthin' no matter what everypony says!”

Scootaloo, ever up for adventure, nodded in silent agreement.

“I dunno,” Sweetie Belle started, a hint of fear in her voice, “What if that monster gets us? I mean, what harm is there in not going? We know what we saw, if somepony says otherwise what does it matter?”

“Now who’s the chicken?” Scootaloo asked, a smile blessing her face and a snicker escaping her lips.

Sweetie Belle narrowed her eyes at the insulting pony, “I’m just saying...” Sweetie Belle trailed off.

“Sayin' what?” Applejack asked, poking her head in through a window.

“Oh, uh, we were just talkin' about...” Apple Bloom thought fast, “...uh...”

“The Wonderbolts!” Scootaloo declared enthusiastically, saving the day or at least the situation.

“Oh,” Applejack commented, slightly suspicious.

“Yeah, the Wonderbolts,” Apple Bloom said, going with it, “Sweetie Belle was just sayin' that she thought that, uh...Thunder Clap was better than Firestorm. Ain’t that right, Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom turned to the pony in question, hoping that she would go along with it.

“Yeah, she could beat him any day,” Sweetie Belle answered.

“Well alrighty then,” Applejack said, accepting the lie, but still suspicious, “I just came to stop by and see how y’all’re doin'.”

“We’re doin' great!” Apple Bloom said.

“Excellent!” Scootaloo exclaimed.

“Fantabulous!” The dictionary read.

“Well okay then,” Applejack said, noting a peculiar black marble stone residing upon the highest cabinet in the treehouse. Thinking nothing of it, she left the troublesome trio in peace.
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“Somethin' important happen yesterday?” Applejack asked, “Ya usually come around the market Tuesday.”

“Sorry,” Twilight said, levitating a set of bits onto the stall Applejack stood behind and taking the correct amount of apples in return, “I got caught up in something and forgot.”

“No need to apologize, Sugarcube,” Applejack said, sliding the bits into a pouch. She frowned in thought, “Might I ask what it was that kept ya so busy?” The farmer remembered the time when a seemingly simple problem had been blown completely out of proportion, ending in Celestia having to come all the way from Canterlot to put a stop to it. She gave a silent pray that this wasn’t another one of those crises.

“I was just trying to find a suspect for the theft of the marble sphere that was found down in the well. The one that the Cutie Mark Crusaders fell down,” Twilight sighed, “I haven’t found a single pony who holds up as a suspect, not yet at least.”

Applejack’s frown deepened, “A marble sphere? What sorta color was it...about how big?”

“It was about the size of a bowling ball, all black. Why?” twilight inquired.

“Hm,” Applejack thought for a moment, “I think ah know who took it, meet me back at my stall at closing time,” Not entirely certain, she continued, “You...you're sure that this marble sphere was stolen, right?”

“Positive, I put it down on my table and in the morning my door was ajar and the sphere was gone,” Twilight replied, “Who do you think took it?”

Applejack was slow to answer, could Apple Bloom and her friends really commit something like theft? “I...I’ll tell ya at closin' time, I’ve only got a hunch.”

‘An' I don’t like it one bit,’ she didn’t say.
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Closing time...

Applejack was slower than usual in packing her stall that day, trepidation of what might be filling her mind.

‘Keep it together, Applejack,’ she thought, ‘Maybe it’s not the same stone, could be somethin' they just found on one of their little crusades. Little ‘Bloom an her friends would never steal somethin'...would they?’

“Hey Applejack, need any help?” Twilight asked from behind the farmer, causing her to visibly flinch.

“No, I’m good,” Applejack replied, finishing up quickly and starting to pull the cart along towards Sweet Apple Acres.

Twilight followed, keeping pace at her friend’s side, “So who do you think stole it? Where’d you see the marble sphere?”

Applejack was slow to respond, knowing that once she admitted it that there was no going back.

“I...I think...” Applejack bit her lip.

‘Spit it out already!’ Applejack exclaimed from her mind.

But if she did...she could always tell Twilight that she made a mistake, that she hadn’t been right...

A memory came to mind from a time that seemed an eternity ago, ‘When all the truth does is make your heart ache...sometimes a lie is easier to take!’

‘No!’ In her mind, Applejack stomped her hoof onto the ground in a resolute pose. There was no way on earth that she would ever lie to a friend, no matter what the consequences were!

“I think it was the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I remember seein' a blackish sphere thingy in their clubhouse when I stopped by earlier today,” She paused as she remembered what had been being said, “They were also talkin' about somethin' suspicious.”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders?” Twilight inquired, ponderously looking to the sky as if it held clues, “You know, they might actually hold up as suspects!” Twilight realized out loud, “It was them who fell down that well, everypony assured them that what they saw was just fear-induced hallucinations, but they didn’t buy it. I suppose that if they got angry at the fact that nopony believed them they might try to, I dunno, get even in some way?” Twilight was silent for a moment, “Or perhaps since the sphere had enchantments, they thought that it had something to do with the hallucinations!” Twilight exclaimed, a smile of realization spreading across her face.

Applejack’s felt her stomach start to sicken as Twilight confirmed that the Crusaders were, in fact, viable suspects.

“I can’t believe I didn’t think of this sooner,” Twilight looked over to her orange friend to see the other pony’s discomfort, her smile fell, “Applejack, they had a very traumatic experience. I’d understand why they would steal the marble sphere, especially after all of us told them that it was all in their heads. They’re just fillies, remember? They can’t entirely be blamed, they didn’t know any better.”

“R-right,” Applejack said, trying to convince herself.

It didn’t take them long to get to the treehouse that the troublesome trio used as their headquarters. Applejack unhitched herself from the folded stall and the two mares made their way up to the treehouse’s main floor.

Silence greeted them, portraying the fact that the treehouse was empty, Applejack didn’t know whether that was a good thing or a bad one.

Applejack pushed open the door and moved inside, Twilight right behind her.

“There, that it?” Applejack asked aiming a hoof up at the marble sphere.

The orb was encased in a purple glow before being levitated down to a table in the middle of the treehouse.

“This is it!” Twilight realized, eyes wide.

A sudden low buzzing that was quickly followed by the sound of a screeching halt could be heard from outside. After a moment, faint voices could be heard approaching the treehouse.

“I can’t believe that they boarded it up!” the voice of Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, now we’ll never be able to go down there, the whole trip was a bus!”

“I think you mean ‘bust,’” Sweetie Belle corrected.

“Whatever,” Scootaloo replied, the Cutie Mark Crusaders finally entering the treehouse, “I still think...” The three fillies froze at the sight of the two mares facing them from behind the table, the marble sphere resting upon it.

“Cutie Mark Crusaders,” Applejack said, “we need ta talk.”
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