Meet Malice

OCTOBER 8
1:00 AM

Kyra sat in the bathtub with Malice seated in front of her. The mare was busy scrubbing the filly’s mane while Daisy sat outside the tub and watched. “Are you sure you don’t wanna do this?” Kyra asked as Malice looked back at her.

Daisy smiled and nodded. “Until we know what she’s capable of, perhaps it’s best I don’t get too close.”

Malice suddenly stood up and turned to face the flower pony. “I won’t hurt you. I don’t even know what’s going on.”

“Well, what’s the last thing you remember?” Daisy asked as she leaned in.

Malice thought for a moment as she eyed the ceiling. “Wood. Then darkness.”

9:00 AM

Applejack and friends were gathered at Sugarcube Corner, the orange mare staring at the door. “Can y’all even believe it?” She asked, peeling her eyes from the door to look at all her friends.

“Daisy and Kyra,” Rarity said, before chuckling. “Who’d have thought?”

“I am simply proud of Kyra,” Luna said with a smile. "She has come a long way. And, now she has a daughter."

"Her and Daisy," Twilight corrected. "And Daisy was the pregnant one."

Applejack trotted over to the door and looked out. "Here they come," she said, waving to them before heading back to her table.

"Could you see the little one?" Asked Rarity.

AJ shook her head. "Just a filly about Apple Bloom's age. Not sure who it is, though." The demon and her marefriend trotted up the steps as the filly rested on the demon's back. Applejack stepped aside as the trio entered. "Where's your lil' buddy?" AJ asked. "And, who's the filly?"

Daisy chuckled and patted Malice's head. "This is Malice. And... she is our daughter."

The room went dead silent as all mares around them stared in wide-eyed disbelief. Daisy looked at Kyra, who gave her a vacant look. Daisy then looked around at her friends and cleared her throat. “Well, thanks for not making this awkward.”

“Sorry, darling,” Rarity apologized as she stepped forward. “It’s just… she looks like she’s Sweetie Belle’s age.”

Kyra nodded. “It’s a demon thing. She technically isn’t even ours. She’s a lost soul that latched itself onto Daisy’s demon fetus… and… was reborn. Exactly as she was when she died, except… no memory.”

“I remember wood,” Malice said as she stared at Rarity. “And darkness.”

Rarity stared back at the filly, frozen in disbelief once again. “S-Sorry, I forgot that… even though you were just born, you can still… talk.”

Applejack trotted up beside Kyra, the demon looking over at her. “She’s a cutie, alright,” AJ said as the filly turned her head to stare at the orange mare.

AJ blinked a she thought about how unsettling it was that the filly was just staring, when the filly suddenly blinked. AJ hesitated before blinking again. The filly copied her. AJ smiled and leaned in as she started to rapidly blink. Malice copied her again and began blinking rapidly, too.

“Are you feeling okay?” Kyra asked, sounding legitimately concerned.

“Huh?” AJ asked, before chuckling. “Yeh. The young’un and I were just playin’.”

“Fun,” Malice said plainly, before sliding off her mother.

Kyra felt her slip and went to catch her, but realized she was getting down. Laying herself, Kyra let her daughter off before standing back up. The filly walked over to the others before her eyes fell on Luna.

“Princess?” She asked.

Luna smiled and nodded. “Yes. But, right now, I am simply a friend.”

“Do you know her, sweetie?” Asked Daisy.

Malice nodded. “I remember… she came to my, um… Lots of foals,” she muttered, trying to remember.

“Your school?” Twilight asked.

The filly smiled and nodded. “Yes. I remember the pretty hair.”

Luna smiled and felt flattered that the young one liked her hair. “My sister and I do visit schools on occasion. It’s possible we crossed paths.”

“You don’t recognize her?” Rainbow asked.

Luna sighed and looked at the filly’s eyes, mane, and tail. “Truth be told, I have seen many fillies and colts throughout my years. I cannot remember all their faces.”

“If she’s Sweetie’s age,” Rarity began. “She’d be in elementary. Could she have gone to our elementary here in Ponyville?”

“It’s possible,” Luna said, before an idea came to mind. “If anypony would remember a missing student, it would be Cheerilee.”

“Assuming Malice was alive at some point during the past 10 years and went to Ponyville Elementary,” Twilight pointed out.

Daisy shrugged. “It’s worth a shot if it means finding out more about her life.”

Fluttershy looked around the room. "Um... Where's Pinkie Pie?"

A light horn suddenly went off as confetti and balloons rained down from the ceiling. Pinkie suddenly ran out of the kitchen with a cart of cupcakes. "Happy birthday, Malice!"

The filly watched a red balloon float down in front of her before she crouched down and leapt at it. When she hit the floor, she rolled onto her back but kept hold of the balloon.

"Oh, look," Rarity cooed. "She's like a ca..."

POP!

Everyone stared as Malice pulled her mouth from the popped balloon. "Not juicy," the filly muttered, before tossing the rubber away.

Daisy chuckled nervously and quickly trotted over to the filly. "No, you... aren't supposed to bite balloons, sweetie."

Malice looked up at her. "It looked like an..." Her attention was suddenly brought to AJ's rear. "apple."

Applejack went wide-eyed and looked at her flank. "Oh," she said, before smiling as she looked at Daisy. "If she wants apples, I got plenty of those."

"Apple," Malice said quickly.

"Alright," Daisy said as she looked at Kyra, who just shrugged. "I guess we're stopping by Sweet Apple Acres and then Ponyville Elementary.

“You all go on ahead,” Luna said with a smile. “I must see if my sister needs me. But, I will try to be back for when you go to the school.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Twilight said as she stepped up to Malice. “Shall we go?”

Daisy nodded and looked down at the filly. “Who do you want to ride with?”

Malice looked up at her before disappearing in a poof of black smoke before reappearing the same way on Daisy’s back. The sudden weight caught the mare off guard but she managed to stay up. Kyra trotted over and rubbed the filly’s head.

“Already using her abilities,” the red mare said with a tiny smile.

Daisy looked back at her as the two locked eyes. The urge to kiss was rising before Daisy remembered where she was. Clearing her throat, she looked at the others, who were all smiling. “What?”

“You two are adorable,” Rarity cooed.

Daisy blushed hard and averted her eyes, but did so with a smile.