Malice

The Next Day, Monday
OCTOBER 9
12:00 PM

Kyra and Malice stood at the path leading to the Elementary school. "Alright," the demon mare said. "Wait here. Don't wander off. I'll be right back."

"Why do I need to wait here?" The filly asked, looking up at her mother.

The mare looked down at her daughter. "Well... because we aren't yet sure if the other parents would feel safe with a demon among their children. Remember, sweetie. It's not you. It's them."

Malice nodded and sat down. Kyra gave her a smile and trotted towards the school. As she approached the front door, Cheerilee stepped out.

“Kyra?” She asked, looking on edge. “Why are you here?”

“Well…” She started, before looking over at Malice. The filly was watching a butterfly dance around a flower.

“Oh, uh…” the teacher muttered. “I’m sorry, but I don’t know how the other parents will react to hearing that their kids are…”

“Around another demon?” Kyra asked, returning her attention to the mare.

Cheerilee gave a nervous smile and rubbed the back of her head. “Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you,” the demon said plainly. “But, I’m just here to learn more about my daughter. It seems the soul of a filly found its way to Daisy and merged with the fetus. Now, we have a child with a past life who has no idea who she is.”

“Um…” Daisy said, her eyes wide at hearing everything. “That’s sure a lot to lay on somepony,” she said with a forced laugh. “But, as a teacher, I can’t turn away a filly in need.”

“Great,” Kyra said with a small smile. “First things first, do you recognize her?”

Cheerilee shrugged and looked over at the filly again. Malice was now on her back as the butterfly fluttered above her. The teacher let out a soft giggle. “No, I can’t say that I do. Doesn’t resemble any filly I’ve ever seen.”

“Before your time, then,” Kyra muttered. “Anyone elder who may know?”

“Um…” Cheerilee thought aloud. “The school nurse. She knows a lot about the school’s history. Maybe she knows something?”

“Cool,” Kyra sighed with a nod. “May I… a demon… enter the building full of foals to go speak with the nurse?”

The teacher chuckled nervously. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I was just…”

“I understand,” Kyra interrupted, stepping up to the mare. “You’re protective of the foals. Like a good teacher. Now, I’ve done a lot of bad things, which gives you every right to be cautious. However, I’ve left that life behind me and now I have a daughter. And, I’m just trying to be a good mother to her.”

Cheerilee smiled gently and nodded. “Fair enough,” she said, babies opening the door for the demon. “Down the hall, first door on the left.”

Kyra entered the nurse’s office to see the mare going through some paperwork at her desk to the left. To the right was a bed with posters all over the wall about various things foals had to watch out for. One was a poster about ticks. Kyra’s attention was suddenly pulled away from the posters to the nurse when the mare spoke.

“Oh,” the nurse said cautiously. “Hello. Can I help you?”

Kyra looked over at the posters again. The next one was about wearing helmets while on scooters or blades. “I’m just looking for some information regarding…” She trailed off when she saw the next poster. Mane lice.

“I’m not allowed to give out information about our students,” the nurse said in a professional tone while she wore a look of confusion.

Kyra trotted up to the poster and squinted her eyes before placing her hoof over the N and E. She went slightly wide-eyed and locked over at the nurse. “Did… anything ever happen to this building? Like, a fire, or a flood? Anything?”

“Well, uh…” the nurse muttered as she thought. “As a matter of fact, there was a fire here. About seventy years ago, I think. Destroyed most of the school. Poor filly got trapped inside, what I hear.”

Kyra gasped and took off running. The nurse watched her leave and shrugged before going back to work.

Malice followed the butterfly over to a picnic table in the filed just outside Ponyville. When it flew out of sight, the filly hopped onto the table with a sigh and sat down. Nearby, was Lyra and Bon Bon out on another date. She watched as the two mares kissed, then giggled.

"I love you, Lyra," the white earth pony sighed.

"I love you, too, Bon Bon," the unicorn replied.

Bon Bon chuckled and held the mare's cheeks. "Let's go home. I got a surprise for you."

"Ooo, really?" Lyra asked with a wide smile as the two mares chased each other back in town. As they past Kyra, they slowed down and eyed her before running off again.

Kyra eyed them back as she sighed and trotted up to Malice. "There you are. I thought I told you not to..." She was cut off when Malice grabbed her cheeks and kissed her on the lips. Her eyes went wide before the filly pulled away. "Uh..."

"I love you, mommy," Malice said plainly.

"I... love you, too, sweetie," Kyra replied with a weak smile, still weirded out.

"Let's go home," the filly said as she stared deeply into her mother's eyes. "I got a surprise for you."

"Excuse me?" Kyra asked, before remembering Lyra and Bon Bon. "Oh. Malice, there are different ways to show you love someone, and some ways are okay to with some while not okay to do with others."

"Explain," the filly said as she kept holding the mare's cheeks.

"For example, kisses on the lips are meant for couples," Kyra said. "For family members, kisses on the cheek are more accepted."

"Huh..." the filly muttered. "Some part of me understands what you're saying. Another part doesn't seem to care."

Kyra giggled. "Oh, you have my succubus urges," she said, before sighing. Her eyes then went wide again. "Oh... You have my succubus urges."

"Suck-you-bus?" Malice asked. "What's that?"

"Better question," Kyra said as she took the filly's forehooves and lowered them back down on the table and off her face. "Why don't we forget it? Just... if you feel like putting your mouth or hooves on another's body... Don't."

"What about you?" Malice asked. "Can I touch you?"

"Of course," Kyra said with a smile. "Just not certain areas. You can still ride on my back and kiss my cheek."

The filly tilted her head. "O... kaaayyy..." she muttered, confused.

Kyra groaned and hung her head. "I have to teach you about sex now, don't I?" She asked. "So you know what not to do." She then lifted her head and sighed heavily. "If I can get in touch with my sister, I might be able to get an old friend to teach you."

"Why can't you teach me?" Malice asked.

"It's not really something a mom should show her daughter," Kyra explained. "My friend would be able to show you without you actually doing anything."

"Okay..." Malice muttered.

Kyra tapped the ground nervously with her right forehoof. "Mmm... You may be over seventy-years-old but this still feels weird."

"I'm over 70?" Malice asked.

Kyra smiled widely. "Oh! Right! I found out some stuff about you at the school. We have to go tell Daisy."

They found Daisy with Rose and Lily. On their approach, Daisy spotted them first and trotted over. “I found something,” Kyra said with a smile. “I think I know what happened to Malice.”

“Oh?” Daisy asked.. “What?”

“The same thing that happened to me,” Kyra said simply. “Seventy years ago, a fire destroyed the school. A filly was trapped inside.”

“Why do you think that’s Malice?” Daisy asked. “Could’ve been any filly.”

“There was a poster about mane lice,” Kyra explained. “If Malice was in that room when she died…”

“One of the last things she would’ve seen would’ve been the sign,” Daisy finished.

“And, let’s say the fire destroyed part of the sign,” Kyra continued. “burning away the N and E?”

Daisy let out a soft gasp, remembering back to how Malice introduced herself. “Ma… lice. That’s still a stretch.”

“But, still,” Kyra said with a smile. “Now, we just need to wait until Granny Smith gets back to see if she can recall a 70-year-old memory.”

"So, she's definitely connected to this town, then?" Daisy asked, before letting out a sigh. "Wow. I mean, I guess it makes sense. I doubt we'd attract a soul from another city."

Kyra nodded.“And, all we have to do now is wait.”