Malum Prohibitum: Ace Equestrian Attorney

by Paradox Theory


Intermezzo 1: Mystery Thief

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A cloaked pony slithered down the hall. It was checking every nook and cranny. After a few minutes, it stopped by a statue.

A lone click sounded out, and shortly after, a thud.

The pony pulled a few things out of the statue, but froze at the voice that suddenly rang out.

"I knew it. You're here just as I planned." The voice chuckled.

"What do you want from me?: The pony whispered.

"Your silence." The voice answered, before the cloaked pony fell to the ground.


September 15th, 8:00 AM
Prohibitum and Co. Law Offices
Malum's Office

I sat at my desk, leafing through the local newspaper. Sadly, it looked like everything was sunshine and daisies. Unfortunately, that doesn't pay the bills.

I looked up from the paper to see that my purple coated assistant, Vivid Dream, was staring intensely out the window.

"Come on!" She roared, "You can take it! Don't let him win!"

"Vivid," I chuckled, "If you want them to hear you, try opening the window."

Vivid stuck her tongue out at me before turning back to the window. "If I did that, they'd probably start hitting on me."

"Oh?" I wondered, "Didn't you want to find somepony special not to long ago?"

Vivid shot me a glare, "NO! All I want it for that zebra down there to prove to those bozo's that the Black Bandit is the best thief!"

I smiled at her, "That was a quick response."

Vivid grumbled to herself.

I went to read, but paused as another thought entered my mind. "Wait, who is this 'Black Bandit'?"

"He's a new and upcoming thief that steals info on all sorts of underground stuff and makes it public." Vivid explained.

"So. . . he's a vigilante?" I surmised.

"Yep." Vivid confirmed before looking out the window again. "Dang it, some detective just broke the fight up."

I dropped the paper. "Detective?"

Just then, a tan pony with darker brown hair burst into the office. "Malum?" He asked.

"That's me," I answered, "What seems to e the problem?"

"You've been called for," the detective explained, "A pony wants you to defend him."

I looked over to Vivid, who was practically jumping up and down. "Alright, I'll go talk to him."

"Yes sir." The Detective chimed, "Right this way."

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September 15th, 8:15 AM
Canterlot Detention Center
Visitor's room No. 1

I sat down in front of the glass divider. On the other side sat a rather glum looking pony. He had messy green hair and a deep purple coat.

"Can I help you?" I asked him.

He jumped, as if he wasn't expecting somepony to talk to him.

"What?" He nearly shouted, "You want to help me?"

"Um. If you want it, yes." I answered unsurely.

"I didn't think anypony would be so kind." He answered.

"Why not?" I asked him.

"Because, I'm a thief." He answered simply.

"WHAT?!?!" I shouted.

This caused the pony to mope again. "You can leave now. I won't mind."

I cleared my throat. "Sorry for my outburst, I was just surprised."

The pony looked up at me again, "So, you'll still help?"

I nodded, "As long as you tell me the truth, I'll be able to solve this case."

The pony nodded, "In that case, I'll tell you everything I know."

"Let's start with your name." I told him, "Mine is Malum Prohibitum, though I assume you knew that."

"I did." The pony answered. "I'm Sleuth."

". . ." I paused, "Is that a nickname?"

Sleuth shook his head. "No. It's not."

"Oh. . . ok." I answered quietly. "So what happened?"

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. . . To be continued.