Detritus



"''Oh, a visitor? Welcome! I simply love meeting new people!" '-Detritus, upon meeting Sarah for the first time.''

"'KNOW MY POWER!" -'While dueling Bloodmare Jade.

Detritus is the self-proclaimed 'Master of Curses' and is indeed an expert in dark magic. Initially seeming to be nothing more than a black pony with a disturbing head and tail and a bloody cutie mark, it's soon revealed that he is the sole creator of all of Equestria's curses and is the reason behind the terrors of Sunny Town in the 'Story of the Blanks' arc. He lives in a realm deep within the ground, which can only be accessed via teleportation. Because of this, he is mostly armed to deal with unicorns, and is surprised when he is greeted by Sarah Shrapnel in his first appearence. His name, in science, literally means 'dead matter.'

Development & Conception
When thinking of new plans for villainous characters, an idea was pitched for a master of dark magic. Branching out from this idea, the studio held an art contest for fans that would decide just what the new character would look like. As the contest was going on, more ideas came to fruitition about the villain, such as his name and his initial story.

Being the king of dark magic, the team at NCStudios quickly pitched together many concepts about his overall personality and abilities, as well as tagging him onto the 'Story of the Blanks' arc in the series (the arc itself was in development around the same time of Detritus' conception).

Appearence
Detritus is a black coated creature with a skull for a head and pupiless blood red eyes. His tail is completely devoid of skin and fur, and he has sharp claws at the end of his hooves. Further seperating him from normal ponies are two wings that are attached to his arms, similar to the wings of a bat. He also sports a cutie mark, but it is unclear if it is a normal one or just a scar he created himself. Despite these strange features, he is the same size as an average pony, although it is hinted that he can shape shift at will to grow in size and become any shape. He lives in a hidden realm, known only by spirit holders such as Zecora and Zen'Kiki, which can only be accessed by magic such as teleportation. His realm is eerily similar to a fiery torture chamber, reminiscent of Oblivion from another NCStudios production, The Melting Pot.

Casual and Rude
When he is first encountered by Sarah Shrapnel in his realm, he greets her warmly and even offers her something to drink. Sarah is initially confused, as Zecora previously stated that he was a powerful demon that rivaled even Princess Celestia. She voices to him that she thinks it strange how he acts as casual as anypony, to which he responds with surprise. Indeed, he believes that his powers and notoriety amongst spirit holders give him no reason to act any different than his 'subjects.' However, he quickly grows impatient and begins to get snarky and rude throughout their conversation. He is smart, cunning, and polite, although he is easily irritated and grows impatient rather quickly. Because of this, he utilizes his abilities in situations that don't normally call for them.

Anger and Hatred
Although he is normally calm and collective, he is a dangerous necromancer when he is angered or confronted with threat. If this is the case, his voice raises in a similar volume as the Royal Canterlot voice and a blood red aura surrounds him. Zecora informs Sarah that she must keep her calm around him, as he will quickly meet her anger and frustration with his own.

Respect and Flirtatious Attitude
Despite being what he is, Detritus seems to have a set of morals. This is confirmed by Zecora, and elaborated on when he agrees to strike a deal with Sarah. When greeted by Eterna Fabulous, he claims to be honored and impressed with her competance of dark magic and with her ability to read one's heart. He also seems to be quite fond of her, and states that if the circumstances were right, he would take her to dinner. This further cements the idea that he considers himself to be an average pony with remarkable power.

Past
Although his origin and past are not elaborated on in his initial appearence, Zecora tells Sarah much about the character. He is a spirit with as much power and ability as both Princess Celestia and Luna. This is due to the fact that he holds a similar role as them, which is to control an element that shapes the world. Whereas Celestia controls the sun and Luna controls the moon, Detritus controls the spirit world and the souls of the deceased. To this end, he is given an unrivaled skill in dark arts and is a visciously dangerous necromancer.

The Sunny Town Incident
Being the ruler of spirits, it is Detritus' job to make sure that the deceased pass their souls on to the Afterlife in peace. A day came when he was approached by one of his 'employees' (spirits that opted to work with him) and was informed that someone was murdered without good intention, and the brutality of their death and lack of closure had caused their spirit to stay in reality rather than pass on. Outraged, he thought of a way to help the spirit, Ruby, find closure and peace with her death. In his anger, he decided to avenge her by placing a terrible curse on Sunny Town. The curse forced the town to live the same day as the one of Ruby's murder when the sun was out, but become zombie-like creatures when the sun went down. Pleased with his curse and sure that the spirit would finally rest in peace, he turned his back on the incident and carried on with his business.

However, he is approached by Sarah Shrapnel one day and is told that the curse did not help Ruby's spirit at all. Sarah, who was attacked by the townsfolk for having a cutie mark and was almost killed when the curse possessed them, approached the spirit medium Zecora about Sunny Town and was informed of Detritus' existence. Despite Zecora's warning, she decided to approach him and ask him to help Ruby's spirit to be set free.

Detritus tells Sarah that while he refuses to lift the curse on the town for what they did, he did want Ruby to be free, so he strikes a deal with her. He mentions that he is aware of a pony casting curses in her home town, and that he isn't pleased with it. He tells Sarah to bring him the necromancer so he can tell her to cease her curses, and in return, he would personally set Ruby's soul free himself. After meeting the necromancer, which happened to be the insane Eterna Fabulous, he fulfills his end of the bargain, but at a price: He places an unknown curse on Sarah, which he tells her she will be aware of when the time comes.

Big Bad Status
Although it has yet to be revealed to the mane cast, it appears as though Detritus is actually the main antagonist of the show's first season. His goal is as of yet unknown, though it has been hinted that the motive for his terrible actions are a strange combination of Nightmare Moon's and Discord's from the original My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic series. Like Nightmare, he seems to hate being constrained deep within Equestria, away and unknown to almost the entire pony population, but like Discord, only wishes to cause trouble for the enjoyment of it. His true motive, however, has yet to be revealed.

Detritus' status as the main antagonist of the first season can be evidenced in Pinkamena's backstory of the 'Cupakes' incident, where it is revealed that he was the cause of her madness. He corrupted Pinkie for both 'fun' and to set the gears in motion for a different plan, which was to enlist her into the Elements of Chaos. These events are also hinted to only be part of a 'master plan.'

Quotes
"Didn't expect to see a robot from Industria here. I'm honored."

"I actually don't mind those that mean something. Unfortunately for you, you mean NOTHING to me!"

"Y'know, I find it kinda funny that you're not smart enough to get what I just said."

"Dawn of the Dead? Great film, but they totally botched the feel of a REAL zombie."

"Heh, Celestia? Might wanna pray to someone that'll actually help you."

"You've much yet to learn, Ms. Fabulous."

"Come back when you can put up a fight."