3
*Exclusion*
Shinigami do not do, in principle, anything which will help or prevent the deaths in the Note.
"Twilight! Twilight!" Somehow Spike had been the first to wake that morning, and was now beating on Twilight Sparkle's door excitedly. "Come on, Twilight! Big day ahead of us!"
Twilight groaned and looked around for her clock. It was barely after dawn, and she felt like she hadn't slept all night. At least, not after... She shuddered at the memory. Even knowing that the god of death was on her side, she still felt a little creeped out thinking about him. Those teeth... She shook herself awake and rolled out of bed, magically reaching for a comb for her disheveled mane. "Coming, Spike" she said groggily.
As soon as she'd opened the door Spike was literally bounding around her, looking as excited as Pinkie Pie preparing for a party. "Guess what, Twilight! You'll never believe who's in town!"
"Actually Spike, I probably will. What's all the fuss about?"
"Colgate's back!" Twilight stared blankly. “You know, blue unicorn, hourglass cutie mark, hair that looks like toothpaste? You must have seen her around.”
“That does sound like somepony I know,” Twilight mused. “But what’s so special about her?”
“That’s just it! She’s come to put together a police force. She says they’re going to help catch Kira!”
Now that was interesting. Twilight made her way downstairs, dodging away from the overexcited dragon. "How exactly does she plan to do that? I don't think a neighborhood watch is going to help with anything on this scale."
"That's the best part! We've got someone else on our side. L!" Spike put his hands up to his cheeks and gave an embarrassingly fanboyish squeal.
"L?" Twilight laughed. "I think somepony's been reading too many detective novels if they believe that. L's not real, Spike, so don't get your hopes up."
"L is so real." The pair reached the library's kitchen. Over the counter Byuk froze, a handful of candied fruits held halfway to his lips. He shoved them in his mouth before Spike noticed and grinned sheepishly. Twilight tried to ignore him and started to prepare her own breakfast while the little dragon grabbed some gems and sat down. "Colgate said she'd spoken to L herself. He's leading the investigation."
"Spike, that is so not true." Twilight sat opposite him with a bowl of corn chips. “The real L, if he ever existed, lived over twelve hundred years ago. He was supposed to have been this legendary detective, so good that ponies never stopped writing about him. Even if he was real, there’s no way he could still be alive today.”
"Nuh-uh!" Spike insisted. "L was so good at solving cases the princesses gave him eternal life! He's been waiting for over a thousand years, just in case a crime came along that was so big, only he could solve it. And now he's back!"
"Riiiiiiight." Twilight rolled her eyes. "Look Spike, I'm telling you. Whoever this 'L' character is, he's not somepony of legend. He's just some egocentric, overpaid detective who thinks he's too good to push papers like the rest of them."
"Twilight, you of all ponies—” Spike hiccuped and hastily shoved a claw in his mouth.
“You okay, Spike?”
“Fine!” He gulped loudly and tried to steady himself. “Just, uh, just hungry, that’s all.” He popped a cracked ruby in his mouth and tried to force a smile, which twisted into a grimace. “So, did you- HUUUUUUUUURP! ...oops.” In a belch of green flame a scroll materialized over the table, drifting gently down into Spike’s waiting claws. Under Twilight’s gaze he turned pale, no small feat for a creature with scales. “So, uh...” he shuffled in his seat, trying unsuccessfully to hide the scroll behind his back. “How about that weather, huh?”
Twilight tried to keep her voice even. “Spike, is that letter for me?”
“No! I mean, uh...” He quickly rolled the scroll open and scanned the first few lines. “Oh, look at that, it’s not for you, Twilight. How about that? Uh, heh heh...”
“Now that I think of it, you don’t even read the paper. How did you find out about Colgate before I did?” The uncomfortable shuffling got worse. Twilight put on her most stern expression and stared the little dragon down. “Spike, have you been delivering letters to somepony behind my back?”
Spike forced out a final chuckle, but felt his defenses crumbling beneath his caretaker’s gaze. His head fell. “I had to, Twilight! I’m the only dragon anywhere near Ponyville. It’s my royal duty! And I wanted to tell you, but the first letter said I couldn’t tell anyone, not even you. I’m sorry, Twilight.”
The little dragon tried to sink even further into his seat, but to his surprise found a gentle hoof stroking the top of his head. He looked up to find Twilight standing over him, smiling. “It’s okay, Spike. If the Princess asked you not to tell me, it’s not your fault. I was just worried you’d gotten into trouble and felt you had to hide it from me. You’re not in any trouble, are you?”
“Um... probably not. I mean, no.”
“Then there’s nothing to worry about! So, now that cat’s out of the bag, who is that letter for?”
Spike thought for a moment before answering. It would be breaking the Princess’ orders, but... if he couldn’t trust Twilight, who could he trust? “Colgate.”
“Great! That’s settled, then.” The purple mare levitated Spike onto her back and started for the door. “Let’s deliver it right now.”
“But... but what about breakfast?”
“What’s more important, Spike, breakfast or royal duty? We can eat later.” And if this ‘Colgate’ is putting a team together to catch me, I want to be on it as soon as possible. I want to know what she knows.
“Hey, are we going out?” While Twilight grabbed her saddlebags, Byuk floated out of the kitchen and hovered alongside her. Together, the unlikely trio started out the door.
---
Despite Twilight's chiding, Spike didn't stop talking about L all the way to the police station. "He’s got fourteen different cutie marks that he can switch out whenever he wants. And his eyes glow whenever somepony tries to lie to him. One time this gangster told him a lie that was so big, L's eyes lit right up and wham! Blinded him! And he can breathe fire, too!"
Twilight looked back. "What does that have to do with solving crimes?"
"I dunno. But it's really cool!" Spike continued to ramble while Twilight kept her eyes fixed in front of her. A black shape hovered just behind her, casting a large shadow right into her field of vision. Byuk was proving difficult to ignore. He spun wildly in the air, grabbed objects off the street to examine them, and yelled compliments at passing mares even though he knew they couldn't hear him. Every time she started to tune him out, Spike's excited chatter would break her concentration. This was going to be a long day.
By the time the three reached the police station, Twilight's nerves were nearly shot. Thankfully, the presence of more ponies served to calm both of her companions down. News traveled fast in Ponyville, so despite the early hour a large group had already gathered outside. Some were there to help out, but most had turned up just to see what was going on. Byuk soared overhead as they approached the crowd, chuckling to himself. Twilight craned her neck, but could barely make out the tiny police station through the tightly-packed herd. She tried to force her way to the front, but was quickly cut off. "Back of the line, lady!" a large pony with a mustache snapped as she tried to push past him.
"But I have a letter," she protested, but the athletic stallion had already turned away. She desperately scanned the crowd for a familiar face, smiling as her eyes landed on a certain grey pegasus. "Ditzy Doo!" Twilight cried. The mailmare turned and grinned as she saw Twilight approach, her eyes rolling in opposite directions before coming into focus. "I have a letter for Colgate from Princess Celestia, but I can't get inside. Can you help?"
Ditzy gave a lopsided salute. "Can do, unicron," she said reverently. "You stay here, muffin." For the first time Twilight noticed a tiny filly by the mailmare's side, grey with her mother's yellow mane but sporting a horn instead of wings. Ditzy took the scroll from the waiting Spike and rose into the air. “Gangway!” she yelled, barreling towards the door. Ponies scattered in all directions as she flew; even ponies who hadn’t met Ditzy Doo had heard to get well out of her way when she had a letter to deliver.
Twilight was left with the tiny grey unicorn, who was staring up at her with a faint smile. “Hi, Dinky,” Spike said warmly.
“Hello Spike,” Dinky Doo replied. Twilight bit her lip. Mixed-race children weren’t frowned upon, exactly, they were just... unusual. Even in a town as supposedly progressive as Ponyville, a unicorn foal with a pegasus mother would draw stares. Even now, she could see a couple ponies in the crows giving the girl sideways glances.
Thankfully, Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden reappearance of a grey pegasus. “Colgate wants to see you,” Ditzy chirped, then immediately turned around and started clearing a path towards the door. With a few gentle taps and less gentle shoves, the little group made their way inside.
The interior of the police station was just as crowded as the outside. It was a tiny place, little more than a waiting area with two small cells and a single office at the back, and even they were suffering from under-use. Dust covered everything, and there were almost certainly rodents living under the floorboards. A pair of desks had been set up at the far end of the room, behind which two volunteer officers were talking to potential recruits. The sound of ponies shoving and arguing filled the air. Flying overhead was none other than Rainbow Dash, who was trying with little success to direct traffic. “Hey! Eyes in front, buddy! Line’s this way! Keep ‘em moving, everypony! You two, cut that out! Oh, hey Twilight.” She dropped sharply down, narrowly dodging a pair of startled colts as she landed. “What’s up?”
“Just going to see Colgate,” Twilight shouted over the din. “What about you? How long have you been here?”
“Since this morning. I was the first one in the door. Fastest in Equestria, you know?” Rainbow Dash flapped her wings proudly. “With me on the team, we’ll have Kira behind bars in ten minutes flat!”
“That’s great, Dash!” Shoot, Dash too? I thought she of all ponies would be on my side... oh well. Ditzy Doo began gesturing impatiently. Twilight put on a forced smile. “I need to go. See you soon?”
“Definitely.” Rainbow Dash flew back up to the ceiling and resumed shouting orders.
With the mailmare’s help Twilight Sparkle made it the rest of the way to Colgate’s office. “I’m back in line. Um, getting,” Ditzy Doo added as an afterthought. “Coming, muffin?”
“Coming, mommy.”
The two grey ponies began working their way back through the crowd. Spike gave a lingering glance after them. “Cute kid,” he said. “Shame about those eyes.”
“Now Spike,” chided Twilight as she let herself into the office, “you have to learn to look past things like that. I’m sure there’s a very clever pony beneath...” She stopped in surprise as she saw who sat behind the office’s desk, letting the door swing shut behind her. There, poring over a huge stack of papers and looking like she hadn’t slept in days, was...
“Romana?”
“Twilight!” The blue unicorn ran up to Twilight and wrapped her in a hug of almost Pinkie Pie proportions. “It’s so good to see you again! I mean, I’ve seen you around all over the place, but you were always busy with one disaster or another so we never got a chance to talk. And little Spike, too! How’ve you been?”
“Busy.” Twilight gently returned the hug and lowered the excited mare off of her. Spike blushed, but said nothing. “I didn’t even know you were in Ponyville! When did you arrive?”
“Just after you did, silly. I was in charge of security at the summer sun celebration. You know, that summer sun celebration. I had a lot of paperwork to do after that disaster, so much that I ended up staying here permanently to finish it all.”
Twilight thought back. A blue unicorn, hourglass cutie mark... she had seen her around town, she was sure of it. How had she never made the connection? “I’m sorry, Romana, I just never realized. Sometimes I think all the ponies in this town look the same.”
“Don’t worry about it, I think the same thing.” The mare laughed good-naturedly. “It’s Colgate now, by the way. You know, like that old nickname I had back at the Academy?” Colgate flipped her striped mane proudly. “L told me I should take a false name for this investigation, and so many ponies call me that already. It seemed to fit.”
“Whoa, whoa.” Twilight held up a hoof to silence Spike’s growing squeal of joy. “You mean the L? It can’t be the real L, right?”
“I dunno. I’ve never seen him in person. He sounds really smart, though. I’ll fill you in at the briefing.” Colgate paused. “You did come here to join the team, right? You were always the top of the class, you’re probably the best thinker in Ponyville right now. We could really use your help.”
Jackpot. “I’d love to help. Just let me know what I can do.”
“Great!” Colgate reared up and clapped her hooves excitedly. “I got all the paperwork ready for you. We can have you on the force in minutes. Oh! But first, that letter you brought.” She shuffled through the papers on her desk and unrolled the scroll Ditzy Doo had given her. As she read it, her expression shifted from excitement to disappointment to outright sorrow. “Oh...”
“What is it?” Twilight half shouted. A seed of panic started to flare up in her, overwhelming the need for subtlety. “Is there a problem?”
“I’m sorry, Twilight.” In a few seconds most of the energy had vanished from Colgate’s voice. “It’s from the Princess. I can’t let you on the force.”
“What? Let me see that.” Before Colgate could respond, Twilight pulled the scroll away with magic and unrolled it in front of her.
My dear Romana,
The investigation you are helping to run belongs to my sister, and I have no intention of interfering with it. However, there is one request which I would like to make. There is no doubt in my mind that my beloved student Twilight Sparkle will want to join you in your search for Kira. I beg of you, though it will break her heart, do not let her join the investigation. I fear for the safety of those who hunt for Kira, and I do not wish my faithful student to risk her life unnecessarily. Please break this news to her gently, and try to make her understand I am only doing this for her benefit.
Your loving Princess,
Celestia
Twilight stared in disbelief at the page in front of her. The writing was a little sloppier than Celestia’s normally flawless script, but it was still definitely her teacher’s writing. “How could she do this to me?”
“I’m sorry, Twilight.” Colgate debated how best to comfort her friend, settling for a hoof on her shoulder. “I don’t agree, but... I guess it is for your own good, after all.”
Twilight set the scroll down and scowled. “I guess,” she muttered, refusing to look up at the other pony.
“Oh.” Colgate turned to Spike, who was daydreaming about L. He snapped to attention. “I know this is probably a bad time to mention this, but before I forget, could you send my latest report to the Princess? I mean, since you’re right here, and all.” She levitated another scroll off the top of one of the paper stacks on her desk. “Don’t worry, I already made a copy.”
“No problem!” Spike took the scroll in his claws and took a deep breath. Instead of the gentle puff of flame he was expecting, however, he let loose a massive belch of green fire. Some of the papers on the desk were badly singed, though the magical flame went out immediately. The scroll in his hands vanished, only to be replaced by another. This one was different to the others; instead of being sealed by a golden symbol of the sun, this one was held closed by a midnight-black crescent of wax. “Oops.”
“Another letter?”
“That was quick.”
Simultaneously, both unicorns reached for the new scroll. Spike whisked it away from them. “Sorry, ladies, it’s...” He unrolled the scroll just enough for him to read the first line. “It’s not for you. Either of you. Um...” Before either pony could react, Spike ran for the door and rushed out, dodging between and around pony legs as he made his escape.
“Wow.” This turn of events shocked Twilight out of her gloomy state. “What was all that about?”
“We’ll probably find out sooner or later.” Colgate closed the office door. “Look, I’m really sorry you can’t be on the team. I’d let you join in anyway, but if this gets off the ground they’ll probably send somepony to check on us.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not your fault. It’s just...” Twilight sighed. “Disappointing.”
“Yeah.” Colgate sighed as well. “But, hey, there’s one piece of news I am allowed to share with you.” Twilight looked up. “Apparently Princess Celestia is making a speech this evening. It’s supposed to be a message to Kira, broadcast live on crystalvision. You should watch it. We might learn more about what her plan is.”
A message? That’s bold. “I think I’ll do that. I wouldn’t want to miss out.” Twilight started for the door. “Anyway, I should be going. It looks like you’ve got a busy day ahead of you.”
“No kidding. Oh, and Twilight? If you do come up with anything, let us know. I mean,” Colgate winked, “even a regular civilian can help sometimes.”
Despite the jab, Twilight smiled. “Don’t worry. I’ll do all that I can.” She opened the door and disappeared into the noisy throng outside.
---
“It’s not fair.” Twilight kicked despondently at the ground as she walked back to the library. “It’s just not fair.”
“Hurts to be left out, huh?” Byuk had returned to the unicorn’s side as soon as she’d cleared the still-growing crowd of ponies, seeming subdued by her soured expression.
“It’s just not like her.” Twilight stepped on a pebble, grunted in frustration, and bucked it across the street. “When Nightmare Moon tried to cover Equestria in eternal night, Princess Celestia trusted me to find a way to stop her. When King Sombra returned to reclaim the Crystal Empire, she told me personally to keep him from succeeding. She even gave us the responsibility of vanquishing her oldest enemy. But now? What makes Kira any different?”
Byuk scratched his head. “But, Twilight, you’re Kira.”
“Yes, but she doesn’t know that.”
“And you only wanted to get on the team so you could use their information against them.”
“That’s not the point! She’s not acting like her normal self. She never used to baby me like this.”
Byuk did a slow, lazy flip in the air. “Things change. I’ve seen it happen many times before. The fear of death does strange things to people.”
“What are people?”
“Did I say that? I meant ponies.”
“Who you talkin’ to, Twilight?”
Twilight looked up and inwardly cursed. Without noticing she’d walked right next to Applejack, who as usual had set up her apple stand on the otherwise empty street. “No one, AJ. Just thinking aloud,” she lied quickly. Before her friend could notice, she motioned behind her. “You know, you’re not going to sell anything over here today. Everypony’s at the police station.”
“They are?” Applejack facehoofed. “Well, shoot. Ah’d forgotten about that. Ah was wondering why it was so quiet today.” She plucked an apple from her stand and tried to hand it over. “Here, have an apple on me.”
Twilight waved away the offer. “Oh, there’s no need for that.” As if on cue, her stomach growled loudly.
Applejack laughed loudly. “Heavens to Betsy, that’s one hungry pony! Haven’t you eaten today, Twi?” Twilight shook her head. “Then take three, on the house. You’ve earned them.”
“Well, it would be rude to say no now...” Three apples levitated away from the stand and arranged themselves in Twilight’s saddlebags. “Thanks, Applejack. I can always count on you.”
“That’s what Ah’m here for.” The earth pony beamed proudly. She turned to secure the stand for moving when something at the corner of her eye grabbed her attention. She looked up and laughed. “Um, Twilight...” She pointed. “You missed one.”
Twilight followed her friend’s gaze. Byuk had grabbed one of the apples from her bag and was holding it up to examine it; to normal pony eyes it must have appeared to be floating on its own. She pretended to laugh as well, magically yanking the fruit out of the surprised shinigami’s hoof and shoving it back in her bag. “Thanks. Yeah, that happens sometimes.” Perhaps a little faster than she needed to, she trotted away and turned at the next corner.
As soon as they were safely out of earshot Twilight turned to the god of death and growled. “Don’t you do that again! Do you want to blow your cover?”
Byuk fidgeted. “It looked tasty...”
Twilight summoned the expression she’d put on earlier while questioning Spike. “Look,” she said, slowly and clearly as if talking to a child, “if anypony finds out you’ve been following me, they might connect you to the Death Note. If anypony finds out about the Death Note, they’ll take it away and probably burn it. Then you’ll have to go home empty-handed. Is that what you want?” Byuk scowled and shook his head. “No? Good. So don’t go picking anything up around town any more. We’re lucky Applejack thought it was just a magical glitch this time. We can’t afford to let it happen again.”
“Okay. But...” Byuk gave an eerily wide smile. “Can I try one of those apples when we get back?”
“Back...” Twilight froze in place, gears turning inside her head. “Sure. If you’re quiet, when we get back you can have as many as you want. Sound good?”
“Very.”
---
Twilight burst through the library door and threw off her saddlebags without slowing down. In seconds she was up the first flight of stairs and climbing fast. Byuk followed her inside at a more reasonable pace. Without bothering to ask he reached into a discarded bag, pulled out a bright, shiny apple, and took an enormous bite out of it. He grunted in surprise and licked his lips, smiling widely. “Mmmmm... juicy.”
Once upstairs, Twilight held her breath as she approached Spike’s bedroom, but when she opened the door the air was mercifully clear. The room was littered as usual with books Twilight had given the little dragon to read, mixed alongside toys and much more well-thumbed comic books. She pushed these gently aside, trying to disturb the room as little as possible despite her haste. "Where is it, where is it," she muttered.
Byuk floated up the stairs, an apple in each hoof. "What are you looking for? These are delicious, by the way."
"Byuk, good," Twilight said without looking up from her search. "Can you stand outside and tell me if you see Spike coming back?"
"Nope."
This got her attention. "What do you mean, nope? You're perfectly capable of—"
"I mean nope. I'm not your pet, and I'm not going to help you."
"Fine! Don't, then! Aha!" Twilight pulled a large box from behind the basket where Spike still slept. Inside were magazines, at least a dozen, many from different publications but all with one thing in common: they all had a picture of Rarity somewhere on the cover. Byuk gagged, but Twilight pushed these aside and pulled out something else: scrolls. Lots and lots of scrolls, each bound with a single piece of thread. "Spike's flame is getting stronger as he grows," she explained, "which means that sometimes his fire is less magical and more actual fire. He can't always control the consistency, so when I give him a letter there's always a chance he'll burn it instead of sending it. After I lost some of my best reports that way I gave him a new habit to remember: before sending a letter, always make a copy." She unrolled the first scroll from the pile.
Dear Princess Luna,
I have arrived safely in Ponyville, still with only one head...
This was clearly from Romana, probably sent early that morning. Most of it told Twilight nothing she didn’t already know, but the final lines made her raise an eyebrow. Was L planning something? Interesting. She carefully tied the paper back up before picking up the next scroll.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that no matter how many times somepony asks you...
Twilight frowned. This report was from months ago. Clearly, she’d have to speak with Spike about his organizational skills.
Five scrolls later, she found another letter that looked interesting. It was much longer than the others, filled with complex charts and figures detailing times and locations of death. It was the words at the very top, though, which caught her attention:
Dear Lady Luna,
Challenge accepted.
Please inform Celestia that I will arrive in Canterlot tonight in time for the speech. I have already made the necessary arrangements with the crew in charge of the broadcast. In the meantime, please continue to send updated statistics to this location.
-L
Two realizations hit the young mare at once, causing her breath to quicken. L was operating out of Ponyville? And Spike was delivering letters to him? That was almost too close for comfort. Still, at least it confirmed a few things; there was a pony who’d taken the name L working on the case. “No matter,” she muttered. “The difference between you and me now, L, is I know where you live.” Not wanting to push her luck any further, she placed all the scrolls back in the box in as close to the positions she’d found them as she could manage. She returned the box to its place behind the basket and walked around the room once, making sure nothing looked disturbed. As she left she caught sight of Byuk, who was finishing up her third and final apple. “That was my lunch, you know.”
“Don’t care.” The shinigami squirmed in pleasure, licking the last of the juice from his talons. “Apples must be the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Hey, how about this? I’ll stay quiet and out of your way if you buy me more apples.”
“If that’s what it takes, fine.” With a final glance around, Twilight left Spike’s room and closed the door behind her.
---
Anticipation made the afternoon pass quickly. To Twilight’s annoyance, Spike never returned from his secret delivery mission. In the past this would have worried her, but under the circumstances she let it slide. She took the opportunity to retire to her room and write more names in the Death Note under the guise of studying. There was a seemingly inexhaustible supply of criminals from all corners of Equestria, with more entering and leaving the system every day. However, she noted that the number of arrests in a day was slowly, almost imperceptibly dropping. This pleased her greatly. If she could single-hoofedly lower crime rates across Equestria in little more than a week, how much good could she do in a year? In a lifetime? It made her dream of a crime-free world seem that much closer to reality.
It was nearly dark when Twilight remembered what Colgate had told her before she’d left. Hurriedly she activated her stratoscreen and tuned it to the first news station she could think of. She was just in time; onscreen, Princess Celestia was sitting down in preparation for her speech. Byuk whistled appreciatively. Twilight prepared to scold him for being disrespectful, but what the shinigami said next surprised her. “How long has your princess been alive?”
“How old is she, you mean?” Twilight asked. Byuk nodded. “Nopony really knows. I’m not sure she even knows herself. At least a few thousand years, but some say she’s been here a lot longer.”
The god of death nodded sagely. “That’s a lot of time to cut short. No wonder she’s afraid to die.”
“What!?”
“My beloved subjects,” Princess Celestia began, cutting the pair off, “it is with great sadness that I must now speak to you concerning a matter of grave importance. As many of you are aware...”
Twilight couldn’t focus on the speech. It was basically a repeat of the one she’d given a few months ago, about the value of pony life over all things. “Celestia can’t die,” Twilight insisted. “I mean... she can’t! She’s not just a pony, she’s practically a goddess! She raises and lowers the sun every day! She can’t be hurt by anything! Not even the Death Note could...” She stumbled as logic started to overwhelm her, continuing in a softer voice. “It couldn’t really... kill her... could it?”
“Don’t ask stupid questions you already know the answers to.” Byuk folded his wings and sat down to get a better view. “I just know if I was that old, I’d be terrified of anything that might make me die.”
Twilight turned back to the screen and stared at her beloved mentor with new eyes. To most ponies she would look as magnificent and self-assured as always, but Twilight had spent enough time with the princess to know when something was wrong. There was a slight catch in her voice, a sign that she was holding something back, and while her pastel mane flowed magically in the air it didn’t ripple as though carried on a gentle breeze. And her eyes! She’d tried to cover it up but they were slightly pink, perhaps from crying or worse, and dark bags of exhaustion hung beneath them. There was something hidden in those eyes, something Twilight had never seen in her mentor before.
“Are you afraid, Princess?” she whispered. She nearly held up a hoof to comfort the celestial mare, having to remind herself that it was only an image. “You don’t have to be afraid of me. I know your heart is in the right place. So I’m sorry, but for now...” She closed her eyes. “For Equestria’s sake, let me do what has to be done.”
“You know she can’t actually hear you, right?”
“Quiet, Byuk.”
“That is why,” the princess was concluding, “I will not and can not condone the deaths being orchestrated by Kira.” She paused, and enthusiastic hoof-stomping could be heard from the ponies in the studio.
“And now, a personal message to Kira. However, this message will not be delivered by me.” Celestia gave the camera a more focused look. “Fillies and Gentlecolts, it gives me great pleasure to introduce, for the very first time, Equestria’s greatest detective... L.”
What?
The Princess rose, and a comparatively much smaller stallion walked onscreen to take her place. He was a creamy brown earth pony with a darker brown mane and a smug expression; Twilight disliked him already. “Thank you, Lady Celestia,” L said before settling down to face the camera. “I am the pony in charge of the investigation into the deaths of current and former criminals across Equestria. My name is Caramel... alias L. It is my solemn vow that I will catch the pony or ponies involved in this horrific crime, starting with the leader, the one popularly known as Kira.”
“Catch me? Hah!” Twilight pulled the Death Note closer to her. “If you had any way of tracing the Death Note, you would have done it already. All I’ve done is write names in a book. You can’t prove anything!”
“I’m pretty sure he can’t hear you either.”
“Be quiet, Byuk!”
Caramel had paused, as if anticipating this outburst. “Kira, if you’re watching this – and I’m sure that you are – know that I understand what your motivations for your actions must be. I know the line of thinking that has brought you to this because I’ve felt similar things in the past. But that does not change the fact that what you are doing is...” He paused, fixing the camera with a hard stare. “Evil.”
“Evil?” The word struck a nerve. “You think I’m evil?”
“What you have done is unforgivable,” the detective continued, anger building in his voice. “It is not unimaginable to call it the worst crime in all recorded history. By numbers alone, you are a hundred times worse than even the most terrible murderer you have condemned. I assure you, Kira, these abominable, evil acts will not go unpunished.”
“Evil!?” Twilight leaped to her hooves, magic crackling down her horn. “I’ve saved more lives in a day than you have in your life, you insolent foal!” Caramel said nothing, his eyes bright, a smirk plastered across his face. “You want to see murderers walk free? You want to see all of justice come undone? I will create a world without crime! If you stand in the way of that, you are the evil one!” She grabbed a quill with magic. “All ponies who stand in my way are the evil ones!” She tore the Death Note open and scrawled a name across the entire page.
Caramel
“There.” Twilight realized she was breathing heavily. “Let’s see you stand against me after this. Let’s see if anypony wants to stand against me after this. The whole world is watching, L. What kind of message do you think this will make?” She smiled wickedly. “It’s almost a shame. You gave yourself away too soon. So much for the legendary detective. If you’d been smarter, maybe this could have been fun.” She looked at her wristwatch, then the screen. Caramel had stopped talking. “Five seconds, L.”
“Four.”
“Three.”
“Two.”
“One.”
Caramel’s eyes widened. He let out a yelp of pain and reared up madly, then collapsed. Ponies ran in from both sides of the screen to try to help him. Off-camera Princess Celestia screamed, which dampened Twilight’s spirits a little, but only a little. “Checkmate, L.” With no small amount of satisfaction, she closed the Death Note and put it back on her desk.
“Fascinating...”
Twilight froze. All at once all sound had cut out, and a soft white glow filled the room. Fear rising in her throat, she turned back to the screen. Across the stone sheet was a stylized letter L on a background of pure white. The new voice continued, cracked and distorted beyond all hope of identification. “You really can kill without having any contact with your victim. The data we gathered suggested this was the case, but I must confess I did not truly believe it until now.”
Twilight couldn’t move. This was wrong. She’d won, she’d seen it. He couldn’t have tricked her. This couldn’t be happening.
“Kira, if you truly did just kill the pony you saw on the screen, you should know that he was not L. Caramel was arrested yesterday afternoon on two charges of aggravated assault. This arrest was kept secret, so no official records of it exist. It seems you’ve killed a number of his friends, because Caramel personally volunteered to speak for me tonight. He was well aware of the risks and responsibilities involved. Despite his crimes, he died a noble death. It must hurt, knowing that you’ve just murdered a hero.”
Twilight gritted her teeth and glared. He’s enjoying this too much. I won’t let him twist this against me. You’re the murderer, L, not me. Byuk, meanwhile, was cracking up.
“But Kira, I assure you that I, L, am very real. So, what are you waiting for? Kill me.” Twilight was still frozen at her desk. What could she do? Even if L was this pony’s real name – unlikely – she still had no face to go with it. She tried to swallow her feelings of being trapped. “Well, go on! Do it!” the stratoscreen mocked her. “What’s wrong? Kill me! Heart attack, just like the others, nice and painful! Come on! Kill me!”
There was a long, potent pause. “Well,” L said, satisfaction evident even through the distortion, “it seems you can’t kill me. That is very interesting. You’ve given me some valuable information tonight, Kira. In return, I think I’ll let you in on a secret.
“You believed that this message was being broadcast live across Equestria. In reality, it was only being shown in the area of Ponyville.”
“What?” Twilight couldn’t breathe. Byuk, however, was by this point howling with laughter.
“I had intended to repeat this broadcast in different regions at different times, but it seems that that will no longer be necessary. You are in Ponyville. I admit that the method by which you kill is still a mystery to me, but I’m sure you will be able to tell me about it yourself after I have caught you. Know this, Kira. We know where you are. We are going to find you. And when we do... in a very real way, justice will be served.
“Until we meet again, Kira.”
The image on the screen crackled into static, then blinked out. Byuk could barely contain himself. “Oh, he totally got you, Twilight!” he laughed, crimson tears rolling down his cheeks. “He got you real good!” Seeing the unicorn’s distraught expression, he began to settle down. “Twilight?” She didn’t move. “Hey. You’re not going to give up, are you?”
This startled her out of her shock. Slowly, Twilight’s expression hardened. Her eyes narrowed and her mouth shrank to a tight, thin line. “...Fine.”
“Huh?”
“Fine. I accept your challenge, L.” Twilight strode up to the stratoscreen, apparently still talking to an imagined opponent. “You think that you’re righteous? You think you’re good enough to catch me? Bring it on. I have the Death Note, and I’m closer to you than you are to me. I don’t care if you are the detective of legend, I don’t care if you really are twelve hundred years old. You think you’re justice? I am Kira! I am the god of the new world! I! Am! Justice!”
While the pony pranced and posed in front of the screen Byuk rubbed his hooves together with glee. It’s Kira versus L! he thought. Two brilliant minds pitted against each other... and whoever’s identity is revealed first dies! His eyes sparkled. Now this I’ve got to see!
---
Dear Princess Celestia,
Are you all right? I know it’s a strange question for me to ask you, but I saw your message to Kira (you were wonderful, by the way) and I wanted to make sure you were okay. It was a terrible thing L did to Caramel, even if it was to help catch Kira. I don’t know if I want to trust him after that.
I was also shocked to learn that Kira is in Ponyville! Please, Princess, I know you’re afraid for my safety, but I can’t in good conscience abandon my friends. I don’t know if I could forgive myself if one of them got hurt because I wasn’t there to help. Please, for their sake, won’t you let me help catch Kira?
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
P.S.
I’m sorry if this letter takes some time to reach you. Spike has been busy helping Romana, so I may have to resort to using regular mail.