//------------------------------// // Devotion // Story: Death Note: Equestria // by Nonagon //------------------------------// 15 *Devotion* When a shinigami’s Death Note has been picked up by a pony living in the Pony Realm, it is expected that the God of Death will ensure that the pony who owns the Note uses it. It was a long and quiet walk back to the library. Spike walked closely beside Twilight, refusing her offer to let him ride on her back. He stared at the ground, keeping his little hands balled into fists as they travelled. Twilight looked his way every so often as they walked, but he would never meet her gaze. "You look older," Twilight said after a while. "Really?" Spike looked down at himself, keeping his voice low. "You mean I'm growing?" "No. Just... older. More mature." "I guess." A hint of a smile started to return to the little dragon's face. "Thanks." The pair made it the rest of the way to the library in silence. The door had been left open; in Spike's rush to get to the station he hadn't bothered to close it. He mumbled an apology, which Twilight brushed off. By unspoken agreement they went into the kitchen and sat down at opposite ends of the table. This was the part that Twilight had been dreading. She coughed, smiling awkwardly to try to break the silence between them. "Have you had lunch?" she tried. "I've got some rubies I've been saving for a special occasion." "I'm not hungry." "Oh. Something to drink? Breathing so much fire must be hard on your throat." "I'm fine." Spike sighed. "Twilight, get to the point. For both our sakes." "F-fine." The unicorn took a deep breath. "Spike, I saw what you did to your room." The little dragon kept his gaze fixed on the table. "Uh-huh." "I want to know why." "Because..." Because I was angry? Because I got hurt? "Because I'm growing up." "Huh?" Twilight shook her head. "Spike, growing up doesn't mean you have to burn everything that matters to you." "Doesn't it?" Spike looked to the side and let out another sigh. “At first I felt bad while I was doing it,” he said. “Like I was burning parts of myself, or Rarity, or even you. But at the same time, I... I liked it. And maybe that’s not such a bad thing.” The little dragon straightened up and looked Twilight in the eyes. “I was stupid,” he admitted. “I thought that finding Kira would be fun, like an adventure game. I got involved with things I didn’t understand. I fell in love with a murderer. And I...” He gritted his teeth. “I helped her.” Twilight rose out of her seat. “Spike-” “But that’s not going to happen again!” Spike interrupted. “I’m done with kid stuff. Everypony’s depending on me to be mature, responsible, tough... everything the old me wasn’t. So I’m getting rid of it. I’m starting fresh. I’m leaving my childhood behind.” He grimaced. “I'm nopony's Spikey-Wikey. Not any more. I'm just Spike.” He sighed again. “Maybe after we’ve caught Kira, I’ll join the next dragon migration. For real this time.” “Oh, Spike.” Twilight circled around the table to the little dragon. “Becoming an adult doesn’t mean you have to stop being a kid overnight.” “Maybe that’s how you ponies do it.” Spike shook his head and brushed her aside. “But I’m a dragon. Maybe it’s time I start acting like one.” “That’s not what I mean. Becoming an adult doesn’t mean you stop being a kid at all.” Spike looked up. A hint of confusion appeared on his determined face. “Huh?” “Do you know why I keep that old chest full of toys in my room?” Twilight smiled and blushed slightly. “It’s not just for the memories. It’s because sometimes, when I’m sad or bored... and you’re not around... I like to take them out and play with them, just like I did when I was a little filly.” She laughed a little at her assistant’s shocked expression. “And it’s not just me. I bet if you look hard enough, everypony has some part of their childhood that they carry with them all their lives, even the most mature, responsible of ponies. It’s not because they’re immature, or because they don’t know better. It’s because you learn the most important lessons of your life when you’re a child.” “Huh?” Spike repeated, his incomprehension now apparent. “What do you mean?” “Things like how to have fun, learning how to learn and invent, and even the magic of friendship. Those things don’t disappear when you grow older. Whenever I’ve gotten stressed or overworked, haven’t you always told me to spend time with friends to relax?” Spike fidgeted a little. “That’s not really the same thing,” he said. “It’s exactly the same thing,” Twilight replied. “When it comes to saving Equestria, so-called ‘childish’ things like friendship have always helped a lot more than trying to do everything on our own. Sure, we get older and more responsible over time. But without the lessons we learned as children, life wouldn’t be worth living any more.” “I... I guess.” Spike looked down at the table, slowly clenching and unclenching his little hands into fists. “This doesn’t change my decision. But... thanks.” "You'll always be my Spike." Twilight pulled the little lizard in for a hug. To her delight, he returned it. “I always knew that one day you’d grow up and move away,” she said more quietly. “If you still want to leave during the next migration, I won’t stop you. But if you do, just make sure it’s because it’s what you want, not because you feel you have to. Okay?” “Okay.” Several long seconds of silence passed between them. “Hey, Twilight?” “Yes, Spike?” “I miss my comic books.” Twilight sighed happily. “Well,” she said, “we’ve got the rest of the day off. Why don’t we see if the book store’s still open?” The dragon smiled. “Yeah,” he replied. “I’d like that.” --- Despite his exertions that afternoon, it took Spike much longer than usual to fall asleep that night. He turned down Twilight's offer to read him a story and lay alone in the darkness, tossing and turning in his spare basket. Twilight stood with her ear to the door for a full hour before his breathing finally leveled out and he fell into a peaceful, smoke-spewing slumber. As soon as she was certain that Spike had dropped off, Twilight made her way back down to her own bedroom and went inside, locking the door soundly behind her. She turned and stared into the middle of the room, allowing the scowl that she'd been suppressing all day to emerge onto her face. "All right," she said. "Talk." Byuk floated lazily over Twilight's bed. "About what?" he asked nonchalantly, stretching his front hooves behind his head. "You know about what," Twilight snapped. "There's another Death Note somewhere in Equestria, isn't there?" "Sure looks that way." The god yawned, seeming unmoved by Twilight's persistent glare. "What? I didn't have anything to do with it." "So there's another shinigami involved. Great. Just great." The unicorn shook her head and started to pace back and forth across the room. "All right. So how do we find them? How did you find me?" "By smell." Byuk ran a claw along his protruding, deformed snout. "Death Notes smell like the dust in the Shinigami Realm. I was able to follow that to reach you here. My sense of smell isn't very good, though, so I couldn't be any more precise than somewhere in this town. Even if I wanted to, I wouldn’t be able to tell you their exact location. But you know, I did think the smell was getting stronger lately." "So the second Kira's somewhere in Ponyville?" Byuk looked away and nodded, appearing distracted. Twilight smiled. "That narrows it down. What about this second shinigami? If he looks anything like you, he should be easy to spot.” “Not for you. Unless you touch the specific Death Note he’s attached to, you won’t be able to see him. The second Kira won’t be able to see me, either. Although... if one of us happened to spot the other, there would be nothing stopping him from telling the pony he’s with what he saw.” “And vice versa, I’m guessing. But you won’t help, as usual?” The dark god only sniffed in response. Twilight rolled her eyes. “Fine. Somehow, I’ve got to find the pair of them before L does. With the amount of subtlety he’s shown so far, I seriously doubt this fake Kira will be able to hide for long. If L learns about the existence of the Death Notes, it would be very bad news for both of us." The unicorn ceased her pacing and looked towards Byuk, who was staring into space with a faraway look in his eyes. “Byuk! Pay attention!” “Sorry.” The god blinked and wiped his nose on his foreleg. “It’s just... as soon as I mentioned smell just now, it feels like the scent is getting stronger. A lot stronger.” Twilight had already resumed her pacing. “I’ll need a copy of that recording... something to do with misdirection...” She froze as her brain caught up with her ears. “Wait. You mean it’s getting closer?” “Yeah!” Byuk nodded excitedly. “In fact, it’s... wait.” He cocked his head to one side and stiffened. “Uh-oh.” “Uh-oh what?” “I know that voice.” Twilight pricked up her ears. She strained to catch whatever words the shinigami was picking up, but the library was silent around them. “What is it?” she half-whispered, suddenly very aware of her own voice. “What do you hear?” “Mer.” There was a tap on the window. A chill seemed to fall over the room. Twilight froze in place, hardly daring to breathe, and slowly turned her head inch by inch towards the window. Compared to the monstrous form she’d been half-expecting after Byuk’s pronouncement, seeing the silhouette of a lone pegasus hovering outside was almost a relief. Only partly aware of what she was doing, she crossed over to the glass pane and swung it open. To her surprise, the face out the window was one she recognized. “Fluttersh-” Twilight stopped. She twitched once. Held delicately in Fluttershy’s mouth was a black notebook. Twilight grabbed the surprised pegasus with her magic and practically threw her inside, slamming the window shut behind her. Already her head was spinning with too many thoughts to cope with. She grabbed one at random to deal with first. “Did-” Her voice cracked. She coughed and tried again as Fluttershy got to her hooves. “Did you carry that like that all the way here?” she gasped. “Yes,” Fluttershy said, turning to face her. She held out the notebook in her front hooves and smiled sweetly. “I wanted it to be the first thing you saw. That way, you’d recognize me right away.” It’s a trick. It... it has to be. But how? “You... you shouldn’t have done that,” Twilight continued, her body still on automatic. “Somepony could have seen you!” Fluttershy’s face fell. “But nopony did,” she insisted. “Mer would have told me if we’d been spotted. Besides, I thought that getting this to you would be worth the risk.” Twilight’s gaze fell upon the black book. No. L isn’t involved. If she knew about the Death Notes, I would know. And even if she found... Her brain tactfully skipped over the name. ...the second Kira so quickly, there’s no way she could have prepared a trap so soon. “So that’s... it’s really...” “That’s right.” Fluttershy nodded. “It’s a Death Note.” “So you’re...” The unicorn trembled as her brain finally accepted this situation it had been presented with. “Kira. The second Kira.” Fluttershy nodded, maintaining her smile. Somehow, this only served to make the situation even more surreal. “You’re the second Kira,” Twilight repeated. Her face slowly contorted, her lips curling in horror. “Sweet Celestia, you’re the second Kira?” “That’s right,” Fluttershy confirmed. “And you’re the first Kira.” “Kira...” Twilight backed away. She felt light-headed. “Fluttershy... Kira... you’re...” Suddenly her hind legs gave out and she collapsed onto her haunches, staring blankly. “How?” “Oh... oh my!” The pegasus took a step forward, fluttering her wings uncertainly. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.” Suddenly she gasped, looking up and reddening. “Mer!” she squeaked. “Please don’t say things like that!” “I agree,” Byuk added, backing away rapidly. “And it doesn’t count as stealing if he never notices it’s gone,” he added in a lower voice. Twilight looked between the two of them in confusion. Noticing this, Fluttershy blushed a second time. “Oh, I forgot. You can’t see Mer yet, can you?” She held out her Death Note towards the unicorn. “Please, touch this.” Cautiously, Twilight reached out towards the killer notebook. Unlike her own it was not completely black on the outside; six silvery letters adorned the front in a blocky, unfamiliar language. She brushed the edge of her hoof over the surface, still in a daze. “What does this mean?” she asked. “It is the name of the notebook’s former owner,” a new voice broke in, spitting the words with thinly-veiled contempt. “It belonged to Geldus, a fellow shinigami.” Twilight looked up and somehow managed not to jump in fright. A new god of death had appeared beside her, uncomfortably close. A pair of cold yellow eyes bore spitefully into her own. She forced a neutral expression, rising and shuffling in the other direction. “H-hello. Pleased to meet you, mister... Mer, was it?” Fluttershy coughed. “Um... Mer’s a girl, actually.” Really? Twilight looked the god up and down. I don’t know how they can tell. Mer was the same basic shape as Byuk, though a few inches taller; she resembled an enormous pegasus pony, with improbably ragged wings and hooves that extended into dexterous claws. Like her fellow god, she bore the image of a black rectangle on her left flank, though the right was bizarrely blank. That, however, was where the similarity ended. While Byuk at least had the appearance of a flesh-and-blood being, Mer looked like someone had tried to assemble a pony skeleton and forgotten when to stop. Her torso was composed of several rib cages stacked over and through one another, with a complex network of smaller, thinner bones filling the cracks and forming irregular, branchlike spines down the length of her body. A pair of broad, chitinous plates served as her flanks. Her legs were shaped like long spinal columns that creaked whenever she moved. The only skin visible was on her face, though this was just as unnervingly pale as the rest of her body. Her equally white mane hung in thick, wormlike strands on either side of her head and across her face, each tipped with just the faintest hint of purple. As the seconds went on, the large god gave no answer to the unicorn’s greeting. She only continued to stare. Twilight gulped. Strangely, the presence of this frightening, looming figure was actually serving to calm her down. Easy, Twilight. You can deal with this. Just take it one step at a time. She turned back to Fluttershy and concentrated on the next most pressing matter. “How did you find us?” The enthusiastic smile returned to Fluttershy’s face. “I saw your name,” she explained. Twilight’s puzzled expression told her all she needed to know. “I’d guessed you hadn’t taken the eye deal. At first I sent Mer out to find the other shinigami in Ponyville, but when she couldn’t find him I asked her to trade for the gift of the eyes. When I look at a pony’s face with the shinigami eyes, I can see their name and lifespan. But ponies who own a Death Note don’t have a fixed timeline, so you and I don’t have numbers any more. Um... at least, that’s how Mer explained it. So when I saw you at the hub station, that’s how I knew you were the one.” She sighed dreamily. “When I look at you, I can only see your name.” “So you do have the eyes...” Twilight tried to dwell on this further, but another thought interrupted her. “Wait a minute. So that was the reason for the flash mob at the station? You weren’t looking for the friends of Kira... you were looking for me.” “That’s right.” Fluttershy nodded. “I hoped that if I put on a big enough show, the real Kira would show up. I would have done anything to find you.” Twilight’s face darkened. “Then those deaths,” she continued. “You were responsible for them too.” A hint of nervousness appeared on Fluttershy’s face as the unicorn took a step forward. “You killed Sweetie Belle.” “Of course.” The pegasus didn’t move as Twilight advanced on her. “She was turning everypony against you. I had to do something.” “No. Fluttershy, I don’t think you’re getting this.” Twilight stepped forward and put her face close to Fluttershy’s. “You killed Sweetie Belle! Doesn’t that mean anything to you?” “But... but I thought...” Their situations now reversed, it was Fluttershy who found herself backing away under Twilight’s persistent glare. “I thought it was what you would have wanted me to do.” Something snapped. Twilight forcefully pushed the yellow mare backwards, an entire afternoon of suppressed rage bursting out of her all at once. “WHAT THE BUCKING HAY IS WRONG WITH YOU!?” she screamed. Mer hissed threateningly, while Byuk shook his head. Twilight ignored them both. All of her attention was focused on the mare in front of her, who was now cowering in terror. “She was just a sweet, innocent little filly, and you murdered her! How could you do something like that?” Something in the back of her mind warned her that Spike was still upstairs, but she brushed it off; after a day like today, a freight train could run through the library and the little dragon wouldn’t wake. “You’re supposed to be the Element of Kindness!” Fluttershy’s eyes flicked once to Mer, then back to Twilight. “But-” “No buts!” Twilight continued her advance, sending the frightened mare shuffling backwards across the floor. Internal flames lit up her eyes brightly as she continued to shout. “Kira is a protector of justice, not a killer! His job is to defend the innocent, not oppress them! How could you possibly think that I would want a filly dead just for saying bad things?” “But...” Despite being near tears, Fluttershy managed to get a word in as Twilight paused for breath. “But you killed all those EBI agents that one time!” “That...” Twilight spluttered for a few seconds. “Th-that was completely different! They were a threat to me! It was self-defense! There is no excuse for what you did. No excuse!” She advanced further and bared her teeth. Fluttershy had given up retreating and simply cowered on the floor, openly crying. “You don’t deserve to call yourself Kira,” Twilight spat. “You’re just a murderer.” The pegasus flinched and let out a sob. “Give me one good reason I shouldn’t just kill you right now!” “Kira, I can help you!” The room fell silent. Kira? Twilight thought. Is that really how she sees me now? Seeing that the unicorn’s ranting had stopped, Fluttershy’s sobs leveled out to quiet whimpers. Twilight stepped backwards. She lowered her voice and tried to keep steady as she spoke. “Help me? Your ‘help’ so far has consisted of killing innocent ponies, trashing Kira’s good reputation and risking getting yourself caught just to make your way here.” “But... but that can change now. Now that I’m with you.” Fluttershy raised herself up into a sitting position and sniffed, staring up at Twilight. “You can tell me what to do. If you guide me, I won’t get caught, and I can make up for... for my mistakes.” She seemed about to burst into tears again. Suddenly she grabbed her Death Note between two hooves and thrust it forwards, holding it as far away from her as she could. “Take it!” she cried. “If you don’t think I deserve it, then take it. I’ll still own it, technically, so I won’t lose my memories even if you hold on to it.” She looked up at the shape behind Twilight. “Right, Mer?” “Right.” Twilight suppressed a shudder as a breath of frigid air brushed against the back of her mane. She looked behind her, only to come nose-to-nose with the bony shinigami. She shuffled to the side, trying to keep both Fluttershy and the large god in view. The second Death Note drifted out of the yellow mare’s hooves in a wave of magenta light, coming to rest in front of the unicorn. Twilight eyed the notebook suspiciously. “You could have taken some pages out,” she said. “You might be hiding pieces back at your house.” “I’m not!” Fluttershy protested. She sniffed and lowered her head again. “Everything I’ve done, I’ve done for you,” she mumbled. “Why won’t you trust me?” “How can I trust you?” Twilight shot back. “The Fluttershy I know would never hurt a filly.” They stared at each other for a few seconds, a barrier between them that hadn’t been there before. Twilight broke the silence by sighing, laying the notebook down beside her. “How did this happen to you?” she asked, more gently. “Tell me everything.” Fluttershy shuffled back and forth on her hooves. "I guess... it all started about a couple of months ago. "It was a night like any other. I'd just gone to bed, when I heard frightening noises from downstairs. I rushed down to see what the matter was, when I found somepony who had broken in and was trying to steal from me. But that's not the worst part. Brave little Angel Bunny must have tried to stop him, and the burglar... he..." The mare stopped for a moment to collect herself, lest she burst into tears a second time. "He stomped my precious little Angel to death. "I did everything I could to catch him. He got away, but thanks to miss Colgate we were able to track him down and bring him back. But... he wasn't punished." Fluttershy sniffed. "He didn't take or break anything, and there are no murder laws for bunnies like there are for ponies. All he got was community service. But I tried being kind to him, I really tried. I helped him when he had to pick up garbage around the park, and I invited him home for tea. He was really nice once I got to know him, and after he understood how much he’d hurt me, I really, really thought he’d learned his lesson." Her face darkened. "But I was wrong. As soon as his community service was done, he ran all the way to Hoofington. He broke into another home, just like mine. And this time... he killed a little filly." Twilight kept her face still. "Why didn't you tell us any of this, Fluttershy?" she asked. "We could have helped you." "Oh... I..." Fluttershy lowered her head. "I didn't want you to worry about me. I'm sorry." Twilight only gave her a hard stare. She gulped and carried on with her story. "I tried not to think about it at first. I went on with my life and tried to forget all about it. But then, one day, a miracle happened." Finally, the fearful expression fell from Fluttershy's face and she began to smile again. "I read it in the paper. A wonderful pony named Kira had killed the burglar with a heart attack. That's when I realized that I had been wrong. Kindness isn't always the answer. There are some ponies who can never learn to be nice, no matter what you do. They never think of anypony’s feelings but their own, and they never stop hurting the ones who are smaller than them. Being kind to a pony like that isn’t just pointless, it’s..." She lowered her head and her voice shifted into an unfamiliar growl. "It’s helping them hurt others. "After that day, I started to have... dreams. Fantasies, even. It's like my mother always used to say to me when she made me take all those flight classes... 'Sometimes, you have to be cruel to be kind.' I think I finally understand what she meant. In order to protect the ones we care about, we can't let the evil ponies walk all over us. We have to stand up for ourselves. We have to show the bad ponies that they will pay for their actions. And in a world too obsessed with being kind, Kira was the only one who was brave and strong enough to protect us from evil. So I found myself wishing, praying, that some day I would be strong enough to do the same thing. “And then, not that long ago... there was a second miracle.” Fluttershy stopped speaking and turned to the side, smiling up at the shinigami beside her. Some of the coldness left Mer’s face as she stared back. “Mer came into my life,” the pegasus continued. “She brought me the Death Note. I was scared at first, terrified. But once she showed me what the notebook can do, and how much good I can do for the world, I... I couldn’t resist. She helped me write down the first names and calmed me down whenever I got scared. When I wanted to find you, she helped me think of a plan to track you down. I never could have done any of this without her.” Twilight ground her teeth together. “So this is your fault,” she said, addressing Mer. “You twisted her.” Mer chuckled. “Twisted? I call it an improvement.” She ran a claw idly through Fluttershy’s mane. “Power over life and death is the greatest gift of all. All living things lust for this kind of power, whether they know it or not. All I did was give her the opportunity to realize her dreams. She wanted to help the world, and I gave her the means of doing so.” Twilight fought to maintain her neutral expression. No. This is wrong. This is so wrong. “Why her?” she forced out. “You could have given that power to anypony. Why Fluttershy? Of all the ponies in Equestria, why did you choose her?” Mer remained silent. Fluttershy looked up at the bony figure beside her. “Mer, you can tell her,” she said. “I want her to know the whole story.” “Fine.” Mer folded up her wings and settled down onto the floor. She gave another contemptuous glance at Byuk before starting to speak. “Thankfully, this tale is a simple one. You see, despite what your monochromatic companion seems to believe, he was not the first god of death to stumble across the pony realm...” --- There is no standard size or shape for shinigami. Most eventually settle into bipedal or quadrupedal forms not much bigger than the various living creatures they resemble, but there is no particular reason why this should be the case. Some shinigami are legless beings who come barely up to the waists of their fellow gods, while others easily tower over the mightiest of mortal beings. Then there is the King of Death, who is... another matter. But even by the loose standards of the gods of death, Geldus was tiny. He resembled nothing so much as an ancient, well-worn doll, with a round head perched on top of a frail and impish body. The way he held himself did nothing to help his stature, folding all his limbs against his body to clutch his Death Note tightly to his chest. Compared to a pony, he would barely have been able to look over the head of a newborn foal. Time, too, had not been kind to the tiny god; he had come close to death so many times that his body was literally falling to pieces. Large chunks of him had periodically dropped off and been inexpertly stitched back on, sometimes in the wrong place. A few of these pieces had rotted away, leaving only scoured, dusty bone behind, and what skin remained on him was unevenly discoloured, turning him into a bizarre patchwork of decay and death. Like most shinigami, Mer only came to the plains where the windows to the mortal worlds were found when she needed to fill up her Death Note. Geldus, however, seemed to spend all of his time there. He would scurry from one hole in the dust-covered plain to the next, staring down into the various mortal worlds with a peculiar mix of awe and longing. Because of this he was often teased by the other shinigami, and so had become something of a recluse. Whenever another god came onto the plain he would try to hide behind a dune or partially bury himself in the dust, hoping to hide from their scorn. On this particular occasion when Mer drifted onto the plain, however, he stayed perfectly still, staring intently into a hole the larger god didn’t recognize. Ordinarily, Mer would have paid the patchwork shinigami no attention. This time, however, a rare blend of boredom and curiosity compelled her to approach the little god. She drifted up behind him, touching down on the dust a few feet away. “What are you looking at?” she asked. Instead of jumping away as Mer had expected, a tiny smile appeared on Geldus’ twisted face. “She’s beautiful,” he whispered. Mer peered over him to look into the portal. While she didn’t check the shifting worlds very often, she had to admit that this realm didn’t look like any she’d come across before. “Who is?” she asked. Geldus pointed, not looking up. “Her.” The surface of the portal seemed to flex and distort as Mer followed his bony finger. Her eyes were drawn deeper and deeper into the unfamiliar world until she was able to clearly make out a single life form below. The being who had caught Geldus’ interest was a yellow, four-legged creature with wings and a light pink mane and tail. She sang to herself as she pranced back and forth across a meadow, delicately picking flowers to put in the baskets at her sides. “What sort of creature is that?” Mer scoffed. “She’s a pony. A pegasus pony. Her name is Fluttershy.” Below, the creature trotted a little further down the field and sang a few bars of a simple melody, causing Geldus to let out an uncharacteristic squeal of delight. “I want to hug her.” “You what?” “I want to hug her. And squeeze her, and cuddle her, and brush her mane.” He sighed happily. “She’s so wonderful.” “Huh.” Mer peered a little closer. She knew enough about life to recognize that the pony’s motions had grace and poise to them, and her voice had a flowing, melodic quality. But beyond that, she was just like any other mortal being: meat. Meat that would one day die. “Interesting creature,” the bony shinigami said. She lifted a hoof and raised it to her side. “Maybe I’ll kill her.” “Don’t!” To her surprise, Geldus turned around and pressed his little hand desperately against her leg. His one remaining eye stared up at her pleadingly; the other was a dark and empty socket. “Please,” he said. “Don’t.” Mer would never admit to anyone why she chose to spare the pony’s life. When pressed, she would later claim that it had been due to nothing more than indifference. But as the little god stared up at her, something in her perpetually scornful expression slightly, almost imperceptibly, changed. She lowered her hoof and looked away. “Why her?” she asked. “What’s so special about this one pony?” “I’ll tell you,” Geldus answered, the smile returning to his face. He gazed back down into the portal to the pony realm. “She lives in a town called Ponyville, and she’s the bearer of the Element of Kindness...” --- Ponies would say that days passed, then weeks, though the shinigami have no such means of measuring time. In any case, it was not long before Mer, for reasons she didn’t care to understand, found herself wandering back to Geldus’ hole for a second time. Then, soon afterwards, a third. The visits became a regular occurrence, much to the miniature god’s delight. Every time she arrived, he would have a new story to tell her about Fluttershy and her friends. Sometimes the equine sextet would be saving Ponyville or even all of Equestria from disaster, but just as often it would be no more complex than a peaceful picnic in the park. Often one of the others would play a larger role in the events, but no matter what happened, Fluttershy was always his favorite. “She’s so adorable,” he would sigh. “I want to hold her.” Once, he had asked Mer which pony was her favorite. “Everyone should have a favorite pony,” he’d said. “I think who you choose says a lot about your personality.” Mer snorted. “What does it matter?” she asked. “They’re only meat. You take them far too seriously.” He didn’t ask her again after that. This arrangement progressed peacefully for some time. At first a few of the other shinigami jeered at Mer for spending so much time with the unpopular Geldus, but as she brushed these comments off the taunting quickly died down. As time went on, however, she started to notice a change in the little god’s demeanor. His greetings weren’t as enthusiastic as they’d once been, and he seemed less eager to talk about his little ponies than before. “What’s wrong, Geldus?” Mer finally asked him after a particularly lackluster hello. “You seem changed.” Geldus sighed and gestured downwards, not taking his eye off the portal to the pony realm. “Look at her number,” he said simply. Mer peered down. She’d grown accustomed to focusing on the area of Ponyville, and in seconds was able to locate Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus was gently tending to a kitten’s broken leg as a pair of foals looked on nervously. The number floating above the mare’s head had shrunk. “Not much time left,” Mer observed. “How long do ponies normally live?” “A lot longer.” Geldus pressed his hands together nervously, the fat, fleshy fingers on one side meshing poorly with the protruding bones on the other. “She’s so young,” he mumbled. “And so healthy. She has so many friends. How could anything bad happen to her?” Mer shrugged. “Every living thing dies eventually,” she said. “You know that.” Geldus said nothing. He only wrapped his arms tightly around his Death Note and stared. --- Geldus didn’t look up as Mer approached him. “It’s today,” he said simply. “I know.” The bony shinigami took her customary place beside him. “Are you ready?” “No.” The little god trembled and shook his head. Mer followed his gaze into the portal. Fluttershy was relaxing in Ponyville’s spa with her friend Rarity, the white unicorn. “Why today?” Geldus asked aloud. “She’s so happy. Nothing is wrong. Why today?” Mer squinted at the number floating above Fluttershy’s head. It had shrunk down to just a few digits. “How long is that in pony time?” she asked. “Just a few hours.” Geldus looked up at the far larger god beside him. “Will you... stay with me?” Mer didn’t hesitate before answering. “Yes.” Side by side, they watched. The white unicorn talked for an hour about the wonderful stallion she was seeing, while Fluttershy listened in silence. After leaving the spa, they parted ways. The pegasus stopped by the house of another friend who lived in a library, but the purple unicorn didn’t answer her door. She then went shopping, stocking up on grains and bedding for her animal friends and picking up some medical supplies that she was running low on. One of the vendors mentioned an annoying groundhog that had been sneaking into her carrot patch at night, which led to an hour-long discussion on garden safety and a promise to return later on in the week. The sun was close to setting when Fluttershy finally left Ponyville and started down the long, peaceful path to her cottage. “Why?” Geldus rocked back and forth on the edge of the hole, squeezing his Death Note tightly against his chest. Fluttershy now had only a few minutes left to live. “Why, why, why?” Mer lowered her head, but said nothing. On a turn in the path about halfway to the cottage, out of sight of the rest of Ponyville, a bush rustled loudly as Fluttershy passed it. She squeaked and jumped in fright. Any other time this display might have made Geldus clap his little hands in delight, but now he remained deathly quiet. Fluttershy looked to either side. “Is somepony there?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. “Flootershy.” The pegasus jumped again and turned around as a blue earth pony in an elaborate black and white dress emerged from the bush behind her. “Oh! Photo Finish!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here?” “Flootershy, why do you insist on becoming old?” “Huh?” Fluttershy took a nervous step backwards. “I-I don’t know what you mean.” As the pegasus began a slow walk backwards, Photo Finish started to advance. If Fluttershy had been able to see through the artist’s thick, purple-tinted glasses, she would have caught a mad gleam in her eyes. “You have ze spark, Flootershy! You carry ze magics like no other! Your body is perfect! Your face is divine! All I, Photo Finish, wish for is to capture your essence forever in my work!” As Photo Finish continued to advance, Fluttershy looked around. She was completely alone with this pony who was beginning to scare her. “Um... I’m sorry I didn’t answer any of your letters,” she tried. “It’s just, my friends told me that what you were doing constituted stalking, and, um-” “But no!” the earth pony interrupted, throwing her front hooves wide. “You refused! Unt one day, your skin will wrinkle and your mane will grey unt all of zis vonderful beauty will vanish into nothing!” “But-” “I, Photo Finish, will not allow zat to happen!” The photographer reached into a hidden pocket on her dress. “If you will not allow me to immortalize you in my work...” In a flash she drew out a long, thin blade. “Zen I, Photo Finish, will stop time for you...” The final rays of the sun glimmered on the edge of the knife before the two ponies were cast into darkness. “In anozer way!” Fluttershy stood still for a second, trembling in fear and confusion. It was only when the earth pony lunged forward that she finally understood her intentions. She screamed and leaped backwards, dodging the thrusted knife by inches, then turned tail and fled for the safety of her home. Photo Finish grabbed her knife between her teeth and gave chase. Fluttershy spread her wings and flapped desperately, but her heavy saddlebags prevented her from lifting off the ground. For a second she considered throwing them off, but instantly abandoned the idea; her animal friends were depending on her to get this food and medicine to them. Seeing the helpless pony’s distress, Photo Finish laughed triumphantly and quickly gained ground on her. Mer watched the chase with her usual level of detachment. “She’s going the wrong way,” she noted calmly. “It would be safer to run back to town.” She glanced idly at her tiny companion, then did a double-take and stared down at him. “Geldus! What are you doing?” “Ah. Ah.” Geldus was trembling in fury. He breathed heavily, his body struggling to keep itself together under the strain of the emotions running through it. “Ah. Ah.” Slowly, he prised his Death Note away from his chest and held it open. A quill materialized in his right hand, which he pressed carefully against the page. “Don’t do it, Geldus.” Mer shook her head, but couldn’t bring herself to touch him. “Don’t do it.” In the world below, Photo Finish finally caught up with Fluttershy. With a flying leap she knocked the pegasus off the road, sending both of them tumbling across the grass. They struggled momentarily, ending with the artist quickly gaining the advantage over the hysterical mare. She pinned Fluttershy down on her back, spitting her knife into her front hooves while the yellow pony flailed her legs uselessly. By this point, Fluttershy’s life number was down to a single digit. “Do not worry, Flootershy,” Photo Finish said in a surprisingly calm tone. “I, Photo Finish, will save you from ze agony of watching ze magics fade. You will remain young, unt beautiful...” She raised her knife high above her head and whispered her final word. “Forever.” Photo Finish The photographer gurgled. She stiffened and let out a final wheeze before tumbling over backwards, the knife still clutched tightly between her hooves. Fluttershy lay still for several seconds, bracing herself for a strike that was never to come. Finally she pried her eyes open and climbed to her hooves, staring in horror at the body in front of her. “Photo Finish?” She tentatively poked the unmoving earth pony. When nothing happened she put her hooves up to her mouth and began to hyperventilate. “Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!” Far above, Mer didn’t listen to the young mare’s frantic ramblings. She only focused on the glowing number that floated over Fluttershy’s head. At the exact moment of Photo Finish’s death it had exploded outwards, finally settling onto a figure ten digits in length. Based on her limited experience with pony time, Mer guessed that such a timeline would give her several decades of life, maybe even a century. “You did it, Geldus,” she breathed, hardly able to believe it. “You saved her life.” She turned towards the little god and instantly froze up. Geldus was vanishing. The tips of his fingers were turning into dust before his frightened eye, blowing away to join the endless plains of dust around them. He looked up helplessly, trying not to let his fear show. “Ah,” he choked out weakly. There’s an ancient rule about the Death Note that all shinigami know. If a shinigami uses a Death Note to kill a living being, that life is cut short and the remaining time is drained from them. But if a god of death intentionally uses a Death Note to give life, not take it, then that shinigami will die. Gently, Mer reached out and traced the tiny god’s doll-like face. His cheek crumbled beneath her hoof. “She’s safe now,” she whispered. “Fluttershy is safe because of you.” “Ah,” Geldus vocalized again. The last stumps of his arms fell away and he lost his grip on his Death Note, letting it fall to the ground beside the portal. Drawing away for a moment, Mer looked around. There were no other gods in sight, as far as her perfect eyes could see. She took a deep breath and leaned forwards. “Rarity,” she admitted. “My favorite pony is Rarity.” As his final act, Geldus broke into the biggest smile of his entire life. Then he crumbled away completely and was carried off on the wind. Mer was mostly accurate when retelling this story to Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy, except for one detail. She made sure never to mention the final words she spoke to her one and only friend. --- “Once Geldus was gone,” Mer concluded, “I brought his Death Note down to Fluttershy. He died for her, so he would have wanted her to have it.” Fluttershy nodded. “And I’m very grateful,” she added. “Before then, all my dreams of being like Kira felt like... like foalish little fantasies. But afterwards, I just knew it was meant to be.” Twilight felt her stoic expression cracking. “You’re... you’re wrong,” she breathed, trying to hold back a scream. “Geldus wouldn’t have wanted this. He would have wanted things to stay the way they were.” Mer’s head whipped around to stare at the unicorn. “Geldus wanted Fluttershy to be happy,” she snapped. “She wished to be a stronger pony. I granted that wish. Do you dare to tell me that is wrong?” “Yes!” Twilight retaliated, her voice growing louder. “Everypony has fantasies like that. It doesn’t mean we act on them! She would have been happier if you’d left her alone!” “But Kira, I am happy,” Fluttershy protested. She took a step forwards. “I know it’s going to be dangerous. But now that I’m strong enough to really help Equestria, I feel much better about myself. And more than anything else...” She blushed. “I’m happy to be with you. Mer helped, but... you’re the one who inspired me.” There was a moment of silence, quickly broken by the fourth being in the room. “Wait, Geldus is dead?” Byuk broke in, finally catching up. He made a pouty expression. “I saw him hiding behind a dune on my way here. It’s a real shame. I liked the little guy.” Mer narrowed her eyes. “Liked him?” she seethed. “The reason he always hid from you was because you ‘liked’ to pull his jaw off and taunt him with it, you idiot!” Byuk laughed. “So? It was funny!” The dark god smiled, but quickly found himself withering under the combined glares of Twilight and Mer. “Okay, maybe not that funny.” The glaring continued. He gulped. “Okay, fine. I’m sorry.” Now it was Fluttershy's turn to look between the pony and the god in confusion. "Um..." She pawed at the ground and looked up at Twilight. "If you don't mind... if it's okay with you... could I touch your Death Note as well?" Twilight considered this. No way am I showing you where my notebook is. Wait... "Okay," she said guardedly. "Turn around and close your eyes." Fluttershy immediately obeyed. At Twilight's glance, Mer rolled her eyes and turned around as well. Satisfied, the unicorn turned away from the others and lifted the leg bearing her wristwatch. She tugged rapidly three times on the dial and a thin, hidden compartment slid open. Inside was a sliver of pencil lead and a tiny scrap of paper. She levitated this fragment of a page out and brushed it gently against Fluttershy's side, then returned it to its place and slid the secret compartment shut. "Okay. You can look now." The pegasus turned around and opened her eyes. She gasped, catching sight of Byuk on the other side of the room. The dark god waved. "Hi. I'm Byuk." Perhaps because she’d grown used to Mer’s presence, the pegasus showed no signs of fear at the dark god’s appearance. "Pleased to meet you, Byuk." Fluttershy bowed and smiled sweetly. "Fluttershy." Twilight focused her coldest stare onto the pegasus. Time to get to the heart of the matter. "No more stories. Why did you come here?" "I wanted to see you..." "No. That's an emotional reason. If you wanted to spend time with me, you could have arranged something socially. You had a specific purpose in coming here as soon as possible.” Fluttershy trembled. Her lips moved soundlessly, as if trying to force words out. Suddenly she cried out and threw herself to the ground in front of the surprised unicorn. "Kira, please make me your marefriend!" "What?” Twilight blinked, her cold stare momentarily vanishing. “My... marefriend?” "Kira, I... I love you," the yellow pegasus cried. "I would do anything for you. I gave up half my life for the shinigami eyes, just so I could help you better. I don't care if you don't like me back. I don't care if you only want to use me. I just want... to make you happy." Marefriend... Twilight turned the word over in her mind a few times. "Fluttershy, I'm not... I mean, I don't..." She found herself blushing. "I don't think of mares in that way." "Oh... neither do I." The pegasus was blushing as well. "But that's not important. You could be a mare or a stallion, or a donkey, a griffon, even a dragon, and I would love you just as much." Her eyes sparkled. "I was so happy when I found out you were Twilight. We’re already friends, and we already know so much about each other. At that moment, I felt like... it was destiny." "No, Fluttershy." Twilight shook her head. "You're not my friend. You lost that right when you became a killer." Fluttershy's face fell. "Furthermore, there's a number of reasons why us getting together would be a bad idea. Firstly...” She debated for a second whether to reveal her position, then decided to go for it. “As part of my cover, I’ve joined the secret Kira investigation. That means that I’m going to spend a lot of time working closely with L.” “You’re working with L?” Fluttershy clapped in amazement. “But... but Twilight, that’s perfect! If you introduce me to him, then I could see his real name for you and we can kill him together!” “No. It’s not that simple.” Twilight shook her head. “L operates out of a well-protected underground base. She already suspects that I’m Kira, even though she can’t prove it, and it took her all of two seconds to work out that there’s another Kira out there. If we show up together, it would be like admitting that we’ve teamed up.” “Oh.” Fluttershy’s face fell. “But we can still work together, right? Even if I can’t meet him... her?” Twilight nodded. “Oh. Even if I can’t meet her, I can still use my eyes to help you with other things.” “I don’t know. Spending too much time together would be risky. Even being here now is risky. If you hadn’t pulled that stunt at the hub station, then maybe we could pass it off as friends supporting each other. But thanks to Spike, L has the crystals you recorded for the broadcast. She’ll have already scanned them for traces of hair and hoofprints. She might not be able to match you to them yet, but if she has even the slightest reason to suspect-” “She won’t find any.” Fluttershy whimpered slightly as Twilight frowned, but continued. “You talk like I haven’t thought this through at all,” she said, sounding a little hurt. “I wore socks while making the recordings, and I scrubbed the crystals clean in boiling water before wrapping them up. I bought all the materials on a trip to Canterlot, and I flew to Cloudsdale just to mail them. I used every trick in the book to cover my tracks. Oh, please, Kira,” she begged, “won’t you trust me, even a little?” Twilight regarded the prostrate pegasus calmly. Maybe she’s not as bad at this as I thought, she mulled. After all, she was able to find me... and she’s certainly the last pony anypony would expect to be Kira. I don’t have any real reason to doubt her intentions, especially with a god of death backing her story. Even if I can’t use her directly, having a helper with the eyes of the shinigami would be a huge advantage. And if she ever becomes a burden to me, I’ll... She pondered the thought for awhile before deciding. Yes. If I have to, I’ll kill her. Twilight sighed. “Fine.” Fluttershy looked up, hope returning to her eyes. “Fine. I’ll be your marefriend, Fluttershy. But on some conditions.” She held up a hoof to silence the yellow pony’s squeal of happiness. “First, don’t refer to me as Kira. The last thing we want is for you to give the game away because of a slip of the tongue. From now on, you will always refer to me as Twilight or Twilight Sparkle.” Fluttershy nodded eagerly. “Of course, Twilight.” “Secondly, I’m keeping this Death Note.” Twilight levitated Geldus’ notebook from where she’d laid it at her side and floated it across the room, setting it down on her desk. “If I need you to kill somepony for me, I’ll give you clippings from the book, which I will expect you to return to me at the earliest opportunity. Third, you will do everything I tell you to do, immediately and without question. That’s even if I don’t tell you the whole plan, and especially if it doesn’t make sense to you at the time. Understood?” “Yes, Twilight. I trust you.” “And one more thing.” Twilight looked around at the two gods in the room. They were both staring down at them, one with curiosity, the other with contempt. "Byuk, Mer, leave us." Mer snorted. Flaps of bone rose up around her neck. "I don't think so," she growled. "I don't take orders from meat." "Better do what she says," Byuk advised her. "Believe me, you don't want to see her when she's really angry." Fluttershy turned to the two gods. "It's okay, Mer," she reassured her companion. "I think... I want to be alone with Twilight right now. If I need you to come back, I'll call your name, okay?" “Only if she calls your name,” Twilight added. Mer stared down in frustration at the yellow pony. Byuk smiled awkwardly and tried to drag the bony shinigami away by her leg. She swatted his clawed hoof away, but nevertheless followed him as he drifted away through the wall. "I'll show you around," the two ponies heard as his voice grew further and further away. "Hey, Mer, have you ever tried a pony realm apple?" The two ponies were left staring towards each other. Twilight sighed. "Fluttershy... this is going to be hard for me. But before we do anything else, there’s something we have to get out of the way. Come here." Without hesitation the pegasus cleared the distance between them, halting just inches away from the object of her adoration. She sat down, smiling up at Twilight. "Do you understand that what you did was wrong?" Twilight continued. "Huh? Oh, yes, I do." Fluttershy nodded rapidly. "I promise, I won't kill any more ponies unless you specifically ask me to." "That's not good enough." Twilight gritted her teeth. “Kira’s ended countless lives for far less than what you’ve done. You deserve nothing less than that. If you serve me well, maybe you can one day make up for your actions. But until then... there’s something I want you to understand.” She sighed again and looked down at her new marefriend’s frozen face. "Fluttershy, close your eyes." The pegasus immediately complied. "Do you remember Sweetie Belle?" "Yes," Fluttershy said. "She said bad things about you. She tried to turn everypony against you." "I know. But she was also just a little filly. She had two best friends, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and a family who loved her very much. She loved to sing and draw and help her sister in the boutique. She was obsessed with finding her cutie mark. Sometimes, you used to foalsit for her. She looked up to you and respected you. She was your friend. She was my friend, too. And you killed her. You killed her." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. A hot wetness made its way down one of her cheeks. "This is for her." Before the pegasus mare could react or even realize what was happening, Twilight reared up, screeched, and swung her hoof as hard as she could towards Fluttershy's face. The blow sent Fluttershy tumbling across the room. She cried out softly as she fell, more out of surprise than pain, and instinctively spread her wings to try to steady herself. She collided with the corner of Twilight's bed, causing her to let out another squeak, then came to a complete halt on her side. Her eyes opened and she stared up fearfully at Twilight, who had lowered herself back to all fours and was panting heavily. “Fluttershy,” the purple mare repeated, “come here.” Hesitantly, the pegasus rose to her hooves. She stumbled forwards and sat down in front of Twilight again, not daring to look away from her. “Close your eyes.” Trembling, she shut her eyes for a second time. Twilight growled and leaned forward, her hot breath sending ripples across Fluttershy’s mane. The unicorn’s voice dropped as she whispered into Fluttershy’s ear. “This is for Sensation Shine.” The second blow came with even less warning than the first. Twilight wasn’t a fighter, but her near-total comprehension of pony physiology made up for it. As she screamed again, her hind legs pushed against the floor at the same time as her front hoof swung upwards, launching her into an uppercut that connected with Fluttershy’s chin and lifted the yellow pegasus completely off her hooves. The struck pony twisted in midair and landed heavily on one of her wings, eliciting another squeak of pain. Twilight lowered herself to a standing position. The edges of her mane were starting to become unruly. “Fluttershy,” she said again. “Come here.” Fluttershy let out a tiny mewl as she rolled onto her hooves. Already a bruise was starting to form from where the first punch had landed, and one of her wings appeared slightly out of alignment with the other. Her head was reeling, and the room seemed to be spinning around her. Even so, she managed to put one hoof in front of the other and collapsed into a sitting position in front of Twilight a third time. This time, she did not need to be told to close her eyes. The unicorn gently traced the contours of her marefriend’s face. Even with her limited medical experience, she could feel the chip her hoof had taken out of her jaw. Fluttershy whimpered as Twilight pressed against the injury, but said nothing. Twilight sighed and drew herself closer to Fluttershy again. “This is for Sunny Days,” she whispered. This time, Fluttershy could feel the kick coming. Still, she did nothing as Twilight turned around, braced herself against the floor, and kicked out powerfully with both her hind legs. It was hardly a buck worthy of the Apple family, but as it caught Fluttershy in the chest it was enough to force the air from her lungs and send her sailing across the room. She slammed against a shelf against the far wall, resulting in a small rain of paperbacks onto her battered body. She choked, gasping for air, as Twilight returned again to her standing position. “Fluttershy,” she said, more quietly than the times before. “Come here.” Fluttershy couldn’t stand. She could only crawl, dragging herself inch by inch across the floor. She wheezed and gasped for breath, finally collapsing in front of Twilight. “Sit up,” the unicorn commanded. Painfully, she clawed herself into a more upright position. “Close your eyes.” Fluttershy looked up, whimpering. Tears snaked their way down both of her cheeks. “Fluttershy,” Twilight growled, “close your eyes.” Trembling, the pegasus complied. Twilight leaned in for the final time. “And this,” she whispered, “is for me.” Without another thought, the unicorn took a deep breath, wrapped her forelegs around Fluttershy, and pulled her into a kiss. Fluttershy’s eyes snapped open. As Twilight’s lips pressed against her own she froze up, afraid to gasp, to move, or even to breathe. She was struck by the impression that she was floating; it took her a second to realize that she was actually being lifted into the air. Twilight’s horn lit up brightly, surrounding them both with a gentle magical glow. A soothing warmness filled the pegasus’ chest, easing her pain and calming her aching lungs. The darkening bruise on her cheek dwindled and faded to nothing, while her crumpled wing straightened and automatically flexed back into place. Even the burning in her jaw faded into nothing more than a dull ache. As the light dimmed and she drifted downwards every muscle in her body relaxed, feeling as though she was melting under Twilight’s touch. A soft sigh escaped her and she slowly closed her eyes once again. After what seemed like an eternity, Twilight pulled away. She wiped her mouth on her hoof and backed off. “I don’t love you, Fluttershy,” she explained. “I don’t think I can ever love you, after what you’ve done. But I’ll be your marefriend. And together, we’ll defeat L and bring forth a new era of peace and harmony for all ponies.” She paused for effect. The words seemed to be lost on Fluttershy, who was still frozen as if in a trance. Twilight sighed. “You’ll feel some swelling on one side of your mouth for a few weeks,” she added. “That’s normal. Try not to touch it and you’ll be fine.” “Twilight...” Fluttershy mumbled, still barely listening. “That was wonderful.” “Hm? Yeah. Fine.” Twilight looked away, feeling a blush come to her cheeks. Was that overkill? she wondered, glancing at the yellow pony’s glazed expression. No. Her response to the punishment was a good indication of her loyalty, but I still need her to trust me as much as possible. The more attached she is, the easier she’ll be to control. “That’s all. You can call for Mer now.” This seemed to snap the pegasus out of her trance. “Oh! Okay. Mer!” she called, a little more loudly than Twilight liked. “You can come back now!” As Fluttershy continued to sit, Twilight busied herself around her bed. “It’s probably best if you stay here for the night. In the spare bed,” she added as Fluttershy’s eyes lit up. “I’ll wake you first thing in the morning so you can get home before anypony notices. Afterwards, don’t try to contact me again. I’ll come to you if, and only if, I need you. If you disobey me, or if I even suspect that you can’t be trusted, I will kill you. Don’t think I won’t.” “You will not do that, Twilight Sparkle.” The ghostly voice sent a strong shiver through Twilight. She turned around. Mer had floated through the wall and was hovering over Fluttershy, glaring daggers at the unicorn. Byuk had entered behind her and was trying to keep his distance. “I promised Geldus that I would protect Fluttershy,” the white shinigami continued. “I know how much time she had left before picking up the Death Note. Even half that amount would be worth a large number of your years. If she dies before that time, then I will blame you, Twilight Sparkle... and I will write your name in my Death Note.” Twilight gulped. “That’s against the rules,” she protested. “I have them all memorized. A god of death may not kill the owner of a different-” “Against the rules,” Mer interrupted, “but not impossible.” Well, so much for that plan. Twilight bit her lip and stared at the god and pony together. Seeing the way that Mer positioned her legs above Fluttershy, almost like a protective embrace, gave Twilight another idea. “Wait a minute,” she said, thinking aloud. “Mer. Fluttershy’s happiness is important to you, isn’t it?” “Not to me,” the god answered defensively. “But it was to Geldus. It’s for his sake that I choose to protect her.” A hint of a grin started to appear on Twilight’s face. “In that case,” she continued, “would you consider killing L?” Fluttershy gasped, but Twilight ignored her. “I know you’re not supposed to tell us her name, but there’s no rule that says you can’t kill her yourself. Right now, L is the one hunting us down. Without her in the picture, Fluttershy and I wouldn’t have to hide any more. We’d be able to live together, and rule the new world together in peace. I think that would make Fluttershy very happy. Right, Fluttershy?” “Oh, yes!” The pegasus rose up and rushed to Twilight’s side, wrapping a wing around her. She looked up pleadingly at the pale god. “Would you, Mer? If I could stay with Twilight forever, that would be so wonderful!” Mer stared down at them, her face unreadable. Byuk moved beside her, shaking his head desperately. “Don’t do it, Mer,” he pleaded. “This is the perfect game those two have going! Don’t stop it just because somepony asked you to!” Silence fell over the room. Mer continued to glare, her eyes boring into the unicorn like drills. After she felt enough time had passed, Twilight sighed. “Fine,” she said. “It was just a thought.” She shrugged Fluttershy’s wing off of her and turned away. “I’ll get some bedsheets out of the cupboard. Try and-” Mer spoke. “All right.” Twilight looked up. “All right,” Mer repeated. “I’ll do it.” She floated down and landed heavily on the floor, her legs creaking and flexing beneath her. “I don’t like you, Twilight Sparkle. But if it will make Fluttershy happy, then I will kill this pony for you.” Byuk started to protest again, but Mer’s glare cut him off. “Her death will make no difference to me. L is just another pony. Fluttershy is the only one who matters.” “Oh, thank you!” Fluttershy broke away from Twilight and ran over to the pale god, nuzzling one of her legs. “Thank you, Mer,” she mumbled, smiling widely. “You don’t know how happy this makes me.” Twilight slowly became aware that she had stiffened up. She’s really going to do it? The god’s next words snapped her out of her stupor. “When would you like me to do it?” Mer asked. “Oh... um...” Twilight blinked and thought quickly. “Sometime in the next few days. Not right away. The others would find it suspicious if L died right after I joined the team, and... I don’t want to involve them if I don’t have to.” Inside the unicorn’s head, her shocked expression slowly morphed into a twisted grin of delight. Could it really be so simple? she wondered. I didn’t really think that would work. But it looks like this shinigami will be the answer to all my problems. Once again, the worst day of my life has turned into the best thing that’s ever happened to me. L will die. I’ve won. --- Dear Princess Luna, I’m afraid our troubles have been doubled. L has determined that the recent broadcast from the Ponyville hub station was the work of a second Kira masquerading as the first. The new entity, dubbed Kira II, has been shown to be more violent and impulsive than the first, openly killing ponies who are not a threat to him. Fortunately, L believes that this impulsiveness will also make him easier to track. Already we have unearthed some key information that may lead us to the second Kira’s hiding place. Better yet, L is confident that capturing the second Kira will lead us directly to the first. With luck, I will be able to report the arrest of both Kiras to you within a matter of days. Your faithful servant, Colgate Next episode: The golems return!