//------------------------------// // "Life" // Story: Death Note: Alight Equestria // by DeviousNights //------------------------------// Aryan Blues arrived at her house at approximately 7:07 PM. She entered her house, instantly taking off her uniform in relief. Her day had been complete crap up until that point. The turning point of her day was always to see her baby Lasagna's face, be it crying or smiling. He was the joy that brought her day to its high point unfailingly every day. Lasagna himself was lying in his crib, eyes closed. He didn't move, it seemed as if he was asleep. Aryan picked up the burgundy foal and held his face to her cheek, letting her warmth gradually go into her child's body. She sat in her comfort chair as she held her baby close and wept. She didn't want to leave her child. Every day she so much as lived she was fighting against a possible “god.” The mere thought of her dropping dead at any second of any day made her fear for not only her life, but her child's. For who knew a son more than the mother; who could care for a child more than a mother? She was seriously considering turning in her badge at this point. But that wouldn't do any justice to her reputation. Not only was she the first female Hoovington police commander, but she was also the youngest pony, mare or stallion, to be chosen for the position. If she gave up now, she would be giving up on the entire city. And that wasn't a thought she wanted to just “have to live with.” She wanted to protect the ponies... but where was the line between her personal safety, her child's safety, and the safety of the rest of the city? These sorts of thoughts rushed through her head almost every minute of every day. To have your life threatened by a “god” every day was something she just could not handle. At some points she just felt like popping her entire supply of antidepressant medication. The only thing preventing her from doing so was her badge and her son. However, in the midst of her contemplating, a knock was heard at the door. Out of shock, she quickly took her son to his crib and covered him in a blanket so nopony could see him--no one knew she even had a son. She opened the door and Colonel Dynamo fell flat onto his face, having leaned against the door as he popped his head through. "Aggghh..." the colonel moaned as he attempted to recover from his failed comedy act. He didn't have his uniform on today, so Aryan figured it must have been his off day. She giggled. It was never a dull moment with Colonel Dynamo around. He stood up, shaking his head as mini video game controllers flew around it. He shook them away and looked Aryan in the eyes. "Yeah...can I come in?" he asked, scratching his deep black mane. "Sure you can." Aryan said, stepping to the side and patting his head sisterly as he walked through the door. Her living room was very organized: couches were placed in perfect symmetry from each other, and not a single picture hanging was crooked. The only out of place thing was a few white stains on the carpet. Colonel Dynamo shrugged it off; he was sure white was hard to get off black anyways. He plunked himself onto her couch, back hooves hanging off the back pillows and his head hanging off the couch cushion. Aryan sat herself on the couch across from him, sitting upright with one hoof crossed over the other. "So what's been good with you, Aryan?" he asked, squinting his eyes as the blood began to rush to his head. "Nothing really, you know me, just still being Aryan." she answered turning away to hide her laughter at his rapidly reddening complexion. "I think we both know why I'm here, anyway. We gotta talk." Dynamo’s voice grew serious, but it was hard to take him seriously with his forehead starting to turn a bright red. "It's about the notebook… isn't it?" "It is, I knew you'd remember! I'd been thinking that the notebook was the cause of it." Dynamo explained, finally deciding to turn upright before he fainted. "The notebook did say that the pony’s name written in it would die. It wouldn't surprise me… I just didn't think that it was for real at the time." “I can see why.” Aryan said kindly. “I don't want to think that's what's causing it, but it seems to be the case, especially with some of them dying from those inexplicable heart attacks. I remember it also said that if you didn’t write a cause of death, the pony would just die of a heart attack." she remembered aloud, looking towards the ground. She was saddened at the thought that if they had just burned the notebook, this wouldn't have happened. "I just remember it so… vividly. Had we done something, this wouldn't be happening. I mean, the notebook in the middle of a grassy field? That's a little too devilish for it to be a joke." Dynamo continued the trip down memory lane. "We just saw it and picked it up. I felt this odd sensation the moment I picked it up." Aryan recounted. The scene played out in her head like an old movie. "I did too. It was a really creepy feeling." Dynamo said, twirling a portion of his mane in his hoof. "I just didn't think that a simple notebook could have that sort of effect on the world... this is all our fault." Aryan said, holding her head in her hooves. “It's not. It's no one's fault.” Dynamo reassured her. “Whatever happens, happens. There's nothing we can say or do to change it at this point, all right? The only thing we should be worried about is catching Kira. He, or she, is the evil one here. Speaking of, L has been keeping contact with the Regiment Commander, and she herself is planning on camping out in Hoovington, just in case. Aryan slightly smiled. It was ponies like Colonel Dynamo that still gave her a glimmer of hope for this world. Despite being young and naive, he was still able to take things seriously when the time and mood called for it, and that was a balance that Aryan approved of. "Speaking of evil, have you seen a large, black, genie-like… thingy flying around at all? I see it sometimes, but it's always in the Hoovington area." Colonel Dynamo questioned, doubting himself and wondering if he had actually seen anything. "No, I haven't seen anything out of the ordinary. But that may be because I'm not exactly always on the streets, especially with this Kira case occurring. I'm always in my office, trying to find a way to protect my ponies… assuming I was right about him being based in Hoovington." she explained lifting her head from her hooves to face Colonel Dynamo, his goofy smile gone. She didn't often see him as serious as he was. The last time… It was a bit more than a week ago, when they had encountered the notebook on an off-the-job stroll. They were walking by the courthouse building and had seen the notebook in the field, abandoning their path to examine it. He had sounded deathly serious when reading it, calling it a sick joke. Aryan flashed back to the present as Dynamo was describing his “large, black, genie-like thingy.” "I dunno, Aryan, it just seemed so real to me. It's this giant black thing with giant black wings with a giant black belt and giant black claws." he explained, his smirk sneaking back on his face as he attempted to contain his laughter at his repetitive description of the creature. "See, this is why I can never take you seriously." she giggled. Her snickers soon evolved into a high pitched laughter. "Thank you, thank you, I'll be here all week." he said, taking a bow in front of his imaginary audience. Aryan shook her head, wiping tears from her eyes. "No, I'm actually serious, I need to stake out here for the rest of the week." Colonel Dynamo said, his smile disappearing again. "Wait--what?" "Yeah, the Regiment Commander told me I needed to stay in Hoovington for the next week or so and look for any suspicious activity, and I'm gonna need a place to stay.” he paused. “And... the hotels don't have the computers I need to play my games on." "Well, if you have t--" "Great! I'll grab my stuff!" Dynamo brightened, trotting out the door to grab three large suitcases, one in each hoof and one in his mouth, and dragged them into her living room, popping one open to reveal a very hi-tech computer. "Oh, is that for the investigation?" "Nope, this is for Ponycraft." Aryan face palmed. ~ The Attorney General and the State Prosecutor were planning out their next course of action. "All right, here’s what we’re going to have to do. We can't afford one of us getting caught, and the Death Note being taken. Then they'd pretty much figure out everything, and the other would be discovered immediately. Ryuuk isn't exactly unnoticeable, and neither is your... Shinigami." Major explained. "Barragan." Lawrence said, filling in the blank he had left. "Right. So here’s our plan of action… Let me see your notebook." Major gestured towards Lawrence’s satchel. Lawrence took out his notebook and placed it, cover down, onto the table, so that the words “Death Note” weren’t visible. Major pulled the notebook towards him, tore out seven pages from the notebook, and gave the pages back to Lawrence. He then put the Death Note into his own bag. "I want you to start killing officers. Not the higher-up ones, but deputies. They will most likely see this isn't the work of Kira, since I only punish criminals. Since you are punishing some of their own, they will likely put the bulk of their attention on “Kira 2.” Then, in the background, I'll continue my work. I'll hide this notebook in the rendezvous point we agreed on, and, assuming something happens, we both know where it is, got it?" "Of course, my Lord." Rarity was severely frightened at this point. She liked Nightmare and all (she wasn’t going to give up calling him Nightmare, not matter how much he preferred “Major,”) but what he was doing wasn't right in the slightest. She could see his point, wanting to "light the world," but she felt there was a much better way of going about doing this. Killing, even for the right reasons, wasn't something that she condoned easily. But she fought to make an exception for him. Nightmare seemed capable of the power given to him, considering the fact that he had not been caught yet. "For now, just continue as if we never met today. And follow my exact orders as soon as you get back to your office." "Yes, my lord." The two simultaneously got up, and Rarity followed Nightmare as he walked in the opposite direction. "Nightmare… what's about to happen?" "I'm gonna have a little mess I made cleaned up." The Attorney General arrived back at his office and immediately powered up his computer, spreading out a page from the notebook. He shoved the rest of the pages into the Kira case file. He looked up the words "DL-4 INCIDENT CASE PERSONNEL INVOLVED” on his computer, and then began writing the names of everyone involved in the case that Major had lost into the notebook. The judge, the jurist, the witnesses, the defense attorney, making sure they would all die in various ways. He then deleted permanently, the record of Major ever being involved in the case. He sat back, looking at the setting sun, proud of his work. "Let's make a new world together."