Death Note: Equestria

by Nonagon

Condemned

27
*Condemned*

The number of pages in the Death Note will never run out.

For the first time since she was a little filly, Twilight Sparkle had been sent to her room.

The hardest part of spy work, as it turned out, was waiting. Waiting as the two Apple sisters spent a lazy afternoon together, waiting as Applejack left in the evening to do the work she’d been putting off for Apple Bloom's sake, waiting as the older siblings returned one by one and performed their own, private rituals before going to bed. Endlessly waiting for a sign of life from Granny Smith — one that, deep down, she already knew would never come. Twilight considered herself a more patient mare than most, at least when it came to her own affairs, but it quickly became clear that waiting for somepony else to do something was setting her on edge. As the night stretched on longer and she caught herself fidgeting in her seat more and more often, L had finally turned to her and ordered — not suggested, ordered — that she go to bed.

The setup in Twilight's room was no different than any of the others in the base. It was small and rectangular, almost bare aside from a cot, a lamp and whatever she'd managed to bring with her. She lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling, unable to tear her mind away from the screens in the other room.

Sleep wouldn't be coming easily. She'd had the foresight to secure the room next to Spike's, so at least she had the soft, familiar sound of his snoring to distract her from the strangeness of her surroundings. The walls here were made of stone. True, she'd slept surrounded by stone in Canterlot as well, but at least there there were windows and a whole library to keep her company. This felt more like a cell, more so than even her actual padded cell had. Day by day, the whole complex was starting to feel more and more like a prison.

There was little comfort to be found in any of her possessions. She'd already skimmed through most of the books she'd arrived with on her first day, and felt no inclination to pass more time by finishing them off. The bag of potato chips Pinkie Pie had given her lay in the corner, still unopened. Seeing that she wasn’t likely to leave the base anytime soon, these might as well have been the sum total of all her worldly possessions. Well, those and her wristwatch.

Twilight lifted her leg above her head and stared at the device, which was still wrapped habitually around her ankle. The time was close to midnight. Why did I get this? she asked herself. It's not like I don't want it... It's kind of handy to have. But why did I choose that moment? Why so soon after I got back from Canterlot? When I went to the store, I had... some kind of reason... I was looking for... She closed her eyes, frowning deeply. Why can't I remember?

The thought nagged at her. While part of her insisted that it had just been another day, that it hadn't been important, her own paranoia started to spring back full force. She reached out and idly ran her other hoof along the watch’s outer edge, stopping when she reached the tiny nub of the dial. Oh, that was it! This one caught my eye because it has a hidden case, in case I needed to... to... She shook her head. To write something down in a hurry? Was that it?

Habitually, she reached out to the device with her magic, only to meet a now familiar resistance inside her skull. Rolling her eyes in frustration, she instead drew her hoof close to her face and awkwardly took the dial in between her teeth. She tugged three times in rapid succession, and the hidden drawer sprung open. That was it. Now... wait...

Something had been placed inside her wristwatch. Twilight held it up to the chemiluminescent glow of her bedside lamp, squinting into the narrow interior. Hidden in the secret compartment, secured by elastic bands to keep it from moving about, was a folded piece of paper. A thin piece of pencil lead lay on top of it, similarly restrained. Twilight frowned. While she recalled buying the wristwatch for more or less this purpose, she couldn't remember ever actually filling it.

Is this one of L's games? she wondered. Did she put something in here while I was imprisoned, just to mess with me? That's a poor joke. Maybe she was just trying to be helpful? Curiously, she tried to reach into the compartment to scrape the paper out, but stopped short. Her hoof was too big to fit inside the drawer.

"Oh, come on!" she said aloud, once again reminded of her missing abilities; with magic, it would have taken barely a thought to pull the paper from its bindings. In frustration she leaned forward and pressed her snout into the her watch, but still couldn't get close to the page inside. Her tongue brushed against the elastics, but couldn’t shift them. She held her leg high over her head and tried again with her other hoof, pushing as hard as she could into the metal. She smiled in triumph as she felt the very tip of her hoof press against the pencil lead inside. Just... a little... further...

There was a barely audible click as the lead snapped in half. One end remained where it was, pressed against the mysterious paper by a sturdy elastic, while the other came loose and bounced off of Twilight's hoof before falling directly into her eye. "Ow!" she yelled, sitting bolt upright and abandoning her search to rub her hoof against her stinging face. She glared at her wristwatch before sliding the hidden drawer shut. So much for that. What good's a secret compartment if I can't even get at what's inside? Grumbling in irritation, she slid the device off her ankle and placed it next to her lamp, then turned the light off. Just another mystery. I'll figure it out later...

Resigned to rest at last, Twilight slid under her covers and laid her head on her pillow. She nestled down into it, brushing her mane away from her forehead. She was still struggling to get used to it not parting around her horn. I hope we get to the bottom of this soon. I don't know how much more waiting I can take...

The door was set tight against the wall and floor, permitting only the dimmest haze of light to sneak into the room. It was, without a doubt, the darkest place that Twilight had ever slept in. She closed her eyes and forced herself through her breathing exercises. Her brain, ever occupied with logic and mysteries, was slow to let drowsiness overtake it. Even after an hour of relaxation went by, the best she could manage was a restless and uncomfortable sleep.

She would not have been surprised to learn that she was being watched. What she could not have predicted, however, was the nature of the one whose eyes were locked on her sleeping form.

Mer stared down at the sleeping pony with no small amount of distaste. She rolled a pair of small objects around in the claws that extended from her forehooves. One was the crystallized head of the insect she'd plucked from the wall of Twilight's room; they were peculiar, ingenious little things that she refused to admit she was growing a fondness for. The other was a tiny, almost invisible ball of paper, torn from the corner of a certain page.

For the most part, Mer considered ponies to be such predictable, boring creatures. Their minds seemed no more developed than their impish, uselessly biological bodies; compared to a naturally perfect being such as herself, manipulating the helpless little things was starting to become embarrassing. However, a few, as she was slowly discovering, did have their amusing little uses. The little one, for instance, would make such horrible noises when touched — but noises that would bring the others running to her, bizarre as that seemed. The orange one had all sorts of quirks, performing disgusting, meaty displays of kissing and crying at the strangest of times. And as for this one in particular...

Twilight shivered in her sleep as the god of death slipped closer. She didn't react as the paper was dragged lightly along her throat, pressed just hard enough to slip through her coat and brush against her skin. Mer lifted the fragment up. A light blue magic glowed along her extended leg, and a puff of blue flame consumed the paper without any trace of heat or ash. She crushed the crystal in her other hoof to powder and threw it aside.

In the main base, there was a faint crackle as the signal to a small stratoscreen cut out. The image, already displaying blackness, did not change. L glanced at this, then stood up. Leaving Bon Bon to monitor the screens in her place, she crept quietly down the hallway to Twilight's room and stood silently, leaning forward just far enough to press her ear against the door.

There was nothing to be heard. There were no rustles, no magical sparks, no hum to indicate the lantern was turned on. There was nothing to hear because Twilight Sparkle was being forcefully held down by a creature more than twice her size.

Twilight tried desperately to twist away, but none of her limbs would move. Her eyes bulged in the darkness without focusing, straining to make out some sign of movement above her. Despite her blanket she felt cold, like she was bathing in ice. Several words flashed through her mind — sleep paralysis, night terrors, dreams — before she became fully aware of the claws clamping her mouth shut. Her attempted scream withered as something sharp pressed against her throat, just hard enough to hurt. She let a shudder run through her, trying to find some part of her that was free to move, when a voice like silk being threaded through a wound whispered in her ear. "What kind of game are you trying to play, Twilight Sparkle?"

Twilight froze. She could feel, though not see, a large head just inches away from her own. Frigid breath on her cheek made the hairs on her face stand on end. "Do you think I am a fool?" the creature continued, contempt ringing in every word. "I have played your game, exactly as you asked, and was led to believe that the one who matters would be freed. So why do your ponies plot and scheme against me? Why does the pony you swore to protect remain in chains? I know that you and your pathetic pony friends are up to something. Do you expect me to believe that your plan was as simple as you claimed?"

"Mmph?" Twilight could barely focus on the creature's words, only enough to know that they didn't make sense. Her analytical subconscious was starting to note hard lines against her skin, like long limbs bent at impossible angles to restrain her legs, somehow at once weightless yet powerful as iron. But much as she tried, her panicked mind couldn’t resolve these sensations into any coherent whole. All she could think about was the sharpness of the claws against her neck, like knives. Like scissors.

“How much do they know?” the creature hissed. “What else do you think you can hide from me?” The claws withdrew from her mouth, but the second set remained pressed to her throat. “And do not lie to me again, little pony. I’m attuned to your poisoned words. Promises mean nothing from a pony so vile that she would murder her closest companions.”

Twilight said nothing. She could formulate no possible response. She only stared upwards, her eyes straining in the darkness, willing herself not to breathe. The face above her shifted, tilting from one side of her to the other, as though examining her. “Or do you remember me at all?” it murmured.

From an unseen source, a dark blue light lit up the space between Twilight and her attacker. She tried not to gasp as a face like a demon's corpse filled her field of view, pale skin coming to rest over a mountain of malformed bones. Its expression was one of rage restrained only by curiosity. And though Twilight would have sworn that she had never seen this monster before, in those giant, alien eyes she detected something not unlike familiarity, as though this monster had seen her before. As though it knew her.

The light only lasted a matter of seconds before fading, flickering briefly from a spectral blue to a more pure white. And in this moment of clarity, one detail caught Twilight’s eye that struck her to her core. At the tips of the creature’s disgusting, wormlike mane, flashes of colour stood out against its pale skin. Purple against white.

Twilight spoke, so softly that she couldn’t hear her own voice. “Rarity?”

The Rarity-demon cackled. “So, you’ve given up the Note,” she said, returning to words that Twilight couldn’t understand. “A coward to the end. Was this your means of escaping me? Did you think that if you could not remember, you would no longer be guilty of your crimes?” The scissor-claws tightened around Twilight’s neck. “All you’ve done is taken away the one thing that stopped me from killing you, any... way... I... want.”

Twilight stared at nothing. The pressure above her was unbearable. Her lips moved, but she didn’t dare speak. Rarity, I tried to save you. I never wanted this. I did everything I could. I loved you, Rarity. I loved you.

After just enough time had passed for Twilight to again start struggling to move, the pressure on her neck lessened. “No, not yet,” the skeletal beast whispered. “We have loose ends to tie.” She lifted herself away from the bed. As soon as she was free, Twilight tried to spring up and make a rush for the door. She got about halfway up before what felt like a paralyzingly cold hoof shoved her back down. Her flailing leg knocked her wristwatch from the bedside table, but she didn’t hear it hit the ground. “We’ll meet again, Twilight Sparkle,” the monster hissed. “I’m done playing your game. It’s time for you to start playing mine. And when I’ve won... you’ll understand why a simple death is too good for you.”

Silence. Twilight listened to the sound of her own heavy breathing, still trying to process what had just occurred. She could see only the dimmest glow of light around the door. Slowly, she started to rise again.

Blue fire lit up the room. With a ghostly shriek, a creature made from bones and ice lunged at Twilight from the ceiling. She had just enough time to scream before a wave of cold and pressure hit her.

The door opened. “Twilight?” L called, poking her face into the darkened room. “Are you all right?”

Shivering, Twilight opened her eyes, then immediately shut them against what felt like blinding light. She began to move, then stopped. She was flat on her back with her covers pulled up to her neck, the sheets pulled taut around her. Her hoof flew up to her throat; there was nothing. She felt nothing.

Dimly, a silhouette came into view above her. “You screamed,” L said flatly. “Is everything all right?”

Twilight squinted, blinking slowly. She glanced at her bedside table. Her wristwatch was exactly where she’d left it. “I’m... fine,” she mumbled, uncertainly. She sighed. “Just a bad dream.”

---

Rainbow Dash slept less than usual. She'd spent the night in her cloud house, trying very hard not to think too much as she let stress and exhaustion claim her. She awoke as the sun rose, an event she'd only actually witnessed a few times in her life, and lay in bed just staring at the ceiling. After a few minutes of this she groaned and stood up, shaking out her mane angrily.

After drinking a glass of water for breakfast, Dash went to her front door and looked out over Ponyville. She could see the park in the distance, and could almost make out the grove of trees that would be her destination. No point putting this off, she sighed. Just gotta get back and tell L...

...tell her what?

She paused a little longer. The events of last night jumbled together in her head, perpetually replaying out of order and at the wrong volume. As she tried to sort what she’d learned into a coherent message for the hundredth time, a simple warning returned to float to the top of her brain.

“But promise me you’ll be careful who you tell this to. ‘Cause if Byuk’s Kira finds out that you’re onto her, she might choose that as the moment to make her move. Strictly speakin’, Ah don’t think she needs any of you alive.”

Dash shuddered. Suddenly, the distant trees were looking a lot less inviting. I have to tell somepony, she reminded herself. There’s no way I can afford to keep this to myself. But... The prospect of death gave the mare unusual foresight. She tried to play out how the meeting would go, doing her best to anticipate how many ears might be listening in. Obviously I have to tell L, she decided. Not that she won’t just suspect Twilight again, but...

She sighed, then frowned. But how? If I announce to everypony that one of us might be a spy, then the real Kira will definitely know we’re on to her. But if I just choose one or two ponies to tell, and I choose wrong... or if I ask to speak to L alone, and Twili— the real Kira thinks I’m excluding her...

A selection of enthusiastic plans for hidden notes and hoof signals sprung up in her mind, but she quickly shot these down. If the real Kira had managed to conceal herself from L for so long, then she was definitely smart enough to be on the lookout for anything she tried to slip past her. The alternative, though equally impossible, seemed to be her only choice. Dash closed her door and sighed deeply, bracing herself for the task to come. “If I can’t tell anypony about the real Kira,” she said aloud, though her words did the opposite of comfort her, “then I’ll just have to find her myself.”

In other words, she was going to try to do in one morning what the greatest detective in all of Equestria hadn’t been able to accomplish in more than a month.

This was going to take some thinking. At the very least, she could start to narrow it down.

Despite a thorough search of her house, Rainbow Dash was disappointed to discover that a blackboard didn't magically appear right when she needed one. She found a quill and ink, but this seemed hardly satisfactory for the complexity of the task that she was about to embark on. Just as she was about to give up, she was able to locate a box of ancient crayons and paper in an old cupboard, underneath a pile of Rainbow Dash hats and well-loved ticket stubs. "These'll do," she said to herself, brushing aside foalhood sketches of the Wonderbolts and storm clouds before finding a selection of clean pages.

She settled down on the cloud-weave carpet and did her best to get into what she called the "Twilight mindset", pursing her lips into the most thoughtful expression she could manage. When this failed to provide immediate results, she sighed and wrote down the biggest question on the top of her first page.

Who can I trust?

After a moment of thought, in which she pictured endless circles of friends and crowds of adoring fans, she picked up her crayon again and amended this to:

Who can't I trust?

Okay, who are the suspects? Dash rubbed her eyes, trying to think back to Applejack's exact words. Somepony on our team, so that’s one, two... ten total. The real Kira isn't a pegasus pony, which means it's not me, Fluttershy, or... Derpy. She rolled her eyes. Well, no surprise there. Using a different colour for each pony, she wrote down the first three names and then immediately crossed them out. All three, blue, yellow and grey, she laid in a neat row next to the box for later use.

Applejack seemed to think it was a mare, so that's Spike and Jazz out. She did some quick writing and crossing out, then smiled down at her work. Wow, down by half already. This detective-ing stuff is easier than I thought.

Twilight... She would be the tricky one. Dash awkwardly bit her lip around the purple crayon and put a question mark next to her friend's name, resolving to come back to it last. Then there's Colgate... but she's with the police and stuck with Fluttershy. Probably not her. Locket's a little kooky, but in the ‘waah, I wish I was as popular as you’ way, not so much... She considered this. I’ll put her down as a maybe.

That was eight, with six in the clear and two suspects. The pegasus nodded warily, reaching down to her crayon box again. So that just leaves Bon Bon, who spends way too much time in the kitchen to have any room for killing... She laid a pink crayon next to the others in a line beside her. And...

and...

The green crayon never met the paper. It fell from Rainbow Dash’s lips halfway between the box and its destination, tumbling end over end before landing tip-first on the pile she’d assembled. The group began to break apart, the ones on the end starting to roll down the uneven floor in the direction of the kitchen. Dash barely noticed. Her wings slowly contracted tightly against her sides, her jaw slack as she stared at nothing. “No,” she said quietly.

The one pony who treats murder and chaos like her own sick, demented game.

“No.”

The one pony who’s obsessed with catching Kira, no matter what the cost.

“Oh Celestia, please no.”

“Tell me this one thing. Is there anypony on your team who you ever thought might be Kira, even just for a little while, but you later decided she wasn’t? Somepony you look up to? Somepony you think you can trust?” And what was the first thing I ever said to her?

Dash’s lips trembled. “How do we know you are who you say you are?” she echoed. “You might be Kira... trying to trick us.”

She had the brains. She had the motive. She had the identities of every victim on record, sometimes even before they were killed. She knew forbidden, evil magic that not even Twilight would touch. And from day one, she’d done everything she could to keep every attempt to find Kira entirely under her control.

Now shaking, Dash reached down to the green crayon and picked it up again. With grim finality, she wrote one last name at the bottom of the page and then circled it.

L.

Dash sat back, feeling herself panic but managing not to flip out completely. Anger flooded her, then despair. She was hunting Kira, she realized. But... the good Kira. We never mattered; it was all about the game. All that stuff with Twilight and Fluttershy... did she really suspect them? Were they just a distraction? Or... Pure fury raced through her. Did she just think it was funny?

It took a minute for Rainbow Dash to collect herself. She stood still for a moment, grinding her teeth, then shook herself free and straightened up. First and foremost, she needed to think. It couldn’t escape her that she had no proof; all she had was a hunch, one that she herself would admit she couldn’t rely on. Technically both L and Twilight fit the bill... but if it was a toss-up between a clear psychopath and an Element of Harmony, she knew which side she’d put her bits on.

Despite her jittering legs, Dash forced herself to sit down again and fully think her plan through. She couldn’t afford any slip-ups, not when the lives of the entire team were on the line. Instead of solving her original problem, she’d only magnified it; keeping one of the others out of the loop wouldn’t have been too bad, but it was hard to imagine getting others on her side without either L or Twilight finding out. And if one got wind of it, they would almost certainly inform the other, especially given how — Dash ground her teeth — chummy they’d been getting lately. Nopony was going to want to jump back into the accusing game, especially after Twilight’s speech about trusting one another.

As Dash continued to ponder this, fear and fury tightening ever-further in her gut, another chilling thought occurred to her. Assuming Byuk and Mer were playing by the same rules, that probably meant that Byuk’s Kira knew at least as much about the game as Applejack. Most likely more, since she’d been playing for longer. That meant that she would be expecting Applejack to be on the hunt as well, trying to gain allies. And if she had any reason to suspect that Rainbow Dash had been in contact with the enemy...

Dash's subsequent launch from the floor tore a chunk out of the carpet, and her door was flung and left open in blind panic. She crossed the town in thirty seconds and nearly crashed as she raced down to the grove, slipping on the damp grass and getting thrown off-course. She made a final dash to the trapdoor, slid to an abrupt halt, and then knocked as calmly and politely as she could.

When the trapdoor opened she forced herself to walk down the stairs unhurriedly, and mimed a convincing yawn as the iron doors at the bottom opened. It was so convincing, in fact, that she sparked an actual yawn and had to pause for several seconds before greeting the pony waiting for her inside. "Good morning, Twilight."

"Good morning, Dash." Twilight smiled, but it came out slightly strained. "I was starting to worry again. Did you spend the night at your place?"

"Yeah." Dash made her way in, getting herself to yawn a second time. "Sorry I'm late. I just woke up."

"It's fine." Twilight smiled again, a little more genuinely. "I wasn't expecting you for another hour or two, actually."

Subtly rolling her eyes, Dash looked around the rest of the base. All seemed to be business as usual. L apparently hadn't moved since the pegasus had left, still watching over a cluster of screens. Dash tried not to look at her. Nearby, Jazz, Spike and Locket were playing cards at a table. Based on the piles of candied tokens in front of them, Jazz seemed to be winning by a mile. Bon Bon was at the far end of the room with a mop and bucket, cheerfully humming to herself as she washed the floor. Dash sighed and looked to Twilight, who was glancing about distractedly. "You okay, Twilight?" she asked. "You're not looking too good."

"Hm?" Twilight blinked and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah, I'm... fine. Just... haven't been sleeping well."

"Right." Though this shouldn't have been anything unusual, Rainbow couldn't help but notice Twilight's increasingly gaunt appearance, as well as the sunkenness of her eyes. She'd been starting to look like more of her old self after she'd been released from captivity, but it seemed like spending time with L was starting to wear her down all over again. She's starting to look like L, Dash realized with contained horror.

"Good morning, Rainbow Dash," the green unicorn in question said abruptly. She spun around, fixing Dash with a familiar blank stare. While it had once seemed almost endearing, the look now made Dash's skin crawl. "How was your night?"

Dash pursed her lips. "Fine," she said. Stay cool, she told herself. She doesn't know anything. Neither of them know anything, she added, grudgingly reminding herself to stay fair. Between Twilight behind her and L in front, it was hard to keep all of herself still at once.

"I'm glad to hear that." L paused. "I'm... sorry about how I treated you last night," she continued, more slowly. "My words to you were unduly harsh. There was no need for me to delve into your personal life. It will not happen again."

“...Yeah. Thanks.” Dash shifted. The trio at the table were glancing at her, peering over their cards. “Apology accepted. Just... don’t mention it again. Ever.”

She waited, but L didn’t speak again. Neither did she turn away. She kept staring, wearing what might have been a (for her) expectant expression. Dash started to swish her tail as the seconds piled on, going from uncomfortable to thoroughly creeped out. Twilight seemed to share her feelings, making a small, nervous cough. What’s she waiting for? Dash wondered. Does she want me to apologize as well? Or is she expecting me to say... something else?

Just when she thought she could stand it no longer, L spoke again. “In any case,” she carried on just as Dash was preparing to turn away, “I hope that you are well-rested. I have another job for you this evening.”

“What this time?” Dash asked, but L had already turned away and was waving her towards the screens. She looked to Twilight again, who was no longer smiling or looking straight at her. “What’s this about?”

“Rainbow...” Twilight sighed. “This is going to be hard. But you’re going to want to see this.”

Tension mounted as the pair made their way up to the screens, then deflated as Dash got her first good look at them. The Apple homestead was virtually empty; the only sign of life was Apple Bloom, slouched almost motionless in front of a stratoscreen, the same place she'd been when Dash had entered the house yesterday. Two more screens showed a wide view from a pair of mosquitoes on high, covering most of an apple field. Somewhere in the middle of it, specks of orange and red could be seen hard at work kicking shaking trees. "What is it? What am I supposed to be looking at?"

Gulping, Twilight pointed towards one of the screens showing Apple Bloom. "Look at what she's written."

Dash peered closer. The first thing she noticed was that for some reason, the filly was watching a news station; in fact, the same channel that L had on mute in the corner of the desk. But glancing down, she saw something between Apple Bloom and her screen that made her squint closer at the footage. In front of the sofa was a cheap, clunky camera lying on the floor on its side. Next to it was a pencil and a sheet of paper, with sets of one or two words written on individual lines. "I can't read that from here," Dash said. "What is it?"

L answered. "Every time a criminal's face appears, she takes a picture. Then she writes down their name." She tutted. "Everything a healthy Kira needs to grow."

Though she understood what she was hearing, it still took Dash a few moments to put together what the detective was telling her. She took a step back, breathing in. "You mean Apple Bloom is Kira?"

"Unlikely." L shook her head. "Though she notes their names and faces, none of the criminals listed have died, which is in keeping with the current Kira's activities. It is only the day after that victims reported in this way have suffered heart attacks since Twilight's imprisonment. No, this filly is only one third of the Tri-Kira, one of the ways in which they are gathering information." She tapped the page in front of her. "While this may be admissible as evidence of a connection to Kira, it brings us no closer to telling us how the Tri-Kira kills. Which is, once again, where you come in."

Twilight continued. "We think that at some point, all three of them will come together and..." She stopped abruptly, squeezing her eyes shut and looking away. Dash heard her sharply inhale, as though holding something back. "Sorry," she continued, some of the confidence gone from her voice. "We think that at some point, probably on a daily basis, all three of them will come together and deliver their report of who should die and when. With luck, that'll tell us how exactly Kira gets to her victims. We're expecting it to be sometime this evening." She winced, but hid it. "After dinner."

"Wait a minute," Dash said, another thought occurring. "Why tonight? What about last night? You were watching everything that happened after lunch, weren't you? Didn't anything happen then?"

L shook her head. "The answer to that lies in Apple Bloom's page," she said. "Doesn't it seem full, for so early in the day? We observed her continuing this behavior at times last night, and we've run the names from earlier than that. This page covers ponies who were reported on yesterday, as well as today. Additionally, the older sister disrupted her work schedule to spend time with the youngest, and Big Macintosh spent his evening on a reportedly unremarkable night out."

Nearby, Locket blushed. From across the room Bon Bon shot her a wink, which only caused her to sink a little lower behind her cards. She lost the next round of their game, and would lose the next six after that.

Rainbow Dash still looked confused, so Twilight explained it more clearly for her. "We think that they doubled up on... on killing the day before, and then decided to take yesterday off. I don't think I blame them."

Although she already knew the answer, Dash hesitantly found her way to asking another question. "And... what about Granny Smith?" she croaked out.

"All signs point to her being deceased." L flipped back through the notes on her desk again. "A tragedy, really. We believe that her death was most likely a ruse rather than true blackmail, the last laugh of the first Kira. If the real Kira was able to kill without aid, she would not need to entrap ponies into doing her work for her."

Rainbow Dash winced. Wrong.

“But what this means,” Twilight cut in quickly, “is that this is our chance to stop this for good. We’ll put you outside and talk to you by headset while we watch the proceedings from here. As soon as we figure out for sure — for absolutely sure — what gives them their killing power, that’ll be your cue to bust in and put a stop to it. The Apple family aren’t killers; so long as you can take out the source of their power, you should be safe.”

Dash paled. While she couldn't tell what Mer had looked like based on Applejack's limited description, the thought of a God of Death had been running through her mind all night. Anything that had killed a harmless old mare for talking back to her wouldn't think twice about tearing a threatening intruder to ribbons. "W-what if it's something I can't stop?" she said. "I can't fight all three of them."

"Don't worry." Twilight smiled in a way that completely failed to be comforting. "We'll send backup. And we won't send you in unless we’re sure it's something you can handle; if it’s something big or purely magical, we’ll take the time to study it and prepare a counterspell. All you have to do is disrupt the ceremony and get out."

Or snatch up the weapon, more likely, Dash pondered. I wonder which of these two came up with the idea? She looked back and forth between the two unicorns, but this offered no clues. She nodded weakly, though she wanted to scream. "This evening?" she echoed hollowly.

L nodded. "Be prepared." She cracked a hint of a grin. “And if it does come to blows, I have another toy I’ve been itching to try out.”

The pegasus stepped back, suddenly light-headed. Again her time was being cut short, this time with more finality than ever. "I... I don't know if..."

The detective glanced sharply at her, and Dash's words died in her throat. I'm doomed, she realized. If I go, Mer will kill me. If I don't go, Byuk's Kira will think that I know why... and she'll kill me. I can't win. She looked to Twilight, but found no support there. The cursed unicorn was looking at her supportively, and Dash could already hear a dozen variations on "I believe in you" forming on her lips. She briefly considered simply going and not following through, simply staying on her cloud all night, but if she claimed she’d gotten cold hooves it would only mean somepony else attempting the stunt in her place. Scared as she was, she couldn’t send another pony to their deaths.

The trio stayed locked in place for a few moments before Dash sighed. "All right," she said. "When do you want me to head out?"

"After the family has returned. We do not want to risk you being spotted on the approach, and I do not wish to wait for the next rainfall." L looked back to her screens. "You may be there until late. Be sure to have something to eat before you leave."

"...Yeah." Rainbow Dash turned away. Her mind tried to race, but was locked into a pattern of jamming and stalling. Her brain just wasn't built for this kind of marathon plotting. "Twilight, is anypony using Minty right now?"

"Well..." Twilight's face fell a little in disappointment. "I was hoping to do some analysis later, but..."

"You can save it for later. I've got to practice." She shook herself and stalked towards the machine in the middle of the room, starting to stretch out her legs as she called to Jazz. "Hey, old-timer! Ready for another round?"

With a slight smirk and roll of his eyes, Jazz nodded to his companions and rose from the table, laying his cards flat. Bon Bon rested her mop against a desk and slipped into his seat. Rainbow hovered up and began before her mentor arrived, pushing her way through a start-up sequence that was becoming as familiar to her as any flight routine. Minty hummed as her inner crystals began to pulse, opening up access to Canterlot's data banks. It almost felt to Dash as though the abacus was purring with pleasure. Rock farm... rock farm... she repeated to herself, spelling it out letter by letter as she began her search. If I can't figure out how to stop Kira, I want to solve at least one mystery before she kills me.

---

It was late in the day when Rainbow Dash was finally deployed. Applejack and Big Macintosh were late coming home, spending what Twilight was sure was longer than usual at work and meeting with some hired help to discuss changes over the coming weeks. Nightmare Night was coming soon, and Applejack was keen to start preparations for it early. Apple Bloom skipped lunch, only occasionally standing up and moving about throughout the day. By the time the three Apple siblings reunited, they all appeared exhausted. Still they took the time to talk and smile with each other as they made dinner, all three working together in the kitchen to make their own food and some treats for the market tomorrow.

Twilight could barely watch. Everything she saw seemed forced, like something had hollowed out her friends and was moving them about like puppets. Every noise was muffled by what she was certain by the sound of her own heart breaking. She had to take frequent breaks to the kitchen or just to the other side of the room to calm down, which L allowed without note or complaint. By the time dinner rolled around she was close to needing to leave the room again, but the urgency of her mission allowed her to keep her face and voice steady as she spoke into her own microphone. "Rainbow Dash, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear, commander," Dash replied from across town. She was perched comfortably in the middle of a fluffy cloud above Sweet Apple Acres, safely out of sight of the farmhouse. She'd been given a pair of goggles to wear, which connected to a compact crystal-based headset that wrapped around the right side of her head, along with a black stealth suit that was just a little too big across the middle and a tool belt holding three of L's "toys".

Dash occasionally reached back and ran a hoof along the trio of rotund orbs at her side, testing their weight and the strength of the clips binding them to her. The box they'd come out of had been labelled "Smoke and Fire Grenades" but offered no hints as to what they actually did. When pressed, L had simply grinned and given a curt "Just use your imagination."

"Great," Twilight responded. Thankfully, her voice hadn't been given the same disconcerting distortion that L insisted on using even when talking to her allies. "We'll update you as soon as we can. The Apples are just finishing dinner. Don't move unless we say something."

Dash peered cautiously over the edge. The sun had been close to setting when she'd arrived; now, the house below was visibly falling into shadow. Somewhere around the perimeter, Spike, Locket and Bon Bon were waiting to charge in if things got ugly, but they would only come if she really needed them. So long as everything went to plan, she was on her own. So this is it, she gulped silently. Applejack, I hope you have some kind of plan in there, because otherwise I'm dead meat.

Twilight and L sat side by side again, making notes separately as they watched the wall of screens in front of them. Jazz waited behind, ready to shift bugs about as needed. L chewed loudly on what seemed like an absurd amount of bubble gum, which had by now lost all of its coloration and turned into a bland, shapeless mass. "Harpy?" Twilight said at length as the endless chewing and squelching continued. "I know this is sort of your thing, but... just for tonight... could you not constantly eat while we work?"

L paused, her mouth partway open. A thin edge of drool started to slip past her lip, but she sucked it back up. "As you wish," she said. Swishing about in her mouth for a few seconds longer, she focused and blew out a bubble easily the size of her head. With utmost precision, she worked the remaining clump of gum out of her mouth, laid a spare piece of paper on the desk next to her work station, and placed the record-setting bubble on top of it.

Twilight tried very hard not to look like she was going to be sick.

Before the awkwardness could escalate any further, Applejack pushed her plate away and stood up. "Ah think Ah'm done," she announced calmly.

"Eeyup," Big Macintosh added, polishing off the last of a piece of bread. They both looked towards Apple Bloom. Though the filly's plate was still half-full, she'd given up on eating before either of her siblings. With a faint, accepting sigh, the elder stallion rose up and started to gather up plates.

As her brother moved over to the sink, surreptitiously snacking on Apple Bloom's leftovers, Applejack leaned across the table to her little sister. "You doin' all right, sugarcube?" she said quietly.

Apple Bloom looked at the floor. "Scootaloo stopped by this morning," she grumbled. "She says Cheerilee wants me to come back to school again."

Applejack sighed. “Soon, Apple Bloom,” she said. “Ah can’t promise when. But soon.”

Big Macintosh looked over his shoulder as he began to wash up, glancing meaningfully towards the fourth, empty chair at the table. “She ain’t coming?” he asked, the longest sentence he’d spoken all evening.

“Don’t mean she ain’t watching,” Applejack muttered. “Let’s not think about that, alright?”

Abruptly, all three ponies froze. A cold, unsettling hiss filled the room, rising to a threatening growl before fading away. The three Apples were left visibly pale, the conversation struck dead.

Twilight shuddered in her seat. She sound had been something equine, but not; something filled with malice. “What was that?”

“Curious.” L made a note. The noise didn’t seem to have affected her at all, which Twilight had to admit she found sort of admirable. “This lends further credence to the theory that they are under somepony’s control. But there is no level of control that cannot be broken.”

After taking a moment to collect herself, Applejack spoke again. “Ah guess... we’d better get started,” she said.

All three ponies began moving at once. Apple Bloom hopped down from her chair and trotted into the next room, returning with the camera and the page she’d been writing on throughout the day. Big Macintosh left the remainder of the plates in the sink and opened a drawer next to him, pulling out a bundle of lined, blank pages. Applejack took the longest to reappear, walking all the way up to her bedroom. Twilight followed her from screen to screen as she changed rooms, her eyes widening as the orange mare rummaged in her desk and retrieved some very familiar pages. “Oh my gosh,” Twilight gasped. “Those are from the Equestrian Justice Records!”

L peered at the papers clenched in Applejack’s mouth. They’d been folded over once in each direction, reducing the massive pages to about the size of regular note paper. “But detached from the central book,” she noted. “Without that connection, they will no longer update.” She frowned. “Another troubling development. If Applejack was not responsible for the theft of your book, then who possesses the original?”

As Applejack descended the stairs, Big Macintosh took a second trip to the kitchen and opened another drawer. From this one he pulled out a cup full of dice and stubby pencils, which he put down in the middle of the table.

All three ponies returned to their seats. Applejack spoke solemnly, her voice gripped with guilt and resignation. “All right, everypony. Roll ‘em out.”

One by one, the trio reached forward and picked up dice from the cup. The older siblings took three each, while Apple Bloom had two. Twilight leaned forward and spoke into her microphone. “Get ready, Dash,” she said, her heart leaping into her throat. “I think they’re starting.”

“On it.” Dash poised herself to leap, breathing rapidly. Her mind constantly flashed forward to what would come. At the signal, she would leap down, kick through the nearest window — there were probably no curtain traps on these ones — jump into the room, and... and...

How hard could outflying a God of Death be?

Eight dice hit the table. They rolled to a halt, spread out around the broad surface. Applejack looked them over, her lips moving as she counted. “Twenty-one,” she announced, sounding slightly relieved. “Lower than normal. But Ah don’t think this list is gonna cover it.” She sighed deeply. “We’re gonna have to find some more ponies to kill.”

Twilight lurched backwards, almost falling out of her chair. She twisted to the side and started dry heaving, coming within a hair of not being able to keep her dinner down. L glanced almost in her direction, not taking her eyes fully off the screens. “Are you all right?” she asked, a measure of concern coming to her voice.

“I...” Twilight gritted her teeth, tears welling up in her eyes. A tide of nausea rose steadily higher within her. “I can’t...”

“Ocean Velvet,” Applejack said. She was reading from the list that Apple Bloom had brought them. The camera lay on its front, the thin stratoscreen built into the back showing a skewed picture of the offending pony’s face, strongly tinted in the greenish-grey of the stone. “Heart attack.” Applejack rolled her set of three dice again, reading the result by some predetermined code. “Eight-thirty in the evening.”

Apple Bloom pulled her paper towards her and added the details after the first name. Her siblings copies the words out onto fresh pieces of paper, taken from the pile that Big Macintosh had brought. The scratching of pencils on paper filled the room.

Ocean Velvet, heart attack, 8:30 in the evening tomorrow

The words pounded against Twilight’s skull. She took the deepest breath she could. “Harpy,” she gasped, “I’m sorry, and this might make you uncomfortable, but I really need this right now.”

Straightening up a little, Twilight scooted her chair as close as she could to the detective’s and wrapped her forelegs around her in a desperate hug. L flinched, but then relaxed. Twilight pressed her face against the other mare's shoulder, trying to find some comfort in her touch as she would with one of her closer friends. What she felt surprised her; L was cold and sharp to the touch. Even Pinkie Pie, who'd somehow remained about as thin while maintaining similar eating habits, had been soft and plush when squeezed. L, however, felt like a bag of bones. Her shoulder jutted into Twilight's neck as she clung close, awkwardly stifling some of her persistent sniffles.

Applejack spoke twice more. Two more sets of dice rolled across the table. L continued to copy names with her horn, but gently reached up and wrapped one foreleg around Twilight in return. "She must have meant a lot to you," she said.

"She still means a lot to me," Twilight hissed. She shuddered and clung a little tighter. "And I knew that all signs pointed to her being guilty, and I knew that she was probably in danger, but I didn't... I couldn't..." Applejack listed off another name, and Twilight whimpered. "Rainbow was right. Applejack was the only one left. She was the only friend who hadn't been hurt. And now, Kira's turned her into..."

Delicately, L lifted Twilight away from her. She pushed the other mare back into her seat and finally turned away from the screens, looking her dead in the eyes. "Twilight," she said. "There will be time for tears later. If you must leave, then leave. But for now, if you truly wish to help your friend, then I need you to put these feelings aside and focus. Focus, Twilight. At least twenty-one lives may depend on it."

"...You're right." Twilight wiped her eyes and forced herself to turn back to the desk, though she wasn't able to bring herself to look at the screens. "I'm sorry—"

"Do not feel sorry for feeling a certain way," L interrupted. "Only feel sorry for the actions those feelings cause."

There was a long pause while Twilight took several deep breaths. Applejack read out several more names, all in the same strained, resentful tone, and then paused to write down the time and cause of death. She and Big Macintosh filled out new pages, while Apple Bloom amended her own. "All right," Twilight eventually murmured. "Let's figure this out." She pulled herself closer to the desk and picked up her pencil, hesitating to speak before putting it into her mouth to write. "Why are they making three copies of the names? Is this part of the killing ritual?"

"Too early to tell." L frowned again. "It appears that they each need one copy, which suggests that only one is truly required to complete the ritual. But which one? Unless that is a diversion, and the real ritual is happening now..." She leaned back and glanced over her shoulder. "Jazz, any news from the earwig?"

The grey unicorn pulled a lever and began to reshuffle more beads. Underneath the Apples' refrigerator, a unique crystalline bug wiggled its antennae. "It's not picking up anything," Jazz announced. "There’s some residual magic, but it’s too faint to have come from any recent spells. Unless they're working with something so small that we can't detect it, that house is completely magic-free."

"Curious." L tapped her quill against the page in irritation. "If events proceed like this, there won't be any way to tell whether we've witnessed the real ritual until the ponies listed begin to die..."

Desert Eagle, heart attack, 3:00 in the afternoon tomorrow

Applejack finished copying the last name from Apple Bloom’s list and shut the camera off. “Good haul today,” she said without enthusiasm.

“Gang got caught,” Apple Bloom muttered without looking up.

Almost without pause, Applejack picked up the top page from the pile she'd brought downstairs and unfolded it, spreading it flat across the table. Twilight paled at the sight. Her beautiful book was covered in pencil marks, badly creased and slightly discoloured from leaking magic after being torn from its binding. Applejack ran a pencil down the nearest column, alternately putting a circle or cross next to each name. Once she had enough, she went back up to the first name she'd marked with a cross. "Red Dawn," she read out. "Arrested for assault 'n battery." She rolled her dice again. "Five-thirty in the morning."

Twilight's stomach churned. "That's it?" she said as the group returned to writing. "No more research? No extenuating circumstances? They're just going to make assumptions from an out-of-date report?"

"The Tri-Kira was always meant to be a temporary solution, I believe," L answered vacantly. Her quill was moving in double time, sketching out the broad page and noting names and placements. "Within a month or two, the difference would not matter."

"But it does!" Twilight insisted. "Anything could have changed. That pony might have been proven innocent, or reformed, or had an important testimony. Working without the latest information—"

"Twilight, calm down. If we are successful tonight, none of these ponies need necessarily die at all." L looked back to Jazz. "If we compare these pages to those in our database, we might be able to match them to a past version of the Equestrian Justice Records. This should tell us approximately when they were removed from the book. Can you do that now?"

Jazz nodded, already working. "This will take time. Don't expect anything soon."

Listening was torture. Twilight squirmed as she listened to Applejack list off name after name, along with their crimes. Rakeweed, murder. Spirit Tracks, assault. How bad were their crimes? Were they really guilty after all? Given the chance, could they be reformed? Inwardly, she snorted. It doesn't matter! I don't care if they're good or evil, they're still ponies. Determination filled her. Their lives are in my hooves.

After name number twenty-one, Applejack stood up. Without a word, she folded up the records page back on top of the pile and put her own paper on top of it, then picked up the stack and walked towards the stairs. Apple Bloom followed, keeping her head down. Big Macintosh stood as well, but instead walked back to the sink and filled the kettle with a small amount of water. He put it on the stove and set it to boil, not looking directly at it. Upstairs, Applejack slipped into her bedroom and left her door open, while Apple Bloom went into her own. "They're... splitting up?" Twilight said. She gulped as realization hit. "Uh-oh."

“As I suspected...” L leaned forward. "Miss Dash, your targets are moving into separate rooms. Wait for further instructions."

As soon as she was alone, Apple Bloom threw her page onto her desk and sat down in her own chair. She glared down at the words in front of her, then slowly, having to force herself through the motions, put her front hooves together and bowed her head. "Dear Kira," she said, her voice quavering slightly. "Please kill Ocean Velvet the evil pony at eight-thirty tomorrow.” She paused for several long seconds. “Please kill Hailstorm Blitz the evil pony at eleven-ten tomorrow.” Another pause. “Please kill..."

At the same time, Applejack laid her page more carefully on her own desk and reached shakily into a drawer. She pulled out an irregularly-shaped stone about the size of a pine cone, which was blocky at one end but tapered to a point at the other. There seemed to be nothing particularly remarkable about it. Holding it carefully, Applejack went back to her bed and sat down on the edge of it. She leaned backwards until she was almost in L's awkward sitting position, and slowly raised up one of her hind legs. Twilight gasped. Along her friend's inner thigh, normally hidden from view, was a patch of bright red marks like oversized mosquito bites. Twilight whimpered. "Tell me she isn't..."

With a yell, Applejack swung the stone down and impaled her leg with the pointed end. She and Twilight convulsed as the sharp rock punctured her skin, digging deep enough to draw blood. Apple Bloom bowed her head a little more at her sister's cry, but didn't stop her mechanical repetition of names. Applejack pulled the stone out and held it against her thigh for another second, letting blood flow across the tip and collect in rivulets along the rough surface. She then stood and went back to her desk, folding up her leg tightly as she sat down again, and held the stone above the page. Like an outrageously ill-conceived quill, she used the bloodied tip to trace the words already written, leaving red drips and small tears as she went. “Ah’m sorry,” she repeated after each word. “Ah’m sorry. Ah’m so sorry...”

By this point, Big Macintosh’s water had boiled, and he’d poured himself a small mug and started to take it and his paper upstairs. When he reached his own room, he quickly crossed over to his desk and laid his materials down, opening his drawer as well. Instead of a stone, however, he pulled out a small jar of leafy green paste. Powerfully unscrewing the top, he tipped the jar onto its side and allowed a tiny amount of the substance to trickle into his mug, where it quickly dissolved into viscous particles of plant matter. Big Macintosh waited just a few seconds for the water to turn greener, then blew to cool the liquid off and downed the whole thing in two long, painful gulps.

"Three rituals," Twilight breathed. "Three ways of killing. But... which one is the real one?" She looked desperately from pony to pony. Apple Bloom was by now a third of the way through her list. Applejack was far slower, but starting to speed up. Big Macintosh picked up his page and glared at the first name on his list, pulling a disconcerting grimace. Ocean Velvet and Hailstorm Blitz are gone for sure. Twilight trembled. We're running out of time.

"Curious," L muttered. She stopped writing and rested her chin on her hoof. "Why this setup? Is this purely to distract in case we were able to spy on them? Or..." She looked down at her own lap. "What is Kira doing?"

"Still nothing from the earwig," Jazz added.

Twilight felt her breath rising. "It has to be one of them," she said. Both Applejack and Big Macintosh were now at four names each. Can Dash stop all three? No... If she goes for the wrong one first, one of the others might be able to stop her, physically or otherwise. We've got to get this right. "L, which one? Which one do we take out?"

"Strange," the detective continued to mutter. "They didn't list any farmers. Do they do those separately?"

"Harpy, we don't have time!" Twilight almost shouted. She turned and had to restrain herself from grabbing the detective and shaking her. L's face was totally calm. "They're killing those ponies right now! Which one do we go for?"

"Difficult..." L shrugged. "Perhaps we should wait another day before attempting this. We can see if the names listed do expire as predicted, and then—"

"Are you crazy?" This time, Twilight did shout. "I'm not letting twenty-one ponies die! We need to decide this, now!"

Infuriatingly, L only closed her eyes and seemed to sink deeper into thought. Grinding her teeth, Twilight looked back to the screens and looked hastily back and forth. Four names definitely gone. They're obviously meant to be equally valid, she decided. It's... almost how I'd do it. So what's different? Which one's real? Come on! If I would have made a mistake doing this, what would it have been?

"Um... guys?" Rainbow Dash's voice crackled through her headset. She sounded nervous, but also a little hopeful. "Am I jumping, or...?"

Apple Bloom paused. She gritted her teeth and took a few deep breaths before starting again. "And please kill Rakeweed the evil pony..."

Twilight blinked. "It's Applejack."

L glanced up. "Hm?"

"It's... it's Applejack." Twilight leaned forward again, her voice becoming increasingly frantic. "Apple Bloom's made two pronunciation errors, and the jar Big Mac is using comes from their kitchen. Applejack's the real Kira. Apple—" She grabbed her microphone and practically screamed her answer into it. "Dash, it's Applejack! Stop her!"

"Right." Instead of diving, Rainbow Dash spoke again, far too slowly for Twilight's liking. There was a clear tremor in her voice. "What am I aiming for?"

"She's got a rock," Twilight blurted. "She's using it to write. Go! Go!"

The weapon. Dash tensed up. She braced herself to dive, but found herself locking in place. While part of her was screaming at her to come to the rescue of her friend, in an instant Applejack's words flashed back across her mind.

“Ah think it’s you who can’t see the orchard for the trees, Rainbow, so let’s get one thing straight. You can arrest me right now, lock me up and throw away the key, and Mer will lose a second time. But all that’ll happen is the game will start from square one, and you’ll have a brand new Kira to chase all over again.”

But before this thought could fully realize itself, back at the base L leaned sharply forward and spoke into her own microphone. "Miss Dash, do not move. That is an order."

"What?" Twilight yelled. She spun angrily at the detective. "Why the hay not?"

"In fact, you would be advised to leave the area as quickly as possible," L continued. "This is a trap. Kira wants you to go in." She leaned back. "Jazz, send the order for the others to retreat."

"Belay that order!" Twilight shouted. "Dash, get in there! Ponies are being killed right now!"

"Do not do that. Leave." L looked towards Twilight, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Twilight. This setup is too convenient. We can't risk running into another of Kira's traps."

"What do you mean, traps? This is about as inconvenient as it gets!"

"No, it's calculated. Don't you see? Kira set up this ploy knowing that we would find a way to observe it. She will have calculated accordingly. Whatever choice we make, it will be the wrong one." She sighed. "There is nothing we can do tonight. We will have to try again tomorrow."

"No." Twilight shook violently. Tears came to her eyes again. "You can't do this!" She abruptly reared up and shoved L, sending her chair skittering several feet backwards and nearly toppling over. "You can't just sit there and tell me to let more ponies die!"

"They were already dead, before we ever heard of them." Awkwardly, L began to scoot forward again. "Twilight, I know that this is difficult for you to accept, but if you tell your friend to go in there, you will cause us to lose everything—"

She never got any further. In a surprisingly swift motion Twilight reared up again and punched her, this time knocking her right out of her chair. The detective went completely limp under the blow, tumbling to the ground like a rag doll. Twilight slammed two hooves back on the desk and screamed into the microphone. Seven names lost. "Rainbow Dash! Stop her!"

Twilight was thrown off her hooves as L collided with her side. The pair tumbled across the ground, narrowly missing another desk while they flailed at one another. Just as Twilight thought she was gaining the upper hoof, darkness engulfed her vision. A twisting light lanced from L’s horn to the blank patch on her forehead, instantly paralyzing her and sending coldness shooting down her limbs. L squatted over Twilight, their noses almost touching, the only thing visible to her in an endless void. “I am sorry, Twilight,” L intoned, keeping the same calm, collected tone. “And I do mean that. But you are sending your friend to her death.

“Unless new data arises in the next several minutes, we have no evidence that the Apples are killing other farmers. They do not appear to possess the real records book, and may not be responsible for these deaths at all. Kira has led us to them, progressively and deliberately, and this entire sequence has been a performance orchestrated by her. We were meant to see this, and we are meant to be reacting just as you are now. But we cannot afford this.”

The mare’s eyes were growing darker. Twilight tried to lift her legs, but didn’t have the energy; it felt as though all the warmth in her was being sucked out through a straw. L shook her head, leaning even closer. “Remember what we set out to do. Your friends are a trap, and the secret of Kira’s power is the bait. If we expose ourselves by acting now—”

Another shape appeared in the darkness. A grey hoof descended and pressed against the tip of L’s horn, cutting off the beam of light. With a sickening lurch, the room spun back into focus for Twilight. L blinked, her eyes back to their normal golden colour. Jazz stood over them both, wearing an expression of profound irritation. “I have enough trouble concentrating without you two throwing yourselves at each other,” he grumbled. “Is it enough to ask that my employers at least behave professionally?”

L hopped up briskly and trotted back to her desk, not sparing a glance backwards. Twilight tried to rise to follow her, but Jazz wordlessly pressed a hoof against her chest, holding her down. Her limbs still cold and her mind still reeling, she could only lie limply and listen to the sounds around her. What she heard was weak, plaintive sobbing.

Three quarters of the way through her list, Apple Bloom had stopped and found herself unable to start again. Her lips kept moving, but the sounds that were coming out weren’t words. Dampness began to run down her cheeks. Fear shook her and she bit down on the side of her foreleg, trying not to make noise. It didn’t help. She clenched harder and harder until red ran between her teeth, but it wasn’t enough to stop the gasping sobs from rushing out her throat. Soon after she simply gave up and collapsed onto her desk, making noises more cough than cry, struggling to breathe as her eyes soaked the page and her nose started to run.

Big Macintosh, who was by this point finished his task, was starting to climb into bed. With obvious regret, he continued to lower himself into his sheets and put his pillow over his head. Applejack, however, managed to grit her teeth and continue writing for another five seconds before throwing her stone down and charging over to Apple Bloom’s room. She caught the filly just as she was starting to roll out of her chair, cradling her close and letting her coat get sticky with tears and snot. “It’s gonna be okay,” she repeated, as though on automatic. “It’s gonna be okay.”

L watched this unfold with her usual degree of detachment. She barely reacted as Twilight’s subdued breathing slowly rose into a scream of pain and outrage, followed by pounding against the floor as Jazz began to struggle to hold her down. She started to walk toward her chair again, but then stopped. Frowning, she reached upward and rubbed along the underside of her right eye. It came away damp.

Blinking slowly, the detective looked back to the two microphones on the table. Twilight’s had been knocked over at the same time as she had. L levitated it back into position, then leaned out and spoke into her own. “You may come home now, Rainbow Dash,” she said, nervously detecting a tremor in her own voice. “Thank you for making the right decision.”

Dash had taken off her headset. She lay on the same cloud, no longer in takeoff position but curled up, staying as far from any edges as possible. Her own thoughts raced round and round in her mind. If L is Kira, then why is Twilight the one telling me to take the weapon? And if Twilight isn’t Kira, then why...

From the headset beside her, partly muffled as the crystal parts hung into the cloud while the pegasus-made goggles rested on the fluffy surface, filtered through both Twilight’s microphone and L’s static, she could still make out the sounds of furious, almost animalistic screams.

---

“Okay. I’ll admit, that could have gone better.”

Twilight had called another friendship circle as soon as everyone had returned. Nopony was quite able to look at each other. Jazz was by now sporting a black eye from when Twilight had eventually managed to rise, and a darkening bruise was appearing on L’s cheek. For some reason, Rainbow Dash had slipped between Spike and Jazz instead of taking her old position in the circle, leaving Twilight holding Locket’s hoof to her right. Twilight briefly glanced around at the others, then returned her aggressively calm gaze to the green unicorn across from her. “But we’re going to start fixing that,” she continued, letting no small amount of acid drip into her words. “Right now.”

L sighed. While most of her appeared as placid as ever, her left hoof was wrapped around Bon Bon’s so tightly that the other mare was visibly starting to lose circulation. “Nopony is happy about what has happened tonight,” she said. “But it was not without cause. Now that we have this information—”

Locket groaned loudly, releasing Twilight and Bon Bon and putting her face in her hooves. “We know they’re Kira,” she said. “We’ve known for days now. Why don’t we just, I don’t know, arrest them and search their house? The thing you’re looking for’s got to be in there somewhere, right?”

“There are several reasons why that would be unwise,” L answered. “Firstly, the last time we tried to catch a Kira through imprisonment, we lost a week and gained nothing. Secondly, the Tri-Kira themselves seem to not know what method of killing is the correct one. Even if one knows more than the others, any attempt to interrogate them will still provide contradictory results. Thirdly, we still have no direct link to the true Kira behind this overly complex setup. Remember, before Twilight’s imprisonment we observed two Kiras: one leader, and one follower. The Tri-Kira has been forced into the role of the follower, but unless we find a way to eliminate the leader, capturing these ponies will only bring us to another dead end.”

“You mean we’re back to square one, again?” Spike cried in dismay. “And now we’ve gotta start from scratch to go after some fourth Kira?”

“Not so,” L announced. “An important factor in the Tri-Kira’s killings is randomness. The rolling of the dice means that their work cannot be replicated, even by a pony with exactly the same information; though we will have to wait until tomorrow to confirm this, there is no doubt in my mind that twenty-one ponies will die exactly as written. Otherwise, it would take us half a day to see through the deception. Therefore, these ponies are in some way responsible for Kira’s killings, or at least transmitting information to the real Kira. And now that we’ve discovered their trap, we can choose where and when to spring it — on our terms.”

Realization started to come to Twilight, overriding a little of the anger she’d felt earlier. “I think I see what you’re getting at,” she said. “Instead of waiting for them to kill and letting them go through their rituals, you want to force them into a situation where they have to kill, without giving themselves time to cover themselves up.”

“Exactly.” L nodded. “The true Kira evidently also has the killing power, given the deaths of rival farmers, and will not be quick to give up its secret... to us. Assuming the Apples are unaware of this, however, it is possible that they may drag some answers out of her, or at least show us how they communicate with their master.”

Rainbow Dash had been looking increasingly sick throughout this. Twilight eyed her worriedly. “Dash, are you okay?” she asked.

Dash put on a fake grin. “I’m fine,” she lied. She stared uneasily into Twilight’s eyes; nothing but concern stared back. How can she... I don’t... “Just... the idea of a ‘fourth’ Kira,” she added, managing to put air quotes around the word without moving her hooves. “I don’t think I like it.”

Twilight sighed. “I know, Dash. I know.” She looked up again thoughtfully. “We’re going to need one heck of a plan to pull this off. It’ll have to be something big and dramatic, something that’ll get to them personally. We’ll need a pony for bait who they think they can kill, but actually can’t. We’ll need some serious time restraints, to stop them from worming their way out of it. And most importantly, we need this plan now, because we’ve got to do it before they start killing again tomorrow night.” She noticed Locket nodding absently. “Getting an idea?”

Locket continued to stare into space for a second before realizing that Twilight was talking to her. She instantly blushed, seeming to lose more than an inch in height. “Um... not really,” she said quietly. “I was just thinking that this sounded like a plan I read in... a book.”

“Really?” Spike leaned forward excitedly. “What book?”

“Just... a book.” Locket squirmed evasively. “It’s not important. You keep going.”

“No, you keep going. We could use some ideas.” Twilight put her head to the side. “Is it a book I know?”

“...Yes.” Locket squirmed a little more, but then sighed. She looked dejectedly at everyone’s hooves and feet in turn. “Okay, be honest,” she said. “How many of you have read The Strapping Adventures of Lord Cloppington?”

---

Dear Princess Celestia,

Today a friend asked me one of the hardest questions I’ve ever had to answer, though she didn’t know she was doing it at the time. She asked me, What is more important than friendship? And the answer is obvious. It’s a life. Saving a life will always be more important than even the strongest of feelings, no matter what the circumstances. But when you’re faced with that choice in real life, even if you’ve known the right answer your whole life, it still feels impossible to choose. Sometimes doing the right thing can mean hurting or losing a friend, and no matter how many times you tell yourself that you were in the right, it doesn’t feel like the right thing at all.

But then this friend of mine asked me another question — though again, she didn’t know it. She asked me, What is more important than life? Because in order to do the right thing, sometimes lives have to be sacrificed. And if lives have to be sacrificed, then what cause could make it the right thing to do? At first I thought that the answer was more life; I know that I would give my life away if it meant that others would live. But then I realized that I was wrong. It’s wrong to quantify life. Reducing living beings and emotions to numbers, where happiness depends on how high those numbers are, is a mindset that leads to some of the darkest parts of pony nature. So what are we fighting for? What force could be so important that it’s worth giving up life, the most important of all things, to find it?

And this may sound crazy, but... I think it’s friendship.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

Next episode: Discord!

Comments

[Dirty Bit]

You have my curiousity and interest piqued for the next chapter with your words

When I saw Twilight and Lyra's little scrap, it had me thinking about Light and L's own fight as well, though it would be redundant to state in this case

Didn't expect the small visit from Rarity (unless it were supposed to be an illusion, then another derp on my end )

All in all, this was another good chapter to read. Each update is worth the wait indeed

[XenoJohn]

Death note+Equestria= Oh God no...

[Black Hoof]

Nice chapter again. But I still wonder...
Where are Celestia and Luna. Did they vanish into thin air and then were forgotten?

[_CheckMate_]

i think discord will be pissed or pleased; Kira causes chaos, but he seems to want his playthings to be alive-aka not killing others (otherwise he would have killed the elements rather than corrupt them), he can't play with dead things (or at least I don't think he can)

[Tragicom]

Discord?

Oh dear God.

[Vexy]

So... much... awesome...

th05.deviantart.net/fs71/PRE/f/2012/168/2/6/shocked_rainbow_dash_vector_by_scrimpeh-d53sumj.png

[JV ElEven]

I'll admit that I am now so confused that I no longer jave any idea what's going on?

Has Twilight actually renounced ownership? Or is she just acting?

[Vexy]

Featured on EQD! How you deserve it, Nonagon. You really do.

fc00.deviantart.net/fs71/f/2012/172/8/9/rainbow_dash_so_awesome_vector_by_thelegendhimself-d4pt39b.jpg

[IDontKnowYouAnymore]

2073987 She renowned ownership a couple of chapters ago.

[HighTide]

Since Discord is the god of chaos, couldn't he just be op and say that twilight was the original Kira? Since he is the god of chaos, shouldn't he know who causes the most chaos?

[WatermelonRat]

I love how you manage to create the same sort of feel to the plots in Death Note without just copying them outright.

[Alien Entity]

2071411 I'm pretty sure that was actually Mer. Twi just thought it was Rarity because of the white and purple color scheme.

[Dirty Bit]

2076685 Okay, so then it WAS a derp on my end Still a good chapter though

...I hope to God that Discord will not be Mello Well, unless he's just gonna be mentioned in the next chapter or something.

This fic is stil good nonetheless

[Nonagon]

2077358

[Kiari Nicademus]

2077491
Ahh, the ability to write something so well that it makes people truly sick with your descriptions................priceless.

[Icestar156]

My reaction when Twilight was so close to touching the death note: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu_RmSJxtUE

[Nonagon]

2082424 You're very welcome. Thank you for your kind words.

[Vexy]

2081111

This was, perhaps, my favorite part of this entire fic. Mainly because for one I've never read/watched Death Note (I'd love to, but I have yet to), so I can't really relate with anything that goes on. This fic, however, does an excellent job at including me.

And this scene.

Just wow, I wasn't expecting it when I read it. This is the scene that really got me into this fic. And the repercussions of Pinkie's and Rarity's deaths reverberate throughout the entire fic, in every chapter to come. This isn't something that'll die down easily.

It's just too brilliant!

/fanboyrantover

[Potato Pride]

I'll take a dandelion. AND EAT IT!

[Noradora]

Oh, and one more comment for just now.

>> Nonagon
Ah, sorry if I seem to be spamming the comments, lol. I failed to realize that everything shows up under the main page, but eh. :p
Anyway, you're very welcome. It's been some time since I was so pleased with a written story. lol

>> Dead Turtle
*salutes*

Represent.

[Nonagon]

2091896 Oh, you didn't miss much. The first rewrite was mostly adding and rearranging scenes, with a bunch of tiny, bite-size changes. Chapter six got by far the biggest makeover, with every Rarity/Ray scene being rewritten from the ground up. If you're really interested, the original can be found here... but I will warn you, it's pretty obvious that romantic writing was something I was very unprepared for at the time. Enter at your own risk.

As for any future rewrites, it seems for the most part that it's within the first three chapters that people start to complain about the story being "just like Death Note" and give up. I've always thought that particular criticism was a little unfair; do Aitran and Pony Fantasy IV get comments like these as well? Still, if it's enough of an issue that it causes potential readers to lose interest, there must be something I can do to jazz it up a bit more and reassure people that this isn't just a carbon copy of the original. Granted, I don't know how I can do that without severely unsettling the lengthy story that follows, but I'm sure I'll come up with something.

Also, no need to apologize for commenting so much. It's been fun tracking your progress through this story in real time. If every reader had as much to say as you do, I would be one very happy writer.

And, since I seem to be doing a great deal of rambling anyway, 2082860 let me just take a minute to talk about this scene. Or, rather, this chapter.

The decision to adapt this scene came from two sources. Firstly, it was the plausible assumption that even most Death Note fans wouldn't have seen the live-action movies, so those expecting Rarity to suffer Naomi Misora's death from the anime would be completely blindsided. But the second is that, basically, this scene is what got me into Death Note. I saw the films way before the anime, and while the premise and setup was intriguing already, the part at the gallery completely blew me away. It wasn't just that they had the audacity to kill off a named, innocent character - something that very few Western films ever even attempt to do, much to my dismay - but Light's reaction to the events was just perfect. Once everything's been explained, Ryuk tells him that his girlfriend truly loved him, and he asks if Light felt anything for her at all. And light just sighs and says "Well..." And he can't answer. He just stands there and looks thoughtful for a while, as if only just realizing what he's turned into. Then his father comes back and right away he slips back into his act, now fully and completely Kira.

Obviously, that scene affected me pretty greatly, so it was inevitable from the moment this project begun that I would attempt to do my own take on it. Upon subsequent rewatches, it's clearer that the scene has some flaws. There's some fairly heavy foreshadowing that my more experienced mind could easily pick up on, and it's pretty clear that the "victim" in this version is really just a victim of the adaptation. Shiori as Light's girlfriend was worked in all right, given what they had to work with, but while it's evident that Light does care for her (at least initially) their relationship wasn't explored as much as it could have been. She really just exists to give Light someone to exposit to when Ryuk isn't around and give him someone to dramatically sacrifice. Now, Pinkie Pie... serves pretty much the same role, it's true, but her established history with Twilight gives her a lot more perceived plot armor and allows her to play the part with a lot more dexterity. Plus, it's pretty clear by this point that she had a lot more going on than even Twilight expected. Or me, for that matter. Poor filly can't even sit still while I'm plotting her character arc.

But Twilight's reaction was what I was really going for, because those few, silent seconds of Light's opened up a whole new abyss of inner conflict and character development that the film simply didn't have the time to explore. And this is where TwiLight Yagami has her time to shine, because much as she emulates him, Twilight isn't Light. She carries the magic of friendship with her, and no matter how far she descends, that's something that can never truly leave her. Instead of being single-mindedly devoted to her own ideals, she spends every moment aware of her own darkness and hypocrisy... and she embraces it. That's what gives her so much of her power.

That may have sounded a little egotistical, but really, it's a celebration of the brilliance of those who've come before me. You can't just plug similar but different characters into the same situation and get the same result; even if they start out the same, these characters and this plot will produce a vastly different outcome. I couldn't follow the original strictly now if I wanted to. I'm really happy to have the opportunity to work with these two worlds, and I'm always looking forward to putting together what's in store from them.

Anyways, sleep-deprived rant over. tldr: I love Twilight Sparkle and Death Note. That's about all you need to know.

[Vexy]

2092435

Wow, thanks for revealing all this Nonagon. I really agree that this scene is something else. If there was any foreshadowing about Rarity's death, there's no way in hell that it would have included Pinkie. Maybe it's because I like her so much, or maybe it's because she's so innocent, but I really didn't expect it. And then the revelation that it had in fact been Twilight's doing? I had to pause for half a minute, just letting my mind process the repercussions of that. It awes me even now.

I really love how Pinkie had letters delivered to everyone after she died. Not only is this really moving for me, it makes me wonder what she's sent everyone. It's clear that, although Pinkie's excitable and innocent, she's certainly quite clever. She knows about Locket's decision, and she's trying to push her to make a decision - the fact that this is after her death is even more beautiful! It makes me wonder what's in Twilight's crisp packet? Perhaps there's something more to this? Perhaps there's a hidden meaning. Or perhaps it's something more literal? A final note to her killer?

Or perhaps nothing.

These kind of plot devices have never really been explored for me. I'm not really into my crossover or dark material, and I've never really read much non-pony dark material, so my experience with such matters is completely amateur at best. This fic keeps me going. It keeps me reading. I wish for it to never end, and yet at the same time I yearn for an explanation, a sense of completion, or maybe that ending that will never be the same for me without my favorite party pony.

Ahhh, words fail me when it comes to describing by admiration! The chapter meant so much for me, because it was the point where I thought "Twilight really is too far gone now, isn't she." It was the point where I realized that, as much as I disagree with Celestia, and as much as I disagree with L, and as much as I disagree with many other characters, I find myself disagreeing equally with Twilight. It's reached the point where I'm no longer placing money on the characters I want to win this little game of cat and mouse because I support them, instead I'm placing money on everyone - and I mean everyone, and not no one - because I disagree with everyone. I get the feeling that nopony's right, and then I find myself asking that inevitable question, "What is right?" "Who are you to think you know right?" And as I groan at the questions, and attempt to shrug them off, I realize that I honestly don't know what the right answer is.

Ahh the joys of expressing my suppressed opinion.

I wish I could have a more informed opinion. Well, I guess it's the holidays. I'm going to have see the Death Note live-action movie!

[mycutiemarkisagun]

2092852

yes and you are a terrible person for it i hope u have a heart attack

[Noradora]

2092435

Ah, I see. In a response to the just-joined comment I made in the Shipping group last night, someone mentioned your romance execution in DN:E as "amateurish" (though stressing that he didn't mean it in a belittling way--I certainly know what it's like to have no choice but to use a word that may sound offensive due to lacking a better way to put it, lol); His overall point I agree with--lots of it isn't a main focus or serves as a plot device, and I like that--but it occurs to me that he might have been referring to your original execution of Ray and Rarity. lol

Anyway, I'll gladly give the original version a look, for my love of this story--though maybe more for answering my curiosity of what your first go at those scenes was like than anything else, because rearrangement and overall seemingly minor edits it seems you did don't as much account for a particularly enjoyable glimpse at the past, since they're such small changes (though of course, not that lots of small changes don't or can't amount to a big difference).

Moving on: Personally, the initially tight/close parallels to the original story is something I enjoyed and that pushed me on--familiarity alongside and despite subtle and blatant differences, awareness of what might happen later on, fears of what might happen if the story runs completely parallel, hoping that and wondering whether the story will do so, making connections between characters of both series... etc. And, seeing the gradual loosening of those parallels was rather enjoyable to me, lol, in no small part thanks to the relief of knowledge that not all the terrible things I know of might happen.

I love this story and it's earlier chapters as they are, but whatever changes you make for the sake of relative security in not turning away potential fans, I'll be happy. Do what you need to do, lol--if I ever want to again read them as they are presently, I'm sure I could get another link from you.
Though when I think on it, I realize that at this point I'm lacking some of that connection I felt, in that we're/you're/it's not so closely following the original story at this point. That leaves a little sorrow or regret at the loss of that sort of familiarity and everything that came with that link, but of course I'm happy for it at the same time, so eh.

And... heh. Thank you. Indeed, as an author I would greatly enjoy watching the progression of an enthusiastic fan, lol. Plus I'm sure I'll enjoy reading over them again myself, so . I'll certainly carry on making comments as I have; I'd hate to disappoint or prevent a happy writer!

Aaaaaaanyway, onto my actual quote-unquote "review" as per usual!
~~~~~
....DISCORD? DO WANT. I don't care how you do it, I know for a fact you'll do it well--just... I don't know. DISCORD! I can only imagine the glory of what you're going to do with him.

...It NEVER occurred to me that Mer/Rem is white with purple, just like Rarity. Dayum. No doubt that has at least a little something to do with why Rarity was her favorite pony--and it certainly did or may continue to torment Twilight.

Speaking of Twilight... You're getting me that thinking that maybe, just maybe... the memory gambit may not succeed? One one hand, I have to think "but that's so HUGE and brings back deliciously dark MC, of course it'll still work!" but then, you said what you did about how you want readers to come to various events in the story and say 'hey, that's not how it happens!' so I can't take anything for granted. You have me theorizing, hoping and wondering if you may go that route, and it's SO
Either way, it seems to me that Twilight will at least realize she WAS Kira (if she doesn't continue passing it off as a dream, anyway)... which would make her absolutely sick. But then, she could definitely (imo) come to terms with it, make a super-earnest attempt to repent for it, and... for lack of a far better way to articulate what I'm thinking, "use that to her/the teams advantage" at making things right and whatnot. I'm not certain the memory gambit will or won't work, but I do find its success more likely--it would make some kind of positive resolution of Twilight's Kira self impossibly more difficult, and thereby that much more elating if it ever comes to pass--or damning.

You make me feel feels, sir. And I very much enjoy it.

Just, uh... ...Things seem to be pointing toward the possibility of the Apples surviving and recovering, and dammit that's what SHOULD happen. I can more than easily see Mer killing them off to spite Twilight, or BUCKING WORSE, Twilight herself doing it to keep their mouths shut--

...

......

With Applejack knowing that someone on the team is Kira 1... There's no way Kira Twilight would let that stand. Godammit. PLEASE LET THE APPLES BE ABLE TO SURVIVE THIS. LET IT END WITH RARITY AND PINKIE.

P.S., Fanboy moment: Give me some more Fluttershy, I need my yuri fix!

Clarity moment: Aaaaand now, as everyone else, I must suffer the agonizing wait for more chapters... or, just the same, let the story fade from my mind and just be really happy when an update surfaces. I DON'T KNOW WHICH IS WORSE.
But either way, I am a very proud fan of you and this story, and I shall proudly follow along with (reluctant) patience.

[Vexy]

2095071

Anonymity sucks. I was probably referring to that. I haven't read some of the older chapters in several months. I shall have to go back and read them.

On a side note, I'mma start watching the Deathnote anime. I think the time has finally come

[Vexy]

2094362

I am a kissass. Deal with it.

fimfiction-static.net/images/story_images/65278.png?1353693463

[Noradora]

2099469

Wut?

And damn straight, it is. Dooooo it. See where this is coming frommmm. Just don't expect as much butthurt since... well, the Ray Penbar bit will be a good example.

And hey, I'm dealing with it just fine. You kissing ass gives me an excuse to kiss ass.

...Now back to reading Three's A Crowd!

P.S.: I have my girlfriend reading this story, lol. Watching her butthurt at stuff like Ray Painter brings me joy.

[Vexy]

2099683

SPOILERS

Also I meant you were talking about me like I wasn't here </3 Because it was me who commented in the shipping group

I also meant I was probably referring to the chapters before they were written, since I've not read them in quite a while. I think I may finish watching all of Deathnote (Up to episode 5 already) and then reread the first few chapters of this fic. No idea how different they are, but either way I want to refresh the story. Maybe pickup on things I previously missed. This story has so much subtext!

[Noradora]

2100071

Lol, sorry. Honestly, seeing your comments here and elsewhere I was like "oh, here he is!" but when I mentioned your group comment, I didn't have in mind that it was you. For some reason. lol

And eh, the first part/season is largely similar to its Death Note equivalent, sans FRIENDSHIP. But in any case, watching it will definitely give you some perspective, and help you appreciate how some things go differently to one degree or another, and such.

[MaleficentCurse]

I blame le boyfriend, aka MuNova, for getting me hooked on this. Having never watched the Death Note series, I am left with a lot of questions. But, I'm definitely digging this version. I seriously can't put this down, but work and other things say otherwise. Keep it up! I'm looking forward to more!

[Noradora]

2110039

Oh, come now, you know you love it. ;)

Nothing like having a huge shattering realization or development punch you in the face, then sledgehammer you when you think you knew the circumstances, then a couple more for good measure... all in the space of 2-3 chapters..

This is Death Note for ya, babe. Except better.

[BrackMadar]

2092435 excuse a little random coments
yay i finally cathed up, now to wait for updates :)
what can i say, i think a few chapters back i did call you a magnificent bastard and yet again, you magnificent bastard i knew something in my memory tingled, how could i have forget about the movies
i know there are not one mention to this so it may be just a story mer telled the apples, but this storyteller she mentions, why do i have the feeling its the real ryuk or the (posibly spoilers) shinigami light, i mean i remember something like that from the new animated movies i forgot the name of it, but it seemed to me that Light became a shinigami, with lingerings memories, wich would be why he seek out ryuk, (end of spoilers) but since byuk did mention humans earlier maybe, just maybe, he was told the story about the human world from either ryuk or kira, wich got his interest, but since maybe the human world was already, well, manipulated from the events of DT, byuk wanted some fun for himself, hence his search for one world, pure from the touch of the death note, to have his fun. i dont know but to me that would be awsome in itself, if you tie the two worlds not as a crossover, but as part of the same universe.
sorry if there are many maybes, my imagination sometimes gets the best of me.

also discord... "it looks like we might be due a big old storm of chaos, discord did pop my mind once, i dont know how he will fit in the story, but knowing you it will be awsome.

few people can get me to feel sad in these types of stories, but holy crap, i cant watch, (yeah i used watch my imagination is very vivid, so as i read images construct on my head just like a episode of the cartoon, with voices and all ) the apples anymore, i feeled like i could cry any moment, poor aplebloom, she doesnt deserves all of this, and shit man, mer really is pissed off by the death of his beloved rarity, to me she is even more twisted that TwiLight or L, maybe, just maybe and that shit would be awsome, this just ocurred to me while im writing this, but maybe mer gave the death note to somepony else, and its only torturing the apple family because of his bond with Twilight, once again you magnificent bastard i love this story.
dont be "light hearted" (ha i just made a pun) because of a few comments about being just like DT with ponies, the first chapters set the scenario good for what was coming, and buck me but it got awsome in itself. i cant wait for more chapters.

P.D. sorry for the many maybes but there are few people or stories that got my imagination like you did, sorry if it become a long comment.
P.D.2. can i have more fluttershy, also, it was subtle, very subtle the way it happened, but did rainbow found out he loved applejack? i mean, god dammit i better shut up, you make things to my imagination that i wont be able to tell until years later

[DannyJ]

I find it impressive how you managed to tie together this great big web of opposing gambits and plans and that you've got all the major players coming up with their own theories and acting off of different information that may or may not be wrong. It's gotten to the point that I can't even tell whether something like Mer waking up Twilight and ranting at her was anticipated and somehow part of the plan all along, or if that's a sign that her plan is failing. I'm genuinely intrigued to see where you're going with this.

And throwing Discord into this already confusing and chaotic mix can only end in disaster for everyone. I look forward to it.

[Voyna]

I just caught up... I'm speechless.

[DannyJ]

2147017

Fair enough.

[Duhad8]

2147039 Thank you for the correction, I feel a bit silly for making that mistake.

Oh also, for that little Big Mac thing... Your going on the list.

[Palamon]

I love this. And I love how Twilight is the one passing judgement.

[EdAgainstTheUndead]

This whole story is just brilliant I loved every chapter of it! I created an account just to tell you this, but now that I finally caught up on the story I have to wait for more chapters and this makes me sad oh well you can't rush perfection I am eager to read whatever you have planned for the future

[Demonjack123]

Is this just death note with ponies, following the same plot and everything?

[Dead Turtle]

And, I finally caught up!

Well done! This is a wonderful, wonderful fic!

[Eternal]

Have you given up on this fic or?

[Maelstrom]

Please post next!

[sky_petal_blank_flank]

2232951 not quite, the author did mention there'd be some deviation.

[ParodiaTheSilent]

The number of pages in the Death Note will never run out.

I don't think that fact ever crossed my mind. Hmmm...

[I Question That]

8340973
Thinking back on it, if it wasn't endless pages then the shinigami would just run out of space to write. Kinda fills up plot holes.

Though somehow I never saw that rule in the manga. Ehhh, probably just missed it.

[I Question That]

And this may sound crazy, but... I think it’s friendship.

Continue on that thought process.
I am intrigued