Death Note: Alight Equestria

by DeviousNights

GOD

Nightmare began to walk away from the funeral procession, getting away from the rain--plus he had to get across this whole regret thing, be it real or not. He was known as the first to arrive to ceremonies and the last to leave. His coat and mane were completely soaked by the pitter-patter of the rain. It had completely drowned the grass before him, and, as a result, left nothing but a muddy sludge in its wake.

He approached Rarity's grave, her body buried underneath mounds of dirt. The rain began to pick up pace, beating at his face. However, his bearing remained intact. Nightmare looked down at the grave, finally reading the tombstone’s engraving.

Here lies Rarity Belle, an influential fashion designer, a caring big sister, and the best friend anypony could ask for

Nightmare gritted his teeth. He couldn't help but feel bad. He had taken somepony's friend. Somepony's child. Somepony's big sister. His teeth began to grind against each other as the rain penetrated his mane and soaked through his tux. It punished the single flower that was sprouting out of the grave. Nightmare shook his head, trying to get these thoughts out of his head.

Everypony else had left the funeral grounds, including the Attorney General. He stood there alone, the raining saddening the already-depressing mood. The feel of being alone was weird. Just him and Rarity... or what was her at least.

"Well, Rarity… It seems divine judgement has been placed upon you." Nightmare walked under a cherry blossom tree near the tomb. He continued to look at the grave. It looked pitiful, as a pony of such beauty being reduced to nothing but a decaying body in the dirt.

"It looks like you've lost. You decide to conspire against me, and you paid the ultimate price. Attacking me is an attack on God. And those who attack God must be made an example of." Nightmare’s face curled into a snarl and he slammed his hoof against the tree, making the blossom petals burst from their respective spots and create a storm of pink. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

“Almost as beautiful as you, Rarity.” he finished his thought. “But...you played the game and you lost. That's the in-and-out of it.” Nightmare turned from the grave, the water rolling from his face and the cherry blossoms fluttering graciously in the wind. It seemed as if the blossoms were an attempt to lighten up the situation.

Nightmare began to walk away from the grave, walking only a few yards before he saw that he wasn't alone. A small pony--a filly, really--was lying in the grass some yards away from him. He tried to make the pony out, but the rain clouded his vision to the point that he couldn't see anything further than a few feet ahead of him. He approached the figure and saw that it was a sobbing Sweetie Belle, curled into a fetal position. She looked beyond miserable.

Nightmare took off his tuxedo and wrapped it around her. He had always had a soft spot for Sweetie Belle. She was the only pony that he would refuse to kill. He pulled her close to him, shielding her from the onslaught of the storm.

"Don't worry. I'll make sure you’re taken care of… you can even come live with me, if you want to." he whispered gently as she wrapped her hooves around him, shivering. Nightmare wrapped the clothing around her head and slung her on his back, walking back into town with her.

Minutes later, a distressed Sycamore Gavin arrived at the burial site. He began looking for Nightmare but had no luck at all.

"Damn it..." he muttered. He looked into the muddied field to see a set of hoof prints. Instinctively, he followed them. They led through a nearby forest and into the city of Saddle Arabia. Unquestioningly, he continued his search in that city.

The city’s population was few and far between. Like every other city, it had little to no ponies on the streets at all. The entirety of Equestria was in mourning for the fallen hero.

Saddle Arabia, as the name would imply, was a hot and humid area. However, today, it was raining just as hard as everywhere else. It was as if the sky was weeping for Rarity. The clouds’ darkness shadowed the entire city. Sycamore glanced at a sign near the city’s entrance. It only displayed a single phrase:
Saddle Arabia - Police Commissioner, Colonel Trojan Papyrus

Sycamore's eyes widened. He began to frantically run through the streets in search of Nightmare, before running past him and Sweetie Belle in the Saddle Arabia Precinct. He skidded to a stop and charged into the building, lightning flashing. He huffed dramatically as the ponies inside looked at him in awe. A gust of wind blew in before him, fluttering his trenchcoat.

Nightmare turned around at the commotion to see Sycamore standing in the doorway of the Precinct. Sweetie Belle's expression changed worriedly as the wet and miserable unicorn approached Nightmare. Nightmare stopped filing the papers and looked over his shoulder.

"The name of that cop..." Sycamore mumbled into Nightmare's ear, assuming he would know what he was talking about.

"Go on." Nightmare raised his eyebrow.

"Aryan Blues."

Nightmare nodded his head in confirmation as he looked forward from the desk he had previously signed papers at. Behind the rest of the desks was a row of prison cells. One prison cell containing Aryan Blues, who was staring straight at Nightmare.

Aryan peered through the cell bars and realized Nightmare was looking directly at her. She utterly panicked and pounded her hooves against the bars, screaming.

"That’s Kira! THAT'S KIRA, SOMEPONY ARREST HIM! HE'S GONNA--he’s gonna kill me, somepony help--" Aryan shrieked, her terror bringing tears down her cheeks. Guards darted in, seemingly out of nowhere and opened the cell, entering only to restrain her.

The two guards held her down to the floor and began to buckle her hooves behind her back, tying her back hooves together as well. She put up a valiant struggle, but to no avail. She was left as nothing more than a pathetic mare on the floor.

"Well… I'll be damned." Nightmare remarked. The secretary looked at him confusedly. He waved his hoof from side to side, indicating she need not worry. Nightmare pulled out the scrap of the notebook he had hidden in his ear for times like this. He placed it down onto the counter.

"What is that for, may I ask?" the secretary asked lightly.

"I have to write down the number of this precinct. After I take her home I'll need to finish all the paperwork there, anyway. Remember to take these to your Police Commissioner, so I can be her legal guardian. But in the meantime, I need to write this number."

"I'm sorry, but our Police Commissioner has recently passed of a heart attack."

Nightmare’s eyes shot wide open. He hadn't done it, and he had even instructed the Attorney-General not to write the names of any key players in the criminal law industry. Nightmare glared backwards at Sycamore, who was staring back in shock. It was obvious Sycamore hadn’t had a hoof in this, either.
"Is that a friend of yours?" the secretary nosily asked. Nightmare sighed. This secretary wasn't gonna get off his back.

“We could go with that, but may I at least finish this?”

The secretary nodded, and Nightmare lightly scrawled ‘Aryan Blues.’

He stared at Aryan with a sadistic smile plastered on his face. She stared back, overcome, with wide eyes and tears steadily streaming down her face. When a smile crawled across Nightmare's face once more, she began to squirm again as a possible way to stop her death. This time, she was beginning to try to gnaw at the bars.

"Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine…" Nightmare counted down. The clock ticked to forty seconds.

"Well, Aryan, it looks like I've won!"

Author's Note:

I have one more chapter before I have no more left and will have to go back to writing. Hope you enjoyed Nightmare's slow decent into a mixture of remorse. Could he possibly have a mental condition?

Comments

[PsychicBeagle]

Another tip, when you include terms like 'beautiful' or 'dramatic' in the narration, it kind of waters down the effect. Let the scene speak for itself. Kind of nibbled at my neck all chapter, especially at the rose petal scene.
And Sycamore, buddy, you just flipped the board during a relaxing game of chess. To most people, that's a capital act of rudeness. To Dark, well, you can kiss a year of your life goodbye. Thank whatever granted your book special properties, capiche?
Now, I should really commend you for that graveyard scene. That little niggle I mentioned before aside, it really is a nice bit. The only other complaint I have is Sweetie effectively being a stuffed animal at the end. I mean, not even a strangled 'thank you?' No clinging to who you see as a trusted friend for comfort? Just gonna lay there like a good little pawn? Okay, thought you were a bit more emotional than that. Just be sure to play your part as a cute morality chain later, got it? Good.
You know, if Aryan dies here, it'll shut down her compelling character arc with her, uh, 'tired' child. Get our hopes up for nothing, unless her incapacitated pal takes it as a personal reason to get serious. But even then, it would still be disappointing. Then again, you surprised me before. I'll just have to wait and see, since you pointedly didn't show her dropping dead yet. Who knows? Maybe that weird butler you showed earlier is some sort of Walter-esque warrior, or Sebastian like supernatural force. That's where I'm putting my bits.
You know, that actually gives me an idea. What if someone's name is erased from the book before the forty seconds expire? Would it halt the effect? Cut it in half, leaving the target with only a horrible wound? That'd be a neat idea to play with, right?
I look forward to the next update.