L Ends Up In Equestria For A Gratuitous Crossover

L stared at Light looking down upon him, clutched in his arms while he wore a sinister grin. L could hear his every thought pouring out of this devilish expression. L could at last gaze deep into the childish malice hidden under Light's invincible facade. Light was sending the message, that after all this time, he had finally won.

L watched as death washed over him, images and sounds of his life and past were a flurry in his mind. It was too loud to bear. Light and the rest of the task force could no longer be reached.

He shut his eyes...

Every sense in his body disappeared. He had achieved true silence. Not even his thoughts could be heard, and yet he still thought them. He was lost in this nothing, but undoubtedly far, far away from the threshold whence he came. This threshold was no door, or a tunnel with a light at either end. Not even the Light that sent him here. No. It was more of an emotional transition according to L. It cannot be described as a location, and yet you must "be there" to understand. Though it's probably different for everyone. With this he... "felt" like he was drifting even further away. Like he wasn't supposed to go that way. Plunging deeper into nothing as far as he could, unsure if he was forced to go or not. L let go of his heavy sub-consciousness to rest.

Time passed...

L possessed only the knowledge that he still existed, a higher existence. He waited for something to happen. Any kind of fate. Damnation perhaps? No. Too simple. That was what he felt was happening anyway.

He felt. Yes. He was feeling. Indeed that was happening. He realized that he actually had regained consciousness. He explored every corner of his mind like he would the nothingness. And then. A shock. An external force. L felt his senses return. Like pouring water on a doomed wanderer in the desert, he came back to reality. Kind of.

L discovered his body. He couldn't stay in what could only be described as nothingness forever. It seemed like all imaginable time had passed there and at the same time hardly any at all. To make it simple, you could say he was just "gone". ...He felt grass under the back of his hand and the fresh air inside him. He found the strength to use the rest of his senses and just look around. His eyes returning to their ominous, never-ending state.

He found himself on a soft hilltop with apple trees everywhere, and the sun shining brightly with the vivid colors showing intoxicating beauty. He grimaced. Clouds curled in the sky around each other and mountaintops far in the distance. A palace could be seen on one of these mountainsides, but just below out of the valley nearby is a town. Archaic looking by his standards. Songbirds flew towards its windmill.

Was he really dead? And if so, was this to be his fate? What is this place? Why here? All difficult questions. But of course L was no man to muse over any easy question. Not like this.

He rested his back against the nearest tree, simply accepting this new reality. An apple fell from its branches. No one would kidnap him just to put him in a place like this. Yes. There was no denying it. L had died and gone to... well... heaven? No. But certainly died. He looked up and winced again at the intensely bright sun. He hasn't been outside much lately. He tried to turn away, but just as he slithered into the shade, he heard this woman's voice. Talking to him.

"Hey, you! What'cha doing in the middle ah' mah' orchard? You better not be munchin' on somn', ya varmint!" L shot up immediately. He hadn't even noticed her walk right up behind him. He should have expected this.

"I meant no intrusion I assure-" Good lord. It had impossibly large beady eyes, a bright orange coat, a hat and baskets hung around its back and was looking up at him standing maybe three and half feet tall. A talking, altogether sapient little pony.

He shuddered. That wasn't the strangest thing he had ever seen. Not even close. But perhaps one of the most surprising. It looked like some children's toy.

"Oh." And that's all he could muster. The pony, rather impatient snapped again, "Huh? What's the matter? You can talk to me. Don't you try to hide it now!"

"Yes I can talk." L had to do something besides act confused and flabbergasted. "I'm sorry if appear to be stealing you crops. From the looks of the settlement over there, I'd say agriculture is easily the most vital function of this community. So... I understand."

She turned her head with a skeptical expression, "Well. Sure. Gee, who are ya anyway? Yer not some animal." The way L was hunched over is probably a sign of the impression.

"You may call me Ryuzaki, please."

She showed some clemency and laughed a little, "I guess varmint won't really work, now, huh? Ahm Applejack. Call me Applejack." L could tell that Applejack figured out that Ryuzaki might not be his real name. Of course she most likely didn't know what having that information about a person in his world meant, so maybe a slight mock was the worst that could happen.

"Seriously though. Why are you in our field, hm?" Her expression flattened.

"Honestly... I have no idea." Which is true, but something didn't sit right with him telling Applejack that he had died. This wasn't going to get that complicated now. No way.

"I don't remember anything about this place. I don't belong here. You found me just as I woke up in this field. I wish there was a better answer, I'm sorry."

Silence...

"We need to get'cha out of here. I'll take you in. I'm not gonna just leave ya out here to dry like this. C'mon, now!" L walked down the other side of the hill from where Applejack came with her. "You can meet mah family!"

Of course there's more of them. There'd have to be. "Thank you." he said.

Applejack trotted slightly ahead, "If we just cut in through here-" L still couldn't believe this absolutely ridiculous situation. Of all curious things to happen after death, It really had to be this? It doesn't make any sense. No one was waiting for him here. There wasn't some big, official initiation into the afterlife, only what seems to be a completely random place in the universe.

After emerging from the apple trees into the farm, L was properly introduced to the realm of Equestria and some of its inhabitants. Applebloom, Applejack's younger sister who yearns endlessly to earn her cutie mark, the concept of which L secretly thought was absurd. Granny Smith, the wise one, from a totally different generation and keeps family tradition. And Big Macintosh, the physical one whose strength and actions speak louder than his words. And of course, Applejack, the fellow farmer and also competitive athlete; talented in what seems like every trade.

And they're ponies.

L rejected any unpalatable food such as hay or flowers, telling them to think of it as an allergy. The house they lived in was rather homely and pleasantly average. An excellent alternative to a harsher alien environment. No... Alien is the wrong word. They're not leaving out L at all. They're acting most kind to him and enjoy the pleasure of his company even as a complete stranger. They got out all the major details of their society, like race, locations, and their immortal and mortal leaders the princesses. In fact, they're showing greater humanity than L may have experienced at home. Anything he needed was his, dinner, space, they even let him use the shower. Of course, the quality of humanity is not measured by service. It's something else. They seemed especially kind to him because they wanted to leave a good first impression, but also because he knew very well that they knew he was lost and alone. They knew he had been isolated. He could tell.

This is when chatting got around to where he came from. L had died already, so telling the Apples about his career was not a risk, it seemed. So reluctantly, he revealed it. Mostly.

"I'm a detective on the planet Earth. I really don't mean to gloat, but my duty is to choose the most difficult cases and always finish them. The international police call on me every so often and I've been catching criminals for years. But there's one thing. I keep my true identity a secret. But suddenly one day, I was whisked away here. And as you can imagine, I wish very badly to return. No offense, of course. That's a small idea of what I do, anyway."

Applebloom jumped at this, "Wow! You're just like a super hero in the comics!"

"I promise you it's really not that kind of work. And besides I have no "powers" or superfluous gadgets to speak of. And the kinds of monsters I catch aren't created by radioactivity or harsh chemicals, they're all criminals."

Applebloom whined, "Oh, c'mon! That's still so cool!" Then she changed her tune a little, "Well actually my big sis' is kind of a super hero herself! She's even got her own fighting moves and a lasso!"

L was bitterly reminded of his clashes with Light. Without the lasso.

Applejack seized up, eyes widened. "Now uh... Ah don't think Mistress Mare-velous is at ALL the same to my lassoing! Nope! Not a bit!"

Applebloom paused for a moment, "No silly, I mean how you help save Ponyville all the time! One time you even did it by yourself!"

Applejack, failing to hide her relief, said, "Oh, yeah. That."

Applebloom inquired, "I didn't know you read Power Ponies, Applejack."

"Uh... Spike kinda pulled me into it."

Applebloom smiled, "Really?"

Big Macintosh coughed to halt the line of conversation.

Granny Smith took it away, "I think mister Ryuzaki should get to meet Princess Twilight soon. Maybe she can help him re-connect with Earth."

Applejack concurred, "Yeah! That's a great idea! We'll have a meetin' at the new library tomorrow mornin'! I'll go over then and tell her the news!"

Applebloom again jumped in with excitement, "Twilight Sparkle is an alicorn and she's the go to expert on magic! She knows everything, she'll help you out!" L blinked.

"Magic. I see."

"Well that settles it then." Applejack stood up. "I'll take Ryuzaki to see Twilight tomorrow!"

At the evening's end, Applebloom and the others were heading off to bed. Applejack noticed that L was not following. He was still crouched over on his chair. "What's wrong, Ryuzaki?"

"I don't sleep. It's never part of my schedule."

"Oh c'mon now. That's the most ridiculous excuse I've ever heard. You need your sleep. Insomnia or not. Tell me what's goin' on."

"It's true. I can't sleep. You'll have to just wait for me."

Applejack came around closer in front of him. "I'd feel about the same about just leavin' you out there as leavin' here on the floor! You can even take my bed, jus' for tonight though."

"I really don't think that's necessary."

Silence...

Applejack told L to wait a moment as she went upstairs for a blanket. When she returned, she found him there lying sprawled out on the floor, totally knocked out. She chuckled quietly to herself and threw over the quilt and set down the pillow. Then retired.

L opened his eyes. Even fooling Applejack, he wasn't going to get sleep tonight anyway. Even if he did regularly. Too much was weighing on his mind. Questions darted about in a fit of paranoia. Not even expecting answers. Creating an emotional roller coaster going between pleasantness, anguish, and utter chaos.

"Was I right to choose Near for this? Who else could be dying in my absence? Why hasn't poor Watari joined me here? Will the false rules be exposed? Where is that shinigami? And the other? Will the case even continue? How far will Kira go? Where is *Light*?

Then he stopped. "No. I need to think in the now. I don't know anything yet, and I guess I'll just have to leave it at that. We'll see if this Twilight Sparkle can... reverse death." L felt an emptiness in the pit of his stomach. He knew lying to them was not a good idea. What had come over him? But he just couldn't tell them. How could he tell these ponies about such a terrible world, where disagreeing with Kira can cost you your life? Ruining their innocence? Perhaps this may be what a life of secrecy and anonymity has cost him. Nothing's changed. Maybe...

L stepped behind the window, shooting a glance at the night sky.

"Can you hear that? Are you familiar with this?"

"Send not to know for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."

Author's Note: Here's a little treat for you all to recap the mood for this chapter.

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