Twilight Sparkle: Death Note

by Nyancatinator

Rating: teen
Tags: Tragedy, Discord, Crossover, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Luna, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad
Length: 4931

Twilight one day stumbles across a a strange book entitled "Death Note". By simply knowing one's face and writing their name in the note, that pony will die. Twilight decides to use this power to create a new Equestria with no crime or violence.

Twilight Sparkle, the element of magic and personal protege of Princess Celestia, on day stumbles across a a strange book entitled "Death Note." By simply knowing one's face and writing their name in the book, that pony will die within 40 seconds, unless the desired death is specified. Twilight decides to use this power to create a new Equestria with no crime or violence by killing off all of the criminals. Princess Luna decides to personally see to it that the pony nicknamed "Kira" is caught before anymore death can occur.
Set before Twilight becomes a princess
Derpy looking cover art by yours truly.
Crossover with Death Note. Don't like don't read.

Published 2015-03-11 18:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2015-04-06 22:08:42 UTC

I

Twilight Sparkle, for the most part, was a very intelligent unicorn. She graduated top of her class, and was considered a budding genius while she studied in Canterlot. She was always the center of praise, and soared above her peers when it came to education. However, that all got very boring, very fast. It wasn't that she didn't love being Princess Celestia's personal protege(she was quite proud of it, actually), but it all started to seem so... Mundane. So naturally, although aprehensive, Twilight was excited when she heard she'd be moving to Ponyville. A change of scenery would be nice, albeit such a small town like Ponyville(who came up with that name, anyway?) would likely get boring fairly quickly.

However, her assumption was proved wrong, after she and her five new friends defeated Nightmare Moon and saved Princess Luna. The small town always seemed to have some sort of problem that needed to be solved, be it an Ursa Major running rampant, or a hoard of Parasprites devouring everything. And Twilight loved solving problems. She though too much, almost to a fault, and always needed to occupy her mind with something, lest she go insane. She Ponyville turned out to be a pretty great place to settle. Things never quite stayed the same, and Twilight reveled in knowing that.

But one day, things changed drastically. It started out normal enough, as Twilight spent most of the day reorganizing the library while Spike was at Rarity's. She had just gotten to the books under the fantasy category, when she found a book which she had never seen before. It was bound in black leather, with the title "Death Note" etched on in white ink. Her curiosity peaked, she levitated it before her using magic, and briefly skimmed through the pages, only to find all but the first few blank. Flipping back to the beginning, she read the first written page.

-The pony who's name is written in this note shall die.

What? Huh, typical. It's probably just Rainbow Dash or one of the Cutie Mark Crusader's pranks. The purple unicorn thought to herself with a roll of her eyes. But something compelled her to keep reading.

-This note will not take effect unless the writer has the pony's face in mind when writing his/her name. Therefore, ponies sharing the same name will not be effected.

Smart. What an elaborate prank. Whoever did it must have really thought it through.

-If the cause of death is written within forty seconds, it will happen.

-If the cause is not specified, the pony will simply die of a heart attack. After reading this, Twilight flipped to an empty page with a grin.

"Alright, Rainbow Dash, or whoever sent this, I'm going to write somepony's name. I wonder what will happen?" The mare muttered to herself sarcastically, and with a chuckle, pulled out a quill and bottle of ink. She then scribbled down a name. "Forty seconds, huh? Gee, I can't wait for nothing to happen." Twilight said with a smirk. After she realized she wouldn't even hear of the death right away on the very off chance that it occurred, she shut the book and trotted off to continue organizing.

~~~

Twilight rose early the next morning to find Spike still curled up in his bed. She quietly slunk downstairs, careful not to wake the sleeping dragon, and picked up the newspaper from outside her front door. What she read nearly gave her a heart attack. Frothy Mane, Equestria renowned criminal and murderer, had suddenly died of a heart attack the day before, exactly forty seconds after Twilight wrote his name in the Death Note.
This is impossible... I don't know of any kind of magic that could have caused it. Then again, this can't be a coincidence. Sweet Celestia... I just murdered somepony! Twilight's heart beat accelerated, and her mind began to whirl. No Twilight... He was a murderer. He deserved to die. Wait, what? No! Did I really just think that? Gah, I need to destroy this book! The unicorn finally made up her mind, and magically levitated it from the spot which she had left it. Firing up her horn, she prepared a spell that would disintegrate the book before anyone could ever suspect that pony's heart attack wasn't natural. Yes, she would destroy the evidence before anyone could ever find it. But think of the good I could do with it... The thought almost didn't seem to be her own, but it sparked a controversy within her head. What good could come of a book that only caused death? I- Oh. Oooh. Wait, no. That would be wrong. But... would it really? I would be doing a service to Equestria, after all. But killing is wrong! Only by society's standards. Let's face it, ponies only force themselves to believe it is wrong because they believe it will make them look better in society's eye when really, they would rather have all of the criminals dead than not. Think of it, the crime rate would go down tremendously, and murder would be so rare... I'd practically be a god. No! These thoughts... They're not my own. Something's wrong! That...book! It's all so very wrong. But why does it seem so right?

"Because, my dear, it is right." Twilight almost had a heart attack for the second time in the past twenty four hours.

"Discord! How did you escape? The elements should have kept you trapped for another thousand years!" Twilight spat at the draconequus whom had taken form in front of her.

"Oh, please, do calm down. It'd be a shame to wake your little dragon friend with your inane ramblings." Discord replied flippantly.

"W-what are you talking about?" The mare hissed, slowly backing away.

"I suppose I should explain that I'm not actually here. You are merely seeing a projection of my conscious. My body is still trapped in stone. Your little Death Note brought me here." He explained, plucking the book out of her telekinetic grasp and flipping through the pages. "Only on name? Hm, usually there're more than this by now."

"I don't understand, why did the Death Note bring you here? Is it yours? If it is, please, take it back! It...It's messing with my head." Twilight said that last part solemnly.

"Oh no dear, it became yours the moment you picked it up. I'm here because whoever possesses the Death Note is to be haunted by a draconequus, and since I'm the last of my kind, I'm the only one who can do it. For that reason, you are the only one who can see or hear me. So if I were you, I'd be a little more cautious. Wouldn't want them to deem you insane, would we? Now, I should mention that you can simply give it to somepony else should it become to big of a burden, but I'll have to erase all of your memories of the note if you do." Discord told her, tossing the note back in her general direction, which she caught with ease using her magic.

"No... In the wrong hooves, it could be even more dangerous. I- I'll just hold onto it for now. Maybe I could make it useful." Twilight said, her eyes seeming to flicker red for a moment.

"And how do you intend to do that?" Discord inquired with a smirk. Twilight paused, carefully choosing her words before finally saying,

"By eradicating all crime and murder, thus creating a new, better Equestria, where I will reign as a God!"

Author's Note

Hey there, reader. So I really wasn't sure how to tackle this idea. I didn't know how to do it without Twilight seeming OOC, because Light is obviously a little insane right from the start. But as I watched the anime, it seemed like it was really the Death Note that corrupted him the most. So I think it'd make sense for the note to mess with her mind, and make her want to start killing off criminals(because that's obviously not something she would ever do on her own. I doubt she'd even try it if the note hadn't tempted her). She might still seem a little OOC, but I'm really not sure how else I'd write it. Anyhow, thanks for reading, and I hope you stick around for the rest of the story.

II

After writing the cause of death, details of the death should be written in the next 6 minutes and 40 seconds.

"I must say, I'm impressed. I've never seen a pony write more names in the first twenty four hours than you." Discord stated, hovering over Twilight's shoulder as she read the newspaper, researching all of Equestria's current big name criminals. "It's also very interesting how an Element of Harmony has taken such a calling to killing ponies. Not that I'm complaining, of course."

"Is it really such a surprise? I'll be spreading harmony by ridding the world of the dirty criminals that inhabit it. Really, I'm saving more lives than I'm taking. When they hear of all the criminals dying of heart attacks, it will discourage future criminals from committing crimes." Twilight explained while scribbling another name in the Death Note.

"And how do you expect to hide all of this from your little dragon friend, hm? Or the other Elements of Harmony for that matter?" The god of chaos inquired.

"Simple. I've arranged with Rarity to have Spike go over to Carousel Boutique every evening from five to seven o'clock pm to help her with any chores she needs done. This is a very busy season for her, after all. As for my friends, I've notified them all that I have a book club I'll be attending every night at the same time Spike will be gone, so they won't be stopping by the library during that time. This will give me the perfect opportunity to research criminals and write their names." The purple unicorn told Discord.

"Very interesting. And what if the dragon, eh, Spike, stumbles across your Death Note? That would make for some great entertainment." Twilight shook her head.

"Please, ever since I found the Death Note yesterday, I've been trying to figure out the best way to keep all of this under wraps. I just don't think the other ponies would be able to understand the good I'm doing for them, if they found out. So, I placed an enchantment on this desk to make it so other ponies won't be able to notice it unless they are specifically looking for it. In the even that they do notice it, I've enchanted the compartment that my research and the Death Note will be kept in to remain locked unless my own magic is used to open it. The odds of somepony being able to replicate my magical signature is near impossible. As an extra precaution, if there are any signs of somepony trying to force the compartment open, the Death note will be magicked into my saddle bags and the research disintegrated so that there is no evidence of it ever being there."

"Well, Twilight, I must say, I don't think I could have picked a better pony to possess that Death Note if I had tried." Discord said smoothly, examining the enchanted desk Twilight was working at.

"Wait, what? You're telling me that it was you who put the Death Note there?" Twilight exclaimed, slamming the book shut.

"Well it certainly wasn't fate, if that's what you were thinking. Or do you think dear old Princess Celestia just wanted you to have it because she new all the good you would do with it? Puh-lease. It's never more chaotic than when a pony gets their hooves on a Death Note. Especially a pony of your... potential." Twilight glared at him, but eventually sighed and reopened the note.

"It doesn't matter. Regardless of why it's here, it doesn't change the fact that I can still create a new, better world with it. Now, if you don't mind, I have quite a bit more names to write down before Spike gets back." The mare then regained her focus on her work, turning away from the Draconequuis behind her.

"Oh, Twilight dear, one last thing." Discord speak-sang in a light voice.

"What? Can't you see I'm busy?" Twilight snapped at him.

"Oh it will only take a moment. You see, the last time I was free in Equestria, I discovered a glorious drink you ponies call 'chocolate milk.' In the land where draconequuis come from, the only milk we have comes from... well... never mind that, but I find chocolate milk simply intoxicating. It is to me as drugs and alcohol are to you ponies. So could I trouble you for a glass?" He inquired.

"Can't you just magic some into existence like you did last time?" Twilight asked.

"Afraid not. Remember how I told you yesterday that I'm really still trapped in stone? This means I can't do anything here unless the pony who trapped me allowed it, which would be you, Twilight. Meaning I can't drink chocolate milk without your say so." Twilight let out an irritated sigh.

"So basically I have to get it for you and tell you that you can drink it?" Discord responded with an energetic nod. "Fine, if it will shut you up for a while."

After getting Discord's chocolate milk, Twilight was finally able to get back to work. That is, until Discord began to slurp it in the most loud and obnoxious way possible.

"Can you believe I used to only drink the glasses the milk was in? What in Equestria was I thinking? The liquid inside is so much tastier!" It proved to be a very long night for Twilight.

The pony who uses this notebook can neither go to heaven nor hell.

That morning, the unicorn mare woke up exhausted, being kept awake by Discord's incessant chattering, but being unable to do anything due to Spike being asleep in the same room.

"Spike, I'm going to town to get more quills. Can you take care of the library until I get back?" Twilight asked the still half asleep dragon as he stumbled his way down the stairs. His only response was a quite murmuring, but Twilight took that as a "yes."

As she trotted out the door, Twilight quietly slipped the Death Note into her saddlebags, along a quill and tiny container of ink.

"Now, I wonder what this is about. You're obviously not out of quills, and I see you have your Death Note with you. What exactly are you planning?" Discord asked, only to receive no response. "You know, it's very rude to ignore others when they're talking to you. Did I ignore you when you asked all of those questions I had already answered? Exactly, only half the time!"

"Will you be quiet? I'm trying to think!" Twilight snapped after checking to make sure nopony was looking. "Now, I can choose the cause of death as long as it's written withing six minutes and forty seconds, correct?"

"Yes, that's right. I myself don't exactly know the limits to it, though. Why, what are you going to do?" Discord responded.

"I intend to test it out. So far I've only tried killing criminals with heart attacks but I'd like to see what else I can do." Twilight told the draconequuis whom trailed behind her. "There's a gang of drug dealers who have been stealing from small stores that don't have much in terms of security. I imagine they use the stolen money to buy more drugs. They seem like worthy candidates for this experiment, so I did some research and I think I know what store they're going to target today. It's a run down building known for selling... dare I say it, adult toys, and stuff like that. As they're the only store that sells these types of items, the seem to get quite a bit of business. I looked into the police records of this gang, and there seems to be a recurring pattern with their robberies. It's always either on a Tuesday of the 12th of the month, or a Friday on the 24th of a month. Since today is a Tuesday and it's the 12th, and this seems like their most likely next target, it's a good place to stake out, and if they show up, to test the Death Note." Twilight hesitantly stepped into the store, hoping to Celestia that no one she knew saw her in there. She did her best to avert her eyes from the vaious...toys.... that were on display, but it still left her with the feeling that she needed to take a long shower when she got home.

"Hey there, pretty mare. Anything I can get for ya?" A gruff sounding stallion asked from behind the cash register.

"Oh, uh, no, I'm just looking." Twilight choked out, her pride being stepped all over by simply being in the little store.

"Are ya sure? Cause we've got everything from-"

"No, I'm REALLY sure I don't need anything at the moment, thank you." Twilight said and rushed towards the other end of the store, an embarrassed blush showing in a rosy pink on her cheeks. However, with the store being so small, it was only about five meters away, and she could still see the stallion out of the corner of her eye. Thus began the awkward waiting while trying to look busy until the gang showed up.

The pony who touches the Death Note can recognize the image and voice of the draconequuis tied to it, even if the pony is not the owner of the note.

After what seemed like hours(when in reality it was only twenty minutes), a group of three gruff looking stallions traipsed through the door, wearing masks over their faces as they walked up to the cashier. One stallion held a knife through the cashiers throat as another emptied the cash register, and the third stood watch at the door. Twilight quickly picked up a magazine, which she placed her Death Note inside of, as the stallion at the door took notice of her.

"Move, and we kill both of you, understand?!" The one with the knife shouted, and the poor cashier let out a panicked, muffled shriek, causing the knife pony to tighten his grip.

Twilight, however, had anticipated this and hid a readied quill inside of the Death Note, which was concealed by the magazine. As discretely as she possibly could, Twilight began writing in the Death Note, with Discord hanging over her shoulder, squealing in excitement. forty seconds later, as the stallion emptying the cash register finished, the stallion with the knife began to twitch. Suddenly, he let out a horrifying shriek and began to assault the other gang member, eventually stabbing him in the eye. As the stallion at the door tried to pull him off of the other one, he ended up with a knife in the chest. The last stallion, who was still shrieking, then extracted the bloody knife and impaled himself with it, finally collapsing over the other two. The cashier, who appeared to be unarmed, was shaking in fear at what he just witnessed. Closing the magazine and concealing the Death Note in her saddle bag, Twilight began to make her way out of the store, before the cashier called,

"H-hey! I saw you writing in there, you still have to pay for that!" He gasped.

"Are you serious? After what we just witnessed?" The stallions expression remained the same. "Ugh, fine." Twilight gave him some bits before realizing, "Oh, of course. I can't let you remember all that." She said before her horn fired up, and before he could react, he was passed out on the floor. Tucking the magazine into her saddle bag, and being careful not to step in any blood, Twilight made her way out of the store. When she was out of sight, she collapsed onto the ground. "I am never doing something like that again." She gasped, trying to blink the images out of her head.

"Well it seemed to go all right. You even got a new magazine out of it. By the way, how did you figure out those ponies names?" Discord inquired.

"I knew before we left. It really wasn't hard to figure out. They didn't conceal their tracks very well. It's a wonder they weren't caught already." Twilight responded. "What is this magazine, anyway? I didn't even look when I picked it up." She said as she fished it out of her bags. She almost face hoofed when she saw the cover.

"Wow, Twilight, I really didn't take you for a filly fooler." Discord chuckled.

"I am not! We are never speaking of this again!" Twilight snapped.

"Then why haven't you gotten rid of the magazine yet?"

"Shut up!"

III

A pony can shorten his/her own life by using the note.

Somewhere within Canterlot Castle, a certain princess of the night was frantically sifting through Equestria's criminal records.

"Hm, twenty five criminals all died of heart attacks at the same time yesterday... yet before, the deaths would happen in quick succession of each other, but not simultaneously. This leads me to wonder if perhaps our killer was just experimenting before, as the deaths were even further apart before that. Are you getting all of this, Lucky Quill?" The navy blue alicorn asked, her etheral mane looking scraggly from neglect.

"Y-yes your majesty. U-uhm I don't mean to interrupt your work, but might I suggest a-a break? Perhaps some sleep?" The unicorn known as Lucky Quill suggested meekly.

"Sleep? How can thou think of sleep at a time like this? We are making such great progress on this case. We hath already discovered which town our killer resides in." Luna announced with a confident smile.

"Wait, we have? I mean, uh, of course, your majesty." Lucky Quill stuttered out.

"Indeed. The culprit currently resides in Ponyville. Did We forget to tell this to thee? Our mistake. Yes, it was much simpler than We had originally thought. Dost thou remember when We told you our culprit most likely receives thine information through the newspaper?" Lucky Quill nodded his head. "This gave Us an idea. We released information about certain criminals to only Ponyville's local newspaper, and all of those criminals died from heart attacks within an hour of when it was released. There would not have been time for somepony to deliver it to the culprit in another town, as Ponyville is quite far from any other city. We had planned to do similar with other towns, but it was pure luck that the first town We tried was the correct one." Luna explained.

"I see... But how do you intend to find the culprit? N-no offense, but that town is the epitome of weird. It seems like every Saturday something strange happens there. How are we to find the killer amid all that?" The white unicorn asked.

"That is where thou come in, dear Lucky Quill. You see, We hath already comprised a list of suspects, and We would like thee to go along with a special task force to investigate them. We understand this is thine special talent, so it should be no problem for thee to help narrow down the list." Luna told him, levitating a folder filled with files over to him. "These are all the suspects. Thou will be assigned one to investigate, and report back thine findings."

"Understood, Princess. You can count on me!" He exclaimed, flipping through the files excitedly.

"Oh, and one more thing before you go," She began, causing Lucky Quill to glance up, "We art sure thou already know this, but no one can know about this investigation. Not even Our dear sister Celestia."

"W-what? B-but she's a princess! I mean you're a princess too, but she's-" The panicked unicorn was cut off by a cave of Luna's hoof.

"We understand it is a lot to ask, but we fear Our sister may be biased against some of the suspects, and demand we cease investigating them. Thou know as well as Us that we cannot let that happen." Luna explained.

"B-but how will you keep it hidden from her? I mean, she's Princess Celestia!" He exclaimed.

"Calm thyself. We hath already figured it out. I will go under the simple alias "L," as I have done in the past. Not even Tia knows L's true identity." Lucky Quill looked shocked.

"You're L? Sweet Celestia, L is like, legendary! You're Equestria's greatest detective? I feel so honored to be working with you, princess. I mean, not that I wasn't already, but like... I'll just stop before I make that sound worse..." Luna chuckled at his response.

"That would be best. Now, pack thine things, you leave in the morning."

The Death Note will be rendered useless if the victim's name is misspelled four times.

"Twilight, darling, you look absolutely dreadful! Have you not been sleeping well?" An alabaster unicorn asked, to which Twilight nodded her head.

"I really haven't. I've just had so much on my mind lately." Twilight responded with a yawn. The purple unicorn had been spending every spare moment when she wasn't using the Death Note thinking about other inventive ways she could use it.

"Is it because of the essay the princess asked you to write? The one about Kira?" Rarity asked. Twilight nodded her head.

"Yes. Whoever they are, this pony kills his or her victims by giving them heart attacks. However, they only kill criminals, thus the name 'Kira' derived from the Neighpanese word 'killer.' So the princess wants me to write about whether I think it is right or wrong." The unicorn explained. Twilight honestly didn't like the name the public had given her. To think it was derived from killer made her seem so cruel. It wasn't like she killed innocent ponies. She brought justice to those who harmed others.

"Whether this 'Kira' pony thinks what they're doing is right or wrong, it's still murder. Our justice system works fine as is, thank you very much." Rarity huffed, and Twilight almost externally sighed. How could she expect someone else to understand? It didn't matter then anyway. Once Rarity realized the good Twilight was doing for the world, she'd be sure to change her mind. "Well, anyways, thank you for coming and helping me, Twilight. Even with Spike's help, things can still get pretty hectic here."

"It was no problem, really. Now I better get going, I've still got to reorganize the library." Twilight responded, taking her leave from Carousel Boutique.

"Sweet Celestia, I didn't think she'd ever stop talking. How do you deal with it, Twilight?" Discord whined as he flew behind her.

"Well unlike you, I actually like my friends. Now would you kindly be quiet? I don't want anypony to see me talking to myself." The unicorn replied as they made their way back to the library.

"Oh, but I have something you might want to hear." He said, which got him an irritated sigh from Twilight. "I thought I should make it clear that I'm not on your side, nor am I against you. I'm more of an innocent bystander, you might say."

"I don't think innocent is very accurate." Twilight muttered, but Discord ignored the comment and continued on.

"However, there's something that has been bugging me for quite some time now. For the past two days now, actually." Discord said, twisting around to glance behind. Twilight raised an eye, and Discord continued. "Look, I wasn't going to say anything, but there's somepony following you. I know he can't see me, but I still get the feeling I'm being watched. I'd be very happy if you'd do something about it." Twilght's eyes widened in realization.

"B-but... How can they already suspect me? Gah- I can't let it get to me now. At the moment, my main focus is looking as least suspicious as possible." Twilight replied in a hushed voice. "I can't kill him now. It'll make me look incredibly suspicous. No, I'll just have to wait until I'm cleared."

"Fine, fine. Oh, and Twilight? You're out of chocolate milk. I reccomend getting more, or I might start having withdraws, and nopony wants that. Twilight? Are you listening to me? You know I hate being ignored. Twilight!" Twilight could only smirk as the draconequuis went on a tangent.

So, I'm already being investigated, huh? That's fine, I knew it'd come to this at some point. Now I'll be able to make an example out of those who go against Kira. Twilight thought, glancing behind to see a stallion watching from about fifteen meters away, who quickly looked away when he saw her watching him. I know exactly what I'll do about you. All I need to do is to ask Princess Celestia to allow me to help with the investigation, and I'll be able to get easier access to criminal records, and I'll be able to find out the names of those after me. Yes, the dawn of the new world is upon us, and I pity the fool who tries to stop it.

Author's Note

Sorry this took so long! Real life got super busy, and I haven't had much time to write. But here it is, and I hope you enjoy :)