Maintenance Costs

by FeinesFabi

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Twilight Sparkle, Crossover
Length: 8573

When an unknown pony is found murdered in the Ponyville hotel, Princess Celestia seeks the help of a genius detective to solve this mysterious case.

A dead pony is found in the Ponyville hotel, and Princess Celestia feels that the Equestrian police won't be able to solve this case. There is no doubt that the poor pony was murdered - a crime which Equestria hasn't seen for hundreds of years.

To solve this gruesome case, Celestia seeks the help of the genius detective L (from Deathnote). Together, he and her most faithful student, Twilight Sparkle, shall hunt down the criminal responsible. A task which will push all of them to their limits.

Author's note: I hope this will be more than a "Ponified L in Equestria" story. This is my first fan fiction and the first story I write in English, which isn't my native language. Please be lenient with me and my grammar. Corrections and criticism appreciated.

Published 2013-02-03 23:50:02 UTC
Last updated 2013-02-24 21:31:44 UTC

Help From a Special Someone

The terrible sight had a great impact on the princess’s face. Her usual smile was replaced by a most shocked and worried expression. For before the alicorn lay a dead pony, in a pool of blood. But it wasn’t the fact that there was a dead pony laying in the tiny room of the small hotel of Ponyville that scared Celestia. In the many years she ruled over Equestria she had had the sad duty to bury quite a few ponies. No, it was the fact that there was a knife in the back of the corpse that troubled her. It implied that right before her was the first case of murder in hundreds of years.

Sighing she turned her gaze away from the corpse to Mayor Mare, who was standing right beside her.

“I’m afraid you were right”, Celestia said. “This young stallion was most certainly murdered.”

“But who would do such a horrible thing?” the old earth pony asked. “I’ve never heard of such a crime before.” Celestia smiled sadly.

“Well, this is what we’ll have to find out.” She turned toward the door leading Mayor Mare out of the room. “We have to find out what happened here and catch the culprit fast.” Once both ponies were out of the room, Celestia closed the door and sealed it with her magic.

“What should we tell the others?”, the Mayor asked. Celestia could hear the curious crowd rumoring outside the hotel. Although she had tried to enter the town in discrete, her arrival with the two royal guards standing before the hotel did not go by unnoticed.

“Nothing”, she replied. “Just tell them that this very hotel is off limits for the time being.”

“But they won’t be satisfied with that, my Majesty. They will ask questions.” Celestia smiled.

“I know.” with that, she stepped outside the hotel where her guards saluted. The crowd turned silent immediately as they saw the sun goddess. Celestia saw her student Twilight Sparkle coming closer. She bowed her head and started right away.

“Princess Celestia. What are you doing in Ponyville? Are you staying? In this small hotel? Why haven’t you...” Celestia raised one hoof and her student fell silent immediately.

“Excuse me my faithful student. I’ll explain it to you later.” Twilight smiled curiously. “But for now, I want you to return to your library and wait for me. I’m afraid I will once again have to ask for your help in a serious matter.” The purple mare silenced her burning questions and nodded.

“Don’t worry, Princess. You can always count on me and my friends.” Twilight could see the smile on Celestia’s face, but it wasn’t as happy and gentle as it used to be. It looked rather forced. It was then that Twilight realised that something awful must have happened. The princess took a fast look over the crowd. Twilights friends weren’t there and for some reason she liked it that way.

“Thank you, Twilight. But please don’t worry your friends for now.” The lavender mare was very surprised. Well, that’s a first, she thought. But the princess continued. “We will need the help of a very special someone. I’m going to ask for his help right now.” Celestia spread her wings and jumped gracefully in the sky. With a few swings she rose as high as the sun. And with a sudden flash of light, she was gone.

The sun goddess entered the astral planes - a place where all dimensions were one. There was no gravity, neither light nor darkness, no air to breath and no borders of any kind. Celestia had walked this timeless place only once before - in her very youth during her studies. It was here that she learned that there are many more dimension than her own. Equestria was only a tiny part of the universe. So tiny that it was almost negligible to the whole. Celestia liked that. It took a little bit of the weight of her leadership off her. Nevertheless, she didn’t enjoyed being here. So she concentrated on her mission. I have to find him quick.

She walked past many creatures of every thinkable and unthinkable dimensions. There were robotic lifeforms traversing the space in search of a mighty cube. She passed them quickly for they didn’t seem all friendly. Next she saw a planet rich of nature with most different creatures. It was ruled by humans, elves and other human like beings. I’m getting closer.

She changed her approach and didn’t traverse through the separate dimension any longer. Instead she tried to group the creatures of the different dimensions into categories. She was looking for a certain human detective. The planes changed immediately. She was now walking down a corridor like hall. In the very front stood an older man in old fashioned clothes. He was smoking a pipe and kept looking through a magnifying glass. Celestia passed him and merely returned his welcoming nod. Right behind was a little boy in a blue suit with a red bow-tie. He looked curious up to the alicorn princess and she could feel that she was being analysed. Behind him stood a man in college age who looked just like the boy. He was like an older version of the boy - but without glasses. He kindly smiled at her. Celestia returned the smile and walked by the two. And there, in a far corner of the hall she finally found the one she was looking for - Lawliet.

He was ‘sitting’ on a very old chair behind a brown desk and was watching something on multiple tv sets. Celestia approached him slowly, but he didn’t show any kind of noticing her. Or was he simply ignoring her? She reached the desk and looked down at him, but he was still ignoring her. That was a new experience for the royal mare. But she smiled and sighed once.

“L Lawliet?”, she asked. He still didn’t look up. But he raised one hand.

“Please, call me L or Ryuzaki. Names can be very dangerous”, he finally replied and then took a sip of his coffee. When he finally took a quick glimpse at his visitor, he recoiled in his chair. “A talking horse!” The princess ignored his rudeness.
“Actually, I’m a talking alicorn”, she managed to reply in her usual kind and soft voice. “My name is princess Celestia. I’m the ruler of a land called Equestria - in a dimension most different from yours.” The young detective took another sip of his coffee before he jumped out of his chair and turned his back to the princess. He walked a few steps back to the wall where a silver trolley of some sort stood.

“I suppose you don’t like coffee - being an equestrian life form and all.” he said. Celestia chuckled.

“You’re wrong. I love a cup of coffee every now and then.” L raised an eyebrow. He filled a cup of coffee for his visitor and turned around. Since he didn’t know how the princess could hold a cup with her hooves, he simply placed the cup on the desk before her. “Thanks, L”, Celestia said. She dropped two sugar cubes in the cup and took a careful sip. “Now, that’s one tasty coffee”, she complimented. L was still wondering about how she was able to hold the cup. Celestia placed the cup back on the desk and both fell silent once again. It was L who finally broke it.

“So - I suppose you didn’t came here for a cup of coffee?”. The princess cleared her throat. It was time to get to the point.

“No. I’ve come to ask for your help in a case of murder.” L tilted his head slightly. He was once again sitting on his chair with an empty expression.

“The investigation isn’t going anywhere?”, he asked matter of factly. Celestia shook her head.

“Without you, there won’t be an investigation.” He looked puzzled. “You see, we have a very low crime rate. And there hasn’t been murder for hundreds of years. The few detectiv ponies we have never had any case like this. They are usually dealing with neighborhood rowings or robberies in the worst case.” L smiled.

“Sounds like a nice place to live.” Celestia wasn’t sure if he was being serious or sarcastic.

“Yes. I guess you’d call it paradise. But...” she took another sip of coffee. L finished the sentence for her.

“...if you don’t catch the culprit, your paradise will fall apart. The longer he’s free, the more safe he’ll feel and the more likely he will repeat his crime.” Celestia nodded sadly. But L shook his head. “Sorry, princess. You’ve chosen the wrong detective.” The alicorn didn’t show any reaction to this. She merely kept her friendly expression.

“Please, explain”, she begged. L chuckled. He stared at her for a moment as if he was waiting for her to explain it herself.

“If your society has such a low crime rate as you claim, then the culprit is inexperienced and will be easy to catch for any experienced detective. I don’t want to boast or anything, but I think that your murder case won’t be any challenge for me.” He looked deep into the princess’s eyes. “It would be a waste of my time.” Celestia once again showed no reaction to that.

“Well, I think you’re judging this case too early. You see, the corpse was found in a locked room...”

“Now, I could tell you hundreds of tricks to do this right away”, L interrupted bored. Celestia nodded.

“But I don’t think that the culprit used any of them. I would bet that he used magic - which is a rather common skill in my dimension. Every unicorn has the power to do magic.” She could see the effect on L’s face.

“Magic, huh?” Celestia used her own magic to levitate her cup toward herself and took another sip of coffee. L smiled. “I see. But your magical powers must be way beyond that since you’ve been able to cross dimensions. And not for the first time, I assume.”

“You’re right. Although this is only my second visit to the astral planes” she stated. The young man tilted his head a little more.

“Why are you certain it was murder?”

“Because there’s a knife in the back of the corpse.” There was a bizarre smile on L’s face.

“Now that’s interesting. But still, I think that you’d do better with another detective. I’m sure the young Shinichi over there would take your case.” He was pointing at the little boy. Celestia shook her head.

“I’m sure he would and he may be able to solve my case. But I want you to solve it.” He was taken aback by her openness. “Not because of the case. I want you to solve it for yourself. Because my dimension has a lot to teach you.” An awkward silence followed once again.

“I’ve seen a bit of magic in my own dimension. I’ve seen notebooks that can kill. Magic is nothing I desire.” Celestia nodded.

“I wasn’t talking about something you’d call magic.”

“So what do you offer me instead? What do you think can your dimension teach me that I desire?” Celestia used her magic to turn one of the tv sets to face them. Although she hadn’t seen the images on screen, she knew exactly what he was watching. It was his own death. In an endless loop, he saw himself falling off his chair in slow motion. He saw himself crashing on the floor. The silent screams of everyone in the room. And then the body of his only friend leaning over him. He saw how the worried, shocked expression turned into a devilish smile of victory.

“You’re watching this loop over and over again, because you’re trying to understand why you failed your last case”, Celestia purported. “But the answer you’re looking for isn’t in this loop. If you solve my case, you will solve your own mystery too.” L was surprised by all the details she knew about him.

“So you know why I failed my last case?” he asked. “I hope you realise that I already knew who the culprit was when I died.”

“Yes, I know. It’s actually quite simple”, she said and leaned forward towards him. She was really close to him now. “You failed because you know nothing about the magic of friendship.” L backed away.

“Friendship? But the culprit was the only friend I ever had!”

“Exactly. And the funny thing is that you’re still calling him your friend. Now, come with me and solve my case. My most faithful student will assist you and incidentally show you what real friends are. Because, as a matter of fact, she’s studying the magic of friendship and she’s a real natural.” Celestia placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Once you know what real friends are, you will understand why you failed your case”. Lawliet slowly rose from his chair. He walked a few steps, obviously considering her offer.

“I’ll only say this one more time. You’d be better off with another detective. I’m used to operate in the background, leading police forces who get the job done. Sometimes I take risks and put others in danger - even sacrifice them. And I’m used to give orders to people”, he finished. “Do you think your student will like working with someone like me?” Celestia smiled happily.

“Oh yes, she will. Because she will heal your social awkwardness.” L took the remote from the desk and turned all his tv sets off.

“Well then, let’s go. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

Author's Note

I hope this will be more than a "Ponified L in Equestria" story. This is my first fan fiction and the first story I write in English, which isn't my native language. Please be lenient with me and my grammar. Corrections and criticism appreciated.

Sugar, please

The night was already falling over Ponyville. Twilight was really getting nervous. Oh, I wish she’d told me what’s wrong! She was walking in circles around the table in the living room - waiting for hours for the announced visit of the princess. The lavender mare had never been good at waiting. Although she had checked her checklist numerous times, she checked it again. It wasn't a very long list. Ink, quills and paper for taking notes; A few books on various subjects; A traveling guide for Ponyville and some basic servings. As ‘a serious matter’ could mean anything, Twilight didn't know what to prepare for. So she choose most generic books. How am I supposed to prepare for something when I don’t know what it is? The answer was as simple as it was frustrating. She couldn't prepare herself at all. And that was something she hated. Now, calm down, Twilight, she told herself. The princess will tell you what to do once she arrives. So instead of taking another round around the table, she sat down in her favorite chair and randomly took the first book that her hooves could grab: The Advanced Guide on Inorganic Compounds by Vividian Ment-sedi? She raised her eyebrows. This wasn't one of the books she had gathered for the upcoming ‘serious matter’. But then she remembered that it was the book that Doctor Whooves had returned this morning. She’d left it on the table in a hurry instead of putting it back in it’s shelve, because she was already leaving for her shopping. As this book was as good as the next, she opened it and began reading.

She’d read about twenty pages when there finally was a knock on the door. Twilight put the book on the table and rushed to the door. At first she was wondering why Spike wasn't answering the door, but then she remembered that she had given him the rest of the day off. So he was most certainly sleeping in his bed. Twilight had him cleaning the whole library for the royal visit. She opened the door herself and was happy to see princess Celestia standing in front of it. Next to her was a young stallion. He was a white earth pony with a crazy fuzzy black mane.

“I’m sorry to come at this late hour, Twilight. But the journey took a bit longer than expected”, the princess explained. Her student smiled happily.

“That’s fine, Princess. Please come in.” Celestia and her companion entered the library. Twilight noticed that the walking of the stallion was kinda weird. He walked rather slow and carefully - a little shaky.

“This here is L. He will help us in the matter I’m about to discuss with you” the alicorn introduced the stallion. Twilight smiled.

“Good evening, - L?” Twilight asked. It was the shortest name she’d ever heard. L wasn't paying much attention to her. He took more interest in the library he just entered. “My name is Twilight Sparkle. Nice to meet you.”

“The pleasure is mine”, L replied, not looking at her. The three fell silent for an awkward moment. Twilight took the initiative as the host.

“Please, have a seat in the living room. I’ve prepared some delicious morsels for us.” Celestia smiled with delight and followed her student to the table. They each helped themselves with some of the morsels. L was having a bit of trouble to grab the food, but he managed to hold it eventually. The princess finished her morsel with a sip of tea which her student had prepared for them as well.

“Delicious, Twilight.” L agreed, although Twilight was sure he wasn’t enjoying it too much. Celestia cleared her throat. “Now, shall we begin?” Both, Twilight and L nodded.

“Celestia, if you don’t mind, I’d like to brief Mrs. Sparkle myself”, L requested. Twilight was shocked by the fact, that L had called the princess by her first name. But she didn’t seem to mind.

“Please do”, she replied. L smiled and turned towards Twilight.

“This very morning, a dead earth stallion was found in the Ponyville hotel by a cleaning pony” he began. Twilight put one hoof in her mouth in shock. L continued: “The room was opened by said mare with her master key. All windows were locked. There was a kitchen knife in the back of the corpse. The carpet beneath the corpse was soaked in blood. There are no water stains on the carpet. No personal belongings of the deceased stallion were found in the room. His identity is yet unknown. He registered in the hotel the night before as Razor Blade without any ID. He paid for one night only. No one else was staying in the hotel. He had no visitors. No unusual noises were heard during the night. In fact, the concierge said it was awfully quiet. Do you have more sugar for the tea, please?” Twilight was taken aback.

“But - that’s horrible!”, she said looking at the princess. “So that’s why you were in the hotel this morning.” Celestia nodded. “But how...”

“Sugar, please!”, L interrupted pointing to his tea. Twilight gave him an angry look.

“How can you state these awful facts in such a cold way?”, she asked. “ Don’t you feel sorry for the deceased pony? Have you no piety?”

“Twilight, please be lenient with L”, the princess asked of her. “He is coming from a place very different from Equestria.”

“Thank you, Celestia”, L said. “But Mrs. Sparkle is right. I was being rude.” Twilight nodded. So he was someone who could admit his mistakes. “If you don’t mind, I’d like more sugar for my tea.” She smiled and brought a sugar bowl from the kitchen. L took five pieces and stirred his tea with the silver spoon. Twilight had never seen anypony taking this much sugar. After he took another sip, he smiled happily. “Much better. Now, Mrs. Sparkle. What do you think about these gruesome facts?” Twilight couldn’t help but feeling as though she was being tested by both - L and the princess. She thought about the facts for a moment.

“Well, it obviously looks like the poor pony was murdered” she replied carefully. Celestia nodded. L continued to stare at the young mare. In a strange way he had his right hoof in his closed mouth under his top lip. It appeared as though he was sucking on it. Twilight shook these observations aside and continued: “But I don’t understand why the culprit murdered his victim using a knife.” L raised one of his eyebrows. “If the murderer went through all the trouble to make it look like no one entered the room then why would he leave the knife in the corpse? I mean - it makes the whole scene screaming murder! He could have used some kind of poison and no pony would have suspected a crime.” The princess smiled happily. L seemed rather unimpressed. He took another sip of tea.

“Your conclusion?”, he asked. Twilight looked at the princess.

“It seems like he wants us to know about his crime. Although I don’t understand why. Does he want to be caught?” Celestia looked worried.

“I don’t know. It could have been a mistake. There hasn’t been a case of murder in hundreds of years. The culprit is most likely inexperienced.” Twilight didn’t seem to follow the reasoning of her teacher. “It is also possible that we’re dealing with an arrogant culprit who wants to challenge us.” L sighed.

“Celestia, what would you say is the most important fact that I stated?”

“The knife in the back of the corpse”, she replied immediately. L turned to Twilight.

“Do you agree, Mrs. Sparkle?” The purple mare felt uneasy by this question. Did he expect her to question her teacher? The mare that was closer than a sister to her? She stared at him, avoiding Celestia’s curious eyes.

“No.” It felt hard to say it, but Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder.

“It’s fine, Twilight. Just tell him what you think. I don’t mind you disagreeing.”

“I’m worried by the closed windows”, she told them. “All the other facts tell us that the victim went straight to bed after checking in. But no pony sleeps with closed windows during summer. The culprit most likely closed them to make it look like a classic murder in a locked room. But with the deliberately placed knife, it doesn’t make sense to me.” L chuckled.

“You’re both, right and wrong, Mrs. Sparkle”, he said. “Your reasoning abilities are quite impressive. The closed windows are the most important fact. The culprit closed them to mislead us in believing that he used magic to close and lock the door. He wants us to believe that he is a unicorn. I for one think we’re most likely dealing with a pegasus or an earth pony without any magical skills at all.”

“Are you sure?”, Twilight asked a little bit surprised by his skills. L tilted his head.

“It’s too early to be certain about that. But I’d say I’m about 12 percent sure about it.” Both mares stared at him in awe. “Nah, probably 9 percent.” Celestia smiled.

“Well, I see you two are working great together. Twilight, would you assist detective L to solve this case? I know it’s a lot to ask but I think you’re the smartest assistant I can offer him.” She turned to the young stallion. “That is, if you accept my student as your assistant.” L nodded.

“I would be very proud to have her as my assistant.” Twilight went a little red by the compliments.

“Yes, princess. I’d be honored to catch the culprit for you.” Celestia was clearly relieved by that.

“Thanks, my faithful student. I knew I could count on you.” She stood up heading for the door. “You two can start tomorrow morning. I have a room for L ready in Canterlot. We will call for you after sunrise.” L shook his head.

“Celestia, if you don’t mind I’d like to stay here in the library. This way, I’m closer to Twilight so that we can work more efficiently. Also, I’d like to read some of these books to get more into your world.” Twilight saw an unusual smirk on the princess’s face. More importantly, she was a little bit stressed by his request. She never had a stallion staying at hers before.

“Well, if Twilight doesn’t mind?”, the princess asked innocently. Twilight’s cheeks turned red again.

“No, of course not. I’ve got a spare room for guests.” Celestia nodded.

“Please be patient with him. And send me reports every other day.” Twilight assured to do so and saw the princess off. Leaving herself with a sleeping Spike and a crazy pony, who was already browsing her library.

The night was short and Twilight was woken by a loud scream which made her jump out of her bed. What in the name of Celestia? She rushed downstairs and was surprised by a hilarious scene. L was lying on the floor pointing in shock to Spike, who had armed himself with a broom sword and a bucket shield to defend the library castle against the insolent intruder. The genius detective kept mumbling “Dragon!” while the little baby dragon kept menacing him with his broom, not so kindly asking him to leave. Twilight tried to stop herself, but she burst out in laughter. The freaked out detective and the cute Spike were simply too much. Both stopped when they noticed the purple unicorn.

“Twilight, why are you laughing?”, Spike asked. “We have an intruder here!”

“There is a dragon in your library, Ms. Sparkle!”, L said. Twilight pulled herself together and stopped laughing.

“I’m sorry, boys”, she began. “Spike, this is no intruder. This is detective L. He’s a friend of the princess and will investigate a serious crime. I’ll be his assistant.” Spike lowered his sword and shield. Twilight turned to L. “And this brave and powerful dragon here is my number one assistant Spike.” She hugged her beloved friend from behind who was proud to be introduced this way. L stood up and took a closer look. He still seemed to be a little scared.

“Well, I’ve never met a dragon before. So, hello Spike. Sorry I scared you.” The baby dragon smiled and reached one claw out to him.

“Nah, that’s okay. I’m sorry I assaulted you.” L shook his claw. “But you’re glad Twilight saved you. I was about to burn you to ashes!”

“Don’t exaggerate, Spike”, Twilight teased him. “He’s still a baby dragon”, she explained to L who seemed even more impressed. Her stomach suddenly growled. Spike was on his way to the kitchen immediately.

“Breakfast for three, I guess?” he asked.

“Thanks, Spike. You’re the best.”

A few minutes later, Spike had a bowl of cereals and some orange juice ready for each of them. Before joining the breakfast table, Twilight noticed that L had taken quite a number of books out of the shelves. She found them piled on her desktop. Some of them lay opened with others above them, which made her wince. He also took a lot of notes. Obviously with her ink and paper. Please be patient with him, she remembered the princess’s words. So she swallowed her anger and took a closer look on the books he chose. Equestrian Anatomy, Sun and Moon - Rulers of Equestria, A Canterlot History, The Equestria Atlas, A Matter of Etiquette, Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls That are Simply Super, The Advanced Guide on Inorganic Compounds. On top of the notes was a sketch of Ponyville. L had drawn multiple circles around the Ponyville hotel labeled with strange symbols. The other notes were full of facts, that he must have copied from the various books. He must have worked all night for that. Twilight was deeply impressed. She left the desk and head into the kitchen, joining the others.

They all ate in silence. The baby dragon still seemed to be a little nervous about the guest, Twilight was still a bit tired and L was concentrating on using the spoon with his hoof. It wasn’t very difficult, really. But it was unfamiliar. He ate his meal without complaining, but Spike noticed that he didn’t enjoy it.

“Ah, don’t you like cereals, L?” he asked cautiously. “I can fetch you something else, if you like.”

“I don’t want to be rude, but I need food with more sugar. I usually eat three to five pieces of cake for breakfast.” Spike dropped his spoon. Twilight looked shocked too. “If I don’t get enough sugar, my reasoning abilities drop by about 23 percent. We can’t afford that”, he explained.

“You mean - you get smarter when you’re eating sweets?”, Spike asked with shining eyes.

“No, you don’t!”, Twilight replied fast, throwing an angry look at L. She was responsible for the little dragon after all. “You get fat when you’re eating this many sweets.”

“L isn’t fat!”, he said. It was true. L was in the perfect shape of an earth pony.

“You’re not getting fat, if you’re using your brain constantly”, L said pointing to his head. “But sweets won’t make you smarter. Books do.” Twilight sighed in relieve. “Still, sugar is the only nourishment that can provide energy for the brain. The rest of the body can be fed with fat. So if you want your brain to work at full capacity, you have to make sure to supply enough sugar.” Spike evaluated these new informations for a moment.

“Hmm, I don’t know if I got all of that right. Maybe I’m lacking concentration. I should get some of my stocked bon-bons. Just to be save.”

“Nice try, you little rascal!” Twilight said laughing. They all joined in. After that, the atmosphere was a lot more relaxed between the three of them.

“Anyway, where can I buy some cakes and sweets?”, L asked. Spike and Twilight exchanged a look.

“Man, you must visit Sugarcube Corner. Pinkie and her parents have the best sweets in all of Equestria”, Spike said excited. Twilight sighed.

“Oh no! I sense a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party dead ahead.”

Welcome to Ponyville

It was still early when Twilight and L arrived at the bakery. Pinkie was standing behind the counter, smiling as happy as ever. There was a fun upbeat song playing in the background.

“Oh, good morning Twilight”, Pinkie greeted her friend. “What’s uppy-up? You usually don’t visit me this early. Didn’t get any breakfast from Spikey-Wikey? Is he ill? I hope he’s oky-doky.” Then she noticed the new stallion next to Twilight. “Wow, who’s your new stallion friend, Twilight?” She turned toward him with a big grin. “You must be new in town! I know everypony in Ponyville, but I don’t know you yet. So you must be new and...”

“Pinkie!”, Twilight interrupted. “This is L. He’s a friend of princess Celestia and he’s in Ponyville on her orders. I’m assisting him in...” Pinkie was chuckling.

“Your name is L? But that’s not a name. That’s a letter! Is that an alias or nickname? My name is Pinkie Pie.”

“Nice to meet you”, L replied. “It’s an abbreviation and I’d prefer to keep it this way.” He managed to say it kindly. Pinkie kept smiling.

“An abbrev - what?”, she asked. Twilight groaned.

“It’s the first letter of his real name”, she explained. Pinkie jumped in joy.

“Oh, I know. I bet I can guess your real name. Is it Lotus? Lightning? Lawnmower?” L was laughing while Twilight was losing her patience with Pinkie.

“Lawnmower?”, he asked imitating the sound of one. He perfected his performance by eating invisible grass. It made Pinkie burst out laughing.

“You’re awesome, L!”, she cried. “Oh, I have to organize a ‘welcome to Ponyville party’ for you!”

“Here we go...”, Twilight commented. L shook his head.

“Thanks, Pinkie. But I’m probably not staying long. And I don’t want to trouble you.” The party pony didn’t take no for an answer.

“Don’t be stupid, L! Of course we will party your arrival.” Twilight put a hoof on L’s shoulder.

“Trust me, you won’t be able to stop her.” He smiled and took a step towards the display.

“Fine. But first, I’d like to taste some of these delicious looking cakes.” The impact on Pinkie’s face was impressive. Her grin grew wider and wider.

“You’re here for cakes?!? Delicious cakey-cakes? Cupcakes? Muffins?”, she asked excited.

“Oh, you will love that. He’s a real sweet tooth”, Twilight said. Pinkie screamed in delight.

“This is getting better and better! Which cake do you want to try first?” She suggested five of her favorites - which was to say five of her own creations.

“All of them!”

It wasn’t hard to find an empty corner in the bakery at this early hour. L had already finished his third cake while Twilight hadn’t hardly had a third of her hot chocolate. She kindly refused any cake Pinkie offered her in favor of the drink. Seeing him eating all that sweet stuff fascinated her as much as it disgusted her. But the sugar seemed to show some effect on his face. The more he stuffed into him, the waker and sharper he looked. Although they ate in silence for most of the time, she could see the thoughts running through his mind.

They decided it would be best to visit the Ponyville hotel one more time. Twilight should see the scene of crime herself. It wasn’t something to look forward to for her, but she wouldn’t turn her back on it. Before they left the shop however, L bought some more cakes to take home. This way he made sure to have plenty supply home when needed.

The purple mare nearly puked at the sight of the corpse. Celestia had conjured a spell around it, so it wouldn’t decay any more. Yet, it didn’t look any fresher than before. L showed few sympathy for his young assistant.

“Is this the first corpse you’ve ever seen?”, he asked her. Twilight nodded.

“I’ll be fine in a moment.” She swallowed a few times to regain her coolness. L brought her a glass of water.

“It will make you feel better.” She took the glass thankfully. “I kind of envy you”, he suddenly said. Twilight stared back at him blankly. “One is getting used to sights like this way too fast. Your reaction to all this shows some kind of innocence which also implies an emotional security unknown to me.” She wasn’t sure how to react to such a statement. In a way, it was one of the nicest compliments she’d ever received yet. On the other hoof, the sadness within it made her feel uncomfortable for him.

“You’ve seen much darkness, haven’t you?”, she asked quietly. Once again he showed this sheepish smile.

“More than you can imagine.” He turned his back on her and made his way to the door. “Please feel free to evaluate the crime scene for yourself. But you won’t find anything of interest which I haven’t told you of.” And with that, he left her. The faithful student sighed. Why won’t you share some of your thoughts with me?

She came downstairs half an hour later. L was lying under a tree looking up into the sky with an empty look on his face.

“You were right. I didn’t find anything else unusual.” L stood up.

“That’s okay. But now you’ve seen it for yourself.” She nodded. “And what would you suggest to do next? Where would you start your investigation?” Twilight couldn’t help but feel being tested by him. It was obvious that he already had a plan and wanted to see if her suggestion would match.

“Somepony must know the victim. He must have come here for a reason. So we should start by interviewing the Ponyville citizens.” L turned to the road leading to the center of the town.

“Yes, we should do that”, he agreed. Twilight followed, pleased with herself. “But I doubt we’ll find somepony knowing Razor Blade. The smile on her face washed away immediately.

“But - I don’t understand. There must be someone he wanted to meet or visit or...” L shook his head.

“He came to Ponyville seeking shelter. Running away from something or somepony.” At first, L’s assertion sounded crazy to her. How can he pull something like that out of the air? None of the facts indicate that the victim was... Then she realized her mistake. None of the facts indicated that Razor Blade had benn meeting somepony. And the only other explanation for a stranger to visit with no luggage was a pony on the run. For a moment she was speechless for L’s brilliance. And the fact that she hadn’t seen this herself made her almost furious.

“If he’d come to meet up with or visit somepony, he’d have most likely brought luggage”, she said meekly.

“And he wouldn’t have checked in at that late hour”, L added. “Now, given that my theory is correct, what would you say is more likely: the culprit is somepony who followed him and finally hunted him down in that hotel, or - the culprit is a Ponyville citizen and the victim ran directly into him?” Twilight stopped her walking and thought about it hard. Then she hung her head.

“I, I don’t know. It’s way too early for me to reason something like that with the few evidence we’ve got.” The white stallion lifted her head back up.

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Sparkle. I’m only speaking my own thoughts out loud. We can’t make these assumptions just yet.”

“You’re - you’re not testing me?”, she asked perplexed. L laughed.

“I’m constantly testing everypony and everything. Including myself”, he explained. “But I won’t judge your reasoning abilities based on minor facts like th...”, he suddenly stopped dead for a rather long time. Twilight began to worry.

“L? Is everything okay?” He still didn’t move. “You’re starting to scare me!” The detective stallion swallowed and shook his head.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Sparkle. I just had some ideas.” She sighed in relief.

“And would you care to share them with me?” He continued his walk to the town center.

“Definitely not”, he answered harshly. “Please don’t take this personally, but I never share all my thought with anypony.” Twilight froze.

“But how can I assist you in the case when I don’t know all the details?”

“Don’t worry about it. It’s nothing important just yet.” Twilight didn’t buy it. He looked way too taken aback then. “Please let us start by interviewing the Ponyville citizens as planned.”

The interviews took much longer than Twilight had imagined. This was due to the hospitable nature of the Ponyfolk. It was difficult to ask the citizens about Razor Blade without telling them that they were actually investigating a case of murder. L had the brilliant idea of introducing himself as the lost brother searching for him. In his version, he had arranged to meet his brother at the hotel, but he hadn’t made it on time. But no matter whom they asked, the results were always the same. Nopony knew Razor Blade.

When they left Rarity’s boutique, Twilight sighed depressed. It was the last house. They had asked every citizen except for Fluttershy, who wasn’t home; Rainbow Dash, who was on duty in Cloudsdale; and Lyra Heartstrings, who was visiting her family in Vanhoover, as Bon Bon had explained. Rarity sure enjoyed the fact that there was a stallion staying at Twilight’s library. But the faithful student managed to quiet her before it was getting really embarrassing.

The sun was already setting when they arrived back at the library. Spike presented them the expected Welcome to Ponyville invitation which Pinkie had brought in a few hours ago. L scanned over the lines and they could see that he wasn’t really looking forward to it. Twilight couldn’t blame him. There were so many things to do which were more important than this social activity.

“There’s no escaping a Pinkie party”, she said a little grumpy. “Even after a day as bad as this one.” Spike gave her an angry look.

“Don’t you listen to Mrs. Grumpy, L. Pinkie’s parties are the best. You’ll have the time of your life.” The detective pony ruffled through his mane.

“It’s scheduled for tonight at 9pm”, he announced. “That’s in about 45 minutes”. Twilight nodded and turned to her desk.

“Do you want to review our results from today?” she asked him. L seemed to consider this for a minute. “I don’t think it will take much of our precious time”, she added a little annoyed.

“Yes, we should do that. We can also use that for our report to the princess.” The purple mare shuddered at little.

“Oh no! I hope she won’t be too disappointed by our poor results!” L smiled.

“She won’t be”, he simply said.

“But how can you know? We found nothing thus far and if we don’t find the culprit soon, it’s likely that he’ll murder again!” He could see how depressed and helpless she felt. A part of him wanted to comfort her. But that just wasn’t something he was familiar with. He took an empty scroll, ink and feather instead. Twilight watched him write their first report.

Dear Celestia,
You were right with both: hiring me and having Mrs. Sparkle as my assistant for this case. After meeting and interviewing most of the Ponyville citizens, I’m certain to see the complexity of the situation. Everypony is denying to know Razor Blade. Knowing where the victim comes from is crucial for the investigation.

So I suggest that Mrs. Sparkle and I will expand our research to the adjacent towns. Starting tommorow, I’d like to continue our investigation in Dodge City and Apple Loosa.

If you could spare a few of your guards, I’d like them to simultaneous visit the north west regions of Equestria and interview the local citizens. The chances of Razor Blade coming from one of these towns seem rather slim, but i’d like them to make sure of this. Tell them, they’re looking for a missing pony. They should not be informed about the fact, that we are investigating a case of murder.

Yours,

P.S.: Thank you for the chance of experience your world.

Twilight read the letter three times, shaking her head.

“How are we going to send it to the princess?”, L finally asked.

“But L, this letter is so - distant and incomplete.” He didn’t respond to this at first. “You don’t even tell her about your theory that Razor Blade was on the run and...”

“And we should keep it this way.” Both ponies stared at each other. Spike felt the tension between them and decided that he had a very important task to do in the kitchen. L folded the letter. “Now, how do we send it?” Twilight stared angrily at him.

“We won’t send it in it’s current form! Princess Celestia must be informed about our results in all details. I won’t keep secrets from her. Especially if they are this big.” L suddenly raised one hoof. Memories of the many rows and fights he had with Light overwhelmed him. But then he remembered how welcoming the Ponyfolk was. This world is a very different place. He lowered his hoof as fast as he had raised it - scared of himself. Twilight thought he had raised his hoof to ask for silence. She didn’t know how close she had been to being hit by a stallion.

“I’m sorry”, he said meekly. “You should know, that the place where I came from is very different to your place.” Twilight wanted to ask him about his past, but he didn’t let her. “Celestia knows my way of handling things. I told her about the many various problems recruiting me would imply. She dismissed them rather easily. So...”, he gave the letter to her. “if you trust her judgement as much as I think you do, send the report to her the way it is. If you don’t trust her, feel free to edit it.” He walked away from her into the study hall. Twilight's hooves shook as she stared down on the parchment.

“Spike!” The baby dragon was standing beside her in an instant. “Please send this letter to the princess”. L watched the green flame passing him as it made it’s way out of the window and into the night.

Pinkie had surpassed herself with the welcome party. She must really like L, Twilight thought. Everypony had come to welcome L in Ponyville. Bon Bon was serving all kinds of drinks, Mrs. Cake was serving all kinds of sweets and other food, and Vinyl Scratch was working her own magic on the records. The atmosphere was hilarious and even L seemed to enjoy it a lot. He was talking (and even dancing cautiously) with every pony who approached him. There was but one pony who didn’t make the most of this night. Twilight Sparkle was sitting at a table in a far corner. Fluttershy was the first to join her.

“Oh, hello Twilight.”

“Hi Fluttershy. Enjoying the party?” The shy mare blushed a little.

“Yes. Pinkie really hit the spot this time.” Twilight nodded.

“So, have you been busy today? You weren’t home when L and I visited you to ask you about his missing brother.” Then she told her whispering all about the dead pony and the investigation. Fluttershy was shocked but managed to keep quiet.

“Oh no, who would do such a horrible thing?”, she asked. Twilight simply shrugged. “I haven’t seen anypony like that. I was taking care of some squirrels at the edge of the Everfree Forest. The only pony I’ve meet today was Lyra. She was lost on a wrong path, so I told her the right way back to the town.”

Twilight chuckled. “I knew it’d been animals who kept you outside.” Fluttershy smiled.They were soon joined by Rainbow Dash, Rarity and Applejack. Pinkie was still busy dancing her hooves off. When Bon Bon came to take their orders, Twilight went first.

“A hard cider for me, please.” The others looked at her surprised. She normally never drank.

“Ohh, what’s up Twilight? New study for the princess?”, Rainbow asked laughing. Rarity wouldn’t miss this chance to tease her either:

“Or are you planning on getting to know this handsome stallion in your library better?”

“There’s a stallion staying at your library?!?”, Rainbow asked impressed. “How awesome is that?” She turned to Rarity. “Who is it?”

Twilight groaned.

“Girls, I’m just trying to relax after a bad day!”, she explained. But her words were in vain. Rainbow and Rarity were lost in their gossiping. Applejack smiled at Twilight.

“Now, don’t ya let those immatures get the better of ya, Twi. You know how they can be.” Twilight smiled back at her.

“Yeah, I know.”

“Anyway, …” Applejack turned to Bon Bon, who was still patiently waiting for the others orders. “I’d like a hard cider too.” The hard working farm pony was used to a good drink. They all ordered cider. “Can I help you cheer up, sugarcube?”, Applejack asked.

“Thank you, Applejack. It’s just that - being an assistant is harder than I thought.”

Twilight shared her feelings and problems with Applejack and the others. The cider helped her tongue to loosen up. And together with the comfort of her friends, her mood got back to normal by the hour.

The hour was really getting late. The party simply seemed to went on and on. They drank, ate and danced the time away. Even Twilight enjoyed herself on the dancefloor. Alcohol really has funny ways of altering one's actions. She never realized how much fun dancing was. First, she was dancing alone for herself - just like the did at Fancy Pant’s garden party at Rarity’s last birthday. But she was later joined by other mares and even stallions. She loved dancing with Comet Tail, the young unicorn stallion who really knew how to move his body. While dancing, she noticed L sitting by a table next to Rainbow Dash. Sooner or later she will challenge him to some sort of contest, Twilight though. Competition was in the nature of the athletic flyer. The faithful student knew that those challenges were simple tools for Rainbow to show everypony how cool she was. Yet, something was different this time. It was one of the rare occasion on which the purple mare wasn’t sure if Rainbow could really handle the challenge. L was incredible superior when it came to mental challenges. And even though he was that smart - his body showed obvious signs of physical training. Seeing that she had never saw him doing any kind of work out, she wondered how he managed to be in such a perfect shape. Yet, she only knew him for one day. Maybe he had put his training aside to focus on the case.

All these thoughts made her wonder about his past. The more she wondered about him, the more she realized that she really knew nothing about the genius detective. She remembered Celestia’s words: He is coming from a place very different from Equestria. But - where was he coming from, then? Where has he met Celestia? For how long did they knew each other? L didn’t look that old - somewhere between 20 and 25? But the way he ‘walked’ on his four hooves the night he came into her life. And the fact that he had trouble lifting a spoon with his hooves. As if he were a newborn colt who still had to learn everything. It didn’t make any sense. And then the fact that he was calling Celestia by her first name. If they were this close (which made her very jealous), why wasn’t he telling her everything in his ‘report’. Why keeping all these secrets? As if he didn’t trust her.

They called it a night at 3am. Twilight was exhausted and a little dizzy from all the dancing (and the alcohol) and went straight into the bathroom to get herself ready for bed. L sat himself in front of the desk and started to take notes. When she left the bathroom and saw him sitting there, she asked him if he ever sleeps.
“I don’t need much sleep. I rarely sleep more than two hours in three days”, he explained. She looked shocked. Was that even possible?

“But - won’t your reasoning ability suffer from this lack of sleep?” L smiled.

“Please, don’t worry about me, Mrs. Sparkle.” She turned her head away. Would he think bad of her when she went to sleep - leaving the work to him? He seemed to have guessed her thoughts. “Good night, Mrs. Sparkle. We have a long journey ahead of us tomorrow.” She nodded and turned to the stairs to her bed. “One last thing”, he suddenly said. Twilight stopped in the doorway. “I enjoyed being with your friends.They are special, aren’t they?” She was feeling a warm sensation.

“More than you can imagine.”