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* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Straw Bolt's list of Colgate's crimes includes mass property damage, acts of terror, threats against Equestria, unauthorized uses of illegal magic, assault on a member of the Canterlot City Guard, unlawful imprisonment, possession of unauthorized experimental weapons, espionage, and multiple traffic violations.
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* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Straw Bolt's list of Colgate's crimes crimes, when arresting her at the end of season 2, includes mass property damage, acts of terror, threats against Equestria, unauthorized uses of illegal magic, assault on a member of the Canterlot City Guard, unlawful imprisonment, possession of unauthorized experimental weapons, espionage, and multiple traffic violations.
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* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: Straw Bolt's list of Colgate's crimes includes mass property damage, acts of terror, threats against Equestria, unauthorized uses of illegal magic, assault on a member of the Canterlot City Guard, unlawful imprisonment, possession of unauthorized experimental weapons, espionage, and multiple traffic violations.
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* {{Hypocrite}}: As several commenters have pointed out, Twilight. She condemns Second Kira for killing innocents, when she's killed plenty to save her own skin.
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* {{Hypocrite}}: As several commenters have pointed out, Twilight. She condemns Second Kira for killing innocents, when she's killed plenty to save her own skin.
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A ''Manga/DeathNote''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' FusionFic by Nonagon. It follows the basic plot of DeathNote but introduces enough twists to keep the readers on their toes.
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A ''Manga/DeathNote''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' FusionFic by Nonagon. It follows the basic plot of DeathNote Manga/DeathNote but introduces enough twists to keep the readers on their toes.
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* CastFromLifespan: Just like in the original DeathNote, a Death Note user can trade half her lifespan for shinigami eyes.
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* CastFromLifespan: Just like in the original DeathNote, Manga/DeathNote, a Death Note user can trade half her lifespan for shinigami eyes.
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* DistantDuet: A trio actually. DeathNote crossover or not, this is still MyLittlePony, so at one point three separate characters break into a song about the current events.
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* DistantDuet: A trio actually. DeathNote Manga/DeathNote crossover or not, this is still MyLittlePony, so at one point three separate characters break into a song about the current events.
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* ThenLetMeBeEvil: Invoked by Twilight at the end of Season 2. Realizing that by this point, Kira will never be viewed as the shining beacon of justice Twilight was originally aiming for, Twilight decides to build up the image of Kira as an almost mythical epitome of evil, a monster who targets other evil-doers, in order to scare anyone out of ever breaking the law ever again.
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Not a Wham Episode, just an episode.
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** Chapter 32 ties up everything that happened in Season 2 and sets up Season 3: Twilight slips into full AGodAmI mode, as she prepares to fight against [[spoiler: whoever was controlling L via Bon-Bon]]; Colgate, facing criminal charges for the Coalition's actions in pursuit of Kira, teams up with Straw Bolt to investigate Sunny Days' mysterious disappearance; the Shinigami that Byuk stole his Death Note from starts looking for him; and in the last scene, [[spoiler: a contingency plan activates L's chosen successors]].
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* AGodAmI: Mostly averted. See: ComesGreatResponsibility
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* AGodAmI: Mostly averted. See: ComesGreatResponsibilityComesGreatResponsibility.
** However, after [[spoiler: L's death]] at the end of Season 2, Twilight dives right into this -- she decides to set up Kira as a mythological figure of evil in order to scare anyone out of performing evil ever again, while also leading the "resistance" against Kira. She figures that such a position on both sides would make her a goddess.
** However, after [[spoiler: L's death]] at the end of Season 2, Twilight dives right into this -- she decides to set up Kira as a mythological figure of evil in order to scare anyone out of performing evil ever again, while also leading the "resistance" against Kira. She figures that such a position on both sides would make her a goddess.
* CerebusRetcon: L's personality and her relationship with Bon Bon becomes this when it's revealed that [[spoiler: Bon Bon is actually a changeling]]. As Twilight explains, this means that [[spoiler: Bon Bon was feeding off of L's emotions for ''years'', essentially hollowing her out into a meat puppet]].
* RunningBothSides: As per ''Death Note'' canon, [[spoiler: after L's death, Twilight takes over the investigation into her own actions as Kira]].
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** Chapter 30-31, which sees the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here.
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** Chapter 30-31, which sees sees, among other things, the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here. here.
** Chapter 32 ties up everything that happened in Season 2 and sets up Season 3: Twilight slips into full AGodAmI mode, as she prepares to fight against [[spoiler: whoever was controlling L via Bon-Bon]]; Colgate, facing criminal charges for the Coalition's actions in pursuit of Kira, teams up with Straw Bolt to investigate Sunny Days' mysterious disappearance; the Shinigami that Byuk stole his Death Note from starts looking for him; and in the last scene, [[spoiler: a contingency plan activates L's chosen successors]].
** Chapter 32 ties up everything that happened in Season 2 and sets up Season 3: Twilight slips into full AGodAmI mode, as she prepares to fight against [[spoiler: whoever was controlling L via Bon-Bon]]; Colgate, facing criminal charges for the Coalition's actions in pursuit of Kira, teams up with Straw Bolt to investigate Sunny Days' mysterious disappearance; the Shinigami that Byuk stole his Death Note from starts looking for him; and in the last scene, [[spoiler: a contingency plan activates L's chosen successors]].
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** Who'd have thought Pinkie Pie would end up as [[spoiler:Shiori]].
** Rarity is very similar to Naomi Misora.
** Rarity is very similar to Naomi Misora.
to:
** Who'd have thought Pinkie Pie would end up as [[spoiler:Shiori]].
[[spoiler:Shiori]]?
** Rarity is very similar to [[spoiler: NaomiMisora.Misora]].
** Rarity is very similar to [[spoiler: Naomi
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* TheStarscream: Mer, while never ''quite'' on Twilight's side, decides to outright betray her during the MemoryGambit. [[spoiler: Turns out, Twilight was counting on it.]]
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** Later, in one of her internal monologues, Twilight points out that [[spoiler: by having Caramel deliver her challenge on crystalvision, L murdered him just as much as Twilight did]]
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* {{Outgambitted}}: Mer, oh so much. [[spoiler: Not only does her plan to leave Twilight in IronicHell backfires with fatal results, it turns out that in all the contingencies Twilight had to plan for, Mer's betrayal was the only one she was reasonably sure of, so that the more likely outcome of her XanatosGambit was built around it.]]
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* BigBad: As VillainProtagonist, the role falls to Twilight by default. Though one could argue that Mer takes on the role of TheHeavy (if not outright BigBad) during Twilight's MemoryGambit, even though everything is going [[ExactlyAsPlanned according to Twilight's plan]].
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* GambitPileup: Twilight and L's moves against each other count from the start. Then Mer goes off Twilight's script to reach her own ends. And on top of that, not only does [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie]] appear to have set up a ThanatosGambit before her death, but Celestia is strongly implied to be running her own scheme against Kira.
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* SpannerInTheWorks: Mer eventually decides to stop following Twilight's script and run her own plan. Time will tell, however, if Twilight planned for this.
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* SpannerInTheWorks: [[spoiler: Subverted. Mer eventually decides to stop following Twilight's goes off script and run her own plan. Time will tell, however, if in an attempt to get revenge on Twilight planned for this.Rarity's death, but it turns out Twilight had a contingency in place for this. Despite Mer's attempts, Twilight still ends up on top, and Mer ends up dead.]]
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** Except there is no Fourth Kira; the deaths blamed on them were planned by Twilight in advance as part of the MemoryGambit as a distraction, alongside everything about the Third Kira.
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** [[spoiler: Except there is no Fourth Kira; the deaths blamed on them were planned by Twilight in advance as part of the MemoryGambit as a distraction, alongside everything about the Third Kira.]]
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** Chapter 30-31, which see the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here.
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** Chapter 30-31, which see sees the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here.
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* GambitRoulette: With the plot even more complicated than the original manga, a basic XanatosGambit would be useless. Therefore, Twilight has to be smarter than Light was.
* WorthyOpponent: How Twilight comes to feel about L [[spoiler: even mourning her death]].
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* XanatosGambit: with the plot even more complicated than the original manga, a XanatosRoulette would be useless. Therefore, Twilight has to be smarter than Light was.
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** Chapter 30-31, which see the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here. Sufficient to say, however, that not only are there numerous deaths, but it turns out the Fourth Kira doesn't exist, being a distraction Twilight set up in advance.
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** Chapter 30-31, which see the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here. Sufficient to say, however, that not only are there numerous deaths, but it turns out the Fourth Kira doesn't exist, being a distraction Twilight set up in advance.
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* AntagonistInMourning: [[spoiler: Twilight, even after her memories as Kira are restored, mourns L's death.]]
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* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played with. Twilight believes that as NecessarilyEvil, she doesn't get to have standards. It doesn't stop her from flipping out when others cross the line.
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* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played with. Twilight believes that as NecessarilyEvil, she doesn't get to have standards. It doesn't stop her from flipping out when others cross the line.line, and even when she's tying up loose ends after her MemoryGambit, she can't bring herself to kill [[spoiler: Apple Bloom]].
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* {{Expy}}: A lot. Twilight Sparkle is basically like Light Yagami.
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* {{Expy}}: A lot. lot:
** Twilight Sparkle is basically like Light Yagami.
** Twilight Sparkle is basically like Light Yagami.
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* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Twilight and Fluttershy, though that remains to be seen for the former after chapter 29.]]
to:
* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Twilight Twilight and Fluttershy, though that remains to be seen for the former after chapter 29.]][[spoiler: Fluttershy]], as part of Twilight's MemoryGambit. Though as of chapters 30 and 31, it's undone.
** Luna states that whoever is currently controlling the golems is not their original creator, Judas Loam.
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* OnceAnEpisode: All chapters begin with a rule from the Death Note and end with a letter to a princess, either Twilight writing to Celestia or Colgate's report to Luna.
to:
* OnceAnEpisode: All chapters begin with a rule from the Death Note and end with a letter to a princess, either Twilight writing to Celestia or Celestia, Colgate's report to Luna.Luna, or after Chapter 12, a [[spoiler: post-mortem]] letter from Pinkie Pie to one of her friends.
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* ThanatosGambit: It is heavily hinted that [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie]] might be running one
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* ThanatosGambit: It is heavily hinted that [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie]] might be running oneone.
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* TrueCompanions: MemoryGambit!Twilight eventually becomes this to L. Which is heartbreaking [[ForegoneConclusion when you know what's coming...]]
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* TrueCompanions: MemoryGambit!Twilight eventually becomes this to L. Which is heartbreaking [[ForegoneConclusion when you know what's coming...[[spoiler: Even after her memories come back, she mourns L's death.]]
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** And of course, both (it would seem) the Tri-Kira and Fourth Kira are part of Twilight's MemoryGambit, making them this for her.
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** And of course, both (it would seem) the Tri-Kira and Except there is no Fourth Kira are Kira; the deaths blamed on them were planned by Twilight in advance as part of Twilight's MemoryGambit, making them this for her.
the MemoryGambit as a distraction, alongside everything about the Third Kira.
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** Chapter 30-31 would be cheapened by spoiling it here.
to:
** Chapter 30-31 30-31, which see the resolution of Twilight's MemoryGambit, would be cheapened by spoiling it here.here. Sufficient to say, however, that not only are there numerous deaths, but it turns out the Fourth Kira doesn't exist, being a distraction Twilight set up in advance.
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* ThanatosGambit: It is heavily hinted that [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie]] might be running one
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* ThanatosGambit: It is heavily hinter that [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie]] might be running one
to:
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* ThanatosGambit: It is heavily hinter that [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie]] might be running one
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** Chapter 30-31 would be cheapened by spoiling it here.
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* XanatosGambit: with the plot even more complicated than the original manga, a XanatosRoulette would be useless. Therefore, Twilight has to be smarter than Light was.
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A DeathNote[=/=]WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic FusionFic by Nonagon. It follows the basic plot of DeathNote but introduces enough twists to keep the readers on their toes.
to:
A DeathNote[=/=]WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic ''Manga/DeathNote''[=/=]''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' FusionFic by Nonagon. It follows the basic plot of DeathNote but introduces enough twists to keep the readers on their toes.
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Compare with ''Fanfic/TheDragonsNotebook'', the ''other'' ''Death Note''/''MLP:FIM'' crossover fic.
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* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Sweetie Belle. What she ranted at to the Second Kira, Fluttershy, cost her her life.]]
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** B'yuk is basically punning off of Ryuk.
** Mer is a more merciless version of Rem (ironically, her name is spelled backwards to that of Rem's).
** Mer is a more merciless version of Rem (ironically, her name is spelled backwards to that of Rem's).
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** B'yuk Byuk is basically punning off of Ryuk.
** Mer is a more merciless version of the more passive Rem(ironically, (appropriately, her name is spelled backwards to that of Rem's).
** Mer is a more merciless version of the more passive Rem
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Removed \"Magical Database\" example
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* MagicalDatabase: Literally. The investigators have a magitek abacus that can access all the data available from Canterlot. Also, the files in city archives are enchanted to auto-update. This is how Kira learns of potential targets.
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** L is [[spoiler:basically the female counterpart of]], well, L.
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* {{Expy}}: A lot. Twilight Sparkle is basically like Light Yagami.
** Who'd have thought Pinkie Pie would end up as [[spoiler:Shiori]].
** Rarity is very similar to Naomi Misora.
** [[spoiler:Fluttershy is basically a more merciless version of Misa Amane.]]
** [[spoiler:Spike is a lot like Soichiro Yagami, especially during the staged execution scene.]]
** Rainbow Dash is a lot like Aizawa.
** B'yuk is basically punning off of Ryuk.
** Mer is a more merciless version of Rem (ironically, her name is spelled backwards to that of Rem's).
** [[spoiler:Sweetie Belle is a lot like Mr. Mogi and, to some extent, Sayu Yagami.]]
** L is [[spoiler:basically the female counterpart of]], well, L.
** Who'd have thought Pinkie Pie would end up as [[spoiler:Shiori]].
** Rarity is very similar to Naomi Misora.
** [[spoiler:Fluttershy is basically a more merciless version of Misa Amane.]]
** [[spoiler:Spike is a lot like Soichiro Yagami, especially during the staged execution scene.]]
** Rainbow Dash is a lot like Aizawa.
** B'yuk is basically punning off of Ryuk.
** Mer is a more merciless version of Rem (ironically, her name is spelled backwards to that of Rem's).
** [[spoiler:Sweetie Belle is a lot like Mr. Mogi and, to some extent, Sayu Yagami.]]
** L is [[spoiler:basically the female counterpart of]], well, L.
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* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:Sweetie Belle. What she ranted at to the Second Kira, Fluttershy, cost her her life.]]
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* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Twilight and Fluttershy, though that remains to be seen for the former after chapter 29.]]
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** Chapter 29 [[spoiler: has the L Team/Coalition of Justice, with help from Princess Luna, set up a sting to expose the Tri-Kira, in the process ending up having to detain Straw Bolt when he interferes; Rainbow Dash becomes convinced that Twilight is Kira and breaks off from the team; Applejack takes on the Eyes of the Shinigami, but is captured (by ''Derpy'', of all ponies); Mer uses her Death Note to reveal herself to the team, and the cliffhanger suggests that she's restored Twilight's memories and exposed her to the team.]]
to:
** Chapter 29 [[spoiler: has the L Team/Coalition of Justice, with help from Princess Luna, set up a sting to expose the Tri-Kira, in the process ending up having to detain Straw Bolt when he interferes; Rainbow Dash becomes convinced that Twilight is Kira and breaks off from the team; Applejack takes on the Eyes of the Shinigami, but is captured (by ''Derpy'', of all ponies); Mer uses her Death Note to reveal herself to the team, and the cliffhanger suggests that she's restored Twilight's memories and exposed her to the team.team, unless, of course, she dropped the notebook when she was tackled by Bon Bon.]]
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* RightHandVersusLeftHand: The fact that the Coalition of Justice works in the shadows leads to complications when Straw Bolt's more straightforward investigations get in the way, especially during [[spoiler: the sting operation in chapter 29]]. More prominently is the fact that Celestia, or at least the Royal Guard, are running their own plan as well.
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* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: When [[spoiler: Applejack]] is exposed as the Third Kira, [[spoiler: she]] hits Princess Luna hard enough to send her stumbling back.
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: [[spoiler: Ditzy/Derpy nearly kills Applejack upon identifying her as Third Kira.]]
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Ditzy/Derpy's depression over [[spoiler: Written Script's death]] eventually turns to anger, and she ends up [[spoiler: nearly beating Applejack to death]].
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* SealedEvilInACan: Whoever created the golems, according to Discord. He chastises Celestia for it, saying she really should start destroying threats rather than sealing them away, as they always come back eventually.
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* SealedEvilInACan: Whoever Judas Loam, who created the golems, according to Discord. He chastises Celestia for it, saying she really should start destroying threats rather than sealing them away, as they always come back eventually.
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** Chapter 29 [[spoiler: has the L Team/Coalition of Justice, with help from Princess Luna, set up a sting to expose the Tri-Kira, in the process ending up having to detain Straw Bolt when he interferes; Rainbow Dash becomes convinced that Twilight is Kira and breaks off from the team; Applejack takes on the Eyes of the Shinigami, but is captured (by ''Derpy'', of all ponies); Mer uses her Death Note to reveal herself to the team, and the cliffhanger suggests that she's restored Twilight's memories and exposed her to the team.]]
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[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/death_note_equestria_2650.jpg]]
Equestria is growing, and magical savant Twilight Sparkle is disgusted by the crime and corruption this change has brought. Her life is changed forever when she discovers the Death Note, a notebook with inexplicable and deadly powers. She uses this book to pass judgement on those she deems unworthy of life, aiming to create a perfect world free of crime. But when the two Princesses put their best pony on the case, a mysterious detective known only as L, a psychological game of cat and mouse erupts between the two.
A DeathNote[=/=]WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic FusionFic by Nonagon. It follows the basic plot of DeathNote but introduces enough twists to keep the readers on their toes.
Can be read [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1455/Death-Note-Equestria here]].
----
!!Tropes:
* AboveTheInfluence: [[spoiler: Ditzy's boss Boxy Brown, who's had a crush on her for years, comes close to taking advantage of her while she's mourning Written Script, but stops himself at the last minute when he remembers Pinkie's last letter to him.]]
* ActorAllusion: [[spoiler: Rarity's role in the plot is exactly the same as Naomi Misora. Both are voiced by TabithaStGermain.]]
** WordOfGod states it was accidental, if very funny.
* AFeteWorseThanDeath: Pinkie Pie's spy-themed party ends with [[spoiler: all the actual spies dropping dead.]]
* AGodAmI: Mostly averted. See: ComesGreatResponsibility
* AHouseDivided: Happens quite a bit due to L's methods. However, an extra layer is added on when Rainbow Dash hears the story Mer fed the Tri-Kira, and she begins to suspect that either Twilight ''or'' L might be Byuk's Kira, and she can't bring herself to fully trust either of them.
* AloneWithThePsycho: [[spoiler: Photo Finish becomes a crazy stalker of Fluttershy and nearly murders her.]]
* AnimalEyeSpy: Bugging somepony's home involves actual bugs -- magically controlled insects with transmitter crystals on their heads.
* [[AnyoneCanDie Anypony Can Die]]: It's not just [=OCs=] and minor characters at risk. Not even major secondary characters [[spoiler: or members of the Mane Cast]] are safe.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Mer coerces [[spoiler: the Apples]] into being the Third Kira by threatening to kill [[spoiler: Rainbow Dash]]. And then, just to prove she's serious, she kills [[spoiler: Granny Smith]].
* AndThisIsFor: When Twilight learns that [[spoiler:Fluttershy]] is the second Kira, she is very kinesthetic in expressing her displeasure.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Twilight sets up [[spoiler: Sunny Days]] to die as part of a plot to clear her own name, Byuk asks Twilight what she did to deserve to die. Twilight's weak excuse causes her to face the fact that she's been killing innocents, as opposed to her original plan of just killing criminals, and she has a miniature breakdown before composing herself.
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Death Note, obviously.
* AscendedExtra: Straw Bolt -- created for the purpose of filler dialogue, he later became one of the POV characters.
* AssholeVictim: Several, but particularly Sharp Star.
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Photo Finish. Rarity when under the effects of the Death Note. Fluttershy has shades of this as well.]]
* BatmanGambit: Most of what Twilight does -- however, details don't always fall into place and she is often forced to improvise.
* BattleOfWits
* BeneathTheMask: L acts like TheStoic most of the time, since this is the sort of attitude her position requires. When she's alone with Bon Bon, however, she [[NotSoStoic lets the facade slip]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Pinkie's search party. Averted for Dash, who keeps arriving too late.
* BigNo: Byuk lets one rip when Twilight informs him that, due to being under surveillance from the L team, she won't be able to give him any [[TrademarkFavoriteFood apples]] for a few days.
* BizarreAlienBiology: When introducing the problem of Kira to the night court, Luna actually needs a medic to explain to everypony just what a heart attack is -- it is an extremely rare condition for horses.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Twilight has shades of this. She's willing to do morally grey things for the greater good of a crime-free Equestria, but she views herself as completely in the right, while targeting all criminals equally.
* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Purposefully invoked by Twilight.
* BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie: The first two Kiras were both nice ponies before a KarmaHoudini villain made them hit the DespairEventHorizon, and the Third Kira only started killing after being forced into the role by Mer (and it seems to be taking a psychological toll).
* BunnyEarsLawyer: L -- She is brilliant, but also so socially awkward, she needs a HypercompetentSidekick assigned to her for the explicit purpose of keeping her mentally stable.
* ButtMonkey: Rainbow Dash. Not only is she the only team member with no skills useful for the investigation, whenever she tries to use the strength she does have, her speed, she ends up arriving too late. It is almost a RunningGag except PlayedForDrama.
* CastFromLifespan: Just like in the original DeathNote, a Death Note user can trade half her lifespan for shinigami eyes.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: The core of Twilight's views. Apart from rare LargeHam moments, she has no delusions about being good. But she considers herself NecessarilyEvil - she might spend the day JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, then cry herself to sleep over what she has done and the next day get up with new resolve. She suffers horribly but she does it for the good of everypony... right?
* CompanionCube: Minty, Jazz's {{Magitek}} abacus database
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The EBI agents. Later inverted when Ray gets some fashion tips from Rarity and wears a much less conspicuous outfit -- to a spy-themed costume party.
* CrapsackWorld: After centuries of being a SugarBowl, Equestria is completely unprepared for the increase in crime that comes with the increased population. As the result, its justice system is ridiculously inefficient, to the point of convicted murderers getting released when a prison gets overcrowded.
* CrazyPrepared: Within days of learning that she is being followed, Twilight installs a magical warning system in case her home is bugged
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Sun Eater's Devouring Seal, a spell designed to seal a unicorn's horn inside her skull. Not so much dangerous as horribly painful. Twilight is shocked when L uses it on her. She is even more shocked to learn that L regularly uses it on herself, to pass for an earth pony.
* DeadManWriting: Taken UpToEleven. Anticipating her death, [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie writes letters to everyone she ever met.]]
* DefectiveDetective: L
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: In one of the most TearJerker moments of the story, [[spoiler: Ray Painter dies in Rarity's arms]].
** [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie dies in Twilight's arms after being fatally stabbed by Rarity.]]
** Tragically (and horrifically) inverted when [[spoiler: Granny Smith dies while holding Apple Bloom.]]
* DisappearedDad: Dinky's father is in prison in Stalliongrad. This is Ditzy's motivation for trying to stop Kira before she ends up targeting him. [[spoiler: Sadly, he's eventually picked off, with the sole consolation of dying in his sleep.]]
* DisposableVagrant: When she needs to sacrifice somepony to get herself an alibi, Twilight decides for Berry Punch, the town drunk. [[spoiler: This backfires, as she turns out to be the best friend of one of the investigators]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Twilight kills criminals of various caliber -- her main targets are {{Karma Houdini}}s and those she considers unrepentant -- so a pony with a life-long history of minor offences might also be offed. Second Kira openly kills those who speak against Kira.
* DistantDuet: A trio actually. DeathNote crossover or not, this is still MyLittlePony, so at one point three separate characters break into a song about the current events.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Rarity kills herself upon realizing she's killed Pinkie. As per Twilight's plan.]]
* DyingLikeAnimals: There are several would-be Jackals. Once they get a taste of the Second Kira's methods, they become an organised movement of Ostriches.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: There is an old earth pony bunker under the town park. It is used as L's base of operations.
* EnhancedInterrogationTechniques: L's methods are one of the main sources of conflict within the investigators' group.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played with. Twilight believes that as NecessarilyEvil, she doesn't get to have standards. It doesn't stop her from flipping out when others cross the line.
** Byuk is less evil and more an amoral force of nature, but he's still disgusted when Twilight engineers [[spoiler: Rarity's and Pinkie Pie]]'s deaths in order to weasel her way onto L's team.
* ExitPursuedByABear: The EBI agents are killed with a painless version of HollywoodHeartAttack -- all except their boss, who gets eaten by a manticore. Apparently, Twilight didn't consider him a victim of circumstance. It is a massive KickTheDog moment as not only was he too doing his job, he was also a big fan of Twilight.
* FakeOutMakeOut: When Rainbow Dash is investigating the possibility that [[spoiler: Applejack]] is Third Kira, the latter acts flirty and kisses her... in order to throw off the observing Mer and keep her from realizing that [[spoiler: Applejack]] is whispering instructions to Dash to meet up and explain what's happening.
* ForegoneConclusion: The only question is [[spoiler:manga or movie ending?]]
* GeniusSweetTooth: L
* GilliganCut: Twilight says that she figures Pinkie will need at least another week to set up her costume party. We then then cut to three days later, when the party's ready to go.
* GodzillaThreshold: Celestia is so desperate for peace that she asks ''Discord'' for advice (this after his HeelFaceTurn in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn Keep Calm and Flutter On]], but still...)
* GreyAndGrayMorality: A source of endless anguish for all the idealistic characters, particularly Celestia and Colgate.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Rainbow Dash's reaction after [[spoiler: Applejack]] kisses her, followed by L bringing up evidence that she once kissed Gilda.
* HeroicBSOD: Several members of the investigation team, at different points and for different reasons.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: One of the things Twilight has in common with Light -- she creeps her shinigami out.
* {{Hypocrite}}: As several commenters have pointed out, Twilight. She condemns Second Kira for killing innocents, when she's killed plenty to save her own skin.
* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Obviously, given half of the source material.
* IKnowYourTrueName: All the investigators who aren't yet celebrities go under various aliases. Notably, Ditzy Doo gets renamed Derpy Hooves.
* InfractionDistraction: When the investigators bug her room, Twilight opens her desk secret compartment and pulls out an adult novel from the inside -- then procides to have ADateWithRosiePalms in front of the cameras. Nopony notices that there were other books in the compartment.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Colgate. Celestia might be developing an actual drinking problem from how her good intentions as a ruler continue to turn out.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: L rarely notices when she hurts other ponies' feelings, and doesn't care when she does notice.
* InnerMonologue: In spades.
* InterserviceRivalry: There's quite a bit of friction between the Royal Guard and the Canterlot City Guard (the police, basically). This isn't helped any by Straw Bolt holding a grudge against Shining Armor for having the position he wanted.
** Straw Bolt also ''really'' doesn't like L or her methods.
* InSeriesNickname: Twilight coins the name "Coalition of Justice" for the investigation team.
** L takes to calling Third Kira "Tri-Kira" based on her suspicions that [[spoiler: it's actually all three Apple siblings working together]].
* {{Irony}}: Twilight's letters to Celestia drip with it when weaved in the context of the chapters.
* JadeColoredGlasses: Spike. Since dragons' physical development is tied to their psychology, he gradually grows through the story.
** Applejack starts out as a Kira supporter, enjoying the lowered crime rates. However, after [[spoiler: Rarity]]'s death and the Second Kira's less justifiable murders (which the public pin on the original Kira), AJ realizes how wrong she was.
* JawDrop: Spike's reaction to the InfractionDistraction above.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: [[spoiler: To protect her identity, Twilight forces Rarity to kill Pinkie and then commit suicide.]]
* KarmaHoudini: Discussed between Ace and Colgate. The Kira Neutrality Movement's plan to remove Kira's motivation to kill -- by being harsher on criminals -- doesn't take into account a way to actually capture Kira, letting her get off scott free with mass murder. Ace finds this an acceptable loss; Colgate disagrees.
* KickTheDog: Many and varied, most of them consisting of Twilight coldly manipulating her friends.
* LegacyCharacter: L is only the latest pony to take up the name and mantle of the great detective. This lineage goes back ''1200 years''.
* LineInTheSand: Used by Colgate to form the investigation team.
* LiteralMinded: At one point, Pinkie is asked to organize a search party. It is both a search and a party and it works splendidly.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: After [[spoiler: Twilight and Fluttershy]] join, L's team comes to a total of ten characters. The story also features the entire Mane Cast, both Princesses, a kidnapped filly and the team sent to rescue her, and the TakeAThirdOption duo of Ace and Spades.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: Fluttershy]]
* MagicalDatabase: Literally. The investigators have a magitek abacus that can access all the data available from Canterlot. Also, the files in city archives are enchanted to auto-update. This is how Kira learns of potential targets.
* {{Magitek}}: During the few years since the end of the canon plot, the ponies have come up with magitek television and computer equivalents.
* ManipulativeBastard: Twilight, so much.
** And then there's Mer -- after coercing [[spoiler: Applejack]] into being the Third Kira, she spun a (as we know, totally fictional) sob story that makes her seem like the LesserOfTwoEvils compared to Byuk and the original Kira. And on top of that, she says that Byuk is her corrupted brother who she's trying to defeat in order to save, thus playing on [[spoiler: Applejack]]'s strong sense of family to get them on her side.
* MemoryGambit: Similar to but not exactly like in the original plot.
* MythologyGag: Pinkie's [[spoiler: post-mortem]] gift to Twilight is a [[MemeticMutation bag of potato chips]].
** Jazz's abacus is called [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3 Minty]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: Rarity's reaction when she realizes she's killed Pinkie, which leads to her suicide.]]
* NeverMyFault: Twilight admits that she's had to kill a lot of innocent ponies in order to protect her identity, but says it's all L's fault -- if she wasn't hunting Twilight, Twilight could have just focused on criminals.
* NotSoDifferent: Colgate accuses Ace of being this to Kira, since his means of countering her -- convincing the Princesses to be harsher on criminals -- is to rule by fear, just like Kira.
* OnceAnEpisode: All chapters begin with a rule from the Death Note and end with a letter to a princess, either Twilight writing to Celestia or Colgate's report to Luna.
* OutsideContextVillain: Thanks to the Death Note (which even she doesn't understand fully), Twilight becomes this to the entire Equestrian government.
** That said, just when L starts to understand the rules of Kira's powers, along come the golems, which take both sides by surprise.
* OutOfGenreExperience: The golems/Dollmaker sub-plot. Lampshaded by Pinkie, who directly asks Twilight if she has transported them to an AlternateUniverse.
* PaperThinDisguise: Fluttershy reuses her disguise from "Green Isn't Your Color".
* PoliceAreUseless: Not really. Its the justice system that wastes all their efforts.
* PostKissCatatonia: [[spoiler: Fluttershy]] after being kissed by Twilight in order to be healed for the damage she got from her AndThisIsFor treatment.
** Later, MemoryGambit!Twilight after being kissed the first time by [[spoiler: Fluttershy]].
* PsychoSupporter: Second Kira for Kira.
* RefugeInAudacity: At one point, Colgate loses her temper and punches out a pony in the middle of a crowded street. She comes to her senses, realising that she is a police oficer and has just assaulted a civilian... she resolves the situation by arresting her victim and leaving before anypony has a chance to react.
* RevealingCoverup: At one point, Twilight gets a pony killed in front of the cameras to give herself an alibi. The problem is, she needed to mind-control the reporter to make sure the cameras get there. The reporter was supposed to die later and be overlooked by investigators... except that having her death already assigned, she is now impossible to kill ahead of schedule. This complicates matters immensly when she gets drawn back into the plot due to unforseen circumstances.
* SealedEvilInACan: Whoever created the golems, according to Discord. He chastises Celestia for it, saying she really should start destroying threats rather than sealing them away, as they always come back eventually.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: The L team/Coalition of Justice set one up for Twilight to prove once and for all she's not Kira. Since this is in the middle of the MemoryGambit, it works.
* ShipTease: Big Macintosh seems to crush on Locket the moment they meet. And after their NotADate, she seems to start liking him back (which is a bit of a problem for her, since she's already in a long-distance relationship).
* ShoutOut: [[FanFic/PastSins Spell Nexus]] is part of the Night Court and the initial investigation into the Kira murders.
** Celestia's personal pair of Royal Guards are named [[Franchise/StarWars Biggs and Wedge]].
* SlapSlapKiss: Purposefully done by Twilight to test how much control she has over [[spoiler: Fluttershy. She ends up breaking her jaw.]]
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Actually, the local, elaborate version of Battleship, but the rule still applies.
* SoftGlass: Averted. Not only does Dash suffer damage from crashing through a window, she is kept from flying for a day until the doctors make sure there are no shards left between her feathers.
* SoHappyTogether: Obviously [[spoiler: Rarity and Ray]]. Knowing the original story only makes it hit harder.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Mer eventually decides to stop following Twilight's script and run her own plan. Time will tell, however, if Twilight planned for this.
* TooDumbToFool: Derpy Hooves' role in the group is stating the obvious after everypony else has overlooked it.
* TrueCompanions: MemoryGambit!Twilight eventually becomes this to L. Which is heartbreaking [[ForegoneConclusion when you know what's coming...]]
* VillainousBSOD: Twilight slips into them whenever her guilt overwhelms her, but she usually pulls herself back pretty quickly.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Not in Equestria (not since the Second Kira's murders, anyway), but according to Discord, Kira is universally popular among the griffins.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Kira, Second Kira, and L, with more candidates waiting in line.
** Ace. His plans for removing Kira's motives for killing would, as Colgate puts it, essentially turn Equestria into a PoliceState (by SugarBowl standards, anyway).
* WeNeedADistraction: The Tri-Kira and their overly elaborate means of killing their victims is this for the use of the Death Note (though they themselves may not be aware of it), with the Tri-Kira as a whole serving as one for the Fourth Kira.
** And of course, both (it would seem) the Tri-Kira and Fourth Kira are part of Twilight's MemoryGambit, making them this for her.
* WhamEpisode: Chapter 12. [[spoiler: Following Ray Painter's death, Rarity suffers severe SanitySlippage until she finally snaps when she deduces that Twilight Sparkle is Kira. She then takes Pinkie Pie hostage and threatens to kill her if Twilight doesn't confess on a live broadcast directed towards L's investigation team. Things spiral out of control, and Rarity ends up actually killing Pinkie while attempting to kill Twilight; when she realizes [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what she's done]], she [[DrivenToSuicide kills herself]]. And then we find out that Twilight ''engineered this entire sequence of events'' with the power of the Note in order to create a scenario wherein she could earn enough sympathy to be allowed on the team.]]
** That said, it's slightly less of a wham episode when you realize that [[spoiler: this is exactly like the twist ending of the first live action Death Note movie, just with Naomi Misora and Shiori replaced with Rarity and Pinkie Pie respectively.]]
** Chapter 14 reveals that ''[[spoiler: Fluttershy]]'', of all ponies, is the Second Kira.
** Chapter 23's ending strongly implies that [[spoiler: Applejack]] is the Third Kira.
** Then Chapter 25 has L deduce that Third Kira is actually [[spoiler: all ''three'' apple siblings]], and they've been coerced into the role by [[spoiler: Granny Smith's murder]].
** Chapter 26 confirms this... and then implies that there's a ''Fourth'' Kira out there somewhere.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: When confronted with a magic-resistant golem, Twilight uses her magic indirectly to create a ring of non-magical superheated air around its arm, causing the clay to harden and break.
* WouldHurtAChild: Second Kira. Twilight is livid about it, despite setting up a death of a reporter who was not much older.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Things rarely go JustAsPlanned. Twilight proves much more adaptable than her obsesive-compulsive episodes might suggest.
* YouBastard: Inverted. The author got one from one of his pre-readers for writing this story. Since art is supposed to evoke emotions, he took it as a compliment.
----
Equestria is growing, and magical savant Twilight Sparkle is disgusted by the crime and corruption this change has brought. Her life is changed forever when she discovers the Death Note, a notebook with inexplicable and deadly powers. She uses this book to pass judgement on those she deems unworthy of life, aiming to create a perfect world free of crime. But when the two Princesses put their best pony on the case, a mysterious detective known only as L, a psychological game of cat and mouse erupts between the two.
A DeathNote[=/=]WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic FusionFic by Nonagon. It follows the basic plot of DeathNote but introduces enough twists to keep the readers on their toes.
Can be read [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/1455/Death-Note-Equestria here]].
----
!!Tropes:
* AboveTheInfluence: [[spoiler: Ditzy's boss Boxy Brown, who's had a crush on her for years, comes close to taking advantage of her while she's mourning Written Script, but stops himself at the last minute when he remembers Pinkie's last letter to him.]]
* ActorAllusion: [[spoiler: Rarity's role in the plot is exactly the same as Naomi Misora. Both are voiced by TabithaStGermain.]]
** WordOfGod states it was accidental, if very funny.
* AFeteWorseThanDeath: Pinkie Pie's spy-themed party ends with [[spoiler: all the actual spies dropping dead.]]
* AGodAmI: Mostly averted. See: ComesGreatResponsibility
* AHouseDivided: Happens quite a bit due to L's methods. However, an extra layer is added on when Rainbow Dash hears the story Mer fed the Tri-Kira, and she begins to suspect that either Twilight ''or'' L might be Byuk's Kira, and she can't bring herself to fully trust either of them.
* AloneWithThePsycho: [[spoiler: Photo Finish becomes a crazy stalker of Fluttershy and nearly murders her.]]
* AnimalEyeSpy: Bugging somepony's home involves actual bugs -- magically controlled insects with transmitter crystals on their heads.
* [[AnyoneCanDie Anypony Can Die]]: It's not just [=OCs=] and minor characters at risk. Not even major secondary characters [[spoiler: or members of the Mane Cast]] are safe.
* AnOfferYouCantRefuse: Mer coerces [[spoiler: the Apples]] into being the Third Kira by threatening to kill [[spoiler: Rainbow Dash]]. And then, just to prove she's serious, she kills [[spoiler: Granny Smith]].
* AndThisIsFor: When Twilight learns that [[spoiler:Fluttershy]] is the second Kira, she is very kinesthetic in expressing her displeasure.
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: When Twilight sets up [[spoiler: Sunny Days]] to die as part of a plot to clear her own name, Byuk asks Twilight what she did to deserve to die. Twilight's weak excuse causes her to face the fact that she's been killing innocents, as opposed to her original plan of just killing criminals, and she has a miniature breakdown before composing herself.
* ArtifactOfDeath: The Death Note, obviously.
* AscendedExtra: Straw Bolt -- created for the purpose of filler dialogue, he later became one of the POV characters.
* AssholeVictim: Several, but particularly Sharp Star.
* AxCrazy: [[spoiler: Photo Finish. Rarity when under the effects of the Death Note. Fluttershy has shades of this as well.]]
* BatmanGambit: Most of what Twilight does -- however, details don't always fall into place and she is often forced to improvise.
* BattleOfWits
* BeneathTheMask: L acts like TheStoic most of the time, since this is the sort of attitude her position requires. When she's alone with Bon Bon, however, she [[NotSoStoic lets the facade slip]].
* BigDamnHeroes: Pinkie's search party. Averted for Dash, who keeps arriving too late.
* BigNo: Byuk lets one rip when Twilight informs him that, due to being under surveillance from the L team, she won't be able to give him any [[TrademarkFavoriteFood apples]] for a few days.
* BizarreAlienBiology: When introducing the problem of Kira to the night court, Luna actually needs a medic to explain to everypony just what a heart attack is -- it is an extremely rare condition for horses.
* BlackAndWhiteInsanity: Twilight has shades of this. She's willing to do morally grey things for the greater good of a crime-free Equestria, but she views herself as completely in the right, while targeting all criminals equally.
* BloodSplatteredInnocents: Purposefully invoked by Twilight.
* BreakTheCutie / CorruptTheCutie: The first two Kiras were both nice ponies before a KarmaHoudini villain made them hit the DespairEventHorizon, and the Third Kira only started killing after being forced into the role by Mer (and it seems to be taking a psychological toll).
* BunnyEarsLawyer: L -- She is brilliant, but also so socially awkward, she needs a HypercompetentSidekick assigned to her for the explicit purpose of keeping her mentally stable.
* ButtMonkey: Rainbow Dash. Not only is she the only team member with no skills useful for the investigation, whenever she tries to use the strength she does have, her speed, she ends up arriving too late. It is almost a RunningGag except PlayedForDrama.
* CastFromLifespan: Just like in the original DeathNote, a Death Note user can trade half her lifespan for shinigami eyes.
* ComesGreatResponsibility: The core of Twilight's views. Apart from rare LargeHam moments, she has no delusions about being good. But she considers herself NecessarilyEvil - she might spend the day JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, then cry herself to sleep over what she has done and the next day get up with new resolve. She suffers horribly but she does it for the good of everypony... right?
* CompanionCube: Minty, Jazz's {{Magitek}} abacus database
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: The EBI agents. Later inverted when Ray gets some fashion tips from Rarity and wears a much less conspicuous outfit -- to a spy-themed costume party.
* CrapsackWorld: After centuries of being a SugarBowl, Equestria is completely unprepared for the increase in crime that comes with the increased population. As the result, its justice system is ridiculously inefficient, to the point of convicted murderers getting released when a prison gets overcrowded.
* CrazyPrepared: Within days of learning that she is being followed, Twilight installs a magical warning system in case her home is bugged
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: Sun Eater's Devouring Seal, a spell designed to seal a unicorn's horn inside her skull. Not so much dangerous as horribly painful. Twilight is shocked when L uses it on her. She is even more shocked to learn that L regularly uses it on herself, to pass for an earth pony.
* DeadManWriting: Taken UpToEleven. Anticipating her death, [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie writes letters to everyone she ever met.]]
* DefectiveDetective: L
* DiedInYourArmsTonight: In one of the most TearJerker moments of the story, [[spoiler: Ray Painter dies in Rarity's arms]].
** [[spoiler: Pinkie Pie dies in Twilight's arms after being fatally stabbed by Rarity.]]
** Tragically (and horrifically) inverted when [[spoiler: Granny Smith dies while holding Apple Bloom.]]
* DisappearedDad: Dinky's father is in prison in Stalliongrad. This is Ditzy's motivation for trying to stop Kira before she ends up targeting him. [[spoiler: Sadly, he's eventually picked off, with the sole consolation of dying in his sleep.]]
* DisposableVagrant: When she needs to sacrifice somepony to get herself an alibi, Twilight decides for Berry Punch, the town drunk. [[spoiler: This backfires, as she turns out to be the best friend of one of the investigators]].
* DisproportionateRetribution: Twilight kills criminals of various caliber -- her main targets are {{Karma Houdini}}s and those she considers unrepentant -- so a pony with a life-long history of minor offences might also be offed. Second Kira openly kills those who speak against Kira.
* DistantDuet: A trio actually. DeathNote crossover or not, this is still MyLittlePony, so at one point three separate characters break into a song about the current events.
* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: Rarity kills herself upon realizing she's killed Pinkie. As per Twilight's plan.]]
* DyingLikeAnimals: There are several would-be Jackals. Once they get a taste of the Second Kira's methods, they become an organised movement of Ostriches.
* ElaborateUndergroundBase: There is an old earth pony bunker under the town park. It is used as L's base of operations.
* EnhancedInterrogationTechniques: L's methods are one of the main sources of conflict within the investigators' group.
* EvenEvilHasStandards: Played with. Twilight believes that as NecessarilyEvil, she doesn't get to have standards. It doesn't stop her from flipping out when others cross the line.
** Byuk is less evil and more an amoral force of nature, but he's still disgusted when Twilight engineers [[spoiler: Rarity's and Pinkie Pie]]'s deaths in order to weasel her way onto L's team.
* ExitPursuedByABear: The EBI agents are killed with a painless version of HollywoodHeartAttack -- all except their boss, who gets eaten by a manticore. Apparently, Twilight didn't consider him a victim of circumstance. It is a massive KickTheDog moment as not only was he too doing his job, he was also a big fan of Twilight.
* FakeOutMakeOut: When Rainbow Dash is investigating the possibility that [[spoiler: Applejack]] is Third Kira, the latter acts flirty and kisses her... in order to throw off the observing Mer and keep her from realizing that [[spoiler: Applejack]] is whispering instructions to Dash to meet up and explain what's happening.
* ForegoneConclusion: The only question is [[spoiler:manga or movie ending?]]
* GeniusSweetTooth: L
* GilliganCut: Twilight says that she figures Pinkie will need at least another week to set up her costume party. We then then cut to three days later, when the party's ready to go.
* GodzillaThreshold: Celestia is so desperate for peace that she asks ''Discord'' for advice (this after his HeelFaceTurn in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn Keep Calm and Flutter On]], but still...)
* GreyAndGrayMorality: A source of endless anguish for all the idealistic characters, particularly Celestia and Colgate.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Rainbow Dash's reaction after [[spoiler: Applejack]] kisses her, followed by L bringing up evidence that she once kissed Gilda.
* HeroicBSOD: Several members of the investigation team, at different points and for different reasons.
* HorrifyingTheHorror: One of the things Twilight has in common with Light -- she creeps her shinigami out.
* {{Hypocrite}}: As several commenters have pointed out, Twilight. She condemns Second Kira for killing innocents, when she's killed plenty to save her own skin.
* IKnowYouKnowIKnow: Obviously, given half of the source material.
* IKnowYourTrueName: All the investigators who aren't yet celebrities go under various aliases. Notably, Ditzy Doo gets renamed Derpy Hooves.
* InfractionDistraction: When the investigators bug her room, Twilight opens her desk secret compartment and pulls out an adult novel from the inside -- then procides to have ADateWithRosiePalms in front of the cameras. Nopony notices that there were other books in the compartment.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Colgate. Celestia might be developing an actual drinking problem from how her good intentions as a ruler continue to turn out.
* InnocentlyInsensitive: L rarely notices when she hurts other ponies' feelings, and doesn't care when she does notice.
* InnerMonologue: In spades.
* InterserviceRivalry: There's quite a bit of friction between the Royal Guard and the Canterlot City Guard (the police, basically). This isn't helped any by Straw Bolt holding a grudge against Shining Armor for having the position he wanted.
** Straw Bolt also ''really'' doesn't like L or her methods.
* InSeriesNickname: Twilight coins the name "Coalition of Justice" for the investigation team.
** L takes to calling Third Kira "Tri-Kira" based on her suspicions that [[spoiler: it's actually all three Apple siblings working together]].
* {{Irony}}: Twilight's letters to Celestia drip with it when weaved in the context of the chapters.
* JadeColoredGlasses: Spike. Since dragons' physical development is tied to their psychology, he gradually grows through the story.
** Applejack starts out as a Kira supporter, enjoying the lowered crime rates. However, after [[spoiler: Rarity]]'s death and the Second Kira's less justifiable murders (which the public pin on the original Kira), AJ realizes how wrong she was.
* JawDrop: Spike's reaction to the InfractionDistraction above.
* JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope: [[spoiler: To protect her identity, Twilight forces Rarity to kill Pinkie and then commit suicide.]]
* KarmaHoudini: Discussed between Ace and Colgate. The Kira Neutrality Movement's plan to remove Kira's motivation to kill -- by being harsher on criminals -- doesn't take into account a way to actually capture Kira, letting her get off scott free with mass murder. Ace finds this an acceptable loss; Colgate disagrees.
* KickTheDog: Many and varied, most of them consisting of Twilight coldly manipulating her friends.
* LegacyCharacter: L is only the latest pony to take up the name and mantle of the great detective. This lineage goes back ''1200 years''.
* LineInTheSand: Used by Colgate to form the investigation team.
* LiteralMinded: At one point, Pinkie is asked to organize a search party. It is both a search and a party and it works splendidly.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: After [[spoiler: Twilight and Fluttershy]] join, L's team comes to a total of ten characters. The story also features the entire Mane Cast, both Princesses, a kidnapped filly and the team sent to rescue her, and the TakeAThirdOption duo of Ace and Spades.
* LoveMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler: Fluttershy]]
* MagicalDatabase: Literally. The investigators have a magitek abacus that can access all the data available from Canterlot. Also, the files in city archives are enchanted to auto-update. This is how Kira learns of potential targets.
* {{Magitek}}: During the few years since the end of the canon plot, the ponies have come up with magitek television and computer equivalents.
* ManipulativeBastard: Twilight, so much.
** And then there's Mer -- after coercing [[spoiler: Applejack]] into being the Third Kira, she spun a (as we know, totally fictional) sob story that makes her seem like the LesserOfTwoEvils compared to Byuk and the original Kira. And on top of that, she says that Byuk is her corrupted brother who she's trying to defeat in order to save, thus playing on [[spoiler: Applejack]]'s strong sense of family to get them on her side.
* MemoryGambit: Similar to but not exactly like in the original plot.
* MythologyGag: Pinkie's [[spoiler: post-mortem]] gift to Twilight is a [[MemeticMutation bag of potato chips]].
** Jazz's abacus is called [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyG3 Minty]].
* MyGodWhatHaveIDone: [[spoiler: Rarity's reaction when she realizes she's killed Pinkie, which leads to her suicide.]]
* NeverMyFault: Twilight admits that she's had to kill a lot of innocent ponies in order to protect her identity, but says it's all L's fault -- if she wasn't hunting Twilight, Twilight could have just focused on criminals.
* NotSoDifferent: Colgate accuses Ace of being this to Kira, since his means of countering her -- convincing the Princesses to be harsher on criminals -- is to rule by fear, just like Kira.
* OnceAnEpisode: All chapters begin with a rule from the Death Note and end with a letter to a princess, either Twilight writing to Celestia or Colgate's report to Luna.
* OutsideContextVillain: Thanks to the Death Note (which even she doesn't understand fully), Twilight becomes this to the entire Equestrian government.
** That said, just when L starts to understand the rules of Kira's powers, along come the golems, which take both sides by surprise.
* OutOfGenreExperience: The golems/Dollmaker sub-plot. Lampshaded by Pinkie, who directly asks Twilight if she has transported them to an AlternateUniverse.
* PaperThinDisguise: Fluttershy reuses her disguise from "Green Isn't Your Color".
* PoliceAreUseless: Not really. Its the justice system that wastes all their efforts.
* PostKissCatatonia: [[spoiler: Fluttershy]] after being kissed by Twilight in order to be healed for the damage she got from her AndThisIsFor treatment.
** Later, MemoryGambit!Twilight after being kissed the first time by [[spoiler: Fluttershy]].
* PsychoSupporter: Second Kira for Kira.
* RefugeInAudacity: At one point, Colgate loses her temper and punches out a pony in the middle of a crowded street. She comes to her senses, realising that she is a police oficer and has just assaulted a civilian... she resolves the situation by arresting her victim and leaving before anypony has a chance to react.
* RevealingCoverup: At one point, Twilight gets a pony killed in front of the cameras to give herself an alibi. The problem is, she needed to mind-control the reporter to make sure the cameras get there. The reporter was supposed to die later and be overlooked by investigators... except that having her death already assigned, she is now impossible to kill ahead of schedule. This complicates matters immensly when she gets drawn back into the plot due to unforseen circumstances.
* SealedEvilInACan: Whoever created the golems, according to Discord. He chastises Celestia for it, saying she really should start destroying threats rather than sealing them away, as they always come back eventually.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: The L team/Coalition of Justice set one up for Twilight to prove once and for all she's not Kira. Since this is in the middle of the MemoryGambit, it works.
* ShipTease: Big Macintosh seems to crush on Locket the moment they meet. And after their NotADate, she seems to start liking him back (which is a bit of a problem for her, since she's already in a long-distance relationship).
* ShoutOut: [[FanFic/PastSins Spell Nexus]] is part of the Night Court and the initial investigation into the Kira murders.
** Celestia's personal pair of Royal Guards are named [[Franchise/StarWars Biggs and Wedge]].
* SlapSlapKiss: Purposefully done by Twilight to test how much control she has over [[spoiler: Fluttershy. She ends up breaking her jaw.]]
* SmartPeoplePlayChess: Actually, the local, elaborate version of Battleship, but the rule still applies.
* SoftGlass: Averted. Not only does Dash suffer damage from crashing through a window, she is kept from flying for a day until the doctors make sure there are no shards left between her feathers.
* SoHappyTogether: Obviously [[spoiler: Rarity and Ray]]. Knowing the original story only makes it hit harder.
* SpannerInTheWorks: Mer eventually decides to stop following Twilight's script and run her own plan. Time will tell, however, if Twilight planned for this.
* TooDumbToFool: Derpy Hooves' role in the group is stating the obvious after everypony else has overlooked it.
* TrueCompanions: MemoryGambit!Twilight eventually becomes this to L. Which is heartbreaking [[ForegoneConclusion when you know what's coming...]]
* VillainousBSOD: Twilight slips into them whenever her guilt overwhelms her, but she usually pulls herself back pretty quickly.
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Not in Equestria (not since the Second Kira's murders, anyway), but according to Discord, Kira is universally popular among the griffins.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Kira, Second Kira, and L, with more candidates waiting in line.
** Ace. His plans for removing Kira's motives for killing would, as Colgate puts it, essentially turn Equestria into a PoliceState (by SugarBowl standards, anyway).
* WeNeedADistraction: The Tri-Kira and their overly elaborate means of killing their victims is this for the use of the Death Note (though they themselves may not be aware of it), with the Tri-Kira as a whole serving as one for the Fourth Kira.
** And of course, both (it would seem) the Tri-Kira and Fourth Kira are part of Twilight's MemoryGambit, making them this for her.
* WhamEpisode: Chapter 12. [[spoiler: Following Ray Painter's death, Rarity suffers severe SanitySlippage until she finally snaps when she deduces that Twilight Sparkle is Kira. She then takes Pinkie Pie hostage and threatens to kill her if Twilight doesn't confess on a live broadcast directed towards L's investigation team. Things spiral out of control, and Rarity ends up actually killing Pinkie while attempting to kill Twilight; when she realizes [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone what she's done]], she [[DrivenToSuicide kills herself]]. And then we find out that Twilight ''engineered this entire sequence of events'' with the power of the Note in order to create a scenario wherein she could earn enough sympathy to be allowed on the team.]]
** That said, it's slightly less of a wham episode when you realize that [[spoiler: this is exactly like the twist ending of the first live action Death Note movie, just with Naomi Misora and Shiori replaced with Rarity and Pinkie Pie respectively.]]
** Chapter 14 reveals that ''[[spoiler: Fluttershy]]'', of all ponies, is the Second Kira.
** Chapter 23's ending strongly implies that [[spoiler: Applejack]] is the Third Kira.
** Then Chapter 25 has L deduce that Third Kira is actually [[spoiler: all ''three'' apple siblings]], and they've been coerced into the role by [[spoiler: Granny Smith's murder]].
** Chapter 26 confirms this... and then implies that there's a ''Fourth'' Kira out there somewhere.
* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: When confronted with a magic-resistant golem, Twilight uses her magic indirectly to create a ring of non-magical superheated air around its arm, causing the clay to harden and break.
* WouldHurtAChild: Second Kira. Twilight is livid about it, despite setting up a death of a reporter who was not much older.
* XanatosSpeedChess: Things rarely go JustAsPlanned. Twilight proves much more adaptable than her obsesive-compulsive episodes might suggest.
* YouBastard: Inverted. The author got one from one of his pre-readers for writing this story. Since art is supposed to evoke emotions, he took it as a compliment.
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