History FanFic / GettingBackOnYourHooves

* ArtifactOfAttraction: Checker knows the 'Want It, Need It' Spell and cites it as one of her favorites. She uses it to distract Spot and Fido so she can talk with Rover to convince the Diamond Dogs to work for her [[spoiler: and later on Trixie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to set Trixie up to trigger a RantInducingSlight in AJ.]] Notably, she's much more adapt at canceling the spell than Twilight, due to it falling under her [[ManipulativeBitch Special Talent.]]

* AdultFear: What makes Checker Monarch so terrifying (other than ice-cold creepiness and sociopathy) is that she has the power and capability to ruin other ponies' lives completely and coming off legally clean. (And being willing to do so for minute gains.) She could have taken the Mane Six's homes and livelihoods away in a heartbeat ([[spoiler: if they hadn't gotten the evidence to foil her]]) because you can't fight corrupt businessponies with Harmony or Love. [[spoiler: Once she drags them into her LotusEaterMachine trap, the game changes, though.]]

* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:Trixie delivers one to Checker (though she doesn't know it's her at the time) in her second dream attack on her, combining this trope with a wpeech.]]

* RealityEnsues: Checker Monarch was one of Rarity's major clients. Her defeat and arrest, while by no means crippling her, did hurt her business a bit.

** The charity play Trixie puts on with help from her friends [[spoiler: and Princess Luna]] is "Rescue at Midnight Castle", the original G1 ''MyLittlePony'' special.

* SequelHook: WordOfGod admits [[spoiler:Diamond Tiara's [[FutureMeScaresMe reaction]] to Checker Monarch's TrueColors]] was intended to be this, and leads into ''Fanfic/TarnishedDiamonds''.

* FutureMeScaresMe: [[spoiler:Checker tells Diamond Tiara she reminds her of herself as a filly, and Trixie's {{Flashback}} to her and Checker's childhood shows Checker was a lot like Diamond. At first Diamond is ecstatic...[[BrokenPedestal until she sees Checker's]] TrueColors, at which point she's horrified that she has the potential to become like Checker. According to WordOfGod, this was intentional and Checker was partly intended to be what Diamond could grow up into if nothing changes.]]

* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:Trixie delivers one to Checker (though she doesn't know it's her at the time) in her second dream attack on her, combining this trope with a WorldOfCardboardSpeech.]]

* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Trixie gives one in the form of [[LetMeTellYouAStory a story]] [[spoiler: when confronting her old personality (actually a disguised Checker) in a dream]] that ends with her declaring that she will never go back to the way she was before.
** [[spoiler:Each of the Mane Six get one on Checker during the FinalBattle, managing to overcome what Checker was using against them and Trixie ultimately gives another, telling Checker she's NotAfraidOfYouAnyMore. Justified in that so long as they deny those doubts instead of facing them, their mental state was compromised and Checker had the advantage.]]

* BadDreams: Twilight's been having recurring nightmares about [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E2TheReturnOfHarmonyPart2 Discord's brief reign]], and the effect he had on her friends. Trixie helps her find a way to cope with them, as an early sign of her CharacterDevelopment.
** According to Applejack in chapter 11, ''all'' of the Mane Six have been having nightmares since then. Trixie, who by this point considers them all TrueCompanions, offers to teach them the Lucid Dreaming trick she taught Twilight to help.

* CutSong: Checker Monarch was meant to have a song in chapter 9, but it was cut for time. Ironically, it was meant to based off of another CutSong; "Humiliate the Boy" from ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''.

* HumiliationConga: Checker puts Trixie through one starting in chapter 8 and part 1 of 9. PlayedForDrama, as it ends up nearly [[BreakTheCutie driving her over]] the DespairEventHorizon. It was originally intended to be longer, but the author felt it'd be too cruel to do so. The latter was even [[CutSong originally intended to be accompanied by]] a VillainSong based off the CutSong "Humiliate the Boy" from ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''.

* NeverLiveItDown: InUniverse, this is part of Trixie's reason for wanting to prove herself in the magic duel: so ponies will finally stop judging her based on the Ursa Incident and just let her move on with her life. [[spoiler:It succeeds.]]

* ThirdPersonPerson: Trixie, though when she gets emotional, she slips out of it.

* BigBad: Checker Monarch, [[spoiler: Trixie's sinister sister.]]

* SocialDarwinist: Checker is a type 4, and uses it to justify her GodComplex and ItsAllAboutMe behavior. Trixie was formally a relatively mild type 1 [[spoiler:(as was their father, who they both get it from, Checker just took it too far)]], but leaves it behind after seeing what ThePowerOfFriendship is capable of.

* FragileFlower: Trixie, once she's age-regressed by Poison Joke. Justified in that not only does she have the emotional maturity and control of a child, but she had a rather traumatic childhood, and being physically and emotionally regressed made all those old wounds become fresh.

* BigNO: "Tirek" at the end of Trixie's play, and Checker when [[spoiler: her plans are exposed]]. Pinkie lampshades it both times.

** An AlternateEnding the creator considered had [[spoiler: Checker escape in her chariot with Trixie catching on. During the fight, the lightning rod she used to try and kill Rainbow Dash earlier would fall out of her pocket and cause her to be struck by lightning and fall to her death while Trixie got to safely.]] The creator decided this was too dark for the tone they were going to.

** She also [[spoiler:assumes the form of one in the dream world.]] The protagonists are less than impressed, [[spoiler:having faced off against the real deal before.]]

** Helping Hoof's father forced him to act exactly the way he thought he should act, never letting him do what he wanted. As a result, [[spoiler:he never got his cutie mark.]] Because of this, he called him worthless and belittled him, driving him to work for Checker.

* AdultFear: What makes Checker Monarch so terrifying (other than ice-cold creepiness and sociopathy) is that she has the power and capability to ruin other ponies' lives completely and coming off legally clean. (And being willing to do so for minute gains.) She could have taken the Mane six's homes and livelihoods away in a heartbeat ([[spoiler:if they hadn't gotten the evidence to foil her]]) because you can't fight corrupt businessponies with Harmony or Love. [[spoiler:Once she drags them into her LotusEaterMachine trap, the game changes, though.]]

* AnAesop: To keep with the OriginalFlavor of the series, several letters to Celestia are written throughout the story and Trixie deciding to write one herself is a huge sign of CharacterDevelopment on her part. The over all aesop, however, is that [[spoiler:the best way to defeat an enemy, is to make them your friend.]]

* ArtifactOfAttraction: Checker knows the 'Want It, Need It' Spell and cites it as one of her favorites. She uses it to distract Spot and Fido so she can talk with Rover to convince the Diamond Dogs to work for her [[spoiler:and later on Trixie and the Cutie Mark Crusaders to set Trixie up to trigger a RantInducingSlight in AJ.]] Notably, she's much more adapt at canceling the spell than Twilight, due to it falling under her [[ManipulativeBitch Special Talent.]]

* BatOutOfHell: The Ropen, a giant bat-like monster in Everfree Forest that Trixie has to fend off to protect the Cutie Mark Crusaders as [[spoiler:it's blind, meaning Fluttershy's [[DeathGlare Stare]] has no effect.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: [[spoiler:Fluttershy performs this to save Trixie from the Cockatrice in Everfree.]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:After witnessing her idol Checker's true colours, [[AlphaBitch Diamond Tiara]] [[EvenEvilHasStandards is horrified by what she's capable of]], as she dearly loves her family and would not treat them as such.]]

** [[spoiler:Checker does this in the final confrontation, using [[YourWorstNightmare their worst nightmares]] combined with {{Breaking Lecture}}s to nearly drive the Mane Cast over the DespairEventHorizon. They manage to recover when they realize that both their loved ones are cheering them on and that they're in a dream.]]

* CainAndAbel: [[spoiler:Trixie and Checker, Trixie being Abel and Checker Cain.]]

* ChekhovsArmory: Pretty much everything that happens around the middle of chapter 11 helps set up the EngineeredPublicConfession near the end. And many of those things where introduced previously in the story, mostly [[spoiler:during Trixie's charity play.]]

* CutSong: Checker Monarch was meant to have a song in chapter 9, but it was cut for time. Ironically, it was meant to based off another CutSong; "Humiliate the Boy" from ''Disney/{{Aladdin}}''.
* DangerousForbiddenTechnique: It's mentioned that most unicorns have more magical power than they can ''safely'' use, and while it's possible to expand their limits through training, using their full, unrestrained power could cause serious damage (compared to how muscles are often stronger than the body can safely make use of). [[spoiler:Checker does this in a a last resort, and ends up severely damaging her horn in the process.]]

* DefeatEqualsFriendship: [[spoiler:While subverted with Checker, who [[SanitySlippage ends up going so insane]] she'll likely spend the rest of her life in an insane asylum, it's played straight with Trixie and the Diamond Dogs, who both perform a HeelFaceTurn and are befriended. This is ultimately the moral of the story delivered by Twilight in a letter to Celestia at the end, even quoting the 'the best way to defeat an enemy, is to make them your friend' line.]]

** An AlternateEnding the creator considered had [[spoiler:Checker escape in her chariot with Trixie catching on. During the fight, the lightning rod she used to try and kill Rainbow Dash earlier would fall out of her pocket and cause her to be struck by lightning and fall to her death while Trixie got to safely.]] The creator decided this was too dark for the tone they were going to.

* EvenEvilHasStandards: The Diamond Dogs may be willing to do a lot of things, and work for Checker to ruin the life of a mare they don't know for gems, but even they are horrified when [[spoiler:Checker [[MindRape Mind Raped]] Rainbow Dash with a dream infiltration spell.]] They still work for her, but after this they're actively ''terrified'' of her.

* {{Fainting}}: Trixie when it hits her what she just did to protect the Cutie Mark Crusaders (which included going deep into Everfree Forest and dealing with two monsters that could've killed her or worse) and later when discovering [[spoiler:Princess Luna was Tirek in her play]]. Rarity also does it when it turns out one of Pinkie's Doozies was simply [[spoiler:Trixie genuinely apologizing for her transgressions]]. Both Sweetie Belle and Trixie herself comment they do so in the same manner. Given [[LargeHam their personalities]], it's like they're just being over-dramatic.

* GoodCostumeSwitch: Trixie gets a new costume to wear from Rarity after she's accepted the group as her friends. [[spoiler:Her taking control of one of her dream confrontations with Checker is normally signified by her donning this costume.]]
* GreenEyedMonster: [[spoiler:Checker Monarch, who pretty much says her motivations for harming Trixie is jealousy of having the spotlight divided between them. Of course, this is mainly because Checker believes ItsAllAboutMe.]]

** Rarity, particularly when she [[spoiler:begins tricking Checker's backers into thinking Ponyville isn't a good place for a mall...but might be a perfect place for a theater]] and also [[spoiler:simply paying the Diamond Dogs BETTER than Checker did to get them to turn on her.]]

* IHatePastMe: [[spoiler:Trixie when facing the Great and Powerful Trixie (actually Checker in disguise) in a dream. She ultimately ends up giving her past self a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech and declaring she'll never be her again.]]

* MoreThanMindControl: While Checker has no qualms about using MindRape to get others to do as she wants, she still exploits their actual emotions and [[ManipulativeBitch manipulates them]] instead of outright controlling them. [[spoiler:Best shown with Rainbow Dash, who Checker MindRapes, but also takes advantage of her pre-existing grudge on Trixie.]]

* NotAfraidOfYouAnymore: [[spoiler:While she admits she's still afraid of Ursas, Trixie tells Checker that she's no longer afraid of ''her''.]]

** [[spoiler:Fluttershy turns into one and sprays Checker in the face during their dream confrontation.]]
* SmugSnake: Checker Monarch hovers between this and MagnificentBitch. While she ''is'' legitimately intelligent and competant, her Narcissism, frequent [[VillainousBreakdown Villainous Breakdowns]] and pathological desire to control '''''everything''''', has led many fans to place her firmly in the SmugSnake category.

* TakenForGranite: Twilight being turned to stone by a Cockatrice in "The Stare Master" is mentioned several times. [[spoiler:Trixie runs into the same Cockatrice in Everfree and gets almost completely turned to stone, but [[BigDamnHeroes is saved by Fluttershy]].]]

* GiftOfTheMagiPlot: After realizing that they DidntThinkThisThrough, Twilight and Trixie both try to address the problem...however, Trixie's solution is training with Zecora and Twilight's is PlayingSick to cancel the duel and let Trixie do the show herself, making Trixie's training addressing the problem Twilight was trying to fix pointless. Played With because Trixie is actually ''glad'' the duel is off (as her confidence boost wasn't ''that high'')...but pretends to be disappointed so as to save face and avoid hurting Twilight, convincing Twilight she really ''is'' and causing her to 'cast a healing spell on herself' and put the show back on, accidentally crushing what confidence Trixie had gained from her training. [[spoiler:Lampshaded by Trixie once she finds out how Twilight actually felt.]]

* NotMeThisTime: After Trixie caused a DisasterDomino effect that wrecked Rarity's sewing room, Rarity walks in and automatically cast a DeathGlare at ''Sweetie Belle''. The defensive sister said this word-for-word.

This was followed with a sequel ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/125520/gboyhverse-magic-duel Magic Duel]]'', focusing on this universe's version of the episode [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Magic Duel]], the tropes for which (as well as one shots) can be found below.

*** She later tells the story of [[MyLittlePonyAndFriends Grogar]] to the Cake Twins. [[spoiler:Both of those stories are used by Trixie to defeat Checker in her final dream attack.]]

* RuleOfSymbolism: Checker uses a holographic chessboard to symbolize all of her plans, with her intended UnwittingPawns as pieces. [[spoiler:Her final VillainousBreakdown sees her shatter the projector and destroy the board, symbolizing her sanity also shattering.]]

Three separate live readings have started. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4isKgmyJJw&feature=channel&list=UL here]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mhfwd7l8Kes&feature=g-u-u here]], and [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpnmbqIqFLihJL4GFlqIoDyhp00Obr-_a Here at Crunchy Monkey Studios. The first is up to chapter 4, the second to half of chapter 10, and the third up to 8. A live reading of the final chapter can be found [[https://youtu.be/AcMNg6M0p4Y here]].