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* LongTitle
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* NeverTrustATitle: The final part of the fics' LongTitle is ''Virtue Rewarded'', which is only accurate in the sense that nopony embodies any virtues (beyond basic decency) and nopony is rewarded.
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* NeverTrustATitle: The final part of the fics' LongTitle title is ''Virtue Rewarded'', which is only accurate in the sense that nopony embodies any virtues (beyond basic decency) and nopony is rewarded.
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Trope has been renamed to Diagnosed By The Audience and made YMMV. Removing for not fitting the definition.
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* AmbiguousDisorder: Moondancer, by her own admission, "has social problems" and carries around cue cards to help her navigate conversations with new people. But by the time she meets Trevor, she's lost her cards somehow, which leaves her floundering.
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* BeanstalkParody: Near the end, the Canterlot Five wind up inside "Jack and the Beanstalk". Since the bookwalking spell is breaking down at this point, it's actually two different tellings of the story mashed together, so the normal Jack from a straight telling winds up meeting a smart-ass Jack from a FracturedFairyTale version.
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* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The ponies try to sober up by drinking coffee, but Lyra adds whisky to it.
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* ComicallyMissingThePoint: ComicallyMissingThePoint:
** The ponies try to sober up by drinking coffee, but Lyra adds whisky toit.it.
** In the bonus chapter, Moondancer tries to deduce which of her friends has become a vampony, Minuette or Twinkleshine. As this is happening, Minuette pulls out a compact mirror to look at herself, because "I feel like I got shomethin’ in my perfectly flat teeth." And Twinkleshine talks about how nice the desert sun feels, and how much she loves garlic bread. Moondancer still concludes "Indeed, it could be either of them!"
** The ponies try to sober up by drinking coffee, but Lyra adds whisky to
** In the bonus chapter, Moondancer tries to deduce which of her friends has become a vampony, Minuette or Twinkleshine. As this is happening, Minuette pulls out a compact mirror to look at herself, because "I feel like I got shomethin’ in my perfectly flat teeth." And Twinkleshine talks about how nice the desert sun feels, and how much she loves garlic bread. Moondancer still concludes "Indeed, it could be either of them!"
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* IgnoredEnemy: In the "Jack and the Beanstalk" section, the two Jacks wind up arguing, getting so focused on each other that they ignore the giant. The giant gets confused, then bored, and eventually just wanders away.
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* InsaneTrollLogic: In the bonus chapter, when Lyra starts rambling about towels, a very drunk Moondancer goes through some bizarre mental gymnastics to conclude it's actually a warning from Lyra about vamponies--and that the vampony is actually Lyra herself.
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** Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well. This is later covered by [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/DaringDosBipedalAdventure the sequel]].
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** Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well. This is (This would later covered get resolved by [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/DaringDosBipedalAdventure [[Fanfic/DaringDosBipedalAdventure the sequel]].)
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** Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well.
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** Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well. This is later covered by [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/DaringDosBipedalAdventure the sequel]].
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* IntrepidFictioneer: The unicorns accidentally go on a romp through a bunch of ponified works of literature.
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* MonsterSobStory: Minuette and Lyra recognize Dam Refined's abusive upbringing, and are quick to reassure him that he doesn't deserve to be persecuted so.
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* SympathyForTheDevil: Minuette and Lyra recognize Dam Refined's abusive upbringing, and are quick to reassure him that he doesn't deserve to be persecuted so.
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alphabetize
* IJustWriteTheThing: [[invoked]]The author insists he didn't deliberately try to bring the Canterlot Five into his reality:
-->I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. I may be typing the words, but not everything comes from me. I mean, sometimes the story just writes itself.
-->I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. I may be typing the words, but not everything comes from me. I mean, sometimes the story just writes itself.
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* IJustWriteTheThing: [[invoked]]The author insists he didn't deliberately try to bring the Canterlot Five into his reality:
-->I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. I may be typing the words, but not everything comes from me. I mean, sometimes the story just writes itself.
-->I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. I may be typing the words, but not everything comes from me. I mean, sometimes the story just writes itself.
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* ImStandingRightHere: In the Moby Dick segment, the characters make disparaging remarks about the Captain while he is nearby.
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* StealthPun: One of the Jacks in the "Jack and the Beanstalk" portion of the story is a donkey. [[spoiler: He's a jackass.]]
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* TrilogyCreep: Parodied with the title of chapter four: "Part 4 of the Epic Trilogy".
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** The unicorns wound up on the ''HMS Titanic'' at some point. Moondancer lost her cue cards there, and somehow got somepony else's locket in their place.
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** The unicorns wound up on the ''HMS Titanic'' ''UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic'' at some point. Moondancer lost her cue cards there, and somehow got somepony else's locket in their place.
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* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Moondancer compares her friends' current predicament as "looking for a needle in a haystack that’s also stuffed with counterfeit needles!" Minuette somehow finds a book about how to do precisely that. Moondancer eagerly reads it, then says it's less relevant to the situation than she hoped.
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* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Moondancer compares her friends' current predicament as to "looking for a needle in a haystack that’s also stuffed with counterfeit needles!" Minuette somehow finds a book about how to do precisely that. Moondancer eagerly reads it, then says it's less relevant to the situation than she hoped.
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* TheCavalry: When everything falls apart and it looks like all hope is lost, [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle shows up and activates the spell's failsafe, pulling everypony back into reality.]]
** Apple Bloom is back to [[Fanfic/TealovesSteamyAdventure only speaking]] [[Fanfic/DiamondAndSilversExcellentAdventure in song lyrics]].
* ForeignQueasine:
-->“Hmm … Looks like a cookbook, but all the recipes call for butane as the main ingredient.”
* FracturedFairyTale: A traditional version of "Jack Knife and the Beanstalk" crashes into a post-modern retelling, as the old Jack (an earth pony) and new Jack (a sarcastic donkey) both sneak into the same giant's castle. They wind up arguing with each other, leaving the giant confused and eventually bored.
-->“Hmm … Looks like a cookbook, but all the recipes call for butane as the main ingredient.”
* FracturedFairyTale: A traditional version of "Jack Knife and the Beanstalk" crashes into a post-modern retelling, as the old Jack (an earth pony) and new Jack (a sarcastic donkey) both sneak into the same giant's castle. They wind up arguing with each other, leaving the giant confused and eventually bored.
* RealityBleed: At the end of the story, the bookwalking spell begins to break down. This results in different versions of the same book merging (like "Jack and the Beanstalk") or completely different stories getting mashed together because of vague similarities in setting (like the ''Rime of the Ancient Mare-iner'' / Iron Filly / ''Moby-Dick'' / ''Arthur Gordon Pym'' crossover at the end).
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well.
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: WhatHappenedToTheMouse:
** Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation aswell.well.
** Trevor goes off to gather plants inside "Jack and the Beanstalk" and is never heard from again.
** Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as
** Trevor goes off to gather plants inside "Jack and the Beanstalk" and is never heard from again.
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* YearInsideHourOutside: The trip through the book world feels like it takes hours, but only ten minutes pass back in Canterlot.
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[[caption-width-right:344:Clockwise, from the top: Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, and [[HeyYou The Other One]].]]
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[[caption-width-right:344:Clockwise, from the top: Moondancer, Lyra Heartstrings, and [[HeyYou [[AccidentalMisnaming The Other One]].]]
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* AccidentalMisnaming: When introducing her friends to Trevor, Moondancer forgets Twinkleshine's name and instead calls her The Other One.
* AlienGeometries: The Vonyich castle. No matter how the ponies try to walk around it, they always end up standing in the same spot.
* AlienSky: The world inside the Vonyich Manuscript has two suns and three moons, all moving randomly.
* AlienGeometries: The Vonyich castle. No matter how the ponies try to walk around it, they always end up standing in the same spot.
* AlienSky: The world inside the Vonyich Manuscript has two suns and three moons, all moving randomly.
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* AmbiguousDisorder: Moondancer, by her own admission, "has social problems" and carries around cue cards to help her navigate conversations with new people. But by the time she meets Trevor, she's lost her cards somehow, which leaves her floundering.
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* ClusterFBomb: Partway through the Vonyich Manuscript, everypony suddenly gets a lot more vulgar, and stays that way until partway through ''Frankenstein''.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The ponies try to sober up by drinking coffee, but Lyra adds whisky to it.
* ComicallyMissingThePoint: The ponies try to sober up by drinking coffee, but Lyra adds whisky to it.
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* DoubleMeaning: While inside ''Frankenstein'', the ponies wind up talking past each other a bunch because of the shades of meaning to "monster".
-->“Um ... Shouldn’t we do something about the monster and the stallion chasing him?” asked Lyra.\\
“Aren’t you listening to what I’m saying?” Minuette grumbled. “The stallion is the monster. He’s chasing his son, who isn’t one.”
-->“Um ... Shouldn’t we do something about the monster and the stallion chasing him?” asked Lyra.\\
“Aren’t you listening to what I’m saying?” Minuette grumbled. “The stallion is the monster. He’s chasing his son, who isn’t one.”
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* EruditeStoner: When the ponies first meet Trevor, he's on the tail end of some kind of drug trip. He's a bit scatter-brained, but smarter than he initially appears.
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* LeeroyJenkins: Lyra leaps into the gap between the chapters of the train station story before anypony can even discuss if it's a good idea. And then she drinks Trevor's coffee (with the dimension juice) while the other ponies are just starting to object.
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* MixAndMatchCritters: Trevor resembles a pony, but with a back half like a jewel-encrusted slug with wheels.
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* MonsterSobStory: Minuette and Lyra recognize Dam Refined's abusive upbringing, and are quick to reassure him that he doesn't deserve to be persecuted so.
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** Trevor gets the unicorns some dimension coffee to take them back to their reality... but Lyra spikes it with whisky, which gives them all a dimension hangover that sucks them back into the next book they touch.
* NoodleIncident: A particularly weird case, in that these incidents allegedly happened ''during this very story'', but there's no point when they could have happened.
** The unicorns crossed paths with Daring Do, and it somehow resulted in her believing they stole the MacGuffin from ''Literature/TheMalteseFalcon''.
** The unicorns wound up on the ''HMS Titanic'' at some point. Moondancer lost her cue cards there, and somehow got somepony else's locket in their place.
* NoodleIncident: A particularly weird case, in that these incidents allegedly happened ''during this very story'', but there's no point when they could have happened.
** The unicorns crossed paths with Daring Do, and it somehow resulted in her believing they stole the MacGuffin from ''Literature/TheMalteseFalcon''.
** The unicorns wound up on the ''HMS Titanic'' at some point. Moondancer lost her cue cards there, and somehow got somepony else's locket in their place.
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* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: After Moondancer refers to Twinkleshine as "The Other One", everyone else, even the narrator, calls her The Other One until the very end of the story.
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* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Lyra calls out Crank Refined for being such a terrible father, in the form of a song.
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* SelfDeprecation:
-->“Well done, Lyra!” Minuette grinned.\\
“Eh, it wasn’t my best work,” Lyra replied. “Almost like it was written by somepony who knows nothing about music.”\\
“Don’t insult Marey Shelly!” Minuette moaned.\\
“Well, she’s not really writing this scene any more, is she?” Lyra asked.
* SeriousBusiness: When Moondancer finds out that she can't touch any books for the next ''five years'', she freaks out and demands someone fix the problem. Trevor amends his estimate and says they just have to avoid touching books for a few hours, but Moondancer continues freaking out just as hard.
-->Moondancer lunged, wrapping her hooves around Trevor’s throat. “Fix it!” she demanded. “Fix it! Books! Fix books!”
-->“Well done, Lyra!” Minuette grinned.\\
“Eh, it wasn’t my best work,” Lyra replied. “Almost like it was written by somepony who knows nothing about music.”\\
“Don’t insult Marey Shelly!” Minuette moaned.\\
“Well, she’s not really writing this scene any more, is she?” Lyra asked.
* SeriousBusiness: When Moondancer finds out that she can't touch any books for the next ''five years'', she freaks out and demands someone fix the problem. Trevor amends his estimate and says they just have to avoid touching books for a few hours, but Moondancer continues freaking out just as hard.
-->Moondancer lunged, wrapping her hooves around Trevor’s throat. “Fix it!” she demanded. “Fix it! Books! Fix books!”
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** After getting out of the Vonyich Manuscript, and discovering they have to avoid touching books for the next few hours, lest they get sucked back in:
-->“Moondancer, be chill,” Lyra said. “It’s just a couple hours. You can avoid touching a book for a couple hours.”\\
Just then, Minuette trotted back up to the shelf, carrying a copy of ''Frankenstein''. “Does this go in Science fiction or Fantasy?” she asked.
** And then Lyra nearly does it:
-->[Lyra said,] “As long as nothing sudden and dramatic happens to create a high amount of tension for a period of like--”\\
“If I’m not allowed to do it you’re not allowed to do it!” Minuette said sharply.\\
Lyra paused in her sentence, and frowned. “Fine!” she said.
-->“Moondancer, be chill,” Lyra said. “It’s just a couple hours. You can avoid touching a book for a couple hours.”\\
Just then, Minuette trotted back up to the shelf, carrying a copy of ''Frankenstein''. “Does this go in Science fiction or Fantasy?” she asked.
** And then Lyra nearly does it:
-->[Lyra said,] “As long as nothing sudden and dramatic happens to create a high amount of tension for a period of like--”\\
“If I’m not allowed to do it you’re not allowed to do it!” Minuette said sharply.\\
Lyra paused in her sentence, and frowned. “Fine!” she said.
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* VillainProtagonist: The ponies who've read ''Frankenstein'' before are quick to point out that the scientist (who made and immediately abandoned the creature) is the ''real'' monster in the story.
-->“Look!” Minuette said. “It’s a metaphor for fatherhood, a man who refuses to take responsibility for what he has created and yet blames the child for its own faults; who looked his son in the eyes on the day of his birth and turned him away as bilious and unworthy; who harries that very same son to the ends of the earth for a perfection it neither desired nor understood, and which the father forces upon it even while denying love and affection for the son’s efforts! The monster!”
-->“Look!” Minuette said. “It’s a metaphor for fatherhood, a man who refuses to take responsibility for what he has created and yet blames the child for its own faults; who looked his son in the eyes on the day of his birth and turned him away as bilious and unworthy; who harries that very same son to the ends of the earth for a perfection it neither desired nor understood, and which the father forces upon it even while denying love and affection for the son’s efforts! The monster!”
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* TheWorldAsMyth: Minuette and Trevor discuss the possibility that they aren't visiting works of fiction, but visiting other universes that happen to resemble fiction from their own universe. Moondancer thinks the idea is trite and stupid.
-->Minuette blinked hard enough to make a noise. “But what if like, every world is a book to someone else, or like, a childrens cartoon, and what if this conversation reads as deeply trite to somebody because the implicit recognition that characters exist inside of media is beginner’s meta-commentary and stopped being funny or subversive decades ago?” [...]\\
“Nah, I get it though!” Trevor said. “Like, what we understand as ‘media’ is just another level of reality. You’re not actually going into books, just visiting other facets of the gem we call reality.”
-->Minuette blinked hard enough to make a noise. “But what if like, every world is a book to someone else, or like, a childrens cartoon, and what if this conversation reads as deeply trite to somebody because the implicit recognition that characters exist inside of media is beginner’s meta-commentary and stopped being funny or subversive decades ago?” [...]\\
“Nah, I get it though!” Trevor said. “Like, what we understand as ‘media’ is just another level of reality. You’re not actually going into books, just visiting other facets of the gem we call reality.”
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* GiantFootOfStomping: The giant-sized Minuette tries to crush the Queen of Hearts underhoof, but accidentally gets dosed with a potion shrinks her back to normal size.
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* GiantFootOfStomping: The giant-sized Minuette tries to crush the Queen of Hearts underhoof, but accidentally gets dosed with a potion that shrinks her back to normal size.
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* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Most of the inhabitants of the Vonyich Manuscript speak another language ([[TranslatorMicrobes requiring Moondancer to use magic to translate it]])--but Trevor speaks perfect English, which baffles the unicorns. Trevor says he took three years of English in high school.
* EitherOrTitle
* HypocriticalHumor:
-->“Filly, don’t be pushy!” Lyra butted in to stop her friend from butting in on her other friend...
-->“Filly, don’t be pushy!” Lyra butted in to stop her friend from butting in on her other friend...
* IJustWriteTheThing: [[invoked]]The author insists he didn't deliberately try to bring the Canterlot Five into his reality:
-->I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. I may be typing the words, but not everything comes from me. I mean, sometimes the story just writes itself.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Minuette's reaction when Lyra becomes TheOmnipresent.
-->“Is there any alcohol in this library? I don’t think I’m drunk enough to deal with this.”
-->I raised my hands in a defensive gesture. I may be typing the words, but not everything comes from me. I mean, sometimes the story just writes itself.
* INeedAFreakingDrink: Minuette's reaction when Lyra becomes TheOmnipresent.
-->“Is there any alcohol in this library? I don’t think I’m drunk enough to deal with this.”
* LongTitle
* LostInCharacter: When Lyra takes the place of the protagonist in ''Kitchen'', she has trouble remembering her real life outside the book, and almost doesn't want to leave when Moondancer finds a way out.
* LostInCharacter: When Lyra takes the place of the protagonist in ''Kitchen'', she has trouble remembering her real life outside the book, and almost doesn't want to leave when Moondancer finds a way out.
* NeverTrustATitle: The final part of the fics' LongTitle is ''Virtue Rewarded'', which is only accurate in the sense that nopony embodies any virtues (beyond basic decency) and nopony is rewarded.
* OffTheRails: The heroines' presence always disrupts the original plot somewhat. But when they get into ''The Mare Who Was Thursday'', they destroy the entire plot before it can even start.
-->“Well, thanks for flipping through half the story just like that,” Lyra grumbled. “So is there anything else we can do before the trippy bits start, or should we start looking for the anomaly so we can bust out before Twinkle gets homesick?”
* TheOmnipresent: As long as Lyra touches The Gimel, she exists ''everywhere'' at once. This is indicated by the phrase "And Lyra was there, too," appearing in some form in every single paragraph.
-->“Well, thanks for flipping through half the story just like that,” Lyra grumbled. “So is there anything else we can do before the trippy bits start, or should we start looking for the anomaly so we can bust out before Twinkle gets homesick?”
* TheOmnipresent: As long as Lyra touches The Gimel, she exists ''everywhere'' at once. This is indicated by the phrase "And Lyra was there, too," appearing in some form in every single paragraph.
* RealWorldEpisode: The five unicorns combine their magic to brute-force their way out of the [[ShowWithinAShow book-within-a-book]]--but they overshoot a layer and wind up meeting their human author. The author's just as freaked out as they are, and quickly writes them back into their layer of reality.
* TranslatorMicrobes: Moondancer casts a spell that lets her understand and speak Vonyich.
* WeHaveReserves: Moondancer uses magic to understand the language of the Vonyich creatures, but accidentally melts and absorbs one of them. Lyra tries to assure her it's no big deal.
-->Lyra pat Moondancer on the back to reassure her. “Don’t worry, there’s like 50 of ‘em, I’m sure they’ll manage.”
-->Lyra pat Moondancer on the back to reassure her. “Don’t worry, there’s like 50 of ‘em, I’m sure they’ll manage.”
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* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: Three times, the mares actually escape from the book world and get back to the bookstore, and think their adventure is over. Then something happens, and they get sucked into another book, again.
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* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/DangerThanFiction Has its own page.]]
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[[caption-width-right:344:From top to bottom: Moondancer, [[HeyYou The Other One]], and Lyra.]]
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[[quoteright:344:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/danger_than_fiction_copy.png]]
[[caption-width-right:344:From top to bottom: Moondancer, [[HeyYou The Other One]], and Lyra.]]
[[caption-width-right:344:From top to bottom: Moondancer, [[HeyYou The Other One]], and Lyra.]]
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-->'''Minuette'''
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->''“Read a fucking book.”''
-->'''Minuette'''
A ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RoundRobin fanfic by Creator/{{Insaneponyauthor}}, and set in the same verse as their prior fics. The full title is ''Danger Than Fiction, or, Pony Pony Literature Club, or, Take a Look, You're in a Book, or, Four Nerds and an Alcoholic (Who Is also a Nerd), or, Virtue Rewarded''.
It was supposed to be a simple get-together. Moondancer, Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts were going to meet their old friend Twilight at a local bookstore and then go out for dinner. But somepony had the bright idea of hitting up a bar beforehand.
And then the bookstore turned out to be one of those seedy establishments peddling magic books that suck unsuspecting readers into the narrative. Oops.
Now these five mares are stuck in a maze, one built from the plots of dozens of different books. Fortunately, as graduates of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, they’re ideally suited to escape this literary labyrinth... Or they would be, if they were a little more sober.
Jump into the story yourself, [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/408475/danger-than-fiction here]].
----
!!Provides examples of:
* AnachronicOrder: ''Slaughterhorse Five'' has a non-linear narrative, so the Canterlot Five find themselves bounced around both their own memories and the book's plot.
-->Listen:\\
Moondancer has come unstuck in narrative.
* AndYouThoughtItWasAGame: When Moondancer accidentally tells Alice that she's a character in a story, Alice takes it to mean that they're all acting out a play on stage (a play with very impressive special effects), and she somehow forgot.
-->[Alice said,] “I must be getting very forgetful if I was supposed to be in a play with all of you and forgot. This is a very elaborate set you made, too. That fall through the hole and making my body shrink felt so realistic!”
* BookEnds: The first and last sections were both written by the same guy, and both sections involve the Canterlot Five passing through a ponified ''Literature/MobyDick''.
* ContinuityNod:
** The Canterlot Five pass by [[{{Fanfic/Derailed}} Celestia and Octavia]] walking together, inside the train station story.
** Trevor the Vonyich is the son of the demon '''[[Fanfic/DreamOnYouCrazyPrincess Steve]]'''.
* ContrivedCoincidence: When the ponies arrive in the Library of Babel, Moondancer grabs a random book off the nearest shelf--which just happens to have an excerpt that explains exactly how the Library works.
* DependingOnTheWriter:
** The details of the bookwalking spell fluctuate from section to section. Sometimes the Canterlot Five take the place of characters from the story, and sometimes they show up as interlopers in the plot. Sometimes they say they're supposed to exit a book by reaching the end of the narrative, other times they say it's by fixing some problem with the plot, and other times they just brute-force their way out with magic.
** The heroines' intoxication level doesn't stay consistent. Sometimes they act completely sober, and a few sections later they'll stumble over their words and have trouble remembering anything.
** The writers don't even agree on whether or not Moondancer's wearing her black turtleneck sweater.
* DoorStopper: The Canterlot Five wind up inside the infamously long ''Moby Dick'', which proves a problem, since they're supposed to get all the way through the narrative in order to get back to reality.
-->Seriously? Were you being paid by the word or something?
* FailedASpotCheck: When Moondancer casts the spell to get everypony out of ''Slaughterhorse Five'', she has to have the others point out that they landed in another book, not back in the bookstore.
-->“Well, I’m pretty sure we’re not back in the bookstore,” Lemon Hearts said. “We’re on a boat.”
* GiantFootOfStomping: The giant-sized Minuette tries to crush the Queen of Hearts underhoof, but accidentally gets dosed with a potion shrinks her back to normal size.
* GiantWoman: While inside ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', Minuette eats a currant cake that makes her grow to a gigantic size.
* GreatBigLibraryOfEverything: "The Library of Babel", of course. Moondancer lampshades the point from the original story--that in a library of ''literally everything'', it would be impossible to ever find the specific information you're looking for.
* IncredibleShrinkingMan: The protagonists meet Alice after she's been shrunk to the size of a mouse.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: The Canterlot Five and Daring Do are both good guys, but Daring is hunting them down, because she thinks they stole "the Falcon".
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Trevor is kind, easygoing, and helps our heroines without asking anything in return. His father, '''Steve''' is some kind of demonic SealedEvilInACan.
* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: Lyra [[LampshadeHanging fully expects]] that the bookstore that got them into this mess will disappear as soon as they leave.
-->[Lyra said,] “...for all we know, we won’t even be able to find this place again when we’re fully sober and awake.”
* MockGuffin: Discussed:
-->“Just give back the real Falcon and this will all be over!” says their pith-helmeted pursuer.\\
“What?!” the white one shoots back. “You’re still mad about ''that''?”\\
“There ''is'' no real Falcon!” says the yellow one. “It was a fake MacGuffin all along!”
* MultipleNarrativeModes: Most of the story is written in third person. A few sections are written in first person: the prologue, the bit where Moondancer scouts ahead in the book, and the heroines' meeting with their own author. And the ''If on a winter's night a traveler'' parody is written in second person.
* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: When her friends try to find some information in the Library of Babel, Moondancer points out the hopelessness of the search.
-->Moondancer continued, “Looking for helpful information in here will be like … looking for a needle in a haystack that’s also stuffed with … counterfeit needles!”
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** Inside ''Moby Dick'', Lyra steals the gold doubloon nailed to the mast, breaking said mast in the process--and forcing the heroines to flee before Captain Ahab can punish them.
** While looking for Lyra inside ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', Minuette starts indiscriminately blasting doors and walls, which earns them all the Queen of Hearts' anger.
** Inside ''The Hobbit'' Moondancer accidentally wakes up Smaug early.
* PooledFunds: Lemon Hearts wants to swim in Smaug's vast treasure hoard. Lyra has to restrain her and remind her that [[DefiedTrope piles of gold and jewels don't work that way]].
* PortalBook: The five Canterlot unicorns get sucked into a magic book and proceed to bumble their way through the plots of about a dozen different books.
* OnceMoreWithClarity: The prologue outright gives away the last line of the story, but it doesn't make any sense until you read the context leading up to it.
-->It ends like this:\\
''Hoo?''
* RememberTheNewGuy: The very first time A.K. Yearling is mentioned, the heroines talk about her as if she's been chasing them since the start of the story, and everyone expects the readers to already know why she's pursuing them.
* ShowWithinAShow: Technically, every book they jump into qualifies. But it gets recursive when they jump into ''If on a winter's night a traveler'', then jump into the train station story inside that book, then fall from there into "The Library of Babel", and finally jump into the Library's copy of ''Kitchen''.
* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Moondancer compares her friends' current predicament as "looking for a needle in a haystack that’s also stuffed with counterfeit needles!" Minuette somehow finds a book about how to do precisely that. Moondancer eagerly reads it, then says it's less relevant to the situation than she hoped.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: [[spoiler:As Twilight points out at the end, the book-traveling spell had several failsafes the Canterlot Five could have activated at any point to get back to reality. They didn't notice because they were too drunk when they stumbled into the bookstore.]]
* SternChase: Daring Do is hunting the Canterlot Five, so they can't stay in any one book for too long... until [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Daring disappears from the narrative for no reason]].
* TemptingFate:
** Moondancer says, “I wouldn’t worry too much, though. Worst case scenario we just have to reach the end of the story.” Seconds later, she realizes the story they're inside is an infamous DoorStopper.
** Shortly after that, Minuette says, "We're on a boat in the middle of nowhere. What could possibly happen? It's not like a giant sea monster is going to jump out of nowhere and smash the boat." Everypony then pauses and waits to see if any sea monsters materialize, but nothing happens.
* TrappedInTVLand: The whole plot of this story is the five Canterlot unicorns getting sucked into ponified versions of various RealLife books.
* VomitDiscretionShot: Lemon Hearts spends the whole trip through ''Moby Dick'' getting sea-sick and barfing over the edge of the ship, but it's never described in any detail.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well.
----
-->'''Minuette'''
A ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RoundRobin fanfic by Creator/{{Insaneponyauthor}}, and set in the same verse as their prior fics. The full title is ''Danger Than Fiction, or, Pony Pony Literature Club, or, Take a Look, You're in a Book, or, Four Nerds and an Alcoholic (Who Is also a Nerd), or, Virtue Rewarded''.
It was supposed to be a simple get-together. Moondancer, Lyra, Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lemon Hearts were going to meet their old friend Twilight at a local bookstore and then go out for dinner. But somepony had the bright idea of hitting up a bar beforehand.
And then the bookstore turned out to be one of those seedy establishments peddling magic books that suck unsuspecting readers into the narrative. Oops.
Now these five mares are stuck in a maze, one built from the plots of dozens of different books. Fortunately, as graduates of Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, they’re ideally suited to escape this literary labyrinth... Or they would be, if they were a little more sober.
Jump into the story yourself, [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/408475/danger-than-fiction here]].
----
!!Provides examples of:
* AnachronicOrder: ''Slaughterhorse Five'' has a non-linear narrative, so the Canterlot Five find themselves bounced around both their own memories and the book's plot.
-->Listen:\\
Moondancer has come unstuck in narrative.
* AndYouThoughtItWasAGame: When Moondancer accidentally tells Alice that she's a character in a story, Alice takes it to mean that they're all acting out a play on stage (a play with very impressive special effects), and she somehow forgot.
-->[Alice said,] “I must be getting very forgetful if I was supposed to be in a play with all of you and forgot. This is a very elaborate set you made, too. That fall through the hole and making my body shrink felt so realistic!”
* BookEnds: The first and last sections were both written by the same guy, and both sections involve the Canterlot Five passing through a ponified ''Literature/MobyDick''.
* ContinuityNod:
** The Canterlot Five pass by [[{{Fanfic/Derailed}} Celestia and Octavia]] walking together, inside the train station story.
** Trevor the Vonyich is the son of the demon '''[[Fanfic/DreamOnYouCrazyPrincess Steve]]'''.
* ContrivedCoincidence: When the ponies arrive in the Library of Babel, Moondancer grabs a random book off the nearest shelf--which just happens to have an excerpt that explains exactly how the Library works.
* DependingOnTheWriter:
** The details of the bookwalking spell fluctuate from section to section. Sometimes the Canterlot Five take the place of characters from the story, and sometimes they show up as interlopers in the plot. Sometimes they say they're supposed to exit a book by reaching the end of the narrative, other times they say it's by fixing some problem with the plot, and other times they just brute-force their way out with magic.
** The heroines' intoxication level doesn't stay consistent. Sometimes they act completely sober, and a few sections later they'll stumble over their words and have trouble remembering anything.
** The writers don't even agree on whether or not Moondancer's wearing her black turtleneck sweater.
* DoorStopper: The Canterlot Five wind up inside the infamously long ''Moby Dick'', which proves a problem, since they're supposed to get all the way through the narrative in order to get back to reality.
-->Seriously? Were you being paid by the word or something?
* FailedASpotCheck: When Moondancer casts the spell to get everypony out of ''Slaughterhorse Five'', she has to have the others point out that they landed in another book, not back in the bookstore.
-->“Well, I’m pretty sure we’re not back in the bookstore,” Lemon Hearts said. “We’re on a boat.”
* GiantFootOfStomping: The giant-sized Minuette tries to crush the Queen of Hearts underhoof, but accidentally gets dosed with a potion shrinks her back to normal size.
* GiantWoman: While inside ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', Minuette eats a currant cake that makes her grow to a gigantic size.
* GreatBigLibraryOfEverything: "The Library of Babel", of course. Moondancer lampshades the point from the original story--that in a library of ''literally everything'', it would be impossible to ever find the specific information you're looking for.
* IncredibleShrinkingMan: The protagonists meet Alice after she's been shrunk to the size of a mouse.
* LetsYouAndHimFight: The Canterlot Five and Daring Do are both good guys, but Daring is hunting them down, because she thinks they stole "the Falcon".
* LikeFatherUnlikeSon: Trevor is kind, easygoing, and helps our heroines without asking anything in return. His father, '''Steve''' is some kind of demonic SealedEvilInACan.
* TheLittleShopThatWasntThereYesterday: Lyra [[LampshadeHanging fully expects]] that the bookstore that got them into this mess will disappear as soon as they leave.
-->[Lyra said,] “...for all we know, we won’t even be able to find this place again when we’re fully sober and awake.”
* MockGuffin: Discussed:
-->“Just give back the real Falcon and this will all be over!” says their pith-helmeted pursuer.\\
“What?!” the white one shoots back. “You’re still mad about ''that''?”\\
“There ''is'' no real Falcon!” says the yellow one. “It was a fake MacGuffin all along!”
* MultipleNarrativeModes: Most of the story is written in third person. A few sections are written in first person: the prologue, the bit where Moondancer scouts ahead in the book, and the heroines' meeting with their own author. And the ''If on a winter's night a traveler'' parody is written in second person.
* NeedleInAStackOfNeedles: When her friends try to find some information in the Library of Babel, Moondancer points out the hopelessness of the search.
-->Moondancer continued, “Looking for helpful information in here will be like … looking for a needle in a haystack that’s also stuffed with … counterfeit needles!”
* NiceJobBreakingItHero:
** Inside ''Moby Dick'', Lyra steals the gold doubloon nailed to the mast, breaking said mast in the process--and forcing the heroines to flee before Captain Ahab can punish them.
** While looking for Lyra inside ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'', Minuette starts indiscriminately blasting doors and walls, which earns them all the Queen of Hearts' anger.
** Inside ''The Hobbit'' Moondancer accidentally wakes up Smaug early.
* PooledFunds: Lemon Hearts wants to swim in Smaug's vast treasure hoard. Lyra has to restrain her and remind her that [[DefiedTrope piles of gold and jewels don't work that way]].
* PortalBook: The five Canterlot unicorns get sucked into a magic book and proceed to bumble their way through the plots of about a dozen different books.
* OnceMoreWithClarity: The prologue outright gives away the last line of the story, but it doesn't make any sense until you read the context leading up to it.
-->It ends like this:\\
''Hoo?''
* RememberTheNewGuy: The very first time A.K. Yearling is mentioned, the heroines talk about her as if she's been chasing them since the start of the story, and everyone expects the readers to already know why she's pursuing them.
* ShowWithinAShow: Technically, every book they jump into qualifies. But it gets recursive when they jump into ''If on a winter's night a traveler'', then jump into the train station story inside that book, then fall from there into "The Library of Babel", and finally jump into the Library's copy of ''Kitchen''.
* SidetrackedByTheAnalogy: Moondancer compares her friends' current predicament as "looking for a needle in a haystack that’s also stuffed with counterfeit needles!" Minuette somehow finds a book about how to do precisely that. Moondancer eagerly reads it, then says it's less relevant to the situation than she hoped.
* StatingTheSimpleSolution: [[spoiler:As Twilight points out at the end, the book-traveling spell had several failsafes the Canterlot Five could have activated at any point to get back to reality. They didn't notice because they were too drunk when they stumbled into the bookstore.]]
* SternChase: Daring Do is hunting the Canterlot Five, so they can't stay in any one book for too long... until [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse Daring disappears from the narrative for no reason]].
* TemptingFate:
** Moondancer says, “I wouldn’t worry too much, though. Worst case scenario we just have to reach the end of the story.” Seconds later, she realizes the story they're inside is an infamous DoorStopper.
** Shortly after that, Minuette says, "We're on a boat in the middle of nowhere. What could possibly happen? It's not like a giant sea monster is going to jump out of nowhere and smash the boat." Everypony then pauses and waits to see if any sea monsters materialize, but nothing happens.
* TrappedInTVLand: The whole plot of this story is the five Canterlot unicorns getting sucked into ponified versions of various RealLife books.
* VomitDiscretionShot: Lemon Hearts spends the whole trip through ''Moby Dick'' getting sea-sick and barfing over the edge of the ship, but it's never described in any detail.
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Not only does Daring Do [[RememberTheNewGuy appear in the story with no explanation]], but she disappears with no explanation as well.
----
