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** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an AxeCrazy, [[AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[WouldHurtAChild child-]][[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
to:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an AxeCrazy, [[AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[WouldHurtAChild child-]][[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] battle [[OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
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Capitalization was fixed from Fanfic.The Phoenixofthe Wasteland to Fanfic.The Phoenix Of The Wasteland. Null edit to update page.
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[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
to:
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers,
Changed line(s) 17 (click to see context) from:
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
to:
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill [[TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld [[TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire [[TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram [[SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier SocialDarwinist unicorn super-soldiers]], {{Super Soldier}}s, the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil [[SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching [[BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice [[SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
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* AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
to:
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
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* ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
to:
* ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] Service and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
Changed line(s) 26 (click to see context) from:
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
to:
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].remorse.
Changed line(s) 33 (click to see context) from:
* DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
to:
* DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper [[GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone [[OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing [[PuppetKing pushover]].
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* KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
to:
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] setting has more evil characters than good ones.
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** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
to:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations AxeCrazy, [[AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture [[WouldHurtAChild child-]][[ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil [[RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll [[KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy [[OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight [[BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
**[[Main/EvilChancellor [[EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath [[CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror [[BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing [[PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], it, and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates [[ManipulativeBastard manipulates]] the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild grandfather, murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz Lesbos (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder fun), [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who[[Main/ManipulativeBastard [[ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger [[MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] of [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
**
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who
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* TheSpartanWay: Imperial society is based on this.
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* TheSpartanWay: Imperial society is based on this.this.
----
----
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* InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
to:
* InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, Myth/AztecMythology, Myth/NorseMythology, UsefulNotes/{{Islam}}, UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}}, and Catholicism.[[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} Catholicism]].
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to:
%%
%% Zero Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented out. Please do not un-comment them unless you can add information on how they %% fit the trope.
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vzz1_1467994174_299351_full.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
----
!!''The Phoenix of the Wasteland'' contains examples of:
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* BodyguardBetrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
%%* CrapsackWorld
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* CultureChopSuey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* DefectorFromDecadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: [[invoked]]Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
%%** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
* DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* {{Egopolis}}: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
%%* EvilVersusEvil: The primary conflict.
%%* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* KickTheDog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* LightIsNotGood: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
%%* MasterRace: The Imperials.
* NominalHero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
%%* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Kaiser.
* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
%%* RedOniBlueOni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
%%* SociopathicHero: Starlight.
* TheSociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
%%* TokenGoodTeammate: Party Favor.
%%* TheDrifter: The Wanderer.
* TheSpartanWay: Imperial society is based on this.
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Changed line(s) 1,57 (click to see context) from:
%%
%%
%% Zero Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented out. Please do not un-comment them unless you can add information on how they %% fit the trope.
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vzz1_1467994174_299351_full.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
----
!!''The Phoenix of the Wasteland'' contains examples of:
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* BodyguardBetrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
%%* CrapsackWorld
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* CultureChopSuey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* DefectorFromDecadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: [[invoked]]Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
%%** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
* DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* {{Egopolis}}: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
%%* EvilVersusEvil: The primary conflict.
%%* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* KickTheDog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* LightIsNotGood: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
%%* MasterRace: The Imperials.
* NominalHero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
%%* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Kaiser.
* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
%%* RedOniBlueOni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
%%* SociopathicHero: Starlight.
* TheSociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
%%* TokenGoodTeammate: Party Favor.
%%* TheDrifter: The Wanderer.
* TheSpartanWay: Imperial society is based on this.
* WellDoneSonGuy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
%%
%% Zero Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented out. Please do not un-comment them unless you can add information on how they %% fit the trope.
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vzz1_1467994174_299351_full.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
----
!!''The Phoenix of the Wasteland'' contains examples of:
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* BodyguardBetrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
%%* CrapsackWorld
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* CultureChopSuey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* DefectorFromDecadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: [[invoked]]Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
%%** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
* DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* {{Egopolis}}: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
%%* EvilVersusEvil: The primary conflict.
%%* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* KickTheDog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* LightIsNotGood: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
%%* MasterRace: The Imperials.
* NominalHero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
%%* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Kaiser.
* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
%%* RedOniBlueOni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
%%* SociopathicHero: Starlight.
* TheSociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
%%* TokenGoodTeammate: Party Favor.
%%* TheDrifter: The Wanderer.
* TheSpartanWay: Imperial society is based on this.
* WellDoneSonGuy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
to:
%%
%% Zero Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented out. Please do not un-comment them unless you can add information on how they %% fit the trope.
%%
%%
[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vzz1_1467994174_299351_full.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you probably have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
----
!!''The Phoenix of the Wasteland'' contains examples of:
* ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
* ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* BodyguardBetrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* ChekhovsGun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
%%* CrapsackWorld
* CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* CultureChopSuey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* DarkIsNotEvil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* DefectorFromDecadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
* DracoInLeatherPants: [[invoked]]Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
%%** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
* DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* {{Egopolis}}: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
%%* EvilVersusEvil: The primary conflict.
%%* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* KickTheDog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* LightIsNotGood: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
%%* MasterRace: The Imperials.
* NominalHero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
%%* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Kaiser.
* PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
%%* RedOniBlueOni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
%%* SociopathicHero: Starlight.
* TheSociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
%%* TokenGoodTeammate: Party Favor.
%%* TheDrifter: The Wanderer.
* TheSpartanWay: Imperial society is based on this.
* WellDoneSonGuy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
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'''''[[Main/NeedsWikiMagicLove Needs Wiki Magic Love]]'''''
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%% Zero Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented out. Please do not un-comment them unless you can add information on how they %% fit the trope.
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%% Zero Context Examples are not allowed, and have been commented out. Please do not un-comment them unless you can add information on how they %% fit the trope.
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Changed line(s) 12,43 (click to see context) from:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
* A Nazi by Any Other Name: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* All Myths Are True: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* Always Chaotic Evil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* And I Must Scream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* Bodyguard Betrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* Chekhov's Gun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* Chekhov's Gunmare: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
* Crapsack World
* Cruel and Unusual Death: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* Culture Chop Suey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* Dark Is Not Evil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* Defeat Means Friendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* Defector from Decadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
* Dragon in Chief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* Egopolis: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* Evil Versus Evil: The primary conflict.
* Hero Antagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* Interfaith Smoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* Kick the Dog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* Kick the Son of a Bitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* Light Is Not Good: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
* Master Race, Slave Race: The Imperials, then everyone else.
* Nominal Hero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
* Orcus On His Throne: The Kaiser.
* Psychopathic Manchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
* Red Oni, Blue Oni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
* Sociopathic Hero: Starlight.
* They Call Him Barkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
* The Sociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
* A Nazi by Any Other Name: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* All Myths Are True: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* Always Chaotic Evil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* And I Must Scream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* Bodyguard Betrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* Chekhov's Gun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* Chekhov's Gunmare: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
* Crapsack World
* Cruel and Unusual Death: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* Culture Chop Suey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* Dark Is Not Evil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* Defeat Means Friendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* Defector from Decadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
* Dragon in Chief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* Egopolis: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* Evil Versus Evil: The primary conflict.
* Hero Antagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* Interfaith Smoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* Kick the Dog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* Kick the Son of a Bitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* Light Is Not Good: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
* Master Race, Slave Race: The Imperials, then everyone else.
* Nominal Hero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
* Orcus On His Throne: The Kaiser.
* Psychopathic Manchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
* Red Oni, Blue Oni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
* Sociopathic Hero: Starlight.
* They Call Him Barkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
* The Sociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
to:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: ALighterShadeOfBlack: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
*A Nazi by Any Other Name: ANaziByAnyOtherName: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
*All Myths Are True: AllMythsAreTrue: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
*Always Chaotic Evil: AlwaysChaoticEvil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
*And I Must Scream: AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
*Bodyguard Betrayal: BodyguardBetrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
*Chekhov's Gun: ChekhovsGun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
*Chekhov's Gunmare: ChekhovsGunman: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
%%* CrapsackWorld
*Crapsack World
* Cruel and Unusual Death:CruelAndUnusualDeath: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
*Culture Chop Suey: CultureChopSuey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
*Dark Is Not Evil: DarkIsNotEvil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
*Defeat Means Friendship: DefeatMeansFriendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
*Defector from Decadence: DefectorFromDecadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
*Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied DracoInLeatherPants: [[invoked]]Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
** %%** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
*Dragon in Chief: DragonInChief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
*Egopolis: {{Egopolis}}: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
*Evil Versus Evil: EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
%%* EvilVersusEvil: The primary conflict.
* Hero Antagonist: %%* HeroAntagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
*Interfaith Smoothie: InterfaithSmoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
*Kick the Dog: KickTheDog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
*Kick the Son of a Bitch: KickTheSonOfABitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
*Light Is Not Good: LightIsNotGood: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
* Master Race, Slave Race: %%* MasterRace: The Imperials, then everyone else.
Imperials.
*Nominal Hero: NominalHero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
* Orcus On His Throne: %%* OrcusOnHisThrone: The Kaiser.
*Psychopathic Manchild: PsychopathicManchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
* Red Oni, Blue Oni: %%* RedOniBlueOni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
* Sociopathic Hero: %%* SociopathicHero: Starlight.
*They Call Him Barkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
* The Sociopath:TheSociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
%%* CrapsackWorld
*
* Cruel and Unusual Death:
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
%%* EvilVersusEvil: The primary conflict.
*
*
*
*
*
*
*
* The Sociopath:
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* Token Good Teammate: Party Favor.
* The Drifter: The Wanderer.
* The Spartan Way: Imperial society is based on this.
* Well Done Son Guy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
* The Drifter: The Wanderer.
* The Spartan Way: Imperial society is based on this.
* Well Done Son Guy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
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*
*
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* Interfaith Smoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Greek myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
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* Interfaith Smoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Greek Aztec myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
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* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
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* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with an in-universe example, [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
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* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with ''[[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]]'', who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
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* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with ''[[FanFic/MyImmortal [[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]]'', Darkness]], who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
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* Defeat Equals Friendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
to:
* Defeat Equals Means Friendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
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* Draco in Leather Pants: Parodied with ''[[FanFic/MyImmortal Ebony Darkness]]'', who heads a fan club in Equestria dedicated to the Empire.
** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
** For a sizable portion of the story, Starlight literally wears leather pants.
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* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
to:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
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* Chekhov's Gunmare: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
to:
* Chekhov's Gunmare: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/StateSec [[Main/SecretPolice Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
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* Refuge in Audacity: When Comrade Bright confronts the Wanderer about his [[Main/MoralEventHorizon razing of Lesbos]] (Starlight had told him previously that she'd [[Main/HeelFaceTurn reformed him]].) The Wanderer tells him that he did it [[Main/DisproportionateRetribution because the mayor called Starlight ugly]]. Bright buys it once Starlight reminds him that [[Main/DeconstructedTrope psychological change is a slow and gradual process that takes a lot of time, skill, and effort to achieve.]]
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** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main.Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
to:
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main.Moodswinger [[Main/MoodSwinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]].
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If you did all that, you've probably gotten something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
to:
If you did all that, you've you probably gotten have something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
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** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
to:
** The Wanderer [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], fun)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
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** The Wanderer is a [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
to:
** The Wanderer is a [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
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** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main.Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]]]].
to:
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main.Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of of]] [[spoiler: Party Favor]]]].Favor]].
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** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]]]].
to:
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/Moodswinger [[Main.Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]]]].
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** The Wanderer is a [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] makes their services obsolete]].
to:
** The Wanderer is a [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness makes their services obsolete]].
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** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. [[Main/Nominal Hero (Starlight accepts the offer wholeheartedly.)]] She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
to:
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. [[Main/Nominal Hero (Starlight accepts the offer wholeheartedly.)]] She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
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** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]].]]
to:
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]].]]Favor]]]].
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** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murd]][[Main/Squick ers]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]] in Chapter Twenty. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. [[Main/Nominal Hero (Starlight accepts the offer wholeheartedly.)]] She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
to:
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer Wanderer, in the chapter before, [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murd]][[Main/Squick ers]] murders]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]] in Chapter Twenty.it]]. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. [[Main/Nominal Hero (Starlight accepts the offer wholeheartedly.)]] She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
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* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[[Main/Unperson Arsoen von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
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* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Wasteland, [[Main/TakeOverTheWorld then the world]]. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[[Main/Unperson Arsoen von Mumoree]]'' be un-personed if they prove too disloyal.
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* Defector from Decadence: The Wanderer becomes this after seeing the Empire's sorry state. [[spoiler: Most of the other Imperials become this after Starlight defeats Snakefang in their duel to the death.]]
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* Token Good Teammate: Party Favor.
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Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and [[Main/Lobotomy lobotomized]] [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[Main/Unperson Arsoen von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
to:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and [[Main/Lobotomy lobotomized]] lobotomized [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[Main/Unperson ''[[Main/Unperson Arsoen von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
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Changed line(s) 12 (click to see context) from:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and [[Main/Lobotomy lobotomized]] [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[Main/Unperson Arsön von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
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* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and [[Main/Lobotomy lobotomized]] [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[Main/Unperson Arsön Arsoen von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
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[[quoteright:350:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/vzz1_1467994174_299351_full.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you've probably gotten something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
----
!!''The Phoenix of the Wasteland'' contains examples of:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and [[Main/Lobotomy lobotomized]] [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[Main/Unperson Arsön von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
* A Nazi by Any Other Name: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* All Myths Are True: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* Always Chaotic Evil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* And I Must Scream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* Bodyguard Betrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* Chekhov's Gun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* Chekhov's Gunmare: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
* Crapsack World
* Cruel and Unusual Death: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* Culture Chop Suey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* Dark Is Not Evil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* Defeat Equals Friendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* Dragon in Chief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* Egopolis: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* Evil Versus Evil: The primary conflict.
* Hero Antagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* Interfaith Smoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Greek myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* Kick the Dog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* Kick the Son of a Bitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* Light Is Not Good: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
* Master Race, Slave Race: The Imperials, then everyone else.
* Nominal Hero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
* Orcus On His Throne: The Kaiser.
* Psychopathic Manchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
* Red Oni, Blue Oni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
* Sociopathic Hero: Starlight.
* They Call Him Barkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
* The Sociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murd]][[Main/Squick ers]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]] in Chapter Twenty. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. [[Main/Nominal Hero (Starlight accepts the offer wholeheartedly.)]] She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer is a [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]].]]
* Refuge in Audacity: When Comrade Bright confronts the Wanderer about his [[Main/MoralEventHorizon razing of Lesbos]] (Starlight had told him previously that she'd [[Main/HeelFaceTurn reformed him]].) The Wanderer tells him that he did it [[Main/DisproportionateRetribution because the mayor called Starlight ugly]]. Bright buys it once Starlight reminds him that [[Main/DeconstructedTrope psychological change is a slow and gradual process that takes a lot of time, skill, and effort to achieve.]]
* The Drifter: The Wanderer.
* The Spartan Way: Imperial society is based on this.
* Well Done Son Guy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
[[caption-width-right:350:[[Main/BlatantLies Pretty decent guys. Really. We swear.]]]]
Take ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]''. Now, put it in [[Main/CrapsackWorld a desert]]. After that, put in a hearty blend of several different civilizations and mythologies. Then dump fifty truckloads of [[Main/DarkerAndEdgier grimdark]] into it, and make one of the series' main villains (Starlight Glimmer) [[Main/NominalHero the protagonist]].
If you did all that, you've probably gotten something like ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/299351/the-phoenix-of-the-wasteland The Phoenix of the Wasteland]]''. Here, you'll find an abundance of unapologetic rapists, slavers, mass-murderers, child-killers, backstabbers, [[Main/ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and cheapskates]]. The latter four are the [[Main/NominalHero heroes]]; the villains [[Main/ALighterShadeOfBlack are even worse]]. Prepare your [[Main/BrainBleach Brain Bleach]].
----
!!''The Phoenix of the Wasteland'' contains examples of:
* A Lighter Shade of Black: The protagonist is a megalomaniacal sadist whose ultimate goal is to [[Main/TheEvilsOfFreeWill stamp out free will the world over]] by establishing a totalitarian regime in the Wasteland. Standing in her way is the [[Main/TheEmpire Holy Empire of Styx]], a decadent and rotting empire owned by a race of [[Main/SuperBreedingProgram eugenics-enhanced]] [[Main/SocialDarwinist social Darwinist]] [[Main/SuperSoldier unicorn super-soldiers]], the Imperials, who keep their underclasses of second-class citizens and [[Main/Lobotomy lobotomized]] [[Main/SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil slaves]] under an iron hoof under constant threat of torture and death; non-slaves are put [[Main/BigBrotherIsWatching constant surveillance]] under the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]], and are subject to ''[Main/Unperson Arsön von Mumoree]]'' if they prove too disloyal.
* A Nazi by Any Other Name: The Imperials believe in eugenics and their own racial superiority over all others.
* All Myths Are True: [[spoiler: Subverted. The myth of the Gem of Mount Athon, the obtaining of which is the driving motivator for much of the story, turns out to be untrue.]]
* Always Chaotic Evil: None of the Imperials are presented sympathetically. Not even the one who's in the main cast. Justified, as being at all kind or compassionate in the Empire is a surefire way to [[Main/MightMakesRight die]] [[Main/HadToBeSharp an]] [[Main/TheSpartanWay early]] [[Main/CrapsackWorld death]].
* And I Must Scream: [[spoiler:In her duel against Legate Snakefang Gelder, Starlight breaks his horn in two, inflicting a permanent epileptic seizure on him. She then removes his cutie mark and uses it to open a rift into empty Tartaran space, where he is doomed to drift for all eternity as he suffers said seizure.]]
* Bodyguard Betrayal: The Kaiser's Praetorian Guard is fond of this. [[spoiler: Inverted, then defied, when Starlight initiates Operation Midnight Longsword, where the Praetorians are all killed and replaced with magi-tech battle droids, who become the new Praetorians.]]
* Chekhov's Gun: The Staff of Comets and Imperial seal in Lesbos.
* Chekhov's Gunmare: Shattered Bones shows up in Chapter Five, and is only mentioned twice in passing afterwards. [[spoiler:That is, until Chapter Twenty-Four, when it turns out that she is the head of the [[Main/StateSec Imperial Secret Service]] and the one behind Benn's defection to Starlight's side.]]
* Crapsack World
* Cruel and Unusual Death: The Empire has the Dark Arts, a school of magic dedicated specifically to this. The Wanderer is proficient in it, and [[Main/NominalHero uses it often and without a shred of remorse]].
* Culture Chop Suey: The Empire is a bizarre blend of the Kaiserreich, Nazi Germany, ancient Sparta, the Roman Empire, and medieval Vikings.
* Dark Is Not Evil: Princess Luna wears a suit of jet-black armor. She's also one of the few characters who are unambiguously heroic.
* Defeat Equals Friendship: After Starlight [[spoiler: defeats Legate Snakefang Gelder in a duel to the death]], the Second Legion defects to Starlight's side, having been told before that they would be treated mercifully if they did so.
* Dragon in Chief: [[Main/GeneralRipper Legate]] [[Main/NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Snakefang Gelder]] is the de facto main villain, as the Kaiser is a [[Main/OrcusOnHisThrone pathetic]] [[Main/PuppetKing pushover]].
* Egopolis: Byzuntam gets renamed to Starlightopolis and becomes the capitol of Starlight's new sovereign state.
* Evil Versus Evil: The primary conflict.
* Hero Antagonist: [[spoiler: Twilight Sparkle.]]
* Interfaith Smoothie: The Empire's state religion is a bizarre blend of Greek myth, Norse myth, Islam, Judaism, and Catholicism.
* Kick the Dog: Both the heroes and the villains do this a lot.
* Kick the Son of a Bitch: The heroes do this a lot more than they do the above, just because [[Main/CrapsackWorld the setting]] has more evil characters than good ones.
* Light Is Not Good: When Starlight and the Wanderer are [[spoiler: ascended to alicornhood]], they get a lavish white-and-gold toga and crown, and a suit of white-and-gold plate armor, respectively. It fails to make them any less villainous.
* Master Race, Slave Race: The Imperials, then everyone else.
* Nominal Hero: The only claim Starlight has to heroism is the fact that the villains are even worse. She is not a nice mare. Not by a long shot.
* Orcus On His Throne: The Kaiser.
* Psychopathic Manchild: [[spoiler: Wolfram, the Empire's patron deity, was behind Starlight's arrival to the Wasteland the whole time. He gave her the centaur army that the Gem otherwise would have if it were real. The reason: He got bored with the Empire. He also has the vernacular and mannerisms of a thirteen year old boy.]]
* Red Oni, Blue Oni: Starlight is red; Wanderer is blue.
* Sociopathic Hero: Starlight.
* They Call Him Barkeep: The Wanderer had a real name, but he forgot it over forty years of wandering alone in the desert, so "Wanderer" is what everyone refers to him as.
* The Sociopath: A lot of the characters are this. To name a few examples:
** Legate Snakefang Gelder is an [[Main/AxeCrazy Axe Crazy]], [[Main/AggressiveNegotiations parlay-ignoring]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild child-]][[Main/ColdBloodedTorture torturing]] and -murdering [[Main/RapeIsASpecialKindofEvil serial rapist]] who tortures prisoners of war for fun and deliberately exposes himself to ambushes from opposing forces so he can [[Main/KillEmAll slaughter them in battle]] [[Main/OneManArmy by the hundreds]] just because [[Main/BloodKnight he finds sitting back while the grunts do the fighting to be boring]].
** [[Main/EvilChancellor Checkmate Master]] is introduced in Chapter Twenty after the Wanderer [[Main/CruelAndUnusualDeath brutally]] [[Main/BodyHorror murd]][[Main/Squick ers]] her [[Main/PuppetKing own father]] in front of her just [[Main/EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor after preemptively cracking a joke about it]] in Chapter Twenty. She exhibits [[Main/AngstWhatAngst absolutely no signs of grief over it]], and offers to join Starlight's retinue in return for the privilege of keeping her cutie mark, and a position in government as a minister of propaganda and public relations. [[Main/Nominal Hero (Starlight accepts the offer wholeheartedly.)]] She also has her own sister as the court fool, and abuses her regularly for fun.
** [[spoiler: [[Main/GodIsEvil Wolfram]]]] is a sadistic hedonist who condemns entire countries to ruin out of sheer boredom.
** The Wanderer is a [[Main/ManipulativeBastard manipulates the mane six into returning Party Favor to his custody by claiming to be his grandfather]], [[Main/WouldHurtAChild murders a blank-flanked filly in cold blood on the grounds that she was a witness to his razing of Lesbos]] [[Main/ForTheEvulz (he makes the death slow and painful just for entertainment)]], [[Main/ChronicBackstabbingDisorder and has the entirety of the Brotherhood of the Sun's leadership killed]] after [[Main/YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness the [[spoiler: Imperial Secret Service]] makes their services obsolete]].
** Starlight is a megalomaniacal sadist who [[Main/ManipulativeBastard tells deadly lies and half-truths on a consistent basis for the sake of her own goals]], has [[Main/Moodswinger terrible mood swings]], and [[Main/AngstWhatAngst feels absolutely no grief for the death of [[spoiler: Party Favor]].]]
* Refuge in Audacity: When Comrade Bright confronts the Wanderer about his [[Main/MoralEventHorizon razing of Lesbos]] (Starlight had told him previously that she'd [[Main/HeelFaceTurn reformed him]].) The Wanderer tells him that he did it [[Main/DisproportionateRetribution because the mayor called Starlight ugly]]. Bright buys it once Starlight reminds him that [[Main/DeconstructedTrope psychological change is a slow and gradual process that takes a lot of time, skill, and effort to achieve.]]
* The Drifter: The Wanderer.
* The Spartan Way: Imperial society is based on this.
* Well Done Son Guy: [[spoiler: Shattered Bones]] turns out to be this. Her real father is [[spoiler: allegedly]] dead.
