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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Better_Living_Through_Science_and_Ponies_300_8139.png]]
2''Better Living Through Science and Ponies'' is a {{crossover}} FanFic between ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' and ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
3
4The story picks up where the single-player campaign of ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' ends, with Chell on the surface wondering what comes next and [=GLaDOS=] prepping Atlas and P-Body for co-op testing. Unfortunately, a malfunctioning portal gun (which Wheatley had [[DuctTapeForEverything previously "repaired" with duct tape]]) creates an "uber-portal" that pulls the entire Enrichment Center, Chell included, into another dimension... namely, Equestria.
5
6Chell, now transformed into a pony, manages to meet up and befriend some of the locals, and quickly settles into life in Ponyville. But her new home is threatened when [=GLaDOS=] turns her cyclopic eye on studying the ponies, and using them as test subjects...
7
8It can be read [[http://penstrokepony.deviantart.com/gallery/30403133 here]] (Platform/DeviantArt), [[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/05/story-better-living-through-science-and.html here]] (Blog/EquestriaDaily) or [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/22535/Better-Living-Through-Science-and-Ponies here]] (Platform/FimfictionDotNet).
9
10[[http://www.equestriadaily.com/2011/07/map-of-equestria-and-portal-pony-mod.html A Portal 2 mod]] was being developed, although unfortunately, the project is currently in a state of indefinite cryo-stasis and in need of new members. Anyone familiar with Source and is able to help should contact them. Their blog can be found [[http://thinkingwithponies.blogspot.com/?m=1 here]].
11
12It's now getting a [[RecursiveFanfiction fan-written sequel]] called ''FanFic/ATrustedFriendInScienceAndPonies.''
13
14!!This fic contains the following tropes:
15* AccidentalMisnaming: In the bonus chapter Celestia constantly refers to [=GLaDOS=] as "Gladys".
16* AirVentPassageway: Chell uses some vents to get back inside the Enrichment Center. Justified in that her small pony body fits better.
17* AscendedFanboy: The author. His work started out as a fanfic, and now it's getting its own Portal 2 mod.
18* BlackComedy: While [=GLaDOS's=] taunts and quips are in prime form, she dispenses with generic cracks such as calling the ponies fat or orphans, and aims right for their weak points. Thus she's still funny, but readers know the cast is taking what she's saying ''very'' hard. [[spoiler:For instance, tricking Fluttershy into incinerating the Companion Cube, then tossing out that "unlike a phoenix", it won't be coming back.]]
19* BreadEggsMilkSquick:
20-->Now the subject was asking her questions. Not the usual kind, either . . . “Where am I?” or “What are you doing to me?” or “Why would you take my leg?”
21* BreakTheCutie: [=GLaDOS=] does this to most of the main cast.
22* BreakThemByTalking: [=GLaDOS=] uses her brain-scanning technology to read memories and uses her knowledge to zero in on each pony's weak points, such as calling Rainbow Dash "Rainbow Crash", mocking the Wonderbolts will never let a failure like her join them, and asking if her bragging is a cover for her insecurities. Applejack gets off ''light'' when [=GLaDOS=] merely insults her intelligence and career.
23* BerserkButton: Ditzy Doo (aka Derpy) is the only test pony to not break under [=GLaDOS=]'s taunts, until [=GLaDOS=] insults her daughter Dinky.
24* ChekhovsGun: [[spoiler:Chell's working portal cutie marks.]]
25* CompanionCube: [[TropeNamer But of course]]! In a twist on its role in the original game, [[spoiler:Fluttershy cannot bring herself to incinerate it, so [=GLaDOS=] opens the exit and allows her to take it with her...not telling her that the emancipation grid will incinerate the cube when she tries, so she still gets to taunt Fluttershy over destroying it.]]
26* DarkReprise: After breaking the girls down, [=GlaDOS=] sings a mocking version of the theme song.
27-->Fear of failure,\
28Psychotic break,\
29An ugly old mare,\
30Moronic and dumb,\
31Murdering pegasus\
32It's an easy feat\
33Doesn't all this madness make life complete?
34* DeadpanSnarker: [=GLaDOS=], naturally.
35* DualWielding: Or rather, ''Quad'' Wielding. [=GLaDOS=] develops portal guns modified to be used on pony legs that also double as long-fall boots. Chell equips herself with one on each leg when she goes to rescue the ponies from the Enrichment Center.
36* DuctTapeForEverything: Wheatley repaired one of the portal guns with duct tape. [[AlternateDimension Naturally, it fails spectacularly]].
37* FisherKingdom: ANYTHING that is sufficiently intelligent is turned into a pony upon entering Equestria, even [=GLaDOS=], Atlas and P-Body, who aren't human-like at all.
38-->'''[=GLaDOS=]''': Wa..war....warning. Warning, destination universe imposing critical changes to basic structure of both organic and inorganic systems. Changes occurring primarily in hardware, minor changes detected in data... physical change is resulting in... oh you’ve GOT to be kidding me.
39* {{Flanderization}}: [=GLaDOS=] is uncharacteristically bloodthirsty, as opposed to merely sarcastic and passive-aggressive. But given this is the third time Chell has tried to kill her, it could be chalked up to a form of VillainousBreakdown.
40** [[WordOfGod Word of Fan Fic Writer]] states [[InvokedTrope that was exactly what they were going for]].
41* ForScience: As in the games, [=GLaDOS=] is obsessed with doing tests for this trope. And she's just been unleashed on an unprepared world full of new possibilities...
42* GravitySucks: Possible example at the end where [[spoiler:Caroline causes a black hole to form and destroys the facility.]]
43* HeroicSacrifice[=/=]TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Caroline]], blowing up the facility to end [=GLaDOS=] once and for all and help Chell escape. [[spoiler:It doesn't completely work, as a small part of [=GLaDOS=] survives.]]
44* HopeSpot: Pony Chell getting to enjoy freedom as a pony.
45* IFellForHours: When the facility first gets sucked in, Atlas and P-Body spend long enough in freefall that they eventually stop panicking and just wait it out.
46* InsultBackfire: [=GLaDOS=]'s designation of Pinkie Pie as "special but not in a good way" is met with enthusiasm.
47** Even more HilariousInHindsight after almost the exact same thing happens in A Friend in Deed.
48* IsItSomethingYouEat: [=GLaDOS=] tries to break Pinkie Pie's spirit by pointing out that her eating habits will eventually lead her to getting Diabetes. Pinkie asks if Diabetes is some kind of cake.
49* IWasToldThereWouldBeCake: [=GLaDOS=] once again promises a cake and party to test subjects as a reward for surviving her tests. For once this works as Pinkie Pie resolves to finish her test extra quick to get some.
50* KickTheDog: [=GLaDOS=]' taunts are quite harsh, picking apart each character's flaws and hidden fears. A few are particularly brutal though.
51** Against Fluttershy, she [[spoiler:tricks Fluttershy into incinerating the Companion Cube]] after she tries not to, then tells her [[spoiler:that it had a family that will miss]], and to change the subject brings up Fluttershy's animal friends and her plans to test her neurotoxin on them.
52** Against Ditzy Doo, Ditzy gives [=GLaDOS=] the silent treatment as [=GLaDOS=] notes that while she has above average intelligence, her speech difficulties and her eyes cause the residents of Ponyville to regard her as a mentally handicapped moron not smart enough to do anything but deliver mail. She then notes that her condition is genetic, so Dinky will probably end up the same way. ''This'' finally gets Ditzy to snap at her.
53** Pinkie Pie eagerly has fun with the tests, and when [=GLaDOS=] mentions cake Pinkie says she'll happily zip through the tests now that she knows there's cake waiting. You would think [=GLaDOS=] would love her enthusiasm, but instead she says she didn't tell Pinkie because her friends want nothing to do with her and don't want her at the party, and brings up the time she threw a party with inanimate objects to claim she's mentally unstable. When [[CallBack Pinkie's mane deflates]], [=GLaDOS=] notes this physical change caused by her mood and calls her a mutant freak that's liable to snap and [[Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles become a serial killer]].
54* LaughablyEvil: [=GLaDOS=] is vicious and relentless in her efforts to break the ponies one by one through taunts and lecturing, but she still manages to be completely hilarious while doing it.
55* {{Malaproper}}: Ditzy speaks entirely like this, except for when she slows down and takes the time to enunciate. [=GLaDOS=] specifically identifies it as logorrhea and notes Ditzy actually has above average intelligence, then [[KickTheDog jabs the other ponies probably write her off as mentally handicapped because of her condition]].
56* MythologyGag: While [[{{Troll}} Celestia]] systematically trolls [=GlaDOS=], [=GlaDOS=] shows her 'body' to her... And, in a fit of comic irony, Celestia calls the computer [[spoiler: ''[[YouAreFat fat]]'']]. Yes, one of the [[spoiler:two most common insults used by [=GlaDOS=] against Chell]] is fired back at her. [=GlaDOS=]'s [[VillainousBreakdown response]] is ''glorious'', and it only gets better from there.
57* NoodleIncident: You never find out what [=GLaDOS=] did or said to Luna.
58* NoYou: Used by [=GLaDOS's=] in the bonus chapter.
59* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: We don't get to see the Mane Six free the other ponies or take down the turrets or neurotoxin generators.
60* OneWingedAngel: [[spoiler:[=GLaDOS=]]] pulls this when [[spoiler:Chell confronts her, using a robotic body based off of Celestia's]]. She was going [[spoiler:to make it human, but]] she said she realized 'she doesn't like them very much', [[spoiler:and when in Equestria.]]
61* PityTheKidnapper: [[spoiler:Celestia realizes, after her first conversation with [=GLaDOS=], that righteous indignation only amuses the evil AI. She immediately changes tack and verbally judo-masters [=GLaDOS=] into leaving her alone in her test chamber -- [=GLaDOS=] has a great deal of trouble dealing with perceptive test subjects, especially those who can talk back.]]
62* PowerLimiter: [=GLaDOS=] designs devices that inhibit unicorns' magical abilities and prevents pegasi from using their wings. The first of these is apparently powerful enough to render even Celestia and Luna (mostly) helpless.
63* PsychicBlockDefense: [[spoiler:Luna and Celestia in the side story are revealed to be able to resist [=GLaDOS=]'s mind probes]].
64* RazorWings: [[spoiler:[=GLaDOS's=] robotic alicorn body has large wings tipped with razor-sharp steel feathers.]]
65* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: In a side story, [[{{Troll}} Celestia]] has a nice friendly chat with Gladys.
66* SequelHook: [[spoiler:Atlas and P-body pulling [=GLaDOS=]' custom-made body out of the destroyed Enrichment Center, with her claiming there is more testing to do and that she was still alive.]]
67** WordOfGod states that this is because [[spoiler:[=GLaDOS=] never dies]].
68** This is the exact reason why ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/109545/a-trusted-friend-in-science-and-ponies A Trusted Friend in Science and Ponies]]'' is being written.
69* ShoutOut:
70** When [=GLaDOS=] is giving Pinkie Pie her BreakTheCutie moment, she states that the only reason her friends were there was because they were worried she is only a few steps away from becoming a serial killer. One who bakes her victims into ''Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles''.
71** She also claims Pinkie's diet is going to give her diabetes, which is from ''Fanfic/BitterSweet''.
72** She also accuses Fluttershy of being the kind of person who could snap and burn someone's house down, a nod to a fanfic called "Hell Hath No Fury" where Fluttershy does just that.
73** She consistently refers to Celestia as a "tyrant" in the bonus chapter, referencing the Epileptic Tree among ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic My Little Pony]]'' fans that Princess Celestia is actually a tyrant posing as a good leader.
74* SilentProtagonist: Chell, naturally. Given more of an explanation that she has no vocal cords [[spoiler:as they were removed, most likely by [=GLaDOS=], for "science". This gets averted at the end, thanks to a gift from Luna - a necklace that turns Chell's thoughts into speech.]]
75* TaughtByExperience: [=GLaDOS=] continues to demonstrate she learns from her mistakes. [[spoiler:By the time Chell finds her, she's transplanted her main consciousness into a wireless remote body based on Celestia, so Caroline replacing her main body does nothing until the wireless body is shut down and control is diverted. Furthermore, the alicorn body [=GLaDOS=] builds is armored, has on-board weapons, and being a robot is more than capable of killing Chell or any other pony by brute force. Relying on weapons directly connected to her body also makes it more difficult for Chell to turn her weapons against her.]]
76* VillainousBreakdown: [=GLaDOS=]'s response to Celestia's trolling is one such breakdown. '''[[spoiler:"SHUT UP. SHUT UP. SHUT UP. UP THE SHUT. I WILL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON'T SHUT UP."]]'''
77* WaxingLyrical: [[spoiler:[=GLaDOS=]' final lines are a variation of her "Still Alive" song.]]
78* WhenLifeGivesYouLemons:
79-->'''[=GLaDOS=]''': Life has been giving me lemons... and by letting you go I tried to make lemonade. A simple, sweet answer. Now... now I’m going to take life’s lemons, turn them into combustible lemons, and then burn you alive with them. Just like Cave Johnson would do... now that was a smart human.”
80%%%%* WouldYouLikeToHearHowTheyDied
81* YouAreFat: Given who's doing the taunt, this was a gimmie. Amusingly, [[spoiler:Celestia turns this back on her, it seems to stick later. When [=GLaDOS=] reveals her WingedUnicorn battle body, Chell thinks it looks thin to be somewhat anorexic.]]
82* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: [=GLaDOS=] says this twice, first when entering Equestria is causing the current inhabitants of the Enrichment Center to metamorphose into pony-shaped bodies, and again when [[spoiler:she recognizes Chell as the pony that has snuck into the center.]]

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