Harpflank And Sweets - Television Tropes & Idioms

Note: As the Fan Fic this page is about is still in progress, this trope page is currently under construction. Anypony who has read this fic should feel free to add any tropes we seem to have missed.

Lyra and Bon Bon defend the bustling metropolis of Metropony City from Luna and her villainous henchpony Trixie's army of robots using only their wits, friendship and arsenal of heavy weaponry. Can they keep Metropony safe for yet another week? Find out in this exciting episode of... HARPFLANK AND SWEETS.

Harpflank and Sweets could be described as "MLP Xtreme". It takes characters (mostly fan-loved background characters and one-episode wonders, but the second season includes a growing number of the main cast) and ideas from Friendships is Magic and adapts them to fit with the conventions and tropes of a Saturday Morning Cartoon with superheros and giant robots.

The story is updated in a random order, reflective of the haphazard way some television networks show childrens' programs in syndication. Chapters are (usually) single episodes, and the show operates in seasons with a strong sense of continuity. As of the most recent edit, it has two incomplete seasons and a movie between them.

This My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic Fan Fic provides examples of:

A.I. Is a Crapshoot: The AI in the nanosuits turns out to be based on one of Trixie's designs, and some of the original's AI programming made it into them. Which caused them to turn against the good guys.
A Day in the Limelight: Vinyl and Octavia are sent out on an undercover assignment in Season 2, Episode 22.
Air Vent Passageway: In the headquarters of the heroes, no less.
Amusement Park of Doom: Flim Flam Funland becomes one of these after dark.
Anachronic Order
As You Know: When Derpy is briefing Lyra and Bon-Bon. Lyra responds that she does, in fact, know.
BFG: Bubbles, Commander "Deadeye" Derpy's personal sniper rifle. It fires bullets that create Sonic Rainbooms.
Buffy Speak: Used occasionally, such as when Lyra screws up her face as if to illustrate the sheer degree of her thinking-ness.
Call Back: The team has been able to account for only five of the six Elements (Honesty, Loyalty, Laughter, Kindness, Generosity). They can't pin down Magic until The Movie, in which Trixie reveals herself as its bearer.
Catchphrase: "Don’t call me babe" (Octavia, to Vinyl).
Chekhov's Gun: A jet pack being tested in the lab comes in handy for Bon-Bon later.
Continuity Nod: The fanfic is set 1,000 years after the events of Friendship Is Magic and frequently refers to it, including the following:
- The Mane Six's names show up in various Metropony landmarks (Sparkle Library, Pinkie's Funhouse, etc.). They were responsible for its development from series-era Ponyville. As of Season 2, they have started to turn up one by one, with no recollection of their past, and are being recruited into M.A.R.E.
- The Season 1 finale ends with Vinyl Scratch recalling her own research on the Elements of Harmony.
- Metropony has five government ministries that deal with the Elements symbolized by Twilight Sparkle's friends, with Celestia Tower standing at their center. In The Movie, Trixie reveals herself as possessing the Element of Magic.
Crazy-Prepared: The security measures at the entrance to Octavia's office. In Episode 14, Vinyl has to go through a 13-step process to get in, including a tongue scan, a voice print, and lighting a stick of incense. For Episode 27, she has to scan her eye and hoof, put a lock of her mane in a glass receptacle, and sing a few bars to gain access.
Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Commander Derpy. She tends to disregard security protocols, her office is cluttered with muffins and junk, and technical explanations sail right over her head. On the other hand, she keeps a HUGE sniper rifle hidden in her office and is a crack shot with it.
Evil Is Hammy: The archvillain in Season 1 and The Movie is Princess Luna (of the Capslock variety, actually under Nighmare Moon's influence again), and her chief minion is The Great and Powerful Trixie. 'Nuff said.
Gadgeteer Genius: A two-pony operation. Vinyl does the mechanical work to provide the team with equipment, while Octavia writes the software for it.
Gilligan Cut: Vinyl says she's not going to take part in a fashion show. The next scene is set backstage at a fashion show. No prizes for guessing which blue-maned unicorn is there.
Go Karting with Bowser: Lyra and Bon Bon see Trixie entering Flim Flam Funland and, since Trixie has never seen them without their supersuits, decide to do this to keep an eye on her for the day.
Heel Face Turn: Trixie, in The Movie.
Heroic Sacrifice: Lyra teleports herself and Bon-Bon into the sun to stop Nightmare Moon from destroying it. They get better.
Humongous Mecha: Most of the Lunatrons qualify.
I Call It Vera: Derpy's personal sniper BFG is called Bubbles.
Instrument of Murder: Octavia programs the duo's suits to create a giant cello as a melee weapon. It proves to be very effective.
Lampshade Hanging: Many tropes pertaining to Saturday Morning Cartoons are lampooned. For example, Trixie's attacking Metropony City once a week is treated as a law of nature by most characters.
Lensman Arms Race: The Experimental Technology Labs (headed by Vinyl Scratch and Octavia) and The Great and Powerful Trixie keep bringing out crazier tech every week to outdo the other side.
No Indoor Voice: Princess Capslock... er... Luna.
Noodle Incident: Lyra does not want to talk about what happened with the sea ponies. An "earlier" episode reveals that she was briefly turned into one during an undersea battle with Trixie.
- Not to mention the whole thing with the experimental glider and the comm tower.
Punctuated! For! Emphasis!:
Bon Bon: What are we going to do with this [giant cello]?
Lyra: We. Are going. To hit her with it.
Recursive Fanfiction: Can be found here.
The Stoic: Octavia. When she shows distress, odds are things have gotten very bad.
Tim Taylor Technology: Derpy's plan for helping the team's rocket get away from Luna's drone fighters is to hook Bubbles' power generator directly to the engines. It works about as well as you'd expect.
Translation Train Wreck: The International Edition episode. According to the author's note at the end, Google Translate was used to translate it from English, to Afrikaans, to Esperanto, to Urdu, to Korean, and finally back to English.
Trope2000: Lunatron 8000 Mega-X Gamma Special – Trixie Custom
Villains Out Shopping: In Chapter 3, Luna and Trixie get to take the day off while Flim and Flam supply that week's episode's villainy.
- Princess Luna spends hers being very engaged in watching a Soap Opera (complete with an incurable Terminal Disease!)
- The Great and Powerful Trixie decides to visit the new theme park Flim and Flam set up.