History Fanfic / Petriculture

The ''Petriculture Cycle'' by Kwakerjak is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' {{fanfic}}tion series that all starts with Twilight asking the question: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles "Just what IS 'rock farming', anyway?"]] Suffice to say, the answer turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined...

The series consists of the following seven stories:

* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/14298/petriculture Petriculture]]''
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/35688/inscape Inscape]]''
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/avocation Avocation]]''
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/- Pi]]''
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/105303/pandelirium Pandelirium]]''
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/272099/transdementia Transdementia]]''
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/387132/manifesto Manifesto]]''

All are complete.

As the premise of each successive story is more or less grounded in the surprise ending of the previous story, be extra careful of spoilers below.

The author had declared the cycle complete with the ending of ''Pandelirium'', but reopened it with the publication of the first chapter of ''Transdementia''.
----
!!Contains examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:General tropes for the series as a whole]]
* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: A lot.
** OneWordTitle for the title of each story.
** The chapter titles, for those that have multiple chapters.
*** ''Inscape'': The chapters are all named after playground and parlor games.
*** ''Avocation'': Most of the titles are {{Job Title}}s, named after the job that Penumbra had before that chapter, ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/3 Assistant Pastry Chef]]'', ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/4 Preening Technician]]''.
*** ''Pi'': All named after properties of circles. ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/1/-/chapter-1-circumference Circumference]]'', ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/2 Diameter]]'', ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/3 Ratio]]''
*** ''Pandelirium'': Every chapter shares its title with a song by the Legendary Shack Shakers, and the whole story is named after one of their albums.
*** ''Transdementia'': Each chapter is named after a song by School of Seven Bells.
* OneWordTitle: Multiple:
** ''Avocation'': A few, ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/1 Correspondence]]'' is the first chapter, and ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/9 Avocation]]'' is the last.
** Also a form of IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming, in some cases:
*** Every story in this series has such a title.
*** Disregarding the chapter numbering, ''Avocation'''s titles are all single words.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Petriculture'']]
* AbsenceOfEvidence: The fact that there are no records of [[spoiler:Pinkie's family]].
** There's also this:
--->'''Twilight''': [[spoiler:I... I don't ''want'' to be right about this, Pinkie Pie, but it seems like the only solution that fits, which is why I’m hoping you can give me that one piece of evidence that I’m missing—something that wraps everything up in a neat, logical package.]]\\
'''Pinkie''': [[spoiler:I’m sorry, Twilight, but I can't.]]\\
'''Twilight''': [[spoiler:You don’t want to talk about it?]]\\
'''Pinkie''': [[spoiler:No, I mean that I can’t give you the missing information you want... [[WhamLine because there isn’t any.]]]]
* AssPull: InUniverse, [[spoiler:Pinkie admits she made up the rock farming story on the spot to avoid telling the Cutie Mark Crusaders the truth about her origins]].
* CerebusRetcon: Downplayed: [[spoiler:The reason why Pinkie [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E1MareInTheMoon gasped and ran off after meeting Twilight in Ponyville]]? She realized her dream-memories about being Twilight's imaginary friend were true.]]
* ConvenientlyUnverifiableCoverStory: The driving plot point of Petriculture.
* DoingResearch: The whole story pretty much consists of this trope.
* FantasticAesop: In certain contexts, [[spoiler:friendship can ''literally'' be a form of magic]].
* GreatBigLibraryOfEverything: Subverted: Twilight assumes that the Royal Library will contain the answers she seeks, and she's completely flabbergasted when this turns out not to be the case.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Pinkie Pie.
* MythologyGag: How about the fact that [[spoiler:Twilight's imaginary friend, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends Surprise]], became Pinkie Pie]]?
* SmarterThanYouLook: Smarter Than She Looks: Pinkie Pie's intelligence is only hinted at in this story, but it becomes ''extremely'' prominent in ''Inscape''.
* SureLetsGoWithThat: [[spoiler:How Surprise took on the name Pinkie Pie: a nurse at the hospital she was taken to called her that (since it was believed she had amnesia).]]
* TriggerPhrase: Combined with MyArtMyMemory.
* {{Tulpa}}: Pinkie Pie [[spoiler:used to be Twilight Sparkle's imaginary friend, [[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyAndFriends Surprise]].]]
** The ending reveals that [[spoiler:Discord was Celestia and Luna's imaginary friend as well.]]
* WhamLine: One piece of narration prior to TheReveal turns a seemingly simple one-shot into the start of a bigger story:
-->"I guess this goose chase wasn’t all that pointless after all," Twilight concluded with a smile. Her issues thus resolved, she decided to open the scrapbook her parents had lovingly assembled for her.\\
[[spoiler:What she saw in there nearly caused her to drop the book on the floor.]]
** See also AbsenceOfEvidence.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Inscape'']]
* AntiHumor: The preferred form of humor among griffons, much to Pinkie Pie's consternation.
-->"Why did the griffon cross the road? Because there was an annoying twit trying to have a stupid conversation with her on the sidewalk when she had better things to do."
* ArmorPiercingQuestion: From Pinkie to the Nightmare: "What are ''you'' gonna do?"
** Followed a little while later with two questions almost back to back:
--->'''Pinkie''': (to Twilight) [[spoiler:Do you really think the Nightmare would risk the chance of Celestia getting you to change your mind the same way ''she'' got you to change it?]]\\
'''Twilight''': (to the Nightmare; stone-faced) [[spoiler:Would you let her live?]]
* CantStayNormal: Pinkie Pie.
* TheCoup: Subverted. Due to the Nightmare's corruption, Twilight wants Celestia's and Luna's thrones for herself. Due to her own bookishness and sense of order, Twilight doesn't try to take the throne by violence--instead she presents logical arguments for why the princesses should cede the throne. [[spoiler:This is then double-subverted, when Pinkie uncovers that the Nightmare ''wants'' a violent coup--her real goal isn't power, but killing Celestia--and is manipulating Twilight to that end. Nothing comes of this manipulation, however, because Twi learns about it and immediately turns on the Nightmare.]] In the aftermath, Twilight is mortified at her actions and asks for forgiveness. Luna points out that she doesn't need to be forgiven, because she never broke any laws during her attempted power grab.
* CurbStompBattle: Implied to be the inevitable result of attempting to [[BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind fight a mentally stable pony in their own head]]. [[spoiler:Twilight Sparkle eventually demonstrates this on the Nightmare.]]
* FaceHeelTurn: Twilight Sparkle.
* GroupHug: Pinkie Pie manages to weaponize one when she loudly announces that it's the Nightmare's birthday. All of Twilight's memories of Pinkie come out from hiding to [[TheGlomp tackle]] her before hauling her off to a party.
* INeverSaidItWasPoison: Twilight Sparkle falls into this trap three times in the first chapter.
* HeWhoFightsMonsters: [[spoiler:Twilight comes ''dangerously'' close to killing the Nightmare in her rage. It takes a combination of seeing her reflection in a (dream) fountain and realizing the conclusion to a certain train of thought to get her to stop.]]
-->Twilight sighed and returned her focus to [[spoiler:her target. "Nightmare, you’re going to... to..." ''Why am I stalling? Like I said, it needs to be done! In fact, it would have been done already, if only Pinkie hadn’t butted in. Why can’t that stupid earth pony just—'']]
* JourneyToTheCenterOfTheMind: Pinkie enters Twilight's mind to formulate a battle plan against the Nightmare. It's laid out very similar to Canterlot, with various parts of the castle and city dedicated to imagination, dreams, memories, knowledge, etc.
* NotBrainwashed: Twilight Sparkle.
* PowerLimiter: Pinkie Pie is voluntarily keeping most of her [[spoiler:Imaginary Friend power]] sealed off to avoid hurting others by accident. Unless a Pinkie Promise is involved - in that case, the entire arsenal is at her disposal for the purpose of Keeping the Promise.
* PunctuatedPounding: Twilight is not happy once she finds out Nightmare's plans. [[spoiler:She mentions each of her friends; then, "As she rattled off each name, Twilight repeatedly slammed the Nightmare into the ground, a wall, or any other surface that looked solid enough to cause significant trauma. It was far more satisfying than making a checkmark on a scroll with a quill."]]
* [[PuppetKing Puppet Princesses]]: Twilight offers to let Celestia and Luna remain on their thrones as figureheads while she pulls the strings.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: The Nightmare convinces her hosts to administer these as part of her corruption methodology.
* SimpleCountryLawyer: Parodied when Pinkie Pie interrogates the Nightmare in Twilight's mind.
* SympathyForTheDevil: [[spoiler:Nightmare Moon]] is given another chance.
* TitleDrop: Mentioned by Pinkie Pie in the very last chapter.
* VoluntaryShapeshifting: Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, and the Nightmare are all capable of this to some degree.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: Twilight really does believe that Equestria will be better off with her in charge.
** TheExtremistWasRight: By the end of Twilight's presentation, even Celestia and Luna agree with her points regarding the research itself and give Twilight the go-ahead to access them. The main issue is handing actual rule of Equestria to Twilight, to which Celestia notes Twilight would be ill-suited for because of all the politics involved.
* WhatTheHellHero: The first half of Twilight's proposal basically amounts to a meticulously-researched one of these directed at the Princesses.
* WrongGenreSavvy: Princess Luna incorrectly guesses Pinkie's train of thought concerning the Nightmare near the end:
-->'''Princess Luna''': You needn't draw this out with an extended interrogation; I can see where this train of thought leads. You are about to inform me that the Nightmare was [[spoiler:my imaginary friend, likely forgotten for the same reason that Twilight Sparkle forgot about you when you manifested]], are you not?
-->'''Pinkie''': No, and that's the problem.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Avocation'']]
* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Penumbra, without fail, quits or gets herself fired from every job that she can find.
* AnEntrepreneurIsYou: [[spoiler:Penumbra's final solution to steady employment is to just go into business for herself! As a cloud artisan she gets to both [[SecretArt bring back an old tradition]] and [[PublicMediumIgnorance not have ponies question her attitude at work]].]]
* BerserkButton: Scones are supposed to be '''''PLAIN.'''''
* BunnyEarsLawyer: Subverted. Penumbra is ''unquestionably'' good at several the jobs she applies to, but ends up losing each one due to her own person being... less than unquestionable.
* DidWeJustHaveTeaWithCthulhu: Considering the plot of the Cycle at large, the story synopsis is essentially: [[spoiler:Nightmare Moon goes job-hunting]].
* EurekaMoment: From the aptly titled chapter "Epiphany", concerning [[spoiler:clouds]][[note]]As written.[[/note]]:
-->Indeed, even unicorns and earth ponies could conceivably use such [[spoiler:clouds]] for decoration, or adverti\\
Please forgive me if this letter seems rushed or sloppy, but I have just had a burst of inspiration, and can not spare the time for appropriate revisions, as I wish to strike while the iron is hot.
* FishOutOfTemporalWater: Take a guess.
* JobTitle: The titles that are named after Penumbra's jobs, such as ''Assistant Pastry Chef'', and ''Barrister''.
* MortonsFork: Penumbra being [[spoiler:a thousand years old]], she has no idea how modern workplace relations work. In the various jobs she tries, she is sent mixed signals of the highest degree, in one instance being fired for being too cold and "only doing her job" while in another quitting over sexual harassment.
* MundaneUtility: Penumbra is a [[spoiler: pseudo-alicorn super-pegasus]] with enhanced ''everything.'' What does she consider most useful? Her super preening oil! That she is [[spoiler:actually a thousand years old]] just means she has plenty of experience with preening feathers!
* [[NoodleIncident Noodle Incidents]]: Because Penumbra [[UnreliableNarrator withholds details from her letters]] in an effort to put the most positive spin she can on her actions, many of the events described come off feeling like these.
* OvercomplicatedMenuOrder: We have a "venti two-thirds decaf low-fat soy caramel macchiato with whipped cream, mocha sprinkles, and a sprig of hay. And a [[BerserkButton cranberry orange-peel]] scone."
-->[[spoiler:[[RageQuit I walked out five minutes later.]]]]
* ScrapbookStory: The story is told through a [[EpistolaryNovel collection of letters]] written from Penumbra to Luna (whose responses are not included).
* TrueArt: An InUniverse example, and Penumbra's reasons for selecting [[spoiler:cloud sculpting and construction]] as her final job. She just got fed up with the mass-produced versions floating around everywhere.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''π'']]
* AlternateUniverse: While previous stories in the Cycle only explore the aspects and characters that the author introduces, π sets the series firmly in this category by introducing these aspects and characters into the canonical premise of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Magic Duel]].
* BerserkButton: Trixie ''loathes'' circles.
* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Penumbra was very rude when she thought Twilight was leaving her friends. But, she wants Twilight to win the duel against Trixie, because she is also her friend.
* TookALevelInJerkass: Trixie, though she is shown to be wearing the [[ArtifactOfDoom Alicorn Amulet]]. She has leveled significantly for this story in particular.
* DramaQueen: Rarity.
* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Subverted when [[spoiler:Trixie finds out Twilight's attempt to beat her with smoke and mirrors.]]
* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:In the end Trixie escapes Ponyville without learning her lesson ''or'' being punished for her actions.]] Nevermind that her actions are perfectly defendable in court...
* LeastRhymableWord: When asked about the difficulty of always speaking in rhyme, Zecora admits:
-->It's somewhat difficult to talk about oranges\\
When I can not work in a reference to door hinges.
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Discussed and averted. Not only does Penumbra not put any stock in this trope, it turns out that it isn't even applicable. Alicorns aren't actually immortal; they just "don't leave until they're ready to go."
* WorldOfCardboardSpeech: Twilight inverts this to rationalize ''not'' using her [[spoiler:god-like Alicorn]] powers to beat Trixie.
** TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Penumbra counters by inverting ''this'' trope to un-guilt Twilight into using them after all.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Pandelirium'']]
* AbsurdlyHighStakesGame: Discord has a chance to win unrestricted freedom, but only if he [[MustMakeHerLaugh can make Penumbra laugh]].
* [[AtLeastIAdmitIt At Least I Know I'm Crazy]]: Discord considers this a point in his favor when comparing himself to Trixie.
* BalefulPolymorph: Rarity's parents.
* BittersweetEnding: Trixie[[spoiler:/Sombra]] is defeated [[spoiler:but it required Discord TakingTheBullet for Celestia]]. [[spoiler:[[SubvertedTrope At least it would be, if Discord didn't survive the attack.]]]]
* TheBusCameBack: Trixie.[[spoiler:.. and Sombra.]]
* CannotTellAJoke: Discord is so accustomed to doing things that ''he'' finds amusing that his initial attempts to make someone ''else'' laugh end up [[SoUnfunnyItsFunny failing abysmally]].
* CurbStompBattle: Cadence assumes that Trixie vs. The Princesses and Elements of Harmony is going to be this. She's right.[[spoiler:.. but for the wrong side]].
* CuttingTheKnot: Discord tries making Penumbra laugh by simply Discording her... [[NoSell except it does jack all to her]].
** He then tickles her to get her to laugh, which is declared by Applejack (who Penumbra made "the final judge and arbiter of whether or not Discord has actually fulfilled the terms of the contest") to not have counted.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: [[spoiler:Trixie (and an [[BearsAreBadNews Ursa Major]]) vs. Everypony.]] The author pointed out in a note that this is supposed to evoke a feeling of "Wait, this isn't reasonably possible..."
* EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: Discord, of course. Early on most of his jokes just consist of transforming somepony or something and then making a pun about it, and he gets confused when nopony else laughs.
* FloweryElizabethanEnglish: Celestia and Luna, a thousand years ago, but not Discord.
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler:Discord takes the bullet for Celestia. It's not clear as whether or not he knew the consequences when he did it. He survives, anyway.]]
* IndyPloy: Celestia gets the sense that the order-obsessed Trixie is just making it up as she goes.
* InsistentTerminology: "Don't call me 'Penny.'"
* {{Irony}}: Despite [[spoiler:abandoning the bet all together ([[NiceJobBreakingItHero thanks to Scootaloo]])]], the antepenultimate chapter ends [[spoiler:with Discord making Penumbra laugh]].
** Which is because of [[spoiler:her learning that Discord [[TooDumbToLive actually thought]] she'd spend time with him once he took over the throne]]. Yes, as it turns out, [[spoiler:Penumbra finds {{Irony}} funny]].
* ItsBeenDone: To Discord's dismay, several "ingenious" jokes of his were already done by Trixie and Twilight in "Pi".
* LiterallyShatteredLives: The ponies on the receiving end of Sombra's genocide.
* NotSoHarmlessVillain: Trixie.
* {{Pun}}: After {{Slapstick}}, Discord tries jokes. Unfortunately, they're all crappy puns.
* PrematureEulogy: [[spoiler: Penumbra for Discord.]]
* SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:Or rather in an amulet.]]
* ShaggyDogStory: A retroactive case for "Petriculture": Pinkie Pie casually mentions in chapter 7 that she got gemstones for Spike by [[spoiler:growing them, using pebbles as seeds]]. In other words, [[spoiler:petriculture '''is''' a thing]].
* {{Slapstick}}: Discord "reasons" that there's one thing that Penumbra must find hilarious: watching Discord hurt himself. Cue BananaPeel.
* SugarApocalypse: Sombra's destruction of the Crystal Empire.
* TakenForGranite: The Cutie Mark Crusaders.
* TitleDrop: Discord intends to name his kingdom "Pandelirium".
** "And what, pray tell, does it mean?" "Who cares?"
* {{Troll}}: Discord, of course.
* UnusualChapterNumbers / BackToFront: There are two storylines, one set at the present time (told in normal sequence) and a series of flashbacks to Discord's first reign of chaos (in reverse chronological order). The chapters are numbered in reverse as well, and the story ends with a prologue.
* UnwinnableByDesign: [[spoiler: The bet. Penumbra has the ability to not laugh if she doesn't want to. The idea was to force Discord to put himself in Penumbra's shoes, and hopefully this empathy would lead him to friendship. But then Scootaloo unwittingly spills the beans...]]
* VoidBetweenTheWorlds: Where Discord [[spoiler:and Sombra]] end up after the climax. Oddly enough, Discord enjoys the experience, [[spoiler:or at least he would if Sombra's desperate attempts to cling to what remains of his sanity weren't so irritating]].
* WeaponOfChoice: Discord seems to favor eggnog.
* WhamLine: At the end of chapter 4:
--> [[spoiler:'''Trixie''': Perfect… silent… unmoving… ''crystalsssss……'']] %%there's more build-up to this line.
* WimpFight: When Discord and Pinkie finally face off, the first thing they do is engage in a comically ineffective slap-fight while calling each other names. Only after several minutes of that do they start the proper magic duel. Of course, both of them only did it because they thought it would be funny.
* YourApprovalFillsMeWithShame: Discord approves of one of Pinkie Pies' party activities.
* YourWorstNightmare: Trixie, [[spoiler: with Sombra's power]], can do this. The repeated illusions have a draining effect on the Mane Six, but it only takes one to give Celestia a full, sobbing breakdown.
* XRaySparks: Discord, during his first defeat, when Celestia bucks a cloud at him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Transdementia'']]
* AcidTripDimension: One of these exists between the two sides of the mirror, though it's a relatively subdued one.
* AlternateUniverse: To ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls Equestria Girls]]''. Sunset Shimmer sneaks into Equestria to steal the Element of Magic and escapes through the magic mirror, but Princess Celestia sends Pinkie Pie rather than Twilight to bring it back. Penumbra has to go along for the ride, since she lives in Pinkie's mind - [[spoiler:and so does Discord, since he's hiding out at Penumbra's place after faking his death at the end of ''Pandelirium''.]]
** AlternateSelf: This fic establishes that Human Twilight created her own imaginary friend named Surprise. [[spoiler:She only takes physical form in Chapter 15, when Twilight calls on her to help defeat Sunset.]]
* InsistentTerminology: Penumbra's "Don't call me Penny" line gets used in various ways, by both her and others. Pinkie borrows it when Discord addresses her by her full name ("Don't call me Pinkamena"), and both girls start it together when he introduces them to Principal Celestia as Pinkamena and Penny.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:''Manifesto'']]
[[/folder]]
----

* [[AtLeastIAdmitIt At Least I Know I'm Crazy[[: Discord considers this a point in his favor when comparing himself to Trixie.

\\

\\

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Hoist By Her Own Petard: Subverted when [[spoiler:Trixie finds out Twilight's attempt to beat her with smoke and mirrors.]]

* AtLeastIAdmitIt: At Least I Know I'm Crazy: Discord considers this a point in his favor when comparing himself to Trixie.

The ''Petriculture Cycle'' by Kwakerjak is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' {{fanfi}}ction series that all starts with Twilight asking the question: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles "Just what IS 'rock farming', anyway?"]] Suffice to say, the answer turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined...

The Petriculture Cycle by Kwakerjak is a WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic [[FanFic fanfiction]] series that all starts with Twilight asking the question: [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E23TheCutieMarkChronicles "Just what IS 'rock farming', anyway?"]] Suffice to say, the answer turns out to be far more complicated than she could have imagined...

The series consists of the following seven stories:

[[foldercontrol]]

''[[folder: Pandelirium]]''

''[[folder: Transdementia]]''

''[[folder: Manifesto]]''

All except ''Manifesto'' are complete.

* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Subverted when [[spoiler:Trixie finds out Twilight's attempt to beat her with smoke and mirrors.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Hoist By Her Own Petard: Subverted when [[spoiler:Trixie finds out Twilight's attempt to beat her with smoke and mirrors. YMMV as to whether it makes more sense for Trixie's familiarity with her own trade or her megalomania to win as in the original episode.]]

* AbsenceOfEvidence: [[spoiler:The fact that there are no records of Pinkie's family.]]

--->'''Twilight''': [[spoiler:I... I don't ''want'' to be right about this, Pinkie Pie, but it seems like the only solution that fits, which is why I’m hoping you can give me that one piece of evidence that I’m missing—something that wraps everything up in a neat, logical package.]]
--->'''Pinkie''': [[spoiler:I’m sorry, Twilight, but I can't.]]
--->'''Twilight''': [[spoiler:You don’t want to talk about it?]]
--->'''Pinkie''': [[spoiler:No, I mean that I can’t give you the missing information you want... [[WhamLine because there isn’t any.]]]]
* AssPull: {{In-universe}}, [[spoiler:Pinkie admits she made up the rock farming story on the spot to avoid telling the Cutie Mark Crusaders the truth about her origins]].

* [[SmarterThanYouLook Smarter Than She Looks]]: Pinkie Pie's intelligence is only hinted at in this story, but it becomes ''extremely'' prominent in ''Inscape''.

-->"I guess this goose chase wasn’t all that pointless after all," Twilight concluded with a smile. Her issues thus resolved, she decided to open the scrapbook her parents had lovingly assembled for her.

-->[[spoiler:What she saw in there nearly caused her to drop the book on the floor.]]
** See also [[spoiler:AbsenceOfEvidence]].

--->'''Pinkie''': (to Twilight) [[spoiler:Do you really think the Nightmare would risk the chance of Celestia getting you to change your mind the same way ''she'' got you to change it?]]
--->'''Twilight''': (to the Nightmare; stone-faced) [[spoiler:Would you let her live?]]

* [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Idiosyncratic Chapter Titles]]: The chapters are all named after playground and parlor games.

* JustForFun/IReadThatAs: Penumbra applies for a job as a barrister [[spoiler:which turns out to be a position as a ''barista'' for Pony!Starbucks]].

* [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Hoist By Her Own Petard]]: Subverted when [[spoiler:Trixie finds out Twilight's attempt to beat her with smoke and mirrors. YMMV as to whether it makes more sense for Trixie's familiarity with her own trade or her megalomania to win as in the original episode.]]

-->It's somewhat difficult to talk about oranges
-->When I can not work in a reference to door hinges.

* [[AtLeastIAdmitIt At Least I Know I'm Crazy]]: Discord considers this a point in his favor when comparing himself to Trixie.

* [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Idiosyncratic Chapter Titles]]: Every chapter shares its title with a song by the Legendary Shack Shakers, and the whole story is named after one of their albums.

* [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Idiosyncratic Chapter Titles]]: Each chapter is named after a song by School of Seven Bells.

* IReadThatAs: Penumbra applies for a job as a barrister [[spoiler:which turns out to be a position as a ''barista'' for Pony!Starbucks]].

The series consists of the following six stories: ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/14298/petriculture Petriculture]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/35688/inscape Inscape]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/avocation Avocation]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/- Pi]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/105303/pandelirium Pandelirium]]'', and ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/272099/transdementia Transdementia]]''. All are complete.

The series consists of the following six stories: ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/14298/petriculture Petriculture]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/35688/inscape Inscape]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/avocation Avocation]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/- Pi]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/105303/pandelirium Pandelirium]]'', and ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/272099/transdementia Transdementia]]''. All except the last of these are complete.

The series consists of the following six stories: ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/14298/petriculture Petriculture]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/35688/inscape Inscape]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/avocation Avocation]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/- Pi]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/105303/pandelirium Pandelirium]]'', and ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/272099/transdementia Transdementia]]''. All are complete.

** AlternateSelf: This fic establishes that Human Twilight created her own imaginary friend named Surprise. [[spoiler:She only takes physical form in the last chapter, when Twilight calls on her to help defeat Sunset.]]

The series consists of the following six stories: ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/14298/petriculture Petriculture]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/35688/inscape Inscape]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/68226/avocation Avocation]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/87692/- Pi]]'', ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/105303/pandelirium Pandelirium]]'', and ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/272099/transdementia Transdementia]]''. All except the last of these are complete.

** AlternateSelf: This fic establishes that Human Twilight created her own imaginary friend named Surprise. So far (as of Chapter 11), she hasn't taken physical form.

** AlternateSelf: This fic establishes that Human Twilight created her own imaginary friend named Surprise. So far (as of Chapter 5), she hasn't taken physical form.