Recap / Codex Equus Codex Quests

Life and work as members of the in-universe Codex Equus project is not without its hiccups and hurdles, but after another more serious attempt on their lives by Autorist assassins for their objective but damning portrayals of their cause, three researchers and writers of the project — Sherlock the Skunk-Pony, Jade Shell the Great Tortoise, and Mirthful Stone the Qilin (relatives of Kirin) — decided to head out on a research trip beyond Equestria with other companions partly to get away from the troubles they were having in Equestria until the heat dies down.

Unfortunately trouble have a tendency to follow them, leading to various adventures harrowing, heartwarming and hilarious as they visit exotic locations, meet interesting people, discover wonderful things, and maybe help save the land and/or world a few times along the way.

All of the story's parts be found here

(Based on a round-robin by the writers of Codex Equus, featuring in-universe personas of the real-life Codex Equus fanfic 'verse as the main characters)

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The series as a whole

• Arc Villain: There are a succession of antagonistic individuals and groups which the Researcher Trio ended up being forced to deal with in either individual or multiple parts, either incidentally from being caught up in their actions or being directly targetted by them.
  • The entire plot was set off by Autorist assassins trying to off them for the bad publicity and damage their work in Codex Equus had caused to their movements. The Tyrannos Pantheon may be an overarching Greater-Scope Villain from the fact some of the assassins are later revealed to be Tyrannos cultists.
  • The Anti-Ashfall protestors as a whole counts on their first day in Angel Vale, with one particularly belligerent bigoted Equestrian Dragon leading a mob of them to trash Brecher's restaurant for catering to Ashfall Ponies they oppose (and for Brecher throwing him out over harassing one Ashfall Pony while waiting to be seated).
  • A pair of Krakens attacked Qumado's seafood restaurant on the group's second day in Angel Vale trying to take over the cove it is in to turn into their nest, joined by a bunch of hostile large sealife and seabirds using the opportunity to raid the restaurant for food. The smaller male one in particular is a Super-Persistent Predator Animal Nemesis which had already raided the restaurant more than once, much to the dragons' annoyance.
  • Herrlich and his Neo-National Resurgance Front served as the most dangerous villains the group faced in Angel Vale so far, being a terrorist organisation trying to launch a reactionary uprising in Angel Vale by infiltrating and trying to sabotage the Cherub Cove Technology Museum and the ongoing tech-fair there, later holding the place hostage when they were discovered. A secondary more personal antagonist is also present in the form of the resentful Ornatum, the former corrupt Minister of Science in Cherub Cove, who aids Herrlich for a chance to get revenge on Meléti and Aerri for being 'upstarts' who replaced and upstaged him.
• Badass Normal: By the setting's standards and compared to their traveling companions, the Pillars of Equestria, the Researcher Trio are just ordinary mortals with a few natural abilities and tools to their names who found themselves in mortal peril or in midst of a crisis/conflict. Yet over the course of their trips they ended up rising to the occasion, and each gradually become closer to a Empowered Badass Normal as they picked up experience, weapons, tools and boons in their adventures.
• Diner Brawl:
  • The first day in Angel Vale involved one that took place at Brecher's restaurant, when a group of anti-Ashfall protesters led by a particularly belligerent Equestrian Dragon instigated a very violent brawl that ended with local Cherub Cove police led by Chief Tere storming the place.
  • The second day involved a less serious one, featuring not only a pair of Krakens attacking Qumado's seafood restaurant, but also a horde of hostile sealife in the cove it's in which takes the opportunity to raid the venue while the water dragons are out fighting the Krakens.
  • The fourth day has yet another fight occurring in the popular Greasy Spoon diner Ma's Grill at Angel's Throne, thanks to Lacom, a corrupt business-drake, trying to forcibly evict its owner, Anya, so he can seize the property for himself. Unlike the previous brawls, however, both the Researcher Trio and the Pillars are much better armed and more experienced by this point, and they had a few minutes of forewarning to prepare themselves thanks to Jade Shell's clairvoyance, making the fight much easier.
• Evil Reactionary: Many of the intelligent enemies they run into are often this, their causes or motives often involve either trying to bring back some romanticised past glory, or a hatred for the present progressive/modern status quo.
• Experienced Protagonist: The Pillars of Equestria accompanying them in their first trips — Stygian, Meadowlark and Mistmane — are already legendary heroes in their day and had plenty of experience, knowledge and/or power under their belts. They provide considerable pillars of support, protection and mentorship to the Researcher Trio, who start out as inexperienced and often nervous civilians.
• Food Porn: Various foods tend to be lavishly described in the narration, whether as ingredients or prepared meals, or the sensations that come with characters eating the foods in question.
• Heroic Bystander: None of the Researcher Trio are seasoned heroes, experienced adventurers, hardened warriors or powerful deities, but often find themselves intervening in crises and conflicts they get caught up in to help save the day.
• Magic Potion: The trio frequently relies on Strength, Durability and Magic potions to ramp their respective attributes in times of crisis and conflict. They're normally provided by Sherlock, but Meadowbrook also tend to have some on hand.
• Magic Wand: Both Jade Shell and Mirthful Stone bought wands which allow them to focus their racial magicks, greatly increasing their self-defence and general magical potential.
• Magic Staff: Sherlock bought a staff which allowed him to focus their racial magic, greatly increasing his self-defence and general magical potential.
• Spanner in the Works: The Researcher Trio manage to successfully derail quite a few villainous plots, whether through being part of races and having unique powers/skills that almost no one is familiar with, or just by being there. And even if they don't intervene, they frequently inspire their allies to act themselves.

Equestria Prologue: The Magic Shop (Parts 1-3)

A relatively slow and frustrating day in the Codex Equus research office had led to the Researcher Trio to use their lunch break to visit a newly-opened magic store and buy magic items for both research and personal use, unaware that sinister parties hostile to the Codex Equus project's work had them in their sights. The incident at the magic store would spark the group's decision to go on a research trip abroad until the heat dies down in Equestria.

Parts 1, 2 and 3

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• Assassin Outclassin': Thanks to magic, tactics, luck and a little help from others, Researcher Trio managed to turn the tables on the Autorist assassins trying to kill them in the magic store.
• Bazaar of the Bizarre: Downplayed in both scale and weirdness, as magic is common in the Fourth Age, although a shop catering specifically magical items and books are implied to be relatively uncommon.
• Big Damn Heroes: Both Stygian and Shadow Sentinel became this for the Researcher Trio and the shop owners, their intervention helping them survive and win the fight.
• Burning with Anger: Being a Qilin, Mirthful Stone literally lit up in anger several times, first in the office over compiling frustrations, then later at the magic shop when fighting Autorist assassins.
• Crazy-Prepared:
  • Mirthful Stone bought a baseball bat as an Improvised Weapon after several violent or threatening incidents the Codex Equus project have had with those who oppose their work.
  • Sherlock isn't to the same degree, but does always carry magic potions on him for emergencies.

Angel Vale Day 1: Arrival and Brecher's Restaurant (Parts 4-8)

Travelling with Stygian and his fellow Pillars of Equestria Meadowbrook and Mistmane, the Researcher Trio arrived in Ashfall, and through the Zebrican Gate are brought to Angel Vale. Greeted by Rongoa of the Angel Six, they are given their first view of the town of Cherub Cove and later had a meal in Brecher's restaurant where Edel works, and the locals and visitors would become fast friends sharing both their culture and experiences with each other.

Yet not all is well. The formerly sleepy town is boiling with tension as protestors opposing Angel Vale's intergration with Ashfall is demonstrating in town, and a fight soon breaks out when some belligerent anti-Ashfallers take issue with Brecher's restaurant catering to Ashfall Ponies...

Parts 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8

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• And Your Reward Is Edible: As thanks for helping stop belligerent anti-Ashfall protestors and to make up for their meal being ruined, Brecher gives the Researcher Trio and their allies an Angel's Grace cake, a traditional Angel Vale dessert made for special occasions. To the group's delight, it was very delicious, and everyone enjoyed eating it.
• Big Damn Heroes: Just as the Researcher Trio, the Pillars, and their allies were being overrun by anti-Ashfall protestors, members of the Cherub Cove Police Department led by Chief Tere burst into the restaurant through the doors and windows, stopping the Diner Brawl in its tracks. Seeing them caused the already exhausted and mentally-battered Jade Shell to faint.
  Chief Tere: Drop your weapons and claws up! THIS IS THE POLICE!
• Chekhov's Gunman: The crowd of anti-Ashfall protestors the Researcher Trio, Pillars of Equestria and Rongoa encountered earlier at the Cherub Cove park would end up becoming the main antagonists of day 1 when a bigoted protestor dragon, angry at being thrown out of the venue for harassing an Ashfall Pony, came back with a mob of them for payback.
• Diner Brawl: The Researcher Trio and their Pillars of Equestria companions' found themselves caught and participating in one at Brecher's restaurant when a bigoted anti-Ashfall protestor dragon, furious at being thrown out by Brecher for harassing an innocent Ashfall pony patron, return with a mob of like-minded dragons and dracosaurs to trash the place.
• Giant Food: Brecher's restaurant serves many dishes like these, justified by the fact that many of them are enormous dragons size of buildings while Angel Vale itself have a 'Giant Land'-style geographical spatial-distortion. Highlights include parts of Mustangian Giant Lobsters which are as big as the fishing trawlers they often attacked and hunt them in turn, Angel Vale carrots which could grow to proportions of carts and 'Megahogs' the size of barns.
• Hypocrite: The anti-Ashfall protestors in general think the Ashfallers shouldn't be trusted due to the wicked actions of Razorbill, and are willing to make everyone see their view no matter the cost. However, they're no better themselves, and they're willing to hurt even young children if it'll rally more people against Ashfall. They also ignore how Shining Dove, an Ashfaller, saved both Angel Vale and ashfall from total destruction. This applies especially to Morrigan, a Dumortierite Dragoness who tries to telepathically Mind Rape the crowd into submission by showing them images of Razorbill's rampage.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": The anti-Ashfall protestors all realize, thanks to Tinder, that their actions were made public via her livestreaming and their attempts to play the victim won't work, especially since they're now exposed as liars and hypocrites. Some even try to escape, only to be apprehended by the police or the same diners they attacked.
• Mind Rape: One of the anti-Ashfall protestors, a Dumortierite Dragoness named Morrigan, tries to telepathically browbeat the diners — including young children — into seeing the Ashfallers as monsters associated with Razorbill by showing them graphic images of Razorbill's rampage. Fortunately, she is stopped by Tomorua and Beleben, the former who counters Morigan with her own Psychic Powers, and is later knocked out by an enraged Edel.
• Rage Breaking Point: Mirthful Stone hit it when an anti-Ashfaller gem dragoness' psychic attack traumatised a group of kids he, Stygian and others were protecting. Mirthful Stone immediately went into his Niliq form, break out a fire-axe and charged straight into the fray with intent to flat-out kill any protestors.

Angel Vale Day 2: Mentale Bastion Bookstore (Parts 9-10)

Parts 9 and 10

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• Breather Episode: Notably, nothing dramatic happens during the visit and it's largely a chance for the group to relax.

Angel Vale Day 2: Qumado's Restauraunt (Parts 11-12)

Parts 11 and 12

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• Bizarre Sexual Dimorphism: The male Kraken that frequently menaced Qumado's restaurant is much smaller than its mate, a female Kraken that is not only humongous in size, but also stronger and deadlier than the male Kraken.
• Kraken and Leviathan: The main antagonist(s) of Qumado's Restaurant's parts. Qumado's Cherub Cove seafood restaurant has been attacked several times by a particularly persistent kraken, but it is usually punched out and dragged back to sea by Qumado and other Water Dragons well before it could even reach the piers. In this instance however it brought a bigger female mate with it, making the attack more serious than usual.
• Small Taxonomy Pools: Subverted. One of the dishes being prepared in Qumado's restaurant is a seldom seen and positively ancient Coelacanth fish, a species which had been around on Equus for over 400 million years.
• Super-Persistent Predator: Downplayed and Played for Laughs. A kraken is normally a dangerous threat to most creatures, but as Angel Vale's main population are powerful giant-sized dragons they pose less danger to them. The one which had persistently attacked Qumado's restaurant is treated as less an existential threat and more an annoying wildlife creature who frequently break in and cause trouble at an establishment trying to steal food.
  Water Dragon Waiter: [Exasperated Groan] Oh, not again!

Angel Vale Day 2: Torianputo's Ice Cream Stand (Parts 13-14)

Parts 13, 14.

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• Villains Out Shopping: Queen Eclaira goes to Torianputo's Ice cream stand to see if they are as good as she heard. She even calls a truce with her arch Praline for the occasion.

Angel Vale Day 2: Cherub Cove Technologies Pt 1 (Parts 15-19)

Parts 15, 16, 17, 18, 19.

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• Afraid of Needles: Both Sherlock and Jade Shell are afraid of needles for different reasons, and made their fears clear when Aerri suggested getting a blood sample from all three Researcher Trio for research purposes.
• Biotech Is Better: Impressive biotechnology are among the highlight exhibits of the Tech-Fair, with nearly 90% of them being the work of Aerri Vaughoof herself, who basically pioneered the field for Angel Vale. These include GM-microbes capable of filtering seawater for minerals or generating electricity by respiration, goats crossbred with spiders to produce bioalchemically-reinforced spider-silk from their milk, lab-grown dragon or pony organs which could be transplanted to patients who need them, fungal-mass based computers, among others.
  Aerri: [Smug grin] And I'm just getting started.
• Mad Scientist: Cherub Cove has to deal with them, and it's one of the contingencies the Cherub Cove Police Department was prepared for regarding security risks against the ongoing tech-fair. Tere noted for being previously a sleepy town, attacks by mad scientists happen surprisingly often.
• Mysterious Stranger: A pair of Pony-like individuals are featured throughout the CCTM chapters following the group as well as looking around on their own accord, commenting on them and other things even while they pursue their mysterious agenda. What they are up to remains to be seen.

Angel Vale Day 2: Cherub Cove Technologies Pt 2 (Parts 20-36)

The tour of Cherub Cove Technology Museum and its ongoing Tech-Fair is suddenly derailed with the uncovering of a terrorist plot by none other than a successor of the Natural Resurgence Front. The Neo-NRF with the aid of a turncoat isolates the museum from the rest of Cherub Cove and hold the museum hostage while they work on their diabolical plan.

Isolated from each other and trapped in the museum crawling with armed terrorists and subverted security systems, the Researcher Trio and Pillars present must now work with Chief Tere and Verehrt to free the museum and stop the Neo-NRF's plot from coming to fruition before it's too late.

Parts 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36

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• Air-Vent Passageway: How Stygian, Sherlock and Mirthful Stone escaped the sealed Nat-Def section so they can open it to let Tere and the others out: crawling through a vent. It's Justified by implication given the vent is properly scaled by dragon standards, leads straight to the hallways outside, and it just so happens the security system which normally prevented such a ploy were disabled that day for maintainence.
• Alas, Poor Villain: While everyone hates Herrlich and his movement for being everything Angel Vale stands against, many found themselves wincing in horror as they watched Seraph Säbel and Commander Storm Wing not only blind Herrlich, but also slice off the Steel Dragon's wings and cage him in a pen-box like an animal. Jade Shell was particularly distressed by it (among other things) to the point where Mistmane had to cast a noise-cancelling spell so the former could calm down.
• BFG: Multiple large weapons are showcased and used throughout the arc.
  • The Gyro-Pneumatic Repeater - the Fourth Age equivalent of Space Marine Bolters - wielded by the Chapterknights of the Ebon Drakes chapter supporting Tere's group proved to be far more than a group of Neo-NRF terrorists to handle, as they fire grenade-sized rocket-guided diamontine-tipped explosive-packed Gyro-Bolt rounds which could readily pierce through even vehicular hulls and detonate inside their targets, all of which were way more than even their natural scales could handle. This is made worse for the Neo-NRF terrorists by the fact they didn't wear any armour in their hubris, which might have made it at least a little more survivable.
  • While the Elemental Chargers of the Dracosaurs are already pretty potent in firepower, larger and more powerful Heavy Elemental Chargers also exists with higer rate of fire and hits with more energy. They are large enough that they needed to be mounted on wheels and operated by a crew for smaller dragons, and only full-grown dragons as old and big as Herrlich are able to wield them like ordinary Elemental Chargers.
  • Angel Vale refined and improved designs of Rocketpipes - a ranged explosive delivery weapon improvised by Equestrian resistance fighters during the desperate days of the Storm King Crisis and the Storm Empire's occupation of Equestria - are one of the featured exhibits in the National Defence sections, and Mirthful Stone successfully used one to take out a Large Mobile Riveter the Neo-NRF turned against the heroic forces during the fighting in the main halls of the museum.
• Big Damn Heroes: After Jade's group defeats Ornatum and reunites with Mirthful Stone's group, both realize they almost forgot about Sherlock, whose group is still holed up in the communications room trying to prevent Neo-NRF terrorists from entering. Thus Jade, Mirthful, and their respective allies rush to Sherlock's rescue and take down the Neo-NRF terrorists, giving the Angel's Six an opening to help out (as their friend Tere is with Sherlock) and allowing both police and SWAT to arrest the terrorists.
• Brick Joke: Earlier in the museum arc, Mirthful and Tere discussed the possible threats which could threaten the tech-fair, with both of them flatly betting on attacks by mad scientists or tech running amok, which Tere noted are surprisingly more common than what most people expect. Come the last part of the arc, a Mad Scientist called Doctor Eisenwaage showed up with his giant robot just as the Neo-NRF were finally dealt with. Fortunately they scared him away before he could start a rampage.
  Mirthful Stone: [Annoyed] Oh, I hate it when I am right.
• Cerebus Syndrome: While this is not the first time the Researcher Trio and their associates faced a serious, life-threatening situation, the museum incident marked a major escalation from their previous opponents with not only the threat poised by the heavily-armed terrorists but also the potential national consequences of their actions. Not to mention, there are actual fatalities depicted or mentioned even if none of them were inflicted by the Researcher Trio (at least not deliberately/unambiguously).
• Chekhov's Gun: Many of the exhibits as well as earlier conversations became this as they were either used against the terrorists or referenced back by other characters when figuring out how the Neo-NRF were able to implement their plot and how the heroes could use it to fight back.
• Chekhov's Gunman: Remember those two apparent Ponies who were following the group and hanging around for mysterious purposes? It's heavily implied they are Changelings who are using the entire terrorist attack — and may had even helped set it up — as a massive distraction while they collect samples of Aerri's biotech work for their hive. And their liege is implied to be none other than Changeling King Brachion, the Changeling Summer Court's preeminent master of biological manipulation. And none of the heroes or locals remotely suspect a thing or even know they were here.
• *Click* Hello: Mirthful's group and the plan to open up the military exhibit section was nearly derailed when a lucky Neo-NRF terrorist found them just as they were climbing out of the Air-Vent Passageway they were using to get out of the sealed up section, with the terrorist pointing his Elemental Caster right at Mirthful's head right as he was climbing out of it. Only Mirthful's quick thinking and the terrorists' comrades treating his report as a joke (having not seen a Qilin before) prevented him from blowing their cover.
  Mirthful Stone: ... Shit.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: The Neo-NRF inflicted one on most of the museum's security guards and police officers during the opening moments of their operation, helped by the fact they managed to turn the security system against the heroes and sealed the museum off from reinforcements. After the heroes rallied, however, some of the battles turned into this against the Neo-NRF.
• Diving Save: When Herrlich blasts Aerri with his acid breath for her insulting remarks, Jade Shell saves her by quickly pushing Aerri out of the way. This act earns her Aerri's gratitude and trust.
• Don't Create a Martyr: While the option to gun down Herrlich and be done with it is there, various heroes and lawful factions in Angel Vale want him alive but defeated in a way that would thoroughly discredit his beliefs and the wider Neo-NRF movement. Eventually, on the suggestions of Mirthful Stone, Herrlich is blinded, crippled, and imprisoned in a museum exhibit pen-box designed to hold and display species of giant cattle — essentially treating him like an animal as he always wanted.
• Evil Reactionary: Like the original Natural Resurgence Front, the Neo-NRF is a reactionary faction that wants Angel Vale to return to the old ways, where Dragons and Dracosaurs dominated the weak and ruled by strength. They targeted the Cherub Cove Technology Museum in hopes of destroying it and sparking a reactionary uprising across Angel Vale that would turn their kind back to the Good Old Ways, but their plans fail thanks to many unplanned factors and the fallacies in their own beliefs. Being a very progressive and open-minded country, the Neo-NRF's beliefs are roundly mocked and treated with contempt, with various local and foreign heroes taking every opportunity to discredit them publicly and thoroughly.
• Final Battle: The fight between Herrlich's command group and Säbel and Storm Wing's squadron in the main halls serve as the final engagement of the entire incident, as the latter fought to prevent the former from escaping once the museum is unsealed and the Neo-NRF starts losing wholesale. It should be noted that Säbel and Storm Wing's squad were in a position to simply gun them all down and be done with it, but decided to confront them differently to make a point of publically undermining Herrlich's beliefs by defeating him in a straightforward battle without killing him.
• Freak Out: After fighting two major threats in the same day (the Krakens and the Neo-NRF terrorists), watching Herrlich being handed a Fate Worse than Death by Säbel and Storm Wing, and having to deal with everyone cheering loudly around her, Jade Shell is beyond tired and in no mood for anything besides resting. Then she receives a precognitive vision of Doctor Eisenwaage arriving in a gignatic mechano-golem at the last minute, sending her into a meltdown as she cries in sheer rage and frustration over having to deal with another threat. Fortunately, Dr. Eisenwaage is quickly driven away, and Meléti comforts Jade Shell by lighting up the museum's Power Tower, which also has a similar calming, uplifting effect on everyone else who was affected by the terrorist attack.
• Hostage Situation: The Researcher Trio, the Pillars and no less than three members of the Angel Six found themselves caught in one when the Neo-NRF made their move, requiring them to help save the day.
• Laser Sight: Doctor Eisenwaage, who showed up at the very end of the Neo-NRF crisis to start a rampage in his giant robot, was quickly intimidated into reconsidering his actions when he found his robot covered in red light dots from all the weapons and powers being pointed in his direction by every guard, officer, special operator, supersoldier, superhero and even researcher at the scene, all of whom signifying they have had absolutely enough crises for one day and won't hesitate to blow him to kingdom come if he doesn't immediately back off. Which he did.
• Lockdown: The Neo-NRF terrorists override the Cherub Cove Technology Musuem's security systems to trigger a lockdown after Jade Shell unwittingly ruins their initial plans to destroy the museum via rigging the Draconic Generators to explode. This not only separated the Researcher Trio and their allies from each other, but also prevented law enforcement teams from various cities and towns across Angel Vale from entering the museum. Thus, the goal of Jade Shell's group (consisting of herself, Verehrt, Mistmane, Meadowbrook, Aerri, Schurke, and Meléti) is to deactivate the lockdown before the Neo-NRF terrorists can turn Cherub Cove (and, by extension, all of Angel Vale) into a primitivist kratocracy where Dragons and Dracosaurs are ruled by the strong.
• Mook Horror Show: Three Ebon Drakes Chapterknights accompanying Tere's group inflicted this on a group of Neo-NRF terrorists in one section, much to the relief of the hostages they were holding and the apprehension of even the Neo-NRF leader Herrlich.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Mirthful Stone during the escape from the sealed National Defence Section of the museum/tech-fair inflicted one on a Neo-NRF terrorist named Butch when said terrorist stumbled upon them climbing out of the vent they used to escape, beating him repeatedly in the face with the terrorist's own weapon after tackling him until he stopped moving.
• Opposites Attract: Discussed. While listening to Herrlich's New Era Speech, Jade Shell brings up one glaring hole in his logic: King Bahamut's role in modern Dragonkind's genesis. While Queen Tiamat did create modern Dragonkind, many reactionary Dragons conveniently forget that Tiamat's beloved consort is the reason why modern Dragons are able to think, form societies, and feel empathy. As Dragonkind's wisdom, Bahamut tempers Tiamat's passion and instincts. The last time Queen Tiamat tried making a Draconic race by herself, she ended up creating the Proto-Dragons because she had no one to balance her out. This becomes a plot point as Tere uses this information to deconstruct Herrlich's beliefs during a live Leymit broadcast, discrediting both the Neo-NRF leader and his cause in the eyes of Angel Vale.
• Sensory Overload: Due to being mildly autistic, Jade Shell was distressed by the loud cheering over Herrlich's fate as much as she was over Herrlich being treated like an animal. While Mistmane casts a noise-cancelling spell so she could calm down, it became a contributing factor to Jade Shell's meltdown later on.

Angel Vale Day 3: Cherub Cove National Park (Parts 37-43)

After the harrowing events of yesterday, both the Researcher Trio and the Pillars hope to spend day 3 with a little less excitement and more relaxation. They got it for most part, thought it would not be without hiccups here and there. The morning and early afternoon would be spent touring the Cherub Cove National Park's biomes and the local Wild Ones village, with Chief Brüllen of Cherub Cove's Wild Ones living in it personally stepping up as a guide for them and a certain princess.

Parts 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43

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• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: In the Wild Ones' earliest days, one of the Wild Ones begged their people not to keep flooding the Pouch Lions' territories as they were destroying the environment they claimed to protect.
• Breather Episode: Compared to the "Technology Museum" episode, which had the Researcher Trio and the Pillars fight off a reactionary terrorist group to prevent them from completely upending Angel Vale society, the "National Park" episode has the Researcher Trio and the Pillars going on a relaxing tour through Cherub Cove's local national park, guided by Chief Brüllen of Cherub Cove's Wild Ones.
• Broken Pedestal: After learning of the Wild Ones' beliefs and seeing how they live up close, Jade Shell muses that Herrlich would very likely throw a fit if he discovers the Wild Ones were far from his ideal standard of a "True Dragon" — especially once she sees the Wild Ones' food and notices they're all tribal adaptations of many international dishes.
  Jade Shell: (musing) Good thing Hairlick isn't here. He would likely have a fit over seeing the Wild Ones not eating like the animals they're 'supposed' to be.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Due to heightened activity recently, the group's trail is briefly interrupted by a massive horde of giant ants (roughly size of their hooves) foraging in their elephantine ride's path, much to Sherlock's and Jade Shell's terror (and Mirthful's macabre fascination). Fortunately, they are quickly dispatched by the Hive Eaters which Chief Brullen summoned.
• Cats Are Mean: In the Wild Ones' backstory, the Great Pouch Lions were terrifying predators who were able to fight and kill the Dracosaurs, despite the latter being a sub-race of Draconic beings with Dinosaur DNA (and all the perks that came with it like Elemental Powers). It's later subverted — in trying to protect themselves from the Great Pouch Lions, they eventually go too far by wrecking the environment itself to stop their adversaries. Once they're forced to see the damage they've caused, the Wild Ones realize the Great Pouch Lions are, like them, merely trying to survive and defend their own territories. This led to the Wild Ones using bigger animals like the Palaeoloxodons that the Great Pouch Lions wouldn't dare try to attack, and using druidic magics to restore the environment and hinder the Great Pouch Lions' hunts while still living in harmony with them.
• Dead All Along: During the Wild Ones' tribal lunch, Jade Shell has a conversation with a dragoness named Limette who thanks her for her role in defeating Ornatum and bringing him to justice, as he ruined her family for his own greed. It turns out Limette is a ghost who hadn't been able to move on until Ornatum's defeat, as he was still a threat to her daughter.
• Everyone Has Standards: While Tinder may look and act like a typical, self-absorbed Attention Whore livestreamer from Ophanim Heights, she is enraged when a Jerkass Smog Dragon livestreamer filmed and made fun of a young Ice Dragon having a severe allergy reaction, since that is both crossing a line and "cloacas" like him embody all the negative stereotypes of Ophanimites (i.e. residents of Ophanim Heights).
• "Hey, You!" Haymaker: With Chief Brüllen's permission, Tinder knocks out a Jerkass Smog Dragon livestreamer this way, tapping him on the shoulder before punching him in the face hard enough to send him to the ground.
• Hypocrite: In their early days, the Wild Ones were so desperate to protect themselves from the Pouch Lions that they resorted to flooding the Pouch Lions' terrotories. While this let the Wild Ones repopulate, it damaged the natural environment they claimed to protect. One of the Wild Ones informed Brüllen's grandfather of this, forcing him and the others to come up with more nature-friendly solutions.
• In Harmony with Nature: Played realistically. The Wild Ones believe in living in harmony with nature, but they acknowledge that Nature Is Not Nice and take care to protect both themselves and others (including tourists) from the dangers of the wild. They also, unlike the Alvslog Deer Herds and other eco-extremists like them, do not try to portray themselves as the superior lifestyle and shove their belief down people's throats, instead maintaining good relations with the "Civilized Ones" of Angel Vale and using their technologies if needed. In the early days, they didn't start out that way because they were concerned with their own survival, resorting to things like flooding the territories of the Pouch Lions to protect their own people. Once they realize the harm and hypocrisy of their actions, they start taking solutions that are both practical and environmentally friendly.
• Irony: As the Researcher Trio and the Pillars have mentally noted, the Wild Ones completely buck the Neo-NRF terrorists' idealized image of a "True Dragon". While they do live apart from modern society to pursue a more natural lifestyle, they don't live like savage, animalistic brutes who shunned all kinds of progress and dominated anyone weaker than them. Rather, they live In Harmony with Nature (while still acknowleding that Nature Is Not Nice) and many aspects of their society are still as sophisticated as their civilized counterparts, albeit with a tribal bent. At the same time, the Wild Ones are not Eco Terrorists like the Alvslog Deer Herds, nor do they shove their beliefs down the throats of non-Wild Ones, instead respecting their urban counterparts and being willing to use things like modern medicine. Even the Wild Ones' local cuisine has dishes that are tribal versions of dishes found across the world like ramen, fried rice, and zalabieyh (a type of fried bread).
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • A particularly Jerkass Smog Dragon decides to film a young Ice Dragon whelp having a severe allergic reaction to eating scallops, laughing at said whelp while doing so. He is rendered unconscious by a punch to the face by an enraged Tinder, and is shortly and permanently banned from visiting the Wild Ones' territory by Chief Brüllen. His Ixomane Sphere is also destroyed by Tinder, who believes he doesn't deserve the attention he gets from others.
  • Moto, a diehard Zebra patriot from the Himayan Imperium, foolishly decides to handle the Wild Ones' weapons out of anger towards the latter group for "stealing" his country's culture, ignoring all attempts to talk him down. He quickly injures himself due to sheer inexperience on his part, with many witnesses being largely unsympathetic.
• Oh, Crap!: According to Blue Diadem, she was frightened when Moon Ray found her in his art room, fearing that her adoptive father would punish her for breaching his privacy. Fortunately, Moon Ray was not only completely okay with this, but he noticed Blue Diadem's love for art and decided to teach her how to paint, too.
• Persona Non Grata: A Jerkass Smog Dragon filmed and made fun of a young Ice Dragon who was having a severe allergic reaction to the scallops served by the Wild Ones, and ignored people when they told him to stop. He gets knocked unconscious by a "Hey, You!" Haymaker from an enraged Tinder, and Chief Brüllen has the Smog Dragon both escorted out of the Wild Ones' village and banned permanently from entering their territory.
• Take a Third Option: In trying to fight the Pouch Lions head-on, the Wild Ones were able to kill their enemies, but lost more of their people. At the same time, flooding the Pouch Lion's territories, while a genius strategy, proved to be disastrous to the environment they claimed to be protecting. Ultimately, the Wild Ones chose to use a more nature-friendly solution, using both larger animals like the Palaeoloxodons and druidic magic to discourage the Pouch Lions from attacking them while still living in harmony with them.

Angel Vale Day 3: Cherub Cove Hatcheries (Parts 44-49)

Following the end of their tour of Cherub Cove's National Park, the Researcher Trio and the Pillars visit the local hatcheries, where the eggs, whelps, and infant hatchlings are taken care of by local staff. There, they visit not only Jubeln, one of the caretakers, but also Edel and Rongoa of the Angel's Six. What was supposed to be a fun time with the little ones turns dark when they end up embroiled in a kidnapping heist...

Parts 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49

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• And I Must Scream: During the final battle with the raiders, Stygian becomes enraged at a raider targeting a baby dragon out of spite and taps into a VERY unpleasant shadow magic. A pair of raiders who try to attack him are seized by shadows and pulled into a void, where they encounter... something waiting for them. All we know is that they scream in horror. May also be a case of Fed to the Beast.
• The Apunkalypse: The Ashfall Ponies trying to raid the Cherub Cove Hatchery uses improvised armour and weapons from back in the day when they were a warband.
• Automatic Crossbows: The primary ranged weapon of the Ashfall raiders consists of steam and/or spring-facilitated auto-reloading crossbows called Autobows. The Autobows are fairly popular among local warlords and raiders during the post-eruption anarchy in Ashfall, due to their relatively simpler construction, operation and maintainence in the absence of resources and infrastructure. However, they come at a cost — the Autobows are partially made of wood, a flaw that the heroes and a few fire-breathing Dragons/Dracosaurs exploit.
• Badass Adorable: Much like in canon, the Dragon children are not only cute, they are also pretty durable or dangerous in their own right.
  • Spike's ability to survive dips in lava and other extremely hot environments unscathed are mentioned by Mirthful Stone, which he exploits to firebomb a trio of raiders holding hatchlings hostage as even Dragon newborns are practically fireproof. Indeed, the aforementioned hatchlings are not only completely unharmed but amused by being set on fire, while their would-be kidnappers felt differently.
  • While the kidnappings at the hatchery and nursery sections (where eggs and hatchlings are kept) were foiled by the efforts of the caretakers, police and the heroes, the kidnappings at the daycare section was neutralized entirely by the whelps themselves, who overwhelmed the Ashfall kidnappers through their toughness, nascent draconic abilities, and sheer numbers. When the police finally arrived, the Ashfall ponies practically begged the police to save them from being reduced to unwilling playmates and art models for the children, and long after the raid they remain haunted by the experience and terrified of any dragon whelps, something which they found amusing.
  • Fremder, Arbey, and their friends in the hatchery/daycare count as well. Under the leadership of Blau, a Sapphire Dragon who is the oldest and biggest of the group, the whelps prove to be quite a formidable group, working extremely well with each other and bearing elemental powers that could be combined for devastating effects. Schaden and his friends, as well as the Ashfall raiders who pulled a kidnapping heist on the hatchery/daycare, learned this the hard way.
• Bratty Half-Pint: Schaden and his two friends try to steal the Researcher Trio's wands/staves as a prank, then run off with them when Edel catches them in the act. Unfortunately for the three, one of the whelps trips and falls while trying to carry Sherlock's staff, while both Schaden and another whelp, Erde, are subdued by Fremder, Arbey, and their friends. They are scolded for their behavior and put in time-out afterwards.
• The Conspiracy: Implied. Some Ashfall raider mooks have at least an inkling that their boss, a former warlord during the post-volcanic anarchy, is part of a larger "cause", but they're all in the dark as to what that cause really is.
• Duel Boss: Played with. Cold Snap isn't the boss leading the operation and is at most a Mauve Shirt, but both him and a pursuing Mirthful Stone had one hell of a fight against one another as Mirthful sought to rescue the baby hatchling Cold Snap is trying to get away with inside an empty half-renovated Hatchery office, with no one else to help them. Cold Snap's defeat finishes off the raider group sent to kidnap the hatchlings in the Nursery section of the Hatchery.
• Elective Mute: Unlike Fremder, who was born mute, her friend Blau is capable of talking verbally but chooses to stay mute, instead communicating with Telepathy. Later, he turns out to have a good reason for it — his breath weapon is essentially an intense psychic scream that inflicts fear and panic on those who were hit by it. When he verbally apologizes to Fremder for not protecting her from Spring Trigger's arrows, his voice is naturally raspy from years of disuse.
• Evil Reactionary: A few of the Ashfall raiders fought during the kidnapping heist had expressed resentment over Angel Vale's Dragons and Dracosaurs "meddling" with their way of life, which essentially involves living like warlords who dominated their lessers and took whatever they wanted because they were "strong" enough. They even believed Razorbill had the right idea in subverting/killing Angel Vale's residents, with Iron Hoof stating Angel Vale is "nothing but trouble".
• Exploited Immunity:
  • The fact even baby dragons are more or less immune to fire is used to attack the raiders without actually harming their hostages. Mirthful Stone milked it for all its worth by unhesitantly firebombed a trio of raiders holding a pair of hatchling hostages, since despite all of them being set on fire, the hatchlings were not only unharmed but were even amused by it.
  • As a water dragon, Ahuareka can see through fog and mist with no issue. As such, to get the drop on the raiders, she and others fill the room with mist and fog so Ahuareka could move through it without issue, pick off one of their members, and take back the eggs during the ensuing panic.
• Fantastic Racism: It's implied many of the attacking Ashfall raiders share the same contemptuous views of Angel Vale's Dracosaurs as Razorbill, resenting how Angel Vale's involvement was making their post-apocalyptic lifestyles non-feasible and believing that Razorbill had the "right idea" in trying to subvert Angel Vale society (and ultimately leave it to its fate). This was made increasingly evident by the raiders' willingness to profit from selling the kidnapped Dragon/Dracosaur eggs, whelps, and hatchlings on the black market, as well as Spring Trigger's attempt to fatally shoot the young Fremder to spite both the heroes and the hatchery's Draconic caretakers for ruining the kidnapping heist.
• Foreshadowing: According to Edel, her adoptive father, Moon Ray Vaughoof, once visited the Cherub Cove Hatchery for the first time and fell in love with a baby Ice Dragon hatchling he met there, but refused to adopt it because, in Edel's words, "Ah ain't ready". As shown by Trost's Codex entry, Moon Ray eventually changes his mind and adopts a baby Ice Dragon, though the adoptee in this case is the spirit of a baby Ice Dragon killed by Talon Bàisian Griffons to make Draco-Balut.
• Greaser Delinquents: Subverted with Blau, a young Sapphire Dragon living in the Cherub Cove Hatcheries. While his appearance is reminiscent of a greaser, down to his leather jacket, he's one of Fremder's closest friends and the leader-figure of their group by virtue of being the largest and oldest whelp among them. He also helps foil a mischievous whelp trio's attempt to steal the Researcher Trio's wands/staves, as well as a kidnapping heist conducted on the hatchery/daycare by Ashfall Pony raiders.
• I'll Kill You!: Or rather, Ornatum, but this was essentially Mirthful's apopleptic response to learning that Ornatum had indirectly murdered Limette and her husband and orphaned Fremder on top of his many other crimes, all because Limette had the audacity to be a teacher who promotes freethinking instead of pandering to Ornatum's worldview.
  Mirthful Stone: Son of a BITCH! If I was fighting him last night, I'll fucking KILL HIM! Stuff a grenade down his fucking throat and - !
  Rongoa: Mister Stone, please calm down! Breath. BREATH.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Mirthful finishes off Cold Snap by jamming his spear through the latter's wing, with a drabble revealing that the Pegasus would never fly again. It's even heavily implied Mirthful was ready to kill the raider by running him through through the chest, only changing his aim at the last second.
• Incredible Shrinking Man: "Incredible Shrinking Pony", in this case. A few raiders attempting to kidnap the whelps and hatchlings are shrunken to doll size by a Mana Dragoness whelp, who begins playing with them. A drabble reveals one of them was shrunken permanently due to a magical fluke, and ended up being given to the dragoness as a pet.
• Karmic Jackpot:
  • Jade Shell sings "Let Go" by Frou Frou to comfort Fremder while the latter is suffering from Sensory Overload from the incubator alarms. When Jade Shell gets close to having a meltdown from being swarmed by so many curious whelps, Fremder later returns the favor by telling the whelps (with help from her friends) that Jade Shell is autistic and they should stop overwhelming her.
  • As thanks for helping protect and save them from being kidnapped by Ashfall Pony raiders, the young whelps of the Cherub Cove Hatcheries give the Researcher Trio and the Pillars gifts in the form of their own drawings and crafts.
• Kid Hero: While they're young children (or "whelps" in Draconic terms), Fremder, Arbey, and their friends all prove to be extremely capable in a pinch. They helped subdue two troublemaking whelps who stole Mirthful Stone and Jade Shell's wands, and when Ashfall raiders invaded the hatchery with intent to kidnap a huge number of eggs, whelps, and hatchlings, they helped foil the plot as well. Leading them is Blau, a Sapphire Dragon and the oldest of the group who seems to be a very capable leader despite his young age.
• Large and in Charge: Blau, a Sapphire Dragon who is an Elective Mute, is the oldest and biggest of the group of friends that Fremder and Arbey are also part of. He uses his larger size to an advantage by tackling a cornered Erde to subdue them.
• Laser-Guided Karma:
  • Schaden and his two friends (one of them being Erde) stole the Researcher Trio's weapons as part of a prank, then ran for it when Edel catches them in the act. Naturally, they get in trouble; the whelp stealing Sherlock's staff trips and is the first to be caught, while Schaden and Erde are subdued by Fremder, Arbey, and their friends. All three are put in time-out for their actions afterward.
  • Ornatum's karma continues, as his defeat results in his house being searched and evidence of other crimes uncovered, including his and his fellow corrupt ministers' murder of Limette and her husband.
• Living Relic: Verehrt brings this to attention while encouraging Stygian, pointing out that as a scholar from ancient times, he is possibly a few millennia old and likely has seen and recorded a lot of things in his lifetime. This is what inspires Stygian to start telling stories of the Pillars' adventures to the whelps.
• Mauve Shirt: Several raiders trying to kidnap the young drakes at the Hatchery not only had names but received surprising focus. One of them is Cold Snap, a Pegasus raider who was part of the group trying to snatch hatchlings in the nursery, and ended up giving one hell of a fight to researcher Mirthful Stone in an empty half-renovated office room as he sought to get away with the hatchling he nabbed while Mirthful tried to rescue the hatchling from him.
• Mook Horror Show: The fight with the raiders gets far more brutal when Fremder gets shot, with all restraint being thrown out by the heroes, and more raiders being explicitly/intentionally killed.
• Mythology Gag: One story Stygian tells to a group of young whelps is about the time when Mage Meadowbrook discovered a town afflicted with a epidemic caused by frog mucus contamination.
• Pragmatic Villainy: Before engaging in a one-on-one battle against Mirthful Stone, Pegasus raider Cold Snap decided to put the hatchling he kidnapped into a cabinet underneath a bench and closed the doors to protect them from the two slugging it out. This is mostly to avoid collaterally 'damaging' the baby per his boss' orders more than any genuine heart, which Cold Snap admitted and Mirthful Stone expected.
• Punch a Wall: After Tere reveals the raid on Ornatum's compound uncovered proof that he and his corrupt cohorts had Limette and her husband murdered, Jade Shell excuses herself and punches a wall with a scream of rage. This is because she had previously met Limette's spirit during her group's time in the Wild Ones' natural park, but hadn't known Ornatum had actually murdered her until Tere dropped the bomb.
• Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Fremder and Arbey are part of a group of whelps that also consists of a Sapphire Dragon (Blau), a Parasaurolophus Dracosaur (Klang), a Wind Dragon (Luft), a Triceratops Dracosaur (Virág), and a Bronze Dragon (Villám). They are also True Companions as they accept the mute and autistic Fremder as one of their own and work extremely well together, especially under Blau's leadership.
• Shout-Out: Two songs that Jade Shell sings during the arc are "Let Go" by Frou Frou and "Change It" by Stevie Ray Vaughan. It doubles as Author Appeal as one of the writers, Randomfan11, liked both songs.
• Wasteland Warlord: A former yet-named wasteland warlord from back when Ashfall was still in a state of post-apocalyptic anarchy is the Arc Villain leading the raid on the Cherub Cove Hatchery, seeking to kidnap all the Dragon eggs, hatchlings, and whelps they could get their hooves on to take back to Ashfall where they could sell them to unscrupulous buyers, both for the money but also for a yet-revealed 'cause' the warlord happened to be part of.
• When She Smiles: Reinigen, due to being subjected to extreme physical, mental, and emotional abuse by Herrlich before being rescued by law enforcement, was left in a sad, depressive state due to her early trauma, which other Dragon/Dracosaur babies lack. When Jade Shell and Edel sing one of Moon Ray Vaughoof's songs to her, Reinigen is not only smiling, but also giggling and clapping eagerly, as no one sang to her before.
• Would Hurt a Child: Zigzagged. The raiders were under orders to avoid harming the kids they are trying to kidnap from their boss, but shows little to no reservations about threatening or hurting them to get their way. One raider, Spring Trigger, outright shot Fremdar with a crossbow bolt in the leg out of spite towards the heroes and Draconic daycare/hatchery staff as they are cornered in the storeroom.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Stygian starts having self-doubt over not being able to show the whelps anything unlike the others, Verehrt points out that Stygian is a scholar who lived for a long time and thus both saw and recorded a lot of sights in his lifetime. Stygian relents and reveals himself to be The Storyteller, fascinating the whelps with tales of the Pillars' adventures.

Angel Vale Day 3: Cherub Cove Hotel Party (Parts 50-51)

With the Hatchery visited and the crisis there resolved, the Researcher Trio and their companions returned to find a heroes' welcome at their hotel, honouring their heroism and those of others for the events of the last two days. Although not everyone are in a celebrating mood...

Parts 50 and 51

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• Expecting Someone Taller: Many tourists participating in the party was quite surprised to find the head of the Cherub Cove Town Council, Bürgerkopf, turned out to be a little◊ feathered Veloci-Dracoraptor who needed to stand on a stool just to reach the microphone on the podium.
• I Owe You My Life: Many participants of the party felt this way for the Researcher Trio and other heroes who helped saved the day, as they would not be alive to participate in the celebrations otherwise. Some like Mirthful felt the same to them for their part in helping them survive, but also appreciate the sentiment and decide to cash in on that favour to their mutual benefit.
• Mythology Gag: At least one of Stygian's past adventures involved being part of a team of reformed villains tasked by Princess Luna to help save a parallel Equestria from 'Princess' Eris.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When Stygian had a breakdown over not feeling worthy of the honours due to believing he had constantly failed when others needed his help, the Researcher Trio reassured him that he's much better than he thinks he is, pointing out that he went above and beyond and achieved feats which none of them would be able to pull off, as well as other past adventures where he helped save the day, such as the time where he was part of Princess Luna's team helping to save a parallel Equestria from 'Princess' Eris.

Angel Vale Day 4: Angel's Throne and Angel's Coast (Parts 52-68)

After days spent in and around Cherub Cove, the group set off for the capital of Angel Vale, Angel's Throne, where they look forward to a day of rest and relaxation in the morning and early afternoon at its now world-famous beaches. Give or take a few hiccups, of course...

Parts 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68

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• Abusive Parents: Like Edel's parents, Seherin's parents were elitist assholes who emotionally abused her by, among other things, forbidding her from befriending those they deemed "trash" (i.e. Dracosaurs and Dragons who weren't wealthy) and utterly crushing her dreams to become a musician because it wasn't "proper" for rich drakes like them. This caused Seherin to become a haughty Spoiled Brat, but deep down, she hated her parents for how they treated her and envied Edel for having the courage to break free from her own parents' influence whereas she did not. When Sunny Field witnesses her troubled past by using retrocognition, he is furious. Likewise, Shadow Seherin turns into a crying, miserable whelp upon being defeated, with Moon Ray being the one to comfort her while the others are sympathetic.
• Aesop Amnesia: Discussed. When Shadow Seherin was summoned by Seherin using the Mad Wind tarot card, Seherin not only refused to face her darker side, but Geist also psychically sensed that she went catatonic from the traumatic experience of being confronted by her own worst flaws. Mirthful Stone snidely lampshades that this all but ensured Seherin will learn absolutely nothing from the confrontation once she wakes up and snaps out of her nervous breakdown.
• Ascended Fanboy: Schnell the Troodon-Dracosaur windsurfer was a fan of Brise who was inspired by her defying expectations and decided to try doing the same himself, being almost as good as it to the point he was among the top contenders of this year's windsurfing race alongside the others. Brise far from feeling overshadowed or threatened by his success was impressed and encouraged him to keep it up, even if he might beat her, causing him to nearly faint from joy at her recognition.
• Ass Kicks You: Aldhika takes out a group of Neo-NRF stragglers trying to ambush the Researcher Trio and the Pilars by sitting on them all after skunking them. Being half-Sphinx (Sphinxes are a type of Giant), her sheer body mass keeps her targets from moving until Verehrt, the Bodyguard Trio, and the police arrive.
• Amusement Park: In addition to the now world-famous beaches, Angel's Coast also has one of the world's largest pier amusement parks. It would had been the largest in the world, but benevolent Mad Scientist ruler of Machina, Crazy Ant, turned his entire island into one.
• Apologetic Attacker: While confronting the fake Edel Shadow Seherin summoned, Dissonant Tune apologizes before attempting to attack her, recognizing the fake Edel isn't truly his adoptive sister. Then, before delivering the killing blow to the fake Edel after she is weakened enough, Dissonant closes her eyes and thinks, "I'm sorry..."
• Battle Couple:
  • Steel Grit and his boyfriend Zene turn out to work extremely well together. Steel Grit is a natural singer with a budding talent for Magic Music once he gets over his Performance Anxiety, and Zene's sound magic helps expand the Area of Effect of Steel Grit's singing by "broadcasting" it.
  • Moon Ray Vaughoof and his wife, Velvet Heart Vaughoof, are another example. When the confrontation with Seherin evolves into a full-blown fight, Moon Ray and Velvet Heart fight together to deal with the summons Seherin brings forth with her Griffon tarot. They continue doing this when the entire group ends up facing Shadow Seherin.
• Battle Cry: The King's Witnesses gang often shout, "For the King!", as they worship Blue Suede Heartstrings.
• Beach Episode: The main day event of day 4 consists of rest and recreation at the beaches of Angel's Coast, where they build sandcastles, met old and new friends, visited the pier amusement park, and watched the national windsurfing competition.
• Beyond the Impossible: What Veloci-Dracoraptor windsurfing champion Brize did to earn to do to earn her nickname 'Miracle Brize': In a water-sport dominated by Wind and Water Dragons due to their innate affinity for wind or water, Brize not only manages to keep up but consistently beat her Wind/Water Dragon rivals and win every national windsurfing competition she had participated in through ingenuity, training and grit. Many Dragons and Dracosaurs still couldn't believe she managed to pull it off - and do so three years in a row.
• Big Brother Instinct: Dissonant Tune gives the spoiled Phony Psychic Seherin a vicious "The Reason You Suck" Speech after she insults his adoptive sister Edel (who is also Seherin's estranged biological cousin) one too many times and tries to use her as The Scapegoat for her own troubles. Later, when Shadow Seherin summons a flanderized construct of Edel with an angelic disposition and all her flaws whitewashed, Dissonant Tune is enraged and engages the fake Edel personally, even if he didn't like the thought of killing her.
• Big Damn Heroes: Jade Shell's attempt to escape a particularly murderous Tyranno-Dracosaur goon (who also turns out to be a vengeful Neo-NRF terrorist who wanted to avenge Herrlich's defeat and the destruction of their cause) leads to her falling backwards on her shell, leaving her completely immobile and defenseless as the Tyranno-Dracosaur attempts to eat her. Fortunately, Web Warrior hears Jade Shell's screams for help and quickly takes down the Tyranno-Dracosaur, enraged that the latter tried to eat a fellow sapient creature.
• Body Horror: Shadow Seherin, once in her One-Winged Angel form, becomes a horrifying mockery of a Dracosaur with Griffon traits — she has avian feathers growing painfully out of her wings, body, and head, causing her to bleed in those areas; her mouth becomeing a beak with Draconic teeth; her hind claws fusing together to resemble a Griffon's feline bottom half; and hair growing on her tail. The fancy, Princess-like dress she was wearing looked so tight that some parts were either bulging at the seams or outright tearing apart, while the various jewelry on her claws and neck look like they've been forcibly fused to her scales. Even her tiara looked small enough for it to be glued to her head. Her visage looked so nightmarish that it reduced even the most boisterous heroes to Stunned Silence, while others either vomited in sheer disgust or started crying Tears of Fear.
• Buried Alive: One of the horror stories included in the "Cavern of Horrors" attraction told how a group of Dragon and Dracosaur miners went on strike in protest until their boss, the "Gilded Count", gave them better wages. However, the "Gilded Count" was a Corrupt Corporate Executive, and he retaliated by secretly having his men trigger a cave-in that trapped the miners inside, dooming them all to a slow, horrible death. The result was the mines being haunted by zombies and ghosts who were unable to move on because of their anger over being exploited and discarded by their Bad Boss.
• Bystander Syndrome: Deconstructed. According to Web Warrior, he refused to help stop a thief despite having gained powers from his spider bite, arrogantly believing that a superhero would take care of it. He ends up paying for his indifference when the same thief broke into his house and killed a beloved family member, and he doesn't realize his mistake until after he went after the thief in revenge and defeated him. The experience makes him vow to never again become a self-absorbed Jerkass, and he becomes a superhero to prevent similar tragedies from happening again.
• Cerebus Retcon: Steel Grit is given one. His Establishing Character Moment involves him defiantly flicking his lit cigarette at Schmutz and burning up Lacom's deed to Ma's land and restaurant, despite Lacom being flanked by multiple hired goons. Later, it's revealed that Steel Grit was discriminated against for much of his foalhood for being an Ashfall Pony, and he smokes to cope with his fears and insecurities. It's very likely he started smoking when Lacom arrived because he was terrified for his life.
• Cerebus Syndrome: Many crises and conflicts of the fourth day so far ended up becoming slightly or much more serious after relatively good starts or moments of humour in them.
  • The fight against Lacom in Ma's Grill undergoes this as a Tyranno-Dracosaur goon working for Lacom turned out to be a former Neo-NRF member and tried to eat Jade Shell, traumatising her. An unknown villainous party also gave Lacom a badge which causes him to hulk out into a mindless, dangerous, uncontrollable Greed Grown state which turned him into the brawl's Final Boss.
  • The confrontation with Seherin, a Spoiled Brat cousin of Edel's living in poverty and forced to make ends meet as a fortune-teller at the Angel's Coast amusement park, becomes hairy when it is revealed that a mysterious female Minotaur (implied and later confirmed to be Sceleratus, the Mirarian Minotaur-Giganticorn hybrid goddess of Evil, Villainy, and Antagonists) gave her a deck of enchanted tarot cards, which made her much more dangerous to the gathered party of researchers, bodyguards, heroes, and gods. Even so, there were comedic moments as Seherin's attempts to antagonise them ended up leading to her becoming humiliated on multiple occasions. Then she pulled out the decks' equivalent of the Devil card, the Mad Wind, and ends up manifesting the much more dangerous Shadow Seherin embodying her worst self, and things go From Bad to Worse.
• Chain Pain: Steel Grit helps restrain a "Greed Growth"-transformed Lacom by singing a melody that summons tendrils of music energy, which turn into chains after they wrap around Lacom's right foreleg.
• Combat Pragmatist: Mirthful is once again this in full form when fighting against opponents, from simply hitting one of Lacom's larger dragon mook with a rocketpipe round (said goon only survived due to the rocket being a practice dud), gunning down a bunch of Griffon magic constructs summoned by Seherin, to pinning down a construct of Sakit summoned by Shadow Seherin while they were on the floor and shooting her in the head twice with an Elemental Caster before they could get back up.
• Cordon Bleugh Chef: According to Key Tap, Moon Ray is this. While he's a very good cook, he has a problem of making his foods so spicy that no one but him can eat them, such as a very spicy lasagna dish that made everyone literally breathe fire and left their mouths burning for days. It got so bad that Moon Ray's wife, Velvet Heart, does most of the cooking instead.
  Key Tap: Moony's a good cook, no denying that, but he tends to make everything hot. There's a reason why Velvet does most of the cooking and not him.
• Corporal Punishment: During the fight with a magically-enlarged Seherin, Moon Ray, fed up with Seherin's whining, summoned a giant paddle made of water to give her a serious spanking, something which her Abusive Parents never gave her growing up. It incidentally caused her to shrink back down to normal size due to the nature of the Tower card empowering her.
• Corrupt Corporate Executive:
  • Lacom, a slimy Green Dragon CEO, encapsulates this with his repeated attempts to buy out or close down Ma's Diner, often trying to pressure Ma to sell her venue at low prices, and then use all manner of coercive means like goons or duplicious ploys to evict Ma. He kept doing this even after Ma's business starts booming again while his business runs into difficulties, driven by both greed and sheer spite for Ma after repeated failures.
  • One of the pier's amusement park attractions, the "Cavern of Horrors", features a "Gilded Count" from Angel Vale's industrial era. According to his section, the Gilded Count was a Bad Boss who underpaid the Dragon miners working for him. When the miners retaliated by going on strike, the Gilded Count secretly had his drakes trigger a cave-in within the mines they worked in, condemning them all to die a horrible death via being Buried Alive. His actions created hordes of vengeful spirits and revenants who proceeded to haunt the very caves they died in, angry over how they were exploited and ultimately discarded by their own boss.
  • It's implied that Seherin's parents were also this, which led to them losing both their business and the wealth they gained from it prior to the story. Seherin, being the Spoiled Brat she is, refuses to accept it, instead blaming her family's fall from grace on the workers who stood up to her parents and exposed them for the corrupt business-drakes they truly were.
• Crazy-Prepared: After a previous encounter with Lacom that occurred prior to the Researcher Trio's arrival, "Ma" Anya had crystal-camera recorders installed all over the restaurant in case Lacom came back to try to take her Grill by force again. This let one of her staff members send a Leymit live-feed to the local police station just as the fight started, allowing Anya to have Lacom dead to rights with no opportunity of weaseling his way out of trouble this time. She also had a button installed under the bar she could press to call a superhero if need be, and stocked her restaurant with repair supplies so that she can get her Grill back up and running in no time despite having gone through a destructive brawl.
• Creepy Cave: One of the amusement park attractions in Angel's Throne is the "Cavern of Horrors". Its appearance was inspired by cavernous afterlife-realms like Yomi of Neighpon, and inside are multiple sections depicting replications of various legends, myths, and horror stories, like the "Gilded Count" who secretly had Dragon miners Buried Alive for daring to go on strike in Angel Vale's industrial era, and demonized versions of the Board of Dalong SynTech whose members tormented and treated the earliest Dracosaurs like slave fodder. The final attraction is a humongous animatronic recreation of Dildraeth, the Fiery Avarice, who is treated by even the Dracosaurs as their personal boogeymane for subjecting wicked Dragons and Dracosaurs to horrific fates. Mirthful Stone and those of his friends who went with him had the misfortune of being scared completely out of their wits.
• Crusading Lawyer: Much like She-Hulk, Lizmark is a criminal defense lawyer who helps defend Chromatic Dragons and other innocents, having been motivated to take the job by the Fantastic Racism she constantly suffered under in her whelphood. She also moonlights as the superheroine "Big Lizz". At one point, she states to the Researcher Trio and the Pillars that she wanted to serve as an positive example for Green Dragons everywhere.
• Cyborg: Cyber-Drake, one of the League of Powers which the group met in the VIP room, is one in form, being half-Ankylo-Dracosaur and half-machine. Narration highlights notable parts such as half his face covered in bionics and his entire tail being a prosthetic ending in a club-like cannon.
• Dark and Troubled Past:
  • "Ma" Anya, the Stego-Dracosaur owner of local diner Ma's Grill in Angel's Throne, used to be married at one point. Then she discovered that she's infertile; while she can still lay eggs, her infertility left all her eggs inert. Both she and her husband were devastated by this, with the latter leaving her for it. While she pulled through and started her own restaurant, Ma's Grill, she wasn't drumming up enough business, and she was constantly harrassed by the slimy Lacom, who wanted to buy the property she owned for himself. It wasn't until a disguised Blue Suede Heartstrings visited her following the merger between Angel Vale and Ashfall that things finally turned up for her.
  • According to Zene, Steel Grit went through one. His being an Ashfall Pony made him a target for Fantastic Racism due to the actions of Razorbill, and it's implied he was also subjected to homophobia because he fell in love with Zene, a male Quartz Dragon. While Steel Grit co-founded the King's Witnesses gang to protect others from being discriminated against like he was, his experiences deeply traumatized him to the point where he developed Performance Anxiety despite being a really good singer, and started smoking to help calm his nerves.
  • Körper also was also discriminated against for being a Chromatic Red Dragon. As Red Dragons were stereotyped as The Brute with a penchant for destruction and violence, Körper was either bullied to provoke a reaction from her, or talked about behind her back by people who feared what she would become. According to her, the moment she was old enough to move out, she did so and never looked back.
  • Lizmark went through similar racism as Körper, but for being a Green Dragon. In her time, Green Dragons were stereotyped as Manipulative Bastards who screwed people over, and she was expected by others to do the same if she grew up. Some of her neighbors were so racist that they saw her being born Delicate and Sickly as a good thing. Needless to say, her experiences, combined with learning about the hardships innocent Chromatic Dragons go through for what they are, motivated her to move out and become both a criminal defense lawyer and a superheroine.
  • Seherin, Edel's cousin, Used to Be a Sweet Kid who at one point desired to become a musician, but years of emotional abuse and indoctrination at the claws of her wealthy, elitist parents turned her into a Spoiled Brat of a drakina. While on the surface she claims to love her parents, deep down she utterly despises them for mistreating her, and envies Edel for having the courage to break free of her own parents' control while she didn't. She was only freed when her parents were exposed and arrested for corrupt business practices, but her indoctrination was to the extent that she refused to see or accept that her parents were rotten assholes to the core.
• Death by Irony: At one point during the fight with Seherin, Sunny Field, Fret Pick, Velvet Heart, and Whipper Snare fight a Griffon Knight summon based on the Strength Tarot card. With Ruya Clearfeather's help, they weaken the Griffon Knight enough to vaporize him with a fire-light combination attack enhanced by wind, while Fret Pick restrains the Griffon Knight with shadows. Ruya notes the sheer irony of an honorable knight being undone by darkness, which knights often oppose due to its associations with evil, as well as fire and light, which are associated with righteousness, virtue, and knightly crusades.
• Dirty Coward: Both Lacom and his Amoral Attorney, Schmutz, were this during the Diner Brawl at Ma's Grill. They hid behind furniture while their mooks did all the dirty work, and when things go south, they try to flee the scene. Schmutz tries to distract Mirthful Stone with legal jargon so he could kill him with a hidden weapon, and is subjected to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown for his trouble. Lacom, meanwhile, uses a device that induces Greed Growth when he is cornered by the heroes and the diner staff/patrons, only to be defeated. When he is captured and brought before the arriving police officers, he resorts to Blatant Lies in a desperate attempt to escape culpability.
• Disappointed by the Motive: Upon learning the remaining Neo-NRF terrorists' motive for their attempted hotel ambush was Revenge for Herrlich, Jade Shell calls them a "bunch of morons", disgusted with their Moral Myopia and Never My Fault behavior. Her colleagues share similar sentiments.
• Divine Intervention: According to Tātari, Ma's Grill had fallen on hard times in the past and was nearing bankruptcy, not helped by a slimy Corrupt Corporate Executive who wanted to buy the place out of Greed. Then, a little after the merge between Ashfall and Angel Vale, a mysterious Unicorn visited Ma's Grill, ordered some food, and chatted with the owner about the Second Age. A few days later, it was discovered that the Unicorn not only donated huge sums of money to Ma's Grill, but also guided scores of Ashfall Ponies to the place to increase venue, saving it from going out of business. Jade Shell bursts out laughing upon quickly recognizing the Unicorn as a disguised Blue Suede Heartstrings, having wrote about him numerous times in the past.
• Does Not Know His Own Strength: According to Lizmark, she initially had trouble controlling her "Greed Growth" ability once she got it, leading to incidents where she ripped open doors despite genuinely not meaning to. She did manage to gain control over her powers eventually.
• Empowered Badass Normal: This happens twice.
  • Before he and his group travel to Angel's Throne, Sherlock is made a Knowledge Cleric by the Skunk/Sphinx hybrid goddess Aldhika after answering her riddles correctly. Aldhika had been notified of Sherlock's desire by her older half-sister Daphné, and wanted to make sure he was genuinely qualified for the position. This makes him a White Mage with spells like "Shield of Faith" and the Channel Divinity "Knowledge of the Ages".
  • Steel Grit's father is a Cleric of Blue Suede Heartstrings, and thus knows a few Magic Music spells that could be cast via singing. Steel Grit learned the same spells from his father, but initially didn't want to use them because of his Performance Anxiety. With encouragement, however, Steel Grit powers up everyone, including the staff members and patrons of Ma's Grill, which helps them immensely in fighting off Lacom's hired goons.
  • Villainous example: Thanks to a mysterious device gifted to him by Lacom's mysterious goon supplier, Lacom was triggered into an artificial Greed Growth form which made the formerly Non-Action Big Bad into a rampaging monster.
• Everyone Has Standards: Even Mirthful winced when he managed to spear one of Lacom's attacking mooks in the head with the Wild Ones Tribal Spear he was gifted the day before, since while it didn't kill the mook the injury - with the spear stabbing through his bottom jaw right into his mouth - is extremely painful and traumatic, leaving the dracosaur howling and clutching his bleeding jaw in agony before he was mercifully knocked out.
  Mirthful Stone: (thinking) That's gonna take a fortune in med bills to fix.
• Extreme Mêlée Revenge: Mirthful inflicted this on Lacom's sleazy lawyer Schmutz when he tried to shoot him with a pocket elemental caster, with the Qilin responding by punching the lawyer in the face with enough force to knock a teeth out and send him sprawling on the ground, followed by Mirthful repeatedly slamming Schmutz's head into the ground with his claws to stop him from reaching his weapon. Schmutz is left out cold with a broken muzzle for the rest of the brawl.
• Evil Knockoff: Among the constructs summoned by Shadow Seherin to fight the heroes include parodies of the Angel Six, who possessed all their skills but none of their noble and heroic qualities, with extra abilities to make them even more threatening (such as the Aerri-construct's weapon summoning abilities, the Shining Dove-construct's Compelling Voice, and the Edel-construct's holy magic.
• Fantastic Racism: It's been mentioned and implied that many windsurfing enthusiasts — particularly the traditionalists — didn't like the idea of Draconic windsurfers who weren't Wind or Water Dragons participating in the race. In particular, Brise, a Veloci-Dracosaur windsurfer, has it bad because she not only was the first to break the mold, but she also inspired others to follow her lead, such as Schnell and Anmutig. This is what fuels Gezeiten to participate, as she felt that Wind/Water Dragons were losing face to the upstarts and wanted to prove her kind ultimately holds dominion over windsurfing. Fortunately, there are those who genuinely admire and support the newcomers, and Böe, herself a Water Dragoness and one of two Leymit sports announcers, would later indirectly calls out the genuine bigots and sports traditionalists among the crowds for their prejudiced sentiments.
• Fire-Breathing Diner: Moon Ray is, according to Key Tap, a Cordon Bleugh Chef who had a bad habit of making everything so spicy that no one but him can stomach them. He once made a very spicy lasagna dish that apparently made everyone literally breathe fire and left their mouths burning for days.
• Fisticuff-Provoking Comment: Downplayed with the Neo-NRF stragglers at the Cherub Cove hotel lobby. Mirthful Stone, disgusted with their petty motives as his colleagues are, unsubtly implied to them he was the one who came up with the idea of Herrlich's humiliating coup-de-grace. This sends the Neo-NRF stragglers into a murderous rage, but they are unable to follow up with violence due to being pinned under the enormous Aldhika's behind.
• Flowery Elizabethan English: Subverted with Sir Shining Scales, who despite being a knight from medieval Angel Vale speaks relatively normally if formally save for a few archaic terms. One can imagine he had learnt how to speak in the modern way since his awakening in the new era.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse:
  • While completely understanding of Jade Shell's trauma (which stemmed from being constantly attacked and nearly eaten by wicked Dragons and/or Dracosaurs), Geist, Web Warrior, and Körper all encourage the Great Tortoise to not let it color her views of their kind overall, since that's how Fantastic Racism is born. This reminds Jade Shell of past warnings Chief Brüllen gave her during the tour of the Wild Ones' village on the previous day, and she takes the trio's words to heart.
  • When Seherin throws a tauntrum over how she and her parents lost their wealth and business while Edel, who was disowned by her own wealthy parents, became a beloved heroine, Dissonant Tune chews her out, calling to attention how she's a Spoiled Brat who refused to learn from the mistakes both she and her parents made, thus bringing the misery they suffered upon themselves.
• Freudian Trio: The three Diplomatic Protection Service agents who would protect the group at Angel's Throne forms one, with Geist the Sapphire Dragoness being the Superego, Körper the Red Dragoness being the Id, and Herzen the Bronze Dragon being the Ego, fitting their roles of The Smart Guy, The Big Guy, and The Leader respectively.
• Friend to All Children: Regardless of his feelings on the matter, Moon Ray still goes out of his way to comfort Shadow Seherin after she's reduced to a crying, abused whelp.
  Double Feature: What is he [Moon Ray] doing?
  Fret Pick: ...Doin' what Moony does best. Comfortin' the little ones.
• Greaser Delinquents: Greasers are frequent customers of Ma's Grill due to its Second Age-style decor and food, and the group spots them hanging around the restaurant's jukebox. The Greasers are also among those who rise to oppose the slimy Corrupt Corporate Executive who comes to try buy up Ma's Grill out of Greed.
• Greasy Spoon: Ma's Grill, a local diner in Angel's Throne, is a positive "American" example. While the diner was inspired by Second Age-style decor (specifically Ponyland diners in The '50s), it's a very popular joint that serves delicious Second Age-style food (with the option to choose how you want your dishes cooked), and the owner is a friendly Stego-Dracosaur named Anya who is called "Ma" by her patrons and staff because of her kind, jovial, and motherly personality. Ma's Grill is also a Local Hangout for Greaser Delinquents who hang around the jukebox listening to retro music, especially songs made by Blue Suede Heartstrings. It helps that Anya was inspired by her parents' stories about the Second Age and was later saved from bankruptcy by a visiting Blue Suede Heartstrings, who donated huge sums of money to her and guided the Ashfall Ponies to her restaurant.
• Greater-Scope Villain: A side-scene reveals Lacom is an Unwitting Pawn to a group of more dangerous supervillains who used his attempt to close down Ma's Grill to gather data on an intervening Web Warrior, and are planning something big the next day. Lizmark also dropped hints of a certain 'order of fiends' during their conversations in Ma's Grill, but does not elaborate further.
• Holy Burns Evil: Skia's boon for Mirthful Stone to help him control his rage-flames allows him to do this literally, with her shadows tinting his flames such that they burn brighter the more righteous his rage, but also burns more potently when in contact with evil and inflicting even more damage. It quickly demonstrates its effectiveness in the fight against Seherin, with Mirthful's fireball setting her normally fire-proof attire on fire due to proximity with her rotten, spoiled character.
• How Do I Shot Web?:
  • Prior to the group leaving for Angel's Throne, Sherlock meets and is empowered by Aldhika as her Knowledge Cleric. While this gives him various useful spells outside of his scent-based magics, he notes that he is very inexperienced and can't access more powerful spells until he learns how to.
  • According to Lizmark, she suffered from lack of control over her "Greed Growth" powers when she first got them as part of an experimental cure for her sickly whelphood condition. Among other things, she had a habit of ripping off doors despite genuinely intending not to. By the time she became the superheroine Big Lizz, she had completely mastered her powers and accompanying Super-Strength.
• Hulking Out:
  • Thanks to a mysterious device gifted to Lacom by Greater-Scope Villain(s) behind him, Lacom was induced into a Greed Growth state that turned from from a Non-Action Big Bad to a mindless rampaging beast.
  • Lizmark, aka "Big Lizz" of the League of Powers, can go into a powerful greed-growth state without losing her mind as what usually happens to Dragons. It's implied that she gained this power as a young whelp while her parents searched desperately for a cure to her Delicate and Sickly condition. Once she finally learns how to master her powers, she exploits them to become a superhero.
  • Using the Griffon tarot card deck given to her by Sceleratus, Seherin picks out the Tower card and is transformed into a gigantic Ptero-Dracosaur with Super-Strength and Super-Toughness, allowing her to tank the heroes' strongest attacks. However, she's not completely invulnerable, as she gradually shrinks the more damage se takes. She finally shrinks down to her normal size when an angry Moon Ray disciplines her by spanking her with a watery paddle.
• I Always Wanted to Say That: After using the "Knowledge of the Ages" Channel Divinity to gain knowledge on law, Sherlock shouts "OBJECTION!", then nervously mutters he always wanted to say that.
• I'm Standing Right Here: Moon Ray glares at his friends and older brother when he telepathically overhears them talking about his Cordon Bleugh Chef tendencies while he's nearby getting food for himself.
  Moon Ray Vaughoof: Y'all gonna go eat, or are ye just gonna stand there n' gawk?
• Interspecies Romance: Greasers Steel Grit (a Pegasus Pony) and his boyfriend Zene (a Quartz Dragon) are in a committed relationship. According to them, they had gone to Ma's Grill on a date (and to hang out with their gang) when Lacom arrived with his hired goons and his equally crooked lawyer.
• In-Universe Catharsis: While not making her one-hundred-percent better, Jade Shell admits to Geist that her No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on the Tyranno-Dracosaur who tried to eat her did help cheer her up somewhat.
• Ironic Name: Seherin's name is a feminine term for "seer" in German. She is a Phony Psychic who cons her customers out of their money, whether by overcharging them or persuading them into giving up personal information about themselves that they wouldn't otherwise.
• Jerkass: Out of all the top four windsurfers, Gezeiten is clearly the most antagonistic, being shown or implied to be an elitist, arrogant, prejudiced and spoiled jackass who's dismisssive of Brise and particularly eager to put her and other non-Water Dragon windsurfers 'back in their places'.
• Knight in Shining Armor: The Gold Dragon knight Sir Shining Scales, the Gleaming Champion whom the group met is one both literally and metaphorically, being the last member of an ancient order of draconic knights who reawoke in the present who still upholds his order's chivalric code and ideals.
• Logical Weakness: Shadow Seherin's Evil Knockoff Angel Six summons has their real counterparts' skills plus extra abilities which made them formidable enemies, but being based on them they also share their weaknesses as well as additional flaws stemming from the absence/twisting of their nobler or unique traits, partly due to Seherin's own ignorance of said traits. Exploiting these helped the Researcher Trio, the Pillars and their DPS Bodyguards turn the fight against them.
• Loophole Abuse: The crux of Lacom's ultimate plan to seize Ma's Grill (this time without paying a single dime) rests on this: Under Angel Vale's property and land laws, a contract could be rendered invalid if there are too many mistakes in its construction, regardless of formalities or consideration paid, which would revert the property back to the original landlord or their successor. While this could be fixed simply by informing the relevant authorities about it and submit a new, properly redrafted contract, during that time the property would rest in limbo, allowing a third party to override the original buyer's contract with their own if they manage to negotiate one with the original landlords. When his lawyer, Schmutz, confirmed Ma's contract was invalid due to too many errors, Lacom managed to find the son of the original (late) landlord and persuaded him to make a new contract that makes Lacom, rather than Ma, the owner of Ma's Grill's plot of land. This would had allowed Lacom to claim Ma and her restaurant are illegal trespassers on "his" property and give him legal right to have them removed by force. Thankfully, Sherlock was able to use his Cleric powers to find flaws in Lacom's contract which makes it even more invalid than Ma's own, making Lacom's ploy unfeasible. Then things get even worse for Lacom when Steel Grit flicks his cigarette at the contract and torches it completely, which turned out to be the only contract in existence as Schmutz forgot to make back-up copies in his rush to help Lacom evict Ma prior.
• Lotus Position: At the climax of the "Virtue Falls" ride, Jade Shell, Sherlock, Dissonant Tune, and Herzen briefly spot the Angel (or an amusement park replica of her) at the very top of the waterfall mountain, sitting and meditating in a lotus position.
• Magic Music:
  • Steel Grit's father is a Cleric of Blue Suede Heartstrings and thus knows a few music-based spells, which he could cast via singing. He taught them to Steel Grit prior to the events of the story.
  • Steel Grit turns out to be a natural singer and budding musical mage, which fuels various spells like Super-Empowering and summoning tendrils of musical energy that turn into chains to restrain a 'Greed Growth'-transformed Lacom. According to him, his father taught him the spells himself. Unfortunately, Steel Grit suffered from Performance Anxiety, which made him reluctant to sing under the belief that he sounds bad. With encouragement from Jade Shell, Zene, and others, he ends up playing a role in Lacom's defeat. Schmutz even compares Steel Grit to a Princess Classic character from a Whinny cartoon film.
• Make Some Noise: Zene, Steel Grit's boyfriend, is a Quartz Dragon with sound magic. He can unleash sonic screams and concussive blasts of sound, and he can broadcast Magic Music spells like Steel Grit's so they'd have a wider Area of Effect.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!":
  • During the Diner Brawl at Ma's Grill, everyone reacts this way when a "Greed Growth"-transformed Lacom fires a torrent of poison gas, and they all work hard to get the hell out of the blast radius. Fortunately, the Smog Dragons (who are naturally immune to poison) and the Wind Dragons come to the rescue.
    Dragon: Ohshit, GAS BOMB INCOMING!
    Web Warrior: What-? OH SHIT!
    Zene: EVERYONE SCATTER!
  • This is played for laughs while the Researcher Trio, the Pillars, and their bodyguards are touring the amusement park:
    • Jade Shell, Herzen, Sherlock, and Dissonant Tune go on "Virtue Falls", a log flume water ride based on the real Virtue Falls in Angel Vale. While they get their first drop there, it is nothing compared to the second and last drop. The group only has a brief moment to admire the panoramic view at the very top of the ride before they fall into the water from hundreds or more feet in the air thanks to Angel Vale's spatial-warping.
    • Meanwhile, Mirthful Stone, Stygian, Körper, and Geist go down the "Cavern of Horrors", a Creepy Cave-style attraction inspired by the cavernous afterlife-realms like Neighpon's Yomi, and filled with all kinds of replications of various legends and ghost stories. The final horror the group encounters is a huge, lifelike animatronic version of Dildraeth, a constructively evil Dragon-Draconequus hybrid goddess feared among Draconic races for her unabashed cruelty and horrific tortures of the wicked. Then Dildraeth spots the group and pounces at them and other tourists accompanying them, leaving everyone utterly terrified by the time they exit the Cavern of Horrors.
  • Shadow Seherin's manifestation from Seherin pulling out the Mad Wind card (the Griffon Tarot equivalent of the Devil card) led to this as Shadow Seherin's form and nature makes her significantly more horrifying and dangerous than Seherin herself. Her description portrays her as a monstrous fusion of Griffon and Dragon parts whose appearance stuns even the boisterous Korper into silence and left Mirthful with no good quip to fire back.
• Moral Myopia: The Neo-NRF stragglers are enraged over Herrlich's ignoble fate and the total failure of their cause, which in their mind justifies their Revenge quest against the Researcher Trio and the Pillars. Both Jade Shell and Mirthful Stone call them out on their stupidity.
• A Mother to Her Men: Anya got the nickname "Ma" because she treats everyone in her restaurant like her own children, including her staff. This gets more pronounced when the group learns of Anya's infertility and how it destroyed her marriage. When Lacom tries to buy Ma's Grill and have Anya forcibly evicted from the premises with hired thugs, both Anya's staff and customers band together to help save the restaurant out of loyalty to her.
• Motive Rant:
  • One of the Neo-NRF straggers, a Wind Dragon, goes into one in outrage over their group's ambush attempt being foiled by Aldhika.
    Neo-NRF Wind Dragon terrorist: (in response to Jade Shell's question) You thought wrong. Some of us managed to get away, but our righteous cause was left in tatters, and our glorious leader humiliated to the utmost degree, all because of YOU! Because of you, we were robbed of any chance to save Angel Vale from itself! The least we could do is restore dignity to our Pack Leader's name by striking at those who reduced him to living like a mere animal!
  • Shadow Seherin, being the real Seherin's Enemy Without, spouts a few of these that reveals the latter's true self — an utterly Broken Bird who hated her Abusive Parents for destroying her dreams and indoctrinating her to be as rotten as they were, but has consistently refused to acknowledge the truth out of fear and hurt.
• Never My Fault: Multiple instances of this tropes are shown by various characters throughout Day 4.
  • The remaining Neo-NRF terrorists who tried ambushing the Researcher Trio and the Pillars refuse to acknowledge the terrible things Herrlich did to Angel Vale, or that Herrlich's fate was his own fault. Jade Shell calls them a "bunch of morons" for it.
  • When cornered by Ma's Grill staff, patrons, and the Researchers' group after he attempted to evict Ma by force, Corrupt Corporate Executive Lacom blamed everyone but himself for the very predicament he put himself in, calling them out for keeping 'great' drakes like him back and believing himself to be the true victim of the whole mess.
    Lacom: Peons... union scum! CLOVENISTS! It's people like you who keep Angel Vale from what it should be for drakes like me! Drakes with vision and ambition! Drakes who can to rise to the top! Drakes who don't deserve to be dragged down by peasants like Ma or you - !
  • Seherin, Edel's crooked cousin, goes off in an unhinged tantrum about how unfair it is that Edel, who got rejected by their family, ends up being a beloved heroine of Angel Vale with a happy family and friends, while she ended up destitute and had to work in carnivals just to survive. This ignores the fact that Edel was a good dracosauress who escaped an abusive environment and earned her happy ending, while Saherin was and remained a Spoiled Brat whose rotten rich family were Corrupt Corporate Executive types who deserved to be brought down by the long-suffering employees they exploited, and she herself was repeating the cycle by conning people as a Phony Psychic.
• Noodle Incident:
  • Korper and Cyber-Drake knew each other since the famous Angel's Throne terrorist attack where Cyber-Drake debuted as a hero, having fought back to back against the terrorists targeting the High Council and Cyber-Drake saving her and her client's life. They've been friends since then.
  • Eephus, the Cheating Athlete had swung by Angel Vale one year in disguise and messed with all the races and competitions to 'make things more interesting', and getting ran out of town when he was eventually discovered.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Stygian, Mistmane, and Meadowbrook realize with shock that they had all acted "improperly" around the goddess Aldhika (who is technically divine royalty due to being a daughter of Moufette, the Top God of the Great Skunk Pantheon), and all three Pillars bow before her. Aldhika quickly assures them that it's a "casual situation" and she's only there to visit Sherlock, one of her worshipers.
  • Both Lacom and his Amoral Attorney Schmutz are shocked when their fraudulent "deed" to Ma's Grill is reduced to ash thanks to Pegasus Greaser Steel Grit flicking his cigarette at it. It gets worse when Schmutz realizes that in his rush to help Lacom secure his hold over Ma's Grill and evict Anya, he forgot to simply make back-up copies of the deed they made in case things went pear-shaped. This is what contributes to Lacom's eventual Rage Breaking Point.
  • Steel Grit himself becomes extremely anxious when Jade Shell asks if he and his boyfriend Zene know any Magic Music spells; while he does know some thanks to his father being a Cleric of Blue Suede Heartstrings, Steel Grit is adamant that he not sing (despite being good at it) because he suffers from Performance Anxiety and thus thinks his singing sucks. Thanks to Jade Shell and Zene's encouragement, he pushes through his fears and sings anyway, which empowers the staff and customers of Ma's Grill enough for them to actively start beating back Lacom's hired goons. He later lapses again when the jukebox changes to a song different from the one he was singing, prompting Zene and their fellow gang members in the King's Witnesses to encourage him again.
  • Jade Shell is absolutely terrified when a Tyranno-Dracosaur sneaks up on her with intent to kill her in Revenge for Herrlich's failure, and in her attempt to escape, Jade Shell is rendered immobile when she lands on her shell. Fortunately, Web Warrior saves Jade Shell in time, but the experience traumatizes her.
  • Played for Laughs when Key Tap and Whipper Snare spot Moon Ray getting Mexicoltan food while at the Angel's Bounty restaurant. When they see Moon Ray getting lots of chilis and hot sauce to eat with his tacos, both Key Tap and Whipper Snare treat it like the coming apocalypse, given how their friend's love for spicy food led to him making incredibly spicy foods that only he could stomach, such as the "Blazin' Inferno Hellfire Lasagna" Moon Ray once made that traumatized everyone who ate it.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
  • When Ma hears that Jade Shell foresaw her restaurant being closed by a Corrupt Corporate Executive, she goes from being motherly, generous, and jovial to being royally pissed off when she realizes her old enemy, Lacom, is coming back to try buy her land and restaurant from her again.
  • The normally snarky and witty Web Warrior is genuinely furious when a Tyranno-Dracosaur goon tries to kill and eat a defenseless and immobilized Jade Shell, and moves quickly to save the latter. It's later revealed that like the vast majority of Angel Vale's Draconic population, he hates those who choose to eat other sapient creatures and sees it as the worst thing one can do (barring genuine insanity and other factors).
    Web Warrior: (bellowing) NO EATING TALKING CREATURES ALLOWED!
• Papa Wolf:
  • All the male members of the Redeeming Six react this way towards Seherin, who was assaulting Ruya Clearfeather, their adoptive daughter/niece, for stealing from her and publicly exposing her as a Phony Psychic. Moon Ray in particular goes the extra mile by bucking Seherin hard in the gut when she tries attacking his adoptive son, Dissonant Tune, for giving her a vicious "The Reason You Suck" Speech about her spoilt behavior.
    Moon Ray Vaughoof: ...You leave mah kids alone, ye lyin', cheatin' brat!
  • After Shadow Seherin is defeated, she is reduced to her most vulnerable state — a miserable, abused whelp who tearfully apologizes for her being "bad" and promising not to do it again. This prompts a sympathetic Moon Ray, having been abused himself, to go hug and comfort her.
    Moon Ray Vaughoof: (comforting Shadow Seherin) Hey... Hey, kid, it's okay, Ah gotcha. Ev'rything's gonna be alright...
• Performance Anxiety: Steel Grit initially refuses to use the Magic Music spells he learned from his dad because he thinks his singing sucks, and he is terrified by the thought of singing around so many people. Thanks to Jade Shell and Zene's encouragement, he powers through his anxiety and sings anyway, empowering everyone fighting Lacom's goons. It turns out he's a really good singer; he just refused to believe it.
• Phony Psychic: While there are many carnival psychics who were legit and others who made a disclaimer of acting like one, there are still a few who are frauds trying to swindle people out of their money.
  • One of them turned out to be Edel's estranged rotten cousin, Seherin, who was reduced to working in the carnival as a fraud card-reading psychic after her parents were exposed and lost all their wealth. Having learnt absolutely nothing from her ordeal, she made a dishonest living with over-priced services and bogus predictions, as well as trying to trick customers into giving their private information she could use to steal/swindle more. This leads to a visiting Ruya Clearfeather stealing her money in outrage when Seherin tried conning her adoptive mother, Velvet Heart, leading to Seherin's identity and tricks being publicly exposed.
  • Another one was encountered by Mirthful's group on the other side of the amusement park. The 'All-Seeing Martini' (even Mirthful thought the name was silly) profess to be able to predict the rolls of three coloured dice and make bets with customers over which combinations would come out when they landed in the bowl. While Mirthful, Stygian, Korper and Geist were instantly suspicious, they played along knowing that they could eventually expose him to get their money back (and probably beat the crap out of him while at it). While Martini initially managed to appear to be a genuine article, Stygian managed to figure out how he was pulling his tricks, using sleigh-of-claws and a cloak full of additional loaded dice to always produce the combos he wanted. In contrast to Seherin, he is portrayed slightly more sympathetically, as (taking his word at face value) he and his little brother are poor and this was the only way he knew how to make money, although he was still only spared a beating when Herzen radioed Mirthful's group for help, forcing them to just get their money back and leave him at the mercy of other angry customers.
• Rage Breaking Point:
  • After being confronted with the defiance of Anya and the staff/patrons of Ma's Grill, and having the only copy of his fraudulent "deed" burnt up by Steel Grit, Lacom finally loses it when a visiting Vermillion Bird chews him out for indulging in the same greed and cruelty the Angel sacrificed herself to save her 'children' and followers from. His Faux Affably Evil facade falls away and he screams at his goons to attack.
  • After being frequently attacked and nearly eaten by wicked Dragons and Dracosaurs since her first day in Angel Vale, Jade Shell loses it when she overhears the same Tyrannos-Dracosaur who tried to eat her violently resisting arrest. She steps forward without any input from the others and subjects the Tyrannos-Dracosaur to a quick No-Holds-Barred Beatdown that leaves the latter unconscious in the middle of a crater.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech:
  • A remorseful Vermillion Bird chews out Lacom for disrespecting the Angel's legacy by choosing to indulge his inner Greed and cruelty — the same things that the Angel ultimately died to save both the Dracosaurs and more free-thinking Dragons from. For Lacom, whose plan to take Ma's Grill away from Anya was quickly unravelling, this verbal lashing is the last straw and leads to his Rage Breaking Point.
    Vermillion Bird: It's funny, isn't it? The Angel took great lengths to free an entire race from a lifetime of slavery to corporate greed, even risking a mighty Dragon Queen's wrath and later planning a massive exodus to parts unknown. When the Dracosaurs found themselves threatened by hordes of their own adoptive kind, the Angel sacrificed herself so they could live. Why? Because she dearly loved her 'children'.
    Lacom: I don't see the point of this dri-
    Vermillion Bird: Oh, you will. The Angel gave you this - ALL of this - so you and your kind could have a better life and become better than those who tried to put you down. And yet you choose to spit on the Angel's gift by giving in to the same greed that the Angel and her 'children' tried to escape from in the first place! Do you honestly think what you’re doing is entirely in the name of progress?! I think not! All I see is an animal who, out of selfishness, decided to repeat the cycle of greed and cruelty that ultimately cost the Angel her life! You have become the very thing the Angel died to save you from!
  • Later, Dissonant Tune verbally tears Seherin a new one after she throws a tantrum over her situation, disgusted with her whining about how "unfair" it is for her to lose everything while Edel became a beloved heroine, when she herself didn't even bother to try remain morally upright or change herself for the better like Edel did. It's what causes Seherin to snap and try attacking him, only to be intercepted by an angry Moon Ray.
    Prince Dissonant Tune: You know what? I think life's not being fair 'cause you brought it on yourself. Edel's parents were nothing but controlling jerks to her, and while she was eventually disowned by them, she never lost her heart and gained more, even a better family. You, you never changed. You're a spoiled brat who expects the world to cater to you and throw a tantrum when it doesn't. Even continuing your parents' corrupt ways long after you became dirt poor. (points a hoof at Seherin) The only drake responsible for your life being a piece of garbage is you! Edel was given everything 'cause she EARNED them, while you never did! You deserve to live in the gutter along with your jerk parents!"
• Third Party Stops Attack: During the fight with Seherin, Seherin's attempt to attack Jade Shell after she smashed her foot with her warhammer was interrupted by the arrival of Mirthful Stone, Stygian, Korper and Geist who were called back by Herzen, with Mirthful launching fireballs at Seherin and Stygian throwing a cart at her with his shadows. Later on, the returning Mistmane and Meadowbrook interrupted the attacks of the Griffon sorceress and goblet maidens summons with their magic and potions, giving them time to prepare themselves for battle. And after THAT when the fight escalated to a battle against Seherin's shadow self, Double Feature of the League of Powers arrived to help out, stopping a barrage of gold coins fired by Shadow Seherin's father-construct.
• Revenge:
  • The remaining stragglers of the Neo-NRF faction wanted to get revenge on both the Researcher Trio and the Pillars for their humiliating defeat of their leader, Herrlich. However, their motives for doing so vary — while some believe Herrlich deserves to have a shred of dignity restored to his name after being reduced to a mere animal, others resent how their "righteous cause" (or rather, their chance to gain unlimited power and opportunity to prey on the weak if Herrlich succeeded) was destroyed by the heroes. One Tyranno-Dracosaur manages to sneak her way to Jade Shell by getting herself hired as one of Lacom's goons so she could kill the Great Tortoise, and comes close to devouring her; she fails because of the sudden intervention of Web Warrior.
  • According to Web Warrior, he became consumed by revenge after a petty thief broke into his house and killed a beloved family member, and went after him in costume. However, it's after defeating the thief that he realizes he himself was indirectly responsible for his relative's death because earlier, he arrogantly pinned the thief as someone else's problem. This motivates him to become a superhero for altruistic reasons, vowing never to let himself become the self-absorbed Jerkass he once was.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here:
  • Anya's husband abandoned her once her infertility was discovered. The group is angered by this and sees her husband's abandonment as cruel; while agreeing with them, Tātari points out that the husband's action was merciful compared to what other traditionalist Dragons would've done to Anya if they knew.
  • Later, both Lacom and Schmutz try to flee Ma's Grill after their back-up plan of having hired goons attack Ma/Anya and her staff/patrons goes south thanks to the presence of the Researcher Trio and the Pillars, as well as the timely intervention of Web Warrior and Steel Grit empowering everyone with Magic Music. While Schmutz is quickly taken out by Mirthful Stone, it takes considerable effort to do the same with Lacom due to him possessing a special device that induces "Greed Growth" in the user.
• Sensory Overload: As the windsurfing race is about to begin, Sherlock begins to feel overwhelmed by the clamour and activity from the crowd and started stimming, looking on the verge of an anxiety attack or meltdown. This prompted the group and those lunching with them to head to the League of Powers' VIP room in the restaurant so he could calm down.
• Shout-Out:
  • Sherlock shouts "OBJECTION!" after using his "Knowledge of the Ages" Channel Divinity to gain knowledge on law and legal contracts like Lacom's.
  • The songs played by the jukebox in Ma's Grill were created by Elvis Presley, like "Hound Dog", "A Little Less Conversation", and "Jailhouse Rock".
  • Schmutz compares Steel Grit to a Princess Classic character from a Whinny cartoon film, since they both share the ability to empower others by singing.
    Schmutz: It - it's like one of those Whinny cartoon films from Equestria! Some princess or whatever starts singing, and every character who heard it or joins in gets better at whatever they're doing!
  • The fight with Shadow Seherin is heavily inspired by the Shadow bosses of the Persona series (especially Persona 4) — like a Shadow from the games, Shadow Seherin represents the worst aspects of the person she's part of, and when denied, she goes Laughing Mad before transforming into a horrific-looking One-Winged Angel. Her form as a monster is not only very powerful, but is also rife with symbolism pertaining to the real Seherin's character and history.
• Smoking Is Cool: Steel Grit, a Pegasus Greaser and The Leader of the King's Witnesses, is introduced smoking. He flicks his lit cigarette at Lacom's "valid deed" to Ma's Grill, burning it to ash; unfortunately for Lacom and his lawyer, that was the only deed they had available due to forgetting to make back-up copies. However, it's deconstructed as Steel Grit was later revealed to smoke to help calm his own anxieties, which ultimately turns out to be harmful to his physical health. After Steel Grit proves himself to be a musical mage with considerable budding talent, his boyfrind Zene gets him to quit cold turkey as Zene wants to hear him sing more and doesn't want him to destroy his "beautiful voice".
• Sneeze Cut: When Schwall calls one of Brise's racing stunts (riding on the backs of dangerous sea monsters to gain speed and then gliding to first place surrounded by Prism Racers) "dancing with Death", Böe quips playfully that she can imagine various Reapers and Death gods wanting to have a turn with the Velociraptor wind-surfer. This causes said Reapers and Death gods — including Moon Ray, Fret Pick, and Whipper Snare — to suddenly and inexplicably start sneezing.
• Spanner in the Works:
  • While not the only factor, Steel Grit's act of burning Lacom's fraudulent contract with his cigarette significantly hampers the Green Dragon's plans to seize Ma's Grill and evict Anya. His Magic Music abilities also give everyone a fighting chance against Lacom and his hired goons when they resort to physical force, ultimately playing a role in Lacom's defeat.
  • Ruya Clearfeather, one of Moon Ray and Velvet Heart's adoptive daughters, ends up foiling Seherin's cons and publicly exposing her as a Phony Psychic when she steals Seherin's money in response to the latter conning her mother, Velvet Heart.
• Summon Bigger Fish: When the brawl breaks out at Ma's Grill, Ma hits a button to call for help from Web Warrior, who soon arrives. The two are apparently on very good terms.
• Superpowered Evil Side: Shadow Seherin, the worst parts of Seherin's character was manifested magically by Seherin when she pulled out the Griffon Tarot's equivalent of the Devil card, the Mad Wind, in her desperation and spite to get back at the researchers, bodyguards, heroes and gods who exposed and humiliated her. She proved to be more than Seherin could handle and a much more dangerous threat to the heroes.
• Sympathy for the Devil: As Shadow Seherin's — and by extension, the real Seherin's — Dark and Troubled Past comes to light, the various heroes fighting her end up pitying her for what she became. This comes to a head when, upon her defeat, Shadow Seherin transforms into a crying young whelp suffering from horrific abuse, prompting a sympathetic Moon Ray to go and comfort her. When Shadow Seherin despairs over having to merge back into Seherin (and endure being psychologically repressed again), both Moon Ray and his fellow Redeeming Six all assure her that people can change, and she might gain the loving family she always secretly wanted, prompting Shadow Seherin to smile before fading away.
• Super Team: The R3, Pillars and their bodyguards got to meet the preeminent faction of superheroes of Angel's Throne and all of Angel Vale, the League of Powers.
• Tears of Fear: Shadow Seherin's Body Horror transformation is so horrifying that Ruya Clearfeather starts crying, prompting Velvet Heart to get closer to her.
• Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Angry that their breakfast at Ma's Grill (and the restaurant itself) had almost been ruined by Lacom's plot and Greed-Growth rampage, Mirthful Stone ranted through the camera of Lacom's smashed device to anyone who might be listening, vowing to mess them and their plans up if they ever cross paths in the future. Turns out he was ranting to two members of a group of dangerous supervilains, who are somewhat impressed by Mirthful Stone's defiant resolve despite being angered by his insults.
• Villainous Breakdown:
  • Lacom experiences one as his plan to take over Ma's Grill in one fell swoop hits repeated snags and he is called out by a visiting Vermilion Bird (who was once part of an extremely corrupt MegaCorp that created the Dracosaurs in the Second Age). By the end of it, he is reduced to screaming at his goons to kill everyone in the diner, regardlesss of the consequences.
    Lacom: (seething) ...Get them.
    Dracosaur thug: Sir?
    Lacom: Get them! NOW!
  • Seherin becomes increasingly unhinged once her attempts to frame Ruya Clearfeather as the guilty party backfire due to her own actions being exposed, with the Redeeming Six preventing her from assaulting Ruya. When Moon Ray publicly calls her by her real name and Velvet Heart mentions her estranged biological cousin, Edel, Seherin proceeds to throw a tantrum, blaming Edel and everyone she deemed responsible for her parents' fall from grace and her own destitute living conditions. Her breakdown reaches its apex when, with help from friends, Moon Ray restrains and spanks her with a water-based paddle, prompting her to take out and use the Devil tarot card in retaliation.
  • As the real Seherin's darkest aspects made manifest, Shadow Seherin is even more unhinged, and devolves into a shrieking rage every time the heroes manage to take out one of her minions, which are actually facsimiles based on people the real Seherin knew (such as her Abusive Parents, her estranged cousin Edel, etc.). Once the heroes find a way to build the key needed to unlock her cage, Shadow Seherin does everything she could to resist being dragged out, even begging and attacking the heroes forcing her out of her cage. Upon her defeat, she transforms into a crying, abused whelp who tearfully apologizes for being "bad" and promising not to do it again.
• What the Hell Is That Accent?: In-Universe. While describing the appearance of a disguised Blue Suede Heartstrings, Tātari notes that Blue Suede "spoke with a funny accent". It's justified as Tātari wouldn't know what a Southron accent is or what it sounds like.
• White Mage: Early on, Sherlock is made a Knowledge Cleric by a visiting Aldhika just before he and his group set off to Angel's Throne. While he does gain healing spells, he gains other spells like "Shield of Faith" (which temporarily covers the target in protective armor) and the Channel Divinity "Knowledge of the Ages" (which temporarily grants Sherlock knowledge of certain skills or abilities for ten minutes).
• You Don't Want to Catch This: During his emotional upset over what happened with Rongoa, Tātari heads to the Angel's Bounty's male public bathrooms and pretends to have a really contagious disease to get everyone out. Then seals the bathroom door from the inside with his earth magic so he could be alone. This not only causes a holdup with everyone wanting to relieve themselves, but also gets a Dilophosaurus staff member mad at him.
  Tātari: Oh... Oh dear. I was upset... I wanted to be alone. So as soon as I entered this bathroom, I pretended that I had a really contagious disease and got everyone out.
  (Whipper stares at Tātari)
  Whipper Snare: ...You gotta be shittin' me.
• You Have GOT to Be Kidding Me!: Whipper Snare discovers to his dismay that Tātari not only sealed the public bathroom doors with earth magic so he could be alone, but also pretended to have a really contagious disease to clear everyone out. His spoken reactions to the situation echo this trope to varying degrees.

Angel Vale Day 4: Abyssal Attack (Parts 69-78)

The National Windsurfing Competition and the group's festivities in Angel's Coast is interrupted by a sudden, unexpected attack from a horror of the Third Age, putting their relaxation on hold as they fight to survive and help the heroes and authorities of Angel Vale and beyond face off against it before it could destroy Angel's Throne.

Parts 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78

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• Ain't Too Proud to Beg: After being beaten to near-death by Stygian's shadows, one of the Oceanaiads becomes genuinely terrified for her life when she realized the fate Stygian had in store for her, and immediately starts begging anyone for help — even Mother Huthi, the Oceanaiads' long-deceased mother goddess. Fortunately, her pleas are answered when Stygian's allies manage to stop him from going too far.
• Alpha Strike: The very first thing the Abyssal Great Horror did upon arrival is to weaponise their sanity-shattering nature with a mental attack, which, under normal circumstances, could had driven the entirety of Angel's Coast mad. Fortunately, Moon Ray foresaw the attack and, together with the Redeeming Six, casted enough perception filters, mind blocks, and sanity anchors across all of Angel's Coast to prevent it from having effect beyond triggering those with psychic sensitivity.
• Appeal to Force: Discussed regarding the angry mob accosting the half-Oceanaiad Sonar following the Abyssal Attack. Mirthful was thankful he wasn't there as he would had pulled an Elemental Caster on the mob for persecuting the poor Skylander, which he knew could get ugly very fast especially given how much he hates racists and reactionaries. It makes him question his own sanity and morality when he realised his first reaction to such a situation was potentially lethal force.
• Badass Bystander: A lot of Dragons, Dracosaurs, Ponies and other civilians and tourists, rather than fleeing, stuck around to help save lives and battle the Lesser Horrors. Helped by the fact many of them are quite formidable themselves due to being... well, Dragons or possessing unique skills and abilities themselves.
• Battle Trophy: Mixed with Creepy Souvenir, but it's revealed after the main fighting is over Mirthful had been collecting Siren Gems from Oceanaiads who had been killed (even reduced to Ludicrous Gibs) at the pier by the army. The others with him are a bit put off as Siren Gems are part of the Oceanaiads' bodies, meaning Mirthful is not just looting the dead, but literally collecting mutilated body parts. Mirthful (and Stygian) for their part isn't particularly bothered and pointed out the Oceanaiads were trying to kill them and would have no issues eating or misusing their bodies if the situation's reversed.
• Big Damn Heroes: Plenty of moments throughout the entire battle.
  • When the Abyssal Great Horror's attempted Mind Rape attack fails thanks to the Redeeming Six's various protection wards and sanity anchors, it tries another tactic — singling out the most powerful threat to its own existence and obliterating it. It proceeds to fire a powerful beam of eldritch energy, which by all means would have taken not only the Redeeming Six and their divine/mortal family members, but also members of the League of Powers, the Pillars of Equestria, and the Researcher Trio. Fortunately, the divine Ornithian twins, Omorfiá and Skiá, rush in and produce a strong barrier to protect the targets, setting up the Second Age Gamarea's reveal.
  • Gamarea — the Second Age version who fought many kaijus (and a malevolent ancient conspiracy) during the 'Monster Summer' of the late 1980s — appeared right after the Abyssal Great Horror to fight it, having been awakened by its presence. He arrives just in time to divert it firing all three of its beams in an attempt to overpower Omorfiá and Skiá's shield.
  • Mirthful Stone saved a young, shabbily-dressed Deino-Dracosaur whelp who helped him in a fight earlier from being killed/eaten by a Lesser Horror which cornered him, running it through and setting it on fire from the inside with his Wild Ones Tribal Spear. Said whelp turns out to be Tasche, the younger brother of Schmäh, aka the "All-Seeing Martini" Mirthful Stone and his group previously met in the amusement park.
  • Right when their barricade was being overrun and Mirthful himself was being pinned down by a crustacean Lesser Horror, Sir Shining Scales and Web Warrior of the League of Powers arrived to help them beat back the horde, allowing them to keep the evacuation route open for fleeing civilians. They later do it again when Mirthful's group is attacked by the Oceanaiads/Sirens group who had been attempting to recover the Abyssal Great Horror.
  • The mysterious scarred stallion, revealed to be Vermilion Bird/Daimon of the long-defunct Dalong SynTech MegaCorp after multiple cameo appearances, assumed his armoured superpowered form to help fight off the Lesser Horrors attacking the beaches.
  • Cyberdrake and Fearsome Sun, about to be accosted by a burrowing large Lesser Horror, were pleasantly surprised when a Giant Foot of Stomping took it out, courtesy of Helping Hands, a Polytoncheires college student the Researcher Trio met earlier at the beaches. Helping Hands shortly joined in the fight with his fellow Giant friends, like Sahira and Blazing Ironhorn.
  • After the Abyssal Great Horror knocks out Moon Ray with a great telepathic attack and spews out swarms of insect-like Lesser Horrors from its barnacles, both Gamarea and his allies find themselves outnumbered and in a difficult situation. Then unexpected help arrives in the form of Queen Dulce Somnii Paradise, aka Pillow Talk, and Tranquil Dream, two Dream deities whose powersets prove incredibly useful in countering whatever powers the Great Horror has in its arsenal. While Pillow Talk/Dulce purifies the Lesser Horrors with an eldritch purification spell, Tranquil Dream heals all of Moon Ray's mental scars and boosts his mind with a tranquility boon, allowing the latter to return to the fight.
• Cheaters Never Prosper: Of the four big racers in the windsurfing competition, Gezeiten is the only one willing to use underhanded tactics in order to win. Naturally, she often and quickly finds herself overshadowed by the awe-inducing stunts pulled off by not only her biggest rival, Brise, but also the equally talented Schnell and Anmutig — all who are Dracosaurs who don't fit the mold for windsurfing. Eventually, Gezeiten gets so frustrated that she attempts to use her water magic to propel herself ahead of her rivals. This not only gets her disqualified from the race for blatantly cheating, but also causes her to fall into the Great Horror's spilled blood when she loses control of her magic, nearly dying as a result.
• The Chosen One: For her heroism and desire to keep people's spirits up in dark times, Kuàilè is chosen by Princess Vertrauen Posey, Angel Vale's infant Spirit of Chaos, to be part of Angel Vale's Bearers of Chaos — specifically, the Bearer of Desire. Kuàilè proceeds to use her newfound powers of illusion granted by her Element of Desire to help Herzen and Geist fight off the Lesser Horrors surrounding them.
• Close to Home: As it turned out, evil Oceanaiads/Sirens are a big trigger for Stygian, due to what the Dazzlings did to his village millennia ago. Stygian flew into a rage by their mere presence, and seeing one nearly killing a group of cowering Ponies caused him to deliver an absolutely brutal No-Holds-Barred Beatdown on her with his shadow powers and almost absorbing her into his shadows.
• Combat Commentator: Leymit hosts Schwall and Boe, who had been commentating on the National Windsurfing Competition, found themselves becoming this when they and their studio found themselves having a live frontline view of the unfolding crisis. Both stayed on air to provide valuable updates with their network of cameras and Ixomane Spheres, but also provide lively, enthusiastic comments on the various epic fights and heroism they witness as if this is just another normal sports broadcast.
• Defiant to the End: Despite being terrified for his life, pinned down by one of the larger Lesser Horrors, and desperately holding back a claw from snapping his neck, Mirthful Stone remained defiant with a few choice words at the monster trying to kill him. Fortunately, he was saved by Sir Shining Scales.
  Mirthful Stone: I swear, I’m gonna rip you a new one when I get out of this - !
• Destructive Saviour: Defied by the Second Age's Gamarea. While he does fight an enemy kaiju once again after three Ages of hibernation, he is smart enough to try avoiding massive collateral damage while protecting both Angel's Coast (and by extension, Angel's Throne) from the approaching Abyssal Great Horror. He also lets various superheroes, deities, and even the Angel's Throne military help out, even setting things up so the aforementioned factions could have their chance to strike.
• Didn't See That Coming: The Oceanaiad school sent by their Queen to observe the battle with the Abyssal Great Horror and its spawn undetected goes awry when a lone Dragon ends up falling in the water and discovering them by complete accident. The Oceanaiads' attempt to murder the Dragon — as well as the rescue crew who hauled him out — to hide their location only ends up getting broadcasted across Angel's Throne because they didn't think to look for recording Ixomane Spheres. It leads to the Oceanaiads invading the pier, intending to massacre everyone who saw them, which gets them clashing with Mirthful Stone's group and others who were attracted by the commotion.
• Dudley Do-Right Stops to Help: Ammutig had the windsurfing competition in the bag post-Abyssal Attack, but sacrificed his certain win to rescue Gezeiten when she fell into Abyssal blood tainted waters. He broke down crying at his lost opportunity… but still won it anyway when both Brise, Schnell and every other windsurfer stopped to let him win, recognising he was winning it and deserved it both for his skill and his good character.
• Dramatic Irony: No one in-universe knows or suspects the Oceanaiads released the Abyssal Great Horror by complete accident and was trying to recover control of it before it attacked anyone. As far as they knew, this was a deliberate attack by a bunch of evil Sirens.
• Eaten Alive: Due to their size and predatory disposition, many of those fighting the Oceanaiads/Sirens who showed up often find themselves at risk of having this or Swallowed Whole happen to them. It's also mentioned by the Oceanaiads that their queen, a Bad Boss who do not tolerate egregious failure, does this to whole schools of Oceanaiads who screwed up, like the those which accidentally released the Abyssal Great Horror that particular group had recovered - and it's implied she doesn't digest them either.
• Eldritch Abomination: The Abyssal Great Horror is this, being a monstrous combination of sea serpent, crustacean and squid with other parts which have no "earthly" analogues. Its colours alone do not correspond to any on Equus, and merely looking at its is disturbing at best, mind-aching at worst. It's outright described as an unholy abomination that's an affront to nature and sanity by their very existence.
• Fantastic Racism:
  • It's been mentioned and implied that many windsurfing enthusiasts — particularly the traditionalists — didn't like the idea of Draconic windsurfers who weren't Wind or Water Dragons participating in the race. In particular, Brise, a Veloci-Dracosaur windsurfer, has it bad because she not only was the first to break the mold, but she also inspired others to follow her lead, such as Schnell (a Troodon Dracosaur) and Anmutig (a Ptero-Dracosaur). This is what fuels Gezeiten to participate, as she felt that Wind/Water Dragons were losing face to the upstarts and wanted to prove her kind ultimately holds dominion over windsurfing. Fortunately, there are those who genuinely admire and support the newcomers, and Böe, herself a Water Dragoness and one of two Leymit sports announcers, indirectly calls out the genuine bigots and sports traditionalists among the crowds for their prejudiced sentiments.
  • Almost immediately after the end of the Abyssal Attack, Sonar got accosted by an angry mob of Dragons and Ponies who almost assaulted her for being half-Oceanaiad out of hurt and fear, believing her to be no different from the Oceanaiads who attacked the pier and was responsible for unleashing the Abyssal Great Horror and its Lesser Horrors to begin with. Fortunately, Jade Shell, Sherlock, Web Warrior, Sakit, and later Sister Dämmerung and Sunny Field Vaughoof intervened to prevent it from escalating by Shaming the Mob and (in Sunny Field's case) teleporting those who still refuse to back down into the sea.
• Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: Various heroes acknowledge that the angry crowd of beachgoers attacking Sonar were acting in fear and hurt over being threatened by the Oceanaiads and the Abyssal Horrors. But they also point out that they're essentially attacking an innocent bystander whose only "crime" was resembling the Oceanaiads they despised, when Sonar actually helped fight the Oceanaiads to protect others. While Web Warrior manages to get most of the beachgoers to back off with an Armor-Piercing Response, the more racist and hostile ones are teleported into the sea by Sunny Field Vaughoof and arrested after they are rescued.
• Giant Mook: Lesser Horrors vary in size, with some of the larger ones being size of vehicles or small buildings and requires greater force or firepower to hold back or destroy.
• Glamour Failure: Due to his true form being a powerful eldritch god, Moon Ray often appears as a mortal Earth Pony. Seeing possible futures where an Abyssal Great Horror emerged from the seas to rampage across Angel's Throne (and by extension, Angel Vale itself) proves so stressful that it causes Moon Ray's appearance to glitch and briefly show glimpses of what he really is. Save for the Redeeming Six, who are used to seeing things like this, everyone is understandably freaked out.
• Godzilla Threshold: Weeping Willow concludes the only thing they have that can reasonably kill the Abyssal Great Horror is the Planet Geyser, a Second Age Kill Sat he can install in one of his bodies capable of atomising mountains. He hates using it for understandable reasons, but concludes there's no choice. He worries about the outcome if the Horror made it ashore and he had to fire it while it's in Angel's Throne, but fortunately the Second Age Gamarea shows up to prevent that.
• Go Through Me: The Second Age Gamarea's first act upon arrival is to look at all the innocent people in Angel's Throne, then plant himself between the Abyssal Great Horror and the shore before giving a roar of challenge. This makes the heroes instantly jump into battle to help him, as it makes it clear he's trying to actively protect them.
• Hidden Villain: The entirety of Angel's Coast is initially unaware of a school of Oceanaiads who were chasing down the Abyssal Great Horror in an attempt to regain control of it, their faction having somehow let it loose by accident when they tried to reawakened it for their own nefarious purposes. They answer to an Oceanaiad royal who may become a villain the Researcher Trio may face later. Subverted later when they were exposed and attacked to eliminate witnesses to their presence, which is fortunately stopped by Mirthful Stone's group and other heroes who were quick enough to respond to the situation.
• Hold the Line: The heroes' main objective is to prevent the Abyssal Great Horror and its Lesser Horrors from reaching landfall and entering Angel's Throne; if it does, it would be impossible to destroy them without massive collateral damage and casualties. Highlights include Jade Shell's group holding back the Lesser Horrors from destroying an altar dedicated to Limette and her former students who set it up in her memory, and Mirthful Stone's group at the pier helping to hold an evacuation route from waves of Lesser Horrors so other civilians could escape through it.
• Holy Hand Grenade: Queen Dulce Somnii Paradise, being a First-Age Alicorn who was transformed into an eldritch goddess during the Third Age's "Abyssal War" prior to the story, wields purification spells that could affect even other eldritch beings. During her and Tranquil Dream's Big Damn Heroes moment, Dulce purifies a swarm of insect-like Lesser Horrors, destroying them and freeing up more time for Gamarea and his allies to focus on the Abyssal Great Horror.
• Horrifying the Horror: Stygian manages to invoke this to an Oceanaiad when his Berserk Button was pressed by her, first by using his shadow magic to beat her to an absolute pulp, then try to subsume her into it, with her seeing things within it which utterly horrified her. By the time Stygian was convinced to release her she was left trembling and traumatised on the boardwalk. It horrified even Stygian's allies and companions who witnessed it.
  Oceanaiad: [Horrified by enveloping shadows] NO! Not that! ANYTHING BUT THAT! Mother Huthi, help me! Please, SOMEBODY HELP - !!!
• Hypocrite: A small crowd of beachgoers — several of whom were victimized by either the invading Abyssal Horrors or their Oceanaiad masters — started harassing Sonar for heavily resembling the Oceanaiads who attacked them. The normally stoic Geist angrily lambasts them for it, pointing out the sheer hypocrisy of them complaining about how the rest of the world treats them like savage beasts, only to turn around and do the same thing to even their own fellow Draconics.
  Geist: Can you imagine, living in a world where you're not only expected to act like a member of your race, but also barred from choosing to be anything else? That's the reality I, you, and every-drake face. Every. Single. Day.s The world is watching us, waiting for us to slip up so they could feel justified in their views of us. And yet you turn around and do the same to others... (looks genuinely pained for a few moments) Even each other.
• I Can't Sense Their Presence: The Abyssal Great Horror's eldritch presence disrupts attempts to detect it through conventional means, so even Angel Vale's military doesn't know it's approaching until it appears right on the shores of Angel's Coast. Fortunately, the Second Age Gamarea can sense it and awakened to stop it. The psychic signals Gamarea sends the Redeeming Six and others with telepathic abilities — as well as Moon Ray's powerful foresight — gives both them and other heroic groups enough forewarning for them to rush and put up mind and sanity protection spells.
• I Need a Freaking Drink: Likely to handle the stress and gain more courage, Mirthful drank a bottle of beer and got himself several more over the course of the fight. He even paused to put money in the empty bar he got them from right before he blew it and the Oceanaiad he trapped inside up.
• Insists on Paying: In a funny scene, when Mirthful decided to book it from a bar after setting an Oceanaiad he was fighting inside with on fire, he pauses long enough to slam down a bunch of banknotes near the cashier for a few bottles of beer he conveniently grabbed before leaving. The entire action became even more pointless when he blew up the entire bar behind him afterwards with a Detonation Launcher just to be absolutely certain he got the Oceanaiad.
• It's Personal: Having witnessed/experienced the Dazzlings' rampage on his home village centuries back, Stygian shows clear anger and animosity towards the Oceanaiads' presence and attacks them viciously with his shadow powers at every chance. His grudge makes him feel very conflicted when he spots Sonar, a Water Dragon/Oceanaiad hybrid, fighting back the invading school of pureblooded Oceanaiads.
• Jumped at the Call: The four top windsurfers of the competition (even the arrogant Gezeiten), seeing the situation unfolding, immediately jumped in to help save people or hold off the Lesser Horrors, their actions inspiring other windsurfers, swimmers, boaters and coast guards to turn back and help out as well despite the risks.
• Karmic Jackpot:
  • Earlier, during the fight against Shadow Seherin, a young Deino-Dracosaur street rat helped Mirthful Stone take out a flanderized Shining Dove summon created by Shadow Seherin by throwing a rock at the fake Pony ambassador, allowing Mirthful to take him out. During the Abyssal Attack, Mirthful returns the favor by saving the street rat, whose name is revealed to be Tasche.
  • Anmutig is about to win the race when Gezeiten wipes out and falls into the Great Horror's toxic blood. As he's the only one present who can save her, he gives up winning to rescue her. However, as he's crying at having missed his chance to win his first big competition and make history, the other racers all stop and let him pass, making it clear he deserved to win and not wanting to beat him purely because of something outside his control.
• Kill Sat: Weeping Willow's ultimate weapon, "Planet Geyser", is described as one of these, being a powerful weapon able to atomize a mountain at full blast, and likely the only available way to kill the Abyssal Great Horror effectively. Presumably, it used to be an actual Kill Sat, but is now installed in one of his combat bodies.
• Laser-Guided Karma: The most belligerent and racist of a crowd of beachgoers still try to attack a young Sonar out of hatred, even though she had nothing to do with the Oceanaiads' attacks and even helped fend them off. Sunny Field intervenes by teleporting them into the ocean, and after they are rescued, the beachgoers are brought into police custody for trying to harm a child.
• Leave No Witnesses: The school of Oceanaiads sent by their Queen to recover the Abyssal Great Horror (then instructed to observe its attack in secret when it's too late to do that) initially tried killing a lone Dragon who had fallen into the water (and the rescue crew who hauled him out) because he accidentally discovered their location. When this fails thanks to Ixomane Spheres recording their presence, the Oceanaiads try to launch a full-on massacre on Angel's Coast. Unfortunately for them, they run into Mirthful Stone's group, who fight them off and even kill some of them to prevent innocent blood from being shed.
• Loophole Abuse: Normally, an event like the annual windsurfing race would have been canceled after Angel's Coast is attacked by the Oceanaiads and the Abyssal Horrors, with the beaches being polluted by the Abyssal Horrors' eldritch blood. But because no one announced the cancellation, all the competitors — including the "Big Four" like Brise, Anmutig, and Gezeiten — immediately resume racing, determined to win despite new dangers and obstacles.
• Lost Superweapon: According to Fret Pick, Abyssal Great Horrors are biological superweapons created by the Abyssal Ones and their followers and minions during the Abyssal War which helped end the Third Age, with the smallest ones (size of a building with one head) capable of destroying whole armies and fleets by themselves, while the largest one (size of a small mountain range with five heads) could had ravaged whole continents. The three-headed one they are facing is a 'City-Buster' capable of destroying Angel's Throne by itself if not stopped.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone reacts with extreme terror, disgust, or both when the Abyssal Great Horror appears and prepares to make landfall at the beaches, causing massive panic all over Angel's Coast. Fortunately, thanks to the Redeeming Six's quick thinking and foresight, the Abyssal Horrors are unable to drive people mad with their mental powers, which would have worsened the crisis as various heroes rushed to contain the threat.
• Mêlée à Trois: The appearance of the hostile Oceanaiad school turned the fight at the pier into a three-sided battle, with Mirthful's group on one side, the Oceanaiads as another, and the Lesser Horrors already present as the third, with the last group attacking the Oceanaiads as well due to the Sirens who recovered/awakened the Abyssal Great Horror never having time to programmed the monster not to attack them as well. Fortunately the fight swung decisively in favour of Mirthful's group as the Skylander Sonar and later Angel Vale's armed forces arrived to help clear the amusement park of monsters.
• Mind Rape: One of the things which made Abyssal Great Horrors so dangerous is that they weaponize the eldritch nature of themselves and their makers' power and presence to attack the minds of their targets on top of their physical and eldritch armaments. Whole nations had been driven mad by one mental barrage even before the monster and its lesser minions make landfall. Fortunately, the Abyssal Great Horror's mental attack on Angel's Coast was averted by the timely casting of Perception Filter, Mind Block and Sanity Anchor spells by the Redeeming Six, leaving only psychic sensitives like Geist being affected but not driven mad by its psychic violation.
• Mook Maker: Beyond the big beast itself, the Abyssal Great Horror has the ability to spawn endless hordes of smaller "Lesser Horrors" through the barnacles on its back. Varying in size and form, the Lesser Horrors form the main opposition which the various heroes, authorities, and bystanders had to fight off (or flee from) while the Abyssal Great Horror duked it out with Gamarea and his divine/mortal allies at sea. The stream of Lesser Horrors ends when Moon Ray spots and plugs the barnacles with his Earth Pony magic, and the barnacles are later destroyed by the Angel's Throne military.
• No-Holds-Barred Beatdown: Having a bad history with Oceanaiads/Sirens, Stygian used his shadow powers to deliver an absolutely vicious pummelling to one of the Oceanaiads attacking the pier when she tried to vaporise a group of cowering Pony tourists with a sonic energy beam, to the point that bones audibly break, scales flew off by the dozen, and there was blood everywhere. By the end of it, the utterly battered Oceanaiad was begging for mercy.
• No-Nonsense Nemesis: The Abyssal Great Horror acts like one in its behaviour. When its mind-shattering mental Alpha Strike on Angel's Coast failed due to wards, it immediately tried to triangulate the source of the interference. No sooner did it spot the Redeeming Six, they charged up their eldritch energy Breath Weapon with enough power to obliterate the entire pier amusement park to try and take them out, though thankfully it was stopped by Omorfiá and Skiá's shield and then the Second Age Gamarea.
• Not-So-Phony Psychic: Schmäh, aka the fradulent "All-Seeing Martini" Mirthful Stone's group encountered at the boardwalk amusement park, turns out to have genuine psychic potential when he precognitively foresaw and then telekinetically restrained a stray Lesser Horror to protect his younger brother, Tasche. Dr. Weeping Willow reveals through scans that Schmäh is a latent psychic whose powers were previously dormant, until the eldritch influence of the Abyssal Horrors triggered their awakening. This stuns not only everyone present, but also Schmäh himself, who always saw himself as a con-drake and had some self-loathing over it.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When Moon Ray realizes that there's a second monster heading for Angel's Coast based on his prophetic visions, and that not even Angel Vale's military could detect it, he freaks out and rushes out of the Angel's Bounty restaurant to prepare for its arrival.
  • After getting back into the not-cancelled windsurfing race, Brise enters a cave that was left intact by the Abyssal Horrors' attack when she hears a roar behind her. To her horror, she discovers she attracted a group of Abyssal Lesser Horrors who hid in said cave. Fortunately, despite some very close-calls, she manages to get the Lesser Horrors off her back by leading them into spots populated by other sea creatures like Leviathans, Wyrms, and Krakens, who would naturaly see the Lesser Horrors as intruders and potential prey.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Stygian, who had been a calm, reserved and genial presence throughout their trip thus far, flies into an utterly venomous rage when he encountered malevolent Oceanaiads due to what the Dazzlings did to his home village centuries back.
• Poisonous Person: One of the Abyssal Great Horror's abilities involves poison. It initially tries to poison Gamarea during the early states of the Abyssal Attack, but thankfully, Big Lizz (who is immune to poison via being a Green Dragon) is able to shield Gamarea from most of it. Later on, as Gamarea and his allies gradually gain an advantage over it, the Abyssal Great Horror tries using a desperation attack by spewing out a deluge of electrified poison that not only corrupts the surrounding waters, but also surrounds it with a poisonous cloud that's also electrified. Fortunately, thanks to Moon Ray's foresight, everyone is not only able to avoid the attack in time, but also bypass the poison to get to the Great Horror while helping contain it.
• Psychic Link: The Vaughoof brothers, Sunny Field and Moon Ray, are telepathically linked, allowing them to communicate with each other without needing overt telepathy. This ends up working against them when the Abyssal Great Horror attacks Moon Ray psychically, knocking him out and sending Sunny Field (who was in a different part of the beaches fighting off the Lesser Horrors) writhing and screaming in agony. Velvet Heart reveals to Meadowbrook that the brothers' bond accidentally formed during a concert in the Heaven-Realms.
  Velvet Heart: (to Meadowbrook) Sunny and Moony's minds are linked, so they could communicate without needing overt telepathy. It happened by complete accident. They were performing in the Heaven-Realms one day and... suddenly, things just clicked...
• Seers: Besides Moon Ray Vaughoof, an eldritch god whose extremely powerful foresight played a vital role in killing the Abyssal Great Horror that invaded Angel's Coast, Schmäh turns out to be a latent precog whose powers ended up being awakened by the psychic influence of the invading Abyssal Horrors.
• Shaming the Mob:
  • When a crowd of beachgoers try attacking and harassing Sonar for resembling the Oceanaiads who attacked the pier (Sonar is half-Oceanaiad via her father), Jade Shell and her group all rush to protect Sonar. Each of them try to talk the crowd down, pointing out that while their being hurt by the Oceanaiad attacks is understandable, the crowd ended up becoming just as bad by venting their anger on an innocent who helped fend off the Oceanaiads to protect the people. Sister Dämmerung, Angel's Throne's local high priestess, even points out the Angel herself would've been ashamed of the crowd if she were still alive and around today. The only ones who aren't moved by the speeches are the most belligerent and racist members of the crowd, who try attacking Sonar anyway out of hatred. Fortunately, they are teleported into the sea by an intervening Sunny Field Vaughoof and shortly brought into police custody for trying to harm a child after they're rescued.
  • Böe, after making a playful quip about imagining how some sports traditionalists are "crying over Brise's career not ending with that Kraken", proceeds to glare threateningly at the audience through a recording Ixomane Sphere and indirectly call them out on their racism.
    Böe: (to the watching crowds) You know who you are.
• A Shared Suffering: Web Warrior tries to get a small crowd of beachgoers harassing Sonar to stand down by empathizing with their collective hurt, bringing up his own experiences of losing loved ones to "horrible drakes". When a belligerent crowd member demands to know why they should listen to him, Web Warrior answers, "Because your kids are watching."
• Spanner in the Works: The Redeeming Six's perception-filters, mental wards, and sanity-anchoring spells not only prevent the Abyssal Great Horror (and its Lesser Horrors) from mind-raping everyone into insanity, but also override the hypnotic effects of the villainous Oceanaiad school's mesmerizing songs. Realizing this, the leader of the Oceanaiad school orders her subordinates to just kill everyone present in order to hide their presence.
• Stuff Blowing Up: In addition to the grenades and Rocketpipes Mirthful already got, he got himself a Detonation Launcher (Angel Vale's equal of a Grenade Launcher) from a wounded police officer which he used to great effect against the larger Lesser Horrors and later the Oceanaiads who showed up. In one notable instance, he invoked this trope upon the entire bar he and an Oceanaiad was fighting in after he set her on fire, trapped her in the rubble inside it, and fired a round from his Detonation Launcher into the bar which ignited all the dragon-grade alcohol inside for good measure.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: While fighting an Oceanaiad trying to eat him, Mirthful lured her into a bar, set her on fire with his Wand (made worse for the Siren due to Skia's boon), indirectly caused the already half-wrecked bar to partly collapse on top of her (due to her thrashing), and then for good measure, Mirthful reloaded his Detonation Launcher and fired a round into the establishment right after leaving it, its detonation igniting all the dragon-grade alcohol inside and blowing it all up in a huge conflagration.
• Time Stands Still: This is one of Tranquil Dream's powers as an eldritch Pony god of Tranquility. When the Abyssal Great Horror, enraged by the loss of its psychic head bulbs, fires a storm of eldritch beams, Tranquil casts a large time field that slows the beams down, allowing other deities present to prepare and block them accordingly.
• To the Pain: Stygian made it clear he'll MORE than hurt an Oceanaiad who tried to kill a bunch of innocent Ponies after he battered her into a pulp. Fortunately, he was stopped from actually carrying it out by Sir Shining Scales who managed to calm him.
  Oceanaiad: [Battered] I... I yield! I surrender...! Please, don't hurt me...
  Stygian: [Apopleptic] Oh, you're not going to HURT... YOU'RE GOING TO SUFFER FOR WHAT YOU DID!
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: The leader of the hostile Oceanaiad school, an Oceanaiad princess, invoked this when she blasts the boardwalk she was bound and lying on top of during her brief capture with a sonic energy beam, allowing herself to drop into the sea from the hole she made and escape rather than being forced to explain why her school was here and what they had to do with the Abyssal Great Horror which attacked Angel's Coast.
• Wave-Motion Gun: The Planet Geyser functioned as one, allowing Dr. Weeping Willow to atomise the Abyssal Great Horror in one shot when fired.
• You Have Failed Me: The Oceanaiad Queen sending schools of Oceanaiads to Angel Vale is implied to be a Bad Boss to those who failed her spectacularly. One Oceanaiad school was mentioned to have been Eaten Alive by the Queen for failing to capture and rein in the Abyssal Great Horror she planned to use for her plans; it's implied she didn't digest them, either.

Angel Vale Day 4: Angel's Throne Media Convention (Parts 79-)

Following the harrowing Abyssal Attack, the Researcher Trio and their allies decide to take a breather by attending the Angel's Throne Media Convention, which showcased a lot of games, comics, and other media. Unfortunately, their time of rest is soon interrupted by a troublemaker who claims to know Sakit, one of the Angel's Six...

Parts 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, [TBA]

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• Abled in the Adaptation: An In-Universe example. While Sacred Peace and Gotaro Kujo are blind and autistic in the real world, respectively, their fictional counterparts in the Second Age's GoGo's Bizarre Adventure were depicted as perfectly healthy people. This was a reflection of ableist attitudes at the time, as the manegakas behind the series in the Second Age were unwilling to believe a disabled person was able to pull off feats like killing Vampires and Serial Killers. This in turn influenced how said heroes were seen in the Second Age, resulting in them being frequently harassed by fans who told cruel jokes about them.
  Sacred Peace: Back in the Second Age, fans saw me as this idiot who couldn’t think for himself… or think in general for that matter. Like, people would come up to me and make jokes about how 'dumb' I was. Saying that the fictional me wouldn't understand things like construction and the physics of space-time. Or how to use my powers correctly. I'm not like that at all, but who’s gonna believe that a blind 'cripple' like me actually helped defeat Vampires and serial killers? The manegakas who wrote our stories back then certainly didn't. Bunch of flankholes...
• Adaptational Dumbass: Sacred Peace was subjected to this In-Universe. While he's very intelligent in real life, his fictional counterpart in the Second Age's GoGo's Bizarre Adventure was depiced an idiot who didn't know how to use his Stand correctly or think for himself. This annoyed Sacred Peace to no end as he was frequently harassed by fans who made cruel jokes about how "dumb" he was, even saying his fictional counterpart wouldn't understand concepts like construction or the physics space-time. It's noted Sacred Peace's husband and friends, as well as other Goldstar Family members and their allies throughout the Second Age, were subjected to this treatment, too.
• Adaptational Wimp: In-Universe; many Goldstar Family members and their allies were depicted as less powerful or intelligent than their real-life counterparts in the Second Age's GoGo's Bizarre Adventure; examples included Sacred Peace who didn't know how to use his powers correctly, or Gracious Stone who was a reckless Idiot Hero always getting into trouble. Predictably, this annoyed the Goldstars and their friends to no end.
• Adaptation Species Change: In-Universe; Tātari noted with annoyance that some adaptations of the "Angel Vale Time Loops" event depicted Shining Dove as a Dragon out of racism, unwilling to believe that a "weak" Pony gathered together the Dracosaurs that would become the Angel's Six and saved Angel Vale from a volcanic eruption.
• All-Loving Hero: Sacred Peace describes Star Valley as being a "very nice" Pony who loved her fans and saw everyone as her friends. This increased after she Ascended to godhood under Blue Suede Heartstrings' tutelage, as she got to travel the world and perform on her own terms.
• Big Damn Heroes: Jade Shell's group is so desperate to get away from the hordes of manic fans that they climb up a faulty giant bookshelf, where they are finally cornered by the very fans they were running from. When the bookshelf inevitably breaks apart and falls over, everyone who were on it and/or unable to fly start falling to their deaths, while those on the ground are at risk of being crushed by the falling manega (having been made gigantic for larger species). Fortunately, thanks to Hol Horse slowing down time, a few Goldstar Family members and their allies arrive to pull up the bookshelf, save the falling convention goers, and protect the rest from the falling merchandise.
  Radiant E. O. Speedwagon: 'Ello loves, don't fret! The calvary's 'ere!
• Contractual Purity: An In-Universe deconstruction; Sacred Peace describes being an Idol Singer in Second Age Neighpon as "shitty", as idol singers cannot do anything that'll ruin their innocent, wholesome image like dating or smoking. When Star Valley got pregnant with twins, one Loony Fan took it upon himself to stalk and murder her for not being his precious "waifu" anymore. Fortunately, thanks to timely intervention, Star Valley survives and she later Ascends as a goddess to perform on her own terms.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: In calling out the mob of fans who cornered him and his friends atop a giant bookshelf, Hol Horse points out that they could've just asked for autographs nicely instead of chasing them around to try mob them for their attention.
• Crash-Into Hello: While browsing the animane/manega section of the convention with Geist, Jade Shell accidentally bumps into Gracious Stone, leading to her and Geist meeting his husband, Hol Horse. Unfortunately for the four, the encounter gets them spotted by manic fans who proceed to chase them all over the convention.
• Deity of Human Origin: Thanks to Sacred Peace and Gosuke's timely intervention, Star Valley survives and later becomes one of Blue Suede Heartstrings' students. She eventually Ascends to godhood and becomes a globe-trotter to perform on her own terms.
• Executive Meddling: In-Universe; a huge reason behind the massive of failure of the then-highly anticipated Flashfire 64 game is because the parent companies who hired the game developers kept interfering with Flashfire 64's development at almost every turn. Naturally, when the game was finally released, it was an extremely incoherent mess with poor graphics, unresponsive controls, and overuse of distance fog (among other things). When Prince Maestro hears of this, the first thing he does is hire the game developers, give them enough money to remake Flashfire 64 as they originally intended, and tell them that he'll be buying out the parent companies who originally hired them (and firing their bosses while he's at it).
• Invisibility:
  • The Fuji Spheres the Researcher Trio receive from Prince Maestro have the ability to camouflage themselves and their users. This comes in handy when Jade Shell, Meadowbrook, and Geist need to get away from Loony Fans chasing after them.
  • Similarly, as a god of Death, Hol Horse can make him invisible, which he extends to his husband Gracious Stone when they also need to get away from loony fans.
• Laser-Guided Karma: The parent company that hired the developers of Flashfire 64 constantly meddled with the game's development, resulting in the game itself being released as an extremely incoherent mess and the developers being unfairly reviled in the gaming communities. The parent company is eventually bought out by Prince Maestro, who also fires the managers as punishment for mistreating the game developers.
• Loony Fan:
  • Mirthful's group in the video-game section found themselves protecting a group of game developers who were chased by a mob of angry gamers who were furious at them for developing the notoriously bad Flashfire 64 game (some gamers were even hospitalised after playing it) which they had wasted time and money on. Fortunately, Mirthful's group managed to talk the mob down before the situation escalated, with some help from Victress Vale and Prince Maestro, while the game developers themselves were hired by Maestro as a second chance to make Flashfire 64 a truly good game as they intended.
  • Jade Shell's group ends up being chased themselves by sizeable hordes of manic fans across the convention after bumping into Gracious Stone and Hol Horse, a married couple allied with the Goldstar Family. The fans were so persistent that they even chased them into an area full of full-grown Dragons and Giant convention-goers and up giant bookshelves, nearly getting themselves killed or seriously injured in the process. Fortunately, a few Goldstars and their allies pull off a Big Damn Heroes and help save everyone just in time, including Jade Shell's group.
  • A particularly unhinged stego-dracosaur Yandere, Aktieninsel, wanted the famous Angel Vale horror writer Spannung for himself. He tried to kill Sherlock with a spiked tail-whip just for managing to get an exclusive talk with Spannung at her book signing, and then tried to kidnap Spannung and hold another Dracosaur hostage when that failed. Spannung later realised and noted that he may had been stalking her for a while before that, writing her creepy fan letters and assaulting a pizza delivery drake outside her door.
  • Both Sacred Peace and Gosuke remember one fan who tried stalking and murdering Idol Singer Star Valley for the crime of getting pregnant with twins. Thanks to Sacred Peace's foresight, he and Gosuke were able to intervene and save Star Valley, while Blue Suede Heartstrings made sure the fan was arrested for his crimes.
• A Million Is a Statistic: This was stated by Sakit as one reason why she isn't into strategy games as much as genres like RPGs, as it reduced the characters (aka the units) to being little more than cannon fodder which the player can use to win battles, which is not only narratively unsatisfying but also disturbing on too many levels for her to truly enjoy. She noted that while Aerri would had aced strategy games due to her intelligence, she would probably find it unpalatable too for similar reasons, though would instead try to "game" the game to bypass the need for casualties.
• Shaming the Mob: After Jade Shell's group is finally cornered by manic fans wanting their autographs, Jade Shell starts crying from sheer stress, demanding to know why the fans are chasing her and her friends all over the convention. While this causes a few fans to falter out of concern, it takes Hol Horse and Gracious Stone calling them out on their selfishness for the crowd to really start reflecting on their actions and feel genuine shame for them.
  Jade Shell: (crying) Wha- What do you want from us?! Why were you chasing us all across the floors?! We- We just wanted to attend the convention and look around and- and-!
  Fan: We- We just wanted your autographs, that's all.
  Hol Horse: (snapping) Yeah well, y'all coulda just ASKED NICELY! (crowd falls silent) Look, Ah get why yer all so hyped up 'bout us, 'cause Ah have mah preferences, too. But that ain't an excuse ta- ta terrorize us an' hunt us down like yer somehow entitled t' our attention! (several fans start looking ashamed) We're sapient just like you fellas! We have a life, y'know! We only came 'ere ta have a good time an' yer all ruinin' it not just fer us, but fer ev'ry-creature!
  Gracious Stone: I agree! (glares at the fans) How would you like it if YOU were the ones being chased, huh? Not so funny when the tables are turned, non?
• Shout-Out:
  • Jade Shell's "ninja turtle" costume (which she told Sherlock to get as a joke) is a reference to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
  • Gosuke and Sacred Peace mention a prodigy Idol Singer named Star Valley who was stalked and nearly murdered by a Loony Fan for getting pregnant with twin children. Fortunately, thanks to Sacred Peace's foresight, the fan was stopped, and Blue Suede Heartstrings made sure he was arrested for his crimes.
• Show Within a Show:
  • GoGo's Bizarre Adventure, which is based on JoJo's Bizarre Adventure (and its wider franchise), is a well-known and popular franchise, though it's noted that Angel Vale's version of the series is far more accurate than the Second Age version.
  • The game Flashfire 64 is Angel Vale's equivalent of Superman 64. Initially highly anticipated by gamers like its real-life counterpart, it was later released instead as a highly reviled, incoherent mess thanks to the game's developers suffering from In-Universe Executive Meddling. Mirthful Stone's group happening upon a mob chasing after the game developers is what leads to the latter's situation reaching the ears of Prince Maestro, who hires them on the spot while punishing their meddling bosses by buying out the parent company the game developers were originally contracted to.
• Spared by the Adaptation: According to Gosuke and Sacred Peace, a prodigy Idol Singer named Star Valley was stalked and nearly murdered by a Loony Fan for getting pregnant with twins, but was saved thanks to Sacred Peace's foresight. Gosuke stated that Star Valley would go on to become one of Blue Suede Heartstrings' students and Ascended to godhood, while receiving help in raising her twin children. This didn't happen in Oshi no Ko, where Ai Hoshino was killed by her stalker at the beginning of the story.
• Stalker with a Crush: Aktieninsel, a Stegosaur Dracosaur Sherlock runs into, has been stalking Spannung, the author of Claws of Avarice, for some time, even assaulting a pizza drake outside her house. When he sees Sherlock get an interview with Spannung, he attacks Sherlock and tries to kidnap her.
• Super Prototype: The 'MS UltraSphere 5000 Fuji Gen-11' Ixomane Spheres (or simply "Fuji Spheres") the Researcher Trio finally received are this, being made with superheroes and adventurers in mind and not yet commercially available. They are built to be virtually indestructable, possess highly-advanced artificial intelligence capable of learning and adapting to the environment and their users' needs, possesses an encrypted/shielded telepathic link with their users allowing thought control and even mental shielding, has years of memory capacity, is uploaded with hundreds of apps and programmes for just about any situation, can recharge from any viable energy source via magic, and could even camouflage themselves and teleport short distances for inconspicuousness and keeping up with their users. And Prince Maestro noted that's just only scratching the surface of what they could do.
• Take That!:
  • Jade Shell makes one to the entire JoJo's Bizarre Adventure series when she goes on a rant detailing the many problems the GoGo's Bizarre Adventure was plagued with, such as flanderizing, omitting, or forgetting about characters (when they weren't outright killed off), using The Worf Effect to make the villains look more threatening, or applying Adaptational Wimp to characters who were established badasses in real life (like what happened to poor Hol Horse and Speedwagon). Jade Shell also expresses how much she despised the Stardust Crusaders' treatment of Gracious Stone in Second Age adaptations of their adventures, noting they were rather cruel to treat him like an idiotic Butt-Monkey despite him being an ally who genuinely wanted to help defeat Dio Brando/Godly Brand.
  • Like the much-reviled Superman 64, Flashfire 64 is depicted as equally terrible thanks to its shoddy design and gameplay. The developers of the game, Titulus Interconnective, were depicted as being on the receiving end of a disgruntled gamer mob's wrath, having had their stall trashed and being chased across the convention when they came across Mirthful Stone's group. Once the true story of Flashfire 64's development comes out, the vitriol is directed instead at the parent companies responsible (namely, Warner Licensing and DC) for rushing and meddling with the game's development process. Prince Maestro, Honest Corporate Executive incarnate, makes it a point to buy out the parent companies and fire their bosses as Laser-Guided Karma for mistreating the game developers.
• Tempting Fate:
  • Tātari assures both Hol Horse and Gracious Stone, and later Jade Shell's entire group, that the Loony Fans chasing them wouldn't dare enter places designed for full-grown Draconic creatures and other larger species in mind. He's quickly proven wrong when the fans turn out to be overzealous enough to pursue the group in those places, even at great risk to their own safety and lives.
    Tātari: ...Oh, I spoke too soon, didn't I?
  • This happens again after Jade Shell has a precognitive vision of everyone falling. When Hol Horse has a similar vision, he asks Tātari about the holding strength of the bookshelf they're standing on. Tātari claims that the shelves are strong enough to hold all the giant books made for the larger convention goers, and stomps on the shelf to illustrate his point. Unfortunately, his action causes the shelf to break, then the entire bookshelf to break off from whatever it was hanging from and tip forwards...
• Yandere: Aktieninsel is absolutely obsessive over his crush, Spannung, to the point of stalking her and assaulting a pizza drake. He even tries to attack Sherlock just for getting an interview with her, prompting Aktieninsel to hold someone hostage as he attempts to kidnap Spannung. Played for Drama, as Aktieninsel is legitimately dangerous and unhinged to the point him escaping capture results in an all points bulletin to try and capture him before he endangers someone else.

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