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The Greatest Gift is a My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan-comic by Dekomaru that pairs Trixie and Twilight Sparkle. This romantic comedy is divided into several parts.

The Greatest Gift begins with Twilight heading out for a walk one winter, only to discover a badly wounded Trixie laying in the snow after fighting an Ursa Minor. Refusing to turn a blind eye to somepony in need, she starts trying to raise her back to health. But as she does, a relationship slowly starts to bloom between them.

The Greatest Gift Part 2 has Trixie trying to learn to teleport from Twilight, only to realize that it's Twilight's birthday. Going to an old friend's jewelry store to buy one, she discovers love is not as simple as it seems.

The Greatest Gift Part 3 starts with a prelude telling how Twilight and Trixie realized they loved each other, but after returning to the present, the story soon becomes far more dangerous when Trixie's mother Hazel arrives, not at all happy with her daughter's choice in mates.

A fourth story, The Greatest Gift: Lulamoon Sonata, focuses on a reformed Hazel dealing with her dark side and reflecting on why she acted that way as she tries to start her new life with her family.

A fifth story, The Greatest Gift: What Happens in Haygas, has been posted and completed. As Trixie and a now-pregnant Twilight travel to Las Haygas to help with his and Hazel's show, it appears that Trixie's father Iniduoh will need to come to terms with his own past. And a seemingly simple stage performance may change the family's lives forever…

This was followed by a sixth story/mini episode called Applestuck (as the title implies, it is a Homestuck parody starring Applejack). Following the birth of Twilight and Trixie's second child, Applejack's wife Rainbow Dash has become unusually quiet and withdrawn, and it is up to Applejack to find out why.

There's now a sixth full story, The Greatest Gift: The Festival of Love, wherein Rarity and Pinkie Pie — having come to the realization that they're the only single mares left in their group — attend the titular festival, determined to meet their special someponies. Meanwhile, Spike asks Twilight and Trixie to turn him into a stallion for a day, to try and impress Rarity.

Another mini episode called Diamondstuck (another Homestuck parody, this time starring Rarity), has been written. The age spell on Spike has yet to wear off, and Rarity has become enamored with the now handsome young dragon. After realizing her feelings, she decides to find Spike to confess and halt research into undoing the spell.

There's also an Ask a Pony blog called Ask Twixie which, while not completely necessary for understanding the first two stories, is rather vital to understanding Lulamoon Sonata due to explaining Hazel's Heel–Face Turn. It also shares the same universe as the Ask Princess Mi Amore Cadenza blog. Twixie Twilight also is a member of the Twibrary.

Tropes

  • Abusive Parents: Hazel Lulamoon, though she came around and regretted it.
    • Neptune, the father of Venus (Astra) and Jupiter (the "Venus" we knew). He makes Evil!Hazel look like a good parent in comparison!
    • It doesn't come across as that abusive at first, but Dazzle's father and step-mother, Mathew and Veronica Trotswright, tried browbeating him into following in Mathew's hoofsteps. Then it's revealed that Veronica actually used mind control magic on Dazzle.
  • Affably Evil: Mathew Trotswright, despite his blatant corruption, manages to almost always be polite and courteous, in sharp contrast to his wife.
  • Amnesiac Dissonance: Nova has her memories restored when she touches the Serpent's Eye again, but finds herself conflicted and confused, unable to bring herself to hurt Astra or anypony and unable to understand why. The result is heart-wrenching.
    Nova: Why does the thought of harming anypony bother me now! I have every reason to snap your neck...but...why can't I?
  • Amnesiacs are Innocent: Jupiter's clone has her memory completely erased by the Serpent's Eye backfiring. As a result, she basically reduced to a child-like mentality, not even remembering how to communicate. Astra decides to Raise Her Right This Time and renames her Nova.
  • The Atoner: Hazel, who was the Big Bad of the comic's third installment beforeher old flame helped her get mental help. After reforming she went so far as to refuse a horn transplant (as her horn was damaged to the point their was no saving it in the Final Battle) because she honestly believed she deserved it. She gets both a new horn and finally makes amends with Trixie after all she's done.
  • Art Shift: Happened eventually, even having several entries of the blog dedicated to it.
  • Back from the Dead: Well...fuck.
    • Jupiter tries to bring Neptune back to life with the Serpent's Eye as well, but Nyx shoots it with lightning, stopping her in her tracks.
    • It turns out that it wasn't Jupiter but essentially a clone of her created from Astra's memories of her (ironically, Clone!Jupiter's memories are completely erased by the backlash of the Serpent's Eye). Lady Babylon 'forgot' to mention that part.
  • Badass Family: The combined Sparkle/Lulamoon family.
  • Bad Powers, Bad People: Hazel's special talent is making poisons. While at first she played this trope straight, she subverts it later.
  • Beam-O-War: How Trixie defeats her mother in Part 3, breaking her horn in the process.
    • Two happen against Lady Babylon's Shadow of Desire form, the first against Nyx which Lady Babylon wins, and the second against Nyx and Midnight, who overpower and defeat her, forcing her into retreat.
  • Break the Cutie: Poor Nova...
  • Big Bad: While the first two have no real antagonist (unless you count Honey Cluster in part 2), Part 3 has Trixie's mother, Hazel Lulamoon.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Nyx arrives to save Astra and Mars from a resurrected Jupiter.
  • Bilingual Bonus: After finding Jupiter's rather disturbing box of mementos (including the rope Jupiter killed their mother with), Astra goes into a Foreign-Language Tirade. Translated, she's yelling "I hope your corpse is rotting in Hell, Jupiter!"
  • Bittersweet Ending: "What Happens in Haygas". Venus (Jupiter) is defeated for good, and the family ends up adopting the son she had abandoned, but Hazel clearly feels guilty for having taken a life. And, once again, Derpy ruins the ending slide.
  • Brick Joke: Twilight sends Discord TO THE MOON!!! Then awhile later, she does it again, this time to a different Discord.
  • Cain and Abel: Venus (Astra) is the Abel to her twin sister Jupiter's (the "Venus" that died) Cain.
  • Came Back Wrong: Seemed to be the case with Jupiter, whose memories seemed screwed up and for some reason lacked her Cutie Mark, which she couldn't even remember if she had. This is because 'Jupiter' was basically a clone created by Astra's memories of her. Astra had no memories of Jupiter's Cutie Mark, so therefore the clone didn't have one and only had whatever knowledge Astra had of her sister.
  • Caught in a Snare: What happens to Lock-Down after he tries to pull a Villain: Exit, Stage Left. Applejack and Rainbow Dash proceed to use him as a pony pinata for hurting Twilight earlier.
  • Clones Are Ponies Too: Nova, despite being a magically created clone, of Jupiter to be exact. Astra even describes her as like a family member needing help.
  • Clone Angst: Pops up when Nova regains her memories of being Jupiter. She accuses Astra of simply using her as wish fulfillment of what she WANTED Jupiter to be (though Lady Babylon planted the idea in her head to some degree).
    Nova: I AM NOT NOVA! I AM NOT JUPITER! I AM NOTHING BUT YOUR LITTLE FANTASY! YOUR LITTLE MOLD OF CLAY YOU CAN SHAPE INTO ANYTHING YOU WANT! I HATE YOU!
  • Cool Big Bro: Nebula acts this way towards his baby sister Aurora.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Dazzle's parents, the Trotswrights, who have used a combination of blackmail, extortion, draconian employing standards, and outright strong-arming to pretty much run Manehattan. And now they have their eyes on Ponyville...
  • Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Dazzle. He seems closer to Pinkie's personality, not exactly stupid, but still kind of crazy...but then we're reminded his parents groomed him his entire life to be an executive. Cue him managing to Out Gambit them with that very knowledge.
  • Crossover: Nyx and Midnight are a recurring character in the blog, having come through Pinkie Pie's hole in the fourth wall.
    • When Discord showed up briefly, Twilight responded by teleporting him to the moon in another dimension. And that Discord was from another blog anyway.
    • Lady Babylon, the Big Bad of the Ask Pony Discord blog gives Astra an Artifact of Doom called the Serpent's Eye, which leads directly to Jupiter being cloned and the resulting short story arc. She then reclaims the Serpent's Eye when all is said and done.
      • The storyline continues later on, with Ask Pony Discord managing to have more going on their end (the first time Real Life Writes the Plot got in the way) as Nova regains her memories and Lady Babylon tries to capitalize.
    • Later, they have another crossover with Fair Say (Pony Discord's legal council) is the prosecuting attorney against the Trotswrights.
    • Twilight is also a member of the mass Twilight crossover blog Twibrary.
  • Creepy Souvenir: Astra and Mars open a locked box that Jupiter kept to find a stash of these. It includes the severed head of Astra's doll (which Jupiter beheaded simply to spite her when they were fillies), pieces of the teapot Jupiter threw at Astra's head, scarring her for life, and (most disturbingly) the rope she used to strangle their mother to death. As if we needed more reminders that Jupiter was a psychopath. Cue Foreign-Language Tirade from Astra.
  • Cry for the Devil: A very well done example with Hazel after she starts regaining her sanity.
  • Darker and Edgier: The third, fourth, and fifth stories. The first two for Hazel and her tragic backstory, the fifth for starting with someone almost murdering Hazel by drowning and the Big Bad turning out to be a Serial Killer.
  • Death Glare: Trixie shoots Jupiter one before letting her have it.
  • Deconstruction: Hazel is ultimately one of the monsters. Her backstory shows exactly what is capable of turning a person (er, pony) into a monster.
  • Disproportionate Retribution: As a foal, Hazel's reaction to some foals teasing her was to poison them. They survived, but she ended up in a mental institution until she was a teenager.
    • Jupiter, who tries to murder Iniduoh's entire family because he refused her.
  • Dissonant Serenity: Jupiter. In spades. Whereas Evil!Hazel used every opportunity she had to ham it up, Jupiter always speaks in a calm tone with a serene smile on her face, even as she murders an innocent mare (or rather, a dummy made to look like her) and fantasizes about murdering another mare and her unborn foal.
    • Subverted when things begin to go bad for her; she slips out of this and into outright psychotic fury.
  • Distant Reaction Shot: After Jupiter discovers Trixie standing right behind her, right after Jupiter tried to kill (and believed she ''had'') Hazel and admitted to planning to kill Twilight and her unborn foal next. The next panel is a distant shot of Trixie's massive magic beam flying off into the sky and the detective from earlier wondering what the hay just happened.
  • Do Not Call Me "Paul": Venus would prefer to be called Astra, the name the zebras gave her, especially after finding out her twin sister Jupiter dragged her birth name through the mud by using it for decades.
  • Driven to Suicide: Hazel, after becoming The Atoner, was willing to let magic buildup kill her due to her broken horn when she believed Trixie and family wouldn't forgive her. Thankfully, things started looking up after that.
  • The Dragon: Lock-Down (a.k.a. Timothy Locke), a hitman, to Hazel in the third part.
    • Dragon-in-Chief: Hattori is set up as this to Dazzle's parents. She turns out not to be antagonistic at all, though once she does actively move against her employers it is what seals their fate, so she does rather follow the trope.
  • Dynamic Entry: Trixie does this to Jupiter. With a Wave-Motion Gun!
    • Done again with Nyx when she pops up behind a revived Jupiter and bucks her.
  • Early Personality Signs: Jupiter was a nasty piece of work even as a filly. She tore Astra's doll in half and threw a teapot at her head hard enough to leave a scar.
  • Earn Your Happy Ending: Twilight and Trixie, though most of it was in the coinciding comic The Greatest Gift, but it's still canon to the blog. Hazel, the Big Bad of part 3 of the comic and Trixie's mother, also counts. She had a horrible childhood, had her horn broken in the Final Battle with Trixie, then had a long hard road regaining her sanity, which came with a Heel Realization and a My God, What Have I Done?. In the end, she is fully redeemed, makes amends with Trixie, had her horn repaired, and is married to her Old Flame, but it wasn't easy getting there.
  • Enfant Terrible: Hazel, after she went insane as a filly.
    • Jupiter was worse. How much worse? She choked her mother to death when she and the real Venus (Astra) were fillies. As this flashback shows.
  • Exactly What I Aimed At: Trixie's magic beam doesn't hit Jupiter, who thinks she just had bad aim, only for Trixie to reveal her real goal was to alert the police.
  • Evil Twin: The Venus that gave the family so much trouble was actually Jupiter, Venus' twin sister. The real Venus was in Zebrafica, having been left there to die by their father, and was called "Astra" by the locals, a name she decides to keep after learning how Jupiter dragged her birth name through the mud.
    • Played straight then subverted with Jupiter's clone. When she's first born, she goes on a murderous rampage, but then has her memories erased and is reduced to an infant's mindset. She's quite adorable.
  • Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: Venus (Jupiter as well) is a white furred (civilian) Alicorn with a generally pretty appearance, but Jupiter is quite possibly the most evil character in the entire comic. Word of God says this was intentional. See Meaningful Name for the quote.
  • Fantasy Metals: Maginyte, a mineral that can nullify most typical magic applied directly to it. Three notable examples of its use are magic-suppressing horn rings, [[spoiler:dissolved in the water tank for Iniduoh's show to try and drown Hazel, and in the brim of Dazzle's hat during his first meeting with his parents to let him shrug off Victoria's spell.
  • Fatal Attractor: Iniduoh seems to have a habit of attracting psychotic mares, both of whom have been Big Bads. Though its also subverted with Hazel, who was ultimately cured and they're now Happily Married.
  • Forced to Watch: Astra (the real Venus) was forced to watch her Evil Twin Jupiter (the "Venus" that died) choke their mother to death by their father Neptune.
  • Foreign-Language Tirade: Astra, due to being raised by Zebras, apparently does this when angry. She does it when she finds Jupiter's box of "mementos", including the rope she used to kill their mother.
    Astra: Natumaini maiti hiyo yako ni kuozeana katika kuzimu, Jupiter! translation 
  • For the Evulz: Seems to have been pretty much the only reason Jupiter ever needed to kill anyone.
    • It also seems Lady Babylon only tricked Astra into clone-resurrecting Jupiter because she found it amusing.
  • Freudian Excuse: Hazel has a pretty tragic one. Her parents died in a fire, her brother of illness, and then she ended up in an orphanage. She got her cutie mark after poisoning rats, which led to the other ponies teasing her. Not only that, but she was sent to a mental ward after she poisoned one of her teasers.
  • Fusion Dance: Twilight and Cadance performed one to take on Tirek, since Twilight never became an alicorn.
  • God Guise: Astra was mistaken for a goddess by the Zebra tribe that adopted her because they believed all Alicorns were gods (Astra's a civilian Alicorn, who while extremely long lived, aren't gods). She tried telling them she wasn't, but they didn't listen, in part due to the fact to her long life span.
  • Good Is Not Soft: Hazel may be a good guy now, but that didn't stop her from killing Jupiter to protect her family. Doesn't mean she's not guilty, though.
  • Happily Adopted: Mars Lulamoon, Jupiter's son.
  • Happily Married: Trixie and Twilight eventually. Honey Cluster and Comet seem to be pretty happy as well.
    • Hazel and Iniduoh as well as Applejack and Rainbow Dash.
    • And now Pinkie and Dazzle, as well as Rarity and Spike, not to mention Fluttershy and Big Macintosh.
  • Heel–Face Turn: Hazel.
  • Heel-Face Mind Screw: The Jupiter clone starts out as insane as the original, but has her memory completely erased by the backfiring Serpent's Eye. Astra then decides to Raise Her Right This Time and renames her Nova.
  • Heroic Bastard: Trixie and Mars.
  • Hidden Weapons: Hazel's hidden knife (which she no longer carries).
    Comet: She carries a knife in her mane?!
  • Hoist by His Own Petard: The Trotswrights raised Dazzle to become a Corrupt Corporate Executive like them... except he wants to be an Honest Corporate Executive instead. He turns the very things they taught and were raising him for back on them to overcome them.
    • Hazel also uses Veronica's own brainwashing spell to subdue her.
  • Hollywood Genetics: They up the ante set by the Cakes by having two Earth ponies produce an alicorn. Given that the parents are Pinkie Pie and an OC specifically designed to be her Distaff Counterpart, they're going with 'well it is OUR child. Twilight did try to find a plausible explanation by looking at their family trees, but gave up.
  • Homosexual Reproduction: Twilight and Trixie found a spell that lets them have a child together, with Trixie being the mother.
    • The second time around, Twilight is the mother.
    • We later find out this works by one of the two being magically turned into a male for a short time.
  • Honest Corporate Executive: Despite his parents raising him to be a Corrupt Corporate Executive, Dazzle desires to be one of these. He shows off his skills at it by schooling them both with help from the gang.
  • Honor Before Reason: Fuma was Driven to Villainy by a desire to avenge her father...despite her father being a convicted traitor and murderer.
  • Humiliation Conga: The Trotswrights get put through this. First Dazzle stands up to them and forces them to leave Ponyville empty hoofed. Next, Veronica is disabled by her own mind magic thanks to Hazel while Dazzle reveals to his father he's found a way to take over the medical division of their corporation (allowing him to make the operation a friend of his needs for her daughter affordable), and can even flat out kick his father out of it completely (something that was Mathew's fault, which Dazzle points out). Finally, Hazel frees their maid from Veronica's control, revealing her to be Dazzle's biological mother Marigold, who chews Mathew out, ending by promising to destroy his company with her knowledge of his dirty dealings. Oh, and Veronica is left wearing the same maid outfit they forced Marigold to wear for the last 20 years.
  • Insult Backfire: When Hazel steps into the argument between Dazzle and his parents.
    Veronica Trotsworth: Stay out of this you child!
    Hazel: Actually, I'm pretty sure we are the same age, but thanks for the compliment.
  • Identical Twin ID Tag: The only difference between Venus (Astra) and Jupiter (Dead "Venus") is the color of their Cutie Marks, Astra's expressions not being psychotic, and a scar hidden under Astra's front mane.
  • I Did What I Had to Do: Everyone tells this to Hazel after she kills Jupiter to end her reign of terror and it is how she feels as well. She still feels very guilty, though.
  • I Hate Past Me: Hazel is actively terrified of the mare she once was. When she has a nightmare where she encounters Past!Hazel, she calls Past!Hazel a monster.
    • While its more 'I hate the pony I was cloned from', when Nova recovers Jupiter's memories, she does not like what Jupiter did or the pony she was.
  • It's All About Me: "Venus" (Jupiter) is one Entitled Bitch.
    Jupiter: I always get what I want. And when I don't, ponies suffer.
    • The Trotswrights seem to be the same way.
  • It Runs in the Family: Being a stage magician for Trixie. Her father, Iniduoh, is a famous one. And also a Large Ham, just like her.
  • In the Blood: Jupiter was every bit as monstrous as her father, Neptune. Lampshaded by her son, Mars, who thankfully subverts this.
    Mars: Well at least me and my aunt seem to be perfectly sane.
  • I Own This Town: The Trotswrights own literally half of Manehattan, and Hattori outright says that practically nothing happens in that city without their approval.
  • I Warned You: Astra says when she was a filly, she warned Jupiter that if she kept down the path she was, she'd get herself killed. Guess what happened?
  • Karmic Death: Neptune was killed by an assassin he himself hired to kill a rival crime boss when he tried to short charge them.
  • Karma Houdini: Lady Babylon gets away scott free after the pain she causes for her enjoyment, even laughing in Astra's face over it. Though whether or not she'll eventually be punished on her own blog has yet to be seen.
  • Kick the Dog: Veronica Trotswright telling Windy she's going to fire her first thing once she buys Dazzle's business, before shutting it down. This is after blacklisting the poor girl in Manehattan.
  • Killed Off for Real: "Venus" (Jupiter) is the first character to actually die.
    • Until Astra, trying to resurrect their mother, accidentally brings Jupiter back to life. Though that Jupiter was actually a clone made from Astra's memories and is renamed Nova.
  • Knight of Cerebus: Trixie's mother Hazel, who makes the third story pretty dark in comparison to the previous two.
    • Venus as well, who may even be more frightening than Evil!Hazel.
  • Lack of Empathy: Jupiter. Apparently it's In the Blood as her father Neptune was just as bad, if not worse.
    • Averted with her clone, Nova, who even once she regains her memories can't bring herself to hurt anypony but still feels guilt for Jupiter's crimes which she also has memories of.
    Nova: Jupiter has killed ponies and I'm the one stuck carrying the conscious that she didn't have.
  • Laser-Guided Amnesia: Jupiter's clone had her memory erased by the Serpent's Eye backfiring when Nyx struck it with lightning. This includes the ability to speak and comprehend speech, basically leaving her a blank slate. She is then renamed Nova.
    • Veronica used her mind magic to remove any of Dazzle's memories of his mother.
  • Laser-Guided Karma: The Trotswrights end up having the son they've been raising to be a Corrupt Corporate Executive use those very skills to Out Gambit them while the mare they've kept brainwashed for the last 20 years (Marigold, Dazzle's biological mother) is freed and will reveal their dirty dealings, ensuring their corporation crumbles. Also, Veronica ends up stuck in the same maid outfit they forced Marigold to wear for the last 20 years while hypnotized by her own spell.
  • Last-Second Chance: Iniduoh tells Jupiter to just stand down. She replies by trying to kill him, forcing him to reflect her beam back at her. It doesn't kill her, but shows any love she may once have had for him is long dead.
    • Iniduoh also gave one to Hazel following her defeat. Unusually, she actually took it, got mental help, and was redeemed.
  • Let's Get Dangerous!: Nyx is a recurring character in the blog, but for the most part is a sweet, rather cute mare who likes to brush Mars' mane (which was exactly what she was attempting to do at the time). However, when a threat to the family shows up in her presence (Namely, a resurrected Jupiter), she shows how scary the reincarnation of Nightmare Moon can really be.
  • Love Redeems: Hazel Lulamoon. In the fanfic, she was the Big Bad and considered a monster by many readers. But her Old Flame who genuinely wanted to help her managed to convince her to get help. She's now cured, engaged to him, and reconciled with Trixie.
  • Madness Makeover: Jupiter comes Back from the Dead even more Ax-Crazy than before, complete with glowing red eyes and a completely messed up mane and tail. While she can't remember what Hell was like, it's clear it didn't do wonders for her.
  • Mafia Princess: Venus (Astra) and "Venus" (Jupiter) are the daughters of a mafia don, Neptune.
  • Mama Bear: Trixie. Threaten any of her family and she will kick your flank. Both Big Bads find this out the hard way.
  • Meaningful Name: Venus' was explained by the author here;
    Dekomaru: I named Venus after ancient astronomers' perception of the planet Venus in their time which they thought was a sister planet to Earth and was beautiful like the roman goddess. But modern studies show underneath it clouds is a chaotic, unlivable wasteland. Much how I tried to portray Venus in my comic as under her beautiful goddess looking exterior is a monster.
    • Dekomaru gave a reason why most people chose the name Nova for Jupiter's clone.
  • Mistaken for Murderer: Happens to Astra twice due to her Evil Twin, Jupiter (the "Venus" that died, Astra is the real Venus), being the Big Bad of the previous story arc and (due to their father dumping her in Zebrica when she was a filly) no one knew "Venus" had a twin sister or that she'd stolen said sister's name.
  • Mugging the Monster: Jupiter has apparently been a Serial Killer for quite some time, but ultimately decided to target the family as her next victims. This turns out to be a bad idea as the majority of them are more powerful than her.
  • My God, What Have I Done?: How Hazel reacts after regaining enough of her sanity to feel deep remorse for what she did to Trixie and realizing how horrible her actions were.
  • Never Mess with Granny: Hazel proves to be just as powerful as Twilight and Trixie in "What Happens In Haygas".
  • Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Iniduoh admits and regrets that his leaving Hazel for three years to work in Las Haygas played a large role in driving her insane. He intended to come back, but was afraid she'd hate him when he saw how she was when he did and didn't approach her.
    • Astra tries to use a magical stone given to her by Lady Babylon, the Big Bad of the Ask Pony Discord blog to bring her mother back to life. She ends up bringing Jupiter back instead (though in actually, she merely cloned her).
  • Ninja Log: A magically disguised pillow is used to trick Jupiter into thinking she killed Hazel.
  • No Fourth Wall: Pinkie Pie literally has access to a hole in the fourth wall. Which is how Nyx and Midnight are recurring characters.
  • "Not So Different" Remark: As stated by Nyx about herself and the Jupiter clone, pointing out she's been there before and is opposed to the possibility she may be put down.
  • Official Couple: Trixie and Twilight. There's also Rainbow Dash and Applejack and Fluttershy and Big Macintosh, and more recently Rarity and Spike.
  • Oh, Crap!: Jupiter, after realizing the 'Hazel' she killed was a decoy and that a very pissed off Trixie is standing right behind her.
    • She also lets out a Big "WHAT?!" just before her end.
    • Her clone has this reaction when she realizes Nyx is directly behind her, and pissed off.
    • Meta example at the end of the Festival of Love, where Pinkie Pie wound up with Dazzle, a DJ who also has the ability to break the fourth wall.
  • Older Than They Look: Hazel looks young enough to convincingly pass for her daughter Trixie's twin sister, a rough estimate of her age (if she gave birth to Trixie around age 15) puts her in her late 30s or early 40s.
  • Oh, No... Not Again!: Lockdown's reaction to being Caught in a Snare and about to be used as a pony Pinata.
  • One-Winged Angel: Lady Babylon, turning into a winged serpent made out of purple smoke. While she's not from the blog, she first demonstrates this power in the Crossover.
  • Original Character: They contribute to the majority of the blog and stories.
  • Out-Gambitted: The Trotswrights tried to lure Dazzle to their house so Mrs. Trotswright could brainwash him... but the group saw this coming and Hazel teleports in to give her a taste of her own medicine.
  • Out of Focus: Depending how you look at it, Twilight and Trixie get less attention then the others. It actually gets addressed from the mod and the reason it happens is because most questions are directed to the other cast members. Many would prefer if the blog was about Twixie and their life again.
  • Quizzical Tilt: Nova Jupiter's clone does a pretty adorable one (complete with a '?' above her head) when Astra tries to talk to her.
  • Papa Wolf: Dazzle decides to finally stand up to his parents after discovering he got Pinkie pregnant and now has a foal to protect.
  • Patchwork Foal:
    • Nebby has Trixie's blue coat and a light-colored mane with a purple stripe in it like Twilight's. Meanwhile, Aurora has a purple coat the same color as Twilight's and a dark pink stripe in her mane, but also a light blue stripe from Trixie.
    • Apple Blossom is an earth pony with a yellow mane and red coat like Big Macintosh, but has Fluttershy's green Tareme Eyes.
    • Nimbus has Rainbow Dash's rainbow mane, with a light brown coat and Youthful Freckles that are more fitting for a member of the Apple family (i.e. Applejack).
    • Confetti has her mother Pinkie's mane color, her father Dazzler's eyes, and her coat is a peach-pink that makes some sense when you try to mix pink and white. The wings and horn, however, they can't explain. They going with...well, it is their kid...
  • Pet the Dog: Mr. Trotswright telling Hattori that he knew all along she wasn't trying to get Dazzle back and had been helping him, but let her keep doing it because he knew she'd protect him. Sure, he's still a rotten stallion, but it shows he's got at least a shred of decency in him.
  • Physical Goddess: Subverted with Venus, despite being an Alicorn, Word of God has confirmed she's a 'civilian' Alicorn, not a 'Royal' Alicorn and thus isn't a goddess. As her twin, this applies to Jupiter as well.
  • Plot-Relevant Age-Up: Spike in "Festival of Love" allowing him to pursue a relationship with Rarity.
  • Pre-Asskicking One-Liner: Trixie right before blasting Jupiter with a magic beam point blank.
    Jupiter: WHAT?! It's a decoy?!
    Trixie: That's right, BITCH!!!
  • Predecessor Villain: Neptune to his daughter Jupiter. And he was at least as bad, if not worse than she is!
  • Pregnant Badass: Trixie during Part 3.
    • Twilight in Part 5.
  • Raise Her Right This Time: Seems to be the group's choice with Jupiter's clone, starting by renaming her Nova.
  • Red Eyes, Take Warning: Hazel gets a red line when she gets enraged enough for her dark side to take over. The way Hazel describes it makes it seem like that part of her had a mind of its own.
    • Also Jupiter's clone when Astra accidentally creates her.
  • Really 700 Years Old: Venus is actually 160, but looks 20, presumably due to being an Alicorn.
    • Same goes for Jupiter, as she's Venus' twin sister. This is because even civilian Alicorns are extremely long lived, with the greatest recorded age being 1,600 years old.
  • Red Oni, Blue Oni: The Trotswrights. Mathew is coldly detached, but polite, while Veronica is pretty much a ball of petty, screaming rage.
  • Restrained Revenge: Marigold, Dazzle's biological mother, stops herself from giving her ex-husband a well deserved No-Holds-Barred Beatdown for keeping her brainwashed for 20 years. She settles for revealing his dirty dealings and watching his corporation crumble around him and him go to prison. Oh, and putting Veronica in the same maid outfit she'd been forced to wear for the last 20 years.
  • Revenge: The first thing Jupiter intends to do upon being resurrected is take her revenge on Hazel for killing her.
  • Rule of Symbolism: Nova received a emerald necklace as a Hearth's Warming gift from Screwball. Screwball attempts to explain the symbolism to her, but Nova doesn't understand. However, she's seen wearing the necklace in many posts, even her character bio.
  • Running Gag: Derpy showing up at the end of every story arc to complain about the distinct lack of muffins in the arc, much to the author's chagrin.
    • In the blog, Nyx trying to brush Mars' mane. This is nominally explained by an interaction between Nyx's magic and her typical implement; Midnight's self-brushing brush.
    • Spike accidentally running in while a pony is having their foal.
    • Whenever somepony is giving birth, everypony tries to get in the door at once and blocks it up. When the door is enlarged, everypony jams into the window instead.
  • Sad Clown: Dazzle. While he's a good match for Pinkie, he's spent the majority of his life running from his Corrupt Corporate Executive parents, who will stop at nothing to have him back.
  • Scars are Forever: Astra has a scar on her forehead from where Jupiter threw a teapot at her when they were foals. It's hidden by her front mane.
  • Screaming Birth: When Trixie gives birth to her and Twilight's son, Nebula.
    • Twilight manages to remain surprisingly composed throughout giving birth to Aurora. She is clearly in pain, but not screaming. Though she does squeeze Trixie's hoof so hard she breaks it.
  • Sdrawkcab Name: Trixie's father.
  • Serial Killer: Jupiter apparently kept a list in her mansion of ponies, and the ones who were crossed out were either dead or missing (the ones that weren't had left town). Note, one journal entry even says that she killed her own mother.
  • Seven Deadly Sins: Iniduoh mentions that the color of the hearts in Venus' (Jupiter's) Cutie Mark represented three of them, greed, lust, and envy, which, as he points out, fit her to a t.
  • Shadow Archetype: Jupiter to Hazel. Both were in love with Iniduoh, both had a foal they weren't expecting (though Jupiter didn't have it by him), both were dangerously insane in part due to Iniduoh seemingly not returning their love, and ultimately attempted to murder the object of their obsession in a psychotic rage when they were denied what they want, in all causes Jupiter taking them to an extreme. However, while Hazel had a Dark and Troubled Past, Jupiter is a Mafia Princess and a spoiled brat. Hazel also ultimately took Iniduoh's plea to reform and was cured, while Jupiter flat out rejects it. Ironically, Hazel had already accepted all those things were true about herself and overcame them before encountering Jupiter.
  • She Cleans Up Nicely: Hazel, once she's gotten help and regained her sanity. It's very noticeable in one scene where we can see what she was like before and after, though part of it might just be the Art Shift that occurred in the meantime.
  • Shotgun Wedding: Implied to be instore for Dazzle. Subverted, as it's actually an party shotgun, not a real one.
  • Shrinking Violet: Astra, real name Venus, twin sister of the dead "Venus" whose real name is Jupiter.
  • The Sociopath: Jupiter. In addition to being completely homicidal, she's also rather emotionless most of the time until her Villainous Breakdown. Which is actually a pretty realistic depiction of a sociopathic Serial Killers, who tend to go berserk rather quickly once things begin falling apart.
    • Averted with Jupiter's clone, Nova, who goes through some emotional turmoil because Jupiter was a sociopath but she's not, yet ultimately has memories of her.
  • Sorting Algorithm of Evil: Honey Cluster was simply a conflicted friend of Trixie who genuinely didn't mean to cause any harm, and in the end simply calmed down and accepted Trixie belonged to someone else. Then Hazel was a psychotic mare who kidnapped Trixie and was willing to kill if need be. Then finally there was Jupiter, a Sociopathic Serial Killer out to murder the entire family and who had to be Killed Off for Real. This is followed by Mr. and Mrs. Trotswright, who, while not as psychotic as Jupiter, are Corrupt Corporate Executives who own half of Manehattan, making them potentially more dangerous. If the Crossover is counted, there's Lady Babylon, a demonic Jackass Genie and Big Bad of another blog.
  • Start of Darkness: For Hazel, it was her brother's death.
  • Stellar Name: Venus, Mars, Astra, and Neptune. That family seemed to have a theme with this. It turns out the Venus we knew was actually the real Venus' twin sister, Jupiter. And her clone ends up renamed Nova.
  • Tempting Fate: Cloudtrail (Mars' biological father) keeps doing this. Naturally things keep getting worse for the poor guy, though he admits it may be Laser-Guided Karma to a degree.
  • Then Let Me Be Evil: What ultimately made Hazel snap in the backstory. She gets better.
  • There Are No Therapists: Very much averted. It's only with professional help that Hazel gets over her psychotic side. Her therapist also is not afraid to Megaton Punch anyone who upsets her patients.
  • These Hooves Have Killed: Even though Jupiter left her no choice, Hazel is still feels a great deal of guilt over having to kill her.
    Hazel: I have to live with the burden that I've killed somepony.
  • Took a Level in Badass: Trixie, thanks to Twilight's teaching.
  • We Used to Be Friends: Iniduoh and Venus were friends while he was in Las Haygas. The problem is she wanted to be more than friends and he didn't. And then it was found that "Venus" was a sociopath, stole her twin sister's name (her real name is Jupiter), and her foal (Mars) wasn't Iniduoh's.
    • Also with Hattori and Fuma. They used to be the best of friends, until Hattori's father killed Fuma's. As Danzo revealed, Kataro (Fuma's dad) had discussed the kill with Hanzo (Hattori's dad) in response to a threat to his wife and Fuma.)
  • What Did I Do Last Night?: After Rainbow Dash spikes the punch at a party as a prank, Twilight and Trixie wake up in bed together as did Rainbow Dash and Applejack. This ends up making them realize they love each other.
  • What Measure is a Non-Pony: Discussed with Nova, a clone of Jupiter. They eventually decide to Raise Her Right This Time.
  • White Sheep: Astra and Mars, considering Neptune and Jupiter are monsters. Astra's mother was forced into the family so she doesn't really count.
  • Woman Scorned: Jupiter, who as "Venus" was refused by Iniduoh, serves as the Big Bad of part 5.
  • Villainous Breakdown: Hazel has one towards the end of Part 3.
    • Jupiter starts losing it after Trixie and family trick her, more so after Hazel paralyzes her wings, preventing her from escaping. When the cops surround her to prevent her escape, she snaps.
  • Villain: Exit, Stage Left: Jupiter tries to do this, but Hazel paralyzes her wings with a well placed spell so she can't.
  • You Monster!: Hazel to her past self in a dream.
  • You're Not My Mother: Dazzle to his mother, Veronica. While she seems to literally not be his biological mother, it's apparent he brings it up because of her actions.
  • Youthful Freckles: Nimbus and Apple Blossom were born with them.
  • You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry!: Jupiter find this out the hard way, TWICE, with Hazel and Nyx.
  • Younger Than They Look: Teenage Iniduoh dyed his mane and tail blue because his naturally grey hair caused him to be mistaken for a senior citizen.
    • Nova on acount of being a clone of Jupiter. She looks as old as the original Jupiter (who looked in her twenties, even though she was actually 160 years old), but is essentially a newborn. After having her memory erased, she got a mind to match her real age.
  • You're Insane!: Hazel to Jupiter, who points out even compared to her former insane self, Jupiter is a nut job.

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