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* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on a cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
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* CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit: how Mary funds her travels without Rika.
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* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Pinkie understands the multiverse reality much better than anyone else. Rika suggests it's due to a bug, as she was lucky to see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and not to GoMadFromTheRevelation.
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* RetroactivePreparation: Mary explains this to Rainbow Dash.
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* TemporalMutability: the branching timelines variation.
* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on a cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Pinkie understands the multiverse reality much better than anyone else. Rika suggests it's due to a bug, as she was lucky to see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and not to GoMadFromTheRevelation.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: in Mary's original timeline, the three maidenly virtues were modesty, music, and applied mathematics.
* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: discussed at length.
* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on a cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Pinkie understands the multiverse reality much better than anyone else. Rika suggests it's due to a bug, as she was lucky to see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and not to GoMadFromTheRevelation.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: in Mary's original timeline, the three maidenly virtues were modesty, music, and applied mathematics.
* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: discussed at length.
to:
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Pinkie understands the multiverse reality much better than anyone else. Rika suggests it's due to a bug, as she was lucky to see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and not to GoMadFromTheRevelation.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: in Mary's original timeline, the three maidenly virtues were modesty, music, and applied mathematics.
*
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* TheTriple: in Mary's original timeline, the three maidenly virtues were modesty, music, and applied mathematics.
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Incorruptible Pure Pureness has been renamed to The Incorruptible and redefined to be about characters who are portrayed in-universe as untemptable/incorruptible.
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* HumansAreBastards: discussed. Rika makes fun of it being a common trope in pony fanfiction, with humans interference causing InnocenceLost. Mary parries with GoodIsNotDumb, as ponies are anything but IncorruptiblePurePureness, oblivious to evil.
to:
* HumansAreBastards: discussed.Discussed. Rika makes fun of it being a common trope in pony fanfiction, with humans interference causing InnocenceLost. Mary parries with GoodIsNotDumb, as ponies are anything but IncorruptiblePurePureness, oblivious to evil.
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ZCE comment-outs.
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* Nanomachines: straight from the Literature/NoonUniverse.
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* PortalBook: in the Unlimited Library, naturally.
* RazorFloss: Lyra's weapon.
* RazorFloss: Lyra's weapon.
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* RetGone: Mary's original timeline.
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* ToonPhysics: Pinkie sometimes operates under these.
* UnknownRival: Trixie, to Twilight Sparkle.
* UnknownRival: Trixie, to Twilight Sparkle.
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* WatsonianVersusDoylist: discussed a lot.
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Rational Fic is now definition-only.
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* RationalFic: Played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of [[IdiotBall Idiot Balls]].
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* RationalFic: played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of [[IdiotBall Idiot Balls]].
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* RationalFic: played Played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of [[IdiotBall Idiot Balls]].
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Commented out Zero Context Examples
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* GuileHero: Mary's primary mode of operation.
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* LaResistance: Before coming to Equestria, Mary manipulated one into victory.
* MagicalEye: Mary has one.
* MagicalEye: Mary has one.
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* MediumAwareness: Mary, Rika, Pinkie Pie.
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* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rika discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not hers. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
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spelling
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* ChekhovsGun: Used a lot of times liuterally, and also played with: Mary wields a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 laspistol]] that belonged to one commisar Chekhov.
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* ChekhovsGun: Used a lot of times liuterally, literally, and also played with: Mary wields a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 laspistol]] that belonged to one commisar Chekhov.
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* EvilGloating: discussed. Rika believes it's a sign of Chrysalis being stupid, Mary argues it's a part of brilliant plan. Later on, Crhysalis actually does use gloating tactically.
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* EvilGloating: discussed. Rika believes it's a sign of Chrysalis being stupid, Mary argues it's a part of brilliant plan. Later on, Crhysalis Chrysalis actually does use gloating tactically.
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* FireIsRed: Rika has glowig red hair and burns stuff. It's up to interpretation whether she's RedIsHeroic or EvilRedhead.
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* FireIsRed: Rika has glowig glowing red hair and burns stuff. It's up to interpretation whether she's RedIsHeroic or EvilRedhead.
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* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rike discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not hers. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
to:
* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rike Rika discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not hers. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
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* SchrodingersGun: According to Luna, the world includes undecided facts, and finding them out may be dangerous, depleting the resource that makes the miracles of harmony possilble.
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* SchrodingersGun: According to Luna, the world includes undecided facts, and finding them out may be dangerous, depleting the resource that makes the miracles of harmony possilble.possible.
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* TastesLikeFriendship: the reason for the battle of Appaloosa becoming a food fight: buffalos don't fight those they shared food with, so Thunderhoof and Silverstar conspired to force-feed younger buffalos apple pies.
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* TastesLikeFriendship: the reason for the battle of Appaloosa becoming a food fight: buffalos buffalo don't fight those they shared food with, so Thunderhoof and Silverstar conspired to force-feed younger buffalos buffalo apple pies.
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* FixFic: In-universe, Mary fixes the ancient Japanese fairy tale ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''.
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* FixFic: In-universe, Mary fixes the ancient Japanese fairy tale ''The ''[[Literature/TheTaleOfTheBambooCutter The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''.Cutter]]''.
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[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in Equestria"]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women — Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination — who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
to:
[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in Equestria"]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women — Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] lady and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination — who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
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None
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* CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit: how mary funds her travels without Rika.
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* CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit: how mary Mary funds her travels without Rika.
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* CursedWithAwesome: Mary's golden eye causes her a lot of trouble, including making her immune to antidepressants and anaesthetics, but she admits it's actually ueful.
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* CursedWithAwesome: Mary's golden eye causes her a lot of trouble, including making her immune to antidepressants and anaesthetics, but she admits it's actually ueful.useful.
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* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Shining Armor is cilled by Chrysalis, and immediately ressurected by Cadance's love.]]
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* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Shining Armor is cilled killed by Chrysalis, and immediately ressurected by Cadance's love.]]
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* GiganticGulp: During the wedding ark, Luna drinks coffee from a vase.
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* GiganticGulp: During the wedding ark, arc, Luna drinks coffee from a vase.
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* HeroOfAnotherStory: Mary insists she's this so oftem that it's almost ArcWords. Rika also states that her story had ended long ago, and she's not going to steal spotlight from a different story's heroes.
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* HeroOfAnotherStory: Mary insists she's this so oftem often that it's almost ArcWords. Rika also states that her story had ended long ago, and she's not going to steal the spotlight from a different story's heroes.
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* HumongousMecha: When Mary realizes that Rika [[spoiler:had turned Lyra into a magic girl]], she comments that at least she hasn't given her one of these. Later, Mary [[spoiler:triggers Spike's greed growth, effectively using him as one and getting Shining Armor to be the pilot]].
to:
* HumongousMecha: When Mary realizes that Rika [[spoiler:had turned Lyra into a magic magical girl]], she comments that at least she hasn't given her one of these. Later, Mary [[spoiler:triggers Spike's greed growth, effectively using him as one and getting Shining Armor to be the pilot]].
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* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rike discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not her. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
to:
* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rike discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not her.hers. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
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* MindProbe: Mary discusses with Luna: she's surprised how ponies have little problem with mind invasion.
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* MindProbe: Mary discusses this trope with Luna: she's surprised how ponies have little problem with mind invasion.
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* OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Twilight Sparkle doesn't want to think of implications.
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* OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Twilight Sparkle doesn't want to think of the implications.
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* RealityWarper: literally everyone in the multiverse. Since the reality itself consists is stories, everyone is a storyteller of at least their own life.
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* RealityWarper: literally everyone in the multiverse. Since the reality itself consists is of stories, everyone is a storyteller of at least their own life.
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* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
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* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on a cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
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* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: mary can't help being that to whatever world she visits, her simplest actions starting a cascade of consequences — all to Rika's amusement.
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* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: mary Mary can't help being that to whatever world she visits, her simplest actions starting a cascade of consequences — all to Rika's amusement.
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* {{Zeerust}}: Spike, and later, Cadance refer to Mary's Warhammer 40K laspistol as a "death ray".
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* {{Zeerust}}: Spike, and later, Cadance refer to Mary's Warhammer 40K laspistol [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 laspistol]] as a "death ray".
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* Zeerust: Spike, and later, Cadance refer to Mary's Warhammer 40K laspistol as a "death ray".
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* Zeerust: {{Zeerust}}: Spike, and later, Cadance refer to Mary's Warhammer 40K laspistol as a "death ray".
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* RationalFic: played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of IdiotBalls.
to:
* RationalFic: played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of IdiotBalls.[[IdiotBall Idiot Balls]].
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* Nanomachines: straight from the NoonUniverse.
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* Nanomachines: straight from the NoonUniverse.Literature/NoonUniverse.
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* ChekhovsGun: Used a lot of times liuterally, and also played with: Mary wields a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000laspistol]] that belonged to one commisar Chekhov.
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* ChekhovsGun: Used a lot of times liuterally, and also played with: Mary wields a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000laspistol]] [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 laspistol]] that belonged to one commisar Chekhov.
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[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in Equestria"]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women - Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination - who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
to:
[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in Equestria"]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women - — Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination - — who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
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None
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[[caption-width-right:256:->''“The sandwich is just the first question I need an answer for to formulate a hypothesis, I’m going to have many more for you.”''
—>— '''Mary''']]
—>— '''Mary''']]
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[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in Equestria]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women - Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination - who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
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[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cuvl_1527484628_312210_medium_6.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:256:->''“The sandwich is just the first question I need an answer for to formulate a hypothesis, I’m going to have many more for you.”''
—>— '''Mary''']]
[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans inEquestria]] Equestria"]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women - Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination - who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
[[caption-width-right:256:->''“The sandwich is just the first question I need an answer for to formulate a hypothesis, I’m going to have many more for you.”''
—>— '''Mary''']]
[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in
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Added DiffLines:
[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/312210/aporia ''Aporia'']] is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' RationalFic that discusses My Little Pony's canon and the reason for its numerous inconsistencies, the [[TrappedInAnotherWorld "humans in Equestria]] genre of fanfiction, and the nature of storytelling in general. It features two [[DimensionalTraveler multiverse travelling]] women - Mary, a proper [[EnglishRose British lady]] and Rika, who simply describes herself as an EldritchAbomination - who decide, on a whim, to visit one of the many versions of Equestria. Despite Mary's initial reluctance to interfere with the local ponies' affairs, soon they become caught up in the story, altering it heavily as they nudge the ponies into discovering the true nature of Equestria. It all starts with a simple question: "who invented sandwiches?"
The story consists of "conversations", rather than chapters, never from the same character's perspective twice in a row, and while it indeed features a lot of talking, it also has some epic action scenes, sometimes involving tech from other universes. The story is both a [[AuthorTract treatise on the nature of fiction]], and a letter of love to My Little Pony, anime, science fiction and other media.
----
!!''Aporia'' contains examples of:
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The first thing Mary realizes in Equestria is that the cartoon's portrayal of it was [[BroadStrokes not entirely accurate]].
* AddressTheAudience: In Rika's chapter, she talks directly to reader. Rarity also does that, as soon as she accepts the "reality is fiction" theory.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Twilight Sparkle is disturbed when she realises that Rika doesn't breathe. Later confirmed by Dorothy who goes as far as calling Rika's body "a doll".
* AlienGeometries: When Rika yanks Lyra 'from the chapter's text into a footnote', this is her experience.
* AllStoriesAreRealSomewhere: The whole thing's premise. Whether storytellers create stories that become real, or just discover and write them down, is a chicken and egg problem that the characters argue about on occasion.
* AllThereInTheManual: The author spent so much time writing a blog of research notes on MLP canon and detailing various theories that went into the construction of Aporia, that the total word count of the blog posts exceeds the actual story they were written for.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Several ponies, especially Lyra and Blueblood, who are very different from their typical portrayal in the fandom. Also, Rika discusses Celestia's character interpretation with Celestia herself.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Several character discuss whether changelings are this. [[spoiler:They aren't.]]
* AMillionIsAStatistic: Defied by Mary: back in another world, she started a revolution that took lives, but she made point of making death toll as low as possible and knowing every victim personally. She later threatens Rika to recite her the names of every victim of her actions.
* {{Angst}}: Mary describes the Unlimited Library as causing existential dread, once you realize the humanity's insignificance.
* AuthorTract: The whole story is essentially a treatise on the philosophy of storytelling in form of a series platonical dialogues (interspersed with some action).
* BerserkButton: Twilight Sparkle, when she witnesses Trixie. Destroying. [=BOOKS=].
* BigGood: According to Rika, this is what happens when a magical girl wins forever. She heavily implies this is exactly what happened to her, and it's far from being a happy ending.
* BrosBeforeHoes: Blueblood's explanation of the way he treated Rarity so badly at the gala: it was his revenge for the way she played with Spike's feelings.
* CannotTellFictionFromReality: Rika accidentally steps inside a story Pinkie is telling, rather than the main one. It took her time to figure out what happened, which pissed her off, because, apparently, telling the stories the way Pinkie does is an extremely dangerous form of reality-bending magic.
* CanonWelding: The story is set in a multiverse where every story ever told is real somewhere, and it's possible to travel between them.
* ChekhovsGun: Used a lot of times liuterally, and also played with: Mary wields a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000laspistol]] that belonged to one commisar Chekhov.
* ClarkesThirdLaw: Mary discusses it with Twilight.
* CloakAndDagger: Whenever the Office of Special Investigations of Their Highnesses Civil Service is involved.
* CombatByChampion: A non-violent version: Luna and Celestia disagree whether Twilight should continue looking for the answer to sandwich mystery, so Luna sent her own student (Trixie) to stop her and hope that whoever's right wins.
* CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit: how mary funds her travels without Rika.
* CurbStompBattle: Sombra is dispatched in seconds and Rainbow Dash complains it was anticlimactic.
* CursedWithAwesome: Mary's golden eye causes her a lot of trouble, including making her immune to antidepressants and anaesthetics, but she admits it's actually ueful.
* DealWithTheDevil: Lyra thinks this is what Rika offers her (expecting her to ask for her cutie mark rather than soul).
* DeconstructorFleet: neither Mary nor Rika can spend 5 minutes without putting a lampshade somewhere.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Trixie just wants to be friends with Twilight. Her definition of friendship includes duels and mortal peril.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Shining Armor is cilled by Chrysalis, and immediately ressurected by Cadance's love.]]
* EldritchAbomination: Rika. A HumanoidAbomination type, who WasOnceAMan, and then than managed to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, becoming AnthropomorphicPersonification of hope.
* EvilGloating: discussed. Rika believes it's a sign of Chrysalis being stupid, Mary argues it's a part of brilliant plan. Later on, Crhysalis actually does use gloating tactically.
* EvilLaugh: Chrysalis.
* ExactEavesdropping: Fluttershy overhears Rika and Mary talking. At first it seems to be a ContrivedCoincidence, [[spoiler:later turns out to be part of Rika's plan]].
* FingerlessHands: One of the story's central plotlines is Twilight Sparkle trying to figure out why pony civilization has so many artifacts designed for fingers.
* FireIsRed: Rika has glowig red hair and burns stuff. It's up to interpretation whether she's RedIsHeroic or EvilRedhead.
* FixFic: In-universe, Mary fixes the ancient Japanese fairy tale ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''.
* FoodEatsYou: National Dessert Competition ended with this, the dessert abomination coming alive and attacking the attendees.
* ForWantOfANail: Multiple instances. While Mary's question of who invented the sandwich triggers a lot of changes in the canonical plot, what derails it completely is [[spoiler:Rika spoiling Fluttershy the changeling invasion]].
* GenreSavvy: Many cases, including Spike and Shining Armor being geeks and knowing genre tropes.
* GiganticGulp: During the wedding ark, Luna drinks coffee from a vase.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Mary is mostly used to Library and Rika, but even she has things that she prefers not to think about too much.
* GuileHero: Mary's primary mode of operation.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Mary insists she's this so oftem that it's almost ArcWords. Rika also states that her story had ended long ago, and she's not going to steal spotlight from a different story's heroes.
* HumansAreBastards: discussed. Rika makes fun of it being a common trope in pony fanfiction, with humans interference causing InnocenceLost. Mary parries with GoodIsNotDumb, as ponies are anything but IncorruptiblePurePureness, oblivious to evil.
* HumongousMecha: When Mary realizes that Rika [[spoiler:had turned Lyra into a magic girl]], she comments that at least she hasn't given her one of these. Later, Mary [[spoiler:triggers Spike's greed growth, effectively using him as one and getting Shining Armor to be the pilot]].
* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Pinkie starts the story of sandwich invention with this line.
* JumpingOutOfACake: Spike isn't sure what a bachelor party is, but ponies keep telling him it needs to include this.
* LaResistance: Before coming to Equestria, Mary manipulated one into victory.
* MagicalEye: Mary has one.
* MagicalGirl: Rika, formerly (she gives Twilight Sparkle a lecture on the term). [[spoiler:Later, Lyra.]]
* MagicMusic: "Heartsongs" are seen by ponies as an important part of life and self-expression, but with the introduction of Grayswandir, what would otherwise be just MusicForCourage is used for more tangible side-effects — specifically, as a magic-conducting medium.
* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rike discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not her. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
* MechanicalLifeforms: the spiders were supposed to be just tiny robots, but Fluttershy knows better.
* MediumAwareness: Mary, Rika, Pinkie Pie.
* MetaFiction: In her very first conversation with Twilight, Mary insists they're *both* fictional characters, and proceeds with laying out a model of the universe where fictional worlds interpenetrate and cross-pollinate each other with no "real" world anywhere to be found.
* MindProbe: Mary discusses with Luna: she's surprised how ponies have little problem with mind invasion.
* MortonsFork: discussed, taken to extreme with Rika who's nearly omnipotent, but says: "Have you ever encountered a situation where you can do anything, and yet, none of it will do the least bit of good?"
* MST3KMantra: reason for a quarrel between Mary and Rika about WatsonianVersusDoylist: Mary refuses to employ doylean approach, insisting on her version of MoffsLaw.
* MultipleChoicePast: "decoherence" — Equestria in general and changelings in particular. Mary wastes no time pointing out that various fanfiction portrayals of Equestria are often NeverWasThisUniverse to each other.
* MusicalWorldHypotheses: The Alternate Universe Hypothesis variant: all songs are in-universe, being a part of the harmony magic. CrowdSong and AudienceParticipationSong are seen as normal and usually desirable parts of life.
* MustHaveCaffeine: Luna, when she skips sleep for three days, guarding Canterlot from invasion.
* Nanomachines: straight from the NoonUniverse.
* NestedStoryReveal: Pinkie is really good at telling stories. So good she fools Rika, who steps into her story, rather than the main one.
* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: averted: during time travel Mary meets herself multiple times (and even gets to cry in herself's arms).
* OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Twilight Sparkle doesn't want to think of implications.
* OlderThanTheyLook: due to direct effects of repeated and frequent time travel, Mary looks considerably younger than she actually is, and at the same time, suffers from problems otherwise associated with old age.
* OrphanedEtymology: discussed at length. Seems like many Equish words have a completely different origin, and often, slightly different meanings, despite Equish being otherwise nearly identical to modern American English.
* PaintingTheMedium: Rika drags Lyra into a footnote to talk, essentially implementing FrameBreak in a textual work.
* PortalBook: in the Unlimited Library, naturally.
* RationalFic: played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of IdiotBalls.
* RazorFloss: Lyra's weapon.
* ReadingAheadInTheScript: Twilight Sparkle asking Mary for "prophesies".
* RealityWarper: literally everyone in the multiverse. Since the reality itself consists is stories, everyone is a storyteller of at least their own life.
* RetGone: Mary's original timeline.
* RetroactivePreparation: Mary explains this to Rainbow Dash.
* RightBehindMe: Lyra deliberately invokes it when failing to locate Bon-Bon through conventional methods.
* RubberForeheadAliens: discussed by Celestia, when she talks to Twilight Sparkle about Mary and Rika,
* SchrodingersGun: According to Luna, the world includes undecided facts, and finding them out may be dangerous, depleting the resource that makes the miracles of harmony possilble.
* ShoutOut: numerous, varying from Lovecraft to Aristotle.
* TastesLikeFriendship: the reason for the battle of Appaloosa becoming a food fight: buffalos don't fight those they shared food with, so Thunderhoof and Silverstar conspired to force-feed younger buffalos apple pies.
* TemporalMutability: the branching timelines variation.
* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Pinkie understands the multiverse reality much better than anyone else. Rika suggests it's due to a bug, as she was lucky to see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and not to GoMadFromTheRevelation.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: in Mary's original timeline, the three maidenly virtues were modesty, music, and applied mathematics.
* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: discussed at length.
* ThePowerOfLove: magic can't ressurect the dead, but [[spoiler:Cadence's love brings back Shining Armor]].
* TheWorfEffect: discussed by Rika with Shining Armor.
* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: made even more confusing by talking about things that happen in different versions of the same timeline.
* ToonPhysics: Pinkie sometimes operates under these.
* UnknownRival: Trixie, to Twilight Sparkle.
* UnwinnableTrainingSimulation: the dragon egg hatching test, which Twilight Sparkle manages to pass.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: mary can't help being that to whatever world she visits, her simplest actions starting a cascade of consequences — all to Rika's amusement.
* WatsonianVersusDoylist: discussed a lot.
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: being an actual Edwardian lady, Mary notes that Luna speaks this.
* YouCantFightFate: discussed by Mary, who has proven this to be wrong.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: the reason why Mary won't teach Twilight Sparkle to travel between worlds: she can only teach her to go away, not to return back.
* Zeerust: Spike, and later, Cadance refer to Mary's Warhammer 40K laspistol as a "death ray".
The story consists of "conversations", rather than chapters, never from the same character's perspective twice in a row, and while it indeed features a lot of talking, it also has some epic action scenes, sometimes involving tech from other universes. The story is both a [[AuthorTract treatise on the nature of fiction]], and a letter of love to My Little Pony, anime, science fiction and other media.
----
!!''Aporia'' contains examples of:
* AcceptableBreaksFromReality: The first thing Mary realizes in Equestria is that the cartoon's portrayal of it was [[BroadStrokes not entirely accurate]].
* AddressTheAudience: In Rika's chapter, she talks directly to reader. Rarity also does that, as soon as she accepts the "reality is fiction" theory.
* AFormYouAreComfortableWith: Twilight Sparkle is disturbed when she realises that Rika doesn't breathe. Later confirmed by Dorothy who goes as far as calling Rika's body "a doll".
* AlienGeometries: When Rika yanks Lyra 'from the chapter's text into a footnote', this is her experience.
* AllStoriesAreRealSomewhere: The whole thing's premise. Whether storytellers create stories that become real, or just discover and write them down, is a chicken and egg problem that the characters argue about on occasion.
* AllThereInTheManual: The author spent so much time writing a blog of research notes on MLP canon and detailing various theories that went into the construction of Aporia, that the total word count of the blog posts exceeds the actual story they were written for.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: Several ponies, especially Lyra and Blueblood, who are very different from their typical portrayal in the fandom. Also, Rika discusses Celestia's character interpretation with Celestia herself.
* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Several character discuss whether changelings are this. [[spoiler:They aren't.]]
* AMillionIsAStatistic: Defied by Mary: back in another world, she started a revolution that took lives, but she made point of making death toll as low as possible and knowing every victim personally. She later threatens Rika to recite her the names of every victim of her actions.
* {{Angst}}: Mary describes the Unlimited Library as causing existential dread, once you realize the humanity's insignificance.
* AuthorTract: The whole story is essentially a treatise on the philosophy of storytelling in form of a series platonical dialogues (interspersed with some action).
* BerserkButton: Twilight Sparkle, when she witnesses Trixie. Destroying. [=BOOKS=].
* BigGood: According to Rika, this is what happens when a magical girl wins forever. She heavily implies this is exactly what happened to her, and it's far from being a happy ending.
* BrosBeforeHoes: Blueblood's explanation of the way he treated Rarity so badly at the gala: it was his revenge for the way she played with Spike's feelings.
* CannotTellFictionFromReality: Rika accidentally steps inside a story Pinkie is telling, rather than the main one. It took her time to figure out what happened, which pissed her off, because, apparently, telling the stories the way Pinkie does is an extremely dangerous form of reality-bending magic.
* CanonWelding: The story is set in a multiverse where every story ever told is real somewhere, and it's possible to travel between them.
* ChekhovsGun: Used a lot of times liuterally, and also played with: Mary wields a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000laspistol]] that belonged to one commisar Chekhov.
* ClarkesThirdLaw: Mary discusses it with Twilight.
* CloakAndDagger: Whenever the Office of Special Investigations of Their Highnesses Civil Service is involved.
* CombatByChampion: A non-violent version: Luna and Celestia disagree whether Twilight should continue looking for the answer to sandwich mystery, so Luna sent her own student (Trixie) to stop her and hope that whoever's right wins.
* CompoundInterestTimeTravelGambit: how mary funds her travels without Rika.
* CurbStompBattle: Sombra is dispatched in seconds and Rainbow Dash complains it was anticlimactic.
* CursedWithAwesome: Mary's golden eye causes her a lot of trouble, including making her immune to antidepressants and anaesthetics, but she admits it's actually ueful.
* DealWithTheDevil: Lyra thinks this is what Rika offers her (expecting her to ask for her cutie mark rather than soul).
* DeconstructorFleet: neither Mary nor Rika can spend 5 minutes without putting a lampshade somewhere.
* DefeatMeansFriendship: Trixie just wants to be friends with Twilight. Her definition of friendship includes duels and mortal peril.
* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler:Shining Armor is cilled by Chrysalis, and immediately ressurected by Cadance's love.]]
* EldritchAbomination: Rika. A HumanoidAbomination type, who WasOnceAMan, and then than managed to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, becoming AnthropomorphicPersonification of hope.
* EvilGloating: discussed. Rika believes it's a sign of Chrysalis being stupid, Mary argues it's a part of brilliant plan. Later on, Crhysalis actually does use gloating tactically.
* EvilLaugh: Chrysalis.
* ExactEavesdropping: Fluttershy overhears Rika and Mary talking. At first it seems to be a ContrivedCoincidence, [[spoiler:later turns out to be part of Rika's plan]].
* FingerlessHands: One of the story's central plotlines is Twilight Sparkle trying to figure out why pony civilization has so many artifacts designed for fingers.
* FireIsRed: Rika has glowig red hair and burns stuff. It's up to interpretation whether she's RedIsHeroic or EvilRedhead.
* FixFic: In-universe, Mary fixes the ancient Japanese fairy tale ''The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter''.
* FoodEatsYou: National Dessert Competition ended with this, the dessert abomination coming alive and attacking the attendees.
* ForWantOfANail: Multiple instances. While Mary's question of who invented the sandwich triggers a lot of changes in the canonical plot, what derails it completely is [[spoiler:Rika spoiling Fluttershy the changeling invasion]].
* GenreSavvy: Many cases, including Spike and Shining Armor being geeks and knowing genre tropes.
* GiganticGulp: During the wedding ark, Luna drinks coffee from a vase.
* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Mary is mostly used to Library and Rika, but even she has things that she prefers not to think about too much.
* GuileHero: Mary's primary mode of operation.
* HeroOfAnotherStory: Mary insists she's this so oftem that it's almost ArcWords. Rika also states that her story had ended long ago, and she's not going to steal spotlight from a different story's heroes.
* HumansAreBastards: discussed. Rika makes fun of it being a common trope in pony fanfiction, with humans interference causing InnocenceLost. Mary parries with GoodIsNotDumb, as ponies are anything but IncorruptiblePurePureness, oblivious to evil.
* HumongousMecha: When Mary realizes that Rika [[spoiler:had turned Lyra into a magic girl]], she comments that at least she hasn't given her one of these. Later, Mary [[spoiler:triggers Spike's greed growth, effectively using him as one and getting Shining Armor to be the pilot]].
* ItWasADarkAndStormyNight: Pinkie starts the story of sandwich invention with this line.
* JumpingOutOfACake: Spike isn't sure what a bachelor party is, but ponies keep telling him it needs to include this.
* LaResistance: Before coming to Equestria, Mary manipulated one into victory.
* MagicalEye: Mary has one.
* MagicalGirl: Rika, formerly (she gives Twilight Sparkle a lecture on the term). [[spoiler:Later, Lyra.]]
* MagicMusic: "Heartsongs" are seen by ponies as an important part of life and self-expression, but with the introduction of Grayswandir, what would otherwise be just MusicForCourage is used for more tangible side-effects — specifically, as a magic-conducting medium.
* MarySue: A massive deconstruction. Rike discusses the concept with Lyra while explaining that no, she's not going to steal the spotlight from the heroes of a story that's not her. All the heroic feats belong to the universe's natives.
* MechanicalLifeforms: the spiders were supposed to be just tiny robots, but Fluttershy knows better.
* MediumAwareness: Mary, Rika, Pinkie Pie.
* MetaFiction: In her very first conversation with Twilight, Mary insists they're *both* fictional characters, and proceeds with laying out a model of the universe where fictional worlds interpenetrate and cross-pollinate each other with no "real" world anywhere to be found.
* MindProbe: Mary discusses with Luna: she's surprised how ponies have little problem with mind invasion.
* MortonsFork: discussed, taken to extreme with Rika who's nearly omnipotent, but says: "Have you ever encountered a situation where you can do anything, and yet, none of it will do the least bit of good?"
* MST3KMantra: reason for a quarrel between Mary and Rika about WatsonianVersusDoylist: Mary refuses to employ doylean approach, insisting on her version of MoffsLaw.
* MultipleChoicePast: "decoherence" — Equestria in general and changelings in particular. Mary wastes no time pointing out that various fanfiction portrayals of Equestria are often NeverWasThisUniverse to each other.
* MusicalWorldHypotheses: The Alternate Universe Hypothesis variant: all songs are in-universe, being a part of the harmony magic. CrowdSong and AudienceParticipationSong are seen as normal and usually desirable parts of life.
* MustHaveCaffeine: Luna, when she skips sleep for three days, guarding Canterlot from invasion.
* Nanomachines: straight from the NoonUniverse.
* NestedStoryReveal: Pinkie is really good at telling stories. So good she fools Rika, who steps into her story, rather than the main one.
* NeverTheSelvesShallMeet: averted: during time travel Mary meets herself multiple times (and even gets to cry in herself's arms).
* OhCrapThereAreFanficsOfUs: Twilight Sparkle doesn't want to think of implications.
* OlderThanTheyLook: due to direct effects of repeated and frequent time travel, Mary looks considerably younger than she actually is, and at the same time, suffers from problems otherwise associated with old age.
* OrphanedEtymology: discussed at length. Seems like many Equish words have a completely different origin, and often, slightly different meanings, despite Equish being otherwise nearly identical to modern American English.
* PaintingTheMedium: Rika drags Lyra into a footnote to talk, essentially implementing FrameBreak in a textual work.
* PortalBook: in the Unlimited Library, naturally.
* RationalFic: played with. The author says: "It could be a rational-fic, but since idealistic philosophy is typically not seen as very rational, it’s only a philoso-fic instead". In any case, it's a thorough DeconstructionFic, in a world with a deliberate shortage of IdiotBalls.
* RazorFloss: Lyra's weapon.
* ReadingAheadInTheScript: Twilight Sparkle asking Mary for "prophesies".
* RealityWarper: literally everyone in the multiverse. Since the reality itself consists is stories, everyone is a storyteller of at least their own life.
* RetGone: Mary's original timeline.
* RetroactivePreparation: Mary explains this to Rainbow Dash.
* RightBehindMe: Lyra deliberately invokes it when failing to locate Bon-Bon through conventional methods.
* RubberForeheadAliens: discussed by Celestia, when she talks to Twilight Sparkle about Mary and Rika,
* SchrodingersGun: According to Luna, the world includes undecided facts, and finding them out may be dangerous, depleting the resource that makes the miracles of harmony possilble.
* ShoutOut: numerous, varying from Lovecraft to Aristotle.
* TastesLikeFriendship: the reason for the battle of Appaloosa becoming a food fight: buffalos don't fight those they shared food with, so Thunderhoof and Silverstar conspired to force-feed younger buffalos apple pies.
* TemporalMutability: the branching timelines variation.
* TheAntiNihilist: Mary believes that the true adventures are in making the universe better, even though on cosmic scale this goal might be futile.
* TheCuckoolanderWasRight: Pinkie understands the multiverse reality much better than anyone else. Rika suggests it's due to a bug, as she was lucky to see TheseAreThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow and not to GoMadFromTheRevelation.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: in Mary's original timeline, the three maidenly virtues were modesty, music, and applied mathematics.
* TheoryOfNarrativeCausality: discussed at length.
* ThePowerOfLove: magic can't ressurect the dead, but [[spoiler:Cadence's love brings back Shining Armor]].
* TheWorfEffect: discussed by Rika with Shining Armor.
* TimeTravelTenseTrouble: made even more confusing by talking about things that happen in different versions of the same timeline.
* ToonPhysics: Pinkie sometimes operates under these.
* UnknownRival: Trixie, to Twilight Sparkle.
* UnwinnableTrainingSimulation: the dragon egg hatching test, which Twilight Sparkle manages to pass.
* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: mary can't help being that to whatever world she visits, her simplest actions starting a cascade of consequences — all to Rika's amusement.
* WatsonianVersusDoylist: discussed a lot.
* YeOldeButcheredeEnglishe: being an actual Edwardian lady, Mary notes that Luna speaks this.
* YouCantFightFate: discussed by Mary, who has proven this to be wrong.
* YouCantGoHomeAgain: the reason why Mary won't teach Twilight Sparkle to travel between worlds: she can only teach her to go away, not to return back.
* Zeerust: Spike, and later, Cadance refer to Mary's Warhammer 40K laspistol as a "death ray".
