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Changed line(s) 57 (click to see context) from:
*** Ember's response is decidedly more memorable as she actually physically reaches James. Upon finding him down and assuming he's dying, Ember unleashes a rage that goes from scary to [[ViolenceIsDisturbing outright disturbing.]] Combining [[UnstoppableRage an almost feral rage]] with [[BerserkerTears constant vocal weeping]], Ember protects the fallen human while subjecting her spear to so much abuse that it finally breaks before '''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown tearing into her enemies with her bare hands.]]''' James [[ForcedToWatch describes vivid depictions]] of Ember ripping her enemies limb from limb, tearing them in half down the middle, and even one case where she '''''crushes a Hollow's armored head in her jaws.'''''
to:
*** Ember's response is decidedly more memorable as she actually physically reaches James. Upon finding him down and assuming he's dying, Ember unleashes a rage that goes from scary to [[ViolenceIsDisturbing outright disturbing.]] Combining [[UnstoppableRage an almost feral rage]] with [[BerserkerTears constant vocal weeping]], Ember protects the fallen human while subjecting her spear to so much abuse that it finally breaks before '''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown tearing into her enemies with her bare hands.]]''' James [[ForcedToWatch describes vivid depictions]] of Ember ripping her enemies limb from limb, tearing them in half down the middle, and even one case where she '''''crushes a Hollow's armored head in her jaws.'''''''''' Just imagine the bloodbath [[FridgeHorror had they been actual human soldiers.]]
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Changed line(s) 57 (click to see context) from:
*** Ember's response is decidedly more memorable as she actually psychically reaches James. Upon finding him down and assuming he's dying, Ember unleashes a rage that goes from scary to [[ViolenceIsDisturbing outright disturbing.]] Combining [[UnstoppableRage an almost feral rage]] with [[BerserkerTears constant vocal weeping]], Ember protects the fallen human while subjecting her spear to so much abuse that it finally breaks before '''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown tearing into her enemies with her bare hands.]]''' James [[ForcedToWatch describes vivid depictions]] of Ember ripping her enemies limb from limb, tearing them in half down the middle, and even one case where she '''''crushes a Hollow's armored head in her jaws.'''''
to:
*** Ember's response is decidedly more memorable as she actually psychically physically reaches James. Upon finding him down and assuming he's dying, Ember unleashes a rage that goes from scary to [[ViolenceIsDisturbing outright disturbing.]] Combining [[UnstoppableRage an almost feral rage]] with [[BerserkerTears constant vocal weeping]], Ember protects the fallen human while subjecting her spear to so much abuse that it finally breaks before '''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown tearing into her enemies with her bare hands.]]''' James [[ForcedToWatch describes vivid depictions]] of Ember ripping her enemies limb from limb, tearing them in half down the middle, and even one case where she '''''crushes a Hollow's armored head in her jaws.'''''
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Adding recent examples
Changed line(s) 31,33 (click to see context) from:
** '''[[WhamEpisode Mortal Chaos]], full stop.''' Easily the most controversial chapter in the entire story, the sheer horrors [[BewareTheNiceOnes James]] forces Discord through are numerous and exceedingly graphic.
** The moment when James encounters the discorded projections of the Mane Si in his subconscious during "Sudden Death" where they merge together to form a horrifying chimera creature is so fucked up that it provides the page image above.
** The moment when James encounters the discorded projections of the Mane Si in his subconscious during "Sudden Death" where they merge together to form a horrifying chimera creature is so fucked up that it provides the page image above.
to:
** The moment when James encounters the discorded projections of the Mane
Changed line(s) 38,39 (click to see context) from:
** In "Homo Pinkius", all is going well after Pinkie Pie accidentally turns herself human for a day in the middle of winter. Then she eventually goes ice skating with James and promptly falls through thin ice. Instead of it being a comical case of he popping back up in a block of ice, [[RealismInducedHorror she surfaces shrieking in pain and panic and is in very real danger of drowning in freezing water.]]
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Added DiffLines:
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 5]]
* '''[[WhamEpisode Battle of the Purple Tide.]]''' Arguably the single most harrowing chapter since Mortal Chaos, this is the point where the [[NoNonsenseVillain gloves come off]] as the Equestrian militia learns once and for all that WarIsHell.
** The way the ZergRush methods used by the enemy army are hauntingly described where the tightly compacted mass of Hollows, who ''outnumber the militia 16 to 1'', move like a literal ocean that could wash [[MeaningfulTitles over them like a literal tide of purple.]]
** In what is likely a freak occurance, James witnesses an arrow graze Gilda's face. [[EyeScream It claims her left eye.]]
** After spending the entire war able to go to town on the Hollows with minimal resistance due to the emperor [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou needing James alive,]] this battle subverts expectations out of nowhere when James ends up seprated from Ember and Rain Shine. Specifically when a Hollow ''[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness strikes him down with a war hammer to the back of the head.]]''
*** A dose of RealismInducedHorror sets in as well once James regains consciousness where he provides an acute description of symptoms caused by a skull fracture including [[ShownTheirWork more specific symptoms to convey which lobes in his brain have been damaged.]] Previously all but untouchable in battle, [[DarkestHour James is now the most vulnerable he has ever been and is surrounded by the enemy.]]
** Rain Shine and Ember's responses to James being struck down are equal parts [[HolyShitQuotient awesome]] and [[NightmareFuel horrifying.]]
*** Rain Shine is the first to feel James fall. In response, ''[[UnstoppableRage she goes]] [[TheJuggernaut Nirik.]]'' This ends up working out for the best since this results in Rain Shine [[NiceJobFixingItVillain razing the enemy army and rapidly thinning out their numbers.]]
*** Ember's response is decidedly more memorable as she actually psychically reaches James. Upon finding him down and assuming he's dying, Ember unleashes a rage that goes from scary to [[ViolenceIsDisturbing outright disturbing.]] Combining [[UnstoppableRage an almost feral rage]] with [[BerserkerTears constant vocal weeping]], Ember protects the fallen human while subjecting her spear to so much abuse that it finally breaks before '''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown tearing into her enemies with her bare hands.]]''' James [[ForcedToWatch describes vivid depictions]] of Ember ripping her enemies limb from limb, tearing them in half down the middle, and even one case where she '''''crushes a Hollow's armored head in her jaws.'''''
**** Ember is so lost in her rage that she nearly ends up ''burning Shining Armor alive when he arrives to help.'' The rampaging Dragon Lord has to be physically restrained with magic, all while she continues to madly snarl and claw at the ground to get free. Being faced with very concept of losing [[TheOnlyOneITrust James]] '''[[HeroicBSoD broke her.]]'''
[[folder:Volume 5]]
* '''[[WhamEpisode Battle of the Purple Tide.]]''' Arguably the single most harrowing chapter since Mortal Chaos, this is the point where the [[NoNonsenseVillain gloves come off]] as the Equestrian militia learns once and for all that WarIsHell.
** The way the ZergRush methods used by the enemy army are hauntingly described where the tightly compacted mass of Hollows, who ''outnumber the militia 16 to 1'', move like a literal ocean that could wash [[MeaningfulTitles over them like a literal tide of purple.]]
** In what is likely a freak occurance, James witnesses an arrow graze Gilda's face. [[EyeScream It claims her left eye.]]
** After spending the entire war able to go to town on the Hollows with minimal resistance due to the emperor [[CantKillYouStillNeedYou needing James alive,]] this battle subverts expectations out of nowhere when James ends up seprated from Ember and Rain Shine. Specifically when a Hollow ''[[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness strikes him down with a war hammer to the back of the head.]]''
*** A dose of RealismInducedHorror sets in as well once James regains consciousness where he provides an acute description of symptoms caused by a skull fracture including [[ShownTheirWork more specific symptoms to convey which lobes in his brain have been damaged.]] Previously all but untouchable in battle, [[DarkestHour James is now the most vulnerable he has ever been and is surrounded by the enemy.]]
** Rain Shine and Ember's responses to James being struck down are equal parts [[HolyShitQuotient awesome]] and [[NightmareFuel horrifying.]]
*** Rain Shine is the first to feel James fall. In response, ''[[UnstoppableRage she goes]] [[TheJuggernaut Nirik.]]'' This ends up working out for the best since this results in Rain Shine [[NiceJobFixingItVillain razing the enemy army and rapidly thinning out their numbers.]]
*** Ember's response is decidedly more memorable as she actually psychically reaches James. Upon finding him down and assuming he's dying, Ember unleashes a rage that goes from scary to [[ViolenceIsDisturbing outright disturbing.]] Combining [[UnstoppableRage an almost feral rage]] with [[BerserkerTears constant vocal weeping]], Ember protects the fallen human while subjecting her spear to so much abuse that it finally breaks before '''[[NoHoldsBarredBeatDown tearing into her enemies with her bare hands.]]''' James [[ForcedToWatch describes vivid depictions]] of Ember ripping her enemies limb from limb, tearing them in half down the middle, and even one case where she '''''crushes a Hollow's armored head in her jaws.'''''
**** Ember is so lost in her rage that she nearly ends up ''burning Shining Armor alive when he arrives to help.'' The rampaging Dragon Lord has to be physically restrained with magic, all while she continues to madly snarl and claw at the ground to get free. Being faced with very concept of losing [[TheOnlyOneITrust James]] '''[[HeroicBSoD broke her.]]'''
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Changed line(s) 6,7 (click to see context) from:
* The prequel story, [[TheDarkTimes Before Time Began to Flow]], is oozing with this trope. The entire story is told from the perspective of Equestria's first overlord, who originally roamed the world when it was consumed by [[PrimordialChaos all manner of darkness and shadowy monsters]]. By the time he corrals the evils of the world [[SealedEvilInACan into an enchanted sack]] and guides the world into its first steps, he becomes a de facto VillainProtagonist and suckers [[DealWithTheDevil naive seekers of power into being exposed]] to the [[TheCorruption Miasma and becoming his disciples in time.]] And that's not when he's using the Miasma on random visitors ForTheEvulz! When the people finally rise up against him, [[OneManArmy he slaughters countless human warriors by the hundreds, if not thousands,]] until he finally collapses in exhaustion [[CorpseLand surrounded by mountains of corpses]] in a [[RiversOfBlood sea of blood.]] Even worse, while left severely weakened after being captured, '''''the people of Equestria cannot kill him''''', [[CompleteImmortality regardless of whatever methods they try.]] The best they can hope for is to lock him away.
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[[folder:Before Time Began to Flow]]
* The prequel
[[/folder]]
![=The Lost Element=]
[[folder:Volume 1]]
Changed line(s) 10 (click to see context) from:
** And then as night begins to fall, he stumbles upon an unsuspecting lost little filly in the forest with a candy corn-hued mane and tail, a magnifying glass cutie mark, and [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath glowing yellow beacons for eyes]]. For anyone who had been with the fandom in its early days, especially [[GenreSavvy right around the time The Lost Element was first making the rounds,]] [[OhCrap you knew]] [[FromBadToWorse where this]] [[VideoGame/StoryOfTheBlanks was going.]]
to:
** And then as night begins to fall, he stumbles upon an unsuspecting lost little filly in the forest with a candy corn-hued mane and tail, a magnifying glass cutie mark, and [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath glowing yellow beacons for eyes]]. For anyone who had been with the fandom in its early days, especially [[GenreSavvy right around the time The Lost Element was first making the rounds,]] [[OhCrap you knew]] [[FromBadToWorse where this]] [[VideoGame/StoryOfTheBlanks was going.]]]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 2]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 3]]
** '''[[WhamEpisode Mortal Chaos]], full stop.''' Easily the most controversial chapter in the entire story, the sheer horrors [[BewareTheNiceOnes James]] forces Discord through are numerous and exceedingly graphic.
** The moment when James encounters the discorded projections of the Mane Si in his subconscious during "Sudden Death" where they merge together to form a horrifying chimera creature is so fucked up that it provides the page image above.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Volume 4]]
** In "Homo Pinkius", all is going well after Pinkie Pie accidentally turns herself human for a day in the middle of winter. Then she eventually goes ice skating with James and promptly falls through thin ice. Instead of it being a comical case of he popping back up in a block of ice, [[RealismInducedHorror she surfaces shrieking in pain and panic and is in very real danger of drowning in freezing water.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 4.5]]
* James gets shanghaied ''off a train'' by Celaeno and her crew. Granted, [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything they meant no harm]], but going into that scenario blind the first time is jarring.
[[/folder]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 2]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 3]]
** '''[[WhamEpisode Mortal Chaos]], full stop.''' Easily the most controversial chapter in the entire story, the sheer horrors [[BewareTheNiceOnes James]] forces Discord through are numerous and exceedingly graphic.
** The moment when James encounters the discorded projections of the Mane Si in his subconscious during "Sudden Death" where they merge together to form a horrifying chimera creature is so fucked up that it provides the page image above.
[[/folder]]
[[folder: Volume 4]]
** In "Homo Pinkius", all is going well after Pinkie Pie accidentally turns herself human for a day in the middle of winter. Then she eventually goes ice skating with James and promptly falls through thin ice. Instead of it being a comical case of he popping back up in a block of ice, [[RealismInducedHorror she surfaces shrieking in pain and panic and is in very real danger of drowning in freezing water.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Volume 4.5]]
* James gets shanghaied ''off a train'' by Celaeno and her crew. Granted, [[ThePiratesWhoDontDoAnything they meant no harm]], but going into that scenario blind the first time is jarring.
[[/folder]]
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Adding to the list
Changed line(s) 8 (click to see context) from:
** TheStinger reveals that his power is growing with every passing night and that the chapter takes place dangerously close to the modern day. And he is convinced [[ParanoiaFuel that his escape from the depths of Tartarus is nigh!]]
to:
** TheStinger reveals that his power is growing with every passing night and that the chapter takes place dangerously close to the modern day. And he is convinced [[ParanoiaFuel that his escape from the depths of Tartarus is nigh!]]nigh!]]
* One week after his arrival in Equeestria, James is [[DontGoInTheWoods forced into hiding out in the Everfree Forest]] by a vengeful [[BrattyHalfPint Diamond Tiara]]. While he does have the foresight to [[DamnedByFaintPraise arm himself with a knife and affixes a pot lid to his arm as an improvised shield,]] his lack of any real camping or solo exploration leaves James woefully unprepared for the trek. Considering the very real probability of encounters with [[SavageWolves Timber Wolves]], [[OurManticoresAreSpinier Manticores]], and [[OurHydrasAreDifferent one lurking hydra in a swamp]], it is a wonder that James survived his first day out there with little incident.
** And then as night begins to fall, he stumbles upon an unsuspecting lost little filly in the forest with a candy corn-hued mane and tail, a magnifying glass cutie mark, and [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath glowing yellow beacons for eyes]]. For anyone who had been with the fandom in its early days, especially [[GenreSavvy right around the time The Lost Element was first making the rounds,]] [[OhCrap you knew]] [[FromBadToWorse where this]] [[VideoGame/StoryOfTheBlanks was going.]]
* One week after his arrival in Equeestria, James is [[DontGoInTheWoods forced into hiding out in the Everfree Forest]] by a vengeful [[BrattyHalfPint Diamond Tiara]]. While he does have the foresight to [[DamnedByFaintPraise arm himself with a knife and affixes a pot lid to his arm as an improvised shield,]] his lack of any real camping or solo exploration leaves James woefully unprepared for the trek. Considering the very real probability of encounters with [[SavageWolves Timber Wolves]], [[OurManticoresAreSpinier Manticores]], and [[OurHydrasAreDifferent one lurking hydra in a swamp]], it is a wonder that James survived his first day out there with little incident.
** And then as night begins to fall, he stumbles upon an unsuspecting lost little filly in the forest with a candy corn-hued mane and tail, a magnifying glass cutie mark, and [[GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath glowing yellow beacons for eyes]]. For anyone who had been with the fandom in its early days, especially [[GenreSavvy right around the time The Lost Element was first making the rounds,]] [[OhCrap you knew]] [[FromBadToWorse where this]] [[VideoGame/StoryOfTheBlanks was going.]]
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None
Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/faces_of_madness_by_thejoker239_d8pv9ne_2.png]]
[[caption-width-right:350:You like [[NightmareFace Nightmare Faces?]] [[OhCrap How about six?]]]]
Even though The Lost Element stays very true to the source material's original tone and message, [[CerebusSyndrome that does not mean things don't ever get dark. Really dark.]]
* The prequel story, [[TheDarkTimes Before Time Began to Flow]], is oozing with this trope. The entire story is told from the perspective of Equestria's first overlord, who originally roamed the world when it was consumed by [[PrimordialChaos all manner of darkness and shadowy monsters]]. By the time he corrals the evils of the world [[SealedEvilInACan into an enchanted sack]] and guides the world into its first steps, he becomes a de facto VillainProtagonist and suckers [[DealWithTheDevil naive seekers of power into being exposed]] to the [[TheCorruption Miasma and becoming his disciples in time.]] And that's not when he's using the Miasma on random visitors ForTheEvulz! When the people finally rise up against him, [[OneManArmy he slaughters countless human warriors by the hundreds, if not thousands,]] until he finally collapses in exhaustion [[CorpseLand surrounded by mountains of corpses]] in a [[RiversOfBlood sea of blood.]] Even worse, while left severely weakened after being captured, '''''the people of Equestria cannot kill him''''', [[CompleteImmortality regardless of whatever methods they try.]] The best they can hope for is to lock him away.
** TheStinger reveals that his power is growing with every passing night and that the chapter takes place dangerously close to the modern day. And he is convinced [[ParanoiaFuel that his escape from the depths of Tartarus is nigh!]]
[[caption-width-right:350:You like [[NightmareFace Nightmare Faces?]] [[OhCrap How about six?]]]]
Even though The Lost Element stays very true to the source material's original tone and message, [[CerebusSyndrome that does not mean things don't ever get dark. Really dark.]]
* The prequel story, [[TheDarkTimes Before Time Began to Flow]], is oozing with this trope. The entire story is told from the perspective of Equestria's first overlord, who originally roamed the world when it was consumed by [[PrimordialChaos all manner of darkness and shadowy monsters]]. By the time he corrals the evils of the world [[SealedEvilInACan into an enchanted sack]] and guides the world into its first steps, he becomes a de facto VillainProtagonist and suckers [[DealWithTheDevil naive seekers of power into being exposed]] to the [[TheCorruption Miasma and becoming his disciples in time.]] And that's not when he's using the Miasma on random visitors ForTheEvulz! When the people finally rise up against him, [[OneManArmy he slaughters countless human warriors by the hundreds, if not thousands,]] until he finally collapses in exhaustion [[CorpseLand surrounded by mountains of corpses]] in a [[RiversOfBlood sea of blood.]] Even worse, while left severely weakened after being captured, '''''the people of Equestria cannot kill him''''', [[CompleteImmortality regardless of whatever methods they try.]] The best they can hope for is to lock him away.
** TheStinger reveals that his power is growing with every passing night and that the chapter takes place dangerously close to the modern day. And he is convinced [[ParanoiaFuel that his escape from the depths of Tartarus is nigh!]]
