Line #37 Fanfic/POPPED


1	[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/1f8107306ba13d0cd4c7981d6140a76e.jpg]]
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3	-> ''"It was almost like Pinkie was a big pink balloon, just like the ones on her flank. Sometimes, something would happen to make a bit of helium leak out of her, but somepony would always make sure she got back to being fully inflated. A smile here, a passing compliment there, and before long Pinkie was back at one-hundred percent.''
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5	-> ''But this was different. Pinkie was fully deflated, and no matter how much helium she got, she didn't get any better. Every bit would go right through one end and out the other, like trying to inflate a broken balloon.''
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7	-> ''That's the simplest way she could explain it to herself. She had been popped."''
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9	Most towns hold a dark secret, and Ponyville is no exception. For the past decade, mares have been disappearing, never to be seen again. Unfortunately, one of these mares turns out to be Pinkie Pie. Abducted on Hearth's Warming Eve, Pinkie Pie is taken to [[TortureCellar an isolated cabin in the middle of nowhere]] where she is subject to unimginable cruelty by her captor. Things get even worse when a visit to Ponyville by Pinkie's family makes the rest of the town realize she's missing, setting forth a chain of events that will have devastating consequences for those involved.
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11	''Popped'' is a ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'' fanfiction written by author [[https://www.fimfiction.net/user/Tapoff Tapoff]]. To put it plainly, it's pretty much what ''Fanfic/CupcakesSergeantSprinkles'' could have been if Sgt. Sprinkles hadn't written it as a joke. ''Popped'' is deeper, darker, and legitimately frightening. Oh, and Pinkie is in the victim's chair in this one.
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13	''Popped'' clocks in at about 80,000 words, significantly longer than most stories of its kind. Don't be fooled, though - While the story contains a lot of extreme gore, it also contains a fairly deep story of how Pinkie's disappearance affects the lives of her friends and loved ones, particularly Twilight Sparkle. ''Popped'' is not [[TorturePorn gore for the sake of gore]], but rather a look into how traumatic experiences can have drastic effects on a person's (or pony's) personality, their life, and those around them.
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15	'''You can read it [[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/103504/popped here]], but be warned: This story is not for the faint of heart.'''
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17	A sequel, ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/279661 One Flap Of A Butterfly's Wing]]'', was planned but repeatedly delayed and ultimately cancelled two chapters in.
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19	----
20	!!''Popped'' provides examples of:
21	* ATasteOfTheLash: At one point, Pokey whips Pinkie while forcing her to [[spoiler:dismember Rainbow's corpse]].
22	%% * AxCrazy: Pokey Pierce.
23	* TheBadGuyWins: [[spoiler:Pokey Pierce gets away, scot-free.]]
24	* BeingTorturedMakesYouEvil: [[spoiler:She doesn't necessarily become "evil", but Pinkie Pie is a very different pony after she is rescued from Pokey. Gone is the pony whose presence could once brighten even the most dour of demeanors, with only a broken and pessimistic shell remaining.]]
25	%% * BreakTheCutie: Pinkie Pie.
26	* BuriedAlive: [[spoiler:When Applejack stumbles on Pokey's cabin, he chases her down, breaks her legs, and throws her in the hole meant for Rainbow's corpse.]]
27	* ChekhovsExhibit: Pinkie's "long, blue and yellow" scarf, after it is used to asphyxiate her in the first chapter, is referred to in the background throughout the story. It's finally used as a makeshift disguise by Pokey near the end.
28	%% * ColdBloodedTorture: Pokey spends most of the fic inflicting this on Pinkie.
29	%% * CuriosityKilledTheCast: [[spoiler:Applejack and Rainbow Dash.]]
30	* CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash is beheaded with a knife, and Applejack is buried alive.]]
31	* DarkFic: IN SPADES. This fic is basically what ''Cupcakes'' would have been if it hadn't been written as a joke.
32	* DeniedFoodAsPunishment: One of Pokey's torture techniques is to starve Pinkie.
33	%% * DespairEventHorizon: Multiple times throughout the story.
34	* DontGoInTheWoods: Pokey's torture cabin is located somewhere in the woods. [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash and Applejack go in there looking for Pinkie Pie, and are both murdered.]]
35	* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie are all dead, Pokey has gotten away scot-free, Twilight is MIA, and it's all but stated the fallout of Pokey's atrocities will plunge Equestria into an unparalleled era of fear and tension.]]
36	* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler:The story ends with Pinkie Pie killing herself, shattered by her ordeal and the deaths of two of her dearest friends.]]
37	* EyeScream: Pokey Pierce ends up blinding Pinkie Pie in one eye by mutilating it with needles, fishhooks, and razor blades.
38	%% * FoolishSiblingResponsibleSibling: Marble and Limestone Pie are depicted as this, to a degree.
39	* {{Foreshadowing}}: There are lots of subtle nods that the reader will catch during a second reading, such as, "We are doing something, Rainbow! Keep your head on!". [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash is later beheaded.]]
40	%% * GigglingVillain: Pokey does this frequently as he tortures Pinkie.
41	* TheHeroDies: [[spoiler:Applejack and Rainbow Dash are both murdered by Pokey when they try to save Pinkie.]]
42	* HopeSpot: [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash almost manages to take down Pokey and save Pinkie Pie, but ends up being brutally killed in the end.]]
43	* ILied: After making Pinkie choose between being read Christmas cards from her family and eating, she chooses the cards. Pokey reads two before destroying the rest in front of her.
44	* ItsAllMyFault: By the end of the fic, both Pinkie and Twilight blame themselves for [[spoiler:Rainbow and Applejack's deaths]].
45	* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler:Pokey never gets caught. Well, not by anyone still alive at the end.]]
46	* LockedInTheDungeon: Pinkie spends most of the story locked up in a dungeon in a cabin in the woods.
47	%% * LovesTheSoundOfScreaming: Pokey.
48	* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash and Applejack spearhead the search for Pinkie, and end up paying for it with their lives. Rainbow even has a golden opportunity to abandon Pinkie and save herself, but squanders it in an ill-fated attempt to subdue Pokey and rescue Pinkie.]]
49	* NominalImportance: Averted. Most minor characters, such as the hospital staff and the guards get names, even if they only appear in one scene.
50	* OffWithHisHead: [[spoiler:Rainbow Dash is killed by decapitation.]]
51	* OutlivingOnesOffspring: [[spoiler:Pinkie's parents end up burying her in the end.]]
52	* PastVictimShowcase:
53	** In Part II, we're given a small glimpse of two of Pokey's past victims.
54	** When Pinkie asks Pokey what he plans to do with [[spoiler:Rainbow's body]], Pokey's reply is: [[spoiler:"I'll bury her with the others".]]
55	* PunishedWithUgly: Pinkie Pie's face is so horribly mutilated by [[spoiler:the time she gets rescued]] that even her friends are taken aback by her appearance.
56	* RuleOfDrama: Every time it seems something can go wrong, it does. And oh, does it go ''horribly'' wrong at that.
57	* ScrewThisImOuttaHere: [[spoiler:Twilight vanishes during Rainbow and Applejack's funeral, relinquishing her title of Princess and her crown in the process.]]
58	* SerialKiller: The main antagonist, Pokey Pierce, kidnaps young mares from around Ponyville and videotapes their final days alive.
59	* SnuffFilm: Pokey's huge collection of tapes where he slowly tortures mares to death.
60	* ToBeContinued: The story ends on a cliffhanger.
61	* TortureCellar: Pokey has one in his cabin, and makes quite a bit of use of it.
62	%%* VerbedTitle
63	* WouldHurtAChild: It is revealed in Part II that one of Pokey's past victims was a small filly.

Context Fanfic / POPPED