Fanfic / A Hollow in Equestria

Too... much... Pinkie Pie...

HiE - A Hollow in Equestria is a Slice of Life My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Crossover fanfic with Bleach by the author Charlie K.

After his defeat at the hands of Ichigo's fully hollowfied form, Ulquiorra finds himself in the great void between life and death, drifting aimlessly with no sights, sounds, smells or sensations to distract him from his thoughts.

And then Discord pops in and offers him the chance at a new life. Having nothing better to do with his current state of existence, Ulquiorra accepts, and finds himself transported to the land of Equestria, his Vasto Lorde form fully restored, along with his base language understanding converted to whatever it is the natives speak.

HiE starts out as obligatory introducing of various aspects of the two series for those with little understanding of either one. However it differs by assuming readers know which character looks like what, and only gives a basic character description from the point of view of a character encountering something unfamiliar to them.

Once introductions and initial meetings are out of the way things quickly escalate, with one big moment after another happening each chapter.

Warning: Spoilers ahead.

Now with a trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIguvceYEiY

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Tropes:

• Aborted Arc: The Filler arc, because progress for the main story was proceeding faster than anticipated.
• Absurdly Sharp Blade: Ulquiorra's zanpakutō. Murciélago is so sharp it can even cut right through Ulquiorra's own hierro.
• Accidental Misnaming: Rarity mispronounces "Cifer" with a hard "C" sound instead of a soft one on her first meeting with Ulquiorra, justified as she was told his name from her little sister.
• Adaptational Villainy: A comment by Rainbow Dash in Chapter 60 implies that her parents were abusive. The Season 7 episode "Parental Glideance", in which they are introduced, shows that they are anything but.
• Affably Evil: If anyone qualifies as this it's definitely Ulquiorra. Despite his blunt nature he's capable of being polite to others and willing to engage in thought provoking conversations over a cup of tea. Despite being polite he has no qualms with killing whatever gets in his way. He'll even pay you a compliment before ripping your heart out of your chest in front of your friends.
• All Girls Want Bad Boys:
  • During their rescue from the dragon, both Fluttershy and Rarity find themselves really admiring Ulquiorra's strength and dedication.
  • All of the Mane Six seem to gravitate to Ulquiorra for one reason or another.
  • It's been suggested that Rainbow Dash is physically attracted to Ulquiorra.
• Alas, Poor Villain: All Chrysalis really wanted was to save her hive from starving to death.
• Alien Autopsy: Referenced but not shown in chapter 33 in the aftermath of the changeling invasion.
• All Therapists Are Muggles: Mentioned in chapter 69. Justified as what they're facing is unlike anything that's been recorded in Equestria's history, so it's understandable that there's no one skilled in this particular field.
• Alone in a Crowd: Ulquiorra in general. Anytime he's surrounded by ponies, he's busy contemplating matters that just go to reinforce that he's still technically alone, no matter what the others may believe.
• A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Read: After Celestia used a magic Mind Probe to see Ulquiorra's past some of the images were so troubling that she couldn't sleep for several days after.
• Amplifier Artifact: The Elements of Harmony. As stated by Luna and Celestia, they don't house the individual aspects of harmony, they simply channel and concentrate the aspects, and allow for them to be applied directly.
• Amusing Injuries: In trying to imitate Lyra's bipedal abilities, Applejack falls flat on her butt, twice. The next day she's quite sore from her efforts, and trying her best to hide the fact.
• An Arm and a Leg: Deliberately employed by Ulquiorra during an interrogation, on himself no less, to prove that he's willing to do absolutely anything to protect Equestria. Being who he is it isn't permanent.
• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Ulquiorra theorizes in chapter 66 that the Big Bad is deliberately employing this trope, simply because without Rainbow Dash in her right mind, Equestria has already fallen.
• Antiquated Linguistics: Luna uses this throughout the story, all the way up to the chapters in the early 30s. After this point she makes an extensive effort to use a more modernized manner of speaking. This coincides with a request that the Mane Six see her more as a friend than a ruler.
• And I Must Scream:
  • Poor, poor Luna.
  • Technically Ulquiorra too at the beginning.
• And Show It to You: Toyed with. During the interrogation of Chrysalis, Luna warns that Ulquiorra will rip her spine out of her back and show it to her if she doesn't cooperate. Subverted as Ulquiorra points out that such a display is wasteful in nature, before elaborating on the physical impracticalities/impossibilities of such an act.
• Anti-Hero: Ulquiorra without a doubt. He's not heroic in nature, but he does good deeds regardless. His primary motivation is to keep Celestia placated, which in turn keeps his hide intact.
• Apophenia Plot: A large portion of the story revolves around Ulquiorra being convinced that something in Equestria is wrong, based on the timing of both the dragon attack and the changeling invasion coinciding with his arrival. As it turns out he was right.
• Armor Is Useless: Subverted. The armor Luna gave to Rainbow Dash in chapter 86 has done a great job at keeping her alive throughout the battle with Nightmare Moon.
• Armor-Piercing Question:
  • Ulquiorra pulls this when he asks Celestia why she trusts Discord more than him, despite Discord being a greater threat potential with his chaos powers.
  • Before that he pulled the same thing with Applejack, asking her if she truly believed Discord was evil compared to Nightmare Moon.
  Ulquiorra: During Discord's time free what actions did he take that could truly be considered evil in nature? Whose lives did he put at risk by being disorderly to Princess Celestia's rule? Had Nightmare Moon been allowed to implement eternal night the world's ecosystem would be decimated by the lack of sunlight and billions would die from the resulting deforestation and starvation. Can the same be said for what Discord did?
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: When Ulquiorra debates whether or not his logic can even apply in Equestria, he has this to say (or think to himself)
  He had been confronted with so many new concepts in his short time here, that he wasn't quite certain what exactly to believe in anymore. Magic, talking animals, friendship, exceedingly bright colors...
• ArtisticLicenseBiology: Ponies and other equines are physically incapable of vomiting. Despite this fact the mane cast regularly experiencing some pony vomiting for one reason or another.
• Ascended Extra: Shady. A blind, sarcastic filly with a penchant for snark. She was originally just a deleted scene character to give Ulquiorra someone to trade snark with. But her resulting popularity eventually led to her being confirmed as canon to the story.
• As Lethal as It Needs to Be: Ulquiorra IS this trope. He's demonstrated how he can beat a dragon with enough force to actually make it bleed, and he can drive his arm through a changeling's ribcage with very little effort. But because he's under orders from Celestia to not hurt her subjects, he tends to pull his punches, and only use violence when it's required, and he can get away with it.
• Audience Participation: Interesting and noteworthy reviews get addressed in the story. Readers even get credited when they contribute something the author sees as significant.
• Author Catchphrase: ". . .in nature."
• A Wizard Did It: Discord is the reason Ulquiorra is in Equestria, and also why he can speak, write and read the native language with ease.
• Background Music: Something unique for a fanfic this has shown up time from time, usually Bleach's sound track.
• Badass Bookworm: Surprisingly Ulquiorra. Most of the time not spent dealing with a crisis is utilized either doing research in Canterlot's library or out in the field.
  • Twilight as well.
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Pretty much Ulquiorra without question. Despite playing for the side of good, he still regards himself as the Token Evil Teammate. In fact he regularly reminds the ponies of this fact anytime he feels they're getting too chummy with him. So when something distasteful arises, such as the need for torture or murder, he volunteers to handle it himself; both to serve as a reminder of what he is, and due to recognizing that he's the only one qualified.
• Bare-Handed Blade Block: Utilized by Ulquiorra.
• Bathos: The story features it's fair share. Tense moments are setup to fill the reader with unease, only to feature something hilarious later on to tear it back down.
• Bathtub Bonding: Done in chapter 58 between Rainbow Dash and Luna.
• Batman Gambit: Implemented by Celestia with Ulquiorra's help. Mixed results were achieved.
• Bear Hug: Pinkie does this after learning about Ulquiorra's supposedly tragic past.
  • Princess Luna invokes this trope after learning that Ulquiorra's never experienced happiness. Like ever.
• Beam-O-War: Done between Twilight and Chrysalis as they battle over Ulquiorra.
• Beam Spam: Twilight attempts this against the dragon, but without much success.
• Beleaguered Bureaucrat: Celestia and Luna have this trope to deal with for most of the story. According to the author this is why they get so little time storywise, and only appear when it could be believable that they'd get anything resembling a break from their duties.
• Beware the Quiet Ones: Ulquiorra believes this applies to Fluttershy, based on the fact that she could command a dragon with her voice and her glare, when his fists failed to achieve the same results.
• Big Bad: Revealed to be Nightmare Moon.
• Big Damn Heroes:
  • When a Dragon bears down on the Element bearers, Ulquiorra steps in and stops the 50 foot dragon with his bare hands.
  • When Chrysalis tricks Celestia into letting her guard down and immobilizes her, she doesn't revel in her victory for very long before Ulquiorra puts his hand through her ribcage.
  • Rainbow Dash joining in the battle with Ulquiorra against the illusion of Ichigo's fully Hollowfied form.
  • Luna entering the battle in chapter 89 to save Rainbow Dash.
• Big Entrance: Toyed with. Ulquiorra manages to make a number of big entrances, but with extreme subtlety in his approach, to the point he's practically sneaking up on the ponies.
• Big "NO!": Twilight's reaction to seeing Princess Celestia killed.
• Bitch Slap: Ulquiorra smacks the dragon during their aerial combat. It has enough force that the dragon actually moves.
• Blind Mistake: In the deleted scene of chapter 77, a blind pony walks right into Ulquiorra, because she didn't detect him standing there.
• Blood from the Mouth: Changeling Fluttershy when Ulquiorra kills her starts vomiting blood.
• Bloodless Carnage: Averted, except for when it's played straight. Case in point, Celestia.
• Bloodier and Gorier: Compared to the source material, the story is a literal bloodbath, especially in the filler chapters.
• Blood Magic: The Gran Rey Cero. Ulquiorra attempts to utilize this to guarantee the death of an invading dragon. However he never gets to actually use it as Celestia prevents its unleash.
• Blunt "Yes": Ulquiorra gives Discord one after the latter asked him if he was insane for refusing his offer to remove Celestia's seal on him.
  Discord: "You're turning down the opportunity of absolute power? And for what, loyalty to Celestia? Are you insane or something, lad?"
  Ulquiorra: Correct.
• Body Horror: Chapter 61 gives us a nice example of Dinky Hoove's body rotting and falling apart right in front of Derpy's eyes.
  • Ulquiorra to some extent, what with the gaping hole in his chest. Naturally most anyone who sees it gets freaked out by the sight of it.
• Boxing Lessons for Superman: Ulquiorra had taught himself the anatomy of every one of the pony races -and possibly other races- so if he has to use his immense strength he could do so without killing them by knowing the limits of their bodies.
• Brainwashing for the Greater Good: This trope is definitely toyed with in chapter 42 by Celestia. Twilight calls her out on it, while Celestia explains how what she's doing is simply exercising an already-existing therapy spell to suppress the natural fear reaction the ponies would be experiencing around Ulquiorra. Twilight seems less than convinced that it's truly for the greater good.
• Break the Cutie: The story seems to be going this way for Twilight
  • Twilight has nothing on what happened to Rainbow Dash in chapter 52
• Break Them by Talking: Ulquiorra does an odd example of this. He finds it easier to break a psyche than to build it up. So he keeps trying to get Rainbow Dash so angry that they get back to their senses.
• Breather Episode: Happens frequently throughout the story. Notable examples are;
  • The slumber party in Canterlot after the dragon fight in chapter 18
  • Chapters 35-42 after the Changeling Arc. They consisted mostly of how the ponies viewed friendship and a party set for Ulquiorra.
  • Chapters 63-65 which were mostly focused on Twilight calming Applejack after her Mind Screw while still moving the plot forward.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Surprisingly done by Ulquiorra in chapter 77.
• Brick Joke: Way back in chapter 22, Ulquiorra warns Rainbow Dash if she keeps trying to punch him, her leg will break before his face. Fast forward to chapter 52 and guess what happens.
  • The lantern holding Ulquiorra's cero from chapter 51 comes back in chapter 70
• Bring My Brown Pants: Celestia nearly wets herself the first time she sees what Ulqiorra's Cero can really do. It doesn't help that she's facing him at the time, and is far closer to it than she wants to be.
• Broke Your Arm Punching Out Cthulhu: Rainbow Dash makes two attempts at physically assaulting Ulquiorra during a state of intense emotional disturbance. The first time he stops her before she can hurt herself. The second time she puts so much effort into it she winds up breaking her leg in the first round.
  • Subverted. She fails to actually cause him any damage in either case, so she fails at the Punching Out part.
• Brutal Honesty: Ulquiorra plays with this, depending on who he's dealing with and how easily they could succeed in critically hurting him.
• Bucket Booby-Trap: Happened to Ulquiorra twice, first time by Lilynette Gingerbuck, filled with blue paint, in Huecco Mundo.
  • The second by Pinkie, filled with confetti, in front of Sugarcube Corner.
• Bullying the Dragon: Doctor Thrush most certainly does this, and it doesn't end all that well.
  • Firstly he tries to intimidate, Cuatro Espada Ulquiorra Cifer for calling him out on using a paralysis spell on Rainbow Dash.
  • Then he gets mad and attempts to scold Princess Celestia for getting mad at him for not doing his job.
• Call-Back: Happens quite a bit throughout the story. If the source material isn't constantly being referenced, events that happened in the story are regularly being brought up.
• Call-Forward: Chapter 46 introduces Twilight's love for the Hayburger, despite chronologically being long before Twilight Time.
• Captain's Log: Chapter 35 is basically one long journal entry written by Ulquiorra about his observations of Equestria, and the ponies that inhabit it.
• Chase Fight: Rainbow Dash flies after and tackles an escaping dragon. It works surprisingly well.
• The Chessmaster: Celestia likes to believe herself to be this. She isn't, as Ulquiorra has no problem letting her know when he sees one of her attempts and refuses to take the bait.
• Choke Holds: Twice Ulquiorra has done this to Rainbow Dash in order to exert control over her.
• Cliffhanger: Used in fucking excess! The author uses cliffhanger endings in the story the same way others would use a comma.
• Clothing Damage:
  • Averted. Ulquiorra's Espada uniform isn't even singed when he faces the dragon.
  • In the changeling arc when there's the possibility of getting soaked in blood, he swaps out his jacket for a shirt made by Rarity.
• Colossus Climb: Ulquiorra pulls this when facing off against the dragon, using his sonido to instantly appear standing on top of its head, looking down on it.
• Combat Pragmatist: Ulquiorra has this in spades. When a dragon takes up roost in the mountains (basically a repeat of "Dragonshy") his answer is the Cero the beast from Canterlot palace and be done with it.
• Combat Tentacles: Rarity demonstrates this trope in Chapter 98, wrapping her magic around multiple gems to form additional limbs.
• Convection, Schmonvection: Chapter 62 seemed devoted to defying this trope.
• Cool Big Sis: Luna more of less qualifies as this to Rainbow Dash.
• Cooldown Hug: Used by Rarity to stop Rainbow Dash from having a full blown anxiety attack.
  • Nurse Goodwill gives one to Luna in chapter 67 supplemental.
  • Ulquiorra gives one to Rainbow in chapter 71.
• Corrupt the Cutie: In chapter 48 Pinkie is worried that Twilight is falling victim to this trope.
  Pinkie: " Twilight, I can see it. You're becoming more like Ulqy is,"
• Cosmic Flaw: Chapter 105 reveals this to be the reason why everything is going wrong. Something in the vast multiverse of existence has, as Discrd puts it, "shifted" and thrown their world off its intended course. Reality itself has been warped to the point that even Discord can't undo it, all he can do is try to minimize the danger such poses to the main characters.
• "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot: Upon learning why he was brought to Equestria, Ulquiorra directly references this trope, pointing out that if he'd simply been asked for help, he would've given it, and a great deal of pain and suffering could've been avoided. But, Discord being Discord, sells his roundabout approach to doing business as a Secret Test of Character to ensure Ulquiorra was truly right for the job.
• Creepy Monotone: Ulquiorra invokes this all the freaking time! When he gets upset, his voice never increases in volume or pitch. This just serves to make the others all the more scared of him. When they're not trying to hug him that is.
• Cruel and Unusual Death: Thrush is squarely impaled on this trope in chapter 73.
• Cry into Chest: This is Pinkie's response to learning of Ulquiorra's past in Hueco Mundo. Considering Twilight is the one explaining his past, and attempting to portray him in a positive light, it's more understood than if he did the explaining.
  • Rainbow Dash does a surprising amount of this during the broken rainbow arc.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Ulquiorra vs a hundred foot tall dragon. The dragon gets trashed with incredible ease.
• Curse Cut Short: Spike interrupts Twilight before she can finish a rhyme for Zecora, describing her cart in a negative light.
• David Versus Goliath: Ulquiorra, 5ft 6,1/2 in VS 2-3 story when crouched^note Ulquiorra describes it as "easily the size of a Gillian-class hollow", which is between 2-3 stories, dragon. Ulquiorra is able to beat it with his fists, only swinging his sword to defend the mane six from fire.
• Deadly Gas: Mentioned in chapter 62.
• Dead Man Writing: Technically Ulquiorra's not alive, so when he's engaged in correspondence...
• Death of a Child: Luna recounts how, while possessed as Nightmare Moon, she was forced to watch as the dark entity murdered and then devoured the souls of seventeen foals.
• Decapitation Presentation: After he kills Celestia Ulquiorra laments that he and Chysalis could not do this, she suggests doing it to Luna.
  • This is the main aspect of Diamond Tiara's mind screw.
• Derailed for Details: The author seems to draw a sadistic level of pleasure from filling each chapter with loads and loads of details about all manner of things, even if they have no relevance until several chapters later on.
• Deflector Shields:
  • Twilight's shield spells get used fairly frequently.
  • Celestia's is bigger.
• Defiant to the End: During the dragon arc, when said dragon is bearing down on their position with a murderous intent, Twilight refuses to admit that they're screwed and tries to shoot the dragon down by herself. Cue Ulquiorra's Big Damn Heroes moment.
• Destination Defenestration: In chapter 66, Rainbow Dash comes crashing through a window in Canterlot palace. She winds up nearly dying from her injuries, and has to be rushed to surgery to keep her alive.
• Didn't Think This Through: Chapter 52 has Rainbow Dash trying to kick Ulquiorra in the face to make him move. Unfortunately the physics of his dimension are still in play with his body, and she breaks her leg in the process.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: Ulquiorra punches the dragon in the chest with his fist. Once. The dragon collapses in pain and even bleeds as a result.
• Dissonant Serenity: Ulquiorra. Always Ulquiorra. The others are in a near-constant state of panic from being attacked and threatened. Meanwhile Ulquiorra is calm, cool, collected, and ready to lay waste to whatever threat is present.
• Do Not Go Gentle: Celestia's dead. Ulquiorra serves Chrysalis. The changelings have retaken all of Canterlot. Despite all of this, the Mane Six refuse to resign themselves to defeat.
• Dreadful Musician: Twilight's first appearance is her singing a horribly off-key song that she picked up from Pinkie. It's apparently bad enough to begin to give Spike indigestion.
• Dream Land: Luna pulls Ulquiorra to this in order to have a group meeting with Celestia, Spike and the mane six. Ulquiorra describes it as dark and with no physical sensations of any kind, also foggy at times, and the dreams of the ponies seem to be organized like foggy filing cabinets.
• Dream Weaver:
  • Luna as controller of dreams.
  • Pinkie Pie, which is referred to as a "Lucid Dreamer", can alter everything around her, even other dreamers.
• Dynamic Entry:
  • Ulquiorra uses his Cero to blast a hole into the changeling hive.
  • Subverted when Ulquiorra tries to kick down the door to Twilight's room. Twilight's door kicks him back.
• Eating Optional: Ulquiorra doesn't need to eat, as he can sustain himself through mana absorption. However while he doesn't specifically need to eat, he has experimented with a few foods on occasion. Celestia and presumably Luna also don't need to eat, but they do because it makes a nice indulgence.
• Eldritch Abomination: In a world filled with fantastic and terrible creatures, Ulquiorra stands out among them. He fits the description, beyond comprehension his powers leave all the ponies astonished from cero to his ressurection. Reality warps around him because he is from a different universe,and his universe's laws apply to him coupled with how they are so different from Equestria's. Existing outside reality as the ponies know it, he is from a different reality entirely.
• Enhanced Interrogation Techniques: Ulquiorra doesn't use actual torture or violence to get information from the changeling. Instead uses psychological brutality to get what he wants, such as asking the changeling which of its limbs it wouldn't mind losing in comparison to any of its others.
• Episode Code Number: All the chapters save for filler which starts its own sequence, or extras are set up in sequential numbering.
• Expecting Someone Taller: Practically said word for word by Zecora upon first meeting Ulquiorra in chapter 40.
• Exposition Beam: Ulquiorra pulls this off with his Solita Vista technique in chapter 58.
• Extreme Omnivore: Pinkie devours an entire cake and the serving tray it was sitting on in a single gulp.
• Even Evil Has Standards: Both Token Evil Teammate Ulquiorra and Big Bad Nightmare Moon have disgust for one another for various reasons:
  • Nightmare Moon sees absolutely nothing wrong with murdering others, devouring the souls of innocent ponies to faciliate her return to power, taking foals as hostages, and engaging in the sadistic Mind Rape of random ponies who don't even pose a threat to her. Yet she's horrified when Ulquiorra tells her the number of souls she's devoured pales in comparison to the number he's eaten. She particularly takes offense to finding out such was done due to mere hunger. She also kills Doctor Thrush for the fact that his abyssmal treatment of Rainbow Dash led to the pegasus developing Nyctophobia^note  a fear of darkness for those who don't know.
  • Ulquiorra believes certain threats should be killed as a first response because leaving them alive is too much of a risk, and has no qualms with engaging in violence in general, because it gets the job done in the most straightforward manner possible. Yet he doesn't believe in torture, he'll generally attempt to make his kills as quick and simple as possible, and objects to the sadistic tendencies demonstrated by Nightmare Moon.
• Eye Scream:
  • Thrice Ulquiorra has performed his Solista Vista technique, which involves plucking out one of his eyes and crushing it to display specific memories.
  • Alluded to being the fate of the changeling that was interrogated.
  • Confirmed as the fate of Pipsqueak at the claws of the manticore attack on Ponyville.
  • Dinky, in Ditzy's mind screw which described as an eye gone and some skin falling off on one side.
• Face–Heel Turn: Ulquiorra goes to the changeling hive with the intention of killing Chrysalis and every last changeling present. Instead he winds up deciding to serve her rather than remain loyal to Celestia, as Chrysalis possesses what he believes are superior personality traits. Subverted. Ulquiorra's betrayal was all a part of Celestia's plan.
• Fainting:
  • Surprisingly not by Rarity. Twilight faints upon seeing Ulquiorra's Hollow hole for the first time, as its existence defies all scientific convention.
  • The changeling Ulquiorra interrogates does this at the end.
• Fake Memories: Happens to Rainbow, Ulquiorra later fixes it with his solita vista, pesquisa, and hours worth of testimonies from others.
• False Friend: Ulquiorra intends to invoke this trope in chapter 35 and onward, believing that if the ponies believe he's fully committed to the idea, they'll leave him alone, and focus on helping him learn whose threatening Equestria. Unfortunately his plans backfire by unanticipated developments, and the friendships developed that he didn't understand to begin with, have unintentionally been strengthened.
• Fear of Thunder: Ulquiorra hypothesizes that Applejack suffers from astraphobia when she becomes visibly uncomfortable with the idea of Twilight practicing any lightning spells on Sweet Apple Acres.
• Filler: The two chapters between Chapter 52 and 53 are nothing but straight up filler, consisting of straight up mindless violence, and Ulquiorra being a general action-oriented badass.
• First-Name Basis: Twilight, Spike, Celestia, Fluttershy, and Rarity towards Ulquiorra
• Fix Fic: The story has officially headed off into this territory by having Twilight apologize profusely to Rainbow Dash over the whole Mare Do Well incident.
• Flash Back Echo: Numerous times. Often a scene in the story will in some way bear similarities to scenes from the manga, and Ulquiorra will draw the parallels based on his own experiences.
• Foil: Pinkie and Ulquiorra. only similiarity is the lonely past.
• Forbidden Chekhov's Gun: The spell that gives the caster control of the subjects freewill from chapter 60
• Force Feeding: Ulquiorra does this with Twilight in chapter 42 at Rainbow Dash's suggestion. However it's played for laughs and involves stuffing a chocolate cupcake in her mouth to try and head off an OCD meltdown on her part. It works surprisingly well.
  • Ulquiorra later warns Rainbow Dash that if she doesn't eat during her recovery, he'll force her to eat. She retorts that if he tries he'll be wearing the food.
  • Chapter 85 has Ulquiorra actually forcing Celestia to consume the antidote necessary to get her back in action, while threatening her with a feeding tube if she doesn't cooperate.
• For Want Of A Nail: Ulquiorra's presence in the world changes the timeline dramatically from canon.
  • Ulquiorra has a theory that Discord brought him in to stop some future tragedy
• Framing Device: Chapter 51 is mostly set in this, as Twilight explains what happened earlier that day.
• Freudian Excuse: Played with. Chrysalis' excuse for her evil tactics is due to trying to keep her hive, her own children, from dying a painful death by starvation. However the validity of her claim is called into question when it's revealed she's suffering from schizophrenia and the changeling equivalent of mad cow disease.
• Freudian Slip:
  • Nonsexual example Ulquiorra will sometimes use equestrian words, equestrianisms? ("anypony" instead of "anybody").
  • Chapter 69 gives us the king of all slips when Ulquiorra makes the offhand statement that Applejack and Rainbow Dash are not only Twilight's friends, but his friends as well.
• Friendless Background: Ulquiorra has this in spades. Surprisingly it's a trait shared with Pinkie Pie. But while Pinkie laments the fact, Ulquiorra is unfazed by such.
• Full-Name Basis:
  • Ulquiorra to any of the ponies he will refer to them by full name if they have two and the princesses by title and name.
  • The one time Ulquiorra averted this trope, the mane six had figured out he was under the effects of poison joke.
• Genius Bruiser: Ulquiorra is without a doubt the embodiment of this trope.
• Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: After being the recipient of a Mind Screw, Celestia becomes unstable and aggressive to anyone that approaches her. Ulquiorra proceeds to slap her across the face, and tell her that she's going to listen to him.
• Glass-Shattering Sound: In chapter 66, Luna wants to scream because of how stressed she is. However she doesn't, noting that the Royal Canterlot Voice would risk shattering the windows in the palace.
• Glowing Eyesof Doom: Twilight invokes this during her bout of Unstoppable Rage. It's short lived.
• Godzilla Threshold: Twilight assumes this has happened with Ulquiorra's FaceHeelTurn and plans on using The Alicorn Amulet to stop them.
• Good is Not Nice: Ulquiorra will protect Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony, protecting all of Equestria in the process. However his interpretation of "protecting" is more along the lines of "kill any possible threats that might be encountered along the road."
• Good Old Fisticuffs: During the filler fight against the Executioner from Resident Evil 5, Ulquiorra resorts to basic boxing moves to try and subdue his opponent, without causing excessive damage to Ponyville.
• Gossip Evolution: According to passages in chapter 67 -and confirmation from the author- rumors about Ulquiorra's feats are spreading, despite Celestia's best efforts at keeping them quiet.
• Grievous Harm with a Body: Ulquiorra invokes this when fighting the Majini during the filler. He grabs one by the legs and swings them about to take down a number of others.
• Groin Attack: Discussed. In chapter 26 when Rainbow Dash is going on about how they should have cut off Chryslis' horn when they had the opportunity, Rarity points out in a disgusted manner how horn removal is the magic equivalent of castrating a stallion.
  • Referenced as being a part of Rainbow Dash's hallucinations, which according to Ulquiorra, no such incident actually occurred.
• Ground Punch: Attempted by the dragon in an effort to pound Ulquiorra into the ground like a tent steak. Subverted when Ulquiorra displays his badassery by stopping the dragon's fist with one hand.
• Group Hug: Celestia surprisingly finds herself in the middle of one of these when most of the mane six forgive her Batman Gambit during the changeling arc. Ulquiorra observes that he's glad it wasn't him in the middle of it.
• Growing Muscles Sequence: Mentioned in a deleted scene for chapter 79 and involving Spike
• Half the Man He Used to Be: During the changeling arc, Ulquiorra completely cuts a changeling in half with a single stroke of his sword.
• Hammerspace: Pinkie has this.
• Handshake Refusal: Ulquiorra wouldn't shake Pinkie Pies hoof upon their first meeting, he wanted to see how long it would take her to realize he wasn't going to^note nearly a full minute
• Handshake Substitute: Done between Rainbow Dash and Ulquiorra in chapter 84.
• Hard Head: Rainbow Dash plays this trope straight to perform a rescue against the dragon. Justified as the story establishes her durability when using her Sonic Rainboom.
• Hearing Voices: Rainbow starts to when her desire to kill Rarity starts to waver.
• Hero with Bad Publicity: Ulquiorra definitely qualifies. His brutality scares most ponies and sends them running in terror on sight. But Twilight and the others are at least trying to see to damage control for him.
• Heroic Resolve: Rainbow Dash makes use of this trope in chapter 79 to overcome a paralysis spell.
• Heroic Sacrifice: Celestia does this to save Twilight from being killed.
• Heroic Willpower: Rainbow Dash utilizes this trope twice to overcome the mental trauma she's experienced. Once in chapter 76, and again in chapter 79.
• "Hey, You!" Haymaker: Ulquiorra actually does this in the second filler chapter. The results are quite spectacular
• Hidden Depths: Ulquiorra feels the fact that the mane 6 all let him be under the effects of poison joke invokes this, as it means there is more to interacting with them than guarding them.
• High-Altitude Battle:
  • Celestia and Ulquiorra engage in this during the Changeling arc
  • Prior to that Ulquiorra was involved in an dogfight with a dragon.
• His Name Is...: Chrysalis attempts to confirm Ulquiorra's theory in the last moments of her life, but dies before she can finish her sentence.
• Horror Hunger: Ulquiorra isn't the only devourer of souls to curse Equestria with his presence. A thousand years ago Nightmare Moon did the same thing.
• Hour of Power: Chapter 105 drops a major bombshell on the readers about how the immense strength Ulquiorra gains from his resurrection puts a major strain on his existence in equestria. To try and minimize this, Discord recommends Ulquiorra spend no more than three minutes in his released state, lest reality erase him entirely.
• Hyper Competent Side Kick: Ulquiorra is one towards Celestia.
• I Am Not Left-Handed:
  • Demonstrated by Ulquiorra in the most recent chapter.
  • He also has no problem using just his left hand for most conflicts.
• I'll Kill You!: Stated by Rainbow Dash in chapter 51 towards Rarity.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Ulquiorra likes this trope. He likes this trope very much.
  • Rainbow Dash has demonstrated this trope herself in chapter 89.
• Invulnerable Knuckles: Ulquiorra points out to Rainbow Dash that her hoof (and leg) will break long before his face will.
• Informed Ability: Ulquiorra states that Celestia and Luna's reiatsu levels are so intense they cause him physical pain to be in close proximity to. Twilight and the others don't seem to notice any such issue. He was lying about that too.
• Innocent Swearing: Invoked by Rainbow Dash in chapter 46, because she didn't know what the word "fuck" meant. Once she learned, however, she was horrified that she picked it up.
• Improbable Weapon User: Roseluck. After an unfortunate incident, she chucks potted plants at Ulquiorra.
• Instant Emergency Response: Played straight in chapter 66. Justified as the incident which warrants the response happens inside the palace, and teleportation might've been in play.
• Instant Expert: Heavily subverted when it comes to Twilight learning an advanced lightning spell. Ulquiorra explains how her attempts to properly control it involve continual study and effort to the point of exhaustion, with Spike sometimes having to carry her home while she's unconscious.
• Intermission: Employed in chapter 77, either to hide something truly unbelievable on Ulquiorra's part, or to cut down on story length.
• Interspecies Adoption: In chapter 69 Luna -equine- proposes adopting Ulquiorra -Hollow- as her son.
• Interspecies Romance: The story seems to go out of its way to establish that this will NOT be happening. Ulquiorra states outright that the idea of repulsive to even consider. Later in the story it's teased that Rainbow Dash is physically attracted to him, before being called out on it, and quickly denies it outright, saying such isn't her cup of tea.
• Interrupted Suicide: Rainbow's is interrupted by Ulquiorra.
• Intoxication Ensues: Ulquiorra's exposure to poison joke leaves him calmer and less of a hardass. The mane six decide to leave him this way for the party he's been forced to attend, both out of curiosity, and because after everything that's happened up to that point, they believe he could benefit from some good public relations.
• Inverse Law of Sharpness and Accuracy: Ulquiorra is deadly accurate with his sword, when he determines that an opponent is worth the effort of actually drawing it.
• I Work Alone: Ulquiorra prefers to deal with crises on his own, as he doesn't have to bother with the soft touch to keep the Mane Six safe.
• Karmic Death: Thrush was found beaten and stabbed to death in his prison cell, with the coroner stating that his death would've been excrutiating.
• Jack Bauer Interrogation Technique: Ulquiorra threatens to utilize this trope if necessary to get the information he wants. To elaborate, the Cuatro Espada first cuts off his own arm, just to prove that he's willing to do whatever's necessary. THEN he proceeds to threaten the changeling with limb amputation, forcefully tearing its wings off to see if they'll regrow, and peeling its skin right off its body to see if the pain will be enough to kill it.
• Javelin Thrower: Ulquiorra in his release state exchanges his sword for Luz De La Luna, which he does throw.
• Jaw Drop: Pinkie's reaction to Ulquiorra telling her he has no friends. Her jaw actually goes all the way to the ground.
• Jerkass: Definitely Ulquiorra. However he doesn't go out of his way to engage in jerkdom, but rather it's a side effect of constantly looking at the bottom line of the situation.
• Jerkass Has a Point: Ulquiorra is incredibly blunt in his observation of things. But when he's right, he's absolutely right.
• The Juggernaut: Ulquiorra qualifies with everything he's withstood so far. The only ones capable of stopping him are Celestia and Luna, and even that may not hold true anymore.
• Just Following Orders: Ulquiorra's modus operandi.
• Just Friends: Toyed with throughout the story. There are a number of hints about various couple potentials, but nothing actually comes from them.
• Kamehame Hadoken: Ulquiorra's Cero most definitely counts. All three variants.
  • In a recent chapter Twilight displays something similar during a fit of Unstoppable Rage. It's suggested that she nearly exhausted herself to death as a result.
• Kick Them While They Are Down: Ulquiorra's answer to the dragon. He's unwilling to stop just because it's grounded and can't get back up again.
• Kill It with Fire: Spike tries this in one of the filler chapters.
• Kill the Cutie: The readers are lead to believe that Ulquiorra brutally murdered Fluttershy for no reason. It turns out to be a changeling in her place.
• Klatchian Coffee: Ulquiorra seems to regard Spike's special blend of coffee as being this.
  Despite the strong smell, he'd still expected to encounter something that was at least similar to the tea served by Applejack on their first meeting. Instead his taste buds had been greeted by what had to be the liquid equivalent of a punch in the face from the rainbow-maned pegasus. It was stout. It was strong. It was mildly bitter. He found himself briefly wondering if the brew was capable of serving as both a paint stripper and rust remover. This was supposed to be a beverage that was enjoyed?
• Klingons Love Shakespeare: An interesting example. Twilight has developed a strange fondness for human obscenities after learning them from Ulquiorra, and apparently has a habit of flinging them about quite liberally.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Ulquiorra seems to be one. He doesn't agree with the outlook by Celestia and the other ponies; in fact he finds them quite moronic. But despite that fact, he's loyal to Celestia and will do as instructed, up until the point where he must deviate from one order to fulfill another order.
• Lampshade Hanging: Ulquiorra does this when learning about Twilight's OCD tendencies all the way in chapter 43. He asks her why this was never brought up before, and explains how it seems contrived. Twilight explains that she didn't bring it up because she doesn't like talking about it, and thought she finally had it under control.
  • Done previous in chapter 32 after he impaled Chrysalis right through the chest, before flinging her against the prison bars. He observes how she shouldn't even be able to breathe, much less talk in the aftermath.
• Large Ham: Ulquiorra isn't it. He holds no belief that he's skilled in theatrics or acting, nor does he ever speak above his usual monotone range. And he's genuinely surprised when he has to perform and is taken seriously.
• Laser Blade:
  • Apparently Celestia has one.
  • Ulquiorra's Luz De La Luna also qualifies.
  • Twilight is in the process of forming her own, using the lightning spell as a starting point.
• Last-Name Basis: Applejack for Ulquiorra, applejack only refers to him as "Mr.Cifer" being she can't pronounce his first name.
• Let Me Get This Straight...: Twilight says something similar to this in Chapter 59 when she finds out she slept through, Rainbow came back to ponyville to kill Rarity, the element of loyalty has gone dormant, they can't do anything about it, and that to Ulquiorra they may all be expendable if they can't fulfill their roles as bearers of harmony.
• Living Lie Detector: Though Ulquiorra isn't technically alive he is able to tell when people/ponies are lying with his pesquisa.
• Licked by the Dog: A significant number of the ponies that interact with Ulquiorra tend to invoke this trope. The majority of them simply don't understand his true nature, and the few that do simply don't seem to care.
• Light Is Not Good:
  • Ulquiorra's impression of Celestia.
  • Ulquiorra himself. He wears white. He IS white. He serves Celestia, but he has absolutely no qualms with killing someone or something he believes to be a threat.
• Lightning Gun: Twilight's attempting to invoke this trope as of chapter 51.
• Literally Shattered Lives: Celestia's body crumbles and turns into a pile of ash when she dies by Ulquiorra's javelin.
• Loophole Abuse: Ulquiorra finds himself under very specific orders from Princess Celestia upon arriving in Equestria: "You will not attack my subjects, nor do anything to cause them harm, or put them in risk." He agrees to abide by these rules, but not necessarily in the manner she intended them to be followed. Ulquiorra chose to interpret her instructions in a manner that allows him to use physical force against threats when they arise, because not becoming involved would mean standing by and potentially allowing others to die due to inaction, which is in direct conflict with her orders. Celestia isn't pleased with such an interpretation, but is ultimately forced to admit his reasoning is sound.
• Loyal Phlebotinum: The Elements of Harmony are confirmed as being this as of chapter 59. They're tied to the Mane Six, and can't be reassigned to more qualifies applicants with training in handling monsters and doomsday scenarios.
• Ludicrous Gibs: Invoked in the two current filler chapters in all its gory goodness.
• Made of Iron: Ulquiorra naturally. His Hierro leaves him Nigh-Invulnerable.
• Mana Drain: Twilight performs this during the changeling arc to replenish herself after her fight with Ulquiorra.
• Mandatory Unretirement: This is a key plot point of chapter 45. Recognizing that they're hopelessly out of their league, Celestia asks Ulquiorra to take up his old ways again, because they need him and his skills. He readily jumps at the chance of doing just that.
• Mathematician's Answer: Ulquiorra is constantly doing this.
• Meaningful Name: All of the Medical staff are plays off medical terms, or their general personality.
  • Doctor Mandibular Malar: translates to Tongue and Cheek.
  • Nurse Goodwill: she was very trusting and friendly towards Rainbow Dash.
  • Doctor Thrush: Thrush is a fungal infection of the hoof, and he is very irritable like an infection.
  • Orderly Corners: Corner Teeth are the outer pair of incisor teeth of a horse's jaws. Also hospital corners on beds. He was afraid of Ulquiorra because he has the ability to identify which pony cast what spells.
  • Orderly Charley: a charley horse which is a muscle spasm.
• Mercy Kill: Performed by Ulquiorra to spare a dying foal an even more excruciating death.
• Mind Control: How Chrysalis got Ulquiorra over to her side
  • Jossed as it turns out Ulquiorra was just faking under orders from Celestia.
• Mind Probe: Celestia does this twice in the story. The first time with Ulquiorra when they first meet, however what she learns leaves her disturbed for days. The second time she attempts to probe the mind of a capture changeling, but there's far too much interference for her to learn anything.
• Mind Rape: What happened to Rainbow Dash. If that isn't a Mind Rape then what is?
  • Even Rainbow Dash refers to it like this in chapter 60, she also asks if Ulquiorra was a victim of this trope because of Aizen's Kyōka Suigetsu.
  • As of chapter 72 most of ponyville has been affected.
• Mind Virus: A new theory presented by Ulquiorra of what is wrong with Rainbow Dash
  • Discussed but now averted as it is hinted to be narcotic based.
• Mirror Scare: Chapter 54 subverts this trope. Despite looking in a mirror at the time, she failed to see Rainbow Dash creeping up behind her. When she hears the voice, she doesn't even bother checking the reflection.
• Morally Ambiguous Doctorate: Doctor Thrush, he takes unethical measures on his patient, along with using his title and prestige to keep his employees silent about the unethical behavior.
• Mundane Object Amazement: The concept of a pen evokes this in Twilight, so much so she asked to go to Ulquiorra's world to get them.
  • To a lesser extent, there's Zecora's reaction to ducttape.
• Murder by Inaction: This is brought up during the dragon arc as he was told to let Fluttershy handle the sleeping dragon but when she couldn't he attacked the dragon citing his first order, and this trope as, reasoning.
• Muscles Are Meaningless: Ulquiorra's first physical confrontation in Equestria is a giant dragon, stated as being around a hundred feet tall, and each of its fingers are at least twice as big around as his arms. The ponies assume that Ulquiorra is dead meat during the fight, and are genuinely shocked with disbelief as he proves to be anything but.
• Mutilation Interrogation: Ulquiorra shows early on that he doesn't wish to be messed with. Rather than harm the changeling to make it talk, he cuts off his own arm in full view, before asking the changeling what it believes he'd do to one whose pain he can't feel.
• My God, What Have I Done?: This is pretty much Rainbow Dash's reaction after realizing that her memories of betrayal are false, and that she tried to kill Rarity for nothing.
• My Master, Right or Wrong: Ulquiorra is a version of this, mostly because he doesn't care either way.
• Neck Lift: Ulquiorra performs this on Rainbow Dash while pretending to serve Chrysalis.
• Neck Snap: Ulquiorra does this twice in the same chapter.
• The Needs of the Many: Everyone who knows the element of loyalty has gone black and is tied to Rainbow until she dies doesn't want Ulquiorra knowing that, because he may kill Rainbow under the trope idea.
  • In chapter 26, Rainbow Dash states she's willing to support this position with regard to the changelings.
• Nice to the Waiter: Surprisingly Ulquiorra pulls off this trope. While he's generally indifferent towards everyone, palace staff or otherwise, he treats them with the same respect he treats everyone else. He's also been shown as willing to help out others even when he's not directly obligated, so long as he sees it as a logical endeavor.
• Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: Ulquiorra. Always Ulquiorra. The horrors he's witnessed in Equestria leave him totally unfazed, while everyone else is terrified, sickened, or traumatized to some degree.
• No Body Left Behind: Celestia ironically after being killed by Ulquiorra, turns to ash. She gets better.
• Nosebleed: Experienced by Twilight during chapter 51 when she's trying to master an advanced lightning spell, signifying a great deal of physical strain is involved.
• No Dead Body Poops: Averted in chapter 73 with Thrush.
• No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Twilight's reward for being a good friend and helping Applejack after her tramatic experience? Accidently getting her ribs bruised by Applejack in her sleep making it hard for her to breath, and talk.
• Nominal Hero: Ulquiorra is the 3rd type of this, he insists he is not a hero when he has saved the element bearers but is Just Following Orders
• No Party Like a Donner Party: It's revealed that the changelings have resorted to this due to desperation.
• No-Sell: Ulquiorra's reaction to being physically assaulted by Rainbow Dash.
  • Pretty much Ulquiorra's reaction to being assaulted by the dragon as well.
  • Outright stated by Zecora when she doesn't believe Ulquiorra's explanation about his nature.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Experienced by Ulquiorra while interrogating Luna about her involving Twilight with his integration into Equestria.
  • More or less stated by Celestia when she realizes Ulquiorra's been able to use his release the entire time.
• Old Soldier: The only thing that keeps this trope from applying to Ulquiorra is the fact that no one (not even himself) seems to know how just old he is.
• Only a Flesh Wound: Because Ulquiorra can regenerate damage done to his body, most injuries tend to be this.
• Only Sane Man: All of the cast have moments of great intelligence. But Ulquiorra is the only one who is intelligent all of the time.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Employed in chapter 67 supplemental. Up to that point in the story, Rainbow Dash has NEVER used Ulquiorra's name, or made any attempt to, but rather a far more informal manner of address. So when she suddenly starts referring to him by his actual name, he knows automatically that things have gone from bad to worse.
  • The same thing but in reverse for Ulquiorra, when he doesn't use Twilight's full name she later realizes something isn't right.
• Open Heart Dentistry: Played with in chapter 44. Ulquiorra notes that he does have knowledge of a procedure that could save Cupid from death by suffocation. However he also notes that he has no practical experience for how to proceed with such a technique.
• Orderlies are Creeps: Subverted. The two orderlies, Corners and Charley, initially come off as being creepy individuals. It's revealed at the end that they've actually been threatened and ordered to utilize such tactics when dealing with difficult patients.
• Out of the Inferno: Ulquiorra casually strolls through the dragon's stream of fire, performing an Unflinching Walk in the process, much to the bewilderment of everyone present and watching.
• Overshadowed by Awesome: The Mane Six have gone from being the saviors of Equestria, to being rendered pretty much obsolete by Ulquiorra. He's faster, stronger, and smarter than all of them, has no hesitation about using whatever means deemed necessary to achieve a specific goal. He's a single individual capable of doing what six ponies and six magical objects have been required to do, and they all know it.
  • Officially Jossed by Discord himself, explaining that Twilight and her friends are anything but obsolete because they embody something Ulquiorra never could; hope. Whereas he brings despair, they bring optimism and the belief that things can turn out for the better.
• Pædo Hunt: Referenced in chapter 67 as how Corners got roped into doing what he was doing.
• Painful Transformation: Happens during a deleted scene for chapter 79 with Spike's transformation suggesting his body is ripping itself apart and quickly reforming. Made all the worse as it stops halfway through, and his body quickly reverts back to normal, leaving him in excruciating pain.
• Paint the Town Red: The aftermath of Ulquiorra slaughtering the changelings that invaded Ponyville. In less than five minutes time the entire town is littered with dismembered corpses and blood splattered literally everywhere.
• Pay Evil unto Evil: Played with. Ulquiorra's a remorseless killing machine, and has absolutely no problem with using torture or physical violence to get what he wants. However he reserves such tactics for dealing with genuine threats to Equestria's safety.
• Person of Mass Destruction: Apparently all the unicorns are this as they have magic core and if it ignites, they explode.
• Pet the Dog:
  • Ulquiorra's actions with ending Cupid's suffering may very well qualify, as he explains how simply waiting for nature to take its course would be extremely cruel.
  • Ulqiorra's interactions with the CMC in chapter 51 would also qualify. It starts with him stopping Sweetie Belle from crashing into the ground, and eventually ends with him giving Scootaloo some advice on how she may increase her chances of learning to fly.
• Pint Sized Power House: Ulquiorra indirectly references this when he confirms he's the smallest in size to hold the title of Espada. This is later emphasized when Ulquiorra faces down a dragon by himself, and the dragon can't do squat to hurt him.
• Police Are Useless: The guards in Chapter 60, Ulquiorra sent them away because of their incompetence when Rainbow nearly killed herself.
  • So far averted with the new guards.
• Potty Emergency: Luna's apparently suffering from one in chapter 46.
• Power Gives You Wings: Ulquiorra's released state. Not that he needs them, as he can fly and airwalk with ease.
  • Justified in chapter 102, as the powerup Ulquiorra receives allows his high-speed regeneration to regrow his cut off wings
• Power Incontinence: The latest chapter presents us with the theory that Celestia is so powerful that she can't control the full extent of her own strength, and instead can only show a tiny portion of what she can do.
• Power of Friendship: Done quite literally. For 17 long chapters Ulquiorra has been engaged in extended combat against Nightmare Moon, both delivering and taking quite a beating, left on the verge of collapse and potentially even death from his reiryoku reserves being exhausted to the point he can't even heal his own injuries. So what do the ponies do in response? They give Ulquiorra all of their mana to recharge him, with it being implied the infusion of their magical energies have allowed him to finally understand what friendship really is.
• Precision F-Strike:
  • Used by Twilight. Making it even funnier is how she uses the curses from Ulquiorra's world.
  • Also used by Luna.
  • Ulquiorra isn't above it when the situation demands such a response.
  • And now Celestia has gotten in on the act.
  • Rainbow Dash most recently.
  • Rarity as well.
• Punch! Punch! Punch! Uh Oh...: Played pretty straight in chapter 22, with Rainbow Dash punching Ulquiorra in the face as hard as she can, five times in a row. However he stops her from landing any other blows, explaining that if she keeps it up, she'll break her leg in the process. She responds by promptly kicking him under the chin.
• Rage Against the Mentor: Twilight to Celestia after the Batman Gambit
• Reading Lips: Mentioned in chapter 58. Pinkie states that it's not a skill she has, before elaborating that even if she did, Ulquiorra's mouth doesn't move the same way a pony's mouth moves, so she wouldn't be able to tell what he's saying anyway.
• Real Men Hate Affection: Played with. Being the primary male of the story, Ulquiorra qualifies. However he has no particular disdain for affection, and is simply disinterested in the basic idea. He even states that because of his nature it's simply not something he's capable of.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Heavily subverted. Twilight suffers a hemorrhage in one of her eyes due to excessive concentration and magical practice, resulting in the white of her eye turning completely blood red. Ulquiorra explains that the same result could be had from sneezing or coughing too hard, due to the fragile nature of blood vessels in the eyes. Scootaloo thinks it's cool nonetheless.
• Redundant Rescue: Rainbow Dash tries to rescue Ulquiorra from the dragon as it's flying off with him in tow. Ulquiorra later proves he had no need of being rescued in the first place, and instead was looking out for their wellbeing, by putting distance between them and the dragon.
• Related in the Adaptation: While they have no relation in the show, here Twist is Bonbon's little sister.
• Restraining Bolt: Celestia seals Ulquiorra's released state to make him less of a threat to her subjects. For most of the story we're lead to believe that she was successful in trapping him in his base form. And then Ulquiorra goes and shows that he's been playing her the entire time.
• Royals Who Actually Do Something: Both Celestia and Luna play active roles in the story.
• The Resenter: It turns out Rainbow Dash really didn't take well to the whole "Mare Do Well" incident.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Cupid is this.
• Sadistic Choice: The entire basis of chapter 62.
• Sarcastic Clapping: Ulquiorra gives this to the dragon in chapter 14 as a response to it trying to incinerate him.
• Scaled Up: Rainbow Dash invokes this trope in an effort to battle against her nightmares, reasoning that dragons are awesome and have no fear to exploit.
  • Turned around Rainbow Dash in chapter 88 by Nightmare Moon in an effort to get an upper hoof in their battle.
• Security Cling: Happens a few times over the course of the story.
• Self-Deprecation: Twilight mocks one of the possible theories of what is going on in chapter 64 for being ludicrous, which was Charlie_K making a Take That! at himself for all his Faux Shadowing mysteries.
• Sensing You Are Outmatched: When Ulquiorra uses his resurrección in his fight with Celestia over Canterlot Twilight recognizes they can do nothing but sit back and watch.
• Sensory Overload: This is one theory of what happens to Ulquiorra with long range teleportation.
• Sherlock Scan: Ulquiorra has this without any doubt. He can pick up things that the others can't, and quickly hypothesize that there's something deeper going on than they realized.
• Shear Menace: Rainbow Dash attempts this on Rarity.
• Shell-Shocked Veteran: This trope definitely applies to Ulquiorra. The introduction is practically word for word to his character; he's seen and done things that no amount of therapy is going to heal (not that he actually cares) and doesn't have much care for those around him, so long as they're staying safe.
• Shock and Awe: Twilight is attempting to work her way towards this.
• Shovel Strike: During the second filler chapter, Spike acquires a shovel as his weapon.
  • Ulquiorra utilizes this trope offscreen in chapter 81 for the purpose of killing a cockatrice. He later reports that the shovel didn't survive such use.
• Shipper on Deck: Ulquiorra accuses Luna of being this asking if she was trying to pair Twilight with him early on, this pushes her Berserk Button.
• Ship Tease: Twilight wakes up during a slumber party to find Rainbow Dash snuggling her like a teddy bear. Rainbow Dash doesn't help the matters any by commenting that Twilight is plush and more comfortable than her own pillow.
• Shout-Out: All over the place. Death Note, Snowdrop (2013), and Cupcakes (Sergeant Sprinkles) are just some of the references to be found inside.
• Sickening "Crunch!": Utilized several times to indicate Ulquiorra's badass strength is not to be underestimated. Usually accompanied by sompony wincing and stating "that had to hurt."
• Sir Swears-a-Lot: Twilight actually, once she learns them from Ulquiorra she has no qualms with using them, much to Spike's chagrin.
• Sixth Ranger Traitor: The primary trope of the entire changeling encounter, with the Mane Six believing that Ulquiorra has turned against them. Subverted when it was revealed that Ulquiorra was still loyal to them, and was simply following orders from Celestia herself.
• Sleep Cute: Toyed with. While Ulquiorra is demonstrating the fact he doesn't need sleep during his studying, Twilight eventually succumbs and sleeps the night away, using his leg/knee as a pillow. He does nothing to disturb her rest and simply ignores her.
  • Done again in chapter 65 with Applejack and Twilight sharing the bed for comfort.
• Sleeves Are for Wimps: Ulquiorra wears a sleeveless shirt during the changeling arc, and that's when action really starts picking up.
• Slumber Party: Twice, once in Canterlot which Ulquiorra was able to get away from half way through
  • The second time in Golden Oak's Library where he was guarding the group after a manticore attack that day.
• Smart People Play Chess: When it comes to actual chess, Ulquiorra seems to qualify. Neither Twilight nor Spike proved capable of beating him despite their best efforts.
• Snark-to-Snark Combat: The basic premise of one of the deleted scenes in chapter 77.
• Sneeze Cut: Included due to Rule of Funny. Made all the funnier when Luna's sneeze can blow over those in attendance.
• Sociopathic Hero: Ulquiorra has no qualms with torturing and killing in order to assist protecting Equestria from harm.
• Soft Glass: Averted in chapter 66, with Rainbow Dash almost dying from all the injuries sustained in the process of crashing through a window.
• Something Else Also Rises:
  • Rainbow Dash. Twice.
  • If you wanna be technical, Ulquiorra too...
• Soulless Bedroom: Ulquiorra's room at Canterlot Palace. By Princess Luna's standards it's quite spartan and barren, furnished only in the basics it was supplied with when he was first introduced to them.
• Starting a New Life: Discord brought Ulquiorra to Equestria to start a new life, it ends up being pretty similar to his old one.
• Staying with Friends: Twilight is letting Applejack do this in the aftermath of her Mind Screw attack.
• Stress Vomit: Experienced by Twilight after Ulquiorra forces her to serve as an Unwitting Pawn in killing the changelings infesting Ponyville. Rainbow Dash's commentary of how bad dead changelings smell probably didn't help any.
  • Rainbow Dash succumbs to this as well in chapter 56.
  • Applejack experiences this fate as well.
• Sucking-In Lines: Described whenever Ulquiorra's making use of his Cero to inspire a visual representation of someone witnessing his technique from the wrong end.
• Suplex Finisher: Blossomforth uses this in the fight against Nightmare Moon.
• Super-Intelligence: Both Ulquiorra and Twilight are competitors for this title, each of them highly intelligent, and possessing extensive knowledge about various topics.
• Surgeons Can Do Autopsies If They Want: Subverted. Celestia specifically calls in a qualified medical examiner to carry out the autopsy on Chrysalis.
• Surrounded by Idiots: How Ulquiorra feels, and he voices it neatly in chapter twenty-one:
  Ulquiorra: I consider all of you to be nothing but trash. Back in Hueco Mundo I wouldn't have given any consideration to wasting my time with a single one of you. Besides being trash you're all supremely stupid. You were correct to fear me after finding out about my true nature. Then you suddenly feel sorry for me after having learned about my past? You believe incidents you consider to be tragic in nature negates what I have done and done so willingly? The fact you are trusted with the safety and wellbeing of Equestria leads one to question the wisdom of your Princess Celestia and how the world hasn't fallen into utter destruction yet.
• Sword Drag: Deliberately invoked by Ulquiorra in chapter 23. He drags his zanpakutō along a table while interrogating a changeling in order to extract vital information. When that doesn't work, he starts dragging his zanpakutō against the changeling's exoskeleton.
• Sympathy for the Devil: Directly mentioned in chapter 60 in reference to Luna feeling bad for Ulquiorra.
• Taking You with Me: Averted. Chapter 102 strongly implies that Ulquiorra intends to invoke this trope to put an end to Nightmare Moon once and for all. Presumably by consuming her soul just before succumbing to his own Critical Existence Failure, ensuring she has no way of recovering or escape.
• Talking with Signs: Twilight employs this trope in chapter 67 after Applejack accidentally kicks her in the ribs and it hurts to talk.
• Tap on the Head: Toyed with. It's been shown that hitting a unicorn or changeling on their horn will temporarily disable their magic and leave them in pain, but it won't render them unconscious. The author has gone on record stating that the trope won't be employed in the story, as it doesn't work in real life.
  • Played straight in Rainbow Dash's recollection of being knocked unconscious, kidnapped, raped, and tortured by the others
  • Was used by Ulquiorra to put a dying foal out of its misery.
  • Rainbow Dash attempts to invoke this on herself with a tree, but her Hard Head won't let her succeed in knocking herself out.
  • Played straight with a changeling spy. But the tap consisted more of a roundhouse kick to the head from Ulquiorra.
• Team Dad: Ulquiorra has brief (very brief) moments of this trope, primarily when he's dealing with the CMC and other foals.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Anytime Ulquiorra has to work with the mane six on anything of genuine importance, like the safety of Equestria. He has little tolerance for their emotional nonsense, and they abhor his utter brutality and straightforward approach to facing a threat. And that's just when things are in the nonlethal category.
  • Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon having to work alongside the Cutie Mark Crusaders would certainly count as well.
• Teleportation Sickness: Ulquiorra suffers from this when teleported long distances. It usually involves sensory deprivation, and is believed to be because of how much information he can retain.
• Tempting Fate: Inverted, one of the guards in Chapter 60 says, "What's the worst that can happen. . ." after Rainbow Dash attempts suicide instead of before.
  • Subverted as well since the worst didn't happen, just nearly.
  • Doubly subverted as Rainbow Dash was trying to kill herself even before the guard asked the question.
• The Cameo: Chapter 9 has a cameo by a zebra in a fedora, best known as the author avatar of Dirty Bit, who wrote the similarly themed story Cuatro.
• The Heartless: Essentially, what a Hollow is by nature, but Ulquiorra takes it further as the Aspect of Emptiness. In essence, this renders him the exact anti-thesis to everything Equestria is and he notes this himself.
• The Main Characters Do Everything: Generally the cast doesn't do much beyond their established areas of expertise, unless a situation arises and demands they deviate from such. Ulquiorra is the subversion, as he's seen doing a number of different things, ranging from repairing a broken cart, to setting a broken leg in an emergency splint. To some extent this is justified, as early on the story establishes that he spends many hours, if not entire days, doing extensive research about the various aspects of Equestria. And as he explains, it's never known when his duties of protecting Equestria might require some piece of offbeat information.
• The Medic: A fair number of them make an appearance in the story. Doctor Stable and Nurse Redheart are present for the aftermath of the manticore attack in chapter 44, and are continually referred to in the chapters that follow. Later chapters introduce Nurse Goodwill and Mandibular Malar, a long time practicing general surgeon who works for Princess Celestia.
• The Nick Namer: Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash, both refer to Ulquiorra by nicknames "Ulqy", "U.C" and "Dude" the last two both by Rainbow Dash.
• The Nothing After Death: This is where Ulquiorra finds himself at the beginning of the story.
  • Played with as Discord offhandedly mentions it's more like a waiting room and not the final stop.
• The Needless: Ulquiorra. He doesn't need to sleep or eat in order to survive. About the only thing he truly does need is cooperation from the others.
• There Are No Therapists: Subverted in chapter 69. According to Luna and Ulquiorra, there are plenty of therapists, counselors, and psychiatrists available. The trick is finding one with the proper skill in addressing Mind Rape victims.
• There Is Only One Bed: Utilized in chapter 65. The potential for discomfort and awkwardness is addressed. Deliberately invoked by Twilight, reasoning that with everything that's happened, Applejack shouldn't be stuck either with the couch or a sleeping bag.
• The Rest Shall Pass: Rainbow Dash invokes this trope via flashback in chapter 28.
• The Sleepless: Celestia, and most likely Luna, don't need sleep, they just like it.
  • While they don't need it, Luna and Celestia do suffer affects of sleep deprivation.
  • Ulquiorra is the truest form of this trope.
• The Social Darwinist: More or less stated by Ulquiorra as being the chief reason he abides by Celestia and Luna's orders.
• The Stoic: Ulquiorra is his usual quiet self regardless of what he faces in Equestria.
• The Unpronounceable: Ulquiorra's name for Rainbow Dash, so she called him "dude", or "UC", much to his chagrin, she agreed to refer to him by his rank.
  • The same technically goes for Applejack, who simply refers to him as "Mr. Cifer" whenever she addresses him.
• Think Nothing of It: This is Ulquiorra's default response to whenever he does something that's considered heroic. To him it's all a part of the job.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: Toyed with. The story starts out very strong with this trope, with Celestia making it quite clear to Ulquiorra that he will NOT be hurting her ponies. But as the story continues, and things become Darker and Edgier the ponies are actually the ones who're wondering if Ulquiorra's way is the correct way of doing things.
• Token Evil Teammate: Ulquiorra isn't really evil, but his way of doing things is certainly eviler than the others are really comfortable with.
• Took a Level in Badass: Throughout the story, Spike has establishing moments of badass status. He's regularly displaying respectable levels of intelligence and bravery.
• Took a Level in Kindness: Ulquiorra shows development in this, however it is still debatable if he is only doing kind acts to make sure the mane6 and Princesses keep on the current major task, or actual development.
• Transformation Is a Free Action: Justified for two reasons in chapter 25. The first is that Celestia assumed her binding spell sealed off Ulquiorra's released state, leaving her taken by surprise. The second is that, while it was unexpected, it was all part of an elaborate plan discussed ahead of time.
  • Enforced in chapter 101. Nightmare Moon actually has the sense to attack Ulquiorra while he was utilizing his ressurection. But the spiritual pressure generated by his body at the time is so great her attack shatters, leaving her unable to do anything except watch.
• Tranquil Fury: Ulquiorra is the undisputed master of this trope. When facing down an irate dragon, he acts utterly bored with actually having to come to the rescue.
• Translator Microbes: Discord switches Ulquiorra's base language to the same language spoken in Equestria, whatever it truly is. However some of the basic terms from his world still aren't understood.
• Troubling Unchildlike Behavior: Chapter 90 mentions the foals cheering Ulquiorra on as he fights the conjured image of Ichigo's fully Hollowfied form, and actually encouraging him to engage in greater levels of violence against it.
• Trust Password: Brought up in chapter 23 during the search for missing ponies, but never used beyond that.
• Trying Not to Cry: Rainbow Dash tries hard to invoke this trope in chapter 58. She fails miserably at it.
• Underestimating Badassery: Thrush falls victim to this trope in chapter 67. Twice. Once with Ulquiorra, and again with Princess Celestia.
  • Celestia herself falls into this in regards to Ulquiorra, not realizing how powerful he really was until she experienced his transformation firsthand.
• Unstoppable Rage: Twilight succumbs to this and tries to kill Ulquiorra. She fails.
• Unwanted Rescue: During the dragon arc Ulquiorra is "captured" and the dragon takes off. Fearing the worst Rainbow Dash takes off to rescue him. Ulquiorra later informs them it was his intention to get the dragon away from the cave to avoid unnecessary casualties.
• Use Your Head: Rainbow Dash does this by tackling a dragon and slamming her head into its ribs.
• Villain Protagonist: Ulquiorra without a doubt. A villain in his own dimension, seen as a hero in Equestria, and rescuer to the mane six three times already.
• Violence is the Only Option: This trope has slowly been creeping into the story ever since the dragon arc, and bit by bit being referenced to ever greater degrees.
• The Virus: Ulquiorra has a theory that some biological contaminant is behind Rainbow Dash's affliction.
  • As of chapter 67 this was Jossed according to doctor Thrush's diagnosis nothing viral, nor bacterial is affecting her.
• Void Between the Worlds: Discord suggests this is where Ulquiorra found himself after his death in Hueco Mundo.
• Vomit Discretion Shot: Celestia doesn't respond well to seeing Ulquiorra's interrogation techniques.
• Vomit Indiscretion Shot: Numerous times by numerous characters. Lampshaded by Ulquiorra when he notes how ponies aren't even supposed to be able to vomit.
• Wave-Motion Gun: Ulquiorra's Cero qualifies, but ultimately pales in comparison to Celestia's own WMG-type attack. When used it generates phsyical recoil and produces sufficent heat to burn Ulquiorra's skin just from being in the area.
• Weaksauce Weakness: Discord. For all of his chaotic powers and abilities to twist reality to whatever he pleases, doing orderly deeds can be incredibly dangerous to him, and puts him at the risk of ceasing to exist if he does too much, too fast, without adequate time to recover. Even giving a straight answer can be dangerous if he's overtaxed on order.
• We Want Our Jerk Back!: Toyed with in chapters 42 and 43. Ulquiorra is under the effects of poison joke, and while the change isn't drastic, it's still noticeable enough for the others to realize something isn't right. They have an extensive discussion relating to this trope. However it's ultimately subverted when they all conclude that they'll get him the antidote, after giving him time to experience things in his current condition, believing that it'll give him a chance to learn how to be happy.
• Weirdness Magnet: Every time Ulquiorra comes to Ponyville, something bad or strange is bound to occur.
• Wham Shot: The last line of chapter fifty-eight.
• What Is Evil?: Ulquiorra asks a similar question to Applejack if Discord is truly evil, explaining why the elements didn't purify him like they did Luna. Also applies to Ulquiorra himself as Celestia points out nothing he does is motivated by malice, merely logic or orders.
  Ulquiorra: "During Discord's time free what actions did he take that could truly be considered evil in nature? Whose lives did he put at risk by being disorderly to Princess Celestia's rule?"
• What the Hell, Hero?: Ulquiorra calls out Celestia for sending Twilight and the others to deal with a vicious dragon that nearly killed them.
  • He later delivers such a speech to the Mane Six after finding out they decided to leave him doped up on poison joke.
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Much like in the source material, Ulquiorra has a hard time understanding the concepts of love and friendship. However there are points that suggest he's slowly gaining an understanding of the latter.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: With how the ponies see him, saddened by his social darwinism, violent, and empty past, but seeing how strong he is this would be Ulquiorra from most of the other character's perspective.
• Would Hurt a Child: Nightmare Moon.
  • Ulquiorra to spare it from dying of Manticore Venom
  • The currently unknown Big Bad, used a mind screw on Diamond Tiara.
• Wrench Whack: During the filler Twilight makes use of a wrench for pounding on enemies when escape isn't an option.
• You Called Me "X"; It Must Be Serious: This is Ulquiorra's reaction when Rainbow Dash refers to him by name for the first time ever.
• You Can't Go Home Again: Ulquiorra can't, he even said to Twilight when she asked to go to his dimension for a pen, if he could go back he would have long ago.
• You Do Not Want To Know: Ulquiorra outright states this in chapter 27, when Discord asks the Espada how he could force his cooperation in a matter he didn't want to participate in.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: When the element of loyalty had turned black and is tied to its bearer's life, Spike brings up that Ulquiorra might kill them if this is happens to any of them, saying he would consider it as saving more lives.
  • Twilight eventually brings this up with him and confirms he would if he thought it would work.
• You Monster!: This is the thought going through most of the mane six's heads as Ulquiorra beats the dragon to near death, and after he reveals his hollow hole, in response he almost congratulates them on finally figuring it out.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Ulquiorra compliments the Mane Six on having the guile to actually take advantage of his impaired state and using it to their advantage. This upsets them more than being berated for their actions.
• Your Days Are Numbered: Chrysalis says this about Celestia as she is about to invade Canterlot.
• You Wouldn't Shoot Me: When Luna talks with Ulquiorra to discuss his report of Ponyville's inhabitants, he eventually gets her so mad she threatened to send him to the moon, to which he replied she wouldn't for two reasons.
  • One being that she would be overstepping her bounds as one of two rulers of Equestria.
  • Two that she would be admitting her efforts in getting him out of the Palace meant nothing.

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