It's been a year since a tragic accident took Applejack's parents. A year, and she still doesn't know what to do with herself. Encouraged by friends and family, she decides to spend the summer vacation at Fluttershy's beach house on Splendora Island. She's not sure if it's helping. Then, one night, she finds something injured on the beach. No, not something. Someone.
— The official description
Guppy Love
is a humanized My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic Shipping Alternate Universe Fic written by PaulAsaran.
This fic provides examples of:
- Bathtub Mermaid: After finding her, Applejack places Rarity in one inside an abandoned aquarium.
- Brutal Honesty: Fluttershy and Rainbow force Applejack to accept the truth that Rarity can’t stay with her and that’s she’s unhealthily clinging onto her as a replacement for her deceased parents.
- The Cameo: Sunset Shimmer at the end as Rarity’s new girlfriend.
- Deceased Parents Are the Best: Applejack’s parents which leads to her travelling to Splendora Island to visit Fluttershy for the summer.
- Fell Asleep Crying: After Rarity tells her that she doesn’t return her feelings and that she can’t stay with her, Applejack breaks down crying and falls asleep while Rarity hugs her and hums a comforting lullaby.
- Five Stages of Grief: Applejack goes through all five stages in Chapter 6 when Fluttershy and Rainbow confront her about her puppy love crush on Rarity, forcing her to face the fact that she’ll have to leave once her injury’s healed.
- Florence Nightingale Effect: The main story kicks off with Applejack finding Rarity unconscious on the beach with her tail injured from an orca attack and decides to take care of her.
- Foreshadowing: There are quite a few hints throughout the story that Applejack’s crush is more shallow than genuine love and Rarity doesn't feel the same way about her.
- Godiva Hair: When Applejack first sees Rarity's bare breasts after she starts examining her features, she covers them up with the mermaid's hair.
- Innocent Fanservice Girl: Neither Rarity or Sweetie Belle wear bras. When learning to speak English, Applejack gets flustered when Rarity curiously asks about the word “breasts” and the purpose of clothing. She tries not to stare as Rarity lifts and lowers her own while practicing saying the word. And fails.
- Like Brother and Sister: Rarity and Sweetie Belle are not related in this story, rather they share a sibling-like bond with each other, having travelled together their whole lives.
- My Sister Is Off-Limits: Sweetie Belle to Rarity.
- Our Mermaids Are Different: Unlike the myths and the movie Splash, neither Rarity nor Sweetie Belle’s tails turn into human legs when they’re out of the water, further negating Applejack’s desire for Rarity to stay.
- Roadside Surgery: To keep Rarity and Sweetie Belle from being discovered by other humans, Rarity lays on a rock near the lake the two mermaids hide in while Fluttershy performs the surgery on her injured tail.
- Satellite Love Interest: Sunset Shimmer's entire role in the story is to head off criticism of the author after the central gay relationship doesn't work and Applejack ends the story married to a man and pregnant.
- Slash Fic: The fic centers around Applejack's crush on Rarity. But in the end it turns out Rarity doesn't reciprocate.
- Spirited Competitor: The minute she’s introduced to Rarity and Sweetie Belle, Rainbow Dash is incredibly eager to have a swimming race with them.
- Stronger Than They Look: Though less dramatic than most instances of this trope, when Sweetie Belle attacks Applejack at their first meeting her punches are a joke, so she switches to using the full strength of her tail to lunge and becomes a problem.
