Two different My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fanfictions were written, apparently independently, around the same time. Both of them involved Celestia keeping a human prisoner. In both stories, the human knew things about Equestria it should have had no way of knowing, as well as being incredibly powerful and difficult to keep locked up.
Those two stories were "Machinations in the Dark" and "Celestia's Prophet".
Machinations in the Dark of Celestia's Prophet
was originally written as a one-shot to parody those stories. The initial premise remains the same (the main character is a human imprisoned by Celestia) but in MitDoCP the main character is a harmless ditz, and things only go as badly as they do because every pony that sees him automatically assumes the worst of him.
This Fan Fic contains examples of:
- Aren't You Going to Ravish Me? - Rarity asks this of Conrad word-for-word, only for him to call her crazy and then run out the door. The scene ends with her screaming in frustration.
- Breaking the Bonds - What happens when Celestia, frustrated with Conrad, unthinkingly tells him to leave the room (prison).
- Brick Joke - The monsters that were attacking Ponyville.
- Chew Toy - Conrad. Brave Heart possibly even more so, though he stays behind in Canterlot once the story shifts to Ponyville.
- Comical Overreacting - Pretty much every pony that sees Conrad.
- Description Cut - Celestia assures Conrad that Ponyville is a quiet, peaceful town. Cut to a chaotic fight taking place in Ponyville.
- Discontinuity Nod:
- Applejack claims that her Element of Honesty makes her a living lie detector, which is a popular fanon belief. In this story, she's completely wrong.
- Later, Rainbow Dash attempts to convince Gary Stu that ponies naturally form a herd with many mares and one stallion. They don't, and she's really just trying to get into Gary Stu's pants.
- The Ditz / The Fool - Conrad.
- Groin Attack - Done by Rainbow Dash to Conrad.
- Innocent Innuendo: The conversation Pinkie Pie, Conrad, and Discord have behind closed doors is this to an eavesdropping Mrs. Cake. This trope is then Lampshaded and Subverted.
- Lampshade Wearing: Twilight Sparkle does this while very drunk.
- Mind-Control Music - Celestia thinks Conrad has this. He doesn't. Doubles as a reference to Machinations in the Dark, where the main character does have Mind Control Music.
- Noodle Implements - Pinkie Pie apparently saved the town and her friends from an army of monsters with a vat of chocolate frosting.
- Only Sane Man - Pinkie Pie and Discord, oddly enough.
Word of God states that most of the so-called "villains" are also this. - Paper-Thin Disguise:
- Apparently ponies can't tell the difference between a human wearing a mask and a regular pony.
- Turns out later that this is also how changelings disguise themselves.
- Play-Along Prisoner - Conrad stayed imprisoned for over a century simply because he thought he was supposed to.
- Shout-Out:
- Gary introduces ponies to a very alcoholic drink called scumble. "It's made with apples. Well, mostly apples."
- "I need an adult?" "I am an adult!"
