Written by DagaYemar
This fic provides examples of:
- Badass Bystander: Money Penny, a unicorn secretary to Princess Luna who gets caught up in the story's events.
- Bad Boss: Marilith is not terribly nice to her underlings. Ravid is unwilling to communicate things have gone badly because of this. Grick notes that it's not usual for her.
- Broken Record: After the salamanders run for it, Ravid states "that was just horrible" no less than thirty-seven times. Behir kept count.
- The Bus Came Back: Regal Tomes, from "Helping... Hands?" returns, still in some trouble from his screw-ups there, but still allowed in the castle (though Luna's understandably not giving him the time of day).
- Call-Back: Trixie calls Lyra "the Majestic and Lovely Lyra Heartstrings", as she did previously in Helping... Hands?
- Chekhov's Skill: Luna's Self-Duplication ability is shown at the beginning of the episode (and was first seen in the pilot). It later comes into play in the battle between Luna and Solrathicharnon.
- Didn't Think This Through: As Raindrops eventually points out, the Bearers's plan was missing a few important steps beyond "rush in".
- Energy Absorption: Marilith uses a magic pearl to drain Trixie's unicorn magic.
- Everyone Has Standards: The Salamanders aren't exactly great beings, wanting to try and go back to conquest and pillaging, but Grick finds the Diamond Dogs disgusting for their slaving ways.
- Evil Gloating: Marilith tends to do this. Trixie even spots the trope herself.
- Innocently Insensitive: Having only heard the salamanders refer to them as "Dirt Dogs", Trixie calls the Diamond Dogs as such. Turns out they don't like being called that.
- Lazy Bum: Ravid the Salamander volunteers to guard the escape route, just so she can catch a nap.
- Literally Shattered Lives: Queen Medusa of the salamanders is smashed by Corona.
- Macguffin: The Hourglass, which the salamanders steal from the castle library. Corona had intended to use it to restore her lost power, but a tumble into some lava thwarts that plan.
- Mundane Utility: Luna uses her Self-Duplication ability to watch a concert while still leaving herself free to roam and talk with the Element Bearers.
- Mythology Gag:
- Luna receives a message that a huge red dragon is sleeping in a cave, producing thick clouds of smog. It's possible Solrathicharnon may even be the dragon seen in "Dragonshy".
- The Elements, as in the show proper, are kept in a vault in Canterlot that only Princess Luna can open. BonBon appropriately casts shade on how stupid this is in a crisis.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Trixie plays stupid with her salamander captors so that they won't expect anything impressive of her when she later attempts escape.
- Oh, Crap!: Marilith gets a pretty satisfying one when Behir informs her they've been led into a trap, and she realizes just who could've set it.
- Power Parasite: Marilith's magic pearl allows her to steal Trixie's unicorn magic and use it herself.
- Precision F-Strike: Trixie lets off a "merde" when her attempt talk the salamanders into letting her go free fails.
- Sadistic Choice: Corona offers the salamanders one at the end - either join her, with the knowledge she'll probably get rid of them when they stop being useful (which, given they've already screwed up royal, might not take long) or let Solrath recollect the stuff they took from him with interest.
- Sssssnaketalk: The salamanders, naturally.
- Taken for Granite: Many guards are petrified by Marilith.
- Use Your Head: Trixie headbutts Grick to get away from him, but once again, nobody wins in a headbutt.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: Trixie momentarily believes she's had a wild night, before realising that she's been magically knocked out and captured by the salamanders.
- Why Did It Have to Be Snakes?: Ditzy's severe claustrophobia comes up. When the salamanders attack the Bearers in the tunnels, she has a freak-out and runs for it.
- "You!" Exclamation: BonBon and Regal Tomes have a mutual one on seeing one another again.
