Reality Ensues/Surprisingly Realistic Outcome cleanup

Running Themes

• Simply realizing and regretting your mistakes is not the same as actually fixing the problem. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Professor Cerise is horrified to learn that Chloe felt neglected and that he was oblivious to her feelings. Yet his efforts to get to know her better are hampered by his own biases and presumptions, threatening to complicate matters more. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Even though Talia was more aware of her daughter's struggles and gave Chloe advice, she struggled to figure out what Chloe did like because she never got to know her. She's as shocked as her husband to learn from Parker about Chloe's macabre hobbies. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Similarly, Goh assumes that everything will automatically be fine once he can find Chloe and bring her back home. He tries to send Chloe numerous text messages on her phone, only to upset her further: she's annoyed by his presumption that it will be so easy to obtain forgiveness. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Trip encourages Professor Cerise and everyone else to make more effort on their end to repair their relationships with Chloe; otherwise, it won't matter what state she's in when she leaves the Train. If she returns home only to find that nothing has changed, she won't want to stay, and could potentially wind up back on the Train after being retraumatized. Just plot, not surprising.
  • Among the changes Atticus encourages Emperor Neapolitan to make to how the Plush Penguin Car is run are mandatory anti-bullying workshops, to discourage him and his subjects from slipping back into bad habits. Just plot, not surprising.
  • Goh's brutal Heel Realization shatters his will to continue, since he's now convinced he'll always ruin things for himself. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Chloe doesn't take long to realize that she might've made a few mistakes on her trip on the Train, but her self-loathing causes her to go in circles around the issue until her mother calls her out on it, telling that she too needs to stop blaming everybody else for her problems and needs to work on improving herself. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Connected to the above: nothing can be accomplished without the desire and drive to change. Deconstruction, not SRO.
  • Chloe starts out as The Ditherer, having internalized the notion that she can't win: either she follows a path she despises, or gets punished for trying to pursue her own interests. Much of the first arc is focused on her learning to push past the fear of being rejected for being herself. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Chloe also starts out as The Resenter, envying Ash and those who do enjoy training Pokémon. Again, her growth is stagnant until she's able to see him and other Trainers as people with their own flaws, fears and insecurities much like her. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Sara, Yeardley and the rest of Chloe's bullies prove to be a persistent problem even after being scolded and punished for their behavior, as they simply don't want to stop picking on her. Just plot, not surprising.
  • In Arc 2, Goh is no longer able to deny that Chloe doesn't want to be 'saved', or that their friendship has decayed after being neglected for so long. Rather than face the role he played in this, he clings to the idea that he's the victim, attempting to shunt all the responsibility onto Chloe — if she wanted to stay friends, SHE should have put in all the effort to maintain their bond, while letting him continue to do whatever he pleased! Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Parker's downward spiral in the second act is fueled not just by frustration that the people who hurt his sister don't seem to have been punished enough, but fear that his father and everyone else will break their promises and drive Chloe away again. Having been let down so much in the past, and given the extraordinary circumstances it took for most of the adults around him to actually ACT, he's naturally worried that they'll backslide after Chloe returns... and being Just a Kid, he doesn't have the ability to make them keep their promises and stop hurting his sister. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• In regards to the plan to stop the Apex, Lexi states that some people will never change — or even think about changing their lives for the better. Mostly due to stubbornness or refusing to acknowledge or accept their faults. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• The story heavily focuses on bullying and depicts it very realistically. Case in point: Deconstruction, not SRO.
  • Bullies don't always have an excuse for their actions or a horrible backstory. Some just want to single out and pick on others for being "weird" and "different", enjoy hurting others or, as shown with Nico's bullies, only pick on them because other people are doing it and they don't want to become a victim themselves. While many of Chloe's bullies did have a Freudian Excuse, it's made clear that it isn't an excuse at all. Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse shoehorn.
  • Throughout the story, Chloe's bullies are admonished or punished in some way, only for them to continue mistreating her, showcasing how some solutions for eliminating bullying don't always work. Some bullies just don't care, or adapt their methods to avoid punishment. Mr. Bradbury making the class stay after for mocking Chloe's book report? They just wait until after class to throw the report in the trash so that he can't stop them. Chloe beating up Sara for dumping paint on her? The bullies just switch to more "socially acceptable" tactics to prevent her from doing that again. Goh calling them out for their actions? While they are initially remorseful, they later go right back to making fun of Chloe for being a "monster lover" — after all, she's no longer around to stop them. Aesop Amnesia shoehorn.
  • As Chloe's bullies discover, Trip wasn't the only one to record their confession; a bunch of other students pulled their phones out, filmed it, and posted the videos online. Even though they stood there and didn't try to stop their bullying, that doesn't mean they endorsed it. People filming stuff on cellphones is common knowledge in the information age. Nothing subverted.
  • Being yourself is easier said than done. Even after leaving the toxic environment her school provided, it takes time for Chloe to learn how to stop feeling ashamed of her own interests. What's more, a key part of her Character Development is accepting that others won't accept or approve of who she is; you can't please everyone, least of all those who are determined to cut you down. Be Yourself deconstruction, not SRO.
• Romanticizing and Bias: Sounds like deconstruction to me.
  • The lives of Pokémon Trainers are heavily glamourized. Many of Chloe's issues stem from how she and her peers had it hammered into their heads that becoming Trainers was the best way to live, fueling their envy of her for being better equipped to pursue such a lifestyle and her resentment over all the pressure to conform to everyone's expectations. It takes nearly three full Arcs for Chloe to meet anyone willing to admit that this is decidedly not the case... at which point she breaks down over how much of her self-loathing and hatred stemmed from believing those romanticized fantasies. Broken Pedestal shoehorn.
  • Overcoming one's personal biases is not so simple as a one-and-done revelation. Chloe spent years internalizing the idea that Trainers were naturally superior, beloved and practically worshipped by all. Even as she goes through other Character Development, that presumption and all its associated baggage remains. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.

Other

• Chloe's decision to run away from home came not from just one thing, but multiple: being pressured by her classmates to do something she hated, having her problems ignored by her friends and family, and feeling like she's second-best to Pokémon. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Chloe's battle with Ash is heavily one-sided; he has plenty of experience while she barely has any. On top of this, she's unaware that Ghost-types are completely immune to Normal-type moves. Curb-Stomp Battle shoehorn.
  • When he sees this, Professor Cerise mistakenly assumes that she just forgot that immunity, acting as though that's common knowledge. Not for somebody who hasn't studied Pokémon or watches battles often if ever... In-Universe example for Common Knowledge shoehorn.
• Chloe only agreed to her classmates' demands that she challenge Ash out of the hope that doing so would lessen the pressure for her to show more interest in Pokémon. This has the precise opposite effect — Goh and Professor Cerise immediately latch onto the fight as 'proof' that she's finally taking more of an interest in the subject. They also focus on the battle footage more than Chloe herself, unintentionally reinforcing her insecurities about them caring more about Pokémon than they do about her. Just plot, not surprising.
  • Chloe also realizes too late that her inexperience and poor performance in the fight will just give her classmates more ammunition for teasing her. Indeed, once they get a chance to see the footage, Yeardley immediately laughs at and starts mocking her mistakes. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• While Ash has attempted to reach out to Chloe, his primary means of doing so has been inviting her to join him and Goh on their adventures... without really considering whether or not she wants to come along, or making any effort to find out why she keeps turning him down. This causes his efforts to come off as superficial and shallow to her, folding nicely into her own presumptions — neither party has seriously tried to forge a connection. Deconstruction, not SRO.
  • As one reader pointed out, Ash wasn't forced to be Chloe's friend and could only do as much as he could to help Chloe open up. Chloe refusing to come out of her shell or to tell Ash about what she's feeling also added to the communication problems. If neither side is willing to bridge the gap, do you expect any bond to form? Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Ash attempting to get Goh to interact with Kricketina Kylie, either to directly trade or help her find a Pinsir, shows a further problem to the communications bump. Ash is very clearly trying to get Goh to participate, and he shifts his approach around to not only different avenues but also in emphasizing Goh's talents. Goh refuses to play along, showing that if someone really doesn't want to do something no amount of accommodation or interest in the person will change their mind. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Goh's single-minded determination to find Chloe at all costs runs into a roadblock when his refusal to rest ultimately makes him sick, forcing him to take a break. Just plot, not surprising.
• Since it's common for children in the world of Pokémon to leave home and travel around, Chloe's classmates initially assume that she left for similar reasons, and have to have it explained to them that somebody can leave home for less pleasant reasons. Such as running away from something horrible in their lives. Just plot, not surprising.
• Lexi tries to make food for Chloe, but being stuck in the ground for eight years and having no knowledge of cooking means that he ends up covered in butter and pineapple pulp while trying to make juice and a sandwich for her. '''Nobody expected anything different}}.
• When Chloe's classmates complain about how she was privileged enough to battle Ash, Miss April points out that Ash himself had to work incredibly hard in order to earn his title. She also highlights all of the ways that they made Chloe's life miserable, and that their envy of her is based on nothing more than shallow presumptions and projection. Shut Up, Hannibal! shoehorn.
  • Moreover, the classmates fail to realize that just because Professor Cerise is a Professor that doesn't automatically mean Chloe will follow his career choices nor will she automatically become an expert in all things Pokémon; what she wants to do is her decision in the end, not anyone else's and she needs to learn everything on her own. Just plot, not surprising.
• Renji's confession that he suspected something was going on with Chloe, but chose not to say anything or intervene, promptly gets him chewed out by the furious Professor. Seeing her coworker scapegoated also encourages Chryssa to stay silent rather than share her own observations and open herself up to similar treatment. Just plot, not surprising.
• When Trip fights back against the Apex, he quickly discovers that Pokémon battling is far removed from actually fighting. The Apex don't hesitate to fight back with everything at their disposal, including weapons, and have no qualms about assaulting Trip directly. Would Hurt a Child shoehorn.
• Trip also points out that Chloe will have a lot of homework to catch up on if she returns. The Train runs in real-time so a month in the train is a month in real life. And no matter how long you've been away from school, you will be marked down as a result with the ramifications that Chloe might be held back a year depending on how long she's on the Train.^Explanation This was uploaded before Episode 49 of Journeys revealed that it's possible to just not show up to class unless it's for tests like Goh does, but the fact still remains. Just plot, not surprising.
• Chloe gets a minor reality check after hearing that another Pokémon trainer (Gladion) spent some time on the Train; while she viewed it as her personal escape route, the Train picks up new passengers all the time, with no restrictions on how many individuals can be pulled from a particular place. Just plot, not surprising.
• Due to how they interacted with Chloe, both Talia and Professor Cerise have different reactions to reading one of her stories. Talia does her best to be open-minded about it, while Professor Cerise is rowing up the denial river. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Atticus is shown to not be so forgiving towards Amelia for everything they did compared to Tulip, showing that some people won't let bygones be bygones. Especially not after being hurt so badly by another's actions. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Chloe never got into Pokémon both because she was pressured into it and because it never aligned with her interests. She gets a minor epiphany about combining Pokémon into what she loves during her stay at Hotel Crayola simply because she's able to approach the subject on her own terms, not anyone else's. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• After Sara and her cronies took their bullying too far, even shoving Parker around, Chloe went after Sara in an absolute rage. The incident earned her a three-day suspension, while her bullies got a week's suspension and 'sensitivity training'. In the eyes of the school, both parties are at fault, and all of the provocations Chloe suffered don't justify her attacking Sara in return. Modern zero-tolerance policies do these things. Nothing subverted.
• Even with Atticus and Chloe by his side, Lexi is still traumatized from having been Buried Alive after all these years, having gained claustrophobia and unwilling to let go of the anger and hatred of "free-riders" and the bullies in Chloe's life. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Just because Ash doesn't bring up his accomplishments doesn't mean that no one will ever find out about them. The Alola League was a pretty big event and thus people would talk about him becoming its Champion. It was just only a matter of time before Chloe learned this herself. The same goes for Hop when Leon calls him about encountering Ash. Humble Hero shoehorn.
• Poor Tokio's encounter with the denizens of the Calligraphy Car drives home how the Apex's destructive nature extends beyond the physical, as the survivors of their rampage have developed dramatic defensive measures to try and ensure that they'll Never Be Hurt Again. Never Be Hurt Again shoehorn.
• Ash is implied to not still be 10 years old and eventually established to be about 13 to 14. Ash does just a bit too much to fit in a single year. Not Allowed to Grow Up deconstruction, not SRO.
• Goh has no idea what Chloe goes through because he never goes to school^Explanation Episode 49 of Journeys reveals he only goes to school for tests and Episode 2 had Chloe hand him some school work, thus he has no clue about what his classmates have been doing to her. Nobody expects Goh to know how school works.
• Chloe's fight against Zack in the Garden of Madness was heavily one-sided since Chloe doesn't have any fighting experience against a murderer with a scythe. Curb-Stomp Battle shoehorn.
• Ash tells the classmates he didn't become Champion overnight and that it took him six leagues before Alola. He also states that having a Pokémon is not the equivalent to Instant Expert on battling. Instant Expert deconstruction shoehorn.
• Pokémon Trainers are human. They have fears and insecurities. They doubt themselves, they have flaws. Even with a Pokémon by their side, it doesn't automatically erase their problems. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• Forgiveness is not easily given out like candy. Everyone who had harmed Chloe is not going to be Easily Forgiven; not her father, not Chryssa and Renji, not Ash, her classmates, her homeroom teacher and especially not Goh. She forgave the first of them, Ash, only after a lot of self-reflection and realizing his mistakes were minor and otherwise harmless. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• The videos of Chloe's bullies bragging about their exploits are seen around the world; as a result, the school's reputation takes a massive hit for having turned a blind eye towards the problem for so long. Just plot, not surprising.
  • This also opens up the bullies to being harassed themselves, treated like Asshole Victims with their sins paraded across the 'Net for all to see. Asshole Victim shoehorn.
  • Chloe is not the only one who's faced discrimination due to her disinterest in Pokémon. Seeing this incident encourages others to speak up more about their own experiences. Just plot, not surprising.
  • The bullying and harassment will also end up with them being expelled and, unless some other school is kind enough to take them in, they will be banned from entering school for a year. This is especially bad since this is the year before they become Secondary students. Just plot, not surprising.
  • The parents point out that Chloe running away was at least better than if she jumped off the school building because that would have long-lasting repercussions on her family and on them for bullying her so far to do that. How does that qualify for SRO?
• Ash may be the Alola League Champion but he's also a child. A child who is unable to handle a lot of the mental stresses going on from how he failed to be a shoulder to cry on for Chloe and also being a potential passenger to the Train if his mental health doesn't change. Just plot, not surprising.
  • Moreover, even if Ash did more to help Chloe or Goh, he wouldn't have been able to do much. He's only been working as a research fellow for a few months compared to the four years of neglect and crumbling friendship that's happened between Goh and Chloe. And considering Chloe all but resented him for existing where Goh and her father could see him, it's quite possible she would've rejected his efforts at help as either pity or further proof that the world revolves around people like him. Feeling Oppressed by Their Existence and Don't You Dare Pity Me! shoehorns.
  • Ash is an All-Loving Hero but he is not a therapist in any sense of the term. He can't cure anyone's underlying issues. Chloe's problems were mostly on her and her own bias and Goh was stubborn and obsessed with Mew. He can only give them a helping hand but nothing more. He extends Goh a lot of openings to have fun but none of them quite land the way he wants them to. All-Loving Hero deconstruction shoehorn.
• The actions of the Apex have been felt through a lot of cars and they have garnered themselves a reputation for raiding cars and destroying lives. Naturally there are many denizens who want them hurt and punished in some way. Just plot, not surprising.
• Despite Miss April genuinely caring for Chloe, she does not get off lightly for allowing the bullying to get that point it had (even naively believing that the other students telling Chloe to into Pokémon was an improvement), and has to deal with the consequences: She gets told off by Cerise, and when her students bragging is posted online, she deals with the onset of parents asking where she was during all of the bullying. Teachers are supposed to protect their students from bullying, and they are supposed to be aware of what is going on, as the students are their responsibility. If anything happened to a student, such as running away from home, they will be among the first to be questioned about what was going on with the student. And if a lot of the problems stem from school, they will most likely get blamed for not doing more. Actions have consequences, not SRO.
• Goh has a lot of mental issues going on, but his behavior is quickly alienating him from everyone else and getting him into trouble: Sigh.
  • In Chapter 16, he posts something on Facedex about Chloe, enraging her family and they take action by putting photos online to defend Chloe and contacting Kurune about his behavior. Even if Chloe is partly responsible for their friendship falling apart, it does not give Goh the right to post slander about her online, as it is seen as a cyber attack against her, and people can get into trouble for posting things online when it can be seen as offensive. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• No matter how hard Serena tries to calm Parker down, she is unsuccessful. After all, Parker is a child and he's not willing to change his mind so easily. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Tying to this, Yeardley and Sara are only saying sorry for getting caught, not because they regret anything they did to Chloe. This ticks Parker off even more; an apology has to be sincere and those two are anything but sincere. And even if they were sorry, that doesn't erase everything that they did to his sister. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
• A downside of a bunch of kids in the Mall Car? They don't know how to cook. There's a food court in the car, but none of them are able to touch the variety of appliances — fryers, grills, etc.— without adult supervision and thus have to settle with whatever they can make like sandwiches and instant ramen. Just plot, not surprising.
• Once the Unown get involved, Parker is able to enjoy the invoked Catharsis Factor of an Accusation Fic... but instead of this being treated as his victims getting precisely what they deserved, the Disproportionate Retribution he inflicts is regarded with horror and disgust. Disproportionate Retribution shoehorn.
• After Pikachu has his Pokémon Speak removed by UnChloe, he has to catch himself whenever he says things. He's not used to being understood by the humans around him, and the lack of filter is very dangerous with people like UnChloe around. Pokémon are already too magical.
• Getting Parker to reflect upon his own actions is difficult since he's only a child. So one minute he's starting to grasp the implications of what he did, the next moment he's thinking about having slumber parties and building amusement parks. Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Moreover, a child like him only sees things in black and white, good or bad. The idea that Goh, whom he hates for neglecting Chloe, actually got her a birthday gift deeply confuses him. Black-and-White Morality shoehorn.
• Even after Parker undoes as much of UnChloe's actions as possible and uses as much of her remaining time and power as possible to do good works, he is not off the hook in any sense. Between blatantly violating the minds and consent of three people who genuinely wanted to help him, torturing over a dozen students with their worst nightmares in a truly sadistic fashion, and driving Miss April to near suicide, everyone is disgusted with the boy and make it clear that they won't be forgiving him anytime soon. It doesn't help that while Parker isn't unremorseful, he still insists that he needed to do something to make up for others failing to act. Well-Intentioned Extremist and Never My Fault shoehorn.
  • In the immediate aftermath, the Cerise Institute finds itself facing legal action from the families of Parker's victims. The Professor seems likely to settle in an attempt to protect his son from being lynched. Just plot, not surprising.
  • Some of the nastier parents are considering blackmailing the institute, deliberately exaggerating or outright lying about what happened by claiming the Professor participated and/or masterminded Parker's revenge. Any stories about the horrors he inflicted will easily ruin the #CallingChloe campaign, tainting everything connected to it by association. Blackmail shoehorn.
• Goh's ultimate punishment is being subjected to nightmare-included Epiphany Therapy in which he's shown both the worst possible consequences of his actions and ways in which he could do better. This Goes Horribly Right in several fashions: Gone Horribly Right shoehorn.
  • While he immediately recognizes that he's being punished, Goh misidentifies what he's being punished for, repeatedly insisting that he's being unfairly persecuted for having dreams. Being subjected to nightmarish visions doesn't convince him that he's not the victim in this scenario... and by the time he finally accepts fault, he's so broken that he pivots to the other extreme: everything is going to be awful forever and there's nothing he can do to fix it. Dramatically Missing the Point shoehorn.
  • After being shown how he might have been able to prevent Chloe from running away, Goh is forced to replay those events over and over again. But he still lacks the skills necessary to salvage the situation, and his repeated failures only teach him that he can't seem to do anything right. No Social Skills shoehorn.
  • Even in an idealized, 'perfect' scenario where Dream!Goh successfully reconnects with Chloe, things are not magically and instantly fixed. Rather than accepting the intended message that rebuilding will take time and concentrated effort, Goh comes away convinced that everything is irreparably broken. Why even try if it's not going to be instantly okay? Psychology doesn't count under the first bullet point.
  • Ultimately, Zeno is forced to release Goh despite knowing that he's going to have a meltdown, as he can't do anything more within the dream to amend the situation. Just plot, not surprising.
• Parker initially shows No Sympathy for what he did to Goh, his logic being that it's "just a nightmare". If he can handle it, than anyone else should be able to, too. Zeno decides to show him firsthand that there is a big difference between reading a horror story, and actually living one. No Sympathy and Nightmare Fetishist Deconstruction shoehorn.
• Ultimately, Chloe's own actions are eventually examined by others: while the shock of her running away did delay the process, eventually people would start to point out that a lot of the problems she had with many people were petty and the grudges she gained and continued to hold were unreasonable. Not only do her own friends on the train think she is treating her friends and family unfairly, but Renji, Pikachu, and especially Delia are a lot less sympathetic and their reasoning is something that others, including Chloe, struggle to argue with. Both sides made mistakes and people who treat Chloe as having made no mistakes can quickly aggravate others, especially when Chloe herself thinks she hasn't made any mistakes. Never My Fault Deconstruction shoehorn.
• In the Curry Car, Chloe reveals the promise she and Goh made was made when they were six. Ultimately, she realizes that it was unreasonable of her to expect Goh to remember that promise as well as petty for holding a grudge over it for so long, especially when she herself never made any effort to hold him to it. Informed Consent pseudo-Sinkhole.
• Because Master Duel and Rush Duel programs run differently using a later duel-disk in combat has different restrictions than if a Master Duel disk was used, which is a problem in specific fights. Also it was apparently hard for a Transformer (the main patrons of Maccadams) to modify and work with it because Duel Energy is very different from anything they use. Far too much Science Fiction to count.
• On returning home, Chloe gets into a fight with Ms. Turner, a middle-aged woman with a gun and a nasty temper. Despite everything she's fought on the train, Chloe is wounded and overwhelmed by Turner, and likely would've been killed if her classmates hadn't intervened. And no post-battle speeches either...Chloe all but passes out from blood loss and exhaustion. Curb-Stomp Battle shoehorn.

Going Another Way

• Gendo practically goes out of his way to step all over the military's toes whenever possible, just to piss them off, feeling untouchable because he knows they need him. Unsurprisingly, when circumstances arise that cause things to change drastically, Gendo's a person non grata and can count himself lucky that he wasn't executed or otherwise given a hard time. It also makes relations between NERV and the military unnecessarily difficult. Jerkass gets comeuppance, not surprising
• Gendo really shouldn't have been surprised that abandoning his four-year-old son and leaving the boy in the care of some relatives right after the tragic loss of Yui has resulted in Shinji resenting and generally deeply distrusting of him. Character reactions
• Even a heavily conditioned person will start to change and get ideas of their own if left unsupervised for most of the time. It's no surprise that Rei's behaviors shift more with the right outside stimuli. Characters are three dimensional
• It's not easy to get dry after years of drinking heavily. Misato suffers from some nasty withdrawal symptoms and has to ask Ritsuko for meds that help her in the process. Deconstruction of Recovered Addict?
• It's impossible to keep a lid on what the Angels are or keep the media and the public from learning about them, especially since those things are so damn huge and cause a lot of property damage. Ramiel is the final nail in the coffin, leaving behind a massive corpse that can't be hidden. After that, NERV has to deal with PR stuff. Too fantastical
• The aftermath of Gaghiel's attack is shown. Of course, there are many casualties. Yes, and?
• While in canon, NERV seemed to have the power to simply draft children into service, here it's much more complicated: Deconstruction of Free-Range Children
  • Since Gendo no longer is Shinji's legal guardian, Shinji could quit at any time. That ensures that Gendo keeps his distance, at least until he thought the moment was good to teach Shinji his place.
  • Toji and Hikari need the OK of their parents to pilot, and since they are minors, their parents could also pull them from service. That again prevents NERV from pulling any dick moves on them.
  • Only Rei and Asuka have no choice in the matter and no one who could do it for them.
• Ritsuko's habit of making the female plugsuits so tight and form-fitting blows up in her face two times, when the girls in question are not amused at all. There is only so much a teenage girl can accept before their sense of modesty kicks in. Deconstructed and defied Latex Spacesuit
• The "naked test" is played as exactly as humiliating, embarrassing and physically exhausting as one would imagine - especially in light of the long decontamination procedure. Of course, the pilots are angry as well that this got dumped onto them out of nowhere and they make Misato feel their displeasure. Deconstruction of something from the original?
• As shown with Asuka's character arc, a Dark and Troubled Past can only go so far in covering one's bad behavior in the present, as the other characters get increasingly fed up with her treatment of them and Asuka inadvertently ends up pushing away other people who could help her become happier. After going through a Break the Haughty routine that forces her to reevaluate her life, Asuka makes baby steps to slowly improve her behavior. Many, of course, do not believe she is serious about changing and don't forgive her. Even the other pilots take a considerable amount time before they're able to fully forgive her past treatment of them. Moreover, even after becoming a more considerate and mindful person, Asuka still retains her boisterous and Hot-Blooded nature. Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse, characters are three dimensional and people holding grudges

Heated Storm Yields a Wild Horse's Heart

• The whole plot revolves around the idea that the Saotomes show up at the Tendos' in their uncursed forms after Ranma tells Genma that doing so in cursed form will surely scare the Tendos into breaking the engagement. Nabiki, who in canon had been the only one enthusiastic about the potential engagement until Ranma arrived as a girl, is quick to volunteer. She's then put off when the curse is revealed, and takes the whole night to decide she'll go with it anyway, and part of it comes from admitting her father won't change his mind no matter what she decides. Even then, she's cautious about going into it, and mostly accepts because, curse aside, she did like a lot of what she saw. Too fantastical
• Since Nabiki doesn't have Akane's hang-ups, she and Ranma don't bicker in the same way that Ranma and Akane canonically do. This means that Ranma is much more open about his softer side because, ironically, he trusts Nabiki more in this fic than he trusts Akane in canon, where she tends to provoke the fights as often as not. Different characters offer different outcomes, who'da thunk?
• The lack of bickering between Nabiki and Ranma means that Soun and Genma are much more hands-off in this fic compared to canon, where Ranma and Akane's early denials and arguing prompted them to try and push the two together... which, ironically, only made things worse. See above.
• A recurring thing in the fic is that, when upset, Nabiki will actually call Ranma out on what he did to upset her and explain herself. This is because, unlike Akane, Nabiki's go-to choice is always words rather than violence. This means she does much better at chastising Ranma and making him regretful for his misdeeds, since he's used to just dealing with yelling and shouting, but he can't argue against the cold facts. Ironically, this is one of the reasons why Nabiki and Ranma get on so well. Character reactions
• It's called out multiple times that Ranma's less than stellar social education was particularly lacking when it came to girls, with the most Genma did being to teach him "a real man doesn't make girls cry". As a result, he repeatedly finds himself at a loss when confronted by girls in emotional distress, and tends to lock up in the face of affection from anyone other than Nabiki, who began building a solid friendship based on playful teasing and banter from their first meeting. Characters are three dimensional
• Akane decides to challenge Ranma to a spar to see how good he is when Ranma first arrives. Due to her Hentai Horde-provoked prejudices, she doesn't take well to being defeated by a boy. ...too fantastical? The hell's a Hentai Horde??
  • Ranma at first is put off by her attitude, but becomes more understanding once he sees the Hentai Horde. Bad indentation
• Being teenagers, Ranma and Nabiki find themselves fantasizing about the other more than once, no matter how much they don't want it at the moment. Teenagers
• Without Ranma being engaged to Akane, he doesn't end up in a fight with Kuno at the morning... But given their personalities they end up in a challenge later due to Kuno's open disdain for Nabiki and Ranma's protectiveness toward her. Plot
• Not being at the receiving end of her antics (that haven't escalated yet), Ranma is more understanding of Nabiki selling various services, as being on the road his whole life means he has an appreciation for someone trying to do odd jobs for money. He even feigns weakness during his official fight with Kuno to have more people bet against him, and thus grant Nabiki more money when he wins. Plot
• At one point during their fight, Ranma ends up as a girl, and Kuno, not having seen the change, refuses to accept the result and threatens to reveal what happened until Ranma shows him the curse. Not having had the time to fall for the "pigtailed girl", Kuno is accepting of the truth. Plot
• Upon learning Genma will stay with the Tendos, Nabiki demands he brings in some money, as they can't afford to support two freeloading houseguests forever. Genma not being an idiot, he replies he was already looking for a job and landed a spot as Doctor Tofu's assistant. Plot
• While the stakes for Ranma and Kuno's fight included the end of the Hentai Horde, Ranma's showboating means the Hentai Horde thinks they can defeat him if they gang up on him. Kuno is quite disdainful as he explains this to Akane and Nabiki, because even he sees how this is going to end, and he's not stupid enough to fight Ranma again until he has honed his skills. Plot
  • Of course, Kuno's inflated idea of said skills means it would take him a single day to surpass Ranma. Needless to say, he fails... which in turn leads to Kuno striving to find a way to improve himself. Which in turn doesn't pay off dividends at first, because he's a master of a singular style and it's really hard for him to shake himself out of his comfort zone on his own; it's not until Shampoo suggest he start diversifying his skill set that he manages to legitimately surprise Ranma, whose honest praise of this initiative on Kuno's behalf sets Kuno firmly down the path of branching out from his formal kendo skills. Even then, it takes Sasuke locating a copy of the Kendo Kyohon, a Kendo manual that incorporates unarmed physical techniques, in the Kuno family library to really set Kuno down the path to becoming a true rival to Ranma. Bad indentation, character growth
• When Ryoga shows up and reveals that he arrived at the site of his fight with Ranma after four days he's promptly told by everyone that he has no right to hold a grudge over it and it's his own fault for being late. Kuno specifically points out that if it had been a sanctioned fight he would have been disqualified for being late even by a single hour. Plot, character holds a grudge
• While Ranma initially feels responsible for Ryoga's curse when he learns he accidentally knocked the boy into a Jusenkyo pool, Nabiki points out that it's still Ryoga's fault as no one forced him to chase Ranma all the way to China to settle a duel over bread of all things. While Ryoga's circumstances are unfortunate, it was his Skewed Priorities that caused them to begin with. Too fantastical
• When Ryoga starts the P-chan charade and Ranma gets caught out by Akane sneaking into her room, Nabiki is hurt and thinks Ranma might want to switch over to Akane, since they had fought (or at least so she thought) the previous day and Akane is, after all, Furinkan High's resident beauty. Ranma is flabbergasted when he learns this, and quite firmly makes it clear that he's not attracted to Akane at all. Character reactions
• Whereas Ranma can't bring himself to say outright that P-chan is Ryoga due to his wanting to be honorable, he still finds it so dishonorable that he can't help but drop hints. As Nabiki is neither stupid nor inclined to deny the obvious, she instantly pieces together that P-chan is Ryoga, and insists on telling Akane... who is, understandably, quite furious at Ryoga. It takes Ryoga's efforts to try and train Akane in Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics to win him some measure of tolerance from her again, and it's called out that he only got off so easily because his P-chan masquerade lasted all of one night. Character reactions
• Although Kuno is still infatuated with Akane, the fact that he knows about Ranma and "the pigtailed girl" being one and the same, and Ranma's not being engaged to Akane, means he is ironically on better terms with Ranma; they're still rivals, but more of a "professional" rivalry, in contrast to the highly emotional one of canon. This in turn means Kuno is much more focused on improving himself to beat Ranma, and consequently he shows a willingness to assess his own flaws, such as a rigorous focus on tournament-legal kendo techniques that puts him at a disadvantage in actual combat. Character stuff
• Multiple examples during the Martial Arts Rhythmic Gymnastics arc: And all of them are misuse
  • Ryoga is ordered to stay in the Tendo Dojo and be led to and from the bathroom, toilet and dining room, since he's the only teacher Akane has and nobody wants her to lose her upcoming match with Kodachi. As a result, Akane improves drastically more than she did in canon... Although she still ends up taking herself out of the picture by accident, and Ranma notes that, with Akane's temper and relative inflexibility in combat, she'd still be at something of a disadvantage against the far more experienced Kodachi. Character stuff
  • When Kodachi comes to attack Akane on the first night, because there's no P-chan masquerade, Ryoga is there to intervene and protect Akane. Plot
  • Ryoga's brutish method of protecting Akane forces Ranma to save Kodachi before she takes a potentially injurious fall, which he is quite upset with Ryoga about. This causes Kodachi to start crushing on Ranma just like in canon. Character reactions
  • Nabiki has absolutely no hostility towards Ranma for Kodachi's feelings. In fact, she thinks his initial panic when Kodachi hugs him is hilarious. How does this have any relevance?
  • There is no wagering of Ranma's hand on the match, because Nabiki isn't fighting and she has no intention of just gambling with her fiance like that. Character stuff
  • Nabiki does end up renting Ranma on a date with Kodachi, although it was mostly an accident; she named a price that she thought Kodachi would think was absurd, not knowing she was dealing with a wealthy heiress. It's also shown that this makes Ranma and Akane both angry at Nabiki, who feels guilty over it. Character stuff
  • Because there's no wager, and Ranma has no ties to Akane, Ryoga makes no attempt to sabotage Ranma's last-minute training. This leaves him in much better shape during the fight against Kodachi, and so the fight goes much quicker, as he's not coasting by on adrenaline. Plot
• The Martial Arts Figure Skating arc also has multiple examples: Which are also all misuse
  • Ranma reacts even worse to Mikado's kiss than he does in canon, because he hasn't had the "desensitizing" of having Kuno trying to woo his female form. Character stuff, too fantastical
  • In turn, this rage means Ranma is suckered into agreeing to a Martial Arts Skating Match without learning beforehand that it requires two people to compete. This in turn makes Nabiki very angry, since, whilst she can understand Ranma's distress, she's also a non-combatant who wants nothing to do with being on the front line. Plot
  • Because a duel is Serious Business to Genma Saotome, he orders both Ranma and Nabiki to take the week off school, essentially bullying Soun into agreeing. Ranma spends the week at the ice rink, doing nothing but learning how to skate. Nabiki, meanwhile, is forced to undergo Genma's personal brand of Training from Hell, which... well, it gets results, but it angers both Soun and Akane, who keep trying to forcibly stop him. Even with the drastic improvement that this results in Nabiki's martial skill set, who goes from "untrained but with untapped potential talent" to "vaguely Akane's level" in a week, Nabiki still notes that she's not a really skilled combatant, and the plan on the day of the match is basically for Nabiki to stay out of the way whilst Ranma takes on the Golden Pair by himself. Plot
  • Although Ranma is much better at holding his balance on the ice than in canon due to all his training, he still isn't as quick or as agile as the much better trained and more experienced Golden Pair, even lampshading that he spent a week learning how to skate, but not how to simultaneously skate and fight. As a result, Mikado is able to skate circles around him for most of the fight. Not surprising
  • Before the match, Nabiki does her homework, and so she learns all about the Golden Pair's Couple Cleaver/Goodbye Whirl tandem attack. Unfortunately, when they do get snared by it, she can't persuade Ranma to let her go, because he's too stubborn and protective of her. This leads to Ranma getting smashed into a wall to protect her from getting hurt, just like in canon. Plot
  • Like Akane in canon, Nabiki freaks out when Ranma goes flying into the wall, as she's both wracked by guilt and has no real idea of just how durable Ranma could be. She breaks down crying, and is so relieved when he reveals himself to be (relatively) unhurt that she forgets herself and gives him a Big Damn Kiss. Plot
  • Mikado's obsession with getting a kiss from Nabiki to mark his 1000th conquest becomes his undoing. Not only does Azusa herself call him out on it relatively early in the match, but when he corners Nabiki after the Goodbye Whirl, Nabiki uses the position to her advantage to incapacitate him with a solid boot to the balls, setting him up for Ranma to beat him unconscious in a flurry of blows. Plot
  • Azusa keeps Ryoga for herself during the week prior to the match, and as such learns he's really human. This makes her more serious and determined during the conflict, since she evidently decides that Ryoga is now her boyfriend. She's quite heartbroken when she loses the match, reluctantly freeing Ryoga and giving him a tearful Big Damn Kiss before running away, leaving Ryoga quite stunned. Plot
• When Akane disbelieves Nabiki's explanation of the Kiss of Death and splashes Ranma on the first evening of Shampoo's arrival, causing Shampoo to start chasing "girl-type Ranma", Nabiki is very angry with her sister... and even more so with Soun and Genma, who refuse to intervene in the fight. Plot
• When Nabiki discovers Shampoo cuddled up to Ranma in bed the next morning, she doesn't blame Ranma. She even explains to Ranma that she knows it wouldn't have been his idea, since A: she saw Shampoo trying to kill him the previous day, and B: she knows from experience that Ranma is very shy with any girl who isn't her. Character reactions
• Despite her cool head, even Nabiki's temper has limits, and she eventually spills the beans about Ranma's two forms being the same person to Shampoo, arguing that it can't possibly make things any worse than they are now. Character reactions
• Shampoo is horrified to learn she was trying to kill the boy she wants to marry, and immediately calls off the Kiss of Death once she's been informed of the truth. Plot
• After Shampoo declares them part of an Exotic Extended Marriage, neither Ranma nor Nabiki is happy with it, and Shampoo spends the whole of the next chapter afterwards trying to work off some of the bad impressions she's made between it and her initial pursuit of "girl-type" Ranma. Characters hold grudges
  • Later it turns out that Shampoo herself wasn't happy with it, and did it because it was the only honorable way to deal with the situation. She's also not happy when she feels having to involve Ukyo into it, or with how everyone still treats her as a stranger at best after everything she did to make things work. Character reactions
• Shampoo's opinion of Akane is established as being relatively low, thanks to a combination of Akane's confrontational attitude and Akane's casual hostility towards Ranma, whom Shampoo wants to marry. In fact, after Akane backhands Ranma out of a window for trying to stop Akane challenging Shampoo to a fight, Shampoo not only accepts the challenge, but proceeds to punish Akane by literally spanking her in front of the whole class. Plot
• Nabiki, who was already unimpressed with Akane from the previous night's antics, is not happy to hear about the "backhanding Ranma out of a 3rd-story window" thing from Ranma, although she's still conflicted about how she feels about Shampoo spanking Akane for it. Character reactions
• When Kodachi learns the truth about Ranma's female form after having been publicly defeated by "her", she naturally feels extremely betrayed and goes seeking revenge. Character holds a grudge
• When Kodachi and Shampoo fight for the first time, it's a one-sided beatdown for the Kuno heiress; whilst she's a skilled and cunning fighter, she's still ultimately a grace and trickery-focused combatant armed with a silk whip and gymnastic clubs going up against a much stronger and faster brawler armed with a sword and two maces. Weaker fighter loses to stronger fighter
  • In a similar fashion, when Akane intervenes in Kodachi's assault on Nabiki the gymnast is quickly put on the ground, as Akane is not only another brawler with greater physical strength but has also caught Kodachi completely by surprise. Bad indentation, see above
  • On the other hand, Akane fights Kodachi only after the latter has been nearly mauled by Shampoo, and has taken precautions. Specifically, a taser. Bad indentation, see above
• When Kuno starts learning grappling, his first sparring partner is Ryoga. As Kuno only has some theoretical knowledge, he's easily outclassed. See above
• When Kodachi makes her second assault on Nabiki, she starts a monologue to declare how she's make her pay for her transgression. Knowing she's no match for her, Nabiki just runs for Ranma's help while she's distracted monologuing. '''Deconstruction of Evil Gloating/Motive Rant
• While one attack could be dealt with by simply repelling her, the moment Kodachi makes a second attack on Nabiki and makes clear she won't stop until she's dead makes Shampoo decide to make her stop for good. Plot
  • Given her previous experience with Shampoo, Nabiki thinks Shampoo is going to kill Kodachi. When instead Shampoo alters her memories to redirect her romantic affections toward Ryoga and shows no remorse about it, Nabiki is even more terrified of her, with the same being true for Akane. Character reactions, too fantastical, bad indentation
• It later turns out that Shampoo actually embellished her explanation of what she did to Kodachi. As she explains, whilst there are more complicated memory-modifying techniques in the Joketsuzoku arsenal, she neither knows them nor does she have the unique herbal mixtures they require. What she actually did was wipe Kodachi's memories of meeting Ranma, apply a pressure point that induces temporary intense arousal, and hope for the best. Still too fantastical
  • Learning this actually undercuts some of Nabiki's fear about Shampoo, as she realizes that Shampoo actually does have her limitations and flaws. Bad indentation, character reactions
• Ukyo's arrival and subsequent induction into Shampoo's Exotic Extended Marriage, finally proves a breaking point, with the Hot-Blooded Akane finally saying what everyone has been thinking and complaining about Shampoo's disruptive influence on their lives. Character reactions
• Shampoo, in response, points out that she never wanted to use the Exotic Extended Marriage option either, but she has been trying to do what is, by the standards of her people, the most honorable thing that she can. Character reactions
• Ukyo points out during their first "family heart-to-heart" that, whilst she's not thrilled with the idea of sharing Ranma, she's willing to put up with it, because a) she's been in love with Ranma for a decade and isn't going to turn down a chance to marry him, and b) it's very obvious that if she tried to compete for Ranma's heart in a "normal" fashion, her odds of victory are all but non-existent. Plot
• Ranma is extremely uncomfortable during the first public bathing sequence because of a combination of his distaste for his female form and his having been brought up to respect women; even if they are engaged, he still feels ashamed that he might be perving on Nabiki, Shampoo and Ukyo. Character reactions
  • When the girls coax Ranma into explaining why he's so uncomfortable, they respond by assuring him that they don't mind his presence because they initiated things, although they do appreciate his desire to respect them. Character reactions

• In the series' two-part premiere, "Mare in the Moon" and "Elements of Harmony", Nightmare Moon shows up at the Summer Sun Celebration and announces her intention to bring about The Night That Never Ends. Twilight Sparkle then confronts Nightmare Moon in front of the crowd, and announces that she knew about the prophecy of Nightmare Moon's arrival. While a brave move, it suffers a few big drawbacks:
  • Twilight quickly loses her nerve against the larger and more powerful pony. Twilight may know who Nightmare Moon is, but that doesn't get her very far. Before long, Nightmare Moon shoots down most of the Royal Guard and escapes, with Twilight unable to do anything about it. Weak character loses against stronger character, plus it's expected that the villain wouldn't be defeated this early.
  • Rainbow Dash gets suspicious about how Twilight knew exactly when and where Nightmare Moon was going to show up, so she aggressively confronts and accuses Twilight of working for Nightmare Moon. While Applejack gets Rainbow to back off and allows Twilight to tell her side of the story, the rest of the Mane Six still demand Twilight to explain how she knows what's going on. In order to clear up any suspicion, Twilight is forced to explain both how she came across the prophecy of Nightmare Moon's arrival and that she was trying to find the Elements of Harmony. Plot happens, character reaction
• When Twilight participates in the Running of the Leaves in "Fall Weather Friends", Rainbow Dash and Applejack assume that Twilight is going to have it rough due to her generally unathletic nature. When the two tie for last place (due to their attempts to sabotage each other), they see Twilight with a medal. They both initially assume that she won, but Twilight explains that she only came in fifth place. She had never been in a race before, after all, and the only reason she did as well as she did was because she paced herself. Plot happens
• In "Over a Barrel", Pinkie Pie gives an elaborate song-and-dance performance in an attempt to pacify the Appleloosa ponies and the buffaloes, who are about to engage in war over a territorial dispute. Pinkie's performance solves absolutely nothing, and at one point it actually makes the situation worse by angering the chief of the buffaloes. Character reaction
• "Party Of One":
  • Pinkie Pie performs an elaborate song-and-dance inviting the other members of the Mane Six to her pet gator Gummy's birthday party. She ends up exhausted after running around Ponyville performing the whole song for all five of her closest friends. It seems even the endlessly energetic Pinkie Pie has her limits. Not sure
  • An episode of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, centered on police interrogations, used a clip of Pinkie Pie interrogating Spike in this episode, among a montage of Police Procedurals featuring stereotypical Perp Sweating scenarios. After discussing real-world interrogations, Oliver then rounded back around to the clip to cite it as the most realistic of the sample shows, as it ends with Spike cracking under pressure and making a false confession just to get out of a stressful situation, as very often happens in reality. Conversational Troping
• In "The Best Night Ever", a night at the Grand Galloping Gala goes south for everyone because they made flawed assumptions about the nature of the event.
  • The Gala turns out to be much less easygoing than the hard-partying Pinkie thought, since it is a formal event steeped in tradition for centuries, and her party games are shown to be wildly inappropriate for the setting. Did Not Think This Through
  • Almost all of the guests are upper crust and unaccustomed to Applejack's low-class food, as only haute cuisine is served at the Gala. Additionally, even if it wasn't haute cuisine, it's still being served to the guests for free because they're at a royal party, so most guests wouldn't have brought money in the first place and wouldn't be able to buy Applejack's food at all. Did Not Think This Through
  • The celebrities Rainbow Dash wanted to hang out with are busy with everyone else, since they are too popular to even approach, and are even cordoned off in their own private area for that very reason. Did Not Think This Through
  • Twilight can't spend any time with Princess Celestia, because even as Celestia's personal student, Celestia is too busy greeting all the guests and is mobbed by other ponies with the same goal in mind. Twilight tries to help Celestia with greeting the guests, but she tires out quickly due to being unaccustomed with having to greet guests. Did Not Think This Through
  • The royal prince Rarity wanted to impress just looks down on her and everyone else. While this is partly due to his ego, it's also because the idea of him falling in Love at First Sight with a random stranger at a ball is highly unlikely. Character reaction
  • The animals at the royal zoo have no experience dealing with outsiders, even ones as non-offensive as Fluttershy, since they are in a reserve that isn't normally open to the public. Their refusal to approach her turns Fluttershy Love Hungry and incredibly aggressive. Character reaction

• Twilight (along with her friends) attempt to slip into the palace unnoticed in "It's About Time" with laughably bad sneaking, which the guards don't notice. When she is finally caught trying to jimmy open a door... the guard greets her and unlocks it for her. Twilight has been in the palace many times before by virtue of being Celestia's personal student, so she has full authority to come and go as she pleases. The guards weren't being mind-numbingly stupid (for once), they were simply doing their patrols while paying her no mind. Not sure, but probably fits a different trope.
• Given how The Power of Friendship seems to solve everything, "Hurricane Fluttershy" is much more this trope than the usual formulas.
  • Someone can't just "get over" long-term childhood bullying, as it often leaves big emotional scars. However, that doesn't mean they can't work to overcome its effects, and it doesn't have to rule their life. Trauma exists
  • While going through intense training in a short period of time will help you improve, it won't make you among the top of your field. After Fluttershy goes through a Training Montage, she improves from 0.5 to 2.3, which is still significantly below the 10.0 wingpower minimum that Rainbow set for the pegasi. Pegasus wingpower doesn't exist, so you can't say her improvement is realistic.
  • If a solid chunk of your team is missing, pushing yourself and the remainder of your team harder won't let you get up to where you wanted to be (in Rainbow's case, she wanted to be able to break a record). In fact, they're barely able to get enough wingpower to get the water to Cloudsdale - which is the task that they're supposed to do in the first place. Same as above
  • Sickness can and will happen, even to people who are needed for an important event. Rainbow thinks some of the pegasi are faking sickness and coughing fits to get out of training, but it turns out that they were genuinely sick. Because the sick pegasi were forced into training rather than staying home to recover, by the day of Tornado Duty, eight pegasi are out with feather flu, which severely hurts the whole effort. Plot happens

• In "The Crystal Empire", it's shown that trauma, especially on the scale of an entire culture and country, doesn’t just go away overnight. King Sombra enslaved the Crystal Ponies, and they still have lasting memories of his rule that are just barely repressed from being reawakened after 1000 years. Just thinking about him causes them great pain, and it almost literally brings down the walls around their empire. Trauma exists

• In "Princess Twilight Sparkle", Twilight is learning how to fly from Rainbow Dash... and is doing a rather terrible job of it. Magical wings or not, Twilight doesn't have years of experience in flying like most pegasi, and she's already shown to be unathletic. It takes her most of the season before she can even reliably fly in a straight line. Not realistic
• In "Flight to the Finish", Scootaloo finally becomes insecure and upset enough about her disability to undergo self-imposed Training from Hell in order to learn how to fly. It promptly and completely fails, because no matter how badly she wants to succeed, Scootaloo's wings simply aren't developed enough to keep her aloft. Indeed, throughout the rest of the series, Scootaloo is never able to fly on her own. Fictional Disability, not realistic
• In "Filli Vanilli", Fluttershy manages to overcome her stage fright enough to sing with a quartet in front of her friends. She is offered a spot to join them at their next gig, but she hides at this. She may be more comfortable performing in front of her friends, but it's still a different story for actual audiences. Character reaction
  Fluttershy: I'll get there someday, but for now, baby steps, everypony... baby steps.

• Twice in "Appleoosa's Most Wanted":
  • The Cutie Mark Crusaders cause a town-wide scare when they sneak out in the middle of the night, despite being told earlier in the episode not to wander off again. This gets worse when they lead the local law enforcement into believing that they were kidnapped. After the CMC confess, they're forced to clean up after the rodeo as punishment. Plot happens
  • Trouble Shoes finds his true calling as a rodeo clown, but he still apologizes for the other rodeos he had accidentally ruined due to his klutziness. Sheriff Silverstar says that Trouble Shoes still has to serve time for the damage he caused, and Trouble Shoes doesn't even protest the decision. Genuine remorse does not absolve someone from criminal charges. Character reaction
• In "Amending Fences", Twilight's last-ditch effort to apologize for snubbing Moondancer's party from the first episode is to throw another party, even bringing her "secret weapon" Pinkie Pie, whose immediate answer to nearly any problem is a party. Moondancer's response? She rips into Twilight for thinking that could possibly make up for all the heartache she felt, since that party was meant to help Moondancer lower her guard and make new friends. Fortunately, Twilight went the extra mile and invited other ponies who care for Moondancer to prove that one failed attempt at making friends doesn't mean she's all alone. This is what convinces Moondancer to accept Twilight's apology. Character reaction
  • The context of why Moondancer is angry is also important. She's not just angry because Twilight snubbed her party; she's angry because Twilight moved to another town without telling her Canterlot friends, severed all contact with them, and essentially forgot they existed. Even though Twilight thinks that Moondancer will welcome her with open arms, Moondancer thinks that Twilight is a fair-weather friend, which Twilight cops to when Moondancer gives the aforesaid speech. Character reaction
• "Canterlot Boutique"
  • Rarity assumes that Sassy Saddles knows how to be a manager based on an impressive resume of managing other boutiques and hires her on the spot to run the Canterlot Boutique. However, not only is Sassy shown to be a Control Freak who doesn't understand that every Rarity dress needs to be special, but she also reveals that most of the boutiques she's managed have closed shop. Resumes don't reveal everything, so it's very important for those who are doing the hiring to do research on the candidates' experience and references, and make sure that they didn't leave for unpleasant reasons. Plot happens
  • At some point, Rarity gets tired of making the Princess Dress over and over again, and decides to modify one of her orders by adding some colored gems to it. However, when the pony who ordered said dress comes to pick it up, instead of being impressed by the modifications, she complains that it wasn't what she asked for and demands that it be remade to be exactly like the others. While it's good to diversify your craft and experiment with new designs, the time for that is not when you're making an order for a dress with a preexisting design, and at best, the customer will politely request a different dress or a refund. Character reaction
• A few times in "Made in Manehattan":
  • When Applejack and Rarity first arrive in Manehattan, the fashionista spots a mare about to buy an ugly hat, so Rarity steps in and gives one of her own hats free of charge. While a good moment of generosity, Rarity causes the vendor to get pissed off at her because, ugly hat or not, she took his customer for no real reason, and she and Applejack have to get away from him before things get ugly. Character reaction
  • Rarity and Applejack hope to get other businesses to help with the theater production Coco Pommel is putting on, but a lot of people refuse due to being too busy with prior commitments. Plot happens
  • While Rarity and Coco finish putting together the costumes, Applejack volunteers to straighten up the overgrown park for the program. But, despite Applejack's huge work ethic, she can barely clean up a section of it in the few hours before the event is about to start. They ultimately decide to build a stage on the sidewalk for the actors instead of holding it in the park. Plot happens. It's implied that Earth Ponies like Applejack have magical strength and stamina, so it also possibly fails to be realistic
• In "Brotherhooves Social", Big Mac - a very large, heavyset stallion with a very deep voice - decides to dress himself up as an Apple family female cousin called "Orchard Blossom" in order for Apple Bloom to compete in the Sisterhooves Social when Applejack gets called away last-minute for what happens in "Made in Manehattan". It's obvious to everyone that Orchard Blossom is Big Mac wearing Incredibly Conspicuous Drag, and nobody falls for it (except for one unfortunate stallion). However, the judges for the event still play along with the ruse because they realize that Big Mac is trying to help out Apple Bloom and humiliating himself to do it, with a judge saying that "the Sisterhooves Social has always had a loose policy of what counts as a sister". When the judges do disqualify the two of them, it's because Big Mac's poor sportsmanship caused him to smack competitors off the track and destroy things in the obstacle race, not because he "turned out" to be a stallion. Character reaction, and the Sisterhooves Social is a fictional event, so it's impossible to tell what would be a realistic interpretation of the rules.
• "Crusaders of the Lost Mark":
  • Diamond Tiara points out that Pipsqueak doesn't have the funds to fulfill his election promise to renovate the playground, but everyone ignores her due to her being incredibly rude about it. Sure enough, Diamond Tiara's warning comes true and everyone is forced to turn to her family's money to fund the renovation. The Crusaders even admit that Diamond Tiara wasn't wrong about it. Plot happens, character reaction.

• Pinkie Pie's usual Cloudcuckoolander hijinks and No Sense of Personal Space tendencies are usually brushed off by her friends and the townsfolk of Ponyville as "Pinkie being Pinkie" because they all know her well enough to realize that she doesn't mean any harm. However, in "The Gift Of the Maud Pie," the citizens of Manehattan are either annoyed and/or disturbed at her usual antics since Pinkie is a total stranger to them. In fact, at one point a police officer asks Pinkie to stop making a scene. Character reaction
• In "Newbie Dash": In a last-ditch effort to remove the nickname, Rainbow ends up breaking formation and trying to pull off a dangerous stunt, which only hurts her in the end. While she did earn sympathy from the team over why she did it, and they let her know she is not alone in having such names, she still disobeyed orders and is given a month's probation and cleaning duties. Consequences of reckless pegasus flying, which doesn't exist in real life.

• In "All Bottled Up", Twilight and company attempt to solve a puzzle room in record time. Once they find the key in record time, they break out into a song and dance number before opening up the door and officially breaking the record. This costs them the chance to break the record, something that's even lampshaded by the announcer. Celebrating a victory before it's actually achieved backfires more often than not, and singing is not a free action. Maybe valid
• Similar to Season 6's "The Gift of Maud Pie", in "Rock Solid Friendship", Pinkie Pie's efforts to force friendships with her usual tendencies only freak out the townsfolk and simply don't work. When a friendship between Maud and Starlight is formed, she (in an attempt to try to get her sister to stay in Ponyville with her) tries to force it to her pace and drives Maud to run off in frustration, and Starlight bluntly points out that Pinkie was ruining an otherwise pleasant relationship. Character reaction
• "Fluttershy Leans In":
  • Angel takes a tumble on an improvised parkour course and Fluttershy asks him if he is OK. Normally, such a scene would be played for laughs and he would give a big "paws up", but it's shown that he hurt a hind paw and needs care from a veterinarian. Animals aren't made of iron, after all. Maybe valid. At least it mentions an Expected Unrealistic Outcome
  • Fluttershy finds out first-hand that hiring help for a special project just by a friend's recommendation without checking their interests and biases can easily lead to disaster. The three ponies she hires balk at her idea of an animal sanctuary she wants to build, and they each have their own idea of how it should look. The result is a disorganized mess that isn't remotely close to Fluttershy's vision, and she ends up firing all of them. Plot happens
• "Hard to Say Anything":
  • The CMC's attempts to help Big Mac win over Sugar Belle go way too over-the-top. Mac, after looking over the fairy tales, realizes that was probably not the way to go about it and points it out to the Crusaders: Character reaction, This Is Reality
    Sweetie Belle: I don't get it. Big grand gestures always work in the fairy tales.
    Big Macintosh: But Sugar Belle is not a fairy tale princess. She's a real pony.
  • While a Grand Romantic Gesture can certainly get a romantic partner's attention, you need to take the time to really know them in order to form a stable, lasting romantic relationship. While Feather Bangs has the charisma, looks, and skills to woo several ladies, he has no idea how to treat them in a long-term relationship. This is also why Big Mac succeeds in asking Sugar Belle to go out with him, as he is willing to actually get to know her instead of treating her like a prize to be won. Character reaction
• "Fame and Misfortune":
  • Much like in Season 1's "Over a Barrel," singing a song doesn't do anything to solve the problem. In an effort to dispel a mob of Loony Fans, the Mane Six sing about their flaws and how they make them unique. Not only does it not make anyone see the error of their ways, but as soon as the song is over the mob goes right back to arguing with itself. After all, an agitated crowd is unlikely to listen to logic in any form. Character reaction
  • Fluttershy also invokes this trope to Justify her Aesop Amnesia about assertiveness. She states that, while it did take a while for the lessons she learned to completely stick, her entire personality isn't going to change after she learns a lesson one time. It takes a long time for a lesson to really stick, and that's why she's not as shy or timid as she was at the start of the series. Discussed Trope
• "Daring Done?" examines and ultimately averts Daring Do having Hero Insurance.
  • The townspeople of Somnambula end up hating Daring Do, because the kind of enemies she attracts cause damage in their wake, and the townspeople have to deal with the mess that said enemies inevitably leave behind. While Daring certainly has good intentions in saving the townspeople from bandits and ancient curses, that doesn't magically fix all the damage she does in the name of saving them. Dr. Caballeron takes advantage of this and makes up accusations of Daring Do stealing diamonds in order to break her spirit. Character reaction
  • While Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie believe that the slander targeting Daring Do consists of baseless rumors, they discover that some of what the townspeople accuse Daring of is actually true. A hotel pony is still mad at Daring Do for skipping out on a hotel bill after she rushed out to stop a curse without paying for her room. Also, she tells Pinkie and Rainbow that Daring's enemies came looking for her there later, and that they trashed half the hotel trying to find her, so the hotel no longer wants Daring Do to come anywhere near it. Even if a few rumors are false, if there's a lot of rumors based around one person repeatedly causing havoc, then there's likely some basis in reality. Character reaction
• In "A Health of Information," Fluttershy feels responsible for Zecora getting swamp fever, and she's determined to find a cure. She stays up all night researching, flies off to a faraway location, and takes action while she herself comes down with swamp fever, all without taking a break. Eventually, Fluttershy rushes into a confrontation with a swarm of vicious bees which she can neither talk nor Stare her way out of, and the exhaustion finally gets to her, causing Fluttershy to collapse and sleep for three days straight, wasting the little time she has to cure Zecora. It leads to An Aesop of "If you don't take care of yourself, you won't be able to take care of others, either." Not sure

• When the group attempts to walk across a rope to get to an airship, Pinkie Pie tries to cross it with her usual pronking gait. This causes the rope to shake, and she falls off before Twilight catches her with her telekinesis. Not sure
• Rainbow Dash performs a Sonic Rainboom, a large explosion of color in the sky, to inspire the pirates. While this does help inspire them, it also allows Tempest Shadow to find their location. Sonic Rainbooms aren't realistic
• While in Seaquestria, Twilight tries to steal the Pearl of Transformation while using her unknowing friends as a distraction. However, because the Pearl is a treasured object, the throne room has a security system - which she sets off, resulting in her and her friends getting kicked out of Seaquestria. Character reaction

• "School Daze"
  • Twilight wants to open a school to help teach everyone about the magic of friendship. However, she first has to get approval from the Equestrian Educational Association (EEA) to do that and make sure that she follows a strict set of guidelines. Even after all of her paperwork is in order, the school only gets provisionally approved until the EEA actually sees the school after it's been up and running for a few days. Extraordinary World, Ordinary Problems
  • Twilight sinks into a deep depression because her school is rejected. The rest of the Mane 6 try to cheer her up by giving her presents, sweets, and hugs, but she drives them off because things like that aren't going to help her get through having her dream crushed. She only gets better when Starlight Glimmer steps in and talks about it with Twilight, and states why following the EEA rules was stupid in the first place. Character reaction
  • The teachers having the best intentions and intending to develop as time goes on does not impress the EEA, who expect most of them to already have some level of experience, and the chancellor's actual motivations don't negate these concerns. Twilight has to use her authority as a princess to declare "friendship schools don't need EEA approval" and sidestep their authority. Character reaction
• "Marks for Effort": The Crusaders are told that they can not become students at the School of Friendship because they've already mastered the curriculum. At the end of the episode, they still aren't let in because that fact hasn't changed, but they do get honorary diplomas and are able to tutor students in need of help. Plot happens
• "The Mean 6": While the Mane Six do cross paths with the Mean Six, the chances of them meeting their respective doubles are rather slim. Not only that, but rather than blaming some outside force for ruining the camping trip, each of the Mane Six takes responsibility for their own shortcomings. What's more, they've known each other for years; they aren't going to give up their friendships because of a few hurtful comments. Character reaction, unrealistic evil clones
• "Friendship University":
  • Twilight's "disguise" consists of an eyepatch and a sticky note covering her Cutie Mark. While Rarity was able to fool other ponies with her more elaborate disguise, Film and Flam don't buy Twilight's disguise for a second. Possibly valid, since it takes an unrealistic trope and has it completely fail to work as intended.
    Flim: Twilight Sparkle! Did you really think an eyepatch was enough of a disguise?
    Twilight: No! I didn't!
  • When Rarity reveals her true identity, Flim and Flam have no idea who she is. The brothers have only met Rarity once (way back in Season 2, in fact) and they barely interacted with her, so they don't know who she is. Character reaction
• "A Rockhoof and a Hard Place": Rockhoof attempts to navigate the Hippogriffs' ship by following the stars in a constellation. Unfortunately, the stars have shifted position over the last 1000 years, leading to the ship crashing into a bunch of rocks. Plot happens
• "Sounds of Silence": The idealistic argument that positive emotions are worth the cost of negative ones isn't the only thing that convinces the Kirin to take the cure, since Autumn Blaze had given that argument many times. What seals the deal and convinces them to change their minds is when Autumn Blaze shows that the Nirik form can be controlled enough to not cause damage. Character reaction, unrealistic rage-based transformation
• At the end of "School Raze", the Young Six think that saving Equestria means that they automatically get to graduate the School of Friendship. Twilight promptly tells them that, while everybody is grateful for their help, it's only been a semester, which isn't nearly enough time for them to finish their education. Plot happens

• Despite figuring out the Flim-Flam Brothers' scheme of selling Shoddy Knockoff Products, Fluttershy and Applejack are unable to shut down the Flim-Flam Brothers directly. Selling a Shoddy Knockoff Product may be in bad taste, but it's not illegal, so Applejack and Fluttershy have to discredit the product instead. Not sure, but seems like just plot happening

• "The Beginning of the End":
  • While Twilight's friends are excited over the prospect of ruling Equestria together, Twilight has doubts on whether she's ready for such a responsibility, as she has no formal training in ruling. When Starlight tries to reassure Twilight about taking on Celestia and Luna's responsibilities as rulers of Equestria by pointing out her success with the School, Twilight points out that running a school is much less difficult than running a nation. Character reaction
  • As vile as Cozy Glow is, she's still just a filly. She is clearly intimidated by Chrysalis, and even more so when Grogar makes his presence known. Character reaction
• "Uprooted": While Sandbar said that he'd thrown the Tree of Harmony's remains away, there's no way that he alone could have carried them far away due to their weight. Sure enough, they were left nearby instead of in a wagon. Not sure
• "Sparkle's Seven":
  • Even a Bad Guy Bar has to adhere to opening and closing times like any other normal bar, and won't always be open even if the plot calls for it. Sure enough, when Rarity and Rainbow Dash try to relive their Noir fantasy, it gets squashed because it's closed. A bar being open isn't strictly unrealistic
  • While the Air Vent Passageways were shown to be wide enough to crawl through, they also show that crawling through one is very noisy, due to them being made of metal. Might be valid since Air-Vent Passageway is an unrealistic trope, but being wide enough for ponies to fit inside wouldn't be realistic.
  • Zephyr Breeze is quickly fired for abandoning his post and letting someone manage to get into the sealed-up passageway he was guarding. Granted, this was revealed to be part of Spike and Luna's plan, with Spike likely suggesting him to Luna because he knew he would mess up. Plot happens
• "Common Ground":
  • Since Buckball is a fairly recent sport, the Ponyville team is shown to be the only one in the newly built museum's hall of fame. Plot happens, buckball doesn't exist in real life
  • Quibble Pants doesn't magically become a great athlete over the course of an afternoon of training. In fact, in the third act, he gets so frustrated with his lack of progress that he gives up entirely. Character reaction
• "The Point of No Return": A long overdue library book doesn't result in a Shockingly Expensive Bill for Twilight Sparkle, because the library caps off the overdue fee after a month. The reason they don't tell anyone about this is to keep patrons from taking books for too long. Even then, the book Twilight has is so old that by the time she tries to return it, it's out gone of circulation because of newer editions being printed. Not all libraries in real life are going to have the same policies as this one, so it's not really realistic
• "She's All Yak": Yona ties herself to the Treehouse of Harmony, and swears that she's not going to come down... and then asks Sandbar to fetch her food and water. Turns out that it's hard to keep yourself in one place for a while without having someone else get you items that you need to survive. Plot happens
• "Frenemies":
  • Grogar forces Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek to work together... and it almost immediately results in arguments between the latter two. Turns out getting two power-hungry creatures that only care about themselves to work together is pretty difficult. Characer reaction
  • During the closing of the song "Better Way to Be Bad", the school-age Cozy Glow, attempts to tackle the adult Chrysalis in a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment. Chrysalis merely pins her to the floor with her magic, throws Tirek on top of her, and casually jumps on top of him. Magic, not realistic
• "Sweet and Smoky": Even after the source of the lack of lava flow is found and fixed, there still isn't enough heat in the ground for the dragon eggs to hatch. All that lava can't just go back the way it came. Probably unrealistic since the lava flow issue is caused by dragons.
• "Going to Seed": In preparation for the "Great Confluence", Big Mac stayed up late and made an apple-bucking map, with the new schedule taking a much heavier toll on him. As a result, he can barely stay awake for the following days. This is somewhat subverted, though, as the main reason he was tired the following days was due to his sleep-harvesting. Sleep Deprivation, not surprising since other episodes have had this as a plot point
• "Between Dark and Dawn":
  • While skydiving, Celestia monologues to her instructor about Luna. Since they're falling at high speeds with the wind whipping around them, the instructor can't hear a word that Celestia says. I'm pretty sure there's an Artistic License trope being averted here, which would make this valid, but I can't remember which one.
  • As expected, the lack of any experience in the field of politics and bureaucracy among the Mane Six (except for Twilight) means that the day was nothing short of a complete disaster until the last minute. Plot happens
• "The Last Laugh": Liking a certain occupation won't make you like things that are tangentially related to said occupation. In Cheese Sandwich's case, while he likes gags and making ponies laugh, he doesn't like overseeing a gag factory. Character eaction
• "Dragon Dropped": While she encourages Spike to go and spend another day with Rarity, Gabby is clearly upset over it. Considering her Friendless Background, it's only natural that Gabby would be sad over not being able to spend time with one of the few friends she does have. Character eaction
• "A Horse Shoe In": Even though Octavia was qualified for the position of vice-headmare, she had to quit for the sake of other important commitments. Just being qualified doesn't mean you'll have the time to do something, after all. Plot happens
• "Daring Doubt": Once Ahuizotl tells his side of the story, it becomes clear that, when you look past Daring Do's status as an Adventurer Archaeologist, she's essentially a thief much like Dr. Caballeron — she may not have intended to be such, and had noble goals, but she was still taking away other people's rightful property. Cerebus Retcon
• "The Big Mac Question":
  • Mrs. Cake may be a master baker, but asking her to bake 22 different baked goods in one day stresses her out and causes her to mix up the ingredients. Character reaction
  • Spike tries using his ability to teleport messages by burning them to place all the messages inside the sweets at once... only for his fire to burn all of the baked goods. Unrealistic powers
• "The Ending of the End":
  • Starlight tries to pull off an Unflinching Walk, only to be sent flying by an explosion's shockwave. Maybe valid
  • While Cozy Glow may have become an alicorn and adapted rather quickly to using magic, she still just a filly who was overwhelmed when facing six adult ponies and a baby dragon. Even though she managed to defeat both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, this was only due to bringing the Bewitching Bell with her, catching them off guard. On contrast Twilight and her friends were able to beat Cozy Glow because they were on guard and they saw what the bell can do and so they attacked Cozy without relying on their magical abilities. Unrealistic
  • In a surprising turn for a show that typically follows Defeat Means Friendship, Cozy Glow, Tirek, and Chrysalis are all turned to stone as punishment for their crimes. All three had previously been defeated multiple times before, and they still decided to keep their evil ways without showing any remorse for their previous crimes. No one, not even rulers as forgiving as Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, are going to give them another chance after everything they've done. Character reaction
• "The Last Problem":
  • It's established in the very first Flashback scene of the episode that Twilight's friends have their own lives and responsibilities in Ponyville, so they simply don't have the time to meet up as often as they used to. In the end, the best they can do is agree to meet with her once a moon, and they're still friends. Plot happens

• The first movie: Twilight is a quadrupedal horse that turns into a bipedal human being after going through the magic mirror. Not being used to walking on two feet, Twilight spends the majority of the first act getting the hang of acting how humans actually act, such as trying to figure out how to walk and how technology works - particularly with computers in the library. Sunset uses the latter incident to her advantage by recording embarrassing videos of Twilight and posting them on the internet to smear her chances of becoming princess of the fall formal. Not realistic
• Rainbow Rocks:
  • In the previous movie, Sunset Shimmer underwent a Heel–Face Turn, apologetic for not only ruling the school for years, but also becoming Drunk with Power and trying to turn everyone into a teenage zombie army to invade Equestria. Rainbow Rocks shows that while the Rainbooms have forgiven Sunset Shimmer for her past "boo-boos", the rest of Canterlot High School most certainly has not. Sunset is hated by the entire school for what she did, with Sunset getting Death Glares everywhere she goes and very few people even willing to give her the time of day. And keep in mind, all of this was before the Dazzlings' Hate Plague made everyone meaner than usual, which makes it even harder for Sunset to atone. It takes her being a key part of the movie's climax for everyone to start warming up to Sunset and give her a chance to prove herself. Character reaction
  • After Princess Twilight returns, she and the Rainbooms join hands together in the gym where the Dazzlings are, with Twilight shouting "Friendship is magic!"... and nothing happens. The DVD commentary claims that this was intentionally done to make fun of how often The Power of Friendship was used as a Deus ex Machina in the show. Probably valid since Word of God says the intent was to highlight how unrealistic a trope is.
  • All of the students in the school end up affected by the Dazzlings' Hate Plague... with the sole exception of DJ-Pon3, who helps the Rainbooms in the climax. As Spike points out, she has her headphones on all the time, so she wouldn't be able to hear the music spell in the first place. If it truly was realistic, nobody would be affected at all by the spell because it wouldn't exist.
• Friendship Games:
  • The trope gets discussed when Sunset notes how relatively low-staked the Friendship Games are compared to their last battle with the Dazzlings. Fluttershy then notes that, even if Crystal Prep doesn’t have any magic involved, the games are still just as important as their other battles. Discussed Trope
  • Sunset gets worried when Princess Twilight hasn't been answering her book messages recently. When she talks to her friends about this, Applejack and Rarity point out that Princess Twilight is a princess. Chances are, she's going to be busy with her own duties in Equestria, and the Rainbooms can't expect Princess Twilight to drop everything she's doing to pop into their world all the time, especially if it’s for something as relatively minor as the Friendship Games. ^note She was busy with something, even if it wasn't obvious within the film: trying to fix Equestria's timeline from being destroyed by Starlight Glimmer. Plot happens
  • While Human Twilight has been studying magic from a scientific standpoint in the hope of attending an elite study program, she's never used magic. Thus, when Human Twilight tentatively tries magic at the Friendship Games, she nearly gets people hurt with dimensional rifts. Then, she and Sunset find out that her magic-detecting device also drains magic from those with it, which Twilight did not want to happen because she's not evil. Magic is not realistic
  • When Human Twilight first steps onto Canterlot High's campus, everyone starts calling her by name, despite the fact that Twilight has never been to that school, which freaks her out. When the Rainbooms know that Twilight's dog is named Spike, Twilight starts to suspect that Canterlot High is spying on her. Character reaction
  • While Twilight is a good academic student, she's not a good athletic student, which is shown to later be a liability for the Crystal Prep team. Even though she wins her school the first round easily because it's based on academics, Twilight is an active hinderance in the physical-activity-heavy second round, as is to be expected from someone who has never competed in any kind of athletic competition before. Twilight can hardly get past the first few hurdles and misses every shot in the archery portion since she's never handled a bow and arrow before, and if Applejack hadn't helped Twilight out due to her sense of fair play, Canterlot High would've won the second part of the Games uncontested. Plot happens
  • Principal Cinch blackmails Human Twilight into studying the magic at the Friendship Games, and her making Twilight use it nearly causes an apocalypse in the climax, which Cinch hides from. This turns Cinch's own ace students against her; they all admit they were at fault for unfairly pressuring Twilight, and despite their competitiveness, a cross-school competition isn't worth risking their lives. Additionally, when Cinch tries to threaten the administrators of Canterlot High with taking things up to the school board, they point out that Cinch will have to tell the school board that "Canterlot High has students with magical powers, dimensions to another world popped up during the Games, and there's a talking dog". Even though that's what happened, there's almost no chance that anyone on the school board would believe those accusations. Additionally, even if she was believed by the school board, the evidence would also show that Cinch caused most of the problems by blackmailing Twilight (and encouraging the other students to blackmail her), which would still lead to Cinch losing her job and reputation. In fact, the "Dance Magic" portion of Magical Movie Night shows that this is ultimately what happened to Cinch, giving her some comeuppance that she doesn't get in this movie. Discussed Trope, character reactions
• Legend of Everfree:
  • Human Twilight's transformation into Midnight Sparkle is still fresh in her mind, and she spends most of the film traumatized and worried when magic starts popping up at the camp, thinking it's Midnight's doing. A traumatic experience like that isn't something that one can just forget, and if it weren't for her friends being there for her, she would've given in to her fears. Character reaction, unrealistic magic
  • Flash sees Human Twilight as a Doppelgänger Replacement Love Interest for Princess Twilight. However, Human Twilight is not like Princess Twilight - Human Twilight is a separate human being with her own interests and experiences, and her crush on Timber is a result of her never having real interactions with Flash. This makes his attempts to interact with her not work, which gives him the message that he should just move on. He actually lampshades this to Sunset. Involves unrealistic clones and character reactions
    Flash: I guess I can't get too jealous, right? After all, she's not my Twilight... not that the other Twilight was mine.
  • As stated above, magic starts popping up throughout camp, particularly through our heroines. All of them (except for Sunset) see this as a curse at first, since it creates more problems from them not knowing how they work, and they do everything as carefully as possible to avoid triggering them. In particular, Pinkie Pie's powers make the other girls panic when she tosses them an item like a box of nails.^note It is eventually revealed that her explosions only work on food items with sugar in it. Magic is not realistic
  • Pinkie Pie decorated the outside of her paper lantern with a lot of marshmallows. When Pinkie lets go of the lantern to try and let it fly, the lantern plummets like a rock. Probably valid realistic subversion of Pinkie Pie's Rule of Funny.
• Magical Movie Night:
  • Dance Magic:
    • While the fundraiser at the end of Legend of Everfree got enough money to pay off Filthy Rich, they still need money to cover the repairs to Camp Everfree, which is the entire reason why the girls are trying to make a music video for the dance competition. Plot happens
    • Principal Cinch was mentioned to have been replaced with the more kind and compassionate Principal Cadence after the Friendship Games (for reasons explained above), but her influence on the students of Crystal Prep is still there, proving that old habits really do die hard. Character reaction
  • Movie Magic:
    • A stagehand mistakes the girls for the cast of Power Ponies, despite the girls' repeated insistence that they aren't the actors. Instead of everyone on the crew mistaking them for the actors, the director quickly realizes that the girls aren't the actual actors and promptly fires the stagehand for incompetence. Plot happens
    • Though Canter Zoom isn't going to press charges against Juniper Montage due to her being his niece, he's still angry that someone he was close to would resort to sabotaging the movie's production for what he considered a very flimsy reason. Thus, he revokes Juniper's privileges and bans her from the studio until further notice. Character reaction
    • When Juniper reveals her actions were to try and become the star of the Daring Do movie, Canter points out that she doesn't have any acting experience and, family or not, he simply can't give her a leading role in a big-budget movie. Discussed Trope
  • Mirror Magic:
    • Just like in the first movie, Starlight Glimmer has the same initial problems as Princess Twilight when it comes to acting like a human being. The inverse works as well, with Sunset having to readjust herself to walking as a pony and using her horn after being human for so long. Unrealistic
• Forgotten Friendship
  • In the extended version, the restricted section of the Canterlot Library has a mechanical library catalog. But since no one has been down there in a long time, the device has not been properly maintained, which causes it to fall apart when Sunset tries to operate it. Not sure
  • Pinkie Pie tries running on the beach while wearing flippers. Naturally, she ends up tripping and face-planting in the sand. "Naturally" means it's not surprising
  • When the culprit starts singing, Sunset uses Trixie as a distraction to search for the Memory Stone. Partway through the song, the culprit notices what Sunset is doing, and immediately stops singing to catch her. Singing is not a free action. Maybe valid since it explains why you'd expect this not to happen.
  • When Sunset catches up to the culprit in the parking lot, the culprit shouts in frustration about how Sunset shouldn't be able to know what they know since they had her memories of the entire afternoon erased. Sunset's friends are nearby and hear everything, proving to them Sunset was telling the truth. Shouting in a public place is a very bad way to keep secrets, and it will get you caught. Not sure
• Rollercoaster of Friendship: When Fluttershy briefly goes missing, Applejack panics and alerts the other girls that she's gone. They then point out that the Equestrialand fun park can hold as many as fifty-thousand people, and not every single adventure of theirs has to involve magic. Even though magic is actually involved, it's more logical for them to assume that Fluttershy went to another attraction or area of the park on her own. Discussed Trope, involves magic
• Sunset's Backstage Pass: Pinkie Pie knocks over a churro stand, sending herself and Sunset Shimmer tumbling end over end, covered in cinnamon. Typical slapstick antics? Nope, the security guard for the festival kicks the two of them out for causing trouble. Maybe valid since it mentions an expected unrealistic outcome
• Holidays Unwrapped:
  • When the girls are unprepared for an upcoming test after falling asleep during a planned all-night study session, Rainbow Dash concocts a scheme to trick Principal Celestia into calling a snow day by faking a snow scene outside her office, which the rest of the girls are forced to go with out of desperation. However, the girls didn't plan on anyone else being in the school at that time, so while it briefly fools Celestia, the girls get busted and wind up in detention when a teacher notices the ruse. Plot happens. I haven't seen the special, but with plots like these, you'd expect deceptions to fail.
  • In "Winter Break-In", the girls are locked outside the school and are trying to figure out how to get in. Sunset concocts an elaborate heist scheme to get inside the school, Pinkie comes up with a plan to trick Celestia into opening the doors with a Delicious Distraction, and Applejack suggests using her super-strength to rip the school off of its foundations. Twilight points out that all of these ideas are utterly absurd, and simply calls Principal Celestia and asks her to let them inside. Stating the Simple Solution

• Dr. Sivana is not the only one who's noticed the abductions, and is working with a doctor who's studying mass hysteria. Even in a world where aliens and Amazons exist, people aren't going to immediately believe every crazy story they hear. Arbitrary Skepticism shoehorn.
• When Billy steals a police officer's car, he attempts to ward off police backup by telling dispatch that it's a false alarm, only to immediately give himself away by calling the radio a "walkie-talkie". Plot happens.
• Regarding Billy's search for his birth mother.
  • Billy doesn't know his birth mother's real name since he was very young when he got lost, and has been trying to locate her by tracking down women with the last name Batson. As it turns out, there are many women with Batson as their last name, so it's been very slow going. Plot happens.
  • Billy was separated from his mother when he was a toddler, and the main story takes place when he's 14. While the idea of a parent accidentally losing a child for years used to be a realistic scenario, modern technology has rendered it virtually impossible. As Billy's foster agent points out early on, the only reason his mother would never show up to claim him is if she was never looking for him. When Billy finally finds his mother and she admits she abandoned him, he's absolutely crushed, but not surprised. Plot happens.
  • When Billy's mom is finally found, it's revealed that the reason that Billy had so much trouble finding her is that his mom hasn't using the last name Batson; she's been using her maiden name. She abandoned her son and is in a new relationship, so she's trying to blank out as much of her old life as she can. Plot happens.
  • Billy searched for his mother, hoping their reunion would be a heart-warming one that would make years of turning away his past foster families worthwhile. Instead, their reunion is underwhelming and his mother isn't capable of taking him back into her life. And while she convinced herself that the authorities would give her son a better life than anything she could provide, thanks to her not officially giving him up for adoption, the lack of closure and Billy's fervent belief that he'd simply been lost rather than abandoned just meant he turned to desperate measures to find her again, got bounced back and forth in the foster care system because he refused to give up hope, and never found a new family. Big Damn Reunion subversion shoehorn.
• The Wizard spent nearly 45 years looking for a champion who was pure of heart... and never found one because Humans Are Flawed, meaning he's forced to use Billy as a last resort. Sivana even says it himself as a reason you suck speech to the Wizard. Humans Are Flawed shoehorn.
• When trying to prove to Freddy that it's really him, Billy pulls out Freddy's prize Superman bullet... only to drop it down a sewer grate because he's not used to having control of adult-sized hands. Super Mode shoehorn.
  • In addition, Billy first tries to get Freddie's attention by slamming a sign saying "DON'T SCREAM" against his window. Instead, Freddie does what any young kid would do when a strange man suddenly appears at the window: scream for a parent/guardian. Psychology, unqualified.
• Billy is a rebellious teenager who's been handed the keys to near-godhood. Instead of immediately taking on the mantle of a superhero, he panics and then screws around before receiving harsh reminders of his new circumstances. Psychology, unqualified.
  • Similarly, Billy is just a young teenager who was just given a huge responsibility and quickly gets nervous when trouble arises. His first few heroic actions involve stopping simple muggings or burglaries, but when a bus full of passengers almost falls off a highway, he panics and doesn't know what to do. During his first encounter with Sivana, Billy becomes a nervous wreck and spends most of the fight trying to run away and tossing random objects at him. Psychology, unqualified.
• Eugene tries attacking bullies with a pair of nunchucks. Eugene promptly clocks himself in the head, which is what you'd expect from someone with absolutely zero weapons training. (Besides, that's not how nunchucks were used, despite what a certain party-dude turtle would have you believe; they were used for cutting off circulation, not for hitting people.) Fighting With Chucks deconstruction shoehorn.
• The lightning that Billy summons whenever he yells out the magic word strikes through the roof/ceiling of whatever building he's in and causes a power outage. Transformation Sequence deconstruction shoehorn.
• Upon seeing a woman being mugged for her purse late at night, Billy rushes over to assist her. Once he gets there, he discovers that the woman already pepper sprayed the would-be robber. When the woman sees Shazam, she freaks out and hands him all her money. Women living in a city like Philadelphia are usually prepared for such a scenario, and seeing a person in a red suit throw someone 30 feet followed by a kid yelling about superpowers is a very reasonable time to leave. Psychology, unqualified.
• Billy and Freddy buy beer using Billy's adult body, chug it down, and immediately spit it out because it tastes terrible. Beer isn't something young teenagers drink for the taste. Even good beer is an acquired taste, and what you're likely to find at a local convenience store is probably going to be mass-market stuff that's tolerable at best. As such, they quickly switch to Red Bull and soda. It Tastes Like Feet shoehorn.
  Shazam: That tastes like actual vomit...
• In the climatic battle, the Vasquez foster kids try to help Shazam by luring the Seven Deadly Sins away, but they quickly find out that they can't outrun supernatural monsters that have super strength, causing the kids to be almost immediately captured. Too magical to count.
• Before Billy and Sivana fight for the last time, Sivana does some Evil Gloating, but since they’re both a good distance away from each other and Super-Hearing isn't part of the powerset, Billy can’t hear a word he’s saying. Failed Attempt at Drama shoehorn.
  Sivana: Only I have the power to unleash...
  [cut to Shazam's perspective, Sivana's voice is barely audible]
  Shazam: [trying to make out what the flip he's saying] Wait, WHAT?!
  Sivana: ...you will beg for mercy...
  Shazam: Are you making some, like, big, evil-guy speech right now or somethin'? You're like a mile away from me, all I see is mouth-movin'!
  Sivana: As I feast on your heart...
  Shazam: Ah, whatever, screw it!
• Billy and Freddy's step-siblings besides Darla (who already knew) quickly figure out Shazam's identity once they see him and Freddy talking to each-other on the news, recall Freddy and Billy's earlier argument, then Mary points out Shazam knowing her name without her telling him. Even if your alter-ego is an adult and you're a fourteen-year-old, maintaining a secret identity requires some effort. Secret Identity deconstruction shoehorn.

• In the opening, a young Diana tries to cheat in the competition by taking a shortcut to get back to the horse she was knocked off of. While it puts her back in the lead, Antiope is forced to disqualify her before she can reach the finish line for her action, since the course is very obviously marked and that shortcut broke the rules. Cheaters Never Prosper shoehorn.
• Some robbers manage to steal from a black market store fronting as an antique shop. They seem to succeed... except one of them didn't bother to bring a proper holster for his gun, awkwardly trying to put it into his pants. The gun drops out of his pants as a result while he's fumbling around with a case as they're heading out of the mall, which is seen by a woman who quickly causes attention to it. Plot happens.
• The Dreamstone allows Maxwell Lord to grant any wish to anyone he wants. Naturally, a lot of wishes aren't just for material gain like money, but also things like power over a country and weapons such as nukes. This ends up causing chaos and ultimately nearly starts World War III when the other countries get wind of said weapons. Too fantastical to count.
• Since Diana had used her wish to bring back Steve, this resulted in her slowly losing her power as the price paid for it. As such, she struggles in her fights since she's now on par with normal humans and nearly does get killed a few times. Power at a Price shoehorn.
  • At the same time, however, Diana's thousands of years worth of intensive training meant that even with her natural-born superpowers being depleted, she could still give any mortal a challenge through muscle-memory and experience. Weak, but Skilled shoehorn.
• Diana wears the full armor of Asteria for only a brief period before she ends up discarding the wings and helmet during her fight with Cheetah. It doesn't matter how strong they may be, a warrior accustomed to wearing the bare minimum of armor is going to struggle wearing something bulky unless they extensively train in it prior to their first fight. This was in fact foreshadowed in the first Wonder Woman film when Diana complains about women's formal wear at the time being too restrictive. Awesome, but Impractical shoehorn.

• The Flash may have super-speed and a mild healing factor, but he's still physically an average guy who doesn't have years of training, in contrast with the other heroes. Whenever he gets shot or even knocked around, it takes a considerable amount of time for him to recover. Logical Weakness shoehorn.
  • Likewise using his power when outside of his suit instantly destroys his socks and shoes. Showcased when he goes to save Iris West from a car crash, just pivoting his foot is enough to disintegrate them and leave him barefoot. Clothing Damage shoehorn.
• After Superman's death, the world still honors his memory when they can, but he's become little more than just that — a distant memory. Only Lois is ever seen visiting his monument and even then she plans to kick this habit and move on with her life at the behest of "Martha". It's not healthy or even realistic to be in perpetual grief, as people will eventually heal with enough time. Psychology, unqualified.
• Alfred builds a new pair of gauntlets for Batman that is capable of absorbing energy. Bruce is able to block Superman's heat vision with the gauntlets but eventually has to remove one of them as he is unable to withstand the amount of heat the gauntlet has gathered. Logical Weakness shoehorn.
• One of the stingers reveals that Luthor still knows Bruce's identity from the Batman v Superman. Once he escapes prison, he freely shares it with another criminal, namely Deathstroke. If the "Knightmare" vision/possible future is any indication, that information ended up spreading to the point even Joker knows who he is. Plot happens.
• Batman and Superman are friends now... except Bruce still has PTSD. He still has nightmares of Superman turning on humanity, which leaves him waking up with feelings of self-loathing. Some problems can't be fixed no matter what. Psychology, unqualified.

• While Peacemaker’s father, Auggie Smith, AKA the White Dragon, was a horrible father, and an even worse person in general, when Peacemaker kills by shooting him the head, the guy breaks down from killing his own father. The sad truth most victims of child abuse still love their abusive parents, no mater what they did to them. Stockholm Syndrome shoehorn.