History Fanfic / ProjectSunflower

* AndIMustScream: Experienced by [[spoiler: Erin/Sunflower]], who can't even talk when [[spoiler: Malachite takes over her body.]]

* AuraVision: Twilight's ability to see the magical field of Equestria immediately clues her in to Erin's lack of connection with it, though she draws the wrong conclusion for a while. [[spoiler: Lyra evidently has the same ability, which gets her a job at Project Harmonics, scanning prospective new worlds for magical fields]].
* BackgroundMagicField: Equestria has one of these, and the Earth doesn't. This is part of how [[spoiler: Twilight figures out that Erin isn't Equestrian, as she lacks contact with Equestria's magical field]]
* BecameTheirOwnAntithesis: [[spoiler: Malachite]] used to live studying biology and saving lives, and later [[spoiler: merged himself with a swarm of creatures who feed on life-forces]]

* BenevolentBoss: Speedy Parcel, Erin's boss at Fetlock Express, which is best demonstrated when [[spoiler: he is more upset about losing her as an employee than learning that she's an alien in disguise.]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Dr. Velchiek]]. They seem nice enough to begin with, but are willing to resort to [[spoiler:injecting Erin with mood-altering drugs and even putting her into a coma to prevent her from revealing humanity to the Equestrians.]]

* CannotKeepASecret: [[spoiler: While it wasn't ''much'' of a secret by then (the princess and the Elements having already been told) Speedy Parcel casually talking about Erin being a human in disguise in front of a customer (who promptly tells the rest of the town) comes across as this.]]
* CannotSpitItOut: Erin, to her Ponyville friends in regards to her true nature, due to pressure from Dr. Velchiek. [[spoiler: Literally unable to spit it out, once the Override was engaged.]]

* {{Cyborg}}: Many of Erin's abilities come from her cybernetic implants, which include wireless communications, enhanced vision and hearing, and chemical sensors in her nose, lungs, mouth, and digestive system. She also records everything she sees and hears to be relayed back to the humans overseeing the operation. There is also the [[spoiler: Override function, which Malachite manages to hack into at one point]].

** [[spoiler: When trying to choose a movie from Erin's collection, the ponies unwittingly dodge several bullets with regards to sad or violent content -- Fluttershy rejects ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' because she can't bear the thought of what happens to the fireflies, and when she tries to choose ''Literature/WatershipDown'', Pinkie assumes it's a WesternAnimation/BugsBunny style comedy, and Rainbow rejects it because she wants action more than comedy.]]

%%* FishOutOfWater: Erin, once she gets to Equestria.

* HeroesGoneFishing: Before the Mane 6 [[spoiler: go up against the Black Tide]], there's time for a quick shopping trip.
* HomeworldEvacuation: One is attempted after the Black Tide arrives and is proven to be nearly unstoppable. The humans use two methods: massive space arks (which are subsequently sabotaged by the "Earth-First" terrorist organization, which is bent on forcing the government to continue fighting rather than evacuate, which they call the coward's way out), and Project Harmonics, intended to find a suitable alternate dimension that humanity can move to. It instead leads them to Equestria and new allies, whose actions make humanity's evacuation of Earth no longer necessary.

* HostileTerraforming: An unintentional version -- according to supplemental notes, the Black Tide was a "repair nodule" for a terraforming process used by a long-extinct alien race. Essentially, they dropped a biomass and control nodules onto uninhabited planets, which used nanomachines to spread out and create an artificial organic "computer" layer that would let the aliens control the weather and other environmental features, then form a crust on top for the aliens to live on. A "repair nodule" from one of these worlds was accidentally blasted into space by an asteroid strike, and eventually hit Earth and, not realizing it was on the wrong planet, started consuming all surface matter to convert it into a computer layer.

* IGaveMyWord: On a species-wide scale; a condition of the treaty between Earth and Equestria is that any other habitable worlds discovered by Project Harmonics would be open to ponies as well as humans for exploration and expansion. [[spoiler: When the Black Tide is defeated,]] a reporter suggests breaking this treaty; Robert Thomson, chair of the Committee of Human Survival, invokes this trope in a scathing reply.
* IntriguedByHumanity: As in numerous other fan works, Lyra is portrayed as such, [[spoiler: though only after First Contact has been made. After getting caught in the Harmonics lab a few times, she ends up being offered a job with them]].

* ItsPersonal: When Celestia learns [[spoiler: Malachite was found unconscious by the center of the remains of a very weakened Black Tide]] she immediately sets herself to rescue him and finish the job.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dr. Edwards may have come across as an ass in the early chapters, [[spoiler: but he's still an ethical scientist who does not let Velchiek get away with his modification of Erin's programming (though he states that he didn't do it for her).]]
* LivingLieDetector: Twilight Sparkle turns herself into one of these briefly, via magic, in order to question [[spoiler: Erin/Sunflower.]]

* MindControlDevice: [[spoiler: Dr. Velchiek had some of Erin's implants reprogrammed so that he could administer mood-altering drugs, take control of her body (which Malachite uses to his advantage), and put her into a coma if she tries to talk about who she really is.]]
* MindRape: [[spoiler: What the Black Tide does to Malachite, and is implied also does to several others. For Malachite, his mind is destroyed beyond repair.]]
* MomentOfWeakness: Seeing the Black Tide [[spoiler: knock Celestia down to uncounsciousness]] caused Twilight to [[spoiler: destroy the gateway emitter they had used to get to India, stranding Erin on Earth a few miles away from the Blick Tide.]]

* MinnesotaNice: Erin and [[spoiler: her parents]] John and Lynne are from Minnesota, and are all very nice people, especially Lynne.
* MultitaskedConversation: [[spoiler: After Erin explains to the Mane Six about the implants in her head allowing her to talk to Maggie on Earth]].

* ForcedTransformation: [[spoiler: When Discord first meets Erin, he turns back to her human form briefly. He then turns her back, though he hints that he's fixed some flaws from the Ascent process.]]
* FourLinesAllWaiting: Erin making a home for herself in Ponyville, the Harmonics team preparing to explore a new world, two residents of said new world attempting to sabotage joint human-pony colonization under different conditions, [[spoiler: Chrysalis being duped into aiding one of said residents believing she's helping the other, Twilight and Trixie's rivalry over the Dreamguard]], etc. As of Chapter 16, the author is attempting to dial this trend back a bit.
* GambitPileup: [[spoiler: Harmony's Caretaker is preserving some sort of forced peace on the planet, keeping its Goddess leashed. In his efforts to keep said peace, it created an Infiltrator to seek out the origin of the gates. Said Infiltrator recorded data on both Earth and Equestria, and made contact with Chrysalis, who hoped to weaken the bond between races to make them easier to defeat. However, before the Infiltrator successfully returned to the Caretaker, the Goddess seized it, stripped it bare of information, and filled it with junk and lies. Fooled, the Caretaker sent it back between worlds, where the Goddess retook it and had it seek out Chrysalis to initiate some plan that begins with capturing Celestia and Luna on the belief she will achieve great power in doing so. The princesses themselves have received visions of the fallout of whatever their unknown enemies are planning, but so far all they know they can do involves redeeming Discord for some unknown goal.]]

* TarAndFeathers: Referenced just before [[spoiler: Celestia officially hands over most of her duties to Luna]], when Luna fears that they'll "decide to defeather, tar and re-feather" her.

* VillainDecay: [[spoiler: Celestia notes that Discord was much less dangerous during the events of "[[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipisMagicS2E1TheReturnOfHarmonyPart1 The Return of Harmony]]" than he had been a thousand years ago, which leads her to wonder if he had been softened by exposure to the Elements of Harmony. She backs this theory up by comparing Nightmare Moon's actions upon her return with what she could have done to eliminate threats to her. This, along with a prophecy she has a vision of, leads to [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipisMagicS3E11KeepCalmAndFlutterOn her decision to attempt to have Fluttershy reform Discord.]]]]

%%* CluelessChickMagnet: Lucas Vasquez, which is commented on by a couple of his coworkers.

* NoodleIncident: Erin never discloses just *how* she botched the house painting job where the readers can hear, but it ended up with her [[CoveredInGunge covered in paint]].

* {{Troll}}: Erin has her moments -- right after arriving in Ponyville in human form, she addresses Carrot Top by name just to hear her DelayedReaction to realising she hadn't told her her name yet, and she shows the Mane Six ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' just so she can see Twilight and Rarity's reactions to Agnes's Unicorn obsession.

* GoingNative: To a degree -- at several points Erin starts saying "everypony" out of habit while talking to or about humans.

%%* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Brought up early on as being an extraordinary coincidence, only rarely dwelt on afterward.

%%* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Dr. Velchiek]].
%%* BondCreatures: The [[spoiler: Fae Sprites]], in relation to [[spoiler: Malachite.]]

%%* GreyGoo: Basically what the Black Tide is.

%%* NoodleIncident: Exactly how Erin botched the house painting job.

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Brought up early on as being an extraordinary coincidence, only rarely dwelt on afterward.

* BitchInSheepsClothing: [[spoiler: Dr. Velchiek]].
* BondCreatures: The [[spoiler: Fae Sprites]], in relation to [[spoiler: Malachite.]]

* FishOutOfWater: Erin, once she gets to Equestria.
* GreyGoo: Basically what the Black Tide is.

* GroupHug: Several, during the course of the story.

* NoodleIncident: Exactly how Erin botched the house painting job.

* CluelessChickMagnet: Lucas Vasquez, which is commented on by a couple of his coworkers.

* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler: When Discord first meets Erin, he turns back to her human form briefly. He then turns her back, though he hints that he's fixed some flaws from the Ascent process.]]

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/49368/sunflower-side-projects Sunflower - Side Projects]]'' - a collection of side-stories to bridge some gaps in the last few chapters of ''Project: Sunflower.''
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/177431/project-sunflower-harmony Project Sunflower: Harmony]]'' - the long-awaited sequel.
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/254901/sunflower-life-in-equestria Sunflower: Life in Equestria]]'' - a second collection of side-stories, set alongside the events of ''Project Sunflower: Harmony''.
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/369791/trixie-lulamoon-of-the-dreamguard Trixie Lulamoon of the Dreamguard]]'' - a completed side-story also set during the events of ''Project Sunflower: Harmony'' and focused on Trixie's training as a member of the newly re-instated Dreamguard.

* AdvancingWallOfDoom: The Black Tide serves as one, slowly consuming the surface of the Earth - and everything on it - meter by meter.

** [[spoiler: When trying to choose a movie from Erin's collection, the ponies unwittingly dodge several bullets with regards to sad or violent content - Fluttershy rejects ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' because she can't bear the thought of what happens to the fireflies, and when she tries to choose ''Literature/WatershipDown'', Pinkie assumes it's a WesternAnimation/BugsBunny style comedy, and Rainbow rejects it because she wants action more than comedy.]]
* DreadfulMusician: Erin cannot sing. Period. And she knows it too - the one time she does so, it's to spice up a party she's at since the other attendees are mostly just standing around doing nothing. Her singing (described as "It was passionate. It was loud. It was only passingly familiar with the correct tune.") is so awful that others present agree to take their own turns at the karaoke machine afterward just to keep her from doing so again.
* EurekaMoment: Erin chooses the sunflower for her fake cutie mark after reading an article about how much of their natural world they may lose to the Black Tide, and realises that part her mission is to save as much of that life as she can.

* GoingNative: To a degree - at several points Erin starts saying "everypony" out of habit while talking to or about humans.
* GroupHug: Several, during the course of the story.
* HeroesGoneFishing: Before the Mane 6 [[spoiler: go up against the Black Tide]], there's time for a quick shopping trip.
* HomeworldEvacuation: One is attempted after the Black Tide arrives and is proven to be nearly unstoppable. The humans use two methods: massive space arks (which are subsequently sabotaged by the "Earth-First" terrorist organization, which is bent on forcing the government to continue fighting rather than evacuate, which they call the coward's way out), and Project Harmonics, intended to find a suitable alternate dimension that humanity can move to. It instead leads them to Equestria and new allies, whose actions make humanity's evacuation of Earth no longer necessary.

* HostileTerraforming: An unintentional version - according to supplemental notes, the Black Tide was a "repair nodule" for a terraforming process used by a long-extinct alien race. Essentially, they dropped a biomass and control nodules onto uninhabited planets, which used nanomachines to spread out and create an artificial organic "computer" layer that would let the aliens control the weather and other environmental features, then form a crust on top for the aliens to live on. A "repair nodule" from one of these worlds was accidentally blasted into space by an asteroid strike, and eventually hit Earth and, not realizing it was on the wrong planet, started consuming all surface matter to convert it into a computer layer.
* HumansAreGood: From the start, the focus of humanity is to open diplomatic relations with Equestria, rather than invasion, even though they know they'll invade if they have to in order to survive.
* IComeInPeace: Erin's whole motivation for taking up her mission, though her superiors forbid her from opening diplomatic relations on her own.

* StalkerWithoutACrush: Lyra to Erin, [[spoiler: after finding out that she's an alien - she follows her back to Canterlot on the train and apparently shows up several times afterward to ask her questions about Earth. Though she stops doing it after she gets access to the Harmonics lab.]]

* InadvertentEntranceCue: Done subtly in the narration - after Erin takes a sip of cocoa:

* InsultFriendlyFire: A variant when Becky brings up how Project Harmonics haven't lost an emitter since the first time they opened a gateway, "At least, none that weren’t destroyed by crazy unicorn mares." (Namely, Twilight). Spectral Charm glances at Lyra, who irritably replies, "It wasn't me!" through clenched teeth.

-->'''Mayor Mare''': That would be wonderful! (''{{beat}}'') What’s a ‘Wi-Fi’?

* {{Troll}}: Erin has her moments - right after arriving in Ponyville in human form, she addresses Carrot Top by name just to hear her DelayedReaction to realising she hadn't told her her name yet, and she shows the Mane Six ''WesternAnimation/DespicableMe'' just so she can see Twilight and Rarity's reactions to Agnes's Unicorn obsession.

* CurseCutShort: Erin almost drops an F-bomb after [[spoiler: Discord temporarily turns her back into a human, but he interrupts her, warning her that she’ll “corrupt the pony-folk” with that kind of language.]]

-->'''Erin''': Don’t you ''dare'' lay that on me!

-->'''Erin''': No! You don’t get to put this all on me!

-->'''Erin''': I ''did'' listen to you! I stayed away from you, just like you asked, for months. Months! You said you needed time, and I gave it to you, but I’m not going to wait forever! If you want our friendship to be over, that's fine! Just tell me so I stop hanging on and hoping you'll forgive me one day. But I won't let you blame ''me'' for ''your'' decisions!

-->'''Celestia''': By my count, that is at least three ‘halfs’, sister.

-->'''Ditzy''': I know what you’re thinking. Ditzy is kind of a mean name, right? I mean, if you call someone a ditz, it must mean they’re a little goofy, right?
-->'''Erin''': Uh, no, I… Well, maybe a little?
-->'''Ditzy''': Don’t worry about it. I’m actually named after a flower, the ditzenium. Lovely silver center with golden petals.

-->'''Ditzy''': (''Nods, then burst out laughing'') No, not really. But that’s my favorite joke! (''Erin joins in giggling'') No, no, sorry. I’m actually named after an aunt on Dad’s side of the family. ‘Ditzy’ was her nickname which, trust me, she earned. My mom thought it was a cute name but didn’t know what it meant.

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Brought up early on as being an extraordinary coincidence, only rarely dwelt on afterwards.

* BenevolentBoss: Speedy Parcel, Erin's boss at Fetlock Express, which is best demonstrated when [[spoiler:he is more upset about losing her as an employee than learning that she's an alien in disguise.]]

* CannotKeepASecret: [[spoiler:While it wasn't ''much'' of a secret by then (the princess and the Elements having already been told) Speedy Parcel casually talking about Erin being a human in disguise in front of a customer (who promptly tells the rest of the town) comes across as this.]]

* {{Cyborg}}: Many of Erin's abilities come from her cybernetic implants, which include wireless communications, enhanced vision and hearing, and chemical sensors in her nose, lungs, mouth and digestive system. She also records everything she sees and hears to be relayed back to the humans overseeing the operation. There is also the [[spoiler: Override function, which Malachite manages to hack into at one point]].

** Any fan of ''Friendship is Magic'' knows that cutie marks appear spontaneously after a personal epiphany. Erin and the other humans don't learn this until halfway through the story, instead assuming that cutie marks are tattoos.
** [[spoiler:When trying choosing a movie from Erin's collection, the ponies unwittingly dodge several bullets with regards to sad or violent content - Fluttershy rejects ''Anime/GraveOfTheFireflies'' because she can't bear the thought of what happens to the fireflies, and when she tries to choose ''Literature/WatershipDown'', Pinkie assumes it's a WesternAnimation/BugsBunny style comedy, and Rainbow rejects it because she wants action more than comedy.]]
* DreadfulMusician: Erin cannot sing. Period. And she knows it too - the one time she does so, it's to spice up a party she's at, since the other attendees are mostly just standing around doing nothing. Her singing (described as "It was passionate. It was loud. It was only passingly familiar with the correct tune.") is so awful that others present agree to take their own turns at the karaoke machine afterward just to keep her from doing so again.

-->'''Erin''': It's going to be a sunflower. It just... feels right. This article, and this picture, it moved me. It hit me, when I looked at this picture. This field may be gone in a few years' time, but a new field can be planted. And it can be just as beautiful as the original, if not more so. To me, this picture means hope, and it means renewal. Everything that Harmonics represents to me. You said to trust my intuition? Well, my intuition says it's got to be this.
** [[spoiler:When Erin tells this story to the Elements and Celestia, Rarity compares it to the epiphanies that each of them had when they received their Cutie Marks. As Celestia puts it, "You struggled, and then found a purpose and an identity for yourself. In the end, you reached an epiphany that helped you discover who you were, and what you wanted to do. And then, you received a cutie mark. It's not exactly in the traditional way. But as cutie mark stories go, it's not bad."]]
* FailedASpotCheck: While in Ponyville, Erin didn't see Canterlot until whe was told where it was.

* ItsPersonal: When Celestia learns [[spoiler:Malachite was found uncouscious by the center of the remains of a very weakened Black Tide]] she immediately sets herself to rescue him and finish the job.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Dr. Edwards may have come across as an ass in the early chapters, [[spoiler:but he's still an ethical scientist who does not let Velchiek get away with his modification of Erin's programming (though he states that he didn't do it for her).]]

* MomentOfWeakness: Seeing the Black Tide [[spoiler:knock Celestia down to uncounsciousness]] caused Twilight to [[spoiler:destroy the gateway emitter they had used to get to India, stranding Erin on Earth a few miles away from the Blick Tide.]]

* MultitaskedConversation: [[spoiler:After Erin explains to the Mane Six about the implants in her head allowing her to talk to Maggie on Earth]].

-->'''Maggie''': Are you sure this is a good idea Erin?

* ThePowerOfTheSun: Celestia unleashes this twice. The first time [[spoiler: starts well, but ends with a devastating counter attack from the Black Tide]], and the second is [[spoiler: good, old-fashioned overkill against the Black Tide]]
* RaiseHimRightThisTime: [[spoiler:This is what happen to Malachite, with his mind reduced to that of an infant, Celestia and Luna turn him into a baby alicorn so he can grow up and learn again.]]
* RejectedApology: [[spoiler:Meadowlark, after finding out Erin's secret, largely because of the realisation that she allowed an alien to watch her daughter Marigold. Rainbow Dash takes slightly longer than her friends, but forgives Erin after learning that Velchiek stopped her from coming clean earlier using drugs and the Override.]]

* SeenItAll: Meadowlark's reaction when Erin tells her [[spoiler:she was possessed by an ancient evil from the Everfree Forest (It's Ponyville, after all). This does not stop her being horrified when Erin tells her she's an alien in disguise.]]
* SequelHook: [[spoiler:The Project Harmonics team discovering another inhabitable world. Erin returning to Ponyville in a new pseudo-alicorn body.]]

* StalkerWithoutACrush: Lyra to Erin, [[spoiler:after finding out that she's an alien - she follows her back to Canterlot on the train, and apparently shows up several times afterward to ask her questions about Earth. Though she stops doing it after she gets access to the Harmonics lab.]]

* TemptingFate: Erin does this repeatedly while trying to find a job in Ponyville. She catches on to it after the third time, and walks off to apply for a package delivery job determinedly ''not'' thinking about how easy it should be.

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Erin is described as a tomboy by her parents, having loved her BMX bike while hating Barbie dolls. Yet at the same time she was playing games with toy unicorns (while casting her Barbie as a villainous sorceress), and then there's her initial reaction to the Equestrian ponies.

** [[spoiler: The Thing in the Cave/Malachite is another example, since he pursued and acheived {{Immortality}} by applying his biological ([[MagicEnhancement and magical]]) knowledge to transcend his natural form.]]

* ExperimentedInCollege: [[spoiler:Lyra had a brief fling with her pegasus roommate in an all-mare college, which is why she's so surprised that Spectral Charm even thinks it's a big deal that he's gay.]]

-->'''Rainbow''' (''after a long stare from Fluttershy'') You know, I'm not sure if I should be proud of you for standing up to me, or annoyed that you did. I think I'll go with proud.

* AmbiguousInnocence: Fluttershy quickly comes to think of [[spoiler:Discord]] like this, summing him up like "as if somepony had given a willful and energetic godlike power."
* BalefulPolymorph: [[spoiler:When Discord first meets Erin, he turns back to her human form briefly. He then turns her back, though he hints that he's fixed some flaws from the Ascent process.]]

* CurseCutShort: Erin almost drops an F-bomb after [[spoiler:Discord temporarily turns her back into a human, but he interrupts her, warning her that she’ll “corrupt the pony-folk” with that kind of language.]]

* GambitPileup: [[spoiler:Harmony's Caretaker is preserving some sort of forced peace on the planet, keeping its Goddess leashed. In his efforts to keep said peace, it created an Infiltrator to seek out the origin of the gates. Said Infiltrator recorded data on both Earth and Equestria, and made contact with Chrysalis, who hoped to weaken the bond between races to make them easier to defeat. However, before the Infiltrator successfully returned to the Caretaker, the Goddess seized it, stripped it bare of information, and filled it with junk and lies.Fooled, the Caretaker sent it back between worlds, where the Goddess retook it and had it seek out Chrysalis to initiate some plan that begins with capturing Celestia and Luna on the belief she will achieve great power in doing so. The princesses themselves have received visions of the fallout of whatever their unknown enemies are planning, but so far all they know they can do involves redeeming Discord for some unknown goal.]]

* TarAndFeathers: Referenced just before [[spoiler:Celestia officially hands over most of her duties to Luna]], when Luna fears that they'll "decide to defeather, tar and re-feather" her.

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/177431/project-sunflower-harmony Project Sunflower: Harmony]]'' - the long-awaited sequel. [[DeadFic No updates have been posted since 2016.]]

* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture: The story begins in 2038.