A rather sad story about a what-if
situation for the Mane Cast, seen from Twilight's point-of-view. If Twilight went on yet another adventure, what if things went wrong? What if Equestria wasn't the nice place it was anymore?
It now has an audio drama adaptation, re-written and directed by Scribbler Productions, who also voices Twilight, which can be found and listened to here.
On September 24th, 2022, Scribbler Productions announced a sequel drama, A Tale of Two Princesses, that focuses on a few other perspectives on the story. It started on October 1st the same year.
This fanfic provides examples of:
- Adaptation Expansion: The adaptation’s first episode adds a key event that details how Celestia died and how Twilight lost her horn before the skip; a diplomatic mission to the sister queens of Diomedes Gone Horribly Wrong.
- Alternate Universe Fic: This fic takes place in a world where Equestria is far from the light-hearted, pastille-coloured place it is in canon.
- Asshole Victim: Xanthos and her people, the monstrous and murderous ponies of Diomedes, from the radio drama. Sadistic cannibals that taunt Celestia after severing her from the sun, it’s hard to feel sorry for them when Celestia obliterates her contingent in a Heroic Sacrifice when they had hoped to absorb her power.
- Deinos from the sequel. Again, it's hard to feel sorry for a sadistic cannibal, even when she's been torn in half by Nightmare Moon.
- Broken Angel: This story features two Pegasi, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash, in starring roles. Only one has wings after Twilight wakes up.
- Broken Bird: Pinkie Pie after learning the truth about her friends. Also Twilight by the end.
- Brought Down to Normal: Celestia, due to being severed from the sun. The sequel reveals this was the result of a spell by Tirek, one that also began a two-pronged invasion of Canterlot by Deinos and Podargos.
- Cerebus Syndrome: If not for the title, very little suggests anything but the usual adventure.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Fluttershy's past collar experiences.
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Creepy Cute: Lampon. More self-deprecating and doubtful than sadistic, she is assigned to hold down the fort while the others ransacked Equestria. - Curb-Stomp Battle: That huge mare knows she's going to win and ponies still provoke her.
- Cute Mute: Fluttershy ends up being rendered as such from her time as a slave.
- Dark Fic: As befitting of a fic titled "Friendship is Tragic", when the canon subtitle is "Friendship is Magic".
- Dark and Troubled Past: Applejack, or as she's called following the Time Skip, Angerjack. Following the passing of Granny Smith, Sweet Apple Acres found itself in such a state of debt that Big Mac, in a bid of desperation to save their home, made a deal with a gang of loan stallions that he was unable to fulfill. Not only did this prompt the stallions to callously burn Sweet Apple Acres to the ground, but it also ended in the deaths of Apple Bloom, Mac himself, and the loss of one of Applejack's eyes.
- Dead All Along: By the time of Twilight waking up from her coma, Celestia, his parents, his brother Shining Armor and Spike died in the same situation that caused it. Apple Bloom and Big Macintosh has been murdered for a bit as well.
- Doomed by Canon: Seeing as we never hear about anything to do with Diomedes for the whole fanfiction, it’s a safe bet with the radio drama, when we meet the horrifying cannibals who planned out Celestia’s death for centuries, their role in a nutshell is going to be “Killed the Princess and Spike, severed Twilight’s horn, now they’re dead.”
- Driven to Suicide: Twilight Sparkle in the end.
- Downer Ending: Unable to cope with the fates of her friends and the loss of just about everyone and everything she ever held dear, Twilight leaps to her death, with Applejack trying and failing to talk her out of it.
- Fan Disservice: Part of the tragedy is seeing how not My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic they are.
- Fantastic Nuke: At the end of the sequel's first arc to Diomedes by Luna.
- Fearless Fool: Almost any Curb-Stomp Battle tends to involve this trope. RD easily tops the list of them. In fact, her fearlessness is why she's wingless.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Angerjack. Losing one of your best friends, your home, and your entire family under a rather short span of time can do that to you.
- Hellish Horse: Xanthos and her people to a tee. They were based on the original Greek nightmare horses, after all; the human-eating Thracian mares of King Diomedes. Factor in Xanthos’ carefully-planned revenge against Celestia, severing her power and tormenting her subjects to lure her out before going in for the kill, and she gets even creepier. The sequel introduces the rest of the namesake posse - Podargos, Lampon, and Deinos.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Again, as close as you get. The citizens of Diomedes are shown and said to have devoured many of the guards.
- Made a Slave: Fluttershy is forcibly enslaved. After having her freedom bought by Rarity, she basically ended up an indentured servant to her savior. If the slavers liking her was any indication, she almost became a Sex Slave and was logically thankful and unwilling to leave.
- Sanity Slippage: Twilight's supposed death caused Pinkie to fall into this and subsequently drive away her friends and family.
- Slave Collar: How Fluttershy went mute. She has the scars from it on her neck.
- Taking You with Me: Celestia’s death in the radio drama. Half-eaten by Xanthos and her people, she charges the last of her power and is implied to have obliterated the ponies of Diomedes.
- The Scottish Trope: After Pinkie went off the deep end during the time between Twilight's coma and their reunion, the remaining members of the Mane 6 vowed to never speak of her name out loud again.
- Would Hit a Girl: She is one, but her physique is on par with a well-built stallion. Applejack.
