Fanfic / The Royal Canterlot Family

All credit for this cover art belongs to ChaosQueen!

Once upon a time, there were not one, not two, not three, but six pony princesses! On October 16th, 2014, CartoonNerd12 posted the first chapter of The Midnight Dance. The story proved to be a sensational hit because of its twist on the fairy tale "The Twelve Dancing Princesses", the Mane Six's roles as Celestia's independent daughters, and romance-building involving some of the MLP fandom's favorite ships. Teeming with inspiration, the author wrote three more sequels: Sweet Pea (involving the Cutie Mark Crusaders), Daughter of the Moon (centering on Princess Cadance and Shining Armor), and The Phoenix Tear (featuring Sunset Shimmer and pre-reformed Starlight Glimmer).

For a while, the RCF series was thought to have ended...until KidatHeart5 wanted to revive it for a 5th installment. Loving the ideas her sister had in mind for the fifth story, CartoonNerd12 then permitted her to write What Lies Within. After being inspired by the prophecy that plagued the original character Snow Pea, CartoonNerd12 collaborated with KidatHeart5 to write the series' sixth installment, Crown of Winter. Later, the "Royal Canterlot Family" fandom was asked if the sister writers should "pull a Star Wars" and write three more stories. The idea was met with positive reception and so, the sisters co-wrote The Bonds of Family, the 7th installment. The 8th installment, A World Above, was for a while the only main story with hiatuses that lasted a year and a month. That record has since been beaten by Prisoners of the Heart, the 9th installment. Since 2020, it has not been updated with new chapters, though KidatHeart5 has expressed interest in continuing the series whenever possible.

The RCF series has now expanded to include five spinoffs (two of which are incomplete, one of which is unfortunately cancelled) and two oneshot series. One of those oneshot series is penned by Godslittleprincess, who became interested in the RCF series and wanted to expand on the character of Love Tap, who was created by the MLP fandom as Button Mash's mother. Two of the spinoffs include Light from the Darkness (penned by Foxhelm) and The First of Many, written by RATNMR7.

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General

• Corrupt the Cutie: Some cases are featured in The Midnight Dance (Sombra, partially), Sweet Pea (Trixie), What Lies Within (Radiant Hope), and The Bonds of Family (Skyla). Doubly so in Prisoners of the Heart (Twilight and Sunset)!
• Disney Death: This happens in most of the installments by far.
• Old Shame: The main reason why Discord doesn't talk about his past a lot, ranging from his failed friendship with Radiant Hope to the separation from his older sister Capricia.
• Reference Overdosed: The sister writers and Godslittleprincess have been known to infuse the RCF stories with tons of references, mainly from animated shows and movies.
• The Power of Love: Love is a major theme in the series. Given that it’s one of CartoonNerd12’s favorite tropes, love can be categorized as romantic, familial, and altruistic.

The Midnight Dance

• Battle Couple: Celestia implies that she and Sombra were this when they battled with Chrysalis and the changelings in the past.
• True Love's Kiss: Sombra explains that this is what creates Twilight's wings.

Sweet Pea

• Grey Rain of Depression: Happens when Sweetie Belle is thought to have fallen to her death.

Daughter of the Moon

• Childhood Friend Romance: Cadance and Shining Armor embody this.
• Mystical Pregnancy: Luna becomes pregnant with Cadance when she eats a magical flower that would grant her wish for a child.

The Phoenix Tear

• Cathartic Crying: When she was a filly, Sunset Shimmer had been told by Starlight to never cry, lest she show weakness. When Sunset discovers her true identity as Twilight Sparkle's long-lost twin sister and mistakenly assumes that she was abandoned by the royal family, she breaks down sobbing after telling her sisters to leave.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Starlight kidnaps baby Sunset and makes the royal family forget about her...all because Sombra stole her pet phoenix from her in order to cure his pregnant wife.
• Everybody Cries: The royal sisters upon learning the truth about Sunset's disappearance.
• Ocular Gushers: Discord cries these when he's moved by Fluttershy's kind words about him to Sunset Shimmer.

What Lies Within

• Bread, Eggs, Breaded Eggs: When Snow Pea asks Belladonna why she turned evil, the following answer the Umbrum princess gives is a dramatic example of this trope:
  Belladonna: ’Why?’ I’ll tell you why! Your grandfather rejected me! My only friend turned away from me! And if that wasn’t enough, your grandfather turned my friend to stone!
• Swiss-Army Tears: This is a favorite trope of KidatHeart5's, so almost none of her stories are complete without magical tears. It's played straight when Discord sheds a tear while wishing to restore everything. His tear falls on the Water Necklace, which derives power from it and grants his wish. It would be exaggerated if it weren't for the fact that he has chaotic powers and felt great care for Radiant Hope.

Crown of Winter

• Alternate Timeline: In which the princesses' husbands^note and by extension the dragons, Princess Babs Seed, and Caballeron were never affected by a rogue tornado.
• Butterfly of Doom: The mirror shard showing the events of a rogue tornado serves as this. By destroying it, it ends up creating a Bad Present.
• It's a Wonderful Plot: The second act of the story focuses on the cousins' adventures in the Alternate Timeline.
• Taken for Granite: Or crystal, in the case of Sombra when the cousins find him in the secret study at the ruined Everfree Castle.
• What the Hell, Hero?: There are a few examples –
  • Gemstone and the cousins give a huge one when they realize Screwball hypnotized Gem to dump Seam.
  • Pen Pusher also gives one to Starling and Cotton Candy when the girls claim that he and Cannon Fire were only using a business trip as a shortcut to woo them.

The Bonds of Family

• Chekhov's Gunman: While Flurry Heart sings her song at the Crystal Gala, her voice carries halfway over Equestria and is heard by an antlered figure in a distant forest. This antlered figure later turns out to be Mischief, a draconequus-alicorn hybrid who gives Flurry shelter and becomes her love interest.
• Ill-Timed Sneeze: While Flurry Heart tries to get away from Chrysalis, her sneeze causes her to teleport right in her line of sight again.
• Sibling Rivalry: A decidedly one-sided example with Skyla.
• Taken for Granite: This happens to Skyla and Thorax after the chess game.

A World Above

• Affectionate Nickname: Discord loves to call his sister "Cap-Cap". She does not.
• And I Must Scream:
  • Years before the events of the story, Capricia gets trapped in an amulet and is thus forced to grant the wishes of whoever possesses the amulet. She gets set free by Discord's wish for her freedom near the climax.
  • Unfortunately, Capri can't catch a break as Gladmane later traps her, Discord, and his family in a magic mirror until Capri uses Quote Mine to free them all.
• Androcles' Lion: Steven Magnet became this after Capri rescued him from Flash Freeze Lake. When she vanished, he took control of Paraddock and continued her mission of rescuing kids and other creatures from their plights.
• Ascended Fanboy: Longtime reader Foxhelm becomes this via having his OC included in the story as a striped batpony guard who's secretly still working for Princess Luna.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • For most of their adventure on Paraddock, the Guardians assume that the creature Mischief saw in his early memories and the creator of the cloud land are one and the same. As it turns out, however, they are two separate entities: Capricia (who is herself Discord's sister) created Paraddock while Steven Magnet took control after her disappearance and subsequently rescued Mischief from the blizzard.
  • Gladmane pulls this on Dandy Grandeur when he plants a speech card in the Duke's own stack so he can absentmindedly call out the signal for the Dark Riders to attack, thereby framing him for the incident.
• Big Good: Capricia can be seen as this, considering she created Paraddock to be a safe haven for children in less-than-ideal situations, saved the Crystal Fairies from extinction, went out of her way for other creatures who needed help, and later lifts the obedience curse on the deer guard (which she cast under Gladmane's will).
• Chekhov's Gun: Before the pre-wedding dinner, Mischief shows Blaze and Discord a box of magic beans he had been given when he was a baby. The beans are later grown by the Guardians of Equestria to get up to Paraddock.
• Chekhov's Skill: Capri's ability to Quote Mine is what frees her and most of the royals from Gladmane's magic mirror in the climax.
• The Chessmaster: Gladmane is very skilled at manipulating the situation to his advantage. Among his actions are disguising the deer guard as the Dark Riders so no association could be made between him and them, forcing them to scare whoever's at their assigned destination and framing other parties for it, framing Dandy Grandeur for the Dark Rider attack at his ball, using his magic mirror to trap the Canterlot royals when they try to arrest him, and finally convincing his subjects to attack Paraddock and any allies of the Canterlot family.
• The Comically Serious: Sombra's recorded message to the allies in Las Pegasus serves as this.
• Crazy-Prepared: When confronted by the Canterlot royals for his actions, Gladmane pulls out a magic mirror, having wished for it in the event he could not use his amulet.
• Engineered Public Confession:
  • What the Canterlot royals plan to do to Dandy Grandeur via Veritaserum, a ballroom full of guests, and a pre-planned Q&A. Of course, Gladmane's machinations via a planted speech card and orchestrated Dark Rider attack make said "confession" a frame-up and alert the royals to his true intentions.
  • The Canterlot royals try to do this again with the deer guard confessing their role as the Dark Riders and outing Gladmane for using them, all while the royals arrest the king for his crimes. However, Gladmane again bests them by trapping the royals in a magic mirror and locking the deer guard in their quarters.
• Exact Words:
  • When one of the guards informs Discord of the protection spell around Gladmane's amulet, he says that the spell will lift for no one but the king. Discord spots the loophole in the words "no one but the king" and promptly transforms himself into Gladmane's likeness to steal the amulet from his royal chambers.
  • When Capri and most of the royals are trapped in Gladmane's magic mirror, Mischief tries to wish them free. However, Gladmane tells him that only the king himself can wish them free. Cue Capri utilizing Quote Mine to get them all out.
• Fisher Kingdom: Paraddock serves as this for its inhabitants, since it was created by Capri to be a paradise for foals in unstable situations.
• From Nobody to Nightmare: Gladmane was a simple peasant before he got ahold of the amulet holding Capri and used it to become a wealthy and mighty king. Said power also allowed Gladmane to become manipulative and ambitious, to the point of framing other kingdoms so a war can erupt and he'll come out on top.
• Honor Before Reason: When Gladmane and his soldiers reach Paraddock, they're out of breath from the high altitude. The Guardians and the pirates, already waiting for their arrival, are told by Gladmane to wait while he catches his breath. Boyle suggests taking him while he's vulnerable. Celaeno declines, saying it would be unsportsmanlike.
  Boyle asked his comrades in a whisper, “Should we strike him while he’s down?”
  His captain scowled, “Of course not. That’d be very unsporting of us.”
• The Legend of Chekhov: Two, in fact!
  • First, Sunburst reads the story about Paraddock to Nova Rose when she was a filly. After a Time Skip of nine years, Mischief brings up Paraddock to the young royals. After the kids vanish, the grown-ups realize that they were taken to Paraddock. The Guardians of Equestria then travel there and spend the majority of the story exploring it.
  • Early on, Gemstone and Seam's twins Cufflink and Ruffle play a game inspired by the tales of Pony Pan and get their cousins in on it. Later on, the Guardians (having come to Paraddock to bring the kids home) are astonished to discover that Pony Pan, Windy, and Captain Hoof are in fact real! Somewhat. All three had existed at one time, but later ponies and creatures inherited those roles to keep the legend alive, as is the case with Sky Stinger, Vapor Trail, and Captain Celaeno, respectively.
• Load-Bearing Boss: Capricia serves as this for Paraddock. True, it can function without her presence thanks to the intricate spells she's put on the cloud world...as long as she's alive. Once she starts fading within Gladmane's amulet, Paraddock is gradually drained of its energy and thus its ability to remain intact.
• One-Winged Angel: Gladmane uses the magic of the royals trapped in his mirror to turn himself into a giant alicorn during the climax.
• No Infantile Amnesia: Played With Mischief's recollection of the beast who saved him from the apocalyptic blizzard. His memory is fuzzy, save for a purplish creature with orange hair giving him the magic beans (which are later used to get up to Paraddock).
• Quote Mine: Capri uses an ability similar to this to communicate with Discord when he retrieves the amulet she's trapped in. Later, she uses it again to free herself, her brother, and his family from the magic mirror Gladmane trapped them in.
• Remember the New Guy?: Dandy Grandeur and Feather Bangs appear in this story as if the audience already knows who they are. It's not helped by the fact that their proper introduction into the AU was in a separate short story in The Royal Canterlot Family oneshot series (which was only completed after A World Above). Though a summary of that oneshot is given in the story, the author's Skewed Priorities can be blamed for this mix-up.
• Rule of Three: Happens with Gladmane's response to the demand to release the Canterlot royals from his mirror. The first time sees Blackthorn making the demand, only for Gladmane to falsely promise to do so in exchange for the deer's growth potion. When Blaze demands his family's release, Gladmane falsely complies again...but on the condition that he and his friends can take on his soldiers. The third time around, Mischief makes the demand, only to be met with a hard "no" from Gladmane.
• Skewed Priorities:
  • When the Canterlot royals arrive to a cheering crowd in Las Pegasus, Screwball mutters that they're more concerned with the royals' arrival than they are with the kids' disappearance.
  • Gladmane gets called out on this a few times for thinking about alliances more than the safety of the children (and by extension Equestria). This is not without reason, though...
  • Silver Tongue barters Gabby's welfare for a duel with Mischief...in the heat of a raging battle!
• Ship Tease: Roller tries to invoke this with Steven Magnet and Capri. Skater immediately shuts him down.
• Tempting Fate:
  • The chapter "Glitz, Glam, and Melee" sees the Dark Riders crashing Gladmane's ball. Applejack prevents Whirl Wind from being rash by telling him that they haven't "targeted a single soul yet". She is quickly proven wrong when the Dark Riders kidnap Skyla.
  • In the chapter "Battles, Part One", the Marendelle twins do this when they state that the mob can't get up to Paraddock without a tall plant. Cue the gingko tree getting doused with the deer's plant growth potion...
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: Steven Magnet can be seen as this, given how he continues Capri's mission of rescuing kids from danger, only ramping it up to high degrees out of fear that the Dark Riders would hurt the foals.

Prisoners of the Heart

• Broken Pedestal: When the rescue party's in the depths of Tartarus, they encounter Grogar, who tells them the truth about Sombra's past: the late King Father was actually descended from an Umbrum! Sunset and Twilight are understandably upset by this, but the latter (who had been closer to him than the former was) is so distraught that she teleports away from the group for alone time.
• Idiot Ball: Though she's understandably upset over the revelation that Sombra was part-Umbrum, Twilight should really know better than teleporting away from her group in the middle of Tartarus!
• Killed Off for Real: In the beginning of the story proper, Sombra is revealed to have died and an elaborate funeral is held for him.

The Family of the Season

The Quest for Family

A Woodland Romance

The Royal Canterlot Family Series

• Attack of the 50-Foot Whatever: In "Romance in Maris: Part Two", Flurry Heart uses the giant golem of Princess Velvet Blue (which was created for the parade) to travel to the chapel and save Velvet from marrying Feather Bangs.

Love Tap of Marendelle

Light from the Darkness

The First of Many