Twilight's ascension to the throne was supposed to be a joyous occasion, but as the months have passed and the shadows of the world grown a little darker, the lessons of her mentors and the weight of her responsibility has done nothing but made her more uncertain about her ability to rule.

Now, on the day of a grand gathering of nations, an attempt on the life of one princess and the abduction of the other brings with it an old foe and the weight of the world. With the fate of empires resting on her shoulders, Twilight must undertake a grand journey into the heart of madness and the untold history of Equestria to save her princesses and the world entire...

But save them from what?

Featured on Equestria Daily 10/12/13
I am humbled once again to be assisted by the brilliant RainbowDri in bring this story to fruition. I couldn't have asked for a more insightful assistant or all-around excellent guy.
Coverart supplied by the extremely talented dreampaw (Power leads to corruption). I can't thank her enough.

Twilight Sparkle is happy with her life. Although the newly founded Twilit Court presents her with challenges, she can still continue her studies and even discover a new kind of friendship. However, this quickly ends when she suddenly loses a large portion of her memory. Now her friends have to adjust to a Twilight who doesn’t seem to know a thing about friendship. As if all that wasn't enough, a sinister force is pulling strings without anypony being able to unveil the identity of the puppeteer...

"The past catches up to everypony. We try to forget some events, but we do not know what we have lost once they have left our minds. We are no more than the entirety of our memories. Hold on to them, for they are what you are."

Artwork by CosmicUnicorn

It was a night that will forever be burned into the memories of everypony. One fateful night in Equestria everything changed. The princesses who had ruled over the world with kindness and heart were gone, and a new ruler had taken their place.
Years have passed since that event. Ponies have grown up, aged, and moved on with their lives. Equestria has become a very different place over the span of these years.
Our story begins when a face resurfaces in Equestria. When a weathered, scarred, but familiar face steps into the light.

This is the fanfic based on Astringe's Bad Future series on DeviantART. He did some great designs of the characters, so make sure you give that gallery a peruse before you read the fic.

Also worth mentioning, he's been nice enough to plop any pics he does based on chapters I've written into this separate gallery, so there will be less spoilers for readers just jumping in to the story.

NOTE: The canon of my story picks up at the start of Season 3, where it begins to diverge away from the canon of the show. I've never read the IDW comics nor have I seen Equestria Girls, so the events of my story aren't canon at all with them.

Now has it's own TVTropes page!
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/FanFic/BadFutureCrusaders

Transformed into an alicorn against her will, Twilight’s peaceful world is shattered when she discovers that she’s considered a threat to the throne of the Two Sisters. With her friends nowhere to be found, Twilight must set off on a journey to find the truth behind her transformation, and why her own country considers her an enemy.

Old wounds will be opened, new friends will come forth from the shadows, and Twilight will discover a truth that will shatter her view of her mentor forever. Yet unbeknownst to her, this was her destiny all along.

This fanfic is heavily based on Equestria-Prevails artworks and fanon material. Any credit for the Characters, Locations, and Art that belongs to him must be directed at his page on Deviantart. Any other art will be credited to the respective owners on the author's note section of each chapter.~

I also have to give my thanks to a few guys who are helping me with this:
The awesome Bulder for Proof-Reading chapters seven through thirteen;
The amazing Vexy for revamping the long description;
The fantastic ymom2 for proof-reading from chapter two towards six;
The lovely Divine Path for helping me with rephrasing.

Cover art credits must go to ~Nalenthi

Princess Luna has returned. To many, this is seen as a joyous occasion, but for the Princess of the Night, her reappearance brings only heartbreak. The world Luna once knew is but a thing of the past, lost within the dusty corridors of her mind, while memories of her loved ones haunt her nightmares.

Unbeknownst to Celestia, Luna was with a foal when she was banished, forced to give birth in her lunar exile. Now, centuries later, she has come back, broken and somber, to re-take her rightful position as co-ruler of Equestria.

Her hopes to connect with her subjects fading, Luna finds a growing jealousy festering within herself as she fails to accept the past and make amends with her sister.

No matter the case, a goddess must never show her sorrow.

Orphaned from birth, with only the memories of a soft touch and gentle voice to remember her by, Twilight yearns for her mother. What pony wouldn't want to know why they were abandoned, why they were left to be found by the Princess of the Sun herself.

That was nearly two decades ago though. Twilight was older now, and hopefully wiser. She is happy with her two best friends, Cadance and Shining Armor. They are like family to her, the brother and sister she never could have. Though dreams still haunt the young mare, dreams of lullabies and tender kisses, she has moved on.

The personal servant to the Princess of Helios, the land of the Sun, Twilight enjoyed both rank, and knowledge. But it also means that when Princess Luna comes to visit her old friend, Twilight is given the task of tending her. The Princess has come in search of marriage, at the behest of her ruling Council. They demand an heir to ward off the potentially catastrophic attacks of the neighboring dragons.

Soon, Twilight will be tested and tried. She will be given the a choice between the life she has known, and the duty she is sworn to. But never, not once, will she forget.

For who can stop loving their mother.

My name is Twilight Sparkle.
I am three hundred and seventy five years old.
Except for Spike, all my friends are dead...But not for long

Betrayed by Celestia, and isolated in her castle with only Spike for support, Twilight Sparkle enacts a powerful spell to reincarnate the element bearers through her own body.
Her friends will be reborn, and, with the trials of being a mother to her friends ahead of her, an unraveling secret from the past following her at every turn, and the possibility of a brand new life so close in reach, Twilight just might be reborn too.

Credit for both the inspiration for this story and cover picture go to
Crystal Leviathan