Rainbow Dash was the Iron Wing. She was a war hero, the Slayer of Shadows, the Liberator of the Crystal Empire, the Wrath of Celestia. And depending on who you ask, she still is.

But the war is over. There's little need for a pony like her in peacetime. So she keeps telling herself that she needs to adjust, that she needs to find a new role to fill in the world that she saved. But Equestria seems content to let her remain what she has become, even though they have no need of a warrior.

"This isn't how it's supposed to be", is something she keeps telling herself. But every time she says it, the only thing she can reply is, "so what should it be?"

One whole year after the close of the war, and Rainbow Dash still doesn't have the answer.

Art by NCMares.

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