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.

The Crystal Empire has returned, and Princess Celestia has given Twilight Sparkle an important task: to save the Crystal Empire. Along with her friends, they try to recreate the Crystal Fair that had lifted the spirits of the Crystal ponies so long ago. But when she finds the Crystal Heart, King Sombra's magic traps her at the top of the castle, and instead of realizing Spike can help, she gets too caught up trying to escape. The Crystal Heart is hidden once again, and Sombra has captured Twilight and Spike. Sombra's army grows, and the whole of Equestria must stand together to battle this ancient evil.

Basically, I like the Crystal War segment of the Season 5 finale so much, I created an AU.

Extinction.
It’s a word I grew up around, but never fully understood.
Mother always talked about it, but I never got it. After all, there were hundreds of us, almost a thousand. How could we go extinct?
Mother always talked about the time before, when there were thousands of us. If I was good, she would tell me the story of the wicked ponies of Equestria, and how they drove us out here into the badlands.
Back then, “extinction” was just a far-off word that Mother always harped over, almost as much as her “Grand Plan” to take over Canterlot and then “all of Equestria would fall before her.”
Now Chrysalis is gone, her grand plan failed, and the last changeling hive is in shambles.
And extinction isn’t just a word anymore.

Further chapters will be uploaded as they are edited.
Naming and editor credit goes to [REDACTED]
Name of the story is a reference to the song by the heavy "Who needs the sunshine."

*Edit: Got some fanart! which the artist has kindly allowed me to use as a cover image, thank you Stormwatch.

Yes I am deleting all comments, no I am not reading them, if you want to find out why check here If you need to contact me use fimfiction's private message system and I should get back to you within a day.

Spike has a problem regarding inviting two of his royal friends over on the same day! To avoid a diplomatic disaster, can Twilight, Starlight, and Spike prevent these two from meeting? No. No, they can’t. Let’s move on to the real problem.

Thanks to Tired Old Man and Nova Quill for their edits and inputs!

After an accident, Rarity and Twilight are thrown in a race against time to stop their transformation into changelings before they become part of Chrysalis' swarm forever.

Letters. Everyone writes them, and they're not just for ponies. Be they carriers of serious news, friendly correspondence between pen pals, or declarations of heart and heartbreak, each one is written with a clear purpose or goal in mind.

Celestia uses them to try and keep her faithful student and friends in line, and try to keep an unbalanced world on the straight and narrow.

This is much harder than it sounds.

Now with an audio reading by Lady Tenkage!

Side Stories:

Old-Fashioned Bar Hoppers, featuring Celestia, Mayor Mare, and Granny Smith shenanigans.
Journal of an Adolescent Clone, featuring Sunny and Moony shenanigans since Season 5.

Before Twilight and her friends saved the Crystal Empire, its ruler had to watch it die. Long before she meets Shining Armor and Twilight, Cadence walks through her home for the last time.

They all say that love conquers all. I've seen it for myself. And for the longest time, it was my rock; my foundation. Love was the cadence that filled my life with music. But what do you do when love becomes nothing more than empty lies and shadows? What do you do when the things you thought you could trust fade? What do you do when everything falls apart?

Things ended well in "A Canterlot Wedding", but the characters didn't always act as rationally as they might have! How might Queen Chrysalis's schemes have gone differently if she or Twilight had made other choices? This story is a three-part exploration of what might have happened in the season finale if...

* ...instead of making a scene at rehearsal, Twilight had gone back to Spike for ideas.
* ...when Luna said "Stay indoors, Twilight Sparkle," Twilight had actually listened!
* ...Queen Chrysalis had decided to maintain her cover for Twilight.

Curious? Read on.

Searching for any records King Sombra may have left behind, Twilight learned of the shadowy king's tragic past. However, she also discovered his horn, in which his mind and remaining power were contained. Determined to learn how to use his Dark Magic for Good, Twilight brought Sombra back to Ponyville with her. After all, what could he possibly do as a horn? ...Or will he stay that way?

Edited by Darth Vendar and Myrkur
Inspired by Issue #1 of FIENDship is Magic
Gore tag just to be safe.

Edit 06/15/23: Now in the top 2K stories on the site, by rating! Thank you all!