History Fanfic / BadFutureCrusaders

* CatchPhrase: Babs Seed says "It just don't add up" in every one of her chapters.

* AnythingThatMoves: First chance he gets, Pound Cake flirts with both Babs Seed and Silver Spoon, and is both hilariously and painfully bad at it.

* UncannyValley: In-universe. Trixie describes everything about Twilight as just being "wrong".

* KnifeNut: Silver Spoon always fights with knifes.

* BilingualDialogue: When Silver Spoon jumps Apple Bloom in a flashback, she taunts her in Portuguese and Apple Bloom responds in English, clearly having gotten at least the gist of what she said[[note]]It's along the lines of "This is not your lucky day, red"[[/note]]

* BreakHisHeartToSaveHim: A non-romantic variation: [[spoiler: Apple Bloom ultimately chooses to leave Scootaloo behind, because she figures that she'll have a better chance at a safe, happy life without Apple Bloom's presence. When Scootaloo refuses to part ways, Apple Bloom knocks her out and leaves.]]

** [[spoiler:Captain Rumble's battle against Apple Bloom is ''nasty''. Her pistol can't even dent his armor and he has the strength to [[PunchedAcrossTheRoom punch her across the room.]] She didn't even stand a chance against him.]]

** Similarly, Lightning Dust genuinely cares about her partners and troops, and is filled with a burning rage when [[spoiler: Twitch is killed]].

--> Also too, I had a thought when Scootaloo and Apple Bloom passed a pair of guards and one was a woman. Twilight's army is unisex? How come the bad guys in these kinds of stories are always the most progressive?

* IconicOutfit: Twitch's battered old flight cap. [[spoiler: After he's blown up, it's the only means to identify the body.]]

* JigsawPuzzlePlot: Half the fun of this story is how well this has been done. While most of the focus is put on the now adult Cutie Mark Crusaders each trying to either just live or rekindle old friendships, there is also Babs Seed who is an inspector just trying to uphold the law and do the right thing, an entire plot dedicated to Lightning Dust and [[QuirkyMinibossSquad her R.E.A.F,]] and Silver Spoon who's plot alone could be it's own story, all held together with some shady characters who seem to know a ''lot'' more than what they let on with some flashbacks and WorldBuilding for good measure.

* KarmicDeath: [[spoiler: Twitch, who gleefully partook in the bombing of Broncton, is killed when a shot from Apple Bloom's gun sets off one of the bombs on his belt, catching him in the blast.]]

--> '''Babs Seed:''' What if it was her real self, that is her undisguised 'Not Silver Spoon' that came to the city all legitimate-like, then mugged Ms. Coffee Cream there for a disguise to protect her identity?
--> '''Starlight:''' Let me get this straight. You think 'Not Silver Spoon' came into the city, disguised herself as not 'Not Silver Spoon' to move around, then disguised herself as Silver Spoon to sneak into the palace.
--> '''Babs Seed:''' (Flatly) Yes. That's what I think.

* MookPromotion: Merrilay becomes one of Lightning Dust's wingponies [[spoiler:after Twitch is killed]].

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: A neutral example when Cloudy Cradle is thinking about Trixie's students, all of which are unicorns except for one. She describes them as "a room full of rambunctious unicorns, and Clear Rivers."

* OhCrap: Silver Spoon's reaction to realizing she's facing down the Princess, and later when [[spoiler: she's confronted by Babs Seed in her civilian guise.]]

* ParentalAbandonment: Crimson Sky apparently abandoned a pregnant lover in Ponyville before the foal was even born. [[spoiler: It's implied this was Scootaloo's mother.]]

** Silver Spoon has a soft spot for children [[spoiler: especially in her civilian persona. She even just up and gives the valuable gemstone she found beneath Canterlot to a kid because his mother was sick and couldn't afford medicine.]]

* PleaseWakeUp: Sweetie Belle did this with [[spoiler: Rarity]], who was mortally wounded the night Ponyville was destroyed and didn't wake up the next morning.

* PunchClockVillain: Most of the R.E.A.F, particularly the rookies, seem to count as this, but the changeling Bright Eyes ''definitely'' counts. He obediently does what he's told, but isn't even interested enough in what's going on to offer his name or ''[[AmbiguousGender gender]]''.

--> I don't care how out of place it might have been, I love car chases and I'd be damned before I'd not have a car chase in this story.

* SmokingIsNotCool: Done mildly when Scootaloo sees Apple Bloom smoke for the first time and remarks that it can't be good for you, with Apple Bloom replying that it isn't and Peppercorn always wanted her to quit. [[IgnoredEpiphany She keeps smoking regardless]].

--> '''The Princess:''' (After showing she's ''clearly'' not to be trifled with) And yet, that thought gives me pause.
--> '''Silver Spoon:''' Ah. I had that once. There’s a special cream for it; fixes it up in less than a week. You might want to try washing down there more often.

* StepfordSmiler: Sweetie Belle has worked hard to bury all her old feelings under an icy demeanor as a defense mechanism. [[spoiler: Twist's death seems to break this facade.]]

** Scootaloo has three -- her old CMC bandana (now used as an eyepatch), her mother's scarf, and Rainbow Dash's flight goggles. [[spoiler: She later looses the goggles and CMC bandana but gets ahold of Rainbow Dash's old dog tags by taking them off Lightning Dust (who had them as a trophy) after beating her in a fight.]]
* TwoAliasesOneCharacter: Babs becomes convinced that Silver Spoon operates this way. [[spoiler: She's right.]]

--> "We'll be there every step of the way to help her drag this mess of a nation, kicking and screaming if necessary, into a golden age."
* VillainEpisode: There are a few chapters that focus on members of the R.E.A.F, and of course there are chapters starring Babs Seed ([[AntiVillain Who's hardly evil but still on the villain's side]]) and Silver Spoon (Who's a villain, but on [[WildCard nobody's side]])

--> '''Silver Spoon:''' Maybe he had a reason for doing the old ball and chain, but there’s no excuse for killing foals. I was going to put a knife in his back after the job was done anyways.
* TheWorfEffect: The first time we see Rumble in action, he beats [[spoiler: Apple Bloom]] unconscious with no apparent effort on his part.

--> '''Lightnung Dust:''' Look at that ragged wing of yours; it just wouldn’t feel right beating a cripple to death.

* NecessarilyEvil: Dinky claims this about herself and the rest of Twilight's government to Apple Bloom, saying that they're NotSoDifferent in that they do terrible things because they have no choice, just like Apple Bloom in the war.

* NotSoDifferent:

* SmugSnake: Silver Spoon is this to the point that Snails points it out as her weakness. She always has a sarcastic retort for an opponent, including one that would be a blatant case of GettingCrapPastTheRadar if there was a radar to get it past:

* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Due to being short-staffed, the guards leave the holding cells unattended for a brief period which allows Dorian to sneak in and free the prisoners. [[spoiler:Likely justified, as an earlier chapter implies a ReverseMole within Equestria's forces was looking out for the kid while he tried to rescue them and may have messed up the schedule to do it.]]

* ReverseMole: Princess Dinky and Babs Seed both suspect that there may be a traitor within their ranks feeding information to enemy groups.

* WhiteAndGreyMorality: no outright evil characters. Even malicious characters like Lightning Dust and The Princess having reasonable and even benevolent (if a bit extreme) intents behind their actions, and tons of {{Mook}}s being shown to be entirely decent folk who are JustFollowingOrders. [[spoiler:The only two undoubtedly evil characters are Merrilay, a psychotic nihilist, and Twilight Sparkle, the BigBad herself, and even ''they'' are examples of a TragicVillain and a FallenHero respectively.]]

[[quoteright:256:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bad_future_crusaders.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:256: [[NothingIstheSameAnymore It was a night that changed Equestria forever...]]]]

* AbusiveParents: Lightning Dust states that the only thing she learned from her father was how to take a punch, from how often he hit her. However, she also says she eventually paid him back, beating him so bad he can't fly anymore.

* AffectionateNickname: Even before becoming her deputy, Starlight always refers to Babs Seed as 'Boss'.

* [[AnyoneCanDie Anypony Can Die]]: The author has gone on record to state that ''no one'' is safe.

* NoodleIncident: Apparently, the last time Daydream asked Sweetie Belle for advice for things at Environment Equestria, it ended up snowing in summer.

* NotSoDifferent: Arpeggio compares herself to Scootaloo with a classic "we have a lot in common you and I".

--> "We’ll be there every step of the way to help her drag this mess of a nation, kicking and screaming if necessary, into a golden age."

* SpoiledSweet: Ms. Daydream is one of the wealthiest ponies in Equestria and is implied to have come from wealth, yet is incredibly happy, sweet, and friendly to just about anyone.

* SlouchOfVillainy: When [[TheDragon Dinky]] meets with Babs Seed in private, she sprawls out sloppily on the couch.

The story can be read [[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/135179/bad-future-crusaders here]]. The original series of pictures can be seen [[http://astringe.deviantart.com/gallery/41135018 here]], and there's also a second set of pictures based on scenes from the story, which can be seen [[http://astringe.deviantart.com/gallery/46994393 here]].

* ShoutOut: Silver Spoon references numerous real-life novels and authors. She mockingly gives the names "[[Creator/MarkTwain Mark Mane]]" and "[[Creator/JohnSteinbeck John Swaybeck]]" as the people who hired her along with mentioning ''Literature/TheMysteriousStranger'', is reading ''Literature/OfMiceAndMen'' in a later chapter, and refers to Dinky as "[[Literature/TheWizardOfOz The Wicked Witch]]".

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Once curfew is in effect in Canterlot, even members of the military are required to show ID to the Royal Guard patrols, due to a time when the Rainbolts [[DressingAsTheEnemy stole some uniforms]] for espionage purposes. The [[EliteMooks Stormfront Unit]] also ''immediately'' figure out Apple Bloom's tactics and begin baiting her to fire her weapon while hiding behind cover so she will run out of ammo.

* MosesInTheBullrushes: The night Ponyville was destroyed, Apple Bloom was put on the first available ferry and sent to safety, being told her brother and sister would follow shortly. She was adopted by a zebra couple and raised because Applejack and Big Macintosh never came back.

* ChildByRape: The story has a ''very'' dark interpretation of [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E17HeartsAndHoovesDay Hearts And Hooves Day]] where [[AxCrazy Merrilay]] was conceived while [=Big McIntosh=] and Cheerilee were under the effects of the [[LovePotion love poison]]. Knowing this has convinced her that emotions are "phony", turning her into a psychotic StrawNihilist.

* MosesInTheBullrushes: The night Ponyville was destroyed, Apple Bloom was put on the first available ferry and sent to safety, being told her brother and sister would follow shortly. She was adopted by a zebra couple and raised because Applejack and Big [=McIntosh=] never came back.

* TheCameo: Zipporwhill from ''Filli Vanilli'' is the mailcarrier in Hoofington. The unnamed town Apple Bloom visits has a pub run by Lyra and Bon Bon, and the Stormfront soldier who tries to arrest her fits Flash Sentry's description ([[WordOfGod The author]] goes out of her way to [[TeasingCreator neither confirm nor deny it]]). The story also mentions the "two older lankey twins" who designed and maintain vehicles for Environment Equestria, which strongly implies them to be the Flim Flam Brothers.