Note: As the Fan Fic this page is about is still in progress, this trope page is currently under construction. Anypony who has read it should feel free to add any tropes that were missed.
Fire & Rain: Applejack and the Queen of Knives
is a My Little Pony: Equestria Girls fanfic by Limbo Theorem. The story is notable for its grimdark/Want of a Nail take of a world after the events of the "Anon-a-Miss" (AAM) affair having succeeded.Taking place a decade after AAM, Sunset Shimmer is gone, and the girls are now grown up - and haven't spoken to each other in years, their friendship having been shattered by their betrayal. However, after an alien invasion occurs that wipes out almost all of human life, Applejack, now a grizzled Navy SEAL at age 29, is tasked with bringing the girls back together, finding Sunset's diary and possibly bringing her back in order to save the world.
Problem is, she really doesn't want to.
The story contains examples of:
- Action Girl: Applejack, one of the first female Navy SEALs and in command of "the Amazons", the SEALs' all-female squad. The same goes for her second in command, Tempest Shadow.
- Fluttershy, as an Army Doctor fits this to some degree, but is more Skilled, but Naive.
- Adaptational Heroism: In canon, Queen Chrysalis is a monster. In this story, her counterpart is somewhat less of one: she's the head of the Good Is Not Nice CIA wetworks group.
- A lesser example is Sombra, who in canon is a tyrant but here is merely a Sleazy Politician who became President of the United States.
- Alien Invasion: The major focus of this story, as the other known aliens (Equestria's ponies) are nowhere to be found, because Twilight sealed the dimensional portal in disgust of the fallout from AAM.
- Alternate Universe Fic: And how. With a more realistic look at the world than the standard series, characters that are closer to actual human than the Amazing Technicolor Population of the original and the characters much older than their canon counterparts. The fact that it's a Crapsack World is also apparent.
- America Saves the Day: Played with. Though the US military is holding its own and everywhere, they're losing just as much as they're winning, with most major US cities destroyed and the country nearly bisected in two by the aliens. The loss of Rome is even referred to as "Sombra's shitshow" by the media, placing the blame on the US president for the failure of American troops to push back the aliens. On the other hand, it is also clear that the world would be in a much worse condition if it wasn't for the near-omnipresence of the US military.
- Big Damn Heroes: The Queen of Knives typically does this, showing up at the Darkest Hour to turn the tide and save the day. As a result of this, she's well beloved by the global community, even if they don't know who she is.
- Blade Enthusiast: Despite the fact that she's known to use other weapons, the Queen of Knives is known for, well, knives and her Improbable Aiming Skills while using them. A lot of them.
- Breaking the Fellowship: The Anon-A-Miss events caused Sunset to run away, which caused this. In the long run this resulted in a "Point of Divergence" situation, culminating in a Darkest Hour Alien Invasion twelve years later that kills most of humanity in the process.
- Chekhov M.I.A.: Sunset's disappearance is the catalyst for everything that occurs later on. However, Applejack thinks that Sunset may actually be the mysterious Queen of Knives that is using magic to turn the tide of the war.
- Civilization Destroyer: The "Decimation", which occurs in the early stages of the war, wipes out approximately 90% of the human race.
- Doomed Hometown: Canterlot, as well as other major cities around the world, get completely annihilated or invaded by the aliens.
- It is pointed out that the destruction was so extreme, that five years in, Omaha, Nebraska went from being the 44th largest city in the US to the 10th.
- Improperly Placed Firearms: Justified, as five years in, the world has become so desperate that the militaries are turning to whatever weapons they can get their hands on as their munition supplies and factories get obliterated.Originally, it wasn’t a weapon that the US Army tended to use, but given the immense destruction of weapon systems around the world in the past five years, the armies of the world used whatever they could get their hands on and it was now just as common for the US Army to use the P-90 as it was for Russian Special Forces to use XM8s.
- Magical Girl Warrior: The Queen of Knives seems to be this, wielding an array of weapons that seems to be quite literally out of Destiny 2, if not heavily inspired by it. This is in contrast to the energy weapons of the aliens and the modern weapons used by the humans.
- Next Sunday A.D.: Even though it's 2030, the world doesn't seem that different. Justified in that society is practically on pause due to a devastating war that has wiped out most of mankind.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: The Queen of Knives' name was given to her by the Japanese press, who took it from an In-Universe manga series. "Naifu no Joō" was eventually translated into the local equivalent for each language, and that has stuck since.
- Putting the Band Back Together: Applejack believes this is the only way to return Sunset to the world, and possibly the only way to save it. How much she actually believes this, however, is up for debate.
