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The End of an Era (Series Finale Rewritten)

by StacheHand
Twilight Sparkle is about to be crowned ruler of Equestria, but on this day of all days, the peace is disturbed by the ultimate threat: Emperor Grogar and the Horses of the Apocalypse.

The day of Princess Twilight Sparkle's coronation, her ascension to ruler of all Equestria, has arrived! But what was meant to be a beautiful day of celebration turns into the greatest disaster in Equestrian history. Chrysalis, Tirek, Cozy Glow and the shadow of a past enemy have been hard at work turning pony against pony and studying the ultimate power of Grogar's Bewitching Bell. Grogar himself has acquired an artifact once thought to be kept away from the wrong hands (or hooves) forever, hoping to use it for an important purpose, but is blissfully unaware of the evil tetrad's deception. Or so they think...

With the Horses of the Apocalypse attacking everywhere, the world's mightiest defenders, including the Council of Friendship, will have to step up and protect the people. Will their rainbow lasers light the sky and win the battle like they always have, or will the diplomacy of their non-combatant allies be the key to restoring unity to the broken equine societies and saving all creaturekind?

2024 EDIT: The TV Tropes page!

Author's note: I know this has been done before, and i'm super late to doing it, but it took me a while to realize what I actually thought of the final two-part episode, and you can probably tell the conclusion I drew by the fact this rewrite exists. This envisions what the 24th and 25th episodes of Season 9 (The Ending of the End) would be if they were instead a four-part, feature-length, apocalyptic epic. Imagine an alternate universe where Season 9 was still 26 episodes long, but two episodes had to go (i'd personally axe 15 and 16, sorry fans of those) to make room for extra parts of the finale. It also takes everything that has happened in the season as canon, but with two differences.

1: I treat Grogar as if he was the genuine article, because in my opinion, if they were going to put him in G4 at all, they really should've made the effort to utilize the guy somehow beyond a powerful item. It was his first appearance in 3 decades, he was a popular G1 villain among fans, and the Season 9 premiere introduced him as an interesting expansion on one of the show's longest established elements. Also, with the way the show was written, changing him to the real thing feels quite easy.

2: I have slightly rewritten the past events involving the villains to add my own little touch to the story. Something that gives a little retroactive significance to both the events of the 13th episode of Season 8 and a fanservice-y thing they did in the 8th episode of Season 9. Before you get started, let me tell you that it's not going to be what you're expecting.

Just to be clear, despite my opinion on the official version, this has not been made with any ill will towards Big Jim Miller, Nicole Dubuc, Michael Vogel or any of the storyboard artists and animators that put the finale together over at WildBrain (formerly DHX Media). This is just something I did to pay tribute to a series i've loved for a long time, do a little writing exercise, show what I personally would've liked to see in the finale, and of course, have some fun. I know a lot of people love the original episode, and I don't intend for this rewrite to replace it. It can never be replaced, or erased, or redone. However, I do hope it can be a fine alternative for both fans and non-fans of the version we got on television. I'd even like to respect what the creators were going for, but tweak their ideas a bit (because there are things I enjoy).

One last thing: I want to highlight StarlightisVERYcute and SuperPinkBrony12 for inspiring me to do this. They've done exceptional rewrite jobs that I highly recommend you give a look.

Everyone
Complete
Dark
Adventure
Alternate Universe
Drama
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
 
GQCTT

179263 words: Estimated about 15 hours to read

18 Chapters:

  1. Prologue: Seasonal Recap 2021-06-16 02:11:50 UTC
    6854
  2. Part 1 - Chapter 1: Coming Together 2021-06-16 02:11:55 UTC
    7401
  3. Part 1 - Chapter 2: Royal Gathering 2021-06-16 02:12:01 UTC
    7237
  4. Part 1 - Chapter 3: Horses of the Apocalypse 2021-06-16 02:12:08 UTC
    7696
  5. Part 1 - Chapter 4: A Lapse in Judgment 2021-06-16 02:12:15 UTC
    9765
  6. Part 2 - Chapter 1 (5): Everypony for Themselves 2021-12-19 03:43:08 UTC
    9704
  7. Part 2 - Chapter 2 (6): Her Majesty's Choice 2022-01-14 02:52:04 UTC
    10598
  8. Part 2 - Chapter 3 (7): All Downhill 2022-02-17 23:27:30 UTC
    9962
  9. Part 2 - Chapter 4 (8): Perfect Storm 2022-03-04 03:53:52 UTC
    11132
  10. Part 3 - Chapter 1 (9): Lost and Without Home 2022-06-15 20:56:15 UTC
    9683
  11. Part 3 - Chapter 2 (10): Darkest Hour, Minute and Second 2022-09-22 21:37:01 UTC
    11292
  12. Part 3 - Chapter 3 (11): Kingdom Came 2023-02-17 03:01:05 UTC
    11572
  13. Part 3 - Chapter 4 (12): Survival of Friendship 2023-07-02 22:08:15 UTC
    10439
  14. Part 4 - Chapter 1 (13): Back Where We Started 2023-09-19 03:52:19 UTC
    11281
  15. Part 4 - Chapter 2 (14): Voice of the Unheard 2023-11-26 08:27:56 UTC
    11702
  16. Part 4 - Chapter 3 (15): The Great Intersection 2023-12-17 05:59:43 UTC
    11336
  17. Part 4 - Chapter 4 (16): Faith's Gift to the World 2024-01-04 09:08:44 UTC
    12537
  18. Epilogue: The Final Problem 2024-01-12 09:27:06 UTC
    9072