Grogar's ancient machinations finally come together as he leads the Legion of Doom against Canterlot. Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow want to rule for themselves, however, and intend to betray him as soon as it's convenient. Can Applejack, Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash save Equestria?

Other significant characters: Spike, Starlight Glimmer, Sunburst, Trixie, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, Shining Armor, Student/Young Six. Spoiler characters: Windigos, Mean Twilight Sparkle, King Sombra.

Author's note: I decided to rewrite episodes S9E24 and S9E25 as if Grogar were real and the finale were a four-parter. This story takes everything up to and including S9E23 as canon, and took inspiration from a huge variety of sources, including the finale trailer (though it does not strictly hold canon to the trailer).

I give my deep, heartfelt thanks my kind editors and prereaders, as well as the lovely anons on /mlp/ where I've been posting the first draft. My deepest thanks of all go to triq267, who's been helping me at every stage of the story with ideas and advice.

Featured 1/6/2020, and again 1/14/2020, 8/3/2020, 9/17/2020, 10/3/2021, and 10/25/221! Thank you guys!

Thirteen years is a long time, yet old wounds have a habit of coming back to haunt those who bear them.

The Princesses of Equestria decided to spare the holdout villains, offering them counseling. Humbled from prison and asylum, shown kindness and acceptance where there should have been punishment and hatred, the last barriers of the unredeemed disintegrated like sand before a wave. Their rehabilitation fell under the auspices of the Princesses themselves, as well as Starlight Glimmer - the preeminent redeemed villain. The tensions of the past saw the Royal Family of the Crystal Empire sundered, but it also saw new families created in shocking arrangements.

A teenage Flurry Heart struggles to make friends at the School of Friendship, confused and angry at the divorce of her parents and their remarriage to the Crystal Empire's greatest enemies. An adult Cozy Glow struggles to forge a path of her own in a world that refuses to forgive actions she made as a filly. Chrysalis and Sombra struggle to adjust to life as domestic spouses, and loving step-parents to the youngest alicorn. Tirek struggles not to give into his hunger for magic. Everyone else struggles to accept this new paradigm, to forgive the final holdouts.

And, unseen by all, a final darkness stirs, enticing a filly with promises of power.

Alright, this was a project I was working on for... well, a few months at least. 10 chapters complete, I figured I'd upload what I have. It started as a simple fic about a what-if situation where Flurry Heart tries to adjust to her parents being divorced and remarried to the greatest archenemies of her foalhood, but evolved into a story about all the unredeemed villains.

Unusual for me, I've kept shipping to a minimum. I tried to keep the pairings as "canon" as possible, according to the hints at the end of Season 9 (AppleDash, FlutterCord, CheesePie, StarBurst, etc.) but I also threw in ShiningChrysalis and SomDance, which are pretty central to the plot.

The night after magic returned was… interesting! That was a good word for it, interesting. Once everypony had finished being awestruck by working wings and glowing horns, Maretime Bay had to handle the logistical issue of housing several visiting dignitaries, guards, and tourists from their once-mortal-enemies (who, it turned out, had just not really given a flying feather about them).

Well, Zipp and Pipp volunteer for… alternate arrangements.

Which Queen Haven promptly regrets finding out about in the morning.

CW: Possible forced adoption, FMF relationship and off-screen threesome, Haven family drama, and possible (okay, probable) incestuous relationship that defies a cursory understanding of genetics.

Story written for No Shame November - link excluded because *technically* this is a clean fic? 

Look, I promised y’all something fluffier than Spryllis, so here you go! Sorry to deny you the evening’s festivities, but those may turn up in a side piece at some point.

Life is full of surprises. That is a known fact. However, you always expect some kind of minor surprise, like your train arriving a little too late, or your ice-cream having vanilla taste rather than strawberry. But sometimes, life will give you surprises you could never predict. For Fluttershy, it was three little foals. But not her own foals, or even orphans. Three little foals that used to be her and her friends' most fearsome and dreaded foes.

Sombra, Chrysalis and Nightmare Moon.

Will Fluttershy's nerves survive this onslaught of misadventures? Will she keep the three villains hidden? Will she even become friends with them? Why do I sound like a narrator to a bad criminal drama? Don't think or try to answer those questions, just go ahead and read!

Edited by: MessoriaAQ, Cerulean Voice, Gidget_TheGear, Twilight Fashion

Cover art by amazing Missangest!

Cover art got featured on Drawfriend in EqD!
The story itself got proudly rejected by EqD!

This story is a sequel to A Trip Through the Mirror

For a changeling, love is magic, and magic is love. They are one and the same within the changeling body. To share magic is to share love. And we all know what happens when an unreformed changeling shares love. Unfortunately for Chrysalis, she got caught up in the moment and forgot for just a second. But a second was enough...

A "what if?", alternate ending for "Frenemies".

Wastelands. Dystopias. Playgrounds for megalomaniacal villains. Each time Starlight forced her into a new world, it was just another variation of Tartarus that she was glad to leave behind and forget about. Unfortunately, thanks to over thirty timeline jumps, Starswirl's spell has gotten worn and frayed, forcing her to stop in this latest world to repair it. Fortunately, things seem relatively peaceful. Unfortunately, Twilight soon finds out the reason for that peace is...complicated.

Unsettling dreams are starting to worry Princess Luna. She is positive these dreams hold an ominous portent for all of Equestria, but there is only one stallion who knows for certain the answers she seeks. King Sombra has been imprisoned again in Shadow since his defeat and the shattering of his body, but he is no less cunning and ruthless. And as Luna tries to interrogate him over time, she finds there is a softer side to the unicorn king, one nopony has seen before. But Celestia fears for her younger sister, warning Luna against Sombra's advances. Is the once-tyrant truly starting to court Princess Luna...or is she simply being used as a pawn in his plans to regain power?
~~~
Cover art by the amazing MickeyMonster, who has permitted me use of it for this fanfiction, as this image inspired me to write this story in the first place.
Edited and proofread by my girls TheOneBehindYou and LabyrinthineMind.

8tracks playlist: https://8tracks.com/yoru-the-rogue/lingering-shadows

No film productions are perfect on the first try. Some aren’t perfect at all.

See the behind the scenes of all the episodes of MLP, and let’s hope we can make you laugh!

Pinkie Pie had a big secret. Twilight wishes it had stayed one.

The original version of this story was an entry to a writeoff round with the prompt Rot.

Thanks to Undome Tinwe, Seer, and LunaTheFox for editing.

Cover art cropped from a piece by LambiBelle, and it is used with permission. DB: 2273080