One year ago, the immortal moon lich died.

One year ago, Twilight Sparkle the so-called human moved to Ponyville.

Rarity never believed that, of course. The "human" bit. After all, no human would willingly choose to live in a town of monsters, and no amount of magic or hunting orders or Plans with a capital "P" would ever change her mind on that—especially when said human was so constantly collected and calm.

But... if she wasn't human, what kind of monster could she be?

Written for the Raritwi-deprived Monochromatic, who so graciously let me cook for 1/4th of a year. Huge thanks to Swan Song for prereading, and to everyone I pestered for synonyms whenever the last of my braincells refused to word. Cover art by me!

Equestria and the Crystal Empire have fallen to the Changeling Hegemony, led by the brutal Queen Chrysalis at the head of a mechanized horde of guns and tanks. Princess Cadance stayed in the Crystal Empire; Princess Twilight stayed in Equestria. Chrysalis rules the continent, only defied by Nova Griffonia, the poor Griffon colony in the north.

Across the ocean, the Griffonian Reich pledges to reclaim its lost territory, sundered by revolution a generation ago. While the Alicorn Sisters retreat to New Mareland, Princess Flurry Heart and Shining Armor turn to Aquileia, the Republic born out of the ashes of the Griffonian Reich. The Kaiser of the Reich is only a child, subject to a regent bent on war and conquest.

Flurry knows the Reich and Chrysalis have worked together.

She knows that war is coming to Aquileia.

She knows that Celestia and Luna abandoned her mother and Twilight Sparkle.

She knows that the world is on fire, and she is the last true Princess of Ponies.

She knows she will go home.

Cover Art by Opal Radiance, commissioned by Sunstreaker.
https://www.deviantart.com/opalradiance

This story is a sequel to Imbalanced: New Age

WT-FEATURED? 2.3.2020 (How did that happen?)

War is raging on the continent of Zebrica where a new warlord has risen, using immensely powerful magic to subjugate clans and countries.

In Equestria, conspiracies tying princess Celestia to Corrupted are running rampant, princess Luna is investigating an ancient alicorn legacy pertaining to entities called only 'the enemy' and 'the herald', and princess Twilight Sparkle is trying to keep Equestria together despite the rising panic.

In the Griffon Empire, both Black Ops and Imperial armies are in a losing battle against spreading Corrupted territories transforming the land.

And knowing nothing about any of that, there's Harriet, a young dragonpony in the Griffon Empire whose life is about to be shattered by a group of ponies seeking something from her father's hoard that would make all the previous threats to peace a small beer.

UPDATES: Hopefully monthly.

EDIT: Added AU tag, since this takes place some three hundred years (give or take) after Twilight's alipopcornification.

This story is a sequel to They're EVERYWHERE!

Update schedule: Hopefully once a week
As always, commenting and engagement is always appreciated and can help steer or polish the story.

Several years after the changeling invasion of Canterlot, queen Chrysalis gets an invitation to attend a cruise followed by a stay in a luxury holiday resort on an island belonging to the Griffon Empire. Supposedly, this is to introduce the new friendly changeling power in Equestria to existing nobility. Chrysalis takes one of the new infiltrators - 93, an old warrior 387, and a group of drones led by 10013 with her.

Chrysalis? Caring for the tiny and easily replaceable drones enough to give a few of them a chill two weeks? 387 doesn't buy it.

There must be something else going on... surely.

Shortly after Queen Chrysalis' defeat at Canterlot, her army is demoralised and hungry, and the Queen herself is at her wits end - having locked herself in her bedroom, presumably to spare her subjects from her upcoming mental break in a short moment of compassion.

The Queen that leaves the room is far different from the one that entered it.

Queen Chrysalis, seemingly revitalised in her entirety, declares a change in course for her and her subjects. She promises to lead them to a new battlefield... and she swears victory in her name.

It has been nearly a thousand years since Twilight Sparkle died. Celestia and Luna are gone. The Holy Equestrian Diarchy, ruled by a bigoted and brutal theocracy, has driven ponies apart and divided them along tribal lines. Unicorns are driven from society, feared and hated.

The lessons of friendship, painstakingly written down in the journal of friendship by Princess Twilight and her friends, have been warped and twisted to fit the Diarchy's hateful ideology. But to the average pony, this is the truth and reality of the world they live in, beset on all sides by enemies monstrous and magical.

Emberglow, a young pegasus mare, aspires to join the elite Knights, magically enhanced warriors dedicated to the holy Saints worshiped by the state religion. Can she uncover the lies and deceptions that have led the world to this bitter place?

Thanks to QueenChrysalisForever for prereading Chapters 1-24. Prereader for chapters 29-31 is MrRTS.
Prereading for chapter 34-? by Horsetorian
Additional pre-readers: bananachips/CommissarVulpin, Thought Prism, Chyre
Special thanks to my amazing editor, Cyonix
Cover Art by JodTheCod

Note on timing: I began writing this long before Season 9 aired, so none of those events happened as far as the narrative of this story is concerned.

Come join us on the Rekindled Embers Discord!

Edit: Featured 8/7/20! Yay and Thanks!