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// I Think the Extra is Longer Than the Actual Update 
// Story: I Blame You 
// by Whitestrake 
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	Few things in life compared to seeing the massive sprawl that was the central hive. Through the massive window overlooking the city – yes, city – square, I could see thousands, possibly a million changelings going about their appointed duties. With each individual a part of the hivemind, they only gained the ability to reason when in large groups, with praetorians functioning as a means of boosting the mental capabilities of other brood members.. Just think organic Geth with a little Tyranid synapse thrown in for taste and you're not far off.

“This place is huge.” Jay wasn't the most eloquent man on Equus, but he managed. The other members of our group agreed, though Chrysalis and I were silent on the subject. I playfully elbowed the queen in the ribs, not hard enough to hurt, but sufficiently firm to offer some comfort. In truth, I was worried for my life and her emotional state. The broodmother gave me a small smile before returing her gave to a large building at the cavern's far end. “Check out the giant church.”

“The Deceiver's Chapel, he built that as his final miracle. According to legend, he used only his mind.” We jumped at the voice. It held the same lilt as Chrysalis's, but sounded worlds different.  The new queen had a pinkish mane styled in a pixie cut, with her tail being the same shade. The newcomer shot me a pensive look, clearly unsure why I was wearing a hooded cloak and had bandages covering the lower part of my face and neck. The older hivemother looked at her younger sister.“I believe introductions are in order.”

“Everyone, this is Chorion.” Chrysalis motioned to the older queen as she pressed against my side. Whether this was a gesture of dominance or possession was unclear, but it was obviously intended to show the newcomer that I was off limits. “Chorion, these are Taylor, Jay, Princess Luna, and Princess Cadence.” The dethroned matriarch motioned to each of us in turn, as though Luna and Cadenza didn't go without saying, but perhaps it was merely to avoid confusion.

“The Burned Man and Pyromaniac? Pupae mentioned what happened in the Borderlands.” There was an almost approving look in the broodmother's eyes as she said that, though what qualities she found attractive in the actions was a mystery. The bandages gave me away as the infamous mercenary, and Jay's flamer tanks did nothing to conceal his identity. “I suppose the two of you will be fighting?”

“I'll be taking on Arachni's finest, personally.” Whether the bravado in my voice was natural confidence or my own overcompensation, I had no idea. Still, someone my size saying something that amounted to a claim of badassery was an impressive sight to any unaccustomed to such things. However, I was dealing with a creature that was centuries old, so the effect was somewhat diminished.

“I hope you really are as tough as Pupae says.”

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Self reflection was one of the many techniques Karapass utilized in her efforts to quicken the passage of time. Such meditation made dealing with the millions of minds that were melded with her own infinitely easier, but it also gave her some basic sensory feedback from the multitude of drones and warriors that comprised the grand hive. She knew exactly when her youngest daughter and her friends arrived in Nova, her chitinous features quickly warped into an expression of glee and sorrow as the situation's gravity took hold. The exalted matriarch liked Taylor, she really did, and it would be more than painful if she watched the teenager die, even if it would be in honorable combat.

The Grand Matron was also aware that she hadn't been the only one to noticed the group's arrival. While her daughters were beacons than shone like infernos in a sea of candles, she could not read their thoughts while they were connected to Karapass's hivemind. She could, however, intercept any messages being sent from her grandchildren, giving her a clear perception of her brood's intentions. It was almost surprising that Arachni was feeling just as scared about communion as Chrysalis was, even if they had different reasons for fearing the outcome. Even as the exalted matriarch sat on her lavishly decorated throne, she couldn't help but feel humbled by the sheer reach of this event.

From far behind her, Karapass could feel something extremely old and equally cunning. It was a psychic signature that hadn't been tangible in centuries. The Grand Matron could only remember one time she was touched by the inordinately powerful mind, and her memory had corroded a bit after a full millennium, but she distinctly recalled feeling the psychic presence at her coronation ceremony. Thinking back, it was easy to recognize the living relic for what it was, given how traumatizing it was to see. But Karapass supposed such things were meant to be difficult, otherwise they would become commonplace.

With a halfhearted growl, the Grand Matron returned her attentions to the door to her throne room.

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Preview from I Frakking Hate You(Title in Progress)

“Are you sure you've perfected this technology?” Princess Celestia had asked me the same question no less than a thousand times in the past two years. It wasn't like we had much of an option, given Equus's exponential increase in natural disasters and all that. Sadly, this desperate measure was our last possible effort, taking the combined efforts of every species, nation, and tribe of the near-virgin world to make it happen. Scavenging bits and bobs from various stores and caches left by ancient and recent human visitors,we managed to construct the Arks. While the actions taken to build the massive colony ships was wholly secular and scientific in nature, the proportions and scale of the project was biblical.

“For the umpteenth time, yes.” While the original FTL gun was never recovered, I had been able to rebuild the technology with no small amount of difficulty. After building and outfitting our fleet with the faster-than-light devices, we had nearly stripped the planet bare. It would be uninhabitable anyway, but there was something incredibly depressing about leaving the peaceful world to crumble under its own seismic instability. “We only need to engage our main drive, every other ship will follow our lead. With any luck, we'll only be stuck in artificial gravity for a few Equusian weeks.”

The unspoken consequence being death if we failed to find a habitable world before we exhausted our food supplies. Nevertheless,with a few choice button-presses, the Tenacity of Life sent power to the engines and FTL drive, the programming of every other vessel in the fleet made the smaller ships follow suit. After an agonizing wait of twelve minutes and thirty-eight seconds, the massive spacecraft tore a hole in fabric of reality.

It goes without saying that it ended much like my last experience with breaking the rules of nature.

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The Warp shuddered. Uncountable multitudes of sentient organisms died every Terran standard day. Such influx of souls was undoubtedly a result of the eternal wars raging across the Milky Way. Whether worlds were being invaded or defended, it mattered no to the Immaterium, and it mattered even less to its inhabitants. The foul demons and Warp-addled Chaos worshipers rejoiced at the eternal slaughter, seeing each and every gruesome death and horrific pain, all the grim destruction and brilliant tactics as offerings to their dark masters. But even as the Chaos gods fed off the emotions of the souled, there were threats even they could not turn back.

Across the galaxy, ancient tombs opened and spewed their eternal nightmares forth. The Necrons would wipe all life from the Milky Way, down to the smallest of single-celled organisms, and permanently sever the Warp from realspace. On even greater worlds, the faithful and heroic of mankind raised their arms and banners to slay the mutant, the heretic, and the witch in the name of the Immortal God-Emperor. The enigmatic and cunning Eldar played against the Ruinous Powers at every turn, hurling tides of manipulated enemies against any and all that threatened their dying race. The simple and brutish Orks were innumerable and scattered across countless world, more than capable of destroying every other intelligent species in the galaxy if they combined their forces, and each was ready to fight anything that reared its ugly and un-Orky head.

All of this failed to compare to the Great Devourer that drifted ever-closer the the Milky Way's edge. The massive Hive Mind of the Tyranids, extra-galactic horrors that existed only to consume all life on ever planet they came across, was an near-unstoppable engine of war capable of blocking out the Warp with its sheer psychic power. With hungry jaws clamping down on the Warp's only refuge, it was almost enough for Tzeentch to miss a flicker of foreign life in the northern end of the Segmentum Obscurus.

Almost.