This story is a sequel to Culling of the Hives
It's been twelve years since Twilight awakened as a changeling. With Phoenix Roost's focus on economic and population growth, the hive has grown strong.
The rest of the changeling hives have been ravaged by war for years with Twilight's brood remaining aloof. Sphinx psyker immigrants have dispersed throughout not only Equestria but as far as the Griffin and Minotaur nations, eager for a new life away from the paranoia of their homeland.
Yet for all of Twilight's desire for leave the rest of the queens to their wars, the Home Guard's proclamation will force Twilight to return to the jungle of her rebirth.
Real cover art pending.
As always, big thanks to Boldish42 and A Bitter Pill for editing.
Chapters (31)
I assume this is supposed to be marked as a sequel to Culling of the Hives.
5875543
Odd, I thought I had set that to the correct number.
It's fixed now.
12 years... That is a long time. Will we hear anything more about the EoH? They should be in their late 30's now.
Squeeeee!!
Cadista is going to end up as the new queen of the home guard isn't she? I mean it fits, a queen who can't lay eggs being the queen for the home guard.
Or maybe matriarch of the changings since she won't have her own ambitions getting in the way.
Also, goodness do I love this series.
Great first chapter! I wonder whom is going to named the new Prime Matriarch, if it's "sticky spit", all hell is going to break lose; i can't think of anyone "good", other than Twilight, and that wouldn't end well either.
And the story is already picking up. Can't wait for moar chapters.
5875819
that would be too logical, I bet it'll be Twilight Or Dash since she is believed to have been the one who killed Silandrus’. Or worse their new Princess that would royally screw up the plan. But somehow I bet Chrysalis is going to use it to convince Twilight and Rainbow to side with her and make her the Prime.
Here we go again. Looking forward to more.
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
5875917
hell no, that would be too awsome. All the damn home guard would then be Pink and Fluffy, all the Super serious queen summits would be a contest to see who could party harder, and Changelings would evolve to supplement their need for love with excessive amounts of sugar, preferably in the form of baked goods.
The new Prime will be Queen Blueblood, rebirthed after a horrific hanghoof got infected and forced the vain prince to seek an alternative to plastic surgery. As a result she became the most ruthless changeling queen the race has ever seen.
Sequel! Yes! And so many things are finally happening! Rainbow's parents, Nightlight dealing with Velvet's loss, Aegis has hands, and the war is moving along! I'll just be putting this in favorites right now if you don't mind.
Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Sequel!!!! Yayyyyy!!!!!!
Damn Cliffhangers
5876100
lol what a twist that would be, she goes and converts to prove to her daughter that being a changeling is wrong... and what do you know she ends up liking it but in an evil convert everyone kind of way.
Oh, this is going to be just the best.
it's population growth has been constant for most of that time.
its*
I notice they didn't extend the invitation to Cadista. Does she no longer count as a Queen? She can't lay eggs and no longer the head of a hivemind, but instead a guest of another hivemind.
I guess that marriage was doomed from the outset. Poor Night Light.
And yes I'm totally calling it being Cadista
*fav, like* MORE!
Right... so now to read Culling of the Hives to have any idea as to what is going on...
Dis gon be goooooooooood!
5876469 No the truth will be revealed. Yumia didn't die and is behind EVERYTHING!
5876465
Yes, but how would they know that she isn't a Queen unless they were spying on her? Twilight has completely avoided contact with the other Changeling Hives for years and there was no summit to go to.
5876578
Phoenix's Roost may have been avoiding the jungle, but that doesn't mean the jungle's been ignoring them, and it's hard to keep a secret from a determined changeling if they know what they're looking for. In this case, Cadista's status.
Any chance we could get to see when Blitz hatched after her rebirth? Like in flashbacks or in a side story. Bonus chapters perhaps? Please?
Argl blargl *Other sounds of surprised panicking*
I look away from the sequel for (what felt like a) little bit to read other stuff then I look back and BAM it's complete and this is out .
I have way to many horse words to read, my list is telling me I have 25,300,271 words
Next episode: how to drive a warship through the drive-thru at Taco Bell en route to the summit!
Hrm, see now, this just confirms my initial surprise to Culling of the Hives being marked complete. We went from our resident sphinx being Entomophobic to Entomophillic(?) without so much as a blink. I really kind of feel like Culling should have had a final third dealing with the fallout from Rasua's discoveries and the underground railroad for psykers that was hinted at and any accompanying character growth. As it is, the whole introduction and setup of that 'arc' was based around the Spinxes, so the way it ended seemed out of place with its surprise climax.
</wellmeaningcritique>
5876717
Rasua used the "paper bag over the head" strategy. Even though Rasua knows it's a changeling, if he (in this case Thunderfury) uses a disguise to look more sphinx like, dim the lights to hide any failings in the disguise, and then she can get some much needed... release.
Besides sex is cheap in the hive. Might as will take advantage of that disguise magic.
5876782
Ah, that explains a lot, I suppose. With the first thing mentioned being her apparent kinkiness, I sort of assumed that she was… well, actually into it.
Hahaha! I knew it! My spid- ..er, I mean, changeling senses where tingling!!! 2:00am?! Who needs sleep!?!?
Wait... So, did Aegis get real hands, or is she still using the mechanical ones?
I feel like there needs to be a bridge story between this and Culling of the Hives, even if it's just a short one. We've missed Rasua getting comfortable with the Changlings, the Psyker underground railroad, and Blitz's rebirth, at least. Unless there are going to be flashback chapters in this one, there are a lot of loose ends that are just suddenly resolved with a hand wave.
That being said - Don't stop! I love these stories!
5877036
Both the Psyker underground railroad and Rasua's comfort level with changeling will be handled later in the story to be sure. Either through the story itself or with a flashback chapter. However, as i commented earlier about her.
She's not BBFFs with them, but she's not cowering in her room anymore either.
As for Blitz's hatching scene, I really felt that particular scene was getting repetitive. First we had Twilight's, then we had RD's, and then we had Aegis. I felt rehashing the same scene a fourth time was not a good idea as it really just amounted to the same thing with Aegis.
as for the hands, i present exhibit A.
?
??
?!?!?!?
The hell happened there?!
then did she have a daughter?!
5876953 I know right
And, once again, I didn't get a notification about this sequel, making this the third time in a row for this series.
5877137
5877244
You should read the final, new chapter of Culling the Hives. The one with Rarity's mobile flying home. Law does mention there that Rarity has two foals (I'm assuming a colt and filly), and the rest of Twilight's pony friends also have started families. The only reason we have not heard about this until now was because the focus of the story is always centered on Twilight and Rainbow, and seldom anypony or anyone else.
I feel a horrible void with Velvet being practically excised from the family completely now. This is the kind of development that tugs at me the hardest - when bonds of love, be it familial or otherwise, are torn apart by misunderstanding and, in the case of Velvet, stubborn mistrust that turns into a mad paranoia.
I was holding a sliver of hope that she'd come around someday, but it doesn't look that way with how things proceeded in this chapter.
I love the summit meetings. Something about regularly meeting with your enemies to discuss their future as a whole while figuring out who openly hates you or who acts as an ally while holding on to a shorter knife. I wonder how drastically changed the rest of the queens are. And the situation of the jungle, while not the focal point for the meeting, may be revealed to us.
5877406
I have a family member who similarly removed themselves from the family. They got a divorce at like age 60. It was over something really stupid they just couldn't let go. They just dug themselves into further and further delusion that this was a conspiracy against them and not them refusing to be reasonable. I don't think anyone really talks to them anymore. It's really sad, but there's just nothing you can do.
The description needs some editing, I think. There's nothing particularly wrong with the grammar, but it's kind of stilted.
This is going to be good! Just like the others!
5875962 5876100 Actually, the real queen shall be Queen Sweetie "Best Pony" Belle, ruler of love and harmony! She shall sing love and harmony to everyling, when they take over and everything is everyling now!
The new Matriarch is probably going to be Chrysalis if her plan to win the jungle is well advanced and she probably the less stupid queen.
5877276 i did... are you sure you're following Law?
5878555 No, but I've had the previous story in my favourites long before this one came out. As I did the one before that, and the one before that, all the way down to the beginning.
You don't have to be subscribed to a person to get notified when a "sequel" to a story in your favourites it published.
Or, at least that's what it used to be.