They were looking for me. I was back in my chamber, my guard nearby. Thr drones I had watching the caverns had spotted the two sisters and their guards an hour earlier. I decided to let my children have some fun.

They snatched the first guard when she had fallen behind a short bit. They brought her to my chamber, and placed her on the wall. I hiss at the scared guard.

"Do not worry child. You will not die. My children have grown restless, and you were fine pray in their game. Quiet, and your princesses will be here soon." The scared guard only nodded, and kept her mouth shut. She couldnt see anywhere in the room, and being a Pegasus she couldn't use magic. She waited.

The next guard was taken from the front of the group, as he headed forward from the group a little ways to scout. He was brought back to my chamber, and I told him the same as the other guard. This one I knew could see me, for he was a thestral. He nodded, and whimpered from his position on the wall.

After the second guard, it became harder for my children to hunt them. They were now aware of something hunting them, and stuck near each other. The unicorns light did nothing to penetrate the thick darkness of the caverns, nor did Celestia's and Luna's. The thestrals had a hard time penetrating the darkness with their sight, and could only make out just beyond the edge of the light. My children were not dissuaded.

They took the thestrals first. One by one, they were brought to my chamber. Collected right from under the Princesses. Each one was told the same thing. They would be fine, and the Princesses would be here shortly.

The thestrals were scared. The darkness in my chamber was not as thick as the cavern, and they could see everything. The other guards asked them what they saw, and the response was they didnt want to know. I hiss in laughter, and wait.

The unicorns are brought next. When they are brought to my chamber, I tell them to not turn on the lights, as my children dont like it very much. One did, and he was quickly covered in more resin. Resin, if you remember, is the stuff the aliens make their hives out of. I hiss my dissapointment out, and the other guards understand. Follow the rules.

Finally, the last few guards are brought in. The princesses and guards had been getting more and more agitated during this whole game, and had startdd to throw magic at anything that moves. It didnt help.

The last guard is brought in. She struggles to escape the grasp of the drone she was caught by. She is tossed into the resin on the wal, and bound. She struggles, and I tell her the same thing I told the rest.

She doesnt care, and struggles. She shouts obscenities, and casts magic bolts into the surrounding darkness. The other guards try to tell her to stop, but she doesn't. She continues to cause disruption. Eventually, my guard has enough, and stands up.

He walks over to the guardsmare, and she sees him. Charging her horn, she fires a massive fireball at him, and he dodges it. The fireball lands harmlessly on the ground, and shortly after dies out.

But not before everypony present has gotten a look at what is in the chamber.

Almost a hundred of my children are in the chamber, and the fire startled all of them. They all stand and screech at the guards, screaming at them. The sound fills the chamber, and echoes through the entire cavern, bouncing off every crystal and stone in it. I know the Princesses heard it.

When the screeching stopped, I sent out a drone, to go guide the Princesses to me. It left, and found them. It hissed at them.

The princesses turn towards the sound, as my child makes its presence seen. By the light of their horns, they see it flick its tail in a follow me gesture, and then scurry off.

The sisters followed, and the drone led them. They walked for almost thirty minutes, before the drone disappears. The sisters try to brighten their light, only for something to flick against their horns, and they lose concentration on the light. When the light is gone, the two feel a prodding at their flanks, and they move forward.

They enter my chamber. The two princesses feel the change in the air as they enter, and the shadows dont feel so thick. They hear thousands of clicks and small screeches, hisses filling the chamber. And they hear whimpering.

"Sister, the guards are nearby." Luna says. The guards call out.

"Princesses, dont light your horns. You dont want to see whats here." A thestrals calls out. I hiss, and all other sound in the room ceases. I then project my thoughts to the sisters.

"Why have you come to my home? What business do you seek?" the sisters look around, but they dont see me. Celestia speaks up.

"We come to talk peacefully. You say you have been here for over three thousand years, yet we have never known you existed. How have you been here so long, yet no one has ever met you, or your children?" I laugh, my hissing going through the chamber.

"Because darkness is my ally. I have made myself unseen, as do my children, who where only born recently. The first to have met me, where the tribes of ponies who settled here long before you arrived. They worshipped me, and they learned from me. I was the one to give them the DNA to make the human pony hybrids. The last of the tribe, gave his life to allow my children to live. You saw his corpse. I have hundreds of children now. Do you wish to see?" the sisters think for a moment. Then, they shakily nod their heads. I then say.

"Light your horns, and shine them throughout the chamber." and they hesitantly do.

What they see terrifies them. They see my face near them, and they see my guard nearby. And they see my children, all over the walls, ceiling, everywhere. The guards are over on a wall, and the Princesses see them. They look to me.

"Please, release our guards." Celestia says. I snarl at them.

"When we are done, we will. Though, one didnt want to accept our hospitality. We may keep her, to bring me a new child." I was bluffing. I wouldnt harm the ponies. But if I could, I would make her my messenger. She would work in the dark, and be an efficient emmisary. Celestia and Luna think for a second. Then Luna says.

"What do you mean, bring you a new child?" I cock my head. Interesting. I have never known anyone to ask about the chestburster. I hiss out a sigh.

"When I put the facehugger on Chrysalis, it put an ovipositor into her throat, into the esophagus. It then laid its embryo into her chest. It grew, and the changlings that came in and died, are what happens when they grow up." the two blanch.

"They burst from the chest of the pony?" Luna says, mortified. I nod. The guard in question heard all I was saying, and started to squirm in her resin prison. The princesses saw her, and then looked at me. Celestia says..

"No. I will not let that happen to her. Whatever she may have done, I cannot let you do that. I am sorry, your highness, but no." I look at her. And then I screech into laughter. My guard joins me, as do my children. I laugh, and slowly stop, my children stopping too. I look at them, and they are still terrified, though they try to hide it.

"You couldnt see my bluff. I am forgiving. She didn't wrong me, and she wouldnt have been an incubator for my child. I would have her as my messenger. My emissary. My representative. She will live here, and she will learn and speak for me. Unless my presence is needed, she will speak as my voice." the princesses are surprised. Then, they look relieved.

"If that was what you wanted, then why not say? I would have given you an emissary if you had asked." Celestia says. I shake my head.

"No. Not just anypony will do. They have to be strong willed, and determined. They must be able to adapt. And they must be able to learn. She, has these traits." I walk over to the guard, and she is staring at me with wide eyes. I get near her, and she starts to glare at me. She can't speak through the resin over her mouth, though that doesnt stop her from trying. I then suddenly open my mouth and shoot my inner jaw at her face, it snapping dangerously close to her eye. She just continues to glare at me. I nuzzle her, and then move to her horn.

I start to nuzzle it, and she falters. Her eyes start to flutter, and her breathing quickens slightly. I stop, not wanting to go. Much further. I turn to the Princesses, and say.

"She is what I need. She will live here, work here, eat here, and she will relay my messages, and act as my voice. My eyes and ears will be near, to her, the elements, and you two. Cadence and Shining Armor are the only other two, but I will need to have children who can survive the extreme colds of the Frozen North and the crystal empire." the princesses are astonished.

"How did you know about the crystal empire? It has only recently returned." Celestia says.

"The same way I knew of Chrysalis, and waited for her. How I knew of Discord, and had my children collect the elements before the six were harmed. How I knew of Nightmare Moon, and sent my first born to stop her, and help the six. I know many things, about what is to come. I know that soon, Twilight will be getting a book. And she will become a princess. And then, she will have to fight Tirek. Do not try to challenge me, for my knowledge of you two is vast." The princesses nod. Then, Celestia thinks, and asks.

"What have you done with Chrysalis, might I ask? The last we saw, she had the creature on her face, and you tossed her to the caverns. What has happened to her?" She asks. I smile, my snarling lips not being seen as such. I then screech a short call, and one of my children come closer.

The child has a purple continuous armor, and has a horn and insect wings. She opens her moth to call back to me, and we see she has two long fangs like a snake, that retract when she closes her mouth. And she has fake eyes on her head, that look like a changlings natural eyes. And she is tall, the same size as my guard.

"She is the next queen. She will take a part of my hive, and create a new colony, where she obeys me, but runs independently." the princesses nod. Then, Celestia steps forward.

"Well, your highness, we need to leave. It is about time for the sun to set, and we need to do so. If we could have our guards back, that would be greatly appreciated." I nod, and Chrysalis and my guard move to the wall, and cut down all the guards, save for the one. Celestia sees this, and asks.

"Please can we have her too. We need to speak this over more, and if she accepts, we need to tell her family about what will happen. Give her time to say goodbye, in a sense." I think for a second. The princesses start to get nervous.

Finally, I nod, and Chrysalis cuts her loose. She falls to the floor unceremoniously, and she gets up and moves towards the group. She passes me and glares. I just smile at her.

The princesses then leave.

Celestia was deep in thought. She wondered if it would be such a good idea to have the unicorn guard the Queen had asked for be given to her. The guard in question was a blue coated mare with a forest green mane, and her name was Harvest Night.

Her family had disowned her when she was young, before she joined the Royal guard, so she had no one to say goodbye to. Her family life to begin with was rough. The family, like the Apples, believed in strong family ties, and staying in the business. But unlike the Apples, if one of them went against the grain, they were disowned, and never allowed back into the family. They weren't allowed into reunions, they weren't allowed to buy food that came from their farms. Her childhood had been spent growing up on the streets, since she was thrown out for even thinking about joining the guards. She had grown up in an orphanage, and when she was old enough, applied to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. When she joined, she learned all she could, and graduated early. Afterwards, she joined the guard, and eventually reached the rank of Lieutenant. The oddest thing was, she still hadn't found her cutie mark.

Celestia debated, as did her sister. Reaching the castle entrance from the cave, they saw the guards waiting at the entrance. She told the escort guards to head to the barracks, but Harvest Night to follow her and Luna.

They went to her chambers, and then they set about lowering the sun and raising the moon. After that was done, they turned towards Harvest, and started to talk.

Harvest
Celestia
Luna

"Lieutenant Harvest Night. What did you do when in the Queens chamber that may have warrentrd the predicament we find ourselves in?

"Princess, all I did was struggle, and though she told me to stop, I didn't. The other guards did too, and still I did not. Finally, at one point, the guard got up and moved toward me. I cast a fireball at it, but it dodged and it hit the ground, and exploding out from there."

Celestia thought.

"Do you think she was being honest when she told us about those four traits she wanted?"

Celestia looked at her sister, and then Harvest.

"Harvest, what do you have to say about the four attributes she said?"

Harvest looked at the two sisters.

"Ma'am, I think she is right. I am very strong willed, and determined. I am able to adapt well, maybe not very fast, but fast enough, and i do have a desire to learn. Also, and I am sorry for speaking out of line princesses, but I have no family. As you know, I was disowned when I was young, so I have no one to truly care if I am gone. And I understand what you might say. I am cared about by you two. Thank you. But that is even more reason. She is right. She needs somepony to speak for her at summits, and be her voice. Because I am pretty sure no one wants to look at her face and listen for very long. If my going down there to learn from her will benefit Equestria, I will gladly do my duty."

Celestia and Luna looked at the guard. She was standing stoically before them, and they seemed proud of her.

"Harvest, I have know you since you were young. I taught you at school. I helped you get into the guard. You are the closest I might come to having a daughter. And when my sister came back, you offered to be a guard for her in her chambers, whenever you would be needed, day or night. And you have been one of my guards for years. Are you sure you want to give that up? To go be an emissary?"

Harvest just nods. Luna comes forward.

"Then, it would probably be best if we legally declare you dead, and change your name. The Queen may do something from there, but we must do this so she can talk to the noble houses, and her family, when they come to meetings and summits."

Celestia nods, and then hugs Harvest.

"You are right Luna. So, from this night forth, Harvest Night is dead. Your new name will be Nightshade.

Nightshade nods.

"Yes ma'am."

"Nightshade, you will report to the guards in front of the doors to the crystal caverns, and tell them they are relieved of duty, and then enter the caves. Harvest, I want to say thank you for looking out for me after I came back."

Luna then gives her a hug. Celestia does too.

"Goodbye, Harvest. Also, your only Nightshade on paper and to anyone who is not aware of your position change. Please note that, if we slip up. Now, I think it best to send you on your way." And they all let go.

"Goodbye, Princesses. It has been an honor to serve you." And salutes.

They both nod, and Luna hands her the orders for the guards at the gate to the caverns.

Harvest then leaves the room, and heads back to the doors she came out of almost twenty minutes ago. Reaching them, she tells the guards to leave, and shows the papers from Luna. They do as she says. Then, Harvest moves through the gate.

She gets grabbed immediately, and she is then taken through the caverns at a breakneck speed to her. moments later, she feels herself enter a large chamber, and can hear the xenomorphs crawling around and hissing. She is set on the ground, and she then hears a hiss, louder than all the others, and the room is silent.

"So, the princesses have decided to send you. Good. We have time then to complete the spell, and get you into your outfit." Harvest was curious now.

"What do you mean, spell, and also what outfit?" The Queen looks at her.

"We need to go to the spell circle, and use the moon to give us the energy to complete the spell. Come." And Harvest feels herself be picked up by a bigger creature than first grabbed her, and carried along.

She feels herself being carried for about ten minutes before she is brought outside, and she can see the moon shining above them. Looking around herself, she sees that they are now in a giant hollow in the mountain. She can see the Queen, and all the xenomorphs around her. In the center of the room, is a dais. Near the her side of the room, stood a bowl on a pedestal. She was set down by what she now sees was the guard, and she looks to the Queen.

"Go forward, and drink from the bowl. And after, step onto the dais." Harvest looks at the Queen, and then the bowl, before stepping up to it.

Looking in, she sees it is full of a black, gooey substance. She slowly lowers her head to the bowl, and dips her muzzle in, and sucks up some of the liquid. She immediately pulls her head out, and starts coughing violently. She breathed in after she had tasted it on accident, and swallowed and inhaled the stuff in her mouth. The Queen speaks.

"Please, step on the dais quickly." Harvest moved to the dais, and stood on top of it. When she does, she sees the ground light up with a red glow.

The moment she reached the center of the circle, the dais, the circle lit up. The circle was to take the ponies DNA, and change it, using the black goo. And it was starting.

Harvest felt her bones cracking, and she started to scream. She felt like her body was being torn apart and melted, and the resulting soup being put back together and the same thing happening again, over and over. She could feel her bones growing, and her organs shifting. Her teeth felt different, and her body felt off. She no longer felt her hooves, but something else. Her head felt oddly shaped, and she could tell something was off. When the pain finally subsided enough that when could see, and think truly coherently, she tried to stand, only to fall over.

She looked to herself, and found that her legs were different now. Instead of four legs, she resembled what she could only describe as a minotaur, but the feet were different. Her body was shaped differently, and her front two legs ended in hands, like Minotaurs. But the feet were two flat pads, resembling hands but the fingers, as she vaguely remembered the appendages on hands being called, we're smaller, stubbier. On her chest were two fairly large lumps, about the size of apples. She could see her marehood between her legs, and her tail immediately came around to cover it from view. And that was when she saw that her tail was no longer made of hair, but was shaped much like the Queens tail, long, divided in segments, with little spines along it, and a sharp barb at the end. Her fur was still there, but she could feel an exoskeleton like shell under it that was flexible.

She tried again to stand, and when she used her tail to help her stabalize, she found it much easier to stay upright, in a bipedal manner.

And then she feit hunger. She was hungry, and she made it known. She lets out a loud screech, and the Queen nods. A Xenomorph then brings in a live cow, and drops it near Harvest. When she sees it, she immediately jumps on it, and grabs its head, before ripping its head open with the claws on her fingers. Showing her head into the opening, she bites into the skull, and a chunk of the bone comes off, which she spits aside. She then buries her head into the open skull, and feasts on the brain matter inside. When she finishes, she tears into the neck, blood pouring out of the body onto her. Her fur then gets matted with the blood, and glistens in the moonlight.

After a while of eating the cow, she stops, full. The cow is almost a quarter gone.

She steps back from the cow, and upon seeing it, and realizing it was once living, finds that she can't bring herself to be horrified that she had just killed it, and ate it. She looks to the Queen.

"My Queen, why do I not feel sad about having killed that cow?" The queen nods.

"Because survival is important, and your new mind knows that. Do not worry, you still can feel, but you won't feel regret for non-sapient creatures, or those that attack you." Harvest nods. The queen speaks again.

"Come here. We must get the armor onto you, so you wont be going around naked." Harvest looks at her Queen.

"But why must I wear clothes? I never wore them before, and the princesses wear nothing but their regalia?" I nod my head.

"Yes. But your new body will need covering so that you may not be considered rude. It is improper for a mare to go around presenting themselves to everypony, yes? It is much the same now. Also, the armor will be to intimidate the other races. If you wish for different clothes, then you must talk to a designer." Harvest nods, and bows.

"Yes, my queen." The Queen nods, and becons for her to follow. Moving towards the wall across from the dais, the Queen points to an indentation in the rock, its shape similar to Harvests new hands.

"Place your hand and push. Then, retrieve the armor and put it on." and Harvestputs her hand in the indent, and pushes. The stone moves, and a pressure pad then opens a door in the wall, it sliding open with the sound of stone on stone.

Inside is a set of armor and two weapons, an axe and a spear, that the Queen had made long ago by the tribes, before the others arrived. Harvest looks at it, and then pulls pieces out, and starts to put it on. A drone is called to help her, pulling and adjusting the pieces as she puts them on. It takes a bit, but she finally has on the armor, and she looks like a Predator. To be specific, the human predator, Machiko Noguchi.

https://pin.it/olai4l4tnqnqm4
(Sorry, the picture wouldnt work. Also, she doesn't have the katana, but Rebellion from DMC.)

She gathered her weapons, and then the mask. The mask didnt actually do anything, it was just for intimidation, as Harvest could now see in the dark just as well as all the other Xenomorphs. Same had a Predator contracting spear, arm blades, and a katana at her side. All of the weapons could survive the acidic blood of an Xenomorph.

"Come, child. Let us start your training, and get you ready for the road ahead."

Author's Note

Hey guys, so I am bringing in something not entirely from out of nowhere, as the black goo is capable of doing what I said, as it is supposed to help shape life. So, what happened to Harvest isn't that unbelievable. Also, she will be more of the focus from here on, and the Queen will be more background. Sorry, but thats how I want it, and it makes it easier. You will see more of Harvest's new from coming soon.