An old unicorn walked into the room. It was dark outside, and he had used his magic to create a faint light to guide himself in the dark streets of Canterlot. As he closed the door behind him, he looked around the room to see 3 other ponies waiting for him at a table. He sat down with them and took out some papers from his saddlebag, placing them on the table for all to see. He then spoke with a voice that sounded younger than what anypony would guess from his appearance.

"This is all the research we need. Feel free to keep it, I have copies," said the unicorn as he saw his fellow ponies looking at the papers.

"How did you come across such detailed information?" an earth pony asked, his eyes fixated on the papers. "This seems like the work of years."

"I must confess, friends, I have been researching them for a long time, even before we met." The unicorn's pride was evident in his tone. "Every piece of information in those papers is a result of my research."

"Doctor Test, you truly have a brilliant mind," said a pegasus as he read the information on the papers. "When will we get started?"

"Ah, we could get started as soon as you are ready, my friends." Doctor Test looked at each of his colleagues.

"How are we going to propose this idea to the Princess?" asked a female unicorn, younger than the other ponies in the room.

"Oh, yes, the Princess." Doctor Test thought for a second. "The Princess does not need to know, my dear."

Those words made the other ponies freeze, the shock evident in their faces. Each of them started thinking about what Doctor Test just said, and looked at him, silently demanding an explanation.

"The Princess would not allow such a brilliant project." Doctor Test calmly pointed at the papers with his hoof. "This is not only a very useful project, it is also one that would never be seen as ethical by the Princess."

To a normal pony that would require more information, but these ponies already knew enough to realize that Doctor Test had a point. The pegasus and the earth pony both nodded in agreement, while the younger unicorn did so reluctantly. Doctor Test smiled with satisfaction and stood up.

"Well then, my friends, tonight marks the start of Project HIVE!" said Doctor Test, proud and triumphant.

The stallions in the room celebrated, but the mare did not. She simply looked at the papers, focusing on a page titled "Changeling Biology", her face showing a hint of fear. She knew that something about this project was not right, but there was nothing she could do now.

***

The day after Princess Cadence's wedding in Canterlot had been normal for Princess Celestia. Some royal duties and raising the sun, nothing outside the daily routine. Until a guard came running into the throne room, holding a piece of paper.

"Your Highness!" The guard stopped in front of the Princess and bowed down. "We found this on one of the changelings that invaded Canterlot, we believed it wasn't important until we noticed the name of one of the scientists that went missing years ago."

Princess Celestia used her magic to bring the paper to her. She read it, her expression being calm at first, but quickly changed to a troubled one.

"Project HIVE Subject 173-b. Placed under observation in Sector A by Dr. Test." The Princess was surprised, she had not heard from Doctor Test after he and 3 other scientists disappeared without a trace 8 years ago.

She dismissed the guard, and put the paper away. Quiet and deep in thought, she spent the next hour wondering why was that paper on a changeling, and how it related to Doctor Test. When it was time to lower the sun and let her sister raise the moon, she told her about the recent discovery, and Princess Luna could clearly see how troubling it was.

"What shall we do, sister?" Princess Luna asked.

"We need to find out what happened to Doctor Test, and what he has to do with the changelings," she answered.

Moments later, at the princesses' command, a group of guards left Canterlot and searched Equestria for any clues about Project HIVE and Doctor Test. They searched endlessly, day and night, for 3 days, and returned to Canterlot with only one clue: the location of a farm near changeling territory. This was the only lead, but Princess Celestia decided not to miss the chance.

***

The chariot pulled by a pair of pegasus guards and carrying a pair of unicorn guards and scientists came down from the sky and landed outside the farm. The crops and trees were dead and the farm seemed abandoned. Aside from the 6 ponies, the insects were the only still living beings in the farm.

"Is this seriously a place for a secret project? I say we should head back," said one of the pegasi.

"The princesses ordered us to investigate, and that is what we will do, even if we find nothing interesting," a scientist said to the pegasus.

"Hey Sparky, you done admiring the scenery?" asked one of the unicorns to his partner.

The unicorn had been silently looking at the farm until his partner talked to him. "Can we refer to each other by our names, please? You know I dislike that nickname."

"Sorry, Spark Fire, this is not the first time you just look at nothing while working." The unicorn guard's tone only served to further irritate Spark Fire, and that was precisely his intent.

"With no further delays, let us begin our work, please." The scientist started walking towards the farm, accompanied by her partner.

The guards followed and carefully opened the farmhouse's door. They could not find anyone inside, and the rooms were full of insects and dust. After searching in vain for anything useful, they walked out and towards the barn. Opening the barn's door, they were surprised to see that the inside of the barn was nothing like a normal barn. All it had was a metal platform in the center with what appeared to be a control panel on it. Not wasting time, they walked towards the platform.

None of the guards knew how to operate it, and that was to be expected. The scientists however, could figure it out with ease. Moments later the platform started descending into the ground, much to the delight of the scientists and to the satisfaction of the guards. As the platform kept descending, Spark Fire simply looked at the steel walls surrounding them. To the other ponies it seemed like if he was just staring at nothing, but Spark Fire was actually carefully observing the walls, looking for anything suspicious. He apparently was the only pony to notice that something seemed off.

When the platform reached its destination, the guards and scientists were impressed by how deep it was. To them it seemed like they had gone from the top of the highest tower in Canterlot to near the base of the mountain the city was built on. They had no time to keep thinking about comparisons, as a hallway in front of them was revealed by a path of flickering lights. The guards began to walk first, following the lights, being followed by the scientists, who were being followed themselves by Spark Fire. While being the last one walking did not serve any tactical purpose, it did help him notice something that would have scared anypony not in the military: there was green slime on some parts of the walls.

Author's Note

This is my first attempt at a REAL fanfiction. Constructive critcism welcome.