//------------------------------//
// Monsters 
// Story: To Test is Science! 
// by Crimson Star 
//------------------------------//

Ace regarded his bot with pride, as a father would look on a promising son. The machine was his child, but not in the same sense as the being currently growing inside his wife's belly. Ace loved it as if it was, all the same. He loved all his creations, there was no doubt about it. He counted on their love and loyalty that he programmed into them. Now more than ever, he needed Slender-bot at the ready. "Slender-bot, you've been selected for this mission because you possess the ability to instantaneously travel great distances, and are programmed to be stealthy when the situation calls for it." He told him. "As a member of my Loyal Guard, I'm assigning you the task of acquiring our trump cards. CABAL has determined that Manglanosa lived in Brazil. I need you to go there, and collect the packages."

Using his PDA, Ace brought up a schematic of the positronic brain he built for Slender-bot. It could only be described as layers upon layers of high-capacity computer chips forming the shape of an actual human brain, all working in conjunction with each other. "I've upgraded you with a new ability. My research into magic has granted me knowledge on how to manipulate theta waves. Using this new research, I've given you the ability to telepathically delve into a person's mind, and modify or erase their memory as you see fit." Ace had been cautious about this. He also installed a subroutine that made sure the ability would not activate, should he be the target. He trusted his bots, but he wanted to verify that they could be trusted.

The schematic changed to a map of the area surrounding Ponyville. "You'll need this ability in this mission. Use my portal to go back to Earth." A red dot flashed on the map, indicating the location of Ace's portal. "Be careful. I don't know what kind of effects the change in natural and physical laws will have on you, but preliminary theories state that you should still be functional after you go through. Remember; your loyalties on this mission don't lie with Equestria. They lie with me. Good luck."

*****

John descended the stairs to Ace's lab. He didn't know what to expect, and he felt that Ace might think he was a stereotypical 'Licensed to kill' super agent. Then again, with the threat of blackmail hanging over his head, John didn't have much choice in the matter, and had to pull this off, despite Ace's possible misconceptions about secret agents. "Alright, Doctor. How do you want me to do this? I'm going in without backup, right?" He asked, remembering the stereotypical format they have in movies.

"Wrong." Ace corrected with a smile, spinning around. "You'll have backup, but I'll get to that in a minute." Ace pointed his finger to the ground, indicating that John should stand there. In between them, a table popped out from a hidden compartment in the floor, and a holographic, three-dimensional map appeared. "This is a layout of the Nazi camp as seen from above. Up-to-the-minute information on guard movements is being streamed directly to my computer." Red blobs were moving on the map, quite possibly indicating guards. "The biggest gap in their defenses is here." Ace pointed along the Southern facing fence. "At any point in time, there are fewest guards along this fence. A Mine-bot managed to make a small opening going under their fence. That's your entryway. Once you're inside, procure a uniform from this structure." Ace pointed at a building on the map, which flashed red. "They shouldn't recognize you, since you've gone out off your way to prevent yourself from being noticed whenever their men come into town."

John was pretty impressed with the display thus far, but when Ace revealed this little tidbit, John let his surprise cross his face. He chuckled, holding a hand behind his head. "You noticed that, huh?"

"I know someone sticking to the shadows when I see it. Learned it from the Oblivion map we played on." Ace snapped his fingers, and the map disappeared back into the floor. Ace then gave John a PDA with a two-dimensional copy of the same map. "Anyway, movement within the camp should be relatively unhindered. I've marked off the most likely places the Nazis have secret information stored. Check those locations, get whatever info you can, and leave before you're discovered."

John blinked. This was actually a pretty solid plan, and he had to admit, more well thought out than some of the plans his superiors came up with. "So that's it? Sneak in, grab the intel, and get out? That seems like cake."

Ace grinned. "I'll be making it even easier for you. Come on." Ace led John down a flight of stairs into a small, featureless room. Ace merely snapped his fingers, and a part of the wall slid into the floor. Inside this secret room was a testing lab, where targets were set up, and various computers were running simulations on several different devices. Ace led John to a table, which had an assortment of trinkets, and turned to him. "John, are you a fan of James Bond?"

'Eeyup.' John thought, shrugging. 'Ace thinks I do what spies do in movies.' "I've seen a few movies." He admitted.

Ace smirked, picking something up off the table. "Well he's gonna wish he were you. Check this out." He handed the trinket to John.

John inspected the object in his hand, before cocking an eyebrow at Ace. "It's a wristwatch."

Ace nodded, holding up both his pointer fingers toward him. "It tells the time, yes, but that's not all it does." Ace reached over, and began demonstrating how to use the item. "By clicking these two buttons on the side, you activate a cutting laser hot enough to melt through an inch of steel. The beam only has enough power for two minutes of continuous fire, so use it sparingly." Ace smiled at John, taking a pair of sunglasses off the table and putting them on. "Next up are these sunglasses. The left lens is actually a high definition digital camera. If for any reason you can't actually grab the information, just press this button here, and it immediately saves the image you're looking at. You're gonna love the right lens. Close your eyes." Ace said, as he reached up to the right lens, and pressed a button. "Alright, now open them."

John opened his eyes, to see...himself wearing a pair of sunglasses!? He jumped back in surprise. "What the-?!"

Ace laughed at his reaction, before pointing to the shades. "Impressive, huh? If you're discovered inside the facility, and you need a quick disguise, use it. The right lens scans the facial features of any person you come across, and projects a holographic copy of their face over yours. The image stays on for as long as you're wearing the glasses, so don't take 'em off." Ace took off the shades, and John's face on his body flickered away.

John took the glasses, and smiled. "Wicked." He said, noticing a pen on the table. John nodded towards the pen. "What's that?" He asked.

Ace looked down, and grinned. "I'm glad you asked." He reached down, and picked up the pen. "If you're in really deep, and you need to blow your way out, this is the next best thing. Rather than making things explode, I thought I'd make them implode, instead. This is the singularity pen. It generates a short lived black hole that absorbs everything within ten feet. I made it to last for six to eight seconds." He handed the pen to John. "It's on a five second fuse, so click the top, toss it, and run."

Ace concluded by taking what looked like a GPS off the table, and showing it to John. "Finally, we have this. This is a mix between a radar, sonar, motion tracker, heartbeat sensor, and heat sensor. This electronic mapper will give you a real-time map of your surrounding area up to fifteen meters, and mark any life-forms within it's range with red dots. It can't tell the difference between friend or foe, but given where you're going, there's not gonna be any friends to worry about."

Ace began leading John out of the lab. "All other equipment is On-Site Procurement. Once you have the intel, contact me on this." Ace took out a bluetooth headset. "It's a secure, frequency-hopping communicator that links directly to my PDA. I'll be going by the codename 'Surgeon.' Your codename is 'Blueskull.' If I need to contact you, the earpiece will directly stimulate your eardrum so that you hear a small, rapid beep. No one but you will be able to hear it. After you get the information, I'll order a distraction. I have a new type of bot in Ghastly Gorge. He'll cause an landslide right underneath the camp. Use the ensuing chaos to escape the camp. Any questions?"

John was visibly impressed. This plan was surprisingly well thought out. He tried to think of any parts he wasn't clear on, but it all seemed straightforward. "None come to mind, Doc. I think you've covered anything."

Ace nodded, taking John by the shoulders. "Good. One other thing. You are not an expendable asset. If you're captured, I will do everything in my power to rescue you." He assured him. "Understood?"

John smiled at this. Seemed like he was wrong about Ace. He nodded. "Thanks, Doc. I won't let you down."

Ace patted his shoulder, letting him go. "Good. Now get moving. Let me know once you get to the mission area. And good luck."

*****

A bright red flash in Manglanosa's lab startled several guards into raising their weapons. They pointed their weapons at the offender, who turned out to be a unicorn with a blue coat and a set of goggles. "Manglanosa." She spoke. "The Master wishes for me to speak with you."

Manglanosa almost slammed his chemical compound on the table before him, as he growled in frustration. "Can't you see I'm in the middle of an important TEST?!" He shouted, spinning to meet the unicorn's eyes with his own, as the mercenaries lowered their weapons. "What is so important that your master simply cannot schedule an appointment?!"

The unicorn wasted no time asserting her authority. "I think I should remind you that it's only because of my Master's help that you were able to complete your Grandfather's creation, and that if you anger him, your place in Equestria is easily taken away." She informed him. Manglanosa, for his part, settled down, knowing he currently held no cards. Smugly grinning at her own superiority, Midnight Glow continued. "Now then, is there someplace more private we can go?"

Manglanosa harrumphed. "My laboratory is the extent of privacy on this base, Ms. Glow. All of my most trusted and most skilled mercenaries guard this place, and we are behind several layers of security. Were it not for your accursed Teleportation spell, not even you would find it so easy to get in."

"Well maybe you shouldn't have shown me this location, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to come in whenever I please." She mockingly chastised, before her expression turned more serious. "I abhor this place, so I'll make this short, and get to the point. The Master wants you to cause more direct trouble for the Bearers of Harmony. He wants you to hurt them, and he doesn't care how, so long as our true plans remain unhindered."

Manglanosa smirked. "Your Master is in luck. I was approached the mayor of the local town recently. She asked me to investigate the attack on Sorou's laboratory, since Sorou himself is forbidden to do so. I can use such a position to our mutual benefit."

"See that you do." Midnight announced, stepping closer to the table, before she noticed the rats. There were dozens of them in cages, and also what looked like a recently used fire pit right next to them. The chemicals on the table also looked strange. Being the Element of Bigotry, the polar opposite of the Element of Magic, she unknowingly shared many similar qualities to her harmonious counterpart, including her lust for knowledge. She felt the need to satisfy her curiosity, if only to sleep at night. "Doctor, the Master also wishes to know what you are doing her in the lab."

Manglanosa gave a smile. If there was one thing he took pride in, it was his scientific endeavors. "I'm delving into secrets man was not meant to know." He said, waving Midnight closer as he returned to work. "This serum, when completed, will create the perfect predator. The subject retains their knowledge and consciousness, as well as grows exponentially." He pointed at one of his mercenaries, and spoke. "Trazer um." The mercenary marched over to one of the cages with rats, and brought it over. Manglanosa took some of the serum, and prepared an injection. "When completed, the serum will give my mercenaries an edge in combat no other army has." Manglanosa reached inside the cage with a gloved hand, and took the rat out. He injected it, and proceeded to toss it at the opposite wall.

The rat grew, becoming bigger, and lashing out, as muscles burst from the flesh, giving it a sinewy torso and limbs. Midnight looked on with interest as the jaw of the rat became something more like a skeletal beak, and it's flesh tore as spines started jutting out fro it's back. It flexed it's hands, and gave out a tremendous roar. The creature's red eyes settled on one of the mercenaries, as the pony sized monster suddenly pounced, ripping out the man's chest. "Alarme! Alarme!" Another mercenary spoke as he opened fire. Manglanosa remained calm, and made his way over to a strange weapon on the wall.

The bullets impacted the creature, who looked up, and swiped at the man, it's wounds rapidly closing. The mercenary held up his gun to block, but the razor sharp claws and the immense strength behind them tore through the weapon. Stumbling, and falling onto his back, the mercenary brought out his sidearm, unloading an entire clip into the monster. The monster shook off the temporary pain, and opened it's maw, snarling as it closed in on the man.

Suddenly, a bolt of lightning streamed towards the rat-creature, causing it intense pain, as it fell to the ground, letting out a high-pitched squeal. Manglanosa closed in on the creature, continuing to mercilessly zap the being with the weapon in his hand. For about a minute, the creature's screams turned to whines, before they stopped altogether. Manglanosa grinned, lowering his weapon. "Ah, a success!" He announced, raising his protective goggles from his face. "I'm glad you were present for this, Midnight! You can rest easy knowing that the torment of Bearers of Harmony lies in my hands."

"I'm glad to see that." Midnight replied, visibly impressed. "The master will be most pleased." Her horn began to glow red, and with a loud crack, she disappeared, teleporting back to her base of operations.

Manglanosa quickly ordered his troops to give the brave soldier a proper burial, and put the rat corpse on one of his autopsy tables. He then grabbed his tape recorder, and happily gave a report. "Day eighty. Subject fifty-five was a complete success. The subject appears to have been stable, and conventional weapons were unable to stop it. A more contained trial will be necessary, but if all bodes well, human testing may begin tomorrow." He lowered his recorder, before a thought crossed his mind, and he spoke into it again. "Note to self: add 'Tesla Rifle' to the list of inventions Sorou stole from my grandfather."