//------------------------------//
// Gotta catch 'em all 
// Story: To Test is Science! 
// by Crimson Star 
//------------------------------//

Ace sat at the pub table with Spike and Spark Plug. A triple date, the girls called it. It was starting to feel more like a get together. The girls got up to get some more drinks, letting the guys hang back and chat. Ace turned to Spark with a smile. "So how's Rainbow doing, Spark?"

Spark returned the smile, shrugging. "She's good. We recently had a chat about everypony getting married. We kicked around the idea, but she wasn't too comfortable with it. She wanted to guarantee her entry into the Wonderbolts, first."

"Same with me and Rarity." Spike cut in. "Rarity wants to marry, but we both think I'm too young. I guess you're stuck with me in waiting for your filly to come around."

Spark shifted uncomfortably. "Should we really discuss this with the girls getting the drinks?" He asked. "We're kinda getting a bit personal."

Ace cocked an eyebrow at Spark, smiling. "Oh, you think they're not discussing us over there, Spark?" He laughed, indicating the three mares at the bar. "Oh, relax. I'm sure Rainbow has plenty of interesting stories to tell about you."

Spark shrunk down in his seat. "That's what I'm afraid of."

*****

Rainbow laughed alongside her friends. The story she was telling seemed quite enthralling. "Wait, wait, it gets better! He was trying to fix the lightning conductor, right? Well it turned out the conductor still had a charge! So when he tapped it with his wrench, there was a big bolt of electricity..." Rainbow stifled a laugh. "...And when the smoke cleared, he looked like a giant puffball!"

The girls burst out in a bout of laughter. They settled some, before Pinkie spoke, still giggling at the story. "But he was alright, right?"

Rainbow snickered. "Oh, yeah. He gets zapped so much, he's immune to it, by now!"

Rarity gasped, impressed with Spark Plug’s willingness to continue his job, given the circumstances. "Gracious. That sounds like a dangerous line of work."

Rainbow shrugged, waving a dismissive hoof. "Nah, Spark's tough enough to handle it." She said, turning to look at the subject of conversation with a smile. Her smile quickly became a look of worry, as she saw an entourage of mercenaries approaching Ace. "Speaking of dangerous work, Pinkie, you might wanna look over at the table."

*****

Ace looked up at his visitors with a coy grin. "Gentlemen." He spoke, as he stood. “How tall is the grass growing, today? Would you say it’s...” He suddenly stood at attention, and held his hand out in a Nazi salute. “...this high?”

Colonel Da Rocha, the mercenary that seemed to lead the group, gave Ace a deadpan look. "Quaint, doutor. Very quaint." His voice sounded from the speaker on his neck.

Ace shrugged. "Are you lost, guys? The rally's over in Buttfuck, Nowhere.” He indicated a random direction, before folding his arms. “What are you doing here?"

Before anyone could answer, a young mercenary responded to Ace. "Us, going to a gay rally? Only in your dreams."

"Oh, we got a live one." Ace beamed, letting out a chuckle. "If I was dreaming about your ugly mug, I'd be screaming from the night terrors. Seriously, does your wife make you wear a paper bag when you have sex? Or have you ever gotten laid?"

The mercenary harrumphed, straightening himself. "As a matter of fact, I do have a wife. And unlike yours, she is a lovely specimen of perfection. Of course, comparing anything on two legs to your wife would not be fair game, seeing as you bed with what belongs in a glue factory."

Ace’s smile turned into a frown. "I expected better from a bunch of jerkoffs who hold themselves in such high regard.” He said, taking a seat. “You here to trade blows? Let me know when you can hit something besides the other cocks in your circlejerk." He dismissed them simply by extending his middle finger, and displaying it towards the Nazis.

The young merc was about to respond, until Da Rocha laid a large hand on his shoulder. "We are hardly here for you, doutor. We're here as part of the investigation into who attacked your base."

Ace looked up, resting his arms on the top of the booth’s chair. "That's nice. You already have the reports from my base, so why aren't you out there looking for whoever did it? You don't need anything else from me."

Da Rocha’s neck speaker sounded as he wagged a finger. "You are presumptuous, doutor Sorou. As I said, we're not here for you. We're here for your friend." As he spoke, the two mercenaries with Da Rocha grabbed Spark Plug, putting a ring on his horn that seemed to prevent him from using magic.

Ace immediately shot out of his seat in the time it took for Rainbow to fly up into Da Rocha’s face. "Hey, what's the big idea?!"

Da Rocha ignored Rainbow, using his large hand to push her out of the way. "Spark Plug, you are under arrest for attacking the Ponyville Royal Garrison.” He announced, as the other mares arrived. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in the court of law."

"WHAT?! Sparky can't have done it!" Pinkie protested.

Ace slammed his hands down on the table in front of him. "You don't have any evidence against him! You're just doing this to piss me off!" He accused.

Da Rocha allowed himself a smirk. "Oh? Do you have any evidence saying that it was not him that attacked your base?"

“I...erm...” Ace was at a loss for words. By any account, the law was against him. He quickly looked for support from the other ponies.

Rainbow spoke up quickly, trying to help Ace. "He was with me the whole night of the attack! I was spending some time with him at his place!"

"Can anyone besides yourself collaborate your story?" Da Rocha asked.

Rainbow shook her head. "No, we were alone! Who else would there be?!"

"Then without an airtight alibi, he is the prime suspect." Da Rocha turned to the other mercenaries. "Take him away."

"Not if I have anything to say about it!" Rainbow was about to shoot forward, but Ace’s arms caught her by the chest. Rainbow struggled in Ace’s grasp, trying desperately to free herself and save Spark Plug. "Let me go! I'm not letting them take Spark away from me!"

“Don’t do anything stupid, Rainbow!” Ace demanded. "Believe me, I wanna help him just as much as you do! But we can't do anything, right now! Getting yourself thrown in jail won't help Spark!" His words carried with them too much logic, and Rainbow stopped struggling, tears forming in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but there's nothing we can do."

Da Rocha and his mercenaries took Spark Plug, who struggled to try and get away. Rainbow and the others could only watch helplessly as their friend was taken from them, tears forming in Rainbow’s eyes.

Rainbow sniffed, trying to maintain her composure. She looked up at Dr. Sorou with pleading eyes. "What's gonna happen to him?"

Ace sighed, shaking his head. "I don't know. But I promise you, no matter what happens, I'll make sure Spark is safe." As Pinkie and Rarity did their best to try and comfort Rainbow, Ace went to a corner of the tavern that was relatively secure. He tapped a few buttons on his PDA, bringing out his microphone. “Blueskull, this is Surgeon. Do you copy?”

***** 

That night, there was an explosion outside Ace’s base, just like there was a week ago. An alarm sounded in the night, as the order came over the loudspeaker.  "This is HQ to all forces! We're under attack! Enemy position unknown! Assault teams, investigate all sectors! All other units, take defensive positions!"

The base was a flurry of activity, as Ace sat at the command console for his bots. Every single one appeared as a red blip on his computer’s map screen. Nothing was cause for concern yet, all the teams were in their designated positions. He risked a glance over at Sugarcube corner, and cocked an eyebrow. There weren’t any units there. He looked along the route going to Sugarcube corner. Again, no red blips. Worried, he reached for his individual radio. "Guard Unit Alpha, status report." He spoke into it. Silence greeted him. He spoke again. "What's going on? Respond!" He waited a few seconds. No response. Worried by this development, Ace started relaying an order to the closest available unit. "Communications with Guard Unit Alpha have ceased! Assault Team Delta, carry out a search immediately!"

Ace watched eight blips on his map head to Sugarcube Corner. He prayed that his worst fear hadn’t been realized, but as the bots stopped only a block away from the objective’s destination, he knew what the report was before it came in. "Report: We're under attack! Four bots down!" Crackled his radio.

Ace gritted his teeth, silently cursing, before speaking into the microphone on his PDA. "Understood! Sending reinforcements! Fan out, and secure the perimeter! Eliminate all intruders, and secure Guard Unit Alpha's objective!" He knew it would be pointless to give that order. The perpetrators had plenty of time to get away. But he felt he should, anyway, on the off chance that she might be still in the area.

*****

A number of ponies had shown up, Ace having given the all clear. The bots had formed a police line around the four other bots that had been taken down. Ace himself was investigating the cause of the bot’s destruction, running scans of each unit from his PDA. The ponies were too noisy. Their clamoring was distracting Ace from his thoughts, and he couldn’t concentrate. He looked over at Hydro-bot, giving a wordless order. Hydro-bot floated up above the ponies, and emitted a high pitched squeal. The ponies all stopped chattering, and looked up. “Doctor Sorou is busy determining the perpetrator behind this attack.” Hydro-bot said, a feminine electronic voice stated. “Return to your homes, and an official statement will be given as soon as one is prepared.”

Rainbow tried to go up to Ace, being the only pony who stayed behind, but one of the bots blocked her. “Statement: This is a crime scene. No one is allowed on the premises until the investigation is complete.”

“She’s an exception, deebee-twenty-seven.” Ace said, standing. “Let her in.”

Rainbow flew over, looking at the wrecked bots, and seeing a solemn look on Ace’s face. "What happened, Doc?" She asked.

Ace glared down at the bots, never facing Rainbow. "They took Pinkie." He stated.

Rainbow did a double take. "What?! Who?!"

"It was Manglanosa." Ace concluded.

Rainbow looked at him skeptically. "Not that I don't believe you, but how can you be sure?"

"I'm pretty sure." Ace said, going up to one of the downed Doc-bots, and indicating the bullet holes in his torso and head. "Unless a pony can use a submachine gun to grease a robot."

Rainbow came to the same conclusion Ace did. The only ones who could’ve possibly done this were Dr. Manglanosa’s forces. She also realized the course of action Ace had intended to take. "When do we get them back?" She asked.

"No sense in wasting time. Let's go." Ace tapped a few buttons on his PDA, and from his base arose legions of bots, ready for combat against any enemy. A Doc-bot brought him his Royal Guard armor, and helped him don it. Floating down from the sky was his Sorou-mobile, on standby. Ace boarded his Sorou-mobile, and led an incredible number of bots toward Dr. Manglanosa’s camp. Rainbow flew next to Ace, intending to see this through. Thousands of bots of various models marched toward Ghastly Gorge, all led by Ace’s unique bots. The war was on.