Chapters When Flash had told Sunset Shimmer that he would foot any bill for her birthday, he hadn't expected her to choose scuba diving. Not that it was expensive, because it wasn't, but he just hadn't expected it. Of course, he wasn't complaining, either. Sunset Shimmer looked alluring in her scuba suit. And of course the rest of the underground habitat looked good. He and Sunset Shimmer had been exploring a section of coral when Flash noticed that the fish seemed to be avoiding a specific area of coral. Flash swam towards it slowly, searching for any visual cues of why they avoiding it.
"Hey, where are you going?" Sunset Shimmer asked, the communicator crackling to life.
"All these fish seem to be avoiding around this area," Flash said, pointing to the area in question. "Don't you think that's a little odd?" Sunset Shimmer seemed to shrug.
"Eh, not really," she said. "Although, in Equestria, usually animals avoid certain areas because there's a large dangerous animal."
"Yeah, good point, maybe we shouldn't go towards it," Flash said.
"No, now that you've pointed it out, I want to check it out," Sunset Shimmer said. Flash sighed.
Women , he thought.
"I heard that, Sunset Shimmer said. She was probably grinning mischievously. "I can read your mind, remember?"
"Shut up," Flash said. "Let's just see what it is that the fish are avoiding." As they swam around the reef, Sunset Shimmer pointed out something that Flash hadn't noticed.
"How are those clams staying on those rocks like that?" Sunset Shimmer asked, pointing to an oddly, almost human looking bit of the reef.
"I don't know," Flash said. "But I'll go check it out." As he swam towards it, he couldn't help put think of how it looked freakishly like a human. A female human. And the clams would've covered up her boobs.
Must be one of those freaky underwater statues, Flash thought as he stopped next to it. Flash grabbed the right clam and started to tug. It didn't come off. He tried with greater force. It still wouldn't come off. Finally, he dug his fingernails under the clam, put his legs up against the rest of the reef and pulled. And it started moving. But it wasn't the only thing that moved. A hand slapped over his hand, and a voice rang out. Somehow, despite being underwater, Flash could hear it.
"Eww, what are you doing, you pervert?! Don't touch my girls!" it said. Flash looked at the reef wall he was on to discover that his previous assumption was only half true. It wasn't a statue of a girl. It was a girl. A mermaid. Her strangely colored deep purple and deep blue tail swung powerfully at Flash, successfully slapping his head into the reef. His vision almost went black, but he stayed conscious, although very out of it. He heard Sunset Shimmer yelling his name over and over again, but he groaned and tolled her to stay away. But he had been in several fight before. He raised his hands above his head, blocking another fish tail slap from the girl. It still hurt like hell, but at least now he hadn't been knocked out. As his arms went back to his sides, he pushed himself off of the reef, turned around and looked at the girl again. She was staring angrily at him, her turquoise colored skin reddening, her bronze looking hair swaying in the current, her boobs swaying and floating in the same current. Flash raised his hands in surrender.
"Look, I'm sorry!" he said. He hoped that she could hear what he was saying. "I thought you were a part of the reef!" The girls face started to soften, and she sighed, which was strangely audible.
"That makes sense," she said, her voice echoing with a strange, ethereal sounding voice. "Still, it's super weird being woken up by someone trying to take one of your clams off. I thought you were that man again, but you aren't. How long have I been here?" Flash glanced at Sunset Shimmer. He gestured at her to stay where she was.
"Um, I don't know," Flash said. "What man?" The girl shrugged.
"I don't know, he never stated his name," she said. "But that's not important at the moment. Where are we?"
"We're near the Canterlot City Harbor," Flash said. "At least, that's the nearest city zone, anyway." The girl shook her head, looking around her. She seemed scared.
"No, I don't care about this Canterlot City," she said. "This isn't anywhere near my home!" She turned around and swam upward, stopping just over the coral reef. She slowly turned around, searching for something. Flash swam upwards and rested besides her. Her eyes seemed to redden, and she sniffled.
I think she's lost, Flash thought. How far away is she from.....wherever it is that she lived?
"What's your name?" he asked. The girl didn't speak for so long that Flash thought she didn't hear him. He was about to repeat his question when she finally said "Submersive Exploration."
"Submersive Exploration," Flash said. "Where are you from? Are you a mermaid?" Submersive Exploration turned and looked at Flash.
"I guess I'm what you would call a mermaid," she said. "As for where I'm from, that's a little more complected." Sunset Shimmer cleared her throat. Submersive Exploration turned and stared at Sunset Shimmer.
"Is it a long story kind of complicated, or a short kind, because we don't have very much air left," Sunset Shimmer said. "And unlike you, we can't breath underwater." Submersive Exploration sighed.
"Ok, it is a long story, but I can follow you two home. Is that ok?" she asked. Flash smiled and nodded.
"Yes, but how are you going to follow us?" he asked. "You have a tail. That's going to attract attention." Submersive Exploration nodded and smiled ruefully.
"Don't worry, thankfully, my kind evolved with several techniques that helped them survive," she said. "But I will need help getting to either of your homes."
"What kind of survival techniques?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
The boat that Flash had rented was piloted by himself. He hadn't wanted to hire one because of two reasons: One, he just didn't want to use the extra money, and two: He didn't want one there just in case he and Sunset Shimmer got a little.....too physical. But, now that they had found Submersive Exploration, he was really glad that he hadn't hired one. It would've been really complicated to explain why there was a new girl in the boat, and even more so to explain her tail. However, Submersive Exploration had brought up her survival techniques, and those rose many questions. Apparently, she could change her tail into human((f)ish) legs, which she did as she jumped onto the boat and did. They were still scaly and the same color as before, but now they were legs. However, she didn't have any pants or anything to cover herself up, making Flash blush and look away. Sunset Shimmer was staring at Submersive Exploration's legs, which were crossed for obvious reasons.
"How do you do that?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"Before I answer that, what are your names?" Submersive Exploration asked.
"I'm Flash," Flash called from the wheel. Submersive Exploration snickered.
"That makes sense," she said. "You tried to uncover my girls." Said girls were sagging now that they were above water, and may have never had any support in their life. Flash blushed and Sunset Shimmer laughed for a few seconds.
"I'm Sunset Shimmer," she said holding out her hand. Submersive Exploration stared at her hand for a few seconds before Sunset Shimmer slowly and gently grabbed her hand and started shaking.
"Up and down," Sunset Shimmer said as their hands shook.
"We have something similar to this in Rippling Horizons," Submersive Exploration said. "That's the city I lived...live in, sorry. We put out noses together and rub them together."
"That's interesting and all, but how are you able to change your tail to legs?" Flash asked. He didn't (AKA couldn't) look back, but he guessed that Submersive Exploration had shaken her head.
"There's a legend about that," Submersive Exploration said. "Millions of years ago, before civilizations were formed, there was a man who lived on a tiny island. His name was lost in time, unfortunately, but he loved to swim. He always swam in his free time, and one day a massive tsunami struck his little island home, and it sunk. There wasn't any other land for thousands of miles, and even the man couldn't swim that far. But he still tried. He saw, all day and all night for several days, until finally, he stopped. He was too exhausted to continue. But the great goddess Tanggong took pity on him."
"Tanggong?" Flash asked. "Her name is remembered, but not the mans?" Submersive Exploration scowled.
"Of course we remembered Tanggong!" she said. "She was responsible for the creation of our species! Anyway, Tanggong took pity on the man, and gave him the choice of guaranteed survival or the choice of leaving him there to try and fend for himself. He took survival. Tanggong took a sample of every fish type, and gave their most powerful attribute to him, and of course, a tail and gills. Of course, he still wanted to go to land, to try and make a new life for himself there, but Tanggong showed him what would happen. Only death would greet him on the mainland. So Tanggong gave him knowledge on how to build using coral, how to hunt with his voice, and even gave him a mate. But the man still wanted to go back to the mainland. Knowing that she couldn't stop him, she gave him one last ability: He could change his tail into human legs. However, they still kept their scaly forms. The man and his wife, whose name was also forgotten, wandered until they found land."
"Wait, the wives name was also forgotten?" Flash asked. Submersive Exploration sighed.
"Yes, her name was also forgotten," she said. "Anyway, they transformed and walked onto the land. But, unfortunately, Tanggong was right. They were mistreated and chased out of town. When they returned to their underwater home, Tanggong had left, but she had left one final order and a surprise: Two more merfolk and the order to mate. Mate until there was an entire village. They did that, and much more. There are entire cities under the sea, built from beautiful materials, and beasts we have mastered to protect them." The group was silent for a half minute as Flash pulled the boat up to one of the piers. As the boat motor stopped and Flash tied the boat to the pier, Sunset Shimmer spoke. Her eyes had teared up a little.
"Wow, that sounds beautiful," she said. "But how did you get stuck to that coral? And how did you camouflage yourself so well?" Submersive Exploration shrugged.
"I don't know how I got there, but as for the camouflaging..." Submersive Exploration sighed and shook her head. "I'm not sure I was." Flash turned around to say something, but instead started to giggle. Submersive Exploration frowned. "What?"
"I'm sorry," Flash said. "It's just I didn't realize that your hair would do that." Submersive Exploration lightly gasped.
"Do what?" she said as she started feeling her hair. "Oh, why is it all poofy?!" Sunset Shimmer started giggling as Submersive Exploration tried to flatten down her hair.
"That must've been because of all the salt water!" Flash said. "Anyway, we're going to have to do some walking now, to get to my car. Sunset Shimmer, I know you packed extra clothes. Do you mind letting her borrowing them?" Sunset Shimmer nodded, trying to grin to widely at Submersive Exploration's sudden poofyness and her reaction to it.
"Yeah, they're in the bag up there," Sunset Shimmer said, pointing to one of the bags under the wheel. Flash picked it up and tossed it to Sunset Shimmer. Sunset Shimmer started ruffling through the bag and pulled out some clothes. She handed them to Submersive Exploration. "Here, put these on." Submersive Exploration eyed the clothes.
"You're sure you're okay with me wearing these?" she asked. Sunset Shimmer nodded. Submersive Exploration smiled and slipped on the white and pink shirt on. As she prepared to put on the black pants, she eyed Flash. He was already turned around. She looked at Sunset Shimmer.
"Turn around," Submersive Exploration said. Sunset Shimmer suddenly blushed and squeaked "Sorry!" before turning around. Submersive Exploration uncrossed her legs and slipped the pants on as quick as she could. She stood up stretched her legs. "Okay, you two can look." Flash and Sunset Shimmer turned back to face Submersive Exploration. Sunset Shimmer sighed in relief.
"Oh, good, it fits," she said.
"Eh, kinda," Submersive Exploration said. "It's a little tight." It hugged her curves tightly, especially her boobs and butt. "Let's just go and figure out what to do from there." As they got into the car and Flash started it up, ready to go to the place where they had rented the scuba stuff, they had no idea what was being plotted, thousands of miles away. Halfway across the country, there was a meeting taking place. An old, frail looking man was being ushered into a room with two men sitting at a desk. One of the men was holding a syringe of translucent, glowing white liquid. The man holding the syringe stood up and thanked the guards who had ushered the older man in.
"Now, look at this man. Not exactly threatening, right?" the syringe holder said. "However, when he gets a dose of this stuff, well, you'll see what happens." The syringe entered the older mans arm, and started pumping the stuff inside of it into the man's bloodstream. As the syringe exited, the old man started groaning, and clutched his arm. Then he collapsed to his knees, and his figure started to change. His legs started to melt together and started to shine under the light of the lamp. Gills started to grow on his neck, and his eyes grew a protective film. The man sitting at the desk was leaned forward as the old man fell face first onto the ground. His jaw was hanging low, and his eyes were sparkling in excitement.
"I don't know how you did it, but you just changed his species!" he said excitedly. He stuck out his hand. "Do we have a deal?" The man holding the now empty syringe grinned maliciously and shook the man's hand.
"I accept your terms and conditions," the syringe holder said.
Cultural differences and indifferences
Flash and Sunset Shimmer were in and out of the scuba diving renting place pretty quick. As they got back into Flash's car, in their own dry cloths, they heard Submersive Exploration's stomach gurgle. They both glanced back at her, who had a rather guilty looking expression.
"Sorry," Submersive Exploration said. "Breathing air always makes my stomach rather upset."
"So the air makes you....airy?" Sunset Shimmer said with a giggle. Submersive Exploration and Flash groaned.
"That was terrible," Flash said. He started the car, the engine purring to life, and started exiting the parking lot.
"Are we able to lower to glass on these doors?" Submersive Exploration asked.
"Yes," Flash said. "Why?" A few seconds later, he got a response. Just not in English. As Flash's and Sunset Shimmer's eyes started to water, Flash used the drivers control all button and rolled all 4 windows down. He stuck his head out of the window, trying to breath in fresh air. But the stench was just too powerful. Sunset Shimmer was doing the same thing on her side.
"Why?!?!" she exclaimed. "How does something so deadly come from someone who seems so innocent?"
"I'm so sorry!" Submersive Exploration squeaked with a massive blush reddening her cheeks. Those weren't the only cheeks that were reddening, as she let out another horrendous fart, releasing another wave of terrible stench.
"Why now?!" Flash asked, his fingers pinching his nose close, as his head was brought back into car. "Why weren't you farting earlier?" Submersive Exploration farted again before answering.
"My gills take in the oxygen that's in the water, but it's sort of filtered. The raw oxygen coming in through my nose and mouth go straight to my stomach, forming bubbles that burst quite easily," Submersive Exploration said. "It's a lot different, farting underwater. How close are we to your house?"
"Fortunately, we're close," Flash said. "Once we get there, we can get you out of Sunset Shimmer's clothes." Sunset Shimmer made a gagging motion outside the car window.
"Oh, no, she can keep them," Sunset Shimmer said.
"No, I can't keep these," Submersive Exploration said. "Although, I will need to keep them until I have some clothes of my own." They turned into a residential area. After a minute of (sort of) quite, they turned into Flash's drive way. As Flash and Sunset Shimmer opened their doors as fast as they could to escape the stench, Submersive Exploration took her time, looking over Flash's house. She didn't know if it was good for human houses, but it was big, and even though it wasn't made of coral, it still looked rather nice. She spotted a small garden in the front. It also looked nice, even though Submersive Exploration couldn't recognize any of the plants growing in it. As Submersive Exploration walked up towards the door, she admired the colored glass on the walls. It was hard making glass in general underwater, what with the danger of broiling yourself by accident. As she continued through the hall, she saw framed images on the walls, some holding what appeared to be a young Flash with two older people, probably his parents, and some with just the two others. They fascinated her. They had something similar to these in Rippling Horizon. None of the cities she knew of did. She continued down the hallway, looking through each open door until she saw Flash and Sunset Shimmer. She entered the door. It looked like a kitchen.
"Do you want to go clothes shopping now?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "I know a great place to get good clothes." Submersive Exploration smiled and nodded.
"Sure, now is good," she said. "Who is this friend?"
"Hello, dear, I'm Rarity," said the white skinned girl in front of Submersive Exploration. Rarity turned to Sunset Shimmer. "I didn't expect to see you here today, Sunset Shimmer. I know you went scuba diving with Flash today." Rarity's eyebrows wiggled. "How did it go?" Sunset Shimmer nodded at Submersive Exploration.
"Well, we met her," Sunset Shimmer said. "It's all very interesting." Submersive Exploration shot Sunset Shimmer a dirty look.
"Before you say anything else, can she be trusted?" Submersive Exploration asked. Rarity's eyes bounced between the two, her curiosity aroused.
"Well, I like to think so, especially with my clients," Rarity said. Sunset Shimmer nodded.
"She is, don't worry," Sunset Shimmer said. "Besides, she likes to measure people. She would start asking when she sees." Submersive Exploration sighed.
"Fine," she said. "Please, you can't tell anyone else, Rarity." Rarity nodded.
"Don't worry, around certain things, I am legal bound to not say anything," she said. Submersive Exploration nodded. She pointed at one of the curtained area's.
"Is that where you measure people?" she asked. Rarity nodded. "Then lets get this over with." As they entered the room, Sunset Shimmer sat down and waited. After a few seconds, she heard Rarity gasp.
"Sunset Shimmer, where did you go?" she heard Rarity asked.
"Not important," Submersive Exploration said. "Now, please, I need some clothes." Rarity, now giddy with excitement over meet a mermaid, started measuring. But after a little, another question arouse.
"Um, Submersive Exploration? Can you take your clams off?" Rarity asked.
"Why?" she asked suspiciously. "Why do you need to measure my girls?"
"So I can give you a proper cup size," Rarity said.
"Cup size?" Submersive Exploration asked. "Why do I need a cup?"
"For your breasts," Rarity said. "To help support them. Yours are....sagging....just a little."
"Oh," Submersive Exploration said. "Fine, then." The rest of the measurements took place in relative quietness. Fortunately, incredible fortunately, Submersive Exploration didn't start farting again. That would've been terrible. Especially while Rarity was measuring Submersive Exploration's butt. As Submersive Exploration and Rarity walked out of the measuring room, Rarity told Submersive Exploration to go look at the outfits, and started talking to Sunset Shimmer.
"We should tell the others, or at least Twilight," Rarity said. "Twilight would love this." Sunset Shimmer nodded.
"Twilight would love it," she said. "But I don't think we should tell anyone without Submersive Exploration's okay."
"I know, but it's just so cool!" Rarity said excitedly. "I mean, isn't it every young girls dream to meet a mermaid?"
"I don't know about this world, but I didn't," Sunset Shimmer said. "Although it is pretty cool. According to her mythology, her species was created by the goddess Tanggong."
"This is amazing," Rarity said. "Wait other kind of mythology did she have?" Sunset Shimmer shrugged.
"I'm not sure. Submersive Exploration hasn't said," she said. "But either way, it's fascinating." Meanwhile, on the other side of the store, Submersive Exploration was checking out the shirts, while also listening in on what Sunset Shimmer and Rarity were saying. Sound moved so much easier through air than it did underwater. As they talked about how fascinating it was that she, as a species existed, she thought about how she had been trapped on the coral reef, but she couldn't come up with a logical conclusion. The closest she could come to was a highly advanced form of forced camouflage, or a...no, that was ridiculous. Those weren't common to find, even for a mermaid, so what were the odds a human found one? She was able to camouflage herself against all types of backgrounds, but she had taken on the physical attributes of the coral. How had that happened? And what had that man done to her? The last thing she remembered was his pale brown hand plunging something he had called a syringe into her neck. He attention came back to the present when Rarity started repeating her name. Submersive Exploration looked at Rarity.
"Yeah?" Submersive Exploration asked.
"I've found some clothes near your size," Rarity said. "I should be done with the clothes in your exact size done by tomorrow, though." Submersive Exploration smiled and nodded.
"Thank you," she said. "What do I owe you?" Rarity shook her head.
"No, you don't owe me anything," she said. "First time is always free." Submersive Exploration smiled again.
"Are you sure?" she asked. "I can pay you later, if you'll except crokners, agoms, gongics, or precious gems." Rarity smiled confusedly and nodded.
"Well, I don't know what the first three are, but precious gems...you would be willing to trade cloths for precious gems?" Rarity asked. Submersive Exploration nodded.
"Some of the better clothes in Rippling Horizon cost gems," she said. "Only the finest of the fine, and with the most skill."
"Most skill?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, a few thousand years ago, we figured out how to give them abilities, so the wearer could obtain that ability," Submersive Exploration said. "Haven't humans?" Rarity shook her head.
"You and I need to have a talk later," she said. "I would love to be able to do that to my clothes." Submersive Exploration grinned.
"Well, okay then," she said. "In the meantime, I need to learn more one how the surface world works. Maybe you can join Flash and Sunset Shimmer and help them?" Rarity's eyes widened and she rose her hands up to her head.
"Yes!" Rarity exclaimed. "I would love to!"
Meanwhile, near the building where the two men had met, chemicals were being mixed, processed, and finally super-heated before squirted into vials, ready for either consumption or injection. The pale brown skinned man was standing on top of a staircase, watching the vials being loaded into creates, with an evil looking grin. As he stood and watched, one of the scientists walked up to him and started to talk.
"Sir, the results are back. Our study group was most informative," the scientist said. "They all successfully transformed, but there was a side effect on all of them."
"What was it?" the pale brown man said. The scientist gulped nervously.
"Nothing to be too worried about or anything, just a minor setback. We can get it fixed soon," he said. The pale brown man growled and turned angrily to face the scientist.
"What was the setback?" he growled threateningly.
"Death," said the scientist. "The side effect is death pleasedontkillme." The pale brown man growled.
"Just fix it," he finally said. "Fix it, or you'll be drinking it soon." The scientist turn and scampered off, wanting to run, but he knew that it could prove fatal.
Author's Note
Wow, this was a fun (and funny) chapter to write. I hope you liked it as much as I did.
From an evolutionary standpoint
The rest of the day pasted quickly with Rarity, Flash and Sunset Shimmer telling Submersive Exploration of the 'topside', as she called it. By the end of the day, when they all started heading to their homes to sleep, Flash asked Submersive Exploration where she wanted to sleep. Her answer surprised him a little.
"I'm good with you're bathroom," she said. "I'm feeling a little dried out, and if I sleep in your bathtub, I can fill that up and re-moisten." Flash nodded.
"Okay," he said. "If you're sure, than I don't see why not." So she did. She slept through the night, not being woken by anything. Then morning arrived, and Rarity and Sunset Shimmer arrived a little after Submersive Exploration and Flash had eaten some pancakes. Then Twilight was called. Submersive Exploration had wanted to wait on calling her, but Flash had insisted, saying that Twilight was one of the most trustworthy people he knew, not mention one of the smartest. Submersive Exploration was still a little skeptical, but ended up agreeing anyway. As Twilight knocked on the door, Flash opened it up and showed her to Submersive Exploration. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw the differences of Submersive Exploration's legs and the rest of her body.
"So you really are a mermaid," Twilight said slowly, stunned with the shock. "I thought Flash was pulling some kind of joke." Submersive Exploration shook her head.
"Nope, he was serious," she said. "I really am a mermaid." Twilight rubbed her temple.
"How?" she asked. "How are you a mermaid? Where's your tail?" Submersive Exploration stood up.
"Follow me to the bathroom, and you'll see the tail," she said. Twilight followed Submersive Exploration. After almost a minute, Twilight gasped loudly. And almost another minute later, both came back to the living room. Twilight's jaw was still hanging low.
"How can you do that?" Twilight asked. "I have so many questions!" Submersive Exploration smiled.
"Well, ask away," she said.
"Are those really fish scales? If so, does that make you part fish? If you are, do you live birth your kids, or do you lay eggs? If you do lay eggs, why do you have breasts?" Twilight asked, rapid firing her questions, giving Submersive Exploration no time to answer. "Do you wear clam's as bra's? If so, how do you measure clam sizes, and how do they support your breasts?" Finally, twilight inhaled, and Submersive Exploration was finally able to get her answers in.
"No, they are not fish scales, but they are incredible similar. It does not make us part fish, although we do have some of the same abilities that fish do. As for laying eggs or live birthing our kids, that depends on the mermaid's subspecies," Submersive Exploration said before Twilight started interrupting.
"Subspecies?" Twilight asked. "What do you mean by subspecies?" Submersive Exploration sighed, and Rarity, Flash and Sunset Shimmer leaned in closer, very interested in the subspecies thing as well.
"Well, there are different types of mermaids, like there are different types of fish," she started. "There are siren's, oyster arctic's, bering straits, alga arctics, subluceo's, concha's, stellatus's, angeler's, really, the list goes on and on."
"So what subspecies are you?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration sighed again.
"I'm what you would call an omnis," she said. "Or as the richer and higher class racists call us, full blooded."
"Is that a bad thing?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration shook her head.
"It means that I was born from parents that had all the other subspecies genetics in them already," she said. "Giving me the genetics of all of the subspecies. It's kinda rare to find one, but there are still villages and cities full of omnis's."
"So do you breastfeed? Do you give live birth?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration rolled her eyes.
"Yes, I give live birth, and yes, I breastfeed. And no, in case you're wondering, I have not had sex," Submersive Exploration said. "I am still a virgin. Now, to answer your other questions. Those subspecies who do lay eggs do not breastfeed, they just have lumps on their chests that look a little like breasts. I do wear clams to cover up my girls, but as for clam size, their is no real measurement system. And they don't support my girls. The bra's that Rarity gave me, though, are supposed to, apparently. They're also uncomfortable."
"I'm sorry, I'll try and see if I can make them more comfortable," Rarity said. Submersive Exploration turned to Rarity, smiled and nodded.
"What other questions do you have, Twilight?" Submersive Exploration asked.
"What kind of diet do you have? What kind of technologies do you have?" Twilight asked. "Are you vegetarian? Do you have milk? What kind of currency do you have? What kind of myths and legends do you have?"
"I eat meat and vegetables, and we do have milk. We have some pretty cool technology. We have uncovered ways to make non-luminescent stuff glow, ways to make our paints actually stick, transportation, we've even taken some of the stuff from the topside and modified it!" Submersive Exploration said. "As for currency, we use crokners, agoms, gongics, and precious gems. A cronker is a rectangular shaped pearl. We do use normal pearls, but usually we carve them into a rectangular shape. An agom is a polished, refined piece of ambergris, which is apparently used by humans as a perfume. And a gongic is made from the teeth of a mantis shrimp, and is worth the most."
"You make money from the teeth of a mantis shrimp?" Twilight asked. "Aren't mantis shrimp really dangerous?" Submersive Exploration smiled.
"For humans, yes, but for an omnis, no," Submersive Exploration said. "And as for myths..... Let me tell you a little story about our great goddess Tanggong." For the next few minutes, Submersive Exploration told Twilight (and Rarity) about the legend that she had already told to Flash and Sunset Shimmer. Twilight was fascinated by it, and Rarity was almost ecstatic. Once she was done, it was silent for a few seconds, before Rarity asked something.
"What kind of beasts do you control?" she asked.
"Well, humans already know of a couple," Submersive Exploration said. "There's what you call Godzilla, who is actually called Mortifer. And, of course, the kraken." Flash snickered.
"So you can release the kraken?" Flash asked.
"Yes. We can release the kraken," Submersive Exploration said. "Twilight, any more questions?"
"Yes, one last pressing one," Twilight said. "Do you have a heat week?" Submersive Exploration immediately started blushing furiously.
"Yes, we have a heat week," she said. "The males go through a similar process as well. Is there anything else you want to know?" Twilight grinned.
"Yes, several more," she said.
Meanwhile, the pale brown man was pacing his room, waiting for news from any of the scientists. He had been waiting for a while, his patience wearing thin. He had ordered the scientists to work thorough the whole night, and he had been hoping that it would be completed by the time he had gotten back to the lab. He turned around as he heard the door open and a scientist came scurrying in.
"It's complete!" he said. "We've finally completed it!!" He handed a vial of glowing white liquid to the pale brown man.
"How many people has this been tested on?" the pale brown man asked, his voice low, and almost at a growl, as he picked up the vial and eyed it.
"Uh, one," the scientist said. "Just one person."
"Then how can you be sure that it is complete?" the pale brown man growled. The scientist nervously gulped.
"Well, uh, we can't be certain yet of it, sir," he said. "I thought I should come and tell you about it."
"Well, you should add one more person to the tested area," the pale man said. The scientist opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but that was a mistake. In a motion that was almost too quick to see, the pale man used his thumb to remove the cork and lunged at the scientist. The pale brown man forced his hand into the scientists mouth, and forced it open even more. With his other hand, he tipped the vial of liquid down his throat. As the scientist swallowed the liquid, he groaned, and fell to his knees. His legs started to melt together, and started to develop scales. As the scientist's pants ripped the door swung open to reveal other scientists. They watched as the scientist continued to change, his tail lengthening, until finally it stopped. As some of the scientists picked him up and started carrying him to wherever it was that they tested on the merfolk mutants, one of them started talking to the pale brown man.
"That was a really risky move, you know," the scientist said. "He's one of our best scientists. He could've died."
"Oh, I know he could've," the pale brown man said. "But the serum needs to be perfect."
"I understand that," the scientist said. "But did you really have do that?"
"Yes," the pale brown man said. "It was necessary."
Twilight was finally finished with all of her questions. In total, it had taken about 30 minutes, not that Submersive Exploration was complaining. She liked Twilight. Except for Twilight's questions about her heat week, and how sex worked with merfolk. Submersive Exploration hadn't liked that at all. But she understood Twilight's wanting of knowledge. Submersive Exploration had asked several questions of her own about human culture, but for the most part, Twilight asked questions about Rippling Horizon and the technologies that merfolk had made.
"So, yes, to answer your question, our versions of cars are basically these small cylindrical things that are capable of extremely high speeds," Submersive Exploration said.
"Amazing," Twilight said. "The things we could learn from you."
"Aww, thanks!" Submersive Exploration said. "Just be glad I'm not like my grandparents."
"Why?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration frowned.
"They were extremely racist to anyone they thought 'lower' than themselves, which was basically every other subspecies," Submersive Exploration said. "That, and they were extremely.....active with each other. They were pretty gross." Twilight's face formed a look of disgust.
"That does sound gross," she said.
"Oh, it was so gross," Submersive Exploration said. Everyone was silent for a few seconds before Rarity raised her hand.
"Hey, how did you control those beasts that protect your cities?" she asked.
"That's a good question," Twilight said. "How do you control them?"
"That's the one thing I can't tell you," Submersive Exploration said. "That's a massive secret."
"Aww, why can't you say?" Twilight whined.
"It's too big!" Submersive Exploration said. "Too important. I know that none of you would do any of this, but if they fell into the wrong hands, or the information fell into the wrong hands, it might bring around the a war for the Ultimate Ma- I've said too much!"
"The ultimate what?" Twilight asked.
"War?" Flash asked. "Has there been a war in the past for this ultimate thing?" Submersive Exploration slowly nodded.
"I can't say anything else," she said. "The man that trapped me on the coral reef might somehow be listening!"
"Oh, the guy with the syringe?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration nodded. "I don't think he could. Besides, I don't think that would advance the plot very well." Everyone stared at Twilight for several seconds before Twilight said "What? I break the fourth wall sometimes, too!"
"Anyway, Twilight does bring up a relatively valid point," Sunset Shimmer said. "What could that man gain from putting a listening device on you?" Submersive Exploration shrugged.
"I'm not sure, but I'm probably the only mermaid he's ever met," she said. "So that's a possibility. Besides, I still don't know how long I was trapped on the corral reef for."
"That's true, but what information could he lift off of you that he didn't already know?" Rarity asked.
"Uh, well, he did seem interested in how we controlled the beasts. I never told him, but he tried to get me to tell him," Submersive Exploration said. "But I can't tell you guys that either, so if he did put a tracker on me, it was a waste of time."
It would have been a waste of time. The pale brown man hadn't placed a tracker or anything on Submersive Exploration, but that was because of a surprising reason: He already knew all that he needed to know. An amount of information that he wouldn't of known, if he hadn't known what to look for. 2 and a half decades ago, the reason he was in the building, perfecting a serum that would alter your entire leg structure, was because he had gotten a book. He had been bullied all though his childhood for being smaller, and for being smart. And one day he was attacked. Stacks of books were thrown at him, giving him a concussion, and giving him bruises and a very damaged view of life. After that, as he was sitting up and yelling at the retreating shadows of his tormentors, he started attacking the books that had been thrown at him. Until a particular book caught his eye. On the brown, old leather cover, was a topless mermaid. That was why it had caught his eye, among several others, but when he started going through the first book, he realized what exactly the book contained. He browsed through the others, and they all contained insane information. For the next 2 decades, he hunted all over the world for answers to his questions about the book, and learning more about the legends in it. Finally, after years of searching, he found a mermaid. Not a dead one, a living one. They started talking, until the man stuck a syringe full of melatonin. The effect was almost immediate, with the mermaid falling asleep. This allowed the man to take several samples of her DNA and cell structures. He used another talisman to trap her body on the nearest coral reef, and the coral reef spreed across her body, effectively trapping her there. The man didn't care about her anymore. She was no longer needed. After another five years, he was able to create a serum that could change your cell structure into that of a mermaid's. Of course, it wasn't very stable, which was shown in the people who had died after taking the serum, but that was being fixed. His final goal was soon going to be achieved. Soon, he would have what the merfolk call the Ultimate Manic. He had known about the wide assortment of talisman's that the merfolk used in their every day lives, but there were some that were more popular, or more powerful, than others. The Ultimate Manic was one such talisman. It was specifically designed to take control of every currently sleeping beast and monster that the merfolk had learned how to control. And with that in his possession, he could destroy the world. That was his main desire, ever sense he was attacked and found the book. He was waiting for a scientist to come tell him the serum was done. The pale brown man needed a complete serum to get to the Ultimate Manic. He already knew where it was, all he needed was the serum. The door opened and the man turned to face it. A scientist entered.
"It's done," he said. "It's finally done." The pale man smiled.
"Give one to me," he said.
The rest of the day went by fairly fast, and strangely, as Twilight had requested that she study Submersive Exploration in her natural habitat, AKA the ocean. Twilight had footed the bill this time, and everyone managed to pile into Flash's car. It was a tight fit, which was very unfortunate. As they started driving again, Submersive Exploration's stomach gurgled. Sunset Shimmer looked back at her in almost fear.
"Please don't," she said.
"Why does that happen as we get into the car?" Flash asked, his voice sounding terrified. "This is the second time this has happened, and it's in the car. Again."
"Actually, it did this during the night several times," Submersive Exploration said. "And don't worry, I can hold it."
"Hold what?" Twilight asked.
"Oh, you don't want to know," Sunset Shimmer said.
"Sorry, but she's going to," Submersive Exploration said. Sunset Shimmer's eyes widened.
"Oh, no," she said. "Flash, roll down the window."
The trip to the scuba renting place, and then to the docks was long and filled with the terrible stench of Submersive Exploration's gas. Twilight was fascinated by the what Submersive Exploration said was the cause of it all, even though she could've done without the smell. Rarity, of course, was mortified by it all. As the reached the ocean, they pilled out and rented a boat. As Twilight payed for it, and they started heading towards the boat, Twilight asked Submersive Exploration another question.
"Hey, once we get out away from the port, can you start swimming besides us?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration nodded.
"I don't see why not," she said. "Of course, everyone will have to look away as I undress, but yeah, I can do it." Twilight keyed the ignition, and the boat's motor purred to life. As the boat sped away from the port, Submersive Exploration inhaled the salty air, and remembered her home. Rippling Horizon was a beautiful city, with large buildings made of coral, steal, and in some cases, pearl. It was also the most technological advanced city in the undersea world, with the invention of prison prisms, the space distorter, time frame freezer, and the long distance transporter. She wondered again how she had been trapped on the coral reef, and how long she had been there for. As the boat speed along, Twilight glanced back at Submersive Exploration.
"Hey, Submersive Exploration? Could you try swimming alongside us?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration came out of her memory lane and nodded.
"Okay, everyone turn around," she said. As she started pulling her stuff on, she focused on the speed of the boat. She grinned. She was going to get to change. As she leaped off the boat, her legs melted seamlessly back into her tail, and as she dove into the water, her entire cell structure started to change as well, her skin becoming sleeker, her frame becoming smaller, but stronger. The flapping of her tail let her keep pace with the boat, but she knew that she could easily outpace it. The boat started slowing down, and Submersive Exploration had to turn around to leap onto it again. She returned to her usual omnis form, with the tail, but everyone stared at her in awe. Twilight's eye was twitching with what Submersive Exploration was excitement.
"You never said you could change yourself," Twilight said.
"Not directly, no," Submersive Exploration said. "But I probably should've specified that. Omnis's are able to change into the subspecies that they hold in their genetic structure."
"What else are you able to turn into?" Flash asked. "And where were you keeping your clams?"
"I always hold onto my clams," Submersive Exploration said. "Flash, don't bring this around to my girls. Anyway, I'm able to transform into all subspecies."
"And how many is that?" Twilight asked.
"Millions," Submersive Exploration said. Twilight's jaw dropped.
"Holy crud," she said. "What else can you do?" Submersive Exploration grinned and her cell structure started to change again. Once she was done, her hands had thickened and were now covered with red, glowing shell. The rest of her body hadn't changed as much, but her eyes had seemed to whiten more around her pupils.
"Mantis shrimp!" Twilight said. Submersive Exploration's only response was a snap of her fingers. Or at least, Twilight thought was a snap. She hadn't seen Submersive Exploration's fingers move, but a loud noise was heard, with what seemed like a small shock wave being generated around her fingers.
"That is so awesome," Rarity said. "Can you do that with a dolphin?" Submersive Exploration's mouth started to elongate a few centimeters, her head started to round out, and her skin became smoother. Rarity squeed. "That is so awesome!"
"What other kind of things are you able to do?" Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration was about to show her another transformation when suddenly the something under the ocean rumbled. The ocean started to ripple for a few seconds, before it started to slosh around, the boat rising and falling with the strange new waves.
"Where did all this come from?" Flash yelled. The ocean started to get more violent. Submersive Exploration jumped into the water, still in her dolphin form , and started staring into the horizon. It was then that she realized that several meters to her left was the reef she had been stuck to. A massive cloud of silt was raising from dozens of miles away. A shadowy form started to show. Submersive Exploration squinted her eyes. It almost looked like-
"What is that?" a suddenly appearing Twilight asked. Submersive Exploration stared at her.
"You need to get back to the boat!" Submersive Exploration said.
"No! I'm coming with you!" Twilight said. "Besides, whatever that thing is is obviously scaring you. You're face is pale."
"Yeah, it is for a reason," Submersive Exploration said. "That creature in that cloud is one of the most feared creatures in our control!"
"What is it?" Twilight asked.
"It's a leviathan," Submersive Exploration said.
Twilight had climber back onto the boat and started piloting it, following Submersive Exploration, who made it easier for Twilight to see her by jumping out of the water every five seconds.They did this for a few minutes, with Twilight answering what few questions she could from the others. Submersive Exploration stopped, and Twilight stopped several feet away from her.
"Okay, you want to help?" Submersive Exploration asked. She pointed downwards, at the murky water, where they could faintly see some kind of light, along with the faint outline of the leviathan.
"What is that?" Flash asked with a mix of awe and fear in his voice.
"A leviathan," Submersive Exploration said. "One of, if not the most dangerous creature we control."
"You mean there are more dangerous?" Rarity asked. Submersive Exploration nodded gravely.
"Unfortunately, yes," Submersive Exploration said.
"What is that?" Twilight asked. "The name of the creature you can't control?"
"The Formidata," Submersive Exploration said. "But that's not important right now. What is important right now is that you help me find something."
"What does it look like?" Twilight asked.
"It's a helmet made of coral and pearl," Submersive Exploration said. "The Ultimate Manic. It's the most powerful beast controller ever made."
"How do we stop it?" Sunset Shimmer asked. "I mean, someone has control of a leviathan! If the legends that humans have about it are even half true, then we are dead."
"Oh, human legends of leviathans are true," Submersive Exploration said. "About baby ones. Fortunately, this one is still pretty young." Sunset Shimmer and Twilight looked doubtful.
"It looks pretty big," Twilight said. "Are you sure it's a baby?" Submersive Exploration shrugged.
"Eh, last time I checked, it was only 300 years old," she said. "That's like, 13 in human years."
"That's another question I wanted to ask, actually," Twilight said. "How long do merfolk live for?" Submersive Exploration glared at her.
"Lets get back to that later," Submersive Exploration said. "But right now, we need to get down there, and get the Ultimate Manic out of the hands of whoever has it! Now who's with me?" Everyone raised their hands. "Then lets get going!" Everyone dived into the water, excited, but nervous. They swam for several minutes through the murky water, not sure if they were close to crashing into something, or how they would fin this Ultimate Manic. But then the water cleared, and Rarity gasped. Below them lay a shining city, somehow gleaming in the murky water. But the shining was the beautiful part about it. Circling the city was a giant creature that only could have been the leviathan. It was huge. It looked like a giant armored serpent, with appendages lashing around buildings, destroying them, pulling them over.
"That's a baby?" Twilight asked.
"Believe it or not, but yes," Submersive Exploration said, the ethereal edge back in her voice. But there was something else in her voice. Anger. "We need to stop whoever it is who is controlling that leviathan. He's destroying my city!" Submersive Exploration started to change again. Her nose started to sharpen, and she started to thin out. A ridge started growing along her back. She had taken on some kind of sailfish mermaid form. She shot downwards at an amazing speed, leaving the others in her metaphorical underwater dust. They started following her, but she was far ahead, already halfway to the leviathan. As Submersive Exploration neared the leviathan, she looked for something that wouldn't normally be on a leviathan. Nothing. She started swimming over it, doing the same thing, but the leviathan roared at that moment, and she saw it. In its mouth, in between its teeth, was someone. She dashed towards it, but the leviathan closed its mouth before she got close.
How am I going to get in? Submersive Exploration thought. Wait...I can stab its mouth. I practically have a knife for a nose. She dashed towards the leviathan, her nose pointed at, but then the leviathan opened its mouth before Submersive Exploration could stab it. She shot into the mouth, deeper than she had wanted to, and she turned around. In between the teeth was someone she hadn't expected to see.
"Mom?!?!" Submersive Exploration yelled. "What are you doing in here?" Her mom's bright orange face turned to face Submersive Exploration with a shocked expression, her seaweed green hair flowing along with it.
"You're still alive?!" her mom exclaimed. "Oh my gosh, I thought you were dead! Come over her, help me get out!" Submersive Exploration swam towards her, grabbing hold of her arms, and pulled. The leviathan's mouth closed.
"I've got this," Submersive Exploration said as she turned into a angler. This subspecies was known for its resemblance towards the angler fish, specifically for the bio-luminescent bulb hanging above their heads. Said light was now lighting up the insides of the leviathan's mouth, and her mom. She hugged Submersive Exploration tightly. When they pulled away, and out of the teeth, her moms eyes were turning red.
"Where have you been?" Mom asked. "Do you know how long you've been gone for?" Submersive Exploration shook her head.
"I don't know, but can we please return to this later?" she asked. "What's happened? Who got the Ultimate Manic?" Mom shrugged.
"I don't know, but he got past all the guards with some kind of....thing," she said. "Your father, who managed to get the job for protecting the Ultimate Manic, by the way, was fighting this pale brown skinned man, when the attacker pulled out this silver thing and threw it at your father. It missed him and hit the wall, freezing everything within like, five feet."
"A pale brown skinned man?" Submersive Exploration asked. "Oh, he's why I've been gone for however long its been."
"Oh, that explains a lot," Mom said. "Yes, a pale brown skinned man. He froze your father in ice, got the Ultimate Manic, and, well, you can probably guess the rest."
"Okay, yes, but how did you get here?" Submersive Exploration asked. Mom's head lowered.
"When the pale brown man took the Ultimate Manic, one of the first things he made the leviathan eat was the building that had held the Ultimate Manic. I was in there, with your dad, trying to free him." Submersive Exploration's eyes widened and she gasped.
"No," she said, her eyes filling with tears. Mom nodded.
"I'm sorry, but yes," she said. "Your father passed through the digestive system a long time ago." Submersive Exploration started crying, her mother wrapping her arms around her, pulling her close. They stayed like this for a minute. Until Submersive Exploration pulled away, her face contorted with rage.
"Where is the pale brown man?" she said, hate clear in her voice.
"In the old visitors center, but you can't-" Mom started saying, but Submersive Exploration cut her off.
"This guy can't be allowed to continue doing this," Submersive Exploration said. "He must be stopped. Permanently." Her mom was silent for a few seconds before saying something.
"At least let me come with you," she said.
"Fine, but stay behind me," Submersive Exploration said.
The pale brown man smiled as he watched the city fall under the leviathan, his new tail flapping slightly. He had wanted to test out the full abilities of the Ultimate Manic. He had to fight for it, but it was worth it. He had seen some idiot enter the mouth if his leviathan, but he was now seeing two mermaids exit. One pointed at him, and he smiled. He was going to get to kill some more. Everyone else was wisely swimming away from the leviathan, evacuating the city. He had come prepared, armed with weapons that the merfolk had never seen. They had ever stood a chance. He watched as the duo of mermaids turned into strange sailfish mermaids. He couldn't remember the exact name of the subspecies, but that didn't matter. He started to transform. It didn't go as smoothly as a naturally born mermaid, and was a little painful, but he smiled nonetheless as he turned into a piranha merman, his teeth sharpening, his jaw jutting forward a little, and his size shrinking. He had always been teased for being short, but now he was dangerous and short. His tail started flapping, projecting him forward, and the two women started changing as well. The orange one changed into more of a sturgeon like form, and the turquoise one, who was strangely familiar, changed into a fang tooth form. When they got near, the turquoise one lunged at him, trying to sink her teeth into his arm, but he dodged, punched her in the back of the head, and lunged at the orange woman. He managed to grab her arms and twisted behind her, trapping her in a position with his teeth just above her neck.
"Make another move, and this one kicks the bucket," the pale man said. The turquoise girl glared at him, and he remembered where he had seen her before.
"You're the one I got the mermaid genetics from," he said. The girl nodded.
"Why are you doing this?" she asked. She spread her arms gesturing at the falling, destroyed city behind her. "What did we do?" The man shook his head.
"No, it's not what your kind did to me," he said. "It's what the rest of the world did to me. And I'm going to kill the for it."
"Seriously?" the girl asked. The man frowned.
"What?" he asked.
"You've probably been planing this for a long time, right?" the girl asked. The man nodded. "And that's your speech?" The man nodded.
"I never needed to make a speech," he said.
"Well, if you've been making this plan for years, then you probably should've made some kind of plan," the orange one said.
"Shut up," the man said, tightening his grip on her arms and pulling them closer. The orange girl started making pain filled sounds.
"Let her go!" the turquoise girl said. "We will defeat you!" The man laughed.
"You two?" he asked. "Really? You think that you two can defeat me? I control the levia-" There was a sudden loud cracking sound, and the man's eyes crossed before rolling back in his head. His figure slumped, letting Submersive Exploration's mom go, and reveled Twilight holding a prison prism. Apparently, she had used it to knock the man out.
"You used that wrong," Submersive Exploration said. Her mom, on the other hand, looked fascinated that a human was all the way down here.
"Who are you?" Mom asked
"I'm Twilight," Twilight said. "Who are you?"
"Oh, I'm Broiling Striker," she said. "Submersive Exploration's mom. Do you two know each other?"
"We just met this morning," Twilight said. She reached her hand out. Broiling Striker looked at it confusedly. Submersive Exploration giggled, grabbed her moms hand and guided it towards Twilight's hand. Twilight grabbed it and started shaking.
"Up and down," Submersive Exploration said. "Don't worry, I was confused at first too. Hey, where are the others?" Twilight pointed behind them. Submersive Exploration and Broiling Striker turned around to see Sunset Shimmer, Flash and Rarity.
"Oh, is that a boy?" Broiling Striker asked mischievously. Submersive Exploration groaned.
"Mom!" she whined. "Why? Is now really the time?" Broiling Striker giggled.
"I'm only playing," she said. As the three others neared them, Flash asked "Did you call her mom?" Broiling Striker smiled, stuck out her hand and said "Yes, I'm Submersive Exploration's mom." Rarity was probably smiling as wide as her face would let her. Rarity shook it.
"Hi, I'm Rarity," she said. "It's so good to meet you!"
"You too, Rarity," Broiling Striker said. "All of you know Submersive Exploration?" They all nodded. Broiling Striker turned to Submersive Exploration. "Well then, you have some explaining to do."
"Fast version, I got stuck on a coral reef, Flash woke me up, I didn't know where I was, he and Sunset Shimmer took me to Flash's house, I slept there, and I met some of their friends," she said, pointing at Flash and Sunset Shimmer when she said their names and inhaled some more oxygen. "Then Twilight asked if she could see me in the ocean, we came out here, the leviathan started destroying stuff, we got here, then I found you." Submersive Exploration inhaled some more. "And you know the rest." Broiling Striker raised her eyebrow.
"You slept at a boys house?" she asked. "With your legs and everything?" Submersive Exploration blushed as the others giggled.
"Mom!" she said. "Do you have to?" Broiling Striker giggled.
"Yes, sweetie, I'm your mom," she said. "It's my job to."
The next few hours were fairly interesting, to say the least. Twilight was thanked for defeating the pale brown man, and Broiling Striker talked to Flash about moving into his house for a little while, until her house was fixed.
"It's going to take a while, and I'm willing to work if I need to pay rent," she said. "Unless you except crokners, agoms, gongics, or precious gems."
"Ah, don't worry, I don't need you to pay," Flash said. "I'm just amazed I got to meet one of Submersive Exploration's parents. By the way, where is her dad?" Broiling Striker's smile turned into a sad expression.
"He's dead," she said. "But he wouldn't have wanted me to be sad. I'm just glad that Submersive Exploration has final met a boy!" Flash blushed. Broiling Striker said, in a strangely sultry voice "Do you find her attractive?" Flash's blush deepened.
"Well, she's not....not attractive," he said. Broiling Striker stared at him until he started talking again. "Yes, she is attractive. I can see where she gets it from." It was Broiling Striker's turn to blush. She was trying to embarrass one of her daughters friends, not set her up!
"You really think both of us are attractive?" Broiling Striker asked. Before Flash could answer, Rarity swam up to them.
"Are you two ready to get going?" she asked. "Flash, remember, tomorrow is school, and I still have some work I need to do." Flash and Broiling Striker nodded, and ten minutes later, they were on the boat, speeding back to the Canterlot City port. Fortunately, Rarity had packed some extra clothes, including Submersive Exploration's new clothes, so Broiling Striker had something to wear. The clothes Rarity had given her fit, but just barley. They clung to her tightly, accenting her figure, much like it had done with Submersive Exploration. Not that Flash was complaining or anything. But, unfortunately, Broiling Striker was like Submersive Exploration in more ways than just their figures. After Flash had dropped everyone off and gave the scuba gear back to the rental place, Broiling Striker started to fart.
Like mother like daughter, Flash thought.
Author's Note
There will be an epilogue released soon.
Back in the underground prison that the pale brown man was being held in, he could feel the power he had just held on his head fade from memory. His breath shuddered. He had been beaten. This time. His smile was out of place in the prison, and he just floated there, in his cell. He waited. He had prepared for this before he had attacked the city, but he knew that he wasn't going to be able to try and get back the Ultimate Manic. He had a plan. He always had a plan. The mermaid legend book wasn't the only book he had gotten, and mermaid legends weren't the only legends he knew of. A humming started vibrating through the water, and the man smiled. That was his way out. A bright light shone in through the cell window, and it shone so bright the guards couldn't see anything else. When it disappeared, and the guards sights came back, they saw that the man was gone.
"Oh, we're in some deep crandong," one of them said.
"Watch your profanity," the other said. "Although we really are."
Author's Note
I can't believe this story got the amount of attention that it did. People liked it. I hope you'll stick around for the sequel, which should be released relatively soon.