//------------------------------// // Plan in action // Story: A Twist in Evolution // by Dark Nightshade //------------------------------// 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.