Broiling Striker rushed down to the invention lab. As she entered, one of the men standing working on something looked up and recognized her.
"Hey, you're Broiling Striker, right?" he asked. She stopped and stared at him. He had fire red fur, and his skin was the color of recently melted steel.
"Yes," she said. "Your name was Smelting Scorcher, was it?" The man nodded.
"What happened with Rippling Horizon? Is it finally fixed?" Smelting Scorcher asked. "Are you finally coming back for the think tanks?"
"Well, not exactly," Broiling Striker said. "But I'll explain it all later. I am here to finish the fusion harness." Smelting Scorcher grinned.
"Well then, you'll be glad to know that we've completed the centaur harness," he said. "Let's get started on the mermaid's harness."
Almost an hour later, Broiling Striker raced upwards on the back of Smelting Scorcher. As they neared the hospital that Ethereal Whisper was in, Broiling Striker made sure that her harness was ready. It was a circle in the center of her chest, held by four straps circling to her back, and clipping into a buckle there. Smelting Scorcher entered the hospital and slowed down. They made it to Ethereal Whisper's room in under a minute. Broiling Striker hopped off of Smelting Scorcher's back and landed on her feet. Smelting Scorcher started fastening the centaur fusion harness around Ethereal Whisper's generous chest, and with a final click, it was ready.
"Okay, are you ready?" Smelting Scorcher asked Broiling Striker. Broiling Striker nodded, and started taking her pants off. As soon as that was done, she changed her legs back into her normal mermaid tail. She then pressed the circle of the mermaid fusion harness to the circle of the centaur fusion harness. And in a flash of white light, it was done. They had successfully fused together. Fortunately, she was still wearing Broiling Striker's shirt. Broiling Striker's orange skin had mixed together with Ethereal Whisper's white skin, making a pale orange skin tone, and their animal parts had fused into a horse front and fish tail back, replacing the back two legs. The fur and scales had fused together to make a shiny, silver fur/scale combination. And their hair colors had made a silvery green color. Of course, their breast sizes had been pretty much the same, so there wasn't really any difference there. Her eyes fluttered open. They were a bright green color, yet they looked cold, somehow. As the now fused centaur/mermaid started raising, the doctor pushed her back down.
"Oh, no, you need to rest," he said. "Also, what were you thinking? Facing a burrow hound like that? You're lucky that Flash here managed to save you."
"Hey, I thought I could take it!" the girl said. "And I did. Kind of." The doctor sighed.
"Well, it could've been worse," he said. "Although, for some reason, now that you've fused with Broiling Striker, your wounds seem to have gotten better, but just by a little bit. Now, we do need to talk about what kind of medicine you can afford, and how fast you'd like to heal." Smelting Scorcher raised his hand.
"I'll pay, actually," he said. The doctor frowned.
"Are you sure?" he asked. Smelting Scorcher nodded. The doctor shrugged. "Okay, then. What speed of healing elixir would you like?"
"Max speed," Smelting Scorcher said. "This is for science! Lets get her healed as fast as possible!"
"Are you sure?" the doctor asked. Smelting Scorcher nodded.
"Science!" he said again. He seemed to like science. Twilight liked him. The doctor shrugged.
"Okay, if you're sure," he said. "I'll send you the bill later." The doctor turned around and exited the room. The group turned to look at the fused mer-centaur. She was looking at her new sea pony half, and feeling the new fur/scales. A few seconds later she looked up, and realized that everyone was staring at her. She blushed and looked at Smelting Scorcher.
"You didn't have to pay for my bill," she said. "I mean, thanks, but you didn't have to." Smelting Scorching smiled and nodded.
"Of course I had to!" he said. "I know what your financial situation is like." The girl scowled.
"I could've made do," she said.
"No, you couldn't have," Smelting Scorcher said. "Anyway, what does it feel like?"
"Strange," the girl said. "I remember everything from both Broiling Striker's and Ethereal Whisper's lives, all up to the point of the fusion. Plus, there's this." She gestured at her sea pony half. "This feels especially strange."
"May I touch it?" Smelting Scorcher asked. The girl started blushing furiously.
"What?" she asked. "Wait, for science, right?" Smelting Scorcher started blushing as well.
"I am so sorry!" he said. "Yes, for science! I should've phrased that better." He reached out his hand and brushed it against her side. After a few seconds, he said "Hard, yet fuzzy."
"Like a moss covered stone," the girl said. As Smelting Scorcher pulled his hand away, the doctor walked in with a small, thin vial in his hand. He handed it to the girl.
"Drink this," he said. "It'll heal all the broken bones in less than an hour." The girl pulled the cork out and downed the bottle in seconds. As she pulled it away from her lips, she shuddered.
"So bitter," she said. The doctor shrugged again.
"Since Smelting Scorcher is paying the bill, you can leave whenever you're ready," he said. He turned and left. Smelting Scorcher flipped him off as he left, not that the doctor saw. He turned back to the girl.
"One important question," he said. "Are you going to go by Broiling Striker or Ethereal Whisper?" The girl shook her head.
"No, that would make things a little weird," she said. "Especially with Submersive Exploration." Submersive Exploration blushed.
"Mom!" she whined. The girl laughed.
"I'm only half of your mom," she said. "I think I'll go by Elusive Mindstrike."
"Where did you get Mindestrike from?" Flash asked.
"Broiling Striker is smart but strong," Elusive Mindstrike said. "And Ethereal Whisper is is quite good at hiding." She was going to continue talking, but then she gasped and her face contorted with pain. She stared at her front legs, which she had started to clench, bringing them towards her horse chest. Smelting Scorcher hummed in recognition, however.
"That would be the healing elixir," he said. He suddenly looked worried. "Wait, it's not killing you, is it?"
"No," Elusive Mindstrike said, her teeth clenched together. "It hurts, but in that good kind of way. Does that make sense?" Smelting Scorcher nodded.
"Perfect sense, actually," he said. There was a pause. Suddenly, they heard something in the distance. It sounded like roaring.
"What was that?" Rarity asked.
"I think it was a burrow hound," Smelting Scorcher said. "Don't worry, we have defenses in case this happens."
They didn't work. There wasn't a burrow hound attacking: there were several of them, led by an alpha burrow hound, controlled by the pale brown man. One thing he had learned while observing the burrow hounds was that they would follow the alpha burrow hound to the death. Most burrow hounds were just a brownish white color, but the alpha had some noticeable differences. For one thing, it was larger, and more powerful. It also had silver stripes running down its head and paws. The pale brown man had been able to control the alpha by using a powerful mind altering dart he had shot into its hindquarters. And now he was inside the tribes mountain home. He knew what he needed, and where to find it. As he jumped off the alpha burrow hound, he pointed at the centaurs that had picked up spears and whatnot and yelled "Attack!" And as the alpha burrow hound and the others started attacking, the pale brown man was able to slip away, unnoticed.