A Twist in Evolution 2: Quit Horsing Around

by Dark Nightshade

A skeptic society

Ethereal Whisper led the group towards the mountain that Submersive Exploration's group had found her on. As they neared it, Ethereal Whisper turned her torso towards the group. Flash's eyes had already been averted because the wind was blowing Ethereal Whisper's tail all around, and she was wearing nothing at all, practically giving him a clear view of her.....thing. But that was if he was already looking at her.

"One last thing," Ethereal Whisper said. "None of you can tell anyone, and I mean anyone about this, okay?" The group made noises of confirmation. "Good, because we're here." Ethereal Whisper started digging into a small indent in the mountain side. After a few seconds, her fingers wrapped around something and she pulled a length of rope out. As she did so, a part of the snowy mountain side pulled away to reveal a tunnel. They started walking in, with Ethereal Whisper entering last to close the stone door after them. Ethereal Whisper guide them down the hall, were torches every few feet to help light the way. It was warmer. They didn't hear anything, until the turned past the second corner. As they did, the sound of yelling and music started to fill the air, although it was very quiet. At first. The more corners they turned, the louder it got, and the warmer it got, until they made a final turn. The center of the mountain was not at all what they were expecting. For one thing, it had been almost entirely hollowed out, and by the looks of it, had been dug down into the rocks below. The city was huge, and filled with centaurs. And almost every single one of them were partying. Somewhere, music was playing, and all the centaurs in the streets were dancing, laughing, and just having a good time in general. Everyone in the group, except for Ethereal Whisper, were surprised.

"Wow," Flash said. "What is happening?" Ethereal Whisper sighed with content.

"This is life under the mountain," she said. "It's basically a nonstop party."

"Oh, Pinkie would love this," Sunset Shimmer said. Ethereal Whisper looked at her uneasily.

"Why?" Ethereal Whisper asked.

"Oh, Pinkie loves parties," Sunset Shimmer said. "She's easily the most energetic person I do, in this universe or in any other." Ethereal Whisper looked a little relived, especially as Sunset Shimmer said "Not that I would bring her here without talking with you first, or anything."

"Good," Ethereal Whisper said. "Good. Anyway, follow me, I need to take you to the tribe's hall of elders." The group followed Ethereal Whisper through the city, seemingly sticking to back roads to not draw attention, although it was hard to tell if it was a back road or not. They were still pretty crowded. but no one paid them any attention.

"Is this a back alley?" Rarity asked nervously. Ethereal Whisper shook her head.

"Not really," she said. "But this road has the people that drink the heaviest."

"So, they're alcoholics?" Rarity asked nervously. Ethereal Whisper shook her head again.

"I wouldn't say that," she said. "They just drink strong beer. Don't worry, nobody in this tribe is that depressed." As they continued to walk, they got an occasional glance, but nothing more than that. But that was in the drunk street. As they turned into a new street, they started getting more and more looks, until finally, one of them stepped up and started talking. His stallion fur was a sleek, grayish color, and his skin was silver.

"What have you done?" he asked fearfully. "You have brought humans into our tribe!" Ethereal Whisper sighed.

"C'mon, really?" she said. "You know that if the elders are right, we'll need outside help."

"Yes, I know," the man said. "But they've been wrong in the past! What if you've brought them in for nothing, and have just revealed our tribes position to the outsiders?"

"Don't worry, I've observed them since they got here!" Ethereal Whisper said. "And I talked to them before I brought them here. They're after the pale brown man as well." The man looked at them fearfully.

"What do you know of him?" he asked. "What's his name? Why is he here?"

"All we know about him is that he's trying to destroy the world," she said. "He's already attacked Rippling Horizon, the merfolk's capital." The man's eyes darted around, and he started muttering incoherently.

"Okay, that makes some sense, but still, it may have been dangerous bringing them here!" the man said. "It still might!" He turned round and trotted away. Some of the people who had watched the conversation unfold turned back to their fun.

"Who was he?" Flash asked.

"That was this tribes most paranoid person," Ethereal Whisper said. "Possible Paths."

"Are there any others that we should be worried about?" Twilight asked.

"How so?" Ethereal Whisper asked with a frown.

"Any other paranoids that might not like us being here?" Twilight specified.

"Oh, not really," Ethereal Whisper said. "Centaurs, as a species, are usually fairly skeptical about new comers, especially if said new comers are humans."

"Why specifically humans?" Sunset Shimmer asked.

"Demena had told us to avoid humans," Ethereal Whisper said. "Besides, we've always grown without help from anyone. We're stubborn like that." Rarity snickered.

"We have a friend like that," she said. Ethereal Whisper smiled. They continued walking for a while in relative silence, until Ethereal Whisper stopped. They were in front of tall building, covered in torches.

"Well, we're here," she said. "The tribes hall of elders."

"Is this where those cool inventions were made?" Submersive Exploration asked.

"No that hall is much lower than where we are," Ethereal Whisper said. "Now, let me do the talking, okay?" They entered the building, which was noticeable darker, and had an odd smell. There was a small hallway, ending in what looked like a circular room with old centaurs sitting with their legs under them. As Ethereal Whisper softly started walking towards, one of them sighed.

"Welcome back," he said, his voice soft and gentle. He opened his eyes. They were cloudy. His fur was a dark grey, and had probably been a very nice color, but not anymore. He was balding, and only ha a few tufts of hair left on his shiny clay colored skin. "Who are your friends? I can't see as well as I used to, but they seem short."

"That's because they aren't centaurs," Ethereal Whisper said. The man gasped. He was the only one to.

"What have you done?" he asked. "They're humans, aren't they?"

"Only four of them. The other two are mermaids from Rippling Horizon," Ethereal Whisper said. The man seemed to perk up at the words Rippling Horizon.

"Really?" he asked. "Has the reconstruction gone well on your city?" Broiling Striker stepped forward.

"It's going better than expected," she said. "But we aren't quiet ready to start coming to the think thank sessions yet, unfortunately." The man hummed in recognition.

"You sound familiar," he said. "You worked on the fusing device, didn't you?" Broiling Striker looked amazed.

"Yes, actually," she said. "How did you remember that?"

"I would hide and listen to you work," the man said. "My eyesight doesn't work too well, so I mostly rely on my ears. Which is how I know that all of my partners fell asleep a while ago!"

"Well, that explains a lot," Ethereal Whisper said.

"So, why did you bring everyone here?" the man asked. "Is this about that pale brown man?'

"Yes, that is exactly why we're here," Submersive Exploration said. "He's the one who destroyed Rippling Horizon. And he's somewhere here."

"You think he might try to destroy our tribe as well?" the man asked. "He would have a tough time trying."

"That's the thing," Submersive Exploration said. "He trapped me to the side of a coral reef and used my DNA to create a serum that turned him into a merman! He may have already created one that can turn him into a centaur!"

---

He hadn't. That would've taken to long, and would've taken time that he hadn't wanted to use. So he decided on an easier path. Let the centaurs spot him, hide away in the mountain snow, and wait till one opens the door from the outside. And finally, one did. One who was followed by the girls that had stopped him from using the Ultimate Manic and destroying Rippling Horizon. He growled, but was glad he had seen them. If he hadn't know that they were here until after he made his move, things would've gotten a little too intense. But he had a plan. He always had a plan. And now that he knew where an entrance was, and how to get into said entrance, his plan was about to leap forward. He knew exactly where to go, and exactly what to get.

Author's Note:

Plans unfold....but which plan is it? The plan for this story, or for the series?