Away and Afar

by Collapse

Rating: teen
Tags: Original Character, Mystery, Adventure, Violence, Tragedy, Profanity, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Death, Alternate Universe
Length: 310860

An exploratory crew is sent out to investigate the great unknown.

After centuries had passed since the last serious attempt at exploration beyond the Atlas Ocean, a group of ponies onboard the Constance are sent out to chart unknown waters and lands that lay beyond Equestria's recorded reach.

Cowritten by myself and my friend 9314265068 (2021-2022). There will be unavoidable issues, such as gaps in the story at one point, and other minor things that do not get in the way of the story itself.

Published 2022-08-06 04:10:00 UTC
Last updated 2022-08-10 16:24:02 UTC

Chapter 2

There were no real changes to her daily routine after what happened that morning. Just keep everything well tightened, lubricated, charged and inspected, and occasionally get called up to another part of the ship to do some maintenance work when it was needed.

She did get some brief time to rest and clean off the various oils, dusts and enchanted powders that she'd been using, so at least she knew that she was quick enough. Or that today was one of the slower days. One of the two, it was hard to tell.

Collapse attended to her duties to the best of her ability and without question. Occasionally she interacted with the other crew members in between jobs. She was obviously feeling a little down today, in part due to her interrupted sleep but she forged on. She would even do some preliminary inspections, and double checked everything to make sure it was in flawless working order.

Today felt more of a work day anything to her, but it was uneventful. Getting cleaned after the work was done was rewarding and she took as little time in the shower as possible but enough to get cleaned well enough. When she was on break, she would go to the upper deck of the ship and overlook the waves with an almost melancholy expression. She longed for the sight of land, and her watchful eyes looked out over the horizon.

When she looked into the waves, the color reminded her of Magloria's earings. Even in calm moments like this, she was reminded that her captain was always there and in command.

Upon on top deck was far more activity. Crewmates moved about, tending to their tasks. Most of them were doing maintenance checks, similar to what Collapse did down below. Difference is they were capable of talking to each other while they worked.

Magloria was there as well, up at the steering deck and making sure that the boat didn't drift the wrong direction. She wasn't paying attention to her crew at the time, her mind seemingly occupied elsewhere, so didn't see Collapse arrive. Collapse would have to keep longing, as there seemed to be nothing but the usual blue waves completely surrounding the boat. At least from this height anyway.

The pegasus up in the crow's nest hadn't called out yet, so they couldn't spot land either. The sky seemed to add to her melancholy, as it was filled with grey clouds. Looks like it's going to rain sometime. One upside of the engineering job is at least you don't get rained upon.

Collapse would attend to any duties she had to attend to on this deck like making sure all the doors were smoothly operating and other minor things which took some time. She wouldn’t allow any oversights. If anyone noticed she would keep her lantern by her side at all times. She hummed quietly as she worked, while she joined in with some of the chatter it was only small talk.

She didn’t know what else to talk about, Magloria was on her mind truthfully. She could see her through the windows of the steering deck with her hooves on the wheel. She couldn’t tell Magloria’s expression from this distance. Looking up into the clouds reminded her of her youth.

Remembering watching the clouds roll by outside the classroom window. She smiled as she was filled with nostalgia, reminded by the fact she was very far away from her home. She remembers her smiling mother and her friends, they would always support her decisions even if it meant going to the furthest reaches of the known world.

With one last look out over the ocean she headed back down to the lower decks to resume her duties. She even checked any bulbs and swapped any that had blown as well as making sure all the doors were opening and closing. Such tasks may seem mundane but to her even the most simple fix is rewarding enough for her to smile.

Eventually the sun had started to set. With a hard day's work behind her, she would've been longing a good meal. She knew that breakfast (and lunch) were the only times she got free delivery. Dinner however was different, since everyone on the ship knew that the daily duties had been attended to.

There wasn't much left that would require ponies to stay away from the dining halls, so if one was hungry, they'd have to get served there. Only some of the crew that did their job constantly, such as the spotter in the crow's nest, got exceptions. Most of the crew would be at the dining hall as well, captain included. Plus the evening meal would be much more tasteful than the morning's oatmeal. Their chef could definitely deliver, and Collapse knew that.

Collapse was certainly looking forward to dinner, herself. As she was walking towards the dining hall she licked her lips as she could smell the dinner throughout the halls. Upon waiting in line to receive her meal which wasn't too long of a late. Today she hadn't been that late unlike some other days.

With her meal she would sit down next to Magloria if the seats weren't taken. She would also had set her lantern down next to the chair. Just in case, the lights could always go out suddenly at any moment and that lantern was the most important object Collapse could ever own, she would carry that thing to the grave, perhaps even beyond! Collapse smiled at her own mental jokes, there. If she was able to sit down next to Magloria, she would turn to Magloria casually. "How was your day?" she asked calmly.

Unfortunately for Collapse, the seats next to Magloria were already taken by the couple of pegasi that like to keep the outside of the boat free of damage. Brother and sister, with similar red and grey colours. An annoying pair, if you happened to be on their bad side.

Nevertheless, Collapse was able to converse anyway. Magloria's response to this was rather neutral. "The usual, I suppose. It'll take us at least another week to find anywhere interesting."

A random worker piped up, "That's how far the divers go right?"

"Yep. Won't go anywhere beyond that. Says there's nothing worth finding." another replied. Some blue earth pony Collapse rarely sees, their profession unknown.

Collapse nodded to them, internally disappointed she couldn't sit down next to Magloria directly. "Another week? Ah, well I certainly hope what we find is worth it." Collapse stated.

"Correct me if I am wrong, are we already beyond the known boundaries of previous explorations? Or are we reaching beyond that boundary now?" Collapse asked curiously as she looked to the various ones that were talking. Collapse would begin to eat as they conversed, slowly. She wanted to savor her food.

The blue one turned to face her. "We're not there yet. Still a day or so of sailing before we reach the very end of known waters." she paused, shoving a piece of roast potato into her mouth before chewing and swallowing. "But once we get there, we'll be able to see waters that no one has seen before."

"And the lands that come with it. Don't forget that." yet another worker, a beige and orange one by the name of Jump Start, added to the conversation.

"When we get there don't forget about your little lantern. The unknown can be dangerous and you never know when you might need it." someone from across the table said. Judging from the slight smirk, they were digging into Collapse's mistake. They must've learned about it from someone else.

This however did not go over well with Magloria, who immediately saw what they were trying to pull. "Rope Burn, I'd advise you not to keep going. She's already been reminded of it, and she doesn't need that from you." she frowned. Rope Burn immediately shut up, nodded then looked away.

Collapse internally felt a sense of gratefulness for the way Magloria stood up for her. She looks to Magloria with a sense of gratefulness. "Thank you, captain." Collapse states before looking into Rope Burn's eyes with a serious glare

. Collapse was generally a nice caring mare, but she had no tolerance for comments like that. She didn't speak more of that, though as she turns to Jump Start and the Blue One. Collapse took another bite of her roast potato and then of the slice of pizza before swallowing.

"I see. When reach those waters I'd recommend we keep an eye out for anything. I do hope that we are prepared to engage in combat should we come into contact with any hostile forces, but should we come into contact with anyone out here and they are not hostile we should ask for directions with a grain of salt in mind." Collapse took a sip of her drink.

"I truly do wonder if we could stumble upon a civilization of sorts. We could be the very first to contact with them and our names would be in the history books forever, if that is the case. If not, we could stumble into a strange landscape that we've never seen. The possibilities are endless. It is exciting." Collapse grinned happily. "Whatever the case may be, expect the unexpected."

Magloria gave a grunt of acceptance at Collapse's appreciation, but spoke no further on it. What happened was over, so she moved on.

Jump Start waved a hoof dismissively. "I wouldn't worry about any sort of combat like that. Most of what we're doing is just charting out new lands. Maybe setting shore on a good looking place, get a few samples of what it has, refill our supplies, that sort of thing."

The blue one nodded before speaking, "Civilizations would be a great find! Imagine what they could offer us. Medicines, minerals, magic-"

"And exotic new foods." interrupted someone else. The chef, it seemed, a white earth pony with orange patches, had taken an interest in the conversation. "All the new dishes I could make..."

Magloria cleared her throat. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is all if we encounter a civilization. We don't have the correct supplies to journey far inland, so we may not even encounter anything unless it's close to the shoreline." she stated. The others quietened down, somewhat disappointed by the reality that they may not even find anything.

Collapse nodded to all that. "Who knows, perhaps we may find a stream that leads inland or a river? But you have a point there, yes." Collapse says to Magloria as she looks to the chef. "I would be quite pleased to see what you can come up with if we are able to do that. Your dishes are mighty fine if I say so myself."

Collapse said to her with a happy grin. "But still, perhaps we may come across pirates or something. We have no idea what we are stumbling into so we should be prepared for it no matter what it may be." Collapse concluded and leaned back on her chair as she ate more of her meal. She was hoping that they would find a new civilization that would provide benefit to them.

The idea of new dishes was quite appealing but Collapse was more of interested in materials and resources she could use for her inventing hobby. Perhaps making a new variant of her Fly Ring. Maybe a gift to someone. "Then again, we may not even reach land at all. We could be heading into a vast abyssal ocean, and if that is the case we'd have to change our path or head back." Collapse shrugged.

Over at the opposite end of the table some muttering could be heard, a pair talking to each other about how pirates were even less likely than finding a civilization. They didn't seem to want to address Collapse directly. Jump Start shrugged. "Even if we don't reach land, we've got enough food, fresh water and mana batteries to last us a couple weeks. We can make it back easy. 'Sides, if we need to we've got fishing nets for food and unicorns for magic." Some of the other members recoiled at the idea of eating fish, which didn't go unnoticed by Jump Start.

"Oh you think that now, but when you're hungry enough to chew your own tail you'll start thinking fish is a delicious 5-star meal." she stated.

A low rumbling sound interrupted the conversation, hushing all conversations. "Thunder?" someone asked. Magloria let out a sigh, wiped her muzzle with a napkin and stood up. "Excuse me, I need to go check this. Do continue your meals." she said, before leaving the room and heading up to the top deck.

Chapter 3

Collapse noticed the muttering pair across the table but didn't seem to notice when in fact she did. She didn't want to address them directly and she didn't entirely blame them in thinking like they did. When all of a sudden there was a rumbling sound. It could have been thunder, indeed but a part of Collapse expected it to not be. Something felt strange.

"Yeah, go take a look captain. Tell us what you see when you come back." Collapse said to Magloria as she left before looking to Jump Start.

"Yeah we can last out here a long time. I don't mind the idea of being out here for a couple of weeks. I can handle it, but I would prefer we find some sort of land to chart out. We haven't been on land in what, a week? 2 weeks? I've already lost track, honestly." Collapse joked with a grin.

Collapse turned to the chef. "Well, if we have to make fish we will be glad to have you around so we can enjoy ourselves even if we run out of food." Collapse stated.

"Eh... 5 days actually." Jump Start said. "Though I guess you can be excused from not knowing. Must be hard to track the time of day below the ship, right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow as she did.

The chef stuck his chest out in pride. "Certainly, I'll make everyone here absolutely love fish." he replied. "Good thing we won't be gone that long then." the blue pony said, who judging from her expression wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea of eating fish.

"You don't know what you're missing. Fish is great!" One of the two pegasi who were sitting next to Magloria said, "Add a little lemon juice and some salt and it's heavenly. Mmm!" All that did was worsen the blue pony's expression. She pushed her meal away, losing her appetite entirely.

Collapse giggles a little bit at Jump Start's comments. "That or maybe I was just in a daze of confusion when I woke up. When your doing all sorts of tasks and repairs the time involved sort of loses its meaning. I like to lose myself in my work." she spoke with a slight hint of pride as she looks to the Chef and the Blue Pony.

"Perhaps I'll try that tomorrow for dinner. That actually sounds rather tasty!" Collapse complimented the pegasi who spoke up about the fish, she smiled at the blue one's explanation.

"Oh, can't let that food go to waste you know. If you don't want it, I'll take it! But you should probably eat up." she said in a soft yet cheerful manner. Collapse would then begin finishing off her meal.

After taking a few more bites she got up from the table and would look out the window to see what was going on outside. If she could see anything, that was.

The pegasus nods. "If I have time I'll get out one of the nets and go trawl fishing. should find something around these waters, as long as it's not shark or jellyfish of course!" he says, chuckling at his own joke.

The blue pony glances over to Collapse, then lightly shoves the plate of half-eaten food in her direction. "Take it. I'm going to go back to my quarters..." she said as she stood up, leaving shortly afterwards.

Outside the window Collapse could see that the sun was setting over the ocean waters, creating an orange-red display of colours.

The sun itself however was nowhere to be seen, due to the large number of clouds. That was when she saw it. Off in the distance was a spark of white. Several seconds later a rumble was heard.

The room's speaker, which was connected with many others to the steering deck for announcements, suddenly crackled to life.

Magloria's voice came through. "Attention crew, we're in for a rough night tonight. A thunderstorm is approaching from the port side and will be upon us in 4 hours. Make sure everything is tightly held down, you know the drill."

The speaker crackled off again.

Looking out the window with a slightly concerned expression at the sight of the lightning and then the thunder. When she was a filly such storms would bring her comfort, but being out at sea here she found herself to be quite worried. Her look changed to more seriousness. However it was quite beautiful in her eyes.

Collapse takes the food in her magic. "Goodnight!" she spoke to the blue pony and looks to the Pegasus and the chef as Magloria's voice comes over the speaker. "We best get to work, then." Collapse spoke as she would quickly finish the rest of her meal and began to eat the other meal.

She would find herself to be quite full, soon enough. She looks to the pegasus and the chef. "Better get your materials and utensils to proper places, we wouldn't want them all over the place." she would stand up and put her dirty dishes over into the sink. She would wash her dishes off in the sink quickly before placing them into the rack. "I better go down to engineering and make sure everything is proper. The sooner, the better."

The pegasus shrugged at Collapse's suggestion. "I'm going to finish up eating. We've got 4 hours, plenty of time to do everything." they replied, continuing to eat their meal at a casual place. Almost everyone else seemed to do the same, with only a few speeding up their pace.

The chef gave a quick nod, even though he already knew exactly what to do whenever a thunderstorm approached, and thanked her for cleaning her own dishes, even though it was unnecessary of her. She should be more focused on other things.

On the way to engineering, Collapse saw the other crew members performing their duties in regards to thunderstorms. Some sealed windows behind metal shutters, others carried stuff down from the top deck to storage rooms. Collapse knew that during a thunderstorm the engines would be turned off, by Magloria's command. This reduced the risk of damage to the propellers. It also reduced the necessary workload that Collapse would have to do after the storm passed.

Collapse would look on to the scene in approval. The first thing she would do is head up to the top deck and aid those who were carrying materials from the top of the deck down into the interior of the ship.

There was a bit of work to be done and Collapse had made sure they had gotten everything off the top of the deck and left nothing behind. When on the top deck Collapse had looked out to sea and could see the clouds in the distance as well as the thunder in the distance. When coming back inside she made sure that the doors to the outside were working properly.

After everything was cleared off the deck Collapse would head back down into engineering and had observed that the windows were already shut in the time that she had taken to aid the others out on the top of the deck.

Given that they had only 4 hours she would begin to inspect the engineering section for anything that may have arisen since the morning or anything she had somehow missed. If there were no issues or anything else to be addressed Collapse would have aided the others on the ship with their duties. Her lantern was constantly with her throughout the entire time.

As Collapse worked on the top deck she would occasionally receive thanks from the other crewmates, just as the usual curtsy that one gives to someone who's helping out.

When she looked out to the ocean surrounding the boat she was on, she found nothing but the darkening waves that were crashing rougher than they previously were. The night approaching make it even more ominous than usual, as everything was slowly covered in black. Eventually the ship's spotlights would be turned on, just so those on deck could see. Back down in engineering, only a few new things had appeared that needed to be fixed.

Mechanisms needed a bit of oil or metal plates needed smoothing out. The low hum of the engine that is normally present throughout the day was absent. At this time, the rest of the crew didn't need much help at all. They had already tied everything down and stored away what couldn't be. The only thing left to do was either try to sleep the night away (which would go horribly, thanks to the approaching storm) or wait.

Collapse was growing worried upon seeing all the blackness. She was amazed upon how dark it could truly get at sea. She was thankful for the compliments but her mind was in too much of a daze to really do anything else at the moment other than her duties.

A fix there, a cleaned part there and soon enough she fixed all there needed to be fixed. In truth she was just distracting herself from her rising worries about the oncoming storm. She was aware by now she did all she could in engineering and after doing some cleanup she would depart engineering.

She did all she could do. Collapse wouldn’t even try sleeping. Her mind was too much in a fraze currently and began to tire nevertheless. She looks for the captain. Collapse assumed she was on the bridge.

When Collapse is with Magloria she states, “I have done my part, captain. Everything is ready for the storm. I hope nothing bad happens.” She could hear a bit of worry in her tone ever so slightly, Collapse had her lantern too, in truth she felt safe around Magloria.

Just as she predicted, Collapse found Magloria on the bridge, resting at the wheel while slowly sipping on a cup of steaming coffee in preparation for the long night ahead. Glancing over upon noticing Collapse's arrival, she patiently listened to her report.

"Good work, engineer. I suggest you take whatever rest you can. You're going to need it, because you're not getting any once the storm hits." she said, returning her gaze on the black waters ahead of the boat. It didn't sound like an order, so it could likely be disregarded without consequence.

She continued, "Nothing bad should happen. Just a whole heap of tossing and turning. You'll likely feel quite ill throughout. Many who haven't sailed for years tend to." Magloria levitated the coffee cup to her mouth and took a brief sip. Outside on the deck rain had started to fall, sprinkling the floor with watery patterns.

The bridge's main window, which had not been shut like the others, started to accumulate droplets of water as well. They ran down the glass before slipping off and joining the slowly forming puddles below.

Collapse looks out into the rain. Currently she felt a sense of calm in the rain but that was unlikely to last for long. She assumed the window wasn’t shut so they could overlook the deck during the storm. Collapse looks to Magloria and her steaming coffee.

“Well if this starting like this is any indication any rest we take would be interrupted.” she sits down on the seat behind Magloria and rests her hooves on the table.

“I have heard many stories but I haven’t been through a storm like this on a ship. At least none like this. I will do my best to hold myself together.” she states calmly as she looks at Magloria. “Do you mind if I join you, for tonight?” Collapse asked.

Magloria let out a quiet snort at the first comment. "It'll get much worse. The rocking you feel right now? That's about half of what a minor storm can get." Another sip of coffee went down her throat.

"I say it now because this'll be the only time you'll be able to rest at all for the next half-dozen hours once the storm hits. Being interrupted is inevitable."

She glanced over to Collapse again, an expression of contemplation passing over her features. Eventually she looked away, having made a decision "Alright fine, you can stay. But I'm holding you to your word to keep yourself together. If you end up vomiting on the floor, you'll be the one cleaning it up instead of the cleaning crew. Understood?" she said in a stern tone.

Collapse's face lit up a little bit upon her being allowed to stay. She smiled calmly, yet sweetly as she looked into Magloria's eyes. "Thank you very much. If I don't keep myself together I promise I'll be the one cleaning it up and I'll stay until it is perfectly spotless if I do vomit on the floor." she stated and leaned back into the seats.

"Perhaps I may rest here, actually..." she rested her head on the pillow as she looks out into the storm.

"Expect the unexpected. I just uh, keep getting the feeling it won't be a normal storm. Maybe I am worried or over-thinking it but I really get the feeling that something unusual is going to happen..." Collapse said in a slightly worried, ominous manner.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Magloria said dismissively as she refocused on her task of making sure the boat was kept safe. She wasn't really interested in Collapse's mutterings about the unexpected or unusual storms. Too many former crewmates, ponies, griffons and particularly zebras went on about it. It would be just a regular storm as always. The rain worsened as they kept sailing on.

The rumbles of thunder got louder. Pretty soon Collapse could understand what Magloria meant about the rocking feeling. The boat just wouldn't keep still for even a moment as large waves rose and fell below them.

A few times they could see the deck of the boat before them get flooded with water as a wave crashed against the side of the boat, causing large amounts of rocking back and forth.

Collapse didn't say anything in reply. She wanted to let Magloria focus on the wheel there. She could feel the shakes of the Thunder within her body and the seats as they rode on. Out on the deck, she was amazed at seeing the water crashing against the side of the ship. Collapse was very glad nobody, and nothing was out there.

Collapse could feel the intense rocking as boat rocked back and forth in the waves. Surely, any rest she would have gotten would have been ruined so she didn't really see a reason to try at all. As she sat there she thought about the responsibilities Magloria was having on this ship.

Collapse's own job was very important, but Magloria is the one who was responsible for keeping everyone and he boat itself safe. "You are very talented and I have to commend you on the will to guide us along safely." Collapse spoke in appreciatory manner.

Magloria didn't even look at Collapse this time when she responded to the praise. "Thanks, but we're nowhere near done. Expect at least a few more hours of this. The storm was of a decent size so it shouldn't last too-" Magloria paused, suddenly focused on something outside.

To Collapse, all she would see was blackness, but something seemed off to the captain. She immediately stood up and headed over to the door to the deck, opened it, then wandered outside into the rain with absolutely no hesitation, shutting the door behind her.

Her destination was one of the spotlights. As soon as she reached the light she began changing where it was pointed at, shifting it from the deck to somewhere out in the waters. Some waves seemed quite high, while others were surprisingly low in comparison.

It didn't take long before a drenched Magloria bolted back inside, not even closing the door, and started to press various buttons rapidly.

Chapter 4

Collapse was quite shocked at Magloria's sudden movements. "C-captain! What is it?" she asked frantically as Magloria ran out into the rain. Before Collapse had a chance of running out into the rain Magloria had bolted back inside. Collapse was soaked by the oncoming rain into the door.

Collapse quickly would shut the door as she watches Magloria push the buttons rapidly. Collapse stood back in fear of interfering with Magloria's duties. She really wanted to know what was going on and by the look on her face she was quite lost and confused by this situation. Upon looking out into where she was pointing the spotlight at something out in the waters.

"What is that?" Collapse asked, looking more.

As soon as Collapse asked the second question she could hear a hum below the boat. Magloria just turned the ship's engines back on, and was now busy turning the wheel sharply to the side.

Outside there just seemed to be crashing waves, high and low. Collapse was unable to make out exactly why there was an issue, at least from what she could see. "Just my luck. Damn things shouldn't exist anywhere if I had anything to say about it."

Magloria angrily muttered to herself, before turning the ship's intercom on, indirectly addressing Collapse as she did so.

"Attention all crew, we've just entered the outer rim of a massive whirlpool leading into the ocean floor. Emergency stations NOW!" Turning the intercom off, she moved a hoof over to the ship's throttle and slowly began to increase the power supplied to the engines.

Collapse stood there in shock at what she had just heard. The sounds of the waves and Magloria's moves at the wheel seemed to reign for all eternity within her mind.

Her fear became absolute as she froze up for a good couple of seconds. "How is that possible?? M-magloria if anything happens here I just want you to know one thing!" she looks into Magloria's eyes. "That it was an honor standing by your side...I-if we make it out of this alive, I would like to stand by your side as a loyal friend..." Collapse said almost longingly before standing at the stairwell that would allow her to go down into engineering to assume her duties there. She looked down at the stairwell as if it was a doorway to hell.

She knew her duties. If Collapse was going to go down with the ship, she was going to go down with honor fulfilling her orders. She gave a salute to Magloria, a few tears strolling down her eyes at the prospect that it may very well all end shortly. She would quickly wipe her tears away. She had a duty to do, and she was going to do it well. Wiping her tears away, Collapse proceeded down into engineering to monitor the mana-drive and other machinery to make sure it was performing as it should.

Magloria rolled her eyes as Collapse's speech, shifting the wheel a bit and increasing the throttle further. "Well then I guess you're going to be a loyal friend then, because we're DEFINITELY going to survive this. I'm not going to die to some stupid abomination of an ocean condition!" she growled.

Magloria paid no attention when Collapse left, far too busy with keeping the ship from getting dragged in further. Down in engineering, Collapse could hear the engine humming loudly, it nearing it's safe levels of output. Performing her duties was difficult however, due to the constant shifting and rocking, making everything unstable to work with. However there was a problem. The engine could run at a decent pace for hours at a time.

At higher levels it would consume power at a much faster rate, and it had already been some time since Collapse started working back in engineering. Whatever Magloria was trying was taking too long. Eventually the engine would give out. Collapse knew that it was only designed to be recharged safely when it wasn't in use. Something would have to be sacrificed, either time it's spent active which would drag them closer to the center of the whirlpool, or safety precautions which may risk blowing the engine completely, especially due to the unstable environment.Collapse walked up to the mana drive, looking to the others. Her face was that of firm resolve but on the inside she was extremely torn. She looked to the others as an idea crossed her mind. "I know this may sound downright insane, but what if I charge the mana drive with my magic? That way, it wouldn't be recharging from its natural supply technically. But if we do that, I risk injuring myself and an unknown result would occur." Collapse spoke as she was doing her duties, holding on tight to the wall.

"We obviously need to have thrust to get us out of that whirlpool! Its either charging this thing directly which would very well risk blowing it! Or it is me risking myself to charge this engine indirectly through a spell. What are your opinions? I need answers, quickly!" she looked to the others with a look they hadn't seen across her face before. She was very much prepared to risk herself if it meant buying them time, or rescuing the ship from the whirlpool itself.

The only other in the engineering room was Jump Start, who was only here because emergency protocols said she should. She immediately shook her head. "Don't do it! You know how dangerous doing something like that is! We might still be able to get away with the power we have!" she tried to reason.

A wave caused the boat to lurch to the side, causing Jump Start to stumble from the unexpected movement, straight into a wall. Clang. That looked like it hurt. Jump Start was still awake, but lost her footing for the moment. Judging from the grimace she was making it hurt enough to leave a sizable bruise later and make moving around to help harder.

Collapse looked to Jump Start. "Oh shit! Are you okay?!" she'd ask and moved up to her to check her. She was out of commission for now, in Collapse's mind it was best to get out of engineering and let her handle this. "Jump Start, please go to another safer location. I don't want you getting hurt!" she spoke as she looks to the core. "I am going to inform Magloria of the options." Collapse went over to the coms and pressed the button. In the bridge Magloria hears the crackle of the speaker come on.

"Collapse to the Bridge! Captain, we have a few options. One, we try to get away using the power that we have. Two, we charge the mana drive while the engines are on to give us a boost but that will run the risk of blowing the entire system. Three, I will take the personal risk and charge the core myself as to not run the risk of an overload of the charging systems, but at risk to myself! If that is what you want me to do, I'll do it without question. Option four would be to combine various of these methods. What do you think? If you have any other options, please say so." Collapse asked clearly, and quickly. Collapse would await the decisions.

Jump Start started to get up with difficulty, due to the constant movements. "Yeah. I'm- ow... I'm fine." she replied. Collapse couldn't see anything wrong, aside from bruising across her side. She wasn't interested in Collapse's attempts to get her out of engineering. "I can still do my job! Besides, there is no safe location right now." she retorted, stumbling over to the section where they keep their mana batteries, inscribed metal cubes containing large amounts of power. Heavy too. It didn't take long for Magloria to come to a decision. Most of Collapse's suggestions were stupid, in her opinion. No self-respecting engineer would even think of it.

"Don't you dare risk yourself or our only means of getting away!" Collapse heard her shout. "We're rounding the outside of the whirlpool right now, but we need enough speed to break free. The whirlpool is giving us that speed! We just need a few more minutes before we achieve that. DON'T do anything stupid until then!" The intercom shut off again. It wasn't even half the estimated time for freedom when Collapse heard the loud hum start to stutter.

The engine was running out of power. The propellers were slowing down and soon would cease function completely.

Collapse didn’t seem to respond to Jump Start’s words as Magloria yelled over the loudspeaker but would keep close to her and made sure she didn’t fall over or hurt herself again. Collapse would say, “Alright alright, I understand!” she quickly shouted back as she observed the mana core. That loud hum was quite chilling to hear. It is something she never wanted to hear. Collapse felt guilty for making those suggestions but in her mind she was only doing what an engineer would, think of possible ideas for a problem and then share it with others to come to that conclusion.

Collapse wasn’t going to do anything against Magloria’s orders since she would be blamed for anything going wrong. She had to do something, but what? Collapse goes back on the speaker when she hears the loud hum start to stutter, it is likely that Magloria can hear this over the speaker. “I don’t know how long it will last for! We must do something or we will be going into that Whirlpool!” Collapse speaks in a highly serious tone.

After hearing that the engine was losing power, Collapse could hear Magloria growl before she spoke up again. "Dammit! Alright, new plan. I'll be shutting the engine off temporarily. That should give you time to insert a new mana battery and get things working again. We won't have much time, the whirlpool seems to be getting stronger. Contact me again when it's done. Go!" Upon hearing what the captain had planned, Jump Start immediately tried to extract one of the mana batteries from it's storage, with difficulty.

The injury wasn't letting her get a good grip on the heavy material. The humming sounds stopped, signaling that the engine had been shut off. The rough waves seemed to get even worse without the propellers keeping the boat moving forward, making it even harder to work. Even worse was entire boat was starting to lean to the side as it went deeper towards the center of the whirlpool. Enough that Jump Start seemed to have trouble keeping herself in place as she grappled with the battery.

"Alright, I understand!" Collapse called back to Magloria as she steadies herself upon the engine shutting off. Collapse would quickly move over to Jump Start and used her own magic to steady herself as she would begin the extraction of the battery currently in the mana core. Collapse unlocks the clamps holding it in and quickly slides it out. Once the empty battery is out she just sets it down onto the floor.

No time to organize things. Collapse goes over to Jump Start and stays near to her so she can keep herself in place. She stumbles a little bit and takes a few seconds to regain her footing as she would help Jump Start extract the battery. Once it was extracted she began to lift the battery into the air with her magic. She didn't have a lot of time. Collapse opens up the insert for the battery in the core and then slides it in properly. She puts the clamps in, making sure it has good contact and is in secured in place. Collapse calls back over the speaker, "New battery back in, go!" Collapse shouts quickly.

Collapse successfully manages to extract the battery currently within the engine core and assist Jump Start with grabbing the new battery, however it was when she tried to install the new battery where things started to go wrong. Before she was able to bring the new battery into the core, another powerful wave crashed against the boat, causing the entire room to shudder. The part which supplies power to the lights must've been too badly jostled, as suddenly all the lights within the room went out, except for Collapse's magic.

Worse still was Collapse suddenly found herself knocked aside as a heavy, furry body impacted her. Jump Start, unable to keep hold of where she was with all the tremors, ended up sliding downwards. Straight into Collapse. She was now pressed against the ground by someone trying to get off of her, her magic most likely disrupted by the impact, and no lights to guide either of them to the engine.

Collapse was knocked back by Jump Start. She knew it wasn't her fault but she would be lying to herself if she wasn't upset. It took her a few seconds to realize what had happened. The power supply for the lights was likely jostled out of place, and now there was no lights. She remembers what Rope Burn joked about, but here it was no joke. Magloria wanted them to carry the lantern incase of situations like this.

Collapse uses her magic to push Jump Start aside as she fells around for her lantern, which landed nearby to her as she was carrying it with her at all times. She flicks the lantern on, and illuminates more of the room with her own magic as well. The new battery was knocked aside on the floor. Collapse wraps her magic around the battery, attempting to lift it up but before anything, she checked to see if it was damaged. "J-Jump Start, I need you to help me here. I know you can do it. I know we can do it..." still after this, Collapse hadn't gave up her hope.

Jump Start was shoved away successfully, ending up uncontrollably sliding past further to the far wall. The angle the entire room was at was now steep enough that Collapse also started sliding in the same direction, even with her magic helping her keep steady. As soon as Collapse turned her lantern on, a bright electric white light illuminated everything in the nearby vicinity. This included Jump Start, pressed up against the wall and attempting to stand again. She still looked mostly fine, if a bit scared now of what might happen.

The battery thankfully was not damaged. They're designed to be as tough as nails, so there was very little risk of one becoming unstable, leaking or otherwise causing issues. Jump Start whimpered as she was addressed. It's not that she was afraid of helping, it's that Collapse was asking of the impossible now. "I can't! It's too steep! I'll just slip again if I try!" She even tried moving back up the slope towards the engine, but she kept sliding back each step. Sometimes hooves were not the greatest to have. The intercom turned on. The lights were out, but it seems the power to the speakers was not. "We need our engines back on NOW! We're almost in the center of the whirlpool!" Magloria's voice shouted through the system.

Collapse strengthens her magic as she watches Jump Start. She felt quite bad for Jump Start and looked on with sympathetic eyes, her eyes saying that she was sorry. Collapse steadies her breathe, looking scared of what would happen as well. She was glad the battery wasn't damaged and grabs it with her magic. "Then I will try, don't worry! I'll handle it! Just try to stay steady, okay?" Collapse said in a worried manner.

When the intercom turns back on Collapse straightens up, "The wave that just struck us knocked me and Jump Start back, the new battery was tossed to the side when I got it out of the casing! Thank Celestia you reminded me of the lantern, the lights are out down here!" Collapse shouts back, and leaves the coms on as she lifts the battery in her magic and turns it in the manner and attempts to slide it down into the drive and put the clamps on from a distance, so she wouldn't have to climb up the steepness.

Jump Start nodded and remained in place, unable to do much else other then watch what Collapse was doing. It's a good thing the things on the other side of the room was secure, otherwise she may end up having to deal with alot more. Or at least she figured they were secure, the leather straps seemed to be holding.

With all the constant shaking it was hard to move the battery to the correct position, especially since it's weight made it hard to hold for too long before needing to rest. Despite this, Collapse was able to insert the battery into the core, securing it in place with the clamps. By now the room was so steep that any normal attempt to walk up it without the ability to grip would end in complete failure. Thankfully the door out of the room was still accessible, so they weren't trapped.

Collapse makes sure the new battery is fully secured within the core. Collapse looks to Jump Start. "It's in, it's in!" she said with hope and then turned to the speaker. "Turn the engines on, NOW! The battery is secured within the core!" Collapse called into the speaker.

It was heard for Collapse to steady herself but she was able to stand. Collapse looks onto Jump Start, glad that she managed to put the battery in the core. Hopefully it would be enough. After that happened she looks up towards the other things on the side of the room, she was glad that she secured them into place and holds her lantern in her magic so nothing would happen with it. Collapse sighs of relief upon the success of the battery being inserted into the core.

Jump Start looked very relieved that the battery was successfully installed. Her whole body at this point was shaking from adrenaline, so much so that she had to sit down just to keep herself from falling over. At Collapse's word, the engine started to hum again, starting low at first but slowly getting higher and louder.

It seemed like they'd finally start leaving the whirlpool. However several minutes passed and, despite the engine roaring, the room was still at an extremely steep angle. That was when they heard the sound of metal snapping and felt the boat lurching. Jump Start became alert again and started searching for the source of the noise, but couldn't seem to find it. "What was that!?" she shouted in panic.

"I don't know! It could be the frame or the bulkheads snapping and creaking from the stress!" Collapse shouted back at Jump Start, Collapse was getting quite scared now. "Look, we need to go see what is going on, we can't just stay in here!" Collapse opens the door and moves a little bit over to the door.

She was quite worried at how the room was still at a steep angle, but she had no way of knowing how big the whirlpool was outside. "Come here, if you can't walk here yourself and if you slip, I'll catch you! We'll go look for the noise and see if there is anything we can do to help!" Collapse said, shaking quite a bit. Collapse's whole body as well was shaking with adrenaline out of concern for her life, as well as all the other lives and the ship itself.

"Y-yeah, right. There's nothing we can do here anymore." Jump Start agreed, quickly hobbling along the wall in the direction of the door. The distance between the wall and the door itself was a problem, but nothing she couldn't handle. With a pained grunt she leapt up towards the door, getting most of her body past the frame before pulling the rest through. Depending on where they were headed, things would be easier than normal or borderline impossible to get to. Thankfully the stairwell up to the bridge was in a place where they didn't have to climb up the slippery floor to reach.

As they walked out into the hallway Collapse steadied herself, hobbling along as she looks to Jump Start and made sure she was able to follow her. "If you need help walking, I will help you." Collapse stated as she walks closer to her, offering a reassuring hoof. "Let's head to the bridge. The captain will know what is going on, I hope." she spoke quickly and waited for Jump Start to take her hoof if she needed help up the stairs.

Collapse nodded, "Alright, I understand." she spoke to Jump Start as she up the stairs slowly,. Collapse gulped at what she imagined what would happen on the bridge. She hoped that Magloria wasn't hurt, and when they arrived she would see that was not the case. Collapse nervously cleared her throat. "New mana battery is installed, hopefully that should keep us out of the whirlpool." she spoke to Magloria. "What are you doing? We heard a really loud snap and felt the boat shift a bit, did something break?" Collapse asked, trying to remain calm but Magloria and Jump Start could tell that she was quite nervous.

Magloria spared a single moment to look over to where Collapse and Jump Start had appeared from before going back to pushing buttons. "Oh yes, something definitely broke. Where we're at in the whirlpool the currents are too strong. That snap you heard?" she paused her button pushing, "That was the sound of one of the propellers being torn apart."

"WHAT?! What are we doing to do?!" Jump Start panicked, stumbling as another wave hit the boat, almost falling back down the stairs.

"There's not much left we can do, short of absolutely reckless options that may kill us all. We don't have enough thrust to make it out anymore with only 1 propeller, and the currents won't give us enough speed to escape." Magloria explained.

Collapse stands by Jump Start as Magloria explains. She looks utterly mortified and sighs loudly as she looks to them. “We are fucked…we are so fucked!” she muttered under her breath but it was loud enough to be heard. Collapse whimpered a bit as she sat down at the seats beckoning Jump Start over.

“We better think of something quick or else we will die tonight…” she spoke seriously. “ she drums her hooves on the table. “So the propeller snapped, we certainly can’t go out there and fix the damn thing uhhhhh, lets think here…anti gravity spell? I can do that but I can’t lift a whole ship…” she thinks outloud.

“How about we gather all the unicorns out back and perform a spell by mana linking our selves to compensate for the broken propeller? Like it would be as if it wasn’t broken? But I am not sure how we would do that…” she sighs. “I did my best and there was no way that I could have predicted this. Now, I do wonder about something…what would cause a whirlpool this big? It doesn’t seem natural…” Collapse said in a scared tone as she looks to Jump Start in fright.

Collapse's words of despair only worsened the panic that Jump Start was experiencing. She looked like she was ready to jump straight off the ship if it would allow her to survive for longer. It wouldn't, but logic is hard to come by in a fear-addled mind. Magloria shook her head at Collapse's idea.

"An anti-gravity spell would not help. We don't have the unicorn power to get the ship airborne OR act as a propeller powerful enough, even if we could get them all here somehow, with the ship as it is!" She let out a sigh as Collapse pondered about the nature of the whirlpool. "Oh believe me, these are definitely natural, but rare as phoenix eggs.

They're often caused by- woah!" Her lecture was interrupted by another violent shake of the boat, causing her to grip tightly to the control panel in order to not fall. Jump Start however did not have such support. With a sudden yelp, she ended up stumbling backwards, back down the stairs and out of sight. They could at least hear her moans of pain as she landed at the bottom. The boat got even steeper, now practically on it's side. They could hear loud crashing outside, telling them they were about to enter the center of the vortex. Water was now crashing right up against the bridge's window in thick sheets.

Collapse yelped upon the sudden violent shake of the bolt, interrupting her conversations. The boat was really on an incline now and Collapse was now really really afraid. She sat there a moment, her fear racing through her mind. Still, she desperately attempted to control her fear. She could hear Jump Start's pained moans at the bottom of the stairs, she felt so bad for the poor thing.

Collapse got up quickly, holding onto the walls with her magic to proceed down the stairs to get Jump Start. She wasn't going to allow Jump Start to be alone in this situation. Collapse was being very careful but heading down the stairs at such an incline was difficult. With all her determination, she would aim to reach Jump Start and carry her back up the stairs in her magic. Collapse's mind was running with adrenaline, and she was going to spend whatever magic she had in order to bring Jump Start back up to the bridge. If they all were going to die here, than Collapse would want them to go down on the bridge with the captain.

By this point Collapse wasn't so much walking down the stairs as walking down the wall next to the stairs. As the light of the lantern moved forward she could see Jump Start already getting up, though there were a fair few more bruises on her head, legs and body.

Despite the injuries, she had already begun to move back towards Collapse. Tough mare, though that's a given considering she's an earth pony. Before they reached the bridge once again, they both heard a noise. The running of water, followed by a few cracking sounds. Coming from the bridge was now a small, rapid flow of water. "Well, it's a pity things had to end this way, I suppose." they heard Magloria say from the bridge.

Collapse moved quickly, and would help Jump Start back up the wall instead of the stairs, which would have been weird but given the current situation it didn't really matter. Collapse would reach her hoof out to Jump Start whether she wanted it or not and help her along into the bridge. Upon seeing the rapid flow of water her eyes widened. It was truly happening. They were going to die, Collapse thought.

"M-magloria, there is n-nothing we c-can do now, i-is there?" Collapse asked like a scared filly as she now boards the bridge with Jump Start being pulled along. Collapse sighs. "I really didn't want it to e-end this way...but this is a choice that I made and I knew the risks, so I will...accept my fate..." Collapse spoke, she was starting to cry a little now. Collapse would pull Jump Start into a hug, looking to Magloria. She wanted Magloria to join in with the hug. It was the only place of comfort.

When they reach the bridge they can see what's happening. Magloria has abandoned her spot at the control panel and was now sitting against the wall/floor, there being no point in staying at that spot anymore. The doors to the outside were leaking water through the gaps.

Through the window they could see a constantly swirling blur of water, now at enough pressure that the window was starting to crack, leaking even more water through. Magloria shook her head at Collapse. "I'm afraid not. The only thing left is to say goodbye to your loved ones." she said. Jump Start whimpered again upon hearing that and joined the hug that Collapse was giving her.

Magloria started moving towards the pair, intending to join the hug as well when she was distracted by the large amounts of loud cracking sounds behind her. The glass had begun to shatter completely, causing massive amounts of water to flood the bridge, ensnaring them all in an overpowering flow of water that they could not hope to fight against.

Collapse's horn flared up with a golden hue. In a time like this, that hue would likely seem heavenly. The hue surrounds the three of them and forms a golden bubble. This would prevent the glass, water and other debris from hitting them further although Collapse couldn't react in time to stop them from getting drenched. Upon her shield raising up she would pull Magloria into the hug and would pat both of them.

"Mom, from the start I knew that I wasn't born from you. Even though I was an orphan, you always loved and cared for me. You were there at my first sale of my inventions, smiling with your heavenly smile. You were only a single mother, and you had your hooves full with me...but you did good, and while you worried...I always believed in you. You always supported and loved me no matter what, even though we had our bad times we got through it. You supported me when nobody else did, even when I failed that one time and risked someone's life. That is why they call me Collapse, Magloria and...Jump Start." she sighs, tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes.

"They called me that because I was a failure. But I refused to believe in that...I took that name as a badge of honor, and I moved forward...! I kept pursuing my dream of becoming an inventor, and when everything changed I wanted to explore the world and that lead me here...my friend Pencil Pouch believed in me too, I don't know where I would be without her, she was always there for me and when our paths changed in life we would still write each other...she was the closest thing I had to love...she was going to join me on this crew but something happened to where she couldn't make it...she never told me...." Collapse wheezed more.

"But alas...after all that, we are about to die like this...can't say I'd change how it all ends... At least we get to die with dignity..." she would tighten her hug, burying her face into Magloria and Jump Start's fur.

Jump Start and Magloria sat and listened to Collapse's story, not uttering a word as she practically poured her heart out, and not resisting her attempts to bring them even closer together. Neither of them really had anything else to say after all that, and nothing needed to be said.

The shield started to suffer increasing amounts of pressure from the water outside, making it harder and harder to keep it up.

Inevitably, the shield would collapse, forcing them into the maelstrom of liquid filling up the bridge. After the room had filled up with enough water, the currents began circulating in and out of the room, causing loose objects to get dragged out of the boat, including the three of them. Jump Start and Magloria held all of them together as much as they could, but they would eventually get dragged out no matter what they did.

Collapse would hold onto the two of them as hard as she can, she was able to hold onto the two of them as they were dragged off the boat. Her thoughts were that of pure love for her friends, and her family. That included Magloria and Jump Start as well. If only Collapse had her fly ring, she would be able to save them from the whirlpool. But that fly ring was down in her quarters, and it likely wouldn't work when it got wet anyways. The water was so cold outside. Collapse quite frankly had no idea where they were now.

Whether they were at the edge of the whirlpool, deep inside of it, she had no way of knowing. All she knew was that she was holding the two of them by her sides, Collapse was a bit strong for a unicorn though. Collapse's shield was no longer there. Now that the pressure was gone they would feel the water all around them now. Collapse held her breathe tightly, she wasn't sure about the others. If they had felt open air above them, Collapse would reform the shield. There wouldn't be the pressure all around it at the very least. Collapse was going to hold onto Magloria and Jump Start, as well as her own life for as long as she possibly can. Not until every last fiber in her body has given out.

Collapse had no opportunity to recreate her shield. Even if there was a pocket of air around them, there was no way to tell it was there, and very little chance of reaching it and raising the shield at the right time. All 3 of their breaths were held, but slowly it was running out, until it reached the point where they were starting to lose consciousness. Magloria was the first one to go, her grip weakening then failing completely.

Collapse didn't know how long Jump Start lasted, she seemed to be doing better than her. Assuming there was no other efforts to save themselves that would miraculously work, they all ended up passing out from lack of oxygen.

Chapter 5

Despite what she may expect, whether it be that she would pass on to the afterlife or dream eternally, Collapse started to regain consciousness.

It was a feeling Collapse had never wanted to feel, she was going to drown. Part of her expected some kind of afterlife, the other part just expected her existence to be over then and there. What Collapse wouldn't had expected was for her to regain consciousness. Her eyes open, and she was coughing up water. She didn't check her surroundings just yet, not until the water was out of her lungs. It was a horrible, desperate sound. But she had to do it.

Though Collapse hasn't started checking her surroundings, she could already make out that wherever she was, it was quite dark. Only the faintest blues could be seen off in the distance somewhere. She could feel the chilling dampness of her wet coat, soaked through. The cold feeling was made worse every few seconds as water seeped into her fur from small waves lapping at her prone position.

Compared to the rushing sounds of water from the whirlpool, the noises that she could hear were blissfully absent. Just a dripping sound every now and then and the calming sound of the waves hitting the shoreline. Oh, and the sounds of a half-drowned unicorn attempting to expel every single drop of water she accidentally breathed in. Once she was done removing her lungs from her body, more of her senses could detect her surroundings. The smell of salty ocean water was still present, mixed together with a rich earthy smell. Grains of something hard shifted beneath her body and hooves, like sand.

Collapse opens her eyes. She has no idea what could have happened, she honestly just expected she died and was now in the afterlife. She feels what she thinks would be sand under her hooves once she fully removes the lungs from her body water from her lungs. She coughs more desperately, and can now breathe. It took a bit to get the water out of her lungs, but she made it and gasps for air.

She moves away from what she thinks are waves, slowly gathering herself to her 4 hooves and shaking her fur off to remove some of the wetness. She looks directly up to see where she is, looking around. "M-magloria! Jump Start! Please...I don't want to be alone..." Collapse wailed, desperately searching for them or any other signs of life.

Her voices reaches out into the distance, echoing back to her several times. No one replies to her however, or at least, nothing that she can understand. All she gets in return are a chorus of bat chirps and screeches. Now that she's properly looking around, she can see (or barely see) where she is.

Almost everything is pitch black, with the exceptions being what appear to be glowing blue lichen or moss hanging off various rocky walls and, apparently a ceiling. The ground is hard to make out, but she appears to be on some sort of dirty, sandy beach.

Tiny rocks can be seen glistening everywhere from the wetness of the nearby water. There was another source of light nearby. The water, it seemed, contained luminescent fish. One of them in particular briefly showing off a wide variety of oranges and blues before dimming down again. The fish seemed to be everywhere in the water, so she got a good indication of where the water went. In only 1 direction, like an upstream river. Of course, there was the near pitch blackness of the rest of where she was, the lichen and the bats, if that's what interested her.

Collapse's horn lights up with a golden hue to allow her to see her surroundings better. From what she can assume she seems to be in some sort of cave or something of that sort. But how did she end up here? Was this her afterlife? Did she wake up from a dream? She had no answers to that currently.

The glowing fish were beautiful and she watched them for a few moments as she gathers her thoughts. Collapse proceeds forward, she was going to attempt to find some sort of 'exit' from where she was. Part of her thought of something, what if the whirlpool actually did go to the ocean floor, and she was at the bottom of the ocean floor? She was going to investigate further to really find out where she was. That was the priority, find out where she is and find the others.

Collapse assumed correctly, for the most part. As soon as she ignited the glow of her horn she could see clusters of rocks making up absolutely massive stalagmites that reached up towards the ceiling, which was high enough that the light didn't properly reach.

Most of the ground was that same sandy dirt, so at least she didn't have a rough time walking on rocks.

Collapse overlooks the stalagmites, amazed at how large of an area she was inside of. Looking off to to the sides she proceeded to walk along the water where she landed. If there were others, perhaps they were along the water's edge much like she was. At least that is what she thought, for now. Collapse thought to herself, perhaps they ended up in a cave under the ocean floor that is somehow not flooded. An air pocket of sorts.

Half an hour passes of nothing but more water, more rocks and soil, and more glowing fish within the water's depths. That was until she saw an eerie glow off in the direction she was headed for. The light, mostly hidden by rocks, was a calming yellow color.

Whatever was making the light was certainly stronger than her own glow. It could almost rival the ship's magic lighting system. Though something else was clear about this particular light. It was moving, going up, down, to the side and occasionally being obscured by the rocks. Whatever it was, it was most likely alive.

The sighting of this glow made her shiver a little bit in nervousness but in a way it also was hopeful. Someone else, she hoped. Collapse looks at it, she didn't call out for it as she didn't entirely know what it was. She picks up the pace and heads towards this strange yellow color.

Collapse's aura was that of a golden hue more or less. So if this belonged to someone carrying a light or a unicorn's glow than it is entirely possible they might also notice Collapse's own glow heading towards them. Collapse would stop when she is close enough to get a good look at whatever was causing this glow.

Upon rounding a tight cluster of rocks, close enough that she could remain mostly hidden if she needed to, she saw what was creating the bright glow. Or rather, who. Seems those fish had a good use after all. What Collapse saw was a still very bruised Jump Start, wearing what looks like a glowing spined catfish on her head, strapped down by ropes of unknown origin. She appeared to be attempting to ignite a small pile of plants by striking together some rocks, but was having trouble due to her injuries.

Collapse grins. "Need help there, Jump Start?" she asked, her previously sorrow spirit being ignited by a newfound hope. She would head towards Jump Start and approached the plants. Her horn sparked a little bit before she fired a small laser at the plants which ignited them. It wasn't perfect, but it was better than striking together some rocks. "I don't know how we survived...that, but apparently we did. Are you okay?" Collapse asked with sympathy.

The moment Collapse spoke, Jump Start turned to face her. Her face was initially fillled with disbelief, but after rubbing her eyes and realizing that Collapse wasn't a hallucination, she broke out in a massive smile. "COLLAPSE! YOU'RE ALIVE!" She shouted before rushing straight over to her and hugging her tightly. "I- I don't know how we survived either. I was passing out, I thought I was going to die right there!

But then I woke up later, lying on a beach. I couldn't see anything except these fish! I felt so alone! But then I saw one of the fish walk out of the water." She took a deep breath. "IT WALKED, COLLAPSE! Tail fin like legs and everything!" she started shaking Collapse in her excitement. "So I grabbed it and used it as light! But I was cold, so I needed warmth. I was trying to start the fire, but it wouldn't work. But then YOU FOUND ME! I'm SO glad you found me!" She squeed in delight.

Collapse hugs Jump Start tightly, her hooves wrap around her in a tight warm embrace. Even in Collapse's slightly damp fur Jump Start could feel the soft warmth of Collapse. "Hahaha, I thought we were dead, but your ALIVE! I have absolutely no idea where we are, but its so good to see you!" Collapse nuzzled her in an affectionate manner.

This continues for a bit, as Collapse rubs and coos Jump Start, telling her that it would be alright. "Now, now...I had the same experience as you did. These fish are cool, strange fish! I wonder what they are! I woke up here, having no idea how I got here...then I looked around and I eventually found you! I am so glad your safe! I thought I would be alone here forever...I thought I would die here but I found you! Gods, you really are my hope! I guess you could say, you Jump Started my hope!" Collapse said with a boop to her nose and then she sighs. "If you are alive...than that means Magloria might be here, quick, we should look for her!" Collapse said in an excited motion, her tail wagging. (edited)

Jump Start gave out an embarrassed groan when Collapse said her name as a pun. She should've been used to that, but she never did. Still, the boop cheered her up afterwards. "Oh! Yes, of course! She's probably alive as well! She was with us at the time. Maybe the rest of the crew is also around here somewhere as well, and the boat!" She said, releasing Collapse and looking around the place.

Her fish headlamp shone light wherever she turned her head. "If we could find the boat we'd be way better off! There's plenty of supplies in it that we could use, even when drenched. All we need to do is find out where it ended up. It can't have gotten far." she nodded to herself in agreement before looking back at the fire. "But first we should warm up for a bit, maybe? It's pretty cold down here."

Collapse sits down next to the fire and feels her hooves over the flame. She smiles as she feels the warmth of it. "Yes, let's warm up for a little bit and then we will go look for Magloria. Now, I have a few ideas as to where we are. Either one, we ended up on the ocean floor somehow inside a cave.

Two, we ended up on the shore...of somewhere else somehow, or three we were directly saved by some unseen force...but we really don't know where we are, do we?" she asked quizzically as she felt the warmth. She shifts her legs a bit, so she can feel the warmth more. "I really would like us to find the captain first before anything though! She was with us and we need a captain to continue our mission." Collapse states, calming down a bit from the hugs. She was trying to think of a way to proceed forward.

Jump Start strokes her chin as she thought over what Collapse has just said. "Hmmm... I'm thinking the first one is the most possible right now." She looked up, showing a rocky ceiling, far out of reach of either of them. "We seem to be in a sort of cavelike place. Plus I think I heard something before, like mice or bats or something. They usually live in caves." What she didn't expect was for Collapse to mention their mission.

For all intents and purposes, their mission was over, she thought. "While I agree on finding the captain, what can we do about our mission? We've got no idea where we are, and no mapping supplies even if we did... We should just forget about it and try to find each other instead." she stated. By now they had warmed up a bit, enough to feel at least a little bit comfortable, if still damp. The fire was starting to dim, indicating that there wasn't much left of it anyway.

Collapse nods. "You are correct. That's what I meant by mission...we have a new mission now." Collapse said with a sad sigh. "Find the captain, find the rest of the crew and hopefully the ship. I hope there are survivors, we will salvage what we can to survive. We are not going back home without a working ship. I know that I am good at repairing things but whatever happened to the ship is far beyond my abilities of repair...at least it would take years to fix it. If the ship truly sunk than I would have no idea where to even start in fixing it."

Collapse stated with a sad sigh. "Mice, bats? It wouldn't make sense for such creatures to be at the bottom of the ocean floor, you know...? So that would mean we somehow washed ashore inside of a cave. But as far as we could have seen there were no landmasses and we had at least another week to go until we would have reached our planned destination." Collapse looks to the fire which was going out. "Well, let's go find the captain...and hopefully the others too. Our new mission begins." Collapse stood up as she looks to Jump Start. "You are injured, but not too badly. You will heal in time." Collapse said hopefully.

"Alright. Alright, ok then. We'll go do all that stuff you said then." Jump Start agreed, standing up as well. "So..." she looked over to where the water was. "We're just going to follow along the water until we find something that looks like it could lead us to someone else, right?" She looked the direction that Collapse came from, then the other direction. "I came from over there." she says, pointing at the other direction.

"It keeps going for a while, I think. Just one big stream. No idea what is at the end of it, aside from maybe the whirlpool. Who knows what that looks like from down here." she explains, talking a few steps towards it as she did so. "Maybe it's like a massive lake? Or a mini ocean?" she pondered.

Collapse takes a few steps towards it as well. "Well, might as well checked it out. We should be quick though, just in case." Collapse states and begins to proceed in the direction Jump Start pointed to. "If we really do end up looking up at the whirlpool from down here that will be...certainly something.

And if the whirlpool is there we may have limited time to get out since, if it moves or dissipates this entire area would flood...so lets hope that it doesn't move if we truly are at the bottom of it." Collapse shudders. Collapse sighs, looking over Jump Start to get a look at her features, and her cutie mark. since I don't know what she looks like and I want someone to draw her

As they both walked along the shoreline, Jump Start continued the conversation. "Well that depends really. If these rivers are flowing somewhere, that means there is more space for the water to flow into. By heading upstream, it would take longer before whatever flooding happens." She idly kicks at a random stone, causing it to fall into the water with a splash. "Besides, there may be places where the flooding wouldn't even reach, like little air pockets. We could find one of those later." she looks up at the ceiling, "Assuming we can reach them, that is." From Collapse's observations. Jump Start was an earth pony, with most of her coat a beige color.

Her hooves and ears however were a more orange color, the colors fading together. The fur around her hooves didn't quite reach them, either cut short or just didn't grow that long. Her mane and tail, somewhat short and straight, was a far more vibrant orange color, showing enough contrast that you could still see her ears through the hairs. True to her name, her cutie mark was a pair of separate black wires, one to the left and to the right, with electrical magic flowing between the two. Her left foreleg has a leather strap wrapped around it, with several loops that would be used for tools and instruments that she needed quick access to. Besides a hammer, the strap was bare. Most of her tools were lost in the waters. As they walked, the sound of water rushing further ahead could be heard more and more clearly. They were definitely approaching something that sounded big.

Collapse acknowledges her looks. She thinks Jump Start looks rather pretty. “Well we will see eventually. It sounds we are headed up go something, Any guesses? I think we are heading up into a large open area that will allow us to look up at the whirlpool from the bottom.” Collapse suggested. “You are good at this. We will look for those air pockets in time. I hope we can find them, too. Perhaps we might find something, or someone else here.” Collapse suggested hopefully as they approach the sound further ahead. Collapse definitely figured it was the whirlpool, if not than perhaps a water fall of some kind.

Chapter 7

Collapse was going to attack the spider but before she could it ended up getting impaled with crystal. Collapse looks on in shock at the spider being speared through like that. She froze up upon seeing it. "Shit! Run, more spiders!" Collapse shouted before stopping and realizing that there were no more spiders coming from what they could see, but instead the presence of someone who was oddly familiar. Her eyes soften at the voice, hoping it was who she thought it was. "M-magloria?" Collapse turned towards the voice with a slight sniffle in her voice.

"Well who else were you expecting? A friendly windigo?" The light blue unicorn asked sarcastically, her horn lighting up to draw water from the river, crystallizing it into a new shard and letting it rest on the ground. That was definitely Magloria alright.

Jump Start couldn't help but squee as soon as she knew for certain that their captain was in front of them, alive and... well, she had several scratches across her limbs and face, some of which had bled recently, but she was mostly fine other than that. Magloria continued. "Now, while I'm all for celebrating finding each other again, this place is still infested with spiders, so we should go somewhere else. This one is one of the weaker ones. You don't want to meet the yellow ones."

Collapse did a large squee upon confirming it was Magloria. Collapse was really happy to see her but contained herself. "Oh, its so good to see you! We were looking for you!. There are also really large lobsters around here that disguise themselves as rocks and we were glad to largely avoid those. We can confirm..." she pointed towards the whirlpool lake. "Over that way is quite an impressive body of water, many meters deep and there is a waterfall larger than any that I've ever seen. It's pretty beautiful actually." Collapse said with a smile.

"We really should find a way out of here, if there is one. I feel like we are on the bottom of the ocean floor in a cave underneath the actual surface of the ocean floor. As for the whereabouts of the ship itself and the other crew, I haven't got a clue." Collapse spoke with a pun there, but looked to Magloria to lead the way away. She was the captain after all.

Magloria began leading them back to the whirlpool lake, speaking as she did so. "Yeah, I've seen the lobsters and the waterfall lake. That waterfall is actually the bottom of the whirlpool, if you could believe it. It's size matches what we fell into, so you're correct about being below the ocean." "So far I've been searching for any clues to a way out, or the rest of the crew. I assumed everyone else was dead when I woke up alone. Didn't find anything until you two showed up." They reached the location of the lobsters.

If Magloria was worried about them, she certainly didn't show it. Instead she kept moving forward, straight through them all. Jump Start was hesitant to follow, but did so anyway. Surprisingly (or unsurprisingly), none of the lobsters cared about the ponies wandering through. "I've been exploring for a bit. Haven't found much else besides what appears to be the territory of a whole colony of bats, plus the spiders around these parts. Did you know they have community nesting grounds? Ugh. Horrible place." Magloria said.

Collapse followed through the lobsters and was glad nothing came of them. Perhaps the lobsters were more docile than one had thought. "I am glad that we didn't run into the nesting grounds of the spiders. We had a few encounters with them but I was able to drive them off, thankfully. Now, that waterfall interests me. Do you think this whirlpool is natural? As far as I can tell, or imagine, it has to be stationary above where we are in order for that waterfall to be maintained, if the waterfall lake is any indication of it. I don't know much about whirlpools, but I find it unusual that is the apparent case." Collapse states in deep thought.

"When I woke up, I had been alone for a while until I was able to find Jump Start here. I did however manage to find a board of rotting wood, so it is entirely possible that we are not the first to share our fate. There could be others here, we don't know long this system of caverns extends for." she added.

"The whirlpool is definitely natural, if this cave system is any indication. However something likely happens to close the whirlpool up every so often, otherwise this cave would've completely flooded centuries ago. It's possible that floor debris clogs up the whirlpool, and only occasionally does it get released." Magloria theorized. A couple spiders wandered along their path. Upon seeing the ponies, they moved towards them, not realizing until it was too late that a frozen spear was launched at each of them.

Magloria scoffed at the corpses, recreating her spears in the process. "If there are really any others who got caught here before us, I doubt they would've survived for long. If they did, they would've found a way to leave already." she pointed out. Finally, after a lot of walking they arrived back at the whirlpool lake. "Now." Magloria started, "I've already explored those two rivers over there." she pointed in a direction that they hadn't been in yet.

Jump Start added the river the two of them had also explored. "Then that means the next one is over in that direction." Magloria concluded, summoning her magic before aiming it at the water. In instant a small ice raft appeared, which she jumped on. "Get on. We're sailing over there, while we're at calm waters."

Collapse seemed rather impressed at the appearance of the small ice raft and gets in, sitting next to Magloria. "Your powers are most certainly impressive and useful, my friend." she commented as she looks up at the waterfall. "I just hope that whirlpool doesn't close up anytime soon or else we would be truly trapped in here." Collapse stated as she adjusts her position next to Magloria.

Given the ice, it was rather cold to sit on but it was well worth it. "If there were others before us perhaps we'll find remains or clues to escape, something like that at the very least. We will soon have to deal with water and food. We can't drink salt water. Don't you suppose you could purify water using your power, Magloria?" Collapse asked as something crossed her mind. "You know, I think the reason we were able to find each other is because the three of us got sucked out of the ship, and the ship itself was either destroyed by the ocean floor or ended up somewhere else." Collapse stated.

Magloria was unimpressed by Collapse's line of thinking regarding the whirlpool. "Whether it closes up or not is irrelevant to our situation. Unless you've got the ability to counteract several tones of water every second, plus gravity, and have transport ready to go topside, we're not getting out that way." she said. After Jump Start got on as well, Magloria flicked her horn, causing them to slowly start drifting towards the next river. Magloria grimaced a bit at the thought of getting them fresh water. "No, I can't purify the water here, otherwise I would've done so during the boat trip. I can condense water from the air if we absolutely need to, but it takes a lot of magic to do so. It'll only be a last resort." Jump Start whimpered when Collapse pondered over what happened to the ship.

"So you think the ship sank and the rest of the crew is dead?" she asked. Magloria sighed. "As much as I hate to admit, I also think that. The ship wasn't designed to escape easily when flooded." At this point they had reached the next river, and already they could see some distant red, blue and green glows. Whatever was down there, there was a surprising amount of light.

Collapse nods to what Magloria responds with. "Well, I hope that isn't the case...but it probably is." Collapse grimaced upon the thought of that. "I think the only hope of reaching a true escape would be to find a cave system that leads to land and last I remember we were nowhere near any land...." Collapse ponders just as they arrive into the next river with the strange glows in the distance.

"It looks like we are heading up on something. Maybe it could be...glowing crystals? I can't really tell from this distance." Collapse's eyes squinted a bit. She was hoping they were heading into an area with something useful rather than dangerous spiders and lobsters.

It wasn't glowing crystals that they ended up finding. Before they even reached the place a thick smell of fungus entered their noses. Jump Start covered her nose, clearly offended by the pungent odor. "Are those... mushrooms?" Jump Start asked, staring at what appeared to be a literal forest of massive mushrooms, grown like trees to be far taller than them. The glow it seemed came from sections of the mushrooms where tiny spores came from. It seemed there were 3 different kinds of mushroom competing for space.

Fat red capped ones, some large enough that they look like they could be hollowed out and used as homes. Tall green ones with pointed tips, reaching for the roof of the cave. And rounded blue ones, which had lighter blue spots covering them. Looking at the spots brought a strange sense of calm to them. "Well... now we just need to figure out which ones are safe to eat. I hope you both like mushrooms for dinner." Magloria stated.

Collapse also covers her nose upon the arrival into the forest of massive mushrooms. She looks at them in utter awe, she once read a story about something like this. She can't exactly remember what it was about but it did involve giant mushrooms. To have a childhood story be something that is validated by something is nothing short of exquisite. Collapse looks at the spots and feels the strange sense of calm.

In a calm voice she says, "Things like this only existed in stories...and now we are seeing it. It is nothing short of amazing...looking at them I can already feel some sense of calm within them. Perhaps the blue ones are the ones that are safe to eat? I would imagine they also have some psychedelic powers. If you ask me, I don't really think I am in the mood to go on an acid trip." Collapse joked. "But yes, I think we'll be your taste testers, captain." Collapse said with a chuckle.

Magloria glanced over to Collapse, noticing her rather calm yet vacant expression. With one swift movement, she tapped Collapse right in the face with her hoof. It wasn't enough to hurt, just shock her out of her daze. "Focus Collapse. Let's not go eating mushrooms before figuring out if they're poisonous or hallucinogenic. First tests are to see if your skin has a reaction to them, anyway. Part of a wilderness survival guide." Magloria tells her.

Jump Start receives the same treatment of a hoof to the face, apparently having also been put under a calming state. Later she received a second hoof, harder this time. Before long their raft reached a lake. It looked like a good place to disembark for now. The raft was starting to melt after all. With a magical push, the raft hit the shoreline, Magloria and Jump Start getting out. Strangely enough, there were nothing but large stumps and tiny shrooms closer to the water edge, as if someone had chopped them down.

Collapse was jolted out of her daze and shakes her head, looking at Magloria. "Right, right. Understood. Those things have a sense of...something within them that makes it hard for me to think straight. " she spoke and looked away from the mushrooms and focused on Magloria and Jump Start. Collapse noted that Jump Start was also in a calm state and smiled. Magloria meant well for them, she thought.

Upon reaching the shoreline, Collapse exits the ice raft and notices the stumps close to the water edge. With one hoof raised she looks back at them. "I have a feeling we aren't going to be alone here." she spoke quietly, and with a little bit of hesitation in her voice. "I think we should first make sure we are in a safe area before we perform any...tests." she stated.

"What do you mean?" Magloria asked, looking around the mushroom forest, searching for something that Collapse might've seen. One of her spears rose into the air, anticipating an attack. Jump Start moved over to one of the stumps, sitting down on it as she did so. She searched too, but couldn't see anything either, even with her glowfish.

"I mean that we should always be weary of our surroundings, you never know what could be hiding in these parts. Plus, something cut mushrooms down previously." Collapse stated and put her hoof onto the stump Jump Start was at. Collapse looks around for any signs as to who, or what created the stumps as well as anything seeming unusual in this area.

"Oh. So you didn't see anything then." Magloria nods, taking a closer look at one of the stumps. Good thing it wasn't the one Jump Start was sitting on or it might be slightly embarrassing. "Seems like whatever did this had proper tools. There are sections cut that are smooth..." Magloria stated.

Both her observation and Collapse's search (which came up with nothing but mushrooms and rocks) was interrupted by a sudden sound from the water, causing both Magloria and Jump Start to turn to the water. Something moderately big must've broken the surface then dived, because they only caught a glimpse of white with no glow before it was gone. "What was that?! It didn't look like the fish we've been seeing!" Jump Start shouted.

Collapse looks over at the water and went back over to them upon hearing it. "I bet what we just saw was probably some sort of fish we haven't seen yet!" she spoke. The previous confusion upon finding nothing went away upon the sighting of the fish, or so Collapse thought it was a fish. "There is probably someone or something who lives here...I wouldn't think that any lobsters or spiders could cut away at them so precisely like this." Collapse muses somewhat.

"Yeah, I don't think they could do that either. Those lobsters... maybe could do it with those massive claws of theirs?" Jump Start said, but shrugged off the idea. "Nah... They're too slow to get here in short notice, and I don't see any around." "Well in any case, you wanted to set up a safe area before trying some of these mushrooms, correct? Well... maybe not want to try..." Magloria brought them back to the original discussion, muttering the last part to herself.

"In that case, we may need to split up to set things up faster. Not the best idea, but we don't have numbers to help us. Collapse, you and I will go in different directions to check the mushrooms, make sure they have nothing bad. Jump Start, try to uproot some of the smaller mushrooms. They could probably be used as logs for a campfire." She ordered, preparing to set out.

Collapse nodded to Magloria's orders. "Right. I will go that way." Collapse pointed off towards the left. "We will meet back here in say, how about a half hour? How does that sound?" Collapse suggested to the two of them. "I'll check the area for anything important, if I find anything interesting I'll tell you about when we reconvene or just call you over." Collapse added before taking a hoof step in that direction. "Good luck, hopefully we can find something. I think this place is the most survivable we've found yet." she stated in a hopeful manner.

"Right. We probably won't need half an hour. Just come back within that time, and we won't have to go out looking for you." Magloria agreed, before heading off in another direction, through the mushrooms. "See you. I guess I'll wait here..." Jump Start waved, turning to look at some of the mushrooms, she quietly spoke to herself. "I guess... I'll just kick some of them... That should work. Hmm? ... Nah." Ahead of Collapse, she could see... mushrooms. Big ones, small ones, fat ones, skinny ones. Lots and lots of mushrooms. Ew, some of them had snails crawling on them. Surprising those can live down here, given the salt water.

Collapse waved and headed off into the mushrooms, being sure to remember her directions back to where the others were. Collapse's face contorted in disgust upon seeing the snails. She was going to stay away from those. As she proceeds forward she looks for any different, unusual types of mushrooms or signs of habitation. Just anything unusual here, in general.

Collapse saw a few things around the place that could be considered unusual. The first was that those snails were apparently babies. She came across a section of the forest where some of the mushrooms had vanished, leaving holes in the ground. It turns out that the culprit was none other than a massive snail, seen slowly devouring one of the massive mushrooms in it's path. A trail of thick, oily slime left behind it.

There was another mysterious absence of mushrooms in another spot. Only a single mushroom could be found, a purple one with yellow spots. It seemed to shift occasionally, for whatever reason. Maybe it was best to avoid it. Finally she came across something she'd likely dread. A cluster of blue mushrooms had been heavily webbed, but there were no spiders nearby it seemed. It was far enough from the camp that it shouldn't be a problem, but still, spiders lived here too. (Goodnight)

Collapse notices the massive snail devouring the mushroom. "Huh...that explains why the mushrooms are missing but a snail couldn't cut them out..." she mutters under her breathe and stayed far away from it. That snail she found rather creepy, she didn't like snails at all even before all this. Icky things! Upon finding the purple one with yellow spots, she avoids it completely as she realizes the blue mushrooms. She felt a sense of calm coming over her again and looked away from it, but proceeded away from it quickly. She indeed dreaded the spot of the webbing over the mushrooms. Thinking that's where they all set up in and thought they might be about on the prowl for prey, so she wanted to move away from this area. She proceeded around, looking for anything that seemed to be edible and safe, or any signs of civilization here.

Collapse searches everywhere, but no matter where she looks she can't find anything that seems safe. It's just mushrooms everywhere, and maybe the occasional bits of glowing moss that she's seen before. No light-absorbing plant could grow down here, even with the mushrooms and their glow. There's no signs of civilization either. It's too far away from any rivers to find scraps of shipwrecks, and it's unlikely that snails had a civilization. Even if they did, it probably was not one worth visiting. Half an hour was almost up, or at least she thought it was about that time. It was hard to tell without a day/night cycle. She should probably head back now.

Collapse, realizing that she didn’t find anything else would proceed back to the camp. At least that is what she will call it for now. Collapse hopes the others found more interesting things. This is a really interesting place in her eyes, even though snails and spiders are unappealing it is the best option so far for a place to stay, at least for now. There are probably more places down the river. If anything, this is one of her fillyhood dreams. Exploring an underworld…of sorts. But considering the circumstances she feels conflicted of if it is worth it.

Collapse found out it was rather easy to spot the camp. Jump Start had already set up a lit campfire... somehow. It smelt alot like burning mushroom, but that was the sacrifice needed for warmth. Apparently that's not all that Jump Start did. Using harder pieces of a larger mushroom, she had set up a grill of sorts, where several smaller, softer mushrooms were cooking. Upon noticing Collapse approach, she waved. "Hi! I was bored so I made this. Do you think the mushrooms are better when cooked? The blue ones seem better, anyway. Staring at them doesn't calm me down anymore." she said.

Collapse approaches the camp with an impressed grin on her face. She was quite impressed with what Jump Start just did. Amused at how she made a mushroom grill too. Collapse sits down next to her. “Wow! You are quite good at this! Its really interesting how the blue ones work like that.” She says with a smile. “I wonder what they taste like but we should probably wait for Magloria to get back first.” she said. “I wonder what the different colors mean. Different effects maybe? Its pretty amazing how all this is underground.” she adds

Jump Start blushed at the complement, clearly not used to them. "Uhh... thanks, but I didn't really do much... There were a lot of mushrooms around and it was boring waiting..." she said. She casually poked the grilled mushrooms. "I dunno. Somehow I think these mushrooms have changed when I cooked them. See this red one?" she points at a reddish-brown piece, "I'm pretty sure I heard it popping when I first cooked it, and it smells different too." she explained. Before long, Magloria came back to the camp, with what appear to be a pair of woody knobs stuffed in her nose. "Ugh, we're not going in that direction. It was an absolute swamp over there. Pretty sure there were large mosquitoes as well. Those things could suck you dry if you're not careful." she complained, popping the rudimentary corks out of her nose as she did so. (Looks as well as I described her. Nice job.)

Collapse nods at the explanations she heard. "Welcome back!" she was a little amused at the woody knobs stuffed in her nose. She probably couldn't handle the smell. Well over in the direction I went there was a MASSIVE snail that was eating a mushroom, I saw a weird purple and yellow mushroom that kept moving around a bit. I didn't touch it.

The worst part is, in a cluster of blue mushrooms I saw a bunch of spider's web so there are spiders here, but I didn't see any. Only the nest, I presumed it was." she looks back to Jump Start. "Well, do you think that we should test these mushrooms? I think that they would be way more safe if they are cooked than raw." Collapse asks the two of them. "But we should probably touch them to make sure we don't get any allergic reactions first." she suggested.

Magloria nods at Collapse's report on the nearby land. "Alright, so we're not going to be attacked here. We can relax now." she states, sitting down on one of the mushroom stumps. She looked towards the grilled mushrooms. "Hmm, I didn't think about cooking them, but that should help remove some of the toxins, if they contain any. This part, where we first touch them, wait, then lick them, wait again, and finally eat a small piece before waiting again is boring, but necessary." she said.

The red one looked significantly browned by the heat, and as Jump Start previously stated, it popped and has a weirdly different odor. The green one, shaped sort of like a spear, seems to have shriveled up somewhat, leaving it wrinkly. The blue one's spots have dimmed from the heat, but seems to have swelled up from the heat instead of shriveling. "Everyone, choose a mush-." Magloria said, stopping herself mid-sentence. She started whispering. "Don't look now, but we're being watched from the water. I can see something out of the corner of my eye."

Collapse was about to address Magloria's comments about the mushrooms and proceed with her suggestions before she froze up slightly at what Magloria said. "Maybe whatever is watching is, is what we saw earlier. What we thought was a 'fish' may not actually be a fish...but something else..." Collapse suggested with a whisper, not looking away from the mushrooms for now. Collapse then would touch the blue mushroom with her hoof for a few moments with slight pressure applied on it before she pulled her hoof away and waited for any affects to happen.

"I choose the green one. You can decide the other ones." Collapse stated quietly to Magloria and Jump Start as she shifted about to get more comfortable. Collapse was feeling on edge with what Magloria stated. She didn't like the idea of being watched.

Magloria would've shaken her head if she wasn't busy not looking in a certain direction. "No, it's not a fish. From what I can tell, it appears to have long ears or feelers, and a long face. Could be some sort of underground crocodile. I can't make much more out though, it's too dark." she said. After touching the blue mushroom then announcing she'd choose the green one, the other two got confused.

"But you touched the blue one, so isn't that your choice?" Jump Start asked. "You've already touched it, so you're stuck with it now. You're picking blue." Magloria stated, moving over to touch the red one, while Jump Start touched green. Eventually a splash was heard, signifying that they were no longer being watched. "It's absence doesn't mean it's gone, just underwater." Magloria said.

(Hahaha that was a typo but I'll roll with it) Collapse nodded to Magloria's description. "I haven't really seen anything quite like that before but my best guess would indeed be, a crocodile. If it attacks we can handle it." she statd and then would decide to address the mushrooms.

Collapse giggles a bit at their talk of the mushrooms. "I was seeing if you'd catch onto that. Since we are...lost, a little humor now and then doesn't hurt, does it?"she smirked as she heard the splash. "Well, I would recommend not going anywhere near the water, at least for now." she commented when looking over to the water slowly to see if she can see anything over in that direction.

Jump Start gains a small smile upon realizing it was intended as a joke. Magloria, as they've come to expect from her, doesn't react. "Aaanyway..." Magloria starts, "No. We're not going to go near the water, not until we make sure it's safe, and we're not doing that until we're done with these mushrooms." Collapse couldn't see anything over in the lake, aside from the glowing fish below.

Even when Jump Start looked over they couldn't make out anything except a few underwater plants and a few non-glowing fish. Some time later Magloria started scratching at where she touched the mushroom. "I think I'm getting a rash. Looks like red is off the menu. You two enjoy the next step, licking them."

Collapse smiled back to Jump Start, and the way Magloria shrugged it off made her giggle a bit again. Collapse notices there were no glowing fish, she assumes they are in an area where they don't frequent or don't venture into. When Magloria scratches at the spot where she touched the mushroom Collapse looked to her with a concerned manner. "Well, let's hope for the best..." Collapse levitates the mushroom in her magic close to her mouth and licks it. Once.

Then she puts it back down and proceeds to wait, as she thinks about the taste occurring in her mouth. "Hopefully these are safe to eat. I wonder if we eat them long enough, if they are safe, if any changes will occur within our bodies. Mushrooms have benefits, at least, some of them." she states.

Collapse must've been mistaken, because there definitely were glowing fish in the waters. Non-glowing fish too. The taste of the blue mushroom... it was strange... it was bland, yet salty and sweet. Completely different to a regular mushroom from the surface, if she'd tried any before. Jump Start looked worried, not really considering the possibility that the mushrooms could change them. "I sure hope not. I don't want to turn into something else. Especially not a spider!" she whined. 15 minutes later and the lick didn't have a reaction for either of them.

"Well looks like it's time to try a bit, and Jump Start, it's not going to turn you into a spider." Magloria stated, only filling Jump Start with uncertainty as she hesitantly lifted the mushroom to her mouth. Another water splash, then a voice. A masculine voice.

"Oi buddy, you might not want to eat that green one." Jump Start jumped in shock, causing her mushroom to fly out of her grip and fall into the fire.

Chapter 8

Collapse had waited and there was no reaction. Just as she heard the male voice was when she was going to take her first bite of the mushroom. She chews on it and when there was suddenly a voice that wasn't a part of their little group Collapse had gagged on the mushroom and almost choked on it before spitting the part she hadn't yet chewed out. She coughed and looked over to where the voice came from in sudden shock.

She stood up and got into a fight or flight stance as her eyes looked to whoever caused it in shock. A few seconds passed and she breathed, to whoever spoke she would say to them, "We...are so...very lost..." she spoke awkwardly, but the seriousness within her words reigned true.

As she spoke, the taste of the blue mushroom remained in her mouth. "Salty." she added.

Next to her Collapse could see Magloria was also in a battle stance, though for whatever reason she hadn't raised her crystal spear yet.

When she turned to the sound of the voice, she saw something extremely odd. "You look strange. No wonder you're lost." they said. There was a pony in the lake! A white stallion with a navy blue mane, swimming about in the water. His ears seemed longer and thinner than usual and he had some interesting marks on his neck, but that was still a pony!

"Who are you, and how did you get here?!" Magloria practically growled. If the stallion took offense, he didn't show it. "Nice to meet you too. I'm Ivory Bush, and I swam here." he said.

Collapse was also in a battle stance and she looks to Magloria and back to Ivory Bush. Surprised at there was a pony in the lake, the only way she could rationalize this currently was that she thought he was from a previous ship that shared the same fate. "Captain, calm down. We aren't here to make enemies." Collapse raised a hoof calmly and closed her eyes as she looks to Ivory Bush.

"But I am glad you answered her questions as they are valid. I don't see how anyone could survive down here, but...I don't recognize you from the crew. Were you from a previous vessel that crashed? How long have you been here?" Collapse asked, noticing his strange appearance but thinking it could be because of effects of the mushrooms maybe? She didn't know what to think.

Magloria immediately softened (somewhat) when she was answered. Knowing that the pony in front of them wasn't a threat made it far easier to be... tolerating of their presence.

In response to Collapse's questions, Ivory took on a thoughtful expression, humming loudly. He got his answers after a second or two. "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about buddy. I've never had a crew, and I don't know what you mean by 'vessel'. Are you talking about a pot, or something?" he replied.

Jump Start didn't know what to make of that answer. How could someone live here but not have a crew previously?

"And how long have you been living here? You didn't answer that." Magloria said, encouraging the final answer.

"Oh that one's easy!" he said, giving a big smile. "I've been living here all my life!"

Collapse was bewildered by his response but then it began to set in. There was entire underworld, wasn't there? The myths and legends were true! She smiled softly at him. "I believe I can explain what is going on here." she looked to Magloria and Jump Start, her voice hush and calm.

"There is an entire underworld. It's all true. Although I have absolutely no idea how large, or how deep it goes you have to say for yourself, there is an entire mushroom forest with snails, spiders and lobsters down by the other areas, glowing fish. We've stumbled into an entirely unknown place. It's only a matter of time until we would have found something capable of...holding conversation." her eyes blink as she looks into Ivory's eyes.

"If what you say is true, which I would think there would be no reason for you to lie about something so outlandish, than there must be an entire civilization down here. We are...explorers of sorts. And by vessel I mean, we were traveling along on the...ocean on the surface in a boat. If you don't know what a boat is, it's a construction that floats on water that we traveled around in. Above, we got lost in a whirlpool. We were unable to escape and the three of us got sucked out of the ship...then the next thing we knew, we ended up in this...underground place." she said with a hoof gesture.

"But the three of us have more urgent manners. We have no water. No food. We cannot drink salt water, we require fresh water. If you could point us in the right direction or even show a more suitable place of...dwelling, I'm sure we would all be thankful for that. But one thing I don't understand is, how can you go under the water like that? We can swim, sure, but you don't seem to have any issues being under the water..." Collapse mused. The way she spoke was calm, cool, and diplomatic.

Ivory Bush nods enthusiastically. "Oh! So you're some of those water walkers! The ones in stories that walk on top of the water instead of swimming in it! That explains why you look so weird!" he concluded to himself.

"I have no idea what a whirlpool is. Do you mean the great water spout? It always drags many neat things from above." He began swimming towards the shoreline, with intent on answering the next question.

Jump Start looked confused. "Wait, what do you mean we look weird?" she asked. By this point Ivory Bush reached the shoreline, and they could figure out why.

"Well your flippers are all thick and stiff." he casually replied as he started waddling towards a clump of blue mushrooms. Instead of regular pony legs, he had white flexible flippers like a seal.

"What...?" was all Jump Start could say, an absolutely baffled expression on her face. "Oh... that explains alot." Magloria said.

"Food's no problem. The blue ones are safe, as long as you don't look at them." Ivory Bush said as he bit down on one of the mushrooms, just like that. "Fresh water through...? Uhhh... I think I heard something about a lot of fresh water to be found near Scorched Reservoirs. It's uncomfortably hot, but that's why the water is fresh!" he said.

Collapse takes in this information and thinks about it further. “The great water spout, yes, that is what the whirlpool would be. We aren’t able to walk on water. We live on land…not really at sea more or less.” Collapse stated in an informative manner.

Collapse chuckles upon seeing his flippers, and how he looks so different from them. “You definitely look built for living in water. That's cool!” She complimented with a wide grin.

“Yeah we don’t have flippers. We uh, have legs and hooves.” Collapse showed him her hoof there. “And the blue ones are safe to eat? Thank you for telling us this! We are going to need fresh water without salt soon though…or we will die of thirst.” her look turned more serious upon that statement.

"Oh, legs and hooves?" Ivory Bush sounded quite interested, waddling over to Collapse and taking the hoof shown in his flipper. "That feels so hard, it's like a bone sticking out." he stated.

Meanwhile, Magloria is busy slicing through various blue mushrooms, harvesting them before sharing them out among the others.

"Yeah, you wanted the unsalted water, I gotcha! I don't know where it is, but I know who to ask!" Ivory Bush replied, moving back over to the water and diving in. "I'm going to be heading down that way, if you want to join me." He pointed downstream of the river."

Collapse lets her hoof be taken into his hold. She smiles at the feeling, “Well your flippers are soft, flexible. Perfect for swimming.” she complimented.

Collapse takes the blue mushroom slices and thanks Magloria for slicing them up as she looked to Ivory Bush. “We have a ton of questions I am sure of it but for now some water, and knowledge of where it is will be most appreciated.” She looked into the water. “We can’t really go underwater. At least, I think?” she shrugs somewhat at that.

“Water and blue mushrooms, living the life.” Collapse giggled.

Magloria nudged Collapse. "He's not leading us into the water, he's leading us down the river." she said. Bringing forth her magic, she reconstructed the ice raft, since the old one had melted by this point.

"Yeah yeah. You want knowledge, well then follow me!" Ivory Bush moving over to the part of the lake where the river continues. Magloria jumped onto the raft, followed by Jump Start.

Collapse nodded, and sits down next to Magloria and Jump Start in the raft. "Ah, I see." she spoke to Magloria before looking to Ivory. "Well, how many of you would you say there are? And do you have a place of dwelling?" Collapse asked Ivory Bush.

Once Collapse was on, Magloria started moving the raft to follow Ivory Bush. Soon they were back on the river.

Ivory Bush nodded. "Certainly do have a place of dwelling. It's a nice place, you'd like it. I've got coral artwork and everything!" he said, "Oh and about how many of us there are? Well let's see... at least several thousand of us! Minimum!" He rose his front flippers in the air in excitement upon saying the last bit.

"Now, I'm going to take you straight to the nearest settlement. Should be able to find someone that can tell you where the Scorched Reservoirs." he added. Turns out the nearest settlement was at least half an hour down the river, so they had time to talk if they wanted to.

Collapse raised an eyebrow at what he just said. "So there is a whole race of you lot down here, beneath the ocean? Hmm, that is pretty fascinating. To give you an idea of where we are from, we've traveled on the ocean for about a week. Further than anyone has gone to our knowledge, in this area of the world. I've never heard of your kind, but I have read story books about mushroom forests underground." she stated.

"As for this system of caves, how far does it extend too? Does it open up completely like one would be able to see a horizon? I have so many questions about it, I hope you don't mind." Collapse smiled curiously.

"Walking on water for a week? That's impressive. Your legs and hooves must've been quite tired after walking for so long." Ivory Bush commented.

"I don't really know how far these caves go. I've never been to the ends of them, and honesty? I'd rather not go down some of these rivers. Some lead to waterfalls or other deadly things, and it would be a nightmare to travel back." he shrugged, or at least they thought he did. It was hard to tell with him in the water.

"But some of the places I've seen? They're maaaaaasive! I've heard that in some places after the great spout closes, the water goes deep enough that even we can't reach the bottom! It'll be really interesting to see that!"

"So basically we are in an entire underworld of various caves, rivers and waterfalls. Are there more mushroom forests, or other such things? I wonder if the great spout has a regular interval of which it closes and opens, or if it is just completely random." Collapse asked.

His comment about walking on water made her chuckle. "Oh, we can't walk on water at all. We sail on water on...boats like this, but they are made out of metal and wood, much much larger than this little raft. That's how we got here, because your so called great spout sucked us in and destroyed the ship we sailed here on." Collapse spoke in a more grim manner at that bit of information.

Ivory Bush grinned. "Oh there's plenty of things here! You haven't seen the Lily Grotto yet, or even the Void Crags! And of course these mushrooms spread out across the caves, we'll definitely be seeing more of them later!" he replied.

He nodded in understanding at what she was saying, finally realizing what she was talking about now that he could see a boat for himself. "You mean the sinkers, don't you? There's a bunch of them at the bottom the great water spout's lake. Has some of the best stuff, if you can get them."

"Does he really call them sinkers?" Jump Start whispered to Magloria, who shook her head in disapproval in response.

"We're almost at Descent. That's the name of the settlement, by the way. You're not going to be able to visit most of it though, but you don't need to anyway." Ivory stated.

Collapse nodded to Ivory’s explanation. “Plenty of things just as I hoped! The Lily Grotto I imagine to be some sort of massive pond with lots of lily pads. Tell me about the Void Crags.” she spoke with an interested grin.

Collapse looks to Magloria and Jump Start. She didn’t entirely understand this pony’s lingo. “We were just at that lake but we have no way of getting to the bottom of it. Tons of glowfish in there it.” she stated.

“I presume we can’t visit since they are all under water.” Collapse figured

Ivory shook his head. "Nah, no lily pads there. Just a lot of algae. Covers the whole lake in green. It was named after... someone called lily, I think!" he said.

"The void crags are brilliant. Scary too! I hope none of you are scared of heights. The river we're on goes straight through a series of deep holes, completely filled with air! You'd fall straight down! Maybe one or two get a bit of the river's water, or so I'm told." he lectured.

"And yes, most of Decent is underwater. Unless you're the water breathing type, and I don't think you are since you haven't dipped your head under the water ONCE since I've seen you You should try it by the way, it's very refreshing for dry skin... you won't be able to go into most of the settlement."

The river turned, the mushroom forest having grown scarce a few minutes ago leaving only rock. Before them they saw another large lake with an island in the center, but unlike the other one, which it was black with glowing fish in it, this one... this one glowed.

Everywhere under the water they looked, they could see lights of blue, green and mixed colours between. Hundreds of little windows and doors, each with their own light within. Seaponies could be seen everywhere, swimming about, doing stuff in their homes, playing, and there were even some on the surface, chilling about or entering the few buildings that could be found there.

"Lily, beautiful name if I say so myself. A river going through holes filled with air? I've never heard of anything like that but I'd be willing to do it as long as it is safe. As we are land dwellers we cannot operate underwater without proper equipment which we obviously don't have." Collapse replied with a grin.

Upon seeing the river turn, and the beautiful site that was granted before them Collapse's mouth drops and she goes silent at how pretty this area is. Collapse sees the massive sign saying "WELCOME TO AQUASTRALIA". It was quite remarkable upon how everything was, the lights, the buildings, it was amazing and Collapse has never seen anything like it even in fiction.

"Wow....! This is so beautiful, there is a whole town here, the water is so amazing with all the little lights, the seaponies going about their business...so fascinating..." Collapse mutters in awe, leaning up against Magloria with dreamy eyes upon how beautiful the surroundings were.

Jump Start was just as amazed as Collapse was, completely unable to keep her jaw from falling to the floor of the boat... metaphorically. Magloria was just as shocked... on the inside. On the outside only her eyes widened at the sight.

Ivory Bush cleared his throat. "Thanks! I live here, so that means alot. Now, I'm gonna have to leave you for a bit to find who I'm looking for, so... just... umm... hang around for a bit. Go see the sights, the ones you can see, of course. See yas!" And like that he flipped himself around and dove, creating a splash.

By this point, Jump Start's shock was over, instead replaced with awe. "Well... now what should we go do? Captain? Colla? Wait, what are you" she asked, then got distracted by Magloria.

Magloria's magic started encasing some of the water around them and manipulating it into a form in front of her. A shift in her magic and it started freezing, taking the form of one of the buildings she could see. A sharp flash and the tiny ice model seemed to take a harder form, if that was possible.

Collapse was too distracted by what Magloria was doing in order to react to Ivory Bush. By the time she realized he was gone it was too late for her to say anything.

Collapse looks to the tiny model of the building that Magloria made with her magic, she watched it take shape and smiles sweetly at the model and looked to Magloria with a really sweet grin on her face. "Oooh, that's also amazing! How can you do that with your magic? Do you like memorize what you see and think about it, then your magic creates it?" Collapse squees in delight upon thinking of little ice sculptures of the three of them.

"Maybe you could make little models of ourselves and attach them to the front of our ice raft here. Yeah, the three of us, exploring the unknown beneath the ocean, from mushroom forests, dangerous spiders, to amazing wonders. The three of us brave on...dun dun dunnnnn..." she seemed to get a little carried away in her thoughts before she inhaled, straightening herself and she quieted down.

Magloria looked towards Collapse. "I can do it as an extension of my talent. Crystallizing water is a rather simple process once you know how to do it. The hard part is shaping it properly." she replied. "As for how I shaped it? No I didn't memorize it. I saw it and my magic made it take shape. It's so I can remember later."

She huffed at what Collapse said next, somewhat uncaring about her enthusiasm, but part of what she said did have a point to it. "Alright fine, I'll add a raft with us three on it. Won't be able to tell the details though, I need my glass cutting tools for that. I'm not adding the rest of the stuff though!" she stated, starting up her magic. In a few minutes she had constructed a tiny crystal raft with 3 pony figures on it.

Jump Start tapped them both on the shoulder. "Collapse, captain, should we do anything while we wait?" she asked.

Collapse nods quietly and observes how Magloria constructs the tiny crystal raft with the figures on it. "Aww, thats so cute, Magloria. Nice job!" she said with a raised hoof and a cheery grin. Collapse looked to Jump Start. "Well, hmm. I don't really think we should go anywhere or do much until Ivory Bush gets back. But, what do you think of all this, in all seriousness? I don't really see any viable ways for us to go back home...we may very well settle down some place in here if we have to." Collapse's expression became a bit more serious at that.

"And besides, while we are here in these underground rivers and environments we should take the chance and explore it. If we are able to find any writing utensils or paper, we should totally write down all we've experienced and do illustrations of it, I am sure our folks back home would really like to know what happened." Collapse states

"There may still be a way out of here, even if it's not obvious at first. Exploring them, as you said, would be one of the better ways to do that." Magloria said, thinking about that for a bit before coming up with something. "Asking the seaponies would be faster. If there is a way out of this place, they'd know."

"In case we don't find a way back, we should still consider what we'd do." Jump Start pointed out, turning unsure afterwards, "Though... I'm not really sure if I want to live in a cave for the rest of my life... Plus I wanted to do other things." she sighed.

"I don't think the seaponies are capable of creating writing utensils and paper. The water would ruin it. We'll have to remember until we get back to Equestria, unless we somehow get lucky and find something of use." Magloria said.

Ivory Bush suddenly resurfaced, this time with another seapony. A mauve coated mare with a twotone mane of light and lighter green. "Hi again! She knows how to get to Scorched Reservoir! Turns out it's just down that river over there!" Ivory said, pointing towards one of the halfdozen rivers flowing out from the lake.

Collapse was about to reply to Magloria and Jump Start when Ivory Bush and the other mare revealed themselves. She turned to them and waved. "Oh, thank you for that information. But I do think it might be for the best if we have someone willing to be a guide and show us around, we don't want to accidentally end up in some place we shouldn't going into." Collapse stated before her eyes turned to the mauve mare.

"I don't suppose you know of any points that lead to the surface, you know, the ocean above? Or of any points of land around on the surface?" she asked and then realized something. "Well, that knowledge around be appreciated but we would likely have to build a new boat from scratch, and have enough supplies in order to cross over into the ocean...so it seems more likely we might be finding a place to settle down at least for the time being." Collapse stated.

"Well then, looks like you're going to have to stay with them for a little bit longer." Ivory Bush tells the mauve mare, who looks... displeased by the outcome. "Don't look at them like that. You needed to go there anyway." he added, earning a huff in response.

From Collapse's observation, the mauve mare didn't have much features worth noting, aside from the thinner ears like Ivory, and deep blue eyes. But considering she could only properly see their neck and head, there was likely more to be seen underwater.

In response to the next question Ivory shook his head. "Sorry buddy, but I don't really know about any places that lead out of here. Never really cared anyway!" he said.

The mauve mare spoke up. "There's one way, others used it before, but now you're not getting through it. You'll try, fail and die." she said in a grave tone.

Collapse sighs at the response she gets from them. “Well that is quite unfortunate. But would you mind explaining why that is the case?” Collapse asked the mare.

“Lets see here. There are grottoes, mushroom forests, void crags, anything else we should know about? Maybe, any safe locations we could make a base camp or home at?” Collapse asked thinking about the possibility options.

The mare she thought was pretty, she thought it was a shame that they couldn’t go underwater with the rest of the seaponies. “I wonder who is in charge though, out of everyone here, too.” she mused.

The mauve mare was silent for a moment, contemplating whether to answer Collapse's question or not. She eventually decided to talk. "Because it's blocked by those who would want you dead."

Ivory Bush nudged her, giving the group a nervous grin. "Don't uhh... Don't take what she has to say to heart. She doesn't mean it." he said, chuckling with uncertainty. "Yes I do." she replied.

"Anyway, moving on, I suppose we should get going first while I answer those questions?" he suggested, which Magloria and Jump Start agreed on. Soon they were heading towards the river that would take them to Scorched Reservoirs, being led by the mauve mare.

Ivory Bush began answering her questions. "There's plenty of safe spots you can find around the place if you know where to look. Though the only ones I know about are under the water. Sorry buddy, but you're going to have to find the dry ones on your own."

"We actually have several elected officials in charge down here. They take care of everything that happens, and shares responsibilities with others. They're busy though, so unless you can go down underwater to meet them, you're not seeing them." He takes a moment to think, "Though... you are unique, maybe you can get special attention given to you...? I dunno."

Collapse was confused by the mauve mare’s statement. “Well that is quite ominous if I say so myself.” she stated, a bit taken back by that response.

Collapse didn’t object to the idea of moving forward. “I am glad you are showing us around, So far the best option for us would probably be the mushroom forest but I would definitely like to find some place less weird. Perhaps a grassy plain or a forest with regular trees, birds, but that likely doesn’t exist down here.” Collapse said.

“Unless there is some sort of spell that will allow us to breathe underwater I wouldn’t think we can. Although I can probably make a shield around us and we could go underwater for limited time, but we’d basically be in a bubble which would be a hassle. I also don’t know how one would talk underwater either.” Collapse stated, seemingly confused about that last bit.

Ivory Bush swims back over to the raft, leaving the mauve mare to guide them. "Don't think about what she said too much. I'm sure she doesn't mean to be a doomsayer, maybe." he told Collapse.

Jump Start and Magloria take part in the conversation about where they could stay. "I don't want to live inside the mushroom forest. It smells bad, and I think I might grow mushrooms of my own if we stayed there too long." Jump Start said.

"I don't think there is going to be grassy fields around here Collapse. No sun, remember? The best we'd end up with would be a place filled with that glowing moss. Who knows, it might even be edible as well." Magloria said.

Jump Start turned to Ivory Bush. "How do you breathe and talk underwater anyway?" she asked. Ivory pointed a flipper at his neck.

"See these?" he said, pointing out the marks he had. "We have gills, as well as lungs. It lets us breathe and talk above and below water! Pretty good, right?"

The caves they were in seemed to get a touch greener. It also started to feel like they were outside during a nice spring morning, instead of during the night. A slight increase in temperature.

Collapse looks to Magloria and smirked somewhat. "Well, if we go deep enough we may very well find a real underworld. One that opens up and has a true horizon and wide open plains. You don't really need a sun to have forests and fields, maybe they just glow on their own. Or maybe there is a 'sun' if you go far enough, suspended high above the environment below. Could also be like, lava or crystals too." Collapse stated curiously.

She looks to Jump Start and Ivory Bush. "Well, I still don't really understand how one would hear you talk underwater. Wouldn't your voices like, not transmit sound due to the water? I'd probably assume you have some sort of clicking or echolocation language like dolphins or sharks. It's a wonder your even actually able to understand our language." Collapse added as they entered into the warmer area.

"Well, I can certainly feel it getting warmer. We're heading towards something hot, alright." she winked to Jump Start and Magloria.

"This place doesn't look like it has any of that, however. Plants could not sustain themselves on their own glow, and there have been no exposed crystals around. Lava maybe, but the heat would wither the plants." Magloria shrugged, turning away to examine their surroundings. "Hmm... we must be deeper into the cave system already..." she muttered to herself.

Ivory looked bewildered at Collapse's train of thought. "What? No. We don't talk like dolphins. We just speak underwater. The same way I'm talking to you right now! Watch!" He dove under the river and started speaking... well, it was speech, but it was muffled by the water's surface or something.

By now the ambient temperature had risen to a nice spring day. A comfortable temperature, if a bit humid. "We're here." The mauve seapony told them.

By now they could see off in front of them a large amount of the glowing moss, hanging from the floor, walls and roof. Many smaller pools could be found along the cavern, hosting a variety of frogs and certain insects. Every now and then water would drip down from the ceiling, often landing in the ponds.

Collapse looked down at Ivory there and smirked. She didn't really believe it until she saw it. "Wow, you really can speak underwater!" she exclaimed in a bit of an amazed manner before looking back to Magloria. "Could be, could be, although somehow these plants and mushrooms survive down here. Just proves you don't really need a sun after all." she smirked as she turns to the surroundings.

Collapse stretched her legs out upon feeling the ambient temperature on her. "That's a great change of pace from being all cold in wet water, in a dark cave." she said happily upon looking at the glowing moss, and the wildlife that was seen. "I truly do wonder how all of these plants and areas came to be down here. Back home, as far as I knew, there was no underground areas quite like this." she spoke.

She turns to the mauve mare. "Whats your name, by the way?" she asked calmly.

Magloria rolled her eyes. Another one who lacks knowledge on herb lore. "Mushrooms don't require sunlight, and certain other plants don't either. They have other ways of getting their energy."

Ivory resurfaced. "I don't know how things got here, but I just know that they're here and that's what matters!" he nodded reassuringly.

The moody marine mauve mare moves methodically towards the river edge, extracting herself from the water. "Unsalted water is in these pools." she said.

They could all now see the rest of her. 4 flippers, just like Ivory Bush, except each of them turned a lighter shade of purple at the ends compared to the rest of her body. Her front flippers each had a tight silver bracelet wrapped around the upper parts, while her tail had a trio of silver rings, helping to keep it straighter. Finally her cutie mark appeared to be a compass, entangled by a series of kelp fronds.

"Royal Shores." was all she said in reply to Collapse's question.

Collapse nodded to Magloria. "Sorry, I don't know much about that stuff so I just have to inference from what little I do know." she said with a reassuring smile.

Collapse looked to Ivory. "Well, I suppose that you have a point there!" she grinned before turning to Royal Shores, her eyes overlook her various features in admiration. The seaponies were very interesting to look at considering how different they were. She takes note of her cutie mark. "I can see why you were the one to lead us to this place. You must know where a lot of things are." she complimented.

Collapse looks to Jump Start and Magloria. "I reckon we get out and take a drink, don't you say? I'm quite thirsty if I say so myself. If the water is too hot to drink than you can cool it down, Magloria. I can't remember the last time I had a good cold sip." she stated.

Royal Shores doesn't comment on Collapse's observations, though she does give a glare when Collapse was busy admiring her fla cutie mark. She's quick to waddle back into the water because of it.

Magloria brings the raft to the river bank, beaching it so everyone can get out easily. Jump Start gets out quickly, rushing over to the nearest pool of water and sticking her face into it, drinking deeply. Magloria is far more composed as she walks over, offering a thanks to the seaponies as she did so.

While the ponies were busy, they could barely hear Ivory Bush and Royal Shores talking to each other in a somewhat hushed tone. "Is that everything they need, or can I go back home?" Royal asked.

"I don't know yet. They might still want to try to go back above." Ivory replied.

"That's completely off limits and you know it! You know as well as I do why we don't go there!"

"But they don't know."

"And they won't know, at least not from me! I'm not going to risk my hide trying to guide them through a suicide mission. If they want to die, then that's on them. Leave me out of it."

The argument ended after what Royal Shores said, Ivory Bush having no idea how to reply to it.

Collapse noticed Royal Shore's stare and how she went back into the water. Collapse felt guilty for probably making her feel uncomfortable by her looks and comments, but she spoke nothing of that and proceeded onto the riverbank and heads towards the water. She smirks to Jump Start and gave the Seaponies a bit of a wave when she went and got a few drinks from the same pool as Jump Start. Once she was drinking the water, she held nothing back and drunk deeply as well.

Upon her drinking she could hear the argument of the two seaponies. She was certain there was some kind of secret or forbidden area. Perhaps it could be some sort of cultural reason, or maybe there are some sea monsters or hostile forces that prevent ones from reaching the surface. But either way, in her mind, even if they did get to that point they don't even have a boat to go back home. What was the point without a working boat?

After a bit, Collapse finishes her drink and licks her lips. "What do you think of the water?" she asked her two companions.

Once Collapse was back on solid land again, she could feel the moss beneath her hooves. It almost felt like soft, short grass. If she imagined really hard, maybe she could believe that they really were in an open field on a nice warm day.

The water pool, thankfully devoid of nearby frogs, was refreshingly cool, especially at the bottom. If they wanted, maybe they'd be able to find warmer waters further down the stream?

Jump Start grinned. "So refreshing after having nothing to drink. We really should find a way to carry some with us so we don't have to keep coming back here all the time." she said.

"I might be able to create a vessel that can hold the water, but it'll be rather expensive to make anything larger than a few water bottles." Magloria added, before glancing to her spear. "And NO, this thing doesn't take much. It's simple to make. A bottle isn't. Though speaking of which..."

Suddenly Collapse gets the spear tossed towards her, impacting the ground next to her lightly. "You should probably have a weapon, as lacking in combat as you may be." she said, manipulating the pool's water to create a new one for herself.

Collapse closed her eyes, and for a few seconds she imagined just that.She smiled sweetly, imagining herself home with her mom at the cherry orchards. Maybe a few other mares...maybe being surrounded by mares! But her thoughts were interrupted by Magloria's spear and her eyes opened at the sudden shock of it. Collapse lifts it up in her magical aura and inspects it.

"Well, I hope that we won't have to fight but if we do, then we better be prepared. I admit, my combat sills are very lacking. I would be better if I had access to my fly ring, and my other tools I could have used for defensive and offensive purposes...but I don't have those." she stated as she overlooks the spear.

"But definitely water bottles are a good idea. Perhaps the seaponies have some containers we could carry around on our backs and just bottle it up if they have bottles." Collapse suggested. "So that way, you don't have to create a vessel." she said to Magloria.

Calling the crystal that was given to Collapse a 'spear' was maybe a bit of an overstatement. It was little more than a stick of clear crystal that gets thinner at one end, down to a sharp point. Difficult to use for someone without magical ability, but for those with telekinesis? It works just as effectively as a real spear could.

"We could ask the seaponies, but I don't think they'd give us things for free. Besides, I'm not going to mooch off their kindness. I can do it, I'd just need a nice mushroom meal afterwards." Magloria responded, preparing to construct a couple bottles of water for them to carry. "I should mention that they're brittle, so try not to break them, either." she added before getting started.

10 minutes later, they had a pair of crystal clear containers in the shape of bottles, and one partially exhausted but still very capable blue unicorn.

They also had a white seapony who had decided to play about in the water while they waited, and a mauve one who was bored.

Collapse takes the spear in her telekinses and overlooks it in awe as Magloria spoke. She nodded and allowed Magloria to get to work. When she was done Collapse would equip the pair of water bottles onto her gently. "Thank you Magloria. I don't think we would have survived without you. You were the one that saved us from the spiders, allowed us to get to where we are, and you also made containers. Seriously, thank you." Collapse stated with a reassuring hoof on Magloria's shoulder for a bit. Her hoof was soft and warm.

Afterwards, Collapse smiles at the two nearby seaponies.

Magloria shrugged and looked away. "You're welcome, I suppose." It's not that she didn't approve of their appreciation, it's just she didn't like to be thanked. It made her feel things that made her uncomfortable.

Jump Start and Magloria also turned to the seaponies. "Well I guess we're done here for now. We'll head back to Descent before deciding on what to do next." Magloria said.

"Right you are." Ivory Bush approved before a confused expression fell on him. "Problem though, the river is now upstream. How are you going to get back?"

"Uhhh... We can walk?" Jump Start mentioned. Ivory slapped a flipper to his face, realizing the obvious solution. "Oh right! Silly me, you've got your nonflippers." he chuckled.

Collapse smiled at Magloria, but Magloria didn't see it since she had been turned away. She wanted Magloria to open up to her, but she knew that she wouldn't get anywhere by pressing further. She had all the time in the world to build a friendship, she thought. Jump Start was likely an easier one so to speak. But Magloria? She was the true apple of Collapse's eye. So mysterious, she wondered what she was like before all this. Something for her to think about.

Collapse turned to the seaponies and giggles at nonflippers. "Yes, we'll walk back with our nonflippers. I think I'll start calling our hooves that instead. It has more character to it." she chuckled. With her spear carried on her bakc, she would proceed to walk back alongside the others.

As they walked back to Descent, the seaponies remained alongside them, travelling in the river. They had the strength to be able to swim upstream, unlike the raft, so they had no issue.

Eventually they came back to the lake with the hundreds of seaponies below it's surface.

"So... what now?" Jump Start asked out of earshot of the seaponies, who were busy talking somewhere further away.

"It's obvious isn't it? There is a way out of here, we just need to find someone who we can convince to help us get there and teach us about it's dangers. I'm not a fool, there's a reason why they don't want to go there, but I want to find out why and decide if it really is too risky or not." Magloria replied.

Collapse looks to Magloria. "I very much agree with that. I really want to find a way out of here myself, but if it is safe to get out of here that will grant us another problem. How would we even get back to Equestria if we manage to escape? We don't have a boat." she said quietly in a manner so the seaponies wouldn't overhear. "I think they are hiding something, but I can't really be sure since we've only met two of them so far. I think it is evident there is some sort of danger in the area of exit that they are unwilling to handle." she stated.

"Well of course they're hiding something. Everyone hides things from strange new creatures that they only just met, especially something as important as a way out from under the ocean. Plus we already know it's a danger they're unwilling to handle. Royal Shores said she wasn't risking her life, remember? What's troubling is what it could be." Magloria told them.

"As for the boat, that's a simple matter of resources. There are plenty of resources already from what I've seen and there are likely much more elsewhere. A way up to the surface implies an island, which could also have what we need." She paused for a moment as she thought something over.

"And if all else fails, maybe I can eventually construct a boat of pure crystal. It would take at least a year though for a properly durable one though. I'd say the hard part is finding a way to get the boat moving. Engines don't grow on trees, and so far I haven't seen thing we can use for sails yet."

Collapse agrees with Magloria. "Well, I know that I built my inventions from scratch so if we find the resources to build something from scratch I very well could construct an engine, although I've only done small engines before for like smaller machines so it would require some prototyping, trial and error, that sort of thing so it would take a really long time but... then lies within the issue of even finding the resources and crafting them, because I don't have any of my tools to do so, so it is highly unikely I will be unable to build an actual engine." Collapse sighs.

"So our best bet would be making sails. If there is an island we'd probably have to cut down some trees and fashion parts of our boat out of it. Perhaps making a small raft for shorter expeditions to possibly look for better areas to build off from. We have a lot of possible options we could do, and that all depends on if there is an actual island or not." Collapse ponders.

"Say if there is no island, and what they are talking about is just a hole that goes to the ocean floor, that will be no good for us will it? An exit to them may be an exit to the ocean floor and not the surface of a landmass." she said in a bit of a grim manner.

Magloria thinks about what Collapse said. It's true that the exit may just be a water tunnel that they would be completely unable to use... Or would they?

"We may still be capable of using a water tunnel, but we'd need to build something completely different from a boat. It would have to be a... underwater... shielded boat... or something. Far harder to make, but if we could keep the air within contained, we could use that to rise up to the surface." she points out.

"That's if it's a water tunnel." Jump Start jumps in, "We don't even know what it is. It could be anything. Even something like a vent for magma that sits inside a volcano!" she said, raising her hooves up in exclamation.

Magloria looked to Jump Start, giving her an odd stare that caused Jump Start to shrink back. "Sorry. My mind got ahead of me." Jump Start apologized.

Collapse smirks at an idea. "I have an idea. I know I have been able to perform an antigravitational spell before. Although that fly ring makes it far more focused and I can really control it. So, what if we make a boat that can also fly as well? Fly right over the waves? But also being able to be a submersible boat too out of durable crystal. But like I said, I don't have my materials so I would have to find entirely new ones." she stated.

"For starters I'm going to need gravite ore. It is varied across the landscape, usually I would get it from sales and deals I'd make back home but if not then its possible to find it in its natural ore state. It has a very unique yellow shimmer to it and if you touch it will make you feel lighter and I can cast a spell on it that can make you float around if you have enough of it with you but you won't be able to control where it goes." Collapse planned.

"So we would likely need sails on our crystal thing, that are both retractable and able to withstand the pressures of the ocean depths but flying over the waves by using sails would mean we would likely avoid any nasty storms and be able to travel home much quicker than on a boat, but that is if the ore is even around in these areas." she spoke and looked to Jump Start with her eyebrow raised, but didn't say anything.

"You might need to put that idea on hold. I doubt that ore can be found here, and even if it was, we wouldn't likely have methods of refining it..." Magloria hmmed for a bit, "Where exactly is such ore found, just from curiosity? Might put that idea on the shelf for later, in case it could happen."

She waited for Collapse's answer, then continued.

"We should make plans on getting to the exit from this place first though, we can worry about making a boat once we have more information." Magloria signaled to the seaponies, who swam over.

"Do you know where we could find someone that would lead us to this exit that you've been talking about?" she asked.

Ivory slowly shook his head. "Not here... we're too far away to bother with that sort of stuff, but I bet you could find someone in the next settlement! It's much closer, the closest one to the exit, if I remember correctly!" he said.

"The ore is usually found closer towards the surface. Because of its properties, it usually forms at low depths from the surface. It can also be accompanied by other ores as well and even be combined with them, such as iron or copper." she states. "Sometimes it can be found in ravines at lower quality though, but that is more common. However there, the process of refinement is more complex."

Collapse nodded to Magloria, finding her conclusion to be sound. "Well, can you tell us about this exit? Why is the exit so dangerous? I'm getting the feeling that there is something forbidden about it." Collapse asked Ivory.

"Oh it's not forbidden to talk about. It's just that... no one really talks about it because no one wants to go there. Those that do are quickly told how bad an idea it is." Ivory said, a worried expression came over his face.

Royal Shores spoke up. "It's suicidal because it's guarded. They came about several decades ago and stayed. No one has ever had a good look at them, at least no one alive. They have ways to stop us even underwater, so we don't approach."

Collapse looks to Royal Shores. "So it is guarded by those which you've never seen before, and they don't come and pose a threat? Seems strange. Do you think they are other seaponies or at least, intelligent like us? Or are they just like, giant lobsters or something?" Collapse asked.

Royal Shores snorted at the audacity of this mare. "You dare say that those things are seaponies?! Why would we murder ourselves like that!? You know what, screw this." She snapped, turning to leave, "Have fun with whatever you weirdos do. I'm out."

Before any of them could stop her (with nontelekinetic methods) she dove under the water.

"Uhh... hmm... maybe you shouldn't have said that..." Ivory Bush commented.

Collapse did nothing to stop her and she said nothing in reply. She didn't understand why Royal Shores would say that. In Collapse's mind, perhaps there was a rival group of seaponies that kept them from reaching the surface. Collaspe strangely enough seemed relatively unphased by that, but internally she was quite sorry for pissing her off but didn't get the chance to say anything before she left.

Collapse looked to Ivory Bush. "...Probably not." she said hesitantly.

Ivory looked awkward for a moment, uncertain about what to do before getting his thoughts back on track. "Yeah... so you'd want to go to the next settlement. It's the closest to the way out from here."

His ear flicked as he remembered something else. "Oh! While we're on that I should mention that it's still pretty far away. At least a couple days of swimming actually. It's the closest settlement, but no one wants to build anything closer. They don't want to risk the chance that they could be attacked."

"I can lead you to the settlement, but no further." he finished.

Magloria look satisfied with the offer, ready to take him up on it. "Sounds good to me. Unless you have anything to say, Jump Start, Collapse?"

Jump Start shook her head, saying a quiet "No." as she did so.

Collapse doesn’t object to the idea of moving on. She was more silent than she usually was and it was noticeable. “Yup. Sounds good.” She sighs and her usually happy demeanor wasn’t there, she really wanted to apologize to Royal Shores but she was gone.

“What is the settlement named? What can you tell us about it?” Collapse asked. It was probably a good idea to know about it before they went there, she hoped that it would be alright.

Jump Start noticed Collapse's fallen expression. Magloria didn't, she was too busy with Ivory Bush. "Don't worry, you couldn't have known she'd react like that." Jump Start said, giving Collapse a pat on the shoulder in comfort.

"Well the place, called Pearlth I think, is one of the larger settlements around here. You see, it's the best connection to around half a dozen places! You could almost call it our main settlement, but I've heard there's another elsewhere called Toscail that's slightly larger." Ivory Bush answered.

"Still though, you'll see a lot more seaponies than here, or you would, if you could breathe underwater. Well, maybe you still will." he shrugged.

Collapse leans into Jump Start and smiles at the pat. To return the favor Collapse reached down to one of her hooves and gave it a gentle squish. "Thank you, you are a good friend." she whispered into Jump Start's ear.

Collapse looked to Ivory Bush. "We'll keep that in mind. Perhaps when we go there we'll ask around in Pearlth and ask around to see if there is a path to Toscail. I really think we should find a place to settle down though. Since we likely won't be coming out of here overnight were going to need a place of dwelling." Collapse stated to the group.

"Also by the way, Ivory. If you can, you can tell Royal Shores that I'm sorry for making her mad like that. I didn't mean it at all." she stated.

Jump Start's hoof flinched when she got squished, as she was not expecting it. "You're welcome." she replied, moving back to her original place.

"You're not going to be making it to Toscail without getting exhausted and finding a place to sleep first. You'll need rest along the way to Pearlth, and Toscail is even further away." Ivory explained.

Magloria huffed at the mention of getting a place to stay. "Well while I do not approve of settling down, it appears we may have no choice in the matter. If Pearlth is as big as you say, we'd easily be able to find a place there." she looked to Collapse, addressing her directly. "And near the exit to this place as well. If we really have no way out, then we'll venture off to Toscail."

Ivory nodded at the request. "Yeah, I can apologize to her on your behalf. She won't forgive you immediately, I know that much, but little steps!"

He swam a little bit away into Descent Lake and pointed a flipper towards one of the larger rivers leading out. "That one over there is how you get to Pearlth. You go through Lily Grotto for half a day, then a bit more. I don't know what else is between here and there though, but it should be fine!"

Collapse nodded to Magloria's statements before looking back to Ivory. "Well, I suppose we should get going then! Unless if you'd think we would be okay with checking out more around descent but that it's up to our captain here." Collapse looks to Magloria with an innocent smile. "But do you happen to have a map or some sort of guide we could take with us? It'd be a really good idea for us to have something like that." she suggested.

"Also by the way, has your records ever said anything about others like us? Perhaps arrivals like us long ago, even in legends or stories from long ago?" Collapse asked with wonder. Might as well know what she could before they headed off. Better to be prepared and in the know.

"I don't have anything left here to do, we may as well leave as soon as possible." Magloria stated, beginning to walk around the edges of the lake in the direction of their destination. Jump Start and Ivory Bush followed along.

Ivory nodded. "Yep! We've got a map of the various rivers that you could have a look at ohhh." he realized something, "You said take with you. Sorry, it's not going anywhere. Big stone slabs tend to be hard to move... and you can't go underwater anyway. Heh... nevermind!"

He nodded again. "Yep! There have definitely been others like you as well. Well, maybe not exactly like you. They were different from you, not described as a seapony with stiff flippers like you are. But there definitely have been others. They don't appear very often. One of my favorite bedtime stories was about them!"

Collapse looked to Ivory in a disappointed manner about the tablets. "Ah, thats unfortunate. I know that I could probably make some sort of bubble and we could go down there and look but I don't really think my bubble would last long underwater." Collapse sighs.

She rose an eyebrow at the comment about the bedtime stories. "Can you tell us about those stories? It will be interesting to hear and I'd like to know about that." she spoke calmly.

"Sure!" Ivory agreed. "So how I remember it is that one time when the great water spout opened up, a big wooden structure came crashing down, sinking to the bottom, like all the rest. But then the group of creatures that was on the wooden thing swam to the shore. They eventually met us and we became friends with them."

"Noble creatures with big feathery bodies and wings, soft fur like ours and sharp claws. They protected us from the nasty things that live out of the water, when we are at our most vulnerable. In return they were given what they could not reach under the water." He finished the story.

Ivory turned away slightly. "Later I also found out that they eventually passed away from old age, and their children died protecting us. I guess this place was just too dangerous for so few of them to survive in."

Collapse sighs at that. "What you are saying is that a ship crashed and the occupants were stranded, just like we were. I believe what you are talking about are Griffons." Collapse nodded with a fascinated expression. "You see that explains what happened to us almost perfectly. A big wooden structure is what a ship is, that's what we are going to need to return home, or at least, something similar to it." Collapse stated.

"Weeeeeell I don't think I can help you out by making a ship... heheh! I've seen one, or at least part of one. I have no idea what goes where, only that the others pulled out some cool stuff from inside!" Ivory Bush said casually.

"Griffons though? That's what they were called? The story called them Feathercats. Seemed accurate, and it was just a bedtime story."

The group arrived at the entrance to the river that they needed to go down to get to Pearlth (or the closest place without swimming). Magloria started the construction of another ice boat.

"Uhh... I'm wondering if I could go find myself some padding...?" Jump Start asked. "The boat is cold, and I don't really want to sit on one all day."

Magloria nodded, giving permission. Jump Start thanked her before rushing off. Seemed she was busy tearing some moss off the walls, and even chipped the rock wall in her haste.

Collapse looked to Jump Start. "You have a good idea there!" she smirked as she ran off and then looked back to Ivory. "Well, as a matter of fact on the Constance, that our ship was called, I was the chief engineer. I was responsible for basically stopping it from falling apart and making sure everything was in working order. Lots of stuff to do! Tightening screws, fixing pipes, making sure the mana core was working among other things!" she stated.

"When we got into the great water spout we lost control due to the battery core being overloaded. I had to fix it and when I was fixing it the engines were off, meaning the spout pulled us closer and closer and it took me too long to put the battery in but either way it was too late. One of the propellers snapped and then from there, the ship went on its side and we got sucked on...the three of us got separated from the ship and we expected to die!" Collapse exclaimed, shaking a little bit.

"But we made it...everyone else likely didn't though..." Collapse was shaking more at that.

Ivory listened intently to the story that was being told. It wasn't so much the technical side of things that interested him, but the fact that it was a story very similar to the ones he enjoyed, and entirely new! He could go and tell others about the story and spread it around!

"Wow, that sounds amazing! I'm not sure about half the things you said, but it sounds like you had a rough adventure! Sorry about your friends." he said.

Jump Start came back, her back loaded with several sheets of glowing moss. Magloria levitated the moss over to the raft, creating 3 spaces which they could lie down on. "Alright, we're ready. Hop on." Magloria said, leaping onto the raft, shortly being followed by Jump Start.

"I'd like to hear more stories, but it seems you must be going. Maybe if you return?" he asked, looking a little crestfallen that they must separate. He would follow, but he still has obligations in Descent.

Collapse hops onto the moss by the others and stretches down. "Ahhh, so much better. Now I won't have a frozen butt when I sit down." she laughed before looking to Ivory. "Thank you for all you've done. Feel free to tell the others! Maybe you can make a new story for your children, if you have any that is. You've been so nice to us and I am sure that someday we can do something to help you out." she would reach over with a hoof of hers towards him to give him a pat or a hoofshake.

"Nah, I have no children. I plan to have some someday though." Ivory rose a front flipper out of the water to shake it with Collapse, when he suddenly wrapped it around her hoof, then shook it. Sort of weird, but a much firmer grip.

"Well, goodbye you lot, safe travels!" he said, releasing his grip and swimming down into the water. It looked like he was gone, but then he suddenly rose back up out of the water at speed, launching into the air with a somersault before splashing into the water again, swimming away for good this time.

"Nice guy. Well, let's get going." Magloria said, her magic activating to gently push them over to the start of the river to Lily Grotto, and later Pearlth.

Collapse shook his flipper and savored the feeling of his slippery yet soft flipper wrapped around her hoof. "Stay safe!" she called out when he had swam away. She watched him until he went away. She was sad that he was gone now, but upon thinking of it they truly had to find a way out of here if she wanted to see her mom or other friends back home ever again.

"Lets go." she sighs as she turns away and looks to the bottom of the boat, once again seeming to lose her demeanor. Now that he was gone, the true severity of the situation began to set in to her mind.

With one final shove they were onto the river, slowly taking them away from Descent.

Jump Start thought Collapse looked a bit down from having to leave Ivory behind. Reaching out a hoof, she wrapped it around Collapse's shoulders. "Cheer up. We'll see him again someday." she said.

Magloria, while somewhat concerned with her crestfallen crewmate, knew that Jump Start could take care of things. So instead she kept an eye on where they were headed, and kept the raft from hitting the riverbed.

The river went though boring looking caverns for a while, but eventually they could see tiny green dots of light in the distance.

On an unrelated note, Jump Start's glowfish was starting to wish it could go back into the water. It could not communicate this however, as it could not speak.

Collapse sighed and leaned into Jump Start's embrace. "Thank you. I hope we do. I really wish this didn't happen. I just wanted to make my family proud by going to somewhere where nobody has ever been..." she realized something and smiled wearily. "But I've already done that, and when we get back, I'll have the story of a lifetime to tell." her smile grew.

Looking to Magloria she could see how focused she was. Collapse respected that, and didn't bother her. However she did notice the Glowfish was still on Jump Start's head. "You should probably put him back into the water." Collapse patted the fish's head gently. "And besides, I'll be able to light your way." she said hopefully as her horn softly glowed gold for a second.

Up ahead she notices the green lights. "That might be the start of the so called Lily Grotto that we were told about."

Chapter 9

"Yes, you definitely will." Jump Start said, letting them embrace for a bit before eventually letting go and moving back to her own moss pile. She reached up to her head and unstrapped the fish, taking it in her hooves and gently lowering it to the water, where it swam away.

The caverns instantly got harder to see in because of this. The glowfish's light was pretty powerful.

"Yeah... keep an eye out for anything that might approach the boat. Including those." Magloria said, pointing a hoof up at the roof of the ceiling. Distant, shrill screeches could be heard up there, and lots of them. Bats, probably.

They knew they had reached Lily Grotto when they made out the green orbs of light, and what was below. Another lake, suitable for resting at if they needed to.

"Why is it all green?" Jump Start asked. Floating across the surface of the lake were thousands and thousands of tiny little green plants. Except for where the river flowed in, it was impossible to see what was below from the sheer number.

The glowing green dots were even stranger. The only thing that could come to mind when looking at those was "flying lantern plant". Levitating through the air somehow were a bunch of rounded plants with transparent walls, each one containing a swarm of glowing green spores that it sometimes released below when it got too close to the ground. Sort of like helium balloons that could regulate their altitude.

Collapse smiles sweetly at Jump Start's actions with the fish and watched it swim away. "Yeah, we don't want to get attacked by anything that we cannot help. We don't know the kinds of diseases or infections we can get down here." Collapse shuddered, thinking about how diseases can be carried by bats.

Upon the arrival of the Lily Grotto her jaw almost drops to the floor at what she sees. "Living balloons I see...wow. This is all quite remarkable how all this is underground...still amazes me." Collapse looks out at the rounded plants with the spores. "Just imagine all that could be hidden down here...imagine all these lakes with their own biospheres and how deep they could go. Hundreds of these, further and further down to who knows how deep..." Collapse mused in awe.

"Well it is all underground. We don't really know what happens down here, since us ponies don't go underground very often. Who knows, maybe stuff like this could exist below Equestria itself?" Jump Start said, her eyes wide with awe at the flying plants. "I wonder what would happen if we popped one?" she questioned.

Magloria aimed her spear at the nearest plant. "Do you want to see?" she asked, a somewhat sinister smirk appearing on her face. Jump Start quickly retracted her curiosity, shaking her head in response.

Magloria was about to put her spear down when she noticed something by the shores of the lake. "Hmm... that's concerning. Lobsters are one thing, but these are not lobsters."

Over where she was looking they could see rocky piles, but these ones were shaped differently, long instead of round, with visible claws, tail and head. An explorer of Equestrian lands might assume it was a relative to a 'rockodile' or whatever they're called.

The fact that the waters were hard to see in made it more concerning.

"Looks like something that are called rockodiles. They are uh, basically like crocodiles but they disguise themselves as rocks and are often larger and more dangerous than normal crocs. At least as far as I know." she looked on in concerning. She looked to Magloria. "Probably wouldn't be a good idea, since sudden movement would attract...unwanted attention." she commented.

Collapse readies her spear just incase they had to defend themselves, she was now fully alert of her surroundings as best as she could be. She kept her eyes on the water and the apparent rocky piles. "But yes, perhaps if we go far enough we may emerge out of a cave somewhere in Equestria. If we emerge onto land, that would be a step in the right direction for sure." Collapse commented.

She noticed that sinister smirk on Magloria's face, it made her shudder a little bit, but it also was a bit enticing to her.

Magloria snorts in disgust at the sight of her opponents. Not because of what they were, but because of their

"Goddamn armour." she muttered. "We're not going to get out of this place for a while, given I can see... what I think is at least another lake up ahead." Very distant green lights could be seen ahead of them, almost unnoticeable from the glow of the nearby flying planterns.

"So, if any of you need to take a break, I suggest we stop here and find a safe place out of reach of those rockodiles. Otherwise, we're going to be awake for a while."

Jump Start sighed. "Maybe." She blinked, then blinked again as she saw something barely on the surface of the water, but then it was gone.

"I think we could probably take a break, sure. But if you want to keep going we can. It doesn't matter to me." Collapse stated to Magloria. "Maybe what happened was a group of rockodiles moved in and blocked off the exit and nobody was able to see them due to how well disguised they were and nobody came back alive. Just a suggestion." Collapse suggested as she overlooks the water to make sure that nothing was following them, or anything of that sort.

Magloria nodded at the answers. Seeing as the others didn't object to a rest, she figured they all could use one. After all, it's a bad idea venturing into possibly dangerous places when you're half asleep, and if this place only had rockodiles it would be safe enough.

She started moving the raft in the direction of the shore with the least amount of rockodiles, but while she was doing so, Collapse also saw something in the water before it disappeared.

The raft suddenly rocked about. "Great." Magloria muttered under her breath. Her magic aura brightened slightly.

"I saw something in the water, did you see anything?" Collapse asked Jump Start and Magloria. Collapse's aura brightened slightly as well as she grabbed her spear tighter. She was a bit nervous now. "I don't wanna have to fight rockodiles when we've already had to take care of lobsters and spiders. Perhaps you could freeze them in place if they attack." Collpse suggested to Magloria. She looks to Jump Start in concern.

Magloria spoke. "That was the plan. These spears aren't going to do much against thick armour, unless you get them in the eyes or mouth, so"

She was interrupted when one of the rockodiles lunged out of the water, with the intention to tear into one of them. A quick swirl of water and freezing magic from Magloria created a thin sheet of ice all over the head of rockodile, which clumsily tried to back off after what happened.

Almost immediately afterwards another tried the same thing at the other side of the raft. Jump Start squealed in fear, quickly moving to the other side of the raft. The rockodile, hungry for a delicious pony, turned to Collapse.

Magloria's magic aura was recharging after the previous burst, she needed more time.

Collapse yelped at the sudden movements before aiming to fire a high powered laser into its open mouth. The laser was a higher intensity then the ones she did previously due to the severity of the situation.

Collapse wasn’t going to use her spear yet on the rockodile. An idea crossed Collapse’s mind though. If she was able to quickly, she would have grabbed one of those floating plant balloons and moved it infront of the area between the rockodile and the boat using her telekineses, and struck it with the spear in close proximity to the rockodile. Maybe those spores were dangerous.

A laser in the mouth isn't something that is scoffed at, and the rockodile was no exception. It let out a loud hiss is anger and pain as it's mouth was scorched before retreating off the boat and into the water below.

This gave Collapse enough time to grab one of the 'floating plant balloons' before a third rockodile appeared, snapping at the side of the raft in an attempt to tear a big chunk away.

As soon as the balloon was struck its spores within ruptured outwards, covering the face of the rockodile in glowing green stuff. It didn't seem to do much, but the rockodile let go and swam off anyway.

No more rockodiles seemed to attack them, however they now had a new problem. The spores had spread out to create a large cloud, covering them all and making it harder to breathe and irritating their eyes and nose.

Between coughs, Magloria began forcing the boat away from the cloud, and eventually they reached the shoreline.

Collapse was glad the rockodile had moved off but the spores had been another problem. Between the coughs she looked to Magloria and Jump Start with a weary grin. "Well cough at least we cough know what happens when they are popped cough!" she was annoyed at the irritations but at least they were safe from the rockodiles. She never felt something like this before so it was likely something entirely native down here in her mind, or just simply something she hadn't encountered before in Equestria.

As soon as the raft struck the shore, Magloria bolted off of it, Jump Start in quick pursuit, taking deep breaths of clean air as they did, still coughing a little bit of glowing spores in the process.

"That was cough horrible. Please don't do that again cough Collapse." Jump Start wheezed as she got her breathing under control.

"I have to agree. Next time you do that, do it away from us." Magloria said, sneezing out a puff of green glow before taking in her surroundings proper. Thankfully they were at a part of the lake where no rockodiles were, the closest ones being 30 meters away, lazing about on the shoreline.

"Now, time to find a safe place to rest. Somewhere high and dry with no fungus is preferable." the captain instructed, her magic taking the moss piles from the raft, so they don't lose them when it melts.

Collapse followed them and did much the same. "I cough apologize! I had no idea it would have exploded like that but now we cough know." Collapse wheezes and it took her a bit to get her breathing under control. She also sneezed out a puff of green glow before she took a second to realize what had just happened. It was like a blurr to her. "Not doing that again." she muttered with one final sneeze. Collapse looks for a good place to rest here, looking for places that would be safe to lay down and rest at.

It took a bit of time before they managed to find anything that would be suitable for them. Stalagmites were everywhere the further away from the lake they got, with the most being closer to the walls.

It was near the walls where Collapse and Jump Start discovered just what they were looking for. There was a space through the rocks which led to a slope, leading upwards to the top of a spiked outcropping, like a high ground.

Even better, there were no bats, and a flying plantern was close enough to shine a dim light on the space.

"Do you think this spot will do?" Jump Start asked Collapse.

"It definitely will. At least, I think so." Collapse smiled to Jump Start hopefully and looked over to Magloria. "We found a good spot! Nice high ground by the way." she called out to the captain so she would be aware of it. "By the way now that we are um, alone. What do you think about all that has happened? I...don't even know where to start in my thoughts upon these occurrences..." she stated.

Magloria came over to their spot when she were called and started looking around for herself. She seemed to approve of it if the fact that she didn't dismiss the place and tell them to continue searching was any indication.

Jump Start looked weary when Collapse asked the question. "I don't know either. So much has happened that I can't keep track of it all, and I don't think we'll get much of a chance to sort things out before something else arrives." she answered.

"That is true, but what is important is that we maintain our confidence and our ability to deal with situations and to not allow for them to wear us down." she said with determination and sits down on the moss once Magloria lays the moss out for them. She looks to Jump Start as if thinking about something specific.

"Yeah, I know. Maybe if we really need to, we can take a break from everything and just... live in here for a while. Just to let things calm down." Jump Start shrugged, laying down on her own moss cover.

Magloria reached over to the flying plantern with her telekinesis and dragged it closer. Not close enough that it's spores would reach them, but close enough that they'd get a good amount of light. She then handed out one of the water bottles, letting everyone take a drink.

"I'd still prefer it if we got out of here as soon as possible. Unless we find something particularly fascinating after having a clear way out, of course." Magloria said. "In any case, we all know there are more rockodiles in our future tomorrow. Feels strange though. I can't order you to get as much sleep as possible before the next day, since we have no idea when the next day will be." she frowned.

Collapse lays down on the moss and looks to Magloria, and takes the bottle and takes her turn in drinking the water. She savored the taste of the water and smiled. "Well I suppose the silver lining is that we'll never be bored. Since we'll always be thinking and preparing for what can possibly happen." she sighs as she stretches out a bit. "I also prefer us finding a way to get out of here, however that really depends on what this fabled 'exit' point truly is and we only got indications that whoever or whatever is blocking it has never been seen before and nobody has gotten out alive." she stated.

When Collapse was laying on the mat she inched over to Jump Start a little bit.

"Then that begs the question. What is even at the entrance that resulted in that outcome? Was it something fast in the water that none of them expected that got them? If so, then it's no problem for us." Magloria said, looking thoughtful now.

"On the other hoof, it's possible that they didn't see it because it attacked from the surface, like how predatory birds attack fish in rivers. That outcome would be a big problem for us."

Jump Start looked over to Collapse as she inched over. She didn't move, seemingly accepting of what Collapse was doing, as is a pony's nature to keep together.

“Or it could be a rival group of seaponies or some other group of…something that has something to do with controlling the water supply. How did those seaponies even come to be down here? I wouldn’t be surprised if they aren’t native to this region and just evolved somewhere else and then came here at a later date.” Collapse suggested.

“There could be anything down here. As far as we know they said something about bottomless pits and waterfalls, imagine if like there are holes that go so deep they enter into areas of the planet nobody has been. There could be dozens or hundreds of civilizations down here or further and we wouldn’t even know about it on the surface. How much do we really know about our world?” Collapse asked as she spreads herself out a bit, Jump Start could see how soft the creamy mare was.

“Also have to ask yourself…how much do ponies really think about what lies below? Not much at all…”

"The seaponies could easily have come from the surface ocean. They probably fell in accidentally and couldn't find a way out, so they stayed. I'd bet many creates here originally came from the ocean somehow, even the rockodiles, oddly enough." Jump Start said.

"They did say things about pits and waterfalls, but I'd rather not find out what's down there. It would just mean that it's even harder to climb back out of this place." Magloria pointed out. "But I will say that without a suitable way down, such as the massive whirlpool we fell through, I doubt many things would survive the trip, and with a lack of new stuff every now and then, the creatures below may prove to be especially aggressive."

"I'm sort of surprised that there isn't more than spiders and rockodiles that want to eat us, actually." she added after a brief pause.

"That is all very true. Question is, where do you think the ship went? They said something about ships or debris ending up at the bottom of that whirlpool lake but we looked and we saw no evidence of that. And besides, I didn't even see any entrances large enough for a ship to come through but then again I wasn't able to get a good look at the top of the waterfall since it was just so high, you know." she stated.

"I really like, do think we survived because we got washed outside of the ship. It's the only explanation but I find it hard to believe we went down a massive waterfall without dying or waking up, you know." Collapse mused, putting a hoof to her chin.

"But the lake below the whirlpool was too deep to see the bottom. We would need diving gear and powerful lights just to be able to see down that far." Jump Start mentioned.

"Just because there was no evidence we found, doesn't mean there was no evidence." Magloria added. "There were many rivers that we still haven't explored. Debris could've floated down any of them and we'd have no way of knowing."

Magloria smirked at Collapse's lack of knowledge. Well, someone has got to teach her about things. "Do you know what kills you when you land on water from a high place? It's not the drowning, it's the impact with the surface. Calm water is like a brick wall. You just go SPLAT" She struck her hoof on the stone floor, creating a loud echoing clop.

"What a waterfall does is break up the surface constantly. The area around a waterfall is constantly churning with air bubbles, so when you fall in, you go straight down with very little resistance. That's why diving off a waterfall is also dangerous, because you can easily hit the rocks at the bottom."

"The 'waterfall' we 'dived' down however was incredibly deep, so deep that there was no way we'd hit the bottom, so we most likely dropped down, got tossed around a bit, then floated back up to the surface." she finished, but quickly smirked and added one final thing.

"Of course, that would assume you're light enough to float, and are not on the... pudgy side."

Collapse looked to Magloria's hoof there and smirked back at her explanations in understanding. "Well I know that the impact kills you when you hit the bottom, but actually thinking about that, that does make a lot of sense. Hmm, I didn't think of the air bubbles at the bottom though." she giggled at Magloria's last comment there and sat up. Collapse patted her tummy a bit, she wasn't the slimmest of the mares, but she wasn't all huge either. Ever so slightly pudgy. "Well, I am just a bit...I do admit, I do like sweets and chocolates a bit too much." she stated.

"But we likely won't be finding any chocolate or candy forests down here but if we did that'd be pretty cool." she commented as she looks to Jump Start. "It is really eerie thinking about it...why didn't it hit me until now how eerie this all is?" Collapse shudders. "Must be adrenaline..." she sighed and layed back down looking back to Magloria.

Jump Start looked saddened as Collapse realized that they weren't getting any sweets. "Aww... I'm going to miss my caramel tarts." she mourned. She yawned, her hooves stretching forward before everything relaxed. "I think I'm going to go to sleep now, try not to keep me awake." she said.

Magloria shrugged. "It's eerie now, but eventually you'll get used to it. Or we leave. Whichever comes first. Anyway, I'm getting some shut eye as well, so... goodnight, I suppose." she said, curling up into half a ball and closing her eyes.

Collapse watches as her two companions lay down. She looks to Magloria and smiles at how cute she was before looking to Jump Start. Collapse looks to Jump Start as she lays down and inched over again. Collapse really wanted a nice warm snuggle, but didn't want to weird her companions out here. Collapse's soft tail flicked against Jump Start's leg as she curls up into a ball and her tail wraps around her much like a cat. With a cute yawn, Collapse shut her eyes.

Sleep felt almost endless for them all, their dreams were strange, fusing together what they knew with what was happening around them into a weird amalgamation of thoughts and memories.

Magloria dreamed about sailing the Constance through mushroom forests, the crew being drawn to the calming colours before arriving in a seapony port, trading wares and watching the locals converse.

Jump Start's dream was less pleasant, spiders crawling through her home village and rock lobsters charging into battle as flying planterns exploded from above, surrounding everything in an eerie green glow, ponies wandering aimlessly through the clouds.

Collapse dreamed of something. Dunno what though. Probably not important.

Collapse was woken hours later by something nudging her shoulder. It turned out to be Magloria, who was already moving over to Jump Start to get her to wake up as well.

Collapse had dreamed about the disaster on the ship, it was really strange. There were some scenes that involved the lobsters and the spiders fighting, before Collapse and Jump Start fending for their lives before Magloria saved them, she saw the mushroom forests in her dream and had set up a house and was content with living in the forests for the rest of her days, along with the others while occasionally fending off spider attacks every now and then.

Collapse yawned and rolled over onto her back and looked to Magloria. Her eyes blink tiredly, at the very least she had gotten some well needed rest. Collapse looks over to Magloria. "How long were we...out? There is no way to tell...is there?" she asked tiredly with a yawn.

Magloria shook her head. "Correct. Without the sun we can't tell time. If we had a clock we could tell, but we don't have any of those." she turned to Jump Start, giving her a gentle nudge, then a gentle kick after there was no reaction.

That got Jump Start up, although she was still unfocused. "Hmmwha? We waking up already...? Or we getting attacked by rockocodiles?" she slurred, letting out a big yawn.

She began to stretch, rising her back half up so she could stretch out her front legs, before stretching out the rest of her.
Once done, she let out a relaxed sigh.

"The best we can is guess..." she spoke with a slurr as well as she sat up and opened her eyes more and stretched. 'Ahhh..." her joints popped, and she felt well rested. At the very least for her she felt rested.

"Well uh...what's for breakfast, captain?" Collapse asked as she cracked her back and forced herself to stand so she would be able to wake up faster.

Magloria looks to her spear. "Either algae, a rockodile, a speared fish or hope we find blue mushrooms or something else edible." she said, casually levitating it and checking it for damages and functionality.

"Algae? Rockodile?!" Jump Start groaned in protest. "Please tell me that we don't have to be that desperate!" she cried.

"I could tell you, but it wouldn't make it true." Magloria shrugged.

Collapse sighed, and didn't like the idea of that. "Well...I don't really want to eat either of those but if we have to, we will...so let's waste no time and proceed onward?" she suggested, also checking her own spear in a similar manner of Magloria. It was almost like a filly mimicking a parent.

Unless Collapse had some form of weapon knowledge, all she would see is that it's a crystal shard, sharp at a point and pretty smooth. It was also surprisingly light, but then again it was made from water.

"Yes, let's get going. Collect your moss piles." Magloria said as she picked up her own. Jump Start had slight trouble, but managed it in the end.

Magloria began moving out from their hideout towards the lake. Naturally, the raft melted again. However there was a rockodile that was a bit too close to where they'd be setting sail again. They could set up somewhere else, or they could do something about the obstacle in their way.

Collapse was satisfied with her look at it, although she had no real weapon knowledge. At least nothing impressive. Collapse lifted her moss pile onto her back and upon the arrival at the area she'd frown at the site of the rockodile there. "How about we just avoid it? Save our energy and our time." she stated, much preferring to avoid it if they can help it. If they had to fight it, that would be a different story.

"Hmm..." Magloria thought, examining the rockodile, the water, and other things around. Then she looked up at one of the floating planterns.

"I think I might have an idea." she said, levitating her spear upwards and the plantern downwards, over to where the rockodile was.

In an instant, a large cloud of glowing spores surrounded the rockodile, causing it to hiss in response. They couldn't see what it was doing, but it definitely sounded like it didn't like what was happening. Good thing the ponies were far away from the cloud this time.

Collapse grins. "Excellent use of your surroundings to create a tactical advantage." she complimented upon seeing the rockodile's hissing which would likely serve as a perfect distraction for their escape. "Although if we have to pop one of those on close proximity I'll just raise a barrier. Should have thought of that the first time, honestly." she spoke in an embarrassed manner.

"Thanks." Magloria shrugged, patiently waiting for the cloud of spores to disperse before approaching the waters.

While she waited, she continued to converse. "Somehow I don't think you would've been able to pop one and create a barrier at the same time, but if you do eventually, I guess you'll prove me wrong."

Jump Start, meanwhile was busying herself by scraping some more moss off of some nearby rocks. Maybe if she collected enough of it, she could have enough for an entire bed.

Eventually though, the spores cleared out, leaving a shoreline with no rockodile. "Excellent." Magloria said before getting to work. Soon enough the raft was built, and the moss was laid down.

"Well, hopefully we won't have to find out about that." Collapse looked to Magloria. Collapse had also joined in with the scraping, seeing the fruits of such things. It would be better off to have more moss sooner rather than later. Before long she had what she could gather in the time it took to make the raft and got in, laying her moss down and her spear held in her hooves. "Let's skadaddle outta here." Collapse spoke, hoping today would be a good day.
(Made something cute out of this, although the manes and tails probably aren't right.)
Image

Jump Start and Magloria got on board, and soon they were setting off towards the rivers again. Magloria kept a close eye on the rockodiles that lay on the shore, making sure that they don't slide into the water to have a go at a meal.

"It's sort of weird that they called this place Lily Grotto. I get that it was named after a seapony, but what was she named after?" Jump Start said as they moved into a second lake. This one didn't seem to have any rockodiles nearby, apparently, just a bunch of pebbles on the shoreline.

"Maybe they got the name before coming down into this place." Magloria pondered, steering the raft over into the next river section.

That was until they came across a problem. Up ahead the river split into 2 different paths. Ivory Bush didn't mention this. "Which way do we go...?" Jump Start asked.

Collapse ponders Jump Start's question. "Maybe they have some sort of legend, like the Mare of the Lake that they named this place after. Lily Grotto is a good name though, not going to lie." she spoke as they approached the river section. "Maybe there is some sort of like, supernatural force in here. I haven't seen anything of that yet but who knows what could be down here." she stated.

"Yup...this is a problem. Right or left? Which way do we go? How about we vote? Uhhh...maybe right? Right makes right?" Collapse joked.

Magloria sighed, first looking at the left path, then the right. "They both look the same, I can't tell where they lead..." she muttered to herself before turning to the others. "Well I can't tell which way to go, so it doesn't really matter what we choose." she said, steering the raft to the right path.

The river led them away from the flying planterns and aglae covered water, bringing them back into abyssal darkness again, except for the occasional fish in the river and their horns.

Things however started to feel a little rougher. The raft was shifting more often than usual, and they felt like they were going faster. "This could be a problem." Magloria said. Jump Start asked why it was, to which Magloria responded with "Rapids. Hold tight."

Collapse holds onto the sides of the raft upon feeling the more shaking and faster speed. "Ivory said something about Void Crags, where you can fall in pockets of air...that sounds dangerous. I think we should probably head back." she said, her horn glowing gold. She didn't like the darkness at all and moved closer to Jump Start for comfort, she was getting very nervous and that was evident in her voice and tone.

"We can't go back, not without abandoning the raft, and likely the moss with it if it gets swept away by the river." Magloria said. "Just hold on so you don't get knocked off and stay low in case the ceiling is low in places. I'll steer this thing."

The sound of moving water grew louder as they entered the faster parts of the river. Jump Start held on to Collapse and kept her head down, not feeling all too safe at the moment.

It started to feel like it did when they were on the outer edges of the whirlpool, with water crashing about them, sometimes covering them in water as Magloria steered around the river bends. Thankfully this was nowhere near as severe as what they've previously experienced, but it still wasn't enjoyable.

Collapse does as Magloria says and holds Jump Start close and keeps her head down. When there were parts that resembled the edges of the whirlpool Collapse shook in fear, whimpering a little bit. She was very scared of whirlpools, and for good reason. Upon that feeling she held Jump Start close to her and hoped that it would be all okay. "I really don't like this...we should have gone left but who knows maybe left leads into a bottomless hole..." she joked, nervousness brimming on her manner of speaking.

Collapse's words caused a spike of fear to flow through Jump Start. "Bottomless hhole...? What if we're heading for one right now?!" she trembled, holding onto Collapse tighter.

Smooth move, Collapse, though maybe that was her intention.

The raft suddenly shook as they all heard ice shattering. A rock had struck the side hard enough to cause part of the raft to break off. The rest of the raft was holding, but it's structural integrity was now weakened. Another strong hit in the wrong spot could shatter the entire raft.

"Whoops." Magloria said, though it was hard to tell if she seriously meant that.

Several minutes later and a few smaller scrapes against some rough spots, the waters finally slowed down to a more normal speed. "You both still alive back there?" Magloria asked.

Collapse didn't mean that, it was more of a heat of a moment thing. "Nno...II hope not!" Collapse hugged her tighter and stroked her mane. When the ice shattered she shook in fear and clung on tightly as if hanging on for her life. She was too scared to really comment on Magloria's 'whoops' there. She closed her eyes, expecting them to get sucked in somewhere. "Magloria the raft is damaged...can you fix it?" she asked scaredly with a whimper. She also moved closer to Magloria, slowly.

Upon hearing Collapse's plea to fix the raft, Magloria smiled. "Ah, good. You're both still alive." she nodded, turning to the damaged part of the raft.

"Should be easy enough." she said, applying her magic to the damage. The surrounding water quickly filled in the gap and solidified into brand new ice. Magloria turned back to the river ahead, satisfied at a job well done and 2 crewmates that were not missing or dead.

Collapse finally felt Jump Start begin to let go as she relaxed, now that the danger had passed.

"Looks like we're getting breakfast after all." Magloria stated as she stared ahead. In front of them they could see glowing blue. As they got closer, it revealed a new mushroom forest, but this place was completely covered in blue mushrooms. Not a single red or green one could be seen.

Collapse looks to Magloria and inched closer, watching the raft being repaired. She was glad that Magloria could fix the raft. "I uh, I guess you no longer need an engineer huh. I am glad we made it! Woo." Collapse giggled in a hopeful manner at the fix and her smile contrasted the nervousness that she previously felt. It was a truly sweet smile, one of hope. She looked to Jump Start and pulled away slowly with one final pat.

In awe she looked at the mushroom forest, so many blue ones to be seen. "Ah yes, perfect. The ones that are edible. Time to eat up, then?" she suggested, licking her lips.

Magloria shook her head. "Don't sell yourself short. There are many things that ice cannot fix, and I'm sure there is things about a proper boat that only an engineer would know." she tells Collapse.

Knowing what the others wanted, Magloria guided the raft to the side of the river, letting everyone get off. "Now, do we want roasted mushrooms, or do you just want to eat them raw?" she asked.

"That is true, I know all the different size tools and what sockets fit for what, just for an example." she spoke with a grin as she got off of the raft. 'How about we try them raw? Just a small taste, and if its not good than we will roast them like we did before." she states.

"Alright then. Choose a mushroom, grab it, then bring it to the river to wash off the grime." Magloria told everyone before going off to find her own breakfast.

"Wash them. Oh, my bad..." Jump Start whispered to herself, barely able to be heard, as she went and found her own.

They quickly returned, Magloria with a small cluster of mushrooms and Jump Start with a fat one on her back, ripped straight from the ground if the dirt was any indication.

Collapse went and got her own mushrooms nearby. She had a cluster of small ones just like Magloria did. With her magic, she lifted them all into the water at once and washed them all off, her golden aura holding all of the small mushrooms. When they were washed, Collapse took a small bite of one to make sure that it was safe to eat.

Collapse fell over onto her side, completely dead after taking the bite out of the extremely lethally poisonous mushroom, which cooking removes the poison from.

From the first bite Collapse could tell that this mushroom was very similar, if not outright identical to the mushroom that she'd tried before. Slightly salty, slightly sweet, but a bit more bland than last time. Roasting it over a fire must enhance the flavours.

Magloria and Jump Start were busy consuming their own meals, Jump Start with clear enjoyment on her face from filling her stomach, Magloria however was expressionless.

Collapse sits down next to the two of them as she eats the mushrooms. Collapse's face suggests she doesn't entirely enjoy these mushrooms but at the very least it was something filling. She looks to Jump Start, "I see you are enjoying these. They are a bit sweet but certainly not the best. Can't complain though." she grinned as she continued to eat the ones she had.

"I'm not really enjoying them, but food tastes much, much better when you're hungry." Jump Start said, food in mouth as she spoke. Pretty soon she had wandered off to go get another mushroom to eat.

When everyone was silent, they found out they could hear a distant thudding noise, somewhere in the direction that the river was heading towards.

Chapter 10

Collapse nods before taking another bite, and when there was a sound Collapse's hairs on her neck stood up. "Well uh, I don't suppose we want to find out what that is?" Collapse asked in a manner that suggested that going to check out what it was was what they were going to do eventually.

Magloria stood up from where she had consumed her meal, looking in the direction that the noise was coming from. "We should, since we're heading in that direction anyway."

She looked over to where Jump Start was busy 'cutting' a mushroom by crushing the parts she didn't want. "Jump Start, we're going to find out what the noise up ahead is. We can come back for that later."

Jump Start moaned pitifully, abandoning her second breakfast to rejoin the group. Once together again, Magloria began leading them towards the noise, remembering where the raft was for when they returned.

When they almost reached the source of the noise, they heard a heavy crashing sound. Whatever that was, it hit the ground with enough force that they all felt a tiny tremor.

Collapse followed Magloria off to the sound of the noise, she is expecting some large rockodile or something to be stomping about. Whatever it was, she hoped there wasn't a potential threat up ahead that they had to take down or deal with. "Well, I wonder what is causing it." Collapse stated curiously, looking to Jump Start with sympathy in understanding upon her having to leave that breakfast behind. "Any predictions?" she asked with a quirked an eyebrow.

"Don't know, I just know it's something big." Jump Start replied. She didn't really want to investigate, but it was either that or be left alone.

Up ahead they could see the mushroom forest had thinned out, but on closer inspection it turned out that many of the mushrooms had actually been cut down, leaving large amount of stumps everywhere.

"And there's the culprit." Magloria said once the source of the noise came into view. "Turns out we might be closer than we think."

Next to a massive blue mushroom were a couple of equally blue seaponies, hard to make out when they weren't moving. They each had a sharp looking machete in their mouths, hacking away at the mushroom and cutting it into smaller pieces.

Next to them was a cart, already holding several large slices of mushroom. Tracks in the spore filled dirt led off to elsewhere, likely where they had come from.

Something notable was there was no nearby water source.

Collapse looks up ahead at the large mushroom that was being cut apart after it had been chopped down. It clicks inside of her that this is what they had seen earlier with the stumps of the mushrooms in the other forest. "Ah, this is what we saw before." she commented and looks nearby to see that there was not a water source nearby. "Notice how there isn't a water source. Should we go and talk to them, ask for directions or something maybe?" Collapse asked Magloria as they moved closer to the scene.

"The lack of water implies that, if Ivory Bush was any indication, they're taking great risks to be here collecting these mushrooms. Because of this, they could be frightened easily. It would be best if we didn't get too close, but talking with them should be fine." She cleared her throat.

"Hey! Seaponies! Over here!" Magloria shouted, causing an instant reaction as they quickly looked around for the source, before setting their eyes on the group.

At first the seaponies relaxed when they saw a fellow equine, but when they noticed the lack of flippers, they tensed up again. "What is that?!" one of them asked the other. "I don't know, it looks like us, but clearly isn't!" the other replied.

"Yup." Collapse said to Magloria before she called out. She knew that Magloria didn't intend to startle them but it seemed they were going to be startled regardless. "Hey, calm down you lot. We just wanna talk. I see your um, cutting down that mushroom there. The blue ones are pretty good, aren't they?" she asked in a casual manner, trying to make them calm enough so they can talk without being startled.

It was clear that just talking to them casually about things wasn't going to calm them down. "What are you, and what do you want?" one of them asked. A mare, judging from the voice.

"Umm, we're ponies... I mean, land ponies, not you seaponies. We just wanted to know if we were heading towards Pearlth." Jump Start explained. The other of them rose an eyebrow.

"And why would 3... land ponies, want to go to our home?" they asked. This one sounded neutral, so it was hard to tell if they were a mare or stallion.

"Because we are looking for a way to go back to our home, on the surface. At least, find a way to return home to where we need to be." Collapse stated, looking at the seaponies with calm eyes. "We've ended up down here, not of our choice, but of a really, really unfortunate mishap that happened to us." Collapse said with a slight shake.

The mare whispered something to the unknown seapony, earning a response which they definitely heard. "Well of course there is that way but I'm not telling them that. They'll just kill themselves."

"If you're talking about the exit to the surface, we already know about it's dangers. We're going there anyway." Magloria told them in a nononsense tone.

"Well if that's really what you want..." The mare sighed, pointing a flipper in a direction. "That way leads to a river that flows into Pearlth. Just don't upset anyone while you're there." she replied, leveling a glare in Magloria's direction.

"Thank you." Magloria turned to Jump Start and Collapse. "They pointed where our river was heading. Looks like it's taking us in the right direction."

Collapse nodded and whispered to Magloria. "That is, if they are telling the truth." she spoke in a manner so that the seaponies didn't hear. She looks back to the seaponies. "Well, what is so dangerous about it, if I may ask? If we are going in that direction it wouldn't hurt to have some extra knowledge about what it is or what anyone knows about before going there ourselves." Collapse stated in a calm, serious manner.

"We don't know any more than you do, and none of us want to find out. Horrible things happened and it's best you keep away." The mare told her sternly. The other one got back to work, machete in mouth as they cut up mushroom pieces.

"Well unless you want to ask them anything else, we better be going." Magloria stated, prepared to turn around and head back.

"Alright. We will keep that in mind as we continue. Thank you for your time." Collapse said calmly, undeterred by how stern that mare was as she turned around to head back. She thought the seaponies were being needlessly rude, as if they were hiding something. Her curiosity began to grow within her.

After they were out of earshot of the other ponies she looks to Magloria and Jump Start. "I believe it will be wise for us to be adequately prepared in order to face whatever it is they are referring to at the exit point. That means maybe like, maybe finding or making our own armor. Training ourselves, getting better weaponry. That sort of thing. I know you can defend yourself Magloria, and I know that I can do a little bit, but Jump Start here likely doesn't have any experience that I know of." she said with sympathy towards Jump Start.

Jump Start began whining at the suggestion of taking part in combat. "But I don't want to fight things. And armour is heavy. And fighting things is scary." she complained, sounding awfully like a little filly.

"Collapse may still have a point." Magloria said. "If whatever is in our way is as dangerous as what they say, it would be best if we teach you how to properly fight. It's better to know and not need it, than to need it and not know."

Jump Start merely whined again, still unhappy about the whole thing as the group came back to the place with their raft.

"Oh and Collapse, just in case you think I can make armour, you're dead wrong." Magloria added, "Crystal armour does work, until your opponent manages to break it. Then it feels like a thousand glass shards stabbing into you."

Collapse felt bad for Jump Start there. Her reaction was saddening to Collapse and she looked on in sympathy. “Don’t worry, we will do our best to teach you.”

“Although I will need to be taught as well. I am not exactly a spring chicken when it comes to fighting.” she laughed nervously.

Upon Magloria’s statement about crystal armor she nodded. “I can definitely see how that would be the case. To be honest with you I was going to ask about that but I was imagining we would wear some sort of protective layer inside the crystal so it wouldn’t hurt.” but Collapse had an idea.

“I wonder if you can make lots of dangerous crystal or ice shards and save them and then use your magic to make them fly out at whatever would be attacking us.” Collapse states trying to sound smart but it may not work. She knew Magloria was a lot more intelligent than her. (I quite like that.)

"Hmm. Swarms of knives aren't exactly my favorite choice of weapon." Magloria said, eyes narrowing at the thought. "They're easy to throw, but harder to aim properly due to being lightweight and have less power behind them without shattering. Only really effective on many unarmoured targets, or for fanning out in the hopes that one gets their eye."

She didn't look entirely convinced over their usefulness, compared to a long, heavy spear. "I'll think about it as a weapon for you, but I'm sticking to my spears." She said as she moved over to the boat, but first harvested some mushrooms to eat later.

Jump Start grabbed her own mushroom that she dropped before, took it over to the raft, cleaned it in the waters then began eating it while she waited.

Collapse would gather up her smaller mushrooms and place them into the boat. After that was done, she sits into the boat at her usual spot. "Alright. You seem to know a lot about weaponry and tactical skill. Have you been in many fights or situations before?" Collapse asked Magloria before she started to eat another mushroom as she was still hungry.

After swallowing it she would say, "I think it is a good idea for us to have varied skills so any opponents can't use the same tactics on all of us? If that makes sense?" she suggested.

Magloria shook her head, then once they were all ready she moved the raft back into the middle of the river. "Only really had to fight a few times. Most of it is what I've learned in books or the times when I was able to train with more experienced fighters. That's how I learned about the armour and daggers. You quickly learn what not to do." she answered.

"Or at least, I quickly learned what not to do. I've seen quite a few slow ones that just didn't understand the concept of 'dodge the pointy stick'." she added.

Collapse nods and gulps at that response. She never would want to fight Magloria in a million years. Collapse knows that she would likely get defeated in less than a fraction of a second, honest. "That is um, most impressive. Knowing what not to do is a good place for me and Jump Start to...start. You know while we are on this raft heading to our next destination, why don't we learn more about ourselves? I poured my heart out when I thought we were going to die so...yeah." Collapse grins nervously.

Magloria looked quite disinterested in the concept of 'pouring her heart out'. "Yeah... count me out. I'd rather not go on about what happened in my past. It's a needtoknow basis, and let's be honest, you don't need to know." she said, with no real sympathy if Collapse felt upset about it.

Jump Start was a bit disheartened at Magloria's words, but decided to tell a little bit about herself anyway. "Umm... let's see... before I joined any ships, I worked mainly on a farm. It wasn't picking fruit or feeding animals though, it was more about keeping their tools working. Oil them, sharpen them, put them back together when they broke. That sort of thing."

"I also went out to other farms to repair their tools as well. If I was desperate for money I also helped out with their harvests. I always preferred the water though, even in a place as 'earth pony' as you could get."

Collapse sighs sadly at Magloria's response. "II understand if you feel that way, Magloria." she felt quite taken back by that. Collapse almost wanted to cry upon hearing that but she held back the tears and sucked it in as she listens to Jump Start. "Ah, I see you were always going about fixing things and repairs. You are a natural." she said sweetly as she inched closer to Jump Start. "What else about me, hmm, I suppose I'm similar to you although I've never worked on any farms myself though. I know some friends that did similar line of work as you did but I've always generally done my own thing and made my own paths."

Jump Start shook her head. "No, not as much of a natural as you might think. I never worked on anything to do with heavy machinery when I was at the farms. The biggest thing I got to work on was some repairs that were needed for a barn, but it's hardly complicated, you just need to stick wood and nails in the right places." she said.

By now they started rounding bends in the river, passing by the place where they met the seaponies. The forest had started turning more... stumpy. Seems like the seaponies used this as a main food source, if the sheer number of mushrooms harvested is any indication.

Due to the thinning amounts of mushrooms Collapse figured they were beginning to reach closer to Pearlth. In her mind, they harvested the ones closer to the city first.

"Well the little things always have their role." she smiled sadly as a thought crossed her mind. "While as for me I've tinkered with much more...complex machinery. My main creation was an antigravity device known as a Fly Ring. I took it along with us, although I never had a chance to demonstrate what it was capable of in front of your eyes. I planned to use it on our exploration of our intended destination. Now it is lost. Years of hard work and joy...gone." she muttered in shame, burying her face in her hooves.

Collapse couldn't see it, but this was one time when Magloria actually looked sympathetic towards someone else. She knew how heartcrushing it could be to have something you've worked on for years taken away from you.

She quickly hid her sympathy before speaking up. "Your fly ring isn't gone, it's just out of reach. Remember that there is an entire civilization around us that is capable of diving down deep underwater, where the Constance sank. We might not be able to get it now, but it's not impossible to get someone to help."

"Speaking of which, here they are now." She added as they came up to their destination.

Descent was tiny compared to this place. They hadn't even entered Pearlth and already they could see an enormous lake ahead of them, splitting off into several other lakes in view. Each one held what appeared to be an entire district of seaponies and their homes, all glowing below like a magnificent light show.

In some places there was water flowing into the lakes in big waterfalls. It was odd how that worked, maybe there was another river elsewhere that came higher?

Though it was extremely hard to make out, to the point that it's unnoticeable in the constant glow, their raft was already getting attention from a few curious seaponies.

Collapse looked aimlessly down at the boat. Magloria and Jump Start could have seen a few silent tears gather in Collapse's eyes. She looked to be devastated upon what she was thinking about. It took Collapse a few seconds to recognize what she had said to her and Collapse looks into her eyes with a look of thankfulness, although she couldn't tell that Magloria was being sympathetic. In her eyes, she was just being distant and rather logical as usual. Still though, it felt good to hear that.

"Yes, yes, I know that...if we are able to recover it, I will let you both try it out and use it. Of course I'd have to teach you about it and its likely going to need repairs...I remember I had modified it a bit before we went on this mission but whether it was able to go undamaged or not is up to fate to decide." she spoke. "You will teach me how to fight, I will teach you how to fly." she said with utmost sincerity.

Upon looking out over the massive lake she could see others out in the distance. This place was jaw dropping and amazingly beautiful. Upon seeing all of the homes and lights under the water she would wipe away her tears and smile with hope.

Collapse hadn't given up.

"Hmm... Perhaps, but teaching you how to fight can come later, after we're through this" Magloria stopped when she noticed the steadily increasing number of curious expressions slowly getting closer. They were close enough now that it looked like a very wide circle, or technically hemisphere, around them. Almost everywhere they looked below them they could see faces of every colour, with eyes constantly watching them.

"But it seems like we'll have to deal with this first." Magloria sighed.

"Is this what that minotaur felt...? Jump Start whispered to herself.

Something they couldn't see nudged the raft. Then another nudge, and another. Seemed like someone was playing with their raft.

"Yeah, yeah." Collapse agreed and looked over the side of the raft in an attempt to see who it was. Collapse looked more nervous or shocked if anything if anyone was paying attention to them. Upon not able to see whoever it was below the raft she would sit up and she would slowly wave to the onlooking seaponies. If they were close enough to be able to be heard, Collapse would smile nervously and say, "Hi. We are um, travelers. So to speak..." she spoke with hesitation.

If the seaponies were too far away to be heard Collapse would stay silent and just watch them quietly.

By now they could head whispering and muttering throughout the crowd, somewhat muffled by the water. The most they got out of it was stuff like "Strange things", "Why are they floating?", and "Weird flippers".

A splashing noise was heard when a pair of the seaponies surfaced, breathing out the water in their nose. "Travelers? Where did you come from?" one asked. "What are you here for?" the other also asked.

This was beginning to feel like the pair in the mushroom forest, but more curiosity and less hostility. Plus a lot more of them.

“We are here by mistake. We were in a near fatal crash. The rest of us died. We are from very, very far from here.” Collapse said to the two seaponies in an informative manner.

“We are looking for a place to settle down. At least for now, as we gather our time and such to attempt to return to where we are from so we can return to our home. If that is at all possible…” Collapse added with a hopeful expression.

"A fatal crash? Oh, I'm so sorry. It sounds like it was absolutely terrible for you dears. You must feel terribly alone." A red mare said as she surfaced.

"If you're looking for a place to stay, there's a number of inns around this district. All you need to do is swim down and ask them for a room." A white stallion said, removing the water from his... head fin...? as he did so.

"We can't swim down that far. We're not seaponies. Could you tell us about places that are above the water?" Jump Start asked.

This caused a bunch of muttering to break out about how they can't go underwater.

"Well that explains the floating thing you're on." the red mare said, "There is... one place you can stay in this district, on the surface. It's not actually an inn, more like a place of storage. You could ask the owner if you could stay there."

Collapse nodded, appreciating the sympathy. "We would appreciate something like that so we can gain our bearings. We cannot breathe underwater like you can, as we are from an entirely different place of the world. I'm not sure if you will be able to conceptualize what I mean." she pondered and then a question formed in her mind.

"Do you have any writing utensils or places where we can write information? That would be very important for our purposes." she stated, seeming very confused by the white stallion's removal of the water from his fin. She didn't know what that was.

"The floating thing we are on is called a raft. Made of ice." Collapse added.

More whispering at the mention that they can't breathe underwater and where they were from. Some thought they were seaponies that wandered the caves too long and grew hard flippers, others thought they came here from a portal. Various other speculations were made too.

"You want to go to the tar printers if you're after writing utensils. Luckily for you it's one place that is above water, with to how it messes with the heat." The white stallion said.

"Bring your... ice raft and I can take you there." he added.

Chapter 11

"Well Collapse, what are you intending to do first? A place to stay, or a place to write?" Magloria asked, getting ready to move the raft wherever she intended to go.

Collapse looks to the whispering seaponies. "We were sailing on imagine...a huge raft like this but its made out of different material and there were dozens of us. We got trapped in what you called as the great water spot and we were the only ones that managed to make it out alive. Everything else now likely lies at the bottom of that whirlpool lake." Collapse said, clarifying to them with a following sigh.

"Tar printers? That sounds pretty interesting." she looks to Magloria. "If you don't mind, I would like us to go look for a place to write. It shouldn't take too long but if you have any objections we can go to the place to stay. You are the captain after all." Collapse said with a sweet smile as she looked at Magloria.

"It doesn't matter which order we do them in. We don't need to rest yet, so we can go to the storage area later." Magloria shrugged, before moving the raft towards the white stallion. He started heading in some direction, through the lake's district.

As they moved, most of the curious seaponies stayed with them, following and watching what they were doing. Some left when they moved too far, more joined as they came by them.

They reached a place which was distinctly hotter than where they were before, with an acrid smell in the air. Jump Start scrunched up her nose at the smell.

Some building of sorts, carved into the side of the cave walls. Bubbling pools of black stuff could be seen around the place. The white stallion leaped out of the water and onto land, before waddling over to the building.

"Yep... that's tar alright..." Magloria said as she landed the raft, jumping off in the process, followed by Jump Start.

Collapse jumped off of the raft and could smell the smell of the tar. She looked about. She inhaled deeply, and cringed a bit at the smell. "Mhmmm, yeah, thats the stuff alright!" Collapse joked before coughing at how deeply she had inhaled. She glanced over at the seaponies and spoke, "I am sure you haven't seen much of the outside world beyond what dwells in these caves. We ourselves come from the surface, where there are no caves and a wide open sky. Sun, Moon, and stars." she spoke, not sure if they even knew what those were.

She began to proceed into the building, looking around the area curiously.

Collapse's explanation cleared up some things with the constant whispers, but it also invited even more of a different kind. Some were wondering what the sky, sun, moon and stars were, claiming such things were myths or just stories.

Once they had gone far enough from the waters, most of their followers swam away, unwilling to continue. A few remained, peeking out from the water or jumping out onto the shoreline, but they went no further.

Inside the smell and heat got worse, the source being several spots where more tar flowed. A pipe system seemed to be set up, extracting the tar and pumping it into a machine, before coming out the other side as a clean, black syrupy liquid that flowed into a vat. Along another wall had a dozen thin stone slabs of various sizes.

One seapony was already busy with a bottle and paintbrush of this stuff, shocked at the sight of the group, dropping her paintbrush in the process. Seems like they were busy writing a sign on a stone slab.

"Well... seems like they don't have paper and ink here... This looks like the best we're going to get." Jump Start said.

Collapse looked to the seaponies. "If you want me to explain everything I know about the above ground world I can, but it will be a while for that. Trust me, it's not just a myth or a story. As evidenced by our lack of...flippers. If you want to know more about where we are from, wait here" she spoke with a grin, tapping her hooves on the ground a bit to emphasize her point.

Turning away from the shoreline she'd go inside. She could handle the smell but the heat was making her sweat a bit. At the very least they weren't drenched in water and freezing like she was before. Noting up the pipe system and the general layout of it, she would spot the seapony who was startled at their appearance. "Hey, sorry to bother you." she said as her golden aura would lift the brush back up to her hooves. She was getting the brush for her.

Collapse looks to Jump Start. "No surprise since paper and ink isn't really possible in water." approaching up to the slabs she looked to the seapony. "Alright! Pardon our intrusions, we'd like to know how to write on these tablets." she said calmly.

The seapony still looked shocked when Collapse levitated away the brush. Apparently levitation is a rarity in a seapony civilization, who would've thought?

She had trouble replying, but tried anyway. "Ummm... uh, you get the stone tablet, and... uh, a brush and, tar clean I mean clean tar and... write on the tablet." she stammered.

Magloria looked at the bubbling tar. "Judging from the heat this stuff requires, as soon as it cools down it hardens, keeping the writing in place. Because it's hard instead of dry, it can be used underwater." she explained to Collapse.

Collapse nods to Magloria. "Yup, I was thinking the same thing." she then turned to the seapony and smiled compassionately at her nervousness. "Its okay if your nervous, I understand why you would be. But we aren't here to do anything bad to you or your fellow seaponies. Thank you for your explanation." she would then grab a stone tablet in her magic, a brush and proceed over to the tar. Getting a bit on the tar, she would sit down and begin to draw.

She was drawing some sort of scenery involving the boat docks back where they started, when the Constance was launched. Collapse wasn't an artist, but she did know how to draw...well enough. She wanted to create some representations of what the above ground looked like so these ponies could understand. It made her smile. Her mind was buzzing with ideas, she could be here all day.

The nervous mare went back to what she was doing, occasionally sending a nervous glance in their direction to make sure they weren't doing anything that could pose a danger to her.

"Hmm... That gives me an idea. I wonder..." Magloria said as she moved over to the refined tar vat. Scooping out a bit with her magic and careful not to breathe in the fumes, she created a tiny replica of a ship. Some dimensions were inaccurate, due to the scale of the creation, but it looked alright, if too black. A blast of cold air and the whole thing hardened into place.

Collapse was writing on the tar. Since it was the first time she had really done anything with tar it wouldn't have been the best work she's done. Collapse notices what Magloria was doing with the tar and saw the tiny replica of a ship in her hooves. "Wow, that is really impressive that you just made that." she complimented with a wide grin across her face.
"Perhaps that ability may prove useful in constructing a new ship. Parts of the ship constructed out of hardened tar. I wonder if that'd work." she ponders.

Magloria set the miniature ship down on a bench nearby. "Nah, hardened tar is brittle. It would shatter the moment anything hard hit it. It could however be used as a sealant, as long as you can withstand the fumes coming out of it for a week or so."

By this point Jump Start was bored, so she moved over to the tar refinery to get a better look. She seemed to be in thought as she stared at the bulky machine and pipeworks.

"Ah, I see. I mean if we do end up building a ship ourselves I don't think the fumes or weird smells would matter that much, just as long as its enough for us to get back to where we need to be." Collapse spoke, as she finished the drawing. It was a drawing of the docks, however that Sun in the sky looked a little derpy and it had a teletubbies face on it. Collapse notices Jump Start's looks at the pipes and smirks. "Wondering how it all works?"

Magloria smirks. "You say that, but try choking on horrible smells for days on end. You'll want to spend time up on the top deck a lot more, just to get some fresh air."

Magloria looked at Collapse's painting, eyeing the details of it. If she had any thoughts about it's quality, she kept them to herself.

Jump Start looked at Collapse as she was addressed, before returning her gaze to the machine as she spoke. "Yeah. I'm just imagining what's inside it. What sort of technology they have and how they use it." she said.

Collapse smirked back. "Then we'll wear masks and breathing tanks or something." she giggled. "But you are correct there." she looks at the painting before going to write down some information of their travels on another tablet. Her writing was small so it could maintain all of the information they had found as of yet. "That's cool to imagine, They probably have a lot of things we don't have as I've never seen something like this. Likely because they don't have paper." she commented.

"But it's not just this tar machine. They could have a whole load of different things that we don't. For example..." Jump Start wiped a hoof across her brow to remove some of the sweat that had started to accumulate. "How do they get this place so hot? And how do they keep cool?"

"I uh, can answer the second question. We just... go for a swim." The seapony that was still there answered. They did look slightly damp.

"I'd guess they keep this place hot through geothermal vents or natural tar pool." Collapse suggested and looked to the seapony. "Whats is your name? I am Collapse." she pointed to Jump Start and Magloria, "Their names are Magloria and Jump Start." she pointed to them.

"Yeah but it seems really hot here when it was sort of cold outside..." Jump Start said before going back to her examination.

"Hi... Collapse. I'm Mellow Fin." she said, curling her... tail... around her side. It seems as though this seapony was different from the others they had looked at properly. Instead of a tail full of pony hairs, it was a thick orange tail of muscle with a proper tail fin at the end. Less decorative and more functional.

What was interesting was her tail and hind flippers were a different colour to her front flippers, neck and head. The back half being orange with specks of red and the front half being red with specks of purple.

Her four flippers seemed thicker as well. Stronger but less flexible. She still had a mane of orange hair and pony ears, but also a pair of gills on her neck. Finally, a pair of pink eyes watched Collapse carefully.

Collapse walked closer to Mellow Fin and extended her hoof to shake. She takes notice of the differences of Mellow Fin, finding her name to be fitting of her demeanor. She considers Mellow Fin to be a different kind of seapony than the other ones they have met. Like how there were different types of ponies, there would probably be different types of seaponies. "Its nice to meet you." Collapse said with a sweet smile, keeping her eye on that tail.

Mellow Fin hesitantly extended her flipper out to Collapse's hoof, until they touched. She then immediately retracted it back to her side.

"It's umm... nice to meet you as well..." she said. She didn't look particularly enthused about the conversation. Her tail remained wrapped around one of her back flippers.

Magloria was taking the time to create another miniature figurine, since she wasn't particularly interested in partaking in the conversation for now.

Mellow Fin would have felt that Collapse's hoof was a lot harder than that of their flippers. It likely felt really strange, yet a bit furry to the touch. Collapse nods. "I'll just be writing some more here, if you ever want to read, I'll show you." she stated as she continued writing about how their journey was and all the various details of the crash too. "Nice figurine. You are very talented" Collapse commented upon seeing Magloria's figurine.

"I umm... already know how to read... but thank you." Mellow Fin said, getting back to her own writing. Soon she was finished and moved the stone slab onto a miniature cart.

The cart looked very simple, just a thin plate of metal with 4 wheels and a handle. If what Mellow Fin was doing was any indication, it was used to transport the writing tablets to the water, since seaponies were ill equipped for moving heavy or brittle objects above land.

She started to waddle out of the building, shoving the cart forward every few steps.

Collapse was confused by what Mellow Fin stated. She was referring to the tablets themselves and if Mellow wanted to take a read of them. She wasn’t going to explain though, feeling it would make it more awkward.

Collapse didn’t prevent her from leaving and said, “I hope you uh, remember us.” she stated with s sigh as if a bit disappointed she was leaving.

With a few more steps forward, Mellow Fin was out the door, her tail fin the last thing seen of her.

"We'll probably see other seaponies like her." Jump Start told Collapse in an attempt to make her feel better. "I wonder how many different types of seaponies there are. We've already seen ones with their mane and tail replaced by fins. Maybe there are some with fins instead of flippers? Or only 2 flippers? Or how about some with a unicorn horn, like a narwhal?"

By this point, Magloria was done with her second figurine. It looked like a pony figurine, it's unique features unrecognizable to Collapse.

"There could be any types really. But I definitely do think those would be good guesses. I would imagine there could be at least 3 or 4 different types, but we'll see. I wonder if they have names for the different types of them like we do for us." Collapse smirked, tapping her horn to emphasize her point. Looking over she could see the figurines that Magloria had made. She assumed they could have been ponies she knew once or ponies that were important to her that Magloria hadn't told them about.

Moving over to where Magloria she would ask her, "Mind if I ask who those ponies are?" she pointed to the figurines calmly.

Magloria looked up at Collapse, realizing that Mellow Fin was gone. "Oh, you're done with your conversation? I wasn't really paying attention." She turned back down to the figurine.

"This one is Clean Sweep. One of the friendlier ponies at my childhood town. Didn't pick on me because I was different." she explained. "Died while working a construction job, thanks to an idiot. No one was pleased about that."

Seems like one of the seaponies had gotten curious enough to stick their brown coated head inside the building, watching what they were doing. Probably drew the short straw over who would go keep an eye on them.

Collapse sighs sadly upon hearing that explanation. "II...I am sorry to hear that, Magloria. I don't care if your different or not, you are still a good pony and a good friend. Those ponies in your town may not have had thought that, but I do." she said compassionately. "But um, where are you actually from? I am from Dodge Junction, but I think I already told you that..." Collapse spoke to her and sat down next to Magloria. She noticed the seapony looking in but decided not to engage with them yet.

"Thanks, I guess." Magloria said in a gruff voice. Seems she didn't want to sound too grateful about that.

"I'm from a non canon place called Creamwood, one of the closer towns to Zebrica. It was called that because of the trees that had a smooth sap, used for soft foods and various lubricants." she explained.

The moment Collapse set her eyes on the seapony she found another thing different about them. Resting on their muzzle, coming from a dozen or so black spots were a set of dark whiskers. It looked very odd, considering ponies didn't normally have whiskers.

Collapse noted the different appearance of the seapony. It was another type, just as Jump Start pondered. So far there seem to be the 'normal' ones, the whisker ones, and the other type with the muscular tails. Collapse smiled sadly upon Magloria's thanks there. "Creamwood, that sounds like an interesting place...." she said in a hesitant manner as some not so nice memories were drawn into her mind.

"I uh...I was picked on too. I was different. I didn't have a father growing up. I didn't know who my real mom was...thankfully someone good took me in but still it was...hard. That's why I call myself Collapse...it's not my real name. When I got my cutie mark I made some invention that was close to what my fly ring would eventually be but no quite...I went for my first flight with it and crashed. I was heavily injured and they constantly picked on me for my failure and called me Collapse...so I took that to heart, I guess, as a way to show that I wasn't bothered by it but in truth? I really was. It was crushing...but I didn't give up. And I'm not going to give up now." she said hopefully. A few tears gathered in her eyes but they didn't stream out. Just watering up.

Jump Start went to Collapse's side, giving her a gentle hug to comfort her. Magloria stayed silent, knowing that Collapse might need a little time before they get on with things, but also not wanting to do what Jump Start was doing.

The seapony moved a little closer, their whiskers pointed forward and twitching on occasion. A few seconds later they recoiled as if they found something they didn't like, their whiskers moving back into their original place.

After a few minutes Magloria cleared her throat. "Anyway... we should probably get a move on, if your drawings are all ready." she suggested, eyeing the seapony as she did.

Collapse sniffled slightly but she wiped those tears away, looking into Jump Start's eyes and then Magloria as she hugged Jump Start gently. It had been a few minutes but Collapse spoke up. "Very few get to know my uh, real name. It's Cheshire Springs, but I still prefer Collapse." she smirked slightly and stood up. She had her drawings finished and brought the tablets onto her back as she stood up. Collapse looks to the seapony calmly.

Magloria nodded as Jump Start ended the hug. "Very well then, Collapse" Magloria started, making sure to use her preferred name , "I guess we're off." she turned and moved towards the exit, slowing down as she got closer to the seapony.

The brown seapony mare didn't say much, whiskers twitching again as they looked at each other, before finally she spoke up. "Hi... what were you doing in here...?" she asked, waddling backwards as she did, so she no longer blocked the doorway.

Collapse follows Magloria out before looking to the brown seapony. "We uh, were just doing some drawings on the tar and getting ourselves acquainted." she stated looking to the seapony's whiskers, she thought that was cute. Collapse brought out the drawings she made of the surface, and the docks. "This is uh, where we are from." to the brown seapony what was on the drawings likely didn't make much sense to her.

As Collapse got a better look it seemed as though this particular seapony only had the whiskers. Their mane and tail had hair.

The seapony leaned in to get a closer look, squinting at the drawings in an attempt to get as much details as possible. "Looks different. Interesting. Black isn't the greatest way to show something, but you tried your best. It would be much more thrilling if I could see it for real." they said.

"Well, is there a such thing as colored tar? I didn't see any in there, but this an example of where we are from. This is the docks where our ship took off from." she pointed to a certain area of the drawing. "Ask any questions you want, and by the way, what kinds of seaponies are there? I notice you have whiskers, when others don't." she said with a little giggle.

Upon having their whiskers mentioned, the brown seapony twitched them again. "Well I guess I could explain some things about us. There are 3 'classifications' of us seapony that exist here. Hippocampus, or just Campus, the Kelpus and the Kelpie."

"Hippocampus, or Hippocampi are the most common seapony. Most of us have similar features, flippers, hair manes and tails. Stuff like that. But we can also sometimes have a rarer feature."

She pointed to her whiskers. "I'm a whiskered Hippocampus." she said before continuing.

"The next are the Kelpus, or Kelpi, are a bit rarer than the Campi. These ones have at least 2 rarer features, like fins, whiskers or a proper swimming tail."

"Finally there are the rarest of them all. The Kelpies. These ones are very unique, since they have all of the rarer things. They tend to be held in high regard, even as foals, and many of them become the most powerful sages, scholars, military and counsellors."

Collapse nods in understanding. How interesting this all was. "That is all very interesting, somewhat following a similar ways to our own in some regard. Me and Magloria here." she pointed to Magloria. "Are unicorns. We can cast all sorts of spells and study magic. Jump Start here is..." she pointed to Jump Start. "An Earth pony, Earth ponies are more in tune with nature and have better ability with physical constructs. They are also stronger than the other types of ponies, usually. There are also Pegasi, of which neither of us are. Pegasi are ponies with wings that can fly." she states.

"And a combination of all 3 is called an Alicorn. Only our rulers are Alicorns. Alicorns are very, very rare and there have been legends about them. Only our current rulers, and the previous ones before that were known to be Alicorns without a doubt. With ability over Magic, Earth, and Flight, they are quite powerful. Almost like demigods." she stated with a nod.

The brown seapony accepted all the information with a good amount of interest, looking first at Collapse and Magloria's horns, then to Jump Start in an attempt to spot the differences. "Interesting, very very interesting. But while you say it's similar, there sounds like there are still differences." she said.

"For instance, I can do things with my whiskers that other Campi can't do with their tails, manes and fins. Likewise they can do things that I can't. We're all still Campi though."

"And while Kelpies are rare, it doesn't mean they have everything like your Alicorns. Our manes and tails" she gave her tail a swish, showing off the silky purple colours, " are far more glamorous and warmer than theirs." she explained.

Collapse nods in understanding and looks at her mane and tail there, noticing how purple it was. She smiles. "Yes, definitely differences. I quite like learning about your kind. Hippocampus is actually a term that some have for a certain part of brains. I'm not sure what it does, all I know is that the term is also used for a part of the brain." she said and looked off towards the lake.

"How is the style of leadership here? I am curious about what its like here, who is in charge and what it is like to live here." Collapse states.

The seapony winces at the mention of the other term for Hippocampus. "Yes... that's why we usually prefer Campus. So there is... less confusion. The amount of doctors that did something wrong because of that is higher than we really want." she said.

"Well I don't know much about how the leadership works, but I know enough that I know each district has representatives, and every now and then they come together and discuss problems and changes. Even representatives come from nearby settlements. Each district and settlement has it's own voice that way." she explained, casually wiping her whiskers with a flipper, getting them wet again.

"Yeah, that's pretty bad. I'll just use Campus then." Collapse stated and listened to the details stated. "That sounds pretty nice, but different from the way it works back home. Our Alicorn rulers are a kind of benevolent monarchy. Twilight and Starlight are...responsible for raising the Sun and the Moon. Although I'm not sure you'd understand that. There is Cadence, the one who deals with discussing problems and changes, diplomacy, more or less. I don't know much about it, either." she said.

"We are from Equestria, a nation of all different types of ponies. There are many towns and cities." Collapse adds an informative manner, watching the wiping of the wiskers. She smiled at that and thought that was cute.

"Yeah, you are right. I don't understand what a 'sun' and 'moon' is. But a monarchy you say? Sounds a bit... how to put this... onesided? Yeah, I'll go with that." the seapony said.

Several splashes over from the lake told the group that more seaponies had surfaced to watch them from afar. One of them had a fin mane and tail, but aside from that, they were all Campi.

The seapony they were talking with turned to look at them before addressing them. "They were just drawing things inside. Don't worry, they're fine!" she told them.

She turned back to the group. "Don't mind them, they were just... curious."

"Well our rulers are always fair and kind. They were put in that position by the previous ones since they basically uh, did a lot of heroic things long, long ago. Strangely enough all of them are pink? Or are all of them purple? I don't know, but Starlight was my favorite." she said, looking over to the other seaponies. She gave them a wave and a smile before looking back to the Seapony.

"For all this talk? Whats your name? The Sun and Moon are well...something you'll have a really hard time conceptualizing. We don't live in caves. We live on land, where there are forests of trees and plants as far as the eye can see and where there is no...limit to how high you can go, looking up, imagine it's all blue with wisps of water vapor in the air, called clouds." she stated,.

She nodded, trying to remember as much of the information as she could, so she could tell others later. Thankfully for her, with the others also listening in she didn't need to remember quite as hard.

"Oh how rude of me. My name is Everflow." she told them, "And yes, the others were curious about what we're talking about. None of us have seen... creatures like you, so you can't blame us for wanting to know about you."

"Sun and moon, and now stuff like trees, and endlessly tall blue ceilings where the water hangs out... All these things that I can't even begin to imagine. Well maybe I can. Hmm..." she brushed a flipper over her whiskers again, seemingly doing so in thought.

"The higher districts might have coloured dyes and such that can be used on land. Perhaps you could try using those, if they let you?" she suggested. "Though I've heard that certain colours can be expensive, so it might be hard to get permission, even if you're something we've never seen before."

Collapse looked to Everflow. "Well, its nice to meet you, Everflow." she said with a wide grin. "As for our being here, you might as well take the chance to ask any questions about us while we are here." she nodded.

"Where we are from, the blue part above us is called the sky. The sun is a...point of yellowwhite light that hurts to look at long enough, you can go blind if you stare at it. But it lights everything up in a whiteyellow hue and makes you feel warm when you are standing in its light. The sun and moon change positions in the sky, and they aren't out all the time. When the sun is out, it is called day, and when the moon is out, it is called night." she began, slowly, so they could all gather the information.

"The Moon is a lot dimmer than the sun, it has phases as it moves about the sky at changing intervals. The moon is a graysilver spherical object. It's actually another world entirely in itself, when you look at it close enough. During Night, the world is dark, and the moon illuminates it slightly. The stars come out at night too, imagine an endless sky...or ceiling rather with millions of small shining crystals as far as the eye can see, that is what it looks like." she said with innocent wonder.

"And as for the dyes, we'll look into that." she added.

Everflow kept taking in the information. She asked a few questions, like what the plants were like, what other land features there were and what their towns were like, all of which were easily answered by Magloria and Jump Start, and completely not worth writing paragraphs about.

After all of that, Everflow smiled. "Thanks for all that! I'll be sure to spread good words about you around the district. That's all I want to ask, because I think I've taken up too much of your time already." she said, turning around and waddling over to the water. As she dove into the water, she said a final "Later!"

Most of the other seaponies on land dove back into the water as well, probably to hear about what Everflow had learned. Only one was left, the one with the finned mane and tail, silently observing them. They didn't seem like they wanted to partake in conversation, if the way they looked away sometimes was any indication.

Collapse waved as Everflow left "Thank you for listeningto us, hoping she would be able to tell the others about what Collapse had said, as well as hoping that the information gets spread to the rest of the seaponies eventually so that they would know more about the world. Maybe the three of them could be legends someday.

Collapse took note of the other seapony and slowly walked up to them as to not startle them. "Hello, whats your name?" she said in a calm, soft voice. She assumed this one was probably more nervous than the others were. Perhaps this one may not even like their arrival into this area. Collapse considered that possibility, there could be those who don't like them.

Turning back to Magloria she would say, "I think we should find some sort of place to stay here. Unless we can find a way to breathe underwater."

Despite Collapse's attempts, startle the seapony was exactly what she did. They must've been a shy one, since as soon as they were talked to, the recoiled and dove back into the water.

"Well that was rude." Magloria huffed.

"Maybe they just wanted to watch us. Or there's something different about them. I think they were a... Kelpus was it?" Jump Start said.

A voice came from the water. After all the seaponies weren't gone, they'd just moved into the water. "There are a few places you can stay around here. I think someone built a house on land and tried to live in it... It wasn't a good idea, so it's now abandoned."

Collapse sighs as the seapony went into the water. She was thinking it might have something to do with the type of Seapony they were. “Well then.” she sighed.

“Maybe those types are more nervous or something? Could just be the way they are or something.” Collapse suggested.

“Well lets go look for that house, thank you. Where would that be?” Collapse asked that seapony, surprised at the sudden voice from the water. She didn’t really expect that, but was glad there could be a possibility of a place to live in.

The seapony offered a series of directions. They were a bit hard to follow, given that they were designed for underwater use, but Magloria figured out how to follow them.

She moved over to their raft and with a flash of her horn, reinforced the slowly melting ice, thickening up the raft to a point where it no longer looks like it would break in half if they stepped on it.

"Alright, get on. We're moving." Magloria said. Jump Start hopped in. Once Collapse was in too, Magloria pushed the raft into the lake and jumped on herself.

Collapse gets in the raft and found how Magloria fixed it up to be interesting. She sits doen next to them in the raft. Ready to go.

She looks to Jump Start. “So, what do you think of this place? I like it, its pretty exciting and the ponies here are so nice.” She stated with a smile.

“Who knew there could be ponies down here. Its also interesting they speak our language.” she commented as she relaxed her legs a bit.

As they sailed towards their destination, seaponies once again watched and followed after them. Though they couldn't really see much, if any, Kelpi or Kelpies. Plenty of Campi though.

"It's friendly enough, but we haven't even seen much of the place yet. I wonder if the other districts will be just as friendly as this one is." Jump Start said.

"It's understandable that they speak our language if ponies met them before they fell down here. They likely didn't have a reason to change their language, aside from small things that get forgotten or created." Magloria explained.

They came to rocky outcropping somewhere at the edge of the lake. From there they could see another lake some distance away. Probably another district.

On top of the outcropping was what looked like a doorway and window into a structure made of stone bricks. Unlike most places in the lake below, there were no lights glowing within.

The raft hit the shoreline.

Collapse nodded, and stayed largely silent upon those responses. It was logical, and she didn't have much to say to it. At the sighting of another lake in the distance her eyes wandered towards it, her expression conveying a degree of awe still. She loved the looks of these lakes. Upon the arrival of the raft, Collapse would exit the raft and approach the stone structure. "This is what they were talking about, at least I think. Let's head in and explore it." she stated, due to how dark it was they were likely going to need some light. Collapse's horn glows a golden color, illuminating the area a bit.

Once Magloria secured the raft to the shore, she and Jump Start went to join Collapse in her investigation.

Inside seemed rather bland. Most of it was grey stone walls, floor and roof. Several tiny cobwebs could be found at the edges of the room and dust covered everything, indicating that the place had not been cleaned for a while.

There was what appeared to be furniture carved out of stone as well, smoothed down to give it a nicer touch. Nothing soft however. Seaponies probably didn't need soft things, given how the water cushioned them constantly.

A couple bedrooms contained barely anything, just some large stone 'bowls' that one could consider to be the bed itself, and some low tables on either side.

A kitchen had half a dozen shelves for storing food and some benches. Not much else there.

Surprisingly there seemed to be a fully functional bathroom with a toilet, sink and bath. The sink and bath likely only existed because of the dryness of the building.

Many things they were used to were missing, like a fireplace, stove, fridge, and such. Seaponies probably couldn't use those things underwater, so they never developed the technology for them.

In the middle of the house was interestingly enough a dull black rod that was surrounded by a thin metal cage. It's purpose was unknown, but it did seem to have a button on the front to switch it on.

Collapse expected a lot of amenities to be missing within this building and what she saw was what she had expected. "Looks like home sweet home to me. Just gotta clean it up a bit, fix things here and there. We'll use moss for our beds when we can find any." Collapse suggested upon inspecting the bedrooms. Collapse was glad that there was a bathroom if anything, since that was something they all likely needed by this point.

Collapse eventually finds the dull black rod in the center of the house and calls the others over to it. "What do you think this is? It looks like..." she took a closer look at it. "Likely some sort of activation for some type of device. Maybe the lighting? Or power source?" she suggested, but was unfamiliar with the design and construction of it.

"By the way Magloria, you can turn water into crystal right? Maybe we can cover the entire outside of this building in crystal. Make it look a little cooler, fill in the gaps in the walls with crystal." she suggested.

Jump Start moved over to Collapse, looking down at the strange rod. "I have no idea what it could be. But if it's caged, it could be dangerous to be near." she said.

Magloria shook her head. "Turning water into ice is easy. Turning ice into crystal that is enchanted enough to no longer melt however is much harder. Those bottles I made were pretty draining, and they weren't very big." she explained.

"I could do it with enough time and energy, but it would take weeks, if not months to cover the entire building. I'd rather not waste my magic for that long on mere decoration." She then looked away upon realizing something, then added "My figurines don't count. They're small enough to not be much of a drain."

Collapse nodded. "Good point." she stated to Jump Start before turning to Magloria. "Ah, thats alright. Perhaps if I find materials, I could fix this place up. A few hammers, screwdrivers, that sort of thing. If the seaponies have those things." she smirked as an idea crossed her mind.

"You know what, your figurines would be good for something. A board game. We could come up with some sort of board game, so when we get back we can pitch an idea. Imagine a whole board game based about our travels here, fighting against scary lobsters and spiders,meeting seaponies for bonus points. Something like that, maybe." she giggled at the idea.

Magloria looked annoyed at the thought of having her figurines that she carefully created being used for something as silly as a board game. "You can do that, but I'll have no part in it." she told Collapse.

Meanwhile Jump Start was fiddling around with the cage, up until she pressed down on the button. She backed away several feet as it instantly sparked to life, an orange glow forming from within the rod. A soothing warmth started to spread throughout the room.

"Oh... It's a heating device." Jump Start said.

"Of course not your real figurines. Plastic figurines of ourselves. But eh, thats just an idea." she stated, knowing Magloria's annoyed look. "Sorry if I upset you." she said apologetically before looking to Jump Start and what she was doing with the device there. "Woah, that actually feels warm. I'm glad it still works knowing the state of the place." she said, putting her hooves closer to feel the warmth on her hooves.

Magloria huffed. "Fine then, your apology is accepted." she said before moving to one of the bedrooms to check out exactly what she was dealing with, and what she could use it for.

Jump Start looked over to where Magloria went, then remembered something. "Oh right, we should probably bring the moss on the raft inside, shouldn't we? Maybe stick it next to this heat thing to dry it out first." she suggested.

The closer Collapse got to the rod, the warmer she felt. It was definitely something she could look forward to after sitting around on the ice raft, and it was no sweltering heat like the place with the tar pools.

Collapse would smile to Magloria nervously, letting her have her alone time in the other room. "Yeah, I'll go get the moss." she stated as she stood there for a second upon how warm it all felt in here. After a few seconds she headed outside to retrieve the moss and would bring it inside. With her magic she levitates the moss next to the heating device, letting it get dried out as she took a seat. "After I get these dried, I am going to do my best to clean this area from all the dust."

Before Collapse could manage to get the moss and bring it inside she came across a problem.

With no one having been near the raft, some seaponies that appear to be teenage colts and fillies had taken it upon themselves to check out the raft. A couple watched from the shore as several more inspected the stuff in the raft.

Only the watchers saw Collapse, and quickly fled into the water. The rest continued to mess with the raft.

"I get that you are curious although I'd say that fillies like you should stay away from things that don't belong to you." she said in a stern, yet not a mean tone as she approached. "You won't have much use for it, it will melt before you can really get anywhere in it. It's called a raft, for your knowledge." she would approach closer, intending to grab the moss.

"Can you please stop messing with it?" she asked with a sigh.

The moment Collapse spoke they all turned to her. Another couple immediately jumped into the water to escape from whatever she planned on doing. The remaining ones shifted into guiltily staring at the ground, their ears folding back or their fin ears pressing against their head.

She heard a muttered sorry or two as they disembarked from the raft, leaving the raft empty except for the moss scrunched up in places... and was Magloria's spear missing?

Upon seeing the missing spear her eyes would narrow. "I can clearly tell that an important item is missing here. It is a long crystal spear. Now, that spear doesn't belong to me. I know that if I told the owner of the spear if it was gone, that they would be very unhappy. I want that spear back. If any of you can find it and bring it to me in a few minutes she won't know about it. But if you fail to find that important item, I'll go and tell the owner of the item that it is missing." she said in a calm, diplomatic manner.

"I know that your all young, believe me, I did this when I was a filly too." she smirked somewhat. "But let's not make a scene here, and make this easy, okay?" with her magic she lifted the moss onto her back.

"But we don't know where they went!" one of the colts said. "None of us have it. Don't tell my parents!" said a filly. "How are we supposed to find who took it?" said another filly.

It seemed like whichever one of them took it was no longer near the raft. Several others did swim off, so it's likely with one of them.

Collapse reached forward and patted their heads gently. "I want one of you to go find it, swim off. Maybe one of your friends have it." she stated with a sigh. "Can you wait out here for me? I need to tell my friend that her spear is missing." she states and brings out her own spear. The same kind of spear that Magloria made. "It looks like this, so go find it." she said with a slight stern look.

It's a good thing they were close enough to the shoreline, or else Collapse probably would've fallen into the water when she attempted to pat their heads.

"But we don't know where to look! They could be anywhere by now!" one of them groaned, before diving and swimming off unenthusiastically.

The others merely looked at each other, wondering what they were going to do now.

“Maybe you have a point. Just know that if you see it, it belongs to a friend of mine and I would like to have it back.” Collapse stated with a long sigh.

“I will head inside now. If you find it just leave it at the front entrance. Thank you.” If nothing else happened she would head back inside to where Magloria was.

“I saw some fillies and colts playing in our raft. Your crystal spear is missing and they don’t know who took it but I told them to bring it back if it is found.” She sighs apologetically.

As Collapse headed back inside the remaining seaponies swam away, to do whatever they had planned on doing. There was definitely no guarantee that the spear would return to them.

Back inside, Magloria was found lounging about on the stone couch, trying to get comfortable. It seemed like she was failing. Upon noticing Collapse, she sat back up again.

"Great." She growled. "Well there's not much we can do about that, as much as I don't like it. I guess they'll figure out how stupid an idea it was when they hurt themselves with it." she said.

Jump Start took the moss from Collapse and laid it down by the heating rod to dry out, just as planned.

Collapse sighs, looking to Magloria guiltfully. "Yes. I got the moss from the raft, so when it is dried off you will have something more comfortable to lay on." she spoke trying to change the subject to something more positive. Collapse sat down near to where Jump Start was to relax, letting herself get warm.

Jump Start looked towards Collapse as she sat down before returning her gaze to the heat rod, and the moss next to it. "So... what are we going to do now?" she asked.

Magloria acknowledged what Collapse said before answering Jump Start's question. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I plan to get directions to the exit from this place and see exactly what we have to deal with. Then we can decide on what to do from there." Magloria said.

Chapter 12

Jump Start nodded, getting the attention of Magloria who was in the middle of a discussion about restorative ointments and their effectiveness in a recovery tank. They both got ready for the spell.

"Alright, each of you stand a few meters apart. I just need to get some things ready..." The doctor said, bringing out what appear to be small tablets. He got up onto land and offered the tablets to each of them. "Take one of these and swallow it. It'll help the spell focus on you, and what part is being altered."

After Jump Start and Magloria swallowed theirs, the doctor began performing his spell. His finned mane stretched out fully as a calm blue glow began rushing through it. The tips of his flippers let out small waves of energy as he concentrated.

Several pale red runic circles suddenly surrounded Jump Start, who yelped in shock. "Stand still, please." The doctor ordered. The runic circles started to float up and around her, spinning in all directions in a marvel of magic. As they did, they shrank, right up until the circles were completely absorbed into the center of Jump Start, who looked alarmed at the feeling.

"And you're done. Who's next?"

Collapse observed the effects of the spell that was placed upon Jump Start. She had no preconceptions on what the spell would look like, but what would it feel like? That would be something Collapse would find out next as she stepped forward. "I will go next." she spoke, looking to Jump Start. "How do you feel? Probably something you never really felt before." Collapse suggested as she took the pill and swallowed it.

Upon walking up in front of the doctor Collapse would nod to him. "I'm ready to breathe underwater." she stated with a grin and then calmly stood still. The doctors knew what they were doing so Collapse felt no fear or hesitation from it.

Jump Start breathed heavier for a little bit, but soon calmed down as the feeling settled. "It feels weird, my lungs became all tingly." she said.

Once Collapse was in place, the doctor went through the same procedure, runic circles spun around Collapse until they shrank down inside her.

Suddenly she felt as if her lungs had gone numb and tingly, making it hard to tell if she was breathing or not. The feeling slowly dissipated, until all that was left was a slight tingle.

By that point, Magloria was going through the process. Once it ended she started breathing heavily as well. "Wow... that's an... uncomfortable... side effect." she said between breaths.

"Alright, you all seem to be taking the spell well. I guess my work here is done." The doctor turned to Deep Current, "Am I dismissed?" he asked, which earned a nod.

"In that case I'll take my leave. Come on." he addressed one of the other seaponies that Magloria was talking to, and they both dove back under the water.

Collapse stood there, breathing heavily. She never felt anything quite like this and looked to Magloria and Jump Start. "I...never...felt this...before." she spoke between breaths as she looked to Magloria and then turned to the doctor and that other seapony, before she could ask what exactly happened they were gone. After a minute or so Collapse would steady herself and look to thewater. "So uh, are we able to breathe under the water now?" Collapse asked

"Yes, you should be able to breathe underwater." Deep Current stated, pointing a flipper in the direction of the lake. "I've heard it's described as unpleasant to be breathing water into your lungs at first, but you'll get used to it in time."

Jump Start and Magloria moved over to the edge of the lake. "Sooooooo... who's going in first?" Jump Start asked.

Magloria let out a sigh, rolling her eyes as she turned around, then started running. Right before she hit the edge, she jumped into the air, landing in the water with a large splash.

One of the nearby seaponies checked on her, and judging by the fact that they weren't rushing her to the surface again, it seemed to be working.

Collapse watches as Magloria runs off and splashed into the water. "Sploosh!" she giggled and then looked to Deep Current and Jump Start. "Me next, I'll go next!" she giggled and ran back a ways and started to run in a similar manner as Magloria. She jumped into the air and said, "Sploooooooooosh!" just before she hit the water. When she went into the water she made sure that her head was under the water. She inhaled, not really knowing what breathing water would be like. It worked for Magloria, so it should work for her. She hoped it would, and if it didn't she knew there would be those around who would help her.She wasn't afraid.

Collapse's lungs filled with water, causing her to sink down further. Turns out she was tricked, and she eventually drowned. The end.

The moment that water entered her nose, it felt like something was going the wrong way, like when you want to sneeze or cough. But as the water settled in her lungs is started to feel like she was breathing again, if the air was a bit thicker.

"Welcome to Pearlth Midhigh district, proper." Deep Current said, now that she had returned under the water.

Another large splash occurred, Jump Start in the middle of it. She appeared to be holding her breath with her eyes shut.

"Jump Start, you're supposed to breathe in the water." Magloria said. Her voice was muffled slightly, but it was still clear enough to be understandable. Jump Start began breathing normally, slowly opening her eyes as she did so.

She breathes deeply, feeling how it felt. "It feels really strange, like, it had more density to it. I've never felt anything like this before." she spoke to Deep Current as she looks over to Jump Start as she jumped into the water. "Well, you've Jumped into the Start of something totally new!' she exclaimed happily, in an innocent friendly manner at Jump Start as she came in. She moved over to Jump Start a bit and watched the ground as it moved further down. She hopped a bit, feeling how slow her hooves took to touch the ground after the Jump.

"Yeah..." Jump Start said nervously. Seems like she wasn't particularly enthusiastic about breathing underwater like this. Or the pun. One of the two.

Everyone else was confused at what Collapse was doing regarding her movements. After all, the lake was not exactly shallow. It had an entire district within it, with the bottom being far below. Everyone else was currently swimming in open water.

"So you had some information you wanted to share? Perhaps we should head back to my office?" Deep Current suggested.

Collapse swam up to to the others. "Yes, lets go to your office. Lets uh, swim there? I've never swam this far below the water before." Collapse stated. She looked to Jump Start, noticing her look. She felt guilty for the pun but didn't say anything of it. "If I have trouble swimming, I might need help." Collapse said to Deep Current.

Deep Current nodded. "Alright. I'll move slowly anyway, so you can keep up. If I get bored, maybe I can do something to assist." she said, and started moving down into the flurry of activity and buildings below, with Jump Start and Magloria following behind.

Jump Start was moving slowly, doing a simple doggy paddle to keep up with Deep Current. Magloria, while also doing a doggy paddle, seemed to be moving faster. Perhaps it had something to do with the glow around her horn?

Collapse follows behind as well as she can. She moved the slowest out of them, she wasn't too much of a swimmer and also did a doggy paddle but struggled to maintain a constant path and form, but after a bit she does it...well enough but still is slowly. Collapse looks to Magloria, figuring she was doing something with the water to make her move faster.

The further they went, the more Collapse ended up lagging behind. Deep Current looked behind herself, noticing the gap between everyone.

"Alright... I guess you need this..." she sighed, swimming straight over to Collapse at well over triple Collapse's own speed. Once she got close enough, she offered a back flipper. "Grab on to my flipper. I'll pull you along." she said.

Once Collapse had grabbed on (assuming pride doesn't get in the way), the flipper curls around her limb, tightening the grip. She quickly finds herself moving through the water and the main section where seaponies swim at a much faster pace.

Collapse grabs on to Deep Current's flipper. It felt very interesting for Collapse as she hadn't felt something like this before, and besides, who was Collapse to deny being in the embrace of another mare? Even if they were a seapony, the touch was welcomed and Collapse smiles happily. "Thank you, Deep Current!" she beamed with a happy grin and felt much better about herself now. She found herself amazed at how fast the seaponies could go, but that was no surprise to her, that much.

Deep Current was busy watching where she was swimming, so didn't have an opportunity to look back and smile like she wanted to. "You're welcome." she said, hoping to get most of her emotion across.

Before long they had arrived at what appeared to be a large smooth brick building, which stood out as one of the few buildings that weren't immediately connected to another building, or didn't have one above or below it. It rested on it's own rocky shelf, signifying it's importance.

Deep Current led them inside, past several seaponies with their own badges and features. It was strange, none of them they had seen were Kelpies. Were they really that rare, or were they all hidden away behind closed doors?

They reached a room which contained a variety of modest furniture. A desk, some tar and dyed tar paintings, and several smooth chairs, long enough to lie down on with something that looked soft.

Collapse felt Deep Current let go of her hoof. "Alright, we're here. I just need to go get one of my secretaries and we can begin." she said before leaving again.

Collapse understood what Deep Current had wanted to get across and smiled wider at it. She felt safe with Deep Current.

Upon being outside Collapse had looked out over the various surroundings of the buildings around it and the way it looked from the exterior. It was definitely something to marvel at, at least in her view. She had never seen anything quite like this so it was all a totally new experience to her.

Entering inside Collapse would walk over to one of the chairs and sit down. It felt strange because of how the water was, she didn't expect them to have furniture like this underwater. "Soft chairs." she stated, noticing there had not been any Kelpies around. She'd have to look into that later on, she wanted to ask but now wasn't the time. Later.

"Alright, let us know when your ready." Collapse stated to Deep Current and observed as she left.

Deep Current soon came back with her secretary, a pale orange Kelpus with whiskers and fin wings. What was interesting was the patterns that she had. Down her back and flippers she had grey stripes, similar to a tiger. Her underbelly and frontal neck lacked the stripes, instead having a more yellow colour.

Deep Current introduced them to each other. "This here is my secretary, Coral Stout. I brought her here because she has an exceptionally good memory, so can remember what you say better than I can."

Coral Stout gave a brief wave. "Sup." she said.

"Whenever you're ready you may begin." Deep Current said as everyone else took places on chairs, or on the floor, or just swam about getting practice like Magloria.

Collapse looks to Coral Stout and smiles, finding this one to be an interesting mare. "Alright, where do we begin..." Collapse ponders.

Collapse began to tell them about their journey in detail. The whole point of their mission, where they are from and what had happened with the great water spout. Collapse doesn't leave any details out the best she can. After explaining that she begins to explain all about Equestria in general, how it is lead and ruled by the three alicorns as well as what its like there. She talks about the sun and the moon, the above ground world and all about the technology involved that they use in their lives, as well as the types of magic ponies are capable of. Collapse tries to be as descriptive as possible.

This would totally not be something worth typing out, we'd be here for a long, long time. Collapse looks to the camera and shrugs it off.

In the places that Collapse was lacking or missed out on, Jump Start and Magloria filled the gaps. Every step of the way Deep Current was patiently listening, only occasionally asking a question or for more specific information about something. Coral Stout remained silent throughout the whole process, just taking everything in.

Part way through they had refreshments brought in. Not tea or anything. More like small plates of kelp and mushroom salads. Cooking underwater seemed rather limited.

When Collapse was done, Deep Current thanked them for everything they had talked about. "I'll get this written down as soon as I can, so it can be remembered beyond today." she said.

When Collapse was done she took a long sigh. Her throat and mouth were tired from all that talking. She went ahead and ate some of the kelp and salads, while she had never had kelp before she was going to go ahead and try it. She looks to Deep Current and Coral Stout with a slightly tired grin. "So uh...what do you think of all that?" she would ask them calmly and adjust her mane a bit, a few strands of her mane were getting in her face. Her mane style was ruined thanks to all that happened, she didn't really care about that though.

Deep Current cleared her throat. "While I'll need time to think over everything that you have explained to us, right now I think that it's impressive that there is so much to learn about the world above us. If only we could reach it, then maybe we could."

"Though I do wonder if stories like this will convince others to try and reach the exit again. Sadly it probably will, but I'm not going to lock this information away. They deserve to know." she said.

"Whatever lies at the exit, I of course don't want anyone getting hurt although I think everyone deserves to know what is truly at the exit as well. Everyone needs to know the truth about what is really out there." Collapse said with a nod. "If I had a map I could show you, even if I remembered, I likely couldn't draw it accurately. I believe we are around a week away of sailing? We are already where no documented travelers have gone, even beyond the more ambitious ones previously too."

"Collapse, that's what we're trying to fix already. Find what's so dangerous, get past it, and then properly document this place, so we should get onto that." Magloria sighed, swimming over to the door as she did.

"Anyway, we should go. We've already taken up plenty of your time, Deep Current." she added. Jump Start got off the chair and moved over to the door as well.

Collapse swims over to the door, following them. "Yup, let's head out. Glad we could make some progress. Breathing underwater, telling you all about the above ground world. Lots of important things. And lots to do yet." Collapse ponders.

Deep Current told them the way out of the building, and after they all said goodbye they left, now back in the open waters of the district, seaponies swimming all around them again.

"Now, I reckon we should go about and do things that we each want to do, before meeting back at the house. Then we can prepare for the journey to the exit." Magloria suggested.

"I'm going to go and get some medical supplies. We never know when we might need them. Then I'll find out exactly where we need to head towards. Jump Start, Collapse, you should figure out what you'd need for the water purifier, then you can go do whatever you want." She said. Jump Start nodded.

Collapse nods to Magloria. "We should look for some sort of armory if they have something like that here. We'll need to be as prepared as possible for the exit. While me and Jump Start go look for materials we need for a water purifier, you could go look for an armory if we hadn't already by the time we are done with finding what we need." she suggested. "Unless that's all, lets get to looking." Collapse spoke, smiling to Jump Start.

Magloria frowned in thought. "Somehow I doubt they would allow us to use or purchase their weaponry and armour. Plus their armour wouldn't be designed for us. I'll still see what I can do. Now, let's go to our tasks." she said, before splitting off to do what she tasked herself to do.

Jump Start looked to Collapse, slowly dog paddling about to keep herself from sinking. "Soo... where do you think we should go for water purifier parts?" she asked.

Collapse watched as Magloria left and turns to Jump Start. “I am thinking we can look for any industrial looking areas. Perhaps they have some sort of filtration system that keeps the lake clean or have a more industrial area, if they have an equivalent of that.” Collapse dog paddles up a bit, she looks around to see if she could see anything from a higher vantages point.

Jump Start started looking around as well, but quickly came to a realization, which Collapse would easily be able to see as well.

"This place doesn't really look industrial to me." she said. The place they were in was more business than actual production. Alongside the representative office they were just in was other offices and various shops everywhere. No chance of finding what they were looking for, unless there was a shop for it instead.

"Perhaps we could ask if they've got a place where they keep that stuff? You might need to be specific about what we're looking for. They might have a different idea about what a purifier is." Jump Start suggested.

"Yeah, good point. We should ask around to see if they have an area like that. It may not even be in this area of the lake, it could be in another area of the lake all together, most likely. As for a water purifier, I got a good idea of the things we might need." Collapse spoke and listed off what she had in mind. Mainly relating to the construction of such a thing and how it would be designed. After she told Jump Start about that she would ask the nearest seapony where an industrial or factory like area would be.

Jump Start didn't understand all the specific details partly because Collapse seemed to gloss over them, but she nodded anyway as if she understood regardless.

The seapony that was talked to, a common purple Campus with a pink mane, tail and flipper ends responded. They told Collapse about how the biggest industrial zone was in the Lohigh district, since most of it was industry there. She gave instructions on how to get there. It was surprisingly close, only 1 lake away.

Collapse thanks the seapony for that and smiles to her as she thanked her, she looks to Jump Start. "Well Jump Start, it's time for a swim. I've never really swam this much before. I was never a swimmer type, really. But here we go." Collapse grinned as she started to paddle off in the direction of the Lohigh District.

Jump Start also gave out her thanks as she followed after Collapse. She couldn't help but feel envious about how much faster the seaponies were swimming around them. She watched one Kelpus filly in particular as they swam by. "Even she's faster than me!" she thought.

When they reached the Lohigh district they could immediately tell that it was... different. The lake was surprisingly shallow, and there were few buildings below the surface. Above the surface however, there were plenty of buildings, likely because they needed to be kept dry.

"Wow, reminds me a bit of the docks in the morning after fishing boats came back." Jump Start said.

Both above and below seemed industrious with seaponies moving about with intent. Now all they had to do was decide on where to go, or who to ask and about what.

Collapse watched out at how fast the seaponies moved. She wish there was a spell that could make them move just as fast as the seaponies, then they would be able to get around quicker.

Upon arrival at the Lohigh district Collapse overlooks the lake. "Yeah, it reminds me of that too. I wonder why they call it Lohigh District. Is it because it is shallow, and most of the buildings are above the surface. "Alright, let's plan here. We need information on water purification, but would they even know about since they don't really need fresh water? Hmm, uh, maybe we should go to the surface and check out the buildings on the surface? It seems like the majority of what we'd need would be up there based on how many buildings there are." Collapse pointed out, beginning to lead the way to the shore by those buildings.

Jump Start agreed, continuing her pursuit. When they both reached the shore and surfaced, they both came to realize that the air was so much warmer than the water. Maybe more so than where they had been previously. Something here, likely the factories, was generating a lot of heat.

More interestingly were the large metal-reinforced glass pipes that seemed to funnel a massive amount of water upwards, from somewhere below the water. It was being pumped somewhere else, but they could only guess where.

Other than that, they could see the occasional seapony waddle about from building to building. Some of the buildings had labels painted on the sides, likely a company logo, and even fewer showed their names. The ones they could see didn't look like they specialized in water purification, or at least not the kind they were after.

Collapse stood and watched the water drip down from her mouth and across her body. She looks to Jump Start. "Feels quite warm here. It is quite surreal to come out of the water like that after our first time under the water. Wow." she said in an amazed manner.

Looking out over the scene she looks to the pipes. "First thing I am going to ask is where does that water go? Is there a settlement up above us or maybe they are just venting excess water for some other purpose. Let's go ask someone." she spoke and proceeded up to a building and knocked on the door. She wasn't going to enter inside a building without permission. She was fascinated by the logos and all of that, it reminded her of the work she used to do back home.

"Yeah. It's quite... odd staying underwater for so long then coming back up. I almost want to stay down there, actually." Jump Start said in response.

When Collapse knocked on the door, it swung slightly open. It wasn't even locked, it turns out. Inside what she saw was something that could only be described as 'factory'. Several assembly lines went through the building, with places seaponies working at certain locations. This factory seemed to create bricks and mortar for use in construction. Who knows how the mortar worked underwater.

"Honestly, I don't blame you. I kind of wanted to stay down there too." Collapse replies as she heads inside the place. Upon entering the door and overlooking the assembly lines she would smirk slightly upon what was seen. "Seems like they are capable of a lot of things that I didn't expect to find down here, you know." she would observe it, curious upon how it all worked. Especially with mortar being made underwater.

From what Collapse could tell, the assembly lines were exactly as she expected. Raw materials went in from one end, got processed by the various workers then eventually came out as bricks and mortar. The more interesting part was how they seemed to create the bricks from stone powder, initially. Seems like they wet the powder, molded it into a brick shape then heated it until it was solid, like clay but... stone.

"The workers seem a bit... busy. So... who are we going to ask here?" Jump Start asked.

Collapse looks to the creation of the bricks from the powder. She hadn't seen something quite like that before. "Perhaps we should find some sort of factory manager or owner here. They likely overlook the process every now and then." Collapse suggested and started to proceed into the factory. Looking for someone of that position, if there was one in this location.

They quickly find a manager of sorts, or to be more accurate, they find them. "Hey! What are you doing in here?!" someone shouted from the far side of the factory.

From the open window of an elevated room they could see a grey seapony with a brown mane. If they squinted they could also make out a badge on their chest, with the company's logo on it. The seapony was looking straight at them, their gaze unwavering.

"Umm, sorry for barging in but we need a bit of help finding something." Jump Start shouted in reply.

Collapse nods and looks over to the seapony. She felt guilty for intruding on something they could very possibly not been allowed to anyways. "We are in need of finding information and resources to build a water purifier. Long story short, we aren't seaponies, and we need fresh water to survive. If that's not too much of a problem for you or if you don't know of any materials we could use to build that we will be on our way and we apologize for intruding." Collapse shouted in reply.

The seapony came out from the office they were in, down a ramp and towards them, skirting around assembly lines like nothing. "A water purifier. You're not going to find anything like that here. We make bricks and mortar for construction purposes."

"If you're after a company that deals with water, just go to the Aquacore building. It's hard to miss, just look for the building with large pipes coming out the top. I don't know if they can make fresh water though. We don't need it, so have never made it. Only fresh water around here are when some gets too close to the thermal vents." they said.

Collapse nods, and was amazed at the way the seapony came down the ramp. Likely they moved like that since they have been here for so long, and have done that action so many times. "Thank you for that information. We've been to an area where the freshwater is, although we need a more portable source of it in order to really go anywhere else." she spoke, and turned to leave.

Considering that Collapse was leaving, the seapony had no idea why she even said that. It wasn't like she was staying for conversation anyway, but talked as if she was. How rude. With a raised eyebrow then a snort of irritation, they returned to their office, once they were sure that Collapse and Jump Start had left.

Jump Start, now outside again, pointed over towards the large water pipes. "So that's where we're going, somewhere down there." she said.

Collapse noticed the irritation of that seapony and felt guilty, but decided to not speak anything of it as she looked to the large water pipes. "Yes, I think we'll follow the pipes and arrive at the Aquacore building." she spoke, looking for any buildings that had large pipes coming out of the top.

She couldn't clearly see any buildings that had large pipes coming out of the top... mainly because the building was likely in the water... where the water was coming from. There were definitely buildings down there, but the ripples in the water made it constantly hard to actually see the correct one.

By this point Jump Start had already walked over to the water and slid in. She turned to look at Collapse. "Are you coming?" she asked.

"Yes definitely. Looks like we will go be going back under." Collapse smirks as she slides in, feeling the water envelop her as she enters into the water. "Sometimes I really wonder to myself. How I am able to build things, yet I didn't think to look at the water...where the water is in those pipes." Collapse laughed nervously.

Jump Start looked concerned as Collapse talked to herself about that. "Are you feeling alright? Normally you slow down and think before you act a bit more than this. Did the water breathing spell do something? Should I take you to a doctor, or Magloria...?" she asked.

"No, no, I am fine. I just overlooked those things for some reason. I don't know why, my mistake. I am not the best thinker, clearly. I will admit that. It's not because of the water spell, it is because of my mistake." Collapse stated to her in an apologetic manner as she fully dives down into the water, putting her head under the water in hopes of seeing the Aquacore building.

"Ok... if you're sure..." Jump Start said, not entirely convinced that Collapse was fine, but not determined enough to press any further. She dove down under the water.

With Collapse's head under the water she could clearly see about a dozen or so buildings. Two of them had the large water pipes extending out from them. Those must be the buildings that belong to Aquacore.

Collapse began to lead Jump Start towards the buildings down below. "Ah, there it is!" Collapse spoke with a grin upon seeing the buildings down under the water. She would dog paddle in that direction, her maroon tail trailing her. Maybe it was cute the way her tail went, but her tail was absolutely a mess.

Jump Start obviously refused to look in the direction of Collapse's tail. She was no pony who's peek at what she knew was there. Especially without gravity helping to hide them.

Soon they reached the buildings. Jump Start watched in awe as the massive pipes funneled an insane amount of water upwards. "You really gotta wonder what they do with all that water. And more keeps flowing in from the rivers. Just what are they doing to it all?" she pondered.

Collapse was quite in awe of everything. "Wow, to think they could build something like this down here is nothing short of amazing." she comments, pondering much the same. "Maybe they are filtering the water, or venting the excess water out so it doesn't overflow or flood? But I honestly don't have much of a clue besides that." she spoke as she swam closer, looking for a main door to enter into.

"But what would they overflow or flood?" Jump Start asked as they reached what appeared to be the main door to one of the buildings. "Unless maybe the buildings on land? Would be pretty bad if many of the buildings on the surface got wet."

Once they had arrived, Jump Start opened the main door. Inside seemed to be a reception area, with a seapony idly watching what appear to be 2 small glowing fish swim about chasing each other.

0901
"Remember the great water spout. Maybe this has something to do with that since that waterfall keeps flowing down into the lake below which feeds into the rivers, last I remember. Just a thought." Collapse spoke as she heads inside the reception area. She approaches the seapony. "Hello, is this the Aquacore building? We are curious about what the purpose of this place is, if you don't mind me asking." she said in a friendly voice.

The seapony stops what they're doing and looks over to the pair. She muttered something under her breath that neither could catch before addressing them.

"Greetings. Yes, this is the Aquacore company building, for keeping Pearlth's Low districts clean of detriment and chemicals." she answered.

"We were looking around for anyone who may know of materials for a water purifier, we aren't from around here and we would like to have a portable source of fresh water." Collapse commented calmly, nodding at the information that was told to them.

"You want to build a purifier for fresh water?" she asked, "Well I don't know why you're in a seapony settlement asking for fresh water. We don't need that." she said.

"Please, even if it only gets us some of the way, it'll still be a big help." Jump Start said.

The receptionist frowned in thought. "Hmm... This place is for cleaning up unwanted chemicals and debris, then reoxygenating the water so we can breathe it as it's brought back into the districts. However we don't remove the minerals from it."

"We could sell you a portable cleaning kit if that's what you're after, then you can do whatever to figure out how to remove the salt." she said.

"That would definitely be a great help for us. We aren't seaponies and we need fresh water to survive. How much would a portable cleaning kit be? At the very least that would be something we could start off with." Collapse stated. "Its a long story but we we would really appreciate it." Collapse also adds.

"Wait here." she said before she swam to a door, opened it, passed through and closed it behind her. A minute or two later and she reemerged, with what looked like a metal jug with a piston attached to it.

"Simple to use. It's got a carbon filter in the middle. All you need to do is feed water in through the top-" she pointed at the piston end, "-then press down until the water passes through and out the other side. It'll be free of chemicals, and anything in the water will get caught by the filter. Also comes with a storage, if you need to use it above water."

She placed it on the ground between them, giving them a price that was within their range, but cut through a decent amount of their shells.

"And to restate, this doesn't remove the salt, only the pollutants." she stated.

Collapse inspects the device. "Hmm, this looks like something we can work with. All we'd need to do is do something to remove the salt. Probably attach a small boiler to it so we can boil the salt off. Something like that possibly." she mused as she looks to Jump Start. "Price is a bit steep, do you think Magloria would be okay with this? I'd say I would be, given that we can get jobs and earn more eventually." she commented, waiting for Jump Start's thoughts before she could proceed with the purchase.

The inspection of the device shows that it's got a rather simple design. A hole for water feeds into the first chamber, which is then compressed using a piston, using a crank. The water is forced through the first chamber and through a filter, before emptying into another chamber on the other side. It's a little heavy, since it's mostly made from metal, but nothing they or the raft couldn't handle. Both chambers had little shutters, to keep the water from spilling out.

"I don't know, she should be if this helps us get what we need, though I'm not sure where a boiler could be attached..." Jump Start said as she inspected the machine.

Collapse looked at it closely. "Hmm, we could attach a boiler here with a part going off above it and to another pan where the fresh water collects, leaving the salt down in the bottom part." she said doing some motions. "Heat source can go here, below where it would be." she pointed her hoof to where she was talking about. She also would tell them about other more specific concepts she had relating to the size of it, how the part going off would be. It was relatively sound, but the problem was they had to get the materials and tools for that addition.

"But how does it catch the steam and the fresh water without it falling back into the salt water? It's only got two chambers and they lead directly into each other. We'd need... a third one or something, and make it so the steam can escape into it, but the water can't flow back." Jump Start said.

"Indeed. We'll need to build a third chamber and have a method so the steam can go into it. I'd likely build it on a different level in relation to the others so the water can't flow back into it. How does that sound? But in order to do that I am going to need tools and to find a suitable 'third chamber' if you will." Collapse replies.

Jump Start blinked in confusion. "Uh... umm... sure. Just, where are we going to find a suitable third chamber? Or the tools to modify the purifier? Wouldn't we need heat to weld the pieces together to keep it airtight?"

"Yes, we would need to weld it together. Maybe they have some sort of metal plant or scrap yard around here where we can find a third chamber or find something to build it from. We probably should go look for tools first."

"But how are we going to do that? We need to find a forge, or foundry, or something like that first." Jump Start said. Her expression became brighter when she realized something. "Actually you don't need to find tools at all. A place where we can properly heat the purifier to allow welding would have tools already there."

"Yes that would be perfect. Something like that would probably be where they construct pipes and other constructs, the tools would already be there for it and we could likely find help for adding the third chamber onto it." Collapse looked to the seapony. "We'll buy it." she took out the shells. "How much?"

"We'll likely have to get permission from whoever owns the place first, so I hope you're good with convincing others." Jump Start worried.

The seapony tells them the price again. It's a decent amount, cutting their savings in half, at least. Metalworking is unlikely to be a cheap practice, given the water everywhere.

Collapse buys the water purifier and takes it with her magic. She thanks the seapony for it and wished them safety as she turned to leave. "I hope so too. If all else fails at least we have the water purifier. It's a good start, you know?" she said hopefully.

"I guess. So where do you think the closest place where we can find an extra canister would be?" Jump Start asked as she followed along beside Collapse, passed the building's doors and back out into the open water.

"Didn't that one seapony say he worked at a refinery? It wasn't in this district, but it was somewhere. Perhaps they could help us, especially if one of them knows us already." she suggested.

Collapse carries the water purifier with her magic as they exit out the door. "Yes, we should try to look for where that refinery would be. Let's look around." Collapse started to swim out into the open water and as she does so her horn glows a brilliant gold and casts a spell on the water purifier. It is now tied to a summoning spell. She unsummons it so they don't have to lug it around anywhere. "Unsummoned!"

"But I just said that-" Jump Start begins, but is interrupted by the golden flash of Collapse's horn. After clearing the spots from her eyes, she hurriedly follows after Collapse.

"I guess that makes it more convenient, but as I was saying, the refinery isn't even in this district. How are we going to find it by just looking around?" she asked.

Collapse looks back to her. “Lets look around for someone who would know where it is. Didn’t they say it was dangerous though? I think the seapony who said that wasn’t too fond of the idea of outsiders, right?” Collapse asked as she looked for any seaponies she could approach that were closeby.

"But any place with flames hot enough to weld and melt metal is going to be dangerous. It would be no different no matter where we tried to go." Jump Start pointed out.

There were many seaponies that could be seen about the place. Some looked like they were busy with supplies or other tasks, others just swam about the place or talked with each other. Quite a number of them had clothing and badges, depicting which company they worked for.

"Good point. Well the thing is, melting metal underwater would likely make a lot of bubbles, right? Due to steam? Welding underwater is definitely a thing though. Not sure about melting and casting metal." Collapse mused and then went to approach one of the company seaponies and asked directions to the refinery.

"But we can't weld underwater. That would require super specific tools that could constantly inject large amounts of heat, and I don't think you can create a fire spell hot or controlled enough that wouldn't also burn your face off." Jump Start stated.

Collapse's request gave her directions, but to a refinery that was in their current district, not the one that Alkali worked at. She could probably press forward and ask directions to Alkali's refinery in Midhigh, if she really wanted to.

"Yes, I can't. I don't have any fire spells myself. Perhaps someone else can or we could pay someone to do it for us." Collapse suggested to Jump Start but to the seapony she indeed would press forward and ask for Alkali's refinery in Midhigh. Better luck with someone who knew of them previously.

Jump Start blinked in shock before pressing further. "You don't understand. Using a fire spell in water? Unless you have some serious protective equipment, you'll burn yourself! Have you ever been touched by boiling water? It hurts!" she said.

The directions were longer and more complicated, but Collapse got what she needed. It would be found somewhere on the surface, around the same place as the tar writing facility. Apparently it was blocked from view by a part of the caves splitting different places apart like dead ends. There could be a surprising number of buildings on the surface and they wouldn't know unless they thoroughly checked.

Collapse sighs. "That is not at all what I meant. What I am saying is that I don't have any fire spells, and my point is we can pay someone or find someone who can build the third chamber for us that way we don't have to do it ourselves. It is unlikely they use fire spells for it underwater. Likely have a method we don't know of." Collapse clarified.

Collapse thanks the seapony and begins heading off as the directions stated. "Sorry if I am confusing to talk to sometimes. I'll try to be more clear in what I am saying." she said a little meekly.

Jump Start groaned in frustrated acceptance, not willing to keep going on about what Collapse is saying. Better to quit while she's ahead than to confuse herself even further.

Along the way to their new destination they passed through a thinner river-like zone, indicating that they had passed from one lake district to another. It's likely that all the districts are connected in similar fashion, with only a few larger connections spread around.

It definitely looked like they were in the Midhigh district, if the residential and business locations they passed by were any indication.

They surfaced at a part of the lake they hadn't been at, revealing what looked like a similar building to the factories they saw before. From the building they could see several miniature ducts, with something glowing a hot orange flowing through.

Several workers were strewn about, monitoring the refinery's progress. Each one seemed to have a protective chestpiece with several small glowing blue crystals embedded into the fabric.

Collapse kept an eye out and took in all the sights they had seen from area to area as they went. The passage between lakes she found most interesting, however. The buildings under the water was something Collapse could never get bored of seeing. It felt so surreal to her. Part of her wanted to stay here if she was honest, but she had a mom, a home, and friends back home she wasn't willing to let go of. Maybe when they escape they could convince the Equestrian leadership to send out an official envoy to maintain connections here. But that was far in the future.

Upon exiting the lake she took notice of the workers with protective parts on their uniforms and looking up at something hot. "Quite the place isn't it? I think its pretty cool." she said, pointing out the hot glow flowing through the ducts.

"I guess so? It just looks like a metal refinery to me." Jump Start shrugged as they got closer.

A seapony noticed them and began to waddle towards them. "Excuse me, but I'm afraid you can't come here. This place is restricted to only workers and those with special permission. It's too dangerous for civilians to be allowed here." he says.

"We are uh, looking for some help on a very specific problem we need to solve." Collapse said to the seapony. "We met one of the ponies here, named Alkali. We really need some help with a water purifier and building another chamber so we could create fresh water with it." she replies.

"Oh. Uh, alright. In that case I'll take you to him, just don't get close to the hot metal. I don't want to have to report another accident." he said, turning to lead them into the building.

Inside the building they could see where the flowing liquid metal was coming from. A massive structure of heat-resistant brick and plating, with brilliant white liquid pouring out from within. Up above they could see a few seaponies preparing a cart, filling it up with ores for when they would put in the next batch.

Alkali was one of the seaponies up above, helping out with selecting certain ores to be placed inside.

Collapse follows inside. "Alright, we won't touch or go near what we aren't supposed to." she watches the situations around them. It was quite something, and it is what she'd expect from a refinery. She was still surprised all of this existed underground, in the caves. It was fascinating.

Following the other seapony towards Alkali, she thought that Alkali could possibly be a friend of theirs eventually. "So amazing, all of this is." she remarks.

Alkali turned his head towards the sound of Collapse's voice, just as the seapony escorting them spoke up. "Found these two approaching. They said they met you, and needed help with something to do with a water purifier." he explained.

Alkali looked closer at the group, then smiled slightly in recognition. "Ah, you. The ones that had some precious metals. Thank you for the appreciation, it's hard work keeping this refinery running, so it's good to know that someone can recognize the effort needed." he said, moving away from the ore cart and towards them.

"So, what exactly is it that you need? If you need something metal, I'm sure we can help, obviously."

Collapse smiles happily at Alkali. With her magic she summoned in the water purifier right next to her with a bit of a gold flash. "No problem! We have this water purifier here we purchased. We are going to need a third chamber of which we can boil purified water to make fresh drinking water. This will be most appreciated and helpful to us. We need a portable fresh water source if we are to survive, likely." Collapse stated, pushing the device closer to him so he could examine it.

Alkali began looking over the purifier, turning it around a few times to take it all in. "Hmm, well we could definitely make something for this. I'm thinking of having the chamber run off the side of the bottom one, letting the steam flow upwards, before condensing back into water droplets, then sliding down the side into a collection bowl. What do you think?" he asked.

Jump Start couldn't imagine what Alkali was thinking of, so just stood there looking rather confused. "If it works...?" was all she could say.

"Perfect, that is along the lines of what I was thinking. So we'll have one large chamber off to the side so it would like two purifiers in one? Maybe? Either way, if it works it works." she smiled in agreement. "Perhaps we could construct some sort of switch or automated flame so we don't have to manually start a flame with it to boil the water." she added.

"Sorry, but we don't have any capabilities to produce a portable flame like that. The best we have are burning oils, and even then that doesn't cover the actual mechanisms." Alkali stated, shrugging as he moved back from the purifier.

He looked over towards the others, who were now unloading the cart into the foundry. "Plus, we only produce raw materials here. We don't have anything to do with the more complicated works. We can build you an extension for collecting steam and fresh water, but nothing much beyond that."

"An extension it is then." Collapse stated and was quite satisfied with that for now. She glanced over at the others who were unloading the cart. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there. As for a portable flame or other mechanisms we'll likely have to look for someone else who can cover that for us. If you know of anyone who can do that for us that would be great. What would a third chamber or extension for this purifier cost?" Collapse asked.

Chapter 13

"You're not going to be able to find a seapony that can create a portable flame for you. No one bothers, and the rare one that does care are hard to reach, and expensive too. Such magic and technology is widely useless for us, and hard to learn for those who seek it." Alkali points over to the foundry.

"See this? It's only possible because we're sitting on a geothermic vent, and is used for industry. Almost every single other source of fire is used for a similar purpose. Only real exception is heaters used in homes where the water is colder, but those are also expensive and rare, and no one needs it here." he stated.

He then explains that the cost of the extension wouldn't be much, about half of what they had remaining. Cheaper than the purifier itself, since it would be simple materials and metalworking needed, no complicated mechanisms or components like pistons and filters.

Collapse would proceed to pay up for the 3rd chamber extension after she listened to him speak. "Well, that is all very interesting. We talked to your leaders or some other seaponies about everything where we come from. I'd expect word to eventually reach you about that, but we found an abandoned building with some sort of heater device and we made use of it last night." Collapse stated.

She looks over to the foundry. "We have things like magitech powered machinery, although that isn't as common in most areas. Lots of us have magic, but as for your filtration systems for the water it is one of the largest filtration systems I've seen so that is quite impressive that you managed to build all that down here, as well as this foundry." she remarked as she watched the seapony workers doing their jobs.

"Thank you, we'll have it ready in a few hours from now, so come back later." Alkali said as he took the money from her. "Now, you say you have a heater already? Very lucky of you. It seems like you won't have much of a problem after all. Just use that to heat up the water instead."

He didn't know what to say about the last part. First she was explaining things that the ponies, then complimenting them on things they had instead? "Ok...? Thanks...?" was all he said, sounding uncertain.

Collapse didn't really seem to get his confusion before she nodded. "Alright, sounds like a plan to me. We'll be back in a few hours, thank you for your time!" she chirped and looked to Jump Start as if a cue to leave. But if Jump Start wanted to check out anything here while they were here, Collapse wouldn't object to that.

Alkali nodded, then bid them farewell as he moved back to his workstation next to the foundry.

"While we're here... can we check out what they're wearing and how they're going to be shaping our purifier extension? I'd like to know how they manage to stay near this heat for so long." Jump Start asked.

"Of course we can. I wanted to see how they did things around here as well. I would imagine they have some sorts of suits. Maybe their badges are magical and put up some sort of shield that protects themselves." she smirks. "Or we could you know, ask." she giggled as she proceeded to look around a little bit but not getting too close to anything she shouldn't get close to.

Jump Start began to move towards where she saw some of the other workers, ones that were not so close to dangerous equipment at the moment. "Well asking was what I was going to do." she said.

Once she was close enough she greeted the seapony worker, who appeared to be working on a piece of sheet metal by punching holes through it with a sharp looking spike on a piston.

"Hi, I just wanted to ask a question if you don't mind?" she said. The seapony nodded, waving a flipper to give her the ok to ask. "The things you wear, what do they do?"

The seapony began her explanation, pointing to her chestpiece as she did. "This is a Cryo-Stabilizing Personal Protection Equipment, or Cryo PPE for short. It regulates our body temperature in hot places, keeping us cool so that we don't overheat. We can't survive high heat for long because we dry out, so it's necessary."

She pointed to each of the small glowing blue crystals. "Each of these contains the power and enchantments, and the suit distributes the cooling energy around ourselves."

Collapse walked up to the seapony and looked at the chestpiece. "Hmm, and how long have these PPE's been around for and how are they built? I've never seen anything like that." she said in a fascinated manner as she looks to the blue crystals. She wondered what sorts of modifications. She could imagine that it could be easily made into something that can warm a pony up with a different kind of crystal. Already she was thinking of all sorts of ideas.

The chestpiece looked like it was made out of a tough fabric, with possible plating around some areas that seemed flexible. Collapse could count 6 very small crystals, all of them dimly glowing. It didn't reach below the shoulders and only went halfway down their back, but the seapony seemed quite comfortable in the heat despite this.

"We've had these for... I don't know, decades. I don't know how they're built either. We don't make them here." she says.

Collapse takes note of what was seen. She wanted to tell Magloria all about this later when they inevitably met up with her again. "Ah, I see. Still either way, its pretty cool. No pun intended." she giggled. Looking to Jump Start she would ask, "Anything else you wanna take a look at?"

"I sort of wanted to see the casts and stuff they used to make their materials, but it'll be near dangerous stuff. Besides, I think seeing this sheet metal being made is good enough to tell us that they'll be able to make the purifier extension easily." Jump Start said, now ready to leave the place.

"So, where next? Was there anything else that we were supposed to be doing?"

Collapse turned and was also ready to leave. "I think we pretty much completed our objective. We should go find Magloria again, we don't want to get seperated from her too long, do we? Let's head back to the home." Collapse said calmly to Jump Start.

"Yeah alright. To home it is." she agreed, beginning her walk towards the lake. "I guess we can't really do much with the money we have left anyway. We've only got... a bit under a quarter of what we started with."

She thought over what she said a bit more before coming to a realization. "Wait, that's still a week's worth of food. Still quite a bit of money, actually. But then again, we shouldn't just frivolously spend it."

Collapse follows Jump Start. "That's why I decided to spend it on the purifier and the third extension. But beyond that, I won't spend anymore unless we actually need it. I can go without eating nicer meals, personally. I'm fine with mushrooms." Collapse giggles as she slipped back under the water. "What do you think of everything, so far?"

"I don't know what to think of everything so far. Is it amazing? Is it terrifying? Is it so many different things that it's just a big confusing mess of experiences?" Jump Start said as she followed Collapse down into the watery depths.

"Actually thinking about it, it's definitely the last thing. Just a big ball of wibbly wobbly thoughts that I'll have to untangle later, preferably once this is all over."

“I agree. I think it is really amazing though, but the whole things with the spiders, the whirlpool and all that…I never want to relive that. It was horrible!” Collapse said and shook a bit, leading the way home.

“I hope we don’t have to go through it again. But I am glad the seaponies are mostly friendly and I like them.” she giggles. “Cute whiskers.” she adds with a blush.

A slight blush formed upon Jump Start's cheeks. "I will admit, I do like their whiskers as well. It makes them look so curious. Like they could wrap all their whiskers around your face if they got close enough to you." she replied softly.

They soon found themselves in a part of the district that they knew. Finding their home would be easy. As they resurfaced, they saw their home waiting for them, and Magloria was too, sitting next to the doorway, idly watching the cave around them. Seems like she got bored, because several new crystal figurines were sitting next to her atop a small metal box.

Collapse giggled again at Jump Start's statement. "Oh definitely. I like seeing all the seaponies, they are all unique like normal ponies but they are all sort of...different because of all their different types. Swimming about the lakes. Wait a minute, if they are all in lakes here, why are they not called lakeponies?" Collapse joked as they proceeded up onto the shore.

"Hi Magloria, how are you?" Collapse asked sweetly upon seeing Magloria.

"Probably because they came originally from the sea, and they never bothered to change their name after that. Technically this is still the ocean, just below it." Magloria casually cut into their conversation, getting up from her spot and moving closer to the others as she did so.

"I'm fine, however I only managed to get medical supplies, inside the box behind me, and the directions we needed. Weapons and armor? Hah, that was a big no. Like I said, they don't trust strangers with their protective equipment." she said, moving her hoof as if to dismiss the words of the seaponies she talked to.

Collapse sits down next to Magloria and takes a moment to stretch out and look into her eyes for a moment as she speaks. She loved listening to Magloria talk, it was a bit entrancing to her. "Yup, that would probably be the case. As for us, we managed to get a water purifier and we met that Alkali one again in his refinery. Despite them not really wanting outsiders in, we were allowed in and they offered to create an extension for it so we can boil purified water to create fresh water. A portable flame though, they couldn't manage." Collapse spoke in an informative manner.

"They also had suits that allowed them to be in there despite the extreme heat. Using blue crystals in some sort of holder that circulated the cooling throughout their suits." she adds.

"Hmm, not exactly the way that I would've gone about doing that, since evaporation purifies water anyway, unless there's some tainted magic in the air. But I suppose if it works, it works. As for the suits, good for them I suppose, but I doubt we're going to need anything like that." Magloria shrugged.

Her horn lit up, bringing the metal box towards them, minus the figurines. Opening it up, she showed Collapse and Jump Start the contents. "Several rolls of bandages, antibiotic ointments for cuts and a few pain numbing pills, each surprisingly water resistant. Simple supplies, nothing major for things such as broken bones, but if it comes to that we can just make splints." she professionally explained.

Collapse moves forward and looks at the contents of the box. "Ah yes, thank you. This will be of great help for us in the future. Its quite a shame they didn't allow you near their weapons and armor. But we can't get all we need, so I suppose we have to make do." she stated and looks to the figurines, seeing who they were as they talked. "We had to buy the extension and the purifier. We still have a good margin of shells left though, enough to last us another week .Plenty of time to get jobs if we need to." she added.

The figurines didn't look like anything special. Just several random seaponies that Magloria must've seen while she was waiting for them to come back. One even had incredibly thin whiskers, so delicate that they likely would break off if touched too hard.

Magloria didn't look particularly impressed with the report on their remaining funds. "Not the best situation to have, but I suppose it can't be helped. Still, don't forget that the jobs you find need to be temporary, until we can find one that's above the water. We don't want to have to keep reapplying for the water breathing spell if we don't need to."

Collapse looks to the figurines closer. "Hey, these are some really nice figures you've made here. Pretty cool." she complimented before pondering something. "Well, I'd really hate to be underwater when the spell runs out. So above ground would be preferable." Collapse spoke in agreement. "So whats next, I think we just relax now. We have a few hours until the purifier extension is done." Collapse states.

"Well we could hunt for those jobs that we're after. We might even be able to do one or two if they're quick and simple to do." Jump Start suggested optimistically.

Magloria stroked her chin in thought. "I wonder... say Jump Start, how much are you against stereotypical physical labor, being an Earth Pony and all?" she asked.

"It's not my favorite thing, but I can do it. Why?" Jump Start questioned.

"Think about it. How effective are seaponies at doing anything on land?"

Jump Start thought about it. "Not very-"

"Exactly." Magloria interrupted. "I bet you could do the things they do on land 10 times faster than they could. Imagine how valuable that would be."

"You're right! Why didn't I think of that before?? I was so focused on working in other ways I didn't think about the simple things they did up here!" Jump Start exclaimed in amazement.

Collapse giggles. "While I am a unicorn, I too could very well do physical labor myself. I likely am not as strong as Jump Start here, but still likely more apt than most seaponies are." Collapse spoke with a hoof to her chest as she looked to Jump Start's eyes and finding her exclamation to be nothing short of adorable. She wouldn't speak of that though. "I have yet to see them cast large spells. While I am no mage, I can do some things I suppose." Collapse stated.

"Sure, I guess you could do that as well, but there's probably other things you can do better than manual labor. Try finding something like that before going after physical work." Magloria stated.

She began pacing, looking over at the lake as she did so. "Considering that they said the water breathing spell was a simple one, I'd say it's definitely possible that they can cast larger and more powerful spells. I'm a good aquamancer, but I think it would be safe to say that there are seaponies here that are even better than I am, if a bit different with how they do it."

"That is reasonable to think that. I can imagine that they are capable of things we haven't been told of. We haven't even seen their armor or anything offensive from them yet." Collapse states. "I could probably work in a refinery, maybe the one at Alkali's but I am not sure if they would let outsiders work there."

"Although I wonder if you could teach me your water and ice magic. If you are willing, of course." Collapse grinned meekly.

"I don't think they really know about our telekinesis or our capability to handle higher temperatures. Maybe if you could convince Alkali to let you show you what you can do, you can work there?" Jump Start offered.

"I could try, but elemental magic isn't something that just every unicorn is capable of learning. It takes a lot of work to attune yourself to an element, and it usually means devoting yourself to it completely to get anything better than minor manipulation." Magloria informed Collapse.

"For example," she paced closer to Collapse, "I'd be able to teach you how to move water in a way that can propel things within it, such as a raft or yourself. However if you wanted to do things more advanced like crystallization and temperature manipulation, you'd have to learn for months, if not years to understand it."

"As an example, I know very little about other elemental types of magic, since I have not studied them, except a bit of natural magic. Nature and water go hoof in hoof after all."

Collapse agrees with Jump Start. "Good idea. That would definitely be a good place to start." Collapse nodded, liking the suggestion. Then Collapse turns to Magloria and listens.

"I would be happy to learn what you can offer me. Even propelling myself in water easier than others, or simple things such as rafts or collecting water easier will be useful. As for those advanced things, perhaps when we find ourselves in moments of free time we can try to do that together. I am quite fascinated by what you are capable of, and what you have to offer me." Collapse smiles, and puts her hoof to her chin.

"As for what I am capable of, my magic is really something that is only really strong when I have access to tools and machinery. For example I can move parts of machines a lot quicker than others can with magic, and I am very intricate with my telekinesis. If I had my fly ring, I would be flying too, ideally, and I had some other tools such as a multipurpose socket set that could fit any sockets or nuts, stuff like that I am good at. Besides that, only lasers and shields. Nothing else really, at least I think that covers it." she stated.

"Basically, if I come with a set of tools I'm great, but without tools, I'm...weak. Ontop of that. It surprises me that I am capable of what I am." Collapse spoke with a slight sulk.

Magloria shook her head at Collapse's supposed enthusiasm about advanced spells. Such a rush to get to the good parts is what causes many unicorns to fail in harnessing magic different to their own.

"I neither have the reading material, nor the patience to teach you advanced spells, even as an assistant to my own spells. Basics and Standards are the best you'll get. If you want to learn more, find a proper teacher, not the former captain of a ship." she said in a stern tone, disregarding Collapse's self-pity.

Collapse's ears went back upon that statement and her eyes widened at a statement. It was clear that Magloria made her nervous there and Collapse struggled to come up with the words to reply for a bit. "U-Um, that's understandable. I am fine with basic spells...just basic spells...simple spells." she gulped and felt like she was in trouble there.

Magloria stopped pressing Collapse further, since it was not her intention to scold the curious filly, just to let her know that her spellcraft took hard work and wasn't something that one could learn in an afternoon.

Neither pony made a move to comfort her. Jump Start didn't want to go against the word of Magloria in case she was actually scolding her, and Magloria wasn't the type of pony who would do so normally.

"Anyway, it might be a good idea to ask some seaponies where the most above water work happens. That way we could find jobs that we'd prefer, instead of take the only one available." Magloria stated.

Collapse nods slowly. This was a similar feeling that she remembered from school, when the teacher would move on to another topic but still the feeling of being in trouble would remain.

"Yes, that is what we should do. We'll have to go and get the purifier in a few hours or so anyways, we might as well spend the time asking around and learning about the types of above water jobs they have to offer and if they are taking any extra workers." Collapse replied, calmly.

"Well, if you have nothing better to do here, let's get started." Magloria said as she moved towards the water before diving in.

Jump Start didn't have anything she needed to do here yet. Even checking the heater could wait until they had gotten their purifier back.

Collapse jumps into the water, following after Magloria. She enjoyed the feeling of diving back in, it felt weird to dive in so casually but it also felt all enthralling. Enough to bring a smile to her face. "Yup, right on!"

By the time the bubbles had cleared from around Collapse and Jump Start (who also got back in), they could see Magloria was already talking with a random seapony who she had swam straight towards.

After a minute of talking she quickly returned to them. "Well it seems like their biggest source of above water jobs is a local mushroom plantation. One that we happened to pass by. Not only do they require harvesters for the 'crops', but they also occasionally require repairs for carts, axes, and even a strange device they they called a 'chainsaw' for chopping through extra large mushrooms. I can't imagine how that would work. A saw that uses chains to cut? Doubt that would work." she said.

“Chainsaw? Huh, never heard of that but I would like to see how it worked. I would be interested in repairing the carts and such. Would you be interested in such a thing, Jump Start?” Collapse asked her, turning to her.

“What would you be interested in doing, Magloria?” Collapse asked, not really sure what she would want to do for a job. Even then, she didn’t know or what Magloria did prior to being a captain.

Jump Start shrugged. "I would, but if we fix everything they have, they wouldn't have any work left for us to do." she mumbled, before suddenly becoming eager, "But on the other hoof I do want to see what happens when I give a large mushroom a good kick! Will it uproot itself, or snap in half?"

"Scouting and removing pests." Magloria plainly stated. "Things occasionally encroach on their forests and they have trouble dealing with it, so I'll be taking care of those before they can find the workers. It lets me explore the place as well, which is a bonus."

"Well, we'll find out when we cut a mushroom down." Collapse grins to Jump Start. "If we fix everything they have than I suppose they would be very proud of us." Collapse gigglesand then turns to Magloria. "Definitely suits you. You made quick work of those spiders, impaled all of them. Like those things deserve, they give me the creeps." Collapse shudders.

Magloria begins to swim along in the direction of the river they originally came from, and where their destination was. "Of course, if neither of you wish to do simple work like this, there is always the option of striking out on our own."

"When asking about directions to the exit, I heard that the seapony settlements love receiving things found on the land, since they're hard to collect themselves. If we went exploring, I bet we could find things they'd be interested in and would pay well to obtain."

"Of course, it would be more dangerous, but if you two weren't into danger you probably wouldn't have even gone on this whole trip in the first place." she said, the last bit with a smug tone to her voice.

Jump Start wanted to protest that she wasn't into danger, but didn't know how to say that without making it sound like she was hiding something. She instead looked away, embarrassed.

Collapse ponders that. "You know that sounds a lot more interesting. While I am very capable of fixing carts and probably using whatever a chainsaw is, I think that exploring would offer us more reward and knowledge about this place, and others. So far we've only heard of Descent and Pearlth, Void crags, whatever danger lies at the entrance, and the Lily Grotto, lobsters and spiders, whirlpool lake. There is bound to be much more than that down here." Collapse replies to Magloria.

"Although it would be a less stable 'job', while normal work is a constant pay check. But the more risk, the more reward right? At least, thats how I think it goes?" Collapse asked.

"More risk, more payment associated with said risk would be more accurate, but yes, that's the general idea. This whole exploration trip for example? It was going to earn us a hefty sum of money once it was over." Magloria explained.

"But you also need to remember that the seaponies likely have not ventured where we intend to go, so we'll have no help at all. Even on the ship we had navigation by the sun and stars. Here? Nothing except the echoes of cave walls, and the darkness ahead."

"We'd have to agree on it as a group. Going alone is suicidal." she said with finality.

Collapse agreed with Magloria. "Well, I believe that we aren't ready to go. Me and Jump Start don't know how to fight properly. In order to brave the unknown, and the danger that lurks at the exit we are going to have to be properly prepared to fight. Perhaps if we work here long enough, they will trust us enough to go near the armory and we could either buy or rent equipment that we could use to defend ourselves with in a more proper context." Collapse states.

"I don't like the idea of going up against something dangerous without armor or proper weaponry. But as for this whole trip, when we get back home I think we may even have enough to retire, as this is a once in a lifetime thing that ponies get to do. Nobody's ever been here before, we'll be remembered for it." she added.

Magloria looked to Jump Start. "And what do you say on this matter? Safe or risky and rewarding?" she asked.

Jump Start looked nervously between them. "Umm... I'd prefer to not have to deal with possible combat situations if you don't mind. I haven't really been in an actual fight and I want to keep it that way as much as possible." she said.

Magloria looked ever so slightly disappointed, but nodded anyway. "Alright then, I guess we're definitely heading to the mushroom forest and offering our help." she said, continuing on until they reached the river.

"We should walk from here. We can't swim against the river's currents." Magloria suggested.

Collapse looks to Jump Start as she would follow Magloria out of the river. "You know Jump Start, you may have to someday. It doesn't hurt to have added knowledge and skill. It would only help you. While I am no fighter myself, I want to learn how to. If not for keeping myself safe, but to keep you safe." Collapse winked to Jump Start, and looked to Magloria. She knew very well that Magloria would be able to handle her own, however Collapse would always want to have her back in any situation they come across.

Jump Start thought over what Collapse said. "But isn't combat exactly the sort of thing that *would* hurt to learn? I'd rather just not get into dangerous situations to begin with." she stated.

Magloria moved to the edge of the lake and climbed out, shaking off the excess water from her fur as she did so before leading them further up the river. They could already see the blue glow of the forest up ahead.

"It's good to learn a little bit about fighting, but I can understand where Jump Start is coming from. We are ponies, so naturally we don't want to fight. I guess that says something about me, eh?" Magloria mentioned.

Collapse shakes off the excess water from her fur as well, upon seeing Magloria do the same. "Well we can't always avoid dangerous situations as much as I'd like to. We will have to face them one time or another, as we already have. Might as well be prepared, but I can also understand where Jump Start is coming from." she then rose an eyebrow at Magloria's last statement.

"Um, I know you probably don't like questions but, how do you know all of these fighting skills? I've never really seen anyone with such knowledge as you who weren't Royal Guards. Your not one of the Royal Guards, or were you?" she asked calmly.

Magloria snorted, barely holding in an honest laugh. "Those pretty show-off stallions? They wouldn't know the front end of a spear if it pierced them straight through the face." she said.

"No. I am not a Royal Guard, nor I ever was. I was part of something that actually cared about the finesse of warfare, and no I will not tell you. Though if you beat me in a fair trial of combat, maybe I will."

By now they had surrounded themselves in the hypnotic blue lights of the mushroom forest. In the distance they could see what looked like a warehouse of sorts, some distance from the river. The thick forest must've blocked their sight of it when they first came through.

A few seaponies could be seen hanging around at the warehouse, moving carts about or casually talking.

Chapter 14

Collapse looked nervous at that. "I'd never dream, nor dare of fighting you in a million years. So I suppose that I will never know of." she said in a bit of a disappointed manner. "As for another comment I have, I don't know what else you could have been a part of besides some sort of mercenary group. I never wanted to fight anyone, so I never cared to look into that sort of thing. It may be obvious, but I don't really have a clue besides that." she shrugs. Magloria was truly an enigma, wasn't she?

"I lacked the interest in fighting because I never wanted to hurt anyone, so I'd leave that to someone who is more capable of doing so. Notice how I said *lacked*, I am realizing that I am going to have to learn. Not because I will enjoy it, but because I will not always have someone more skilled than me to protect me, such as you." Collapse looked into Magloria's eyes, with an honest fashion in her word.

Upon the arrival in the forest she kept her eyes off the tops of the mushrooms, knowing what happened last time. Upon seeing the warehouse she smiled, "Looks like that might be our future work place, Jump Start." she spoke as she glanced to Jump Start.

Magloria ponders over Collapse's words. "Hmmm... I wouldn't say I was part of a mercenary group, but there was a time when I was more of a freelancer, just doing things by myself. Doing that was the main reason why I ended up being able to afford a ship." she said, briefly checking on her earrings to make sure they were still in good condition.

She nodded at Collapse's compliment before walking straight over to the warehouse. The seaponies there took notice of their approach. They seemed a lot more cautious than normal.

"Hello. We're here looking for a place where we can get paid for work. I'll say this right now, that we're creatures that live on land, and can perform tasks here far more effectively." Magloria stated.

The seaponies looked nervously at each other before returning their gaze on the group. "Say we agree. What can you do?" one asked.

Collapse nodded to Magloria and didn't bring it up further, at least not yet. If she wanted to get to know Magloria more, she knew better than to pressure her. She wanted to let things come out naturally, and at a slow pace so Magloria could feel comfortable. She did notice her earrings though, how pretty.

When they walked in she appreciated Magloria's directness and looked to the seaponies. "I can maintenance most types of machinery and I have this here. I don't know if you can do this..." Collapse then lifted up a chair in her gold magic before setting it down quietly. "But I could probably use that to move around a...chainsaw, whatever that would be. I can repair your carts and make sure the...chainsaw is working correctly. Just gotta know what it is first." she smiled.

The seaponies flinched as Collapse's magic flowed through her horn and wrapped around the chair. They were not expecting a result like this apparently.

"I can put a lot of force into chopping down mushrooms, or pulling carts around. Plus, you've seen how easy we can move around." Jump Start added onto their list of skills.

"I would be willing to keep the area clear of anything dangerous. You have to deal with dangerous creatures on occasion, and your lack of mobility makes it hard to do so, correct?" Magloria also added.

The seaponies looked at each other again, silently agreeing on something. "Alright, we'll see what you can do. Marine Light, could you show the yellow and red one to our tools? I'll take the blue and creamy one out to the mushroom fields." one said, first indicating Collapse, then pointing to Magloria and Jump Start.

Marine Light nodded and began waddling into the warehouse, expecting Collapse to follow.

Collapse smiles. "Thank you." she chirped and would follow Marine Light into the warehouse. She giggled mentally at how Jump Start was called the creamy one. Collapse couldn't help but think of all sorts of interpretations of that out of context and couldn't help but smirk more at it as she follows Marine Light.

"So! Tell me about a chainsaw, I've never heard of anything like that. What does it do? Like a saw to saw mushrooms down?" she asked as she followed along, her tail wagging slightly in curiosity. She almost felt like a filly again, when discovering something new. It was a feeling that she cherished greatly.

They passed by large shelves, stalls and boxes, many of which had pieces of mushroom in varying sizes. Some were just tiny caps, while in other places had massive cut circles of mushroom that could feed a family.

"It's sort of like a saw, except designed to be more powerful and use it's own energy, instead of the one using it. Because of this it often requires maintenance to keep it's blades in check." Marine Light replied, moving into a side room where their equipment was stored.

Collapse found her in a place that practically screamed 'workshop'. There were tools, transport, materials and parts everywhere. In boxes, resting against walls, on the floor, and in their own shelves.

A couple carts were in one corner, and half a dozen axes lay in a pile next to them. But the thing that drew the most attention was the device that was resting on a table of it's own.

A creation with a long, serrated blade, like a regular cutting saw, but attached to one end was a lump of metal, keeping unknown contraptions safe from damage. Even through the casing she could see a low blue glow coming from within.

Marine Light began rambling about the place. "Well this is where we keep our tools and the stuff to repair them. We got a few spare parts, sandpaper for smoothing the wood, ointments for keeping the woods fresher, whetstones for keeping the blades sharp..."

Collapse was intrigued by the mushrooms in the stalls and boxes. She could very well get along with the idea of eating mushrooms for a long period of time. After all, she was looking to get more healthy after all. Laying down the cakes, cookies, and chips was hard but it was worth it.

Marine Light would see that Collapse was looking around like a curious little filly. This reminded her of what she used to do back home, in her own workshop. "This really takes me back, it feels like home in here." she said happily as she walks up to the device on the table. Looking at it, she hadn't seen anything like that. "Ah, so that is a chainsaw. It actually amazes me that with the technology back home that we never invented this. Then again, unicorns like myself can easily move large objects with magic." she walks closer to it, examining the blue glowing bit. Could it be a small mana battery? Could be.

"I could very well see myself working here and fixing these things up. I'm an engineer." she practically beamed, her grin wide and innocent.

Marine Light broke out of their rambling to address what Collapse was being curious about. "Yes, that's the chainsaw. It was expensive and difficult to make, so I'm told. Some of our smarter Kelpies came up with the idea to help out food harvesting for our settlement, and we were doing well enough that we could afford one." they said as they moved a flipper over to a handle.

"Expensive to replace the vibrant aquamarines it uses, but it's well worth the cost." They run their flipper over the device, then return it to their side.

"Well, are you able to find everything you need to start fixing things? Several things break every day, so we need someone who can keep up with the constant problems."

Collapse surveys over the various tools. Recognizing a lot of the tools. The usual things like sockets and screwdrivers, to more complex things and other parts. Her mind was already coming up with ideas of fixing things. "Well, I could likely get started soon enough. Just give me a few pointers and tell me what needs to be fixed and I'll do my best to fix what I can." she smirks.

"Can't be as stressful as trying to put a new mana core in a sinking ship in a whirlpool and then...yeah, that's how we got here, long story..." she laughed nervously. "I could probably teach you about a lot of things, too." she grinned.

Marine Light blinked in confusion at Collapse's short story, before dismissing the whole thing and moving on.

"Well... half of the things you see in here need some sort of repair or touch-up, like those-" they pointed to the pile of axes and the carts, "-and these-" they pointed over at some dented buckets, some lengths of rope, a few with frayed parts, "-and of course the chainsaw, which will probably break again if we use it in it's current state."

"I'm sure you could find things to repair them if you look hard enough. The tools should be... somewhere around here..." they shrugged. "As for being taught? Maybe? I'm not really the best at keeping things maintained though, so you might be wasting it on me."

Collapse looks to the dented buckets, the rope and the other items. "All of those sorts of items I have worked on before. All of those I can fix with no problem." she turns to the chainsaw. "As for this, I will need to know more about it before I work on it. What exactly is broken?" she moves closer to it and looks over it to see if there were any obvious broken parts. For the blue glow inside of it she would check to see if there were any screws on it that would allow it to be opened up so she could get a look at the interior of the housing part around the glow.

"I would appreciate any help with this chainsaw, the other things? I can have them done quickly." she stated.

Marine Light grabbed hold of the chainsaw and turned it so it was lying on it's other side. Now visible was what appeared to be a hatch, held shut by a tiny bar that locked the hatch closed. Marine Light simply flipped the bar and opened the hatch, exposing the mechanisms inside.

Inside was a bunch of gears, springs and other tiny pieces of machinery. In the center of it all, flooding blue light through the opening was a gemstone, cut and polished by a jeweler and enchanted by unknown means, then inserted into a special socket.

"Various parts just receive wear and tear or become loose every now and then, because they move so fast. Problem is it needs to be fast or else it doesn't do the job properly." they explained, before looking directly at Collapse.

"I'd advise you not to touch the vibrant aquamarine. It doesn't need to be replaced or maintained usually, and often discharges it's stored magic at those who get close to it, which wastes magic it could be using to chop down mushrooms. Plus... I don't know how it would affect you. It's mostly fine for us, but we can deal with water better than you can."

Collapse looks to the various components contained within the housing of the chainsaw. Looking at it, a lot of them were tiny. She would have to work delicately on them, that was for sure. Collapse has done similar things before, so was confident in her ability to maintain this chainsaw.

“Alright, I will be keeping that in mind. Do you have a specific place you keep spare parts for it? I have a good idea of some tools I will be using here.” Collapse states and begins selecting tools she believes she will need. Small screwdrivers, nut drivers, lubricants, things like that. That is of course, if there were tools that would fit with the smaller sizes of the components in the chainsaw.

Collapse knew full well she would be staying away from the vibrant glow of the aquamarine. Looking closer, she would examine what exactly would need to be serviced. Maybe a gear or a screw here or there could be tightened, perhaps even replaced entirely.

"Yeah, just over there." Marine Light replied, pointing over to a chest of drawers. One of them was already partially opened revealing a few pale colored handles for the axes.

From what Collapse could tell, a few gears were loose and an axle was dented, which could cause problems if it becomes too misaligned. The blades of the saw were slightly blunt at well. Other than that, it seemed to be in good condition.

"I've got to get back to work now. If you need any help with something, you can probably find someone else working around here. Most of us are in the mushroom fields though." Marine Light said, preparing to leave.

"Alright, in the meantime I am going to fix all this stuff up. I'll be out there and check on what my friends Jump Start and Magloria are up to once I fix it all up. Thank you for the help." Collapse smiled.

She would tighten up the loose gears inside of the chainsaw. That was easy enough, however with the dented axle she would search for a replacement. It could be risky trying to fix a dented axle inside of the housing it is supposed to be in. If she couldn't find a replacement one, she would remove the axle itself carefully along with whatever was attached to it and try to realign it into shape with a mallet.

Luckily for her, there was both a replacement axle *and* a mallet, so she could do both. Replacing the parts was easy. Nothing was hard to take out or difficult to put back in, but she did have telekinesis while the seaponies didn't seem to have anything but their flippers.

The biggest problem was, naturally, the vibrant aquamarine. While she never touched it directly, it made her magic feel slightly tingly as parts she was holding got close to it. Makes you wonder how it would react it Collapse directly grabbed onto it in her magic.

There wasn't much else going on besides Collapse's own tasks, until the sound of something heavy being wheeled into the main part of the warehouse could be heard. Probably just one of the lumberjacks/farmers/harvesters/whatevers coming in with a new cart of shrooms.

The vibrant aquamarine was quite strange to Collapse. She's never really seen something like that, feeling the tinglyness in her magic she dare not touch onto it directly. She couldn't help but imagine, but she wasn't a filly who went around touching everything. Been there done that. Smirking at some memories she had about that, she forged on.

Soon enough the chainsaw was fully fixed up, at least for the mechanics of it. Due to her telekinesis she found that it was easy to move small parts into place right back where they were. With great care towards her work, she would move on to fixing dented buckets. Pounding out those dents went by quick. Moving onto the axles and other things she would take a bit more time on those as they were more complicated than just pounding out a simple dent.

Collapse didn't move outside of the room, being a workaholic she would attempt to fix everything in here that needed fixing. She was dedicated to her craft, after all.

Collapse eventually reached a point where, as hard as she tried, she found no more damaged equipment, the only things remaining damaged were the used components that couldn't be fixed, needing to be scrapped instead.

She could still hear work being done outside. This time dull thunking sounds could be heard repeatedly, in a rhythmic fashion, like a woodcutter striking a particularly mushy tree.

"Woah! That was a good blow!" a male voice complimented someone after a particularly loud thunk.

Collapse was now quite satisfied with her work. Everything that was able to be fixed was fixed, and she was proud of herself. Hearing the big thunk outside Collapse laughed. "Maybe that was you, Jumpy. Maybe I'll call you that, nahhhh, I don't wanna embarrass you...Jumpy..." Collapse said quietly to herself with a giggle. "But I know Maggy would put me in my place if I ever called her that...not that I'd object. At least, not in *that manner*." her eyes fluttered as she went to grab the chainsaw.

Collapse headed outside to see what was going on, she had expected Jump Start to be the one who was kicking the mushroom. When she exited she would ask, "Hey! Whats going on out here?" she asked with a smile. The chainsaw was floating in her gold telekinesis above her, casually.

It was definitely Jump Start making the noise, but she wasn't kicking a mushroom around, definitely not.

With actions that could be considered 'an executioner performing his duty', Jump Start slammed down an axe straight through a mushroom, it's stalk being at least half a meter wide, cutting it completely in half and sinking deep into another piece of mushroom below. The newly split piece of mushroom rolling away from the impact. It's a damn good thing she doesn't know how to fight.

"Oh hif Collawps!" Jump Start greeted as she spat the axe handle out of her mouth, letting it clatter to the floor. A few seaponies greeted her too, them either working on storing away the pieces of mushroom or just watching Jump Start commit mushroom mayhem.

Collapse greets the seaponies back, and giggles upon Jump Start's voice as she spits the handle out of her mouth. Collapse was clearly impressed by Jump Start's work, her eyes even widened slightly at what she was doing. Impressive.

"I have repaired this Chainsaw here. Just a few minor things and it's back in working order. Everything else in that work room I fixed to the best of my ability. It seems like you are putting your Earth pony strength to good work!" she would step forward. "It is most impressive, isn't it?" she would look to the seaponies.

The seaponies around agreed, some stating that Jump Start's been doing her work faster than all of them, even those who have been working here for years.

They thanked Collapse as well for her work on the tools, stating that it would save some of them having to repair things themselves.

"Yeah, I am. It's actually sort of fun! Beats picking fruits and vegetables from the ground and trees." Jump Start agreed, picking up her axe again, shifting the mushroom to the side before landing another blow, tearing off another part of the mushroom for someone to collect.

"It gets better than that." A seapony stated, "Normally we cut them after chopping them down, so it's easier to load the carts. This one she brought back here whole! Even hauled it up onto a cart and everything!"

Collapse looked to Jump Start, appreciating the thankfulness of the sea-ponies. "Seems like you really like it here, fixing all those things was quite satisfying!" Collapse chirped.

"We are naturally suited for land so we are able to move larger things than you likely can. With my telekinesis I can get at all the itty bitty parts." she spoke and looks at the chainsaw in her magic.

"How do you start this thing up anyways? I could probably help you clean up some mushrooms, with me doing the saw and Jump Start cutting the mushrooms down I suppose this whole operation will go by quite quickly. How does that sound?" Collapse asked the lot of them.

The seaponies sat by and listened to the explanation, before answering Collapse's question, but not as she expected. "We don't use the chainsaw for just any mushrooms. Most of the ones around here can be dealt with with just an axe. The chainsaw is for mushrooms large enough that an axe just won't get through."

They pointed at the one that Jump Start was dealing with. "That one there? It's about a third of the width of the ones we're talking about. Even she might not be able to go through one, or at least not in one blow. Axes take forever to go deep enough."

"That way we keep the stored magical energy for mushrooms we can't deal with, and keep it's maintenance... somewhat low. Otherwise it would run out of power quickly and we don't have the money for that." they explained.

Collapse nods. "Understandable. I can see why you would use this only when you have to. Perhaps I could come up with an idea for it. I've never seen the type of power source that you use. It may be a lower amount of storage of magical energy than what we use back home for machines." she ponders with a hoof to her chin and looks it over again.

"If you have any schematics on this device I would be happy to keep them or replicate them for when I eventually return home, although I think I could easily draft up some designs for an improved Chainsaw. You see, the gear ratios and design of the interior machinery could also be improved to a degree." she then would explain a more advanced ratio for the gears, although she would add that is just an idea she has.

"Gotta give you all credit for building this though, all without telekinesis. Despite our advancement, I've not seen a machine of this type. These mushrooms are also delicious." she grinned.

They looked at each other in confusion, wondering why Collapse was asking them about that, before one of them spoke up, nervously scratching at the back of their neck.

"We only bought the chainsaw and maintain it with parts that we also buy. We didn't design it or build it at all. If you're looking for the designer and creator of the chainsaw, you're better off searching inside the town." they explained.

Another added their voice to the conversation. "Plus even if we were the ones who came up with the idea, handing over the schematics to a stranger would be a really bad move. Just in case you're thinking of asking the real owners of the schematics."

"Thanks for your approval of our produce though." a third one said.

Collapse nods. "Alright, was just asking to see if you knew. I am really curious about the device." she stated calmly. Internally she was disappointed they didn't give her what she needed. Oh well, if they ever return home than she can tell the others back home what she remembers.

"Where did Magloria go off to?" Collapse asked Jump Start. "Probably on the look out for anything dangerous, at least I think thats what she was doing, right?" Collapse asked.

With the conversation as a group over, the other seaponies got back to work storing all the harvested food away, checking over their tools and carts or having their own conversations between each other.

Jump Start shrugged. "Something like that. I only came back because it was easier to do the cutting here. I would be heading out again, unless you think we should stop and get on with collecting our payment and leaving for our purifier?" she asked.

"Well I have pretty much fixed all I really could here. We could go, I'll go put this back and we'll see what Magloria is up to and then proceed from there? I'm thinking we should collect our payment and check to see if our purifier is done." Collapse stated as she put the chainsaw back down on the floor of the warehouse on one of the tables.

Jump Start didn't know why Collapse suggested that they should collect their payment and check on the purifier, considering she said so first. Regardless, she went along with it. "Uhh... let me just finish off this mushroom then we can go find her." she said, and began splitting the rest of the mushroom in pieces.

By the time Collapse was done putting the chainsaw down on the floor on a table, apparently, Jump Start had finished her work, resting her axe in a place where a seapony could find it.

"Alright, I'm done. Let's go." she said.

Chapter 15

Collapse would look to Jump Start. "Let's go...Jumpy." Collapse then put a hoof over her mouth and blushed deeply."I really said that out loud didn't I...? Sorry about that..." Collapse said in an apologetic, nervous manner. Her ears shifted about and her eyes glanced back and forth as if wanting to find a distraction from what was said but she couldn't find anything that would, at least not in her view. She gulps and would follow Jump Start out, with a nervous giggle.

Unfortunately for Collapse there was no distracting from what she just said. Jump Start's reaction was immediate. Her ears pricked up and she looked directly at Collapse, eyes wide in surprise. A faint blush started to form across her face.

"Wh-what...? Why did you c-call me that?" she asked in a faint whisper. Her hooves shifted, something clearly bothering her.
Collapse blushed in general although it was more of embarrassment and froze up at the question. "I-I uh...don't think about it. I'm sorry about that...I uh..uh...its nothing!" she turned away and started to head out.

It wasn't nothing though, the fact was is that she found her companion adorable. She just can't help her romanticism, she felt like she made a dire mistake.

Jump Start didn't know what to think as Collapse left the warehouse. "Did she... give me a pet name?" she whispered to herself in shock. It look a short while before she came to her senses, following in the direction that Collapse took.

When Collapse was outside she found a seapony near the warehouse wall talking with Magloria at a table, which had markings carved into it like a map. Magloria however looked like she had to deal with a lot worse than a bunch of mushrooms, if the patches of unkempt, dirty fur was any indication.

Collapse proceeded up to Magloria and the other seapony. "Hi Magloria. Me and Jump Start finished our jobs for now. Everything that needs fixing is fixed. It looks like you had a few run ins with creatures around here." she said calmly, trying to hide what just happened with Jump Start. If she called Magloria "Maggy" then she'd probably have a lot worse to deal with. She shudders slightly at the thought.

Magloria looked up from what she was talking about. "Hello again Collapse, hi Jump Start. Yeah, turns out there are certain things at the outer edges of the mushroom forest that think it's a good idea to get in, and some can almost do it too."

She pulled forth what appeared to be a long, pure white needle or fang, about 20 centimeters in length and it's end slightly leaking. "Ever seen a centipede?" she questioned.

"That's from a c-centipede?!" Jump Start yelped.

Collapse looks at it in disgust. "Wow that is...disgusting. I hate bugs, and there are centipedes that big in here?! Ewww, for Starlight's sake..." Collapse cringed at it, her stance visibly changing as she cringes her jaw at the sight. "Gotta do what you gotta do I suppose..." she added in shock.

"Yeah. My guess is they got so big living off of rotting mushrooms, or something. Nothing much to stop them getting big either." Magloria stated, shrugging a hoof at the object.

"They're quite nasty as well. This piece you see? It's a fang filled with venom. If that wasn't bad enough, their legs and carapace lets them move swiftly and resist just as much as those spiders we encountered. The only saving grace was that their size made it hard for them to follow me."

She moved away from the table. "Anyway, I hope you don't see one. You might not survive if you do." she stated in an oddly cheerful manner before getting serious again. "Now you said that you were done with your work? I take it you wish to get paid then leave, right?"

Collapse shuddered a bit at what was stated but the part that got to her most was how cheerful Magloria was at that moment. Hopefully she wouldn't have wanted either her or Jump Start to get hurt. She may say that she may not, but does she really mean it? Magloria had this strange side of her that seemed to shrug things off. Even during the moment where the three of them could have died int he whirlpool she seemed oddly calm. What happened to Magloria in the past? Must have been pretty bad for her to be so jaded to all of these events. Collapse wanted to know, but it would be improper to ask. It would come with time, she hoped.

"No good creatures they are, I can tell you that even without seeing one. What did it look like though? I imagine it was pretty huge for its fangs to be that large...umm, what color was it?" she asked before following Magloria away from the table.

"Yes, we are done with our work. I've done all I could really do. So let's get paid, and then go to the refinery to see if our Purifier is completed." she concluded.

Magloria thought over the question. "Let me see, it was long with segmented white carapace plates all along it's body. The plates even had a dull shine to them. I would've taken a piece for myself, but I didn't have much to carry them."

"Had a few beady little black eyes, a pair of very long, twitchy feelers which it would've been using to smell me out. The legs though? Many, many of those. At least 100 of them, I'd say." she explained as she moved over to one of the other seaponies, telling them how they were leaving for today.

The seapony, understanding what she meant, offered a small sized bag filled with shells, with enough payment to keep them going for another few days at least. They were now free to leave.

Collapse would thank the seapony for the payment and would follow Magloria and Jump Start away from the area. "Wow, but that is pretty much what I would expect of those. 100 legs...eek, I really hate those things. The only good centipede is a dead centipede." Collapse concluded as they walked away. She was very eager to see how the 3rd expansion for the purifer was.

With the river now downstream again they could once again use a raft to get back to Pearlth, making the return trip far quicker.

Once they got back, Magloria sailed over to the refinery, which Jump Start helpfully told her the location of. Being her first time here, Magloria observed the refinery carefully as they approached the shoreline, taking in it's features and possible uses in the future.

Now at the edge of the lake, Magloria and Jump Start jumped off the raft, preparing to go in.

Collapse exited off the raft and looked at the refinery. It still captivated her wonder despite it being her second time here. She could see Magloria observing it, no doubt calculating and planning something. Collapse would lead the way and head into the main door. If she saw any seaponies close by on the way in, or at the entrance she would ask where Alkali was. She was ready to see if the purifier was completed.

Collapse very quickly saw seaponies, since part of the refinery was outside of the main building. They told her where to find Alkali, but they also told her where the purifier was, and that she could go pick it up from where it's stored. Convenient.

Collapse would go in and get the purifier at the location. Once she found it she looked it over and to see how the 3rd extension was added onto it. She would tell the seaponies to tell Alkali that they are thankful for the purifier being modified, and then she'd head out back to Magloria and Jump Start with the purifier in her magic.

On the outside it just looked like they added a second canister to the side of the original one, but internally Collapse could tell that the filtered water actually flows into the second chamber, which gets heated up from below, letting steam rise up and form droplets on a sloped ceiling, letting the water drip back down into a collection bowl.

The seaponies said that they'd relay her words to Alkali when they find him, and said goodbye.

Magloria watched as Collapse came out with... a metal thing. "That's what we're using? Well alright then, as long as it works." she shrugged.

Collapse smiles to Magloria. "Yup. Doesn't look too pretty but hey, it works. I also put a summoning spell on it too." she smirked as her horn glowed gold and the purifier was suddenly gone. It wasn't something Collapse wanted to lug around everywhere they went so that was convenient. Collapse gets into the raft. "So what do you wanna do now?" she looked to Magloria and Jump Start.

"Well now that we've got everything we need." Magloria started as she began to head back to the raft, Jump Start following after her. "Food, a source of fresh water, medical supplies and whatever else we could, I suppose it is now time to go searching for the exit, and see exactly what about it that the seaponies are scared of."

"Unless there is anything else you left at the house or somewhere else?" she prompted.

Collapse agrees. "Right. Let's begin heading towards it. Maybe whatever was there is actually gone or died long ago. I can't remember the last time any of the seaponies went there, a few decades ago? Could very well be gone and we could have an easy way out. But let us not get ahead of ourselves." Collapse replied.

"Although if there is, me and Jump Start don't really know how to fight." she added.

Magloria huffed. "Fine, maybe I can teach you along the way, whenever we take a break from sailing." she said, getting back onto the raft as she did.

Once everyone was on she set off in the direction that she was given. They passed over several lakes, each one containing a district that they didn't know the name of.

At one point they found out that some seapony thought it was a brilliant idea to have one of the passages to other districts lead directly through one of the waterfalls flowing from above. Everyone got drenched.

They came to the point that was the end of Pearlth, and the start of the river leading to the exit, flowing away to the unknown. So far it didn't look too bad, but there was a several day journey ahead of them. The raft would thankfully cut that shorter.

Collapse nodded and stayed mostly silent along the way. Taking in all the sights. The place was quite beautiful with all of its lakes. One by one they passed them. Collapse almost felt sad they were leaving, and when they were drenched she sighed in annoyance and frowned. How crude of the builders, but then again this place wasn’t made with rafts in mind.

When the river began it set in that they were leaving and going off to somewhere possibly dangerous. This made Collapse nervous, maybe they weren’t entirely ready yet but it was too late to turn back now. She looks to Jump Start to see if she was okay. “How you feeling?” she asked her. She wanted her to be comforted.

"I'm... I'm fine. We're going to find a way out of here, and we're going to get back home, and then everything will be alright." Jump Start said, her nervousness showing despite how she tried to hide it.

Magloria started them down the river, sailing over a few remaining seapony houses below the water until eventually there were no blue-green lights remaining. Just them, the river and the occasional glowing fish.

Occasionally the surroundings would change. They'd find a new lake with plants, or various mushrooms glowing in the distance. Water dripping noises, rocks falling and various distant squeaks were always present.

Collapse stays close to Jump Start, indicating that she would be there to comfort her if she needed it but Collapse was nervous. She stayed silent as they left, watching the remaining familiar areas fade away into the distance. Upon finding the new lake Collapse would wonder why the seaponies didn't colonize this lake but it was likely due to the distance away from Pearlth.

She looked to Magloria at the front of the raft, knowing that their lives were mostly in her hooves.

Jump Start didn't move away from Collapse. It was at least comforting that someone she sort of knew was here. She glanced around in the darkness, always checking in case there was danger about. Every time a shrill squeak occurred too close for her liking she flinched.

Then it felt like something had bumped into the boat, if the small vibration and shift in direction was any indication. "Hmm?" Magloria queried as she looked about, distracted from her sailing efforts.

"Did we hit a rock? Or a fish?" Jump Start asked.

"I'm not sure, but we definitely hit something." Magloria replied.

Collapse summoned in her crystal spear by her side at the sudden shake. "Whatever it was, I hope it wasn't a rockodile or something worse than that." Collapse stated and shook a bit in fear of what it could be. Her horn glows gold to illuminate over the edge of the raft, she looks to see if she can see anything, being careful to not get too close to the edge of raft.

The good news was that it wasn't a rockodile. The bad news is that it still wanted a piece of them, and leapt with enthusiasm in order to get it.

Literally leapt. If Collapse was a bit closer to the edge she would've had her leg bitten by the dozens of tiny teeth that filled the mouth of a small fish. With a splash it had flown out of the water, trying to grab onto anything in it's way, before accidentally landing in the raft, flopping about in an attempt to reach the water again.

Jump Start shrieked at the sight, and instinctively lashed out with a kick, sending the fish flying through the air and off into the darkness.

Collapse froze in fear and whimpered for several seconds before she backed up away from the raft into Jump Start. "W-what the hell was that?! I-I think I know what these are...the seaponies spoke about piranhas or carnivorous fish along the way, r-right? Thats probably what that was...its best that we stay away from the edges of our little raft here..." she said with a loud sigh, attempting to calm her racing heartbeat down.

Jump Start flinched away at the contact, still rather freaked out at the sight of the toothy fish.

"Certainly seems like it's what they were talking about. We'll likely end up encountering more of them soon, though unlike the seaponies, we have options." Magloria said, looking at the edge of the river.

"Personally I can likely hold my own against these things, but as for you..." She gave a snort of frustration. "I'm going to land the raft on the shoreline, and we'll proceed on hoof. I'm not risking you two getting bitten." she said.

Another splash, another flying fish. This one however was caught in a light blue aura of Magloria's magic, before being tossed away somewhere onto land.

Collapse looks to Magloria. "A-alright, I could probably raise a barrier around the raft but I don't think I could last for hours, or a day on end and I'd really be wearing myself out if I did that so...maybe walking would be better." Collapse spoke to Magloria and turned to Jump Start. "You know...you have the ability to fight you just haven't used it before. I've seen your quick work of the mushrooms with that axe. You definitely have it in you." Collapse said to Jump Start, trying to be hopeful.

The raft moved towards the shoreline before striking it with a thud, indicating that they could disembark. Magloria got off first, followed by Jump Start.

Jump Start looked to Collapse, still evidently nervous. She shook her head, making noises of denial in response to her words. Just because she was capable of fighting, doesn't mean her heart was in it.

Even when there was no one on the raft, the fish would still occasionally leap up at it in an attempt to get something, often landing in the freezing raft or on land, flopping about pathetically. What they had in enthusiasm, they clearly lacked in the intelligence department.

Magloria sighed. "We probably needed the exercise anyway. Let's get moving." she said as she began to walk.

Collapse got off the raft and follows Magloria. Looking back at the raft she could see the predatory fish flopping about on the raft. In a different context, that would have been funny for her.

She could notice how nervous Jump Start was and walked close to her as a way to keep her comfortable, as well as to react faster should something happen to her.

“Right. Let us proceed and hope for the best. We will be okay.” Collapse said, trying to be optimistic. She wanted Jump Start to feel safer here but that likely wouldn’t happen until they were absolutely certain.

Jump Start meekly nodded, glancing around in the darkness and, on occasion, looking back at the raft to make sure that the fish weren't following them.

Several boring hours passed, with nothing happening aside from the ambient noises of the caves and the clopping of their hooves on the hard floor. The occasional lonesome mushroom could be found, the blue ones being snatched up for dinner at a later time.

By this point Jump Start was feeling a lot better, if 'boredom' was any better. "I know that this was going to take a lot of time, but... we've been walking for hours and we haven't seen anything! Surely at least the seaponies would've done... *something* along the river..." she moaned.

Collapse sighs at the state of affairs. Unfortunately nothing cool has been seen unlike the other things they saw before.

However she felt that it is better to be bored than be at danger. At the very least they appeared to be safe for now, she hoped. Nothing of note really happened it seems.

“Well…yeah, it is indeed pretty boring but it is better to be bored than be in danger, you know? I was hoping for some cool lakes and treasure maybe.” Collapse commented in a manner that conveyed that she was also bored too.

"Well maybe there is treasure around as we just haven't seen any?" Jump Start said and started looking up at the ceiling above them, trailing a little bit further away without noticing. "We are in a cave, so there could be gold or silver or gemstones lining the walls and we'd never notice without a source of li-WOAH!"

Jump Start yelped as she suddenly felt the rocks under her front hooves roll out from beneath them, causing her to stumble forward.

She started to slide away with the rocks, but a flash of blue wrapping around her tail, keeping her back half from disappearing with her front half.

"Umm... help? There's nothing down here that I can climb back up on, and my tail feels like it's stuck." Jump Start's worried voice came from a hole that she almost fell in, and a big hole at that.

"Hmm. Strange." Magloria pondered, "We haven't found any sudden drops before, so why would there be one here?" she said as she tugged Jump Start backwards, bringing her back up onto solid ground.

Collapse was about to grab Jump Start but thankfully Magloria got to her before Collapse was able to. "Jump Start! Are you okay?" Collapse called out as she walked close to Jump Start. "Thank you for acting Quickly, Magloria...I believe that is what might be called a void crag. They did tell us about that. That is my best quess of what that would be." Collapse spoke nervously and nodded in thankfulness.

Her horn glowed gold, she wanted to see if she was able to illuminate the bottom of the sudden drop off. She didn't step close to the edge though in fear of the same thing happening to her as it did Jump Start.

"Uh... I'm okay, just a little shocked." Jump Start squeaked in reply, just sitting in place as she considered what just happened to her.

Despite the glow of Collapse's horn shining down into the hole, she couldn't see the bottom. It's a good thing that the hole is off to the side of the river's shoreline instead of in their way, or they might've had some issues getting past it.

However the extra light now revealed that the hole was much larger than they saw before. It just kept going further and further off into the distance, with no end in sight.

"You're welcome... I suppose." Magloria replied in an almost monotone way, shrugging off the praise as she did so. "Seems like this might be the place. Would be quite a spectacle to see if we had a light powerful enough to reveal the entire cavern. Hmm..."

She looked at the water, watching something within it.

Collapse looked to Jump Start with sympathy. Her eyes were still warm despite all that had happened. Looking down into the hole she expected to not see a bottom but still it filled her with a sense of dread. "Damn. Thats a deep hole..." Collapse remarked and looked off into the distance.

"And a massive one too...I've never seen anything like that on the surface. I wonder if it is truly bottomless...I wish we could see the entire cavern, that'd be really helpful." Collapse replied to Magloria, finding herself captivated by the enormousness of the hole. As she was looking to Magloria she could see that she was watching something. "Do you notice something?" she asked.

Magloria levitated up a rock near herself. "I have an idea, but I want to check something first. I doubt it's actually bottomless, but..." She tossed the rock over the side of the hole, letting it fall down.

Leaning forward with an ear to the hole, she waited. "Hmm... I didn't hear a sound. Well then, onto the next bit..." she said as she turned back to the river.

She began concentrating on the water with her magic, and shortly enough 3 glowing fish, each trapped in their own separate bubble of water and confused as to what is going on, rose above the surface.

"Do you reckon you two could bind all 3 of these fish together? If 1 light is shines brightly, then 3 lights will shine even brighter!" she declared.

Chapter 16

Collapse also listened but didn't hear a sound and stepped away from the hole. "I guess it truly is bottomless or is just so deep that we couldn't hear it." she stated and watched as Magloria trapped the fish into the bubbles of water. "Hey, that's a *bright* idea!" Collapse replied in an excited fashion. "I got something for that." Collapse stated and summoned in her water bottles that Magloria had made before and took off the makeshift harnesses they made for them and took one of the harnesses and tied the 3 fish together.

Moving the water bottle over she looks to see if she could fit the 3 fish inside of the water bottle to carry around like a portable lantern. If the bottle couldn't fit the fish she would say, "I could carry them around in an orb of my shield." she suggested.

Unfortunately the fish were simply too big to fit into the small water bottles. Even one fish wouldn't fit in all of them.

Despite this, Magloria waved off Collapse's suggestion and shifted her magic, causing the water to peel away from the fish and flow back into the river. The fish didn't seem affected, and Jump Start knew why.

"Oh! It's those walking fish! I thought I recognized the colour! I do hope they don't mind being so close to each other though." she said.

Magloria pointed over the hole, sweeping her hoof across it and the river ahead. "And now we can easily tell where exactly the holes are, and hopefully avoid them." she said.

Collapse rose an eyebrow at them fish, and went ahead and unsummoned the water bottles which vanished in a gold flash. "Walking fish, huh? Well when we get our use out of them we'll untie them and put them back to normal." she moved along the shore and followed the others forward. "I wonder how these holes formed, it seems highly unusual...maybe magma tubes or something? I don't know." Collapse shrugged.

With the new super light, they could see far further ahead than they could before. It was strong enough that they could see the cave wall on the other side of the crag they were next to, barely. This showed that the gap was at least 100 meters across.

Even despite the light's power, they still could not see the bottom.

"They could've been magma tubes, maybe, but maybe it used to also be filled with water?" Jump Start suggested.

"Then where did the water go? Did it just sink even further?" Magloria said, making Jump Start shrug in response.

As they kept going, the shoreline between the river and the drop below got thinner, down to only several meters in width. Still enough for them to safely walk, but those who weren't brave or foolish couldn't help but want to stick to the river's side, in fear of falling off.

Collapse looks across at how the surroundings were. It was both impressive, yet also terrifying. She would stick to the edge of the river being careful to stay as far from the edge. Yet at the same time she was worried of what could also be in the water and pays close attention to that as well. If she saw anything out of the realm of the ordinary she would inform Magloria and Jump Start.

"You know maybe this realm of the world is very cavernous for whatever reason. Who knows what could be down there, there could be hundreds of levels so to speak. Maybe there are other seaponies or creatures down there at the bottom. Maybe this area of the world is not entirely solid and has large open areas like we've just seen." she ponders as they walked along.

"And besides, whatever happens down here will never be known by those on the surface. That is the enigma of this place, and...whatever is down below. For as advanced as we are on the surface, we really don't know a lot about the world. Also another thing, I wonder what it would have been like if we had taken an airship instead of a regular ship. I know that airships are expensive to build and maintain and likely couldn't fare too well in sea weather though." Collapse adds.

"Yeah, sure..." Magloria sighed, just letting Collapse monologue for a bit. Jump Start didn't know what to say about all of Collapse's theories, since she was too busy concentrating on the floor below them so that she didn't fall off the edge or into the river.

From what Collapse could see within the waters, using the light to see better, there were still the aggressive little fish, but they made no attempt to jump out at them. In fact, they swam away from the bright light pointed at them.

Partway through the crags they came across their first obstacle, or technically second if you count the crags in the first place. The sound of water rushing up ahead could be heard. "You remember how the seaponies told us that there were gaps that created waterfalls here? I think that's one." Jump Start said.

Upon inspection, they could see that there was a large gap in the ground, with water spilling over and down the side of the crag.

Collapse went silent upon noticing that neither of them were really engaging with her discussions. She didn't want to annoy them and stayed weary as they heard the sound of rushing water.

"That is quite something to look at. I wonder where the water goes..." Collapse mused. "You know what? How about we find out." Collapse said but didn't move any closer to the edge. Her horn glowed a bit brighter and a small sparkling gold orb was launched from it and began to fall. Much like a flare, her horn returned to normal brightness after that. Collapse watches to see if her small sparkling orb would reach anywhere before it would inevitably fade out. She was actually a bit terrified of these void crags, they were huge, and deep with no end in sight.

Well the golden orb of light definitely reached somewhere. The problem was it didn't stop going. It became a small light, then a distant small light, then a tiny light, and then nothing. Looks like wherever the bottom was, they couldn't reach it.

Once that was over, Magloria returned her attention to the water gap in front of them. "I could freeze this over, but it would risk collapsing with all the moving water. I could make it stronger, but it might be a just a big waste of magic when there's a better option. Any ideas?" she asked the others.

Jump Start was thinking, but didn't get anywhere yet.

Collapse watched how it fell and vanished. It seemed to be for all intensive purposes to be bottomless. That was both captivating, yet also terrifying at the same time. Watching how it vanished was mystifying. "No end in sight." she commented.

Collapse was thinking. "Well, what we could do is freeze it over and just run over it fast before it breaks? I do have an anti gravitational spell but I don't have a way to really control it. Could maybe like, contain the two of you inside a barrier around myself and use my telekinesis to guide us over the water. Or I could try parting the water with my barrier magic but it may be moving too strong for that." Collapse suggested.

Magloria thought over Collapse's suggestions. "Trying to quickly cross it is just asking for something to go wrong. Not only is the ice slippery, but the water will make it doubly so, plus the added force from the running will break the ice faster."

"Using barrier magic is just asking to be pushed off the side, to never be seen again. Think about it, what's going to have more water pushing against you? Yourself, or a large barrier? Don't answer that, it's rhetorical."

She then gave a nod. "Telekinesis however could work. As long as you can concentrate well enough, one of us can easily allow the others to cross *over* the gap, then once we're on the other side, we can levitate the rest across." she said.

"So, Jump Start, you're first." Magloria began channeling her magic. Jump Start gave a mild squeak as the magic encased her, slowly bringing her over the water, until she was on the other side.

Magloria let out a huff from the effort. "Alright Collapse, you can do me now. It'll give me time to recharge for when I do you."

Collapse nodded to Magloria's statements and was satisfied with her explanations. No objections were made to Magloria's statement and she looks to Magloria and nods. She was nervous of that suggestion but Collapse knew very well she was capable of doing it. Besides, she's moved large machines and parts before so she would be able to do it. Magloria was a mysterious mare, one that Collapse wanted to some day call her friend - and perhaps more. Knowing that, she would be very careful.

"Yup. I'll be very careful with you." Collapse smiled warmly as her golden glow swirled around Magloria and gently lifted her up. Something about Collapse's telekinesis was calming, maybe it was the color or just how Collapse was herself. She gently levitates Magloria over the water slowly, carefully. Magloria is set down gently and the glow vanishes.

Collapse smiles sweetly. "There you go." she said, lifting up a hoof slightly.

Magloria turned around and addressed Collapse. "Alright, now it's your turn." she stated, letting her magic take hold.

It was a little shaky at first due to the distance, but it soon stabilized when she began to move over the water and closer to Magloria.

Once she was on the other side, Magloria let go. "Alright, that's going to be a pain to cross when we return, but we can't do much better." Magloria shrugged as she began walking again.

A hollow sounding wind started blowing through the massive cavern. It was a light wind that only lasted for a few second, yet it was still surprising considering a cave doesn't normally have wind at all.

Collapse thanks Magloria for picking her up across the water and then proceeded to follow Magloria. "Indeed." she stated as she notices the wind that blew through the cavern. "You think we might be nearing the exit? I've never felt wind in this place until now. Or it could be something else, maybe there is some sort of air vent that vents air up from below." Collapse suggested, looking back to Jump Start.

"It could be anything. Even... a massive dragon!" Magloria said, moving closer suddenly as she shouted the last part. She let out a brief laugh as Jump Start tried to calm herself down from the sudden fright.

"I'd rather it just be the exit, thanks..." Jump Start mumbled.

They had to pass by several more watery gaps along the way. Some as large as the one they needed to levitate across, and others being small enough that they could simply jump over or walk through.

Up further ahead the river still went on, but they could see that it suddenly split into two lanes, divided by what appeared to be a large rock. Somehow the rock didn't look like a regular rock. It wasn't smooth enough.

Collapse grew nervous upon Magloria's shout there. She grinned in nervousness at her loudness, she was hoping nothing was in here to hear that. It may attract unwanted attention. Collapse was sure to remain on high alert going forward.

"Y-yeah I was going to say, massive dragon but if that was the case...a dragon would have to even crawl down here in the first place which would mean that there would be a massive exit somewhere..." Collapse mused in nervousness. She shook a little bit in the fear of imagining that.

Moving over the other gaps Collapse would have moved Magloria and Jump Start across them with her magic gently as she did before. Upon arriving at the split she looks at the rock.

"I bet you that is some kind of creature disguising as a rock. Maybe another lobster or something like that. We shouldn't go near it until we are sure." Collapse stated quietly upon seeing it.

"You say that like massive exits aren't a possibility. There's every possibility that the exit is as large as the cavern that we walk through, and there's every possibility that we'll encounter a creature like that, however small the chance is." Magloria casually stated as she looked to the rock.

"That doesn't look like a lobster rock to me. It's at least triple the size, and they were good at pretending to be rocks. This... isn't. Doesn't even look like a rock." she said as she got closer to it.

There were a surprisingly large number of... sharp edges. As if someone had cut the stone. They didn't even know how large it really was, since some of it was sunken into the river.

"That could definitely be the case, thinking about it. The exit wouldn't be under an ocean floor, I would figure that much or else everything down here would have been flooded. I didn't think about that earlier." Collapse replied as they got closer to the rock. Her mind began to fill with ideas upon Magloria's statement.

"I have an idea of what this could be. It definitely looks artificial and it looks so out of place to me. I have an idea, what if there was a civilization down here that died out thousands of years ago and they made this? Or it could be something else entirely. I wouldn't be surprised if something from space ended up down here, honestly." she ponders, putting a hoof to her chin.

Both Magloria and Jump Start looked bewildered at Collapse's suggestion about where the stone came from. "A civilization I can understand, the seaponies down here are proof of that, but *space?*" Magloria responded, shaking her head.

"We're under several kilometres of water and rock, and you think it came from space?"

She scoffed, looking at the rock again. "Though I'm not sure if this is seapony work or not. Why would they want to split the river?"

"Maybe the river used to be higher? Or it could just be decoration?" Jump Start suggested.

"If it was seapony work than it would be likely that they would have living areas in this part of the cavern. I haven't seen any. Unless they once lived here a really really long time ago." she suggested, looking to Jump Start.

Looking back to Magloria she rose an eyebrow. "Hey, you said there is every possibility no matter how small the chance is. But I get your point." she nodded, but was a bit disappointed at the instant rejection to her idea, as unlikely as it may be. Collapse would look to the rock closer, maybe it was some type of hidden machine or a statue?

"Yeah, but there's a difference between a small chance, and a chance that's so low that it defies all logic, unless it was somehow *teleported* down here." Magloria pointed out.

The rock didn't look like a statue or machine, at least from what they could see of it. Parts of it were stuck out slightly further, like odd decorations around something or pillars.

What was interesting was that most of the rock still seemed to have it's edge and details to it, and hadn't been smoothed down by time. Algae however had accumulated on the wet parts.

"Well that is what I was imagining. It's not like it crashed down from above, but whatever it is or wherever it came from it certainly is out of place here." she looks at the parts that stuck out. "Hmm, definitely took a lot of effort to make this. I wonder who made it. It was probably carved into shape." Collapse said in wonder and then stepped back.

"So, left or right? What do you think?" she asks Magloria and Jump Start, she wasn't sure.

Jump Start moved a bit closer to see where the rivers led. Turns out, they didn't split for very long at all. Only a short distance away in the darkness did the rivers merge back together again.

"That's odd... why would the rivers split then join together again? It's like they moved around the rock thing, or something." she said, curious about why the rock was even there in the first place.

"We should probably think about this later, unless you want to jump into the river and get a closer look. I'd rather keep going, but..." Magloria said.

Magloria nods. "Alright, fair enough. First though we need to make sure that the water isn't filled with fish that want to eat us." she said, thinking about how they could test the water without using themselves as bait.

"Ah, I've got an idea." She took out a few of the blue mushrooms that they hadn't eaten yet and levitated them over to the water, letting them rest atop the current, but without letting them float away.

5 minutes passed, but there was no sudden lunging or grabbing of the mushrooms. She pulled them out, revealing only marks where some other fish must've found them instead, no teeth marks.

Chapter 17

Collapse waited until Magloria pulled the mushrooms out. She was satisfied with the results and moved towards the water. Her horn glows a bit brighter. "Alright, we'll look under the water. I suggest we stick together and I'll light up what we see." she spoke and slowly slipped in the water and stayed still until they entered the water. They could see her glowing horn and golden light under the water. It probably is a bit pretty to look at, too. She looks to see if she can see anything different of the 'rock' under the water.

Magloria looked to Jump Start. "You can either set down the fish or stay up here. I'd just prefer that we don't lose them." she said, before diving down as well.

As the water bubbles cleared up around Collapse, she could see the rock ahead of her. It seemed to go all the way to the bottom of the river, blocking the entirety of the river's flow. Some of the markings were more obvious, such as what appeared to be markings that cross each other between the pillars.

That is until she came to a finer detail on the rock. What appeared to be a small slit had been made in the center of it, only tall enough to let some of the smaller fish through, but nothing else.

Collapse swam around the pillar a bit, taking in the shape of it. She felt quite entranced by the possibility of what it could be. If anything she assumes it is ancient and has been here for a very long time. Looking at the slit, she assumed maybe something could be inserted into it and something would happen.

Maybe it was some kind of ancient machine contained within the rock. Either way, she didn't think she'd have a way to confirm nor deny that without cutting the rock open. She didn't have the ability to do that, besides maybe firing a laser at it but that might just be wasting energy. Collapse looks to Magloria, "Whatever this is, it is most certainly intentionally placed here. Although I don't really understand the point of diverting the flow of a river only to have it go back into one on the other side." she spoke, leading the way deeper to the bottom.

Now that she got a closer look of it's dimensions, it seemed like it was several meters wide spanning most of the river above, and at least a couple meters thick. If the slit lead anywhere inside it, it didn't go very far.

"I wouldn't know what it's purpose is either. It could be something as simple as a decoration or sign, though if it was a sign the writing would likely have been washed off by now." Magloria said, brushing away some of the clumped algae to make it clearer to see the rock beneath. It was just rock, no writing or symbols. "Anyway, unless you've got anything else you want to try, I think we're done here."

Collapse was a bit dissatisfied with the results of their discovery. It was time to move on to the exit. “Yeah, I don’t really see anything else of interest. We are done here.” Collapse agrees and began to move out of the water.

Collapse surfaced from the water where Jump Start was and shook off the wetness from her fur. Her mane and tail were frankly a mess. Not that she really cared. “Alright, we couldn’t find anything interesting unfortunately. Time to move on.” she spoke with a hopeful tone.

Magloria surfaced alongside Collapse and shook herself dry as well. The combined spray of water was very unwelcome by Jump Start. The fish she had however loved it, or seemed to anyway. Their increased movements were hard to tell.

Magloria sighed. "Alright, mystery to solve another day. For now..." She nodded in the direction of the exit and started walking, with Jump Start on her tail as usual.

It seemed as though they weren't very far from the end of the void crags. Only a few minutes of walking and they could see the edge they were walking on began to grow thicker, and soon they had enough space that they were at no risk of falling anymore.

Collapse notices the fish and picked up a bit of water in her magic and poured it over the fish. "For you, fishies." she said to them quietly although Jump Start and Magloria may have heard her say that.

Collapse follows after them, keeping up the pace. After the minutes passed she notices the ending of the void crags. "Welp, that seems like thats the end point of those. Maybe someday if I get my fly ring back or build a new one I'd like to fly down with a team of equipped pegasi and see what's actually down there myself." she stated. "Imagine if they go as deep as the sky is above us. Miles, perhaps more. There is probably more below than above." she suggested.

She kept her eyes on alert for anything out of the ordinary, still.

The fish wriggled some more as the water was dumped on them. They seemed much happier now. Or maybe they thought they could swim away?

Magloria couldn't help but let out a half-hearted chuckle. "Well you go have fun crawling down into the yawning abyss. I'm just going to stay up here on the ocean where the risks are more calculated. The whirlpool doesn't count. That was a freak accident and you know it." she said.

Now that they were back on proper solid ground again, the journey got rather boring again, until an hour later, when there were a few patches of glowing mushroom around them, they suddenly saw a different light in the distance, away from the direction the river was heading.

The colour of light was a paler blue, almost white.

"Is that another mushroom forest over there...?" Jump Start wondered.

Collapse nodded in agreement with Magloria, finding her chuckle entertaining. She knew that Magloria had laughed a few times but what she truly wanted to hear was a true giggle without restraint. A happy giggle. Collapse would likely have had idle conversations with the two of them until they saw a potential mushroom forest in the distance. They hadn't seen this color of a forest until now. Only blue, green, and red so far.

"That could very well be. Do we want to check it out? I think we probably could if you are fine with that, Magloria. And besides, it clearly looks different. Maybe it has white mushrooms, could there also be other seaponies over there? Like another group of them?" Collapse ponders.

Magloria looked over at the white glow, trying to find anything that could give them an idea of what is over there. Unfortunately they were still too far away. "Hmm... Might as well. Maybe it could be another spot where we can stop by and gather supplies." she said as she diverged off from the river's current, towards the light.

"It might have seaponies, but they wouldn't have traveled down this river. It's too far away! Unless the river turns and heads in that direction..." Jump Start pointed out.

The white glow got brighter as they approached, until they finally saw what was ahead of them. Turns out it was mushrooms, but they were not the things making the light.

What appeared to be light blue ferns were strewn about the cavern, atop most of them were small white orbs of plant matter, like a bulb. Each of the bulbs were producing a constant white light.

The light reflected off strange blue and yellow mushrooms that looked different from the ones they saw. While the others had larger or tall caps, the ones here had several layers of flat blue caps, with a thick yellow edge. The very top of the mushroom stalk became a swirled end.

The group was still a fair distance away, but they could already smell the strangeness of the mushrooms and ferns.

Collapse sniffs the air a bit, noticing the smell. No doubt further in the forest it would be more intense. Looking at the mushrooms she was amazed at how they looked. They were quite impressive to look at. Nothing short of surreal, she thought.

Looking to the bulbs at the end of the ferns she had an idea. "Hey, how about we take some of those bulbs with us? They can be like little lanterns. Probably wouldn't last forever without the actual plant itself but we could use them while they last." Collapse suggested to Magloria, her eyes clearly in awe of the place as they approached the area.

"If there are seaponies over here I wonder if they know of the other ones. Probably not because we would have heard of this place, I'd bet." Collapse added.

Magloria moved over to the closest light bulb covered fern. "Yeah, wouldn't be such a bad idea. They've at least got to be better than those floating plants and their spores." she said as she lit her magic, taking hold of one of the bulbs and pulling on it hard until it broke off the rest of the plant.

Even when separated it still shone brightly, and looked like it would continue to do so long afterwards. Magloria took a deep breath after exerting her magic. The fern was surprisingly possessive of it's bulb.

Magloria then looked deeper into the forest, spotting something in the distance. "There looks to be... some crystal formation resting in a pond over there." she pointed over in the direction she was looking at. She rubbed her eyes afterwards, blinking a few times to readjust her sight.

Collapse watches as she pulls the bulb off, surprised at how hard it was to get it off. "Wow, that is one strong fern there. Hopefully it lasts long." she stated and looks to the bulb closely, it was nice and bright. Then she looks off to the distance at the crystal formation in the pond. "I wonder what that could be." she put a hoof to her chin.

Collapse strolls closer to the pond but looks at the water to make sure nothing was going to grab or attack her, she didn't stand directly at the edge just in case there was a risk of that. "Any ideas what it could be?" she asks, looking back over at Magloria and Jump Start.

As they got closer they could see that the crystal formation was a large jagged pile of what appeared to be a green glass-like material, transparent enough to see through to the other side. Not the most beautiful crystal, but still fairly pretty.

What was concerning was the water it was resting in. The water was *also* a green color instead of it's usual clearness. On the upside, it didn't seem to give of a smell of any sort, and several live fish were swimming about the pool, so it wasn't poisonous.

"I don't know. It's still an impressive formation. Would be worth a fortune to the right buyer." Jump Start said, staring in awe at the crystal.

"Woah..." Magloria said as she looked at the crystal as well, her eyes wide. "That's pretty..."

And Collapse couldn't help but agree, to some extent. The crystal did look prettier all of a sudden. In fact, the mushrooms and ferns around them also looked better. Cleaner and more colorful.

Collapse looks at the crystal, staring in awe of it as well. She looks at the green water, finding that highly unusual. "It is really pretty...I bet we could make a fortune if we get a chunk of it, you know? I could un-summon it and take it with us for examining when we eventually return home." Collapse said, smiling at how pretty this all was.

"Let me see..." she moved closer to the water and tried to use her telekinesis to see if there were any free bits of it she could grab onto with her magic and pull off. Something felt off about this, to Collapse. The way it got prettier and looking around, noting the visual changes.

"I bet you this isn't a normal crystal...I think it is affecting our visual senses. You notice how everything got more like...pretty when we looked at it?" she asked, still in awe of it.

Unfortunately, Collapse couldn't find any loose or small pieces that she'd be able to take using her telekinesis alone, and she couldn't take the whole crystal either, since it was rooted into the bottom of the pond.

"No. It was pretty anyway." Jump Start said in awe, blinking a few times as she looked around at the crystal and mushroom forest again.

Everything grew even more beautiful, she could practically see the magic of elegance everywhere she looked. Nothing looked horrible, or nasty, or disgusting. Even that snail crawling up a nearby mushroom was beautiful in it's own way.

A whisper of what sounded like wind flowed through the forest, bringing with it small clouds of pretty white mist that clumped together and moved about, sparkling as it did so.

Collapse looks about the place, still in awe of all the beauty in this area. "It must...not be the crystal. It is probably that mist." she pointed to the mist that was flowing in. She looks to the snail, and the other mushrooms smiling at the beauty of it all. However, her focus was on looking for where exactly that wind was flowing in from. Perhaps there was a cave or an opening it flew into from.

"I'll laser off a chunk of that crystal later once we find out where that mist is coming from. This is highly unusual for a cave, well, everything is but wind in a cave? Something is up here." Collapse said to Jump Start and Magloria, her eyes blinking at the beauty.

Collapse couldn't quite tell where the wind had come from. Puffs of mist came down from everywhere, in all directions, swirling around back and forth. It was quite mesmerizing to watch the display.

"Yeah sure. You go create a pretty laser and get the shiny crystal. I want to have a little talk with the mist ball here." Magloria replied, looking straight at one of the puffs of strange air. She walked towards it until she was close enough to touch it.

Suddenly Magloria collapsed, the ball of mist disappearing in the process.

"Aww. Magloria's gone to sleep." Jump Start said, smiling at the outcome. "Maybe we should leave this beautiful place...? Take the pretty mare too!" She didn't seem shocked at all at the outcome.

Collapse didn't feel shocked either.

Chapter 18

Collapse moves to Magloria with a wide smile. "Such a pretty blue mare. Come on up Maggy!" Collapse smirks as she gently lifts Magloria onto her back and steadies her with her magic so she wouldn't fall off. Under normal circumstances what Collapse said would likely weird Jump Start out, but this wasn't under normal circumstances, clearly. Collapse looks to the strange air, finding herself amazed by how pretty it all was. "We should probably leave before the pretty air makes us *Collapse*! Hehehe!" she giggles as she began to lead the way out from where they came, the bulb still being held in her magic.

"Yeah, let's go see how pretty the rest of the cave is! It's going to look so amazing!" Jump Start agreed as she followed after Collapse, casually glancing at the balls of mist in awe.

The mist clouds seemed to follow after them, but they were quickly left behind as they weaved through the mushrooms and ferns. Other clouds of mist approached them as they passed, but were easily walked past as well.

Soon they had reached the edge of the mushroom forest. The darkness of the cave ahead looked so glorious, like a calm abyss, swirling full of possibility and mystery.

Magloria groaned, an eye opening as she looked around as well. "Mmm... pretty blackness... I wonder... if I add some to it..." she mumbled as her horn lit up, suddenly releasing a dazzling blast of light blue colour that formed into a small ice sculpture. It seemed to resemble... something, but it was brilliant all the same.

"Magnificent ice... Goes well with the dark." Magloria sighed blissfully.

Collapse kept note of the mist clouds. Her more rational mind would have remarked upon the mist clouds but under the effects of them she didn't say much other than looking at them in awe as they proceeded to the edge of the mushroom forest. Collapse looks on ahead into the blackness of the cave ahead. Using the bulb she took she would illuminate their way out.

She felt Magloria shift a bit and listened to her, giggling at her words calmly. "Yes, very pretty blackness..." upon her creating the ice sculpture she would find herself amazed by how blue Magloria's light was and looks to the sculpture, in awe of how brilliant it all was.

Collapse made no move to take Magloria off her back, in fact she adjusted her manner of walking so it was more comfortable for her. Collapse's fur was soft and warm. At least, it would have been more so should they not had been in the water earlier.

A minute or so after waking up again, Magloria moved off of Collapse's back, preferring to admire her surroundings at her own pace.

They reached the river again, but by this point they started to realize that the world was... not as beautiful as they thought it was. It was still nice, but not amazing.

"Huh?" Jump Start blinked, rubbing her eyes as she looked around at the rushing water. "Why isn't everything pretty anymore?" she questioned.

"I don't know... maybe it had something to do with the pretty mushroom forest. Something, wonderful there? It made us think thinks were nice, when it may be too nice?" Magloria said, sounding clearly like she was still under it's effects more than the others.

Collapse allowed Magloria to move off of her back, she was disappointed she no longer felt the warm weight of Magloria on her back. Collapse smiles to Magloria and nods.

"Probably the clouds of mist in there. Whatever is contained within that wind...I couldn't see where it came from. Whatever it is I don't really want to go back in there or else we may not be coming back out due to how...nice it was." she spoke and shook her head a bit, looking at the place a bit more and noticing how the beauty was likely fading away.

Collapse liked the sense of beauty everything had before but now with her senses returning to what they originally are she realized that it was too good to be true.

After shaking her head, the remaining effects disappeared, leaving the cold, bleak darkness around them, the river and the pale blue light of the forest they had just visited.

Jump Start whined. "I don't want to go back in there either. We had enough sense left to want to get out, but we didn't even come across anything dangerous and it was already bad. Poor Magloria-"

Magloria interrupted her. "I could hear it whispering to me." she said, looking into the river as she talked. "It wanted to talk, the mist. It felt like it could talk to us, so it approached us, and I approached it. The dream I had..." she let out a groan, putting a hoof to her head to settle a headache.

"I can't remember it now, maybe it was just a figment of my addled mind, and maybe nothing was whispering after all, but it felt surreal. Like it would last forever even though I knew it wouldn't, and had an importance that I didn't know of."

Collapse looked to Magloria with an intrigued look. She didn’t really have that experience with what was in the forest and found that very strange yet fascinating.

“Well I can say that in my case everything just suddenly looked more…pretty. Even the cave, everything just looked so pretty. I didn’t have any voices or anything talking to me, so in your case I would say it was unique. Definitely a psychological manipulation factor. Probably a biological reaction of our bodies to whatever was in that mist.” Collapse spoke, noticing the visual changes going back to normal.

“Whatever it is, it has a manipulative factor to it. It was too good to be true and I don’t really believe it was for benign reasons. Maybe that is how it lures others in so it can keep them there or something. It was also interesting how the mushrooms there looked different and we hadn’t seen those ferns previously. Question is, where was that wind coming from? I didn’t see any exit points where it came from. I didn’t see any of the mushrooms or ferns emitting it. And whatever it is, it was powerful enough to sweep through the cave with that breeze. What is causing that?” She asked, finding herself to be rather perplexed by that specific point.

“We were lucky to get you out of there before we fully fell sway to it. What did you dream about?” she asked Magloria.

"But I did. Didn't you hear it Collapse? The wind was whispering to us." Jump Start stated, looking back over at the forest as she did. "It wasn't normal wind, whatever it was."

"Or maybe it was normal wind and we were just too out of it to notice." Magloria said, looking at Collapse. "Everything looked prettier for me too, so we didn't suffer from different symptoms. You likely didn't progress enough through what we were experiencing to consider what I did."

Another hollow sounding wind blew through the cavern. Magloria paused as she listened and felt where it came from, both down the river and from over the mushroom forest. There was no whispering though, just the wind blowing.

When it stopped, she continued, a hint of annoyance in her tone. "I already told you that I don't remember what I dreamed about. It's fuzzy, and I get a headache when I try to remember too hard."

Collapse glanced back over to the mushroom forest after nodding to their statements in agreement. "Well whatever it is, I suppose it will just remain a mystery as I really don't want to go back in there." Collapse turned away and looked forward into the cave.

"It is interesting to me that there are mushroom forests down here, since on the surface mushrooms only appear when there is rotting plant material. I haven't seen any of that, but yet these down here are larger. I wonder how they all formed. They don't seem to take up a lot of area compared to the forests on the surface either, too." she remarked as she looked forward.

"Well, I think its time to get moving again." she smiled somewhat.

Magloria's magic lit up and began constructing a new ice raft, now that it seemed as though the nasty fish are in a different place. "If we could find a way so that we are unaffected by whatever is over there, then maybe we'd be able to search around. But I doubt anyone here wants to try to find out how, so..." she said, hopping onto the raft as she finished.

Jump Start shrugged at Collapse's thoughts on the mushrooms. "Maybe they prefer it being moist down here? Sea mushrooms that like salty water maybe?" she suggested before jumping onto their latest transport as well.

"Only idea I have for that was to raise a barrier around us as we walked in that would keep the mist out. If you would like to do that we could, unless you wanna get going. I don't mind either way, but it seems like we are going now." she said. "I should have said that earlier before you made the raft." Collapse sighs in disappointment in herself and gets in the raft, sitting next to Jump Start.

"It seems like that could very well be the case. I don't remember the seaponies talking about that particular forest." she added.

"Yeaaaah... no... no." Magloria's face twisted into one of anxiety at the thought. "While I appreciate your... enthusiasm, I don't exactly trust the idea of entering that place with only protection being a unicorn's magic that could fail at any time. Not to mention the potential things that could waste or shorten that time." she said.

Now that they were all in the raft again, she let the current take it further down once more.

Another few boring hours of watching the darkness awaited them. Some of it was spent with Jump Start examining the bulb of light they collected.

"How do you think it's doing that at such intensity? And what would happen if we ate it? Would we glow too?" she pondered, lightly poking at the bulb, gently squishing it as she did.

Collapse accepted Magloria's comment and largely was silent admist all the darkness. Sometimes she would chat with the others, mainly about largely unimportant things. She closed her eyes, thinking back on the various things that have happened on their journey so far. It was enough for a lifetime, and there was much more to come. There was no doubt in her mind about that.

Upon Jump Start's comment she looks at the bulb closely and smiles. "Well, I don't really want to find out what would happen if we did. It could be poisonous." Collapse remarked as she took the bulb into her hooves. "Probably some kind of bioluminescence if not magical. It is surprising to me that the bulb didn't go out after we took it off the plant." she rose an eyebrow.

"Well the mushrooms didn't stop glowing when we picked them either. I'm not even sure that cooking them removed all of the glow. They just glow a lot dimmer than this regardless." Jump Start said, before coming up with an idea. "I wonder... what would happen if we were to cook it? Would it go dimmer, or get brighter?" she pondered.

The raft at that point came across a new lake, however there didn't seem to be anything around them. Just a whole lot of rocks, stalagmites, stalactites and the water. Not even the glowing fish could be seen swimming about below the water.

Despite this, the river continued on the other side.

"Strange... the lakes are usually filled with life, but this one..." Magloria questioned.

"Well when we find a place to stop or rest, I think we could go about trying that out. Maybe it will give us superpowers or something." Collapse giggled. "Probably not though, if anything it seems like some natural light source in that cave. At least that would be my guess. It seems as though without the sun, everything around here came to create its own light source." Collapse suggested.

Upon the arrival into the seemingly lifeless lake Collapse would look around at the surroundings carefully. It seemed suspicious. "Could maybe be something in the water that wards away life or just how it happened. I would have expected life in the lakes down here though." she suggested.

The only thing that Collapse could see was rocks, water and blackness. It didn't seem like there was anything here at all, not even in the water.

Magloria seemed to disagree though. As she was looking about the stalagmites her eyes widened. With a shove of magic, the raft moved several meters away, just enough that something nicked the side of the raft, creating a big cracking sound as the ice broke, causing a chunk to fall away.

"We need to get to the shore, now!" Magloria said, quickly propelling them over to the edge of the water. There was no graceful landing. The speed that they were going threw them all off the raft upon hitting the edge.

Jump Start groaned from the new bruises, but Magloria ignored this as she forced her to her hooves. "Behind the rocks!" Magloria ordered as something flew past them, creating a loud clanging sound when it struck a rock somewhere else.

Collapse quickly abandoned her previous thoughts as she landed roughly on the shore, it all happened so fast. She too was bruised but didn't really care about the bruises given the situation and quickly ran behind the rocks where Magloria wanted them to be. Her adrenaline instantly kicked in. She figured that whatever was flying past them was probably the reason why there was no life within this cave. As she ran behind the rocks, she made sure Jump Start was doing so and would have forced her along if she wasn't going fast enough.

They all managed to get behind the rocks safely. The assault from the shadows stopped, seeing as there was no point in continuing while they had a meter of stone between them.

"I'd like to know who exactly is shooting us so I can get them back, but somehow I don't think they're going to show themselves that easily." Magloria growled, taking a second to quickly peek around the rock then come back into hiding. She still failed to see anything.

"Where did it even come from!?" Jump Start cried.

"Not the water, and not above us. The angle wasn't steep enough and the attack wasn't wet, so our opponent is hiding somewhere beyond the rocks." Magloria replied. "Not much we can do but keep moving and sticking to the shadows. Speaking of-"

She grabbed the bound fish, undid the knots tying them together and throw the fish over towards the water. They lost their light, but were harder to find now.

Collapse huffed. "Whatever it is, we may have finally reached the point where the seaponies were referencing. The hidden dangers..." Collapse said and held her spear firm. She looks to Jump Start. "You should get prepared to fight. I know that you have it in you with what you did to that mushroom. Just saying." she said in a hopeful manner to Jump Start.

"Whatever it is, it is probably behind the rocks on the other side. We could try sneaking behind the rocks to get closer to the water and then make a break for it?" Collapse asked. "I would suggest us laying low for a while, too." Collapse added. Her heart racing from what just happened, but she managed to remain mostly calm.

Jump Start whined, shaking her head at Collapse's suggestion. She obviously was very unwilling to actually fight. Sure she can hit things, but actually doing so in a battle is very unlikely.

"If this is where it lives, I doubt making a break for it towards the river is going to end very well for us. We'd just be exposing ourselves." Magloria said, then pointed off into the darkness.

"Hiding somewhere until it gives up would be a better option. But we can also stick close to the river as we hide behind the rocks. That was it won't have a good shot at us and we'll constantly be moving."

"Alright, than that is what we will do." Collapse spoke in agreement spoke and looked to Magloria to lead the way along the rocks. She looks to Jump Start and understood her feelings. She felt sorry for Jump Start, knowing this was all terrifying for her. In truth it was also terrifying for Collapse as well.

"How about we hide for like, 20 minutes and then hide behind the rocks as we move to the river?" Collapse suggested, combining those two ideas.

Upon looking at Magloria, there seemed to be something off about her, but in the extremely low light (with the 3 glowing fish in the lake and the usual patches of glowing moss being the only real sources) she couldn't quite tell what it was.

"If we're hiding, we're doing it further away from the lake. We can always come back after. Try to be quiet." Magloria said and began to lead them in the opposite direction of the lake, shifting her hoofsteps in a way that reduced the noise she made.

Collapse stayed silent about what she had seen about Magloria but couldn't help but wonder what it was. Was it her magic, or the way she looked? She couldn't really tell and began to follow after her. She also shifted her hoofsteps to reduce the noise she made. What burned in her mind was what was off about Magloria. It made her feel uneasy since she didn't say anything of what it was. She had to ask later.

Collapse knew that it definitely wasn't Magloria's magic. That was as blue as ever. It was something about her coat that seemed different. It looked darker in a particular place.

Once they had moved deep enough between the rocks surrounding them, with only brief pulses of light from Magloria's horn to show the way, they eventually came to a spot that seemed safe enough, which looked like a miniature cave surrounded by stalagmites. It was a good distance from their previous position, and it didn't sound or smell like anything was nearby.

"Alright, we can wait here for now." Magloria sighed, sitting down against one of the pillars of rock.

"We forgot the light bulb..." Jump Start sighed, realizing that it's probably floating in the lake or been swept away by the river by now.

Chapter 19

Collapse tried to look closer at Magloria's coat as they followed Magloria to the safe spot. She would sit down next to Magloria in an attempt to get a better look while seeming casual, inconspicuous. She didn't want Magloria to notice that she was looking there. Whatever it was, she hadn't noticed that on a pony before at least she thought. Unless Magloria had dyed her coat or something, that could be what it was.

"Shit...well there goes that..." Collapse sighs in disappointment, a twinge of guilt was obvious. She felt guilty for that.

Try as she might, ponies just don't have the eyesight to discern between colors at such low light levels. All she could see was a darker line down Magloria's leg. If she knew it was there, she didn't seem to care about it.

Besides that, it had suddenly gotten quite dull. With little light, and their 'attempt' to hide, all they could really do was talk quietly, unless they just wanted to keep silent and get things over with.

Collapse would have to wait until it was brighter to ask that. Besides, it would be weird to ask something like that in the dark when she had all the moments in the world earlier on to notice it. Unless...if Magloria was hiding something consciously, and figured it was dark enough to not hide it. Either way, she would wait.

"So uh now we play the waiting game. What do you want to talk about?" she asked Magloria and Jump Start hesitantly, quietly

"Well first off, did anyone see anything that I might've missed? Something you might've overlooked in your panic to get away?" Magloria asked as she listened to a quiet dripping noise nearby.

"No. All I saw was the dark, then you were quickly moving us to shore." Jump Start replied as she thought over the frantic minute.

"Well how about hearing then? Did you hear anything?"

"I only heard the usual stuff. The water, us and the occasional click of a rock falling, like it usually does."

"I didn't see anything else other than what you described." Collapse replied to them and think. "Now any ideas what it could be? I don't think it could have been a seapony or a dragon...maybe it is some kind of creature that calls this lake home?" Collapse suggested, thinking that could be a possible idea.

"It could be almost anything. I don't know enough about this place to have a good guess. But whatever it was, it's capable of attacking us from afar and staying well hidden in the darkness. Could possibly be darker in color to help with that." Magloria stated as she went over what they knew.

"It couldn't be a lobster, they're too bulky and slow and seemed to have no interest in fighting us before. Not a spider, they're just dumb. It *could* be a seapony, though it's unlikely and I'm not sure why they'd attack us anyway..."

"Not a rockodile, not a fish, a bat? Nah... Griffin? Minotaur? Changeling...? Scorpion? Nah, that one prefers acid, not solid projectiles..."

"Actually...could likely not even be alive and be some sort of automated mechanism that will attack anything that moves. Note how there is nothing alive here, so it is unlikely to dwell here for long even if it is alive. There is nothing to prey on here. No fish, no life, really." Collapse commented.

"But of those options a seapony would be the most likely option of them. Dragon? Could possibly be a dragon too using this area to rest or something too..." Collapse added, a hoof to her chin.

Magloria shook her head, not that Collapse or Jump Start could see it. "You forget that the lake is connected to a river, where fish can constantly come into the lake, unknowingly getting themselves killed. If you think about it, the reason why there is nothing left is because they *keep getting hunted.*" she pointed out.

"I won't exclude the possibility of a seapony or dragon, but even still, you'd think a dragon would've roasted us alive when they us above the water."

Jump Start came up with something. "Could it be some other sea creature that's capable of living on land? Crabs, seals, uhhh... octopi?"

"I don't think octopi like living on land, Jump Start." Magloria said.

"Well, that is a very good point Magloria. Whatever it is, it is intelligent enough to realize that and simply wait for its prey to come to it. That is actually a smart strategy thinking of it." Collapse replied to Magloria.

She turned to Jump Start in the dark, " I think that is unlikely. If that was the case it would have came out of the water and not from at an angle from the other rocks." she stated and thought to herself. "Wait longer or...begin moving?" she asked them.

"Enough time has passed that they should have moved on and forgotten about us. Let's head back to the lake, but keep following the river. We're not going to ride it however, since that will just expose us to another attack." Magloria said as she got up.

Once everyone was ready to get moving, she began to lead them in the direction she specified. Eventually they reached the river again, where it led away from the lake.

They could see the lake from where they were. Well no, they couldn't actually, but they knew it was the lake because they could see the bright white light of the bulb, lying on the shoreline next to broken clumps of ice.

Collapse notices the bulb relatively quickly as they reached the river. "We will have to leave the bulb behind unfortunately. If they see it moving it will be a target on our backs." Collapse spoke to them quietly, she was on alert and continued to follow Magloria alongside the river. Collapse was trying to think smarter given the situation they were in. She wanted to know what attacked them but risking their lives wasn't worth it.

Every now and then, Magloria would pulse her horn like she did before, to give them enough light to see a bit in front of them, then darkness would rush in and blind them again.

After a particularly strong pulse to make sure that they weren't about to fall into the river, they heard a sound up ahead. Slight movements on rocks, and what could be assumed to be a brief, quiet hiss or growl.

Seems like something was nearby, somewhere.

Collapse would quietly ready her spear by her side and look to Jump Start instinctively to make sure she was close just in case Collapse could defend her if she needed. Collapse's adrenaline began to flow upon imagining what could end up happening if they move up ahead. Whatever it was, it seemed like they were going to have to fight it. She felt dread upon imagining if there was more than one of whatever it was, here.

Nothing happened at first. They just kept moving forward with no new sounds to be heard. However as they kept going further, they realized that whatever it was, it was somewhere in front of them, and that it was currently sniffing around.

Then they heard something strange. The quiet sound of metal moving on metal, then a sharp click of something being set in place, like some sort of mechanism being prepared.

Collapse looks to Magloria quietly. "Whatever it is, it is right in front of us. It is preparing something, likely some kind of attack against us. What should we do?" Collapse asks, readying a shield spell. It wasn't up yet, but Collapse would be ready to raise it if she needed to.

Magloria sighed. "Move opposite of the river on my mark. You won't miss it." She said before rushing away in a direction.

Suddenly both Jump Start and Collapse heard a loud "HEY!" from Magloria, followed by the clopping of her running. Shortly after they heard the sound of a string being released, likely connected to the mechanism they heard, and the loud clattering of a metallic object striking stone.

Magloria's magic could be seen ahead, manipulating water for her to use in combat. Despite the light, their opponent remained surprisingly well hidden between the rocks. They could definitely hear them moving about though.

"Now what are we going to do?" Jump Start asked. "Do we run away, or run after her?"

Collapse looked to Jump Start, to be entirely honest she was a bit offended by the idea of running away. She was going to stand her ground and motioned for Jump Start to follow. "Stand by me at all times. We will follow her word. Along the riverbank. We will stand alongside our friend, we dare not disobey her word." Collapse stated and moved along the river bank. As she was moving along it she was charging up her shield spell.

Whatever the mechanism was, it was definitely a mechanical noise. That means this wasn't a simple monster or something in all likelihood. It was intelligent, it was planning against her. Gripping her spear, she felt enraged by the idea of someone working against her and her friends.

Jump Start could see the change in Collapse's expression. It wasn't something she had seen across her face thus far.

Jump Start agreed with Collapse and kept at a steady pace behind her, not really wanting to get involved with what's about to happen, but not wanting to disregard what she was told either, especially not when Collapse looks like... that.

Another sound of something being prepared, a string being released and the clatter of metal on rock up ahead. Seems like Magloria was doing a really good job at distracting them and not getting hit at the same time.

Collapse forged on forward towards were Magloria was up ahead. Collapse's eyes turn to the rocks to the side, not wanting to take her eyes off of a potential avenue of attack by...whatever was attacking them.

Seeing as Magloria was handling whatever it was, Collapse felt as if she needed to deal with whatever it was that lay ahead. "Whatever that is, it is not good news." she huffed.

Collapse saw Magloria solidify a shield of ice in front of herself just as something was fired, causing it to embed itself into the sheet of ice, forming dozens of cracks.

There were two good things to come from this. The first was that they could see what was being fired at them. Heavy metal bolts of considerable size and weight. Not enough for an Equestrian ballista, but still too large for one of their crossbows.

The second thing was they could see where the shot had come from. If Collapse scanned the general area she could just make out the slight reflectiveness of a strip of metal, seen between the rocks. She still couldn't see what was holding it for whatever reason, even with the low amount of light illuminating the area.

Upon seeing where the metal bolts were being shot from Collapse focused her attention there. A shield spell was out of the question now. It was time to go on the offensive. No more kidding around. "I highly recommend you keep your eyes open. Because you are about to see a lot more, Jump Start. Be prepared." Collapse spoke to her firmly, she was in no way displeased by Jump Start, but she wanted to make her word clear.

Jump Start could see that Collapse's eyes would zero in on that specific spot as she aimed her horn directly at it. Jump Start could see that the cheery hopeful mare was no longer there - instead there was the face of someone who was seriously enraged. "I now identify as a fucking threat." she'd smirk slightly at that statement.

Transitioning that shield spell into an offensive spell, Collapse's horn would suddenly light up into a burning golden aura. Within a fraction of a second that glow would burst to light, a golden beam being fired directly at where the shot had came from. It was a lot more powerful than the lasers she had fired at the Spiders. Both because there was only one target, added time to charge, as well as the rage behind her. Depending on what the rocks and the metal strip were made of, it would either explode that specific area to pieces, or it would melt / warp the metal.

For that time when her horn had lit up, to when the beam was fired was when Jump Start and Magloria could probably spotted a few things they weren't able to. At least seeing things were easier for that time period.

All Jump Start did was nod her head at Collapse's instructions, before setting her eyes on the cave around them, checking around in case she could see anything else.

As soon as the beam was launched there was enough light to see between the spires of rock easily, and she could see how off her aim was, despite not knowing any better.

The beam went straight for the metal object which could now definitely be identified as a part wood, part metal crossbow. The one holding it was covered in a sleek coat of black fur, which explained why none of them could see their attacker easily.

Along with their black fur, she could now briefly identify several other features. Their quadruped stance, despite using a crossbow, rounded ears on the sides of their head, a short muzzle, and finally a paw or claw keeping the crossbow steady. It was harder to tell anything else, due to the bright light.

Upon impact the metal of the crossbow began to quickly heat up and the wood started smoldering and burning, forcing the holder to drop the crossbow by reflex and dash backwards out of view, letting out a short yelp of pain and surprise.

The beam continued onwards until it impacted one of the stalagmites, the energy splitting off in several directions and rapidly heating up the surrounding area, while breaking the rock from the force of the impact, sending shards everywhere.

It was hard to tell exactly where their opponent was after that. The blinding flash of magical energy and the darkness afterwards concealed them.

Collapse was surprised by what was seen there, and had taken the time she had to judge their features as she ducked down to avoid the shards the best she could. She would be sure to remember them. Whoever was shooting at them was definitely crafty enough to make a crossbow. There was probably a whole race of them, and that this one was sent to guard the area and prevent the escape of others. Whatever the case, to Collapse it was clear that their attacker had no qualms in killing them. Collapse had no regrets in what she had done, knowing that.

Now in the darkness, Collapse would turn towards where Magloria was. "I saw our attacker. Black fur. 4 legs. Short muzzle. We cannot let them escape and get away." she spoke in a serious manner, but quietly. She was done playing around. Collapse's horn would light up to its normal strength. It would take a while to recover enough power to do a similar attack, but it was unlikely that she would. Still though. she began to recharge herself. It wasn't safe here and they would likely be engaged in combat again.

"I highly recommend going after our attacker. We cannot let them get away with this. They would likely tell others about what happened here which is unacceptable. Plus, they are a source of information and we must pursue it." she suggested, and told both Magloria and Jump Start the direction they disappeared from.

Magloria spoke as she returned to the pair. "While pursuing them would be in our best interests, we've already lost them." she said, lighting her horn up enough to show where they had been. They weren't there anymore, and any sounds of their movements could not be heard.

"Where did they go then? They can't have gotten very far. There are rocks everywhere that would slow them down." Jump Start said. Magloria shook her head.

"Even if they were the same as us, they've been trained for combat, the way they could quickly reload their weapon." she said as she moved over to where the warped and charred remains of the crossbow was. "So they've likely been trained to maneuver through the caves quickly and easily. We'd struggle to catch up, even if we could see where we were going."

She sighed in resignation. "Besides, they already knew we were here on the lake. They could've told others already of our existence."

Chapter 20

Collapse sighs, knowing Magloria was right. "Good point. We wouldn't want to be walking into a deathtrap or something. They are very quick within dark caves, while we are not. I think we could continue on, right?" Collapse stated as she looks to the charred remains of the crossbow. That would be sure to send a message to whoever attacked them, she hoped.

"Although we will have to be mindful of their presence as we continue on. I have to guess they are some kind of pony although their ears were different. Although I only saw them for a few seconds at best so it was hard for me to get a good visual on them." Collapse commented.

"We should ask ourselves, what would be the goal in killing us here? Could be guarding something important down here, although I don't have any other ideas for that currently." she shrugged at that.

"We might have to walk through a deathtrap if they're in the way of the exit, though if they know about us, I'd rather we know about them as well." Magloria said as she turned back, with the intention to collect the light bulb they left behind. Thankfully they could move a lot quicker when they weren't sneaking around in the dark.

Once she got to the lake, she reclaimed the little ball of light. "Well, if they're guarding something down here, we'll know about it soon enough. Either that or we'll be forced to turn back." she stated, a flare of irritation ran through her voice when she said the last part.

Collapse smiled as Magloria picked up the light bulb. It was kind of cute how it was picked up. A little ball of light. Her eyes soften at the sight of that, Jump Start could see that. It seems as though her serious demeanor fades away a bit.

"Indeed. I really wonder who it was that was firing at us. It's quite something to think about but what's on my mind is getting out of here and finding our way home. Finding our way home can come later, and that will be a whole thing in itself." she commented. "Whoever they are they have the ability to see in the dark. I think using bright lights against them will be a good tactic." she added as she followed alongside Magloria.

"You don't need to be able to see in the dark to fight in the dark. You can use your other senses, like hearing or smell to find your opponent. It's likely not worth the effort to create a flash in the hopes that their sight is blocked, assuming they're sensitive. One that's powerful enough that would work on anything though?" She paused as she began to trek back down the river. "That would work, just be sure to warn us before you do it."

Now that they had a proper light source again, Collapse could properly see that darker line that was on Magloria. Turns out she received a gash at some point, and a thin trail of blood had formed, already dried against her coat.

Jump Start was busy making sure her only tool was still attached to her strap, so she wasn't looking. You never know when you might need a hammer.

Collapse notices the gash that Magloria had recieved and winced at it. At the very least it had dried up. "At the least this time I managed to eliminate the opponents weapon. Next time I'll give you a warning." she stated to Magloria calmly, walking alongside her. "I notice you have a bit of a gash there. If you'd like I can put some bandages on it for you." she said softly to her. Clearly she felt that she had to do something to help. That must have been what she noticed earlier.

Glancing to Jump Start she looked at the hammer. She was pleased with that, could be used to bash someone's skull in should the need be. She hoped that she wouldn't have to use it though.

Magloria shook her head at Collapse's assumption. It's a typical rookie mistake, assuming your opponent is defenseless just because you disarmed them once.

"You managed to eliminate their main *ranged* weapon, but they might still have other weapons, such as knives. They'd even be able to use a rock in a pinch, and that'll still hurt. Not as much as a crossbow bolt mind you, but taking a rock to the head is not fun." she said, stopping and sitting down before allowing Collapse to apply a bandage.

She could've given first aid to herself, but she wanted to see how Collapse would do, if she's do the wrappings correctly, or tie the knot afterwards, or if she even did the simplest thing that was cleaning the wound.

"That is true, but for those they would have to get up and close to us which would mean we would likely have seen them coming and then we would deal with the accordingly. But indeed, rock throwing is not fun to be on the receiving end." Collapse said calmly. She knew that Magloria was right, but in Collapse's mind that doesn't mean she forgot the point at hand.

When Magloria sits down Collapse proceeds to take out the first aid kit. First, she would take the disinfectant wipe and would wipe off the cut first with her magic. Taking great care in not making Magloria feel any pain. She would look for an appropriate sized bandage and would apply the bandage. It took her a few seconds to figure out how to tie it correctly. When completed she put the first aid kit away.

"All done!" she spoke with a sweet grin.

"You assume we'd be able to see them coming, yet one of the reasons why they were such a big threat was the fact that we couldn't see them. It wouldn't take much for them to hide, wait, then strike, even with our light. How do you think assassins do their job so well?" Magloria pointed out.

As much as Collapse wished it to not be true, pain was unavoidable when it came to disinfectants. Magloria winced at the feeling, but didn't say anything, instead choosing to tough it out, as Collapse and Jump Start would come to expect from her.

Once Collapse finished, Magloria moved her limb around to test the ranges of motion she still had. "Not bad. Not medical officer quality since it still pinches slightly, but it'll do."

She stood up, ready to continue again, and began leading them down the river again.

"Well, you have a good point there. I can't really say anything against that." Collapse stated as she looked at the bandage. She noticed the wincing but didn't say anything about that either. She was glad that Magloria was satisfied with the bandage for now, what was most important was that Magloria didn't instantly shoot Collapse down for messing up the bandage, as she worried about that too.

Collapse then followed her along. "In no way am I doubting that we'll meet our attackers further up ahead. This area was likely some sort of guard point for what lays ahead." she stated.

Eventually they came to another lake, however this was looked different from the last one that they saw.

There were still no fish in the water, but what was different was how they could see numerous spires of rock reaching up from the floor of the lake.

They could hear a loud rushing from where the river continued, indicating that there was a lot of movement going on, either rapids or a waterfall.

"That's strange. None of the other lakes we've seen have had spikes on the bottom of them. Why do you think that is?" Jump Start asked, casually kicking a tiny stalagmite loose from the floor.

"It could be some kind of artificial trap. I'd stay away from the water if I were you." Collapse said in a weary manner upon looking out over the lake. Her eyes and ears remain peeled for any signs of sudden movement or anything out of the ordinary. She was ready, and had a spell charged just in case she had to use one. "Looks like we got a lot of moving water up ahead. I wonder how we'll get across that." she added.

When they approached the rushing sounds of the water ahead, keeping in mind to stay away from the lake, they soon realized that they didn't need to worry about getting across the water.

"Well... somehow I don't think the seaponies ventured down there to find the exit. I don't think any would be alive if they did." Magloria said as she looked down what was clearly a waterfall, extending far down into the unknown abyss.

"So now what? Is it the end of the line?" Jump Start asked, looking around in case there was another river they could follow, to her disappointment.

"Seems to be. So then the exit must be located around here somewhere... Hold on." Magloria squinted as she looked off into the distance, beyond the abyss the waterfall fell into.

There seemed to be a fraction of light somewhere beyond their reach. A pale blue sort of light, that was vaguely familiar.

Collapse looks off over the waterfall, feeling a sensation of dread until she sees the fraction of light beyond their reach. "Hey...look at that, my friends...is that sunlight? Blue skies?" she asked, her ears poking up. They could hear her hopeful tone, it was almost filly like but she also had a sense of caution in her words, hoping she wasn't wrong in saying what she did.

"We gotta find a way to get across this waterfall...hmm. If I had my fly ring I could easily make it but we'd have to go all the way back, go back to the whirlpool lake and dive down into it...find it if its there, spend a long time fixing it...but hey, at least we know where it ends so to speak." Collapse pondered.

Magloria shook her head. "That doesn't look like it's sunlight. Sunlight is a more whiteish-yellow color. I think that's actually that strange mushroom forest we encountered a while ago." she explained, before continuing.

"Besides, we're several kilometers below the ocean and rock. I don't think sunlight would be reaching us, unless there was a massive hole that lacked water or the sun was in a perfect position, neither of which seem right."

"But if those are the same mushrooms we saw before, wouldn't that make the forest... massive?" Jump Start asked, which Magloria nodded in confirmation.

Jump Start started to look around on the side they were on, including the lake. "So... it's probably not the way out then, then where is the way out?" she asked.

Magloria huffed. "Probably somewhere around here. Either that or we're going to have to backtrack, which will be extremely annoying."

"So your saying that blue mushroom forest is massive then...hmm. Well that definitely changes things I have to say. If there was going to be a way out, don't you think it would be something leading up? Like a cliff or some sort of cave where we notice that we are moving up in elevation?" Collapse pondered, quickly changing her mind on what it was due to what Magloria said.

"So is there any way we could move ahead?" Collapse asked, looking to see if there was any way across over the abyss that lay in front of them. "Or we could have missed another cave along the way here, which could be possible." she suggested.

Magloria checked the sides of the abyss and around several of the walls, even going as far as levitating the light bulb out a bit further to see if there was anything there, to no avail.

"Doesn't look like there's a way to get across this gap. We're going to have to check around the lake in case there is another way we can go, considering we haven't searched around it entirely yet." she said as she turned to the lake, intending to circle around it and see if there is anything nearby.

Collapse agrees and follows. "Hopefully whoever they are, they aren't waiting for us. If we can I would very much like to capture one of them and see what they know. But that is unlikely considering how evasive and quick they are." she commented as she follows, her awareness not faltering. She was disappointed that they couldn't find a way to cross over the abyss yet.

"If the opportunity arises, and only then. I'm not going to go out of our way just to find one and capture it." Magloria stated.

It didn't take them long walking around the lake before they found something that would interest them. "Is that another weird stone thing?" Jump Start asked.

Before them, embedded into the side of the lake was another strange stone structure that looked like it had been carved. This one however was bigger than the last one they saw, and this time water wasn't flowing past it, thanks to the nearby waterfall.

"That looks like the start of something promising." Magloria said as she moved over to the structure, though not too quickly, in case there were threats nearby.

"Tell you what, maybe these stone things have something to do with whoever it is that shot at us. I think they could have been the ones that made this." Collapse suggested to Jump Start and Magloria as they approached the large stone structure that lay ahead. "It is pretty big to say the least, I think these could be marking points or some sort of cultural thing." she suggested as she follows Magloria, keeping her eyes open for any threats.

"But why would they stick marking points or cultural things into the water? Wouldn't it be easier to build it on dry land? They don't appear to be aquatic so then why is it in the water?" Jump Start said as she reached the large object, brushing a hoof over it's surface to remove some of the algae that had appeared on it.

Magloria began moving around the side of it, before she noticed something on the opposite side to the lake. "Hmm... I wonder how this was formed?" she pondered.

There appeared to be a large ditch on the other side. A great big dent in the surface of the cave floor that stretched off into the darkness, dirt and sand covering the bottom of it, as well as various rocky debris.

Collapse walks over to where Magloria was. "Perhaps that is some sort of drain off incase the lake overflows or something. I would say it was definitely dug out on purpose." Collapse spoke, referencing the large ditch.

"Maybe we could follow it and see where it leads? But whoever it is that is down here doesn't really seem to be a seapony at least from what I managed to catch a glimpse of. Probably some other kind of pony, maybe. Just putting ideas out there." Collapse added as her eyes survey over the ditch and the large structure they had seen. She runs her hoof on it, in a similar manner to Jump Start.

Magloria shrugged. "Who knows what it was used for. We're probably going to find out if we start going down it, and since we don't have much other options..." she said as she began walking, keeping herself at the top of the ditch so it was easy to escape from threats, but not so close that she could fall in instead.

"Wait a minute Collapse, you might be onto something. About the drain." Jump Start said as she began thinking.

"The stone thing was built, right? So why is there no water coming through? If no water came through why build the ditch? Maybe they didn't?" she suggested.

Collapse follows Magloria and stays at the top of the ditch just like she did there. She could see that even in seemingly harmless situations, Magloria was a few steps ahead. Something Collapse would keep an eye out for and try to learn just by observing.

"I don't know about that. These stone things are quite perplexing and I've never seen anything like them. The only thing I can think of for the ditch here is that it is some sort of run off. Perhaps that waterfall isn't natural and the water around here was higher, so they had to make a ditch but if that was the case...wouldn't they just make the waterfall instead?" Collapse scratched her head in confusion.

"If you ask me the only things I can come up with for a stone structure is either some sort of marker, a cultural or religious thing, or something that serves a purpose within the surrounding terrain." she ponders.

Jump Start pressed on with what she was saying. "What I'm talking about is that maybe this-" she pointed at the ditch, "-used to be a river. Doesn't it look like it could've been one to you? Now it's all dried up though."

Another light gust of echoing wind blew through the caves, coming from the direction that they were heading towards. Magloria craned her head up a bit as the wind blew past, which was when she saw something up ahead.

"I think we've found them. A few hundred meters in front of us, do you see?" she said, pointing at several distant pinpricks of orange light, possibly torches or fires, with the way the lights seemed to dim and brighten on occasion.

Collapse nodded to what Jump Start said. "Could very well have been the case." she commented as she felt the gust of wind blow throughout the cave. She wondered what was causing it. In the mushroom forest they were in, she didn't remember seeing a source of the wind. She'd want to discover that sometime.

Upon seeing the lights up ahead Collapse would squint her eyes at them and notice the dimming and brightening. "Well, we aren't going to walk right up to them I would figure. How about we slowly try to move closer, find something to hide behind and just watch them silently? Perhaps we can eavesdrop." Collapse suggested to Magloria. Still amazed at how big these caves were, though.

"If we're going to try and move closer to them we're going to have to ditch the light again. A while glow approaching them is going to be an obvious giveaway that we're there." Magloria said, taking hold of the light ball and setting it down in a space between a few rocks, so it won't roll away.

Jump Start whined, not liking the idea of having to move through the cave in the dark again.

Collapse nodded to Magloria. "Yes, indeed. I don't like moving through the dark either but that is what we are going to have to do." she spoke in a calm manner to Jump Start. Looking to Magloria, "Let us proceed forward. I wonder what they are. Hopefully we are close enough to listen." she stated, and began to follow her lead.

Magloria tried to suppress a snort at how Collapse though they were close enough to hear them already. Of course they weren't. If they were, they would've already heard the group talking, *and* seen the light they had.

Pressing on, Magloria started moving in the direction of the distant lights. Travelling was easier than before, since they had a lit goal in their line of sight. However this did nothing to stop them from bumping into or falling down random things, so Magloria still emitted brief pulses of magical light, warning the others about the dangers up ahead.

Now somewhat closer, they could see that the lights were actually at different elevations, like a hill or something with several levels of altitude.

Collapse stayed silent and followed along. Avoiding the occasional rock or obstacle, she would be mindful to heed Magloria's warnings up ahead. Seeing this area was something very unusual, it was large enough to have an interior space. Could it be possible they found the equivalent of a rolling plain, underground? Her mind was fascinated by that concept.

Upon arriving at a more closer location she would look to Magloria and suggest they would head to a light that was at a similar elevation as their own. If there were any hostiles, it wouldn't be a good idea to head up or down hill given they would have an advantage. At least that is what Collapse thought.

Magloria accepted Collapse's suggestion, though she pointed out that the light that was the closest to their level was also the lowest of the bunch, and there were several to choose from.

As the lights came into proper focus that could make out some of the details around them. They were definitely fires, crackling and flickering when the wind blew through the cavern. They could make out some of the surroundings, such as what appeared to be large bricks. A wall it seemed was built right in front of them, with several levels to it.

"It's... a massive blockade. Whatever they are, they're stopping us from going any further." Jump Start gasped, both in awe and dread.

Collapse looked out over the fires and up along the wall. She assumed that this is where the exit was, and that the levels were made like that on purpose to root out potential invaders. It filled her with both awe and dread just like Jump Start.

"Sure looks like it. I really do wonder what they are and why they are here. Maybe they do have valid reasons in their minds for what they do, however valid or not I do not care. I want to get home and it doesn't matter to me however many rules we have to break to make that possible." Collapse spoke in a determined manner.

Magloria furrowed her brow, which would've added to what she said next had Collapse been able to see her do it. "That sounds oddly hostile of you Collapse, considering we knew in our original plans that we might encounter other species that do not approve of our existence. Would you really have been so uncaring to them as well?" she asked.

At this point they were close enough to be out of earshot with the nearest source of fire, so they could keep talking. However when they got closer they'd need to keep quiet, so anything they needed to say, they should do it now.

There was a moment of hesitation before Collapse would answer, no doubt mulling over her response. Her ears would go back a bit at Magloria's question though, not that Magloria would have been able to see it. "It boils down to my friends being under threat. I don't want either of you to get hurt. I understand your point, but what if these species aren't able to understand our language? We could understand the seaponies, the seaponies treated us well...I just have a feeling whoever these...ponies or whoever they are aren't going to be so nice to us. What should we do, if that is the case? What is your plan?" Collapse asked in a submissive manner, clearly looking to Magloria for answers.

Magloria begins her explanation. "My plan is to keep everyone here safe as much as possible, and respect everyone else when it's possible. For example, if a snake was in our way, what do you think I should do?"

"Walk right past it? No, it risks endangering those I swore to protect. Kill it? Also no, only if it becomes a threat to us regardless. What I would do would be to lead everyone around it, as long as doing so is safer."

She looked at the blockage. "So in this case I would normally lead you around. Since that isn't possible here, I'd find the path where we cause the least amount of attention. That's preferably sneaking through them or finding a safer passage with less of them."

"If however there is no reasonably safe method, I'd turn back. Our lives aren't worth risking for a glimpse that we may get home, especially against suicidal odds like what we see, let alone what may be on the other side. They may have a civilization that would be equally hostile behind that wall."

With that finished, she focused her gaze on what appeared to be one of them moving, but with distant light made it hard to tell what they looked like, just a black blur that walked on four legs.

Collapse nodded in understanding to her explanation. It felt touching to her that she swore to protect both Collapse and Jump Start, even if she wasn't as cuddly or friendly as Collapse or Jump Start were, what mattered was that her plan was to protect them. Her anger faded at that statement. Eventually she would want to find out more about Magloria's personal life, but now wasn't the time.

"I understand and I agree with your plan, now that you put it in those terms. I just want to say no matter what happens, I am thankful for your protection. We wouldn't have survived without you. I consider you my friend. You too, Jump Start." she spoke to them calmly before looking out over ahead and could see one of them moving up ahead. Whatever they were, they blended in really well with the surroundings.

"Anyways, we should also consider the possibility of negotiating with them. What if we get caught? We may have to negotiate with them if that is the case." Collapse commented.

"Well negotiating is definitely going to be on the list of choices of something like that happens. Depending on the situation and if they sound like they can be reasoned with up front, we might even be able to do so without getting caught." Magloria said.

"Though unless you have a way to signal to them our intentions without revealing ourselves, we're going to keep that one in reserve, unless we find something promising while we eavesdrop."

"Only way I could think of would be some sort of note and leave it somewhere, and then they discover it and then we could eavesdrop and watch their reactions. Do either of you have a writing utensil and something to write on?" she asked.

"But what would we do if we can't negotiate at all? Fight our way out and try to escape? We should have some sort of rendezvous point just incase we get split up somehow." Collapse stated.

Jump Start shook her head, which couldn't be seen, and Magloria gave a simple denial of having writing equipment. Aside from those writing tablets, neither of them had anything like that since they woke up here.

"The rendezvous point will be the light plant ball back where we left it. Should be easy enough to find, since it would stand out like a beacon. And obviously you'd try to escape if you can't negotiate with them. You can't rely on that in this case since we know so little about them." Magloria answered.

"I was going to suggest that actually. Alright, so we got that planned out with. How are we going to proceed forward?" she asked, looking at the wall and the flames, trying to see if there were any obvious entrances on the way in. "We should probably be weary of booby traps and such as well, so when we proceed forward we should proceed forward slowly and carefully." Collapse added. Might as well discuss what they can now, while they are out of earshot.

Chapter 21

Magloria rolled her eyes. "The same way we already were. Get close, eavesdrop on some things, then once we know more about what we're dealing with, then decide if we should go further. The 'go further' part will need to be improvised." she stated before adding, "Well of course we'll watch out for anything. Why do you think I pointed out holes in the cave floor?"

Collapse nodded to that. "Alright, alright, I believe that covers everything." she concluded. She was definitely nervous of proceeding forward as evidenced by her tone. However they might as well proceed forward than turn back now, in her mind. She was ready as she could be and began mentally preparing herself for what would come. Perhaps that is why she repeated herself.

"Jump Start, want to add anything?" Magloria asked, getting ready to move forward. At the negative from Jump Start, she started a slow move towards the blockade, to keep the noise down.

They finally got close enough to be able to make out sounds of the creatures they were stalking towards. It sounded like their own language, coincidentally, but was still too distant to make out anything.

They moved closer and got a proper glimpse at what they were dealing with. Resting next to a torch appeared to be a sort of black feline creature, with a sleek appearance, a long thin tail, claws on all four of their paws, and a set of sharp teeth to match.

A look of boredom was on their face as they stared off into the dark, their golden eyes almost glowing next to the darkness of their fur.

"Stupid rocks... so uncomfortable. Next time I'm out here I'm bringing my own cushion." they muttered to themselves.

Collapse followed the others along and made sure to be as quiet as possible. Looking to the creature, it was interesting to see that they looked almost like a...cat? Whatever it was, she hadn't seen or known anything like that previously.

Based on its cat like appearance Collapse figured that it had a long range of hearing and would be sure to remain absolutely silent whenever possible. She didn't know what to think of this creature, looking at those sharp teeth she just hoped that they would never have to fight these creatures off. Without a horn though, it was unlikely they could cast spells like ponies did however so that was the solace Collapse found within the appearance of the creature.

Now that they got a good look at one of the things they had been dealing with, and since they didn't seem to be doing much else but sitting there, Magloria decided it would be best that they move on to the next spot, while also keeping an eye on the walls for any possible way through the blockade.

They found a way past the wall, highlighted by several torches. The problem was, it was a staircase that led up the blockade, onto several floors, each with their own staircase to the top. Not only would it be a long climb up, but there were several felines patrolling the wall itself. Most of them were black, but some had distinct stripes and dots in grey and brown colors.

Even worse was the couple of ballista that Magloria pointed out to the pair, likely meant to keep the stronger inhabitants of the cave at bay.

Collapse follows along and takes in all the sights that they are presented with. The staircase that lead up the blockade was likely dangerous, to say the least. It would be suicidal to walk up that staircase and expect to go through without being caught. Seeing the ballistas only showed these felines weren't playing around. It was likely something that they weren't going to find their way through. Collapse walks as silently as possible. She calmed her breath, but her heart beat and adrenaline were quite high all things considered.

They were led past one final light, which was just another feline waiting around. This one seemed busy playing around with a crossbow in it's front paws, expertly shifting it around, using it's dewclaw as a griffon or ape would. That explains how they could fire them.

They weren't the talkative type, having no others to talk to, so Magloria moved on. She even checked several cave walls that were somewhat close, in case they had passages or crevices in them. No such luck. The one she found didn't go in more than a few meters.

With that done, they went back out to the darkness, away from the blockade and long out of earshot of the felines. "Alright, we should be far enough to talk again." Magloria said.

Jump Start simply flopped to the ground, getting a bit of rest after that stressful experience.

Collapse kept an eye on the felines as they returned into the darkness beyond earshot of the felines, being sure to remember what she had seen. She sighed, calming herself down as she sits down next to Jump Start as she looks to Magloria. "Well, they are most certainly well armed. Couldn't go up the stairs since they were patrolling up at the top. I'm not really sure how we could get through that blockade. It looks doubtful. What do you think?" Collapse asked them quietly.

Magloria shook her head in resignation. "The only way we're getting past that is if we had a proper fighting force, permission to pass, or a strong enough invisibility effect to get to safety on the other side. Now I can see why the seaponies stopped coming here. They'd be completely outmatched by this." she said.

"I guess it's time to head back and... report what we found. Maybe the seaponies have some better ideas. Unless there's something you wanted to check or do before we went back?"

"Yeah, lets head back...I don't like being around here any longer than we have to. Perhaps we can find some invisibility effects, perhaps the seaponies have something like that for a high price or we can think of some other method, now that we know what is here." Collapse replied, still nervous about the whole situation. She agreed with Magloria, and was ready to head 'home'.

Nodding, Magloria moved over to Jump Start and nudged her to encourage her to get back up. Then without another word she began to lead them all back the way they came, making sure to collect the light ball on the way back.

They had the option to stop by at any of the places they had come across along the way, if they wanted to. Since it was a several day journey, they better decide now if they want to stop at a place. The lake blocked off with the stone thing? The strange mushroom forest filled with a mysterious crystal and light flowers? Somewhere in the void crags perhaps?

Collapse stayed silent on the way back. Collapse thought about what they had just encountered. When they retrieved the light ball that is when Collapse would ponder the options that lay ahead. "So, we have all the time in the world. Since we have the chance, I think we could probably check out the weird mushroom forest again and try to take precautions to avoid the mist. On our way there we can check out the void crags." Collapse suggested.

"Although one other thing, what is causing the wind throughout this cavern? We've seen no obvious places the wind can be coming from. Whatever this cave system is, it is absolutely filled with life unlike any other cave I've heard of. I wanna know as much about it as possible." Collapse added.

Since the strange mushroom forest was the closest to them, that was their first destination. It stood before them, letting off it's usual pale blue light. Everything seemed calm, including a lack of mist.

Jump Start back at the way they had come from as another gust of wind blew, before she shook off the feeling and answered Collapse. "Well the wind usually comes from places outside where it's... windy. So the wind blows into the caves and travels down it." she explained.

Magloria joined the conversation. "The abundant life down here could be chalked up to anything. Maybe there's a high concentration of magic that settles down here, creating an abundance of plants and creatures. There have been similar examples back at Equestria of high concentrations of magic changing things."

"Take those crystal caverns that were sometimes discovered. A lot of magic must've concentrated in them to form so many crystals so close together. Some weren't even near volcanoes that would create crystals naturally." she stated.

"That is a good point, Jump Start and Magloria. It just is surreal to be down here where there is a whole underworld teaming with life. The wind also blew through the large area we were just at." she spoke, looking into the pale blue forest that lay ahead.

"Any idea what those feline creatures that we saw, what they are? They aren't cats obviously...since cats don't talk. But it is really strange to see those down here, isn't it? With crossbows, and other technology? It seems strange to me that they can develop such technology down here." Collapse added.

From Magloria's observations of the forest ahead, it seemed exactly the same as when they first came to it and when they approached it just now. Occasional wind, and no mist.

"They looked like the big cats that live in Zebrican jungles. Or the back half of griffons." Magloria stated. "That being said Collapse, who said anything about them living down here? They *did* have access to the only known way out of this cave system, and like the seaponies said, they weren't always there."

“So it is likely they came from somewhere else. A cat is one of the things I would expect the least inside of a cave so I am willing to bet that they have a way out of here.” Collapse stated as she looks into the forest.

“So, how should we go about entering the forest? We can collect more of those light bulbs and maybe some of that crystal we saw. I wonder what the seaponies would think of it.” She suggested.

Magloria gave Collapse a deadpan stare and a slight drop in respect for this mare, considering that she literally just explained how they likely came from above, not to mention the fact that they were *guarding* the only exit that they knew of.

"I'd rather enter quickly, grab what we need and leave as soon as possible. Unless you plan on blowing up the crystals with your magic, which has it's own risks, collecting them sounds like a waste of time. I'm going to keep well away from what you do should you try anyway." she said.

Collapse noticed the stare that Magloria gave her and realized that she had annoyed her with what she spoke of. Collapse had a habit of repeating herself, it was an issue she had. Maybe she just didn't think before she spoke, but was thinking that now was the time to start.

"I wasn't planning on blowing up the crystals. Let's just gather up some of those light bulbs and if the crystals aren't able to be retrieved without doing something risky than I won't fret about not having them." she concluded and looked to Jump Start, "What do you think?"

Magloria huffed, giving her legs a stretch in preparation of the haste that they should make when they start. "If the crystals are anything like the one we found, you're not collecting anything, unless you brought a pickaxe or a mallet." she stated.

Jump Start shrugged. "I don't really mind getting those things or not, but I don't really want to go in there again too."

Collapse looks to Jump Start and then Magloria. "I don't have any such tools with me unfortunately. If neither of you want to go back in there I won't push either of you to go. I will do what you two are most comfortable with." she replied calmly. She really didn't want to make any of them do anything for her sake. That was selfish of her, in her thoughts. She was a follower, and not a leader.

"I'm already getting ready. If you don't want to go Jump Start, you can wait here with the light bulb while we go collect more." Magloria said, which Jump Start nodded in response, taking the light bulb in her hooves as she sat down.

She suddenly came up with an idea. Reaching down, she took out her hammer and offered it. Maybe they could make some use of it.

With that done, Magloria started running towards the forest. Collapse better have prepared herself to run as well, because Magloria wasn't going to to go slow for her.

The first few light bulb plants were simple enough. A harsh tug was all that was needed to free the ball from the plant. Despite the roughness, neither the bulb burst nor the plant uprooted.

Then they came to a crystal formation. Just like the last one, it was resting in the center of a strange looking pond. No broken bits or flawed parts to be seen.

Collapse took Jump Start's hammer and thanked her. "Stay safe." she winked and ran off following Magloria. Collapse's hooves were trotting on the ground to catch up to Magloria. This took Collapse back a bit to her foalhood days where she would play tag with other foals on the playground. Smiling at the thought, she was more than eager to follow Magloria. Watching Magloria's tail flow in the wind, she couldn't help but admire it.

When they got to the bulbs Collapse would remove as much bulbs as she could carry realistically. It was a couple of them at the least. A few harsh tugs and a few bulbs collected, she would look to the crystal formation. Bringing out her hammer Collapse would look for any structurally weak points, if she found any she would strike them with the hammer several times.

Considering she already knew that there was no visibly weak parts of the formation, she had nowhere easy to aim at. So she had to pick the next best place, which was near the tips of some of of the thinner crystal spikes.

The first few blows did nothing but make the crystal resonate a shrill echoing sound from the impact, like hitting a tough sheet of glass. Another hit however formed a slight crack, which only got bigger as she kept striking the same spot.

Eventually the crack was big enough that the whole shard fell off, tumbling down the side of the formation and into the water below. The rather pretty water, which had a nice shimmer to it.

When it hammered the way that it had, Collapse thought the way it sounded was strange. She hadn't heard a crystal break off like that but what was concerning was how pretty everything was starting to look. "I can see the changes already. Everything is getting prettier, so we better be quick." Collapse stated to Magloria as she was trying to grab onto the shard with her telekinesis.

"This crystal seems to be rather brittle, almost like glass. But like, not quite brittle if you know what I mean? Its not something I've seen before." Collapse added.

The shard was easy enough to collect with telekinesis, even though it was a bit wet now.

"I wouldn't really know the hardness of rocks and gems, but I do know that you shouldn't have been able to do that to a real gem. You got what you wanted, now let's go before I adore everything more than I am." Magloria said as she began her run back, a cluster of light bulbs floating above her as she did.

Collapse nodded. She couldn't help but say something, both because she wanted to slide a comment in and both because of the effects. "I am adoring the pretty blueness of the mare in front of me and the little bulbs around her!" Collapse said, sounding like she was under the effects of the mist. "Well, glad we could gather what we can before it gets worse." Collapse ran alongside Magloria, smiling. She felt happy.

If Magloria could give off a huff of exasperation and annoyance, she would've. But at the time she didn't feel dissatisfied enough to do so. Instead she merely gave Collapse a glance when she moved up beside her, saying that they really should focus on their amazing grace when it came to getting out of the forest.

They managed to get out without much else going wrong and found Jump Start easily. She greeted them as they approached.

Counting their spoils, they now had about 6 light bulbs and 1 fragment of strange green glass-like crystal.

Chapter 22

When they returned to Jump Start Collapse would give her the hammer back and looked to their spoils. "6 little light bulbies and 1 crystal. I call that a win." she spoke, still under the effects but now that they were away from the forest those effects would probably begin wearing off. "

"I'll keep the crystal, you two can split the bulbs half and half I wonder what the seaponies will think. Probably time to start heading back that way anyway." Collapse stated, quite satisfied with 6 light bulbs instead of one.

"Sounds fine to me. Jump Start, will you be alright carrying 3 on you?" Magloria asked, apparently the effects having worn off already.

Jump Start nodded, scooping up the light bulbs and stuffing them in her mane, causing the light to become tinted a bright orange colour that shone around the cavern.

Magloria turned to Collapse, "Just be careful not to cut yourself with it. It looks sharp." she said, turning away with the intent to continue their journey to the next place Collapse wanted to check again. The Void Crags.

Collapse smiles as she puts them in her mane like that, she got an idea and smiled widely at that. "Good idea Jump Start. How about you put 1 in your mane and I'll put 2 in my mane?" she suggested to Magloria as they proceeded along towards the Void Crags.

If Magloria let her, Collapse would stuff 2 light bulbs into her mane. That would create a maroon tinted light ahead as they would proceed along their journey. With the Crystal she would cast a summoning spell on it and un-summon it. "So what do you think caused the Void Crags to exist?"

At Collapse's offer, both Magloria and Jump Start offered one of their light bulbs each, now evenly distributing them among the 3 of them. Magloria was hesitant to stick them in her mane, but ended up doing so anyway.

"I don't know what caused the crags. It could be absolutely anything from a dormant volcano to a massive cave in for a cavern below." Magloria said as they arrived at the river bridge, once more having to deal with the treacherous cliff at either side of their way home.

"Now what was it you wanted to check here again?" She questioned.

Collapse than would notice the soft blue light shining out of Magloria's mane and was pleased to see that. All of them had their own little light sources within their manes. She would have giggled at it if she didn't have the restraint to maintain a more or less straight face.

"As for what I wanted to look, I wanted to see again if those massive pits are truly bottomless. Perhaps I can charge up another brighter light spark and toss it down like I did before and we can watch it fall all the way to the bottom again, in a different hole." she suggested curiously. "Although I'm not going to stand right at the edge." she added in a serious manner.

Magloria shrugged nonchalantly and pointed a hoof over at the edge of the rocky ledge they were on. "Alright then, by all means. I don't expect much to happen though, since we didn't hear the bottom last time." she said.

Magloria simply sat back and let Collapse do her thing. Jump Start on the other hand had moved slightly closer to the edge, just taking in the endless abyss, or she would if she could see how deep and endless it was, given the blackness.

Collapse moved to the edge, just like Jump Start was. Her horn glowed brightly for a few moments until a much larger sparkling golden ball of light formed on her horn and fired off and began to fall down into the abyss that lay in front of them.

She also would grab a stray rock and throw it down in the abyss. Unlike last time which was just a small light ball. Hopefully this time they would see some kind of bottom or have an indication how deep the abyss truly was.

They both saw the light and rock fall... and fall... and fall... until the light got so far away that they could only see a dim speck, and even that faded away a few seconds later. No sound was heard.

Jump Start chuckled nervously. "Heheh... uhh, don't fall. We're definitely not coming back up if we do..." she said.

Collapse observed the results with disappointment. There probably was no bottom they could reach. At the least the idea of a bottom was still alluring.

Collapse looks to Jump Start in agreement and steps away from the edge. “Welp. Let’s continue…I wouldn’t want to fall in that abyss myself…” She also chuckled nervously, ready to move on.

Jump Start followed Collapse's example and moved away from the edge as well. With that little test over, Magloria got up again and led them onwards.

Not much else happened on the rest of the way, since they knew what they had to deal with, though Jump Start did complain that the diet of pure mushrooms was getting a bit stale.

They finally reached the lakes of Pearlth again. Magloria could finally create a new ice raft without it being impractical to use, so that's exactly what she did, letting everyone on it once it was completed.

Based on the doctor's estimations that applied the water breathing spell, the time that the spell would last on them was getting close to it's end. They would have until they fell asleep again before it wore off.

Collapse followed along the way and basically performed the same actions she did on the way here. When she would levitate Magloria and Jump Start across those gaps she would do so with gentle care. She also agreed with Jump Start. Mushrooms are good and all but she stated that when they arrive back at Pearlth they can look around and see what kinds of meals they had. Probably fish and kelp, if she had any guesses.

When they reached the lake Collapse would sigh with relief that made it back alive. She boarded the raft and said that she would like to tell the seaponies about what they had found. After that, they should likely get some rest. Collapse was quite eager to tell them all about what they had found, and show them the bulbs as well as the crystal. They should hopefully be able to analyze them and give more clues about them.

Magloria nodded and started moving the raft over to where she remembered the location that Deep Current worked at.

"Well, at least we're getting wet anyway, so that waterfall didn't matter much." Jump Start said as she squeezed some of the water out of her mane from the latest interaction with gravity-assisted water.

Once they were in the right spot, Magloria dove overboard and swam down to the building before entering, Jump Start in pursuit.

Collapse dove in and followed. The light bulbs in her mane glowed under the water which was interesting to see, as well as it was pretty. Her mane would keep the bulbs in place as she swam in pursuit. "Glad we are back to safety. Almost feels like home." Collapse remarked to Jump Start.

The hues of blue, purple and orange light that followed them around the place attracted the attention of seaponies everywhere around the general area they were in. Most were naturally curious about what the strange creatures they had seem a few days ago brought this time.

Getting permission to see Deep Current was a simple affair, and they quickly came to the entrance to her office. Magloria announced their presence, to the mild delight of the busy seapony.

"Oh, you're back! How did it go, did you find what you were looking for?" Current asked.

Collapse would sit down on one of the seats and look to Current. She was almost happy with the way the 3 of them got the attention. "Well, we found out why nobody would want to go to the exit. There is this massive blockade of Feline like creatures there. One of them attacked us but we fended them off. We decided to turn back because there was just too many of them and it was too risky to proceed forward." she stated.

Collapse would also tell them about the mushroom forest, the Void Crags and the various things along the way. Magloria and Jump Start could fill in on what happened if they wished. She also would show Deep Current the bulbs and the crystal they retrieved.

Deep Current took all of the information in, looking worried when Collapse explained about the felines, but intrigued when she mentioned the mushroom forest and showed the results of their brief exploration into it.

"These are extremely interesting..." she said as she brushed a flipper over one of the bulbs on display. "They're like the stuff we use down here, but work on the surface as well. I wonder if some of the plants could be brought here for use? In any case, I'm sure you could find someone that would pay for them."

"That crystal though... I have no idea what it could be for, though now that you mention it, I do recall something about a crystal filled mushroom forest... be right back." She swam out of the room and off to somewhere else in the building.

Eventually she came back with a tablet. "Here it is. Records of a 'Luneshine Forest'. Some seaponies took a wrong turn coming back from the exit and ended up encountering a strangely enchanting mushroom forest. They had to backtrack to the exit to find the river again."

Collapse nodded and took in the information that was told. While Deep Current was gone Collapse told Magloria and Jump Start they can sell 3 of the bulbs or however many they wanted to sell in order to have a longer lasting underwater spell perhaps, or something else that could be of use.

When Deep Current returned Collapse looked over the tablet. "Luneshine forest, hmm. Interesting name. It also has an interesting effect on your mind. When we went in there, there was this strange mist and effects that makes everything look pretty. If anything it is like being on some kind of drug." she states, as she looks at the record she told Deep Current of the path they took to get there.

"As for the crystal I would like to find some sort of scientist to analyze the crystal. Perhaps it has some sort of property that can be useful, or refined. As for the bulbs I suppose they can just be good decoration or neat things to have around. It would be cool if we had a cloning spell and could clone these bulbs. I would say it would be a possible idea to have seaponies return to the forest and harvest the resources that are there although I'd recommend them to be armed and prepared, those felines are extremely elusive and fast." she added.

Magloria replied that they would do so after they had finished their business here, since missing out on this would obviously be something that she wouldn't do. Jump Start agreed, stating she'd rather be here learning things.

Deep Current scanned the tablet further for information, before replying. "Yep, that sort of thing is what the seaponies recorded happening to them. Made it impossible for them to find the river going through the forest itself. That's why they backtracked through the exit tunnel until they found the river again."

"We don't really have a lot of scientists in this district, and even less that are geologists. You might need to go to the Hymid district or the Truhye district. There are more scientific institutes in those places."

Her whiskers flickered nervously when Collapse mentioned sending seaponies to the forest. "I'd rather not bring that up. It sounded dangerous even for you, and you could freely walk on land. We can't. We'd be at far greater risk if we went, and unless we properly study what you brought back and find them to be of incredible value, they're not worth collecting." she stated.

Collapse nodded in understanding to what was spoken and would keep the district names in mind although she requested a diagram or a map of where all the districts were in relation to one another so they could understand where they were in relation to one another.

"Yeah its understandable you wouldn't want to go in that direction so I don't blame you for that. The Void Crags are quite surreal too, I stood right at the edge and dropped a light that I made out of my magic and watched it fall. There truly was no bottom that we could see for all intents and purposes. It was unlike anything that I've seen before." she stated.

"As for the forests that we saw before there was the blue mushroom forest and then the one closer to Descent with green, red and blue mushrooms. I wonder what those forests are named and if you have knowledge of areas we haven't been to yet as we passed through that area, here, and then what we told you of. Is there any areas that are like that? That we haven't been to?" she asked.

Deep Current gave a casual shrug at the mention of the other types of mushrooms. "I wouldn't really worry about those mushroom forests if I were you. They're spread around everywhere, and are often used as food plantations for the different settlements. I think our closest one is... Sporesilt Forest? Just a blue plantation and one of our main food sources." she said.

"As for areas you've not been to, there are *plenty* of areas you haven't been to. There are many river branches leading to other settlements, which then go even further beyond from there. At least a dozen locations where we've settled, and even more which are wild."

Collapse nods. "Plenty of exploration to be done however we should take care of what we can here first such as the scientists taking a look at those bulbs and the crystal. Maybe we could get some kind appraisal for them to see how much they would sell for. Just an idea." she commented casually on what was being stated by Deep Current.

"Anything else you want to cover here, Magloria? Jump Start? I think that might be everything." Collapse commented on with a sweet grin.

"Yes, actually." Magloria said before looking directly at Deep Current. "You said that the seaponies found the Luneshine Forest after taking a wrong path from the exit, correct?" Deep Current nodded.

Magloria continued. "How far were they to the exit when they found the other path?" she asked.

Deep Current looked at the tablet again. "It doesn't specifically say, but they were near the end where they could see light coming from above."

Magloria thought about this. "We didn't even get far enough to see daylight, so then that means... It's possible that this is a path that leads *around* the massive blockade that the felines have set up." she stated.

Collapse's eyes widen at what Magloria stated there. "Woah...yeah, that is definitely something to look into. We missed that path then. Are there any references or knowledge of what exactly the light is what they saw? It could be referring to something else because as far as I know above us is the ocean itself so in order to see daylight we would have to reach a spot of land up above, not only that, we'd have to go up in relation to the surface too. Unless...there is a landmass we missed due to the storm and there was a massive valley on it, so to speak." Collapse stated, thinking deeply.

Deep Current shook her head. "Not really no. The closest thing in relation to light from above is the old sky that no one alive down here has seen. The only other thing that could be a bright light would be magma reservoirs, but those stay down low, not up high. Do keep in mind that the exit was something we couldn't reach the end of, with it's steepness and our mobility on land." she said.

"It was both stormy *and* at night." Magloria pointed out. "There could've been a landmass right in front of our noses and we wouldn't have known. No, our floodlights would not have been powerful enough to see something over several dozen kilometres of rain and water."

Collapse nods to the responses given to her. "It was at night? I didn't remember that, that makes a lot of sense actually..." Collapse replied and went silent for a bit at that. "Yes, than what was probably seen was daylight. That could very well have been the case. But whether it is or isn't, what matters is that there is another chance of returning to the surface." she stated.

"Perhaps what we could do is journey to the other settlements and see if they know anything more than the seaponies here. Maybe by going another way completely we can avoid that blockade and path we went entirely, and check out some other new areas along the way." Collapse suggested.

Deep Current frowned in thought. "I can understand seeing the other settlements if you just wanted to explore or learn about us, but we're the closest settlement to the only known exit in decades. Do you really want to hunt around for another one?" she stated.

"How far apart are these settlements?" Magloria asked.

"Anywhere between a couple hours to a day of swimming. Many of which are much further away, so the chances of a different path from them that leads back to the exit is low, if that's what you were thinking." Deep Current responded, directing the last part at Collapse.

Collapse nodded in understanding. "Well I see your point. How coincidental we ended up at the one that would be close to the exit. But I would like to stay here for a while, look around, get to know your kind. Because as far as I know we are the only three of the surface world that have interacted with you all." she smiled warmly at that.

"I wonder what the others thought about what we told you lot last time, too." she stated. "If I had it my way, when we get back I'd talk to our leaders back home and convince them to establish some sort of connection or trade between our populations. If this exit is at an accessible point from the surface, than I am sure eventually some traders and scouts can be sent out here but that is far in the future. Fun to think about though."

"It wasn't coincidental though, and we aren't the first to interact with them." Jump Start mentioned, before explaining the stuff they already knew. "We were told before, I think in Descent, that this place was the closest settlement to the exit, and we also were told that they've historically seen others come in through the whirlpool. Griffons were one of them." she said.

Deep Current shrugged, brushing off the idea of trades for now. "We'll get to that when it becomes a reality. For now though, I think that's all I can really do for you. So... go and enjoy the rest of Pearlth, and have fun exploring, or getting through the exit, whatever you plan on doing."

"Ah yeah, the griffons. Was more of referring to the first ponies, like ourselves but that is true." Collapse stated in agreement before looking to Deep Current. "Yup, thank you for your time. Your insight is always appreciated." Collapse chirped and looked to Magloria. She wouldn't object if Magloria had anything else to say.

"I think we'll have to update or extend our water breathing spell though. Maybe we could trade some of the bulbs we got in for a longer water breathing spell." Collapse suggested to the lot of them.

Magloria shrugged as she began to leave the office, thanking Deep Current as well as she left. Jump Start also gave her appreciation as she followed Magloria.

"Well if you want to do a direct trade, bulb for water breathing spell, then sure. A botanist, or the closest thing they have, or a biologist might find better value in them though. We'd have to find one of them first however, it really depends on if you want to be quick about it or not." Magloria told Collapse.

"Well I'd rather we be quick about it because we don't know how long our breathing spells have left to have. So let's go look for a botanist or a biologist. We can ask around." Collapse suggested as they swam away from Deep Current's office.

Magloria understood and began asking around for directions to what they were looking for. They soon got directions to one of the botanists in the district, and so Magloria began to lead them there.

They came to a building that looked like it had been etched out of a big piece of coral, or at least that's what the stained stones would have you believe. Various kelps, small corals and other plants were on display both outside and inside through the windows.

Collapse would look at what was on display inside and outside of the windows. "Fascinating, also pretty too." she said with a grin. When they entered the building she would look around for anyone to talk to. Should they find someone to talk to Collapse would say, "Pardon our intrusion, we are just looking for someone to talk to about these." she spoke, and took a bulb out of her mane and showed it to the seapony they found.

Inside there were several seaponies of varying colours and features. Most seemed to be shopping around for good plants to buy. Two of them appeared to be handling the sales and making sure the plants were well tended to, keeping the surrounding water clean... though it didn't seem like they did so with a brush or broom.

The seapony Collapse addresses, a dark green one with a light green tail, lighter green mane fin and few but long, white whiskers, notices the bulb. She must be in awe, because her pupils visibly dilate and her whiskers start quivering. "Woah... that's beautiful. What is it?" she asked.

Collapse smiled at the sight of the various seaponies about inside the building. Collapse imagined everything was so clean because of the water filtration systems in place around here or so she thought.

Upon seeing the seapony's appearance she thought they were adorable because of the whiskers. The whiskers on these seaponies is always adorable to see and she smiled more at the question and brings the bulb closer into view. "Well, its a bit of a long story..." Collapse spoke, and began to explain what the bulb exactly was and where it came from. She shows the seapony the other bulbs that were in her mane. After the end of the explanation Collapse would state, "We are looking for someone to analyze these bulbs. Perhaps see how much they are worth." she stated.

The seapony looked at the other bulbs. "Well uh... I'd imagine they would be worth quite a lot, if that's where you got them from. We've never had anything from there before. Let me just talk with my partner and I'll get back to you."

They swim away and over to another seapony, where they start whispering between each other. A couple of minutes later they seem to come to an agreement and swim back over to the group.

The green seapony speaks up again. "We're willing to make you an offer, as long as you sell these bulbs solely to us, at least when it comes to marketing."

Collapse waited patiently there and observed the seaponies conversing and come to an agreement. Collapse wondered what they were talking about but wouldn't question it as that would be quite rude of her.

When they return Collapse would look to Magloria and Jump Start. "I am thinking we could sell you 3 bulbs." she stated, noting how they wanted the bulbs to be sold to only them. "Perhaps when we head on out again, we can retrieve you more bulbs. Although I think one bulb for the 3 of us is a good idea so I wouldn't be willing to sell all of them. They make good personal lights without having to exhaust our magic." Collapse concluded.

While Collapse and the seapony was talking Jump Start began pondering over how they could use those light bulbs to better suit them. Perhaps they could construct a rudimentary lantern frame and stick the bulbs in there. If they had something reflective, they could focus the light for even better brightness as well.

The seapony was willing to offer 35 shells per bulb, which was the equivalent of a week's worth of food each. Considering they started out with a 150, or about a month, it was a substantial amount to be offered.

Collapse would take 3 of the bulbs and gave them to the seapony. "35 shells? How about we got up to 36 shells? I'd also like to ask for your name by the way, too. " Collapse smirked, it was clear she was trying to make the seapony smile. It would technically be considered negotiating even if it was just one shell more. Collapse was pleased with the amount that was offered.

The seapony look confused at why Collapse decided to raise the price by just 1 shell, but since it was a mediocre amount, she decided to just go with it. "Alright, 36 shells it is then. My name's Fan Leaf." she said as she claimed the bulbs, keeping them secure under one of her flippers.

The other seapony returned from somewhere else with a medium sized pouch, seemingly woven from a sort of seaweed. It must have some sort of preserving nature about it, because it was still green.

The pouch was offered to Collapse.

"Nice to meet you Fan Leaf. My name is Collapse, and this is Magloria and Jump Start." she motioned to the two of them and took the pouch with her magic. "Nice doing business with you. If we get more bulbs, we'll know who to go to." she spoke and extended a hoof to shake Fan Leaf's flipper. Fan Leaf would notice how different Collapse's hoof felt from a seapony's flipper.

After that, Collapse was ready to leave.

Fan Leaf's other flipper wrapped around Collapse's hoof, gave it a quick shake, then let go. She gave a goodbye as Magloria turned and left the store, with Jump Start following behind.

Their next goal was simple. Go to a medical building and get their water breathing spell extended. Some asking around proved to be an answer to that and soon they were outside a building. It was smaller than a hospital, but still had the looks of a medical clinic.

Collapse would proceed on into the building with the pouch held in her magic as she enters. Collapse believed that a week's long underwater breathing spell might be possible with the funds they have however she wasn't too sure on that. Upon heading inside she would look around for someone to talk to, and upon that she would ask how much a week long underwater breathing spell would be for the 3 of them.

Collapse gets the answer she was looking for from what appears to be a nurse or assistant, the proper doctor being busy at the time.

The cost turned out to not be that might higher than what they originally paid for the spell, maybe around double the cost, but still very affordable, and they could do it right now if they wanted.

Collapse looks to Magloria and Jump Start, then she looked to the nurse. Collapse would pay forth the amount of shells as needed and would follow the nurse towards the room where the nurse wanted to do the spell in. They might as well get this out of the way.

They were led into a room and told to wait until the doctor was ready. As they waited, Jump Start wondered if the stronger version of the spell would have an even stronger effect on them when it's cast. Even though she knew what to expect, it was still unnerving.

The doctor came in and went through the same procedure as the last time, giving a small tablet to each of them to swallow, to focus the effects of the spell, and making them spread out so there was no interference.

One by one each of them went through the effects of the spell, but intensified greatly. A powerful numbing effect went through their lungs, lasting for a minute even after the spell was over.

As they waited Collapse was also a bit nervous as she sat there. She didn't really like being in doctors offices and such longer than she had to, for whatever reason it got her a bit anxious but considering what they have gone through it was a walk in the park for her.

Collapse swallowed the tablet easily and moved away from the others as the spell was casted onto them. Upon the intense effects of the spell she would stand there for a bit in a daze for a minute as the spell went through. It was overwhelming to say the least and after it was over she was glad they wouldn't be experiencing this for a week. It was rather unpleasant but it was needed.

After all was said and done, Collapse would thank the doctor for their time and smiled sweetly as she thanked them.

Chapter 24

Upon waking up, she was pleased that she didn't get woken up and asked why she was cuddling with Jump Start. Collapse smiles and slowly got up from the bed but not after a bit of just laying there and feeling Jump Start's warmth.

Sometime after Collapse woke up while she was busy resting on the other pony, said pony started waking up, likely prompting Collapse to immediately move away.

After a large stretch, Jump Start opened her eyes and looked around.

At the same time, they could hear the door of the bedroom Magloria was in opening up.

Collapse shifted off of Jump Start and stretched. Collapse was going to do one other thing. With a cheeky grin she stood up and began moving her hoof to Jump Start's snoot. Before long Jump Start was booped. "Boop." Collapse giggled tiredly. Collapse wanted to begin Jump Start's day with a boop. She wanted to do the same with Magloria, but that probably wasn't a good idea.

The moment that Collapse's hoof reached the front of Jump Start's muzzle, she froze. She blinked a few times, first focusing on the hoof touching her, then the one responsible for it.

"Uh... morning? I... finished the masks last night, if you didn't notice... so..." She said, finally moving her head back and breaking contact.

The sound of hooves approaching, the sight of a blue blur and then the bathroom door opening and closing was the only indication that Magloria was even there. She'll probably greet them later.

Collapse was a bit entertained by Jump Start's reaction and moved away from her and showed her the 3 disks that her and Magloria got when Jump Start was alone. "Yeah I saw. You did a pretty good job...What do you say about having breakfast and completing the masks?" Collapse suggested, and went off to cook up some mushrooms on the heating unit. That is, if there were any other mushrooms available to eat.

Magloria's movements were easily noticed but Collapse let her do her morning routines. She didn't want to interrupt something and cause a scene.

Collapse had no trouble cooking up some mushrooms. After all, they had to have taken some along the journey, otherwise their supplies probably wouldn't have had lasted. The mushrooms started roasting after a few minutes of being near the unit.

"Ah, the purifiers! Umm, I think I'll work on adding them to the masks while you're busy." Jump Start said as she scooped up the disks, placing them on the table next to the masks and began working.

Magloria finished off her time in the bathroom and stepped out, nodding as she saw the pair working. "Morning." she said.

Collapse proceeded to cook up the mushrooms to a proper roast. They were neither too cooked, nor undercooked. She wanted to have a nice meal for all of them, as well as getting compliments from the two others. By doing so, her goal was to make everyone satisfied. Eventually, Collapse wanted to see a truly sweet and innocent smile on Magloria's face.

After a few minutes passed Collapse would look to Magloria. "Good morning, Magloria. Any dreams today? I couldn't really remember mine." she asked casually as she roasted the mushrooms. Soon enough, Collapse would sit down and bring out the mushrooms for them to eat as she bit into her own. "Some for you, Jump Start, and some for you, Magloria." she stated.

Of possible note, was that she gave the three of them equal amounts.

When they each received their mushrooms they gave Collapse a thanks, though some sounded more appreciative than others, as to be expected.

"We really should get some cutlery..." Magloria mumbled to herself as she picked her first mushroom from the small cluster in her aura.

Jump Start meanwhile took a big bite out of hers, resting on the table next to her. "Mmm, nice and hot. I sort of forgot how nice a hot meal is when we were out exploring." Jump Start said, getting back to the purifiers, only pausing to take a bite or two from her meal.

Magloria shook her head at the question. "Nah, no dream this time. I guess I'm more interested in what we do next now, rather than reflecting on what we did." she shrugged, scarfing down one of the smaller pieces whole.

Collapse smiles at the thanks she got and watches as they eat the mushrooms. Collapse savors the bites she has and chews for a long period. It was a hot meal and she was going to savor it while she had the chance. "We should buy some cutlery today maybe, or find a way to make our own. Hot meals can change the whole course of a day." she spoke in agreement with them.

Looking to Magloria she nodded. "Looking forward I see, I can share that sentiment. Even though what we went through was...horrible to say the least, we are blessed that we made it and I think keeping busy is a way to deal with it properly." she said, looking down at the ground slightly as she stopped chewing for a second after she finished that statement.

Magloria finished off the last of her meal before speaking again. "We can go get cutlery while we're out finishing the masks, though we're doing it afterwards. The tar would need time to properly set in place before it could be worn."

She began moving over to the front door, intending to walk around a little bit outside before they get moving anywhere. "Sure, if you say so. I'm going to stretch a bit first while Jump Start finishes her work." she stated before exiting the house, leaving Jump Start to silently keep working on attaching the purifiers, and Collapse to do whatever.

Collapse accepted Magloria's statements and looked to Jump Start as she was attaching the purifiers. "Well, alrighty." she spoke to Magloria before she left. Upon her being left alone with Jump Start she would sit down and proceed to help Jump Start out with the purifiers. She might as well make herself useful and didn't have any other ideas for what she would be doing other than just standing around.

"So...what do you think about this? About everything." Collapse asked suddenly as she was helping Jump Start out.

Jump Start looked to Collapse as she approached, giving a look of appreciation when she saw that Collapse was deciding to help her out instead of watching.

"I really don't know. I never actually expected to do anything like this. It was supposed to be that we go sailing for a couple weeks, find some new place, see some new trees and plants and stuff, map it out then call it a day and come home."

This stuff-" she pointed at the purifiers, "-I could expect, since there could've been something we hadn't prepared for and needed to jury-rig something. Other civilizations? Rare, but not impossible, but cave exploration...?" she shook her head, letting a long pause sink through as she adjusted a purifier to fit better within the mask's socket.

"I'm going to enjoy when I can feel the sun on my back again. Or smell freshy baked bread in the streets. Down here is nice and all but... I miss things." she said, finishing the last mask. They were all ready to leave now, so they could probably inform Magloria.

Collapse nodded in agreement. "I am thinking the same thing really...I have friends back home and things I would like to get back to when I get home. As fascinating as this all is...its quite a shame we came here under such bad circumstances." she stated as she was helping out with the masks.

"To be entirely honest I expected us to come across another civilization on land. I always imagined there could be more ponies out there on different continents and landmasses, or other races entirely. We know of the Centaurs, Changelings, Griffons, but we don't know as much about them let alone our world, really. We don't even know how far the world extends on for." Collapse stated, a hoof to her chin.

"There is something I once thought about. You know how you have Canterlot where the rulers are? It seems the more distant you get from that the more wild and rough things get. Sure you have cities like Detrot and Manehattan but still...Canterlot is a paradise compared to some places even within Equestria itself." she pondered that. They were about a weeks away from the nearest known land, she thought. And with that, they were miles underground. At least that is what Collapse figured.

"A bit of a personal question here though, what do you think of Magloria? I think she is mysterious and I think we owe our lives to her." Collapse smirked.

"I dunno about Canterlot being a paradise... It looks nice, but you've got to wonder what happens beneath it's shiny... appearance. Plus imagine what the rest of the place could look like if all the bits in Equestria didn't flow into that mountain..." Jump Start said, then stiffened upon realizing what she said.

"Not that there's anything wrong with having a flourishing capital, of course...!" she quickly added.

Glad of the subject change to her captain to forget the previous thing, she spoke her opinion. "Well, she's our captain, and very good at it. I'm grateful she's saved our lives and all that. Is there really anything else to say?"

Collapse noticed how nervous Jump Start got and put a hoof to her shoulder. "You got a point there honestly...but don't tell anyone I said that. I've never been to Canterlot so I can't say one way or the other really...Hmm, did you ever say which are you were from? I remember you telling me a bit about your life before. Maybe when all is said and done we could go there." she stated, in an understanding fashion. She actually agreed with Jump Start now that she thought of it.

To Jump Start's last question she would say, "She is a very...blue mare. She is just so blue. I like the color blue." Collapse giggled playfully at that. A light blush came across her cheeks. "A-anyway, let's go show her the masks." she stated as she got up and gathered the masks.

Jump Start thought it over. "I lived in the town that Magloria's ship was docked at, and that's how I got here, but I originally came from an agricultural town by the name of Whinnyston. Lots of croplands, a few trees here and there. Nice enough place if you were an earth pony."

Jump Start focused on Collapse's face when she talked about Magloria, raising an eyebrow as she started realizing what was going on. "Yes... let's..." she said, dismissing things for now and headed over to the front door.

Collapse didn't speak of what she just said about Magloria as she follows to the front door. "Well in Dodge Junction there were a lot of Earth ponies too. My mother was actually an Earth pony. It was hard to learn magic for me due to the lack of resources on it. I'm not as strong as I should be with magic because of that. So with limited resources I decided to delve into what I could do with what I had...which was to construct things and take things apart. Find out how things worked." Collapse spoke as she follows out the door with Jump Start.

Jump Start merely nodded at what Collapse said, proceeding to look around the lake in search of Magloria. She didn't have to search for very long, since the evidence of where Magloria was was pretty obvious.

What appeared to be hurdles, poles and other equipment were set up upon a strip of land near the lake, Magloria running through them like an obstacle course. Weaving around poles and jumping over the hurdles. When she finished, she ran around and back to the start to try again.

Collapse's jaw visibly dropped upon seeing what Magloria was doing there. For a bit she was silent as she took in the sight that lay before them. "What the...!? How did she set that up so fast, she was only out of our sight for a few moments! She must be some kind of magician!" Collapse exclaimed, her eyes widening at the sight as well. It was most impressive to say the least. An idea crossed her mind.

"T-that is quite...something to say the least! I uh, maybe she could train us on this obstacle course?" Collapse suggested with a wide nervous, yet hopeful grin.

"Well yeah, she is a unicorn." Jump Start pointed out, "And a skilled one at that. We've seen her make rafts out of ice many times haven't we? Those didn't take very long, so this stuff probably wouldn't either." she said.

Meanwhile Magloria continued to run her course, too focused on it at the moment to realize that the others had stepped outside.

"Indeed she is. A time ago she said something about her being part of something that was far more...trained than the Royal Guard. Trying to think, you have the Royal Guard...I think Starlight had mercenaries? Or was that someone else? I don't know anything about the guard if I am honest. But Magloria didn't want to tell me what it was, and she considered the Royal Guard to be full of Rookies..." Collapse smirks at that.

"Magloria is from Creamwood. I can't say I know anything about that either, so it is all a mystery to me. I am probably more of use to us now that I have a tool set." Collapse added as she watches Magloria.

"Isn't the Royal Guard supposed to be the best of the best though? Where all soldiers with promise end up going? I haven't seen any, but I have heard the occasional news of what they did, and it seemed impressive enough. What could Magloria have done to make them seem bad?" Jump Start pondered.

At that point Magloria had finished her second run of the course. She seemed like she was about to do another when she finally noticed them. "We ready to go?" she asked.

"Well hmm, I don't know what could be better than the Royal Guard...I remember one time the Royal Guards were sent into my home town for something. What for? I never knew, but I remember seeing them in their armor and the carriages. Perhaps it was some kind of inspection or something, but that's the only chance I ever got to see the Guard up close. Hehe, one of them gave me a lollipop! I was only a filly at the time." Collapse said to Jump Start with a sweet grin as she recalled the memory.

Her innocent memory was interrupted by Magloria's question and Collapse stepped forward and shrugged. "Nice obstacle course! I was thinking maybe you could teach us to do those kinds of moves?" she asked innocently.

"Teaching you is easy. All you need to do is know how to clear the course." Magloria said, "Going beyond that is the hard part. It requires both agility and endurance, as any good fighter should have, and those I can't teach you."

"Feel free to try it out if you want." She said, a hoof pointed to the icy obstacles in offering. "All you need to know is that putting force into your back legs is best for clearing the hurdles, and being in control of where your forelegs are positioned will help you steer around the poles."

"Trying to clear it as fast as possible is, obviously, the goal here." she added.

Collapse nodded. "I will keep that in mind. You are free to join me, Jump Start." Collapse would proceed to the start of the obstacle course. After a few moments of hesitation she would begin to proceed through it. As this was her first time she was a lot slower than Magloria and had a few narrow misses to some of the hurdles. Collapse was able to complete the obstacle course but at a much slower rate than what Magloria would likely have been satisfied with. At least she didn't crash into anything.

At the end of it Collapse looked to Magloria, and Jump Start. She smiled, apparently finding success at not hitting anything. She wasn't fast at all though. Obviously had a lot of work to do.

Jump Start thought over the offer, eventually deciding that she would try the course once, after Collapse was done.

Magloria hummed, internally assessing Collapse's performance. Once she had reached the final hurdle, Magloria spoke.

"From what I remember, you're about average for any common pony, though you didn't seem to push yourself very hard. If you were applying for a spot where I trained however, your slowness would be pointed out to you very clearly. If you didn't improve by a large amount within a week, you'd be kicked out." she said.

Jump Start decided that now was the time to start her run through the course. While she was better at the hurdles than Collapse, she seemed to struggle with the finer control when moving around the obstacles. In the end, she had a similar time to Collapse, receiving a similar lecture from Magloria.

Collapse nodded in understanding and observed Jump Start's movements through the obstacles and seemed to cheer her on silently. Upon the end of it all she would look to Magloria. "Yeah, I will push myself harder. No doubt you've done this for years, so me and Jump Start have a long way to go." she spoke in a hopeful manner. Collapse clearly looked up to Magloria, in all sorts of manners. She felt as if Magloria was both a teacher and a friend even though they didn't know much about her.

"So, the trick is to push yourself more? Let me try again with that in mind..." she stated and would go back to the start. This time she would proceed through the course with passion and pushed herself more than she normally would. She didn't want to tire herself out. Collapse was clearly lacking in the hurdles, but with finer control she performed better than Jump Start. Compared to last time there was noticeable improvement. Now that she had been through the course once she knew what to expect so there weren't as many narrow misses.

Collapse had went through faster, but compared to Magloria she was just a beginner. At least there was a bit of improvement if anything.

The moment that Collapse left for the starting point again, she could hear Magloria muttering "Maybe I should give her weights equivalent to the standard equipment packs... Later, if she's insistent maybe."

Once she was done again, Magloria addressed her directly. "A bit better, but you're still not pushing yourself very hard. If you were, you'd be panting from the effort." she instructed.

Collapse listened to what Magloria had said for that moment. Collapse would be sure to remember that and keep that in mind. By the end of it, Collapse had smiled to Magloria as she was addressed. "Yes, I am glad I did better. Can I ask a question though? How did you get into training like this? You are pretty proficient at it." Collapse spoke, lifting one of her hooves in nervousness of asking that question.

"That's simple. I listened, I learned and I trained hard enough that I could train others if I wanted to. It's not like such a thing would've been very useful in Equestria though. Most ponies aren't used to and won't go through the full courses, so it's either train weak soldiers or do something different. You already know my choice." Magloria stated.

Since no one seemed to be using the agility course anymore, Magloria lit up her horn and sent out a wave of magic at it. The ice quickly began to melt, and would become nothing but puddles of water in a few minutes, tops.

Collapse looked to the agility course and watched it begin to melt. It was a shame, but Magloria could easily build another one. "Well I am going to listen, and train from you. I know that I was never a combat oriented pony, but given as we are in an unusual situation it wouldn't hurt to learn." Collapse said with determination and looked to Jump Start, hoping that she would do the same.

"Well, time to go?" Collapse asked.

"Yes, time to go." Magloria agreed. She technically didn't need to create an ice raft, but it would be faster than letting all 3 of them swim through the water instead.

Once the raft was complete, she waited for the others to get on before setting off in the direction of the tar pools. They arrived soon enough.

Collapse had boarded onto the raft and watched as the scenes transitioned to the tar pools. Upon arriving at the tar pools she would exit, and proceed to help Jump Start in gathering the tar and applying it onto the masks. This would likely be an uneventful process.

It was uneventful, but was interesting to see how careful Jump Start was when she was given the bowl of tar.

Instead of just slapping on tar and calling it a day, she took one of the paintbrushes in the tablet writing studio and carefully painted over the fabric of each of the masks, avoiding the metal and filter parts.

She even went back over each of the masks for a second layer, to 'make sure they were sealed'. The result were 3 black masks with a bit of reflective grey where their noses would be.

"All done." she stated.

Chapter 25

Collapse took note of Jump Start's care for the application of the tar and replicated it. When they were done Collapse looked to the masks and was impressed with the results. "Great job, Jump Start." Collapse said sweetly as she looked into Jump Start's eyes with appreciation and thankfulness for her work. Collapse was definitely pleased and looked to Magloria to see what her reaction was for the masks before she would proceed towards the ice raft. They were likely done here after all.

Jump Start looked slightly embarrassed when she received the praise, a faint blush appearing on her face as she tried looking anywhere that wasn't where Collapse was.

From what Collapse could tell, Magloria didn't really react much, aside from maybe a slight amount of approval of a task successfully completed.

Once they were all back in the raft, masks included, Jump Start let in a deep breath, savoring the cleaner air. "Hopefully we don't have to go back to that place again. Now what are we going to do? We had something else to look for, didn't we?" she asked.

Collapse had noticed Jump Start's embarrassment and was internally quite pleased that she got Jump Start to blush. That was completely and utterly adorable in Collapse's eyes. When they were in the raft Collapse sat down and looked to Jump Start. "I suggested that we go back to the Whirlpool lake and see if we can recover anything from the Constance. Since we can go underwater now, we should be able to get a better idea of if it is reachable or not. Perhaps we can get some seaponies to help." Collapse stated.

"No, that was what we were planning on doing after. We were getting some cutlery, though that doesn't need all of us." Magloria said, then came up with an idea to hit 2 birds with 1 stone.

"One of us could go purchase those, and the rest of us could look around, see if there are any seaponies that we could hire to help us with the whole whirlpool lake searching plan." she suggested.

Jump Start offered to go collect the cutlery, secretly wanting to explore around in case the shops have anything that interested her.

"Well that sounds like a plan. You can get the cutlery, meanwhile me and Magloria will go see if we could find any seaponies to help us out. Meet back here in an hour, perhaps?" Collapse suggested. She didn't object to Jump Start's suggestion to go for the cutlery though, she secretly just wanted more time with Magloria. Also there was precedent involved too, Jump Start had gone off on her own before so this was more 'natural' to her, here.

With a quick "goodbye" Jump Start dove overboard down into the water.

"Now what exactly did you have in mind when you said we could get seaponies to help? Did you want some that had been down there before, or treasure hunters of some sort? Keep in mind that they'd likely expect some of the 'treasure' that we find. Either that or really good payment." Magloria asked.

Collapse said goodbye to Jump Start and then turned to Magloria. "I would want some that had been there down before as they would know what is down there best. It doesn't exactly give me the best of...feelings that they'd expect 'treasure' from our ship, but I think we'll have to accept that if that is what they wish." she sighed.

"I know this is probably a bit much to ask, but I really want that Fly Ring back. I spent years perfecting it and I am not willing to let it go. It is probably broken but at least I could repair it given the proper materials and tools." Collapse stated, her ears folding back a bit. She was clearly hurt upon imagining her pride and joy being broken, or even worse - taken from her by some treasure hunter.

Magloria jumps off the raft and into the water, but keeps her head above water for the moment. "If you think about it in a rather cold, logical way like I do, you'd realize that there is lots of things down there, more than we could carry and most that we would not even use. Those things that we don't want could be given to whoever helps us."

As she continues her voice changes to a more critical, analytical tone. "The condition of your fly ring largely would depend on how tough you made it against pressure. If it's got thick and strong plating, it's likely going to be not too bad. However if it's got light plating, fragile components or parts that can't handle salt water well, it'll most likely have a lot to fix before it returns to working order." she said.

"That is a good point. As your the captain I am obliged to follow your lead. As far as I am concerned they can take what we don't need but that fly ring I am not willing to part with." Collapse stated as she jumped down into the water and looked to Magloria.

"I never intended for it to get wet in the first place. It is made of steel with gold plating. The gold plating was just an aesthetic..." Collapse's eyes almost went cross eyed and blushed. "Actually no, I lied. I wouldn't tell this to anyone but I actually spray painted it gold. Uh, anyways! Yes, I didn't intend on it getting wet but the more sensitive parts are contained within a housing to prevent air or water from getting in. I don't know if that could withstand the pressure of being under deep water. Maybe not. Inside of it are various bearings and inner housing parts. It needs to be frictionless in order to spin correctly." Collapse went from a nervous embarrassed tone to a more analytical fashion.

"The wheel is frictionless due to a certain compound of crushed up Gravitite shards that forms a sort of paste or slurry that is within the inner part. It has other things like a brake and a gravitational dampener that changes how it would move and such. If anything, I expect I am going to have to do some serious work on it." Collapse added.

"If that's the case, you better hope that it's integrity hasn't been warped or otherwise broken into. You're likely not repairing or replacing those parts down here. Didn't you need specialized equipment to put it together as well? Things that the seaponies wouldn't have heard about before?" Magloria asked.

“Yep. You are right about that for sure. I even had to find rare tools and such to even build it to begin with.” Collapse sighs at that realization. She wasn’t too happy about it but it is what it is.

“So, let’s see who we can talk to.” Collapse suggested.

Magloria responded to that by diving down into the water, and immediately started talking with various seaponies, asking about where they might find someone who had been to the 'great water spout' as they had so elegantly called it.

Most seaponies had absolutely no clue where they could find anyone like that, and some could only point them to other towns, which is out of the question at this point.

Until eventually they found a seapony who knew someone who had been there. Problem was is that they were a 'high ranking member of society' and as such were hard to talk to. Solution to that problem was the seapony still kept in touch and could easily reach them.

Collapse had quickly followed Magloria and was sure to avoid going slower than she would like. Upon listening to the seaponies she would aid Magloria in asking the questions. Upon them discovering the seapony who knew someone who had been there Collapse was pleased. "We would like to meet with who you are talking about if that isn't a problem. Do you know where they are currently?" Collapse asked, wanting to talk to that seapony as soon as possible.

Part of her was getting worried about Jump Start. While she knew that Jump Start was most likely okay, she couldn't help but worry about her.

"Yeah, they'd be in the same place they always are. The Truhye District, teaching others how to form magic if they've got the gift." The seapony said, pointing in a direction that the district would be in.

"Just tell them that you're looking for Aura Surge, and that you were led there by Nettletails." they added.

"Oh, a spell caster? That is very interesting. Well, thank you for the information. We'll keep that in mind." Collapse smiled to the seapony and was quite pleased with the results. Looking to Magloria she would say, "If we are going to another district, I think we should find Jump Start first? Don't wanna veer too far when we are separated." Collapse spoke.

Magloria shrugged. "It's not like she would wander off and get lost or anything. Though she might not be too thrilled that we went to somewhere new without her..." she frowned in thought.

"She'd be able to see this 'Aura Surge' later if we succeed in bringing them along, so she wouldn't be that upset I believe. I'd rather go now instead of waiting for her, she knew what we could be doing anyway." she said.

"Well its your call but I'd say we can go find her. I don't want her to feel like we just went off without her, I want her to be included." Collapse smiled at the thought of Jump Start feeling included.

"But if you want to just find Aura Surge, we can make it quick and try to find them quickly. But then again going to another district, then hashing out the details probably won't be quick, so I think we should go get Jump Start." Collapse added.

"But we *did* go off without her, and she knew that. We told her that we would get someone to help us, and she understood what we were doing. If we go back for her now, there would have been no point in splitting up in the first place." Magloria said, taking on a more authoritative tone.

"So we're going. Jump Start is a smart mare. If we take too long and she gets bored, she'll likely come up with something to do." she finished and started swimming in the direction that they were given to reach the Truhye district.

Collapse nodded and didn't object to Magloria's word. Collapse matches Magloria's pace as they swam off in that direction. "Alright, that is what we will do then. Too the Truhye district we go." she spoke optimistically, yet was weary of Magloria's more authoritative tone. Collapse was mostly silent on the way there unless something had came up on the way there.

Chapter 26

It seemed as though to get to the Truhye district there were no passages that led through a place close to the water's surface. The only ways to get to where they needed to go were tunnels straight through the rocky lake walls.

Thankfully these tunnels were well lit, and seemed to be reinforced as well in case anything happened.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, a glorious sight stood in front of them. Lavish buildings were nestled into every spot they could, large and built out of what appeared to be polished stones and tiles. A number of the buildings had dyed roofs, showing their importance.

Their objective was unclear at the moment. There didn't seem to be any place within visible distance that told them that Aura Surge was there.

Collapse's jaw visibly dropped upon the end of the tunnel. She was already amazed by the tunnel as it were, but upon seeing the sight in front of them she was visibly impressed. "Wow. I can't say I expected that. How remarkable, the care and craftsmanship put into this place is amazing, wouldn't you agree?" Collapse smiled at Magloria. She hoped that Magloria would have a visible reaction as well, she liked seeing her be more expressive even if it was unintentional.

"Lets ask around. If this Aura Surge is well known, than perhaps that might lead us in the right direction." Collapse spoke to Magloria.

If Magloria was feeling anything from looking at the splendor of the buildings, she kept it well hidden as her gaze roamed around the lake.

"I suppose they do put time and effort into everything here. This is probably the 'rich' district, by the looks of it." she said, subtly agreeing with the suggestion to talk with others... again.

Most of the seaponies here seemed to be lightly clothed, or had a piece of jewelry or two on them. Interestingly some had bands and rings around their finned tails, some even had the fins of their manes and tails styled with what appeared to be paints or dyes, giving them a sense of beauty or style.

Just like before, the locals didn't hold information in high regard to security, and were happy to let the pair of ponies know where to go. A place described as a large bowl at the bottom of the lake, free of buildings. It's main purpose was to train seaponies without the risk of property damage.

Collapse agreed with Magloria and as they went about she admired the tails and rings around their finned tails. If she didn't have any particular *investment* in her two companions or was here alone, she may had very well been convinced to stay just by the appearances of these pretty seaponies. The rings on their tails was beautiful. Collapse was easily allured by mares in jewelry that was. Still though, Magloria's earrings were the absolute best. Not that she would tell Magloria that.

Upon the answers they were given Collapse thanked the seaponies sweetly and then would proceed to look for the large bowl shape at the bottom of the lake as the two of them went about. "I wonder why they call themselves seaponies despite likely not actually seeing a real sea. Lakeponies? For some reason that doesn't have a ring to it." Collapse shrugged casually.

After rounding a few bends that led them deeper into the depths of the lake, they saw their destination. What appeared to be a field of seagrass lay before them, with occasional glowing rocks for light spread around. It was like a massive underwater park of sorts.

Several groups of seaponies were spread around the bowl, either looking busy listening to each other, or enjoying the sights, or practicing various skills.

There was a brief distant glow from one of the seaponies as their flippers suddenly lit up, propelling them through the water at surprising speeds, causing everything nearby to get caught in a swirling hurricane of water in their wake.

"Tradition, probably. Or they don't care enough to change their name from seapony to something else." Magloria replied.

Collapse was amazed at the large field of seagrass ahead of them and observed the seaponies. She pointed out the one with the glowing flippers and watched as that seapony sped off. "Hmm, I bet the ones that have magic are able to do that. Might be their magical power. To be able to maneuver a lot faster. Maybe Aura Surge is that seapony, or one like her." Collapse stated observantly, and agreed with Magloria.

To the nearest seapony Collapse would go to them and ask if they have any information as to the whereabouts of Aura Surge or if they know anything about her.

Magloria glanced over to Collapse, wondering why she was talking so... weirdly. It was probably just another 'Collapse being Collapse' thing. She did seem to slip up like that on occasion.

In response to Collapse's queries, the nearest seapony, a grey one with whiskers and deep blue tail and mane, pointed out one other in particular, mentioning that this was Aura Surge.

Near the group where the magic-performing seapony was, was one with a crimson coat. Their flippers had streaks of silver running around the edges, and their coat under their chin, down the front of their neck and under their belly was all a pinkish red colour.

Their mane, tail and even ears were all finned, the membranes coloured a vibrant purple. The tail had several silver loops of metal as decoration. Long red whiskers dotted their face, occasionally twitching in the direction of the others.

Finally, in a vague mimicry of pegasi wings were 2 pairs of long, silver and red fins reaching out from their back, assisting them with keeping them balanced in the same location. A set of 4 silver rings rested on the bases of the fins, one for each fin.

All in all, they fit the description of a Kelpie perfectly.

Collapse was clearly in awe of Aura Surge's appearance. For someone who knew about the Whirlpool lake, it made a lot of sense actually that they were quite different from the most. The Kelpies seemed to definitely be the most advanced seaponies as noted by their appearance and the place they called home. It was funny though, to have all these differences but still have the cute whiskers. The whiskers were her favorite part of the seaponies. This one had red whiskers!

"Wow, that is Aura Surge? She is...quite something I have to say! I think she is the most impressive seapony around. Let's go talk to her." Collapse said to Magloria, glad that they were able to locate Aura Surge so readily.

"Sure." Magloria simply responded, and started swimming over to the Kelpie and their group.

As they got closer they could hear Aura Surge instructing the group she, judging from the feminine voice, was with. The lesson seemed to be about something called a 'Water Vault' spell, probably the same spell that they witnessed earlier.

Their approach had now attracted the attention of some of the students, who pointed out their arrival to Aura Surge. She turned to face them. "Scuse me, is there something I can help you with... strangers...?" she asked, now realizing that they were not in fact seaponies.

Collapse looked to Aura Surge and smiled. "That is a long story, as you can tell we aren't exactly from around here..." Collapse would begin with, and would introduce herself and Magloria. "We had talked to someone named Nettletails about someone who had been to the 'great water spout' as it is called around here, they pointed us to your direction. I really don't mean to intrude on your training lessons here, but we are looking for someone who is knowledgeable about it and who would be willing to go there with us to...retrieve what we are looking for at the bottom of it, most likely." Collapse spoke calmly.

Aura Surge sighed upon hearing what Collapse explained."Nettletails... he- I guess he didn't tell you about how I *used* to go exploring, right? Not anymore. I now work here, teaching others about their magic." she said.

"But you're one of few who has explored there, are you not?" Magloria stated, "Unfortunately we don't have a lot of other options, so is there... any sort of way we could make it so this whole thing where you accompany us fits your schedule?" she asked.

Aura Surge looked like she was thinking about the possibility, then looked them both in the eye, one after the other. "There is a way I can come assist you, but I need to pull some strings." She moved slightly closer. "So I better be well compensated for my efforts. And not just shells either. I've got more than enough money from my previous exploits." she stated.

Collapse nods. She had expected to get an answer like this. Payment for Aura Surge's help was definitely valid. "Well, at the bottom of that water spout is the remains of our vessel. There are lots of things on it that will prove of good use to you and your kind. Such as the Mana Core, and the other components along with it. While such materials are likely damaged, I can give you full knowledge of how it can be repaired." Collapse said kindly, looking Aura Surge in the eye.

"You would also be free to take what you want from the wreckage. There are probably a lot of things you could take that we no longer have use of. Metal that can be scrapped, our currency which you could cash in for shells, among other things..." Collapse added.

Aura Surge thought more on this, then finally decided to accept their proposal. "Alright then, you've got yourself an escort. However I can't just leave immediately, as you can probably tell." She pointed behind herself at the group of very curious seaponies, all of which now had their bright eyes on the pair.

"The earliest I can come is a few hours from now, when my lessons end. Then I can explain the situation to my superiors and be excused from teaching for a bit. That acceptable for you?" she asked.

Collapse nods to Aura Surge. "Yes it is. We have someone else who is part of our group so we'll take that time to go inform them of our deal. When we arrived here we didn't see much in the way of seaponies with magic. So if I am correct, you are a kelpie and you have magic, right? Can you tell me about your magic?" Collapse asked kindly.

Collapse's horn glowed gold as she picked up a small stone and tossed it around in her hooves but without actually moving her hooves, only using her telekinesis. "Magloria and I have all kinds of spells we can use. Although mine are more inclined to fixing and repairing things." she stated.

Aura Surge watched as Collapse put on the display of magic, taking note on what part of Collapse was causing the magic to happen... and also what parts she lacked.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but you don't have any fins, flippers or whiskers do you?" she asked. A moment later her whiskers twitched, then she spoke without even listening to their response.

"You do not. Unfortunately I cannot help you learn our magic then. Our fins are specially attuned to the magic and the water around us. Since you do not have any, the best you'd be able to do with that... horn of yours would be move around a bit of water." she said.

As she explained, she she showed off her own magic. Her fins began to glow an eerie red colour as a small group of rocks began to swirl around the water, first in a scattered dance, then in a long string that looped around. Finally Collapse and Magloria felt an odd lack of pressure around them as the rocks converged on each other... then started to crack and crumble until they were nothing but grains that quickly scattered to the currents.

Collapse looked on in awe of Aura Surge's ability there and seemed speechless for a few moments at what she had just done. Her eyes had widened slightly upon seeing the rocks crumble like that.

"I've never seen anything like that. Most impressive. It is interesting how your fins are the source of your magic rather than a horn on your head. The reason why we don't have fins is because we don't live in water like you do. We live on land. But that's another long story I can tell you on the way to the great waterspout and I don't want to take up too much of your time here." Collapse spoke calmly.

Looking to Magloria and then back to Aura Surge, she would walk forward and extend her hoof. No doubt to shake one of her fins. "Thank you for your willingness to listen to us. I look forward to working with you." Collapse looked into Aura Surge's eyes innocently yet sweetly.

Aura Surge gave a glance to those behind her before deciding to cut this short. "While that info is nice and all, it doesn't change anything. I still can't teach you."

"Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get back to what I should be doing, instructing my class. So if there is nothing left to discuss beforehand, I bid you farewell." she said, giving Collapse's hoof a gentle shake.

Magloria gave a quick farewell as well, then started swimming away, encouraging Collapse to come with her.

Collapse gave Aura Surge a farewell and would match Magloria's speed as they swam away. Collapse took a liking to Aura Surge, being the first seapony with magic they have seen as of yet. That was very interesting to her too, and Aura Surge's flipper was soft. Collapse liked soft things, but they were better as warm and dry. Like when she used Jump Start as a pillow. Using a seapony as a pillow wouldn't be as soft or warm.

Midway through their swim back Collapse would look to Magloria. "So what did you think of Aura Surge?" she asked casually.

Magloria shrugged. "She seemed friendly, willing and capable enough. If she continues to keep it up, I'll have no problems with letting her get everything we bargained for." she said.

They could keep talking while going at the pace they were travelling, or if there was no more conversation to be had, they could simply swim silently until they arrived back at the place where they'd meet Jump Start at.

"Same here. No doubt she would be good at fighting anything we could come across." she added. Another question crossed Collapse's mind, "How long have you been considered a captain? You seem very experienced and even used to situations such as these." she stated. Collapse wanted to know more about Magloria but wasn't going to ask too personal questions as of yet.

"Hmm... 6 years, give or take. Most of my experience came before that though. As you already know, I had training, *and used* said training." Magloria replied.

“Ah I see. You had to train pretty hard to know what you know. Unlike the ponies I know you seemed to be very tactically inclined from the start which is pretty cool.” Collapse replied innocently.

"Sure." Magloria simply replied. She wasn't the type of pony to keep talking when she didn't need to, and that was all that she needed to say in response.

By this point they were passing through the tunnels that led back to the Midhigh district. Now that they had time to swim at a casual pace, the passage seemed surprisingly smooth for rock. Perhaps the seaponies had ways to polish stone even when underwater? Even the lights were evenly placed throughout the passage, lending itself to look surprisingly exquisite, considering it was a rocky tunnel.

Collapse went silent after that as a way to respect Magloria's preferences as they seemed. Looking to Magloria's cutie mark, she wondered what the story was behind it.

Collapse lamented upon the design and features of the passage. Perhaps the seaponies were able to bore it out with high pressured water or a similar method. Either way it was something she hadn't seen before. Most impressive! The Kelpie seaponies were her favorite. They had the whole works. Whiskers. Fins. All of the fascinating features.

Collapse wished the ponies had whiskers. She blushed slightly upon the imagination of Magloria and Jump Start having whiskers. She imagined the blue whiskers of Magloria twitching cutely. If that was the case, would Magloria like boops or not? Probably not, but still the thought made her feel warm inside.

Eventually they reached the place where they would meet up with Jump Start, only to find the pony in question already there, busy talking to one of the seaponies, one with whiskers.

They stopped talking when Jump Start noticed them approaching, giving the seapony a farewell as they decided it was time for them to move on. "Hi guys, I got the cutlery. I decided to bring it back to the house, so I didn't have to wait around here with it all." she said.

When they arrived Collapse was happy to see another seapony with whiskers. The whiskers! That made her smile innocently at Jump Start, as well as she liked to be around her too. "I am glad to hear you got the cutlery. Meanwhile Magloria and I went and talked to another seapony in another district named Aura Surge. The seaponies over there are mainly Kelpies and have magic that comes from their fins. Aura Surge will be helping us in seeing the bottom of the whirlpool lake to see what we can recover from it. She'll be ready in a few hours." Collapse said, informing Jump Start.

Jump Start eyes lit up as Collapse explained how they met a Kelpie. "Oh, you finally met one of them! What was she like? Was she like the other seaponies? Where will we be meeting her?" she asked.

Magloria turned away. "I knew I was forgetting something. We didn't set a place to meet." she scoffed, "Ah, doesn't matter. We can go back meet her where we found her, or ask around."

"It is hard to really say what Aura Surge was like exactly, since we had only just met but she is an instructor of some sort of training class from what we had seen." Collapse spoke as she would describe Aura Surge's features in detail for Jump Start.

Looking to Magloria she shrugged. "Well, I suppose there is always bound to be oversight. We are granted a few hours to do things now, what would you like to do? Perhaps the two of us could do more training on an obstacle course?" Collapse suggested.

Chapter 27

"She sounds pretty. Can't wait to see her for myself." Jump Start responded, now thinking about what Aura Surge could possibly look like, and anticipating when they meet each other.

Magloria Shrugged. "If you want. I don't have much planned at the moment, aside from stocking up on supplies like food again. Then again we probably won't need to, considering the trip goes past a mushroom forest..."

She started to swim over to the closest patch of land. "We don't even need to return home. Anywhere will do fine."

Collapse swam, following Magloria to the area of land nearby and would exit the water. Looking to Jump Start she smiled at her eagerness to meet Aura Surge. "Indeed. She is a really pretty Kelpie. She even has red whiskers." Collapse said to Jump Start softly. Once she was out of the water she would proceed to shake herself off but a bit away from the others so she wouldn't be splashing water all over them.

Even though Jump Start was enthusiastic to meet the Kelpie, she didn't seem to have the same thoughts on whiskers as Collapse did, merely nodding at the mention.

While Collapse was busy shaking herself try, Magloria was moving around, arcing bolts of water encased in magic to various places on the floor. The moment they struck the ground they reshaped themselves into hurdles, poles and... apparently some new things that looked like large horizontal fans, with 4 poles sticking out from a central point.

Once they were in the correct shape, they froze over, keeping them from falling apart and becoming puddles on the ground.

After a few minutes of this, with occasional pauses as Magloria considered where to place her pieces, she was done. The course looked longer and more complex compared to the last one.

Collapse went silent as she watched Magloria proceed with the creation of the obstacle course. It was most impressive to see how it was constructed, the water moved so fluidly yet so precisely. Collapse was visibly impressed with the construction of the obstacle course. The few new things would prove challenging, no doubt. Collapse was undeterred however. She was determined.

After it was constructed she looked to Magloria, "It seems like you constructed this from memory." she remarked. "You wanna go first, Jump Start? Or do you want me?" she asked Jump Start, allowing her to make the choice.

"Memory? No. Only the individual parts are from memory, with a little creative liberty on some of the parts." Magloria said.

Jump Start nodded, moving over to where the starting point was. Just before she started, Magloria's horn sparked brightly. Every single 4-pole fan started spinning making the course look a lot harder. They rotated in different directions at varying speeds, some appearing completely unapproachable based on the speed they were moving.

Jump Start began jumping and weaving through the course, until she got to one of the spinning fans. She didn't pass it fast enough and ended taking a swipe to the side for her trouble, letting out a yelp in surprise.

It seems as though her Earth Pony traits weren't the greatest here, because when she got to the more intense parts, she couldn't get through or around fast enough, taking even more blows.

Eventually she reached the end, with parts of her coat covered with ice flakes or small patches of water. She gave an embarrassed smile, knowing she didn't do that great.

Nodding to Maglroia silently, Collapse had observed Jump Start's passage through the course. She didn't expect the fans to spin all at once and her eyes winced a bit at what she was seeing. Watching Jump Start proceed through the course made her smile, however she didn't expect her to get all the way through unscathed. When Collapse had gotten swiped Collapse was worried she could have gotten hurt but at the same time it was something to learn from.

When Jump Start was done Collapse smiled at her. "Don't worry, you will do better next time!" she said to her in an optimistic manner.

Afterwards it was now time for Collapse's turn. Collapse began proceeding through the course and still seemed to struggle on the hurtles much like last time. It seems that Collapse's weakness was with her physical ability, but when she got to the fans she was able to get through most of them just fine at the cost of waiting a second or two before proceeding through or around them. Of course as this was her first time, she got hit a few times and didn't make it through unscathed.

Collapse was more precise than Jump Start was, but jumping over the hurtles? She had much work to be done.

It turns out that Jump Start had made getting hit look easy in comparison to what Collapse had to deal with. Each time she was struck, she was hit with enough force to disrupt her balance and cause her to stagger.

Jump Start might've been hit more but her Earth Pony magic kept her stable. Each time Collapse was hit, she had to recover quickly or risk getting hit again. In the end, it still cost her precious seconds scrambling back to her hooves.

Magloria looked at the pair. "Now imagine that those spinning poles were blades. Sure, in a real situation you might be able to block them in some other way, but that's not always the case. You both would be on the floor, wounded at best or dead at worst. This is just one of the things these courses were designed to teach. Keeping light on your hooves to avoid danger." she said.

When Collapse was done with it she was a bit demoralized internally but hid that under an embarrassed smile at how many times she had gotten hit.

"You drive a good point. For me, I really don't do well with the hurdles. I am not very physically inclined like Jump Start is. I find it easier to be more precise with things but those spinning poles really did a number on me there. Any suggestions for what we should do? I will try timing myself more properly next time." Collapse stated, and seemed rather determined to do better next time.

"Suggestions? I could give you some, but then you wouldn't use your brain figuring out ways to move through the course faster, or avoid getting hit. I think I'll leave it up to you to figure ways to do that." Magloria said, simply sitting back and watching what happens.

Jump Start tried again, but only improved a little. While she managed to avoid some of the easy hits this time, she still couldn't deal with the intense parts of the course.

Reaching the finish line, she gave a huff from the effort put in- and the stings from the cold blows -then settled down to rest, feeling unsatisfied with her performance.

Collapse looked to Magloria. "Right then. Let us see where the wind blows." Collapse spoke in a metaphorical manner and then watched Jump Start She was glad that she performed a bit better, but still it didn't satisfy her so she seemed. Collapse didn't blame her.

Collapse would proceed through the course. Putting more thought and effort in, she was able to clear the hurdles a bit easier and proceeded through the intense parts of the course but missed a few of the hits she had recieved the first time around. Still, she was unable to deal with them in a similar manner to Jump Start.

When she reached the end she huffed and looked off to her side. It was a bit tiring, but at least she had felt she had improved somewhat.

Given that the ice would likely remain frozen for the few hours that they had (and Magloria would just refreeze parts that started to melt) they could just keep doing this for the rest of the time they had until they went to go meet Aura Surge, if they wanted to.

Jump Start seemed as though she was fine with the idea of doing this, as she got up for her third try. If there was nothing else Collapse wanted to do, time would pass until they needed to go.

Collapse didn't have much else in her mind. Over the time that passed Magloria would see gradually improve. After the few hours had passed, Collapse had performed much better at the obstacle course. The hurtles were no longer an issue for her. While she still got hit occasionally, she felt a lot more confident and focused in her ability to perform the obstacle course. It seems as though given time and effort on her part, Collapse was able to learn on her own.

When enough time had passed, Collapse wouldn't object to leaving to go meet Aura Surge. She was eager to see what Jump Start would think of her.

After Jump Start's final attempt, the entire course was hit by a magical wave similar to the previous one, causing the ice to become puddles once more.

"Alright, that's about enough of that. It's been about 3 hours so we should head back into the Truhye district. Aura Surge ought to be waiting for us by now." Magloria said, finishing off a piece of seagrass that she had plucked from somewhere when no one was looking. She walked over to the water and dived in without hesitation.

Jump Start groaned at the idea of doing swimming so soon after being on the course, but didn't object further. She too dove into the water with a splash.

Provided there were no distractions on the way, they'd arrive where they encountered Aura Surge to see her swimming around, occasionally doing swimming tricks like spiraling and looping to pass the time.

Collapse was a bit sad to see the course turn to puddles, it was so intricate. Even though she knew it was just ice, it was still kind of sad to see it just melt away. If it has use, it has value. And if it has value, it is a bit sad to give up. She honestly was enjoying doing obstacle courses and watching how Jump Start improved.

Noticing Magloria's piece of seagrass she smirked at that before leaping into the water quickly. Following Magloria along to where Aura Surge was, she stayed silent on the way there and just decided to take in the beautiful sights on the way there. It was still astonishing, despite how long they have been here.

When they see Aura Surge, Collapse would do some lazy loops in the air and a few barrel rolls. It looked quite awkward for Collapse. Perhaps she could learn from both Magloria and Aura Surge at the same time. Collapse waved to her happily. "Greetings, Aura Surge! It is good to see you." she said innocently as she approached her.

Collapse's attempts at looping and barrel rolling was more awkward to others than to her, given how non-aquadynamic they all were compared to a Seapony.

The greetings drew over Aura Surge's attention, where she then swam over to them. "Hello. I'm all set to go with you now. Once we're out of the settlement's borders, I can Riverwarp us to save on time it would take to get to the Great Water Spout." she said.

Jump Start stared in awe at the sight of the Kelpie. "Wow, you look pretty." she said, earning a thanks of appreciation in return for her compliment.

Collapse giggled a little bit at Jump Start’s statement. “Not to be weird or anything but those red whiskers are quite something. I wish we had whiskers like you do.” Collapse said to Aura Surge while being embarrassed about her movements. Collapse smiled cheekily.

One thing Aura Surge said stood out, “Riverwarp? Whats that? You mean you have some kind of ability move us a lot faster through the water or teleport us ahead?” Collapse pondered. “I haven’t heard of anything quite like that, but either way that is something unique to you since we can’t do that if that is what you are referring to.” Collapse stated calmly.

Aura Surge gave a polite thanks to Collapse as well, appreciating the praise from the both of them.

"It's the former. Riverwarping is high skill magic that lets us use the river's momentum to travel along it at incredible speeds. Most seaponies capable of using magic will stick to it's basic form, Water Vault. They have no need to learn how to Riverwarp, since they don't travel like I did." she explained as they swam through the districts.

"Well, there is a lot down here I can tell. When we first arrived here we were amazed that this system of caverns was filled with life. Since you are more traveled, I suppose we have a lot to talk about. First off, you can tell that we aren't from around here. We are from the surface, go up high enough and you reach open sky." Collapse replied as she swam alongside them.

"I knew you weren't from anywhere around here the moment I saw you. Your eyes aren't designed for dealing with the dark, and your colours are too bright as well, both for your own species and other species. Your... non-flippers are too flat and hard for dealing with the rocky surfaces, and are no good for swimming." Aura Surge said, explaining her investigations.

"If I had to guess, your native lands on the 'surface' are flat and soft, and well lit as well. That's a place I unfortunately could not explore when I did it as my main interest." She said. Her whiskers flicked, and she smiled. "I thought so, but seems there's more beyond what I can see on you."

By this point they were nearing the river passage that would take them to the Great Water Spout.

Collapse was impressed by Aura Surge’s observations and smiled back. “You would be mostly correct. There are three main types of ponies.” Collapse then would explain the three different types before adding, “But there is a fourth type that is the combination of all 3. Alicorns. Our rulers are alicorns. Alicorns are very powerful and live extremely long lifespans. We have 3 rulers. Cadence, Twilight, and Starlight.” she spoke and then went on to explain that Twilight and Starlight raise the sun and moon while Cadence is the Princess of love. Collapse also would add explanations about the surface, the sun and the moon, among various other details.

To add to this she would also explain how they ended up here, as well as their intended mission.

By the time that Collapse was done explaining everything, they had arrived at a point which was suitable for Aura Surge to start.

"Thanks for all that. Maybe I can teach that someday, or get someone else to teach it. But for now, we've arrived at the point where I can legally use the Riverwarp. This'll require my concentration, so please don't interrupt me." she said.

She turned to the center of the river ahead and focused. As she did so her fins began to emit their eerie red glow. Everyone could feel the water shifting, in more ways than the river's usual.

Suddenly the currents visibly coalesced into what could only be described as a horizontal vortex, leading *up* the river instead of down, defying physics. Aura Surge moved to the edge of the vortex.

"As soon as I enter, quickly follow me. I'll be keeping it stable but only for a short distance behind me. If you're too late, you'll be left behind, and I don't want to have to backtrack, so please..." she said, then swam into the swirling torrent of magical water currents, disappearing quickly up the river.

Magloria gestured Jump Start and Collapse to enter.

Collapse looked on in amazement but remained silent as to not disrupt Aura Surge's concentration and entered within the vortex. She hadn't seen something like this, at least of a magical spell. It was most definitely safe, however she wouldn't be lying in saying that she was a bit nervous in entering the vortex. Once they were all safely within the Vortex Collapse would look to make sure they were all close together.

"Wow, I've never seen anything like this. You said legally? I'm sure there are all kinds of laws with a power like this. This is really cool!" she complimented Aura Surge once they were safely within the vortex together. She wasn't sure what would happen next. Would they just move along much faster than normal? Or would they just teleport up ahead somewhere? Collapse was eager to find out.

It didn't take long for Collapse to find out what happened when she entered. Contrary to what she thought would happen, which was where she'd stick together with everyone close by, the moment she got close enough she was quickly yanked forward before rapidly moving down the swirling vortex, passing down the river as she did.

She didn't get a chance to ask her question because she couldn't see any others, only the rushing of the water ahead that dragged her along, and the water left behind that would drag the others behind her. The noise the constant shifting water made was incredible, like standing next to a crashing waterfall.

It was hard to tell how much time passed. A few seconds? A couple minutes? Half an hour? She soon reached the end of the water tunnel, resulting in her getting shot out of the vortex at high speed, with Aura Surge watching as she uncontrollably span into a much, much deeper looking lake filled with familiar glowing fish.

It didn't take long for Jump Start and Magloria to appear from the exit and suffer the same fate, though the blue unicorn recovered quicker from the sudden unstable end. A few seconds after everyone was ejected from the vortex, the waters calmed down and the vortex faded away.

"We're here." Aura Surge stated.

Throughout the whole affair Collapse was both amazed and terrified. It would easily have been a nightmare for her if she didn't have that underwater breathing spell. Her heart was racing, perhaps you could say as fast as the water itself. Either way, Collapse was unable to tell how long it had taken to pass through the vortex. It was a very surreal experience yet it was also oddly exhilarating.

Upon exiting the vortex she would slow her uncontrollable spin. Aura Surge would have seen the golden glow surround the creamy yellow unicorn as her spin stopped after a few seconds. Her magic would grab onto the water around her and stop her spin at the cost of flinging the water around her out. In essence, it was transferring the spin to the water around her. That was likely unexpected from Collapse.

Taking a bit to steady herself in the waters of the lake she would look to see the others, as well as Aura Surge. "Wow...that was most impressive and unexpected! Thank you for getting us here so quickly, Aura Surge." she spoke in appreciation and thankfulness towards Aura Surge. Looking around the lake she would see that indeed, this was the Whirlpool Lake that she saw at the beginning of all this.

"Well, I suppose it is time for us to begin the dive." she spoke, once everyone had stabilized themselves.

"You're welcome." Aura Surge replied before addressing everyone. "Now, most creatures at the top of the lake are friendly enough, but the deeper you go, the more creatures that want to ambush you there are, even if no hope of taking you on. Such is how it is for creatures with limited sight."

"So stick together and keep an eye and ear out for anything that may approach. When you can, stay close to these guys-" she pointed to a small school of glowing fish "-since the light scares off most ambushers." she said.

Before she started their descent she asked "Any questions?"

Collapse kept what Aura Surge had said in mind as she looks to the glowing fish and smiles. The glowing fish were rather comforting for Collapse, especially with how she had encountered them earlier before.

"Well I have several. As a Kelpie, your magic is contained in your fins, right? It took us at least a day, or two to even get from here to Pearlth. At least that is how long it took. How is it you were able to travel across here so quickly with the Riverwarp? How did you learn that ability?" Collapse asked curiously.

Aura Surge shook her head. "My fins are used to channel the magic, but they're not where it's stored. Our magic is stored in little pearl-shaped organs near our spine. That's how we can channel it to all our fins at once."

"We were able to travel here quickly because that's what the magic does. It lets us channel the flow of water around us, allowing us to accelerate to incredible speeds. I learned it from other seaponies, who learned it from seaponies before it, and so on." she answered.

Collapse nodded in understanding and smiled. "That is fascinating, thank you for telling that. So you are an explorer, right? What kinds of areas have you been to? We've been through everything on the way here and on the way to the 'exit' as it is called. We walked past the Void Crags, visited the Luneshine Forest, and we discovered that there was a blockade guarded by felines if you go far enough." Collapse stated, and filled in various other bits of information about their journey in that area.

"Collapse, we should start going down now. She can tell you on the way, if she's willing." Magloria interrupted, and began to swim down. Aura Surge decided to follow, until she was leading the descent into the abyss. Jump Start followed along behind them.

As they went down, Collapse got the opportunity to say everything that she would've said, and Aura Surge responded in kind, mentioning how she had been to a large number of various seapony settlements and the places around them. Most of the places were similar to what they had already seen, but a couple were different.

One of them she had been to was what could only be described as the Ruins of the Rock Lobsters. An underwater ruin filled with buildings and statues, many of which seemed to depict shelled creatures. Since Rock Lobsters were the closest creature they knew of, they named the ruin after them.

Another place was known as the Sulfur Fields. A river passed by what appeared to be a flat plane with a shallow decline, with what was likely magma at the bottom. They couldn't explore it very well, due to the heat and large amount of brimstone that filled the air with poisonous sulfuric gas, making it dangerous to go too far.

Collapse swam down and followed besides them. She stuck close to the others as she listened intently to what Aura Surge had spoken of. The most interesting part that was mentioned was the Ruins of the Rock Lobsters. "Seems as though you all weren't alone down here from the start. I can imagine they could have been the ones that made that big structure we saw between the rivers." Collapse commented to Magloria and Jump Start, referring the strange structure that they had seen before.

"Now as for your history, how far back does it go? What are the earliest things you know about your past? That would probably provide clues as to how you all came to form. In my eyes it is unlikely that you all had came to be down here. You probably came from the surface in the distant past, just so long ago it hasn't been recorded." Collapse suggested as they went down.

As they went deeper, Aura Surge made a path from one group of glowing fish to another. The fish in question didn't seem to mind their approach for the most part. "We were definitely alone down here from the start, or at least we didn't find anything. Those ruins? Completely empty of anything that looked like the statues. No records of encountering sentient creatures like them either."

"Earliest things we have on record is that we fell through the great water spout originally, and that we called ourselves seaponies. Those two things everyone knows. Everything else was lost or forgotten." she stated.

It was getting darker and darker now. Even though the cave above was dark anyway, down here it felt... oppressive. They could even begin to feel the water pressing down on every inch of their fur as the pressure increased.

"Halfway there." Aura Surge said.

The pressure increasing was concerning. "I can feel the pressure increasing. This is an issue for...our kind. See, we can dive down perfectly fine but we have to come back up slowly and wait for a period of time. We don't want to get decompression sickness." Collapse spoke, warning Aura Surge that their bodies were not as durable in this environment as hers was.

"The great water spout on the surface was huge. It was really terrifying and well...we are about to see what remains of our ship...and our crew." Collapse sighed. She knew they would probably see the remains of the crew, and mentally prepared herself to face that.

"That doesn't sound like it's going to be a problem. It'll take time to carry things up to the surface, so we'll be able to adapt to the changing pressure." Magloria stated.

"How long have you been down here for?" Aura Surge asked. Jump Start replied first.

"We've been down here for... a few days I think?" she stated. This confused Aura Surge for a bit, until she did some calculations in her head.

"Based on the older calculation for days... that's... over 70 hours. Your old crew would be bones by now, picked clean by the scavengers at the bottom of the lake." she said.

Aura Surge grabbed one of the glowing fish as she passed it. It briefly struggled, then calmed down when a pulse of red energy flowed through the seapony's fin.

Directing the light of the fish forward, they started to see shapes ahead of them. Old rotting wooden masts, various debris, and even a few ship parts that got caught by the walls. None of them looked familiar at the moment.

Collapse nodded to Magloria and Aura Surge's statements as they descended down further. It seemed as though Aura Surge can also control fish too, and Collapse smiled as Aura Surge held the fish, using it basically as a flashlight. "You can also control the fish too?" Collapse asked briefly as they spotted the shapes around them.

Collapse wasn't going to go looking into the debris that they spotted just yet as they would likely be having a lot to carry up to the surface. While they are here, they might as well get all they can get. "There were Griffons here, once. I wonder if this debris is from the griffons or someone else who made it down here. The Griffons do have technology on par with ours, so I would imagine that they would also have explored beyond known borders in a similar manner as to ours." she stated.

She looks to Aura Surge. "I remember my mother used to read me a tale about them. In the decades before our current ruler's ascension to power, there was an offshoot of Griffons that lived in an area known as Griffonstone, near to the borders of Equestria. They had a magical crown or something of that sort that allowed them to grant themselves great wealth. They lost it centuries ago but had recovered it decades ago and their society flourished once again." she added, and then something else crossed her mind.

"Before I used to be an Engineer I used to travel about Equestria selling my crafts. I would take commissions and build tools for other ponies. This took me far and wide, even beyond Equestria itself. I visited the Griffon Empire and exchanged some of my inventions there."

"No, I can't control the fish, but I can persuade them to calm down so I can keep them within reach. Makes explorations like these so much easier." Aura Surge replied.

She kept quiet as Collapse told her story, and by the time she was finished, they had reached what appeared to be the bottom of the lake, where the feeling of the pressure became it's most extreme.

The floor of the lake a sandy mess, littered with many things ranging from weird husks of dead plants, to scraps of broken ship parts, to bones of creatures long since dead.

"And now the hard part. Searching. We're not being hunted yet because we've got light that scares off the creatures here, and we're in the open, but once we get closer keep an eye out for anything. They sometimes feel bold or threatened when you approach." Aura Surge said.

Chapter 28

Collapse nodded to Aura Surge and thought that it was cute how Aura Surge could calm the fishies down. "Hey, by the way. When me and Jump Start were here, we called these fish Glowfish. Is there a proper name for them?" Collapse asked. The pressure was a bit concerning to her but they were here, and they had a job to do so Collapse wasn't going to complain.

"I'll add more light." Collapse spoke and her horn glowed gold and added more light with her horn so they could see better. Collapse stuck close to the others and proceeded to begin searching for anything valuable on the ground.

Aura Surge nodded. "Yes there is a proper name, but it's not 'Glowfish'. They're actually called 'Illuminant Carp', or just 'Light Carp' for those who prefer to use less fancy terms." she responded. She eyed off Collapse's horn when it lit up, making sure she wasn't doing anything that would be dangerous, before settling back on the task.

For the moment, Collapse's personal search for valuables had no luck. There was barely anything that seemed valuable just lying about on the lake's bottom, and the few things that glinted from the light turned out to be junk like fish scales or pieces of various non-rusting metals, like copper and brass.

The search would take hours, so unless Collapse had anything else she wanted to say, they'd be swimming until they found something interesting.

“Light Carp is good by me.” Collapse smiled as she noticed Aura Surge’s looks. She expected to find not much of value and this wasn’t as clear cut as she wanted it to be. Collapse just wanted the entire shipwreck to be in one place on the top of the sand so it would be easier. Evidently that is not the case, unfortunately for them.

As they would search Collapse would mostly be silent but would occasionally talk about more casual things. Asking what daily life is like in the seapony districts, and what kinds of jobs they have and that sort of thing. Collapse also wanted to know what the leaders of the seaponies were like. She hoped they were good leaders. It is clear that she was fascinated by Aura Surge and her knowledge.

The things that Aura Surge replied with were pretty similar to pony society, about daily life and jobs and such. Just change the words 'apple farmer' to 'mushroom farmer' and other small things like that.

They didn't really have leaders, but the representatives from each of the districts would probably qualify. This sounds familiar to Collapse, like she'd heard it before. Something about how each district got it's own representatives that would make decisions for the settlement as a whole.

They finally found something that looked promising. Covered with a thin layer of sand appeared to be the back half of their ship, lying in a heap on the lake floor. Numerous dents and breaks could be seen in the ship's metal chassis, indicating that it had taken quite a beating from something.

When they inspected it from around the side they could see the entirety of inside the boat, from hallways to half rooms and even spaces between the decks and walls where wiring and plumbing went.

Sadly, they could also see a pile of bones here and there. Most of them within what used to be rooms, where they likely were unable to escape in time.

Collapse had taken the information into her mind and thanked Aura Surge for the information. The Mushrooms down here were something Collapse honestly wouldn't mind eating for long periods of time as they already have, however a nice warm cookie or a cake would be much better.

Upon seeing the back half of the ship Collapse's blood went cold at the sighting of it, when they had looked in from the outside Collapse had a rush of memories. Collapse can almost see herself going down those hallways as she normally would throughout the day. Sometimes she would talk to to the other crew during her work. Collapse wasn't particularly close to any of them except for Jump Start, but it still brought a clear look of emotion.

Collapse places her hooves against the hull of the ship. "There is something about the passage of time that gets me. Especially now. Looking within these halls, I see memories. Memories that were once the present. We were unaware of what would be happening now. Everything was normal. I remember the conversations I had with those on the ship throughout my days, among my daily routines...If only we had known..." Collapse sighed, shutting her eyes tightly and just seemed to shudder there, almost not wanting to open her eyes to what is going on now.

Collpase felt a hoof on her shoulder, coming from Jump Start. She didn't like seeing others upset like this, and saw fit to comfort her. Aside from that and a hug however, she didn't really know what else to do to help Collapse.

Magloria could tell that Collapse needed some time to herself and started to check around the ship part, not yet going inside in case something had taken a liking to the place and made it their home. While she did this, she let out deep sighs, each time when she spotted something she recognized.

"Seems like this part of the boat is where most of the crew's quarters were, so this is all we need to find for now." She said, then pointed out several places to Aura Surge where some of the better places to find things were, which Aura Surge was appreciative of.

Collapse opened her eyes and smiled to Jump Start and hugged her back. Jump Start could feel Collapse's soft warmth in the colder water as she looked into her eyes for a few moments and spoke, "Thank you. I am glad that you are here." she spoke and pulled away from the hug. "But one last thing, before we search." she spoke and then would seem to regain her cheekiness somewhat. Her hoof was brought to Jump Start's snout quickly, and gently. "Boop." she smiled wider.

After the moments after the boop, Collapse would re-join Magloria and Aura Surge. Collapse didn't proceed into the ship yet, for the same reasons. Collapse would also add on to Magloria's statement, explaining the materials that would be valuable the other half of the ship that they had yet to find such as the parts in the engineering section, as well as others.

Jump Start's nose wrinkled at the sudden and unexpected contact. She couldn't really be mad at Collapse though, given what they were all dealing with.

"I think the first place we should start searching is your own room, Collapse. That was the main reason that we came down here after all." Magloria said as she began instructing them. "Also, I think your ability to bind items to yourself to summon and unsummon will come in handy here. Should save a lot of time hauling things up to the surface."

"After that we can travel to my room. I've got some things I'd like to get ahold of again. Then... Jump Start, do you have anything you need?" Jump Start nodded in response.

Magloria continued. "Then we go to her quarters, and finally you can take whatever you want, Aura." she finished. And with that, she began moving towards where Collapse's quarters were.

Collapse almost blushed at Magloria's statement but it was indeed the main reason they came down here. She couldn't argue against that.

"Yup. Well, since the ship itself is...intact in this portion I don't expect my Fly Ring to be bent out of shape or anything like that. It would probably be a bit waterlogged if anything." Collapse commented as they proceeded towards Collapse's quarters. "Now granted, I can't unsummon anything too large. My binding ability works best for small items. It can work for larger ones but I would have to put more energy into the spell..." she droned off as they approached Collapse's quarters.

If Collapse's quarters were mostly intact Collapse would have been able to find her diary. Her diary had a good thick cover, if that was any saving grace. Grabbing her diary, and a couple of other things she would unsummon them. Those things weren't in the best of conditions of course, naturally.

Now for the big reveal. Collapse would almost hesitantly move to the drawer on the bottom of her bed. Opening it up slowly, would her Fly Ring still be there in reasonable condition? Time to find out.

Collapse's quarters were indeed mostly intact, but it was clearly in complete disrepair, with all of her belongings strewn about the place.

Her diary, assuming it's a paper one, was in a horrible state, with the water absolutely ruining the ink on all the pages. It would be no good for recalling her previous days, and it might not even be that great for future recording, depending on how warped the pages are after they've dried.

When attempting to open the Fly Ring drawer, it didn't so much as open as break apart, the front part being torn off from the rest of it.

Inside she found her Fly Ring just lying there. It was hard to tell the extent of it's condition at the moment, but just looking at it she could tell that a few of the metal plates had been bent. Probably got that way from whatever tore the Constance in half.

Collapse had hoped that she would be able to dry the papers of her diary out and salvage anything within it. Perhaps they could find some sort of spell to repair her diary but that would be extremely unlikely, in her mind. The rest of her belongings had been unsummoned as well. From her pillows, to her clothes and other things she wasn't willing to part with them so easily. One thing though - it was a portrait of her mom and her, when Collapse was a filly. Collapse was on her mother's back and there were cherry trees around. If it was in okay condition, she would show that to Aura Surge.

With the drawer, she was a bit taken back at how easily the drawer itself broke off. Looking to her Fly Ring closely she would smile and hold it up for the others to see. "There we go! It's not so bad, this is fixable..." she sighed with relief. She would allow Aura Surge to see it for a bit, as she was certain that Aura Surge hadn't seen something like that. After having the others take a look at it, she would unsummon her fly ring.

Collapse had gotten all her belongings from her room. It was most likely time to move on.

If the portrait had been sealed behind glass and a frame, then it would've been mostly fine. If not however, the water would've absolutely ruined the paint, or ink, depending on how it was done.

In any case, Aura Surge would've looked at the painting, but didn't really know what to say since she didn't know what she was looking at.

Magloria then led them all to her own room. Compared to what it was before, it was a complete ruin. Her collection of maps and charts were nothing but tatters on the wall, her collection of miniature crystal statuettes were scattered, and everything else was a mess.

Despite this, Magloria worked quickly to gather what she wanted to bring. A pair of saddlebags so she could carry more, a pair of holsters and their accompanying spear and shortsword, two of several weapons she had stashed about the place. Finally she collected as many of the statuettes as she could find, sticking them in her bags.

"Alright then, Jump Start, you're next." Magloria said, so Jump Start led them to her own quarters. She only really took a few things. Some portable tools that she didn't already have, and a pair of her own saddlebags.

The portrait thankfully had been sealed behind glass so it was fine. Collapse was glad that photo was safe and it had been unsummoned like the other items she had.

Throughout the collecting of the items Collapse had found herself quite pleased that both Jump Start and Magloria were able to gather what they needed. She didn't see any reason to interject and allowed them to be gathered. Collapse smiled at how Magloria gathered the statuettes though, she was proud of Magloria's ability to carve them. Perhaps later on she could ask Magloria what they were so she could get a closer look.

After they got what she wanted she looked to Aura Surge. "I figure that is what we'll need for now, for personal items. We can search for anything of value for you?" Collapse suggested, now figuring it was time for them to get valuable items for Aura Surge to cash in.

Collapse found herself to be thinking of what the other quarters had, while it was rude to go through others belongings...they were dead so it didn't matter anymore. Still, she felt guilty and had lead them through the other quarters and regions of the ship, looking for anything valuable that they could give to Aura Surge.

"That was the agreement, was it not? Still though, I think it would be better if I looked around for anything that might interest me, since I'm not planning on profiting off of what I choose." Aura Surge said as they swam through to the quarters of the former crew members.

However, in one of the rooms they encountered their first problem. Something was living there and it didn't look like it wanted to be disturbed. A massive dark brown crab creature waved it's claws threateningly at the group as it scuttled closer. The claws it had looked like it could cut clean through their limbs, if they got too close.

Collapse has moved back from the crab upon sighting it. She had no intention of being sliced up today, that was for sure. “Uh oh, that’s a giant crab. What should we do about it?” Collapse asked entirely not willing to take the first move against it. Almost instinctively she looks to Jump Start making sure she was at a safe distance from the giant crab.

"Hmm, it's not really worth dealing with. Crabs are hard to get through. We could just evict it from it's home instead." Aura Surge stated, prompting Magloria to light her horn.

The giant crab was wrapped in her telekinetic aura. "Everyone move out of the way. I'll dump it outside where it won't bother us anymore." she said as she lifted the crab towards the door, prompting everyone to make room so they don't get snapped at.

As Magloria swam over to the hole in the ship, Aura Surge entered the living quarters and started rummaging around for anything she might like. She eventually came up with a yellow raincoat that she had taken fancy to, several various pieces of jewelry that she could wear and a collection of tiny figures, either coloured pink or purple. Collapse knew what those figures were. They were pieces of a Twilight and Starlight inspired chess board.

Collapse was pleased with the giant crab being dumped outside by Magloria. In a way, that would have been considered humorous in the manner that Magloria stated it. Either way, Collapse really didn't feel like fighting a giant crab. After all, it was just an animal in an unfortunate spot and it didn't really pose a current threat. If it attacked them than that would be a different story.

To what Aura Surge had found Collapse smiled. "Oh hey, I know what those figurines are, they are for a chess game. They are inspired by our rulers. The purple ones are lead by Twilight, and the Pink ones by Starlight. You can see the various styles each of them have in their pawns represented by royal guards." she stated and would point out the various details on each of the chess pieces. The rulers themselves were there, although they were small Collapse had pointed out their alicorn features to Aura Surge.

"You can keep that for sure." she winked.

Aura Surge nodded at the explanation for what she had discovered. Setting all the things she wanted down into a pile on the ground, she moved onto the next room, which happened to be half of the dining hall and kitchen.

Just a few fish swam away from their homes in the pots and cupboards this time. As they checked around, Aura Surge seemed to collect more and more things, bewildering Jump Start in the process. Glass cups, forks and spoons, a whisk, a particularly well decorated plate, the top of a stove and one of the dining chairs.

"That's what you want to keep...?" Jump Start asked, which Aura Surge responded by nodding.

By this time Magloria had returned from throwing the crab a suitable distance away, and simply stared at the pile of 'junk' Aura Surge had collected.

Collapse followed Aura Surge and Jump Start to the kitchen and the dining hall. Collapse smiled sweetly at the fish who swam away from the pots and cupboards. That was so adorable and she did a soft 'aww' at the sighting of the fishies swimming away.

However, Collapse was surprised at the items that Aura Surge was taking. Those items weren't particularly valuable except the plate, so Collapse figured that Aura Surge was a collector of some kind. "Well, are you a collector of some kind? Perhaps you like to display what you find for others to see?" Collapse asked.

Looking to Magloria she nodded in acknowledgement of her return and noticed her stare, likely thinking Magloria didn't expect Aura Surge to be interested in this stuff.

"That is correct. I did say that I wanted things that I find personally valuable, and these are exactly those kind of things." Aura Surge replied, before swimming off quickly, too quickly to keep up, to another room and searching through that.

"I think she's enjoying herself." Magloria mumbled as she watched the trail of bubbles that went after the seapony.

She soon came back with more things floating through the water with her, then darted off to another room for more.

A couple more rooms later she had created a decently sized pile of miscellaneous knickknacks. "I think I'm done for now. You got what you wanted and I got what I wanted." she stated, looking pleased with herself.

Collapse agreed with Magloria and allowed Aura Surge to gather what she had wanted. Looking to the decent sized pile she nodded. "We could try to find the other section and take some of the parts from that, such as the Mana batteries and other such things. I am sure those we could either re-use those to build a new ship given time, or pawn them in for a sizeable amount of shells." Collapse suggested.

"While we are down here we might as well take all we can get." she spoke and would walk over to the pile that Aura Surge had and her horn glowed gold. The glow went over the pile and it poofed in a vanish. It strained Collapse a lot more than usual to unsummon all that stuff at once and she was in a daze but a bit afterwards she would recover and shake her head clear.

Magloria shook her head "I don't think we really need the mana batteries. Not only would their condition be questionable, but we could only use them if we managed to construct something that ran on said batteries. Unless you know how to build those engines from scratch, we're not going to be able to use them." she stated.

Jump Start shrugged. "I don't know, we might be able to make something that can use them, even if it's not one of those engines. Besides, it would be better to get them now, before they get worse from the water and pressure."

Magloria hummed in thought, deciding on whether they should take the time to get them or not. "Alright then, fine. We can go get them. But we're not selling them. Don't want to accidentally sell the seaponies an unstable explosive." she said.

The moment Collapse unsummoned Aura Surge's pile of ~~junk~~ treasure, she looked saddened. "You know I intended to carry those myself." she mumbled.

Collapse agreed with Magloria's statement at the end, she didn't want to sell them something explosive.

To Aura Surge however she looked as if she had made a mistake before saying to her, "Oh um, I figured I would just carry it to make it easier for you. Don't worry, when we return, I'll give you all of it back." Collapse said softly, raising a hoof slightly in the innocence of her mistake. Collapse moved a little closer to Aura Surge, looking into her eyes sweetly. Collapse was just an adorable thing, wasn't she?

After a few moments Collapse turned to the others and thought it was time to go now. They got everything they wanted. "Well, let's look for the other half." Collapse spoke, and would follow them out of the remains of the ship in search of the other half.

"Alright then." Aura Surge simply said, giving one last glance at Collapse as the rest of them left the ruined ship. While she could admit that Collapse was cute, she wasn't really here to be interested in cute things. Unless they were unusual, like an aquatic creature she hadn't seen before. But down here, most things are ugly.

It took another hour or so before they came across the other half of the ship. It had gotten stuck among a group of spiked rocks, making it hard to find a proper way in. Thankfully after a bit of searching they were able to find a way in, but it would be a squeeze to fit through the gap.

Chapter 29

When they arrive at the other ship Collapse had squeezed through the gap with them. These past few days of eating only mushrooms has done better on her figure. Before she would have had a bit of a tighter squeeze with all the chocolates she would normally eat.

Her horn would illuminate the area again as they entered to identify where they had entered into, and if there were any threats about the place. Depending on what she had seen, that would determine how Collapse would proceed forward.

For Collapse, being a lean unicorn with no equipment it was easy to squeeze through the gap. Aura Surge could fit as well, provided she tucked in her back fins and tail. However for Magloria and Jump Start, who wore saddlebags and holsters, it was far harder, to the point they they'd have to drop their things if they wanted to go inside.

"I guess we'll stay outside here then. Give you a safe place to leave if you encounter anything inside." Jump Start mumbled through the gap, trying to fit her muscled earth pony legs through the gap for the 4th time in a row.

Aura Surge looked to Collapse. "Shall we?" she asked, pointing forward into the ship's depths.

Collapse noticed how Magloria and Jump Start couldn't make it inside and agreed with both of them. "Alright, you and Magloria stay outside. We'll gather what we can." she spoke to Jump Start and Magloria, before proceeding forward into the ship's depths.

Once they were out of earshot Collapse would turn to Aura Surge. "I never imagined I would be able to see an unknown civilization in my lifetime. All of this is stuff that you see in legends and stories. To even be with someone like you, is a once in a life time chance." she smiled, before proceeding to the Engineering section if it was able to be reached.

Aura Surge looked confused. "I can understand that being with any seapony would be a one in a lifetime chance for someone who has never seen one of us before, but why also 'someone like me'? Sure I'm a Kelpie, but I'm not that different." she said.

Collapse knew where... most... of this half of the ship led to. Stuff like the commanding deck where Magloria steered the ship, the washing room, the dining hall (other half), and the engineering room at the bottom of the ship.

All she had to do was choose a destination to go to, assuming there were no complications on the way there.

Collapse rose an eyebrow at Aura Surge's confusion. "Well that is just it, because you are the one that we've interacted with most." she spoke and began to lead them towards the engineering section, that was the first thing on the list to check.

"I know of several things that Kelpies have that we don't. Notably the way you perform your magic, your fins, and...your whiskers." Collapse giggled slightly. "I wish we had Whiskers like you do. I hope that isn't weird or anything...I just really like the Whiskers." Collapse admitted innocently.

Aura Surge's whiskers flicked, as if by reaction to what Collapse said. Aura Surge's eyes grew slightly wider for some reason, letting her whiskers flick again. "Oh..." she quietly said, now keeping a close eye on the unicorn.

They arrived at the engineering room to see it in complete shambles. Tools and parts that were once securely tied down were scattered everywhere, creating random piles of stuff. Machines were dented, bent or completely destroyed.

The engines in particular look like they had exploded from the inside, indicated by the metal fragments impaled into practically every wall. The cause likely being from the fresh mana battery that Collapse put in, combined with a stability failure. It's a good thing those batteries were relatively small, or else the entire ship would've been torn into way more than 2 pieces.

Collapse watched Aura Surge's whiskers flick there. It was adorable. However upon arrival into the engineering room Collapse was disappointed in what she was seeing here. "Engines are completely trashed which is to be expected. There is no fixing any of this." Collapse spoke as she swam in and proceeded to gather up every single tool that she could. If they were going to do much in the future such as building a ship, she would want to have every tool in the box.

If Aura Surge had wanted any of the parts here Collapse wouldn't object to taking them. If it was possible to find any surviving mana batteries or parts that would be worthwhile, Collapse would have taken those as well.

If all went fine, than Collapse would have proceeded towards the washing room and the dining hall.

While Collapse was busy collecting the various tools, Aura Surge swam over to the remains of the engine block, inspecting the various parts of it. Of course she couldn't grasp an understanding of how it worked, but it didn't stop her from being curious.

After unsummoning all of her own stuff, then Aura Surge's stuff, and now the tools, it was surely beginning to take it's toll on Collapse. Better hope she doesn't need to do anything magic-intensive.

There was one mana battery that she found which wasn't too damaged, plus several pipe pieces and metal plates. Almost everything else was ruined or damaged in some way.

Whether Collapse decided on taking those extra things with her or not, Aura Surge would follow along when she left for the next room.

First place she arrived at was the washing room. As expected there were things for washing. Bottles of liquid soaps, most of which were now unsealed and empty, machines for washing clothes, offline due to no magical power, unwashed things like towels and a couple pieces of clothes, now ruined by seawater.

A few ugly little fish with needle-like teeth were also there, quickly swimming away when Aura Surge's Light Carp shone their way.

Collapse could feel the toll on her magic. "I can't collect much more things so your going to have to carry what else you want to take if you don't mind. I don't have too much 'room' to spare so to speak." Collapse spoke, taking only the battery that was left. Rarely did she feel this magical toll. It took her back to some rather unfortunate memories as to what happens when the toll is too much. If it was too much than *everything* would be spat out everywhere all at once.

Collapse instead would carry the one mana battery in her hooves instead of summoning in a way. Inside of the wash room there wasn't much in here that was worth taking. It made her sad to see all these machines and objects no longer going to be used. It would likely just sit here and decay. Aura Surge could see her sadness, as evidenced by her not saying anything and looking down to the ground.

"Lets just...go to the bridge." Collapse would then lead the way towards the bridge. Maybe they could at least save the wheel of the ship. She would allow Aura Surge to have that, if she wanted.

Aura Surge nodded at the information about Collapse's magic use. "That's fine, I did want to carry my stuff myself after all." she said.

Since nothing much was said or done at the washroom except for a bit of disheartened feelings, they both reached the stairway, which was now at an angle where it couldn't really be called stairs, up to the bridge.

Despite the bridge supposedly being a good place to enter, with the door and window being wide open, they noticed the fact that there were several slabs of rock covering the whole thing, with only small gaps big enough to fit a hoof and nothing more.

The ship's wheel wasn't there. Must've been knocked out through the window, along with half the control panel as evidenced by the lack of machinery and a massive dent through the wall and whatever remained of the controls, obviously non-functioning.

The rest of the place wasn't all that interesting. Any navigation paraphernalia that would've been here was either ruined, missing or uninteresting, the chairs were broken and the lights busted.

Despite odds however, Magloria's coffee cup remained intact, nestled into a corner of the deck.

As Collapse entered into the bridge and looked around she recalled the events that lead them all here. "Me, Magloria, and Jump Start only survived because the main window broke open. If it hadn't, we would have been a pile of bones like everyone else here." she spoke as she brushed her hoof on the controls. "This is where Magloria would be most of the time. At the wheel...which is no longer there. But still, this place means something for sure." she shuddered at something.

"We all said our goodbyes right about here..." Collapse moved to the spot where they were standing and where they all hugged each other as the water rushed on in. "Near death experience right here. We are one of the lucky few that can say we've survived a sinking ship and a massive water spout or whirlpool as we call them. This is where it all went down. I remember when we were sailing along and Magloria spotted the whirlpool...Magloria ordered me down to the engineering section. I replaced one of the mana batteries but by then it was too late. We all heard a sudden snap, indicating one of the propellers in the back..." Collapse paused, letting that *sink in* to Aura Surge's mind.

"Then as me and Jump Start made our way to the bridge the ship turned on its side, we were lucky to make it to the bridge. We stood there and were preparing for our death but the water broke through and sucked us out...next thing I knew I was waking up on the shore of that lake." Collapse sighed and moved to Magloria's cup.

"Hey, at least Magloria can have her cup back." Collapse smiled innocently as she picked up the cup, ready to go. If Aura Surge had nothing else that she wanted, Collapse would perfectly be fine with exiting the ship.

Aura Surge didn't have much to say about that story (partly because half of it didn't make complete sense to her), but she did say that it was a good thing that Collapse returned here. "It gives you a sense of finality with the whole experience. Lets you put it behind you so it won't drag you down when you move forward." she said.

The only thing that Aura Surge wanted were a couple of pins used to hold up charts. She approved of the little coloured parts on the ends. At that point, she was ready to leave.

As they swam down the passageways towards the exit gap, Aura Surge suddenly stopped. "Ah. That's where the fish went." she said as she looked forward.

The small group of ugly, sharp-teeth fish were around, but they weren't a small group anymore. They had found friends, and now numbered in a school of at least 20 of them.

At the moment they were just swimming around, but if they got closer, they might be spotted, or smelled. Whatever these fish tend to do.

Collapse had smiled to Aura Surge and thanked her for her words in agreement. As they proceeded forward they had found around 20 of the sharp teeth fish. "Well, can you dispel them away from us with your magic or something? I don't want to risk using too much of my magic." Collapse spoke, referencing that she had almost reached the limit to how much she could unsummon all at once.

Collapse thought the fish ahead were quite concerning. The last thing Collapse wanted was to be bleeding underwater, that would really suck to say the least. If she bled, that would attract more of them.

Aura Surge nodded slowly. "I can, but it really depends on how far you want me to go." She began explaining.

"The first way is I simply force the currents to bring them away, but unless you're a good at swimming or there's a place we can keep them contained for a bit, they'll just come after us after I'm done, and they'll definitely get you."

"The second way is I can create a small vortex of water. That'll imprison them for a bit. The problem with this is they are also in our way, so *we'll* be dragged into it as well. Needs speed to avoid that too."

She said the last part in a calm, yet monotone manner, as if she already knew the cost of using this method. "The third way is pretty simple. I cause them to implode."

Collapse sighs and looks away from the fishes. "The first would be preferable but I don't want them to get us as I'd be bleeding out and we'd just attract more." Collapse said hesitantly.

"We could do the second but it sounds rather complicated so there is a lot that could go wrong. So I know that the third would be the best option...but I don't like it either. Well there is a saying where we are from. There are always more fish in the ocean...so do what you have to do I suppose." Collapse gulped as she looked away from the fish as she didn't want to see what Aura Surge would do if she accepted the third option.

"Alright then, third option it is..." Aura Surge said as she prepared a spell. Collapse could see the red glow of her magic appear on the walls, floor and ceiling as she channeled the power required.

There was a sudden displacement of pressure from where the fish were, accompanied by a strange sounding 'thump', like it was moving away from her.

A brief pause later and Collapse could feel a tap on her shoulder. "It's done. I moved the... result out of sight. The way should be clear now, assuming there aren't more things on the way." she said.

All that was left to ever show proof that fish were there was a thin, barely visible mist of red, which slowly dissipated throughout the water.

Collapse sighed. "Poor fishes. May they...rest well. I don't like to do harm unless it is the last resort." Collapse said, figuring the fish had came to a quick end if anything. Collapse follows along Aura Surge silently, glancing to the thin trail of red before quickly looking away. Collapse was silent as they had exited out of the wreckage. If nothing had happened to Magloria and Jump Start on the outside Collapse would proceed forward towards Magloria.

"I found this. This is yours." she spoke, and would hand Magloria her cup back.

Approaching the exit, they could see Magloria swimming vigilantly, holding her spear in her hooves idly in case something got too close. Jump Start however was laying down on a rock, tired after a few more attempts to let them inside.

Said attempts were the light hoof shapes denting the metal wall.

Once Collapse and Aura Surge were in view, Jump Start glanced over and gave a wave, prompting Magloria to turn around and see them as well.

Magloria accepted the cup, thanking her before checking it over for any damages. Nodding upon seeing it was in good shape, she placed it in her saddlebags. "I take it you got everything worth getting?" she asked.

"Yup. I got all the tools from the engineering section. I wanted the wheel of the ship but it was gone, and Aura Surge took what she wanted as well. With that in mind I think its time we head back." Collapse states calmly, not mentioning what happened to the fish.

Looking to Jump Start she waved back and smiled. She was glad to see that she was okay. "My summoning spells are at the max. I cannot cast any magic without risking anything spilling out, if you will." Collapse stated and was ready to return to the surface.

Magloria nodded at the report. "Alright, well done. Unless you have anything you want to look for Jump Start-" to which Jump Start shook her head "Then we're leaving."

She looked to Aura Surge. "I guess we do the same thing as before, except we go up instead of down?" she asked.

"Correct. Unfortunately for you it'll be much slower than the descent, but it's also necessary for the pressure to equalize." Aura Surge stated, and started the swim upwards to the surface. Trailing behind her in a barely visible 'bubble' were the few things that she collected.

Collapse follows after them and stays close to Magloria and Aura Surge for safety as they slowly swam up towards the surface. "Now that we have everything we really need from this vessel, I think what we could do is plan out our next move while we have the time." Collapse said to the rest of them. While they have the time they might as well plan out their next moves.

"Aura Surge, what is the farthest you've ever been from any seapony settlement?" she asked, wondering if there was any place further that she had gone where they haven't.

Magloria spoke up first. "Well we've got what we need to deal with that nasty forest, so that's our next goal. Then find a way around the felines, assuming the old stories weren't lies, get to the surface and then explore it. We'd have to get there before I could plan any further." she said.

Aura Surge looked around at the darkness while trying to determine which direction she should point towards. Seems she couldn't figure out which way, so she shrugged and pointed in a random direction.

"I went down one of the rivers from here, where us seaponies never really went to live in. Swam down a week and took 2 weeks to swim back up. Found some curious wildlife, but couldn't bring them back to show everyone. Ceiling walkers I called them. Also found a plant or two we didn't have locally, which was nice I suppose." she replied.

At this point they could do nothing more than swim upwards, using various schools of Light Carp as guides. They'd reach the surface with no problems, if there was nothing left to say.

Collapse accepted their answers and stayed mostly silent on the way to the surface. While Collapse was definitely interested in exploring here, it was better that they focus on their objective of reaching the surface. Her mind was busy pondering the way they went before, trying to recall all details. It was best to commit everything to memory and think it over several times so she would be prepared for next time.

Upon reaching the surface Collapse looked to Aura Surge. "Time for River Warp? We'll go to where you'd like and I'll unsummon everything you wanted." she spoke, more than ready to return to the settlement. "I can't wait to get everything all unsummoned, it will feel much better..." Collapse sighed, imagining the feeling of relief flowing through her.

"We'll go back to Pearlth, then you can unsummon my things there. I can handle the rest." Aura Surge said before breaking through the surface of the water, snorting out a mist of water in the process as she briefly switched to using her lungs.

Getting her bearings, she figured out which river that they needed to follow before diving back down and swimming over to it.

"Same deal as last time. Enter the vortex quickly or you'll be left behind." she stated as she began channeling. The swirling maelstrom of water appeared before them once again, which Aura Surge moved into, then Jump Start and Magloria.

When they reached the end, they were just outside of Pearlth.

Collapse jumped into the Riverwarp without a second thought and ended up near to the others. A part of her morbidly wondered what she would have done if she was left behind but she didn't think about that for long. "Do you want me to unsummon all the things right now or would you rather we go back to where we met you and unsummon them there?" Collapse asked before adding, "Just checking."

Either way, she would be more than glad to unsummon the items.

"Right here will do. I'll be perfectly fine taking them home from here." Aura Surge said.

Once Collapse rematerialize her collection, she turned to the group. "Well it was an interesting experience meeting you and searching through your ship, but since everything is now all done, we should now go our separate ways." she stated, casting a fin in a glow as all of her new possessions were swept up in a small channel of water, ready to follow her.

"Bye Aura!" Jump Start said, giving a friendly wave.

"Nice meeting you." Magloria bid farewell in a simple manner.

Collapse's horn and body glowed gold for a split second and the things that Aura Surge had taken would suddenly appear in a gold flash next to Aura Surge. All of her things were there and nothing was left out. Collapse sighed in relief upon no longer feeling the strain of keeping all of that stuff held in place.

Collapse would give a friendly wave to Aura Surge but she wanted to take it a step further. "Bye Aura Surge! Quick hug? Only if you want." Collapse moved close to Aura Surge. If Aura Surge accepted the hug, Collapse would have hugged Aura Surge gently, and Aura Surge would have felt Collapse's soft pony fur. "Thank you for the help." Collapse added sweetly.

After Aura Surge had departed Collapse suggested going back to their 'home' so they could rest up a bit and tinker with the things they had retrieved. Collapse wanted to work on her fly ring a bit.

Aura Surge blinked, not expecting Collapse to ask for a hug. "Okay..." she carefully agreed, and hugged Collapse back.

Contrary to what Collapse believed about seaponies, Aura Surge was surprisingly soft and warm. Despite the wetness of her fur (or lack of it, when it came to the fins), it turns out that seaponies had extra fat reserves to insulate them from the water, similar to a seal or whale, making them squishier and warmer when pressed up against.

Had Collapse somehow convinced Aura Surge to come with them and cuddle together (which was unlikely) she likely would've been very happy with her choice.

Aura Surge left after that. Magloria and Jump Start agreed to go back home, and so after a bit of a swim later, they arrived at their house.

While they had swam back together Collapse would remember the feeling of the soft seapony. Indeed, she wanted a group cuddle all together. Especially with Magloria. She already knows how Jump Start feels. While Jump Start is soft and warm, what does Magloria feel like? Magloria was the apple of Collapse's eye to say the least. But still, Aura Surge? She would have been happy with her but she couldn't take a seapony home, could she?

When they had arrived back home Collapse summoned her fly ring on the ground and began inspecting it closely and taking apart with her tools to really survey what she had to do to fix it. She'd allow Magloria and Jump Start to rest if they wished.

From what Collapse could tell, aside from the dented plates, some of the components inside were knocked about, displacing them from their correct positions or damaging them when they couldn't move. Theoretically it could still work if she put the pieces in their correct positions, but the damaged parts would break sooner or later, so it was a risky idea to use it right now.

Meanwhile Magloria moved to one of the bedrooms and put some of her things down, coming back out with only her holstered spear, which she began to thoroughly inspect, just as Collapse was her own things.

Jump Start simply set her things down and started drying them out next to the heater. Saddlebags don't take well to water after all.

Collapse had taken out her various personal items and set them by the heater so they would dry out, including her diary. She had her various tools all strewn out on the floor as well, combining the tools she had taken from the ship as well as the tools they had bought here. With that she would begin putting the components back into their current positions and she was also working on repairing them. Now that she had retrieved the tools needed, it would be easier to repair.

She glanced over to Magloria's spear and nodded in approval.

Just glancing over at Magloria's spear, she could tell it was a well crafted one. The wooden shaft was almost perfectly straight and reflected light slightly, showing it had been properly polished. The spear head was of a unique making. It didn't look like it was forged from metal, rather some sort of bone or ivory. It also had a slight curve to it that most spear heads didn't have.

Finishing her inspection, Magloria laid down the spear next to a piece of furniture before walking outside, saying something about making another obstacle course for herself to run a bit before going to bed.

Jump Start was now busy laying about on the couch. Judging from her expression, she was just thinking about things.

Collapse considered that spear rather remarkable. Perhaps asking Magloria about it would tell her more clues as to what Magloria did before being a captain. Not as in where she literally came from, for she already knew that. Creamwood. That spear could be Magloria's favorite spear gifted to her after she succeeded in doing whatever it is that she did. There could be any multiple answers. That is, if Magloria would even want to answer that question.

She would let Magloria run the obstacle course on her own before looking over to Jump Start. "Hey, what you thinking about?" she asks casually.

Jump Start broke out of her thoughts and glanced over to Collapse. "Hm? Oh I suppose I was just thinking about what we'd find. You know, at the entrance? Are we going to find a city of felines? Some wilderness place? Is there going to be a bunch of ruins that we appear from? Who knows."

She rolled over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. "And what will happen along the way? Are we going to get through with no problem? Maybe they'll see us and catch us. Or maybe we'll find someone who wants to help us. What would happen if we offered them something..." Further talking on her part devolved into mumblings about random 'what ifs' and other things.

Collapse moves closer to Jump Start as she talks, moving her fly ring over as she tinkers on it. "I would expect that word got out about our encounter with the one feline that we saw. The one who's crossbow I burned to ash." she sighs. "I would only offer them something if we were forced in a position or discovered by them. It is preferable that we get out of this place without making enemies or having nasty encounters. Perhaps someone may want to help, but who knows. I think they have some vested interest." she commented.

"If I had any guesses they are doing something important behind that blockade. Perhaps building some kind of machine, maybe mining." Collapse suggested.

Jump Start gave a confused look. "But why would they build a blockade like that just to protect a machine, or a mining operation? Those things don't seem like the sort of things you'd build an entire wall for. At least, not a wall to block out things like spiders, centipedes and lobsters."

"It would have to be more important than just something like that that they were protecting, but what? Maybe more felines...?" she pondered.

Chapter 30

"Well, if there is a blockade, maybe they have slaves...? And they don't want anyone seeing that or want anyone escaping? I would hope that isn't the case and I hope we don't have to find out." Collapse sighed and shuddered slightly. "I don't know, I really don't like that blockade. It doesn't sit well with me at all." Collapse's eyes would narrow a bit at that.

"That doesn't really sound right either. Why would they care about centipedes seeing their slaves?" she shrugged, waving her hooves idly in the air as a simple form of entertainment.

Some time later Magloria returned from her outside activities, looking tired and ready to go to sleep. After what sounded like a quick shower, she said goodnight to the others, beginning to head over to the bedroom with her stuff in it.

"That is a good point, honestly. I suppose we have a chance to find out coming up soon..." Collapse spoke as she completed her repairs to the fly ring the best she could. It would be best that she uses it sparingly.

Upon Magloria coming in Collapse would wish her goodnight. After Magloria was done, Collapse would also take a quick shower too. After drying off she would lay down next to Jump Start. If that cuddly look on Collapse's face is any indications, Jump Start would know what Collapse wants.

With the sound of a door closing, Magloria was in her room and out of sight again.

The moment that Collapse approached the couch, Jump Start shifted into a more collected position. She gave a nod to signal that Collapse was allowed to snuggle down next to her like before, then stretched and relaxed in a way that she was happy with.

Collapse moves in close to Jump Start and first Jump Start feels Collapse’s warmth press against her and then snuggle down next to her. Collapse was warm and soft, and gently embraced Jump Start. After a tired yawn, Collapse closed her eyes and headed off to sleep while embracing her earth pony friend.

When Collapse woke up the next 'day' to the smell of roasting mushrooms, she didn't wake up next to Jump Start. In fact, what she woke up on seemed to be quite hard.

Turns out at some point in the night she had rolled over and fallen off the couch and onto the floor, and hadn't been woken up from the impact.

When looking around the room, she found that both Magloria and Jump Start were already up. Magloria was busy checking over their equipment, while Jump Start stared at a plate of mushrooms which, if the fact she wasn't eating it was any indication, was intended to be for Collapse.

Collapse opened her eyes and stretched. She was disappointed she didn't feel the soft warmth of Jump Start next to her. Either way, it was 'morning' and it was time to get going for the 'day'.

Standing up with a yawn she would approach Jump Start and sit next to her. Of course she had to do something as she usually did. Bringing her hoof to Jump Start's nose quickly, she did a light boop onto her nose. "Boop. Good morning, how did you sleep?" Collapse asked, and then began to eat her mushrooms.

Looking over to Magloria she also said good morning to her as well.

This time Jump Start was ready for Collapse's attempt at pressing hoof to nose, and rose her own hoof to block it, smirking in response.

"Good morning." Jump Start replied. "I slept like I usually do these days. With you warmly pressed against my back and tail. You're extremely affectionate don't you know?" she said, letting Collapse get at the plate of food.

"She tried to crawl into my bed once, when we were on the Constance." Magloria said out of nowhere, not taking her eyes off of their things. "Said it was for 'bed strength testing' or something like that. Maybe if she went after one of the stallions on board, she would've succeeded in testing the strength of a bed that night."

Collapse giggled at Jump Start's blocking of her hoof and upon both of their statements together like that her face turned a deep red color as she giggled nervously. "Y-yes I am affectionate...I am weird and I know it. Its just that...being with other ponies is so soft and warm." she put a hoof to her chest earnestly as she spoke softly.

Looking to Magloria she would speak, "Yeah I wanted to see how strong your bed was, I know that one of the other beds snapped and I didn't want the same thing happening to you." although both of them could probably tell she had wanted more cuddles in doing so.

"And while that's all well and good for an engineer to inspect, the fact that you 'somehow' ended up doing the inspection at night, while I was in the bed and already under the covers is a little suggestive, wouldn't you think?" Magloria pointed out, turning her head just enough to glance over at the obviously embarrassed pony.

Magloria's tail shifted at bit as she returned to her inspection. Jump Start looked over to Collapse and whispered. "You really did that? Could you imagine what would've happened with someone less understanding?" she questioned.

Collapse could see the glance Magloria was giving her before she whispered to Jump Start, "I only cuddle with mares anyways. Stallions are *gross* but still, yeah, you have a point. I get in way over my head sometimes to be honest with you." Collapse whispered to Jump Start.

Looking back over to Magloria she noticed Magloria's tail shifting and thought that was quite cute but she'd never say that verbally. "Yeah in hindsight I shouldn't have done that. At least your bed was safe...not that it matters anymore." Collapse sighed and looked to the ground. The thought of Magloria sleeping warmly under the covers as Collapse 'inspected' the bed would play through her mind yet again.

Jump Start looked thoughtful for a moment, then continued to whisper. "You know, if you're really after her, I can't stop you, but I can tell you that you've chosen a really tough cookie to sink your teeth into. In the time I've spent working with her, she hasn't shown interest in anyone. Not even the non-ponies that we got occasionally."

"But she is interested in some things. You know she's had proper training, so she would've been interested in that. Plus she's always walking around with her earrings, so she at least appreciates a little bit of beauty. Perhaps if you found something pretty looking, like a pearl, and fashioned it into something she could use? Not something that would get in the way mind you, that would probably irritate her." she said.

Magloria spoke up at that point. "Well seems like we're all ready. A little low on food, but nothing we can't take care of by buying or gathering things." she said as she equipped her saddlebags and holsters.

Collapse was ready to go for all intense and purposes and unsummoned her fly ring. She had everything she really needed and was ready to go. Looking to Jump Stat she nodded in agreement. "Good idea, thank you. I just wonder. Is she the kind of cookie that is hard all the way through? Or is she soft on the interior, perhaps even warm? I am inclined to think she is hard all the way through so to speak, that makes her very in depth I am guessing." Collapse spoke to Jump Start.

"I know that I am capable of making something for her, I'd just need the materials to do so." she said, almost blushing a bit. She could imagine a blue cookie with the same coat color as Magloria. Perhaps with blue sugar chunks.

"I never really saw her much so I can't say for sure, but there is the occasional moment when she smiled, even here in the caves. There's something underneath her coat, for sure." Jump Start whispered one final time before moving away to get her own stuff.

Magloria looked from one to the other as she moved to the front door, wondering what they were talking about but didn't think it necessary to ask. Let private talk be private, unless it's an attempt at rebellion or a stupid plan.

She went outside and began preparing the raft that they would need, including adding what appeared to be a layer of sharp bars that pointed upwards and slightly outwards. What was she intending to use those for?

Collapse took Jump Start's words to heart and remembered when they first arrived here that Magloria had consoled Collapse about getting her fly ring back. All Collapse ever wanted was for Magloria to be happy, she remembered the way the blue mist made Magloria feel. It was surreal to see Magloria act like that, not only that but the fact Collapse actually managed to hold Magloria was remarkable. Either way, she had certain goals.

Upon exiting the front door Collapse stayed silent and proceeded to the raft. Assuming those bars to be some kind of shield to deflect nasty fish from getting into the raft. They had a few close calls last time. Upon the raft being complete, Collapse got in and was ready to leave.

Jump Start soon came out from the house as well, now properly equipped with her belt full of various tools and her saddlebags dry and free of any seawater. She too jumped into the raft just as Magloria finished off shaping the last bar of ice.

"Hopefully these won't prove to be a bad idea..." Magloria uttered under her breath. After a call to make sure they were all ready to leave and hadn't forgotten anything obvious, she cast the raft adrift, sailing it in the direction they knew headed towards the exit. Next stop, Luneshine Forest.

If Collapse had anything to talk about along the way that was important, this was her chance to talk, given how long the trip was.

Collapse leans back on the raft a bit as she looks down to her hooves, she hadn't forgotten anything. Once again the whole reality of the situation they are faced with sets in again as she looks over the river.

"Off the top of your heads, how many do you think were in similar situations to us and lived to tell the tale? Life sure is a wild dream." Collapse asked abruptly, not to either of them in particular. "As for these masks, there is only one way to find out. Let us hope for the best." she added optimistically.

Magloria responded first. "Do you mean how many have been on a boat in a cave, how many have gotten lost at sea, or how many have been down here specifically?" she asked.

"Because for the first two I would have no idea. Can't keep track of everyone in the world. The last one though, it's most likely that no one survived getting out of here and returning to where they came from. Only way I can think of that they would return home alive was if they found the entrance *first*, instead of getting their ship torn to shreds."

Jump Start spoke next. "We do know that at least one group came down here before us, but they didn't get out of here alive. Died doing what they loved, I guess." she said.

Collapse accepted these answers and nodded. "Hmm, yeah. Heres to hoping that we are the first to escape out of here alive...So whats the plan? We will try to find another route to bypass the blockade? We could have missed any number of entrances to an area that lay beyond that bypasses it, however if there were such entrances than I would also expect them to be guarded as well." Collapse replies, a hoof to her chin.

"Trying to find another route to bypass the blockade is the plan, yes. If what the seaponies said was still true today, then there's at least one other way through, and it's beyond the Luneshine Forest. That was the whole point of going through with making the masks in the first place."

"Sure it might still be guarded, but it's got to be better than going through that blockade." Magloria responded, watching as they passed by a massively fat snail near the shoreline, slowly moving along the fungal-infested ground of the mushroom forest they were passing by. If it wasn't so horribly gross, it probably would be a pretty decent meal, assuming you were desperate.

Collapse nods and looks to the massive snail. "Snails are gross. I've stepped on a few and they just go...splat but that? That is just gross." Collapse's face contorts in disgust at the massive snail as it moved along. "There still is the fact of the wind in the Luneshine forest. Perhaps we'll find out what is causing that along the way." Collapse replied as she watched the snail as they passed by. Hopefully they wouldn't be seeing any massive centipedes or anything of that sort, for those are *much* more gross than a snail.

"The masks are supposed to block whatever affects us. That mist didn't seem to really do much unless we were feeling loopy and approached them. As long as we're not loopy, they should be fine." Jump Start stated.

The rest of the journey they were undisturbed, aside from a group of toothy fish that they met the last time. The ice bars did their job well. Perhaps a little too well. There were a couple extra fish decorations on the raft by the time they were through.

Eventually they reached the part of the river where they could see the light of the Luneshine Forest. Magloria set the raft on the shoreline and both she and Jump Start got out.

Chapter 31

Upon the raft's arrival to the Luneshine Forest Collapse had gotten off in following of them. Looking back to the raft she could see the fish on the ice bars, and was pleased that the bars had did their job. After all its better to have those fish be impaled on the rods than have chunks of your flesh missing.

When they were close enough to the forest Collapse would put her mask on and adjust it so it was more comfortable. Hopefully the masks would work, and there was only one way to find out. "Since we are wearing the masks, I think we could take the time to look around a bit in this mysterious place." Collapse suggested to Magloria and Jump Start.

"We could, but don't forget the main reason is to search for the other end of the forest, so while we can look around, don't go wandering." Magloria said as she equipped her own mask.

Jump Start had a little difficulty putting hers on, but managed all the same. "So which direction do we start?" she asked the others.

Magloria pointed along the side closest to where the river lead. "We follow that edge. Should eventually lead us to where we need to be."

Magloria began walking into the forest, with Jump Start just behind.

Collapse follows along and takes in the sights of the forest. These mushroom forests were beautiful, if she hadn't had a home to go back to she could easily see herself wanting to live in a forest with the other seaponies. "The forest is rather beautiful, ashame it has such effects on our minds." Collapse stated.

The forest looked the same as it did last time, with it's strange blue and yellow multi-layered mushrooms, the ferns that grew bulbs of light, and the large chunks of 'glass' that sat in water pools.

Only this time things didn't start to get distorted in ways that made them seem unusually pretty. It was almost boring to look at in comparison.

Though one thing remained. There was still a shallow level of mist that hung in the air, visible only when they looked further away. Parts of the distant smog seemed to move, even without the accompanying wind that would indicate such.

Jump Start spoke in reply to Collapse. "I dunno. It is beautiful, but it's more of an... eerie beauty, don't you think? Like you know something is somewhere, but the beauty keeps it hidden." she said.

The wind whipped by, and as it did, there was another sound. The wind made it hard to hear, but it sounded like a low, distorted call of some sort of bird. Not a songbird, more like a raven, seagull or pelican.

Collapse looks out into the strange mist and the surroundings. It was very eerie for sure, Jump Start was definitely right about that. "It is eerie to me. It is like there could be something predatory within this forest. You know, that makes sense. Lure someone in due to the effects of the mist so they don't leave, and then swoop in..." Collapse spoke in a fashion that droned off at the end of her word.

Upon hearing the sound in the distance Collapse looked to Magloria. "I would hope that my suspicions are proved wrong. There is something else here." Collapse said to her as they proceeded along. As they proceed along she keeps an eye out for any movement within the forest.

"Well, the sound came from the direction we're headed in, so if you see anything moving, let me know." Magloria said along the way.

The weird calls grew nearer, while the mist seemed to thicken as well. Something shifted in the while obstruction, just out of the corner of their eyes. Then something burst through. Two somethings, actually.

As some sort of defiance against logic, a pair of penguin-looking creatures were scrambling around fighting each other, each sporting a massive yellow beak. Their forms looked hollow and disheveled, sporting messy plumes of feathers and thin limbs. Not that it stopped them from fighting and angrily squawking at each other, messing each other up even more.

The strangest part about them however were their eyes. Instead of the usual black pupil, their eyes were entirely white, unmoving and cold, like they were staring into your soul.

"What the..." Jump Start whispered in shock.

Collapse's mouth dropped in visible shock upon what she was seeing. It was something she didn't expect to see that was for sure. To her these creatures were probably inhabitants of the forest, but why were they fighting? The most shocking part about them was their eyes and Collapse figured they had some supernatural ability that was dangerous. She didn't want to mess with these creatures if they didn't have to. She didn't know what to think of it.

"I...didn't expect to see those things...whatever they are..." Collapse whispered to Jump Start. "I wonder if they are sentient but...what are they fighting over?" Collapse pondered quietly, and looked to Magloria and added that it would be best for them to avoid the creatures as they proceeded forward.

Magloria looked around the place, while the penguin creatures continued to smack and snap and squawk at each other, uncaring of the pony group nearby. Then Magloria noticed something that defied what they had seen before.

She moved over towards it, picking up what looked like a shard of that glassy crystal. "This is nowhere near a pool of water, and it's loose. Could this be what they're fighting over?" she questioned.

Jump Start spoke up. "I've heard stories about penguin colonies. Some of them collect pebbles to attract mates. The more pebbles they have, the better they stand out."

A sickening snap rang out as one of the penguins managed to get the upper hand, ending the life of the other with a single snap of it's beak. No longer interested in it's former combatant, it looked around with it's beady white eyes for it's prize.

Magloria quickly made the move to drop the shard and back off. The penguin waddled over to it, finally noticing the group and giving them a loud squawk of warning.

Collapse stayed with the three of them as they backed off from the penguin, while being rather disgusted at what she had seen the penguin do to its combatant. She didn't want to stay near this area, that was for sure. Why were there like creatures down penguins here? That didn't even make sense, for it wasn't frozen down here at all.

"But that doesn't explain why penguins would be in an underground mushroom forest, and the last I knew we were nowhere near the Antarctic, right? Not that it matters, as they clearly are their own species." Collapse asked, seemingly sure in her word. Her heart was racing at the moment as she looked to Jump Start, instinctively making sure that she was okay.

"Well this is a strange place. We've seen many things that normally wouldn't be down here, like rockodiles." Jump Start said as she looked around. "This place is stranger than most."

Jump Start looked fine, if a bit shocked at the sight of birds murdering each other.

The penguin thing moved straight over to the shard and picked it up in it's massive beak, giving one last eerie look at the group then waddled off, leaving behind the dead penguin.

Or they thought it was dead. One of it's legs twitched.

Jump Start was now looking distinctly less fine than she was before, as she backed away from the feathery anomaly.

Collapse backed away along with Jump Start and didn't want to go closer to the twitching penguin. If it wasn't dead, it was likely in the process of dying. Nothing they could really do about it. Collapse was silent for a bit as she backed away as if too scared to really say anything, or not really seeing the point in saying something as they backed off.

Looking to Magloria she nodded, "L-lets just keep going." she whispered, shaking slightly.

Magloria looked to the penguin, then to the surrounding mist. "Alright. There's nothing else that we can do here anyway." she said, turning towards the direction they were heading and started moving again.

She got a few steps before an angry squawk was heard from the direction of the dead penguin. Magloria glanced over and narrowed her eyes.

"Well, I think it got better... and worse." she said.

The dead penguin was getting back up, this time with a notable gap in it's throat where the the other penguin struck it. It blinked, searching for it's attacker but finding nothing. It started to waddle off, leaving behind dozens of feathers and a surprising lack of blood as it walked.

"Ok, that was unnerving even for me. Glad to know we currently share this forest with undead, or just those that cannot die." Magloria huffed, clearly not thrilled at all.

Collapse looked on in pure shock and surprise as the penguin walked off. "What the hell? That is...not something I would expect. Sure penguins in a mushroom forest is weird to begin with...but penguins that can't die from natural means? Even stranger. Huh." she was perplexed. Once the penguin was gone she reached over with her magic to collect some of the feathers. At the very least those feathers would be proof of what they had seen, should they find an escape out of here.

"If they have no blood and are undead, than how did they come to be? I suppose that is just yet another mystery..." Collapse pondered.

On closer examination, the black and white feathers appeared to be old. Very old. Each one was ragged and uneven, like the birds didn't even know how to properly take care of them.

They were equally frail as well, simply applying a bit of force would make them snap and fall apart like twigs. By all accounts, they should've been discarded years ago.

"As much as I'd hate it, we might be seeing those 'mysteries' again soon, depending on where they are nested." Magloria said, snorting at the idea as she started leading them away from the scene.

Winds blew through the caves again as they walked, causing the mists to spiral through the air. They could almost see those strange mist things that they saw before, if they looked close enough.

What they did see however was one of those light bulbs. But judging from the large yellow eyes, the little grassy legs and the fact that it had wings which were being used to fly, it wasn't actually a light bulb.

Jump Start groaned. "It's times like this when I wish we were back in Equestria..." she said in a pathetic tone.

"These feathers don't make any sense. They are very old, but then if that is the case, than how are those penguins still around?" Collapse asked herself as she followed Magloria away. Looking to the strange mists, she was very glad that they had decided to construct the masks. If the mist towards the edge made them loopy, than the mist deeper inside would be far more dangerous.

Collapse would walk up to Jump Start and give her a gentle brush up against the side. "You and me both. Don't worry, we'll get through this together. Keep your eyes peeled." Collapse said in a warm friendly tone. Looking to the light bulb creature she would sigh. "It feels like we ended up in fantasy land, really. Usually that'd be thrilling, but this isn't." she stated.

Jump Start shook her head. "No, it's more like we've ended up in a distorted version of the other parts of the cave. Life is strange, or not even life at all. The plants and minerals are odd too..." she taps her hoof on the stalk of one of the larger mushrooms.

"Even the air wants to put us out of our minds. At least in a place like a volcano you know it wants to kill you. This place can't decide." she shuddered.

The light bulb bug thing flew off and out of sight.

Finally something started to go right for them, or ordinary at the very least. The mist looked like it was easing up, indicating that they were leaving the thick of the forest.

"Very distorted...definitely has to be because of strange magics or something. I just wonder where the wind is coming from..." Collapse said in agreement as they proceeded forward.

"I suppose we should have asked what else the seaponies had known about this forest but they likely didn't make it this far in...so we're really on our own here." Collapse added with a sigh as she shuddered. As they moved forward Collapse had stayed on alert and made sure to occasionally look behind her and look off to the sides for anything hostile or unusual that the others hadn't noticed.

"I thought it would've come from the entrance. But the way this place twists things around, I wouldn't be surprised if the wind came directly from here." Magloria told Collapse.

The mushrooms were thinning now, pretty soon they would be back in the regular caves, and hopefully there they could find the way forward.

But when Collapse looked back, she could see the figures of mist floating about, always keeping a certain distance away from them, as if the group wasn't moving at all.

But they knew they were moving, so the figures had to have been following them. They must not have been able to see them before due to the dense mist, but now that the mist had thinned, they were very visible.

"Me either. It definitely seems as though the mist is following us, you notice that?" Collapse asked Magloria and kept her eyes on the mist to make sure it wouldn't follow them out of the cave. Maybe it was just their movement that attracted it, hopefully it wasn't something else that was nefarious.

Upon proceeding forward into the caves she would turn forward and look ahead. Hopefully these caves weren't another dead end, and would indeed lead to an exit point or something that bypassed the blockade.

Magloria and Jump Start both looked behind themselves. Seeing the mist figures, Jump Start immediately turned back to facing forward, hoping that by ignoring them they wouldn't do anything. Magloria however would keep changing where she was looking, from behind to forward repeatedly.

"Well as long as they don't come any closer, they're probably fine. Though be wary if something else distracts us. They might take the opportunity to do something." she said.

When they had finally left the mushrooms, the mist figures had left them alone, not daring to move outside of their native biome. It was just darkness and rocks ahead now.

The search for anything took several hours of them wandering around and checking walls, the floor and even the ceiling. Eventually they found what looked to be a circular tunnel, leading horizontally through the rock. It was barely big enough for all 3 of them to fit side-by side and slightly smaller than they were, forcing them to duck down a bit to fit.

Collapse was most certainly pleased that the mist figures didn't follow them outside of the forest. She was most certainly glad that they were out of the Luneshine forest. She didn't have an issue with never returning.

By the time that they had moved hours forward Collapse had mostly been talking about the more casual things in life that weren't really all that important. Mostly talking about things back home, and the mundane things she would do in Dodge Junction. Mostly just to pass the boredom of walking through the caves.

Upon them finding the circular tunnel Collapse would duck down to fit through the tunnel. "Do you think this is an artificial tunnel?" she would ask Magloria and Jump Start, finding this tunnel to be rather out of place all things considered.

Jump Start inspected the rock forming the tunnel, even tapping on a few parts to check their hardness and smoothness.

"Hmm... seems natural to me. It is a little bit small, but there have been small caves before. Though..." she looked ahead, mentally nothing that the shape of the tunnel didn't seem to change much as they progressed.

"It could be artificial, but I don't know what would make something like *this.* It's a strange shape if it was for mining or transport. It's all round instead of flat." she said.

"It could be something else other than that. Like a secret tunnel or an entrance to something." Collapse suggested, feeling along the sides of the tunnel there. "It doesn't really make that much sense to me for something to be this small in a cave hmm, just a feeling." Collapse shrugged slightly as they proceed inwards to the tunnel. She was definitely hoping they would be able to avoid the blockade. To her best guess, they were hours away at least from that location.

It took less time than Collapse thought before they arrived at somewhere new.

The first indication that they had arrived was what appeared to be a large series of slanted wooden planks, nailed together. It only left a little bit of room for them to squeeze past, but it was enough for even Jump Start and her gear, if a bit close.

Magloria was the first one to check around the gap. She poked her head around the side, checking to make sure it was clear on the other side. A bit of searching later and she brought her head back.

"We seem to have come out at some sort of underside of a structure. There's a lot of supports for something wooden above us. Good news is that there's a way to get up on top ahead." she stated.

"Good, good. If there is actual wood than that means we are nearing the surface, or at least someone had access to the surface to make this...structure out of." Collapse pointed out as she followed them forward, finding herself very interested in what would be up top.

"I suggest we be more mindful of how loud we are just incase this is also guarded." Collapse said in a whisper to them, just in case there was anyone around that could pose a threat to them. It was better to just sneak out rather than have potential violent interactions.

"Sure." Magloria whispered and, deciding that the way forward was free from any noticeable danger, squeezed through the gap and into the space below the structure, with Jump Start closely behind.

They seemed to be in some sort of ditch, with the previously mentioned supports holding up a roof of wood. Over in a corner was a staircase that led upwards, likely put there for maintenance.

No sounds of nearby creatures could be heard, so they were free of being spotted, for now.

Collapse watched Magloria squeeze through and then Jump Start. She couldn't help but think about what it would be like to give them both a tight hug and to squeeze them gently with her hooves. Ponies almost looked kind of like floofy colorful marshmallows, now that she thought of it. She almost wanted to make an "Aww" at that but restrained herself from making any comments.

She'd follow them up the stairs after looking around a little bit to see if there was anything else of interest, if not she'd simply follow them up the stairs.

There wasn't really anything of interesting down there. Just rock flooring, rock walls, wooden supports and the structure above. Though some supports look like they could be displaced with a well placed buck. If she wanted, she could probably cause enough structural instability to bring the whole thing down.

Up the stairs they found that they came up at a much larger tunnel, this one big enough to transport an army if such a thing came here. The size matched what could've been on the other side of the blockade.

The wooden structure they were under was unmistakably a bridge, likely built there to ease traveling over what amounted to be quite a large pothole in the road.

Torches were dotted along the tunnel every so often, lighting both ways they could take. One way seemed to lead on a slight slope downwards, and another sloped upwards. No one was currently around.

"Well, we're in, and the only way we need to go is upwards." Magloria said.

Chapter 32

Collapse looks about when they came up to the much larger tunnel. "Wow...this is huge." she whispered to the others and quickly notices the tunnels. "Would say that this place is used, so we better head upwards pretty quick. Wood construction means there is definitely an access point to the surface." Collapse whispered to Magloria and would follow her upwards while sticking close to Jump Start just incase anything happened.

Within Collapse's mind there was a lot of speculation as to who those felines were. Likely another civilization inhabiting an unforeseen landmass, but whatever interest they have with what goes on in underground she had no real clue what that would be. Perhaps minerals, maybe building some kind of machine, who knows. Maybe there was a war above ground with a rival group of cats. Who knows.

The tunnel was rather long, because half an hour passed and they were still slowly traveling upwards. At some point the sparse torches had disappeared too, forcing them to take one if they wanted to keep having proper light.

Then they saw a similar light up ahead, and judging from the way it moved about, it was another group heading towards them.

Magloria quickly looked around for somewhere to hide. A chunk of rock that had been shoved to the side was all she could find, so looks like it would have to do. "Over there. Keep quiet." she said, ushering the two to the place while extinguishing the light with a burst of cold air and leaving them in the darkness.

From what Collapse saw, the 'hiding place' wasn't very big at all. It would be a tight fit to keep them all out of view.

The long tunnel was something Collapse wasn't sure how to feel about. She did however, expect for the ascent to the surface to be long because they were at many miles underground, at least that is what she thought. There was no real way of confirming that.

Upon seeing the moving light up ahead, Collapse's heart would start racing as she would *really* hope that they weren't spotted.

Collapse stayed silent and would hide within the spot Magloria ushered them too. She didn't even dare to respond verbally and quickly nodded. Once she was within the hiding spot she would look to Jump Start as if making sure she was okay. Then she would lay with the others, in waiting to see what would happen once the other group would pass by.

By the time they were properly hidden they were all squished up against each other. Not the best position to be in, but what are the chances that Collapse would complain anyway?

The light came closer until they could see the wagons that were producing it. A set of 3 were being pulled by ox-like creatures, just without the long shaggy fur. They were being driven by a bunch of those same black felines as they had seen before, with a couple that had various grey and cream spots and stripes.

They seemed to be transporting supplies for those guarding the bottom, if what could be seen was any indication.

The group heard some conversation as the caravan of wagons passed by. It just seemed to be idle talk about how one of them caught a massive fish that was thiiiiiiiis big. The others, judging from the scoffing of dismissal, didn't believe them.

If any of them cared to notice they would feel that Collapse was a soft warm pony. Her coat was a bit more floofy than what you would expect by looking at her. Even if they may not want to cuddle with her often, they can't argue with the fact that she is pretty soft. If she was able to, she would mentally compare how soft Magloria and Jump Start are. Who is the softest?

Collapse had figured that the group would be felines, but the ox creatures were pretty interesting. It was likely that the area they originate from had animals and creatures of its own so there was no surprise that they would have animals that would be used to haul things with.

Upon their discussions being heard, it was interesting how they spoke the same language as the seaponies, and as those in Equestria. Maybe that is just being convenient for the plot, but either way Collapse was glad they could potentially be reasoned with if they had to do that. Hopefully not.

Collapse was content with waiting with the others as long as Magloria wanted to, and besides, the squishiness? She could get used to that.

While they were crouched behind the rock as the wagons past, Collapse could make a reasonable evaluation on the softness of both of her companions. Magloria felt leaner and squishier due to a unicorn's natural lack of need to do much heavy work, though she still had a decent amount of muscle. However her hair felt somewhat coarse, likely due to rougher environments she's been in.

Jump Start on the other hand had more muscle mass and as a result was firmer and not as soft. But her fur was smoother and better cared for, making it a more pleasurable experience to brush against.

Overall, they each had their pros and cons.

Once they were left in darkness again, Magloria separated from them and moved to pick up the torch, lightning her horn to see as she did. "Want to light this for us again?" Magloria asked Collapse, prepared to move forward again one they could see properly.

Collapse had smiled in silence as she had assessed the softness of her two companions. Both of them were good for cuddling purposes. And both of them together? My, that would be an absolute dream. To be all warm and cuddled up with her two companions would be great, as both their pros and cons had complimented each other.

If either of them had cared, Collapse's body was slightly stronger than what a normal unicorn would have been due to her line of work, while her fur and coat was a bit smoother than Jump Start's was. Collapse did care about how her coat was after all.

Upon being out in the darkness, Collapse nodded and would proceed to use her horn to start the torch up again. Collapse's horn momentarily glowed a soft orange color as she had casted the spell to light the torch up. Upon the torch being lit, Collapse would follow Magloria upwards.

Another hour passed before they came across the next thing of interest. They could see another light up ahead, but this one wasn't the light of a torch. It was a calm, blue light that, after walking for several more minutes, they could tell was the pale light from the moon.

Jump Start squeed as she recognized what was ahead of them. "We're finally going to be under the sky again!" she said aloud, disregarding the idea of being quiet as she trotted in excitement, much to the frustration and annoyance of Magloria, who was trying to shush her the entire time before clamping her mouth shut and pinning her legs to the floor with magic.

"Quiet! You'll get us caught!" Magloria whispered in a harsh tone. Jump Start immediately recoiled and calmed down, not liking the idea of getting captured by those felines.

Letting go of Jump Start, Magloria looked over to the way out. "Hopefully they're not nocturnal, because this might be our best chance to get out." she whispered.

Upon seeing the pale light of the moon up ahead Collapse silently exhaled. Finally believing this might be all over and they can finally move towards the surface and then proceed with the next phase of the plan to return home.

Collapse found herself very annoyed with Jump Start's sudden exclamation. While she liked Jump Start a lot, she knew the meaning of being silent in such situations and found that to be rather disregarding of the situation. She looked on in silence of the situation and shook her head in annoyance. "They better not be nocturnal or else I'm going to be very displeased with us finally seeing the surface...only to get caught." Collapse whispered quietly in annoyance.

"Yet still we'll have to plan of what to say and what to do if we get caught just in case. I don't want to make enemies here, but I am really not liking the idea of being caught." Collapse also added with a whisper.

Magloria scoffed. "We could plan, but what are the chances that it all gets thrown out the window because it's the wrong thing to say?" she said. "I'd rather learn what they'd like to hear, *then* plan. That was we can be more certain it's not for nothing."

They came up to the exit of the cave. It seemed to have received much more attention than the rest of the tunnel, including wooden supports to keep things from collapsing, and the walls even got chiseled and smoothed to look like large stone bricks.

Beyond the exit they could see what looked like a town of sorts, completely surrounding them. What could be described as stone, wooden and thatch buildings were spread out across several 'levels' of land, each lined with stone walls to prevent erosion, with the lower levels reaching inwards and the higher levels forming a bowl around it all.

Even some trees, tall ones with big bushy tops and thick branches, looked like they had structures set up in them. There didn't seem to be any obvious way up to them however.

The best part was the almost complete lack of felines to be seen. Some movements could occasionally be seen over by distant buildings, but none were nearby.

Collapse nodded. "You know, I think that's the reason why your in charge. You think ahead when others don't." she whispered, before her eyes had scanned the town around in the area.

Looking around at the town Collapse would see it as another obstacle to escape from. While the town would be very interesting to explore and examine in detail, it was both night time to where that would be a lot harder, and the risk of being caught was the main reason Collapse wanted to get out of here. At least they could go into the woods or something, and see how things were in the daytime.

At the very least they were on the surface now. Looking back on it all, it was very surreal that there was entire forests, settlements, rivers and lakes all underground like there is. While that was all very interesting, they weren't qualified to establish relations between the seaponies and the Equestrians.

In the far future, when they return Collapse would like to meet with the Royal guard and have a proper expedition come out here and establish meaningful relations, as that was not something that was in Collapse's power for obvious reasons. Now that they knew where the massive whirlpool was, they would be able to chart things out better next time.

"We should look for away out of this town. Head for a forested or obscure area. Get needed rest, and gain our bearings in the daytime. Then we go from there." Collapse suggested to Magloria and Jump Start.

They could see some of the surrounding land, but instead of the expected woods, it was more like a jungle. Lush plants were absolutely everywhere, including trees that grew over everything.

"There's a problem with getting out, Collapse. From first glance there is no obvious way to reach the upper levels." Magloria said, pointing over to the stone walls where, in order to reach the way out, they would have to jump at least 3 meters in height.

She moved a little bit further forward and checked something. "I could try to create ice stairs that we can climb, however the heat of this place would start to melt them quickly. That would make them slippery and weak."

Indeed, the moment Collapse moved a bit further forward she'd be hit by the warmth of the outside, despite it clearly being night. The days must be really hot.

"So we need to find another way out, right?" Jump Start asked. "They've got to have a stairway out, or something, otherwise they would be trapped in here."

Collapse was very disappointed by what she had seen. Jungle. How annoying, she would have hoped for more normal woods. Jungles had nasty critters and mosquitoes! As well as diseases and other things. She would shudder slightly at those thoughts.

Collapse would follow them. "Or what I could do is test out my fly ring and see what is up over the other side and if I see anything to where we could escape or if I would find that the town ends on the other side or something, I could lift you two up over the side but that is if my Fly Ring works, and I don't really look forward to falling 3 meters if it doesn't." Collapse stated.

"Sure is warm out here for sure. We'd better find somewhere to retreat to when day rolls around but you could make Ice Stairs and we could go over to the other side but I'd rather we not leave any traces of our presence here, so we just need to find another way out." Collapse suggested.

"We don't need you to fly up with your ring to scout, it just needs to give enough boost that we can reach the top of the wall. Besides, if you flew high enough to look around, you'd be high enough for them to see you." Magloria said, but then added "Also I just told you, ice stairs would be too fragile and slippery here."

She began leaving them around the side of the cave entrance and behind a building, to the nearest place where they could climb up the wall.

"Alright then, just fly high enough to get us over. Then we can find a place to safely observe from without standing out." she pointed to the wall, then sat down and waited for Collapse to do her thing.

Collapse walks over to the wall and summons her fly ring around her silently. Once it was on she would take upon a certain stance and the ring would begin to spin when she focuses her mind on it. It silently begins to levitate her off the ground, where she quickly flew to the top of the wall and she looks over.

Upon looking over the wall she would see what is up there, whatever is on the other side of the wall would be the deciding factor if she could lift her two companions over to the other side.

When Collapse reached the top of the wall she saw more buildings, trees, bushes and other things. Most of the ground was relatively flat here. The further she looked from the civilized part, the more wild it became, filled with closely packed trees and who knows what else.

She also saw one of the felines on top of one of the nearby buildings. They were a stripy one, casually laying about and watching their surroundings. They didn't seem particularly interested in doing anything at all, if the way they were practically melting into the roof they were on was any indication. But maybe that was because they hadn't seen anything interesting yet.

Collapse had took in the sights over the other side and took note of that singular feline in particular. It was good to see that there were trees, but the flora and fauna would be another obstacle to deal with later on.

Then she would descend back down onto the ground. "Relatively flat on the other side, I can see the town getting more and more sparse towards the trees in the distance. More buildings and such on the other side too, but the most import thing I noticed was that there was a feline on one of the nearby buildings watching the surroundings. Do you still want me to carry you two over?" Collapse asked.

"Just one? Hmm, we could probably deal with one. Get us up there." Magloria said.

Once Collapse had brought them up to the higher segment of land, Magloria looked around at the scene for herself. "This should be easy enough, all we need to do is distract them with a loud noise, they'll look the other way and we can move over to the other side and into the bushes."

She lit her horn conjuring a moderately sized icicle. Taking aim, she then hurled it forward, causing it to sail through the air and hit a building in the opposite direction to them, shattering the icicle loudly against the hard rock wall.

The feline's tail curled and twitched, but they didn't do anything else.

"Huh. Lazy cat." Jump Start mentioned.

Collapse had lifted Magloria and Jump Start individually up to the higher segment of the land. While she wanted to put her hooves on her two friends and hold them with her hooves, she wasn't going to do that right now and so she just lifted them over gently with her magic before landing next to them silently.

Upon Magloria firing her icicle off at the building Collapse was pleased that the icicle had provided a good distraction, at least she had hoped. "Alright, now that our distraction is done, let's head into the bushes now." Collapse spoke. She had a lot on her mind but it was best that they just focus on getting away and into the bushes without being spotted by anyone. It was best to just not interact with anyone in this area for now. The coast to the shore was likely a few miles away, at least that was Collapse was thinking.

Magloria shook her head. "No, don't move ahead." she said, pointing at the feline that was now gently cleaning it's whiskers with a paw. "They didn't care about the noise, so they'll still see you if you go."

She began looking around. "We're going to have to find something bigger to create a distraction." she said, then her gaze landed on one of the trees. A smile appeared on her face as she came up with an idea.

She turned to Collapse. "Say, do you think you would be capable of igniting one of those trees from this distance? Not in the direction we would head for of course, but one far enough away from us that it won't draw attention to us. Remember, just a little spark isn't going to be enough, and that's not even including the distance your spell will be travelling."

Collapse nodded and stayed put. "I am definitely capable of doing that. Hang on a second." she spoke and stood there and began to charge up an igniting spell. About 30 seconds passes as she charges up the spell and once she was done she nodded. "Alright, let's do this." she smirked and turned her gaze towards one of the trees off in the distance. The tree she selected wasn't anywhere near the direction where they would be heading.

With her mind focused the ignition spell would light on her horn. It was a dim orange glowing spark but it had more punch than what it looked. It would fire off from her horn and with her mind Collapse would guide the spark to that tree in the distance. It would hit the branches of the tree and it would ignite aflame fairly rapidly once the spark's power would spread throughout the branches.

"There we go." Collapse smirks, ready to follow Magloria ahead.

Chapter 33

Magloria and Jump Start watched the magic strike the tree. As the embers spread, the orange glow started to glow brighter and smoke began to billow up from through the branches.

The feline had seen the spell fly off towards the tree from their direction, but upon seeing an open flame had quickly changed their priorities. They leapt off the rooftop, rushing off to somewhere else as quickly as they could.

"Now's our chance." Magloria said, giving one final look around to make sure they won't be spotted, then started sprinting over in the direction of the dense jungle. Jump Start ran after her.

Then Collapse heard a bell being rung. Likely an alarm bell to wake up everyone in case of emergency, such as something catching on fire.

Collapse ran after them as well. She easily matched their speed and found an odd sense of euphoria rushing through her. It felt good to escape a probable bad situation. There is no telling of what would have happened if the three of them got caught. Some of the felines were hostile, at least the ones they had encountered down in the caves. Collapse was most certainly pleased that they were now removing themselves from the situation.

The bell ringing was to be expected. Where Collapse was from, they had sirens but the bell served the same purpose. Getting everyone up to react quickly to an emergency. The felines and whoever else in the town were likely to focus on solving the fire first. It could take minutes, or longer to put the fire out. And even then, if they were to look for the cause of the fire they would find none, giving them more of a mystery on their hands, or rather claws.

Upon entering the dense jungle Collapse would look back once to make sure they weren't being followed, and would follow the three of them into the dense jungle brush.

None of them were being followed, the slowly increasing number of felines focused solely on the flames that were now very obvious throughout the tree.

The jungle around them was thick, forcing them to push through bushes everywhere just to get through enough to be decently hidden. As they went further, Magloria brought out her short sword and began hacking through some of the more annoying plants in their way to speed up their progress.

"We appear to be in the clear, for now. Next thing to do is figure out where to go from here, and for that we'll need to be up somewhere high to get a good look around." she said.

Collapse did what she could to help Magloria, such as moving plants out of the way or pulling them apart with her magic. She was most pleased that they weren't being followed.

"Well, I recommend that we get as far from that town as we can just in case but we should be able to find somewhere high when it comes daytime. Let's just keep going through this jungle to see where we can end up, maybe." she remarks.

"What do you make of the felines and the town? What purpose do you think they have with the underground caves?" Collapse asked, to make conversation.

Magloria looked up at the moon, then frowned as she studied the dark jungle around them. "Actually I think we have a better objective in mind. Who knows what sort of nocturnal hunters could be around at this time, so I suggest we find a place to take shelter at."

Just Start replied to Collapse's question. "Those felines could be doing anything with those caves, but..." she paused, "From what we saw, they weren't doing anything except guarding it. Maybe they just don't want to have anything to do with the caves?" she suggested.

"Nah, they've probably got a mine going down there and we missed it. I'd imagine there would be plenty of good minerals to be found in those caves." Magloria pointed out.

They came across what looked to be a low hanging tree with massive leaves, each one grown from the top of the plant reaching down to the ground. Their size made for a particularly good roof or curtain. The ground beneath the tree was also relatively clear of decaying leaves, making it decent to lie down in.

"We can stop here and rest until it's morning. Hopefully nothing will see us and get curious." Magloria said as she inspected under the plant.

"Ow!" Jump Start yelped as she touched one of the leaves with her nose. She started rubbing the sore bit. "These leaves are sharp!"

Collapse agreed with Magloria's suggestion to rest under the tree for the night. It seemed like a good place as any to stop for a rest. They had been going for quite a long time and Collapse was starting to get tired.

To Jump Start's unfortunate interaction with the leaves Collapse would walk up to her and make sure she was alright. "You okay Jump Start? I guess we shouldn't touch these leaves." Collapse sighed and moved under the leaves and layed down underneath the plant cautiously just incase there was anything dangerous about.

Once they were all underneath the plant and laying there Collapse would to Jump Start again. "Mining is a very likely but there are likely a lot of things we missed. Although I don't see why they would have a blockade and attempt to kill anyone who entered into that area if caught, remember how we had to fend ourselves off? They must be doing something they don't want anyone accessing, or seeing." Collapse suggested.

Although now that they were all laying together, it was clear what Collapse was thinking. Her close proximity to Jump Start was a good indication.

Jump Start moved under the leaves with the rest of them, but kept rubbing her nose. "I think they're covered in hundreds of little needles. I couldn't see them because of the darkness." she whined as she sat down.

All she could do was shrug in response. She had no clue what else she could say, since she didn't know much else about them.

"You two can go to sleep. I'll take first watch, then wake you each up when it's time to switch." Magloria said, getting comfortable as she looked outside of their shelter.

"Sounds like a plan to me. Sleep time it is, for the two of us." Collapse spoke and moves closer to Jump Start. Jump Start could feel Collapse's soft warmth brush up against her and then she stretches out. "Ahh...time to sleep. What do you say?" Collapse asked, smirking and blushing a little bit. Jump Start could swear she saw Collapse's tail wagging a little bit too.

"I am very glad we reached the surface, it feels good to be under the sky again. To look at the Moon and the stars, and we'll see the sun soon enough..." she sighs happily.

Jump Start knew exactly what Collapse was thinking about, but made sure not to make it worse. "Yeah, would be good." she replied, curling up on herself and getting comfortable between a pair of roots.

Any sort of attempts to sleep next to her would be allowed, though given the already warm air of the jungle, it might not be necessary. In any case, Jump Start closed her eyes.

Jump Start would feel Collapse's soft body press up against her and her hooves would rest around Jump Start gently, as if she was a pillow. She could feel Collapse's tail wagging a bit, but it would slow down as Collapse closed her eyes. Of course, she could feel Collapse's soft floofy fur.

If nothing else happened, Collapse would go off to sleep content with Jump Start in her embrace.

Chapter 34

Sometime after falling asleep, Collapse was woken up for her turn at keeping watch for anything dangerous, while Jump Start settled down to go to sleep, apparently already having had her turn.

Now that they weren't rushing through the jungle, she had the time to watch and listen to things instead. There were a lot of bug noises, mostly cricket and cicada calls. Every now and then, the call of some unknown chittering or growling would reach her.

Small blue glowing bugs would occasionally fly by, looking similar to fireflies, yet different. If she looked closely she could see flickers of lightning run through their bodies.

Nothing interesting happened, which for them right now, was a good thing. Soon she could see dawn approach, letting her know that they could travel much safer from now on.

In her time of keeping watch Collapse would watch the surroundings and would find it to be rather beautiful. While this Jungle was beautiful, the Mushroom forests below were a lot more beautiful. However Magloria said something about there being a massive centipede, and the massive snails down there were gross. Both had their pros and cons, but it was clear she was happy to see the surface.

Upon looking out over at the light of dawn approaching she smiled. She knew that Twilight rose the sun each day, if only she had caught sight of her in real life. Sure, she's seen her in books and such, but to actually see her? That'd be quite something, as unlikely as that is to happen.

Now that she was away from the other's watchful eyes she would do a slight bow towards the rising sun. "I hope...and I pray...that my friends and I will return home. If anyone out there is listening or watching over us, I just want the three of us to return home." she said in a low whisper, for a quiet prayer.

"I hope and I pray! I hope and I pray!" came a high pitched voice from somewhere above their shelter. It was quickly followed up by "Watching over us!"

Whoever said it wasn't quiet like Collapse was (despite hearing what she said), causing the others to wake up from the disturbance.

Jump Start looked sleepy as she looked around, one eye still closed. "What was that? Collapse, you know what that was?" she mumbled.

Magloria only took a few seconds to shake off the drowsiness before she started looking around through the leaves.

"Collapse! Collapse!" they heard the shrill call again. It sounded like it came from somewhere above them.

Collapse was quite shocked at what had happened, whatever voice it was had just revealed her private prayer. Oh well.

Looking to Magloria and Jump Start she would sigh, "Maybe it is some kind of parrot or bird. I don't know what happened but it just started to call out of nowhere! This is a jungle after all..." she suggested as she looked up through the trees, wanting to seemingly bury what she had just said privately. Her eyes were scanning through the trees in an attempt to see what it was. Looking above, she was expecting a parrot or some kind of similar bird.

It was hilarious, thinking about it. Collapse couldn't help but grin.

After a bit of searching she saw something brown move. It turns out there was something that was listening and watching over them, but not entirely what she expected.

A monkey was busy snatching green and red fruits off of one of the taller trees. On one of the monkey's shoulders sat a yellow spotted bird, the marks on their feathers mimicking eyes, making it seem like Collapse was being stared at, even though she wasn't.

The bird let out a typical bird call. Neither seemed interested in the ponies on the ground.

"So, found what it is yet?" Magloria asked while she searched as well.

"It's a monkey, the monkey has a yellow spotted bird on its shoulder too. Look here." Collapse stood near to Magloria and pointed out the monkey and its bird companion. "Really interesting bird though. It's feathers look a lot like eyes, which is really interesting." she remarks in a fascinated manner. "Although now that it is daylight, we should probably get a move on." she added.

"Say, we are about a week's way away from where we left port, right? How far do you think this landmass is from Equestria?" Collapse asked Magloria, curious to see what her response would be as she keeps watch of the monkey and the bird.

"Get a move on! About a week's way!" They heard the call once again. Turns out it wasn't from the monkey and bird. They didn't know what it had come from. Probably some *other* bird that was hidden by the leaves and branches.

Magloria shrugged. "If I had to guess about a week and a half. I'd need my navigation instruments to make a more accurate estimate, both about how far away we are and in which direction we'd need to travel." she said as she started to travel in a direction, one which she thought would lead them upwards.

"Navigation instruments!" shouted the voice.

Collapse would follow Magloria and giggle a bit at the calls from the birds. "Well, I hope these birds don't fly over to the town and talk about us." she joked in a semi-serious manner.

As they walked about Collapse would keep her eyes open for anything dangerous or poisonous looking. Hopefully there weren't any massive snakes or alligators lurking within the jungle. She kept thinking about how soft Jump Start was and how she enjoyed the cuddle she gave her. While of course, she would have wanted to do more with both of them, it seems as though only Jump Start is open to cuddles for now.

Hopefully Magloria would come around in time.

An hour or two past, and Collapse saw many things that could potentially be poisonous.

A snake or two that slithered off when threatened with Magloria's spear. Some brightly coloured frogs that swam about a stream that they stopped by, to get a drink. Many pretty flowers (some of which didn't smell pretty at all) bloomed along their path, some of which were surrounded by angry sounding bees, which would also be poisonous.

With careful avoidance of these things, no one got sick and died on their first day, which was good news.

They came upon a rocky outcropping part way along. Figuring this was as good a spot as any, Magloria climbed up the steep rock to get a look at their surroundings.

"There's the ocean, and... I think I can see where the whirlpool is. The water is a strange shape in one spot." she said.

Collapse was very concerned upon seeing the various dangerous wildlife but thankfully they had avoided all of these carefully. It was most pleasing that none of them had gotten hurt. The jungle was beautiful, yet it was dangerous. That was the beauty of nature. It can be deadly yet it can also have great beauty.

After Magloria had climbed up the rock Collapse was quite curious. "Oh really? I'll come up and take a look too." she spoke. Her fly ring appeared back on her body and with it activated, she was able to slowly rise up to where Magloria was and landed next to her. Then once she was there she looked out to the ocean and scanned the horizon to see where the whirlpool was.

"Alright, so we know where we are in relation to the whirlpool, what should we do now? What should our next objective be? Find a more permanent shelter?" she shrugged.

It was a little hard to see through the various trees, but the height that she had was enough to show Collapse a lush green island, absolutely teeming with life. They could see a beach not too far away back down where they came from, sandy and full of various rocks, with what looked like a river branching through it into the ocean beyond.

On that ocean she could see what could only be described from this angle as a dark dent, several kilometers away from the island itself. That must be where the whirlpool is.

"Our next objective is exactly that. I'd much prefer it if we set up our shelter near where there is fresh water, so that-" she pointed to the river that led into the sea, "-is where we begin. Now the real question is whether that river is big enough to support a ship that can travel across the ocean. It looks like it from here, but we can't be certain." Magloria said.

Meanwhile, Jump Start was busy minding her own business as she gave a tree she spotted a good kick, causing the tree to shudder from the impact and a series of fat yellow fruits to fall down, bouncing all over the place.

Collapse agreed with Magloria. "Yes, that sounds like a plan. We should probably head down there and make sure it would be able to fit. However, since it is just the three of us we wouldn't need a ship as large as the Constance. I mean really, this is beautiful sight, isn't it?" Collapse asked Magloria with a grin as her eyes focused on the dark dent away from the island.

"Never really thought that whirlpools could be that big. Even from here it is visible. It is massive." she remarked, her eyes widening slightly as she focused on the dark spot. "And when we have a shelter we can proceed with the next step. Do you think we would want to *find* a ship perhaps? Steal a ship? Bargain with someone to get a ship? Or build our own? We'd need sails this time as we wouldn't be using engines if we were to build our own one..." she put a hoof to her chin, thinking out loud.

Looking to Jump Start she gave a little giggle at the fruits falling down. "I suppose you found breakfast. I am *starving*. Time to eat." Collapse smirked.

"Finding a ship is going to be a difficult, maybe even impossible task. Depending on who lives on this island and what they have." Magloria said as she got down from the rocky outcrop to join Jump Start.

She unsheathed her shortsword and took a piece of fruit in her magic. "The felines are the only ones we know who may have the ability to build boats. We'd have to search along places that they use, and if we find a boat, we'd have to steal it from them. Without them noticing their big boat going missing."

"What we need is a better look at the island we're on. The felines are much more likely to have a map than a ship, and they'd likely have encounters with other creatures that are sentient like they are and would keep records about them. Going back may be a bad idea, but the information we could get would be invaluable." she finished, slicing the fruit in half and exposing it's pink insides.

She handed one half to Jump Start, then to Collapse, before beginning to cut up some more.

Collapse follows down the rocky outcrop with her fly wheel and looks to the fruits. Collapse cautiously takes a bite out of it and takes time to examine taste of it as she converses with the others.

"Getting a map from them would open up the door to further expedition crews to come here far in the future. Who knows, there could be something on a map that could point us in the right direction. I would be willing to go back, but we better be careful. If we go back and get caught the felines would probably figure out that it was us that set the tree on fire." Collapse spoke in between chews of the fruit. Her cheeks were stuffed with the fruit cutely.

"Perhaps if we go back we could even find out what they are doing underground. I do hope that if we get caught, that they wouldn't be violent about it and would be able to be reasoned with." Collapse added.

The fruit tasted tart and slightly bitter, like an orange or lime. Probably good when made into pastries, icing or some sort of drink, but something you could probably get fed up when eaten raw constantly. There's probably other things to eat at least, so they don't get tired of it.

Magloria shook her head at the suggestion to get information on the caves. "We don't need to know what they're doing down there. It would just be an unnecessary risk. We just go in, find a map, and maybe a compass and other similar navigation tools, then get out."

She finished cutting a few more fruits and rested them down on the rocky outcrop. "Now, the real hard part about all this is finding where they would even have these things. We cannot just walk door to door and ask, so hopefully they clearly label where they keep their various supplies." she said, then grabbed her own fruit half and taking a bite.

At least the fruit didn't taste disgusting or have an instant poisonous reaction when they bit into them. It was alright, but it wasn't something she wanted to eat forever. Collapse would if she had to, but it was interesting to taste something that wasn't mushroom.

While Collapse would have been a bit disappointed by Magloria's response she understood the risks. "And if they don't, than we would just be putting ourselves into extra risks. So maybe we can try to find some other settlement or something, one that doesn't have walls and obstacles that make it hard to get in and get out. Just an idea." Collapse suggested to her.

Looking to Jump Start she would smile. "Do you like the fruits?"

Magloria raised an eyebrow. "Oh, and I suppose you know where any other settlements are that we could reach, without wandering around aimlessly in search of them?" she asked, pausing to take a bite out of her meal. "The seaponies don't count. They wouldn't have an appropriate map that we could use."

She finished off the half and threw the peel away. "Our only other option would be to find the highest point around here and climb that, then we might be able to see through these trees. That's assuming this place has anywhere like that."

Jump Start gave a shrug in response. "They're alright, but I'd prefer something to counteract the bitter flavor" she stated.

"Well, I have a feeling we are going to do that anyway to get an idea of where we are. I would much rather we get an idea of the lay of the land, before we go back to that town." she shrugged and looked to the peel on her fruit. "Yup. I suppose I'm the only one here who likes to eat things with the peel. The peel is the best part! Especially when it's plastic." Collapse joked.

Looking to Jump Start she would nod in agreement before something crossed her mind. "Since we are out in the jungle I should have put my boots on. How could I forget? Hmm, I suppose I'll let it slide this time. I don't normally like wearing them since they can get scratched. But-" she stepped away from them and her horn glowed gold for a few seconds. In a bright gold flash her boots were on. Made out of the same material as her fly ring. Spray paint of a gold color over steel with some cushiony parts on the inside.

They were perfectly tailored to fit her legs. There was a slight adjustment strap on the back of them incase she needed to adjust them a bit. There were also some gems encrusted into it. Likely some kind of colored quartz. Nothing too expensive, though.

She would pose slightly suggestively with her boots and wink to the two of them as if she was showing off. Then with a glance to Magloria she would speak, "Let's attempt to find a good high point. Tell you what, when we all get back I'll get you both a set of these boots and anything else you'd like. I'd make it unique for the both of you." with that said, she'd allow for Magloria to lead the way.

Magloria looked at Collapse's boots (while attempting to ignore Collapse's 'parade' as she did so, only made sense to keep focus in situations like this), then to her fly ring, coming up with an idea.

"Actually I have a better idea. How high can your fly ring send you? If you can get high enough you can see where points of interest could be, or failing that, you could see above these trees and find the highest point that we should travel to immediately." she suggested.

She wasn't interested in the offer for a pair of boots though. Those things looked heavy. "No thanks, I'd prefer to keep nimble. Those boots look... protective, but it's going to weigh you down for sure." she replied.

Jump Start wasn't very enthusiastic about the offer, but accepted it nonetheless. "Thanks. Maybe it could help me do something... like kicking stubborn machine parts into place."

Collapse was a bit disappointed that Magloria didn't accept the offer. "Suit yourself." and then she looked to Jump Start. "Yeah, they definitely could. You would be good at that." she grinned before looking up and considering Magloria's idea.

"It's not really a question of how high I can go, it is more of a question of how far I am willing to fall if it gives out. I'll go above the trees at least." she would look up at the trees to determine the best route. After about a minute or so of judging she found one. Looking to them she would smile. "Adios!" and with a salute she would levitate off into the air.

Once through the trees she would fly a bit above and then she would examine where everything was in relation to her and look out over the horizon too.

The moment she burst through the canopy she was hit with the bright sunlight. After blinking away the sudden brightness, she could make out the jungle surroundings.

One spot off in the direction that the river came from was mostly clear of trees, with some visible rock and wooden formations. It was probably where those felines lived. There was a few thin streams of smoke coming from that way, but they seemed spread out, so it likely wasn't the fire they had caused.

Off in another direction she could see a couple of tall hills. They could probably be considered mountains, but given how trees and other plants could still be seem growing up the sides of it and there was no snow cap, it probably wasn't tall enough.

Across the horizon she could see... water. Lots and lots of water, maybe an outcropping of rocks here and there closer to the shoreline. This piece of land was big enough that the ocean didn't wrap around it, so it wasn't some tiny tropical island that they had landed on.

Everywhere else seemed like it was full of trees and hills. She couldn't make out much of the details with the foliage concealing it all. No other signs of smoke either, either too small or too far away to properly see. Who knows what else was in this place.

After taking in these wonderful sights for what felt like a few minutes she would return back down to the ground. It was very interesting to see the way everything was. As Magloria wanted to travel to the highest point, that is the very first portion of information she would relay. The direction and path of the tall hills. Collapse would also relay the other things she had seen, naturally. She was sure to land in the same orientation she was as she had flown, so she could point her hooves in the direction they wanted to go, accurately.

Collapse would then proceed to lead them towards the tall hills. "Well above all else, it doesn't seem like we are on some little island. Likely another continent, or at the very least a large island. When we get to the tops of those tall hills, I'll fly to the top and see what else I could see from there. I'll definitely be able to see a lot more. Perhaps we could take refuge on those hills, hopefully there would be some kind of clearing to where we can build some kind of shelter." Collapse added as they walked in that direction.

"Hrm, I'd rather not set up our shelter on top of a massive hill like that. Unless it has a river that flows down from it or at it's base, it would make travel for water a nightmare, and I don't want to have to condense water from the air constantly just so we can survive." Magloria mentioned her dissatisfaction at the idea.

Nonetheless, she agreed with the idea to head to the closer of the two hills, and after finishing off the rest of the fallen fruits, they set off.

First they had to walk down the other side of the hill they were already on, but they had no other choice if they wanted to reach their destination. Jump Start would make small talk as they moved, occasionally pointing out roots or holes that they could avoid tripping on or falling into.

At the bottom they encountered what looked to be an extended beach of sorts. There wasn't water anywhere near at the moment, but there were large patches of sand and only a few scarce islands of vegetation. It was all low enough that rough, stormy waves could potentially reach here.

"Oh fun..." Magloria sighed as she saw what was ahead.

Collapse accepted Magloria's dissatisfaction and proceeded forward. After a bit of chewing on the fruits she had finished her remaining fruits off. Her stomach was decently full of fruit. While it may not have been the best thing to eat it still was filling, so Collapse couldn't complain too much.

Collapse would also do much the same as Jump Start as they proceeded down the side of the hill. She would also point out things that would have posed an obstacle to their progress and would hold other small talk with her as she stuck close to her and Magloria incase any beasts of the jungle were to lunge out at them suddenly. Even though it seemed like they were in the clear, it could easily turn out to not be the case at a split second notice.

When they had ended up at the bottom Collapse had inspected the beach. "Seems like this could be low tide, but that's just my guess. This isn't good though, I'll say." Collapse remarked, feeling the sand under her boots as they walked.

Collapse managed to take a few steps across the sands before she started to get a sinking feeling. "No wait!" Magloria shouted, but couldn't stop her in time.

Turns out the sand here was waterlogged from whatever rains and tides came, becoming quicksand that Collapse started descending into, definitely not helped by the fact that she was wearing a lot of metal. Probably not a huge issue, but it would've been lethal if she was some other creature without magic.

"Well good job. At least you can get out yourself." Magloria huffed, rolling her eyes at Collapse's predicament. Her horn charged and blasted a patch of sand, freezing the water within it enough to make a small, frozen sand bridge that led to the nearest clump of vegetation.

As soon as Collapse had felt herself sinking into the sand she had used her fly ring to get out of it and go the nearest spot of vegetation. But still, it had greatly annoyed her and she stayed silent throughout the situation.

Collapse absolutely hated doing things that made her look like an idiot. Especially in front of the others. While this was completely unintentional and unexpected it still made her look stupid in her eyes.

When she was out and by the others again she remained silent, clearly wanting to move on and not speak of this event further.

As Collapse was freed from the quicksand it made a horrible sucking noise, making it even more clear to everyone nearby what she had done.

Collapse's boots and part of her legs were now covered in wet sand, and some of it even seeped into the boots as well, making her hooves feel uncomfortable.

Not that the other two seemed to bother with taunting her about it. They just kept an eye on her as she floated and landed, to make sure that she wasn't in trouble. Magloria continued to mark a path through the quicksand.

Eventually they reached the other side which looked like more jungle, but slightly different plants. On the upside, it began to slope upwards again meaning they were getting closer to their destination.

Once she was freed she had looked over to the quicksand with a clear scowl on her face. Before proceeding forward Collapse would have taken her boots off and cleaned them out with her telekinesis. Using her telekinetic field to 'wash' the sand out of her boots. It took a bit but the sand was removed easily enough, as well as from her legs. She wasn't going to be walking around like that if she could help it.

On the way forward she still stayed silent. She was very much also embarrassed by what had happened and kept an eye on their surroundings. If anything looked dangerous she would point it out to the others so they could avoid it as they moved upwards.

Hours of walking passed again, because climbing a large hill isn't easy. On the way, Jump Start moved slightly closer to Collapse so they could talk.

"You know we don't blame you for that, right?" she asked, not sure what else to say at the moment.

Around them, a group of monkeys chittered from the trees above. Large red flowers could be seen growing in places, big enough that they could easily use them as beds (if it weren't for the floral stench for attracting bees). Might be decent enough idea to use the petals for real, actually.

Collapse looked to Jump Start and sighed. "I-I uh, it was just really embarrassing. I mean, I have a habit of doing embarrassing things..." she chuckled nervously as she looks into Jump Start's eyes. "Am I embarrassing to be around?" she asked with a smirk.

Looking to the large red flowers she looked to them. "We could make some beds out of those petals if we just take them off. It will hopefully be a nice soft thing to lay down on for maximum cudd-" she cut herself off there from speaking further.

Perhaps she answered her own question.

Jump Start felt awkward being asked that question, especially when she knew stating the obvious wouldn't help with anything.

"Uh... n-nooo... you just umm, need to... maybe think things through first...? It could help, sort of..." she haphazardly replied.

Magloria looked over towards the big flowers. "Hmm... I've never really considered using flowers as bedding before. A bit like sleeping on your food isn't it?" she paused for a moment to think over what she said. "Nevermind, we sleep on hay. Well, as long as these are soft." She hacked away at the flowers several times with her sword, tearing off 6 large petals, 2 for each pony.

Collapse smiled as she grabbed the petals for her and Jump Start. "Well, I wouldn't mind sleeping on a giant donut or an apple. That'd be funny, wouldn't it?" she joked before looking to Jump Start and whispered, "Yeah I probably do, honestly. I *am* embarrassing to be around so there is no shame in you agreeing." she giggled.

Once they had the petals Collapse would look up at the sky to judge the time as they proceeded forward. She kept thinking about the next cuddle she would have. The mare couldn't help it. While the petals were soft, Jump Start was a lot softer and warmer. "Hmm for hypothetical conjecture, lets just say we are unable to find a ship or a boat. What should we do? Build our own over the course of a really long time?" she asked openly.

Jump Start didn't look enthused about the idea of sleeping on donuts or apples. "I don't know... apples aren't soft and they would roll all over the place, and donuts would make a mess of your fur." she shuddered, imagining the feeling of having her entire coat all stuck together and uncomfortable from the sugar.

It looked to be past noon at this point, and they still had many hours of walking to go. They likely would have to find a place to settle down at and continue the morning after. The midday sun was swelteringly hot, thankfully blocked by the large number of tall trees. That idea of having a close water source to where they would live was getting better by the minute.

"If we're unable to find a suitable ship, we'd have 3 options from my understanding. One, exactly as you said. Two, we get help to build our own. This would require finding help willing to build a boat for us. And three, we give up and live here, but that's not going to happen." Magloria replied.

Collapse understood what Jump Start said, although her statement was more of intended to be a joke if anything. "Oh, well if anything you can just imagine putting a donut on my horn. Ring toss, but with donuts?" she suggested with a grin, although the question clearly wasn't serious.

They would have to get water soon it seems. But at least the scorching sun was blocked by the trees. "I am not giving up either. I don't really think anyone would want to help us build our own but then again...we haven't asked, have we? It could just be as simple as asking. Maybe the felines are kind. If not, than we run the other way." Collapse suggested.

As they walked up the hill Collapse was quite pleased that they may finally get a better view of things.

Jump Start didn't know how to respond to this, other than smiling nervously and glancing away awkwardly.

"Well whether they're kind or not will clearly have to wait, because we're hours away and I'm not willing to backtrack before we've accomplished what we set out to do in the first place." Magloria said, pressing on just that little bit faster in defiance and determination.

By this point they could just about see what they previously could from the other hill through the various gaps in the leaves. They were probably about halfway up.

Many more hours later, a pair of tree snakes and another fruit tree with hoof indentations later, and they were most of the way up, with the sun just starting to set on the horizon. "We should look for a place to settle down for the night." Stated Magloria.

Collapse didn't object to what Magloria said, as she agreed with it in full. The hours were relatively boring for Collapse and she held casual chatter with Jump Start although she tried to get Magloria in on more casual conversations. After all, she has been able to do what she wanted with Jump Start but not Magloria yet. Magloria is one tough cookie, isn't she?

Upon arriving towards the top of the mountain with a fruit in her mouth Collapse would look to Magloria and would swallow the rest of her bite. "Of course. That's the best part." she smirked and began looking around for a more suitable place to settle down.

Once they had settled down Collapse had put the pedals down. Notably the petals were combined in one area, leaving Magloria to have her petals to her own, and for Jump Start and Collapse to share some pedals. Or the other way around. Which ever way they preferred.

"Ah, what a day of jungle and fruit I'll say. But now that we set ourselves up, I'll go have a look above the trees." she spoke. If neither of them had objected, Collapse would have flown above the tree line to take in the sights and the horizon. No doubt a higher place of viewing would provide a better reference to where everything was in relation to them.

They had found a place as the sun began dropping below the horizon. It wasn't the greatest, but it wasn't bad either. A small place beneath a rocky overhang, creating a roof over their heads. They still had to deal with dirt and various grasses, which thankfully the flower petals would protect against.

"If you want, but you're probably not going to see as much right now." Jump Start replied when Collapse stated her actions. Neither objected though, so she was free to float upwards.

Collapse saw the golden rays of the sunset falling across almost everything around her. From this height she could clearly make out the feline settlement and the river snaking it's way through the trees. It looked like it definitely could be used for transporting ships.

But she could see a problem. The river went right past the feline settlement. If the group settled further upstream, they might be spotted when their ship is eventually built or obtained.

She couldn't see what was on the other side of the hill yet, as they weren't at the top. But even from this altitude she could see wispy smoke clouds. Seems like someone else could be out there.

The place they had found was adequate. Collapse wasn't going to complain about it, after all it was just for one night. It was pleasing that nobody had chased them through the jungle, especially after what went down in the town. There was a long way to go. Two days in the jungle may just be the beginning.

Upon floating upwards Collapse had taken in the sights of what she saw above the trees. Due to the fact of the sunset's beauty, she was sure to spend more time up there in admiring the sights of the sunset. Looking out over the area she noted the feline settlement as it was before but before long she noticed that problem. If they wanted to build a boat and not be noticed, they would have to find another area completely if they still wanted to go through with that plan.

The smoke on the other side of the hill was another thing. They weren't alone out here, at least not as alone as they thought. After a few minutes of taking in the details Collapse would fly back down and relay the details to the others.

Magloria spoke up as Collapse returned to the ground. "What kept you so long? I had started to wonder if you had flown away and left us behind." she said. It was hard to tell if this was a joke or not. From what Collapse knew about how she acted, it really could be either.

"Well the river going by the felines is to be expected. It's what any settlement large enough would do, otherwise they'd die of thirst. Still, I'm sure they could be 'reasoned' with when they see us go past. Maybe by that point we wouldn't even need to worry about them, for one reason or another." she shrugged.

Jump Start spoke up. "Who do you think could be on the other side? More felines? Other ponies like us? Or... hey, do you think seaponies live around in the waters here? We might be able to convince them to help us make a boat!" she exclaimed, sounding excited at the idea she just came up with.

Collapse smiled at Magloria lightly. "The sunsets are always beautiful, especially over such a foreign land that my eyes have never seen." she got closer to Magloria and hesitated a bit, and decided not to do what it is she wanted to do. Magloria's snoot looked so inviting to boop! But she had to resist, at least for now.

Looking to Jump Start she rose an eyebrow. "That is best left for tomorrow to find out for sure. I think that we won't be able to do much without interacting with anyone here. Unless of course you two are willing to go scavenging for materials to build a boat with and spend months under the forest canopy when attempting to construct a boat ourselves...so I think that our best option is to do as Jump Start suggests, but we must be weary as we do not know who they are or what they are." Collapse spoke calmly, smiling at Jump Start's excitement. That was cute.

"It may just be simple as asking for help. If not, at least we'll know more." she added.

Magloria started to reply, turning away and moving over to her petal bed as she spoke. "First we reach the top of the hill in the morning, then we can check out whatever is making the smoke that Collapse spotted, *then* we can go all the way back down to the ocean to check for seaponies. We don't want to go off wildly chasing whatever pops into our head."

She sat down on the large piece of plant, getting comfortable.

Jump Start shrugged and decided that she should probably start relaxing on her petals as well. She lay down and curled up, tucking her legs and tail in, forming a ball of pony.

Chapter 35

Collapse nodded to Magloria there. "Yup. Sounds good to me." she stated and proceeded to relax down next to Jump Start. As expected, Jump Start could feel Collapse's soft warmth press up against her as she lays down. As she was curled up like a ball, that meant that Collapse could easily curl up around her. She was sure to be gentle with Jump Start. Her tail flicks around herself, meaning that her tail was by Jump Start's face. Could maybe be used as a pillow if Jump Start wanted.

Collapse could feel Jump Start tighten up further as she coiled around her. The tail landing on Jump Start's face made her flinch in from the unexpected contact, but eventually she decided that it could stay covering most of her head. After a deep sigh, she relaxed again with the intent to go to sleep.

A couple large lizards wandered by the group's shelter. Not close enough to be a concern, but still close enough to be easily watched. Each were a green colour and slightly larger than them from tail to head, but lower to the ground. They were probably looking for a suitable shelter themselves.

They didn't find one here, due to the current occupants, so they kept on searching.

Collapse was more than pleased with the cuddle she had with Jump Start and she smirked widely. If Magloria was looking, perhaps she'd see it. However with the way they were laying, Jump Start wouldn't have seen that grin.

However just before she fell asleep she noticed the large lizards, however they had moved off before they could be of a concern. Like that, Collapse fell asleep with Jump Start's soft warmth radiating away into her soft cream colored fur. It was most pleasing. Collapse had whispered something under her breathe but neither of them heard what it was.

If nothing interrupted them, she would fall off to sleep.

Collapse woke up to a sudden painful sensation striking her in the head. What sounded like loud chittering could be heard somewhere, but that wasn't as important as the feeling of something *else* striking her in the head hard.

"Ouch!" Magloria suddenly cried out. She apparently saw what was hurting them, because there was the sound of magic and a rush of ice being projected upwards into the treeline, a loud amount of alarmed calls and scrambling through the trees was heard afterwards.

"And stay out!" Magloria snapped.

The shout woke up Jump Start, who blearily looked around to see what was going on.

Collapse awoke quickly due to the sudden painful sensation and pulled away from the area quickly towards where Magloria was. Instantly her heart was racing upon the situation they were faced with, and her tiredness quickly faded as her mind was focused on two things only. Ascertaining the situation and getting ready for combat. Looking to make sure that her boots were on properly, which they were she would quickly pull herself away from Jump Start while looking towards the treeline.

Her spear was grabbed instinctively in her golden magic. "Whats going on? Was someone attacking us?!" she quickly shouted to Magloria, ready to engage in combat if needbe. However it seemed that whatever it was that had came into the area was retreating away given Magloria's attacks.

Magloria looked particularly disgruntled, glaring up at the trees where now a large clump of ice sat, hanging off one of the larger branches.

"No, we're not under attack. Just some of the wildlife thought it was a good idea to act like bastards." she growled, letting her gaze fall from the trees as she turned to Collapse.

"Bunch of stupid monkeys threw sticks at us. Probably wanted to see how we'd react. Bet they didn't expect magic. Had them buggering off pretty fast too."

Jump Start got up and casually stretched, giving out a yawn before joining in on the conversation. "So... I guess we won't be having trouble from them anymore after your little... magic show?" she asked.

Magloria shook her head. "Doubt it. Probably spreading word to their friends as we speak." she said, adjusting one earring, then her other one to make sure they hadn't been damaged.

Collapse sighed of relief and looked up at the trees for a few moments as she sighs. Collapse was definitely calming herself down.

"Phew...I was worried we were going to have to fight felines today or something...just some monkeys...albeit annoying ones." she smirked as her eyes met Magloria's own, before her eyes would look to Magloria's pretty earrings. "If anything that's just a test of how fast we could react. I would say that was reasonable. Plus it gets the blood pumping for the day." she remarked as she looked over to Jump Start and smiled warmly.

"Sleep good? I sure did, and I would have slept better if monkeys didn't wake us up. Either way, I slept good." Collapse said to her. Jump Start could easily guess why that was.

"With that said, I believe we have a side of a hill to examine." Collapse added.

"Mhm... sure." Magloria said, disinterested in conversation at the moment after what happened. Instead she instructed them all to pack up their 'bedrolls' and get ready to move again.

It seems like they had been woken up just after dawn. The sunlight was strong enough to clearly show everything, but the heat wasn't oppressive, yet.

Jump Start gave a tired shrug and started to follow after Magloria. "I could've slept better. Or longer. Do you think coffee beans grow in this place? Something similar as a substitute perhaps?" she pondered.

Collapse picks up the petals her and Jump Start had slept on and followed after Magloria. She rose an eyebrow at Jump Start's suggestion. "It is certainly possible. Coffee beans do indeed grow in these types of environments. Maybe we'll find some, and we'll brew it up if we do." Collapse smiled warmly.

Her tail wags a little bit at the suggestion, finding herself to be rather warm and giddy inside. "Hehe, who knows what else we'll find." she added.

"The hard part is properly identifying the beans, I'd think." Magloria stated. "They wouldn't just come in those little brown beans that you buy from the market. Just like how sugar cane doesn't grow sugar lumps."

"Unfortunately I don't know what a coffee plant looks like, so I can't identify one if we find it." she added.

"Neither... Oh well..." Jump Start sighed.

A few more hours of walking, a clump of bananas for breakfast and an oddly agitated monkey later, and they had reached what they knew was the top of the hill. The trees still blocked a bit from here, but they could see jungle trees everywhere.

On the other side of the hill they saw the thin trail of smoke, now mostly faded, reaching up through the trees. Beyond that was large amounts of tree canopy and a mountain range off in the distance. If they wanted to reach that it would take several days of constant travel, and even more to climb up without proper climbing gear.

Collapse sighs in disappointment. "Aww, no coffee...but maybe we could make fruit juice or something else instead." she said as they went along.

The hours of walking through the jungle were what Collapse had basically expected. At least the bananas tasted better than those other fruits. The monkeys were annoying yet also hilarious. Still though, being woken up by thrown rocks isn't the best of things to wake up to. It felt calming though, to be in such a wooded area when nobody else was around that they had known of.

Upon seeing the thin trail of smoke Collapse would speak. "What do you think was causing that? Perhaps a campfire or campsite? It seems to be thinner this time, perhaps the fire is starting to go out and weakened throughout the night." she commented.

Upon looking off to the mountain range Collapse had an idea. "I don't suppose either of you are in the mood to go up a mountain? Well, it is far away but even if we are to get some of the way up we'd get a really good view of the area, however this trail of smoke should hopefully provide some answers." she added.

Magloria scoffed. "Well I'd expect a flame to be weakened after burning for an entire night and part of the day. I'm more surprised that it would still be going. Whatever made it obviously doesn't know about fire safety." she said.

They both shook their head at the suggestion to climb the mountains. "It's days away and too steep to climb properly." Magloria pointed out as if it was obvious.

"This hill is just that. A hill. That's a mountain. We're bad enough at climbing steep rocky inclines because we slip easily compared to say... a griffon, but a steep rocky incline that's a thousand meters high is a stupid idea just to look around."

Collapse was silent for a bit as she processed the answers she was given. "Oh yeah...your right." she spoke as if she hadn't even considered that. "Scratch that then, let's just look at the fire." she suggested. Perhaps that was just an attempt to sweep away her...suggestions, but either way she definitely felt embarrassed at how quickly her suggestions were shot down. To boot, her ears went back ever so slightly.

With that out of the way, she would follow them towards the flame while keeping an eye out for anything suspicious.

It was midday by the time they had arrived at the place where the smoke was coming from. A patch of the hill that contained no dirt for plants to grow on, leaving a large plate of rock exposed directly to the sun.

The remains of a campfire could be seen, several burnt logs smoldering away to charcoal. The owners of the campfire was nowhere to be seen though. There was just a large amount of big lizards about, similar to the ones that they saw the other night.

Most of them were busy laying about in the sun, letting the rays of heat flow through them. A few were looking in the group's direction, obviously wary of their presence.

Collapse looks about at the lizards and the burnt logs upon their arrival. "Lots of lizards and burnt logs. Isn't quite what I expected though. I would think that anyone this far away from a town would set up an actual camp, but if they are out this far perhaps they are hunting or logging, something like that." Collapse thought out loud.

The lizards were interesting, not animals Collapse would wanna go up to though. They were too large to simply go and pick up like a salamander or something like that.

That was when they saw movement approaching from the trees on the other side. Something large, twice as large than them was approaching.

First they could see it's big head, coated in bronze scales with piercing yellow eyes, with a grey frill around it's neck. Then the rest of it's body came into view, everything covered in the bronze scales with various patches of black dotted in patterns across it's body. 4 short legs, each ending in claws that could tear into trees, and finally a long, flexible tail sat at the end.

However there were things that didn't match up with what they probably expected. They didn't have any wings to speak of, plus they wore a series of pouches down their back, some looking filled with supplies. They also wore a large scarf or small poncho around their upper body, colored forest green to blend in with their surroundings.

That was probably the owner of the campsite, and judging from how some of the lizards were moving towards them, they were well acquainted too.

Jump Start was understandably scared. "Let's turn back now." she suggested.

Collapse was most certainly surprised at who they had seen. Perhaps this was a parent of the other lizards around. Mama lizard maybe. If going off of how bears get when one goes near their cubs - it is best to move away. She certainly didn't want to be anywhere near this huge lizard if it was angered. That would be far scarier.

With a bit of a scared shake Collapse agrees. "Y-yes, let's turn back now. I don't wanna be lizard food today." Collapse's ears went back as she gulped. Her tail shakes a little bit at the scene in fear and she instinctively looks for Magloria like a scared filly. Magloria would know what to do. "M-magloria, what do you think of this?" she asked with a whimper.

Big scary lizard. That isn't what Collapse wanted to find. A friendly seapony? She missed the seaponies already.

Magloria just stood there and watched as the big lizard reached into one of it's pouches. Her eyes narrowed.

"I think that it's probably not your typical lizard, and that we should move on to our next task." she said as the big lizard pulled out what appeared to be a large pile of pebbles and placed them on the ground, except they weren't pebbles. If you looked close enough they were actually little beetle statues.

Magloria turned away, starting to move in the direction of the closest bit of ocean. "Checking to see if seaponies existed in these waters was our next task, no?"

Collapse agrees silently and follows Magloria away. While that Lizard seemed to be more than a normal lizard. It was probably intelligent just like they were, at least on some level she would expect.

"Well, I would definitely like to see if there are seaponies. Seaponies are a lot better than scary lizards and felines. Plus, they are just amazing." Collapse smiled sweetly as the hug with Aura Surge came to mind upon the end of that statement. Already she did indeed miss Aura Surge, for she had helped them so much. Aura Surge was also very soft.

[06-Dec-21 02:46 PM]
They were under the cover of the jungle's canopy almost immediately, obscuring their sight of the sun again and cooling them down. The downside is they had to deal with all the flying bugs everywhere again.

"There is a massive problem with searching for the seaponies however. Unless we get lucky at spotting one near the beach or on the surface, we're going to have to search through a lot of water. That's going to take a while, not to mention there are more sea creatures here. Stuff like sharks and jellyfish." Magloria stated.

Jump Start joined in on listing creatures. "And snappy crabs, slimy eels, poisonous pufferfish, lanky squids..."

"Well we'll check around the shores first before going into the water I would say. Perhaps some interesting things washed up on the shores or there is something interesting along the beach." Collapse noted.

"If its just things like sea life than I imagine we could easily deal with it, with our magic we can find off sharks and stuff but I'd rather we just avoid those situations to begin with. If there are seaponies on the surface however, they would likely be a far different group than the ones we met as the ones below weren't really aware of the surface." Collapse spoke, stating the obvious.

The sun was starting to get low by the time they reached where the closest beach was. Unlike most of the surrounding beaches that they saw, this part didn't have a lot of sand. Instead it was filled with large rocks, many of them making smooth and round slabs all over the place. In some places small pools of water had formed.

Plentiful crabs and other various wildlife could be found, most of them in the water pools. Whatever was further out into the water however was a mystery.

Jump Start looked about. "I don't see any. Do you?" she asked. Magloria shook her head in reply.

There was no signs of any seaponies nearby. A couple of seals laying on the rocks looked like seaponies for a moment, until the realization that their shape was all wrong.

Chapter 36

Collapse noticed the seals and was about to say something but upon the realization they were just seals. The beach wasn't the best place to hang out at. It didn't have the beautiful white sands that Collapse wanted from a beach scenery, but just rocks instead. Not very comfortable to lay a towel on, she figured.

"Unfortunately not. Do either of you want to go into the water? They could be swimming about underneath the water itself. After all they wouldn't have much reason to go on the surface other than basking in the sunlight but the sun's getting low so it wouldn't a good time for that. Perhaps that is why we don't see any." Collapse suggested and shrugged slightly.

Magloria nodded, setting down most of her supplies near one of the rocks, in a place where the wind wouldn't be able to blow them about and the seals won't be able to go after them. Jump Start would do the same with her own things.

"Only for an hour or so, though. We don't want to be dripping wet when the sun goes down, even if that can be quickly solved." she said. "Then we can find a place to sleep for the day and try again tomorrow. Though the water breathing spell may not last much longer. It's been... about 5 days since it was cast."

Collapse sets down her supplies as well and takes her boots off. Boots don't bode too well in the water after all.

"Well, we better get our last use out of it while we can. So let's go in the water." she spoke, walking towards the water. Then she would dive into the water and swim forward. Cautiously she would put her head under the water and see if the water breathing spell was in effect. If it was, she'd look around for any seaponies or anything else of interest.

Jump Start and Magloria followed along, also sticking their heads below water to see what was down there. At this part of the ocean so close to the beach there wasn't much. Just a bunch of rocks, patches of sand and the occasional fish and crab swimming by.

Further away was obscured by the ocean's natural cloudiness, so they'd have to move further out in order to see anything.

Collapse was thankful that the water breathing spell still worked and began to swim further out while keeping weary. This is an unfamiliar area so there could be anything in these waters. But still it felt nice to be in water on the surface. It was also good for their fur too, after all they had just trekked through a jungle and a mushroom forest so it was good to get clean.

"See anything yet?" she asked the others.

The hour passed as all they saw was a large amount of open ocean, schools of fish (one of which were unfortunate enough to be spotted and eaten by seals), and plentiful kelp forests and rock formations on the floor, hiding an assortment of other various sea creatures. They didn't spot any seaponies this time.

Jump Start groaned out of boredom. "No, I don't see anything that looks like a seap- hey, what's that?" she asked, pointing closer to the shore.

There was a small colony of clams resting in the sand on the sea floor. Among them was a metallic object, just barely shining from the low sunlight. It seemed stuck to the mouth of one of the clams.

Collapse looked to Jump Start as she saw the stone there. "Hmm, it's probably the pearl of the clam one would figure." Collapse nodded and looked slightly closer, not going too close. The ocean so far was basically what she had expected for all intense and purposes. Maybe the metallic object wasn't the pearl but something else? "You know, I don't know how Clams make pearls. Do you?" Collapse asked with a grin.

Jump Start nodded her head. "Of course. Clams don't like it when sand falls inside them, so they begin using magic to form a hard, silky substance around the sand grain. This substance creates a pearl, which is how it's known for it's magic properties." she said.

"Magical properties attuned to protection and softness, specifically. It's a pretty valuable enhancement for machines and clothes, but not as popular as their gemstone variants." Magloria added.

As they got closer they could tell that the shiny object definitely wasn't a pearl. It looked more like a curved metal rod, but they couldn't tell entirely what it is, because the rest of it happened to be caught inside the clam itself.

Collapse makes an 'oooh' sound at what they tell her about pearls. "That is pretty fascinating to say the least. I didn't know that clams had magic." she remarks as they move closer and looks to the metal rod. Really, she had never considered that clams had magic.

"Mind helping me pull this rod out? Magloria, you can grab the clam with your magic and I'll pull the rod out. Let's see what it is." she spoke. Provided if Magloria agreed, Collapse would move in and grab the rod with her magic and begin pulling the rod out. She gave it a few harsh tugs to see if she could dislodge it from the clam's mouth.

"Most creatures have magic. Even the ones you wouldn't think would have magic, like rabbits and foxes." Magloria shrugged as she swam down closer to the clam. "Ponies assume they don't because it's not obvious enough for them to see, but it's definitely there."

Magloria looked down at the clam. "It's a good thing this one isn't a large one, because if it was I doubt we'd be able to do this." she said and started to do as instructed. The clam's mouth refused to open at first, but the longer they tried prying the clam open, the wider the gap got, enough that Collapse was able to see the pearl inside.

Suddenly the metal rod was pulled out. Seeing this as a success, Magloria stopped her magic, causing the clam to quickly shut.

The metal piece itself, now that they could see it in full, appeared to be some sort of large fishing hook, likely for reeling in big fish... or opening clams. The owner of this one probably couldn't get it back.

After they had pulled it out Collapse frowned in disappointment. "Just a normal fishing hook. I was hoping it would be some sort of ancient sword or something cool, but I suppose we'll take it with us incase we ever need a hook." Collapse shrugged and held it with her hoof.

With respect to what Magloria said, Collapse looked into her eyes curiously. "Well, ain't that fascinating? Huh, learn something new every day I suppose. I think we've been under the waves long enough. It is getting dark and we should find a place to lay down for the night. Unfortunately there are no seaponies around here." Collapse spoke, ready to swim back to the shore.

Although Collapse had seen the pearl inside the clam. "Well...if we are here, we might wanna get that pearl out before we go. Perhaps we could use it as a bargaining chip should we need to." Collapse suggested, looking to the clam.

Jump Start blinked in confusion. "You were... expecting an ancient sword to be stuck in a clam? I mean, maybe in a super large clam that grew massive, but these little-ish guys?" she questioned.

Magloria looked down at the shelled creature as well. "This one's got a pearl in it? You sure? Well alright, we've got time to get it open again." she said as she powered up her magic again. The clam was slowly forced open again, giving Collapse a good opportunity to snatch the pearl inside.

Once the pearl was secure, Magloria spoke again. "We haven't found seaponies, but we did only spend a short time searching. We might be luckier tomorrow, and you should hope that we are, because that's the last day we can search. Anyway, let's go." She began to swim towards the shoreline, and Jump Start followed.

Collapse looks to Jump Start. "I mean maybe not quite a sword but I was hoping for something more in these clams y'know? I know its far fetched." she then would retrieve the pearl and thank Magloria for forcing the clam open. Once she got the pearl she would hold it in her magic and look it over.

Agreeing with Magloria, Collapse would follow along towards the shore. "Yeah, I definitely hope find something good tomorrow. Not only seaponies but other things as well. We can dedicate the whole day to searching to make the use of what we have left to boot instead of just an hour. That gives us some good chances." she remarked.

Once they were ashore Collapse would shake herself off a bit away from the others as to not get herself wet. She'd put on her boots and retrieve her things.

The pearl she obtained look like just a standard pearl. A creamy white sphere with a faint shine to it, no doubt even better when properly polished. Not the biggest pearl, but it wasn't a small one that you'd stick onto a necklace with 30 others. With the right enchantments on it, it could make a machine last much longer and operate smoother.

When they all got out of the water they shook themselves to rid most of the water, Magloria flowing a spell over each of them to strain out most of the remaining droplets. They were still a bit damp, but that would disappear quickly when they set up a campfire.

The fiery orange glow of the sky signaled that the sun had almost set. In about half an hour it would be night time. The colder sea air blew against their backs as they all retrieved their things, chilling them slightly.

"I guess we're camping underneath a tree again tonight. Let's see if there is anything worthwhile in the nearby jungle, so we don't have to walk very far to return..." Magloria said, starting off towards the treeline.

Collapse was more than pleased that she had gotten a decent pearl. Perhaps she could use it for something someday. Although...she remembered what Jump Start had spoke of earlier on. Giving Magloria a pearl! That was perfect. Although now wasn't the time, she would when they were by a camp fire.

When the spell flowed over them Collapse closed her eyes and enjoyed the feeling of it. It felt good to get most of the remaining wetness off of their coats. With a quick thank you, Collapse would follow towards the treeline. Shivering slightly due to the colder sea wind, not only because of the wind but because of her excitement and inner nervousness at her plan.

"Yup. With those tools we bought, I could maybe test out the mushroom axe we got and I'll ignite the fire." Collapse stated. When they had entered the treeline Collapse would look for a suitable area they could set up at, as well as some branches that she could cut.

Provided if everything had gone right, Collapse would gather wood for the campfire.

Magloria nodded at Collapse's suggestion. "Sure, after we've found a suitable place to stay at." she looked up at the sky, checking around for something. "Hmm... probably won't need a strong overhead shelter *yet* but... wouldn't hurt to find a good place for tonight. We'll likely be returning there tomorrow after our undersea trip." she said.

Before they set out though, Collapse was allowed to gather firewood. After mercilessly tearing apart one of the smaller trees and hacking the rest of it to pieces, they now had several pieces of wood to burn.

By the time they had found somewhere good to take shelter at the sun had completely set beyond the horizon. It was a small cave in the side of the hill they had come down from, dry and shallow.

Magloria instructed Collapse to start the fire down near the entrance to the cave, and Jump Start to bring out some of their leftover fruits from their bags. Roasted fruits all nice and warm would probably be better than fresh ones.

Collapse brings the branches and wood they have gathered into a pile. Not all of it goes on the pile, as they would wanna stock up to keep it burning for later use. Her horn glows gold and then turns to a shade of orange and an orange spark flies off her horn into the campfire. Soon it began to combust, Collapse sits back against the side of the cave and looks into the newly started campfire.

"Well that was our day. What did you think of it?" Collapse asked the two of them as she looks into the fire, watching the dancing flames with her eyes. As she talks, they could see the flames reflect from within her eyes.

Magloria started slicing up the fruits before levitating them over to the flames. Each piece started to warm up, searing the outside skin as they did.

"Could've been better, but we're making progress at least." she muttered casually. They hadn't found what they were looking for, but maybe with enough future exploring they could.

"I'm still wondering about that big lizard." Jump Start said as she looked into the fire. "Why could it do something like this and wear such things? How smart could it have been really? You think we could've talked to it?" she asked.

"It is possible. Life comes in many forms and so does intelligence. Maybe if we seek out the big lizard we could ask for directions or something like that. But we'd have to be on our guard, as that Lizard is likely a mother with her many children. At least that is what it seemed like." she spoke as she looked into the flame.

Collapse looked over to Magloria. "Magloria, I um, also have something I would like to give to you. Think of it as a...thank you for all of what you have done for us." Collapse spoke and inched closer to Magloria and pulled out the pearl, giving it to her.

Magloria set down the pieces of hot fruit to address Collapse. She looked down at the offering, quirking an eyebrow. "Really? You know you'd get a small sum of bits if we got back to Equestria with that, right? Well... thanks." she said in a lighter tone than her usual voice, accepting the pearl and placing it into her bag after a quick inspection.

The sound of angry hissing and feral growling could be heard echoing from somewhere outside in the jungle, bringing Jump Start and Magloria's attention towards it. "Sounds like something out there is having fun." Magloria muttered under her breath.

She turned to the fruits, now cooled slightly. "Well everyone, dinner's served, if you could really call it that." she said, levitating a couple pieces to each of them.

Collapse looked into Magloria's eyes. "When we get back to Equestria all of our knowledge as well as what we've found will be well worth its weight, so I'm not hard pressed for bits. And besides, what truly matters is those close to us." Collapse grins.

Her grin would fade as she heard the sounds outside in the jungle. She shrugged it off. It was a jungle after all, so there were bound to be predators going after their prey. Not something of particular concern. "Well, I'd rather we stay in here. Let...whatever it is have its fun." she spoke as she grabbed her pieces of fruit and began to eat.

"Yummy." she remarked.

"Perhaps. But I wouldn't rely on others paying you for information. I know for a fact that those in positions of power tend to skim on... necessary compensation. Returning with valuables though? That always pays." Magloria said as she tore off a chunk of fruity goodness.

Collapse could taste the difference between the fresh and cooked fruit. The heat brought out a lot of the sweetness in the food, masking the previous bitterness. Very much worth eating.

After finishing their dinner, Magloria threw the remaining skins into the flames, Jump Start repeating the process with her own leftovers. "About time we should get to sleep, I reckon. Same as usual, we take turns keeping watch. Any volunteers?" she asked.

"Fair enough. Perhaps we will indeed return with more valuables than we have currently. We have all the time in the world to find something of significant value." Collapse spoke in reply and then would finish off the rest of her fruit. It was satisfying how much better it had tasted.

After tossing the skins into the flames Collapse would volunteer this time. "I'll volunteer this time." she remarked. Although her main reason was that she secretly wanted to admire the sleeping mares. Would a pearl mean that Magloria was open to some snuggles? Maybe not, but at least hopefully Magloria would soften up a bit.

Magloria nodded at Collapse. "Alright, well wake one of us up in a few hours." she said, pulling out the large petals (which started to look a lot less comfortable by now) and set them down in 3 piles... which she then turned into 2 when she considered Collapse would inevitably do that anyway with Jump Start.

Magloria took the smaller pile, and Jump Start took the bigger one. After saying goodnight to each other, they both settled down for the night.

The next few hours were quite boring, to say the least. Nothing but moonlit darkness outside, various insect noises, bat shrieks and predator sounds.

Partway through what would've been Collapse's 3rd hour of staring at her sleeping companions, she heard loud rustling of bushes and other plants outside.

Collapse was definitely quite bored by the third hour. However she had occasionally admired her sleeping companions but didn't make it obvious in case they had happened to be looking. By the time she had heard of the bushes and plants she was very much bored. The loud rustling brings her focus to attention and she stands up. Hopefully whatever it was had just walked by the cave. If not, then she would have to keep it blocked out with her magic as she would awake the others.

She waits carefully and silently, her focus being tuned towards the loud rustling outside.

Chapter 37

The rustling sound got louder as whatever it was drew closer to their location, until she saw it come into view, only 10 meters away from the entrance to their shelter.

The first thing she saw were the massive emerald eyes, moonlight glinting off of them making them almost appear to glow, then the rest came into focus.

It was a massive python, one large enough that it could easily crush all 3 of them at once in it's coils. Red scales with black stripes lined it's top, while orange colored it's lower half.

It hadn't seen them *yet*, but judging from the way it's tongue was frequently sticking out it, it could smell something tasty.

"Well...*shit*..." Collapse said almost silently under her breathe. That was the biggest python or snake that Collapse had ever seen. Now wasn't the time to be afraid, she had to act.

Quickly running over to Magloria and Jump Start she would shake them both awake frantically. Once they were awake she would speak, "T-there is a massive python outside the entrance of our shelter. It is so freakishly huge...and it is coming this way for us. It has caught scent of us!" she spoke in a clear urgent manner as she got ready to defend herself, all the while keeping her eyes on the entrance.

Jump Start mumbled something about cups of coffee running away as she was violently woken from her dreams. Magloria however quickly became alert, immediately looking around before focusing on Collapse.

"Great. Just what we need right now." Magloria growled, clearly not happy about having her sleep disturbed. Her horn lit up and her spear quickly came to her side, before she marched to the entrance.

The snake was closer, and by now knew where they were. It coiled up, preparing to strike out at them if they dared to flee or attack. Magloria's horn grew brighter in preparation for something.

Collapse quickly got ready as well and prepared as she got up, standing by Jump Start as if guarding over her. Looking to Magloria she commended her quick acting. Collapse's horn began to glow brighter as well and she was charging up a spell. It was better to let Magloria have the first shot here as she was the captain after all.

"I have a feeling neither of us are going to want to take shelter in a jungle. I didn't expect massive pythons such as this but...I'm really eager to get out of here to be frank." she stated with a fair bit of grit in her words, clearly indicating she wasn't at all pleased by the circumstances.

Magloria brought forth her magic, but instead of attacking the giant python, she did something very different.

A wall of ice quickly materialized in front of them, with a long slit down the middle. It didn't look like it would've stopped the snake when it attacked, but then she added more.

Long, thick spikes grew outwards from the barrier, and in just a few moments they were protected by a literal wall of spikes, with Magloria's spear being placed into the center slit, adding to the defense. Now the snake would have no choice but to launch itself face-first into what might as well be certain death if they wanted to get to them.

It hissed loudly, likely having realized this and clearly angry at having been denied it's meal. It spent the next few minutes checking around the place to see if there was any places not covered by the frozen spikes.

"Unfortunately we don't have much of a choice. There's little to no shelter on the beaches, and it's too wet. The distant mountains would be too dangerous to climb daily. The jungle is our only option, unless you'd want to go back to the big cave with the seaponies?" Magloria said, casually threatening the python with a few jabs of her spear whenever it decided to get too close during it's investigation.

Collapse would power down her spell, realizing that Magloria had handled the situation in a very impressive yet unexpected manner. Clearly, this was just another example of her tactical prowess. Collapse smiled at this.

"Well, as much as I like the seaponies I am not willing to reverse our progress." Collapse spoke, almost hesitantly. "Unless we go far enough and find another place that we could make a more permanent shelter, maybe the jungle ends somewhere but we'd have to walk for days or even longer to find that." she added, observing the snake's behavior.

Looking at the angry snake, she was very glad they weren't on the receiving end of the snake's anger at its denial of it's intended meal.

Magloria shook her head. "It's probably not a good idea to wander for days looking for another place. Not only would we have to face danger constantly on the way, but we might even find a place that's even worse. Have you ever been to the place known as the Dragonlands? Borderline unlivable in the past, and only slightly better now." she said.

By this point the snake, seeing that it had no way to get to them without seriously putting it's life in danger, decided that it was time to give up and go hunt something else. It slid off through the bushes, and soon they couldn't hear it's retreat anymore.

Magloria looked outside, checking for the position of the moon. "Well it seems like it's about time to end your shift anyway. I can take over from here." she said and sat down, keeping a constant eye on the entrance.

"I've never been there myself but I have heard many stories. Even though the Dragons themselves are at peace with Equestria...it is very harsh there. I'd never wanna go there willingly." she spoke in agreement.

"Good to see the snake is leaving. It'll probably find something else, as long as its out of our hair thats all that matters." she spoke, watchingas the snake left.

After all was said and done, she lays down next to Jump Start. If any indication, the scooting closer and the fact that Jump Start could feel Collapse up against her - it was clear what Collapse had wanted.

Jump Start was already asleep by the time that Collapse settled down next to her, obviously still tired from being woken up and very willing to start dreaming again once the danger had passed.

She did twitch a bit, if Jump Start was hoping to get any sort of reaction out of her. Either way, Collapse didn't really need to be awake anymore, so unless she had something else she wanted to do, it would be best to follow Jump Start's example.

Collapse had just cuddled around Jump Start and brought her closer to herself and gave her some gentle pats. Not enough to wake her up, but enough to just get comfy. With a dreamy smile and sigh, Collapse would go off to sleep.

If Magloria had looked, she would see Collapse in her sleep. The way she was cuddling around Jump Start was adorable, with the way her tail was curled around Jump Start.

In the hours that passed, Magloria did look over to her companions. Several times in fact, each time staring at them while thinking over some things. To anyone watching, she seemed emotionless, but those who knew her knew this was not the case.

When Collapse woke up she found herself missing one cuddle pony. Jump Start was now over by the entrance, watching the sun slowly rise through the now completely melted ice barrier. A piece of fruit was idly rolled about beneath her hooves, clear indication that she was bored.

She looked over to them, now noticing that Collapse had awoken. "Morning. Nothing happened and it was really boring. Even searching for the seaponies was more fun..." she moaned.

Collapse awoke with a yawn and she stretched out her hooves in a move to give Jump Start a slight squeeze. Only that she wasn't there, so she couldn't do that. Lookin over to the entrance where Jump Start was and smiled. "Good morning. Nothing happening is a good thing, since at least nothing bad happened." she spoke as she rolled over on the ground, laying on her back with her head looking at Jump Start upside down for a few moments with a cheeky grin.

Then she would getup from the ground and stretch fully before going over to Jump Start. "Well today, we have the whole day to search the ocean for seaponies. Hopefully we'll find something cool, like an ancient sword or something." she strode towards Jump Start. "Oh, and one thing I forgot to do the last couple of times..."

Collapse brought her hoof to Jump Start's snoot quickly, yet gently.

"Boop."

Jump Start's nose instinctively wrinkled up from the unexpected assault. She shook her head, brushing off the sudden contact in a mix of both mirth and annoyance, if her expression was anything to go by.

"Again with the ancient sword. Why do you want to find something like that so much? You don't even use swords anyway. Plus wouldn't an ancient one be all rusted and broken, assuming it wasn't kept in a good place?" she asked, stepping down on the fruit and causing it to crack slightly, just enough that she could pull it apart and get at the insides.

One of the pieces was nudged in Collapse's direction. "Want some? We got more, but we might need to kick another tree when we get back." Jump Start offered politely.

Collapse would retract a bit upon noticing that she annoyed Jump Start a bit there. She wanted to make her giggle and smile and not to annoy her. Oh well, she'll keep that in mind.

"I don't know, I just think it would be cool. Something magical, something ancient. Really tickles my senses I suppose. I like ancient and old things in general. Perhaps I'll consider collecting things." she pondered and looked to the fruit piece. "Oh, sure. I want some fruit." she spoke and picked up some of the pieces for herself and began eating it.

Although she gave a bit of an odd look when she stepped down at the fruit. As if she liked seeing that.

Jump Start shrugged. "Well I'm sure you'll find something like that eventually. Maybe the jungle has something like that to find? Assuming we either get information about some old place or get really lucky."

"And can deal with the jungle creatures along the way." Magloria said, now woken up from her sleep. She fished around in their bags for the last remaining pieces of fruit, sliced them up and shared them around.

"When you're all ready, we're off to the ocean again, but be quick about it. We want to have as much time as possible." she stated.

Collapse nods. "We'll look through the jungle for things of that nature later on. For now though, let us head to the ocean as quick as possible." Collapse spoke and would begin to lead them out of the cave after putting her boots on and gathering her things. Once she was out of the cave her eyes scanned her surroundings to make sure there were no dangerous predators lurking around.

If nothing had prevented them or distracted them from reaching the ocean she would put her boots and her items near to a rock on the shore in preparation for entering into the waters.

Both Jump Start and Magloria gathered their equipment and followed after Collapse. There did not appear to be any threats around them at this time of the dawn, or maybe they were all off somewhere else. Either way, they weren't a problem for their group.

They reached the shoreline without any issues. The seal pack that they saw previously now had more total numbers, some of them busy diving into the waters in search of fish. They seemed to be enjoying themselves at least.

After setting down all their things in a bundle next to Collapse's things, they were ready to dive down underwater again. Magloria moved out to the waves and dove down, soon followed by Jump Start.

Collapse took a second to admire the seals. The seals were cute, and for a second she imagined a bunch of mares laying on the beach, all waiting for Collapse to join them. She smirked at that and even blushed lightly.

Upon diving into the water Collapse would look around much like before. As they had already searched previous areas she would aim to search through areas that they hadn't had the time to look at yesterday.

She'd keep watch of the others though to make sure nothing bad would happen to them, and to stay close to them. She wouldn't want to find herself alone without them, that was for sure.

They all spent many hours swimming through the open waters, searching for anything that resembled seaponies or artificially made construction.

Endless seabeds of kelp, sand, rocks and other various things was seen everywhere they went. At some point they came across a small coral reef, filled to the brim with various fish, eels, sea slugs and other various creatures.

At one point they had to completely avoid a part of the ocean, because it was absolutely filled with jellyfish. Poisonous to touch most likely. They did end up finding what appeared to be a shipwreck of sorts, though judging from it's mostly missing and rotten state, it's likely been there for decades. Anything inside would be worthless at this point.

They still had half a day left, so they could still do more exploring. The sky above the waters darkened, confusing Jump Start as to why it was becoming night already. Magloria explained that clouds were gathering, possibly for a storm.

By this time Collapse had enjoyed their time in the water but was fairly disappointed they hadn't found anything of value or interest. Although getting the chance to see the coral reef and experience the beauty of the sea was definitely worth it. Seeing the jellyfish from afar was beautiful although obviously, Collapse stayed away from them.

By the time the sky above started to darken Collapse had swam up to the surface to see what was happening. Probably storm clouds but also to see how far they were from the shore. If there were storm clouds gathering, Collapse would recommend that they start heading back before it rains. It could get really choppy out in the sea if there were to be a storm, or worse - a hurricane.

Once they hit the surface they all could tell that the clouds were definitely going to cause a storm. Massive amounts of dark grey clouds were off in the distance, and were slowly approaching.

"We've probably got... at least a few more hours before the storm hits, so we could spend at least another couple hours searching before heading back. You really sure you want to stop now?" Magloria asked.

Jump Start looked around the ocean waves as she waited for the decision, then she saw something that might speed up the process. "There's a seal over there swimming about." she pointed to a distant figure splashing about. "They don't seem to mind the coming storm."

Collapse looks off to the storm and then back to the others. "Well I thought that it meant that it was going to start storming soon but evidently not. Let's keep searching and take advantage of it while we can." Collapse spoke upon seeing the seal out in the water there. "I was just a bit concerned that we were going to have head back already." she added, before diving back under the water to proceed in the search for interesting things.

They spent another half an hour searching around, coming across fancy rock formations that would make great homes for fish, or more kelp forests, some growing rather tall, the height of a 2 story building.

But still no sign of anything seapony-related. Jump Start sighed, knowing that they'd soon have to go back. "Where could they be? Do you think they're even in this part of the ocean anymore?" she asked, swirling around on the spot out of boredom. She blinked. "Hey, I think that's the same seal." she said.

Pointing over to a grey figure off in the distance next to a school of fish, they saw the seal-looking figure again. Grey colours, whiskers, *4* flippers. Definitely a seal casually swimming alongside the fish.

The kelp forests being that tall were quite impressive to say the least. It would be kinda cool to live in the ocean, wouldn't it? But, in her view the mushroom forests were cooler than the ocean.

Upon JumpStart noticing the seal she would look over to the seal. "Well, do you think that seal isn't a normal seal? Perhaps it could talk too, like the lizard? It seems a little out of place. Do you think that seal could be watching us?" Collapse suggested, although she didn't sound too sure in her suggestion as she watched the seal in the distance.

Jump Start squinted her eyes, trying to get a closer look at the distant creature. After a few seconds, she shrugged. "I don't know. It's too far away and I haven't really been keeping an eye on it to see if it's following us." she stated.

"Don't seals hunt fish?" Magloria questioned. "So why is it hanging out with them?"

Collapse would begin swimming towards it, leading them towards the seal. "Yeah thats another thing, you'd expect it to be chomping up those fish. I don't think thats a normal seal anyways, see it has 4 flippers instead of 2. Quite odd, don't you think?" she asked, smiling slightly at that.

"Oh and here is another thing, seals normally occur in the arctic right? Well...we are in a jungle environment where it is far warmer..." she added.

"Wait, it's got 4 flippers?" Jump Start said, squinting her eyes again as they followed behind Collapse. She looked surprised as she came to the same realization. "They do! That's not a seal at all! That's a seapony!"

And indeed it was. The closer they got, the more details they could make out that would separate them from what they appeared to be. A mane nearly the same colour of grey as the rest of them. Finned ears, which could've been a dead giveaway. And a finned tail and whiskers that made them believe it was a seal in the first place.

They appeared to be inspecting the fish in the school, but for what reason was unknown at the moment.

"A seapony! Yay. I miss them so much. Their whiskers and their unique colors. The Keplies and Hippocampi...I miss them already. I miss...Aura Surge..." Collapse muttered Aura's name at the end of her sentence but she was obviously quite excited.

Upon close inspection Collapse would squint her eyes slightly to take in the details as they got closer. Once they were in earshot Collapse would call out, "Hey! Are you a seapony? Sorry if we are bothering you, but we are just really curious!" she called out in a friendly and warm manner to the seapony.

Maybe they could make a new friend. Collapse sure wanted another friend.

Most of the details about the seapony they had already seen. The things that they hadn't taken in were the seapony's aqua blue eyes, and the way their grey fur had several darker grey spots along the flippers and tail. They didn't wear anything like equipment, jewelry or other such things. Very natural.

The seapony heard Collapse's call and turned towards them, the school of fish being startled away from the shout. The seapony was a bit disappointed in the outcome, but addressed the group anyway.

"Uh, yeah. Of course I am. There's not really anything around here that looks similar to us." they called back, their voice sounding like a male's.

Collapse swam up to the seapony and smiled at him. "Are you from Pearlth? Descent, or some other seapony settlement? I am sorry for asking so many questions, we are getting our bearings around here as we don't really know where we are at...We uh, didn't really expect to see a seapony on the surface here. My name is Collapse." she spoke, and then introduced the others to the seapony.

"What is your name?" she asked, a little awkwardly.

When they swam closer the seapony was taken back, now noticing the apparent lack of typical seapony flippers. He was now noticeably wary of them, if his standoffish stance was any indication.

"I don't know any of those places. Or what you're talking about. You're not sirens are you? You're definitely not a seapony." he said, too nervous to follow through with answering Collapse's question.

Collapse rose an eyebrow that. Evidently this seapony was a surface dweller. "We aren't seaponies, nor sirens...we are just ponies. This is going to sound crazy but we are very...*lost*, and we aren't from around here. Long story short our ship crashed in that massive whirlpool...Over there" she pointed in the general direction of the whirlpool...the best she could.

"And we somehow got underground and there were whole mushroom forests and seapony settlements undergrounds. We were lucky to evade the felines to get to the surface. We really would appreciate any knowledge you have on this area."

It seems like overexplaining the situation to the seapony didn't have the effect that Collapse intended it to have. Instead of listening, taking it all in and understanding, he looked even more nervous and bewildered. He was probably thinking Collapse was absolutely nuts, taking about mushrooms and felines and ships. What's a ship anyway? Is it when 2 seaponies get together...?

He swam a backwards a bit, getting some distance between each other. "You're right, it does sound crazy." he said, "I have no idea what you're talking about, and you're freaking me out. I'm just going to leave no-"

"Wait!" Magloria interrupted. "Sorry about her, she gets excited sometimes. We just wanted to know if there are any other seaponies around. We're looking for help."

The still unnamed seapony merely pointed their flipper towards a part of the ocean, then started to swim away, not wanting to have anything else to do with them anymore.

"Well... at least we got a direction." Jump Start muttered, trying to look on the bright side.

"Wait! Sorry for freaking you out! I didn't me-" she sighs, seeing as the seapony was already swimming away.

Collapse was very, quite frankly pissed off with herself to say the least. An angered sigh escapes her mouth as she looks down in complete and utter disappointment. At the very least they got a direction, but that didn't make Collapse feel better.

"Ugh! I should just stop talking. All I do is mess things up." she cursed under her breathe and didn't dare look to Magloria or Jump Start in shame. "S-so uh...uh...lets go there, then." she forced herself to say, awkwardly. When they began moving off in that direction she would swim alongside them, she was very much disheartened by what she just did.

Well, at least she felt a sense of guilt.

Chapter 38

They spent another half hour or so swimming in the direction they had been given. Jump Start didn't know what to say about that outcome. She knew that it would've been better if Collapse only talked about the relevant stuff, but she didn't want to be the one to tell her.

Eventually they began to see distant figures swimming about. They looked alot like seals, but knowing what they do now, they could reasonably assume it was a group of seaponies.

There seemed to be a lot of them. At least a couple hundred all moving about the place, sometimes doing things in pairs.

Now that they could see a couple hundred seaponies all around Collapse would look to Magloria and Jump Start and do a slight 'aww' under her breathe. Instantly she felt better upon seeing all the seaponies. It was beautiful to see them all moving about, like one big herd. Imagine all the hugs she could get! Don't get too ahead of yourself, Collapse.

"There are so many of them...so many seaponies...Isn't it just so cool?" she asked to nobody in particular. "Out of 100 I am sure at least one would be willing to listen to our...crazy stories..." she chuckled somewhat and looked to Jump Start, putting her hoof on her shoulder casually.

"Hey, how about you introduce us this time? You haven't done any introducing yet." she said playfully.

Magloria shrugged, not really feeling any different from the last few times that they saw seaponies. "We've already seen that many down in Pearlth, or even in Descent. These seaponies are likely no different to them, aside from possible behaviour tendencies from living in a more open area." she said.

Jump Start looked surprised at the suggestion. "Oh! Um... you sure? I mean I guess I could..." she said, seeming nervous from the idea of greeting with so many.

When they were close enough they started hearing music being played. On top of that, many of the seaponies seemed to be swimming to the beat of the music. They were dancing.

As they watched, they noticed that some of the seaponies had now noticed their approach. Jump Start gave a wave. "Hi." she said, earning a few waves in return.

Collapse gave the seaponies a wave as well and looked to Jump Start and Magloria. "When surrounded with seaponies...do as the seaponies do..." she giggled and began to dance along with the music. "Come on, have a little shake and join the fun!" she spoke, seeming quite pleased that Jump Start had worked up the courage to greet the seaponies.

Looking to Magloria she'd smirk, hiding how much she truly wanted to smile. "We could dance together, so to speak. Hey, you have your cool water powers too. Imagine if you could use that to make your dance moves a little more...spicey, so to speak. That'd get us some good attention...then we can introduce ourselves in a more *fitting* manner to the situation." she spoke, it was clear she was scheming a little bit too, like a filly going against what their parents told them to do.

Magloria didn't do anything at first, being quite unwilling to join in on the activities that were happening in her typical non-nonsense fashion. However when Collapse mentioned her ability to manipulate water, she smiled.

Not the nice kind of smile though, the kind of predatory smile when you're planning to do something someone else won't enjoy. "Alright then. You want some spicy dance moves? I'll give you some." Her horn lit up.

Before Collapse could react in any meaningful way, the water currents around her started moving... rapidly. She began 'dancing' a lot more energetically, and a lot more unwillingly.

It only lasted a few seconds, but it was enough that it drew some more attention to their group. Good thing Magloria didn't decide to spin her around at extreme speeds, that could've been quite nauseating and possibly embarassing.

Meanwhile Jump Start was politely introducing herself to a couple seaponies that decided to greet her, and was currently explaining why they weren't seaponies, which obviously had been pointed out.

Upon seeing that predatory smile a part of Collapse regretted the idea but she was glad she would at least bring some form of playfulness out within Magloria, even if it was of the devious kind.

With no time to react Collapse had spun around? The seaponies for a second had seen a creamy yellow blue where Collapse was. That might have been funny to them, too. Collapse didn’t really mind - she was used to embarrassment but there was a slight tinge of it there. “H-hey!” Collapse giggled at the end of it but it was more of a nervous giggle at that. “It would be a really bad idea to piss you off now that I am thinking of it…” she nervously blushed.

Although Collapse got what she wanted…sorta. While she liked the idea of Magloria controlling her situations, she realized she could do way more than she wanted if she wanted to. So powerful, yet graceful Magloria is.

After that had happened she realized Jump Start was handling the introductions. That was good. Another thing Collapse didn’t have to mess up.

Magloria nodded. "Yeah, it would be. I have a lot of control here. Not so much for my ice magic, because water is really bad for keeping things cold. Still, better than the jungle." she said.

Jump Start came back to the pair and explained what she came up with. "Well I told them about how we're lost and we needed help getting back home. They couldn't help with bringing us back, but they can help us with building. We'd just have to find one on the beach when we need their help, and pay them for their efforts. They occasionally go there to relax."

Collapse nodded and accepted Magloria's response. Upon hearing what Jump Start said, she was more than pleased. Finally they were getting somewhere.

"Nice work, Jump Start!" Collapse complimented her with a wide grin. "Did you ask about where we are in relation to what else is around here? What do they know about the Felines? We could potentially avoid the Felines all together and build a ship with the seaponies, which would be great. I'm curious to what else they know, but I would expect their place of residence is on the ocean floor." she stated.

"If they are anything like the others we met, then they could give us another water breathing spell so we could do more underwater too." she added.

Jump Start nodded. "I got a little bit from them, but not much, didn't want to pry too far into what they know." she said, then started to explain what she learned.

"The only proper landmass that they know of around here is the big island that we came from, which they call Lush Above. There are a couple other smaller islands around the place, but they're not big enough to have a population that could help us."

She shrugged. "They don't know anything about the felines, aside from how some of the rivers are dangerous, thanks to hunters. They probably just don't bother with them and stay away."

"Lush Above. Wonderful name, but at least are getting somewhere." she spoke and seemed saddened at the thought of someone wanting to hunt the seaponies. What evilness would have to be inside someone to hunt such wonderful ponies? And besides, they are sentient.

"Alright well, what should we do now? I have a feeling we may have to sneak inside the feline settlement if we are to get information, unfortunately." she remarked, thinking about Magloria's plan from prior.

"Well, if you wanted to find out anything else from the seaponies around us, preferably one that won't get annoyed by questions, now is really your only time to ask." Magloria said, looking up at the surface as a flash of light could be seen off in the distance, followed a few seconds later by a rumble.

"Seems like we also lost track of time, or the weather picked up." she added, looking a bit displeased.

"I'll go ask around about some things. Meet you back here." Jump Start said, then swam over to a small group.

Collapse agrees to Magloria, then would seem a bit concerned about the thunder and the lightning in the distance. "Yeah, I'm going to go off and ask some questions myself. Feel free to do so if you'd like." Collapse said to Magloria, acknowledging Jump Start.

She then swam off towards another group of seaponies. Upon getting to them she would greet them in a friendly manner. "Oh um, hi. My name is Collapse. If you don't mind I have a few questions about you guys. Do you have like, settlements on the ocean floor? Another group of seaponies I met had something for a water breathing spell, do you guys know anything about that here?" she asked calmly.

The seaponies she swam up to took notice of her and, besides inspecting her non-seapony form and mannerisms, listened to her questions.

A green Hippocampus stallion with a strange accent answered the first question. "Yeah, we have a few places 'round here. Best place it at tha' base and up tha' side of one of them mini islands. Great spot to be, lotsa opportunity there. Even get the above stuff from tha' island!"

Another, a yellow and white Kelpus mare answered her second question. "We have spells like that here, but they're not often used at all. We don't need them, and anyone who does can just spend a day or two on a beach to recover. Only those with a fascination with unnecessary spells would really know about it." she explained.

Collapse thanked them for the answers. "I am asking because I, and my two other friends are not seaponies as you can see. We can't breathe underwater without a spell and having such a spell would be of great interest to us." she remarked, smiling at the stallion's accent and looking to the mare. It was cute to see their various differences.

"Alright so uh, where would the nearest settlement be? We might want to go there and get an underwater breathing spell if we can find anyone who can do that for us. We are also interested in finding a map or some representation of this place in larger terms so we can find out where we are at and everything like that, since we are very lost." she added.

The green stallion continued to answer. "Closest place from our party would be... 'bout 20 mins thata way." he said, pointing off into the distance. That didn't give them much time at all to get back before the storm hits, and that wasn't even including the time they'd need to search for someone who could even do the spell.

An orange and purple striped Kelpus mare, wearing a pair of thin-framed glasses answered next. "We have a map at the place we all live at, but it only shows the things down here. If you're searching for something that can help with looking around where the air-breathing types above live, we can't help you." she said.

Collapse nodded as she took in the information she was told, at the very least they knew of where to go now that they knew. "Well, as we are air-breathing we wouldn't really be able to access the map or the areas you live unless you can get someone up here who can cast the spell on us. We have a few shells. You use shells for currency right?" Collapse asked for confirmation.

"One final question, do you have any surface settlements or know of any surface dwellers?" she asked further.

"We do use shells, but I don't know anyone who would know that spell." The orange and purple mare stated. She pointed to the crowd, many still busy dancing to the music being played. "You could ask around, but you're still unlikely to find someone."

"Nope, nuddah." The green stallion said. "We can't stay on land for long stretches of time, so buildin' there would just be a plain bonkers idea. Havn't done much with tha' locals up there either, th'most we see are just simple-minded beasts."

Collapse nodded again to these. "Alright, thank you for answering my questions. I'll ask around and see if anyone knows anything." with that, she'd wave and flick her tail in their direction as if showing off her different bodily structure to them in a subtle way.

Upon moving away, she'd ask other groups about anything they know about the above ground areas and where other groups of creatures are in relation to what they know. As well as asking for if anyone knows about a water breathing spell that they could come to the surface and perform it on Collapse and her two companions.

The flick of her tail earned her some looks for sure, if that was what she wanted to get. Though since the seaponies were looking at the weird newcomers anyway, perhaps it was just coincidence.

Besides, it's not like some of the seaponies don't have tails made from hair anyway.

The other seaponies that she questioned about things pretty much gave her the same answers that she already got. That being they don't really interact with those on the surface. Unfortunately none of those asked knew a water breathing spell, nor did they know or remember anyone who did.

Seems like if they wanted a refreshed water breathing spell, they'd have to go through a grueling search through the closest settlement, which would result in them returning during the storm, and possibly at night as well.

Realizing what Collapse had realized, she would swim back to Magloria and would relay the various information to her. She was pleased that they were able to figure out certain things but Collapse wasn't too eager to go out in the sea during a storm or at night. It was best to wait until there was a better time to go. Although, she was also curious what Magloria and Jump Start had been up to while she was out and about asking.

By the time she headed back to them, the storm was likely getting closer.

Chapter 39

When Collapse returned to the others she found Magloria busy discussing some of her magical capabilities with a small crowd of curious listeners, wanting to know how she was able to do what she did with Collapse.

With Collapse approaching, Magloria ended the conversation and turned to her. After listening to what was found out, she nodded. "In that case, we're pretty much done here. There's no way we'll be able to get back safely with a water breathing spell, and we won't get another chance tomorrow. We're leaving, once we've found Jump Start." she stated.

After a quick search they found Jump Start who had been in the middle of a conversation about above ground plants, just casual talk. She too was quick to end the conversation and join them, saying a farewell in the process.

Collapse was a bit saddened by Magloria's response but at least they knew what they weren't able to do now. That there were indeed seaponies here, however unfortunately it wasn't in the cards to do anything further with them that would be worth their time.

Upon finding Jump Start she would also say farewell to the seaponies. She invited anyone who wanted to hug her, to come over and hug her. Besides, a seapony hug? Isn't that a great thing? Whether she was successful or not, she was ready to leave.

Looking up at the clouds, she was seeing where the storm was. "Well, time to head back." she spoke, and started to swim back to shore.

Collapse only got one accepted invitation to hug her, by an eccentric red seapony mare with eyes of 2 different colours, green and blue. Judging by the large amount of pressure around Collapse that felt like she was about to break in two, it was safe to say her enthusiasm is to the detriment of others.

The clouds by this point were right above them, turning the entire sky into a grey dreary mass. A thin line of orange cast upon the horizon, indicating that the sun was almost starting to set.

It took an hour to swim back to the shoreline that they had their stuff on. Far quicker without the constant searching that they previously, did, but it still wasn't fast enough to outpace the storm. By the time they were climbing out of the water and onto the beach, rain was falling down everywhere around them, soaking them even further in cold droplets.

"We're definitely going to need to set up a fire once we get back." Magloria said, letting out a shiver as she retrieved their things, handing the respective pieces out to each of them.

That was a tight hug to say the least but Collapse had accepted it somewhat nervously. But nevertheless, it was a hug that was appreciated. The seapony who had hugged her would also likely remember the soft warmth of Collapse and her different bodily structure to that of a seapony, while Collapse would also definitely be remembering this certain hug for sure.

Upon reaching the shore Collapse was starting to get a bit nervous given the storm soaking them everywhere. Knowing that they were going to seek shelter, hopefully nothing else got to the cave before them. Putting her boots and her other things on she'd follow Magloria, shivering a bit as well. "We definitely are. Let's make haste. I hope no pythons took shelter in the cave before us." she said, shaking her head in slight annoyance at the rain falling down on them.

**Squelch.** The water that had accumulated in her boots splashed out as she put them on, drenching her legs further. Oh well, it's not like she could get any wetter already.

Magloria began quickly leading them through the rain, the jungle brushing by them as they headed in what Magloria thought was the direction to the cave. It was hard to tell, with all the rain obstructing their view, the sun setting and the clouds darkening everything.

Eventually they came to the hillside where their cave was, the dark hole in its side even darker and gloomier than before. They could barely see a trace of their previous occupation in the darkness.

"I'll go gather firewood, but the stuff will be wet. Getting a fire going is going to be harder." Magloria said as she pulled out their mushroom axe, setting down her saddlebags within the cave, and prepared to face the rain again.

Collapse frowns at the water in her boots but at least it had splashed out. When they get the fire started, she'll have to put her boots by the fire so they could dry out by the time the next day hit. Hopefully. She followed by Magloria's side quickly. With the rain everywhere, it was unlikely that any dangerous animals would be out and about.

"Alright, gather the firewood. I'll make sure the cave is clear of any dangerous creatures. If there is...hopefully we'll be able to handle them in the moments before you come and help us." Collapse smirked. Upon entering into the cave she would set her saddlebags within the cave. Her horn would glow brightly as she illuminated the interior of the cave to make sure there was nothing dangerous inside of it. She didn't step fully within though, just in case.

The moment she lit up her horn to illuminate the cave, she saw a lump of familiar red and black stripes. A pair of emerald eyes flicked open and peered directly at her and Jump Start. She already knew that things were going to get really, really bad for them.

It could've been seeking shelter from the rain, or waiting for them to return. Whatever the reason that the python was here was irrelevant now. It rose up quickly, standing taller than Collapse was, and hissed.

Jump Start shrieked and turned to run. Collapse only had under a second to react, before the large serpent lunged towards them.

Collapse ran off as fast as she could, telling Jump Start to run at the top of her lungs. A golden spherical barrier rose around her and Jump Start as they ran. Her heart was instantly racing as she ran from the snake.

"Magloria!! The huge snake was in the cave! AND IT'S CHASING US!" Collapse called out at the top of her lungs. While Collapse was running, she was thinking about potential offensive actions to take. However, in order to do them she'd have to change her focus away from the barrier around them. What her plan was, was to allow Magloria to attack the snake, then she could change her focus and aid her in the attack.

First though, the two of them had to get away.

Collapse felt a powerful force slam into her shield as the face of the snake and half of it's body collided with her spell. The force it unleashed was immense, heavily cracking the shield and sapping her magic to keep it in one piece.

She only managed to run back out into the storm before the same force was felt, not giving her enough time to completely reform the shield, even if she had been in the process of repairing it. It shattered, sending large amounts of heavy snake coils on top of her.

Then the coils began wrapping around her body and limbs. There was no way her feeble little unicorn legs and body could fight against this much strength, let alone the weight of the creature. It was hard enough just fighting for enough space to breathe.

She had no idea where Jump Start went, with the snake obstructing her view and the darkness of the stormy night making it impossible to see.

Collapse growled. "I didn't come all this way to be ate by a SNAKE! I've done far too much to end up like that...I refuse!" she shouted at the top of her lungs in an enraged manner. Definitely was still terrified, but with her shield being cracked there was no chance for her to repair it in time in order for her to stop the coils. She could summon her fly ring, but it'd end up just getting broken by the force of the coils.

She definitely underestimated the snake's ability to break through her spherical shield but there was something else she could do. It was what she would have done before with this creature. Her focus on the shield ended, and as the immense pressure built her focus went entirely to her fire spell. With her added flurry of emotions, the spell came on quicker than it usually would.

If she was able to see the face of the snake she would direct the flames suddenly coming out of her horn at it's face. If it's face wasn't able to be seen it would just be a a fairly close point to where she was being coiled. Regardless, the manner it had been casted and focused upon would result in the flames power all being directed into a point about the size of a dime. It was all focused on that one point in hopes of breaking through the snake's scales.

The flames were harsh, and sizzled in the rainfall. This created a fairly large puff of steam, if Magloria and Jump Start were watching or nearby they would have seen the flames from Collapse's horn and the steam rising up from the scene of the assault.

The sudden burst of heat from her horn had a spectacular result on the giant serpent on top of her. Almost immediately it began to writhe and twist it's coils around, desperate to get away from the intense flame.

The grip around Collapse loosened, but not before she was struck repeatedly with the flailing coils. Her chest, and head were struck multiple times, taking the breath out of her lungs and causing what was likely to be a mild concussion and bruising. A headache started to form, making thinking and spellcasting harder, but this result was still far better than being crushed.

Collapse could feel the rain on her again as the python retreated several meters away, loudly hissing at them. It now had thin lines of blackened and melted scales everywhere where Collapse's fire hit as it thrashed around. More interestingly was the axe that was now embedded into it's side, thanks to the efforts of an angry looking blue mare.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size!" Magloria growled, forming several icy spears from the falling raindrops, ready to launch a volley of projectiles at their foe who was now focusing on Magloria.

Collapse growled in pain as she was hit repeatedly by the snake, but at least she felt a great deal of pride for what she had just done. She could feel the headache starting and for a few moments she went limp. Afterwards, she was stumbling herself back up from the ground where she was hit at, she shakily aimed her focus towards the snake as she gasped for air.

Collapse would watch as Magloria came onto the scene, looking on with utmost approval of the situation. Not only was her attack successful, but she Magloria had also done damage too. "T-thank you...!" she called in rather shaky manner as she steadied herself, backing away a bit and taking a few moments to catch her breathe.

It was best to do any magical attacks now before her headache would get worse. Her horn again would glow again although this time she wasn't going to use her fire spell, she was going to use her regular laser spell that she had used back when they were in the cave fighting off against that feline. Where she melted that crossbow.

Although this time, her attack was surely not going to be as powerful due to her headache. Her horn glowed gold, and soon enough a gold laser was sent at the snake at a rapid rate. To Collapse, it didn't really matter where it hit, just as long as it added damage to the snake. It wasn't as focused on small area like before, but it was still enough to poke through a couple scales.

"...I'm going all in, I tell you! I ain't having this today!" Collapse called out at the snake afterwards as she stammered after the spell was casted. It only made her headache worse, but that was worth it in her eyes.

Magloria's ice spears were launched, one at a time as the python began it's advance. Despite it's size it was extremely maneuverable, capable of slipping along the ground and between the bushes and trees. Both Magloria and Collapse's projectiles kept missing, or merely grazed the side of the reptile, leaving shallow scratches that no doubt hurt it, but wouldn't have caused any real damage.

With the snake no longer near Collapse, Magloria made it her choice to move over to Collapse, summoning more spears as she did so. "You alright?" she asked, launching another spear and forcing the snake to change direction, or else get pierced straight through it's throat.

As it moved, the python seemed to slowly be inching closer, while it's long tail stretched out behind it. It wasn't coiling to strike because that would make it an easy target, so what is it doing?

Collapse looks to Magloria as she huffs, stabling herself and forcing herself to deal with the situation rather than go lay down somewhere and take a rest. "A near death experience every so often changes your perception of things...but no matter, I am not in the best of shape...but that's*much* better than being snake food. A headache, I'll manage." she muttered as she shook her head.

Looking over to the python she was quite concerned. "Where is Jump Start?" Collapse asked instinctively, hoping the snake didn't manage to get her in the time that Collapse was unaware of where Jump Start was.

"I can't really do much else or I risk...making this headache worse...ugh, this is not my day. We gotta run this python out of town here. " Collapse spoke, rubbing her head but forced herself to stay focused, preparing another volley but not firing off yet.

"I don't know where she is. Likely ran off to hide somewhere until this is over." Magloria said, growling as she missed another ice spear. "This isn't working. Let me see... how to deal with this slippery bastar- WOAH!"

She was interrupted by the large tail of the snake rapidly approaching them like a giant whip. Being too focused on the snake head, she didn't realize until it was too late. Her legs were brought out from underneath her as the tail swept by, causing her to fall to the ground.

Collapse likely suffered the same fate, which wouldn't be helped by her existing problems to keep upright. The snake started to coil up again before they could properly recover, launching themselves at the pair when it had sufficient length to strike.

Magloria began to form an ice barrier, hoping to slow down the beast, but she didn't have the time to get it thick enough. The barrier between them merely shattered on impact, spraying them with cold fragments of ice as the python landing atop both of them. Just like before, Collapse could feel lengths of the snake start to wrap around her.

"NOOO!" They both heard from somewhere. It sounded like Jump Start. Wherever she was hiding didn't matter anymore. The snake would likely find her after it was done with them.

It happened too fast for Collapse to react enough in time to stop it from coiling around herself and Magloria. This time Collapse was absolutely livid that the snake managed to coil around her and Magloria. At least before she managed to get it off of them. She hadn’t expected the snake to suddenly lunge at them because they were both attacking it. Apparently it was very insistent on getting them. “Alright, that’s it! We are going to fucking kill this bitch! No holding back!!” Collapse seethed with rage.

It took her a few moments to focus but she was properly enraged. Before she was, sure, but now? She was *pissed*. With the snake coiling around them it had seemingly forgotten what had happened before. Now this time? Collapse would do it a bit differently.

Collapse would angle her head and Jab her horn right up against the scales closest to her and her horn would rapidly begin to change up another fire spell. Once again focused down to a very small point. Unlike last time. This was right in front of her face. The results were likely going to be a bit messy but they could deal with that later.

The snake would suddenly find its body being invaded by a torrent of flame. With how close Collapse’s horn was to the spot, it was likely to do more damage than the previous assault of flame.

Unfortunately for Collapse she soon found out that the python had not forgotten about her last attempt to scorch through it's hide. In the few moments that it took her to focus on her task, the snake suddenly tightened the coils around her, and presumably Magloria as well. She was overwhelmed with crushing pain throughout her body and the feeling of the air being forced out of her lungs.

The force of the squeezing only served to intensify the headache she was already feeling. Even despite this, her emotions allowed her to briefly pull through with sending a jet of flame into the snake's scaly belly.

This had 2 outcomes. The good part was that she definitely hurt the snake, a loud hissing sound could be heard, even through the coils surrounding her. The bad part however was the pressure surrounding her intensified further, increasing the pain she felt to the point it was impossible to keep focus on her casting, even with her intense fury helping her.

Time felt strange beyond that point. Was it seconds she was being crushed, or hours? She couldn't tell, with the complete lack of air she could get to her lungs now. Her anger seemed like a dead weight by this point, solving nothing while only making things even worse for her.

Muffled shrieks and screams could be heard... somewhere... something was happening, but she didn't have a clue what. All that she knew for certain was that she felt tired, and maybe still a bit angry. Sleep sounded like a really good idea. Perhaps she could have an angry nap?

Then for no reason she felt the coils relax. The pain was reduced significantly and the inability to take a breath disappeared. Any further provocation on the serpent didn't seem to result in any reaction.

Collapse had never felt this way in her life before. Her rage felt like it was infinite, far beyond any worldly description. It was surreal yet euphoric. If this was going to be the end, she was doing her damn best to rage against the dying of the light. However, within her heart she knew that it would be wrong to end in this way.

A snake, really? Is that really how you were going to die, Collapse? You have gone far beyond the known world and experienced deadly whirlpools. Mushroom forests and underground worlds. Even escaped that too from the fabled exit and went far beyond that.

Then she had gone with her companions into the jungle. Found more seaponies and then…the snake. The snake! Come on, really? This all seemed like a universal joke directed at them. If it was going to be this way, the fact that she did her best against this situation did soothe her somewhat. Her perception of time and reality went murky at that. Her stubbornness to never yield to her attacker , not even in her mind despite everything else seeming to prove the obvious. She could hear screams in the distance, the fact that her friends were in danger and she could seemingly do nothing is the part that made her the most angry above all else. Sure, attack her all you want but attack her friends? That is crossing the line. One could argue it has been crossed many times over.

Those were the things occupying her mind. That was until, she felt the situation change. The snake didn’t devour her as it’s next meal. Her anger faded, and was instead replaced by confusion. She looked around, freeing herself from the coils at the first chance she could get in order to see what had happened.

What had happened? Time to find out.

When Collapse emerged from the pile of scales, she felt the rain dripping down on her head once again. The place they fought in was an absolute mess, with shards of ice scattered around, quickly melting in the rain. Muddy hoofprints and slick trails where the snake had been messing up the ground.

Magloria appeared to be emerging from another place in the python's coils, coughing heavily as she regained her breath. The scales around her were coated in a thin layer of frost, indicating that she had also intended to release herself in a similar fashion, using the water from the rain and the serpent's cold-blooded nature.

But over where the snake's head was where the most perplexing thing took place. The snake lay on the ground, completely out of it if it's closed eyes and tongue sticking out of it's mouth was any indication, and nearby stood a shocked, scared, confused and all around overwhelmed Jump Start.

All she did for the moment was look to the python, then to Collapse, then Magloria, and back to the python again, not really sure if what actually happened really happened.

Collapse had coughed as she regains her breathe. Feeling the rain on her indicated that she had indeed, succeeded in being free. It took Collapse a few moments to process the situation. Most importantly, the three of them were all okay more or less. At least none of them had been injured in any permanent manner.

She'd look to Magloria and Jump Start with a serious stare and begin backing away from the snake. This was a clear move for the two of them to do the same, just in case the snake would suddenly awaken again. If they were further away, at least they could have more time to react in case the snake attempted to whip at them again.

"I am tired of having a near death experience every other day." Collapse sighed, noticing that Magloria had used her frost magic to her benefit and to the snake's detriment. "Nice one there, Magloria. Using it's own nature against itself...the hunter becomes the *hunted.*" she smiled cruelly, in an almost vindictive manner.

Although she didn't let that turn into a false sense of calm. Her heart was still racing . "Although I am not satisfied. Let's put this snake out of its misery if it isn't already." she recommended.

Despite all this her headache remained but she forced herself to deal with it. Besides, she didn't really care about her own personal pains at the moment.

Magloria didn't take Collapse's cue to move away from the unconscious serpent, she figured she'd definitely be able to react to it trying to wake up. Jump Start probably would've if she still wasn't in her half shocked state.

"I'm not the one who did that. What I did would've slowed it down and loosened it's coils, but it wouldn't have stopped it outright, at least not with that amount of cold." Magloria said, creating a new ice spear, though this one was a lot bigger than the others she created. Seemed fancier too, for some reason.

The spear levitated over to the snake's head before settling right above it, ready to plunge down on her command. "It's been fun." Magloria growled, then looked over to Jump Start, softening her features slightly. "If you don't want to see this, you should head back to the cave." she said.

Jump Start finally came to her senses, looking around at everything, then began plodding along towards the cave in silence.

With a rapid motion, the spear became halfway stuck into the snake's head. If it wasn't already dead from what happened before, it definitely was now.

Collapse didn’t have an issue with watching Magloria take the final strike of the snake there. “All good things must come to an end.” she remarked sarcastically and began to turn away from the scene to follow Jump Start.

“I never really had a problem with snakes. I do now, thanks to what that one attempted to do. I don’t feel sorry for it though, it knew what it was doing. So do we, though. We aren’t going to let a snake of all things stop us.” she spoke, in a tired yet hopeful manner. “Perhaps we could make scale armor from this one. Definitely would be enough for the three of us.” she suggested.

For a second she seemed to be out of it but forced herself to handle her headache but the sudden waves of pain were too much to handle now that her adrenaline was wearing off. “Ugh…” she groaned, and began to hobble along towards the cave. She was desperate to feel dry, that was for sure.

Collapse still felt as though she didn’t know what had happened. The situation was still fresh in her mind but at least that snake won’t be coming back.

"Good things... pah!" Magloria scoffed as she moved over to the head of the snake, beginning to use her magic to open it's mouth. "Unfortunately, I don't have the tools needed to make proper snakehide armour, which is a big pity because it's light, flexible and durable for a snake this size. Best I could do would be to skin the snake and preserve the hide."

Her magic yanked hard, pulling out one of the snake's massive fangs. Not as long as a venomous snake would have, but still pretty long. "This will have to do for now. Let's get that fire going." she said, levitating over the axe and whatever wood she had managed to get before the whole attack happened. It wasn't much and it was all wet, but was at least something.

When she started going back to the cave she noticed the problems that Collapse was having and, after bringing all the levitated items ahead of them into the cave, she turned her magic to Collapse, and began to lift her.

"You look like you shouldn't be walking. Let's get you to somewhere comfortable." Magloria stated. It didn't take long before they were out of the rain, back inside the familiar cave. Jump Start was slowly setting the logs into place, but didn't look convinced a fire would work.

Collapse was gently placed down on top of one of the less-than-fresh petal bedrolls.

Collapse relaxed in Magloria's icy blue magic. She smiled sweetly to Magloria, although that smile was more forced than she wanted it to be because of her headache. "T-thank you again...for everything..." Collapse spoke weakly.

"We can preserve the hide later. We have...much needed rest and healing to do first...maybe far in the future we can find someone who has the tools and pay them to make armor of it...or find tools ourselves." she spoke tiredly as she curled up slightly. Afterwards, she quite frankly didn't have the strength to talk much.

Looking to the logs once they were completely set, she would light her ignition spell, groaning at the difficulty she had with lighting it. A small orange firey ball appeared on the end of her horn and flicked into the pile of logs. The logs themselves would likely have more difficulty in igniting thanks to them being wet. At least it was something.

She slipped off her wet boots and faced them towards the logs. Hopefully some warmth could get into them and dry them out as they slept.

The logs were struck by the ball of warmth and briefly looked like they would catch on fire, however the amount of rain they had taken in was too much to immediately start a strong flame. Only a tiny amount of the log was burning, ever so slowly spreading.

At this rate they were probably going to catch a cold from the water in their coats before the fire got hot enough to dry them off. Magloria sighed. "Great. Just what we needed. Only upside of this is that we're in a warm jungle and not a freezing snowy wasteland."

Jump Start shivered. "So what are we going to do then? she asked.

Magloria looked to Jump Start, and for the briefest of moments she looked to Collapse, knowing exactly what she would think of this suggestion. "We huddle together to conserve our body heat."

The small fire in the logs was disappointing for sure. She hoped that the it would spread out more soon enough, as she didn't have the strength to light her horn to cast another one currently.

However Collapse's ears instantly perked up and her tail wagged at the suggestion. A small giggle from her was a good indication of how she felt. She hobbled over and pulled the petals all together and then lays down. Her four limbs were open, and she was looking right at Magloria. She had cuddled Jump Start many times before, but now...she really wanted Magloria.

"Over here, Magloria and Jump Start. Cuddle time." Collapse giggled sweetly again. "And besides we all deserve that...after what just happened." for a moment her sweet smile vanished but then it returned as her tail idly swooshed back and forth slowly.

Jump Start didn't have any problems with joining Collapse, and ended up curling up against her back, shifting about a little bit to get comfortable before relaxing.

Magloria however looked straight at Collapse's reactions to the idea. The wagging tail told her everything she needed to know, but... she couldn't exactly back out now. She was the one who suggested it after all. So instead she muttered something under her breath which Collapse couldn't quite hear, sounding something like "Overactive mare", before moving over to the increasing pony pile.

With a slow motion, she rested down in front of Collapse, placing herself in such a way that wouldn't aggravate Collapse's leg and chest injuries, or her own. Once she was in place, she made no other move. This was good enough in her opinion. It did what she said it would, and that was all that was needed.

Collapse realized what Magloria had said there but it didn't bother her. She knew what Magloria thought of her after all. It seems though, in some aspects Magloria had warmed up to her if only slightly.

Jump Start would feel the soft warmth of Collapse against her back. Although Collapse was a bit damp from the rain, she was still a very soft mare. She felt Collapse shift about a bit, so she could get maximum contact with Jump Start. The more of Jump Start she felt the better.

With Magloria, she notices how she is being mindful of their injuries. Although the two of them could still walk just fine, there were bruised areas she wanted to avoid touching. But still, this wasn't exactly a *cuddle* yet. "Hey um....w-would it be alright if I put one of my hooves around you? For maximum warmth of course." she whispered softly to Magloria.

Collapse was trying her damn best to hide the squee of a lifetime.

Magloria didn't say anything for a brief while, before finally nodding and letting Collapse do as she wished.

With their combined warmth, Collapse was feeling significantly better, and was no longer prone to shivering. The wetness they all felt would soon dry off at this rate, so they wouldn't have anything else to worry about, aside from thinking about the encounter with the python that they had.

If the calmer breathing sound was any indication, Jump Start had already fallen asleep. Something that they should probably do soon as well.

Collapse gently brought her hoof around Magloria and pulled herself ever so slightly closer, so she could rest her head against the back of Magloria's neck. She gave Magloria a gentle pat and her tail wrapped itself around one of Magloria's legs very gently. It was a very warm tail, at that. It felt very nice for Collapse to be rested up against Magloria in this manner, although she likely wouldn't admit that.

Soon enough, Collapse would fall off to sleep. The calm sleeping circumstances for her calmed her mind ofr the most part, although the scenes with the python still played over in her mind.

The only reaction that Magloria seemed to have had with Collapse's attempts to make them both more comfortable was a brief hum, not showing outright displeasure, but not really showing that she liked it either. On the outside, it seemed like she was tolerating it.

When Collapse awoke the next morning, Magloria was already missing from her embrace. The good news though was that Jump Start was still with her, heavy sleeper that she was, and she was completely dry now.

Morning sunlight shone through the cave entrance, letting her know that the storm had passed on through the night. It still looked pretty damp and wet outside, but still much better than walking through the rain.

Magloria wasn't anywhere to be seen in the rest of the cave either. She must be outside, perhaps doing a task that needed to be done, like breakfast, if the noises from her stomach were any indication. After all they never did end up getting themselves dinner.

Collapse thankfully had a dreamless sleep. She was definitely tired enough for that after all. Upon waking up to find that Magloria wasn't laying there besides her she was slightly disappointed, however being fully dried was something she couldn't complain with.

Looking over to Jump Start she would gently stand up. Her headache was still lingering somewhat, but it was far less than what it was before. The bruises on her legs can still be seen, but they would heal in time. A little worse for wear, but Collapse knew she was going to be fine. Taking a glance over to the entrance she had seen that the rain had ceased, which was good news.

What also was good news, is that this time she had the chance to wake up Jump Start. She quietly lays back down and fully embraces Jump Start gently, and cuddles her. Some gentle pats and pets are given, but before long Collapse would stand again and tap Jump Start's shoulder.

"Wake up. It's morning." she spoke once she had awoken, and gave her a morning boop.

Chapter 40

Jump Start mumbled something about fruitflies getting away from the zap apple before waking up properly, looking around then up at Collapse. "Oh, morning. Uhh... do you know what we're supposed to be doing today yet?" she asked, then stood up and looked around.

"And where's Magloria? She outside or something?" she asked, moving towards the entrance of the cave and taking a quick look outside, only to cringe in disgust at the fact that the giant python was still outside, and now was missing half of it's hide, thanks to an oddly happy blue mare.

Jump Start seemed to go green in the face, before quickly turning away. "I'm just... going to... go somewhere else... and... do... something...!" she stuttered, and started to shuffle away from the gruesome sight.

Collapse follows Jump Start outside and stops to see the dead giant python outside. Collapse clearly cringed at the sight of that and looked to Jump Start, although she wasn't as queasy at the sight.

"This is...most disgusting but we have to do what we have to do. That snake has valuable scales, and it's best we take advantage of each resource we can." she spoke, looking to Jump Start. "I'd recommend we should search for fruits. Let Magloria do what she needs to do." she speaks and then walked a bit closer to Magloria.

"Unless you need...help taking the scales off. While I would never do such things under *normal* circumstances...this is anything *but*." she spoke, seemingly fine with both options.

Would Magloria request help? Or would Jump Start want to find fruits with Collapse?

Magloria simply shrugged as she idly played about with her shortsword, waiting for Jump Start to fully leave the place before she got back to work. "I don't particularly *need* the help, and skinning is delicate work, despite looking like I'm just savaging the poor thing."

She looked over to several large pieces of hide, resting in a pile on the snake. "Those do need to be washed before I can start preserving them, so you can go do that if you want. They need to be soaked in clean water for several hours. Might be a problem finding some clean water, but with the rain it might not be so much of a problem."

Jump Start paused her walk into the jungle in search of a good tree to harvest, and instead silently waited to see what Collapse would decide on doing. She did say that she'd join her in fruit collecting, but Collapse was also more interested in spending time with Magloria...

Collapse looks to Jump Start and carefully weighed her options. She knew that Jump Start had very little ability to defend herself, at least in comparison to Collapse's own prowess. So she decided that she would go help Jump Start find the fruits. Should be easy.

"Alright, I will help Jump Start get the fruits. Then when we get back, we can go off and find some water to soak these skins as you said." Collapse said to Magloria, seemingly compromising between the two options. She didn't want Jump Start to be alone, after all.

With a hoof step, she turned towards Jump Start with her look to Magloria. It seems as though she wanted Magloria's approval before any actions.

"Needs to be a good spot too. This means a place with no fish or dirt to destroy the hide, and a place where we would come back to, such as an empty rock pool." Magloria stated before getting back to her messy work.

Jump Start started moving when she saw Collapse join her. "Thanks for joining me." she said, looking up at the tree canopy on occasion in order to scout for possible trees.

10 minutes in they had seen a few, but they were either unripe or were something they couldn't use, like spiky nuts, deliberately hard to get into. As they rounded a place closer to the ocean, they saw a few of what looked like palm trees, complete with ripe, fuzzy brown coconuts.

Jump Start groaned. "These won't do either." she sighed, "I can knock them down and break them open, but they'd hit me as they fall."

Looking up at the spikey nuts and coconuts Collapse giggled. "Silly Jump Start. That's not how you do it!" she spoke, and with a gold flash her fly ring was summoned onto her body and she hovered into the air with a quiet hum.

"Work smarter. Not harder!" with that, she would rise up into the air and with her magic she began to pick off the coconuts in her magic before glancing back to Jump Start. She was able to see the Fly Ring in greater details. It had various engraved opened eyes on its outer edge of aesthetic choice. But as for why Collapse would choose that for her device, was unknown. The Fly Ring was almost hypnotic, and unreal to look at as Collapse floated there picking the coconuts off of the trees.

Maybe Collapse may have been showing off herself a bit, but Jump Start could examine Collapse's body if she wanted. Before long, Collapse would have a decent amount of Coconuts. Around 7 or 8 of them. With her magic she spun them around like balls, seeming to juggle them in the air before she would gently land next to Jump Start, the Coconuts seeming to just float casually around them.

"Well, I'm nuts for Coconuts. How about you?" Collapse asked, licking her lips.

Collapse immediately found out that the coconuts were pretty securely fastened to the tree it was attached to, but that wasn't anything a good magical twist and tug couldn't solve.

Jump Start looked a little miffed at Collapse's comment. "Well... I can't really do what you're doing right now..." she grumbled, sitting back and watching Collapse as she did her work. Jump Start would've done something to help, but she couldn't see how she could help, aside from breaking open the coconuts here... which would just spill the bountiful coconut milk everywhere. Not the best choice.

When Collapse was done with her harvesting and playing with their food, Jump Start collected some of them and placed them in her saddlebags. "Do you think we should collect other foods, or you think coconuts are all we need? Might take a little bit to find something different, but there should be some around here somewhere." she suggested.

Collapse eagerly let Jump Start take some of the Coconuts into her saddlebags. The remaining ones she put into her own saddlebags as well, packing them in as best as she could.

Her fly ring would remain on. However she was sure to use it sparingly instead of using it constantly like she normally would. The headache was mostly gone by now but if she turned her head in certain manners it would still linger a little bit. "When we get back to the cave, I'll get my screwdriver out and I'll poke some holes in these Coconuts so we could drink from them." she remarked.

"Yes, let's see if we can fin some other foods. Better collect all we really can at this point and gather the most we can so we don't have to collect later on." she remarked and would search around for other edible foods.

When and if they found any, Collapse would be sure to collect them as well. Still, she was on constantly alert just in case of other snakes or predatory animals.

Collapse definitely saw some snakes, but they were the smaller tree snakes that wouldn't willingly go out of their way to attack a pony. Instead they slithered off whenever they had been spotted, or eerily watched while remaining nearly motionless.

After another 10 minutes of aimless wandering they come across another tree, full of ripe looking mangos currently being grabbed at by a group of monkeys and making an awful lot of chattering noises.

At the rate that they were going, it wouldn't be long before the entire tree was void of any good fruit. Jump Start looked up at the tree and sighed.

"Well at least I could kick this one without hurting myself, but I don't really want to deal with a bunch of monkeys landing around me either." she said, turning to Collapse. "Looks like you're dealing with this one as well. Have fun I suppose."

Collapse had noticed the smaller tree snakes slithering and watches them move away. As they watched she felt herself rather creeped out by them. It's likely she won't ever look at snakes the same ever again thanks to the attack of the python.

Upon locating the mangos up at the tree she looked to Jump Start. "Right on!" she complimented before rising up towards the tree. Quickly she flew up towards the tree but not close enough to where the monkeys could reach her. Quickly with her magic, she attempts to grab as many of the mangos as possible in one fell swoop.

After retrieving what she could in one fell swoop, she would fly back down towards Jump Start. to see how much she actually managed to get.

While Collapse was busy picking the mangoes from the tree, some of the monkeys had taken notice of her... and they weren't very pleased with what she was doing to their breakfast.

They started screeching and performing aggressive looking actions, trying to scare her away from the tree. That obviously failed, so one monkey thought it would be the brave, smart fellow of the group.

The last mango that Collapse had grabbed suddenly became a lot heavier as the monkey also grabbed it, deciding that it wouldn't let go, even as it was levitated away from the tree it's friends were on.

She might need to do something about the monkey first before setting down, otherwise they'd have an angry monkey on them. Other than that, she counted 11 mangoes, including the monkey one, that were clean, whole and ripe for consumption.

Realizing that one of the monkeys wasn't willing to let go of its mango she decided to put that one back gently onto a large nearby branch so it wouldn't fall. Fighting a monkey over a mango wasn't worth it, besides, 10 mangos was already enough plus the Coconuts. Hopefully that'd last them a while.

It was unlikely that the monkey would follow them all the way down from the place it was set, but just in case Collapse had encouraged Jump Start to run along with her back to the campsite. When they had gotten away from the monkeys, she would give Jump Start 5 of the mangoes as a compromise between the two of them.

They now had both Mangoes and Coconuts. This likely satisfied Jump Start, as for Collapse, it definitely did.

The monkey hissed loudly as it was placed back into the tree, clearly not smart enough to realize that she was the one who offered it kindness, and instead merely decided to keep defending it's food. Ungrateful bastard.

Jump Start agreed with the plan, and the moment she set down onto the ground, she bolted away in the direction of the cave, stopping only to accept the fruits and carry them.

By the time that they had finally returned, about half an hour had passed since they left. There was still the horrible sight of the definitely-not-alive python, but at least Magloria no longer looked like a gryphon butcher. A stack of fairly decent sheets of snakehide was near the cave entrance. Thankfully she set it up in such a way that it only seemed like a dead animal if you got too close to it or pointed your nose in that direction.

Magloria herself was sorting through their things, checking what they had for when they'd definitely move again. She gave a nod in greeting when she saw the pair approach.

Collapse cringes at the sight of the dead python. From what she could tell the hide was all removed and it was just a dead skinless python laying there. Collapse walks up to Magloria sweetly and brings out a Coconut as well as a screwdriver and stabs a few holes in the top and gives it to Magloria first before herself.

"We found Coconuts and Mangos. I think we should find a different place of dwelling...I don't feel like waking up the sight of a decaying dead python every time, you know? We also need to get a move on finding anything we could use to either build a ship, steal one, or bargain for one." Collapse suggested, looking to Jump Start. She gestured for her to take out a Coconut, so she could poke a hole in it as well. Finally, she did the same for one of her own Coconuts and took a quick drink of it.

When she looks at their things, she would slide her boots on. Hopefully they were dry, or at the very least, more dry than before.

Magloria muttered out a quick thanks and took the coconut in her magic. While Collapse was talking, she took a long drink of the coconut milk inside, finishing off all the liquid by the time Collapse was done.

"Moving is definitely what we're doing next. We're not staying here because we'd just get predators from the scent of the meat. Look, you can already see some approaching." Magloria said, pointing her hoof off into the jungle where they could see a black figure shifting about.

"Finding a place to build the ship would be easy. We find a relatively large and flat place on the sand and use nearby trees for wood. The seaponies did agree to help us when we needed it, of course."

"If you want to try stealing or bargaining for a ship, there's always the felines. They are still mostly a mystery. Plus there might be others, like that lizard" she finished, placing the coconut down on a stone and harshly stomping on it, causing it to crack in several places, enough that she could tear it apart to get the coconut flesh inside.

Jump Start accepted her own coconut and did a similar thing, drinking then smashing, but the smashing was far more gentle... and she performed it between her forehooves.

Collapse understood what Magloria had spoken of fully while glancing off into the distance where the black figure was moving about. At the very least the dead snake would likely be entirely aten away by other predators and scavengers in a few days time.

However, she seemed to stare when Magloria crushed the Coconut. She enjoyed seeing Magloria show her dominance over inanimate objects such as a Coconut. Collapse had an obvious interest in Magloria's hooves, and looking when Jump Start did the same thing she also gave a bit of a stare too but it wasn't as long when Magloria did that with the Coconut.

A small giggle escaped Collapse's mouth, "We all have our ways with Coconuts." she spoke and brought out the mushroom axe handle and placed it against a stone and brought the handle down quickly, as well as precisely with her magic. She chopped off the top of the Coconut, and then broke it in half after drinking all of its succulent juices. It was quite precise, and the Coconut pieces seemed to be split in even halves. Despite Collapse having rather heavy boots, she wasn't a dominant type, in a sense.

"Yup lets get a move on. I'd like us to look for a place to build a ship first. I don't want to risk anything that would result in negative reactions with others if we can help it. Perhaps we can see if that lizard is talkative, though." she spoke, and made sure she had everything she needed.

Once they had what they needed she would bite into the Coconut and chew somewhat cutely as she looks to Magloria to lead the way.

When they were all done with their meals (or decided to walk and eat, in Collapse's case) and had packed up their things, Magloria began leading them back towards the beach.

Collapse had seen some of the beaches, and knew where some of the larger, flatter, sandier places were. They arrived back at the rocky beach again, and from there Magloria picked a direction to start searching, with or without the assistance of Collapse's directions to good possible places for a ship to be constructed.

"There's a possibility that the lizard has moved to a new location, plus finding it's old location would be a problem. On the positive side, they might have built a fire again, which we might be able to find with the smoke it makes. We're not going to be doing that from here though." Magloria said as she rounded past a large, smooth rock, watching several birds scatter to the air.

Soon the beach was free of most rocks, leaving only bright yellow sand everywhere.

Collapse chews the coconut flesh as they walk about. By the time they arrived she was finishing off one of the chunks. Upon arriving at the beach Collapse would point out locations that she thought would be good.

"Yes. I think it's best we focus on finding a good location to build at first before anything else, as well as finding a new shelter. Perhaps instead of a cave this time we could build some kind of shack or shed to sleep in. I mean, we have the tools. All we'd really need to do is cut down a few trees. Get some branches and leaves, and we'd have a makeshift shack." she remarked.

"As for building a ship...I can't really say I've built ships before but I think that with enough time and effort we'll manage. I imagine we'd have to find materials for a sail. It would be a fairly simple ship..." she thought outloud. "Have you ever built a ship before, or had any knowledge of construction a ship?" Collapse asked the both of them.

Magloria shrugged at the suggestion for where their next living space should be. "Sure I suppose. Decently insulated, but would need to be constructed close to the surface or have smaller tunnels for air, otherwise it could get... stuffy. Also need to make sure it's clear of nasty things that could be bad for us, such as mushroom spores or an excess of insects." she said.

"A sail might be easy to make, but hard to get the materials. They are typically made from cloth, made from processing certain plants. I don't know if this place even has said plants, so the next best would be silk from those giant spiders. There'd be plenty of it."

Magloria pointed to a big piece of relatively flat beach that was up ahead, filled with a few seashells here and there along with tangles of old kelp. "Possible spot there." she stated.

Jump Start looked to Collapse, then shook her head in response to the question. "No, I haven't really done much with ship construction. I suppose I could have an idea of how one is built internally, insulation and stuff, but no idea how to put it all together." she said in a disappointed tone.

"We'd have to obtain or make a blueprint. That way we can make sure what we're building looks correct, and we won't screw up as we're building it." Magloria suggested.

"Yeah...I am not willing to go back all the way underground to just slay spiders again, then have to deal with re-escaping out of the feline town among other things. We'll find something for sails. Maybe the seaponies have a good substitute for it." she remarks but seemed doubtful on that. As they walked she would look to the flat beach.

"Seems like a good spot. Possible..." Collapse remarks upon viewing the flat beach.

then she looked to Jump Start. "I could definitely construct the internal things and where the wires and engines go, along with other things but the actual construction of the exterior and cutting the wood in proper manners, fitting it together - I don't know how I would go about that. That's where the seaponies would come in." she suggested to Jump Start.

"As for a blueprint...I don't have any paper or writing utensils that I can unsummon unfortunately. So either way it seems like we are going to have to ask someone else other than the seaponies." she remarks. "Since the seaponies likely don't have any way of making them...I imagine that tar blueprints wouldn't exactly be the most...productive as well." she adds.

Magloria shook her head, kicking away a couple of the seashells, idly clearing away some of the debris while they talked. "No, tar blueprints would definitely *not* be a good thing. So then that leaves the felines, or wandering around through the jungle in search of someone *else* who could give us what we need."

She stopped for a moment. "So I guess after we've set up a proper place to stay around here, we're wandering. You clearly don't want to go back to the felines, leaving us with only one option." she said, looking over at the perimeter of jungle trees, looming over the group.

"That river's around here somewhere, right? Could find a nice place near that, set up shop, gather a few things that we could need, store them for when we need it then start exploring."

Collapse nodded in agreement. "That sounds like a good plan. The seaponies however, did speak of 'hunters', whoever they were referring to. We better be on a lookout at all times, though." Collapse said, her jaw clenching a bit at the idea of them being hunted, or seaponies being hunted.

"We have this jungle here which is obviously not conductive to anything we want to do. We could probably build a ship somewhere along this shoreline here, after we explore a bit along the river and set up shop somewhere. I am good with that. We aren't likely going to be building a ship in short times so we might as well get our bearing around here to explore for other options." she added.

"The hunters they were talking about was most likely any old predator that happened to live in or near the river. Felines, crocodiles, rockodiles, river serpents. You know, those sorts of things. Stuff that we would have to watch out for anyway." Magloria said, shrugging at the thought.

She waited patiently for Collapse to finish the next part of the conversation, before letting out a sight. "So... basically what I just said then. Set up a place near the river, then go exploring. Glad we agree." She started walking down the beach again, past the suitable ship building place, and intending to find the start of the river.

Eventually they came to a large divide in the beach, reflecting sunlight off the clear water and into their eyes. The river seemed to span at least 10 meters across, making it difficult to cross, but perfect for staying near. The next step was to find a suitable place that was somewhat close to it, so they didn't have to do a lot of walking to and from it.

"So far so good." Jump Start said, looking back behind them. There was actually a lot of good space to build a ship, so the first place they saw wasn't the only suitable location. No need to travel back there all the time.

Upon reaching the river Collapse was pleased that there were other spaces to build a ship. It was actually for the better anyways, it was best to not stick around in that same spot as before. Let that cave and the area where they fought the snake only be another memory, and move on.

"Well here is the river. Perhaps we'll end up at a nice spot with a small lake or it would go up further in elevation so we don't have to deal with this nasty jungle all the time. I mean really, I don't really understand how anyone can live in such a hostile place. Underground there were nasty centipedes...on second thought I think centipedes are a lot worse than snakes." Collapse shudders at the thought there.

"Instead of a shack or something, maybe we could just build ourselves a large teepee. Fell a few trees, use the branches and leaves to cover the outside bits. Would have decent room. I think we can manage to build something like that." she pondered out-loud.

Magloria had begun to lead them up the river as they talked, carefully keeping an eye on the water and the trees by the riverbed, since there could be dangers in both places.

"It's actually quite easy to live in a jungle, if you were born there. The air is warm and rain is frequent, so plenty of plants can grow. Many plants means lots of food for everything that eats them, which means lots of food for predators. Everything is bountiful. The hard part is not being eaten." she explained.

She shrugged at the different idea for their possible future home. "As long as it's good shelter that can last for a while, and is relatively safe from predators, it's good enough."

An hour of walking passed, where eventually they found a place that they could possibly use. The trees were less clustered together in one spot a short distance away from the river, which could provide enough room to build a suitable structure, assuming they cleared away the few trees that inhabited the clearing.

Or they could use the trees as some sort of living roof, and build the rest of their shelter around it. There wasn't any government-specified building guidelines to follow line in Equestria, so they really could just do whatever they wanted.

Collapse kept what Magloria had said in mind. Perhaps she had misjudged the Jungle after all, Collapse comes from an arid desert town by the name of Dodge Junction. So many probably don't even know of that place on the map anyways. Thinking back, she can remember how there would be no rain for months, and no break in the clouds either. When it did rain though, the results were quite spectacular.

Looking at the place they had found Collapse thought this looked decent all things considered. She looked at the trees and figured that using them to their advantage would be good. Besides, they could always chop down other trees and use the ones here for a good shelter.

"Looks good, if you'd want to settle down here I wouldn't object. I have a few ideas as for how we'd go about this place. Use the trees for a roof, and cut some others to build various walls, as well as their leaves and branches. Perhaps we should start building here, or somewhere while we have the time." Collapse suggested.

Magloria stopped, turning to the clearing. "Over there? Hmm... Yes, it probably could do. Might have a bit of trouble with the bugs before we've built anything decent, but it looks well concealed from most things." she said, marching towards the clearing to give it a better inspection.

The place was big enough for a cabin, plus some things outside and around it. The thick jungle trees almost completely surrounded it, except for a thinner bit which they could see the river from. If more space was needed, they could simply cut away some of the trees.

Magloria took out the axe. "I suggest we build something small at first, so we have suitable shelter before we get properly started. A dense cover of branches and leaves propped up against a tree in the middle could work as a sort of den, and should be easy to set up. "We'll need a couple big branches and plenty of smaller ones."

Collapse agreed with Magloria and proceeded to gather branches and leaves into a pile by the trees here. When she needed to, she would cut some branches with her mushroom axe and seemed to mostly focus on the larger branches. It would likely take a bit for her to fully gather a few large big branches, that'd give the others the time they needed to gather more of what they wanted to get.

If nothing of interest had happened during the gathering process, once they had what they wanted Collapse would proceed in constructing a den with a tree in the center. With the large branches leaned up against the tree in an intercrossing manner with the various other branches all in between. She'd take her leaves and cover the branches as best as possible, leaving an opening in the 'front' of the den.

The size of it however, she let Magloria choose how big the shelter would be.

Magloria and Jump Start both split off from Collapse, intending to gather resources from different parts of the clearing. Since Collapse had taken the axe, Magloria decided on slicing off smaller branches from the various trees with her shortsword, leaving the larger ones alone as she couldn't cut through them without dulling her blade.

Jump Start took a completely different approach. Since she had no magic, she charged at trees before taking a leap at them, reaching up with her forehooves around low branches and pulling. The result most of the time was a branch torn straight off from the trunk of the tree, and other times Jump Start simply... fell back down with a thump.

When they returned, bringing their various resources with them, and put them to use, the result was what looked like a teepee, except with the tree in the center, supporting the larger branches, which let the smaller branches settle around forming a leafy covering. There was enough room inside that all 3 of them could comfortably sleep separate if they wanted, and there even was new petals for bedding

The whole thing took them several hours of gathering materials, and by now it was in the afternoon.

"Well, now what should we do?" Jump Start asked.

Now that they had made the teepee around the tree Collapse had stepped back to take in what they had just built. It looked more homey than a cave for sure. Collapse squeed edge to edge of her face and raised her hoof in the air. "We did it!" she jumped in place in excitement. Her tail wags a little bit too. Nothing felt better than successfully completing a project. To stand back and look at what you just made and call it a good day's work - there wasn't much better than that.

"We can continue exploring around for the rest of the day and come back here by nightfall. I reckon we should make a proper fire pit though, since this is where we'll be staying for a while. But we can do that later." she suggested to Magloria and Jump Start. Might as well take advantage of the day they have. The new pedals would have to wait for later. You sleep at night, so you can have the best sleep when your actually worn out from the day.

"I think it's a good idea to search a little bit further up the river. That way we can know if there is anything there that we should worry about, either because of what they are or what it's doing to the water we'll be drinking." Magloria stated, before marking a circle on the ground with the flat of her shortsword's blade, indicating where their fire pit would be when they came back.

She began leaving their camp to do exactly what she just explained. "You don't really have to come if you don't want to, and prefer to do work around here, but it's likely still the best idea to stay in a group." she said in a casual manner while looking behind herself at the others.

Jump Start would've liked to search for some rocks to line the fire pit with, but she also didn't want to be alone at the camp. She then realized that rocks could be found by the river with dirt usually being washed away, and she could just carry them back.

After putting whatever food she had in her saddlebags inside their new home, she began to follow Magloria again.

Collapse follows after Magloria. She had no intentions at staying at the camp because of her suggestion, not only that, she wanted them to stay together either way. "Good call, we don't want to be drinking any tainted water. Either way, I had planned on boiling it." she suggested as they proceed forward along the river.

Her eyes and ears are kept open and her focus is high, just incase something sudden would happen. Collapse was mentally preparing herself for anything. Crocodiles, other snakes, felines, or other such things. Her mind was playing through various scenarios within her mind to keep her occupied along the way there. It was best to think ahead while one had a chance to do so, rather than act in the moment.

During her battle with the snake she didn't use her summoning ability. It *may* be possible to summon something inside of something, however she has never really tried that before. Perhaps if there is a threat that comes about, she could say, summon something inside of someone?

With that in mind she suddenly slammed her hoof into the ground to get a good clump of dirt, before it vanished in a gold flash. She smirks.

"Hopefully I won't have to test what is on my mind" she spoke, leaving it at that.

Magloria nodded. "Yes, of course we'd boil it just in case, but there are sometimes things that you can't boil out of drinking water. Plus, if it turns out it's clean enough anyway, we don't even have to waste the resources." she pointed out.

*Collapse came to a big realization. If she could summon something inside of someone, then someone could summon something inside of her, among other dangerous possibilities. Was she really willing to risk playing such a potentially deadly game? Maybe she should think about that for a bit.*

"What? Testing summoning and unsummoning... a ball of dirt? Are you going to throw it at someone?" Jump Start questioned.

Over the course of a couple hours, they didn't find very many interesting things outside of the usual critters, snakes and other stuff in the trees. At one point they attracted another copycat parrot, who got annoying after Jump Start tried to make it say something stupid, but it stayed silent, making her look the fool.

A part of the river was larger and slower, almost like a lake but not quite the same. There beyond that they saw what looked like a small outpost of sorts, where water was bled off in another direction. On top of the outpost were those felines, either working, guarding or generally being lazy and bored, as cats sometimes were.

If it was possible for Collapse to summon something inside of someone but it was also possible for that to happen vice versa. However weighing the risks of that she didn't even try to summon an item inside of an inanimate object. She'll have to study that more before attempting to use it in combat. It is true though that none of those they have met so far seemed to even be capable of it. Still was something she'll have to think about more.

Looking to Jump Start she simply shrugged, not willing to get into that at the moment. It may sound stupid to someone else, after all.

Throughout their walk there Collapse had taken sighting of the various critters and snakes along the way there. The parrot made her laugh in a friendly manner at Jump Start's attempt to make it say something stupid. Smart bird.

Upon seeing the outpost Collapse had sighed upon seeing it. She was nervous about those felines, but they were likely far enough away from the other outpost to where a tree randomly catching fire at the other town wouldn't mean anything to them if they had known.

"Perhaps we should attempt to talk to these ones...?" Collapse suggested nervously.

Magloria quirked her eyebrow, wondering what exactly it was that Collapse hoped to achieve by talking to the felines. "We could attempt to do something like that, but it depends on what you want to say to them, and how you want to go about it." she pointed to the outpost.

It looked like a stumpy wooden tower with a slightly slanted, build right next to the river and surrounded by a stone foundation. A couple low walls branched out from it's sides, their purpose unknown, as they weren't enough to form any sort of full defense around something.

Some parts of the wooden frame and walls looked heavily scratched, as if hundreds of claws had sunk into them in all places. The only one that seemed to be on watch was a calm grey one, just laying down at the top of the tower and lazily flicking it's tail against the side of the building.

If they were to approach directly from the river, the felines on guard would easily spot them, and then who knows what they'd do.

Collapse looks to Magloria. "The only thing that crosses my mind at the moment is finding out what they know, and where we are in relation to everything else. A map of the wider area. Perhaps we could even find a better place of dwelling and building our ship for the long term. I'd want us to appear in a non-threatening manner, since we don't want to make enemies here" Collapse suggested, but seeming unsure.

Looking out at the way everything was constructed it felt unusual to see things constructed in this manner. The claw marks on the wood was of concerning nature. "If anything happens to where we get into conflict with them and they actually see us, they will spread word about it. Unlike with the feline town, they never actually saw us but here, if anything happens...they would see us, and our shelter is down the river so, hmm..." she ponders, weighing her options.

"What do you think, of our options here?" she asked Jump Start, wanting to see what she thinks.

Chapter 41

Magloria ponders over their options, taking note of the surrounding land as well as the structure itself. "Well since you don't want to appear in a threatening manner, we've pretty much got no choice but to approach them and let them see us. Even if we had writing materials, I doubt they'd be willing to act civil to suspicious letters they find."

"What we can do is set up an ambush to catch them if they decide to take action after showing ourselves. If we approach through the trees and get close to the wall, we could then get inside the tower and one of us could have a conversation with the one at the top. They do something stupid, the rest of us show ourselves." she paused, "This does come at the risk that the workers will hear noises and do something as well however."

She gave a casual shrug. "Or we could just knock one of them out when they're alone and drag them into the jungle with us. A whole lot easier." she stated, almost sounding almost like she preferred that option, if her slight tone change was any indication.

Collapse notices Magloria's slight tone change and smirks slightly at that. "The option you speak of first is definitely a lot more complicated. The more complicated things are there is more chance of it going wrong. So let us avoid that, and go along with your suggestion. However, that is likely to scare them and piss them off, depending on the personality we decide to...knock out and drag with us." she spoke and then smirked wider.

"Well, however they act towards us we've already dealt with worse, so I'd say we should do that." her gaze turns towards the one on watch, the calm grey colored feline. "What do you think about that one? Seems fairly out of it if you ask me, perfect to simply knock out. I'd say you have more of a chance of doing something that could knock them out though." Collapse suggested, in agreement with Magloria's preferred choice.

Magloria looked towards the feline on 'duty.' "That one will do. They seem relatively alone, though they are filling in a role that seems pretty important at this place. Hmm..." she thought about it further, before shrugging, dismissing the downside that came with picking them.

Her horn lit up and a globe of water was extracted from the river, before quickly freezing into a perfect sphere of ice, a mild icy glow in it's core however revealed it wasn't just a simple ice ball.

"This'll definitely do for knocking them out. We'd need to get close to the wall before throwing it. My accuracy isn't good enough to hit something from this range with such a heavy object." she stated.

Collapse agrees with this and follows them closer towards the wall. "If you need help I can throw it along with you. We want it to be enough to knock them out but not hurt them too much." Collapse states as they get closer.

"Then we'll drag them off but how do you think we'll talk to them. They are likely to be quite scared, likely pissed off at us. How will we handle that?" Collapse asked. Once they were close enough, she was ready to aid Magloria if she needed it.

Either way, once the Feline was knocked out Collapse would quickly do her best to grab the feline and drag them down to where they could drag the feline away.

Magloria shook her head at the offer, gently turning the ice ball around in her magic. "No, it's not that hard to throw, it falls faster than most things so it's hard to predict where it'll land. Needs accuracy, not strength." she explained.

She gave another dismissive shrug. "I figure once we have them, we just tie them up and interrogate them. Not like they're going to be happy about what we did anyway."

"You really sure that's the best idea?" Jump Start interrupted. "They might not be pleased, but we should at least apologize for what we'd do to them."

By this point they had moved through the nearby jungle, and were now close to the wall. A quick check to make sure they're not being looked at and a dash over to the wall's edge let them get within range. They could see the grey tail of the feline still flicking about occasionally over the side.

"I need to be in a position where I can see their face, then after I throw it, we can levitate their body over the side and bring him back with us." Magloria whispered, before moving around to a spot where she could see her target. After a bit of aiming, the ice ball was thrown through the air, the core glowing brighter now.

The feline only had a split second to realize what was headed towards them, eyes widened, before the orb smashed into their head with a dull *clink*. The magic inside the ice ball was released, causing a flash of cold energy to be released over them, slowing down their body and, because of where it hit, numbing their brain.

The large grey cat slumped down, the ice ball rolling off to somewhere out of sight inside the tower.

Collapse stayed silent although she definitely agreed with Jump Start. However it was best to tie them up so they couldn't pose a threat. Perhaps when they let them go they can knock them out again and make off into the jungle so anyone else who looks for them wouldn't know where to look. That would be something to consider later on.

Upon seeing the orb of ice hit the feline's head, Collapse had winced slightly at it. If it was any saving grace, this wasn't in any intention to harm them. It was mainly to find out where they were in relation to everything else as well as other such information. Either way, they had to do what they had to do.

Upon the feline being knocked out she would look to Magloria. "Quick. Let's grab the feline and get out of here." she whispered to her quietly. Collapse would grab the feline the best she could, if Magloria wanted to aid in grabbing her Collapse made it clear that Magloria could also help in grabbing her to make it faster.

Once they had grabbed the feline if nothing had went wrong, she would lead them back the way they came. Into the Jungle.

The moment that Collapse and Magloria had both pulled the feline off the side of the tower, they could feel the weight of the creature. They definitely felt heavier than they looked.

Magloria guided them down to Jump Start, indicating that she'd be the one to carry the cat back with them. The beige mare didn't look very thrilled with the idea of being so close to a predator, but went along with it regardless.

~~The grey feline began to purr in their sleep, making Jump Start feel even more awkward and uncomfortable than before. This noise attracted the attention of the others around the place, and they all quickly joined in, nuzzling the ponies and purring loudly. None of them could escape from the horror, and it got even worse when they were brought back to the feline town and shown to all the others.~~

They managed to retreat back into the jungle without drawing any attention to themselves, or at least none that they had noticed. Once they were a safe distance away, Magloria instructed them to stop.

"Now we should have a decent amount of time before that spell wears off, but we should still be quick about tying them up. Probably should've found some suitable ropes *before* we knocked them out, but... eh." Magloria shrugged, "Look around for a suitable plant we can use. Thick coiled vines preferably."

Collapse didn't feel too safe being around the cat either. Sure, cats were adorable and cute but this one? Was no kitty cat that was for sure. But knowing cats, was it possible these types of cats liked chin or ear rubs? Or being pet? Either way, she'd rather do that with another mare rather than a big feline. Would be adorable. She still has the general feeling you'd get if you were around say, a Lion. If a Lion could talk, that is.

"Big kitty cat they are. I wonder what their name is." Collapse spoke. She was nervous, but not as nervous as Jump Start probably was.

When they were at a safe distance away Collapse keeps an eye out for suitable plants. If there were any thick coiled vines Collapse would quickly go over and cut them off off of the trees, and would continue doing so until they had a suitable amount of vines. If there weren't any thick ones she'd just find the next best thing.

Wrapped around some large trees were some thickened vines, exactly the kind of thing that Collapse had been after, and there were plenty of them too, enough that they could probably make an entire rope bridge if they had the time and need to do so.

But she didn't need that much, so it only took a few minutes of gathering some of the longer ones before she had what could be considered a natural coil of rope floating in her magical aura.

When she returned to the others, Jump Start had set down the feline next to an average sized tree, while Magloria was keeping a close eye on them in case the spell wore off early. Jump Start greeted her as she approached.

Returning to the area the other two were Collapse greeted Jump Start in a chirpy tone. She was always happy to see Jump Start, even if she had been off away for only a few minutes. With the rope in her golden aura she walked closer to the feline.

Carefully and quickly she'd proceed and tie the vines around the veline's limbs to restrict them from getting away from the tree. She tied the knots quickly and pulled the vines apart in her magic when it was needed. Before long, the feline was tied up exactly as Magloria wanted.

"Now, do we wake up the big kitty?" Collapse grinned.

Magloria nodded. "Now, what do you think would be the best method of waking up this sleeping beauty? Shouting them awake? Tickling their paws? Slapping them across the face? Oh, how about giving them a kiss?" she suggested, looking over at Jump Start. "You wanna do the honors of kissing them?" she asked.

Jump Start recoiled, her face scrunching in disgust. "Eww, no! I don't even want to think about doing that!" she whined, causing Magloria to chuckle at her discomfort.

"Relax, I won't make you." Magloria sighed, then got serious again. "But really though, how friendly or intimidating you want us to appear? Personally I vote for making us appear dominant over the situation, so they MUST answer us."

Collapse chuckles at Magloria's actions there as well, gently nudging Jump Start a bit. If anything it seemed like Jump Start was the 'runt of the litter here'. "Well, let's act dominant and if they aren't too bad of a personality to deal with we'll dial it back a bit?" she asked with a grin as she spoke.

Looking to Magloria she smirked. "Alright, I'll tap them with a stick, how about that?" she asked and grabbed a branch. If Magloria approved she would start tapping the feline awake. If gentle taps weren't enough, then light whacks on the side probably would work.

"That's fine, just don't poke them in the nose or the eyes." Magloria said, sitting down and waiting for events to unfold.

At first they didn't do much, the taps clearly not effective enough to dispel the numbing effects. Lighter whacks ended up provoking a better reaction where they shifted a bit, as if trying to get away from the annoying presence.

Eventually they started showing more signs that they were waking up, eyes, whiskers and ears all flickering. When they realized that they couldn't move their limbs though, their eyes immediately shot open and their struggles intensified.

"Ah!" they yelped as their eyes burned from the sudden sunlight, quickly shutting them again. Their voice sounded female, if a bit on the rough side. Her struggles intensified as she kept trying to break free, to no avail. Magloria had made sure that Collapse tied her up in such a way where she couldn't simply claw through her restraints.

A slight growl could be heard at this point, indicating exactly how they felt about the whole situation.

Collapse thankfully had tired everything in a way so that the feline wouldn't be able to escape from the vines so simply. It was good that she had thought of that ahead of time.

After a few whacks Collapse would look the feline directly into the eye. This was probably the first time that this particular feline had seen a pony and Collapse was the first one she had seen. Her brown eyes looked directly into the feline's own in defiance of her comparatively more fearsome form. Collapse noticed something that she hadn't thought of earlier. The feline's aversion to light. That'd be a good way to get answers out of her, but hopefully it wouldn't have to come to that.

"Look. I realize you are very confused and annoyed at what we did to you here today. I'm not going to get into the details, but the three of us are not from around here. We need answers. We need answers as to where we are, who you felines are, and stuff like that. How about we start with what your name is, and what you call your kind? We aren't going to hurt you if you don't give us a reason to." Collapse spoke. Her words were very clear and concise, however her tone was very much different from what Magloria and Jump Start had heard from her usual.

An air of dominance. Not something you feel from Collapse too often. Especially when around other mares.

Part way into Collapse's speech the feline recovered from the bright light, enough that they could open their eyes again without problems. They started to glare at the group, but this was partially diluted by the confusion that came about from seeing these weird looking creatures.

When Collapse finished, the feline got back to her glaring, not looking convinced. "You really expecting ta get things out o' me when you're lookin like that? What even are you oddballs? Some sorta grass eating critter that fell in a vat o' paint?"

She tugged on her bindings once again, trying desperately to snap them and free herself. "You best be letting me go. Would be a much more favorable outcome for ya compared to what they'll do to ya when they find out that I've been snatched!" she threatened.

"Well, you are in quite the position to talk like that, now aren't you? We've battled against things far scarier than your kind. We won't be letting you go until we get answers." she spoke, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"Just by looking at us you can tell we aren't from around here. We are Unicorns, and well - Jump Start here is an Earth Pony." she gestured to Jump Start with a head gesture. "Now that we have answered your question freely, how about you answer ours? Then we'll proceed forward." she spoke calmly, and authoritatively. "Please, just give us the answers we need and it will be easy for the both of us." she spoke, putting more force into her words.

"Fine. You can have my name, but that's all you're gettin from me, you weird 'yoo-nee-corn'." she growled, looking around herself and checking the bindings properly. "I'm Eliza."

"Now for the next part. What do you creatures call yourselves, what do you do and what places of interest are around here. It would be much better if you told us everything, including places that aren't owned by you felines." Magloria stated, adding in her attempt to get information.

"Why do you even want to know stuff like that? Just ask the parrots. They'll definitely tell ya!" Eliza snarked in response, completely avoiding the question. Words alone didn't seem to be convincing her that they had a reason to be listened to.

"Well *Eliza*, like I said before we are very lost and we need to know our surroundings. You likely won't believe the full story but we need to know where you felines live so we can *avoid* any unnecessary interactions whenever possible, please answer the questions..." Collapse spoke and stepped forward, clearly undeterred by Eliza's avoidance to her questions.

"I see you felines don't like light..." Collapse's horn began to glow gold. It wasn't too bright, but she could easily make it brighter if she wanted to. "So tell us what we need to know or I'm going to make this place as bright as the sun, how about that? Make this easy for the both of us." Collapse spoke with a more forceful manner.

Eliza shut one of her eyes in response to the sudden bright light in her face. Not as much of a reaction as Collapse was probably hoping for. About the same as what a pony would do in response to sudden light like that. Still though, it showed that it had at least some effect.

"Wh-What the? What the blazin' hell are you doin? You some sort of lamp creature that wandered out of one of those alchemy lab places? That would explain the funny colors that you're wearin'." she said in an agitated manner, still not divulging anything they want to know.

Magloria looked to Collapse. "Well the kitty still isn't talking. Collapse, you know what to do." she encouraged. Something she said caused Eliza to give Magloria a one-eyed glare in response.

Collapse stepped forward as her horn began to glow progressively brighter. "No, as a matter of fact we come from an entire different civilization a weeks away on the other side of the nearby ocean, as far as we can tell. We are stranded here. Our ship got wrecked. We are lost. All we want is information that would be useful to aid us in our mission to return home." she spoke, her words also getting more forceful.

"When we arrived here we saw another settlement of felines a ways away from here. We didn't interact as we had no idea what would happen, so tell us what we want to know. *Now*. Why must you be so difficult? Answer a few simple questions, talk a little, and we'll let you go. Your stubbornness ain't going to help you." Collapse smirked. Her horn was quite bright now. She could go brighter if she needed to.

"So you're lost, big deal. Just build another ship and stop pestering me!" Eliza growled as the light got even brighter. At this point she had shut both of her eyes to avoid the intensity of the light.

Until it reached a point where the brightness was too intense for her to stand, even with her eyes tightly shut. "Ow! Ow! Bloody hell ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT FINE I'LL TELL YOU! Just turn that damn light down before it burns out my eyes and I go blind!" she snapped, finally having enough of the session.

Magloria looked to Collapse, giving her a nod to go along with Eliza's request. "As long as you tell us what we need to know, we won't have to do that again. Are we clear?" she asked the feline.

"Yes yes, I get the idea, you daft leaf muncher." Eliza replied.

Collapse turns down her light off. The bright light vanishes in a sudden poof sound and then she smiles sweetly. Seemingly unphased by Eliza's demeanor. "Thank you. Now let's do this again. Can you *please* tell us What you call yourselves, what you do, and what are the places around here...but like Magloria said, it'd be best if you just tell us everything we know. I don't feel like asking specific questions yet, so let's just go everything. How about that?" she asked sweetly.

Collapse takes out one of the Coconuts and eats a bit more, munching while Eliza replies. "I mean, a giant python that we just cut up last night after we almost *died*, doesn't sound very tasty...but Coconuts do." she giggled.

It was as if her sweet tone was done on purpose as an opposition to Eliza's crude comments.

Collapse's sweetened words only seemed to piss off the feline even more, but she held her tongue and started answering the questions. "We call ourselves Panthins, and what we do is what any species with a smartlike brain does. We go about buildin' our shelters, huntin' our foodstuffs, improvin' our lives, and prayin' that no damned disasters go and undo it all."

"You talked about seeing another place of ours, well if it was big and full of us, it was our big town 'round here. We called it Carocol. Plus a few little places like what I was at before you rudely came along, just to keep things flowin' in."

Eliza picked up on Collapse's words about the python, and let out a scoff. "Won't be the last time one goes for ya, and I hope they succeed next time." she declared.

Collapse takes in the answers she was given and ignores Eliza’s rude comment at the end, simply smiling.

“There we go. That wasn’t too hard after all. What kind of leadership do you have around here? See, we are hesitant to reveal ourselves out in the open as we aren’t sure what kinds of reactions we would get openly. We know nothing about your kind so as of yet we have avoided open contact in acknowledgment of possible violent outcomes we would rather avoid.” she states and looks to Jump Start.

“You haven’t really said much. Any questions you want to ask Eliza here?” she asked with a slight smirk. She wanted Jump Start to be a little more brave after all.

Eliza rolled her eyes at the monologuing that Collapse kept on putting forth. What else was this horned herbivore going to spout out? Her entire life story? Perhaps how she got that hideous butt stamp? Eliza would've chuckled at the thought, if she wasn't tied up.

"The lazy kind of leadership that sits around on their fancy feathered seats while ignorin' all the problems of the little folk. You know, the usual 'puss with power' kind of thing. Not like you'd really care about that sort of thing, now would ya?" she replied. Probably not the explanation Collapse was after, but she did give a proper answer.

Jump Start shook her head. She had nothing to say to them, and nothing she wanted to really know about them. "You two are doing a better job." she said.

Collapse looks to Jump Start and smirks slightly before looking back to Eliza. It seems that these cats are basically what one would expect. They did seem to lay around and not do much after all. Although they aren't to be messed with in Collapse's opinion.

"Right, what kinds of landmarks around here are of interest? We are getting tired of this unforgiving Jungle. Perhaps there could be some place more temperate without dangerous creatures. Or does this place fall entirely within this type of climate? Do the Panthins have ships?" Collapse asked curiously, wanting to get more answers out of Eliza here.

She looked to Magloria, wondering if she had anything to ask but noticing how she didn't speak up - it seemed that she was satisfied with Collapse's line of questioning.

"If you want to escape from this here jungle, you'll be goin' for days and days. Place is massive, and that's without you gettin' slowed down by the locals or completely blocked by the very lands around ya. Wouldn't know if we've gone further, because I do not give a toss. There are probably interestin' things out there, but I don't give a toss about em' either."

She looked bewildered at the idea of building a ship. "Why would we willingly go sailin' out across open waters? That's one of the ludicrous ideas I've every heard of." Eliza leaned forward as far as she could go, trying to get closer to Collapse before she said, "So I'll tell you this plain and simple for ya. N. O. We do not!"

She rested back against the tree once again. "Now, are you proper done with askin' your bloody questions? I could do with a nice drink after all this pointless yammerin'."

Collapse shrugged at the answers however she stood there resolute, unphased. "One less risky situation then for us. No taking ships, right. Boggles my mind what you have against open water...oh right, you probably are afraid of water. Makes sense. I'd say that really limits what you can do as a society, but that's not my place to say." she shrugged.

"You know, we were really looking around for a map of some kind. Do you happen to know where we could get a map from? Or do you even use maps?" she asked further, not seeming to be bothered by Eliza's statements. However in truth this type of personality was something that was very annoying for her to deal with. Seems like they don't care about not going beyond what they know, what good is that, anyway? Well, that's on the Panthins for deciding to be that way.

"You want a drink, here..." Collapse would take out one of her Coconuts, summoning her screwdriver and stabbing it through the top of it several times to create holes. For Eliza, her summoning ability was likely bewildering. Once she was done she levitated the Coconut closer to her. "I mean, if you want to drink, just open wide and I'll pour you some milk." she smirks.

Eliza was initially reluctant to do what Collapse said in order to get the offered drink, but eventually she opened up her mouth wide enough that she could drink without making a mess.

Once she was done she cleaned up her lips and whiskers with her surprisingly long, pink tongue. "Thanks. At least you're hospitable towards your captives." she said, still sounding angry, but the edge had been taken off of her tone.

"Yes we have maps. We're not completely useless at doing things. You're not going to find one here though. Only going to get some in Carocol. Good luck with that though. Your bright colours and soft pudgy 'eat me' appearance will make you stand out like a ladybug on a leaf."

Jump Start looked down at herself. "Do we really look fat and delicious...?" she whispered to herself, poking at her belly as she did.

Chapter 42

Collapse pours some of the milk into Eliza's mouth and gave her time to drink up. When the milk was gone from the Coconut she pulled out her axe and squarely chopped the Coconut in half as they talked.

"I mean, to some we probably would." Collapse spoke to Jump Start, answering her question. "My main concern with the Panthins is that I don't want to walk up to one of their settlements in the open and cause a disturbance, or have them see us as...food. We try to avoid carnage when we can help it. But we have no qualms with dealing with those situations, should we have to." she mentioned casually, looking Eliza in the eyes.

"I am curious what your kind hunt though. I imagine there are probably various things you find yourself to eat in this sort of environment. Usually we wouldn't eat outright meat." Collapse also mentioned as she began biting into the Coconut, enjoying the delicious white inner flesh.

"Well what do you think we go hunt? Should be pretty obvious even to you. It's not like we go around chasing bananas with legs or anythin'. And just in case you get any bright ideas, no, there are none of those bananas with legs, so that we're clear that was sarcasm." Eliza huffed. She wondered what Collapse even wanted to gain from that question.

"Though if you didn't want to start a ruckus with us, this sure as bloody hell ain't the way to do it, and as if I'm goin' to go help you do somethin' like that." she growled.

"Got loyalties to those 'pusses in power' do you?" Magloria questioned, causing Eliza to bare her fangs in response.

"As if. I simply don't wish to partake in any 'business' you plan on doin', especially when I'd be used as your protective shield, so to speak." Eliza responded.

Collapse looks to Magloria as she asked the question. "You seem to act as if growling and acting angry is going to get you anywhere. Now I understand you are upset, but I think we have a few more questions to ask you." Collapse thought to herself, trying to see if anything else would come to mind.

"So you really avoid the water and don't even have ships, then? Alright, now what kind of technology do you have? Do you have anything to do with magitech? Oil? Mechanics? Just asking, since we'd likely want some of that technology for a ship. We didn't come here on a sailing vessel." Collapse asked, wanting to get an answer while she had the chance to ask. Wanting to get some details on something before you went about building it was what any sane builder would do. It was good to explore options.

Eliza by this point was looking rather bored (and still angry), wanting to just end this whole questioning thing and get back to what she was doing. Having a nice nap half in the sun, half in the shade.

"I don't know about that sorta stuff. I sit around and watch over important places, not fiddle around with steam engine bollocks." she stated.

"Steam engines?" Jump Start queried. Eliza realized that she now had to explain *that* part too and gave a sigh.

"Yeah. Big metal thingies that eat up coal, wood and aeternalis stuff. Makes a lot of noise, uses a lot of water, but does some fancy stuff I suppose."

"Ah, steam engines. I know we use those back home for trains. I know that decades ago they were used on ships but were phased out for the more efficient mana-core powered vessels. I haven't worked on steam engines that much but I can say I know a bit about them, but it's been so long." Collapse commented.

"Hmm...perhaps we could bargain for a steam engine but I highly doubt we'd have an easy way of getting it to the shore unless the Panthins were willing to help us..." Collapse pondered, looking to Magloria.

"Any other questions we want to ask? I think I asked all I have to ask." Collapse stated.

"I don't know why you're even considering to bargain for one of our steam engines." Eliza said as she scanned over each of them, "You don't look like you'd be carryin' anything valuable, aside from that fancy looking swimming ring you have." she nodded towards Collapse's fly ring.

Magloria shook her head. "I think we got what we need from her. Jump Start, you have anything else that you have now thought about asking?" she asked, which received a no from Jump Start.

"It's not exactly a swimming ring." Collapse smiles and her horn pulsed a golden color for a split second and the ring began to spin with an electric whirr. Collapse floats a little bit off of the ground. "This is a fly ring. Allows the user to fly via anti-gravitational magic and telepathic thought. You simply think where you want to go, and it takes you there. It's very intuitive...but its only designed for unicorns...I would be happy to give you some blueprints on it, but you would have to figure something out on your own as you don't have horns to cast magic with." Collapse said to Eliza.

She agreed with the other two though. "We can probably let you go, Eliza. Just promise not to suddenly attack us and we'll let you be on your way. I'm sorry for bothering you but we had questions we needed to answer."

Eliza's eyes widened when she saw the spectacle of magic be performed before her. Not the light show or levitation that was performed before with the coconut, those were pretty mediocre, but having a strange device that could lift you completely off the ground? Unheard of.

"Alright... then. Fair enough, that definitely would interest someone..." she said slowly, shock clear in her voice before it calmed back down again. "But you're still goin' to run into other problems, mark my words."

Upon hearing that she was finally going to be freed, she tugged on the bindings. "Smashing! These things were startin' to chafe. I promise that I'm not goin' to maul you once I'm unbound, now do your work."

Magloria drew her shortsword and, holding both the tied up Panthin's limbs and her blade to keep everything steady, began cutting through the plant fibers. As each leg was freed, Eliza rubbed it to get some of the soreness out and partially clean her ruined fur. "Much better." she approved, standing up proper.

Collapse floated a bit forward to Eliza. "If you...want to help us further, you are more than welcome, even to show us around your settlement. We promise we don't mean any harm, but I'm sure we have a lot of knowledge that you could find useful. If that means anything to you." she suggested. Now that Eliza seemed a lot more reasonable, Collapse was more willing to talk to the Panthins in the outpost nearby.

"However if you aren't as willing to show us around or if you want to leave and never see us again - that's your choice. I know that we may not have given you much of a choice here, but I think it is fair to have you choose this time." she spoke calmly, allowing Eliza to choose what would happen next. Although she made it clear that they would only go ahead and do that if Magloria was fine with it, she may not be.

"No, I don't think I'll be helpin' you any further. This whole thing has been something I'd much rather leave behind. So if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to what I was supposed to be doin'. My job while idlin' about." she huffed, and started to walk away from them back to the miniature fortification, only uttering a final "Good day." when she got far enough, before passing around a pair of thick leaves and disappearing out of their sight.

"Well, at least we didn't completely piss her off. That's got to amount to something, right?" Jump Start asked.

"It means that we didn't have to keep her tied up so she wouldn't alert the others, or execute her. She probably won't even bother anyone with the story, given the way she acted. Probably wants for forget all about this experience." Magloria replied.

Collapse looked to Magloria and Jump Start. "Well that's a wrap, let's head back to our camp and hope nothing bad happens." she suggested, although it was unlikely that anyone would believe Eliza even if she did tell the others without any real proof to back up what she had seen. So we are good. At least we know more than what we knew." Collapse spoke, and began leading the way back down the river.

"She wasn't as bad as I expected though. If they are all like that though, then I'd prefer to just not interact with them. Seems like an isolated, if a bit lazy society." Collapse spoke as they walked along the river although she never dropped her guard.

Magloria shrugged at Collapse's observations as they headed back. "Well we definitely can confirm they have things that we'd find useful, so it looks like we might have to eventually head into Carocol no matter what, unless we prefer to wander through the jungle without any good means of navigation." she said.

During their travels back to where they had set up camp, the sun had started to get low to the horizon, creating the usual orange glow that signaled they didn't have much time to get back before darkness would fall upon them.

"She was most likely like that because I struck her with a ball of ice and you tied her to a tree. I was actually expecting her to be furious and completely uncooperative, even with your light show, to the point we'd have to get serious." she paused, thinking things over, "I was also completely expecting her to eventually break her bonds herself. Those vines would've broken eventually with enough struggling or a lucky claw scratch."

Jump Start began pondering out loud. "Perhaps their children are better than their adults? Less aggressive I mean. Surely if we found one just under teen years they'd listen." she suggested.

Eventually they would reach their camp, just before night came.

Collapse smiles to Jump Start. "If their children can be based off of anything we know about cats, they would be foal sized kittens. Wouldn't that be adorable? Small fuzzballs with whiskers, and meowing? As cute as they'd be I don't think any of their parents would let us near them for obvious reasons." she stated, putting a little emphasis on the cuteness of the Panthin young. It would be utterly adorable though, wouldn't it?

However she definitely agreed with Magloria. "I was expecting that as well, really. Expect the worst and you'll never be disappointed." Collapse spoke, believing that herself to various extents. "However we'll have to really plan what we need to do next. Do we go into Carocol and bargain for a map, see what they have to offer? Or do we wanna spend a day or two cutting down some trees and getting a fair amount of wood ready for the ship construction?" Collapse asked, seeming to prefer that option.

When they entered into the camp Collapse would look to make sure nothing dangerous made its home there when they were away.

After her checking around, Collapse knew that nothing had come and raided their little slice of not-so-paradise, or was waiting to ambush them. They were safe, for now.

"It sounds like they would hiss as us rather than mewl and be adorable. After all we'd be big strange things getting close to them. Probably not worth going after, unless we accidentally stumble upon them and have the time." Magloria stated as she set down her supplies near their shelter, reaching in to get some of their food out.

"But we don't even have necessary things to start on the ship anyway. If we did go gathering timber, wouldn't it be better to put it forward for a more immediate purpose? Like a proper house?" Jump Start suggested.

"Either way it's something we should be doing, even if it's for firewood, it couldn't hurt to have a ready supply. We might have to cut a path to where we go deforesting and smooth it out, perhaps build a cart for transporting things eventually, but that just means more wood for us." Magloria approved.

Collapse sits down on the pedals looking for the food. She had her coconuts but wanted to preserve them for later. Already with how they were all in the shelter together she was already getting a little excited.

“Well I want to think that there would be something cute and fluffy for how much we have suffered lately.” she smirks. She was referencing the three of them but made it in a way so that they wouldn’t get it. “I like the seaponies. Like a lazy herd of friendly smiling seaponies as far as the eye can see. So many colors. Each seapony is unique…” She said almost dreamily before she snapped herself out of it.

“We can easily build ourselves some karts. Build three carts for the three of us, I can do that. We can clear out the forest directly around us. We can build ourselves a proper home too. Ship building is no short process so we are going to need that as well so we can start with that.” she states in agreement before digging into her food.

“I wouldn’t mind building the ships wheel too. I could give a unique shape too…maybe a rhombus. But we need to find the proper tools or build proper tools for building a ship…an adze , hmm…” she thinks to herself.

Chapter 43

"Fluffy and cute?" Jump Start asked, "You mean you want to go and hug a... panthin kitten? Or were you talking about the seaponies? We can't go underwater anymore, so that would be hard to do." she said.

"Not necessarily. They did say that some of them occasionally go to the beach to relax. If we manage to spot one or they spot us, you could get what you want that way, Collapse." Magloria added.

Magloria began to idly play about with her short sword as she distributed some of the food they had to each of them. "Though something comes to mind regarding clearing out the forest... The more we clear, the more noticeable it's going to become. Eventually the Panthins are going to know where we are, one way or another. If not them, then other things as well." she said.

Collapse had an idea for what Magloria spoke of and pondered over her response while smirking at Jump Start. "Why not both? But yeah, the fact that we can't go underwater is a bit of a downer. Maybe we'll see some on the beach at some point. After all, they did offer to help us with the ship building too." she spoke.

"However, maybe we don't clear all in the same area. Clear one tree here or there, not all in the same spot at once. Or we could clear an area away from where we are, but if we build a house here it would be quite visible for anyone walking by here. That's a good point though." she spoke, biting into the f ood more.

Magloria shook her head. "Reason why I say they'd find us eventually is because almost any means of concealing where we take the fallen trees to would be inefficient." she stated, then rose an eyebrow.

"I take it you don't really want to drag dozens of trees through thick jungle just to 'hide' our work from them, do you? Cutting down the trees some distance from here would be preferable, but we absolutely must have a path to where we'd store it all. Otherwise we run into the same difficulties." She sliced her fruit open, sticking an entire half into her mouth in such a way that 'drove her point across', as much as eating something could anyways.

Jump Start didn't have much else to say, and instead decided to consume her meal in silence.

Collapse notices Magloria's tactics with making her point and simply nodded. She would eat in silence afterwards as she didn't have anything else to really add to the conversation. Not only that she didn't really want to potentially stirr Magloria's ire. That is not something she'd want to happen at all. She munches on her fruits but before long she was complete. She took off her boots and gear, setting it by one of the pedals.

She seemed to look at the two of them in silence. They probably knew what she was thinking and what she wanted. Her wagging tail and the smirk she was obviously trying to repress was a pretty good indication at what she wanted.

Magloria gave Collapse a deadpan stare, just watching her body reactions. For once, Magloria didn't attempt to ignore them like a professional captain would. "Must you be so obvious in your desires? I know you can't control yourself, but every creature within a kilometer would be able to tell how much you want to be near us." she said.

"Come on Magloria." Jump Start interrupted, "You know how much she seems to enjoy it. Why wouldn't she act like this? It would be like me receiving a plate of delicious pasta with mozzarella cheese topped with fresh alfredo sauce every night, steaming warm. Mmm!"

"Or you with... uh..." she paused, trying to think of what Magloria enjoyed. "...figurine collecting...?" she finished awkwardly.

Magloria sighed before relenting. "Fine, I get your point, as poor as your comparisons were. At least we won't need to use wood on a fire when pressed together, so that's *one* plus."

They waited for Collapse to curl up on their bed first before setting aside their things and joined her. Magloria once more with hesitation.

Collapse looks to Magloria, her ears folded back a bit at the first statement but thankfully Jump Start interrupted on Collapse's behalf. She didn't expect that she would do that for her sake and let out a gentle giggle in reply as she lays down.

"I know that I can't control myself but I do my best to not be all over you two during the day. N-not that I would be..." she looked away after she said that before looking to Jump Start. "All this talk about food makes me think of something. If you have two pieces of bread and put them on exact opposite sides of the planet...you can have the world be a sandwich...technically." she joked before watching them lay down next to her.

"It also reminds me when we were behind that rock in the tunnel when the Felines were walking by and we were all squished together. Hey, at least I wasn't complaining. If anything I perform well in close quarters with other mares when I need to...but I digress." she then would watch Magloria for a few seconds and inch closer to her.

Her tail flicks around, laying itself on Jump Start.

Magloria remains silent as Collapse monologues on about things, merely allowing Collapse to get close without responding positively in any noticeable way. Maybe one day, Collapse, but this isn't the day. Magloria's silence left Jump Start to pick up the conversation instead.

"That's an... odd thing to think about. I dunno if a world sandwich would really count. Maybe it would? Maybe it wouldn't because the world is inedible? I don't know."

"We should probably get to sleep now though." she said, curling down under Collapse's tail. It was now completely dark outside, the moon having been covered by the cloudscape and the tree canopy, leaving them in an eerie darkness, quite similar to the caves. The fact they were together was some comfort against that at least.

Collapse for now was satisfied that she was able to get Magloria to lay down next to her again for the second time. While she wanted her to be smiling and giggling at her actions, that was a long way away in all likelyhood.

As Jump Start talks, her tail gently tightens around Jump Start a bit so she could feel maximum warmth and comfort at it's softness. Although, Collapse was a bit nervous at the darkness. Hopefully the universe would let them have a nice night after what happened the past few nights.

"Yup. Goodnight Jump Start...and goodnight Magloria..." Collapse says as her eyes shut. She wanted to inch closer to Magloria but this time she wasn't willing to push her luck.

Collapse knew that she was the first one to have woken up this morning. How could she tell? That was easy. It was because she was still blanketed in warmth from all sides, and had woken up with her face pressed into the blue fluff of Magloria's chest.

She could tell the sun was starting to rise from the dim light in the sky. The usual jungle birds sung their morning songs, various predators called out as they returned to their homes until the next night, and insects had begun to annoyingly buzz around again.

Today was going to be pretty standard, if what they had plans for was any indication. Just a whole bunch of resource gathering. Boring but necessary.

Because Collapse had woken up earlier than them she took the time to just lay there and admire Magloria's blue fluff. It was very nice for her, a dream come true! She didn't move much though, to maximize her enjoyment of Magloria for as long as possible. The warmth from all sides was just heavenly.

Looking out into the dim sky and listening to the sounds of the jungle. It was oddly peaceful, despite imagining all the pythons and other dangerous predators. Thinking through what they were going to do today, she had plans to build a cart and hopefully get some trees down for a larger shelter.

All good things must come to an end. Eventually Magloria and Jump Start would awaken to the sight of a very awake Collapse laying beside them, enjoying their warmth.

Magloria was the one who awoke first. After checking their surroundings and giving a "Morning." to Collapse, she extracted herself from the group, stretched out in various ways then levitated some of her things over to herself, getting ready for the day ahead.

Jump Start followed a similar wakeup routine, except she didn't extract herself immediately, instead preferring to do the stretching without thinking of the consequences. Those consequences being Collapse got poked accidentally by a leg.

She was too bleary to realize, and just went out and snatched herself some food from their stash.

Assuming Collapse didn't need to say anything to them, they'd likely all just prepare themselves for the day ahead.

Collapse smiled to Jump Start sweetly when she got poked although she likely didn't see it. She took out one of her Coconuts and proceeded to drink the milk of it and eat the flesh inside of it, after accessing the interior goodness within. Then came a bit of a stretch of the legs.

Her boots levitated onto her hooves and she gathered her saddlebags onto her. Once they were all ready to begin logging for the day she would turn to both of them. "Well, time for logging and gathering resources. We can easily cut a few trees down and get ourselves a firepit for roasting our fruits a bit." she suggested before heading out.

Collapse didn't have any particular spots she wanted to begin cutting down the trees. She let Magloria decide. Once she decided, Collapse would begin cutting down some trees with her mushroom axe and getting everything all neatly in a pile.

Magloria had decided on cutting a path of trees towards the beach. She explained that not only would it give them an easier way to reach the ocean, both for constructing the boat and for access to the seaponies, but it also headed in the opposite direction of the felines. Less chance to be noticed.

As they worked, they split into different tasks. Magloria marked the trees that she wanted chopped down with big 'X's, using her short sword, and while Collapse was busy hacking away at trees, she had wandered off and found some more vines. These were then used to create a harness.

Jump Start gladly lent her strength for pulling the trees to where they made a neat pile. After she was fitted with Magloria's vine harness, the light blue mare would tie it on tightly to each tree, giving Jump Start an extremely easy way to drag them around.

Most of the trees didn't take much effort for Collapse to fell, since they were tall, thin and easily chopped down.

However problems arose when she came across the first big tree. It looked very sturdy, and the first few strikes of the axe only left cuts half as deep as the other trees, letting her know immediately that this tree was made from a denser, harder wood. Great for building important things that need to be durable. Not so great for actually gathering from the tree.

Collapse had greatly enjoyed the process of felling the smaller types of trees. It felt good that she was doing something physical. When one does physical labor it was very rewarding because it was very easy to see what one has done at a glance. She felt a sense of pride in her work deep down. More fitting of an Earth pony, for Collapse's magical abilities she felt more in tune with what she could see and touch. Probably she chose the line of work she did.

Upon seeing the big tree Collapse remarked that this one would likely best be used for building the ship. They wanted a ship that was very solid and sturdy, all things considered. It would take more time to cut but she was careful with the areas she cut at, as well as the angle. They didn't want this tree falling in the wrong place.

When the tree had fallen Collapse smirked at a good job done. "Pretty good start, eh?" she remarked.

Chapter 45

Jump Start stayed by the fire for a little bit. If the way she occasionally dug her hoof into the ground to mark places was any indication, she was planning on exactly how big the grill should be.

Eventually she got bored of just thinking through things and took the hint to join the others, curling down next to Collapse as usual. Quickly saying goodnight, she prepared to go to sleep.

However despite the fact that the sun had set a short amount of time ago, Collapse could still see the blue reflective glow from the nearby river, but it was dimmer, and seemed to have moved. Something was out there. Whatever it was though, it got dimmer and dimmer. Soon she wouldn't be able to see it at all.

Collapse layed there for a bit until she noticed the blue glow in the river. Neither of them likely wanted to go out and see what it was but she told Jump Start and Magloria about it. Collapse was a bit concerned as to what it could be, but was mostly curious. If Magloria wanted them to go out there she wouldn't object, but it's not something she'd go out of her way to do. Maybe tomorrow night they could stay up later and see what it was.

After telling them, Collapse would cuddle up to Jump Start and gently wrap her tail around her. This time she was more properly cuddling her, if her legs around Jump Start was any indication.

Magloria didn't want to go after it. As long as it didn't disturb them, they wouldn't disturb it. Jump Start didn't want to go after it either, but for a different reason. She wanted to go to sleep instead of chase strange glows at night.

Jump Start also didn't mind what Collapse did, simply preferring to sleep like a brick until morning came.

The next morning when Collapse woke up, she immediately felt... damp? Why was she feeling damp? Worse, why did she feel hot? She couldn't feel Jump Start next to her.

When she opened her eyes she found out why. All around the camp was a thick grey mist, blocking their visibility, making everything wet to touch and weighing things down.

And worst of all, the oppressive heat of the jungle was made even more intense by the humidity, since they couldn't effectively lose the heat anymore. Jump Start looked miserable and unkempt as she sat next to a block of melting ice, while Magloria covered their belongings in various large leaves to stop the water getting on them.

Collapse stretches out and makes a move to snuggle around Jump Start. "Mhmm...*Jumpy*..." she whispered and opened her eyes only to find that Jump Start wasn't there. She instantly took note of the thick mist and woke up fully before standing up. For a second she thought that something went wrong but then she realized it was just the weather.

She glanced over, seeing Jump Start's miserable look before she went over to her and gave her a gentle boop on the nose. She giggles gently, hoping she could make her a little happier. "Welp, we have some time to kill it seems, and...as it seems by the weather its unfortunately very hot." Collapse sighs, smirking slightly at the joke she made. It was very hot, but it was made even hotter when she was around two mares.

"I don't suppose we'd wanna fire up a grill in this weather, huh?" she remarks with a sigh.

Jump Start reacted to the boop, but not as well as Collapse would've liked. She merely smiled for a brief second before returning to her miserable expression.

"No. Let's not do that. That would just make everything even hotter, and that would be even *woooorse* than it is now." she moaned, leaning against the cold block of ice even more than she already was.

Magloria looked over to them after finishing off the rest of the coverings. "Well we should still do something today, regardless of how hot it is. More woodcutting is an idea, but it might exhaust everyone. Could try and build some things if we have the means to." she suggested

"I wanna go for a swim." Jump Start blurted out.

"That... is also an option. Would be a good opportunity to check what's in the river so we don't get any nasty surprises later." Magloria replied.

"We can go for a swim but let's make sure there isn't any parasites or anything bad in the river as well." Collapse spoke and pulled away from Jump Start to give her more space. Collapse wasn't going to be cutting down any trees today for sure due to the intense heat. Maybe it had rained while they were asleep and it's an extra hot day or something like that.

Collapse stood up and slid her boots on as well as getting her other gear on her after she stretched. She looks to them, "Let's go check out the river. Maybe we'll find out what caused that weird blue glow that we saw.

Magloria looked slightly miffed that her attempt to keep their stuff dry was wasted, since they were just going to take some of it regardless. She accepted it though, knowing that it was a possibility that would've happened anyway.

Levitating Jump Start's saddlebags over while equipping her own, she began leading them in the direction of the river.

It didn't take long for them to arrive, though the mist around them did make it take a little longer, both by messing with their sense of direction and the discomfort of it all.

The river looked the same as it usually did, if a bit more eerie with only being able to see a small amount of it up and down. Still, it looked refreshing and cool.

Collapse didn't see any blue glow around or within the river, or anywhere in the location around it, however. Whatever it was that she saw wasn't here anymore.

Collapse walks along relatively quietly to the shores of the river and looks at it carefully to make sure nothing would suddenly come out and attack them. Whatever blue glow was here was gone, perhaps it could be some sort of plankton or algae that glows in the dark. Who knows.

"Hey I have an idea, Magloria. You can make things out of ice? I would imagine you would be pretty good at making popsickles or snowcones. Use our fruits as a flavoring, some coconut, and we'd have a pretty good popsickle or snowcone." Collapse mentioned casually in an attempt to strike up a conversation.

The mist around the area made Collapse a little un-nerved to say the least.

The mist made the job of keeping an eye out for predators much harder to do (as did her damp, heavy mane whenever it flopped into her face on accident) but even despite these difficulties she didn't manage to spot anything that would be of danger to them, aside from a few small tree snakes that rested on some of the branches near the river.

Magloria looked down at the water to inspect it for anything dangerous, then back up to Collapse to address her. "Of course I could. Who do you think added those ice cubes to your drink while you were chopping trees? Or made that ice block that Jump Start was sitting next to?" she asked in reply, before continuing.

"I might as well do something like that in this weather though." She said in a slightly softer tone, "Wouldn't be right to force you to suffer like this when I could easily do something about it. Still, if alternatives like this river are available, best use that instead."

Meanwhile, Jump Start was looking in the water even closer, searching for anything that looked dangerous. Seeing nothing, she decided to take her first couple steps in, immediately enjoying the cool feeling of river water brushing over her forehooves. "That's muuuuuch better..." she mumbled in delight.

Hopefully there wouldn't be anything dangerous in the river. With a gold flash Collapse's boots are unsummoned and she walks into the river following after Jump Start. Upon feeling the cool feeling of the water on her hooves she lets out a soft groan in delight. "Ooooohhh yes...that feels so good." she remarked with a slight giggle at the end of her word.

Her eyes look back towards Magloria after taking a few moments to soak in the feeling of the cool water by her hooves. Her eyelids closed a bit when she looked into Magloria's eyes for a brief moment. She was imagining Magloria rubbing some ice cubes on her back on a very hot day. That'd feel even better?

"Hehe, yes. Nothing feels better than drinking cold water after a hard day's work. Perhaps for lunch we could have some fruity popsickles? Hmm, have you ever made a popsickle or something like that before? I imagine that you'd be able to make a good amount of sales if you had like, a stand and you made popsickles for ponies on a hot summer day." she remarked casually.

It was a nice wholesome thought, wasn't it? Perhaps Magloria did that as a filly when she first learned her ice abilities. A lemonade stand with some nice chilled lemonade.

Jump Start took a few more steps into the river, careful not to go in too deep where she'd lose her footing and start floating down the river. Something that they had to be careful about, especially since the mist would make a rescue harder, and they no longer had protection from drowning.

To compensate, Jump Start squatted down, letting more of her body get covered in the water until it was right across her back, leaving only her neck and head above the flowing river.

Magloria shook her head as she sat down on the shoreline, uninterested in going into the water, for some reason. "I have done a couple times to test out reactions with food, but nothing done for anyone else. Never got asked any time that wasn't just a fading curiosity or a joke."

"Most of the time they had other ways to cool off, or didn't care so much about the heat. I didn't care about it either. Much preferred solid foods as opposed to eating frozen liquids." she explained.

Noticing what Jump Start was doing and in part of her own carefulness she would replicate what Jump Start was doing. Collapse kept her focus on Magloria but would occasionally look over to Jump Start as if watching out for her. She was.

Collapse moved a bit closer to where Magloria was as she listened. "Well this time is serious, because I seriously think you'd be good at making some frozen fruits and stuff like that. I mean, I'd always eat the ice cubes out of the cups. I like the way ice crunches in my mouth." she spoke, as if trying to see if Magloria would acquiesce to making some frozen things to eat at some point. Perhaps now, Collapse certainly wouldn't mind.

"You wanna come in the water with us? It feels reallyyyyyy good." Collapse spoke as she moved in a way so only her face and ears were sticking above the water. One could say seeing the yellow mare's face in the water like that was cute.

Chapter 46

Magloria shrugged. "It would be pretty hard to mess up freezing something. It's not a skill that one would be proud of having, especially when they had a freezer around." she said, materializing an ice cube from some river water.

As soon as Collapse finished talking, she tossed the ice cube over towards her, aiming for her mouth so she could crunch on it. The blue mare didn't move however. "No thanks. I'm fine here." she replied.

There wouldn't really be much else for them to do until sunset when the mist faded away and the heat went down, aside from sit in the water, maybe splash around a bit and attempt to have fun and talk about anything they wanted to. It was too tiresome to do much else anyway.

Conveniently, when sunset would come around was when they would start on their little thievery mission.

Collapse easily caught the ice cub in her mouth and proceeded to crunch on it. "Suit yourself." she spoke to Magloria with a grin as she crunched on the ice, savoring the taste. In a sense, she was able to make Magloria be playful around her. At least she was getting somewhere.

Throughout the time they had until sundown Collapse mainly would strike up casual conversations with the both of them. Mostly about life back home and simple questions about either of their lives before this. She didn't ask anything too deeply about it as to not push her luck, or make it obvious what she was really after - Where did Magloria get her training from? She didn't let on or allude to anything of that up to this point. Perhaps she'd get something out of her even if that wasn't what she was asking for.

For Jump Start, she was curious to see where she was from and the general affairs of things back home. Collapse would also exchange some things about herself as well, that she was a general traveler who sold her products and enjoyed interacting with other ponies.

When sunset came around, Collapse was ready. She'd slip out of the water.

The ice cube tasted like water, except really cold. Big shocker. In fact, aside from the coldness, did it even really have any taste due to numbing her tongue wherever it touched? Collapse probably enjoyed the taste of numbness.

Collapse didn't get much about Magloria's personal life, the mare being tight-lipped as usual about such things. Something interesting was said in a casual manner, however, about how she used to feel the oppressive heat of lands with high amounts of vegetation, quite similar to the jungles they were currently in.

Jump Start had already told them about how she was from Whinnyston, a mainly agricultural town. She didn't really know what else to say about it, aside from a couple stories about occasionally interesting things, like colts getting stuck down wells.

When sunset came, they could finally see properly again. Jump Start had already dried off for a bit since it had gotten cooler, and she didn't want to be wet at night.

"Alright. If we don't need to go back and get something, we should head on up to Carocol now." Magloria stated, pointing upstream of the river.

Collapse would have expected Creamwood to be a more wintery type environment but then she remembered that it was close to Zebrica. As far as she could really remember, Zebrica was a land of savannahs and jungles. Not all that different from what they are experiencing now.

Whinnyston was a funny yet cute name in Collapse's opinion, she always enjoyed hearing about what Jump Start had to say. The poor little colts, though. It was interesting to get a glimpse into their lives even if it wasn't as extensive as she wanted it to be, that is.

Like Jump Start, she had already slipped out of the stream to avoid being wet all night. Her heart was starting to race a little bit, as she found herself nervous yet also excited at what they may possibly find in Carocol. "Alright. Let's go." Collapse said casually, following Magloria up the stream.

If nothing else happened of interest, Collapse would mainly be thinking over various plans in her head but that all would depend on the layout of the town itself once they get a better look.

Following Magloria up the river, they soon came across the small fortification where they had interrogated the panthin on watch. However rather than approach the place directly, Magloria decided to go after the small stream that broke off from the river. It headed in the same general direction that the panthin town was in, likely acting as their water supply.

Thankfully it wasn't guarded anywhere else along the way, leaving them undisturbed until they finally reached the outer walls and buildings of Carocol, the sky having grown dark by this point.

Now all they had to do was get inside, find what they're looking for, then get back out without being noticed. Getting inside was easy to do. Some of the walls had slopes of dirt and grass that they could climb up like hills to reach the highest buildings.

"Hopefully they've got more than 1 map, set of metalworking tools and other such things." Magloria muttered to herself sarcastically before looking to the others. "If you see anywhere that looks like it might have what we need, library, office, forge, that sort of thing, point it out." she told them.

Upon arriving at Carocol Collapse's eyes scan the place to make sure that nobody was going to see them. "Alright. We'll take what we can get. Problem is, when I unsummon things it will make a gold flash, so we'll have to be careful of that." Collapse remarks as she began to sneak up one of the exterior walls to get a good look over the town itself.

Once they had scaled up the wall Collapse would point out the various things she sees as quietly as she can. Hopefully they were able to see at least one of the things they were looking for. If not, then they would have to sneak down and go throughout the town and look about discreetly. She made sure that Jump Start was close to her, just incase of anything happening suddenly.

In her mind, Collapse was expecting something to go wrong. Hopefully not.

"A gold flash won't be a problem for anything that can be moved to a more private location. Attempting to unsummon larger, useful machines however might be a problem." Magloria stated.

No one appeared to be in sight as they approached, and once they had a good view of the rest of the place (which they had to achieve by climbing up onto the roof of one of the buildings) Collapse was able to make out 3 different locations that might have things they were looking for.

The first location appeared to be a workshop of sorts, complete with smoke and flames fueling the construction of new things. They were bound to find suitable things for building a boat there.

The second location was hard to make out as anything important, but the buildings in that location looked distinctly less residential than most, indicating they might be used for public services.

The third and final location was something extra, but still possibly useful. A refinery of sorts, built similarly to the workshop, except it had different layouts and far more flames glowing in the dark. They'd be able to get some useful metallic materials if they went there, for creating their own stuff.

Now the only question was, which do they head towards first?

Collapse acknowledged Magloria's word as she took in the sights of the three different locations that proved of interest. The third location called out to her the most out of all of them and so she wanted to get into that one first. The other two they would have to venture into as well. She knew that her pocket dimension had its limits but they were likely to grab what they needed.

Still, they could likely carry smaller items in their saddlebags. Magloria and Jump Start could carry the smaller tools in their bags. Take some weight off of her pocket dimension.

She pointed out the third location and would inform them that is the one t hey should head to first. Although if Magloria wanted to over-ride her suggestion for whatever reason she wouldn't mind. Depending on how the wall was, they would likely either walk down towards the third location or Collapse would quickly use her magic to carry the two of them down to the ground before descending down as well.

Either way, they'd likely have gone down the wall without issue. Collapse would keep her eyes and ears open as they proceeded towards the location. It was best to have a closer look before going in and taking anything. Discern your surroundings first before you go in.

Magloria pointed out the fact that they should go after the things they needed first, however if they were able to make their own stuff instead of taking them, maybe it would be better off? In any case, she didn't completely object to the idea, as long as Collapse didn't go crazy with the hoarding.

The 'wall' so to speak was simply a higher section of land for buildings and such. Several stairways could be found around the place that let them descend down to lower levels of land instead of scaling walls.

However they didn't have the luxury of using the well-traveled paths in case there happened to be a panthin there. Instead they kept to the less noticeable places behind buildings and through vegetation.

Eventually they had reached the refinery, where they could more clearly see the flowing streams of liquid metal, cooling off in special molds to create raw ingots. There was a few panthins moving about the place, checking over things to make sure they were kept running.

Unfortunately, they couldn't spot where the storage for the metals went. They'd have to start exploring, and to do that they'd have to enter the building, instead of watch the lights through various 'windows' in the walls.

Collapse was disappointed to see the panthins moving about within the place but that was to be expected with how everything was flowing around inside of the place. Because they were moving out it may not be worth it to risk getting caught right off the bat. Now that they had seen within the building perhaps it would be best to check in the other ones.

"Seems like they are moving about. I'd say we should look at the other workshop first instead because it feels like if we go in there we'll have to really tread the line of getting caught so soon." Collapse whispered to Magloria and Jump Start as quietly as possible. Collapse would occasionally look about to make sure they weren't getting spotted or anything like that.

"Although if we feel like taking our chances we can find a way to sneak in and perhaps nick some of the tools there in an area they are not using." Collapse suggested as an alternative.

Looking in the place, they wouldn't have much use for molds yet. Although they could maybe mold some metal pieces used in a sail and other metal parts of the ship they'd build. Perhaps stuff like steel panels and such for structural integrity but that wasn't as high on the list at the moment, one would think.

Magloria didn't look convinced at Collapse's logic. "Both this place and the workshop looking place had fires burning in them. They're probably *both* occupied by panthins." she whispered back.

Looking into the building and searching around (which Collapse could also see), she continued, "There don't appear to be many tools in there anyway. Just things for moving around pieces of metal. Shovels, tongs, crucibles and such. If we want to get anything that would be worth our time, we'd need to get what they're making. The workshop would have better tools anyway."

A loud hissing sound could be heard from inside, and massive plumes of steam rose up towards the roof. Somewhere they must've used water to rapidly cool the metal for a certain process. Jump Start couldn't help but squeak in fright from the sudden noise, though she tried to keep it suppressed.

Collapse gave Jump Start a slight glare at the squeak although she was surprised at the hissing noise as well. Still she was slightly annoyed but either way the loud hissing sound would have masked the slight squeak anyways.

"Yeah, let's go ahead and do that then. If we can't find anything else of use we'll look in that other place we saw." she said, referencing the one that resembled a public service building. "I don't suppose we'd be able to get in there to get at what they are making, as it is in rather active use at the moment." Collapse remarked.

Magloria rolled her eyes. "Well that's why we will search around from the outside and try to find out where they keep their storage from there. If this place has any decent efficiency, there will be an obvious place for such things. Try looking for a door or something." she said.

As they were talking to each other, a panthin was seen wheeling over a heavy cart filled with rocks- no, ores. Then once they reached somewhere, they called out to the others standing in higher positions. All of the panthins that were called together started pulling on ropes, causing the cart to slowly rise on a lift, where it later was emptied into the largest machine in the room, most likely the refinery itself.

Magloria by this point was looking in the direction that the cart had come from, somewhere out of sight.

"Right. We'll see what we can find." Collapse nodded and observed what the panthins were doing on the inside. That was to be expected. Also of note to her was that they were refining the ores. Although from this distance she couldn't tell what kind of ore they were refining. Perhaps iron? Copper?

As they moved about she looked around for a place to enter. Be it an open window or a door. Hopefully they could manage to find a way inside. If they successfully found an entrance on inside that had a clear point of entry that they'd be able to enter without the panthins seeing them, Collapse would have peeked inside to discern the surroundings.

Entrances into the refinery were actually everywhere. Not only was there a couple large doors (On the other side of the building) but all of the windows they were at didn't actually have any glass, bars or anything else stopping them from getting in, likely so it doesn't get unbearable inside.

Problem for the windows however is that they're a bit high. They could easily get through if they jumped up, but when they landed on the other side, their hooves would create a loud noise, which would definitely draw attention to themselves. Soft paws and not needing to sneak around likely benefited the panthins in this case.

There were also windows on the second floor, up where they saw the panthins unload the cart, and what looked like it could be a skylight in the roof. Though there wasn't really a good reason to go up to that high, was there?

Realizing that the windows were not the best of options Collapse opted to go to one of the doors on the other side of the building. If Collapse were to lift her companions inside the glow of her magic would be noticeable at least she thought so. Upon looking at the door she attempted to open it as quietly as possible.

Although Jump Start and Magloria were free to come up with their own way of entrances if they wanted. Collapse didn't seem to mind, as she only really cared about getting into the building. Hopefully the door she was trying to get into wasn't locked, or worse, creak loudly as she attempted to. If it didn't she'd quickly peek her head in and get a look around.

She knew that cats had a high sense of hearing. The panthins themselves were likely no different in that regard.

Jump Start decided to not get involved in this heist. Both her denser and larger frame would put them at a disadvantage, plus she didn't really have the intent on being super sneaky. Instead she decided to stay and keep watch in case anything bad was happening. Magloria gave her a couple of ice cubes to use as distractions, just in case.

Magloria, finding no good ways to sneak in through the windows without causing noise, decided to follow behind Collapse. The doors as previously seen were large, but they were also reinforced with metal, making them rather heavy to move on their own.

Thankfully they didn't need to open the doors the entire way to get in, and they appeared to be maintained well enough that they hadn't creaked. From this perspective of the building they could see Jump Start, looking through one of the windows on the far side.

But of more importance was they could now see where the cart had come from. A room off to the side of the main building, complete with tracks to make moving the cart in and out easy. They couldn't tell if anyone was currently inside, but if there was no one within the room and no one was looking when they approached, they'd be able to get in undetected.

Collapse was glad that Jump Start decided to sit this one out and posed as a lookout. Collapse figured that Jump Start would be fine sitting outside. It was cute with the ice cubes though, perhaps if they were in another place she could levitate one into her mouth for her. Smiling slightly at the sight, she put her focus on what lay in the area now.

So far so good. The doors didn't creak loudly or anything. At least the panthins were very good at building stuff apparently. Hopefully that included having tools they could use for building a ship among other things they could use for other purposes as well. They had axes and stuff, but it would be better to have a large maul to chop down the larger trees even faster. The dinky little mushroom axe wasn't too good at that, now was it?

Looking over to the room she pointed it out silently to Magloria and did some hoof gestures suggesting that they should go look at the room where the cart came from first while they were at it. If Magloria agreed, Collapse would slowly and quietly walk towards the room to give it a quick peek to see if anyone was inside. Hopefully not.

Magloria obviously agreed, given that doing so was the entire point that they were at this building in the first place. Luckily most of the light in this place was focused as the fiery orange glow coming from the crucibles and fireboxes of the refinery, so sticking to the corners of the room left them in relative darkness.

Just as Collapse was about to peek into the storage room, they heard the squeaking of wheels. Magloria immediately grabbed onto Collapse's tail, preventing her from going any further as a panthin pushed out another cart full of ores from within.

For a moment they slowed down, sniffing the air as though they might've smelt something, but that was quickly proven false when they let out a loud sneeze and an irritated growl, flicking their tail as they mumbled something about plants and pollen.

With that out of the way, Collapse was allowed to look inside the storage room. She could see in the light of a brazier several other carts, including a small pile of spare parts, tools for repairing said carts and the refinery itself (which the group likely already had, given it was just hammers, wrenches and such) and several different crates.

They could only see inside a couple crates, but they appeared to contain various coloured ores and bars of metal.

Collapse didn't make a noise as her tail was grabbed. While she enjoyed the feeling of her tail being grabbed now wasn't the time for those sorts of thoughts. Looking about the place she felt as if the place had some sort of etheral vibe with the fiery orange glow shining about the place. It almost reminded her of a story, so to speak. With how the light shines across everything, that reminds her of her own imagination of events taking place within stories when she was young.

Noticing the Panthin coming out with the ore cart, she knew it hadn't smelled them from the start. Besides they are too busy working and any smell Magloria and Collapse would have had would be rather weak in comparison to the smells about the place. They weren't even looking for them, so she wasn't as concerned as one would think. Still, she didn't allow her guard to slip up.

Looking to the interior of the storage room she would conclude that they were not going to be hauling crates of ores out of here or stealing any of the carts. Taking the chance, she'd quickly and quietly walk in and nag some of the tools she thought they didn't have. Or at least nag some tools they didn't have as much of. It was best to have a diverse range of tools, just in case they happen to lose a few tools here or there they can still have backups.

Collapse quickly stuffed the tools she nagged into her saddlebags before exiting the room, being careful to stay within the darkness as much as she could manage. Then, she'd follow Magloria about to any other areas of this place that she wanted to.

Chapter 47

There were a couple of very specific tools that Collapse had found among the supplies, including what appeared to be some sort of tongs used for grabbing hot metal while keeping away from it, if their length was any indication. Other than that, she was now a few wrenches and hammers heavier.

Magloria began checking inside some of the open crates, before she came upon a couple she found suitable. "I think this is steel inside this one, and brass in the other. Unsummon some of each. We can use them to build certain things." she whispered, before she remembered something and added, "But try to keep the light of your horn hidden, so it doesn't attract attention."

Collapse nods and walks up to the crates and takes a few moments to look over the contents. Her horn lit up but it was dimmer than before. What Collapse was doing was allowing her magic to slowly build up rather than perform the spell all at once. That's why you would see the bright gold flash - when she casts the spell at once.

Within her mind she works her way through the spell. A bit of the steel and brass vanishes in a gold flash of her horn but it was as Magloria wanted. She was able to secure an amount of which they needed. "Alright we got that. Do you reckon that we should scram out of here and move onto the next? I think this is all they'd really have in here. Perhaps we can come back another time and get more steel and brass if we need to." Collapse whispered quietly.

Before Magloria could reply to Collapse's question, they heard a loud, brittle shattering sound from somewhere out in the main part of the building, followed up by a series of questioning voices. Seems like the panthins were wondering what made the noise.

"That's our signal. We're leaving whether we want to or not." Magloria whispered, before turning towards the way out and sneaking over to it, then kept going back the way they came.

Assuming Collapse followed behind her, she'd be able to see what the commotion was. Several panthins were standing around a scattering of tiny ice shards, quickly melting in the heat of the room. The rest either kept working or had also turned their attention to this strange phenomenon. "How do you think that got in here?" she could hear one ask.

Collapse silently agreed and would follow Magloria as quickly, and quietly as possible. At least they managed to secure a few items worthy of value. It wasn't nearly enough to be satisfactory in Collapse's opinion though but still they had a minor success nevertheless.

Upon her seeing what the commotion was she was curious how those ice shards got over there like that. Was it something Magloria did prior to this? She didn't see Magloria cast any spells when they were inside the building. Either way, it had proved a decent enough distraction for them to leave unhindered if all went well.

When they had exited the building from the way they came Collapse looked about for Jump Start before asking any questions. She wanted to make sure she was okay.

They spotted Jump Start in the same place where they left her, though obviously no longer watching through the window. The ice cubes she had been given now missing. As soon as she spotted the pair she waved to them. "Glad you got out ok. Did you get what you wanted?" she whispered.

Magloria nodded. "A few things, should help about a bit later on." she quietly said, then looked out over the feline town. "So, which of the two places should we go next? Judging from what I saw they're both around the same distance from us, so either of them works for me."

Collapse smiles as she walks up to Jump Start. "I secured us a few more tools and some metals we can use. I'm sure you'll like to have them, anyways." Collapse whispered as she took out the tools and gave them to Jump Start quietly. In a sense, she was giving Jump Start the tools. After all, Collapse technically carries around a whole tool set, so she'd figure Jump Start wanted them.

She looks over to one of the locations. "Lets check out the...public service building?" Collapse suggested, pointing on over to the building. The other workshop would likely contain more tools, but she wanted to see what was in the other building first.

Jump Start kindly accepted the tools, placing some of them inside her own saddlebags while fitting some of the smaller ones to her tool belt. Magloria looked over to the general location of where their next intended goal is.

Thing is, there was more than one building over there that looked like it could have the things they needed. Since everything was so dark and they were at such a distance when they first spotted them, they had no idea what any of them contained, just that they didn't look like they were for living in.

"Alright, but we may need to split up once we arrive there, so we can search them faster. I'd rather not spend too much time here, eventually the sun will rise and it'll get a lot more active..." Magloria replied, and began leading them forward.

Eventually they came to the street that they were after, important-looking buildings on both sides, covered in shadows and moonlight. No panthins could be seen wandering, which was a good sign at first. Problem was, just because they couldn't see them, doesn't mean they weren't there.

Collapse looks to Magloria as they are lead forward. "I would rather not split up because if one of us gets caught and we are split up, it would be harder to deal with than if we all were together. We'll look into this other building and see what we can find. If we want to leave after that, we very well could." Collapse whispered to Magloria as they proceeded forward.

Upon arriving at the buildings she would look to the on on the right and quietly walk up to the windows (if there were any) to peek inside to get an idea of what was contained. She definitely was a bit nervous. If they got caught they would have a harder time coming back here since the panthins would beef up security. It was likely they wouldn't take too kindly to the idea of intruders here anyways.

If there was anything inside the building that looked valuable or worth their time, Collapse would look for a way to sneak inside the building.

"In that case we won't have enough time to search through all of these buildings, or we do and skip the workshop. I wouldn't normally suggest splitting up, but since this place looks rather uninhabited..." Magloria stated, not bothering to finish her sentence when Collapse moved over to the first building.

The first building had several windows, however each of them had wooden shutters covering them, to keep out unwanted guests when it was time to leave. For that reason, Collapse and the others could only barely see what was inside. There were some desks with papers and other writing supplies inside, drawers, and other business looking things.

There was also what appeared to be products or decorations along some shelves, but they couldn't make out what they were.

Nothing inside looked valuable, but they could barely see anything anyway. For all they knew, this was a cartographer's workplace, or a bank, or just something random like an insurance company.

Considering what she had seen inside of the building it may very well not be worth the time. They were after tangible items they could get and not have to waste time with discerning the possibilities.

A slightly disappointed Collapse walks back to Magloria and Jump Start.

“Can’t really see anything too valuable in there, for us. I can’t even tell what it is inside and I would say we should just check out the other place instead. At least we have a good idea of what will be in there.” she whispered, hoping they could find something more than a few tools. But she wouldn’t mind more tools though, if only for the novelty of having something that didn’t belong to her. She tried to shake away the thought but just couldn’t help it.

If they accepted the idea of going to the other shop Collapse would walk alongside them towards the other shop. Maybe this one would be different than the refinery.

Magloria rose an eyebrow at Collapse's decision on the matter. "You want to just leave this place alone because you can't see anything from here? If that was what we did back at the refinery, we wouldn't have anything from it and it would've been a complete waste of time." she protested.

Thing is, where exactly was Collapse's next intended destination? There were several other buildings around that was similar to the one they were outside of, but then there was also the workshop looking place that they had to travel a bit to reach.

Looking up at the moon, Jump Start pointed out that the night was just over halfway over. Walking from each place took a while, given they had to sneak around constantly. If they go to the workshop now, they likely won't have time to come back here *and* leave Carocol without being spotted.

Alternatively they could search around the other nearby buildings, go to the workshop, then run like mad when they inevitably get noticed by the higher amount of panthins out and about when dawn arrives.

Collapse looks to Jump Start and then up to the moon. For a few moments she seemed to weigh her decisions. "Given the amount of time we have left, I'd think we should try our luck with this one here. We will not have enough time to go the workshop, then come back, and leave. So let's just try our chances with this one here. We'll see how much time is left - then we leave if there isn't a good amount." Collapse suggested.

With that in mind she'd lead them over to the building she was looking into and attempt to find an entrance into it. It was likely that neither of them of would object to it so they'd likely find a doorway or a window they could get through. If they successfully found one, Collapse would attempt to find her way inside.

There was no obvious way into the building, aside from what looked to be a sort of catflap in the front door. Strange, why would they have something like that? Was it for their children? Seems a little demeaning if it was.

Just before she was about to give up her search, Magloria rolled her eyes, then focused on where she thought the locking mechanism was. Her horn glowed as the temperature at the window quickly lowered, and soon there was a thin layer of ice covering most of it.

Taking out her shortsword, she fit it between the shutters and struck. A metal clinking was heard inside, as part of the window slightly opened from the force... and now lack of lock.

Collapse smirks to Magloria's action as she walked forward and placed her hooves on the window and began to slowly push it open. It was best to open the window slowly just incase it would squeak. If there were no issues with opening up the window Collapse would climb up on inside. When she climbed up into the window the other two were free to get a good look at her back side if they wanted to.

It seems she was taking a little bit of time to get up into the window. It seemed she was mostly steadying herself and quietly slipping in but in truth she just wanted to give them a nice view of herself as she got up inside. Her tail swooshed over the window cutely as she enters into the building.

Now that she was inside, she'd proceed to help them up into the window if they needed it. Then she'd begin looking around.

The window opened up without problems, aside from the fact that it felt like packed snow, chilling Collapse's hooves as she pressed on the wood. She immediately could see better inside the building. It appeared to be some sort of planning center of sorts, judging from the little models of various buildings, walls and other things. A couple doors led to some backrooms, which would likely have the more important stuff.

Magloria, on the other hand saw nothing but pony butt. Based on her expression (that Collapse couldn't see) she was very unimpressed with the time that Collapse was taking to enter through the window. She would be even less impressed if she could confirm what she thought the reason for Collapse's slowness was.

Once Collapse was completely inside the building, Jump Start went through next, taking far shorter time to do so. Sure she wasn't as quiet, but the windows weren't high so the noise made wasn't that much anyway. Finally, Magloria climbed through.

"Well this place seems like it might have something. Or it could have nothing..." Magloria huffed, searching around some of the shelves, walls and desks. "Check the other rooms, would you two?" she suggested to Collapse and Jump Start.

Upon seeing the interior of the place it made Collapse glad they didn't decide to skip this building. While the models looked kind of cool she wanted to take something truly useful. Perhaps public records, anything worth of value to them. She would like to find some stuff that would be useful for anyone back home. Records. History texts, books, that sort of thing.

If Collapse could bring that stuff back to Equestria it would be surely be enough to give her a raise. But also since she just wanted to look through those since she was also curious.

Collapse accepted the suggestion. "You got it." she smiled before going to open up one of the doors to proceed her way in. Magloria had the room they just went into covered. With how this building was dark it was likely no Panthins were here, unlike the refinery they were at previously. She smirked under her breathe, hoping very much to find something worthy of interest besides a few tools and materials. Wouldn't that be nice.

The room that Collapse strolled into was filled with several drawers, boxes, cabinets and other containers, along with various papers lying about on surfaces, or things pinned up to walls. She couldn't make out what they were exactly due to the darkness, particularly in one spot on top of a cabinet, but this certainly looked like a place where they would keep records of things.

One of the things pinned up to a wall looked to be a large map of Carocol. It wasn't a map of the surrounding area unfortunately, but it was at least a good indicator of what else she might find in here.

Collapse would unpin the map from the wall and carefully fold it up and put it into her saddlebags first off. Looking to the boxes she began to go through the boxes first and foremost. Her hornlight was used to illuminate what she was going through but she kept it dim and low to the ground just incase. Once she had gone through the boxes she would unsummon the things she found interesting or valuable.

Hopefully there wouldn't be any cameras or anything of that sort around here. It didn't seem like they had them.

Collapse managed to secure the wall map and a few building records, and 'blueprints' she assumed, that seemed the most complicated or extravagant. Further search was interrupted by an unsettling sound.

"Brreow?" said a high sounding voice from somewhere in the room! They might not have cameras in their buildings, but that didn't stop a small black cat that was sleeping on top of the cabinet from existing. It's presence was obvious now, thanks to a pair of orange feline eyes watching her from the small clump of black fur.

Chapter 48

Collapse froze up for several seconds upon hearing the high sounding voice. She had been had! But still she remains calm, as the cat seemed to be rather small and not in any condition to fight. Collapse would slowly put the boxes back but anyone would be able to notice what she had taken.

"I'll just leave you to your rest. Don't worry about me." Collapse said calmly, almost in a motherly tone since the cat was kinda cute, not going to lie. With that, she began to slowly back out of the room.

The cat watched her as she slowed backed away, confused as to why she decided to leave so soon. Oh that's right! She knew why! The cat cleared her throat, giving a big stretch from being woken up as she did so.

"Nah, stick around. Go ahead, take some more papers. This place has way too many anyway. Such a dusty mess." she suddenly spoke, definitely not like a standard Equestrian cat, but they definitely did not look like a panthin either. MUCH too small, and they looked like an adult if their legs and body were any indication.

With their stretch over, they went back to their original spot and curled up again, while keeping an eye on the unicorn.

Collapse shuffled forward nervously, looking up at the cat as she laid there. "Clearly, you can tell I am not anything like you. I am very lost from where I need to be as well as my companions. Incase if your curious, I'm taking these papers so I can have some proof of my travels when I get back to where I need to be. I am curious about this place." she spoke, looking through the drawers next.

"Do us a favor and don't tell anyone I was here. I mean no harm to you or anyone else here, but we have...objectives to complete." Collapse spoke truthfully. "But, who are you? You aren't like the other panthins I've seen." she asked calmly as she looked through the drawers.

"Wow, you're like a broken water pipe aren't you? Everything keeps flowing." the cat mentioned casually after receiving the mountain of words from the unicorn. They didn't seem to notice or care if their words stung, preferring to just keep going.

The first couple drawers contained more records collected in various piles. Boring records, the sort which she knew existed in massive piles over at Equestria. The bottom drawer however contained several rolled up pieces of parchment, larger than the average record.

"Yeah, I don't really mind that you're here. Could use the company actually, no one comes by at this time of the night." the cat continued. "I'm Ash, and I'm not any sort of Panthin, those cats are waaay bigger than me."

Ash rolled about until she was resting upside down on the cabinet, belly up while staring at Collapse. "I'm what they call a Burmesian Small. Demeaning name I know. We're almost the same as them, but obviously our size difference changes things. More than I like, sometimes."

She looked over Collapse. "And you're a... poisonous plant eater! The bright colours warning others to stay away and your lack of claws is an obvious tell."

Collapse would focus on the bottom drawer and opened it up as she listened, taking out the parchment and unrolling it to see what was there. At least Ash was fine with her being here, although some of her words were considered a little rude, Collapse didn't really care about that at the moment.

"Well, when I first saw you I thought you were one of their young. It's good to know that there are different types of cats around here. I wonder exactly what kind of building this is though - is it some sort of public records? Something like that?" she asked as she continued unrolling the parchment.

"Well you got the plant eater part right. Although some of us are a bit more adventurous and eat fish. The bright colors part, I honestly don't know what that is. We come in all shades and colors, more than the rainbow itself. I'm called a unicorn, but all of us are called ponies. Where we don't have claws..." she smirks and she levitates up some of the boxes and spins them in the air before setting them back down.

"We have magic. Each of us unicorns specializes in a certain type or combination of magical spells. Some of us have wings and no horns, they are called pegasi. Some don't have wings or horns, but make up for it in their sheer amount of strength. Those are Earth ponies." she spoke, explaining that casually to her.

There were several pieces of parchment in the drawer, each one appearing to be either a blueprint or a more detailed location map of the town, most of them already marked as completed.

When she got to the second to last one she finally came across something she needed. The parchment contained a map of some of the jungle outside of the town, with a few things marked. She'd have to go over it in more detail later, but it was promising.

Ash gave a non-committal shrug. "I don't know what this building is, and I don't care either. As long as I get fed and can come and go whenever I want, I'm happy." she said.

While Collapse was talking about what species she was and other things about the pony races, Ash got busy cleaning her fur with her tongue, looking like she wasn't even paying attention. Probably explained why she didn't know what this place was.

Without warning, Ash suddenly leapt off of the cabinet and onto Collapse's back, sinking in her nails to steady her landing. "Ooh, nice soft fur for a poisonous planty." she said, unconcerned by any distress she might've given the unicorn.

Collapse suddenly felt Ash leap onto her back. Thankfully her pony fur protected her from getting scratched but she still felt the feeling wasn't all too pleasant. For Ash, Collapse's soft warm pony fur was perfect to lay on. Collapse yelped quietly when she was jumped on like that but didn't take Ash off just yet.

"Hey! I'll let you stick around on my back until we go. The others probably wouldn't like the idea of taking you with us." she spoke and sighed, unsummoning the blueprints and the parchments that were most interesting.

"Right. A few maps, blueprints...that's good. Just got some tools, but those belong to Jump Start so that's not my problem anymore...just need to find any other stuff. Hmm, hopefully I can find some archives about how this place was formed and anything about its history. Anything else worth of value I'm taking as well..." she muttered to herself with a hoof to her chin.

She would have looked through the remaining parts of the room just incase there was anything else of interest. If there was, she would have put it into her saddlebags or unsummoned it. With that out of the way, she'd head over into the room directly next to this one.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say." Ash replied casually, pressing her paws into parts of Collapse's coat as if she was kneading a piece of dough, just to get a feel of where the best spot to lay down was. Eventually she found a suitable spot right above Collapse's tail and curled up.

The remaining parts of the room, the filing cabinets, had an awful lot of various things, but they contained a lot of writing. Reading them all would take absolutely forever, which was time that they did not have.

It was up to her whether she considered chunks of long and boring-sounding papers to be interesting enough to unsummon and read later. In any case, that was the entire room searched.

Collapse was careful in how she walked so she wouldn't make Ash fall off accidentally. The small cat fit on her back perfectly. It was cute, that was for sure. "Heh." she couldn't help to grin at that.

Deciding the rest of the room was not worth the time she'd head into the next room next to her. If Magloria or Jump Start were watching for Collapse at the time, they'd see the small kitty curled up on her back as she entered into the next room itself.

Now that she was in the next room, it was time to begin the search for anything else.

Collapse need not have worried about Ash falling off, since she appeared to be quite firmly attached while she walked, though it did make it feel uncomfortable as any time she made a sudden turn, needle-like claws sunk in slightly.

Unfortunately for Collapse, her search was at an end. Her room didn't lead anywhere except back to the place that Magloria had searched. Her only option was to go back there, where Magloria looked towards her as she did.

"Find anything? I haven't. Just a pouch of currency that I think these panthins... use." she asked, slowing down as she spotted Ash. "I take it you're aware of the lump of coal you're carrying around?"

"You have a lump of coal? You're weird, poisonous planty." Ash offhandedly said, causing Magloria to widen her eyes in realization, then narrow them at Collapse. "Explain."

Collapse looked towards Magloria and stopped walking upon hearing Magloria's voice. "Well uh...um, I was searching in that room and I found a few maps and blueprints that were of use. I have some stored in my saddlebags and unsummoned." she sighed a little nervously upon Magloria's glare.

"While I was doing so, this small Panthin here named *Ash* was ontop of one of the cabinets but she didn't seem to care about what I was doing. She jumped on my back all of a sudden and now she's here. She's harmless." Collapse spoke and walked closer to Magloria, showing her the small cat that was laying on her back.

"She doesn't seem to mind my presence, if laying on my back is any indications." Collapse spoke honestly. The way that Collapse had spoke was almost like a filly admitting something bad to a parent. Her voice noticeably changed a little bit, like as if she'd done something against the rules.

Magloria looked from Collapse to the cat several times as things were explained. She wasn't particularly thrilled by them being spotted, but if the culprit wasn't even going to do anything about it, she supposed she could let it slide.

"Alright fine, I guess this doesn't change anything. We got what we needed so we better leave now." she stated, before moving over to the room where Jump Start was.

A minute or so later she returned with Jump Start, who didn't seem to have found anything of use. Apparently she had come across the area where staff have a break, and found their fridge. The smell was enough to put her off searching anything else around it's vicinity.

"Looks like we might have enough time to reach the workshop after all." Magloria said. With that done they were all set to leave, unless they needed to do something else first.

Collapse agreed and would walk up to the window they had entered in from. "Ash, I know you may want to come with us but that's probably not a good idea. We're going into another building, and after that - we are leaving and heading back into the jungle. The Jungle isn't a good place to be for you." she spoke.

Her golden telekinetic aura gently wrapped itself around Ash and she was gently lifted off of Collapse's back and set down. "You can go find a place to rest. Maybe we'll be back here again." she said calmly to Ash, hoping she would understand why they likely wouldn't be able to take Ash with her.

Part of Collapse wanted to take Ash with her, but she knew that with the things they'd be likely facing and doing - that they wouldn't have the time or the effort to watch after al ittle kitty.

Ash flailed a little bit when she was levitated off of Collapse's back, but quickly calmed down when she realized what was happening. "Hmmmmmm... you know what, I agree. I'll definitely do that." she agreed, then patiently waited for them to leave.

"Alright, let's go." Magloria said, proceeding to go over to the open window and go through it, followed by Jump Start, who gave a small wave to the cat before leaving.

Once Collapse was through as well, she felt a familiar set of claws land on her back again. Just as they planned, of course!

Collapse sighs as she felt Ash on her back and looks to Magloria. "Looks like we've got a little kitty problem here." she said, smirking ever so slightly. It was clear though, that she didn't want to take Ash with her considering the things they were going to do.

"You should probably get off now, Ash. I'm sorry, but could you please get off?" Collapse asked Ash quietly. "We can't take you with us, I'm sorry to say." she spoke calmly, but didn't want to take no for an answer.

Magloria turned back to look at Ash, her face beginning to cloud with anger at the persistent animal. "We don't have time for this. The longer we wait around, the more risky it becomes to continue." she said, snorting in irritation.

Ash however, didn't appear to be taking in much of what they were saying. "You said that I might want to come with you, so I decided that I did." she replied.

"No, she said that coming with us wasn't a good idea." Jump Start pointed out, but once again the bermesian small cat didn't seem to be paying attention, if the whisker cleaning was any indication.

"What are you waiting for? The angry blue poisonous planty said you don't have time to wait around. I don't see why you're stopping." Ash stated. This response confused Jump Start. She didn't know how to respond to that.

Collapse would quickly levitate Ash off and was quickly starting to appear irritated at Ash's behavior. "Look, I'm going to make this really clear. Coming with us isn't a good idea, and we can't take care of you. It's also not so nice of you to conveniently ignore what we say." she spoke, her eyes narrowing slightly. Her voice wasn't as motherly anymore, but she was still just as quiet.

She would step away from Ash, motioning for the others to do the same just incase Ash decided to attempt to jump onto their backs again. While Ash was cute for sure, Collapse certainly wasn't in the mood for cute. It was time to focus on the objectives that lay ahead.

Ash didn't seem to mind getting taken off of Collapse's back again, but then again, this cat definitely seemed like they had something going on. Maybe all cats are like this, just rude and inattentive.

Well she listened now, and didn't seem pleased. "So now you're saying you *don't* want me to come along? That's crazy talk. It can't be both a good idea and a bad idea. Maybe your poisons have made act crazy." she said.

Magloria wanted to have nothing more to do with this. "Come on, let's go. Maybe we'll still have time, but not if we keep talking to the furball." she huffed and started walking off in the direction of the workshop, making sure to keep out of sight, as they were supposed to.

Jump Start gave an awkward smile to Ash, then turned and followed Magloria.

Collapse agreed with Magloria and gave an awkward smile and a wave to Ash as she followed Magloria. Hopefully Ash wouldn't prove any other issues and just got bored and would leave. The cat was clearly not as cute as she looked, the inattentiveness and rudeness was to be expected if the small cats back home were any indication.

As they walked she would keep watch to make sure Ash wasn't following them. If Ash was, she would be sure to let Magloria and Jump Start know. Now that they had the maps and blueprints to various things in this town, the next time they came back they would be able to know exactly where everything was so they didn't have to waste time searching.

They could come back several times and take all they needed. Hopefully the workshop would have something like a maul, or a chainsaw they could use to cut the larger trees.

Unfortunately for Collapse and the others, Ash following them was exactly what ended up happening, the cat clearly oblivious to the fact that she was unwanted by them.

Worse still was the fact that she didn't bother taking the more hidden paths that they did, instead preferring to jump across roofs, run along fences or simply move out in the open. Sure a cat alone wouldn't be suspicious, and the black fur made her hard to spot anyway, but she was still quite noticeable to anyone paying attention.

"I could freeze her in place. A quick crystal formation at her paw and she'd be unable to follow." Magloria suggested after being told that they were still being followed. A harsh option and not exactly hidden, but a valid one.

"Go ahead and freeze her paws. I know that's harsh, but it won't be hurting her. We'll be long gone anyways by the time anyone notices." Collapse suggested, giving the go ahead. "Besides, with how warm it is the ice would melt quickly anyways." Collapse added to her statement and looked to Ash.

She knew that Ash was likely not even aware of her surroundings, at least to the extent that the three of them were. She wondered how the panthins perception of things differed from the ponies. It seems as though however, they were more apt to be rude and self centered. Although for sure there was exceptions, just like in ponies.

Magloria waited until Ash got closer to them again, then lit up her horn. The magical sparkles immediately had an effect on the Bermesian Small. Apparently she was drawn to pretty sparkles. An unexpected but welcome outcome.

"Ohh, that's pretty. Can I have some of that?" she asked. A slight, sinister grin grew on Magloria's face. "Sure you can." she replied, then fired off a quick beam of freezing energy, that would encase whatever it hit in ice.

What she hadn't taken into account was a cat's natural reflexes when in danger. The moment the beam was fired Ash leapt into the air with a yelp, causing the spell to completely miss.

"Wow! That wasn't nice! And I thought you wanted me to come with you!" Ash stated.

"The point is Ash - We don't want you to come with us. Now that you can see our intentions, maybe you'll understand and *leave us alone.*" Collapse added forcefully in her tone. She felt as if the magic from Magloria's horn and Ash's conversations was drawing unwanted attention.

Looking to Magloria with a look of frustration at Ash's ability to simply dodge the beam. "If this keeps up we'll have to leave sooner than we wanted to. I believe we may be attracting unwanted attention, thanks to this...really rude cat." Collapse spoke, glaring at Ash in annoyance.

Despite this, she wasn't really that nervous. They'd be able to run off into the night if they get caught.

Magloria looked around the place, flicking her ears back and forth. If Collapse did the same, she'd be able to make out noises from some of the nearby buildings. Nothing serious as of yet, but the noise definitely was drawing attention to it.

Finally Ash seemed to understand that she wasn't wanted, and she was not happy about it at all. She let out a loud hiss at them. "You let me come along, then don't let me come along. You plant eaters must be really poisonous to be so crazy like that." she snapped, then leapt up onto one of the nearby buildings.

The nearby noise grew louder, as the shout from the cat made it very obvious that there was something here. Jump Start looked worried. "We should go somewhere else now." she suggested.

Collapse looked to Magloria and Jump Start as if ascertaining the situation. Looking back to Ash, her reaction made it clear there was only one option left. Getting out of here.

"Yes. Let's get the hell out of here. I don't want to be around here any longer." Collapse spoke to the both of them in clear signaling that it was time to go.

Looking to Ash she narrowed her eyes. "It's your fault for not understanding. That's your problem." she spoke, then made a gesture for Magloria and Jump Start to make a break for it and run towards the area they entered in from.

Once they started running Collapse would follow after them.

If Ash was paying any attention to Collapse scolding her, she certainly didn't show it as she got busy cleaning her fur again. At least she didn't look like she was going to pursue them, maybe.

Magloria began to lead them away from the scene, and not a minute too soon either. Behind them they could see the light of some torch or lantern, being held by a panthin having decided to find out what was making all the noise.

After a bit, Magloria stopped running, prompting the others to stop and take a breath too. She looked up at the moon, but saw that it only had about a quarter left before dawn would come. "We might still have time to get to the workshop, but after wasting so much time we'd be really risking it. We could always come back another time to get that stuff anyway. Thoughts?" she said.

"I think we should head back. I've gotten several maps and blueprints and we can use those next time to really plan out where we want to go within the town. I don't really feel like sticking around, since Ash seems like the type to tattle on us to the other panthins. While there is little risk, we should just go now. Better that than having to run and risk getting caught." Collapse decided.

Besides, they could come in and see what the workshop had to offer next time. It was unlikely for Jump Start to object and so Collapse would begin leading the others away, still panting slightly from the run. There was no pressing matters at the moment so they could likely stand to walk to their way out rather than run all the time. They stayed up almost the whole night anyways.

Jump Start also gave her opinion on the whole situation. "I don't want to have to avoid panthins just because a cat got too nosy. I want to leave." she said.

Magloria nodded at their opinions. "I agree. Let's get out of here, but we're doing it the same way that we came in, and that's without being seen." she told them.

Collapse still had to keep to the less travelled places and it took them a decent amount of time, but eventually they had reached the outer ring of walls and buildings, and aside from one point when it looked like a grey panthin might've heard them (but didn't check around), they were in the clear to head back to their camp.

Collapse didn't object to Magloria's statement, and would follow along silently. Upon reaching the outer ring of walls she'd follow them over the walls.

Once they were back outside Carocal she would follow them back to the camp. It was likely going to take some time to get back to the camp to the point where the sun may have been rising by the time they returned. Either way, Collapse would stay on alert for any nocturnal predators.

If nothing unusual would have happened, Collapse would show them the various maps and such she found once they had safely arrived.

True to her expectations, by the time they got to the river they could already see the orange glow of the sun start to peak over the horizon, steadily getting brighter and brighter as they returned.

Nothing disturbed them, despite 3 exhausted ponies looking like a pretty good snack to any would-be predator in the area. When they reached the camp, Magloria and Jump Start took off their saddlebags, Jump Start being thankful that she could finally rest.

Only Magloria was interested in the collected items at the moment. She glanced over each one, taking in it's possible usefulness before moving on to the next. When she was done she looked to Collapse.

"I'd say this was very worthwhile. Should give us some good directions for what we should do next. We should all get some sleep though. I'm sure you both are exhausted." she said, which Jump Start agreed on, having already taken a spot on a petal, one of their spare fruits slowly being consumed meanwhile.

Upon seeing the sun rise up into the sky as they approached the camp she would smile at it. Somewhere out there, Twilight was raising the sun. She did this every morning, after all. Upon thinking of that she wondered what Twilight's day to day life was like. The life of a ruler? Quite frankly she hadn't a clue.

Collapse sits down next to them and takes out the blue prints, and the maps. "Very worthwhile indeed. I am very much pleased by what were able to accomplish. While there were issues along the way, we got out unscathed and with more knowledge than before. I am sure you'll find the maps enlightening." she spoke.

Upon taking her boots off she stretched and yawned. Looking to Magloria...her tail began to wag and there was a bit of a giggle from Collapse's mouth.

Looks like you are at it again, Collapse. It was like clockwork.

Magloria took all the various papers from Collapse and placed them back into a saddlebag, to keep them protected and dry. It wouldn't do them any good to have their hard work get destroyed by the weather or other unpleasant things.

After that was done, Magloria went over to their shelter and took up a spot on her own petal, separate from the others. Since they'd be sleeping through the day, it would end up being far too uncomfortable to cuddle up together anyway, not that she preferred doing so.

At least their shelter was still useful. Not only did it keep heat in at night and water out during rain, but it also kept the sun out during the day so they wouldn't be overheating in their sleep.

Chapter 49

Collapse looks to Magloria but closed her eyes sand curled up next to Jump Start. However the way she layed gave her a view of Magloria. Looking to Magloria, she would slowly shut her eyes and fall asleep.

Collapse would curl up into a small yellow ball next to Jump Start, with her tail wrapped around herself. If nothing ended up happening, it is very much possible she'd get a very good day's rest.

As Collapse settled down, she could see that Magloria didn't appear to close her eyes just yet, apparently staying up a little while longer to make sure nothing bad happened. Didn't stop her from looking cute (in Collapse's eyes, not Magloria's or anyone without a death wish) when laying down like that, forehooves tucked under her chin.

Unfortunately for Collapse, she was woken up sometime later by the sounds of something rummaging around their camp. It didn't sound big, but the fact it was there regardless was concerning.

She still felt tired, so it couldn't have been too long since she fell asleep. Magloria was already up on her hooves, and about to check what was messing with their stuff.

Collapse fell asleep with a gentle smile across her face as she imagined snuggling Magloria cutely, feeling her warm soft floof against her body was something that she strongly desired. Like that, she went off to sleep.

Upon waking up upon hearing something rummaging around in the camp she would instantly snap awake and instantly would search for what it was. Hopefully it wasn't anything dangerous. Maybe Ash somehow followed them? As unlikely as that would be. Either way, she was prepared to deal with what lay ahead.

As they both stepped out into the harsh midday sun, they quickly saw that what Collapse had thought was pretty accurate. They might've hidden from the panthins, but there was exactly 1 feline who already knew where they were.

Ash's tail was seen flicking about as she looked through one of their saddlebags, head stuck straight inside one of the flaps.

Magloria definitely wasn't happy about this. It was bad enough someone was messing with their things, but worse when it was someone who acted so inconsiderate to others. Probably why she was going through their things in the first place.

A long and disappointed sigh is heard from Collapse. "Well, if anything...she is persistent enough to cross all the way through the jungle in following us..." she narrowed her eyes slightly as she walked up to Ash and her magical aura wrapped itself around her and pulled her head from the saddlebags.

"Explain yourself to us. Quickly." Collapse said in an authoritative manner, clearly not very pleased with Ash's presence here. It seems like they'd have to take care of her for the time being.

Ash let our a yelp of surprise as she was encased in magic and pulled from the saddlebags. When she realized what was going on and who was doing this to her, she calmed down. "Oh hi again." she said.

She began explaining why she was there, after being prompted to. "Well I figured you lot might've finally calmed down from how you were acting, so I followed you the entire way! Then I decided to check what you had, just in case you picked up something dangerous that would explain why you'd be like that. I haven't found anything yet, but I just need to keep looking!"

Magloria growled. "We're acting like that because of *you.*" she pointed out, hoping Ash would realize this as well. She didn't.

"You can't be sure of that, because you'd be too crazy to realize you're crazy. Which is why I need to find it." Ash replied, then tried getting back to her search, obviously failing while the levitation was still in effect.

Collapse held Ash inside of her grasp for the time being. "Look. I don't know how inattentive one can get but you shouldn't be out here. It's not safe for small panthins like you, our personal feelings aside." she sighs in disappointment about her inability to understand.

"You probably won't listen, and yeah, you guessed it - I don't expect you to, but you are the one who isn't paying attention to us. I don't understand how one can be so careless and inattentive. It may cost you someday." Collapse sighs, shaking her head. She definitely was still pretty displeased with Ash.

"Maybe if we let you search - You'll see that there is nothing that makes us crazy." she smirked somewhat.

"I'm not any sort of Panthin." Ash replied. "Those cats are way bigger than me. I'm a Burmesian Small. Demeaning name, but it's because of our size difference." Those words were awfully similar to what she told her before in that building.

She continued, a smile on her face as she found something funny. "You keep talking about me paying and things costing me, but I don't have any Panthin money. Why would I pay for something if I didn't have anything to pay with?" she paused, "But anyway, that's off topic. I don't know why you went there."

"Yes, let me find the thing. Though maybe it's your poisonous coloured fur. I might have to find a way to shave it off later, to save you."

Collapse sighs. "No, you aren't shaving off our fur. Either you have a very short term memory or you don't have much of the range in thinking. No offense, but it's probably both." Collapse sighs and sets Ash down. Looking to Magloria she was seemingly unsure of what to do. Ash definitely got in the way of things and she certainly didn't feel like sticking around to babysit the Burmesian Small.

"I don't really know what we should do now. We were gonna look at the blueprints and then see about gathering more materials, right? Can't really do much if we have to keep watch of Ash here..." she mutters.

As soon as Ash was let go, she immediately went back to the saddlebags and began searching through them again. The clinking sound of metal tools was heard, so that must've been Jump Start's pair.

Magloria sighed. "We don't really need to look at their building blueprints unless we wanted to make something similar to it. Based on what else was in the building, it just looked like they build... well, buildings. Not machines or anything else."

She looked over to their current shelter. "We could use an upgrade, but we still don't have the means to refine materials ourselves, unless you plan on cutting wood into planks with just that axe."

A hammer was suddenly tossed in a direction, one that apparently irked Ash. Magloria narrowed her eyes. "As for Ash, I would much, *much* prefer to just get rid of her. Outright ending her is probably too harsh, but maybe there's a way we can get her to leave on her own terms." she pondered.

"I agree. She is annoying but we don't wanna...end her or anything. So lets try to think of a way for her to leave on her own terms. Maybe she'll just get bored and leave? I would hope for that to be the case." Collapse stated and looked over in Ash's direction.

"Well the least we could do I suppose would be to cut down more trees and continue building a larger shelter, but I don't wanna have any of our tools or bags go missing, if you know what I mean." she sighs, it seemed like getting Ash to leave on her own terms was the best option at this point in Collapse's opinion.

"I think we would need more advanced tools beyond what we have currently. Proper ship building tools. We can cut down trees, but without a maul the larger trees will be an issue, you saw how hard it took to chop the big one down the last time." Collapse remarks.

Magloria shook her head. "I doubt she's going to leave because she gets bored. Maybe she would, but not before causing a bunch more problems for us. I'd rather make her leave before then." she said.

"Better tools for proper destruction and construction was the entire point of going to that workshop in the first place, don't forget. We might still have to go back there eventually, but we have other things to do first. Both the cat and studying the maps you got properly."

She glanced directly at Collapse. "You did manage to find a map that showed the jungle, right?" she asked.

Collapse nodded and proceeded to take out the map that showed the jungle. She wasn’t sure how far the map went in terms of the jungle but at least they could take a look at it and see for themselves.

“Yeah I definitely agree with that. If she was a filly then I would gladly take care of her but she has been rude and dismissive of us so I am not wanting anything to do with her really.” Collapse spoke, disappointed in the situation but hopefully they would come up with something soon.

It turns out the map that she took out wasn't the one that she saw in the building. The one she looked at previously about detailing parts of the jungle was a lot smaller. This one however showed much more land, though with a bit less detail. Many parts weren't explored yet.

Though there were several spots into the thick of the jungle that were marked. Some with circles, and others with crosses. One in particular was marked with a question mark.

Magloria looked to the map itself then back to Ash several times, inspecting the details alongside thinking about how to remove their unwelcome guest. "I wonder if we can use her rudeness and dismissiveness against her? Make her think she's doing what she wants to do, but actually isn't?" she suggested.

"Could very well do that, but how would we do that? That's a good question. I think we should explore this map though. I wonder what the question mark is here." she commented. "Although there is no telling how old this map refers to so it may be out of date. Even if it is dated there is no telling what it actually refers to since they likely use a different system of dates than we are used to." Collapse commented.

[04-Feb-22 09:58 AM]
"We're not exploring anywhere with that furball trailing behind us." Magloria stated, "I would much, *much* rather not have any risk of her screwing up and causing bad things to happen just because she was there. We're making her leave first."

"Also it doesn't matter how outdated this map is. Even if it is and there are newer versions, it's still a lot better than not having one at all." she started tapping her hoof on the map, trying to plot a course they would take if they were to head to that unknown marked spot. "It's interesting that you considered this place first, though. Who knows what could be there. The panthins certainly didn't, it seems."

"Maybe that place has a lot of water . Panthins don't like water, so that's a possible idea." she suggested but then looked over to Ash, watching the small little furball. "Well I mean, let's try to get Ash out first. Any possible ideas to do that? Maybe we could try to lure her back to Carocal or act in certain manners that make her not want to stay around anymore?" Collapse suggested seeming rather unsure of that.

Watching Ash, a part of her felt bad. Ash was kind of adorable in a way but her rudeness is what turned Collapse away from keeping her. If she was a good little kitty, then she'd want to keep her.

Magloria moved her hoof so she was pointed at the shorelines and the river, plus what appeared to be a lake they hadn't found yet. "Nah. They clearly mark water locations differently. I'd imagine this question mark represents something they don't know anything about." she stated.

Turning to the black cat, who was now busy playing about with a coconut shell, she continued. "She'd just follow us back here again if we tried to lure her away, and acting differently would just reinforce her thoughts on us being 'crazy'."

She put a hoof to her chin, "Maybe if she believed that what she needed was *somewhere else*, she'd leave..." she thought aloud.

If Collapse really wanted to have a cat around, there were probably other Burmesian Smalls back at Carocol. All they'd have to do was find one that wasn't so insane and still wanted to follow them.

Collapse kept what was spoken about in mind as she looks to Jump Start. Jump Start was better than a cat, that was for sure. She was warm, soft, and extra reliable. A kitty would be cute for a time but then she realized they would have to take care of the cat while they have a lot more pressing matters. No cat, she decided. Maybe when they returned home she would get herself a 'normal' one.

"Right. Perhaps we can say that that there is a place where other Burmesian smalls are at and point her in the direction of the outpost we visited before, where we met Eliza. Make her believe that she has to go there for some reason. To boot, we won't be sending her off in any random direction." she suggested.

Jump Start was still inside their shelter, asleep, fur ruffled, belly-up and tongue partially sticking out. Not exactly the most graceful representation of their species, but that hardly mattered in the jungle.

"She seems to prefer wanting to 'help' us, rather than go after others of her kind. You'd think we would've seen her with a partner if that was the case. Perhaps we could convince her the problem is found elsewhere? Not in that outpost, that's too close to here. She might come back quickly. Somewhere in the furthest part of Carocol instead, which she should be able to find." Magloria responded.

Collapse agrees. "Well that sounds good. Perhaps we could convince her that we saw someone like her that she might desire? And she'll spend long enough looking to the point where she wouldn't come back?" Collapse asked, looking over to Jump Start and grinned at the sight of that. In her eyes she just kept thinking Jump Start was the second best pillow ever.

"Or alternatively we could think of something else...hmm..." she thought aloud.

"First let's see if that would even work." Magloria said, then looked over to Ash. "Hey! Would you chase after a male Burmesian Small?" she shouted, briefly startling the feline from her soldier impression, her coconut hat falling off her head.

"If a tom wants me, they're going to have to come after *me*. I'm not going to waste time hunting one." Ash replied, before getting back to the most important task. Pouncing on this damn annoying fly that keeps buzzing by her ear.

Magloria turned back to Collapse. "Looks like we'd have to make her go after something else. Why not just say what she's looking for is in Carocol?" she suggested.

Collapse couldn't help but grin slightly at the way Ash was attempting to pounce on the fly. It was almost amusing to watch. Afterwards she would turn back to Magloria. "Definitely can do that. But we have to ask ourselves, what is she looking for? Food and to be taken care of? If that's all she wants she should have just stayed behind because we can't really do that for her." Collapse spoke. "We can also make whatever we do sound as unappealing as possible to someone who just wants to stick around and not do much." she concluded.

Magloria smiled. Normally this sounds nice, but in Magloria's case it often didn't mean anything good for the one being smiled *at*. Means they missed something obvious.

"Well Collapse, we've already tried making being around us a bad idea, and look how that turned out." she pointed at the cat, "Now lets consider, what is she looking for? Well what's something that she's been looking for the entire time she's been here, except for when she's been distracted?" she asked.

Instead of waiting for an answer, she continued. "She wants to find something to fix us. She's not going to find anything here, so she'll keep searching endlessly, which means she'll always be here. Now consider if we told her that what she was looking for was somewhere completely different..."

She didn't finish her sentence, hoping that instead Collapse got the idea.

Collapse seemed to hesitate upon seeing that smile across Magloria's face. She sure felt stupid here, as she was never too good at coming up with plans. "Ah right, right, she wants to 'fix' us because we look so colorful to her. She thinks our coats are the problem so maybe we can play into that." she suggested even more hesitantly, thinking she'd be called out for suggesting that.

"Let's go along with your suggestion, and see what comes of it, sound good?" she added, hoping that Magloria would simply go along with what she wanted to do rather than do something else to make her feel worse about her suggestions.

"Yeah, just say that what she's looking for to fix us is found somewhere around Carocol. Tell her it was... the cause of our coat colours or something. She'll probably believe that." Magloria suggested.

The blue mare began moving back over to the shelter before giving Jump Start a couple pokes on her chest. If they were going to be up for the rest of the day, might as well all be up.

Ash meanwhile had gone back to her main focus, which was searching for something inside their saddlebags. However this time she decided to go even further and jump into one of the bags, to improve her search methods.

Chapter 50

While Magloria would go and wake up Jump Start Collapse would approach Ash and watch her in the bag for a few passing moments before grabbing her with her magic and pulling her out gently.
"I don't believe we told you but the cause of our poisonous planty colors was around Carocal. On the far side of it, actually. I don't remember exactly what it was since we can't see well in the night, but we were sneaking around that area and by the time we left we noticed our coat colors had turned colors." she said to Ash.

Collapse had turned away just as she saw Magloria about to give Jump Start a kick, thanks to not responding to her previous pokes. Hopefully it was a light kick.

Ash was pulled out holding onto one of the small ice crystal figurines that Magloria made. She dropped it upon seeing Collapse, causing it to fall onto the ground, undamaged, but dirty.

"Oh, you're not supposed to be all funny coloured? Then where is it? The thing that made you this colour? I'll find it and get rid of it so you no longer have to poison yourselves with your funny colours!" Ash stated, once again rudely listening to only half of what Collapse said.

Collapse looks to Ash. "It's somewhere in Carocal or just beyond Carocal. I don't know exactly what happened so your going to have to search all over for it. Could you do that for us, please?" Collapse asked Ash, hoping she was able to convince her otherwise. Collapse would deal with the dirty ice crystal figurine shortly, hopefully after Ash has left.

Ash nodded frantically. "Yes, I can do that! Then you can finally be not crazy anymore. What's it look like? I'm sure I'll be able to find it in the first minute of searching!" she asked. She looked like she desperately wanted to know.

"Ow, was the mane really necessary?" Collapse heard Jump Start say, followed by Magloria giving a blunt "Yes. 2 kicks didn't work." in response.

"Like I said, we can't see in the dark so just look for anything bright and colorful maybe, but I don't know. Go look, ask around, do whatever you need to do!" she said to Ash before looking to Jump Start and Magloria. "Well, I don't mind being kicked awake next time." she grinned weirdly.

Ash gave one final nod then sprinted off into the jungle, in the direction of the river and Carocol.

Collapse saw a sleepy Jump Start sipping on some refreshing water from their crystal flask, all the while rubbing one of her legs to rid herself of the dull ache she now had.

Magloria looked unimpressed by Collapse's willingness to take punishment like that. "Figures you would enjoy being on the receiving end of my hooves. But let's try and forget that now, or at least I'm going to." she replied, walking over while looking around for the missing cat.

"Did she leave?" she asked.

Collapse would blush ever so slightly at Magloria's comment about her hooves there. It was true, and it was really hard to suppress the giggles and smiles that she wanted to make.

To Magloria's question she would nod. "She's gone. Unfortunately she got your figurine here dirty though." Collapse spoke, wiping off the figurine with her magic gently the best she could. "But at least we got a problem out of the way. What should we do now? More logging? Setting up things? I think we can do that now that Ash is out of the way." Collapse suggested, seemingly forgetting what Magloria said about her hooves.

Magloria quickly took the figurine off of Collapse after she cleaned it and began inspecting it herself, making sure that it had received no damages. Once she had made sure that it hadn't suffered a scratch, she gently placed it back into her bag.

"We can do whatever, really. Well except for proper construction, that's still a poor choice..." She began pacing around the tree that they were set up under. "Though... we could use some of the larger branches of the trees we cut down to give this place a little upgrade. Make it so we've got more room inside so it's less like we're living in a tent, and more like we're living in a larger tent. If we find enough vines we might even be able to tie together everything so it won't fall apart if a strong wind blows through." she said.

Collapse agreed with that and accepted the idea. "Alright, we'll do that then. I have an idea of how to make a larger axe, so to speak." she spoke and took out the two axes she had. "We can tie these axes together with vines, having their blades close together like this." she spoke, moving the axes with her telekinesis in a certain way so that the heads were ontop of each other, for a larger cut. "So we can cut faster." she smiled.

When they would start working she would go off and find some vines to tie together the two axes so they are nice and tight together. Once that was done, she would work on cutting the larger branches of the nearby trees and finding more vines, as Magloria suggested.

Magloria 'hrmm'ed at the idea that Collapse had. "While it would increase the cutting power you could put into each swing, it also makes it a bit over twice as heavy. That could prove an issue if you need precision or get tired." she pointed out.

But in the end, she simply shrugged. "But you're the one using the axe, I suppose. If you can handle not dropping it accidentally, then suit yourself."

Jump Start came along with Collapse's attempt to look for some vines. They could go back to the place they used to tie up Eliza, but that was a bit far for just looking around.

So instead a bit of walking around the general area of the camp was done. Took a bit to find any suitably thick vines, and thankfully it wasn't too far away. As Collapse was busy doing her twin axe crafting, Jump Start gave a head start on vine collecting.

In the end they had a large bundle of coiled vines, and a cluster of big branches to bring back. Whether she cut the branches near the camp or where they found the vines would determine how much of a problem they'd be to bring back, given their combined weight.

Collapse had cut the branches at the spot they had found them at. It was better to cut them there and then so they wouldn't have as much problem carrying them across the distance from the camp. She cut the branches to a size she deemed appropriate, allowing them to be carried back to camp easier. However, she had them cut at certain ways so they would have a good amount of sturdiness to them either way for structural integrity.

When they returned to the camp she would begin setting up the branches to expand the shelter with while allowing Jump Start to tie them together with the vines she had found, since she was the one who had collected the most of the vines. Collapse notices that she has more difficulty using the combined axe, but it was worth it in her eyes because it had made it easier to cut.

Jump Start only managed to carry along a few branches back with Collapse. Not because she wasn't strong or the branches were heavy, but because she had no way of taking hold of them well, aside from biting onto one and dragging it while threading a couple others through the vines on her back.

This left Collapse with a bunch of wood that had significant weight to them when carried all at once, requiring a lot of levitation magic just to keep them steady and moving.

Thanks to some of the longer branches, they found out that they could reach one of the lower branches of the tree. Using that, they could make a proper exit doorway instead of using a gap in their walls.

As for the rest of the place, it was a simple matter of digging out holes in the ground for the end of the branches to go, having Jump Start shove the big branches straight down into the hole so it wouldn't ever move, while Magloria and Collapse tied the other end to the tree and other large branches.

With that done they simply had to fill in the gaps in the framework with whatever they could use, like smaller branches, various plants or even mud to create suitable wooden walls, with no gaps.
When it was done Collapse would proceed to gather up small sticks, leaves, and mud to begin filling up the gaps in the frame. With her magic she would combine both mud and sticks, covering the whole thing over with plants so it would look better. While she had the time she proceeded to take the time to gather as much leaves as possible to cover over most of, if not the entire thing. Works for camouflage.

When they were inevitably done with the process Collapse would step back and take in the sight of the 'completed' shelter to see what it looked like in comparison to what it was previously. She would smile at a job well done. "You know, there is nothing more satisfying than being able to look back and see what you were able to do, and pat yourself on the back for doing a good job in doing so." she remarked, a bit proudly to the others.

By the time they were done, they had spent the entire day doing nothing but gathering and putting together the stuff.

Compared to what they had before, which was basically a cone around the trunk of the tree with sticks, twigs and leaves everywhere, this was a significantly bigger... cone, but this time it had a proper entrance, looking like a protruding triangle piece out the side of the cone. Internally they now had the proper room to move about instead of tripping over other sleeping bodies, even though it was still mostly dirt floor.

You could still see where a lot of the branches were, but the mud and leaves concealed a lot of the smaller ones that made up the wall, except for in one spot where Jump Start had deliberately left as a window, so it wasn't too dark inside.

"Gotta say, it doesn't really look all that great, but it's bigger than before and keeps out the wind and rain better, so I'm sure it's fine anyway." Jump Start said, not really fond of the look of the mud. She also wasn't fond of the mud she got over her hooves and coat during the building process.

Remarking over the finished work she was satisfied with the larger size. It looked kind of weird and unappealing but if it works, it works and that's all that matters. Maybe Collapse could find some flowers to put on it to make it look a bit more appealing to the eye but that wasn't needed all that much.

"Well, it's nice and big now. At least we can have more room for ourselves and our gear when we inevitably get more tools and such. I think its time for us to lay down, maybe examine the blueprints and such in greater detail?" Collapse suggested before entering the newly enlarged shelter and taking out the various maps and such she found.

Magloria pointed up at the sky, where it was already starting to get dark. "Unless you prefer to act like a torch while we read, or we set up one a campfire tonight, we're not going to be doing much examination." she stated.

When Collapse entered she quickly found that to be true. Outside they could just barely read them, but inside the shelter where light was mostly blocked off? Really dark. Also a flat, clean surface for putting their stuff wouldn't go unappreciated either, given all they had was the petal beds (which at this point were starting to become tattered and dead) and the dirt floor.

Collapse would look at the floor and notice that is the one thing they left out in adding to. “I think we should have gotten a floor in here. Maybe use some sticks and leaves to cover over the dirt floor.” She remarked as she sat down pulling out the blueprints and maps.

“I will be your light in the dark, sure. I don’t mind.” Collapse spoke that like a little more softly for some reason as she used her soft golden horn to light up the maps as she waited for them to come over by her and start reading. She was sitting on the dead petals to avoid the dirt.

The other two came over and started looking over the documents that they had. They had the map of the jungle with parts missing and the various indicators. Nothing new there.

Another smaller map of Carocol, plus a bit of the jungle outside which also included the river. It didn't really have any specific markers, just many many squares, circles and other odd shapes indicating where each building was, as well as other stuff like the walls and roads.

A few other outposts seemed to be scattered around, but they didn't seem to be in any locations of interest, or at least any from what the map tells, which wasn't much.

Everything else was simply blueprints for buildings and structures. Only really useful for getting an idea of what the insides of some buildings look like, or getting ideas for their own buildings, which seems like a long way off at the moment.

Chapter 51

Looking over everything Collapse was a bit disappointed that there was not much else of interest around the area. At least they had known more about the various areas and buildings now at this point. She didn't really see the need for building something like the blueprints there, when they should be focusing on building a ship.

"Well, I'd say tomorrow we should look around for things we could use for the floor here and see what we can do with the ship, but I'd say we should call it a night." Collapse said, looking to the two of them as her tail was wagging. Ready for another session of cuddling for the night, it seemed. Yeah, that's definitely what it was for sure.

"We can't doing anything for the ship until we get the proper tools, which we failed to get. Unless you want to build it out of whole logs and knobby branches, I'd suggest putting it off for now." Magloria pointed out, moving to the bed on the far end of their new shelter, away from the other larger bed.

Jump Start folded the maps and blueprints back up and stored them again, before making her own way over to the bed, curling up into a ball so that Collapse could inevitably wrap herself around her, because of course she would.

Collapse seemed to hesitate more this time, her tail wagging as she looked between Magloria and Jump Start. Her eyes settled on Magloria as her tail wagged faster but she hesitated and eventually wrapped herself around Jump Start gently and gave her a pat, smiling in the dark before she'd inevitably fall off asleep surrounding her Earth pony companion.

Collapse still felt a warm softness around her hooves when she awoke, Jump Start having slept like a brick again. Probably because of the lack of sleep from the previous day. Even though she could see a bit of sunlight come in through their new window and doorway, the place was still somewhat dark and... likely to her relief, a cool temperature.

Magloria wasn't there however, her bed was empty. She must've been outside somewhere, doing something.

When Collapse had awoke she would lay there for a few minutes and relish in Jump Start's warmth. She would smile warmly and whisper, "You don't give yourself enough credit for a lot of things..." at the quietest volume before standing up and peeking out of their shelter.

When she peeked out of the shelter she looked about for Magloria, maybe she could catch her doing something secret or something like that.

Looking outside, she didn't find any sign that Magloria was around. Nothing else seemed to have been touched, aside from wood now being placed inside their fire pit.

Though there were a large amount of splashing sounds over by the river, which could be where Magloria currently was.

Collapse would be a little concerned to see that Magloria wasn't around but would listen to the splashing. Smirking somewhat, she thought that she could catch her in the act. She would head towards the river slowly and quietly, wondering if it really was Magloria that was splashing about.

"COME BACK HERE YOU LITTLE PRICK!" Collapse suddenly heard from the river, sounding very much like an angry Magloria. Was it really a good idea to go any further? Eh, of course it was. To Collapse, it just meant more Magloria time which was always a good idea.

When she broke through the trees she could see what was happening. Magloria was swimming about in the water, looking very angrily into the currents. At first it looked like she was just swimming, then her magic brought her spear out from within the depths. Whatever she aimed at, she missed.

She took aim again, glancing around constantly until at last she saw her target. Her magic thrust her spear forward at brutal speeds, causing another loud splash.

Her furious scowl turned into a sinister grin when she saw what was on the end of her spear. Triumphantly, she brought it back to herself once again, a fat fish speared through the side. "Gotcha." she declared.

Collapse watched the whole thing unfold with a slightly concerned expression. The way Magloria moved about and expressed herself was more unhinged than she would have acted while around the others. That was interesting in it of itself. It wasn't to be unexpected either, that Magloria would hide her emotions from them deliberately.

Upon seeing Magloria finally spear the fish she also smiled in turn. It was interesting to see Magloria act like that, it was a more devious playful side to her. Perhaps that was a bit of a glimpse into her fillyhood. Instead of showing herself right at this moment she would proceed to just watch her actions further, doing her best to be hidden. If Magloria would catch her, it'd be more than possible for her to just play it off as her doing something else.

Magloria was too busy dealing with her catch to be focusing on looking through the bushes and trees. She seemed to be much calmer now, since the fishing session was over.

Scraping the fish off the spear and onto the bank of the river, she moved over to a spot where her shortsword and a pile of freshly picked orange-looking fruits were. She set her spear aside and drew the sword, before proceeding to gut the fish.

By the time she was finished there was a descaled, organ less piece of meat ready for cooking, and a pile of remains that had already been swept away by the river. Cleaning her blade and spear, she picked everything up in her magic and started off back in the direction of the camp, only now noticing Collapse hiding in the foliage.

When Magloria notices Collapse in the foliage she looked to her and greeted her as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "Good morning, I was just wondering where you were." she smiled innocently.

Looking to the piece of meat she was curious, was Magloria just getting that for herself? Or did she intend to share? Collapse didn't mind fish, she's had it before but not in any significant quantities. Collapse rose an eyebrow slightly at the fish there.

"After all that's happened I've never seen you get so angry. A fish of all things. Don't worry, I won't tell Jump Start about that!" she giggled, almost like they were two fillies hiding a secret.

Magloria gave out a mumbled "Morning", then gave a snort at the mention of what happened in the river with the fish. Clearly she did not appreciate being reminded of the fact.

"Harpooning has never been my forte. Spears aren't balanced properly for it, the water messes with my aim and small fish are quick." she stated, passing by Collapse without acknowledging her further and heading back, her loot in tow.

Once back at the camp she set down the pile of fruits that she had collected on the ground, and the fish on a small piece of wood next to the fire pit. She turned to Collapse. "If you wouldn't mind starting the fire so we can get some warm breakfast." she requested, pointing to the wood waiting be set ablaze.

Collapse wouldn’t really speak of what happened with the fish further as she didn’t wish to upset Magloria further but she understood her reasons. It was interesting to see, though.

Wordlessly Collapse would spark her ignition spell and light the flames after adding the wood to the fire pit. Another thing she would do would be to awake Jump Start with gentle nudges. Yes, even boops too.

When Jump Start woke up she smiled and said good morning to her, then she would sit by the fire and watch it burn, wondering what Magloria had in mind for breakfast for today. “What do you think we should do today?” she would ask Magloria.

Jump Start rolled over one way on Collapse's first attempt to nudge and boop her, so she had to try again. The second attempt received a hoof swat at Collapse's own, but it was enough for Jump Start to wake up, where she groaned, stretched and acknowledged her presence with her own good morning.

Back outside Magloria was already busy levitating several fruits and the fish above the fire, letting them slowly heat up and scorch. When the others approached she looked over to them. "So, do any of you want some of the fish?" she asked.

Maybe it might sound good to have a little bit of taste variety. Eating fruits constantly could get a bit oppressive, when previously they had the variety of fruits, vegetables, dairy and grains, plus other things like sweets.

That was assuming that Collapse even liked fish enough to accept some, of course.

Collapse had smiled innocently and her tail even wagged a little bit in excitement of waking her up. She enjoyed seeing Jump Start being awake and aware of things, and listening to what she had to say. Quickly her cuddlyness would calm down as she looked over to Magloria and the various fruits and fish she was holding over the fire.

"Yeah sure, I'd like to try some fish. I've had it before but maybe a change in palate can do us some good. Plus it's healthy for you anyways. So sure!" she chirped before sitting down near the fire to wait until the food was cooked. When the food was done she'd allow Magloria to give them the various portions, as if letting her decide how much they would eat.

In due time, Collapse would bite down into her portion of fish and chew. Savoring the taste.

Jump Start didn't look particularly enthusiastic about the idea of eating fish, but that didn't stop her from accepting the offer. "Only a small piece please. I'm not that keen on it, so I'm just going to stick to fruit mostly." she said.

After getting their requests, Magloria draw her short sword and began cutting the fruits into halves, passing out roughly a third to each of them. Then she moved onto the fish, cutting out a small piece for Jump Start, and splitting the remainders in half for herself and Collapse. Those were passed out as well.

Jump Start went straight for her piece of fish, nervously taking a bite of it. "Mmph... that's oily." she complained.

Magloria stuck her own piece of fish into her mouth and chewed. "That's what fish tastes like. Savory too. Nothing like plants."

"I can see that..." Jump Start muttered, quickly swallowing the fish before taking a bite out of a piece of fruit. Her look of enjoyment showed she much preferred a plant over meat any day.

Collapse nods and seemingly enjoys the taste, having been thankful of how Magloria cut it into thirds for all of them to share equally. "It tastes good. I really do wonder why ponies don't eat this more often." she commented casually as she swallowed her chew. Perhaps she was more of an adventurous eater than one may think? It looked certainly possible to say the least.

"Heh, savory. Yes, it's savory." Collapse said, holding back a giggle for some reason, perhaps she was thinking about something naughty too, but only if they were paying added attention they would notice how she held herself back from laughing. Cheeky little pony, Collapse is. Oh, how they'd probably end up being very concerned if they had a way to read her mind.

"It's because of the way we developed. We just don't like the taste of meat. It's only been recently that we really decided to explore eating such things, at least beyond the pegasi anyway." Magloria stated, idly playing with her fish bones as she spoke. "Something about having cloud settlements over ocean waters long time ago drove them to enjoy the taste of fish much more than us unicorns or earth ponies do."

Thankfully they couldn't read Collapse's mind, because otherwise Magloria would likely disapprove, especially if it involved herself. Instead she continued. "Chances are that we grew to enjoy it from the pegasi actually. Or perhaps the griffons when they showed us how to prepare it properly, after we were done turning our pudgy noses up at the smell, that is."

Jump Start rose an eyebrow at Collapse's mirth. She didn't know what she found so funny about eating fish.

Collapse nodded in understanding. "You know it would be super helpful if we had a pegasi around you know? We have two unicorns and one Earth pony, I wish that someone else could have been with us so we could have a pegasus with us, you know? I've noticed over the years in my travels that ponies are opening up to the idea of fish and seafood more." she commented.

"I'll make fish a part of my actual diet when I get back actually to be honest. Not only does it taste good but it is pretty healthy for us. I've heard that, ever since Twilight, Starlight and Cadence took the mantle of the previous rulers that there has been an accelerated amount of change, and progress over the years." she remarked. "Perhaps that's part of it." she suggested.

"We don't get to pick and choose who gets lucky and who doesn't. If we did, there would be a whole lot of injustices that wouldn't be." Magloria stated, her tone becoming wiser. "It was fortunate enough that three of us came out of the whole thing alive, and even more so that we were relatively uninjured too."

Her tone returned to normal. "Besides, we didn't have many pegasi on the ship anyway. Just a few that could watch for trouble from higher up. Statistically speaking, they weren't likely to be here anyway."

"As for the lot up in their diamond towers ruling over everything, they probably did accelerate the acceptance process, but I'd much prefer to believe that it was the ponies themselves that considered it an option and spread it around for others to consider." she said, finishing off her food as she did.

Collapse nods in agreement with Magloria. "Can't change fate, some say. I do personally believe in luck and fate. We got really lucky, like you said." she spoke as she finished off the fruits, but taking her time to savor the fish, as if the fish tasted a lot better than the fruits to her.

"I also much prefer to believe the same. I feel like that our society had gotten too comfortable in a lot of things, and it is good to see innovation and invention into realms most would deem uncomfortable. If you ask me, the previous rulers didn't do much good for us. While it was a stable rule not much changed...for a *really long time...*" she pondered, with a hoof to her chin there.

"Heh, that also reminds me that one of them was once known as Coronal Flare and wanted Eternal Day, she was on the sun for 1000 years...talk about great rulers." Collapse scoffed somewhat at that.

"I wouldn't know about nor do I really care about the previous rulers. Though I may look old enough to have lived right at the end of their rule, I most certainly didn't live under their banner when they did." Magloria stated.

She got up, gathering sticks and branches of varying sizes, along with some vines. "So if they wanted to keep everything stagnant, that's on them." she said, setting the stuff down in a pile next to Jump Start. "There you go, some things set aside if you ever wanted to make that grill."

Jump Start gave a nod, casually playing about with the pieces she was given. "So... what else are we doing today, then?" she asked.

Collapse looks to Jump Start. "Well, we could get together the materials for the ship maybe. Get started on a timber pile, perhaps." she spoke, then looking to Magloria and giving her a bit of a different look. It was difficult to really judge what that look meant, perhaps it seemed more like a longing look? Not so much for Magloria, while of course it would be, but for the times in the past.

"Or, or what we could do is go to the various areas on the panthin map here, check out what they've discovered." Collapse added.

"You mean those materials?" Jump Start said, pointing over at the couple dozen trees that they had stacked near the edge of where Collapse had previously gone woodcutting. "It's probably not enough for a whole ship, so I suppose we could go get even more wood..."

Magloria shrugged at both suggestions. "Labor day or exploration... hrm... multiple days." she paused, considering how long it would really take them in order to each some of the map markers. "Really doesn't matter what we do to me, as long as we're being productive."

Looking to the wood Collapse took out her modified 'axe' and looked to them. "Lets get ourselves some wood. At least get the same amount that we already have, if that's fine with you?" she suggested to them, preferring the idea of getting more work out of the way. Collapse wanted to explore but wanted to wait on that for now.

Chapter 52

Magloria nodded, levitating over the harness for Jump Start. "So another simple day where nothing goes wrong and nothing interesting happens at all, then. Fair enough." she said, and began walking out into the jungle where they had previously cut trees, so she could leave marks on the ones that Collapse should cut down.

Jump Start gave a yawn before she turned to her pile of sticks and vines, intending to set up the grill while she wasn't needed for dragging trees.

Collapse would proceed to cut down the trees that Magloria marked. It is likely that nothing would go wrong, in the chance that nothing did Collapse would have cut down all the trees that Magloria had marked in due time. She'd also hack the larger branches off, leaving Jump Start to haul them to the pile when it was needed of her.

By the end of the day, they would have doubled their amount of trees that they had cut down. It was a sizeable amount, but was it enough for a ship?

It was sunset by the time that Collapse finished off the marked trees, leaving a trail of destruction behind her that was now twice as long as it once was. The entire day she had taken occasional breaks, being given the usual fruits and some iced drinks like last time.

It was when she started to head back that she noticed something... off... about her surroundings. When did that blue glow appear off in the distance? It was nowhere near any water that she knew of, and seemed quite similar to the glow she saw once before.

Magloria and Jump Start weren't around, as they were busy stacking the remaining trees into the pile and fixing a small hole in their shelter that Jump Start had made when she accidentally hit it with a branch. It was just her witnessing this phenomenon.

Looking over the trail of deforestation that she caused she smirked pridefully at work. Normally she wouldn't celebrate cutting trees down, but this was a different situation. They had to do what they had to do to do in order to survive, and eventually make their way back home.

Then she notices the strange blue glow off in the distance. Was it something to do with the time of day? Perhaps it was some kind of strange flowering plant that gave off blue pollen? A glowing mushroom that 'turns on' at certain times, or something more exotic.

Glancing over to where Magloria and Jump Start were she would call them over, "Magloria! Jump Start! Come take a look at this!" she shouted quickly, hoping they could come over and see the blue glow.

She heard Magloria call back. "What is it? You found more birds that mimic you or something?" she asked. Collapse could hear the sounds of them brushing through the plants as they approached.

When Collapse had looked back, it seems as though the blue glow had moved ever so slightly. By the time the other two arrived it had partially moved behind a group of trees.

Jump Start looked around, trying to spot what Collapse had taken interest in, while Magloria rose an eyebrow at the mare.

Collapse began to lead them towards the blue glow. "There is a blue glow of sorts behind those trees over here, let's see if we can catch it." she suggested and began to move towards the trees, hoping that they would be able to see her. Collapse really hoped it wasn't just her senses messing with her or something like that - she would feel really stupid if she called them over only for them to find nothing. Hopefully that won't happen, would it?

After being told where to look, and following Collapse for a little bit the others manage to spot the blue glow as well. "Hmm, that's strange. I wonder what is causing that?" Jump Start pondered out loud.

Once they got close enough to have a good look at whatever it was without trees obstructing their line of sight, they saw it. It looked familiar somehow.

From what they could immediately tell, it looked like some sort of... misty ghost. A large sphere of white formed what could only be described as it's core or head, while several stumpy, featureless 'limbs' flowed below it. It didn't look like any living creature that they'd seen before.

What was most concerning was the aura it had. It was practically radiating blue light that Collapse could feel tingling across her magic-sensitive horn, indicating that whatever it was, it was quite powerful to be leaking energy so causally. Or it was a pretty good wandering lantern. One of the two.

Collapse looked at the thing and touched her horn, feeling the aura it was radiating. Whatever this was, she wasn't sure why it made her familiar. Looking to Magloria and Jump Start she'd grin ever so slightly. "Was worried it'd somehow vanish before you got the chance to see it. I thought it was some kind of glow from a plant...maybe some kind of flower but no, this is..." she found herself unable to finish her sentence.

She was unable to really come up with any ideas as to what this creature could be. "Do you think we could try to talk to it?" she asked Magloria, seeming unsure at the suggestion as they had gotten a bit closer to it.

Magloria and Jump Start simply watched the thing as it slowly floated about, seemingly unaware of the presence of the 3 ponies, and content to move slowly forward to an unknown destination.

"I have no idea what this is either. The closest I would imagine this could be would be some sort of... magical anomaly of sorts." Magloria stated, turning her head to Collapse and replying. "You can try to talk to it if you want to, but I don't think it is even capable of speaking back to us. The moment you provoke an aggressive response though, we're leaving."

Jump Start shuffled her hooves, anxiously awaiting the results of what Collapse would do. Plus they tingled slightly, just like both of the unicorns horns.

Collapse glanced to Magloria. "I'll try to talk to it, but if it's aggressive I'm high tailing it out of here." she smirked before walking up to the strange white sphere. Whatever the sphere was, it was something that she wanted to communicate with. Maybe it could be a friend? A very strange friend, at that.

Once she was close enough to the sphere she would pause a little bit as if judging the thing a little more before she spoke in a collected manner. "Excuse me if I am bothering you, who, or what are you? I've not seen anyone like you." she spoke to the white sphere, hoping nothing bad would happen.

There was no noticeable reaction from the thing when she got closer. From this distance however, she could clearly make out it's transparency, and almost make out a lack of mist of sorts in part of it's sphere structure, like a carved out part.

Her questions went unanswered, but while she waited she felt the energy wash over her even more. It felt... weird and hollow, like she didn't know where something was, but knew what it looked like. It looked like a room filled with unidentifiable strange objects, each marked with symbols of light. This was quite strange, because she doesn't remember seeing anything like that.

Upon that feeling and the 'memory' washing over her she stood there for a bit, thinking about it deeply before walking closely. Whatever this was, maybe they could capture it and make use of it? Make it a pet? Well, whatever it is, its very strange.

"Hey, it's not talking but it feels so hollow and strange...I also got something that came into my mind so to speak. When I am next to it I am imagining strange objects with symbols made of light in a room. But I've not seen anything like that." she spoke. "I'm sure its safe, come closer." she remarked.

Thing is, how would Collapse even capture it and make use of it? It didn't look like a typical thing you could cage, and it could do absolutely anything, which she has no idea.

Judging from it completely ignoring them on it's slow path to somewhere, it didn't have any intent on being captured anyway. Or maybe it was brainless, or just stupid. Maybe try provoking it. That's definitely a good idea.

Magloria and Jump Start didn't look convinced that it really was safe, but they approached anyway. Each of them shuddered when the blue aura ran over them, Jump Start in particular began to shake her legs as stronger tingling sensations flowed through them.

"That's- ugh, disturbing." Magloria said, "I'm not seeing anything like you saw, but I am seeing... corridors. Tiles on the floor and walls are marked, like they're important and dangerous."

"It's messing with my magic, I don't like it." Jump Start said before backing away again, now unwilling to approach again.

Collapse shuddered a bit as she walked closer, being the most willing of the three to approach it. Looking over the thing she'd marvel at it, wondering what it was and where it came from.

"Whatever this thing is, it seems like it knows a lot. But where are these memories coming from? Is it communicating things that it has seen? Where it came from? Or maybe it is some sort of memory repository that got lost or something?" she suggested, not having the faintest of clues besides that. Looking to the two others, she wondered what Jump Start was 'seeing' within her mind.

"Do you have any ideas what this is? I don't think the Panthins created it, they don't seem advanced enough to create something like this. It's not a natural anomaly either, since if it was natural, why would it be giving us thoughts about these...places?" she asked openly.

Magloria shook her head, and stopped pursuing the thing. "I have absolutely no idea. I was never really the whole 'read a book about things that have nothing to do with you' sort of pony. Perhaps someone around here has seen it more and knows what it's doing or what it is, but I don't."

"If all it's going to do is wander about and 'think' about things that we can see, there's not much that we can do for it. Unless you want to try something, we should just leave it alone." she said.

Collapse didn't see anything else in her mind other than that room, but she felt the thought change slowly the longer she spent near the thing. Like she was fond of that room. The room was quite pretty, and she was happy to see it.

"Well I am feeling that my thoughts are changing around it now. It feels like I'm...happy to see the room I was imagining..." she muttered, shaking her head slightly and looking to Magloria.

"Do you think we could try to capture it? Maybe it'd be a cool pet to have around instead of a kitty?" she was half joking at that but it would be interesting if they could somehow capture it and make use of it. "It's rather interesting, I wonder what else we could do with it...or would you rather just let it roam?" she asked.

"Unless you know a way to capture or use some sort of spectral entity of sorts, we can't do anything *but* let it roam. Actually, do you even think *any* unicorn knows of ways to do that?" Magloria pointed out. Collapse felt happy that this was pointed out.

In fact, she felt happy about a lot of things. Like the sunset in the distance, or the trees, or how beautiful the sphere of energy that she was near was, so much so that she felt like she could give it a hug. They'd both enjoy it, right?

Well this feeling was familiar, but should she *really* just let it roam and leave her? She felt great! Nothing could go wrong. It was perfectly safe, as she told the others.

Collapse just seemed to smile wider at the suggestion. "Why don't we give this thing a big hug? It's pretty amazing, it's so happy and beautiful!" she reacted and would begin moving closer towards the white sphere of energy. But it was likely that Magloria wouldn't allow her to get closer to it, as she'd likely notice Collapse was under the influence of it.

"Why would you give it a hug?" Magloria asked, then realized what Collapse was doing. "Wait, DON'T-"

That was all Collapse heard before a breezy, calming effect flowed through her, causing everything around her to fade away. Everything was so peaceful in the darkness, and the whispers of conversation and secrets that flowed through her ears were so blissful, even though she couldn't make out what they were saying.

The darkness in front of her shifted, showing her blurry scenes that she couldn't make out at first, until the happy, calming feeling mellowed out a bit, giving her a sense of lucidity again.

The scenes sharpened, and she realized she was at the entrance to some... large stone building of sorts, small wall lights leading the way inside. Perhaps some sort of palace or temple? The world around her was filled with the jungle plants she'd been seeing for days, tinted blue which gave everything a more calming appearance.

How did she even get here? And where were the others? Maybe that wasn't important right now. The building ahead of her did seem just as important...

When the calming feeling had subsided she took a moment to think about what just happened. Was she in a dream? Did she enter into some kind of portal and was somewhere else completely? Whatever the case, the building that lay ahead seemed the most prominent. Time to check it out, supposed.

Looking out over the blue plants, she found that a bit surreal if anything. It reminded her a bit of the blue mushroom forests underground, but her gaze landed upon the small wall lights leading the way inside. With careful steps she would begin her way inside, wanting to figure out this mystery that lay ahead. The others could wait. When she'd get back to them, she'd want to be the one to solve this mystery or at least have more clues.

"I don't know who or what you are, or where you are taking me - but I'll play your game." Collapse smirked under her breathe somewhat happily as she continued down the hallway that lead the way inside. Where would she go? Well, that was up for whatever this was to decide.

Collapse took the first corner within the building, and almost immediately found out that this place felt like a maze. There were twisting passages that led everywhere, some leading to rooms of seemingly varied importance, others led downwards, deeper into the earth, making this place seem even bigger than it first appeared.

The entire time she had this... feeling... that some directions were better than others. Whenever she went against this, she found unimportant stuff. Places that were common and boring like living quarters... or at least they looked like living quarters. Details were blurry when she strayed too far from 'important' paths.

It didn't help that as she moved, the blue tint shifted. She'd already seen the blue from the outside, but by the time she found what looked like a vague... control room... (Those dull grey levers had to mean something, right?), the colours had already shifted to greys, and back to a lighter blue.

This next place looked pretty impressive. Seemed like a large hall for festivities and audiences. Wait, how did she end up here? Didn't she stop at that control room place with the levers marked in red? She's pretty sure she did, though maybe she could somehow go back. Or keep wandering. Or stay in the audience hall.

Wait, the levers weren't marked with red before, were they? Something is going on here, and it's all becoming confusing enough to hurt her head a little.

As Collapse proceeded about the building she followed her feeling of what felt like was best. Once or twice, she would go against it to see what would happen and end up in the boring sections. Knowing that, she wouldn't go against that feeling again full well knowing what would happen.

Throughout the next components of her journey throughout the building she knew for sure that this building was more than it let on. Was it shifting her reality, or did it just have some kind of magic that made her percieve it in that manner? The audience room was something interesting, she wonders who gathered here. Wasn't Panthins, no, likely not. Not seaponies since they don't build on land...probably not ponies, because they've seen no indications of ponies here elsewhere.

What this likely was, was something built by whoever made that sphere thing. But who would build such a thing, and why? Who could have built this temple? Where was this temple, in reality, if this was all a dream? There were so many questions, but thinking back through she found herself confused at where she ended up.

Red levers? Something's changed, she didn't know how to make sense of it. Perhaps pulling one level would make something happen. Hopefully nothing bad.

Upon pulling one of the definitely grey levers, she felt like she heard a click. Several clicks, each one moving through her bones when she really knew it was going through the building. A flash through her mind told her what it had done. That was brilliant! Deterrents against any unsavory guests intending to break their way into this place. Security is necessary.

Ugh... but what was it protecting? That room she saw previously, with the light runes and strange things. That felt like it belonged at the end of everything. It was important, very important once upon a time. She wanted to get back to it, but didn't know where it was in this maze.

She saw other rooms through other red levers too... each lever for a room that was secure. A dangerous one, a caring one, an unwavering one. Levers shouldn't feel these things, but they made her feel what they felt anyway.

Her headache grew worse. Maybe she should hurry. Try and figure out more about this... place. How did those levers even work? Why do the lights work? No, she knew already. They weren't important, other stuff was.

Collapse stood there for a few moments and processed everything that just happened. It seems that this place had substantial control over her mind in varying ways. From invoking certain thoughts and feelings to changing in strange manners that seemed to defy the laws of nature, it seemed more than likely this was some kind of dream.

But even so, it could very well possibly be not be. Perhaps it influences her mind to the point to where it makes her think that' it's a dream, when it's not. Or perhaps it has some sort of reverse psychology to it? Whatever the case, it felt like she had to find that room that was in her mind the first time. The one with the light runes, yes, that is what she had to find.

Like that, she moved away from the room with the levers. In her mind, she thinks of the one with the light runes. Perhaps the situation would react to her thoughts. Maybe she could even force herself to arrive there sooner than she'd think. Who knew, really.

How strange things happen - and how little one knows how to react.

Chapter 53

The maze of corridors around her reacted to her thoughts, but it wasn't so straightforward. It never was so straightforward. She knew that if it was, none of this would be happening.

Did she know that, or was she told that? Maybe she thought about it when thinking over other things.

In any case, she began making her way somewhere, but she never seemed to follow the same path. The corridors were broken, and she kept flicking between different ones, unsure as to which one she should really walk down to reach her destination.

The walls around her began to blur as her headache intensified. She couldn't remember the way to the room. She knew it was around here somewhere, but her thoughts were scrambled.

At last, through the hazy green and orange miasma ahead of her she saw the lights of the room. By this point walking straight was hard. She just felt like curling up and trying to endure the headache instead of moving forward, letting everything end here. But she didn't at the same time.

As the headaches got more intense she refused to let them take control over her mind. There was a chance this all wasn't real, but even if it was she would still force herself to press on. She had to find answers - that was more important than submitting to whatever pain this place induced.

She didn't know how long it took her to find the room but noticed that the place around her would react to her thoughts. If that was the case, she'd go further. The headaches had to stop. Collapse was in control of her mind and thoughts and she wasn't going to let that control her, so she thought about it simply just going away and never returning.

Yet for now, still, the headaches persisted and she forced herself through them as she would walk straight towards the lights of the room. It was time to push through it all, hopefully the room with the lights had the answers she needed.

The closer she got to the room, the harder it was to keep going, like an invisible tar was slowly building up around her legs, overwhelming her ability to move forward.

She managed to barely get close enough to the room to make out the light runes, or the way they were positioned. They were in the shape of some... ring of sorts... a great ring, with more lights stretching off into the unknown.

The headache grew too much. She might've been able to control the realm around her, but her persistence has it's limits. The world around her faded into an endless swirl of darkness as her focus was torn apart...

Then the pain dulled noticeably. She felt warm air against her fur, and she could hear insects. She found out that her eyes were closed and she could feel like she was lying on something soft but dry.

"-apse?" she heard as she felt a hoof shape press down on her side, shaking her a little. When she opened her eyes, she saw Magloria standing over her, looking down at her which what could only be described as... concern?

Collapse's eyes slowly opened as she layed there and looking up into Magloria's eyes. Collapse's eyes for a few moments were blank as she processed what just happened. So it was a dream, after all - more of an induced dream if anything it seemed. Collapse only grinned somewhat daringly,

"Whatever that thing is - It's nothing like I've ever experienced before. You need not be concerned about me. There was this temple of sorts surrounded by tinted blue plants. I went inside the building. It was almost like a maze, rooms everywhere, but I *knew* which ones were important and which weren't..." she began to recount what had happened.

"I saw living quarters, a gathering gall for large audiences, and the most interesting part was the room with all the levers that seemed to change colors. I flicked one of the levers and I felt the clicks of the lever reverberate throughout my bones, and in my mind there was a deterrent against unwanted guests. There were other levers...unwavering, caring, dangerous, all each their own levers..." she put a hoof to her chin as she sat up, in deep thought.

"I was looking for the room with all the lights and runes that I had thought of before I went into the...dream, but as I did so within the dream the more my headache within the dream continued. There were odd colors everywhere. Last thing I remember was a great ring with those lights stretching off into the great unknown..." she spoke, looking into Magloria's eyes. Throughout her recount, her gaze was locked within Magloria's eyes.

Contrary to what Magloria would think, this wasn't a gaze of admiration of love, but it was one of intense contemplation upon Collapse's condition. It seemed Collapse was more concerned with what had happened to her in the dream rather than what happened in the real world.

Magloria's expression grew more confused and perplexed the more Collapse talked about what she experienced. When her explanation was done, Magloria sat back, looking like she was thinking everything over.

Jump Start filled in the silence. "Uh, that's not what we saw. What happened was after you said you wanted to hug the... thing, you got too close then fell unconscious. Magloria immediately brought you away and we ran back to camp. The thing didn't follow us, thankfully." she said.

One of her hooves touched her chin as she thought aloud. "It was actually quite similar to what happened to Magloria... you know, down in the caves with that strange mist." she figured.

Magloria looked back over to Collapse again, having finished her pondering. "It's possible that thing is more alive than we thought. It sounds like it tried to tell you something, or it leaked information into you."

"You didn't happen to hear whispering while you were... dreaming, did you?" she asked.

"No whispering, but whatever that was - it was not just any normal dream. It was real. It wasn't like a lucid dream either, it was something that presence invoked into my mind. But I had no communication with...whatever or whoever it was, no." Collapse started off, by answering Magloria's question right off the bat.

"But whatever that thing is, it has a very similar feel to the strange mist in the caves. I feel like it's connected somehow. Remember those large...constructions we saw down in those rivers? I feel that whatever this is, it's connected to that. There was once a great civilization here, who was capable of doing all that underground so long, long ago..." she suggested, thinking aloud.

"That palace or temple I saw, it had blue plants all around it. Perhaps if we were to go far off into the jungle we'd find something like that, or this is something from a far off time or place. I don't know, but if there really was a past civilization here than that...thing is the one who holds the records to whatever it is." she spoke, an idea crossed her mind.

"Now I have an idea that neither of you may like, but perhaps we could go back to it later on and I can touch it again, but this time, you can leave me next to it. You two will stand there in close proximity to it, or hide behind a tree. Observe my unconscious body - so if anything happens you can get me and run." her eyes narrowed slightly.

"We have a mystery on our hooves here. I'd very much like to figure this out, Perhaps this may give us a lot more clues about this place than one would have thought. It can't surely only be Panthins, dangerous snakes, and jungle misery, can it?" she asked.

"But you said there were odd colours everywhere, didn't you? Were the plants really blue, or were they just oddly coloured?" Jump Start asked. "It sounded like things didn't make sense, so maybe they weren't?"

Magloria shook her head. "No, we're not going back to that thing and letting you go through that again. We have no idea what other things it could've done to you, so better not risk it."

"If we come across anything that happen to be similar to what you and I saw, then *maybe* we can investigate. But until then, we're going to focus on what we'll be doing with the Panthin maps and construction of our boat." she said.

Clearly Magloria wasn't nearly as interested in the whole mystery as Collapse was. This calls for ~~complete disregard for her opinion~~ negotiation or patience.

Collapse's eyes blinked slightly to what Magloria said, as if she was slightly disappointed by her response but there was no objection. Her tail swooshed slightly. "Well, alright. Maybe that's for the best." she spoke calmly.

Then a thankful smile went across her face. "Thank you for saving me. I know nothing bad happened but it easily could have. Seems like you saved me - yet again." an eyebrow rose as her thankful, innocent smile grew.

"Seems like it's been a long day. Maybe it's time we lay down and rest a little bit - and come up with some plans as to what to do next time with the white thing and where we'll go on the maps, perhaps?" she said, rhyming intentionally.

Magloria shrugged. "To be honest, the thing didn't really do anything when you touched it. Barely flinched, or what looked like flinching. Just went on it's way even as you fell down. You were probably fine regardless, but still doesn't stop anything else from finding you." she stated.

Magloria moved around their shelter in order to find her own bed, roughly laying down on it as soon as it was found. "Personally I think we should just leave it be. Let it keep... wandering. Unless you can speak strange ghost, we're not going to be able to help it anyway."

Magloria ended her conversation, letting Jump Start start up her own. "I think those checked marks on the maps are probably good. Means the panthins approve of whatever is there." she said.

Collapse layed down somewhat closer to Magloria this time, laying there as she looks to Magloria with those innocent brown eyes of hers. "Well, alright. Maybe we'll find something about it eventually." she spoke, her tail wagged slightly as she looks over to Jump Start.

"Yeah, we'll look at that tomorrow. I think we have enough wood for a ship, right? We don't need a ship the size of the Constance anyways and I can imagine that after we look around this area at the map, we can go about seeing help from the seaponies to construct this ship. It's going to be a haul to get all the wood to the beach though." Collapse stated, as she stretches.

"We probably do, I dunno. I have no idea how much of that wood is going to be useful, and how much isn't." Jump Start said, lying herself down flat and straight on one half of the bed, not immediately curling up around Collapse this time and instead using the bed more like a pillow for her upper body, instead of an actual bed, the rest of her on the floor.

Seems weird to do that, but maybe earth ponies like sleeping on the dirt? Or she doesn't like the bed anymore. They might need to go out and get new petals at some point, or find something that's better. Maybe the panthins have something they could use.

Collapse looks to Jump Start. "Maybe we can sneak some beds or cushions out from the panthin areas. Maybe they have those beds to where they curl up inside of it." she said, almost gawking at the thought of Magloria and Jump Start curled up like cats inside of one of those cat beds.

However Collapse looks over to Magloria this time and seemed to blink a few times in hesitation. "Would it be alright if I sleep with you, tonight?" she asked calmly, and respectfully.

Jump Start tried to think about what it was that Collapse was referring to, but she never really owned a cat, and didn't pay attention to anyone who did, so all she could do was guess.

"Do you mean a sleeping bag? Do cats sleep in those? Or is it like... a dog bed where it's just a fluffy bowl, but for cats...?" she asked.

Magloria quirked an eyebrow, but didn't move otherwise. "Why? Let me guess, the dream shook you up more than you like to admit?" she questioned.

"Its like a circle thing and the cats can curl up inside of it, you know those like cat tree things? With the circular beds? Maybe we could have a...pony tree." Collapse giggled a bit at that as she moves a bit closer to Magloria.

"Maybe it did, it was definitely something...*unexpected* and I am glad you rescued me from any possible harm." Collapse said to her, as if nervous of admitting that.

At the mention of a 'cat tree' Jump Start grew very confused, now trying to imagine a circular tree bed... for cats? Even worse was when she tried to imagine one for ponies. What would that even LOOK like? Ponies napping on circular branches? How did they even get up there?

Magloria rolled her eyes. "Fine. If it really startled you that much." she said, granting Collapse permission to get close. The things she does for this mare, honestly.

Collapse looks to Jump Start, blushing a little at her confusion before she snuggles up to Magloria gently, her hooves gently resting by Magloria's neck. She didn't fully embrace Magloria or restrict her movement but she was pretty close. Magloria can see those brown eyes and that gentle smile, along with seeing her tail wag a bit.

Collapse would point to the spot next to her, indicating for Jump Start to lay down next to her so the three of them can all lay by each other.

Jump Start gently shook her head. She was perfectly fine sitting where she currently was, half-lying on the ground. While the invitation was nice, she was already in a good spot.

Magloria tried not reacting when Collapse got close and instead focused on trying to get to sleep. Because she was like that.

Chapter 54

Collapse nodded in acceptance and would sigh dreamily and her eyes fluttered shut. In front of her, was the soft blueness of Magloria's coat. It was a relaxing and charming feeling. Collapse's eyes drew heavy, and like that - she went off to sleep.

What would fate have in store, for the next day? Time will tell, as it always does.

The next morning it seems like Collapse was the first one to awaken. It made sense, given she had already had an unintentional nap the previous day. Looking outside and through the window, she could tell that it was at the crack of dawn, only a few rays of sunlight streaming across the sky.

Magloria and Jump Start lay exactly where they were when they had gone to sleep, though Jump Start seemed to have abandoned her petal even more, and now had everything except her head laying down on the ground.

Magloria was just spread out slightly more, though she did appear slightly closer. Probably subconsciously attracted to the warmth of another.

Collapse looked out into the rays of sunlight across the sky. It was another reminder that somewhere out there, the Equestrians went about their daily lives in complete ignorance of Collapse and her companions struggles. It was surreal. Hopefully when they get back someone could take their claims seriously.

Looking to the two sleeping ponies next to her she'd softly smile and lay there a bit as she admired the two of them. They looked like sweet and innocent pillows. After about a minute or so, she pulled herself awake and peeked out of their shelter. She'd let them sleep a little more.

As she approached the entrance, she saw that nothing was amiss. The fire pit was cold, the grill was finally in place (which she didn't see before, due to the whole ethereal being thing), there was a lot of excited chattering around the place and there were banana skins lying on the floor.

Wait a minute. They didn't have bananas recently. How did that get there?

Collapse smirked at the grill, and was pleased that they finally had a grill now. Perhaps she could be the one to make breakfast today. Upon thinking that she would see the banana skins. Monkeys. Yup, that chattering was a sign of monkeys.

She'd step out into the open and look at where they were chattering at. Hopefully they didn't take anything. Collapse didn't wanna do a monkey chase this morning...

It's a good thing that their bags were kept inside, otherwise they likely would've had to go get them back. This was not the case, thankfully.

Up in the trees (including the one that they called a home) a gang of at least 30 monkeys could be seen, hopping from branch to branch and generally making a racket. They didn't appear to have noticed her yet, but it was only a matter of time until they did.

Until then, they didn't appear to be a menace. They kept to themselves for now.

Collapse went back inside, not wanting to rouse any attention from the monkeys. It was kind of hilarious to see 30 monkeys like that all together.

When she walks back inside she sees the two sleeping ponies in the shelter. A grin goes across her face and she sits down, beginning to prepare breakfast for them. But if she wanted to grill food, the monkeys would definitely notice.

Preparing food indoors like this, especially so close to the others, was somewhat awkward. She had some fruits that they picked before, but she didn't have anything clean to cut them with. The axe probably wasn't a good idea to use given she had been chopping trees all yesterday. The only other thing was Magloria's short sword.

At least they had plates so she had somewhere to put them on instead of where they sleep, or on the ground.

Regardless, as she worked the others began to wake up. Jump Start peered over sleepily at what Collapse was doing. "Morning..." she muttered.

Collapse smiles at Jump Start before giving her some of the cut fruit on a plate that she cut using Magloria’s short sword. Hopefully Magloria wouldn’t mind. She also put some of the fruits on a plate by Magloria’s snoot so it would be the first thing she would wake up to.

Before long, Collapse was sitting there with Jump Start with her own plate. Collapse began to munch on the fruit, occasionally looking over to Magloria while she does so. She’ll likely wake up soon.

A minute after Collapse placed the plate down in front of Magloria, her nose began twitching. Her eyes opened, spotting the food and the mare who prepared it.

After getting up and stretching, she took the plate. "Thanks." she simply said. With that, they both dove into their meals.

"So..." Jump Start said as she chewed. "Where are we going to go next?" she asked.

Collapse sat there calmly and as she ate she pulled out the Panthin maps to look at the various locations. "Well, how about we take a look here and find out?" she asked, holding a fruit un her magic before eating it as she layed the map out, looking at all the options on the map. Collapse would point out the ones that seemed the most unusual and important.

Assuming that Collapse had taken out the map that showed the jungle at large rather than the one focused on Carocol, she would once again see various locations, including Carocol, the river they were near, ocean borders and several markers.

Four markers were indicated with circles. Who knew what that meant, but considering the other markers it was probably approval. Two had crosses, showing that whatever was there, the panthins didn't approve of it. There was one however that was a question mark. The panthins apparently didn't know what they were dealing with at this location, and neither did the ponies given how vague the map was.

Looking at the question mark - that was the one that Collapse wanted to check out the most that was for sure. She puts her hoof on it and taps that area. "I think we should check this place out first. It seems the most mysterious out of them and there may be something there that we could make use of. Hmm...what if that location had something to do with the...thing that we encountered yesterday?" she asked, suggesting that was a possible explanation.

"After exploring that we can check out the crosses, how about that?" she added.

"Drawn to the things that may get us potentially killed are you?" Magloria commented, before shrugging. "Well, not much else that we can do aside from blindly pick, so sure, why not. Maybe whatever is there is enough to ward off anything while we explore."

Jump Start silently agreed. Not that she really had anything to add to this.

Collapse stood up and slid her boots on. "Well let's have at it and see what we can find there. If its dangerous, then we just avoid it." Collapse spoke as she got up and got her saddle bags on and looked to the two of them with her map held.

"Gotta actually interpret the map to see where we are on it, hmm..." she spoke, looking to see where they were in relation to everything else.

Magloria levitated her saddlebags onto her back, then strapped on her weapons. Jump Start was given her own saddlebags as well.

"Interpreting the map should be easy. The panthins have already done it." Magloria said, pointing at the map where Carocol was, then to where the river was and down to the ocean. "We're somewhere along here. The real problem we'd have is correctly pathing our way through the jungle without a compass, since it would be easy to get lost. The sun can work too, but it's hardly as accurate."

"Well I don't think we have a compass with us but let's just go to the closest location on the map then and test our accuracy." Collapse spoke, thinking that was a good idea to test how accurate they could be first before going off further. "I also wonder if there are more than one of the white things, that'd be interesting." she stated.

Jump Start glanced over to the map, checking it out a bit before commenting. "The closest places we could test on the map are... here-" she pointed to Carocol, which obviously had issues in them visiting, "-and here." she pointed to where the river met the ocean. Going there would be relatively save, but it wastes time going away from every other marker.

"Not quite. We can instead go to the outpost near Carocol. Should be better than going straight to their main place in broad daylight." Magloria pointed out. "That would be the best option. Wandering to the beach would serve very little purpose and just burn daylight."

"Right, so let's do it. I don't want to waste time so let us head there." Collapse spoke and took the map in her hooves and began leading them off in that direction. She'd make sure they were following the right path according to to the map, and would point out various things along the way, if there was anything else of note along the way.

On the way there Collapse would recall various details from her 'dream' with the white thing, basically telling them about anything else she missed from it, and how it all felt for her.

As she moved out of their shelter and into the open (and under the monkey family) towards the river, Collapse realized that *she better specify which direction that she's actually heading in. Carocol, the panthin outpost, or the beach?*

The map was virtually worthless at conveying what was to come ahead of them. The only real things that was mapped out were larger stuff like rivers, the locations of interest already known to them and steep drops such as ravines and waterfalls. Only the last bit would really be of use to them that they didn't already look out for.

The others didn't really have much of importance to discuss about the dream. Just a few questions of interest about particular things, or concerns that the white thing and/or Collapse wasn't entirely right in the head at the time.

Chapter 55

Of course, Collapse would follow Magloria's choice of going to the outpost near Carocal. Hopefully something there would prove worthy of interest to their situation.

Collapse seemed to notice their concerns and realized what they thought of her mindset at the given time. Wasn't unexpected, though. To that she said that after all they had gone through, encountering something strange like that wasn't at all shocking to her. She admits that she would have rather hugged something fluffy and mare shaped instead of whatever the white thing was.

Neither of them, especially Magloria, pressed further for conversation, since they both knew exactly where Collapse was going with it. Instead they focused on their destination.

Eventually they arrived a distance away from the panthin outpost, now staffed by a couple of different cats in the watchtower. Magloria looked down at the map. "Well, accuracy tested, I suppose. Now we know exactly where we are, and where to head next." she said.

Collapse was pleased at their accuracy being proven correct. She looked at the map and pointed out that one question mark. Out of all the things, that was what called out to her the most above all else. "Well, you know where I wanna go. Is that cool with you?" Collapse asked the two of them. Her eyes looked eager to explore that area.

"Yes, it's fine. Let's just get on with it then." Magloria said, filling up their various flasks as much as possible with fresh water for the trip ahead. They weren't going to have such an easy access to clean water, so they might need it.

And with that done, she began to lead them through the jungle, knowing that this trip was going to take at least a few days worth of travel. It better be worth it.

Collapse walked alongside Magloria as they trekked through the jungle. She was most certainly glad she had her boots on and all her gear, for they would be traveling for a few days. "Better be worth it." she said to them. As they walked about, she didn't have much to talk about it seemed. Perhaps Jump Start may wanna talk about something?

For the next half-dozen hours they spent travelling through the jungle, only really dealing with something rarely, such as a snake in their path, or a hive of bees that they needed to avoid so they don't get swarmed and stung. Usual aggressiveness of a hot, hostile jungle.

Jump Start didn't have much to talk about during all the walking aside from casual conversation, though she did tell a story about when she was home. Turns out honey was NOT supposed to be used to cure *that* condition. It's a good thing Jump Start found out by watching someone else do it, rather than do it herself. Was an absolute mess.

By the time they stopped, it was because it was sunset and they had found some shelter. They could just rest and keep going the next day until something interesting happened if they wanted.

As they traveled about Collapse would more or less share the more mundane details about her life. In her early years she would help her mother out on their cherry farm and would occasionally visit family in other areas of Equestria. Her youth didn't have much to it, in most cases.

Upon hearing Jump Start's story she would smile at her as she talked about it. Collapse then would share an embarrassing story about how she got paint all over her tail when she was painting. Very embarrassing to say the least. Even after all these years, that story still embarrassed her to think about it.

When they found shelter she would sit down at the spot they found. "Well, that seems to be that for now." she remarked casually.

Magloria nodded, setting down their *new* petal beds, which had been snagged on the way. As if they would travel through kilometers of jungle and they wouldn't find another flower like that.

"Why does there always have to be so many insects at sundown though?" Jump Start complained, swatting away the small swarm of mosquitoes that they had attracted.

"Try rolling in mud." Magloria suggested bluntly as she collected some branches, sticks and twigs for a fire, much to Jump Start's obvious disinterest in dirtying herself so thoroughly for what sounded like no reason.

Soon they'd have themselves a fire, and be ready to go to sleep.

Collapse would lay down on the petals before looking to the two of them, smirking at the thought of Jump Start rolling in the mud. It would keep the flies away, so that was a realistic suggestion. But it also brought a smile to her since she imagined herself scrubbing off Jump Start with a brush and getting her all clean afterwards. Would be quite amusing.

The bugs were indeed annoying, though. Collapse wouldn't want to go back to a jungle after they finally left this place anyways, that was for sure. Looking to the two of them, they'd know exactly what she wanted. It was like clockwork, really.

And like clockwork, Magloria clearly had no interests in letting Collapse get that close when it wasn't necessary. Jump Start understood well enough though, and set herself down next to Collapse. Not too close though, what with the fire and the ambient jungle heat making it uncomfortable to stay together for too long.

If there was nothing else, they'd all be ready to sleep, ready to repeat the day of trekking until something interesting happened.

Collapse reached over to Jump Start and just gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder for now as she stretched out. It was far too warm to do any close body contact, even for Collapse. She would fall off to sleep just like that, provided if nothing else had really happened. Hopefully they didn't have to go much further than they had already gone, but that was the price they would pay for investigation's sake.

When they woke up it was dawn, giving them a good start on the day ahead of them. After dealing with the usual morning business of rationing out water and food supplies, they were ready to continue on to their destination.

On the way they kept a constant lookout for anywhere that they could refill their supplies. They encountered a pond of still water at some point, but unfortunately it was too risky to attempt bottling it. Still water was often contaminated with various nasty pathogens and other tiny creatures that wouldn't have agreed with them.

Some berries were collected from some bushes on the way, and carefully tested to make sure they weren't dangerous. After a few licks and a couple hours they were deemed safe to consume, showing no signs of issues.

It was midday when they came across their first proper roadblock. A tall cliffside stood ahead of them that was not marked on the map, stretching on beyond their sight to the left and the right.

Their only easy way up the cliffside was with Collapse's fly ring, however using it to pick up all 3 of them ran the risk of it straining too much of it's power and potentially failing mid-flight, or consuming a lot of it's power otherwise which may cost them in the long run.

"No rope, no grapple, ice stairs are too dangerous in this weather. Hmm..." Magloria muttered as she thought over a possible way through this.

Throughout their journey there Collapse would take note of their surroundings. She tested the berries before the others did, or at least she was willing to. Perhaps one could say that she would rather take pain and risks before others. If there was any less annoying trait to her - it would be that. Sure, she may invade personal space at moments and be extra clingy now and then, but what mattered most was her loyalty.

Upon looking to the water she looked at it, and was weary of possible parasites in the water to add to their concerns. Parasites were something that she also had a fear of, knowing how long tapeworms can get. The thought sent shivers down her spine to say the least. It was not something that was a pleasant idea to think of.

When they came across the roadblock she instantly knew what she may have to do. Carry them up one at a time, like she did with the void crags below. Problem was that this was a much greater distance. With a concerned look at the cliffside she would glance back to Magloria.

"One at a time maybe. I want to avoid pushing my fly ring whenever possible as it isn't at a full 100%. We are lucky we got it to work at the moments we did, and while I repaired everything I could with it - I want to avoid pushing it beyond what it was designed for. Let's see if there is a way around this cliffside, although that will run the risk of wasting time." she pondered.

"So taking you up one at a time, quickly, is the best I can really do in this case. Unless you have any other ideas." she stated calmly.

Magloria looked over to Collapse. "It's going to take quite a bit to levitate us up there, even by regular unicorn magic standards." She began looking around, trying to find anything that may help before she focused on some of the nearby trees.

"Perhaps we'd be able to make it easier to get up if we had a head start, such as a higher place to start from or-" she paused, suddenly thinking of a crazy idea, "-or being launched as most of the force needed." she said.

"Being launched? How would we launch ourselves up there?" Collapse pondered as she looked around. "Best thing we can do though is get to a higher point. Probably up the trees, are you suggesting that we launch ourselves up there using a branch or a tree?" Collapse asked, a bit confused by that.

Magloria nodded. "Pretty much. Some of the branches look like they should be big enough to hold our weight, and flexible enough to not snap when under pressure. Strip the leaves from one, tie up the end with a vine, then when it's ready to be released, cut the vine." she stated, before adding "Of course, this would be stupidly dangerous if we didn't have your fly ring to help control our uhh... 'flight'."

Jump Start looked rather nervous at the idea of being flung out of a tree. "I don't really like that idea. I don't really want to be thrown into the air like a rock." she whined.

Magloria sighed. "You're going to be in the air regardless, this is just the faster option that takes less time to do."

"Right. Let's get to work." Collapse spoke, not objecting to the idea. Collapse would proceed to begin setting up on the branch that she thought looked the best. With her magic she would strip the leaves and look for a vine up the end with. If she located one she would do so successfully, getting it all set up the best she could. Although the others were free to help, should they want - although Collapse didn't ask for help.

Once it was done she would look to the two others, seeing if they were ready for what was to come. Collapse was ready, but she wanted to make sure that they were all ready.

Collapse spotted a big, long branch near the middle of one of the trees nearby, the angle of the branch pointing in the general direction of the cliffside. There was actually quite a lot more to deal with to make it safe to use. Not only the leaves on the branch itself, but also other nearby branches that could've hurt them if they accidentally hit them on the way. Those had to be chopped down with the axe.

While all that was happening, Jump Start and Magloria had been the ones to go find and collect the vines, returning with 2 thick ropes of vine. One for the first pair of ponies to use, and another for the second pair, when Collapse returned from the top. That way they wouldn't put too much weight on the branch, and it would launch them extra high.

Once it was all ready, they had a stripped down branch, the sky above clear of objects and the branch bending in a very unnatural fashion, tied down to a root at the base of the tree.

"Jump Start, you should be launched first. I can easily cut the vine for both of us." Magloria suggested. Jump Start was still unsure of the whole idea, but slowly nodded anyway.

Once it was all ready Collapse surveyed their work to make sure everything had been prepared properly. Everything looked to have been prepared and she looked to them, as if weary of actually doing this. Nevertheless she would summon her fly ring into place and check it over for a minute or so to make sure everything had been fine on it. Likely it would be alright.

Provided if everything checked out she would get in place, looking to the two others and signaling them to get into their proper positions. her fly ring would slowly power up passively and in her mind, she was more than prepared to get up to its maximum power. Once they were ready to cut the vine, Collapse would be ready to do the next part - holding onto them as they went off into the air. That would all depend on if her fly ring worked properly, and if the branch launched them correctly.

Hopefully they wouldn't end up hitting the cliffside and breaking all of their bones.

Magloria brought Jump Start over to the branch, choosing to stay behind for next time, so the ring wasn't overburdened. Jump Start tightly latched onto Collapse, the hug so intense that it almost felt like she was being broken in half. Jump Start must be real nervous.

"3... 2... 1..." Magloria counted down, drawing out her shortsword and swinging at the vine. "Launch."

~~Collapse and Jump Start were flung into the air straight forwards, where they hit the cliffside and broke all their bones.~~

Perhaps it wouldn't have mattered much if Magloria had joined them. The amount of height the pair gained was far more than what was required, causing them to easily reach the top of the cliff face and even surpass it.

Collapse also became aware of a annoying, loud, high pitched sound next to her ear. It sounded a lot like Jump Start.

Collapse would change her stance in a way so that Jump Start's hug wouldn't touch the fly ring by accident. Collapse would yelp at the sudden hug, but there was really no time to react to the hug in time. It was a lot tighter than what she wanted. As they were launched off, Collapse's fly ring would pulse with magic, propelling them a bit.

It was then she realized they went far higher than they needed to, which meant it had worked better than expected. "It's okay Jumpy!!!" Collapse called out to Jump Start, unaware that she called Jump Start that name again as she was too focused on the situation that lay ahead. Collapse allowed them to reach the apex of their height before using the fly ring's magic to gently coast the two of them down to the top of the cliff side.

It was better to do that and use gravity for her advantage so there would over all be less stress on the fly ring to begin with. Before long, Collapse would gently touch down on the top. "Its okay, now, Nothing to be afraid of..." Collapse cooed Jump Start, once they were safely touched down.

Jump Start didn't stop screaming, eyes tightly shut the entire time until they had reached solid ground. The moment they did, she immediately released the hug and backpedaled away from the yellow mare.

"Let's NEVER do that again!" she cried out, keeping low to the ground as if the earth would protect her... which given her nature, it probably would if she was trained.

Collapse heard a call from down below. "Hey! You make it up there alright? Come back down so I can join you." Magloria shouted up to them.

Collapse looks down to Magloria. "We are fine, don't worry!" she called out before turning back to Jump Start and giving her a few gentle pats. "Well, we are going to have to come back down there on our way back. Its okay, its okay..." she spoke to coo Jump Start gently and gave her a few pats.

With her fly ring making her levitate a few inches off the ground she'd do a slight gallop in the air and would glide on down towards where Magloria was. The way she glided off downward was slow yet graceful. She was doing this to use as minimal power from the fly ring as possible, and before long she'd land next to Magloria, ready to bring her up.

"Going down is easy though. We're always being pulled down. It's going up- and at high speeds! -that I don't like." Jump Start stated, looking a bit calmer after the reassurance, but still unhappy about the past minute.

By the time Collapse had reached the lower ground once again, Magloria had already climbed onto the branch, a new vine tied and ready for use. How did she even get up onto the branch anyway? Surely she couldn't have levitated herself up, and there's no signs of ice or water.

She patiently waited for Collapse to join her, merely glancing around at their surroundings as if lost in thought about something, not that she'd speak about it anyway.

Collapse gets in position on the branch, noticing very quickly how Magloria got up on the branch like that. Obviously she was hiding something. It would be something Collapse would bring up later on, not right this instant.

"Well, you ready?" Collapse asked and looked into her eyes a lot deeper than normal. It wasn't a bashful or cheery look - but more of one conveying that she knew something, without putting it into words. Collapse really wanted to ask further but didn't wanna pressure her as of this moment.

Either way, Collapse was ready to carry her off when she would cut the vine.

Chapter 56

If Magloria understood the look she was being given, she didn't act upon or question it. Instead she gave a simple nod and grabbed onto Collapse when she was in the right place.

That was probably the highlight of Collapse's day. A pity that it only lasted 3 seconds, with Magloria counting down those seconds.

They were launched off into the sky once more, this time the trip being far more pleasant for Collapse, due to the hug being not-so-bone-breaking and the lack of any high pitched screams right in her ear. Jump Start watched them from above... then below as they passed over her.

Collapse would glide off over the cliff while Magloria had grabbed onto her. It felt very nice for her to be grabbed like that, so it was indeed the highlight of Collapse's day. She cherished every moment. Funny that her real name is Cheshire.

When they landed Collapse would maneuver so she would be able to set themselves down right next to Jump Start. Collapse landed gently and carefully, smirking to Jump Start as they were now on top of the cliff.

The moment that they had landed, Magloria let go, robbing Collapse of any further enjoyment. "Thanks, hopefully we don't encounter any more problems like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if we do. Anyway, let's press on." Magloria said as she started walking towards their destination again.

Nothing else of importance happened that day. They trekked through an area that was more muddy than usual, and encountered a group of lemur-like creatures. Curious folk with big yellow eyes that kept to their trees, much more respectable than monkeys were.

Jump Start found some strange foodlike stuff on a small leafy plant. It looked like fruit but was extremely spicy, much like a pepper. Might be good for seasoning something later, when they get around to making proper meals.

By the time they stopped at shelter for the night they estimated that they were most of the way there. If the map was correct, they should probably be able to find something by sometime tomorrow.

As they proceeded through the area Collapse was clearly fascinated by the new sights they were seeing upon their way. The lemur-like creatures and the spicy fruit was something they had yet to see up to this point. To Collapse, this was a clear sign that they were entering into a different type of the jungle that lay ahead.

When they would stop at whatever shelter they had chosen Collapse would lay down on a pedal looking to the two of them. "Fascinating how expansive the world is, so to speak. I wonder if you have any ideas how large it really is. Are we on the first of many undiscovered lands, perhaps? How large is the world?" she asked, not directed at them specifically but more of just an open air question.

Magloria shrugged, replying to Collapse's question anyway. "Only way to really tell is if we manage to sail a boat around from one side and it hits the opposite side of Equestria." she said, staring into the fire that they had. To keep away predators of course, not because they actually needed it outside of roasting food.

"Are we really sure the world isn't flat though?" Jump Start questioned, earning a look from Magloria. She shrank and turned her head away, apologizing for asking that question.

"Anyway, rest up. Next day we'll be doing a lot of searching, most likely." Magloria suggested, laying herself down and getting ready to go to sleep, with Jump Start following suit shortly after.

Collapse gave a slight glare to Jump Start, such a question had been disproven. "The world isn't flat because during certain wars and conflicts in the past, for long range attacks they've had to calculate the exact areas the attacks would hit. Those calculations wouldn't work on a flat plane. Plus, ships disappear bottom first when sailing over the horizon over a multitude of other things which you should already know." she stated with a slightly disappointed sigh.

Again she layed down between the both of them, looking to Magloria. "Although that doesn't stop the world from being way larger than we thought it was. I believe it's much larger, perhaps even a dozen times, or more, than the size of Equestria. Equestria is only a nation, and beyond that you have the Dragon lands, the Griffons, the Yaks, and the Changeling Empire under Chrysalis...and that's only the known lands." she spoke.

"Not to mention the areas where ponies live beyond the borders of Equestria. Such as Thalemare, Velross, Lohundrul, and various other groups that I can't be bothered to name at the moment." she added casually. "I've been lucky to see the full map of the known lands, that isn't as widely known." she added further.

"Well until we manage to explore every single part of the world, we'll never find out how big the world is. And even then we'd have to be alive long enough for that to happen, which we might if we get out of this at least." Magloria sighed, shrugging her shoulders before resting her head down, closing her eyes to sleep.

"Well at least we can say it's larger than those nations, plus a week or so over the ocean." Jump Start mumbled to herself.

Collapse inched slightly closer to Magloria while her eyes were closed and looked over to Jump Start and smirked a bit. Her wail wags a little bit before it rests against Jump Start. Then Collapse closes her eyes and yawns. "Who knows, who knows..." she yawned again, trying to sound extra cute. If nothing else happened, it was time for sleep.

One of Magloria's eyes opened when she heard Collapse scooching over toward her. She simply rolled it and tried to get back to sleep.

Next morning Collapse woke up first. It felt like it was going to be an interesting day. Reason it felt like that? Well when Collapse first looked around, she spotted one of those lemurs casually playing around with the hairs of Jump Start's tail. Didn't seem to be doing anything bad with it, just things like wearing it as a hat or scarf, or flopping it about.

Collapse woke up and looked to the lemurs with an almost concerned expression. At least the lemurs seemed to be a bit more intelligent and more mannered than the monkeys they had encountered previously. That was a plus, she just seemed to look at them quietly as if judging their reaction. She extended a hoof though, wondering if they would understand the gesture.

Apparently the lemur did not recognize Collapse's gesture after all. Noticing her movement spooked it into leaping back into the nearby trees again, taking a place on the branches and staring back down at the group.

Wow, those were some big yellow eyes. Almost like looking at a foal's face, in a way. Jump Start on the other hand had no idea that she had just been used as clothing for a brief moment, instead remaining very asleep.

Collapse looked into the Lemur's eyes curiously. Perhaps these lemurs were more intelligent than what she had thought. The others were asleep at the moment, so she wasn't going to try talking to them. Although now that she was awake, she'd just admire the sleeping forms of her companions for about a minute before looking at her surroundings. She wasn't going to walk off on her own or anything, though.

But it was probably time to prepare breakfast for them, and so she'd do exactly that with some of their food supplies. The spicy stuff that Jump Start found? She'd want to try some of that on her fruit, just a small dash of it on her own fruits.

From what Collapse could tell from her surroundings it was pretty much the same jungle that they had been living in for the past days, maybe a few different plants here and there and the lemurs but otherwise it looked pretty similar.

The place they were at currently was a spot underneath a plant with absolutely massive leaves, great for sheltering them from anything. Didn't stop the bugs though, but nothing other than a flyscreen mesh or a dozen cans of fly spray would stop those.

The leaves *could've* been useful as beds, if it weren't for the fact that they were too thin really support them be that comfortable. Plus the time when Jump Start snapped a leaf when testing it out, it leaked out white sap. Poisonous, according to Magloria.

As Collapse was busy with the preparation of her meal, the lemur nearby watched intently. Thing is, as she moved things about it didn't appear to have it's eyes fixed on the proper food, but on the spicy stuff.

It was interesting with all the plants here. If they had more time and space, Collapse would have taken leaves from the various plants she has seen and preserved them, for the sake of having added proof of their voyage and further documentation. Although with how small leaves were, it wouldn't impact her pocket dimension by any reasonable margin. Something she realized, and smirked at that realization.

Grabbing a leaf of the tree next to her, she'd pull it off and it'd vanish in a brief gold flash. Looking off to the side, she'd notice the lemur watching nearby. She would prepare the meal first and set out what she had prepared right in front of Magloria and Jump Start's sleeping snoots, before taking a small bit of the spicy stuff and holding it out for the Lemur to eat. If she was lucky, she'd be able to pet the Lemur.

Congratulations. You managed to magic a leaf away. You must feel so proud of yourself.

The lemur didn't think it was impressive though. It shrieked and jumped back in surprise when the golden flash suddenly appeared. However it's interests slowly peaked again when Collapse offered it the object of it's desire. It crawled slowly back towards her, remaining cautious in case the flash of light happened again.

Once it was close enough it reached out and took the spice from her, before retreating back onto higher branches. Then rather than eating it, it began to do something odd. It started rubbing it all over it's fur, as if it was a soap or something.

Meanwhile Magloria and Jump Start had woken up, said their good mornings and appreciation for the breakfast before digging in. Jump Start looked quite curious as to what Collapse was even doing with the lemur.

Magloria's reaction to it however was different. She looked up at it, watched it rub spiciness into it's fur, and nodded in a knowing way.

Collapse would observe the motions of the Lemur and wouldn't have taken any other motions. She wanted to observe what the Lemur was doing. To her surprise, she would watch as the Lemur rubbed the spice all of its fur.

Then she would notice that Magloria and Jump Start woke up. However, she did notice their reactions to what she was doing. "What do you think the Lemur is doing? Best guess I would have would be its keeping the bugs away with the spice?" Collapse asked Magloria, expecting her to know the answer. "If that's the case, then perhaps we could do the same." she suggested further.

Magloria nodded. If Collapse looked closely enough she could barely make out a smile for a moment before she answered. "That's exactly what it's doing. The extremeness of the spice repels the insects, though depending on what you use it also makes you stink." she stated.

She gave a sniff at whatever they had left. "This stuff... isn't too bad. We could use it, but we wouldn't have much left for cooking, which would be a shame."

Collapse was more than thankful she was correct in her assessment. Even more thankful she managed to get Magloria to smile. “Well I have to say not being bitten by insects would be worth not having something spicy. But we can always take the time to collect large quantities of the substance.” Collapse said to the both of them.

“I also think we should get a move on going to our mystery location here, too. I wonder what it is.” Collapse said curiously.
Magloria collected their stuff and put things away, getting ready for them to move on again. "Fine, if you really want to we can do it the next time we stop for a break." she said, before continuing their march through the jungle. The lemur stayed behind. Probably had a family somewhere else.

They spent another few hours going through the jungle, until they got to a certain spot. Magloria paused, bringing out the map and looking around.

Chapter 57

Collapse would move along, taking the time to think for herself about several things. Coming to conclusions about things that happened years ago that were no longer important for example. Was she wrong, in certain moments? Was she right? Well, she had all the time in the world to sift through her thoughts and sort out events and situations that she experienced in the past.

When they arrived at the certain spot, Collapse would begin looking around to see if there was anything that stuck out. She wouldn't leave the visual range of Jump Start or Magloria though.

Collapse couldn't make out anything obviously different in this part of the jungle. All she could see were trees, bushes, ferns, insects, a tree snake, several parrots and moss covered rocks. Wherever they were, they obviously weren't close enough to their goal.

"Well if you wanted to cover yourself in insect repellent, I guess now would be the best time to do so." Magloria stated. Jump Start pulled out the spicy foodstuff and looked at it, pondering over what would be the best way to apply it.

Collapse would also pull the spicy foodstuff out as well and looked at Jump Start. "I can help you apply it with my magic, don't worry, I'll be gentle. I could also have you apply it to me as well, since I can't really reach my back of course." Collapse smirked, wanting an excuse to engage in physical contact.

"If you want, Magloria - I can help you apply the spicy stuff too." she stated, hoping that Magloria would accept.

Jump Start agreed with the idea, realizing that it would be quite hard to apply it to herself without doing something degrading, like rolling around on it or something.

Magloria however, did not. She had telekinesis which allowed her to coat herself entirely, so she didn't need the help.

Jump Start looked at the spices, then looked up to Collapse. "So... how are we doing this? Who is going first?" she asked.

Collapse moved closer to Jump Start. “I will apply it to you.” she spoke casually before noticing Magloria’s application of the spices. Part of her wonders what it would be like if Magloria was a pegasus. Floofy? Cloud like wings? Nah, she is better with her cool magic.

Collapse takes some of the spice with her telekineses and takes her hoof in it and began to gently rub it around and use her telekinesis to aid her in applying it to Jump Start. She seemed to be taking her time and gave Jump Start some gentle pats. Soon enough, she was done.

With some of the spices still in her golden telekineses she would await the application of the spices onto her own yellow fur. Her tail swooshed idly.

The spices rubbed into Jump Start's coat caused it to stain slightly, making her look slightly more yellow than before. It also made her smell a bit, but that was the entire point in a way.

The spices were taken out of her aura, where Jump Start started rubbing them into her fur using her hooves. It almost felt like a massage, the way that she would rub all over Collapse's body.

After a few minutes, Collapse had now mostly been covered in insect repellent. The stain was also barely noticeable thanks to her naturally yellow coat.

By this point Magloria was done as well. She looked slightly more turquoise coloured, but you could definitely tell that she's still blue. "Now onto the next thing. Searching. Fun stuff." Magloria commented sarcastically.

Collapse appeared to be in a far more relaxed state now. As if she enjoyed the massaging Jump Start gave her with the stain repellent a bit too much than she really should have. She smirks to Magloria. "Time to search - Blue Stuff." she joked playfully before she would walk away from the area and begin searching around for a bit, looking for anything that stood out or was unusual enough that it could be what the map was referring to.

Collapse barely managed to hear Magloria mutter out "And she's hitting on me again." before the others followed along behind her, beginning their search for the mysterious map marker.

It took them a couple hours worth of walking around in circles, but they eventually came across something promising. A small clearing that looked like it had been intentionally cleared, with several stumps of trees leftover and damaged plants everywhere.

"Someone else has been here." Jump Start pointed out as she surveyed the area.

Collapse could tell that Magloria didn't take the comment in a humorous manner like she hoped. Oh well. She didn't comment further, but Magloria likely knew what her intentions were towards her anyways.

Upon finding the clearing, Collapse would walk closer and look at the area. "Whatever, or whoever it was, there was likely something using this area as a logging area, with how they cleared out the stumps." she spoke and surveyed further, looking for an area where the trees could have been dragged towards. If there was any indications, she would be sure to point it out.

From what she could make out, the trees that were sliced down didn't appear to have been dragged anywhere. There were no broken plants beyond the clearing, and no drag marks of any kind.

There was however what appeared to be the remains of one of the fallen trees, or at least part of it. Parts had been cut off and were missing.

"Hey, come and look at this!" Jump Start said as she wandered over to a corner of the clearing. There was a large pile of ash, surrounded by several slabs of log.

"That looks very much like a camp site. Hasn't been used for a while though, the ash is scattered everywhere, and there's no equipment around." Magloria observed.

Collapse walked over to Magloria and Jump Start. "That would explain why there weren't any drag marks. Whoever was here used those trees for logs. It seems like they were here for a long while, or had a large fire here." she suggested. "But would this be too recent to be on the map?" she suggested. "If there was a fire here and someone was here, don't you think their ash would have dissipated a while ago?"

Magloria looked over at the map, examining both their position on it and the ashes of the old fire. "Hmm... well yes it would've been recently that this place was abandoned. I wonder..." she said, starting to look around.

"Check for claw marks. If my theory is correct, this is the place the panthins stayed at when they marked this place. Maybe whatever was nearby was interesting enough that they stayed around for a bit longer, long enough that they could get the map back to Carocol. After all, you don't go through several trees worth of wood in just a couple nights."

Collapse agreed with Magloria's assessment. "Right, and we have yet to actually find what they marked on the map. Let's keep looking and see if we can find it, because I wouldn't think this would be it." she remarked, looking around further. Collapse would walk to the edges of the clearing and walk around, looking to the exterior of it, seeing if she could see anything that they missed further outward through the trees that lay beyond.

"Of course, this is just a campsite for the explorers, most likely. They wouldn't spend their nights *inside* the thing that they didn't know enough about." Magloria stated.

While Collapse was busy searching around for other things, Jump Start had found what Magloria wanted. On various trees around the place were traces of claws, indicating a big cat was here.

As Collapse was passing around the clearing, opposite to the side that they had entered from, she saw something that didn't look like any plant or tree. It wasn't a massive building though. It looked more like a lone stone pillar.

Upon seeing the lone stone pillar there, she'd smirk under her breathe and turn to walk back towards Magloria and Jump Start. Once she was back, she realized that Jump Start found proof that indeed, this was a panthin created area.

"Over that way I found a stone pillar, at least that's what I think it was. Perhaps that is what the map is referencing, let's go take a look." she suggested, and began to lead them over towards the stone pillar.

Magloria and Jump Start both followed, where they soon discovered more than just that initial stone pillar that Collapse has seen.

A small structure stood before them, most of it in ruins. Several positions where pillars were or used to be were scattered around a raised stone floor. The central point containing what looked like a tall pedestal, the top part torn away. Rubble scattered all over the place, half of which was covered in various plants.

"Woah, this thing looks out of place. And really old as well!" Jump Start stated as she walked around the structure. She looked around beyond the trees, but couldn't spot anything else that looked similar to it. "Appears to be alone as well. Why would someone build something like this here?"

"It may have something to do with a civilization or settlement that existed once here but no longer exists due to the passing of time. Perhaps it might be related to those large stone structures we saw underground and that white thing." she pondered, looking at it all and taking in what she was seeing curiously.

"Would make sense, because if there was some civilization here at some point that was advanced it would have had the time and the effort to build monuments, and such. Perhaps that thing is an experiment that they once had that somehow stood the test of time. It's gotta be all connected." Collapse suggested.

"Yeah but that still doesn't explain why it's here." Jump Start pointed out. "I don't see any other signs of... civilization or anything else. Just lots and lots of trees. If this was a monument, you'd think there would be other things too."

"Instead of theorizing what this could've been, why not try and find out ourselves? We're here aren't we, so lets see if there is anything that the panthins weren't smart enough to find." Magloria suggested.

She pointed up at the pedestal. "For starters, this bit looks like it should've been important."

Collapse agrees with Magloria. “Well we can be three smart cookies in that case.” she smiled, referencing what Jump Start said about Magloria being a tough cookie.

“Well, let’s find out what this place is.” she remarked as she began to walk about the place, surveying over its various features for anything that seemed important or that stood out from the rest. She was sure to be careful though, who knows what could be here. It may not be what it seems.

The others also began their closer examination of of the structure, with Magloria checking around the outside of the structure while Jump Start looked over the pillars and the floor, kicking around some of the rubble as she did.

The pillars and pedestal had faint symbols of some language that Collapse couldn't recognize etched into the surface, but there was no way to know what they meant. They didn't really have the means to translate them, or even see the full picture.

Even if they wanted to reassemble the construct, the rubble around them was in at least a hundred pieces, there were small pieces that looked like common rocks, and even a larger piece of rock which sat on piles of other rubble, large enough that it could've been an entire segment. There wasn't much she could understand of the place that was obvious, aside from the fact it was old and it was built by someone.

"Strange unknown languages. Seeing as there is rubble everywhere, do you think it just fell apart over time or was there some sort of battle, or damage here?" Collapse asked, though more of asking herself aloud. As she walked around she began to look for any damage done to the structure itself. Was it intentionally damaged or did it just fall apart on its own? Collapse kept searching around, checking out the rubble.

Collapse moved over some pieces of the rubble, as if looking about for any further clues. But she likely wouldn't find anything other than more rubble and so she continued moving ahead, looking in areas they have yet to search just yet. "Seems weird for some structure like this to be in the middle of nowhere, really. Surely it had to serve some kind of purpose." she remarked as they searched ahead further.

"If it was damaged from battle there would be more than just pieces of rock laying about the place. Arrows, spears, broken weapons and armor, even cannon balls maybe." Magloria stated. "I see nothing like that around here. Unless it was damaged by wild creatures, there was no battle here."

A couple small rubble pieces being moved didn't result in anything from her half-hearted search. Jump Start, already having the idea to turn over every rock, eventually came across the big lump and, being an earth pony, she decided to put her strength to the test and roll it over.

As it turned out, the lump of rock wasn't just another broken pillar piece. The underside of it was hollow and concave, sort of like a giant, heavy bowl. Underneath it rested another spherical object, however this dusty thing didn't have the same grey coloring that the other rocks had.

"Oh. A thing." Jump Start spoke to herself.

Collapse's search however led her straight to the jungle. There was just the small shrine-like structure they had already checked, and nothing more. Just lots of trees they'd have to search through if they wanted to find anything else. Which given they had already found like location where the map mark was made, was extremely unlikely.

Upon her search not turning up anything fruitful - Collapse would have turned back to where the others were. There was nothing else beyond here by the looks of it and it was definitely unlikely that anything else around here would be worth the time. This was the location on the map. Hopefully the other locations weren't as far away, when they decided to investigate them.

When Collapse looks at the spherical object she would look towards it curiously. It definitely didn't seem to be like the rest of the rubble here. It could be some kind of artifact, or something magical that was leftover here. "Well, that's unusual. Should we touch it? I could wipe the dust off, but I don't wanna risk something happening. Up to you, but I would want to touch it as I wouldn't want anything bad happening to either of you." Collapse spoke selflessly.

Magloria came over after her third inspection of the outer parts of the pillars. She hadn't come up with anything else. "Or I could wash off the dust remotely. None of us have to touch it, and we can all see what it actually is." she suggested, her horn lightning up.

Jump Start didn't object to the idea, stepping back away from the object to let Magloria work.

Collapse stepped away. "Good idea. Let's do it." she spoke, smirking as she watches her wash off the sphere. Once it was washed off she walked closer again, and looked at it closely to see what exactly was revealed. "Hmmm...let's see..."

As Magloria began casting their surroundings seemed to shimmer and condense, causing droplets of water to appear almost out of thin air. It looked like she had to concentrate quite hard to do this, given the nature of the spell she was performing.

After creating a ball of water about the size of a hoof, she led it over to the sphere, letting it wrap itself around the sphere, absorbing all the dust off of the object. By the time it was done the water was significantly dirty, which she discarded into the jungle without a thought.

There lay a crystal ball of sorts, but the most unnerving part about it was how it looked straight at Collapse. It was a massive eye. A crystal one seemingly painted or constructed by fusing different coloured crystals together, but still an eye.

Collapse rose an *eye*brow at what she was seeing here. It was not what she expected in the least. From how Magloria casted the spell, she understood why she wasn't too fond of the idea of using her condensing spell to create drinkable water for them. It was costly, and didn't make that much of a bountiful yield as a result.

"Well, it's an eye. Can't say I expected that. But the question is, can it see us?" Collapse moved closer to it, looking at it closely. "I wonder why they'd have something like this here. Is it more than just a design of an eye?" she pondered.

The eye didn't react when Collapse moved closer, so if it could see her it didn't have a means to show it. Instead it just stared blankly ahead at whatever it's gaze fell upon.

"I think it's weird they have something like this in the first place. Why would they make a giant eye of all things and put it way out in the middle of nowhere?" Jump Start thought out loud.

"No one just does things like this for no reason, unless you're someone with more wealth than sense. It would have to be here for a reason and not to just look pretty. So it probably does do... *something*. We just need to figure out what." Magloria stated.

Collapse looked to Magloria. "Well the best guess I have is that it is some sort of magical artifact that transmits whatever it sees to an adjacent artifact, perhaps? Perhaps it could also be activated, somehow?" she suggested and walked around the eye, curiously looking at it. "Perhaps if we keep looking we can find more than one of these." she spoke, turning over random debris that would have been large enough to hide something. That is, if there was debris around large enough that could be hiding something like this, or something else.

"So a relay of sorts. Though that just begs the question of what it would transmit to. I don't see anything else around here that it could receive anything it would see." Magloria said, looking around at the jungle surrounding them to check if there was anything else, no matter how obscure. There wasn't.

The crystal eye they already found was the only one that Collapse could find, eye artifact or otherwise. All the other pieces of rubble were rocks too small to conceal anything, or at least they'd do a really bad job at it.

When she went to inspect the eye itself though, she found that there was what looked like a tiny hole opposite of the pupil, just big enough to look into, but nowhere near bit enough to search with their hooves. The crystal eye was only about the side of a saddlebag anyway.

Upon her failure to find anything else, she would inspect the eye further. She noticed the tiny hole. "Hey, I found something here. There is a tiny hole here on the back, maybe it will allow me to look into this eye. You may want to stand back just incase anything happens." Collapse warned and slowly picked up the eye with her magic.

With her magic she would turn the eye and look into the small hole. Maybe she'd see something, the side where it transmits to, per say? Or would it just be like a kaleidoscope or something like that? Well, time to look and see.

Jump Start and Magloria move out of the way of where Collapse was pointing the eye, as if they felt a terrible fate that might befall them if they didn't. Once they had moved back far enough, Magloria gave her the go to try picking it up.

Nothing happened when she initially held it, which was a good sign. Peering through the hole she saw the other side of the eye where she was pointing it, despite there being no real way to see in from the other side.

The most curious thing about it was, when she looked at the various trees and plants she could see faint glimmers the same colour as the leaves and wood of the plants. It was revealing something that they couldn't see normally.

"I don't know how to describe this, but I am able to see some faint glimmers of something that we can't see in normal means. Come, take a look at this." she spoke to Magloria and walked over with the eye in her magic. With the eye in her magic she would turn the hole to where Magloria could look through it. She'd give Jump Start a look through it if she wanted to look through it, when Magloria was done looking/

"Do you see what I am talking about?" Collapse asked curiously.

When offered the eye, Magloria peered through the hole, slightly frowning at what she could see through it. "Yes, I definitely see the glimmers. I don't have any idea what they could mean though. Whatever it is, this... thing... is tuned to detecting it." she said in response.

When Jump Start looked through it, she was initially confused, then awed at it. "Strange. It's everywhere in all the plants, but nothing in the ground and rocks. I wonder why." she pondered.

"Maybe it is detecting something specific with the plants. I am not sure what that could be, but the life force of the plants maybe? Let me see this thingy again." she said, gently taking the eye from Jump Start then she was done. Then with a cheeky grin, she looks through the eye at Magloria, then Jump Start. Maybe Magloria would be a bit more blue? Or Jump Start a bit more orange?

Collapse definitely saw blue glimmers in Magloria and orange in Jump Start, but what she didn't expect was the intensity that she saw.

Both of them were practically lit up like a christmas tree, with sparks of light constantly flowing about their bodies. Some spots seem to be particularly concentrated. An orb of light rested within each of their chests, while Magloria's horn and Jump Start's hooves were lit up more intensely as well.

"Well? What do you see?" Jump Start asked, looking a bit unnerved to be watched like that.

Chapter 58

"I see your souls." Collapse spoke ominously and gave them a gentle poke at their chests. "Right there, balls of light inside of your chests. At least that's what I would think this is here. This definitely is allowing me to see the life force within living beings. You two are sparkling like crazy. Magloria, your horn is really sparkling. Jump Start, so are your hooves. That is where the magic of Unicorns and Earth ponies is concentrated." she stated.

"Take the eye and look at me, and you'll see what I am talking about." she gave the eye to them.

Magloria took it off of Collapse and looked into it herself, pointing it at each of them before passing it on to Jump Start, who did roughly the same thing with it.

"I don't think our souls is the right word for what we saw, somehow. It should've only shown a small space and only on us if that was the case, don't you think?" Magloria rose an eyebrow, looking to Collapse.

"But then what are we seeing? It's something that's everywhere around us, but why would it concentrate in certain places, especially in us?" Jump Start asked curiously, prompting Magloria to think about something. Something they could test.

"Jump Start, keep looking and tell me if anything changes." Magloria instructed. While Jump Start held the eye up, Magloria began channeling a spell, causing a few more droplets of water to appear and drop to the ground.

"Woah... the air just got all bright and funky." Jump Start awed, to the point that she briefly forgot what she was holding, causing the eye to slip out of her hooves, almost hitting the ground just before she caught it again.

Collapse watched Jump Start look through the eye at Magloria. She instinctively reacted, and went to catch the eye. It would be horrible if the eye was broken somehow. Thankfully Jump Start didn't drop the eye. For a few moments, Collapse would process the things that were said by the two of them.

"Well if anything, it shows magical energy in the air and around ourselves. Maybe it is not showing our souls but it's gotta be something along those lines. Maybe our magical sources in our bodies, that's the closest thing I could think of other than our souls." Collapse said, with a hoof to her chin.

"Either way, we are keeping this eye. Who knows how it may come in handy. Perhaps sneaking out, looking for magical sources that we cannot otherwise see." she remarked. "If we can take it back home, which I want us too, then perhaps we can have it analyzed and some other ponies can replicate its effects. It is something I have not seen anything like before." Collapse remarked.

Jump Start placed it inside of her saddlebags, so that she didn't risk dropping it when they brought it along with them. Magloria on the other hand shrugged at Collapse's theories, instead focusing on her intentions.

"Whatever it does it seems like it would be worth keeping around. Doesn't really seem dangerous either. It didn't tell us much about why it was here, but I suppose we might never learn that part." she said, looking up at the sun's location and then to their map.

"That's pretty much everything we can do here, it seems. We should head back to our camp. Hopefully that cat hasn't come back to it yet."

Collapse agrees with that. "Yup. Let's go. We should probably start heading back now, if we want to get back at a reasonable time." Collapse spoke, and began to lead them away from the sight. "Hopefully the cat isn't back indeed. If she is, we'll have to come up with another method to get her to go away." Collapse sighed.

If nothing else happened, they would have reached the cliff. It would be easier for Collapse to take them down the cliff this time, being able to take them one at a time in a gentle, quick glide down to the trees below.

They all began their trek back through the jungle in the direction of their home. As usual it took days to travel back. The cliff was a much simpler obstacle, since they only had to hold onto Collapse as she descended down to the ground.

After that it was a simple matter of passing through endless amounts of bushes, trees and vines, and around dangerous looking bug nests and snakes, until finally they saw it. The river that they had set their base near.

This was a relief to see for all of them, both because it meant they were almost home and also because they could wash away the dirtiness that they had gathered on their journey, and they definitely gathered some.

Finally they were back home. But Collapse's mind couldn't rest just yet. She'd approach their shelter and give it a look to see if anyone or anything had taken refuge inside of it. Hopefully not, but it was good to make sure that none of their things were stolen or anything else like that.

If nothing was unusual, Collapse would have went to the river to wash off her body from all the dirt and plant material. No mater how cold the water was, Collapse would feel really, really good to get all the dirt and grime off of her body for sure.

Nothing seemed to be different about their shelter, aside from maybe some of the nearby plants seemed to have grown a bit since they were here. Their fire pit was still there, their grill was... knocked over but nothing that couldn't be fixed, and their shelter didn't need any repairs.

After dropping off their saddlebags and stretching out the soreness from their backs, they all went and bathed themselves in the river. Magloria made it *significantly* easier to do so by channeling an aqua beam over towards Jump Start and Collapse, basically acting like a water hose for them to help remove all the muck.

Collapse was more than pleased to get into the water. However, she didn't expect Magloria to channel a water beam at the two of them. Collapse let out a long "oooh" sound as she shook in enjoyment of this, making sure to get all of her body as much as possible.

Collapse danced about, as if showing off her form while also getting every bit of her clean. No matter how cold the water was, it was a real relief for sure.

It's a good thing Magloria didn't decide to freeze the water where Collapse swam, otherwise she might've regretted thinking she'd enjoy it 'no matter how cold it is'.

In any case, once Magloria had deemed the pair clean enough she hosed herself before laying down in the shallows and relaxing, only the top half of her head visible in the currents of water.

Jump Start on the other hand joined in with Collapse's dances of enjoyment, though maybe a bit less enthusiastic compared to herself. Eventually though she decided to stop, swimming out to the riverbed and heading towards the camp, stating that she'd prepare something warm and hearty for them to eat.

Collapse would end up doing the same thing as Magloria and layed down in the shallows of the water. Only her yellow head was visible above the currents of the water. It seemed she enjoyed trying to do things that Magloria was doing. Mimicking her idol, so to speak.

Collapse would watch Jump Start go off to get food for them. It felt good to have her prepare the food for them, as the last few days Collapse had done that for them. How the tables have changed, she smirks. A minute or so passed in silence as she enjoyed the shallow water. Before long, a question came about on her mind.

"Hey Magloria, have you ever accidentally freezed yourself?" she asked casually, suddenly.

Magloria glanced over to where Collapse was, indifference on her face at the oddly unexpected question. She didn't know *why* that was suddenly of interest to the mare. Perhaps it was just random curiosity.

Either way, Magloria gave a nod. "I don't know anyone who's been trained in natural ice magic who *hasn't* frozen themselves at some point or another. Usually it's just a hoof, sometimes it's the place around the casting area. Rarely does it get bad enough to freeze them entirely. By the time they have the power to conjure that much ice, they'd have far better control."

"In my case, I got my right foreleg pinned to the ground when attempting to cast a freezing bolt. That's manipulating the air around to form a small tunnel which freezing energy passes through. Mine wasn't stable enough, causing the energy to escape and strike the nearest target. Myself." she explained, very little emotion conveyed through her voice as she spoke, like she would when explaining orders to her crew.

Collapse took in the answer. It was as expected. A logical - sensible response. It was something that Collapse easily could have guessed on her own. It was more of the manner that she spoke her answer in, that being what she was truly after in asking the question.

"I was not like most unicorn foals. I didn't have the luxury of having a unicorn parent. My mom, and the only one who ever had a hoof in raising me was an Earth pony. As you could probably guess, I had to struggle my way to even understand the simplest of spells. While many in my position would normally have someone teach it, Dodge Junction is mainly Earth Ponies. There were no magic schools around, at least as far as I can remember."

"So instead for the most part I would focus on what I *could* do, which was with my hooves. Being a unicorn, I was not adept for that to start. As I learned though, it became natural to me. Every now and then, I noticed that I was able to float a bit. Usually when something would surprise me, I'd end up floating off the ground as an instinctive reaction. I didn't know why this was - but then I realized something. That was my talent. Anti-Gravity." she commented casually. For what Magloria would't probably expect, there was little pride or awe in what Collapse was saying. She spoke neutrally, as if it didn't matter all that much to her.

"The rest was history. I created this fancy ring here as a way to refine, and control my natural ability. I don't know why I have my talent. I don't really care to know either. The mystery is enough for me." she added, letting the water flow off her face a bit. "Although the more gifted unicorns could simply use an enchanted gem or something like that to attain what I have. I don't want that. I want something I made to be my wings across the sky." she sighed, looking up at the sky.

Magloria shifted around in the water slightly, getting into a more comfortable position. "Have you considered powering that ring thing you have with a renewable source of magic? Solar, lunar or nature energy for example? Might need to be purified so the natural tendencies of said magics don't interfere, but would still be a lot better than finding these rare rocks all the time." she suggested.

After Collapse's answer, they heard a call from the camp. Jump Start telling them to come and get themselves some lightly seared and spiced fruits. She even took the time to make them fancier by mixing together other fruits with them.

Collapse looked to Magloria. "Good point. I suppose with those, I wasn't able to find or think of anything I could use for those. But, when we get back I'll probably find something like that." she remarked before getting out of the water and shaking herself off, a bit away from Magloria as to not get herself wet. When she was there and seeing the fruits she smiles at Jump Start's fancier fruits.

"Fancy fruits! Thank you." Collapse said happily as she sat down to eat.

Magloria heeded the call as well, getting up and out of the water while her horn glowed. If Collapse had been watching, she would've seen Magloria rise from the river only damp instead of wet. Aquamancy certainly had it's perks. Strange, useful perks.

Jump Start smiled, happy about the appreciation she received. "You're welcome. I wanted to make something special after our trip." she said. Her ears folded back as she looked sheepish, kicking a hoof at the dirt. "If I had the stuff I could've made something better, but we don't really have anything like flour for a nice meal."

Collapse had taken notice of Magloria's dampness instead of her being soaking wet. She could infer the reason as to why, so she didn't feel it necessary to ask a question about it.

Collapse smiled back to Jump Start. "Don't you worry, this is plenty nice for me. Certainly will savor." she said as she began to eat, indeed she would savor every bite. "The big question is, what should we do now? Gather more materials we need, for building the ship?" she suggested.

Magloria shrugged as she played around with one of the smaller pieces of fruit on her plate. "Well we could do that, but there are also other things that we could do instead. We've got many options."

"For example, we still don't have everything we need from Carocol that we would use to build a ship, or a bunch of other things to improve our way of life here. There's also the other marked places on the map if you still had an itch to explore them. Then there's the crystal eye we found. We've only found it only does one thing, but I can't help but wonder if it does more then just show magic." she said.

"Maybe it could do more if we charge it up, somehow? Maybe if we charged it somehow, we could use it for more in depth scanning? If that's how it works, after all. So much to do, but I don't have a clue what I wanna do." Collapse rhymed on purpose, giggling somewhat as she continued to eat from her plate.

"What do you think? We can vote on it and go from there." she suggested to the two of them.

"How are you planning on charging it up though, Collapse? I've never seen anything like it before, and I doubt you have either. It doesn't even *appear* to accept magic yet it still functions like it does." Magloria pointed out, but she didn't stop there.

"If you plan on finding out what happens when you stick your horn inside that hole and fill it with magic, I don't recommend it, since we'd have to pick up the pieces if you accidentally cause something bad to happen."

Jump Start looked from one to the other, not really sure on who's side to take, until she thought it over a bit more. "Wouldn't there be an instructions manual somewhere? There always is, right? Then we can find out what it's supposed to do and how to use it... oh. But given how old this thing is it might be hard to find, if it even still exists at all."

Collapse puts a hoof to her chin. Once again, Magloria's superior intellect was multiple steps ahead of her. It was enough for her to take her idea back, in a sense.

"Well I don't think there would be a manual for something like this. If there was, it'd be all the way back where we found it. But, I don't want to risk damaging the object at all. Unless, we could find a way to do something with it that would be sure t not break it. Although if we wanted to charge it, we could do a very very small amount of magic first, but it may be too fragile even for that." Collapse shrugged, seeming unsure.

Magloria seemed to consider the idea of only giving it a small amount of magic. She moved over to the saddlebag that contained the eye and pulled it out, inspecting it for any damage.

"Despite having that lump of rock fall on it, I don't see any damage to it at all. Maybe a scratch here and there, but no chipped spots, no cracks and definitely no missing pieces." she stated as she set the eye down on the ground in front of everyone.

"If you *only* gave it a small amount of magic perhaps the risks would be small enough that you could try. I don't know if it would really do anything though, so..." she trailed off, not bothering to finish her sentence.

"Small amount of magic it is then. I will also go very slowly.” Collapse said as she slowly picked up the eye. For a little bit she would turn the eye over in her magic as if checking it over.

“No missing pieces indeed. Imagine if one had sunglasses with the same purpose and function.” she comments before putting the tip of her horn up to the tiny hole. Finally, a very small amount of magic is pumped into it. A tiny dab.

"I remember some story about something like that. Some unicorn was attempting to create some sort of... "goggles of revealing" I think it was called? I don't remember if they succeeded or not... or if it was even a real story." Jump Start casually added in response to Collapse's comment.

The tiny amount of magic she put inside of the crystal eye caused a slight glow to appear inside, but nothing else happened. On direct inspection, she found that the magic she put inside it was resonating with the lens causing it to glow, much like the magic they could see when looking through the eye normally.

If this did anything but show off her magic more than normal, she had no idea.

"It is probable that in Equestria they have developed something like this, or at least had intentions too. For various reasons it went un-noticed, maybe because they didn't succeed. Revealing Mana streams and mana sources, perhaps." Collapse commented casually in reply.

"Well, I only see a slight glow inside the eye. It resonates with the lens, much like the magic we can see through the eye. Hmm. Interesting." she remarked, showing Magloria and Jump Start what was seen within the eye as well so they could understand what it was, as well.

"But... I don't even know if the story was real." Jump Start said again, not really certain as to why Collapse had decided to start theory crafting on a 'maybe' idea that even she didn't fully remember.

When Magloria looked inside the eye to witness the glow, she became confused. "I don't see anything different. I think the magic already dispersed into the local aura." she stated before offering the eye back to Collapse, in case she wanted to keep tinkering with it.

"I'll just take your word for it. In any case, I suppose you're welcome to figure out... whatever else you can about it. Just try not to pull it apart so you can see how it works or break it. I doubt we can put it back together again."

"I don't really think I will be messing with it further, yeah. At least, I am fairly hesitant to do anything like that so I'd rather just leave it alone for now." she commented and just held it in her hooves, looking at it. "Well, there should be two eyes. If its from a statue or something that had eyes there probably were others like this." she remarked, turning it over with her hooves.

Magloria shook her head. "Doesn't necessarily have to be that way. If it was made for standalone function and... some pun that I'm sure they were thinking of when they made it, then there could be any number of those things. Besides, I didn't see any statue where it belongs." she stated.

"Could be a golem eye, maybe? If it lets you see things, a golem could make good use of it." Jump Start suggested.

"I didn't see a golem either." Magloria added.

As Collapse turned over the eye, she could make out some of the finer details that weren't important enough before. The majority of the eye appeared to be constructed out of some cloudy quartz, giving it a whitish appearance, with the main pupil and iris being a combination of an onyx and orange garnet, respectively. This gave it an almost sinister appearance, if colour was believed to show evil. It even had smaller details around the back, thin shards of ruby showing off veins that a typical eye would have. She couldn't even tell how it was made on the inside without breaking it apart, as there was no obvious seams of craftsmanship. Whoever made this had to be an expert artificer.

"Maybe it really is just some sort of standalone tool then. Although I think that it would have been a better tool if it had some kind of holder for it or some accessories." she spoke as she looked over it and took in the details. The details were rather interesting to say the least. The sinister appearance of the eye was well in the eye of the beholder. It was finely crafted, and it quite honestly looked rather beautiful in her opinion, the way the colors were all detailed and blended together.

"Well if anything it sure is beautiful. I really wish that I could make something like this someday." she pondered, rubbing her chin in thought.

Magloria thought for a moment before she remembered something back at the site they found the eye. "It did have a holder, I think. Remember the center pedestal in the middle of all the pillars? The broken one? Plus we found it under some ruined bowl of sorts. The bowl probably fell off the pedestal with the eye in it." She remarked.

"Beyond that though, I have no idea. Seems rather a waste to have it in a holder without anything else nearby. Perhaps it used to be near something, or connected to something."

Jump Start rose an eyebrow at what Magloria was suggesting. "Connected to something? Like... magically connected?" she queried. Magloria simply shrugged in response.

"Oh that. Maybe we should have taken that with us, oh well. I hope we didn't miss anything important there." Collapse commented before looking to Jump Start. "That seems like the most likely option at least in my opinion. Who knows, maybe this thing isn't even 'on' in a sense, imagine what we'd see if that's case." she remarked before laying back.

"Maybe we should take a rest now. It's been a long day. Unless anyone has anything else in mind." she commented.

"Well we won't be able to tell if it's on or not until we find something else about it. Maybe there are more places like it?" Jump Start figured.

The others did have some other things on their mind, but it was unimportant and pure speculation, so it could remain unsaid. After tossing out their old petal beds into the campfire flames, they refurnished it with the ones they had been using on their trip before heading inside of the shelter, going to their usual spots.

Collapse lays down. Once again eying Magloria and Jump Start. She posed with the eye, looking through it at the two of them as she giggled and blushed, unable to hide her playful nature. She'd soon slip the eye back into Jump Start's saddlebag as they layed there.

"We'll look and see, sometime." she said and patted the spot next to her, her tail wagging a little bit too. She was calling both of them over, wordlessly.

Jump Start, noticing Collapse's beckons of companionship once again moved over to her, setting herself down over Collapse's back, her front hooves on one side of Collapse and her back hooves on the other.

Magloria, naturally, didn't move. Even though she definitely saw what Collapse was doing. She instead started to fall asleep.

Collapse relaxes feeling Jump Start's soft warmth up against her. Collapse would gently wrap her hooves around her sides, along with a gentle pat. A grin forms on Collapse's mouth, she was totally in her element.

Collapse looked over to Magloria and gave a sly grin, as if she was missing out on the best thing in the world. Collapse's eyes shuts, her ear twitches, and so she begins to fall asleep with the softness of Jump Start against her.

When Collapse woke up the next morning, she had already lost her furry blanket and her blue eye candy. The others woke before her and had already left the shelter. Judging from the sounds outside of clacking wood, one of them was chopping up some of their wood. Probably for future campfires.

Collapse stretched and yawned and to her disappointment there wasn't the orange soft goodness next to her. Smiling slightly in shame she'd roll over and lay there for a minute and think to herself - could all this be a dream, and would she wake up in her bed, in the Constance? Part of her wishes that was the case.

Either way, it was a new day. She'd walk outside to check on what they were doing. "Good morning." she chirped.

The sound of axe striking wood turned out to *not* actually be gathering firewood. It was the sound of Jump Start lashing out with the axe at what appeared to be large beetles, which attempted to make nest inside their pile of trees. Magloria was helping with her spear, and occasionally her shortsword and ice spells.

"Maybe when we're done, this infestation will tell the rest of their kind to never come back here." Magloria could be heard saying in a low growl.

Collapse would stop for a moment and look to observe what was going on to get her bearings on the situation. She would look to see the beetles being fought off by Magloria and Jump Start. "Should have told me what's going on." she remarked, and with a running start she'd charge up her telekinesis and charge at the beetles in an attempt to push them away with her telekinesis.

"Oh it's not that serious. Just a really really really creepy problem that we should deal with before it becomes actually serious." Jump Start replied to Collapse as she crushed another beetle under the axe. Strange, Jump Start wasn't typically a violent one. Maybe a swarm of bugs get an exception from her?

Collapse's telekinesis did exactly as she wanted it to. The beetles that were exposed on the tree trunks were flung away into the underbush nearby, but aside from skittering around in random directions or flailing their legs after being turned upside down, they didn't seem harmed.

They thankfully weren't very coordinated either, and weren't violent enough to go straight for the ones attempting to evict them from the clearing. All in all, they were pretty easy to remove with sharp and blunt objects.

After removing all of those that they could see, and searching around for a few that were hiding, they could declare most of the beetles had now gone. "I guess that's this jungle's equivalent of rats..." Magloria commented, spear now patiently resting by her side.

Collapse winced slightly as the beetle was crushed although she didn't blame her for it either. In a way, it almost kind of entertained her to see that for whatever reason. She smiled fondly as her telekinesis flung the beetles away from them. Hopefully those beetles wouldn't be coming back and posing issues further.

"Well, there we go. They are gone at least for now. I'm thankful it wasn't anything too dangerous. Perhaps we could find something to cover our logs with. If we go back to Carocal, maybe they have some kind of tarp to cover over the logs we could use to prevent critters from getting into them?" she suggested to Magloria and Jump Start, sitting down next to Magloria.

Magloria shook her head as she began cleaning her equipment of bug slime, running droplets of morning dew over the blade similar to when she cleaned the crystal eye. "I doubt that'll stop them. Bugs tend to work on more than just sight. They'd be able to find it again with their feelers. Plus a tarp isn't going to stop beetles of that size from getting in anyway, even if we nailed it down."

"Though a tarp could be useful for other things. A workstation clean of various debris, for example, when we need to do work without anything getting in the way. Medical, for example." she stated.

Jump Start placed the axe down inside the shelter again, stating that she'd clean it the next time she needs to do the dishes. She came back out, resting after the morning workout.

Collapse looked to Magloria. "True, but a tarp isn't the only thing we will need in the long term. What do you think about going back to Carocal tonight, and getting the stuff we need again? Although that runs the risk of a certain feline finding us again." she remarked. "Although if that's the case we can easily come up with something to distract her again." she casually remarked as she watched Magloria clean her equipment.

After seeing Jump Start come back out again she would smile. "I suppose it's time for breakfast, isn't it? I'll go ahead and get us some breakfast. Least I could do." she remarked, and would proceed to do just that. Taking her time, she attempted to replicate what Jump Start did before with the food. Roasting and making it presentable.

Magloria nodded. "We might as well. While we're there we could see if they have anything else that we might be able to use, after we get the stuff we need such as the proper building equipment that we've been lacking for a while now." she agreed.

Well Collapse managed to make a flame grilled... something. It looked nice, as far as fruits go...? Magloria and Jump Start still appreciated the effort that Collapse went through to try and make it look nice.

Chapter 59

Collapse smiled slightly in embarrassment at the meal. At least it looked nice but she felt as if it wasn't good enough. Oh well. There are greater issues that lay ahead than good looking meals. She sat down, and began to eat her portion.

"But, we should find something to do today. What should we do? Add more to our shelter or what? Explore? But it seems like on the map the other locations might be far away, but we'll have to see which is closest for that, I suppose." she mentioned.

"Nah, all the places on the map are too far away. The closest one looks to be a day away, to and from. Plus we would waste all our energy walking when we need it for the night." Magloria pointed out.

"What about looking around here instead?" Jump Start offered, "We haven't really seen what we have nearby, aside from the river, and we haven't even gone that far up the river either! We could go up, see what's there then return when it's becoming night."

"You know that's a real bright idea that I am not sure why we didn't do that earlier. You decided something for once, so we'll go do that." Collapse giggled and would stand up, getting her boots and saddlebags on.

"Right on then, up the river." she declared, almost like she was a filly playing some kind of a game. Maybe she was bleeding a childhood memory into her manner of speaking there, but she was ready to lead them up ahead.

Magloria shrugged. "Might as well. Not much else we could do around here that's not just monotonous work." she said, gathering the equipment for herself and Jump Start. Some things were left behind, in case they needed the extra room later.

They started following Collapse up the river, right up to the point where they could see the panthin outpost, still under guard. Beyond that was more river leading to relatively unknown origins, since the map didn't help out with that.

Collapse looks at the panthin outpost once they were in visual range of it. "Makes me wonder what Eliza is up to, and if we'll ever see her again. I hope she's doing well." Collapse remarked, and proceeded to lead them beyond, but out of sight of the panthin outpost just incase if any of them were watching the area. Better safe than sorry.

As they moved further up the river, everything looked pretty much the same as the river before. The river got wider in certain parts and there was maybe a lake or two, but no interesting changes.

Until they reached a part where they found a thin section of river. Across the top of it was a wooden bridge with it's own tower. The place looked a lot better maintained and fortified than the other outpost, indicating it was more important for the panthins, considering the bridge that lead elsewhere into the jungle.

"Isn't that her?" Jump Start asked, pointing up at the panthin currently in the bridge watchtower. There was definitely a similar grey colour, but they couldn't make out other details from this distance.

"Seems like this is a proper settlement here to say the least. Likely another town similar to Carocal. Perhaps we can go here instead of Carocal to avoid interacting with Ash, again." Collapse suggested and squinted her eyes at the grey panthin in the watchtower on the bridge. "Could be, but this is a different area so it might be more unlikely at that. Maybe these Panthins are more grey?" she asked, suggesting that.

It was clear Collapse was interested in this area, but she would proceed onward, keeping out of sight as was clear by the 'path' she was taking forward. "What do you think about coming here later tonight, instead of Carocal?" Collapse suggested.

Looking to the left and right of the bridge, Magloria rose an eyebrow at what she saw. "I don't see anything through the trees that would indicate a town. There's just a bridge and that one building. We're only a couple hours away from Carocol anyway." she stated, "Unless you're saying the path leading away from Carocol ends up at another town...?"

Magloria didn't answer the question about returning here, given what she thought of the place, it probably didn't seem very worth it.

As Collapse moved to get around the place, they came up to the open area and road that the bridge was set up next to. They'd have to sprint across out in the open and potentially get seen, since there was nowhere to hide from the watchtower, at this distance.

Collapse looks over at the bridge and figured it probably went elsewhere beyond there sight. She personally would believe that it lead to another town out of sight but that wasn't something that could be confirmed or denied at this moment.

"Well, this is a bit of a pickle here. Should we turn back and head away? We could find another route around to see what lays even further on." Collapse suggested, not liking the thought of sprinting out in the open. Risks didn't need to be taken, for such a simple looking around a place.

"We just need to get out of range of that tower, and whoever else is around." Magloria pointed over towards the road in the opposite direction. All they had to do was travel a bit further down and then cross. Even if they somehow were still spotted, they would only see strange colored blobs.

"Right on." she remarked, and Collapse would lead them over in that direction. When she was doing so, she would be sure to be brisk in her motions. When / if the panthins would see them, they would see some fast moving colored 'blobs'. Likely not anything they would investigate as when they'd look again, the 'blobs' would be gone.

Due to moving further down the road, they were naturally able to see more of what lay beyond it when they sprinted across the path. What they saw could be described as systematic destruction of many trees and plants, also known as a woodcutting project.

It probably wasn't worth visiting, given it would just have stuff that they already had in their possession.

In just a few seconds they were across and in the bushes on the other side, with no one being the wiser.

Collapse looked across the cut trees, finding that it was interesting to see. Part of her wanted to see if they could take more tools for their possession but they didn't really have to do that. Yeah, not worth visiting indeed - and so Collapse forged on, eager to see what would await them on the other side of the bushes.

They all spent the next few hours wandering up the river, not really encountering anything of interest, until they happened to stumble across someone they had seen once before, but refused to go near.

Before them sat the big bronze scaled lizard creature that wore pouches, once again surrounded by many other little lizards. There was no campfire with them this time, only the river that they looked into as they minded their own business, while the others scavenged around.

This was going to be the last stop they'd be able to check today, otherwise they wouldn't have enough time to go back to Carocol by the time it's night, and wandering around the jungle at that time didn't seem like the smartest thing to do.

Collapse would quickly realize what - or rather who they were seeing in front of them here. Whoever this big lizard was, they obviously had a greater intelligence than the regular lizards she was used to. "Well, there's the big lizard again. Should we try talking to them? We may get our only chance here to do so, not to mention we probably shouldn't be heading anywhere further for today." Collapse replied, wondering what Magloria thought of the idea of talking to the big lizard before they would head back to their shelter.

Magloria's face scrunched up in bitter thought at the idea of going up to what could be a massive predator. On the other hand, it might just be some sort of travelling native who already had their needs in order. They did look well equipped.

"I don't know about it, seems risky. But if you want to try anyway I at least have the river nearby, in case things go south. Just try not to get killed by one of their claws *before* I can throw an ice spear." She replied.

Jump Start didn't say anything, but she couldn't help but stare at those large golden eyes. Did they seem beautiful, or were they menacing? She couldn't tell.

Collapse gave Magloria a look of acknowledgement as she nodded. "Well, I won't get too close anyways. So, you are free to join me - or you can just watch from here." Collapse stated as she looked to Jump Start, thinking she would want to stay behind and just watch.

Collapse would slowly and quietly walk towards the large lizard creature. It was clear she wasn't going to go within slashing distance of it, for sure. Once she was at a distance she thought was within earshot she would glance back to the others. Then she would speak. "Hello? I don't know if you can understand me but, I'm not from around here. Just curious, seeing someone else in this jungle. If I'm bothering you I can leave you be." Collapse declared to the large lizard, in an honest and open fashion.

They all moved forward together, despite what Collapse though Jump Start would do. Their approach first attracted attention from some of the smaller lizards, but if they saw their approach as a threat, they didn't show it.

The big one looked up calmly from their deep stare into the river, their gaze falling on them as Collapse gave her greeting. There was a moment of silence afterwards, neither of the two parties talking.

An uneasy feeling was felt by the ponies as those eyes rested on them, as if they were being judged, and not in the usual way. Collapse could almost feel a terrible weight through her bones.

Then the feeling washed away when the lizard looked elsewhere and spoke in a soothing female voice. "Greetings strangers of this land. You are not a hinderance." she calmly replied.

Collapse stood there for a few moments as she processed what was said by the large lizard. It was something that was definitely unexpected but most certainly welcome. Her own brown eyes would look up, meeting the lizard's own in a respectful manner. Her focus wasn't on the smaller lizards - what she believed were the Lizard's young.

Then Collapse smiled. "We actually saw you around before but we didn't want to bother you. To say the least we are very, very far from our homeland. Very lost, but we are getting by. What's your name? My name is Collapse." she spoke, also introducing Magloria and Jump Start to the supposed lizard mother as well. "I am sure you are well traveled, around here." Collapse also commented, opening up possible conversation about the map and the eye - perhaps they could see if she knew about the locations on the map.

When Collapse's eyes fell on the lizard's own, she had this feeling that maybe looking right at them isn't the best idea. There was something odd about those orbs of gold that was unnerving, despite the peaceful outwards stance of the grey-frilled lizard.

They patiently listened while Collapse monologued about the group's circumstance for being there. "I do not have a name. I have never been given one, and no one I know would use it. But if you must call me something, call me... Pebble." she spoke in return.

"That is true, I have roamed around these lands for decades. Even past the strange mountain range barricading this lush forest from the rest of the land."

Because of the lizard's eyes she would be sure to not look at the lizard's eyes directly. It was quite strange because this lizard was clearly not any normal lizard, that was for sure.

"Alright, I'll call you Pebble then." she remarks with an almost shy grin. "We have so many questions about this land and what we have seen here. Most importantly - we came into contact with a white...sphere thing? But when I touched it, I got into this whole almost lucid dream like sequence about a temple and all sorts of things. That probably doesn't make sense, but that's what happened. I'm sure you've probably seen a white sphere with a blue glow around here, somewhere." she remarked, nodding to the answers she was given.

Pebble's eyes narrowed in thought over the subject being discussed, as if trying to remember something that they hadn't seen in a while. After a moment of silence, she replies.

"You may be referring to what I call the Night Wanderer. It acts like a spirit of a lost creature, endlessly roaming around the jungle. For what purpose, I do not know. I do not know about your lucid dream either. It makes no attempt to pursue me, and I keep my distance out of respect for it. So far, we have not quarreled."

"That makes sense. If I had any guesses as to what it could be, it is some long lost creation of an ancient civilization or some sort of society that once existed somewhere near in this area. We found some sort of Ruins that weren't of Panthin design, too." she remarked, and would tell Pebble about what they saw - along with where it was as well.

"That place. Been around for a very long time, longer than me. One of the smaller ruins of whoever was here before. There are a few other places of similar to it's design, but all have one thing in common. They are abandoned, ruined, shells of their former glory."

Pebble's looks around as she continued, "Some still have dangers present however, and they may not be what you expect. If you plan on seeking them out, take care to watch out for the bones and dust of those fallen before you, so you don't match their fate."

Collapse acknowledges Pebble's statement. "That is about what I would have thought. We have not seen those ruins only above ground but below...at least what we think could be something related. Underground in the Panthin settlement of Carocal there is a hole that leads to a long tunnel that goes down and down...underground this place is a whole ecosystem of mushroom forests of various colors. There are rivers with what seemed to be large cut stones along and in between diverging rivers." Collapse explains.

"What is the furthest you have traveled from here? Sure there are Panthins and all sorts of things around here - but what lays beyond here? The mountains?" she asked curiously.

"Thank you for telling me about this. I may not be able to delve below the earth into such caverns as the ones you speak about, but I can still imagine what it may look like down there." Pebble said.

"The furthest I have travelled... let me recall..." She took another moment to think about the question, closing her eyes in concentration as she did so. As she did so, the strange feeling from looking at her vanished, albeit briefly. When she reopened her eyes, she answered.

"A great desert spans the entirety of the opposite side of the mountain range, heats in the extreme and absence of lifegiving water. Many perish there, yet many can also survive if they know how to. Where the winds calm down and the sands fade are a mixture of rocky hills, many lakes and ponds between them with stretches of plant filled lands scattered throughout. A welcome respite when contrasting the desert before it."

"I have not searched any further, for my home is here, and I do not wish to stray too far from my roots."

"Well from the sounds of it, a vast desert would not be in our best interest. We wouldn't have any reason to go there - but thank you for telling us about that." she said,, contemplating her response. "I wish to show you a few things, about where we come from. It may not be much, but I suppose you may be able to get a small glimpse at it." she stated, summoning in a few images of her family that were in frames. The frames were a bit damaged from the water but thankfully with the way they were designed, the images on the inside didn't get damaged.

Collapse held up the frames with her magic. One of them showed an overlooking of her hometown. Dodge Junction. She was flying with that strange ring like device on her, and the town was set behind her. The various buildings had a western style to them, with the sprawling dirt roads and buildings. It wasn't really a desert though, there was what looked to be a few farms. It did look arid, though.

"This one here is my hometown. Dodge Junction. We come very far from here. At least a week's worth of sailing over the nearby sea. We came here by accident." she remarked as she showed Pebble the other image she had. It was some sort of graduation image where Collapse was with a selection of other ponies, likely her graduating class. They were all dressed as one would expect. Behind them, was some sort of field with the city of Canterlot on the mountain. This was some sort of trip, to get that scenic shot after all. Collapse would explain what was in the image, too.

When Pebble shifted her eyes over the frames that she offered, Collapse realized that maybe that wasn't the greatest idea as she started to get that disturbing feeling again.

Not that Pebble seemed to notice as she examined each of the images. "Interesting and strange places you come from. While I appreciate you showing me personal information like this, I am uncertain as to what you wished to accomplish by letting me know. Did you perhaps just want to share it with me?" she asked.

Collapse nodded to her. "Yeah, I just wanted to share it to you. You are well traveled, so I figured you would be interested in some sights beyond those of here. Perhaps if any other travelers come about, you can tell them about us." she suggested but turned to Magloria and Jump Start. "Do you have anything else you'd want to ask Pebble?" she asked them calmly, and wasn't going to bring up that disturbing feeling she felt.

Pebble shook her head, before being distracted by one of the lizards that were scampering around the clearing. Collapse might've thought they were children before, but examining them closer now showed they were all a completely different colour, and didn't have some of Pebble's identifying features, such as her neck frill or strange eyes.

"I don't have anything to ask you." was her simple reply.

Collapse nodded, and realized the lizards scampering around seemed to be different from her, more so than she thought. "What are all these little guys crawling about? If you don't mind me asking, it seems like you take care of them." she replied, calmly.

"Them?" Pebble reached down and picked up one of the lizards, causing it to wiggle a little bit before relaxing in her grasp. "They're friends that I met. They like to follow me whenever I'm around. I help them out by protecting them, showing them the warmer spots in this jungle and, on occasion, offer them food, and they give me company in return."

She put the lizard back down, where it got up and began it's search around the area again. "It's a pity they cannot hold a real conversation with myself, but their presence is welcome enough."

Collapse would reach out a hoof and give one of the lizards a gentle pat on the head. "Well, I am glad that you at least have some form of company. Maybe while we are around these parts, you could stick around our camp or in the area if you want someone to talk to, in the meantime." Collapse offered in a friendly manner. "But if you prefer to wander as you wish, I will not keep you." she added.

The lizard, having no idea who Collapse was or what she was doing, immediately moved away from her as she approached. Seems they much more fond of Pebble compared to a stranger.

Pebble considered the offer. "Perhaps I will, when I happen to find myself in your area. Thanks for the offer." she replied, turning back to the river where she began watching the waters again.

"Well, I suppose that will be all. See you around. Be well." Collapse said to Pebble and turned away, ready to go back with Magloria and Jump Start. She wanted to know what they thought of Pebble and all of this, but Collapse would take another look at the lizards before she'd leave after Pebble's reply to her parting message there. It didn't seem like she had anything else to talk about.

"Safe travels." was all that Pebble said when Collapse started to leave. The smaller lizards seemed to be no different to what they were doing before, still searching around for bugs in the clearing. Several of them were busy sunning themselves on nearby rocks, as they do.

Collapse returned to Magloria and Jump Start to see that they were both sitting about, having watched the conversation patiently the entire time. An icy spear rested by Magloria's side, in case it had been needed.

When Collapse returned to Magloria and Jump Start she smirked upon seeing the icy spear, thankful that nothing bad happened with Pebble. "Well, what did you think? Pebble is pretty nice." Collapse remarked, seemingingly ready to get going. It was nice that nothing bad happened for once.

"Yeah. Seems nice." Magloria simply said, not really looking all that invested in giving her opinion.

Jump Start on the other hand gave a nod. "She might look big and scary but she seems to just be a big softie. Would be nice to meet her and her little lizard friends sometime later." she then looked away, remembering the eyes. "But I can't help but feel strangely... connected to the way she looks at us. She can definitely do something we don't know about."

Magloria got up and began to lead them away, back down the river. It would get dark soon, so hopefully they arrive at Carocol before it does, and without distractions.

Collapse nodded to Jump Start. "Yeah, I am not sure what she can do or what she might do but it is definitely something that I don't understand. Glad we can have someone to talk to, or at least someone who won't hurt us." Collapse spoke, and followed along towards Carocol. If nothing stood in their way, Collapse and the others would have arrived. She didn't have much else on her mind currently.

The sun was almost entirely set by the time they reached the panthin city, giving the entire place a low golden glow mixed with the blues and blacks of night time. There was a lot more activity than there usually was when they saw the place, giving them a glimpse at what the town was like usually if it wasn't for the fact that most panthins were heading home to sleep.

When everything had settled down, the sun had completely set, putting everything into darkness except a few lights in buildings. Some cats still lazed about on buildings as usual, which might be a problem.

Collapse would observe the panthin city for a bit to get her bearings on everything. When the sun was setting she pulled out the map and pointed out important locations for them to visit. Important in the terms of which they were needed such as any places that could have a tarp, extra tools, or supplies they needed for building the ship as well as anything else they thought they would need.

Once they agreed upon where exactly they were going and what they needed, Collapse would allow Magloria to make the decision that lay ahead of them. It was up to her, as she was the captain after all.

The map didn't have much detail, as they already knew, but it was simple enough to determine where to go based on what buildings *looked* important, where they were or how big they were. The place they had previously tried to reach but couldn't due to time limitations was in one of the industrial areas of the town, according to the map.

Magloria decided that they should get what they absolutely needed first and couldn't substitute, so she intended to lead them towards that factory building. Extra supplies and tarps could come later.

On the way there as they were sneaking around buildings, they could hear purring coming from some of them. Nice to know they were happy about something, and hopefully it would distract them enough that they didn't try to look outside.

Collapse follows along. Hearing the purring coming from some of the buildings, it must be because the panthins were entertaining themselves. Perhaps with their giant cat toys. The thought made Collapse smirk under her breath as they approached towards the factory building.

Upon arriving at the factory building if there were no issues along the way, Collapse would sneak along the wall of the building on the outside after checking her surroundings to make sure there were no panthins about that could spot them. Provided that there were none, she would have likely found a way to sneak inside the building.

Compared to the foundry that they had previously visited, the factory was largely similar in building design, but the machinery inside was different. For one, the orange glow inside was done by oil lamps instead of large vats of molten metals. This lit up the inside far more than normal, which would make it harder to sneak about inside.

There were no panthins on the *outside* that could spot them, but a few late night workers were on the inside, still maintaining machines and processing materials.

The ways inside the building were also quite similar to the foundry as well. A couple massive doors that would be used for bringing through wagons of material and finished products. A bunch of open windows on the lower floor that were too high up to get through without making obvious noise, and a second floor with windows as well. The second floor however didn't seem to have much up there however, as all the machines were on the lower floor. Didn't have any panthins either.

Chapter 60

"Alright, how we gonna sneak in? I could use my fly ring to get us up over the windows but hmm...but we could risk being seen..." Collapse whispers, walking along the outside to see if any of the massive doors happened to be open or slightly open. If there were any of those, she'd head towards them and take a peek inside. If not, she was wanting to weigh their options of getting in through the windows. Perhaps there could be another way?

Neither of the large doors were open, but they also weren't locked either, letting her peek inside of the building. There were dozens of various machines, workstations and even a couple assembly lines to be found scattered about the main floor of the building.

Most of them were idle, but some were currently in use, such as a sawmill that was splitting planks of wood into proper sizes for later use.

"I don't think the problem is getting in by sneaking in. The problem we need to consider is what sneaking in will do for us right now. The moment we try to take stuff we'll be spotted." Magloria pointed out as she gazed around the machinery complex. "Everything is in sight of everything else, and your spell isn't exactly subtle. That's not even taking care of the fact that there's nowhere to hide." she said.

"So you mean that this entire trip was a big waste of time, and we won't be able to build a proper boat?" Jump Start worried.

Collapse shook her head. "Perhaps we could cause some sort of distraction that would cause them to look elsewhere, allowing us to get in while they are distracted? We will be able to build a proper boat, we just need to take proper actions in order to get the materials." She spoke to Jump Start as she looked over the various machines and assembly lines inside of the main floor of the building.

"Or we could try another building, try our luck and hope that it has other things that we need but since we are here I'd rather take the chance to get what we need out of this one." Collapse suggested. "Just checking, what would we be getting from here? Would it be possible to get it from somewhere else?" she asked curiously.

"We need to build a boat, so for that we need proper crafting materials. In order to make those we need proper tools to do so, preferably workstations with proper refining tools so we don't do everything crudely by hoof. I doubt we'd be able to find that stuff in some random house." Magloria answered.

She looked around the outside of the building, searching for something that could help them. "A distraction could work, but it would need to be a pretty big one to get them to *all* stop working and deal with it." she said, before her eyes settled upon some trees.

"Fire always works."

"Just like we did before. Got it. Cover me while I get to casting a spell. I'll do it from over here..." she spoke quietly before getting in position to where it would allow her to cast the ignition spell like before. She knew that the orange orb of flame she'd be casting would have to cast through the air, so she wanted to do it opposite of the area they were to throw of suspicion.

When she was ready to cast the spell, and if Magloria approved of her doing it - Collapse's horn would charge up quickly with an orange glow. She crouched down to avoid the orb from being too bright. Once it was at a sizable size, she would cast off the small orange orb towards the trees. It would quickly and rapidly move around in various ways for added distraction, before it would contact the trees. Soon enough, the leaves of the trees up ahead would light aflame. The flame in the trees would spread, making itself obvious.

By then, Collapse was back over by Magloria and Jump Start.

At first, no one noticed the crackling of flames up in the trees because they were all in the building, but as the flames outside grew more intense they were seen visibly confused about what they heard. Then one of them smelt the smoke that had begun to spread out everywhere, alerting the others to search for the source.

All of this took several minutes, until eventually one noticed the orange glow coming from outside of the building and called all the others to the flames. The news then spread even further, alerting those in other buildings of the danger. Groups of panthins began to organize collection of water to douse the flames.

At this point the factory work was completely halted to deal with the issue, leaving the place unattended. Magloria gave the go ahead to enter the building and start grabbing what they need. Collapse knew that she'd have to magic away the bigger machines and workstations, as they couldn't carry those.

Collapse would observe the effects of her work. Seeing that tree go up in flames made her smile. It was interesting that nothing they were doing here was out of genuine malice or anything of that nature. It was something that they had to do, in a sense. Seeing the panthins halt their factory work was a job well done for them. The distraction worked.

Upon Magloria giving the go ahead, Collapse would enter into the building. She'd look about to see what kinds of machines and workstations were about. Upon examining the various things that she believed she needed - her horn would charge up with a gold hue. One by one, the machines would vanish in gold flashes. She made sure to only take what they needed, but she would have likely took any stray tools laying about the place, just for the sake of having more tools.

While Collapse was busy dealing with the larger equipment, Magloria and Jump Start were the ones busy with collecting whatever smaller tools they could find that suited their requirements.

Collapse was in the middle of casting the spell on sewing machine of sorts (for the sail they'd likely need later) when they all heard a loud gasp and metal clattering noise. Over by one of the doors, bucket of water spilled on the ground was an orange panthin with brown stripes through it's fur.

He had rushed inside upon seeing the yellow glow through a window, assuming a part of the fire had spread into the building and was burning away their stuff. What he found were 3 highly colourful grass eaters and many of their stuff outright missing.

Due to the surprise of what he found, the group had a moment to act before he did.

Collapse quickly turned to notice the orange panthin nearby and gave a look of bewilderment before looking to the group. "Shit, we've been spotted!" she spoke, her spell that was casted on the sewing machine sputtered out due to the lack of focus. Collapse would quickly run towards Jump Start as if protecting her. "It's time to go, we can't take all of what we can now. At least we got some of the machines we needed!" she stated to Magloria and Jump Start, more than ready to make a break for it and run out of here.

Collapse's heart was racing, she didn't expect them to be found this quickly into what they were doing. "Look, you won't understand what we are doing here - so we'll get out of your hair and leave. We don't have any trouble with you or anyone else here." she spoke to the orange and brown panthin.

Turns out in the time it took for Collapse to call out to the others, protect Jump Start and explain that they needed to leave, the panthin had already broken out of his state of shock and, seeing 3 thieves, prepared to leave and get the attention of others to capture them.

What Magloria lacks in word count and romantic interest, she makes up for in actions. A blue glow that cooled the air around them and a flash of spellwork later, and the panthin's front half up to his neck was encased in a thin layer of frost, pinning them to the spot.

"AH! WHAT THE!?" he yelped in shock, and began to struggle against the ice. "HEY! SOMEO-" he tried to say, but before he could finish Magloria had rushed over to him. Twisting around mid-run, she let out a mighty buck straight in the prone panthin's face, causing the ice and several teeth to shatter. The panthin didn't get up, but aside from 2 hoofmarks on his snout he looked fine.

"They'll still know about us, and more will be attracted by his cries. Let's go." Magloria suggested, pointing at the door.

Jump Start looked like she didn't like where all this was going, but she nodded to Collapse and Magloria anyway, ready to follow after them.

Not much time would pass before she'd see the Panthin getting bucked straight in the face. It was not what Collapse would have done but it was too late for any other actions being taken, other than leaving quickly. Magloria handled situations quite well, although part of her felt bad for the Panthin there. He was just doing what she would have done, if their positions were reversed. There was no further time to ponder upon that.

"Right, let's go. We aren't coming back for a while I would say." Collapse replied and would quickly run out the door and follow Magloria out. She was fast, but instinctively made sure that Jump Start was following safely. A safe Jump Start is a good Jump Start! At least they were able to get some of what they wanted to get, but not all of it. They may very well have to come back here in a while to retrieve what they needed.

With all the panicking cats rushing about to put out the flames, most of them didn't notice the ponies as they ran out of the factory, with Magloria heading straight to the nearest dark place where they could hide.

Unfortunately 'most' did not mean 'all'. 3 panthins saw them running out of the building and, not knowing what they were and assuming the worst, decided to go after them.

It was actually *Collapse* who was the most in danger, since she had to compete against an enduring earth pony and a unicorn who was far more athletic. The panthins behind them were closing in on them. Judging from the way Magloria occasionally looked back, she also knew this.

Collapse knew the position she was in as well and could see the 3 panthins following after her. With her magic she would conjure up a rather low yield laser spell and quickly would fire it off behind her. If it hit one of the Panthins, the most they would feel is a slight burn - but still, it would most likely be something they wouldn't have expected even if it didn't hit them. It seems as though they were unfamiliar with magic and spell casting, but regardless Collapse would press on in following towards the first dark place they could hide.

The beam of magical energy scorched one of the panthins, hitting their shoulder and causing them to stumble with a yelp. This deterred that one a bit from following, but they only slowed down instead of stopping entirely. They still could run, even if it was painful.

Now knowing for certain that these ponies were dangerous, the other two sped up, determined to catch these nasty things before they cause even more damage, but not without keeping an eye on Collapse in case she fired more lasers.

By this point they had reached the dark alleyway that Magloria had hoped to hide in, but with those following them there was no chance that they could. Magloria had a plan that might help them, and all they'd have to do is follow her lead.

"When I say jump, jump." Magloria told them, paused for a bit, then... "JUMP!" her horn glowed.

Having noticed the way the panthins were speeding up Collapse got more nervous at that. She didn't want to end up getting scratched or worse - bitten or clawed at. She knew she would be able to defend herself with magic, but she much preferred not having to do so. Again, she could understand the position the panthins were in. Seeing members of a race they had not seen before, and stealing their machines didn't leave the best of impressions.

"...Start!" Collapse shouted and jumped, she wasn't sure what Magloria was doing but found it a good time to make a bad pun. She followed Magloria's lead to the T, as best as she could. Hopefully they could look back and laugh at the pun Collapse made.

"...Doesn't like this!" Jump Start continued as she leapt into the air, giving Magloria the opportunity to perform her magic.

A chilling blast of magic was shot straight below them, spreading quickly along the ground and partially up the nearby walls in what could only be described as an ice floor.

Due to the speed that the 2 leading panthins were going they were unable to slow down, and with no other way to go they couldn't help but move straight onto the ice patch, immediately slipping and falling over into uncomfortable heaps that slid to the edge of the ice before rolling and stopping.

This gave the group enough distance from their main chasers to exit the alleyway and move down another street, before quickly entering a passage between some other buildings, where they would be out of clear view from almost everyone.

Collapse went silent as they kept running onward. The ice was a nice nifty trick Magloria did, and Collapse was glad that their pursuers were distracted by it. It was oddly euphoric, the way that this whole situation unfolded. There was something to be said for running away from pursuers and dangerous consequences - the thrill of it was second to none.

"I would be lying if I said there wasn't a thrill..." Collapse said, a small grin forming on her face as they kept running. She kept an eye out for any possible areas of escape out into the jungle, if Magloria hadn't pointed out any Collapse would for sure as they aimed to proceed out of Carocal. Well, at least they got some of the stuff they needed.

Eventually they had to slow down. Not only because they were all getting tired from the constant running, but the amount of noise they were making was bound to attract attention again, which would make it even harder to escape.

They had a bit of distance to go before they would be able to get to the jungle, but at least they were far enough away from the factory and fire that there would be low chance of anyone new spotting them.

"Let's not go through that again." Jump Start said as they walked and snuck around, clearly unsettled from being chased by predators.

Collapse would slow down and panted. As she panted she looked to Jump Start and gave her a weird, almost too happy grin. Perhaps she was referencing something, or she was just being weird for the sake of being weird. "Yeah, let's not indeed." she spoke quietly, walking along as they would head towards the jungle.

"At least we got some of the stuff. Hopefully we can make do with what we got. I don't like being here at all." she added quietly as they walked along.

They were almost at the edge of where the town and jungle met when they heard a sudden fast noise coming from somewhere behind them. Upon turning around they saw that the panthin that Collapse had hit with her laser was charging straight at them!

They must not have been moving fast enough to get caught by Magloria's ice trap, so was able to follow them, or at least track them down before they got away.

What was probably most important though, was that they were alone. They didn't even look like they had a plan either, just running straight at the 3 of them in the hopes of somehow catching them all.

Collapse would turn to see the Panthin still charging straight at them. Maybe this one was more brave than the others or plain stupid to charge at a group of creatures that clearly had already proved they have abilities the Panthin likely didn’t understand.

Collapse’s horn glowed quickly and she would attempt to use her telekineses to halt the Panthin’s advance, attempting to lock them in place. This was, if Magloria allowed her to do this. If she succeeded in locking the Panthin in place Collapse would look to them. “It’s not really the best of ideas to go it alone and try to catch all three of us.” she spoke, using her magic to clamp their lips shut if they would scream or shout.

“Feel free to knock them out. We could try to reason with them but if you wanna knock them out go right ahead.” Collapse spoke, provided if she even managed to capture the Panthin in her telekinetic field.

The moment Collapse's telekinesis locked onto the charging panthin they were lifted into the air, making them lose all traction with the ground and slowing them down to a stop.

They kept trying to run for a few moments before they realized they were making no progress, then proceeded to panic when they saw they were encased in a bubble of magic, trying to shout as Collapse expected, only to have their cries muffled by the pressure holding their muzzle in place.

Collapse meanwhile found out that panthins are heavy to carry. It's a good thing she didn't have to hold them for long. Magloria nodded before walking up to the panthin, lashing out with a hoof and knocking the large feline out.

"That's that. Assuming we're not being followed by even more of them, we should be able to reach the jungle and leave this damn place." Magloria said as she started walking out of Carocol again.

Collapse gently sat the Panthin back down and followed Magloria out of the place. She was glad that she succeeded in getting the Panthin knocked out, smirking at the result. They did make a great team after all, Collapse thought at noticing how efficient Magloria was in not wasting any time. It also made Collapse think about what it was like to receive such a blow to the face by Magloria's amazing and blue hooves. Since it was so dark, they couldn't see her massive blush.

As they left Collapse would occasionally look behind her at Carocal to make sure that no others were following them on their way out. But she knew that in the future, the Panthins may search the jungle and eventually find their shelter. Something to consider for the future.

From what Collapse could make out of the dark jungle they were leaving behind them, there didn't look to be anyone following after them. They looked to be in the clear of their little expedition into the town.

Unfortunately for them they had a new problem that they'd have to deal with. The need to walk through a dark jungle in order to get back to their camp. Along the way down the river Magloria kept her spear at the ready, but the numerous dangerous sounds that they heard through the trees was unnerving.

Even the river water nearby seemed to be more violent at this time of night, currents appearing more rapid and uncoordinated.

Collapse readied her spear as well, staying on alert and aware. They were not entirely in the clear. Giant snake and who knows what else is many times more dangerous than a large Panthin. At least the Panthins could possibly be reasoned with, but there was no reasoning with wildlife after all.

Hearing the river, it could be possible that there was rain a ways away from here which is why it was like that. "Can't say I'm fond of this place." Collapse muttered, to nobody in particular.

Then they all heard a much louder splash of water. Those that turned quick enough could see a long thin tail flail above the water before it went back down into the depths below.

"That was unnerving..." Jump Start squeaked, "I hope whatever it is it can't go onto land."

"A good reason as any to not enter the water at night. Let's keep away from the river for now." Magloria commented, shepherding them both closer to the jungle for the rest of the way, until they reached their camp. Finally.

Chapter 61

Collapse would have seen the long tail fin above the water there. Was it some kind of shark? Or something else? Whatever it is, Collapse didn't want to find out what it was. Thankfully, they reached the camp safely. "Alright, I think we should take a rest or something..." Collapse said quietly, definitely exhausted and not wanting anything else bad to happen.

"Don't you want to resummon the things you got first? Surely they weigh a bit on your horn, right?" Jump Start suggested, clearly not well versed in the understanding of dimensional spells.

Magloria meanwhile set her stuff down, not going to bother sort through what they had taken in their bags until tomorrow morning... or tomorrow afternoon, depending on how long they all slept.

"We're going to be sleeping well tonight, that's for sure." Magloria said as she tried to suppress a yawn.

Collapse slipped off her boots and her saddlebags and sets them down. She looks to Jump Start. "I only have to actively think about it if there is a strain on my pocket dimension. While those machines were big, you'd need more to strain my spell - like when we cleared out the Constance." she commented as she laid down, once again looking to Magloria in the dark.

"But, I'm tired, your tired - its time for sleep. In the morning we'll look over what we managed to nag in full." she commented.

It didn't take long before they were all in their usual spots once again and drifting off to sleep. When morning came, Collapse woke up to the sight of Jump Start's tail covering her face, somehow getting into that position overnight.

Collapse enjoyed her tail covering her face like that and for a minute or so just enjoyed the softness of Jump Start's tail covering her face before gently pulling away. If Magloria wasn't up already, Collapse would have begun preparing breakfast for them.

Rising from where she slept, Collapse was quick to discover that Magloria had in fact woken up earlier. Sticking her head out of the shelter, she saw Magloria already at the campfire, setting up their morning meal.

The stuff that they had taken in their saddlebags were also laid out on a nearby slice of log. Quite a few craftsman supplies, stuff like specialist cutting knives, scissors, needle and thread and even etching tools.

Magloria gave a quick nod to Collapse before going back to turning some sort of eggplant looking vegetable... or fruit? Not sure on that one yet.

Collapse walks out to see the stuff that Magloria had already gathered up on the log there. She smiled. "Good morning. I'm going to see what of the large things we really managed to grab." Collapse spoke, and summoned in the large machines near to where Magloria had set their other stuff. She wanted to get a good look on these machines here, the interesting looking fruit Magloria was cooking was also another thing as well.

From what Collapse could tell, they had managed to get 4 different things. First was a sawmill (one that *wasn't* in use at the time), due to the large circular saw. This would let them easily cut wood into useful boards. It is however manually powered, so they'd have to put in some effort to use it.

Second appeared to be a metal press, judging from the large block of metal suspended above a table. Raise the metal block, put something underneath it, then let it drop. Flattens what's below. No metal casts though, so they couldn't do fancy shapes.

The third was what could only be described as a hole puncher. Carves holes straight into whatever's below it by forcing a drill through. Also manually powered, of course, but at least the others managed to snag different drill sizes, so there was no problem with that.

Finally, the fourth was the most interesting. It appeared to be a press similar to the second machine, but it had 2 metal blocks that would press together from both sides. It also had a barrel and hose leading to it's center. Whatever the barrel contained was likely part of how it worked, but they wouldn't know what it was until they used it.

Looking at all the machines here Collapse was impressed by what they managed to grab here. The first three would really help with building a ship, that was sure. The true issue was figuring out the process of how to build a ship in the first place. The fourth machine though, Collapse didn't know what that was, as she hadn't seen anything like it.

"Well looks like we got our machines here. But this one here, I don't know what this is." Collapse walked to it and looked around at the barrel. Perhaps it contained some sort of fluid. "Maybe it's some sort of cutting device? Or uses highly pressurized air or water to cut / drill through stuff?" Collapse suggested, but seemed unsure, as the design was not something she had worked with previously.

"It looks like we got enough here for a good start. All we'd really need to do now is put our heads together and design some sort of blue print for the ship, measurements, plans, all that." Collapse smiled.

The barrel looked like a typical wooden one, banded with iron for durability but otherwise unremarkable, with no indicator for what could be inside it. "But that one is for cutting and that one is for drilling." Mgloria said, pointing at the two other machines that did those respective tasks.

Jump Start came over and gave the unknown machine a lookover. "I dunno what it is either. These two pieces-" she tapped the metal blocks on either side, "-look like they hold or press something in the middle." she stated, then moved over to the barrel and gave it a light shove. They could hear the sound of *some* sort of liquid sloshing about inside.

Magloria sighed at the thought of spending time building blueprints, but she knew it had to be done. "I suppose we should probably do that... we've got all those documents and maps we could reuse as blueprints, the unimportant ones at least, plus charcoal to write with."

Collapse put hear ear up to the barrel as she heard the sloshing there. "Tell you what, how about you can experiment with the machine there while me and Magloria get started with the blueprints?" she would ask, taking out the unimportant maps and then walking over to the fire pit to get some of the charcoal.

"A ship for the 3 of us, doesn't have to be anywhere near as large. Can definitely have sails, yes. Probably doesn't need to be luxury or anything. A to B transport for one..." Collapse thought out loud as she looked to Jump Start. "Cargo hold for food and materials. A few rooms here and there, I guess." she tapped her chin.

"I suppose if we were to sail back, it would take a similar amount of time to get back to Equestria. We probably wouldn't end up right where we left but ending up anywhere along the Eastern Shoreline of Equestria would be nice." she remarked.

Jump Start gave a nod, getting back to looking over the machine, trying to make sense of it. "Oh? Matches?" she quietly said to herself as she discovered a small box of sticks.

"We probably won't need a dedicated kitchen, dining hall... bathroom, or any of the other things that would be necessary to support 20 crew members. Should be fairly simple to make blueprints for, though we need to keep measurements in mind..." Magloria said as she began to create some possible designs and layouts. Of course, nothing is perfect the first time it's created, so many small details had to be discussed over and ironed out over what felt like hours.

At some point during a discussion about suitable wood sealant to keep the ship waterproof, they saw a pulse of fire from where Jump Start was. Outside of the hose connected to the barrel was a small flame, focused onto a single point.

"Welder and metal cutter, I think?" Jump Start remarked as she stared at the flame.

Collapse would comment on the various designs and layouts. She favored a more spartan interior with the bare necessities. It wasn't something they had to go overboard with in her opinion, when it was intended to be A to B transport back home. Comfort was not really the goal with that, in her eyes. For a suitable wood sealant, she suggested some kind of sap for that.

Looking over to Jump Start and the machine Collapse smiled. "There we go, good job. We could probably use that if we have any metals we need to weld together. Seems like there was some sort of fuel in that barrel. Perhaps gasoline or kerosene, can't really tell but I think we've figured this one out." Collapse commented smiling at Jump Start. She gave a little hoof clap in applause.

[23-Mar-22 03:46 PM]
Jump Start merely shied away from the compliment, stating that she'd go over to figure out how all of the other machines worked too. In reality, she was trying to distract herself from the approval she received, not realizing that this would likely result in even more praise later.

Magloria meanwhile was done with the blueprint for now. There were many little details that they had to properly go through later, which are too numerous to bother writing down in any form of story. She probably could go through them now, but she, in her own words, "Couldn't care less about what a piece of paper says they need at the moment."

Collapse would watch as Jump Start would go over to the machines, perhaps she could find something that Collapse missed from her brief overview. But it was amusing for Collapse to see the way Jump Start reacted to her compliments like that. Jump Start was always the shier, orange Earth Pony.

"That's fine. At least we considered some of the things we need to do when we inevitably do." Collapse spoke as she would walk over to the fruit that Magloria was cooking, looking to see if it was ready yet for breakfast.

Turns out in their time checking over the machines and discussing potential boat designs, the fruit that had been cooking had become slightly... crisp. Not absolutely burnt mind you, but they had shriveled up considerably and had dark scorch marks where the heat rose from the fire between the grill sticks.

Magloria, upon realizing that she hasn't been paying attention, groaned at the sight of their saddened meal, but still took it off of the grill and put it on plates. "If you still want these, you can have them. We still have fresher stuff if you prefer that." she stated.

Collapse looks to Magloria. "No it's fine. I'll gladly eat this, I prefer to save food and I don't wanna waste all the effort you put into this meal." Collapse spoke, speaking as if she would eat dirt if Magloria gave it to her. Would she? Well, probably.

Collapse got it onto the plate and looked at as if it was the most tasty thing ever. Perhaps her look was a bit more forced, but she feared that if she would eat something else, she would be displeasing Magloria even though she already said the option was open.

The fruit, as expected, was dry on the outside, tasted like charcoal in some places and didn't have much juice left inside. Still, it was sweet and food so no reason to just throw it aside.

Jump Start was less enthusiastic, but she still had loyalties and didn't want to waste, so she reluctantly ate her own fill, though visibly cringed at the texture and flavour.

Collapse smirked at Jump Start's cringing there. Collapse clearly struggled to eat some of it but she had a better containment of her emotions and ate up every single bite of the fruit on the plate. Still, burnt pieces of fruit still are worth eating, and would still have energy in them as well. When she was done she looked to Jump Start. "Yummy." she spoke happily, although in truth she was referencing Jump Start herself. How funny of her, throwing in references to her desires without making it obvious.

Not noticing the very hidden message behind Collapse's words, Jump Start shook her head. "Not nearly as good as it could've been. It tasted like chalk covered in honey." she replied, pushing her empty plate away once she was done.

"So..." Magloria said as she chowed down on her own shriveled food. "We have plenty of options for today, so what do you think we should do? Search for those other places on the map? Check the devastation that Collapse's flames did to Carocol? Perhaps take a break and go looking for seaponies on the beach?"

Collapse's ears perked up at the idea of looking for the seaponies. "I wanna go look for the seaponies. We haven't seen them in a while and I kinda wanna see what they are up to. Plus they are so colorful, seeing them all about in the sea, many colors." she smiled. "We can spend a few hours on the beach and then we can check out the flames did in Carocol afterwards." she suggested.

"Sure. A day of relaxation it is then. After what we had to go through last night, I suppose we deserve this." Magloria commented. Jump Start looked like she greatly approved of not having to do anything dangerous again, clearly excited with the way her tail flicked and hooves shifted.

Gathering everyone's saddlebags, and leaving most of their stuff inside behind since they wouldn't need it, Magloria began leading them down the path that had been cut through the trees, then through the jungle beyond when the path stopped due to lack of deforestation.

Eventually they reached the white sandy beaches and the ocean ahead, the sunlight surprisingly bright on the sand after spending a while under the tree canopy.

Collapse got her saddlebags on and seemed to jump and skip playfully upon seeing Jump Start's excitement. It was more of a response to Jump Start's behavior, than it was the idea of going to the beach. Collapse's thoughts were happy and pleased at the thought of meeting friendly seaponies out in the sea.

"I wonder what you think of the seaponies. I think they are really interesting and colorful. Each of them unique, just like ponies in general." Collapse remarked, taking a glance at Magloria's blue-ness before approaching the shoreline, she would set her boots and saddlebags by a rock by the shore, frolicking her yellow hooves in the sand a bit before going into the water.

Magloria gave a shrug in response. "They're decent folk. Maybe a bit too on the nose with the whole ocean theme, but they can't really help that." she responded, simply deciding to pace around along the wet sands, scooping up any water on the tides that got too close to her and floating it around in long stings with her magic.

Jump Start meanwhile decided to run about on the sands. Given the jungle's nature, running constantly had been hard to do for them. Jump Start's pony instincts for running were showing full force.

As for Collapse, she ~~ didn't realize that she had stepped foot in a riptide, which quickly dragged her out to sea, never to be seen again.~~ could feel the cool water splash over her hooves every time the tide came in. Was refreshing similar to dipping in the river.

Collapse's eyes rolled back as she sighed upon the feeling of the water sloshing up y her hooves. She went ahead and looked over to see Jump Start running about. "Well, consider that a challenge." she spoke, and broke off into a sprint after Jump Start, who could likely tell that Collapse was just being playful if the gentle giggles were any indication.

Magloria could see Collapse's maroon tail trailing in the wind. Collapse definitely enjoyed the sight of Jump Start's tail in the wind as well. She looks over to Magloria for a brief second, her look conveying that she wanted her to join in the 'fun'.

The moment Jump Start saw (and heard) Collapse coming up behind her, she gave a squeak and began to run even faster, as if she was being chased, which she was.

Magloria seemed to debate whether to join in or not. On one hand, she could use the exercise. On the other, Collapse is the one who is encouraging it.

Even though she had been running around for a while already, Jump Start still had more stamina than Collapse, who eventually started to tire. When she had to stop and catch her breath, she noticed Magloria walk up to her.

"When you're ready for another round, maybe we can catch up to her and get her." she suggested calmly.

Collapse chased after Jump Start. It was interesting, to see the almost child like look in Collapse's eyes there. She would have been a playful yellow filly, one would figure. Perhaps it was easy to imagine a yellow fuzzball like her running around the place. But despite Collapse's best efforts, she was not able to catch up to her Earth pony companion.

Collapse would slow down and stop to catch a breathe she'd look over to the blue mare who walked up to her. "Of course." she spoke, as if not expecting Magloria to suggest something like that. "Perhaps we could even do an obstacle course, with the water right by - would be relatively easy for you to make one." she added.

"It would be relatively easy to create one, but we wouldn't be able to use it for very long out in the sun like this. I'd have to channel magic into it constantly to keep it from melting, so perhaps not." Magloria replied, then pointed over to Jump Start who was now trotting casually across the sands.

"We can however hunt down that foolish little filly who thinks she's safe from us without any problems. We take 2 different directions, then trap her and grab her."

"Well alright." Collapse said, not going against Magloria's word there as she looks at Jump Start trotting about. However, she smiled at Magloria's plan to chase after Jump Start. "Oh, we can definitely do that. The orange little filly won't know what's coming for her. The blue and yellow fillies have the right idea." she nodded excitedly and took her position and would gesture to Magloria to proceed, when the two of them were ready to play their little game with Jump Start.

Magloria's expression dropped at Collapse's comment about her. "Don't call me a filly." she warned, then as if nothing happened, she began her run towards Jump Start, though didn't go straight for her, instead moving to the side.

Jump Start, in response, went from a trot back to a run again, though with Magloria coming in from the side, she started to turn away from her approach in the opposite direction.

Did Collapse know what to do next, or was hunting techniques beyond her understanding?

Collapse mimicked Magloria's motions the best she could but mirrored. It was something that she had to actively think about, in a sense. It wouldn't make sense for her to just go straight, but instead to mirror Magloria's actions, in an attempt to cover the whole 'picture' so to speak. As this happened, her enjoyment of the situation was a bit reduced to Magloria's expression there.

When Jump Start started to get away from Magloria she felt a sense of relief and accomplishment, until she realized that the more she turned, the closer she ended up getting to Collapse instead, she squeaked, turning the other way again.

This only caused her to lose ground. Magloria moved around even more, subtly guiding Jump Start in the direction of the ocean waves where there would be no further escape. Her hooves splashed into the shallows as she tried to get away, but now the wet sand and water was slowing her down.

She made a desperate attempt now to run back across the beach, but in doing so she had to change direction, which put her even closer to Collapse, and this time she *wasn't* running away from her in a straight line.

Collapse changed directions suddenly in a way that would make it seem she was moving further away, only for her to move diagonally in an attempt to block Jump Start off from moving where she wanted to go. Across Collapse's face, there was that almost devious filly look across her face. She couldn't help herself there. She could easily use magic to grab Jump Start but in her eyes, that would be cheating, now wouldn't it?

As Collapse takes these actions, she occasionally looks over to Magloria to see where she was to plan her actions accordingly. It was interesting, the way Collapse seemed to be 'replying' to Magloria's moves, though her own moves.

Out of the corner of her eye Jump Start saw Collapse approach, but she couldn't manage to move fast enough to avoid her. The only way left she had was into the ocean, and she couldn't do that.

Magloria at this point was behind Jump Start, blocking off any escape that she might've had if she decided to turn around and run back. The only way Jump Start could go was into the clutches of Collapse.

Which left the decision up to Collapse. How was she intending to catch the mare? lunge at her and pin her down? Perhaps push her off her feet into the water? Or just hoist her into the air with magic since she was close enough anyway?

Collapse just decided to reach out with her hooves and gently bring Jump Start close to her and give her a warm gentle hug. She smiled widely. "And thus the little Jump Start is captured." she said, giving Jump Start some gentle pats. Her tail wagged in the wind a bit - as if this little game made her more excited than she was normally.

At Jump Start's speed that she was going and strength she had initially caused Collapse to be dragged along with her, but when she realized that she had been caught in a non-forceful way, she stopped and whinnied.

"No fair, you both were going after me. How was I supposed to keep away from both of you?" she complained.

"No one said it had to be fair, even you." Magloria pointed out as she caught up with the pair.

Chapter 62

Collapse nodded and took out a piece of fruit and gave it to Jump Start. "Here you go. I figured you wanted something." she spoke and looked out into the ocean. "Well, I think we could go look for seaponies now." she remarked casually, looking out to see if she could see any friendly seaponies out in the sea nearby.

Jump Start accepted the fruit and began to chew on it, now just sitting in the water and wet sand thinking about her defeat, which she still was sulking about.

Collapse didn't see any seaponies out in the ocean. The waves were too chaotic to see everything at once, the distance made it hard to see very far anyway, and seaponies are usually swimming *under* the sea anyway.

Though there *were* seaponies off down the distant shoreline, or at least what they thought were seaponies. Seals don't come in reds and greens, do they?

Collapse would smile upon noticing the seaponies. She'd reach down and give Jump Start a gentle pat on the shoulder. "Hey, I see some seaponies over there. Let's go look at them, maybe they can help cheer ya up." Collapse said playfully to Jump Start, and would begin to lead them over towards where she saw the seaponies from. Were they a bunch of mares, basking in the sun, waiting for Collapse to come to them? Collapse could only dream, but maybe the universe would smile down upon her and grant her wish of being utterly surrounded by mares.

There were about 4 or 5 of the seaponies laying about on the beach. Some of them were obviously mares. Others were a bit harder for Collapse to tell at the moment.

As they got closer they noticed that the seaponies were having a relaxing time. Some laid on their back, letting the sun warm up their bellies. Others played with lumps of sand, digging it out with their flippers and forming piles of it nearby.

One wasn't relaxing though. Instead they were keeping an eye out and watching for potential threats. It was then that this one noticed the approaching group and warned the others, who were all now staring at them.

Collapse would look at the assorted bunch of seaponies. The way they were relaxing about was adorable. It was comforting to see their various colors and seeing them playing about as she looked at them, there. She realized the stares and would kindly wave to them, once they were close enough to converse with them.

"Oh, hello. Sorry if we are bothering you. We saw you lot sitting here and wanted to just stop by and have a chat, if that's not a problem with you." Collapse said to them calmly, her tail swaying in the wind. Clearly the three of them were different from them, and it is unlikely that these three happened to be in the same group that they met some time ago.

All the seaponies turned to look at each other, some whispering to each other while others just looked confused. The one that had been watching out for danger eventually looked back at the ponies, ready to answer.

"N-no problem at all. Just didn't expect to see... other things that could talk here. Especially ones that look so similar to us." she replied.

More hushed whispers grew, though this time it was loud enough to barely hear. Something about knowing that land walking ponies met them before and that this must be them. Of course it was not spoken as straight forward as that, as information circled around the whispering group.

Collapse understood their whispers but didn’t mention that she did. She smiled calmly and sat down next to them. Not too close, as she didn’t want to upset them.

“Can say the same when we ended up here by accident. We are actually building a ship so we can sail back home. We come from a long, long ways from here.” she said, looking at them all casually.

“I wonder how it must be with flippers instead of hooves.” she tapped her chin. “Must be nice to glide through the waves, and control your movements precisely.” she added.

More whispers came from those at the back of the group, confirming that these were the same land ponies that found them, because they had explained they were building a 'ship' as well.

One of the seaponies, a pink one with an orange mane, whiskers and a tail fin, spoke up. "It is nice to swim through the water, but it must be even better to have solid flippers like what you have, so we wouldn't have to waddle along the beach." he said.

Collapse would move a little closer and show her hooves closer so they could all see them. "Well, where we come from we are indeed inhabitants of the land. We are from a nation across the seas called Equestria, and there are many of us, just like there are many of you." she said.

"Well there are three main races of ponies. Unicorns, Earth ponies..." she said, gesturing to the three of them. "And the pegasi, but none of those are with us. Those types of ponies have wings and are able to fly." she smiled calmly.

Wanting to return similar information to the ponies, another seapony, this time a turquoise one with a navy blue mane and tail, spoke up.

Most of what they said was what they already knew. The existence of Hippocampi, Kelpi and Kelpies and how they were related to each other. The various places they lived in the ocean, including the places close to some smaller islands.

Only a few smaller details were new to them, details that weren't all that useful in the grand scheme of things, even if knowing where some strange named purple sea flower thrived would probably be a sight to see.

Collapse would then accept this information and then go onto explain about the Equestrian cities and famous areas of Equestria as well as telling them more about magic and the various knowledge the ponies had. She also would introduce their names to the seaponies as well, wondering what their names were in turn.

As she talked, she would scoot a bit closer to them as if slowly getting them all to warm up to her. She would let Magloria and Jump Start join the conversation if they wanted.

Explaining to the seaponies about the Equestrian lands and the places on it, as well as the nature of their own magic took quite a while. Most seaponies were interested in the lecture, but others who were more interested in relaxing as they were beforehand returned to digging sand pits and sunbathing.

She got a variety of names in return for theirs. The turquoise one was Stalwart Sheen and the pink whiskered one was Shimmer Whisker. Oddly obvious name, but it's not like that wasn't the case for certain ponies.

Magloria and Jump Start started their own smaller conversations with individual seaponies. Nothing that really shared much information, just casual conversation.

Collapse got close to Shimmer Whisker. What a cute name, she thought. She got close enough to give Shimmer Whisker a close look over, comparing her features with that of a normal pony. It wasn’t every day Collapse was near to a seapony after all. Shimmer Whisker can see the innocent curiosity in her eyes as Collapse looks over her.

“Nice names for sure. I used to know a seapony for a little while named Aura Surge. That is another story too.” Collapse remarked, and then would go on about their various travels underground and the seaponies underground as well. Perhaps these ones would know something about that, although it was unlikely for them to.

Looking over Shimmer Whisker, her pink coat and the scales of her tail was almost completely clear of any markings of any sort. Only part that had a different colour was the fin at the end of her tail which was a deep purple colour.

Her proportions matched that of a skinny mare, in Collapse's opinion. Every part of her was slim, very little pudge anywhere to be seen.

As already seen, the Kelpie parts were her whiskers and her tail. Her ears and orange mane were both pony, and she had no extra fins on her back, making her a Kelpus. Her eyes were a clear blue colour, which matched the ocean waters.

None of the seaponies knew anything about the underground waterways, or what they were home to. Some were shocked to learn that there were some of their own kind trapped down inside the massive whirlpool that they already knew about, and insisted on helping them. After being told there was no waterways up to the surface, they calmed down, saddened that there was nothing they could do to help them.

Collapse would take in the sights of Shimmer Whisker and smile at her. Obviously, the whiskers were the best parts of the seaponies. She wished that regular ponies would have whiskers like that. She thought of Magloria's blue whiskers and Jump Start's orange whiskers twitching in the wind. Wouldn't that just be adorable? But Shimmer Whisker was a great seapony for sure.

Upon their reactions to what Collapse had told them about she would tell them more in depth about all the things they saw down there. The lakes, the designs of the buildings, how daily life was for those seaponies from what she could tell. While they were cut off from everyone else - they were doing well for themselves, all things considered. She was curious about seapony magic, and would explain more about Aura Surge and her manner of magic - perhaps they knew something similar?

They definitely knew of similar magic to what Aura Surge had shown them. Just like the seaponies down in the underground caverns, the seaponies in the ocean also had powerful Kelpies that could perform extreme feats of magic.

They were equally rare up here as well, with only a small fraction of the seaponies born having all the different traits attuned to performing magic efficiently.

The seaponies that Collapse was talking to didn't know specifically about the spells that were for Kelpies only, but the ones that had the necessary features to cast were able to give a bit of detail into some of the various water-based magic they could perform.

Moving faster, directing currents, bubble formation, purification of both water and life. Some even heard of a more taboo magic where they could control the ocean fish. None of them could actually do that though, because bending the wills of others is extremely frowned upon.

Collapse accepted the answers she got and would go on to tell about the specific types of spells that Collapse knew. A pocket dimension spell, anti-gravity, and an ignition spell along with a few more offensive spells like lasers and defensive ones like shielding. That was all Collapse was basically capable of. To boot, she would take out her fly ring and show them all what it looked like.

She allowed them to touch it if they wanted to, but the fly ring was not powered on just incase. If they touched it, they would find that it would spin idly without friction, It was oddly light for as heavy as it looked - but that was probably because of the lack of friction that was somehow applied into the construction of the device.

The seaponies mentioned some of the similiarities that Collapse's spells had with their own. While not true anti-gravity, bubbles or constant manipulation of currents could almost serve as levitation. Shielding similarly could be done with pressurized water.

Only one of the seaponies attempted to touch the ring. The others, especially the ones with whiskers, didn't trust the feeling they were getting from the ring. The subtle energies that they felt was wrong to them.

By this point, hours of conversation had passed will all the different stories and explanations that had been talked about. The seaponies had frequently returned to the waters for a bit before coming back, to keep themselves properly wet.

Now the group was starting to have other needs, so they would soon be leaving for the ocean again to fulfill them. Collapse only had time for a little bit more before they would be heading off.

Chapter 63

Collapse definitely enjoyed the time they had talking and enjoyed seeing their glistening bodies with the seawater in the sunlight. But eventually the two groups had to part ways. Collapse couldn’t help but feel a bit saddened by that.

“Well before we go I would want a hug. A seapony hug, if any of you don’t mind.” she spoke, summoning her ring away so if any of them wanted to hug her they could. Her yellow coat looked soft.

Either way it was clear that she felt safe with the seaponies. It was interesting they could talk to another group normally, even when they were ponies - they were vastly different than “normal” ponies. It was very interesting.

Hopefully one or more of them could give her a hug. A seapony hug. Aren’t seapony hugs the best? Other than Magloria hugs, of course.

Most looked confused at the sudden odd request, not sure why she wanted to touch them like that. They didn't really know her very well, and she didn't know them that well either.

Only a couple accepted her offer to hug. One that didn't get a chance to talk to her yet, and Shimmer Whisker.

When Shimmer Whisker gave her hug, Collapse got a face full of whiskers, tickling the hairs on her muzzle. It didn't last as long as she would've liked though, as the other seaponies were beginning to leave, and Shimmer Whisker didn't want to get left behind.

Some of them gave the group a farewell as they returned to the ocean waters, and then they were all gone.

When Shimmer Whisker hugged her, she giggled like a filly quietly upon feeling the whiskers tickle her muzzle like that. It felt so funny and she gave Shimmer Whisker a few gentle pats on the back and enjoyed the hug as long as it lasted. She wished them all well, and said that Shimmer Whisker was her favorite seapony and that she'd like to meet her again someday.

Collapse watched as they went back in the water and stood there until they were all gone. It was kind of interesting, to see how easily attached Collapse gets with others and how eager she is to hug others like that. But either way she'd blush as she turned back to them. "I wish we had whiskers..." Collapse could be heard muttering, as she looked right at Jump Start, imagining her orangey whiskery goodness.

Magloria shrugged at Collapse's words. "Seapony whiskers would definitely have their use. After all they are tuned to magical currents. But it's not like we can just steal a seapony's whiskers or grow a set on ourselves." she stated.

Jump Start, not noticing Collapse's daydreaming about her, began to look around the beach. "I don't see any other seaponies around. We're probably not going to be able to talk to them anymore today. Was... nice while it lasted though."

"Maybe we could do fake whiskers just for the fun of it..." Collapse said, staring out to the sea but her mind seemed to snap back into reality and looked up at the sun there. It was probably time to start heading back.

"We should head back now. Tomorrow we'll have to come up with something to do. Maybe more blueprint talk." she said to them, wanting to get a solid plan for the construction of the ship.

"Fake whiskers." Magloria's face scrunched up at the sound of it. "That's impractical. Not useful at all. The point of whiskers is to sense more. Fake ones would just get in the way." she replied in mild disgust at the idea, while she began to lead them all towards where the river met the sea.

Given they had broken through a wall of jungle to reach the beach, they wouldn't know *exactly* where to return to to get home anyway.

By this point the sun told them that it was the middle of the afternoon. They had been roaming the beach and talking with the seaponies for quite a lot of time it seems, but they still had time for a little bit more. Perhaps just searching for food and whatnot.

Collapse would continue walking and search for food, based on Magloria's reply it was not something she'd wanna engage with further. She wanted to make Magloria smile and laugh, but unfortunately it didn't seem that she found humor in that. She looks to them. "Perhaps we could find different kinds of fruits that are better for eating." she suggested curiously.

"Whats your favorite foods, actually?" she asked the two of them. "I like cookies. Chocalate chip." her mouth almost watered at the thought.

Magloria lightly shook her head. "No, let's not be picky. We can be picky if we find a surplus of food, but until we find a grove full of trees laden with fruits, nuts and edible roots... or berry bushes... or leafy green plants worth eating. Until we find something like that, we take what we can get."

In response to the question about favorite foods, Jump Start blurted out "Cheese with pasta and creamy sauce!" She had mentioned something like that once before.

Magloria however refused to mention her favorite food, though she did mention that it was less acceptable to ponies back home than most foods, hence the reason why she wouldn't tell them.

By the time they were done searching around they had located several trees and bushes with suitable food (that hadn't already been looted by monkeys and birds), enough that they wouldn't need to forage around for a while.

Collapse giggled at Jump Start's blurting out there and thought that was cute. Collapse, you just can't keep your blushes to yourself can you? Well, at least she was trying to do so. To Magloria's point about the food, it made sense. The food they had found was enough to service them at the bare minimum. Survival wasn't always about enjoyment.

To Magloria refusing to mention her favorite food - she found that suspicious. Maybe it was meat, like bird meat? Snake meat? Whatever the case, she could at least understand the reasoning as to why she didn't tell them but Collapse mentioned that she didn't care what Magloria would eat as that was her body, her choice.

Now that they had found suitable food, Collapse would proceed to pick the various fruits she was able to locate and collect them in her saddlebags.

After collecting what they could, they began to head back to their camp. With the help from the river, this was easy to accomplish, and they were soon back at their clearing, offloading their supplies as the sunset's orange glow passed over them.

Collapse would walk back to the camp and slipped off her boots, stretching her hooves before laying back and relaxing with a sigh. As she closed her eyes, the memories of Shimmer Whisker and Aura Surge flowed through her mind as a light smile came across her face.

The others left Collapse alone as she daydreamed about whatever she was doing. "Mares, probably." Magloria thought while she set up a small area with sticks and vines, acting as a box for their plentiful food.

Night eventually came, and they all started to feel tired after their playtime at the beach, though if how Collapse was is any indication, she was practically asleep already.

Collapse was already asleep by the time they had went to sleep. She was curled up into a fuzzy yellow ball. It seemed she floofed up her tail and mane to look more inviting if they wanted to lay next to her. Her cutie mark could be seen in her yellowness as she slept peacefully.

Neither of them snuggled down close to Collapse. Magloria because her usual distanced behaviour, and Jump Start because she technically didn't get permission, and doesn't want to intrude.

The night passed by fairly unspectacularly. A rattling sound of bushes woke up Jump Start at one point, but nothing else came from it. Probably just some snake or something.

Collapse woke up some time after the sun had already risen above the horizon. It was strange, she could *almost* feel those whiskers touching her face and the rest of her fur when she was given a proper seapony inspection, or at least, that's what her dream thought they did.

Collapse wakes up and the thought of the soft seapony whiskers was in her mind. Was she dreaming about the seaponies? She couldn't really tell, since usually she didn't remember her dreams when she awoke. Maybe it was just pollen in the air, or worse - some kind of bug crawling on her face?

Her eyes opened and she stretched and yawned. She was really tired last night and for once slept alone. Honestly, she didn't mind. That seapony hug was all that was on her mind that night but upon waking up, she'd go to see if the others prepared breakfast for her already. If not, she'd get to preparing itself for all of them.

The shelter was empty of any other ponies, so it was safe to assume that they had already left. Outside she saw the both at work by one of the machines. A plate of foodstuff had already been set aside.

It looked as though they were using the sawmill that they stole. Jump Start was constantly turning a crank to power the blade, while Magloria was using her magic to force logs through, precisely cutting them into various sizes of planks and firewood scraps.

Jump Start briefly paused her work to say good morning to Collapse, mentioning that the plated food nearby was for her.

"Let me oversleep, hmm? Instead of letting me join the fun?" she grinned, greeting the two of them as she would get her food from the plate and would look to the various sizes of planks and firewood bits as the food and plate floats in her magic idly. Collapse would fix her mane and tail from her magic, since it was getting a little fluffy since they haven't been in the position to get a mane cut or anything like that.

"Tried to wake you, but Jump Start didn't want me to give you a solid kick after our first and second attempt failed." Magloria said, only glancing over at the mare briefly before returning her focus to the woodwork.

They've gone through 2 logs by now, creating a decently stacked pile of planks and posts that they could use later. The size of each similar plank wasn't exactly perfect, but you can't blame an engineer and ship captain for not knowing precise carpentry measurements.

Speaking of long manes, Collapse actually had a decent choice about how to deal with that, given they had a number of sharp instruments lying around. Knives, the axe, Magloria's short sword and even the currently in use sawblade if she was particularly impatient and suicidal.

Collapse looked to Magloria and smirked slightly at that, and inspected the logs. Any imperfections were fine in her eyes - the ship was intended to be the most basic of basics, bare survival. A to B transportation.

"Well, actually now that I think about it - I am gonna try cutting my mane a bit." she spoke and would get one of the knives. "Although I've never cut my mane with a knife before. I'd appreciate it if you watched me to make sure I don't cut myself." she said to them, waiting until they were done with their respective tasks.

Magloria didn't seem all that hurried with getting the rest of their task done, since Collapse shouldn't have mush risk in doing her task anyway. "It's rather simple to do, Collapse. Just pull your mane away from your neck with your telekinesis and cut slightly further away. Shouldn't have any risk of cutting yourself, assuming that you don't drop the knife." she said.

"I can watch." Jump Start responded, looking over. She was still cranking the sawblade, but she didn't really have to concentrate on that as much as Magloria did.

Collapse would turn so that Jump Start could see her, she would be sure to follow Magloria's instructions as she took her time in cutting her mane. She angled the blade carefully and was cutting a way, to get a sizeable amount of her mane cut back. Wanting to go for a bit of a shorter look since it was getting annoyingly long by this point. She would also do the same for her tail, which was also simpler.

"Well, I could give you both haircuts maybe..." she smirked.

Magloria declined the offer, since she was able to trim her own mane and tail without assistance, having done so many times before she became a ship captain with access to a mirror.

Jump Start would let her do it though, after they were done with the sawmill. That way they didn't have any possibility of disaster involving the knife or the sawblade. That would be pretty bad.

With the third log done, they decided to stop. They now had enough planks that they could get started on something better, like perhaps the beginning of an actual floor and walls for their shelter. They'd still need a way to keep the planks together though.

Collapse was glad that Jump Start at least would allow her mane and tail to be cut. She'd wait patiently until she was done using the sawmill and when Jump Start was ready she would tell her to sit down so she could get a better look at her mane.

If Jump Start sat down as requested, she would begin carefully cutting her hair. While she did so, she found herself mesmerized at Jump Start's mane color. "Well, its very orange. Orangey." she grinned happily, as if she enjoyed simply looking at the color her mane as she would inevitably cut it back a bit. If Jump Start had any requests for length, she'd do her best to oblige. The same would apply to her tail as well.

"You know, we should save some tufts of your hair. Incase we need to clone you, we can bring you back by cloning the DNA of your hair." Collapse grinned. "Well, two Jump Starts would be better than one." she giggled.

Jump Start moved over to where she was instructed and sat herself down, giving Collapse easy access to her mane and tail. She didn't really have any preference over what style she wanted, just as long as it was shorter than before.

She cringed when she was called Orangey, not liking that sort of nickname at all. It only deepened when Collapse put the thought of cloning herself into her mind. Was she really that expendable that they could just replace her?

Magloria spoke up. "As brilliant a fantasy as that is, that's all it's going to be Collapse. Because unless there is some sort of miraculously still working cloning machine inside an old ruin or something, we're going to be nowhere near pulling that off."

Collapse looks to Magloria. "Well, double the trouble - double the fun. But one Jump Start is great though." she said, patting Jump Start's shoulder in a friendly manner. "But I think you would be overwhelmed if there were two Collapses." Collapse giggled, imagining Jump Start surrounded by two Collapses when it was time to lay down.

Soon enough Collapse finishes the cutting of Jump Start's her mane and tail. "Well, your all set. Nice and shorter than before." she stated calmly in a friendly, warm manner. It seems she was being more warm worded, maybe that's because she was able to have physical contact with Jump Start.

Judging from the way that Magloria simply glared, she did not approve of the idea of having 2 Collapses constantly trying to get into her bed. Especially since she knew that they would only encourage each other, making it even worse.

"Thank you." Jump Start said, getting back up and moving around, trying to get a good look at herself. She couldn't quite see everything, but she seemed satisfied by the end of it. She could look at herself in the river later anyway.

Collapse pulled herself away and looked away from Magloria, understanding what Magloria was likely wanting to convey there. She would back off on her jokes and look out into the jungle as if wondering what to do. "Well, what now?" she asked curiously, not sure what to do now.

"Boring work is probably what we *should* be doing, but as usual we have the means to completely go against that and do something else, somewhere else. We've still got many points of interest on the map. Both ones that panthins are interested in, and the ones they want to avoid." Magloria explained.

"And..." she added, "...if we really wanted to, we could go find Pebble again. Perhaps ask her of anywhere we could-" She struck a forehoof to her face, realizing something they could've done. "We could've had her mark new places on the map directly if we had asked."

Collapse looked to them. "Hmm, that would have been interesting. I think we should go find Pebble again and do just that, then explore some of the places she points out for us? And if we can't find her, we can explore the ones the Panthins wanted to avoid." Collapse suggested, seemingly fine with that idea.

"Yeah sure, if that's the plan you're all fine with." Magloria nodded, preparing their stuff in their bags, making especially sure that they're bringing the map and a piece of charcoal (contained inside a leaf wrap, so it doesn't ruin their bags).

Jump Start looked into the jungle, as if trying to work out where they should head towards. "She couldn't have moved very far, right? But then again, it has been more than a day so she could've moved elsewhere." she pondered.

"My best guess would be to head towards where we met her before, perhaps she was settling down somewhere in that area." Collapse suggested as she looked out in the Jungle. "We can look around for a bit to see if we can find her, I would suggest heading to where we were before when we talked to her." Collapse added.

"Why did you say the same thing twice...?" Magloria asked as she rose an eyebrow. She shook her head, brushing off the mare's strange ways of communicating. "Anyway, let's hope that they left a trail to follow. Probably have, given Pebble's size and her entourage."

Once they were all ready, Magloria began setting off, leading them to the last known location of the giant lizard.

Collapse follows after Magloria and stayed rather silent for a time as she proceeded to examine their surroundings for any signs as to where Pebble went. Collapse didn't answer Magloria's question, but Collapse did think she was weird a lot of times, not that she minded of course. Collapse had her boots on, as they proceeded towards the last known location of Pebble.

Passing by the panthin structures was a simple feat, as all they had to do was repeat what they had already done. They reached the riverside spot where they had found Pebble and, as expected, she wasn't there.

But there was the jungle around them, and though it looked like the same old jungle to most, to Magloria she saw a part that was suspiciously *lizard* sized. Where most saw dirt, she saw lizard-shaped footprints.

"Pebble went down this way. It's a good thing that it hasn't rained since we saw her, otherwise it would be impossible to track her down." Magloria lectured to the others.

"Yup. Let's track down our friendly big lizard." Collapse replied as she would follow Magloria forward, keeping an eye out on their surroundings as they proceeded forward. As they walked she seemed to look at Jump Start a few times to see her hair and tail. She smiled at Jump Start, that smile was a bit over-exaggerated, as she was trying to make Jump Start laugh.

Magloria was also keeping a constant eye on their surroundings, but for a different reason, given she needed to lead them through the jungle. Jump Start on the other hand smiled awkwardly back at Collapse. She didn't know what Collapse was doing, but she supposed she could try and humor her.

Eventually they got to a part of the jungle where they could hear rustling from somewhere up ahead. That probably meant that they were close. All they had to do was pass through another dozen bushes and they'd be at the source.

Collapse would slow down and listen to the restling. She hope that they weren't intruding on Pebble - imagining Pebble being angry would be terrifying to say the least. Provided if nothing else happened, they would proceed through the bushes. Collapse would instinctively move closer to Jump Start as if protecting her incase if anything bad happened.

There was no other sound aside from the occasional shifting ahead, so things moved forward as expected.

Until she reached the second to last bush, where a sudden burst of movement came from the other side. In less than a second she saw a pair of bright golden eyes, glowing as they peered at her.

A sense of dread flowed through her, but she couldn't look away. Everything, including her senses, went stiff and unresponsive all of a sudden...

...

"-so sorry!" a voice said as Collapse slowly regained her hearing. Her other senses were also slowly coming back, but having everything being numb like that felt very odd. What had even happened?

She had also been moved to a different spot as well, now in a small clearing next to Magloria and Jump Start, who somehow looked like they had been lightly covered in dust, and the lizard known as Pebble that they were hoping to find.

Pebble seemed distraught over something, if the sorrowful expression was any indication. "I didn't expect you to be there, and I can't stop it once it's started!" she bellowed.

Collapse stood there in an unresponsive fashion as she attempted to process what had happened for a few moments - all to no avail. Collapse looked to Pebble in confusion, and guilt.

"I-I don't know what happened, I just...just froze up all of a sudden and I had no idea what had happened. I felt nothing but dread as it happened..." she spoke to the others in confusion as she looked to them, confused at the dust that had now covered them. She wasn't sure where the dust had came from but there were no pressing matters.

"We didn't mean to intrude on whatever you were doing here! I don't understand, what's going on? What happened to me?" Collapse asked Pebble, it was quite clear that she felt as if she had done something wrong.

As Collapse looked about she noticed out of the corner of her eye that she too had her fur coated in a light covering of dust as well. Whatever the others had happen to them, she wasn't excused from.

And as it so happens, Pebble begins to explain it to settle Collapse's confusion. "Again, I'm sorry about doing that to you. It's an ability my species possesses that lets us channel terrifying power through our eyes. Anything that gets caught in our gaze when we're channeling it hardens until they freeze in place, like a statue."

She looked right at Collapse, then immediately shifted her gaze away again, so as to not cause a repeat. "Thankfully we can undo the process, or you would not be speaking with me, or doing much of anything really."

"I was expecting a predator hunting around when I did it. But it was just you." she finished her explanation.

Channeling a terrifying power through their eyes? Perhaps that was somehow related to the eye they somehow found? Well, good thing Collapse didn't mention that. However, she could mention the grounds that it was on though. Perhaps to ask about them as well as some of the other locations.

"Ah, that is what I felt from you before." Collapse sighed, calming down. "Don't worry about it. Nothing bad happened from it, so it's of no issue to us. I do find it very fascinating though, where we come from - nobody that I can name has a power quite like that." Collapse smiled calmly.

"We uh, we wanted to point out some locations on the map that proved interesting to us. We were looking for you to tell us about some of the locations we wanna explore around here." Collapse spoke, pulling out the map. If Pebble obliged, Collapse would point out the various locations that they were interested in exploring as well as asking further if she knew anything about the other area they visited before.

Pebble started to look a little less upset over the whole situation, but she still looked sorry for what she did. "Well perhaps where you come from there are none of my kind. That's probably for the best, as some are known to... abuse it. You can understand what sort of devastation that a look which 'kills' can do."

Initially Pebble had trouble understanding the map and how it was supposed to be read, in relation to the land, but after some instructions from Magloria it seemed to click in her mind. Some general locations she recognized and remembered.

"Two of these marked with an X are old ruined structures. Been no one living there at all, not even wild creatures. Let's see..." she looked at the marks of approval. "Those ones are all places the panthin creatures have found interest in, good source of valuable rocks, useful plants. I don't try to find out what they want them for. It's not worth the risk."

Magloria cut in to the conversation. "You wouldn't happen to know of any other places that aren't on this map, would you?" she asked.

Pebble nodded, and pointed to several locations, which Magloria marked with the charcoal stick. Some of them were large circled areas where they could find plants used in medicines. A couple others were some more unexplored ruins, but none of them matched the size of the big one already on the map, according to Pebble's observations.

The last location she had marked was a possible path through the mountain range to the other side. Pebble said she could cross it, but given the differences between herself and the ponies, it might not be possible for them to get through.

Collapse was definitely thankful that Pebble had access to more information on the locations they had found and stated that all of these were of interest to them. Collapse preferred the idea of heading to the areas with medicinal plants that could be used. It was good to gather up a good supply of those plants for whenever they might need them on future expeditions.

As for the unexplored ruins, Collapse was definitely interested in those as well. As for ones with valuable rocks, that would be a lot more risky since Panthins were likely frequenting those areas and may possibly notice the presence of any exploders in those areas. It was not a confrontation Collapse wanted to have.

All in all, it seemed like they had a lot of interesting places they could visit in the future.

Collapse was probably a lot more forgiving than Pebble may have thought, and would explain about the dragons to Pebble if she was allowed to explain. The Dragons were as unique as ponies were, in most cases they had all different types that focused on various elements and combinations between them.

Chapter 64

Collapse didn't know too much about the dragons, but she did know that there were some cases where a few dragons had been known for far more unique abilities. What those abilities were, Collapse didn't know. She did say to Pebble, that it may have been possible for some rare dragons to have an ability such as her. Collapse didn't know if there were any recorded cases of such a thing, as she's never been to the dragon lands. Collapse did also explain that the Equestrians and Dragons had a long standing peace for decades, coinciding with the ascension of Equestria's current leadership around 50 years ago.

Before then, it was known that not all dragons were as co-operative as they are now. There was one instance in where one of the larger known dragons selfishly took nesting on one of Equestria's mountains, threatening to block the nearby areas over with large clouds of smoke during their long and deep sleep. Although that was long before the current leadership came about, but what Collapse did know is that the Equestrians did convince the dragon to nest somewhere else.

The dragons and the Equestrians largely would respect each other's different ways of life by not interfering with the matters in each other's lands. Instances of trade, and even diplomacy were made on both sides. Collapse didn't know much beyond that, though.

Magloria approved of going to the location with medicine plants first, since it was amazing that they hadn't so far suffered any sort of injury that they would need it for. Jump Start however was concerned over how many different ruins that were scattered around. Perhaps there had been a whole civilization spanning for miles here, like Equestria's.

When Collapse began talking about the dragons, Pebble decided it would be a good time to sit down and get comfortable, since the mare looked like she was going to tell a story. She didn't complain, attentive to the end as it was rare that she was given knowledge from another's perspective.

Jump Start and Magloria however were both confused as to why Collapse had suddenly decided to give Pebble a history lesson. Was it because she was a reptile and would probably understand?

When Collapse was done, the lizard decided to give them a few more locations to mark. 'Places of wonder and beauty' she called them. Not very important, but they were landmarks in their own right. Large waterfalls, pretty rock formations and a crystal cave were among those she listed.

Collapse was quite pleased that Pebble wanted to listen to her there. It was very interesting to be able to explain such knowledge to Pebble, even if she may not understand all of it she hoped that she could find some use for it, someday.

When the other locations were marked, Collapse was quite happy at that. They did indeed could stand to look at some pretty things around here instead of doing work all the time and trying to figure out mysteries. Definitely something that they would hopefully look into in the future.

"Well, once again - we greatly appreciate you pointing these out for us and I am thankful for your help." Collapse concluded, seemingly satisfied by their meeting with Pebble as of yet, unless there was anything else the others wanted to do.

"You're welcome. I'll still be around if you ever wanted to find me again." Pebble replied, standing up again and preparing to continue her journey to wherever she was heading towards. "But until then-"

"Wait, I want to give you something!" Jump Start interrupted, before reaching into her saddlebags and pulling out one of their duplicate tools. "It's quite a tough tool, I'm sure you could make some use out of it." she stated.

Accepting the gift, Pebble pocketed it. "Until we meet again." she farewelled before turning to the jungle, parting the plants and trees as she moved away. Her lizard entourage quickly followed.

"Well, that didn't go perfectly as planned." Magloria said once they were alone again.

Collapse wished Pebble safe travels as she left and was pleased that Jump Start gifted one of the tools to her. How kind of her! That made Collapse smile widely at that. Once Pebble was gone, she looked to Magloria, "Well, yeah, but at least nothing *too* bad happened. Well, shall we take a look a the area with the medicinal plants first? I think we should get that out of the way." Collapse stated, ready to go to that area to recover the plants.

Magloria looked down at the map, right at the spot where the medicine plants were marked. "It'll be another day or so hike, but what place isn't at this point? Not like we can make anything that lets us travel faster."

Checking the position of the sun relative to the map, she pointed out which direction they'd have to head in. "We're going to be travelling this way. On an extra note, we'd be passing quite close to the one she called a big ruin. Perhaps we could check that out at the same time." she said.

Collapse nodded as she looked to the Map. "Well, we'll look at that too. Well, are we ready to go?" Collapse asked, ready to get going and she looked at where it was on the map and turned to walk that way. Unless of course they forgot about anything they needed to go that far.

"Sure. Not like we're going to need planks where we're going anyway." Magloria said as she too began to head toward their destination, Jump Start following behind.

There was very little that they hadn't already seen or dealt with before along the way. They spent a night camping beneath a tree then kept going, until they reached what they thought was the place.

Now all they had to do was find what they were looking for. It's a plant, so it should be easy.

Collapse had spent the night as she usually would. Snuggled up against Jump Start, although she wasn't as close to her as she wanted due to the general heat of the jungle. But when they sent off in the morning, Collapse would keep an eye out for the plant. Provided if they successfully found the plant, she would begin harvesting it and collecting it. That was, if it looked like something that could just be harvested without much issue. It may be more complex.

Well they certainly found a plant that they hadn't seen before, but there was a problem. There were several that they soon discovered laying around the area. After Collapse had already gathered some, parts of an oddly tall bush with blue flowers and red thorns, they found other kinds when searching for more.

"Why didn't we ask her what the plant looked like?" Jump Start complained as she looked at a clump of yellow tubular flowers, each growing from a thin stem.

"For all we know it's a root, vine or fungus." Magloria added as she gently poked at a brown and orange mushroom, thin sheets of it growing out the side of a half dead tree. "Say Jump Start, couldn't you figure out which one it is?" she asked.

Jump Start looked confused. "Why me?"

"You're an earth pony, aren't you more in tune with plants, and such?"

"Yeah, but not like that! I never took any herbology lessons, or medicine... my parents tried to get me to join the wilderness fillies, but I didn't want to. Forests were too scary." Jump Start explained.

Collapse softly chuckles. "Maybe you should have joined the Wilderness fillies, then. It would have prepared you for this - I feel like I may have more of a clue, I did grow up on a Cherry farm after all, and had more experience with plants than most Unicorns would...as I was not like most unicorns, but then again, my experience usually dealt with *one* particular plant. The Cherry." Collapse said back to Jump Start.

"Well, you've already beaten all those wilderness fillies anyways. Giant snakes, bottomless pits, Panthins, massive whirlpools..." she pointed out, before looking to the plants she had in her magic.

"So what should we do to figure it out then? Taste test them? See what has soothing sap or fluid, maybe?" she asked curiously, trying to come to an answer.

Jump Start didn't look pleased at the way she had beaten her similar age kin when she was young. She didn't want to do it *this* way, not at all. "I don't think these are cherries, Collapse... These are... pretty much the complete opposite of cherries." she said.

Magloria looked between the plants they had. "I never was much of an alchemist, but I do know a few things about how to determine uses for reagents. First step was to..." she paused, trying to remember, "...rub a little bit on your skin, I think. If it has a bad reaction, it's harmful to us. Next step if there is no reaction was to lick it, and *then* taste a bit."

"Biggest problem is we don't have any injuries at the moment, so we wouldn't know if it was even doing anything."

Collapse looked to them and grinned somewhat. "I-I mean, it's not like I am here with two really strong ponies who could easily injure me just specifically so we could test to see which plant works, I am totally not insinuating you two to injure me just to test out the plants..." Collapse joked, but it was hard to tell if she was being serious or not, based on her character thus far.

"But we can probably do the small testing before we do anything *too* drastic." Collapse's eyes narrowed slightly.

Magloria carefully watched Collapse, attempting to discern whether the mare in front of her was suffering from any form of sudden tendencies towards self-harm that could otherwise cause a problem later... or if she was just into that. *"Nah, she's just into that."* Magloria thought.

"Yyyeeesss... let's just do the skin test first, shall we? And since you're volunteering hold out your hoof." Magloria instructed.

Assuming Collapse did this, she would mark several small locations on Collapse's lower foreleg. Taking some small samples from the nearby plants, she then rubbed a bit into each of the areas.

It didn't take long for the one with the blue flower to start itching and turning red. Good thing they hadn't *immediately* used the first plant they saw.

Collapse held out her hoof so Magloria could put the markings on it, and she looks at her hoof and sees the itching spot. "Heh, that itches. Good thing I didn't eat it." she chuckled casually at this as she watched Magloria rub each of the samples into her hoof like that. She stood still with her hoof raised so they could watch to see what happens.

The flowers, stems and mushrooms started to itch. Only circles didn't have a reaction that was obvious, that being the yellow tubular flower and the weird mushroom.

"I don't know about you, but I don't think that Pebble was talking about a mushroom when she talked about medicine plants. Are mushrooms even called plants?" Jump Start asked.

"I think the yellow flower is it. A mushroom isn't a plant, Jump Start. It's a fungus." Collapse narrowed her eyes slightly at how Jump Start didn't know something like that. "But the flower is it, what do you think Magloria?" Collapse asked.

"I know that, but I was just wondering if Pebble knew that mushrooms aren't plants." Jump Start replied in an attempt to cover up for her mistake.

Magloria spent a minute looking around the jungle around them, trying to see if there were any other plants that they hadn't seen before. She eventually returned her gaze to Collapse. "Well I don't know what else it could be. I guess this is it." she said.

Collapse rose an eyebrow. "You think a lizard that has been around here for decades, if not longer would not tell the difference between a mushroom and a plant." she smirked and gave Jump Start a pat on the shoulder for her mistake. "It's okay, don't worry." she whispered before looking back to Magloria.

"Well, I guess that's it. Let's collect a good supply of it for our saddlebags." she spoke, and then would begin doing so.

They agreed to start gathering the flowers. It was quite easy to get sizable number of them, given that they grew in small clumps, almost like a grass of sorts.

Jump Start pouted, a little frown appearing on her face. "Hey! She might not know! She doesn't look like someone who would attend an Equestrian school where you learn the difference, does she?" she huffed.

Eventually after an hour of foraging around they had an entire saddlebag full of the flowers, split amongst all of them. That would probably be enough for now.

Collapse didn't reply to Jump Start when she pouted like that, she honestly found it just adorable how she pouted like that. Not that she would say that, of course. When they had a sufficient stock of the flowers, it looked like they had enough.

"Well now what do we do? Check out the ruins?" Collapse asked.

Magloria nodded. "We can figure out exactly how to apply these flowers as we walk." she said, looking at their position, and the ruins position on their map. "Should be another day or so of walking, so we'll have plenty of time."

Jump Start sighed. "And then we explore the old, and very spooky ruin where things definitely won't be fine, right?"

"Right." Magloria agreed.

"Yup." Collapse agreed and followed them off towards the ruins, smiling at the thought of the yellow flowers. "Well I am curious about the ruins for sure. I really do believe there was a civilization here a really long time ago but then something happened to them, and they abandoned their areas. But from what we've seen, they haven't exactly shown signs of habitation, but then again, it likely has worn away over the years..." Collapse pondered.

"Do you think the tunnel that leads to the surface from the Luneshine forest is artificial, or was it natural?" she asked. "Well, they did furnish it either way."

Magloria looked right at Collapse, an expression on her face as if Collapse had told of a grand truth that no one else could've figured out. "No, you don't say? The buildings that are covered in vines, crumbling to pieces and have no living thing in sight... had a civilization which then abandoned them? Who would've thought!" she sarcastically said. "I thought they were natural! Like treehouses and clocktowers. Everything has changed now!"

Jump Start tried to ignore that, and instead focused on the rest of Collapse's words. "I don't know. It could've been natural in the beginning, but over time it might've been made bigger artificially, especially if those panthins decided it's a place they should keep going."

Collapse rolled her eyes in a fairly annoyed fashion, and gave Magloria a death stare. It was not often that Collapse showed signs of anger but that was one of them. If everything she says could be taken like that, why bother speaking? Either way, she went silent - a clear sign that she didn't want to speak further. Regardless, she pressed on, her demeanor and manner of walking was definitely different than normal. It was as if what Magloria said *really* rubbed her the wrong way.

Magloria looked back over to Collapse, seeing her attitude and scoffed. Sometimes it really was like she was looking after children. Not that she'd tell that to her crew, regardless of how many are left.

There was nothing but jungle around them for the next couple days. At one point they encountered another river, perhaps the same one but further up stream. They all got a little bit too close to a crocodile that was resting on the river's edge, and had to make a detour as fast as they could away from them so they wouldn't get bitten.

The morning of the last day looked like it would foretell a bad day ahead, for ponies that don't want to get soaked at least. Dark grey clouds loomed overhead from a massive raincloud, and even before they fully woke up they could already feel the bare trickles of water coming down. A sign of what was to come.

Throughout the next couple of days Collapse remained remarkably stoic and silent in most cases. She only spoke if she was talked to and even then, she didn't randomly ramble on about various things she normally did. It wasn't just something that would go away in an hour or so, it was something that she stuck to. Whether it was a mask, or if that's how she actually felt - was unclear.

When the crocodile came about she had momentarily got startled and an away with the others, but proved able to control her emotions. This was a dangerous jungle. Of course there would be crocodiles waiting about and other such things. It was something to expect, so that when it actually happens - she won't be so terrified. It made the most sense, to expect the unexpected.

Collapse would sleep alone the next few days. There were no comments about her being extra giddy to cuddle the both of them or even any indications that she felt that way about them. Upon feeling the rain drops on her, Collapse's eyes would open in sheer disappointment.

Magloria snorted away the wetness she felt on her nose as they rose from beneath a low tree that they had found. Several branches had been tied up overhead to form a makeshift shelter before they went to sleep to keep them better protected, but it didn't stop the traces of rain seeping through.

"Well let's hope that we manage to find this place before the weather gets really bad, otherwise it'll become almost impossible to keep going." Magloria said, looking around the jungle to make sure which direction they were going to keep heading in.

"And if we don't?" Jump Start asked.

"Then we'll be stuck hiding under whatever we can find until the rain stops." Magloria responded, getting up to start their travels once more. "Now come on, let's not waste any time. Eat something along the way if you must."

Collapse gets up and would follow along. She walks alongside Magloria and Jump Start. Honestly, she did sort of enjoy the rain in a weird way. It was calming. "The rain is relaxing. Let's hope it stays that way." Collapse sighs, yawning at how her sleep was interrupted. Now she regrets not sleeping with Jump Start for those few days. The soft warmth of Jump Start honestly did make her sleep better.

"If it gets really bad we'll have to hope we can find an overhang or something, perhaps there is a tunnel in the ruins that leads somewhere. Who knows, but I am a little excited." she smiled, her tail wagging a little bit at that statement.

"Even a big enough tree maybe, if we get really desperate and can't find anything else. I hope it doesn't come to that, but at least we won't freeze." Jump Start commented as the light drizzle of warm rain continued to fall on their coats.

But the relaxing nature of the rain wasn't made to last. While they searched it grew to a proper drizzle, then a light rain, then eventually full raindrops pelted them down from the center of the raincloud, drenching them constantly.

Magloria, frustrated at the uncomfortable feeling of wetness, was about to call off their search and get them to seek shelter when Jump Start pointed to a spot off to the side. "What's that?" she squinted her eyes, trying to see through the rain. "Looks like a... really big rock. But it doesn't look like one either."

Collapse would raise a magic barrier around herself. If the others accepted, she would raise it around all of them. It was a thin magical bubble. Merely intended to stop them from getting soaked. If Jump Start remembered, it was somewhat similar to the one she used down in the caves. Specifically when they were fighting off the Spiders and Lobsters.

Collapse turns her gaze towards the object Jump Start saw. She squints her eyes, trying to get a look at it. “I don’t know but we should get a closer look. Maybe it can provide us cover from the rain, could also be the start of the ruins. Kill two birds with one stone, shall we?” Collapse asked as she would lead them over towards what Jump Start saw. Hopefully it was indeed the ruins, and also something they could wait out the storm under.

Jump Start agreed to having a barrier conjured around herself, and thanked Collapse for it. Magloria however didn't, knowing that it would be far more draining on the mare to sustain 2 individual shields, let alone 3. The rain, while annoying, wasn't worth exhausting themselves over.

Jump Start looked confused, and slightly disturbed. "Kill 2 birds? I thought the saying was cook 2 cakes with 1 tray? Or cut 2 planks with 1 saw?" she stated.

Passing through the dripping trees, they got a better view of the object that had been spotted. It definitely *looked* like it should be a building of sorts. A large amount of stones had been put together forming a big wall of bricks. It looked terrible from the outside though, with many bricks heavily weathered down or covered in plantlife.

[09-Apr-22 03:56 PM]
Collapse was sure to keep the barriers around themselves quite think as to not wear herself out too quickly. It was only to keep the rain out and nothing more. She could easily have lowered the barrier around Magloria if she wanted, but she didn't want any of them to get soaked by the rain.

Collapse shrugged at Jump Start's statement. "Same meaning, but that's how it always was for me - maybe it's something to do with the more rough nature of the ponies in Dodge Junction." she suggested as they got a better view at the object that lay ahead.

"Looks like we are at the ruins now. This is probably part of it. What do you say to hunkering down and waiting out the rain? Better check it out first though." Collapse stated, and would proceed to check out the place carefully, being careful of any animals who may have taken refuge inside. Hopefully not.

Chapter 65

It took them a while of looking around the outside of the structure to find something resembling an entrance they could use to get inside, since despite the damage that the brickwork has received, they found no holes have formed, or at least, none big enough that they could crawl through.

What they found was a passage that should've been a way in, but it was halfway collapsed with rubble almost completely blocking the way in, rain sprinkling on every crumbled brick. A small gap near the top was all that was left to squeeze through, but it might be able to be made larger if they dug away at the rubble a bit.

Collapse dropped the barriers around the three of them. It was something that had to be done in order to dig away at the rubble here. Collapse began to grab various bricks and began setting them aside to make room so the three of them could get through. She gestured for Magloria and Jump Start to help her. "At the very least we can see if there is anything worth getting at down there. If not, at least we can say we tried." Collapse spoke idly.

"Careful, if you remove the wrong piece, it could bring even more down and make it even harder to get in." Magloria said as both Jump Start and herself started moving away bricks. Usually ones that looked loose in the pile.

After a bit of work and at least one rumble from somewhere inside, they had enlarged the gap enough that they could crawl in without getting stuck, like the fatties that ponies were what with their addiction to sugar.

They could barely see inside the first passage as it was all dark inside, only the sunlight that passed through the clouds reaching it, but they could already tell that the inside looked far better than the outside. Almost no cracked or worn down bricks.

"Would there really be anything worth getting down *that?* It looks like a tomb." Jump Start whined.

Collapse would squeeze through the gap. "Well, that just goes to show you how fat we are. Eating all the cookies, chips, candy, twizzlers, and doooonuts...oh wait, we haven't had any of that." she giggles. "Well, thats probably for the best. If I was on my normal diet I probably wouldn't have even fit through that gap. Maybe you'd need a whole excavation team." she laughed louder, clearly exaggerating her weight for the fun of it.

"Alright let's see here. Let's illuminate our mysteries..." a small lightball formed on her horn and illuminated the interior of the inside of the passage as they reached the way inside. Collapse would get in first, and stand there and wait for the others to join her side in order to explore the place properly.

Magloria seemed to disagree with Collapse, but probably not in the way that she thought of. "I don't recall you being that large when we were back on the Constance. Or not much larger than right now." she stated.

The lightball revealed the rest of the corridor, showing that it was without a doubt much better than the outside made the it look like. If it wasn't for the large amount of dust covering everything, you could almost mistake it for only being a decade old.

Magloria crawled through next, and Jump Start came in last, her earth pony weight causing the rubble to shift as she leapt off of it, shaking the water from her coat. "We got here and we looked inside, now can we please just... wait until the rain stops then go?" she asked.

Magloria shook her head. "If we can't leave, we might as well explore. Besides, exploring was the whole reason we came here in the first place."

Collapse looked around at everything about the place. "Well suffice to say it's pretty dusty. Maybe someone left something important behind." she commented and looked back to Jump Start. "Why would we go back out into the rain? That was the whole point of seeking shelter in here in the first place." she said in a bit of a confused manner.

Then she would walk further on inside. "Magloria, what is your favorite type of cookie? I like Chocalate Chip." she grinned innocently as they began to explore and proceed throughout the area. Well, technically that was a lie. Magloria was her favorite cookie. The toughest cookie of them all, in fact.

As they walked, Jump Start replied. "No, I said we should leave *after* it stops raining, not before. And we don't go any further into this place than we already have." she looked around at the walls and ceiling, as if there were creature hiding in them.

They turned a corner into a different corridor. This one was slightly more decorated, with engravings of unknown design in the floor and roof. "Cookies aren't really my thing, I prefer ice cre-" Magloria replied, then stopped when she saw what else was in the corridor.

Several scattered piles of bones were lying around, some of them from similar creatures, and others different. What was most unnerving about them is they were all broken in some way.

"*Noooowww* can we leave?" Jump Start squeaked.

Collapse looks to the pile of bones there. She clearly is able to tell that they were broken in some way. Not really something she wanted to mess with that was for sure. Her previous topic of conversation is now gone from her mind.

“Yeah. Let’s go. I don’t wanna seek shelter in a place with…*that*.” she turned to leave but left the final decision up to Magloria, but in her mind they could very well find a tree to seek shelter from somewhere or something better.

“Although, those bones there have been here a really long time as the rubble was covering the entrance. So whatever did this is probably long gone now.” Collapse added,

Magloria's magic wrapped around one half of the skeletons and brought it closer for inspection, trying to figure out what would've caused this.

To her surprise, it didn't look like the bone had been broken *at all*. It just stopped, as if something had cut clean through. The end was also charred a slight blackish colour as well.

"Whatever did this is no common beast. If I had to guess it looks like they got magicked in half." Magloria stated, offering the skeleton half to Collapse so she could see. Jump Start turned away as she was not very thrilled with being offered the remains of a dead thing.

"Well maybe this is some sort of trap and we should get out of here before it happens to us. Could be something in the walls, like a trap?" Collapse suggested, almost nervously. Looking to the bone there, she winced. "Definitely seems to be cut. Not by a saw or anything, but definitely by magic. Whatever did this, I definitely don't want to know." Collapse said, not as squeamish as Jump Start was, but it was still not the most pleasant of things.

"So you think a trap did this?" Magloria asked, looking over to the corridor containing the skeletons. "Well I guess there's a way to find out." And with that, she threw the one she had down the corridor.

They very quickly found out that whatever killed those creatures was still very much operational. Green lights lit up in spaces within the walls and roof before sending out a concentrated beam of what could only be described as plasma (or a 'magical energy' to non-scientific creatures).

As the skeleton passed through the air it was effortlessly sliced into dozens of pieces, landing on the opposite side with a loud series of clatters, rolling to a stop where nothing else happened to them.

Assuming Collapse wasn't panicking at the thought of *herself* getting shredded like that, the beams had come out in a pattern that didn't seem like it would completely block someone from walking through... assuming you knew where to walk.

Collapse winced at this and sighed nervously. "Well - now we know." she remarked in nervousness. "Very advanced defense system. We could mess with it but I don't know if we should. Perhaps try to disable those plasma beams there." Collapse pointed out to them curiously. "At the very least we know it's not some monster waiting to kill us all." she noted, watching the remains of the skeleton settle into place there.

"Begs the question if anyone else hasn't been able to get down into here - then may we be the first, if we can find out a way to disable the beams?" Collapse suggested.

"I didn't see anything around that could disable them? Did you?" Magloria asked, looking around the corridor and pressing against the various walls in case there was a hidden button or something. Her attempt wasn't very successful.

"What about breaking them? Couldn't you just use your own magic against them?" Jump Start suggested as she gently kicked a single bone around.

"What you need to do is let me charge up a fire spell - and when I am ready, you will throw a bone and activate the beams. The best I can try to do is destroy the beams using the fire spell maybe, but we'll wanna stand back just incase." Collapse suggested as she started charging up a fire spell. If Magloria and Jump Start let her she would stand there for about two minutes and constantly charge. It was quite a powerful spell, by then, and she would stand back, gesturing for them to do the same while she motioned for Jump Start to throw one of the bones to activate the plasma beams up ahead.

Magloria looked over to Collapse and tried to figure out what she was even going for. Did she know what would happen? "Ok then, if you really want to try it *that* way." Magloria said, moving back preparing her own spell, for some reason.

Jump Start carefully picked up one of the bones, not wanting to be too close to the intense light that Collapse's horn was emitting. Upon Collapse's command, she threw the bone, causing some of the green lights to shine again and slice the bone into pieces.

Now that the green lights were seen Collapse's horn lights up brilliantly with a double helix shape and a very concentrated stream of fire arcs through the air of both sides of the helix before swooping towards the the lights, aiming to get directly at where they are coming out of. Depending on what the lights are made of and how it is designed, it may either do nothing, or it may result in heavy damage.

Like magical energy striking more magical energy, Collapse's stream of fire caused the beams to shift the direction it was being projected and slightly disperse, but nothing else seemed to happen.

It's safe to assume that whatever can project bone-slicing hot energy is probably resistant to it, and any other forms of heat coming from that direction. In any case, once the bone had passed the beams shut off again.

Magloria dispelled her own magic, seeing as it wasn't needed. "Good thing you didn't discharge all your magic in a single burst, otherwise we might've needed to pick ourselves up afterwards." she said.

Collapse sighs in a very disappointed fashion at her spell not doing anything to it. "Hmm. How interesting how it didn't do anything whatsoever. I wasted a lot of my magic, there." she huffed in annoyance.

"Why don't you try with your ice magic? Maybe you can make some sort of ice spear that can spear through the wall, but that wall probably isn't going to break from that." Collapse said to Magloria curiously. "I am not sure how we would work about disabling it though, any ideas?" she asked Magloria.

"You did still do something. You blackened the ground and the walls." Jump Start said, hoping to make Collapse feel better. In all honesty she didn't really think that what she said was going to help much, now that she thought about it.

Magloria looked down at one of the traps, shrugged and summoned up an ice spear, a large one, just to be sure Collapse was satisfied with her attempt.

The spear was launched at the wall near the trap, which activated its beam due to proximity as expected. The sound of ice breaking on the ground was heard, followed by a large amount of hissing of water evaporating as the spear ended up too close to the beam. A large plume of steam now filled the corridor, and the wall was barely chipped.

"Well, assuming we know where each trap is, we could probably just walk through it all." Magloria said, staring down at each of the spots that they had seen beams appear from. "Now that I think about it, they do look sort of similar... and familiar somehow."

Collapse smiled sweetly at Jump Start when she said that and gave her a slight giggle in reply. Well, at least she understood the thought process behind what she said.

Meanwhile Collapse would observe the results of the spear contacting the beam ahead. It was basically as she thought. Little to no result and a whole lot of steam. “Well, at least now we confirmed our suspicions. You say it is familiar, somehow?” Collapse rose an eyebrow.

“Well, that is quite interesting since when I was in that dream after touching the white thing - I felt a sense of familiarity as well. Maybe that feeling is connected to what you are referencing? After all, maybe the same builders applied to that thing and this place, as well as the other ruins we have seen.” she commented.

Magloria paced back and forward in front of the the trap segment, pondering over things out loud. "Perhaps it is connected to that. I can still see the glow of marks in my mind, so... I wonder..." she said, then moved towards the trap.

Jump Start reached out to try and stop her, but didn't want to risk getting herself caught by a beam she didn't notice.

Magloria passed through several meters of corridor, seemingly taking random swerves while occasionally ducking under nothing. One beam appeared, slicing off part of her mane and igniting it, but she quickly put it out with her cold magic.

She reached what she thought was the end, turning back at the others and looking at them. "Huh." was all she said.

Collapse looks to Magloria curiously, and was quite concerned by that. "So, you somehow know the feeling of where to go and what to do? Just like I did, when I went about and flipped the levers within the temple. This is definitely connected. I understand it, now." Collapse said but did not move towards where Magloria was since she herself didn't have the form of perception that Magloria did.

"Do you know enough to where you can tell us what moves to take to get us through the trap here?" Collapse asked further, wondering if her and Jump Start could make it through like Magloria just did.

"I could tell you where to go, but half of it isn't even that." Magloria said, then pointed down at one of the traps. "See the differences between the traps and the actual bricks?"

She looked like she muttered something to herself, probably at their expense, but focused back on the task at hand. "Whenever you're ready. Just if you lose a hoof because you moved too far, don't blame me."

Collapse stayed put. "I'd rather not risk something like that." she said in a serious manner. "I mean, it would be rather stupid of us to walk right through like that." she looks down at the bricks. "Whoever built this is obviously not that intelligent, it'd be better to just have some hidden trap that nobody would have any way of telling."

Magloria shrugged. "I don't claim to know what they were thinking when they designed this. Maybe they had a reason for it... like I dunno, they forgot their keys. But as long as you keep an eye on where the trap bricks are, you should be fine. I'll give you directions and warnings so you don't end up frying yourself." she said.

"Well, you better." Collapse said as she looked into Magloria's eyes there as she stepped forward. Collapse rose a hoof in the air, indicating to Jump Start for her to follow after Collapse was done. When Magloria gave the directions and warnings - Collapse would be sure to follow them to the T.

Jump Start began to follow behind Collapse, but with all the danger surrounding them she made sure to be as close as possible so she didn't end up making a mistake. Collapse could practically feel her body warmth on her tail.

After a few precarious minutes, with Collapse getting her mane, eyebrows and *almost* her forehead charred by a beam she failed to duck under, and Jump Start yelping when a hindleg got too close to a beam, resulting in it getting scorched, they made it to the other side.

"Let's hope we can find something to turn those off when we return, or that we can find another way out elsewhere." Jump Start said, nursing her reddened hindleg.

Collapse took out one of the plants from her saddlebags and would gently rub it onto the spot where Jump Start got burned there. "Yeah, you got that right. I don't want to end up being an archeological study in the next century myself. You alright?" Collapse asked Jump Start, having noticed how nervous she was. She remembered the warm feeling of Jump Start against her. At the very least Collapse got physical contact but under the circumstances she wasn't thinking of it the way she normally would.

Jump Start repeatedly winced during the application procedure, given that rubbing a whole flower onto a tender spot wasn't exactly the easiest way to go about it, even if Collapse did so gently. Maybe turning it into a paste would've worked better.

"I think it's going to hurt for a while, but I can still walk if that's what you're asking." Jump Start replied, rubbing the sore spot to sooth it before looking around, letting out a shrill yelp when she saw some large shape that didn't look like a structure in the darkness up ahead.

"There's a giant thing over there!" she shrieked.

Collapse looked to Jump Start and immediately stood right in front of her in a clear protective manner. Her eyes instantly dart towards where Jump Start was looking. "Where, what do you mean?" Collapse asked quickly, rapidly getting in the mindset for a fight. She could feel her adrenaline surge as soon as she would lay eyes upon what it was. What was it? Well, time to find out.

The moment Collapse looked ahead and her light shone properly down the corridor she saw what Jump Start had been talking about. A massive insectoid creature with a dusty carapace, very similar to a giant centipede that they would see down in the underwater caverns.

Except it never moved towards them, or anywhere else. For all intents and purposes, it acted very dead, and had been for a long time if the amount of dust on it was any indication.

Magloria slowly approached it, proper spear ready in case it did something. Once she was close enough she gave it a light jab, causing a metallic ringing sound. "It's a statue." she said, "Or some weird suit of armor of sorts. Why would they make this?"

Collapse would relax somewhat upon realizing that it was a statue there. "Maybe that is what they looked like, actually. There is no reason to say that the builders of this were Equines nor Panthins, but something else all together - but they ended up dying out a long, long time ago." Collapse said as she walked up to the statue here. "Whatever they are, if this is not what they looked like, perhaps it could be a cultural thing of some kind. Like a god they worshipped? Or something else?" Collapse pondered with a hoof up to her chin.

Magloria shrugged at the whole theories that Collapse had presented. "Perhaps. Though in my opinion it's supposed to intimidate trespassers that got past the trap before it." she paused, thinking about what she said, "On second thoughts, no. That sounds stupid." she said, giving the head of the metal insect a nudge with her hoof.

The statue must not have been constructed very well, because the entire head came loose and fell off, clattering to the floor and rolling around before eventually stopping some distance away, showing the hollow insides of both the head and the rest of the body.

"Eh, it didn't need that part anyway." Magloria sighed.

Collapse laughed at what happened with the head there, but found what Magloria said was even funnier. "Well, if it was pony sized I guess it would make a good Nightmare Night mask, were you ever into costumes, Magloria?" Collapse asked her with a grin as they proceeded further. "One time I dressed up as a giraffe as a filly." she spoke.

Not that Collapse would say it, but she would think that Magloria would look good in a maid outfit. "Hmm, I wonder if you've worn any costumes, Jump Start?" Collapse asked, looking to Jump Start. "You'd make a good orange." she giggled playfully.

Magloria shook her head, looking around the corridor they were in and making sure there wasn't anything else around that would disturb them. Ahead in the dark there were another couple of the same statues, covered in dust and unmoving.

"I didn't attend Nightmare Night, the... place I lived at didn't celebrate it. I did however get to try a variety of masks, though they were ritualistic, and weren't for playing around in." she replied.

Jump Start slowly nodded. "Some costumes, but not an orange." was all she said.

The talk of ritualistic masks, that was interesting. "Well, you mean Zebra masks, with the rituals they do? You did say you lived on the border of Zebrica." Collapse rose an eyebrow at Magloria there, and then looked to Jump Start. "What kinds of costumes?" she asked, and would walk forward, keeping her focus just incase there were any sudden actions in front of them.

Magloria hesitates for a moment, then gives a nod. "Yes, zebra masks. I was close enough to a tribe and I... occasionally participated in their practices, once they trusted me enough."

"I remember one time I dressed up as a bat. Not a thestral, just a normal bat. Everyone thought I was a thestral though so I had to keep reminding them what my costume was." Jump Start explained. She looked a little less creeped out about this place, now that she had been distracted by everyone's stories.

Collapse started to get how own vague feelings of familiarity when the corridor started branching off into different directions, with the first branch they took leading to a completely desolate room, the only things that remained intact were what looked like a stone table and stone chairs, half of which had crumbled. It had a similar layout to living quarters, if she thought about it.

Collapse looks into Magloria's eyes deeply for a second. "From what I know they are very superstitious about things and have an affinity for alchemy, potions, and the natural world itself. It might explain why you know so much about plants and the environment, too." she spoke, but knew that Magloria was likely hiding something. "Strict cultural practices, general distrust, and sometimes exclusion of outsiders..." she added.

Collapse looked to Jump Start. "Ah, sounds interesting. I also dressed up as a...Door Knob one time. Not kidding, I just thought it would be funny. And it was." Collapse said, grinning a bit at that statement.

"I know that I am starting to feel familiar about this place." Collapse spoke, and then went on to explain how she was feeling about the familiarity about things.

"Things that anyone can know if they seek it, and ways absolutely anyone can act, believe me, I know ponies who act just as 'distrustful' as you think of me." Magloria stated, her tone growing into a more no-nonsense form. "Besides, a town as remote as Creamwood with non-pony neighbors, eventually we were going to interact with each other."

Jump Start wasn't sure how to react to Collapse's admittance of such a costume, so instead she awkwardly smiled. "That sounds... uh... funny, as you said..." she replied, with no laughter in her voice at all.

After hearing Collapse's explanation on her feelings, Magloria pointed down a random corridor. "So you should be able to tell us where we are then, right? You did after all knock yourself out, figuratively and literally, to end up with this feeling. Lead us to... wherever we're supposed to go." she suggested.

Chapter 66

Going along with the most familiar of areas was her plan going forward - and so she went. Collapse went silent, evidently focusing on the task that lay ahead. Seeing how the two of them reacted, Collapse realized she talked *too* much. That was an issue with her. Collapse lacked self control that Magloria had, perhaps it was time to learn from the best.

Her stance and manner of walking changed from the way she was completely. She was no longer giddy, but more of focused on what she was doing. It was time to get to the bottom of this mystery, and perhaps she may even impress her friends. Maybe that will happen. Maybe not. Who knows?

Collapse might've decided to follow the sense of familiarity, but without specifying *which* location she wanted to head towards, either one she knew about or merely assumed existed, she ended up passing through many, many corridors. At some point they passed by a hall with crumpled insect statues that they could've sworn they saw before.

Magloria rose an eyebrow. "Are you sure you know where you're going?" she asked, "Because it seems like we're lost. We've been wandering around for ages."

Collapse looks to Magloria. "We are not lost. I just decided to test how far this feeling of familiarity goes and if it changes in intensity throughout where we go. Evidently not. As you can see, we've wandered back to where we were before." she spoke.

"But now I'm going to test to see if I can take us somewhere. First, the great Dining Hall." she spoke, remembering the large Dining Hall from her dream. She followed her senses, aiming to take them there.

A little more wandering through various corridors (and Magloria still not fully believing Collapse knows where to go) they came across one of the entrances to the great hall, one which put them at the top of a balcony of sorts.

The room below looked oddly acceptable in terms of maintenance. Dust still covered absolutely everything like the rest of the place and it was very dark, too dark to see everything fully without a more powerful spell, but aside from things that were made of fabric which now had disintegrated into sad piles, the place looked undamaged by age.

"This room is... pretty big. What do you think it was used for?" Jump Start asked as she looked over the balcony to the ground below.

Collapse looked over the edge of the balcony. "Not exactly how it looked in the dream but the balcony was definitely here." she playfully grinned to Magloria. "I *do* know where we are going, after all." she said with an even wider grin as she looked throughout the rest of the place.

"Maybe not a dining hall like I said, but I would imagine it would be used for some sort of congregations. Perhaps my dream exaggerated things a bit, but I do not understand how I would be feeling familiar about a place like this without some sort of other purpose for it. There were living quarter areas too, if anything this seems like a massive bunker to wait out a cataclysm, but if thats the case, where did everything go?" Collapse asked them.

"If that was the case and this whole place really is a bunker, then perhaps whoever was supposed to get here didn't reach it in time?" Jump Start offered, stepping back away from the balcony edge after she was done looking down at the gloomy hall.

"That's assuming it's even that in the first place. We could spend all day thinking about why it is how it is, but I'd rather find out, wouldn't you agree?" Magloria stated, looking to Collapse.

"Is there anywhere else that is more important than this? A place that would have a reason to be surrounded by such infrastructure?" she asked.

"Then the best place for that would be the lever room. Come on, let's see if we can make something happen." she spoke. With a flick of her tail she'd begin to lead them towards where she believed the levers were. Provided how this place worked, it's more than likely they'd end up somewhere like Collapse had in her dream.

"I remember one of them made me feel something in my bones. I wonder how that translates into the real world." she added.

Magloria and Jump Start turned with Collapse to the way they came, and once again wandered the mazelike halls that, if you didn't know where you were going, it would be very likely that you'd be lost for days.

Upon arrival at the lever room, Collapse quickly found out that the visions she had seen of it were greatly under-represented. There was a set of levers near the entrance of the room, each one marked with faded etchings of unknown language like every other etching they've seen so far.

But the room expanded beyond that, revealing a series of what could only be described as large machines, all of them covered in dust and completely silent. Their use was hard to place given she had never seen anything like them before, though perhaps she could tear one apart with complete disrespect to their creator and find out.

"Ah yes, here we are. Now, I'm sure you'd say this is much more important?" she asked Magloria as she surveyed the levers and smirks somewhat. "Well, definitely was watered down in my dream. There weren't any of these machines or this large room as far as I can remember." Collapse spoke out as she walked towards the machines and would begin to inspect them.

'We'd have to take these apart to figure them out I bet, but I don't wanna risk messing with something that may go awry." Collapse stated. "Although we can do so anyways." she shrugs.

Magloria nodded as she examined the different parts of the room. "This looks much better. Some sort of system for controlling something about this place. An engine room of sorts, perhaps?" She moved over to the lever controls. "Though it seems a bit simplistic. There aren't many switches to decide what happens." she said, wiping away some of the dust on a lever.

Jump Start moved over to one of the machines opposite of the one Collapse was inspecting. On the outside they appeared to be covered in a ceramic shell, with a hole in the top that appeared to flow into a large tank which took up half of the machine's internals. Some sort of sludgelike liquid that smelt horribly acidic rested at the bottom.

At the back of each of them appeared to be pipes constructed of similar ceramics to the shell, each of the pipes connected the machines together before entering several slots in a wall, going to an unknown location.

"The best I can also guess is these could perhaps be some sort of like generators? Or this is a pumping station that pumps fluid for...some usage?" Collapse asked as she looks over the machines, finding the design completely unfamiliar. "Acidic, hmm. Could perhaps contain some sort of battery acid that has long since dissolved apart into its constituents, but that's just a shot in the dark." she commented casually.

"But mainly what I want to find is some sort of records about this place. Even if its not in a language we can understand, we can take it back home with us and someone could hopefully translate it." I stated.

"I am going to try pulling one of these levers to see if anything happens. It's the only way we are going to find out about this place, at least so far. So if you don't mind I am going to pull one of these levers slowly." Collapse said and began to do so with her magic, but she'd stop if Magloria or Jump Start wanted to prevent her from doing so

Jump Start looked around some of the others, noting to the others that all the machines looked more or less the same, though the insides of some of them were empty. Perhaps they hasn't been properly filled?

Magloria pointed to the inscriptions in the wall. "Well there are records here, but we can't exactly take them. Anything else that's not preserved in absolutely top condition seems like it would've crumpled to dust by now, or would be made of something we can't bring back with us, like rock." she said.

Neither of them objected to the to Collapse pulling the lever. Nothing happened until she pulled it all the way, then they started to hear a low humming and rumbling from all of the machines. Some of the machines began rumbling faster than the others...

**BOOM!** One machine in the far corner spontaneously combusted, sending out a shockwave and pieces of ceramics around the room. Collapse heard her ears start ringing, and she had trouble focusing on the flames in the back of the room, or the orange and light blue figures that staggered away from the roaring heat.

Upon hearing the rumbling of the machines Collapse would start to back away from them. She knew that something was going to go wrong from the sounds of the rumbling growing louder and louder. She knew something was off from the start of it. There was too little time to properly react to what happened next.

All Collapse knew next was the machine exploded. Instantly after she saw Magloria and Collapse staggering away. Collapse did her best to keep up and follow after them. There was no time to react for anything else. With all of the adrenaline in her body, she would run out of the building - to escape the growing flames.

"Shit! Shit! **Fuck!** I should have not have pulled that!!" Collapse shouted as she ran away, the best she could.

Everyone had the same idea, whether they knew it or not. It became a sudden mad rush to the exit, and it felt like one of them tripped over the other at some point, but it was hard to tell who.

Some unknown time later Collapse found herself running down a corridor, an uncertain distance away from the room she had fled from. Her focus and hearing finally returned to her enough that she could make proper sense of the world again. Even better was her magic, which seemed to be doing a pretty good job right now as she could clearly see the corridor she was running down.

Except she couldn't detect her magical light anymore. It was also a pale green color, not her usual light's color.

Wherever she ended up at she had to stop at some point to get her bearings. Once she did she felt her senses return and she was longer in a frantic frenzy. The first thing she noticed was her pale green magical light. Wait. It's not supposed to be like that? It's supposed to be that yellow-gold color. Whatever that explosion was, it was certainly not the way she expected.

But now that her senses had returned something else came to mind. Her friends. What happened to them? That was the most important thing. Whatever magical alterations Collapse had gone through can wait. She was the one who knew her way around this place, in a sense. They didn't. They would probably find themselves lost - and if they did, that would make them even harder to locate.

First thing's first. She began to call out for her friends, and begin returning to the area slowly, carefully.

Now that she had *definitely* cleared her head and could properly understand her surroundings, she saw that her *own* magic wasn't affected because her light wasn't even on in the first place.

Dozens of small indentations in the upper walls previously thought to just be decoration were now glowing that pale green light, many only dimly functioning or not functioning at all, but it was still far more light than Collapse's magic produced.

It didn't take Collapse very long to come across Magloria who, upon hearing her voice, easily followed it, made even easier with the lights now everywhere. The mare looked a little battered, a scratch or two from the ceramic shrapnel and a mane blown out of proportion (much like Collapse's own), but nothing serious.

"Ah, there you are. I take it you haven't found Jump Start yet?" she asked.

Collapse looked to Magloria. If this were any other situation perhaps her frazzled mane would have earned a few giggles from Collapse. Clearly at the moment, Collapse was not at all giggling. She was very concerned. Magloria was safe. That is good. She was concerned about Jump Start now.

“No. We need to go back and check to see where she went. Come.” Collapse said somewhat shakily as she would lead Magloria back, calling out for Jump Start along the way, Collapse looked very frazzled and messy.

Her mind even more so. She didn’t bother to comment on the green lights either.

While they hurried back, Magloria commented on the new lighting surrounding them. "Well despite some setbacks, that lever you pulled did at least have some good come out of it. I wonder if there is anything else that now works because of it." she said.

When they reached the room with the machines they didn't see any sign of Jump Start, aside from several scattered orange hairs. The fire in the corner of the room was still going, creating smoke which lined the roof, but for some reason it wasn't filling up the room.

The rest of the machines seemed to be working fine. One was a bit less stable than the others, but it didn't act violently like it was about to explode yet.

"Magloria, do you think you can use your magic to dispel the fire in the corner? I don't want anything else blowing up - do it quick." Collapse said, pointing to the flame, she looked around the room further. Clearly Jump Start didn't get burned or exploded within the room - she went somewhere else, by the looks of it. "I am sure this did something else, we'll have to look at it. Be careful, just incase." Collapse warned.

Magloria examined the flames heating up the room, constantly burning on whatever substance had been within the machine's tank. "I could try, however that's a lot of flame. Might take a bit to cool it all off." she replied, moving closer to the searing heat so she could get a better aim.

Her horn sparked alight and started to charge, before a stream of chilling wind erupted forth, aimed at the ground around the flames.

The flames were determined to not go out however. As soon as Magloria cooled down one part of the machine and moved to the next, the flames spread across the substance coating everything and reignited.

After a few minutes of fighting the blaze Magloria had finally found a method to keep the flames from spreading again and reduced it down to a manageable size, before snuffing it out entirely. All that was left was a blackened shell of a machine. scorched flooring, walls and roof, and a horrible acidic smell in the air.

Collapse stood there and observed how Magloria would put out the flames. The smell of the room was absolutely disgusting and she wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. Once the flames were done Collapse looked to Magloria, "We are gonna need to find Jump Start now. We may need to do some medical aid on her, since it seems like she either got scared and ran further than either of us or something happened to her." Collapse said in a serious manner, and began to look down the halls, calling out for Jump Start's name.

There was no reply to Collapse's calls. Jump Start must've already been out of earshot by now, given the size of this place. Or she ran into something that made it difficult to return, like a plasma beam trap.

"We're done here anyway." Magloria stated, giving a glance over to the levers. "We're not touching those controls anymore, given what might accidentally happen again if we did." At that, she began the search through the halls for the orange mare.

It didn't take long before the saw something they hadn't seen previously, but it wasn't Jump Start. A small blue wisp of energy levitated down a hall ahead of them, moving out of sight when it went around a corner. It looked quite similar to the one they had seen out in the jungle, but *significantly* smaller.

Collapse looks to the blue wisp of energy there, raising an eyebrow at that. "What is that?" she asked. "Only thing we've seen that looks like that was the one we saw in the jungle but this one is not of the same kind. I'd rather we find Jump Start before we mess with strange energies though." Collapse said to Magloria. "But when we find her, I wanna check that one out as well. I am sure there are others here...but do you think it could have been 'activated' by what we did? We didn't see anything in here before." she stated.

Magloria shrugged at Collapse's final question. "I have no idea, for all we know it was hiding and only now decided to come out." she replied, deciding on taking a passage that *wasn't* where the blue thing went to look for Jump Start.

Several minutes of calling out with no reply later and they spotted yet another blue thing, but this time it was floating down the corridor in their direction. It was still a fair way off and hadn't reacted when they saw it, just like the large one.

Collapse looks down the hall at the blue thing there. "I don't know what these things are, but where could Jump Start have gone?" Collapse asked, now getting more worried by the moment. "Let's keep going. I remember that she had fallen? I think? But Its hazy, and I don't remember seeing her run off after that." Collapse replied.

"She could've gone literally anywhere in this place. Being an earth pony she's fully capable of running anywhere she wanted. By now she's probably lost and wandering around trying to find us, or she could've gone into one of the rooms and hidden instead." Magloria suggested, before thinking something over. "I wonder if there's something here that can help us track her down..."

The blue thing got closer to them, but when it got close enough to detect them, it changed. The blue colour turned red and it seemed to come alive, no longer drifting through the halls, instead navigating quickly in a haphazard flight path, down the hall towards one of the insect statues.

"Well, maybe the blue things might help. Whatever they are - it seems like some sort of automated system - but what if they are more than that...what if they are alive? Sentinels of this place. Guarding it long after their creators have died out." Collapse said in wonder. "Oh, how little we know about the world..." she pondered further.

Magloria narrowed her eyes as she watched the blue, now red, wisp of energy enter into a small hole in the statue. "I think you might be right about the whole 'sentinel' thing." she said bluntly.

Energy sparked through the entirety of the shell, causing etched lines in the centipede suit's segments to begin glowing a blue similar to the wisp before it saw them. Part of the energy within could also be seen through gaps in the segments.

Dozens of legs clicked and creaked as it began to move them again after so long of being dormant, shifting its weight around until it stood before them. A single large centipede eye formed on its face from a ball of red energy, which then focused on them.

"...and living or not, I don't think it's going to help us." Magloria added.

Chapter 67

Collapse observes the action with the Wisp and the statue of the centipede. Well, at the very least it wasn’t a real centipede. She remembers that Magloria dealt with one near Pearlth. But this one was just an animated statue from the looks of it. Still dangerous though.

“Well, we got two choices. Run and not deal with this - or we fight and destroy it. I am sure we could destroy it with our combined power - but I will leave that up to you…” Collapse glanced to Magloria.

“To make a *command* decision, one could put it that way.” she spoke, allowing Magloria to choose what she wanted to do here, but it better be quick.

"We've got bigger problems than this, like finding Jump Start." Magloria said, and quickly turned and ran from the centipede. "I doubt it's just going to let us go that easily though."

And it didn't. It had spotted trespassers in its home and it was going to remove them, one way or another. Metal clacking on stone told them all that they needed to know that the centipede was pursuing them. The clacks slowly came at a more rapid pace as it moved, telling them that it was getting faster and faster.

Collapse also ran alongside Magloria. "Well the centipede doesn't care about that, so we are going to have to take care of it - evidently." Collapse spoke, and as they ran she quickly charged up a laser and fired it back at the Centipede. Fairly low power, and aimed at its legs. Whether it was accurate or not was another matter entirely.

The low power bolt of energy struck one of the many legs, but it neither had enough power to dent or melt the metal, nor did it have the force to cause the suit to stagger. Even if it did, it had dozens of other legs to keep it stable. In other words, her attack did absolutely nothing.

"I'd prefer it if we found something that could help us instead of wasting our energy. If we exhaust ourselves we can't do anything against all the others." Magloria pointed out, before shouting out to Collapse to turn left down another corridor, doing so herself.

The sudden change in direction caused the centipede to overshoot down the corridor they were previously in, forcing it to turn back and rebuild its speed.

"Oh I know what we could do, Magloria." Collapse spoke as they ran. "We could lead it into the room with the machines and blow one of them up when it's stuck in here, that would do severe damage to it." Collapse spoke, simply not bothering to send off any other magical attacks at the centipede for now, acknowledging Magloria's statement. "Or find something else that would serve a similar purpose." she added.

"How are we going to cause one of those to blow up? The first time was an accident!" Magloria stated, "Unless you plan on pressing more levers in the hopes that things happen."

They turned a few other corners on the way to the machine room, which served to delay the centipede chasing them even further, so it wasn't an immediate threat at the moment, at least.

"We lead it into the room and then we both fire a combined blast that will explode one of the machines. But let's keep going, perhaps we can find something." Collapse spoke, trying to lead them somewhere important, wherever that may be. Maybe the living quarters here had something that the dream did not.

As if subconsciously reading where to go through the place, Collapse ended up leading them to one of the living quarters, the debris and piles of dust showing that something used to live here, but definitely doesn't now.

The only places that look like they could've stored anything they could find were a few hollow places in stone cabinets or small rooms, their doors non-existent at this point if they even had any. Didn't look like it promised much.

They didn't have long before the centipede would reach them, especially if they looked around for a bit. Unfortunately the living quarters only had 1 exit, so they'd have to encounter it one way or another.

Well, at the very least Collapse didn't know this place only had one exit. Oh well, it was time to face off against this centipede since they didn't have that much of a choice. Collapse knew this was going to happen one way or another.

"Well, how will we destroy that centipede now? It appears we have no other option, we might as well bight the bullet and think of something while we have the time. Get a plan to destroy it." she commented.

"Idea - I have fire magic, you have ice magic. Extreme temperature differences can cause something to shatter, see where I'm going?" Collapse asked.

"A different idea, we let it charge in, crash into a wall, and then use that time to run back out of the room. I can freeze it in place to give us even more time." Magloria suggested, before she thought over Collapse's suggestion.

"But... we don't want to keep running from it, it's awfully persistent. Perhaps shattering its head would be best. Wait until it slows down, then I'll freeze it and you can heat it up after." she added, positioning herself right next to a wall in direct sight of the centipede.

On cue, the centipede charged into the room at Magloria, who quickly moved out of the way of the mechanical beast. It didn't end up crashing as hard as she expected it to, but it did cause a loud banging sound, echoing down the corridors outside.

Despite that, neither the wall nor the centipede looked damaged, not that Magloria cared about that part as she let loose a stream of cold energy onto the recovering sentinel.

Collapse agreed with Magloria and proceeded to charge up a fire blast while they waited for the centipede to come in. When it came in, Collapse quickly got out of the way to avoid being struck by it. She watched Magloria's actions, watching where she aimed. Collapse was going to directly fire at where she aimed when Magloria was over with her attack.

When Magloria finished her attack, Collapse would aim her horn directly at it. Like before, a spiral effect would dance up Collapse's horn and the two streams from either side would converge onto a central point - forming a central focused beam of fire energy right at where Magloria had struck the centipede with her cold energy. It was a lot more powerful than a simple unfocused laser spell.

The centipede didn't react like a living creature would when it got struck by the extremes of both hot and cold temperature. It repositioned itself in its attempt to charge at Collapse while she cast her spell.

But as the metal shrank from the cold, then quickly attempted to expand from the extra heat, they heard the groaning sounds of metal under too much stress.

Before it could manage to get halfway through it's next charge, Collapse saw out the corner of her eye the glow of Magloria's horn, right before an ice ball shattered against the centipede's head, the heavy force causing the now brittle metal to shatter, the entire head being torn off and scattered around the room in shards, revealing the inside of the centipede which glowed with lines of power.

Its charge stopped as it tried to look around and find its targets again, but without a head it was blind. It didn't stop moving, but it definitely stopped trying to attack them so aggressively.

Without something to go after, it began to leave... or tried to leave as it bumped into several walls. Realizing the failure of the construct it was inhabiting, the tiny blue thing extracted itself from the same hole they saw it climb into and fly off down the corridors, leaving the shell to power down and crumple into a heap, just like all the other statues.

Collapse observes the fruits of her labor with a wide, almost evil grin. It felt so pleasing that she actually had an idea that worked and one that was not shut down by Magloria. Not that she would speak her mind - she wouldn't. It was best to show maturity by not gloating about one's success and to build a positive image with Magloria through actions, and not words.

It was rather easily defeated by their combined might apparently, which was the most important thing. Whatever that blue light was - it was what was controlling the actions of the centipede itself. The tiny blue light was too fast for Collapse to catch up to, and while she tried, she stopped running right at the end of the room, knowing that it was too fast for her to catch.

Looking back to Magloria she would say, "Whatever that blue thing is - it's certainly controlling these centipede statues. I honestly think it is a life form we are unfamiliar with. What kind of magic construct does that? Controlling things? Wandering the jungle, with unexplained knowledge? It's a lifeform, Magloria. It's something that is alive on another plane of consciousness than we are. What that white thing was? It was probably communicating something to me, maybe even trying to get us to come here in the first place." Collapse spoke, seemingly coming to a conclusion.

"But that leaves many questions unanswered. Now - let's find us a pony named Jump Start." Collapse spoke, ready to move on. With her mind, she thought about Jump Start and wanted to follow where any leads might be. Perhaps the feeling of knowing the place could apply to knowing where someone is - within the place?

Since Magloria wasn't the main focus of the centipede, it seems like she took a more elaborate approach to taking it down. She didn't throw an ice ball, or an ice spear, or even another table.

She threw herself.

Not literally of course, but rather than wasting more magical energy on a crippled opponent, she saw fit to run at it herself, jumping off of one of the nearby tables to get some extra height, spinning mid-leap so she could deliver one powerful buck to the side of their attacker.

The spot she impacted crumpled beneath her, other segments buckling under the force. Her impact caused the rest of the compromised segments to tear apart, no longer having the proper shape to keep each piece together.

The end result was a mostly intact back half, scraps of the front half scattered everywhere, a fleeing wisp of blue energy as its construct got destroyed, and Magloria standing among the half frozen, half scorched mess of metal fragments.

"Jump Start is over there, she's fine." she said, motioning with her head in the direction of some sort of glassy blast shield structure.

Collapse stood there and watched the scene unfold with a grin. It was a very comforting feeling to have someone to look up to - and to also see who exactly you look up to. Magloria had all this tactical knowledge, what else did she have in her head? Well, Collapse really wanted to give Magloria a big, tight hug but decided against it.

There was one other who needed a hug, though. Looking to Jump Start she'd walk up to her and give her a tight hug. "There you are, Jump Start. We were looking all over for you. Please don't be afraid. You have nothing to fear anymore, with us by your side." Collapse said in a cooing way, even giving Jump Start a gentle head pat. As she hugged Jump Start she looked over to Magloria, as if wanting her to join the hug but did not say anything.

"Seems like we got a lot to figure out here, don't we?" Collapse asked as she would gently pull away from Jump Start.

Jump Start immediately latched onto Collapse when she got close enough, refusing to let go so she could feel safe for as long as possible. Even when Collapse tried to pull away she didn't let go.

Not that Collapse could really do much about it, magic drained and up against earth pony strength.

Magloria nodded. "Absolutely. This room alone makes most of this place seem boring." she said as she looked around at the room's contents, letting her eyes settle on the big ring structure that acted as a centerpiece.

She furrowed her brow. "This one looks... incomplete. One of the pieces are missing." she stated, pointing at the gap in the structure.

Collapse would allow Jump Start to hug her back like that, as she softly smiles and pets Jump Start's mane. Even though Collapse was a bit tired she enjoyed the warmth of Jump Start. "I am never leaving you alone again." she said firmly into Jump Start's ears as she pets them with her soft hooves. "You're so soft. You're so orange..." she cooed as her hooves rubbed her head gently.

Looking over to Magloria, she would let Magloria do what she wanted to do. "Hmm...I have no idea what any of this looks like, maybe it's some sort of...experiment room, maybe? For spells and stuff? Perhaps alchemy?" she asked.

"It quite possibly could be for spells, though this all looks too advanced for me. Alchemy though? Doesn't look like it. There's too much missing equipment." Magloria said. Looking back over to Collapse, she rose an eyebrow.

"You have a proper academic record for unicorns, right? You'd be able to understand more about advanced spellwork. Does any of it look familiar?" she asked.

Eventually Collapse decided to let go, having now calmed down enough that she felt comfortable, though she shuddered whenever she looked over at the remains of the centipede.

"Well let me get a closer look at everything here, then I'll see what I can come up with." Collapse spoke as she would walk off from Jump Start and look over at the various bits of the room to see if anything felt or seemed familiar, or if she may know what the various things are in the room here. Occasionally she'd look back at Jump Start to make sure she was alright.

Most of the stuff didn't seem all that familiar, despite knowing that they were important *somehow*. The ring felt pretty important, as did a piece of it that she found, collecting dust on a nearby shelf. That piece was different though, instead of having many etchings, it contained a single socket. An empty socket.

Another important thing she found looked to be some sort of control panel, but instead of being simple levers, there was a whole range of what looked to be buttons and sliders. She felt an extreme sense of foreboding when she looked at several of the sliders, positioned at the top of their lines like something was set to the maximum.

Jump Start was still fine, as fine as one could be inside a strange ruin and surrounded by strange artifacts. It wasn't like she was going to have a heart attack or anything.

Collapse would look over these things for a minute or so. "Well first of all I do have feelings about this. When I look at these sliders here, it feels like it's at a maximum. A very foreboding feeling, I can tell you that." she spoke aloud and then walked to the piece of the ring on the shelf. "This definitely fits within the ring - but there is a socket here. Perhaps some kind of power source or something like that." she spoke, pointing at the hole in the piece.

"Why don't we try to slowly turn those sliders down slowly, to turn the...whatever it is, down? Maybe that will do something. If you turn something down...it can't explode, so I feel like it is safer than what we did with those machines." Collapse spoke. "If you don't mind, that is." she added.

Magloria looked curiously at the controls, then to Collapse. "Alright then, if you're sure about that..." she said, bringing her magic to focus. Several of the settings were enveloped by the same glow and brought down to about the halfway point.

Nothing changed in the room. Whatever it's connected to is either inactive, incomplete or broken it seems. Magloria seemed a little disappointed that nothing happened, but at least nothing exploded.

"Well then... this is looking to be a bit of a puzzle." she muttered to herself.

"Well, guess nothing happens then." Collapse shrugs and looks to the piece with the socket. "Maybe we can find something that goes inside of this socket here and see if we can get it working." Collapse suggested and looked around the room for anything that would fit into the socket, perhaps it was for a lightbulb?

There were a few things around the lab that they found, but most of them didn't fit exactly. They were either too big, too small, or weren't the right shape.

Only one thing properly fit into the receptacle that the ring piece had, a glittering stone that shimmered many colors when light reflected on it, like an opal, carved and polished exquisitely. It had a large crack down its side, but that probably wasn't going to be a problem.

Upon discovering the glittering stone, Collapse would put it into the ring piece they have had. "Alright, let's see what this does." she spoke, and would carefully slide the ring piece into the ring itself, and would step back a bit.

The moment that Collapse slotted the ring piece into the frame, it sparked with energy as a circuit was completed. Power began to run through the entire frame as everyone could feel something drawing on their minds.

The stone began to glow bright as the ring's energy started to expand into the center, creating a swirl of pale blue magic-

That abruptly collapsed on itself as energy sharply struck out from the crack in the stone, striking the room in several places with arcs of magical lightning. Magloria immediately pulled Collapse back and down to the floor to reduce their chance of getting struck.

The stone broke apart before falling to the floor, leaving the socket empty and halting the spectacularly dangerous light show. Without a filled socket, the energy in the ring dispersed and the whole process shut down again.

Collapse yelped and duck down to avoid the lightning that shot out from the gemstone, but by the time she thought to do so Magloria had pulled her down to the floor, looking to where the stone once was she was silent for several moments.

"Holy shit..." she muttered in shock. "Y-yeah, we aren't messing with these things further I can tell you that..." she laughed nervously. "But we can at least take some of these for examination when we get back home..." she suggested.

Magloria looked down at the remains of the broken stone, gently kicking one of the halves as she did so. It didn't seem like it retained any of the energy that had flowed through it beforehand.

"Looks like this wasn't strong enough to handle it. I blame that crack it had. If we had an intact one maybe it wouldn't send out lightning everywhere then break." she said, now picking up the half in her magic to inspect it closer.

"Where would we find a whole one of those though?" Jump Start asked.

"Finding another lab, one could say. Let's see if anything in here is worth keeping." Collapse spoke and looked around the place to see if any of the parts were worth keeping, such as the ring piece - something she figured which were keeping. If the others agreed, Collapse would unsummon it in a gold flash. "If we are done here, we should see what else there is, maybe I can follow my feeling to another lab."

There were many little things that looked like they could've been worth keeping, but much like a shiny metal spoon, a lot of them were probably just mundane stuff used as tools or components, which would be worthless on their own outside of being 'artifacts'.

Jump Start was perplexed at Collapse's idea to take the ring piece. What would she even use it for? Was she just going to keep it with her until they somehow managed to get back to Equestria?

"Wouldn't it be better to keep that thing where it belongs? It was doing something there at least." she said.

"Unless you're planning on taking the entire ring, the only thing we could do with it is just sell it to some nerdy academic type who wants to learn what it does... and would get a hilariously incomplete picture, judging from this room." Magloria added.

"Well, I would want to take the whole ring set, do you think we could do that maybe? But that would definitely be pushing it..." Collapse said, scratching her hoof on the floor with a bit of a defeated look, since she wanted to take everything they found so that they could bring back new knowledge to Equestria. "But I suppose there may be other things around here, wouldn't there?" Collapse asked.

Magloria moved over to the ring and started trying to pull other pieces of it apart for Collapse. They didn't budge. Something was gluing or bolting them together. She even attempted to move the ring from its spot, but it was stuck to the floor.

She shook her head. "I don't think you'll be taking this anywhere, unless you can somehow fit the entire ruin into your unsummoning place." she said.

"Other rooms with different stuff, maybe?" Jump Start suggested. "Not sure if you can top this place though."

"Well, let's go." Collapse spoke and began to lead them out of the place, wanting to take them somewhere like this. Maybe there was another lab elsewhere she can take them there by following her feeling?

"I wish I could summon up this entire place and take it with us." she giggled.

The others followed after her, though Magloria couldn't help but feel that place was probably the most important room out of the entire place. Whatever was happening in there was well beyond their understanding.

A handful of minutes passed wandering through corridors and avoiding those wisps of energy. Collapse didn't sense that anything around the place was familiar at the moment. It didn't stop them from entering what appeared to be an armory of sorts.

There was a variety of armor sets, but all of them had become damaged and fragile through the passage of time. Even if they weren't, none of them looked like they would fit anyway.

The weapons however... were strange. There was a bunch of what looked to be sword handles, but none of them had actual blades. Several other handles and grips were also there, still without the important parts.

The only weapon that actually looked functional was a set of spears, but they were large and heavy, heavier than they rightfully should've been.

Magloria was obviously disappointed with the selection. "Who even designed this?" she growled as she tossed the spear she was inspecting down to the floor.

Collapse approached the weaponry on the armor sets with a confused look. "Hmm, that's...pretty weird to say the least but then again those wisps of energy and their statues do not have hands to grab the blade with, so why would they need handles? But anyways that's really odd..." she spoke and then looked to the spear on the floor that Magloria was inspecting.

"Well, probably is heavier and like that since it's not designed for the pony form - but that begs the question, why are there physical weaponry here when we have yet to see any physical creatures besides...sentinels piloted by wisps of energy? There had to be some other species here at some point." Collapse suggested.

Magloria shook her head. "No, the spear is heavy for its size. It's like they used lead to make it, which is stupid in its own right." she said, before she looked around the room, trying to see if there was any remnants of something that once lived here. There was not.

"Perhaps there were physical creatures here at some point. I really doubt that tiny balls of energy were capable of creating all of this. Even the big one didn't see that compelled to do anything."

"Which in that case, where did they go?" she asked.

"That's a good question. How about this - how about we try capturing one of those tiny balls of energy with our magic? Catch a...Wisp? Streak? Whatever they are." Collapse suggested, since they couldn't make much use of anything that was within this room. "But if they are truly alive I don't wanna hurt them though, I just wanna get an up close look and study them or something, you know?" Collapse suggested.

"As long as you're fit to take down another one of those centipedes if something goes wrong, because that's exactly what will happen should it happen to escape after you try to contain it." Magloria pointed out.

"Wait, how are you even going to catch one anyway? They're balls of energy, where would you even begin? Stick it in a box surrounded by a metal cage or something?" Jump Start questioned.

"We contain it in a magic bubble, for example?" Collapse suggested, forming a magic bubble with her magic and hardening it's thickness just for a demonstration. "Or we can come up with something, but I don't think we've seen anything we could use for that around here, at least not yet." Collapse stated.

"Well in that case, are you good enough to take on the centipede when things go wrong? If you are, then let's go." Magloria stated. "Maybe if we pin one down for long enough we could get something out of them before they fly off."

Jump Start looked around, pondering to herself out loud. "I wonder if they have magic restraining equipment around here? Probably not. Would've stopped working ages ago."

"Yes, I suppose we are good enough for that." Collapse said to Magloria and would proceed to walk out of the place, looking for any of the blue balls of energy floating about the place. When and if they saw any, she'd point it out to the others and begin chasing after them.

It didn't take long before the group had come across one of the patrolling wisps of energy, slowly moving through the corridors. While Magloria would've preferred to ambush it for an easy capture, it seems as though Collapse didn't think that way, given how she immediately chased it.

As expected, it's color changed from blue to red as soon as it had detected Collapse, immediately making a break for the nearest centipede shell so it could drive her off.

Given that Collapse had already given chase of the wisp of energy, she would speed up her chase before summoning in her fly ring. Using her fly ring, she would fly up into the air carefully and float after the wisp of energy, hopefully the others could keep up.

As Collapse neared towards the wisp of energy, she would attempt to reach out with her magic to catch it.

Her telekinetic field managed to catch the energy wisp, but she quickly found out that unlike solid objects, attempting to hold something made of energy was incredibly difficult, like trying to hold an oily ball between her hooves.

She could feel it slipping through at a very fast rate, and it wasn't that far from reaching a nearby shell.

With such a precarious grasp - Collapse really *really* didn't want to lose it. Her energy field shifts form to that of a solid encasing sphere much like a shield, and she slows down. "I-I got it, come help me, quick, or I might lose it!" she shouted to the others, more so Magloria.

The solid barrier of magic does the trick with containing it, however now it attempts to find a way out of the sphere by rapidly spinning around and around the edges, like a fly trapped in a glass.

"Help you how? It's not like I can just mimic what you're doing." Magloria stated as she stepped up next to her, watching the energetic thing as it spun around.

Collapse would harden the sphere around the blue wisp and would bring the sphere down closer to them, now standing on the floor with the sphere right in front of them. "We should get it to some sort of container to where I don't have to hold the magic spell up like this. I think I got it contained." she spoke calmly.

Magloria sighed. "Perhaps you should've thought about finding something to keep it in *before* grabbing it. Now we need to find somewhere that actually has something like that." she said, looking down several corridors in case there was anything that could lead them to some such things. There wasn't, it was all just maze-like corridors.

Jump Start began shuffling through her saddlebags. "Don't we have something that we could stick it in? A pot or a jar perhaps?" she asked.

"We should have thought of that before, yes..." Collapse narrowed her eyes and watched the blue wisp spin around inside of it more. "Hmm, let me check my pocket dimension." she said, thinking about the items she had. It came to her mind that she had a jar, although she can't remember why she had the jar. It wasn't from the Constance - it was before that. Maybe she was going to keep some screws in a jar to keep her workshop all organized? Yeah, that was what it was for, actually.

Collapse summons the jar on the ground next to them. As it was a jar for screws it was probably on the smaller end. Seems like they could just shove it into the jar, then.

While Collapse was summoning in her jar, Magloria has searched around her own saddlebags and found the crystal flask she had made a while ago. It was a little bit smaller than the jar, but probably stronger than simple glass.

The energy ball didn't seem like it cared about which new prison it would have. It was still trying to get out of the one it was already in.

Collapse looks to the crystal flask. "Hmm, that looks like a better place to contain it." she mentioned, and held out the jar. "Whoever wants the jar can take it. First come, first serve. One fine, unique and *totally not just a regular jar *- jar!" Collapse giggled, wanting to see if either of them would take the jar, regardless, she'd look to Magloria. "Alright let's put the blue wispy ball into the flask." she said, thinking about how to do that.

Magloria and Jump Start looked at each other, neither of them wanting to take Collapse up on her offer for a jar which had probably been sitting in an unknown dimension for who knows how long.

"No thanks. Just do what you were going to do." Magloria said. She wasn't really sure why exactly Collapse wanted to study one of these things anyway. Perhaps it was an unicorn of proper academics sort of thing?

Collapse would take the top off of the flask and put it up against her magic sphere. Directly over the top the sphere opened a hole and the sphere began to shrink, forcing the blue wisp ball into the flask, if it was possible. Collapse puts her jar in her saddlebag, mumbling something about "my favorite jar". She was just being weird.

Before their eyes they saw the very first wisp in a bottle. It still didn't seem all that pleased about its situation, but it's not like that was going to change any time soon.

Magloria sealed the top of the flask with a layer of ice, knowing full well that it was temporary. They'd have to find something else later on to seal it properly. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should try and come up with a design for an all-in-one bottle and stopper?

"Well, you got it. Now you can do whatever you want with it I suppose. Take it home, read it a story, drink it- actually don't do that last one." she said.

"I think we should try to capture two of them, they may be able to produce off spring and we can breed them, maybe? If that would even work. I can imagine these little guys being popular back home, if we can tame them, that is." Collapse said, holding the flask and looking at the wisp with childlike eyes. It was so cute, it was so blue!

"What the... I knew you didn't have restraint, but... seriously?" Magloria exclaimed at Collapses sudden announcement of her intentions. What was this mare even thinking?

"They're balls of some unknown magic! What even makes you think that they could create more of themselves, let alone do so willingly when trapped inside a bottle?" she stated.

Chapter 68

Collapse narrowed her eyes at Magloria, a bit there. "That is why further experimentation shall be done when we return with these, by scientists in Equestria. If they can't create more of themselves, then why do you figure they exist? Surely there must be something more to them, than just them being all blue and floaty. And whether they be magic or not, they show signs of intelligence." she mentioned.

"We're standing inside a massive complex of completely unknown magic." Magloria pointed up at the little lights dotting the hall and keeping everything nice and bright.

"These are powered with magic and they were created by whatever built it. Who are we to say that they didn't build these balls of energy as well? They certainly don't act any more intelligent than simple guards, with the way they've always tried to use those centipedes and crush us as soon as they see us."

She paced around the corridor, tail flicking and eyes remaining of Collapse. "And when we first came in we didn't see any of them either. I find the idea of them hiding for centuries until we turned on everything rather preposterous, don't you think?" she stated.

Meanwhile, Jump Start just looked between the two, not wanting to speak up in case she got too involved in a topic she didn't really understand.

Honestly Collapse had not thought of that until now. "That makes a lot of sense actually, scratch what I said. If we can find out where they actually came from, we can confirm for real." she spoke and would lead them forward. "Perhaps there are some sort of alcoves or areas in the walls that they came out of, being stored behind the walls until they were needed?" she suggested, completely dropping her original concept for them. She had no real basis to argue her point further and abandoned it.

"That could be quite hard to do. We can't exactly just follow one home. They've all been moving about the corridors we're in without stopping." Jump Start sighed.

"Even we can't see where they *all* are at any time. Some that might look busy may be returning to where they came from." Magloria pointed out, then added "However this raises an issue of *when* they would do such a thing, if ever. It could be hours or even days before any that we follow do that."

"That is true, so we'll pick something else to do I'd figure." Collapse sighs. "If we can't do that, then what else could we go ahead and do? Any ideas?" she asked, looking to them for ideas.

"Well there was that cracked stone that failed to start the ring thing. Suppose if we found one that wasn't cracked, or knew someone who knew where one was, we could make it work properly." Magloria suggested, looking into her saddlebags. "We did bring the pieces of it, right? It looked pretty valuable even in halves."

Jump Start looked at the crystal flask. "What are we going to do with the ball, now that you're not going to do whatever you said?" she asked.

"Yeah I brought those pieces of it with me here. I took that piece that we tried the stone in it - and the lightning..." Collapse sighs, remembering what happened with that. "We could probably find more pieces like that, if we look in the right places." she added.

And now she looked to Jump Start. "Well, we should fashion some sort of lid for that so it won't come out when the ice melts." Collapse suggested, and would lead them along down the hall.

"I meant the stone that we put inside that ring piece's slot. I know you took probably the most important part of the ring with you." Magloria said, knowing it would be pretty important if they could show others what they were talking about, rather than just telling them 'a shiny rainbow stone'.

"But what are we actually going to *do* with it? Just keep it in the bottle?" Jump Start questioned.

Collapse pulled out the stone from her saddlebag. "Well here it is, I wasn't going to leave it behind or anything." she said, turning it over in her magic and allowing them to see that she had it.

"As for the blue thing in the bottle? I honestly don't know what we could do with it." she spoke. "Is there anything you think we could do with it?"

Magloria nodded. "Great. If there is anyone who knows what it is and where we could find another, we can show exactly what it is." she said, "It better not be some super rare ultra stone that only appears once every thousand years."

Jump Start looked down at the bottle again. "We could name it. Not this one, but all of them. Calling them the 'blue energy thing' over and over again is getting a bit tiresome. How about calling them Sparks?"

"As for what to do with it... dunno." she shrugged.

Collapse tucks the stone back into her saddlebag. "Yeah, I would certainly hope not. I really do hope that when we get back, we will be able to retire or not...do this ever again?" Collapse laughs nervously and then looks to Jump Start. "Yeah, Sparks it is. I don't know what we can do with them though. Maybe we could make a new container, and attempt to capture more of them We can have a whole collection of them to take back." Collapse also suggests.

"That's assuming these sparks even last that long." Magloria bluntly said as she started walking down a random corridor. "They might just fade away, like whoever used to live in this place. Speaking of which, do you think there is anywhere else in here that would be worth searching for, or should we just find the exit and some way to turn off those infernal beams?" she asked.

"I think we should find the exit, we've been in here long enough I think." Collapse replied, and would begin leading them back towards the exit, where she thought the exit was. "Yeah, those sparks we'll have to see if they can last that long. If we see any on the way back maybe we'll capture another one just for the sake of it." Collapse suggested.

On their way back to where the exit probably was, they came across another room. From merely looking into it they could see a variety of shelves with objects on them, they couldn't tell what.

They also saw a spark moving down a nearby corridor. It wasn't headed in their direction, and they'd probably lose track of it if they explored the room.

Alternatively, they could just keep going in the direction of the exit.

Looking to the area they had come across - Collapse took the sighting of the other spark down the nearby corridor. "Let's catch that one, and then head back to this room, shouldn't we?" Collapse suggested, wanting to take advantage of it as much as possible.

"Sure, but this time make sure to *not* let it almost cause us to fight another of those things. Get it in that sphere as soon as possible." Magloria replied, letting Collapse take the lead.
Provided they turned the corner where the spark went, just like the previous spark, this one could be seen slowly floating away from them as it patrolled the halls.

The one in the jar started fluctuating for some reason, its energy pulsing outwards in a consistent manner.

Collapse put on her fly ring much like before and would proceed to fly up after the other spark, using her magic to put it in a magic bubble just like before, since that worked before. If she was successful, she'd try to put it in her remaining Jar, although it would more of a tight squeeze.

The fluctuating energy of the captured spark must've been a signal to the other one, because before Collapse could even start flying in its direction it had already 'spotted' them, and began flying off down the hall, passing around a corner.

Interestingly enough, it didn't immediately go for one of the centipede shells. Instead it just kept going.

Collapse flew after it faster, wanting to catch it with her telekineses much like before but this time she had the jar - and so she wouldn't need Magloria to catch up to her like they did last time. She kept going, aiming to catch the spark within the small jar.

After a couple twists and turns Collapse finally had a stable lock on the spark ahead of her, managing to wrap her telekinesis around it just enough that she could slow it down, however another spark nearby proved to be another problem.

It too became alert and turned red, before it started to fly off. The number of sparks in this place would likely mean that if she were to keep pursuing them she would just run into more of them repeatedly. Even if she could catch them all, the flask probably couldn't.

Collapse would shove the spark she caught into the jar, although she realized there was no other room for others for sure. The one that turned red could perhaps be going to get another centipede thing, however she did not pursue the others further and instead headed back to the others.

"Well, double trouble. We have two - but one of the other ones I saw turned red and flew off." she spoke, ready to head to the room they wanted to explore.

Now both of the sparks were constantly circling around the flask relentlessly. At the very least, it makes for a good night light.

Chapter 69

When Collapse returned to the others and explained what had happened, Magloria let out a loud sigh. "Well then, I suppose we better do this next bit quick and quietly. It didn't follow you, right? It doesn't know where we are at the moment?" she asked.

"I do not think that it followed me, but we better be quick and quiet anyways." Collapse spoke to Magloria, and when they arrived in the room she would look around to see what was about the place. She put the flask containing the two sparks into her saddlebag.

Within the room there was many shelves, that much she'd seen, but there was actually many many more than what they had already seen. It looked almost like a library, with every shelf holding tablets of rust coloured squareish rock. Unlike books however, each one laid down flat on the shelves. It didn't make much sense to do this with a storage of sorts, but maybe there was a reason.

"Is that it? Just a heap of carved rocks?" Jump Start asked, a bit put off from searching any further.

Collapse walked up to the carved rocks of some kind. "Well, perhaps these are tablets with some kind of inscriptions on them? Let's see." she spoke, walking up to one of them to see if she could make out any writing on them. It is unlikely that they'd be able to make out the language, if there was any writing on them - at least that is what Collapse thought.

Jump Start looked at a few on some of the other shelves. "They look like carved rocks. Barely anything on them."

And she was right. Aside from an etched outline, a few symbols that she couldn't understand and a circular hole along one of the edges, it seemed rather blank.

The only difference between each of the lumps of stone were the symbols used. Each one had a different set, none of which had the same set of symbols as another.

"What do you think is their purpose? Gravestones?" Magloria suggested.

Collapse looked to the symbols on them and rose an eyebrow. "I have never seen anything like this." she commented and ran her hooves over the edges of them as if thinking. "I don't understand why one would carve symbols and leave most of it blank like that - wouldn't that just be wasting material? Perhaps they are for another purpose entirely." Collapse stated.

They felt like a smooth stone over her hoof, as they probably should. Seemed a bit hard to shift so they were fairly dense, but there wasn't anything new to be discovered just by looking as it and touching the outside of it, from what Collapse could tell.

"Think we should take one, just in case?" Jump Start suggested.

A distant clack sound could be heard echoing from somewhere outside of the room.

Collapse looks to Jump Start and unsummons one of them. One was enough. It vanished in a gold flash, but Collapse did not want to unsummon anything further as they had already taken a lot. Upon hearing the clack echoing outside of the room, she froze up nervously. "Something else is here." she spoke quietly, to them.

Collapse's attempts to shift the object to a different dimension proved to be unsuccessful, the magic seemingly bouncing off of the tablet and scattering into a useless mess.

Whatever it was made out of or filled with was obviously designed to not have something interfere with it.

"Yeah. That's probably the centipede that is now searching for us, which means we really should go soon before it finds us." Magloria pointed out.

Collapse was quite disappointed she couldn't unsummon the tablet and grunted somewhat in frustration. "Well, I guess we aren't taking that with us then. Unless if one of you wants to carry it, but I'm already carrying enough. Let's go." Collapse decided, ready to go.

While Collapse was suggesting they leave, Jump Start ended up brushing her hoof over the face of a tablet with more dust than the rest. She yelped when a light had blinked for a split second.

Something small was dropped out the hole in the tablet, falling to the floor and bouncing several times, much like a marble would, though unlike the ones they knew about, this one was not made out of fragile glass.

Slowly the small orange and pale blue streaked ball rolled to a stop next to one of the shelves.

Magloria looked back and forth between the marble and the doorway. "Think we should take that before we leave? It looks pretty important." she asked.

Collapse looked over at the marble curiously and picked it up in her magic. "Yeah, let's take it with us. I'll inspect it more when we have the time." she spoke, slipping it into her saddlebag. Once the marble was safe and secure, Collapse would begin leading them towards the exit - provided if the centipedes hadn't found them first.

As they left Jump Start couldn't help but look back at the room. If just that tablet had a marble, would all the others also have marbles? What did the marbles even do?

As they made their way through the halls towards the exit they kept hearing the distant sounds of clacking metal on stones, telling them they were still being hunted for.

It got even worse when they heard sounds coming from down a different hallway, and then even more as they passed them.

They heard a different sound at one point. It wasn't the tinny click clack that they're used to hearing. This one sounded heavier, and slowly getting louder.

Collapse was more than thankful they had managed to avoid the centipedes so far. They could defeat them, but that required significant effort that Collapse honestly didn't want to put forth to do so. When they head the other sound, it was concerning - perhaps there had been some thing else down here that they missed? Seemed the most likely case in her opinion.

"Would suggest we perhaps find somewhere to hide, if we need to." Collapse spoke to them quietly.

Magloria looked over her shoulder towards where the heavy sound was coming from. "Sounds like a good idea." she replied, moving down the corridor and to the first room that she found. Another set of living quarters, mostly barren like the rest of those they had seen.

"This looks like the best we have. Hopefully these things will not deliberately wander into rooms like these, but just in case try to, stay low and out of sight." She pointed a hoof towards the room, offering the hiding space to them.

Collapse would follow them into the living quarters and look around as they entered in, agreeing with Magloria. "Sounds like the best shot we have at staying hidden." she suggested, and would go into the room and put herself down in the corner. Hopefully they would huddle up against Collapse like they did before in the tunnel by the Luneshine forest, or that is at least what Collapse thought.

The insides were nothing that they hadn't seen before. Ruined remnants of furniture, cabinets nearby, the usual. Unfortunately for Collapse, the wall next to the doorway was big enough that they could stay out of sight without being forced close to each other, which Magloria wasted no time in taking advantage of.

It didn't take long before they felt the vibrations of the heavy clacking through the floor, as whatever it was that roamed the halls passed awfully close to where they had decided to hide. Thankfully, it had not decided to enter the room, and that's assuming it even could.

Collapse stayed dead silent when the sound moved past the room. She didn't want to know what it was but felt like it was a larger centipede or something of the sort. All in all, she was very glad that they found this place to hide out in to escape the clutches of their pursuer.

For a bit after it left she remained silent, until she could hear it pass by further. "It seems like we are clear now. Should we head towards the exit, and finally leave?" she asked Magloria.

"At this point, leaving this entire place until things calm down sounds like an excellent idea." Magloria replied, now making sure to keep an eye on any potential hiding spots they later went past, in case they had to avoid whatever it was stalking the halls again.

Outside of having to avoid a few more patrolling sparks now fully decked out in their centipede shells and on full alert, they suffered no problems. Even the initial plasma beam trap at the entrance could be shut off when they found an emergency lever of sorts that they had completely missed beforehand, due to the lack of proper lightning.

Beyond the entrance to the ruins, the rain that had drawn them into this place still came down, and it appeared to be sometime in the middle of the night as well. Would probably be a good time to relax and go to sleep, given all the excitement they've had already. None of the centipedes seemed to patrol anything but the halls anyway.

As they proceeded to the entrance, Collapse could hear the rain coming down upon the area outside. It was likely not a good idea to head outside into the rain - who knows what other predators could be out there, stalking the night.

Collapse sits down near to one of the walls to the entrance, saying to the others that now was probably a good time to get some some sleep. Perhaps they could come back here later on, after the Sparks had calmed down. Collapse wondered how long they would remain activated, afterall. At the very least they got some things from the place.

Collapse lays down to go to sleep, provided if Magloria and Jump Start wanted to - looking to Jump Start calmly.

Magloria and Jump Start did plan on laying down for now, given they didn't have anywhere to go or much to do. Tinkering with what they had managed to collect from the ruin so far could wait until they had a well rested mind.

Getting to sleep was a little bit harder than normal, given they hadn't exactly brought in anything to sleep on, aside from their saddlebags, and the ground was nothing but hard brick.

Collapse moved a little closer to the two of them. The ground was hard and uncomfortable to lay on - and there were two soft ponies laying near to her that she wanted to lay on instead. But still, she did not push her luck and made do with what she could, and went off to sleep in due time. If she woke up first, she would have been preparing breakfast for them by the time Magloria and Jump Start woke up.

When she woke up from her slumber she found that they had all gotten a bit closer together sometime in the night, due to instinctually wanting the nearby comfort and warmth. It was mostly Collapse herself who had moved, though.

Outside the entrance she could see that it was now sometime in the early morning, and most of the clouds had moved away. Everything still looked wet, but it was still better than also being wet.

There wasn't really much to prepare for breakfast. Just slicing some fruits to make them easier to eat, and removing any annoying seeds that would taste bad. The others eventually woke up as well, thanked her for getting breakfast ready for them and began to eat their meal.

As Collapse ate she would open up her saddlebag and take out the various items they had got from the place and laid them out. Now that it was light, and they weren't running from anything - they could take the time to just observe their items after they were done eating. Collapse would savor her food, and would let the others look at the things while she ate, but when she was done, she'd look over what they managed to snag.

The cracked shiny stone that they had picked up turned out to be awfully similar to an opal, except it felt denser and lost its iridescent shimmer within the broken part itself.

It's strange that a simple stone could retain such an appearance, and given what they had seen before when the ring started to work, it also seemed like it held a lot of power, and did so in a very stable way as well. It was impressive that they hadn't blown up the room when it broke.

The tiny marble on the other hand was a completely different mystery. Constructed out of what looked to be orange metal and blue stone, with tiny bands of metal reinforcing the structure.

Strangely enough, it sounded like it contained a liquid when shaken next to her ear, and there even was what looked like it could be a sealed opening at one end. Direct attempts to get the seal open were met with failure, the metal holding it in place too tightly.

"Well... this thing is a puzzling curiosity for sure... how do you suppose we get whatever is inside out?" Jump Start asked quizzically as she peered down at the marble.

Did Collapse happen to snatch anything else that she wanted to take a look at?

Collapse looks to the opal stone in her hooves as she turns it over in her grasp. "This stone is really interesting. Such a tiny little stone, yet it could contain such power within it...I wonder how that could be. Imagine what we could do with such stones to store power back home, perhaps new power storage systems with them instead of batteries - and hold larger charges. Or maybe I am just shooting in the dark, at that." Collapse said idly.

The tiny marble was also interesting as well. She didn't expect there to be some sort of liquid inside of it. While she did attempt to open it up, she didn't want to break it. "I don't know really," Collapse said to Jump Start, "But I don't wanna break it to find out." she said to Jump Start. It was such a fascinating little marble, really.

Collapse did manage to snag one other thing, though. The ring piece where the stone was inserted into. "Couldn't forget this, it made sense because we have the stone, why not the piece where it inserted into?" she grinned, showing them the piece.

Magloria looked down at the stone as well. "Well if we ever get back we can say that this expedition would be a resounding success. Mining ships would be dispatched to extract whatever they could find of these." she stated.

Jump Start brought the marble closer, now trying to examine it from all different directions in case she could find... anything. A little button, a bit of inscription, even trying to find some spot that might be weak enough that they could carefully get through. "I don't see a way to get inside yet." she said. Maybe she just couldn't see deep enough into it.

The ring piece that Collapse had brought with them was, aside from being the 'central' piece of the ring, the most boring part of it. There were no engravings, only smooth rock and the slot for the opal stone. Whatever was important was probably on the inside of it, but breaking it in half to see how it worked would be an astronomically stupid idea.

Collapse rubs her hooves over the smooth rock but knew that she wasn't willing to break it. It was going to remain intact. Collapse proceeds to unsummon the items once they were done looking over them in order to keep them safe within her pocket dimension. "Yeah, hopefully one day there will be an official team sent out here and we could have a whole archaeological team analyze the ruins and whatever else is out here." Collapse agreed.

Looking to Jump Start she'd smile. "Maybe it's a good thing we didn't get inside it, so we wouldn't accidentally break it. But we should probably look around and see what else we can find around here, before heading back to our shelter and proceeding to get our materials together for the ship." Collapse spoke calmly.

Magloria seemed a little bit miffed at Collapse for unsummoning the items so suddenly. She didn't speak up about it, but it would be nice to have been able to access those items if she needed to.

"Wait, what do you mean by that? What if whatever is inside is important?" Jump Start asked, confused at what Collapse could've meant by that. Why wouldn't they try and find out what's inside? It didn't look like it served much purpose otherwise, outside of being a child's toy.

"What else would there be to find anyway?" Magloria questioned, "We're already at one of the biggest places we could find out here, and I don't feel like travelling to any of the other places on our map at the moment. We're better off heading back."

Collapse didn't appear to notice Magloria's annoyance with her unsummoning the items away like that as she was focused on what Jump Start was saying. "Well, it may be important but I don't wanna break it open or anything like that. You can continue trying if you want" Collapse said to Jump Start before giving her the tiny marble back.

Then Collapse turned to Magloria. "Good point. Let's get going then, since we have more important things to do anyways." she spoke. "I hope that nothing happened to our shelter since we've been gone for a while." Collapse added.

Jump Start took back the marble and slipped it into her saddlebags. "Thanks." she replied gratefully.

Magloria began to lead them back outside, climbing the rubble mound and out back into the sunlight. After a little bit of studying the map and checking the position of the sun to work out where they should head, she started them off back towards their current home.

The first little break they had to rest their legs after hours of walking and eat something, Magloria decided to take the time to examine the crystal eye they had, just looking through it at the various trees and nearby wildlife and seeing what patterns she could find.

Collapse would stretch her legs in her boots as if showing off her bodily form in subtle ways to Jump Start. Whenever Jump Start or Magloria weren't looking, you can be sure Collapse was taking quick glances at their bodies. Collapse wanted to know them inside and out, ideally.

She glanced over to Magloria. "Do you see anything?" she asked, stepping near to her. "Point it at me and you'll see me shimmer and be orange?" she grinned calmly.

As there was nothing much to do during the break, Jump Start idly watched what the others did, occasionally blinking at what Collapse was doing. The mare was just getting rid of the tightness in her muscles, wasn't she? She couldn't be showing off...

Jump Start quickly looked away when her mind started wandering in a direction she didn't expect it to, a mild blush appearing across her cheeks. She looked over to what Magloria was doing to distract herself from further thoughts.

"Nah, nothing special we haven't already seen." Magloria replied as she directed the eye at Collapse. "Yes, you're definitely shimmering orange. I wonder if this thing is capable of detecting certain special ores and rocks underground? Perhaps even other ruins." She lowered the crystal eye as she pondered.

Collapse smiled widely as the eye was pointed at her. She was trying to be funny with that wide smile across her face. Maybe Magloria would have seen something within those pearly whites of hers? "Well, try pointing it straight down at the ground. Maybe you'll be able to detect something under the ground. The next time we walk by a cave we should look within the cave with this eye as well." she stated, and continued to stretch a bit.

Then Collapse would slide her boots back on after stretching her bare hooves on the ground. She occasionally glanced over to Jump Start, and smirked slightly at remembering her reactions to being called 'Jumpy'. She wanted to make that a regular nickname for her. Perhaps she could even get Magloria to call her that! Collapse could only dream.

Magloria turned the eye down at the ground and looked through it again. "Nah, I just see a lot of glimmering from everything nearby. I think the plants and bug life around us is interfering. Might have more luck if we found a cave instead."

Jump Start still avoided looking at Collapse for the moment. The redness to her face hadn't faded completely, so it might be a little bit before she was back to normal again.

"Hold on a minute, why have we not used this thing on what we've just collected?" Magloria asked.

"Yeah that's a good idea, let's try it." Collapse spoke and summoned the items they had collected onto the ground in front of them. That was probably for the best, as Magloria likely still wanted to carry them with her. Collapse noticed Jump Start not looking at her, and didn't know what was up - and so she didn't comment on that.

The moment that the eye was pointed toward the rematerialized objects, Magloria flinched, grimacing in pain as she stopped looking through it, her eye she had been using now closed shut.

"Ow." she said in a very blunt manner. "I don't think we should look at that opal stone again. Whatever it has going on made a very bright light. That has the potential to blind someone if looked at for too long."

Chapter 71

"I would only wish to take what we need. I am not here to steal. The Panthins, while we may not understand them, or have had the best of interactions with them - doesn't give us the right to take anything willy nilly. So only what we need, then we leave." Collapse concluded.

Magloria seemed satisfied with that answer, and Jump Start didn't think about continuing any further. They both eventually laid themselves down, each after attending to personal things. Jump Start groomed her tail, while Magloria made sure that her earrings weren't damaged in any way that would make them fall off.

Magloria laid down in the opposite direction that Collapse was facing, only her tail was near enough that she could feel it. Jump Start had decided this to try out their bags as pillows, in case they were better then a fat squishy pony. They probably weren't.

Collapse moved closer to Jump Start and smiled to her as she tried out the bags as pillows. Not soft, for sure. Maybe they would be if they were emptied and stuffed full of something, like plants. Oh well, Collapse was too tired to think further. With a gentle motion, she hugged herself closer to Jump Start but kept her tail close to Magloria's, intentionally wanting to feel her tail, even if barely. Soon enough, she fell off to sleep.

When Collapse woke up the next morning almost nothing had changed about where her two companions were. They were still sleeping, with Jump Start's face smooshed against a bag and Magloria laying down nearby.

There was a sense of repetition that could almost be felt. They were probably just going to continue stuff they were already doing, weren't they? Boring stuff that they could just not go into detail if they wanted, to get to the next interesting event.

Another thing as well... how long had they even been on the island anyway? Unless someone had been keeping track, the numbers all seemed to just blur together. If only they had a calendar.

Collapse would have gotten up and repeated her routine like normal. It was unlikely for that to be interesting in any significant way - since that was what they did for...however long they have been here. Honestly, losing track of it made her feel better in a way - it made her not think about how long they were 'gone', ironically enough.

Either way, Collapse would propose finishing off the clearing they worked on yesterday. They would likely end up going there, and continuing their work. Depending on what they had to do, they may or may not have finished it that day. In Collapse's eyes, it was just best to get that over with, since they had to do that anyways. ~~It's not like any of this is interesting, is it? Yeah, there isn't anything all that interesting in cutting down trees, is there?~~

The entire day passed, filled with nothing but chopping down trees, unrooting plants, sipping on iced fruit juice in coconut cups and occasionally, when they needed to, removing tree stumps from the path they were building.

No seaponies arrived that day, which was a shame but they only would've been a distraction.

By the time the sun was starting to set (which they could sneak around Carocol afterwards) they had finally cleared away enough foliage that they could transport their resources through the jungle to the beach with ease. A job well done, if the sighs of contentment from Jump Start was any indication.

After a good day's hard work Collapse could only smile. Perhaps she was making her grin excessively large to get added attention from her two companions. That smile of hers looked quite exaggerated, didn't it? But she only giggled upon looking at the cleared path. "All done. Job well done." she said in a cheery fashion, looking to Jump Start.

Then she would look to Magloria. "So, we'll need the sails, the sealant, likely any other hardware we need, what else?" shea sked, just wanting to make sure before they went.

"Rope, for tying the sails. Nails, for keeping everything together. We can probably find it in the same place we'd find the sealant and adhesive. All those are commonly used for construction." Magloria replied.

"This should be our last time going into that place, right?" Jump Start asked, referring to the Panthin city. "Should be." Magloria shrugged.

"It better be. I don't wanna have to go in there again. I am kind of amused at the thought, do the Panthins look like...kittens, when they are young?" Collapse held back a giggle at that. "But I am curious, what are they doing down below?" she remembered the blockade.

"Weird question to ask, but if griffon chicks are any indication then the young Panthins would look like kittens. Bigger kittens, but still kittens nonetheless." Magloria said.

Jump Start pondered over Collapse's other question. "Uhh... they could be... fishing? They are close to a river from the sea so maybe they catch whatever comes down it?"

"In any case..." Magloria interrupted, "I suggest you get what you think you'll need and be prepared to move out to Carocol. At least we don't have to take machines this time, so you shouldn't need to stress yourself as much, Collapse."

Collapse would retrieve her bags and get on her boots, getting herself be prepared. "Well, I would find that a whole blockade and shooting anything that moves - is a little complex for fishing, if we are going back one *last* time, I would want to find out any information as to why they are down there and what they are doing, at least." Collapse mentioned, and was thankful she didn't have to take any overly huge items with them.

"If it wasn't for the fact that we're heading into extremely dangerous territory, I would allow that. As it stands however, we'd either have to find the one place with the records of what is going on down there, or go down there ourselves." Magloria began explaining.

"The first choice would be a blind search for not only the right building, but the right place inside the building, and that's if it even exists at all. What we've been doing already at least has some semblance of possibility."

"The second would bring us back down to that guarded blockade, and then what? We watch and listen to them for hours and hope we don't get spotted by hiding in a closet? It's just unnecessary risk."

She looked straight at Collapse. "Unless you had a better idea of how you were going to find out?" she inquired.

"I was thinking we could watch the areas a bit and perhaps inspect them from afar to see anything that looks close to what a records would be, but that's basically just the first choice of what you said. But I don't wanna go back down into the blockade, and that was hours and hours of walking back up - I don't wanna undo that possibility." she spoke.

"But the second choice would prove more fruitful to our answers, but, I am not sure if you wanna risk that, and I am not sure if I am either.." she grinned somewhat. She remembered when they hid behind that rock they had to squish together. That was the best part, wasn't it? "Although I would suggest for us to go there during the day and you know...try talking to them through normal means, but they already know that some of their stuff was stolen and who are they gonna blame for it? Us, because we look a lot different than they do." she added.

"What if we just... I dunno... take a small peek around where the tunnel is? Maybe they have a building near it that has important mine-related stuff?" Jump Start suggested.

Magloria huffed, not saying anything for a bit as she decided. "Fine, we can go there for a *tiny* amount of time, and maybe return during the day. But we're not hunting all over the city for something, and we're not going back down there, not unless we have a real reason to."

"Small peak it is, *Only* a small peak." Collapse agreed, and would look towards Magloria. "Anything else we should discuss before we set off for our expedition?" she asked with a slight grin.

Magloria thought about it for a bit, but shook her head when she came up with nothing. "No, let's just go while we've still got a bit of sunlight left for travelling." she replied, pointing off into the jungle in the direction of Carocol.

"Let's go, then." Collapse spoke and began to walk in that direction. Her tail wagged somewhat as they walked in the direction towards their destination.

The sun dipped below the horizon as they walked up the river, leaving them nothing but the moonlight to navigate properly. A little less time than they had hoped, but it didn't stop them from reaching their destination. On the upside it gave the panthins more time to fall asleep.

Once again they saw the city borders ahead of them, the walls and drops of the multi-layer city ahead still just as hindering as they were before.

After Magloria led them a bit of the way in they found a vantage point that they could use to see most of the city. This was where she told them to start looking for the entrance to the underground caverns.

A bit of searching from all 3, they spotted a hole in one of the walls that seemed big enough to be the entrance. That's where they would eventually explore, but perhaps not first.

Upon finding the entrance Collapse was pleased they could find an entrance like that. First though, Collapse wanted them to retrieve the items that they needed to get. It was best to focus on that. Collapse would keep this location in mind and begin looking around discreetly for any places that may potentially hold any of the things they needed. She was sure to be as quiet as possible and on alert, just incase anything suddenly happened.

They spent an hour looking around at each building, sneaking around the place to get better looks at the dark buildings, until eventually they came across a street and saw one building that looked like a carpenter's shop. It had lots of wooden products on display, some of which had been nailed together, painted and a variety of other things to treat them.

The reason they found it also ended up being an issue as well. There was lights on and movement inside, which meant that if they wanted to get what they were searching for, they would need to go inside the building with the carpenter themselves inside too.

Inside the carpenter's shop was probably what they needed. Like measuring devices for wood planks, perhaps even something that can be used for sails. But the movement inside was an issue. "Hmm. I don't know what we could do there, maybe cause a distraction, but nothing as big as last time?" Collapse whispered quietly to Magloria. "But we should take a closer look to see if we can see if it has anything we need in there, and then weigh the risks." she added.

"It would have to be a pretty big distraction regardless if it's to draw them away from whatever they're doing, to give enough time. Simply throwing a pot at a wall wouldn't be enough." Magloria pointed out.

"Though I can't say no to just a little closer look before deciding which *group* of pots we throw." she agreed.

Collapse nodded and moved a bit closer, her eyes looking and scanning the interior of the shop if anything of interest was able to be seen. She was sure to remain out of the direct line of sight from the interior of the place.

From a few windows, it seems like the place might have everything they needed. A workshop room at the back contained buckets if nails, a barrel that appeared to be the wood sealant that they would need, or something close enough at least, and there was rope among the pile of raw materials.

The grey panthin inside however kept moving around the place, constantly entering the workshop to do things, then going to other places to do something else, as if they couldn't properly focus on a single task.

Chapter 72

"I see they have sealant, nails, rope, and some other materials we are going to need. The one inside is moving around the place and appears to not really be focused. Perhaps we could take an advantage of that somehow?" Collapse suggested. "I cannot do long distance unsummoning, I have to be right near the objects to perform the spell, by the way." Collapse spoke.

"Take advantage of it how?" Magloria questioned, raising an eyebrow as she spoke. "Are you going to trip them up or something? Put sleeping pills in their coffee, perhaps?"

"Magloria, I don't think she means to do *that*..." Jump Start mumbled.

"If I was able to do something like that I obviously would, but I am not sure what we could do. I don't wanna do anything to hurt them though, after all, what if they are a really nice panthin shop owner, who enjoys helping others out?" Collapse whispered, seemingly unsure what to do.

Magloria sighed, looking around quickly to make sure there was no one around who might notice a light show later.

"I suppose I could hit them with a knockout ball. It shouldn't hurt them much, and they'll be fine afterwards. I will need a proper source of water though. It requires too much ice to use the water from the air." she suggested.

"Well, perhaps they have well somewhere that we can get some water out of, for that?" Collapse asked Magloria curiously, looking around to see if there was any wells or anything like that in the area.

She couldn't spot anything that looked like a well, neither down the street they were near nor past any of the alleyways or side passages in the place they were at.

She found something else instead. Tablecloths and tiny clothes could be seen hanging out on a nearby washing line to dry, and below it was a tub of water used prior to hanging.

It still had water in it, Magloria probably wouldn't care where said water came from.

"Well, there you go." Collapse said to Magloria. "Let's knock them out *safely* and we'll get what we need and be done with it." Collapse stated to Magloria, seemingly fine with that plan, as it seemed to be what they were going with.

Magloria nodded and, after checking around once again, started drawing the water to her with her magic, the liquid flowing over and condensing into the center of an icy blue magic glow.

There was no way that much water created such a small amount of ice, but whatever spell she had to cast to get this effect did exactly that. It definitely showed the magic off, if the constant dimmer glow of the orb was any indication.

"Now all I need is for them to stop moving for a second so I can take a shot." Magloria said as she moved back over to a window, patiently waiting for a good moment with the ball out of sight.

The panthin was busy assembling a chair (one that was already half built, but they had stopped before) when she threw it, the ball soaring in an arc before striking them in the head with a dull *clink*. They went down like a sack of potatoes, the hammer and nail they were holding landing on the floor with a clatter.

Collapse was confused why the ball of ice was so small. Perhaps it was made that way due to making the ice denser than it would have been otherwise. Something to ask about later on, for sure. Not something to dwell on right now.

When Magloria knocked out the Panthin, Collapse would quickly move her way into the building through the window and begin unsummoning the materials they needed to. She made sure to be as quick as possible in doing so. If anything else looked important for what they needed she would take it as well before heading back out the window, and retreating back to where they were.

If nothing went wrong, Collapse would look to them with a look of success. Now to find the other items they needed.

Collapse managed to collect the entire barrel of sealant, several coils of rope and half a dozen buckets of nails. All of that would probably cost a fortune to get normally, so it was good they managed to get so much from a single place.

"Just adhesive left to get. Now where would we find some of that?" Jump Start asked, looking to the others.

Collapse would look to Jump Start. "Let's see about another shop then, if they have other shops with similar items. I didn't see any of that in here." she spoke, glad that she managed to take all that stuff without issue.

"A place that repairs things would be likely to have adhesives, but I suppose we can just search for a general store instead. They might have something like that." Magloria said. Since they were done inside this place, Magloria would lead them back out and in search of what they needed.

They came across what they assumed to be a general store, closed up for the night and locked up tight. They could see a random assortment of things, ranging from food to quills to toys and books through the store's windows.

However, the windows here had proper glass instead of wood or nothing, and each one was locked, as shown when they tried to open them. Whoever owned this place had a fair bit more money to spend than other businesses, it seemed.

Collapse looked in the windows, seeing how it was all locked up. "Looks like if we wanna try this one we'll have to be more risky. Hmm. I wonder what kind of books they have, to be honest. If they have anything historical or relating to their technology, would be something I would take." Collapse stated. "Perhaps there is an entrance around the back, I don't wanna go through the front, if we can help it." Collapse added, surveying the front part, disappointed that when they tried to open it they couldn't get in due to the locks.

As they moved to the back of the building they could swear they heard a scampering noise across the street, but when they turned to check, they didn't see anything there.

There was a back entrance and windows to the building, but they were just as secure as the front. What? Did you think that everyone would be stupid enough to accidentally leave a convenient way into the building, outside of chimneys that they can't just close?

"It's a pity that none of us know how to pick locks." Jump Start grumbled.

"In my defense, I rarely had to deal with locks in the first place." Magloria replied.

"Yeah, I don't know how to do that. Maybe we can try some other place, I don't wanna risk taking the time when there are easier options." Collapse spoke to them curiously, looking around for other buildings they could look into alternatively.

Well there were plenty of other buildings around, but they might have to travel to a completely different section of the city before they find another general store or place that might look like it has what they need.

It'll probably take another hour of searching, if they had to guess from how long it took to find this one. "The dark would make it tricky to come back here, and we have no guarantee that they're not all locked up the same either." Magloria stated.

"Well I'll let you choose then. We either find a way or *make* our way in, or we try our luck in finding some other place. A...command decision. I don't mind either way." Collapse said to Magloria, letting her choose what to do.

"I'm going to stick to the building we already have instead of searching for another one we may or may not find." Magloria stated, looking at one of the locked windows and giving it a tap. "There's got to be some way we can get inside without making noise. Hmm... we can cut our way through if we had a fine enough blade."

"But we don't have something sharp enough, do we?" Jump Start asked, earning a headshake in response. Magloria's short sword would make a lot of noise if she tried. The orange mare pouted.

"It's a pity we didn't see any glassblowing factories then. They would have something that could cut through." she sighed.

Collapse pulled out her ice spear. "Would this be sharp enough? Or we can sharpen it, or something else if that won't work." she spoke as she showed them the crystal spear. It was one of the ones that Magloria had crafted for them earlier on. If it wouldn't work they may just have to find something else then. Collapse really hoped that it would work.

[04-Jun-22 11:54 PM]
Magloria looked at the weapon presented and shook her head. "Definitely not. My ice is far too brittle to be able to cut through glass, and worse still my spears are designed for thrusting and throwing, not cutting."

"You might get a small incision in the glass, but the speartip will immediately start to dull then shatter." she said, turning away from Collapse and back to the glass window that stood in their way.

"We might not be able to cut through it, but what about melting it?" Jump Start suggested. "As long as we don't set the rest of the building on fire of course."

"I can try my fire spell, but it would be bright. Might be enough to attract attention, but I have never really done anything like that with my spell before." she spoke and smirked a bit. "Even if we get 'caught', we would be able to get out because as far as I can tell, we outclass the Panthins in ability. Would prefer not to fight, though. Perhaps I could charge up my spell for a good amount of time so that way it's white hot and very focused." she spoke in agreement.

Magloria gave a look to Collapse. It was the look that meant that she hasn't thought through what she said well enough.

"Charging your spell would cause even more light at once. It would be needed for a shorter time, but it would attract even more attention. Not to mention you increase the risk of burning through too much and setting something on fire."

"There's also thermal shock, I think it was called?" Jump Start added. "I remember it was something to do breaking stuff with big temperature changes."

Magloria nodded. "It's the same thing we used on those centipedes. Making it too hot, too fast will crack the glass, and then we'd be in trouble."

"Well, it's either that or we find some other way to get in. I had thought of something earlier with my summoning spell. Maybe it is possible to summon objects *inside* of other objects? I have never done that so I have no way to know what would happen, we probably would go for something less risky, but again - we don't have anything to pick the locks and neither of us know how to. So what should it be then? I try to be careful and torch the way through the glass, cut out a good portion of the glass so we can slide right in?" she suggested.

"Torch it, but not white hot. You need to keep it low and steady so it doesn't shatter the glass. I thought that the implication of it being fine was obvious, with that exception." Magloria rolled her eyes and sighed.

"And don't even think about trying to summon something into the glass. That could also cause it to break, among other problems." she added.

Collapse nodded and moved aside, she knelt down on the ground as she began charging up her spell. She did so slowly, to be careful. Once she had completed this process which took about a minute, she would then go up to the glass exactly like Magloria suggested with an extra dash of caution as she began to draw a large enough shape for them to get inside with, being extremely delicate.

For the first half of the minute, Magloria had simply watched and made sure that no one else saw what was going on. But in the second half she was wondering why it was taking so long to charge up a fire spell that *wasn't* supposed to be hot enough to melt steel in under a second.

Maybe she was just taking her time gathering the magic to her horn or something. Either way, the glass didn't melt immediately as the flames licked it, as intended. She had to slowly warm it up until it reached the point where the glass started to drip, and drip it did along the line that Collapse had drawn.

Eventually the entire thing began to fall away without enough support. Magloria had expected this to happen, and wrapped her telekinesis around the very hot glass shape, making sure to move it off to the side hidden in an alleyway, so it didn't burn them or anything important.

What was left of the window was a hollow shape of glass, the edges glowing red and misshapen. Eventually it cooled down to a point where they could cross without burning themselves.

Suddenly they heard a voice some distance away. "I saw the strange thing somewhere around here. Sorry I couldn't tell you much more about it." followed by a "Thank you, we'll take it from here." in another voice.

Collapse was more than pleased they had successfully managed to get them glass cut open like that. Success, and she was just about to crawl through to get inside of the building before hearing the voices within earshot. Obviously, they had been spotted to some degree. She looked to Magloria and Jump Start with a serious look. "Even if we get in and get out quickly, I wouldn't be surprised if they were right on our asses. We could get inside and get what we need, and if we encounter them, we'll just run off." she spoke.

"Or...we can be honest with them and tell them what we are really here for. Not petty thieves, but getting needed supplies to get back to where we need to be. A part of me thinks that would be the right thing to do. Either way, if anything goes wrong, it is within our ability to deal with them as we see fit. We have magic and abilities they obviously do not understand." Collapse added.

Magloria scoffed, "There's no way we're convincing them we're not thieves after this." She said, pointing at the melted window before she climbed through it herself. "The faster we do this, the better. Now get inside and help me search instead of standing around in the open."

Jump Start nervously looked at the approaching orange glow of a light source before climbing in through the window as well.

Collapse could just begin to hear the sounds of paws on the footpaths, and it sounded like a lot of steps. She couldn't make out the exact number, but it sounded like more than the 3 they had previously been chased by.

Collapse quickly got inside the building and once they were inside she quickly looked around for anything worth taking. If it was worth taking, she would unsummon it, and ducked around the walls and such so she wouldn't be seen by looking straight inside the window from the outside. She made sure to be as fast, quiet, and careful as possible as she heard the footsteps approaching the area. It would likely be inevitable that they would notice the hole in the window.

Chapter 73

The moment that Collapse unsummoned a toothbrush (It was yellow, just like her coat!) Magloria let out a growl. She was clearly upset at the blatant light show she had started up. "Hey! get what we need, not what we want!" she whispered angrily.

A few minutes of hasty search gave results, as Jump Start was heard grabbing something glassy and sticking it into her bags. "I found it! It looked like glue, and the writing sounded like it was glue." she whispered when the group came back together.

By this point however they could see the lights and shadows of panthins searching around outside, one of which had spotted the missing window. "Hey, what do you think could've done that?" they asked, drawing the attention of others.

Another voice. "Our mystery creature perhaps? Ready yourselves, it might be inside the building. Set up around here, just in case."

Collapse only managed to get that yellow toothbrush due to Magloria's angry whispers. She stopped and headed further on, looking for what Jump Start grabbed. "Good, let's get out of here and never come back!" Collapse whispered to them when they came back together, Collapse hadn't taken anything else from what Magloria could see. They won't miss that one yellow toothbrush, will they?

Now that they were close enough to hear the Panthins outside, Collapse looked to them. "Looks like we'll be facing them no matter what. Do we like, want to go out the window and make a break for it?" Collapse asked, unsure of her suggestion.

Collapse didn't find any more of what Jump Start had. Seemed like it was the only item in stock. It was the middle of the night, so it was expected that things haven't been put back on the shelves yet.

"We might have no other option. There isn't any other way in to this place anyway. That's assuming that they don't come in themselves." Magloria agreed, then pointed to another window that hadn't been broken.

"Still we should get a quick look outside to see what we're dealing with. Would be stupid otherwise." she added.

Collapse would duck towards the wall, laying low for any prying eyes. As she gets closer to the window she listens and keeps listening, before taking a quick peek up out the window. However, she would be prepared to act if needed. Then she'd quickly motion for Magloria and Jump Start towards the window, provided nothing went wrong.

She didn't hear much outside of shuffling and the clicking of metal. A rattle at the door suddenly came, as one of them tried to get into the building in the most obvious way possible. Their cursing was definitely heard.

Outside she saw half a dozen panthins all spread out around the building, but these ones didn't just look like civilians. They were all geared up in studded leather armour, and each of them had a variety of different equipment and weapons. The crossbows some had were obvious, but it would've taken longer to really make out everything else.

One in particular was busy tinkering with some contraption that had a bunch of rope scattered across the street.

Magloria and Jump Start came over to where Collapse was just as they heard noise over by the melted window. One of the panthins had decided to peek their head in through the gap, searching for anything inside the dark room.

Collapse quickly ducked to hide so that the Panthin wouldn't see her. She quickly gestured for Jump Start and Magloria to do the same if they hadn't already. Collapse would have wanted to relay what she was seeing outside to the others but unfortunately she couldn't do that due to the Panthin's presence in peeking through the hole in the window. This was definitely something they would have to fight their way out, and would have to do so carefully, due to the weapons they had - so she thought.

Magloria had already taken cover the moment she heard the noise, and had also pushed Jump Start into cover as well.

The panthin, not seeing anything, jumped through the window and began stalking around the shop, heading over to the front door and opening it up for the others. After all, the door was locked from the *inside*, so they had no issues.

"Hey! I got the door open. We can start searching now!" They shouted out to the others.

Collapse would move over to Magloria quickly, and quietly. "They are all armed outside in leather armor. Crossbows and other weaponry. They also seem to have been setting up some sort of rope across the street, probably for some sort of trap." Collapse whispered to Magloria, using the Panthin's own shouts as a way to cover her informative words.

Magloria nodded and drew out her shortsword. She didn't intend to use it on them, but if ropes were involved it would be useful for cutting them.

"We might need to go out the back of this place. They'll likely spot us, but at least we won't deal with whatever they're setting up." she stated, nodding over towards the way out the back of the place.

It was in clear line of sight of the panthin inside the building, who was joined by another pair, one with something large looking on their shoulder, and the other with some rope and spheres held on their foreleg.

"You go first, I can cover for you." Magloria suggested.

Collapse would look to Magloria and simply nod. She would prepare a charge of magic mentally. Not for any spell in particular yet, more of just putting it on her mind that she may very well have to use her magic to defend herself. She had no qualms in fighting her way out of she had to, but she would much prefer to avoid doing so.

Like that, she would quickly get up and go through the exterior hole with full awareness and readiness to fight if need be. The last time she was on the defense, while running. This is different, and she wasn't going to allow herself to get captured if she can help it.

As Collapse gets spotted, the panthins shouting out at her sudden appearance and preparing to use their equipment, time seemed to slow down so that she could ask herself a very important question.

Collapse looks towards the Panthins and quickly makes a run towards the back door. "I apologize for the intrusion onto your lands, but we must be going. None of us want to fight you." Collapse said to them in a quick manner, while her horn began to glow slightly. "You would be wise to allow us safe passage out and into the jungle. You won't be seeing us again - unless you want to face things you cannot comprehend." Collapse narrowed her eyes to the panthins, her horn aimed directly at them as she would try opening up the back door, giving time for Magloria and Jump Start to make their move.

Seems like the panthins weren't interested in a speech, given the way one immediately tossed something at Collapse while she was running and chattering her head off.

She suddenly felt something wrap around her hindlegs and pull them tightly together with heavy weights, causing her to collapse to the floor and slide right up to the back door, due to her running speed bleeding off.

She could still attempt to open the door, but not with her hooves since she was now prone on the ground and didn't have the height she needed.

Meanwhile Magloria leapt into action. She might not have been able to stop Collapse getting ensnared, but she did manage to pull on a pair of crossbows being aimed, causing them to fire wildly off course.

The bolts sounded hollower than they should've been, for some reason.

Not that Magloria was safe either, as her magic had revealed her. While Jump Start was running over to the back door to join Collapse, Magloria was set upon by the large object that the third panthin was carrying. It unfolded into a large net, quickly surrounding her and weighing her down.

She hadn't been completely immobilized and could still fight back, but it still didn't bode well.

Collapse would sigh in annoyance at feeling the restraints being applied to her hindlegs. That was it, there was no holding back. The Panthins were clearly not interested in what she had to say. It was time to act. Opening the door was something she wanted to do, but she wanted to focus on dealing with their attackers first. Collapse had seen Magloria be netted down by the large net thrown onto her. She would deal with that after she dealt with her own restraints.

Smirking wildly, she would look down at her weights. Those Panthins had no idea what sort of abilities she had! Her horn would glow gold, and the restraints would vanish with a brief gold flash. If there wasn't some unexpected circumstance, she would quickly slide over to where Magloria was, in a motion to also unsummon the net over her. That net would come in handy with the Panthins themselves.

To use their own tools against them, hopefully. While Collapse wanted to do more offensive attacks towards the Panthins, she wasn't able to do so with her focus being with performing her current actions. That would come later.

The bolas that she found wrapped around her legs disappeared and she managed to get rid of the entire net from Magloria, but not without leaving Jump Start alone and exposed.

Given the panthins didn't have time to reload their weapons or use another snaring method, they saw the opportunity and changed tactics. Panthin 1 decided on going for the lone pony, panthin 2 with them blocking Magloria and Collapse from interfering directly while also keeping them away from the back door.

Magloria's short sword kept 2 and 3 at bay, preventing them from getting any closer, but every time she tried to strike them they moved around her blade. Seems they weren't interested in actually engaging in close quarters combat yet. They even moved out of her attempt to freeze their paws to the ground when they saw her horn light up.

Jump Start on the other hand desperately attempted to open the door, but the lock she had to remove first made this an issue. She managed to remove it and let out a shriek when she saw the approaching panthin, before getting a paw straight to the face, knocking her down to the ground.

It was good to know that they weren't willing to just end them at least, if the lack of claw marks was any indication.

Collapse quickly turns to Panthin 1 and unsummons the bolas and tossed it at their hindlegs in an attempt to get them restrained in a similar manner to what they tried to do with her. Provided if the bolas happened to do it's job, she would quickly turn to Panthin 2 and 3 and attempt to throw her net over Panthin 2 to trap them in the net. If her plan worked, the three of them could easily take on Panthin 3 with their combined force, so she thought.

Collapse wasn't even thinking of using anything too painful against them since they showed the restraint of not clawing them up like she feared - so she would allow them the same courtesy. Collapse made the mistake in allowing them to have an opportunity to get close to Jump Start, she had to keep better watch of her orange Earth Pony friend. Magloria on the other hand? Was more than capable of defending herself, so she didn't have to be as worried about her.

Since Panthin 1 had been busy punching out Jump Start's lights, they hadn't noticed the bolas being thrown back in their direction, which quickly wrapped around their hindlegs. However as they hadn't been moving much, it merely forced them to deal with it for a moment. Jump Start couldn't do much about this, if the groan she gave was any indication.

The net wasn't exactly a surprise to Panthin 2, given they were looking in Collapse's direction already. Their eyes did widen and they backpedaled from its sudden appearance, but that just caused the net to fall short, only partially catching them, something easily dealt with.

Or it would've been if Magloria hadn't taken the opportunity to plant them right into the ground with a beam of freezing ice. Now no one could stop her from reaching Jump Start and Panthin 1, who looked pretty thankful to be given their bolas back.

Panthin 3 was still being warded off by Magloria's sword skills, though they moved closer to Panthin 2 to better protect them.

Things seemed like it was going the ponies' way, if it wasn't for the fact they heard the sound of running from outside. Seems like the rest of the pack had heard all the fighting and were coming to help.

Collapse was pleased that her impacts managed to be successful. However, the rest outside would prove to be an issue. Would have to deal with these three first. While Magloria was dealing with Panthin 1 and 2, Collapse approached Panthin 1 while making sure that Jump Start stayed near to her so she could protect her. Collapse's expression looked rather blank, if Panthin 1 cared about that.

Her horn would glow orange. Collapse was wise enough to not attempt any fire spells within a building, as she proceeded to charge up a spell. She was not here to cause any property damage. For a second it looked like she was just going to stand there and fire a spell at the Panthin, but she did that on purpose to confuse them - and instead would do a quick charge, in an attempt to kick the Panthin in the face with her metallic boots.

Depending on how her kick went, she would have either kicked the Panthin in the face and ripped the Bolas free from the Panthin's grasp, or went other successive kicks if she missed the first time. She was aiming to knock the Panthin out, and not do any prolonged injuries to them.

Maybe it wasn't a good idea for Collapse to have drawn attention to herself with her magic, as that's exactly what it did. Panthin 1 looked to her and grew cautious of what she was about to do, readying their bolas at the same time.

And because they were cautious and ready, they easily avoided her mad dash and attempted kick by ducking and backpedaling away. Her second attempt clipped the panthin's ears which would've hurt, but that was because they were busy moving the foreleg with the bolas at the same time...

In one powerful **thwack**, Collapse felt a dense metal ball of the bolas impact her underside, knocking the wind out of her lungs and causing a massive amount of pain. Turns out bolas can be used as improvised melee weapons! It almost felt like she just got her ribs cracked, and she knew there was going to be an absolutely massive bruise there in a day or two.

Some other stuff was going on with Magloria, but Collapse couldn't make it out properly due to the overwhelming pain. There were lots of sounds, both of metal and magic, at least.

Collapse realized her mistake in allowing the bolas to return into the possession of Panthin 1 as well as giving them a chance to see what she was doing. However, there was no more room in her thoughts, but the registry of the massive pain in her lungs. Collapse...*Collapsed * onto the floor.

But not before she let loose a **loud** scream at that. It was a scream of pain. Sheer pain utter rage. She was going to get out of her, if it was the last thing she did. Magloria could definitely handle herself...Jump Start was well, out of reach currently, as Collapse was on the floor screaming in pain. Going through Collapse's mind, along with all the pain, was a sheer and incomprehensible amount of rage.

She didn't care about the consequences on her body. No matter the bruises, the possibility of the broken rips, or what have you - she was going to see herself out of this, along with her friends. While she wanted to hold herself back from fighting dirty, it seemed as though the Panthin didn't show her that same courtesy.

Collapse was down on the floor for longer than she wanted to be, allowing the Panthin to take more strikes at her if she wanted. That pain she was feeling. Oh, that pain, that horrible horrible pain flowing through her...that was her fuel, for her rage.

She'd look up at the Panthin after rolling over, her eyes directly locked onto the Panthin. "Hrrt...! S-should have aimed for the head...!" she chortled hoarsely, before a red hot beam would flare forth from her horn up at him, aiming directly for his chest. While he could have had time to dodge, or see the glow from her horn he would not have likely predicted the amount of power put into that spell.

All depends on what his focus was, at the time of the spell. Her mind was a violent frenzy of rage, combined with the pain of her body - she was not going to give up, until she literally couldn't fight back anymore. Which was a possibility.

The panthin seemed to be more considerate than Collapse might've thought, because all they did while she was screaming was pin her down under their midnight black paws and prevent her from running away or lighting up her horn again.

That didn't last very long, because after hearing Collapse's scream, Magloria was done playing around with her foes. The weight on top of Collapse was suddenly blasted off with a surge of ice. Collapse saw icy blue magic surround herself, as she felt herself get dragged across the floor towards the back door, away from the... 6 or 7 panthins behind them.

The one that had been blasted with ice, now knocked down on their paws, saw what Collapse was doing with her now undisturbed horn and where she was aiming. A look of horror fell upon their face as they tried to move out of the way of the supposedly bigger light show.

They managed to roll sideways despite the ice making moving difficult, but not before having the red hot beam lance across their shoulder and down their side, leaving behind an angry red wound and singed fur. They let out a cry of pain very similarly to Collapse, so she at least got justice. The rest of the beam struck the wall behind them, igniting a wooden shelf. It won't burn down the building however, with all the other panthins there to put it out.

Magloria, with both Collapse and Jump Start in her magic (a straining task to accomplish), started to escape out the back of the building, but unfortunately it hadn't taken long before a new net was wrapped around all 3 of them from the chasing panthins that attempted to circle around them while they were caught.

Collapse's body was still reeling in pain from being twacked in the rib area. It hurt like hell, but she hoped that nothing long term would be an issue other than the obvious bruising that would occur later on. Of course, she wasn't thinking about the long term. She was thinking about the now.

She new that she had done something with her scream, and was more than glad that Magloria got the Panthin off of her and got her in her telekinetic grasp. Even more pleased was the fact that she noticed the Panthin was now injured from her attack. The Panthin could tell that it was a very hot beam. Whether it was a laser beam or some sort of fire spell, they couldn't really tell. Not that they would care about that, right now.

Looking over to the shelf that was ignited unintentionally, she was glad it would prove a distraction for the Panthins, to hopefully throw them off their tails while they made an escape. As Magloria attempted to run out, Collapse continued to charge a spell. Her manner of spell casting, even at such intense moments - did not involve expending her mana all at once, but a fraction of it. She wasn't going to do any more magic beams though. Eventually, magic fatigue would set in. But right now, her mind was too much of a frenzy currently. The unsummoning spells, were not as expensive as the magic beams. After all, she only used one magic beam attack so far, and wasn't planning on using another if she could help it.

The moment that Collapse removed the net from them, Magloria got to her hooves again and let out a sweeping beam of ice shards. Dozens of fine needles embedded themselves into the panthins around them or harmlessly stuck into their leather armour.

It gave them a bit of an opening as most panthins backed away from the pain, but not enough of one. After all, the ones with still loaded crossbows didn't need to be close to be able to aim and fire.

The first bolt was aimed at the most threatening of them at the moment, Magloria. A pained grunt escaped her lips when the bolt struck her, causing her attempts to keep moving the other ponies to falter.

In angered response, she threw forth more ice needles at her opponents. With enough needles maybe she could get them to give up and leave them alone. If she had more time, she could've created some ice spears which would do the job way more effectively.

This retaliation earned her a second bolt, knocking her down to the ground. For just being shot a couple of times, she wasn't looking that good. Her eyes looked unfocused and she began to have trouble getting her legs under her again.

A sharp sting in Collapse's foreleg told her that she had also suffered a similar fate. Now that a bolt was sticking out of her, she could see that it was indeed hollow, with glass filling part of the shaft. It used to have liquid inside, but it didn't anymore.

Upon feeling the bolt inside of her, she would look to it. Collapse was far too late to take it out before the liquid went inside of her. She growled and would yank the bolt out of her painfully. She knew she had the first aid kit, but now wasn't the time to use it. Looking over to Magloria drew a look of concern. If Magloria were to fall, then there would be no real hope of Collapse escaping and dragging the two of them back.

It began to set in that they were likely not going to make it out of here. The Panthins were simply too strong. But Collapse was going to go down fighting, if it came to it. It didn't matter in her mind, whatever they would do to her - she could end up dead, for all she knew. All that mattered was making one last stand and giving it all. At least she could say that much.

Looking to the Panthins around her, she would force her stand with all of her might within Magloria's telekinetic grasp. Her horn glowed quickly, and she did a passing sweep directed at the attacking panthins with a red hot beam just like before. She was too far away from the Panthins and their weaponry to unsummon them. The look on her face was one of someone who wasn't going to give up.

"R-rage...rage, against the dying of the light..." she said, hacking somewhat in pain from the pain in her ribs.

At this point Magloria had already completely lost her grasp on the pair, so Collapse didn't need to worry about that. What she did need to worry about was the wobbliness in her legs and the sudden sense of nausea that overcame her, making it harder to concentrate.

Her fire beam sweep didn't end up being as straight as she thought it would be. Half of it seemed to sink into the ground for some reason. Did she accidentally aim too low? Maybe the funny feeling was doing that.

The panthins still didn't appreciate her attack, but it seemed easy enough for them to avoid it this time, even if Collapse did score a burn mark across the forelegs of one of them.

She started to feel tired, and her anger and determination only seemed to speed up the process. Magloria had already succumbed to the effects of her bolts, and was lying on the ground out cold.

After her attack, most of the panthins just stayed back, waiting until Collapse succumbed to the bolt's venom. One in particular stepped forward, a medium grey one with cream patches across her body, looked down at Collapse sternly while shaking her head. "Definitely not just ransacking animals, are you?" she said.

Collapse shook somewhat, and let out a groan of defeat. Looking to Magloria, and her failed attack - she knew that they were defeated by this point. Her eyes were somewhat tired, but, she sat there and did no further attacks. Seemingly realizing the futility of any attempt to do so. The glow around her horn flickered out, and she completely gave up any motive to fight further. Later, Collapse will be in for a massive migraine, due to all this expenditure of magic.

Her eyes meet the gaze of the lead Panthin that approached her. "W-we have no quarrel with your kind...W-we are so lost, just trying to find resources to get home...we only did this as a last resort, we had no other choice...evidently, this was clearly not a good one. I apologize for any damage or injury we did to you, but we were simply defending ourselves from you. We failed..." she sat there, hacking more. Her eyes shuddered, her body shook, as she fought the venom more and more.

"My family will likely think I'm dead, I-If they don't already...Perhaps they'll be right..." she finished her words, before being unable to speak much further. She would await the reply of the Panthin leader, or until she'd pass out from the venom. Whichever came first.

The panthin that stepped forward looked somewhat impressed. Not by the fact that she was so determined or anything, but because she could bring forth such an endless stream of words while being barely able to do anything.

Maybe they should've shot her twice as well, just to be sure.

There was no reply, and soon Collapse succumbed to darkness. She woke up an undetermined amount of time later with a splitting headache, a weak feeling through her body and a sense of grogginess.

Chapter 74

When she could finally come to her senses without curling up from the pain or feeling like she was going to vomit, she could see that she had been moved to some sort of pen, completely surrounded by high metal fences and padded with straw.

Several other pens could be seen nearby. Some of them were empty, others contained creatures they had seen in the jungle, such as birds and monkeys in cages, and a giant snake. Off in a couple cages some distance away from her she could see Magloria, still out for the count, and Jump Start, who was awake but looked like she had been crying for some time.

Everything here was surrounded by stone walls that were just as high as the cages, turning it into a courtyard that served as some sort of... animal keeping facility.

Some panthins walked around the facility, keeping an eye on the pens and dealing with any of the more rowdy animals.

If she looked around her pen, she'd find that none of her things that she brought along were with her, and her horn felt funny for some reason. Seems like they made sure to strip her of anything that could've been a problem.

Collapse would awaken slowly to her senses. The first thing she did is she went over to the edge of the pen and vomited. It took a while for her to come to her senses due to the sheer amount of pain and dizziness she was experiencing. Once she did, she'd narrow her eyes and ascertain where she ended up in.

Looking off in the distance she noticed the other animals about. But most importantly, she could see Magloria and Jump Start. That was a sight that she didn't want to see - the three of them separated from each other. Her items were gone from her bags. That weas the last of her concern - of most concern was why her horn felt funny. Hopefully they hadn't found a way to disable her magic.

She was sure to not make any noise to rouse suspicion or interest from the patrolling panthins. At the very least the three of them appeared to be safe for the moment. They probably thought that three of them were just some animals and not actually intelligent beings. Collapse would just maintain her alertness, while trying to remain in control of her emotions. She wasn't sad, as Jump Start likely was - she felt an insurmountable amount of rage, but there was no will within her to do anything so suddenly.

Collapse waited. And waited...and waited...for what? Well, she didn't really know. Probably for Magloria to wake up.

If Collapse were to inspect her horn directly, she'd find it to be encased within some sort of hardened resin-like substance. Whatever it was, it was impossible to remove with just her hooves, and any attempt to use her horn directly was restricted by the pressure around it.

It probably wasn't anti-magic, but the panthins saw a threat and had dealt with it the best they could, and deal with it they did.

Eventually a panthin noticed that she had awoken and took interest, despite her attempts to not draw attention. He moved over to her pen, along with a couple others that had followed behind him. "Well this one is finally awake. Will probably want something to eat and drink. Not sure why we should bother, but the head seemed to want to keep it alive." he said to the others.

With a motion of their paw, the others moved away to get the requested food and water, while the one that had spoken simply watched Collapse.

She could potentially scrape off the resin with something at some point. Although she would only ever attempt such a thing when she was sure that none of them were looking. At the very least it was not some magical artifact or something else like that restraining her magical use.

Collapse would look towards the Panthin as he moved over to her pen. "You speak as if I'm not capable of understanding you. I am not an 'it', for your knowledge. Of course, I cannot blame you for thinking that. You've never seen one of my kind before." she spoke, her voice neutral, her eyes scanning their features carefully. "Would be far more portent if I were to speak with your *head* directly, I am willing to bet. I can give you all sorts of knowledge, and how to acquire said knowledge." her words were calm, careful.

Collapse's examination of the panthin told her they were not one to be messed with. Covered completely in dark brown fur, they wore the same studded leather armor as all the others, along with a bolas and a crossbow strapped to their sides.

The difference between him and the others was he looked much older and experienced. Several scars could be seen on his hide and face from other battles, and bigger muscles across their entire body made them look more intimidating. He was likely faster too, so their little escape attempt would've ended much sooner if he got involved.

The panthin bluntly responded. "Oh we know you are capable of understanding us. Our trackers told us that much about you. And your equipment has shown us plenty about what you can do."

"You're treated this way because you're not worth respecting. Theft, property damage, trespassing, threats, assault, use and ownership of unregistered weaponry, bribery just now and... if other reports are to be believed, arson and attempted destruction of industrial buildings." they said, pacing around in front of the pen as they listed each of their crimes.

"By all means you should be a meal already, but for some crazy reason you're being allowed to live. You have no voice here, and your demands are meaningless."

Looking at him closely, he was definitely a veteran of some sort. Likely some kind of warrior in some sort of war, Collapse would guess.

Collapse didn't seem to really react much to the statement of the panthin. She understood all of what they had to say except for unregistered weaponry...when they clearly weren't from this area, so what right would they have to say they weren't registered? There was a bit of silence after the panthin spoke, and then he would hear a chuckle from Collapse.

"Kill me, and I'll be too dead to care." she shrugged casually and sat back down, looking to him. ~~"Hey, we know that won't be happening since that'd mean the end of the RP!" Collapse giggled.~~Being at the edge of death has removed most of her fear, of these sorts of things.

For such an assertive personality as the Panthin likely was, that was only one more motive for Collapse to simply not care about what he had to say.

"Your tough act is just that. An act. We'll find out what purpose you'll serve eventually, as soon as the head has made up their mind." he said, then began to walk away, regardless of Collapse's responses.

For a while nothing happened. Magloria at some point had started to shift about, but still seemed too out of it to properly respond to any calls Collapse might've tried to make.

Then her food and water arrived. A tray of what looked like grasses and straw, along with a bowl of water was slid in through a gap at the bottom of the fence. The food didn't look all that appetizing, but the other animals didn't seem to mind.

Once their job was done, the pair of panthins started talking about her. "Looks kind of cute when she isn't setting stuff on fire, doesn't she?"

"It's the giant eyes. It draws you in like a mother to a kitten."

"The colours too."

"Nah, see how bright her fur is? It's just like those frogs and bugs. It tells us that she's poisonous or something."

"But she's too cute to be poisonous. Why would something like this exist if it kills you when you try and nuzzle it?"

"Fine, maybe she's not poisonous, but she is definitely dangerous."

Collapse stared daggers at the Panthin as he walked off. His presence was something that was deeply undesired by Collapse as he could probably tell. Talking about not worth respecting, well, he certainly isn't worth it in her eyes. But perhaps there is more to him. Probably just in a shitty mood because of doing shitty jobs, yeah, that's probably it.

Collapse would have attempted to make calls over to Jump Start and Magloria, but noticed that Magloria was too out of it to really respond and so she stopped trying, for now.

Looking to the food that arrived she would proceed to eat it. It didn't look at all pleasing to her, but it was good to at least put something in her stomach. At least they weren't feeding her dead rats and decaying flesh, like she may have been tempted to think.

She couldn't help but chuckle in a genuine fashion about what the two pair of Panthins said about her. "Can't blame you for thinking like that. Each of us has something different. Whereas I may be skilled with fire and crafting, another may be skilled in something far more fantastical. You'd probably want my name too. My name's Collapse." she commented casually. At least those two were being reasonable, she thought.

Jump Start had looked over when Collapse shouted out to her, but given Collapse was now busy with the panthins in front of her, she couldn't get a word in without interrupting.

"Oh, she's got skills in building stuff. That might open doors for her." the first panthin stated.

"Not sure what sort of doors though." the second replied. They both then brought their attention back to Collapse.

"Well 'Collapse', I probably should not be talking directly with you, but what the heck. My name is Eleseer." she said. A female panthin, covered completely in pitch black fur just a typical panther would.

"Might as well throw my name in too. I'm Tycho." added the second. His fur was also completely black, except for a white star on his forehead and at the end of each leg. "You must be absolutely crazy to wander around stealing from us. You don't often see prey thinking it's a good idea to wander into a place filled with predators."

Collapse smiled at them calmly. "Nice to meet you, Tyco and Eleseer. We are building a ship to sail across the ocean to return to the other side, where we come from. We all nearly died when our original ship crashed, dozens of our crew died..." she looked off to the right, her eyes wincing just a little bit.

"I am the Engineer. The blue one over there," she pointed in Magloria's direction. "Is our Captain. Her name is Magloria. I was responsible for maintaining the Mana drive of the ship. I don't even know if you know, or understand that technology, but it basically is a storage of the natural energies that occur within the world. It is used to propel the ship across the ocean." she spoke, and would begin to explain more in depth details about that. Not too much, but just enough to show she was intelligent in her craft.

"If you are wondering how I managed to steal what we needed - it is because I am able to unsummon physical constructs into a non-physical dimensional plain. In essence, I can make things vanish and appear again. It comes in handy, I don't have to carry tool bags with me. I simply make it appear and disappear whenever I please." she also explained.

"But, every of our kind has a special mark on our flank." Collapse turned her flank to them, and showed them the golden wheel with three inserted holes in it. "Those are called Brands, some call them Cutie marks, others call them Signs. All the same thing, really. These symbols signify what we are good at - and this signifies how we specialize our lives according to our talents." she stated.

"We are probably what you would consider prey, but, Magloria is a predator in many ways. That's why she's our leader." she grinned, with admiration.

"We never had any quarrel with you. We simply wish to return to where we are meant to be. We had to take certain steps to avoid confrontation - that is why we stole from you. We didn't know how your kind would act, so we avoided you."

Tycho and Eleseer didn't really know what to say about most of what Collapse said. A lot of it was very interesting and some of it was meaningless pleas, probably some sort of attempt to get them to release her.

"Well that's a lot of stuff for sure. But something doesn't entirely make sense to me." Eleseer began, looking away while tapping her chin with a paw. "If you've been stealing stuff from us, where have you been taking it to? You can't just be dumping it in the river once you're done with it, correct?"

Tycho rose an eyebrow and looked to Eleseer, not sure why she had said that.

"I just answered. I make it disappear until we need it to build the ship." she spoke, also confused why Eleseer asked such a thing. Why would they take stuff only to dump it in the river? That didn't make any sense to say. But that was something she noticed with these Panthins - they weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed, were they? She remembered how Ash was. Perhaps that was a possible avenue of exploitation.

Eleseer shook her head. "No, not that. You have to go somewhere when you're not here." she replied.

Tycho caught on to her words, and nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, we wouldn't want to believe that you were living the entire time in some alleyway here, so where did you go?" he asked.

"In the Jungle. We've had a few run ins with the massive pythons there and all sorts of things really. It's not a good place to live, but, gotta make do with what you can get in order to survive." she stated.

Eleseer huffed. "Well, the jungle is a pretty big place. We were wondering more about where *exactly* in the jungle you stay. You can't just roam around everywhere and drag the stuff you took from us behind you, right?" she asked.

At this point, Collapse could see Jump Start out of the corner of her eye, the pony looking intensely at her. She looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't because of the panthins.

"Let's just say it isn't somewhere I'll openly tell you. You are more than welcome to look, but, I won't be telling you." Collapse couldn't help but grin slightly.

The pair of panthins looked somewhat disappointed after that, but didn't press any further. It's not like they could be certain that opening up the cage and forcing her to speak would go perfectly.

"Hummm... well then, I suppose we should be getting back to feeding the others. Can't be slackers after all." Tycho said and began to wander off.

Eleseer gave a brief nod to Collapse as well before she too began to leave.

With them no longer blocking her view, she could see that Magloria had finally recovered enough to be coherent again, and had been watching and listening to Collapse's conversation for a while now.

She didn't look the happiest, probably had something to do with the amount of stuff that Collapse had just told the panthins without any questioning or persuasion.

With how they left and looked over to Magloria, already knowing what Magloria was probably thinking. It was good that they likely didn't understand the most of it, and it's likely they wouldn't care to remember the details. Collapse meanwhile, would look around her pen to look for any weaknesses she could possibly exploit. Her clear actions signaled for Magloria and Jump Start to do the same, she also tapped her horn, and did a motion with her hoof, indicating she wasn't able to use her magic.

Seems like Collapse had been given a 'luxury' pen, if you could call it that. There were almost no signs of rust or damage, and the places that had issues were too high for her to reach. Too high for the panthins too, probably.

The door out of the pen had both a bolt lock and a key lock, for some reason. Probably to keep the pen extra secure. It was made even worse due to how the locks were positioned on the outside, so she couldn't even kick at the locks to break them open.

The door also had hinges, but without a screwdriver she had no real way of loosening them.

Jump Start and Magloria didn't appear to have much luck either. Jump Start *probably* could've done enough damage to her cage to bend the bars and escape, but it would definitely be heard and stopped.

"If we ever get out of here I'd like to borrow some of their poison for myself. That stuff is really potent, way more than the stuff I've used." Magloria was heard shouting. They couldn't talk about secret stuff, but at least they could still converse with each other.

Collapse expected that her pen would be secured well enough for no escape yet. While it quite frankly pissed her off, she couldn't do anything about it currently. Either way, she decided that eventually, there would be justice.~~After all, if she could escape so easily, that would be far too easy.~~

Looking to the other pens they had, she wasn't sure why she had the better pen. If anything she thinks that Magloria deserved it more than her. She would nod to Magloria as she shouted. "Yeah, I definitely would want to borrow that as well. They probably got it from all these different plants we haven't seen before. Would be really good for dealing with the massive pythons, if we ever had to deal with one again." she shouted back to Magloria.

"Anyway, I guess we can't do much else but wait for them to decide on things, keep an eye out though, alright? Especially for our stuff." Magloria shouted, breaking off from the conversation.

A couple exceedingly boring hours passed. All they could do was walk around their pen, sit down, stand up, neigh, eat straw and for all intents and purposes, do nothing but *be* an animal. Aside from whatever attempts to talk with others that they had.

Some panthins then came up to Magloria's pen and began to talk to her about something. Whatever it was, she didn't seem too pleased. Once the conversation was over and the panthins had left, Magloria informed the others.

"Thanks to Collapse blabbing about what we can do, they've decided to sell us to the highest bidder, and thanks to the skills they now know we have, it's going to drum up a lot of interest."

"And I quote 'we're almost guaranteed to be sold to someone who can sufficiently handle us'. So that is going to be absolutely grand, isn't it?" She shouted, irritation clear in her voice.

Collapse waited and waited for time to pass. She did all of those things, really. Except the neighing. Despite that, it was very much like they were being treated like animals. It was nothing but humiliating.

"Well at the least they know we are valuable so that is more reason they would keep us alive than just kill us off which would obviously be worse. I had hopes that they would be intrigued enough to let us go. I was an idiot to think that they would." Collapse said back with clear irritation, more so at herself.

Collapse winked. She had an idea, but that would have to wait until later on. It may be a while before she could attempt such a thing.

It seemed like there was going to be no pony-based auction for today, because before they knew it the sun had started to cast orange rays across the land, and as all the other various animals began to fall asleep, so too did the sun.

It was very dark around the facility now. Only a few lights could be seen, mostly inside some of the buildings around the place.

And yet, even though every animal appeared to be sleeping, and no panthins were noticeably walking around guarding the place, Collapse could still pick up sounds of something walking among the cages. Even stranger was it sounded like they were tiny.

Collapse would watch the sunset. It was symbolic of her feelings in a sense. From going from feeling successful in doing something to something horrible happening in the blink of an eye. Just as fast as the sun sinked below the horizon - so too, did her hope begin to sink. However, she was reminded that the sun would rise again. So too, would they.

Looking over to the various animals about the place she was about to get some sleep herself when she heard the small stranger walking about.

Only one could fit that definition. Ash. For an annoying little kitty cat as Collapse thought, could their salvation rest in the paws of the Burmesian Small?

That is, if Collapse was correct in her thoughts. Maybe. Maybe not.

As if her appearance had been foretold by a deity above, the Burmesian Small that Collapse thought about appeared around a corner, marching as if they were on patrol.

Upon noticing Collapse's cage, she lit up in recognition. She began to speak, with no intention of stopping. "Hey! You're here! I managed to get rid of every single colourful plant I could find! Some of them were nasty and had thorns, let me tell you!"

"Did you also come to get rid of the poisonous colour plants? Is that why you're still colourful? Because the plants got you again, huh?! Well don't worry! I can save you from the plants! Where are they? I can get rid of them again! Point me in the direction and I will go straight to them and stop them from ever poisoning you ever again, and then you will finally not be crazy and can live with me and I'll pet you and feed you and-"

Magloria stirred over in her own cage. "Collapse, are you talking to yourself?" she asked.

Collapse looked over to Magloria. "No. I am not. Even better, someone familiar is here. Perhaps she can help us?" Collapse asked quietly to Magloria, and then an idea crossed her mind with Ash. "Hey, Ash. Look, we are pretty poisonous, which is why we shouldn't be around your kind. They captured us without knowing how poisonous we are, the only solution is for us to get as far from your kind as possible, since I don't want any of you getting ruined by our craziness and poisonous colors, the others don't realize that." she said, trying to manipulate Ash into letting them go. She moved her hooves over her horn, trying to feel how thick the resin was that was on her horn.

If Collapse had her magic, she could easily escape out of her pen by unsummoning the locks. Would possibly draw attention, though...one thing at a time.

Ash nodded eagerly. "Oh yes, absolutely! We should get you very very very very far away from this place! No more crazy poison for you! I'm going to do that right now!" She began to paw at the ground, squaring herself up to face against the cage's bars.

Then without warning she charged at the bars. Though instead of banging her head and possibly becoming more sane from the trauma, she ended up slipping straight between the bars, due to her size and natural cat flexibility.

"Whoops! It looks like these are more elusive than I thought! I'll have to make sure I'm holding them in place first before I break them!" she said, moving back to the bars and planting her paws onto the base of a bar. She smiled victoriously, knowing that the bar now couldn't move out of her next attack.

Collapse sighed to Ash. "That's not how you do it. You need to be quiet. The poison gets worse the louder the surroundings are. It's best to remain quiet..." she spoke quietly.

"Now, my horn here." she tapped her horn. "Is the only part of my body which is not poisonous. Problem is, they put some kind of resin on it." she spoke. "That resin will increase the amount of poison as time goes on, It needs to come off, if we have any hope of getting out of here, and getting our poison far far far away..." she pointed her horn to Ash. "I am going to need you to get it off for me, or at least try. Scratch it off, or find something you can scrape it off with. Use your claws first, if it doesn't work, then find something sharp enough to scrape it all off. Do not let anyone else know that you are doing this for us, under any circumstances." she smiled calmly.

From her previous check, the resin that encased her horn felt like someone had covered it in a thick layer of glue and let it go hard. It definitely wasn't going to expose the horn beneath with just a few scrapes against a bar, though that also meant it was easier to fracture by stabbing into it without risking hurting her.

The whole 'quiet' thing didn't seem to register in Ash's mind, but at least half of the other stuff did. "Your horn needs to come off because it's the source of the poison?! Well why didn't you say so! I'll get rid of it right now!" she decided, then leapt at Collapse's face.

20 needle-like claws suddenly sank into her muzzle as the burmesian small latched onto it. She started moving up Collapse's face, sinking her claws into different places as she went. Thankfully she missed Collapse's eyes.

She suddenly felt a bit more pressure around the tip of her horn as Ash caught onto the resin around it... with her teeth. The high-pitched growls she was making indicated she was trying her hardest to break through, but the lack of breaking sounds revealed she was unsuccessful.

This didn't stop her from continuing though.

Chapter 75

Collapse sighed in anger, Magloria likely heard it. Collapse had a look of pure, and utter rage on her face. The **one** possible chance of getting free, and the one doing it turns out to be insane, and incapable of understanding basic logic? Well, it was something to be exploited...if only Ash was capable of understanding Collapse to a greater degree.

"Shh, be q-" Collapse yelped as Ash's claws went all over her face. Honestly, she really had to hold back to avoid herself from slamming Ash up against the bars or throwing her out of the pen. "W-what you need to do is to break the sticky stuff off my horn...that is the poison, not the horn itself..." she said, trying her best to remain calm, really, it was taking her a significant amount of effort to avoid flipping out into a rage that would help no-one.

She was very glad she could exercise self control. One could say that she should have done so sooner. Well, she knew that if she had found some way to break the resin off with magical force (such as building up a massive amount of power until it breaks the resin off), that would likely cause a massive explosion, put lives at risk, and attract others to the area. So, that wasn't going to happen.

"Yeah, break the sticky poisonous stuff that your horn is creating. That's what I'm doing but-" Ash said as she returned to gnawing at the stick of bone on Collapse's head.

Several more moments of failure passed. Biting, scratching, and even an attempt at shaking it off all failed to pry some of the hard resin away. Ash simply didn't have the strength to free Collapse of this hinderance.

"It won't. Come. Off!" Ash growled as she kept attacking it.

"Gotta say, that stuff would be useful as an adhesive. Would grab some of that too, if we didn't already have some." Magloria commented as she watched the scene before her.

"Ash, allow me to deal with it. Perhaps I can take it off." she sighed calmly, and would push Ash off her horn gently. If Ash came off successfully, she would continue to try grinding it off with the bars of the Pen, moving back and forth quickly, rotating her horn to try to scrape most of it off, she tried and tried with it. "It's probably some plant material around here." she commented to Magloria.

Ash let go, but not without some slightly firmer persuasion. Collapse also had to keep her from immediately climbing back on a second time as well. After that, she merely sulked in a corner of the pen, playing with Collapse's empty food tray as she did.

Meanwhile Collapse's attempts to remove the resin herself was just as ineffective. None of the bars were rough enough to file it down. All she ended up doing in practice was making a bit of noise while moving 2 smooth, solid objects against each other.

It was the equivalent of glass in a way, but less brittle. She could probably get some of it off if she smacked her horn into a bar, hard. That was a stupid idea though, because it would make a lot of noise and stun her from an unbelievable amount of pain that would run through her sensitive horn.

She needed to come up with another solution. Perhaps Ash could do *something else* that she couldn't at the moment?

"Ash, look. I'm gonna need you to be quiet and quick. You are going to go out and get me a hammer, and a few nails, and paperclips. You are also going to get a knife, too. I will use these to hopefully get the resin off, either by shattering it with the nail, or by cutting it off, with a knife. The others *must not know of this*." she spoke calmly.

"Then I will be finally rid of this poison, I will get out of here with the others, and our poison will be forever gone from this area for good." Collapse said to Ash, smiling lightly. "*Nothing*, is going to stop that from happening. And by nothing, I mean nothing. I will do whatever it takes to get out of here." she said in a fashion that meant that she wouldn't take no for an answer.

"The paperclips are for if the hammer and nail, and knife don't work. Then I can pick the locks. I don't know how to pick a lock, so if it comes to that, it will take some time to figure it out." she spoke, seemingly satisfied with that plan.

"If we succeed in escaping this place, you can come with us, and take care of us forever. You wanted to come with us anyway, if we actually get out of here - we'll have you to thank." she patted Ash's head gently with her soft hoof.

Ash eagarly nodded her head again. "Yes! I will go get all those things! I won't let you down!" she said, meaning she probably will let Collapse down. She quickly left the cage and bounded off into the darkness before Collapse could stop her.

If she had strained her ears, she could almost hear Ash's voice muttering "Now what did she want me to get again?"

Half an hour later and Ash returned, carrying what looked like a bottle of some sorts. "Got you what you needed!" she said as she spat out the bottle as Collapse's hooves.

On close inspection of the glass bottle, it turned out to be some sort of medicinal alcohol, for cleaning open wounds. No idea where she got that from.

Collapse waited for Ash to return patiently and when she returned she was very disappointed. That was...a worthless item at the moment. With a long sigh, Collapse shook her head. "No, that is not at all what I needed..." she spoke, and began to describe what all of the items looked like, that she needed. Apparently Ash didn't know what a hammer was, or the other things for that matter.

"Now please, I *hope* you understand. It would be most unfortunate for this poison to spread because you don't understand what is needed to remove it..." she sighed again.

"So it's a heavy metal thing? And more metal things? You're really into metal! You must like music!" Ash smiled as she pawed at the bottle.

"But don't worry! I will find you the metal things and free you from your poisonous ways! I know just where to look!" She turned and darted off into the night once again.

Another 15 minutes passed before Collapse saw something. Ash definitely had found something metal alright, but it didn't look like a hammer. Or nails. Or a knife or paperclips.

With a small *clang* she dropped the cheese grater onto the cage floor. "Here you are! Just what you wanted!" she stated.

Meanwhile, Magloria was busy looking at the bottle, a quizzical look on her face.

Collapse waited once again, with a sigh. She didn't say anything to Ash as she went to get her items. Unfortunately, she didn't get what she wanted but maybe this may work? Well, time to try it out. "I'll try this. If it doesn't work I'll have you get something else." she grumbled, grabbing the cheese grader and would begin to try to roughly scrape off the resin with the cheese grader. Surely it wouldn't be that hilarious to just get it off, would it?

She saw Magloria looking at the bottle. "Whats on your mind?" she asked, scraping her horn with the cheese grader. It would be funny if they weren't trying to escape.

It was hard to press the grater firm enough to the resin and move it at the same time, given where she needed it to be, but little by little she felt thin, hardened flakes fall onto her face from above.

She wasn't going to be able to get rid of all of the resin without risking damage to her horn, and yet it would still be excruciatingly slow to remove most of it. But at least it was progress.

Magloria looked up to Collapse. "That's a bottle of alcohol, right? I can smell some of it from here." she said, giving her nose a brief scrunch before continuing. "Isn't alcohol good at removing stuff, like caked on grease?"

Collapse smiled widely upon seeing the hardened flakes fall down upon her face as she shaved the flakes off, and as Magloria spoke, she continued. "That's a good idea, I won't use all of it. I'll use some of it, since I want to have some left for when I get you free." she spoke and would pop the top on the bottle and would pour a reasonable amount onto her horn, leaving a good enough amount left for when she would intend on getting Magloria's horn free.

With the alcohol now on her resin coated horn, she would begin to scrape more and more. She put a lot more force into it this time, wanting to get it all off as soon as possible. "Would me unsummoning the locks on our pens be a reasonable first step to do? The flash of light may draw attention, but, there would be no other way to do it, I think. I'm thinking I'll get us three out of the pens, we'll go hide somewhere while I get your horn free, then we look for our things." she commented to Magloria as she continued.

With the alcohol helping to dissolve some of the resin, Collapse found that removing pieces became easier and easier. Her extra force at one point caused her to scrape at the surface of her horn, bringing with it a surge of pain. This is why you be careful with dealing with sharp objects out of your field of view near delicate things.

There was plenty of alcohol to spare though, so she had more than enough to help remove the big chunk, then to dissolve whatever bits she couldn't get to. Soon her horn was free, if chipped slightly in one spot.

Magloria nodded. "Only real option we have. I think I have an idea of where they've kept our stuff, so once we've found it we can just leave." she said, moving over to the door to her pen while she waited for Collapse to keep going.

Collapse winced at her mistake of scraping a bit too deep into her horn, and grunted in pain for a second. She then kept going in a more careful manner, and going until all of the resin was off. She felt along her horn to make sure all of the resin was off, which it was. She could feel the slight chip there, but that would heal on it's own. Not that she cared about it currently.

With a smirk she walked on over to the locks. "Right, let's do this." she spoke, and would quickly unsummon the locks. The locks were a rather easy thing for her to unsummon due to them being relatively small compared to some of the items she unsummoned before, and due to her close proximity it made it even easier. They vanished in a quick gold flash.

If all went according to plan, she would take the cheese grader and alcohol with her if she successfully left the pen, and would unsummon the locks at Magloria's pen first, then Jump Start's (and then waking Jump Start up if she was asleep). When Magloria was free, she would hand the alcohol and cheese grader to her, smiling quietly.

The flash of light (and probably all the noise they were making) woke some of the nearby animals up. Thankfully they were still locked in their pens and so couldn't do anything about it, and didn't bother to make much noise anyway.

Except for one large python. It kept its eyes on Collapse the entire time as she snuck around the place, freeing Magloria and Jump Start. Seems like the snake would like to be let out too. Or eat her. Or both.

Magloria thanked Collapse before she did something similar to what Collapse had done, After getting enough gunk off her horn so that she could light it up, she kept the remaining alcohol with her to clear the rest later, ditched the cheese grater and started to sneak away.

She was headed over to one of the buildings nearby. In this case, it was the one that held whatever tools the panthins used to keep the animals in line and the pens clean. Jump Start followed, obviously.

Collapse noticed the python. Honestly she would probably want to free all of the animals and put them back into the jungle where they belong. What did they use them for anyway? Pets? Some kind of exotic display maybe? Wouldn’t make sense for meat, since the Panthins would probably have other places for that.

The Python scared Collapse a bit. But she couldn’t blame it for feeling the way it does. It is an animal after all. A top tier predator with scary coils and all that? Yeah, it’s best for that one to be in the pen.

Collapse followed Magloria along quietly towards the building. It probably had some weapons they could take for defensive purposes. She stayed alert just in case any Panthins happened to be roaming about or guarding the area.

Magloria opened the door of the building and led them all inside. Within the building was exactly as expected of a storage room. Everything that could be useful to keeping animals contained and alive could be found here.

Unfortunately it did not include the armaments or protection that the panthins used. That must be kept inside another building somewhere else.

And bundled up together in a corner of the room was all their stuff. Nothing appeared to have been taken. Were the panthins really that polite, or were they just not allowed to go rummaging through their stuff without taking precautions? Maybe they were just lazy and would've gotten around to it later on.

Collapse quickly went over to their stuff and slid her boots back on and then equipped her saddlebags, then handing the others their stuff back in return. Collapse had a wide grin and looked down at her boots, evidently quite proud that they managed to get their stuff back. As they would get their stuff back on, Collapse watched them.

"I would really prefer we just get out of here. I don't feel like exploring and risking a chance of getting caught again, but now we know what they are capable of - so at least there is that. Unless either of you have objections to that...?" she asked, not expecting either of them to object.

Collapse just wanted to go back and continue working on the ship. They got everything they came for, it seemed.

"Not wanting to go out of your way to investigate why they have set up a wall down in the caverns below anymore?" Magloria smirked while setting her stuff up. Her amusement quickly faded away though, as she continued.

"I wouldn't either after what happened. Makes me want to leave and never come back, at least not without a suitable force beside me."

When everything they had was found, reclaimed and accounted for, they started to leave. There wasn't really anything worth grabbing in here anyway. What would they even do with several large bags of straw, and some shovels, buckets and pitchforks?

Collapse smiles to Magloria there, seeing what she as getting at. "If this was any other situation - and if this went as planned, then perhaps we would be down there investigating. Unfortunately, not everything goes the way we want it to - so we'll leave and never come back. Perhaps in the far future, a whole team of armed ponies can come here properly, with such force, and properly introduce relations in an open manner. Maybe the Panthins would be more agreeable." she suggested, not taking anything. Not any of it was worth any value to them, really.

"Let's just hope they haven't found where our Shelter is, and also hope they haven't set up some failsafe to track us down. I may have told them a few things, but in their minds, they'll have no way to prove any of it or to really understand it I would figure. It's likely they will tell some garbled version of our story and retell it, and it will just be myth. Likely too lazy to go and do anything about it, but I wouldn't underestimate them. The ones I told were shortsighted and not the sharpest tools in the shed, anyways." she also commented to Magloria, just in case.

Once they were out of the building she went silent and looked to see if the coast was clear before heading outside and looking for any possible exits to take out of the place. Probably where they exited out of the previous times they were here.
The coast seemed to be clear, with no noticeable panthins in sight. The way out of the place was also pretty obvious as well, being a large gate between the walls for things, most likely cages, to be shipped in and out of the facility.

The gates were closed, locked by several bars that they would have to move, but they most likely led out to the rest of the city. At that point they would be free to get back to their home by doing what they had always done before now.

Collapse would have moved the bars as quietly as possible for them to leave. If the bars didn't move, they would have likely found some other way. Either way, if they succeeded in escaping off into the Jungle, Collapse would have been pleased. However, she was still on alert for any possible traps, or anything out of the ordinary that would indicate the Panthins were following, or observing them. Hopefully it wasn't all just some setup for them to get re-captured again just as they left.

The bars had no special locking mechanism to them. They were easy to move out of the way so that the door could open. After shifting the first one out of position, something interrupted their little escape attempt.

"Interesting. Very very interesting." came a voice from somewhere above them. It wouldn't take much searching to spot the yellows eyes, that had been almost glowing in the dark, from the wall above them.

However despite having seen them, the camouflaged grey panthin didn't attempt to take them down. Or call out to others. Or do anything else but watch them eagerly.

Collapse froze up upon hearing the voice and her eyes contacted the yellow one's eyes. She gave a brief wave to the panthin, but didn't say or do anything else other than signal for them to run off into the jungle at a fairly brief pace, wanting to get out of sight, as fast as possible despite the Panthin's obvious laziness. At least that was a trait they could exploit.

"Goodbye." the panthin said as when they decided to just leave.

During their time sneaking back out of the city, Jump Start spoke up. "I think they were supposed to stop us. I'm pretty sure I saw one of those crossbows next to them, so why do you think they didn't try?" she asked.

The rest of the way back to their shelter was clear, so they had no real issues returning, outside of dealing with the river.

Chapter 76

Collapse looked to Jump Start as they proceeded towards the Shelter. "I hope that they aren't doing this as some sort of game, finding up with some sort of way we could escape and then hunting us down later to test, and greater gauge our abilities. For as powerful as they are with crossbows, and verbose as the large militaristic one I met, they seem awfully lazy to a highly suspicious degree." Collapse commented.

"Well just keep an eye out at all times. Even during the night. We'll take turns like we did before. Even if they haven't followed us, and even if they are lazy, this still doesn't exclude the fact they now know about us for certain, and know we live *somewhere* nearby." Magloria said as she deposited her stuff inside their home, helping herself to some better tasting food afterwards.

"We should be quick about leaving then. We got everything, we should just go." Jump Start added nervously.

"We might never see what that ring inside those ruins will do, or why everything else around here seems strange at times, but I guess it is for the best." Magloria sighed.

Collapse sighed as well. "I want to explore everything as much as the next pony, but we are only three ponies in a lost land. If there was a full team here then I would want to explore around all the ruins and examine them more in depth, but I suppose we got a taste, so it's not all gone to waste..." she said, unintentionally rhyming there.

"It's best that we just focus on our main objective. Returning home. Everything else is secondary." Collapse said, believing that fully. "Eventually in the future, there will be a proper exploration of this area. Like we would have done." she sighed, and would approach the shelter, hoping that no dangerous creatures took refuge in it while they were gone.

"We have everything we need for the ship, I hope." Collapse added.

"Except the sails. We need something valuable to hand over to the seaponies. That and building the boat itself should be the last thing we need to do." Magloria pointed out.

Jump Start set herself down inside their shelter, once her stuff was off her. "Not noooow though. I want to go to sleep." she whined.

"Of course not now, but as I said already, we're going to have to take turns watching out for panthins. So who's volunteering for first watch?" Magloria asked.

Collapse entered the shelter and gently giggled at Jump Start’s whine. She would walk up to her and give her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“I will watch the first round if neither of you mind. And if we do see Panthins and they discover us, what do we do? Try to subdue them?” Collapse asked curiously. “But I hope we just avoid them period. Kitties need to stay where they belong.” she smirked.

"If you see one, sure, try and subdue it. Maybe if enough of them are taken down they'll eventually get the message." Magloria shrugged.

She moved over to a corner of the room and plonked herself down. "When you think about a third of the night is over, go ahead and poke one of us until we wake up, then we'll take over. Goodnight." She curled up and closed her eyes.

Jump Start thanked Collapse for the pat, then decided to follow Magloria's example and settle down for the night.

Collapse smiled as she watched the two of them lay down and agreed with Magloria's statements. "Goodnight, you two." she commented casually and watched them lay down. She wanted to lay down next to them and snuggle up to them, but she had a job to do.

She would stand near to the edge of the shelter, being careful to do her best to mask her form against the interior wall, but listening and observing the forest around her carefully to the best of her ability. It would be a shame if she was outside in the open and got shot by those crossbow bolts, so she didn't want to give any potential onlookers the best of chances of getting her.

And so she waited. Hopefully for nothing but until she felt a third of the night was over. All would depend on what happens within that time, of course.

Throughout the night she constantly heard the sounds of creatures around the place. Occasionally sticks would snap somewhere or calls would be heard. The jungle seemed restless tonight.

Then she heard a voice from one of the bushes at the edge of the clearing, somewhere in front of the shelter entrance. "See you."

There was no crossbow bolt follow up, however.
Collapse stayed silent upon hearing the voice. Was it Ash, or was it some sort of parrot talking? Either way she stayed silent and still, waiting for the voice to approach. Hopefully it wasn't the other panthins, as she was already preparing to fight if needed, mentally.

It hadn't sounded like Ash, and it didn't have that annoying squawking accent that the parrots have. Didn't sound like Pebble either and there was no way a seapony would come here, so the only other thing it could have been was a panthin.

They didn't approach either, so it looks like it was going to be a standoff, for now. "Not saying hello? Fair enough." came the reply to her silence.

Collapse walks out into the open suddenly. Collapse had her hoof on her crystal spear, and appeared ready to defend herself. "Being so close to death so many times makes you appreciate life in many ways, and it's exactly *that life* I want to return to. If you want to talk, let's talk - or if you are here to hunt us down for some inane reason, then I am sorry, you won't be returning with your bounty." Collapse sighed.

After she had revealed herself fully, a suspiciously familiar grey panthin in leather strode out of the bushes. They looked over her choice of weapon, nodding in acceptance of it.

"Interesting material, for an interesting creature living in an interesting place." they said.

Collapse looked towards them. “Seems like you are scoping the place out, then. As I thought. Look, we don’t want any trouble with you, What is it you want from us?” Collapse asked the Panthin as they moved closer.

She would quickly slip back into the shelter and proceed to wake up Magloria and Jump Start to tell them about the Panthin who was outside. If they had to fight, Collapse didn’t want to do it alone.

The panthin shook his head. "Want from you? Very little. I simply wanted to see what you did with your time." A pause. "I got really bored, so I tracked you down as you left." he shrugged nonchalantly, watching Collapse as she ducked into the shelter.

Jump Start refused to move, but Magloria was quick to spring to her hooves and grab her spear, bringing it to a readied stance as she made her way back out of the shelter. She aimed it at the panthin and snorted. "Leave. Now." she snapped.

"Why?" was the panthin's response, as if he hadn't just been threatened.

Collapse looked to Magloria. "We can just talk to him. He hasn't done anything to hurt us so I don't see why we should do that to him." she spoke calmly, looking to the two of them. "Why don't we uh, just sit down and have a nice chat? Work things out?" Collapse asked the Panthin and Magloria.

Although she moved closer to Magloria, "If he leaves, he could tell the others. We can probably get him to leave on better terms so he won't see a reason to tell anyone." Collapse whispered calmly, hoping that the Panthin wasn't deceiving them or something.

Magloria huffed and turned her spear away from the panthin. "So be it, though I'm still going to keep an eye on you, just in case." she stated.

"I suppose we're talking then." The panthin nodded, then looked to Collapse. "So that thing that you said about all those things back when you were locked up. Were they actually true, or was it some strange attempt to get us to believe you were... I don't know, a mystic from an unknown land or something?" he asked.

Collapse stepped forward curiously, although not too close - just a gesture of *some* semblance of trust. "All of that is true. I know you probably don't believe it, but our presence here is proof that we aren't from around here. I am hesitant to speak more of it to you, we do not know what you would do with that information. We mean you no harm. All we want is to return back to where we need to be." she said calmly, nodding in approval of Magloria's actions.

"So in that case... you were some sort of scout? Then you found this place, got stuck and want to go back to where you came from..." The panthin began to stroke their chin, clearly coming up with a no-good idea.

"Once you are successful in making a way back, what will you be bringing back with you? Words, clearly, but that would just be a waste to bring only those back, wouldn't it?" he asked.

"We are explorers of sorts. The rest of us died in a crash. There were dozens of us on that ship, and the three of us were fortunate enough to survive." Collapse said in a serious tone. "Magloria here, is the captain." she said with a gesture.

"Well, not only words, I can say that much. Besides, we've seen your maps, we've seen your technology, and I know enough about it to detail nearly every aspect of it. I also know your kind do not like going near water, evidently. You only have a few towns, no ports or ships out to sea, nor any real presence near anything wet." Collapse added.

"Yes well, like I said. Words. You're going to tell them a lot of things, but you aren't going to show them a lot of things are you?" the panthin said as he began to move about the clearing, looking at things seemingly at random.

"And your appear to have a lot of vacancy, given your circumstances." he added.

"Yes, well we are not-" Magloria began to say, but got cut off.

"You wouldn't mind if I came along would you? It sounds a lot more interesting than what I'm doing here."

Collapse gave the Panthin a strange look. "Well, we don't even know your name or who you are, first. I do not believe you understand what that entails, leaving behind everything you know and understand, to a foreign land you have never seen or experienced." Collapse stated.

"You could potentially help us around here, perhaps, but I don't think we are going to take you with us. At least, if you want to do that, you'll have to really prove you are serious about it and can be trusted." she suggested, but didn't really seem inclined to want to take this Panthin along with them, when they didn't even know his name.

"Well in that case, what would it take to prove it to you. I understand what it entails perfectly. I leave here with no promise I return, to go to a place that would be much more interesting than heat and jungle everywhere." he stated.

He seemed to think about what they might ask of him and his muzzle scrunched up in disgust. "Unless you're going to ask me to eat grass or other plants to prove myself I'm like you. Yuck."

"No, that's not what we'd get you to do at all." Magloria said. Since he hadn't given his name yet, she pressed further for an answer to what it was.

"Stanton." he replied.

"Well, nice to meet you, Stanton." Collapse spoke calmly and paused for a minute. "While it may seem like all we do is eat grass and stuff, that's not the case. While a lot of us eat more plant based stuff, there are also a lot of us who eat fish, and other things like that. Myself included. My name is Collapse," she spoke and introduced Magloria and Jump Start to Stanton.

"If you wish to prove yourself to us, we have physical labor that needs to be done. Such as building a ship, deciding how we'll do it, and all that. I think it's unlikely you'd know how to do that, but then again, neither of the three of us have built ships before. I *fix* things, I don't build them most of the time, let alone ships." she commented.

Stanton looked concerned at the requirement that he was given. "So you want me-" he pointed a claw at his chest, "-to build something that I don't know how to make, and you don't either. That seems doomed to fail before I even get started."

Magloria stepped in. "We know *how* to do it, we just haven't done it before." she clarified.

Stanton stopped moving about, setting his paw back down and awkwardly shifted them. "Alright fine then, I suppose I can help with that. No such thing as a free ride." he grumbled.

"You can help us. We are looking to get out of this boring and dangerous jungle as soon as possible. We know the way we need to go back. We know what we have to do. And we already have the materials needed to do it. All we need to do is make official blueprints, and get started." Collapse said to him.

"It will take roughly a week to a few weeks of sailing depending on the conditions. We are a long, **long** way from home. This is the furthest ponies have been, to my knowledge." she also added.

"So I will come back when you are getting started then? Alright, it's something interesting if boring to look forward to at least." Stanton said as he turned around, slowly starting to walk back in the direction of Carocol.

They didn't even say goodbye as they left, but then again it was in the middle of the night and he probably got all that he wanted from this encounter.

"A chance to not be bored is a pretty shallow reason to go head first into an unknown land, don't you think?" Magloria whispered to Collapse.

Collapse stood there, seemingly confused why he would walk away so suddenly like that. Then she looked back to Magloria, "I notice that a lot of them seem rather...absent minded. They don't seem to come up with good reasons for things. That's probably why they aren't more advanced, but then again, we did see a bit at what they were doing underground...but still absent minded." Collapse concluded.

Then she smirked within the dark. "What are the chances do you think he'll come back? If he isn't here, he'll likely not know when we get started after all..." she drifted off in her speech, and yawned.

Collapse wanted to go to sleep, leaving it up to Magloria or Jump Start to decide who's turn it is to take watch. It didn't matter to her who.

"As long as he is absent minded enough to not remember that we look like food to him, then things should go over... well enough. He probably will come back, though we will just have to wait and see *when* exactly that will be. Maybe he'll come back every day, just to have something to do?" Magloria suggested.

After that, she let Collapse go back inside to rest, stating that she would take over the next shift just in case more panthins decided to show up.

Collapse went to sleep next to Jump Start as she waited until morning. Her mind was full of planning for the ship, as she wanted to get out of this jungle as soon as possible. If Stanton really wants to help, then that would be good for them. The ship could be finished slightly faster than intended.

Eventually Collapse woke up sometime after the sun had already risen past the horizon. Jump Start wasn't where she used to be, but Magloria was now asleep somewhere else in the shelter.

Over by the entrance, she could see a somewhat tired looking Jump Start, just watching out at the clearing. She yawned, having forgotten about waking anyone else when it was no longer night time while doing her duty.

Collapse would approach Jump Start quietly and then gave her a pat on the shoulder, then a friendly grin. After a brief greeting, Collapse would proceed to prepare breakfast. Perhaps the smells would waft into the sleeping blue mare's nose, and wake her up.

Jump Start... jumped when she felt the pat. She had been too focused (or oblivious) when doing her job, and hadn't noticed Collapse's approach.

"Uh-heh-huh-good morning Collapse. Uhm... I... did a good job making sure nothing came here." she said, stumbling over her words as she tried to calm herself down.

Some time later once the food was properly warmed up, Magloria came out of the shelter, looking like she could use a cup of coffee and maybe a hairbrush. "Nothing?" she questioned.

"No, nothing came by again." Jump Start replied.

Collapse giggled at Jump Start's reaction, but continued to make their meal. When Magloria came out, Collapse looked to the two of them. "When we were in those pens, I was quite angry...But that reminds me, if Ash wanted to come with us...why didn't she?" she pondered and then smirked. "If she came, we'd be taking two Panthins with us, if the two of them do decide to come, after all." she stated.

"I'd think they are better off here, though. I'd rather take a nice, colorful, and friendly seapony." she smirked ever so slightly. "But, now we should finally do the inevitable. Begin planning, then working on the ship. Let's actually you know...do that this time?" she giggled.

Jump Start shrugged. "I don't know why she didn't come with us. Maybe she got distracted by something else and couldn't find us again?" she suggested uncertainly. "I don't think she would do very well on a ship anyway. Weeks on open water would end badly."

"I don't think seaponies would do very well on a ship either." Magloria added as she brought forth her rough blueprints. "We'll determine the measurements, how much wooden planks we'll need then once that's done, bring it all down to the beach and call in the seaponies to help."

"And the sails?" Jump Start wondered.

"Those can always come later." Magloria said.

Collapse agreed. "Yeah, it's best to not take anyone with us. Perhaps Stanton can help us build the ship and we can give him something in return or something like that, but let us look at the blueprints..." she spoke and looked to them closely, looking over the blueprints and would begin to look at it more in depth, stating various things that could be improved at a first glance, before they'd likely inevitably talk about the specifics of that.

"Stanton is completely different from Ash though..." Jump Start defended. "He would be strong enough to not drown if he went overboard, he'd be able to catch his own fish... maybe. Oh! And he's not scatterbrained either!"

Looking upon the blueprints, Collapse saw a ship blueprint. A very blueprinty ship. With ship-related things that may or may not be able to be improved.

What? I'm not a nautical engineer.

Overall, things just need to be finalized with a couple more details before it was ready to be used.

Collapse proceeded to give a few more details and suggestions for the ship that she felt were needed. They were reasonable, such as various suggestions for the layout of the ship and that sort of thing, really.

It was likely they came to an agreement on the various ideas for the plans and would come up with a finished plan for the ship. Now it was time to well, you know, get to work. At least, provided if they had enough sun left in the day for that to at least get everything good to go for the construction.

Given it was midday, they had plenty of time to get to work on refining the raw materials that they had. Jump Start was their pony generator, constantly cranking the machines so they could split logs into planks.

Whenever they wanted a break from that, they did different things, like collect more food or chop down more trees. All in all it was a very productive day.

Eventually they had a massive pile of planks that they would need to move out to the beach later.

By the time they finished with the planks, Collapse would decide to take a break and would have come back with some more fruits in saddlebags, granting them a good supply of food for the next few days. She was relatively pleased with the amount of work they have done, and would look forward to continuing it more in the days to com

They had spent all their time creating planks, so much that the sun was starting to set. Moving their supplies out would grow more and more risky as the sky darkened and the nocturnal creatures began to awaken.

Nobody else came to their place (yet), so all they had left to do for today was sit around a campfire, eating charred carrot plant thing they found growing in the ground and eventually heading to bed.

By the time they were sitting around the camp fire, Collapse was very pleased with the amount they had gotten today. She didn't talk all that much throughout today, only really focusing on their work. It seems she was someone who was very dedicated to getting jobs completed.

It was at this time when they heard the rustling sound of some nearby bushes. Magloria got ready, but a few seconds later Stanton emerged from the shrubbery, making Magloria drop her stance again.

"Hi, I'm here to do what you wanted me to do." Stanton said, shaking his body to remove some of the leaves and sticks that got caught in his fur.

Collapse looks to Stanton as he walked up. "Well, we already got the first part done. We just need to allocate our resources. We aren't nocturnal and we don't like being out in the jungle at night, really." she mentioned. "So either you come back in the morning while we sleep...or we find something else to do."

Stanton's mood dampened when he was told that information. He sheepishly rubbed one of his paws against a foreleg as he looked away. "Well you were awake at night last time, so I just assumed that you were nocturnal. Interesting..."

"Well in that case then, what could I do? There's got to be something left that you haven't done, yes?" he asked.

"Just a question here - if we take you along on the ship we build, would you be able to catch fish for yourself or something? I don't think we have any fishing rods or anything like that. But hmm, let's think, is there anything he could help us out with at the moment?" she asked Magloria.

Stanton glanced at Magloria's spear resting nearby. "You've got pointy sticks and rope? I've seen others use stuff like that, so I could... probably get fish for myself." he said. He didn't sound confident in that, but it was better than nothing.

Magloria simply pointed a hoof over at the pile of planks nearby.

"Would you want to help us move the planks? I don't really want to go out in the night though, since that was the last time we had an issue with a massive python." Collapse mentioned. "So perhaps we can do it in the morning."

Chapter 77

Stanton looked over to the pile of wood that was patiently waiting its time when it gets dragged over to the beach and used for something better.

"I could do that. Most things aren't going to be coming after me. I know from experience. Just tell me where I need to bring these, and what I'm using to bring them there." he stated.

"How about we just show you the way?" Collapse asked Stanton as her magic wrapped around some of the planks, demonstrating the ability to levitate things - something Stanton hasn't seen yet. "And we can move these there for now, so we have less to do tomorrow." she proposed.

Magloria put a hold on that plan. "Collapse, it's just down at the beach. We've practically created a path straight there for him to follow. You don't need to go out and show him." she pointed out, then rose an eyebrow. "Unless of course you're going to do more than that." she added.

Stanton on his part didn't look all that surprised by the levitation, given he had actually seen them levitating stuff already. He had also been told about them when they were back at the cage facility, but none of the ponies knew about that.

"Well I wanted to show him where to put the wood, I didn't want him accidentally putting it somewhere where we didn't want to put it, one I show him, he'll know where to put it, for the rest of the pile." Collapse explained, and would lead Stanton to the area to show him where she had in mind for the wood, right in the middle of the clearing.

Magloria sighed and let her go, despite the fact that Collapse was basically going off into the night with a predator they had only just met. Well if she wanted to take suicidal risks, who was she to stop her?

Thankfully it was slightly less suicidal than Magloria thought. They only encountered 1 hungry snake along the path, which was quickly scared off when Stanton let out a growl.

After being shown where to place the wood, he accepted that information and prepared to use it for when they headed back to the shelter.

Collapse would put the wood down and would begin walking back to the shelter. As she walked back, she went over the basics of Equestria, mostly about how there was a species of ponies called the Pegasi, of which none were present in their group. Would be really useful if there were, she thought.

In return Stanton explained that they only really had 2 species of feline around them, aside from 'feral' ones as he called it. Just the panthins and the burmesian smalls. They do come in a variety of colours at least.

Once they had returned, Stanton let Collapse go back into the shelter himself as he stood by the pile of wood, eying it up while thinking some things over.

Collapse returned to the shelter and proceeded to tell Magloria and Jump Start that nothing went wrong. Now he knows where the wood will be piled up for next time. She didn’t have much else to say other than that.

The others accepted what she had told them, by this point they were already preparing to go to sleep. Now that Collapse had arrived back they could do so, though Magloria said they would be taking shifts to keep an eye out tonight as well, just in case Stanton did something while they were all sleeping.

This time, it was going to be Jump Start's turn first. She volunteered, saying she wasn't really feeling that tired, even after all that exercise they did during the day.

Collapse would head to sleep again, hoping that all would go well. It seemed like it was going well, but she wasn't going to get her hopes up. She was most afraid of the Panthins showing up in the night and suddenly attacking them, or the possibility of Stanton possibly being a spy or a ploy of some kind, but honestly, did they really seem all that intelligent to do that? Still she worried.

Hopefully one day, she'd be back home with her mom and her other friends. But, Magloria and Jump Start have certainly formed a deeper connection with her, in her eyes, as she hadn't been stranded in an unknown land with anyone else, really. With those thoughts in her mind, she went to sleep.

Eventually it was Collapse's turn to wake up and watch over things. Seems like she had the third and final shift judging by how Magloria was the one to wake her up. The mild ache in her side when she was woken up was proof of that.

Outside the moon looked like it was getting closer and closer to the horizon, so it would be dawn soon. Interestingly, she could see that the pile of wood that they had was a lot smaller than she remembered just several hours ago. Stanton was also not waiting around at the camp either.

Collapse only smiled slightly to Magloria, finding mild humor by how Magloria woke her up. Upon getting up and looking at the surroundings of the shelter she looks to the pile of wood, in hopes that Stanton was putting the wood into a pile in the other site for construction. Hopefully he wasn't making off with their planks, although she figured he wouldn't have use for them for himself - so it was more likely that he was indeed helping them.

Collapse was proven correct when he eventually came back, nodded at her when he saw her, then proceeded to grab a couple of the planks and set them on his back before heading off again.

Collapse saw that snake again as the sun started to rise, making everything nearby easier to see. It seemed pissed off at her, if the way it stuck itself out of the nearby bushes and loudly hissed at her was any indication. She was with the one that scared it off, and it probably wanted revenge.

That being said, it seemed satisfied to just intimidate her for now. Angry, but not suicidal.

Collapse stayed away from the snake and didn't go near it. At least it wasn't a mega python like the other ones that were seen. When Collapse saw Stanton again, she nodded in approval to him and let him continue the work.

When the sun had risen above the horizon, that was when she woke up Collapse and Magloria, then proceeding to get breakfast ready again. More work to do today, nothing that would likely be particularly notable since they have done the same schedule of waking up, getting to work again and again.

Probably just another work day.

It was when they were busy eating their breakfast that Stanton came back again, having delivered the last piece of the pile. After stating that his job was done, and denying Jump Start's offer for food because it was all non-meat products, he decided to leave.

Before he did though, he said he wasn't going to come by the next night, since he did have to go back to his post at the cage facility at least *sometimes*. They would get very suspicious if he never turned up ever again, which wouldn't be good for the ponies.

With their next immediate task already completed, Magloria looked to each of them. "Now comes the next part, getting help from the seaponies to put the ship together. I hope we have enough shells to pay them." she said.

Collapse accepted the information and thought what Stanton was logical in saying what he said there and she didn't have an issue with him going back. If he wanted to tell the others, he would have done so already. Seems unlikely for him to tell them now after doing all that work.

With Magloria's statement, Collapse nodded. "Yes, we should go ahead and do that." she spoke in agreement, getting ready to go and talk to the seaponies in order to do that.

With nothing better to do, Magloria got up once they were finished with their breakfast, organized their stuff for a short travel and then set off down the path towards the beach, with the others leading behind her.

When they arrived they saw the pile of planks ready and waiting for them. Magloria setdown the other things they would need to put the boat together next to the wood.

It was early morning so there wasn't any seaponies out of the beach yet. They had time to kill on other things if they wanted, such as a certain broken object they had, or they could just wait until some showed up.

Collapse took out anything else they had collected from the settlement from her pocket dimension and set it down, now all they needed was the sails. They had everything else they needed, all they needed to do was begin building the ship and acquire help to do so. Collapse would have tried to figure out any viable methods for fixing the Prismal stone, perhaps they had some adhesive or something that they could just stick it back together?

Jump Start let out a startled yelp when in a golden flash a net was dropped down on top of her, pinning her to the ground and entangling her when she tried to escape. Good going Collapse. Remember you had that with you?

As it turns out, that adhesive that they already grabbed from Carocol beforehand was sitting amidst the pile of building supplies. Convenient.

Collapse just smirked at Jump Start and took the net off. "I'm not gonna be trapping any Earth Pony mares today." she giggled, and put the net 'away' by unsummoning it. Now that they had the materials, they could perhaps look closer at the Prismal.

Once Jump Start had been freed she got up and immediately moved away, just in case Collapse decided to empty out anything else from her pocket dimension. Given the way she seemed to frivolously stick anything she liked into that place, Jump Start wouldn't be surprised if there were still heavy machines in there.

The prismal stone looked just as they had seen it before. It had a rainbow hue about it, an absurd level of magical power contained inside, and was split in half by a jagged line down the middle. Nothing about it had changed since they last checked it.

"Well, hmm. Magloria, how about the idea of using your magic to seal this Prismal stone back together? Like, you encase it in a thin layer of crystal that holds it together?" she suggested casually, letting her take a look at it. While she was tempted to unsummon items and show them off...well, there was one thing that she wanted to do.

She casually unsummoned a chair next to her and then sat on it. "Never know when you might need a chair - hehe, we kind of probably could have used a chair this whole time and I didn't think of it..hehe..." she had to stop herself from laughing.

Magloria looked rather unimpressed by Collapse's antics. Both because she had just brought in a piece of furniture that could've made their lives a little easier, but also at her suggestion for the prismal stone.

"So..." she started. "You want me, to seal an extremely potent resource inside a layer of crystal, without knowing what my magic might do to it in such close proximity and instability, while distorting its overall size and possibly rendering it useless unless freed again..."

She then pointed at the bottle of adhesive that was still conveniently sitting among their building supplies. "Instead of using the stuff we risked life and limb for that is designed specifically for the purpose of sticking things back together, sitting a couple meters away." she huffed.

Collapse levitated the Prismal stone over to Magloria with her magic, allowing her to take it. Otherwise she sighed, a long, frustrated sigh and gripped the arms of the chair tightly with her hooves, and then relaxed slightly as she looked out over the beach - otherwise silent. She was annoyed at herself as one could easily guess.

Magloria took it from Collapse then picked up the adhesive, turning it over to read any instructions it might have. She wasn't mad at Collapse, just very disappointed at her shortsightedness.

On the upside, Collapse passing over the prismal stone gave her a sense of relief, knowing that if anything screwed up with repairing the stone it was her own fault.

So while Magloria was busy making sure that the stone was being put together in the correct positions (*before* applying the glue, of course), Collapse passively observing the beach let her spot the seaponies that were now sticking their head out of the water.

They'd definitely be here for the beach, but seemed reluctant to swim up to the sands given what they could spot.

Collapse would let Magloria do what she wanted with the stone before she noticed the seaponies sticking their heads out of the water. She would walk up so they could see her, and she let loose an innocent cheery grin and waved to them, letting them that it was okay to get onto the beach. Collapse's tail wagged slightly, indicating she was excited to see the seaponies again.

Eventually the seaponies swam up to the beachside and began waddling about on the sand. Most of them started to get comfortable, enjoying the heat from the sun.

Others kept their eyes on Collapse, either giving small greetings or a wave. Seems like this group was here to relax, rather than have a conversation with a strange creature, not that it would stop Collapse anyway.
Collapse looked to Magloria, still somewhat reeling from her most recent scolding. She nervously smiled somewhat. "Should we talk to them about the ship? I don't want to scare them off though..." Collapse said to her, waiting for her approval before going ahead and taking the action for herself. If Magloria approved, Collapse would slowly and carefully approach the seaponies in an attempt to strike up a casual conversation, starting off small first - rather than overloading them with information they don't understand.

When she went away to talk to them, her chair was left open for one of them to sit in if they wanted.

Magloria pointed over at the seaponies. "That *is* what we came here for in the first place. No point in waiting for any others to come along." she said, giving Collapse the all clear to interact with them.

The seaponies let Collapse approach them, and followed along with her attempts at conversation. They, like most who case here, were just out to catch some rays or play on the sand.

Her chair remained empty, the others being too busy watching Collapse or double checking their supplies.

As Collapse talked with them, she would eventually bring up the idea of having seaponies help them with construction of the ship. It was unlikely for this group to be those seaponies, so she would ask for someone to go get, and bring a group of seaponies who were able to to do such things - at least those who could take a look at what they are trying to build.

It was obvious that this random group would not be capable of helping put the ship together, though they could easily contact some others that were trained in construction.

Of course, one of the seaponies wouldn't be a messenger for free. They wanted a bit of payment, and they also wanted to see how much money Collapse already had, so they knew what to tell the others.

Collapse would take out the various shells she had still in her saddlebags, and would show the amount to the seaponies. She had forgotten how many shells, exactly, that she had with her. Perhaps Magloria or Jump Start had the rest, if her amount was not all.

The seapony that was prepared to act as their messenger examined the pile of coins that Collapse had brought forth, nodded, grabbed one of the coins as their payment and said they would come back soon.

They turned back towards the ocean and disappeared soon after reaching the waters. The rest of the seaponies got back to what they were doing, while a couple others kept watching the group out of curiosity.

Collapse accepted this response and would stuff the rest back into her saddlebag, and would then proceed to return to Magloria and Jump Start. "And now we wait for someone capable." she commented casually and sat down in the sand, gesturing for Magloria to sit down and 'enjoy' the chair for the time being since she felt like she deserved that much.

"We should at least get started on things while we're waiting. Should give them an idea of what we're building so they can pitch in." Magloria said as she began to lay out pieces of wood for the boat's frame, disregarding Collapse's suggestion to relax. There was work to be done! They could relax later when they were tired.

Looking purely at the frame's shape, based on the wood they had, it didn't look like the boat was going to be able to cut through the water with ease, but they didn't need it to be super fast anyways.

Jump Start didn't join in on the construction immediately however, seeming hesitant to start without anyone else ready to build.

Collapse wouldn't object to doing more work, might as well pass the time while they wait and do something productive. She joined in eagerly, wanting to get this boat to be completed as soon as possible just so they could leave and never return to this place. As they constructed this, Collapse mentioned a good question - if they sailed straight out from the shore, where would they end up in Equestria? Likely not the dock they left, they could end up in anywhere number of areas, but so long as they reached the Equestrian shores, that is what mattered to her.

Magloria had absolutely no clue which beach on the edge of Equestria they would end up. They had no map with a point of reference, heck, they didn't even have a map, no compass, sextant or even a telescope to see further. They would just have to pick an angle to travel and hope they hit something.

By the time they had got the frame put together properly, the seaponies they were waiting for had showed up. A group of about half a dozen, each wearing the equivalent of an underwater hard hat and some having brought their own tools. Among their group included a couple Kelpi, though it wasn't obvious what they would be using their water-based magics for.

Collapse waved to the seaponies, and would walk up to them. She would show them the blueprints, and tell them about what they needed help with as well as any other details that were important, such as the fact that they needed a material to make the sails from. She'd show them the shells, hoping that they had enough to pay for this process.

At least they did something on their own, such as gathering the materials and putting the frame together.

Chapter 78

Once the seaponies were told about and understood their task (and saw the money they were being offered) they got to work, gathering up planks of wood and other supplies to put the boat together.

It looked like they had enough money to pay all these workers for 2 days, which hopefully should be enough to put the boat together and drag it out into the waters. Since they still wouldn't have a sail, they'd need to anchor it to the shore to stop it from floating away.

The reason for the kelpi being there was revealed when, as the others worked, they were splashed with streams of water to keep them nice and wet. The water flowing through the air from magical currents. A most effective means to stop the seaponies from having to drop what they're doing and dip back into the water repeatedly.

Collapse would join them in their work if they accepted it. She didn't entirely know what to do, so had to occasionally ask for a few pointers in what she was doing. She followed their instructions and motions to the letter - merely being an extra worker in the bunch. An extra worker would hopefully shorten the construction process of the ship.

The others were free to join if they wanted, but Collapse wanted to make it clear that she appreciated what they were doing for them. Collapse wasn't just gonna sit and wait for it to be done.

Considering the fact that the group currently had the seaponies under their employment, none of them refused Collapse's attempts to work alongside them, and readily gave any advice that she requested.

Magloria and Jump Start had also joined in, as there was no point in waiting around doing nothing. They all would occasionally get splashed by water from the kelpi, but there wasn't really anything they could do about that without hindering the other workers.

Hours of building passed, with everyone occasionally taking breaks, either from exhaustion or accidental injuries due to the unfamiliar location. By the time it was dusk, most of the ship was built and the workers readily accepted half of their pay as they got ready to leave for the ocean.

Collapse continued with the work, occasionally having small talk with the seaponies working alongside them. She at least wanted to get to know their names or some small things about their interests. Nothing too invasive, as they soon were going to be departing this area hopefully anyway. Collapse didn't complain or speak about the occasional water splashes.

By the time they had completed for the day she would step back to look at the ship to see how much of it was built. Hopefully tomorrow they could finish it off, get the sails, and then finally depart.

Collapse did get small details here and there from them, even when she didn't ask for it. They weren't ones to work silently, so there was an occasional conversation that she was able to listen to, including them calling each other by name.

None of which was worth writing down or remembering, because they wouldn't be met ever again unless they for some reason had another construction related issue and so happened to get exactly the same worker crew, which was unlikely.

The boat was going along well enough. If they had some form of wood polish or paint, they could make it look much better, but they didn't, and it wouldn't be worth going and getting anyway.

"I hope no one else finds this and claims it as their own. That would be a really big problem." Jump Start said as the seaponies started leaving. She turned to the jungle and began to return home, as they didn't have much else to do here with night approaching.

When the day finished up, she got ready to return home and then an idea crossed her mind. "Then perhaps one of us should stay here to make sure that doesn't happen. Or better yet, we can camp out here tonight. I don't want to see this ending up stolen with the work and time we've put into it." Collapse sighed, wondering what the others thought.

As the seaponies left, she would wave them and wish them well, while thanking them for the effort they have put into it. Tomorrow was the day Collapse wanted to finish this boat off of with, it was time for them to leave. Enough mistakes and near death experiences have been had, in this unfamiliar land.

Magloria, being the voice of reason, decided to speak up. "I doubt there would be many creatures, even intelligent ones, who would want to take away a bunch of wood. The most valuable things we have here are the other non-wooden stuff." she said, nodding at their nails, adhesive, sealant and such.

"And don't forget, you would be sleeping here without a proper roof over your head *and* on a beach which has been soaked by ocean water. All the wood is wet too so you can't sleep inside the ship either."

She then paused before reaching into her saddlebag. "And speaking of other things..."

The prismal stone was brought forth, now back together in one piece and, if they squinted, glowing slightly brighter than before. You could barely make out the line where the crack was from a distance. "Almost good as new." Magloria said proudly.

Collapse smiled at Magloria's prismal stone. It was fixed! "Heh, you sure had better ideas for that then I did. Sure, let's take a sleep in our shelter tonight. I don't think Stanton will have much else to do for us, but at least he managed to help us out a bit after all." Collapse said, and would proceed along back to the shelter, winking at Magloria. "I really do wonder what that stone can actually do, what it is meant for." she added.

Magloria put away the prismal stone as they started heading back. "We do already know that it was used for 1 thing, as some sort of power source or catalyst. There would no doubt be many other similar uses that it could have, such as powering a city-wide shield for months." she said.

When they arrived back at the shelter, Stanton was already there for some reason. His said he wouldn't be returning for a bit, so why was he here?

Collapse agreed with Magloria's assessment. Hopefully this stone would be of great interest when they return to Equestria. She hoped that there could potentially be some sort of innovation to be gained from their discoveries. She wondered what would happen if a proper exploration team (like they were originally intended to be) arrived, and opened up relations with the Seaponies and Panthins in official capacity. But that was likely years away, with how disastrous their mission ended up. It's possible that the higher ups back home may not even be inclined to send anyone out here for a very long time due to the disaster that befell them.

Looking to Stanton, Collapse would greet him. "Hello, what brings you here?" she would ask him curious once they arrived.

Stanton looked away from the group. He seemed to be uncertain about something. "Well I wasn't going to come back so soon... but things have changed for you." he said.

Magloria took a step forward, not liking the sound of this. "What changed?" she asked, seriousness in her voice.

"I don't think you have time to waste, because they're sending out scouting parties to look for you, and once they find you they'll bring you back. They don't know that you live here, but it's only a matter of time before they come across this place." he responded.

Collapse sighed, and her eyes took a serious gaze. "Well, that is to be expected. We have just one more day, roughly of construction to do. I think it's best that we get what we can from this area here, and leave." Collapse said to Magloria. "We must make haste, we can't simply sleep here. If they see us, we are going to have to fight them off, and they will know where we are, so I would rather go somewhere further away to where they have less of a chance of spotting us." she stated.

If Magloria and Jump Start agreed, she would start gathering up important things of value. It was best to also take the machines with them, because if the Panthins see the machines they will know exactly who took them. She would not likely be taking them with her on the ship, and just leave them on the beach due to how heavy they are and how much space they take up.

"W-what? You want us to leave for somewhere else at night? But what if some predator or other nasty creature finds us?" Jump Start worried.

Magloria sighed as she began packing up whatever they could carry with them. They'd have to leave behind the heavy machines, as unsummoning them would create bright flashes of light that could attract attention.

"We might have something find us even if we *don't* move. At least the wild creatures don't bring crossbows and backup." she stated, "This is going to make building the rest of the boat an absolute pain however, as we're likely going to have more travel time to get back."

Collapse also would pack up what else they could carry with them, putting the rest of their materials in the bags. "I would rather us fend off a nasty predator rather than something dedicated to enslaving us and shooting at us for something we didn't originally want to do. That is what they don't understand, and I am betting that no matter how much we could try to talk - they won't understand." her eyes narrowed.

"Leave the machines here, make them think we are coming back to this area when we are not. Unsummoning those would actually create more trouble than it's worth, I'd rather have my magic dedicated to defending ourselves rather than holding them in my Pocket Dimension, on more *rational thoughts...*" she decided.

When they had everything packed, she was ready to go. "Let's go, Preferably we can camp somewhere near to the boat itself, but if we do that it's likely they'll be able to track us down because of the path we cleared..."

"It's a good thing that you're not back in Carocol on proper trial." Stanton said as he jumped in on the conversation. "Saying that 'they don't understand why you did something' would get you sent to prison faster than a bolt of lightning. You'd be outright telling them you're guilty."

As the group moved to the edge of the clearing in preparation for leaving, Stanton instead moved over to where the river was. "You're not coming?" Jump Start asked, "You might not be able to find us later."

"I don't need to. I just need to go back to the ship you're building." He shrugged, then started to walk away through the bushes.

"You should probably come with us, Stanton. If they see you anywhere they will get suspicious, and besides there is nothing to work on with the ship. We have to wait until morning for that, so we and the Seaponies can finish our construction of the ship." Collapse said to Stanton, inwardly feeling suspicious about him still. Collapse was ready to leave. This place here was a good place for what it was, she won't really miss it though. It provided them what they needed, that was all.

Stanton shook his head. "It would be much better if they didn't see me with you. They would get even more suspicious. Besides, I plan to just rest so I can wake up when you do." he said before taking off, going out of sight.

"Bah, leave him Collapse. It means we only have to keep track of 3 instead of 4 during the night, or get him fish in the morning." Magloria stated as she led the retreat from their shelter.

Collapse agreed with Magloria and didn't object to this action and retreated along with her. She kept alert just incase they happened to come across anything dangerous. At the very least she was glad they decided not to sleep there tonight.

~~With Collapse being so alert she quickly spotted another giant python within the trees, but this didn't stop it from lashing out and immediately snaring them. She tried to cast her magic, but this one's scales seem to cause the magic to glance off. She couldn't do anything as she blacked out.

When she awoke, she found herself still within the coils, but at this point they had relaxed slightly. When the python noticed she had awoken it reached over to a pile of fruit and fed her.

Days past as she was kept as some sort of pet, unable to escape from the python's grasp. At least she wasn't dead, and maybe Magloria and Jump Start would be able to rescue her eventually.~~

The traveled through the dark jungle for several hours, just creating enough distance between them and Carocol to minimize the chances that they would be found. If they moved far enough away, maybe they wouldn't bother searching at that distance and would turn around instead.

This didn't make the night ambience any better though. Annoying bugs still flew around them, and the different animal calls that they hadn't familiarized themselves with yet constantly came at them from different directions.

Eventually they found a suitable cave that they could use to take shelter in. They almost missed it due to the thick layer of plants in the way. It seemed to be largely uninhabited as well, if the lack of bones was any indication.

"Wait, do you hear that?" Magloria asked as she looked around, ears perked. All Collapse heard was the buzzing of bugs.

Collapse walked along relatively silently through the dark jungle. She would be lying if she said she wasn't a bit nervous about what they may find, but as time grew on she grew glad that they had managed to put more distance between Carocol and them as they continued their journey. The different animal calls made her wonder what was making those sounds. Part of her didn't want to find out.

Upon arriving at the cave, she was glad there wasn't any bones or any obvious signs of habitation. That will have to do for now. Upon hearing what Magloria said, her ears perked up in nervousness. "Hear what? I don't hear anything out of the ordinary." Collapse spoke to Magloria.

"That's because it's silent. Too silent." Magloria said as she looked around the trees around them. Wind started to blow around them, making it harder to hear anything nearby.

Jump Start spoke up. "Then why are we just standing around? Let's go into the cave quickly before something-" she stopped when her eyes fell on something, shrinking to pinpricks in fear as her ears folded back.

Collapse got ready to fight just incase. She hadn't seen what Jump Start saw, and went silent. Collapse did her best to keep calm but was quite worried at what they had come across. Another huge python? Some other creature, perhaps?

Jump Start turned and ran for the cave. The moment she did that something leapt out of the bushes where she was previously looking at. Something big, black, furry and suspiciously Panthin-looking.

Only they didn't seem like the others. They seemed wilder if the lack of intelligent spark in their yellow eyes was any indication, and if their bigger size made them appear much stronger.

There was no equipment on them, and they didn't talk either. Just an immediate pounce at Collapse, razor sharp claws extended and ready to tear her to pieces.

Collapse reacted instinctively by taking her crystal spear in hold, then attempted to stab the feral Panthin squarely in the chest. If her spear landed true, she'd attempt to force it deeper with a *twist.* Her heart rate rose dramatically, as well as her adrenaline. She had no time to contemplate. Only self defense was on her mind, and for good reason.

Collapse didn't have enough time to bring the spear into position for a straight blow through the chest, which definitely would've killed the beast with its lunge assisting the attack.

Instead she managed to nick it along the side of its chest, piercing deeply through the skin with the panthin's ribcage preventing it from hitting anything important.

This however did not stop 2 sets of claws from painfully sinking into her sides, nor the face of the beast being so close to her own, its horrible breath reaching her as it let out a growl in pain. Her spear thankfully kept it from crossing the last little distance and reaching her neck.

Magloria readied an attack with her own shortsword and swung as the creature, but whether it was due to the pain of the spear or seeing Magloria's approach, the panthin backed away, yanking the spear out of Collapse's grip and avoiding Magloria's counterattack as it did so.

Now the panthin began to circle them, growling occasionally as it seemed to consider whether the two meals in front of it was even worth it anymore.

Collapse let out out a growl in pain, having felt those claws sink into her sides. She can deal with that later as they have first aid. She was more than thankful for what Magloria did, though. This creature to her was absolutely disgusting, it was everything a Panthin was that was undesirable. Attacking them suddenly, and along with it's feral look and horrible smells - it was definitely a beast that she wouldn't feel guilty for slaying.

With her spear out of grasp, Collapse would pull out her axe. As the Panthin circled around them, she would stand still while bleeding from her sides. She was gauging when would be a good opportunity to strike with her axe. Perhaps she could have used her magic, but that could possibly attract attention with the lightshow it would cause.

Suddenly she'd motion to Magloria, signaling her to attack. Collapse would swing at the panthin savagely, with the intention to cause as much damage as possible to the beast. Aiming for it's face and neck. If Collapse missed, then perhaps Magloria would have landed a strike. A two pronged attack. Collapse was struggling from the pain caused by the panthin's claws, and was occasionally grunting in pain.

Magloria brought her shortsword to bare again, and when Collapse gave the signal, she thrust it out towards the panthin in precise, sweeping arcs.

But both of their attacks couldn't hit, for each time they tried to land a blow the panthin had backed off even further, growling louder and louder each time. Neither Magloria nor Collapse could get an angle where it was trapped between their attacks, as it just kept retreating each time.

It finally reached the decision that these two things were not worth the trouble of hunting, and in Magloria's last attempt to hit it with a forward thrust, it turned and ran off, only receiving a light nick to their flank as they left.

Magloria lowered her blade slightly as she kept an eye on the jungle ahead. "Well at least it wasn't stupid, starving or insane." she sighed.

Chapter 79

Collapse grabbed her first aid kit and began to take out the various materials to begin tending to her wounds. As she tends to her wounds, she looked to Magloria. "Well, that's one big feral cat I can tell you that. Not exactly fond of normal Panthins, but that one? Yeah, that one takes the cake for me. Didn't seem sentient to me, but smart enough to realize when to back off." she sighed as she applied the bandages to her bleeding sides.

"I am really not fond of the idea of doing a potential 'final battle' at the beach with the regular Panthins. Knock on wood." a faint nervous smile came across her face at that.

Magloria responded calmly as she continued her gaze. "I'm not surprised that this one was so large. If anything, they were likely the size the original panthins were supposed to be. The ones that domesticated themselves then grew smaller, since they didn't need to be the best anymore."

"Given how wild this place is, if you're stupid you just end up being food for something else. Being smart enough is a requirement." she added, then gestured to the cave entrance with her head. "You should get inside in case the smell of your blood attracts even more creatures. I'll stay out here for a bit to make sure it doesn't return."

Collapse headed into the cave, having finished applying her bandages. "That makes logical sense. It probably won't come around again since it knows that we put up too much of a fight for it. At least we know the other Panthins wouldn't eat us. We are too useful for them, and they were weirded out by our colors." she spoke as she walked inside the cave, shining her horn inside of the cave. Now that she was inside, any light she made would be hidden by the cave and the plants outside.

The inside of the cave was about what Collapse could expect of one. A passage within the rock that spanned about 10 meters deep. A slight incline downwards created a small pool where water would collect, a fissure at the back wall letting any excess water escape into an unknown location that they couldn't follow without blowing a hole in the wall.

Jump Start was sitting in the cleanest, most even place she had found, watching the entrance before setting her eyes on Collapse. "Is it gone now?" she asked, an ear flopping back as she did.

Collapse would look around the cave to make sure it was safe. Thankfully it was acceptable. At least there was a water source, so that was a plus. A 5 star cave hotel, how about that? With a slight tail wag, she would sit down next to Jump Start. "It ran off thankfully, hopefully won't bother us again." she said and gave Jump Start a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Magloria will be taking guard I suppose. I sure am not in the condition to, since anything out there would probably smell my blood." Collapse added. "I feel like we should catch some sleep." she spoke, getting ready to sleep.

As if to dissuade Collapse's thoughts on later enjoying a bit of fresh water, Jump Start spoke up. "You should probably wash the blood of you, but I wouldn't drink that stuff. It's... a bit too dirty to drink. And it's still water." she said as she lied down, curling up in her spot with her tail wrapping around her side.

Sometime later Magloria came back in. The panthin hadn't returned, so it was a somewhat safe bet that nothing else would find them, especially with the plant covering they had.

And even if something did come along, they'd hear it long before it managed to reach them.

Of course, she'd keep this information to herself if the others were already fast asleep anyway.

Collapse would wash off the blood on her body there. It wasn’t all that appealing to just leave it there anyway. By the time Magloria returned she would see that Collapse had already curled up around Jump Start like normal.

One thing wasn’t normal though. She left her tail out in the open instead of curled around Jump Start. It was intended for Magloria, as if Collapse was tempting her to come cuddle up with her tail.

Magloria wouldn’t, would she? The ‘offer’ was there for her, regardless. Collapse was fast asleep if the soft snores were any indication.

Magloria spotted the pile that the other two had formed. It was going to be another one of those nights, but this time there wasn't anywhere better to lie down. She had already spent a couple minutes checking. The cave was slightly colder than normal as well, thanks to the nearby water.

So rather than lie uncomfortably on a slope of uneven rocks, she begrudgingly moved over to the others and laid herself down near them, before falling asleep.

Collapse slept. Not the most comfortable sleep to be sure, but it was sleep nevertheless. She had a few dreams, which she couldn't really remember when she got up. Not that she cared to. If she was the first one up, she would get breakfast ready for them.

As it turns out, Magloria had been the first one to wake up. But instead of going out and preparing breakfast by themselves, like what they did at the shelter, Magloria woke the rest of them up so they could all prepare together.

Her reasoning behind it was so that no one gets caught out alone in the jungle while searching for food, which was now a real possibility.

Collapse would wake up Jump Start with a gentle shake, and when she awoke - she'd get a gentle boop to the nose. Then, they would all be together for when they prepare. Breakfast would not likely be all that interesting, as Collapse was really wanting to get back to the ship.

Once they were all properly awake and had stretched out the cramps in their limbs and back, no thanks to the rocky floor, it was a simple effort to gather their breakfast. Just wander about the trees until they found one with edibles grown on it.

Even better was, since they needed to travel to continue their progress on getting off of this island anyway, they came across their breakfast along the way.

There was nothing to stop them from returning, though the heat and annoying bugs did slow them down, which Magloria quickly learned when one of them flew into her nose. Regardless, they would be able to return to the beach as the seaponies got back to work on the ship again.

As they proceeded throughout the jungle Collapse kept her eyes and ears peeled. It was unlikely for any Panthin parties to suddenly get the drop on them and hunt them down, this far out but it wasn't impossible. The Panthins seemed to be mostly nocturnal, so she hoped they could get the ship finished. Panthins didn't have interest in going near the water it seemed, so they should be safe.

As they went along she would munch on the fruit they managed to gather. She didn't have much to really say or mention on the way there.

They arrived at the coast, where it didn't take much time crossing the sands before they saw their ship. The seaponies were definitely there, however they weren't working on it at the moment.

Instead they were all on alert and were peering into the jungle, watching something nearby. The ocean was too far away, which explains why none of them were waddling back into the water. They'd have no chance at getting back in time.

Collapse looks to Magloria. "Exactly just as I feared. The Panthins are probably in the Jungle doing something. If something goes down here, I don't want any of the seaponies getting hurt. I tell you, we are *not* being taken prisoner again." she spoke in a serious tone.

Magloria kept heading towards their ship. "Well there is no point in delaying our support. Would be just as bad if our crew gets kidnapped instead. No one else would want to help." she pointed out as her walk turned into a gallop.

Hearing their approach, a couple seaponies looked over to the arriving group. "There's something over in the trees and it won't stop staring at us!" an orange Campus mare with brown ear tips said. She seemed very stressed out, and so did all of the others.

All the others saw the group and, like a waterfall of sound, they all began shouting things to them. Anything from demanding they get rid of the nearby watcher, to stating that this place was too unsafe. One screamed about how horrible it was before promptly fainting... or they looked like they did. They were still moving a bit so it wasn't a very convincing act.

Collapse would approach the seaponies alongside Magloria and would take their rather frantic explanations calmly. After that, her eyes blinked. "I would say for you all to calm down and continue working. We are here and we will defend you, should you need it. If anything dangerous happens, I would suggest for you to make it for the water as quickly as possible. We can handle the rest, should something go wrong." she said, trying her best to calm them down.

Then she looked to Magloria and said in a quieter tone. "Could just be Stanton lounging out there, or it could be one of the Panthin scouts. If that was the case, why haven't they started firing?" Collapse asked Magloria calmly. "What would we do if the Panthins discover this location? We can't just move the ship." she added, wondering what they could possibly do should the worst come to pass.

The seaponies nervously moved back to their workstations. They weren't entirely convinced by Collapse's speech about protection, but they did still have a job they needed to do.

Magloria shrugged at the question. "No idea. If they did find us we wouldn't be able to stop them taking the ship. We'd just have to try again in another spot, or wait until they get bored and leave it alone." she said as she rounded the side of the ship to get a better view of the jungle.

"Ah! There you are finally!" Came a shout from the trees, sounding very much like their familiar panthin. "I've tried to tell those daft fishies that I'm not here to eat them 5 times, but none of them listened! I just gave up by that point!"

Collapse followed Magloria and also peeked out, looking back towards the jungle. She sighed of relief when she realized who it was in the jungle. "Oh, it's you! We hired them to help us build the ship! I don't know if they will let you be around them though incase you wanna help!" Collapse shouted back in reply to Stanton. Then she looked back at the seaponies.

"Don't worry about him. He won't hurt you, he's with us." she said to the seaponies, trying to ease their senses further in hopes they would be more comfortable.

"So that's what they're doing crawling about on the thing you've built. They looked like they were just playing about when I saw them." Stanton shrugged as he stepped out into the sunny beach. His approach immediately unnerved the seaponies more, despite Collapse's reassurances.

"I'm not going to stay if he remains here. I don't want to risk anything happening!" A seapony said, which got several agreements from the others.

"Hey uh, how about this. If you guys are uncomfortable with him being nearby, how about one of us can go sit with him while the rest of you work?" Collapse suggested. "We don't want to have a situation to where you guys are too scared to work here, but he won't harm you, I promise." Collapse said to the seaponies and got close to Stanton, standing next to him as if to show her point.

This outcome seemed to be acceptable, but the seaponies still didn't want Stanton to approach any closer. They weren't willing to risk anything just because Collapse said it was fine.

Staton sighed and sat down, his hind legs folding out due to exasperation. Or laziness. Or both. "I guess there is not much for me to do here then. Not sure why I even bothered to come in the first place." he grumbled.

Collapse would volunteer to take 'watch' of Stanton, allowing for the others to continue the work for now. While she was with Stanton, she more or less began to tell him some various details of Equestria. Not too much details, more so the general landscapes and the races found there, as a way to pass the time while she watched them help build the ship. If they continued working, Collapse would eventually have joined the construction, allowing for Magloria or Jump Start to be with Stanton. Taking 'shifts', as they usually seemed to do.

While Collapse was busy talking with Stanton, the others including Magloria and Jump Start had returned to their work, setting planks into place, nailing them down and spraying water everywhere to keep the workers comfortable.

Stanton occasionally conversed back to Collapse, pointing out things in the jungle that were of interest. A lot of the stuff she already knew, like the mountain ranges at the edge of the place or the quicksand pools.

Some she didn't know about, such as a place that Stanton described as a glade hidden in a valley between 2 hills, populated with many beautiful flowers and trees. It was a common place for 2 budding panthins to go to and relax. It was also rather secluded in case they wanted to do more than relax.

He also deliberately stated that he hadn't been there with anyone, nor did he plan to, in case Collapse inquired.

After several shifts between the ponies (up to the point where Stanton decided to leave because he was bored and should go check on other things) and many more hours, the boat was mostly finished. They just needed a little bit more work involving the sails that they didn't have yet, and to pull the entire thing out into the waters before anchoring it.

Collapse did enjoy conversing with Stanton and would tell him about some of the other places. Like the ruins they went to among other things they have seen. She found the location Stanton told her about to be of interest. She did indeed inquire more, and the thought flickered into her mind of her, Magloria and Jump Start 'doing' more than relaxation. Though, it was mainly just her and Magloria in her imagination there. The soft blue mare amongst the flowers and pretty trees, would be a dream come true for her. Work came first, though.

When he left she would wave and tell him goodbye, in the meantime after that she'd be with the others helping with the boat and all that. Through the hours, she was most certainly glad that the ship was coming together. Getting the sails was the last part they really needed to do before anchoring it. Hopefully they would be able to do that soon.

With that in mind, she would ask the others for what they would have to do for sails. Whether the seaponies could get something like that, or if they'd have to find it on their own. If the seaponies could get materials for the sails, Collapse would say they would cover the cost for that, with their remaining shells.

Magloria pointed out that they already had a plan set for the sail where they would buy the materials from the seaponies. When this plan was discussed with the workers however, they mentioned that the remaining money they had would only be enough for a small sail.

It wouldn't be all that effective, and would make the trip a lot longer. Something that they probably could not afford waste time on, lest they get used to eating a lot of fish.

Before the seaponies collected their payment for the day, Magloria ordered them to do one more thing, throwing out ropes for each of them to tie to themselves, with the other end tied to the front of the boat.

With the kelpi channeling water to the sand around the boat and making it easier to drag, they all started to pull. It was slow going, but over time the boat moved closer and closer to the ocean. Once the seaponies could pull from the water, things got much faster, only taking a few more minutes before the ship slid into the shallows.

And with that done, the seaponies collected their pay. Jump Start hammered a chunk of wood into the sand nearby, to tie the ship to afterwards so it doesn't float away.

Collapse was a bit disappointed with the idea of a small sail but it would be something she would possibly be willing to accept over the idea of having to fend themselves off against feral Panthins or whatever else the jungle decides to throw at them. With a small smile, she'd watch them move the ship into the shallow waters, clearly proud of their achievements. It was very good that they managed to complete everything they needed to today, so it was a job well done for today.

She'd thank the seaponies and watch as they left. Honestly, she wish they could take some seaponies home with them, but they probably wouldn't fair to well on the ship or the journey back. The seaponies were just so helpful and friendly to her, they were amazing, weren't they? Oh well. At least she hugged a few of them previously. When the seaponies were gone, Collapse turned to Magloria and Jump Start and said, "Job well done. Hopefully we'll be outta here soon." she said.

After the seaponies had all scattered to the waves, Magloria replied. "We do have a little bit of time before we can set up our sail, so I'd like to make sure that we gather enough cash before we do. Would we have anything that we could sell back to them that they could use?" she asked.

At that prompt, Jump Start began to search her bags, shuffling around the things inside. "We do have a few things like tools, but I don't know how much they would go for." she paused, "There is also that prismal stone if we *reeeally* need to..."

"What if we sell off some of the tools we don't need, I could probably give them those. I have duplicates of tools, perhaps that would cover the cost." she said to them and looked to Jump Start. "I would prefer we keep the Prismal Stone, unless if we have no other options." she spoke calmly and also shuffled through her bags and looked.

Magloria slowly rubbed her chin with a hoof as she thought about what they could get rid of. "Another thing we could do instead of selling what we have, is produce more." she suggested.

Jump Start nodded. "Oh yeah! I bet some of them would really appreciate some of the foods that grow up here. None of them would've tasted these fruits before."

"And I might be able to create some intricate crystal... things that they could use. Not many, of course." Magloria added.

“Could very well do that. Why don’t we return to the cave and see what things we could create or gather for them?” Collapse suggests curiously, wondering what Magloria has in mind for crystal things.

“We can also collect fruits for them too along the way.” Collapse also added in agreement with Jump Start.

On the way back to their cave they collected what they thought would be useful to the seaponies. When they weren't busy with something else, Magloria has her focus on a bubble of water that she had collected, and was slowly shaping it into an object.

They got back to the cave without issues. The cave somehow looked even more miserable than the first time they entered. Barely worth it compared to their previous place.

When they were arrived back at the cave, Collapse had her saddlebags full of fresh fruits from the trees, and she looked over to Magloria as they went and watched what she was creating there. She didn't ask yet though, and allowed her to focus. When they returned to the cave, Collapse shined her horn into it to make sure there weren't any dangerous predators within the place.

There was nothing inside the cave except the rocks, the unsafe to drink pool of water and a small amount of yellow, orange and light blue hairs in a corner.

Jump Start looked around the cave a bit, searching for if she missed something. "Um, why did we come back here again?" she pondered aloud.

"Because there was no reason to sit on the beach when we could be doing things. That and we can offload anything we don't want to lug around should we go searching for more." Magloria replied, adding the finishing touches to an ornate handle of a crystal knife. It looked razor sharp, something you wouldn't want to drop on your forelegs.

Jump Start suddenly thought of something. "Wait a minute, didn't we get some stuff from the ruins we've visited?"

"Yes we did. I got some of the holding pieces to the prismal stone, if I remember correctly but I would rather we keep that for ourselves." Collapse spoke as they entered into the cave and she sat down in the corner where they were before and looked to Magloria's new crystal knife. "That looks really nice, I am sure they would appreciate it." Collapse spoke to Magloria, smiling in approval.

Jump Start checked through a few of their bags again. "No, not those. I'm sure we had some other things as well. Ah! Here we are!" she said as she pulled out 2 things. The crystal eye, and the marble filled with strange liquid.

Magloria shrugged, flipping the knife around casually as if it wasn't a dangerous tool. "Yeah well, it is still just a knife. Maybe we could convince them it's something better and sell it to some dumb noble."

"We could give them the eye and the marble if what else we have is not enough for them, perhaps. I'd only give that to them in that case." she spoke calmly, looking to the marble and the eye. Collapse forgot those two items existed ~~as well as I~~.

"So that's everything we have to offer then?" Magloria asked. "The eye, the marble, some tools and whatever food we find and trinkets I make."

She gave out a sigh. "This might be enough, but that relies on how valuable they find terrestrial artifacts to be. We'd just have to wait until tomorrow to see."

After a good old timeskip occurs, the group arrived at the beach, while Collapse kept an eye out for anything suspicious. Collapse smiles to Magloria as they saw the newly constructed boat at the shoreline. "Well, time to see if what we have is enough for the sails." she spoke, about to walk up to the seaponies to give them the various items they have set out to give them.

There didn't seem to be anything suspicious looking, at first. The seapony traders (which they had totally requested beforehand) were found sitting around in the shallow waters, heads poking out of the waves as they waited for the group to approach.

When they noticed each other, some of the seaponies moved up to the dryer sands, waiting to see what rare and exotic land treasures the ponies had to offer them.

Collapse took out the fruits and the various items they wanted to trade to the seaponies, such as the eye and the tiny marble. Collapse would watch their reactions, hoping that what they have is enough to cover for the sails that they needed.

One by one each of the items was inspected and taken into consideration. The tools had reactions that one would expect. They'd be worth something, but not much. If anything they may just be melted down for the metal instead.

When pressed by Jump Start, they said that they did indeed have a place for melting metal. They're not exclusively aquatic after all.

The fruits were a bit better. Exclusive food, but still just food. Could be worth a pretty piece.

The marble was next. They didn't really know what to think about it, given it looked like a marble and had an unknown liquid inside it. It might've gathered more interest if the ponies knew what it did, but they didn't, so the seaponies didn't want to gamble on it.

The crystal knife, and a newly created figurine that Magloria had worked on on the trip here were considered quite valuable. None of the seaponies were capable of crystalizing water without it melting again, so these would be exclusive items that a collector would enjoy.

And finally the crystal eye gained the most interest. Made out of proper gemstone and with magic-sensing powers to boot? An extremely valuable thing that may have many possibilities. Someone would definitely buy that for a good amount.
]
Collapse told them that they were willing to part with all of these items in exchange for them getting the sails that they needed. After that, it seemed like they had everything they needed ready to go in order to sail back home. At the very least when they get back, Collapse can give a detailed report about the crystal eye they saw and perhaps someone back home can tell them what it might have been used for. If it meant getting out of here, she was willing to part with it.

That is, if the other items were enough to cover the cost without the eye being needed for the sails. Whichever way, Collapse would accept the response and hope they can find something used to create the sails of the ship with. Collapse was more than ready to finally leave this place, and go somewhere else. Home.

After a bit of talking back and forth about offerings and the things they needed, they finally came to an agreement. All of this stuff and the money they had would be able to pay for what they need, which would be delivered to them as soon as they can find someone to put in the request.

It would even be done quickly as well, at a slightly increased cost from the extra labor needed. One that Magloria was happy to pay. It should be ready by the afternoon, which would give them enough time to set it up before sunset.

Collapse agreed with this and happily handed the various items over to them. She was glad they were able to come to an agreement and when they would leave to go off and get the sails, Collapse would get on the ship and look over the interior to make sure it all seemed fine.

With the seaponies gone, Magloria and Jump Start decided to head back into the jungle in search of more food, as they would need it when they set sail.

Collapse had to wade through a bit of water (or levitate over) to reach the ship, but once she was on she found it keeping together rather nicely. It was a bit barren compared to what they were used to, but still fine.

At some point Stanton was heard arriving at the beach, shouting out in case anyone was here.

Collapse was pleased with what she saw inside of the ship. While it may lack amenities, that was the last thing on her mind at the moment. It was A to B transport after all. At least they wouldn't crammed in the small walls of the boat like sardines - wait, Collapse would probably like that, wouldn't she? Her pondering to her own thoughts was interrupted by hearing Stanton's shouts outside the ship.

Then she'd get outside of the ship and back onto the beach after a brief swim through the water. While she could have levitated over the water, she wanted to take a quick dip for the sake of it. She'd wave to Stanton with a smile on her face, and when she went up to him she'd tell him they were going to be leaving soon once they finished the sails.

Stanton nodded at the information he was given. "So this is finally something I can help you with, instead of never being in the right place at the right time? Great! Though I feel like I should warn you about Carocol. They're done with the immediate search around its location and now they're moving on to everywhere else. You won't have much time before they decide to try the beach."

Moving over to the waves lapping at the wet sand, he put a paw down before retracting it as a wave washed over it. "But this... I'm going to regret this part. My fur is going to be all ruined once I'm on board." he groaned.

"Well, we better be quick here then. I don't want to have to fight them off, but this is one of the things I would be more than willing to fight with. I hope you understand that." she spoke and watched as his paw got wet there. "It's your choice to come with us or stay, I'm not going to make you choose." she said calmly, smiling slightly.

Stanton sighed. "I wouldn't even be here if I didn't want to go. In fact, if I didn't want to see new things you would be back in cages under constant watch. Back at the compound I saw you breaking free ages before I revealed myself. You would've been surrounded before you even got your stuff back." he stated.

Bending down in a pouncing stance, he mentally prepared himself for what he was about to do, then suddenly leapt forward into the water. When he surfaced, the discomfort he was experiencing was obvious to see.

"Oh this is more horrible than I thought it would be!" he complained as he swam over towards the ship.

It was strange though. The sun was already past midday and yet there was no sign of the seaponies yet.

Chapter 80

Collapse would help him up onto the ship and look to him calmly. "Look, whatever happens - I just want you to know that we don't want to hurt any of your kind and we just want to get out of here. But if we will have to defend ourselves, we will. We've spent too much to simply give up and let ourselves be auctioned or whatever it is they wanted to do." she spoke calmly, starting to get worried about the Seaponies.

Stanton didn't really need help, given he had claws to help climb up the wood and actually exercised, unlike wimpy little unicorns. Despite this, he gave her thanks anyway. "Sure." was all that he said in reply.

Eventually the seaponies arrived to the shore, bringing along with them what looked like a chest, likely containing the sails so that they didn't get damaged during the trip.

Collapse told Stanton to not go near the seaponies since she didn’t want him go scare them off like before. When the seaponies arrived, Collapse would begin helping with the sails. She wondered what Magloria and Jump Start were doing, probably still gathering up the food for the trip.

With a shrug, Stanton decided to move down to the lower deck of the ship. Might as well explore down there if he wasn't supposed to be seen at the moment.

With a bit of effort in hoisting the supplies up to the top of the ship, the seaponies and Collapse managed to drag the chest on board. Inside was a large while sail, sowed together from a massive amount of fabric stuff, silky to the touch just like what the seaponies said before.

And to think this came from creatures big enough to supply this much. What did they even have, giant sea spiders?

After the delivery, the seaponies simply left as their job was done. But it was beginning to become sunset, and neither Magloria nor Jump Start had returned yet. Surely it wouldn't take this long just to collect some coconuts for the trip?

Collapse would thank the seaponies as they left, looking over the large chest they they had now. Whatever this came from, she didn't know what kind of animal. She didn't know of anything in the sea that could make this much fabric. Nothing short of spectacular.

After a bit of time looking at the chest and checking over the boat, she would realize that Magloria and Jump Start had not come back. Yes. Of course something had to go wrong at the last possible second. The Panthins probably captured them, that was what she was thinking. With this realization, she'd head to where Stanton was.

"The others haven't come back. What is the chance that they were captured by the other Panthins, and where would they take them, most likely?" she asked. "If they did capture them, I don't want to get captured too, so we'll have to go and find them and release them covertly." she sighed.

Stanton sat down on the lower deck floor. "If they got captured they would likely be brought back to where you were kept before." He said, then thought over something as he licked a paw to clean himself of the seawater. "But then again, they might be moved elsewhere, somewhere more secure after your jailbreak."

A sudden whizzing sound before a thunk against wood was heard from outside. Something hit the boat.

Collapse gritted her teeth. "Looks like they found us. You won't be able to hide your involvement if they see you." she made a break for the top deck of the boat. She had her fly ring, after all. And as she made for the top deck, her fly ring summoned itself. She could simply fly away and not fight them, when she would clearly be outmatched. Part of her didn't know if she would be able to hold back during a fight, because of how these Panthins proved to be an obstacle to them.

"They're going to see me anyway when they search this." Stanton replied as he moved up to the top of the ship as well, to see what was going on.

And when Collapse saw the beach and jungle beyond, she knew why a bolt had struck the side of the ship.

The panthins weren't aiming for the boat, they were aiming at Magloria and Jump Start who were busy making a break for it across the sands. Judging from their appearance, they had been dealing with the panthins for a while. They both had several scrapes and both looked tired from running, and in Magloria's case, casting if the magic surrounding her horn was any indication.

Behind them was a full tracking group, armed with everything they had previously seen. Nets, crossbows, bolas, and wearing leather, both studded and non.

Collapse saw exactly what she was afraid of and she wasn’t having any of that. Seeing all that, she wouldn’t take less than a second to jump off the deck of the side facing the water, and levitating down lower to the water and using her fly ring to fly her out towards the ocean. Her actions were quick, using the Panthin’s distraction of Magloria and Jump Start to her advantage.

Using the boat as cover, the Panthins would have a harder time shooting at her. Her fly ring propelled her out over the ocean, directly away from the shore. Her plan was to keep going out over the water, and then circle back to shore a good distance away. She did this action both because it would make it harder for them to shoot at her because she was directly receding away, as well as the fact that the Panthins may be unlikely to swim all the way out there to begin with due to their aversion against water, if they had been able to shoot at her.

Conversely, this would bring the downside that Collapse would have to go through the jungle alone and find Magloria and Jump Start herself. She knew that they were worth more alive than dead, so they were unlikely to go far enough as to kill off Magloria and Jump Start.

While Collapse was circling around across the ocean, she could see how things were continuing to unfold. Magloria and Jump Start were attempting to board the ship, with Magloria drawing water and forming an ice wall behind them, making sure she wasn't interrupted when she started casting her next spell. For whatever reason she was creating a small ice dome.

The panthins, now unable to hit them with their crossbows, decided to speed up in an attempt to flank around the wall and get them that way.

Some of the panthins saw Collapse and alerted the others, but none of them were able to stop her from flying around. However this didn't prevent a couple from breaking off from the main group to intercept her on her way to solid ground.

Collapse sped up over the water, she was low enough to the water to form a bit of a wake in the water due to the anti-gravitational field generating a bubble around her, as her telekinetic magic formed a bridge between the two magics. It was how she controlled it so precisely, after all. She knew that Magloria and Jump Start were boarding the boat, perhaps they might sail off, which would be for the best.

As Collapse sped over the water, she was receding towards the horizon from the watching Panthins. Her goal being - to go beyond their view of the horizon, and then turn around to fly over the land and circle back to where the combat was taking place. Of course she wasn't just going to abandon them. Her speed increased slightly as various memories rolled through her mind.

One of those memories being the time she was in a situation to where she dealt with those pirates in Luna bay who interrupted her travels. That was a good year before her current commission. Those pirates were one of the prominent groups out in the Luna bay area, an area that has been notoriously ridden with Pirates for as long as she can remember. She dealt with them by summoning in her fly ring rapidly, and using their confusion to make it easier to just fly off and not deal with them. This was different, though.

Collapse kept speeding over the water. When she reached a certain point where she was unable to see the land behind her, her telekinetic control over the fly ring changed slightly, and she glided upward at a somewhat of a steep angle. It was more graceful than one can think, without the G forces that come with 'regular' flight. That was the perks of an anti-gravitational spell.

Her fly ring was designed for long distance travel. On the level where it would be analogous to the wings of Pegasi, with the main drawback being how expensive it is to craft such a device. Creating another is incredibly complex and expensive, which is why you didn't usually see these around anyway. She climbed higher and higher into the air, at the level of the clouds now, as she circled back towards the shore. As she did so, her speed picked up.

As her speed picks up, within her mind she began a trickle of magical energy for later purposes. The trickle was slow, but it was a bit of a way's back to shore, so it would gradually add up by the time she was directly over the area the ship was, looking down on it from cloud level.

Thanks to the enormous amount of time that Collapse spent flying about (from the perspective of combat and running, at least, where everything happens quite quickly), by the time that she had circled back around to where the ship was, she could see that it had moved further into the ocean.

Several black, grey and brown dots could be seen at the edge of the beach, so it looked as though the panthins had no means of going after the ship.

She couldn't make out anything on the top deck of the ship though. The others must be below deck, if they are even on board at all.

Collapse reached an apex in height directly over the scene and then would begin to glide downward toward the beach. As this happened, she allowed herself to pick up speed as she descended. As she descended, she would allow gravity to pull her down to the ground. For a bit, she was free to charge up her mama pool to a bit greater of an extent as she was not actively going against gravity at the moment.

Collapse sailed downward, her eyes scanning the situation down below. It didn’t seem like the Panthins were able to board the ship. Either the ship had somehow come loose or Magloria and Jump Start had set sail. For now, she was going to fight the Panthins down below. Not only would she be getting the drop on them, she was far more prepared than she was before in their previous encounters.

As she descends, the magic around her began to crackle with energy, evidently showing a large amount of magical buildup. As she descended at a rather brisk pace, she controlled her speed so she wouldn’t be going too fast, nor do slow. When she was inevitably close to the ground, she would first summon in the chair that she had been sitting on earlier - and attempt to slam one of the Panthins into it as she pulled up from above - coming in like a meteor as she pulled herself back higher into the air, before swooping back down. At such a rate, if she had managed to hit that Panthin with the chair it is likely they wouldn’t be having a nice day after that.

By that time, she was surrounded by a large glowing yellow mass that crackled and frothed with energy, if the sand starting to orbit around her was any indication, what was surrounding her was clearly bending gravity around her. Evidently on her ‘first pass’ her anti-gravitational field had managed to pick up some of the sand she managed to come close to. This was likely an intentional act.

Collapse was done playing around.

With the sound of roaring winds and crackling magical energy that Collapse was giving off, added onto the fact that it was broad daylight and the panthins were no longer distracted by a chase, it was very easy for all of them to spot her coming down at them like a territorial magpie at a cyclist.

They scattered to the winds, most of them rushing to the safety of the jungle while a few stayed back, crossbows raised. Several shots were made at her as she descended, but none were close enough to strike her.

When that didn't stop her, they each attempted to dive out of the way of her impending attack. Only one was struck, the sound of a chair breaking and a loud scream of pain from the immense force applied.

She could've sworn she heard some bones breaking and, upon looking back down at them when she reached the apex of her flight back up, she could see just 3 panthins still on the beach, 2 assisting another one that couldn't walk properly.

Looking over the scene, she was pleased with what the results. While in almost any other situation she would have preferred to sort things out and not fight - this was something that was needed to be done in her eyes. She took notice of the two Panthins assisting the other one down below. An idea crossed her mind. She didn't know for sure if Magloria and Jump Start were still on the ship. Maybe they were dragged off by the Panthins and the whole situation caused the ship to be dislodged? She needed away to find out exactly what had happened.

The sand whirled around her, collecting in an almost torus like shape around her rapidly. There was a fair amount of sand within that shape - and it would soon all suddenly dislodge and shoot off towards the other Panthins. It wasn't intended to attack the Panthins in the Jungle, as well as the others who remained with their crossbows aimed at the ready. It was a distraction.

As the sand shot throughout the air, it would obscure the view of the situation from the other Panthins. The only ones who were exempt from this were the three remaining ones still on the beach. Using that to her advantage, Collapse would quickly grab one of the 2 Panthins that remained on the beach. This may be enough to dislodge any weapons or gear on the Panthin, who would have felt a harsh jolt as were taken high into the air over the water. Her crystal spear aimed at the Panthin's throat.

"You are going to tell me where the other two of my kind are this instant. Refusal to comply will mean great consequences for you. I suggest you *speak quickly.*" she ordered. The moderate pressure of the spear against the Panthin's throat was a clear indication they should probably comply.

By the time the others down below had seen how high Collapse went over the ocean with the Panthin, she was already out of range as she was still ascending into the air.

Given how all the other panthins had retreated to the jungle, the sand screen may not have achieved as much as she hoped, especially given how it was pretty obvious where she was regardless.

Then injured panthin and its two supports were almost the the jungle trees when Collapse snatched one up, the one that was grabbed yelping out in pain from the sudden whiplash they experienced.

Once they had come back to their senses and saw that they were hundreds of meters above the ground, their eyes focused on the blade currently pointed at their throat, and the one holding it.

"They got away! Now put me back on the ground you crazy buffoon!" she shouted back, showing clear restraint against flailing her claws in panic.

It's a good thing she didn't accidentally pick up one with less restraint, because those claws looked really sharp and their reflexes were fast. She could've been dead before she realized.

"They got away where? The ship?" Collapse asked, holding the Panthin a bit further away from her incase they got any bright ideas, she realized that it could have been quite bad for her, but that wasn't on her mind at the moment - the only thing was, getting away from these Panthins.

"Just tell me where they went and I'll put you back, alright? We didn't want any of this to happen with you. All we wanted was to get away, but of course, you all just had to make it difficult for us." Collapse snorted.

Collapse then started to move off further across the land. She wanted to find a place to put this Panthin to where the others wouldn't have a chance at attacking her. She still wanted to press this Panthin further, to make sure that her friends did indeed get on the ship and not run off to the Jungle somewhere.

"I don't know what a ship is! They escaped on that floating wooden thing out on the water. We had no way to chase after them!" they replied, slowly growing more panicky and irritated at the questions the longer they were kept up in the air.

"That's exactly what a ship is, thank you for being so honest with me. Now I want you to know this, and I want you to carry this moment for the **rest of your life** - There is more to life, than this jungle you find yourselves in day by day. There are more sights, vistas, and avenues to seek - they will only be seen if one has the** will **to reach them. You would do well to tell the others, of what I said to you - perhaps one day, you will see the shores of which I came." she spoke, and would swoop down to the ground to deliver the Panthin to the ground, safely, a way's away from where the others were. When she would drop the Panthin off, the Panthin was lightly kicked back by the anti-gravitational force, as she flew back up into the sky, aiming to land on the deck of the ship they built.

The moment that the panthin's paws touched the ground they immediately sprinted away towards the jungle, uncaring towards the gravitational anomaly or how Collapse might've reacted to their departure.

Collapse was just some crazy flying thing that kidnapped and interrogated them hundreds of meters above the ground, after all.

On the way back to the ship, Collapse saw only Stanton on the top deck, busy looking around the ocean and the skies.

Collapse landed on the ship graciously. Her fly ring gradually slowed and stopped with a metallic *click* - and then it vanished in a gold flash. She smirked to Stanton. "Took care of that, we'll talk later. For now, I want to surprise the others. Stay here." she said, with an almost childish grin and walked quietly back down to the deck, seemingly sneaking down into the lower deck.

She would sneak along the walls and doorways, in an attempt to sneak up behind Magloria and Jump Start. If she was successful, she would suddenly jump out behind them and shout, "Boo!"

The loud sound of Collapse's hooves touching down on the deck alerted her to his presence. He looked surprised. "Collapse, but I thought that-" he began to say, but was interrupted by what Collapse said.

He didn't know why she wanted to surprise the others, but given the current situation he didn't follow her down below. He was going to be quite happy staying up here for the next hour or two.

Below deck she found Jump Start sitting next to Magloria, who was currently lying down on the floor. Collapse was unable to see why she was resting like that, that is until her shout of surprise startled Jump Start into moving away, fully revealing the light blue mare.

Turns out they hadn't escaped from the panthins unscathed, if the long strip of bandages wrapped around Magloria's middle was of any indication. They were pretty red too, so this wasn't just for some small cut.

Magloria seemed a bit out of it, as seen with her unfocused eyes. But when Collapse revealed herself, they quickly refocused onto her and her interruption.

A scowl formed across Magloria's face. "And where were you?" she began, nice and calmly, but that simple question was laced with accusation.

Collapse's eyes settled onto Magloria's long strip of bandages there for a moment and then looked back into her eyes and would answer without hesitation.

"When they had attacked, I wanted to perform something that they wouldn't expect. I was concerned that they would have brought more firepower than what actually happened, and that they would have dragged the three of us away. If they did, we would all have to escape yet again and deal with that unsavory nonsense. I went beyond the horizon and circled back around, and got the drop on them, so to speak. In order to figure out what had happened, I took one of them hundreds of meters up in the air and interrogated them." she spoke, in a matter of fact manner.

"If the two of you had been captured it was my plan to set you free if that had been the case. In my combat against the Panthins, I utilized my Fly Ring. In our previous situations with the Panthins, I did not use it because I didn't want to reveal my full extent of my ability because they would have known what to expect when they'd inevitably hunt us down. Also, if I had used it in combat in Carocal, it would have also been possible for there to be structural damage to the buildings around. In places such as the ruins, I did not use it due to enclosed spaces." she added.

"I do apologize if my plan was any trouble, though." she said, with a slight head bow.

Magloria seemed displeased with what she just heard. Letting out a pained grunt, she turned to directly face Collapse.

"So let me get this perfectly straight. You knew we were coming. You knew that we were under attack, and you had the means to help us, yet what you decided to do took so much time that I had already created a way to board the ship without getting shot and captured, got myself clawed at in the process of doing so, and nearly bled out by the time we cut the ship loose?"

A brief lapse of concentration overtook her, due to the blood loss. She shook her head vigorously, trying to refocus her disappointment back onto Collapse.

"And then you assumed that we were already taken by the panthins, so you decided to go after them instead of checking the ship which you would've known we were on had you not been... what were you even doing? Trying to fly around the world to get them from behind?" she huffed. Her scowl deepened before she spoke the next part.

"We were even planning on turning this ship back to the island to search for you despite the incredible danger! When we boarded the ship and Stanton told us how you flew away, we thought you had gone off to hide somewhere else!" she finally snapped as her emotions grew too strong for her usual restraint.

"What, you think I would go hide somewhere in the ocean...?" her ears folded back, but despite that, she maintained eye contact throughout Magloria's shouts. A shuddering sigh escaped her mouth as she thought about a way to possibly make this better. There was one idea she had.

She summoned her fly ring and with her front hoof, she slowly pushed it closer to Magloria. "I accept that I was wrong and improper to do what I did - and so I give you this as an apology. I will teach you how to use it, if you wish. If not, you can take it and sell it, it'd give you more than what I am worth anyway." she said. Contrary to what some of the situations were before where Collapse was 'put in her place', she didn't shake like a scared filly this time.

Magloria looked down at the personal item that was being offered to her. Her anger faded somewhat, but even though the edge was lost, a lot of it was still there.

Letting out a sigh, she calmly spoke again. "You are better off keeping that. I'd much rather you fully accept what you've done and learn from it so it doesn't *ever* happen again, instead of apologizing afterwards."

She nudged the fly ring back towards Collapse. "Because if it happens again, I might not be here to tell you that."

Collapse shakily placed her hoof onto the ring as for a little while she just looked into Magloria's eyes, as if pondering what to say. "I understand." she spoke to her, and the ring vanished in a yellow flash. "I-I really am sorry, if there's anything else I can do to make up for it, just tell me, and I'll do it." she gulped.

"Just make sure that the ship doesn't get attacked in case the panthins somehow reach us. I need a bit of time to rest before I can start plotting our course to- hopefully, -the direction of Equestria." Magloria said, resting herself roughly back down on the ground. That scolding she gave probably took more out of her than expected.

"We should go." Jump Start said as she began to move towards the stairway back up to the top deck.

Collapse looked to Magloria and then Jump Start, then silently agreed. She'd proceed up the stairs to the top deck, and Jump Start could probably tell that she was still a bit upset about the situation but didn't say anything about it.

Up top, Stanton had been waiting for them. "You know, I expected a lot more yelling to have happened down there. You got lucky." he stated. Jump Start gave him a look, and in response he turned away, knowing that his words weren't appropriate right now.

"Do you need to talk about it?" Jump Start offered, looking concerned for Collapse.

Collapse looked to Jump Start. "I still wasn't going to risk the idea of us three getting captured and put somewhere where we'd have to escape all over again. Thats why I did what I did, and the surprise of those Panthins on the beach was evident, but in doing so, I didn't consider that the two of you would be hurt without me being there." her eyes shut tightly. "If either of you two had gotten taken out because of my mistake, I would never forgive myself for such a thing." she said, firmly, shaking her head in disappointment.

Jump Start sighed and wrapped a hoof around Collapse's back and shoulder. "It's alright, we still managed to get out alive. And maybe in a few weeks we'll be able to get back to where we're supposed to be." she said, pointing out across the horizon.

Collapse would gently lean into Jump Start softly. "Indeed, indeed. I wonder what the ones back home will think of all this - we've seen so much, our mission is not exactly a failure...as we did explore quite a lot, however, the loss and conflict along the way...is another matter as well." she said, looking out to the horizon.

Jump Start leaned back, looking out at the horizon as well as the sun slowly lowered, casting its light for the final time and making way for the night.

"We'll have to make a memorial for everyone else when we get back home... if they haven't already done so. Some day they'll send out another ship and they will be able to avoid the same problems that started all of this, so we at least did something right." Jump Start said.

"One day, when another ship is sent out, perhaps they'll be able to correct relations with the Panthins here, but I think the Panthins are just in general not open to outsiders. No doubt our interaction here, will be remembered. A more equipped force of ponies here, would be less of an easy target for them." Collapse stated. "Really, the most interesting bit about this whole thing to me was those underground Mushroom forests and those Seapony settlements of Descent and Pearlth." she mentioned.

"Maybe we can introduce these seaponies to more of us instead. It would be interesting to see what they think of Equestria's closest seapony neighbors, or... something." Jump Start shrugged, not sure what else to say, so instead chose to just watch the sun go down.

Like that, they sailed off into the sunset...

Chapter 1

A sudden jolt disturbed Collapse from her slumber. She knew that it was just another big wave hitting the boat, just like the other dozen times she was woken up like this. Boats has their perks, she knew that much. Having a paying job for one, especially when it was similar to what she loved doing.

The ocean interrupting her sleep however was not one of these perks. It made her feel like yelling at the ocean just to get it to stop was a brilliant idea, even though she knew it was not.

Well, she was awake now, better make good use of it. She'd need to help keep the ship in top performance if they were to make it to uncharted lands after all. Very different from their usual routes. More dangerous too. Anything could be out there. Both the bad and the amazing.

Collapse awakens, feeling like a bolt of lightning had just went through her with how sudden the jolt was. Quite honestly it scared her like all the other times. With a quiet sigh she opened her eyes and stretched, feeling her legs under the covers of the sheets. Part of her wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew that wouldn't have been a good idea. Collapse slowly exited the bed and haphazardly made the covers.

After exiting her small quarters that were within the captain's personal area of the ship it reminded her that the captain had allowed her to have her space here. Collapse would proceed to grab her small tool bag, and her other materials for her tasks.

Walking down to the engine room Collapse proceed to give the Mana-Drive a scan with one of her devices to make sure it was in working order, among other various checks to make sure it was operating how it should and that nothing was going wrong. She also would check the other machinery in the engine room to make sure that was in working order as well.

Various crew members greeted her casually along her path as they walked to their intended destinations, not even staying to chat. It's for the best though, everyone here has work to do, so chatting is usually reserved for when you're busy or having a break.

Within the engine room, her scans of the drive showed the usual minor signs of maintenance to be done. Energy reserves recharge, loosened pipes or screws for part of the engine, jostled by the constant ocean waves. Day to day stuff that is easily fixed. The ship's boiler seemed in fine working order.

The large metal machine was built to be extra sturdy, barely needing maintenance at all. Still, checking it is important. Showers are a vital part of living after all. Everything else seems in fine order as well. Only a few... some... half of the parts and tools she keeps around the place were scattered about. Damn ocean waves. Why were the boxes not nailed down anyway? There was a knock at the door. Probably one of the other workers with her morning meal. Going to the dining hall was a hassle when her workplace was on the other end of the ship.

Collapse casually greeted the members of the crew back. While she loved to talk, work always came first. Upon her inspections of the engine room she would begin by tightening up the loosened screws first with her screwdriver. Next came the tightening of the pipes with the clamps.

After she tightened the screws and the pipes she would perform a secondary check to make sure that they were tightened and that she didn't miss anything. She didn't, which was great. Checking the boiler, it seemed to be fine. But not that she wouldn't double check. While double checking seemingly mundane tasks would take more time, it was for the best.

After all, eyes and ears are only so accurate once. After checking and making sure that everything was in working order she had fixed some minor things here and there which took a little while she would look over to the boxes. "I really should have fixed that. Well, they say now is the best time. Present is a gift...that's why its the present..." she muttered quietly under her breathe as her golden magical aura enveloped the tools and began to organize them back into the boxes.

A few minutes of organizing later, she would locate some straps and strapped the boxes to the wall so they wouldn't spill out over the floor next time. It amazed Collapse she missed that. Collapse had labeled the boxes so that other workers knew where specific tools were. Oh well, its fixed now. Upon hearing the knock in the door Collapse's golden aura would wrap around the knob and open the door for the worker. "Come in." she says with a little bit of a sing-song cheerful manner.

As soon as she opened the door she saw not one of the workers, but Captain Magloria. She didn't usually come down here. Her work was up on the top of the ship, maintaining the ship's course or charting the waters. As soon as Collapse spoke, Magloria let out a sigh.

"Collapse, once again you left this behind." she said, bringing forth what appears to be a dull looking lantern in her telekinetic hold. "I know you can see just fine with your magic, but the ship has protocols for a reason. This is for your own safety." she added.

Magloria has insisted that she keep a separate light source with her whenever she went into engineering. Something about if the mana links to all the lights went out and she was too distracted to use her own magic? Seemed too situational to be worth the trouble. During the conversation, one of the workers arrived and patiently waited outside, a tray of steaming something on his back. He knew not to enter when there was something more important happening, especially when it concerned the captain.

Collapse straightened up upon seeing Magloria. She stood up straight and looked her dead in the eye as she spoke, listening. Collapse didn't make a sound. Perhaps that was a little over the top there but Collapse wanted Magloria to know that she understood and would obey what she was saying. She looks to the lantern and gently grabbed it with her telekinetic field. "My apologies." Collapse states with an apologetic bow.

More akin to a butler if anything. "I was awoke suddenly by a large wave so I didn't have time to grab it, so I went here to make sure everything was up to snuff. Next time, I'll put it closer to my bed so I see it when I wake up. Thank you for informing me of this." Collapse said with an almost nervous, yet sweet grin.

Magloria was a mysterious sort in Collapse's eyes. It both made her nervous, yet also had an enticing element to it. It was very interesting, for Collapse. Collapse glanced over at the worker with the steaming tray on his back. She was getting hungry by the second at the mere sight of that.

Magloria didn't seem to lessen her stance, based on Collapse's reaction. She's seen others do the same thing in order to try and let something slip by. "See to it that you remember, or I'm going to have to start dishing out punishments for it. Don't forget to ask the others if you've forgotten something, newbie." she huffed as she turned away, walking straight past the worker without even a glance.

"Your uhh... breakfast." the worker offered, setting the tray down on a bench before turning to leave as well. Breakfast looked like a bowl of cinnamon oatmeal. It was the same thing as yesterday, but at least it was hot. The mornings can be quite cold at times.

Deep down that stuck a bolt in Collapse's heart, she knew that Magloria was formal but that seemed a little harsh in her eyes. She was a little hurt by that but knew that she herself forgot what was important so she only had herself to blame. She sighed after the worker left and did a small nod in thankfulness. Unlike the other times, Collapse didn't speak back to the worker. So whatever happened between her and Magloria soured Collapse's mood.

Collapse looks down at the bowl and lifts it in her magic. She wasn't going to risk carrying it anywhere in the hallways, not when there lay the possibility of other waves hitting the boat. Would only spell more trouble. She was a bit saddened by the fact that she was alone here.

Other times she would have ate here with others, or even up in the mess hall. But this time, she felt it fitting that she would sit alone and eat her oatmeal. It was hot, which was a silver lining this situation at hoof. Collapse sat down and used one of the empty boxes as her table for the oatmeal. She would savor the taste and eat in silence.

Chapter 6

"You may be right about that." Jump Start said, her ears flicking towards the sounds ahead. "Whatever it is, it sounds like there is a lot of water moving about. It could also be a waterfall maybe? Or a faster part of the river?" she pondered. At the mention of finding something, Jump Start grew nervous. "Uh... now that you mention it, I'd rather not find something at the moment, or rather it finds us." she said. Her golden eyes now searching the darkness on occasion, just in case something was watching them.

Soon they got close enough to the source of the noise to see it. A massive waterfall of water leaking down from the roof, filling up an absolutely massive lake below it. The only reason why they could see it at such a distance was the overabundance of glowing plantlike hanging from the rocks above, from the other side of the lake, and the schools of glowing fish in the waters below. Judging from the fish, the pool seemed to be at least 100 meters deep. The sheer volume of water seemed to be endless. "Look! Over there! What's what?" Jump Start pointed, shifting her catfish lamp to shine light at what she saw. Strangely enough, there were several chunks of what appeared to be a crystal of sorts floating around the lake.

When they end up at the source of the noise Collapse had stopped at the shores of a lake and looked up at the massive waterfall with an awed expression. "Wow that is...really something, isn't it?" she asked Jump Start and looks down into the pool of water seeing how many fish were down there. She looks to the crystals floating in the lake. "Well, crystals don't usually float...do they? They could very well not be crystals but some sort of plant maybe? I don't know, but crystals aren't supposed to be floating..." if she is able to she would try to reach her telekinetic field to go and grab one of them from the distance they are at.

"Whatever this place is, it is quite pretty!" Collapse smiled, overlooking the plants and the various details. She didn't expect to find something like this. "As beautiful as this is...we should probably go look for the others." she stated.

From her observations of the waterfall, it seemed to be where they came from, for certain. The amount of water that was leaking down from above was enough to put every land waterfall to shame. Her observations of the fish below, she could see an enormous variety. Every cooler of the rainbow was down there, giving off an extraordinary display. Then there were the fish themselves. The usual ones with fins, eels, octopi, she even saw something that might've been a shark warning off another fish with a pulse of light

. It must've been a trick of the reflective waters, but from closer observation the crystals weren't floating in the air, rather they were floating on the water itself. "I don't really know if crystals float or not. I'm not exactly a geologist... or a herbologist for that matter." Jump Start mentioned while Collapse tried to grasp one of the crystals. She successfully manage to hold onto one, and slowly drag it across the water towards the shallows. Jump Start nodded. "I agree we should search for the others, but... this is an amazing discovery anyway! If we ever get back to our home, what a story it would be to tell!" she said as while she watched the crystal. "When you're done playing with your pretty rocks, of course."

Collapse grabs the crystal and overlooks it. There were so many amazing things in this environment she felt no idea what to look at for long. After overlooking the crystal she looks back and forth between the massive waterfall and the lake itself. "Well, if that waterfall is any indications we may have been washed down that waterfall but how would we survive that? That wouldn't make sense to me..." Collapse mutters as she stares into the crystal. "From what I know crystals don't float, at least...I think." Collapse smirks to Jump Start.

"This really is an amazing discovery! But we should go look for the others. We can always come back and look at this, and don't you think it would be better to admire this with the company of the others?" Collapse turns away, but she really didn't want to because of how beautiful this area was. But her new mission was to find the others, and it outweighed this beautiful landscape. "Let's head back to where we came and look around for the others." Collapse's aura brightens a bit.

The moment Collapse grabs the crystal with her hooves, she can feel an icy chill run through her legs. The crystal is cold! Like a massive chunk of ice! Jump Start also grabbed onto the crystal and came upon the same realization before letting go. "What is this stuff!? Is this ice?? What is ice doing down here?" Jump Start exclaimed. She looked back down where they had come from, then over to the lake again.

"Collapse... back where we came from isn't the only way the water flows..." She pointed over to the shoreline in other parts of the lake. Several other rivers were also branching out from the massive lake, leading to who knows where. They could immediately walk over to another one, a decent distance away from them. In order to follow the other rivers however they'd have to cross over the two they were between, and likely get wet in the process if they had no other way of crossing.

Collapse was quite surprised at how cold the crystal was. "Wow! That's cold!" she exclaimed and dropped it with her hooves and then picks it up in her magic and looks at it closer. "Its a wonder how it hasn't froze the water around itself. Alright! Lets explore these rivers." she stated, looking along the shoreline and then realizing they didn't want to get wet yet, at least she thought. "Let's check around the shoreline first, seems easier!" Collapse said with a grin, trying to be hopeful here by injecting humor into their situation.

"It wasn't really that cold though." Jump Start said. The crystal was only cold enough to put a big chill through their hooves if they touched it, about the same temperature as snow. "Shorelines first... yeah alright. I guess I'll follow you then." she agreed. They could only manage to reach a thin bit of shoreline compared to the entire lake, due to the rivers on their left and right.

Still, there was enough that they could comfortably walk 10 minutes before reaching the opposite side. At first there didn't seem to be much around the place, but then as they walked, Jump Start started noticing something. "Hey... look, in the sand... Is this... wood?" she asked, brushing away a bit to reveal a piece of rotting wood, shaped like a plank. There's no way something could've grown in that shape.

Collapse nods and walks along the shoreline. After a bit of walking they found a piece of wood. Collapse still had the crystal held in her magic. "I mean if we ever get too hot this crystal can keep us cooled down, I suppose." she shrugged. When looking at the wood Collapse walks up to it and picks it up. She looks at it closely to see if this piece of wood came from the Constance. If not, then it may be from another ship. "Perhaps we weren't the only ones who had the same fate. Maybe we'll find skeletons of previous crews...I would hope not. Priority one is to find the rest of the crew, Priority two is to make sure we can survive, and priority three is escaping out of here." Collapse spoke tactfully.

The piece of wood looked like... well... a piece of wood. The fact that it was already rotting and was half buried in the sand however indicated that it was definitely not from the Constance. "I don't want to find skeletons." Jump Start whined, paling at the thought of meeting the long deceased.

"If we come across another ship, I'm not going to go searching through it. You can do that." She made to continue towards the other river, so she could try and forget what Collapse said. As they got closer they could see one or two smaller crystals on the banks. Collapse's crystal also seemed to be dripping quite a bit.

Collapse collects the crystals. "Well, we may have to in order to find resources. If we do, feel free to look away." she spoke before noticing that her crystal was dripping. "Hmm, crystals aren't supposed to drip. Hopefully it doesn't spout a water jet into my face suddenly, that would suck wouldn't it?" she asked with a laugh as they continued. "I really hope Magloria is okay..." Collapse suddenly frowned sadly. She hoped Magloria was okay.

"No... crystals aren't supposed to drip. Maybe it's a water crystal?" Jump Start shrugged, looking down the new river as they arrived. Seemed like the river they just came from, as far as rivers go. Only difference is the occasional clear crystals that look just like the first one they found. "I hope she's ok too. She's got to be down one of these rivers, I'm sure of it... sort of." Jump Start sighed. "Could take a while. She could be down any river."

Collapse was suddenly bumped by Jump Start, who drew her attention to something up ahead, lowering her voice to a whisper so she wouldn't disturb it. "Look! Over there! It's one of the fish!" True to her words, down the river they were at was another glowing catfish. The strangest part was how it was wiggling about, supporting itself on it's back fin as it practically walked across the river bank. Every now and then is would lean over and appear to eat something, then get back up and continue on.

"Probably could b-" Collapse yelped at the sudden bump and then smiled as she looks to the fish, laughing at her sudden bump there "Hey!" yelped with a laugh. "These fish are really strange, but they are really cool. Hmm, I'll pick a name for them. How about Glowfish?" Collapse asked with a raised eyebrow. "Well, we arrived at a river just now. Let's see where it leads." she proceeded forward, watching the strange fish's movements with intrigue .

Jump Start raised an eyebrow. "Glowfish? Doesn't that sound a bit... I dunno... simple? You know, nevermind. It'll do for now." she said, adjusting her own glowfish atop her head. It surprised her how long it could live out of water. Did they even need water to live at all? As they approached, the glowfish on the river bank noticed and started hopping back towards the water, eager to get out of their way. It wasn't particularly fast however. They could easily reach it before it got away if they wanted.

Collapse smirks to her. "I know its a basic name, but I'm sure you would rather that than some genus phylum name or whatever they call scientific names. But as far as I know, we could be the first to discover these creatures." Collapse remarked as she watched it hobble along. She gently picks it up in her magic and gives it a gentle pet before putting it back. "I wish we had our lanterns, let's keep going." Collapse stated as she proceeds forward. (Goodnight)

Jump Start pondered her words. "First to discover them? Maybe? If the wood was anything to go by, we likely aren't the first to discover them. Though maybe the first to tell anyone about it if we get out..." The fish, confused as to what was happening when it was contained in Collapse's magic, flopped about uselessly. It didn't seem to try and protect itself in any sort of way. They're likely to be very peaceful creatures.

As soon as it was put back down on the ground, it hobbled twice as fast to the water, making a splash as it finally made it and swimming away. Jump Start pointed at her own glowfish resting on her head. "If you wanted a lantern, you probably could've kept it. Mine seems to be quite fine with sitting on my head." she said as she followed. They kept finding more crystals the further they went down the river. Some of the crystals were even out of the water resting on the river bank, seeming to be partially sunken into the sandy dirt. Some went even further away, going off to somewhere else on the opposite side of the river.

Collapse watched as the fish hobbled away with a soft gentle expression. “They are honestly pretty cute, I hope that we can tell others about this.” she then gives Jump Start a wink. “I am fine with my magic for now. It doesn’t tire me out…” she states as they end up seeing more crystals. “Wow, more of these huh? I wonder how they formed…” Collapse picks a few of them up on her magic as they walked. “I wonder what possible uses they have.” she states. “So hmm, how did you become involved with like, boating and ships? Like going on explorations? You have done it longer than me so I am sure you have stories to tell.” Collapse smiles.

Jump Start had to think over Collapse's question for a moment to gather her thoughts, but she eventually replied. "Well it's not really that complicated. I just liked the water and fish and decided I wanted to work in sailing. The Constance was actually the second ship I was a part of the crew with." she sighed, "First one was a diving ship, they went out far to search the ocean floors for stuff. Missing ships, underwater features, pearls, that sort of thing."

"The most exciting thing that I can remember was when one of the divers brought up a MASSIVE clam. Said it had a giant pearl inside and was taunting him. Well, eventually we got it open, and there it was. The biggest pearl I had ever seen! The ship made a fortune selling that to some rich snobby pony. We partied long into the night after that!" The crystals that were picked up from the water are easily taken, adding to the pile of constantly dripping crystals that Collapse had. The ones that rested on the river bank however were far harder to uproot. The first one Collapse managed to get somehow took a chunk of the river bank with it. What appeared to be a big clump of iced over sand and dirt, or something. Very strange. "Huh. The crystals don't go any further than here. Why do you think that is?" Jump Start questioned, shining her glowfish further down the river. There were simply none to be found. The only ones left were the ones that moved away from the river altogether, on the opposite side of the river.

Collapse laughs gently at Jump Start's story. "Well, thats a very interesting story! I am sure that out in these parts there can be some pretty big and strange creatures. Unlike you, the Constance was the first ship. And well, if we ever get back I may not go sailing again because of this...experience." Collapse says with a nervous laugh. "From what I remember what was said, we are further out than any diving ship, or other ship known to date. At least that's what one of the crew said...I think." Collapse pondered.

Collapse would inspect the first one that brought up part of the chunk on the river bank. She wasn't going to carry that with her since it was too much and after inspecting it she set it back down. "Maybe these crystals were part of another ship that crashed here and they sort of spilled out into this river system." she suggested as they proceeded onward. "If that is the case, I truly wonder what the purpose of these things was." Collapse drones off, wondering about possible explanations. (edited)

Jump Start nodded in agreement. "Yeah, the diving ships did go out pretty far. Mostly because the coastal parts of the ocean was fishing territory." she explained. From what Collapse could tell about the river bank rock, it was just as cold as the others, and dripping too. The top half looked the same as well, clear straight through and, if she touched it, surprisingly hard.

The bottom half however seemed to integrate the sandy dirt into it's structure, as if it was grown straight through the river bank somehow. Surely this wasn't just some common crystal formation? After hearing Collapse's theory, Jump Start looked around. "But I don't see any other debris that could've been a ship. Maybe the crystals were thrown away or the ship sank and the crystals didn't?" she shrugged, looking over to the rest of the uncollected crystals leading away from the river. "And why do they go that way?"

Collapse had inspected the river bank rock further. "Hmm, I have a theory now. See how this sand has worked into its structure here?" Collapse turned it over so Jump Start could see. "Only thing I can think of was that someone casted a spell, a crystal spell and that caused these crystals to grow into the dirt. I know of some unicorns who were capable of doing crystal spells, but whether or not this is what happens when someone casts a crystal growing spell on dirt I don't know." Collapse asked.

"If these are from a ship, perhaps the remains of that ship sunk to the bottom of that lake we saw. There is no chance of us verifying that though. I wonder if any other ships got lost out here, and why we were able to find each other but we haven't found any remains of our ship, Magloria, or anyone else." Collapse stated. "Do you think we were...chosen to find each other? Surely, going down a massive waterfall into a lake, surviving a whirlpool that destroyed the bridge of the ship and sucked us out...that seems to be too much to survive by natural causes, right?"

Jump Start was looking at the crystal sands, but she didn't really understand what Collapse was on about, aside from a unicorn grew them. All she could really do was shrug. "Ok...? I mean, a unicorn made this? Sure... if you say so." she said. "Well I mean, this place is pretty big and very dark. If we wanted to find our crew, our captain or our ship, we could be wandering for days." she pointed out. She was deeply skeptical about Collapse's 'chosen fate' theory. "I don't know about us being chosen... I don't know what happened, but you'd think that Magloria would be here if that was the case. She was with us, wasn't she?"

Collapse raises an eyebrow at Jump Start's confusion. "Well, maybe. I don't know, and there is no real way for me to prove it. I'm just spouting off." she shrugged as they continued along. "Yes, she was with us. Maybe if we go back to the area we were in before we could find her? Since she was nearby to us, it would be logical to search in the areas we ended up, and those nearby, right?" Collapse suggested, with a hoof to her chin.

"I just... don't know. We could've all gone down the same river, but there is no way that we could know for sure. I could count at least... 4 other rivers, I think. And that was just the ones that we could see!" she shook her head. She points down the river, then over to where the crystals were leading. "We're here now. We should just finish searching this way first. That way we can be absolutely certain that... she's not here." she said, feeling a little saddened as she realized what she said last.

"We have all the time in the world...at least I hope we do. There is no time to waste. If we want to get out of here alive, we are going to have to find Magloria and the others. Then again, we have no idea where the ship went..." Collapse sighed sadly. "Yeah, let's just search that way first. That's a start." Collapse said and continued down that river along the shoreline. She was hoping they could find something of value, or someone.

Jump Start realized a problem they might have if they stayed too long. "We might have all the time in the world, but we don't have all the fresh water in the world." She looked at the water. "We can eat fish if we need to, but this is salt water. We can't drink it. If we don't find or make a source of fresh water, we'll die." As they wandered further down the river, now absent of crystals, they came across a second lake which the river flowed into.

This one was far smaller and shallower, but still big enough to prevent their crossing, at least without tiring themselves out. What was strange however, was there was a large number of what appeared to be big rocks. The strange thing about it was how they all seemed to be free of the river bank. None had sunken into the sands, which was something that should've inevitably happened. An echo came from somewhere on the other side of the river. Some sort of high pitched growl, followed by another and another.

Collapse stopped at the other river. Due to its apparent depth, she wouldn't want to cross it. "You have a good point...we'll have to make haste in our act-" Collapse cut herself off upon hearing the growls, instinctively putting a hoof in front of Jump Start. "...Those aren't ponies." she whispered and took note of the rocks. "Look at those rocks...that's not supposed to happen but we have bigger things to worry about now.

We should head back." Collapse stated as her horn brightens to hopefully allow her to see what else was across the river. Perhaps whatever was making those noises. Collapse was on high alert now and her adrenaline started to flow through her.

"I don't think ponies growl..." Jump Start whispered back, crouching a little lower in a mediocre attempt to remain unseen. With Collapse's glow combined with the fish on Jump Start's head they were able to see what was on the other side of the lake. To say Jump Start was shocked was an understatement.

And to say those were rocks were an illusion. At the other side of the lake they could see massive brown spiders with spikes covering their bodies in combat with what appeared to be a massive lobster.

What was most interesting was how the lobster had the same grey texture of all the rocks on their side of the lake. It seemed quite formidable as well, capable of fending off several of the spiders at once despite it's slow and cumbersome fighting style, breaking any attempts to ensnare it with webs. Jump Start turned to watch the 'rocks' on their side. Thankfully they weren't moving. They must not care about their presence, or something. (Goodnight)

"Y-yeah we really should be more careful. There is nothing down this way...other than these creatures." Collapse whispered and rose a golden shield around herself and Jump Start as she backed away. "Clever though...disguising themselves as rocks, or maybe they are like chameleons and can assume textures and colors of things which makes this area more dangerous than I like..." she adds and as she backs off she hopes none of the massive spiders and lobsters would come across the lake. Collapse was obviously quite scared of those things as she hadn't seen anything like them before at all. (Goodnight!

Jump Start was just as eager to leave the place as Collapse was. She didn't know why Collapse had decided to bring up the shield though. It wasn't like they were being targeted. "They're still going at it." she said, referring to the battle happening. "And it looks like the lobster is winning." 2 of the 3 spiders had already been killed or incapacitated. All the lobster had to show for it's injuries were some gashes and a large amount of webbing. If they ever had to deal with one of those lobsters, they'd have a really bad time. When they had backed off a large enough distance, Jump Start calmed down. "Well now what are we going to do?" she asked.

Collapse could see the lobsters and spiders fighting for a bit over the banks as they left. She didn’t particularly care which ones had won, just as long as they didn’t have to be dealt with. Hopefully they wouldn’t. “Oh well.” Collapse states as they were, and brings down the shield. She was afraid of them doing a fast charge across the river. Collapse looks to Jump Start. “We go back to searching and not go down this area again.” she suggested and started to lead them back where they came from.

"Alright. Just as long as we don't come across any more of those things." Jump Start agreed. Along the way back they came across the crystal Collapse had uprooted. Speaking of crystals, the ones Collapse were holding seemed to feel... lighter than they did before. They were also still dripping. But before they could make it back to the massive whirlpool lake, they heard a sound that they wished they didn't. More high pitched growls, in the direction they were headed. That meant spiders or lobsters. They hadn't worked out which yet.

Collapse wasn't sure why the crystals were lighter than they were before, it was weird. "For some reason these things feel lighter. I don't know why." she stated. Upon the sounds of the growls she looked to Jump Start nervously. "Well, we s-should probably go look to see what they are doing. I hope they aren't attacking anyone, I mean, I don't really care if they kill each other but we'll have to defend ourselves and any others here.' Collapse whispered in a serious tone. Collapse headed along quietly, making sure Jump Start was near to her at all times, looking to see where the lobsters and spiders were.

Collapse quickly found the source of the growling noise, and what's worse, it found her. There were no lobsters at all, only spiders. Some of which were on their side of the river. These ones weren't as big as the ones they saw before, though they were still big enough to be at least half their size, with fangs the size of daggers. The spiders began approaching them, their many legs making unnerving noises as they did so. Jump Start paled at the sight, her ears folding back. She looked ready to run, which would be a bad thing for Collapse if she didn't keep them together, since Jump Start had the only constant source of light.

Collapse looks to Jump Start. "I know it is quite scary...stay by my side." Collapse said to Jump Start quickly. Collapse turns towards the spiders and her horn lights up a bright gold color. From her horn fires a gold laser that she sweeps back and forth over the approaching spiders. She magnifies the intensity a bit. It was a fairly simple offensive spell. In Collapse's mind, she wanted all those things to die. She wasn't going to allow them to stand in the way of her mission to find the others, it was self defense.

Collapse's sudden attack was unexpected from the spiders, who didn't have time (or the reflexes, or the cognitive function) to dodge. The sweeping beam repeatedly shoved them back, causing them to stumble or roll away from the force. However when she was done, it seemed as though her attack only slightly injured them, with only a few of their legs and an eye or two actually injured.

Seems under their brown fur was a carapace that most insects and arachnids have, which was basically armour. Her sweeping beam did almost no damage to it, aside from dozens of scorch marks across their front. If anything, her attack just made them mad, if their faster approach was any indication. They were quickly getting closer, but made no change to their strategy. Jump Start's morale didn't improve either, still just as frightened as before, if not more so.

Collapse looks to her crystals and suddenly tosses them at the spiders to see how they would react to the freezing cold of the crystals. Collapse looks to Jump Start and does a motion, beginning to back off from the spiders to put more distance between her and Jump Start. "You know, why don't we just run? Perhaps we can out run them! If not, then we'll hold them off!" Collapse stated, "Let's run that way!" Collapse pointed down the river and began to run as she makes sure Jump Start stays by her side. If the spiders got too close to them, Collapse would have fired more lasers, aiming at their legs.

The crystals strike them in the face, their legs and their back, but other than causing a bit of blunt trauma it doesn't have much of an effect. They avoid getting close to the crystals after the fact regardless. It must still be cold enough to be uncomfortable. Jump Start quickly nods after witnessing the second ineffective attack, turns and starts running alongside Collapse. The spiders begin their pursuit, keeping up with their pace but never being fast enough to reach them. Soon they arrive at the lake with the 'lobster rocks' again. There are no other spiders there, the ones that were there previously were already taken care of. None of the lobsters react to their approach, or at least, they can't see any reaction.

Collapse made sure that Jump Start was near to her at all times. Upon the lake with the 'lobster rocks' Collapse kept running. Hopefully the lobsters would attack the spiders if they got close enough. Collapse would fire a few more lasers aimed at the spider's legs and eyes. Whether or not it was accurate was more or less up to fate to decide. "This makes it worse, doesn't it?" she asked Jump Start in a scared manner. She would keep firing lasers at the spiders until a large part of them had hopefully collapsed.

The spiders behind them seemed to take even less damage than before, due to how Collapse no longer had a steady aim and they moved faster. One thankfully took a hit to it's face, causing it to stop pursuing to recoil in pain. It definitely was not dead, however. Collapse's lasers of magical energy just weren't that great at piercing armored targets. Now among the rock lobsters, they could see that Collapse's haphazard firing behind them was definitely causing some interest to peek. They could see a few eyes blinking in their direction and even several claws and legs stretching out. One in particular which they were headed towards uncurled itself and rose it's claws in the air. It was easily twice as tall as them, and looked incredibly intimidating.

The problem was, the faster Collapse ran, the closer she got to the lobster rearing up in front of her! The only other options to run were back where the spiders were, straight into the lake or off into the darkness away from the lake. Jump Start by this point was practically freaking out at all the bad things happening. She seemed almost ready to break free from Collapse's magic, just so she wouldn't feel as restricted. In fact, she's already started resisting. The lobster, however, didn't seem to react much to their approach at all. If finished rearing up, then set it's claws down, and it's eyes on both the ponies and the approaching spiders.

"Back this way!" Collapse stated, moving back away from the lake to get away from the lobsters and the spiders. Collapse wasn't going to provoke the lobster, hopefully the spiders would distract that lobster long enough for the two of them to get away. "Hopefully we can get away from them now! Let them kill each other!" Collapse stated as she moved away, still making sure that Jump Start was by her.

Now turned away from the lake and running off into the darkness, they encountered significantly more stalagmites than around the river, probably due to how the river was often traversed. There were no noticeable landmarks here, so they'd have to get lucky to find anything without turning back. Behind them, the sound of 2 heavy splats were made. Seems like the lobster had some exactly as Collapse expected of it. Taking cover behind a stalagmite a few rows deep, Jump Start stopped to catch her breath and calm her racing heart. "Are they- huff -gone now? huff When I signed- huff -up to go sailing- huff -this was not what I had in mind! I hate this place!" she said. Fear, exhaustion and grief could be heard clearly in her voice.

Collapse was glad the lobsters had 'dealt' with the spiders there. She assumed the splats were the sounds of the lobster's claws crushing the spiders or something of that sort, upon Jump Start taking cover behind the stalagmite Collapse quickly did so as well. Collapse pants, catching her breath. Her heart was racing as well. "I-I huff really hate it too! Ugh....huff scary spiders and lobsters! This is the last thing I expected here! Ugh...." Collapse inhales quickly, her manner of speaking quite similar to Jump Start's own. She looks to Jump Start with a rather apologetic look across her face. "I hope that...the others...are okay...we know where to not go now." she states firmly.

"But those spider things came from behind us!" Jump Start cried out, "How are we supposed to get back when there might be more of them along the river?! Where are we supposed to go now?" She looked back around the stalagmite to see the lobsters were now slowly shuffling about, greeting each other with looks and glances instead of words, and searching for food. Jump Start felt shocked when she saw one reach over to a stalagmite, break a piece off then shove it into it's mouth. If they could shatter stone like that, what would they do to a pony's spine?

Collapse glanced around the stalagmite at the lobsters, seeing the same scene. "It seems like those lobsters are more...capable than what we may imagine." Collapse also shuddered at how they ate a stalagmite. "I really, really don't want to go back over there now. We should find some other way around them or exit..." Collapse was trying to think about another way around.

Jump Start looked in the other direction, searching for any other paths, or anything out of the ordinary. It seems that aside from a large amount of stalagmites up ahead, there wasn't anything to find. Or there was and there were too many stalagmites in the way. "Maybe we could go around them...?" she suggested, "But without the river, we risk wandering off to who knows where and getting lost. This place could be a maze if we're not careful." She looked back at the lobsters, the one who ate a rock was apparently finished with it's meal and turned back to slowly join the rest of the lobsters. At the very least, there weren't any spiders in a pretty big zone around the lobsters.

"Well I don't want to risk running by them so I don't want us to get attacked by them, so we should wait for a while until they are all gone." Collapse stated as she looks out at the lobsters. Surprised at one of them eating a rock. "They can eat rocks, spiders...definitely ponies...y-yeah, let's wait this one out." Collapse suggested, she was definitely quite nervous at what she was seeing. Collapse then sat there, and proceeded to wait until they were hopefully gone. (edited)

Jump Start merely let out a slight whimper before settling down, keeping a constant eye on their surroundings. Unfortunately for Collapse's plan, the lobsters didn't exactly go away. This was where they rested before, and this was where they rested now. Over time they ended up curling back into their rocky disguise to sleep or do whatever a rock lobster did, but leave they did not. Judging from their lack of movement, they were going to stay for a long while. Collapse is going to have to come up with a better plan than that. Given their seemingly slow nature, why did she think they'd leave in an acceptable amount of time anyway?

Collapse eventually realizes that the lobsters weren't going to move and sighed. "Well they are pretty huge so, maybe if we run by them really fast with a shield up over us they won't be able to catch up to us in time. We could try that...or do you have any better ideas? We could try to see if there is an exit through these stalactites, hmmm. What do you think?" she asked Jump Start curiously, trying to think of a better solution.

"Maybe we should just..." She watched the lobsters. "...Sneak past them. They don't seem to be doing much. Just lying there." she pointed out. "If they start to move, then we run." she offered. "Hopefully they won't be able to see the fish though." She worried, referring to the glowfish atop her head.

"We will go with that plan. Quickly, follow my side." Collapse spoke as she got out from behind the stalagmite to make sure the nobsters were in a state of rest and that there were no more spiders about. "We will run, and I'll put up a shield over us as we run past them." Collapse suggested.

From Collapse's observations she could tell that none of the lobsters seemed to be moving, and there were no visible spiders around. Jump Start smiled, happy that Collapse had agreed to go with her suggestion. She moved along with Collapse in preparation of executing their stealth attempt When she heard what Collapse said next about running, she felt confused and somewhat hurt. "Wait, what? I thought you wanted to go with my plan!" she stated.

Collapse looks to Jump Start. "S-sorry about that! Sighs I have a hard time remembering things sometimes! Even when they are blatantly stated to me... Like when I forgot that lantern on the ship but just to be sure, you want to sneak by them? Sounds better than my suggestion. Lets do it." she smiles awkwardly and walks quietly over to the rock lobsters in a sneaking fashion.

Jump Start nodded. "Yes, I am sure I want to sneak past them. Running would just attract their attention, and well... not to sound rude or anything, but I don't think your shield will be capable of taking a hit from them." After she was done speaking, she crouched down, keeping herself low to the ground and taking lighter steps to reduce the noise she'd make. She followed after Collapse. They couldn't see any sort of reaction as they approached. So far so good.

Collapse nodded to her. "None taken." she spoke quietly and carefully snuck around the lobsters with light hoof steps. Collapse looked to Jump Start and the lobsters constantly but made sure her friend was safe. That was the bottom line above all else. The safety of the one she cared about most. Collapse looks at the glowfish on her head, at this point she thinks its cute how Jump Start is wearing it.

It's probably a good thing that Jump Start couldn't read minds, or that would've been a rather embarrassing to know about, the last part also rather inappropriate given the situation they were in. Unless she can read minds? Hmm... nah. Now among the lobsters, none of which seemed to react still, they had a choice. They could either go back the way they came, back towards the whirlpool lake, or they could keep following to wherever the river leads to, and who knows what could be in that direction. Alternatively, they could go straight into the lake, for whatever reason. Maybe they want a saltwater swim?

Collapse smiles to Jump Start. Her plan worked! She was quite glad that she listened. Now presented with the options of where to go Collapse would point in the direction of where the river was leading. They already looked enough back at the whirlpool lake, or so Collapse thought for now. With a sneaky, yet confident stride Collapse would proceed in leading Jump Start in that direction. Looking to the lake, she'd normally be one for water and pools but this wasn't the time for that, she thought.

When they got far enough from the group of lobsters, Jump Start ceased her sneaky movements, breathing out a sigh of relief. "Well glad that's over. I hope we don't have to go back in that direction... or that we don't meet another group of those things." she said. But their problems weren't over yet, or at least that's what Jump Start initially thought when she saw yet another spider up ahead. She started panicking, only to realize a surprisingly big difference about this one. It had a long shard of crystal straight through it's abdomen, and it was not moving at all. Whatever caused that to happen definitely killed it.

Collapse agreed with Jump Start. She was glad that they were past the lobsters without anything happening to the two of them. “Yeah, I hop-“ Collapse cuts herself off at the sighting of the other spider and looked at it closer go see the large crystal stabbed through it. “Well, I don’t think those lobsters were capable of doing that. Maybe someone else is around here who we haven’t seen.” Collapse suggested as her golden aura lights up and further illuminated the area in search of anyone nearby.

Jump Start wasn't sure about what Collapse said. "I don't know if this was the work of the lobsters. Did you see any of these crystals when we were with them?" she asked, also checking around the place in case, shining the glowfish around. With the extra light they could see that this wasn't the only one. At least a few other spiders could be seen lying around, completely dead. Even some across the other side of the river. Many was stabbed straight though, like the first one, while one was completely encased in the crystal. Jump Start shuddered at the number around them. "W-well... whatever did this clearly does not like spiders..." she said with a worried tone.

Collapse looks across the carcasses of the spiders. "Well, it clearly wasn't the lobsters. I think someone else is with us here." Collapse states in a somewhat worried tone as well. "I hope that its one of our crew, so that we can have someone else with us in our search for the rest of the...crew..." Collapse looked to the carcasses again and shivered slightly at what she was seeing here. "There was no crystals with the lobsters, this might...prove what I said earlier, that those crystals were casted by a spell."

"But if these were cast by a spell, then where's the spellcaster?" Jump Start questioned, nervously approaching one of the dead spiders to give a crystal a poke. "Eeek! It's cold, like the others!" she yelped. Apparently not all the spiders were dead though, though given the size of the cave, that was hardly a likely outcome. A scuttling noise was heard from the other side of river. The spider looked different from it's usual brown brothers and sisters. This one had yellow stripes and looked like it had more spines on it's body. A different spider altogether? Thankfully it didn't seem intent on attacking them however, just would rather mind it's own business as it moved along. The river in the way probably had something to do with that.

Collapse notices the other spider across the river, looking at it, it was different from all the others. "Well, are we really sure it was a spell caster? Maybe it was that other spider over there across the stream...although spiders attacking other spiders with crystals sounds highly unusual." Collapse stated as she kept her eye on the other spider across the river. Collapse wasn't going to provoke the other spider as they proceeded forward along the river in the as of yet unexplored section.

"I think some sorts of spiders attack each other back home..." Jump Start offered. She didn't know much about spiders, so she didn't have much else to add to the conversation. The yellow striped spider eventually left their field of view, wandering off into the dark somewhere else. But this didn't mean that there weren't any spiders left. This was made especially apparent when they came across webbing running up the sides of some of the stalagmites. Thick, white cables of dusty, silky material just hanging off of the rocks. It seems they were heading even closer to the spiders territory. Jump Start grew more nervous. "Uh... heheh... umm... maybe we shouldn't be going this way." More scuttling echoed through the cave. Jump Start turned to where she heard it, but couldn't see anything.

Collapse froze up in nervousness upon seeing the surroundings they were heading into. She looks to Jump Start and whispered, "L-lets head back and go the opposite way..." she whispered with nervousness. Collapse's adrenaline heightens up quite a bit and now she would be prepared to move at a second's notice. Collapse turns around slowly to make sure that no spiders would suddenly be jumping up from behind them and then would proceed back while making sure Jump Start was by her side at all times. "Theres gotta be another way around all of these...dangers..." Collapse ponders quietly.

Luckily for Collapse, no spiders suddenly decided to jump out at them from behind. Unluckily for her however, as they retreated from the webbed area she came to the sudden realization that the spiders didn't only search around in webbed areas. A spider was busy inscribing web graffiti on a wall consuming what looked like a small green mushroom that had grown out of a patch of muddy soil.

The mushroom had been uninteresting when they first passed by. It was just a mushroom. But now with a spider next to it... And that spider noticed them. Apparently hungry for something better than a mushroom, it began mindlessly approaching them, causing Jump Start to yelp as it did. It was only one, but given how the others had shrugged off her laser spell, could she really hope to stop it? The sounds of water splashing could be heard, but with the spider approaching, was it really a good idea to distract herself by turning around?

Collapse casts barrier over her and Jump Start as the spider runs at them. "Shit! Why must we be stuck in a cave full of weird spiders and lobsters!? I'd honestly much rather be dead than have to deal with this!" Collapse joked darkly there at the heat of the moment before looking back and forth. "...Maybe not, but this is still pretty bad!" Collapse shouted and she started to move off away from the approaching spider. She heard the sound of the splashing water nearby ,but for now the approaching spider was the main issue. "Look behind us, see what's moving in the water!" Collapse said to Jump Start

The spiders ends up crashing straight into the newly created barrier, it's front 4 legs clawing all over in order to try and get in. It wasn't succeeding, and it's impacts against the barrier were minor, though direct force wasn't a spider's main weapon. Jump Start, at Collapse's request, turned her head to see what was creating the splashing sounds. Whatever she saw caused an expression of shock to appear on her face.

She was about to say what it was, but before she could... The spider was no longer moving. A long, thin shard of almost pure crystal, just like all the others, was speared straight through it's head and body, pinning it to the ground. An oddly familiar voice spoke out.

"I guess you've never been in combat before, huh newbie?"

Chapter 23

Just like at the place before, once they were done Magloria and Jump Start left, bidding the staff farewell.

"Alright, now that *that* unnerving experience is over, what are we going to do now?" Jump Start asked the others.

Magloria responded first. "Well we have a possible way around the feline blockade. Problem is, it's through a place we can't cross safely. So our task is to find a possible way to prevent all the nasty stuff that messes with our heads, while also having it be sustainable. A magic barrier for example is not a good solution, since we don't have enough magical power to last for that long."

Collapse follows them out and nods to their statements. "Well perhaps there are some sorts of merchants or shops around here that sell magical artifacts. While it may be rare, we might find something that does the job...and perhaps other things that would serve to benefit us. Alternatively, we could also just wear masks? It seemed to be something in the air but given the way the seaponies are I doubt they would have masks that would filter out the air without modifications." Collapse replied to Magloria.

"Something tells me that they don't sell magical items for keeping away stuff in the *air*. Keeping them wet on land I could expect but..." Magloria pointed out.

"Maybe we could try anyway? It couldn't really hurt checking could it?" Jump Start said, looking around in case she could see something that looked like a magic shop. Sadly she couldn't.

"I suppose, but I don't expect much to come out of it. Masks on the other hoof..." Magloria pondered, "Yeeeah... I doubt they'd have masks that properly work for us either, considering they would use gills most of the time, not their lungs. We might have to make something ourselves." she shrugged.

"Well we could use kelp as a way to strap them on. Perhaps they have like some sort of filters we could strap onto our faces with kelp? If not that than we'll have to look for materials to use. Probably in some general store, they could have some materials that we can use to build our masks." she stated in reply to Magloria, hoping that her words would be proved true when they go look.

"We should also look for anything we could use to defend ourselves with. Could buy tools we could use to build things out of. I'd like myself a good tool set. I miss having my tools at my side." Collapse stated.

"They might have filters for the air, but I'd much rather have a proper mask than one made of... kelp." Magloria shook her head. "That smell could get real nauseating if you have to breathe it in non-stop."

"Tools, sure, you could buy those yourself, but you know I've already tried to obtain equipment we can defend ourselves with. They said no."

Meanwhile Jump Start was thinking over the possibilities what materials they could use when making a mask. She seemed to be deep in concentration.

"Alright then, we'll have to think more on what we could use for a mask then. I'm not sure as of yet..." Collapse spoke in deep thought. "Maybe we could make one out of twine or string, something like that maybe. But other than that I don't know. Let's see if they have any shops around here." she spoke, and began to look for any shops / stores that they could go to. If she could see any, she would lead the 3 of them inside.

There were plenty of stores that Collapse could go to, the problem is there was a vast amount of choice. Food markets, jewelry stores, hardware, the equivalent of a bar, toy stores, and many other places. Even trying a general store she would have no idea if they had what she was looking for. Her plan of just entering a store was a hopeless one unless she knew what she was searching for.

While looking she did manage to find a store that was selling spider silk as string, at least. That was when Magloria pointed out a problem. "Twine and string isn't airtight. It'll help a bit, but not enough. We need something that can act as a sealant." she stated.

"Tar!" Jump Start blurted out suddenly. "We can use tar to seal something. We'd have to have something else on the inside so the fumes don't get overwhelming, but it can also act like glue for that part." Her excitement faded to worry. "But we'd need something we can use to work the tar on, otherwise it'll just be a mess."

"Yes, tar could very well seal something! Hey, maybe since we can breathe underwater we can put a container of water up to our faces and breathe the water in the container as we walk by that forest? Since they don't have anything we could probably use for masks, maybe we should just think like they do so to speak?" Collapse spoke, the idea coming into her mind suddenly.

Upon all the choices of the stores she would point out what seemed to be a hardware store to the two of them. "Well, it seems like that could be a hardware stare. How about we go look?" she suggested.

"So your idea is to have us wear... bowls of water on our heads?" Magloria asked, before sighing. "Do you know why fish die when a pond is covered in oils? It's because the oil prevents the water from being breathable by blocking the air from reaching it. We'd also run into that problem, either that or we'd breathe in whatever's in the forest air through the water anyway."

Magloria wandered into the hardware store without replying to Collapse's second question. It would be quicker to just do it as soon as possible.

Inside the store was a variety of metal-based tools, with mushroom wood as their handles. In another section of the store was a large amount of building supplies, such as planks of mushroom wood, which were surprisingly few, cut stones of varying shapes, and metal construction materials such as nails and braces, though they were surprisingly few as well, likely due to the lack of wooden materials.

"Yeah...you have a good point there. I suppose than I am out of ideas then for a mask." she stated to Magloria. Her optimism in her ideas seemed to fail her whenever she came up with an idea. That made her frown slightly upon that realization.

However when they wandered inside the store, her eyes would visually light up at the various tools and things they had seen throughout the store. With the tools she had found she would purchase a tool set of various tools including a hammer, pliars, and assortment of screwdrivers. That would come in handy if they ever were going to build something themselves. For the cut stones she would look to see if any of those were sharp enough to be used in combat. If they were, she would get one of those as well.

While they went throughout the place, she would see if either of them wanted to purchase any of those.

The tools were readily available for purchase. The sharp stones however were not. The cut stones were designed for construction purposes, typically being brick-shaped.

Even still, if they managed to file down some of the thinner slabs they could be used as blades of an axe. However stone doesn't typically last long, due to it's brittle nature.

On the flipside, there were woodcutting axes for sale. Probably not the greatest for getting through tough armor, but could definitely do so with enough force put behind it.

Jump Start had an idea of using fabrics as the base of some masks, so it would be soft on the inside and free of the stench of tar. A few pouches made from spider silk, designed for carrying shells, would probably do. They'd just need to cut out a hole on the end for a purifier, seal it with tar, stick their muzzle in and tighten up the strings at the top.

Because the sharp stones weren't available she would have bought woodcutting axes for each of them. The sharp slabs weren't worth it when there were a proper weapon for them to use. Even if it wasn't made to be a weapon it could still very well be used as one.

Collapse agreed with Jump Start's idea there and supported it. She said that she had forgotten fabrics in the first place and would look for anything inside of the store that could help them out with Jump Start's idea with the masks.

Looking at the price tags of the axes (written down as little stones with numbers tar-painted on, adorable), Collapse could see that these axes definitely weren't made very often, or the materials and labor were expensive, or the mushroom farmers earned quite a bit.

Whatever the reason, the price would cut deeply into their savings if they bought 3 axes. They wouldn't be able to buy much else of worth.

She found some fabrics, tougher woven stuff made for softening handles while being durable, or the seapony equivalent of camping. It's a bit more expensive than some of the other fabrics though, but maybe the quality would be worth it?

Collapse smiles at the little stones with numbers on them. That was certainly cute, but then again everything about the seaponies was cute. From their soft whiskers, their flippers and the way they swam about. Collapse smiled wider at the thought of Magloria and Jump Start with whiskers.

Upon seeing the prices of the axes she would get only one of them. 3 was going overkill with the prices. With the fabrics she would look to Magloria and Jump Start, "Do you think we should get some of this fabric here? Its a little expensive but the quality of it would probably work better." she suggested.

"Perhaps." Magloria shrugged. "Even if they don't work out for masks, or we get too much of it, it can still be used for something else, like makeshift repairs." she said, granting permission for Collapse to purchase some.

Collapse purchases the fabric. "Well I think that's all we really need from here for now. Unless either of you want more, I think this is what we need." she states and then would proceed to purchase it. If either of them wanted to get anything more, Collapse wouldn't have objected. Upon exiting Collapse would review the items they had purchased. Just incase anything was wrong with them, they could go back and return it if needed.

Neither of them wanted to purchase anything else, so they all left with Collapse after the transactions were complete.

There didn't appear to be anything wrong with the equipment that she had just bought. The axe's blade was curved, sharp and ready for chopping through soft organic materials. The handle was well fitted, and the metal seemed durable enough.

The fabric was the same. Tough, durable and didn't look frayed or anything like that, despite being constantly waterlogged.

"So, do you have an idea of how to use the materials, Jump Start?" Magloria asked.

Jump Start nodded. "Sort of, I just need something sharp for cutting, which we have, then the missing pieces, the air purifier and the tar. We can get the tar at the source later though." she said.

Collapse smirked at the way the axe was formed there and she felt more comfortable now that she had some tools to work with here. It felt like ages since she had a tool set and would cast a summoning spell on the tool set. They vanished with a gold flash. Besides, that makes them easier to keep track of and ready for use when the time should come. Collapse would keep the axe with her, though.

Upon looking at the materials Collapse would look closer. "Sounds like a plan to me. Let's try to find something for the missing pieces." Collapse suggested to Jump Start.

"Actually... I should probably start preparing the fabric. If the purifiers you get are anything like the water purifier's one, then I think I know the measurements that I'll need to cut." Jump Start said.

"You know the way home?" Magloria asked, which earned a nod of confirmation. "Alright, you get started on that then." she stated, giving Jump Start permission to swim off with the fabric.

Magloria turned to Collapse. "So, you know where to go to get those purifiers again? Not the whole thing, just the bit that actually purifies." she asked.

Collapse looked to Jump Start. "Good luck, we will be there with you once we have what we need." she stated and waved with a sweet grin as Jump Start swam off.

Upon Magloria's question and now that Collapse was alone with Magloria she nervously looked left, then right and thought. "You mean the purifier plant Jump Start and I got the water purifier from? I know where that is. Come on, follow me." Collapse spoke, and began to swim off towards the direction where her and Jump Start got the purifier from.

After a brief swim with Magloria following alongside Collapse (and subtly making Collapse move faster when she got annoyed at her slow pace), they reached the district where the water purification plant was in.

Magloria wasn't nearly as into technology as Collpase and Jump Start were, but even she couldn't deny the majesty of the water purification plant's technological prowess.

Here eyes widened in surprise for a few seconds. Nothing more.

"This is the place?" She asked as they approached the building.

Collapse had moved faster when Magloria moved faster. She got the hint, and made sure to keep up the pace alongside her. Seeing the surprise in Magloria's eyes she smirked at that, she was glad to see Magloria's emotions. Collapse wanted Magloria to open up to her, and she was happy to see that was sort of happening before her eyes. Even though this was Collapse's second time here, it was still just as impressive and she marveled at the sight before them.

"Yup, this is the place. They were the ones that sold the water purifier itself. They likely sell the part that we need." Collapse stated as they entered into the building. Upon entry, she would look for someone to talk to. If there was someone to talk to, she would state what they needed.

Once inside they saw pretty much the same things that Collapse had seen before. The seapony in the room recognized Collapse immediately, and welcomed her back.

After hearing what she was after, they swam off to get the parts, returning a few minutes later with 3 small discs, looking very similar to an internal piece of the previous purifier.

The price was... reasonably expensive, due to the complexity of the small devices and the materials used to create them. Even with 3 pieces on offer they were still cheaper than the whole purifier, which had far more parts overall.

Collapse smiled at the seapony, and upon them finding what they were looking for Collapse would look over the 3 small disks. "Well, what do you think Magloria? They are kinda expensive but I don't think we have another option for now." she stated calmly, showing them to Magloria in her golden aura. Collapse smiled and seemed to be relatively happy. In truth, it was because she was alone with Magloria. Something about her was just alluring. Perhaps it was due to how mysterious she was.

"We have other options, they're just riskier or not known to us. This would be the best option, so buying it we shall." Magloria said as she handed over the necessary money. "Besides, if we really need money again, we can always sell more light bulbs, as long as we keep checking new spots for those ferns."

As she turned to leave, she started thinking out loud. "Hmm... I sure hope they don't have any negative effects. That would be real unfortunate. Eh nevermind, they seemed fine with us."

Collapse would follow Magloria out and thank the seapony for the sale. She would take the 3 small disks into hold with her magic. "The bulbs? Yeah...I hope the bulbs don't make anyone sick or anything." Collapse shuttered a bit, and as they would proceed off Collapse forced herself to swim faster this time so Magloria wouldn't get annoyed.

"If you don't mind me asking you a question, what inspired you or drove you to become a ship captain?" Collapse asked calmly, her eyes looking over to Magloria casually.

Magloria shrugged at the personal question. "Exploration, changing the world, being better than what others thought of me, take your pick." she said, and refused to elaborate further on the subject.

Once they had traveled back to their house and were on land, Magloria shook herself off, straightening her mane and tail, and checking to make sure her earrings hadn't been shifted by the constant movement of water.

"Jump Start should hopefully be ready for us, then we can go get ourselves some tar and these masks would be ready for use." she said.

Collapse smirked in understanding. "Well, my pick is all three. You wanted to explore and change the world to be better than what others thought of you. To show that you could be more than what they thought you were." she stated before she shook herself off. With her magic she adjusted her mane and tail so it wasn't all a flat mess. After shaking off she would add a final word to that, "Well to me, you have already managed to do so." she said calmly.

Leading the way in she would say, "Yup. Let's see what she got." she stated as she entered and looked for Jump Start.

"Yeah, sure..." Magloria said, dismissing Collapse's statement as she walked inside the house, though despite there being no other reaction, she seemed to have done it as if she was embarrassed to talk about it.

Inside they could see Jump Start laying down on the couch on her back, in a very relaxed position, apparently asleep. On a nearby surface were what appeared to be 3 fabric 'bags' with a larger hole in one end, for their muzzle, and a smaller hole in the other end, for the purifier.

Apparently she had also set up a few strips of metal in the smaller hole, for where the purifier would be held in place. No clue where she got the materials from.

Collapse noticed Magloria's dismissal and probable embarrassment. Collapse spoke nothing about that but knew that Magloria was not wanting to talk about it. She wouldn't press further because then Magloria would likely harden up and deny Collapse further information. Collapse knew that if she was to find more about Magloria she would have to ask small bits at a time, slowly. After all, Collapse never wanted to make Magloria uncomfortable.

Upon seeing inside Collapse would smile sweetly at the scene and would quietly set down the 3 disks by the 'bags'. Looking to Jump Start she blushed slightly at what she sees there. "Gotta hand it to her. She is quite creative. I am impressed." she said to Magloria quietly. "Well, it seems as though our next step is chosen for us. Time to sleep?" Collapse asked.

Luckily for Collapse, the only reaction from Jump Start to the sound of her placing down the purifiers was a slight leg twitch.

Magloria nodded her head. "Yes, to sleep it is." she said, slowly making her way to the bedrooms. "While I know we can leave immediately once the masks are properly assembled, knowing what we might face has brought to my attention that leaving as soon as possible might not be the smartest idea. Still though, it's not like we could prepare much else to deal with it." she shrugged, reaching one of the bedroom doors as she did.

Collapse slowly followed Magloria but seemed to stop short of the door as she listened to Magloria speak. "I remember you said something to me. We could possibly recover wreckage with the help of the seaponies in the whirlpool lake. Now that we can swim, it is probably possible for us to go to the bottom of it. Perhaps we could return to that area and see what we could recover? I also don't think leaving as soon possible is the best of ideas." she said quietly, with one hoof raised. She really wanted to ask if she could sleep in the same room as Magloria, but also wasn't too willing to push her luck.

Magloria took on a serious look, thinking about the idea of going back to where the wreckage of their ship was. "Hmm... there's no telling where it could be down there, nor what we could face. We don't even know if we can stand the pressure if it's deep enough..." she said, then continued.

"But it's worth a shot. There were many things in our ship that could help us. Plus, if we get lucky we can find even more from any other ship that came down."

She opened the bedroom door, stepping through the opening. "Anyway, tar the masks first thing tomorrow, then when they're done, we can see about heading back to the whirlpool. Goodnight." And with that she closed the door.

Collapse agreed with Magloria's statement. She imagined that they would first go into the water and look directly down and then go down in slow increments to make sure that it was safe. The depth of it was completely unknown. Collapse hoped that it wasn't a deep abyss that they couldn't get down into. Well, there was only one way to find out.

"Goodnight Magloria. Rest well." Collapse spoke to her before she shut the door. After the door was shut Collapse stood there for a moment and thought about what just happened. In her mind she felt like she succeeded in having a one on one conversation with Magloria.

Collapse would quietly walk towards Jump Start on the couch. If there was enough room to where she could lay down on the couch she without disturbing her, she would want to lay down with Jump Start. If not, Collapse would pick the other couch and would proceed to fall asleep there. In either case, the cream colored Unicorn would wrap her tail around her and curl up into a fluffy ball and go to sleep.

Well, it certainly would be a puzzle in positioning herself, but it certainly would be possible to sleep with Jump Start.

The problem was the way that she was sleeping, it took up most of the couch. The solution it turned out was to give Jump Start a gentle nudge, making her sleep on her side instead. That way Collapse could use her as a nice, soft, warm pillow.

Regardless of where she slept, she would eventually wake up, and find herself to be the first to awaken for once.

Collapse had nudged Jump Start aside gently as to not wake her up. With enough room, Collapse laid down in the available space she had just made. With that done Collapse would smile sweetly as she lays herself against Jump Start and fluttered her eyes closed. Collapse's hooves gently rested against her as she snuggled up to Jump Start. While she did this she made sure to be gentle. Collapse wanted to make it look like her snuggling of Jump Start was an accident in her sleep just in case she got caught.

Her eyes went heavy as she felt the soft warmth of Jump Start against her. It was quite comforting for Collapse. *"Goodnight, Jumpy."* Collapse thought to herself and found herself in the realm of dreams. Her dreams were not really rememberable, perhaps that was due to how much she exerted herself today. Today, well they had no way of knowing what time it actually was. All she could do was guess.

Chapter 44

Collapse tried to run but immediately got her fly ring caught on the stump of another tree, causing her to trip and fall over. She only had enough time to glance back up at the tree in fear before the entire massive thing crushed her underneath it's weight.

Turns out, she was not a certified lumberjack. Who knew?~~

At the time when she first started on the hardwood tree, it was already midday. This tree however took a lot longer.

The tree had taken a **lot** of effort to cut through, forcing her to unleash slow, powerful chops just to make any reasonable dent in it's wood. This was tiring, and even with Jump Start (who now didn't have much to do except do her own things) bringing in refreshments every now and then.

Turns out coconut shells, curved rocks as a juicer and fruit go together to make a pretty refreshing fruit drink. It even had a couple ice cubes, thanks to Magloria.

By the time that she was finished with the tree, the sun was already getting close to setting. They had counted about 20 regular trees, which would've been quite a decent number for a simple building. All they needed were the tools to properly refine the materials they had.

As Magloria approached, the tree started to fall over, hitting the ground with a massive SLAM that shook the ground for kilometers, causing them both to stumble. "Yeah. Pretty good start. Gonna need a lot more wood than this but... pretty good." she agreed.

Throughout the whole ordeal of cutting the tree Collapse found herself replaying every event that happened up to this point within her mind. The more times she replayed it, the more details she recalled about things she thought she would miss. Just like when one wakes up from a dream, the more one thinks it over the better chance one will have at remembering it.

Despite this, she had lost track of how long they had arrived here. Based on their mission it was likely that none would hear back from them for weeks perhaps months, but what's going to happen back home when the Constance doesn't show up back at the port? How long will it take for her mom to realize? Her other friends, too? She knew that her mom planned to greet her at the dock when they would return. So it was clear that whenever that would happen her mom would be the first to know she and the others were gone.

It would likely take them at least a few months to get the ship built. That's not even considering any testing or other issues that may come up between now and then. So it was likely that they'd be ruled as missing for quite some time until they return. There was no doubt within her mind that they would return, though.

All of those thoughts ended when the tree went SLAM. While it was a big tree, such loud noises one can naturally never really prepare for in full. Despite this, that reminded her when they heard the slam in the mushroom forest when the seaponies were cutting down that giant mushroom.

Looking to Jump Start and Magloria she smiled. "Job well done. I suppose we should head back to the shelter now...take our regular trees with us and we'll put the, there for the morning to build our complete shelter. Unless you two wanted to get started on it before the sun sets." Collapse stated calmly.

Magloria began to head back to the camp, waving her hoof in dismissal at the idea of starting work on their shelter improvements as she did. "Nah, best we'd be able to do would be to do right now would be split a few logs with the axe. I suppose we could, but we're definitely not going to be building anything usable right now." she stated.

Thanks to Jump Start hauling every regular tree back to the camp, there wasn't anything left for Collapse to do during the return. When they got back they saw the earth pony already busy digging a shallow pit and lining it work rocks she found, for any future fires.

A large pile of trees sat on one end of their campsite, still complete with various branches and leaves that would need to be removed and used for other things.

Jump Start waved to them as they approached. "So finally managed to cut down that big tree? I might not be able to move that one on my own, so you'd need to help, or cut it into smaller pieces." she said cheerfully.

Collapse watched Jump Start's actions with an impressed smile. Earth ponies were quite impressive, weren't they? She stepped forward towards Jump Start. "My my, you sure are impressive aren't you? Moving all those logs, and digging the firepit? I was planning on digging the firepit but you got to it before I did." Collapse blushed ever so slightly at that.

"We'll cut that large tree when we come up with a plan for the ship. I don't wanna make any additional cuts to it since I'd rather wait until we have a solid plan. Although we can just get more large trees but I'd rather we get ourselves 4 or 5 large trees as a start for the ship. From there, I don't really know what we'd have to do next. Maybe we'll ask the seaponies for help." Collapse suggested as she was still smiling at Jump Start's work.

Jump Start gave Collapse a quick "Thank you." in response, then began idling around, looking for something she could do to occupy her time. Almost out of boredom she began striking some of the stones with her hooves, breaking off parts of them to form various shapes.

"Well at that point we'd need proper tools to cut the right planks from the trees. Problem is, that's a task best suited to metals and machinery, and we don't have any here." Magloria said as she moved over to the tree stack, and began breaking off some of the branches.

"So we'd either have to get some from the panthins, or the underground seaponies. Both have metals and machines, but both bring along certain risks. I will admit, going to the seaponies would be so much easier if we had the ability to mark locations for a recall teleport, or dig our own path." She placed down the branches into the fire pit, ready for burning.

"You wouldn't happen to be able to manipulate earth to create tunnels, would you?" She asked Jump Start, who sadly shook her head in response.

Collapse looks to Magloria as she suggested going back to the underground seaponies. "We already knew how risky it was in order to even come back up to the surface. We had a few close calls of being discovered. I would rather we go to the Panthin settlement of Carocal and introduce ourselves on the surface. That would prove a lot less suspicious than us getting discovered down in those tunnels." she spoke.

"By the way, perhaps if we go to Carocal we might be able to ask or find out what it is they are doing down below. I am really curious about that, and I am also curious why they'd want to shoot at us. But then again you mentioned creating tunnels..." she leans towards Magloria a little bit.

"You could probably create tunnels near to the ocean, just use your water manipulation and turn it into water jets. Could bore holes in the ground and cut down trees near to the shore with highly pressurized water manipulation. If you are able to do that, that is." she remarked.

Looking down at the fire pit her horn would flash orange and a spark would fling out from her horn and hit the wood, which would begin combusting.

Magloria didn't look as though she liked the idea that Collapse was suggesting. "We are already aware that the Panthins do not approve of us if the way Eliza reacted was any indication, kidnapping aside. If we introduced ourselves directly, hoping to get access to their machinery, it's almost certain that they would react badly and attack us, no matter how much we tried to dissuade them from doing so." she pointed out.

"I'd only recommend sneaking in and taking what we need. Immoral, sure, but necessary." she added, then shook her head when Collapse mentioned high pressure drilling and cutting. "No, I don't have the necessary magic reserves or horn durability to be able to sustain such a rapid and concentrated spell like that. You need *a lot* of pressure to cut through stone. Wood maybe, but the axe is far more efficient."

Magloria saw exactly what Collapse was doing in her attempts to get closer, but it wasn't something worth dealing with at the moment. If the mare got close enough to invade her personal space, then she'd do something.

"Hmm... roasted coconut, or roasted fruit? Maybe both? Could put the fruit in empty coconut shells and sit them above the fire for a bit." Jump Start suggested as she dug around in their food supplies, while the fire bloomed into a suitable source of heat. She muttered under her breath something about making a grill so they didn't need to levitate things all the time.

"Fair point. My concern is if we sneak in while taking what we need - if we are found out it is going to look *much* worse on our part. If that happens, we'll be able to get out most likely, but if they discover where we are located they aren't going to be too happy with us. So we'll have to be very careful in order to not get caught. Felines have great hearing after all." she stated, while not getting closer to Magloria.

In fact, she pulled herself away to get closer to Jump Start as Magloria talked. "Ah I see. Well there goes that idea then. Roasted Coconut and fruit together sounds good." she suggested to Jump Start while watching the fire. "Yeah we do need to make a grill. Portable grill. That's one of the important things for outdoor survival, but I wonder how we'd make one. I don't have any metal grates on me or anything like that." Collapse commented.

As they had the fire going and cooked their food Collapse knew that the smell could potentially attract predators or unwanted attention. She remains aware and alert, probably a bit more than she had to. Honestly she were a little paranoid. Rightfully so, one could say. "We really did end up in not the greatest of environments, but could be worse." she casually remarked.

"The way I see it, they'll come after us regardless of what we do. So why not do what we can as quickly as we can so we can leave this place sooner?" Magloria stated, "The alternative is wandering off into the jungle in search of other sources of things we need. Or making our own, which requires a whole prospecting, mining, refining and forging system before we can even begin."

If they went off into the jungle, they could find some old temple place that could just happen to have a fully working set of equipment that they need! It could cut down time to build the boat massively! Plus they could even find some ancient power source they could attach to their ship's engines and get home in a fraction of the time-

"Nah... that'd never happen." Magloria dismissed her imagination.

Jump Start had no problems with the overly friendly pony approaching her. In fact, it made it easier to hoof over the fruits and coconuts so that they could be levitated over the flames.

"Making a grill would be rather easy. It's sort of like making a table, except with holes in the top. Just a couple sticks on each end in an X shape, tied together with string, with another stick on top for holding up the grill parts... which are more sticks. It's just a load of sticks and string." she stated.

Collapse didn't see anything out among the trees, just the orange light from the sun slowly setting, and a blue glow like light being reflected off the nearby river, as light normally is.

Eventually the food was suitably ~~burnt~~ warmed up, and they could dig in. It's a good thing they still had those cutlery pieces and plates, otherwise it would be quite messy to deal with hot, sticky fruits.

Collapse began to dig in, using her cutlery to slice the fruits up into more manageable pieces. For all things considered they were doing quite well for themselves for being stranded out in the middle of unfamiliar territory. They could obviously doing a lot better but in her mind their state of affairs was acceptable at the moment.

"You drive a fair point. We are going to be found one of these days so it's best that we make all the progress we can before someone comes along and proves an obstacle for it. Tell you what, maybe tomorrow we should sneak into Carocal and search after the various things we need. I can use my unsummoning ability to...*aquire* what we need." Collapse smirks. That smirk was almost a little too wide though, as if she enjoyed the thought of getting away with something.

"What I could do is leave behind a few things here. Hide them somewhere while we are gone so nobody can find them. That way, I could truly make use of my pocket dimension to have a whole load of things. Maps, unique tools that could be used for a ship, anything else we'd really need and whatever else you'd wanna take with us." she added with a giggle.

Thieving was a rather euphoric thing, really. It is not so much taking something that doesn't belong to you - but the thrill of potentially getting caught, running from the authorities and all that was where the true treasure was. Not that Collapse was thief or anything...but hey, who is to say she wasn't one in the past?

Looking to Jump Start she nodded. "We should keep that in mind. Maybe if we have time tomorrow we can build a grill for ourselves. I do have a favorite brand of Grill though...the Weber grills are made by the finest Earth pony craftsmanship, built right out of Detrot. I remember I was able to flip a few of those for a higher price than what they were worth...oh and-" she cut herself off from indulging into her brand favoritism. Besides, that didn't matter at this point any way.

"Well... It's not really going to be like one of those Detrot grill... It's just going to be a bunch of sticks above a fire." Jump Start said, looking away while rubbing a forehoof in an embarrassed manner.

"We best enter Carocol when the sun is starting to set and we have the cover of dark. Not now though, it's too late for that already. We'll have some time tomorrow before then, so we can do some more tasks and sort out whatever we should bring while we wait." Magloria stated. She quickly finished off her food and, as usual, threw the skins into the fire pit. She kept the coconut shells of course. They're great for various things.

"Anyway, lots of stuff to do, so best get as much sleep as you can before then." she said, moving into their shelter and, likely to Collapse's disappointment, separated the petal beds so she could sleep on her own one, due to the heat of the fire.

Collapse looks to Jump Start, taking note of her embarrassment. She decided to not say anything further on that as she tossed her skins into the flame. However she quickly noticed what Magloria was doing with the petal beds and looks down at the ground sadly like a disappointed filly.

"Yeah, sounds good...we'll see what awaits us for tomorrow." she spoke, her tone a bit more somber upon seeing Magloria wanting to sleep alone. Was Magloria alone her whole life? She sure hoped that wasn't the case. Collapse wanted to be there and to make her smile. Make her happy. Clearly something happened to Magloria in the past. After all, not a lot of ponies are like her. Was Magloria okay? Was she happy?

Collapse would slowly walk off and curl up on the remaining pedals. Her eyes are fixed on Jump Start now. If she can't cuddle up with Magloria, she'll have Jump Start to herself tonight. Perhaps this may be an excuse to be a bit more bold with her this time.

Chapter 70

Collapse immediately moved closer to Magloria as if making sure she was okay. "Magloria, are you okay?" Collapse asked gently and moved even closer to Magloria. "That eye is very sensitive to magic it seems, it's a good thing it didn't hurt you too bad." Collapse said to Magloria, with concern.

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine." Magloria waved her off. It didn't take long before she was blinking her eye again, readjusting it to the world's more reasonable light levels. As she did this, she offered the crystal eye to Collapse.

"If you want to have a go looking at the stuff then go ahead. Just don't point it at that opal stone, or you're going to get blinded by this thing's obvious lack of safety features." she said.

Collapse would grab the eye and hold it up up to the ring piece and the other pieces, as well as the marble. She dare not look at the opal stone with it. After looking at the various things she looks to Jump Start. "Ah yes, nice and orange." she giggled.

Looking to the ring piece she saw surprisingly little amount of magical glimmers running through it. Only thin green lines through it which connected to the socket and the inner part of the ring. If it was active there would probably be a lot more activity.

The marble however was a surprising flux of activity, with all manner of glimmers shifting about the place, particularly in the center. It was hard to tell what even did what.

But there was one spot that continued to blink, slowly, but consistently.

Collapse focused on the marble for a bit with the eye. "Well, you should come take a look at the marble here. It has lots of glimmers and shimmers, but there is one spot on it that blinks repeatedly, but the Ring piece doesn't do a whole lot." Collapse spoke, and handed the eye back to Magloria so she coul take a look at it.

They suddenly heard a squawking noise from up in the trees. Seems like they had attracted the attention of a parrot. "Glimmers and shimmers! Glimmers and shimmers!" they repeated, then added "Glimmers, Shimmers and Sparkles too! Just copies! Squawk!"

Ignoring the parrot, Magloria looked into the crystal eye. "That's strange. I wonder why it's doing that." she said, levitating a small stick over to the marble and prodding that specific spot. The marble clicked.

Collapse bursted out laughing at the parrots actions and took a few seconds to calm down. When she calmed down she noticed that there was a click on the marble. "O-oh right, sorry about that." she blushed before walking up to the marble, still stifling a few giggles about the parrots.

The marble was still a marble on the outside, nothing seemed to have changed after Magloria's poke. Perhaps it needed something more, which is what Magloria began searching for through the eye.

"It moved. The spot moved." She said, turning the marble around so she could reach another spot and poked it again. Another clicking sound.

She repeated this several times before finally, something happened. A circular part popped open like a cork, revealing its contents. Strange red liquid, looking oddly like fruit juice based on it's brighter coloration.

Collapse looked down at the red liquid. "I wonder what that liquid is. I don't know, does anyone wanna take a small taste? I don't know if we should do that but I would do it before any of you would probably." Collapse smirked to the two of them. "It looks like fruit juice, but why would there be fruit juice inside a marble?" Collapse asked, puzzled.

Jump Start and Magloria shook their heads, neither of them intending to drink some strange liquid that's probably centuries old.

"I wouldn't risk it, but then again, I'm not you. Just if you decide to drink it and feel like vomiting, be sure to aim somewhere not in our general direction." Magloria said, letting Collapse decide her own fate.

"No, I'm not gonna drink. Not unless you want me to. I mean, I'll do it if you want me to." Collapse blushed slightly and looked away a bit. Collapse looked down at the marble again. "I am your taste tester, so you don't have to do it yourself." Collapse joked.

"I've got a better idea. Instead of risking one of us, we instead risk something else." Magloria suggested, looking out at the jungle around them. "We could grab some wild animal then give them a small dose of the liquid. If they turn their nose up and die we'll know for sure that it's unsafe for us."

Collapse laughed nervously. "No, no, that wouldn't be worth the effort - and I'm not killing animals today." Collapse said, definitely not inclined to do that. She started to continue walking off towards their shelter, grabbing the materials with her magic, handing the marble to Magloria with her magic so she can keep it with her.

"You sure? I bet one of those annoying parrots would suit that purpose just fine! Its sacrifice would not be in vain for it will lead us to many glorious days ahead!" Magloria smirked, then dropped it when she decided to get serious again.

"Fine, we won't do anything to the wildlife. However that just leaves us with a ball of mystery liquid, a broken rock and a piece of some unknown device." She got up, preparing to continue their journey. "Outside of knowing what was there, we're almost no better than when we started."

Collapse shot Magloria a slight glare there, not liking that form of humor at all. "Yeah, yeah, indeed." she sighed and continued onward. Collapse didn't really have much to say when they were on their way back, and didn't really appear to be in that much of a talking mood.

With a click, Magloria's magic caused the lid of the marble to close back into place, sealing the liquid back inside so it wouldn't leak as they travelled.

A couple days passed as they traversed the jungle, nothing out of the ordinary happening to them. They walked, foraged for food, watched for predators and scared them away if they got too curious, and kept each other from clumsily falling off cliffs that were right there but a certain mare wasn't listening.

On the dawn of the final day they came up to the river ahead, and knew that their destination was only a few more hours away. Then they could relax and plan out their next steps.

After a few days had passed, Collapse would sit down and relax as she looked to Jump Start. "Jump Start, what do you think our next steps should be? Would you think we should continue building the ship? We did get those machines after all, which would be useful for building the ship." Collapse said, and looked to Magloria for a few moments to take in her blue-ness for a bit, still mesmerized by how blue she was.

Jump Start shrugged, looking rather uncertain about what direction they should take. "I guess we could do that. Spend a couple days just... building a framework so we can set up planks on it. But I now kind of want to see what else is around. N-not the dangerous things of course, just..." she said, her last sentence drifting off.

Magloria meanwhile was at the river, busy cleaning off some of the muck that she had accumulated on her forehooves. Yep, she was definitely blue. She wasn't facing in Collapse's direction either, so that was probably better.

"Well how about we spend a solid three days building the ship and constructing blueprints, and getting together what we need for that, then we can do some more exploring?" she chirped, once again taking another glance to Magloria, and admiring how blue she was. A small giggle escaped her lips that Jump Start could hear. "She's so blue, the bluest pony ever..." Jump Start could hear her mutter under her breathe.

Jump Start shrugged once again. "Maybe? I dunno. Just... something or something..." she trailed off, mumbling to herself. When Collapse mentioned Magloria, she looked over as well.

"Well if that's what you want, just lots of blue, then go for it I suppose." she half-heartedly encouraged. She didn't really think anything was going to come of it, but she wasn't just going to outright say that.

Collapse smiled and looked back to Jump Start. "Well, you are very orange. Orange Jump Start. My favorite thing about ponies is how colorful they are, just like how varied their personalities are. And ponies are very interesting in general." Collapse mentioned, looking into Jump Start's eyes.

"Umm... Okay?" Jump Start slowly replied in a confused manner. She just didn't know how to react to someone saying something like that.

At this point Magloria returned from the river. "Alright then, on to the rest of the way back?" she asked.

Assuming that Collapse didn't have any detours in mind, like trying to find someone or checking something out, they would arrive back at the edge of their shelter.

Collapse would go along towards the shelter. When they arrived at the edge of their shelter she kept her eyes open for any dangerous animals and looking to see if everything was where they left it.

They couldn't see any threats nearby, but that didn't mean nothing hadn't been here. Several things were knocked over and covered in leaves and dirt, and judging from how most things had at least a small amount of dirt covering the lower parts, the rain had reached here and messed with things.

On the upside, their shelter proper looked relatively untouched. All the walls were intact, as was the window. Though when they checked inside they smelt a faint hint of wild animal. There was nothing in here, but something *had* been using their home as its own. It probably wouldn't any more, now that they had returned.

"And we are back, safe and sound." Collapse giggled, and sat down inside of their shelter and would take out the various things they had retrieved and set them out for Magloria or Jump Start to take at their leisure. Collapse didn't really care about the smell, thinking that the animal was long gone by now hopefully. Looking at the machines about the place, she was glad that nothing bad had happened when they were gone.

Both Jump Start and Magloria set their bags down inside, sorting through their stuff as well. It didn't take long before they had the stuff that could safely be left lying around free from their bags, before they began to tidy up the place a little.

For starters, Magloria decided to throw out their old beds, as they had already gone crunchy. One even had a bite taken out of it, apparently. After that was done, she declared that she'd go and find new ones.

Jump Start on the other hand began to tidy up some of their stuff, setting things back into place and clearing away the planty debris, so they could have places to hang around again without having wet leaves stick to their flanks.

Collapse would help Jump Start out while Magloria went to get new petals for the beds. She was eager to help Jump Start out and hummed a small little tune. An oddly specific one, at that. Perhaps Jump Start may be curious what that tune was, as Collapse went along and helped tidy up the place. Realigning a post there, moving a stick there, that sort of thing.

Jump Start looked over to Collapse while she hummed. ~~She wasn't really interested, but she asked anyway, because there was a prompt.~~ "What are you singing? I don't think I've heard of it." she asked.

Magloria meanwhile was somewhere far out of earshot, dealing with the most irritating giant flower that had decided it wanted to make a meal out of her. Her shortsword was showing it why this was a really bad idea.

"A tune my mother used to sing to me when I was a foal. I don't know where she got it from, but it's something she used to do. I miss my mom." Collapse sighed, her ears going back slightly. "I wonder what your mom was like." Collapse spoke.

"I'm sorry." Jump Start said, giving Collapse a gentle pat on the back. "My mother... she was uh... well a mare of few talents, but she was really good at them. Could definitely cook, but she uh... wasn't spectacular with a lot of other stuff..."

She looked around, tapping a hoof against one of the fire pit's rocks. "My house was often a bit messy, unless we had guests over." she added.

Collapse sighed and shut her eyes slightly, before looking to her friend. "My mother, well, she's a Cherry farmer. Earth Pony. Unlike a lot of ponies, I was well, adopted, so I was not raised by unicorns. I became more in tune with the physical nature of things rather than my magic. I have a few spells, but nothing like most unicorns do. Instead, I chose to build, construct, as you know." she smiled lightly.

"My house was a farm house. While I was raised by only by my mother, others would occasionally come over and hang out as well." she added in turn.

At this point Magloria returned, parts of her matted with what looked like a transparent liquid that wasn't water. A *lot* of petals rested on her back, almost too many for them to even lie on.

"I got some new beds. Maybe these ones will be more *satisfying* to sleep on." she said, emphasizing the word 'satisfying' as she said it.

"Yes, satisfying." Collapse looked to the petals and did a slight giggle imagining the two of them pressing up against her on the soft petals. "Those are some different ones, hey, what is that on you?" she asked, pointing to the liquid that was on her.

Magloria looked back at the petals, narrowing her eyes slightly. "Yes, they're very... different. I will say that this one in particular will not bother us in the future." She looked back at the pair of ponies and began moving to the shelter.

"I don't want to talk about what I'm going to wash off in a few moments. For future reference, avoid the plants that hang fruits in their center." she said, and began placing her loot down on the floor. Their shelter was practically carpeted now. Every spot of exposed dirt covered up.

Collapse didn't question what Magloria said and lays down on the floor once she laid them out. She looks to Jump Start, wagging her tail, and moving her gear over to a certain spot with her magic, now that they had a better floor. A few giggles and winks are seen and heard from Collapse as she looks to Jump Start, making it clear what she wanted.

As Magloria left to clean herself for the second time today, Jump Start came over to inspect the new addition to their shelter, occasionally looking at the obvious signs that Collapse was giving.

Once done with feeling their new floor and testing how comfortable it was to lay on, she decided to just go and do what Collapse expected. She approached the mare, then settled down right to her so they could feel each other's warmth.

Collapse snuggles around Jump Start and brings her slightly closer, wrapping her hooves around her gently and then giving her a headpat. Her tail wags excessively as this happens and she sighs dreamily, whispering that at least they had each other. When Magloria would inevitably return, she'd probably see what the two of them were doing.

Jump Start slowly relaxed more and more as she was wrapped in a Collapse blanket. Compared to previous nights where she mostly seemed to accept the whole close contact thing, this time she seemed happy to be like this.

Eventually Magloria returned, looking slightly damp, and peered down at the pair snuggling. She had no real plan to join them or interrupt, so instead she sat down in a corner and tried to work on some things, thinking over their previous adventure all the while.

Collapse occasionally would reach her hooves up and stroke Jump Start's head a little bit. It was done in a way with the very tips of her hooftips, to make it even more tantalizing and delicate so she could feel Jump Start's hairs. Collapse greeted Magloria casually as if nothing was happening out of the ordinary, but allowing Magloria to her own thoughts.

Well Collapse could definitely feel the hairs and mane on Jump Start's head. Jump Start on the other hand had no idea what Collapse was trying to do, but at this point in time she didn't really care, either.

Magloria gave a nod in greeting back to Collapse, before she went back to her internal thoughts. Soon those thoughts started to seep outwards, and she began mumbling some things. "-if the panthins have... ...broken stone. Maybe at a mine... ...private library? How would we find one? Nah..."

Collapse continued to gently feel Jump Start's hair. Before her ears were poked a little bit, then rubbed gently by her soft hooves. "I wonder how it feels being orange. I'm a happy, yellow pony. I wonder what it would be like if I was a happy orange pony instead, like you? So colorful. Individual colors..." Collapse spoke soothingly into Jump Start's ears, while she did overhear Magloria's monologue, she didn't comment on that.

While Collapse might not have seen fit to comment on what Magloria had been talking about, it didn't stop the blue mare from hearing what Collapse said... and it didn't stop her thinking that maybe Collapse might've snuck a bite of a strange mushroom while she wasn't looking.

"Colors are colors, Collapse. Being yellow or orange wouldn't make much difference to how you felt. It only would matter if you preferred one color over the other... or if there was a stigma, like the thestrals of old. Grey and black was very unpopular to be." she stated.

"Well Magloria, you are pretty blue. Matches your skillset with water and ice, one could say. Your cutie mark matches your colors as well. Blue, blue...blue." she smiled calmly as she looked into Magloria's eyes. "I wonder how many ponies have say, ice magic, but are of a fiery orange, for example." she pondered.

Magloria rolled her eyes. "Yes, I am completely blue. Everyone around me and myself has known this for decades." she paused, thinking about the thing Collapse pondered. "Probably not a lot of ponies, to be fair. Not many unicorns will specialize themselves to elements. It's too... natural for them to even consider, with all the hoity toity 'arcane' stuff they have."

"Plus the pegasi exist. Why would you learn how to control lightning, wind or ice when you would be competing with a pegasus? Most pegasi aren't grey or white like clouds either, and most earth ponies aren't green or brown."

"So... not as many as you might think, I'd say." she finished.

Collapse looked deeply within Magloria's eyes. "I find it interesting with the way you speak about unicorns. Not many specialize themselves with the elements. But you have. You are no normal one, really, a far greater amount of agility, strength, and knowledge than I have seen from any other unicorn I've met - and I don't say that lightly. I don't mean to intrude upon your life though, it is just quite obvious to me you have a far more unique perception and tales to tell than anyone else." she spoke, in a neutral, calm manner.

Magloria leaned back against a wall, her face falling into a calm state. "Well I cannot deny that I have a perception that most don't have. And, I suppose those qualities you said when you compare to any of Equestria's close minded unicorns that they churn out daily..."

She looked Collapse straight in the eye. "I suppose I can tell you this, at least. You've probably already worked it out, but I wasn't taught in the traditional unicorn sense. My teachings came from the shamans of zebra tribes. They taught me that magic was about more then memorizing spellbooks and performing their contents exactly, right down to the last full stop."

"The natural magic around us has much more freedom than that. It can be shaped, but never controlled. Asked, but never demanded of. I've learned to ask the nature of cold and frost to help me, and it lets me shape it in return for my own magic. It's just just shaping magic that is important either. Many things are."

And with that, she looked away and returned to her sheets of paper, seemingly ending that part of the discussion.

Collapse nodded calmly as she looked Magloria in the eyes as she read her paper. "I have worked it out, yes. I have probably worked out more but it will take time and trust to see if what I have surmised is indeed true. It may or may not be." she stated, looking down at her sheets of paper in front of her. "I have never really been one for spells beyond the ones I already have. The ones I have suit me, but I wouldn't mind learning more - the proper way, not the academic." she stated, agreeing with Magloria's viewpoints on magic.

While they talked, she gently hugged Jump Start again and gave her more friendly headpats and such before just laying there with her, her tail resting next to Jump Start's leg.

The only things Magloria had actually done to the papers so far was draw a rough map of Carocol based on the actual one, and had marked certain places that might be of interest to her.

"It's not 'the proper way', just 'the natural way'. I'm not discrediting how unicorns normally learn magic, but their inability to look beyond themselves makes them think it's the *only* way." Magloria said.

Jump Start quietly squeaked when she got hugged, each headpat making her repeat the sound. Even still, she merely shifted a bit to get into a more comfortable position and let Collapse do whatever.

"Yup. By the way if you wanna come over and join us you can." Collapse smirked calmly, putting her face close to Jump Start as she looks through her hairs slightly, as she is looking to Magloria, if emphasizing her point. "I remember that one time where you gave me the lantern since I forgot it that one time. That was the time when we went down, Jump Start was there with me in the engineering room." Collapse added.

A sudden sharp glare in Collapse's direction was probably not what she expected from Magloria. What did she do to deserve that? Well she quickly found out.

"There's a time and a place when you talk about recent tragedies, Collapse. I don't know what you were thinking bringing it up while *trying to entice me into your little snuggle session.*" she practically growled, once more turning back to her papers, and this time ignoring any further attempts from Collapse.

Jump Start didn't feel relaxed anymore. She just felt awkward, now uncomfortably shifting in response.

Collapse didn't answer what Magloria said and just went awkwardly silent. In her eyes she didn't say or do anything wrong, and just didn't understand why Magloria reacted that way. At least she had Jump Start. Collapse awkwardly shifted and shut her eyes, looking out towards the jungle as they laid there. If nothing else happened, she would fall asleep, albeit in a more uncomfortable fashion than she wanted.

The next morning, Collapse was woken up by the smells of fruits cooking and... something oddly bitter. Seems like it might just be another day of doing whatever.

Jump Start and Magloria had already left the shelter, so they must both know what's going on.

Collapse woke up. She remembered...something from her dreams, but it was too hazy for her to remember what it was. She awoke, and looked outside to see what was going on. What was that smell? She snapped awake, ready to face the reality of her situation.

Seems like Magloria was busy cooking something over at the campfire, using their most bowl-like piece of equipment. Fruits were set on the grill next to it, warming up to enjoy for breakfast.

Whatever was in the bowl was the source of the bitter stench. It looked like a mush of greeny yellow stuff mixed in with water, which was constantly evaporating from the heat.

Jump Start saw Collapse at the doorway and gave her a greeting.

Collapse relaxed, knowing that it was safe. She looked to Jump Start and gave her a happy good morning, and did the same for Magloria. She went up to the fruits, and would eat once they were ready. Collapse suggested that today they spend more time on plans and shipbuilding.

Magloria shrugged. "Perhaps. If we're doing that, then this stuff might come in handy." she said as she returned to stirring the goop around the bowl with one of their spoons.

"Do you think we should set up the frame for the boat here in the jungle, or out there on the beach?" Jump Start asked, looking back and forth between the other two.

"Would be better to set it up on the beach so we don't have to carry it, but we'll have to keep an eye on it closely and keep it hidden preferably." Collapse mentioned.

"So... close to the beach, but not somewhere out in the open where everyone could see it? I guess that could work." Jump Start said, rubbing a hoof to her chin as she thought about how they would go about it.

"Maybe that should be the next thing we do. Set up a little hidden area in the jungle next to the beach, but free of trees and other plants. We're gonna need that axe." She pointed to Collapse's saddlebag.

Collapse nodded and looked to Magloria. "Yes, that should be what we do." she spoke, pulling out her double axe and smiling as she pulls it out, as if she was proud of such an inventive creation. "So let's eat, and then we'll go." Collapse spoke.

After their breakfast was quickly eaten and most of their saddlebags were emptied of stuff they didn't need (for carrying stuff they found nearby), they started moving out towards the beach, using their tree-barren shortcut.

After a reasonably straight line of walking once the path was gone, they arrived at the sandy beachline before the ocean. Magloria looked around at the jungle around them. "This looks like a good spot to start clearing, as long as we can avoid any rocks nearby between here and the water that is." she observed.

Collapse agreed with Magloria's assessment of their surroundings and would proceed to stat clearing out once she gave the go ahead to do so. Collapse did the best she could, and would collect what they had cleared out into a pile for later use. She made sure to be precise, and put her best effort forth in doing the job done, keeping largely silent and to herself in doing so.

The day was spent rather peacefully, just clearing out a place large enough that a future boat could rest in. While Collapse had taken out the trees, Magloria and Jump Start were busy uprooting bushes and other cumbersome plants and moving them elsewhere.

At one point Jump Start screamed and ran after she had discovered a nest of snakes hiding in a bush. This one was best moved with telekinesis instead.

At one point they saw a local seapony chilling on the beach, getting themselves a suntan. They didn't seem all that important, so could probably just be ignored if they didn't care.

Throughout the process, Collapse would have helped out Jump Start with moving the snakes with telekinesis away so they wouldn't prove a problem to them. She continued to cut down the trees and move everything. After a while more, Collapse pointed out the Seapony and suggested that they could go talk with the Seapony if they wanted to, since they did indeed get a good amount of work done.

Magloria looked down at the butter yellow seapony in the distance. If they looked really hard they could see whiskers, which is a plus.

The blue mare rose an eyebrow. "Well what did you want to talk to them about? Or did you just want to hang around with them and take a break?" she asked.

"Maybe they are one we've already talked to and we could catch up on things...?" Jump Start pondered as she looked, trying to remember if she'd seen that seapony before.

"We can talk to them about the ship building and such. Perhaps they could inform the others that we are ready to build the ship and we'll need help to do so, like they said before." Collapse proposed, remembering what had happened a while ago.

"We don't actually have any materials properly refined to use, and I doubt they want to waddle through the jungle to help us do it. We need to spend a day or so making some planks before we can just ask them for help." Magloria pointed out as she started walking in the direction of the seapony.

"I've thought over some designs for the ship though. I've written some down, so all we need to do is decide which one we want, then start building to those specifications." she added.

"Right, let's talk about what you got then. What possible designs do you have to suggest?" Collapse asked Magloria curiously, eager to know what she had written down. That was the fun part, deciding on what design exactly they would build.

Magloria opened her saddlebag and took out a wad of paper, spreading several sheets out into the air in her magic. There were 2 designs, one was longer and thinner, making it better at moving through the water, however it wouldn't carry as much and they'd need more resources to build the frame.

The other was thicker than the other one, if only slightly. It would hold more for less wood, but it wasn't as streamlined, making trips take a bit longer. If they could gather the stuff needed for a longer trip though, that wouldn't be much of a problem.

Neither had any spaces for mounted weapons, but it's not like they were expecting to fight anyway.

"Hmm, the first one I like better. Moving through the water more streamlined. We won't be able to carry as much, but that's fine. We probably won't be taking these machines with us. At the very least we can write down as much details about things we find if we cannot take them with us. I do notice that there is not any places for weapons, but I suppose that will do." she spoke, preferring that one.

"Alright then." Magloria agreed, stuffing the sheets back into her bag. Even if the other one went unused, there still might be a use for it somewhere. Like kindling.

"Next step is probably setting up a stand for where the frame is going to go. Then we can stick some hardwood planks together with some nails and we have ourselves a crude boat frame." she nodded.

"Uh, do we even have any nails?" Jump Start asked.

"Y-yeah, I don't think we have any nails. Shit. We may have to go to Carocal to get the nails in that case then." Collapse said with a sigh, but knew that they would have to go back again at some point. "We might as well get anything else we need."

"Speaking of anything else we need, I wonder if we could find and... converse with a geologist. That shimmering stone is going to remain a mystery until we can find a way to get a new one or put it back together. I'd hate to let it go to waste if it really does contain such energy." Magloria suggested to them.

"The boat's also going to need sealants to keep it watertight. They'd have stuff for that at Carocol too." Jump Start also suggested. Boats were fairly complicated constructs after all. They needed a lot of different parts.

She then looked over to the seapony. "So... still want to go over to them? Or perhaps it's better to get started on other things."

“We should talk to them. Maybe they could find some sort of geologist for us to talk to. It’s not going to hurt to talk to a friendly seapony would it?” Collapse smiled, remembering the hugs she got from the seaponies. The seaponies were very calming. All those innocent colors out in the sea. Soft seaponies.

“And later can go back to see if we can get anything else we need. So now is the time to think about that too.” Collapse added.

"I doubt the seaponies are going to bring any respectable geologist that they have out here unless we let this seapony here know exactly what we're dealing with. And even then there's no guarantee." Magloria shrugged, but then sighed. "Still, worth a shot at least. A small shot."

The butter yellow seapony was still laying about, soaking up the rays of the sun. Occasionally they would waddle to a different spot, either wetting themselves again or after finding an uncomfortable seashell.

Collapse would approach the seapony slowly. "Hey, I hope we aren't bothering you. We um, we just wanna talk to you a little bit. I hope we aren't scaring you off." Collapse said as they approached the yellow seapony.

The seapony at this point was busy basking on their back, letting their belly get nice and warm. They looked like they were enjoying it, right up until Collapse spoke.

They opened an eye and looked up at her, and must've declared her friendly enough because closed their eye again and went back to sunbathing.

"What's on your mind?" she replied in a simple manner.

Collapse walked right up to the seapony. "We are uh - wanting to know if you happen to know any geologists or if you know anyone who would know anything about geologists." she spoke calmly, sitting down next to the seapony, but not too close.

[22-May-22 05:43 PM]
"Rock experts? Can find, don't know them." the seapony replied. "Why?"

"Because we've got a special rock that could use an expert's opinion on, especially when it comes to finding a new one." Magloria stated, lifting the flap of her bag and bringing out one half of the shimmering stone.

The seapony opened her eye again, blinked a few times before focusing on the stone. "Mmm... pretty. Shines well." she awed.

"Yeah, it is not just a stone. But we found a whole ruin...somewhere in the jungle that is quite dangerous, and that stone contained a lot of electrical energy by the looks of it. I don't know how else to explain it. Since it broke, and exploded into a lightning bolt sort of thing, luckily we didn't get hurt." Collapse said calmly.

The seapony looked a little more cautious now. "Zaps? Still pretty, but dangerous. Should keep it safe, away from important stuff." she said as she rolled over onto her belly, giving herself a little distance from them and their stone.

"That's what we're looking for a geologist for." Jump Start joined in. "It's so it doesn't do anything bad when it gets used. If we could fix it or get a new one, then there would be no problem."

The seapony waved her whiskers at the stone, immediately recoiling after only a split second and shaking her head. She clearly didn't like something about the stone. "Safe stone, no zaps? Good." she agreed.

Collapse noticed the seapony didn't have much understanding of things, but at least they were willing to talk. "Well, can you lead us to anyone, or do you know of anyone who knows about these sorts of stones?" she asked, looking to the seapony's cutie mark to see what it was out of sheer curiosity. Her tail swished a bit, obviously liking the idea of being near to a seapony.

"As said, can find them, don't know them. You meet them. Warm sun time over." the seapony stated, turning around as they began waddling towards the ocean.

At this point Collapse got a real good look at their cutie mark. Strangely enough it appeared to be a campfire, with blue flames instead of the usual orange. What would a seapony have to do with flames?

The seapony reached the water and started swimming, looking back at them as if expecting them to follow.

Collapse followed them up to the waves, quickly, before the seapony would vanish out of earshot. "Hey! We can't go under the water though, we aren't seaponies like you are. So can you go find them, and we'll wait here for you to get them?" Collapse asked as she watched the seapony swimming in the water. The cutie mark was strange, though, flames didn't work underwater, did they?

The seapony blinked, then blinked again. Then she blinked a few more times. "Why?" She asked, as if the reason why they couldn't go underwater wasn't well known, which it wasn't.

"Because we can't breathe underwater." Jump Start replied. This seemed to be enough, because the seapony nodded then turned back to the water. With a brief dive to get enough speed, they leapt into the air then splashed back into the sea.

"Well now all we need to do is wait, I suppose." Magloria suggested.

Collapse watched the seapony splash back into the sea and then turns to them. "Odd way of communicating, I can tell you that. Not sure if I can put a hoof on it, but that seapony doesn't seem like the brightest bulb in the box." she commented idly. "We can go back to work, as we wait, unless you think we are done, for now?" she asked the others.

Jump Start shrugged. "She didn't seem to really... *act* unintelligent. Maybe a bit lacking in the language department, but she did know what a geologist was. And didn't insist we should go swimming." she said.

Magloria looked over at the nearby jungle. "If you want to keep working, sure I suppose. A bit more work done on the path from this end. Just be close enough so that I can call you when they return."

"Not unintelligent, but just of a different language. Is to be expected. I will finish working, don't hesitate to call me over." Collapse asked as she would go back to resume the work on the path and other things.

Collapse spent another hour or so chopping down trees, with Jump Start assisting her with clearing away annoying plants in the way. If they had to guess, it would take at least a few more days before they've cleared enough trees and stuff that they could make a proper path for transporting things.

Eventually they heard a call from Magloria. Jump Start took no time at all to stop pulling at a large plant and start heading over towards the beach. She hadn't liked it very much, judging from her complaints over the last couple minutes.

Collapse would finish chopping down the tree she was chopping down by the time Magloria called over but she didn't haul it over to where she put the others. She can do that later. With an almost excited hop in her step, she heads to the beach, hoping that the seapony managed to find wh they needed.

Looking down the beach, Collapse and Jump Start saw that the yellow seapony had returned, bringing with them another seapony, this one with black fur with orange waving stripes across their center. Magloria was already showing off the stone.

Once they were in earshot they heard the newcomer talking "-seen one myself, but I have had them described to me. Its description unmistakable. This is definitely what a Prismal looks like." they said.

Collapse walks up to them. "You said something about Prismal, whats that?" Collapse asked the other seapony calmly. The black fur was interesting. Black and orange, that was a nice color combo for sure. Collapse instinctively wondered if the seapony was soft.

After a brief introduction given by Magloria, Collapse learned that the new seapony's name was Geode Crack.

Magloria held up the shimmer stone for Collapse to see. "This is called Prismal, at least by the seaponies." she answered. "It's hard to find stuff and leaves the surroundings barren of magic, according to Geode."

The black seapony nodded. "Very hard to find. Spotting a potential location for it is easy. Actually finding it in the kilometer of dead rock *and* justifying the expenses is extremely hard."

"Well just to inform you, we are building a ship here and we wouldn't mind having help in building the ship once we get the materials ready and everything cleared out. You can spread the word for volunteers to help us if you would like. And that is interesting that this is so rare, hmm." Collapse replied, with a hoof to her chin for a second. "Thanks for the information, though."

Geode rose an eyebrow. "Yesss... everyone already knows about that. I don't know why you'd ask me though. I'm more a professional about rocks, not wood." she said, turning to Magloria, "Is that everything you wanted? I do have work I need to do."

Magloria shook her head and pointed at the prismal stone. "There's more. This is just one half of the stone that we found. We were wondering if there was a way you could rejoin the two halves seamlessly." she said, offering the other half to inspect as well.

Geode Crack inspected both halves in her flippers, putting them together to see if they had been chipped in any way. There was a small bit of damage, but nothing too major.

"They can be put back together, but they would require a strong adhesive, one that I'm afraid we don't have. Then just sand down the cracked area a bit to disguise missing pieces and it should look good as new, sort of."

"Just curious, how much would one of the halves of these give us in turn? We could potentially get enough shells, or what you use for currency, to pay some seaponies to build the boat for us, or at least cover the majority of it. If you know someplace we could cash it in, how much would this give us in turn?" Collapse asked, seemingly more focused on what benefits selling one of the stones would be, rather than putting it back together.

Geode looked down at the prismal, then back up to Collapse, trying to speak but failing as she tried to contemplate why she would ask such a question.

When she finally got her voice back under control, she spoke. "The only one who would be able to buy half of THIS would be the treasury or one of those rich snobs near it! You'd be set for life several times over."

Magloria rose an eyebrow. "Are you sure you want to trade it away to someone else?" she asked Collapse in a serious manner. "It sounds like we're never going to see another one of these ever again if we do. That device will likely never function without it."

Collapse looked to Magloria curiously. "You have a point. But do you really want to build a boat all by ourselves, when none of us have done such a thing? We could be here for months doing that. Unless we find something with enough value to cover the cost, and keeping this Prismal for ourselves..." she said, in thought. She was however, extremely tempted by what Geode said about the treasury.

Magloria sighed. "We could pay for labor costs in other ways. Enough of their currency that we could stay here comfortably until we die though? We really don't need that."

"I'm sure we have or can go gather other things that would be valuable enough that we can buy what we need. There has got to be a lot of stuff on the surface, *including from those ruins*, that they can't get easily." she pointed out.

"Also I do not think that seaponies have built boats either, just saying." she added after a brief pause.

Collapse sighs. "I guess nobody around here knows how to build a boat, then. Seems as though we just have to do it no matter how many corners were try to cut." Collapse said with a sigh. "You are right. Perhaps after we clear out what we need to, we can go find something like that." she suggested.

"Uhh... Collapse, Magloria? I think you might be forgetting the reason why we asked for help from the seaponies in the first place." Jump Start began as she sat down on the sands, "They don't need to know how to build a boat, they just need to know how to follow instructions. We give them something to follow."

Collapse also sat down. "Well, I think I know vaguely what we have to do. We'd need the sealant between boards of the ship, which we have not gotten yet. I do not know how we'll do planking, probably use one of those saws and cut long thin pieces of wood, as good as we can get it. We'd need something for the sails too, which we also do not have yet." she thought outloud.

"I believe some of us can help with the sail issue you have. Some of us ranch some creature that produces a silky substance that can be used similarly to the Panthin cloths. You just need to have the shells ready and they can deliver some for you." Geode offered.

"And then we just get sealants from the Panthins themselves." Magloria added. Seems like most of their issues with constructing a boat had solutions readily available. All they had to do was to piece everything together.

Shells for trading and labor, stuff from Panthins, wood from trees.

"Yup. Do we still have some of those shells with us?" Collapse asked, fumbling about in her saddlebags to see if they still had those in their saddlebags, since they did get a good amount before, as far as Collapse can remember. If it wasn't in any of their bags, than it was inside of Collapse's pocket dimension. Either way, once they found the shells, she would show them to Geode, wondering if this was enough to cover for the sails.

Geode looked at the different values of shells that they had, shifting a piece or two about to count them all. She shook her head. "I doubt that's enough for... how big did you need it?" she asked. Magloria gave a rough measurement, earning another head shake from Geode.

"No. I don't even know the prices well and I know you won't have enough for something that large. It's not the stuff that grows like kelp. You're going to have to earn some more."

Jump Start perked up. "Hey, I bet the panthins have some things that we could trade away." she suggested, "...Not that we should *rely* on stealing from them to pay for stuff." She shrank back down as she thought about the implications.

Collapse nodded and looked to Jump Start. Her eyes narrowing, wondering why Jump Start decided to mention that in front of others. She'd scold her for that if they were alone, but didn't comment on that out of respect for Jump Start. "Right. We'll see what we can do. At least we know we have more options now." Collapse nodded to Geode in a thankful manner.

Geode had started looking at Jump Start in an odd way as well. She didn't say anything however, since disrespecting those that may possibly bless their underwater world with a Prismal, an object of untold potential, wouldn't be taken kindly by the others.

Magloria took a step back. "I think this concludes this meeting. If we want to give the prismal away, we'll let you know. Until then though I think we best part ways." she stated, earning an agreement from both seaponies.

"Goodbye, then." Geode replied, pushing themselves back into the shallows as they began to leave.

"Please be well, seaponies." Collapse said to the seaponies as they would leave. She would start to walk back to their work area and gave Jump Start a slight glare. "You shouldn't have said anything about stealing from the Panthins while they were around." she said in a serious manner, but not a disrespectful one as they moved away from where they were.

Jump Start lowered her head in shame as they made their way back. "I know, I'm sorry. Not having laws and other ponies around and stuff anymore is making it hard to... keep civil." she replied.

"So, really the only thing we need to do now to build our boat is raid the Panthins for the third and final time. How hard could it really be though? Even when they knew we were there they didn't stop us getting away." Magloria said.

"It's okay, Jump Start. Just gotta keep going and we'll eventually be back home. When we get back home, I wanna give you the biggest and yummiest chocalate chip cookie there is." Collapse said in a hopeful manner and looked to Magloria. "Indeed. I think it's been long enough that things have simmered down already for that." she added.

Eventually they get back to camp. At this point the sun was just barely starting to cast shadows over everything as it slowly approached the horizon. Magloria set down her bags for now and looked to Collapse.

"I still don't think we should sell the prismal to the seaponies, just in case you're still thinking about that. It's easy money sure, but money can be made in other ways. It sounds like you can't just make another prismal so easily." she said.

"If that really is the case than I would like us to keep it. Perhaps we can find some other ruin with something else, or go back to the ruin we were in and find something else of value to give to them." Collapse suggested, setting her bags down and laying on one of the petals after taking her boots off, looking to Magloria.

"There is probably tonnes of stuff that we could find down in those ruins. Not just the weird machines either. Surely they would've had a store room of sorts, filled with materials that we could get." Jump Start suggested as she sat down on a petal, now just thinking of the stuff they could've found if they had a few days to search.

"Imagine if they had vaults filled with gold and gems and priceless magical artifacts..." she said aloud while imagining.

Magloria saw the look she was being given and, after rolling her eyes, she moved over to the spot *next* to Collapse and sat down. It was close, but not too close.

Collapse's tail wags a little bit as she looks to Magloria, but didn't move any closer or say anything to her. She didn't want to 'scare' her off. "Well, we'll just have to find out and see. I could only hope that would be the case. We could spend tomorrow moving the wood to the cleared out location and doing whatever else we need, and tonight, we can plan on what we need to take from the Panthins." Collapse suggested.

"I think we've already planned on what we're taking from the Panthins. Sealant for the wood, adhesive for the prismal, maybe something valuable for the seaponies though that one is optional. We can always find something somewhere else." Magloria said.

"And anything else we come across along the way we might find useful?" Jump Start asked.

"...Maybe. We shouldn't just take for the sake of taking though." the blue mare replied, looking away.