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."