//------------------------------// // Chapter 21 // Story: Away and Afar // by PropsValroa //------------------------------// 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.