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.