//------------------------------// // Chapter 36 // Story: Away and Afar // by PropsValroa //------------------------------// 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.