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.