//------------------------------// // Chapter 56 // Story: Away and Afar // by PropsValroa //------------------------------// If Magloria understood the look she was being given, she didn't act upon or question it. Instead she gave a simple nod and grabbed onto Collapse when she was in the right place. That was probably the highlight of Collapse's day. A pity that it only lasted 3 seconds, with Magloria counting down those seconds. They were launched off into the sky once more, this time the trip being far more pleasant for Collapse, due to the hug being not-so-bone-breaking and the lack of any high pitched screams right in her ear. Jump Start watched them from above... then below as they passed over her. Collapse would glide off over the cliff while Magloria had grabbed onto her. It felt very nice for her to be grabbed like that, so it was indeed the highlight of Collapse's day. She cherished every moment. Funny that her real name is Cheshire. When they landed Collapse would maneuver so she would be able to set themselves down right next to Jump Start. Collapse landed gently and carefully, smirking to Jump Start as they were now on top of the cliff. The moment that they had landed, Magloria let go, robbing Collapse of any further enjoyment. "Thanks, hopefully we don't encounter any more problems like this, but I wouldn't be surprised if we do. Anyway, let's press on." Magloria said as she started walking towards their destination again. Nothing else of importance happened that day. They trekked through an area that was more muddy than usual, and encountered a group of lemur-like creatures. Curious folk with big yellow eyes that kept to their trees, much more respectable than monkeys were. Jump Start found some strange foodlike stuff on a small leafy plant. It looked like fruit but was extremely spicy, much like a pepper. Might be good for seasoning something later, when they get around to making proper meals. By the time they stopped at shelter for the night they estimated that they were most of the way there. If the map was correct, they should probably be able to find something by sometime tomorrow. As they proceeded through the area Collapse was clearly fascinated by the new sights they were seeing upon their way. The lemur-like creatures and the spicy fruit was something they had yet to see up to this point. To Collapse, this was a clear sign that they were entering into a different type of the jungle that lay ahead. When they would stop at whatever shelter they had chosen Collapse would lay down on a pedal looking to the two of them. "Fascinating how expansive the world is, so to speak. I wonder if you have any ideas how large it really is. Are we on the first of many undiscovered lands, perhaps? How large is the world?" she asked, not directed at them specifically but more of just an open air question. Magloria shrugged, replying to Collapse's question anyway. "Only way to really tell is if we manage to sail a boat around from one side and it hits the opposite side of Equestria." she said, staring into the fire that they had. To keep away predators of course, not because they actually needed it outside of roasting food. "Are we really sure the world isn't flat though?" Jump Start questioned, earning a look from Magloria. She shrank and turned her head away, apologizing for asking that question. "Anyway, rest up. Next day we'll be doing a lot of searching, most likely." Magloria suggested, laying herself down and getting ready to go to sleep, with Jump Start following suit shortly after. Collapse gave a slight glare to Jump Start, such a question had been disproven. "The world isn't flat because during certain wars and conflicts in the past, for long range attacks they've had to calculate the exact areas the attacks would hit. Those calculations wouldn't work on a flat plane. Plus, ships disappear bottom first when sailing over the horizon over a multitude of other things which you should already know." she stated with a slightly disappointed sigh. Again she layed down between the both of them, looking to Magloria. "Although that doesn't stop the world from being way larger than we thought it was. I believe it's much larger, perhaps even a dozen times, or more, than the size of Equestria. Equestria is only a nation, and beyond that you have the Dragon lands, the Griffons, the Yaks, and the Changeling Empire under Chrysalis...and that's only the known lands." she spoke. "Not to mention the areas where ponies live beyond the borders of Equestria. Such as Thalemare, Velross, Lohundrul, and various other groups that I can't be bothered to name at the moment." she added casually. "I've been lucky to see the full map of the known lands, that isn't as widely known." she added further. "Well until we manage to explore every single part of the world, we'll never find out how big the world is. And even then we'd have to be alive long enough for that to happen, which we might if we get out of this at least." Magloria sighed, shrugging her shoulders before resting her head down, closing her eyes to sleep. "Well at least we can say it's larger than those nations, plus a week or so over the ocean." Jump Start mumbled to herself. Collapse inched slightly closer to Magloria while her eyes were closed and looked over to Jump Start and smirked a bit. Her wail wags a little bit before it rests against Jump Start. Then Collapse closes her eyes and yawns. "Who knows, who knows..." she yawned again, trying to sound extra cute. If nothing else happened, it was time for sleep. One of Magloria's eyes opened when she heard Collapse scooching over toward her. She simply rolled it and tried to get back to sleep. Next morning Collapse woke up first. It felt like it was going to be an interesting day. Reason it felt like that? Well when Collapse first looked around, she spotted one of those lemurs casually playing around with the hairs of Jump Start's tail. Didn't seem to be doing anything bad with it, just things like wearing it as a hat or scarf, or flopping it about. Collapse woke up and looked to the lemurs with an almost concerned expression. At least the lemurs seemed to be a bit more intelligent and more mannered than the monkeys they had encountered previously. That was a plus, she just seemed to look at them quietly as if judging their reaction. She extended a hoof though, wondering if they would understand the gesture. Apparently the lemur did not recognize Collapse's gesture after all. Noticing her movement spooked it into leaping back into the nearby trees again, taking a place on the branches and staring back down at the group. Wow, those were some big yellow eyes. Almost like looking at a foal's face, in a way. Jump Start on the other hand had no idea that she had just been used as clothing for a brief moment, instead remaining very asleep. Collapse looked into the Lemur's eyes curiously. Perhaps these lemurs were more intelligent than what she had thought. The others were asleep at the moment, so she wasn't going to try talking to them. Although now that she was awake, she'd just admire the sleeping forms of her companions for about a minute before looking at her surroundings. She wasn't going to walk off on her own or anything, though. But it was probably time to prepare breakfast for them, and so she'd do exactly that with some of their food supplies. The spicy stuff that Jump Start found? She'd want to try some of that on her fruit, just a small dash of it on her own fruits. From what Collapse could tell from her surroundings it was pretty much the same jungle that they had been living in for the past days, maybe a few different plants here and there and the lemurs but otherwise it looked pretty similar. The place they were at currently was a spot underneath a plant with absolutely massive leaves, great for sheltering them from anything. Didn't stop the bugs though, but nothing other than a flyscreen mesh or a dozen cans of fly spray would stop those. The leaves *could've* been useful as beds, if it weren't for the fact that they were too thin really support them be that comfortable. Plus the time when Jump Start snapped a leaf when testing it out, it leaked out white sap. Poisonous, according to Magloria. As Collapse was busy with the preparation of her meal, the lemur nearby watched intently. Thing is, as she moved things about it didn't appear to have it's eyes fixed on the proper food, but on the spicy stuff. It was interesting with all the plants here. If they had more time and space, Collapse would have taken leaves from the various plants she has seen and preserved them, for the sake of having added proof of their voyage and further documentation. Although with how small leaves were, it wouldn't impact her pocket dimension by any reasonable margin. Something she realized, and smirked at that realization. Grabbing a leaf of the tree next to her, she'd pull it off and it'd vanish in a brief gold flash. Looking off to the side, she'd notice the lemur watching nearby. She would prepare the meal first and set out what she had prepared right in front of Magloria and Jump Start's sleeping snoots, before taking a small bit of the spicy stuff and holding it out for the Lemur to eat. If she was lucky, she'd be able to pet the Lemur. Congratulations. You managed to magic a leaf away. You must feel so proud of yourself. The lemur didn't think it was impressive though. It shrieked and jumped back in surprise when the golden flash suddenly appeared. However it's interests slowly peaked again when Collapse offered it the object of it's desire. It crawled slowly back towards her, remaining cautious in case the flash of light happened again. Once it was close enough it reached out and took the spice from her, before retreating back onto higher branches. Then rather than eating it, it began to do something odd. It started rubbing it all over it's fur, as if it was a soap or something. Meanwhile Magloria and Jump Start had woken up, said their good mornings and appreciation for the breakfast before digging in. Jump Start looked quite curious as to what Collapse was even doing with the lemur. Magloria's reaction to it however was different. She looked up at it, watched it rub spiciness into it's fur, and nodded in a knowing way. Collapse would observe the motions of the Lemur and wouldn't have taken any other motions. She wanted to observe what the Lemur was doing. To her surprise, she would watch as the Lemur rubbed the spice all of its fur. Then she would notice that Magloria and Jump Start woke up. However, she did notice their reactions to what she was doing. "What do you think the Lemur is doing? Best guess I would have would be its keeping the bugs away with the spice?" Collapse asked Magloria, expecting her to know the answer. "If that's the case, then perhaps we could do the same." she suggested further. Magloria nodded. If Collapse looked closely enough she could barely make out a smile for a moment before she answered. "That's exactly what it's doing. The extremeness of the spice repels the insects, though depending on what you use it also makes you stink." she stated. She gave a sniff at whatever they had left. "This stuff... isn't too bad. We could use it, but we wouldn't have much left for cooking, which would be a shame." Collapse was more than thankful she was correct in her assessment. Even more thankful she managed to get Magloria to smile. “Well I have to say not being bitten by insects would be worth not having something spicy. But we can always take the time to collect large quantities of the substance.” Collapse said to the both of them. “I also think we should get a move on going to our mystery location here, too. I wonder what it is.” Collapse said curiously. Magloria collected their stuff and put things away, getting ready for them to move on again. "Fine, if you really want to we can do it the next time we stop for a break." she said, before continuing their march through the jungle. The lemur stayed behind. Probably had a family somewhere else. They spent another few hours going through the jungle, until they got to a certain spot. Magloria paused, bringing out the map and looking around.