The day was crisp and cool when the train pulled into the station. There were a number of ponies on board, and it took a good moment or two before enough of the others had cleared out for Illiad to exit the train.
Upon reaching the platform he searched the crowds, looking for a black and green pony. It took a moment before he found who he believed he was looking for... standing near the edge of the platform, flanked on either side by two very smartly-dressed ponies. He looked quite sad, until he saw Illiad; the smile that began to light up his features, however, was cut short as one of the two escorts pointed at Illiad, and the other said something sidelong to the Blackwater pony.
Dax was... well, he seemed rather like a pony who is stuck in a cage & trying to keep from touching the sides; he looked like he was pulled into himself, his stance straight and narrow, his face somewhere between sorrow and subservience. The only thing about him that didn't seem unduly subdued was the almost visible shine in his eyes - they followed Illiad like they were magnetized to him.
As one, the three made their way to where he was. When they got close enough to speak without yelling, one of the two tuxedoed stallions spoke up.
"Good afternoon, Mr Illiad - that IS you, I presume?"
He sounded as if he were trying to win a Snooty Contest... and was in the top running.
Illiad's horn glowed over so slightly as it always did, he could feel the superiority that the suited ponies felt towards him.
That pony is more stuck up than any Canterlot Noble I've ever had the displeasure of meeting, I think a bit more respect is in order.
As he approached to a more comfortable distance he felt about the crowd for excess awe and respect, drawing it in to himself, preparing to release it as he spoke so they would feel awe and respect as he drained away their smug superiority.
He drew upon the Canterlot intellectual accent he had acquired from long hours in the archives. Smug with a touch of condescension. The small smile on his face showed the calm confidence one has when their plan is already working.
"Ah, You must be young Mr Blackwater's entourage. Indeed I am the very Illiad Easle you seek."
He came a bit closer to the group, close enough that two extended forelegs could touch but far enough to dodge a sudden tackle.
"It is hardly evening gentlecolts but it will be if we don't proceed with due speed. Is there anything you require before we make haste?"
He took the opportunity to push a bit of courage towards Dax, hoping it would at least brighten his spirits a bit.
The two ponies on either side of Dax looked at each other, raised an eyebrow as if they were reflections of each other, then looked back to Illiad.
"Indeed, we should make our way to the carriage awaiting us, sir. I am Beck..."
"... and I am Call..." said the other one, never missing a beat.
"We are Mrs. Blackwater's personal assistants, and we have been sent with Master Daxter to retrieve you..."
"... and bring you to Blackwater Manor. Right this way, please."
The two of them turned as one, and began to head for the front of the station. Dax lingered a bit behind, and when Beck and Call had their backs turned, he gave Illiad a warm, slightly embarrassed smile.
"Father found out," he said in a subdued tone, shrugging.
"Come along, Master Daxter." One of them shot over his flank. Dax's eyes bugged for a second, and he fell into step.
As they came around the station, there were a few ponies stopped along the sidewalks, staring at a rather lavish silver carriage. It was rather extravagant, studded with emeralds and topped with silver filigreed scrollwork - the whole thing was just a hair shy of ridiculous; one of the ponies began to attach the harness to his back, while the other opened the door.
"Gentlecolts, this way please."
Dax climbed inside and sat to the far side, leaving more than enough room for company and looking at Illiad as if he were the only thing that mattered in all of Equestria.
Clearly these two will take more effort than they're worth, ah well.
Illiad stepped carefully into the carriage, frankly astounded at the utter opulence of it all. For someone who dislikes frivolous pursuits this is certainly odd.
As he sat in the carriage Illiad realized that he was still wearing his standard Trojan garb beneath his cloak. It would be a bit awkward to remove at this point so I guess it stays on and this exchange now has nearly 20% more culture to it.
When he spoke again it was an amicable, yet still formal tone. One he would use with a formal client.
"So... Your full name is Daxter? How have you been?"
He refrained from speaking too much as he didn't particularly trust the bodyguards and the utter opulence of the carriage was slightly disconcerting. I almost hope we get robbed for how much wealth is being put on display here.
"I've... well, I'm just really glad you're here. It's good to meet you, Illiad."
The other pony (maybe it was Call?) nodded once everypony was inside.
"Very well; we shall be on our way shortly, Sir Easle."
He closed the carriage door, and headed for the front to pull the cart along with his twin (Beck, maybe?). As soon as the other pony had left their view, Dax's eyes lit up like fireworks, and he smiled broadly and happily - MUCH better and livelier than he'd been a moment ago.
"I'm SO glad you're here!" He reached out and hugged Illiad, tightly. He was still smiling as he sat back once again.
Illiad was expecting Dax's change in attitude but he hadn't anticipated the magnitude. He really must not get many chances to unwind, unfortunate for one so close to becoming an adult.
"I'm real sorry about those two - they're okay, but they're usually the ones Mother sends to do whatever needs doing. They're okay, really... they just have to have that kinda attitude about 'em; Mother wouldn't have hired 'em, otherwise."
The carriage gave a very slight lurch, then began forward at a decent, yet not expedient pace.
"You're really HERE! I just... I'm sorry, I... I just can't believe it's REALLY happening! I mean, I kinda had this fear that you wouldn't show, y'know? Like it was all just a dream or something... but you came! I'm just so glad!"
Was this really the exact same morose pony he'd first seen at the station? It was almost as if somepony had suddenly stuffed Dax with cupcakes and lemonade; it was such a radical difference.
"Sorry... I'm just really excited; I hope you don't think I'm, y'know, crazy or coltish or anything like that..."
He rubbed at the back of his neck with a hoof, and gave Illiad another sheepish grin; THIS Dax was considerably livelier than the one he was in front of Beck and Call.
"Uhm, yeah - my full name's Daxter," the distaste on his face was evident when he spoke it, "but I go by Dax - Daxter sounds too... well, 'uppity' for my taste, y'know? How was your trip? Did it take long? I like your outfit!"
This was going to certainly be an interesting week.
Illiad's tone was a simple, kind tone, like he would use with his friends. It carried a sort of sense of belonging to it.
"It's good to see you in person too, I don't particularly mind those two but if your house is populated by them it will be hard to restrain my passive aggressive, yet entirely witty, comments. Don't worry, I can understand your excitement, you really don't get out all that much do you?"
He sighed, trying to find a comfortable position in the carriage, for all its opulence it lacked comfort. Why did all the rich hate comfortable chairs?
"To answer your questions, My trip went well, the Equestrian train was significantly slower that the Trojan one, but it was much more comfortable so I guess it evens out, gave me a bit more time to get acclimated to a non-nocturnal sleep schedule again."
He smiled a bit as he looked down at his garb.
"Oh you noticed? Most Trojans wear this or something similar all the time, it was meant originally to keep the sand out of your coat and to keep warm at night. It isn't needed for those purposes inside the cities anymore but it has simply stuck as part of the culture. If I were Consul it would be lined with red."
He looked back over at Dax,
"I wasn't originally planning on wearing it, but I suppose I forgot to take it off on the train ride here. Besides, it makes me look a bit more formal. So, What do you have planned for us this week? Anything you consider particularly exciting?"
If Dax were dynamite, he would possibly explode twice.
"Oh, I've got a LOT of stuff for us to do! I wanna show you the manor, and the quarry - oh, you've GOTTA meet some of the other workers there! I've been telling Silver about you; she's the one who made the..." Dax stopped himself (quite a feat), and smiled impishly. "Well, THAT'S gonna be a surprise for when I go with you to Troy!"
As he spoke, the carriage began to make its way out of Canterlot and down a rocky path; the ride was surprisingly smooth for such a road. Illiad could hear that Beck and Call were apparently speaking to each other, yet their voices were drowned out by their hooves, the rattle of the carriage, and of course, Dax.
Illiad began to take in as much of Dax's enthusiasm as he could hold. He had the feeling he would need a bunch in reserve to get through meeting his family. As a result Illiad began to become more thoroughly enthused.
"I wanna show you my tent, too - but we'll have to do that when we can sneak out, 'cause Mother doesn't like it when I sleep there. She tells me, 'Dax,'" he took on a whiny, sing-songy voice as he spoke her words, "'it's so cold and damp by that nasty river, why can't you just sleep in your own bed, where you're nice and warm and safe?' I mean, YEESH - I'm big enough to know how to take care of myself for the most part... and I'm pretty good at hiding, when I can't."
Dax certainly seemed to have quite a lot to say; Illiad very much got the impression that he didn't have many good listeners among his few friends. But, as excited as he was, how could anypony NOT want to see the young stallion this happy?
"I've got a picnic planned, and fishing - have you ever been fishing? And at night, I can show you what constellations are in this seasonal sky; they'd be just a bit different than what you'd see in Troy, but just as beautiful! Did you bring your telescope? If not, that's okay - you can use mine, if you like!"
He looked so happy, he almost seemed about to cry, scream AND laugh, all at the same time. The enthusiasm rolling off Dax was extremely thick, as well as a broad ribbon of happiness, and a thin line of... worry? Well, it might just be first-meeting jitters, of course. One thing was certain; Dax could be an extremely emotional pony - when he wasn't being watched over by his folks, of course.
"That sounds like a great time, I can't wait to find out what Silver has in store. Oh, I just remembered. I wanted to show you something."
Illiad reached into the folds of his robe and pulled out a diamond the size of a softball.
"This is how much cloud diamond I've been able to collect so far!"
His horn began to glow, converting the excess enthusiasm in the carriage into magical energy. The diamond in his hoof shifted in shape growing into a full length sword.
"Its pretty useful with a large amount of mass,"
The gem shifted again, this time becoming a key.
"But even little amounts can be quite useful. This is why cloud diamonds are so valuable."
Illiad began to offload some of the enthusiasm he'd been storing, as a result it began to glow slightly. He set it between them as it began to float upward of its own accord.
"It certainly makes things a bit easier when traveling. I can't wait to hear about how the constellations are different here, it will certainly a different perspective than I've gotten used to.”
Dax's eyes went as round as saucers as he watched the Cloud Diamond go through it's various metamorphoses. The wonder and awe on his face was coming off him in emotional waves; obviously, Dax wasn't one to hide his feelings when he was like this, which showed an honesty in him that others probably didn't evidence often.
"Oh! Oh yeah! Here - this is for you..."
Dax reached back behind his neck and into his mane; there was a strand of yarn there, with a small pouch attached to it. He opened the pouch and shook it into his hoof. Out of the bag came a small, golf-ball sized Cloud Diamond.
"It's not exactly big, I know... but now that I see what you can do with it, I'm happy to hand it to you. For my friend!"
With that, he gave the scintillating gem to Illiad, beaming from ear to ear as he did.
"So, what does- OOH! You can see the quarry and manor from here, if you wanna take a look! See?"
Dax pulled back the ostentatious velvet curtain, and the view was something to behold...
The mountains seemed to simply fall away under the edge of the window; Illiad had to glance down to be sure they weren't floating in the air (they weren't, though the cart was a bit close to the edge). The high altitude left a beautiful scene below; Illiad could even make out Ponyville in the far distance. In the closer distance, ahead of them, was a large stone wall about two stories tall, with large iron gates set into the front of it. No foppishness there - it was ALL business, from what he could tell.
There was the crest of a large boulder peeking over one end of the wall, and a spattering of rooftops at the other end. A small wisp of white smoke curled up into the air from what appeared to be the back of the lot, and he could already hear what sounded like an occasional sharp clang of steel.
Above the quarry lot, seated in the nestle of a mountain crag, was an exquisite piece of architecture. It was a large manor house, classically structured with gabled peaks and what looked like silver ivy crawling up the side walls. If the carriage was overstated grandeur, then Blackwater Manor was a dignified and beautiful diamond in the rough... or would it be an emerald?
"There's the manor - right where Father can keep an eye on everything that goes on in the quarry. The quarry means so much to him; I'm pretty sure we mean more - my family, that is - but it's a close call, for sure. NOTHING goes on there without his stamp of approval... OH! I'm sure he'll wanna talk to you as soon as we get there, so be ready for it. He doesn't use a lotta fancy talk, so you might be able to deal with him better than Mother - she's... kinda, well..."
Dax fidgeted with his tail for a second, then once again smiled at Illiad.
"So, yeah - we're almost there. When we get there, and after Father talks with you - if he does - what do you wanna do first? Food? A bath? Tour the quarry? You're my guest - YOU pick!"
Illiad managed to pull his attention away from the truly stunning scenery to inspect the cloud diamond, amazed at its size. Cloud diamonds were generally found closer to the size of peas or small marbles, and even those were worth hundreds of bits. A piece the size Dax had found could be worth almost 10k. Illiad's face would reflect how stunned he was.
"Your house is quite nice, a wonderful view and actually architecture that wouldn't be out of place in Troy proper. It's just..."
He lifted the piece that Dax had found. "Do you know how much this is worth? You've singlehoofedly found more cloud diamond than any one pony ever. That quarry must be full of the dust and it must have been coalescing all this time, ever since the mine was opened."
He looked up towards Dax, "This piece you’ve found is worth nearly ten thousand bits, I doubt your father knows, are you sure you want to give this to me?"
Illiad's diamond had returned to its natural diamond shape with the point directed downward. When Illiad let go of Dax's piece it floated up and began to orbit around the point of Illiad's diamond, "How curious." He shook his head to clear away his pondering. "I think I'd like to tour the quarry first if that's alright. I think you may be sitting on the largest depository of cloud diamond in the world. Oh if only Carbon were here, he'd be able to tell in an instant."
"R-really?"
Dax gave the gem a curious look, then gave that same look to Illiad in turn.
"It was in one of the lower tunnels, quite a bit down. When I told Father it was for you, he eyeballed it pretty close... but he said it would be fine. I mean, I d-d-didn't... wow. Wowie-wow."
He continued the curious look for a moment more, then thoughtfulness replaced it. A spark seemed to jump behind his eyes, and the roll of emotions told Illiad that Dax had an idea coming.
"If there's a lot of them there, maybe there could be some kinda thing worked out? I could speak to Father at length about it, if you like... I'd do that for my friend, easy!"
As he beamed his beatific smile, Illiad felt the carriage come to a stop.
"Okay! We can tour the quar-"
"Master Dax? We have arrived."
Almost instantly, the flow of Dax's emotions shut off like a light switch. His face went slack, and he sat back quickly, taking a properly cultured posture. The door opened, and both the butler twins were there, side by side.
"If you would be so kind, Sir Easle-"
"The Master of the estate has requested your presence-"
"- in his study. I shall take you there, Sir-"
"- while I take Master Dax to Madam Blackwater, as also requested."
In unison: "Shall we go?"
Dax looked at Illiad and, with a slight sheepish smile, left the carriage. The butler to the left gave a polite bow, then turned and escorted the young Blackwater towards the large gates. There was a creaking sound, and they swung open just far enough to allow the two entry. Dax looked back at Illiad as they passed from view.
The remaining butler politely cleared his throat. "Sir?"