The strange colt didn't react outwardly, but it spoke... sort of. ".ydob siht ni ,ecalp siht ot ,ereh em del sah htap ym tey ...regnarts ,em nellafeb evah taht seow eht rats a nopu tnemal dluow I"
The colt stood, and then hovered into the air - without a single flap of his wings. ".won erusaert ym tcetorp ot enola enim dna ytud ym si ti ;erom on si naidraug eht - erusaert tsetaerg ym nellafeb sah enutrofsim taht raef I"
The colt finally came close enough for Illiad to see clearly, and there were three things that were instantly evident:
The being's eyes were nothing but bright balls in the colt's head; no pupils visible whatsoever.
There was some sort of entity that had apparently manifested within this host.
The colt was Oglevy Blackwater.
"?regnarts ,uoy era ohW .uoy swonk ...eno sihT"
Selena sighed, "It's been a long time since Luna and I were the same, her time on the moon and being hit by the elements has really changed her in relation to me so I could not say definitively whether she would like you. But I think she would given you appreciate her night's sky. As to what you could do if you were older, you'd have to be old in the realm of centuries and a lifespan into a millennia to compete for her heart. While Celestia fears solitude Luna fears loss, she doesn't want to lose those around her so she has trouble connecting with those she knows will die shortly. But she's getting better. Midnight Star once held her heart, and out of fear of losing him she gave him an extended lifespan of a few millennium. Maybe the same could happen to you, but I cannot say."
Her face suddenly shifted to be a bit more serious. "Something is wrong out there. Sleep, we'll be back soon." The room dissolved into blackness as Dax was disconnected from the shared dream, whether he would wake up or continue sleeping was up to him.
Dax flinched when Selena told him about the issues between himself and Luna; the truth hurts, and it seemed as if this truth certainly did. But before he could say anything, Selena went to assist Illiad.
Dax said nothing as the room blacked out - he was still trying to wrap his mind around her words when he was shunted out of the shared dream.
It was hardly ever a good idea to sleep with bad news on one's mind...
"This again? That's two backwards speakers in as many days. I'll be right back." he returned to the tent and nudged his gem, waiting for a confirmation that she had disconnected Dax before carrying her outside. He shifted the gem into a sort of headset, the gem sitting in his ears. "Okay, this should help me understand what you're trying to say. Could you say what you said again?"
By the time Illiad returned, the entity had stood up, and there was now a slowly darkening look on the colt's face.
"...yb esolc yrev si ecnaraeppasid s'yrtnes ym rof elbisnopser si revemohw taht em dlot evah sesnes ym dna ...edis rehto eht morf skaeps ohw rehtona fo kaeps uoY"
A purple energy radiated outward from his eyes, and the spectral wings flapped slowly as it rose from the ground. The same energy began to glow from each forehoof, and the echo from speaking had deepened.
".ylkciuq kaepS .regnarts ,erusaert sselecirp ym niager ot od dluow I tahw ot timil on si rerht ...uoy nraw llahs I ?draug ym htiw desnepsid ohw eno eht uoy era - kaepS"
Illiad had an uncharacteristic smile on his face. "Ah yes I can understand you now, but if you can understand me is another question. Given that you responded decently to my speaking I would assume so. I am the balance of good and evil. I punish and aid those whom the scales direct. All will answer for their crimes. But let's talk civilly shall we? I will need you to release the colt first though, It doesn't put the argument in your favor to be holding him hostage as your guard did to another."
The colt's face took on a haughty look, and he frowned.
".emas eht leef uoy epoh ylno nac I ...kcatta dluow draug ym erehw kaeps dluow I .eb ot raeppa thgim I sa ekirts ot toh sa ton ma I tey ...em sregna sihT ?em denekawa taht srebmahc lairub ym otni noisurtni 'sdnik ruoy si ti nehw ,em fo stseuqer ekam uoY"
The colt's look changed to one of business; it was both sobering and creepy, how much Oglevy looked like his father.
".uoy ot emirc eht timbus llahs I ,erofereht - egduJ a era uoy hguoht sa dnuos uoy ,kaeps uoy sdrow eht morf ;neht uoy ot siht tneserp llahs I"
".owt eht neewteb yradnuob eht gnissorc rof sucof a si enotS atayK eht dna ...efil fo mrof rehtona rof enalp siht dednecsnart evah eW .srosivda dna sediug rieht emaceb dna ...eveileb dluow dnik ruoy sa ,'deid' ro ...ecnetsixe siht morf dessap ew litnu ,elpoep ym gnoma srelur neves fo eno saw I .htneveS ehT etiryP sucrA ,fuuhnyvolK fO droL ehT ,ytsejaM siH ma I"
".esruoc fo ,meht gnoma flesym - wef a ot elbissecca ylno cigam sti dna ,dercas si ti ,dlrow ruo no tey ,'dnomaiD duolC' sa ti ot refer uoy eveileb I"
".nees erofeb reven dah ew hcihw cigam ;cigam dna seinop fo dnal siht ot ,ereh egaruotne ym dna flesym thguorb yenruoj yM .enola tfel eb ot ecalp a rof gnikool ylpmis ,sgniht suoicerp tsom ruo dna seno devol ruo htiw emac ew dna ,enotS atayK erup fo edam erew slessev ruO .tsixe ot eunitnoc ylpmis ot ecnahc a rof tuo sevlesruo gnidaerps ...srats eht ot derettacs ew ,gniyd saw tenalp ruo nehW"
".eb ot detnaw ylpmis I - sgnieb s'dlrow siht htiw tnemevlovni on detnaw I .delur ytlayor s'dlrow ruoy erofeb - oga seirutnec ynam ,ynam enod lla saw sihT .em htiw niamer ot dehsiw ohw esoht htiw gnola ,ereh niamer ot tnetnoc saw I .nwo rieht erew seciohc rieht ...ton wonk I ,tnew yeht erehw ;tfel stcejbus ym fo emoS"
".drawrof tniop taht morf enola tfel eb dluow ew demussa ylbanosaer I ,saw tnedicni eht sa ydoolb sa ,dna derevocsid eb ot dnuob erew ew ,noitalosi ni gnol os retfa ;elbatpecca saw siht taht dediced dah I .yleerf ti evig I tub ,hcum naem ton yam ygolopa ym ,siht rof - flesmih fo elcatceps a edam dna ,deregna saw eh ;ediba ton dluow draug ym ,sihT .seceip ni ,lessev ym fo emos yawa ekat ot nageb seinop fo puorg a ,oga sraey ruoy fo rebmun A"
".scirtaeht sseldeen hcus rof llac on saw ereht tey - mih ssim llahs I .reverof dedaf ecnetsixe sih ,enog si ecnesse sih - evitceffe etiuq erew owt rehto eht dna uoy tey ,lortnoc fo tuo tog sgniht taht dellappa saw I .ssel on ,draug emas eht yb ...esu ni saw elbaliava enotS atayK fo tnuoma llams ylbarapmoc eht sa ,deripsnart tahw fo noitcarf a ylno dessentiw I .niaga ecno rebmahc ym nihtiw ecnabrutsid a tlef I sa ,yltcerid dlrow siht otni denekawa ma I ,teY"
".elsaE daillI ,uoy rof dednetni dna ...kni htiw dellif ,noollab yot a :egnever fo tnemurtsni sih mialcer ot rebmahc ym sretne tloc gnuoy siht sa niaga nekawa I ,nehT"
He pondered this for a moment, then:
".won tsuj ,uoy rof nalp s'tloc eht fo thguoht eht litnu eman ruoy nrael ton did I .thguoht lufituaeb a si ti ...no seog ti sa gnol sa etelpmocni llits si erutcip ruoy tey ,dlrow siht otnu tra fo krow esnemmi na era uoy taht setoned sihT .gnitniap a fo savnac eht dloh ot esu dnik ruoy ecived eht dna ...yrots citamard ,gnol a fo skaeps eman ruoY"
".roolf eht nopu delip erew senob latrom ym dna - tfarc ym fo redniamer eht fo llaw eht fo tuo delesihc saw tsehc delaes ehT .enog saw erusaert ym ;yrevocsid rehtona edam I ,ecneserp sih ot ekowa I nehw ,sseldrageR"
He frowned deeply.
".em morf ti nekat sah revemohw morf erusaert ym gnimialcer ni em tsissa ot ,esuoH htneveS eht fo eman eht ni ,uoy ksa I dna ...rettam siht no em htiw kaeps ot uoy ksa I ,neht dna - daillI egduJ ,selacs ruoy ecnalaB .em rof dleh ecno ecalp siht ecaep fo esnes eht htiw gnola ,erusaert ym dna ,tfarc ym fo sretrauq-eerht ,drauG lanosreP A :sessol YM uoy evig I neht ,ecnalab fo selacs eht tneserper uoy fI"
"...dnuof si erusaert ym ecno uoy otnu ylefas mih nruter lliw I dna ,nwo ym sa eb llahs ydob sih ;mrah on mih naem I tey - won rof dnammoc ym rednu niamer lliw eh ,tloc eht rof sA"
He narrowed his glowing eyes, now slivers of light akin to crescent moons.
".renoos tnemom a ton dnA"
The colt/king lowered slowly to the ground, and the ghostly wings folded behind him. From what could be discerned, the original body was NOT pony-shaped; the wing structure and deliberate movements belied a larger, thicker race with HUGE wings.
Once on all fours, Lord Arcus looked at the Empathic with a bit more respect... and worry.
"?od I NAC tahW ?od I llahs tahw ...egduJ em lleT"
Illiad was impressed, it was quite the story he had told and it actually made quite a bit of sense. "I see clearer now what is going on here. By my account you have indeed been wronged and I will work to recompense you. Your guard was not dead when I left, his judgement returned what he had bestowed on others. If he died of his conscience then it is of no concern to the scales, but if one came to strike as he was weak then it matters all the more. The sense of peace is lost on both ends I'm afraid so you're balanced there, the craft is balanced against the lives lost collecting what they did collect, but if it's any consolation they have promised to seal the tunnel that leads to your craft. Soon it will be disturbed no more. It seems someone decided they wanted one last thing before the tunnel was closed. Your treasure you are owed, that much is certain. The one that took it owes you, and your use of that colt will balance the rest."
Illiad sat pondering how he could even discover who had taken the chest. "Do you know when it was taken? anything about the one that took it?"
Lord Arcus hung his head.
".ekowa I nehw tneserp eno ylno eht saw tloc sihT .wonk ton od I ,oN"
He seemed not only perplexed, but disheartened as well.
".ssecca hcus evah dluow taht aera eht ni sgnieb rehto on era ereht ,'enim' eht ta srekrow eht fo eno eb tsum tirpluc eht taht em ot rucco dluow tI"
He turned to face Illiad once more, and old soul gazing out through young eyes.
".nac I revewoh tsissa llahs I .ecalp siht ni ytirohtua eht era uoy sa ,noitagitsevni siht dael eht ekat ot evah lliw uoY"
Few recognized the power Illiad wielded as the balance as authority, Illiad shied away from showing his power and was instead quite humble about the role he played in the world. He nodded to the entity. "I will do what I can to ensure that your treasure is returned." He returned to the tent and attempted to rouse Dax. "Hey, we need to go on a treasure hunt to save your brother and the whole mine because this guy could totally kill all of you if he wanted to."
He exited the tent again. "The colt in the tent is the brother of the one you've controlled and the son of the owner of the mine. He'll know who, or who would know who, had access to the mine in the past hours. If you know when it was taken it would certainly make our search easier."
Dax came out of the tent blinking and bleary-eyed, rubbing his hooves against his puffy sockets as he yawned.
He looked at Oglevy for a moment, his poker-face betraying nothing. Then, in a voice muzzy with sleep...
"Oglevy, go back tuh bed; id's too late tubby out."
With that, Dax turned and went right back inside the tent, headed back for his pile of blankets. Perhaps the young stallion wasn't fully awake yet?
Unfazed, Lord Arcus raised an eyebrow. ".lufpleh etiuq ton saw tahT"
Illiad had a nonplussed expression. "No it wasn't very helpful, I think partially due to the body you control. He recognizes it so he doesn't think much of it. I'm sure he'll be awake enough eventually to realize that some of the things he saw don't quite add up and he'll start freaking out, or I'll have to drag him out of the tent so we can start searching."
Dax had seen the glowing eyes, the spectral wings and the aura of power and had thought 'trouble'... naturally, his sleep-addled mind went wandering around for something the word would connect with. Eventually, it settled on 'Oglevy'.
He knew the colt would be trouble when Oggie was still a foal; the first day he was brought home, Dax had been fascinated by the sight of the little sky-blue creature wriggling in what used to be his old crib. He had leaned in close to get a better view, and the foal had put his mouth on the end of Dax's snout... AND BIT DOWN. HARD.
Dax had yelped, and Mother had shown up shortly thereafter to fuss at Dax for waking the baby (which he hadn't been sleeping, but at Dax's yell he began to bawl). From that point on, Oglevy had been nothing but trouble for him; there seemed to be new ways each week to eithe get Dax in trouble, or to cause him grief. When the testing tutors had declared him a genius, Dax had not been surprised - after the complex pranks the colt had pulled on him, he could have told them that.
Still, there were a few, scarce moments where the colt wasn't as bad as everyone thought. There had been the camping trip, where he had been lost with Oglevy out in the woods; the colt had surprised him by willingly sharing his sack lunch with Dax, after Dax's own had been used to throw a timberwolf off their trail. Then there was the time he had caught Dax sneaking into the kitchen pantry; he'd kept quiet for an onion sandwich, but it was still better than the usual blurting out of Dax's mistakes. And, of course, there was the time after the 'Pink-Slip Incident', where the colt had just come into Dax's room while he was crying, and simply sat next to him on the bed and leaned against Dax while he sobbed.
If he would simply grow up, Dax got the feeling Oglevy would actually be a good brother. Oglevy could be a brat, true - but ultimately, he would always have Oglevy for a brother... regardless of Oglevy's thoughts to the contrary.
Repeating Oglevy's name so often in his head, Dax found the colt's name to sound weird and alien. As he began to settle himself into the pile of blankets, he took the name 'Oglevy' and his sleep-addled mind went wandering around for something the word would connect with. Eventually, it settled on 'trouble'...
Moments later, Dax was standing at the flap to the tent again, staring at his possessed brother.
"What in the wide, wide world of Equestria is going on here!?!?"
Well, it was safe to assume he was awake now.
Illiad turned back towards Dax, a slight smile on his face. "Glad you decided to join us, this is Lord Arcus." he said gesturing towards the possessed Blackwater. "Someone stole his ancient treasure from the cloud diamond cave so he stole your brother until we can find his treasure. We need to go around to all the workers that knew the tunnel was being sealed. I think we should start with Knee Slapper, he at the very least would know who else knew about the tunnel."
Dax just stared at Oglevy/Arcus for a moment... then, slowly, he reached out with a hoof and gingerly touched the colt's shoulder.
"?ti si tahw ,sey ..."
Dax jumped back. "What in the..? Why Oglevy? And treasure? What treasure?"
Arcus tilted the colt's head, looking at Dax. ".ynop kcalb ,uoy rof ylpeed serac dlihc eht ;eno siht ni mih rof noitaroda fo rioveser a etiuq si ereht ...dlihc siht ot nwonk si eno sihT .ecneconni ruoy sevorp ti - ti fo gnihton wenk uoy taht setoned esirprus ruoy ;siht raeh ot em sesaelp tI"
Dax blinked at Arcus' words. He turned to Illiad. "I hope you can understand him, Illiad - I can't make out a single thing he's saying."
The colt turned back to face the unicorn. "?esu laer yna fo eb ti lliw ...seenk fo gnippals sihT"
Dax looked lost; Arcus looked confused. What a night.
Illiad looked nonplussed, this would certainly be a difficult task. "Yes I can understand him, with Selena's help. Knee Slapper is a name, not an action, and I think he will be invaluable to us." He turned to go back to the mines. "The treasure, at the very least, was or contained this Lord's coffin, and he'd like it back. Let's go wake up some people and hopefully get this resolved before the sun comes up."
Dax gave Oglevy/Arcus a sidelong look... but he agreed with Illiad.
"Yeah... we should go wake a few ponies up - this isn't something that can or should wait."
Dax gathered himself, slung a slightly used satchel over a shoulder, and began the trek back to the Blackwater Quarry. Looking back at Illiad, he gave a worried glance towards the colt.
"So, uhm... let's see... Knee would have been on schedule today, as would Redd - today was a week-ender, so everypony available would have been in today to make sure their hours were correct before receiving their pay. Chuck's ALWAYS on. Silver mostly keeps to her shed."
Dax rolled his eyes and groaned. "This will take FOREVER..."
Arcus looked over at the young stallion. ".pets elgnis a htiw snigeb syawla ,raf woh rettam on ,yenruoj yreve - eno gnuoy ,ecneitaP"
Dax looked at Illiad for answers to that one.
"Patience and journeys," he yawned, "Let's get Chuck first, since he was on all day he should know who was in and out, or at the very least who knew about the cave and was also in the mines today. Outside of the time he was with me this afternoon, so he can account for all but about an hour of the day today."
The trek back to the quarry was punctuated with Dax looking at Arcus again and again, but not much else. Reaching the gates, Dax got them entry, then the three of them made their way towards the barracks.
The miners at the Blackwater Quarry have always known to be hard workers... and in order to capitalize on this fact, the baracks were constructed to give workers a place to sleep onsite so as not to disturb the flow of work. Only miners stayed in the barracks; other family was expressly forbidden, by Luther's word. It was two stories tall, and large enough to fit at least twenty ponies comfortably. Next to it were four more, all exactly like the first.
Dax made his way up to the first one and opened the door gently. Luckily, it didn't creak.
"I'll go get Chuck from his room; wait here."
With that, he slipped inside the building and out of their sight. Within five minutes, Chuck was at the door - bleary-eyed and grumpy-looking, but he was there. Dax stood behind him as he looked with nearly-closed eyes right at Illiad.
"Whadiyahwahnt?" Chuck muttered almost unintelligibly.
Illiad flashed a smile that betrayed that he too was quite tired "The mine has been robbed, angering a really old alien ghost who has decided to posses Oglevy until what was stolen is returned. You were on almost all day and would know who knew the cloud diamond shaft was being sealed. That's who we need to investigate to get the treasure back."
"Hah? Awwww... gedowdahearwitdatstuff..."
Chuck yawned long and hard.
"Iztuerliinnamorninfrdis."
Dax stepped up to the bleary-eyed miner and looked him in the eye.
"Chuck... who... was on... the roster... for today?"
Chuck gave Dax an irritated glance at first, then looked thoughtful for a moment.
"... Slappah... Redd... Silvah... da Ons... an' Taps. Izzafulcroo."
Arcus looked over at Illiad. ".dnatsrednu ot tluciffid ma I mialc uoy dnA"
Dax nodded, and gave Chuck a pat on the shoulder. "Go on back to bed, Chuck; we've got this in hoof."
Chuck gave Dax a sour look, which rolled across all three of them... though, by the lack of emotion other than a mild irritation, Illiad got the feeling that Chuck wouldn't even remember this conversation tomorrow. His ire shared with the three of them, he turned and went back inside, closing the door with a rough thump.
Dax looked at Illiad. "Okay, Slapper and Redd stay in barrack five... Silver stays in her shed... the Ons are in the manor... and Taps stays at the Pony Express Station. Where should we try first?"
Illiad sighed, "Well I'll certainly put a bit more effort into waking them up. Let's go to Slapper as he knows about this whole tunnel. I am suspicious of Redd though so we should go after him soon. Slapper also knew the tunnel was meant to be sealed so he might know who else knew about what the tunnel contained."
Barrack five was a short walk away, so they began to head over to it.
"Okay, Knee will probably know what we need to know about who knows about this... wow. That sounded difficult to keep straight in my head; I hope you got all of that."
They looked on towards the building, nearing its steps, when Illiad caught a flash of movement from behind the Gem Refinery.
A flash of movement... and a streak of red.
Dax got up to the door of the barracks, and looked back at his friend and his possessed brother.
"Right, this should be easy enough... I think..."
Dax hesitated, trying to gather the words he would use in his mind.
"Hold up Dax," Illiad drew some of the gem into a rectangular frame in front of him similar in size to a tower shield. "I just saw something Red moving behind the Refinery. I think I'll go check it out." He began to make his way towards the Refinery at a decent clip. "Watch the building in case it tries to go around the other side."
Dax nodded, and Arcus' eyes narrowed. As Illiad went around the side, Dax went around the other. Slowly, as he came around the side, he heard a voice muttering to itself, punctuated by the sounds of something heavy being dragged...
"... RRGH... MMRGH... stupid carts have to be locked up at night... RRRGH..."
Rounding the corner slowly, Illiad saw what looked to be a stallion dragging a large sack across the back of the Refinery, headed towards the gates. With the crimson coat and the yellow mane, it was completely obvious that Redd Handid had just been caught-... well, YOU know.
He didn't even notice Illiad as he hauled on the obviously heavy burlap sack.
"Evening Redd, lovely night for a stroll is it not?"
Redd jumped, [color=#f0000]"GAAAAH!"
Dropping the end of the sack he'd been dragging along, Redd wheeled around, seething.
"YOU!? What are YOU doing here?"
"Now that I think of it, it's awfully odd for a day-walker like you to be moving about this late at night, someone might think you were... up to something. It's a good thing I found you, the mine's been robbed and we've been looking for all the foreponies that were on duty to see who had access to the tunnel that got robbed. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that would you?"
Illiad was fairly certain that Redd was in fact the thief, but he decided to act like he didn't.
Redd listened as Illiad spoke, his brow furrowing as each world tumbled out - and anger rising faster and faster. The Trojan had barely finished talking when Redd spoke up.
"Oh, so it's like THAT is it? Don't play dumb with ME, you sand-head! I know sarcasm when I hear it - you suspect ME, I suppose? Well, the joke is on YOU! What I have here has NOTHING to do with the quarry's gems OR equipment, so technically speaking, as forepony, I can lie claim to whatever falls outside of the Blackwater Quarry's spectrum; hence, this goodie... which I am CERTAIN you are here to take away from me, no doubt."
Redd stepped back from the sack, motioning to it. His emotions were unexpectedly slipping from anger into sorrow... how strange.
"FINE then! You want it, I'm certain - well you can HAVE it! I don't need it for anything IMPORTANT, now do I? Noooooo, Redd is ALWAYS up to no good; take HIS find away from him, as he doesn't have a NEED for money or anything of the sort, now does he? Oh, it shall be FINE - no need to see to any sort of compensation or such, and NOT that I'd get any in the first place!"
He stalked up to Illiad, a roiling cauldron of rage and pain, and screamed at him.
"TAKE THAT DREAM FROM ME! GO ON! TAKE IT!"
Redd began to storm off, back towards the barracks... his fury deflating almost as fast as his sadness rose.
Illiad shook his head and sighed. "I didn't say the quarry had been robbed, the mine had. There was a reason that tunnel was being sealed, and because you stole this Ogelvy had his body stolen from him. And it is Your Fault. Your so called find was already claimed by the entity that caused the tunnel to be sealed anyway. You put everyone here at risk for your own greed, much like Mr. Blackwater did."
Illiad retrieved the bag and began walking towards where he left the others, Maybe Redd heard him, maybe not. He was unstable now and Illiad was too tired to care much. He kept his shield up in case Redd went violent, regardless of Redd's feelings on the matter the treasure had to be returned to Lord Arcus.
"Is this what you were looking for?" he asked as he passed the bag to the others. "I certainly hope so, it looks like I have a bunch of paperwork to do in the morning."
The colt's eyes grew brighter as he saw the bag.
"...efas eb ,esaelp ...erusaert yM"
The colt pulled the bag down, revealing a very strange looking chest. Arcus ran Oglevy's hoof over it, then bowed his head.
"...hcum os uoy knaht ...uoy knaht ...egduJ ,uoy knahT .reh fo tfel evah I lla si ti ...ynapmoc em peek ot dniheb ydob reh tfel tey ,no devom ehs ;itsillaK ,rethguad ym fo ecalp gnitser lanif eht si ...sihT"
Tears began to roll out of Oglevy's eyes, and he hugged the chest tightly.
Dax, who had been watching from the shadows, stepped up next to Illiad and put on a confused face.
"Is he... hugging that box of treasure?" he asked quietly.
"You're quite welcome," Illiad said with a nod. "Let's get these things back where they belong now shall we?"
Illiad turned towards Dax, "He's hugging the memory, and all he has left, of someone he cared deeply for." Illiad took a few steps towards the mines before turning back towards the group. "I'll seal the tunnel tonight myself, so no one can bother you again before the mine seals the tunnel their own way. You won't be disturbed by us any longer."
Arcus turned to face Illiad. ".no evom ot emit si ti ;regnol yna ereh ecaep evah ton llahs I .ereh sgniht dne ot eno eht eb llahs I dna ...llams YREV ...pihs llams a tfarc ot em rof enotS atayK hguone si ereht - thginot dne llahs sihT .thginot gnivael eb llahs I ;deen on si ereht ...egduJ ,oN"
Arcus/Oglevy stepped back from the chest, and the glow in his eyes changed intensity. The chest lifted from the ground without hesitation, and began to float along behind him as he walked toward the mines.
Dax watched this happening, and was somewhat impressed when the chest simply floated along behind his possessed brother. He shrugged at Illiad and with a worried look on his muzzle, he began to follow along behind the colt and the chest.
Illiad nodded as he followed after Arcus, "I'm sorry that you will not have peace here anymore. Let me help you with your ship, it's the least I can do." Illiad pondered on what this new development would mean, With Arcus gone the tunnel will be safe to mine once more, meaning they can extract whatever cloud diamond Arcus doesn't use in the construction of his ship, and they don't have to worry about breaking in to the sealed tunnel later on. A great turn of events actually.
Arcus sighed deeply.
".yrenecs fo egnahc a evah ot doog fo dlrow a od yam ti ;tnecalpmoc emoceb evah yam I ,gnol os rof ereh neeb evah I - em rof erutnevda gnitseretni na eb lliw siht spahreP .oga gnol yrev os dnik rieht fo eno eb ot desaec I ...gnivil eht fo mlaer eht nihtiw si hcihw ,ssergorp si tI .dah ecno ti ytiliuqnart eht wonk reve ot em rof ereh ytivitca hcum oot raf si ereht ...egduJ ,tseb eht rof si ti spahreP"
Entering the tunnels, they made their way down to the same open chamber that Illiad had seen before. Arcus stepped into the center of the room, and extended his hooves upward.
".MIEHSALAG"
With this single uttered word, the remaining Cloud Diamond on the ceiling began to reform right before their eyes. Slowly, what appeared to be a pointy eggplant formed from the Diamond deposit, and Arcus' chest hovered up and slid right into the side, as if it were intangible. This done, he turned back to face Illiad and Dax.
"...emit eht eb dluow won ,os fI ?yas ot erom gnihtyna eb ereht dluow ;noitasrevnoc tsal ruo eb llahs sihT"
Arcus/Oglevy stood there, awaiting a response. Dax looked to Illiad and raised an eyebrow in question.
Illiad turned to Dax, "He's asking if you have any final questions before he leaves." Turning back to Lord Arcus, "So long as you return Oglevy to us I wish you nothing but the best of luck in your future endeavors." Illiad, though tempted to ask a question, knew it would likely be best to learn what he would in his own time, without the interference of the Extra-Equistrial. (Like Extra-terrestrial but Equis instead of Terra)
Dax looked at the being who was controlling his brother's body, and said, "I hope your journeys are safe, and your travels never end."
Arcus seemed a bit surprised by such, yet smiled in return.
"... thaaaaannnnnk... yooooouuuu..."
Arcus had to struggle to use Oglevy's voice, but he found the way to speak to Dax. For the effort, Dax gave a small start... then grinned back.
This done, the ghostly lord turned his smile at Illiad, then turned back around to face his ship. There was a quick flash of bright blue light, the Oglevy simply fell over with a groan. The ship itself was silent, yet slowly rose off the ground, hovering in place for a moment before moving forward slowly. As the two of them watched, the ship itself bent around corners and stretched and squashed as it carefully hovered out of the now Cloud-Diamond-barren cavern and towards the surface.
Once arriving there, it pointed itself skyward. It began to glow the same color as Arcus' eyes, and Illiad felt a tingle in the back of his mind.
>The stars, they ever shine upon you; someday, you shall shine upon them, Judge Illiad. Farewell.<
Suddenly, in a flash, the ship darted straight up... and was gone in only a few seconds. A final flash of light appeared when it reached spaaaaaace... then, nothing but stars.
Dax looked after the ship for a moment, as if he could actually see it fly off... then he yawned, long and hard. That done, he looked down at the sleeping form of Oglevy; the colt really did look adorable, now that he was sleeping. Dax looked at Illiad.
"Okay, get him on my back, and we can go back to the manor; I'll put him in his bed, then I guess I'll go to mine - I dunno if I can make the walk back to the tent without falling asleep on my hooves..."
He grinned as he worked the colt onto his back with Illiad's assistance. As they began walking, it was a touching sight: the older brother carrying his sleeping sibling home to bed. In that moment, it looked as if there would be some hope at the sight of this - Dax loved his family, no matter how they acted or treated him. And, in their own way, they loved him, too.
If Illiad had just been passing through the quarry, he would have never known this family was as deep or complex as it truly was... and he would have never met so many fascinating ponies, either. This Cultural Exchange had turned out to be far, far more than expected.
They crept into the manor, quiet as mute mice, and made their way to the rooms. At Oglevy's door (complete with a sign that read, 'Your presence here is forbidden!' in bold letters), Dax opened it softly and turned back to his friend.
"I've got it from here... go on to your room and get some sleep - we have a picnic to go to tomorrow. Good night, Illiad."
With that, Dax crept into Oglevy's room and quietly shut the door.
Illiad didn't really know how to react to the whole situation, and he was far too tired at the moment to particularly care. Especially since he had quite a bit of writing to do in the morning about the whole indecent. He returned to his room and collapsed on the tub cover without disrobing, it having occurred to him then that he hadn't disrobed at the tent either. It wasn't long before he was asleep.