//------------------------------//
// An Exchange of Plans 
// Story: A Cultural Exchange 
// by Illiad_Easle 
//------------------------------//

Wheels turned and looked at Illiad.  "About a ten minute walk from here is Dax's camp; can you sense him from here?" 

Illiad squinted a bit as the new light shone in, "Not yet, we'll have to get closer. Hopefully he didn't leave the camp." 

"Right - the camp is west of here; the cliff-face is rather sheer... but still walkable.  Though it might be easier if I were to carry you down... which would you prefer?"

Illiad shrugged, "I think I can manage myself on the cliff, if not then Selena should be able to carry me easily enough."

There's a reason they're called cloud diamonds after all. 

Wheels shrugged, then unfurled her wings and took off, making a slow spiral downward as Illiad carefully made his own way down. She wasn't showing off; in fact, she was taking things very carefully, scouting the area before the Trojan arrived on the ground.

Once there, she landed gracefully and folded her wings in, using her wheeled horseshoes to roll along the beaten pathway to make short work of the distance.  Despite the fact that she was a pegasus, she seemed more at home on her hooves than in the air. Whenever it seemed Illiad was about to slip, a bit of the cloud diamond supported his hooves, making for an easy walk down.

It wasn't too long before they came upon Dax's campsite, and Dax was indeed there... and his mind was as clear as a bell.

"HEY!  Illiad!  Taps!  I'm here!"  He waved as they got close, his concern was overpowered by his relief at seeing the two ponies coming his way.

Wheels looked over her flank at Illiad.  "Not a word of The Closet to the Blackwaters - they have no need to know."

Dax came over to them and grinned broadly.

"I think the circlet you gave me helped a LOT - though I was really, really sad for a minute there..."

The thought of Daxter Blackwater's depressed side taking him completely over was horrifying from an Empathic's standpoint.

"... but then I think I heard S-... s-s-some voice or other, telling me I'd be fine."

Dax had stopped himself from spouting Selena's identity just in time - at least he was loyal.

"What happened to the rest of my family?  Are they okay?"

Illiad was frankly relieved to see that Dax was okay, though that meant they'd need to find another Blackwater to test the spell on. "Oh good, you're fine. I didn't think the enchantment would protect you that way, but I'm glad it did. Your family... is about as safe as anyone can be at the moment, we'll be rounding them up just as soon as we stop Redd, don't you worry about that."

Illiad turned to Taps, "Mrs. Blackwater is at the medic station, hopefully that's close to here."

Taps facehoofed.

"Actually, no... that's back at the quarry... which we just left... and have to now go BACK to... and I'll have to unlock AND open the gates..."

Dax's emotions gave a little spike of pride.  "Actually, I know another way in... we'll have to take a rocky path, but it leads to Blackwater Ridge; we can get in through there, straight to the manor's front yard."

Taps stared at Dax for a moment, then smiled and tousled his mane.

"Well, aren't you resourceful?"

She looked at Illiad.  "Okay, if we stay close to the wall, we should be able to creep into the quarry yard and work from there."

"Well we had to go back anyway. Let's hurry though, the less time Redd has to work with the better."

Illiad had no idea whether he would be able to defeat Redd without killing him, he had every confidence in his own ability to be sure, but he didn't want to risk Redd's life if it came down to it. 

A thought suddenly occurred to Illiad as he went over to Dax's tent to retrieve the items he had left there a few nights ago, namely the cloak and the book, before expertly teleporting them to his room. "Wouldn't want to forget those when I leave."

It took a bit of a walk to get to the path Dax mentioned... and in the meantime, some disturbing goings-on were ahoof at the quarry itself.  Behind the daunting iron walls, there were occasional sounds of laughter, singing, arguing and various strange sounds... including the sound of somepony crowing like a rooster.  How THAT was an aspect of ANYONE'S personality was up for debate.

Eventually, the threesome reached a small, scrub-lined dirt pathway.  It was strange; it looked specifically designed to be nearly invisible to anyone on the ground until you were directly upon it.  Dax nodded at it when it came into view.

"That's it - now up through here, through the graveyard, and into the manor's front yard.  If Redd's still inside, we'll have to be extra quiet sneaking by.  But if he's outside..."

Dax didn't finish his statement, not wanting to put the possibility into the ether.  The Trojan could feel the fear pulsing in the Blackwater's mind... but there was a sense of adventure evidencing itself, too.  He may have been scared out of his mind, but Dax was still all for the idea of being a hero.

The graveyard was silent and breezy as they made their way through it.  The various grave markers stood as silent sentinels, watching the three pass without fuss nor alarm.  It was peaceful here... in a somewhat morbid sense, anyhow.  When they passed through, Taps took the lead, and quietly rolled down the pathway on her wheels.  Stopping at the bottom of the brushy path, she turned back to them and spoke quietly.

"I don't see Redd outside the manor, so I believe we have a chance to make it to the quarry yard; from there, we can decide what to do next.  Easle, if you would be so kind as to flank Dax, then I'll take front.  Keep it quiet, take your time, and stay down."

Dax's eyes lit up, and he said, "Low and slow.  Father taught me that a long time ago; makes sense to follow it now."

Taps looked back at the unicorn.  "Shall we?"

Illiad paused as he surveyed the scene. "Hold up, Oglevy is in the cloud diamond cave if that's closer, it may not be the safest place to be in if Redd catches us, though any remaining cloud diamond there would be a boost to our own defenses. Otherwise, Mr. Blackwater is in the gem refinery that Silver took me to once. Hopefully one of those will be closer than the Medic station, the less time we spend in the open the better."

He looked a bit sheepish as he prepared to pre-empt any complaints by Taps, "Selena didn't tell me until now since she didn't want me to know if I were affected by Redd. But now that we know the circlet protects against that she could tell me without worry." 

He made a glance at Dax in an attempt to convey that he should feign ignorance at the subject of Selena.

Taps lifted an eyebrow, but Dax caught on rather quickly.

"Okay, then why don't we split up?  This way, we could each make our way to my other family members, then possibly convene somewhere where we can actually make some sort of plan - and I've got a feeling we're gonna NEED a plan to fix this trouble."

Dax grew a thoughtful look on his face, while Taps stood back and waited; she was somewhat impressed with Dax's attitude shift - so much so, that Illiad's mention of Selena went by without any further word on the matter.

Dax stopped and turned to meet his companion's gazes.

"All right, I've got it - I'll go to the Medical Station and get Mother... Illiad, you get Father, and Taps can retrieve Oglevy."

Taps/Wheels gave a bit of a look; she didn't care much for the spoiled colt, and her emotions matched suit with her disposition.

"And may I ask the reason for THIS split?  Must I be the one to fetch Oglevy?  I'd like to know why you divided us up like this."

Dax turned to Taps, and spoke quite confidently to the mailmare/secret agent.

"Sure - it's easy: Illiad's a unicorn, so he can levitate Father to where we meet if there's too much resistance... and Oglevy is a pegasus, so if he makes a break for it, you'd have a better chance to catch him than either of us would."

Taps blinked.  "That... is actually rather intelligent.  Of course, it doesn't surprise me - you always have been an intelligent one, no doubt of that... and you apparently think on your hooves rather well."

She nodded, and her words sent Dax's pride to soaring.

Illiad seemed unsure, but if the other two thought that it was good than who was he to second guess them. "Alright then, let's meet back here since we can reasonably assume that this place is still pretty safe, and we all know how to get to and from here. I think I can see the refinery from here, so it should be relatively easy for me to go back and forth."

He turned to Dax more specifically, "Be aware, the way your family is acting is not a reflection of their true selves, anything they say or do can be discarded as false and not intended by them. Their actions are not their own, so you cannot hold what they do against them. Remember that."

He turned back to look towards the quarry, "We ready now? I'm sure not, but I'm going in anyway." 

Dax nodded.  "Thanks; I'll keep that in mind.  Be careful - both of you, please."

With that, he turned and began to make his way towards Ziggy's Shack.  Taps turned to Illiad.

"Very well - as much as I dislike that spoiled foal, Dax is correct; should he attempt to fly off, I will have him, post-haste.  So, and I go."

She began to skate off, then did a full 180, skating backwards as she said, "Best of luck, Easle."

With that, she made her way toward the cavernous mine entrance, taking wing as she reached the equipment lift and began flying down the shaft.  It would certainly make it a fast entrance to the mines.

Hopefully, there wasn't anything STILL under there that might cause even more trouble.

Illiad took a steadying breath before he too made his way down to the quarry yard. With a spell refracted against his supply of cloud diamond it wasn't hard to make himself nearly invisible, one would have to know where to look in order to hope to see him, or if they could sense magic or emotions like he could, then he'd still stand out like a sore hoof.

Even with the limited invisibility, he still tried to keep to the shadows and back walkways as much as he could on the way to the refinery.

As he snuck along through the quarry yard, Illiad saw ponies acting in all sorts of strange and alarming manners.  A few were arguing, some were traipsing or skipping around, one or two were sitting in weird positions (like on their heads), and there were MORE than a few fighting each other - and one pony seemed to be fighting himself!

Then suddenly, there was a hissing, squealing sound that seemed to be coming from the Gem Refinery itself.  Out of the smokeless smokestacks, an alarming amount of steam was shooting up through one of them and making quite the cloud over the roof of the refinery.

The smokestack, like its brethren, was numbered... it was #6.

Well, that confirms a suspicion of mine.  The fact that the stack had not been repaired that day meant one of two things, either Silver had been affected, or she was otherwise incapable of doing it, for instance she could have locked herself up in her shed to keep herself safe from the spread.

Illiad stopped where he was, Silver taking a greater importance in his mind. Using the stones he extended his senses outward across the quarry, searching for the emotional trail of Silver's which he had grown so familiar with.

Please be okay.

It only took a moment, but he found her emotional signature - and it was furiously at work, waves of concentration pouring out from Shed #7, not far from the Gem Refinery.  It was close enough that he might-

A shriek of steam escaped from a section of the #6 smokestack as a large crack began slowly rolling its' way towards the upper lip, twisting and branching like a disaster-causing root, growing to the billowing clouds of vapor reaching out from the stack itself.  From inside, in a rich and deep baritone came an all-too-familiar voice whose bellow could even be heard rather clearly above the din around the Trojan.

"YOU!  You need bits!  CATCH!"

There was a crash, and a sack of bits flew through one of the windows, smashing it to pieces as it flew through about four steps from Illiad's position.  Luther Blackwater was still inside, all right.

And if that smokestack was any indicator, Hopper #6 was close to exploding - which might take the Blackwater patriarch with it!

Illiad gave a sigh of relief, it seemed Silver was fine for now. He made his way quickly to the window of the refinery that the bag of bits came through, hopefully it would be big enough to save Mr. Blackwater through.

He silently, and not so silently rued that he had not learned many more spells beyond teleportation, advanced telekinetics, and bound broadsword and tower shield. If he knew a freezing spell or a repair spell he could save the stack, he could even do it with telekinesis if he knew how to fix it. But alas he didn't, so all he could hope for was saving Mr. Blackwater and whoever else was within the refinery building. It would be much harder to resurrect them if they were in many tiny pieces or incinerated after all.

Through the window, Illiad could see a total of three ponies inside:

Near the front doors was one of the miners, who was busy walking small, tight circles around a single trash can on the floor; he seemed transfixed by what he was doing, and he didn't even seem to notice what was going on around him at all.

Over by the start of the conveyor belts stood yet another, who was counting the emeralds as they came out of Hopper #1; the cart meant to catch them was filled to overflowing, and gems rained down the sides unheeded as the worker simply counted off out loud: "242... 243... 244... 245... 246..."

And of course, on the railing directly above the creaking and groaning Hopper #6 was none other than Luther Blackwater himself, pacing back and forth and tossing bags of bits at the other two below.  Though he stood as regal and proud as ever, he had the same spaced-out look in his eyes that the others were exhibiting.

Illiad might yet have a chance to save them all... but he'd better hurry; #6 sounded as if it were a teakettle, whistling violently and about to boil over... and if Silver's story held any merit, it wouldn't boil over quietly OR safely.

Given his increased magical abilities by the stones and the enhanced precision offered by Selena's guidance. It would be no trouble to teleport all three of the ponies out of the refinery.

So he did just that.

In a very bright flash all three of the ponies were suddenly outside of the refinery, hopefully they would be safe enough there.

He immediately grabbed Mr. Blackwater with his magic and began running directly away from the refinery in the hopes that he could put enough distance between him and it before it blew. 

Luther looked quite surprised when he suddenly appeared outside of the refinery; it looked like a very out-of-place expression on his muzzle.  He followed along, stumbling a bit but staying on his hooves.

The other two ponies simply gawked at each other.


>FOOOOMP!<


It was like the sound a gigantic spitball would make if it was launched from the world's biggest straw; chunks of the ceiling shot out from the rooftop as smokestack #6 launched like a concrete javelin into the air, a rain of mortar and brick in its' wake.  Silver hadn't been exaggerating - the entire tube went about ten stories straight up before it came to a slow, momentary stop in mid-air.  

Gracefully, it then began it's descent, slowly at first, then picking up speed and tilting sideways before coming down squarely on top of the refinery with a >BANG!< so loud that it rattled Illiad's bones, even from the safe distance away.  Luckily, there was no other damage, and none of the flying detrius had hurt anypony in the quarry yard; they were still as they were - that is to say, still fully under the effects of the Jinx Stone.

"Easle?  What..."

In Luther's eyes, the clouds faded a bit; he was fighting the Stone's grip!

"... have some bits... wait... you need..."

His face scrunched up, and he began to sweat.

Once he was sure no others were hurt, he kept running with Mr. Blackwater in his magical grip to the place they agreed to return to. He looked Mr. Blackwater straight in the eyes as he ran and spoke with his most serious tone yet. "Remain calm, this isn't over yet and you'll be free soon. Just hold on."

He turned back to look where he was running, it wouldn't be good to trip now after all. 

The two of them arrived at the scene, and there was Taps, with Oglevy on the ground in front of her.

"This is... disconcerting; he didn't struggle in the least.  He's been calculating something... and he won't stop."

As if to emphasize, Oglevy spoke up for a moment.

"... nonononoNO, it's not 472994629.22759... it's 472994629.25759... with a margin error of 16.49665, then it converts the number to 4489366574997151784..."

As his voice dropped back to a bare whisper, Taps shrugged at the Trojan.  On the other side of the yard, he heard a door bang open against the steel siding of the Medical Shed.

"... and ONE two three four, TWO two three four, THREE two three four..."

Dax came strutting out of the tent, engaged in a full-on Tango with his mother, Vylia.  She seemed to be laughing, and followed his movements step for step as her clouded eyes seemed to look forward, yet see nothing.  He began leading her in their direction, a look of sheepish acceptance on his muzzle.

Taps gave a smirk.  "Well, that's ONE way, I suppose.  Clever, Dax."

Luther continued to fight the control... and Illiad could feel him winning.

"... more bits... I... hhhhhrnnngh..."

Illiad gave a short sigh, the high levels of power were starting to affect his nerves and weaken his usual level of control. He couldn’t seem to remove the slight smile from his face despite how serious things were around him.

"Alright, we've got them all together so now lets test that spell you've got and see if it's worth anything. The refinery's already pretty demolished and if we don't hurry I think more buildings will follow. I can't wait to see what brilliant plan you have to restoring the whole place, and how you're going to convince everyone they lost a full day or so without raising any questions." 

Taps smiled.  "Oh ye of little faith..."

She lowered her head and began to chant in a strange tongue, softly.  The bowler atop her head glowed brightly, then there was a flash of light.  It rippled outward, going visibly as far as eight feet before dissipating.  As it rolled across the affected Blackwaters, the dull gleam left their eye sockets at once, and they each started speaking.

"What?  What... happened?"  "What in the blue skies of Cloudsdale..?"  "Unhh... my head... what am I doing HERE?"  "What is the meaning of... Daxter?  Easle?  Taps?"  "I don't understa-... Illiad Easle?"  "...you?  What happened?  What's going on?"  "Yes, DO tell, dearie..."  "Yes.  GOOD question."

Taps smiled, and motioned wordlessly to Illiad.  Dax looked to the stallion as well, but Illiad felt his friend would back whatever he said.

Oh no, you're not leaving this all to me.

Illiad gave a bit of a crooked smile, his eyes ever-so-slightly out of focus. "Oh, someone lost an artifact of immense power that traps you within your own mind and forces you to act in a way completely different to the way you usually act. It takes the smallest characteristic you have and amplifies it to be the greatest characteristic. Now I'm stuck cleaning up the mess, which now includes your refinery, which blew up soon after I saved you from it. Which is why I now have all these cool power stones. Thankfully that same someone who lost the artifact also has a counterspell, which is why you guys are now free from its effects. You are all currently wearing diamond circlets on your heads which will protect you from falling to its affects again, as well as protecting you from any other influences, magical or otherwise for the time being. Don't take them off until I say so and you'll be fine."

He turned away from the Blackwaters and started to make his way down to the quarry yard, "Now, I need to go fight Redd, who's been infecting you guys, so someone can fix all this. Save all your questions for when I return as I will be hosting a Q&A session then."

He felt a little bit off, but he couldn't put his hoof on why. It felt strange to be able to wield so much power. Is this how the alicorns feel every day? Interesting...

THAT is when something happened that the Trojan might not have ever expected.

As his power was boosted so high, he felt the slow build behind him as the Blackwater family, as one, began to emote... and it kept growing, not at all hurting the Trojan... but EMPOWERING him even further.

"I'M not staying anywhere - except next to you, Illiad."

Dax's heart was near bursting with the emotion that was fueling Illiad like coal in a fire, and he poured it on thick.  He came forward, moving to the right and matching step-for-step with Illiad Easle.

"Not YOUR problem - OUR problem, Easle; that includes us ALL... you, too."

Luther Blackwater, stern-faced and determined, fell into step on Illiad's left; he also felt the emotion, tight and focused, coming off the stallion.  It was surreal, yet the surge was undeniable.

"Dearie, you expect us to simply allow you to go in there without lifting a hoof for you in return?  As much as you've done forALL of us, we simply are NOT about to let you go in alone.  Perish the thought, my unicorn friend!"

Vylia, overhead with her lovely wings stretched and flapping gracefully, moved into position above her son Dax.  The Empathic felt a broad, yet all-encompassing deal of the same emotion coming from the Blackwater matriarch; it was like a shot of adrenaline, straight to the heart.

"Besides, you're a hero... I've seen it for myself.  And I owe ya one, anyway.  Right?"

Oglevy drifted his way across the gap to take his place over his Father's head, the admiration for the stallion becoming clear - he apparently DID remember who saved his flank.

The sheer horse of emotion coming from the four Blackwaters was enormous, and it sang through Illiad Easle like a war-cry.

What he felt from each of the four ponies was LOYALTY; not a one of the Blackwaters here would hesitate to join him at his side.  They weren't foolhardy or incapable individuals who were about to stumble into battle - it was unmistakable now...

After all his different interactions with them, the Blackwater family had accepted Illiad Easle as one of their own... and were not taking 'no' for an answer.  

More than that, it was a taste of what Twilight Sparkle must have first felt when the Elements of Harmony all lent her their power for the first time... they all trusted him, without exception.  It was intoxicating; the Trojan almost felt as if he could take on ANYTHING with this sensation flowing through his veins!

Taps simply passed a gaze between them all... then cocked an eyebrow at the Trojan as she caught up, wheeling herself to where she could see his reaction clearly.

His grin somehow grew slightly more, bordering on almost manic as the influx of emotions, amplified by the stones, rushed into him, quickly surpassing his own reserve into dangerous territory. Were the stones and Selena not actively fortifying and draining his reserves he would have snapped right then from the pressure, then Redd would have been the least of their worries. But the stones prevented it, allowing him to experience something that no other empathic had ever survived.

He started to laugh a bit as he began to float, the cloud diamond bearing him up in an effort to burn off his new dangerous supply of magic. "So much POWER! Limitless potential, I can see why the alicorns like it so much. Ohhh,"

His grin set into a solid smiling line as he began to drift down to the quarry yard, "Oh Redd! Come out and Play!"

To be honest, Illiad was pretty sure things were quickly becoming very wrong with himself. His body and mind were never meant to wield such power and much more would surely be the end of him. He needed to end this quick before he caused himself permanent damage, but he couldn't manage to bring himself to care really, the power simply felt too good, he felt himself slipping just a little bit, the inhibitions moving aside as he probed the depths of his own capabilities. Who knew what would happen.

The doors of Blackwater Manor flew off their hinges, coming to land yards away from their point of origin rather noisily.  But from out of the doors didn't come Redd... but Beck and Call.

They walked forward with very stiff-legged motions, as if they were puppets who have yet to get used to their strings.  They walked clumsily forward at first, then moved into step and began marching forward, towards Illiad and the Blackwaters.  As they advanced, more workers began making their way out of various other places - including the quarry yard - and gathering outside the large picture window in the front foyer, making quite a barricade between the Trojan and the manor house.

Stepping into line (and from the look on his face, fighting every hoofprint) came Chuck List, who stood directly in the center of the grouping and faced Illiad, just like the rest.  Knee Slapper moved out from the crowd as well, moving in a slow hypnotic daze towards the rear of the group, yet still directly in the center of Illiad's vision.  Moving to the center of the group came a tall, candy-colored zebra, whose blank stare held nothing of Doc Zinger's usual charm.

With his levels of power, he could FEEL every last one of them, struggling to break free.

The picture window did NOT blast outward; instead, it slowly and deliberately pulled itself into floating pieces, as if it could easily be put back together again... if it would simply stop floating, that was.  Through the tidily-made new exit came a levitating, glowing-eyed Redd Handid; he was keeping himself WELL ensconced within the throngs, almost daring Illiad to fire the first shot.

"Well... well... well... isn't THIS absolutely wonderful?  I've been WAITING for you, Easle...  and I am NOT disappointed, I see."

He spread his hooves, motioning to the throng of sixty-five Blackwater Quarry miners and other various workers that surrounded him closely.  He grinned a wicked grin, staring daggers into the Trojan's eyes.

"By all means, if you can free them all... do so.  But I assure you, there will be a few snapped necks before you can even begin to react - and each death will make me THAT much more powerful!  More superior!  MORE!"

As Illiad watched, he saw... well, more like FELT a presence creeping along the sidewall towards the front door of the house; Taps was trying to flank Redd... and as Redd's attention seemed to be focused on Illiad, she might get away with it.

The Blackwaters themselves, as one, were already preparing for a scrap... but their hearts were as clear to the unicorn as could be - none of them wanted to hurt anypony... not even Oglevy.  But they were ready for whatever came.

"Your move, Easle..."