Illiad awoke to the sounds of soft snoring at his left, and gentle sleep-mumbling on his right... and something near his rear hooves.
Upon opening his eyes, he found those sounds and sensations belonged to Dax, Silver and Oglevy, respectively. He was surrounded in a ball of warmth, which felt cozy in the chilled morning air. There were soft, silky sheets covering the lot of them, carefully tucked around the two Blackwaters; Vylia's doing, he'd bet.
He wasn't as sore as he'd thought he would be... but he certainly was STIFF all over; his muscles, both physical AND mental, had gotten quite the workout the other day.
Illiad stretched as he shook the sleep from his eyes. He had no idea what time it was but his body said it was far too early to be getting up.
He moved to get up anyway. His knees nearly giving out as he tried to stand, the stiff joints rebelling against his attempts to move them. Nonetheless, he managed it, hopefully without shaking those around him too much.
He gave a long yawn before looking himself over, his robe was in tatters, barely staying on his body and doing little to nothing to cover all of his new bald spots or even the discolored patch from before. He sighed, At least I have another one, and that cloak will also help until my coat grows back in. IF it grows back in.
He looked around the room, split between trying to go back to sleep or trying to remember the way to food. Looking around himself it would be a bit difficult to exit the circle of love without rousing those around him, and it would be a while before he had the magic built up to teleport again, what with Selena siphoning off as much as she could to heal him.
Dax moaned, and blinked his eyes open into squinting positions.
"Illiad..? Yer up? Ohhhhh... kay."
He slowly got up, stretched languidly, then smacked his lips a few times. Looking down at Silver sleeping nearby, he grinned.
"Well, I'm glad to see she took quite a shine to you; I kinda feel like I'm playing matchmaker-..."
His words dropped off as he noticed Oglevy. He looked quite surprised... then simply grinned and, putting a hoof to his lips, motioned for Illiad to follow him into the kitchen, where the smell of coffee was warm and aromatic.
Illiad smiled at Dax's comments, and carefully stepped over the two remaining sleeping ponies to follow Dax towards the scent. While he wasn't inclined to drink coffee, where the coffee was there was likely to be other breakfast food items.
Once they were far enough away from the sleepers he turned to Dax. "Well, umm glad she likes me too, though if she didn't it wouldn't be the first time my feelings weren't returned in that way. Enough of that though, I'm curious to see what happens today, we'll be leaving for Troy tomorrow after all."
"Wow... it HAS been a whole week already, hasn't it?"
Dax stood there a moment, lost in thought. Then he smiled and shook his head.
"I kinda hope I get to have as much fun in Troy as YOU seem to have had here! You've been pretty busy... and I'm sorry if I caused any of that. But you certainly gotta admit - the Blackwater Quarry sure isn't boring!"
As they entered the kitchen, they came upon Luther situated at the sink, washing his plate and mug. Again, it was interesting that they had servants, yet washed their own dishware. Something about that spoke of a distinct lack of foppishness among the family - regardless of Vylia's attitude at times. Luther's face was drawn and neutral, not scowling for once. He looked up from his work as Dax and Illiad entered, nodded to them both, and returned to his task.
Dax wandered over to one of the refrigeration coolers, and began to rummage through it.
"Usually, we eat together... but today, we just get our own. There's some fruit in here, along with jellies and a few casseroles; what can I whip up for you today, Illiad? I'd be happy to cook; my treat!"
Illiad gave a crooked smile at the offer to cook, "Well, I suppose it makes sense seeing as I'll be the one cooking for you next week." He sighed as he tried to come up with something to have for breakfast. He both didn't want to really impose on Dax's offer, but he also didn't want to make Dax think that he didn't think him up to the task of cooking breakfast.
"Hmm, you guys have hash browns and hay bacon? Cause those sound pretty good right now." If they had the ingredients then it wouldn't be hard to make at all, yet involved enough that cooking it made one feel like they had really contributed.
Dax gave Illiad a skeptical glance.
"Oh, c'mon! I'm no stranger to a kitchen, and there's LOTS of stuff here I could make! I could whip up some biscuits, or maybe a cheese and spinach casserole, or fry up some spiced apple dumplings... heck, I could make an entire cake if you wanted me to!"
Dax seemed quite happy to do any of these things... however, Luther spoke up as the voice of reason in this scenario.
"He wants hash browns and hay bacon; give him what he wants, Daxter - not what YOU want to give him."
Dax gave a short huff, but his emotions didn't budge - he was simply wanting to do more for his friend. However, after only a slight pout, he began to gather the necessary ingredients and utensils.
"Okay, okay... I'll keep it simple." He looked back at Illiad with a good-natured glare. "This time, anyway. You've gotta let me make something for you in Troy... maybe your friends would like to try some of my cooking too?"
As he worked, he hummed a little ditty and even tapped his hooves a bit. He seemed quite happy in front of a stove, to be honest. The casual good humour was refreshing to the emotionally sandblasted Empathic; not harsh or sour - just good, clean, happy fun.
Finishing up his wash, Luther turned and came over to the unicorn. He stood close, speaking sotto voce to Illiad.
"Before you sleep tonight, come to my study. Please."
With that, the Blackwater patriarch made his way out of the kitchen. Dax didn't even seem to notice; he was currently tending to the hay bacon, and humming some catchy little tune as he did. He was also waggling his flank slightly to the tune's beat, looking for all the world like a hip little fry cook.
Even when he wasn't trying, Dax Blackwater was quite amusing.
Illiad was a bit surprised at both Dax's professed skill in cooking, and at Luther's comment about meeting. It seemed important, no doubt it would have something to do with Dax in Troy.
He made his way a bit closer to Dax, trying to remember if he had heard the song before while he watched him work. "I must say I'm impressed, most ponies don't have too much skill outside of their marks, I for one am not the best cook, so if you feel so inclined I wouldn't mind if you cooked while we were in Troy."
Dax grinned.
"It's actually Father who insisted that we all cook for ourselves; the Ons do it occasionally - when Father lets Mother get away with it, that is - but for the most part, we make our own meals... even Oglevy knows how to make non-stove-related dishes! Father keeps insisting that it keeps us humble, but I just like being able to season my own food to taste."
His eyes (and mood) took a little lift, and he turned to face the Trojan.
"Maybe I could cook a meal for you and your friends? Would they even like something like that? Oh, I REALLY hope I get along with the rest of your friends, Illiad; at least I'll know we all have YOU in common, so I guess it wouldn't be too hard to make conversation, right?"
He then turned back to the stove, back to his work, back to his humming. And waggling his rump.
The tune Dax was humming was actually RATHER infectious
Dax simply bopped away, humming and having a grand time at the stove; he really seemed to enjoy cooking for his best friend.
Illiad smiled with a slight nod, he knew of too many Canterlot nobles who had no idea how to cook anything on their own due to their servants cooking everything for them. "It's good that you know how to cook for yourself, it'll keep you able to take care of yourself wherever life takes you. As to my friends, while they're a bunch of different races I'm sure you'll be able to find something to fit their palettes."
He thought for a moment, "Though now that I think of it, none of them are particularly picky, and honestly I think they'd love a free meal, and I'm sure they'll enjoy talking to you as much as I do."
He enjoyed the song, though wasn't exactly as inclined to move as Dax was.
Dax blushed a bit at Illiad's comment.
"Awwww... you've gotta be just saying that - but thanks, though."
He expertly manipulated the skillet, and literally flipped the hay bacon onto a plate. Then, getting the browns together, he looked back at Illiad as he scanned the countertop for a bowl.
"Well, I don't really have anything planned for today... heck, everything else I planned either fell through, or actually happened, so... I guess I'm saying I don't really have anything special in mind for today. So anything you wanna do is fine with me; I'm happy just to be around you, y'know!"
Spotting the bowl, he slid it over and poured the hash directly into it, golden brown and rather aromatic. He gathered the dish and bowl on a tray, and brought it to Illiad as if he were one of the Ons, complete with the down-the-muzzle stare and half-lidded look of haughtiness.
"Your breakfast, sirrrrrr..." He drew out the last word on purpose, and gave a slight chuckle at his own little funny.
They both looked good, and SMELLED divine. He finished the set-up with a tall, cool glass of orange juice from a pitcher in the cooler. A simple breakfast, yet fit for an Alicorn.
Dax then smiled and said, "Okay, eat up - I'm making MINE now."
With that, he was back in front of the stove shortly, still humming that earworm of a tune as he began to prepare his own meal.
Illiad gave a light laugh at Dax's impression and began eating with a smile, they were a bit more seasoned than he usually made for himself, given he didn't have many seasonings at home nor the wherewithal to use them as well as Dax clearly could. In all it was much better than he had really anticipated, a good test of the Blackwater's skills as a chef before he shared it with his friends.
"This is absolutely wonderful Dax," he said after the first bite, waiting for the Blackwater to join him before he continued. He realized he shouldn't have started before his host was ready, but it just smelled too good to wait, even if he had been told to start. "As to what we could do today, the only thing that crosses my mind as something I'd like to do is somehow manage to get you, me, and Silver sleeping in the same area so we can all share a dream together. At least I think that would be a good way to spend the last night here. All that's left is what we could do in anticipation. Oh! I would like to see the vault with the lights on this time if that's not too much trouble, it wasn't very impressive when I couldn't see anything but I'm sure if it's anything like the rest of this quarry it will be quite the thing to see, though I understand if that can't happen. I should probably help gather up the cloud diamond shards I borrowed yesterday too. Though anything you want to do is fine by me."
Dax paused a moment in his cooking.
"A SHARED dream between us? Wow... I know I'D find it fun, and I'll bet Silver would just FLIP at the opportunity! Selena's REALLY powerful, isn't she? I mean, I don't even know if Luna herself could manage something like that... but I could be wrong."
He grinned sheepishly, then turned back to the stove and prepared his own breakfast, returning to his humming. And his dancing. Eventually, he finished making his meal and came to sit directly across from his best friend. He'd prepared the same thing he'd made for Illiad, complete with OJ.
"As for the Cloud Diamond, I'm pretty certain Father's already seen to its' collection... but we can find out for ourselves, I guess."
He tore into his breakfast, eating politely but quickly, as if he'd been starving for days, but was STILL a Blackwater, and he was trying to keep up appearances. It was kindly funny.
"I know how to get into the vault, and I don't think there would be any issue with my taking you there - I can ask one of the foreponies to let us in; the only one who has a key besides the three of them is Father, though there is a spare...SOMEwhere..."
He spoke as if he'd been snooping around to find that spare key for ages; probably since his colthood.
"Anyway, we can head there once we're finished here, if you want to - besides, I've GOT to show you the Blackwater Emerald!"
His excitement was rolling along nicely within him, and his chipper attitude was both genuine and unflappable.
Illiad's smile grew as he resumed eating to keep pace with Dax, pausing occasionally to respond, "As powerful as Selena is, Luna's at least twice as powerful when it comes to dreams, she just doesn't have many opportunities to do shared dreams since she's usually busy in the night patrolling the dreams. Anyway, dream sharing is actually pretty simple when distance is negligible. I would love to see the Blackwater Emerald, that's the one you found isn't it? I'm sure it's magnificent, your father might be willing to let us in, though it wouldn't hurt to meet with some of the foreponies again."
Dax blasted through his meal, gathering both of their dishes to wash (and not taking no for an answer from Illiad) and finishing that in record time. Once everything was as it should be, he turned to face the unicorn.
"There! Spic and span! Now, off to the vault!"
On the way they passed by Illiad’s room where he was able to chang out his tattered robe for his undamaged spare before they continued outside. As they walked, Dax chatted on.
"Actually, yeah - it IS the one I found... you remembered that I said that?" Dax grinned. "Hunh... I guess you're good at recalling details, too. But yeah, it was the one I found when I-..."
A quick roll of sadness zipped through him, but he dispatched it out of his thoughts with haste.
"... yeah, so it's the BIGGEST emerald ever discovered. The whole quarry actually claims the find; I don't mind - I don't need to be famous for finding a big, shiny rock. In fact, I don't think I really wanna be famous at all - from what I've heard, most famous folk aren't very happy... and I'd MUCH rather be happy than well-known."
Reaching the quarry yard, Illiad found it very quiet; with the Gem Refinery in need of repair, the factory sounds that usually filled this end of the quarry were vacant. Dax seemed to notice too, as he glanced around curiously.
"Wow... it's pretty quiet here. Guess I just got used to the refinery chugging along - but folks always say that you never miss something until it isn't there anymore, so..."
He shrugged, then looked at the Trojan.
"Well... I kinda figure you don't want anything to do with Redd, so who're we going to see: Chuck or Slapper?"
Illiad gave a bit of a chagrined smile, "Yah, I don't think Redd and I will ever be on quite the best of terms, Oh! that reminds me, Slapper wanted to talk to me about something anyway. Might as well sling two targets with one stone and go talk to him first."
He gave a contented sigh at the quieter sounds of the quarry, "I'm surprised the refinery was responsible for so much of the quarry's ambiance, maybe when they fix it back up they'll make it quieter. Now's a great time to make upgrades after all."
Dax chuckled.
"Well, it'll certainly give Silver an excuse to overhaul the place; she's been wanting a chance to do that for a while, but never seemed to get the courage up to ask Father - now, she won't have to worry about him saying no, I guess."
He nodded and thought for a moment.
"Let's see... usually for this time of day, Slapper's watching over the slurry pit - should be easy to find him there. C'mon!"
Dax galloped his way to the other side of the row of sheds; here, there was a large, lake-sized hole in the mountain, and it was here that minecarts were being brought to on rails, then the cart's contents were dumped into the pit. What was being dumped looked like a sort of liquidy-concretey-type-stuff, and it smelled like evaporating rain and old, wet cardboard.
"When they mine, the miners get a lot of rock dust on the ground. An operator with a tank and a hose comes by and wets the floor, making the dust easier to sweep up, and it gets put in a cart and dumped here. The yucky gray watery junk that it turns into when the rock dust gets sprayed is called 'slurry', and it's useless for anything except drying and turning into a very brittle and weak concrete. So, we dump it here. It's not toxic, and it's pretty much all-natural, so it's not like we're polluting or anything."
Illiad looked confused for a moment, then shrugged it off, "I guess I don't really know much about mining, but it sounds like you do, though that's to be expected."
Towards the head of the line they were approaching was Knee Slapper, with a contraption on similar to Chuck's clipboard harness. He would watch a cart come up, check it, make a note, then nod at the miner who would then tip the contents into the pit. That done, the next one moved up and repeated the process. The line wasn't long at all; two more carts, it seemed like.
Knee waved at Illiad and Dax as they came into view.
"Heeeeeeey, folks! C'mon over for a minute, say hi and such!"
Illiad walked over to Slapper, taking care to stay away from the edge of the pit. "Hey there Slapper! Dax wanted to take me to see that giant emerald he found and I remembered you having said that you wanted to talk to me anyway, so I thought I'd go two for one and we decided to come find you."
The forepony put on a sparkling ear-to-ear grin as they came in close.
"Hey, yeah! I do wanna talk atcha for a minute, actually. Alone, if I might - if, that is, Dax doesn't mind?"
The Blackwater stallion shrugged and looked at Illiad. "As long as you two don't disappear into some grand adventure without me!"
Knee chuckled, touseled Dax's mane, and said, "I won't - look, keep an eye on the slurry pit, would'ja? Two shakes, I swear."
He led Illiad off to where they were out of earshot of anypony else.
"Listen - I wanted to let you know that I'm a bit worried about you," he spoke in his other accent, the one that sounded more like the real Knee Slapper, "when I mentioned the Hounds, you didn't even recognize the name. Well, listen and listen good: they're the reason I'm no longer able to go home."
He sighed, and began anew.
"Look, I'll make it short; the group calls themselves 'The Kennel', and they've been intent on finding and capturing me for quite a while. Until recently, I thought they were only after ME; with the discovery that there are others who have special abilities too, it occurs to me that YOU might be a target of theirs. After all - that's why they came after me all those years ago. THAT'S what I'm doing here at the quarry: HIDING from the Hounds."
He gave Illiad a grave look.
"If they trace you back to Troy, you might be in serious danger. Once a Hound gets a scent, they won't stop at anything to find it... so be EXTRA careful when you two head off. Make CERTAIN you aren't followed. And always keep your eyes peeled."
Illiad gave Slapper a sympathetic, yet confused look. "I'll be sure to keep a watchful eye out, but with Luna's protection I don't think there's much to worry about. No one's tried to attack me directly since before I left Canterlot, and since then only a select few know I'm any different. More than know about you that is, so unless one of them's a plant I think we'll be safe for now. How do you know so much about them anyway? Do you know why they're going after those like us?"
"As for the Hounds, I only know what little I know because of a messenger I... uh, 'intercepted' when they broke their leg on accident. There were only three letters, but they spoke of the Kennel, and they had a LOT of rhetoric on the 'evils of the psychic', which I'd thought only meant me... but now that I know you're ALSO gifted, well...Illiad, there could be far more Empathics out there at risk. Maybe when you arrive home, you should look into finding out what you can about this? After all, I'm just a quarry worker; someone with your pull might be able to find out far more than I."
Illiad’s expression shifted to be even more serious, "I'll keep an eye out for those hounds though, they seem like the sort of zealots that Celestia would simply overlook, though I think Troy will still be safe, they don't really like intolerance after all."
He sighed, then looked to the Trojan once more.
"That stuff that happened yesterday was weird - mind giving me a run-down of what was going on, because I've NEVER seen anything like THAT before."
Illiad sighed as he looked back towards the slurry pit, "As to what happened yesterday? Even I don't fully know what happened. To the best of my knowledge there was an ancient evil inhabiting a cursed item that got loose on the quarry. I'm just glad we were able to contain it as well as we did, and that no one died to my knowledge."
Knee lifted an eyebrow.
"You don't remember yesterday's shenanigans? The goofiness? The mind control? The honest-to-goodness draconequus? NONE of that rings any bells with you? I couldn't stop thinking about it for hours... and it's the talk of the quarry, Illiad! EVERYPONY recalls it - why don't you?"
Strangely enough, Illiad could recall things - but wouldn't Taps' artifact have muddled those thoughts? Why would it not have cleared these as well? Was everything okay? It raised a LOT of questions... and they weren't happy questions, either.
"It's strange, though... when the delivery wagon showed up this morning, not a single worker spoke about it; they talked about the recent Wonderbolts air show, and mentioned the cat burglar traipsing across the continent... butnothing at all about the hullabaloo here the other day."
He gave a slight grin. "It's as if they know that mum's the word, and they just roll with it. Fascinating stuff." Knee looked around a bit more, then leaned in close and spoke softly.
Illiad returned a raised eyebrow with a smirk, though it quickly fell to a more conspiratorial look, "Oh no, I do remember what happened, I was pretty involved with it now wasn't I? Though as to everyone keeping it quiet... I've heard the Jinx stone isn't the only strange artifact affecting the quarry. There may just be something here that makes you forget things."
Slapper sighed, then shook his head. "Strange times, indeed."
Illiad gave a slight laugh, "It's even stranger than we know, though perhaps that's for the best."
Slapper nodded sagely.
"Too true... wait a second," he suddenly gave Illiad a skeptical glance, "what do you mean, 'not the only artifact affecting the quarry'? What, is there something going on here that I don't know about? Is it Redd again? Is it-... is it the Boss? Does HE have something that's been working over the miners? C'mon, you cannot just feed me a line like that and expec-"
"Hey, you two! Getting all 'conspiratorial' over here, eh?"
Dax walked over to where they were standing, his mood and face both proving he'd heard none of their conversation. Slapper grinned, though Illiad could tell Knee was a bit surprised at Dax's appearance; he hadn't heard him coming, which fed a tiny morsel to Knee Slapper's paranoia. All the same, he sounded right as rain when he spoke.
"Naaaaaaaaah... just planning on robbing the Blackwater Vault, is all." Slapper gave Illiad a nudge and a wink, and Dax gave them both a chuckle.
"Well, it doesn't surprise me; we were headed there just now - I'm gonna show Illiad the Blackwater Emerald!"
Knee's eyebrows raised, and he looked impressed. "Whoa... that joke was a lil' too close to home, eh? Ah, no matter - I figure after everything else that's happened this week, you certainly deserve a little R&R, am I right? Well, okay then! Guess I should let you two get back to it, huh? Hopefully, we'll get a chance to chat again before you two go tomorrow. Sound good?"
Dax nodded, then looked at the Trojan, waiting for approval.
Illiad was ever so slightly annoyed that their conversation was cut short for the second time, but he didn't let it show. "Well, we still need a key to get in the vault, but I guess you are busy, we'll try to get one of the other foreponies to let us into the vault. We really do need to talk again before I leave. How about you catch me tomorrow morning and we'll talk before Dax and I head out to the train station?"
He turned to Dax, "If that works then we better get going to the next available forepony. If we take too long than we won't get into the vault before nightfall."
Knee smiled and nodded. "Tomorrow morning, then - hope you rise early, 'cause I sure do!"
Dax grinned; he felt kindly towards the forepony, and there was a 'little brother' mentality coming back in return. Knee started to say something else, then his head whipped sideways and he spoke up.
"Hey hey hey HEY HEYYY! Watch what you're doin' there! That's stuff's NASTY - and I sure ain't gonna be the one cleaning it up!"
He looked back at the two, tossed them a wink, then trotted back over to the slurry pit to continue to supervise. Dax gave a swift sigh, then turned back to Illiad.
"Okay, c'mon... Chuck's probably up at the mine entrance, divvying out shifts."
They began making their way up toward the looming cavern that stood as the main entrance (one would think it was the ONLY entrance) to the Blackwater Mines. As they walked, Dax turned to the unicorn.
"Y'know... yesterday was... well, it was intense, Illiad. I don't know what to say about it... or even if I SHOULD talk about it.... but I'm glad everyone turned out okay in the end."
He gave a rueful chuckle. "Even Redd."
Illiad gave a slight wave to Knee as they departed, before turning his attention back towards Dax. "It is indeed quite fortunate that things didn't go as badly as they could have, especially for Redd. Though the refinery's down for now, I don't know of anyone who died as a result. Though perhaps it would be best to put the whole thing behind us, unless of course there was something about it that bothered you, in the which case it should be discussed to ensure that there is no lasting trauma from the event."
He gave a slight smile as he shook his head, "I sound so much like a psychiatrist some times."
Dax chuckled. "Well, as long as you use your mighty head-shrinking powers for good, then we'll all be the better for it!"
The two of them finally reached the mines... but it seemed that today wasn't just a busy day for Knee Slapper. There were a number of miners in groups, all seeming either heated or simply frustrated, and in the middle of the hullabaloo was none other than Chuck List himself. He was a sailor pony nearly drowning in a sea of angry statements and questions:
"Hey, the route #6 rails're offline - what gives?"
"Chuck, with the refinery down, where in Tartarus are we gonna take these carts?"
"Sir? There's a conflict with the schedule..."
"Yo, Chuck! What gives, huh?"
"Chuck, aren't we supposed to be changing shifts right about now?"
Any normal pony in a situation like this would possibly be swamped with all the incoming information... but Chuck List wasn't just a pro; he was THE Head Forepony here at the Blackwater Quarry, and he was currently proving why - in spades. He was directing the miners and carts as they came in, and was answering just as fast as they could speak, in that strange speech of his.
"Eh, hol-jer wattah! Dere routin' rail numbah six to five an' two; you gotta problem widdit, ya can eat a rock... doze carts're headed back ta da depot unnaground, once dere full - we kin sorditowt laytah... FUGGETABOUDAT schedule, Rocky! If you t'ink youse did yer time, den sign out - but we need more workahz out atda refinery, if yuz gotta minnit 'r' t'ree... numbah six hopper blew yestiddy, 'membah? DAT'S what gives... one t'ing adda time, dere! Gimme a mo'!"
Though it was decidely thick with ponies, Chuck seemed to be perfectly within his element. Dax watched for a moment, waiting for a lull... and when one didn't come, he turned to his Trojan buddy and sighed.
"Somehow, I get the idea that we won't get much help here, either... but that means..."
He rolled his eyes.
"Great... we've gotta find Redd. Perfect."
He didn't seem to be pleased with the prospect of meeting up with the maroon unicorn; of course, after yesterday's little incident, Illiad might have had a few... hesitations... as well.
Iliad gave a slight laugh when he saw Chuck's predicament, seems no one's getting a break today
His expression fell a bit at the mention of Redd, Selena had related to him what she had done for Redd the previous night and what he had unknowingly revealed to her. "Well, if we can't avoid it, I guess we'll need to find Redd, though with our luck so far he'll be busy too or otherwise not willing to do us any favors. We might just have better luck getting your father to let us in."
He gave a long sigh, "Let's try Redd then, maybe we'll get lucky."
Dax led the two of them along until the reached the equipment check-in station, right next to the machine lifts that took the heavy stuff down into the lower mines. It was there that they came across Redd... though, if Illiad judged by Dax's emotional curiosity, he certainly wasn't in a typical mood.
The bright crimson forepony was seated at the counter, looking forlorn and sad. He had his head in one hoof, while the other seemed to draw lazy, inattentive circles on the countertop. There wasn't another soul anywhere nearby, so there was very, very little to keep him from being in his funk.
Dax looked at him, then turned to his buddy. "I've never seen him NOT angry before; what should we do?"
Illiad actually looked nervous, not a good nervous like with Silver, but a bad nervous that almost bordered on panic. It seemed like he was actually at a complete loss as to what he should do. "I.... Um...." He shook his head in an attemt to clear it as he considered his options more thoroughly.
He knew what Selena and Silver had done for Redd, but he couldn't think of a way to bring that up to Redd without revealing Selena, or without implying that Silver had told him everything. Even if Redd hadn't explicitly told her not to tell anyone, there was still the reasonable expectation of privacy up there on the mountain.
He sighed again, "Well, maybe this will work."