A Cultural Exchange

by Illiad_Easle

An Exchange of Camp

Dax turned back to face Illiad. "I hope Slapper didn't bore you too much with his stale jokes and juvenile pranks. He didn't pull one on you, did he?"

Illiad smiled, "I actually had a rather pleasant day, no doubt though it would have been better had you been present. Knee got Redd pretty good, he probably would have gotten me at some point had you not arrived."

He moved a bit closer to Dax. "So how was Canterlot? If you don't mind me asking of course."

Dax rolled his eyes melodramatically, but Illiad felt nothing but good spirits coming from the young stallion as he draped a hoof across his forehead.

"OH! It was... SO... BOOOOOOOOOOORIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!"

He put a hoof on either side of his face, scrunching it up comically as he cast his voice at a higher register.

"OH, but MISS-us BLACK-wah-tah, we sway-ah we have the FIIIIIIINE-est mah-tee-ree-oolz in AWL of Equ-ES-tria!"

He then took his hooves down and placed them on his flanks, standing prissily on two hooves. His voice was still high, but this voice had a LOT less snark in it.

"Now of COURSE it is, honeybee - I wouldn't shop here if it wasn't so, my little chipmunk!"

He scrunched his face again. "Oh, why THAY-UNK YOH!"

Hooves on hips; "But of COURSE, my darling pumpernickel!"

Then he made a sound like a cross between a mare's giggle and a sharp whinny; when it was done, he took an exaggeratedly large breath, looked Illiad directly in the eye, and then... he exhaled very softly in a single puff of a sigh.

"All... morning... long."

The grin he put on next was more like what he was feeling. "Besides that, though... I don't know if it was all that different than the last time I was there... but I did remember you saying that you grew up there, but you had to leave... so, because I thought you might miss it - and I'm not all that good at describing things - I brought you stuff that might do a better job of it; here!"

Dax reached back into his saddlebag and brought out three things in succession: A small sack, a small box, and a book.

Dax gave Illiad the book first. "It's a picture book of Modern Canterlot - just printed earlier this year, according to the bookstore mare; she said it was the one with the most scenic and detailed pictures yet!" The book was almost cover-to-cover photographs of Canterlot in all it's glory; scenic views, wide-angle lenses... even arial shots! It was well-crafted, and full of all sorts of information as well; this wasn't a tourist's book - it was meant for true fans of the city.

Next, he gave him the box. Inside was what appeared to be a folded cloth at first, but what Illiad discovered to be a very well-made cloak. "The lady at The Boutique Fantastique assured me that this would keep the heat off, but would breathe like a cloud; the design is one-of-a-kind!" On the seams, there was a very distinctly Canterlot-inspired pattern, and the material felt smooth, but not quite silky.

The aroma coming from the sack was sweet and enticing. "And I don't know if he was around back when you were living there, but... I got you some doughnuts from Pony Joe's."

Dax smiled. "I know it's not like going to Canterlot itself, but... maybe this is a good try, at least?" He gave the unicorn another Dax-Patented sheepish grin.

Illiad was genuinely touched by the gesture. So much so that he had no words to describe it.

Setting the objects carefully aside he drew Dax into a surprise hug.

Dax's face was full of surprise as Illiad embraced him, but his heart nearly exploded with joy. He returned the hug in kind, and even gave a slight happy chuckle at seeing how much it meant to his Trojan friend.

Illiad made sure to release him before it became awkward, looking over the items again with the largest smile he had had since arriving on the quarry. Illiad had always loved the city and its architecture, it was a shame that a few bad experiences spoiled his otherwise enjoyable life. He recognized some of the buildings from his father's designs.

He turned back towards Dax and considered hugging him again, there may even have been a very masculine tear on his smiling face. "I... wow. You really are a wonderful and caring colt, looking out for your friends."

"Well, aside from some of the staff here at the quarry... you're my only friend, Illiad; of course I was thinking of you!"

Illiad was both happy to be considered a friend, and sad that he was the only one. He knew it wasn't likely to have been by choice, but rather a product of Dax’s parents isolating him.

Illiad sighed as he looked back towards the items. "I had always loved living in Canterlot, I loved the architecture and the scenery. It was the ponies that caused my departure, there were good ones to be sure, like Dewey the archives curator and Pony Joe, though he was a bit younger when I last saw him oh, I suppose it has been three years now. He did always have good doughnuts at his shop and he was a sympathetic ear to my troubles."

Illiad sighed again, wondering how he could ever repay such kindness, an idea came to him. "Do you like music Dax? A Capella singing more specifically?"

Dax was grinning ear to ear; the emotion coming out of him put the grin to shame. He grew a curious look as Illiad spoke of music.

"Well, sure I do - instruments or not, singing can be beautiful... don't you think so?"

"It certainly can, have you heard of HexComb? The A Capella group that donates most of their concert funds to charity? I heard that they are headlining a concert in Troy next week, I may be able to get us in if you're interested."

Dax got a bit wide-eyed at the prospect of a concert.

"Really? I mean, WOW, but... are you sure it's okay? Oh, that would be awesome! But, you know, I don't wanna cause you any trouble! I mean, YEAH I wanna go! I've never been to a concert before, though I've heard they're pretty neat..." He let out a laugh. "I... I don't know what to say! I mean, you don't HAVE to go to all that trouble, but... oh, WOW..."

It was kind of adorable, how Dax was both extremely elated at the prospect of attending a concert, and at the same time worried about being too much of a burden; the strange mix of emotions was rather comical. He started walking back and forth, talking himself into a tizzy.

"Oh, that'll be SO COOL! Plus, since it's for charity, maybe I could bring some bits to donate? Do you think they'll like that? OH, I just can hardly wai-"

Lost in his own world of excitement, Dax didn't notice the group of miners until he backed into them. There was a rough bump, and Dax wobbled a bit as he almost literally bounced off the dirt-covered stallion in front. Dax's eyes flew wide, and he turned to apologize.

"OH! Oh, I'm so sorr-"

"WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING, PINK-SLIP!"

With that single sentence, Illiad felt Dax's entire emotional state, excitement and all, fall straight through the floor and crash-land in Depressionville.

The miners glared at the young Blackwater as they walked past; Dax didn't even look up at them - he just stood there, staring at the ground. His emotions were painful and sharp... and black as night. The sudden switch was like a magic trick, except there was no 'alakazam'; just Dax, fighting tears.

Illiad was often told he looked quite scary when mad. It wasn't the sort of fiery vengeance that one would expect, full of fire and fury, but a cool burning, a cold hatred that made you know you would regret ever crossing him. In a way Illiad was glad that this had happened, terror goes stale fairly quickly when stored.

And he had quite the store of it from the day before.

Dax's sorrow hurt him physically to feel, Illiad had not seriously considered equicide before, and he didn't really consider it now, but the thought had crossed his mind. Eyes narrowed and horn slightly more aglow he laced his words with the terror to ensure that those workers would feel the full effect of his cool rage as he spoke.

"Unless you'd like to receive one, I'd suggest you leave before Mr. Blackwater gets the idea that some of his workers should be watched a bit more closely. After all, anyone who thinks they can afford to disrespect their employer's family, can afford to have their employment suddenly terminated. No one hurts my friends."

Illiad thought his statement was powerful enough, Selena had assisted in planning it after all. He hoped that no further ill would come of it, perhaps the workers would be too scared to torment Dax further.

The worker started to say something else, yet when Illiad loosened the terror on them, they all paled and backed up rapidly from the two ponies. Of the four, one took off immediately, two slunk backwards until they were around the corner, and the one that had spoken the painful words to Dax turned and began to trot off... but he tossed one more jibe over his flank at them.

"Way to go, Pink-Slip - looks like you found another creep to hang out with!"

The pony picked up the pace, and was gone in a flash... but the damage had already been done.

There was a thick wave of misery that rolled from the young stallion as he stood there, and this wave was surrounded on all sides by shame, embarrassment and even some self-loathing. Dax simply stood there, head hung low. He didn't look up when he spoke next.

"... I don't wanna be here right now... we can go to my tent..."

Without waiting for an answer, Dax began forlornly heading towards the large front gates. Whatever it was about the nickname 'Pink-Slip', Dax seemed to be a miserable sot for having heard it.

Illiad's cool rage was undeterred by the worker's parting shot, he committed the worker's description to memory as he would have to be dealt with later. There was no use dwelling on it further as no action could be taken at this time. He did not offer a parting shot of his own as he knew he stood higher, Dax was his priority now. He shunted his rage to the gem to be dealt with later, karma was particularly good at holding grudges and forgiveness would not come easily to that worker now.

Illiad quickly moved to catch up to Dax, walking beside him at an equal pace. He decided he would not bring up the issue at the moment, perhaps at a time when he was far removed from the situation and the temper was not running so high. Illiad did what he could to lighten Dax's mood, but he could already tell it would not be too effective. He was happy to help in whatever way he could, he was already planning an anonymous letter with the worker's description as to how they verbally harassed his son, no doubt swift action would come of it.

The gates opened for ANY Blackwater; Dax was no exception.

The walk down the southern path was actually rather nice, if a tad windy. There were a few patches of flowery plants here and there as they reached the bottom - it was close to an hour's travelling in all... and not one word from Dax. He didn't stop Illiad from trying to lift his spirits - in fact, Illiad could feel the gratitude waaaaaaay beneath the sadness - but he truly just didn't seem to react much.

Obviously, his mind was elsewhere... but he wasn't taking it out on his friend.

When Dax suddenly stopped walking, there was no way to tell if he was going to burst out in tears or not... instead, without looking up, he simply said, "We're here."

It was quiet. Not unnaturally so; more like soothingly quiet. There were tall trees all around, towering above and putting a beautiful green canopy over the entire area, far above their heads - but in the center, there was a huge gap between the trees that gave not only light, but a beautiful view of the sky. Illiad could almost bet the night view was breathtaking.

There was a river-... well, more like a creek that wound its way through the mountains above, runoff for the water coming down from above. It came around the foothills and wound lazily through the forest here, coming to a short bend ending at a small patch of dirt, rocks and sand. You could hear the flow and trickle of the water, adding to the calm stillness of the place.

This was where Dax's campsite was.

The tent was big, but not gaudy; it looked to be straight canvas, with a layer of blankets inside, from the look of it. It was big enough for four adult stallions to sleep in, but there was just Dax. It was well secured to deep-driven stakes, and expertly knotted. There was a small board of wood sticking up out of the sand next to the tent flap, and there was a target painted on it; below, a hoof-made sign proclaimed: [Please knock before entering!]. Tied to the bottom of it was a rope that extended into the creek itself, with no indication as to why. There was also a well-kept and maintained fire pit, a pockmarked wooden bench, a large log with the top half whittled down for use as a seat, and a large, half-rotten looking wooden chest poking out of the ground near the rocks.

The whole place was quite serene; Dax finally looked up, glanced around the site and took a deep breath. The exhale was a whoosh of air... and, from the state of his emotions, Dax's way of getting on with being himself again. The cleansing breath done, he turned back to look at Illiad and gave a small, yet sweet grin.

"Thanks for putting up with me; I'm sorry about being a sourpuss all the way here." He motioned around a bit, his mood lifting little by little. "Well, my home is your home, Illiad... what do you think?"

Illiad found the place to be quite serene, it was completely unlike any place he had ever been to have so much life around him, other than the Shimmerwood and Everfree forests of course, but the former had been at a distance and the latter was not an enjoyable experience in the slightest.

"It's a very nice place you have here, very calm and secluded. Don't worry about the trip here, I do enjoy quiet walks when I can get them, though here is much different than striding across the cool dunes at night back in Troy. It's a new experience having so much life around me, neither Deltrot nor Canterlot have this much plant and animal life."

Dax's grin grew at Illiad's comments. "Here, take the bench; I usually sit on the log, anyway." As if to prove his point, he did exactly that. He sat back, looking actually comfortable and not over-exited for once. Some of the ache was still present, but it was fading like soap bubbles in a tubful of old bath water.

He sighed softly, then stood up again and went to the trunk, opening it and poking his head inside. As he looked, a fog of mist began to pour over the sides of the chest, spilling onto the ground before disappearing completely. After a moment, he returned with a bottle in his mouth. He g-e-n-t-l-y tipped it onto the fire pit, and WHOOF!, a soft blue fire began to burn from the slight splash Dax had poured into it. Returning the bottle to the chest, he closed it and came back over to sit by the strange, yet warm blue fire.

"The flame potion was something my Father brought back when he went abroad when I was a colt. He'd gone to negotiate deals; he prefers to look a customer in the eye when he makes a deal with them. One of those customers was an exotic wares dealer - this old griffon - who gave Father the bottle, among other things. I took it, as nopony ever claimed or used it. A few drops will keep this fire going all night... as long as we feed the fire occasionally."

The crackling of the flames sounded... crisper... somehow, but other than that and the color, it functioned as a normal flame.

Illiad took a seat on the bench as indicated, intrigued by the natural magic of the fire. It wasn't uncommon for such nature magics to be sold around Troy, mostly from the Zebra caravans with their connection to nature magics, the griffon must have been a trader, potions are always popular among those with weaker magical ties.

"I picked this place the first time I ran away from home... it was perfect. I spent those three nights right here, just myself, my tent and my telescope. Ohhhhh... I can hardly wait for you to see the stars tonight; this section of the sky lights up beautifully this time of season. That's why I mad a little bit more of a permanent place out here; it's away from anypony and anything that could ever bother me... and I can be free here."

Those words brought a flash of the earlier sadness back, but it drifted away once more as he kept himself in the moment.

"I've always liked the stars, but as more of a casual interest rather than a hobby or study. Still, it will be interesting to see how the stars are different here than they are in Troy or up on Canterlot Mountain."

"It's even better here; none of the lights from anyplace reach this far, so we have a completely unobstructed view from here. My telescope can- OH!"

Dax suddenly got up and, after unzipping the flap, disappeared into the tent. When he returned, he was carefully managing a long wooden case, made of sturdy oak. He set it down carefully, then opened the latches... but he looked back at Illiad before he did anything else.

"Here - my pride and joy!"

He opened the case and presented it to Illiad; inside was what appeared to be a very deftly-crafted telescope. The craftsmanship was quite good, and it looked as though it was built by a personal craftsman instead of some factory-pressed model. It was well cared for, and though it had seen much, MUCH use, Illiad could almost be certain that it was perfectly aligned, too.

"Whaddya think? Do you like it? You can pick it up, if you want to..."

Illiad was impressed by the quality of the telescope. He hadn't had much use for one in recent years as sand would wear them down pretty quickly, but he had had an amateur one back when he lived in Canterlot. He carefully lifted it with his magic to inspect it more closely, it was certainly worn, but well cared for, clearly professionally made.

"It is very impressive, the best personal telescope I've ever seen, though that isn't saying much." He passed it back to Dax. "It has been quite a long time since I've used one, you no doubt know how to set it up better than I do. You seem like you've had quite a bit of practice with it."

Dax blushed as Illiad spoke of the telescope's construction.

"Yeah, I actually built it myself. Measured out the pieces, focused the lenses... all in all, not that impressive, but it works exactly like I want it to." He looked at it lovingly. "It's not the first one I built - Oglevy broke that one - but it IS the best one I ever put together. When it gets close to dusk, I'll set it up for us; if it doesn't sound too dull to you, I'd love to show you all the constellations visible at this time of season."

Illiad was even more impressed to hear that Dax had constructed the telescope himself, It really was a professionally crafted piece.

Dax lovingly closed up the box and set it aside. He then sat back on the log, getting comfortably settled in before simply staring into the fire for a moment. The pain of earlier had retreated, and there was a mellow feeling trickling from Dax; he'd had a long, eventful day so far, and now he was winding down from it. Illiad hadn't seen him this relaxed since... well, since he'd met the young stallion.

Dax turned and looked at the Trojan thoughtfullyfor a moment before speaking.

"I'm glad you came, Illiad. The quarry is pretty much all I've really ever known; I was in regular school once, for a while... but that didn't last, so I ended up at the manor. I actually spend a lot of my time out here, but I try to at least stop in to see Mother and Father a few times a week. Part of the reason this whole thing was approved in the first place was because I agreed to stay at the manor the majority of your visit; Mother practically shoved Father into it, I'd think."

His small smile was kind and gracious.

"So yeah... thank you. I really, really mean that, too."

"Well, I'm glad I came too. I don't really get all that much opportunity to get out of the city, this exchange was a nice break for me. I'd like to think I made a few friends here, maybe you'll make some friends in Troy too. But yes, Thank you too Dax, I've had a great time here, and I'm glad to consider you one of my friends."

If emotions could be measured by the cupful, then the entire ocean might have been displaced by the sheer volume of affection and happiness that came rolling from Dax Blackwater, all aimed directly at Illiad Easle.

His feelings were like an open tome: he was absolutely ecstatic to have a friend in the first place , he was grateful that Illiad returned the sentiment, he was pleased that he seemed to be doing well as a host for his friend, and he was also still reeling from the idea that this was, in fact, not a dream...

Illiad winced at the sheer amount of emotion coming from Dax. It was painful yes, like having massive amounts of sugar poured directly into your mouth. Only more like directly to the brain. He wasn't at risk of a snap like with Mrs Blackwater, but it was uncomfortable. He sincerely hoped Dax’s emotional flood would die down quickly so he didn't have to throw a shield or leave.

Dax's verbal response was, "Thanks... oh, hey - are you thirsty?"

He got up and went to the signboard, grabbing up the rope in his mouth as he passed it. He idly pulled it in as he walked to the shoreline; the rope was attached to a burlap sack which had been submerged in the water. He stuck his head inside and came back with a smaller sack. Setting the little sack down, he returned the bigger one to the water, and brought the other bag over.

Inside were two canteens; one had a picture of a lemon and a lime stitched into the cover, while the other had a picture of an apple scratched into the surface. Accompanying them were four crisp, cold green apples.

Dax looked up at the unicorn. "One's lemon-limeade, the other is Sweet Apple Cider - both should be good and cold by now. Oh, and help yourself to an apple, if you like." To demonstrate, Dax reached in and grabbed one himself; it was so crisp, it snapped when he bit into it.

Illiad took the lemon-limeade as he had had plenty of cider throughout the week as well as an apple. "You are indeed a gracious host." Illiad bit into the apple and sampled a small amount of the drink.

Grinning, Dax ate his apple and helped himself to some of the lemon-limeade as well.

"Well, now that we're here, we can go fishing... if you still wanna, that is?"

He got up and headed for the tent again. After a moment out of view, he returned with two long wooden poles, each one with a number of brass rings set at intervals along its length, a spool of thin twine, and a makeshift crank. The twine had been looped through the rings from the spool, leading all the way to the tip - where there was a small, pink blob of what looked like jelly.

"I was taught how to do this a long time ago, by my brother Harcourt... see, the pink stuff is magically sticky; it tends to stick to all sorts of stuff. Harcourt used to make it; he used it for practical jokes all the time." He grinned, a thought crossing his brain-pan. "It's something I know would be a reeeeeally bad idea for Slapper to catch wind of this stuff; I like him, but I've been a target plenty of times - no fool am I."

"The blob has some kind of weird taste or something that fish like; they'll try to eat it, and you just pull 'em to shore. Once you see how pretty they are and how big, you just pull the little blob out - comes right out, no fuss - then toss 'em back in the water. It's actually pretty neat. The spool there is attached to the twine; you cast it out over the water, then stick the pole down in the dirt. Turn the crank-thing with your hoof to bring it in slowly, then just keep tossing it out there until you catch something."

He grinned softly, as if to a memory he was having. "It might sound kinda dull, but trust me... it's better than you think."

Illiad thought the entire process odd and a bit boring. He could see the use for it in the sense of gathering fish for an aquarium as the process did not harm the fish, but other than that it seemed rather pointless. However he decided he might as well give it a try, maybe it would be more interesting than he supposed.

"I suppose I could give it a shot,"

Illiad gently took a rod from Dax and did his best to follow his instructions carefully.

Dax explained the basics of casting, and after a few tries (including one where the little blob got stuck on Illiad's ear), the line was in the water, and Dax soon followed suit. Then there they were, sitting on the bank of the creek, waiting for a bite.

"Usually, I just lose myself in thoughts - I've never actually had company here with me before; it's weird... but not a badweird."

He smiled kindly before giving a contented sigh and sitting on the ground, stretching his legs a bit before he turned to face the Trojan.

"Well, we could certainly talk - seems like we haven't had a lot of time to do that, recently. Apparently, this is the week the Quarry decided to be busy, I guess... but that's okay, because it gives you a chance to see what things are like here. So, I guess I'll start with the questions, okay?"

Dax looked thoughtful for a moment before grinning.

"Okay, I got it! Can I ask you how you met Princess Luna? I mean, I know you wrote that you knew her, but... if it's not, y'know, hush-hush and everything, how did it happen?"

Illiad did find that fishing was actually somewhat relaxing, now that he knew what he was doing.

"How did I meet Princess Luna? Hmm… About a year or two after I left for Troy… Let’s see, I left the day before she returned from the moon, so a year later was just before Discord and another year after that would have been Chrysalis' attack... It was a month or two before Chrysalis. Princess Luna wanted to meet me, so she had the archives write me a letter asking me to come visit. I was intrigued by the letter so I took a small trip, they had put in a new Empathic section at her request so I thought I'd check it out. Later that night she found me there. What we talked about there is a secret, but in the end that's where I got my cloud diamond."

Dax gave Illiad a sidelong look.

"Awwww... well, I guess SOME of a story's better than none, right? And that's really cool, how being an Empathic got you to see her. I mean, yeah it caused you trouble too... but having the chance to actually meet Princess Luna, among other things, should show that it was a GOOD thing you had those abilities!"

There was a muted excitement in the young Blackwater, as if he was having the thrill of his life just to have someone to talk to, but at the same time trying not to frighten them off.

"Okay, now it's your turn; ask me something. Ask me anything!"

Illiad pondered for a moment what he could say or ask. He wasn't feeling too curious at the moment and he did not want to ruin the mood by asking about earlier.

"I suppose it was fortunate in a way, though I would have preferred leaving Canterlot on better terms. As for a question, I suppose I'll get your perspective. What do you think of Silver?"

It would be clear to Dax that this was more than a casual interest.

He grinned, "Silver is a real sweetheart. When she first got here, she couldn't talk to anypony - she mostly stayed in her shed. It was Knee Slapper who got her outside when he broke a sulfur jar in her workshop; the smell lasted for DAYS!"

The young stallion laughed at the thought.

"Anyway, I started talking to her because she wasn't talking to anyone but Slapper - and she started talking to the others more often. Soon, everypony knew Silver - and she knew them."

He looked at Illiad, making sure his statement was understood.

"She's one of the smartest ponies I know, and she's as sweet as Zap Apple Jam. Personally, I think she could do a lot better than working here... but she loves the machines and stuff the quarry has. Plus, she still feels like she owes Father for what he did for her - do you know about that story? Still, she's really amazing for all she does..."

His intent gaze slowly turned into a goofy smile.

"You like her, don't you? Do you like her a lot? Do you know if she likes you too?"

Despite Illiad knowing Dax's comment was coming, he still blushed slightly. "I guess I do like her, she's one of the smartest mares I've ever met and she's really cute too. As to if she returns it, she has called me cute before and I've felt her affection towards me but..." Illiad sighed. "For her to be so smart and cute and not having caught another's eye? I wouldn't want to get in the way if she already has another in mind. But to be honest, I hope she likes me as much as I like her."

Dax scrunched his features up in thought, then looked at his unicorn friend.

"I don't think I've ever known anypony who's had that kind of crush on her - she pretty much stays at the quarry, and she doesn't get any visitors from offsite... might have to talk to Slapper, though; he watches out for her like a big brother."

That thought brought some sadness, but not an ounce of it showed on Dax's muzzle.

Illiad took a bit of guilty pleasure in knowing that Silver had few if any other potential romantic relationships. But he did notice that Dax seemed slightly envious of Silver and Knee, perhaps he should ask about Harcourt next.

"I guess that makes it my turn again... hmmmmmm..."

He meandered mentally for a moment before a look of 'a-ha!' showed up.

"You've met a few ponies here... can you tell me about who I'm going to be meeting over in Troy? Who are you gonna introduce me to?"

Illid’s smile grew slightly at the prospect of introducing his friends. "Well, you'll likely meet Steel Rose when I go to have the plates fashioned for your father, she's an earth pony who's a bit rough mannered, but she's kind at heart and one of the better metal casters in Deltrot. Swift Message is the mail carrier whose route includes my house, he's a nice Pegasus despite being a bit old, and he was my first friend after I moved to Deltrot. Then there's Carbon Copy, the unicorn cousin of Swift, I met him just a day or so before I met Luna, I'd like to think that we're pretty good friends by now. He works as an apprentice jeweler as he can easily work with gems, most especially diamonds. We may run into Midget Hooves at some point, he and I are going to be running together for Consul in the next election, he's timid in public but he is a powerful speaker in the council, I suppose passionate would be the best way to describe him. Then there's Glen, she moved in to Deltrot recently and works as a guide for the caravans when she's not exploring the desert in search of her father's remains."

He pondered a bit more but no more names came to mind. "You'll probably end up meeting more than that but those are the most likely and the ones that I know best."

He was really enjoying this sort of Q/A, "So now it's my turn I guess, would you mind telling me about Harcourt? You don't have to if you don't want to."

Dax's smile faltered a bit, and his emotional state wavered... but he gave a distinct 'why not' sigh before he started.

"Harcourt's the oldest - he was around for a lot of my foalhood and most of my colthood as well. When I was first born, he didn't like me much - Mother says he tried to have me shipped to the Yak Kingdom once; almost got away with it too! He felt like I was sorta 'muscling in' on his life, y'know? But in time, he started being nice to me. I guess he got used to the idea of having me as a little brother; the teasing and name-calling got less and less as we got older, until we finally became friends."

He looked down, more to gather his thoughts than out of sorrow.

"When Mother got pregnant with Oglevy, Harcourt and Father had a really BIG argument; I think it was over what 'Cort's place would be with the new foal coming, I'm not sure... but it didn't end well: Harcourt stormed out of the manor, swearing he wasn't coming home until he had proven Father wrong - and Father just watched him go. Didn't even try to stop him."

He glanced sideways at Illiad.

"None of the family has heard from him since that day, about a decade ago... I hope he's alright. Mother misses him fiercely, and so do I; Father does too, I think, but he never talks about his feelings. Oglevy? He hates Harcourt; the feeling is mutual. Maybe they'll work their differences out in time... if he ever comes home, that is."

The subject was a bittersweet one for Dax - he obviously loved his brother, yet misses him so very much.

"He was the smooth-talker, the sneaky one, the sly dog. He was the one who taught me how to hide stuff in my mane with yarn, and he taught me how to tell a good gem from a bad one, and he taught me how to fish... kinda like I'm teaching you, huh?"

That thought gave the earth pony some comfort.

"So, yeah - that's my brother Harcourt. He's a bit... egotistical sometimes... but he's really a good sort, I promise. I wish you could meet him - I think he'd like you, Illiad."

The smile that grew on his muzzle was genuine, and he didn't seem any worse off for the subject.

"My turn again. I wanna know what you think of my family - and none of this 'oh, they're okay' stuff, either!" Dax's mood had lightened a tad. "I know you've been around them a bit - tell me what you've learned and what you wanna learn. And don't worry," he chuckled, "I won't say a word of anything that passes between us here."

Illiad was a bit sad to hear the tale of Harcourt. He had always had a good relationship with his siblings despite being the oldest. And though they had started to grow apart he still thought of them as friends.

"What I think of your family? Your parents are tying their best to raise you right, but they don't any way other than how their parents raised them. Personally I think they aren't showing you guys enough love, perhaps it is because they don't know how to express it. I can see in them, and what is developing in you, a dangerous emotional tendency to withdraw, bottling your emotions to come out in occasional bursts which is unhealthy for both them and those like me around them. That is why I had to blink out of the tea party with you, sudden surges of emotion like that are not healthy for me to sense."

Illiad sighed again, his expression more forlorn. "I can't blame your parents though, I can tell they're trying their best with what they know. You and Oglevy have the potential to become great individuals, you have more opportunities than most to experience the world, to grow."

He sighed yet again, looking a bit annoyed. "I don't really know where I was going with that, I'm not a psychologist, I just know how emotions work and I've gotten good at establishing causality with it. Your parent's aren't perfect, no one is. I really should stop before I get too deep into analyzing your family. I could go on if you want, I am seeing some interesting connections now that I think about it, but I can understand if you don't want me to continue."

Dax was rapt, watching his friend.

"No, no... I wanna hear more - it sounds like you've gotten a better insight into them than most do; of course, part of that is probably your Empathic abilities. Which, actually, is pretty cool."

He pondered for a second, then spoke again.

"You're right about the fact that they care; our family is a little..." he thought for a moment, "... 'Dysfunctional', I guess you could say, but we care about each other. Still, I actually DO wanna hear more. Please?"

Illiad gave a slightly worried grin, "If you really want I will continue." Illiad moved into a more comfortable position for talking. "Keep in mind this will be mostly speculation on my part so it may not be entirely accurate."

"We'll start with your father, given that he had to take the mine from his father it is clear he did not have the best relationship with him, thus he decided he would not raise his children like his father did. Your grandfather was likely emotionally detached as well, leaving your father without the knowledge to share emotion well. When it came to raising his children he did not have a basis to build from, thus he tried a different tactic with each of you. He was likely quite strict and demanding with Harcourt, causing him to flee before even discovering his potential, he was a bit more detached with you, and he has shown the most detachment towards Oglevy."

"I don't know anything of your mother's background other than she is used to a rich and pampered lifestyle and a similarly detached parenting style where nannies and tutors raise the children in place of the parents. I know you have tutors, but I cannot gauge the level to which your parents were involved in your upbringing. But as your father grew more detached she grew more attached, likely due to Harcourt's departure she doesn't want to lose another. thus she was likely more involved with you than Harcourt, and has coddled Oglevy."

"Harcourt was pushed hard to succeed by your father, he wanted a stallion like himself and when Harcourt was different he didn't know how to handle it. Leading to friction between the two of them ultimately resulting in Harcourt's departure. He hates his father for pushing him in a direction he did not want, or was simply not meant, to go."

"You are a good balance of your father and mother, not too strict nor too relaxed. You know how to care about others and do so with gusto, though the isolation of your parents' methods have left you with less developed social skills and a good bit of innocence. But, you have good potential to become a great individual. I have no doubt that if you chose to take over the quarry after your father you would run it quite well, perhaps even better than your father did."

"Oglevy is currently in a dangerous place, he is at the tipping point between a balanced life and becoming a spoiled, entitled individual who will never leave the quarry of his own will. If you guide him you can bring him to a productive and happy life. It may be hard at first, but all he wants is to be loved, something your parents won’t give easily, but something you can provide. Teach him how to be better, care about him and he will follow you."

Illiad sighed again. "That's all I have to say on that for now, as I learn more I may be able to have better insight to the situation.”

Dax sat there through the whole thing, watching Illiad with wonder as he spoke about the Blackwaters. When he was done, the young stallion simply sat there for a moment, quietly thinking, before he answered.

"Wow... that's... actually probably not too far off the mark, honestly. I mean, I haven't finished my psychology studies, but it sounds like you've already pegged a number of things I'd suspected for a bit. Yeah, you might need a bit more time to observe, though - Father and I aren't as distant as you'd think - he just doesn't say much, so we keep it simple when we talk. But you couldn't know that in only a few days, I guess."

Dax grinned. "And no, I'm not offended; if nothing else, I'm actually kinda glad to see you're actually getting to know them, instead of just paying 'em lip-service. That makes me feel better; I thought they'd drive you away with their antics, to be honest."

Illiad shrugged, “Why don't you ask me another question? Nothing comes to my mind at the moment."

He rolled his eyes when Illiad tried to back out of asking a question. "Awwww, c'mon! That's not how this game works! You're suppose to-"

Illiad's pole suddenly bowed, and his line began to wiggle.

"OH! OH OH OH! YOU GOT A BITE! HURRY, PUT YOUR HOOF ON THE CRANK AND BRING HIM IN!"

With a jolt of surprise Illiad's attention returned to the fishing. He had almost forgotten what hey were doing. With a careful motion he began to reel in the fish. He knew if he pulled to fast the blob might become unstuck and the fish would get away. So he did his best to reel in the fish quickly, but not too quickly.

Dax leapt back and forth on the sandbar they stood on, cheering Illiad on.

"That's it! THAT'S IT! Now slow it down... yeah, like that... now, FAST! HURRY HURRY HURRY! Yeah! Almost got- OOH!"

The young stallion turned and bolted for the tent, scrambling back in record time with a net on a pole.

"Jusht reew him'min DISH schway!" Dax yelled around a mouthful of handle as he tried to prepare his net for their catch.

Illiad was beginning to see the appeal of this sort of activity, long periods of calm followed by short bursts of rapid excitement. Certainly it was something he could enjoy.He continued to follow Dax's directions despite them being counter-intuitive and sometimes seemingly contradictory. It would have been easier for him to teleport the fist out of the water, but he didn't want to ruin the fun for Dax.

"Hewe... HEEEEEWE!" Dax held out the net, straining to try to net the fish when it was lifted from the water. He stood on the tips of his hooves, s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g to reach that fish... almost... alllllmost...

>KER-SPLASH<

Dax Blackwater was sitting in the creek, sopping wet with a net in his mouth. The fish, however, had ended up perched on his head. The scene was still for all of a moment, then the fish suddenly jerked into a curl, and flipped off Dax's noggin, landing in the water with a splash and swimming off quite rapidly.

For a moment, Dax simply sat there. Then...

"HAAAAA HA HA HA HA HA HAAA! Did you see the SIZE of him! That was GREAT for your first catch, Illiad!"

Not even the slightest trickle of disappointment came from him as he pulled himself from the water, shook off a bit, then headed for the tent.

"I've got a towel in here - I'll be just a moment. Toss your line back out!"

Slipping through the flap, Illiad could now here the sounds of rummaging around in the tent.

Illiad gave a small laugh at the scene before casting the line back out. It really was a fun activity and he was glad he had given it a chance even though it was unlikely he would have the opportunity to do it again as the oases did not have fish in them. It gave him the chance to think of what he could possibly ask next. He was content to learn of the Blackwaters through observation and he wasn't going to ask about the comment by the worker unless Dax brought it up.

He really was stumped as to what question he could ask.

Dax's shuffling ended, and he came out of the tent with a fuzzy green towel around his shoulders. His mane, which had been soaked, was now frizzed out in all directions - he looked as though he'd been hit with a bolt of lightning.

"Okay! Dry enough, I guess. Still, that was a doozy of a fish! It actually took me four tries before I actually got one to shore, so you're already better than I am!"

He grinned... then his grin faltered a bit.

"Uhm... you said something earlier about how large chunks of emotion can actually... hurt you? I hope I haven't been hurting you, but... knowing the way my emotions feel to me... well, can you maybe help me figure out how to... control it better? I don't want to hurt you, Illiad - even unintentionally; can you show me a way to... well, help it?"

Illiad thought for a moment before responding. "Well, my Empathic abilities are like most other senses. It hurts in a similar way to if someone were to shine a bright light in your eyes or a loud noise in your ears. The excessive amount damages the sense if incurred long enough so in my case it damages my horn, which regulate my abilities. Too much damage and it would snap, then my abilities would be unregulated and my presence would drive those around me insane. But don't worry, I have ways of protecting against damage so it is unlikely to occur, the worst I've experienced here was a hornache from your mother." Illiad paused, "As to you, there is not much I can teach you. Emotional regulation is something one learns at a young age. If you were a unicorn I could teach you how I regulate, but you aren't so I can't. But I'll see if there is anything I can teach you."

Illiad shifted back into the comfortable position he had earlier. "Your parents’ emotions are like a faucet, either on or off, a healthy emotional flow is more like a river, a constant stream of feelings that ebbs and flows. If you try and focus on how you feel about situations it may help, but it may be too late at this point to change your emotional nature."

Dax sighed.

"Yeah... that figures. Stuck as an Earth Pony kinda bites sometimes. I can't do magic like you, and I can't fly like Mother and Oglevy can... sometimes that makes me feel useless, y'know? I mean, I KNOW I'm not exactly useless, but still..."

He let his thought trail off, electing not to finish the sentence. Dax remained quiet for a long moment, the look on his face and the emotion coming from him a serious one. He seemed to be thinking about something rather heavy on the mind.

"Iliad?"

He shifted a bit uncomfortably, nervousness almost seemed to vibrate from him.

"I wanted to ask you about... about..."

He swallowed, trying to muster up enough courage to speak aloud; whatever was on the young stallion's mind was eating him alive.

"... about mares."

The look on his face was absolutely serious.

"Like, do you think I'll ever find... I mean, as a Blackwater it'll be difficult to find a... I mean, do you think a mare would find me... uhm, would one... what kind of qualities do I have that mares might... I mean..."

Dax's face had turned an interesting shade of Embarrassment Red. Chances were, unless Illiad spoke up, Dax would be hemming and hawing all day... maybe even all night, too. But the look on his face was so serious; it was hard not to grin at the sight.

Illiad gave a bit of a laugh before proceeding. "I suppose I wouldn't know too much about that sort of thing, given that I’m still single after all. Though that may just change with Silver. Personally? I think you'll find someone. It may not be soon, but you're kind and caring, determined to do the right thing. The best advice I can give is to be the kind of pony you want in your life. All you're lacking is good social skills, you aren't used to socializing so that might make it hard, but love finds a way as Princess Cadence is so fond of saying." He had a slight smile at that, "It doesn't hurt that you're a decent looking colt, and wealth attracts many mares. Your problem is not going to be finding a mare, but finding one worth keeping."

Dax was quiet for a moment; not a bad quiet, but more of a thoughtful one. His emotional state was stable... but wherever he was within his own head, he was deep.

"Father wants me to take over the Quarry one day. He's told me that he won't be around forever, and that he wants to see it go into good hooves. That's... kinda strange - knowing that Father thinks I'll naturally do a good job. Tough, too - I kinda feel pressured into doing it, though. I mean, I have no idea what the rest of Equestria is really like, y'know? Heck, I've never really gone to many places... except Manehattan and Ponyville, but only a few times."

He shifted a bit where he was sitting in the murky sand.

"Downstream from here a good way, the silt from the mining runs into the river. The silt turns the water black; it's where our family name comes from. Lotsa ponies around here would say that was fitting... our name doesn't instill a lot of good feelings in others. Father says it was my grandfather's fault for driving down our reputation... but I've heard others say that it's always been like that. The Blackwaters are thought of as mean, cruel and underhooved... pretty much wherever pones have heard the name."

When he looked up at Illiad, he seemed both haunted and ashamed.

"... is that what I have to look forward to?"

The Empathic could feel Dax fighting the heartbreak he was feeling - the poor fella was trying to hold in his sadness so it wouldn't hurt his friend, and even though he wasn't being very successful, there was still a marked difference in output as Dax bit back his tears.

Illiad sighed, it seemed it would be harder than he thought. But a thought occurred to him. "Perhaps that is what you have ahead of you, but you can change the notion. A poor reputation may preceed you, but you have the power to change their minds, to show them the good that you can do. They may not see it initially, but if you keep at it you can change their minds for the better. As to your emotional stability, I think I’vefigured out what's wrong, why you're different than your parents. You can't hold your feelings in, they’ll just build up until you can’t hold them in anymore. If you let your emotions flow freely you won’t have the buildup/release cycle that your parents do. Don't hold back for my sake, I can handle quite a bit."

Dax grew quiet again. He wasn't brooding or moody; he was simply thinking.

It was obvious that Illiad's words struck a chord in Dax somewhere. The young stallion seemed to be taking the time to piece together the wisdom imparted to him, and when he concentrated, he did so with as much gusto and wholeheartedness as he did just about anything else.

His brow dropped, but he wasn't angry... at least, he wasn't putting off anger. But he did seem to be taking just as serious a stance with this thought as he had with the one about mares. After a moment, the soft chuckle of the creek accompanying him, Dax spoke.

"It wasn't too long ago that Father had been having some issues with some of the miners; nothing business-wise - all personal, as far as the workers were concerned. So my Father told me I was not allowed to go down to the mines; I think he was afraid the wrong miners would try to hurt me. He ORDERED me not to go there... but I did."

"I got down in the mines and the other workers started teasing me a bit for being the rich colt on the hill, but then I started kicking rocks with them... they saw that I could keep up pretty well, and it's where I found out about my special sense for emeralds. With my sense and their help, we found the biggest emerald in Equestrian history right there, in the quarry mines."

"When Father found out, he was actually pretty proud of his workers - until Oglevy ratted me out to him. Father was FURIOUS; he yelled at me, saying all sorts of stuff that I never thought I'd hear him say. But it was how he punished me that stuck with me, and it's the reason the regular miners hate me."

Dax looked at Illiad, hurting... but, somewhere inside, there was a small bar of cold steel, too.

"The miners call me Pink-Slip because Father made me fire each and every miner who had ever called me 'friend', to teach me a lesson. That's why they think I'm bad luck - because I cost almost 40 quarry workers their jobs that day."

He stopped there, a grim look on his muzzle as he sat there, staring into the water.

Illiad's expression dropped. A familiar cool rage like before, but not nearly as intense.

"That was wrong of your father to do. Simple as that. And given what I saw earlier it has permanently damaged your relations with the quarry. No worker who knows the story will respect you out of anything but fear. If you do take over they will have to go."

His expression softened.

"You are certainly in a poor set of circumstances, and I'm sorry because there is nothing I can do to help this. On the bright side? You made almost forty friends in that time. The true friends among them will recognize that your father is to blame. I think that's why you still have good relations with some of the more important ponies in the quarry. They know who is really responsible."

Illiad looked off into the water, sighing before pulling his gem from his robe. It floated point up in front of him, slowly spinning.

"I sometimes wish I could help everyone, that I could make sure everyone had a good life. But there's always those you can't help, an action you can't fix."

He sighed.

"Despite all my power, I can't fix this. But you have a choice, you can follow Harcourt's example and leave. Denounce your father for his actions and don't look back. Or, you can stay and endure. Strive to be a better stallion than your father was, than your father is."

The gem grew outward into a tree of branching paths that coalesced into a set of scales, balanced.

"There's a possibility for happiness whichever you choose, I can't objectively say that one is better than the other, but if you don't make a choice you will forever wonder what it might have been like. Choose, and be determined. Personally? I think you should stay. Family is important, even when they don't always make the best decisions."

He sighed again. "I'm sorry, I know I don't know all there is to know about your situation. I wish I could be of more help to you." The scales returned to the diamond shape. Illiad stared into it with sad eyes as it continued to float despite him having released his magic.

Dax's face got somber.

"I know you can't fix this, Illiad; I didn't actually ask you to - but thanks for your concern. I get the idea behind what Father did... I just don't understand why he was so adamant about not working in the mines. I mean, HE worked in the mines when he was young - there's photographs to prove it - so why can't I?"

He stared at the creek, the water flowing past, the grass swaying near the sides... then at the unicorn.

"I think going to Troy will be really good for me; I've been thinking a lot about it, and this will be a chance to actually experience time completely out of... well, here. My Mother... she likes me to be close. Father doesn't dote on me like she does, but he keeps his eye on me. This will really be my first time sans parentis, so to speak."

He grinned ever so slightly.

"I hope it won't be the last, y'know?"

Dax looked up at the darkening sky through the hole in the canopy and stood up.

"My other buddies will be here soon; I should get ready. You're welcome to help yourself to any of the foodstuffs in the trunk."

With that, he went over to the telescope case and brought it to the middle of the campsite, near the currently cold fire pit. He began to set it up, taking his time and being exceedingly careful with it. As he did, Illiad could feel his mood lightening - the stars were apparently just the thing the young Blackwater needed to lift his spirits.

Illiad sincerely hoped that 'other buddies' referred to some sentient creatures and not the stars. Even if it was just some local wildlife that he had befriended, that would be preferable to being literally his only friend.

To be honest, Illiad thought that time outside of his parent's supervision would be good for Dax. Even out here he was too close to actually feel free from their influence. How would he react once he knew his parents weren't watching?

Illiad had some more of the apple he had grabbed earlier while he waited for Dax to return.

After some fiddling with the dials, Dax stood at the eyepiece, looking through to get his view straight. As he did, he stuck his tongue out of the corner of his mouth - concentrating like he was, he probably had no idea he even did that.

"There... right where I want ya!"

He trotted back over to Illiad, a subdued smile decorating his face.

"Okay, I've got the scope pointed at the part of the sky you'll start seeing 'em through first - once it gets dark enough, you can pan your view to the right; as long as you keep it even with the lowest star you can see, you'll be fine."

He motioned his Trojan buddy over to the tripod, then looked up through the hole.

"Y'should be able to see 'em about now - I insist that you look first; you're the guest here, Illiad."

Illiad walked over to the tripod to look through the telescope. It looked like it worked similar to the hobbyist one he had used in his youth. "This really is a nice telescope you have here. Much easier to use than the one I had when I was a younger colt like you."

The point where the telescope had been adjusted to was Dax's surprise; the first thing Illiad saw was the Horsehead Nebula.

"That's the Horsehead Nebula - I thought it'd be a good thing to start with!"

The picture through the telescope was not only exquisitely clear, but this far from any sort of lights made it certain that Illiad saw each and every star there was to see. It was a beautiful view, to be certain - and the pride coming from Dax was evident.

"From there, if you pan right, you'll see more!"

There certainly were more...

"I'm so glad my buddies are here to meet my newest buddy! This is SO awesome, isn't it? OH! Ooooooh, wait!"

Dax gently interrupted Illiad’s viewing. "There's a phenomenon I've been watching for a few of weeks now - lemme find it, it's so COOL!"

He swiveled the view like an expert, scanned for only a moment before the Empathic could tell he'd found it; the swell of love for those stars was unmistakable.

"There! Look at that!"

The next view was also rather impressive...

"I've been watching that one for quite a moment now; it began to spread not too long ago - it's just magnificent!"

Dax commenced about an hour long speech about the stars. It was obvious that the friends Dax spoke of were indeed the stars; the way he spoke about each one, you'd think they were like family to him. He continued on about names, positions during the seasons, old fables about what the constellations meant... in fact, Dax was presenting everything in a very professional and straight-forward manner.

After a while, Dax simply sat down and spoke. Eventually, he just got quiet and looked at the night sky, a beautiful lake of light shimmering between the canopy's leafy shores.

"Stars never judge, y'know? They shine down on you, no matter what kind of pony you are."

It became clear to Illiad that what he feared was true. It was even possible that Dax didn't consider anyone at the quarry his friend for fear that they would be punished for it. Perhaps then Illiad was the only pony Dax considered a friend. And that was quite sad to consider.

Mr. Blackwater's punishment had hurt Dax bad, it wasn't right for a colt like him to fear friendship with those he spent the majority of his time with. At least I could make a difference.

"This really is an impressive telescope, seeing these stars with such detail, it's almost as good as the Alphyns observatory. Though that is to be expected as their telescope is one of the best ever made."

Illiad stepped back from the telescope to look at the sky unassisted. This far from civilization there was little to no light pollution, similar to being on the dunes outside of Deltrot. He pulled his gem over from where it had been floating. "Do you remember the stars that helped Luna escape? The four stars around the moon that disappeared when she returned? Those were some of the most judgmental stars I ever met. But I suppose the others need not be the same."

Dax was quiet for quite some time; though the general surroundings had a veritable symphony of sound, it seemed more like the Blackwater was lost in the desert between his ears than he was here in the woods near the creek. All the same, he didn't look anywhere else but up.

"You've met stars..."

He actually did look down with that, a small smile on his face... but a deep sense of loneliness seemed to swirl inside him, and a spot of benign envy as well. But an underpinning of weary acceptance cradled all of those feelings; Dax might have been sad and alone, true - but simply the fact that he was trying to do the right things showed that he had at least a good idea of what a friend was supposed to be.

"That's... amazing. It sounds unbelievable, but I believe it."

He seemed to be content with his lot in life... which may have been the saddest thing of all.

Illiad was getting anxious, he was failing to keep Dax's spirits up. Since he had found his true calling he knew why bad things had to happen to good creatures, but that didn't mean he liked it. Knowing karma was on his side, he knew things would get better for Dax eventually.

Author's Note:

And there it is, the longest chapter that I anticipate writing.

I was going to split it into two, but I couldn't find a good spot around the 5k mark, so I just kept going.

Next chapter we're going to get more into Selena, get ready for An Exchange of Dreams

Comments

[Randimaxis]

Don't hate Luther for what he did to Dax; the reasons for his actions will be explained later on.

I really tried to help define Dax a little more here. When I started writing him, I crafted him after a young version of myself - as we are all apt to do when first creating new characters - but I made sure to make enough differences to make him his own being, so to speak. I subscribe to the idea that characters should be multi-faceted; someone should never be able to second-guess EVERYTHING someone might do, right? As it goes, Dax might be lonely, but he's strong-souled and good-hearted - a heckuva combo, if you ask me.

More about the mysterious Harcourt later... but this is Dax's version of him, as he remembers his brother being when he left the quarry. Has time and experience changed the eldest Blackwater child for the better? Is Harcourt worse for the time away from home? Is he deceased, leaving his family to eternally wonder where he may have disappeared to? No spoilers.