A Cultural Exchange

by Illiad_Easle

An Exchange of Vault

Illiad approached Redd with a calm, yet slightly caring expression. When he spoke it was in an even tone that exuded the same calm yet, similar to the expression, showed in a slight way that he did actually care. "Hey, glad to see you made it through yesterday's events without getting too hurt. I was worried when no one knew where you were after everything went down." He silently hoped that Redd would still remember what had happened yesterday enough that his comments would actually make sense to the forepony.

Redd eyed the two of them as they approached, but didn't budge otherwise. He did give a sigh of resignation, then flicked his gaze to the Trojan.

"And I surmise you're both here to shame me for it. Very well, then..."

He sat back on his stool and spread his hooves.

"... do so."

He had his eyes closed and a look of sad acceptance slid onto his features. Surprisingly, for a single moment Dax actually considered cutting him down a peg or two... but his kinder nature outweighed his want for karmic satisfaction. He tilted his head at Redd.

"... no, Redd. We don't wanna do that; we're not like that."

Redd cracked a single eye open and looked back and forth between the two of them.

"You should be."

He loosened his stance as well as his defensiveness; he simply felt disgusted with everything that had happened, and was not at all looking forward to the backlash he was bound to get from yesterday's fiasco. He focused his gaze on Illiad, but the Trojan got the distinct feeling that Redd wasn't angry with him... more like he was feeling sorry for himself.

"Especially you, Easle... I would figure you've more than earned the right to chastise me soundly."

A slight smirk crossed Illiad's features as he thought of many possible ways he could get back at Redd for the minor inconveniences, but he quickly shook them from his head, now was not the time to exact such petty karma.

"I think Havoc punished you enough from what I've heard, anything I could add would simply be gratuitous. Let's instead simply leave the past behind and start anew eh? Get off on a better hoof than we started with? I know you care more than you allow yourself to let on, and if you didn't try so hard to be the villain you could be friends with most if not all the other ponies here. It does beg the question, does the villain have to be disliked? Can the villain not be some dashing rouge that the audience secretly roots for while they confront the hero?"

He shook his head, "I don't know if any of that means anything to you, but anyway. We aren't here to judge you or rag on you for what you didn't really have much control over. We're just looking to get into the vault so Dax can show me the Blackwater Emerald he found and we were wondering if you knew how we could get it. You're welcome to join us if you want."

I really hope this works.

Redd eyeballed Illiad for a moment; outwardly, he was looking at the Trojan as if he was suspicious of his actions... but on the inside, Handid's emotions were worried and a bit frightened.

"The Vault? Chuck has a key... and with as chummy as I've seen you being with Slapper, Mr. Easle, I'd have thought you'd have asked him by now."

Dax cleared his throat. "Uhm... they're busy."

Redd rolled his eyes. "Of course they are. Very well," he sighed, "I suppose that your last choice will be the one to get things done here."

"Well, we didn't ask Father..."

Redd's mood sank a bit more, but he just gave a short snort and came out from behind the counter. "Very well, very well - I suppose you're wanting to get my part in this over with fairly quickly, so let's be off."

He came up to the two of them, and now that he wasn't being insistent nor rude, Illiad had a better chance to get a look at him.

Redd Handid was actually quite handsome for a stallion. His mane was thick and blond with a tail to match, as he hadn't yet begun docking or braiding it for mine work, as he seemed to be the type to be far too proud of it. He had some substance to him, yet he wasn't overweight in the least; he seemed fairly strong, just nowhere near the muscles the other miners had. His movements, even in his current state of self-pity, were confident and sure - he wasn't physically moping in the least.

He began walking, and headed in the direction of the sheds.

"Well, I expect it'll take Silver at least a week to fix hopper #6, so there'll be a LOT of backlog to deal with by that time. More work for everypony - how wonderful. But I suppose such is as it is, of course... there's ALWAYS something to do here, anyway. I suppose one task is the same as any other when it comes to this place. Why the Vault?"

Dax grinned. "I wanted to-"

They finished together, Redd with understandably less enthusiasm as the Blackwater.

"... show him the Blackwater Emerald."

Redd nodded. "Yes, yes... has he told you how it was discovered yet, Easle?"

Illiad gave a slight, yet worried smile at the improvement in attitude, at least he wasn't being hostile towards them. "I think I've gotten the gist of the story, but not so much of the details around the actual discovery. More that he found it with the help of a bunch of miners he befriended who were later fired for it."

The Empathic felt Dax's mood sink at the mention of the incident, but Redd's mood jumped up a tad.

"Oh-ho-HO! I was there, Easle - it was during my first week here, in fact."

Redd glanced at Dax and, upon seeing him upset, gave a slight grin... which was exceedingly strange, as Redd's emotions said that the forepony felt kind of bad for the young Blackwater stallion. But the reaction was almost the polar opposite.

"Well, Luther had been dealing with a few of the miners who had felt that their severance pay was... unacceptable... after being fired for sneaking an occasional gem from the mines. They threatened the quarry, and the Blackwaters in particular, with starting a cave-in while the workers were on duty, among other equally horrible things. If the tunnel collapsed and hurt or possibly killed somepony, then the mine's reputation would have been ruined."

They crested the hill, then turned toward the line of sheds as he continued.

"Of course, this sent Luther almost into hysterics. He couldn't shut the mine down because of the slump the thefts had left the quarry in, so he began personally patrolling the entire quarry, every single day, hoping to catch them before they did anything untoward. Paced the entire length and breadth of this rock pit ON TOP OF his usual duties as owner. As a precaution, he'd asked his family to please stay away from the miners, as he already had enough worry and fear for what could happen to his workers and his business - he didn't need to worry about those he loved more than this dirt hole, you see."

He shot Dax a pointed glance at this statement, and Dax caught it; it hurt. But to his credit, he didn't sulk or pout; he merely let Redd continue on with his speech.

"Anyhow, when word reached Luther about the find, he was a nervous wreck... so it did help a bit to hear of such success, which is why he went to see it immediately. From there... well, Dax could tell you more than I on that matter, but I suspect he rather won't. Which, honestly, is fine by me; I'd rather NOT know exactly how bad it got."

Dax didn't respond; Redd didn't press. The Vault was in plain view now, towering above the comparatively tiny shacks... and only HALF of the boulder was above ground; it had to have been enormous, once long ago. To think that it was hollowed out and used as a vault..?

Illiad sighed and shook his head, "And this is why Luther really should have told you up front Dax, and not withheld the reasons why. If even Redd knows then it's hardly like he was keeping it a secret, so why didn't he tell you?" His expression fell into more of a scowl as he continued muttering for a bit.

"Well," his face making a radical shift to mischevious, "I'll just have to ensure he actually tells you himself his full reasons why. No need for you to be kept in the dark anymore Dax, because if he won't tell you, then I'll make sure you know. Anyway, it seems we're almost there now aren't we?"

As they reached the front doors, Redd fished around inside his safety vest and produced a very interesting-looking key. It was ghostly; you could see through it as if it didn't exist, yet it looked quite solid in Redd's mouth. The doors were massive, but there was no hole in the keyplate to fit into. Nevertheless, the maroon pony touched it lightly to the large keyplate at the juncture of the two large vault doors... and it slid in as if it truly WAS incorporeal. There was a hollow 'thunk' from inside as Redd turned it, then he simply removed it and returned it to his inner vest pocket.

He turned to the two and motioned inside the dark room, then leaned inside and turned a small lever at the doorway. The response was a WHOOF of flame above them as torches sprang to life with magical blue fire, lighting the large chamber softly, yet brightly enough to work by. There were rows and rows of shelving, with a catwalk-like walkway surrounding the walls, serving as floors. It was very sturdily made, and Illiad could see that great care was taken in its' inner carving and construction. Stairs and steadily rising spiral ramps lined the sides, offering easy access for loaded minecarts. The entire rest of what Illiad could see was completely hollowed out, giving the whole vault the appearance of the inside of an enormous walnut shell.

The thing that truly and immediately drew the eye was dead center in the middle of the vault.

From the floor came a chiseled column of crystal-clear emerald, as big around as Sugarcube Corner, yet towering like a skyscraper all the way to the ceiling, where there was a very decorative bracket holding it in place. If the open area that Illiad could see counted as twelve stories tall, the column itself must have been ten stories, alone! And the pure clarity of the stone was flawless; Illiad could almost see right through it. However, the most prominent feature was the design that this massive stone had been carved into...

Illiad was staring at the largest, most beautiful helix he had ever seen; it was so intricate, up-close viewing revealed smaller helixes carved into the larger one, and smaller helixes in those as well... it was mind-bogglingly beautiful, strangely synergetic with existence, yet seemingly apart from it. It was no Jinx Stone, though - THAT had facets that existed in other dimensions; it was headache inducing... the Blackwater Emerald most certainly was nothing but a wonder to the eyes.

Redd smirked. "It goes that far DOWN, as well."

Illiad was certainly surprised by the sheer size of the emerald, giving a low whistle as he looked it up and down. "Well, this place is certainly much more impressive with the lights on than when I was just sitting in the dark. The odds of an emerald that size forming naturally..."

He shook his head with a light laugh, "This quarry really does contain more than its fair share of oddities doesn't it? It seems I really do fit right in here."

He now really understood how desirable this place must be to those thieves Beck and Call used to be with,

Redd grinned, then stepped back towards the entrance.

"And I assume you would want me to leave you to it, then? After all, I'm aware of how I'm viewed; not like it's a secret or anythi-"

"No. No, stay with us." Dax's voice echoed in the cavernous vault of solid rock.

Redd's expression (and emotions) registered a bit of surprise. "Truly? And why would you want me to accompany you and your friend on your little tour?"

Dax blinked once, then looked at Illiad, smiled, and turned back to face the maroon pony. "Because reputations aren't all they're cracked up to be - at least, that's what I've heard." Another knowing look at the Trojan. "And if anyone knows what it's like to be ostracized for their reputation..?" He let the sentence trail off meaningfully.

Redd was not just shocked... he was touched. Yet outwardly, he rolled his eyes and gave a gust of a sigh. "Very well."

Illiad was impressed by Dax's willingness to actually keep Redd around. Reputations were one thing, but actual actions were another. Still, it seemed the right sort of time to be giving him a second chance.

Dax's grin was doubled, and he turned and made his way into the vault proper.

"Okay, c'mon... this way first. This is the section we keep some of the purest, brightest gems we unearth here..."

Dax led the two of them throughout the entire vault, showing them a number of different things aside from gemstones - though there were PLENTY of those - and explaining a bit behind some of the more interesting ones.

There were priceless-looking portraits of a lovely, yet dark and gothic mare standing next to what appeared to be an enormous plant with a large pod drooping down next to her, bigger than she was. Dax explained that it was a portrait of his ancestor, Lotus Black, who was one of the most brilliant botanists of her time. The giant-pod plant was her own creation.

There was a set of Royal Guard armor, cracked and dented, that hung from a clothes-horse. It had belonged to the wife of a pegasus that Dax's great-great-great-great grandfather had fallen in love with, but had not been able to marry before battle took her from him.

There were small pouches that, when Dax opened them, were full of beautiful pearls covered with runic carvings. Dax said these once belonged to one of his ancestors that had harbored refugee zebras from recapture from determined slavers.

A number of grand and fascinating artifacts followed. Though Illiad had seen The Closet, this vault/museum seemed more impressive by far... at least, to hear Dax tell it, it certainly did. There was a love for his family history in Dax that Illiad had only gotten wisps of before; listening to him telling the tale of how one of his ancestors had literally blown up half the mountainside in one go, trying to find more emerald, Dax's entire being seemed lit with animation and pure happiness.

Dax, for once, had a friend to tell all this to. And he was more than happy to do so.

To his credit, Redd didn't pout too much.

Illiad made sure to pay close attention to all that Dax had to show him about the vault, clearly this was something he enjoyed sharing, so Illiad would do his best to enjoy listening. "Your family certainly has quite the impressive history. I wish my family history were so interesting, but I hail from just normal ponies. With all this behind you it’s a wonder that you have such the negative reputation."

There were a number of stories that Dax got into; the Blackwater history was far more rich and deep than he'd alluded to.

It gave pause for a thought: So much harsh judgement onto the Blackwater name, yet with such a story behind them, how could they ever have come to the point of being seen in such a dim light? He'd met them each, spent a bit of time around them, and had had a chance to see them in a very personal light - something that other ponies undoubtedly never gave the family a chance with.

In a way, it spoke volumes about Illiad, too - how he was willing to look beyond the outer shell, hear beyond the spoken words, and feel their true selves with his Empathic abilities. In a way, it hurt to know that others would never truly know this family as he did, and therefore would never possibly appreciate them as he might... but it was also bolstering to know that, despite their issues and their flaws and even their dysfunctionality, they were so much more than they appeared to be - and it was, in a way, Illiad's own personal secret.

The Blackwaters, as they were, would never be as well known as the Royal Sisters... but they were a dynasty unto themselves.

And Illiad would be the only one who would ever truly know.

Meanwhile, even Redd seemed to be getting into Dax's storytelling; the Empathic could feel the interest and wonder that Handid was putting off, even beneath a veneer of lackadaisial interest and snide impatience. Dax was actually pretty good at telling stories, to be honest - his enthusiasm almost seemed to pour from each word he spoke, every detail accompanied with movement and charm from the young stallion.

When they reached the enormous column of emerald in the center of the room, Dax put a tentative hoof on it. He stared at it as if reliving the moment of finding it, and gave a slight grin as a feeling of nostalgia radiated from him for a bit. Then he gave a short, happy sigh and turned to them both.

"Silver says we should make a museum out of all the stuff in here... but I don't know if Father and Mother would approve. Still, what a story, hunh? What do you think, Illiad?"

Illiad gave a genuine smile at Dax, "I'm more than impressed actually, both at your family's extensive history, and that you know so much about it. I would agree that much of the stuff in here would make some great museum pieces, though I doubt with your current reputation that they'd be very well received despite how impressive they are. It might acidentally come across as a bit arrogant."

He looked about the room he was in again with a nod, it was indeed even more impressive than he had suspected earlier. He only hoped what he had to show Dax in Troy would be as awe inspiring as this was. Perhaps they should go to a museum while they were in Troy.

Redd looked around with a touch of awe in him, as well. Though there had been an occasional snide-ish comment from time to time at first, he also ended up enraptured by Dax's spinning of his family's history.

"I know some of this might come across as bragging... but it's more like... well... I don't really get to DO stuff like this for anypony, Illiad; you'd be the first one I've ever brought into the Vault before, so I just wanted to share all the stuff I'd spent so much time learning about... and now?"

Dax teared up just a tad. "Now, I can. Thanks, Illiad - you too, Redd; thanks for sticking around."

The maroon unicorn lifted an eyebrow skeptically. "You're TRULY glad for my company here? Hunh."

The reaction seemed somewhat cold, but the Empathic could feel the emotional equivalent of 'awwwwwwww' coming from the suspiciously-staring pony; seemed as though Dax's application of Illiad's advice was already having an effect.

The three of them eventually made their way around to the front of the Vault once again, having taken the better part of two hours with Dax as their tour guide among the treasures of the Blackwater family, and they learned a few more things as they followed and listened, such as:

*The Blackwater family line stretches back to the earliest days of the Equestrian Nation; there were settlers with the Black family name that survived the Reign of Discord, and possibly beyond.

*The name change was the result of a stand taken against slavers, and also (allegedly) where zebras themselves entered the Blackwater family line.

* The Blackwater Mines are the oldest emerald mines in the Equestrian Nation, though not necessarily the oldest in all the lands.

*There was, at one time, twenty five ponies living in the Blackwater Manor at once - ALL Blackwater relatives.

*Most Blackwaters that left the homestead to find their own way in the world ended up changing their names; there may be Blackwater distant relatives living in every country that exists today.

... and other such things. However, as the tour certainly couldn't last forever, it came to a close as they reached the doors.

"I'm so glad I finally got to ACTUALLY tell all that stuff to you two - heck, I'm glad I got to tell ANYONE!" He gave an amused chuckle, then turned to Redd. "You've been fairly quiet through most of this... what'cha think, Mister Handid?"

Redd actually mulled the question over with some serious thought. Then, he actually smiled at Dax.

"I think you certainly have your family in your heart AND mind, Daxter - and I think you're a better stallion for it."

Dax blushed; he hadn't expected that from the usually cruel and antagonistic forepony. He grinned right back at him, then turned his beaming smile at Illiad. Dax was really happy at the moment; getting the chance to talk about something he was passionate about pleased him to no end, but he wasn't the type to rub it in anypony's face, either.

Illiad was glad to see a new relationship forming between Redd and Dax. Hopefully it would last and grow into a similar friendship he had with the other foreponies of the quarry.

Redd simply gave an amused sigh, then simply said, "Well, where are we bound now?"

Dax looked at Illiad questioningly.

Illiad blinked in surprise as the attention was turned back towards him, "In all the excitement of the tour I forgot if we had anything else planned before tonight, let me think. I don't think we really had anything else in mind, other than that I need to see your father before I go to bed tonight. Until then I guess I'm up for anything you have in mind Dax."

The Blackwater stood there for a moment, pondering the possibilities. He gave the slight goatee on his chin a scratch, a somewhat curious glint in his eye and a half-grin settling into place.

"Well... I'm sure we could possibly swing by Silver's shed to say hi, of course." He wiggled his eyebrows meaningfully. "After that, what say we get some lunch? We could head to the manor and have whatever we want from the kitchen - you're welcome to come too, Redd."

Redd gave a slight start. "To... t-t-to the manor? But I'm not-"

"You're with US; anypony says boo, they have to deal with THIS Blackwater... and our esteemed family friend."

The pride for Illiad swelled in Dax as he spoke, and with that he began to confidently stride towards the shed rows, taking the path leading near the currently silent refinery. Interestingly and coincidentally, it happened to be the same place Illiad and Dax had first seen the maroon unicorn, eyeballing the two of them suspiciously as the Trojan had walked the path up to the manor house for the first time - seemingly ages ago, yet not quite even a week.

Apparently, the circumstance wasn't lost on Redd either. "When I first saw you, Illiad, I had simply assumed you were another tutor. Most tutors that come here tend to find the workers... beneath them. Frankly, I simply don't care for them - their attitude is their own, as is mine. But some of them have made a few... requests... in the past."

Dax audibly groaned. "You're talking about Quick Wit, aren't you?" He turned to Illiad, speaking as if he was unloading a heavy burden.

"She was the WORST! She was so incredibly strict, she kept making all these outrageous demands of the staff - she ran the Ons ragged - and since she'd come by Mother's recommendation, nopony seemed brave enough to cross her. She even had ME scared!"

Redd chimed in, regarding Illiad as they walked. "Yes, and this mare even became so bold as to start tossing her weight around down HERE, on the quarry grounds. Demanding we work quietly and without kicking up so much dust. Indeed, she was quite full of herself."

Dax's emotions told Illiad that the Earth Pony thought Redd was closer to home on that than he noticed, but he kept civil and simply replied, "Yeah... of course, when Mother was around, she was all sugary-sweet to her. Which Mother loves, I'm sure you've noticed. So her place here was pretty secure - until she got fired."

Redd gave a thoughtful pause. "Yes... I recall being glad to hear it, but I don't recall ever hearing why; care to enlighten us?"

Dax's smile broadened. "Well, she'd been here two whole months, and had made life a living Tartarus for me and Oglevy; we had to team up just to get a few over on her. She'd gotten VERY angry about our latest caper, and had been looking for some poor maid or even the Ons to unload on. And she DID find somepony."

Dax's grin turned mischievous. "You see, Mother had attended all she usually did, and when she wasn't there, Quick Wit ruled the house. But during that entire time, Wit hadn't EVER been here before breakfast... and she never stayed long enough to come to dinner, either. So there was one pony she hadn't ever met during her entire time here..."

Redd lifted an eyebrow, then realization settled onto his muzzle. "... oh dear... those are the usual hours-"

"... that Father works in his study, that's right! So when he came downstairs to get another inkwell from storage, as he prefers to do things for himself, she saw him and assumed he was simply one of the hired help. And she UNLOADED into him, screaming at the top of her lungs at him about how incompetent the help around here, was and how money apparently couldn't afford intelligence at this Celestia-forsaken dust bowl, and how she DEMANDED he bring her a Mint Cider before she had him fired so fast his head would spin."

"No less than three minutes later, she was running out of the front gates, and we haven't seen nor heard from her ever since - she never even came back for her final paycheck."

Redd stood there staring incredulously. "That would explain it."

The two of them suddenly burst out laughing together, loud and unrestrained. It sounded (and felt) genuinely happy - from both of them.

Iliad smirked before joining the two in their laughter for a bit, while he had never had tutors be had certainly had enough bad teachers in Canterlot to relate.

Once they recovered he spoke up. "I certainly wouldn't mind stopping by Silver's for a bit, I'd have to see if she's inclined to the idea I had for tonight anyway, and lunch sounds pretty good now too."

As happy as he was for Dax's newfound friendship with Redd, he was starting to feel a bit like the spare wheel. Maybe this is how Dax felt earlier with Silver and I. I suppose I deserve it really.

Nonetheless he was happy to follow along to let this relationship flourish in whatever way it would.

Author's Note:

In which Illiad gets the full story on the history of the Blackwaters or a condensed version of Randimaxis' own WiP The Blackwater Quarry

Anyway, I've mentioned how it's getting harder to come up with unique chapter names that fit the form right? Well, if you can think of a better name for any chapter be sure to leave a comment and if I like it too I'll change it and credit you in the notes. How's that sound?

Comments

[Randimaxis]

The entire Quick Wit thing was completely ad-libbed; I wanted to interject a funny story that both Dax and Redd could relate with - and there it was. I didn't even think about it... I just typed what came to mind.

Technically, a LOT of this story came out that way.

And yes, a Cliff Notes version of the Blackwaters... mostly because I keep getting the sinking feeling that I'm never going to get around to finishing my own story. Besides - this one's FAR more fun.