open [RP] The Blackwater Quarry

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Outside the Mines - Mine kitchen

 

Scarlet was actually rather perplexed by how kind and nice all the workers seem to be there was no qualms or issues with a single one of them and that was.. a nice unexpected change. She was very busy though the ponies did not stop coming and she was busy doing requests from her menu aswell as getting more soup on the boil to deal with more for lunch and later... She'd have to change up the menu in maybe a day or two as she did not want anyone to get bored but soup was so easy to cook in massive amounts... maybe a different themed soup? 

 

This was one of many thoughts passing through her head as she worked away busy as a bee hopefully she'd be able to pass along her letter sometime today if she saw Taps. It was on her mind when the work was not totally piling up on her. 

 

She was very busy, and very content with her lot she liked being busy and it made her work and function better, more effectively. One could say she thrived on work and pressure one of those who responded well to it and always wanted to be busy to make her a better pony. 

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@@Illiad Easle,

@@Randimaxis,

 

"Whoa whoa, easy there Dax, you're gonna stir your headache."

 

Dax's rapid movements as he went through the motions from finding out Illiad were in the quarry worried her. Sure, he seemed fine, and he didn't stumble or anything, but it would still be like poking to a lion with a stick to rummage around like that when at least part of his head were still sore. He eased down with time, granted, but still, it was worrisome as he would likely get riled up again when he met Illiad, and his head wouldn't be likely to let him do that without a painful reminder.

 

She wish she could've kept the focus on answering the fascinating things that Euler told her first instead, or comment that cutesy little hint of a smile that had crossed his face, but the patients always came first, even when they were, overall, doing well. Really, long as they felt pain and were near her, they were still patients far as she were concerned, and Dax hadn't seemed free of pain. Not yet at least, though hopefully an ice pack and a bit of rest would do the trick.

 

After that, she couldn't really say something because it'd be rude to stop Dax and Euler from talking to one another, but at least it gave her a chance to fill out the form on her desk a little with some details on Dax's current condition, and to listen in to some more interesting things from the two of them. It wasn't like, the perfect situation, but hey, not everything could be a dance on roses, and she did have to get this done fr the job anyway, so it was fine. It could use more muffins though, but then again, what couldn't?

 

"You should've been there earlier Dax, and you could see he doesn't just look the part. I went heading for Illiad like *Yey, hugs!* and then he were all *Nope, gonna get you.* and then he got me. It was amazing!"

 

It was a really positive way to speak of one who had tackled you to the ground, but it really had been one of those things that'd be a treasured memory to her rather than an annoyance for sure. Not often she got her hooves swept away under her. And even less so when it was done in a literal sense.

 

"And before I forget, thank you for telling me about Thestrals Euler. I only ever really learned about anything bat pony related from Crescent, and I would've never guessed there was a pure-blood thing going on with bat ponies from that. I honestly thought that you might've been a dragon pony of some kind. Whoops?"

 

She giggled innocently, but she looked apologetic about it as se mentioned what she had thought at first when seeing the bodyguard without his helmet on. To be fair though, his rank included the word Dragon, so it wasn't totally off the mark to say that he were a dragon pony if you wanted to be technical about it.

 

"Now that I think about it, Illiad said that perhaps he'd spent the night. If he does, do you think you'd have some time I could spend with you? I'd love to learn more about you. bet it'd be all sorts of fun."

 

It was a bit vague in it if she meant in a medical way only, but it was unlikely. Ziggy was the kind that couldn't see others as just beings on a chart, and wanted to know more about them if she found the interesting, and she certainly found this one interesting. In what way? Hard to say, but perhaps that'd clear up eventually.

 

Oh hey, msde a rhyme. Bit of a strange one, but so were it that she formed one in her head. Usually she just blurted them out when something was happening. It was likely just a coincidence though.

[Randimaxis 8,654]

@Illiad Easle - @Blitz Boom

 

 

At Ziggy's comment, Dax smiled.  "I can believe it - but I am glad you came out of it okay."  He turned to the Thestral.  "And it says a LOT about your skill that she didn't get hurt, too."

 

At the mention of history, Dax's face instantly lit up.

 

"Oh, actually the zebra traits in our family tree come from a slave refugee; from what the records tell, she was an escapee that made her way this far north in a bid to escape her captors - can you believe it?  Still, when my ancestor Weapon Black met her, he was taken with her plight, and hid her in the manor."

 

"When she was finally tracked down, the slavers said they had a claim on her, based solely on her name.  Weapon told them that names meant nothing, and that was when he changed our family name to Blackwater to prove it.  Somehow, it did the trick... and they were married shortly after."

 

"Oddly enough, I think my stripes come more from Mother's side than Father's... you see, she-"

 

His eyes suddenly widened in surprise as he recalled the entire reason he woke up with a whoop of joy this morning.

 

"Wait... Illiad's here!  Euler, do you know where he went and can we go see him now?"

 

=========================

 

Silver's eyes widened.

 

"Nonononono - that's NOT what I meant!  I mean... I wasn't LOOKING to 'move on', as you put it!  He simply... well, he made the advances.  And he was so sweet... Illiad, I couldn't tell him no - but I DID tell him I had... I mean, have... oh, PIGKNUCKLES!"

 

She sighed, then tried again.  "I could NEVER forget you, Illiad... but Crescent... he's sweet.  And he seems like he needed somepony... he just..."  She shook her head.  "Maybe you two should talk later... but let's not now, okay?  Not when it's the first time I've seen you in a whole year?"

 

He put her forelegs around him and hugged him tightly.  It was a moment before she let go... and she left a small kiss on his cheek, as well.

 

"It's REALLY good to see you again, Illiad."

 

When he laid out the proposal to her, her eyes got wider and wider as he went on, but when he revealed the Cloud Diamond and explained the project, Silver's face lit up in a huge smile.

 

"OH!  She wants me to... and I can... then we... I'VE BEEN WORKING ON THIS!"

 

She turned and made a half-mad dash to a section of bins in the far corner, and pulled a box from the very back of the stack.  Bringing it to her workbench, she opened it and levitated out what looked like some sort of large, solid can with what looked like copper wire wrapped around it; it was a very strange thing to see.

 

"THIS is what I came up with!  You see, I played with a number of ideas over the past year, and of them all, this one was the most stable of them.  See, there's a perpetual-motion-device inside that spins a magnetic-..."  

 

She stopped, then blushed a bit.  

 

"Sorry - I forget that you aren't into mechanical technicalities like I am... let me try it this way: this is a generator that basically charges itself while not in use... as long as it's allowed to rest about five to six hours each day, the amount of energy it can generate might be sufficient enough to provide the power necessary to actually make this work!"

 

She smiled broadly.  "Illiad, if this works... Selena would be able to walk around with us for longer than a few moments - heck, if she turned off the generator while she 'slept', she'd probably be able to stay within this body... I'd say indefinitely!"

 

 

@Hazard Time

 

 

Vylia lifted an eyebrow at Carnelian's request.

 

"Well, I suppose that a nice walk about the grounds might be a good idea... but this IS close enough to the quarry to warrant a guide.  There are a few areas here that are both somewhat dangerous and exceedingly tempting for the exceptionally bored wanderer - I believe it would be remiss of me not to send along a guide, as well."

 

She motioned to the twins.  "One of you, accompany our esteemed guest to... well, wherever he would like to go, I suppose!  You know what is open and what is not - simply steer him away from any problem areas; otherwise, he is welcome to explore the manor, the yard... if he wishes a tour of the quarry, it shall be YOUR job to give him one."

 

Beck and Call both bowed, then turned to face Low Key.  "Ready when you are, Lord Key," they answered in unison.

 

That done, Vylia turned back to her esteemed guest.  "As for making inroads with the movers and shakers, I feel as though I should point out that it's far easier to do so when they actually speak to you - I have tried on multiple occasions to work my way into a conversation, yet it seems as though I'm simply given lip service - and though I'm CERTAIN they know my name, they never seem to 'recognize' me.  Now, I'm no fool - I'm QUITE aware of what they're doing - but I'm somewhat disappointed that, even after SO much time has passed, there seems to be no respite for me."

 

She then smiled broadly.  "Of course, this doesn't deter me; hence, why I asked your advice on such.  Now, I am MORE than willing to continue to try to ingratiate myself to those in higher climes, but perhaps with YOUR help I could finally begin making some sort of headway."

 

"Again, I cannot thank you enough for sharing the wealth of knowledge you have on this subject; hopefully, in time, you'll decide that the Blackwaters were well-worth investing your time into."

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

The breakfast chow line rush lasted all of thirty minutes; after that, the shift went on deck, and it was just as quiet as could be... which, for a gem quarry, wasn't much.  However, in the little area where the lunch wagon sat, it was kind of peaceful...

 

Which also equated to boring, but such is life at times.

 

As she finished the cleanup from the morning work, Scarlet saw Taps making her way across the quarry yard.  However, something seemed... off.

 

Taps' mismatched eyes were at half-mast, and there were big enough bags under them to hold a cart's worth of gems.  Her mane was a bit frizzy and listless-looking, and her pace was uncharacteristically slow.  She almost looked like some sort of zombie-pony, lurching across the quarry yard like she was.

 

Reaching the edge of the eating area, Taps slumped onto a bench and, yawning, proceeded to simply sit there.  Scarlet watched as she gently slapped her muzzle, then shook her head and blinked rapidly...

 

Apparently, Taps had a rough night.

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Outside the Mines - Mine kitchen

 

Scarlet noticed this all from the mare that was her savior, she was to be damn sure grateful and nice to the mare for the rest of her days. This again took the form of something new. This next act of kindness was to take the days menu and write it up on a single page, one single paper menu for her friend, well she wanted to be her friend. She giggled and looked for a chiefs hat finding one and sticking it on her head, she caught a view in the mirror... It was too big for her and she looked rather silly but she wanted to cheer the poor lass up because she looked down or tired or a mix maybe?

 

She trotted out menu in mouth to Taps and laid it before the pegasus. "Today's menu for you madam, what may this humble cook make for you today?" A smile on her muzzle from a sense of playfulness and stupidity, there was a tone of seriousness behind her voice however. She was quite determined to make her what she desired even if it was off the menu. She while waiting for a reply in which she had a pen and note pad if writing was needed, she sat opposite to her. "Rough night? Want to talk about it?"

 

[Illiad Easle 3,174]

@@Blitz Boom,@@Randimaxis,

 

Euler kept his slight, confident smirk, as he continued listening to the two others in the room. At the comment of him being potentially a dragon, he shrugged, " Yeah, I suppose this dragonskin neck armor could lead to that impression, but no I'm more pony than dragon. And should I have another opportunity where I'm not guarding the Vice Consul I would be honored to spend it with you if you so desire."

 

He then turned to Dax, "Ah, it's good that you know your heritage so well as to tell it so quickly. As to the Vice Consul, I would think he is rather occupied with his other objective in this trip, one SIlver Studs? Given your relationships I think you can understand why now wouldn't be the best time to intrude. Nonetheless, we can make our way over there so as to catch him as soon as he's done."

 

With that he awaited Dax's decision as he prepped to leave on his own, as much as he wanted to stay with them he had a duty to return to the Vice Consul. Thus he returned the halberd to its holder and strapped the helmet back onto his head, once again concealing his face.

 

Meanwhile...

 

Illiad had a very impressed look on his face as he heard of Silver's progress already, he had suspected she would work on it even without having been asked, and he was glad to see his suspicions were well founded. He also took a bit of satisfaction that she hadn't entirely given up on him in his absence, but a part of him felt that he didn't deserve her forgiveness. Nonetheless, he moved on with the business of what he came here for.

 

"It seems you've already made good progress then, I'm sure Luna and the higher ups of TrUST will be very pleased. The rest period by the generator will make it easy for her to fit in with a regular sleep cycle, good for her to keep straight her experiences outside of her mental room. In fact, any heat given off by the generator would allow her to feel alive as well as looking the part. I'm sure you'll have a working model then in no time. Which brings me to the more interesting part,"

 

He quickly retrieved the octahedron of pure cloud diamond from the case before closing it again, he looked over at Silver with a very serious look on his face, "I hope I don't need to impress on you how immensely expensive any of this is, under no circumstances should you lose this, especially after what we're about to do with it."

 

He set it down atop the closed case, charging it with a bit of magical energy until it floated slightly above the surface of the symbol on the case. "As you're no doubt aware, you yourself have no way to test the body directly since you aren't a disembodied soul and I would highly discourage you from making yourself into one even temporarily for the sake of this project, thus we'll have to give you one."

 

He retrieved his own diamond from his robes and set it next to the octahedron, a faint beam  of light seemed to connect the two once they were left to float beside each other. He looked over at Silver again, "Selena is going to copy half of herself into this gem, it won't be a true soul, but it will be enough for the scope of this project. Selena would like to copy half of you as well to complete the personality within, thus you will have an assistant in this endeavor, one that knows what Selena would like and how Selena would and could use the body, as well as one that knows how to explain to you what it needs, knows how to tell you what isn't working and recommend how to fix it. Now, because it won't be a real soul it won't be 'alive' when it isn't powered, and it won't learn new things very well, but it should work for our purposes."

 

He sighed as his face shifted to a more caring look, "I know this may seem a bit uncomfortable to you, and if you don't want to contribute part of yourself to it then Selena is okay with a full copy of herself, if anything it will be a great test to see how different the two instances will become over time. It's all up to you really."

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, As the minors went back to work along with red cresent felt a lump in his chest, It wasn't a matter of him being hurt y something but something felt like it something was said in the air. Like when a loyal student to a teacher suddenly call foul and the silence that hung in the air like a powder keg ready to be set a flame. Cresent only nodded with a fake smile to his coworkers in their work "come on now guys lets get out of here soon before we miss lunch, herd we got a new cook" he said trying to break the silence and get the mood back up.

 

Yet the feeling was still there, cresent was rarely hard on the workers, save the ones that didn't know what was around them but even then he made sure that didn't happen often. As the digging continued he marked off more danger spots, thinking about what he would say to silver. How to ask about this lover of hers possibly being back, if it did come down to it he knew better then to be the reason a couple would break up. If this lover was...well....abusive, or worse. The batpony would have no problem with violence...just not in front of silver or his coworkers obviously.

 

He may be a hopeless romantic bat, but he still had a line  for not crossing in terms of love and such matters.

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@@Illiad Easle,

@@Randimaxis,

 

Ziggy gorged on every word she heard when Dax started to talk about his own, zebra ancestry.

 

Prior to hearing it from Vylia, she had actually thought that the stripes that certain members of the Blackwater family had were just random coloring. It might sound weird to some, but it could be random with swirls, patches, pocks, etc. in your coat-pattern, so to say that somepony was a zebra solely from their stripes were hard to really back up. The odds were good, but it was impossible to say for certain unless you looked at other clues, such as the necklaces/rings around their hooves that the more traditional ones had, such as her dad, and to some degree, her.

 

Sure, she had a pearl necklace instead of the regular rings, but beyond that, she had the traditional ones, though colored pink by her own choice. Her siblings had some as well, because as much as dad caved in with things towards their mother, he had been very adamant about having them relate in at least some parts of tradition. Not that she really stopped him from teaching them either, as she wanted the triplets to learn about where they came from and what it entailed, as long as she wasn't excluded from things.

 

Anyway, Ziggy's overprotective mother aside, when it came to Dax there wasn't these traces of tradition. Nothing really did about the quarry far as she remembered right now, and to veer on the safe side, she had always just assumed it was a coat thing, until earlier, when Vylia had felt like talking. A lot.

 

The parts about his family legacy coming from an escaped slave hadn't come up at that point though, yet she understood why really. Sure, it had a happy ending, but the parts before that was not something you'd want to think on for too long considering it involved the darker side of the past, even if she knew that you couldn't, and shouldn't, ignore the past completely. The only thing you'd accomplish by forgetting the past, were to repeat the same mistakes.

 

She hadn't really focused on that either when Dax had spoken about things, and she were far more interested in hearing how it went with his ancestors, which seemed to also include some story about the other line of his family too! Well, until he remembered that Illiad were here and got focused on that instead, but at least that left some story for another time, right?

 

Besides, shortly after, Euler said that if he had the time he'd come around again, and she didn't know if she would've been able to listen properly with the glee that she felt over hearing that. She loved talking with fun, interesting ponies, and Euler certainly was. Perhaps she should prepare something if he turned out to have the time? She didn't exactly have food with her here, but she did have her hidden stash of candy, and her usual stock of herbs and spices that she used for tea or minor self-made aids to the medication - mostly something to prevent or remedy side effects - that might prove useful.

 

Not the candy that much, but the other things might prove workable, if she got hold of a few more herbs... Perhaps she could check up on what, if anything, she still needed when the others had left again? It looked like they would leave soon at least.

 

As she saw Euler start to move down from the bench and put his gear on again though, she had something else in mind as she as quietly as she could, sneaked up on him as he got geared up again. He would likely be able to tell that she were on her way considering how aware he seemed to be about things around him, but if he wasn't, or didn't think like he had to worry when she wasn't speeding towards him, she would nuzzle the side of his now-hidden face again, and try to give him a small side hug.

 

Even if it would work, she weren't gonna think this the surprise hug that she had planned for him. Nuh-uh, that one were gonna be better. like tackling better. And when it happened, she were going to get him. Mark her happy little words, he wasn't gonna be able to deflect her then. Hopefully.

 

"Hope to see you again then Euler. Take care, and good luck with Illiad."

 

She'd go for Dax afterwards, but considering how his head were likely still sore at the least - depended on whatever or not he took the pills with him how bad it could potentially be in the long run - she just smiled at him a lot and waved.

 

"And you take care too Dax. Remember to keep your head safe, and come back if it seems to get worse, okay?"

 

________________________________________________________________

 

 

The Quarry - Outside Silver's workshop.

 

The crate that the interloper hid in had slowly, but surely, crept more to the side and were near the front door to the workshop at this point. The one inside had been careful to only move when nopony were looking as she moved along to try and get a better point of view than there were behind the workshop. Sure, there were still ponies and such in sight there, but it was a little limited compared to where the hideout were stationed now.

 

It couldn't go further though, without more or less standing in the way of the door, and that wouldn't be good in case somepony tried to go out from there. It would ruin the cover, and the interloper coudn't risk being found. Not before the mission were complete.

 

Whoever was in there, felt a rising joy in imagining when it were done all of a sudden. To think of how the reactions would be, and how the Blackwater's would get a day they wouldn't soon forget... Hehehe, it was going to be glorious, and nopony here would see it coming.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@Randimaxis

 

Was he ever going to get over that?  Was they really telekinetic, or just very well practiced?  He couldn't help his curiosity in that moment, and perhaps a walk would make them more talkative.

 
"I'm ready," he chirped, turning about and marching out of the room.  "I guess we could start with the manor, first.  That seems the best."
 
Even as he wandered the halls, Low could feel their eyes on him.  The unicorn stopped to inspect a painting, his eyes occasionally flicking to his shadows.  He was used to wandering about on his own, and he tended the enjoy the calm silence of an empty hallway.  With two ponies staring at him, though, he felt more inclined to engage them.  Did they even have personalities?
 
"So..." he began, clearing his throat and turning his head to face them with a hopeful smile.  "You two seem really close.  How much practice did that take?"
 
--------------
 
Carnelian was almost glad to be rid of Low for the time being.  He may be privy to more than a few of her more intimate preferences, but he wasn't a confidant.  If one of her enemies decided to capture and interrogate him, she had doubts that he would last five minutes of torture.  With another sip of her cider and a nibble on an hors d'oeuvre, she continued.
 

 
"This is quite the conundrum indeed, Vylia, but you need worry no more.  A little birdie told me that the duke of Trottingham is hosting a private dinner party this Saturday aboard his airship, and you and I are going to crash it!  Not literally, of course, but I can't be bothered to ask for an invitation.  The duke and I are good friends, though, so it won't matter.  Did you know that he has a cellar full of not wine, but every imaginable tea blend from all four corners of the realm?  I, him, and his wife spent an entire day sampling his inventory while he regaled me with tales of hunting tigers and thugs in Bengallop.  You will absolutely adore him!"

[Randimaxis 8,654]

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Taps, looking exhausted, glanced up at Scarlet... and burst into a merry set of giggles at seeing her in the big, floofy chef's hat.

 

She looked at the menu, then at the pad and pencil, then back at Scar with a genuine, grateful smile.  She almost looked ready to hug the earth pony for her kindness.

 

When Scar asked about her night, Taps gave a weary sigh, then picked up the pad and wrote a single word there, in very well-educated hoofwriting style, then held up the pad so that Scarlet could see that single word.

 

The word written on the pad was NIGHTMARES.

 

 

@Illiad Easle - @Blitz Boom

 

 

Dax nodded and smiled.  "Yeah, we could head over there.  I mean, I'm sure he's seeing Silver - that doesn't surprise me much - but I'm fairly certain we can wait for him out there.  He might be a moment, though..."

 

Dax gave a mischievous grin.

 

"... but we can wait by the lunch trailer.  Hey, have you had any lunch?"

 

Dax started for the door, then stopped and came over to Ziggy and hugged her tightly.

 

"Thanks for taking care of me - you're the best!"

 

He waved to her, then looked back at Euler.  "C'mon - hey, do you know what a straw dog is?"

 

=======================================================

 

Silver simply stared at the mass of Cloud Diamond, trying to wrap her mind around what Illiad had said.

 

"This... is going to be a copy... of Selena and... a-a-and ME?  But how... I don't..."

 

She closed her eyes, gave a sigh, then opened them once more.

 

"Illiad... I would, of course, be honored for such a thing.  I'll take the utmost care with this project, and I swear to you that no one will know of it.  I'm frankly... well, I'm really flattered by this.  So, yes... yes, yes... uh, let's... uh..."

 

She smiled embarrassedly.  "H-how do we do this?"

 

 

@cwhip9

 

 

While the rest of the workers continued kicking rocks, Redd almost seemed to be skipping as he continued to work as well, though taking every opportunity to smile knowingly at the forlorn bat-pony.  The forepony almost seemed to be living solely from the misery he was wringing from Crescent - an absolute jerk.

 

As break time began to loom ahead of them, one of the workers made their way over to Redd.

 

"Uh, hey - we got an issue here."

 

"What?"  Redd looked up from his clipboard.  "What is it, then?"

 

"I think we... mighta found some rubies.  Big deposit - gotta be checked by a forepony; y'know the rules."

 

Redd gave a huge show of an exasperated sigh, then looked the worker in the eye.  "If they AREN'T rubies..."

 

He stormed off, followed by the miner.  As soon as they were gone, another miner stepped close to Crescent.

 

"Okay, we'll keep 'im here - you go get your girl, Cress.  I heard he's a buddy o' Dax's; might be hangin' with 'im.  Go get 'er, tiger."

 

The worker grinned.  They were distracting Redd to allow Crescent enough time to go see Silver!

 

 

@Hazard Time

 

 

The butler on the left smiled.  "We're brothers, Lord Key; when you've spent enough time around another pony..."

 

"... you get to learn them fairly well, sir."  The one on his right finished, and they both broke out with matching, yet warm, smiles.

 

The mansion was FAR bigger than the outside alluded to; it seemed the hallway they were in would go on forever.  It was simply hallway after hallway, and they stretched on and on and on... and the decorations were quite nice, if a bit gaudy... at first.  However, as they went deeper into the manor, the windows dwindled to nothing, and the soft light of the glowing magical sconces kept a cool, lightly blue glow in this section, seemingly perpetually.

 

The twins kept pace with Key, keeping far enough back for him to fully appreciate his surroundings, yet close enough to tend to when requested.

 

=====================================================

 

"Truly?"  Vylia pondered, sounding intrigued.  "An airship, you say?  Well, I must admit THAT will be a first for me - being airborne without a single flap?  Fascinating... and to CRASH such a party?  Goodness, it does sound like quite a bit of fun, I will admit."

 

A small, mischievous grin lit on her muzzle.  "And I do ADORE tea..."

 

She looked up at the Baroness.  "That sounds as if it will be a night to remember, yes... and I truly do thank you for all your time and effort on my behalf - such generosity is so difficult to come across these days, don't you agree?"

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Outside the Mines - Mine kitchen

 

She looked down at the note. "Ah..." She nodded. "Oh! One moment I have to get something I've remembered." Scarlet quickly went back to the kitchen to fetch the letter she needed posted and came back to her. "Side note can you see this is delivered please." Hoofing her the letter destined for her cousin. 

 

She sat down adjacent to her. "Do you want to ta... um write about it? Tell you want you write down what happened after you tell me what you'd like to eat? Then you can write it up while I get your food? You know rather than me just sitting here waiting for you to write what happened." She put her hoof on the menu and slid it in front of the mare. She smiled as she waited for the post pony to pick what she'd like to eat for breakfast/lunch... brunch. 

 

She was not sure whether the mare would open up to her in the first place, though she had a feeling that Taps was the type of sort to open up. Be nice if she talked, if she could talk it would make life a Tatuars a hella easier. But nevertheless that was not really important cheering up Taps was the thing to do, which her dumb chiefs hat seemed to be a good start.

 

[Illiad Easle 3,174]

@@Randimaxis,@@Blitz Boom,

 

Euler gave one final bow to the doctor as he made his way out of the office, "Farewell, may we meet again soon."

 

With that he made his way over to where Illiad would be if he had not gone elsewhere, ensuring every-so-often that the Blackwater Colt was in tow. "I must check on the Vice-Consul before I can do anything else. As hungry as I may be, my duties come first."

 

Meanwhile...

 

Illiad smiled at Silver's willingness, "Well, it's pretty simple once you're willing." He collected both of the gems so they would stay in close proximity, then touched the octahedron to Silver's horn. She would feel a very odd tingling sensation and then the transfer would be complete.

 

That done he set the two gems down, returning the larger one to his robe. "And that's that. Within this Octohedron is a new sort of artificial consciousness. So long as it is charged with energy it will be able to react to its surroundings and remember things, but if it loses charge it will enter a state of hibernation until it is charged again, so you won't need to worry about that too much. Given enough charge, it would be able to communicate with you via writing and even speaking once you figure out the head."

 

His smile grew, "I have every confidence in your ability."

 

Suddenly his face turned to one of worry as he pulled a sheet of paper out from his robe, "This can't be good." He turned back towards Silver with a serious expression, "Alright, I'm going to need to pass on another thing to you." he retrieved a file from his other case and passed it to her. "This is the drafted trade agreement between the quarry and Troy, this visit was really just a formality as I have already approved it for trade. All Mr. Blackwater needs to do is get a signed inspection of the quarry, and send it with this signed agreement, should it be to his liking, back to Troy and the deal will be finalized."

 

With that he rushed out of the room to throw the paper from his robe on the ground, revealing it to be a teleportation rune. Not five seconds later a unicorn mare garbed in similar armor to Euler appeared atop the rune. Her eyes fixed on Illiad, "Vice Consul, there's been an incident at the capital, an attack. It looks like a reindeer was behind it, we need you to return for your safety."

 

Just then Euler arrived at Silver's shed and noticed the situation, he approached to stand beside Illiad. "Alright then, let's get moving."

 

Illiad turned back towards Silver with an apologetic look on his face. "I wouldn't be leaving so suddenly if it weren't so urgent. I promise I'll be writing you as often as I possibly can. Farewell, my love."

 

With that, the new unicorn guard placed a new teleport rune on the ground and activated it, in a flash all three of them were gone. 

 

(And that's the end for me. Farwell to you all, may I see you again in October 2018.)

[Randimaxis 8,654]

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Taps gave an enormous yawn, then took the letter from Scarlet and dropped it into her satchel, turning back with a smile to the erstwhile cook.  She truly looked exhausted, yet she still drew the pad and pencil over again, and began writing.  Finishing, she held up the pad:

 

Thank you so very kindly - I would really enjoy a good hoofmade meal... and Chuck says your soup is quite good.  May I try some please?

 

With that, she took the pad and, again, started writing... this time, with a little more intensity.  It was probably safe to assume she was writing down her issues, as requested by Scar.  It might take her a moment, so it seemed as if the earth pony had some time to wait... of course, Scarlet didn't exactly seem to be one to simply sit there.

 

 

@Illiad Easle

 

 

There was a flash of light, and Illiad and Euler were gone.

 

Dax skidded to a stop, his eyes wide as saucers as he caught the fleetingest glimpse of his buddy, the pony he'd been waiting all week to see, the closest thing he'd ever had to a best friend...

 

Gone without a single word.

 

He simply stared for a moment at the blank spot where Illiad had been mere moments ago...

 

"... but... but... but..."

 

His face fell, and his eyes began to fill with tears.

 

"... he didn't even... say..."

 

He closed those big, bright emeralds, tears rolling down the sides of his muzzle as his face began to contort into a rictus of agony.  He suddenly threw his head back and screamed at the top of his lungs.

 

"HE DIDN'T EVEN SAY GOODBYE!?"

 

He then let out a shriek that was midway between full-on rage and extreme sorrow, and in a fit he kicked his rear hooves into the side of Shed #6, directly across from Silver's.  The metal wall bent clean in half, and the entire shed toppled down onto itself with a grand crash.

 

With that, Dax took off like a streak of dark lightning, headed back up the trail from the manor house and disappearing from the quarry's view.  The entire way, heartbroken sobs could be heard echoing off the mountainside and back into the ears of everypony there.

 

Dax had just been totally abandoned by his supposed best friend... even before he could say hello, much less goodbye.

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@Randimaxis

"Oh, right, that makes sense."  Well, Low felt right silly now.  The concept itself made sense to him, but it was never something he experienced.  He was the only child in his household, and though he had his fair share of childhood friends, he never really made too many connections.  Plus, with his idea of a good time involving sitting around and listening to music, he wasn't always the most fun kind of pony.
 
Even with all that, assuming what the twins said was true, why did Low barely know anything about his kindly guardian?  He had tried several times before to ask about her personal life, but she'd always deflected his inquiries.  Just when he thought he saw a pattern in her behavior, she shifted, surprising him when he least expected it.  At any one time, he could never tell what it was she wanted or what she was thinking, which made it all the worse when she expected him to know both.  How was he supposed to know?  Several times, he thought of tell her that, but...what if it really was his own fault?  He could have been looking out for the signs, read her emotions more clearly, perhaps taken the initiative.  She just wanted him to get better, is all.  She had his best intentions in mind, just as she always told him.  The longer he stayed with her, the more he'd learn and the more interesting he'd become.
 
That's right.  All he ever wanted to to talk about was music and poetry, but that wasn't what ponies wanted to hear, which was why he was so lonely.  Carnelian knew a lot about friendship, and as...risque as her ideas were, they worked.  If just a little bit of her rubbed off on him, maybe he might interest somepony someday.  He just had to get better.
 
"Is it alright if I walk around outside?"
 


 
"Indeed.  These are relatively tumultuous times, and everypony's too busy securing their wealth and watching for competitors to care about the smaller fish who could greatly benefit from the largesse of the bigger.  I can count many other such rags to riches stories amongst my friends: business owners turned corporate officers, silenced demagogues turned populist heroes...there was even that one time I helped a disgraced Zebrican farin reclaim his titles.  I had to hire an entire mercenary company for that one!"
 
Carnelian sighed in nostalgia, twirling her cider in her glass.  "He owed me his life from that day forward.  It's most unfortunate his noble house did not seem to survive the millennia I was away."

Edited October 13, 2016 by Hazard Time

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Randimaxis,

 

Outside the Mines - Mine kitchen

 

"One bowl of my quickly becoming famous soup coming up!" She said with a degree of silliness and got up and went back to the kitchen to get said bowl of soup. She got out a tray and then a bowl filled it with some piping hot soup and some crusty bread to dip, places the bread to the side and picks the whole tray with her maw.

 

With food in toe (hoof? Frog of hoof?) Scarlet still in her chiefs hat came out like a derp totally in the mood to make Taps laugh as much as possible strolled over to the table and placed the tray not in front of Taps but just in front of her so she could pull the tray to her and eat when she'd finished writing, which she'd not at by this stage. Must of been a fair bit of something for her to still be writing all this time. 

 

Scarlet sat back down across from Taps and waited for her to finish writing her tale, she was considering asking the mare why she didn't speak, but then that may well be a even longer tale for her to write down. Despite Scarlet being rather accommodating she did not want to wait for Taps to be writing all day and have Scarlet sitting there waiting for the response to be written.

 

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The Interloper watched closely as a pony in a strange outfit came out of Silver's workshop and threw a piece of paper on the ground, curious about what was going on. Something that didn't lessen when suddenly another pony popped forth from the paper and started to talk about some sort of attacks, something called a *reindeer* and that thy had to go. And then to add up on that, a... Pony perhaps? Some sort of quadruped at least in a ton of armor. Anyway, he/she showed up too, started to talk - okay, definitely a he - and then stepped over to the other two and vanished into thin air.

 

...Nopony was going to believe this if she told them about this. It was simply too weird, even for her, and she were involved in a good chunk of weird stuff to begin with.

 

*sigh* Perhaps it was better to just try and forget about this for now, and then go look for... Dax...

 

The Interloper barely had a chance to think the thought to an end before the pony in question came around, mere seconds after the armored one had arrived and what, a second or so after the strange ponies went *poof*? Sounded about right, but it didn't matter. She had found her target now. Or well, technically he had found her - although she didn't think he saw her hidden in the box, so perhaps she still would be the one to find him if you wanted to be really technical - but that was details that didn't matter as she prepared to ambush the Blackwater heir and complete her m- Holy guacamole!

 

She had missed the first few seconds of Dax getting tears in his eyes, and wasn't really listening either as she prepared herself for the ambush, but when he started to yell at the top of his lungs it really got noticed by her. In fact, it almost made her jump out of the box in shock, though it thankfully didn't get so far.

 

As for Dax though, things got far. Further than him crying - as she now took notice of - and yelling, as he kicked a shed hard enough to make the thing crash and ran off, with a trail of small droplets on the ground.

 

There wasn't much choice in what to do now. There'd soon be others here to check up on what had happened, and she really needed to get to Dax now, so amidst the dust settling, she popped out of the box and took off running, tossing another lit smoke bomb behind her as a further distraction as she made her way towards Dax Blackwater. Wherever his trail were gonna lead, she were going to find him, and when she did, she'd make sure that he got what he had coming.

 

____________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Meanwhile, Ziggy hadn't heard a thing outside. She had closed the door after the others had left and filled out some more paperwork, which kept her well distracted for a good ten minutes before she felt a rumbling in her tummy and decided that yes, she had to try and get to the food wagon after all and see if there were still something. It was a bit late in it, she knew, but the morning had been really busy thus far, so it really was the earliest she could get there. Hopefully, the cook would have some mercy with her, whoever it might be. It wasn't Grill Brick anymore, as he had said that he were going away - or was it retired? One of the things, but same result - but who the new chef was she wasn't sure about.

 

Hopefully somepony who were reasonable though, and could live up to some of the same standards as Grill had. That pony could cook well, and she'd miss seeing him around for both that, and just being him in general. He was a nice pony after all.

 

Exiting her office, she locked the door, put the sign up that said she were gonna be back soon and to press to button if it was important, then checked to see if said buzzer still worked - it did - before taking off towards the kitchen, thinking about how a sandwich would do well right now. Especially as the alternative was to sustain herself with candy until lunch came around, and that wasn't healthy. Candy was for snacks, and sick patients that needed something sweet, not breakfast.

[Randimaxis 8,654]

(My apologies; I should have answered sooner.)

 

@Hazard Time

 

"Most certainly, sir..."

 

"... we shall accompany you wherever you like."

 

The twins led Low Key through a few more hallways, until windows once again became regular sights on the walls.  Reaching the expansive front foyer, they made a beeline to the front doors and, taking to either side, they pulled them open in unison.

 

Just in time to see a black and green stallion dash through the entranceway, miserable sounds pouring from him like his tears as he zipped across the yard, charging headlong into a swath of brush at the edge of the property.  Seeing this, both butlers instantly looked to the running earth pony with worry on their muzzles.

 

Upon reaching the brush, he promptly vanished into the greenery.  The twins looked at each other and raised an eyebrow.

 

"Funny... wasn't Master Dax supposed to meet with-"

 

"...yes, he was - and that's certainly not the response I'd expect."

 

They both glanced back at their charge.  "Please forgive us, Master Key - we're simply a bit..."

 

"... concerned for the lad.  He's an emotional one, and he doesn't have many friends."

 

"A shame, too - he's been through a lot."

 

They looked to each other, nodded, then took up flanking positions once more as they exited the manor and closed the doors.

 

The manor yard was actually very well kept; subdued topiary, as well as a wide, low fountain in the center of the circular carriageway - where a most exquisitely hoofcarved statue of a mare seemed to be pouring an endless amount of water from a simple jug into the pool below her hooves.  There were low shrubs lining the yard's boundaries, and the dark green grass was kept uniform and trimmed.

 

If the interior of the manor was a bit ostentatious, the outer yard was respectably classy; an interesting twist, to be certain.

 

The circular path led back down the same way it led up - to walk it would bring one back to the quarry yard, where the activity was... but sharp and attentive eyes would see a faint ghost of a path leading down past the manor, it seemed.  There was also the other stallion's path into the shrubbery, which brought the total of ways to go to three... not counting simply circling the Blackwater Manor itself - which might be tricky, as apparently part of it was in the mountain.

 

The twin butler stallions waited patiently to see where their charge wished to go.

 

=======================================================

 

"Well, our family has existed for quite a few generations, to be certain.  Originally the Black family settled this parcel of land shortly after the end of the Reign of Discord, and it has grown steadily from that day to this - and the mines never seem to run dry, Luna bless our luck."

 

A slow frown began to wrinkle her features as she looked sidelong towards the eastern windows.  "Of course... we have a NEW issue with a snotty new neighbor; another gem mine has been purchased near here, and the owner is a conniving little sneak who we've had the misfortune of dealing with before.  Worse?  He doesn't listen to reason - he's completely profit-driven, and seems to enjoy stepping on others to get a few bits richer."

 

She scoffed.  "Honestly, some ponies have NO class; Jasper Cragg qualifies as TWO!"

 

Her eyes slid over to the Baroness, and a question danced behind them before a slow grin spread across her features once more... but of a far more predatory nature.

 

"I wonder..."  Her voice became like honey.  "On a scale of one to ten, dearie... how interested would you possibly be in assisting me with taking out the trash, hmmmm?"

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

When Scarlet came back with the soup, Taps sniffed the air and looked up from her writing.  Her mismatched eyes widened... then, she returned to her writing, yet even faster.  Within less than a minute, she dropped the pencil, pushed the pad in front of Scar, then turned and began to chow down heartily.

 

There were two pages worth; they read as follows:

 

 

I haven't been having much sleep lately at all, to be honest.  For the past month, I've been dreaming about something that calls my name and leaves me feeling lost and alone.  Over and over, the same dream, the same results - except each time, the dream goes a bit darker and darker, feeling like it's threatening to consume me - if it can.

 

Yes, it feels like it's alive... almost.  It might all be in my head, but that's something to worry about, too?  What if it really starts to interfere with my duties?  I cannot fail in my position; I've been at it for too long, perhaps.  But I try to be the best at whatever I can - I have since I was a filly.

 

You've probably seen me skating around a bit; I got used to skates when I was small, due to a foalhood illness that kept me from flying further than a few feet without getting winded.  I had to really push myself to work through my condition until I grew out of it - then, I was actually heartier for the wear, and it made it better for me when I applied for my job; particularly because I'm usually quite attentive to details...

 

But I've been falling asleep at my desk lately.  So far, I haven't missed an appointment or round yet, but I keep worrying that I'll end up passing out in flight - almost did today.  Skipped breakfast to make up for it OH GOSH THAT SMELLS SO GOOD THANK YOU THANK YOU

 

 

Taps continued to eat as if she were starving - though she wasn't making a pig of herself, she did seem to be in a soup-eating contest with herself... and she was apparently winning, from the blissful smile on her muzzle.

 

 

@Blitz Boom

 

 

Dax's trail led up the winding path that ran around the area where the refinery was having repairs made, so she lost him for a moment among the workers and stacked boards and other obstacles to line-of-sight... but the trail of workers who were looking towards the direction the Blackwater had gone was easy enough to follow.

 

Up the hill it was, then; looks like he was headed for home... but wait, no - he took off across the manor yard, and dove into some bushes at the far side.  This far up the mountain, it was a bit worrisome to see somepony just leap into the foliage blindly.  Unless, of course, it was a secret path - and oooooooh, secret paths were so VERY attractive to others...

 

But maybe not so drawing as to neglect the sight of another young stallion flanked by twin butlers standing on the front stoop; the question was, had they seen the interloper?

 

 

 

 

 

(*sigh of relief*)

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@@Randimaxis,

@@Hazard Time,

 

The interloper had managed to stay somewhat out of sight until the manor. Both because the workers seemed to be more focused on the running Blackwater heir, and because she ran behind the sheds and such that were passed. She were used to running the small streets and alley's to get to what she wanted, so it was no bother, and it was still very easy to follow Dax from this angle. Until they reached the manor that is, and he dove into some bushes. That wasn't the issue though. No, the issue were the trio of ponies that were nearby that looked towards where he had gone.

 

She had slowed down and managed to hide herself a little before she'd be in the open, but she didn't have much time to work with here unless she wanted Dax to get away from her, so once again, she put a hoof into her little *travel pack* and rummaged around there, pulling out the last of her smoke bombs with a sigh. She had planned on saving this so that she could make an easy escape later if it were, but what other choice did she have but this? Unless...

 

She put it back and rummaged around a little more, eventually pulling out a small rocket. Then she put it on the ground, set fire to the fuse, and turned it towards a spot to the side of the trio.

 

It wouldn't be many seconds before it would fire off and come crashing towards a spot to their side before getting stuck in the ground and exploding into glitter. A lot of it in fact. Said glitter might end up getting caught in their fur if they were still close enough by it at that point, but unless they were literally touching the rocket, te explosions shouldn't do anything. And if they did... Well, the burn could be treated. It wasn't strong enough to rip a hoof of or something mad like that. It was designed to just be enough to fuel the travel upwards - or in this case to the side - for a bit, and then have enough push to spread out the glitter into a pretty, rainy effect. Or in this case, cover a small area of dirt with the substance, and potentially a little of the three ponies as well.

 

Whatever or not this would work in getting their attention - though she guessed it would. Who wouldn't look at a rocket coming towards them after all? - she'd make a break for the bushes and down what would turn out to be a secret path. It was up to debate if, during the chaos of the rocket launching, the others would take note of the strange little pony that ran by them who looked like her mane was on fire and her tail stopped halfway through a dozen or so explosions. They'd likely see the bag she were halfway levitating, halfway carrying on her back too if it were, which is where she had pulled the small rocket from. It wasn't the biggest - and especially not now that the only thing that had a stick attached to it were out of there. Even if it was a smallish stick - but it seemed to still have some stuff rolling around in there.

 

She were a quick one though, so regardless of if they saw her or not, her small hooves would get her to the bushes fast and towards Dax Blackwater. Hopefully, she'd get to him before anypony else had the chance to beat her there or stop her. Though, seeing as the closest had gotten a little *present* to deal with. she should have gotten some head start to getting there at least.

[cwhip9 1,078]

@@Randimaxis, (im back ill explain after this)

Cresent blinked at what he herd and saw then looked at the minor the grin then nodded at the minor "I owe ya one" he patted the minor with his wing carefully taking the pasta dish with him on his way out of the cave hoping the distraction would work long enough for him. He had to hand it to the minors, karma seems to work in many many ways.  

 

As he made his way out of the cave he spotted silvers hut and with a smile he trotted over still trying not to burn himself with his fire warmed pasta. He was thinking how he would open up with the next sentice, 'morning love' or maybe even something less cute like 'oi its lunch time' no that wouldn't work. His thoughts drifted towards what red did say but shook his head knowing red loves to get under other pony's fur.

 

Why though, seriously cresent just always got confused about red then annoyed which knowing how red worked always seemed to help him in terms of keeping cool....mostly. There had been times where red was close if not down right winning his....game? The batpony shrugged as he saw the cottage come closer and carfully doged a green blure hearing some odd commotion. He flew over setting the pan down then looked back at where the streak went to "hi guys....um....is he ok?" the batpony asked

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@Randimaxis,

 

Outside the Mines - Mine kitchen

 

"Well that is something..." She pondered as she finished reading the written words. She sat there blankly as she took it in for a moment, then proceeded to reread it. "I suppose... I'd ask a few questions to that, what you've written about the dreams or more nightmares. The soup of course is no issue apart how I'm going to top it tomorrow or later...?" She shook her head. 

 

"Anyway...! That is a thought for later, I suppose the first question I'd ask is why you seem to suffer from this sense of being alone and lost? Are you alone in terms." Waving a hoof in a circle in the air. "Well romantically? Some sort of wish to become one with another maybe? I know that dreams and nightmares, are like seeing into a pool of your desires that you may not even be aware of when you walk the waking world... wow I just sound like a shrink or something. Speaking of I'd suggest going and visiting one, or maybe you'll get lucky and Princess Luna will rock up and save you."

 

She stopped to think again. "Next question would be after that first one for when you start writing." She put a hoof next to her mouth and leaned towards her. "You being a mute is a pain in my backside by the way." Before going back to her previous position. "Is can you think of anything that's occurred in the past month that would warrant such horrendous dreams, some sort of catalyst of sorts?" 

 

[Randimaxis 8,654]

@Blitz Boom  @Hazard Time

 

As the twins stood there awaiting Low Key's directions, the one on the right sniffed at the air for a moment.

 

"Say... do you smell... smoke?"

 

As the wind was angling from the quarry to the house, the scent of burning fuse had reached them... but not in enough time to stop the rocket from igniting, then flying right in their direction.

 

"I believe I d- SWEET CELESTIA'S PLOT!!!!!"

 

As the rocket came streaking towards them, the butler on the right jumped right in front of Key - but it was a pointless gesture, as the other one swiftly turned and sent his hooves flying at the thing, connecting and sending it zipping at an angle toward the manor itself!  It caromed off some eaves, ricocheted off a window ledge, zipped into the quarry yard, bounced off of the medical shed, then flew right back at the manor... and through Luther's open balcony doors.

 

From inside there was a muffled >WHOOMP!<, then an exceedingly loud and enraged yell of surprise, followed by a puff of pink and yellow glitter that clouded out of the room.

 

The twins had watched the entire scene unfold, and when they saw what had happened to the rocket (and where it ended up), both of them slapped their hooves to their cheeks in perfect unison.

 

"... oh manure..." said the one on the left.

 

 

@cwhip9

 

 

One of the miners looked back over his flank toward the manor.  

 

"Uhhhhh... maybe?"

 

Another glanced over his shoulder.  "Eh, ol' Pink-Slip's whining again, big hairy deal.  Let 'im cry - good riddance, y'ask me."

 

The first worker swiveled to look at the second one.  "Hey!  He's the son of our employer; that's no way to be!"

 

The second gave a laugh dripping with sarcasm.  "Oh yeah?  I got a cousin who used to work here; made friends with the little mutt, too.  Know what happened?  Boss made that little so-and-so FIRE him!  Him and about 50 others - JUST for bein' FRIENDS with the little jerk!  So yeah... Pink-Slip's nothin' but trouble."

 

The second pony went back to his task.  The first one, nonplussed, simply shrugged at Crescent and went back to what he'd been doing as well.

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

Taps listened to Scarlet as she spoke, reacting as she went.

 

When she spoke of relationships, Taps simply sighed... but when she mentioned Luna's possible intervention, the blue mare scoffed and took on a sour look.

 

When she reached the ending question, Taps grew thoughtful.  She seemed as though she was earnestly trying to consider if anything had been happening to her to make things go as such.  In fact, she even took the pencil in her mouth again, and was about to start writing... when the rocket shot across the quarry yard, coming within inches of the condiment cart.

 

Taps' eyes were glued to the thing as it flew where it flew, then watched it go RIGHT into Luther's office and explode.

 

Seeing this, Taps dropped the pencil as her mouth hung open.  Before it hit the table, the mailmare was off like a shot, maiking a beeline for the elder Blackwater's open study doors.  She was through them in seconds, vanishing from view.

[Blitz Boom 4,655]

@@Randimaxis,

 

The interloper hadn't the faintest idea about what had happened behind her. For all she knew, the rocket had fired off exactly as she had planned, instead of getting somewhat deflected and bounce through an open window, so it was still just a harmless distraction in her mind. One that she didn't pay much notice off as she went along the path that she had seen Dax run down. Or well, she had seen a split second of his hind legs as he went on this path to begin with, but still, it seemed pretty one way, so it had to be easy enough, right?

 

It was a little distracting what she eventually found though, as she pushed through a section eventually and got face to face with what looked like a graveyard. A small one too, but that just made her more curious. Was this for the family? The workers that had died on the job? Something before this house? Perhaps she could have a look later and see what the stones said. Perhaps that would tell something.

 

But, not important right now. What were, was the figure that she saw further inside: Dax Blackwater, the heir to the tainted family name, and a pony that she had traveled far to finally get her hooves on. It wasn't like she had expected it would happen, but it was still pretty lonely, so that was good at least. She wanted to let as few ponies as possible know she was there after all, and this could scarcely be any more isolated from the looks of things.

 

With small, silent steppes she crept nearer and nearer to the stallion whose back where turned to her, inching closer and closer before finally, she reached out and grabbed hold of him!

 

"Hehe, gotcha Dax."

 

How Dax would react on the hopefully familiar voice from the filly that were now wrapped around his leg in a tight hug were anypony's guess, especially in his current state, though Blitz hoped it might cheer him up a bit. She didn't want her friend to be all sad face.

 

Sure, it had been three months or so since she had last seen him, which - far as she remembered - wasn't long after the first day she met the shy Blackwater in the first place, but hopefully he'd still remember her, right? It would be kinda awkward if he didn't, since she had to go through a lot of things to find out where exactly he lived, how to get there, and prepare things to sneak in when it were so she could surprise him, but she were sure it was fine. She were still the same, explodey-looking filly as then, and he were still her lonely, strange friends from the mine. Or well, she had modified the wings on her back a bit to be more in line with regular pegasi wings, and had grown an inch or so, but that wasn't something that would make a difference, surely.

 

There were one noticeable difference that may honestly be a case for alarm though: The tip of her horn had grown out again.

 

To most this wasn't a bad thing, but Blitz had already been kind of a crazy unicorn when they had met, and were only sort of limited from going full on bonkers with the more dangerous things she could think of because she weren't able to use her magic, and with that bump in the road gone... The quarry might have much more to worry about than a weak, stray rocket.

 

_________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

@@Randimaxis,

@@Mentis Soliloquy,

 

Outside the mines - Kitchen.

 

Meanwhile, Ziggy had landed over at the kitchen and where about to open up and see if there were something left there to eat when the whole *rocket whiffing about and exploding int he manor* thing happened, and her jaw almost fell to the ground. Of all the things she had imagined would happen today, something like this was not it, and frankly, she couldn't think of food anymore as she took to the sky and headed towards the balcony as well, though she'd get there later than Taps for sure.

 

It wasn't good that she didn't have her doctor's bag with her right now, but if this were serious, she wouldn't have the time for it either. Sure, there were glitter outside the room that looked rather pretty, but there had still been the rocket and the zoom and the boom! So there could be plenty of things wrong. She prayed to Celestia that it wasn't though. Luther Blackwater might be a bit of a... Hard pony at times, but she were sure that beneath it all were a good pony, and he certainly didn't deserve some of the horrible things that could happen if you stood near explosives.

 

"Is he okay? Sweet muffin above, tell me it didn't hurt him badly?"

 

She were directing the question to Taps, forgetting in the heat of the moment that the small mare didn't speak. She had tried some times to see if she could trick her into it, and a few times she had even tried tickling her with a feather on a stick to see if that'd do it, but so far she'd been as shut as a clam, and likely would be now too, though to be fair, she should be able to see the damage soon as she were close to the balcony and could soon glance in and see what damage were there. Unless the doors were shut, or did get shut pretty fast that were, then she'd see nothing. But that'd be a good sign then though, right? Like... Her had to be okay, if nopony were to see him. Well, beyond Taps, but who were she gonna tell?

 

Hehe... Wait, this was a bad time for jokes. A pony might be hurt. Focus Ziggy!

[Mentis Soliloquy 3,026]

@@Randimaxis, @@Blitz Boom,

 

Outside the Mines - Mine kitchen

 

Scarlet watched the rather rude rocket interrupt her and Taps, and the crazy doc at that aswell. She watched the pair of pegasus depart to where the rocket had ended up at, in Blackwater's office she thought. "Hmm nearly die yesterday... rocket nearly to my face is rather dull in comparison... and now everyone's left me again... hoo-ray...!" She said the most dull boring tone she'd uttered in quite some time. She sighed and picked up everything and took them back inside her kitchen.

 

Not that she was thinking of Luther, the guy was her boss for now so she did try to think well of him... certainly did not deserve a rocket to the face that was for sure. But there was little she'd be able to do, one she can't fly, nor has she any medical training... and she'd have to get into the mansion in the first place and no pony would be at the door to let her in with what just happened so she went back to work, cleaning, cooking and so on. 

 

She did however look out the servery up to the room where the rocket had gone, wondering what was happening...

 

[DwhitetheGamer 867]

Copper listened to the fore-pony's story, with a hint of regret.  He didn't know that he 'figuratively' took the cards away from them.  He shook his head, not knowing what to say about the issue.

 

When he was patted and complimented, though, he smiled at the fore-pony.  "Yeah, at least I do do the right things."

 

He then thought for a moment, then had an idea concerning the job.  "I have an idea.  I don't know if it'll work, but I can't see it not tried.  I could ask Mr. Blackwater if he could change the shifts to that there are morning, afternoon, and night shifts, and hire more ponies so that they could work here in the Quarry.  What I'm saying is that they can work for a certain amount of hours that Mr. Blackwater chooses, then when the shift is done, they can clock out and play in a specified area.  That area would be the expanded barracks, and they can play until the night, or the day concerning the night shift ponies."

 

He shrugged, then continued.  "My philosophy is that if you don't work hard, you never get the chance to play hard.  I think Mr. Blackwater should know that.  We'll work hard for him as long as he lets us play hard.  What do you think?"

[Hazard Time 1,127]

@@Randimaxis @@Blitz Boom  (I'm so sorry it took me this long to get this out...)

 

Low looked out into the yard just in time to see the other stallion vanish into the hedges.  A hoof went to his mouth as he fought back a gasp, his eyes locked on the bush.

 

 
"Oh dear, do you think he'll be alright?  I-I should go talk to him?  Or maybe y-you two would know him better than me.  Probably."  The unicorn fidgeted with his hooves, conflicted between his compassion and his social awkwardness.  Finally, he took some steps outside, heading in the general direction of the crying colt.
 
Momentarily, his short attention span was grabbed by the beauty of the place. The fountain, the statue, the landscaping...the unicorn's hooves stopped moving while he took it all in.  For a gem quarry, there was so much beauty and art to be found.  Did the ponies who live and work here even notice it?  Or is he just the only one, as usual?
 
Just as he his mind was about to return on topic, a piercing shriek filled the air he looked just in time to see the rocket hurtling towards him.  Instinctively, Low Key ducked and covered his head, closing his eyes and gritting his teeth as he braced for impact.  The sudden movement around and the lack of any pain brought him to open his eyes and he looked around.  His gaze followed the twins as the rocket ricochet from one place to another before shooting inside the manor and exploding.  He gasped once more, placing his hooves to his mouth.  After a few moments of silence, his ears flattened and he looked at the ground, dejectedly.

 

 
"I could have caught it in my magic," he mumbled.  "I'm sorry..."
 

 

===========================================

 

Carnelian waited until Vylia had finished her request, and then another few seconds.  When the perfect timing struck, she threw back her head and burst into uproarious laughter, falling back and kicking her hind legs as she struggled for breath.

 
"Oh...oh my...my dear, sweet Vylia," she began, struggling to speak in between giggles.  "I think you have me mistaken.  I'm simply a lady who loves to have fun, throw lavish parties, and take to bed the choicest of stallions.  Why, I mean no harm to anypony!"  Carnelian continued to regard the other with amusement before bringing her cider up to her face, watching the fizz as it budded off the side of the glass and floated up to the surface.  Slowly, the smile began to fall from her face.
 
"Most unfortunate, then, that there exist those who mean harm against me, those who refuse to be anything but my enemy.  I give them plenty of chances to change their mind; my gifts to you today were but a meager expression of my largesse.  I have sat the idiot step-son of an aristocrat at the top of a corporate hierarchy, and I have given tone-deaf cousins leading roles in a big-budget musical; I can do anything, Vylia, so why would anypony ever refuse me?
 
"It is because they are one of two ponies: a moral busybody who believes their own subjective views on morality are what should be observed, or a pig, overcome with greed and the desire to take everything or nothing.  What they have in common is one quality I do not tolerate: they are ungrateful.  I offer them one thing, anything they could ever want, and all that is required of them is to return the favor through their loyalty.  Instead, I find my gifts thrown back in my face and a sword hanging above my head by a thread.
 
"I see two types of ponies in the world, Vylia: friends and enemies.  To one, I give silver.  To another...I give only steel."  Carnelian paused in her monologue to lock eyes with Vylia.  Her stern expression from before melted away back into a warm and welcoming smile.

 

"I like you, Vylia, and so I consider you a friend.  As such, I offer you the full extent of my largesse: one wish.  Name it, and it shall be done.  All I ask for in return is your equivalent commitment to my own goals.  Do we have a deal, Vylia Blackwater?"

 

Edited November 4, 2016 by Hazard Time

[Randimaxis 8,654]

@Blitz Boom

 

 

He'd been sitting at the foot of an exquisitely well-carved statue.  It was quite old, from the look of it, but each wrinkle and mole were still there, still crisp and sharp.  It was only pony-sized, but the pedestal it sat on made it loom over the stallion seated beneath it.

 

Dax jumped a bit as he was grabbed from behind... but the voice he heard was unmistakable.

 

"... B-B-Blitz?"

 

When he turned to face her, the look on his muzzle told her that his heart had just been shattered.  There were the runnels of tears tracking down the sides of his muzzle, along with the ones still standing in his big emerald eyes.  

 

"... what... but..."

 

However, his momentary shock began to crumple, and the pain etched into his features grew.  With that, he simply put his forelegs around her and began to bawl, heaving sob after sob from his pained heart.  He was devastated; whatever had happened back at the sheds must have been something terrible - he was carrying on like he'd just lost his best friend or something.

 

"... he just LEFT!  J-j-j-just LEFT!  He didn't... d-d-didn't even s-s-say GOODBYE..."

 

His words lapsed back into tears, and he buried his muzzle against Blitz's shoulder.

 

======================================================================

 

The sight was certainly one she'd not soon forget.

 

The entire study was absolutely COVERED in pink and yellow glitter; the portrait over the desk, the desk itself, the shelves, the books, the Celadon urn in the corner, the doors to the balcony...

 

And Luther Blackwater himself.

 

From mane to tail, he was coated in glitter - it would have been quite humorous... if it wasn't for the fact that Luther was grinding his teeth hard enough for Ziggy to hear it, and his eyes were RED.  He was breathing in an enraged, ragged panting, and the cords of muscle stood out from all over him as his legs flexed over and over again.

 

Taps was here as well, and she was walking circles around the Blackwater Patriarch, inspecting every inch of him for cuts or other problems - once she saw Ziggy though, she stepped back and made a sweeping gesture towards the livid quarry owner.

 

Seeing the good doctor himself finally, he brought his wrathful gaze to bear on the poor pegazebra, and spoke between clenched and grinding teeth.

 

"WHO... DID... THIS?"

 

The way the vein on the side of his forehead was throbbing, Luther was well on his way to giving himself a bonafide heart attack.

 

 

@Mentis Soliloquy

 

 

It was only because of looking in that direction that she caught anything else at all... but in the reflection of one of the cooking pans, she saw a bit of movement towards the top of the massive wall that surrounded the quarry grounds.

 

In fact, if Scarlet's eyes weren't deceiving her, she could swear she saw the fuzzy ears and slitted eyes of a bat-pony up there... but it wasn't Crescent.  In fact, the strange bat-pony was a blonde-maned mare.

 

She kept peeking over the side of the wall, down into the quarry itself.  Specifically, she keep her gaze between the mine and the manor.  It seemed as though she was looking for something, though what couldn't be discerned yet.

 

Eventually, the head slowly dipped down low until she was out of sight... though Scar saw nothing to indicate her departure.

 

 

@DwhitetheGamer

 

 

Slapper chuckled, and gave Copper a pat on the back.

 

"I like your gumption, kid... but I don't know how that might work.  See, the quarry's only GOT two shifts: early and late.  Not only that, but resectioning the barracks area to include a place to have fun?  I... dunno about that, buddy.  Luther's pretty strict when it comes to changing ANYTHING here... like he always says," Knee puffed himself up, and spoke in a haughty voice, "MY quarry - MY rules - NO EXCEPTIONS!"

 

He let out the ai in a blast of a laugh, then turned back to look at the blue pony.

 

"Still... the idea DOES have merit; maybe I could convince Luther to set up a park-type-area somewhere nearby - maybe even in the back area, behind the manor house?  I dunno... but you're right, it's only fair to expect hard workers to want a place to PLAY hard, right?"

 

He looked thoughtful, then smiled at the ex-mailpony.

 

"I'll run it by Chuck - if he likes it, it's more likely that Luther will like it, too.  Not bad, kid."

 

He grinned and tipped a wink to Copper.

 

 

@Hazard Time

 

 

One of the butlers simply began mopping the sweat from his brow, but the one that had kicked the rocket made his way over to Key.

 

"Lord Key, you cannot blame yourself for this... this..."

 

"Fiasco?"

 

"Yes, this fiasco.  I should have tried to kick it off the cliffside... but my only concern was for the welfare of the ponies it was headed for.  I'm glad all turned out okay, but there's no need to get upset if there was nothing you could do."

 

"Yes, Lord Key - do keep in mind that we've seen quite a bit over the years; my brother's reaction time is, no doubt, a direct result of experience and personal training.  And even HE couldn't control it, as you plainly saw."

 

They looked at each other, sighed with relief that nopony here was injured, and turned back to face their charge.

 

"As to Master Daxter, I do happen to know that he is quite a kind individual..."

 

"... and has very, VERY few friends.  We could escort you out in that direction, if you like?"

 

The other butler gave his brother a half-grin, then turned to Low Key once more.  

 

"Though I'm fairly certain we know where he's bound, if he's truly upset.  Tell me, Master Key," he leaned in closely, "how do you feel about graveyards?  Because Master Dax spends his melancholy time there, talking to the statues... "

 

"... and maybe even ghosts as well."

 

"Call!  Do NOT spook Master Key!  There are NO ghosts here, and you know this!"

 

Call gave his brother a disappointed look.  "Says YOU, Beck... but that's neither here nor there at the moment."

 

"Indeed."

 

"So," Call asked, "up for a trip to Blackwater Ridge?"

 

 

================================================================

 

 

Vylia regarded the Baroness for a moment before leaning in closer.

 

"I... well, it's quite generous, your offer - and I DO have something in mind, yes.  However," she leaned back again, "I would ask for some time to consider it as carefully as possible, if I may?  I simply would rather be certain that such a generous offer wouldn't be a waste of your time and resources, dearie... I want to be CERTAIN of what I ask for."

 

She put a hoof to her chin as she grew thoughtful.  

 

"I'm curious - if it wouldn't be seen as rude or boorish of me, I'd actually be interested in hearing what your goals are.  You've certainly piqued my interest, and I would daresay that friends should return favors as necessary.  As you've been so very kind to offer me a wish, figuratively speaking, I feel it would be foolish of me to simply make any deal without having some facts and context, dearie.  I do hope you understand... yet, if I plan to ally myself with your ambitions, I would at least like to know what those ambitions may be."

 

Making her way to the window, she sighed as she stared out at the world contained within the Blackwater Quarry.

 

"I do believe I like you as well, Baroness - you certainly strike me as somewhat of a kindred spirit, I must admit.  With that in mind, I am incredibly curious as to how myself, a single pegasus, would be able to help YOU... after all, you already seem to have all the poise and style you need, and you've certainly shown me that you are exceedingly generous - especially when it comes to gifts."

 

"If I can assist you in any way, please DO NOT HESITATE to let me know what I might do to help you on that measure.  Perhaps I'm at a bit of a loss as to how I could be useful to such a grand and true lady as yourself - but I'm all ears as to how."

 

She grinned.  "And as far as Jasper Cragg goes, I hope the bottom falls out of his blasted mine.  As for my plan to relieve us of his neighborly presence,"  she sneered as she said it, "I plan to work with a few of my contacts to discredit the fool.  Whispering campaigns and whatnot.  Besides, the best part is that, should anypony seek to investigate him, they'll discover the truth about his senseless practices - should be enough to get him shut down, one would hope."

 

The smirk slowly drifted from her features as she sat back on her cushions.

 

"You have offered me ANY ONE THING; I feel it best to ask you how I might help YOU first; consider it a show of good faith in an ocean of ungrateful sots, if you will."