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#Post#: 3506--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Applejack Date: September 17, 2014, 7:32 am
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At Darrus' joke of a warning only ruining the surprise,
Applejack gently smacked Darrus' shoulder with the back of a
hoof, facetiously reprimanding him for taking it so lightly.
"Ain't that Ah couldn't stand bein' away from ya," Applejack
corrected, sticking closer to Darrus this time as he inspected
the wall. "It's that Ah'm thankful we didn't hafta spend a lotta
time trackin' each other down. Or havin' somethin' happen to
either of us while we were separated.
When he suggested they see where the wall took them, Applejack
nodded once and closed whatever distance was between them, her
side rubbing against his just to make extra sure that the wall
wouldn't do anything to them again, other than bring them to
another destination. She was also surprised when the door slid
around, not having expected the wall to move so easily. That
surprise only increased tenfold when the room on the opposite
turned turned out to be lit--and occupied. A quick glance to the
armor the ponies wore told her they were royal guards. And one
of them was already bowing to her despite the suddenness of the
situation. And the same one was calling her "Lady". Groaning
quietly in protest, she quirked her mouth to the side as she
waited for the pony to finish before waving to the both of them.
"Howdy Bastion, Blossom," she said, then returned her hoof to
the ground. "Don't hafta call me 'Lady'. Or bow ta me. Just
Applejack is fine, an' Ah ain't anypony special. This's Darrus,
mah coltfriend," she said, patting his chest with a hoof as she
introduced him. "We're here 'cause he wanted ta see the castle
fer himself. Ah might ask the same fer y'all, though. Princess
Celestia ain't here, is she...? Or Princess Luna fer that
matter? Or is somethin' wrong...?"
#Post#: 3634--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Blossom Gale Date: September 26, 2014, 1:03 pm
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Blossom turned quickly to face the bookcase that had suddenly
spun about behind them, the sound of ancient mechanisms grinding
against each other enough to alert both herself and Bastion to
what was happening. Was this the trap of this room? Were they
going to be ambushed by some ancient mechanical protector? Her
sword was half drawn as she turned, realizing that such close
quarters were too inhibiting to be swinging around a polearm,
but after seeing what had come out from behind the bookcase, she
pushed it back into its sheathe. The sight of Miss Applejack was
somewhat of a relief, even if there was no explaining why she
was here in the first place, nor had she seen the pony that was
standing beside her before.
She wasn't as quick to bow as Bastion was, being a little more
wary of the circumstances, and was late by about two seconds as
she lowered her head, letting Bastion do the talking and
question asking. As he talked, she cast a bit of a judgemental
eye over the rusty pegasus that had been accompanying Miss
Applejack, giving a quick once over at her apparent coltfriend
before going back to looking around the room. Her opinion of him
was already cast within the first few seconds of looking at his
rough-around-the-edges appearance. It figured that Applejack
would gravitate towards somepony like that, being something of a
rough pony herself. Not quite somepony that Blossom saw too much
in for now, and would probably never get to know him for a
while, unless he was brave enough to step into a suit of armour
and hold his own in heated combat.
After Applejack's questions, Blossom answered respectfully,
"Mademoiselle, neither Princesses are here with us. We are here
by Princess Celestia's decree though: to retrieve a certain
important artifact from the vault that lies underneath this
castle before it is lost forever." She glanced back to Darrus
before commenting, "Not exactly a standard 'date' that you two
are on, unless what you call a date is different than from where
I come from. Were you aware that this place is rigged with
deathtraps?"
#Post#: 3642--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Darrus Date: September 27, 2014, 12:03 pm
---------------------------------------------------------
Ah. Right. Royal guards. After getting over his initial surprise
of suddenly finding two ponies, who may or may not still be
ghosts, in a room he had just been in and seen as entirely
devoid of life, Darrus didn't have a very hard time in
recognizing them for the gold plated ponies of Canterlot.
Applejack, being who she is, was the one to be addressed and
spoken to on sight by the guards, this of course coming as no
surprise and more being actually welcomed by Darrus as he never
really got along too well with guards do to his lifestyle.
Run-ins with the guards weren't uncommon for him, usually with
most of them revolving around how he should "move on" due to his
vagrancy, and it was because of these that his opinion was
neutral at best. Sorta just felt "eh" about them most of the
time seeing how he never looked to them for protection and
relied on himself when traveling.
As Applejack spoke with the guards, Darrus immediately
recognized the look one of them was giving him no matter how
brief it was, it being just so gosh darn ground breakingly
original for them and such a huuuge surprise to see. Having a
guard judge you after having said only one word? Well, gee, this
never happened! Surely it was positive, right? Darrus' mind was
quickly being made up for what he thought of the female guard
just as quickly as hers was of him, him giving the pair of
armored ponies a small salute in jest when Applejack introduced
him.
Darrus gave the room they were in a quick once over as the
talking continued. Was kinda magic look in here. Was pretty
neat. He wondered if any of the left behind nick knacks,
bric-a-brac and what have you were worth giving a closer look,
and also whether or not they would in this day and age be
considered highly valuable pieces worthy of classy collections
owned by rich ponies for the sake of just kinda looking at every
once in a while and smiling to themselves over. Hearing the
comment on his and Apllejack's visit to the castle not exactly
being normal for a date.
"Standard dates are standard. A cup of coffee can be nice and
all, but a trip to an abandoned castle in the middle of a spook
forest? That's an adventure right there. And, yes, believe it or
not, we are aware of this not being the safest place in
Equestria." Duh. Obviously. Water is also wet, and wings help to
fly. Also, staring into the sun is a bad idea and breathing
tends to assist in staying alive.
Meh. Maybe Darrus was just being snippy, even if he was trying
to mask it, albeit poorly, for AJ's sake. Couldn't help it all
that much though with guards being what they are and him being
the magnificent example of stallionhood that he was. He turned
to AJ, giving her a bit of a smirk and holding a hoof up to
gesture an offer for her to step into the room properly before
him.
"M'lady." he said, putting up the front of a gentlecolt though
he was in actuality just teasing her and giving clear warning
that he'd noticed her reaction earlier. Wasn't gonna let that
just poof out of his brain so soon. Darrus then tried not to
dwell on the thought that the guards were here for some kind of
artifact as that would mean that his suspicions of there being
treasure was more than likely true, but that now he had very
little chance of being able to find and claim it for himself now
that the law was there to take it away. He'd have asked for some
details about this artifact, but considering the looks already
having been given to him by the guard he figured that wouldn't
go over too well, him instead hoping Applejack would take
interest and ask so he could listen in.
Maybe he could still find something less important to them... A
few small things that would easily go unnoticed... some jewelry
long forgotten or something... hmm...
#Post#: 3662--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Applejack Date: September 29, 2014, 5:35 am
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Applejack was a bit relieved to hear that neither Princess was
there. That meant that nothing was really happening, and that
the two were just there for... an 'artifact'? If any place was
to have some rusty old antique, this place would be it... but it
must've been important to send some of the royal guard after it.
She couldn't help but quirk her mouth to the side and raise her
brows a bit when the Blossom guard asked if they were aware the
whole place was rigged. After Darrus responded to her, a little
snippily judging from his tone, Applejack placed a gentle hoof
on his shoulder accompanied by a quiet "simmer down, now",
before looking back to Blossom. "This ain't mah first rodeo,
sugarcube. 'Sides that, we kin handle ourselves. Ain't like some
light breeze's gonna blow me over, an' him... Ah don't reckon
anything's gonna take him out."
After responding, Applejack looked back over to Darrus when he
offered a hoof to her and called her 'm'lady', a slight look of
distaste crossing her face as she scrunched her nose up a bit.
"Don't you start with that, Darrus," she chided gently. "You
know Ah ain't a lady. Ah leave that to Rarity." Still, she took
his hoof and advanced, tossing a look back over her shoulder.
"So, this artifact must be somethin' else. What is it Princess
Celestia's got you goin' after?"
#Post#: 3663--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Bastion Date: September 29, 2014, 5:50 am
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Coltfriend, huh? Bastion turned a brief, surprised look over to
Darrus before waving a bit in greeting to him. Last he'd heard,
none of the Elements were in any relationships. Was nice to see
that one of them had found somepony, though. At Applejack's next
questions, he glanced to Blossom when she answered, only to
snicker when she mentioned their date not being 'standard'. He
almost wanted to comment on that himself, but between Darrus'
reply--which, despite the fact that it could've been a little
less snide, held true--and Applejack's follow-up which made him
snicker a little bit harder and cause him to gently nudge
Blossom's side as he repeated, "Hehe... sugarcube...", whatever
comment he had was lost in the flow of the conversation.
Not surprised that Applejack had further questions about the
artifact they'd come to retrieve, Bastion turned and followed
Applejack and Darrus out of the room, horn glowing to shed light
once more. "Unfortunately, we don't know much more than you do,
ma'am. All we know is it's an amulet hidden inside a rickety,
unstable vault. With a key that is hard to make which opens a
door that apparently isn't supposed to stay open for very long.
So in other words, lots of fun and excitement," he said, though
it was hard to tell whether he was being genuine or sarcastic.
"Regardless, now that we know you're here, we can't let you go
unescorted. If something were to happen to you and we hadn't
been there despite knowing you were here... Well, I hope you
understand. So, Darrus, was it? Strange name aside, it's nice to
see miss Applejack finally in a relationship with somepony."
That comment was followed by an, "Ah'm still right here,
y'know," from Applejack, causing Bastion to clear his throat
awkwardly. "Sorry... Didn't mean to offend... Anyway, point is,
if she likes you, then I do too. So, hey there. Gone on any
crazy adventures with any of the Element bearers yet?"
#Post#: 3695--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Blossom Gale Date: October 1, 2014, 1:58 am
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Blossom furrowed her brow at the snide reply that came from
Darrus, definitely noting the undertones that came with that
reply. It wasn't exactly the most polite thing to say; more
excessively blunt than necessary, especially considering the
fact that she was only concerned about their safety for the time
being. Absentmindedly, she tapped the bottom of her guisarme on
the smooth brick floor to reposition it, then again just a
little more slightly, but Bastion could probably recognize that
this constant subtle shifting was one of her more subtle cues
that she was getting a little irritated, if he was paying
attention, that is. Looking at Bastion as he nudged her, she
quirked an eyebrow in a slightly amused fashion. "Sugarcube?"
What could he have been snickering at? Was it the fact that the
little nickname was a funny thing to call a guard in itself, or
was it funny simply because of the juxtaposition that it caused?
Whatever the case may be, this 'sugarcube' had a job to do, and
as Bastion pointed out to Applejack, it would now involve taking
care of the very important pony and her coltfriend who happened
to wander into an area that really shouldn't be open to the
public. All in a day's work it would seem, whether it be in
Canterlot or not. She followed Applejack and Darrus out of the
room alongside Bastion, though was quick to notice that Bastion
had turned most of his attention to the other colt. Well wasn't
that just splendid, he was getting along with the other colt who
was already rubbing her the wrong way, leaving her to walk on
the other side closer to Applejack. At least she was still the
more agreeable of the pair in her eyes, if only because she has
already proven herself multiple times, and was very much
considered nothing short of a heroine alongside her five
friends.
Maybe as she watched the path ahead for more traps, she could...
strike up a conversation with this incredibly influential
figure? It isn't every day that she gets to talk to somepony who
was part of a group that pretty much had an impressive stained
glass window in the Canterlot castle dedicated to them. It was
something that Blossom looked at nearly every day since it was
installed, yet here she was. The least she could do was not
horribly butcher her name in her Prench accent, but given the
fact that her name ended in a hard consonant that she was not
used to pronouncing, of course it would go wrong, "Pardons, miss
Applejacque, if you do not mind me asking, how did you and
mister Darrus get together?"
#Post#: 3699--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Applejack Date: October 1, 2014, 10:03 am
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To Applejack, it seemed a little strange that the Princess sent
the two on a long trip for an amulet that she didn't tell them
anything about--especially with the amulet being hidden away
from a vault that wasn't stable, apparently. Then again, if the
Princess wanted it retrieved, it must've been important in some
way, and she wasn't about to presume to know the goings on with
Celestia. So, with no other choice but to just keep walking
through the labyrinth to find something of interest, Applejack
continued on, first listening as Bastion asked Darrus if he'd
gone on any crazy adventures yet, then turning her attention
over to Blososm when she was addressed. The way Blossom said her
name was a little strange, but... it sounded like she had one of
those fancy accents from that Prance place. At her question
though, she grinned a little bit and shrugged slightly.
"He just showed up on the farm one day, lookin' fer work. At
first Ah tried turnin' him away, but he seemed perty insistent
an' after all the stuff that's happened in the past year or two
now, Ah reckoned maybe it might be a good time ta take on a lil'
more help in case anythin' happened. Turns out he's as hard a
worker as Ah am, an' he got along with mah family, so... Ah
agreed ta go on a date with him when he finally asked, which
wasn't too long ago. So he ain't made me regret it yet," she
said teasingly, tossing a playful look over to Darrus
momentarily before looking back to Blossom. "So you speak Fancy,
sugarcube? Or am Ah misplacin' yer accent?"
#Post#: 3703--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Darrus Date: October 1, 2014, 2:24 pm
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Darrus chuckled a bit at AJ's chiding then took note of the
mentioned details regarding the fancy amulet or whatever that
the guards were there to retrieve as well as the information
given about the vault it was being kept in. He was in full
agreement over the plentiful fun and excitement over their
little mission, though that was mostly due to how Bastion had
just confirmed the existence of a whole vault being in here
somewhere that evidently still held who knows what kind of
valuable trinkets and bobbles inside. Surely one or two could do
with being... er... "handled" somewhere else, right? Either way,
if there was any forgotten or unimportant treasure to be found,
it would probably be inside that rickety old vault... But now it
seemed like it would be impossible to indulge his treasure
seeking desires since the guards for some reasons had decided to
escort them through the castle. Laaaaaame. Darrus felt it odd to
think they even believed it necessary given how Applejack was
probably at this point more qualified to protect them after all
of her country saving and the like. Gosh darn it...
Darrus smiled when asked if he'd been on any adventures with
Applejack and her friends yet but shook his head to answer in
the unfortunate negative. "Not yet. Or at least none like what
you're probably thinking of. No big threats to defeat or
anything for the safety of all, but there have been the
occasional issue around the farm or town that needed some
attention and clever thinking. You know, critters causing a
ruckus and that sort of thing. All of which being solved almost
single hoofedly by me, of course," he claimed, giving Applejack
a playful nudge as they walked and he considered whether or not
watching the CMCs qualified as an adventure on par with some of
AJ's more noteworthy ones.
Well... This guard seemed more okay than the other one at least.
Friendly enough so far. Maybe he'd actually end up liking this
one. A good start since he hadn't kicked things off with some
critical eye being aimed his way.
Darrus was again tempted to ask some questions about this vault
that the guards were there to see, but when Applejack went and
teased him he decided to tell the "truth" instead and "correct"
her, "Ha! That's not how it went. Let me tell you what really
happened. So I found myself wandering on into her orchard one
day, see, and after Applejack caught sight of me and then
managed to pick up her jaw from the ground she asked me, nay!,
Pleaded! For me to help with dealing with a pack of timberwolves
that had gotten into the poor habit of tearing up her apple
trees in wanting to mark their supposed territory. Being the
gentlecolt and well weathered adventuring stallion that I am I
could not say no, so I, alone of course, set out to deal with
this menace, defeating it handily using nothing more than a
banana and a shoe lace. Afterwards AJ here asked to hold my
hoof. I said sure." Clearly a fake story meant just to mess with
his marefriend, Darrus was mostly just trying to keep things
light even in the dark and dangerous depths of the castle, him
wondering how much further the vault may be as he was eager to
catch sight of it and learn what else besides an amulet may be
inside. "So of course you don't regret it. What ever would you
do without my banana and shoe lace skills?"
#Post#: 3733--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Blossom Gale Date: October 3, 2014, 4:56 pm
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Blossom listened as she continued to watch the path ahead for
traps. Bastion seemed to be a little caught up making new
friends with Darrus, and she wasn't sure if he was still keeping
an eye on things. It actually didn't seem like there were many
more traps to worry about down this path, either that, or they
had all been really fortunate to not activate any of them. As
she watched though, she listened to Applejack's retelling of how
she and Darrus met, and then Darrus' dramatic reinterpretation.
yes, that sounded like the sort of thing that Bastion would
enjoy listening to, and something that her father would scoff
at. her father wassn't one or tall tales, and would probably
shoot holes in that story as it was being told. It might be the
reason why Blossom could be cynical sometimes, but in the end,
she couldn't really fault Darrus for his retelling. At least it
contrasted in an interesting way with Applejack's.
At the question of Blossom's accent, she answered, "My accent is
Prench, oui. I came here a few years ago to join the Equestrian
Guard like my father did." There wasn't much more that she could
say after that; she didn't want to bore Applejack with her
entire life story, especially while they were supposed to be
watching out for danger, and in the end, she wasn't a very
strong story teller. Besides, they were getting close to the
point where the vault should be, and they needed to be on guard.
#Post#: 3749--------------------------------------------------
Re: Float Like a Parasprite, Sting Like a Manticore
By: Applejack Date: October 5, 2014, 8:15 am
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Not exactly to Applejack's surprise, Darrus began to "correct"
her on how things had really happened. He butchered the story
completely by saying that she had been completely smitten upon
first glance, that she pleaded for his help with a problem she
could've handled by herself, that he dealt with it with only a
banana and a shoe lace... A shoe lace? Really? Where did he even
come up with these kinds of things? Rolling her eyes a little
bit in exasperation, Applejack simply shook her head while the
other guard--Bastion--spoke up, saying, "Heh... That sounds like
quite the adventure to me. Almost like the time I fended off a
bunyip
HTML http://www.paranormal-encyclopedia.com/b/bunyip/
with just a
tennis racket and silly string."
The grin on his face made it hard for her to tell whether he was
just being silly like Darrus was, but she still shook her head
once more and returned her attention to Blossom. "Prance, huh?"
she began, arching a brow at the mare. "Ah thought most ponies
who came outta Prance were really uppity an' fancy... Ah gotta
be honest Ah'm a lil' surprised right now. Hadn't expected any
guards ta come outta that place... So... What's it like there,
anyway?" Unaware that the vault was somewhere nearby, she
continued to watch Blossom as she listened for the response.
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