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#Post#: 1128--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Darrus Date: February 7, 2014, 9:00 am
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Darrus only kept up his smile while Apple Bloom seemed to lose
some of her spirit for a moment, him not seeing any reason why
she should but understanding why a filly her age might anyway.
Young ponies like her probably focus solely on the results of
her endeavors, always thinking getting her cutie mark is the
important part of her club. After all, that's why they were
formed right? Well, maybe after she gets hers she'll realize
what was really special about these "CMC" s. Having a group of
friends to hang out with daily and always have around to help
you out sounded, at least to Darrus, like the real reason why
that group was special. Was definitely more than what he usually
had at least, and he already had a cutie mark... Maybe when
she's older and- agh! He was sounding old all of a sudden!
She cheered up right quick as she moved on. Good, will prevent
the, still young himself, stallion from feeling like he was
beyond his own years. "Sounds like you guys really don't leave
anything out!" He commented with a nod at their efforts,
"filmmaking, survivalists, water skiing, tattoo artists,
flipping ninjas! Heh, sounds like a blast to be a member!" The
canon mention caused him to raise an eyebrow, him making note of
seeing if she would elaborate in the future. At her question he
gave another nod as he stood up and turned while lifting his
cloak up enough to show off the light blue and wavy lines
forming the bullseye that was his own cutie mark, "Yup, I'm
marked. My talents in having really really really good aim.
Normally I show it off with ranged stuff, like slingshots and
throwing darts at a board. You know, I almost wish I didn't have
my cutie mark yet, just so I could join your club myself. You're
probably all full up by now anyway though, huh?"
#Post#: 1190--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Applejack Date: February 10, 2014, 7:24 pm
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Apple Bloom grinned in pride at Darrus' praise of the club,
saying it sounded fun to be a member. Sure was. She couldn't
have thought of a better group of ponies to hang out with! Then,
Darrus lifted up his cloak to let her see his cutie mark,
causing her to lean over a bit so she could inspect it from her
spot. "Wow, a mark in ranged stuff... That sounds like it'd be
really fun..." she murmured before perking up slightly when he
mentioned wishing he didn't have his cutie mark. "Nope, we're
not full at all! 'Course, you gotta have a blank flank to be a
member, or else it kinda defeats the purpose... But hey, maybe
Ah kin talk the other girls into makin' you an honorary member!"
she offered, grinning a bit once more. "An' maybe you kin teach
us some o' yer specialty! Ah'd love ta have a cutie mark like
yours!"
She paused then, ears perked as she looked out of the window for
a moment or two before standing up to go to the door. "AJ's
callin', she says soup's on. Let's go eat! Maybe you kin meet
Big Mac an' Granny Smith now, too!" she said before stepping
outside and waiting for Darrus to join her before leading the
way back to the farmhouse.
#Post#: 1192--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Darrus Date: February 10, 2014, 7:59 pm
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Darrus made a small dissapointed gesture with his hoof when it
was, as one would expect, revealed to be a requirment for a pony
to be a blank flank to join a club revolving around acquiring
cutie marks, the stallion no longer qualifying for membership of
course since he'd long since gotten his mark back when he was a
kid. At the idea of possibly becoming an honorary member though,
Darrus tapped his chin then nodded in approval. Sure, sounds
fun. Heck, he had plenty of space on his cloak for maybe
slapping a patch on there, and it seemed like he was making
Apple Bloom happy, so why not? "Okay, sure, that sounds cool.
Let me know what the other members of your group think and maybe
we can think up some kind of supervisory role for me or
something. Since I've got my mark, I think is probably just get
in the way if I was out crusading with you guys all the time,
but I could help out with stuff when you need it or maybe come
up with ideas for what you all could try next." The Pegasus
smiled when Apple Bloom claimed that having a cutie mark like
his would be cool. He played it off as no big deal though,
waving a hoof dismissively, "Nah, you'll probably end up with a
much cooler mark than me. I mean, sure, being really accurate
can be entertaining, but it doesn't come in handy as often as
you'd think. I might be able to show you a few things though for
the sake of funsies at least." He... wasn't ever gonna let them
go anywhere near the throwing knife he usually used to show off
his talent of course, but playing catch with a ball requires
accuracy too, right? Maybe he could pick up one of those soft
dart boards and teach them a few tricks with that..
Seeing Apple Bloom stop to listen to something, Darrus strained
his ears himself to listen before hearing the filly explain the
meaning behind what shed picked up. Food it seemed. Huh... Maybe
that's what Applejack had been doing in the kitchen before they
left. Would explain why she didn't chase after them when Apple
Bloom took him to this here clubhouse to. Also, holy Celestia
did he forget how hungry he was! Darrus' belly grumbled a
little, suddenly awake and cranky over how empty it was, as the
hunger from his earlier near theft returned in full force.
Darrus sincerely hoped they would have apple's out just for
munching on during dinner... Either way though, a real meal that
didn't consist of nothing but grass would be wonderful. Not only
that, but it sounded like he might also get a chance to meet the
other members of the Apple family. Two birds one stone, right?
Darrus nodded and followed Apple Bloom outside, then allowed her
to lead the way as they headed back up to the house, Darrus
actually pausing outside the house to try and straighten out his
mane and cloak, only to have such efforts be in vain when both
the cloak and his hair remained the same as it usually was.
Shrugging over how he'd at least tried, Darrus then stepped
inside, Apple Bloom showing him the rest of the way to the table
waiting for them, Darrus then taking a seat where he waited to
see what would be served and who may show up.
#Post#: 1202--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Applejack Date: February 10, 2014, 10:05 pm
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After walking back to the farmhouse, Apple Bloom lead Darrus
inside and towards the kitchen, where she sat down and tapped
the back of a chair beside her to signal to Darrus to sit there.
Moments later, Applejack returned to the table and set down a
large salad bowl in the middle of it before taking her seat at
one end of the table, closest to Apple Bloom. Granny Smith was
the first to arrive, apparently having returned from her trip to
the market while Apple Bloom and Darrus had gone to her club
house. As Granny Smith sat down at the table across from
Applejack, she stared intently at Darrus as somepony might if
they were trying to place a face to something in their memory.
"Whose cousin are you again? Or are you a nephew? Horse apples,
Ah swear this family gets bigger every day," she muttered, each
family member waiting for the fourth to arrive. As they did
that, Applejack spoke up to correct Granny smith. "Granny Smith,
he ain't family. This here's--"
She was cut off by Granny Smith as she said. "Ain't family? Does
that mean he's yer coltfriend, Applejack? When did you get a
coltfriend? Now listen here, sonny," Granny Smith said as she
looked over to Darrus as Applejack rose a hoof to cover her face
in embarrassment, moments before Big Macintosh walked into the
kitchen and took his place at the table across from Apple Bloom.
"Okay! Everypony's here, let's chow down!" Applejack called out,
interrupting whatever lecture Granny Smith was giving Darrus
about treating Applejack right or some such.
As she began piling some salad onto her plate she'd set out
before the meal, just as she'd done for everypony else, she
spoke up. "Everypony, this's Darrus. He's gonna be helpin'
around the farm, partly 'cause as y'all know when cider season
rolls around, Ah'm expectin' a lot more demand this year--and
hopin' to get a lot more cider made. Darrus, this is Granny
Smith," she said, gesturing with a hoof to the elderly pony
across the table, who was still watching Darrus with a critical
eye, before gesturing over to Big Mac with the same hoof. "An'
Big MacIntosh, mah big brother," she introduced, earning a
simple "eeyup" in greeting from the large stallion who was
beginning to pour the apple-flavored dressing on offer over his
salad.
"So, Darrus, Apple Bloom," Applejack said after preparing her
own salad. "How'd visitin' the club house go? What kept y'all
out there so long?" She kept her gaze on Apple Bloom after that,
trying to use her expressions as a gauge to figure out what
might have happened, but she just kept her attention held on the
salad in front of her, making that just a little bit difficult
for her...
#Post#: 1230--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Darrus Date: February 11, 2014, 1:39 pm
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Darrus gave AJ a smile as she entered the room, both out of
conveying a greeting and because she was arriving with a big ol
bowl of salad. Salad, hm? Darrus had always thought farmponies
ate heavier than that. Eh, well, maybe it was just to start with
or they were all on some health kick right now. Either way, a
salad like that was still miles and miles better than a mouthful
of trampeled, and sometimes really gross and dirty, grass,
Darrus happily looking forward to his portion of the meal.
When Granny Smith arrived and began to stare at him, Darrus
offered another smile, this one of slight discomfort over the
elder pony's attempt to figure something out about him. What
exactly that was was a mystery to the pegasus up until she spoke
up with a question as to how he was related to their family.
Before he could correct this misunderstanding, Applejack beat
him to the punch with an explanation of his lack of a relation
to these ponies, Granny apparently then taking that as a
revelation of how Darrus and Applejack were then apparently a
couple instead. Darrus glanced down at the table at that, giving
a quiet laugh more out of not expecting the old mare to jump to
such a conclusion so quickly, but he couldn't help letting his
eyes briefly flick over toward AJ as well, Darrus also not being
able to help the slight hint of an amused smile pulling at his
lips when he saw her hiding her face with her hoof. Darrus then
braced himself for whatever the mare was about to tell him, but
was fortunately saved by the new arrival of a rather sizable
stallion which prompted Applejack to cut her grandmother off
with the announcment that the time to eat was nigh.
Darrus, having been struggling with his stomachs grumbling and
attitude, wasted little time in taking a big bite out of his
salad just as Applejack introduced him, probably not displaying
the best manners at the moment as he wasn't very used to showing
them and his hunger was being a jerk. Cider season was
comiiiiing~! The vagrant Pegasus hadn't forgotten his original
reason for seeking work here, and the idea of them working to
make even more cider than was apparantly normal was a pleasant
one. Darrus paused for a moment after thinking that actually...
hmm... what of he doesn't even like the cider?
Bleh, shaking that thought off and finishing his mouthful of
salad, Darrus looked to each of the ponies as they were
introduced. To Granny he was going to smile and say 'hello',
however, the critical edge to her gaze kinda made him rethink
that, him instead opting for clearing his throat and
straightening his posture a bit before simply nodding with a
quick, "Ma'am". That's what you did, right? Round tables with
other ponies family's? Been a while since he'd done this kind of
stuff now that he thought about it... Big Mac was different.
Stallion of few words this one, but Darrus was prepared for that
after speaking with Apple Bloom. For him Darrus gave a nod,
though the stallion seemed to be distracted by his salad
dressing at the moment. Mmm... Salad dressing... Hadn't had that
in a while either...
Blinking himself back to the present, and realizing he probably
should say something, Darrus cleared his throat once the
introductions were complete. "Uh, thank you, everypony, for all
this. Its very kind of you, the food and everything. I look
forward to earning this and the rest of my keep here." ... Yeah,
that'll do. He guessed. Normally he just showed up at a shop or
work site for bits. Wasn't very used to being welcomed into an
employer's home for a meal or anything, so, he was treading new
ground here and was expecting to make slips here and there. Just
have to make up for any in the fields it seemed.
The inquiry as to what kept both himself and Apple Bloom so busy
at the club house was met with a simple shrug as Darrus began to
return to his usual attitude and tone as he kept things light
and jokey, "Eh, you know, AB here was just telling me about the
farm and that club of hers. Gave me a heads up on who I might
bump into around here, what I can expect, that kind of thing.
Real helpful, this filly. Made me all jealous of her cool group
and their shenanigans though. But! She might be able to find a
way for me to even be a crusader myself. Isn't that right?" he
asked Apple Bloom before smiling at Applejack and gesturing
towards his cloak with a hoof, "can't you just imagine that
patch on my back? Awesome."
#Post#: 1249--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Applejack Date: February 12, 2014, 8:33 am
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As Darrus began to explain what they had been doing, Applejack
kept her gaze on Apple Bloom to try and gauge her reactions and
see if what was being said was the truth. Though Apple Bloom
just held her attention on the salad in front of her as she ate
it, it gave Applejack some suspicion that something had happened
that Apple Bloom didn't want Applejack knowing about. Trying to
guess what though would be near impossible without making things
awkward for everypony... So, despite obviously being a little
suspicious, Applejack turned her attention to her salad and
began eating some of it for a little bit as Apple Bloom
responded to Darrus' request of confirmation from her.
"Yup, Ah said Ah could talk to Scootaloo an' Sweetie Belle ta
see if they'd be alright with him bein' an honorary member!
Since he's already got his cutie mark an' all. Either way, it's
gonna be a lotta fun havin' him around the farm!" she said with
a beaming smile on her face, directed toward Applejack, who only
glanced to Apple Bloom mid-bite underneath her brows before
raising one of those brows slightly as she finished taking the
bite. "Uh-huh. Ah didn't hire him fer fun, Half-Pint," Applejack
replied after swallowing the lettuce. "Ah don't mind y'all
buddyin' up, but keep in mind he's got a job around here. Ah
don't need you distractin' him, alright?" Applejack asked in a
stern tone, resulting in Apple Bloom giving a half-hearted nod.
"Good. Anyway, Darrus," she continued after looking over to him,
finally remembering the hat on her head and removing it to set
it on the back of the chair she sat on. "You an' Ah'll move a
bed out to the barn after dinner for ya. Then you'll need ta get
a good night's sleep 'cause Ah'll be gettin' you up at the crack
o' dawn so we kin get started with trainin' you 'round here.
Fair warnin' now, if Ah gotta tell ya more than twice ta get up,
Ah got a bucket fer fillin' with ice water that's ready an'
waitin' ta be used."
"And she ain't afraid to use it either," Apple Bloom murmured
after, seeming to shiver a little bit in recollection. Applejack
just smiled a little bit at that as she took another bite of her
salad, then continued. "Anyway, mister vagabond, how much of
Equestria have you been to? Any favorite places?"
#Post#: 1256--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Darrus Date: February 12, 2014, 12:25 pm
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Well, wasn't much arguing anypony could have over that. Darrus
was looking forward to whatever shenanigans Apple Bloom might
throw him into during his time here on the farm, but she herself
had warned him about slacking off. Not that he had intended to
in the first place, but work was always going to come first.
That's how he was going to earn the cider after all. Darrus
looked up from his most recent bite of his salad when Applejack
addressed him again, him then noticing how shed removed her hat
and finding the new visual interesting. "Sounds like a plan," he
agreed with a nod at moving the bed after dinner, him then
trying to keep both his mind and mouth from thinking or saying
some inappropriate flirtatious joke about how they'd be alone
with a mattress in the barn. The idea of a chilled bucket of
water dowsing him should he be difficult to spur into activity
in the early morn almost brought a slight shiver to him as well,
the thought not being very appealing, just as it probably
wouldn't to any sane pony who didn't want to have being chilled
to the core the first event of their day.
The question of how much of Equestria he'd seen brought a smile
to his lips as he answered with, "most of the big places, plenty
of the smaller ones. Cloudsdale, Canterlot, Manehatten, I've
been traveling for years now so its hard to pick a direction I
haven't flown in. As for favorites... Hmm... Hard to decide.
Depends on the type of place. Bigger cities of course have more
activity, so they often have plenty of interesting things
happening all the time, but these smaller towns like Ponyville
can sometimes be more memorable... If I had to choose a fun spot
I wouldn't mind seeing again... There's this small developing
town further west called Backstretch that I think only recently
managed to make it onto readily available maps. Every year they
have a festival celebrating the acts of a local hero from a
separate town that most of the current settlers came from. The
festival is pretty much one big week long party, and it should
be coming up again pretty soon. Would be fun to go back there
and join in on the festivities one of these years. Archery
competition was a real highlight.
"Oh! About getting that good night's sleep..." He will not
follow this up with a flirty joke, he will not follow this up
with a flirty joke, he will not follow this up with a flirty
joke... "I may not be able to go to bed quite so soon. See, I
made plans with somepony in town to meet up with them tomorrow
morning, but now since I've been hired on here I won't be able
to make it. I'll need to make a quick run back after were
finished moving the bed to let them know we need to reschedule
so they won't be waiting for me to show up. That shouldn't be a
problem, right?"
#Post#: 1277--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Applejack Date: February 13, 2014, 7:52 am
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Splitting her attention between Darrus and the salad in front of
her, Applejack munched away while he talked about some of the
places he'd been before, Apple Bloom also looking over to Darrus
with interest. At the mention of Backstretch and the annual
festival, intrigue colored some of Applejack's expression,
wondering for a moment who this hero was, and what kind of
activities they had at this party-like celebration. She nodded
in agreement at his sentiments that it would be fun to join in
on the festivities, but not quite so when the archery
competition was mentioned. Then, as Darrus told her about not
being able to go to bed so soon, Applejack raised her brow at
him in question as she continued munching on the salad before
her.
"No, it won't be a problem," she said after swallowing a bite of
her food. "Ah've already warned you what's gonna happen if ya
don't get up in time, so it ain't on me anymore. So Ah ain't
gonna stop ya from doin' what ya think you gotta do," she said
with a shrug before resuming her meal, her gaze moving briefly
to Apple Bloom when she spoke up after. "Archery competition,
huh? Ah bet ya left the competition in the dust, considerin' yer
talent in accuracy! Sure would be nice ta go to that festival,"
she said longingly with a sigh before going back to eating
herself, her thoughts focused on what a festival like that might
be like.
When all ponies had gotten their fill of the salad, Applejack
stood up from her seat and returned her hat back to her head
before gesturing for Darrus to follow. "C'mon. Let's move yer
bed. Big Mac, if you feel like helpin', yer welcome to," she
told the large stallion before turning to lead Darrus upstairs
and into a bedroom with simple decorations--quite possibly a
guest room for when relatives visited. She moved to the mattress
and pulled off the sheets, before lifting it off the bed spring
before turning it on its side. She then lifted up the corner
closest to the door as she rose up on her back hooves, then with
Darrus' help, began walking the mattress out of the bedroom,
down the stairs and out of the house, only to be greeted by a
waiting Big Macintosh.
"Oh, good. Here, Big Mac," Applejack said as she moved over to
turn the mattress over and gently set it on his back. "Take this
to the barn, we'll get the rest." After his "eeyup", Applejack
went back into the bedroom to begin the same process with the
bed spring so she could bring it to the barn with Darrus' help,
the weight of the furniture not really seeming to be a problem
at all for Applejack.
#Post#: 1286--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Darrus Date: February 13, 2014, 8:11 pm
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The chill of the bucket seemed likely in his future... "Alright.
Hopefully ill get enough rest to avoid that. Should be quick
though as long as I...' He shifted his wings beneath his cloak
as he spoke, the pegasus getting a feel for their condition and
how ready they were for quick speedy flights to and fro. They
were... just as achy as they'd been earlier in the day, his
momentary hopes of them magically recovering over dinner being
dashed as it became clear he'd have to travel to town
flightless... On hooves... There and back... The chill of the
bucket seemed very likely indeed...
Darrus took another bite of his salad as Apple Bloom spoke up
about the festival, him finishing his mouthful and then giving a
small shrug and smirk in response. "Eh... Second place," he
admitted, "was a close competition, but a local favorite was
able to best me at the last target." Darrus had also been... a
little out of it during that competition... One few too many
ciders had found their way into his system, and while he'd still
managed to do better than simply hold his own against the more
sober ponies through out most of the competition that he'd
thought was scheduled to take place the day after, he could
barely even see straight towards the end. That was a detail he
doubted the young filly needed to know though, so he left it out
and simply accepted the event as a near success. "Next time
though, first place, no doubt about it. And, hey, festival comes
and goes every single year with no sign of that changing anytime
soon, so I'm sure you'll have a chance to go someday."
Once finished with his meal, Darrus gave AJ a nod as he stood up
to follow, him pausing for a moment so as to give another nod to
the rest of the family present, the Pegasus adding a quick and
simple "thanks for the chow" to it as he figured that it was
probably normal to thank people after eating their food.
Probably. Following the mare through her home, Darrus was
expecting a brief trip to a closet or perhaps a basement to
fetch some kind of simple bedding for his use during his time in
the barn, but to his surprise he was led upstairs to an actual
full bed that he then assisted with removing the sheets of,
occassionally casting unsure glances her way as he wasn't
entirely convinced she wasn't messing with him or something.
However, he was proven wrong as he found himself carrying the
mattress downstairs, the stallion taking note of the mares
strength as his wings occasional unfolded to keep his balance on
the stairs, the two eventually passing off the mattress to
applejacks large brother, him again taking note of the strength
being out on display as the stallion seemed to carry it all on
his own with no trouble. He wondered briefly if strength ran in
the family, or if it was simply just all that Apple bucking
around the farm. Maybe he'd walk in her one day and see little
Apple Bloom carrying a couch by herself? The mental image cause
him to chuckle a little as he followed AJ back upstairs to fetch
the next section of the bed.
"You know," he said as they readied the box spring for being
carried, the work causing him to start breathing a little
heavier now, "when you said I'd be getting a bed out there, I
thought you might have meant something more along the lines of a
cot of some sort. Wasn't expecting a full mattress and all.
Haven't had the real deal in a while. Gonna be nice sleeping on
something other than clouds for a change." Yes, he did know that
he was going to possibly be alone with Applejack in the barn
with this bed they were moving. And, yes, his tongue was
starting to ache a little from having been bitten down on to
prevent his flirty jokes from escaping. "Thanks again for this.
Most employers, from what I understand, don't really let their
hired help take up residence on their property. Nor feed them.
At least not directly. Which reminds me... Granny Smith down
there... Should I be preparing myself for getting an earful from
her sometime soon?"
#Post#: 1288--------------------------------------------------
Re: Derivation
By: Applejack Date: February 13, 2014, 10:23 pm
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Noticing the heavy breaths coming from Darrus, Applejack
examined him from the opposite side of the bed spring, looking a
little bit dubious about the whole thing if just this was
starting to give him a hard time. She only hoped it was a result
of not used to walking on his back hooves, but she couldn't
really say for sure...Still, she listened idly to him as she
moved the bed spring with him, having only a mild amount of
trouble getting it out of the bedroom door before being able to
carry it down the stairs. She supposed he was right about the
whole 'other employers not treating their employees as good'
thing, but she liked to think she was better than that. Even
though she'd never hired anypony before.
"Nah. Granny Smith's as likely ta fall asleep in the middle o'
any lectures she gives ya as she is ta ferget altogether about
givin' you a piece of her mind. Either way, she means well. Ah
think. Sometimes Ah think even she don't know what's goin' on in
that head o' hers," Applejack sighed, shrugging a little bit
before cutting that subject short as they passed through the
living room and out of the house. "As fer all Ah'm doin' for ya,
Ah wouldn't've felt right if Ah hired ya an' didn't pay ya
without doin' somethin' else to make up fer that. Ah wouldn't
ever make anypony slave theirselves away like that. But again,
it's up ta you to prove yerself around here." With that,
Applejack fell silent and focused on getting Darrus' bed set up
in the barn, helping him situate the bed spring before slipping
the mattress on top of it as well. "So, that's that, then. If ya
want, you kin go into town and tell yer friend the change o'
plans, an' Ah'll bring the sheets an' stuff out from the house
for ya. How's that sound?"
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