Roleplaying is Magic
Roleplay Boards => Ponyville => Sweet Apple Acres => Topic started by: Brash and Carri on February 17, 2014, 06:31:25 pm
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Avoiding becoming known as a new resident in town couldn't be too hard, Brash simply had to avoid populated areas, living on the edge of town in a seemingly abandoned home made this easy. She'd even allowed Carri to live with her and pose as the home's owner just in case. However there was the issue of food, which came up immediately since neither of the two packed more than a lunch when moving.
Brash had been preparing a plan to rectify this since she left her home in Canterlot. She'd have to avoid the markets and rumor had it only a small family ran the nearby farm. Surely she could procure some apples from it and nopony would be the wiser. "Carri, we're off to get some food!" It was easy enough to convince Carri so long as Brash kept from telling her the whole picture.
Brash ties Carri to the basket of a hot air balloon in place of the balloon, and not long after they float over the farm and Carri waits for her next orders. "Alright, lower me by those trees and I'll fill this basket full of apples, then we go home." Brash explains, sitting in the basket.
"Isn't this stealing?" Carri asks.
"No questions!" Brash barks, "How do you think one family even uses all these apples? We're saving them from having to worry about that as much." She nods and so does Carri, who herself cannot think of any ways to use an entire orchard of apples, forgetting that Brash avoided the issue.
Carri flies low leaving the basket by the trees, paying no attention to stealth as she hovers above. Brash struggles to reach for apples, not bothering to try and get Carri to adjust their position.
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It wasn't long before Applejack noticed the pony hovering above her farm. Between something like that being very conspicuous in the sky, and her having been working out in the orchards alongside Darrus doing farm things, it was only a matter of time until it was noticed by the cowpony. At first, she only watched it in confusion, thinking maybe she'd just gotten stalled above the orchard, or caught up in the boughs--since, apparently she was carrying a basket tied around her with rope... But suspicion soon started to trace her expression. Especially when she noticed the other pony inside the basket. "Darrus," Applejack called over to her pegasus friend, not quite taking her eyes off of the duo. "Looks like we got... somethin' goin' on over there. You wanna take yer wings up there an' see what's happenin'? Ah'll meetcha over there." She then began trotting towards the strange pegasus, a light frown on her face.
((edited 'cause I derped and misread.))
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"Huh?" Darrus replied, head poking out of the branches of one of the Apple trees near Applejack after she called his name. He looked around, finding some odd... what was that, a pony carrying a big basket? Well, it was in the sky some ways away from them. Huh. That ain't normal. Not from what he knew from his work around these parts. At her request for him to go scout out the situation, Darrus nodded and replied with, "yup, sure thing!" just before he jumped off of the branch he'd been balancing on and corkscrew into a glide sending him over to just above the mare, him then hovering for a few moments. "You know, I could carry you there if you'd like~?" The rusty red Pegasus offered, him then assuming his flirty jest would be brushed off as he laughed a little then sped off too investigate the scene.
Arriving not long after and quickly making his way up to the pegasus and the basket she was carrying, him taking in the scene quickly before diving down and Lansing heavily on one of the larger branches of the trees the basket was by causing a few loose apple's to be shaken off the branch and sent tumbling to the ground below, this being done with the intention of surprising and maybe startling the two ponies.
Why?
Eh.
Whether or not he was successful, Darrus would go on to greet them with a simple, "Hey, yall!" which was weirdly becoming a more common greeting for him to use these days... "What's with the basket? You two get incredibly lost and confused or something?" Taking a brief moment to piece together how they'd been hovering near the branches bearing delicious fruit, Darrus started to get the feeling that certain ponies were hoping to get a taste of certain red delicious, something he homslf had tried to do when he first saw the fruits. Hmm...
"Oh, wait, you two are visitors, huh?" He said, taking wing again as he flew closer to the basket and grabbed the edge with a hoof and started to fly slow circles to send the basket into a bit of a spin, "that means you need to be given the tour. Well, first let me begin by explaining that this farm was literally the first thing ever founded on the planet," he was just messing with them obviously, Darrus just keeping them there until AJ showed up, "All of Equestria, and indeed the rest of the world, grew around this place. In fact, the apple itself was the second fruit to ever be invented. Yes, they were invented, by Celestia and a cosmic being from space named Moredelicious who first arrived to assist her with the creation of the cherry. Apples came about when Celestia wished for cherries to be bigger and crunchier. Today apples are grown at fifty seven bits each..."
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Carri taken by surprise and still a bit unsure of the morality of their cause, lets out a small yelp and slightly flails. In the basket, Brash and the dozen or so apples she's gotten thus far are shaken around, stunning her briefly as she braces herself.
Then the basket is grabbed and a story unfolds, one that Carri becomes fully absorbed in. Brash took this time to consider what might actually be happening, the obviously fake story was a distraction for sure. She concludes the stallion was simply holding them there until backup arrived and with his grip on the basket there was no escape, at least, not for Brash.
"Carri, abort the mission!" Brash commands, grabbing at a knot at the corner of the basket and undoing it. The corner of the basket lurches downward as the rope dangles free from it, "And don't look back or so help me!" She gives Carri an angry desperate look as she undoes a second knot.
Carri is taken aback by the sudden orders, but doesn't want to get in trouble. So as the ropes unwind from her, leaving the basket to fall, she takes off as fast as she can, and whilst she seems panicked her speed is nothing special.
Brash hits the ground alongside a small bunch of apples, the basket the falling over her, leaving her momentarily stunned.
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Applejack glanced over to Darrus when he hovered nearby and offered to carry her there, the playful offer earning a slight grin and a shake of her head. "Thanks, but no thanks, sug. Ah ain't got wings fer a reason, so Ah'm just fine keepin' mah hooves on the ground." She watched him for a moment longer when he flew off before returning her attention to the other pegasus and her cargo, a brow raising slightly when Darrus began flying slowly around the basket, spinning it at the same time. Better than allowing them to fly off, she guessed. Then, when she realized that the second pony in the basket was trying to untie the basket from the pegasus it hung from, Applejack began galloping towards them to try and save the pony from hitting the ground. "Darrus! Get that pegasus!" She called as she ran, eyes locked onto the falling basket and the pony inside.
Unfortunately, Applejack was much too late; she only arrived moments after the pony had landed on the ground and quickly lifted the edge of the basket up to push it over, just enough that she could plant a hoof on the pony who'd taken a ride in it to root her in place, grumbling a question of why nopony ever asked for some apples instead of trying to steal them. To her surprise, the pony was just a filly... But still Applejack stared sternly down at her, hoof unbudging from its place on her. "We don't take too kindly ta thieves 'round these parts, pipsqueak. If ya wanted apples, all ya had to do was ask. Yer parents know you were tryin'a take somethin' that wasn't yers?"
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"... which is why apples are used as the highest form of currency within the kingdom of Mackledonia, as well as considered an incredibly delicacy among the Mackrackles of Mackledonia's main Wagomo tribe." Darrus felt the basket he was holding onto shift its weights, it bringing him out of his making up falsehoods and causing him to actually acknowledge what the other ponies were doing. He felt the basket slip from his grip when it fell, the pegasus trying to catch it as it fell from him but only grasped air as it fell beyond his reach, Darrus grimacing in worry then wincing when he realized he wouldn't catch the basket in time. Seeing Applejack racing towards what would soon be the baskets crash site, Darrus just went with doing as he was told, the stallion spinning around in the air and bolting off to catch up to the fleeing pegasus, it not being very difficult as he sped up to and then in front of her to cut off her escape. "Hey," he said before simply following it up with a short "stop it." Curious if the filly in the basket had been harmed, Darrus casted a glance in her and AJ's direction before turning back to the younger pegasus. "You two have some explaining to do, it seems. Especially since you failed to show the appropriate amount of interest in the history of apples."
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"But I wa- Brash sa-" Carri stammers in an attempt to find the correct pass-code for freedom. Knowing she'd see her defeat in outmaneuvering another pegasus, it hits her that she was only told not to "look back". But then she's suddenly gripped by the thought of getting in trouble, would such a thing tarnish her reputation? Collapse her dreams? And what of Brash? Would they ever see each other again!? Carri starts to breath heavily, eyes locked forward, swaying left and right, searching for the path to a brighter tomorrow. Alas, she is out-winged. She hangs her head in shame and begins to descend.
Belly up and pinned Brash flails momentarily to test Applejack's grip on her. "Well, I'll have you know," Brash points a hoof as close to Applejack's face as she can, "My name isn't Pipsqueak!" She barks, then switching to a more 'regal' tone, "And my parents fully support all my endeavors, even when they're morally ambiguous." She then decides to take Applejack up on her offer, clearing her throat she asks, "May I, have a lifetime supply of free apples?"
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Applejack just stared down at the filly underneath her with an unamused, stern look as she flailed underneath her grip, not moving at all or reacting much to her biting retort to AJ's little nickname for her, nor when Brash talked about her parents supporting all her endeavors. Probably meant her parents probably didn't know. At Brash's question of if she could have a life time supply of free apples, Applejack rolled her eyes and shook her head as she said, "No. You cain't. The two o' you can have one apple each--more if y'all work for it." She then waited with her hoof planted on Brash, her attention held on Carri as she waited for the pegasus to arrive. When she did, Applejack spoke up again, her tone stern. "You her sister? Yes or no, you should know better than to take things that don't belong ta you. What do you two have to say fer yerselves? An' Darrus, whaddya think they should be made to do?"
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Darrus followed Carri back to where her apparent partner in crime was being restrained, the rusty red pegasus landing on another branch of a nearby tree to watch the three others below from above, more to just make it clear that another attempt to fly off woild probably not get the younger pegasus very far. He laid out and relaxed a bit on his branch when AJ started giving the young would be thieves a stern talking to, him happy he'd avoic such a thing back when he'd tried to commit the same crime, but finding it a little entertaining from this side of things. For a moment he considered elongating an 'ooooh' like a school age colt then follow it up with a 'someponies got in troublllllle' but decided against it.
"What should they do?" Darrus wondered alloud, tapping his chin as he dangled his hooves over the side of his branch, "hmm... Well, that hill over there is still ruining the vista," he claimed, waving off in the direction of a sizable mound of dirt and grass covered in trees, "and my jaw is still sore from trying to remove it with that spoon you gave me... Maybe they could be put to work doing that? Of course, there are also those giant fruit bats that have been tearing into Apple trees lately. Weird that they would skip the apples themselves and go directly for the trunks like that, tearing them out of the ground and flying off with them... Maybe they could help build up that statue to Moredelicious further in the orchard? Or, if they can't do the work, they could just compensate you for those free apples they're getting, but I dunno if they have the hundred and fourteen bits to cover it..." Darrus joked around, continuing to try and mess with the younger ponies. Honestly, he didn't really know what would be a fitting task or punishment for the fillies, but he wasn't one to just shrug and give an 'I dunno', so... Removing a hill with a spoon...
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The prospect of labor being able to relieve her of any real punishment sent a gleam into Carri's eye as she took a seat next to Brash, all she needed was to figure out something she could do best.
"I have a proposition." Brash starts before Carri can answer Applejack, "Carri here is an aspiring delivery mare specializing in overly heavy packages and I am her manager." Brash proclaims, "Thus I'm willing to lend you her one time services should we forget this fiasco, and more after if paid in food." Brash shuffles around a bit, "I will also request that I be released."
Such a plan would of course absolve Brash of having to do anything at all, but Carri paid more attention to the part where she'd get to lift heavy things around. Carri nods to Brash and looks to Applejack awaiting the response with a smile that shows she expects a positive answer.
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When Darrus began listing off non-serious things for the two fillies to do, Applejack rolled her eyes and waited for Darrus to finish. Probably should've known better than to expect him to her honestly. She just continued staring over to him with the same unamused look she'd been giving Brash, before looking down to the filly in question when it was said she had a proposition. But, Applejack couldn't help but notice the only one that would be doing any work would be Carri--the pegasus, apparently. Giving a quiet, derisive snort, Applejack shook her head but didn't remove the hoof that kept Brash pinned down.
"Uh, 'Scuse me, pipsqueak, but that only covers Carri's side o' things. That sounds fine fer her, an' she kin get her apples just fine that way. But you ain't earnin' yer food through her work. That's just bein' a thief in a different way. Also it's lazy," she said, pausing for a moment before looking over to Carri. "If yer good at heavy liftin', then you kin move the baskets o' apples we've harvested today. Darrus kin show you where the baskets are an' where the barn is. Think you kin do that, or is that too hard for you, sugar?" Applejack asked Darrus, shooting him a challenging smile before looking down to Brash. "Now you... Ah dunno what Ah'm gonna do with you. What kin you do, pipsqueak?"
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... Okay, well, he had to admit that it was still a little entertaining to see Applejack with that look on her face, even if he knew it increased his chances of having to deal with some form of small punishment slipped into his usual work load for the day. Still, pretty worth it. "I dunno..." Darrus replied to the challenge, smiling back and hooking his hooves around the tree branch then letting himself fall off of the side so as to hang upside down from it, "with this sun? I might have to actually work for you for a little while, and Celestia forbid, right?" Letting go of the branch, Darrus fell a short ways as he twisted in the air then caught himself with his wings, him hovering closer to carry then nodding, "come on, kid, it ain't far, and lucky for you the baskets were extra stuffed today!" Turning in the air, Darrus gestured for Carri to follow as he started to make off in the direction of the new work waiting for her.
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"Woo!" Carri replied as she followed Darrus, forgetting that she'd be leaving Brash.
"I can do a great many things, eh..." Brash lightly waves her hoof at Applejack trying to think up a derogatory nickname for her. "Yokel." Then she pauses to think up what a farmer would need and which of those things she could do with the least amount of effort. "I can maintain or upgrade metallic tools so long as I have a workshop with the appropriate equipment." She then falls silent, it was a thing she could do but she's sure that wasn't the easiest thing she could think of.
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Barely reacting to Brash's 'insult', Applejack simply raised her brow at the filly beneath her as she listened to what was said after that, then remained silent moments longer as she thought about it. Eventually, she turned Brash over so she could get a clear look at the filly's flank before lifting her hoof so she could get up. "Really?" she asked as she turned and beckoned for Brash to follow. "Fer somepony who sounds so confident about that, Ah'm surprised you ain't got a mark fer that."
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"So its just down here," Darrus began to explain as he led Carri over the orchard, "got several heavy ones you can move for us and, if you look over those trees just over that way, you can see the barn from here. Good fly from here to there, should hopefully burn your wings some from the work and earn those apples then..." Then his brain decided to click, whir and urge its resident hamster to put down its comic books and take a run on its wheel for a bit when it noticed sokethign from earlier. "Hey, kid," Darrus said, pausing his flight for a moment to turn back and face the younger pegasus, "do you recall what the mare back there called me at all?
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Carri hops onto a basket of apples and grabs hold before she's asked the question, "Oh, uh..." Unfortunately her attention span doesn't cover speech not directed at her, "It was something sweet I'm sure." She nods before lifting the basket off the ground with ease and starting towards the barn. "Brash made it sound like getting in trouble was bunches worse than this!" She remarks, finding the work fun.
"Oh, gag!" Brash holds her tongue out to further express her disgust, "If I had a cutie mark like that I'd go to Celestia herself and demand a new one." Brash hops to her hooves and shakes off any loose dirt like a wet dog. "My cutie mark will be far better and show what I can truly do." Brash gives her flank a stray glance before following Applejack, "Only reason I don't already have one is because the universe hasn't figured out how to best express 'everything' on a filly's flank."
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"Uh...huh..." Applejack replied blandly to the filly's statement about not having a cutie mark related to... whatever it was she said she could do. Working with metal? Something like that. Then, after Brash mentioned her talent being everything, Applejack rose a brow at the filly yet again, just staring skeptically at her for a moment before looking back towards the barn she was leading them to. "Ah'll, uh, hafta take yer word fer that, pipsqueak. How'd you figger out you were good at 'maintainin' or upgradin' metallic tools' then, if yer so against the idea o' that bein' yer talent?"
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"Sweet... Sounds about right... Hmm..." Darrus murmured, him following it with a small chuckle and lazy loop in the air as the younger pegasus lifted up the heavy basket. Hm. Well, she didn't seem to be very fast from what he saw earlier, but at least her wings had some power to them. "Not bad, kid, you make it look easy. As for your friend, she probably sees this kind, or any kind really, of work as a punishment," like most other ponies her age, Darrus made note, him landing briefly to lift up one of the baskets himself as there were plenty to go around, the stallion lifting off with more effort than the filly as he dragged the weight with him into the air, "so right now this is probably her worst fears come true. Anyway, it should be easy to guess where to drop off the baskets. Just set it down with the rest when we get to the barn and we'll be golden."
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"I was simply fulfilling the role my father had given me." Brash explains, "Not like it's any of your business, but once you read the instructions for most things the rest will come naturally." Brash then raises her snout with a smirk, "Or maybe that's just me."
Carri flips around to face Darrus, suddenly dropping a few feet before lifting herself back up, "Wa- wait, her worst fear? Shouldn't we do something?" Carri asks in worry, now having trouble keeping herself in the air. Realizing it's because she's never been one to fly backwards she flips back around but still faces Darrus to receive his answer.
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Well, the filly certainly had an ego. And was a lot less disrespectful than most fillies she'd seen at her age. But Applejack wasn't going to fight it; the filly had appeared at random, and Applejack just wanted to get things over with as quickly as possible. So, she remained silent the rest of the way to the barn, then once there she lead Brash inside and over to where a broken plow was waiting. "You say yer good with workin' with metallic tools, Ah wanna see if you kin fix this. If ya can, you'll get quite a few apples. Ah kin get you any tools you'd need. Think yer up fer the challenge, pipsqueak? An' is this a good enough 'workshop'?"
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Darrus blinks at the younger ponies concern, him raising a brow as he continues towards the barn without pause. "Relax, kid, I didn't mean she was literally afraid of the idea. Or maybe she is. I dunno. Point is there's no reason to get so worried. You two are just taking care of a few things for apple's. In sure you'll both survive. Especially you with how well you can move heavy things around. Moredelicious would be impressed..." Nearing the barn, Darrus began to bring himself down for a landing. "Just set the basket with the others," he reminded with another glance at Carri, the stallion touching down and carrying his basket towards the others that had been delivered.
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"I will say the most I expected was a shovel." Brash claims as she walks up to and around the plow, "This thing is broken beyond needing maintenance, it needs repair, not my thing." Brash stops and considers the challenge. "Here's the deal, there's no way I can do anything with this here. However, should you let me take it home for say... a week, I can have it working better than before." Brash then considers her pay rubbing her chin with a hoof, it'd have to be more than just apples with all the work that would go into repairing the plow. "In return I want one of your trees." She sets her hoof down and awaits.
Carri lands the basket a bit harshly by the others before looking to Darrus, "Well, Brash is my only friend so I just don't want anything to happen to her." She then heads back for another, giving the barn a worried glance, then stopping. "Maybe she needs my help, should I check if she needs my help?" She asks, still worried.
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Applejack only shrugged slightly when Brash said it needed repair and not maintenance. To Applejack, that was about the same, but if the little filly didn't think she could do it... Just as she turned to go somewhere else, she stopped as Brash spoke back up, talking about how she'd have it better than new if she took it home for a week--in return for a tree. For that year, Brash would probably only get one tree's worth of apples before the cider rush kicked in, which was usually when the last of the apples were taken from the trees for that year... "You kin take the apples from one o' mah trees fer a year. This time next year, yer gonna hafta do somethin' else if you still want 'em, but the tree stays mine. An' no fancy gadgets or anythin' on the plow. Ah only want it repaired, not upgraded. Deal?"
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"Nah," Darrus replied casually, setting his basket down and turning around in the air to head back, "I doubt she needs help. And even if she did that's kind of the price she has to pay for the apples she wanted to take. Applejack won't give her a job she doesn't think she can handle though, so there's nor reason to stress over your friends work load. Besides, you've got your own stuff to do around here, huh?"
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Brash didn't see any need to reply to Applejack, of course the deal was bittered by not actually getting an entire tree, as well as not being allowed to turn the plow into some awesome invention to advance modern farming. She darts out the barn door in time to see Carri looking back at her, "Carri, we're going home!"
"Wha?" Carri replies, still wanting to do her task, also surprised that Brash had done her part so quickly.
"No questions, grab this piece of junk." Brash flails a hoof in the direction of the plow.
Carri hesitantly flies towards the barn, hoping for approval from Darrus or Applejack, but not wanting to upset Brash by asking a question.
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Shaking her head slowly, Applejack walked out of the barn behind Brash, her gaze briefly meeting Darrus' before she turned her attention to Carri as she approached. Noticing the hesitant look on her face, Applejack gestured inside and stepped over to the door with a, "Just inside here, hon," before pointing at the plow that was to be carried. "You sure you kin handle movin' that? Darrus an' Ah kin help you out with it if ya need us. Oh, an'," she turns, just enough that she could call over to Brash. "Grab some apples fer the both o' you, pipsqueak. Five each should be enough fer today an' a snack tomorrow." She then looked over to Darrus, shrugging slightly at him with a gentle shake of her head to relay that she wasn't really sure what to think of the situation.
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Aww... If Carri was going to help with moving the plow off of the farm now, at the behest of the other much more pushy and demanding filly, that meant he'd have to move the rest of the baskets himself... Darn it, that young pegasus would have really sped things up had she kept to it... Landing back onto the ground and having nothing more he could really add or do, Darrus could only mimic AJ's shrug, the stallion also being unsure as to what to think and just kind of waiting now for confirmation of the smaller pegasus' requiring of his assistance, something he wasn't so sure of after having seen how easily she moved the basket of apples, or the dismissal of such an idea.
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Carri nods to AJ and proceeds towards the plow, landing on it she struggles a bit to get a good grip.
Brash turns to Applejack, "You've shown me something today... whatever your name is. The next time I feel I should steal something, I'll be sure to scout the perimeter first."
Brash then turns her snout up and follows under the shadow of the now airborne plow which Carri barely had a handle on, "Bye!" Carri exclaims, almost causing her to drop the plow as the idea of waving nearly took hold to make her let go. "I'll come back and help more if you want!" Carri says loudly even though they haven't made it that far, her focus on gripping the plow slowing her flight dramatically. Yet Brash seemed perfectly calm taking a steady stroll under its shadow.