Author Topic: Derivation  (Read 709 times)

Offline Applejack

  • Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 92
  • Buck apples, acquire bits.
    • View Profile
  • Brownies: 1
Re: Derivation
« Reply #105 on: September 05, 2014, 07:47:36 am »
"Heh, really." Applejack said after Darrus' simple, flabbergasted question. She knew exactly how it sounded, but it was just something that ponies had to see for theirselves before they really grasped what she meant. She went back to listening when he explained why he asked, mentioning that he'd heard talk of it around town. Not all that surprising to her. She just grinned to herself when he admitted hoping it was something she'd pass off as nothing more than a simple exaggeration, something they could laugh off, finding his bewilderment over the situation being fairly amusing.

Then, when moments after he mentioned being able to massage her in return, she blushed again and froze for a moment before nodding slightly as she returned to a sitting position nearby. A deal was a deal, after all... And, though she wasn't quite ready to admit it yet, she fairly liked the idea of a massage, partly because she hadn't had one in so long, and partly because the thought of Darrus' hooves kneading her muscles like that wasn't one she tried shooing away. "The zap apples come first. They come roughly around the middle o' spring. Thing is about the zap apples--they all hafta be harvested in the same day they ripen or else whatever's left goes away 'til next year. So bein' efficient's... necessary. Anyway... What're some o' the more interestin' jobs you've taken on while wanderin' Equestria?"

Offline Darrus

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
    • View Profile
Re: Derivation
« Reply #106 on: September 05, 2014, 08:18:35 pm »
Darrus stood up for a moment so as to reposition where he was as AJ sat down, putting himself a little behind her and on the side of the shoulder she'd been rubbing earlier. Rolling his hooves as if to loosen them up in preparation of starting her massage, Darrus felt a bit disappointed to learn that the Zap Apples had already come and gone for the year as he was starting to become increasingly curious as to just how accurate Applejack's descriptions of the signs leading up them as well as the apples themselves were. Well... looked like he'd missed out...

Anyway, moving on Darrus began to use his hooves to work the muscles of AJ's shoulder, first trying to relieve her muscles of any tension they may have had and loosen her muscles up before putting a little bit more pressure on to try and assist with relieving any pain she may still have had lingering from her earlier arm wrastlin incident. Unlike Applejack who by her own word had little experience in massaging other ponies, Darrus seemed to have a much better idea of what he was doing, whether that be due to experience of giving massages himself or just picking up on what others did whenever he received one who could say. Either way, his hooves worked with some knowledge as he tried his best to make this pleasant for the mare.

"Interesting jobs..." Darrus echoed, keeping his eyes on what he was doing as he thought on her question, "Hmm... Well, as I mentioned before when we first met, most of the work I get is simple labor and junk. The kind of stuff where somepony might hire a walk in for some quick and cheap help in getting some hole dug into the ground. I doubt you'd find a story where I'm digging a ditch very interesting though unless I added in some buried treasure, so give me a sec...

"Oh! Have I ever mentioned that I'm a movie star?" Darrus eventually said after several seconds of thought, "Weeeeell... Maybe not a movie star really, but I was in a film once. At least I think I'm still in it. I was just an extra though for the back ground so it's not like I got to do or say anything. I made up for that by mugging for the camera like crazy every single chance I had though, and since nopony ever seemed to notice, care or say anything I guess it made it in to the film. Unless they cut my in post production or had things set up to keep everything in the background, like me, blurred, but honestly who would do such things to a face like this?

"What else... I sailed on a ship for a couple weeks over on the east coast. Was toying with the idea of maybe traveling to a different country once and at the time couldn't figure out how I'd afford or work my way onto an airship, so I signed up to work on a boat running up and down the coast with cargo to see if life out on the open water would suit me well enough to make the trip. I decided no after the second week, I wasn't huge on the lack of space on board and the constant rocking was kind of bugging me, but there was one moment that came out of it that I think was pretty cool.

"We were heading up north to drop off some stuff I forget for some company that I forget when... Well, you know how some sea life are supposed to jump up out of the water and alongside a ship when it's sailing? That happened a couple times with us, but once was weird. We'd taken a detour through deeper waters than was normal for use to get around some winds or something, I dunno, the captain just said we needed to change course for whatever reason, and while we were out there some kind of huge... thing started following us through the water. Most of us assumed it was a whale of some sort, but even a couple of the more veteran guys were a bit iffy about how accurate that was from the silhouette we kept seeing in the water. Just looked kinda funny for a whale... shape was kinda off, though I'm no expert.

"That's not the best part though," Darrus claimed, taking one of his hooves back so as to make a few gestures as he told his story to convey some excitement he felt over what he'd seen, "at one point, after it must have been following us for at least a half hour, it came closer to the surface and broke it with what we think was it's back. Like a hump or something. Was half the size of our ship and a weird purple color, and it made this kind of motion as if it was gonna rotate onto it's side in the water which caused our ship to lean some, I guess because its fin or whatever was right under us? Keep in mind I'm no expert.

"Anyway, I guess it changed it's mind for whatever reason and decided to sink back under. We lost track of it a few seconds later as it swam lower and after that we didn't see it again," he finished, resting his hoof that he'd pulled away onto AJ's other shoulder as he started to work the muscles of both to give her a better neck massage, "I'll admit that maybe my imagination has exaggerated some of that a touch, but I still think it was kinda cool. Still haven't really figured out what it might have been though.

"For something less fantastical and much much easier to believe, I once modeled for an art class," he informed with another grin, "... ****." he tagged on as a joke.

"So, do you have any crazy stor- Oh. Right. Element and all. Guess that was going to be a silly question. What about before you were one of them famous ponies with one of them famous necklaces? Did you ever get into any cool adventures back then too? How am I doing by the way? There any other spots where you feel stressed and could use a good rub?" Believe it or not, Darrus was not actually trying to make a funny here and was merely asking for serious, "Just say the word and I'll do what I can."

Offline Applejack

  • Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 92
  • Buck apples, acquire bits.
    • View Profile
  • Brownies: 1
Re: Derivation
« Reply #107 on: September 06, 2014, 09:04:03 am »
Moments after Darrus began the massage, Applejack's jaw dropped slightly as her eyes closed, a quiet moan escaping her as she practically melted under his hooves. It felt so much better than anything she'd expected, possibly even better than the mares that worked at the spa. She guessed he'd done it quite a few times in the past, but whatever it was... She certainly wasn't complaining. With almost every movement of his hooves, her body rocked gently in response, offering visible proof to how she was at his mercy.

For the most part, Applejack stayed silent as Darrus responded to her question, either offering more quiet moans of approval because of his hooves, or hums of intrigue because of his story. The extra in a movie thing was fairly interesting, and she made a mental note to ask him about that later to see if maybe they could look into watching that--if it sounded at all interesting to her. Maybe they could just get it to see his part in it.

Then, he started talking about spending some time on a ship. It wouldn't have surprised her if it was some kind of pirate crew he'd become a part of and that he'd simply left that detail out, but she decided to give him benefit of the doubt since it probably wasn't that big of a deal. Unless he was actually some kind of wanted criminal--or just criminal in general. Applejack mentally shook the the thought from her head, trying to steer her mind from that train of thought.

When he mentioned having modeled for an art class '****', Applejack took the time to speak up and say, "Uh, Darrus. We don't normally wear clothes," the joke apparently having gone over her head partly because she couldn't see the grin that he wore, and partly because of the massaging going on. After he asked if there was anywhere else he could massage, Applejack thought for a brief moment before nodding her head, realizing that the thought of him stopping kind of disappointed her. "Well, since yer offerin', Ah reckon mah back wouldn't mind feelin' yer magic hooves there. Oh, an' Ah just wanna set somethin' straight: Ah was Applejack a long time before Ah was the 'Element o' Honesty'. We all were. Ah still don't like the thought o' some silly magic necklace makin' me 'better' than other ponies.

"Rant aside... Well, Ah've stopped a few stampedes from demolishin' Ponyville. With a lotta help from Winona. Oh, here's one you'd like: y'know that old castle out there in the Everfree? Where the princesses used ta live? Ah had a bet with Rainbow Dash recently ta see who was the bravest. We'd gotten through a number o' challenges throughout the day, an' we kept tyin' with every one of 'em... So, Ah had this idea: Granny Smith told me this ancient legend when Ah was a filly, that when Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, not every last bit of her dark magic went with her.

"Granny used ta say, when night falls on the castle, that magic takes form of the 'Pony of Shadows'. So, we wanted ta see who could stay in the castle the longest ta see who'd win. Let's just say that one was a tie, too," she said plainly, not really wanting to admit what had really happened. "Where'd ya learn ta massage like this, anyway? Ah feel like Ah'm gonna go limp any moment..."

Offline Darrus

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
    • View Profile
Re: Derivation
« Reply #108 on: September 06, 2014, 10:35:34 am »
Darrus's question could have easily come off as a silly one with how Applejack had so clearly been giving him the answer since he'd started, each moan and how easily she was moving to his massage keeping an amused smirk on his face as he continuously delivered pleasure with his hooves. He knew he was pretty decent with giving a massage, but he hadn't thought he'd been so good as to almost make a mare melt in his hooves. Maybe he was better than he first thought? Hmm... Darrus played with the idea of maybe applying to be a masseuse if ever he was looking for another job to make some quick bits. If he could recreate this kind of experience for other ponies as well he'd probably end up pretty well off, though he didn't dismiss the possibility of this just being unique to AJ as she may just not get massages very often with all of her farm work keeping her busy.

At her failing to recognize his joke for what it was, Darrus momentarily considered playfully pointing out how he actually did normally wear clothes, albeit just a simple cloak, but instead decided to focus on lowering his massage from the mare's shoulders to her upper back at her accepting of his offer to continue. At her rant Darrus would have just given a small shrug as whether or not she was a bearer of any of the elements made little difference to him right now as he just continued to listen for any talk of older and less well known adventures she may have been a part of.

"Real mare of action, ain't ya?" Darrus spoke in response to how she'd saved the town from stampedes in the past. He perked his ear in interest, just as Applejack probably predicted he would, when she began to talk about a castle in the Everfree supposedly haunted by some left behind magic of that Nightmare Moon pony. Darrus hadn't actually known about there being a castle out in the Everfree, his knowledge of the forest not being very in depth, and this talk of AJ and her friend Rainbow having hung around it in a test of courage was quite amusing to him.

"Castle in the Everfree..." Darrus echoed, interest evident in his voice as his hooves started to work a little lower from AJ's upper back.

"Oh, this? I just picked up a few things here and there," he went on to answer her question, being kind of vague but not really having any other way he could explain it as he lacked having taken any lessons or proper classes, "I've given a few before and received my fair share, and I'm pretty quick learner so I just picked up on it." At her mention of being on the verge of going limp, Darrus grinned at his own apparent skill and her enjoyment of it.

"Well, we can't have you falling over. You should go ahead and lay down. Besides, would make this easier for me and better for you.

"So... this castle in the Everfree..." he continued, making it evident that he didn't know about such a thing until now as he either kept up with his current attempt to massage her back should she remain sitting or managing to apply more pressure for a deeper massage should she decide to lie down, "was what Granny saying true? Did you or Rainbow manage to catch any sight of this 'Pony of Shadows'? Or did it turn out to just be a spooky story and it was really the creepy atmosphere that caused the two of you to decide on a tie?"

Offline Applejack

  • Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 92
  • Buck apples, acquire bits.
    • View Profile
  • Brownies: 1
Re: Derivation
« Reply #109 on: September 06, 2014, 06:44:40 pm »
"Well whatever it is... Yer doin' a mighty fine job," Applejack said after he explained how he'd learned how to massage, only to perk her ears when he mentioned not wanting her to fall over and that she should lie down. Nodding slightly in agreement, Applejack lowered herself onto the ground and folded her legs in front of her so she could rest her chin on top of her hooves, then swiveled her ears back to him as he started asking about the Everfree and the competition she'd had with Rainbow. "Ah never said it was 'cause o' that that we decided ta call it a tie... But yeah. Kinda. We kept runnin' into all these traps an' scary things, then heard this organ bein' played... Just turned out ta be mah friend Pinkie Pie, though. We just left when all our friends did. Ah dunno if what Granny said was true, but that place still gives me the spooks.

"You sound like you don't know about it, Darrus. This yer first time hearin' 'bout the castle out there? Where the princesses used ta live before Luna was banished to the moon? Oh, also, Ah dunno if you knew, but the Everfree is there 'cause o' Discord. Before he was imprisoned the first time, he apparently started sowin' seeds o' some sort, an' those grew into the forest. Or so Twilight says."

Offline Darrus

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
    • View Profile
Re: Derivation
« Reply #110 on: September 06, 2014, 09:03:38 pm »
Darrus's hooves kept busy as Applejack described the super spooks present in the super spooks forest castle, them working her back and continuing to kneed the muscles as they slowly descended to near the final leg of the massage at her lower back should no objections be made. Traps, vague scary things and her friend playing the organ without having told them she'd be there. A prank, or just a crazy coincidence? Darrus had no way of knowing, but he did know that the mare's answer left the 'Pony of Shadows' unconfirmed as to if it was actually a thing or not. Bundle the prospect of discovering if such a thing was true or not along with the apparent excitement promised by a castle of spooky tricks and traps and Darrus was finding himself becoming increasingly interested in such a place.

The further details, such as who the castle belonged to and how the Everfree may or may not have come to be according to another of AJ's friends, tickled his adventurous spirit. A castle full of traps in the middle of a dangerous forest that used to belong to the Princesses? Hmm...

"Can't say I've heard of the castle before, nor about this origin story for the forest itself," he replied, a few thoughts running through his head at the new information that he'd been given, "Seeds did all of that? Or is it just the trees themselves that grew up from the seeds and the crazy phenomenons and such followed after? Actually, considering what that guy is supposed to be like from what I've heard, it feels safe to assume everything going on in there is his fault.

"This castle though," he continued, pulling back one of his hooves to roll it and give a small pop of his ankle before returning to his massaging, "sounds like it could be a fun place to spend a night. Out of curiosity, how far into the forest would you say it was? And how hidden is it if at all? I mean, you and your friends seem to know exactly where it is, and if you and Rainbow went there just to try and see who would get scared out first then it must not be a very hazardous trip." Maybe there was even treasure in that castle... though, Darrus may have just been building the castle up with his own imagination at this point...

Offline Applejack

  • Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 92
  • Buck apples, acquire bits.
    • View Profile
  • Brownies: 1
Re: Derivation
« Reply #111 on: September 07, 2014, 05:32:09 am »
Applejack wasn't all that surprised to hear that Darrus had no idea about the castle in the Everfree. There were many ponies who had no idea it was out there; she just kind of assumed Darrus did because he was so adventurous. She was even less surprised to hear that he hadn't heard that Discord was the cause of the Everfree in the first place, causing her to grin a little bit at his questions until she eventually just nodded in confirmation when he said it was probably safe to assume everything there was his fault.

Then her ears perked yet again when he started asking about the castle proper, sounding more and more like he was considering the idea of taking a trip out there himself to go and see it. "It's a lot more hazardous than it sounds," AJ corrected after he mentioned not thinking it must be a very dangerous trip. "There's all sortsa spooky an' dangerous things out there... Manticores, cockatrices, hydras, poison joke, timber wolves, sheer cliff faces... An' that's just what Ah've seen an' heard of so far. Besides, that's even assumin' ya don't get lost out there. Seems like every time Ah go in it's changed from the last time Ah went in.

"As fer how long it usually takes ta get there? Ah'd reckon it's an hour or two, without gettin' lost. An' it's... sorta hidden? But kinda not. Ah dunno, s'a lil' hard to explain. Why're you askin'? You sound like yer startin' ta play with the idea o' headin' out there."

Offline Darrus

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
    • View Profile
Re: Derivation
« Reply #112 on: September 07, 2014, 11:52:00 am »
As Applejack explained the dangers one may have to face when reaching the castle Darrus held an ever widening grin as he felt his wings start to stir as if wanting to take him into the air right then and there. He took note of all the, to him at least, exciting things prowling the darkness of the forest on the path towards the castle and it only caused his imagination to further hype up the place along with whatever may or may not have been left inside. If it was indeed dangerous to reach then it would have had even less visitors in the past, right? Which means higher chances of some cool stuff still jsut waiting to be picked up by some handsome pegasus looking to have some fun? It wasn't even that far of a trip on hoof if Applejack's estimate of somwhere between one to two hours was accurate.

"Mmmmmmmaybe," Darrus replied, his grin easily making it incredibly obvious which way he was leaning with the idea if AJ were to look back at him, "Would one, should they decided to go out there, be able to see the castle from over the trees or is it entirely covered? I'm assuming it isn't easy to spot if it's 'sorta' hidden. In fact, what's stopping a pegasus from just flying there to begin with? Other than making the entire trip incredibly boring and uneventful I mean. Seems my wings would eliminate several of the problems such as getting lost and needing to take the path to the castle at all. Is it just impossible to find from the air?" Darrus actually sounded hopeful at the thought as it would mean forcing one such as himself to actually go through the forest instead of over it, which would of course lead to a much more interesting trip.

All the while his hooves kept up their work in finishing Applejack's full back massage, Darrus smiling over how his idea of something embarrassing for AJ to do as the loser of their competition ended up with her seeming to enjoy it far more than him. Was fine by Darrus as he was happy to give the massage to the mare, the way she reacted to his hooves having been plenty fun for him.

Offline Applejack

  • Moderator
  • Jr. Member
  • *****
  • Posts: 92
  • Buck apples, acquire bits.
    • View Profile
  • Brownies: 1
Re: Derivation
« Reply #113 on: September 08, 2014, 08:49:41 am »
Applejack sighed quietly as Darrus' questions confirmed that he was, indeed, thinking about heading out towards the castle sometime soon. She wasn't really surprised by this either, as she guessed his wanderlust was making him want to see this castle for himself. "Ah dunno if you'd be able ta see it from the sky," she said with a slight shrug after he asked his questions. "Even if ya could, Ah reckon you'd only be able ta see bits an pieces of it through the canopy, not ta mention you'd hafta know where ta look... Even then, flyin' over the Everfree ain't somethin' Ah recommend. There's a reason ya don't hear o' many pegasi flyin' over that place. Ain't exactly sure why--maybe it's the weather there, or maybe it's somethin' that targets anythin' flyin' over it... But that's what'd stop a pegasus from flyin' there."

After she spoke, Applejack pushed herself up into a sitting position, disappointed that she had to stop the massage. She turned to him so she could face him fully, then continued with, "Ah don't recommend ya make the trip either, but Ah know that ain't gonna stop ya. So, the least Ah kin do is request ya take me along with ya when you go. That place's dangerous, an' there's less of a chance of you not comin' back if yer not alone. Ah know what yer thinkin'--'Ah'd be fine, the forest ain't a match fer me'... But it'd make me feel better if Ah went, too." Quirking her mouth to the side after that, she shook her head slightly before leaning forward a bit, cheeks beginning to flush as result of what she was about to do.

She planted a gentle peck on Darrus' cheek before saying, "Thanks fer the massage, hon. Ah feel a lot better. Ah'm gonna see about gettin' ready fer bed, though. Sleep well..." she murmured, awkwardly sitting for a moment as if not quite wanting to go yet. She eventually pushed herself up onto her hooves though, and left the barn to go back into the house so she could prepare for bed.

Offline Darrus

  • Full Member
  • ***
  • Posts: 128
    • View Profile
Re: Derivation
« Reply #114 on: September 08, 2014, 11:02:17 am »
Hmm... Maybe he could just fly around the forest's edge? See if he could possibly catch a glimpse of this abandoned castle from higher up? Most likely no, but this was good news for Darrus. He'd have to get there the hard way which, to him, should also be the more fun way, though... Now he was getting curious as to why exactly pegasi never flew over the forest... He should really go find some expert somewhere to learn a thing or two about one of the more dangerous places in the country, but... He could also just go find out for himself.

As Applejack pushed herself back up onto her hooves Darrus felt a small amount of disappointment over the massage reaching it's end, his hooves delivering a pleasurable experience to her body having been something he figured he could have happily kept up for who knows how long. Still, they had been doing it for a while, so no surprise that she may have had enough and wanted to get some rest. It was getting to be pretty late after all, and work on the farm did demand an early rise.

AJ's warning that Darrus not head out to the Everfree did indeed fail to kill his interest, and her desire to go with him to make sure he would be alright was nice and all but it only caused one thought to come to mind. He would be fine, that forest would be no match for him. Applejack's apparent ability to read his mind would have brought another amused smile to his lips had it not been for the next thing she said.

Aww... she was worried about him. Again, Darrus would have slapped on a smirk and normally would have made some kind of playful joke, but the follow up giving him a peck on his cheek caused him to instead blink in some surprise. Huh. He hadn't seen that one coming.

"Heh, any time," he replied as Applejack lingered for a moment, him considering sneaking in his own peck in return but figuring that, with how red her cheeks were at the moment, maybe it would be a bit too much for her for one night, "if ever you feel like getting another you know where to find me. Have a good night."

Once AJ left the barn, Darrus gave a long sigh and smiled, the pegasus standing up and waling to the entrance of the barn in time to see Applejack entering her home. He leaned against the entryway chuckled. This night had definitely caused his relationship with the mare he'd had his eyes on ever since arriving in town to take a favorable turn. Sure, it had taken some time to get Applejack to warm up to him, but it was good to see that his efforts were starting to get the mare to open up to him. A kiss on his cheek after giving a long and well enjoyed massage sounded like a nice way to end the night...

Buuuut...

Darrus gave a strong flap of his wings, encouraging the aches Applejack had helped alleviate to start threatening to return, and took himself up to the roof of the barn where he landed and trotted to it's far edge. He strained his eyes, wondering how well he could see the Everfree from here at night. Just an hour or two to find the castle, right? Well, for somepony who knew the way at least. Maybe they've left some form of markers for a pony to follow to the castle? Wildlife in there might have torn such things down though if they felt like it...

His wings itched, a silly urge to at least go test why pegasi wouldn't fly over the area nagging him to go right then and there. He grinned... but it soon died down into a regular smile. Eh. Applejack had asked to go with him when he decided to go through with this new trip of his, and it was late and dark out so even he recognized how it would be better to wait till daylight at least. He gave a long and heavy yawn, it reminding him of just how tired he actually was from the day's events as he decided he'd put off the exploring of the dark and scary forest for another day. Would probably be more fun to go with somepony instead of alone anyway, even if that somepony eliminated most of the exploration needed to find the castle.

Turning around Darrus dropped down from the barn's roof, his wings allowing for a soft landing, then headed back inside the barn. He removed his cloak and saddlebags and set them off in their usual spots for the night before he found and crawled onto his bed, Darrus giving a big stretch of his legs and wings once laid out and relaxing into the soft mattress. His thoughts lingered on the Everfree but soon started to include Applejack as he replayed the events of the night in his mind. He wore a small smile as he thought about the small kiss he'd received and the massage he had given, it being a pleasant thought to linger on as his eyelids soon grew heavy and his fatigue caught up to him. He fell asleep soon after, much to the delight of his exhausted limbs.

 


Feel free to drop into our chat room below and say hi. We don't bite :3

Any questions or issues with the chat room below? Check here. Alternatively, try messaging an admin, who will do their best to help.



Meanwhile, enjoy animated pony shenanigans.