Author Topic: Derivation  (Read 710 times)

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #15 on: January 30, 2014, 10:08:56 am »
Apple Bloom nodded fervently in agreement to Darrus' statement about a pony looking their best with a cape, causing Applejack to roll her eyes to herself as she just listened. Sounded like they were gonna get along just fine. Then, Apple Bloom's already wide grin only widened as Darrus complimented her cape, though her excitement diminished a bit when Darrus looked away in jealousy. "The patch's the symbol fer the Cutie Mark Crusaders club!" she exclaimed as she glanced back to the part of the cloak that rested over her flank where the patch in question sat.

"It's a super exclusive club for blank flanks, where we do everythin' we can think of ta get our cutie marks!" Applejack then cleared her throat to garner a little attention her way before speaking. "AB, is Granny Smith still out at the market? And what about Big Mac? He ain't in the house is he?"

"Nope," Apple Bloom replied, pausing for a moment to think. "Granny Smith's still out in Ponyville, yeah, but Ah think Big Mac said somethin' about the west side o' the farm? Maybe he's out there with a mare~?"Apple Bloom joked, causing Applejack to shake her head slightly.

"Sure, we'll go with that," she said dryly before sighing quietly and looking to Darrus. "Well, Ah guess Ah'll introduce ya later," she said before disappearing into the kitchen, leaving Darrus and Apple Bloom alone. Apple Bloom, seizing this opportunity, spoke up once again. "Anyway, one o' the other Crusaders made the cape and the patch. Her name's Sweetie Belle! She's not around right now, or Ah'd introduce ya to her, too. Why do you wear a cape? An' what brings ya to Ponyville?"

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #16 on: January 30, 2014, 12:04:03 pm »
Cutie Mark Crusaders, huh? The explanation of the groups purpose cause Darrus to think briefly back on his own mark and how he'd discovered his talent, him thinking that, had he had a club to help him out, he'd have probably earned it much sooner than he had. "You guys got your own club for that? That sounds awesome!" He said, almost sounding like he was matching the small filly's excitment over such an idea. Glancing over towards Applejack when she paused the conversation to ask her sister a few questions, Darrus learned of two other members of her family he'd be meeting at some point in the future. One, he assumed given the name, being their grandmother and the other possibly a brother from how they spoke of him. Welp, if they were anything like the Apples he'd met so far, he figured chances were were low that he'd have reason to dislike them.

"Lookin forward to it," he replied to AJ before she left for the kitchen, him then turning his attention back to the smaller pony present. "Mine? Well, I wear mine mostly just to keep the rain off my back when I'm out traveling. It doesn't have a special meaning or purpose like yours does, but it works pretty well as a half decent blanket when camping and, as we've established, a cape is a must for any pony wanting to look cool. As for what brings me to town, I just kinda found it while on my way to nowhere in particular. I move around a lot, and Ponyville happened to be in my path so I decided to stick around for a bit. Also, I'm told Cider season is coming up, so that's definitely something to be here to enjoy from what I've heard.


"So, what kind of stuff has your club done to try and find your cutie marks? Go any any really exciting adventures? How many members do you have aside from yourself and Sweetie Belle, and have any of you guys found your talents yet?" He asked with genuine interest, pausing to glance over towards the kitchen Applejack had left for a few seconds before then lowering his voice some as he sounded more conspiratorial, "Also, Applebloom, you think you could do me a favor? I'd really appreciate it."

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #17 on: January 30, 2014, 08:55:46 pm »
Apple Bloom sat down on the floor in front of Darrus, grinning up at him as she listened to what he had to say about why he was in Ponyville. Wasn't quite as exciting as she was hoping for, but since he said he moved around a lot, he must have a lot of cool stories to tell, right? Apple Bloom's gaze moved briefly over to the kitchen as Applejack made a little bit of noise in there, before looking back to Darrus when he asked about the Crusader club. She giggled at his question and looked up for a moment to think of which activities she should share, only to pause and look at Darrus in surprise when he asked if she could do him a favor. "Yeah!" she responded, her volume and tone matching his as she moved a little closer. "Whatcha need? Whatever it is, it sounds fun!"

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #18 on: January 30, 2014, 09:50:12 pm »
Darrus looked a little unsure at the filly's belief of the favor being fun or exciting right now, him making a gesture with his hooves to reflect how he believed it may possibly disappoint. "Well... It might get fun later once I've had some more time to get some ideas and work out a plan or two, I suppose, but right now I was wondering if you could help me with something a little simpler. Since I'm going to be staying and working around here for a while, I wanted to make sure I stayed on everypony's good side, follow? Especially Applejack since it seems I'll probably be around her the most, what with her telling me what to do and all. So I was hoping you could tell me a few things about her. Like, the kind of stuff she likes to do and what not, you know? I figure that, as her sister, you'd be a good pony to help me with forming an idea on how I can get to know her better."

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #19 on: January 30, 2014, 10:54:34 pm »
Despite Darrus' denied descriptor of any discussed deeds daring to be dastardly or devious, Apple Bloom continued to grin up at him as she waited for him to explain. If it wasn't going to be interesting in some way, he wouldn't have lowered his voice like he did. Even though Darrus' reasoning for asking about details regarding Applejack was tame, it didn't stop Apple Bloom from coming up with a different conclusion, and squeeing a little too loudly before clamping her hooves over her mouth as she glanced over to the kitchen. "You kin count on me," she whispered to him before raising her voice and calling out to Applejack. "Hey sis, Ah'm gonna show Darrus the clubhouse!" she said before scrambling outside before Applejack could say anything in response and stop her from doing so. nce she and Darrus were both outside, she lead him through some of the orchard near the farm, singing along the way.

Spoiler (hover to show)

 "We're the toughest little ponies in town,
Got the moves, got the mojo, no harder workin' ponies around.
We are a trio, work as a team,
We'll be the first ponies out on the flag-waving scene.

We get goin' when the goin' gets tough
We know our very best is just never enough.
We're kinda short, but so what? We don't get defeated.
We could take a little break, but we don't need it.

We got hearts as strong as horses
 And we're playing to win as we gallop to glory
We can conquer any challenge we're in
Weve got hearts, hearts strong as horses."


By the time her song ended, she was climbing up the ramp that lead into her clubhouse, holding the door open long enough for Darrus to join her before shutting it behind him and speaking. "A'ight, so let's begin. Ya wanna know 'bout mah big sis, do ya? Well, she likes bakin', dogs--but not bakin' dogs. Don't get that confused. Apples, money, hagglin', racin', competin', rodeoin', her Stetson, helpin' ponies out when they need it... What else d'ya wanna know?"

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #20 on: January 30, 2014, 11:57:56 pm »
Blinking at the squee then nodding and smiling at Apple Blooms agreeing to help him out, Darrus casted his gaze towards the kitchen, him wondering what had managed to occupy the mare within so suddenly. He guessed somepony had made a mess or some such. Anyway, regardless of the reason, her distraction was proving to be a good opportunity for him to get some details about her from a good source, him following along behind the filly as she hurried outside and led him away. Clubhouse, huh? Must be for that Crusaders group she was a part of, he assumed as he listened to the energetic little pony sing the whole way, it being a nice way to quicken the trip, although he felt he was probably going to be stuck humming the chorus for the rest of the day, him already feeling it start to tickle his brain as he made his way up the ramp leading to the clubhouse.

"Nice place." He complimented, entering and taking a seat before nodding at Apple Bloom's question as she began to give him the information he was after, Darrus payed close attention and commuted what he heard to memory as well as he was able. Baking, hm? Well, while Darrus enjoyed playing around in a kitchen with the intent of creating sweet treats, he'd never been all that great at it, his lack of a kitchen, or house for that matter, crippling his potential for practicing. Still, maybe he could try and give it a shot again sometime? It was, in his opinion, fun after all, and he'd probably enjoy having Applejack teach him a few things about baking should she be willing.

Her liking dogs was a given as he'd already guessed that from how shed had her own accompanying her when they met, and Darrus had no issues with those kinds of pets himself, so there was no problem there. "Heh, okay." He said with some amusement at the filly's warning of making sure he kept "dogs" and "baking" separate. Apples, of course... Money, again, of course, as he, along with most, did so enjoy the weight of a heavy bit pouch. Haggling, something he was sort of experienced in himself as he usually needed to work out trades and deals for whatever he needed as he went from place to place. Racing? Oh, even better, she was competitive? Sweet! Darrus loved to show off and challenge others to friendly competition, him actually hoping to have done so earlier that day with that first mare he'd met back in town, the fact that he hadn't had the chance having left him with a kind of eagerness to find somepony else willing to compete in something. Maybe that's why he'd wanted to go bowling with Lamplight? Eh, maybe.

Rodeos. Well, that was something Darrus knew pretty much nothing about, which of course made it one of the best things for him to try and explore for this seeing how satisfying his curiosity of what went into it could easily lead to asking AJ, the mare who was more of an expert, for help understanding it. And her Stetson. Darrus liked that Stetson too. Or maybe he just liked how it looked on her when she wore it? Either way, to him, that hat was a good thing.  And, finally, Apple Bloom mentioned how AJ enjoyed helping others who needed it, something Darrus again probably should have guessed from her willingness to provide room and board to, when put bluntly, a homeless pony hoping to prove himself on the farm.

"Baking, dogs, apples, money, haggling, racing, competitions, rodeos, her Stetson, and helping ponies who need it." He listed off, repeating it a second time to himself to make sure he remembered. "I miss anything? As for what else I what to know... Hmm.. well... Since I know what she likes now, I should probably learn about what she doesn't like too so I know what to avoid. So, what kind of stuff does she dislike or hate?"

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #21 on: January 31, 2014, 12:38:41 am »
After Darrus listed off the various things that Applejack liked back to her, Apple Bloom shook her head to tell him he hadn't missed anything, her bow waving alongside the motion behind her head, then watched as he then asked about what she didn't like or hated. "Oh boy. Well..." Apple Bloom drew out, crossing her hooves over her chest as she sat down on the floor, cape spread out on the floor behind her. "Ain't much she really hates... 'Cept fer weapons, maybe. She seems ta hate those pretty bad. She kinda freaked out when Ah asked if we could try gettin' our cutie marks in swordplay. Oh, an' lyin'. She hates lyin' too, but then again mah big sis's the Element o' Honesty, so that goes without sayin'...

"She ain't really much fer anythin' 'girly'. She don't like cheatin', boastin', laziness, ponies doin' stuff for her that she kin do herself... An' that's about all Ah kin think of right now," she said after a moment of thought, lowering her forehooves back to the ground. "So why're you interested in AJ most of all? You liiiiiiike her, don't you~?"

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #22 on: January 31, 2014, 08:28:47 am »
She hated weapons? Uh oh... Suddenly Darrus was very glad she hadn't managed to catch s glimpse of the two weapons he carried for self defense and to show off his talent when he'd been carrying that crate of apples. Maybe... Maybe since she still didn't seek to have learned of them, he could take them off and keep them hidden up in the barn once he's settled in? He wasn't comfortable with leaving them anywhere that wasn't nearby enough for him to keep an eye on, so he didn't like the idea of finding somewhere any further away to store them. But... would not telling her about them be considered lying about having them? After all, the mare was apparently one of those Element bearers he'd been hearing about this last year, and not only that but she was the bearer of the element of honesty. But, then he'd be admitting to having been carrying concealed weapons... while alone with her little sister away from their house... already it seemed she was showing a fair amount of trust with this alone seeing how they'd just met. Would coming clean about it be better than hiding it and hoping they wouldn't be discovered later?

Anyway, putting that issue towards the back if his mind for the moment as Apple Bloom continued, Darrus scratched off the next item without much real surprise, having guessed AJ wasn't really the 'girly' type from how shed behaved already. Cheating shouldn't be a problem, but... boasting... oooh, that was, as evident from his earlier behavior, going to be the real problem since Darrus was a pretty confident pony who enjoyed playing up his accomplishments or building himself up before accomplishing. That, along with the flirting, would be difficult to keep a bit more restrained... "Well, I'm not very lazy when I have a goal, and she does seem like the capable sort who wouldn't really want somepony holding doors open for her..." He mumbled to himself over the final two items before being caught slightly off guard by the filly's own question, not having been expecting to be called out on this so soon. Kids sure did like to cut to the point...

"W-I-uh..." He stuttured for a moment in response to the direct question, him clearing his throat and trying to recover by straightening out his posture some, "well, sure I like her, it would be a bad idea for me to work for somepony I didn't like, but since she's going to sort of be my boss I just wanted to learn about her so I can have a better chance at winning her hea- or, uh, making sure she won't fire me when I ask her ou- I mean! ..." He paused, clearly having some difficulty in playing this off as, just like with his earlier near eyebrow waggle and stuck mind, he for some odd reason found this more difficult than usual today. "Um... Completely unrelated question to what we were talking about, she, uh, wouldnt happen to have her eyes set on anypony around town, would she? Specifically any stallions...?" It was painfully obvious that this was one hundred percent related to what they'd been talking about, but darn it if he was going to admit it!

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #23 on: January 31, 2014, 09:20:07 am »
At first, Apple Bloom only became disappointed by Darrus' denial that things weren't quite like that and he wasn't interested in Applejack. That sure would've made things interesting around the farm... Though as he began stumbling over his words and almost saying stuff that was contrary to his first statements, Apple Bloom grinned widely again as she squirmed giddily in place. Oh, this was going to be fuuuuun. Especially when he began asking if she had her eyes set on anypony, making it clear what he was asking about, causing her to giggle madly to herself.

"Nuh uh. AJ don't have her eyes set on anypony. She never has. All she ever cares about is the farm, keepin' it alive, an' makin' sure her friends are doin' good. She pretty much does nothin' but work, work, work. Workin' with her 'round the farm can be pretty fun, though. 'Specially when we turn the chores into a game," she grinned once more, obviously a little proud of those moments. "So you wanna get with mah sis, do ya? You must be a really brave an' patient pony, 'cause she's prolly not gonna get interested in ya fer a while--if ever! Whaddya think she thinks about ya so far?"

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #24 on: January 31, 2014, 09:48:15 am »
Good, so she was single and wasn't interested in anypony romantically. But, bad, she seemed to be a real workhorse who wasn't interested in that kind of stuff at all... Her friends and farm were what she cared about, as her sister explained, so this could prove even more difficult than he'd already assumed... He doubted AJ would find the full grown pegasus asking to make work a game very amusing, but maybe if he could try and make it a competition? That would be fun, and they did seem to share an love for competing, so maybe he could challenge her to see who could buck the most appl- aaaaand he'd be left in the dust before he could even be done with one tree... Still, would be fun.

Obviously he'd failed to hide his interest in Apple Blooms sister from the filly, her having easily seen through his admittedly pathetic attempt to cover it up. So, since she clearly knew what was really going on with him, he figured it would be silly to keep trying to hide it. The cat was out of the bag as it were. Bravery Darrus had plenty of, and patience, well, that depended on if something was interesting. And so far Applejack was indeed interesting to him. "Well, we only just met today obviously," he replied, not bothering to try and hide what they were talking about since it would be rather pointless to do so, "but so far, especially after what you told me about her, I may not have made as good a first impression as I could have. She also flat out told me she thought I didn't seem like her type, so... That could be a bad sign for my chances, huh?"

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #25 on: February 05, 2014, 08:54:27 am »
Apple Bloom just continued grinning as Darrus stopped trying to deny that he was into Applejack, though it took on a bit of a mischievous hint as she plotted there on the spot. She could really have a lot of fun with this if... Oh. She paused when Darrus said that Applejack had downright shot him down by saying that she didn't think he was his type. Well, why not? If she was hiring him, she obviously thought he could do a good enough job around the farm, plus he seemed like a really cool and interesting pony. She hummed for a moment as she thought, before finally nodding at his question.

"Yeah, that ain't really lookin' good fer yer chances," Apple Bloom admitted, hoof slowly tapping against her chin. "But... Ah got an idea. How about you stop focusin' on her, then? She don't know ya yet, an' she's prolly gonna try an' keep things that way if she told ya that. But, what if ya got ta know everypony else first? Like, Big Mac an' me? If she sees ya gettin' along with us, maybe she'll think twice about what she said?" Apple Bloom asked, hopeful. Then paused for a moment before continuing. "Uh, when you say you might not've made a good first impression, whaddya mean? She hired ya, didn't she? Yer the first pony that's ever gotten a job here, as much as we coulda used more help 'round here in the past..."

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #26 on: February 05, 2014, 01:30:46 pm »
Darrus rubbed the back of his neck as Apple Bloom tapped her chin. Yup, he'd thought as much. Being told by somepony that they didn't want anything like that from you tends to mean they usually don't want anything like that from you. That or they were playing hard to get, and while AJ did seem hard to get from what he was hearing, he didn't think she was that kind of mare since she didn't seem interested to begin with. "Hmm..." He hummed in response to Apple Bloom's idea. Getting to know the mares family would definitely be a good start, and heck, he and Apple Bloom seemed to be getting along fine so far, so how things didn't seem impossible there, even if keeping his mouth in check when it came to his flirtatious ways would be a tad tricky... "maybe... Was planning on at least meeting all of you anyway since I'll be staying here. And hey, you seem pretty cool already, Apple Bloom, so getting to know you guys should be fun on its own either way."

As for making a bad first impression, well, aside from having met her after being caught nearly stealing a few apples... "Uh... Well, I can kind of be rather... confident... Maybe even a bit cocky and boastful about some stuff..." He admitted, wincing at his own words as he now knew that such a thing was one of Applejack's turn offs. But, he was still the first pony to be hired on to help around here even after his behavior? "... Maybe it wasn't as bad as I thought though if she still decided to give me a chance around here. Hm." He smiled a bit, starting to gain a bit more hope when it came to his future attempts to earn AJ's attention. "Welp, guess I should get started!" He said, smiling back at the filly, "Who's Big Mac? A brother, right? I'm guessing a brother. What's he like?"

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #27 on: February 06, 2014, 09:18:00 am »
Apple Bloom winced a little bit alongside Darrus when he mentioned being c'ocky and boastful about things, knowing her big sis wouldn't really take kindly to that. Especially not if she got annoyed by the same thing from one of her best friends... Still, she did hire him, maybe she thought he was cute and just didn't wanna admit it? Yeah, Apple Bloom would just go with that. AJ did have a hard time admitting to things like that. Now all Apple Bloom had to go was get to the bottom of things. Shouldn't be too hard, especially if Darrus was gonna be spending a lot more time around the farm.

She nodded a few times when Darrus asked about Big Mac, a hoof reaching up to the bow behind her head to adjust it as she spoke. "Yup! Big Mac's our big brother. He's a big pony, but he's quiet. Don't be put off when all he tells ya is 'eeeyup' or 'nope'. That's just how he do! Don't get him mad, though. Then he'll scold yer ear off," she murmured, looking a little sheepish as if clear that she'd had to experience such a thing. "Uh, anyway! Ah guess he's pretty easy ta get along with! Just... don't slack off, Ah guess," she shrugged before continuing. "An' then there's me! Ah think we're gettin' along nicely, though. You seem like a pretty cool pony, an' like you got a lotta interestin' stories to tell. Maybe you kin even help me try ta get a cutie mark!!"

Offline Darrus

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #28 on: February 06, 2014, 10:20:08 am »
Yup! A brother. Darrus figured as much from how they had been talking about him. Big guy of few words, hm? Didn't sound too bad, quiet ponies were easy enough for Darrus to get along with as long as his habit of being very talkative didn't actively rub them the wrong way. If this quiet pony was one of the ones that liked things around him to be equally as quiet however, well, he may not be a fan of the cloak wearing pegasus. At the warning of how his responses could often be as simple as a singular word, Darrus wondered how he'd take to being asked anything but yes or no questions... How Apple Bloom was sheepish over the scolding gave Darrus a slight smile of amusement that he wiped away rather quickly. Oooooh, somepony got in troooooble~. Anyway, Big Mac didn't sound like a major problem to worry about. Hopefully.

Moving on, Darrus was less convinced that he had any real entertaining stories to tell, most of what came to mind seemed to be coming off as kind of boring actually. Or at least to him. Especially since her sister was one of them Element bearers. If he remembered right, they were the ones that brought that Discord fellow back under control somehow. That had been a weird day. "Sure! That sound like it would be fun!" He replied to her idea of assisting her in her cutie mark quest, "I'm sure I could thin up a few ideas, but I should probably still get an idea for what I'm in for, you and that club of yours sound pretty adventurous. I might not be able to keep up! I never did get that answer about what kinds of stuff you guys have gotten up to in the past, and I do still need to get to know you better, so what's the average day for your group?" He said, smiling with encouragement and genuine interest.

Offline Applejack

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Re: Derivation
« Reply #29 on: February 07, 2014, 01:52:17 am »
Apple Bloom giddily threw her hooves up in an excited cheer when he said helping her search for her talent would be fun, then paused when he mentioned that she still had yet to tell him what the Cutie Mark Crusaders were all about. She fell silent for a moment as she thought about that question, before shrugging slightly as she ran a hoof over the cape around her. "Average day fer us is just hangin' out, tryin'a do whatever we can ta get our cutie marks. That, or spendin' all day tryin'a figure out what ta do. That's been more along the lines o' how things've been lately..." She sighed quietly, obviously a little disheartened by that. Still, she picked back up as she continued. "About stuff we've done, we've tried bein' filmmakers, jugglers, accountants, comickers, ninjas, tattoo artists, acrobats, survivalists, water skiin', potion makin', bowlin', zip linin', float buildin'. And, uh... Somethin' involvin' a cannon," she said vaguely," grinning as innocently as she could to Darrus. "Hey, what about you?! Do you have yer cutie mark yet? If ya do, what is it?"

 


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