Earth Pony Durham Red [Ready]

[PedestrianWolf]

Roleplay Type: World of Equestria Mane RP

Name: Durham Red

Sex: Male

Age: Young Stallion

Species: Earth Pony

Eye colour: Washed out Denim Blue

Coat: Terra Cotta red, like sun baked clay

Mane/Tail: Silvery leaf green, kept short and out of the way

Physique: Tall and broad shouldered, with strong legs

Residence: Appleloosa

Occupation: Miller

Cutie Mark: Two ears of golden wheat

Durham Red worked in the family mill since he was old enough to push a broom. At first, his chores consisted of just sweeping up the spilled grain and flour, but as he grew older and stronger, he started helping unload the grain bags and filling the flour sacks. When he had a few moments to himself, he studied the mechanics of the mill, learning how the gears and shafts worked.

Once, when he was a young colt, an order came in for one hundred sacks of finely ground cake flour to be delivered to a bakery in Fillydelphia. Unfortunately the night before a storm upriver had sent a felled tree right into the mill's water wheel, breaking some of the paddles so it couldn't turn properly anymore. It would take at least a week to fix, and the order was due in three days.

Durham Red thought hard, studied the machinery, and came up with a solution. He created a makeshift belt drive, attached it to the axle of the water wheel on one end, and a treadmill on the other. Then he jumped on the treadmill and started running. The belt drive turned the axle, which turned the gear wheels, which turned the main drive shaft, which turned the millstones. His sire, hearing the noise coming from the mill, ran in to see what his son had done. He was so proud that he just stood there for a moment, admiring the ingenuity of the solution Durham Red had come up with. Then he joined his son on the treadmill, and together they ground the wheat until the flour order was completed.

Durham Red was so exhausted that he didn't notice his cutie mark until the next day. If you were to ask him what it meant, he would tell you it stood for dedication, to one's work and one's family.

History: Durham Red comes from a long line of millers. His grandparents emigrated from Germaney when they were newly married, and built a gristmill on the Manebrush River, just north of Fillydelphia. Farmers on the Saddleveil Plains would bring their grain to the mill to be ground into flour, and then transported downriver to the city to be sold. Business thrived, and eventually they passed the mill on to their sons, Einkorn, Emmer, and Spelt.

Durham Red's sire, Einkorn, met and married a pretty mare named Caraway Rye, who joined him in the family business. Eventually they took over operation of the mill as Einkorn's two brothers got married and moved away. Einkorn and Caraway Rye had two foals, Durham Red, and his little sister. Sorghum Sweet.

Durham Red spent his foalhood in the mill, helping to keep everything running as smoothly as possible. He did get some schooling, when it wasn't too busy and his parents could spare him. What he didn't learn in school, he learned from books. He was at the library in Fillydelphia as often as he could get there, and checked out books on everything from Equestria Ancient History to modern engineering and mechanics.

When Durham Red learned about the new pony settlement of Appleloosa, he decided to try his hoof at running his own mill. A different sort than the water wheel run grist mill his grandsire had built. He wanted to build a wind powered mill, just outside of the town. That way the farmers could sell their grain and flour to the townspeople rather than sending it downriver, and needing to ship it back at greater expense.

Fortunately his uncle Emmer and his wife, a pretty donkey named Wilhelmina, had moved back to Fillydelphia, and could take over his place at the mill. His cousin, Franz Mueller, decided that running a mill on the edge of pony civilization would be a great adventure. He volunteered to accompany Durham to Appleloosa and help him build and run it.

Durham's sister, Sorghum Sweet, was annoyed that she wasn't allowed to go with her big brother, but she was still to young to be any real help, and probably more of a hindrance. Durham promised her she could come visit when the new windmill was all set up and ready for business.

Character Summary: Durham Red's windmill is located just outside of Appleloosa, nearish to the railroad tracks. Local farmers on the Saddleveil Plains send him grain, which he grinds into flour to sell to the Appleloosans. And with so many members of the Apple family living there, they go through a lot of flour. The great pie battle with the nearby buffalo tribe used nearly one hundred sacks alone!

Durham Red is dedicated to his work. He prides himself on the quality of his finished product. Even though he is the mill owner now, he still sweeps the floor every day, to keep himself grounded. And on days when the wind just won't turn the sails (and there isn't a pegasus around to bring a breeze), he and Franz take turns running the treadmill that turns the shaft.

Durham Red and Franz Mueller are still young males though, and like to have a bit of fun every now and then. Franz learned how to make moonshine liquor from an old prospector pony, and Durham set up a still in back of the storage shed. They take the leftover grain and turn it into firewater whiskey, which they will sometimes share with their friends among the other young stallions in town. They also have races every so often with the young buffalo bulls, to see who is the fastest on four hooves. Durham usually loses, but it's great fun anyhow.

Living with his cousin is fine, and a lot of fun, but Durham Red would love to have a fillyfriend. Goodness knows there are a lot of pretty fillies in Appleloosa, but he's never been able to ask one on a date. Franz, being a mule, is completely unhelpful in this regard. "What do you want some filly around fer?" he asks. "They're nothin' but trouble, I tell ya."

His sister is the complete opposite. "Why don't you have a filly friend yet?" Sorghum Sweet will ask every time she visits. Worse than his mother, who also reminds him with not so subtle hints that she would love some grandfoals someday, preferably soon.

It isn't that he is shy, it's that if anything, he's too bold. Durham Red always shows off around the pretty fillies in town, and inevitably hurts himself, or otherwise embarrasses himself in front of them. Then they laugh and walk away. Every darn time *sigh*. One day, he'll learn. Maybe. His head can be as hard as a millstone sometimes.

Durham Red's two loves are his job, and his family. He loves being an independent pony, running his own windmill. He loves having his little sister visit, even if she can be annoying at times, and he loves living with his cousin and sharing the family business with him.

He dislikes the weevils and mice that sometimes get into his grain and flour sacks, making a mess and ruining the product. He also dislikes the splitting headaches he gets from drinking too much homemade firewater whiskey. And he really dislikes his mother nagging him to have babies already, but not enough to stop talking to her. She is his mother, after all.

[PedestrianWolf]

I haven't abandoned this character application, I've just been a bit busy. Will get back to this as soon as I can with more backstory.

[Lux]

Hello, just checking on the status of the application.

[PedestrianWolf]

Sorry, I've been getting caught up in roleplayin with my current OCs, and haven't been working on my app. I'll try to update it more today.

EDIT: Okay, I've finished writing the history and character summary. Ready for review!

[RarityDash]

Another very excellent application. Good work!

[Rosewind]

Moving to accepted - earth pony!

[PedestrianWolf]

Wow, really? That was fast! Thanks!