Cainiam

Sketch re-entered the room carrying a tray with a teapot and four china mugs on it. The floral pattern marked it out as the good tea set that once belonged to his grandmother, rather than the ugly clay thing he used when he was alone. With the tea there was a bowl of sugar cubes along with a small jug of milk. The tray also contained an assortment of biscuits. "I didn't know how you take your tea so if its alrargle yargh..." his accent once again degenerated into thick nonsense as he caught a glimpse of the yellow mare from the corner of his eye. *Damn* Sketch sighed loudly and set the tea tray down on the table. He poured four mugs of tea and then realised he was completely incapable of communicating the possibility of milk and sugar. Rather than rationally set about talking to Nemesis quietly, Sketch thought it would be a bright idea to make ridiculously overexaggerated movements in the rough direction of the sugar and milk. *I hate you right now body.*

Sketch had always considered himself asexual. He'd never actively participated in anything but a platonic relationship with his work colleagues and friends, but this new mare was awakening something inside him that he'd never felt before. Something primal began to surge through his system. Desire began to attack his better judgement. He stared transfixed as the mare ducked behind a chair. Her eyes were the very picture of innocence and beauty. Sketch found his body attempting to move forwards without his consent. *Stop it! She's clearly distressed. Ask what's wrong! Come on, move your lips. You've done this a million times before.* Sketch then proceeded to make a noise that could only be described as the mating call of a dugong. Sketch instantly felt blood surge to his cheeks in embarrassment. *That could not have gone worse.* He tried once more to rationalise his thoughts. The good host inside him suddenly made it well aware that there was now a living guest in his house. Sketch turned slightly to the side in the hopes that not looking at her would result in some modicum of sanity. "Arghle bleh," he announced to the room and wandered off into the kitchen. Once inside his body began to listen to instruction again. His tongue still felt like a slab awkwardly shoved into his mouth, but at least his hooves were obeying him. He set about doing what he always did when he felt nervous. Making tea. *Surely even robots could appreciate a good brew?*

Sketch turned back to to Nemesis as he walked. "If you're house hunting then this is one of the better districts... unless you strike it rich and can afford to live up by the Castle." Sketch turned back to face forwards. "We're here," he announced proudly as he pointed to a small cottage that looked ridiculously out of place in between two large condos. The cottage looked much more like Ponyville architecture than the typical sweeping designs of Canterlot. Sketch trotted up to the front door and unlocked it, before pushing it wide open. "If you'll take a seat in the lounge just there, then we can plan our next course of action." Once the two robots were inside, Sketch trotted in too and closed the door behind him. The lounge was an odd blend of modern and rustic. Comfy fabric sofas sat clashed with the large wooden coffee table. A large screen TV sat atop an oaken stand. The room couldn't seem to decide what time period to stay in. Sketch gestured to the sofas and asked, "Anything to eat, drink, or is that a stupid question?"

"HQ! HQ! The nest is just too full of bugs! We're all gonna die if we don't get out of here!" I swear I play way too much EDF 2017, best game ever. Every time you mention ants I can't help but think of those giant acid-spitting monstrosities walking all over Tokyo. I'd heard about aphid farming, but I didn't know about their ability to maximise efficiency by moving them around! I was just learning about innate behaviour and fixed action patterns in biology. It's astounding to think that all of these behavioural quirks are pre-programmed from birth.

The guard backed up a bit at the sudden burst of anger from the armoured pegasus. As far as she knew robots couldn't express anger, so she guessed that cleared that up. She had also been kind of jerky too them. "Sorry about that," she said with a sigh. "I was just doing my job. It's good to see ponies taking an interest in Nightmare Night again. You're right about the fabric thing. Last time Lance went as a ghost by just throwing a bed sheet on himself with holes for eyes. Anyway, safe travels." She nodded and then continued trotting away. "Nice one, Nemesis," Sketch said with a friendly smile. "Let's get to my place then. Not much further."

Ah. I'll edit my post too then. Thanks for pointing that out.

(OOC: Okay. An anonymous thief whose now been dubbed Cronk stole a dangerous potion from Insanity Dash. Insanity Dash pursued to get it back, or at least warn him of the dangers, but found herself outmatched by him. Cronk easily subdued her and sent her packing. Curse then arrived and reminded Cronk that the two of them have to steal a painting from the art galley, Piece de la resistance, for a Pony Don up in Manehattan. The two split up and Curse stopped at a lemonade stand because he was thirsty. Cronk discovered this and was justifiably angry. Curse foisted the blame onto Insanity Dash who was sitting on a nearby bench being comforted by Lovestone. The two talked briefly before Curse walked up to them and distracted them. Cronk then foalnapped Insanity Dash by grabbing her from behind and rushing her off down an alleyway and into an old building where he left her. Meanwhile Curse slipped away and stole the entire pitcher of lemonade while everypony was distracted. Once it was all drained he headed to the art gallery/museum, throwing the empty pitcher to the ground as he went. Cronk meanwhile dumped his hoodie and met Curse at the art galley. Iron Blitz managed to find Insanity but wasn't fast enough to catch Cronk. He did discover tickets to the museum inside the pocket of the discarded hoodie however. I think that's the current stage of where we're at. Hinata, DreamNotes, Snowy, and GreyMatter stopped participating it seems.)

The guard narrowed her eyes as she looked over Nemesis in detail. "Hmm... If it is a costume then it is very detailed. I'll tell you what. You prove it's a costume, and you can walk away. I don't want illegal technology within city limits," the guard replied accusingly. "Well as you can..." Sketch began but was silenced by a shout from the guard. "Not you! Him!" She pointed at Nemesis again.

"So, you ready then? I'll take us back to mine," Sketch announced more confidently than he would've in the cave. Things were on his terms now, and he felt much better for it. Though he yearned for the wide open pastures of the country and constantly belittled the cramped confines of the urban metropolis, Sketch had lived in Canterlot his entire life. Canterlot was home. "Ponies will probably stare, but don't worry. As long as that's all their doing then you'll be fine. This is one of the better areas in Canterlot although we shouldn't be surprised if we're stopped by a guard. They should buy the costume lie though, so just let me handle any talking." With that Sketch set off at a steady canter through the streets. As suspected ponies whispered and stared at the motley group as they passed. Sketch led the group along the streets, narrating as they went. Talking was cathartic to him, but he didn't know if either of his companions were even listening. "That's the old potion shop, I doubt any of their brews'll work on you though," he remarked as they passed an aged but still eloquent building on their trip. "That means we're getting close. Just a few more streets." "Halt!" A white pegasus mare with strong violet eyes shouted as he approached the trio of ponies. "Is that a robot?" "No Ma'am. This is just my two friends trying out their Nightmare Night costumes," Sketch replied in a well rehearsed manner. "Pull the other hoof," the guard said flatly. Sketch's smile vanished as he turned to his companions for support.

Heya. Welcome to Canterlot. RP comes in two distinct flavours here: Crossover or World of Equestria. The World of Equestria is based on Equestria as we know it from the show. Real locations, realistic characters, basically it's if you want an RP experience akin to what the show is like. Crossover on one of the other hooves, is where you can basically live out your wild fantasies. If you want to play a robot alicorn from beyond the stars, then that's the place for you. Well that's a small lie. There's also the free RP which doesn't need applying for. There you can rp with anypony with any character as long as its within the realms of whatever scenario you're posting on.

"You might as well just pick him up. I'll cover for you if anypony asks. Just follow me and I'll get us off of the streets," Sketch instructed the two.

At first Curse was filled with blind rage that this foal could possibly think that he was a beggar! He hadn't begged since he learnt he first curse! before he could show the mare the error of her ways, something utterly unexpected happened. He had heard rumours of Cronk's speed and ruthless efficiency, but this was entirely unexpected. He tried to recall what had just happened in slow motion, but found that all he could remember seeing is the yellow mare get yanked back and vanish down an alley. He was sure a black hoodie was involved somehow. Ponies took notice. There were some cries of shock, and a few plucky colts ran down the alley only to return empty-hoofed. By then though, Curse had slipped past everypony back over to the lemonade stand and grabbed the entire pitcher, before quietly trotting away with it into the shadows. *No sense in wasting a distraction, although technically wasn't I supposed to be the distraction?* Curse shrugged and took a long draught of the delicious yellow liquid. *Whoever owned that lemonade stand really knew how to mix a delicious brew. Anyway, no doubt Cronk'll be waiting for me at the museum* Curse took another long draught and then threw the now empty pitcher over his shoulder, where it smashed against the cobbled marketplace. Curse trotted through the crowds on the way to the art gallery. Somehow whispers had spread ahead of him of a vampiric hoodie wearing pony stealing young mares to suck their blood. This obviously didn't make sense for two reasons, but Curse couldn't be asked to correct them. He arrived at the art gallery in record time, and looked for his hoodie wearing companion, only to find nopony. He checked his watch. *Two minutes until guard change?! How did that detour take thirteen minutes? Blimey. I need to find Cronk, and fast. Our window of opportunity is almost here.*

"Umm... they were locked together so I just pulled them apart, did that not fix it? I'm sorry, I've never dealt with technology quite like this. I mean whatever you built here is fantastic. Maybe I'll let Nemesis handle it after all. Then we can head down to my place. It's not the biggest, but it is mine. One of the few detached houses around here too, so it is a bit more secretive."

"Let me get that," Sketch replied for Nemesis as he cast another spell. The panels were covered in the tell-tale green aura and gently pulled apart. Sketch then took the lead. "Okay, if we're heading to my place, then I'll lead the way. That is, unless you had another destination in mind. I rent a workshop in the area where I keep all my tech stuff. I design engineering solutions by trade, so if you want access to some tools for whatever reason we could head there. There's also all the famous landmarks and stuff. Y'know, the Academy itself, the royal castle, the Artificer's Guild, all those places. I've lived here all my life, so I know this town like the back of my hoof. Tell me where you want to go, and we'll go."

(OOC: Oops. Sorry about that. I'll fix it now and make sure to keep that in mind.) Double Take followed the two as they walked. Just close enough to be in earshot. He kept to large groups and jumped between different activities. One minute he was at a market stall, the next sat on a bench, then talking in a large crowd. In retrospect maybe he shouldn't have taken all of his lessons from that odd white cloaked pony. *So he is a writer. I thought he was. Although I didn't take him for a biographer.* Double Take froze and did a namesake double take. *His friends a journalist? For Equestria Daily? The only paper that wouldn't accept the Don's money? Okay, okay, calm down Double. Find out where he lives, do a little intimidation tactics, and he should keep his mouth shut. Just keep following.*

Sketch looked a little crestfallen that once again he wouldn't be going to Ponyville, but then the robot suggested he grab onto his wings. "Seriously? You can fly us there?" Sketch shouted excitedly. His horn lit up green once more as he collected all of his items back into his saddlebags magically and reattached them to his back. Once everything was back in place he grabbed onto the robot tightly. "If you want to head to my place, it's on the East side of town. Look for the Celestia Academy and then turn slightly into town. It's not far from the Academy grounds so we should be safe to land there and then trot the rest of the way."

(OC: Damnation. I scanned the first post for a name for the cafe, saw Pony Joe's and figured that was it. Going to have to edit it to something generic, sorry.) Double Take didn't have any clue where he was going. He scanned left and right as he galloped down street after street to the point where all the names were blurring together. This was not good. Hammer's threat still hung heavy in the air. Last pony to cross him took an express trip to the bottom of the ocean on a one-way ticket. Double Take was lucky that Hammer had taken a shine to him actually, very few ponies got a chance to fix their mistake before Hammer took charge personally. Double wished he had gotten a look at that letter that the unicorn had received. He didn't have a clue where he was going. Just when he was beginning to debate leaving town instead he spotted a tan flank turn a corner. Could it be? The pegasus galloped up to the corner and stopped abruptly. Slowly looking round the side he realised he had arrived at the train station. *His target was meeting somepony? This could potentially be very, very bad.* A grey earth pony trotted around the corner and called out to the unicorn. *Earth Writer? A name. So who's he meeting?* *Both names? My lucky day. Now I just need to know where he lives.* *Perfect! Chances are they'll be heading back to Earth Writer's place as soon as possible. All I have to do is stick to the shadows and tail him. Celestia, I haven't done this in a while*

Thanks for looking at it. There and done. Added it to the application and expanded the cutie mark origin story a little. Struggling to find additional details to add though. Is that enough?

(OC: Hooray! A real antagonist! Welcome to the RP, Ciraxis) "Oh, uh, sorry about that, Mr. Avatar," Sketch said to the grey robot as he lowered his binoculars gently to the floor. "Things have become rather convoluted," Sketch added. He then turned back to Nemesis, "If he is your creator then maybe you should go with him back to Ponyville. I can cancel my appointment if you want me to go with you, to make sure you're safe and all." Sketch laughed nervously before continuing, "There's other jobs in Canterlot. Besides, I've wanted to visit Ponyville for quite some time now. From up on the mountain, the town always looks so peaceful and care free. I've sketched so many different ponies going about their days without a care. I've just never had any real reason to go. Anyway, If you want me to come with you, then I'm ready and willing." Sketch nodded resolutely, and stared into Nemesis's eyes.

Umm... he's a musician, not a magician. Plays the trumpet. Although a street magician would be cool, I doubt magic turns as many heads in places inherently magical. Well, unless it's super showy like Trixie's.

I suppose a quick summary post would be in order. Do you think its a realistic assumption that he could install the security system by himself overnight? Or should I make that one of the main focuses of today?

Oh, yeah, I meant Horn Blower. I suppose technically he would be a mix of contraband and common if he was an affiliate, but it would probably be easier if he was a non-affiliate. I'm just saying that Horn Blower could be an affiliate if you're having trouble getting together the requisite six people, but if you can then he's happy as a non-affiliate.

"So you do know each other?" Sketch replied, exhaling the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Then a loud sliding noise followed by the clack of metal signalled two guns deploying from Nemesis, and Sketch's fear returned even stronger than before. "N-n-nemesis? Is he an enemy?" Sketch stuttered again as he backed up. Sketch looked around frantically for something to help and spotted his binoculars still on the cave floor. With a darting look back to the large grey robot, he gulped and enveloped the binoculars in his green aura again, bringing them up in his most threatening pose, which paled in comparison to his robotic buddy's.

Well he could be promoted to major if you can't get hold of enough other players. I'm currently running two characters in The Grey Area, so I should be capable of running two if need be. It would be easier though to have him as something of an atmospheric character. Somepony who's always watching and playing, yet rarely speaks to Simulto if at all.