Cainiam

Okay. Resolved it by taking the initiative. Let's hope Hinata doesn't mind.

Double Take sighed as the unicorn took off without even dropping his name. *That could have gone better.* He now sighed outwardly and stood up. He trotted back to the counter to find the owner had left a rather generous amount of money on the counter. A quick visual check gave Double Take a rough estimate that this would indeed be enough to "protect" the establishment from the dangers out there. He swept it up into a bag which he placed on his belt and took a step outside, inhaling a lungful of the thick slum air. "Ahem," a pony coughed from the shadows. Double Take spun around menacingly when he recognised the silhouette. "H-h-hammer! I, er, I got the money from the Bridge Cafe," Double stuttered as he handed the bag of bits to a hoof which reached out of the shadows. "The Don'll be pleased. Now who was that unicorn you were talking to?" "A potential recruit who turned me down." "What's his name?" "I... I, er, didn't get it." "What? You can't tell an anonymous pony about this organisation! What were you thinking?" "He left so fast and..." Double babbled but was silenced by a hoof around the face. "Shut up! You're already on thin ice, Double. Find out this pony's name and where he lives. We can't have him spill his guts to the police now, can we?" Hammer replied threateningly. "No, sir!" Double Take replied quickly and galloped off into the rough direction that the unicorn had left in.

On reflection Double Take could have kept this more polite. Then again, it was a very rare occasion for him to have to use both his diplomatic and aggressive approach. He sighed inwardly, but kept a wide smile on his lips. "Well. It's quite simple. A few jobs with my associates and you'll never have to frequent dumps like this again. I'm sure your commission pays well, but few jobs pay quite as well as ours. If its notepads you're worried about, I could replace that lickety-split. Unicorns are always valuable assets, as I'm sure you understand. You could have a future with our group, with plenty of room for advancement. Sure it comes with a risk, but its relatively minor for you. I'm sure with your kind of skill set, you could stay on the sidelines and still make a very competitive salary." Double Take could see that this unicorn was still uninterested. He needed an extra edge. *Time to appeal to his more base side.* "Oh, there's plenty of other perks too, almost too numerous to count. With our supply chains, you can get hold of all kind of things, from mares to hallucinogenics. Ponies critiquing your works could all come up with stellar reviews. Old enemies could be taken down a peg. Still not interested, Mr...?"

"Ack!" Sketch cried in reply as another robot landed in the crater. His somewhat polite tone marked him as another friendly robot. That didn't stop Sketch from stuttering a little as he replied, "M-m-my name's Sketch. A-a-are you Nemesis's friend?" Sketch turned to Nemesis to gauge his response before acting further.

Totally didn't realise that Neon was a pegasus! Sorry, Snowy! I think that it might be handy to have simple physical descriptions in the introductory post, or at least on a post in this forum. It's kind of hard for somepony jumping in to mentally map out each and every character. Not that that's an excuse. Yeah, I think I made Watcher too antagonistic, but it is bringing some action to the story. If it's too much, then I could stop. The problem with Watcher is he is extremely suspicious of anypony he doesn't know, and Neon's bravado could have been interpreted as something more sinister. Pairing with a calmer character could work, although Snowy might be ticked at how he just attacked her brother.

Cool, thanks. I wasn't 100% on whether you could select multiple fields, but I'm glad you straightened that out. A second character? Something minor? How about a lanky yellow unicorn street musician. With an unkempt dark blue mane and tail, and a rest (the squat "0" thing) for a cutie mark. With his battered old trumpet and worn fedora he could regularly play at different places at different times. He could also be an informant for certain "individuals", if you catch my meaning. Name of Horn Blower, if that isn't too terrible a name.

Sketch couldn't help but laugh at Nemesis's reaction to his magic. The robotic pegasus had a huge grin plastered across its face as it hovered slightly off the ground. "I didn't know that a robot could actually enjoy anything," Sketch said quietly as he watched the pegasus rotate slightly. The strain of such a heavy object quickly caught up with Sketch though, and he had to release the robotic pegasus gently back onto the ground. "Enjoy that, did you? Maybe your talent is something to do with magic. I know as a pegasus that you can't cast, but there's plenty of talents in Equestria that revolve around assisting the magical progress." Sketch's memory suddenly kicked in. He'd been here for a long time. He had a very important dinner with a potential client later, but he couldn't leave this robot alone to deal with his problems. "Hey, Nemesis. I'm going to have to head back to Canterlot soon. Do you want to come with me? It's Nightmare Night in two weeks, so I'm sure I can convince anypony that you're just wearing a costume that you've recently bought. We could see about finding something for you to do, or maybe even somepony who knows you. All of the best mages make Canterlot their home."

"Okay, Cronk. First thing's first we'll have to do it quick." Curse pointed with a hoof to a flask poking out of the pocket of Cronk's hoodie. "That's limerick, right? Highly poisonous? She looks scared. I'll go over there and distract her. She doesn't look like a fighter, so she probably won't engage me. Worst case scenario she calls for help and I'll bolt. If you trot behind her while she's occupied and open the flask. The fumes should spread around her head. She inhales and she's either dead or hospitalised. If I bolt, then I'll meet you by the museum once you've taken care of her. Try not to hurt her friend though. Every pony killed reflects poorly on us, and I have a reputation for inflicting pain, not death." Cronk replies with a slight tip of his head and trots off in one direction. Curse watches the yellow pegasus's eyes follow Cronk. He then walks right up to the bench with a bright winning smile. The two ponies turn to face him. "Oh, you poor dear," Curse says softly as mock sympathy fills his face. "Whatever happened to you? Those bruises look simply terrible! And to think such a horrible thing could occur in such a peaceful town on such a glorious day! Oh, perish the thought!"

The pegasus pulls back and stares menacingly around the now quietened cafe. Ponies hurriedly avoid his gaze and stare back at what they were doing, although at a much quieter volume. The pegasus knew they were all watching now though. Physical violence at this stage would not go over well. He had to make sure that he was still in control of the situation. It was then that Earth Writer's words sank in, he had no money. A furious war took place inside his head. Half of him suspected that it had to be a lie, this pony was sat back alone writing. Anypony who works in a cafe must have a demanding job with a decent pay. The other reminded him that the cafe was pretty budget, and any real moneybags wouldn't even contemplate this greasy death trap. Ponies were watching, but he couldn't let this snob beat him. There must be something worth taking. The pegasus sized him up. Maybe he'd prove useful to the association. It wasn't everyday a down on their luck unicorn appeared here. Time to slip on the old silver tongue. The pegasus suddenly burst into a hearty laugh earning the stares of all the ponies once more. "Oh, Tinpot, you wound me," he stated loud enough for everypony nearby to hear. He then took a seat back down opposite the unicorn and picked up his coffee mug and took a controlled sip before placing it on his side of the table again, a respectable distance from the still soaked notepad. *Time to lie through my teeth* "I'm terribly sorry about all that. I thought you were here undercover. We've had police ponies investigating the establishment before, and you've been here practically every day for a week. It's quite rare to see a unicorn around here. Well, one that isn't a student." The pegasus chuckled at his own joke. "Allow me to properly introduce myself, the name's Double Take. I'm a member of a certain group that may have use for a unicorn. Before I go any further, would you be interested?

I thought he was replying through the vents? That's why he said to Cloud said "I guess we should head down to the lobby and meet this dude, also if it is not to much trouble," Then Cloud threw me off as he held out his hoof to shake despite the fact that he didn't state that he and Easy had arrived at the lobby, unlike Thyme.

In Starship Troopers they had those things like Bombardier Beetles that shot down starships! Cool Spotlight. I had heard of them before, but never seen a clip of them in action.

Hang on. I am really confused at the moment as to where everypony currently is. At estimates I'm putting Thyme and Twilight Shine in the Kitchen, Grey, Swash and Snowy in the entrance lobby. Neon and Clear ran off somewhere. Easy, Screw Loose, Watcher and Cloud are up in a corridor by some vents. Am I right?

Right. So it's entirely possible to play one of the guards whose father assisted in taking down Simulto? That could be fun. Could I RP as Lance, a dark green earth pony guard veteran who can normally be seen guarding the main market? He could have lost his uncle to the mad mage, but been ordered not to harm Simulto. Not that that'll stop him from strategically interfering in Simulto's many attempts. Having a father who probably bragged about bagging Simulto, he is a bit more in the know than most of the other guards. I guess that puts him in the Retribution Affiliate. He could still be won over though, if Simulto could truly prove himself reformed, then he may be willing to forgive and forget.

Watcher has a big ego, and Clear needs this job. I'm sure they can work something out.

"There must be something that you're good at. If I were you, I'd try pretty much anything and everything to see what I like." Sketch replied as he walked over to the edge to join Nemesis. He turned to speak again when a sudden thought hit him. "Hang on, can I try something? How would you react to a simple telekinesis spell?" Sketch lit up his horn as he spoke and his tell-tale emerald aura surged from his horn and surrounded the robot.

Okay. I skimmed your story. It is a rather long introduction for an RP. Still, I'm willing to give it a try. So your character is a black mage who was banished from the city for killing lots of ponies. Too prove he has learned his lesson, which judging from his dream he hasn't, he has to befriend five ordinary ponies in three weeks. Now assuming that all the characters are played by rpers, you'll need five players before you can start, right? Only big question then is how long are you estimating a ponies lifespan at? Did Bright Glow previously know Simulto, or was it his father or even grandfather than sentenced him? You've mentioned that Simulto doesn't age, or at least gets younger every so often. It's just going to be important as to how these ponies remember him. Is he a story used to scare children who have now grown up? I'm guessing from the Feudal setting that this is Middle Ages Style, so no modern tech, right?

Wait, are you doing a space battle scene or what? If you are I'd love a position in the Space Navy. The Captain slot if you're doing it that way. If not, then could I be the Navigator for the Pirate/Mercs?

This certainly does sound interesting. As toy your initial ideas, there should still be some animosity between certain members of each species, so conflicts would be relatively common. Eighty years would have taken quite a bit of bite out of it. You could have the Griffon kingdom being rather antagonistic instead of a rival Pony kingdom, although both are possibilities. You could go full feudal in fact and have lords warring over fiefs. If Discord was king I'm sure he'd allow it. I like the idea of making this an adventure to overthrow Discord. You could have GM's controlling Celestia and Luna in this epic borderline dark quest. That way GM's could direct the story using those characters. As for a combat sequence I'm not sure how that'd play out. Your Zelda method sounds a bit better than the D&D method for this kind of thing. Perhaps if you keep the group relatively close-knit, you could have the admins use Celestia and Luna to advance the plot by solving the puzzle if its taking too long. Still a thing like this sounds like it'd be in for the long haul. If you got together some dedicated players, I'm sure you could make it work. I'd be game for something like this, although I've never actually played D&D, I have played a lot of RPGs so I am at least familiar with this kind of methodology. People are going to feel more vested in this if they have to apply, plus you have the benefit of having no ridiculously OP characters. Changelings could be interesting, but I'd think that as Celestia knew what they were that they came after Discord, but before Nightmare Moon. This does sound interesting. I hope it's not dead.

If this is still happening I could try an Empress Moon. Not sure I'd be fantastic, but I'll give it my best shot. Basically Nightmare Moon, right? Just more conceited and tyrannical because now she actually has a kingdom. Yeah, if you want to get this started, I'll give it my all.

Sure. Thanks for showing interest. To him his mark represents a ticket to anywhere. Merchants like him travel the world in search of new and interesting products at low prices. Gold Dust was always independent, and as he is typically heading from one city to the next with carts full of goodies, he enjoys it. That's not to say he doesn't like company, of course. In a big family it's sometimes hard to get what you want. Especially if the family's in a little financial trouble. Gold Dust saw something he wanted, and took the initiative. He brought in some chewing gum, which he traded for an old wooden toy, which he then traded for the latest book in his favourite series. His talent is specifically geared towards getting hold of exactly what somepony else (or he) wants and walking off with a tidy profit, and every person down the chain happy. He likes to see a happy customer, and is always willing to go the extra mile for customer satisfaction, but knows when a deal stops being worth it. Is that what you wanted? Do you think this character is a bit too unbalanced?

"Think you're better than me, don'cha? Huh?" The pegasus snorted. He grabbed the sandwich out of his target hoof and took a big bite. "You think you can come in here all hoity toity and mess me around?" He shouted, spewing half chewed sandwich all over the place. The pegasus swallowed as he leaned forwards uncomfortably close and growled, "Who do you think you're kidding?" A lack of dental hygiene left its mark on his breath, which then left its mark on Earth Writer. "You've hurt me. Now the way I see it, I either hurt you." The pegasus somehow pounded one of his forehooves into the other with a resounding smack. "Or you make the pain go away with a small gift. Of bits. All of them." The Pegasus's gaze hardened as he stretched out his hoof.

"So you have no purpose? Everything has a purpose! (OOC: Does Nemesis have a cutie mark? I'm going to assume not.) Just because it isn't marked on your flank, doesn't mean you don't have one. What are you good at?"

Right. Going to introduce a new character then. Watcher is a security specialist who was recently moved into Ponyville. Used to work for a clandestine agency reporting to Celestia herself, but got out of the game. Old and short-tempered, but full of interesting stories. Wide open eye as a cutie mark, and a black coat with a dark grey mane and tail. Sleeps during the day and runs the night shift.

Hang on. You said we could run with two characters, right? Well how about I introduce a unicorn guard who runs the night shift, while Clear Skies takes the day shift? That also answers the problem of 24/7 security.

Too late to mod my character? I'm sure a slight race change won't ruin everything, right? Or maybe a private security contractor sets up, and visits once a month for maintenance?