Dark Horse

@Raven Rawne, Yeah, that could be interesting. Crystal is given what looks to be a faint light above her cynicism over the world, the chance to just maybe make some changes for the better and reassure that not all is a hopeless venture. I wouldn't expect it to change her outlook completely of course, but it would give hope, and in this world you hold on to hope for all it's worth. Saffron would try to be pessimistic about the townsponies chances of survival, but his conscience would get the better of him eventually. He's no 'knight in shining armor', but he certainly wouldn't lose any sleep disrupting slaver operations. If the surviving security cam footage seems a bit too far fetched, we could also have them find a hidden note that was left by one of the townsponies just before being captured, kind of a desperate cry for help in the event that anypony else stumbled into the ruins. They may have overheard the slavers discussing where they were based, or leave a trial that they could follow.

@Raven Rawne, Saffron tried to keep as low a profile as he could on approach to the nameless ex-settlement, but there was an annoying number of obstacles which hampered a 'stealthy' approach, not least of which was the waterlogged state of the grounds that squelched constantly beneath him no matter how softly he tread, and he knew that it would only get worse the father he moved in. The stallion clicked his tongue as he endured the wet and muddy conditions. Having to deal with grime and gritty of the Wasteland was common in his line of work, some old-world ruins were particularly bad for it, but that didn't mean he had to enjoy it. It was often difficult enough keeping some semblance of hygiene as is, more-so when he was traveling for extended days at a time like this. Still, he remained optimistic in his self-assurances that the town was void of any life. His reconnaissance from the cliff hadn't given him any reason to suspect otherwise. Whatever or whoever had called this place home was long gone, hopefully leaving behind some valuable salvage before whatever fate befell them. And that was another thing keeping the stallion on edge. What had happened to them? Ordinarily he was very adept at spotting the tell-tale signs; discarded ammo casings, battle damage... or even bodies. And yet here, there was nothing. No story to tell, no sad remains of a failed defense, nothing. It was as though the inhabits had simply up and left. Abandoned suddenly, with no clear indication as to why. Had they feared the encroaching swamp and felt it had necessitated a retreat? Surely they could have simply pushed out towards the edge of town where the swamp lands had yet to reach and rebuild... It just didn't make sense to forsake what, to his eyes at least, seemed like a fairly defensible and sustainable position. He was surprised that nopony else had tried to reclaim it. Passing a small, dilapidated shack, he peered in through its half-broken window. Nothing. A collapsed piece of roof had crashed straight through the floor and caused partial flooding, but asides from the subsidence, there didn't appear to be any kind of damage that would have indicated a battle... *CRACK!* The nearby sound of a crash almost sent him jumping through his fur, and he rapidly spun around, drawing his Magic Energy Pistol in a panic and pointing it wildly to where he heard the noise, but the heavy, humid conditions and segregated nature of the town's layout across the swamp made it difficult for him to determine where it had precisely come from. Somewhere ahead, closer to the center of town, where the Admin building was situated. Was it just another building collapsing into the swamp... or was he not alone here? Was it another Pony, or some other wasteland creature? There may be only one way to find out. Steeling himself; he kept his pistol drawn and at the ready in case of an ambush, and carefully progressed further forward towards the town center. Light steps. He thought to himself, trying to make as little noise as possible across the wooden walkways. He was fairly certain that if something already had detected his presence, he was as good as dead. A hasty retreat would be nearly impossible in these conditions. He rounded another abandoned home, this one sitting on south-east corner of the town square. Again, he took a glance inside via the windows. Strange. Looks to have been cleared out.. The room was almost completely empty of salvage and the door lay ajar, it's rotting surface providing an unpleasant aroma to Saffron's nose. Please don't tell me that this is a wasted effort... Hugging the outside wall for cover; he moved down to the front edge of the house, and glanced his head around to provide him his first full view of the center square.

OOC Thread -- @Raven Rawne The distant silhouette of the Canterlot Ruins remained visible even through the layers of dust that flew freely all around Saffron as he pushed towards his destination. The collar of his long duster coat was pulled up over his muzzle, serving as a shield against the harsh conditions while a rudimentary pair of optic goggles did the same for his eyes, their faded amber tint providing the only striking colour against his largely dull brown and grey appearance. He had been travelling for what felt like almost 2 hours by now, though he had no means of checking the exact time. Rising as close to sunrise as was bright enough to safely set off, he had carefully followed his mapped out route towards the area where he was now certain lay his destination. After spending almost the entirety of yesterday simply trying to ensure that he had reached the rough area, he was feeling a certain sense of relief. The travelling traders at his last settlement stop had warned him that the abandoned town had no distinguishing features surrounding it, and it had turned out they weren't exaggerating. It was as though whatever signs of life might once had existed had been stripped away by the relentless dust and bone dry conditions. The only creatures that he had encountered where the occasional radscorpions buried under the ground, though even these were infrequent. It was just as well too, because although he had managed to make it through uninjured, the same couldn't be said for his equipment. He had been forced to leave behind a valuable StealthBuck generator after the dust particles had ruined its circuitry, depriving him of a useful exploration tool. His armour had been personally customized by him overtime to withstand tougher conditions such as these, but it had still taken a beating and was in need of cleaning and light repairs. He'd require a full equipment check at the earliest opportunity. Still, he hadn't come this far to be stopped by fritzy gear, and as he pushed further onwards towards the marked point on his map, he finally felt the dust storm begin to settle and ease off. With renewed enthusiasm, he broke out into a sprinting gallop, and made his way towards a small overhang that pushed up from the ground ahead. And there it was; sitting ominously against the lake that once flowed from Canterlot's mountain was the site of a very dismal looking ghost town. Whatever kind of activity that had once been present here had been largely consumed by the encroaching river, giving the entire town a very swamp-like appearance. Some of the foundations had clearly collapsed, because a couple of buildings where now half sunk into the water, jutting out at odd angles. Despite this, some evidence of post-war modifications were also present. Roughly built bridges connected several of the buildings together from the swamp, and a few locations had signs of shoddy repair jobs or defensive outposts. Oddly enough, they were all perfectly intact, suggesting no attempt at a struggle. Not, at least, with conventional weaponry. The Unicorn's horn glowed a soft orange hue as he retrieved from under his duster an old and somewhat worn looking AEP7 laser pistol. He had managed to keep the more delicate parts of the weapon running for quite some time through careful maintenance and scavenged spare parts, however he also hadn't forced it to endure a dust storm quite like the one he had experienced this morning. He checked it over before examining the energy cell that served as its ammunition and power source. A small red light next to the cell capacitor confirmed his fears that the cell was either nearing depletion or had a malfunction, and neither option sat well with the stallion. He cursed under his breath, switched the safety off, and stowed it in a holster on the outside of his coat. From what he had experienced so far, he was hopeful that there would be no major encounters. The settlement certainly looked deserted, but the Wasteland had a fine way of throwing unexpected surprises around every corner. Taking a few moments to scout the entirely of the ruins; he took note of the largest building present. It looked like an administrations building or some kind of important office. If there was anything worth hiding in this type of town, it would probably be located there. So with a cautious step to him, Saffron judged the most direct route towards the building and set to it at a steady pace.

Do you see me stomping on anypony else's tail?!

@Raven Rawne Alrighty. I think Saffron will be approaching the settlement having heard vague stories of the site from traveling traders and spent much of the previous day pinpointing the exact location. Most reports were of it being abandoned so he's not expecting any encounters, though his main objective would be to prioritize anything that looks as though it may have been hiding potentially valuable materials.

@Raven Rawne, I think I've covered enough to start with. I'm good to begin when you are.

@Nightmare Season, @Raven Rawne, Saffron was mildly surprised to see that Richly hadn't gone for the pleading, please-have-mercy, route; instead he seemed almost chuffed with himself! That smug luck and patronizing tone of false-congratulations gave Saffron the strong desire to smack the insolent little blue-blood across the muzzle with his hoof. He withdrew his magical grasp on the stallion, seeing that he was, for the moment, in little hurry to escape. Though he remained vigilant just in case. "I had a bad feeling about you the moment I--" Saffron began, but Richly cut him off. Instead, he offered to give him a deal. One million bits flat payment in exchange for Peony's hoof in marriage. Saffron snorted at the attempted bribery; but Fabulous wasn't finished. He even offered to become the official sponsor of Saffron's theater company, giving full financial support to whatever projects he desired, and would push to market Saffron as the next "big star" of the performance world. Saffron swallowed. Fabulous was basically offering him a blank check solution to all his problems right then and there. If he accepted, not only would he never have to worry about Bits again, but he could be a famous star among the Upper Canterlot societies by next week! He giddily considered all those opportunities for a moment, before a voice echoed inside his head that crashed him back down onto Earth. "You never did care much for what happened to the rest of us, did you? You only wanted to save your own hide!" The Unicorn skipped a beat as he remembered the words Solar had spoken to him not even an hour ago. He starred back down at the confidently smug looking Stallion before him, reconsidering his offer. "Everypony knows that they're the only ones worth helping! It's the only way you'll ever have a chance at fortune yourself, right?!" "...No." Saffron said firmly after a long pause. "No! I don't care what you offer me! It's Ponies like you who turn a blind-eye to all of the problems down below, then take advantage of their desperation whenever it suits you best! It's disgusting! You did it to Solar, but you will not do that with me! The Unicorn was now utterly furious, standing as though he was about to pounce on the unfortunate aristocrat with his teeth bearing. He couldn't remember the last time he had felt so angry at another Pony. Saffron stepped over and held Richly's head in the direction of his two companions, pointing. "Here's a better idea: How about you put those bits to good use and pay to have my friend's clothes repaired! That's the least of the damage you can amend right now.."

Alright, sounds good! Saffron also originally comes from a Stable that was located under the ruins of Manehattan, but was taken out of it at a young age when a dispute erupted over letting the stable be opened to the outside, and several residents departed in protest. For the majority of his young life, he was thought the values of scavenging and self-sufficiency, and since the Manehatten ruins were full of pre-war treasures and pickings just waiting to be found, it's where he acquired the majority of his knowledge regarding old world tech and interests in obtaining and studying these relics of the past. He's currently hunting down another lead at the beginnings of our story. He never stays in one place for too long; preferring to drift wherever the call of treasure takes him, and he's well used to traveling across harsh environments. He wears a customized duster over a jury-rigged combat armor chestplate, with leather pads strapped around his hind legs. Almost all of his equipment is scavenged and not in the best of shape, though he tries to keep them going for as long as possible with whatever repair materials he can find. He longs to find the "big one". A haul of untouched, pre-war technology that he determinedly believes is out there waiting to be uncovered.

Hey there @Quinch! Since this thread is looking to plan a new Roleplay, it has been moved into the OOC & Discussion section, where it would be more likely to draw attention. Thanks!

I'd be fine with having some continuity between cases. Gives them a bit more to go on during the case itself. Anyway, having Peony act as a sponsor to Saffron would make sense, since she has the resources for it, but I'd imagine it would be done in secret unless she has some way of convincing her parents that it's a shrewd investment. In any case, it would ease pressure on Saffron and give him more of a reason to stick around, since he'd feel indebted to her, and their investigations give him a good source of inspiration for his work. So really it's a mutual arrangement. @Raven Rawne, I'm thinking that the bats could present themselves in as 'specialists' and insist that their area of expertise would make them too invaluable to pass up. Basically just trying to take advantage of their inexperience while also getting the opportunity to learn more first hand about the differing classes/city sections. Just a suggestion of course.

That sounds good. Gives us a bit of time to establish our toons as well, see where they might stand to begin with. Are there any significant changes to Crystal's personality that this RP would entail? I know you mentioned already having a Fallout-centred backstory in place. In Saffron's case, his adventurous and knowledge-enthusiastic traits would be much more pronounced, as well as in general adopting a more hard and somewhat colder outward personality that the environment calls for. He'd still be quite introverted however, and probably feels that the only one he can really rely on is himself at first, but he's not so closed off as to deny the possibility of making new friends. Can't ever have enough of those in the wasteland after all.

@Raven Rawne, @Nightmare Season Saffron nodded as he gulped down the rest of his drink. Maybe by some streak of fortune that pompous oaf Richly Fabulous had actually had some useful information for Peony. -- Sure enough, after a short trot back to the gates, the carriage was in sight, looking as though it was ready for some Upper Canterlot dignitaries. "Come on. Lets get this over with." He said to his companion, approaching the carriage door. ...wait. The Unicorn froze; cutting off Crystal beside him with a foreleg, while his eyes suddenly snapped to the main gate, the reason for which soon became clear. A light brown Earth Pony with a flashy orange mane had come trotting out from beyond the Upper Canterlot side, just matching the description of their culprit. Strapped to his back was unmistakably a large bit purse, and he was carrying a look so pleased and smug with himself that he might as well have been holding a sign above his head saying "TROUBLEMAKER". Without even a word, Saffron broke into a run towards the Stallion, leaving Crystal to play catch up. Saffron was hardly being subtle as he dived over various obstacles that impeded his path. The culprit was quick to notice this, as was almost everypony else out on the street, but the Earth Pony took off sprinting at the sight of him, Saffron's intent obviously clear. He rushed down a side street and attempted to disappear among the narrow alleys and buildings, but there just wasn't enough to cover his escape effectively, and Saffron had little trouble keeping track of him. Eventually, he had gone one street too far, and found himself cornered down a dead end, face to face with the rear wall of a restaurant. He desperately looked for a way out, but it was no use. He was trapped. The sound of approaching hooves prompted a turn of his head, though he kept himself from exposing his face completely to Saffron as he approached, Crystal on his heels. "You're luck has run out..." Saffron said through catching his breath, but keeping a ready stance in case the Stallion tried to make a break past them. "We know all about what you've been up to. Hand over the rose!" "I don't know what you're talking about..." replied the Stallion, still not turning to face them. "Don't test my patience!" Saffron snapped back. "I've been chasing your trail all morning; and I'm just about done with this nonsense! Come clean so that we can put this all to rest and go back to our ordinary lives!" And to his sudden surprise, the Stallion had started laughing, though it sounded very distressed. "Heeheehee... and... you'd know all about having an 'ordinary' life, wouldn't you Saffron?" And as the Stallion finally turned to face them; Saffron got the kind of feeling in his stomach that would usually send him running to the bathroom. "...Solar Blaze?" "You never did care much for what happened to the rest of us, did you? You only wanted to save your own hide!" Solar Blaze shot angrily towards Saffron, who was still lost for words. "Well how's that working out? Helping the Upper Classes I mean? Everypony knows that they're the only ones worth helping! It's the only way you'll ever have a chance at fortune yourself, right?!" "...Solar, I..." Saffron began, but he was cut off. "Don't even try to explain! I've already seen enough! How much are they paying you to help find the culprit? Asides from lending you the fancy carriage and all. Or was that just an incentive bonus?!" Solar then turned his glare towards Crystal. "You're even hanging around with Crystal Ponies..." He said with heavy disgust. "Just wait until the others hear about this." "Solar!" Saffron suddenly shouted, trying to get his words in. "I'm not in this for a reward! I was only in the Upper Sections trying to find some inspiration when I came across the ruined garden. After that, well... I couldn't just leave the owner alone!" "And why not?!" Solar snapped back, and Saffron could see that he was now holding back tears in his eyes. "They don't care about us! Why should we care about them! They deserve whatever misfortune they get..." "But why in Celestia's name would you--" "I lost my home, Saffron!" Solar blurted out as his composure failed him. "They came yesterday and threw me out! Said that if I couldn't find a way to make payments by next week, they'd evict me into the Lower Section... I... I had nowhere else to go... if it wasn't for that Richly Whoosits guy..." "Richly?" said Saffron, his ears perking up. "Richly Fabulous?" "Yeah..." answered Solar, wearily. "What a wierdo... he approached me a few days ago and started blabbing on about how we were "kindred spirits", both in need of a "shining star of hope" or something silly. ...The way he spoke reminded me a bit of you, actually." He smirked as Saffron bristled. "So he promised to pay be a substantial sum of bits to go to this manor in Upper Canterlot and steal a particular Blue Rose from one of the gardens." "Peony..." Saffron muttered. "I couldn't turn down the bits..." Solar said, with what seemed like a hint of genuine regret. "This would help get me my home back, at least for another little while... and it was such an easy job too! I mean who's going to miss one insignificant little rose? I don't even know why he was desperate to get his hoofs on it. I kept thinking the whole thing was a scam of some kind, another stupid game that a bunch of bored rich Ponies were playing. That's why I trashed the garden as much as I could! Figured I could at least make them have to work for a change!" "They do have servants you know..." Saffron replied drearily, although he felt that poor Peony would be tending to much of that garden herself regardless. "Well it doesn't matter." Solar dismissed, shrugging off his emotional state. "He paid up for the job, and I gave him his Rose. He was super ecstatic about it, kept saying that "She'll be mine in a matter of hours!" Pfft... he must be delusional if he thinks a stupid flower will do anything for him..." But Saffron had stopped listening. He turned to Crystal with a look of horrible realization. Crystal must have gotten it too, because she quickly grabbed the flower pot and ran back for the carriage. Saffron turned to give one last look at Solar, who was looking thoroughly confused. There was nothing more to be gained from him now, and time was critical. He'd have to deal with him later. Charging off after Crystal, the two quickly made it back to the carriage and shot off towards their destination. Saffron was jittery the whole way. He knew something was shifty about that Richly Fabulous, he just knew it... He should have acted more forceful back when they seen him at Peony's residence. Now all the pieces were in place... Before long, the carriage had ground to a halt, and the two ponies disembarked, Crystal bringing Peony's flower. "Where's Peony?" Saffron inquired towards a serf who was awaiting their arrival. "We need to see her now!" "Mistress Peony is currently occupied in the garden." The serf responded flatly. "You will have to wait until she sends for you." "No time!" Saffron brushed past the servant despite his protests and ran towards the gardens. "Peony!!" He shouted at the top of his voice. But it was too late. They arrived just in time to see Peony with her muzzle deep into a rose held by none other than Richly Fabulous. For a moment, Saffron thought that it was something else, but stopped in horror as Peony passed out on the spot. The Rose pot dropped to the ground, and as it did so, several particles of what looked like red dust came spraying off of it, revealing the unmistakable underbody of a Blue Rose. Peony had fallen under its spell. Saffron suddenly grabbed his head with a hoof, as a strange, disembodied voice seem to penetrate his skull. It sounded as though it was coming from all around him, but Crystal looked just as confused as he was, and there was nopony else around. "What the...?" But there was no time to think about this. The voice was clear that the first Pony Peony laid eyes on would instantly have her complete affection. Crystal had react to this even faster than he did, however, and in a matter of seconds had charged the aloof red Stallion off of his hooves, sending him clattering to the ground before moving to cover Peony's eyes and cradle her in a sort of defensive posture, whilst Richly remained disoriented over what had just happened. "I'd bet you were waiting to do something like that all day.." He snarkily remarked towards the Crystal Pony as he made his way towards the red Stallion. Fabulous was now trying to get back on his hooves, but Saffron was having none of it. His horn lit with a furious amber glow, the same magical aura surrounded Richly and forcefully held him in place. "I think not, my Rose-bearing 'friend'." He hoped that he wouldn't struggle too much. Saffron was well practiced in using his magic to hold other ponies during performances, but he was by no means a sorcerer. His willpower would not withstand much. "You have far too much to answer for, and if you think I'm talking solely about what you just did to poor Miss Peony here, then you obviously haven't put much thought into the wider scope of consequences your actions have had." Criminal or not, he would make him pay for taking advantage of Solar's desperation. One way or another.

It's the reason I don't think there is any one Bond movie that I universally despise. There's always something to remember them by.

For me, even though the movie was a bit 'meh' at best, the theme for Live and Let Die is firmly planted in my mind as a classic. Probably has something to do with having Paul McCartney and Wings performing it.

@Raven Rawne Ugh, where does the time go? I'll try get one out tonight, thanks!

Hey, so long as you can support yourself.

Loving the artwork; loving the tunes.

How's it going? Unrelated note; working weekend shifts are some of the most boring days I think I could have in my job.

@Raven Rawne, I appreciate the opportunity! Looking forward to seeing how it goes. Alright, so we should probably take this time to lay out any particulars we might want known before we get started; and then decide on how we want this to begin. Do we want the two to have already been travelling together for a while, or should we start out with them encountering each other whilst venturing through a ruin or such?

I'd have no problem with that. Having new partners be brought in is actually a fairly recurring feature in most 'crime noire' settings, and since the cases are (presumably?) more or less unrelated to each other it wouldn't really affect the greater scope of things, at least not while we're this early in. Gives us a nice excuse to include more of the lower level society too as you pointed out. A run down area ran by miscreants, thieves and other outlaws. Think the slums of London in Oliver Twist where Fagin's gang hangs out.

@Raven Rawne, Still here. I didn't seem to be notified of your last response? I'm gonna be honest, I personally think the premise would work better with just 1x1, at least in the sense that it would make the adventuring seem more 'at risk' when they literally only have each other for company. If one is trapped or incapacitated somehow, it's then down to the other to get them out of there. It would be too detrimental to carry on alone. I just feel like that could be utilized to much greater effect in giving deeper character development to the player's toons overtime whilst keeping it as the romantic-adventure tale you originally had in mind. It could certainly work as a three-band adventure if you'd rather not be forced to choose, but I don't feel it could hit those same levels of personal impact for the characters and story. Those are my thoughts at least.