Gully Fluff

By Randimaxis

• January 12, 2016




Age: Elderly

Gender: Male

Species: Earth Pony

Appearance: Gully is from Shetland, so he is very short. He usually wears a cloak or other clothing to cover himself, but beneath this he is rippling with muscle. He has an orange coat dappled with brown spots, and a short, neat white mane and matching tail. His rheumy hazel eyes are wide and tend to dart about a good bit. He has a number of scars, including one that reaches all the way across his muzzle, from ear to chin.

Cutie Mark: Gully's cutie mark is a pouch with a dagger cutting a slice into it, with two bits falling from the slice. It represents his ability as a cutpurse.

Personality: Gully is a crotchety old stallion. He isn't overly social with those he doesn't know, and he tends to prefer staying in the shadows as opposed to being in public, mostly due to his reputation. <br /><br />Once you get past the facade, however, he can be an amiable and jovial sort. He enjoys playing small pranks on his students "to keep 'em on their toes", and has no problem poking at somepony's ego if it seems too swelled.<br /><br />He actively cares about his charges, and will go to great lengths to ensure their safety... but during training, he will push his students hard enough to potentially hurt them. He has enough heart to wait until they have healed, but still insists that "pain is the ultimate teacher", and will drive them hard "for their own good".<br /><br />Gully has a lot of mistakes to make up for, and he knows it. He doesn't like talking about his past, and will only make mention of it if it's needed. He doesn't look well on those who dig.<br /><br />Because of his size, Gully enjoys taking advantage of others' underestimation of his abilities. He is VERY physically capable, but prefers to maintain the idea that he is a feeble old nag - the enemy usually never sees it coming.

Backstory: Gully Fluff was the "seventh foal of a seventh foal", born to Hidden Valley (a rancher) and Peak Performance (a mountain-climber), on the outskirts of bonny Shetland. He was always a sickly child, and spent much of his time either in bed or in a hospice. Though his body was frail, he proved that his mind was as sharp as a tack - something his father truly felt proud of him about.<br /><br />As he grew up, his folks and his siblings cherished him and supported him as he made his way through school. Eventually, Gully's health stabilized enough for him to spend time exercising and trying to build up his body. It was a difficult struggle, usually ending up with him vomiting and gasping for breath... but with time, Gully began to tone and hone his muscles to do whatever he told them to.<br /><br />Gully had the tendency to hang out with some of the less-reputable students though, and began to be associated with all manner of thefts and schemes. One such plan got him in serious trouble: he organized and assisted in the largest organized mass-pickpocket caper in the school's entire history, resulting in the theft of over 50 pouches worth of bits... and, incidentally, his cutie mark. A jealous rival ratted him out however, and he was expelled from school, much to his parents' chagrin.<br /><br />From there, Gully decided that his cutie mark called for something grandiose. So, he went to Las Pegasus and attempted to form a Thieves Guild; unfortunately, there already WAS one, and they didn't take well to Gully's meddling - they attempted to have him "rubbed out". Gully proved to be harder to get rid of than expected, managing to out-think them at nearly every turn. Eventually, he gathered enough of a reputation to attract followers, and soon he had the guild he had wanted.<br /><br />The next couple of decades were violent ones in Gully's life. His guild went to war with the other guilds - and it wasn't pretty. To this day, there are still a fair number of Royal Warrants of Arrest for Gully Fluff; they're issued for conspiracy, theft, grand theft, larceny, extortion, racketeering, Zap Apple Jam bootlegging, assault, battery, resisting arrest and disturbing the peace. <br /><br />He operated as the head of the GutterSnipe Thieves Guild for three long decades before the famed 'Royal Sweep' of Las Pegasus' guilds, where Princess Celestia and a contingent of Royal Guards cleared the city of almost any and all miscreants, sending them en masse to the dungeon.<br /><br />Gully decided that it was time to retire.<br /><br />He made his way out of LP and crossed the country to Baltimare for a few years, before moving to the seedy side of Manehattan. There, he came across a bevy of orphans who were willing to work hard for food. He decided to teach them how to pickpocket, hide, sneak and defend themselves.<br /><br />He became a fagin - a Master Thief who trains others to steal for profit... for a cut, of course. Though he was a stern teacher, he grew to genuinely care for his charges and did his best to be a fair (if shady) role model.<br /><br />Gully currently still teaches orphans the tricks of the trade, and will occasionally take an apprentice or two if they show enough skill. Though he is small and old, he is a master of Hoofjitsu, Judo, Ti Kwan Leep and guerilla tactics, and due to his strict exercise regimen he has the health (and physical ability) of a young stallion.<br /><br />Gully now simply sits back in the shadows, passing his roguish knowledge on to the next generation.