Prologue: Gambit
"Most of us regard good luck as our right, and bad luck as a betrayal of that right."
War never changes... I've heard so many ponies say that line over and over like it makes them wise, but it's a lie. Wars change. Reasons for battle change. Tactics change. We used to fight in the open, one to one, but then decided to asasinate and changed war forever. We used to fight over petty things, like land and food, but then we learned to fight over ideology. No, the only thing that truly never changes is Chance.
From when the first ponysaurus evolved two brain-cells to rub together we have been fascinated with chance. From throwing bones to dice. From poker to caravan. There are only two options, to win or to loose. No, War changes. But luck, luck never changes.
---
When I first opened my eyes on the faithful morning that wouldn't really change my life, nothing was different. The first thing I saw was the plain tarnished ceiling of the hotel I was renting a room in. Feeling the warmth beside me I saw a pretty mare, with an orange mane and grey coat. Her cuteness was doubled due to the cutest little freckles, covering her nose from cheek to cheek. After taking a second to stare I got back to business and tossed a bag of caps beside her on the bed.
I didn't care if I had hired her or not, she was quite the catch, so I thought she deserved something for her time. I slipped quickly into my dapper brown suit, with my small bolo tie with the vault 21 poker chip standing in the center. That was the only thing I had left of my old life, the only thing that I could remove at least. I placed on my nose a pair of glasses, and without even a look back I used my magic to grab my gun, a simple long barrel .357 magnum, which I placed in my hip-holster.
I was a gambler, and I never left anyone un-fleeced if I could. But according to the passports I was a courier. I always followed through with my orders, but they were often left by the wayside while I did whatever else I had to do. Usually that meant gambling for a while, and showing off my luck at the tables. This made me... less than popular for important packages. But this town needed someone's help.
---
Walking down the stairs I stared at my pip-buck, looking at the order I had gotten from the courier office.
[] Deliver a message from the local office of Nanny Jane to Timber.
Seemed simple enough, so I went down to the gambling pits, my home away from home. The only reason I couldn't just live off my winnings was the policy of cutting you off at a certain point, which meant I could only live for so long. I was ready to get this damn job done with in any case. I moved across the town, following the marker on my map to the store of one Nanny Jane. I'd heard nasty things about her, that she marked up her prices.
Still she owned the main store in town, where the courier service I worked for had their station. Not that I particularly needed to be a courier, it was just the best job in the wasteland for someone who traveled alot and didn't care about a bit of danger. Honestly I loved that extra bit of chance in my life. It also made it easier for me to find out of the way towns with casinos, where my luck came in handy in getting me some caps.
When I walked over to the store there was a small crowd gathered around, which I moved through as best I could, my small frame allowing me to get in between ponies and easily to the head of the crowd. Outside was a pony that was obviously the deputy, a young stallion with a red neckerchief and denim shirt. "What's going on here?" I asked, moving forward and talking to the deputy.
"Well, it's a crime scene. Nanny Jane was shot during the storm last night." Fuck, that wasn't good. "Nothing was taken, as far as we can tell, but it's a mess in there. We can't be sure."
"I have to get in there, I'm a courier." I said, looking him up and down. "If you can just get me the letter from the courier station, I'll be on my way." He looked me up and down but shrugged and got me the letter.
"The station will be down for a couple of days, you won't be able to return through here until then." He said, before gesturing for me to leave on my way. I did so with a thankful attitude. If it wasn't for this pony's help I would have had to sneak into the store and steal it.
Footnote!
Lucky Devil
STR: 2
PER: 5(-)
END: 2
CHA: 6
INT: 6
AGI: 9(+)
LCK: 10
Small Frame: Your weak, a small little thing with brittle little bones. You gain +1 Agility and enemies have a -5 penalty to hit you, but your limbs suffer 25% more limb damage. This does not affect actual damage taken.
Four Eyes: Your effective Perception increases by one while wearing glasses. Whenever not wearing glasses, you suffer a -1 penalty to your Perception.