The Walls of Canterlot

This is a time past the great rule of the Celestial Empire. A time of desperation, a time of scarcity, a time of fear. In a time before our own, ponykind inhabited this land and stretched to all corners of the world. They lived in peace, happiness, they lived. But now, all that was is confined, trapped. Some event that was lost in the annals of history caused the collapse of all we once knew as a species. We went from a peaceful empire that ruled the land, to refugees that find themselves hiding behind magic and mortar.

Canterlot, the last bastion of ponykind. When all around it was burning and succumbing to the unknown horrors, those who ruled began to close this great city off from all the rest of the world. Many refugees fled here, but when enough energy was accumulated to create the barriers, all that was found inside the walls of Canterlot was cut off completely, as if it never existed. In the time that followed, the world around it crumbled to nothing, the land itself seemed to wither and perish. However, after some time, the Rulers of Canterlot realised that Canterlot could not sustain itself. And so the gates opened, and the barriers fell.

What followed was an exodus of sorts, where ponies who had grown restless with being stuck in the massive concrete cage that was Canterlot attempted to make a new life in the desolate Outside. However, after a simple fortnight had passed, something arrived at the gates of Canterlot that was not pony. Some massive beast only known as The Abhorant attacked and devastated the pony capital, killing hundreds within hours. When all seemed lost, The Abhorant seemed to disappear. Immediately afterwards, the barriers came up once more, once again closing off the great city, and abandoning all those who had ventured outward.

With the passing of a hoof-full of seasons, the Rulers were forced to drop the barriers one more time. Though, this time they had made the resolve to do such only for a brief period of time. And after two weeks had passed, all those still outside the city walls were marooned to fend for themselves until the barriers opened once more.

And so we find ourselves at the present, where twice a year, every year, Canterlot opens itself open to the Outside in an attempt to salvage the land. However, the fear of the return of The Abhorant remains shrouded over the city. Some ponies leave in hopes to hunt The Abhorant, some leave in hopes to make a new life for themselves, but this particular season, members of the Vanguard prepare for an Expedition of a different kind. Though little is known of what they plan to do, what is known is they are not simply looking for food or weapons. Some speculate that they are working with the Blacksmith's Guild to do something unheard of until this very season.

They plan to establish a colony in the Outside.

Rules:
1) To use a character(s), you need to post a character sheet at the sign-up thread. Just to keep things in order.
2) Combat will mostly be up to the combatants to decide how things go. No dice rolls needed, no HP to count. Just be fair, keep small, duel-like fights short and sweet, don't try to blow up a fight and make it bigger than it needs to be, and just give a little bearing to the "Advantage System" as described in the Character Sheet Template in the sign-up thread.
3) I'll really only be a GM for the sake of battle with Outside creatures, or maybe to help with creating plot/story elements to allow you guys to play with, if you guys are at a standstill. But for all intents and purposes, this is an open RP, so feel free to do what you want, just make sure to stay reasonably close to the walls of logic. Like if you introduce the idea that maybe a Vanguard squad might've gone rogue in the past, and is now a nomad raider party, it makes sense, so it's allowed, etc...
4) Don't be a jerk
5) This RP is "Laissez faire", so anything goes content-wise, as long as it doesn't jump the shark and defy all manners of logic. But if something goes too far (hopefully I don't need to list examples), I might have to step in and bring things back a bit. But, for the most part, have fun.
6) I might add more rules if we come across something that I didn't cover, so yeah, TBD...

2690913
The air is heavy this day. It is that of the first of fourteen days in which the barriers will fall. This season seems similar to those before it, but alongside the usual bands of ponies who seek to venture to the Outside, a number of red-cloaked Equines gather near the gates.

Clad with various sets of mismatched armour, weapons and gear, this seemingly rag-tag band of ruffians is actually the Vanguard of Canterlot, and today they seem to have a mission.

Among this group is a blue-coated unicorn clad only with a short iron sword and a simple red cape. This pony, Flagship, seems eager for the barriers to lower, but trots amongst the crowd in hopes of maybe finding somepony to talk to, to pass the time.

Slightly apart from the crowds, a pegasus mare seemingly carved from jade stone inspects her only possessions: a box harnessed to her back that hums softly and itermittenly pops open a trio of fins, and a chainsaw that is caressed with tenderness. With a nod, the weapon revs thrice, each time growling a little louder. The mare smirks and slings the weapon onto the same harness as the box.

"Tonight, Jade Feather disappears forever," she whispers. She eyes a blue unicorn searching through the crowds, almost as if it is looking for someone...

2692177
As Flagship ventured through the crowd, his eyes came across a particular jade-coated mare. For some reason or another, this one seemed... different, but he couldn't put his finger on what exactly was unique about her. Maybe it was her coat.

He didn't seem to care too much about it, though. She was just as good as anypony to start a small conversation with, so he made his way towards the pegasus.

"Hello," Flagship began, cocking a slight smile as he spoke, "Are you heading for the Outside too? I am; I'm part of the Vanguard, Escort Regiment, apparently somethin' big's happening today. Cool, huh?"

2693337
'Jade Feather' cursed under her breath as the unicorn headed for her, trying to ignore the pony until it was right in front of her.

"Hello," he began, cocking a slight smile as he spoke, "Are you heading for the Outside too? I am; I'm part of the Vanguard, Escort Regiment, apparently somethin' big's happening today. Cool, huh?"

"Sure is," she replied with a small grin, offering a hoof. "Jade Feather, I'm part of the Pegasus Recon Wing. Hope you groundlings can keep up; I, for one, am practically ready to burst out of my skin, I'm so excited."

2694471
Flagship reached his hoof out as well, "Recon, huh? Is this your first time? 'Cause I've heard some stories from some vets in older Recons. They see the stuff that most of us'll never see, you know? The kind of stuff that drove us to where we are..."

Flagship had some regret growing in his stomach. He didn't know what he was saying until it came out of his mouth.

"Oh, sorry, sometimes I speak faster than I can think. So uh, what's your name? Mine's Flagship."

Jade Feather gave a sly, closed-lips chuckle. "Name's Jade Feather. First time, if you must know. I'm hoping for an easy go-around out there, but sometimes the world likes to play hardball, am I right?"

Her eyes flicked to the sword by Flagship's side. "You plan on going out with that fire poker? You're pretty brave, groundling."

2694977
"Fire poker?" He inspected his sword with a spot of self consciousness, "It's not that bad... well, I mean, it was all they had left. Well, besides a couple guns, but I'm not much of a gun-pony myself. So this my only real choice... Whatever, it's not like we're gonna be fightin' anything to begin with. They'd never knowingly throw rookies into battle... right?"

"Tell you what," she bumped his shoulder lightly. "If I see something like another Abhorant, you'll be the first to know, m'kay? Just so you can get a head start. But hey, let's not get all depressed just yet, right? We have an adventure ahead of us!"

2695235
((This is my last post for tonight. I just noticed it was 1 where I was at, so g'night.))
"Right," Flagship's eyes began to slowly wander away. After a short moment, front gate began to slowly creak open as Canterlot's barriers began to fade out.

"Guess this is it then. I should go to my post. Hopefully I'll see you around some time soon." And with that Flagship headed towards the Vanguard wagons, the rest of the crowd sprung to life as each of the ponies got prepared to do whatever they needed in the Outside. The journey was about to begin.

2695235
2695310 ((I would have jumped on sooner, but I've been a bit busy))

As the gates began to open while the barrier fell apart, a white stallion, clad in grey chest armor with a small, green jewel set in the middle, was observing the anxious crowd below. Strangely enough, he, too, was getting ready to leave, despite being so far away from everypony else. Thinking that he might as well go meet the one who hired him to protect them this time, he reached towards a shelf beside him and took a belt off of it, one that had a simple sword and an ancient looking pistol strapped to it, and placed it around his waist. The saddle bags came next, each filled with some food and water, extra gems, and some old charts from past travels. There was even plenty of extra ammo for his gun.

Confident that he was ready, he left the tower he was in, said good bye to a few of his fellow guards who would be staying behind, and made his way towards the gates and the crowd below.

2695235
2696082
After he was finished talking to that jade pegasus, Flagship made his way towards the caravans he was tasked with escorting. When he arrived at the cluster of wagons, he saw that only a handful of ponies seemed to be guarding the caravans, and a good amount of them weren't Vanguard. Flagship figured it was probably due to a shortage of volunteers that the Vanguard needed outside help for this one.

As he trotted to his position, he noticed that one final, white-coated pony was leaving the guard tower. He was planning on making his acquaintance as well, but was stopped when a large, brown Earth pony stood on top of a crate, cleared his throat and began to talk.

"Alright everypony, gather 'round. I gotta make one final announcement before you all head out." he said in a gravelly voice as he waited for the guards to assemble.

Jade Feather sighed as Flagship walked away, thankful he proved to not be another changeling hunter. "Like I need that right now..."

A gruff, loud voice caught her ear, calling for the attention of all those present. She looked at the source, one of the leads of the Vanguard. Jade took to the air, hovering above the crowds and floating over by the stallion, listening intently. Practiced eyes flicked over his body, taking in every detail and memorizing it for future usage.

2698340
2696082
((Do you think you could reply directly to my comments? That way it's easier to know when you posted and I can, in turn, reply back quicker as well.))

After the majority of the crowd seemed at least somewhat attentive, the stallion began to speak once more, "Alright folks, I'm not gonna go over every single detail, I'm just gonna cover the big picture. My name's Iron Stake and I'm in charge as of right now. Commander Sawtooth's unable to lead properly at the moment, so I'm acting Commander until things clear up."

"Now as you all know, the last hoof-full of missions we attempted weren't exactly shining successes, but today's a little different. It's not too important to cover right now, but I'm gonna emphasize that this cargo we're escorting today is a lot more crucial than the normal gear we trot around. Now I'm not saying that we expect anything to happen today, but if anything goes down, I need you all to know that his cargo is more important than individual lives as of right now."

"So that's your goal right now. That's what's gonna put dinner on your table tonight, keep this cargo safe. Nothin' more, nothin' less. Got it? Hopefully. Now let's get moving."

And with that, the stallion made his way towards the gate, the rest of the crowd packing up and following suit.

2698811
((Of course. I apologize for being so late to respond.))

Jade snorted to herself. She had no intention of dying for anyone's boxes of whatever. Still, she had a job to do, and it wasn't like her pockets were full.

She flapped off and headed over to the rest of the Recon Wing, falling in with the rest of the pegasi. A few of them she greeted as familiar faces, but otherwise ignored the lot. She could almost taste the outside air. At long last, she was about to see what lay beyond the walls.

2699097
((It's all good, I'm just playing some Fall of the Samurai as I wait.))

With a few signals between some of the watchtowers, the final layers of the barriers faded into nothingness and the front gate of the city opened. The Vanguard's Recon was the first of the groups to leave. And with mere steps, they were greeted with the sight of the Outside.

It was a sight which made a few pause from the sheer beauty. In contrast to the grey, dull monotony of inside the Wall, the view from the cliff in which Canterlot was built upon was that which could rival all but the grandest works of art. The plains and hills seemed to roll on for miles past the horizon, seas of green and yellow flowing about in a tranquility that made seem like it was hoof-crafted by a god itself. And the clear, blue sky that was masked by the barriers of Canterlot enhanced the scene tenfold with it's never-ending blanket of soft blue that ever-so-quietly whispered "freedom" into the ears of all that witnessed it.

In the distance, a massive wall of blue mountains backdropped this glorious view with an orange haze of sunrise to top the impressive structure of rock, looking somewhat similar to the walls of the city of Canterlot, but with a jaggedness that seemed to compliment massive size to give an assurance that this could not be crafted by hoof. And just before that was a patch of trees that followed suit with the hills and stretched onward until eternity at the base of the mountains, looking like a patch of dark green waves of energy and life.

A few ponies seemed to begin to tear up from the sheer sight.

Unfortunately for Recon, the squad captain, a sickly-looking pegasus with ruffled feathers and light green coat, cleared his throat and drew their attention.

"Alright Recon, it's time to do what you do best. I want groups of three to spread out and look for anything of interest within a five mile radius, whether it be something we should head to, or something to avoid. Just don't make the mistake of engaging with anything. Just make some distance, fire either a red or green flare, depending on what it is, and hoof it back to the main caravan. Once either Escort or Assault had dealt with whatever you found, you'll be set to continue scouting."

After the captain was done speaking, he turned and began to fly off towards the East and left the rest of Recon to head out where they pleased.

2699367
Jade Feather was starstruck at the beauty of the outside world. Everything seemed so different, so wondrous, so alive. The urge to spread her wings, take off, and never look back was almost irresistible. She placed a single hoof forward, but drew it back slightly. The time to drop the illusion was nigh, but not quite arrived just yet.

Jade trotted to the front of the Recon Wing. "Alright, I need two wingmates, fast and hardy. We're heading straight out to the perimeter and coming right back." As soon as she had her team, she directed them towards the mountains, but was unable to help herself from edging out ever so slightly in front of them.

2699945
The journey towards the known perimeter was mostly uneventful, save for the view, but as the squad made its way closer and closer to the edge of the "safe-zone", the sight of a large grouping of buildings came into view.

One of the squadmates, a rather muscular pegasus stallion, asked, "That's not something on the map. You think we should throw out a flare... uh, what was your name again? I don't think we've been properly introduced."

2700067
"Well it's a good thing you don't need to know me, just know that I'm in charge here," Jade said abrasively. "Yes, throw up a flare. We'll do the good commander one better, we'll head closer for a quick flyby. Nopony touch down, we're not risking our necks, not yet."

2700474
The stallion nodded, pulled out his green flare, and fired it to the sky. As the squad went in closer, they saw that this town seemed to be quite sizable before the cataclysm took place. Two landmarks that stood out were a large, tan building with a domed top, seemingly the town center, and a large tree that seemed to be converted to a house of some sort.

Beyond that there were various other buildings, but nothing too noteworthy.

"I think we should take a closer look. At the very least we might be able to scrap some old tech for a nice bonus. Isn't that why we're out here to begin with?" The muscled pony began to slowly drift towards the ground.

2700546
Jade raised an eyebrow. This pegasus seemed to be a particularly... creative troublemaker. "Fine. You touch down and look around. We'll stay up here and be on the lookout for you. Anything moves, shoot the treehouse with the red flare, got it?"

2700640
"Fine, I get first dibs then, rookie. And don't get too haughty about bein' the "leader" of the squad. Nobody's got the higher say than the commander and the captains, so those are the only ponies I'll give real authority too." And with that, the pegasus took to scavenging the houses and buildings below.

After a few more moments of scouting overhead, the second pegasus spoke up, a crimson-coated stallion. "Don't take Smithy too seriously, he means well, but he's really only here to feed the folks, you know? But to be honest, I'd rather be pickin' about down there too, if you don't mind keeping a look-out for both of us."

2700778
Jade looked at the stallion out of the corner of her eye. "Whether he likes it or not, I'm the leader of this team. Your lives are my responsibility, and I refuse to put you into undue risk. Charcoal-head down there is likely to get himself killed, and if that happens, it's up to us to bring his corpse back to his family. "

She sneered down at the ground. "Besides, I only have one set of eyes, and two bodies is a bit much. I might tarnish my beautiful image."

2700969
"Fine. I'll stay with you then." They flew above the town just a little longer before the sight of a few wagons came into view. "That must be the relief, then. That was fast. I don't plan on heading back to the main train, do you? I mean, how often do we get to come out here, you know? I'd take a bit of sanitation duty just to look around. Maybe we'll find something nice."

2701042
"Wait until... Smelly, was it? Wait until he comes back. After that, you're both free to go off, I'll report back to the Wing leader myself."

She looked around. "Where is Smelly, anyway?'

2701107
"Smithy? I thought I saw him go into a house somewhere over there." The pegasus motioned towards the town center. "I'll go get him myself. See you around." He flew to the ground and began to search the buildings on foot.

Jade was then approached by a white pegasus clad in scraps of armour and a tattered crimson cape. "Greetings scout, who's in charge here?"

2701144
Jade snapped to and looked the pegasus over. "That would be me. My wingmates are currently performing a scouting run of this town." She gestured to the ruins. "I'm on aerial lookout and close support. I take it you're from the caravan?"

2701186
The pegasus nodded, "That would be correct. This is a nice find you have here. I'm Captain Drought. And I guess I'll be leading the sweep team for this town. As of right now, you'll be second in command. You can start by telling me what you found, if anything, and when you're done you can gather your squadmates and get ready for a proper sweep of the place."

2701257
"Roger that, Captain," Jade saluted. "As of right now I have nothing to report, my wingmates will be back any moment now and may change that. Can we expect any other hooves on this, sir?"

2701347
"Negative. Green flare means it's not worth sending too many bodies to check out. It's just you, your squaddies, me and mine."

Just then the crimson pony flew to the two. "I can't find Smithy. He ain't responding to anything. I thought you guys might wanna know about this." Drought looked to Jade.

"They are your squaddies. I think you can handle this."

2701347
2701444
2696082
(How would you like me too come?)

2701462
2701444
2701347 ((I'm...I'm on time? For once?! AWESOME! And choose however you think is best Lorth))

The white, earth pony stallion finally made it to the crowd and was looking around himself. With all of the bustling ponies, he couldn't find his hire. He narrowed his golden eyes and gazed around for the familiar coat of the one, or ones, he was to help protect.

((If anyone wants to partner up with me, just say something, but I'll just make up an OC if no one wants to))

2701502
(Lolk. But thanks.)

2701444
"Ponyfeathers..." Jade cursed. She pointed to the crimson pegasus. "You, stay here with Captain Drought. I'm going to go get Smelly, come hell or high water."

With that, she dove down into the town, darting inside a mostly intact building. She chuckled to herself, thinking how to best take out the two pegasi and claim the wagons for herself. "But first, Smithy needs a friend..." she whispered, beginning to look for the absent wingmate.

2701444
(I was wondering if I could run two characters. I'll update the speck d one soon, but he's close enough to the first to be of no real issue)

2701561
((Sure, you can run as many as you want, just don't make it too much of a cluster. And feel free to jump in any time.))

2701701

(Kay.....mind giving me a place to do so? Perhaps a leader for my two to follow?)

2701701 ((I'm super late right now, so how should I jump in? Just straight in or appear in the crowd going outside?))

2701749
((However you want, really. Though I suppose going in with the crowd would be best, but whatever fits you.))

2701746
((Okay, just give me a small bit to create an entrance for the sudden flush of new guys. Hopefully it'll be up in a jiffy.))

2701502
After a few moments of scanning, he saw his quarry. A posh-looking unicorn with a vibrant purple coat and extravagant violet mane and tail. His name was Lapidary, a representative of the Blacksmith Guild. He seemed to be checking a few things on a clipboard while he watched over his goods by the gate.

2701558
Jade heard an odd moaning as she searched through the building. It wasn't a normal call of pain, though. It sounded almost as if two slightly different moans were being emitted at the same time from the same sort. The odd sound came from a few rooms ahead...

2701767
(Sure)

2701767
Spotting the incredibly purple unicorn, the white stallion began making his way towards him. As soon as he was within calling distance, he yelled towards him.

"Hello Mr. Lapidary! I'm Noble Sword as you will recall, are you ready to leave?"

((Shall I take control of him(Lapidary) after this or do you want to as your the GM?))

2701749
((Do you think you could write your own intro right now? I don't want to sound lazy, but I don't want to get burnt out too early, either.))
2701797
((So who are you going to start off as? And where did you want to start (i.e. inside the walls, outside, at a particular building in the walls, etc...))
2701863
((He's just a pompous buffoon meant to be a little comic relief, feel free to do with him what you will.))

Lapidary looked to the white pony and spoke in an odd, rather high-pitched voice, "Ah, yes yes yes, Noble. A new, valiant soldier here to perform the most noble of tasks of guarding the throne's very own goods? Hmm, not a moment too soon. Are you ready to head into the vast unknown and truly make a name for all of us at the Guild?"

2701915
(I would like to start off outside with Tarnished Silver and Corrupted Cobalt. Preferably outside.)

2701915 ((No prob, I'll work on that now))

2701930
((Kay, but I don't think I can write Cobalt's intro just yet, mainly because I have no idea who he is.))

The ponies leaving the safety of the wall seemed like a rather odd sight when one looks at it from the Outside. And here was Tarnished Silver, alone, but safe, simply watching, and maybe waiting for something, as the citizens of Canterlot left their home to explore the vast Outside. He was safe from being spotted, so he could easily plan his next move with little chance of interruption. The question was, "What next?"

((That an okay intro?))

2701915 Staring up into the sky, Winds blinked, spots appearing in her vision. Shaking her head, she looked back down at the opened gates, watching as everyone clambered about to leave. Sighing, Winds trotted out to watch, her pack shifting ever so slightly.

Pack mentality seems to strong right now. I guess it makes sense, too. Less chances of dying...

With that thought, she merged into the group, disappearing into the multitude of ponies shaking with anticipation. Her shemagh didn't stand out all too much, and many ponies around her also had packs, so she didn't feel to out of place. Lifting her hooves at different intervals, she tried to stave off the excitement she was feeling, knowing that becoming to engrossed in the journey could get her killed. Sh began to trot along with the rest of the group, blending in almost perfectly.

((Alright, I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here, and I am especially sorry for me having to go just as I arrived, but I have tests tomorrow, so au revoir, mes copains!))

2701982
(Thanks. I'll do the rest.)
Cobalt, his brother stepped up alongside him. "We will assist the Recon?"
"Of course. We should make haste. They will be leaving soon, and we must hurry he we are to find Grey."
"Then let us go, and secure our spot."
With that, they joined up with the rest of the Recon group, hoping to find a third member so they could begin the search for their missing brother.

2701767
Jade blinked at the sudden groaning. With a small growl, a gout of green fire erupted at her hooves, carrying up and over her form, until her true self was revealed.

Revenant hissed at the noise, levitating the chainsaw Vendetta off his back. He would rather not fight in such close quarters, but the opinion was effectively moot as he inched towards the source of the bizarre sound...

2702011
((eh, same here. I have a couple midterms this week, so I might be a bit delayed later on. But still, I'm good right now.))

As the crowd left the walls and filtered out into the world, the ponies began to scatter ever so slowly, one group after another. There was almost a sense of duty amongst the groups as they went on to do their deeds of scavenging and the like. Winds found that there were three clear cut paths to take: North, to the old lands of the pegasi; West, to the plains; and South, where there are rumours of grand old cities and a vast body of water known as Eternity's Crossing.

2702017
"You two, what are your names?" The two were approached by a sickly, green pegasus stallion clad in a crimson cape with the Vanguard's insignia, symbolising his high rank. "You with Recon, Escort, or Assault? This whole thing's too damn big that I can't keep track who's with who."

2702099
The sight of the muscular pegasus lying down on the floor came into view as Revenant crept around the corner. The moans turned to speech.

"Jade, Jade, Jade. You throw your cover far too quickly. Now tell me, are you gonna slice him up? Or just break his bones to incapacitate him? I'm honestly curious, really, give me the gritty details."