Who You Gonna Call?

Rhinestone peered at them for a moment, then groaned. "Well c'mon, aren't you gonna call me a ratchet flank ho or something? Ah well. Uh...how come you guys are into dead ponies and stuff. Is it just expected of you or what?"

"Expected of us...? Like what do you mean?" "You mean because we're Jackals?" Hallows rolls her eyes and looks away, absently starting out the window. She grabs a piece of candy from somewhere and pops it on her mouth.

"I... still don't follow." Gallows shots a glance at Hallows, his tail wagging anxiously. "We aren't in the Corpse business, we're in the Ghost Hunting business." She returns the look, calm and straight faced. Gallows shifts in his seat, then relaxes. "Yeah, we've been hunting ghosts for a few years now. Paid our way out of Zebrica, all the way here."

Sweet Puff, finally recovering from the shock of candy being knocked out of her hoof in such a manner, has only one thing to say. "Arty isn't my dad! My dad is way cooler than that dweeb!"

Rhinestone shrugged. "That's cool. Good on ya. Wishful thinking on my part I suppose. Call me a traditionalist, but I like it when my dead stay inanimate. Make's 'em easier to burry at any rate. Not that they'll be going much of anywhere once rigor mortis sets in but...ah, sorry. My bad. I was never good at keeping shop talk out of my social life. Oddly enough, many ponies find graphic descriptions of decomposing flesh disquieting. Go fig, right?"

Copper Rose wrote:Sweet Puff, finally recovering from the shock of candy being knocked out of her hoof in such a manner, has only one thing to say. "Arty isn't my dad! My dad is way cooler than that dweeb!"

Maverick sighed, and muttered something under his breath. "And besides, Coolness is a matter of perspective, I think. I must wonder though, why is that magnet stuck to the side of a bag of candy? Candy was not a Ferrous material last time I checked."

"...I mean, it's not like we haven't dealt with corpses before... I just wouldn't say it's our thing." Gallows grins uneasily, and Hallows cracks her candy. "Dead things make ghosts, ghosts mean business." She says quietly. Then, even quieter, she adds "Sometimes you just need to eat."

---

Did Maverick just jump in on this little party too?

Crystalite wrote:Maverick sighed, and muttered something under his breath. "And besides, Coolness is a matter of perspective, I think. I must wonder though, why is that magnet stuck to the side of a bag of candy? Candy was not a Ferrous material last time I checked."

"I said earlier, I made some magnetic candy so that it could be stuck on the fridge so when you want a snack you eat the candy instead of real food from inside the fridge! Besides, not everything in this bag is candy: where do you think I got my socks from?" At this, Sweet Puff opens another part of the bag and pulls out a sort of random assortment of things, including her socks, a rainbow tutu, tomcolt-ish styled rainbow mane and tail wigs, and a bag of various ribbons and things for tying back mane and tail, and decorating them. After she realizes she pulled everything out of that pocket, including things she didn't want other ponies to see, she quickly stuffs it all back inside and hides the bag.

Arty took a while to respond. "My interest is scientific," He said a little brusquely, plopping down and staring out a window.

"My only obsession is candy." Sweet Puff says, popping another piece into her mouth.

Crystalite wrote:Arty took a while to respond. "My interest is scientific," He said a little brusquely, plopping down and staring out a window.

Hallows looks at him, then glances at the rest of the members of the group. Her ears prick up, and she amps at the air, add if trying to detect something. Then she looks back or the window as well, smiling. "Sure it is."

"Speaking of Candy, where do I go to get some dinner? I'm still starving... oh, wait, is dinner free on a train?"

"You already know I like my dead things. Also, I'm haunted, but that's another story altogether." She placed her hoof to her chin in thought. "I don't typically eat this early in the night, but I doubt they cater to midnight snacks, so I should probably raid the lunch car and stock some food away for later."

Dinner is free on the train so long as you want crappy stuff like peanuts. Anyone who wants more has to pay a little bit extra, but it can be safely assumed they can afford it.

It takes the better part of the night (roughly fourteen or so hours) to get there, but the night is quiet - no ghostly interruptions or anything of the like to interrupt sleep. But soon enough, the group arrives in Las Pegasus, two or so hours after the crack of dawn, stopping at the train station. As soon as they get off the train, they see several signs advertising casinos or nighttime entertainment, many of which look like they light up with neon at night, and towering above them all a few billboards. One of said billboards looks recently painted over and reads "Las Pegasus - A cavalcade of sex and violence FOR THE WHOLE FAMILY!" Several ponies stand by the train station, holding signs with names on them like "Rose Family", "Rough Boulder", and "Hunter Gazelle" - none of the signs show the names of the group, or Dr. Spengler.

The train station itself is pretty well furnished for being out in the desert, though that's partially due to several janitor ponies sweeping up dust and grime wherever they see it. The smell of cleaning solution and the shiny, freshly-painted-and-waxed-over sheen that covers most of the surfaces at the station are probably also a result of these cleaning ponies. Several ponies seem to be heading to Las Pegasus, pushing and shoving their way out of the train, while fewer seem to be in line to actually leave. Numerous slot machines line the train station, some as close as twenty yards from the train platform. Few ponies are actually pressing their luck at them, though.

Truly, a gentrified city of sin.

"Classy," echoed a familiar voice in Rhinestone's head.

---

Thought I might as well move onto Las Pegasus.

Alright, crappy peanuts for the twins then. Also the other stuff I had planned happened as well.

---

Hallows yawned as she walked along with the group, Gallows still half asleep with his head resting on his sisters shoulder. "I guess we're here. Let's find a place to sleep, I wasn't done yet."

---

I vote we hang around and wait for Rough Boulder. Sounds like he could be pretty useful. Probably a thief.

"Whaddya know. Word for word," the engineer said, pointing at the billboard. "For the whole family! Because of course any one who would bring their foal here is going to approve of such a thing. Well played. Don't forget to keep me updated on Bell Mare," He said to Rhinestone. "I want another chance to talk to her if she should pop up."

Rhinestone yawned, staggering out of the train. She leaned against Maverick and nearly fell asleep right there, though Bell Mare's voice woke her up. Oh. Hi, buckface. I was almost starting to miss you.

"She's here all right. At the very least she's..." the earth pony paused to yawn hugely, "in my head. Celestia, why am I up during the day?"

"Who? Oh yeah, your imaginary ghost friend. Well good luck with that." Hallows rolls her eyes, then takes a look at one of the slot machines. "... Someone lend me a bit."

---

I am now assuming that our conversation on the train went far enough to explain to the twins about Bell Mare, They then would have used their ghost detecting "artifacts", and due to lack of evidence, disbelieve that she actually exists- same as with Whisper.

Maverick noticed at that moment that Rhinestone had been leaning on him. Initially he was a little embarrassed; and then he was taken by surprise: when he wished she would keep doing so. He shook himself out of it quickly; he hardly knew her.

... Didn't he?

They had talked about some deep, serious things last night. He certainly knew her better than the the rest of the team. She too knew things about him he didn't share with everypony. There was a bond forming that Maverick could only just perceive - like a corner of a box on a high shelf.

He decided to shelve the feeling for now; it would be rude, he decided, to try and suggest by any means that she do anything in that regard. At least until he understood better what was going on. When there was time, he would examine this the way he examined everything: scientifically, objectively, examining all the facts after making sure he had them all. Right now there was work to do. He pulled out a tablet device to send the old Griffin a message:

Message wrote:hey spengler - where did you say this factory was

Sweet Puff buzzes around the station, carrying her bag in her hooves. She seems to have slept well. "I still wish we'd gone to the Everfree Forest... This place is too dry!" At such, She pulls out a plastic rainbow water bottle, pours in a bag of colorful dust, shakes it up and then downs half of it.

Maverick stared as Sweet Puff downed what appeared to basically be sugar water. "How do you still have teeth?"

Bronymous wrote:Hallows yawned as she walked along with the group, Gallows still half asleep with his head resting on his sisters shoulder. "I guess we're here. Let's find a place to sleep, I wasn't done yet."

Elacular wrote:"She's here all right. At the very least she's..."[/color] the earth pony paused to yawn hugely, "in my head. Celestia, why am I up during the day?"

Copper Rose wrote:Sweet Puff buzzes around the station, carrying her bag in her hooves. She seems to have slept well. "I still wish we'd gone to the Everfree Forest... This place is too dry!" At such, She pulls out a plastic rainbow water bottle, pours in a bag of colorful dust, shakes it up and then downs half of it.

Luckily Las Pegasus has no shortage of places to sleep, stay, and gorge oneself on candy and other generally poor choices of long-term nourishment. The problem is finding one that's in the budget.

---

A Streetwise check would take care of that well enough, though.

Crystalite wrote:When there was time, he would examine this the way he examined everything: scientifically, objectively, examining all the facts after making sure he had them all. Right now there was work to do. He pulled out a tablet device to send the old Griffin a message:

Message wrote:hey spengler - where did you say this factory was

A minute or so later a reply comes back.

Message wrote:couple of miles west - exact coordinates unknown - sender of letter unknown - sorry i dont have more details but will send letter copy soon

"Okay then," Maverick said upon seeing Spengler's message. "Let's see if we can find a hotel with something vaguely resembling a good reputation for decency."

Streetsmarts:

Crystalite wrote:"Okay then," Maverick said upon seeing Spengler's message. "Let's see if we can find a hotel with something vaguely resembling a good reputation for decency."

If it's decency you're looking for, Sombra's Palace easily qualifies, being the biggest, fanciest, flashiest, and cleanest hotel/casino in Las Pegasus. Probably not in the budget, though. That would be more along the lines of the Samara or the Phoenix.

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I'm good with pony names you guys