Gilda CYOA part 1

>Day Griffon in Equestria

>You are Gilda, badass Griffon who doesn't need any loser pony friends

>But right now you have more pressing problems

>Namely, your head hurts

>Scratch that, your head fucking HURTS

>You try to bring one of your talons up to massage your temples

*Clonk*

>You wince as your talon collides with something wooden. Did you fall asleep in an alley coming home from the bar again?

>You sigh. Ever since your humiliation at that pink devil's hooves you've been drinking more and more

>Not that you wanted too... it was just an easy escape. Just so easy to drink and forget about stupid Rainbow Cr-

>You stop your thought and much more carefully bring your talon up to your head, being careful to avoid whatever you hit. You don't want to think about her right now, your best friend turned trai-

>You groan again, massaging your temple now... You suppose it's time to get up and start the day and figure out what property damage you caused this time.

>You open your eyes

>Aaaaaaand... it's black.

>You blink. Rubbing your eyes, you're ~pretty~ sure you have your eyes open.

>"Wha-..." you say, unsure of what exactly is going on. Except... your voice sounds funny. Tinny... hollow.

>You extend your talons away from you.

*Clonk*

>Your breath catches in your throat... You slowly move your talons, tracing the wall they're on. They barely get anywhere before they reach another wall.

>"No...no no no no no no."

>Your breathing is coming in much shallower breaths now. You kick out with one of your hind legs.

*Clonk*

"NO NO NO NO- IF THIS IS A PRANK IT ISN'T FUNNY!" You scream. But you know that this isn't a prank. No one would prank you. You have no friends.

>You freeze up for a moment, you're on the verge of a panic attack, but you're Gilda... you're better than this... what do you do?

 

A. Attempt to call for help

B. Claw and thrash and break your way out of this box

C. Try to remember what happened to you yesterday

D. Panic attack anyway

(B was chosen) 

 

>First things first you have to get out of this box and beat up the dweeb that put you in here

>You calmly and rationally start clawing at the wood...

>Who are you kidding, you tear into that shit like a fresh kill kicking, clawing, even a few headbutts thrown in here and there.

>The wood is smooth, but your claws find purchase quick enough

*Crack*

>No wood is going to keep you down! You let out a small laugh, which quickly turns into a cough as something falls into your mouth and on your face.

>You freeze for a moment, it tastes like dirt. But... the only reason dirt would be falling in your mouth is...

>"W-what the buck... WHAT THE BUCK."

>With reinvigorated rage, you rip and tear that shit. Dirt starts falling on you in heaps and mounds. You slam your eyes and mouth shut and just keep ripping and digging.

>Now that there's a small hole you start trying to wiggle into a position to get your legs under you.

>Your lungs start burning. You feel like you're holding your breath and digging for hours. Your mind is screaming at you, your body is in so much pain.

>You kick up even more, you feel a piece of wood drag across your side, and all your breath comes rushing out in a gasp of pain.

>Dirt quickly fills the void of your beak. you move your talons in front of your mouth and push the dirt away, coughing it up

>You inhale, and most of it is dirt, but you feel some air enter your lungs.

>You keep going, keep digging, keep raging against the dirt. You're not sure what's going on but DAMNED if you're going to die like this.

>Finally a talon doesn't feel resistance. You pull, you push, you wiggle your wings. Anything to get you out.

>You burst out through the dirt and gasp for air.

>You take a moment to just catch your breath.

>Your lungs and body feel like they're on fire.

>You breathe

>For the love of Sunbutts hairy flank you BREATHE

>You slowly and painfully pull yourself out of...

>You open your eyes

>You look around, and it's exactly like you thought

>No, exactly like you feared

>There's a small rock at the end of a fresh pile of dirt

>A fresh pile of dirt you just busted out of

>You don't understand why, but... but you were buried alive...

>...

>YOU WERE BUCKING BURIED ALIVE.

>You feel sick to your stomach... who would do that to someone... to ~you~

>You suddenly realize that sick feeling isn't just a feeling, as your stomach rebels against you, and you vomit.

>You pant for a bit, and slowly wipe your beak.

>First things first, you need help

>No, you need to figure out what happened

>You pull your talons over your head. Why in Tartarus can't you bloody ~think~ straight?

 

>You take a moment. You repeat to yourself: are Gilda, and you are strong.

>You had been doing this for quite a while now, unsure when it had started, and you weren't sure if you were trying to reassure yourself or lie to yourself...

>But it helped.

>You look around. You're next to what looks like a... mountain ridge? On your other talon, plains stretch out before you.

>There's nothing else that you can see really... just flat plains, a few rocks, mountains, and... and a grave.

>Relief all of a sudden gives way to rage.

>You are going to find the son of a minotaur that did this to you and RIP OUT HIS THROAT

>The question is... how do you start?

 

A. Fly up into the mountains

B. Start walking a directions in the plains

C. Wait where you are and see if anyone visits your "grave"

D. Follow the mountain ridge along the bottom.

E. Call for help and see if anyone responds.

(D was chosen)

 

>You can't make up your mind yet.

>You need to figure out what's going on.

>You look at the rock at the end of your...

>You shake your head.

>You look at the rock, trying to see if there's anything engraved.

>...You sigh. It figures. It's just a rock. A marker for...

>One of your talons quickly comes up to your face to rub your eyes. You don't cry. You are Gilda. You are strong. You are Gilda, and you are strong.

>...

 

>The tears start flowing freely.

>"H-hello!" You shout

>"Is anyone there? Anyone?" A short sob wracks your body, "S-somebody!?"

>You stop yelling for a moment, listening... and add under your breath... "please..."

>You wait for a little bit, but nothing happens. Just wind rustling, sun shining, and so much ~nothing~

>Well, you're not going to get anything done sitting here. Sitting is for lameos and dweebs.

 

>You are neither.

>You turn to the mountains. You had been staying in a small town called Trotston, which was a small pony village next to the mountain ridge. You figure if you go up the mountain you'd at least be able to see it.

>You stretch and shake the dirt off your wings. Despite the ache all over your body, and the cuts you got getting out of there, your wings appear to be in working order.

>You flap once, flap twice, and with the third flap you take to the air.

>Your body feels numb, and some voice in the back of your head says you probably shouldn't be doing anything too strenuous, but your anger doesn't have time for that.

>You begin your ascent.

>You fly for the better part of an hour

>The sun starts sinking in the sky, and it's getting dark a bit too fast for your liking

>But you make it.

>You make it, are sore all over, but you're at the top of the ridge.

>Looking back behind you all you can see are plains

>On the other side it looks more or less the same, but a smattering of trees, a huge lake, and what looks like what is ~possibly~ a building far in the distance, resting on the horizon.

>You could fly to the lake, book it for the building, or try to find a place to rest...

 

A. Lake

B. Building

C. Rest

(A and B tied)

>You shudder. You may be an awesome moutainlionbird... err... lionbird... Griffon

>But you decide it's way too cold out here for that. Building is comfort, heat, and possible answers.

>You strech your wings and gauge the distance. Gliding won't get you all the way there, but you can get to the lake. You do need to drink. Your throat is dry, and you can still feel dirt coating it.

>You leap

>You soar

>You fly

 

>The trip down is much less work. You feel pretty exhausted after flying up a damn mountainside, but you press on.

>As you glide, you notice you can't see anything moving in the plains below. No rabbits or mice or... anything really.

>Griffons have some of the best eyesight out there, but all you see are rocks, dead trees, and... is that a windmill?

>Distracting you from your thoughts, your wings finally start throbbing, but you've pretty much made it to the lake. You take a brief respite at the lake, drink your fill of glorious heavenly water, not even caring if it was dirty. You look up as the sky is transitioning from day to night. The building is close enough that you decide to walk the rest of the way there.

 

>So you walk

>You feel like you're walking forever, when all of a sudden the building is much much closer than you remember.

>The moon is also far higher in the sky.

>As the building gets closer, you spy that windmill you saw earlier.

>You're not quite sure what it is, but as the building as a whole gets closer, you're pretty certain that this is a farm of some sort. Quaint house, windmill... thingy... and a whole lot of rocks.

>You pray to your ancestors that this farm isn't abandoned, because it looks like nothing has grown here in... ever really.

>The house is dark, but, it is night. You spy a large cylindrical building behind the house.

>A... silo? You think that's what it's called.

>So... do you risk the hospitality of whomever may live here, sleep in the silo, or just break in?

 

A. Knock on the door

B. Sleep in the silo

C. Break in

(A was chosen)

 

>You take a moment to compose yourself

>You're not sure if you could take sleeping in some enclosed building thing when there's possibly a bed available.

>Not after an experience like that at least

>You do a quick once over preen and look at yourself

>Dried blood on your chest, covered in dirt, and you can't even imagine what your face looks like...

>You sigh, whatever, it'll have to do.

>You come up to the door and take a deep breath

*Knock knock knock*

>You wait a moment, listening.

>You ~think~ you hear a muffled "what in the blazes?" but you also think your mind could be playing tricks on you.

>You don't hear anything for a little bit after that, and your patience is already wearing thin.

*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*

>All of a sudden a light comes on in the upper window

>Your heart soars, and you let out the biggest sigh of relief

>You hear muted conversation, and can almost make out some of it. 'Collection', 'blasted', 'not on my watch'

>You hear what you think are hoofbeats, as someone, no, somepony walks down the stairs.

>You tense up slightly, unsure if whoever lives here will actually help you or not, but before you can finish the thought the door swings open

"Now see here I told you that no matter what you do I am NOT SELLIN' THE FARM."

>You... don't really know quite what to make of this. You stare at the stallion. Orange, grey hair and muttonchops, holding a shovel. You frowned slightly. Earth pony. You were better at dealing with Pegasii. He stops as soon as he sees you, and lowers his shovel.

>"Uh... I don't want your farm..." You say pathetically.

"Err... sorry about that, thought you might be somepony else, or even a pon-" He pauses for a moment, his eyes widen as he actually takes notice of what you look like. "Landsakes are you alright?"

>"N-not really," you stutter. "Would it be possible to... uh, maybe stay here? I'm a bit... lost?"

>You finish and facepalm. You didn't mean to end in a question, but you're just so unsure of yourself right now.

>The stallion hardly thinks for a moment before coming to a decision. He steps back into the house and pushes the door open wider, giving you space to enter.

"By all means please, come in. Can I get you anything? You look like you've been through... well I can't quite think of anything really, but..."

>The stallion trails off, unsure exactly what to say.

"Clyde? Who was that at the door?" a voice calls from upstairs

"Uh dear, you might want to come down here." Clyde calls back.

>You hear another set of hooves approaching. You see a mare appear at the top of the staircase, grey with green hair, peering over her glasses.

"What do you mea- oh my..."

>Your wings flutter as you shift uncomfortably. The mare seems to realize she is staring and shakes her head.

"Dear..." she starts

"It seems this poor gal has had a rough time of it, and she'd like to spend the night."

"Well why didn't you say so?" The mare beams at you, the smile slightly unnerves you... it seems oddly familiar, but you shake that thought out of your head. "But that simply won't do, you look like you tangled with a manticore dearie! We need to get you cleaned up first!"

>You open your mouth then close it again. You're so tired you could pass out right here, but you suppose that sleeping anywhere while dirty probably isn't the nicest manners. At the same time you're thinking this, your stomach protests the fact that you haven't eaten anything all day and you had emptied it's contents earlier.

>You decide to tell the ponies that right now you

 

A. accept the offer to get cleaned up

B. Just pass out right now

C. Get some food in you.

(A and C tied)

 

>"I don't suppose I could get some food after?" You plead? You flinch inwardly at how weak you sound.

>You are strong.

"Sure thing, dearie! Clyde, go get out guest something to eat, I'm going to start the bath for her." The mare says, trotting off.

>Clyde nods, and motions for you to follow him. You enter the room behind him and already see him head deep in the refigerator.

"I forget, can you... uh... griffons. Right, you griffons can't eat flowers can you?"

>"No... normally I eat..." You pause for a moment, you were going to say meat, but you don't want to do anything to endanger your chances of staying. "Normally I eat fruit and stuff..." you finish lamely

"Fruit! We can do that." He pulls out a couple of apples, "Here's something, not much, but my daughter keeps sendin' us all these apples. Apparently her friend grows up."

>You nod, not really caring about where the food came from. You quickly snatch a few from him and start scarfing them down. You didn't realize just how HUNGRY you were.

"Hoooey, I would not want to get in the way of you and your food." Clyde says, impressed.

>You choke down another one, coughing a little bit inbetween. You would say something but you have more pressing matters.

>You finish the apples, and eventually the mare, who introduces herself as Sue, leads you to a bathroom and a glorious steaming hot bath.

>You spend as long as you can in the bath before you remember just how tired you are.

>Drying yourself off you see you're a vast improvement from earlier. There's a cut on your chest that's already scarring up, but the red does stick out against your coat.

>The ponies are waiting for you outside, and Sue gives a smile and nods at you, seemingly content that you don't look like a tumbleweed anymore.

"You can use this room," Clyde motions, "lots of empty beds since our daughters left."

>You nod and immediately rush to the bed.

>You'll decide what to do tomorrow.

>For now... sleep.

>You wake up with a start

>You take a quick look around you before yesterday's events come rushing back to you.

>You remember the grave, the flight, the farm...

>You look around the room you're in. It's fairly sparse and seems like the previous occupant either just didn't have a lot of possessions, or took them all with them when they left.

>You hear movement downstairs and decide that heading downstairs is far preferable to sitting in bed thinking.

>Thinking has never been one of your strong points anyway

>You give a quick strech and hear a few satisfying pops from your back and legs. You smile contently, you feel much better than you did yesterday. So much so it almost feels surreal.

>You start heading down the stairs and see Sue round the corner and smile at you.

"Well look who's up. I was just about to come fetch you, breakfast is just about ready.

>You nod, not really sure of what to say. You're thankful to these ponies, but you still don't know if you trust them. Why did you wake up near here? Why were they being so nice? And why did they seem so uncannily familiar?

>The fur on your back raises slightly, but you follow nonetheless. Food is far more important right now.

>You enter the kitchen and your senses are assaulted by smells of all types. Pancakes, fruits, bread, pastries, eggs, the works.

>Your beak drops open, before remembering... "Uh... those wouldn't happen to be haycakes or whatever would they?"

>Clyde grins at you.

"They almost were, but thankfully my better half here caught me. She's the smart one in the family." He beams at his wife.

"Oh nonsense, I just happen to have met a griffon or two before."

>You let out a noncomittal grunt. Griffons weren't exactly common in pony communities, but it happened. Kind of like your family...

>You shake your head, clearing that thought out. "Mind if I dig in?" You ask, eyes nearly boring holes into the food on the table.

"Sure!" Sue beams, "But on one condition..."

>"W-what's that?" You gulp. You knew this was too good to be true. Your wings flutter and you start looking to the exits. What could they want from you?

"You tell us your name, and what in Equestria happened to you!"

>Your wings fall back to your side lamely. "O-oh. Yeah. Yeah I can do that..."

>Sue smiles, and pulls out a chair for you. Immediately you sit down and pull a plate of pancakes towards you, wasting no time shoveling them down.

>After you've started eating, and both Clyde and Sue join you at the table, you slow down and clear your throat.

>"Uh... well... where to start... I'm Gilda... and what happened was:"

 

A. Tell the whole truth

B. Tell most of the truth, leaving out the part about the grave

C. Lie about what happened.

(A was chosen)

 

>You decide that these ponies probably had nothing to do with you. Hay, you could take these ponies with one talon.

>You fill them in on what you remember, leaving nothing out. Clyde looks shocked, to say the least. Sue just looks at you with pity. For some reason it does make you feel a little bit better knowing that these ponies care, even if they just met you.

"Why I never!" Clyde bursts out, "I can't believe anypony would do such a thing!" He taps his hoof to his chin for a moment. "You said you live in Trotston?"

>You nod

"Well that settles it then! Trotston is about a full days journey to the Southeast. I've been meaning to go there to get a replacement for my pick anyway!" He looks at his wife and she seems to understand... something, even though no words are exchanged.

>Sue beams and trots out of the room. You look around, confused. "Wait... wait what?"

"We're gonna bring you back to Trotston and figure out just what happened!"

>You sit at the table, shocked for a moment. "But, you don't even know me. Why?"

>Now it'Clyde's looks shocked.

"It's something my daughter taught an old fool like me. Everypony is a friend who simply doesn't know you're friends yet." He smiles at you, "Sides, what kind of stallion would I be if I left a girl out to dry?"

>You nod and finish off the rest of your breakfast. You're still not quite sure what to make of this, but if these ponies want to help you... well, you may be prideful, but you're not that stupid. You need all the help you can get.

 

>Before long Clyde and Sue have packed up their cart. They insist that you ride in the cart and sleep. You're about to insist that you're not that tired when a yawn escapes your beak. You guess after a day like yesterday one night of fitful rest wasn't enough.

>You rest your head and think of what you'll do once you reach your destination.

 

A. Search your home for clues

B. Question the bars and hangouts you frequent

C. Lay low just in case whoever had it out for you is in town.

(C was chosen)

 

>You decide that you probably want to stay out of sight. Not that you're paranoid, but...

>You tell Clyde and Sue this before nodding off. They don't seem to say much, but a flick of their ears tells you they heard you, so without further ado, you close your eyes and enjoy the ride.

 

 

 

>Day what the buck griffons in Equestria.

>You are Clyde Pie, proud husband, father, and rock farmer (and a darn good one at that)

>And right now your life has been thrown for a loop. With your daughter Pinkie moving to Ponyville, Inky at a prestigious art academy in Manehattan, and Blinky having left on a journey of 'self discovery', whatever that may mean, your life has been fairly quiet for the past while.

>And then up out of nowhere this poor berated griffon appears on your doorstep, looking like she had clawed her way out of Tartarus itself.

>Now you're normally not the suspicious type, but even you can smell something wrong with this whole situation

>But you said you were going to help and by golly a Pie sticks by their word.

>It seems that the griffon thinks that somepony did this to her on purpose, but...

>You shake your head. Nopony could do that to somepony else. It had to have been an accident. You'll go to Trotston, drop off your broken pick to Spark (best blacksmith you've had the pleasure of workin' with, if you may say so), Sue will go off to buy food and other supplies, and you'll ask around town and clear this whole mess right up.

 

>Your caravan finally reaches the outskirts of Trotston. It's a long day, but thankfully your family is made sturdy. You head for the "Homely Hostel", where you usually stay when you come to town.

>After a quick word with Sue, and noticing Gilda is still passed out, you leave your wife with the cart while you go in and get yourself a room for the night.

>Trotston isn't that friendly of a town, not like that Ponyville place. It's a place where ponies go to mind their own business usually. But that doesn't mean there aren't some friendly ponies here.

"Well hey there Clyde! Haven't seen you in a long while!"

>You smile. Good ol' Homely. Probably one of the only ponies in Trotston you'd say you know in Trotston, other than Spark of course.

>"Well howdy Homely." You respond, tipping your hat. "Just comin' into town to get a few tools repaired and some supplies. Got any rooms?"

He lets out a boisterous laugh, "Of course! I haven't had to use the 'no vacancy' sign in years, not enough ponies come through here anyhow." He chuckles again as he looks under his desk. "One single bed room comin' up!"

>You cough, "Could you make that two beds actually?"

*Clonk*

>You wince as Homely tries to raise his head in surprise and slams it on the counter.

>"You alright there Homes?"

"Yeah... sorry... You and the missus havin' a fight?"

>You shake your head, "Well actually..." You pause for a moment. Gilda was scared... maybe you shouldn't tell Homely about her?

>But you've known him for a while and he doesn't seem like too bad a fellow.

 

A. Tell Homely about Gilda

B. Make something up

(A was chosen)

>Now, your mother taught you the same way you taught your fillies that lying is never proper.

>"Naw, it ain't nothin' like that. We're just helping out this griffon girl who seemed to be having a rough time of it."

>Homely's face locks up in a look of... well there's so many emotions there you're not quite sure how to put it. His head swivels around the room, and breathing a sigh of relief he nearly leaps over the table and leans in close to you.

"Look Clyde, I like you. So I'm saying this for your, and her own good. I don't know what they did, but ever since they showed up here things have gotten... strange." You're about to speak up when his hoof rushes to your mouth. "Shhh, look, we can't talk now, not here. Also don't even mention her name. Take the room, it's on the house, but for the love of Celestia. Don't let ~ANYPONY~ see her."

>You open your mouth to say something else, but something stops you. Homely's eyes have bags under them and he just shakes his head at you. You scowl at him. You will have a talk with him later, but first things first, you have a griffon to hide.

 

>Day beautiful restful sleep in Equestria.

>You are Gilda again, and you haven't felt this good in a while. Despite sleeping in a bumpy cart, you haven't felt this well rested in a long time. Probably because you didn't go to sleep drunk for two days in a row.

>You stir slightly after hearing a bit of a commotion.

"Dear what-?" You hear Sue start.

"Shh, no time." You feel a hoof jab you in the side and you grunt.

>Your eyes bolt open and Clyde is right in front of you. You open your mouth to

>Not to scream, griffons don't scream, but you were going to say something to express your surprise.

>Clyde jams his hoof into your mouth.

"Cover yourself with this blanket here. Sue, take Gilda and get inside, go right up to the room. I'm going to move the cart out of the road into the back.

>You shiver. You knew something was wrong, but apparently it's a lot worse than you thought.

>You pull the blanet over your head and stick close to Sue

>She leads you inside and quickly up some stairs into a room.

>You hear the door click as sue deadbolts the door while you take off the blanket and have a look around.

>Yeah this is Homely's place alright. You didn't come here too often, on account of there not being a bar, or food, or anything here, but you did sometimes find yourself waking up in strange places, and Homely's hostel rooms was one of the more common places you woke up.

>You nervously pace for a bit as you wait for Clyde to show up. Sue doesn't seem to be in a much better place than you.

>Eventually you hear hooves outside, and a knock at the door.

"It's me dear." You can hear Clyde's voice through the door.

> Sue opens up the door, and in step Cylde and Homely. You raise your eyes in surprise. If Sue and Clyde look worried, Homely looks positively terrified.

>He quickly shuts the door, deadbolts it, trots over to the window, takes a quick look outside and nods to himself. He closes the blinds with a shaky hoof and turns around.

"Alright..." He sighs, "We should be okay now."

>"Homely," You say, noticing your voice peaking a bit. Your anger is coming back in full force. "What. The. BUCK! Is going on here."

"SHHHHH!" He raises his forelegs in a defensive posture. "Not so loud, are you nuts!? They'll hear!"

>"Who. Who will hear." You ask...

"The Knights."

>You sit there... Homely seems hesitant to continue, so you just raise an eyebrow.

"Celestia's Royal Guard?" Sue cocks her head.

"No. They... They call themselves the Knights of Harmony."

>You frown. You feel like you've heard something like that before.

"You mean like the Elements of Harmony?" Clyde asks.

>That was it. That was the club that stupid Rainbow Crash and the pink devil were a part of.

"Something like that, yeah." Homely nods, "Look, let me start at the beginning."

"These ponies showed up a while back, but no one thought much of it. Ponies pass through Trotston all the time, right? Anyway these ponies come, and whispers start coming around that they're using this place as a 'temporary base of operations.'" he mimes air quotes with his hooves as he says this. He pauses for a moment, as if trying to figure out where to start next. "Now... I'm not one to pry, so I asked around. They seemed to not really be knights, but they said their purpose in life was to well..." He scratches the back of his head. "Defend the elements."

>"The elements?" You ask? "Earth, wind, fire, water?"

>He shakes his head, "Not quite. The elements of harmony. Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow D-"

>"Wait." You almost shout, "Are you telling me that Rainbow Crash has a frikin' FANCLUB?" Your jaw falls open.

>Clyde jumps up now.

"You're tellin' me that these creepy ponies are following around my daughter?!" his voice says, significantly louder than yours now.

>"Your... your daughter?" Your eyes open wide.

"Yeah. Pinkie Pies m' daughter. And I woul-"

>His voice fades as your breath starts getting short. That's why these ponies looked so familiar. That's why that damned smile looked so... annoying. That's why that's why that's why...

>All of a sudden this room felt far too small for you.

>These were the pink devil's parents?! You had to get out. You had to leave. They were going to ruin everything somehow.

>You unfurl your wings and

 

A. Have a panic attack

B. Burst out the window

C. Confront Clyde and Sue about Pinkie

(B was chosen)

 

>You're not having this

>Knights of harmony

>Rainbow Dash

>Pinkie Pie

>Enough is enough.

"Huh?" "Wha-"

>Your wings pump once, and before anypony in the room can finish a sentence you're at the window and throwing it open.

"Gilda wai-"

>But you don't wait. You've done enough waiting. You have a target, you have your talons and claws, and that's all you need.

>The moon is full up in the sky, but that doesn't matter in a town like this. There will ~always~ be ponies out. And you know exactly where to find them.

>You speed through the town towards Short Round's bar.

>There are always ponies at Short Rounds bar.

>Passed out, drinking, gambling, that's where those'll be. And hopefully that's where answers will be.

 

>Before long you've landed at your destination, obnoxiously bright sign illuminated by who knows what magic flashing in front of you.

>The only things on your mind are

>Rip

>Tear

>Answers

>The question is. How do you go about ripping and tearing?

 

A. Bust through the front and go straight to Short Round.

B. Gamble on a long shot and yell that you know the knights are in there and that you're back.

C. Go around back and find some pony you can interrogate.

(C was chosen)

>You calm yourself. Again, you may not be the brightest griffon, but you're no dummy.

>One of these ponies here has to know something about these knights.

>These knights that apparently moved into town a while back and you heard ~nothing~ about.

>Where they trying to not be found by you? What was their beef?

>You slink around back. There's bound to be someone back here. Either some employee emptying trash or some drunk having to take a piss, you figure one is better than many.

>You perch on the roof above the back door. and sure enough you don't have to wait long before someone comes stumbling through.

>An earth pony. Excellent. He lets out a huge belch before heading for the bushes behind the building.

>Gracefully, you glide down and come up behind him, curl one of your talons around his neck, the other over his mouth as your powerful legs propel yourself into the bushes.

>The stallion makes a suprised squeak and starts thrashing about.

>"You keep moving like that and I'm gonna tear out your throat." You growl.

>You see him stiffen. He could tell he recognized your voice. And he was afraid. Very afraid. The thing is, you knew you this pony didn't live in Trotston, at least you had never seen him before.

>"Now I'm going to let you talk, but if you try to yell or anything fishy then I'll take you up as high as I can go before I drop you. Understand dweeb?"

>He nods slowly. "Good." You say, slowly taking your talon off his mouth. "Now start talking."

"A-about what...?" The stallion is shaking so much it's pathetic... and kind of hard to hold onto.

>"About the knights of harmony, about why you know who I am, and why I woke up in a bucking ~GRAVE~."

"W-w-what are you talking about? Everyone knows you Gilda... Y-you're the town drunk!"

>You squeeze your talon around his neck a little bit. "Quieter you stupid pony. And I'm not buying it. I've never seen you before in my life. I'll only ask one more time. Understand?"

>He gulps audibly.

"That's... that isn't. I never... I wasn't a part of it I swear! I never meant for things to... to happen like this." You rolled your eyes. The pony had started sniffling and crying.

"It was a while ago. Ponies had been going around asking them to join up with them. They were going door to door finding... finding ponies like me."

>"Whaddya mean ponies like you?"

"Ponies who... well, we don't really do much. ponies who work menial jobs not related to our cutie marks, ponies who lounge about all day, having lost purpose in their lives, who drink, sleep, and r-repeat that over and over."

*Sniff*

"They told me about this group of ponies. Amazing ponies. Who embodied amazing virtues... They saved Equestria. They buckin' saved Equestria multi-*sniff* multiple times! And... and they were so inspiring."

>The pony takes a deep breath, seemingly gathering strength.

"And they told us we could help these ponies. Us useless ponies would be... well, useful again. We could protect these heroes from things... that would harm them... things like... like... griffons."

>"Are you telling me that your knights are just attacking griffons?!" You nearly scream.

"N-No! Not like that... only... only griffons we believed were dangers to them."

>"Wait... so you're telling me... that you thought I was a danger? To Rainbow Crash and her friends?!" You almost spit the last word out.

"Y-yes! You... They told us how you were getting destructive. Drinking and just talking about how you'd get y-your revenge on P-P-"

>He tries to say the name, but your talon involuntarily constricts at the mere sound he's attempting to make.

>"Are you telling me that you bucking ponies tried to ~kill~ me because I hate Pinkie Pie?" You spit out the name.

"Yes." You hear his voice getting stronger despite your grip. "We have a purpose now. We will protect the elements. From threats like you."

>Your mind just goes blank. You've gone so far past mere rage that you feel more calm than anything...

>You're unatrually calm... that is, until you hear a voice cry out!

"Holy buck it's Gilda! And she's got Padder!"

>You swear under your breath.

>You've got to act fast, but... what do you even do?

 

A. Use 'Padder' as a hostage and demand more information.

B. Take out Padder and this pony and get ready to fight off anyone else who comes out of the bar.

C. Get the buck outta dodge, as it were.

(A was chosen)

 

>"Stay right there!" You shout at the new pony. "I have talons and I know how to use them." You accentuate your point by digging them into Popper's neck a bit.

"Now hold on, let's not do anything hasty."

>"Hasty?!" You scream at him. "YOU. BURIED. ME. IN. A. GRAVE." You're panting for breath now. Not from exertion, but the sheer tenseness of your muscles.

>You watch as the back door opens, and five more ponies pour out. You recognize three of them as having lived in the town for a while. One you've never seen before, and the pony, the unicorn, who comes out last... no... calmly strolls out last. He's grey. Almost boringly so. Grey coat, grey hair. You can't see his cutie mark from here, but... You've seen him, but you can't remember where, and your entire body shudders at the sight of him. You know that your "fight or flight" response is happening, but for some reason when you're looking at this pony all you can think of is "flight."

>You... you're pretty sure you remember seeing him...

>Your eyes fly wide. You remember him. He was in the bar. The bar before you woke up in that box. You remember he came up to you, and he offered to buy you a drink. But after that...

"Gilda." he smiles at you, "You're looking surprisingly healthy."

>"Who... who are you." Your voice cracks, and you know they all heard it, but you stare him down anyway.

"Why Gilda!" He appears shocked, "I'm shocked. After how much we talked the other night?" His smile twisted into a grin. "Oh, well I guess it is hard to remember anything after you've been drugged, isn't it."

>"YOU DRUGGED ME?"

"Well, yes. I didn't think you'd mind, considering you were supposed to, well, not come back... What's this I hear about being buried in a grave?"

>You lock eyes with the pony. "You tell me, you're apparently calling the shots here."

>You have a brief staredown with the pony before he breaks eye contact and sighs.

"Apparently, not well enough..." he mutters under his breath, but your ears are more than good enough to catch it. "Bounty?" he asks.

"Uh... yes sir?"

"Did I not ask you to get rid of our friend here?"

"I... I didn't... I did sir."

"Then ~WHY~ is she still here?"

"S-sir... I didn't sign up to kill nopony. At least not with my hooves. I had just got that crate from my latest shipment to my shop, so I uh... I put 'er in there and took Keys here with me to uh... bury 'er. We didn't think that-"

"OF COURSE YOU DIDN'T THINK." The grey pony spun on him. "IF YOU HAD, SHE WOULDN'T BE HERE." The pony brings a hoof up to his chest and takes a deep breath, and then pushes it away as he exhales.

>"W-why?" You ask. "Why are you doing this to me?"

>The pony looks to you with an almost bored expression.

"Even if I tried to explain it to you... one without a purpose such as you simply wouldn't understand."

>He lazily shakes a hoof your direction, as his horn starts to glow.

"Get her."

>And all of a sudden Tartarus breaks loose.

 

 

>Day meanwhile at the hall of justice

>You are Clyde

>and you are worried, and confused.

>Gilda just took off, and you swore she had said something about pink... and she knew Rainbow Dash? Your fillies' lovely friend.

>You scowled. Your filly. Apparently your filly had a stalker. Stalkers.

>By Celestia this group... these... "knights of harmony" were going to get a mouthful when you were done with them.

>but...

>But now you had to either go track down Gilda, who had just flown out into a town that apparently hates her, or get the full story from Homely.

>Or maybe you could split up? Your wife was one of the most industrious mares you knew. She was a Pie after all. She could get the story as you searched for Gilda.

>You pondered for a brief moment, then said

 

A. Track down Gilda with Sue and Homely

B. Ask Homely to quickly spill the beans

C. Split up, have Sue talk to Homely while you search for Gilda.

(B was chosen)

>"Alright I've had about enough of this Homely. Something is going on, I have no idea why she just went nuts like that, but you are going to get to the point of the matter. Who are these knights and what do they want with my daughter?!"

"Pinkie Pie is your daughter?! You never told me that!" Homely shouts back.

>"Well ~forgive~ me for not thinkin' it was important! What. Do. They. Want.

"L-like I said! They want to defend the elements! We thought it was nice, like they have their own bodyguards n the like, but... there's something wrong with 'em. They're less knights and more... well... they're not good ponies. I heard how apparently this Trixie girl... a magician... she had a squabble with that Twilight Sparkle, and they had a duel of some sorts, and so she left fair and square. But then these ponies went huntin' her down, following her to her shows, trashed her caravan, and last thing I heard she was in the Baltimare hospital."

>Homely pinched his head between his hooves.

"Things just went wrong so fast. These ponies think they're doing some great duty, and if you disagree, well... no one wants to disagree with mental instability."

>Your eyes narrow. These are not ponies you want protecting your daughter. These are not ponies you want protecting anything. "How many?" you ask.

"Wwhat?"

>"How many of these knights are there in Trotston?"

"Uh... there weren't too many at first... but... the thing about Trotston, a lot of well... deadbeats come here, and... for some reason joining these knights seems appealing and all but-"

>"How many Homely. Just answer me!"

>Homely cowers a little bit behind his hooves.

"A-about 40 or so... last I checked it you were hard pressed to find a pony in Trotston not in the knights..."

>You jumped up, "We have to find Gilda." Sue nodded in agreement.

"G-good luck, you're gonna need it."

>You're about to say something when your wife speaks up.

"Homely Periwinkle Hooves." She says, glaring daggers out of her eyes. "I certainly HOPE you're not THINKING of staying HERE while somePONY needs our HELP." She says, punctuating her statement with a step towards Homely.

"H-how do you know my full name?" Homely said, quivering.

"Ancient Pie family magic." Sue scoffed. "And don't think that's all I know. I know where your mother is living and so help me I will tell her how you choose to not help a poor girl in need."

>You raised your eyebrows. You weren't aware a ponies eyes could ~get~ that round.

"D-don't do that!" he cried.

"Well, I suppose I could be persuaded not to... IF YOU GET YOUR TUSH MOVING MISTER."

>With that Homely was out the door shouting 'follow me' faster than you could blink.

>Sue simply flashed you a smile as she trotted outside to follow him.

>You chuckled to yourself, "By Celestia... I love that mare."

>You charge out after them, and see them already a fair bit aways from you.

>"Where are we going?!" You yell

"I reckon I know where Gilda went!" Homely yells from the front.

>That's good enough for you. You nod, even though you know he can't see it and keep charging.

>Soon enough you've crossed through most of the town and can hear yelling.

>Gilda... and then a voice you don't recognize.

"IF YOU HAD, SHE WOULDN'T BE HERE."

>You pull up behind Homely and your wife, who have stopped in front of the seediest looking establishment you had seen in your life. You had always seen this building but never cared to really look at it. It was ostentatious on a good day.

>"Inside?" you asked.

>Homely shook his head.

"That shout we heard earlier, I think it came from-"

"Get her."

"outside..." Homely finished lamely as a cacophony of sounds erupted from behind the building.

>The three of you share a quick glance at eachother and then run around to the back where you see Gilda in the air holding a pony while two pegasii are trying to grab a hold of her.

>There's a unicorn on the ground charging up some sort of spell, and a few earth ponies who seem to be... ineffectually just yelling.

>You glance at Sue, she glances at you. She'll follow your lead, she always does.

>You leap out into the open and

 

A. Try to get everyponys' attention and stop the fight

B. Jump into the fray, attempting to get the pegasii off Gilda

C. Tackle the unicorn.

(C was chosen, "sam fisher" style)

 

>You think back to your time in the Equestrian secret service.

>Okay well... maybe you hadn't ever been in the ESS, but not felt like a good time to pretend.

>Besides, it wasn't like this was your first rodeo.

>This Gilda apparently knew Rainbow Dash. That meant she was friends with Pinkie. Because EVERYPONY was friends with Pinkie. And Pinkie would be so dissapointed if you let one of her friends get hurt.

>If there was one thing you knew, it was that you would never disappoint your daughter.

>Not after she brought so many smiles to your face.

>With that thought in mind, you leapt.

 

>Day BUCK IT in Equestria

>You are Gilda

>Buck it buck it these pegasii dweebs are so annoying!

>You needed to get out of here. You can't carry this pony, lose two pegasii, ~and~ dodge whatever spell that unicorn was charging up.

>You threw Popper into the pegasus on your left, and focus all your effort on the one on your right.

>Unfortunately apparently these ponies aren't the best of friends, since the pegasus just dodges Popper as he falls to the ground.

>"Bucking..." You can't even finish your swear as he charges back into you, knocking the wind out of you, but you stay flying. Getting tackled to the ground would mean the end. Six ponies on the ground vs. two and a half in the air. (unicorns kind of count for aerial battles)

>You swung, you kicked, you pecked, you-

"RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH"

>You what? The pegasii turn around, distracted by the yell. Thankfully you've been in enough brawls to realize to never take your eyes off your opponent. You slam their heads together and they both go down in a heap. As you finally look towards the source of the scream you see the grey unicorn in a chokehold. A chokehold being performed by Clyde nonetheless.

*CLONG*

>The other earth ponies, also distracted by their leader being tackled out of nowhere turn their heads in time to see Sue standing over the crumpled body of one of their companions with a... frying pan?

>You're not one to look a gift pony in the mouth though.

>You swoop down and slam yourself into Bounty. The pony who put you in a crate and buried you... well, not quite six feet under.

>He frantically struggles under you, trying to get away while protecting himself from your claws.

"I- I'll go get help!" You hear somepony shout.

>You look up. Popper is running off. 'Can't have that now can we?' You think to yourself with a smirk. You take off after him, only to find yourself slammed to the ground.

>You look at your wings, encased in a greyish glow that stands out eerily in the moonlight.

>It looks like the unicorn got out of Clyde's chokehold.

>You see one of the earth ponies holding onto Clyde, while another one is tangling with Sue. A quick look around looks reveals that Homely didn't come.

"Wait!" The grey unicorn shouts to his subordinates.

>They stop as well as they can to listen, although one unfortunate earth pony is still tangling with Sue's killer kitchen skillet.

"Do not hurt the ponies! They are miss Pie's parents!"

>All of a sudden you hear a huge racket as the back door of the bar is kicked down... right on top of the unicorn.

>Homely look at the door proudly. Huh... you guess the bugger didn't run off after all.

>You look around. You're fine for now, but Popper did get away. It's probably about time to

 

A. Attack

B. Retreat

(B was chosen)

 

>As much as you'd like to brain this damn unicorn and his shitty cult, you can't just leave someone who helped you out to dry. That wasn't cool. You knew how that felt.

>You deliver a swift kick to Bounty, who had recovered and was failing at sneaking up on you. You bound over to Clyde and try to figure out how best to deal with the two ponies on him

>Thankfully your decision is made for you when the one holding Cylde stares at you for a moment and then bolts in the opposite direction.

*Pop*

>You spin around in time to see the door flop the rest of the way to the ground. Damn cheating unicorns! You were really looking forward to...

>You can't quite think of what you were going to do to that pony, you you were certain it was going to be painful.

"Uh hate to interrupt," Homely said, "But I'm pretty sure that half the town is awake by now."

>You glare at him. "So?"

>Sue walks over to you, still holding a now very bent frying pan.

"Dearie, more than half the town are those crazy 'knights'"

>"Oh... That's not good. We probably should leave then. Now-ish would be good."

"Agreed," Clyde nods, "Right after I fetch my wagon."

>Your head turns on a swivel to stare at the stallion. "Are you nuts?!"

>Thankfully he doesn't have time to respond as Sue thwaps him on the back of his head.

"B-but... my pickaxe."

>You shivered slightly. You couldn't see Sue's expression from this angle, but judging by Clyde's face you were pretty sure never wanted to."

>"I'm sorry about your tools... and I'm sorry for wigging out earlier, but I think we've overstayed our welcome."

"So where to?" Sue asks?

"Dodge Junction is south of here, and we're already on the south side of town, I think that makes the most sense."

>You turn your head to look at Homely for a moment. "Why are you even here?"

He grumbles, "Look, call it penance or whatever you want, but I knew about these guys and I knew they didn't like you but I didn't tell you anything. I didn't know they'd try to feathering ~kill~ you. But... I did know they were bad news and did nothing. And I don't know if I'm gonna be on their list for helping you guys out, but I'd rather not stick around to find out."

>You nod, that sounds reasonable enough.

"Well I think we should head to Ponyville." Clyde jumps in. "This has got to do with my daughter and her friends, and I think they need to know."

"I think we need to get the guard. Pinkie and her friends may go gallivanting on adventures all the time, but we are talking about ponies that tried to murder someone dearest. I think we should go to the proper authorities."

>You think for a moment, looks like you have deciding vote. Normally you're a fan of strong-arming your opinions, but democracy has it's moments.

 

A. Head South to Dodge Junction. No guards or elements or any solutions to your problems, but it's the closest.

B. Ponyville to the West. Personally you dread this option, but it makes sense. As much as you dislike those ponies, having a cult following is probably something you should tell them about.

C. Guards. The closest guards were probably North in Canterlot. You could handle yourself, but you were a bit worried about these ponies. They had helped you twice and you had kind of been a jerk to them, so getting them to proper protection would be a load off your wings.

(B was chosen)

 

>You sigh, as much as you hate it, you know it's the right choice. "As much as I don't like it, we should probably get to Ponyville."

>Sue tilts her head at you.

"Don't like it... what's not to like about Ponyville?"

>You grumble and your head falls into your talon. "Long story short they probably don't like me there either, but they're at least not trying to kill me."

"Uh, problem." Homey says behind you. "Number one, the direction of Ponyville is back through the town... number two? Ponies." He points his hoof around the corner of the building, and sure enough, there are ponies.

>Lots of ponies.

>You look at the crowd. You only see a few pegasii. You remember not too many pegasii stop in Trotston. Of the ones there... you think..

>You shake your head. You know you can outrace them, because otherwise, you're dead.

>"I'll distract them."

"What?" the ponies say simultaneously.

>"They only really hate me right? I'm faster than all of you with these babies," you give your wings a shake for effect, "so I can lead them away and you can sneak to the other side of town on the outskirts."

"But dearie-" Sue starts.

>"But nothing. I appreciate the concern but I've flown solo long enough to know what I can do. And I can do this. So unless you have a better plan, I'm gonna show these slowpokes a thing or two about just how it's done."

>Sue glances at Clyde, almost begging him to say something to stop you, but only shakes his head and shrugs.

>Homely pokes you to get your attention. To your credit, you don't jump... much.

>He presses a big bag into your talons. It's flour. You tilt your head at him quizzically.

"Once you're in the air, pour it over em." He shrugs, "It makes ponies choke and stings like the dickens if you get it in your eyes. Probably help you against that unicorn."

>"Speaking of, do you know who he was?"

>He shakes his head solemnly. You sigh, of course, that would've been too easy. Well... nothing worth doing is, you suppose.

>The ponies quickly move into the bushes out of sight, and you tear a hole in the flour before taking a flight stance.

>You hear the hooves getting closer pretty quickly now.

>Looking behind you you can't see the Pies or Homely anymore, so you know it's time. You close your eyes and take a deep breath...

>Exhale. "You are Gilda. And you are strong."

>All your muscles spring into action and you're off. You hear shouts below you, but they're already pretty far off, you're pretty sure you're out of the range of the grey unicorn, but just in case you start your flour bombing run.

>"COME AND GET ME YOU SONS OF DIAMOND DOGS."

>You risk a quick glance behind you. Looks like a few of the pegasii were quick enough to react. You drop the flour now, no need for excess weight. Unfortunately it appears that those few pegasii who were able to react are... unfortunately fast.

>You glance around. You could attempt to lose them in the clouds, but you're also supposed to be distracting the other ponies as well. You could try to weave through the buildings but you were more built for endurance than for mobility. You could try to lose them in flat out speed, Rainbow Cr... Dash style. Or you could circle around and beat a few of em down.

 

A. Clouds

B. Buildings

C. Dash

D. Fight

(D was chosen)

 

>Your eyes narrow.

>You are Gilda. And you are strong.

>'THEN WHY DON'T YOU START ACTING LIKE IT BIRDBRAIN.' A voice yells at you in the back of your head.

>With a primal roar you u-turn and immediately start flying back at one of the ponies.

>You see him hesitate a bit, but then see him continue flying at you.

>'You wanna play chicken?' you chuckle, you were the best at chicken in flight school.

>You're speeding up, and he's slowing down, not really sure if his he made the right choice.

>You know he didnt, but it's fun seeing the gears turn in his head.

>You were the best at chicken, because you never pulled away.

>His eyes go wide as you slam into him. His eyes roll back into his head and he drops like a stone.

>You spin around to face the other two. You yell something incoherent and charge both of them. No sense in wasting time.

>The air becomes a flurry of hooves, talons, wings, feathers, and you just lash out at anything that's moving.

>A hoof connects solidly with your jaw and you cry out, kicking off one of the ponies to get some distance as you try to make the world stop spinning.

>You square off with the two ponies once more. There's a guy and a girl, and it looks like the guy got the worst of it in that fight. Every flap he takes with his wings makes a cringe flash across his face. The girl is looking furious, and you can see why, three talon marks are raked across her face.

>"That'll leave a scar." You taunt.

>She screams and flies at you. You pull your wings into your body and immediately drop a couple of feet, causing he to fly harmlessly over you. You used to do that to Rainbow a lot. One of those ponies who could only think in a straight line while flying.

>You use the momentum of the drop you swoop upwards at the guy who was left behind, it is the nature of a predator to go after prey, after all.

"YOU BITCH." You spin around just in time to catch another facefull of hoof.

>"Buck you!" It wasn't your best insult, but hey, you're working under pressure here.

>You look at yourself and notice a few splotches of white on you. You grin.

>You take off towards her again, and she braces for impact.

>"Pocket flour!" You shout, throwing the handful of flower you had left.

"AU-HAUCK" She chokes.

>You fly behind her and deliver a swift kick to her head. You feel a bit bad about fighting dirty, but you don't exactly have much more time left. You can hear a lot of hooves and muted voices catching up, and if any unicorn catches sight of you this low to the ground you don't have a good answer for that.

 

>You quickly outpace the rest of the grounded ponies after that, but now you have to meet up with your pony posse.

>You groan that you thought of them like that, but they were honestly starting to grow on you a little, even if they were way older than you.

>Your eyes widen in surprise as you realize something. Something dreadfully important.

>"STUPID STUPID STUPID."

>You instantly start scanning for signs of any ponies you recognize.

>You can't ~believe~ you forgot to set a rendezvous point.

>You quickly decide to

 

A. Start flying to the rock farm. The ponies are smart enough to get out of town on their own.

B. Homely's Hostel. Clyde did want to get his tools after all.

C. Fly to the edge of town and wait as long as possible for the ponies.

(C was chosen)

 

>You decide the edge of town is the best bet.

>In retrospect it makes the most sense anyway. The hostel is further in the town, and probably a terrible idea to go back to.

>You're a bit dissapointed you didn't have time to go to your apartment, but sacrifices have to be made. You're not sure what you would grab from there anyway.

>You land at the edge of town, waiting on your friends-

>Did you just think that?

>You can't believe you just thought that.

>You shake your head, such traitorous thoughts could be dealt with later.

>Thankfully it isn't long until you hear hoofbeats.

>Erring on the side of caution you dive into some nearby bushes.

>You breath a sigh of relief as you see it is in fact Cylde and co.

>You crawl out of the bush. You see the three tense up before relaxing upon seeing who it is.

>"Yo." You laugh. "Toll oou I coould do et."

>You raise your talon and make a face. That wasn't cool at all. You have to try that again.

>"Ffghhd."

>'Nailed it' You think to yourself.

>It's at this moment your body remembers that it has been drugged, buried alive, got beat up digging itself out of the earth, flew up a mountain, walked a whole bunch, got in a fight, got in another fight, Got bucked in the face twice, fled from a bunch of ponies, and decided that since you let all the tension out of your body, now would be a good time to pass out.

 

>You wake up in a strange place

>You really have got to stop doing that sometime soon.

"Well look who decided to rejoin the land of the living."

"Homely... after what the poor dear has been through, can we please refrain from tasteless jokes like that?"

"Sorry Sue..."

>You groan. "Where are we?"

"Rambling Rock Ridge." a voice from under you rumbles. "The Pie family's backyard as it were!"

>You look around. There was a whole lot of...... nothing really. "Homey..." you say.

"Yes?"

>"Err, it was a joke, I wasn't calling you. I mean I was trying to say it looked... Eugh... never mind."

>"Hey Clyde, mind letting me down? I think I can walk on my own now."

"You sure about that now?"

>"Not really, but, well, your back is not the most comfortable."

>He bends over and allows you to roll off. You do a quick stretch. Your face feels like crap, but the rest of you has recovered pretty remarkably. You smirk. Nopony can keep a good griffon down.

>"So how far away from Ponyville are we?"

"Well, that actually depends." Homey says.

>"Huh?" You look at him quizzically.

"Homey, it's a silly idea and I have no idea how you got it in your head!" Clyde says angrily.

He huffs, "Hey you asked how we could get to Ponyville faster. I just gave you an option."

>"Anyone care to fill me in?" You growl.

Clyde sighs, "Homey had the ~brilliant~ idea to hitch a ride on the train that passes through this here ridge from Baltimore to Ponyville. It's true, it would save us a couple days of walking"

>You raise your eyebrows. "So care to get to the part of why you think this is a bad idea?"

Clyde grumbles, "Because there's no station anywhere near here. To get ON the train we would have to jump onto a MOVING train."

>"Oh... that does complicate things."

"So whaddya think? Good idea right?" Homey grins a Cheshire grin at you.

>You still haven't decided if you like this stallion or if you want to throttle him.

>Be he does make a good point. Hours vs. Days...

 

A. Vote train

B. Vote walk

(A was chosen)

 

>You sigh, "As much as I hate to say it, I think the idiot has a point, the train is a good idea."

"Yeah! Wait a second." Homely glares at you.

>"Look, we can maybe try to slow it down, or I could fly alongside and carry you guys on one by one. The alternative is slowly trek towards Ponyville, but if these 'knights' want to follow us then they're just going to get a carriage and tag team following our tracks until they catch up. I'm guessing we weren't that subtle leaving town, so they'll at least have a general idea of the direction we're headed."

>Clyde frowns. He looks at his wife expectantly. She just looks back and gives him a small smile.

"I'm afraid she does have a point dear."

"Bah!" Clyde says as he throws his hooves up in the air. "You're all mad..."

>He sits there for a moment, grumbling to himself. "I guess insanity just runs in this family..." He suddenly jumps up, surprisingly spry for how sullen he just was. "Well? Let's get on with it then. Shall we?"

>Despite yourself, you chuckle.

>It's strange. Your life is in danger and there are ponies after you, but you're the happiest you've been in a while.

>"So, how far to this train?

"Only about an hours walk. Then we'll have a bit to rest before the first train comes by."

>You look up to the sky. Still nighttime, but it feels like it should be morning soon.

>"Let's get going then." You say as you walk off into the sunrise.

 

 

>Well the sun isn't rising yet, but you've always wanted to do that.

 

(END OF CHAPTER 1)