Gilda CYOA part 3

(CHAPTER 3)

 

*Phweeeeeee*

>A blaring whistle rouses you from sleep.

>You blink your eyes a couple of times, trying to get adjusted to the light shining through the windows.

>You look around. Sue and Clyde were resting together, at least as well as they could while still in shackles.

>Homely seemed to be lying on his back mumbling to himself.

>You stretch and turn around, letting out a surprised squawk as you find yourself face to face with the unicorn.

>He smirks at you as you try to raise a talon to calm your racing heart.

"We are arriving in Ponyville shortlyyy. Please wake your friends."

>You take a few deep breaths and nod to him. You urge your feathers back into their unruffled positions as you go over to wake up the other ponies.

>"Hey, Clyde, Sue." You call as you tap the floor with your talon. "Wakey wakey." You smirk.

>Sue is the first to slowly open her eyes.

"Oh, Gilda," she yawns, "Is everything alright?"

>You try to wave one of your talons dismissively, but the shackles get in the way again.

>"Were almost there," You sigh, dropping your arm back to the ground."

"Alright," she nods, "I'll wake Clyde up."

>You give her a short nod and turn to Homely, at this point his front legs are twitching and it almost looks like he's gnawing on something in his sleep.

>You jab Homely with a talon, and he shoots up.

"You'll never take me alive!" He yells, eyes popping open.

>You raise your eyebrows as he slams his eyes shut and covers his head with his hooves.

>"Yeah well, it's a bit late for that." You quip.

>At this point all of the guardsponies have returned. It seems that the unicorn and the earth pony are discussing something. Meanwhile Shimmerwing just continues to glare at you.

>"Hey!" You call out. "So how is this going to work?"

>The unicorn turns to look at you.

"Well, we're going to bring you to the guardpost in Ponyville, and then we're going to find the Element of Laughter to confirm your identities."

>You grimace. It makes sense, but that doesn't make you any more happy to see Pinkie Pie.

>Even if she was going to be the reason you got out of this mess.

>You were always taught to pay back a debt, and well, being in debt to her was not an attractive proposition.

>'Oh well' you think. 'Not much to do about it now.'

 

>Soon enough the train pulls into the Ponyville station.

>Shimmerwing flies off to find Pinkie Pie, you presume.

>Meanwhile, you're being escorted from the station to the guardspost, and once again ponies are staring at you.

>Sue and Clyde don't seem to mind at least. Homely is walking with one eye open, trying to shield his eyes from the sun.

>Meanwhile you're just trying to make yourself as small and invisible as possible.

>Normally you're all for attention, but there's one pony here that you really would prefer not to see you at all if possible.

>You know that's most likely not going to happen, but you can't blame a girl for wishing.

>The trip happens with a lot of whispers, but thankfully without incident otherwise.

>You don't have to wait long. Almost as soon as the unicorn, whose name you have learned to be Slab Rockjaw (a name you consider to be the dorkiest name ever, not that you'd ever tell him that to his face), has explained the situation to the Ponyville guards, Shimmerwing has returned with Pinkie Pie in tow.

"Mom! Dad!" She shouts. One dust cloud later and she's hugging both of them. You're honestly not sure how she got past the locked bars you were behind, but you knew if you tried to think about it your brain would just explode. From the looks of the guardsponies, they didn't seem to get it either.

>You had experienced the impossiblilty that she was last time you were here, and only had hear more and more stories of how the things she could do were not possible for any other ponies.

>You assumed she could what she did simply because she was too dumb to know that what she did was impossible.

>You clear your throat, seeing as how this hug of theirs has lasted for more than a minute. Far past what you assumed a normal hug lasted.

>Not that you didn't know how long hugs were supposed to last. Hugs were lame after all. But that didn't mean you didn't have anyone hugging you. You mean your parents...

"MEANIE ALERT!" Pinkie shrieks, jolting you out of your thoughts.

>You narrow your eyes at her, but before you can say anything, Slab unlocks the cell door.

"Well I'll be... You really were telling the truuuth... At least the part about being her parents."

"We told ya so!" Clyde snorts.

"Now now dear, there's no reason to be snippy. No harm was done in the end right?" Sue berates him.

>You were beginning to see who held the reigns in this relationship.

"Mom? Dad? What's going on? Why are you with meaniepants gildy-wildy? Who is this pony?!" she gasps, "Oh my gosh! Have you ever been to Ponyville?! I have to throw you a party! We can combine it with a my parents fought the law and the law won party!" She shouts.

>You cringe a bit at the... nickname? Or whatever she called you, and nod to Clyde. "I'm going to let you explain this time. I'm fairly sure she's not gonna listen to a word I have to say at least." you shrug.

>And so he does. Meanwhile Slab is taking off your shackles, and you breathe a sigh of relief.

 

"I can't believe that anypony would try to hurt poor Gilda!" Pinkie exclaims. "I mean, she was a grumpytail for sure when she was here last, but that's no reason to be mean back!"

>You roll your eyes. Pinkie's attitude towards you changed very quickly once she had heard what happened to you.

"So... now what?" Homely asks.

>Slab taps his chin for a moment.

"Well, the fact that you were telling the truth has certainly added to your credibility. But we still do not have proof that these knights of yours exist... We can pardon the train-hopping charges at least. You have made it pretty clear you weren't planning on robbing it."

>Homely lets out a small cheer, at which Slab smiles. His face gives way to the normal stoic guard face you're used to seeing in just a moment though.

"However... we simply don't have the ponypower to spare on a wild parasprite chase without proof that these Knights of Harmony of yours exist. The word of the parents of an Element of Harmony carry weight, but without physical proof it's only so much. I can advise my superiors to check out Trotston, but that's where it ends. With that, I can't forcibly keep you here any longer, and you are free to act as you wiiish."

"Oh that's silly!" Pinkie chimes in, "I can just get Twilight to send a letter to Princess Celestia! She'll know what to do, she always knows what to do!" She throws her arms up in the air to accompany her exclamation.

>You decide to sit and think for a moment. You didn't almost die for the whole situation to get dropped! But... at the same time you didn't even know where to start...

>Stupid guards. Didn't they exist to help and protect ponies? Sure you weren't a pony but you still needed protection.

>And Pinkie. So you could get her to write the letter. Although this would mean being in debt to the Princess, and frankly, that scared you a little bit.

>Or maybe you didn't even need these dweebs. You had survived well enough. You could go find proof on your own somehow. After all, you're pretty sure the knights wouldn't just give up after what happened.

>Or you could even let the guards handle the investigation and just relax. Skies above knew you needed a break after this anyway.

>After quickly thinking for a moment, you decide the the best course of action is to

 

A. Try to persuade the guards to protect you and believe you.

B. Get Pinkie Pie to write the letter.

C. Find proof by yourself.

D. Take a well earned vacation.

(B and C were tied)

 

>The guards are useless you decide. They were more intent on arresting you then worrying about your safety.

>If you're going to do something, it's going to be on your own terms.

>And the pink menace wanted to help you? That was a laugh and a half.

>You might as well take advantage of it though.

>"Sure dw-" you cough into your talon. 'Keep your inside thoughts inside,' you tell yourself. At least for the moment. "Sure thing... Pinkie."

>You give your best smile to her. You see Homely raise an eyebrow at your obviously pained expression, but it seems to be good enough for Pinkie because you're suddenly tackle hugged from across the room.

"Oh I just ~KNEW~ you weren't a frumpy feather deep inside! How about I throw you another party!" Pinkie's smile dwindles somewhat as she thinks for a moment. "Although... with less pranks this time."

>You manage to wedge a talon inbetween Pinkie and yourself and start prying her off you. "Uh... that sounds... great Pinkie. Yeah."

>Fat chance of you actually attending another one of those 'parties'

>One had enough humiliation for a lifetime.

>Two? Right out.

>Pinkie finally relents and bounds back over to her parents.

"I'm sooooo happy!" Pinkie was bouncing in a circle around her parents at this point. "This is even better then when Discord became our friend! I mean, I couldn't believe it when Fluttershy-"

>You realize she isn't going to stop anytime soon, so you turn to Slab and ask, "So I'm free to go... right?"

>He nods at you.

>You immediately about face and start walking out.

"Gilda?" You hear Sue call from behind you. "Where are you going?"

>You look back over your shoulder. "Just need some fresh air." You wave a talon at the ceiling. "A griffon can only stand being inside so long after all."

"Oh alright dearie," she says, smiling softly at you. "If you need us we'll most likely be at Sugarcube Corner."

>You nod, and push open the door.

>Sweet beautiful wonderful fresh air.

>It'd be sweeter if there weren't ponies every which way you looked, but it was far better than being stuffed in the train or a cell.

>But now you had a mission. You were going to prove the existence of these Knights with or without help.

>And truth be told you worked better without help.

>Not that you didn't appreciate the help that Sue, Clyde and Homely provided.

>You just hated having to worry about such helpless ponies all the time.

>'Yeah' you nodded to yourself, 'that was it.'

>You shake your head.

>Evidence. You had to find evidence. Whatever that meant.

>You weren't really sure where to look, or what to look for honestly.

>You could go back to Trotston. You'd most likely be able to find ~something~ there, but you'd run the risk of running into the Knights themselves again.

>You could go to Canterlot. There were enough ponies there that if you dug deep enough you were bound to find something. One thing you noticed living near ponies for long enough, everything could always be traced back to Canterlot somehow.

>Or you could look around in Ponyville. You were already here, and the Knights of Harmony were bound to have ~something~ related to them near the town the dang Elements themselves lived in. The downside to this? >You'd have to stay in Ponyville.

>And you knew if you stayed in Ponyville the Elements would find you eventually. It wasn't that large of a town after all.

 

A. Trotston. It may be dangerous, but danger is your middle name.

B. Canterlot. You could bust up a few noses in a big city without getting too much attention.

C. Ponyville. Much easier to get noticed, but much closer to the source of everything.

(C was chosen)

 

>You pause for a moment.

>You suppose you aren't in ~that~ much of a hurry to get out of here.

>Besides, it wouldn't be cool to just up and leave without letting the Pies that you were good.

>You supposed you could stick around for a bit.

>Where to start your investigation though...

>Well... you know there are six elements. You only really know Dash and Pinkie.

>You of course know of the new Princess Twilight. You hadn't been ~completely living under a rock.

>That left 3 others. You had heard about them, and Dash might've introduced you to them, but you honestly didn't care to remember anypony she introduced you to at that time.

>And that begged the question of if you even wanted to deal with them directly. Perhaps it would be better to ask around while avoiding them? After all it seems the Knights hadn't made themselves known to the Elements, so perhaps the best place to start would be in looking in areas unrelated to them.

>You look up at the sky. It already looks a bit past noon. You'll also have to figure out a place to stay while you're here. It seemed like Sue had been offering to help in that regard, but you weren't sure if you could take staying in the same building as Pinkie Pie.

 

A. Investigate Twilight Sparkle.

B. Find Rainbow Dash.

C. Attempt to research the other Elements

D. Search the town of Ponyville

E. Procure lodging first.

(A was chosen, then D and E tied)

 

>You have a brief thought of finding Rainbow Dash, but you push that out of your head as quickly as it appeared.

>That's one can of worms you don't want to have to deal with today if you don't have to.

>You figure the best bet is to find Twilight Sparkle.

>That's who Pinkie was planning to have send the letter anyway. You decide you might as well fill her in yourself. Pinkie Pie would probably go off on a tangent and then forget why she was even there.

>You start walking towards the closest pony you see.

>You notice she has some sort of flower for a cutie mark, and also notice her eyes instinctively dilate as you approach.

>"Hey, you know where I can find Twilight Sparkle?" You try to ask as nonchalant as possible, not 'noticing' how the pony is now shaking in her hooves.

>The pony elects not to say anything and just quickly points her hoof in a direction, and then runs off screaming.

>You slam your talons over your ears and watch her run away and nearly plow over a couple other ponies.

>You brace for the other ponies to start screaming and pointing at you or something, yet a few seconds pass and... everyone seems to have completely ignored what just happened.

>You decide not to question your luck and head off in the direction that she pointed in. You decide to ask some other pony later who looks like they wont faint at the sight of you.

 

>Some walking and a few other ponies you had to practically chase down for directions later, you find yourself in front of what appears to be a tree that's been hollowed out.

>You decide not to question it, you figure this is yet another pony thing you'll never understand, and knock on the door.

"Just a second!" You hear a male voice call from inside.

>The door swings open, and before you stands the smallest dragon you've seen.

>Though he's still a dragon, which is pretty awesome in your book.

>"Uh... hey. I'm looking for Twilight Sparkle?"

"Sorry, but you're gonna have to check back tomorrow." The dragon waves his hand vaugely. "She's out doing some research in Cloudsdale today on how different altitudes effect the different pony races. Can I take a message?"

>The dragon pulls out a paper and a quill, looking surprisingly eager to write something.

>You frown. "No... This is one of things that's better done... face to face."

"If you say so." He shrugs, "By the way... do I know you from somewhere? I feel like I've seen you before."

>You let out a nervous laugh. "Nope. Just one of those faces, ya know?" And with that you just start walking away, choosing a random direction.

>You glance over your shoulder to see the dragon stare at you for a little bit, shrug again, and shut the door.

>"So that was a complete bust..." You mutter.

>So it seems that you'll have to talk to her tomorrow... so what instead?

 

>You look up at the sky. The sun hasn't fallen that much...

>But it still probably would be a good idea to find a place to stay just in case. You're going to have to stay here overnight anyway if you want to talk to Mrs. Magic Fix-it-all.

>You could also try to eavesdrop around town and see if you could pick up anything as well.

>A win-win situation.

>Maybe even find some food in the process.

>Not that you had any bits on you, but it's not like that ever stopped you before.

>It doesn't take too long before you find the open-air market. You remember last time you were here you had one of the most delicious apples, mostly because you had stolen it.

>Hey, free food always tasted better. You were pretty sure that was a scientific fact.

>As luck would have it, you see the same booth as before.

>Even better, it looks like it's being ran by three fillies.

>You grin, fillies were so easy to trick.

>You saunter up to the booth.

"Well howdy there! Are ya interested in buying an apple?" the one with the bow asks you.

"Whoaaaa! A griffon! Cooooool!" the orange pegasus says, buzzing her wings.

"Scootaloo! We're supposed to be being professionals!" The white one says as she jabs the pegasus with a hoof.

>You laugh, "Good eye kiddo! I'm the coolest griffon there is." You put your talon on your chin, pretending to think hard for a moment. "Tell you what, for recognizing my coolness, how about I show you all a magic trick."

"Well I dunno..." The earth pony frowns.

"Oh come on! Are you really turning down a magic show? From a griffon?!" The pegasus' mind seems shocked at her friends 'betrayal'

"Oh fine! It better be good though."

>You beam your best smile and pick up an apple. "Now watch as I make an apple... DISSAPEAR!"

>The fillies all make oohs and ahhs as you start twirling the apple around, and in one fluid motion you throw the apple straight up into the air.

>On cue, all the fillies, and even a few other ponies nearby, look straight up. You quickly grab an apple off the table and place it under your wing.

>The apple falls back down, and you catch it and place it back on the table.

>The fillies stare at it for a moment.

"I don't get it..." The white one says. "When was it supposed to dissapoear?"

>You shrug. "Sorry, looks like my magic has ran out for the day."

>The fillies let out dissapointed 'awws' at this,

"What a gyp!" The earth pony grumbles as you walk away.

>You grab the other apple and take a large bite of it.

>Too easy.

"Hey! Wait!" you all of a sudden hear a male voice call.

>Your head swivels around. You weren't caught were you?

>Your eyes widen as you see Shimmerwing galloping towards you.

>"....Buck." you grumble.

>He stops short right in front of you as you stammer. "Uh... look... I mean... I can explain-"

"I apologize." He interrupts.

>"I... what?"

"I wanted to apologize to you for earlier. For not believing your story on the train. I just joined the guard recently and I was so excited to prove myself and I got carried away."

>You glance at Shimmerwing, and then to your apple, and then back to Shimmerwing, and let out a breath you didn't know you were holding.

>"Uh, don't worry about it... apology accepted and whatnot."

"That's good." He smiles. The first emotion you've seen him express actually. "I was thinking I could maybe escort you around town to repay you? I'm pretty familiar with this area actually."

>"Yeah yeah thats-" you pause for a moment and almost drop your apple.

>You stare at him for a moment. "Uh... wait what? I'm not sure I heard you right."

"Would you like me to show you around town?" he repeats.

>Oh no.

>No way.

>He wasn't.

>...

>Oh he ~TOTALLY~ was.

>He may have been a guard, but the signs were all there. Slight hoof scraping at the ground, looking not quite at you, desperately trying not to make eye contact.

>You weren't sure if you wanted to laugh at how absurd this was or scream at him.

>We're all ponies this stupid or did this town just attract the the most annoying ones possible?

>So now the question was... do you let him tag along? Or tell him to buzz off.

 

A. Might as well use the dweeb, if he's so willing.

B. This is something you really don't need right now.

(A was chosen)

 

>You're a bit skeptical, but you're for sure not going to let an opportunity to boss around this pony pass you by.

>"Eh, alright." You say in your best disinterested voice. "I was just going to wander around until I found someplace I could stay anyway."

"Oh right, Mrs. Pie said that you were more than welcome to stay with them again, but you rushed off before she had the chance to let you know."

>Your eyes narrow. You were afraid of that.

>"Thats... uh... very nice of her. Them. But I uh... I've been relying on their hospitality too much. I don't want to inconvenience them... you know?"

>You hope your flimsy argument is enough to get him to drop the subject, at least for now. If worse comes to worse you've slept outside before.

>Shimmerwing nods and thinks for a moment.

"Well, there aren't many hotels in Ponyville, but if you don't have any bits that probably won't work anyway. Normally ponies just room with other ponies they know."

>You give him your best sarcastic 'oh come on really?' look you can muster. He shifts under your gaze uncomfortably.

"Well, there's also the city hall's temporary housing. I think they implemented a place for ponies to stay if their houses were destroyed by any 'Ponyville related' disasters."

>You raise an eyebrow at this. "Ponyville related?"

"Apparently property damage is pretty common around here. No idea why though. Locals have pretty much come to accept it." He shrugs.

>"Oh...kay then..." you pause for a moment. "Wait. You're a guard right? Aren't you supposed to be... you know... guarding something right now?"

>He coughs and rubs the back of his head with one of his hooves.

"I may have told Slab that I was worried for your safety if these Knights did exist. So I'm escorting you temporarily."

>You scowl. "I don't ~need~ protection."

"Of course not!" he quickly waves his hooves in defence. "Anyway, I think we're getting distracted. How about I get you to a place to stay?"

>You nod. Might as well get that out of the way now. You can snoop around later.

>Although speaking of snooping around...

>"Hey Shimmerwing." His ears perk up as he looks at you. "Are there any bars around here?"

"There isn't anything like a Canterlot style bar with music and the like, but Ponyville does have a tavern. Run by... Berry Punch I believe."

>You nod. If there was information to be had that would be one of the more likely places to find it.

>After all one thing you did know was that the Knights of Harmony apparently recruited the 'useless' ponies and gave them a purpose.

>And you knew firsthand that bars were the best place to find those without purpose.

>Err... not that you were useless. You were just in a rut in your life before this. That didn't count.

>You shake your head. You've been getting distracted a lot more often recently. Maybe having a near death experience does that to you.

"Miss Gilda?" Shimmerwing shocks you out of your reverie.

>"Don't call me miss." You immediately respond. You scoff. You weren't hardly old enough to be called miss yet.

>"Anyway, I probably should stay at

 

A. The Pies'. Relying on their hospitality yet again.

B. A hotel. You wonder if you can maybe get Shimmerwing to pay for it. But that might give the wrong impression.

C. Community housing. You figure you can explain how your house is most likely ransacked by now, and maybe they'll let you stay.

(C was chosen)

 

>You'd really prefer to avoid giving Shimmerwing any ideas if possible.

>"at the community housing. I don't have any bits period on me, so a hotel is right out. And like I said earlier I don't want to rely on the Pies forever."

"That's the closest to Berry's anyhow, if you were planning to go there later." He pauses for a moment, "Although if you don't have any bits, I guess the bar is out too..."

>"Oh please," you scoff, "ponies are always lining up to buy the exotic griffon some drinks. Hear some stories of the griffon homelands."

"Oh... but-"

>You start walking off before he could finish his thought. You swore, this guy complained even more than Homely did...

"Ah, wait!" He cries, galloping to catch up.

>You roll your eyes. "You said you were going to show me around right? So let's get going."

 

>The tour he gives you is... almost pleasant.

>At one point a MASSIVE red pony turned a corner and bowled you over, causing you to fall on Shimmerwing. You considered yelling at the dumb pony, but you thought better of it when you noticed his sheer size put Slab to shame. The problem was after you had gotten up, you heard a muffled *pomf*

>The big red pony looked behind you, and despite his coat you swore you saw a blush on his face.

>You were fairly certain had you turned around at that point the pony known as Shimmerwing would have died an early death.

>Awkwardness aside, Shimmerwing at least was fairly knowledgeable about the towns layout.

>You found out that two of the elements you didn't know about lived on the outskirts of town, and the last one lived in a house shaped like actual carousel.

>You'll ~never~ understand ponies.

>Other than that he pointed out the common hangout spots for ponies.

>The downside of all these places? You stood out like a dragon at a symphony.

>This place wasn't like Trotston were ponies never bothered to look at you twice. If you had bits, that was good enough.

>Ponyville though... There wasn't a place you went where you weren't pretty much the focus of attention.

>Thankfully you reached the City Hall quick enough.

>Having Shimmerwing with you was suprisingly helpful. Ponies are far more inclined to believe you if you had a guard at your side you noticed.

>The ponies in city hall agreed quick enough to let you stay. It turned out only one other pony was staying there currrently, so there was plenty of room (something they seemed quite suprised at).

>Apparently the most recent disaster that placed that pony here was a 'Derpy Class Accident'

>You had no idea what that meant, but hey, a place to stay was good news already.

 

>Before long Shimmerwing was bidding you farewell. He told you not to worry, that the guard would take care of everything, and that Ponyville was perfectly save.

>You didn't tell him that you didn't believe any of those points.

>Now came the next problem: Berry's Bar.

>It turned out it was quite close to where you were planning on staying, but if walking through town was any indication, it would be tough to get information subtly while there.

>However, the alternative would be to embrace that and let everyone know you were staying here, and to try and draw the Knights to Ponyville. If they tried something here out in the open you're pretty sure that would cause the guards, the elements, and everyone to see that they existed.

>Although this would mean putting yourself in danger again...

 

A. Stay on the down low for now, and just see what ponies at the bar may know.

B. Cause a commotion big enough to let the knights know where you had gone, trying to lure them to you.

(B was chosen)

 

>You haven't had much luck in thinking of how you were going to expose the existence of the Knights.

>You assumed they weren't dumb enough to keep a member list lying around in a town you had no idea if they even existed in.

>What you did know is they were probably looking for you.

>And since you were already pretty conspicous in Ponyville, why not go the extra mile and draw as much attention to yourself as possible? If all went well, the Knights would show up, try something, and the Elements and guards were close enough in proximity that they would have to notice.

>Might as well get all the players in one spot so the game could really begin.

>Without further ado you decide to set out for the bar with no further plan in mind.

>You liked the simple plans. You were better at improvising anyway.

>It was still fairly early in the evening, the sun just starting it's descent over the horizon, a bit earlier than you would usually go to a bar, but you really had nothing else to do.

>Thankfully, like Shimmerwing said, Berry's place was a very short walk from the community housing. You enter the bar, and-

"SUPRISE!"

>To your credit you don't freak out.

>At least externally.

>On the inside every sense available is yelling at you to run.

>You were not prepared for this.

"Wait WHAT?!" You hear a shout. "This surprise party is for GILDA?!"

"Of course it was Dashie!" Pinkie giggled.

>"...Ponyfeathers." you swear.

 

(END OF CHAPTER 3)