Chapter 7: Planning The Rescue
The Cutie Mark Crusaders were sitting inside of their hotel room in a state of nervous tension. The hour was getting late and still Gilda had not returned. None of the foursome knew who the stallions were or why they had taken Gilda. All they knew was that this was a very bad situation to be in. Gilda was gone and they had no idea what was going to happen to her. Why had she been taken? One minute she was making a killing at the casino and the next she was in the custody of some rather surly looking stallions. The foursome sat in the main room of their hotel suite and all of them were very concerned for Gilda. Time went by and there was still no sign of her.
"Do ya think she'll be all right?" Scootaloo asked in a worried tone as she looked at her fellow Cutie Mark Crusaders.
"Ah hope so." Apple Bloom replied in a quiet voice. "Ah really hope so."
"She'll be fine." Sweetie Belle said to assure herself as much as the others. "We just have to relax."
"Yeah Gilda can take care of herself." Babs Seed agreed.
The foursome stared at each other and then they went to bed. They laid down in their beds without even bothering to take off their dresses. They pulled the cream colored blankets over their bodies and said their goodnights. The two pairs of fillies slept very close together as if the presence of each other was reassuring to them. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom snuggled together while Sweetie Belle and Babs Seed held each other in their forelegs. The way they held each other wasn't romantic in any way. The foursome stuck together in the hopes that staying that way would keep them safe from the fate that had befallen Gilda.
Meanwhile Gilda was still in the custody of the ponies that had attacked her. Both of the stallions were furious at the griffon and they accused her of counting cards. Gilda had no idea what that meant and she kept trying to explain that to her captors but they refused to listen. They called Gilda a thief and a criminal and said that she would pay dearly for what she had done. The brown and white griffon wasn't being physically hurt anymore but she definitely wasn't safe. Gilda knew that she needed to escape but the ropes that bound her were too tight. She tried to use her claws to cut her binds but the ropes were just out of reach of the griffon's talons. Scowling to herself, Gilda gave up and tried to think of another escape plan. None came to mind and she was stuck thinking about The Cutie Mark Crusaders. Would the four fillies try to rescue her or were they in just as much trouble as she was? Gilda's eyes closed and she found herself falling into an uneasy and uncomfortable sleep.
Morning came and The Cutie Mark Crusaders didn't see Gilda anywhere in the hotel suite. The griffon had not come back to the room and there was no note explaining where she was or what was happening to her. The four fillies then began to get extremely worried about the griffon. It wasn't like her to abandon her friends like this. All four of the young ponies knew that Gilda did everything that she could for her friends. The group of four debated about whether or not they should try to send a letter to their families for help. However they dismissed that idea from their minds almost as quickly as they had thought of it. The letter would take days to reach Ponyville and they simply couldn't wait that long. They needed to figure out a way to save Gilda and quickly.
"Why did they do this to her?" Scootaloo asked angrily.
"Ah don't know Scoots." Apple Bloom answered. "Ah just don't know."
"Is it a crime for a griffon to make money these days?" Sweetie Belle growled angrily.
"Maybe they thought she was cheating." Babs Seed suggested.
"Gilda cheating?" Scootaloo repeated incredulously. "No way!"
"Gilda wouldn't cheat." Apple Bloom said firmly.
"Besides she says that blackjack is all luck." Sweetie Belle added. "How could anypony cheat at a game like that?"
"Ever heard of counting cards?" Babs Seed asked.
The other three fillies shook their heads in response. Babs Seed went on to explain that counting cards was a very difficult method of cheating at blackjack. If done right however it makes the player virtually unbeatable for he or she would know exactly what to do in any given situation. It was a banned practice in casinos all across Equestria and the punishments for being caught in the act of counting cards were very severe.
"Gilda wouldn't do that." Scootaloo told Babs Seed once she had finished her explanation. "Way too nerdy."
"She would never try ta cheat like that." Apple Bloom agreed.
"Gilda doesn't seem like she could count cards." Sweetie Belle said.
"That doesn't matter." Babs Seed replied. "If they think she's doin' it they're gonna punish her."
"We gotta save her!" Scootaloo declared.
"But we need ta think of a plan." Apple Bloom replied.
"What can we do?" Sweetie Belle asked.
Babs Seed had a grin on her face as she spoke to her friends.
"We're gonna do what Gilda did." Babs Seed told them. "We're gonna have ta just get lucky."
The foursome huddled together while Babs Seed whispered her plan to the others. She described how they would find Gilda and the others looked convinced though worried. This was an extremely risky move but it was the only chance that they had. They couldn't afford to wait for help from Ponyville and there was no way that they could convince the casino staff that Gilda was innocent. They checked the time and headed off to the casino with their bits in their bags. The group of four was on a mission to rescue Gilda. They marched to the doors of The Celestia's Palace Casino and took a deep breath. After a few moments, they walked into the casino and prepared themselves for their daring rescue mission. This was going to be a dangerous situation for the foursome.
