Dead Birds

by Stray Dog Kane

The best possible outcome?

Gilda was still as she let her eyes adjust to what was in front of her, not even blinking as it became apparent what she saw. It was a tv set in a living room she was looking at. She felt like she was sitting on a couch, with a blanket over her and next to someone.

Taking a look, she saw Rainbow Dash still snoozing next to her. The cyan pegasus was oblivious to the still shaken griffon. They had apparently dozed off watching something some time ago.

The griffon let out a sigh as she got up, though being nice enough to leave Dash asleep with covers. She wanted to humor she had woke up from a nightmare, that things were great, but she knew better. The best she could do now was try to shake off the coldness she felt all over and in her body.

“So, what’s the story here then?” Gilda whispered to herself, still uneasy.

It looked like Fluttershy’s place, but the yellow pegasus never had a TV before. At least, last she knew of anyway. She heard a sound from the kitchen, and that’s where she found Flutters cleaning a few things.

“Hey, Fluttershy,” Gilda said in a low voice.

“Ah, Gilda!” Fluttershy said in surprise, only then realizing her voice was a bit high and going back to a whisper herself. “I didn’t know you were awake. I was about to go to bed myself.”

“Yeah, neither did I…” Gilda said with slight disinterest. “What was I doing here again?” She figured she may as well know that story she was now in.

But Fluttershy looked obviously dumbfounded by that question. “You invited Dash to watch a few movies, remember?” she replied. “Are you feeling ok?”

“So when did she forgive me?” Gilda asked. Dream as it was, she just wrote her own script to it, much to the confusion of the actors.

Now, the shy pegasus looked more confused, even worried. “Forgive what, Gilda?” she asked back.

“That party way back when?” Gilda clarified. “Ya know? The one where I blew up at Dash, got real angry?” The yellow pegasus looked like she needed to think, but then realized what was being asked.

“Oh, that party...” Shy said with a happy voice and a nod. “I know you yelled at her, and she yelled back, and well…” She rubbed her hooves with anxiety, causing the griffon’s eye brow to rise. “We all learned something about each other after you managed to calm down.”

“Eh?” Gilda added. “Then why...?” As she tried to figure out what to how ask next, the pegasus pony continued.

“I know it’s all a surprise things went so well back then, despite both of your tempers.” Fluttershy said with a delighted smile. “Before the end of the day, we were all friends then. You even moved in after….” Gilda could see a light blush on the pony, with her now feeling more than a little afraid to ask why. “You’ve been staying here for a while now...but it’s fine, I don’t mind. You're welcome to stay here!” she said as she smiled warmly.

“Yeah…” Gilda added and rubbed her neck, not wishing for more details. That blush, that fidget, more questions came to her that she didn’t want to know the answers to. So in the end she just got some distance from it. “I’m...just going to go my room now.”

Fluttershy nodded back. “Ok, good night Gilda,” she said with a smile and a wave.

So Gilda went back upstairs to the guest room, weighing what she had been told in her mind.

On one hand, she was still stuck in Ponyville again. On the other, her and Dash were still best friends, like they never stopped it seemed. It still was just a dream anyway though, pure fantasy.

But, it was when she opened the door to the guest room that she saw the thing which made her worried to question what kind of dream she was seeing.

“No way!” she mouthed in a low voice, not wanting to cause much noise.

There was a small crib next to the bed in the room. In silence, the griffon walked closer to it without blinking. A little griffon lay there under its covers there. Little claws, little beak, the little thing slept with a notable snore. It could be either cute or annoying.

But then Gilda found the real shocker to everything. A leg was out from under those covers. Instead of a paw there was a hoof. A baby hippogriff lay asleep next to her bed with more than a little pink hair on its head.

Now, the griffon recalled the extent of the hippogriff myth and only felt more awe. At least before it became facts that made her nervous as to it’s parents.

That bit of pink was causing her to ask those questions she didn’t want to know the answers too, lest she go to gibbering madness. Namely how it got there, it had to come from a mare and a griffon after all.

She just simply sat down on her bed and let out another low groan. It was quiet for a moment, with the little hippogriffs breath being the only sound in the room.

But it was then Gilda felt a tug on her paw, coming from under the bed, this being weird as her paws were on top of it. It made no sense, but she knew who it was nearby.

“What is it, Pinkie?” Gilda said stoically, not even looking.

“Psst!” Asked the pink intruder, Pinkie Pie from under the bed. She did not notice the griffons weariness, it seemed. “Hey, Gilda? Are you up for a late night snack and a chat?”

“Maybe,” the out of it Gilda replied without much energy. “Kid’s asleep, I guess.” If it weren't for doubt, she might have been in awe still of what was in the crib.

“Then come on, let’s get to the kitchen,” Pinkie whispered back. With that a pink hoof gestured from under the bed.

The griffon let out a sigh and went under it as well. Crawling her way to a kitchen doorway somewhere else.

“I’m glad you came over!” Pinkie Pie said with her usual giddiness, as though the traversing was nothing. “You know, we should talk about him too! It’s kind of a funny story!”

“Who’s the lucky mare?” Gilda said with a still stoic tone, feeling she may as well ask.

“Me silly!” Pinkie said with a bounce, even having a playful blush. “You wondered if it could work out, and it did, and you thought the name Gwendolyn was a funny name for a boy, and…”

Gilda was feeling something similar to something nightmarish. The kind where her skin crawls and she felt things could not get lower.

“How…?” she wished she didn’t ask, it just came out of her beak.

“Well, when a mare loves a griffon, and the mare has this BFF that know all this magic stuff. She makes the griffon that potion and….” Pinkie said before Gilda covered her mouth to stop the rest of the story. The rest of it wrote itself in the girl griffon’s mind

“No, I’m fine thanks!” Gilda said loudly with a tense smile as the feeling of madness came in. “No more for me, I’m the driver and...o-o-ooh no-o-o-o!” She darkly chuckled as she felt sanity leave.

She kept that look as she let go of the pony, doing her best not to tremble as she felt her mind fall apart. Thankfully, even strangely, the pink pony knew what to do then. She splashed water on the crazed griffon. As Gilda spat fluid from her beak, the pony got a cloth to help dry her off.

“Ok, now you’re wet and and hysterical.” Pinkie added as she hoofed the cloth over. “Kind of a upgrade.” Despite the joke of it, she at least looked sympathetic as the griffon dried herself off. “Just a suggestion! It’s kinda scary when you get like this.”

“I’m fine, thanks,” Gilda said offhandedly with some bitterness. “Just glad this is a dream I’m having. This is nuts!”

“I know!” Pinkie said without any irony. “I’m not even sure Twilight even has magic like that!” She then looked ponderous. “I mean, maybe she could!” she added with a hopeful smile. “And Gwendolyn is a nice name so….” Gilda was out of her first shock and into a new one. At least a shock that wasn’t her having a child with this mare, one less horrific.

“Wait!” Gilda said as she stared on. “You know it’s a dream?!” She pointed a claw as her beak just seemed to drop.

“Sure!” Pinkie said, not quite picking up on the surprise the griffon was feeling. “I guess I could see why it’s all a blow to you, we never got to first base even!” Gilda just gagged at that. “Would it help if we just held hands?” More gagging came. “I mean, it’s a shock to find I laid an egg that big, huh?” Gilda wanted to reltch then. As a result, Pinkie looked a little guilty at her prodding. “I’m sorry, I’ll stop now,” she finished with much less humor.

While the pink pony did have good intentions when she offered a hoof to stop Gilda from falling down further, it was slapped away. She looked at the griffon with a sad expression as Gilda took a few deep breaths.

“Just give me a moment, alright?” she said as she held her chest for a moment. “And get back.” The pony nodded and let Gilda catch her breath, not even bouncing around for a moment. “So much no….” she added in a low, desperate tone.

“And yet…” Pinkie said, her voice trying to cut into the griffon groaning with some lightness. “You know someone would like to see it.” The griffon went back to looking sick again. “Sorry, sorry!” She waved her hooves quickly as Gilda looked like she might collapse. “How about that snack? I’ve got cookies, cakes, and larger cakes.”

While Pinkie Pie was back to her usual enthusiasm, Gilda was still crestfallen, even as the mare’s hoof gestured to the amount of tasty snacks.

“I think I lost my appetite forever….” Gilda replied sadly.

“But forever is a long time!” Pinkie stated with a moan, causing Gilda to faceclaw. “Besides, it’s a dream. And it’s not that scary even.”

“Who’s dream?” Gilda asked, but knew the answer.

“Exactly!” Pinkie replied, and there it was.

“Ask a stupid question….” Gilda grumbled as she held her head. “Also, IF this is our kid why am I at Fluttershy house?”

“Well, one I’m kinda sharing a home with the other Cakes,” Pinkie listed happily. “Two, I’m already helping the Cakes with their foals at home. Three, Fluttershy is more than happy to let you and him stay. Four…..” She paused for a moment, then letting out a giggle. “I don’t have a four.”

“Kindness and all that?” Gilda shrugged as she asked. “Because she likes animals and stuff?”

“And she’s around a dragon, a phoenix, and a hippogriff,” Pinkie beamed as she spoke. “It’s like, the coolest animals to be around!”

“Right…” Gilda rolled her eyes, as she excused herself from the scene. “I going to kill time till I wake up….”

“Wait!” Pinkie shouted, zipping in front of the griffon. “Think of the children, er child.” While that pause was funny, the griffon wasn’t having it.

“He’ll be gone when I wake up,” Gilda replied, exhausted. “Besides, he’s asleep.”

“Have you checked the children?” Pinkie said with an ominous look in her eyes. At first Gilda looked unnerved, then she played with it.

“No, the real question is, have you checked the children?” she said with mock seriousness and a scary voice.

“OMIGOSH!” Pinkie yelped and ran from the kitchen, she could be heard running up the stairs. Gilda felt clever for a moment at how she managed that. “They're fine!” she added, her voice coming from behind the griffon. “They’re sleeping soundly too!”

Gilda looked aside, nearly chuckling, if a bit dry. “What kept her?” she said to no one as she turned around..

“Hey, I’ve keep wondering…” Pinkie said trotting around Gilda with a serious look. “How come you’ve been able to be so…”

“Used to this crazy stuff?” Gilda shrugged.

“Yeah!” Pinkie said with a nod. “How’d you keep doing that?”

“I really stopped following logic a while ago,” Gilda said like it was nothing. “I’m not even letting it faze me.”

“Is it more fun that way?” Pinkie tilted her head as she asked.

“Meh,” GIlda replied with disinterest. “Just another thing.”

“Are you like that king?” Pinkie started another aside. “The one who was so focused on knowing everything, that he did all a sudden? Can you call a coin flip too?”

“Nah, I just gave up,” Gilda answered with a sigh. “Things happen, I’m there, I don’t care. I should really stop caring about this stuff or I’ll go nuts.”

”But you do care, Gilda!!” Pinkie said with due seriousness.

“Also, this going place to place...thing you do?” Gilda said pointing a talon. “I think I was doing that when I got some bootlegged green fae.”

“Green fae?” “Pinkie asked with curiosity.

“I thought I was the dread dragon, Gildiss,” Gilda recalled with some humor. “Burninating losers and villages, and crushing dorks under my iron tail.” Now it was Pinkies turn to look weirded out. “I forget the rest, but it was awesome. I remember it ended with me waking up on a boat, with this sea pony yelling at me.” The pony chuckled as the griffon shrugged. “Somehow, I was in a bag of hot spices with my beak on fire. I wasn’t even near water...”

“Did you swore it off then?” said the delighted Pinkie.

“Yep.” Gilda replied tensely. “Had enough problems with figuring where I was without finding myself on the other side of Equestria from where I started.”

“Maybe you just flew really fast?” Pinkie asked, trying to get past the guarded griffon. “Unless quantum linear superposition made sense to you...”

“Yeah!” Gilda snapped a talon at that. “That’s what he called it,” she continued with a spark of insight. “When this talking gumball machine told me about realigning my point of origin in visible space and…” She then held and shook her head then as the pink pony enjoyed a laugh while Gilda groaned. “Talking gumball machine…” Gilda began, cracking up herself at her own story.

“It’s just physics, Gilda!” Pinkie giggled. “No biggy, it’s simple. It’s all about knowing time is just a factor, rather than a immutable forward progression.”

“Gotta wonder what other things I was talking to…” Gilda laughed to herself. “Pretty sure I argued with a road sign about me yielding to it in my imaginary rampage.”

It was then Pinkie looked worried, started having some of those twitches again with--was that chirping Gilda heard? The pony looked back to the griffon with that worried look.

“Gwendolyn’s crying!” she said with excited terror, holding her face with her hooves. “We got to get back to him!” She fled from the room, as Gilda shook her head and went after.

“Still don’t know how this works though….” With that Gilda went from the doorway to the store front to the guest room at Fluttershy’s home again, where Gwendolyn was indeed crying.

Pinkie Pie was in the process of calming him down, rocking the little creature as she sat on the bed. Then she stuck her tongue out, causing it to giggle back to it’s mother.

“Why is his name Gwendolyn anyway?” Gilda asked as she watched this strangeness. “Just kinda wondering…”

“What cha mean, Gilda?” Pinkie stated coyly. “Besides, didn’t you say you didn’t care anymore?”

“Uh, that’s a girls name for one?” Gilda replied back, feeling a bit awkward. “Plus, I don’t care because it’s not real to me, alright?”

“Well, I think it’s a good name for a griffon called G, don’t you?” Pinkie replied as she rocked the little baby hippogriff. “Like a secret agent name, ya know? The last thing anyone would expect.” Pinkie’s answer caused Gilda a moan in annoyance. “Well, someone thought it was funny,” she said quietly. While the griffon could just continue to stand there, the pink pony gestured her over.

“You...aren’t expecting me to hold him, are you?” Gilda asked as she walked over cautiously.

“Nah,” Pinkie said softly. “Just figured you’d like to talk.”

“Why?” Gilda asked back. While she felt things were strange enough for her, things just suddenly got somber.

“Did you ever think that “don’t care” attitude is how you defend yourself in life?” Pinkie asked as the griffon sat down on the floor nearby.

“Ok, so why do you care so much?” Gilda rolled her eyes. “Seeing as you know this stuff...”

“Well, he so cudlie for one!” Pinkie said as she nuzzled the little hippogriff in her arms, resulting in it cooing softly. “And….” She turned back to Gilda with a soft, but serious look. “Do you think that whole ‘Don’t care’ thing is a simple matter of deciding to be a, unscrupulous rebel?” she asked. “Like, when you don’t even think about tomorrow, for you or anyone, you can’t lose anything? So you just stay all huffy, telling others to bite you?”

All that delivered to the griffon as she rocked the little one gently, not even raising her voice. Gilda looked a bit shocked at the sudden serious tone, but got over it. She just shook her head.

“When did you become Dr. Fluttershy?” she asked with a bit of a chuckle.

“Well, someone has to be the mother here,” Pinkie said with some humor.

“Right….” Gilda looked aside as she tapped her talon. “And Dash in this...dream thing? Do you know about that?”

“You want to know why you two never stopped being friends, right?” Pinkie Pie replied knowingly.

“Yeah, that would have been handy,” Gilda added with a sad sigh. “It’s probably stupid anyway…” she mumbled.

“I think Twilight and me stepped in,” Pinkie explained as the griffon listened. “After Dash let you have it, Twilight asked why you were friends in the first place...maybe that was it?” While Gilda looked a bit ponderous, the pony continued. “Then you said some stuff, then she said more stuff. Then she asked you admit to your faults if Rainbow Dash could admit hers. I guess we could forgive you if you forgave her.”

Gilda raised an eyebrow at this as the pony smiled. “Then I guess you worked past those jerk moments, even got nicer too!” she added. “I guess me, you, and Dash hanged out a lot...and then more stuff came from it.”

“Stuff I don’t want to know,” Gilda added with a shudder, still tapping her talon. “That stuffs going to haunt me…”

“Are you sure?” Pinkie asked seriously. Despite the fact it was intended to be friendly, the girl griffon nudged away slowly. Pinkie just giggled at that. “Not about that, the other parts. Can you really say you were better off the way you were before you first came to Ponyville?”

“I was a heck of a lot more confident for one…” Gilda answered with a sigh. “And I still had a best friend too...”

“Did you learn anything afterward?” “Pinkie asked.

“Like how to get more bitter?” “Gilda snarked back.

“No,” Pinkie said with a tone of seriousness. “The other things you thought about while you were here. Like for one, have you realized that you stopped wishing for Dash to beg you for forgiveness? Well…” she paused for a moment, like she remember who she was talking too. “Not as much anyway.”

“So?” Gilda said with disinterest, even looking away. “Next you’ll bring up how I’m talking to you and Fluttershy...” While she said that with disinterest, the pony’s eyes lit up.

“That’s right!” Pinkie said with joy, the hippogriff seemed to laugh a bit as well. “If you know that, why do you keep being like this?” She got up, putting her little Gwendolyn in his crib. Pausing momentarily to kiss him goodnight.

Gilda had to pause for a bit then, still tapping her talon as she looked away.

“I got reasons,” she muttered sadly, it was the best she could come up with.

“Everyone has reasons, ya know?” Pinkie Pie said as she trotted up and sat next to Gilda. “But, not everyone has good ones.”

While the griffon would have liked to argue that point, she felt her scalp wiggle and left wing tingle.

“I’m waking up?” Gilda said absently, not sure how she knew that.

“Yep!” Pinkie said, likely knowing why. “Good morning Gilda!”