Dead Birds

by Stray Dog Kane

So much cake

“Doesn’t this bother you?” Diamond Tiara asked as Gilda cut into the cake with the knife next to it. “Like, at all?”

“Sometimes, sometimes a lot more,” Gilda replied with a serious tone as she handed Tiara a slice. “You ever get annoyed at other ponies yourself?”

“Duh, some ponies can be real bizarre with getting all whiny over stupid stuff,” Diamond answered, moaning. “I could run this place sooooo much better than those ponies, but they just side with those losers in the end. It so stupid.”

“Yeah,” Gilda added as she got her own slices. “I’ve seen how that is at times, I mean right?”

“So you do anything about it, oh cool griffon?” Diamond asked. She bit into her cake, and judging by the look, the cake was good. So that’s one mystery solved for the griffon.

“Heh, most I’ve been doing was to sulk on stuff,” Gilda sighed. “Maybe do a few things differently.” She bit into her slice. “

“How’d that turn out?” Tiara asked as she ate.

“I’ll admit, I did try a few things,” Gilda replied with her mouth full. “Stuff got weird, and I kinda wished I was just back to flying. Guess it was the only thing I felt the best at.” She swallowed.

“But you guys were rich,” Diamond mentioned. “Didn’t you care about that?”

“I just wanted those glory days, like my dad did.” Gilda replied as she cut another slice. “You know, those the griffon guard myth you were talking about last night?”

“Back when I was freaked, yeah,” Tiara said with discomfort. “I’m just glad I didn’t start crying…” A pause. “Again. So, what about it? What were these cool sounding glory days like?”

“It was mostly us fighting back stuff...dragons, saber tigers…” Gilda listed.

“Again with the dragons,” Diamond said as she rolled her eyes in disbelief again.

“Hey, when you got that much gold, dragons just come ok?” Gilda stated with annoyance as she took another bite. “It’s easy to hoard gold anyway, and us griffons had to stand up to em. No magic or nothing.”

“You guys actually have proof of this?” Diamond asked, still not convinced, but who could blame her?

“Frescos, years in history books, they even have a memorial or two to some of those battles,” Gilda answered with some pride. “Truth be told, griffons...did die to them.” She rubbed her chin feeling a bit sad at that fact. “Guess after a while, all we read about was how cool it was to fight them.”

“Even your dad?” Tiara added.

“Yep,” Gilda replied with a nod. “Even him,” she sighed. “It looked pretty cool to me too, if that other part didn’t scare me when I thought about it. Kinda of like those saber tigers…” She winced on that part.

“So what’s a saber tiger?” Diamond Tiara asked innocently. Sadly, Gilda was more than a bit nervous answering, and the kid noticed. “What’s wrong?”

“Well, aside from being a limber, fast, angry monster that could cut apart a big timberwolf with axes for tinder to burn…” Gilda said tensely. “It’s nothing but a big cat with swords.”

“Can it beat a diamond dog?” Tiara challenged

“Those runts would run from them.” Gilda concluded. “The empire beat them back though, now the only thing left to do is just be rich like some loser.”

“Ahem!” Diamond Tiara did not approve of that.

“Ok, rich loser that once was a symbol to great power,” Gilda sighed as she explained. “Lot’s of griffons are ok with it, and you should see the stuff they get into. My dad blamed the ponies for softening them up.”

“Piff, seriously?” Tiara huffed back.

“Heh, you could ask him,” Gilda said with a chuckle. “He’d probably just growl at you.”

“Geeze, you dad is a complete killjoy,” Tiara said as she rolled her eyes and shook her head.

“Meh, guess we’re just sick of feeling second best to ponies,” Gilda added. “Way back was the only time we felt like the best.”

“Pretty sure, most ponies are totally second best to you, G,” Tiara said with a smile. “You ever notice that?”

“What about those grand battles I wanted to be part of?” Gilda countered as she held her claw. “Ponies seem to be better known for the cool stuff now, even without epic wars! My dad can hunt a saber tiger pack like it was nothing, but what am I doing?”

“Hey, excuse me for bring up my knowledge of a dictionary…” Diamond said firmly. “But those old days you dad is fighting for? Those involved defending, like protecting stuff.” She held up a hoof. “Like, what’s he defending now anyway?”

“Guess, no point in being awesome if no one thinks you're awesome I guess,” Gilda cut another slice, one for her, one for the foal. “Maybe his ego?”

“Ok…” Diamond said as she pondered. “Did you have ideas for you being awesome, other than that physical stuff? Like I said, you have presage on stuff. Can’t you do something with it?”

“Nope,” Gilda replied as she ate, and Diamond facehoofed.

“Do you ever think?” Diamond asked as she rubbed her hoof on her head. “I mean, beyond after blundering into things?” She let her hoof down. “That’s just not cool.”

“Hard to tell,” Gilda added as she shrugged, then she cut each of them another piece. The cake still good. “How bout you kiddo, what’s your dad like? He cool?”

"He's so awesome!" Tiara said proudly. "My daddys got the biggest business in Ponyville, and I bet he can do profit margins in his head!" She smiled as she spoke. "He'd be able to outwit your dad in all sorts of stuff."

"Short of my dad beating him up..." Gilda muttered briefly back, upsetting the kid. "Nevermind, whatever. So your dad is going places while my did isn't, I can see that. So...what?" Unlike usual, this wasn't her being sarcastic when she asked.

"Well, if you don't want to live in the past like he is..." Diamond answered, before pointing to the cake. "Can I get another slice?" Gilda handed one over. "First thing, I think you should do is try more new stuff."

“Lot’s of stuff comes to mind, sure. but it’s all been new to me,” Gilda answered back. “But it’s all been new to me, I don’t even know where to start.”

“Maybe you just need somepony to help you with that?” Diamond replied with some glee. The griffon could read that smile on her face.

“Pardon me mamousle, but that’s still off the table,” she said, and the filly gulped at that comment.

“I-i-i-i…” Diamond Tiara was about as awkward as she could be on this, so Gilda closed it.

“Like you said, you were scared,” she said to calm things. “So, whatever, ok?”

“Right…” Diamond responded nervously. “How about how the other ponies you’ve been stuck with? You do any stuff with them?”

“Fluttershy’s trying, and kind of failing on things,” Gilda counted on her claw. “But we talk. Then Pinkie’s weird, but also trying and was even more creepy at times.” She cringed at the memory from that dream she had back when. “That rabbit was kind of fun, still kinda annoys me.” She chuckled at a few moments in the past she recalled.

“And let me guess, you’ve been told a bunch about how people feel?” Diamond summarized with a chuckle. “And how it’s all important?”

“Long and short of it, yeah,” Gilda replied with a shrug. “Kinda...why I did that hug…” she added as she looked aside.

There was a quiet pause as they ate, neither side being all too sure how to follow that.

“What if I told you…” Gilda said to break the silence after a bit. “You remind me of myself?” she said offhandedly, not sure how to tone it. “For better or worse, kinda? All confident, thinking I was better than those other stupid people, before the crummy stuff happens?”

“This from the same griffon who told me stuff is new to her?” Diamond Tiara remarked with mock surprise. “I’m shocked.”

“So it’s a matter of you being smarter it seems, and me being cooler,” Gilda said with a shrug. “It’s just that that bothers me that were alike at all.”

“Why?” Diamond asked, with a bit of real shock. “Why would that be bad? I’m mean, we...”

“Hey, it’s not your fault,” Gilda said as she tried to calm things down again. “I’m not blaming you or nothing.”

“Then what?” Tiara demanded. “What about that bothers you?”

“It’s that kind of thing that caused me to lose Dash…” Gilda’s face saddened as she said that. “Among other things.”

“Whatever, I’d have just wrote her off,” Diamond said with no sympathy. “If you’re cooler, you can just find better friends.”

“I did that too, at first,” Gilda said in a cautious tone. “Figured, her loss and all that crud. Then I just got to doubting it, then I fought that off with anger.” Her tone got more grim, remembering that rough patch. “Then it wasn’t her loss, it was me thinking she didn’t want me for a friend anyway. Like she wrote me off first. And….” Gilda felt a loss for words but looked to the kid. “You seriously think, you could just drop a friend?”

“You said I was the smart one,” said Diamond Tiara smugly as she got another piece. “I can figure it out.”

“And if Silver Spoon dropped you in the same way?” Gilda asked. The filly’s eyes were wide and her teeth clenched when she said that. With the cake in her hoof hitting the floor as she glared at the griffon in outrage and anger. “What did some loser say? Don’t know what you have, or something?”

“Tread carefully!” Diamond growled with her teeth clenched.

“We ain’t bulletproof ok?” Gilda summarized, hoping that explained it. “And you remind me of how I was back before that.” Gilda rubbed her cheek. “And a bit after, and it just kinda bums me out, ya know?”

“So, you got some plan to help me with that?” Diamond huffed back. “If you know so much about it.”

“I couldn't save myself,” Gilda replied with a sigh. “Best I could do for ya was keep you from just giving up after what happened to you.” A pause. “More cake?”

“Yeah…” Diamond said off hoof and got another piece. She still looked upset.

“Still want me at that party?” Gilda added with a half smile. “Seeing as I’m already ticking you off.”

“Duh,” Diamond answered, even giving a bit of a light smile herself. “It’d suck to feel like it’s just me and the lousy farm ponies.”

“Cool, I guess,” was Gilda’s answer.

They ate quietly for a bit.

“You guess, really?” Tiara eventually joked. “Do you even got good party etiquette?”

“Eating,” Gilda replied, doing that as she spoke too. “I just hope they got better than pin the tail on the pony for fun.”

“You certainly aren’t going to wow people over with that charming personality of yours,” Diamond added as she chuckled a bit.

Yep,” Gilda said, knowing the irony. “Well, maybe. They got zap cider?”

“That’s…practically moonshine.” Diamond replied as she blinked. “Daddy told me a story about some ponies trying to make that. He said it ate through the still’s metal tubing.” She looked weirded out again. “You can drink that?”

“Trick question,” Gilda laughed. “I just hope they got something strong.”

“Try wine,” Tiara answered with a smile. “Then again, like they’d have it,” she added with a shrug.

“Your dad talk about minotaur vineyards?” Gilda asked, curious to know what other stories the filly knew. “Seeing as you are the smart one.”

“Kinda,” Diamond replied with a smug look. “I doubt anypony here would think some of those big guys are sommeliers at times. I think daddy might have done business with them from time to time.” She paused. “Do you seriously need to drink to enjoy a party?”

“Might keep the edge off,” Gilda said as she got more cake. “You drink their cider at all? It any good?”

Diamond looked away for a moment, with a bit of an embarrassed blush. “It’s ok,” she replied quietly. “Do you have anything else?” The griffon shrugged again. “Yeah, you really need to discover better things in life Gilda.”

“If it’s about the accessorizing and non metal music, I don’t think I want to know,” G replied with a smirk. “I left the soft, girly stuff with I stopped being little.”

“I think it could grow on you,” DT said coyly. “Maybe, after all this, you, me, and Silver could hang out. You know, not in a weird way. It could be cool.”

“You serious?” Gilda asked.

“Duh,” Tiara answered with a smirk. “Why not?”

For a moment Gilda had to ponder. How much of an impact did she have on this kid?

“Maybe...” Gilda said as she got another slice of cake, only to then notice something that made her forget what she was about to ask. “Does this cake run out?” she now asked.

“I...how many slices have we had?” Diamond noted that with surprise as well.

By the look of it, the cake had only lost a quarter of itself, and they had eaten more than that.

Discord, it had to be Discord. At least the cake was good.