Even Gods Make Mistakes

As Rainbow Dash finished her final loop, she glided softly down onto a fresh cloud. The cyan Pegasus was about to doze off to sleep when she felt her cloud shift ever so slightly. Looking down over the side she saw the two new dragons flying about and having fun. She also noticed a grey Pegasus flying with them, laughing playfully. Why would they be playing with a klutz like Ditzy? Tumbling off the side of the cloud, Rainbow made her way down to catch up with the trio, which wasn't hard. ‘Derpy’ was the slowest flyer in the whole of Equestria after all. Rainbow snickered; this would be funny.

“Hey, Spyro!” She called out, causing the dragon to pause up. He hovered for a moment before leaving Ditzy and Cynder to play.

“Hi Rainbow, what’s up?” Spyro began to glide to a nearby cloud, allowing him to rest his wings. He was pleased to see the rainbow maned Pegasus again, hoping she had changed her attitude.

“What are you doing hanging around the town retard?” Rainbow asked, not a hint of guilt in her voice.

“…What…?” Spyro was dumbfounded. Sure, he knew that Ditzy had few friends, but he didn't expect one of Twilight's friends to be a bully. When he finally came to his senses, he was left simply confused. “Why would you say that about somepony? Especially somepony like Ditzy?”

“Uhhh, cause she is. I mean, look at her eyes. And she keeps breaking stuff everywhere around town. She definitely shouldn't be allowed to raise a filly.”

Spyro did his best to keep calm. He was sure Rainbow wasn't a bad pony; maybe she was just ignorant.

“Have you ever talked to Ditzy?” He asked, a scowl beginning crossing his face.

“Not since we were fillies, why would I?” The cyan mare asked, not realizing how mean she sounded, not to mention foolish.

“Well, you might find out she is probably the most dedicated mother in all Ponyville. She pours every single one of her bits into looking after that foal, and still finds time to spend with her.” Spyro blew smoke as a sign of slight annoyance.

“Just because she is different doesn't give you any right to judge her!”

By now, Spyro had pushed his muzzle into hers in aggression, while Rainbow Dash shrunk back, a look of both fear and guilt plastered on her face.

“I didn-…” The Pegasus was interrupted by a quick, but gentle, symbolic shove.

“Don’t want to hear it, Rainbow. I thought you were a good pony, but you managed to prove me wrong.” With a flick of his tail, Spyro flapped his wings to gain altitude, soaring high above the stunned mare below before making his way back to Cynder and Ditzy.

As Rainbow Dash sat shocked, she thought about her behavior. Maybe Spyro was right... Maybe she was a bad pony. She didn't want to hurt anypony, did she?

All these thoughts and more ran through the mare’s mind while she watched the dragons and Ditzy play amongst the clouds. They seemed frozen in time, like a perfect image of peace and joy. And here she had come, intent on ruining it.

The picture painted before brought back many memories, both good and bad. She remembered actually being friends with Ditzy, back when they were foals Being bullied by the colts at junior speedsters, making friends with Fluttershy, the way her friends cared for her, and would protect her no matter what.

A sudden sensation of guilt built up within the mare. Before Rainbow could think about what she was doing, she was urged by instinct to go talk to Ditzy. Flapping gently over to the trio, she spoke softly, only just loud enough to be audible.

“Ditzy, could I talk with you please.” She rasped. The cyan Pegasus was speaking so softly that she reminded herself of Fluttershy.

Spyro was about to give the mare another warning until Ditzy spoke up.

“You… You haven't called me that since…” The last time she had was back when they were friends, before Rainbow Dash joined junior speedsters. Then she had met Gilda the gryphon.

“Not since we were fillies.” Rainbow finished for the grey Pegasus. The simple act of not speaking with a malicious tone, and calling her by her real name, was enough for Ditzy to at least listen to her former friend.

“I’m… sorry.” The cyan mare managed to force out.

“I was mean to you for so long, without realizing how bad I was acting towards you.” This was a big step for Rainbow, having said sorry in a meaningful way only a few times in her short life. She just hoped it made an impression.

“Thank you Rainbow Dash, I am sure that took a lot of courage,” Ditzy patted the other Pegasus with a hoof in a way only a mother would. Her voice had taken on a much more serious tone, one which was strong, smart and caring. It was a side Rainbow had never even bothered to notice.

“So, you forgive… me?” The rainbow maned mare asked hopefully.

Ditzy frowned in response before allowing the expression to ease.

“One day, Rainbow… maybe.” The grey Pegasus replied.

Dash’s eyes fell down along with her mane, guilt racking her body.

“But maybe we could go to Sugarcube Corner together sometime tomorrow.” Ditzy added, a small smile stretching across her face.  She could not forgive her fellow pony for the years of torment, but she was willing to try and be friends.

“Really?!” Rainbow was beaming. A small sliver of the guilt she felt melting away.

“Thank you Ditzy, I won’t let you down. I'll be the best friend in all of Equestria!” In true Rainbow Dash style, she flew off without even saying goodbye. She may have realized what she did was wrong, but the speedster hadn't become any less self-absorbed.

“Are you sure this is a good idea?” Spyro asked, flapping his wings to side next to his friend. Ditzy just smiled, looking off into the distance.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

“GET OUT!!!” Celestia screamed. The voices in her head had become even more prevalent. The Other was constantly speaking to her, telling her what to do, how to treat her subjects. It was trying to convince her of her sister’s evil.

“Whatever do you mean, I am you after all.”

Celestia shook her head. She would not believe that she was the one thinking these, these… things!

“Oh really? I’ll make you get out.” There could surely only be one culprit to blame. She stalked her way out of her private chambers, opening the doors with a ferocity which startled her guards. “You will not accompany me.” She stated.

“But…” Before the unicorn could say another word, Celestia turned to face the pair.

“Follow your orders Captain! Or do I need to force you to do so?” The celestial god glared at the guards, daring them to question her authority. When they simply stared ahead, she turned and walked out of the castle towards the gardens. It did not take long for her to find who she was looking for.

“Discord, you will stop this now.”

“Oh, I am so scared. Please don’t blast away my little statue.”  The Other begged half-heartedly. Celestia simply smirked in response, aiming her horn for the center of the mass, confident in her conclusion.

As her horn lit up, the Other started laughing. Not deterred, the goddess let loose with an offensive spell powerful enough to destroy a mountain. The rubble which remained only made up for a small fraction of Discord’s original form. The rest had been converted into it’s composite elements.

"Celly, Celly, Celly. You always were a self-righteous mare weren't you? I see nothing has changed.” The Other laughed horribly, like it was choking on food.

“No…” The white alicorn whispered. It couldn't be.

“Do you honestly hold yourself in such high esteem that you thought yourself a stranger to violence and disharmony?”  The Other gripped Celestia’s mind with an iron-like grasp.

“It is you, Goddess, who has caused the most chaos in your land.”

Celestia tried to think back. Had she done anything to hurt her ponies? Surely not, she thought.

“Opulence is sinful, and we are all guilty of it. You have the gifts of life almost no other pony has ever wielded, but you did nothing for your ponies but sit back and watch as they were slaughtered and maimed. You even stripped those powers from your own sister, just so you could be completely infallible. That, is the nature of your greed, oh beautiful Celestia."

“But… I had to do it, she was…” The now pale alicorn was forced to the ground, the Other now screaming into her mind.

“WAS IGNORED, ABANDONED, FORGOTTEN!!! All because of you! When she asked for help, when she asked for just ONE day of darkness, you refused. She even found a way to keep the planet warm, and the life cycle working. BUT STILL, TO YOU, HER LIFE MEANT NOTHING!!!”

As the Other continued to destroy the imaginary world of justice that Celestia had created over the millennia, she could do nothing but whimper pathetically, like an abandoned dog.

“And then, when she begged, pleaded for you not to send her to the moon, you showed no compassion.”

Celestia began to fight back bitterly.

“NO, I did what was right, and I have always been there to protect my ponie…” Celestia stopped dead in her tracks.

A single memory forced its way into her mind. It was of her taking care of a young filly. What was her name… Celerity? There were others too, Clement, and the inhabitants of Whitewall. All the ponies she had sent on pointless battles against the northern estates.

“So, you finally remember. At last you remember all the times you have sat by and watched your world burn. The ‘War of Whitetail’ could have been finished in but an instant if you had even but made the slightest effort at Trellow. And let’s not forget the ‘War of the Three Tribes’. Ohhh, that’s right, you turned it into a stage play. You lied to your ponies, ensuring they would never find out about the horror of what happened. What did they call it back then? Ahh, yes ‘The Hundred Year War’. All the while you sat back and watched it happen!” Finally, the Other paused for a moment.

Only a few minutes had passed, but to Celestia, it seemed like an eternity.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry my ponies…” The alicorn sobbed to nopony in particular. When she had finally broken down completely, the Other seemed to hum, before fading away again.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

By the time Spike walked through the gates at the Apple’s homestead, it was nearing late afternoon. Everything seemed darker to the young dragon; it always did around this time of day.

Little could be said of Applejack’s opinion of the newcomers to town; thus Spike had decided it might be a good idea to pay the earth pony a visit. He found her carrying apples back from the orchard to the cooler shed.

“Well howdy Spike! What brings you ‘round here?” The mare tipped her Stetson forward slightly, offering her usual warm smile. Spike could see through it in an instant. It was the sort of smile somepony forces when they have had a really bad day.

“Hey AJ, I wanted to talk to you about the new dragons in town,” the moment Spike mentioned Spyro and Cynder, Applejack’s expression deepened into a fierce scowl. “Hmm, that’s what I think too.”

“Wait, you don’t like 'em either?” The orange mare stopped dead in her tracks, eyeing the dragon curiously. “I thought you would have been friends with em, you know, being a dragon and all.”

“Well, it’s only one I don’t like, the boy dragon, Spyro. I wouldn’t want to hurt Cynder.” Spike paused over the dragoness’ name, mesmerized by the thought of being with her.

Applejack on the other hoof simply frowned and went back to work, packing the apples away into the cooler, one basket at a time.

“Sounds like we have conflicting interests, wouldn’t you say so Spike?” Once she had finished her work, the earth pony headed back to the homestead, only to be stopped again by the persistent dragon.

“Not right now we don’t.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes at him, signaling for the assistant to continue.

“How about we tarnish Spyro’s reputation first, then we can quit being allies?” He finished with a hint of confidence.

Applejack rubbed a hoof against her chin for a moment before grinning.

“Deal.”