Even Gods Make Mistakes

As The Other looked down upon the world which he would soon move to conquer, he held little but distain for the creatures that lived there. The Entity would soon rule this world, before branching out into others. But first he would have to use more… subtle means of disruption. Although they were primitive in their knowledge of magic, the other was not yet ready to face them. The orange pony and the pitiful excuse of a dragon that he continued to observe had no idea that their minds had been infected by only the smallest amount of his will. So small they would not be able to detect any change in their being.

The opposite was true in the case of that wretched monarch. She was an interesting case, but enough snooping around in her mind gave him the perfect solution. She was indeed strong enough to sense any magic coursing through her mind, thus it had been necessary that The Other had to go in full force with the hope of convincing the pathetic alicorn that it was all in her own mind. This plan, as luck would have it, was the key. Though she commanded the respect of everybody who saw her, the demi-god had almost no control over the demons in her own mind. This was weakness The Other exploited. He had, at first not thought this plan possible, and yet, against the odds, the path to becoming a god had begun.

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Marching up to the library, Applejack knocked furiously on the large oak door, almost breaking it down completely. Inside were Pinkie, Fluttershy, Twilight and, most importantly, the dragons she had been looking for.

“Hey, ya’ll might of fooled everypony else, but I can tell you that you ain’t fooling me!” The mare shouted the moment she caught sight of Spyro.

“You’re evil! EEEEEEEEEEVIL!” She cried. Everyone in the room stood in shock at the accusation. Everypony knew Applejack could be stubborn, but this was going over the top.

“Ummm, Applejack?” Twilight asked, completely baffled by her friends sudden outburst. “What’s going on?”

“These two dragons over there ain’t nothin’ but a pair of dangerous critters, I mean, why hasn’t anypony banished them or something?” Applejack blurted out in anger. She continued to scream and shout obscenities for another few minutes before running out of breath. When the ranting was finally over, everypony looked across to the dragons, expecting them to be snarling fiercely. Instead, both of them just appeared… tired.

“Well, you are right about one thing, Applejack, dangerous is all we are usually.” Spyro mumbled softly, only a little more than a whisper. Without so much as a sideways glance, the pair of dragons trudged towards the basement, shoulders slumped in shame. The only sound made by the pair was the sound of the door closing behind them.

The silence that followed shocked Applejack, almost to the point that it made her angry.

This was definitely not what the earth pony was expecting. Nopony walks away from her in the middle of a fight. Just as she was about to get angry again, the mare received what could only be described as a look of pity from Twilight. Before the earth pony could lose her temper again, Twilight turned to Pinky and Fluttershy.

“Girls, I think it would be best if you left. You too Applejack, I think we need to have a talk a bit later about what you just did.” Twilight ordered. Pinkie and Fluttershy obliged, giving applejack cold looks.

“I can’t believe you stole Aqua-man’s line, you’re not supposed to make pop-culture references!” Despite the seemingly random words that just came from Pinkie’s mouth, the meaning of her statement was clear enough from the tone of her voice; she was not impressed. Fluttershy decided not to say anything; rather instead she gave the cowpony a hard stare.

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Hmm, that wasn’t as eventful as I had hoped. The other thought. Having known the dragons’ past, he was sure they would have retaliated in one way or another. Alas, this was not to be the case. Still, it was enough…enough to form the smallest of cracks between the harmony that ruled this pathetic planet.

And now that he had made the orange pony alienated from her friends as well as the dragons, he could now turn his attention the other purple dragon, Spike. Little by little, the pure magic that kept this new world in peace would be whittled away. The being had learned from past failed campaigns that, above all, he would need to exercise more patience than had previously been exhibited. The other silently scolded himself.  Although his plan for the white alicorn had succeeded in allowing his presence to remain unknown, it was more due to luck than he would normally deem acceptable. Turning to meditation, he thought back to his ancestors. Why would they imprison him? And more importantly, how had he escaped?

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Slamming the front door shut, Applejack stormed into her house, knocking over a coat rack on her way. Without bothering to pick it up, she threw her Stetson onto the coffee table in the center of the living room before slumping down on to the lounge.

Gosh dang it! I can feel it in my hooves! That dragon is up to something… or maybe… he’s not telling us something. Instinct told the earth pony something was up, and she knew to never go against what instinct told her. While she continued to muse angrily, the farmpony’s brother Big Macintosh, swung the door open, carrying Applebloom on his back.

“Well howdy Applejack!” the young filly beamed. “What are you…” Applebloom’s expression fell suddenly at the withering glare. “W-what’s wrong sis?” She asked, while Big Mac looked onwards.

Upon hearing the concern in her younger sibling’s voice, Applejack’s frown fell into an apologetic smile.

“Nothin AB, come on and sit down here.” Patting the lounge space next to her, the orange mare gestured to both Big Mac and the filly. “So what have you been up to lil’ sis?” She asked softly, once all three ponies were seated and comfortable.

“Me and the crusaders were thinking of new ways to get our cutie marks!” She exclaimed, eliciting a deep rumbling chuckle from Mac and a roll of the eyes from AJ. “We’re gonna get our ambassador cutie marks.”

“When did you learn a fancy word like that?” Applejack asked, giving her sister a mane ruffle with one hoof.

“Miss Cheerilee used it when she taught us about the hearths warming eve story.” Applebloom giggled in delight as she got tickled by her older sibling.

“Well why in Equestria would you want an ambassador Cutiemark for?” The orange mare asked playfully.

“So we can talk to Spyro and Cynder, you know, cause they’re not from ‘round here.” The moment the young filly spoke the dragons’ names, Applejack’s eyes widened to the size of saucers before narrowing sharply in anger.

“APPLEBLOOM! I don’t ever want you hanging around those two, never ever! Ya hear!” She shouted heatedly. Getting up off the lounge, the mare grabbed her Stetson while walking up and down the length of the room.

“But… why?” Applebloom asked nervously.

“Why? WHY! Cause they’re nothing but dangerous critters. They came out of the Everfree for buck sake!” The moment she finished Big Mac got up and stomped his hoof on the floorboards, giving a very sharp and loud thud.

“NOPE! How dare you use that language in front of your own sister?” Mac leaned forward, planting his forehead onto his sister’s. “And what have you got against them anyway! Sure they killed one of the sheep, but they didn’t know she was ours and I am sure they are sorry about it.” Releasing the pressure between them Mac frowned before continuing. “Like Fluttershy said, they can’t help the way they are.”

“Well, if they can’t help it then maybe they should just be gotten rid of! Ain’t any room in my town for anything but ponies!” Applejack retorted.

The red stallion before, who had previously been snorting angrily, became deathly silent. Turning around, he gently grasped Applebloom’s hoof before taking her outside, all without saying another word.

“Well… Fine!!! Walk away!” Applejack shouted after they were gone. She couldn’t believe she had been abandoned by her own kin. The earth pony waited for a few minutes before leaving herself. Storming out of the house, she kept muttering to herself.

Yesss.  A soft whisper of pleasure seemed to swim through her mind. It was almost seductive, the thought of which sent warm chills through her body. She felt… good, hating those dragons really was the right thing. At the sound of the voice, Applejack stopped for a moment, soaking in the feeling before continuing on, not realizing in her anger, that she was headed straight for the Everfree Forest.

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“Big Mac… w-why did Applejack get angry at me when I talked about my cutie mark?” The yellow filly walking slowly looked up to her big brother, concern obvious in her eyes.

“I ain’t sure AB… but something don’t sit right here.” Big Mac nudged Applebloom’s shoulder softly. “Come on, I reckon we need to have a talk with Twilight.” Leading his sister into town, Mac thought to himself angrily. Applejack would never act this way normally. He had known her for his entire life. Somepony or something was making her snap, and he was determined to find out what it was.

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Spyro and Cynder sat glumly in the darkness, neither saying anything. Both were thinking the exact same thing, but it took a long time for either to say it.

“What do we do now, Spyro?” Cynder asked quietly. “I mean, we have been fighting for our entire lives… I don’t know anything else.” Crawling forward, she placed her cheek against his, soaking in the warmth that radiated from her mate.

Moving to curl up around her body, Spyro hummed softly, comforting the dragoness in his embrace.

“We raise our child after it hatches.” Spyro whispered softly. “It will be hard to adjust, I know, but we can do it, I’m sure.” He gently lifted her head up with his muzzle. “Come on, let’s hunt together.”

Smiling, Cynder nodded before following the purple dragon up the stairs and into the library. They gave a quick farewell to Twilight before leaving. Once outside, the pair wasted no time in launching off the ground and into the clear skies that waited.

Cynder had always loved flying, even in her darkened form. It gave her a sense of freedom that nothing else could. Once reaching half a kilometer in the air, she banked left with Spyro, heading out towards the carpet of dark green which loomed bellow. Once they were about three kilometers past the tree line, they swooped down under the tall canopy, a solid hundred meters still between them and the ground. They searched the immediate area for prey extensively, but not a single animal could be found. After a few more minutes of searching, they found out why.

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Still fuming, Applejack galloped through the undergrowth, away from the village and the dragons she hated so much. Why did she hate them? The pony wondered for an uncertain, blurry moment. Shaking her head, she put her doubts aside. Those two were bad news, and that was that.

Suddenly, she tripped up over a log, her jaw hitting the ground sharply. Just before she could pick herself up however, the earth pony heard a low growling in the bushes around her. To Applejack it appeared to be coming everywhere at once. After a few tense moments, the culprits lurked out into vision.

Timberwolves, there had to be at least four of them, not counting those outside her field of vision. Just before they could pounce however, billowing black smoke rushed towards the ground, completely surrounding Applejack in a veil. She could hear the Timberwolves yelp in surprise and then, much to the earth pony’s shock, terror. Squinting heavily, the mare eventually noticed that darting in and out of the shadows were two figures, masked by the smoke. Each time one of the assailants swooped from the sky, another Timberwolf was carried off whimpering before a loud crack was heard followed by the individual wolf being silenced. After the fourth dull thud from a wolf’s body was heard, one of the figures fell from the sky right before her. It was the male dragon, Spyro.

“Stay here, no matter what!” He shouted over the sounds of the battle raging just out of sight. Applejack shook her head angrily.

“No way, I’m getting the hay outta here!” Before she could gallop off she was held down by a pair of Spyros paws. “Get away from me; you ain’t any better than the Timberwolves!” At that, Spyro frowned slightly before muttering.

“Sorry Applejack.” Using his earth elemental, he flung a piece of rock at the pony’s head, knocking her flat on the ground. Dazed, the orange mare got up shakily to her hooves. The first thing she noticed was her head seemed… lighter, like she had forgotten something important. Next, she noticed that, now the smoke had dissipated, it was clear the battle had been swift and terrible. Cynder was standing a ways away, flicking bits of twigs out of her mouth.

“Y-you saved my life! Oh my Celestia thank you! Oh how can I ever repay you?” She beamed, hugging Spyro suddenly. Cynder huffed and blew out a remainder of smoke from her nostrils.

“Yeah? Well don’t worry; I didn’t really want to... Wait what!” Cynder asked, her face mirroring the look of utter shock Spyro was giving Applejack.

“What’s wrong?” The mare asked, confused at the sudden hostility. “Ya’ll did just save my life back there.”

“But you don’t… hate us?” Spyro inquired slowly. Applejack’s eyes widened in shock and slight offence at the accusation.

“Why would I hate ya’ll, I haven’t even met you before.” Looking back to Cynder, Spyro gave her a questioning glance before receiving a shrug from the dragoness.  “So what are ya’ll names?” The orange pony asked.

“Ummm, my name is Spyro a-and this is my mate Cynder.” The dragon said, gesturing towards the dragoness standing a few meters away, who nodded curtly.

“Well it’s mighty nice meeting both of you, especially after what happened with the Timberwolves. Speaking of which, would you two like to come with me to Ponyville? That’s the town I live in, come on; I’ll show you the way.” Applejack motioned with one hoof, before trotting off with the others in tow. On the journey out of the Forrest, Spyro tested to see how much of Applejacks memory was still intact.

“So… ummm, Applejack, what’s the last thing you remember before being attacked?” The dragon asked slowly, trying to discern what had happened. This caused the mare to frown noticeably, confused as to the reason she was being asked such a question.

“Well, I remember running through the forest, I was angry for some reason. And before that, I was… about to go check on the sheep…” Smiling sheepishly, Applejack slowed to a walk. “Don’t mind me; I must just be a bit forgetful.”

Still somewhat bewildered, Spyro took a deep breath before attempting to explain.

“You see, the thing is… Uhh, well, you already have met us. In fact, all of Ponyville has.” All three stopped dead in their tracks after he had spoken.

“What? Ain’t no way, I would have been there for that.” The Stetson wearing pony retorted.

“No, honestly, just let me explain.” Spyro exclaimed, continuing only after Applejack nodded in consent. “You see, we arrived on the outskirts of town a couple of days ago, your farm to be exact.” Sighing, Spyro began speaking a little more softly. “I know this will likely change your opinion of us, but we shouldn’t keep the truth from you. Not knowing any better, I killed and devoured one of your sheep.” Applejack’s eyes narrowed slightly in anger, but she kept her thoughts to herself. “For that, both of us are truly sorry. We are carnivores, that we won’t deny, but I know you must love all of those under your care, and so I apologize with the utmost sincerity.”

“Go on.” Applejack said simply, her face softening slightly. If he was truly and honestly sorry for what had happened, it was right that she should forgive the pair.

“Well, we announced ourselves to Ponyville, with some… difficulty. But after having met your rulers and more of the townsfolk, we eventually settled in. The only pony who didn’t like us was you, and to be honest, we didn’t take a huge fancy towards you either. But even so, when we saw you today being attacked, the pair of us knew we had to step in and help.” Spyro hung his head slightly, as recounting the tale brought to him, for reasons the dragon couldn’t quite fathom, memories which he did not wish to see. “When you refused to cooperate, I was forced to hit you in the head with a rock, which would explain the memory loss, for which I am again sorry.” Applejack scrutinized Spyro for a moment before looking to Cynder, who just gave a curt nod.

“This certainly is a bit of news. I don’t really like the idea of my livestock being eaten of all things… but, I know an honest pony when I see one, well dragon. I can see you truly are sorry, so I guess I forgive you, especially given you just saved my life and all.” Applejack tipped her hat, smiling warmly, though she was still sad given the knowledge one of her sheep had been killed.

“And what about Derpy, are you still mad at her?” Cynder piped up, the smallest amount of venom dripping from her voice.

“Why would I be mean to her, have you any idea what she’s been through?” Applejack asked, horrified. Both dragons’ jaws hung open. Something was wrong, very wrong.

“Spyro, this isn’t right… If this is the real Applejack, then who have we been dealing with before?” Cynder whispered into Spyro’s ear. The dragon was at an almost complete loss, but he knew one thing for sure; something else was at play here.

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No! No no no no no! The Entity had grown careless again, still too arrogant. The cognitive re-calibration of the orange pony’s mind from that rock had really put a snag in his plans. Months of work, forcing the wretched mare away from her brother, using the Pegasus as a catalyst, all for nothing. The other needed to play his cards closer to his chest. Even so, the dragons were now a liability that would have to be dealt with. The Timberwolves had not been a part of his plans previously, a hindrance if anything else, but now they soon would be. Conjuring what spirits were left from the now broken lumps of wood, he twisted them to his will, before forming his weapon of choice.

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The trio had been walking for a little under half an hour when Cynder came to a stop. Looking about, the dragoness noticed a slight rustle in the wind which blew through the trees. Mist obscured most of her view, but just past the fog, she could see two glowing eyes. Cynder was about to warn her mate when Spyro whispered into her ear.

“I see it too.” Spyro whispered into her ear. Using his earth elemental, the purple dragon created a small shelter that could withstand most any force. “Applejack, stay in here and stay down.” The mare nodded, fear etched into her expression. Turning back to Cynder, they shared a look before the dragoness dove into the ground, preparing an ambush. Just as she disappeared, a Timberwolf emerged from the darkness.  Spyro growled softly, a warning to the new threat. It must have been at least the size of a battering ram, not counting that it had wickedly sharp teeth and claws. Once in position, Cynder signaled mentally to her mate. Breathing in deeply, both veterans prepared to fight once more.