Even Gods Make Mistakes

Both dragons were now lying under an apple tree. Sweet apple acres stretched out below, providing a backdrop for the pair, as they cleaned each other’s scales of blood and gore. The buck they killed had been left in the Everfree forest, lest it be discovered by anypony. Once they were spotless, both sat for a moment, revelling in one another’s company. Eventually, Cynder’s thoughts turned to her newest friend and her daughter.

“Spyro, I think we should go see Ditzy.” It seemed that her mate had been thinking along similar lines, yet another example of the bond they shared.

“Yes, and perhaps we could share the good news?” Spyro smiled sheepishly, still unsure of how his responsibilities would be affected by a baby dragon. He thought back to the time spent with Ignitus, learning how to control magic, as well as the reasons for its use. Magic was something which should have been used to help or protect others. It was only through the twisted form of evil that magic should serve a more sinister purpose, one which Spyro had fought against all his life.

“Sure! Let’s go.” Taking off with a powerful stroke of her wings, Cynder took to the skies. Not needing any encouragement, Spyro followed in hot pursuit. They had just flown over Ponyville once, when a blue shape appeared next to the flying dragons. Rainbowdash’s mane flowed smoothly through the air, but her features appeared strained, in stark contrast to the dragons smooth relaxed strokes.

“Hey, you two think you’re better flyers than me?” Cynder simply snorted, while Spyro decided it was finally time to take the bait.

“So, what if we are? At least we don’t show off. Dragons let their actions speak for themselves. The rainbow maned pegasus gave a smug grin before pointing a hoof off into the distance.

“See that huge cloud over there? That’s Cloudsdalle. First one to reach it wins.” Once again, Cynder snorted in amusement, this time curls of smoke trailing in the air. The only thing faster than their flying was Spyro’s reply.

“You’re on!” The trio stopped in the air while, grudgingly, Cynder held up a piece of cloth Rainbowdash just happened to have. “Alright, we go when the rag hits this cloud.” Spyro dragged over a puff of moisture, its solid texture seemed extremely alien. Grasping the cloth between her claws, the dragoness rolled her eyes before letting it drop. Rainbowdash disappeared in a midst of her rainbow trail, leaving behind the two stationary dragons. Looking across with mild amusement Spyro winked to Cynder. “Somedragon need’s to deflate her ego, don’t you think?”

“Alright, I’ll find Ditzy and we will wait for you by the town hall. I suggest you get going, you’re fast but not that fast.” With a nod, Spyro turned tail, pushing his bulk effortlessly through the air. The air parted before him like he was in a vacuum. One flap latter and he had broken he sound barrier, passing a bewildered blue mare before making his way for the finish line. The dragon made an immleman over the cloud city as a braking manoeuvre, landing on the edge of cloudsdalle a solid ten seconds before the cyan pegasus. As the now wide eyed mare landed, Spyro sat and gave her a soft smile. Not wanting to appear arrogant, he offered a paw.

“You flew really well, not many can break the sound barrier like you did.” Unfortunately, Spyro’s attempt at being a good spirit fell upon deaf ears. Rainbowdash sat, dumbfounded at first, followed by a look of suppressed anger.

“I lost… I hate losing.” Felling sorry for his contestant, Spyro tried his best to cheer up the downed pegasus.

“Hey, you were great! Besides Cynder, I’ve never seen someone fly as fast as you.” Despite not providing reasons to antagonise the young mare, Rainbow could not respond except with the promise of a rematch. After giving a slightly hurt stare at the dragon, the cyan pegasus flew off to nurse her broken pride. It was quite a shame in Spyro’s opinion, that he could not impart a feeling of mutual respect upon his racing partner. Still, it had been fun to exert himself, if only for a few moments. Eventually his thoughts reached Cynder and the grey pegasus he had met the previous day. Ditzy was an odd character to be sure, but there was little that could be said to give her fault. Her devotion to raising Dinky was clear from the outset. The way she looked to her child, the way she held her within a loving embrace, all made Spyro ponder his own looming parenthood. At that moment he swore to himself that no evil would befall his child, no matter where it came from.

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“Well you took your time getting back.” Cynder nudged her mate playfully, the blade on her left wing scraping noisily over his scales. “I have been talking with Ditzy for nearly half an hour.”

“Yes, sorry about that, how are you Ditzy?” The bubbly pegasus trotted over to hug Spyro, much to the purple dragons surprise. Her grip was strong, leaving the dragon somewhat uncomfortable, but he suppressed this out of respect.

“I’m great, so you finally want to hang out with me and my little muffin here?” Ditzy grabbed her daughter, rubbing her mane with a hoof as she addressed the young unicorn. The smile on the mares face remained constant, but even she could not hide the hint of desperation.

“Sure, where would you like to go?” Ditzy brought a hoof up to her chin, thinking for a moment before looking down with a smile at her daughter.

“How about it muffin, where do you wanna go?” It hardly took more than a moment for the filly to make up her mind.

“I want to go to Applejacks to play. That’s where the Cutie Mark Crusader’s hang out.” Upon her daughter’s request, Ditzy’s confident expression wavered slightly, causing Cynder to frown. Compared to her normal attitude, this was tantamount to the poor mare crying in the dirt. Did something exist between Ditzy and Applejack? It was a concern which the dragoness was determined to find out about, if only to help her new friend.

“Umm, Ditzy… are you alright?” The mare in question nodded, trying not to give much away, but failing miserably. “Are you sure you don’t want to talk about it?”

“Dinky, can you show Mr Spyro to Sweet Apple Acres, Mummy will catch up soon.” Dinky knew that her mother must have been worried about something; she only called her by her real name if she was upset. Not wanting to be any sort of burden, she dragged the dragon down the road, who also complied without question. Once the pair was out of sight, Ditzy turned to address Cynder.

“You know, I used to buy apples from that stall every day since I was just a filly.” Gesturing over towards a large red stallion behind an applecart, she was about to continue talking, but instead motioned down the road “Come on, I’ll tell you on the way.” Cynder could see the hurt in the mare’s eyes, for once not contrasted by a wide grin. The sight of Ditzy in such a state forced the dragoness into action.

“Was there… some sort of problem, between you and Applejack?” The mare nodded in reply, confirming her suspicions.

“It all started about a year and a half ago. The red stallion by the cart I pointed out; Big Macintosh was my very special somepony.” Unfortunately, the mare’s meaning was lost upon Cynder, requiring explanation. “He was my mate.” The dragoness winced slightly, realising that something must have driven the pair apart. “Dinky was a child of a single mother, something the rest of the Apple family was suspicious of. Don’t get me wrong, they are kind ponies, especially Big Mac, but they are kind of…” Ditzy waved a hoof in the air, trying to think of the right description. “Conservative. Applejack thought that Dinky must have been illegitimate, thus I got the reputation of being a loose mare.” Despite not being up to date with pony mannerisms, the meaning of the term was understood perfectly by Cynder. “Eventually rumour’s started going round that I was cheating on Big Mac. Applejack accused me of knowing that it was true, even going so far as to call me as a whore. Then she started insulting Dinky, so I told her what really happened.” The grey pegasus sighed shakily, looking up to the sky, then back down at her hooves, which seemed to move her bulk forward by instinct rather than conscious action. “A stallion… forced himself on me while I was visiting relatives in Trottingham, and I gave birth to Dinky nine months later. Before you ask, they never caught who it was.” By now, the mare had stopped walking, her legs threating to buckle beneath her. Cynder could not help wonder how the mare trusted her enough to divulge such personal information. The only explanation she could come up with was that this poor pony really did have no friends at all. When her legs finally did give way, Cynder ducked her muzzle under the mare’s neck, preventing her friend from hurting her jaw on the dirt track.

“Hey, it’s ok… I’m sorry.” Cynder draped a wing over the now weeping pegasus. It was not terrible wailing, just quiet sobs. “Look, I shouldn’t have made you re-live that, it was selfish of me to ask.” Eventually, Ditzy regained her composure enough that she could apologize for her breakdown.

“Needless to say, the stress led to Big Mac and I breaking up.” The mare then nuzzled Cynder’s cheek, before standing back up. “Thanks, It’s good to have a friend.” She gave out a small laugh, tempered by the tears still being fought back. “To think, my best friend would be a dragon.”

“To think I would be best friends with a brave pony like you.” Ditzy gave the dragoness a playful nudge with one hoof, making their way back down the track. Cynder thought to herself; An interesting conversation with Applejack was definitely on her to do list.

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The way her scales glistened in the light, framed by her fearsome jewellery, were simply entrancing.And her eyes, oh sweet Celestia, her eyes. All thoughts of Rarity had been obliterated, replaced by this princess, nay, goddess.

“Spike, stop daydreaming and help me repack these books.” Twilight’s orders snapped the young dragon back into the present.

“Sorry Twilight, I was just thinking about those dragons, you know, Cynder and Spyro.” The librarian gave a small huff, determined to get her work finished. Not despairing in the mare’s disinterest, Spike tried again. “Hey Twi, you think I might be able to talk with them sometime?” This time, the unicorn listened.

“Alright, you help me pack away this shelf with no more distractions; I promise you can meet them tomorrow.” Spike grinned grabbing the nearest book from the floor.

“What are we waiting for then?” Twilight just laughed, joining him in their laborious task. The dragon thought to himself while working; what would he think of him? How would she react, with kind rejection, gleeful acceptance or angry dismissal? After a while the young dragon came to a conclusion; he was going to make that dragon know how he felt, or die trying.