Chapter 8: Trying to make Amends
Prior Note: Sorry this update took so long, but I’ve had two essays and a folio due in the last two weeks, so my dearest apologies. On a different note you all deserve a hug, because you guys got me featured! Twice! So yes free hugs to all of you. Finally I've decided to try a different text format, so please tell me if you approve or not.
Chapter 8: Trying to make Amends
“Ugh, I am so over this!” Cynder hissed angrily in distaste, her eyes now only seeing a wash of black across the page before her, rather than the individual equine letters she was supposed to be learning. “Why is this so important to begin with anyway?”
“Because if you want to maximise your learning potential while you’re in Equestria, you need to at least know how to read first, otherwise you’ll lack one of the most basic ability to gain knowledge and interact with others.”
The dragoness simply growled at the unicorn lying on the floor next to her. “Forget that I even asked,” she groaned aloud, the action drawing a giggle from the mare and Ember, and a snigger from Spyro and Spike.
Cynder’s day had so far, in her own opinion anyway, started off just as bad as the one before had; she admitted she had enjoyed a decent night sleep, thanks to the library’s warm and rather comfy spare bed, and a decent breakfast as well, thanks to Spike’s expertize in all things morning cuisine. But all said enjoyment had ended abruptly when Twilight had informed her, Spyro, and Ember of her plans for the morning; She and Spike had, for general purposes, as well as in preparation for the attending of Cherilee’s classes, decided that it would be a great idea to teach the three dragons how to read.
In Cynder’s opinion, that WASN’T such a great idea, but she didn’t exactly have much say in the matter.
Hence she now found herself lying on the library floor, bored out of her scales, and staring aimlessly at ‘Reading Foundations for Young Foals’, the dragoness physically trying to resist the urge to either rip the book apart with her talons, or burn it to ashes. She had been sitting there for well over two hours now, listening to Twilight go on about correct equine sentence structure and alike, but Cynder’s mental fuse was now very much nearing its end; she could only look at strange characters, and try to understand them for so long, and that so long had ended half an hour ago.
“Is there any chance of doing something else now?” she grumbled at last, dropping her head to the floor in a show of mental exhaustion. “Something… that doesn’t involve large amounts of thinking maybe?”
“Come on Cynder, learning’s really not that bad,” Ember put in happily, her pink head resting on her outstretched claws as she watched the darker dragoness. “All you need to do is to think positively… I mean… imagine what you could learn from all these books if you could read them.”
Twilight smiled and hastily nodded in agreement, but Cynder simply snorted and shook her head in reply. “With all due respect, Ember, I highly doubt there’d be anything in those dusty old books I'd enjoy, besides, all I’m seeing now is splodges of black ink rather than actual letters anyway.”
“Yeah, on that part, she has a point Twilight,” Spyro put in with a yawn.
Twilight tapped the floor with her hoof for a moment as she thought. “Well… I could ask you questions about dragons and document it; I mean we ponies don’t know a lot about…”
“Something that doesn’t involve thinking, learning, or questions for anyone involved, Twilight,” Cynder groaned, her head still resting lazily on the hard wooden floor. “Something… physical maybe?”
The mare sighed in disappointment, closed the book, and put a hoof to her chin, her mind running over a couple of possible activities that would hopefully keep four dragons entertained for a few hours, of which tragically there were only a couple available in the library itself. The other main option was to go outside, explore Ponyville some more, and try and get the three scaly newcomers to socialize with some of the local ponies, but that didn’t exactly seem a great idea either.
It was then, however, Twilight’s eyes fell across the now empty doorframe; she shuddered slightly as she recalled the rather recent moment, when Big Macintosh had literally kicked the door in with his back hooves, but on a tangent the memory also offered a possible solution to her problem.
“Well… would you three like to go see Sweet Apple Acres?”
Her suggestion earned her three blank stares, the three dragons momentarily looking between each other for answers.
“Huh, Sweet Apple what now?” Cynder asked at last, watching as the purple unicorn got to her hooves, and returned the small book to its original shelf.
“It’s Applejack’s farm,” Spike offered. “Basically, it’s a massive orchard that grows every kind of apple you can imagine, even magical zap apples.”
The name ‘zap apple’ caused the three winged dragons to once again glance amongst themselves in a combination of surprise and confusion; they had all known magical objects before for various reasons, but the idea of magic apples was something even they couldn’t fully comprehend.
“Spike’s pretty much correct there, but they also grow things like beans and celery as well,” Twilight stated as she returned to the small group, removing her mane from her face with a quick shake of her head. “Oh, and Big Macintosh runs the farm as well by the way, so maybe you and he can start over Cynder?”
The dragoness instinctively tensed up as everyone’s eyes fell on her, and quietly she looked away, and muttered something under her breath, which by Twilight’s hearing sounded something along the lines of ‘I’d rather lose my tail’.
“It’ll also give you three a chance to get some fresh air… and be away from Ponyville for a little while,” the mare went on a little sheepishly.
Within a heartbeat, the three dragons were up on their claws, and looking about ready to charge out the doorway.
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“So this is Sweet Apple Acres?” Ember asked as she walked through the signature white picket entrance, momentarily looking over her shoulder at the purple dragon perched on her back. “It’s… bigger than I thought it would be.”
“Heh, the Apple family do just about feed everypony in Ponyville with their apples Ember,” Spike grinned, his emerald green eyes joining her blue ones in staring over the sight before them. “And the apples they don’t sell they mostly make into either cider or apple pie for special occasions through the year, both of which I hope you three get to taste while you’re all here.”
“That good huh?” Spyro asked from beside the two.
Spike couldn’t help but lick his lips at the thought of apple family treats. “You better believe it. If there’s any cooking in Equestria that could rival Pinkie Pie’s, it's Applejacks.”
Ember momentarily thought she was dreaming, as she swore she faintly heard the words "lies and slander!" being carried past on the wind. She just shook her head.
Two things greeted the dragoness as Twilight led them around a bend, and the road finally ended; the first was a vast expanse of apple trees, their green foliage seeming to stretch to the horizon, and then beyond, each individual tree bearing colourful fruit that glistened in the sunlight; some were dark red like rubies, whilst others shone like polished gold.
Secondly, sticking out from the sea of green like a rather profoundly miscoloured scale upon a dragon’s hide, was a red and white painted barn. The massive front doors were open as a pair of earth ponies each pulled a cartful of apples inside, emptied the fruit into wooden barrels, and then returned to the trees for more. One was Applejack, and the other was the hulking form of Big Macintosh, both of whom seemed totally oblivious to the new draconic presence on their farm, and if she was right, also looked rather exhausted as well.
“That doesn’t exactly look like fun,” Spyro chuckled aloud just as the siblings headed back towards the trees, causing the two formerly conversing ponies to turn around in surprise.
Applejack’s expression immediately softened into a tired smile, but Big Macintosh’s, however, seemed to harden slightly at the sight of the dragons, the red stallion’s nostrils immediately flaring when his eyes fell on Cynder, and vice-versa.
“Hehe, well ain’t this a pleasant surprise, what brings ya’ll to the acres?”
“We needed to get away from Twilight’s books for a while,” Spyro grinned, casting a glance back at Twilight, and finding her blushing slightly and playing with her front hooves. “Learning to read pony is tiring.”
The amber mare gave a short laugh, wiping a few drops of sweat from her brow. “Heh, we got two different opinions on tiring then partner,” she said lazily as she readjusted her hat. “You should try getting two days’ work done in one; it ain’t easy I’ll tell ya.”
“Why would you be working so hard Applejack?” Ember asked oddly, the amount of genuine concern in her voice surprising everypony present.
The Earth pony couldn’t help but blink a few times in bewilderment when she first noticed Ember standing nearby, and then Spike sitting perched on her back like he often did with Twilight. For a moment she thought the combination of heat and work had caused her to start seeing things; to see a dragon riding, well, another dragon, wasn’t exactly an experience she’d expected to have in her lifetime.
“Well ya see…”
“Cause AJ was supposed to be bucking apples yesterday afternoon while I ran the stall in town,” Big Mac snorted in before Applejack could reply, his deep voice coming out with a tad of venom as he pawed at the dirt. “And since she had to lead ya around Ponyville, we gotta do the extra work today to stay on season schedule.”
A moment later the stallion found himself the recipient of a death glare by his sister. “Don’t you dare try and make this personal Mac, just because you made a fool of yourself; it ain’t even their fault they’re here in the first place!” Applejack snapped a hair’s width from her brothers face, clearly displeased at her older sibling’s harshness, and more than willing to make it known to everyone present.
Behind all the action, Twilight chewed her lip.
“That ain’t ma’ problem, AJ. All I know is that you and I have extra apples to buck cause of them,” he replied with snort and a shake of his head, his eyes suddenly falling on the three dragons gathered in front of him. “So how bout ya get off our farm, and let us get back to work?”
The red pony then returned his sister’s glare, before silently turning on his hooves and walking back towards the thicket of apple trees, leaving the four dragons and two mares without another word. Judging by the expression on her face, Applejack was utterly fuming, but she kept any choice words she had to herself.
Despite her efforts in defence, however, the comments of the stallion still managed to sprout guilt in the three dragons. Even Cynder couldn’t help but feel a little bad, despite her now nearly-stone-set dislike of him. The ponies, as they each realized, had so far done everything in their power to make the three of them feel welcome in their strange land, and in return they had thus far been nothing but a burden.
“Ah, don’t go listening to him…”
“No, Applejack,” Spyro sighed, grating the soft earth of Sweet Apple Acres between his talons. “He’s right… one way or another we’re intruding on your lives, and you’re suffering because of it.”
The purple dragon’s head gingerly rose as he scanned the countless apple trees in front of him with his eyes, stopping only for a moment to curiously watch Big Macintosh slam his back legs into a particularly fruit heavy tree, and hence knock every single apple from its branches, and send them plummeting into the awaiting tubs below. He silently watched the action repeat itself a few times over for a minute or so, an idea growing brighter inside his brain with every kick the red stallion delivered.
“Applejack, can I just try something on one of your apple trees?”
The earth pony gave him a curious expression, before glancing over at the still fruit heavy trees nearby. “Well… as long as you don’t hurt em’ I guess ya can, but what are ya…”
WHAM!
THUD!
The sudden pair of noises tore every set of eyes to where the purple dragon was now standing, which just so happened to be at the base of a now empty golden delicious apple tree, a smug grin plastered across the young dragon’s face as he looked between the apple filled tubs at his feet, and the spot on the tree’s trunk where he had rammed it. Applejack slowly, and somewhat uneasily, came over and inspected the bare tree, the other dragons and Twilight behind her; she was amazed to find that Spyro, despite his presumably hard horns and scales, hadn’t left a single mark on the tree’s surface.
Big Macintosh soon trotted over to investigate what had happened in his short absence, and much like his younger sister quickly found himself standing in utter surprise as he looked between the perfectly filled tubs, the grinning purple dragon, and the bare-branched apple tree before him.
“Big Mac,” Applejack stuttered eventually as she removed her hat. “I’m either darn dreaming, or our apple bucking skills just got matched by dragon on his first go.”
“Eeyup.”
“Never thought my ramming skills would be useful in Equestria,” Spyro chuckled with an amused shake of his head, his remark drawing a knowing giggle from Ember. “Heh, since we’ve had enough learning for the day, how about we make you two a deal. We’ll help you gather your apples for the rest of today, if we can try some of your famous apple pie AJ…”
The amber pony grinned to herself and glanced up at Spike, who instinctively blushed under her gaze and looked away in embarrassment; only a dragon, who would eat anything put in front him, would think to tell his friends about her families cooking AND call it famous.
“…And if Big Mac is willing to make amends with Cynder.”
The red stallion, and violet dragoness, both seemed to choke on their own breaths of air as he said the last few words, and hastily began looking between each other and Spyro, as they took a few uneasy steps backward.
“No way!”
“Nope!”
“Those are my conditions,” the purple dragon stated firmly with a flick of his tail, giving them both a glare to emphasize his point. “Big Mac, you need our help to get your extra work done, and Cynder, as much as I love you… you need to start to learn how to get over things… so you two can either try to get along, or we go our separate ways, and no one benefits.”
“I’d still prefer ya to get off my farm personally,” the stallion snorted, his eyes focused directly on the violet dragoness who was the source of his frustration.
“And I’d rather not still be working at midnight, Mac,” Applejack put in angrily with her nostrils flaring, giving her brother a none too gentle buck in the side. “Look… I’m as stubborn as ya’ll are when it comes to the farm, big brother, and you know that, but just like I did, ya gotta learn to overlook a few things when somepony’s offering ya a helping hoof.”
While looking between the two offending dragons, Big Macintosh wanted to say no at the very least, and at most he wanted to turn around and buck them both into next week, but the logical part of his mind kept reminding him that he and AJ were both half a day behind schedule, and exhausted as it was; plus as it was his younger sister was once again glaring at him from beneath the brim of her hat.
Grudgingly, he finally looked over his shoulder at the countless rows of apple trees that were still covered in ripe fruit, the sheer number of them making him cringe, and his back legs suddenly start to ache once again at the mere thought of the work ahead; it seemed even if he didn’t like it he had no say in the matter.
“Alright… fine."
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Notes:
Ever been made to look like an idiot, by a girl, in front of both your partner AND sister? Yeah, probably not I’d say, but if you have then you’ll probably understand Big Mac’s behaviour.
Ok, so again I want to clear something up. So far this story has been mainly shenanigans with a few side plots (Ember and Spike, Cynder’s need to change her attitude etc.). Just so you all know there is an intended main plot, but as those who have read my other fics will know I don’t like to introduce main plots right away, rather I like to build into them.
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THIS CHAPTER...WE LIKE IT!
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Well it looks like Cynder and Big Mac have it going there. Heh, well I wonder how this will turn out next chapter.
Good work Freelancer!
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Heh, my bad
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*Bows* It is an honour to please the princess of the night
This is getting me so excited I can't wait for the next chapter.
Er...i don't about you BUT, i might of got my but handed to me by a Tomboy in front of my whole family during a reuinon. so yes i know wahts its like.
i really should find a way to play some spyro games since this the 4th spyro fanfic that i have come to love
Ugh, some one just make them hoof-wrestle and get it over with.
Spyro's head saves the day once more, and proves that everything can be solved with a proper ramming.
Also I like the new formatting, indentations are always a welcome sight.
I'll just leave this here:
you’ll lack one of the most basic ability to gain knowledge (either abilities or remove the orange)
the new dragonic presence (draconic)
buck cause of them” He replied with snort (need a comma after 'them')
the ponies as they each realized had so far done (comma after 'ponies' and 'realized')
helping hoof,” (PERIOD! Dialogue ends in a PERIOD!
*calms down* sorry about that
but...dialogue always ends in a hard punctuation ( . ? ! ) unless it's like this: “I’d still prefer ya to get off my farm personally,” The stallion snorted where dialogue is followed by the tag line.
“Alright… fine,”
For the record, those aren't the only times you did that, every single instance of dialogue that doesn't end in a "?" or "..." you ended with a comma.
Now all that being said...I look forward to more. After all the main plot line, as you pointed out, is approaching.
It doesn't look like you have a proofreader.
If you want I can take a look, I've already spotted about 20 grammar and punctuation errors.
Real good story otherwise.
What's this, i happened onto a Chapter that was JUST posted as i was reading the others? :o! i saw the 9 emerge, but i thought it was already there, seeing the time i can now say it actually DID just appear as i was reading :O good to know this is an actively published story? can i get an estimate on the next chapter?
oh, and because this is the first comment i've posted on this site, have a stache.
I personally think Cynder's just fine. She seems like an introvert (Like Mac come to think of it) and thus probably doesn't have much skill with people she's not familiar with. If she warms up to 'em at her own pace like she did with the CMC it'll probably be better for everyone. After all, you can't just force and introvert to become extraverted, it just doesn't work. Probably thinking too much about it, but it's just two cents from an introvert.
Anywho, it's still just as good as it was when ya started. Don't worry about the time it takes to get chapters done/uploaded, it's one of those stories that's worth the wait. Partially 'cause Spyro (And Cynder of course.)
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Just so you all know, I decided to make amends for my own stupidity, so I pulled out one of my high school grammar books and went back over every chapter for errors.
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Cool! Went back through a couple chapters, looks much improved. Really appreciate the effort.
And it wasn't stupidity, grammar's hard. Especially since Spellcheck started doing so much of our proof-reading for us.
...
I still saw some dialogue ending in commas, though far less than before...
Perhaps this would help?
Good story so far, mistakes here and there but I have seen worse, looking forward to the next chapter.
This fanfic has the honor of being the one to make me register for FIMfiction.
Everything about Spike and Ember is so adorable, and I'd definitely like to see more of them, and I can't wait until Cynder and Luna meet. I understand you like to put off introducing the main plot right away, so I hope that means more development for Spyro in the future.
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I feel truly honoured dear sir
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I'm from the most bogan state in Australia, that's where unfortunately
You keep misspelling definitely. I've seen it since the prologue and just now got fed up with it.
At that moment, Pinkie Pie popped out of a bush and yelled, "Challenge accepted!"
Heh. Made use of Spyro's ram ability all the way back from the original Spyro, didn't you? Nice.
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i1.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/169/432/nic_cage_moar.gif
nice
Opening this chapter is our three dragons learning how to read. Well, I can understand Spyro and Cynder not being taught to read; all Spyro ever learned was survival and how to fight, and all Cynder ever learned was.....how to fight. Ember, however, I imagine she'd have at least a little schooling.
And of course, Cynder is bored out of her mind.
Ever heard of taking breaks? You've been there for hours!
Cynder asks if there's anything physical they could do, and Twilight ends up suggesting they go to Sweet Apple Acres.
Wow, guys. If I didn't know better, I'd say you didn't like Ponyville.
So they arrive at the farm and Spike gives them a basic rundown.
Oh, Pinkie. Never change.
So they head onto the farm proper and find AJ and Big Mac working harder than usual. What, did AJ miss out on a day of applebucking when she helped show Cynder around the town?
.......How did I guess that right? Also, Big Mac.....why the hell are you speaking more than one complete sentence per scene?
So Big Mac requests, none too gently, that they leave the farm so they can work. After a bit, Spyro agrees that it is more or less their fault that the Apples are behind schedule.
Naturally, this last bit is met by a resounding NO!!!! from both Mac and Cynder. But, with some convincing from Spyro and Applejack, the two let up.
(Response to the Author's Note)
Well, I have certainly looked like an idiot in front of my whole family when I rage-quit a Zelda boss I just couldn't beat, but then my sister turns around and beats it first try. Context: I'm the video game champ of the house and she can't play games more complicated than Tetris to save her life.
And I do agree with your storytelling method; introduce the characters and begin building relationships early, put in the main plot later to put those relationships to the test. I approve. (Story: +1. Writing: +1)
6543859 same thing happened to me 5 word "trouble with the trolley, eh?"