Chapter 56 - Building Bridges
It was a short while before dawn when Forge pulled himself from his bed. He began to move away from the bed with a yawn when he felt a gentle weight landing on his shoulder.
“Forge, do you really want to get up this early?” Snow tiredly asked as he nuzzled the unicorn.
“Sorry, Snow.” Forge gave the pegasus’ face a pat. “It’s an old habit thanks to my training and it’s not going away any time soon.”
“Murrgh…” Snow Sweeper groaned as Forge pulled away. “But I wanna have morning cuddles.”
“Wish we could, but I have to get to work bright and early.” Forge gave the weary pegasus a nuzzle. “Maybe you can get Verdant to make you a nice breakfast. It’s bound to be better than yesterday’s sandwich.”
“I could stand a cup of coffee or two.” A small smile crossed Snow’s features and he pulled himself from the bed, trying to wipe the sleep from his eyes. “Can I get a little kiss before you go?”
Forge chuckled before he delivered a quick peck to Snow’s lips. “I’d give you more, but I’m pretty sure we both have some pretty bad morning breath.”
“Yeah, that’s true.” Snow gave a chuckle.
“I’m free on Friday and Saturday, so we can do whatever you want then,” Forge said as he moved to leave the room.
“I’ll hold you to it, hot stuff!” He heard the pegasus say as he made it to the door. “Take care.”
“I will,” Forge replied as he looked over his shoulder, seeing his boyfriend stretching as he glided down the stairs. With a smile, the cobalt unicorn set off for work.
***
After a few minutes walk, the unicorn arrived at the shop, seeing some smoke coming from the chimneys as he headed in.
As he made his way in and put on his apron, he happily hummed a little tune to himself.
With the last of the apron’s straps tightened, he saw a large shadow looming over him. From the dark form, he knew what was behind him was big and had a set of very large wings.
“Good morning, Mrs. Sorae,” Forge casually said as he turned to face her. “How are you this morning?
To the stallion’s surprise, the intimidating hen looked to be a mix of embarrassed and ashamed. She nervously rubbed the back of her neck as she spoke. “Well, I was hoping you could pass along a message for me.”
“Oh? What’s the message and who’s it for?” Forge asked as the two headed deeper into the smithery.
“It’s for your friend, Vernon.”
“It’s Verdant, ma’am,” the unicorn replied, making the griffin slap her face with her talons.
“Right, Verdant.” She sighed as she dragged her claws over her face. “Sorry, I’m not the best with names.”
“It happens,” Forge said with a shrug as he trotted over to a box full of tools. “So, what’s the message?”
“Ah, right.” Asta snapped her talons in recollection. “I want you to tell him I’m sorry for what happened on his date with Erica yesterday.”
“You mean the… griffin kiss?” Forge shuddered at the thought of what Hatty had described the day prior.
“Yes. It was my fault it happened.” Asta swallowed before continuing. “I was the one that encouraged such a thing, unaware that Erica wasn’t seeing a tiercel. Had I known she was seeing a pony, I wouldn’t have suggested it. I’m very sorry about that and I pray he’s not upset with Erica.”
“Well, I’ll be sure to tell him that. But if it makes it any better, he didn’t seem upset when he got home last night.” A little greener looking than usual and lacking in appetite, but not upset.
“Oh, thank the ancestors!” Asta sighed in relief. “I was worried I’d cost my daughter her boyfriend after she’d been single for so long.”
“Did she have trouble getting dates?” he asked as she pulled out some sheets of metal and started to mark it.
“Oh yes, sadly,” Asta replied as she stuffed her marker back into her apron pocket. “Ponies tend to stick with their own kind most of the time and none of the few griffins in town really appealed to her much. It was quite a relief when you told me she was dating a former guard.”
“Yeah…” Forge quietly said as he examined the markings on the metal. “He seems to really like her too.”
“Excellent!” Asta excitedly exclaimed as she moved the piece of metal over to a bandsaw and put her goggles over her eyes. “I just wish I could meet the stallion she’s fallen for. Say, could you get me a different set of goggles? I’ve seemed to have cracked these.”
“I’m on it,” Forge replied before running off. After a brief moment, he’d found a good pair and headed back. As he got closer, however, a thought occurred to him.
This… This is something that never would have happened in the old days. His steps started to slow as he drew closer to Asta. You’ve grown comfortable around her. When I met her, I was terrified and worried she’d eat me. But now, after all these weeks, I feel like she’s just another pony… but she’s a griffin.
“Is something wrong, Forge?” Asta inquired as she faced the pony whose movements had slowed to a stop.
“Oh! Uh… no.” Forge ran up to her, giving her the goggles. “Sorry. I was just… lost in thought.”
“No problem,” Asta said and set the goggles over her eyes. “Anything you’d like to talk about? I could lend an ear.”
“Not really, ma’am.” Forge lowered his own goggles as he grabbed another piece of steel. “Ready to get started?”
“Right. Just remember, you can talk to me about just about anything you need,” Asta replied before flipping the bandsaw on.
***
As the day drew to a close, Forge made his way home, thinking about the griffins in his life once more.
Mrs. Sorae… Asta… I think… I think I trust her. She doesn’t seem anything like the griffins that we had back home. She just seems too genuine for it to be some sort of act…
When he reached the house’s gate, he spotted Erica flying away from the back of the house.
Probably going out through Verdant’s window… just like Snow does with mine.
The cobalt stallion sighed as he pushed his way past the gate and headed into the house.
After dinner, Forge was laying in his bed, staring towards the ceiling.
If Asta’s genuinely a good griffin… does that mean Erica is? How do I feel about her?
With a sigh, he rolled off the bed and walked over to his Kre-O castle, seeing the smashed up griffin form.
Erica… she’s known Verdant for about… shoot, months at this rate. She’s spent so much time alone with him, but never once harmed him. His horn glowed dimly as his magic picked up the collection of plastic bricks.
She went to the gala with Verdant. She’s a teacher for young foals… she’s made cookies with your household for charity…
Forge groaned as he slapped a hoof to his forehead.
She’s a griffin… but… everything about her’s just too… pony. Still, she’s been with him far too long for it to be a trap to turn him into a meal.
The cobalt unicorn placed the tiny bricks together, restoring the figure of the fierce looking griffin to one piece before setting it back down, facing the figure of a charging earth pony.
Are… Are all griffin’s like this these days? Forge bit his lip as he sat down before letting out a tired sigh. I… I just don’t know…
After a while of trying to come to an answer, the unicorn felt too tired to continue and went to bed, but sleep would not come to him easily.
***
A loud yawn emanated from the unicorn as he got up. As he stretched to wake himself up more, he heard a nearby door closing, along with a few steps against the hardwood floor.
Trotting over to his door, Forge tossed it open and saw Verdant beginning his walk down the stairs. To his slight surprise, he didn’t see Verdant turning towards the kitchen, but heading for the front door instead.
Curious to where his friend was headed this early in the morning, Forge made his way down. When he arrived at the door, he spotted Verdant heading past the front gate.
After a few moments, Forge drew closer, following the shamrock stallion down the dimly lit street, reflexively falling into the habits of both staying silent and out of sight.
From the distance between them, Forge saw Verdant pull something from his saddlebag and toss it over his shoulder towards the unicorn.
Catching the object in his magic just before it could strike him, he saw it was a stopwatch that Verdant had tossed his way.
“Good to see your reflexes are still sharp, Forge,” Verdant’s voice drew the unicorn’s attention back towards him.
“How’d you know I was following you?” Forge asked as he closed the distance between them. The unicorn guessed he was a good forty to fifty feet away from him.
“No clue,” Verdant replied with a shrug and a smirk. “It's almost like I was picked to be our team’s sniper partially for my eyesight and being able to spot potential oncoming threats.”
“Right. Ask a stupid question.” Forge gave his two-toned silver mane a rub. “At any rate, what are you doing?”
“If you must know, Erica asked me to come by the pool this morning and time her and her friend’s speed,” Verdant answered as they continued to walk. “They’re training to try out for something called the Equestria Games.”
“What’s the Equestria Games?” Forge inquired as the two turned a corner.
“Not a hundred percent sure, but I think it’s a big sporting event.” Verdant offered a quick shrug. “Either way, since it’s important to her, I figure it shouldn’t be a problem.”
“Well, hope it goes well for her,” Forge said as they turned another corner. “I was actually hoping to speak to her today.”
“Oh?” Verdant’s curiosity rose alongside his eyebrow. “Why’s that?”
Forge took a deep breath before sighing. “I’ve been thinking for the past couple days… about you and her. I’ve been thinking that what’s going on between you two... I think that’s real; that she’s got genuine feelings for you and it’s not just some scheme to make a meal out of you.”
“Go on…” Verdant gestured with a foreleg as they walked along.
“She’s been with you for too long for it to be a trap…” Forge took another deep breath before looking Verdant in the eye. “I’m not sure about other griffins, but I feel I can trust her and her mother.”
A smile crossed Verdant features as he patted Forge on the back. “Well, I’m glad to hear it, Forge. I know this is a huge thing for you. I’m sure Erica will be glad to hear it.”
“Thanks, Verdant.” Forge gave Verdant a grin as the edge of the community center’s roof came into view.
“I’ll admit I was worried that you might want to pick a fight with her or something at first, bud,” Verdant said as the sun slowly started to rise further, making the dew shimmer in the light. “If it came down to that, I would have pulled out my bow and shot you.”
“That’s kinda funny, Verdant,” Forge replied with a chuckle that ceased when he heard the sound of plastic parts snapping into place. Looking to his side, he saw Verdant had a collapsible bow in his right forehoof.
“I’m not kidding, Forge,” Verdant flatly said as the unicorn looked on in shock.
“Wh-why do you keep a bow on you?” Forge stuttered as the earth pony collapsed the bow and stuck it back in his saddlebags.
“Self-defense, the defense of others, phlume collecting, that sort of thing.” He shrugged as he closed up his bags. “It’s a lot more useful for that than a pickaxe.”
“I’ll… I’ll take your word for it,” Forge said before clearing his throat. “Still, I can see where you’re coming from. If somepony tried to hurt Snow…” He grit his teeth at the mental image of a griffin doing just that. “They’d be flash fried.”
“Thankfully, things are pretty peaceful here,” Verdant stated as the two drew ever closer to the community center. At the building’s entrance, they spotted Erica standing by the door, a pink towel slung over her shoulder. Standing beside her was a zebra mare with a blue towel.
“Say, Forge?” Verdant reached into his saddlebags and pulled out a second stopwatch. “While I’m timing Erica, would you mind timing Ziwa?”
“By Ziwa, I assume you mean the zebra with her?” Forge asked, to which Verdant nodded. “Sure. No problem.”
The two were soon spotted by Erica, who gave them a wave before pulling a set of keys out from under her wing and opening the community center’s door.
“Hey Verdant, glad you could make it this early,” Erica said before giving him a peck on the cheek. “Bit of a surprise to see you here, Forge.”
“Well, I was hoping to speak with you, but it can wait until after your swim,” The cobalt unicorn replied, vaguely aware that the zebra mare was closely observing him.
“Hey there, Forge, was it?” Ziwa moved closer, putting some extra sway in her hips. “You single?”
“Um, no, actually. I have a boyfriend,” The unicorn answered, making her sigh in mild annoyance.
“Oh well, swing and a miss.” Ziwa said as she held the door open. “Anyway, ready to do this?”
“You bet, bubble butt,” Erica jokingly said as she walked past her. “I’m gonna lap you so fast, you’ll think Filli-Second became a griffin.”
Ziwa chuckled as the rest of them followed her in. “We’ll see about that, you over-sized chicken.”
After a few minutes, the pair had started breaststroke swimming back and forth in a pool that was rather impressively sized to the unicorn, though he could go without the stench of the chlorine.
“Almost there,” Verdant said as Erica and Ziwa drew closer to the pool’s edge. “Get ready, Forge.”
Erica smacked her talons against the stone surface of the pool’s edge, making the shamrock stallion click down on his watch. Ziwa did the same nearly a second later as Forge stopped his watch.
“Fifty three point six two seconds.” Verdant offered Erica a hoof and helped her rise from the water.”
“Fifty four point five seven.” Forge’s horn lit up as he plucked Ziwa from the pool and quickly dried her off.
“Well, guess I owe you a sandwich, Erica,” Ziwa trotted over and held out her hoof to the damp griffin who quickly grabbed it and shook.
“Don’t sweat it, Ziwa.” Erica finished shaking her foreleg and stretched out her wings, letting them drip dry. “We’ve both been improving.”
“I’m sure you’ll get on the Vanhoover swim team when the time comes.” Verdant smiled at Erica and stuffed the stopwatches back into his bags. “At any rate, I’ll leave you and Forge to talk.”
“And I think I’ll tag along. I wanna know if Maua’s done anything stupid at the shop.” Ziwa started trotting after Verdant. Forge saw that the pair had stopped at the entryway, though they still had a clear view of the unicorn and griffin.
“So, what’d you want to talk about, Forge?” Erica tilted her head as she drew closer to him.
Forge took a breath and rubbed a hoof against the back of his neck. “First off, I want to thank you… for recommending me to your mother.”
“Ah, don’t sweat,” Erica casually said with a wave of her talons. “You’re Verdant’s friend and a smith, my mom’s a smith and was looking for some new help. Besides, she’s said you’re one of the better employees she’s taught.”
“Oh!” A faint blush came to the unicorn’s face. “Well, I really appreciate that. Still, I feel I need to apologize for how I’ve acted around you. I’ve tried to avoid you and treated you with suspicion up until now… and I’m sorry for that.”
“This is certainly a surprise,” Erica drew closer and folded her wings against her side. “What brought this on?”
“Well, I’ve been thinking about things the last couple days. About how long you’ve been with Verdant, how you’ve done that… kiss that you had.” Forge’s blush quickly faded as it was replaced with a faint green. “That, along with how easily griffins can get food and you helped save us when we were all stuck in that cheese… It’s convinced me that you’re not luring Verdant into a honey trap. That your feelings are genuine and that you don’t want to eat him.”
A light chuckle came from the hen as she sat down by the pool’s edge. “No, no, no. Believe me, he’s not getting in any part of my digestive system… Well, not unless I get really drunk first and I’m not much of a drinker.”
“What are…” Forge’s eyebrow rose in confusion for a moment before he understood Erica’s innuendo. “Oh… Yeah.”
“At any rate, this is good to hear.” Erica looked Forge in the eye. “But… how do you feel about other griffins?”
Forge bit his lip and nervously rubbed a foreleg. “To be honest… I’m not sure. I’m comfortable around you and your mother… but I’m not sure I can after everything that’s happened to me.”
“Yeah, Verdant told me about your hometown and what happened.” Erica sympathetically sat back up and drew closer to him. “About your family.”
“It’s a wound that’s still kind of tender to me.” Forge swallowed and stepped closer to her. “Still, while I’m not comfortable around griffins in general, I am around you two.”
“Glad to hear that. I know that this is a really huge thing for you.” Erica held out her talons to Forge. “Friends?”
Forge looked down to the outstretched talons for a moment… then placed his foreleg in her talons, the two giving the other a firm squeeze and shake. The stallion gave Erica a smile as he looked her in the eye.
“Friends.”
Alticron: Hey everyone, hope you enjoyed the latest chapter of A Pony Displaced: Homeward. This was a chapter was waiting to share with you all for a long time.
For this chapter's character pic, we get Erica's old friend Ziwa and her twin sister/Verdant's previously mentioned co-worker, Maua.
Next time, things are gonna get colder as we get a sneak peak at winter. See ya then.
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Harlan Ellison
Asimove had over 500 books published including Science Fiction, mysteries, humor, poetry, annotated several books of the Bible, a biochemistry textbook, an autobiograohy, the novelization of the movie "Fantastic Voyage", "The Thinking Man's Guide to Science" & a vast number of science popularizations. He is the only author to have published something in every major category of the Dewey Decimal System.
10458482
Um... What?
10458526
The author mentioned suffering writer's block. That brought this to mind.
10458707
Where? Where did I or Sober mention that?
10458708
10458710
Alright. That part of the description. I just figured a comment about that would have been posted in the section for the prologue instead of the latest chapter since that's a rather old issue.
10458712
Actually, I posted this on the screen where it shows the story cover & long description. I haven't read any of this yet. This site apparently posts things in both places.
10458716
Yeah. It's an annoying feature that can make some stuff hard to keep track of.
will we ever see Daring Doo again, I wonder?
10459846
Considering her Primary line of work there is no real telling how long she'll be gone. One of the downfalls of being a globe trotting adventurer, adventures don't reply schedule themselves so you can end up away from home and relationships suddenly. You wanna take a break from your partner to work out your feelings but stay away longer than planned when you have to go retrieve a mystic artifact that could destroy a civilization.
10471280
true that. I’d just like to find out if she has forgiven him or not not, so he might move on.. And sate my curiosity
Oh, so you’re the one that helped Discord arrange his escort to the next gala.
I’m curious, though: how’d you get it in the bottle from bow range? The way those plants flail around when poked, that would seem rather challenging!
10785992
Shoot the vines so they're pinned to the ground.