A Pegasus Tale

by Forge

Chapter 4: The Ghosts of the Past

Chapter 4

The Ghosts of the Past

Twilight trotted off towards Sweet Apple Acres. She was brimming with questions for Forge and couldn't wait to have him answer them for her. The new arrival had been exhausted the night before, but promised her that he would allow her to question him tomorrow as she took him for a tour around Ponyville. She arrived at Sweet Apple Acres just in time to see Applejack begin her applebucking.

"Hi, Applejack," Twilight chirped.

"Well howdy Twilight," Applejack answered. "I assume yer' here fer' Forge."

"Yeah. Do you know where he is?"

"He's over yonder. The Crusader's dragged m' off the minute he finished breakfast."

Twilight looked in the direction where Applejack was pointing. On top of the hill, there was Forge playing a game of tag with the three fillies. "They've been sticking to im' like glue. I don't think he minds though. I think he enjoys all the attention." Applejack said giving a little chuckle. "If yer' gonna give im' a tour a' Ponyville, I suggest ya get im' now. Otherwise, you'll never get the girls away from im'."

"That's probably a good idea. I'll see you later Applejack", Twilight said before trotting off.

"Later Twilight".

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"Quick, he's gainin' on us!", Apple Bloom laughed as she Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle ran from Forge.

"Hide behind one of the bushes", Scootaloo suggested. "He'll never find us there."

The three quickly hid behind the nearest bush just as Forge came over the hill. "Ah ha! I got you now you...wha?! Where'd you go?" Forge began scanning the area for any sign of the fillies whereabouts. "They're not that fast," Forge thought to himself. "Where could they have gone?" Forge continued looking around until something caught his eye. A familiar red tail sticking out from behind the bush, with tiny whispering being heard. Forge chuckled softly and began sneaking up to the bush.

"I don't hear anything", squeaked Sweetie Belle. "Do you think he gave up?"

"I don't know", Apple Bloom whispered. "Do you see him anywhere Scootaloo?"

Scootaloo poked her head over the bush and began searching for Forge. "No. I think he gave up."

"Ehem". The Crusaders whirled around to see Forge standing behind them with a big grin on his face. "Boo".

"Every filly for themselves!" Scootaloo shouted and all three fillies made a break for it...only to crash into each other as when they each ended up going in the directions facing each other. Forge chuckled at the sight and picked the now dazed fillies up and placed them onto his back.

"I think I won that round eh girls." He said with a smirk.

"No fair. You surprised us", Sweetie Belle pouted.

"Yeah, we want a rematch", Scootaloo demanded.

"Forge!" Forge turned his head to see Twilight heading towards him. "Good morning Twilight."

"Good morning to you as well, Forge. I see the girls have been keeping you busy."

"Yeah, they won't leave me alone". Forge looked back at the fillies their heads now hanging low. "But I don't mind. I think they've grown on me." The fillies then looked back up at Forge with smiles back on their faces. Forge gave them a wink before looking back to Twilight. "I assume your here to take me on that tour."

"Yes. Shall we get going."

"But Mister Forge", pleaded Apple Bloom "what about our rematch?"

"We'll have our rematch later. I promised Twilight she could ask me some questions while she took me on a tour of Ponyville."

"Aaaawwww", the three fillies said in unison. Forge lowered himself down to the ground and let the three off his back.

"Well what'll we do now?", Scootaloo said.

"Why don't we try getting our cutie marks again!", Apple Bloom suggested.

"Yeah, its been a while since we've tried that", Sweetie Belle added.

"Didn't we try yesterday?"

"Yeah,but the manticore stopped us from doing any real searching for our cutie marks."

"Okay, Cutie Mark Crusaders to the clubhouse!" The three fillies galloped off to towards their clubhouse leaving Twilight and Forge alone.

"So, do you wanna go now?", Twilight asked.

"Of course. Lead the way Twilight".

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"So Forge," Twilight began. "How are your wings doing?"

"Much better than yesterday", Forge replied. "They're still pretty sore though. Remind me to thank your yellow friend for what she did."

"I'm sure Fluttershy is just glad your okay."

"She didn't seem like it yesterday. I don't think she likes me very much." Forge looked a little disheartened as he said that.

"Don't worry about her. She's just naturally shy. She'll warm up to you eventually."

"I guess", Forge said. He was still a little upset that there was a pony who was afraid of him again, but he immediately shook it off and changed the subject. "Twilight, I believe you wanted to ask me some questions."

"Oh, yes". Twilight's horn began to glow and suddenly, a scroll appeared in front of her; much to Forges surprise.

"What's the scroll for?", he asked.

"It's the list I made with the questions I wanted to ask you", she replied.

"Oh...okay then. What's your first question?"

Twilight opened the scroll and it fell to the ground. The list, Forge realized was huge as it continued to unfold over the next six hills that were in the distance. He stood there, his mouth agape at how the lavender unicorn had managed to create such a long list full of questions. "Sweet Celestia, what have I gotten myself into?", Forge thought to himself.

"Okay, first question", Twilight said as she began staring at the insanely long list before her. "Where are you from Forge?"

Forge snapped back into focus and turned his head to Twilight. "Oh, I was born in Edmaneton. Up north from here."

"Interesting", Twilight muttered to herself as she began checking off the question form her list. "Next question. The Crusaders told us yesterday that you can use fire, is that true?"

"I could tell you. Or...", Forge said as he gave Twilight a little smirk. "I could show you!" A flash of orange light came from Forge forcing Twilight to shield her eyes. When she could see again, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Standing before her was Forge, his once yellow and orange mane and tail were now engulfed in flames. His hooves seemed to glow with the same energy as is mane and tail. As Twilight stood there staring, Forge had begun to juggle a couple fireballs in his hooves and was smiling from ear to ear. He eventually stopped the juggling and extinguished the flames as Twilight continued to stare. "Does that answer your question?", he asked in a little sarcastic tone.

"H-h-how are you able to do that?", Twilight asked. "Not even Celestia can do that!"

"I'm not 100% sure myself Twilight. They just sorta showed up one day."

"Really! This...this is incredible! Oh just wait till everypony see's what you can-", before she could continue Forge had cut her off with his hoof.

"No! No pony can find out about this understand!", Forge snapped. Twilight tore away from his hoof and began to back away from him.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Twilight. I didn't mean to snap." The two ponies stood in silence for a long time before Twilight spoke up again. "Why don't you want anypony to know?", she asked. "Are you afraid of your powers or something?" Forge looked at her, her once once sparkling eyes had filled with concern for him.

"No. It's more complicated than that. Before I came here, I traveled to almost every city across Equestria looking for a home for myself. I'd move in and try to keep my powers a secret for as long as I could", Forge explained. "Obviously a pony that can control fire isn't exactly something you'd welcome with open forelegs. But...eventually they'd find out. They would become scared of me. Think I was a freak or a monster. They avoided me like the plague."

Twilight listened intently as Forge continued his story. " Finally, they would have the Royal Guards run me out of town. I don't want anypony to know because I don't want to be cast out again."

"That's horrible", Twilight said. "What about your family? Didn't they try and stand up for you?"

"No. They left me for the same reason. They were afraid of me." Twilight stood frozen in shock at Forge had said. She began to slowly approach Forge before wrapping her forelegs around his neck and hugging him.

"I'm so sorry", she whispered to him. "I had no idea you've been through that." Forge looked up at Twilight. She looked as though she was about to cry.

"Believe me, it was tough for a while. But then I realized that I wouldn't be the stallion I am today if it wasn't in this situation." Twilight looked at Forge. His sadness seemed to have dissolved and his smile had returned.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I could have easily become angry and bitter at the world and used my powers to hurt ponies. But sometime after my parents left, I decided that no matter what anypony said about me, I wouldn't hold it against them. While they may see a monster, I see a regular pegasus with some... 'unique' qualities. I'll always try to help them, whether they want me to or not."

As Forge finished his story, Twilight smiled and wiped away the tears in her eyes. Forge chuckled at the sight. "Hey, why are you crying?", he chuckled. "This is my sad background story, not yours."

She glared at him for a bit before the two broke into laughter. They laughed for at least five minutes before continuing to Ponyville. "So does this mean your going to be staying in Ponyville for a while?", Twilight asked.

"Maybe...", Forge teased. "Why. Would you miss me?"

Twilight blushed and she quickly looked away from him. "N-no... I mean yes... I mean..."

"Relax Twilight your gonna hurt yourself. I was joking."

"Oh... of course."

"To actually answer your question. Yes, I think I'll stick around. I did promise Rainbow Dash a race after all."

"That's great!", Twilight shouted. "First things first; we're going to have to get you a house of your own. Second: we'll need to find you a job..."

Forge couldn't help but shake his head and chuckle as Twilight continued her rambling. "I'm liking it here already."

Comments

[Oryutzen]

Though I liked this chapter, I want to know: If he wants to keep the fire a secret, why did he show Twilight without even doubting it?

[Forge]

158333
He showed Twilight because he trusts her and friends enough to show them. They haven't let him down yet.

[Oryutzen]

158338
Oh, ok. I thought he meant absolutely nopony could know.

[-Brutus]

This is going well, proceed!

[ZaeroZX]

Oooooooo my shipping senses are tingling twitchy twitch twich