A Pegasus Tale

by Forge

Chapter 6: A Royal Encounter

Chapter 6

A Royal Encounter

"Oh Celestia, my head." Forge mumbled as he awoke. "I feel like I was in the middle of a buffalo stampede."

He opened his eyes to view the chaos surrounding him from last night. Most of the ponies from the party had gone home, but a few of them still remained passed out on the floor. Forge chuckled to himself as memories of Pinkie's party last night filled his head. "That was a hell of a night."

Forge attempted to stand up and he made his way downstairs. He noticed a certain pink pony was passed out nearby, her face buried in cake. "Pinkie" Forge said as he tried to wake her up. "Up and at em' Pinkie." He shook her a bit more before her head darted up, startling him. Her face was covered in icing and her eyes were blocked by cupcakes.

"Good morning Forge! Some party last night huh. You looked like you were having a great time. Were you having a great time? Were you? Huh, huh, huh! Hey what happened to the lights." Forge shook his head and wiped the icing from her face. "Oh there's the light! Thanks." she said cheerfully. She then looked to Forges hoof still covered in icing. "Are you going to eat that?"

Forge stared at his hoof before holding out to Pinkie. "Uh...no. Go ahead." With that Pinkie ate the remaining icing off his hoof like she hadn't eaten in three days. "Mmm, delicious." Pinkie said licking her lips. Forge gave her a nervous smile and nodded.

"Uh...right. Where'd everypony else go?" Forge asked.

"Twilight, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity went home early. I think Rainbow's still asleep somewhere. Silly filly!"

"Okay. Thanks Pinkie. That was a great party. I'll see you around."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" Pinkie said before bouncing off to find Rainbow Dash.

"That mare is absolutely crazy." Forge thought to himself. "Lucky for her, I like crazy."

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Forge made his way through the town on his way to Sweet Apple Acres. It was still fairly early in the morning so there weren't a lot of ponies that were out and about. Forge continued through the quiet town until the familiar sound of his growling stomach stopped him in his tracks. "Hmm. Maybe I should have taken some of that cake from the bakery before I left." he thought to himself.

Suddenly, Forge noticed something in the air. It smelled... heavenly. Forge began sniffing the air furiously like a blood hound as he attempted to track down the glorious smell. "It's close." Forge thought as he continued to sniff. "Very close." He followed the smell around a corner where he was greater by a cart full of delicious looking pastries. A big grin appeared on his face and his mouth began to drool as he stared at the cart.

"Oh sweet Celestia, I thought the pastry fairy was just a myth!" Forge shouted excitedly. He began looking around to see if anypony was around for him to pay for the pastries. "No ones here." He looked back at the pastries. "Maybe... No I can't." The smell of the pastries wafted past his muzzle. "I guess nopony would notice If just one pastry went missing..."

"Hey! What do ya' think yer' doin'?!"

"Crap baskets!" Forge whirled around to see a big red stallion galloping towards him. He braced for impact as the stallion sped towards him. He waited... but nothing happened. "Oh, it's you." he heard the stallion say.

"I'm sorry. Do I know you?"

"Probly' not. You'r passed out when a' last saw ya'." the stallion said. "Allow me ta' introduce mahself. Ma' names Big Macintosh."

Something immediately clicked in Forge's mind. "Big Macintosh. Applejack's brother?"

"Eeyup."

Applejack had mentioned she had a brother, but Forge assumed he was out of town. "Well, it's nice to finally meet you. My names Forge."

"A' know. Apple Bloom wouldn't stop talkin' bout' ya'. You'r still fast asleep when a' went to the barn to get ma' working gear." The two chuckled a bit before Big Mac spoke again. "So why were ya' sneakin' food off ma' cart?"

"Yeah, sorry. I was hungry and I smelt those pastries and... I was weak." Forge said slighty ashamed.

Big Mac laughed. "S'all right. Here." Big Mac reached back onto his cart and garbbed an apple fritter before tossing it to Forge. "This ones on me."

Forge licked his lips before devouring the fritter in 3 seconds flat. Forge stared at his hooves where the fritter once was before looking back towards Big Mac with pleading eyes. Big Mac rolled his eyes before tossing him another fritter. "Thanks Big Macintosh. I'll pay you back... right after I find a job."

"If ya' want, ya' can help out aroun' Sweet Apple Acres" Big Mac suggested. "We could always use an extra hoof around the farm."

Forge thought for a minute before nodding in agreement. "I'll ask Applejack about a job when I get back."

"You may not need to. Here she comes now."

Forge turned to see Applejack galloping towards them. She looked worried...

"Hey Applejack. I was just about to..." Forge was saying before Applejack cut him off.

"Not now Forge! A' need ya' to come with me now!" Applejack shouted.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Twilight got a letter from Princess Celestia this morning."

Forge and Big Mac looked at each other in confusion. "So what's the problem?" Big Mac said. "Doesn't Twilight get letters from the Princess regularly?"

Applejack looked at her brother with worried eyes. "This wasn't a regular letter Big Mac!" She then looked directly at Forge. "The princess mentioned you specifically Forge. She wants ta' see you..."

Forge's eyes went wide as a state of shock took hold. He looked at Big Mac who had the same look on his face. Applejack grabbed Forge's hoof and began dragging him towards a nearby train. "Take this train to Canterlot. Twilight will meet ya' there. I'll get the rest a' the girls and get there when we can."

The train pulled away from the town a Applejack and Big Mac looked on. The look of shock that once covered Forges face was replaced with fear. "This can't be good..."

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During the train ride Forge said nothing. He was solely focused on what the princess would do to him. The train pulled into Canterlot where Forge was greeted by a clearly upset Twilight. "Forge, what's going on?"

Forge looked at her with a surprised expression. "I was hoping you could tell me!"

Twilight shook her head and gestured towards the castle. "Don't worry. We'll see her together and get to the bottom of this." Forge nodded in agreement and followed Twilight towards the Princess's throne room.

****

They arrived at the throne room where the rest of the girls were waiting. As Forge appeared, he was immediately bombarded with questions. "What did you do?"

"What's going to happen?"

"Are you a spy?"

"GIRLS!!!" Forge shouted. They all stopped talking and looked at Forge. "Look, I don't know what this is about. But the sooner I see her, the sooner I can move on with my life."

"We're jus' worried bout' ya' sugarcube." Applejack said.

"Yeah! You can't leave now! You promised me a race!" Rainbow added.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted, glaring at the cyan pegasus. "This is more important than if your going to be able to race Forge or not! He could be in serious trouble here!"

Twilight continued to glare at Rainbow until she felt a hoof on her shoulder. "Relax Twilight." Forge said. "I'm sure it's not serious." Twilight looked as though she was going to try to say otherwise, but stopped when he shot her a reassuring smile. "And Rainbow. Don't worry. You'll still get your race with me." Rainbow nodded as a guard appeared from Celestia's throne room.

"Are you Forge?" the guard asked.

"Yeah."

"Right this way." Forge and the girls began to enter the room, but were stopped by the guard. "The princess wants to see him alone." The girls looked at each other with worry, until Forge gave them a reassuring nod that everything would be okay. The slowly moved from Forge as he entered the throne room. As the doors began to close, Forge couldn't help but look back as his friends disappeared from view.

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Forge moved slowly through the long hallway as he made his way towards the throne, where Princess Celestia was waiting. Despite her kind outwardly appearance, Forge couldn't help but feel a little intimidated in her presence. He had never met her before, but she somehow knew him. This put him on edge and his mind was already beginning to assume she had something bad in store for him. "Come on Forge, pull yourself together." he muttered to himself. "You've done nothing wrong... Except for constantly avoid her guards and cause mass panic in a few cities across Equestria." As he remembered his past encounters with the guards, he noticed that some of the guards were giving him dirty looks as he walked by. They all looked like they wanted to beat the crap out of him right then and there. "I am so screwed."

"Princess Celestia!" the guard in front of Forge bellowed. "He is here."

Princess Celestia looked at Forge, almost as if she was studying him before she spoke. "Thank you guardsman. You may leave now."

The guard nodded and turned to join the remainder of the guards that had already begun to leave. "Good luck. Your gonna need it." the guard said as he passed Forge. Forge glared at the guard as he shot him a smirk. The door closed behind him, leaving Forge and the princess alone.

Forge's pulse began to race as he and Princess Celestia stared each other down. The princess then stood up from her throne and started to approach him. Forge slowly went into a kneeling position as the princess beared down on him. "So you're Forge." she said. "The one who's caused my guards years of frustration and created widespread panic across Equestria." Forge didn't look up, but nodded lightly in response. He waited, expecting the princess to start shouting for the guards to come in and take him away. Instead, the princess gave a gentle laugh before smiling at the now stunned pegasus. "You can stop kneeling now Forge."

Forge frantically stood up and looked at the princess. "So uh... your guards have told you about me huh."

"Oh of course! I know all about the acurssed Forge." Celestia said still smiling. "Your quite the legend around here."

Forge smiled at the idea of being considered a legend. "That would explain all the death stares they gave me as I passed by." He chuckled before looking back at the princess. "So, your not going to kick me out of Ponyville or throw me in jail."

Celestia looked shocked at the accusation. "No! What on earth gave you that idea!"

"Well considering everything that I've done, I guess I just assumed the worst."

"Oh Forge, you have nothing to worry about. Everything that happened was not your fault. I know about your fire abilities."

Forge looked at the princess with surprise. "H-how do you know about that?!"

"I didn't. You just told me."

Forge smirked as Celestia gave him a little wink. "Oh your good."

"I know. You don't need to worry Forge. Ponyville is your home now, for as long as you want it to be."

Forge felt a smile sweep across his face as the realization that he had found his new home set in. "Thank you Princess Celestia. I haven't had a smile this big since... ever."

"I'm glad Forge." Forge knelt one last time before turning around and making his way towards the door. "Wait, before you go there is something I want to give you." Forge turned to look at the princess as her horn began to glow. He shielded his eyes as the glow from her horn glowed brighter and brighter. As the light receded, Forge felt something was different.

His wings.

He turned his head and looked at his once damaged wings. The bandages had disappeared and his wings were now looking healthier than ever. He gave them a quick flap before turning back to the princess. "You are the best princess I know."

Celestia nodded at him before he galloped towards the door. He threw them open and was greeted by six smiling mares who greeted him with a barrage of hugs and questions. The guards soon re-entered the throne room, passing the group of mares now suffocating the jet-black pegasus. The commander approached Celestia with a frustrated look on his face. "Princess, are you sure that was wise. He's a known trouble maker and you not only permit him to live in a populated area, but you give him his ability to fly back."

Celestia glared at the guard who immediately looked away. "I'm sorry princess. I meant no disrespect."

"It's okay commander." she reassured. "Forge will have a huge role to play in the coming darkness. Hopefully, his time here will give him the strength to do what needs to be done when the time arrives."

Comments

[Bookmaster]

First and make him beat rainbow in the race