-<>~--*--~<>-<

Forge trots his way up to Twilight's door, rapping his hoof against it a little harder than he intended. He quickly pops a love pill to mitigate the agitation he's feeling.

Unexpectedly, Spike opens the door. "Hey Forge, Twilight's still holding it-

Forge slams the door in his magic without so much as glancing back, eyes locked with Twilight, who's smile has faded at Forge's attitude.

Twilight begins to speak up. "Um, Forge? What's-

"Who else knows." Forge says, the venom in his tone blatant.

"I- Uhm, just anypony who saw me carry this home?" Twilight answers, Forge facehoofing in response.

"God fucking damnit Twilight." Forge grumbles under his breath. "I was trying to keep their existence a secret!" Forge yells in exasperation, head pointed up at the ceiling. "Nobody was supposed to find them, I even told them to avoid ponies, dragons, zebras, and changelings so they wouldn't be found out! But here you are, holding an Everfree Dryad in your grasp!"

The soulless dryad continues to struggle within Twilight's magical grasp, despite not having been able to escape it for the last hour.

Twilight's ears droop. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't know..." Then, a flash of realization. "Wait, why were you trying to keep them a secret? Did you want to make the discovery? Were you researching them first? I didn't mean to step on your hooves!"

Forge shakes his head. "No, that's not it. I created them."

Twilight's mouth drops open. "C-created!? How!? Why!? Why didn't you tell me!?"

"Because I was trying to keep them secret!" He lets out a frustrated sigh. "It's okay, I can still salvage this. Just let it go."

"What!? But it'll get away!" Twilight says, still intent on studying the creature.

"Twilight. I'll show you later. But right now, can you please let it go? I'll just make it look like a timberwolf, and it'll flee out to the Everfree like it wants to. Can you do this for me, please?" Forge asks, already putting an illusion over the dryad.

"But-

Forge flicks Twilight's active horn with a hoof, causing her magic to drop, setting the disguised dryad free. Forge opens the door, both he and the dryad darting out. Forge makes sure he keeps the illusion of the timberwolf over the dryad, pretending to chase it out of town with an illusory sword that's on fire. This draws the attention of the onlookers, who all start hiding and locking themselves in their homes. Panic sweeps through the ponies going about their day, as they too run for cover. A frantic Twilight tries to follow, having to stop and weave through the stampeding ponies. Her effort for naught, Forge successfully gets his dryad back into the forest, dropping the illusion of the timberwolf, and of the sword.

Twilight finally catches up, panting from all of the running. She groans in frustration once the dryad is gone completely. "Why did you have to do that? I only wanted to study it..."

"Twilight, I'll fill you in once we get back to the library. Just, please don't interfere with them again." Forge says, slowly walking back in the direction they came from.

Twilight groans again, trudging her way back as well.

-<>~--*--~<>-<

Once Spike's been sent out for errands, and Twilight's had a drink, Forge clears his throat. "Twilight, I'm gonna have to ask that you trust me, okay?"

Twilight double-takes. "How!? How am I supposed to trust you with this? You created an entirely new species! The only other in recorded history to ever do that was Grogar!"

Forge nods. "I'm aware of that, which is... why I made them out of timberwolves and altered the magic to my liking. Believe it or not, tweaking an existing spell can be pretty useful. Just, also as experimental as baking cakes with different amounts of the same ingredients. And potentially more dangerous if done improperly, but that's beside the point." He waves it off. "My point is, they're perfectly harmless as they are right now."

"That doesn't tell me the why." Twilight reiterates, motioning her front hooves in a rolling motion as if to say 'Go on.'

Forge rolls his eyes. "As much as I don't like saying this, they're meant to serve as potential backup."

"Backup for..." Twilight continues.

Forge bears himself, preparing for the inevitable outburst. "In case the guard isn't sufficient enough. Because, I'm going to be honest, they're not very effective at all. If anything, the current guard is just decoration."

Twilight gasps, a hoof covering her mouth, before flipping to anger. "Don't you DARE talk about my big brother like that!"

Forge holds up a hoof as Twilight rises to a stand. "I've met him, actually. He's actually the most competent and capable out of all of them, because he's the only one who is. Which is the problem. Without the serious level of dedication your brother shows, most of the guard has little to no idea what they're doing. I may not be able to read minds, but I can smell their nervous uncertainty in the face of anything remotely challenging. If we were to be invaded, as it stands, even with my additions to the armory, it may not be enough for the guard. So, I took matters into my own... hooves, and made a small army of dryads to help protect Equestria in times of dire need."

"Does Celestia know about this yet?" Twilight asks, a brow raising slowly as Forge remains silent.

"Not yet, because I didn't think you'd find them so early." Forge says eventually.

Twilight squints. "You weren't planning to tell her until after you had to use them, were you."

"Hit the nail right on the head... look, I don't want anyone knowing about them. If any invaders can read minds, or otherwise gain information from someone who knows, then they lose the element of surprise. Which, is a significant loss. Once a potential invading force knows, then it's easier to plan for their involvement. Out of all ponies, I know you'd see the logic in that, right?" Forge asks, almost... pleadingly.

"And I'm also smart enough to know that you're hiding them from Celestia so she doesn't know you've tampered with timberwolf magic created by Grogar to create an army! Are you just trying to usurp the throne!?" Twilight counters, the panic clear in her voice, and on her face.

"No! You already know I'm not here to do that at all! Discord summoned me here so I'd unknowingly prevent his demise at Nightmare's hooves! All... all I want to do... is protect everyone. Bad things are coming, Twiggles McSparklebutt. And I'll do everything I can to make sure everypony is as safe as possible. The dryads are just part of that, I don't have any intention of ruling Equestria. I know nothing about economics or politics, or how to keep a nation thriving. All I know, is how to protect what's already built." Forge tries to appeal to her.

Twilight looks down, almost... remorsefully. "You... Sound like my BBBFF right now."

"And I respect him, but for the love of Celestia, could you please, please keep the dryads between us? I'll even let you study them once they've made their debut." Twilight cringes at Forge's words. He makes his way over, putting a hoof to her shoulder. "I know it's not reasonable for me to ask you to keep a secret from your mentor. I'm just asking that you trust me on this, to protect everything we hold dear. Friends, family, everyone."

Twilight sighs in frustration, wracking her brain. The decision really is a difficult one for her. As much as she likes Forge as a friend, can she really keep something as drastic as this from Celestia? And if she does tell her, would that put Forge's friendship on the line? From what she's seen so far... he definitely holds grudges. Would Celestia appreciate her turning on a friend though? But this is a matter of national security, right? ... It's time for her to pull a page from his book.

"I won't tell her." Twilight says, her expression and emotions measured and calm. She's purposefully omitted promising anything.

To Forge, something feels... off... "I can't... I can't smell what it is... Damn you bookhorse, you're masking your emotions on purpose." Forge thinks, suspicious of his inability to read her. "The only reason she'd be masking her emotions... would be if she's lying to me. You fucking... I get why, but fuck you anyway."

At that moment, Spike walks back through the door, the shopping done. "Hey Twilight, I'm back. You wouldn't believe the deal I got on the..." As he turns, he can feel the tension in the room. "You guys okay?"

"Yep, Forge was just on his way. Right?" Twilight says, trying to urge Forge to leave.

"You leave me no choice." Forge thinks, standing. "Sure, I've got some things at work to catch up on anyway. "He turns, walking towards the door. Once there, he stops, turning around. "Oh, one last thing, you two."

This gets both Twilight's and Spike's attention. Their fates have been sealed. Forge casts the erasure spell, knocking them temporarily unconscious, and erasing the last four hours from their memories. With that, Forge leaves. "I have to hide the dryads better, I can't risk Twilight finding them again, or reporting them to Celestia whatsoever..."

Author's Note

Morality? Pfft, what's that in the face of the greater good? R-right?

Remember, just because Twilight and Spike forgot about the deer dryads, doesn't mean this isn't an important part of the story. Also... I have a feeling I'm going to keep apologizing for month-long hiatuses and delays every so often...