Chapter Nine: Seeing the Signs
Ponyville was a moderately sized township, but still small enough that not many ponies would be around after sunset. Most went back to their homes to relax or turn in early for bed at this hour. The few going about their business that evening, however, would find themselves staring at Canvas and Troy walking along the main street.
The two made their way to the Corner Market Café, both becoming aware of all the attention they were getting. Neither seemed to be sure which one was the reason for it: the large gryphon, or the bandaged stallion.
As they got closer to the café, Canvas couldn't help but look up at the gryphon beside him. Troy was the first gryphon that Canvas had ever seen aside from pictures in books, so standing beside one was nothing short of surreal. The silver and grey feathers on the gryphon started to shine under the streetlights, making Troy look like he was almost glowing. As much as he didn't want to get caught staring, Canvas couldn't help but keep his gaze on the creature beside him, who kept his eyes ahead and walked like a moving statue.
Meanwhile, Troy's golden eyes flicked to and from the pony walking alongside him. Canvas' long mane moved with his body, waving back and forth with each step he took. The gryphon also noticed a slight limp on his right forehoof, probably from his drawing frenzy earlier. This gave cause for concern for Troy, as well as getting a good look at the bandages on his face. His thoughts kept going back to what the doctor had told him.
A blunt object or weapon.
Did somepony really do that to him?
Why was he hurt that badly?
What happened?
As Troy's thoughts grew darker with each step, he almost didn't realize when they made it to the café’s front door.
The Corner Market Café wasn't anything special in Ponyville―just a small restaurant that had its fair amount of customers looking for a good meal at a fair price. The décor was a basic mix of white and green, including the tables and chairs. The white walls were decorated with various old signs and photos celebrating the origins of Ponyville and Equestria. When the pony and gryphon sat themselves down at a booth in the corner, a young unicorn mare with a pale-pink coat and powder-blue mane took their orders. Since Troy was considerably taller than the ponies who usually ate around here, he could see most of the café from his height.
Troy became increasingly uncomfortable. He could feel the eyes of the other patrons all over him and Canvas like parasprites. But when he glanced back at the stallion across from him, Troy saw that Canvas didn't seem to notice them, for he was preoccupied with straightening the bandages around his knees with his hooves.
When their food arrived, Troy didn't show much interest in his plate: a simple daffodil salad. While there were a lot of things in Equestria that Troy preferred over the Gryphon Kingdom, the food was not one of them. Troy never took into account how much he would miss the taste of meat when he moved into a vegetarian society. After the first month, he was seriously considering snatching up an animal or two, just so he could have something to sink his beak into.
But on this night, Troy wasn't occupied with his collection of leaves and flowers because he wasn't hungry, but because he was focused on the ravenous nature of the pony in front of him.
Troy stared at Canvas in disbelief, who was muzzle-deep in a huge plate of cheesy hay-fries, devouring the mound in front of him like a released prisoner enjoying his first meal in freedom. The stallion grabbed the lily and petunia sandwich on his other plate, and stuffed half of it into his muzzle while it was still filled with half-chewed hay and cheese.
While most ponies would've found Canvas's gorging to be disgusting, Troy just watched with amusement as the stallion tore through his food like a starving wolverine. For the first time in months, Troy felt like he was eating with his family again.
Canvas licked the final pieces of melted cheese from his now greasy hooves before noticing the gryphon staring back, eating his salad with a fork and an impressed grin. Canvas immediately blushed in embarrassment, grabbed some napkins from the table and tried to wipe off the excess grease off his hooves and muzzle. When the gryphon chuckled at his desperate attempts to clean himself off, Canvas could only glance at him abashedly before muttering under his breath.
"Umm… Sorry. I haven't really eaten much today."
Troy snickered as he grabbed his drink. "I can see that! The last time I saw something eat like that, it was inside a cage at the zoo!" Canvas' face only got redder. Troy laughed some more before drinking his soda through a straw. "Seriously though, stop worrying. You still have better table manners than most of the gryphons I know. Must be nice getting some real food in you, now that you’re out and about." Troy seriously considered changing his definition of ‘real food’ in relation to Equestrian cuisine as he stabbed his fork into his salad.
Canvas nodded before drinking his glass of iced tea, grimacing as he remembered that green mess the hospital tried calling ‘food.’ "Yeah, the only good thing that hospital had was the jello, and even that was pretty meh at best."
As he put his glass back down, Canvas noticed Troy looking at him with an upset look on his face. Just being reminded of the hospital and how Canvas looked was enough to make Troy feel uneasy. Realizing that Canvas noticed the change in his behavior, Troy decided to bite the bullet: "So Canvas, um… Where are you from?"
Canvas became paler, and stammered. "I'm… I'm from Gallop Creek."
Troy stared at Canvas in disbelief, needing a couple seconds to comprehend what he just said. When Troy went south to Appleloosa, he remembered seeing a road sign for Gallop Creek, which was supposed to be twenty miles south from there. That meant if Canvas was telling the truth, he had to have travelled over two hundred miles before passing out near Ponyville.
Troy wanted to think something like that would be impossible, but then his mind went back to the image of Canvas' hooves back in the storm, almost completely worn down and caked in dried blood. Troy shook his head with an open beak. Canvas, meanwhile, grew more uncomfortable.
"Gallop Creek? You… You're telling me you ran all the way here from Gallop Creek?!"
Canvas looked away, and fidgeted his hooves as he struggled to think of a response. "Umm… well…”
"Canvas, look at me." Trying to keep his voice calm while remaining stern, Troy kept his eyes on the pony as he looked back at him. "How could you have gone that far? Why? I mean… that’s a long friggin’ walk you had to take! Were you being chased or something?"
Canvas quickly shook his head and looked away from Troy again, biting his lip as he tried to keep his composure, even when his eyes started welling up. "I… I-I wasn't being chased, I just…” Canvas exhaled heavily. "Does it really even matter?"
Troy huffed, the feathers around his neck puffing out with concern. "Canvas, I just want to know what happened. I mean, you looked like a dragon used you to floss its teeth!"
"Okay, I really don't want to talk about this right now." When he shot a firmer stare back at the gryphon, Canvas tried to stay calm while speaking bitterly. "I just got out of the hospital, so can you please just drop it?”
"Yeah, and I was the one who got you there," Troy leaned his head in, not wanting to be overheard by the other patrons. "I just want to know what the heck happened, Canvas!"
The stallion huffed. “Please, I… I don't want to talk about it." Canvas crossed his forelegs while slumping back in his seat, his eyes darting everywhere except the gryphon glaring at him.
"Yeah, you keep saying that,” said Troy flatly. “Can you please drop the excuses and just―”
"I said I don't want to talk about it!"
Not noticing the pony gripping the table like a shipwrecked foal clinging to passing debris, Troy reached his boiling point. "Canvas, I saved your bucking life! If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead! Did you think about that? Huh!? I think the least you can do is tell me what the buck happened!"
Canvas slammed his hooves on the table, and clenched his eyes shut as he shouted, "BUCK OFF, TROY!"
Canvas quickly covered his mouth with his hooves, shaking in his booth with his eyes as wide open as dinner plates. The rest of the restaurant was staring at them in dead silence. When he finally turned his head to the worried patrons, Canvas could only give a meek smile and a wave of his hoof. "Um…S-Sorry…”
At that point, Troy had sunk low into his seat, and tried to make himself look as small as possible out of guilt. "I'm… I'm sorry, Canvas." Canvas returned his look as he grabbed another napkin. "I shouldn't have tried to press you on like that. You're right, you just got out of the hospital. I just wanted to know...”
"It's alright." Troy stared at Canvas who wiped his uncovered eye. "I just didn't… I didn't want to talk about it here. You are right, though. You should know. Especially after what you've done. I just… I'd rather talk about it in private, okay?"
Troy agreed with the suggestion, looking embarrassed when the waitress came to their table. "Is everything alright here?" Both of them quickly nodded. Canvas pulled out his bag of bits before asking for the bill.
The two stepped out of the café, still feeling the stares upon both of them as they left. Canvas readjusted the strap of his art bag before looking into his bag of bits. Noticing the pony counting his money, Troy tried making some small talk to get past the prior awkwardness.
"So… you have enough for a room?"
"I hope so,” said Canvas, not looking up as he answered. "I saw a hotel back in the town square, so I think I might go there for tonight."
"Cool. Uh, cool..." Troy struggled to think of something else to talk about. Upon seeing Canvas' old art bag, Troy decided to ask, "So, how long have you had that bag?"
Canvas looked up at Troy, then glanced back down at his art bag. "Oh, this? I've had this bag for years! It's… It’s probably the most important thing I have right now..." The stallion sighed as he rubbed a hoof along the faded fabric and countless pieces of writing on it. Canvas' face brightened as he stared at his most prized possession. "It was actually a gift from my mom."
Lifting the strap up from his shoulder, Canvas stood on his hind legs as he held the bag in front of him with both of his hooves. "I-I remember she was always wanting me to be passionate about my art, and she got this for me right after I got my cutie mark." He didn’t notice the gryphon staring at him with a smile of admiration. Canvas sniffed as he tossed his bag back on his back. "It's the only thing I have left to reme―"
The bottom of the bag ripped out, and dozens of sheets of paper flew out in every direction.
"NO!”
Canvas dropped his bag on the ground, a look of pure horror on his face as he tried to gather as many of his drawings and paintings as he could. “NO! Nonononononono!!”
Without hesitation, Troy shot open his wings and soared into the flying array of papers, collecting every piece darting around the sky. Seeing that Canvas already got most of the ones that landed on the ground, Troy walked back over to the pony's fallen bag. Troy inspected the ruined bag, and eventually, took notice of the paintings he was holding in his claws.
Most of them were in really bad condition. The paintings themselves looked rather nice―at least to the gryphon― but many of them looked like they were covered in dried mud. A couple of them even looked like they were nearly ripped in half. He was unsure whether or not Canvas knew the state of these pieces, but he was positive that Canvas wasn't somepony who didn't take care of his art. He then saw that the bottom of Canvas' bag was still attached by one end, so Troy placed the sheets back inside before looking closer at the writings on it.
On the faded brown fabric, there were tons of different things written across the bag in black ink. Among the various snippets of song lyrics and phrases, Troy also noticed dozens of different symbols etched on: peace signs, yin-yang symbols, drawings of emblems from Equestrian mythology, and various random sketches covering every inch of the bag.
Doing his best to keep the papers in the bag, Troy called out to Canvas as he tried to tuck the bottom of the bag back in. "Hey, Canvas, I think this can be fixed! You might need to get a few safety pins or something to hold it together, but I think you can stitch this back together if you have a sewing―”
Troy fell silent as he looked upon the inside of the bottom piece. Hanging away from the sides it used to hold onto, the piece was in the same shade of faded brown as the outside. However, it was completely clear of any etchings or written words. All except for one:
Right in the middle of the flap of fabric stood a single symbol, lightly drawn on with black ink all by itself.
Two intertwined male symbols.
“...kit.”
As Troy stared at the sign, he suddenly felt the bag get snatched from his claws. Looking up, he saw Canvas with his uncovered eye wide open, staring at the gryphon in complete mortification. Canvas quickly stuffed the pile of papers he collected into the bag with the ones Troy already placed inside. The stallion clutched the bag tightly against his chest, and then took several steps away from the gryphon in a panic.
"Um, th-thanks, Troy." The terrified pony looked in every direction except at Troy, stammering as he picked up his change bag with his mouth. Breathing heavily, Canvas tried to talk through the bag of bits clutched in his muzzle, using both hooves to hold onto his bag. "I―I fink am goin ta ga ta da hotel, ‘kay?"
"Wait, Canva―”
"AH GODDA GO!"
Before Troy could finish, Canvas ran off toward the town square, using one hoof to hold the bag to his chest as he galloped off.
The stallion quickly left his line of vision, and Troy just stood in the middle of the street, completely dumbfounded.
"Was that…” Troy thought out loud, trying to process what happened. “...Was that what I think it was?"
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Yeah. I'm guilty of doing that sort of thing too.
I'm really digging this story.
If you are on chapter 9 ... why are these two comments below me getting so much attention?
Why did this comment even get a like?
4679782 because fuck logic.
Well, with that out of the bag I really am looking forward to reading the remaining story and its sequel.
so gay.... nice
Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay
If he got beat over being gay in Equestria, it is truly a fucked up place to be, and Twilight should Friendship Cannon the fuck out of Gallop Creek
6020794 tactical harmony strike inbound in 30 seconds *bu beep bu beep*
6020794
It happens in America, and other places. Why not there?
By tragedy, we come to know the small joys of life.
7847260 Troy was raised by wolverines?
6020794 Or better yet, Friendship Cannon the fuck into Gallop Creek. Allow them to see what life is like on the other side of the fence.
Bring on the Gay! The world still isn't okay with LGBTQ. Lots of places are less than friendly. LGBTQ acceptance in Equestria seems to be a non-issue in a majority of fanfictions but I think that has to do with the writers having more LGBTQ positive views. But, I also know that there are more than a few who have this weird fascination with F/F shipping because it is somehow 'less gay' than other non-heteronormative romance. I blame straight guys and lesbian porn for that. As a whole fanfiction leans towards gay slash but an almost completely female cast doesn't give much opportunity for other types of slash. Anyways this was all tangential to my above statement.
ying-yang symbols - yin-yang