//------------------------------//
// Chapter Twenty: Secrets and Reveals 
// Story: Brushed Away 2: By Hoof and Claw 
// by TheVClaw 
//------------------------------//

Even though the skies above Equestria have changed into the enchanting darkness of Luna's night, the countless clouds that made up Cloudsdale still shone just as brightly as they did in the day. While several of the more nocturnal Pegasus ponies flew about the night's skies, Cloudsdale stood fairly still and silent as it got close to midnight.

At least, it was silent, until the doors to a nearby bar busted open. While Troy and Lyle quickly ran out from the double doors in a panic, their three older brothers were all thrown out rather harshly, spilling out onto the cloud while a brash voice yelled out from the inside.

"And don't come back, you stinkin' deviants!"

Troy and Lyle groaned as they brushed themselves off, both of whom growing increasingly frustrated at how many bars they've been evicted from so far. After the triplets got themselves back up, Blade gave a bitter scowl as he looked back to the bar.

"WANKER!" shouted the Gryphon as he pointed a middle talon towards the establishment.

Troy sighed in a an annoyed tone as he tried to rub his temples clear. "Guys… Do we HAVE to get thrown out of every friggin' bar we go to?!"

"Hey!" shouted Blaze as he looked over at his younger brother. "That ass-hat in there was the one who started it!"

"You guys peed on the bar table!" shouted Troy back at them.

"He called us a bunch of animals!" replied Blane before he crossed his claws with a cocky smirk. "I figured if he's gonna call us animals, that we should mark our territory like them!"

"Ugh…" After managing to keep himself from saying anything he might regret, Troy lowered his claw and stared at his older brothers. "Can we please just get something to eat? I haven't had that much today."

Lyle sighed in agreement. "I'm with Troy here. I'd rather go to someplace where I don’t have to pretend to be a midget!"

Looking over at each other, the three brown Gryphons sighed and shrugged in agreement. "Oh, alright," groaned Blaze as he looked back at Troy and Lyle. "I don't think there are any more bars to crash around here anyways."

Troy rolled his eyes, mostly feeling grateful that his brothers are able to stop raiding Equestrian bars for at least an hour. Luckily enough, the silver Gryphon happened to know of a small place nearby that served food at later hours, which was still open when they arrived.

The restaurant, which was more of a small food stand among one of the clouds at the edge of Cloudsdale, was a personal favorite of Troy's due to their surprisingly high abundance of deep-fried food items. While the triplets crammed their way at the front counter to make their orders, Troy sat on the edge of the cloud and sighed in a mix of fatigue and slight relief. Lyle sat down next him as they both rested their wings.

"So…" Lyle sighed as he looked over to his brother tiredly. "Wha'cha thinking about?"

Troy breathed out heavily as he leaned back, grimacing a bit as he caught how much he smelled like alcohol. "Dammit," muttered the Gryphon as he smelled one of his forelegs, reeking of booze, "I can't believe they actually sprayed everyone with beer at that bar!"

Troy groaned before trying to wipe his forelegs with his claws. "Well, I'm already remembering why I left for Equestria in the first place. I swear those guys have gotten worse!" 

Lyle sighed in agreement. "Yeah, they are a bit overzealous. Of course, they're probably just happy to see you again."

Troy looked over to Lyle with a skeptical expression. The younger Gryphon noticed this, and just gave a bemused stare back at him. "What? You don't believe me?"

Troy scoffed a little as he looked away from him. "Well, considering those three refused to speak to me for a month before I left, I wouldn't have thought they'd be so chipper now."

Lyle clenched his beak as he looked down to his paws. "Ah. You mean… that whole inheritance thing?"

Troy nodded lightly as he kept his head away. Remembering how upset those three were back then, Troy groaned under his breath in a bitter tone. "Yeah. I honestly thought they'd never speak to me again."

Seeing how downtrodden his brother was sounding, Lyle just chuckled with a smirk. "Just so you know, those three got to missing you before you were gone for a week!"

Troy looked over at Lyle with surprise. "Seriously?"

"Yeah! I mean, they wouldn't admit it, but it was obvious they were missing you. They wouldn't stop talking about you, and they were constantly making jokes and stuff."

"Like what?" Troy asked as he grew a skeptical grin. 

Looking over at his brother, Lyle tried not to giggle as he scrunched his face in. "Well, they brought up the vacuum cleaner incident like, fifty times!"

"Ugh!" Troy face-clawed as he avoided his brother's stare. "For crying out loud, I was getting lint off my legs!"

"Mom said you were moaning!"

"SHUT UP!" 

Lyle looked away from him as he cackled under his breath. While Troy kept his head away and groaned in frustration, Lyle took a second before looking back to him. "I'm just saying, those guys really missed you the instant you left."

Despite his upset state, the Gryphon's eyes looked back at him in obvious reluctance.

Lyle looked back at the food stand for a moment, seeing the three waiting for their orders before turning back to Troy. "I mean, yeah, they may have acted like dicks, but I think they got over everything when they realized you were really gone. Like, they'd rather keep you around than stay upset about something like that."

Hearing the sincerity in his brother's voice, Troy couldn't help but crack a light, optimistic smile on his beak. "So… How do you think they'll react?"

Lyle raised a brow at him in confusion. "To what?"

Troy gave the younger Gryphon a deadpan stare. "You know what."

Unable to keep up the façade, Lyle cracked a smirk and rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! I really doubt they're gonna be that weirded out."

Before Troy could make a response, the voice of Blane interrupted them. "Weirded out by what?"

Troy and Lyle both turned their heads back at the largest triplet, who gave them a confused look while holding a huge try of deep fried food. 

"Uhhhh…" Troy became wide-eyed in worry as he tried to stammer out an answer. "I-I-I… Ummmm…" 

After looking over at Lyle for a split second -- not seeing him giving any ideas -- the Gryphon looked back at Blane and blurted out the first thing he could think of. "I was talking about… the food?"

Troy then looked down at Blane's tray (which looked to be half the menu crammed onto it) before clarifying, "You know, the whole vegetarian thing."

"Oh." Shrugging his shoulders, the massive Gryphon squeezed himself in between Troy and Lyle to sit down. "Yeah, that bites! Why can’t they at least have chicken strips or something!?"

Seeing Blaze and Blade coming towards them with their food as well, Troy made some space away from his older brother before trying to explain. "Well, what do you expect? Equestria has that enchantment thing over the nation, so most of the animals are either sentient or equally intelligent to ponies. Trying to butcher them is seen as murder around these parts."

"So?" asked Blaze as he sat in beside Troy at the other side. "Then why can’t they just get meat from the Gryphon Kingdom or something?"

Troy shrugged as he tried to think it over. "Well, even then, eating meat is kinda taboo to a lot of ponies, so it doesn't sell well. Plus, it takes a while for stuff to be shipped here, so it would cost a fortune to get meat quick enough without it spoiling."

Blaze just rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I really can't see myself living in a place where I can’t have a steak."

He and Blade handed Troy and Lyle their trays. "Thanks," said Troy before taking a clawful of curly fries. "Honestly though, it's kinda hard to want a steak when you can have a nice conversation with the cattle."

"How about protein?" added Blade who was sitting at the opposite end next to Lyle. "You gotta have meat, mate!"

"They got supplements and pills," replied Troy after eating some of his fries. "They're completely free, and available to any Gryphon who needs them."

"Pbbbt!" Blaze looked away in slight disdain. "I want bacon! Not a friggin' pill!"

Troy just sighed as he rolled his eyes. "Hey, it's not for every Gryphon. It took a while for me to get used to, but I still like it around here."

Blane looked over at him in puzzlement. "What's so friggin' great about living in some vegetarian magic-land?!"

"A lot of things! I have a good job that pays well, comfortable expenses, a lot of great friends…"

Troy paused for a second as he thought that last thing over, smiling to himself as he realized how significant that last point was for him. He really did get some great friends over the past few months, including one he's planning to marry. 

Of course, before he could pause for too long, Troy chuckled a little under his breath before taking a mozzarella stick from his plate. "Plus, no ponies think I'm a runt around here."

"Yeah," said Blade as he looked over to him mockingly, "because you're the only bloody one around here! I'm surprised you're not seen as a giant to these blokes!"

After taking a bite, Troy groaned before looking over at Blade. "It's called being social! I mean, yeah, I stuck out for a while, but I managed to be friends with a lot of ponies around here."

"So…" Blaze peered in closer from the other side of Troy as a small grin grew on his beak. "Any… friends with benefits?"

Troy nearly choked on his log of fried cheese, and coughed a couple times as he sat wide-eyed. "D-dude! What the buck?!"

"C'mon! I saw the way you were talking with that Rain-Blow chick!"

"It's RainBOW Dash! And she's my BOSS, you idiot!"

Blaze just rolled his eyes, and ate another helping of onion rings before speaking again. "So what? You've just been hanging out in Equestria for a YEAR without getting any action?"

Troy clenched his beak shut as he tried to look away from his brother. After a brief moment of silence, Blaze noticed the faint hint of blush on his silver feathers, making him grow a wide-eyed stare in surprise.

"No friggin' way! You totally did, didn’t you?!"

"I-I didn’t say that!" blurted out the Gryphon as he tried to keep his head away. Of course, Blane's cheeky grin was all he saw at his other side. 

"Holy crap! The runt popped a cherry!"

"Urrrrgh!" Troy tried to sink his face into his claws, but was pulled in by one of Blane's massive wings. "Dude, stop it! I didn’t say anyth--"

"Who'd you bang?!" asked Blane as he held him to his side.

"Yeah!" added Blaze as he peered in closer to him from the other side. "Give us a name, Fluffy!"

While Lyle sat and looked over with a growing hint of worry, Blade narrowed his eyes on Troy before speaking cautiously. "It isn't that Fluttershy gal, is it?"

"NO!" shouted Troy as he tried to pull himself out of his brothers' grip. "It's not with an--"

Troy immediately clenched his beak shut, not wanting to finish his statement and say "any mare." Despite the fact that saying that wouldn't be a lie, it could also bring up way more questions than he'd feel comfortable answering right now. Instead, the Gryphon pulled Blane's wing off of him before making a suitable statement to finish with.

"…Annnnnyone  you know."

Lyle, seeing how uncomfortable his brother was getting, tried to speak up before anything could be discovered too early. "Umm… guys? Maybe we shoul--"

"So you DID bang someone!" exclaimed Blaze while pointing a talon at Troy. He pulled his brother in by the neck with a foreleg, nearly choking him as he kept going in an excited tone. "Holy crap, you actually lost your V-Card?!"

Troy once again struggled to pry himself free. "D-dude!" croaked the Gryphon as he felt himself being choked, "I can’t breathe!"

"Who was it?!" asked Blaze excitedly. "Did you actually bang a pony, bro?!"

Even with his struggling, Troy's blush still grew noticeably redder after that last question. All three triplets stared at him, wide-eyed in surprise.

"Hole. Lee. Crap!" shouted Blane as he grew a smile. "Not even a year in Equestria, and you did it E.S. Style!"

"Can you guys just drop it?!" Troy finally pulled himself out of Blaze's grasp, almost dropping his tray of fried food as he glared at all of them. "It's none of your business who I was with, and--"

Troy paused as he looked over at Blane confusedly. "Wait, what's 'E.S. Style'?"

Blane rolled his eyes and sighed, looking at Troy like the answer was obvious. "Uh, Enter Species? Duh?"

Troy narrowed his eyes on him. "It's Interspecies!"

"Yeah. That's what I said."

Troy face-clawed and sunk his head down. "Are you kidding me?! Why wo--"

Before he could say anything else, Troy raised his head back up in realization after hearing how his brothers were acting. After looking around at all three triplets, none of whom looking upset at all about him being with a pony, the Gryphon's brows raised in revelation. 

"Wait, you… you guys are alright with that?"

"With what?" asked Blaze in a puzzled tone. "Getting laid? Dude, that's awesome!"

"Yeah!" added Blade with a smirk on his beak. "I've been with a few mares on tour, and they were awesome in the nest! A little clingy, but their muzzles are unbelievable!"

Troy couldn't help but give off a guilty giggle as he turned away with a blushing smile. "Yeah, muzzles are nice..."

"Ha HAAA!!!" Blaze pulled Troy in again, cackling as he held him proudly. "See, guys?" said the Gryphon as he looked over to the others. "What'd I say? I told ya Runty wasn't feather-fluffin'!"

Troy's nervous smile immediately vanished, and was quickly changed into a frozen look of terror. Lyle also looked fairly worried when he tried to speak up. "Uhhh… Blaze?"

"C'mon, man! Who's the mare?" said Blaze happily as he looked down at Troy, not seeming to notice how petrified he was looking. 

"Uhhhh… Aaaaahhhh…"

"OMIGOSH!"

All the Gryphons turned over the source of the girlish squeal, seeing two Pegasus mares with a surprising amount of piercings on their faces. Both of them looked absolutely floored in excitement when they noticed the slimmer Gryphon at the far end. "I can’t believe it! It's Blade from Talon Ripper!"

Blade quickly hopped up onto his paws, letting his tray of food fall off him and drop down from the cloud. The Gryphon didn't seem to mind though, and stood with his chest puffed out like a prideful rooster. "Why hello, ladies…"

"Ugh…" Blaze let go of Troy as he groaned bitterly. "For crying out loud… Keep it between your damn legs, Blade!"

Blade lifted a talon to flip off his brother, but never kept his eyes or sultry grin off the fanstruck mares as he flew up to them. He brought out a claw to them as he introduced himself. "Pleasure to meet both of you…"

"Omigosh!" squealed one of the pierced mares as she quickly shook his claw. "I thought Fluttershy was just kidding when she said you were in Equestria!"

"You know Fluttershy?!" asked Blade as his eared perked up in eager interest.

"Like, yeah!" chimed in the other mare as she shook Blade's claw as well. "She's one of the most dedicated members of Talon Ripper's Fan Club!"

The first mare gasped before turning to the other. "A few of them are at the record store right now!"

Blade grew a huge smile and looked back to his brothers. "Come on! Maybe Fluttershy's there!"

Blane and Blaze both gave him a deadpan stare of annoyance. "Are you friggin serious right now?" said Blane as he kept himself seated. "This is the first time we've seen Troy in like, a REALLY long time, and you wann--"

"Actually yeah, let's go!" shouted Troy in a hurried tone as he got himself up while holding onto his tray.  "C'mon! Let's go to the record store!"

"Oh, come on!" griped Blaze as he looked at Troy insistently. "At least tell us who you're bangi--"

"Y-you know, I'm with Troy on this one!" added Lyle in an equally rushed tone as he got up as well. He gave a quick glance back to Troy, giving an assuring nod before looking back to the others.

"Ugh… Oh, fine!" Blaze reluctantly began to get up from his spot at the edge of the cloud, but stopped when he noticed Blane finishing off his tray of fried food. "Dude, come on!"

"Ah'm thill eadin'," mumbled Blane as his beak was stuffed with an indistinguishable amount of food. He then saw Blaze's tray unattended, prompting the larger Gryphon to grab himself a large helping from it.

"HEY! What the buck?!"

"What? You're not eating it!"

"I was gonna eat it later!"

"And I wanted to eat it now, so I win!"

"WHAT?! You still have food, you dick! Don't take mine!"

While the two Gryphons started to argue, and Blade was busy talking with the two mares (mostly about where Fluttershy might be), Lyle looked over towards Troy, seeing that he still looked rather perplexed about Blaze's earlier comment.

"Troy?" asked Lyle worriedly while tapping his shoulder.

"Wha-- Huh?" Troy shook his head out of his worried daze as he peered down. "Oh, um… hey."

"You gonna be alright?"

Seeing the tone of concern his younger brother had, Troy looked back to his older brothers before sighing deeply. "I dunno," answered Troy honestly, "I just…"

Lyle kept his claw on Troy's shoulder, making sure none of the triplets were listening before moving his head up to Troy's. "It's gonna be okay," said the Gryphon as he tried to sound optimistic. 

Even though he wanted to believe his brother, mostly for his own sake than anything else, Troy could only grimace a little as he looked back at him. "Yeah… Sure."

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Canvas was nearly comatose as he laid by himself in his massive nest. After Rarity and Fluttershy helped Canvas get back to his home -- with the assistance of an unattended cart -- the stallion pretty much passed out the instant he drudged his way up the stairs and into his bedding. And by the time day turned into night, Canvas's legs felt completely numb as he slept in his nest without an inkling of movement or disturbance. 

Of course, if Troy hadn't have stumbled back to their home so loudly, Canvas may have not been woken up enough to raise his ears in grogginess. "What the… Troy? Is that you?"

"Yeah," moaned the Gryphon as he made his way up the stairs tiredly. Noticing Canvas slumped out in the nest, Troy's tired face turned more guilty before plopping in the bedding beside him.

"Sorry for waking you up," muttered Troy as he laid beside his fiancé. 

"Oh, that's okay…" Despite feeling way too tired to even move, Canvas nestled in closer beside the Gryphon as he savored the feeling of his warm feathers. "I'm just glad you're alr--"

Canvas's head quickly pulled back as his muzzle scrunched in a little. "Ugh! What happened!? You smell you fell in a vat of beer!"

The Gryphon groaned even more in guilt. "Blane thought it would be funny to grab the nozzle behind the bar and spray everything." Troy then pressed his head in harder against one of the pillows as he tried to get comfortable. "Plus, the guys tried to get me to hit a beer bong."

"Hmmm…" Even though he figured his fiancé's brothers would try something like that, Canvas was still a bit overwhelmed at how strong the Gryphon reeked of alcohol. Seeing this, Troy quickly put up a claw to clarify.

"I'm not drunk," said the Gryphon honestly, "I swear, I'm just tired. Besides, I'd probably have to drink two or three gallons of Equestrian booze to get wasted."

Canvas just gave a reassuring smile before nuzzling him again. "It's okay. I believe you…" As he closed his eyes and laid in closer to Troy, the stallion waited a moment before looking back up at him. "So… where are your brothers?"

"Drunk," said Troy bluntly before looking down at Canvas. "That's how I know how much booze would be needed."

Canvas's brows raised in surprise. "Really? Even Lyle?"

"No!" said the Gryphon insistently. "He's fine. I think he's sleeping back at the cloud. But after getting kicked out of six different bars, we met up with a bunch of Talon Ripper fans who managed to successfully get the triplets hammered. After partying with them for a few hours, they went back to Rainbow Dash's vacation cloud, which they think is MY place."

"Oh…" Canvas sighed as he rested beside his love, feeling rather grateful that the Gryphons didn’t try to get a preteen drunk. "Well… I guess things are working out well enough…"

Troy could only groan out in dread as he laid beside the stallion. "Rainbow Dash is gonna kill me when she gets her place back!"

"Oh, don't be like that," said Canvas assuredly. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

"Oh yeah?" asked Troy in a slightly cynical tone. "Those three are black-out drunk right now, and tore down one of the walls to make the living room bigger! The only reason I managed to get out is because they were too busy having a farting contest."

Still lying in the nest semi-consciously, Canvas blinked a couple times when he looked up at the Gryphon. "Ummm… huh."

"Yeah." Troy closed his eyes as he breathed out heavily, letting the comfort of the nest envelop him as he felt Canvas nestle in closer to him. "To be fair, though," muttered the Gryphon faintly, "at least they're actually talking with me and stuff."

"See?" Keeping an optimistic, albeit still tired smile, Canvas laid his head atop Troy's chest as he spoke in a more cheerful tone. "I told you they'd be happy to see you. They're your brothers after all."

"Yeah…"

Still thinking about Blaze's words from earlier, Troy's tone became more worried as he held the stallion closer to his chest. "I just hope they'll still see me as a brother when I tell them about us."

"Troy, come on." Despite his exhausted state, Canvas still managed to pick himself up so he can look down at the Gryphon insistently. "You were worried about Lyle, and look how well that went."

"Blaze and the others think I'm with a mare, and he acted all happy because I wasn't 'feather-fluffing'."

Canvas's eyes widened in an instant. "What?"

Troy kept his eyes closed, not wanting to see Canvas's face as he continued. "Yeah… They sort of figured out that I'm with a pony. I just haven't told them I'm with a stallion."

Seeing how distraught his fiancé was looking, Canvas didn't hesitate to pull himself in to hug the Gryphon tightly. "Oh, Troy…"

Troy managed to crack a light smile as he hugged him back, happy to feel his touch right how. "Th… thanks."

Canvas closed his eyes as he kept his hug on him, taking a moment before trying to alleviate the situation. "You know… If they're alright with you being with a pony, maybe they won't react that badly to you coming out."

Troy winced a little at that idea, avoiding Canvas's gaze as he looked up to the ceiling. "I dunno… How am I supposed to tell them?"

"I'm sure you'll find a way," answered the stallion with a warm smile on his muzzle. He then tried not to giggle as he added, "Heck, considering Blade leads for a metal band, I wouldn't be surprised if he experimented with a guy or two."

"Dude, come on!" Troy turned his head away, not wanting to picture any of his brothers in any scenarios that would require brain-bleach to remove. "I don't want that in my head!"

"I'm just saying," said Canvas in a giggle before he bent in closer to him, "that they don't seem that close-minded. If they're okay with you being with a mare, maybe they'll be okay about you being with me, too."

Troy kept his beak clenched shut before looking up at his fiancé. After staring up at him for a moment, marveling at his beautiful blue eyes as they shimmered in the moonlight, the Gryphon sighed as he looked back down.

"What's wrong?" asked Canvas worriedly.

"Nothing. I'm just… thinking…" Keeping his beak closed in contemplation, Troy stayed silent for a few seconds before looking back up at Canvas. "I… I guess Blade might be the easiest to talk to. I mean, the guy was practically gushing about Fluttershy!"

"Yeah…" Remembering their encounter, Canvas shuddered a little in discomfort. "That wasn't something I expected to happen."

"Hey, neither did I! But still…" Thinking about it, Troy tried to nod to himself and make his idea seem more feasible while lying with his stallion. "The guy told me he's been with ponies before… Maybe he'd be the most likely to understand."

Canvas smiled down at the Gryphon, and bent in to give him a tender kiss on the forehead. "That's a good idea. Plus, if he's alright with it, he and Lyle could help out when you tell the other two."

Troy slowly began to smile a little bigger, feeling more confident about his plan. He held Canvas in tighter around his forelegs as he gave him a grateful hug. "Yeah… That might work, actually."

Canvas gave a caring smile to his fiancé before kissing him on the beak. "There you go. I told you that it wouldn't be too hard."

Despite his smile, Troy still breathed out in a fretful sigh. "Yeah… but I still have to actually do it before I find out how easy it is."

"That's okay," assured the stallion before bending his head in slowly. Even though his body was still aching from the Running of the Leaves, Canvas still felt well enough to hold his Gryphon tenderly. He pressed his lips against Troy's open beak, closing his eyes as he savored the unique sensation he felt with the one he loved most.

Troy was eager enough to kiss him back, closing his eyes as well as he gripped him in his claws. However, before he could savor the comfort of his nest, content to fall asleep while holding his love like this, Troy's eyes reopened when he felt Canvas release his lips from his beak. His expression turned slightly confused when he felt the stallion start to kiss his neck.

"C-Canvas?" asked Troy in a surprised tone as he saw him begin to move his head lower with each kiss. "Are… are you--"

"Sssshhhhh…" Canvas kept his eyes closed as he stopped his fiancé's words, choosing instead to keep his focus as he laid on top of him. "I wanted to do this since the race," said the pony in a faint whisper. "I want to give you a reward for that checkpoint, and I want to do it while Lyle isn't here…"

Canvas then began to move his head even lower, kissing the Gryphon's feathered body inch by inch as he worked his way down. By the time he felt Canvas's lips reach the fur on his stomach, Troy sighed out in bliss as he laid back, a pleasured smile growing on his beak. "Oh… Oh, Canvas…"

However, before Canvas could get any lower, the sound of the door opening downstairs made both of them freeze in place. The door could be heard closing before Lyle's voice called out, "Whatever it is you guys are doing, stop it! I'm sleeping here tonight!"

"OH COME ON!!!" shouted Troy in a burst of anger as he got up from the nest. "That is SO not cool!"

"Hey! Neither was leaving me with the 'Pull My Talon' Trio! I can’t get any sleep over there!"

Troy fell back in his nest, groaning loudly as he heard his brother make his way into the studio to rest on Canvas's couch.

Canvas slowly lifted his head up from Troy's waist, looking over from the loft as he spoke down to Lyle. "Yeesh! Was the farting contest really that bad?"

"No," groaned the younger Gryphon as he tried to get himself comfortable on the couch, "they stopped playing that a while ago. Now they're playing 'Hide the Firecracker'."

"Do they know I'm gone?" asked Troy with a hint of concern in his voice.

"Nah. They're too out of it to realize you flew off. They'll probably be passed out until tomorrow afternoon."

"Good," said the Gryphon in relief as he laid back in his nest. "I can get up early, and they'd never know I was gone."

He then looked over at Canvas, who settled in beside him in their nest. "I'll try to get Blade alone tomorrow and tell him about us. I promise."

Canvas only gave a trusting smile as he nodded. "Sounds good."

After sharing another small kiss, Canvas rested in beside his Gryphon, sinking his head in against Troy's feathers as he tried to ignore the smell of alcohol coming off of him. However, before he could sink in to rest beside his mate, Canvas heard Lyle call out from downstairs.

"Hey Canvas, can I open one of the front doors a little for air?"

Canvas sighed tiredly before speaking up for him to hear. "Sure… just make sure my stuff is weighed down."

"Already on it," responded Lyle in a quick tone. After about a minute of the sounds of paper rustling downstairs, Canvas heard one of the front doors to their barn be pulled open slightly, letting a cool breeze emanate through the home.

Lyle slumped back in the couch before calling up to them. "Night guys."

"Night, Lyle," said Canvas and Troy at the same time. 

And in less than a minute, all three of them were sound asleep inside the barn, with the only sounds being the gentle evening winds as they blew in from outside.

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As the sun began to rise in Equestria, Canvas was nuzzled in tightly against his mate when the sunlight began to shine in. Feeling the morning light as it made its way into the bedroom, Canvas sighed as he felt himself begin to stir awake. Hearing Troy's soft purrs as he had his claws wrapped around him, the stallion smiled in delight, happy to feel him holding him so tightly like this.

While the Gryphon held onto Canvas in his sleep, the stallion slowly reopened his eyes as he yawned in tiredness. However, the moment his eyes readjusted to the brightness in their bedroom, Canvas's eyes shot wide open in shock.

Looking up in terror, Canvas quickly began to poke Troy's body awake with one of his hooves. "T-Troy… Troy, wake up…"

"Mmmmmm…" Troy was still smiling, and hugged Canvas even tighter with a smile on his beak before giving off one last purr. While the stallion looked even more worried, the Gryphon began to nuzzle him while speaking in a tired moan. "Morning, baby… Antsy already?"

"Troy!" hissed Canvas though gritted teeth as he tried to pull the Gryphon off of him. "Troy, you really need to get up!"

"Oh, is that how it is?" Not catching how worried his fiancé was sounding right now, Troy began to use his beak to gently nip at the stallion's neck. "I can feel something getting up right now…"

Canvas's eyes widened as he tried not to cringe. "Troy! Open your eyes!"

"Hmmmm… Oh, alright…" Still holding onto his pony, Troy slowly opened his eyes as he kept speaking in a lustful tone. "It's a little early, but I wouldn't mind having a little pony-ride right noOOOOOAAAAAAHHHH!!!!"

The moment Troy opened his eyes, his sultry banter quickly turned to a shrill scream of pure terror. Keeping a wide-eyed look of horror identical to his fiancé's, Troy's beak was hung open when he saw who else was in their bedroom.

Blaze, Blade, and Blane, were all standing at the base of Canvas and Troy's nest. Much like their brother, the three had their eyes and beaks wide open when they looked down at the two.

With his left eye twitching, and his stallion still spooned in against him, Troy couldn't get a single sound to come out of his gaping beak. After a very, very long bout of silence, Troy could only say one thing as he looked up at his older brothers.

"Oh….

"SHIT."