Shit.
Shit!
Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, Shit, SHIT!!!
That was the only word that could go through Troy's head as he laid in his nest in paralyzed fear. While the Gryphon and his fiancé laid together, neither of them able to speak in a shared sense of dread, Troy's three older brothers just stared back at them in stunned silence.
None of them were sure how long that moment lasted where none of them spoke, although it probably would've felt like an eternity no matter how short it really was. Nevertheless, the deafening silence was finally broken by Blaze, who had his wide eyes glued on his younger brother as he spoke in an unsure tone.
"Uhhh…Troy… What are you doing?"
A small sound could be heard coming out of Troy's beak, which was sort of a mix of "Aaaaaahhhhh" and "Eeeeeee" in the tone of a near inaudible squeak. After blinking a few times with his beak open, having no idea what to say to his brothers, Troy slowly took a deep breath. Knowing what he had to do, for the sake of himself and his stallion, Troy exhaled slowly, prepared to give his reply.
"LOOK!" Troy pointed a talon to the wall behind the triplets. "A CHANGELING!!!"
"Where?!" said all three in unison as they turned their heads to the wall. This gave the Gryphon just enough time to grab Canvas and burst out of the open window.
Even though they only looked away for less than a second, Troy and Canvas were already gone by the time they realized he tricked them..
"What the!" Blaze ran over to the window and stuck his head out, seeing that his brother and the stallion were already a small speck in the skies. "DAMMIT!"
"Urrrrrghhh…"
The sound of Lyle's groggy voice caught the attention of the triplets, who turned around to look down from the loft. Slowly, the black and white Gryphon lumbered out of the studio, rubbing his eyes with a claw while speaking in a tired tone. "What's all the shouting about?! I swear, you guys better not be humping while I--"
As soon as he saw the triplets up in the loft, Lyle's eyes shot open in revelation. "Oh… Shit."
"What the buck is going on?!" shouted Blaze as he glared down at him.
"Uhhhhhh…" Lyle's eyes darted around for a second, weighing his options before looking back up at them. He pointed a talon up to the ceiling before shouting "Is that a Changeling?!"
"What?!" The three immediately looked up, and Lyle shot out from the front door in an instant.
"Oh, come on!" shouted Blaze when he looked back down. "That's not cool!"
"We gotta stop falling for that," said Blade in a more serious tone.
"Oh yeah?" asked Blane condescendingly. "And what if there WAS a changeling? You gotta keep your guard up, stupid!"
"Guys, come on!" shouted Blaze, motioning them to follow them as he made his way to the front door. "We gotta get them!"
"Oh yeah!" said the other two at the same time, making them quickly follow their brother as they flew out of Canvas and Troy's home.
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"Ohhhhhh… This is baaaaaaddd…"
While Canvas sat worriedly on one of the couches of the library, Troy paced around the main floor as he kept muttering to himself. "This is bad, this is bad, this is baaaaadddd…"
"Troy, please," said Canvas in a pleading tone as he tried to catch his attention. "You have to calm down!"
"What am I supposed to do!?" With his voice coming out more frantic with each passing word, Troy barely noticed when Twilight Sparkle walked in from the kitchen. "They saw me! They saw US! Together! What was I supposed to do?!"
"Now Troy," began the Princess while she kept her horn lit, levitating a teapot and several cups on the table in front of Canvas. "While I can understand feeling overwhelmed right now, keeping yourself stressed like this isn't going to help anypony."
Clenching his eyes shut, Troy gave a light nod before trying to exhale deeply. Even though he was still beyond worried about how he was going to deal with his brothers, he knew that the alicorn was right; a calm mind is always better than a stressed one.
While Troy tried to settle himself with the breathing techniques Rainbow Dash taught him the other day, Twilight looked back to Canvas as she poured him a cup. "So, what happened, exactly? Troy didn't exactly go into much detail besides saying you two needed help."
Canvas sighed as he took his cup, happy that the Princess was gracious enough to let them into the library so early in the day. Even though it was still a couple hours before the Golden Oaks Library opened, she was able to let them in for assistance when she saw how worried Troy looked while banging at her door.
"Well, Troy's older brothers showed up yesterday, and he wanted to tell them about the two of us today. But…"
Canvas paused a little as he bit his lip worriedly. Troy sighed out deeply when he turned back to them to finish. "They… kinda found us in our nest together."
"Oooohhh…" Twilight tried not to cringe as and poured a cup of tea for herself. "I see. So… they weren't aware of your situation before that?"
"No," said the Gryphon in slight shame as he shook his head. "They didn't even know where I really lived! I had to get Rainbow Dash to agree to let them crash at her vacation cloud."
Twilight looked over at him with a confused expression. Troy went over to the loveseat beside the couch, sitting down while he tried to think things over. "How did they even know where I was?! I know they didn't follow me, so how did they end up in my bucking bedroom?!"
"Troy! Language," said Twilight sternly after putting down her teapot. "There's a baby dragon in the kitchen right now."
Troy was quick to give off a quick "Sorry" as he sat in his chair with a perplexed mind. Canvas, who was also trying to figure out why they were there, took a sip of his tea before speaking up. "Well, Lyle did keep the door open… Maybe they heard you purring or something."
"I don't purr!" said Troy defensively as he glared at Canvas. "Only females purr! How many times do I have to tell you that?!"
"Honey," said the stallion with a smirk on his muzzle, "we both know that's a lie. You purr like a little house-cat."
While Twilight tried to stifle a giggle at the pony's reply, Troy crossed his claws and looked away with a scowl on his beak. After taking another sip, Canvas grew an impressed smile. "Wow! This is really good tea, Twilight!"
"Thanks," said the alicorn with a smile. "Rarity kinda got me hooked on the higher quality stuff." She then looked over at Troy and added, "And Spike's almost done with your coffee."
Almost on cue, the baby dragon came out of the kitchen, holding two large kettles of steaming coffee in both claws. "Here you go, guys!"
Troy quickly pulled himself off the couch, and swiped one of the pots from Spike before he could make five steps from the kitchen. While the drake and Princess stared in wide-eyed shock, Troy pulled his head back as he poured the near-boiling coffee down his open beak.
While Canvas grimaced a little on his couch, still sipping his tea carefully, Twilight Sparkle had her jaw dropped as she saw the Gryphon down the steaming pot of coffee like it was nothing. Spike, however, only had his stare on him for a moment before turning back to Twilight.
"See?!" said the baby dragon with narrowed eyes as he held the other pot. "I TOLD you I'm not the only one who did that!"
Spike then made his way back into the kitchen, gulping from his own pot of coffee nonchalantly before disappearing past the doorway.
While Canvas stared over at him in slight awe, Twilight groaned a little as she rubbed her temple with a hoof. "I swear, I gotta wane him off the coffee sometime."
Before anything else could be said, several loud knocks could be heard from the front door, followed by Lyle's alarmed tone of voice. "Guys?! Guys, are you in there?!"
Twilight quickly made her way to the door, lighting her horn to unlock and open it for Lyle. As soon as he saw the two inside, the Gryphon grew a relieved smile on his beak. "There you guys are!" said Lyle in a sigh before rushing in. "I've been looking everywh--"
"WHY WERE THEY IN MY BEDROOM, LYLE?!"
Lyle immediately stopped in his tracks, and took a couple steps back when he saw how enraged his brother looked. "Troy, hold up!" said Lyle worriedly as he put up his claws in defense. "I didn't have anything to do with that!"
"You were the one who left the bucking door open!"
"TROY!" shouted Twilight in an angry tone. "What did I just tell you about language?!"
"And don’t you dare yell at Lyle!" added Canvas, hopping off the couch before storming towards his fiancé with an irate look on his face. Seeing how the stallion was glaring at him, Troy was temporarily frozen in place when Canvas got up to him and spoke in a stern tone of voice. "I know you're upset, but I'm not going to have you take it out on him! I told Lyle he could leave the door open, remember?!"
Troy blinked a couple times in silence, letting his mind settle as he thought things over. Remembering last night vaguely (although the triplets' antics made things a bit fuzzy), he did recall Canvas letting Lyle keep the door open for the night. After taking a moment to collect himself, the Gryphon closed his eyes and sighed deeply. "Y… yeah… You did."
He then reopened his eyes to look at Canvas with a guilty expression. "I'm sorry."
Canvas quickly pointed a hoof at Lyle, who was still standing beside Twilight staring at them. "I don't think it's me you should be apologizing to."
Troy quickly nodded, and turned over to Lyle. "I… I'm sorry, Lyle."
Lyle sighed, taking a second before nodding in acceptance. "It's okay. I get it."
Troy slowly grew a relieved smile, and quickly looked over at Twilight to add, "And sorry about my outburst, Princess."
Despite still being slightly upset with him, Twilight gave a light smile to the Gryphon. "It's alright. Just be cautious next time, okay?"
While Troy made a quick nod, Lyle was staring at the alicorn wide-eyed, just now realizing that he was standing beside a Princess. "Holy! You… you're…"
Seeing how surprised the younger Gryphon looked, Twilight giggled a little before offering her hoof to him. "It's a pleasure to meet you. You're Lyle, right?"
"Uhhh… Y-yeah!" Lyle was quick to put his claw out to shake her hoof, still slightly flabbergasted. "I… I honestly didn't think I'd see you here…"
After he put his claw back down, Twilight kept a warm smile on her muzzle. "Can In interest you in something to drink?"
"Ummm…" Even though he didn’t want to impose, his lack of any caffeine this morning was enough to shrug before asking, "You got any coffee?"
"I'm on it!" shouted Spike from the kitchen.
Happy to see the mood was lightening up, Canvas spoke up and looked over at Troy. "You know what? Since we haven't had breakfast yet, how about I swing over to Sugar Cube Corner for some coffee cake?"
"Wait, what?" said Troy as he regrew a worried look on his face.
"Yeah!" shouted Lyle with a smile almost the opposite of his brother's. "Coffee cake sounds good! OOH! And doughnuts!"
"I like your thinking," said the stallion as he pointed at Lyle with a grin. "Coffee cake and doughnuts it is!"
"B-but wait!" Before Canvas could trot out of the library, Troy held him back with a claw as he spoke in an apprehensive tone. "Wha… what about the triplets? They're still looking for us!"
"Relax," said Lyle as he put up a claw in assurance. "I flew over to Cloudsdale while they were chasing after me. I lost them up there before making my way here."
Seeing the confident look his brother had, Troy's nervousness lessened a little before letting the stallion go. "Well… okay."
Canvas kept an optimistic smile as he lifted himself up against the Gryphon, giving him a calming kiss on the cheek. "Don’t worry. I'll just get some food and come right back, okay?"
Troy looked at the stallion for a moment, staying silent before making a small sigh with a nod. After giving him a quick kiss on the lips, Troy watched as the stallion got back on all fours and made his way to the door. "I'll be back a few minutes, so just try to relax."
"O… okay…" Even though he trusted Canvas completely, the Gryphon was still hesitant about letting him out of sight with his older brothers on the loose. Before he could get past the doorway, Troy decided to say one more thing for his fiancé to hear.
"I love you."
Canvas paused and gave a warm smile back to him while standing at the doorway "I love you too."
With that, Canvas closed the door behind him as he left, leaving Lyle to stare at Troy condescendingly. "Really, dude?" asked the younger Gryphon. "You're acting like he's gonna die or something!"
"Hey, don't judge me! What if they get to him?"
"How? They're up in Cloudsdale right now! And besides…" Lyle put his claws out, motioning to the space they were in. "We're in a library! What's more inconspicuous than that?!"
Troy wanted to make a reply, but stayed silent before shrugging in agreement. Knowing their brothers, a place full of books was pretty much Kryptonite to them. Lyle looked around the interior of the library, growing a confused expression before turning back to Twilight. "So… are you usually in libraries this early?"
The alicorn gave a light shrug. "Well, kinda. I actually live here."
Lyle looked back at her, his face looking even more confused than before as he narrowed his eyes. "Seriously?"
"Yep!" said Twilight in almost a prideful tone. "I lived here before I gained my wings, and I love learning new things. It only makes sense."
Lyle took another glance around the space, noting the surprisingly roomy interior of the tree they were inside. "Well… I just kinda expected a castle or something…"
The Gryphon quickly looked back at Twilight and added, "But still, it's pretty nice. Plus, I doubt the triplets would look for us here."
"And why is that?" asked the Princess curiously. "Are they not into reading?"
"Pretty much," said Troy as he rested back on the couch. "Those guys won't read anything that doesn't have a centerfold."
"Uhhh…"
The three noticed Spike's voice, and looked over at him as he stood outside the kitchen holding Lyle's pot of coffee. "What's a centerfold?"
Twilight quickly shot a strong glare back at Troy, making him flinch in worry. "Ummm… I didn't-"
"Troooooyyyyyyy!!!"
At hearing Blaze's voice calling out from outside, Troy and Lyle quickly looked up to the ceiling in a panic. "WHAT THE!" Troy looked back down at Lyle. "You said you lost them in Cloudsdale!!!"
"I-I thought I did!" said Lyle back in a sincere tone. "I didn’t see them when I flew here!"
"Trrrrooooooooyyyyyy!!!"
Another voice, most likely Blade's, could be heard slightly further away than the first one.
"Oh no…" Troy sunk his face into his claws while sitting in the couch. "They're looking around town for me!"
"Troy," began Twilight as she tried to keep him from panicking again, "there's no reason to act upset right now. The library is closed so I don't thi--"
A loud bang came from the ceiling, silencing the Princess. The three looked up, realizing the window shutters to the highest point of the tree was thrust open.
"Troy!" shouted Blane's voice from the opening, which was luckily out of view from the occupants at the ground floor. "You in here?"
Twilight, Spike, and the two Gryphons stayed silent, not wanting him to be aware of their presence. However, Twilight's eyes widened when she realized who else was inside the library.
Blane's voice could be heard again. "Hey, owl guy! You seen my brother around?"
"Who?"
"Troy."
"Who?"
"Troy!"
"Who?"
"Urgh! He's a Gryphon! Kinda looks like me, but grey and kinda scrawny."
Troy looked up, slightly offended. "No I'm not," whispered the Gryphon to himself.
"Who?"
"Troy!"
"Who?"
"TROY!"
"Who?"
"Oh, FINE! Be a dick!"
The window could be heard slamming back closed, followed by the sounds of heavy wings flapping away from the library. While silence once again took over the library, Owlicious flew back down to the main floor, keeping a very confused look on his face as he perched on a nearby bookshelf. He looked over at Twilight with a skewed brow.
"Who!?"
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"TROOOOYYYY!!!"
Blaze was perched on top of town hall, looking like a bald eagle as he tried calling for his brother down below. Down on Ponyville's streets, not many of the ponies were sure what to think as they walked around, seeing the three large Gryphons flying around looking for him. Even though most of them already figured Troy was related to them, none of them knew where the Gryphon was either.
Meanwhile, Blade tried taking a different approach, looking inside every building he could like Blane was doing. The skinny Gryphon peered in through the open window of a random house. "Oi! You seen my brother?"
"AHHH!!! What are you doing?!" shouted a mare from inside. "I'm in the shower!!!"
"So? You ponies are always naked! You're just wet now."
Luckily, a well-thrown bottle of shampoo towards Blade's face was enough to make him dart out of the window, wincing as he rubbed his forehead. "Gahhh… Bloody prude!"
Blade and Blaze both flew back down to the streets, landing on the ground to catch their breath. "Any luck?" asked Blaze as he looked over to him.
Blade, keeping a deadpan stare back at him, motioned his claws to the empty space around him. "You see him next to me?!"
"Hey! Don't be a smartass!"
"Then don't be a dumbass, ya tosser!"
Blaze was just about to lunge forward to smack him, but stopped when he saw something more irritating behind Blade. "Oh, you gotta be kidding me!"
Blade turned around to see what Blaze was looking at, noticing their larger brother standing beside a flower stand chatting with Roseluck. Blane was pointing at her display as he kept a small smile on his beak. "Seriously, checking the PH level of the soil can really help make them bloom. Also, the tulips would look a LOT better next to the dahlias. It really helps the colors stand out while the roses are in the middle--"
"BLANE! What are you doing?!"
"Oh! Um…" Blane, noticing the annoyed looks his two brothers were giving him, quickly shook his head clear before looking back at Roseluck. "You seen Troy around?"
The violet-maned mare shook her head. "No I haven’t. Sorry." She kept her appreciative smile before adding, "But thanks for the advice, Mister Blane! It's always nice to talk with a fellow florist!"
"No problem," replied the Gryphon with a smile before heading back towards his brothers. As soon as he saw the stares both of them were giving him, his smile quickly faltered as he gave a light shrug. "What? I was being helpful."
"Helpful?!" shouted Blaze with a strong glare. "We're supposed to be looking for Troy and Lyle! Not arranging flowers!"
"I couldn't help it! The color patterns were all off, and it was obvious they weren't fully bloomed!"
While the three Gryphons started to argue loudly in the middle of the street, none of them paid much notice to Sugar Cube Corner, which was just across the street from them. They also didn't notice the aqua stallion inside, who was hunkered by the counter with a worried look on his face.
As he watched the three Gryphons through the window, terrified about how he was going to get out of this, the sound of the a bell dinging made the stallion jolt up from his hiding spot.
"Here's your order, Canvas!" said Misses Cake cheerfully, pausing as she saw how he was looking right now. "Dearie, is something wrong?"
"Uhhhh…" Biting his lip in nervousness, Canvas could only look back at her for a second before pointing a hoof out at the window. The blue mare looked over at his direction, seeing the three Gryphons outside still bickering.
"Ooh…" Misses Cake's brows raised in curiosity. "More of Troy's family?"
"Mmmm-Hmmm." Canvas nodded as he pursed his lips shut, keeping his head low to avoid being seen from outside. "They're his older brothers..."
Misses Cake turned her head back to the kitchen. "Carrot! Hide the cream cheese frosting!"
"Alrighty, Sugar Pumpkin!" shouted the stallion cheerfully back to her.
Meanwhile, Canvas was slowly scooting further back from the window, his eyes glued on the triplets as he tried to speak nervously. "Say, Misses Cake, can I… maybe hide in here a little bit?"
"What for?" asked the mare confusedly as she looked back at him. "Did something happen?"
Gritting his teeth, the stallion shrugged while trying not to cringe. "You… could say that…"
Mister Cake, overhearing the conversation from the kitchen, stuck his head out from the serving window. "What happened?"
When he looked over at his wife, Carrot saw her shrug her shoulders. Upon noticing the three Gryphons outside, the yellow stallion looked over at Canvas as he grew a light smirk. "What, did they catch you two in bed or something?"
Even though Mister Cake meant for that question to be asked jokingly, the heavy blush that exploded across Canvas's face was enough to change his expression to a surprised, wide-eyed stare. "Wait, really?!"
Slowly, Canvas's bashful face sunk down to the floor, still blushing heavily before making a very faint nod. While Misses Cake put a hoof over her mouth, unsure of what she could say, her husband had to sink back into the kitchen as he tried not to crack up.
Suddenly, Pinkie Pie popped out from the kitchen with narrowed eyes. "I smell drama! What's going on?"
"Uhhhh…" Looking between Canvas and Pinkie, Misses Cake's face blushed a little as she tried to think of how to respond. "Well…"
"Troy's older brothers found us in our nest together," finished Canvas as he kept his head hung in embarrassed shame, not looking up to see Pinkie's curious face.
The chipper mare's eyes widened in an instant, and hopped up on the counter as she looked around. "OOH!!! His older brothers are here, too?!"
"Y… yeah… Bu--"
"Are they realllllllly big, with brown feathers and tan fur?"
Canvas's gaze went back up to Pinkie as he grew slightly confused. "Uhhhh… yeah. How did you know that?"
Pinkie kept a smile as she pointed to the front of the shop. "Because they're looking in through the window right now!"
Canvas's head quickly turned to the window, making his heart stop when he saw the triplets looking inside.
And all three of them were staring straight at him.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!"