After a surprisingly shrill shriek, Canvas tried to gallop out of sight while inside the store. Meanwhile, the three Gryphons immediately made a rush to the front door, bursting inside Sugar Cube Corner like a swarm of starving parasprites. Even when Misses Cake tried to catch their attention, the triplets made a beeline for the back of the shop when Canvas rushed up the stairs.
"HEY!" shouted the baker as she tried to run out front to halt them. "The upstairs is off limits!"
However, despite how quickly she tried to get in the way, the pudgy mare wasn't able to reach them as they ran up the stairs. But before the Gryphons could reach the top, a blur of pink filled their sights for a split second before Pinkie Pie appeared at the top of the steps. Even though her large smile was scary enough, the sight of the bright blue cannon in front of her was what made the three Gryphons stop in their tracks.
"PARTY TIME!!!" shouted the mare before setting off the cannon, shooting out a large array of confetti and streamers with a loud boom. While the triplets got caught in the cloud of party smoke, hacking loudly with their eyes clenched shut, Pinkie pushed the cannon aside and put a party hat on her head. Music began to play seemingly out of nowhere as she began to dance around the top of the steps.
"It's time for a Gryphon Party, full of lots of fun!
We'll eat lots of cake and candy, then before we're done!
We'll--"
Before Pinkie could continue her impromptu song, the largest Gryphon took the lead as he tried to rush past her. However, Pinkie effortlessly slid herself in front of Blane before he could get to the top of the steps.
"Where you guys going? I haven't even finished my song yet!"
While Blane stood at a slightly worried stance, not knowing what this mare might try if he pushed past her, Blaze decided to take action by pointing a talon out at a bare wall. "LOOK!!! A distraction!"
Pinkie looked at Blaze quizzically. "Huh?"
"Uhhh…" Blaze's claw started to falter a little, realizing that his plan wasn't working.
Blade quickly pointed at the same direction his brother was to make a better claim. "Look! Something shiny!"
"Ooh! Pinkie turned around to look at the bare wall with a smile. "Is it a present?"
This gave the three just enough time to scuttle past her hurriedly. As soon as the first claw touched the hardwood floor of the hallway, Canvas made a light yelp before shooting back inside the storage closet. The triplets saw the door slam, and headed straight for it.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!"
Carrot Cake, who already got upstairs from the kitchen, stood dominantly in the middle of the hallway with a stern scowl on his muzzle. The yellow stallion glared at the Gryphons while he was placed between them and the closet door.
"If you don't go back downstairs RIGHT NOW, I'll--"
Despite his serious brooding tone, the triplets just stared at him deadpanned. Before he could finish his threat, Blaze used two talons to pick him up by the collar, throwing off his focus as he was nonchalantly placed to the side.
While Mister Cake stood slightly bewildered, the triplets reached the storage closet. Blaze stood in the lead as he opened the door.
"PLEASE DON'T KILL ME!!!"
Canvas was huddled in the back of the closet, holding a mop in his shaking hooves like a spear. He also covered his head with a bucket, hoping that was good enough protection against Troy's older brothers. While the stallion stood with a terrified expression, pointing the mop at the three in defense, the Gryphons just stared at him perplexedly.
"Ummmm…" Blaze blinked a couple times in confusion, and slowly began to raise one of his claws from the floor. Canvas flinched a little when saw it move, but Blade didn’t try to advance on him. He just held his claw up and stood still, giving the motion to pause while his two brothers stood beside him. "We… just want to ask some questions."
Canvas may have had a little experience with self-defense -- mostly from his years spent back in Gallop Creek -- but he still knew that any one of these Gryphons could gut him with one swipe of their claws. Because of that, he strengthened his grip on his mop, keeping a wide-eyed stare on the three while trying to keep himself from trembling. "J-j-just stay right where you are!"
Blaze sighed and rolled his eyes, but complied as he and the others kept their spots outside the doorway. "Ugh, whatever… Can you please just tell us what's going on?!"
While Pinkie Pie and the Cakes stood by the stairway worriedly, hoping this encounter wasn't going to end with any more collateral damage than they usually receive, Canvas gulped some excess saliva in fear. Since the pony was unable to make a reply, a long bout of silence passed before it was broken by Blane.
"What the buck was Troy doing in your bed?!"
Canvas winced a little, keeping a hold on his mop as he tried to speak meagerly. "Uhhhh… he was… sleeping?"
The three narrowed their eyes on him. Blade was the next to speak. "WHY was he sleeping in your bed?"
"Be…" Small beads of sweat started to appear on Canvas' forehead as his face blushed. "Because… he was tired?"
Canvas tried to put up a nervous smile to show innocence, but the deadpanned stares from the triplets was enough to show that his answer wasn't cutting it. He pushed himself back tighter against the wall, hoping maybe that extra fraction of an inch would help while distancing himself.
Seeing how frightened the pony was getting, Blaze closed his eyes and groaned out of growing frustration. Even though he really, REALLY didn’t want to ask the obvious, the Gryphon knew what he had to say, prompting him to reopen his eyes before taking a deep breath.
"Dude…" Blaze kept a narrowed stare on the stallion, taking a second before getting to the point. "Are you sleeping with our brother?"
Canvas' face noticeably paled a little, and his hooves were gripping the mop hard enough to turn them white. While his legs wobbled a little, the stallion took a breath before struggling to speak in a shaky voice.
"W-well… It… depends."
Blaze's eyes narrowed even more. "Depends on what?"
Hoping more than anything that wasn't going to get slaughtered in a closet above Sugar Cube Corner, Canvas' breath came out in a weak tremble as he exhaled. "It… depends on whether or not you’re going to kill me..."
"UGH!" Blaze face-clawed, struggling not to lose his temper. "We're NOT going to kill you!"
Canvas kept his mop held up. "How do I know that?!"
"GIVE ME THAT!" Fed up with how fretful he was acting, Blaze grabbed the mop from Canvas' grip in one quick swipe and tossed it aside. Now completely defenseless, Canvas clenched his eyes shut and tried to stand back against the wall as hard as possible, absolutely terrified at what might happen to him.
However, despite Canvas' assumptions, none of the Gryphons lunged in to mutilate him. Instead, Blaze, as well as the other two, kept their spot outside the closet. It wasn't until Canvas reopened one eye slowly that Blade spoke up.
"Troy mentioned last night he was shagging a pony…" The skinny Gryphon then slowly pointed a talon at Canvas, keeping his eyes locked onto him before finishing his question. "We just wanna know… is that you?"
Canvas slowly reopened his other eye, but kept himself pressed against the wall as he looked at the three in front of him. After taking another deep breath, Canvas could feel his heart thundering in his chest, making his whole body shake in dread. Nevertheless, the stallion hung his head a little, avoiding looking at them before nodding.
"Y… Yeah…"
Even though he's been out for quite a while since coming to Ponyville, saying that was just as nerve-racking as it did when he first came out to Troy. Not noticing how the three Gryphons all widened their eyes a little at that answer, Canvas kept his gaze to the floor as he spoke in a faint tone. "Troy… Troy and I have been together for three months…"
As the silence grew between them, Canvas felt his heart sink into his chest. Even though he knew he had to say it, the fact that he told the triplets before Troy made him feel absolutely terrible. After everything he's done for that Gryphon, the last thing he wanted to do was out him before Troy had the chance to do it himself.
However, while the stallion stood in growing dread, trying not to tear up at telling the three about their brother, Blaze had his eyes focused on the stallion's hoof. Seeing the ring of white gold he was wearing, Blaze pointed at it before asking in a more subdued tone. "So… that ring…"
Canvas quickly flinched before bringing his hoof up to his chest, attempting to hide it from view. "Um! Well… I-"
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Blane, noticing the ring as he pointed at him wide-eyed. "You said you were engaged! Does your fiancé know about this?!"
Canvas finally looked back up at them, and stared at Blane in expressionless disbelief. Blaze and Blade also looked over at him, giving similar deadpan stares like he just said the stupidest thing imaginable.
It wasn't until a couple seconds of silence that Blane noticed the stares he was getting from his brothers --as well as the Cakes and Pinkie from the hallway -- prompting him to put up his claws in confusion. "What?! The guy said he was engaged, so if he's with Troy- OOOOOHHHH!!!!"
Blane's head immediately turned back to Canvas, who only had to nod lightly. He shot a talon at him before shouting "You're having an affair?!"
SMACK!
"OWW!!!" Blane rubbed the side of his head, grimacing as he felt the spot Blaze smacked him. "What was that for?!"
Blaze ignored his brother and looked back at Canvas. "Sorry about that," said the Gryphon in an honest tone. "We're pretty sure he was dropped as an egg."
"So…" Blade blinked a couple times as he stared at the ring before finishing his reply. "That ring… Was that from him?"
Blane's eyes widened, now getting the context correctly before looking back at the stallion. Canvas bit his lips together as he held his hoof up closer to him. Despite not wanting to tell them before Troy could, he knew he was already past the deep end, prompting him to reluctantly nod to Blade's question.
"Y… yes. He… he asked me at the Gala…"
Canvas then took a breath as he looked back down, hating that he had to confess their engagement like this. After a long bout of silence, Blaze's stare on the pony became more intense.
"So Troy's engaged?"
Noticing his change in tone, Canvas tried not to cringe as he kept his head away. "Y-yes…"
"To you?"
"… Yeah…"
Blaze then looked between both his brothers, and turned back to Canvas with a legitimately angry look on his face.
"Where the buck is he?!"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Despite Twilight Sparkle's various assurances that his fiancé was okay, Troy couldn't stop pacing around the library floor as he waited edgily. Meanwhile, Lyle was perched on the couch beside Spike, reading a few of the dragon's comics. Even though the drake's comic tastes seemed a bit tame in comparison to his own, Lyle had to admit that Power Ponies was a surprisingly decent read.
"So…" Lyle was busy reading through the back-story of The Mane-Iac when he spoke over to Spike. "If her hair is what gives her those powers, why wouldn’t they just use some hair-removal spray to take care of it?"
"They tried that once," answered the dragon, not looking up as he read through the latest issue intently. "Apparently, the hair products that gave her those powers fused her mane to her scalp! Even a weed-whacker wasn't able to cut it off!"
"Oh," replied the Gryphon as he shrugged his shoulders. "I was just gonna suggest that idea, too."
Neither of them seemed to notice Twilight Sparkle walk past them, who had her focus on Troy and his constant pacing. The alicorn looked down at the floor before trying to catch his attention. "Troy, could you please just sit down for a moment?"
Troy gave off an impatient sigh. "I can't just sit around, Twilight! Canvas should've been back by now!" Before Twilight could make a rebuttal, the silver Gryphon stopped for a moment and looked over at her. "Besides, I don't think a little pacing is that big of a deal."
Twilight's expression turned more cynical as she motioned to the ground underneath him. "Troy. You're making a hole in the floor."
Troy looked down, his eyes widening when he saw a surprisingly deep line of his paw and claw prints imbedded in the library floor. The distinct line made a small circle around the middle of the library, which was exactly where Troy has been pacing around after Canvas left half an hour ago.
"Oooohhh…" The Gryphon winced a little when he saw the damage he made to the floor. Even though he wasn't sure how to keep himself still, Troy still reluctantly nodded before looking back at the Princess. "O… okay… I'll sit."
"Thank you," responded the mare with a satisfied smile. However, before Troy could make his way to one of the seats to relax himself, the sound of the front door opening immediately made him look to the door wide-eyed.
Slowly, Canvas walked in through the doorway, looking fairly worried as he carried the two boxes from Sugar Cube Corner on his back. Before Troy could rush over to him, Canvas put out a hoof to make him pause for a moment. Even though he didn't want to, Troy halfheartedly stopped his sprint halfway towards him, noticing how nervous the stallion looked.
"C… Canvas?" asked the Gryphon with a small tone of unease as he saw him place the baked goods aside. "What's wrong?"
"Troy…" Canvas kept his hoof up towards Troy, and gave him a mixed look of apprehension and slight guilt while standing by the doorway. "Please… please don’t be mad at me…"
That was when the triplets appeared behind Canvas at the doorway. While Troy's eyes widened in fear, the three looked back at him with near identical matching glares.
Canvas tried to scuttle out from between them with a bit lip. Meanwhile, Blaze pointed a talon straight at Troy. "Okay, you got a LOT of nerve to pull something like this!"
"Yeah!!" Added the other two in unison.
Even though he was worried about what might happen to himself, he was even more concerned about his fiancé's safety. He quickly stepped in front of Canvas, pulling him back with a wing so he was behind him. Troy then stood in a more protective stance in front of his brothers. "Don’t you dare hurt him, you hear me?!"
"Just what the buck is wrong with you, dude?!" shouted Blaze as his glare on him became more intense. "Seriously, of all the crap you could've pulled, this is too bucking far!"
Twilight quickly swooped in between the escalating argument, keeping a stern glower on the three surprised Gryphons standing by the door. "I'm only going to say this ONE time!" shouted the alicorn as she put a hoof in front of Blaze's slightly bewildered face. "As long as you're inside MY library, you are NOT going to act this uncivil, and I will NOT tolerate any of you using that kind of language! Do you understand me?!"
Blaze, Blade, and Blane all just stood in puzzled silence, mostly due to the fact that they didn't expect a Princess to be here. However, after a brief moment of silence, Blaze regrew his upset expression as he tried to speak towards her in a more subdued tone. "Ummm… Princess Twilight?"
"Yes," answered the mare in a brooding tone, keeping herself planted between them and Troy. "How may I help you?"
"Ummm… well…" Blaze's eyes slowly went back to Troy, and gave off a slightly disappointed glance towards him. Of course, Troy wasn't sure whether it was because the three found out about his relationship, or because he was currently hiding behind a Princess for cover.
"The three of us wanted to talk with our 'brother' here," added the Gryphon in a colder tone, who used his talons to make air quotes around the word "Brother".
And as soon as he saw that, a look of fury exploded across Troy's face. "And what's THAT supposed to mean?!"
"You know exactly what that means!" shouted Blaze back at him.
"Yeah!" added Blade in an equally angry tone. "You know how bloody low this is for you?!"
Seeing how badly this argument was escalating, Twilight used her magic to put a precautionary barrier between Troy and the triplets. However, this barrier didn’t muffle any sound, which kept Troy's voice especially loud as he rebutted, "Don't you DARE try to tell me how I'm living my life!!! Who I choose to be in a relationship with is none of your business!!!"
Blane bent in with a disappointed glare and replied, "So that's your excuse for not telling us you're getting married?! Dude, I thought we were family!!!"
"I--"
Troy was expected to go on a full-blown tirade, thinking that he would have to verbally blast his "brothers" if it meant defending the love of his life. However, as soon as he caught Blane's last statement, the Gryphon stopped for a second while his beak was hung open.
"W… what?"
"Don’t 'What' us, you jerk!" snapped Blaze. "We come all the way out here to catch up with you, and you don't even tell us you're in a committed relationship?! I mean, who does that?!"
Troy could only stand in puzzled silence as he stared at the three, unsure of how to respond. Canvas slowly looked at them from behind the Gryphon, carrying an equally surprised look on his face.
Troy took a glance over at Twilight, who had a similar expression when she turned to them. "Wait a minute... Is that why you're upset with him?"
"Well, DUH!" said Blade in a more obvious tone when he looked over at her. "Troy didn't mention he had a fiancé at ALL when we went out last night! It's like he didn't even think we're important enough to mention that!"
"What, what?!" Not expecting this kind of reaction at all, Troy had to stop his brothers while standing in a flabbergasted state. "Let me get this straight… you guys are mad at me… because I didn't tell you I'm with a stallion?"
The triplets all looked back at Troy before responding with a unified "Yeah!"
Troy could only blink while wide-eyed, barely able to comprehend what to say. Even Lyle, who was still frozen on the couch beside Spike (still reading his comic unaware of what was going on), looked fairly surprised at this kind of wildcard reaction.
"Like," began Blaze with a bitter scowl on his beak. "why didn't you tell us you were doing something this big? What, were we too embarrassing to be seen around or something?"
Before Troy could try to answer, Blade added, "Were you even going to tell us at all?! Because I'd be pretty pissed if you decided to wait until the bloomin' wedding to tell us you were even seeing someone!"
Twilight bit her lip, turning her head away from the three. "I can understand that feeling," muttered the Princess to herself.
"I mean, what was it?" asked Blane as he stared at his brother. "Were you just ashamed or something?"
"No!" blurted Troy, having finally regained the ability to speak after overcoming the shock of what was going on. Hoping to get himself calmed down enough to make a coherent reply, the Gryphon took a breath before trying to speak cautiously. "I just… I didn't… know how you guys would react…"
Despite still being upset with him, the stoic expressions the triplets had all lessened a little after hearing that. Slightly confused, Blaze looked between the other two before staring back at Troy. "Wait… what do you mean by that?"
Troy gave the strongest "Are You Kidding Me?" stare back at his brother. "Are you serious?! Remember all the times you use the term 'Feather-Fluffer' on me, including last night?!"
Blaze openly cringed a little, immediately remembering his remark the previous night. The Gryphon sucked a little air through his beak before trying to make a retort. "Well, I… I didn't actually know you were…"
He made a little motion with his claw towards Troy, hoping moving it around can give the implication without actually saying the word. "You know…"
Troy rolled his eyes and looked away, still looking upset about it. Glancing at both Troy and the stallion behind him, Blade tried to speak up on behalf of Blaze. "So… are you like, really…"
Troy closed his eyes and sighed, hating that THIS was how he was going to tell half of his immediate family at once. However, the Gryphon reopened his eyes to look back at the triplets, taking a deep breath before opening his beak.
"Y… yeah," answered Troy in a more withheld tone. He looked down at the floor between them, and took a second before saying it upfront.
"I'm… I'm gay."
Lyle hopped off the couch and walked up to his brother, not wanting him to be in front of the other three by himself. The younger Gryphon stood beside his brother, making Canvas give a small smile from behind Troy.
Before any of the triplets could say anything, Troy looked back up at them and added, "And I didn't keep it from you because I was ashamed! I was…" He averted his eyes a little before continuing. "I wasn't sure if… you guys would even talk to me if I… told you…"
The three Gryphons all widened their eyes at that, and Blane was the first to make a response. "Dude, come on! We'd never do that!"
Troy looked back at the triplets, fairly surprised to see how strongly Blane said that. "R… really?"
"Are you being serious right now?!" said Blaze, looking rather offended as he stared at Troy. "I mean, I know we may act like dicks sometimes, but we're not friggin' homophobes!"
"Yeah!" added Blade in agreement. "What kind of guy would I be if I judged others like that?! I mean…" The Gryphon motioned a claw between himself and Blaze. "I like vanilla ice cream, and this bloke likes chocolate," he then pointed his claw back at Troy, "and you apparently like dudes. So what?"
Troy could only stare at the three in bewilderment, completely floored at what they were saying. A trembling smile started to grow on his beak when he looked back down, his eyes struggling not to well up. "I… I don’t know what to say…"
"We're just saying," said Blane as he looked back at the other two with a smirk, "that we're not gonna stop talking to you because of something like that!" He then turned back to Troy. "Seriously, this is nothing!"
Troy kept his head away, and used a claw to quickly wipe his eyes dry. "I just… I can't believe I'm hearing this…" He looked back up at them with a shaky smile on his beak. "You guys are… you're alright with this?"
Blaze just rolled his eyes, and gave an obvious nod back to him. "Dude, stop acting like we're gonna freak out or something! We're family, for crying out loud! You know the Clawston motto!"
Troy's smile grew a lot bigger, and he clenched his eyes shut to try not to cry. Lyle put a claw on his shoulder, and Canvas came in from the other side for extra support.
"Y-yeah… It's… it's…"
After taking a deep breath, Troy wiped his eyes again before reopening them to look back up at them.
"Birds of a Feather, Flock Together…"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Blaze with a satisfied smile. "I mean, I didn't expect this, but who cares?! We still love ya, bro!"
Noticing the stallion beside him, he quickly put a claw up to clarify, "I mean, not like THAT! I mean like, the 'No Homo' kind. You know what I mean?"
Troy quickly nodded, still feeling rather overwhelmed at how to respond. Twilight, knowing that there wasn't going to be any expected fights, had her magic brought down a while ago, and was just standing to the side with a warm smile on her muzzle.
Troy's voice came out meekly as he felt his throat get thicker, mostly from wanting to start tearing up right now. "Y-yeah…"
Looking at his three brothers, who he never expected would ever act this way, Troy kept a gracious smile on his beak as he felt his eyes well up. "Th… thanks, guys…"
"No prob," said Blade with a grin. Noticing how Troy was looking at them, the Gryphon turned over to the other two cheekily. "I think he's gonna ask for a hug, isn't he?"
Troy looked away and tried to giggle, even though it just came out in a hiccupped gasp while he blushed.
Seeing that his brother was probably right, Blane was the first to shrug with a smirk. "Aw, screw it!"
The massive Gryphon was quick to pull his younger Gryphon in for a tight hug, which Troy didn’t try to pull away from. Feeling a couple stray tears escape his eyes, Troy just smiled as he hugged his older brother back, happy to be fee--
"BRAAAAAWWWKKK!!!!"
Troy's eyes bulged out of his skull, not expecting Blane to do the Screecher on him right now. While Twilight jolted back from Troy's involuntary squawk, everyone else just cracked up loudly.
All except for Spike, who finally looked up from his comic at the commotion. "What's going o--" His green eyes widened in surprise, just now noticing the triplets at the entrance of the library. "Whoa! What did I miss?!"
The triplets saw Spike on the couch, and Blane dropped his brother to make a step back. "What the heck is THAT?!"
Twilight looked back at him, unsure whether or not to be offended by his tone. "Ummm… that's Spike. He's a dragon, and my assistant."
The three looked back at her wide-eyed, and Blade grew an impressed smirk. "Hardcore, Princess!"
He put out a clenched claw towards her, which took the alicorn a moment before realizing he was wanting her to bump it. Happy that something about her was seen as "hardcore" to these guys, the mare shrugged before giving him a bump with her hoof.
"So Troy…"
When Troy got himself back up, he noticed that Blaze's expression turned back to a more serious glance at both him and Canvas. The large Gryphon pointed at the two of them, motioning his claw while speaking. "Would you mind introducing us now? Like. proper?"
"Oh!" Troy nodded with a smile, wiping his face before pulling Canvas in with a wing. After taking a second to look down at the stallion, who had a beaming smile on his face as he looked back up at him, Troy looked back at the triplets while standing proudly.
"Blaze, Blade, Blane…" Troy kept Canvas close by his side, and kept a warm smile on his face while speaking towards his brothers. Feeling better about himself than he did in a long time, the Gryphon took a breath before introducing his mate.
"I want you guys to meet Canvas…
"My fiancé."