When Troy's brothers were introduced with his new mate, Canvas and the Gryphons didn't stay in the library for long. After waving Twilight and Spike goodbye, the six decided to take advantage of the day while they were in Ponyville. Luckily enough, after a little deliberation, there was one activity that the group agreed on almost instantly:
Bowling.
Even though the sport wasn't really designed for ponies, the Ponyville Bowling Alley was still one of the most popular hangout spots in town when Pinkie Pie wasn't throwing another party. Due to the sport's addictiveness, despite its difficulty, it was hard to find a time or day when the place wasn't at least half-crowded with ponies trying to sharpen their skills. Even most Gryphons found it slightly challenging, given the fact that the sport was originally invented by Minotaurs; nevertheless, it was still fun enough for the group to celebrate Troy's big announcement to the triplets.
After getting their lane and a round of drinks, the triplets used the overhead display to get their names added, all while giggling like hyenas as they typed in the dirtiest words they could with the three spaces they had. Meanwhile, Canvas made his way to the snack bar to get some food for them.
"Ummm…" Seeing what the stallion wanted to order, the mare behind the counter seemed apprehensive as she tried to talk him out of it. "Are you sure you want to get something that large? That nacho platter was actually sort of made as a joke."
Canvas looked slightly confused, and stared back up at the menu display above the counter. Beside the other food items, the one he was wanting to get was a ridiculously large and extravagant-looking nacho platter, properly nicknamed El Gigante. Even though he usually wouldn't even consider getting something that big, he and the five Gryphons went through their pastries surprisingly fast on the way here, and was still pretty hungry.
"Seriously," continued the mare in a more sympathetic tone. "That's supposed to feed about a dozen ponies! You really think that's a good idea?"
"Hmmmm…" Canvas looked back at the five Gryphons at their lane, who were still laughing loudly over their name choices. Seeing how large they looked in their wrap-around seats, Canvas thought it over before looking back at the server. "You know what? Maybe you're right."
The mare sighed a little in relief. "Oh thank goodne--"
"I better get two," finished the stallion cheerfully.
The server's smile quickly dropped.
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Troy sighed a little at the triplets' antics, who were just now beginning to start the game after getting their dirty words added to the overhead display. Blane was the first to go up to start the game; meanwhile, the other two and Lyle were seated beside Troy. Looking over at the silver Gryphon, Blaze was the first to try to break the ice. "So…"
Troy noticed as his brother stared at him with a skewed brow. "You like dicks now, huh?"
Troy groaned and face-clawed. "Are you serious right now?" asked the Gryphon as he looked over at Blaze with a scowl. "THAT'S the first question you ask me?!"
"What?" Blaze put his claws up in innocence as he tried to defend himself. "I'm just trying to make conversation!"
Lyle, who was seated at the end, looked up at him before adding bluntly, "Dude, that's a pretty crappy ice-breaker."
Blade, who was sitting at the other side of Troy's, tried to intervene. "Oi! So was finding him in bed with a friggin stallion!"
Troy cringed as he looked over at Blade, but couldn't think of anything to say in response. In all honesty, the three of them finding out in that way wasn't exactly the greatest scenario. After a couple seconds, Troy sighed before looking away.
"Yeah, I guess that was pretty awkward." Thinking it over, Troy's brow furrowed a bit before he turned to Blade again. "Wait a minute. Why WERE you guys in my bedroom?! How did you even know I was there?!"
Blade shrugged a little, looking between Troy and Blaze before speaking, "Well, when we woke up, we couldn't find you or Lyle anywhere. When we flew around, we heard ya purring from outside."
Troy's eyes widened, and he quickly turned his head away to hide an obvious blush. Meanwhile, Lyle tried not to snicker while his older brother tried to stammer out a response. "I… I don't--
"Hold up," interrupted Blaze as he tried to catch his attention. "Your bedroom? So you're living in that barn?"
"Well… yeah." Troy looked over at Blaze with a slightly confused expression. "You think I wouldn't be living with someone I'm engaged to?"
"I didn't mean that!" answered the muscular Gryphon defensively towards his brother. "I'm just saying, if you're living on the ground, where the buck were WE sleeping?!"
"Oooooohhhh…" Immediately realizing that he never brought up that detail, it was hard for Troy not to wince a little bit. Despite how much he and Canvas tried to bring the triplets up to speed on their way to the bowling alley, he knew that there would be some things they might have missed. And after telling them about how they met, how long they've known each other, and even how he proposed, he completely forgot to mention whose cloud they were sleeping in the previous night.
"Well… Actually, that's my boss's cloud," answered the silver Gryphon shamefully as he turned his head away. "I kinda asked her to borrow it as a favor. I didn't know how you guys would react to me living on the ground with a stallion, so… I kinda had that as a temporary cover. I was actually planning to tell you all today, but… well...." Troy made a light shrug as he stopped his explanation, knowing that the triplets were already aware that things didn't go as originally planned.
"Huh." Blaze rested in his seat, taking another swig from his beer while letting Troy's answer sink in. "So… that's Rainbow Dash's house?"
"Yeah," said Troy with a small nod. "Actually, it's her vacation home, but still. It wasn't easy to convince her to let me borrow it."
Blaze blinked a couple times, thinking that new fact over as his face turned more uneasy. "… Uh oh."
Hearing that tone in his brother's voice, Troy's eyes widened in worry as well. "What?"
"Uhhhh…" Blaze sucked some air through his beak as he looked away from his younger brother. "Well… I was gonna bring this up later, but… I don't think she's gonna be happy about her toilet."
"What?" By now, Troy was looking legitimately alarmed about whatever it was his brother did.
"I didn’t mean to!" Blaze looked back at him with a more sincere expression as he tried to explain. "I mean, I wasn't sure how the plumbing went, but it wouldn't go down, and I couldn't find a plunger anywhere! And then it started to overflow, and I was--"
"Blaze." Troy, whose eyes were now as wide as dinner plates, just stared at him with unbridled concern as he tried to bring up a little detail. "That cloud didn't have a toilet."
Blane, who just finished his set with a unfortunate 3-10 split, looked back at Troy with the same look of surprise the other two had. "What?"
"Did you guys seriously not know that?" asked Lyle, looking between the three of them in puzzlement. "Even I knew that!"
"What kind of house doesn't have a bloody toilet?" asked Blade in a more befuddled tone of voice.
"One that's made of clouds, where indoor plumbing is extremely difficult to install." Looking between the three Gryphons, Troy gave a small shrug before adding. "Besides, when I lived there, the lake was right there, so why bother?"
While Blane and Blade kept their baffled expressions, Blaze looked down to the floor while muttering to himself. "But… It was… Wait, what did I clog?"
"I don't know…" Troy sunk his head into his claws, trying not to think about the damage the three may have done to his boss's house in less than twenty-four hours. "Oh, man… Dash is gonna kill me…"
"Ugh, whatever." Seeing that Blane was coming back, Blaze got himself up to start his round. "We'll think of something, bro."
As soon as Blaze made his way to the lane and grabbed his ball, Blane took his spot beside Troy. "So, if you don't mind me asking…" Clenching his beak shut in awkwardness, Blane took a breath before trying to ask his question. "How… How long did you know you were… you know…"
Troy rolled his eyes, trying not to groan at how hesitant his brothers were still acting in regards to his orientation. Before Blane could finish his statement (most likely saying the word "gay" in a more hushed tone like it was a forbidden word or something), Troy sighed before answering in an honest tone. "Well… it wasn't like I knew that about myself before I met Canvas. It just sort of happened."
"Seriously?" asked Blade in a slightly surprised tone of voice. "So, you weren't into dudes at all before him?"
Troy shrugged his shoulders in reluctant agreement before leaning back in his seat. "Pretty much. Like, I wasn't even attracted to him at first. It was just sort of a… 'Bromance', as Rainbow Dash put it."
The Gryphon chucked a little under his breath after saying that, but only paused for a second before continuing. "Seriously though, we were really just friends at first. I looked out for him, and he ended up being an awesome friend. And, well… I guess after a while, we… we kinda ended up a lot closer than either of us expected."
Troy sighed again with a smile, still in slight disbelief at how much things have changed in a matter of months. Knowing how quickly the two of them came together, he couldn't blame his older brothers for staring him with slightly perplexed expressions on their faces. Even Blaze looked a little out of it as he tried to bowl, choosing to overhear his brother from the lane.
"The more I hung out with him, the more I… just kinda fell for him, you know? Like, he really started to grow on me after a while, and I didn't really think about it because I considered him a really close friend. And by the time I finally realized how I felt, it wasn't like 'Oh, I'm gay, so I must love him.' It was actually kinda the opposite, like 'Wait, I'm in love with him. I must be gay.'"
Blade and Blane could both only give a light "Huh" at his statement, neither of them able to add much else. After taking a swig from his own bottle of beer, Blade looked back at him before asking, "So, it was more, like… emotional instead of physical?"
Troy took a moment to think it over, looking up before nodding slightly. "I guess so. Of course, it's not like there's nothing physical. I mean…" The Gryphon then turned his head back, looking over at the snack bar to see Canvas still waiting by the counter. Seeing the aqua stallion, his beak slowly grew a more content-looking smile. "He really is a great guy."
"So what is it?" asked Blane curiously as he stared at him. "Like, what makes him so special?"
Troy pulled his head back in, furrowing his brow in contemplation. "Well, it's nothing specific. It's just… it's a lot of things, really…" He then put his claws behind his head, leaning back even further in his chair as he stared up to the ceiling.
"He's funny, he's smart, he knows just what to do or say to make me smile… We just, like, click, you know? When I'm with him, I feel great, and when he's gone, I feel like crap. And… and when I hold him…"
Troy moved back in an upright position in his seat, moving one of his claws back against his chest. Feeling that familiar warmth as his foreleg went across his feathers, a light blush began to grow on the Gryphon's face as he smiled lightly. "I just… I never want to let him go…"
"Holy crap, dude!" blurted Blaze after rolling his second ball, just barely missing a pin at the corner before turning back to him. "And you said you guys were only together for three months?!"
"Yeah," said Troy in a slightly defensive tone. "So what? Mom and Dad got married after a week. Technically speaking, I waited about ten times longer to propose than they did!"
"But still!" Blade, wanting to get a word in, looked over at Troy and added, "Three months is kinda quick to go from realizing you like blokes to wantin' to marry one!"
At first, Troy had to admit that Blade's statement wasn't completely off; three months was a short amount of time for a decision this big. However, he knew deep down that nobody else could compare to Canvas. After everything he's done for the stallion, and all the affection and growth he'd received in return, the Gryphon knew that no one could ever match Canvas.
Of course, before Troy could say any of this, Blade had to keep talking.
"I mean, how do you even know you don't like girls if you've never been with one?!"
Troy felt a small twitch at hearing that, having expected to get that question at least ONCE from a family member. Of course, he was prepared for a response. Looking over at the skinny Gryphon, Troy kept a small smirk on his beak before making his comeback.
"And how do you know you're straight if you've never been with a guy?"
He expected Blade to get upset, or stutter something and look like an idiot. However, surprisingly enough, Blade just looked away sheepishly. "Sh… shut up…"
"Holy crap!" Keeping a wide-eyed stare on Troy, Blane grew an anxious smile as he pointed at him. "Dude, did Mom not tell you?!"
"Tell me what?" asked Troy confusedly.
"Oh, MAN!" Blaze his way back to the seats, picking a spot right next to Blade so he didn’t try to run away. He wrapped a foreleg around the increasingly sulking Gryphon before looking over at Troy. "I'm surprised Lyle didn’t tell you about Chaka!"
"Guys, come on!" growled Blade through gritted teeth as he sunk his head low. "He doesn't need to know about that!"
"Oh man!" Lyle put a claw over his face as he tried not to laugh. "I did forget to tell him!"
"Tell me about what?!"
"Well…" Blane wrapped a foreleg around Troy, and kept an especially big grin towards Blade while starting. "You remember Chaka, right?"
"Ummm… yeah," answered Troy with a skewed brow. "Really fat, had half her head shaved and the other half dyed purple?"
"That's the one," said Blaze with a smirk while holding Blade in place. "Of course, we found out a fun little fact about 'Chaka' after you left…"
"Oh, come on!" grumbled Blade as his face grew redder in aggravation and shame. "It was a mistake! Anyone could've made it!"
"What the buck happened?!"
Blane chuckled a little under his breath, and kept his smile while seated close to Troy. "Well, it turned out that Chaka was a Changeling!"
Troy's eyes shot wide open, and he turned to Blade in disbelief. "No way!"
"Oh, YES way!" declared Blaze in a chipper tone, all while Blade sunk his head down even lower to hide his face. "Why'd you think he was so into her?!"
Thinking it over, Troy took a couple seconds before shrugging his shoulders. "Well, to be fair, she wasn't that different from a lot of the other chicks Blade dated."
As soon as Troy said the word "She", the other three stifled any snickers while Blade groaned under his breath. Before any of them could say anything, Troy's expression turned more confused as he looked to them
"Wait a minute! You guys are telling me that Changeling could've taken any form, and she chose THAT one?!?"
Blaze cackled out a little, prompting Troy to look over at him while Blade clenched his beak shut. "Ohhhhhh no…
"HE chose that form!"
Troy blinked for a couple seconds in silence, trying to figure out what he meant before his eyes shot wide open. "WHAT?!"
"That's right! Blade was with a male Changeling!" Blane chuckled loudly while looking over at Blade's sulking form. "I guess you're not the only one to be with a dude!"
Blade threw his claws down in a fit of rage before shouting out, "HE HAD A VAGINA!!!"
The whole bowling alley turned silent, with everyone turning over to the Gryphons' lane. Seeing all the ponies looking over in confusion, Blade's face turned slightly pale before sinking his head down again. "Uhhhh…"
Blade then tried to fake-cough loudly a couple of times, hoping that his very obvious exclamation could be passed off as a cough to the ponies. Of course, after a moment of dead silence, most of the ponies slowly just went back to their games, leaving Blade to sulk again while all his brothers cackled quietly.
"I'm bloody serious!" whispered Blade with an angry look on his face as he glared at them. "He was a girl the whole time! He had a vagina, so it wasn't gay!"
"He he he…" Troy tried not to laugh too loudly before looking back at him. "That sounds kinda gay to me."
"SHUT UP!" hissed Blade through gritted teeth, not wanting to cause another scene. He then looked away from all of them, pulling Blaze's claw off his shoulder before getting off his seat. "Can we just get back to the game already?!"
"Oh yeah, it is your turn." When Blade made his way to the ball return, Blaze kept a cheeky grin on his beak before speaking out to him, "Have fun with the smooth, black balls…"
Blade immediately shot a deathly glare back at him, which just made the others crack up again. Growling though a clenched beak, Blade just turned back around to get a ball for his lane, making sure to avoid the black ones. Even though he didn't want his brother to keep making gay jokes, Troy couldn't help giving Blaze a claw-bump for that statement. "Nice one!"
"Thanks." After settling down his chuckles a bit, Blaze leaned back in his seat before sighing with a smile. "Hey Troy, just so you know…" He looked over to his brother before saying in an honest tone. "I really am sorry about that 'Feather-Fluffer' stuff last night, okay? I wouldn't have said that if I knew you were actually, like, into guys."
Troy, looking slightly confused at that statement, skewed a brow towards Blaze. “So… not knowing that makes it okay?”
“No, NO!” Blaze tried to shake his claws and make his apology clearer for him. “I just mean, like, I didn’t mean to say ‘Feather-Fluffer’ in THAT way, you know?”
Troy narrowed his eyes on him. “What other way is there?”
“Like! I just… I just meant, like, because you were scrawny and not… umm…” Realizing that he didn’t have a suitable response to give Troy, Blaze sighed in defeat and looked away. “Dammit, this isn’t working! I’m just saying, I’m sorry about what I said, okay? I didn’t mean to offend you like that, and it won’t happen again. I swear.”
Troy's brows raised in surprise, not expecting his brother to make that statement in such a sincere tone. "Uh… W-wow. Ummm… Thanks."
"No prob," replied the older Gryphon, and grabbed his beer to take another swig.
"That goes for me, too," added Blane in an equally genuine tone. "Like, I might not get it, but who cares? As long as you're not banging a Changeling or anything illegal, I won't mess with you about it."
"Well, thank you," said Troy with a smile before resting back in his seat. "So… what happened to that Changeling Blade was with?"
Lyle bent his head into view, and made a cutting motion with one of his talons across his neck with a "Kkkkktttt" sound for emphasis.
Troy could only reply with an "Ah" before nodding in understanding. Ever since the notorious Changeling Invasion attempt on Canterlot, the Gryphon Kingdom didn't pull back any punches when it came to preventing any similar disasters. While he thought their new policies were a bit much, the idea of one of them brainwashing his brother was enough to make him care a little less about it.
"Well, anyway…" Wanting to think a little less about any discrepancies like that, Troy shook his head clear before trying to bring the conversation back on track. "Well, I guess it is kinda weird isn't it? But still, I'm glad you guys are okay with it. And if you guys got any questions, I'll try to answer them as best as I can."
"Cool," said Blaze before putting his beer back down. "Thanks, bro."
For a little while, none of them said much else, and just waited while Blade finished his round. After he got an impressive spare on his second ball, the Gryphons gave a light cheer to him, making him feel slightly better as he made his way back. Of course, as soon as he reached his seat, Blane was the first to ask a question to Troy, right when he was taking a drink from his bottle of soda.
"So… you two guys do it?"
Troy spat out his beakful of soda, coughing a couple times before turning to Blane. "Dude! What the buck!?"
"What?! You said we could ask questions!"
"And THAT'S what you're going with?!"
Blane looked away grumpily. "I was just asking! Damn!"
Lyle got up from his seat to play the next set, muttering under his breath, "I really don't need to hear this crap…"
"Uuuuuughhhh…" Troy groaned and sunk his head down, not wanting to enter this discussion with his family. Nevertheless, he did say he'd answer any questions they had. And knowing his brothers, he should've known that they'd bring this up sooner or later. So, with great reluctance, Troy sighed before raising his head back up, making sure Lyle was out of earshot.
"Dammit… Yes, alright? We do. Canvas and I have sex." Despite being annoyed to bring that up right now, Troy paused to calm himself down a little. After a couple seconds, a light smirk grew on his beak before he added, "And I have absolutely no complaints about that."
"Sssssooooo…" Blaze, keeping a curious stare at Troy, clenched his beak for a moment, looking hesitant to ask a follow-up. "Just to clarify…"
Troy sighed painfully before turning to him. "What?"
"So… between you and the stallion…" Blaze took a glance back at Canvas at the concession stand before looking at Troy again. "Which one of you is the… girl?"
Troy looked over at Blaze, slightly baffled. "What?"
"You know, like… is he the girl? Or…" Blaze's glance looked slightly cautious as he stared at Troy. "Are… you the girl?"
The other two looked at Troy with similar expressions, seeming rather interested in the answer as well. Meanwhile, Troy just stared back at them in puzzlement.
"Uhhh… Neither of us are girls, Blaze. That's… kind of the idea."
"No, NO!" Blaze shook his head as he tried to clarify, "I don't mean THAT! I'm just wondering, like…"
Blade, after taking his seat, tried to finish what Blaze was saying. "I think what he means is, which of you blokes is the, ummm… feminine one?"
"The… the what?" Troy narrowed his eyes, unsure of what his brothers were meaning to that. "What do you mean?"
"Are you kidding me?!" Blade looked back at Blaze with an annoyed expression. "Bloody Tartarus, and he calls us slow!"
"Like," began Blane as he tried to make their question clearer. "When you can Canvas are in bed together--"
"UGH!" Lyle, unable to throw his ball while overhearing this, turned to the Gryphons before staring at Troy. "They're asking who's the plug and who's the socket! Jeez!"
Lyle turned back to his game, leaving Troy to blink a couple times and mutter to himself. "Plug and socket? What does… OH!"
Troy then turned to his older brothers with an aggravated glare. "Are you guys serious?!"
"Yeah," said all three at the same time.
"Oh, for crying out loud!" Troy crossed his claws and looked away from them in infuriation. "I'm not talking about that with my bucking family!"
"Oi! We're not asking for bloody photos or anything!" said Blade as he tried to coax his brother. "We won't judge ya if ya like taking it up the bum!"
"Ugh!" Troy covered his face with both claws, not wanting to even look at the triplets right now. "I am NOT talking about that!"
Blane groaned in irritation. "Oh, come on! It's just a question, dude! Are you giving or taking?"
Troy put his claws back down, choosing to glare at his brothers while speaking through clenched teeth. "I. Am. Not. Telling. You."
Blaze grew a cocky smirk, seeing how frustrated his little brother was getting. "You know we're not gonna stop until you tell us, right?"
"I don't care," said the Gryphon in a huff as he turned his back to them, crossing his forelegs defiantly. "I'm not going to go into detail about that!"
With that, the three looked at each other, slowly growing lewd grins on their beaks. After nodding in agreement at what they had to do, the triplets turned back to Troy, ready to use every dirty euphemism they knew.
"Come on, Troy! You can tell us! Are you the pitcher or the catcher?"
"Is that stallion the train or the tunnel?"
"Are you stirring his brownie batter, or are you the mixing bowl?"
"Whose doughnut is getting the cream filling?"
"Which of you is the turkey getting stuffed?"
"Who's doing renovations to the other's back door?"
"Are you riding the pony, or is the pony riding you?"
"SHUT UP!!!" Not caring about his outburst possibly making another scene, Troy turned back to his brothers with a completely enraged look on his face. "Just SHUT! UP!"
"Then answer the bucking question!" said Blaze in reply. "Are you the top or the bottom?"
Troy sunk his head down before grabbing the feathers atop his head, growling like he was about to seriously hurt them. Nevertheless, after a moment, Troy breathed out deeply before bringing his head back up.
"Listen to me," began Troy in a very stern tone of voice as he kept a stone-cold glare on them. "What Canvas and I do in private is NONE of your business, you get me? I don't ask you guys about YOUR sex life, and I would appreciate it if you did the same!"
While Troy kept his stare on them, the three blinked a few times before looking back at each other. After a couple seconds of silence, the three grew smirks on their faces again, pointing their talons at Troy and saying in unison.
"Bottom!"
"N-NO!" shouted Troy in anger. "It… it's not like we… UGH!"
Troy turned away from them again, just to make the three crack up at how pissy he was getting. Meanwhile, Lyle finished his set, choosing to wait until their discussion was finished before heading back to the seats. However, a familiar sight made him smile as he pointed behind them. "Nice! Canvas got nachos!"
"Mmmph! Y-yep!" Carrying a giant metal plate on his back, Canvas strained a little as he got the giant nacho platter onto the table in front of them. After the Gyphons put the drinks aside, Canvas let the platter down on the table in a loud "bang", the plate actually being larger than the table itself. While Canvas panted a little from exhaustion, the triplets quickly dived into the gargantuan mound of melted cheese and chips.
"Nice!" said Blane before shoving a clawful into his beak. "Thanks, dude!"
"No problem," said the stallion before plopping down in the seat at the end. "And there's another plate being made right now."
"Awesome!" After helping himself to a bite, Blaze pointed at the plate before saying, "I was just gonna say, this was kinda small."
Canvas rolled his eyes, and looked up to notice the scoreboard. Seeing the names the Gryphons picked out, the stallion's eyes widened a bit in surprise. "Ummm… wow. You guys picked a lot of dirty words."
"Eh, it's kind of a tradition." proclaimed Blade with a small shrug. "They only give us three letters, so it's kinda fun to find words to use after 'Poo' and 'Ass' are taken."
"I can see that…" Noticing the last name on the board, Canvas's eyes narrowed on it before asking, "Wait, what's with that last one? That's not a dirty word."
Blaze pointed up to the board before replying. "It is when you combine it with Troy's above it."
Canvas saw what the second-last word was, making him make a light "Aaaahhhh" in understanding with a nod. "I see…"
The stallion then looked over at Troy with a grin. "Were you the one who suggested that?"
"N-no…" Troy tried to avoid Canvas's gaze on him, blushing deeply before getting up from his seat. "Um, I… I got the next turn."
While Troy sheepishly made his way to the ball return to start his game, Canvas managed to get a hoof full of nachos before Lyle or the triplets could empty the plate.While he relaxed back in his seat, munching happily, the stallion barely noticed when Blaze turned over to him.
"Hey Canvas, Troy isn't telling us. Are you the top or the bottom?"
Canvas's eyes shot open as he nearly choked on his nachos.
"BLAZE!!!!"
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Because of the successful Running of the Leaves, Ponyville was now completely devoid of leaves when the group finished their bowling. And fortunately enough, despite the lack of foliage, the weather was still surprisingly nice enough to forgo wearing any extra clothing. So, with the air not to cold and the skies not to dreary, not much could dampen the spirits of the Gryphons and Canvas as they left Ponyville.
All except for Blaze, who was rubbing a rather large bump on his head.
"Urrrrrrgh…" With his head still throbbing, Blaze kept a disgruntled scowl on his beak as he walked with the others down the road out of Ponyville. "You didn't have to hit me with the friggin' bowling ball, Troy!"
"Oh yeah?" Troy turned back to his brother while Canvas was resting on top of his back, still unable to walk much after the marathon from the previous day. "And YOU didn't have to ask my fiancé that bucking question, you dip-stick!"
"Well YOU weren't telling us!"
"Because it's none of your damn business!"
"Guys!" Lyle, not wanting to deal with another argument like the one that almost got them kicked out of the bowling alley, glared at both of them as he tried to talk them down. "Can we just drop it already?!"
"I'm with Lyle here," groaned Blade in agreement. "You guys kinda made a scene back at that place."
Blane, who was walking beside him, looked over with a skewed brow and a smirk. "Says the guy who screamed out 'He had a vagina' at the top of his lungs in the bowling alley!"
All the others laughed aloud at that comeback, making Blade grow a deep frown while clenching his beak shut. "Sh… shut up," muttered the Gryphon in embarrassment.
Fortunately, when he looked upward to avoid his brothers, Blade's eyes widened in pleasant surprise when he noticed a yellow Pegasus make her way towards them. Happy to find the Gryphons, Fluttershy carried a warm smile as she landed with a basket held in her tail. "Hi guys! I was hoping to find you today."
Of course, even though she said "guys", it was apparent that her eyes were set on Blade as she blushed deeply. Keeping a nervous smile on her face, the mare took the basket in her hooves before handing it to Blade. "Twilight told me about what happened at the library, and I'm really glad that the three of you support your brother for who he is!"
Blade, also blushing slightly underneath his brown feathers, gave off a light chuckle as he brushed his braid away from his eyes. "I-it's alright, Fluttershy," answered the Gryphon in a more feeble tone as he took the basket. "I mean, what kind of guy would I be if I didn't support my family?"
Even though it was obvious that he was trying to impress Fluttershy, it was also clear that Blade wasn't being insincere at all about what he just said. Because of that, Troy couldn't hide the gracious smile growing on his beak.
When Blade opened the basket, a huge smile shot across his beak. "Nice! Granola clusters!"
Lyle and the other two groaned out disappointedly, having been interested in the basket before Blade said what was in there.
Not noticing the upset looks of the others, Fluttershy kept her smile while speaking to Blade. "I read in an interview in 'Eardrum Blaster' magazine that you really liked them, so I made some for you."
"Wow, that's really nice of you!" Looking between the basket of treats and the timid mare in front of him, Blade's blush grew a little deeper as he tried to speak. "Ummm… Say Fluttershy, I… was kinda wondering…"
"Oh!" Fluttershy's ears perked up, looking like she just remembered something. "I almost forgot! Some of the ponies on the weather crew have a surprise for you guys!"
"Really?"
"Yeah! Follow me!" Fluttershy then got herself airborne again, motioning the Gryphons to follow her. After making sure Canvas was secure on his back, Troy smiled before heading off to the skies with them.
Surprisingly enough, Fluttershy didn't take the triplets to the cloud they were staying in the previous night. Instead, the group was lead to Troy and Canvas's barn, which now had an impressively-large cloud home floating above it. While Troy landed with Canvas to the ground, both staring up at the new cloud in disbelief, most of the weather team crew were scattered around adding the finishing touches.
"There they are!" said Cloud Chaser happily when the noticed the triplets and Lyle hovering in front of the house, wide-eyed. She pointed at the house with both hooves before asking happily, "Since you guys know about Troy now, we wanted you guys to be in your own place! You like it?"
"Yeah, we do!" said Blane , being the first to fly up to the front entrance to look inside. "Holy crap! This place looks awesome!"
While the others went in after Blane, Troy kept a confused look on his face as he looked up at his crew. "Wait, you guys seriously did all this?" asked the Gryphon as he carefully pulled Canvas off his back. "Where'd you all get the time?"
Thunderlane's head poked out from the back of the home to answer Troy's question. "Well, we all heard Dash going off about what they did to her place, and we figured that it might be best to get them out of her mane as quick as possible."
Troy's expression quickly turned uneasy, suddenly remembering all the damage those three made to her place before he left. "Oh… crap…."
Before Troy could say anything more than that, the Technicolor trail of Rainbow Dash's zoomed past them. After a heavy gust of wind, nearly throwing Canvas onto his back, the cyan mare was seen hovering above Troy with an enraged look on her face.
"WHERE ARE THEY?!"
Hearing her furious tone of voice, the triplets' heads popped out of one of the windows from inside the cloud. Upon seeing the triplets, Dash flew up to them, looking like she was seriously going to inflict some serious damage. "Which one of you did it?!"
The triplets looked between each other for a moment, unsure how to respond. However, at remembering what was brought up in the bowling alley, only a couple seconds of silence passed before the three went back inside. After hearing some strained grunting from in the cloud, Blaze was thrown out through the cloud walls. Before he could get back in, the wall was quickly closed up by the others inside. "Hey!" shouted Blaze as he tried to claw his way back in. "Let me in, you dicks!"
A heavy shadow loomed over Blaze, which made him look back nervously. Seeing Rainbow Dash's livid face in front of him, Blaze actually felt a little worried as he pressed himself back against the could wall. "Uhhhh… hello?"
"That was YOU?!" growled the mare through gritted teeth.
"Ummm… well…" Blaze tried to stifle a fake laugh and lighten the mood. "Heh heh.. Funny story, uhhh… I learned a fun little fact about Equestrian plumbing from Troy today…"
The Pegasus's blue fur was starting to turn red around the face, with the mare looking like she was about to do something illegal to the Gryphon in front of her.
"In Tank's FOOD BOWL?!"
Blade started to shake a little, unsure of how to respond before shakily reopening his beak. "T… Tank?"
"Her pet tortoise!" cried out Troy as he face-clawed from the ground. "Blaze, what were you thinking?!"
Blaze looked between his brother and Rainbow Dash, blinking before widening his eyes in revelation. "Ohhhhhh… That makes sense." The Gryphon then chuckled a little before looking back at the infuriated pony. "I thought that meant, like, a Septic Tank!"
"RRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
In less than a nanosecond into her scream, Blaze shot off, only to be quickly tailed by Dash from behind. From the ground, Troy could only see his boss's rainbow trail as they flew off in the distance, followed by a loud thud from quite a distance away. Perking up his ears, the Gryphon could hear a low wail from his brother, and could very faintly hear him say something while they were out of sight.
"Owwww… My eye…"