//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty-Four: The Reaction // Story: Brushed Away 2: By Hoof and Claw // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// No one was sure how long the pregnant bout of silence lasted inside the private room at Sugar Cube Corner. Even though it was most likely a minute or two at most, the amount of time it took before anyone in the room was able to speak or move again felt like an eternity. Troy, whose heart was still racing from adrenaline at reacting to his Dad's assault on Canvas like that, now felt like ice-water was flowing through his veins. Despite him outwardly still looking enraged as he stared face-to-face with Jonas, Troy felt absolutely mortified at what he just screamed out loud. He was unable to move his head to look at Canvas or any of his brothers, but he could already tell that all of them were equally as stunned at what he just did. The silver Gryphon's heart was thundering faster with each passing second, letting his previous feelings of rage vanish before being replaced with petrified panic. While Troy's eyes began to widen, letting his feelings of realization sink in slowly, Jonas just stared at his son with a growing look of utter shock. "You… your WHAT?!" Even though that last outburst should've made him flinch, Troy stayed surprisingly still, albeit from being petrified instead of bravery. But still, after letting that admission come out in a less-than-appealing way, the Gryphon knew he couldn't back down now. So, after a brief exhale, Troy tried to push his fears aside as he made a small nod at his Father. "You… you heard me." Canvas, Lyle, and the triplets were all staring at the two in growing worry, unsure of whether or not either of these two were going to make it out of this room alive. Nevertheless, none of them could react when Jonas began to walk towards Troy, his figure towering over his son in a brooding manner. "You're telling me… that after spending a year in this nation… that you went and ended up being a damn FEATHER-FLU--" "I'M NOT AFRAID OF YOU!" shouted Troy as he got right up into his Dad's face, surprising Jonas enough to be interrupted for the moment. "You hear me?! I don't care what you try to say or do, I am NOT going to be intimidated by you!!!" Troy was still scared, there was no doubt about that. The last time that he tried to stand up against his Father back home, he ended up with welts on his behind bad enough to keep him out of school for the next day. But still, despite those unpleasant recollections, those which kept him restrained when around Jonas all these years, Troy now carried a firm stance as he stood in front of his Father, letting all his previous worries get brushed away as he stared him down. After all, if his love was able to stand up against his own Father, then he saw no reason why he shouldn't do the same. "I've kept my beak shut for too damn long because of you!" shouted Troy as he stood his ground, not letting his Dad's stoic glare falter his words as he spoke sternly. "You know WHY I left for Equestria, Dad?! You really wanna know WHY?! It was because I was sick and tired of constantly having to put up with all your judgements about me!! It was hard enough not having that many friends back home, and having YOU constantly get on my back about what I should be doing with my life wasn’t helping at all!!” Angela rushed over to the doorway of the room, looking fairly stunned as she saw the debacle occurring between her son and her husband. Of course, since the doorway was wide open, she was already in a state of complete shock after hearing what Troy screamed after hitting his Father. “Coming to Equestria was the best decision I ever made in my entire life!” shouted Troy as he pointed at his Dad with malice. “For once, I’m actually treated with respect and dignity, instead of some runt or a disappointment in YOUR eyes! For the first time in a LONG time, I’m actually happy! I’m doing more in my life than I thought I could ever do, and HE’S the reason for that!” Even though Troy still had an angry stare aimed toward his Dad, the Gryphon’s talon pointed right at Canvas when making that last statement. After noticing his Mom at the doorway, Troy looked between both his parents before turning back to his Dad. Despite his heart racing, the Gryphon felt absolutely no hesitation to say what he knew was undoubtedly true: “Canvas has been by my side ever since we met, and I can’t imagine my life without him. I… I love him.” Neither of Troy’s parents said a word after hearing what their son said. While Angela just leaned against the side of the doorway in a stunned state, Jonas grew a look: a mixture of shock and disgust. Despite this, Troy took one glance back at his stallion, and smiled when he saw Canvas give a tearful smile back at him. “He’s… he's not just a friend to me…” After breathing out, feeling a wave of relief at actually saying his feelings out loud, Troy turned back to his Dad, his voice hardening once again. “Canvas and I together. We’ve been a couple for over three months now, and I proposed to him two weeks ago back at the Grand Galloping Gala. And despite whatever you might try to say, that’s not going to change! I love him, Dad! I love Canvas, he loves me, and we’re going to be married!” Troy breathed out slowly, hoping that it would help settle his thundering heartbeat. Unfortunately, despite the fact that saying all that felt incredibly uplifting for the Gryphon, the look that Jonas was giving him was enough to let those earlier feelings of uncertainty begin to creep back in. While Troy stood with a confident-looking scowl toward his Father, that scowl was starting to feel more and more like a mask as his internal worries began to flow back inside of him. Jonas only took a few seconds of silence to let his son’s words sink in before making an angered huff. “Get out of my way,” muttered the Gryphon coldly as he walked past his son to the doorway. Even though Troy wasn’t expecting his Dad to react pleasantly, that remark was still enough to make the Gryphon feel like his heart snapped in half. Angela, who was still reeling at what she heard Troy say, had to take a couple seconds to register what her husband just did. “W-w-wait, Jonas!” “I’m not having any of this!” shouted Jonas towards his wife. He pointed a talon back at Troy, whose eyes were now wide open with his beak slightly open. “You heard what he said! If he’s gonna be with a STALLION, then I’m done! I’m not staying here!” Angela tried to stand in his way, but the brown Gryphon was able to get past her with surprising ease due to his strength. “Jonas stop!” cried Angela as she struggled to keep things civil. “We need to talk about this!” “NO WE DON’T!” yelled Jonas as he continued to walk away. Keeping a bitter scowl on his face, the Gryphon looked back ahead of him so he could leave the bakery. “Jonas,” pleaded Angela from the doorway, “you need to talk to your son!” Troy, who was still in the back room alongside his brothers and Canvas, was able to hear his Dad’s response as clear as day: “He’s no son of mine.” That was the straw that broke his back. For a moment, Troy’s legs wobbled a little, making him look like he was close to falling over. While Canvas ran up to Troy’s side, and the brothers all quickly tried to get on their feet to do the same, Troy started breathing out heavily as tears began to stream down his face. His talons dug into the floor, and his beak clenched shut as a bitter conflict of emotions flowed through him. But of all the feelings he was experiencing after hearing what Jonas said -- heartbreak, sadness, aggravation, bitterness -- one emotion overflowed out of him as soon as he heard the door to Sugar Cube Corner start to open: Anger. “YOU BUCKING WORTHLESS COWARD!!!” Angela, who was standing frozen in conflict, quickly turned her head back to the outside of the room as her eyes widened in a panic. After Troy’s furious outburst, a loud rumble followed as loud stomping could quickly be heard coming back into the room. Angela ran out of the way as Jonas stormed back into the room, absolutely fuming with rage. “WHAT DID YOU JUST CALL ME!?!” “YOU’RE A COWARD!” screamed Troy right back at him. The silver Gryphon’s cheeks still had tears streaming down them, but pure, unbridled rage replaced any evidence of sadness that may have been on Troy’s face before. Glaring at Jonas with a look of unparalleled amounts of fury, Troy pointed a talon at him before screaming maliciously, “I stood up for myself, AND THAT’S HOW YOU RESPOND!?! After all I did as a son and all that I accomplished, you’re just gonna up and leave because of THAT?! WHAT KIND OF A FATHER ARE YOU!?!” “AND WHAT KIND OF SON ARE YOU?!?” Jonas got right up into Troy’s face as he retorted, looking like he was just about to hit his son. Canvas couldn’t help stumbling out of the way as Jonas shouted, “You run off after getting that inheritance, leave for over a year, and THEN end up Feather-Fluffing with a damn PONY?!” “Oi!” shouted out Blade as he tried to speak in defense of his younger brother. “Don’t be calling him that!” “Yeah!” added Blane as he pointed at Canvas. “He doesn’t have any feathers at all! Technically speaking, Troy isn’t fluffing any feat--” A quick smack to the back of the head from Blaze’s claw shut Blane right up. Of course, none of this was noticed much by Troy as continued to yell at Jonas. “YOU REALLY THINK I GIVE A SHIT WHAT YOU THINK ANYMORE?! For years, I was terrified of you, because I never felt like I was good enough for your bucking standards!! But you know what?! I DON’T CARE ANYMORE!! I’m happier with Canvas than I’ve ever been in my entire life, and I’ll be DAMNED if I’m gonna let you try to make me feel like shit for it!” “Well you SHOULD be!!” yelled his Father back to Troy maliciously. “You think that being a damn QUEER is a good thing?!” Seeing how Jonas was glaring at him, Troy could tell that his Dad wasn’t going to give in. If this was the way that Jonas was going to act towards him, than Troy knew exactly what to say in response: “At least it makes me a bigger man than you.” Jonas’s eyes shot wide open, putting him at a temporary loss of words before a flash of red exploded across his face. “WHAT?!?” “You heard me,” answered Troy in a low, but still bold tone of voice. “You always tell me to be a man. You tell me to never back down from something that I believe in. And I didn’t. I stood up for myself, and I stood up to you. I didn’t back down, but you walked away. Like a COWARD! “So tell me, Dad, who acted like the bigger man?” A heavy bout of silence swept across the room, with nobody able to make a suitable reply. While everyone else stood vacant of anything to say, Jonas kept his beak shut as he stood face-to-face with Troy. The silver Gryphon held a determined stare back at his Father, not showing any hint of fear or hesitation in his stoic expression. After a long moment of silence, Jonas narrowed his eyes on Troy, and slowly leaned his head closer towards his. “I dare you to call me a coward again.” Angela could see Jonas’s claw clench in tight, making her widen her eyes in a panic. “Jonas, don’t do this! Troy, please do--” “You are.” The next second felt like it went by in slow motion for Troy. As soon as he said those two words as viciously as he could, he could only stand frozen before seeing Jonas make his strike. In an instant, Jonas pulled his claw back, and shot it toward his son’s face before anyone else could make a single move. Despite not wanting to show weakness, Troy couldn’t help closing his eyes in the split millisecond before he could feel the impact. Knowing what was going to happen, Troy could only stand in front of his terrified family and Canvas before a thundering noise broke the silence. PBBBBBBBBTTTTT!!!! For a brief moment, Troy anticipated feeling a sharp pain in his face, or maybe being thrown back to the wall. But instead, that oddly out-of-place noise was the only thing that resulted. When he reopened his eyes, Troy only saw a pair of pink hooves in front of his face, which were holding a large Whoopee Cushion that blocked Jonas’s claw. Jonas, standing wide-eyed, was completely baffled as he looked down at Pinkie Pie standing between them. Still holding the cushion that stopped his punch, the mare couldn’t hold back a giggle while looking up at Troy’s Dad. “Hehehehe! It sounded like you tooted!” “GET OUT OF THE WAY!” Jonas was just about to use his other claw to swipe Pinkie out of his path to deal with his son. However, before he could make another move, a bright flash of purple illuminated the entirety of the General’s body, holding him still before being levitated off of the ground. “General Jonas Clawston!” shouted Twilight Sparkle as she stood just outside of the room, startling everyone inside while she held Jonas in her aura. “I don’t know what you think you’re planning, but I am NOT going to tolerate this kind of behavior while I’m around!” Before Jonas could try to make a single movement, the Princess pulled him out of the room with her magic, placing him right in front of her in the main area of the empty bakery. The Cakes, who were standing behind Twilight worriedly, could only watch as she took her aura away from him so he could stand on his own. Jonas had to catch his breath for a moment before turning towards the Alicorn, unable to hide his irritated stare at her. “Princess…” he spoke through gritted teeth as he tried to retain his growing anger, “I really don’t think you should be interfering in this private matter.” “Well, the moment that YOU started a scene bad enough to prompt Carrot Cake to find me, and then tried to instigate a violent attack in a private business, I felt that interference is necessary!” Jonas pointed a talon back to the doorway where Troy was now standing alongside his Mother. “HE was the one who hit ME!” “After YOU tried to strangle my fiancé!” shouted Troy back at him. “YOU WANNA GO?!” shouted Jonas as he tried to lunge back towards him. “STOP IT THIS INSTANT!” Re applying her magic around Troy’s Father, Twilight kept him tightly in place while he tried to squirm within her grasp. After turning him back to face her, Twilight kept her eyes peered at Jonas. Despite him being twice her size, the Princess still managed to keep a firm enough stare to keep him in line. “General, I am going to give you ONE chance to end this peacefully. I don’t care who started this, but I’m going to finish it! As long as you are within Equestrian limits, you are NOT permitted to act this sort of way!” “So you expect me to just let this go?!” even though his claws and limbs were held in the Alicorn’s aura to prevent him from moving, his neck still crooked over towards Troy and the rest of the family at the entrance of the back room. “After what he said to me!?!” “Jonas, please!” Angela ran up to the two, keeping her worried focus on her husband. “You need to calm down! This is NOT the time to act up!” “This is something I am NOT going to tolerate,” said Twilight in a surprisingly brooding tone of voice. Despite her inexperience as a Princess, the domineering tone and stature she carried against Jonas made her look as threatening as Celestia when she stood against Chrysalis. “General Clawston, I am speaking to you, not only as a Princess of Equestria, but also as a superior officer! And I am ordering you to cease and desist this very instant! Do. You. Understand me?” Jonas stayed completely silent, not giving any evidence that he was going to resist the Alicorn’s words. Even though he was a ranked officer in a completely different nation, he knew that Twilight was completely within her right as a near-demigoddess to make an order like that, especially on Equestrian soil. So, after a low, brooding exhale, Jonas relaxed himself enough to make a very faint nod. “Good.” once again, Twilight let Jonas go, but still kept her authoritative tone before adding, “Now, if you want to act civil, I suggest that you actually talk with your son instead of trying to throw punches. He gave you and Angela enough respect to address his future, so it would be fair to show him the same. Otherwise, if you don’t feel that way,  then you can just leave.” Jonas took a moment while he stared at Twilight, and then looked back to where Troy was. While Troy and Canvas walked out of the room and towards the parents, all while being side-by-side, Lyle and the triplets walked behind them, obviously in support of the two. A strong grimace on his face, the Gryphon just shook his head before walking away. “Dad!” began Blaze in a hurried tone as he tried to catch his attention. “Just… just stay calm, alright!? This really isn’t that ba--” “I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!” shouted Jonas as he stormed over to the door. “If he wants to try running his future in the dirt, than so be it! But I’m not gonna stand idly by and pretend to care!” “So THAT’S how it is?!” Troy cried out in a mix of fury and anguish. “After all you’ve said about family and unity, you’re just gonna walk away from me?!” “FAMILY?!” Jonas crooked his neck back at him with a nasty glare in his eyes. “You think that being like that makes you family?!” Troy’s angered glare broke a little when he heard his Dad say that. Despite not wanting to look weak, that implication hit him like a bag of bricks as he breathed out heavily. “Dad, you… you…” “Honey!!” Angela tried to pull Jonas back, not wanting him to say anything that he might regret. “You need to stop! This isn’t how--” “If you think that you’re family,” continued Jonas as he pushed his wife aside, pointing a talon straight at Troy’s increasingly hurt face, “then you’re severely misinformed! That is NOT how a Clawston acts, and as far as I’m concerned, you are nothing but an utter disgrace!” Troy, feeling another strong blow to his heart after hearing that last statement said so viciously, could only stand in utter shock alongside his brothers as he watched Jonas storm out of the bakery. Canvas was the first to respond, taking no time to hold his fiancé tightly. Before any of Troy’s brothers could respond or try to do the same, Angela went into a panic as she looked between her sons and the door her husband flew out of. “I… I don’t…” She made one last glance back at Troy, feeling her heart cringe at how the Gryphon was struggling to keep himself upright while staring down at the ground. But before anyone could say a single word towards her, Angela made her choice on impulse. Determined to try to get some sense into her husband, the Gryphoness shot out of the door as well. “Jonas!!! Jonas, wait!!!” That was what made Troy fall back onto his rear. Hearing both of his parents leave the bakery, Troy clenched his eyes shut as he struggled not to let anything stream out of them. Canvas hugged him even tighter, his lips trembling as he tried not to cry himself. “Troy, I’m sorry… I’m so, so sorry…” The triplets all looked at each other, none of them sure about what to do next. But before any of them could make a suggestion, Blade noticed how Lyle was looking while standing away from them. “L-Lyle? What… what are you…” The other two looked over to see what Blade was staring at, their eyes widening when they saw the black and white Gryphon. Lyle, who now had his art satchel back around his side, was looking down at the floor away from everyone else. Standing silent, the younger Gryphon had nothing but pure, unbridled rage in his expression. Snarling with a furious glare, his pupils beading in, Lyle actually looked fairly threatening when Blane stepped in. “Lyle, dude! You need to calm dow--” “I gotta do something.” Without a single other word, Lyle flew out of Sugar Cube Corner like a rocket. Twilight, who was in a temporarily stunned state from all that she had to hear, didn’t have time to use her magic to restrain him before he was off. When she rushed to the front door, she saw that he was already a speck in the night’s sky, making her eyes grow in unease. “...Oh no…” “Troy, WAIT!!!” Canvas’s voice brought everyone’s attention back to the couple, as Troy quickly lifted himself up. With the Gryphon carrying a face similar to his younger brother, but with his cheeks wet with tears, Canvas was just barely able to latch onto his back before Troy ran out as well. Before Twilight could try to stop him, Troy rushed past her hard enough to leave the Princess falling on her flank outside of the shop. And by the time the triplets looked outside, all they could see was the figure of their brother flying off into the distance, with the sounds of his fiancé screaming for his life slowly dissipating. Growing a concerned look on her face, Twilight rushed back inside and looked over at the triplets. “Okay, we need to find your brothers NOW! You three can try to find Lyle and make sure he doesn’t do anything brash. I’ll look for Troy and--" DING! As soon as that sound of the bell was heard from the kitchen, Twilight was interrupted long enough for Pinkie Pie to pop her head out of the kitchen serving window. “Dinner’s ready!” Mister and Missus Cake both face-hoofed, not even knowing where to begin with her. Fortunately, the pink mare was able to see from the worried and/or saddened faces left in the bakery that dinner might not be a good idea right now. “Ummm… I’m just gonna get some to-go boxes…”