//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty-Five: Birds of a Feather... // Story: Brushed Away 2: By Hoof and Claw // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// The Clawston triplets are known for a lot of things -- mostly for whatever it was that they either broke, set on fire, accidentally ate, or had sex with. But of all the qualities that could be said about the three, one of the lest likely attributes anyone would say is that they were bright. However, as soon as Twilight Sparkle gave them the order to find Lyle, they all instantly knew where their younger brother was going to go: Cloudsdale. Since the preteen dropped all his stuff off in his hotel room, which was adjacent to their parents' room, the triplets knew that something was gonna go down if they didn't hurry. Lyle may have not been the most physical Gryphon, or even the one most likely to start a fight, but that glare he had right before bursting out the bakery was enough to know he was wanting to hurt someone. Unfortunately, as soon as the three reached the Cloudsdale hotel, which was an impressively large structure at the edge of the city, they could already hear shouting from inside. Mostly, of their Mother's now shrill voice. "What the buck were you thinking!?!" shouted Angela angrily as she stood in the middle of the hotel room. Meanwhile, Jonas was walking around the room, ignoring her as he packed their bags. "You can't just leave like this! I know you're upset, but this is our SON we're talking abou--" "He is NOT my son!!!" yelled Jonas in a fury as he threw his duffel bag onto the bed, stuffing it with the clothing items he had in the dresser. "If he thinks he can talk to me like that, then he doesn't deserve me to be around!" "Get a BUCKING hold of yourself!" Angela stormed up towards Jonas, keeping him from walking past her to continue packing. “YOU acted just as brashly as he did, if not worse! We need to at least TRY to settle this!” “Oh REALLY?!” As soon as he heard his wife make that suggestion, he looked back at her with a cold stare. “Are you seriously saying that you’re alright with Troy being with another male?!” Angela opened her beak, but several seconds passed where nothing came out but silence. Despite how badly she wanted to make a confident response to shut Jonas up, the Gryphoness took a moment before making a brief sigh. “I… I don’t know,” answered Angela meekly as he looked down to the floor. “I don’t… know what to think about it, but…” After a pregnant bout of silence, she shook her head before looking back up with a more distressed expression on her face. “But I don’t want to leave him! Jonas, can’t you see that you’re going too far with this?!” “Oh, and HE’S not!? Honey, he’s planning to marry a damn STALLION! How can you act like I’m the one who’s going too far when he’s about to ruin the Clawston name?!” “If you keep acting like this, WE’RE NOT GOING TO HAVE A CLAWSTON NAME!” That panicked outburst from his wife was enough to make Jonas pause his angered ranting. Meanwhile, Angela was panting heavily, looking like she was just about to cry while she continued. “Jonas, all of them were beside Troy!! ALL of our children! I… I don’t want to lose them! I don’t want to lose my family!” “That’s not going to happen!” assured Jonas more sympathetically as he put his claws around her shoulders to calm her down. “Angela, please, just... “ After closing his eyes, Jonas made a long sigh before bringing his attention back to her. “Just trust me on this, alright? I know what I’m doing. This isn’t the first time we’ve had to deal with one of our sons doing something foolish. It always settles down, and they admit to their mistakes. I know this is a bit much, but I’m just trying to make sure we have a stable family.” The sound of the balcony window sliding open caught the attention of both Gryphons, who turned around to see Blaze walk into the room angrily. “A stable family?! What the buck are you smoking to say something like that?!” “Yeah!” added Blade as he came in behind his brother. “You didn’t even act like that to ME when I was with that Diamond Dog!” “YOU two stay out of this!” barked Jonas as he pointed two of his talons straight towards them. “I’m the only one around here who’s actually trying to bring decency to this family!” “DECENCY?!?” With that unified response, the two stared at their Dad like he had just admitted to an affair with Starswirl the Bearded. Blane, who struggled to fit in through the window, plopped into the room ungraciously before giving an identical stare that his brothers had. “How the BUCK is that decent?! YOU JUST CALLED ONE OF YOUR OWN KIDS A DISGRACE, YOU DICKHEAD!!!” “WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!” Jonas rushed right up to Blane, getting his face right up to his so the two were staring at eye-level. However, unlike before, Blane wasn’t afraid to stand up against him, making the two massive figures stare menacingly at each other like a matching pair of statues. “Please, STOP IT!” cried Angela as she stepped in to separate the two. She placed her claws between them to push them apart. “I already had to deal with ONE fight tonight, and I don’t want to try to stop another one from happening!!” Even though Blane paused for a second, taking in his Mom’s panicked words, he looked back to his Dad after regrowing his furious stare. “I don’t care how angry you try to act, or what you might try to say, but what you did to Troy was NOT ‘decent’, And you know it!” “So what do you want me to do about it?!” asked Jonas as he returned the glare back at Blane. “Just sit idly by and let one of my sons get married to a stallion?!” “YEAH!” shouted all three of the triplets at the same time. “Dad, Troy is planning to get married!” shouted Blaze as he tried to shove his sense into his Dad’s conscious. “He’s going to be in a Committed! Relationship! And you’re seriously going to treat him worse than any of the chicks that WE dated?!” “WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO SAY?!? HUH!?!” Even with his wife desperately trying to keep him from causing another scene, Jonas refused to hold back when he glared at the triplets. “What do you think Gryphons back home are gonna say when they find out that one of my children decides to be with a MALE instead of bearing children?! When they discover that Troy is trying to make himself to be a bigger runt than he already is?! I’LL BE A DAMN LAUGHING STOCK!” “Dad, you’re a bloody GENERAL!” shouted Blade back at him. “I think that’s enough to shut any Gryphon up about it!” “Yeah, to my face! But as soon as they’re out of earshot, this entire family is gonna look like a complete embarrassment! I’m not going to have Troy doing something that’s going to guarantee that he gets mistreated by everyone in the Gryphon Kingdom!” “You sure this is just about Troy?” asked Blane as he walked up closer towards his dad, keeping himself at equal eye-level to him. “Because it sounds to me like you’re more concerned about you.” While Angela desperately tried to keep either of the two from getting closer to one another, Jonas merely narrowed his eyes on Blane. “Do you really think that YOU’RE any different?” “What the BUCK is that supposed to mean?!” said the massive Gryphon angrily enough to get Angela to push Jonas back further. “Jonas! This has gone too fa--” “I’ll tell you what that means!” interrupted Jonas as he extended a claw past his wife to point straight at the triplets. “All of you are trying to act all high and mighty now, but I didn’t hear a damn PEEP from any of you back at that bakery!” That comment was enough to make all three of the triplets freeze for a moment. Thinking back at all that happened back at Sugar Cube Corner, none of them could hide the twinges of guilt they were feeling in recollection. Any of them could have gotten between Jonas and Troy before the fight got physical, or spoken up more in support of their younger brother sooner. Unfortunately, with the bitter memories of what happened coming back to them, none of the triplets had anything to say in response. Instead, the three Gryphons’ heads lowered a bit involuntarily Jonas, seeing that none of them were going to speak up about his point, only gave a satisfied huff in response. “That’s what I thought,” added the Gryphon with a sneer on his beak, “so don’t try to act all ruffled up now, and expect me to think that any of it is genuine.” That comment got the three mad again. Blane quickly rushed back up closer towards his Dad, startling Angela as he regrew his uncompromising glare. “What, you think I’m scared of you NOW? Because if a little stallion can stand up to you, I don’t see why I can’t too.” “Blane, NO!” Angela desperately pushed against Blane to keep him back from her husband. “This needs to stop NOW! I already had to deal with a Princess having to stop a fight, and I don’t want any more to start because of statements we don’t mean!” “You don’t think I meant it?!” shouted Blane and Jonas at the same time. “Let me tell you one thing,” snarled Jonas as he looked back at his wife, making her grow more worried when she saw his angered stare directed at her instead of the triplets. “I never, EVER back down from a claim I state or a promise I keep! And I can tell you one thing for sure: after what he said to me and what he’s planning to do, I am not going to have a deviant like Troy as a son.” If Jonas had just shoved his claw through his wife’s chest to punch her in the heart, the face she’d make would be nearly identical to the look she gave him at that moment. Before she or any of the triplets could say a word, the door that connected the adjacent rooms flew open. Lyle, who had a look angrier than any of his older brothers, began to walk over to the main door with his luggage wrapped around his back. “And just where do you think YOU’RE going?!” shouted Jonas with malice. Even though he had no idea that Lyle was even in his hotel room, he wasn’t going to let him leave now. “What does it LOOK like!? I’m leaving!” “Oh, no you’re not!” yelled Jonas as he quickly rushed up towards him. “As long as you’re under MY roo--” “I’m not STAYING under your bucking roof!” shouted Lyle right back at him after turning around. “If you really think that throwing out one of your kids is fine, then I’m leaving too!” “WHAT?!” screamed Angela with a look of pure shock on her face. “You bucking heard me!” Keeping his eyes pinned on his Dad, Lyle made sure that his luggage was secure onto his back before preparing his last words towards Jonas. “I’ve had to deal with your bullshit for way too long, and I’m not gonna stay around either of you if you think what you’re doing is fine!” He pointed a free talon up at his Father before adding, “You’re saying that Troy isn’t your son? Well guess what, NEITHER AM I!!!” Lyle then walked back to the door, ignoring Jonas’s furious tone of voice, “DON’T YOU DARE LEAVE THIS ROOM!!!” “Or what?” asked the younger Gryphon as he glared back at him. “You’re gonna keep treating me like crap and make me feel worthless?! At least Troy and Canvas treat me with actual respect! You know, like how a parent is SUPPOSED to act!” Jonas, who was already at his wit’s end, could feel his face growing red from anger against his brown feathers. “Lyle,” growled the Gryphon through clenched teeth, “you are NOT leaving this room to go back to that Colt-Cuddler!” Lyle, who was now by the door, made one last glance back at him before grabbing the doorknob. “Oh yeah?! MAKE ME!! Because right now, I’d rather keep a Colt-Cuddler for a brother than have a Piece-Of-Shit for a Dad!!!” “YOU LITTLE--” “JONAS!!!” Angela was able to grab hold of her husband before he could lunge after his son. “Quit acting like thi--” “Let go of me!” Jonas managed to shake himself out of Angela’s embrace. Very, very fortunately though, Jonas didn’t take that chance to grab Lyle, which would’ve caused the triplets to pull him back as well. Instead, the Gryphon breathed out slowly as he walked up closer to Lyle, and spoke in a dark, ice-cold tone before his son could turn the knob. “Lyle… You better think long and hard about what you plan to do. Because if you take one step out of that door… Just ONE step… Don’t you ever think of coming back.” “JONAS!!!” Angela almost wanted to slap him for saying that. It was bad enough that he reacted the way he did to Troy, but she wasn’t going to lose Lyle as well. “I am NOT going to stand by and let you lose TWO of our--” “I TOLD YOU TO STAY THE BUCK OUT OF THIS ANGELA!!!” Despite the fact that she was right next to him, and even clinging onto him, Jonas didn’t even consider screaming in a lesser tone right into her face. For a long moment, no one said a single thing. The triplets, who formally mad a mix of anger and surprise from seeing how both Lyle and Jonas were acting, were now only carrying a shared look of complete and utter shock. Jonas was known to get loud, no doubt. And in more than a few instances, he’s been known take physical measures when it came to disciplining his children. But of all the things he’s done, his wife was always completely off limits. He never… EVER… even thought of raising his voice against her in such a way that he just did. Nevertheless, despite the stunned look that she had, with her wide-open eyes risking tearing up, Jonas only paused in place for a moment. His expression softened a bit before he made a small sigh in slight guilt. But even with that, his expression only lasted a few seconds before turned back to Lyle, who was still frozen at the door. “I’ve raised you, Lyle… I took care of you, all of you… I’ve loved you… I’ve fed you and gave you shelter… So you better think… You better REALLY think about what you plan to do next…” For a long moment, no one made a single movement. The only thing that could be heard, aside from Angela’s panicked breathing as she stared between Jonas and Lyle, was the sound of Lyle’s talons against the brass doorknob as they moved slightly. However, after a few seconds, which felt like an hour of silence, his claw let go of the doorknob. And much to his older brothers’ dismay, Lyle’s claw touched the carpet in front of the still closed door. Jonas grew a confident smirk on his beak, which only grew when he saw his son turn around and walk up to him. “That’s better. I don’t know wha--” PTOO!!! Blaze, Blade, and Blane’s beaks all dropped in an instant. Angela’s claws shot up to cover her own agape mouth. Jonas, whose smirk changed to a shocked expression in a millisecond, could feel his left eye twitch violently. Of course, not as much as the giant load of spit that hit him right underneath it. “EAT SHIT!!!” Not even bothering to see how Jonas would react, Lyle walked right back to the door, and opened it without any hesitation before storming out of the room. Before he disappeared, one of Lyle’s claws shot back into the room for a brief moment to give his Dad the middle talon before the door slammed shut. By now, multiple parts of Jonas’s face were twitching, like he was trying to manually process what he should do next. While Angela stood frozen, unable to move in shock as she tried to process another son leaving them, Blaze tried to speak up towards his Dad. “Dad… do you NOT see how you’re acting right now?! You need to sto--” “Shut up,” muttered Jonas coldly as he lifted a claw to wipe Lyle’s spit off of his face. “It doesn’t matter…” After flinging his claw out to let that loogie hit the floor, Jonas breathed out calmly as he let what happened sink in. Knowing what this meant, the Gryphon cracked his neck before speaking in a more subdued tone. “If that’s what he wants, then so be it. He was too pathetic anyway.” That… that was the straw that finally broke the camel’s back. Even though the triplets originally planned to just find Lyle, that statement from Jonas was enough for the three to know that there was no hope for their Dad. An enraged look on his face, Blaze was the first to shout out; “THAT’S IT! I’M LEAVING TOO!” Jonas quickly turned back at Blaze in shock. “WHAT?!” “You heard me, asshole!” shouted Blaze as he stormed past his Dad towards the same door Lyle left from. “If you’re gonna keep being a dick, then I’m done with you! Enjoy losing THREE sons!” Before Jonas could say anything in protest, the muscular Gryphon opened the door and left just as his younger brother had. Angela could only stand devastated, unable to even open her beak before seeing Blade do the same. “I’m done too!” The skinny Gryphon opened the door to leave, but looked back at Jonas before saying in a cold tone through his Trottingham accent, “Granddad always said to follow the one you respect most. And right now I have none for you, you twat!” The door slammed shut once more after Blade left, which made Angela throw her claws over her beak to muffle a sob. But as soon as she saw Blane storm towards the door as well, she finally spoke out in a desperate shriek. “BLANE, PLEASE DON’T!!!” “Take it up with HIM!” shouted Blane as he pointed a claw straight at Jonas. After opening the door to leave, the massive Gryphon looked back at his Dad before yelling furiously, “WHAT THEY SAID!” The door then slammed once more, leaving Jonas and Angela completely alone in the hotel room. Before Angela could have a breakdown, unable to take in what just occurred, the door opened again, revealing Blane’s head poking in to say one last thing. “Oh, and by the way! I really AM a florist! AND I LIKE IT!!!” That was when the door made one final slam. Jonas, who was too stunned to make a reply through any of his sons’ statements, only stood frozen for another moment before growing a bloodthirsty expression on his face. While his wife struggled not to fall onto the floor and sob uncontrollably, the General rushed over to the door, and poked his head out to shout into the now empty hallway. “YOU WANT TO BE WITH A DEVIANT?!? FINE!!! GOOD RIDDANCE, YOU INGRATES!!!” The only thing Jonas saw when he turned back into the room was the clenched fist of his wife’s claw that came barrelling towards his face. After punching the Gryphon hard enough to knock him out cold within the doorway of the hotel room, Angela rushed out in a panic, screaming her sons’ names frantically.