//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty-Six: ...Flock Together // Story: Brushed Away 2: By Hoof and Claw // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// Canvas had his eyes held shut as he desperately tried to maintain his death grip on his fiancé's back. He wanted to say something -- anything to try and calm down the Gryphon's frayed nerves. Unfortunately, the sheer force of bitter cold wind hitting his face, combined with the overwhelming fear he felt being flown at least a thousand feet in the air, made the stallion unable to get a single audible word out of his muzzle. Meanwhile, Troy shot through the pre-winter skies like a missile, seemingly either unaware or uncaring that Canvas was clinging onto him dearly. Even though the stallion's hooves were holding onto him securely enough to not risk flying off, the speed that Troy had while flying could have easily changed that very quickly. Of course, despite how fast he was flying, making the cold winds sting his face strongly through his feathers, Troy wasn't able to let that overpower the amount of pain he was feeling in his chest. You think that being like that makes you family?! Troy shut his eyes tightly before shooting downward, making his stallion scream in terror as the two fly back down to the ground. Fortunately though, the Gryphon was able to pull up soon enough to not end up killing the both of them. Instead, Troy opened his eyes in time to see where he was headed, and spread his wings open to slow his descent to make a quick landing. With a sudden “whoosh”, the Gryphon used his hind paws to hit the ground hard, making a huge skid-mark several feet across the dew-covered grass. As soon as Troy made a complete stop, Canvas jumped off his back in a desperate attempt to keep himself from being shot into the skies once more. Nevertheless, the stallion wasn’t as worried about himself as he was his fiancé, and he rushed over to try to hold Troy tightly. “Troy... Troy, you really nee--” The Gryphon stepped away before the stallion could put a single hoof on him. Keeping his beak clenched shut, Troy was barely able to make a single visible emotion aside from the look his face had when clenched in pain. He’s no son of mine. While Canvas stood in growing worry, his fiancé stumbled across the vacant grass field, which was the same one which used to be below his first cloud home in Equestria. The pond nearby shimmered beautifully underneath the night’s sky, but the Gryphon paid no attention to any of it; instead, he made his way towards the treeline of the forest. Right near the edge of the woods, a large tree stood out against the others, completely dead with greyed bark as its branches hung within inches of snapping off. If you think that you’re family, then you’re severely misinformed! Canvas tried to run up to him, but from the look of unfading despair that was on Troy’s face, it was doubtful that the stallion could say anything to get him out of his stupor. Nevertheless, Canvas spoke out in a faint and panicked tone when Troy reached the tree. “Troy… Troy, please… You’re really scaring me…” Troy’s golden eyes peered straight at the dead tree, and narrowed in growing intensity as his Father’s words continued to play back in his head. As far as I’m concerned, you are nothing but an utter disgrace! “RRRAAAAAHHHHHH!!!” CRASH!!! With a furious roar reminiscent of his lion ancestry, the Gryphon punched his claw straight through the base of the tree. The claw ripped through the rotted bark, bursting out the other end with no resistance as shards of splinters shot out everywhere. Gritting his beak in unmatchable fury, Troy kept his foreleg embedded in the tree for a moment after that punch, like he was trying to envision Jonas’s chest in place of it. Canvas stepped back cautiously, looking more afraid as he heard another deep growl come from the Gryphon. After another angered yell, Troy’s other claw punched through the tree as well. Feeling a building seething inside of him with the anger of a thousand suns, Troy let out a bloodthirsty cry as he pulled back, ripping the massive dead tree straight out of its roots. CRACK!!! Troy lifted the giant tree straight up after pulling it out of the ground, and swung it as hard as he could against the ground in blinding fury. With his pupils shrunk down to their absolute smallest, making his eyes look like two golden orbs of pure malice, Troy continued to roar like a primal beast as he ripped the tree apart with his talons. “YAAAAAHHHH!!! GAH!!! RrrrrrrrrRRRRRAAAAAHHHHH!!!” For several minutes, Canvas could only watch in silent horror as he watched his fiancé destroy the rotted husk in any way he could: tearing, clawing, punching, and smashing smaller pieces against the ground. In his aggravated state, Troy didn’t see the dead tree in his sights as he slashed it to pieces; instead, he merely saw every single instance in his life which he wanted to completely obliterate out of existence. After swinging the tree to smash against the ground a few more times, it ended up looking more like an over-sized twig by the time Troy was finished. As the Gryphon stood in the middle of the destruction, surrounded by broken branches, bark and splinters, he only paused for another moment before screaming out into the skies, roaring thunderously like a lion that just claimed its kill. Canvas had to cover his ears with his hooves to prevent getting any hearing damage. When he pulled his hooves free, the stallion looked back at Troy, and his eyes widened when he saw the Gryphon’s state. Gripping the last fragment of the tree in his claws as it laid in the grass, Troy’s eyes were clenched tightly shut as he breathed out in heavy pants. Each deep exhale came out more strained as the last, and his eyes began to well up, despite how hard Troy tried to keep them closed. After seeing another pained scream come from his fiancé, Canvas ran in to hold him into a tight hug. “Troy… Troy…” Gripping him as tightly as he possibly could, the stallion knew exactly what Troy needed to do. Ever since the two became friends, Canvas knew exactly when he began to fall in love with him, which was when Troy held him tightly after finding out about the stallion’s Father; and right now, what Troy was going through was exactly the same as how the stallion was on that night. So, with a strong hug holding the Gryphon in place, Canvas had Troy’s head firmly against his chest as he spoke in a whisper. “Troy, please… please don’t keep this in… Don’t bottle it up like I did…” Troy’s breathing began to come out faster, his claws slowly wrapping around the stallion to hug him back. While he struggled to keep his eyes shut, he could only give a faint whimper as he heard his love continue. “It’s okay, Troy,” whispered the stallion in as calming of a voice as he could, despite it coming out strained from his struggles not to cry as well. “I’m right here… I’m right here, Troy... and I’m not letting you go…” Troy winced a little as he hugged his fiancé tighter. With his head pressing harder into the stallion’s aqua chest, a couple small tears finally escaped his clenched eyes. While his beak trembled, he knew he couldn’t hold back when he heard Canvas say that one last thing: “It’s alright. Just… just let it out…” That was enough to make the floodgates finally break. Keeping Canvas in a deathly grip, Troy couldn’t keep it in anymore as he finally cried. Despite his stern background, and the fact that Gryphons aren’t supposed to be seen in such a weak state, none of that mattered to him at that moment. Instead, he just clung to his fiancé dearly as he bawled, unable to stop the flow of tears escaping his eyes. Much like when Troy did this for him, Canvas couldn’t keep himself from sobbing either. Remembering when Troy held him at one of his lowest points, right after he finally confessed who it was that hurt him, the stallion knew that Troy needed to let this out. But still, hearing the overwhelming amount of emotional anguish coming from his mate with each near-deafening cry was making it hard for Canvas to not break down into a crying fit as well. Before long, Troy was hugging Canvas even tighter than the stallion was holding him. His head rested against the stallion’s shoulder as he wailed loudly; barely able to speak coherently between his strong sobs. “Th-th-that… That SON OF A BITCH!!! I… I hate him!!! I HATE HIM SO MUCH!!!” As soon as he said that, Troy’s cries came out even stronger. Canvas could only return the strong hug as tears came down his face as well. Letting his fiancé get this out of his system, the pony kept him in tight embrace as he felt the fur on his shoulder get matted with the Gryphon’s tears. “I know, honey, I know… It’s okay… I hate him, too.” Even though Canvas felt a slight twinge in his heart from actually saying that out loud, it was mostly from how easily he was able to say that. Of course, after seeing how that Gryphon acted, it was no doubt to the pony how he could say that; he really did hate him, especially after seeing how badly his fiancé was hurt because of him. But after a small sigh, Canvas clenched his eyes shut as he held his love tightly in his hooves. “But you can’t let that get to you! Troy, you’re stronger than him. You’re a bigger Gryphon than he could ever be. You proved that tonight, and I couldn’t be prouder of you for that.” Troy only slumped his head down in dread. Even though he knew that Canvas was trying to get him out of his saddened state, the fact that both his parents left him was making the idea of feeling positive seem close to impossible. But despite that, Canvas pressed his lips against the Gryphon’s cheek tenderly, giving him a soft kiss before continuing in a calming tone. “Troy, I’m so sorry… I’m so sorry you had to deal with that… I know how it feels, and I know how much it hurts…” As a few more stray tears escaped him, the pony only paused for a second before adding in a sincere tone of voice, “But… I’m right here for you… I’m not leaving you alone, Troy… I’m not letting you be alone like I was.” Troy made a quick nod before hugging the stallion even tighter. Despite the lingering pain still burning in his heart, the Gryphon was grateful for Canvas being by his side. As he kept his eyes closed, savoring the warmth of his mate as they hugged in the cold darkness around them, he could barely speak in a tone stronger than a muffled croak. “Th… thanks, Canvas… You… You have no idea how glad I am to have you…” For several minutes, the two just hugged underneath the enchanting glow of the night’s sky, neither of them saying a word to break the moment they shared in each other’s warmth. Although a few sobs escaped Troy as they held each other, the Gryphon stayed relatively silent before giving off a deep sigh. Canvas slowly opened his eyes, which were slightly reddened. “T-Troy? Are… are you okay?” Troy pulled his head back, having his beak point to the ground while his eyes stayed closed. While the moonlight made the lines of tears shine out against his silver feathers, his beak opened to make a faint, defeated statement. “I… I don’t know… I… I don’t… know what to do.” Seeing the look of pain in his fiancé’s tired expression, Canvas didn’t hesitate to bring his hooves out to hold the Gryphon. Lifting Troy’s head back up, Canvas made sure that he was looking right at him before speaking in a more determined tone of voice. “I’m going to tell you what we’re going to do, Troy. First, we’re not going to let this get to us. All that matters is that we’re still alright, and nothing is going to change that. You helped me, and I’m gonna be damned if I can’t do the same for you! If you can be my support, then I’m going to be there for you, no matter what.” Troy, whose eyes were much redder than his stallion’s, could see from the look on his fiancé’s face how serious he was about this, prompting him to nod slightly. “And as for what we’re going to do next,” continued the pony as he held Troy even closer, “we’re going to keep doing what we planned before. We’re going to get married, and we’re not going to let anything stand in our way. After all you’ve done for me, I can’t think of anyone I’d rather spend my life with.” Troy made another small nod, a tiny smile beginning to grow on his beak as he felt the last few tears escape his eyes. “Me… me neither…” The stallion then bent in and held Troy in a tender hug. Resting his head on the Gryphon’s shoulder, Canvas felt his fiancé’s claws wrap around him, making him sigh as he spoke surely. “Troy… We’re going to have a great life together… It doesn’t matter who we have in our lives, just as long as we have each other…” Troy hugged Canvas even tighter in response, but not too tight as to keep the stallion from being able to continue. “Troy, I always want to be with you, and I can already see what it’ll be like… We’re going to live a long life together… We’ll always have each other’s backs… And when we both get all old and wrinkly…” A small giggle came from Troy as he pulled his head back, giving the first legitimate smile to Canvas in the form of a skeptical smirk. “Maybe you, but I’m not gonna end up all withered.” “We’ll see,” stated the stallion with a grin of his own. After planing a small peck on his beak, Canvas looked up at him before continuing, “But when we do end up like that, and we’re both old… I’m still going to love you with all my heart… Just like I do right now.” Troy looked like he was about to tear up again, but the smile on his face was enough to show that he didn’t mind one bit. He pulled Canvas in for another powerful hug, feeling more sure than ever before about what he wanted to say. The Gryphon took a breath before speaking in a stronger-sounding voice, “Canvas, I swear… I swear more than anything, I’m going to be the best husband I can possibly be.” A trembling smile grew on the pony’s muzzle, and he could only reply with a stronger hug before saying, “Me too, Troy… Me too.” The two only pulled back for a brief moment, looking at each other underneath the enchanting moonlight before moving in for a deep kiss. Staying in tight embrace, with muzzle and beak intertwined as passionately as when they first made love, neither of them let a single bad memory from earlier that night pass into their thoughts. Instead, the two just kept themselves connected for as long as they could, neither of them wanting to break free from the one they loved. “Ummm… guys?” Troy and Canvas pulled back in surprise, and turned their heads to the source of the new voice. Twilight Sparkle, whose cheeks were wet from her own tears, had a cautious smile on her muzzle. “So… is everything alright?” Troy was the first to nod to the Alicorn’s question, and used one of his wings to pull his fiancé in even closer. Even though his voice still sounded a little rough, the Gryphon had a smile as he answered, “Y-yeah… I think we’re okay…” Canvas nodded as well when he looked back towards the Princess, a smile of his own as he leaned in beside the Gryphon. Despite still feeling cautious (especially from all the screaming and crying she heard on the flight over here), Twilight could tell that the couple were ultimately fine for the time being. “Well, I just wanted to make sure…” Twilight then walked up towards Troy, and kept a more assuring look on her face as she spoke in a sincere tone. “Troy, I just want you to know that if you ever need to talk with somepony about this, I’ll be more than willing to help. Okay?” Troy nodded once more, with a grateful smile appearing on his beak. “Y-yeah… thanks, Twi.” Happy to see that reaction, Twilight then turned to Canvas and asked, “So Canvas, do you think you can get Troy home without any problems?” “Yeah, of course,” said Canvas confidently as he looked over at Troy. “That is, if Troy can promise not to fly like a bat out of Tartarus.” Troy only scoffed with a smile. “Oh, come on! I wasn’t that bad!” “Yes you were,” said Canvas and Twilight at the same time, both in a tone serious enough to make Troy shut his beak. The Gryphon looked away sheepishly, feeling guilty as he remembered how brashly he shot away from the bakery with Canvas clinging to his back. Fortunately, the feel of Canvas’s soft fur on his side was able to help Troy settle down enough to listen to Twilight’s voice. “Well, if you two are alright, then I’ll leave you alone for the night. If you want, I can have Pinkie come by tomorrow.” Canvas and Troy looked at each other for a moment, and then nodded back at Twilight. “Yeah, that sounds pretty good,” said Troy with a more content smile on his beak. With that, Twilight gave her last goodbyes and hugs to the two before heading back towards Ponyville. Despite feeling like there was still more that needed to be done in regard to Troy and his family troubles, the Princess knew that it could wait for tonight. When she looked back at the two as she flew, seeing the stallion and Gryphon in loving embrace, Twilight smiled more assuredly before refocusing on her flight. This night may have ended in one of the worst ways possible for Troy, but at seeing who was beside him, the Princess was sure that he was going to be fine. After all, if there’s anything that Twilight learned from the past, it’s that love, much like friendship, is able to overcome the strongest pain. Troy and Canvas stayed in that field for only another brief moment, both of them feeling grateful that Rainbow Dash’s recently renovated vacation cloud was empty that night. When Canvas finally got back onto Troy’s back, he was happy to see that his fiancé learned from his past mistake, and took this flight at a much more relaxed pace than before. As the two soared at a lower altitude, going just over the forest line to head back to their home, Canvas had his eyes closed as he held his love tenderly, letting Troy’s warmth settle against him as they flew against the chilly night winds. However, as soon as the barn came into view, Troy’s eyes widened when he caught sight of something by their front door. When he landed in the lawn, letting his fiancé hop off of his back, the Gryphon walked over to see who it was. “Lyle?! What are you--” Lyle, who was huddled by the front door of the couple’s living space, shot up the instant he heard his brother’s voice. And before Troy could finish his question, the younger Gryphon shot toward him, grabbing him for an extremely tight hug. “TROY!!!” Despite feeling slightly confused, Troy was quick to return the hug equally as tight as Lyle’s. “Lyle, what… what are you doing here?” When he pulled himself back from Troy, the black and white Gryphon had his head lowered in an attempt to hide how he looked. Of course, both Troy and Canvas could see the matted feathers underneath Lyle’s eyes. After taking a couple brief breaths, Lyle managed to collect himself enough to speak faintly. “I… I left! After what he did to you, I… I couldn’t stay there anymore! I grabbed my things and came back here!” While the couple both looked fairly shocked at what Lyle said, Canvas looked over at the front door to see Lyle’s bags lying beside the wall. Before the stallion could react, Troy hugged his brother again as he tried to think of something to say. “Lyle, you… you didn’t have to--” “YES I DID!!” shouted Lyle as he hugged his brother even tighter, not wanting to let him go. “He wanted to make me choose! He was trying to make me stay with him, and I… I couldn’t do that…” A few light sniffles came from Lyle’s beak as he kept his claws wrapped around his brother. While his eyes stayed shut, mostly to keep himself from tearing up too badly, he only paused for a couple seconds before continuing in a more subdued tone. “I couldn’t leave you like that, and… and I made my choice. If that… asshole thinks he can make me choose, than I’m gonna choose… I’d… I’d rather be with my brother than with him.” Troy, who was becoming overwhelmed by a new array of emotion, kept his brother in a tight embrace as he felt new tears begin to flow from his eyes. Canvas felt himself start to tear up as well, and could only stand at the side for a moment before leaning in to hug Lyle from behind. A small bout of silence lasted for a few seconds as the three hugged, but was interrupted as the sound of fluttering wings caught their attention. When Troy pulled back, he looked up to see the triplets silhouetted against the night sky. As soon as they landed in the grass, Lyle stepped back from them and shouted in a furious tone. “I’M NOT GOING BACK!!! I don’t care what you guys say, because I’m DONE with him!!” “Whoa, whoa whoa!” Blaze was the first to speak up as he threw up his claws to stop his brother. “We’re not doing that, Lyle, okay? Trust us, we’re NOT letting you go back to him!” Seeing the look of sincerity in his older brother’s expression, Lyle took a second before wiping his face dry with a claw. “R… really?” “Yeah,” added Blade as he stepped in with an equally honest tone to his brother’s. “We… we all left too. After seeing how he acted, we… we couldn’t stay with him.” “That’s right,” said Blane with a nod in agreement. “Dude, we’re supposed to be family. And… what he did wasn’t family at all.” Blinking repeatedly in shock, Troy could only look between the three of them with a growing feeling of heaviness in his heart. Realizing what the triplets did for him, Troy knew that he was going to start crying again. “You… you all left… because of me?” The triplets looked at each other before all nodding in unison. “Well… yeah, dude,” said Blaze as he looked back at his brother. “We’re not giving up on you that easily. We love you, man! BOTH of you! And if Dad is gonna be an asshole about who you’re with, then screw him!” Blade nodded to his brother’s statement before looking back at Troy as well. “Exactly. We’re Clawstons, mate! We don’t give up on our brothers, no matter what! And I’m certainly not going to leave half of them for one tired-out old bloke with a stick up his bum!” Blane, who carried a warm smile similar to the two beside him, walked up to Troy as he added his final statement. “We’re all here for you, dude. It’s just like the Clawston motto: Birds of a Feather…” Tears finally began to stream down Troy’s cheeks as he smiled back at them. But instead of trying to wipe them off like his brother had, the silver Gryphon just nodded before finishing the motto. “... F-Flock Together…” With that, the three Gryphons all pulled Troy in for a massive hug, not wanting him to be without one after all that happened. While Lyle joined in, having all five Gryphons in a giant group hug, Canvas stepped back as he watched with an overjoyed smile on his trembling muzzle. Of course, as soon as the stallion sniffed and tried to wipe a tear away, Blaze’s head poked up to look over at him. “Hey! What’re you doing over there?!” Canvas jolted a bit as he stepped further away from the Gryphon hug. “Oh! Ummm, nothing. I… I was just…” The stallion looked away bashfully, a small blush growing as he tried to think of a way to leave Troy with his brothers. “I was just watching, but… I guess that’s more of a family thing.” “Yeah, exactly. So what are you doing over there?” Canvas looked back over at Blaze with his eyes open wider than before. As he let the Gryphon’s works sink in, his heart began to beat faster when he saw the other two triplets look over at him as well. “Come on, man,” said Blane as he extended a wing out for the stallion. “This is a family hug, so get in here.” Feeling his heart get warmer with each passing second, it took a bit before Canvas realized they weren’t joking. They really wanted him to join in. As brothers. As family. With tears coming down his face, it only took a moment of hesitation before Canvas shot in with the group. As he held himself close to his fiancé, he felt Blane’s wing and Lyle’s claw wrap around his back. Realizing what this meant, Canvas shut his eyes in bliss as he hugged as tightly as he could, feeling unbelievably lucky at what was happening. Troy may have lost quite a lot during dinner earlier that night, but none of that mattered as he felt his brothers and fiancé holding him lovingly now. It didn’t matter who left, and it certainly didn’t matter what may have been lost. All that mattered, to both Troy and Canvas, was that they still had those who really did matter. They still had their brothers, and above all… They still had a family.