//------------------------------// // Chapter Thirty-Seven: Best Man and Worst Timing // Story: Brushed Away 2: By Hoof and Claw // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// The morning skies were dampened quite a bit by the overcast color which signaled the beginning of the winter season. Of course, none of that seemed to phase Troy, who was standing underneath the steaming-hot water coming from his outdoor shower. Despite the fact that breakfast was being made inside of the barn, there was still more than enough hot water for the Gryphon to get washed up as he stood amongst the brisk morning air. The silver Gryphon's eyes were clenched shut as he let the water cascade down his feathers, letting the pleasing sensations help to ease his settling nerves. Before he could try to turn off the faucet and get himself dried off, Troy felt the familiar touch of his fiancé's hooves wrap around his midsection. "C-Canvas…" Although he flinched a little in surprise, Troy still sighed with a smile as he felt the stallion hold him tightly from behind. "Come on, man, you're gonna freeze the instant I turn the water off." Canvas, not seeming to care one bit, simply replied with a nuzzle against the Gryphon's back. "Well, I haven't had the chance to shower yet. And since I wanted to see how you were doing, I thought it'd be nice to get two birds with one stone." A small chuckle escaped Troy's beak, and a claw went down to hold onto Canvas's hooves while they were against his feathered chest. "Mmmmm…" Taking a moment to savor the stallion's warmth against his back, Troy exhaled deeply before turning his head to look back at him. "I'm seriously fine, Canvas. I just…" Not wanting to blatantly lie, Troy couldn't help sinking his head a little before adding with a brief sigh. "I… I'm just trying to let this all sink in, that's all." Canvas held his fiancé in even tighter in response. "It's okay, honey," said the stallion sweetly. "I know exactly what you mean. It's just like what you said to me: If you need to talk about it, I'll be there to listen. I promise." That was when Troy turned himself around fully, letting him face his love with a smile on his beak. "Th-thanks, Canvas…" Seeing the warm smile on the pony's muzzle, Troy couldn't hold himself back as he gave him a strong hug. While the shower head above them continued to rain steaming hot water, the stallion returned the hug lovingly. Of course, while his eyes were closed, Canvas felt a distinct rumble, which made his ears twitch a bit as he recognized that familiar sound. "Hehehe…" Canvas looked up at Troy with a coy smirk on his muzzle. "You're purring." Honestly, he expected the Gryphon to get all huffy or look at him with a disapproving pout (which was supposed to be intimidating, but mostly just looked cute to the stallion). Surprisingly though, Troy didn't give much a response to his fiancé's statement. Instead, he just paused for a second before making a tired shrug of his shoulders. "Uhhh… yeah. I guess." Canvas’s head pulled back a little in surprise. “Wait, what?” Troy exhaled once more before making a defeated nod with his head turned away from the pony. “Yeah, I… I was.” The stallion’s brows climbed higher, realizing that something was off. Even though he wanted to be happy that Troy finally admitted it, the way that the Gryphon actually said it wasn’t comforting at all. “Troy, why… why are you saying that? I mean, why are you… saying it like that?” Troy kept his beak pointed to the ground, staying silent for a moment before stating his feeble answer. “I just… I didn’t want to admit it before be… because purring is a sign of weakness…” While his eyes stayed closed, the Gryphon shook some moisture off from the back of his head before continuing. “And now, well… you saw me crying like a hatchling last night, so it’s not like I have to hide being weak now, can I?” A strong pout came on Canvas’s face. “Troy, stop that!” said the stallion disappointingly as he poked at Troy’s chest. “How could you even think something like that?! You are NOT weak!” Troy only made a disbelieving huff. “Oh, come on. You… you saw how I…” Canvas sighed before pulling Troy’s head back up with a hoof. “Yes I did…” When he made sure that the Gryphon was looking back at him, Canvas grew a more sympathetic smile as he kept talking. “Troy, I saw you do a lot last night. Both good and bad. And I… I don’t think I ever saw that much emotion come from you at once.” Troy tried to sink his head back down, not wanting to think about that. Nevertheless, the stallion still kept a sweet tone in his voice. “And you know what? That only made it more clear how glad I am that we’re together.” The Gryphon blinked a couple times, and peered back at Canvas with a slightly surprised look in his eyes. “Honey, what I saw in you last night was not weak,” said Canvas in the surest tone of voice he could muster as his smile grew. “You were dedicated. You were sincere. You were able to say what you meant without backing down. And most of all… you showed nothing but courage when you said how much you meant to me.” Slowly, a weak smile began to appear at the corners of Troy’s beak. Not waiting for a reply from his fiancé, Canvas bent in to give the wet Gryphon a caring nuzzle, which was immediately returned by him. Of course, after a moment of silence, with only the sounds of the running water running through the peaceful morning, another sound reemerged which made Canvas sigh with a grin. “Mmmmm… see? There’s nothing wrong with purring.” Troy’s involuntary purr quickly stopped. The flustered Gryphon turned his head away as his cheeks started to redden. “I… I wasn’t…” “Oh, come on!” The pony peered up at his fiancé with a look of disbelief. “You’re seriously going to deny it now?!” Troy clenched his beak shut in obvious embarrassment, the feathers on his face beginning to ruffle out. “Well, it’s not like I…” “Troy, you just purred! I heard it clear as day!” Troy just looked sheepish as he tried to look away. Unfortunately, as soon as his head turned to the barn, his eyes widened when he saw Pinkie Pie poke her head out from the side. “I heard it too! You sounded like a biiiig kitty cat!” “PINKIE!!!” Luckily enough, Pinkie didn’t stay for that long after dropping off what was made for the family the previous night, as well as a box of doughnuts. When she saw how content Troy looked while around his brothers, it was clear to the pink mare that nothing much else needed to be done to ensure that he was going to be alright. So, instead of using her party cannons to help with an impromptu “Hope You’re Feeling Better After Your Parents Acted Like Meanie-Heads” song, Pinkie just gave her best wishes to the group after giving them their food. Of course, none of the Clawston brothers looked disappointed at all when they saw what it was: “Oi! Pass me another slice of the mushroom one!” Lyle tossed one of the remaining slices of the mushroom pizza over to Blade, who had to lean his head back to let the melted cheese drip into his open beak. Sugar Cube Corner may have been known for their amazing sweets, but the bakers definitely knew how to make more than that, as evidenced by the flatbread pizzas that they had prepared for the Clawstons the previous night. Despite the fact that they needed to be reheated, the meal turned out to be the best mood-enhancer for their morning feast. Heck, even the fact that none of the toppings had meat (or tofu, which the Cakes knew wasn’t exactly a popular culinary treat for Gryphons) didn’t stop any of them from tearing into it the instant Canvas got them out of the oven. “Mmmmph!” The aqua stallion licked some excess grease off of his hoof as he had his fill, obviously happy with the red and green pepper pizza he helped finish off. “Man, this is almost as good as that pizza we had in Manehattan!” Lyle nodded in agreement, swallowing his bite before adding, “Yeah, definitely. Is this the one you guys have planned for your reception?” Troy shook his head while wiping his talons clean with a napkin. “Actually, no. We were planning to try this one place in town that has a really good pretzel crust.” The Gryphon looked down at the few remaining slices, shrugging before grabbing a doughnut. “But I gotta admit, the Cakes could be good competition if they made pizzas as well.” Despite eating nearly half of the entire meal, Blane made a skeptical shrug while chewing. “I dunno, dude. It’s kinda hard to compare this with a meat-lovers back hom-- Really, a pretzel crust?!” Blaze was already digging into the doughnuts, and was dunking a sprinkled one into milk from a giant mug that he found in the kitchen. “You’re seriously surprised about that? Dude, you remember when we tried to deep-fry that whole pizza?” Blane instantly grew a smile on his beak. “Oh yeah! Wasn’t that when we met that chick with the giant ass when the fire department showed up?” “Nah, I think that was during the firecracker suit, mate,” added Blade as he raised a talon to intervene. “I remember she was around when Dad was yellin’ at us about that.” Blaze and Blade took a moment, but raised their brows with a unified “Aaahhhh” as soon as they remembered that detail. “Oh yeah,” said Blane with a nod of his head, “now I remember! Man, he was pissed! I thought he was seriously gonna kill us!” “Yeah,” added Blaze as he leaned back into his seat. He shook his head in slight disbelief before taking a bite from his doughnut. “Bruh,” he said in a muffled tone as he chewed,” I can’t belief we were thcared of dat affhole!” “I know, right?!” Blane had a surprised smile of his own as he pointed a talon over at Lyle. “I mean, I’m still surprised that Lyle was able to fly out of Cloudsdale with the cojones he had on him! He should’ve just dropped like a stone with those bowling balls between his legs!” Everyone had a good laugh from that, which made Lyle smile a little wider while in his seat. Troy, not wanting to let this moment pass by, cleared his throat before turning his attention to his younger brother. “Lyle, I just gotta say that you doing that has my infinite respect.” “Oh, come on,” said Lyle with a shrug as he looked away, not wanting to show too much of a blush on his cheeks. “I was just doing what family is supposed to do. I’m not letting any of my brothers get treated like that.” “I know,” responded Troy as he kept his sincere smile. “And because of that, I can definitely add something to the wedding plans.” “Huh?” asked Lyle, along with the triplets in confusion. Troy waited until Lyle looked back at him, and placed a claw on his younger brother’s shoulder. “Lyle, I seriously can’t think of anything that would be better proof of you being a man. And because of that, I would be honored if you were to be my Best Man.” Lyle’s eyes shot wide open in shock. So did the triplets, but their surprise was for a much different reason as they shouted out in unison, “WHAT?!?” “What?” asked Troy as he looked back at them. “He deserves it!” “Dude…” Lyle had to blink a couple times before realizing that Troy was being completely honest. “Are… are you serious?” “Absolutely.” Keeping his genuine expression, Troy leaned in as he asked, “So, what do you say? Will you be my right-claw man?” While the triplets all groaned and slumped back in their seats, looking like they just lost the lottery, Lyle quickly grew an honored smile on his beak. “I… I… of course, dude!” Lyle leaned in to give his brother a strong hug, which prompted their older brothers to whine in unison, “Oh, COME ON!” “What!?” asked Troy as soon as he let go of Lyle. “Lyle deserves the title! He stood up for me!” “But… but we left too!” whined Blade as he looked between Troy and Lyle. He pointed a claw at Lyle and added, “And what’s he gonna do for the bachelor party, huh?! Putt-putt golfing?” Lyle flustered a bit as he pulled back, his eyes darting around before saying in a weak tone, “Uhhh… no?” “Come on, Troy!” said Blaze in a pleading tone. “At least let us organize the bachelor party!” Canvas, who was trying to stay happy about Troy getting his Best Man, was now looking slightly worried as he stared between the Gryphons. “Ummm… Lyle?” asked the stallion as he turned over to him. “What do you think?” Lyle took a second to think it over, and made a meager shrug before looking back at his older brothers. “Oh, alright! You can do it if you want, BUT! I want to join in on the party too!” “YEAH!!!” The three stood triumphant as they slapped claws with each other. “No strippers!” said Troy in an insistent tone. “Aaaawwww!!!” Their happy tone was immediately dampened with that detail, and their shoulders slumped down in disappointment. “Ya, serious, mate?” asked Blade towards Troy as he sat back down in his seat. “What’s a bachelor party without strippers?!” Blane and Blaze got back into their seats as well. Blane reached into the box of doughnuts as he said, “That’s like a bachelor party without booze! Or Hearth’s Warming Eve without booze!” Canvas chuckled under his breath, and looked back at his fiancé before adding his input. “You know… since it’s a gay wedding, it would be a gay bachelor party, too.” The pony kept a coy smirk as he turned to the triplets and continued, “So unless you want to get your brother some Chippendale dancers or something--” “GAH!!” Blane drew his claw out of the box in revulsion of that thought, reacting as if he just touched a penis among the doughnuts. Unfortunately, his action caused the box to fly up in the air, making all the doughnuts fall onto the table and floor. While everyone else either shouted out or looked at him with upset expressions, Blane threw his claws up in innocence. “That was an accident, I swear!” Knock Knock Knock Knock “Oh, come on” griped Blane as he looked over at the door. “That wasn’t THAT big of a deal!” Troy just sighed as he got out of his seat. “I’ll get it. It’s probably Derpy with the mail.” When he opened the door, Troy turned out to be right. Even though she looked slightly cautious, the grey mare still had a smile on her muzzle when she saw the Gryphon answer the door. “Hey there, Troy!” Derpy used one of her wings to pull out the only mail for Troy and Canvas from her bag. “Here’s your mail!” said the Pegasus cheerfully as she held the cardboard tube. “The address says it’s from Canterlot.” “Ooh!” Canvas quickly got out of his seat to get the package. “I think I know what that is.” Derpy handed the tube to the stallion, who popped off the lid to inspect the rolled paper inside. “Oh, cool!” Canvas grew a smile and turned his head to Lyle. “Hey, Lyle! It’s a copy of that drawing you made!” “Really?” asked Lyle in slight surprise. Even though he knew that Canvas asked the movers for a copy, the Gryphon didn’t expect them to actually do it. While Lyle went over to see for himself, Derpy leaned her head in to see the copy while Canvas unrolled it. Her slightly off-center eyes widened in shock. “Holy cow!” Her head quickly crooked towards Lyle. “Did you really draw that?!” “Uhh…” Seeing how impressed the Pegasus looked after seeing the replica in Canvas’s hooves, Lyle couldn’t help blushing a bit in embarrassment. “Y-yeah… Kind of a long story.” “It’s fantastic!” With an impressed gleam in her eyes, she looked back to the picture for a moment before giving a coy smirk to Canvas. “You better be careful. I think he might give you a run for your money.” While Canvas and the older Gryphons laughed at Derpy’s statement, Lyle’s blush grew a tad deeper as he turned his head away from her. “Oh, come on…” “Hey, don’t act so humble about it,” said Troy with a smirk on his beak. “Seriously, why are you looking like that?” Canvas gave a light chuckle before looking back at his fiancé. “You should’ve seen him back in Manehattan. He gets shy about his art.” “N-no I don’t!” sputtered the Gryphon defensively after turning back to the couple. While the triplets just laughed some more at the sight of Lyle’s attitude, Derpy kept her smile as she looked up at Troy. To be honest, the Pegasus didn’t expect this place to be so upbeat when she flew here; after hearing about what happened the previous night at Sugar Cube Corner, the mare was prepared to at least give Troy a hug or something. But with one glance up at the Gryphon’s carefree smile, Derpy just shrugged before beginning to make her leave. “Well, I gotta finish my runs, so I’ll see you guys later, oka-- What the?” The grey mare paused for a second when her hoof stepped on something. Looking down, Derpy saw a powdered doughnut, making her tilt her head in confusion. “What the…” She looked back inside the barn, just now noticing all the doughnuts that were scattered across the floor. After looking back up at Canvas, Troy, and all his brothers, her eyes grew wide before getting a panicked look on her face. “Oh… oh, EW!!!” Derpy flew off in an instant, leaving everyone in the barn looking confused. Of course, at the memory of what happened that one day, Canvas gasped when he looked down and realized what she must have been thinking. “Oh no!” “WAIT!!!” Troy shot out of the barn to try to fly after her. “WE WEREN’T PLAYING THAT! WE WERE NOT PLAYING THAT!!! Canvas poked his head out of the doorway to yell out in addition, “WE NEVER PLAYED THAT!!!” When Canvas looked back inside, he saw the four brothers looking at him with very confused looks on their faces. The stallion make a meager smile and a chuckle before trying to look away from their stares. “Uhhh…” Blaze blinked a couple times as he tried to speak up, “Should we ask what that’s about?” “I… would rather not say,” said Canvas honestly. Shaking his head in disbelief, he quickly grabbed the box from the table to begin cleaning up the mess. “Let’s just say that Derpy has a bit of an imagination on her.” Lyle just shrugged before grabbing his sheet. “Whatever. Hey Canvas, you got a frame I can use?” “Oh, check in the studio,” said the stallion as he looked up at him with a smile on his muzzle. “I keep some on my brush shelf near the bottom. I think there’s a few that can fit that.” “Awesome! Thanks, dude.” While Lyle walked off into the stallion's studio, Blade shook his head as he leaned back in his seat. “Oi, I swear. I haven’t seen the bloke that nervous about a picture of his that isn’t one of his dirty ones!” “I know!” added Blane in an equally surprised tone. “And he picks NOW of all times to act nervous?” “Hey, he’s still getting used to positive feedback for his art. Cut him some slack.” After picking up all of the doughnuts, Canvas placed the box back on the table before grabbing himself one of the custard-filled ones to partake. “Although I will admit,” added the pony before taking a bite, making his next few words sound muffled with the pastry inside his mouth, “I’m thtill thocked tha he achually did that.” “You mean back at the hotel?” asked Blaze with a grin on his beak. The Gryphon made a disbelieving shake of his head in recollection. “I know what you mean, man. I wouldn’t have even thought of doing something like that!” “Neither would I,” said Canvas honestly after swallowing. “I seriously thought that Jonas was gonna kill me back at Sugar Cube Corner, and I didn’t even touch him!” “Yeah,” replied Blane as he relaxed back in his seat, “I think that was when we all knew that he was all bark and no bite.” He gave off a chuckle as he added, “I mean, he didn’t even try to go after Lyle after he left! All he did was say that he was ‘too pathetic anyway’, and that was when we were all like--” SMACK! That especially hard snack off his head by Blade’s claw was enough to immediately shut Blane up. The Gryphon cried out in a shocked yelp as he rubbed his head. He looked over at Blade with an irritated expression, “What the buck was THA--” Surprisingly, Blade’s furious glare was able to silence his brother without even saying a word. Staying silent, the skinny Gryphon just pointed a talon past Blane, and had it aimed straight at the wall of the studio that was behind him. Turning around, Blane’s eyes widened as he realized what his brother meant. The studio’s wall only went up halfway to the ceiling. Which meant it wasn’t soundproof at all. “...Oh…” Growing a worried look, Blane turned back to Blade before asking in a more whispered tone. “You don't think that he--” SLAM!!! The sound of the outside doors of the studio bursting open was enough to make all of them rush over in an instant. Unfortunately, by the time that Canvas and the triplets reached the studio, it was already too late. Lyle was already gone. Canvas ran over to the open barn doors, and stopped to see the frame that Lyle picked was laid abandoned on the floor, along with the picture next to it. “... Oh no…” Blaze smacked Blane over the head as well. “Way to go, dumbass! There was a reason we didn’t tell Lyle about that!” ”I’m sorry, I forgot!” shouted Blane sincerely as he rubbed his head. Looking legitimately guilty, the Gryphon spread his brown-feathered wings out as he eyed the open doorway. “Don’t worry! I’ll get him!” “Blane, WAIT!!” Canvas threw his hooves up before Blane could fly out out through the studio, which would've most likely made everything inside crash around like it was caught in a tornado. But honestly, the stallion wanted him to stop for a completely different reason. “Guys, just… just stay here.” Canvas turned around to run out of the doorway to try to find Lyle. While the three stood confused, Blade was the first to shout out, “OI! Whatr’ya doin?” “Just trust me! I…” Pausing for a moment as he put a hoof to the doorway, Canvas bit his lip before looking back at them. “I kinda… know what he’s going through…” Before any of them could ask what he meant by that, the pony ran out of the studio. “Besides, I think I know where he’s headed! Just wait here!” And like that, Canvas was gone. Standing in the stallion’s studio in awkward silence, the three looked at each other in a mix of bafflement and slight worry. Of course, the silence was broken by Blane, who looked back at the dining room before asking, “So… does that mean Canvas isn’t gonna finish his doughnut?”