When the front doors of the theater opened, a large crowd of ponies began to tiredly shuffle out to the streets . Most of the stallions were still sweating heavily, and many could be heard sighing when they were greeted with a welcoming Manehattan breeze that wafted past them. While the group of ponies slowly dispersed in opposing directions to return to their homes or jobs, Troy was one of the last to leave the theater with an upset scowl on his beak. His head was hung low, and it was obvious that even his fiancè and dog were unable to do much to brighten his mood.
Nevertheless, Canvas still nestled against the gryphon’s side in an attempt to ease Troy’s tension. Tenor was on Troy’s other side and looking up at him with an open, panting muzzle. The stallion cooed sympathetically, “Awww, come on, Troy. You know they didn’t mean to do anything bad, right?”
Troy huffed bitterly and looked away from Canvas. “Yeah, sure,” he said in a sarcastic and flat tone. “Me brothers just wanted to completely embarrass me while I tried to give the biggest audition of my life!”
“They were trying to give you some support,” clarified the pony with both brows raised. He also nudged Troy’s side with a hoof and added, “Seriously, it’s not like they were making fun of you! They just wanted to give you a confidence boost, that’s all.”
Troy sighed with a roll of his eyes. “Oh, right. And I’m sure the judges who called security on them thought that too.”
“Troy,” began Canvas more sternly as he stared up at his mate, “I seriously doubt that an outside interruption will affect your audition. Bridleway might not be easy on performers, but I don’t think they’ll be that unfair.”
Despite the nagging feeling that was clawing at the back of his mind, Troy was still able to see Canvas’ point fairly clear. So, the gryphon decided to try and let go by closing his eyes to exhale slowly. “A-Alright,” said Troy meekly with a faint nod. “If you really think so, then I’ll try to keep that in mind.”
Canvas really didn’t want his fiancè to say he’ll “try” and do something in such an unconfident tone, but that statement was still enough to lay off the Gryphon’s anxiety. “Thank you,” said Canvas as he laid a small peck on Troy’s cheek.
Tenor barked and got on his hind legs to do the same. “Gahh!” Troy quickly giggled as he felt the puppy start lapping his other cheek, and he tried to pull his head away from Tenor’s affections. “Tenor, come on! He he he he he! That tickles!”
Tenor tried to give the gryphon a couple more licks, but was able to take the hint before getting back on all fours while panting happily. Fortunately, the Saint Bernard’s actions were more than enough to make the smile on Troy’s beak much wider and more natural. “Aw, jeez,” said the Gryphon while wiping the slobber off of his cheek, “I can only imagine how he’s gonna be when he gets fully grown.”
“I know, right?” Canvas giggled as well while rubbing the back of his head. “We really need to invest in some drool rags when his face starts to loosen up.”
Troy laughed and replied, “At this rate, maybe we'll need some beach towels.”
It was already reaching close to noon by the time the Bridleway auditions ended, so Troy and Canvas had more than enough time before their lunch date with the rest of the family. The couple and their dog had a fairly relaxed walk through the city, and the two made sure to visit Middle Park to see Tenor’s reaction. After walking past countless buildings and concrete structures, seeing such a large and open sea of green right in the middle of the city was quite an exciting discovery for the puppy. So for a while, Troy and Canvas just watched like two proud parents as their Saint Bernard ran around like crazy. By the time they needed to leave, Tenor was passed out on Troy’s back after chasing every squirrel he saw.
Canvas and Troy already prearranged to meet the rest of the Clawstons in Greenhoof Village, mostly since they already knew where they wanted to have their lunch. When the engaged couple finally arrived at Roy’s Pizza, the two were happy to see that everyone already had themselves seated at the tables with their orders outside the building. Angela was the first to spot them as they came to the patio to join the group. “Oh there you guys are!” She pointed to an empty table beside hers and Jonas’, which already had a fresh pizza laid out for them. “I hope you don’t mind, but we preordered for you two.”
“Oh, thank you so much!” Canvas looked quite happy with what was on their table, but Troy’s focus instantly went to the other occupied table on the patio. The triplets, along with Lyle, were already finished with what looked to be half the appetizer menu as evidenced by the empty baskets covering their table. The group were still chatting and laughing over some story before Lyle noticed the couple first.
“Hey guys!” shouted the teenager while Canvas got into his seat. “How was Bridleway?”
Troy didn’t say anything, but the burning glare he had pointed at the triplets was enough to make Lyle glance back towards the three. He muttered under his breath, “Uh oh…”
When the triplets finally realized that Troy was staring at them, Blaze turned around first with an eager smile on his beak. “THERE’S the songbird! So, how did your audition go?”
Troy’s silent glare only intensified, making him look like he wanted to wring his older brother’s neck like a chicken. Blaze’s smile slowly went away as his expression turned cautious. “Uhhh… is something wrong, bro?”
“Is something wrong?!” hissed the silver Gryphon as his eyes narrowed on Blaze nastily. He walked towards his brothers’ table as his tone turned more savage. “Are you seriously needing to ask that question?! I just came back from the biggest audition of my entire life, which may have been my only shot in getting a role in Bridleway, AND YOU THREE--”
Troy instantly shut his beak and clenched his eyes shut. The sound of Tenor walking up with a whimper could be heard from behind the gryphon, which prompted him to make a very long and shaky exhale to conceal his growing rage. Canvas quickly went to get the puppy from Troy’s back before his fiancè could say anything else. “Shhh, it’s okay,” cooed Canvas as he picked up Tenor to place him on one of the chairs. “Just get your rest.”
When Troy reopened his eyes, his teeth were gritted shut when he finally spoke in a venomous whisper. “If Tenor wasn’t here right now, I would be much… MUCH louder towards you guys for interrupting my audition and possibly costing me that role!”
“Whoa, WHOA!” Blane got out of his seat and motioned his claws perpendicularly like a coach calling a time-out. “Hold up, Troy! You seriously can’t say that we interrupted you!”
“Yeah!” added Blade with an offended expression. “We waited until AFTER you finished your song, remember?! And then we cheered you on because you did a bloody good job!”
Blaze then added with a raised talon, “WHICH! Showed those casting ponies that your performance was not only good enough to warrant positive feedback from the general public, A.K.A., their largest source of revenue, but that your music can attract Gryphons to Bridleway! Thus, could help to bring more cultural diversity towards an industry that has been desperately trying to expand their horizons for larger multicultural audiences for years!”
After his speech, Blaze waited with a stern stare towards his baffled-looking brother. Their parents both had gaped beaks, and could only blink after hearing Blaze say something that poignant in such a surprisingly intelligent tone. While Jonas’ eyes narrowed on his son suspiciously, Canvas asked puzzledly, “Ummm… should we ask how you know about that kind of stuff?”
Blaze glanced over at Canvas confusedly for a brief second. “What? They had a magazine about Bridleway on the train. Figured it’d be good to know what my bro’s getting into.”
“So let me get this straight,” began Troy in a still-peeved tone of voice to catch his older brother’s attention. “You guys decided that the best way to get the judges on my side wasn’t to just let me perform and let my talent speak for itself. But instead, you three interrupted them and treated a very delicate audition process like a bucking stormall game?!”
Blaze looked back at Blade and Blane, who had equally puzzled looks on their faces before turning back towards Troy. “Uhhh… well, yeah. Duh!”
Troy struggled not to pull out his own feathers as he growled like a rabid hyena. Meanwhile, Jonas groaned in his seat and decided to ask, “Troy, did they really cost you your audition?”
Even though he wanted to say yes, Troy just sighed and rubbed the back of his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if they did, but I won’t know until they finish the rest of the casting applicants. That might take a week at most.”
“Then you shouldn’t be worrying about it until you know for sure,” said the General sternly. “Now I’m not saying that what they did was that smart of an idea,” he added while pointing at the triplets (which caused the three to reply with an insulted and unified “Hey!”), “but you can at least wait before saying it was a complete screw up on their end.”
Seeing his Dad’s point, Troy made a long and reluctant exhale before nodding his head. “Ugh… Okay, yeah. You have point.”
“Ah-Hem!” Blaze, Blade, and Blane all had their forelegs crossed while seated and staring expectantly at Troy. From the way their eyes were narrowed on him, it was clear they were waiting for an apology.
Jonas saw how they were staring at Troy and barked, “And that means you three have to wait as well! Regardless of showing support to your brother, you could’ve easily costed him that role!”
That was enough to make the triplets look away with guilty expressions. Meanwhile, Lyle decided to ask them curiously, “So, how good was Troy’s performance?”
Blade was the first one to smile as he looked back at Lyle to answer. “I can honestly say I couldn’t have done it better myself, mate.”
Considering how successful Blade’s own music career was, albeit in a much different genre than Troy’s, that statement was quite a high mark of praise for him to say. Troy could tell from that hone how honest his older brother was, which made him grow an honored smile on his beak. “Wow… Thanks, dude.”
While Blade shrugged from Troy’s statement and got himself the last of the mozzerella sticks, Tenor’s ears perked up when he heard a new pair of hoofsteps approaching closer towards them. The puppy turned his head around to see a pink unicorn mare with a green mane strolling up to the patio.
“Ah, there you are!” she said cheerfully with a rather large smile as and walked towards Canvas. “I was expecting to find you here!”
As soon as Canvas saw the mare, his face lit up like a Hearth’s Warming tree. “Glimmer Heart!”
The stallion quickly got out of his chair to greet Glimmer, whose green mane was in the same short-cropped style she had the last time he and Troy met her in Manehattan. The unicorn didn’t hesitate to hug Canvas warmly as she said. “I just saw the pieces you left at the art show, and they look amazing!”
“Oh, thank you!” said Canvas thankfully after pulling back from the hug with a smile. He then rubbed the back of his head with a bashful smile as he added, “Honestly, I was worried my contributions would be seen as a little too on the nose.”
“Oh, don’t you worry about that!” quickly dismissed Glimmer with a wave of her hoof. “I think they’re really fitting for the charity being held. I mean, it is for funding music programs, so the art should show appreciation towards that.”
Canvas chuckled before putting his hoof back down. “Yeah, I suppose you have a point there.”
Seeing the new guest, Tenor was standing upright in the chair as he barked loudly enough to catch her attention. As soon as she saw the Saint Bernard, Glimmer Heart squealed in glee. “Ohmigosh! He’s so cute!!”
Of course, that overly girlish reaction was quickly followed by the mare blushing and covering her embarrassed smile with a hoof. “Heh heh… Sorry, I just have a weak spot for puppies.”
Troy was now in one of the vacant seats at the table as he said, “It’s perfectly fine, Miss Glimmer Heart. Tenor’s really good with strangers, so you can pet him if you want.”
Glimmer made another overjoyed jolt as she went to accept the offer. As she went to pet Tenor and make him pant happily, Canvas got back in his own chair as he pointed to the others. “Glimmer, I’d like you to meet my future In-laws. They’re staying as guests at Princess Twilight’s castle for the time being, so she was able to get them rooms in Manehattan for tonight.”
After getting a good fix from petting Tenor, Glimmer kept her smile at a more professional level as she greeted the five new Gryphons. “Well, this is certainly a pleasant surprise!” She extended her hoof out towards Jonas first, who shook it firmly as she introduced herself. “My name is Glimmer Heart. I’m an art dealer by trade, as well as Canvas’ promoter.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” responded Jonas in an equally professional tone. He motioned towards his wife and the triplets after putting his claw down. “This is my wife Angela, and those three over there are my sons Blaze, Blade, and Blane. And I think you already met Lyle once before, right?”
“Yes I have,” she said with a smile as she turned to see Lyle. However, her eyes widened in surprise when she realized just how different he looked now. “Oh! Wow, umm… hello again, Lyle!”
“Hey,” Lyle meekly said with a wave as he looked away from her timidly with a blush. “Yeah, I know I grew a lot.”
While Glimmer merely shrugged in response to that statement, Blade looked over at her curiously and said, “Oi! I couldn’t help overhearing you and Canvas talkin’. What’s that about funding music stuff?”
Glimmer brought her attention towards the skinny gryphon and answered, “Oh, it’s just a small charity event to help keep music programs in Manehattan schools. A lot of districts are risking losing funding to keep them afloat, so Canvas offered to help contribute some art for an auction tonight.”
“Well, bloody Tartarus!” replied Blade with his claws raised in revelation. “Sign me up to help too! Music was the only class I got A’s in back in high school! And I doubt I’m the only one either.” He then leaned back in his chair with a cocky smirk and added, “Besides, a little celebrity exposure might be good for the press, if you know what I mean.”
Troy groaned and face-clawed while hunched over in his seat. While Glimmer Heart blinked a couple times in confusion, Canvas got out of his seat to lean in and discreetly whisper into her hear, “He’s lead for one of the biggest metal bands in the Gryphon Kingdom.”
“Oh, is he?” she asked in surprise when she faced the stallion. After he nodded, Glimmer looked back at Troy’s family for a moment before tapping her chin with a hoof. “Hmmm… you know what? We have been worried that our attendance list for the art show was a little too exclusive. And having some Gryphons in attendance could help add some variety for the presses.”
Troy immediately pulled his head up in worry. “Wait, what?”
“Are you saying what I think you’re saying?” asked Canvas with a curious smirk.
Glimmer looked back at him with a more confident smile. “Well, why not? They are your future family, after all. If they’re already out here, I don’t see the harm in having them attend our little soirè.”
“You do not know the triplets!” shouted Troy in warning.
“Hey, come on, man!” yelled Blane back towards Troy. “Let the MILF trust her judgement!”
“Why thank you, Mister--Wait, what was that?” asked Glimmer confusedly.
“N-N-Nothing!” quickly blurted Canvas as he tried to keep Glimmer from thinking to much about Blane’s poorly chosen words. “Uhhh, it’s a Gryphon term, I think. So, what were you suggesting?”
“Oh, umm…” Glimmer turned back to Jonas and Angela first as she asked with an optimistic smile, “How would you guys like to attend a charity art show tonight? I’m sure you would have a fun time.”
Even though Angela looked pleased with the offer, Jonas leaned back in his seat and asked with a raised brow, “Well, that depends. Is this one of those stuffy deals where we have to be dressed up? Because I don’t have my uniform with me.”
“Oh, don’t worry,” assured Glimmer warmly. “This isn’t a suit-only event. You can just come as you are.” She then decided to add with a more cheeky grin, “There’ll also be free food and an open bar.”
“We’re in!” shouted the triplets at the same time.
Troy heavily groaned and sank his face into his claws again. He also muttered to himself, “Well, they’ll be getting in tomorrow’s newspaper.”
Meanwhile, Angela happily responded to Glimmer Heart’s offer with a thankful, “We would be honored to attend your charity tonight, Missus Glimmer Heart.” She then extended her claw out for the mare to shake as she added, “And if you need any help for the auction, please don’t hesitate to ask us for assistance. Jonas and I have helped organize events like this before for our company. Also, our son Blane is an expert florist.”
Glimmer looked quite surprised by that last detail while shaking Angela’s claw. “Wait, really?”
When she glanced back at the massive brown gryphon, he answered honestly with a roll of his eyes, “Yeah, I am…” He then looked away with a meek smile as he added, “Also, your white rose perfume smells really nice.”
The unicorn reeled back a little before bending down to sniff her chest. When she looked back up at the gryphon, she huffed with a small smirk. “Wow. You’re good.”
Of course, the rest of the Clawston family members just stared at Blane with befuddled expressions for a brief moment. Lyle was the first one to make an audible response. “Dude, that's friggin’ creepy.”
While Blane scoffed with a wave of his claw, Canvas regained Glimmer’s focus and asked, “So, is there anything I should know before tonight? I know you sent me the details in the mail, but I just want to make sure I'm prepared.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. You’ll be fine,” she said in kind assurance. “All you have to do is introduce your pieces, schmooze with some of the ponies and smile for the press. Nothing you’re not familiar with already.”
After a couple seconds, Glimmer’s brows raised like she remembered something especially important. “Oh! I almost forgot!” She then grew an especially large grin as she poked at Canvas’ chest and added, “I’ve been in contact with some very special ponies who were planning to be at the show tonight. I can’t say who they are because they wanted to keep things discreet, but I really think it would be great publicity if you were to meet with them during the event.”
While he wanted to ask who Glimmer may have been referring to, Canvas merely shrugged in acceptance. “Well, I certainly don’t see why not.”
“Excellent!” After giving Canvas another small hug, Glimmer lit her horn to pull a piece of paper from her purse. “Just give this to security when you arrive, and they’ll let you in with no problems. And I’ll make sure all your family is included on the list as well.”
“Alright. Will do.” Even though he tried to keep his response casual, a small blush grew across the pony’s cheeks while nodding to Glimmer’s statement. Even though he wasn’t going to mention it out loud, actually hearing somepony call the Clawstons his family made him pause momentarily to let that idea sink in. It may have not been a new thought to creep into Canvas’ mind, but it was certainly one that still felt new to him regardless of how normal it may have sounded.
“... Uhhh, Canvas? Canvas?”
“Huh?” The artist didn’t even realize he trailed off until he felt Troy poking his shoulder. When he looked around, Glimmer Heart was already gone. The rest of the Clawstons were going back to enjoying their lunch (including Tenor, who somehow got a hold of one of the slices while nobody was watching), so only Troy was the one to notice how Canvas veered off into space. The pony quickly shook his head clear and said, “Oh, uhh, sorry about that. I was just thinking, that’s all.”
“About what?” asked his fiancè as they went back to their seats.
“Oh, nothing,” assured Canvas when he got back into his chair and grabbed a slice of pizza. “Just thinking about tonight, that’s all.”
Troy narrowed his eyes on him, clearly seeing that Canvas wasn’t giving him a straight answer. However, instead of trying to press him about it, the gryphon decided to just focus on eating as well. While chewing on his own slice of pizza, Troy glanced over at Tenor, who was now gnawing on a bare pizza crust quite happily. “So… Do you think we can bring Tenor into the event with us?”
Canvas paused briefly and stared at the dog too. While Tenor finished his helping of pizza, Canvas shrugged with a smirk. “Eh, it’s cool. I brought his little outfit with us. As soon as Glimmer Heart sees him in it, she’ll let him in with no problem.”
“Are you sure?” asked Canvas’ fiancè with an apprehensive tone. “Because I’m not sure if a sweater vest is good enough to get a puppy in an exclusive charity eve--”
A very loud gasp interrupted Troy before his Mom shouted out, “YOU HAVE A WIDDLE SWEATERVEST FOR TENOR?!” The gryphoness looked like she was about to melt in her chair while dawwing at the puppy. “Ohhhhh, lemmesee, lemmesee, lemmesee, lemmesee,
lemmeseeeeeee!”
Both Troy and Canvas seemed pretty surprised by Angela making such an abrupt reaction to hearing about that info. Meanwhile, Jonas just sighed while picking up a breadstick. “Aaaaaand there are the mood-swings,” he said before taking a bite. “Right on time.”