Time felt as though it was standing completely still. After all the horrible things Canvas went through just a year ago, seeing one of the ponies responsible right in front of him made his bulging eyes start burning a fury he hadn’t felt in a long time. With the way that Edelweiss’ smile that was practically painted on her face, it took everything within Canvas to not bring up his hoof and punch her teeth straight down her throat. But instead of giving in to his deepest impulses, the artist just stood in place without moving a muscle.
Which meant that Edelewiss’ hoof was the only one raised for a respectful shake.
“Ummm...” Edelweiss waited a couple seconds before looking toward the crowd. The applause was beginning to die down, so she glanced back at Canvas with an expectant look as her smile lessened. “Canvas?” she asked with both of her drawn-in brows raised. “Aren’t you going to shake back?”
Canvas’ face was finally beginning to show. His muzzle’s previously frozen state was starting to melt, revealing a faint but very evident scowl. When his muzzle unfroze, he felt his teeth loosen their iron grip on his tongue, but his lips were still tightly pursed shut and unable to give any reply back towards the mare.
Glimmer Heart quickly stepped in with the microphone as she kept her unaware smile. “Well, somepony looks surprised!” she said in a chipper enough tone to get a lot of the ponies in the crowd to laugh. She looked over at Canvas and asked, “So, you’re probably wondering why they’re here, right?”
When Canvas turned his head toward Glimmer, her smile dropped as soon as she saw the very upset and intense glare in his eyes. All that he did was make a silent nod of his head, practically screaming at her through his expression for an explanation.
Glimmer didn’t have enough time to react before her microphone was pulled away from her magic by Edelweiss’ hoof. “Well,” began the principal with a glance back at the audience, “as soon as we learned that our very own star graduate was coming out here for this event, we knew that we had to do something special to commemorate this night.”
Stroma and Turpentine waved out to the audience as well with big smiles. When Canvas looked outward at the crowd, he immediately saw why she and the other teachers were here. Along the sidelines, several journalist ponies were out with cameras drawn and recording devices running beside them. His eyes widened, and his nostrils flared out while breathing through them rapidly.
They weren’t here for him. They were here for the exposure. And his name was their bucking meal ticket.
“So.” When Edelweiss turned back towards Mr. Turpentine, the pale yellow stallion reached back into his saddlebag to pull out something. In his muzzle looked to be a rather thick book, which Edelweiss pointed towards with her free hoof. “We would like to present for this auction, a special edition yearbook from Gallop Creek High School, from the year that our talented Canvas graduated!”
A loud uproar of applause came across the crowd from all the ponies; of course, all the members of the Clawston family were absolutely silent. Canvas’ gaze turned towards that book, and he quickly saw that the spine and cover were colored a very familiar looking bluish-green hue. He wasn’t even able to see the title yet, but he didn’t need to be told what the inside of that yearbook probably contained. In all honesty, it could’ve been a really nice gesture if it wasn’t crafted by the ponies who turned his high school years into a living Tartarus.
“As you can see,” continued Edelweiss as the book was handed towards Stroma, “We were lucky enough to get this book signed and written by every faculty member and student in the entire school, including all his friends and his graduating class!” Stroma smiled and opened the yearbook up towards the audience where everyone (particularly the journalists with cameras) could see it. Not surprisingly, the internally fuming Canvas wasn’t able to see what they were showing, nor read what any of his “friends” had written.
Turpentine then leaned in towards the microphone to add, “And in addition, we’re also proud to announce that as of next year, we are in the works to rename our school after our star student!” His hoof pointed right at Canvas as he made that announcement out towards the audience. Troy and his family members all gasped in shock, but weren’t heard over the sounds of ponies around them applauding. If it wasn’t for his mouth being full of blood, Canvas’ jaw would’ve dropped in stunned rage.
When Edelweiss turned her attention back towards Canvas, her vacant-looking smile grew as she held the yearbook again. “And for this charity auction,” she said while looking right at him with a smile which would’ve seemed completely innocent to the crowds, but what the artist could tell was as empty and false as a shopping mall ponnequin, “I think this item could be a big seller if we had our favorite student add his signature to it!”
Despite the applause that was ringing through his ears, and the spotlight that was pointed on him and the teachers who caused him so much pain in the past, Canvas wasn’t able to move a single muscle. By now, Glimmer Heart could see that something was up, and softly tapped the stallion on the shoulder. “Uhhh, Canvas?” she whispered worriedly. “What is it?”
Canvas’ sights were pointed back at the three “guests”, who were all now looking back at him with very large and expectant grins. None of them were genuine, and he could tell that they weren’t smiling out of generosity or sincerity to his accomplishments. It was all to help their own image, despite how cruel each of them were towards Canvas just a year before.
Canvas’ lips began to tremble, and his breathing started to become hyperventilated from the growing anxiety and anger building up inside of him. He wanted to to leave. He wanted to scream. He wanted to beat each of those hooved pieces of garbage within an inch of their lives. But most of all, all he wanted was Troy.
He wanted his family.
“Canvas?” asked Glimmer a little louder with her tone now noticeably alarmed. Canvas’ eyes were reddening, and it was clear he was about to start tearing up at any moment. “Canvas, is something wrong?”
Canvas clenched his eyes shut and turned away form her voice. With the stallion’s face grimacing in fury and disgust, the only thing that Glimmer heard was a heavy gulp. She didn’t realize that Canvas just swallowed a muzzle full of his his own blood. However, the iron sting of the taste of his blood was barely lessened by the worsening sting of his eyes. Glimmer couldn’t make a response before Canvas pushed past her “Ineedtobealoneforasecond!”
Glimmer Heart was shocked to see Canvas rush away from the staging area so quickly. While the audience began to murmur amongst themselves at such a hasty exit, Troy and the other gryphons pushed through the crowds and ran in Canvas’ direction as quickly as they could.
Canvas only ran off about fifty yards from where the stage and crowds were at, but it was as far as he could go before hurling at a nearby bush. Troy and the rest of the Clawstons quickly ran up to him while he was throwing up. Tenor, whose nose was twitching in worry, bent in to sniff the pony and make sure nothing was wrong. When Canvas finally finished vomiting, he spat out a couple times while struggling not to cry. “What… what is wrong with them?!”
Troy came to the stallion’s side in an instant to nuzzle him. “Canvas, they’re not going to get away with this,” he said assuredly while holding him close. “We’ll come up with something.”
“LIKE WHAT?!” Canvas pushed Troy away from him after that outburst, and was panting with an enraged snarl while tears came down his cheeks. “WHAT THE BUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO DO?!”
Angela went in and pulled the stallion’s head in close with her claws, making sure that he was looking directly at her. “For one thing,” she began sternly enough to shut him up, “we can try to come up with a solution without screaming loudly enough for everyone out there to hear!”
Canvas didn’t say anything, but his face still scrunched in even tighter while he sobbed. That was when Angela pulled the pony in for a hug, leaving Troy to rub the back of his head and try to think with his eyes clenched shut. While Canvas hugged the gryphoness back, Jonas stepped in to add his opinion. “Angela is right,” he stated bluntly towards the artist. “I know you want to get physical against them, and you have every right to feel that way. If it were me I’d give them a major beatdown, but that probably wouldn’t be the best option during a charity auction.”
Jonas looked back to where the stage was and huffed bitterly. “And I’m guessing they know that too. They’re clearly trying to look good for the press, so it wouldn’t do us any good to hurt them right now.”
Blaze, Blade, and Blane all stopped wrapping their claws in masking tape and slumped down in disappointment. “Awww!”
Lyle looked especially peeved as he looked towards his parents. “But we have to do something! We can’t just let them act like they were good ponies and LIE to everyone!”
Canvas fell away from Angela’s hug and fell on his flank in the grass. As he sniffed with his head hung low, he barely even registered when Tenor came up to lick at his face to help. “I just,” Canvas’ voice was a strained and hurt whisper when he tried to speak in a logical manner. “I already caused one big incident the last time I was in Manehattan, and I can’t risk doing that again. If I leave, I’ll just look like the jerk while they keep buttering everyone up for their own gain… I…”
The artist sank his face into his hooves as his voice became shakier. “I can’t let them get to me again...”
While Canvas sobbed into his hooves, Troy swooped in to pull the stallion into his fluffed chest. As the gryphon’s chin rested on top of Canvas’ head to fully enclose himself around him, Jonas went in to place a claw on the stallion’s shoulder. “Canvas,” stated Jonas in a low and serious tone of voice, “I need you to look at me.”
Even though Troy clearly wanted to say something towards his Dad about leaving them alone, Canvas still sniffed before begrudgingly pulling away from Troy’s chest to stare up at him. Despite how hurt the stallion looked with his cheeks matted in tears, Jonas’ stern expression didn’t falter as he laid down the facts. “I get why you’re so upset at them. And believe me, so am I. But you can’t be acting like you’re completely hopeless! They may have had the upper claw--er, I mean hoof, back in high school, but they don’t have that anymore.”
Canvas narrowed his eyes up at him and shook his head confusedly. “What are you talking about?!” he said while trying not to blubber out his words. “They have a whole crowd of ponies and the bucking press eating up all their words! What makes you think they don’t have the upper hoof?!”
“Because you have something now that you didn’t have back then.”
Jonas then took a couple steps back from Canvas, and looked around to motion the other Clawston gryphons to come in. Canvas blinked a couple times when he saw the group come in closer together next to Jonas. When the General looked back at Canvas, his voice was as confident as it was truthful as he said, “You have a family who has your back.”
Troy’s eyes shot wide open, obviously in shock that his Father had actually said that. However, Canvas’ reaction was much more apparent as more tears stemmed from his eyes; of course, those tears were accompanied by wide and grateful smile on his muzzle. As he looked around, seeing everyone else nod in agreement to Jonas’ words, Canvas felt absolutely touched as he wiped his cheeks with a hoof. “W… wow,” said the artist in a weak-sounding voice. “I… I don’t know what to say.”
“Well right now, I don’t think we have enough time to say too much.”
Canvas understood that Jonas meant, and quickly tried to get on his hooves while wiping his legs and shirt clean. Jonas carried a tone that sounded more like it was meant for a battlefield while waiting for Troy and Canvas to gather around the rest of the family. “Okay,” began the General while looking around sternly, “it’s clear that they’re using their own story to make themselves look good for everyone out there, but that doesn’t mean we can’t change that. But every second we spend away from that stage, those three ponies are going to use to their advantage. So if we’re going to fix things, we have to come up with a plan now.”
With that mindset in mind, Canvas and Troy joined in with the other gryphons for what looked like a group huddle for hoofball game. The only one who wasn’t in the discussion was Tenor, who was happily preoccupied with the sight of a butterfly resting on a nearby flower. By the time Glimmer Heart was finally able to get away from the stage to find Canvas, all she saw were a bunch of gryphon backsides arranged in a tight circle. A lot of whispers and hushed tones could be heard, but nothing that the unicorn could actually make out. “Uhhh, hello?” she asked loudly enough to try and catch their attention. “Is Canvas alright?”
“One second!” shouted Canvas from inside the huddle. A few more seconds passed, and Glimmer could hear their whispers becoming louder and more enthusiastic about something. She was able to catch a couple of them hissing “Yeah!” about something, but was quickly followed by Jonas clapping his claws together in conclusion. “Okay, let’s get this going!”
With that, Canvas and the gryphons immediately dispersed to head towards the staging area. Glimmer Heart tried to get a word in as she stood in a baffled state. “W-wait a minute!” she shouted while most of the Clawstons walked right past her. “What is going on!? What happened back there?!”
Canvas was the only one to stop and answer Glimmer Heart. After pulling his sunglasses out of his pocket, Canvas placed them over his still-reddened eyes as he looked up at her, “Miss Glimmer Heart, there is a lot that I want to say to you right now…”
Given the cold stare that he was giving behind those purple aviators, Glimmer could see that he was definitely ticked off at her. But instead of going into any more detail, the stallion took a deep breath to relax himself before continuing. “But right now, I have a charity auction to finish. And I’m fairly certain that you’ll understand why I’m upset at you by the time I’m done.”
Canvas then trotted away to the stage with Tenor by his side, leaving Glimmer Heart in a frozen state of confusion. “W… what?” it took her a brief moment before looking back to the stage, but Canvas and the others were already there.
Edelweiss decided to use the brief interruption of the auction to show off some pages of the yearbook to the audience, all while telling some story into the microphone. “... Of course, I think a big reason for his Valedictorian status was due to all the assistance we gave him during his senior ye--”
The sudden sound of applause was enough to interrupt Edelweiss and the other two teachers, and they turned around to see Canvas come back into the spotlight with a rather large smile on his face. He waved his hoof out to the crowd as they cheered, and quickly snatched the microphone from Edelweiss’ hoof before she could say anything else. “Thank you! Thank you!” he shouted enthusiastically before the applause could die down. “First off, let me apologize for running off like that. I know that was unprofessional, and I’m sorry. It’s just…”
He then sighed and turned his attention towards the three ponies, and kept a grateful-looking smile in front of his viciously gritted teeth. “It’s just that I was so touched that these three ponies would be generous enough to come visit me during such a big event.”
That caused another round of applause, and the three ponies clapped their hooves as well. Of course, due to seeing such an abrupt change in the artist’s behavior, it was clear that Edelweiss, Turpentine, and Stroma seemed a little suspicious from the way their eyes were slightly narrowed. Canvas kept his grin wide and pointed a hoof to the rear of the staging area. “Of course,” he continued as he turned back to the crowd, “I think it’s only fair that I introduce some other important figures in my life. Fillies and Gentlecolts, allow me to present my fiancè Troius Clawston, and his family!”
Troy and the other gryphons walked into the spotlights with big smiles, which caused an even louder array of applause. However, the sight of several large gryphons was enough to make the teachers’ smiles drop rather quickly. None of them were able to show any looks of regret or fear before the Clawstons came in towards them.
While Blaze and Blade stood at both sides of Turpentine with their forelegs around him, Jonas and Blane made sure to stand particularly close to Coach Stroma. “Why hello there!” said Angela in a sickly sweet tone as she gave Edelweiss an especially big hug. However, even though all the crowds saw was a perfectly innocent meeting between two groups of Canvas’ friends, the artist could see Edelweiss’ eyes grow in fear at how hard the gryphoness’ talons were pressing into her back. “It’s so good to finally meet you guys after all the stories Canvas told us!”
By now, all three of the ponies were afraid, but it was difficult to see any evidence of that from the way they kept their wide, albeit shaky smiles. When Edelweiss turned to glance over at her allies, her eyes stayed widened when she saw just how they were being held by the gryphons beside them. It may have looked innocent from the front where the crowds were, but the paling silver mare could see how their claws were tightly wrapped around the backs of their necks.
Just like she felt her own being tightened by Angela’s claw while she stood beside her.
Lyle pulled the yearbook from Edelweiss’ grasp and handed it over to Canvas. “Here you go, Canvas,” he said with a chipper smile as his eyes began to narrow. “I’m sure you want to talk about the yearbook yourself, right?”
Canvas happily nodded as he opened the yearbook with his free hoof. Meanwhile, Glimmer Heart was back at the stage and tried to make sense of what was happening. Of course, Troy was quickly by her side as Canvas scrolled through the pages. “Oh my goodness!” said the artist while looking through some of the quotes left behind by fellow students in his honor. “I must say, you got quite a lot of nice statements from ponies about me! So many quotes, and so many testimonies!”
Canvas’ muzzle skewed a bit as he huffed. “Huh. That’s interesting.” He flipped through a large portion of the book, and then glanced back at the principal to ask, “Is there a reason why there are no pictures of me?”
Even though he knew exactly why there were no pictures from his high school years in there (mostly since they most likely didn’t exist), he still asked that with a smirk to see Edelweiss’ reaction. The silver mare faltered a little, but her pause was short-lived when she responded, “W-Well, we… figured that our words would mean more.”
“Oh, okay,” said Canvas with a faint nod. Of course, a few ponies in the audience seemed confused at that detail being pointed out. A few whispers in the crowd could be heard, but Canvas paid no heed as he went back to the yearbook. “Well, there certainly are some nice words. In fact, this one from Magenta Star is especially flattering…”
He walked back towards Edelweiss with the book, and let her see the page while holding the microphone. “Would you mind reading what she said, Principal?”
Edelweiss was worried when she saw Canvas’ suspiciously big smile, but she still nodded faintly with a smile of her own back at the audience. “O-Of course,” she muttered meekly before beginning to read the quote. “Canvas and I have always been great friends during our senior year. We ate lunch together, shared the same math class, and even exchanged jokes from time to time! It’s a shame that he left our school so soon, but seeing how much he accomplished since then is more than worth it!”
Much of the audience made touched “Awwws” to that statement. The Clawstons did so too, but theirs sounded a little more exaggerated while pulling in their ponies closer. Edelweiss and the teachers looked uneasy, but they kept their squirms to a minimum before Canvas pulled away from them and said:
“Honestly, I’m a little surprised she would say that about me. If I remember correctly. the only time she ever spoke to me was when she stabbed my foreleg with a pencil and called me a ‘queer’ in the middle of math class.”
Despite the shocked gasps that followed that statement, Canvas kept his smile pointed right at Edelweiss and the teachers. Glimmer Heart had her muzzle covered with a hoof, but was unable to stop Canvas while Troy’s claw was in front of her.
“And before you ask why Magenta did that,” continued Canvas as he turned back to the audience, “I remember that it was because we were taking a test, and she tried to cheat by looking at my paper. And then she stabbed me when I told her to focus on her own page.” He turned back to Edelweiss to add, “You remember that? I mean, you were the one to write ME up and give me three days In-School Suspension for ‘causing a scene in class’. Meanwhile, she didn’t even get a day of detention! Funny how that worked out, isn’t it?”
If Edelweiss had any color in her coat, it would’ve been completely drained by now. Even though she wanted to speak in defense, she could feel that one talon of Angela’s poking right against her jugular vein while being “hugged” by her. Nopony in the audience said anything, but the distinct clicks of cameras could be heard beginning to go off randomly.
“Of course,” said Canvas as he began to pace around the stage with the yearbook and microphone, “that wasn’t even the most heinous thing I had to experience at that school. I mean, I get that being a closeted gay stallion in a small town would be hard for anypony to go through, but the fact that I was constantly belittled by my own teachers didn’t make it any better.”
Canvas looked away from the gaping spectators in the audience to stare back at the very ponies in question. “Especially when they try to make a whole yearbook saying otherwise.”
By now, Glimmer Heart’s head was hung low in immense guilt and shame, realizing just why those ponies seemed so odd when they asked her to come to this event. It didn’t even cross her mind that they were being dishonest, but now she could only listen while Canvas continued to list off untrue details from the yearbook. “Like for example,” he began while scrolling a page displaying the Gallop Creek High School’s hoofball team, “how there seems to be a lot of positive things said about me from Coach Stroma’s star hoofball team…”
Stroma tried to lunge away from Jonas and Blane to defend himself, but was quickly jerked back by the gryphons’ combined brute strength. While the stallion quickly tensed up, undoubtedly feeling an unseen talon poking him in a sensitive area, Canvas continued to speak while reading, “Like this one statement from Pig Skin, saying how he ‘Always had my back.’ Huh.”
Canvas glanced back at the frozen coach to clarify, “Wait, wasn’t Pig Skin the one who called me a gelding during gym class that one day?” Stroma winced at how bluntly Canvas asked that question while wearing that smile, which didn’t seem to falter the slightest despite all the gasps from the audience. “You remember, right? That was when I got FIVE DAYS of Out of School Suspension by you AND Principal Edelweiss, under the guise of me ‘swearing in front of staff,’ ‘disrupting class,’ and ‘questioning authority officials’!”
Edelweiss tried to turn her head away from Canvas’ toxic smile, but she couldn’t move much while being held in Angela’s iron-like grip. She also wasn't able to move away from Canvas as he came up to her with the microphone to ask, “And just so the audience knows, how many days of suspension did HE get for calling me a gelding, huh?”
He brought out the microphone and placed it right in front of her muzzle. Angela’s grip around the principal’s neck lessened a little, but the mare was still held tightly in place to give an answer. When she looked out at the audience, all she saw were shocked and appalled faces. She also saw a lot of the press ponies standing in wait.
Edelweiss’ head lowered with a trembled muzzle, and she huffed in shame as she answered honestly. “N… None…”
Her eyes were clenched shut, but she could still tell from the sounds of shutters flashing that cameras were going off after that admission. Canvas then walked over towards Stroma, who had a much more bitter-looking expression pointed at the artist. Before Canvas could even bring the microphone up to him, the coach had his teeth gritted as he tried to spit out, “You really think this is how you should treat ponies?! We tried to give you a GIFT, and you come out spouting out all of these LIES about us?!”
“Lies?!” Despite how harsh that response sounded, Canvas’ expression seemed more curiously surprised from how little his smile changed. After glancing back at the crowds to gather their reactions (which seemed mostly confused and uncomfortable), the artist looked back at Stroma to say confidently. “So you’re telling me that when Pig Skin and his friends dragged me out of the shower after gym class to take turns hitting me, and then throwing my sketch book in the toilet, that you DIDN’T stand and watch while laughing as I cried for a full minute? And that after you finally dismissed them, you told me that you ‘didn’t see anything’ and didn’t punish ANY OF THEM?!”
Even though he had his sunglasses on, it was clear that Canvas’ eyes were bulging out at that last brief outburst. But despite the stares that Canvas and everyone else had on him, as well as how hard those talons were pressing into him, Stroma replied in a cold, albeit hesitant tone with, “It don’t matter what you try to make me say, I didn’t do a damn thing wrong.”
A couple more flashes could be seen hitting against Stroma’s blank, bitter expression, and Canvas just nodded with a pert stare of his own. “Of course you didn’t,” said the artist in an equally cold tone before walking away from him.
Meanwhile, Turpentine was standing completely petrified with his muzzle tightly shut. Maybe he thought that not giving any attention to himself would make him less susceptible, but he was quickly proven wrong as Canvas came towards him. Turpentine tensed up, but Blaze and Blade were quick to tighten their grips on him. The yellow stallion’s head was pointed downward like a guilty dog while Canvas turned to a specific page. “Oh, wow!” began the pony with raised brows. “This quote you gave is particularly nice! You said that ‘Throughout the senior year that Canvas was here, I had the honor of helping him with his art studies and skills. I can honestly say that it was a privilege to help him throughout that wonderful year.’”
Not surprisingly, Turpentine gave no reaction to what Canvas just read, and just stayed silent with his head hunched low. That was when Canvas decided to ask, “So, you said that you taught me throughout the WHOLE year?”
Turpentine openly winced, which didn’t falter Canvas as he bent in closer. “Because I’m pretty sure that my school records would say otherwise, Mister Turpentine. Especially since I asked to be removed from your class for unfair grading after how many months?”
Canvas brought the microphone out to Turpentine’s muzzle after asking that question, waiting for his answer. A couple seconds of silence passed before the stallion timidly answered, “... T-Two months…”
“TWO MONTHS!” shouted the artist as he turned his focus back out to the shocked audience. “That’s right! While I was being taught by Mister Turpentine, I could barely even get a C in his class! Of course, he also didn’t seem to ‘notice’ whenever any of the other students…”
He looked back at Turpentine with an especially nasty glare as he said, “including his SON harassed me in plain sight of him!”
Canvas turned back to the audience to continue. “In fact, I even printed out a copy of one of the most notable and respected paintings from the Manehattan Art Museum, and turned that in as something I made. Not only did he not notice what painting it was, but I STILL got a C minus on it! That was when my Dad came to the school and threatened to sue if I wasn’t transferred to a more FAIR teacher! Honestly, if I had stayed in that class, I really doubt that I would’ve gotten a GPA good enough to receive the Valedictorian status these teachers claim was THEIR doing.”
For about fifteen more minutes, the stallion kept going for all the attendees to hear, going through various pages to describe how every quote mentioned were complete and utter lies. Even though the teachers could have been able to defend themselves for the first few examples (that was, if the gryphons next to them allowed them to speak freely), the sheer volume of experiences and stories that Canvas shared began to be more than a little overwhelming. He went into immense detail of many events, including many punishments he received as a result of the school’s blatant bullying under the guise of ‘Zero Tollerance’ Policies. He even mentioned how he was once forced to pay and clean up the vandalism when a student painted the words ‘Colt-Cuddler’ on his locker.
Needless to say, every recording device was running that entire time. And not a single one got any rebuttal from the Gallop Creek staff on stage.
In fact, not a single word came from any of the ponies that the artist was talking about during his rant. Turpentine was too ashamed to even show his face, and just stayed hunkered low between Blaze and Blade. Stroma’s face was a deep shade of red from anger, but his muzzle was tightly shut while avoiding the appalled faces he saw staring at him from the audience. In fact, the only one who tried to speak was Edelweiss; fortunately, the mare was respectable enough to wait for Canvas to finish before opening her muzzle. “If I may, Mister Canvas?”
Edelweiss’ tone was especially hoarse as she spoke up, but it took Canvas’ notice enough to make him look back and motion towards her, “Yes, Principal?”
The silver mare cleared her throat and said, “I get that you’re upset, and I know that school can’t always be fair…”
Despite how much Canvas’ muzzle pursed in with anger at her use of such a light adjective, he let Edelweiss keep talking. “But even if all those stories you claim are true, can you really try saying that WE’RE the bad ponies here?!”
Canvas tilted his head curiously. “How so?”
After taking a deep breath, Edelweiss looked to the other teachers before asking, “Can you seriously say, without lying, that anything that we did was worse than what your Father did?”
Canvas narrowed his eyes on her with a sharp pout. Even though he was slightly surprised that the mare would even go there, the stallion merely shrugged his shoulders. He handed the yearbook back to Lyle so that he only had the microphone in his hoof when he answered, “Honestly, I kinda do after tonight.”
As he walked over toward Edelweiss, he removed his sunglasses as his glare became much more intense. “I don’t think I need to explain what I had to go through after that graduation night,” he began while his tone turned more vicious, “especially since YOU saw exactly what happened…”
That was when Edelweiss started to look worried. Her pupils started to shrink as she listened to the stallion continue. “While it is true that what I had to deal with from my Dad was technically worse, at least he apologized to me afterward. He had the decency to try and find me after it happened, and admit that what he did was wrong. He was at least self-aware enough to realize when he made a mistake, and went out of his way to try and rectify that and say he was sorry!”
He walked in within inches of Edelweiss’ face, carrying the strongest glare imaginable as he said, “So yeah, I do think that what you guys have done tonight is worse. Because even though you all saw what I had to go through and did NOTHING!” His eyes narrowed on Edelweiss’ before saying, “Especially you, who lived right across the street from me...”
Edelweiss hung her head while wincing, not able to even look back at the stallion she knew she wronged. While her lips trembled painfully, Canvas didn’t stop talking in an increasingly angry tone. “You all could’ve easily done this right. You could’ve came here with a simple apology, and admit that you all hurt me immensely in the years I went to your Tartarus of a school. You could’ve owned up to how badly you treated me, and try to show SOME semblance of remorse by saying you were sorry. In fact, I possibly could’ve even agreed to have the school named after me if you did that…”
That made Edelweiss look back up at him in surprise, but was only met with a powerful glare from the stallion as he said, “But instead, you three decided to come to this charity event and pretend to be close friends of mine. You not only lied to me and everyone here, but you managed to get the entire school to go along with it. You tried to sweep every nasty thing you guys have done under the rug, and try to use my name as a means to make yourselves look better. And despite how poorly all of you treated me just one year ago, you figure that not being the ones to have hit me would make me forget enough to let you come here and ride my coattails.”
By now, Canvas was less than an inch from Edelweiss’ face as he snarled out one final statement:
“How. Bucking. Dare. You.”
Edelweiss couldn’t even look Canvas in the eye. Turpentine was equally silent, and just he kept his sights pointed to the ground. Stroma still had his glare pointed at Canvas, but it was clear he was contemplating a lot as he kept glancing over at the increasingly angry crowd of Manehattanites in the audience. Canvas then grabbed the yearbook back from Lyle, and then looked over at Glimmer Heart to ask politely. “Glimmer? Considering how we already raised so much money for this charity, would you mind if I did something different for this item?”
Glimmer could only shake her head while it was hung low, not wanting him to see how she was tearing up from guilt. “N-no,” she muttered shamefully. “Do what you want.”
Hearing how distressed she sounded, Troy sighed and pulled in Glimmer Heart for a more comforting hug. Meanwhile, Canvas looked back out at the stage to proclaim, “Everypony! Due to reaching our top goal and then some for the Manehattan School fund, I think that this yearbook should be sold for a much different cause!”
While a lot of murmurs could be heard from the crowd over what Canvas has planning, the artist let Lyle hold the book while he put his signature on the front with a pen in his mouth. Canvas then spat the pen away and retook the book to say, “For our final item for auction, all the proceeds that go towards buying this yearbook will NOT go to the main charity fund, but instead…”
Canvas grew an especially evil grin when he glanced back at the ponies on stage and said, “Any money that goes towards this yearbook will go to the athletic department of Gallop Creek’s RIVAL high school! The River Trail High School Catfish!”
The three ponies all gasped in terror while staring at Canvas wide-eyed. The artist merely chuckled and looked back to the crowd. “You see, Gallop Creek thrives on their hoofball team. It's the one thing the town really prides themselves on. They even went to nationals a couple times, which was why nopony cared if any of the team’s members harassed me. So, I figure that it might be fitting to give as much funding as possible to their rival school in order to change that!”
Canvas held the book up high and started the bidding. “Who wants to start the auction at a thousand bits?”
Even though he expected an awkward pause, the stallion was pleasantly surprised when several hooves came up quite quickly. “One thousand bits! Do I hear two thousand?”
For several minutes, Canvas carried a large smile as he took in various bids which raised immensely. To much of Edelweiss, Turpentine, and Stroma’s horror, the numbers didn’t stay in four digits. The numbers were around seven thousand bits when Fancy Pants raised a hoof from the back.
“TEN thousand bits!”
“Ten thousand!” shouted Canvas with glee. “Do I hear twelve?!”
Even more bids came flooding in, with many of the richer ponies getting in on the action like a sadistic swarm of piranha at the smell of blood. Ten became fifteen, which then turned to twenty in a matter of seconds. It seemed that the highest bid was going to be twenty seven thousand bits from a hoof near the back. However, that was quickly changed as a yellow aura lit up at the front.
Fashion Plate carried a strong glare on his face, and his checkbook in his hoof as he yelled out, “FIFTY! THOUSAND!”
Even Canvas was floored by that number, but only huffed with a surprised smile and motioned to the unicorn. “F-fifty thousand!” proclaimed Canvas as he tried not to laugh. After a second, the stallion looked around and said, “Going once… Going twice… SOLD!”
A large round of applause roared within the park, and Fashion Plate was already writing out his check with a pen as he came towards Canvas. Meanwhile, Edelweiss and the teachers were all on their flanks, completely drained in defeat. As soon as Fashion Plate handed the check over to Canvas, he picked up the yearbook with his magic with a grin. “Thank you very much!” said Canvas with a grateful smile towards him.
“No problem, honey,” said the stallion back with a wink. And after glancing back at the Gallop Creek ponies, he made sure they were looking back when he lit his horn especially bright. And in an instant, the fifty-thousand bit yearbook was up in flames, leaving only a pile of ash that dropped to the ground in front of Edelweiss’ gaped jaw.
Due to all the commotion that came from the auction’s unexpected finale, Canvas and his family weren’t able to get away from the attendees and the press until late into the night. Even though Edelweiss and the teachers tried to escape, many of the journalist ponies were on them like locusts as soon as they got away from the stage. Glimmer Heart was especially apologetic after the show, and managed to talk with Canvas in private for over half an hour away from everyone. She was also able to take most of the questions from the press after their discussion, which allowed Canvas and his family the chance to make their leave.
However, as they left the small park, Canvas quickly noticed Fashion Plate waiting by a street corner and looking at his watch. “Oh! Mister Fashion Plate!” Canvas ran up to the unicorn and pulled out the check from his art bag. “Umm, here,” said the stallion in a thankful tone as he held out the payment. “Listen, I really appreciate you doing that, but I don’t think you needed to--”
“Oh, please!” scoffed Fashion Plate with a smirk before handing the check back. “You don’t have to do that! I wrote that check for real, and believe me, I have more than enough to cover it. Besides, chances are good a few of those journalist ponies are gonna check to see if that school gets the money, right?”
Canvas wanted to retort, but paused as he realized Fashion’s point. He reluctantly took the check back and shrugged. “Huh. I guess that’s true.”
“And besides,” added the unicorn with a more sympathetic glance at Canvas, “it’s not like I don’t understand. I mean, Canterlot has a pretty open school system, but…” Fashion Plate shrugged apprehensively before continuing, “I know how it can feel to be perceived differently by teachers.”
Canvas nodded, and had a bit lip as he smiled at Fashion Plate. “Yeah, I suppose so…” After putting the check back in his bag, Canvas extended his hoof out to give the stallion a respectful shake. “Well, it really was a nice gesture,” said the artist gratefully, “and if there’s anything you need, just let me know.”
While returning the shake, one of Fashion Plate’s brows rose curiously. “Anything?”
The pony looked past Canvas to where the Clawstons were. All of them were gathered around a carrot dog stand, and Jonas could be overheard saying while staring at the menu, “Who the buck eats carrots like that?!”
Fashion Plate chuckled in a low tone and turned his attention back to Canvas. “If it wouldn’t be too much trouble,” asked the unicorn with a light grin, “would you be opposed to me asking your triplet brothers-in-law out to dinner? My treat of course.”
Canvas blinked a couple times, and turned to see the triplets from where he and Fashion Plate were. Even though he was a little hesitant, the artist thought it over briefly before shrugging. “Well… if they agree to dinner, then be my guest.”
“Oh, thank you soooo much!” Fashion Plate gave Canvas a large hug in gratitude, and quickly trotted over to the group of Gryphons.
Canvas couldn’t help giggling at the sight, and sighed before saying to himself, “Huh. I guess I’m not the only pony to lik--”
A red hoof pulled at the back of Canvas’ shirt and threw him against the wall of the nearby alleyway. All the wind was thrown out of his lungs, so the pony could barely even breathe, let alone scream, when Stroma pinned him against the brick wall with both hooves.
“You lousy little FRUIT!!!” screamed Stroma with a murderous look of rage on his face. His hairpiece was long gone, and the top of his head was shining as brightly as the gleam of fury in his eyes. “You think that you could hide behind your little gang of gryphons and RUIN ME!?! We came all this way to try to help our school, AND YOU HAD TO--”
A large pair of talons immediately gripped around Stroma’s neck, clenching his throat shut and stopping his words in an instant. While the coach was pulled back and left dangling in the air, Canvas was finally able to breathe as he saw Troy holding Stroma up like a captured rat. While the red stallion wheezed and writhed in the gryphon’s grip, his cheeks started to turn purple from the lack of oxygen.
“Troy!” barked Jonas as he ran up towards Troy. The rest of the family, along with Fashion Plate, followed suit while the General eyed his son. “Troy, put him down!”
“What?!” Troy stared back at Jonas like he just donned a flowery pink dress. He motioned between Stroma and Canvas before spouting off, “Did you not SEE what he tried to do?!”
“I did,” answered Jonas sternly, “but I think I have a better solution for him.”
With the way the General placed emphasis on that last word while glaring at the stallion, Troy realized that his Dad had something planned. So, he reluctantly let go of Stroma’s neck, letting him fall ungracefully to the concrete on his flank. Before the coach could even try to scramble back on his hooves, the triplets were circled around him tightly. Despite the snarl he had on his muzzle just a few seconds ago, the coach’s face became a deathly pale as his expression melted to a look of instant regret.
Jonas stepped up towards the stallion with a brooding glare of his own pointed right at him. Stroma stood in a hunched-down stance while the triplets stood around all sides of him, and he could only look up at the General to hear him speak. “Well,” began Jonas in a cold and emotionless tone, “I never thought I would meet someone who would end up being more stubborn than me. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
It was clear that Stroma was still afraid, but he still gritted his teeth while glaring up at Jonas without saying a word.
“However, “ continued the military Gryphon with a tilt of his head, “If I’m able to change, then maybe you can too.” He pointed a talon over at Canvas, who was now standing beside Troy and Tenor with a nasty glance towards Stroma.
The coach’s glare intensified towards Canvas, but Jonas’ voice made his ears perk up in worry. “I’m going to give you a choice. You can either apologize to my future son-in-law for all the shit you pulled, and mean it; and if you do, you can walk away without a single scratch on you.”
Troy and Canvas both stared at Jonas like he was crazy. Stroma scoffed when he returned his glance up at him as well. However, the feel of two heavy claws gripping his shoulders quickly stopped the stallion from saying anything back. While Blaze and Blane held the increasingly worried stallion down, Jonas leered in with a snarl of his own as he continued.
“Or… if you’re not able to give a simple apology, then I’ll have no problem with letting my three sons here beat the living shit out of you.”
That statement made all three of the triplets smile particularly wide while looking down at the pony like buzzards on an injured rabbit. From the way Stroma shook with his legs trembling, it was actually surprising that he didn’t pee himself from the intense stares he felt on him. After a few seconds, Blaze and Blane pulled their claws off of him in wait. Jonas motioned towards Canvas again, and it took a moment before the coach could shakily turn his head to see the pony in question.
Canvas stood directly in front of Stroma’s line of vision with an expectant stare and a raised brow. “Well?”
Stroma shakily looked back at the triplets, who were already reapplying bandage tape to their claws while smiling at him. The coach shuddered in growing dread, and gulped before turning back to Canvas. “I… I’m…”
Canvas bent in a little closer with his eyes narrowed, clearly wanting to see the words come out of Stroma’s mouth. The red stallion wanted to appear angry, but the sound of the triplets cracking their joints behind him quickly made him tense up to say, “I-I’m sorry! I’m sorry, okay?! I’m sorry for tryin’ to hit you, and… I’m sorry for everything else. I know that I was… mean. It wasn't right, and I didn't do my job as well as I should! B-But I hope you can look past anything I said to you in the past…”
After finishing, the coach stood in place while shaking in growing worry. Canvas didn’t say anything in response, and Jonas looked towards him and asked, “Well? How’s that for an apology?”
A couple more seconds passed, and the slightest hint of a smirk crept at the corners of Canvas’ lips as he turned to Jonas. “Apology? What apology?”
Stroma’s red coat was now a deathly white, and he was absolutely paralyzed when his former student looked back at him. While his former coach stood frozen at the spot, Canvas looked him dead in the eyes and said:
“I didn’t hear anything.”
That was when Stroma peed. Of course, only a trickle came out before Blane grabbed the pony by the neck and threw him across the alley like a ragdoll. The coach flew straight into a wall of trash cans, and the triplets quickly flew after the stallion after he landed. However, before the sounds of Stroma’s panicked screams could be replaced with repeated punches and laughter courtesy of the Clawstons’ oldest sons, Canvas called out towards them, “Don’t send him to the hospital! Just get a few hits in before sending him to the police for assault!”
Even though he heard the three give off some disappointed groans, Canvas smiled when he heard Blaze shout out, “Okay, fine! No broken bones!”
Of course, Stroma still yelped in terror as the three pulled him from the trash cans for a “light” treatment. While the punches flew, Troy and Lyle winced at seeing the beating they were dishing out and began to make their leave with their parents. “Eh, come on guys,” said Troy as he grabbed Tenor’s leash tried to lead the way. “I think I saw a twenty-four hour takeout place nearby.”
As the Clawstons and Tenor started to disperse and leave the triplets to their fun, Canvas and Fashion Plate stayed for a while to watch the action. Canvas was clearly pleased at seeing one of old tormentors getting his face rearranged, but could only stand about a minute of the sight before making his leave. However, Canvas paused when he looked over at Fashion Plate. Despite his background, the unicorn seemed absolutely enthralled by the display the gryphons were dishing out against Stroma. He had a large grin on his face, and seemed to really enjoy seeing how brutal their actions were.
“Where do you think you’re going?!” shouted Blaze as he dragged Stroma by his hindlegs when he tried to escape.
“Uhh… Fashion Plate?” asked Canvas loudly enough to get his attention. “Are you sure you want to take those guys out to dinner?”
“Are you kidding?!” Fashion Plate had the hugest grin of excitement on his blushed face when he looked back at Canvas. “Just look at them!”
The unicorn turned back to watch the fight, and his whole body shuddered in anticipation. “I swear, this is the hottest thing I’ve seen in a long time!”
Canvas officially became weirded out, and he cringed a little as he decided to leave the unicorn alone to watch the brawling finish. “Uhhh… alright,” said the stallion awkwardly as he walked away from Fashion Plate. “Have fun, I guess.”
“You too!”
After Fashion Plate waved Canvas goodbye, he waited until the artist left the alley before trotting over towards the triplets. By now, it was clear that Stroma wasn’t able to fight back much, so Fashion Plate seemed content with lighting his horn to grab their attention. “Alright, alright! I think he had enough, boys! Now, who wants tacos?!”
While the injured and bloodied Stroma laid face-down on the ground coughing up blood, the triplets quickly stopped and raised their claws to the unicorn. “ME!!!”