//------------------------------// // Chapter Fifteen: Next Morning Plans // Story: Brushed Away 3: Hearts Entwined // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// Even though there was only a brief night’s sleep between the art show and their departure by train the next morning, it seemed that Troy and Canvas were rather refreshed as they happily strolled to the station. Of course, while neither of them got much actual sleep, the time spent in their hotel room was more than satisfying for the both of them. Due to everything Canvas had to deal with (both during and after the auction), Troy wasn’t surprised in the slightest when his fiancè asked his parents to look after Tenor for the night. If the Saint Bernard was in their hotel room, chances were good that he would be making just as much noise as the couple were that night. Plus, since Troy’s family had booked rooms at a different hotel, none of them had to know about the multiple noise complaints the couple received from their auction “afterparty.” Of course, due to their limited amount of sleep, Canvas had his purple shades on in an attempt to hide the small bags underneath his eyes. Troy wasn’t fortunate enough to have a pair of sunglasses himself (mostly since pony vendors didn’t sell any with a beak bridge), but he still looked significantly less tired than his fiancè. So, the gryphon didn’t seem that concerned when he and Canvas finally reached the train station for their morning departure back to Ponyville. When they entered the station, the couple saw five familiar faces standing still among the constantly moving crowd of ponies within the grand lobby. Tenor perked up when he saw the two, and barked loudly before breaking apart from the gryphons to run towards Troy and Canvas. An exhausted Lyle kept himself leaned against a wall beside both of his parents. Next to the three, Glimmer Heart was standing awkwardly beside them in wait while biting her bottom lip. “Canvas!” As soon as she caught glimpse of him, Glimmer Heart quickly ran up to the stallion with a worried look on her face. Canvas and Troy stopped petting their dog when they overheard her. She slowed her pace as she approached Canvas and his fiancè, and it was clear from last night’s events why she still looked so distraught. When she finally stopped, Glimmer was about a foot away from Canvas as she lowered her head timidly. “Canvas, I… I really don’t know what I can say about what happened. I really wish I--” Canvas brought up a hoof to pause her words, but his expression seemed a lot less upset than what she probably expected. “Glimmer, it’s alright,” assured the artist with an honest tone in his voice. “Believe me, you’re the last pony I would get mad with over what happened.” Glimmer Heart sighed, but it sounded more like an anxious huff than it did anything relieving. Troy was able to see how she looked, and took a couple steps back with Tenor so Canvas would be able to talk with her himself. Glimmer looked away from Canvas as she tried to reply rationally. “I know, and… and I believe you, I swear.” It was clear that despite what she said, the mare seemed less than sincere about her words. After a small pause, Glimmer exhaled a bit more painfully before admitting, “It’s just… I should’ve known something was wrong! I had a bad feeling when I first talked with those guys, but I still went along with making the whole thing a surprise for you and I just--” “Glimmer!” Before the unicorn continue her ramblings and risk feeling any worse about what happened, Canvas put a hoof on her shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. “Glimmer, look at me.” Canvas waited sternly, and it took a couple seconds before Glimmer Heart slowly looked back up at him. From the guilty pout she still had on her face, it wouldn’t have surprised Canvas if she started tearing up for inviting those teachers to last night’s auction. Fortunately, the stallion kept his voice as caring as possible as he said, “I don’t blame you for what happened. I know you were trying to do something nice for me, and I really respect that. Those guys are pretty much experts at manipulating ponies and trying to make things look good in their own light. You didn’t do anything wrong by listening to them, I swear.” Glimmer’s frown didn’t lessen much by Canvas’ statement, but she still nodded faintly after giving off a small sigh. After she looked down to the ground once again, her voice still sounded shameful when she finally made a response. “Still, I… I’m really sorry, Canvas.” “It’s okay,” said the stallion as he decided to take action. He wrapped his hooves around Glimmer’s back to give her a proper hug, which made the mare startle a little in surprise. Nevertheless, Canvas held her tightly and said, “You’re still my friend, Glimmer.” Even though it took her a couple seconds, Glimmer Heart was still able to hug the artist back and muster a brief smile across her muzzle. When she finally pulled back, the unicorn quickly wiped her cheeks with a hoof before Canvas could see anything. “Well! Umm,” she began in a blatant attempt to try and change the subject, “so the wedding is in four days, right?” “Yep!” piped Canvas happily. He then looked past Glimmer to glance at the wall of train departure times that was beside the ticket booths. “Speaking of which, Troy and I still have a lot to get ready for, and I don’t want to miss the train back to Ponyville.” “Oh! Of course.” Glimmer then gave Canvas one last hug as a farewell, which was happily returned by the stallion before she said, “Well, I wish you two the best of luck. And I’ll be sure to look my best for your big day.” When he pulled back, Canvas had a coy smirk as he retorted, “Hopefully not better than me.” Glimmer huffed with a more relaxed smile and gave his shoulder a playful smack. “Oh, whatever!” Troy chuckled alongside his fiancè as he came back in to brush against his side, “Honestly, I don’t think there’s anyone who can outdo him on our big day.” Canvas was clearly flattered by that comment, but he still eyed the gryphon beside him and said in response, “Well, you’re certainly a big contender for that spot.” Seeing how cheeky the two were getting, Glimmer just giggled with a shake of her head while making her leave. “Alright, I’m not gonna get in the middle of this,” she said as she walked away. “You two have a safe trip home.” “You too!” said Troy and Canvas at the same time as they waved the mare goodbye. After Glimmer disappeared within the crowd of ponies on her way to the exit, the couple regained their focus and went towards the three gryphons still standing by the ticket booths. Lyle was the first to look past Troy and Canvas to ask, “So, is Glimmer alright? She looked pretty freaked out when she was waiting with us for you guys to show up.” “Yeah, don’t worry,” assured Troy. He nudged Canvas’ side before adding, “Canvas knew she wasn’t the one to get mad at, and he made sure she knew that too.” While Canvas smiled and blushed a little, Lyle sighed briefly in relief and said, “Well, that’s good to know. I think she was worried you were gonna blow up at her or something.” That made Canvas’ smile drop rather quickly. He exhaled strongly and rubbed the back of his mane with a hoof. “Yeah, I figured,” he admitted with a skewed muzzle. “To be fair, she has seen me act out more than anypony else. She probably thinks I still have a short fuse.” “Oh, I highly doubt that.” Troy nuzzled against the pony’s side and added in a more optimistic tone of voice, “Honestly, I think the fact that you didn’t punch any of those teachers yourself proved you have some good self control. I think she’ll remember that more than anything else.” Canvas smiled at that sentiment, and returned the nuzzle to his mate. Tenor, who was standing at Canvas’ other side, didn’t want to feel left out, so he quickly reached up to lick at the stallion’s cheek. Canvas groaned for a second before it became a more relaxed giggle. “Oh, come on!” he said as he tried to pull the dog away from his face. “Why do you always do that?!” Lyle snickered as well and suggested, “Well, maybe he’s jealous and wants to join in.” While Canvas rolled his eyes, Troy was the first to notice Jonas pulling away from the wall to walk towards them “I don’t think Lyle is wrong there,” said the General bluntly while staring down at the panting pup. “He wouldn’t stop trying to get in the damn bed to sleep between me and Angela!” “Wait, you didn’t let him?!” asked Canvas in an offended tone when he glanced up at Jonas. “Troy and I let him sleep in our bed all the time!” Jonas’ head reeled back with a disgusted expression on his face. “What!? Why would you allow that?!” Even though he wasn’t sure what they were talking about, Tenor still whimpered a little from the tone of Jonas’ voice. Fortunately, Troy spoke up in Canvas’ defense with an indifferent shrug. “We do have a pretty big nest, Dad. It’s not that big of a deal.” “Well, what do you think would happen if he gets fleas?! Or ticks?! Dogs can attract a lot of filth, which is why they’re supposed to have separate beds!” “Jonas, Jonas,” said Angela while pulling away from the wall with a brief huff. She was just as tired as Lyle looked, so she wasn’t putting up with any argument as she spoke towards her husband. “If they want the dog to sleep with them, that’s their choice. Besides, remember when we had that Rottweiler?” Troy and Lyle sighed at the same time with a mix of nostalgia and slight sadness. “Oh yeah,” said Lyle as his smile grew immensely. “Hooter was an awesome dog.” “She was,” said Angela in agreement, “And she only had fleas ONCE in all the years we had her! The triplets contracted fleas more times than her.” Jonas looked back at Angela with a sigh of defeat as he nodded in acceptance of her point. “Alright, I get it.” He then turned back to Troy and Canvas to add, “I didn’t mean to insult either of you guys. I’m just saying that it’s not something I would’ve done.” “Eh, it’s alright,” said Canvas as he went to scratch at the back of Tenor’s head lovingly. “Believe me, we make sure this little guy is clean before bringing him to bed. We should’ve told you about his sleeping habits, though.” “Oh, it’s fine, Canvas,” assured Angela before Jonas could say anything in opposition. “He liked sleeping next to me more than he did Jonas. And I thought he was a nice little companion.” Even though Angela had a pleased smile on her face while saying that, Jonas just turned his head away with an upset grumble. While he wasn’t going to say anything about it, the General wasn’t happy that his plans for last night were ruined because of the dog insisting to sleep between him and his wife. “Well, thank you guys for looking after him,” said Troy as he kept a hold on Tenor’s leash. “That really means a lot to us.” “No problem,” replied Jonas with a less than enthused exhale. He then handed his travel bag over to the two before saying, “All I ask in return is to look after my things while Lyle and I are gone.” “What?” asked Troy and Canvas at the same time in confusion. Canvas looked over at Lyle and asked, “What’s he talking about?” Lyle had a chipper smile on his beak as he motioned over at his Dad, “Oh, Dad and I got our tickets exchanged for ones that are leaving for Ponyville this afternoon. We just wanted to let you guys know before we take a tour at the Manehattan Tech Institute.” “Really?” asked Troy with a surprised and impressed smile pointed towards his Dad. “Wow, that’s a really nice idea.” Jonas shrugged with a relaxed smile, not giving any hint as to where he may have gotten that idea. Of course, the old gryphon was still able to see the knowing smirk Canvas had on him. After giving the slightest nod of his head for the stallion to notice, Jonas turned back towards Lyle to say, “Well, that Fancy Pants guy said a lot of good things about that college. And if their multicultural programs are as good as he says they were, I figure it might be a good option to look at.” “Plus,” added Lyle with a shrug, “I did a little research and found out they have a really good graphic design program. That might be pretty helpful after I complete my internship.” “I have to agree,” said Canvas when he turned his attention to Lyle with a smile. Of course, thought it over for a second before glancing back at Jonas. “So, did you guys sign up for a tour or something? Or are you just gonna walk around the campus all day?” “Don’t worry, I already got things set up with Fancy Pants after the auction.” He then went to grab at Lyle’s art bag hanging from the side, giving it a couple good shakes so rattling could be heard. “We even have protein pills for when we go to the dining hall, just so none of those ponies will get suspicious.” “Good idea,” replied Troy with a talon pointed at him. “I still keep my pills on me when I go to work.” “Well, anyway.” Lyle then went to give Troy and Canvas hugs as he said, “Dad and I were wanting to get there early, so you guys have a safe trip, ‘kay?” “Hey, no problem,” said Troy while hugging him back. “I guess I’ll be seeing you tonight?” “That’s what we’re hoping,” responded Jonas. He then waited for Lyle to finish hugging both of them before motioning for him to follow. “Come on, we can probably fly there in ten minutes if we’re quick enough.” “Ten?” With the way Lyle’s smirk skewed up higher at one side, it seemed like he knew a little more than his Dad. “I was able to fly across all of Middle Park in five minutes! I think we can get to MTI quicker than ten.” Jonas was able to catch the cocky tone his son had, and turned back with a growing smirk of his own as he asked, “Oh? Is that supposed to be a challenge, young man?” “Oh jeez,” muttered Angela with a smile and roll of her eyes, already knowing what was going to happen. After making sure his art bag was secure against his side, Lyle kept his eyes on his Dad as his wings came out slightly. “Five bits says I get there before you.” Jonas only let out a low chuckle in response, with his own wings unfurling in silent acceptance. But before he could do anything else, the General turned back to his wife and said, “See you tonight, Angela.” Angela kissed Jonas kindly on his jagged beak and replied, “You better, honey.” Unfortunately, as soon as Jonas went to turn back to his kid, all he saw were a couple stray black and white feathers falling to the ground. He quickly looked up to see an open window at the ceiling, and Lyle quickly disappearing into the Manehattan skyline. “DAMMIT!” shouted Jonas before he shot up through the window as well, letting a couple of his own feathers come off in the process. Even though a lot of ponies stopped briefly when those two flew off from the train station’s roof like a couple of trained hawks, Angela just giggled happily. “I have to say,” she said while glancing up at the window, “I think they’re really getting closer now.” Troy and Canvas were looking up at the ceiling as well, and Canvas was the first to nod when he turned back down at her. “Yeah, I think you’re right.” When Troy finally looked away from the roof, his sights were focused on something else. Blaze, Blade, and Blane were finally walking through the main lobby of the station, but the three gryphons were completely stoic and silent as they walked in a unified row. Their faces were completely wide-eyed and vacant, and most of the color was drained from their faces. The triplets didn’t say a word to their Mother, Troy, or Canvas, and just walked past them to sit at an empty bench. It was clear that something was up, but Angela and Troy were legitimately unsure what could’ve happened which would lead the triplets to be sitting completely still and silent like three students outside a principal’s office. Canvas raised a hoof towards them in a tiny effort to grab their attention as he said, “Uhhh, guys? Is something wro--” “NOTHING HAPPENED!!!” shouted the three at the same time when they turned their heads in his direction. They then immediately turned back to staring out at nothing, like nothing else was needed to be said. Canvas, Troy, and Angela all exchanged looks to each other at they began to worry. However, none of them knew what to say to one another. Canvas looked especially concerned, and he was beginning to wonder whether or not Fashion Plate had something to do with it. Unfortunately, Canvas’ suspicions were pretty much confirmed when he and the others overheard the triplets squawk out in unified fear. The three gryphons jumped out of their seats like a group of startled cats and ran away screaming. One of them could be overheard shouting “Run! Run! RUN!!!” Fashion Plate came into view while wearing a red Ascot and sporting a vintage travel bag on his shoulder. Even though his violet shades did nothing to cover how heavy the bags under his eyes looked, the stallion kept a very content smile on his face. Since the triplets already ran off in a panic, the unicorn settled on trotting towards Canvas and his family. “Oh, there you are!” said Fashion Plate in a chipper tone, seemingly unaware how uneasy the artist looked due to the triplets’ reaction to the unicorn entering the station. While Canvas blinked a couple times worriedly, Fashion looked around and curiously asked, “So, did your boys already leave?” “Uhhh…” Canvas glanced back at Troy and Angela, and could see that neither of them were comfortable with letting the stallion know about their whereabouts. When he turned back to Fashion Plate, one of Canvas’ brows was raised as he asked, “What exactly happened last night?” A delighted shudder crept across Fashion’s back, making his smile grow immensely for a brief second as he giggled with glee. His shoulders crept up as he said innocently, “Nothiiiiing~” Troy and Angela both cringed hard at the unicorn’s answer. Canvas was instantly regretting letting Fashion take those three out to “dinner,” but he wasn’t able to ask anything else before Fashion Plate floated something out of his bag. “Just let them know that I really enjoyed dinner with them last night,” he said as he handed a small envelope to Canvas with his magic. “Also, here are some ‘free night’ vouchers for a hotel that’s near my place. I figure they might appreciate it since they got so... flustered after waking up in my bed this morning.” Fashion Plate giggled once more, but settled himself down to give the gaping Canvas a thankful pat on the shoulder. “Just give them my thanks, honey-buns. I know you of all ponies will understand.” With that being said, Fashion Plate trotted off to leave the station. When Canvas finally glanced back at Troy and Angela, both of them were staring at the artist with looks of shock and confusion. Even Tenor had his head slightly tilted while looking up at the stallion. After trying to see where the triplets ran off to, Canvas turned back to his fiancè and Mother-In-Law and said, “I swear to Celestia, he just said he was going to take them out to dinner.” Troy couldn't help thinking of whatever it could've been to make his older brothers act so skiddish about that stallion, and winced as he replied, "Ugh... It sounds like he got dessert too." "TROIUS!" shouted Troy's Mother before smacking him over the head.