//------------------------------// // Chapter Seventeen: A Matter of Trust // Story: Brushed Away 3: Hearts Entwined // by TheVClaw //------------------------------// Overcast skies loomed over Ponyville the following morning, which fit the mood surrounding the Clawston family fairly well. After Troy and Canvas returned to Ponyville by train, they were certain that Lyle and Jonas would be just a few hours behind and back in town before night came. Even after the sunset, most of the Clawstons were certain that nothing was amiss. However, after the last train arrived at the station and left, everyone began to wonder why the two were still unaccounted for. Unfortunately, Angela seemed to be the only one acting officially freaked out the next morning. So while the skies were painted with an overcast of pale grey over the lands, Angela preoccupied herself with pacing around the castle with a panicked look on her face. “Where are they?” she muttered to herself in a tone that sounded like she was imagining the worst possible scenarios. “Where are they?! Why aren't they back yet?!” Since her distressed voice could be heard reverberating throughout the massive rooms and halls made of crystal, it wasn’t long before Twilight trotted into the room the gryphoness was in to make sure she was okay. “Angela,” began the Princess in a calm but wary tone, “you really should try to sit down for a while.” “But where ARE they?!” cried out Angela as she turned towards Twilight. With the way her breathing became heavy and rapid, it looked like she was about to either cry or hyperventilate. “It’s not like Jonas to ever be this late without sending a message!” “I’m sure that everything is alright, Missus Clawston.” Twilight then brought out a wing to wrap around Angela’s back and lead her towards a nearby fainting couch. “Rainbow Dash told me that there was a pretty big storm scheduled outside of Baltimare, so there’s a good chance that it affected Jonas and Lyle’s trip and simply delayed them.” Even as she sat down, Angela was becoming more frazzled while fidgeting her talons. “B-But what if something bad happened?! If their train was delayed, Jonas would’ve sent me a message to let me know by now!” Despite understanding the panicked gryphoness’ point, Twilight sighed as she tried to contemplate some alternatives to soothe Angela’s mindset. “Well, Equestrian messaging is still fairly limited for those without magic, and the distance between Manehattan and Ponyville is almost twice the amount of space that all the Gryphon Kingdom occupies! For all we know, a message is on its way right now as we speak.” With her anxiety building up with each passing second, Angela hunched downward while sitting with her claws behind her head. “Oh, what if one of them got hurt?! Or BOTH of them!? Or what if they got in a fight in Manehattan?! I don’t want to even think of those two fighting again, but this is just building up and I don’t know what’s going on so I’m just thinking worse and worse things--” “ANGELA!” The last thing that Princess Twilight wanted to do was to actually yell at a pregnant woman, so she cringed hard when she saw how much Angela jolted from that interrupting outburst. While the gryphoness just stared up at her in fear, Twilight managed to get over brief bout of guilt quickly enough to continue speaking. “I’m sorry for yelling, but you need to get yourself settled down. We don’t know what happened to them, and while that is a legitimate reason to be concerned, making yourself a nervous wreck about it isn’t going to solve anything! You need to stay optimistic for the time being. Not just because of your own well-being, but for the baby’s as well.” Angela’s eyes widened, and her claws instinctively came down to cradle her stomach. While looking down at her barely protruding belly, she sniffed faintly before exhaling in a long and shaky breath. With her eyes closed, Angela nodded her head and responded in a scared whisper of a voice. “I… Okay… Th-Thank you…” Twilight knew what she had to do, and took the initiative to wrap her hooves around the gryphoness for a much-needed hug. While Angela hugged the Princess back, neither of them noticed Spike walk in through the doorway with a giant jar of pickles. After Cadance's visit and reveal about her foal, Spike learned that he had a pretty good sense of pregnancy cravings (which Twilight was still unable to figure out). So without saying a word, the dragon placed the jar beside Angela’s seat and walked away. Twilight saw Spike leaving the room first, but didn’t realize what he did before hearing Angela gasp in surprise. “Oooh!” The gryphoness quickly snatched up the jar like it was nothing, and had it opened in an instant to snag herself one of the thicker pickles inside. If it wasn’t for her reddened eyes, it may have been hard to tell that Angela was acting like a nervous wreck less than a minute ago. After taking a bite, Angela glanced back at the confused Princess and said insistently, “Don’t let go of that assistant of yours. He’s worth his weight in gold.” Twilight sighed with a relaxed smile and a roll of her eyes. Unfortunately, that reaction was interrupted by the sound of a thunderous crash from the other room. Both girls jolted and turned to the direction of the noise. “What was that?!” shouted Twilight loud enough for Spike to hopefully give an answer. After a brief bout of silence, the triplets replied with a unified, “Spike did it!!” “NO I DIDN’T!!” yelled Spike back at them. Twilight then groaned and got out of her seat. “I better check on them and make sure it wasn’t anything too valuable.” Before she could make her leave towards the source of the noise, Twilight turned back to Angela from the doorway and asked, “Is there anything you need in the meantime?” Since the gryphoness was preoccupied with finishing her pickle, the only answer she could give to Twilight’s question was, “Garlic salt, please.” Glad that Angela wasn’t panicking anymore, Twilight responded with an amused smile before leaving the room. It wasn’t until the pregnant gryphoness reached her third pickle that she overheard two new figures entering the castle. She glanced over at the other doorway quickly, hoping that it was her husband and youngest son. However, Angela’s reaction soon turned to worried disappointment when Troy and Canvas walked into the room. “Hey, Mom,” said Troy with an optimistic smile on his beak. However, with one glance at his Mom’s downtrodden look, his tone became bleak as well when he asked, “So, I take it they’re not back yet?” “No!” she shouted bitterly before taking another bite. “And Ah haf no idea where dey couldef gone!” Canvas, who was wearing his new jacket due to the weather outside, scratched the back of his mane as he tried to think logically about Jonas and Lyle’s disappearance. “Well, there are several routes that a train could go to get from Manehattan to Ponyville. Maybe they missed their scheduled one and had to take one with a longer route.” Even though he wasn’t half as worried as his Mom was, Troy seemed apprehensive about Canvas’ theory. “Maybe, but that doesn’t sound like Dad. If there’s one thing I know about him, it’s that he never misses a trip when he has a paid ticket for it.” “That’s true,” added Angela after swallowing. “He once broke his foreleg when falling down a flight of concrete steps, and he still insisted on getting our tickets refunded instead of going to the hospital first. Of course, he passed out halfway to the station, but still.” “Alright, alright.” After pausing with a sigh, Canvas’ muzzle skewed for a moment before both his brows raised upward. “Actually, we haven’t checked the train station today yet. Troy and I came right here in case they showed up before us.” “Well what are you waiting for?!” Troy and Canvas flinched a little from her outburst. Angela pointed to the doorway they just came from with an annoyed expression as she motioned her claw to shoo them away. “Go check it out!” Before either of them could even move an inch, the rumble of scurrying paws broke their attention as the triplets barreled past the room in a panic. Blaze was the only one to speak as he ran past Angela, Troy, and Canvas. “We’llcheckthetrainstationwewerejustabouttoleaveanywayseeyoulater!!” The three were already long gone before anyone else could get a word in. Twilight flew through the room as well with a livid expression as she screamed out in fury, “YOU THREE GET BACK HERE AND CLEAN THAT UP!!!” Alas, the triplets were already gone before Twilight could catch them. Several seconds of silence passed, which was first interrupted by the sound of Angela’s beak crunching into another pickle. Of course, what truly ended the awkward silence was the sight of Spike walking back into the room. He had a very upset look on his face, but it was hard to tell since he was covered head to toe in what looked to be strawberry jelly. All three of them were gawking at the sight of the jam-coated dragon, but Canvas was the first to ask the obvious. “Spike, what the heck happened!?” “They wanted to make a sandwich,” said Spike with great disdain as he walked past them towards the nearest bathroom. Since everyone except Spike was out of the castle, Canvas and Troy decided to stay with Angela in one of the sitting rooms in case Lyle and Jonas returned. Even though the conversation was fairly minimal due to the unwelcome mixture of Angela’s anxiety and pregnancy hormones, it seemed that the castle itself broke the silence at random moments. Whether it was the crystal chandelier jingling above them, the sound of Spike’s bare feet stepping along the spotless floors, or the occasional moment where they swore they heard a pair of hooves somewhere, little interruptions like that somehow made the wait for Twilight’s return feel quicker than it should’ve been. Even though she looked downright furious when she left the castle, Twilight Sparkle had quite a wide smile on her muzzle when she finally returned with her horn lit. Of course, the fact that a large bubble of magic containing the triplets was floating in the air behind her may have been the reason for that. The Princess was pleased to see that the three were still in the sitting room, and trotted in to say, “Well, I’m happy to tell you that Jonas and Lyle are perfectly fine!” She then looked back at the doorway and added, “While chasing your sons, I ran into the two of them as they left the station!” Jonas slowly walked through the doorway first, looking more tired than anything else before his beak grew a faint smile. “Hey, honey,” muttered the gryphon in a low, but still genuine tone. However, Angela didn’t look nearly as happy when she got out of her seat and stormed towards him. “Jonas! Just what on Earth happened to you two?! Were you trying to make me overstressed while pregnant?!” Jonas was barely able to get a response in, but that last sentence made him instantly look guilty while his wife glared at him. After a few seconds, Angela glanced past him and asked, “Wait, where is Lyle anyway?” Almost on cue, Lyle had his luggage over his back as he stomped down the hallway past Angela’s line of sight. As the teenage gryphon headed for the stairs, Jonas turned around to call out to him. “Lyle, please come back here! You can at least let your Mom know--” “SHUT UP!” Carrying a tone of malice that wasn’t heard since the last time he was in Equestria, Lyle angrily stormed up the stairs without looking back at his Dad. “Just stay the BUCK away from me!!!” “HEY!” Upon hearing that curse word, Twilight instantly dropped her magic grip on the triplets, which made the three fall to the floor ungracefully. Meanwhile, a door slammed upstairs that practically made the whole castle shake in intensity. Lyle may have been a teenager, but Twilight wasn’t going to tolerate that kind of behavior while a baby dragon is in the castle. Before the Princess could storm up the stairs to confront Lyle, Jonas stopped her by placing a claw over her shoulder. “Just let him go,” he said in a defeated, but still slightly pleading tone of voice. “He went through a lot yesterday.” Twilight huffed before glaring back at the General. “Mister Clawston, with all due respect, I’ve made it very clear that I don’t tolerate that kind of language while Spike is around.” It was at that moment that Spike walked back into the room to give Twilight one of her scheduling parchments. “Oh, please,” said the dragon while Twilight picked up the scroll with her magic, “Just because I’m a baby dragon doesn’t mean I’m an idiot, Twi. I have lived in libraries for most of my life. I’m pretty sure I know every swear word there is.” Twilight stared down at the drake with a mix of befuddlement and slight shock. She honestly wasn’t sure how to respond to what Spike said. Of course, any reply she may have had was paused when Blane, who was the first triplet to get himself off the floor, looked over at Spike and said with a curious grin, “Prove it!” However, that smirk was quickly extinguished with one strong glare from the Alicorn to shut him up. “Okay,” began Angela as she turned her attention back towards Jonas to ask, “what exactly did you do to set him off? And don’t try telling me it’s nothing!” Jonas didn’t look happy that his wife automatically assumed he had something to do with Lyle’s behavior; however, he also knew she wasn’t wrong either. So, the General just sighed painfully and rubbed the back of his head. “Before you get upset, I want you to know that what I did wasn’t intentional, okay? It wasn’t like what happened last time we were here.” Angela’s angered glare intensified, making her look like she was just a second away from slapping him across the face. Luckily, Troy stepped in to ask, “What did you do?” “It was an accident, alright?!” Before he could say anything in addition to that, Jonas huffed briefly and turned to Twilight. “Ummm, Princess? Would it be okay to ask you to use that sound-proofing thing?” “Hmm?” Twilight looked up from her parchment before nodding her head. “Oh, of course!” Before floating her scroll back to Spike, the Alicorn looked towards the triplets. “If you three could step in closer, it would be easier to make my--” “Oh-HO-noooo!” Blaze threw his claws up before walking out of the room. “I am NOT going in that bubble thing again!” Blaze and Blane followed their brother with equally insistent looks, clearly not happy with how they were brought back to Twilight’s castle after a massive lecturing from her. Jonas merely shrugged and admitted, “Actually, that’s probably for the best. I’d rather not have those three hear what happened and make fun of Lyle about it. He’s already mad at me as it is.” Seeing that Jonas’ wife and the couple would clearly want more details after that comment, Twilight didn’t bother to try asking what the General meant from that. Instead, she quickly emitted a sound-bubble from her lit horn. Troy, Canvas, Jonas, and Angela were soon underneath a large dome of purple magic, which gave off a light, pulsating glow. After Jonas turned around to give the Princess a talon’s-up in approval, Twilight nodded with a smile before going back to looking over her schedule with Spike. Canvas was the first one to speak. “Okay, what happened?” Jonas closed his eyes as he exhaled deeply. “Let me just reiterate that what happened was an accident. I’m sure that any one of you could’ve made the same mistake. And as for the tour itself, it went really well, and Manehattan Tech looks like a good school. But…” The gryphon looked at the three in front of him while carrying a guilty expression on his face. “The reason Lyle and I were gone was because… I needed to take him to the hospital.” Everyone gasped. “The hospital?!” shouted Angela in horror. Troy looked equally shocked as he asked, “Is he alright?!” Jonas turned towards Troy after that question with a deadpan look. “No, Troy. He’s in a full body cast and currently in a coma. Couldn’t you tell when we walked in?” While Troy grew an agitated look at that unnecessarily sarcastic comeback, Canvas asked worriedly, “Why did he need to go to the hospital, Jonas?” Jonas’ head slumped even lower, with his face barely visible as he uttered, “Because I… I accidentally packed the wrong pills.” “What?!” asked Angela in surprise. “What are you talking about? Those protein pills were the only ones we had packed, wasn’t... “ Angela’s words trailed off for a moment, and it wasn’t long before her narrowed eyes quickly shot wide open. She gasped horribly while covering her beak with both claws. “Oh, NO!” “WHAT?” asked Troy frustratingly towards both his parents. “What was it?” Jonas groaned with his head lowered as he explained. “Well, when we went to the dining hall for lunch, Lyle was the first to finish and take a pill. But when I went to take mine, I realized that it was... blue...” Troy tilted his head in confusion, knowing very well that the protein pills Equestria provides aren’t blue in any way. However, it only took a second for Canvas to realize what it could’ve been as he widened his eyes. “Wait… did they have a ‘V’ on the front?” That got Troy’s mind to start connecting the dots as well, and his eyes shot open when he saw his father make an uneasy nod of his head. “Y-yeah,” admitted Jonas in a sullen tone. Canvas and Troy both cringed. Hard. Even though neither of them had to use those particular pills, they knew enough about them to be aware of their purpose, as well as what they’re supposed to do. Jonas looked away from them as he continued. “He had to hide in the bathroom for a while because of… things. But we had to leave and see a physician when the… side effects lasted longer than four hours.” Angela looked absolutely hurt at the realization of what happened to her youngest son. “Oh, noooo…” She kept her face covered as she shook her head. “So you mean they had to…” Jonas once again nodded. Troy looked at him curiously to ask, “Wait, they had to do what?” Since Jonas was looking fairly upset by now, Angela put her claw down to speak for him. “Well… when someone has to take those pills, and they last longer than four hours, the doctors have to give them an injection. And in order for it to work, it has to be given directly on the…” Angela didn’t finish her sentence, but hoped that Troy and Canvas were smart enough to know what that last word was supposed to be. Fortunately, the gryphoness didn’t need to say it when she saw both of them wince hard while their hind legs buckled involuntarily. “Yeah,” mumbled Jonas in understanding. “And I’ve had to deal with that before, so I know just how unpleasant it can be. Lyle hasn’t spoken to me since we left Manehattan, and I can’t blame him.” Angela bent in to give her husband a much-needed hug. “It’s okay, honey,” she said in assurance. “It was just an accident. I’m not mad at you, I swear.” Jonas sighed deeply, and had his eyes clenched as he hugged his wife back. While he wasn’t going to openly admit it, it was obvious that he needed to hear that from her. Troy and Canvas nodded as well. “Do you want us to talk with Lyle?” asked stallion. “Well, not right now. But… Yeah.” When he glanced over at the couple, Jonas nodded with a reluctant, but still thankful look on his face. “If either of you could, I would really appreciate that. One of you could probably get to talk with him sooner than I could.” Troy and Canvas both smiled at the gryphon’s sentiment, happy that he was actually wanting their help for something this delicate. Since both of them helped with Lyle a lot recently, it meant a lot to know that even Jonas was aware of it. Troy nodded proudly and responded with, “Don’t worry, Dad. We’ll get things settled out for you.” Jonas smiled faintly back at them. However, Angela looked upset as she asked, “Hey, wait a minute! Why can’t I talk with him?! He’s MY son, you know!” All three guys turned to look at the gryphoness with straight-faced stares. Troy opened his beak first. “Mom, don’t you think that maybe this is something that would constitute as ‘guy-talk’?” Fortunately enough, that question was able to make Angela realize their point in an instant. Instead of saying anything, the gryphoness just looked away with a blush and nodded silently. Since she didn’t have much to do, Angela felt like she needed to be away from the castle for a while. Despite how amazing Twilight’s castle really was, the gryphoness had to admit that Ponyville had a really eclectic charm which made her want to walk around. She eventually stopped at Lyra and Bon-Bon’s sweet shop, and the couple were more than happy to let Angela rest in their kitchen behind the storefront. Lyra’s aura of magic floated a pitcher of lemonade towards the table, and poured into the glasses with ease while she sat across from the gryphoness. Even though the first sip was quite nice, Angela still seemed upset when she put her glass down. “Ugh, I just feel so awful,” admitted the gryphoness with a guilty sigh. “As soon as he said something bad happened between him and Lyle, I automatically assumed that it was something like… like before.” Lyra put her own glass down and gave Angela a sympathetic look. “Oh, you shouldn’t feel bad about that,” said the unicorn with a sincere tone of voice. “It’s clear that he had issues like that in the past, so it’s not that hard to think it would happen again.” “But I promised myself that I wouldn’t think like that!” Carrying a shameful gaze back at Lyra, Angela leaned her head in against one of her claws that was propped on the table. “I mean, I know that Jonas is doing his best, and I couldn’t be happier to see how well he’s been getting. Heck, I think he’s even starting to like Canvas a little! But when I saw how upset Lyle was today, the first thing I thought was that he was going back to his old ways! It just…” The gryphoness then sunk her head in against both her claws as she groaned stressfully. “It just made me think for a second that I still didn’t trust him. Even though I do!” “I know you do,” assured Lyra while putting a hoof out against one of Angela’s claws. “Nopony is saying otherwise. We all have random thoughts like that from time to time. It doesn’t mean anything.” “But what if it does?!” When she pulled her head back up to stare at the mare, Angela looked like she was about to start tearing up from anxiety. “Like, what if I’m never able to completely trust him to be a good parent again!? I don’t want to have this mindset when the hatchling comes!” “Angela, please.” Despite how tightly she was gripping Angela’s claw to keep her focus, Lyra’s voice was still calm and nurturing. “All relationships have these kinds of moments. Sometimes after a rough patch, some time has to pass before you can look past it completely. What’s most important right now is that he is making an effort, right?” Angela nodded, but her face was still painted with a look of apprehension. “H-He is… and I know that he won’t act like he did again. I know that, and I shouldn’t have to keep reminding myself!” “But it’s okay if you do sometimes.” Despite how much she was trying to help, Lyra could tell that her words may have not been as helpful as she would’ve hoped. So, after glancing past Angela to make sure her wife was still tending to customers at the front, the unicorn sighed before turning back to Angela. “Just so you know, I… I kinda know what that feels like.” Angela blinked a couple times while staring back at Lyra. “Wh… What do you mean?” “Well, ummm…” Even though she knew she would be stepping on eggshells if she said anything too confidential, Lyra still sighed as she began to speak honestly. “Well, a couple months ago, I learned something about Bon-Bon while we were tending to Cranky and Matilda’s wedding ceremony. She never mentioned it to me before, and…” The mare bit her lip during that pause before finishing. “It definitely made me see her in a different light.” Seeing how Lyra was looking away from her, Angela started to look concerned. “Was it an affair?” “No!” blurted Lyra quickly while looking back at the hen. “No it wasn’t that! Thank Celestia…” Although she definitely could’ve given her profession, the mare thought to herself with a twinge of guilt. Nevertheless, she shook her head clear and continued towards Angela. “However… it was something really big. I mean, I completely understood why she hid it from me, but it was still something she never told me about before that day. And… while it didn’t change how I felt about her at all, it still lingered in my mind for a while after that. “Like… I remember a few times when she had to leave the shop for something, and the first thing I thought was something like, ‘I wonder if it’s something related to that again.’ And even though I knew she wasn’t involved with it anymore, part of me kept thinking whether or not she was being truthful. It wasn’t even anything that affected our relationship, but it still made me worried from time to time.” As Angela listened, shouldn’t help but wonder what kind of secret would leave her friend feeling this way. Of course, the gryphoness could tell from Lyra’s body language that whatever it was was staying a secret. So, she kept her beak shut while Lyra finished. “What I’m trying to say is, I do know how you’re feeling, Angela. I wish I could tell you when you’ll be able to stop thinking like that, but I know it’s different for everyone. All I can tell you is that this will pass. I was able to move past it, because I know that Bon-Bon is too important to lose over one little incident. All it takes is a little time, and effort from both sides to make things work. Your husband is doing his best to move forward, so I doubt it’ll take long for the past to really be in the past. That goes for you too.” Angela nodded her head, her beak clenched shut as she mustered a shaky smile. Given how drastically her own viewpoints have changed since the last time she and her husband visited Equestria, Angela knew that what her friend was saying was the utmost truth. Heck, if she could be able to befriend a lesbian couple after spending so long being against that sort of arrangement, then it wasn’t crazy to think she could trust Jonas again as well. “Y-Yeah,” said Angela in a cracked voice. “Th-Thank you, Lyra.” Seeing how the gryphoness was beginning to start crying, Lyra quickly floated a box of tissues over to their table. “Here you go,” she said with a warm smile on her mint muzzle. “Oh, I’m sorry.” Angela grabbed several tissues to try wiping her eyes with. “I know I shouldn’t be this emotional right now.” “It’s perfectly fine, Angela.” After giggling lightly, Lyra added with a playful smirk, “I mean, you are pregnant, after all. Plus, you have a lot on your plate right now.” “Yeah,” admitted Angela with an exasperated breath like she was trying not to laugh. “It seems like as soon as one issue is resolved, another one comes popping up with one of my other kids!” “Well,” retorted Lyra, “you have a lot of kids to worry about, including one on the way. Heck, I saw Fluttershy and Blade earlier walking together. It was so weird to see that!” Angela blinked a couple times while staring at the unicorn. While her smile stayed on her beak, the way her eyes widened made it look like the top half of her face was changing in regards to that statement. “Uhhh… what?” “I'm not saying I'm against it or anything,” added the mare with a roll of her eyes, clearly not seeing the change in Angela’s look. “Plus, it is sorta chilly outside, but I wouldn’t consider it cold enough for him to wrap a wing around her while walking. Of course, she seemed alright with it while they were leaving town, so who knows?” By now, Angela’s eyes were fully wide, and her frozen smile was skewed in a way that made it look like she was ten seconds from freaking out. However, her voice was still strangely unchanged when she finally made a response. “What?”