Chapter Forty-Two: Brewing Up A Storm
Canvas felt the morning light coming in through the window, so he turned his head away to stuff his face against one of the pillows. Granted, he knew he wasn't going to get back to sleep at that point, but he stayed there in bed, enjoying the comfort between the blanket and the sheets. He reached a hoof out to the other side, only to find that Troy wasn't there. His sigh was only slightly muffled by the pillow. Canvas slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to the brightness.
Ever since Troy moved into Canvas' home, several changes were made to accommodate them both. One of the biggest was made to the pony's bed. The king-sized mattress still laid in its original spot in the loft, but the bed frame was long gone. Instead, a large assortment of blankets and comforters surrounding said mattress took its place, all of which lay on the floor.
Initially, Troy was worried about what Canvas would think about his bed becoming a large, makeshift nest; but fortunately for him, the stallion enjoyed it quite a bit. The nest was made so that there was no hard landing from the bedding to the floor, so Canvas had no quarrel when he rolled his body over the wall of blankets and plopped down on the hardwood floor underneath him.
Though Canvas had plans for the day, his legs felt especially resistant on moving that morning. He laid still for a moment. But before he could fall into a light nap, the sound of orchestral music playing downstairs caught his attention. His ears picked up the voice of his lover singing downstairs.
“La mia letizia infondere…
Vorrei nel suo bel core!”
Canvas had never thought he would be the kind of pony to like opera, but Troy's voice had certainly helped him to appreciate such music over the past few months. He still didn’t understand a word of any of those songs, but he couldn’t have cared less these days. He closed his eyes and relished his boyfriend’s enthusiastic singing.
“Vorrei destar co' palpiti…
Del mio beato amore…”
Slowly, Canvas forced his legs to move again, and he reluctantly lifted his body up from the floor. His body felt tired, but his mind was wide awake, and his desire to be close to Troy was more than enough to overcome his body's apathy. He slowly trotted down the stairs, listening to Troy's voice growing louder as he got closer.
“Tante armonie nell'etere…
Quanti pianeti egli ha…”
Once he reached the bottom, Canvas saw the record player was playing on full blast, which still wasn't enough to overpower the gryphon’s passionate voice. He could smell something good coming from the kitchen, a rare occurrence when Troy was cooking. Canvas pushed open the kitchen door, revealing Troy standing in front of the stove.
“Aaaah! Ir seco al cielo, ed ergermi…
Dove mortal, mortal non va!”
Two large stacks of pancakes were already done, sitting on two plates next to the stove. Canvas' stomach growled, catching Troy's attention.
“Ir seco al cielo, ed eerg-…”
Troy turned and noticed Canvas with a cheeky grin on his muzzle. Even after getting used to singing in front of others, Troy still felt his feathers ruffle in embarrassment. Canvas giggled.
"Hehe… you're weird, Troy."
Troy raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Seriously? I thought you liked me weird."
"I do,” said Canvas, who kept his smile as he trotted into the kitchen. "But if somepony told me several months ago that one day, an opera-singing gryphon would be making me pancakes in my kitchen, I would assume that Discord was on the loose again."
Troy chuckled and turned back to the skillet, flipping two more pancakes. "I guess, but you gotta admit, I'm way better than an alarm clock."
Canvas' grin grew bigger as he threw his hooves around Troy's neck, speaking seductively.
"Troy, you're way better than a lot of things."
Troy scoffed and his smile grew wider. He grabbed Canvas by the back to give him a proper morning wakeup.
Troy felt Canvas' tongue slipped into his open beak, and gladly accepted it as he pulled his head in tighter. Ever since Canvas finished the painting and had it sent to Canterlot two weeks ago, the two had become a lot closer within their home, taking advantage of the new physical side of their relationship whenever (and wherever) they saw fit. Troy then pulled his head back, coughing as he grimaced.
"Dude,” said Troy, trying to overcome the taste of morning breath in his mouth. "You should really brush your teeth first."
Canvas blushed and closed his mouth, realizing he was right upon tasting his own breath. Troy was quick to make Canvas feel better, however, by nuzzling Canvas' cheek. The stallion smiled again at the sensation of his lover's feathers against his fur.
Suddenly, Canvas noticed a small patch of white smoke rising from behind Troy. "Umm… Troy, the pancakes."
"OH BUCK!"
Troy quickly let go of Canvas and turned back to the stove, moving the skillet over to the other burner to try pulling out the now-ruined pancakes. Sadly, they were burned beyond recognition. Troy groaned under his breath as he took the skillet to the nearby trashcan and tossed out the breakfast casualties.
Meanwhile, Canvas took the plate with the smaller stack of pancakes in his mouth and trotted out to the dining table. Once Troy put away the skillet, he grabbed the bottle of syrup and the larger plated stack before following him.
Canvas and Troy sat in silence for a while, letting the opera music play on while they ate their breakfast. Canvas soon spotted a grin growing on Troy’s face.
"Well, Troy, you're looking rather happy today."
"Well, Derpy came over today to deliver our mail, and…" He pulled out a large yellow sheet and held it up.
"… Our order finally came in!"
Canvas blinked in confusion, trying to remember what they had ordered. Suddenly, his eyes shot wide open, and he copied Troy’s smile.
"Dude! You mean the root beer finally arrived!?"
"Yep! I have to go pick it up from the post office since it's so heavy, but it's finally here!"
It was too late for either of them to get that gryphonian root beer from a store in Canterlot while they were there, but Lyra was still gracious enough to give them the information so they could have it shipped to their home. Due to delays, however, Canvas had almost completely forgotten about the order they made over a month ago.
Canvas was feeling especially excited, for he was already planning to go into town today. Before he could get himself ready, Troy put up a claw. "I'll go get the order myself. I was planning to fly the stuff over here anyways, and it's probably gonna be heavy enough by myself."
Canvas nodded in recognition that Troy had a point. He knew an earth pony could only do so much without the aid of flight; and considering how tired his legs still felt, Canvas figured he should at least wait until the afternoon to do anything strenuous.
Canvas looked toward his studio, and sighed. "Alright. I guess I can find something to do until you get back. I've been wanting to get the chance to paint for fun again, anyways."
Troy got out of his chair and leaned forward, nuzzling Canvas lovingly to stop whatever disappointment he might’ve caused. "I'll be back soon, alright?"
Canvas nodded and kissed him on the cheek before Troy left the barn.
In the months since Troy and Canvas became a couple, the summer months became a part of the past, and the autumn leaves appeared across Equestria.
As Troy soared above the skies toward Ponyville, he saw how much the leaves had changed color, the forests no longer the huge sea of green they were before. Instead, he saw the massive splashes of a multitude of colors underneath his wings, ranging from the brightest yellows to the dullest browns. Troy could understand why Canvas would want to paint something today. After all, Inspiration seemed to be in the air already.
Speaking of inspiration, Troy's mind began to ponder. He still remembered what Rainbow Dash told him about doing something special during the Grand Galloping Gala, and he knew she was right for suggesting it. Alas, Troy couldn't think of anything big to do. Most of the romantic gestures he could think of were more appropriate for mares, and he knew he had to do something better for Canvas than flowers or jewelry.
When the autumn leaves began to reveal the town of Ponyville in the distance, Troy decided to put his worries on the back burner for now, and made way for the post office.
Canvas held the paintbrush in his mouth, feeling a lot more at ease with his painting than he had in awhile. The past few months had been focused entirely on getting paintings done for others, so Canvas hadn't found the time to do something for himself, or just for fun. As he felt the handle of the brush between his lips, the end sliding against the canvas board and sending a slight vibration back into his mouth, Canvas felt much more relaxed. Therefore, he didn't seem to notice or care whenever he moved his head in too closely, even when a small smudge of paint stained his snout.
As the white canvas transformed into a purposely abstract piece, Canvas almost didn’t notice when he heard a loud thump from outside the barn. He then heard the front door open, and a large amount of grunting from Troy who seemed to be dragging something heavy into the room.
Canvas trotted over to the door with a smile, opening it to see a huge wooden crate in the middle of the main room. Troy held a crowbar in his claws, using it to quickly pry the crate open and reveal dozens upon dozens of large brown and blue bottles inside. Troy looked like he was going to start chugging several of the bottles right at that moment, but he only grabbed a few bottles in each claw instead, before flying into the kitchen and opening the fridge.
"Ooh!" said Canvas, trying to catch Troy's attention. "Put them in some ice with water and salt! That's supposed to make them cool down faster!"
Troy's head popped out from the kitchen, looking surprised."Really?"
"Yeah, I think I heard Twilight say something about that once. There should be a cooler in one of the bottom shelves."
Troy nodded before going back into the kitchen. He found the large, red cooler, and started filling it with ice from the freezer.
"Oh man! It sucks that it took so long for this order to come in, but I don’t even care anymore!"
Troy turned on the faucet and grabbed the large container of table salt from the top shelf. He then poured the water and salt into the cooler. Soon, the ice began to crack apart and melt from the additives. He crammed the cooler with as many bottles as possible between the freezing slush, and then turned toward Canvas standing in the doorway. Upon seeing him, his smile scrunched inward.
"What?" asked Canvas confusedly, not knowing he had a large glob of pink paint on his snout.
Troy looked away and tried to stifle his laughter. "You… you've been painting, haven’t you?"
Canvas was becoming even more confused, but he nodded all the same. "Yes… yes, I have."
Canvas took a peek at the cooler. "Those will probably be good in less than ten minutes, so I'm gonna go paint some more, okay?"
Troy only nodded, keeping a smirk on himself as he watched Canvas leave the kitchen. Once he was gone, he giggled some more. A small cloud of freezing fog arose from the lip of the cooler, and Troy's smile grew even bigger. He then decided to check up on the pony and see what he was painting.
Troy was surprised to see Canvas painting with his hoof, the paintbrush tied to it as he continued with his abstract piece. He swished the brush across the board, giving the design several aimless swirls of black lines across the pre-existing colors. Canvas, upon hearing Troy’s talons on the hardwood floor, turned and smiled at the gryphon. His smile slowly diminished as soon as he saw his boyfriend giggling again.
"Okay, what is it?!" Canvas asked irritatingly. Before Troy could say anything, Canvas' eyes crossed together, and he finally noticed the pink paint on his snout.
Troy almost fell to the floor as he burst out laughing, barely holding himself up with a foreleg. Canvas blushed and rolled his eyes
"Okay, ha ha ha, very funny. So that's why you've been eyeing me like a vulture?"
Even through his laughter, Troy tried to look more serious. "Dude… just so you know, calling me a vulture is kind of a big insult back where I'm from."
"Oh, my bad…" Canvas dipped his brush in the can of black paint before walking up to Troy and painting a quick slab across his beak.
"There! Now you look like a toucan!"
Canvas giggled at his own little joke. Troy stood dumbfounded momentarily, before his eyes narrowed. He reached out toward an open can of paint, dipped his talons in it, and slathered what turned out to be yellow on the pony's face. Canvas' laughing suddenly turned to a gasp, and he looked at his boyfriend wide-eyed, not expecting him to do that at all.
"There. Now you look like, um… a pony covered in paint!"
They stood in silence for a few seconds. Canvas' shocked face slowly turned to a sly grin, and his eyes also narrowed. Without looking away from Troy, Canvas reached for another open can, making Troy's eyes narrow again as he did the same. Before Canvas' grin could grow to Cheshire levels, the stallion put up a hoof to Troy, making him pause.
"Wait..."
Canvas quickly took the brush off his hoof and picked up a tarp sheet from the ground, holding it in his mouth as he draped it over his current painting. After looking around to make sure nothing important would get ruined, Canvas turned back to Troy with his grin returned and his can in hoof.
"Alright, now we can start!"
Rainbow Dash groaned under breath, looking upset as she flew closer to Troy's place. She knew she needed him for this task, but she didn’t want to waste time flying here when she could get more done in Ponyville right now.
Upon seeing Troy and Canvas' barn ahead of her, she landed on the ground. She could see that there were some small paintings already added to the home’s walls (about a quarter of one side, to be exact), mostly small doodles and symbols in various colors.
Before she could knock on the door, Rainbow Dash heard some banging from the front where the studio should be. Knowing how busy Canvas was with his painting, she figured that he was just working on a new piece, and that he probably wouldn’t hear her from the front door. She trotted over to the barn’s front, and pulled one of the doors open to stick her head in.
"Hey Canvas, do you--WHOA!!!"
Rainbow Dash back-dashed from the barn doors, flying back several dozen feet in shock. She then looked away and started laughing uncontrollably.
"Sorry guys!" shouted Rainbow, blushing deeply. "I didn’t mean to see that, I swear!"
"Seriously, Dash!?" Troy yelled from within the studio. "Haven’t you heard of knocking!?"
Troy walked out of the studio with an angry look, which was slightly less intimidating than usual, considering he was now completely covered in about ten different colors of paint. He held a blank canvas board over the lower section of his body as he looked up at the giggling mare hovering in the air.
"What do you want, Dash!? This is my day off!"
"Yeah, I can tell... I knew he liked painting, but I didn’t think he liked it that much!"
Troy blushed heavily, but was thankfully covered by huge splotches of blue and green paint. "We were… having a paint fight."
"Dude!" Rainbow Dash kept a hoof pointed at Troy, struggling to keep herself in flight due to her difficulty breathing. "That did not look like you two were fighting, Troy!"
"Well… it started as a paint fight…” Troy's dark blush was now distinguishable from the paint. He looked down at the ground and fidgeted his talons together. "But then we started making out in the paint, and one thing led to another--”
"Dude, I don’t want to know!" Feeling her laughter subsiding, Rainbow Dash recomposed herself before adopting a more serious look. "I'm sorry for walking in on that, but we need your help with storm prep today."
"Seriously? I thought Thunderlane was taking care of the storm tonight!"
"He was, but then he threw out his wing getting the nimbostratus clouds ready. He needs to go to the doctor, and we still need to get this storm going so the leaves can be loosened for the Running of the Leaves next month."
Troy groaned. This wasn't something he could just put off. As much as he wanted to spend a nice night alone with Canvas, Troy knew that if Thunderlane was out of commission, he was the gryphon needed for the job.
"Alright, fine!" Troy looked back in the studio, hoping this wouldn’t upset Canvas too much. "Just give me… twenty minutes to get cleaned up."
Canvas called out from inside. "Make it forty!"
Rainbow Dash looked away, trying not to giggle. Troy compromised. "Thirty minutes?"
“... Okay, honey."
Troy looked back at Rainbow with a satisfied smile. "I'll be there in thirty minutes."
"Ugh. Fine, fine. Just clean yourself up and get your vest, alright?"
Troy nodded. Rainbow Dash flew off, heading back to Ponyville. He walked back into the barn, still holding the board over his body. Canvas looked at him from behind the red couch, looking upset behind the large slabs of yellow and pink paint on his face.
"Seriously?" asked Canvas, irritated. "You had to take one of my good canvas boards?"
Troy’s eyebrow skewed. "You're seriously mad that I took this? Dude, I took your virginity, for crying out loud!"
Canvas looked even more upset. "Wow. I can’t believe you actually went there."
Troy grew a sly smirk and his golden eyes narrowed. "I could say the exact same thing about what you did in the shower yesterday."
Canvas blushed heavily through the paint and looked away sheepishly. "Y-you said you liked that!"
"Oh, believe me, I do...”
With a loud whoosh, Troy's wings shot out. "And I know you're gonna like what I'm gonna do to you in the next thirty minutes."
Canvas' eyes narrowed and he grew a cheeky grin. Troy flew toward him, tackling him behind the couch. Canvas giggled until a moan escaped him.
"Oooohh… Troy…”
While his ‘cleanup’ took a tad longer than he thought, Troy didn’t seem to mind as he landed in the center of Ponyville with Canvas on his back. Making sure his saddle bag was secure, Canvas gave a quick smooch on Troy's cheek before pulling himself off. Troy gave him one last nuzzle, and then flew off to meet up with Rainbow Dash, leaving Canvas to do his errands for the day.
Canvas looked around Ponyville, finding that due to the storm prep and the dark-grey clouds being applied over the skies, many of the ponies around town were already in their homes. Canvas didn’t mind getting a little wet from rain, but he didn’t want to procrastinate, so he quickly trotted over to the market district.
After giving Troy the task of placing the nimbostratus clouds over the south side of town, Rainbow Dash laid the last of the clouds over the north section. Her job now complete, she landed on the ground and made sure there were no open spots. When she found none, she stretched her wings out in satisfaction over a job well done. She then noticed, however, that because of how much she'd been working, she’d used up her entire canteen of water before ending her shift, and she was parched. The train station was nearby, so Rainbow decided to fly over there, knowing she had enough bits to use the vending machines inside.
Rainbow decided to fly over to the open space of the platform, figuring that nopony was around the station at that time. What she didn’t know was that a train just came by moments ago, so when she was about to turn the corner, she flew right into a pony, making them both fall to the ground.
Lifting herself up, Rainbow Dash saw that she ran into a large green stallion with a messy brown mane, who's equally large saddlebag was now on the ground with all of its items lying around the floor.
"Oh geez, I'm really sorry!" Rainbow was quick to help pick up, putting them into his saddlebag before the stallion snatched it up.
"I-I'm fine, okay!?"
Breathing heavily, the stallion held the saddlebag while picking up the rest himself, trying to avoid the mare as she stood there, embarrassed. She should've felt a little angry at his rudeness, but Rainbow knew better than to start anything with a pony she just ran into.
Rainbow took note of how run-down he looked. Dark, heavy bags hung underneath his eyes. The heavy wrinkles on his pale-green face would’ve indicated he was old, but Rainbow could tell that the stallion was probably middle-aged at most. His appearance looked more due to stress than time. His cutie mark, a golden leaf, looked equally as worn as the rest of his pale green coat.
Normally, Rainbow Dash didn’t want to intrude on anypony, but the five-o'-clock shadow on his muzzle concerned her. He didn’t look like he'd slept or eaten in days. Rainbow then noticed an old, rolled-up newspaper on the ground. She picked it up to give to him, only to see which one it was as it rolled out in her hoof.
It was from the Manehatten Post. Its front page displayed the picture of Canvas with Celestia that'd been sent to almost every paper in Equestria. Underneath the photo of Canvas' smiling face beside the Goddess laid the headline in a bold font:
Canterlot Castle to Receive its Very First Painting from an Earth Pony
Before she could start reading the article, Rainbow Dash felt the paper get quickly pulled from her hooves as the stallion snatched it away. Before she could say anything about his attitude, the stallion's face slowly went from annoyance to remorse. He looked away from her and to the ground. He slowly opened his mouth as he spoke, his voice coming out in a cracked, deep whisper.
"I-I'm sorry. I… I need that."
Rainbow Dash blinked and tried to figure out what was up with this guy. "Um, sir… Excuse me if I'm being rude, but… Are you like, a bum or something?"
The stallion glanced at her with a skewed eyebrow. "Excuse me!?"
"Because I think there's a shelter nearby if you need to--"
"That's not why I'm here! I… I was here for something else."
The green stallion looked back at the newspaper in his hooves, specifically at the worn headline picture. Closing his eyes, the stallion sighed before he rolled the paper and put it back in his saddlebag, making sure he tucked it in carefully.
Rainbow cautiously put a hoof on the stallion's shoulder. "Hey, are you okay? I mean, what are you in Ponyville for?"
The stallion stayed silent and looked away.
"Are…” Rainbow looked at the stallion's bag, remembering the paper.. "Are you looking for Canvas?"
The stallion quickly shot his gaze back toward her, staring at her wide-eyed. "You know him!?”
The stallion’ behavior was starting to worry Rainbow Dash.
"Umm… yeah, I do. He's a nice guy. Why, are you looking for a painting from him?"
"No, no, no, no,” The stallion shook his head. He closed his eyes, and spoke somberly.
"I'm not a client or anything. Canvas, he…
“He's my son."
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I'm having trouble trying not to see if there are blue prints for a Tardis... Plz hurry
and that brings in the "AWWWW... SHIT!"
moment.
The mental imagery...
Guess Troy really enjoyed that paint fight, eh? 
And the shit just hit the fan... what's that bastard thinking now, showing up in Ponyville?!
cdn.memegenerator.net/instances/400x/26588572.jpg
Prediction I made right then and there
Obviously Canvas's father.
well then mates, ready your chain swords and put on your helmets, shits about to get bloody.
So... the bastard actually had the nerve to fucking show up? I hope Twilight fries his ass.
man Show us the sex scene please for the love of my boner
4698511 i made the connection the moment i saw the what newspaper headline
Everyone is all :"OMG, his Dad!!", and I'm over here going, " Hmm, a painting made from the impression of a painted Gryphon's happy lower half. Yup, I'd pay to see that."
Oh, I don’t like where this is going at all. I do suppose this ties into the next chapter’s title, though.
Aww isn't it cute he thinks he can just waltz back into his life? Boo no....
Yup, she sure did!
The paint fight love scene reminds me of an episode of Big Bang Theory.
Oh, crud. I think a pony is about to get shanked. If I was in Troy's metaphorical shoes I would be ready to deliver a beat down.