Brushed Away 2: By Hoof and Claw

by TheVClaw

Chapter Twelve: Before Manehattan

After what felt like an eternity, Rarity was finally finished with enough of the wedding plans to allow the three to leave. Although she wanted to discuss more with Canvas and Troy than she had originally planned (particularly with what kind of folding chairs would be best for the ceremony and reception), it was clear that she wouldn’t get much from them after Canvas mentioned an impromptu trip to Manehattan.

However, that didn't stop her from making one more little suggestion. Unfortunately, as soon as she held up the item she had in mind with her magic, Troy bolted out of the shop.

"Oh, Troy, come on!" Rarity carried an irritated look on her face as she tried to catch up with Troy. "I already made the sweater in your size! Can you at least try it on?!"

"No, Rarity!" Troy shouted, trying to get away from her. "For the last time, I do not want to be in your Barbershop Quartet!"

"Oh, come now!" Rarity stood outside her shop with the green sweater and bowtie in her aura, insisting, "I already told you! The Pony Tones is an a cappella ensemble! NOT a 'barbershop' group! Also, if you joined, it would technically be a quintet."

She then suddenly remembered another little detail, which made her pause and put a hoof to her chin. "Although… I do suppose it technically could be a sextet if Fluttershy is in it as well…"

Troy just groaned and face-clawed, not noticing as Canvas and Lyle came out of the shop beside Rarity. "How many times do I have to say this to you?! I don’t sing that kind of stuff! It's totally different from what I prefer singing!"

"Oh, Troy…" Noticing the green sweater in Rarity's magic, along with the complementary, adorable, striped bowtie, Canvas practically melted when he imagined his fiancé wearing it. "You would look so cute in this!"

As soon as he saw the sweater, Lyle covered his beak with a claw and tried not to crack up in front of Rarity. He clenched his eyes shut as he turned away. "Oh, man!" Lyle leaned against the wall and tried his hardest to contain his laughter. "I would pay good money to see you wearing that!"

"That's exactly what I was thinking!" Rarity said with a smile. She looked back at the older Gryphon and said, "Troius, after seeing you in that performance as The Phantom, there's no doubt in my mind that you would be absolutely perfect for my vocal group! Even Fluttershy said she would love to hear your voice in it!"

Since this was probably the fifth time this month that Rarity had tried talking with him about this, Troy just gritted his teeth and rubbed his temples. "Rarity… Can you please… PLEASE… just let this go?!"

Rarity huffed and narrowed her eyes. After taking a quick glance back at Canvas, she walked over to Troy and said in a lowered, hushed tone of voice, "Troius, considering what I'm agreeing to have done for you by the end of this week…"

Rarity gave an insistent stare to him at that last part, exemplifying her tone enough for Troy to immediately understand what she was referring to. "I don't think it would be very wise to get cross with me right now…"

Troy closed his beak and tried to avoid eye contact with Rarity. He knew he was pushing it a little already. Not wanting to anger somepony who agreed to arrange something like that for him, Troy sighed under his breath and kept silent.

"RIGHT, Troy?"

Unable to ignore her stare, Troy slowly turned back before nodding reluctantly. "Y-yeah… Okay."

Rarity immediately beamed, wearing a chipper grin. "Fabulous!" She levitated the sweater over for Canvas to put it in his art bag, then looked at Troy. "All that I ask is that you hold onto this for a few days and think it over. If you're still unwilling to join after your trip to Manehattan, then I won’t bother you about it anymore. I promise.”

Hearing the honesty in her tone, Troy nodded with a more secure smile on his beak. "S-sure… I'll… think it over."

With a satisfied smile on her muzzle, Rarity turned back to Canvas just as he finished carefully placing the sweater inside of his bag. "Now, if you excuse me, I need to tend to my other orders for today, so I'll let you gentlemen be."

Rarity headed back into her Boutique, still smiling. "And I hope you three have a wonderful time in Manehattan!"

"Thank you!” Canvas said cheerfully before Rarity went back inside. Just as the mare shut her door, Canvas turned back to Troy with a curious smirk on his muzzle. "So… What was that all about, Troy?"

"N-nothing." Troy immediately looked away, hoping to hide the trembling in his voice. Before Canvas could press further, he perked and pointed a talon towards the street. "Hey, there's Lyra!"

Lyra walked up to the three, a smile on her muzzle. "Hey guys," she began, trotting at a relaxed pace, "I was just chatting with Glimmer Heart before she left on the train." With a small smirk on her muzzle, she playfully punched Canvas’s shoulder. "And congrats, by the way! It's awesome to hear you're going to Manehattan, Canvas!"

"Oh, thanks," Canvas replied with a bashful smile and light b lush. "Honestly, I'm kinda nervous about it. I mean, I never thought of myself as somepony who would judge other ponies' works."

"Oh, come on!" Troy pulled him in with a wing. "You know more about good art than anyone else I know! You'll be just fine at this gallery. I'm sure of it."

Canvas looked up to his fiancé with a gracious smile. "Th-thanks, Troy…"

"No problem." Without warning, Troy bent down and gave him a loving nuzzle. While Canvas giggled, Lyra turned her attention to Lyle, who was trying to ignore the two.

"So, Lyle," she asked with a smile, "Canvas told me that you were wanting to see that Phantom performance Troy did?"

"Ugh!" Troy immediately pulled back from Canvas to glare at her. "Lyra, come on! He's just gonna laugh at it!"

"Exactly." Lyle turned to Troy with a grin on his beak. "That's why I wanna see it!"

Troy gave his brother a menacing glare, which went unnoticed by Lyra.

"Come on," Lyra said, motioning for them to follow her, "Bon-Bon's probably cooled off by now, so we can probably check it out back at the shop. I think I have most of it saved from that spell anyway."

"Nice!" Canvas said, happy to see Lyra upbeat since she had had to leave the sweet shop. When he remembered how downtrodden she had looked when she first left, the stallion wanted to make sure everything was okay. "So… Are you sure Bon-Bon is alright now? I don’t want to hear any bad arguments when we head back."

"Oh, don't worry," Lyra reassured him. "It's not the first time she got upset about it. She usually doesn’t get that mad about it unless I get caught by somepony else."

"Huh…" Walking alongside Lyle as they followed her, Troy carried a skewed brow. "Ummm… How often do you do that?"

Lyra tried her hardest to conceal her bit lip, giving a playful shrug. "Eh… Not that much, actually. I was just really bored this morning…"

"Uh-huh." Catching the heavy blush growing on her cheeks, Canvas looked fairly skeptical to her claim. Before she could say anything in rebuttal, the stallion shrugged as well and added, "Well, I guess it's better than you trying to ship together ponies in real life."

"What?!" Lyra looked back at Canvas, who carried a sly smirk on his muzzle.

"Yeah, Bon-Bon mentioned what happened when you tried to pair Rarity with Fluttershy."

"Ugh!" Lyra gritted her teeth, looking particularly upset to hear that. "I can’t believe she told you about that!"

"Okay..." Lyle looked at Lyra curiously. "I need to hear about this!"

Another deep groan escaped Lyra. Nevertheless, with three pairs of eyes on her, she knew that she couldn’t just say nothing. Ater sighing in defeat, the mare began to speak as they walked toward her and Bon-Bon’s shop.

"Oh, fine! It was a long time ago, but I really thought those two would make a cute couple. So, I decided to try a little plan to bring them closer. Of course, I got into a little trouble within the spa when it happened…"

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Mister Cake placed the last of the chocolate cakes on the table, taking a moment to breathe as he wiped his brow clean of beading sweat. He and Misses Cake were only informed of Lyle's arrival a couple days ago. Additionally, Pinkie Pie told them just yesterday that the couple was ready to start planning their wedding cake. Consequently, all of the bakers were busy this morning getting everything ready in one of the back rooms of Sugar Cube Corner.

Standing at one end of the table, Pinkie Pie was practically drooling a gallon's worth of saliva while she stood in front of the baked goods. As she stared at the cakes like a starving dog, Mister and Misses Cake were convinced that she was going to devour the table at any moment. Of course, that was mostly because Pinkie usually ate this much cake on weekday mornings.

"Pinkie," Misses Cake said with slight worry as she saw the mare’s face draw closer to the pile of cakes, "I'd really be more comfortable if you stepped back a couple steps, okay?"

Pinkie quickly moved her body back a couple steps; however, her head stayed in the exact same spot as her neck stretched out like a giraffe's. Misses Cake’s brow rose in surprise before she facehoofed, groaning.

Noticing what was causing his wife’s distress, Mister Cake cleared his throat, then said, "Pinkie, I think she means that you shou—"

A distinct "ding" from the front door caught their attention. Mister Cake stopped and looked over to the entrance.

"Oh, there they are!" he said cheerfully when he saw who was at the front door. Happy that they came in on time, Misses Cake decided to leave her husband to tend to them while she went to check on the kids.

Rarity held a clipboard held in her aura as she stepped inside. Carrying a confident and refreshed smile on her muzzle, the unicorn lead the way as the other three came in behind her. It was clear from the bags under their eyes that Canvas, Troy, and Lyle barely got much sleep the previous night.

"Good morning, Mister Cake,” Rarity said in an upbeat tone, practically dragging the sleep-deprived gentlemen behind her. "I hope this whole thing wasn't too short-notice."

"Oh, not at all!" Mister Cake assured with a brush of his forehoof. "Believe me, with Pinkie Pie around, having this much cake out in the open is pretty much a slow Wednesday!"

Rarity giggled a little, knowing all too well how her friend could go overboard when it came to sweets. With the bittersweet memory of Maud's rock candies still fresh in her mind, she had to shake her head clear before looking back at the three behind her.

"I feel I should apologize on behalf of the couple and their brother behind me." Seeing how tired they looked, Rarity scowled in annoyance as she turned back to Mister Cake. "Apparently, the three of them decided that, instead of having a proper night's rest, they would hold a… video game tournament!"

"It was his fault," Troy muttered, pointing at Lyle.

"Whatever." Lyle groaned. "You were the one who couldn't take a joke."

Troy held back an irritated growl and turned away from his brother. Remembering how much Lyle had cracked up when Lyra tried to show him the Phantom performance she had recorded with her magic, he had to use every ounce of self-restraint to keep himself from choking his brother silent. And, of course, the instant Lyle said he looked like "the world's gayest super-villain," Troy literally had to be held back by Canvas to keep him from harming his brother.

Thinking back, Troy knew that he could've handled it a little more maturely. Given the options, challenging his brother to Khaos Kombat until four in the morning was probably a better option than just trying to wrestle him in the backyard. When Canvas decided to join in after dinner was finished, it turned out to be a pretty enjoyable evening after all.

"Of course, if I didn't come by to collect them, they would probably still be unconscious!" Rarity looked back at the three with slight disdain before sighing under her breath. "But… I'm sure they'll be good enough to choose a cake today, right?"

Despite only looking half-conscious, the three quickly nodded.

"Well, don't worry," Mister Cake said with a smile as he looked back to the kitchen. "I think we have some tea that can perk you boys right up!"

Without skipping a beat, the stallion managed to get a surprisingly great kettle of tea made for the three. While it was a bit unusual that the Cakes didn't make coffee instead, one quick glance at Pinkie Pie was a good enough reason to refrain from asking. Knowing how energetic the mare usually was without coffee, the idea of seeing her under that much caffeination was just as scary as some of Lyle's comic books.

After a few minutes of pleasant conversation, Mister Cake's tea was able to awaken and rejuvenate the three. Seeing that they were fully energized, Mister Cake directed them to the back room to begin testing.

As soon as they walked in, their eyes widened in surprise.

Covering nearly every inch of the table inside were dozens of small, chocolate cakes of different kinds. While each was merely enough cake for one individual, there were enough of them to make the engaged couple and Lyle absolutely speechless.

Mister Cake tried not to snicker as he gave a list to Rarity. "Here's the list of all the baked goods Pinkie wrote up, Rare. I just hope we didn’t go a little overboard."

Canvas's head turned back to Mister Cake fast enough to risk whiplash. "A little overboard?!" With his eyes still wide-open, he looked back at the assorted table in disbelief. "This is a disturbing amount of cake! I mean… I can’t believe you guys went all out like this!"

"Well," Mister Cake said with a shrug, "you guys already paid for the catering in advance, so why not? Besides, something like this is just a light snack for Pinkie over there."

Mister Cake pointed towards the pink mare, who was still standing by the table with a open, drooling maw as she stared at the cakes. "So… much… frosting!"

Troy shuddered a little before looking back at Mister Cake. "I… really don't know what to say right now. All we said was that we wanted chocolate cake!"

"Exactly," Rarity said in an authoritative tone as she held the list in the clipboard in her aura, "but you didn't specify what kind of chocolate cake would be preferable. There's a lot of different kinds, you know."

Troy and Canvas both blinked a couple times before looking back at each other, realizing that she was technically right. After clearing her throat, Rarity turned her attention to the table and read off the list of the baked goods in front of them.

"We have a lot of different cakes to try today, so we should go about this quickly! There's chocolate fudge cake, brownie layer cake, black forest cake, Manehattan chocolate cream cheese, Prench mocha crème soufflé, mocha Genoise with Vanhoover buttercream, carrot cake, white chocolate mousse cake, molten pudding ca—"

Rarity paused and narrowed her eyes. Pulling her head back in surprise, she looked at the table to see that the list was correct. A small carrot cake sat in the middle of the arrangement of cakes, sticking out like a sore talon among a sea of chocolate. "Pinkie, why is there a carrot cake on the list?"

Pinkie perked up at the question. She looked straight at Rarity and tried to explain, "Well, the carrot cake looked so lonely when I was making everything, and I wanted to make it feel welcome with the other cakes!"

Rarity sighed and rubbed her eyes with a hoof. Troy and Lyle stared at the carrot cake on the table wide-eyed like it was an alien artifact.

"Wait…" Lyle blinked a couple times and stared at the white-frosted cake with a completely baffled look on his face. "You guys actually put carrots in your cake?! I thought that was just an urban legend!"

"Why would anyone put carrots in a cake?" Troy asked with a equally perplexed look as his brother's.

"Wait, do Gryphons not have carrot cake?!" Mister Cake was more than a little surprised at their reaction. "How could that be? Troy, how could you not know about it? You come here all the time! Didn’t you see it on the menu?"

"Well…" Troy's head cocked to the side as he stared at the cake from a sideways angle that only an eagle's neck could muster. "I remember seeing it, but I didn’t think it actually had carrots in the thing! I just thought it was, like, shaped like a carrot or something."

While Mister Cake stared at Troy in confusion, Rarity looked over at the two Gryphons with a skewed brow. "Wait, are you guys saying you've never had carrot cake before? Why ever not?"

Troy and Lyle both stared at her as if she had asked the stupidest question ever.

"It's CARROTS!" the Gryphons exclaimed in unison. "In a CAKE!"

"I mean…" Troy turned back to the table and pointed a talon at the carrot cake. "What kind of weirdo looks at a cake and thinks, 'You know what be a good thing to put in it? A carrot!'"

Lyle stifled a snicker. Mister Cake looked slightly offended at Troy's remark. "Hey! Where do you think I got my special talent from? Or my name?"

Both Gryphons looked over at the baker, who pointed at the carrot cake cutie mark on his flank. Troy muttered, "Oh. Ummmm…"

"You know what?" Canvas grabbed a cake cutter and a plate. "Troy, you're eating some carrot cake!"

"Ew! No!" Troy tried to step back from Canvas, who placed a small slice of the cake on the plate. The moment the stallion put the plate out to him, both Troy and Lyle moved back like it was radioactive. "C'mon, stop it! I don’t even like carrots!"

Canvas scoffed a little and continued to coax his fiancé to try it. "Oh, come on! It doesn't actually taste like carrots! At least take a bite!"

"Nope!" Troy turned away and crossed his forelegs in defiance. "I'm not doing it!"

"Are you being serious right now?!" Canvas stared at Troy in befuddlement. "You're planning to get married to a stallion, but this is too weird for you?!"

"I don’t want it!" Troy groaned, starting to sound more like a defiant filly than a Gryphon when he turned back to his fiancé. "Canvas, come on! I thought we agreed to have chocolate cake anyway, so I don’t see why you're so insistent that I ea—"

While Troy's beak was still open, Canvas shoved a piece of the carrot cake inside to shut him up. Troy stood in a shocked state, the pastry stuffed in his beak. Everyone else cracked up immediately at the sight.

Even though he didn't want the carrot cake in his mouth, Troy didn't spit it out. He just grimaced while pointing a talon at his fiancé. "DUDE! What the—"

Before he could finish, Troy actually tasted the cake in his beak. Catching the frosting on his tongue, Troy stood frozen for several seconds, his pupils beginning to dilate.

Before Canvas could ask what was wrong, Troy swallowed, then spoke in a faint and low tone of voice.

"That... is the greatest frosting I ever had…"

"YES!" Mister Cake pumped his hoof in victory. "I KNEW I got the cream cheese frosting right!"

Seeing how his brother was still standing there, motionless, Lyle looked over at the cake with a skeptical brow. "Oh, come on!" Lyle used a talon to swipe off some of the cream cheese frosting. "It can’t be THAT good!"

Lyle licked up the frosting on his talon, tasting it for a second before becoming motionless himself. Much like Troy, Lyle's pupils dilated disturbingly wide. "Holy… crap…"

Due to both Gryphons looking like they had just taken a hit of catnip, it was hard for any of the ponies to not laugh out loud. Mister Cake, looking especially happy to see his signature dish be taken so well, chuckled a little as he glanced at the rest of the table. "Well… At least we know what kind of frosting we'll want to use for the cake!"

"I'll say!" Canvas looked back at the table as well. "You know, if we have some more of that cream cheese frosting, maybe we cou—"

A loud "ZOOM" interrupted the stallion's suggestion. A blur of pink enveloped the entire table. In a matter of seconds, Pinkie Pie went over the entire assortment of cakes with a can of cream cheese frosting, giving every chocolate cake the same covering as the carrot cake.

"DONE!" Pinkie shouted with glee as she tossed the empty can over her shoulder, which went across the room and into the trash bin flawlessly.

"Oh. Um…" Canvas turned his attention back to Troy and Lyle. "So, where do you guys want to sta…"

The stallion's words faltered when he saw how the two were eying the table like a couple of buzzards. After tasting cream cheese frosting for the very first time, Troy and Lyle looked at all the cakes covered in it like two sharks who just had a taste of blood.

Canvas, Mister Cake, and Rarity all stepped back, unsure of how this was going to end. Pinkie Pie pulled out a recliner and watched attentively with a large bowl of popcorn on her lap.

"Ooooooohhh! This is gonna be good!"

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While the sun sunk into late afternoon, the train to Manehattan chugged along the tracks with humming precision. Inside a sleeper car, Troy and Lyle were sprawled out on one of the benches, looking absolutely beat as they laid back, their bellies swollen.

"Man…" Troy groaned in delight as he patted his stomach with a claw. "What did I tell you, Lyle? Equestria has some pretty good food, right?"

"Yeah…" Leaning against the bench with a satisfied grin on his beak, Lyle stifled a belch and laid in a nearly comatose state. "Dude, that molten cake's gonna be awesome for the wedding!"

"Yep." Troy sighed in agreement. "I'm really glad we got the cake figured out."

Even though he felt tired enough to pass out right then, Troy managed to reopen his eyes. "Right, Canvas?"

Canvas, who was lying in the fetal position, looked absolutely terrified as he sat on the bench opposite the two Gryphons. With the terrible recollection of Troy and Lyle ravishing the poor bakers' table like a couple of rabid coyotes running through his mind, the stallion knew he was going to need some time to collect himself. "Y-yeah… S-s-sure am…"

Note to self, Canvas thought, never, EVER get that frosting for the bedroom!

Even though he really was happy to have chosen a cake—especially since that molten cake really WAS delicious—the fact that his future husband went into such a spree over cream cheese frosting was certainly an eye-opener. Never having expecting something like that to occur, Canvas was glad that nopony got hurt, and that nothing in Sugar Cube Corner had been broken from their sprawl. Hoping it wasn’t anything serious, Canvas also wanted to remind himself to talk with Twilight when they got back to Ponyville about what could've caused that behavior.

When Canvas looked over at the Gryphons on the bench and saw how tired the two looked, he was still able to grow a gracious smile on his face. Troy, who looked especially wiped-out after choosing the right cake, rolled his off the seat so he could lay on his back on the floor.

Canvas, knowing that Troy wasn't going to do anything scary now, decided to join him. With Lyle lying across the bench, Canvas crawled down so he could lie on top of Troy's feathered chest. Feeling the stallion move on top of him, Troy used the last of his conscious strength to lift up his claws and wrap them around Canvas.

With the sun beginning to set through the window, Canvas nestled closer against the Gryphon, feeling himself start to rest as well. Hearing Troy begin to purr lightly though his chest, Canvas giggled a little and closed his eyes, happy to get one big thing checked off their list of wedding plans.

And with the sprawling metropolis of Manehattan awaiting them tomorrow morning, Canvas knew that this was going to be a good trip. He might not like the idea of being a judge, but with his Gryphon holding him tightly, he knew that it wouldn't be an experience he would want to miss.

Comments

[Bast]

Woo new chapter!

[Bad_Seed_72]

Carrot cake is pretty awesome.

Ooh, I wonder what Troy is working with Rarity on?

[Dragonslayer Ornstein]

I feel all giddy inside when those two cuddle! And the purring? I just... Its so... ADORABLE!!!

[Keatosimo]

"Although… I do suppose it technically could be a septet if Fluttershy is in it as well…

Would be a sextet, unless I'm missing a mini horse. Also, Troy is just purrrrfect.

[Steven Kodaly]

Note to self, Canvas thought, never, EVER get that frosting for the bedroom!

A little too intense for dear Canvas, perhaps? At least he'll know how to pacify his future in-laws if they start to cause trouble:

CANVAS: Pinkie Pie, ready the frosting cannon!

PINKIE PIE: Aye-aye, Cap'n Canvas, sir! Party artillery primed and ready!

CANVAS: In that case, Ms. Pie, do you know what time it is?

PINKIE PIE: Sir, no, sir! What time is it?

CANVAS: For us, it's merely Tuesday. But for my Gryphons-in-law... It's party time.

PINKIE PIE:

[TheVClaw]

4223364

I am so tempted to use this dialogue for something in my story.

[Sur-Toufaan]

My face when there are no more chapters 24.media.tumblr.com/2deaa8e6e97788ce0c3084ee4e18b244/tumblr_mv41594vEU1rto72no1_500.gif

[HauntingSpiritRisingMoon]

Note to self, Canvas thought, never, EVER get that frosting for the bedroom!

I just..... Just.... This is my version of how that would have ended.

Beep... Beep.....

Canvas: I'm in the hospital....

Troy: Yeah..... Sorry.....

Canvas: I'm in the hospital because I gave you that frosting before bed.....

Doctor: I'm sorry sir, but due to whatever the buck happened, your dick is broken and your whole body is in a cast.

Troy: NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Tokai]

Note to self, Canvas thought, never, EVER get that frosting for the bedroom!

Please do.

[LunaJack]

6653934
I think Canvas might have been thinking about slathering it on certain body parts. Like food play. In which case, Canvas's penis would be gone, not broken.