Chapter Forty-One: The Big Show...
Troy groaned tiredly, barely able to even think about lifting his wings to fly after practice. Even though it didn’t have much of a physical strain on the Gryphon, Rarity’s Pony Tones rehearsals still left him too wiped out to try flying back home. Instead, the Gryphon settled to just walking alongside Big Macintosh after practice ended each night, mostly since both of them use the same road out of Ponyville. Fortunately, the red workhorse wasn’t much of a talker, which suited Troy just fine during their walks; if anything, it helped his mind stay clear enough to only think of the concert and not his parents.
While the two walked down the dirt road, which was fortunately not coated in frost like the grass along both sides of it, Troy kept a disgruntled look on his face as they neared his home. Despite Big Mac usually being silent, he noticed the Gryphon’s look enough to make a small cough before opening his muzzle, “Uhhh… You alright there?”
“Hm?” Not even realizing how his resting face may have looked, Troy froze for a moment to take in Mac’s concerned expression. The Gryphon realized the question quickly enough to make a quick nod while walking to respond, “Oh yeah, I’m fine. Just a little tired, that’s all…”
Mac gave an understanding nod before looking back to the road ahead of them. “Yeah, Ah get it,” said the workhorse in his monotone voice, not sounding tired at all. “Rare can get kinda out there when she’s dedicated to somethin’.”
“I can definitely see that,” responded Troy with a sigh and a more relaxed smile on his beak. “Although, I guess it’s kinda good to get my mind on something new for a change.”
“Eeyup.” When Mac looked back at Troy, he had a more courteous smile at the corners of his muzzle. “Ya worried about the show tonight?”
“Ehh… kinda…” He didn’t want to seem apprehensive about the show, especially after spending so much time getting used to the acapella aspects and getting fairly good at it, but the Gryphon couldn’t keep his smile from disappaiting a bit as he continued. “Like, I’m not nervous or anything, but I’m not looking forward to wearing that sweater in front of my family.”
The workhorse chuckled loudly enough to warrant a small scowl from Troy. “Don’t worry ‘bout that,” said Mac with a smirk back towards him. “You’ll get used to it.”
Troy groaned and turned his head away from him. “This is only one time, Mac! I’m not going to make this a regular thing.”
Mac’s stare on him lingered a little longer, but subsided as he slowly turned away when Troy’s house came within their sights. “Well… okay…” Before the two could depart, the stallion mumbled under his breath just loudly enough for the Gryphon to hear, “Ah said that exact same thing my first time too…”
Troy almost wanted to shoot a nasty glare back at the pony, but merely exhaled before walking away towards his home. “Whatever,” muttered the Gryphon as he raised a claw to wave back at him. “I’ll see you at six, okay?”
“Eeyup!” answered Mac without turning his head as he gave a wave. As the workhorse continued down the road toward Sweet Apple Acres, Troy made his way around the studio, and entered through the side door into his living space.
“Hey Canvas,” said Troy in an exhausted tone as he walked into the home tiredly and threw his work bag to the side. “You manage to get my sweater from the dry-cle--M-MOM?!?”
Angela, who was sitting alongside Canvas, Lyra, and Bon-Bon at the dining table, almost didn’t catch his outburst before her head raised up. “Hm? Oh, hi, Troy!”
Before he could register why the buck his Mom was in his home, the Gryphon’s eyes shot wide-open when he saw what was scattered on the table, and being held in the hooves of his friends and his fiancè:
Photographs.
“Hi, Troy!” said Canvas enthusiastically as he looked up from his stack with a smile. “How was practice?”
Troy’s left eye twitched violently as he realized what they were holding. Bon-Bon’s back was turned to him, which meant that he could see what picture the mare was looking at. Even from the distance he was from the table, Troy could see clear as day that she was holding a photograph of a very young silver Gryphon in a big, poofy diaper. Combined with the small snickers both she and her wife Lyra were having, Troy’s pupils shrunk in dread. “... What are you looking at?”
“Oh, nothing big,” answered Troy’s Mother as she looked through a stack of her own in her claws. Of course, she couldn’t help smirking as she added in a nonchalant tone, “Just your baby photos…”
“WHAT?!” Troy’s claws grabbed at the feathers on his head, seeing just how many of his baby pictures were out on display in front of his friends. “Why are you showing them those?!”
Angela, almost confused by that question, paused as she looked down at the table before turning back to her panicking son. “Well, because it’s fun.”
Lyra grew an excited grin as she pulled up a specific photo from the pile with her magic. “Oooohhhh… Little Troy got out of his diaper in this one!”
“STOP THAT!” Troy swooped in to snatch the photo out of Lyra’s aura, and also grabbed Bon-Bon’s stack hastily. His sights went back to his Mother as he tried to pull the photos up to his chest so neither of the mares would get them again. “Mom, I don’t want them to see those!”
Angela just shrugged, never losing her coy smirk. “Well, we’ve been going through them for the past hour or so, so it’s a little late for that.”
“Ughhhh…” Troy took one of his claws away from the stack to face-claw. While his eyes were covered, Lyra’s mint aura quickly retrieved the stack Troy was holding to give back to her wife.
“Thanks, Lyra,” said the cream-colored mare happily before going back to scanning them. “I could’ve sworn I saw one of him in a tutu somewhere in here.”
“OOOHHH,” said Lyra and Canvas at the same time with great interest as they eyed her. “Let us know when you find it!” exclaimed Lyra excitedly.
“Oh, I remember that,” said Angela with a giggly tone. “One of my friends got some girly clothes because they thought he was a girl when he was first born. You know, due to his size and all. So before I returned them, I decided to--Troy stop giving me that look!”
The three turned back to Troy, seeing that the Gryphon had a furious-looking glare straight at her. With his feathers starting to turn a reddish hue, his beak grew a snarl as he replied in almost a hiss, “... Wwwwhhhhyyyyyyy?”
“Oh, stop being so dramatic!” Angela brushed her son’s look aside with a wave of her claw as she went back to finding more photos. “I’m having a nice time with your friends and your fiancè, aren’t I?”
Canvas, despite not wanting to see his partner look so upset, couldn’t help shrugging in Angela’s defense. “She… kinda has a point, Troy. She even called me your fiancè just now! I figured you would want that.”
“Not like THIS!”
“Well, you better get used to it,” said Angela bluntly, not even looking up from her photos as she spoke. “Part of being a Mother is embarrassing your children’s friends, and Canvas himself mentioned he never saw any pictures of you as a hatchling. I think it only seemed fair to--Ooooohhh, here’s a good one!”
She handed Canvas a photograph, which made the stallion’s eyes widen with a larger smile than before. “Awwwww!” Grinning like a school-colt, he made a small giggle before holding up the photo for Troy to see. “Look at that cute little butt!”
While Canvas and the ladies roared with laughter from that comment, Troy rolled his eyes and sighed before stomping off like a kid sent to time out. As he stormed up the stairs angrily, the Gryphon shouted down towards his stallion, “Oh, is that how it’s gonna go?! Well, two can play THAT game!”
While Angela and the ponies looked through the photos happily with giggles, the sound of rustling could be heard from up in Troy and Canvas’s bedroom. After almost a minute, Canvas spoke up while looking through the stacks and said, “I already showed her my baby photos.”
“DAMMIT!!!”
With warm smiles on their faces, Lyra and Bon-Bon each gave Angela a hug while at the open doorway. “Oh, it was so nice to get together like this!” said Bon-Bon graciously before letting go of the Gryphoness.
Despite the nervous-looking blush on her face, Angela couldn’t have looked happier as she nodded in agreement. “You know what? It really was!”
“You know,” added Lyra while standing beside her wife and looking up to Angela, “Bon-Bon’s been working on a new peach-swirl kind of candy. I’m not sure if it’s going to be as popular as her taffy, but we’d love to have you try some for brunch sometime.”
“Hmmm…” Angela grinned as she tapped her beak in contemplation. “I feel like my parents would tell me something about accepting candy from strangers…”
“Oh,” said Lyra in a huff as she rolled her eyes with a smirk, “Don’t be like that!”
“I’m not, I’m just joking!” After waving her claw aside to emphasize her statement, Angela added cheerfully, “And I would love to join you two for brunch! There’s still a lot of catching up to do.”
“Glad to hear it.” With that, the two mares finished their goodbyes with Angela and left, looking much happier that the Gryphoness was less apprehensive about the two than the last time they met. When Angela closed the door, she gave off a brief sigh of relief as she turned back to her son.
“Well,” began the Gryphoness as she looked over to Troy, who was slightly sulking in his seat at the table, “I think I’m warming up to your friends pretty well.”
The Gryphon only grumbled in response, still looking upset about what his Mother did to make that happen. Not liking his tone, Angela made a disappointed huff. “Now Troy, I really don’t like this attitude you’re giving me.”
Even though his head didn’t turn, his eyes looked over at her as he said bitterly, “You showed Canvas that tutu photo.”
“What?” she asked with her claws raised, “It’s cute!” While Troy turned his head away with a groan, Angela’s upset expression became stronger as she added, “Oh, don’t give me that! As much as I REALLY don’t want to think about it, I’m doubtful that Canvas hasn’t seen more than that, has he?”
Troy turned to make a retort, but froze before he could say a word. The truthfulness of her statement, combined with the fact that she actually said that, made the Gryphon stay silent for a moment before clenching his beak shut. He settled in his seat a little before giving a slight shrug of his shoulders. “Ehhh… maybe…”
While the Gryphon looked away embarrassedly, he barely noticed his fiancè coming down the stairs with his Pony Tones sweater draped across his back. “Here you go, honey! I know you were worried, but it doesn’t look like the sweater shrunk.”
Despite hating how stupid that sweater looked, Troy sighed before looking back at him with a smile. “Well, that’s good to know. Thanks, Canvas.”
“Wait a minute,” interrupted Angela as she stared at the stallion with a perplexed brow. “Did… did you just call him ‘Honey’?”
Canvas froze as a blush exploded across his face. “Uhhh… m-maybe?”
“C’mon, Mom,” said Troy as he tried to dispel his stallion’s nervousness in front of his Mother. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“Hmmm…” Even though the Gryphoness’s skewed beak was enough proof that she wasn’t completely adjusted to her son’s relationship, it wasn’t enough to make her say anything she knew she would regret. “Well… I was actually wanting to bring up something about you two.”
“Hm?” Troy turned around in his seat to face his Mother, his look evident that he was expecting something unpleasant.
“Don’t worry, it’s nothing bad,” assured Angela before her son could say anything else. Instead, she kept an anxious smile as she motioned to Canvas. “Back when I talked with your… partner at the bakery, I was able to see how important you were to him. And even though it is a big thing to adjust to, I knew that I had to do something to show my support.”
“Oh, Mom…” Troy shook his head as he tried to reassure her sincerely, “I know that you’re trying, and that’s all I wanted. You don’t have to--”
“Please. Just…” When Angela interrupted her son to continue, her tone became a bit more insistent than before. “Just… let me do this…”
After turning over to nod to the stallion, Angela motioned for Troy to get out of his seat to follow her to the kitchen. “I know this is a bit sudden, but I actually made a little business arrangement with Canvas during our talk with the bakery. Since he’s obviously devoted to you, I convinced him to use my shipping business to get his art supplies from now on.”
“Wait, what?!” Looking quite surprised by that news, Troy looked back at Canvas to see him nod in confirmation. The Gryphon turned to his Mother as they entered the kitchen. “B-but why?! I mean, no offense, but getting things shipped from the Gryphon Kingdom to here is kinda pricy.”
“I know that,” answered Angela with a smirk as she walked over to the corner of the kitchen where the trash can was. “But even with the extra price, it gives me the opportunity to deliver more than just what he needs…”
Troy blinked a couple times as his eyes narrowed on her in suspicion. “Ummm… what do you mean?”
While Canvas stood at the doorway of the kitchen with a giddy smile growing on his muzzle, Troy’s Mother only chuckled as she looked back to her son. “I think it might better to just show you…”
Angela pushed the trash can out of the way, and bent down in front of the seemingly bare wall. However, after pulling what looked to be a doorstop at the bottom of the wall, Troy’s eyes widened in shock when he saw his Mother pull up a large section of the kitchen wall like a garage door. “WHAT THE--”
Any other words that may have came out of Troy’s beak were immediately silenced when he saw what was behind the newly-constructed hidden wall. Shaking his head clear in disbelief, the Gryphon was momentarily unable to make any audible words when he saw the large metallic appliance hidden inside. “Is… is that a…”
Canvas giggled as he tried to catch his fiancè’s attention. “Yes, Troy. It’s a deep freezer. I managed to get the old one from the Cakes while they were getting a new one. They didn’t even question me asking for it.”
“Bu… but…” Troy’s head snapped back to the stallion as he tried to speak through his stunned state. “When… when did you…”
“Get the wall installed?” finished Canvas with a smirk. “You are aware you’ve been at work and Pony Tones rehearsals back-to-back for a while now, right? It was easy to get this planned out and executed with the triplets while you were out. Heck, you didn’t even notice when the tarp was up that one day!”
The Gryphon looked between his pony and the wall back-and-forth, trying to fathom how this could have happened. Even though he’d admit that he was usually too exhausted to notice much after Pony Tones practice, he was completely shocked that he didn’t notice something like this occurring in his own kitchen.
“And Troy…” Looking excited as well, Angela was positioned beside the deep freezer as she prepared to open it. “I was able to pull a couple strings with my shipping partners back home, so… I’d like to present, my wedding present to you…”
When Troy stepped forward to the deep freezer, his beak nearly dropped to the floor the instant his Mother opened the door. Inside of the massive compartment, every type of meat he could think of was packed inside like a glowing beacon of pure happiness. Among the many pounds of Gryphon Kingdom-raised steaks, chicken breasts, pork loins, and links of sausages that lined the bottom of the freezer, a huge package of applewood-smoked bacon was resting on top, just begging to be fried up and devoured.
Troy took a couple steps back from the freezer. One of his claws covered his beak as he looked like he was about to cry. “I… I can’t… believe...”
“It’s okay, Troy,” said Angela as she walked up to him with a warm smile on her beak. “I know this is a lot, but… I just want you to know that I love you, and that nothing will ever change that. And…” After giving a glance back at Canvas, who was also keeping a smile while on the verge of tears, Angela’s happy expression only strengthened as she turned back to her son. “And I know that your fiancè makes you happy, so… I wanted to make you happy as well.”
When Troy looked back at his Mom, he couldn’t help letting a couple stray tears come down his cheeks as he gave a trembling smile. Without warning, he hugged his Mom strongly before trying to speak in a tone stronger than a timid whimper. “Th… thank you, Mom…”
Angela only hugged back in response, clutching him tightly in her claws as she gave an equally warm reply. “It’s okay, Troy… I love you too…”
After almost a minute passed, the two finally let go while Canvas walked towards the fridge and wiped his face with a hoof. “And Troy,” began the stallion as he looked over at him with raised brows, “Since you’re doing something really big tonight, I thought that it would be nice to give you a little incentive…”
“Hm?” Troy’s head snapped back to his fiancè wide eyed when he saw him open the door. When he saw the inside of the fridge, his jaw dropped even lower than it did when he saw the freezer.
Canvas giggled when he saw the Gryphon’s reaction. “Yeah, I… figured it would be good to dethaw some of these steaks for you and your family.” His eyes narrowed to almost sultry as he added,” Plus, I have the stuff for a good batter, so maybe I can make these chicken-fried--”
“Is that more root beer?!”
Canvas froze for a moment with a more confused expression, and looked back at the fridge to see what Troy was staring at. Despite the fact that several thick steaks were sitting on plates on the top shelf of the fridge in full display, it seemed that the Gryphon was more focused on the new bottles of Gryphon root beer that were on the bottom. “Ummm…” After blinking a few times, he looked back at Troy and answered in a surprised tone, “Well… yeah, but--”
“YES!!!” Troy pumped his claw in victory, acting like he just scored an impressive amount on a lottery ticket. Upon realizing how he may have looked, he grew an embarrassed smile as he giggled nervously back at Canvas and Angela. “Ummm… I mean… th-thanks…”
Canvas shot a chuckling smirk back at Troy’s Mom. “I told you he’d notice that.”
Trying not to snicker as well, Angela sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yeah, you did…” She then reached into her purse to grab a couple of bits, and handed them to the stallion. “Here you go.”
“Wait a minute!” Troy’s face turned puzzled as he looked between his Mom and fiancè. “Did you two have a bet?!”
“What?” asked Canvas with a shrug after taking his bits, “She didn’t believe me!” He then pulled a bottle out of the fridge, and used the wall of his hoof to open the top with well-practiced ease. “Besides, you were upset about the triplets taking the last of our stash, so it seemed like a good idea.”
After Canvas gave him the bottle, Troy sighed with a smile as he took it in his claw. “Well… I guess that is a big plus. Thank you...” He bent his head down to give Canvas a small nuzzle, only lasting long enough to show his gratitude without making his Mother get visibly uncomfortable by the sight. Troy also looked back at Angela and added with a smile, “And thanks, Mom! I was actually planning to get some more bottles of the stuff after the triplets left.”
“Well,” began Angela in a more pondering tone, “Just let me know what the shipping costs are from your original provider. I’d like to know about my competition after all.”
“You got it!” Looking more chipper by the second, the Gryphon took a big swig from his bottle before swallowing and giving a satisfied sigh. “Aaaahhh… I swear, it’s hard to get me in a bad mood while holding one of these…”
Of course, as soon as he looked back at Canvas, Troy’s smile fell away when he saw the Pony Tones sweater being held in the smirking stallion’s hoof. “I stand corrected”
Since winter was still in the beginning stages around Ponyville, the town square wasn’t coated in thick volleys of snow just yet. But, due to the cold weather, large heat lamps were situated around both the gazebo stage as well as the large auditorium of outdoor seats in front of it. While the concert wasn’t slated to start for a while, a few ponies were already getting seated for the Ponytones show. Most of them were wearing at least a hat or a scarf to combat the still-new bout of cold.
One of those ponies was Fluttershy, who was wearing a thick woolen pink cap with earmuffs with a matching scarf. She considered wearing a jacket as well, but the only one that could work for this weather was light blue, which might have made some ponies think she was performing alongside them. After what happened last time she was caught singing, the Pegasus knew it would be a while before she could muster up the courage to try something like that again.
However, Fluttershy’s attention changed when she noticed a particular Gryphon walking over to the town square alongside his two identical brothers. She waved a hoof up to catch his attention, hoping that she wouldn’t have to shout for him to notice. Luckily, Blade’s head perked up a bit when he saw the yellow mare, and his beak grew a small smile before quickly looking around in a panic.
“Dude, what got into you?” asked Blaze, who was walking alongside Blade when he saw his brother’s head fidget like a chicken’s.
Blane who was at Blade’s other side, noticed Fluttershy as well, and looked down at his skinny brother with a knowing grin. “Ahhh… someone saw his crush, didn’t he?”
“W-what?!” Despite still looking nervous, Blade’s beak scowled a little when he looked up at Blane. “Shut up, ya bloke! It’s not that!”
“Oh really?” added Blaze with a couple perks of his brows. “I’m surprised your wings aren’t poppin’ out right now!”
“Sh-shut up!” snarled Blade when his head flicked back to his brother at his opposite side. “I’m not actin’ daft because of her!”
“Oh yeah?” asked Blaze with a skewed brow. “Then what?”
With his worried expression re-appearing, Blade’s head darted around as he tried to see anything out of the ordinary. “I… I just…” He gave off a deep, unwanted shudder which seemed to emanate from his very soul before completing his statement. “I really… don’t want her friend to be here too...”
The other two paused for a brief moment, both immediately knowing who Blade was referring to. Of course, despite their brother’s nervous look as he continued to scan the town to see if the Draconequus was anywhere to be seen, Blaze and Blane had larger grins on their beaks.
“Oh, I see…” Blane bent his head down to whisper into Blade’s ear, “You think you got a thing for him now?”
“DUDE I WILL SERIOUSLY--”
Before Blade could lash at Blane for his comment, he felt a hoof pull at his shoulder a little. When he saw who it was when he turned his head to her, the Gryphon quickly stopped his words and regained his usually calm composure. “Uhh… ‘ello, Fluttershy.”
“Is everything okay?” asked the mare in a concerned tone. As soon as she saw Blade’s two brothers giggling at him, the Pegasus wanted to take action and make sure nothing too mean was being said. “You know you can tell me, right?”
“No, it’s fine. I just…” Blade’s beak shut again as he quickly turned to see if anything was behind him.
Fluttershy instantly realized what may have gotten the Gryphon so jittery, and let out a soft exhale with a smile. “It’s alright, Blade. Discord isn’t around right now.”
A very relieved sigh escaped Blade, and he smiled back at the Pegasus gratefully. “Th-thanks for telling me that, Fluttershy…”
“C’mon, bra!” Blaze pushed Blade closer towards Fluttershy, making the mare emit a surprised “Eep!” when the Gryphon was pushed up against her. “Let her take your seat!”
“Yeah,” added Blane before the two could walk away from them, giving Blade a nudge at the shoulder, “I’m sure your biggest fan would appreciate that.”
Blade couldn’t say anything in protest before he was pushed against the mare even more. While the Gryphon and Pegasus both blushed a little more deeply, Blade’s brothers both walked away with heavy grins as they headed towards Sugar Cube Corner. Blaze’s eyes darted around before turning back to to Blane to ask, “Where do you think Lyle is? I put a couple bottles of that root beer stuff in his bag when he wasn’t looking.”
“Ooh, nice idea!” Blane started to look around as well while walking alongside his slightly less bulked brother. “I honestly kinda lost track of him, too.”
Fortunately, when they reached the outside of the grandiose bakery, Lyle was making his way out with a rather large cinnamon roll in his claw. Before either Blaze or Blane could go up to him, they froze when they saw their Mother come out behind Lyle. “MOM?!” the two shouted at the same time, neither having seen the Gryphoness since she apologized to Troy earlier that week.
“There you are, boys!” looking elated to see them, Angela went past Lyle to pull both Gryphons in for a strong hug. Despite their surprise, the fact that Lyle didn’t look too upset prompted Blaze and Blane to hug her back quickly. When she pulled back, the Gryphoness looked between them before asking puzzledly, “So, where’s Blade?”
“Oh,” Blaze pointed back to where the concert was being set up, “he’s over at the seats with Fluttershy.”
Angela looked past them to see where the seats were, her face growing worried. “Hmmm… I hope he’s not doing anything he’s gonna regret.”
“Eh, I doubt it.” Blane leaned in to open the bag hanging at Lyle’s side, barely catching him shouting out “Hey!” as he continued. “He, like, really respects her or something. I’ve never seen him like that before.”
“Really?” asked his Mom with a look of pleased surprise on her face. Of course, her question was cut off after Blane pulled one of the bottles of root beer out of Lyle’s bag.
“WHAT THE!” Lyle looked into his bag, growing irritated when he saw what his brother put inside of it. “Is that why my bag felt so heavy?!”
“Hey, blame Blaze! He was the one who did it! Besides, you should take note of your surroundings!” Ignoring Lyle’s angered scowl on him, Blane popped the cap off with a talon and took a swig. When he brought his bottle back down, he didn’t seem to notice Pinkie Pie looking down at him from a nearby window.
“Seriously though,” said Blaze towards his Mom while Blane took that swig, “How long have you been in town? I was starting to think you wouldn’t show up!”
“Oh please,” said Angela with a brush of her claw. “Like I’m going to miss Troy’s big show! Besides, I said that I had some things to do after talking to his… partner the other day.”
“Wait a minute…” Blane’s eyes narrowed on her suspiciously, not seeming to notice the window behind him opening, and a really long straw starting to come out towards his bottle. “Is this in any way related to us having to build that weird hidden wall in Troy’s kitchen?”
“Well, maybe…” Angela chuckled lightly with a smirk. “But believe me, as soon as his concert’s over, I think you guys are gonna appreciate it.”
Blane just rolled his eyes tiredly. “I hope so. Canvas had us leave the house all friggin’ morning! Unless that hole is gonna hold a stripper or two, I’m not sure how--”
Before he could finish, the sound of loud slurping interrupted his thoughts. As soon as he realized it was coming from right next to him, the straw was quickly pulled back into the shop as he held his now empty bottle. “What the… HEY!!!”
The window of the bakery slammed open as Pinkie Pie’s head popped out. While all four Gryphons jolted back and screamed, Pinkie looked down at Blane with an excited smile. “WOW! Where’d ya get that root beer?!”
“Hm?”
Troy’s talon poked through the closed curtain for a quick second, giving him just enough time to peek out curiously.
“What is it?” asked Rarity as she got her bowtie straightened around her neck.
After seeing nothing of concern, Troy shrugged and pulled back from the curtain. “Nothing. I thought I heard screaming or somethi--Wait a minute...”
Troy leaned back into peek through the opening, seeing something in the audience. Near the front of the rows of seats (with residents of the Ponyville Retirement home at the very front where the most heat lamps were), Troy’s eyes widened when he saw his brother Blade seated next to Fluttershy. While the skinny Gryphon seemed rather comfortable, Fluttershy was clearly shivering a little in her seat.
Blade, upon noticing this, shrugged before casually bringing out his wing to wrap around her for warmth. Although the action itself was clearly nothing more than a second thought (despite how often Troy has done it for Canvas romantically), the wing was around the Pegasus for only a second before quickly shooting back. Blade’s whole body spasmed like he was suddenly taken in control by something else, and one of his claws pulled back and punched himself in the face.
Due to Troy’s distance from them, he wasn’t able to hear Fluttershy’s gasp, or whatever Blade tried to say as he quickly looked around in a panic. Of course, after a brief moment, Blade’s eyes shot open in fear when he looked away from the crowds and towards a streetlamp a block away. Troy poked his head out for a split second, and quickly shot back in when he caught a glimpse of Discord hanging from the top with a menacing glare towards his brother.
Strangely enough, the Draconequus’s presence didn’t falter Fluttershy from her seat when she saw him as well. Instead, she just grew a strong, unwavering stare back at him with her lips pursed shut. Without breaking eye contact with Discord, the mare grabbed Blade’s wing by her hoof and put it back around her, establishing a look of dominance that even Celestia would’ve been impressed by.
Troy didn’t dare look to see what Discord’s reaction was to that, but judging by the smile that reappeared on Fluttershy’s face before looking back to the stage with Blade, it seemed like the Draconequus just let them be. However, before he could pull back from the curtain, Troy couldn’t help thinking Blade was going to remain nervous for a large majority of the show.
“Troy!” Rarity’s blue aura of magic pulled Troy back from the curtain while she spoke in an annoyed tone. “You can’t just poke your head out like that!”
“Sorry!” whispered Troy when he turned back to her. “I just saw my brother out there.”
“So?” asked the unicorn with a roll of her eyes. “Your whole family is supposed to be out there, remember? You shouldn’t be getting cold hooves--er, I mean paws, right before the show because of this!”
“I know, I know…” Troy covered his eyes with a claw as he tried to calm himself down. After a low sigh, he shook his head and muttered, “I’ve just been hung up on some things, alright?”
Rarity’s expression softened a little, and she placed a hoof on Troy’s shoulder. “Troy,” said the mare in a more sympathetic tone, “I know this past week hasn’t been easy for you. And believe me, the last thing I want is to see you feel this disheveled about it. But I also know that whenever you showed up to practice, your mood improved as soon as you started singing.”
Troy’s eyes looked down to the floor, not wanting to look at the unicorn as she said those things. However, the Gryphon also knew that Rarity was actually kinda right. Even with all the drama he went though in regards to his family, he had to admit that it was hard to focus on that when he had to collaborate his singing with the other Pony Tones. And to be perfectly honest, Troy could admit that it was hard not to feel better when a session went really well.
“So,” continued the mare as her tone became more confident. “if you want my advice, I suggest that you just treat this like one of our practice sessions. Don’t focus on the crowds, and just think of the music.”
Troy looked back at Rarity as he gave a more deadpanned stare at her. “You are aware that this isn’t the first time I sang on a stage, right?”
Rarity mimicked his expression back at him. “And did that advice help you then?”
Troy stayed silent for a moment, but stopped after he gave a shrug after his pause. “Good point.”
“Thank you.” Growing a satisfied smirk, she motioned Troy to follow her towards the back of the stage where Big Macontish and Torch Song were conversing. “Now, come on. We still need to get situated before our big event.”
By the time the show was just about to start, nearly every seat was filled with ponies who were either waiting in anticipation, or trying to seat themselves closer to one of the heat lamps for extra warmth. Even with the complimentary hot chocolate that was being handed out to patrons, there were plenty of ponies shivering while a light array of snow began to trickle down from the skies.
Keeping himself below the cloudlines, Jonas kept a steady pace as he flew into Ponyville’s town square, and landed nearby the show away from the crowd. Fortunately, due to the fact that the Clawston triplets - as well as Angela - were a couple feet taller than most of the other ponies while seated, their seats were placed to the sides so nopony would be blocked. After shaking some snow off of his wings, the Gryphon let off a tired sigh as he walked over towards his three eldest sons first.
When the triplets saw Jonas walk towards them, all three turned their heads away to look over at the stage with cold expressions. Even Blade, whose wing was still wrapped around Fluttershy, didn’t bother looking over at their Dad when he tried to speak.
“Guys,” said Jonas as he tried to get their attention, “Would you mind if--”
He was quickly interrupted when all three of them lifted their claws to give Jonas three middle talons at the same time, all without turning their heads. Jonas groaned with a clenched beak, looking like he was just about to smack them for that level of disrespect. However, the Gryphon instead closed his eyes and made a very strained exhale, avoiding any thoughts that he’d usually listen to at that moment.
Blade’s head bent in towards Fluttershy, and whispered something into her ear. Blushing a little in nervousness, the timid mare leaned forward in her seat so that Jonas could notice her. “Ummm… Mister Clawston?”
Jonas reopened his eyes and looked towards her before she could speak.
“He…” Fluttershy motioned towards Blade before continuing. “... He wanted me to tell you that… you need to talk to Troy first.”
“Ugh!” Jonas rolled his eyes and groaned louder than before. However, he also paused briefly before nodding in aggravation. “Fine, fine! I… I guess I’ll wait then.”
“Good,” said Blane with a glare, which quickly changed when he realized what he did. “Shit I mean…”
He moved over in his seat to whisper something to Fluttershy as well. After he settled back in his chair with the stoic expression he had before, Fluttershy looked up at Jonas to say, “He said ‘Good’...”
Jonas face-clawed, and then dragged it down his face slowly. “Ughhhh…”
Blaze looked over at Fluttershy and said, “Also…”
He leaned in past Blade to whisper something to the mare. Unfortunately, what he said made her face turn a deep red as she replied weakly. “Ummm… I really don’t want to say that word…”
Jonas just shook his head before walking away from the three. “Fine, whatever! I’ll sit somewhere else!”
The Gryphon grumbled to himself while walking away, but his words became lost when he saw his wife seated at the other end of the crowd. While Jonas was looking over at her, and at Lyle who was seated beside her, both of them noticed him before turning their heads away as well. Even though Lyle’s face quickly turned sour the instant he saw his Dad, Angela’s expression was more saddened than anything else. Jonas, who never enjoyed seeing that look from his wife, looked down to the snow-powdered ground as he breathed out heavily, unsure what he could actually do.
After most of the crowd was seated and waiting patiently, Jonas perched himself atop one of the streetlamps, which was fortunately sturdy enough to hold his weight. Not minding the cold metal against his talons and paws, the Gryphon kept himself further than most of the other ponies when the curtain finally opened. Rarity, who trotted out in her Pony Tones sweater, had her horn lit while holding a microphone in her aura.
“Good evening, Fillies and Gentlecolts!” The posh mare smiled in glee when the audience roared in applause. She waited a brief moment for the crowd to settle down before continuing. “I’d like to thank everypony for coming out tonight, and for showing their support for this noble cause!”
While the audience applauded once more, a spotlight from the stage pulled out to illuminate the elderly ponies sitting in the front row. “Tonight, we’re hoping to raise enough bits to help supply the Ponyville Retirement Home with new furniture, a stronger balcony frame, and of course… a brand new furnace to keep them warm for the upcoming winter months!”
While the residents all nodded and waved to the applause from the crowds, the spotlight came back to Rarity as she continued her announcements. “However,” said the unicorn as her tone became slightly more serious, “due to unforeseen circumstances, I’m afraid to say that one of our members, Toe Tapper, is unable to perform tonight…”
The sounds of groans could be heard from several parts of the crowd. In one of the front rows, two mares with matching Toe Tapper sweaters (as well as a large banner with his face on it) slumped in their seats disappointedly.
“But,” added Rarity with a growing smile, “we are more than fortunate to find a replacement for this show! While he might not be a ‘pony’ per se, I’m sure that many of you already know him from his weather duties around Ponyville, as well as from his recent lead performance from Ponyville Theater’s most recent show…”
A few ponies could already be heard making excited “Ooohs” and “Ahhhs”, already figuring out who the Pony Tones got as a replacement. And with the spotlight moving to reveal the three figures emerging from the curtain, Troy gave a tremendously nervous smile when the light was brought onto him.
“Fillies and Gentlecolts, I would like to present, for this night only… Troius Clawston!”
The audience applauded wildly once more, which was just the push the Gryphon needed to swallow his pride while Big Macintosh and Torch Song stood beside him. Due to the spotlights on him and the other three, as well as the increasingly darkening skies as the sun set, Troy was happy to see that most of the crowd looked like indistinguishable shadows than anything else. After giving a nod and wave to the crowds, Troy waited alongside the other Pony Tones as the crowd quickly silenced for the show to begin.
For most of the show, Troy didn’t even think about his family being in the audience as he sang alongside the three ponies in matching sweaters. Also, since Big Macintosh was one of the closest ponies to be at equal height to him (although he might have been an inch or two shorter than the Gryphon), Troy didn’t feel like a giant in doll’s clothes while singing acapella. In fact, Troy was even given a lead singing part in one of the songs--a Sapphire Shores cover--which was very highly received by the crowds by the time it ended.
Even Troy’s older brothers, who could be heard giggling at his outfit at the beginning of the show, were only hooting and whistling in approval after the last song was over. Troy and the Pony Tones took a courteous bow at the front of the stage, looking quite happy after having a flawless performance under the fresh night’s sky. While ponies began to line up at a donation box to begin adding their contributions for the Ponyville Retirement Home, Troy finished giving his thanks to the Retirement Home residents before heading to find his family.
“Troy-Boy!” Blaze swooped in as soon as Troy was free, and wrapped a foreleg around him tightly for a side-hug. “I didn’t know you had that in ya, dude!”
“Yeah, totally!” added Blade while and and Blane came up behind their brother. “If I knew that, I would’ve offered ya a spot in one of my albums!”
Troy looked more than a little skeptical when he turned his head to the skinny Gryphon “Oh really? I didn’t think your metal shrieking would’ve needed any backup vocals.”
“What are ya talkin’ about?” said Blade with a hint of offense in his tone. “I had backup stuff in a lot of my songs, mate! I even had a choir bit when I recorded ‘Murder Fetish Parade’!”
“Oh yeah,” replied Troy sarcastically with a roll of his eyes, “how could I have forgotten that classic?”
“Hey, come on!” Blane chimed in and gave Troy a playful punch on the shoulder. “We’re just celebrating you, man! That was surprisingly awesome!”
Despite the use of that adverb before the word ‘Awesome,’ Troy still grew a content smile back at his older brothers. “Well, thanks guys. That really does mean a lot.” When he saw his Mom and Lyle manage their way through the crowds, Troy’s attention turned to them as he asked. “Hey, guys! What did you think?”
Angela carried an overjoyed smile back to Troy before hugging him tightly. “Oh, Troy! That was wonderful!”
While Troy smiled and hugged her back with his eyes closed, he overheard Lyle add, “Yeah, definitely! It even made up for that sweater a little.”
Troy immediately pulled back from his Mom to shoot Lyle a nasty glare. “Now now, Lyle,” warned Angela sternly. “What did I tell you about making those jokes?”
Blaze decided to bring himself into the discussion. “Well, you gotta admit, Mom! That outfit does look pretty dorky!”
“OOH!” Looking like he just had a revelation, Blane pointed a talon at Troy excitedly. “I just realized what he looks like!”
“Dude, shut up!” Despite his good performance, Troy was starting to get upset before Canvas could be anywhere in sight.
“Guys, guys…” Ignoring his younger brother’s annoyance, Blane turned to the others as he asked, “Do you remember that weird friend of Mom’s? You know, the one with that creepy hairless dog thingie?”
“Hey!” shouted Angela firmly. “Don’t you talk about Ginnette like that! And her pet chihuahua wasn’t hairless!”
“Alright, alright,” added Blane quickly as he settled down his Mom, “but still!” He pointed to Troy again. “Doesn’t that look like an outfit she’d put her dog in?!”
With that image put in their heads, it wasn’t long before Troy’s brothers started cackling wildly. Even Angela, despite putting her claw over her face, looked like she was struggling not to laugh.While Troy stood with his feathers getting redder by the second, he was luckily kept in place when he felt a familiar hoof touch his shoulder.
“Guys, come on,” said Canvas sternly towards the other Gryphons while standing beside his fiancè. “You should be focusing on his singing, not his appearance!” He then looked up at Troy with an enamored smile on his muzzle. “Besides, I think he looks quite handsome in it.”
“Oh, please!” Lyle rolled his eyes away from the couple. “Troy could probably wear a tutu and a cape and still be considered hot by you!”
“Lyle!” shouted Angela towards him angrily.
“I dunno…” Canvas’s smile turned to a more randy smirk as he eyed Troy while beside him. “A skirt would be interesting…”
The Gryphoness turned her head to the stallion eyeing her son with a concerned look on her face. “What?”
Canvas, immediately regretting that statement, carried a worried look similar to Troy’s as he slowly turned his head to face her. “Uhhhh… a shirt. I said a shirt. Like… a dress shirt. For… parties and stuff. Dinner parties.”
The triplets could be heard snickering behind their Mother, whose left eye was twitching badly from Canvas’s flustered remark. Lyle, who was giggling as well, tried to chime in to the stallion’s defense. “Mom, c’mon! You can’t be that surprised by now, are yo--”
Before he could finish, Lyle’s eyes shot open when he saw something past his Mother. By the time Angela noticed and turned around, Lyle was already storming away with an angered look on his face. Meanwhile, the rest of the family could only stand in silence when they saw Jonas walk in towards them.
“Ummm... “ Despite the uncomfortable wall of silence that appeared due to his presence, Jonas stood his ground as he attempted to break the awkwardness. His expression had an uncomfortable hint of weakness as he tried to speak towards Troy in a firm tone. “T… Troy?”
Seeing his Dad for the first time since that bakery incident, Troy’s angered look was fairly similar to Lyle’s while staring Jonas down broodingly. However, instead of leaving like his younger brother has, Troy just took a reluctant breath before opening his beak. “What?”
Jonas’s face faltered a little more from the tone of his son’s voice, but luckily his paws didn’t do the same. Instead, the older Gryphon took a quick moment before sighing faintly. “Troy, can… can I talk with you for a second?”
Troy’s beak clenched in tightly at that response, giving off an apparent look of “Screw you” back to Jonas. Nevertheless, the silver Gryphon slowly turned to look back at his Mom, who carried a more sympathetic (albeit worried) look towards her son. Even though he knew that he told his Mother he would at least try to talk to Jonas if he came back, the recollections of what happened the last time they talked was enough to make him seriously consider going back on that promise. But eventually, after Angela nodded towards him apprehensively, Troy exhaled deeply before turning his head back towards Jonas. “I… I suppos--”
“Troy!” The sound of Rarity’s voice interrupted Troy’s answer as she made her way through the crowds with her sweater still on. “Where in Equestria’s name have you been?! I was barely even able to speak with you befo…”
As soon as the unicorn broke free from the wall of ponies long enough to see where Troy was, her rant quickly stopped when she saw the rest of the Gryphon’s family. And even though she hasn’t had the chance to see Jonas when he and his wife arrived to Ponyville earlier this week, Rarity heard enough about the Gryphon’s description (as well as what occurred at Sugar Cube Corner) to realize who Troy was trying to speak with. “Oh… Ummm, never mind…”
Before the mare could leave to give the Clawstons some space, Troy shouted out quickly, “Rarity! Wait a minute…”
The unicorn looked back at him in confusion. “Hm?”
“Listen, uhhh…” Despite not wanting to ask Rarity for a favor this large, he knew that he couldn’t talk with Jonas out in the middle of town with ponies having the chance to eavesdrop on them. “Could… we maybe use your boutique? I’d… rather try to talk with him in private.”
Jonas, despite looking less than enthusiastic, nodded towards them in agreement. Rarity, understanding the insistence in Troy’s look and tone, took a second before nodding back to him. “Well, alright. I suppose it’s the least I could do after you helped us.”
She motioned the two to follow her before turning around to head towards her home. “Plus, I figure you might want to change out of that sweater if you’re planning to have a discussion.”
While walking behind her, Troy let off an involuntary chuckle while rubbing the back of his head with a claw. “Yeah, definitely.”
Jonas, who was following Troy, had a more disturbed look on his face when he finally took a moment to ponder what the buck his son was wearing. His eyes turned away for a moment as he muttered under his breath, “Yeah. That makes two of us.”
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Sweet, three chapters. The infamous baby pictures, gotta love it.
OH MASSIVE BURN
well Jonas NOW do you see how big of a mess you have created?
You keep switching tenses. Why? "Has" and "have" are present tense, and they're all over the place.
The most dangerous known combination in the universe. Mothers, Significant Others and BABY PHOTOS!!!!! DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNN!!!!!!!!
Figures he would only notice the root beer.
adverb
Getting flipped 'the bird' by three birds. I actually chuckled at that.
Mmmhhh good like robust flavorful black coffee on a rainy Sunday morning with a cool 42f temperature outside or about 5.5c. Perfect
Nice save, Canvas. Now I can't get that image out of my head......
6610569 The ponytones sweater and a short tennis skirt. With socks of course.