Chapter Five: Surprises on Both Ends
“Man, I think I overdid it.”
That was the only thing that Canvas could say while looking at everything he prepared in the kitchen over the course of an afternoon. The aqua stallion didn’t plan to spend so much time nor effort on cooking today, but he had to admit that it was a surprisingly calming activity. At least, calming juxtaposed to to his recent commissions and wedding plans. However, as he stared at everything he cooked during the afternoon, Canvas made a disheveled huff with a shake of his head.
“Ohhhhh, Troy is doing the dishes tonight,” muttered Canvas as he covered his hooves with oven mitts and went to pick up the massive pot, which was simmering on the stove as it had been for several hours. “No doubt about it. He will be cleaning.”
Meanwhile outside, the skies were beginning to change from the tranquil yellow of dusk to a dark and almost neon-looking orange. Because of Jonas and Angela’s talks with Twilight Sparkle earlier that day, all of the Clawston family’s luggage were moved to several of the vacant guest rooms of the castle. Also, when Troy and Lyle took Tenor around Ponyville and the castle, Blaze and Blane became too preoccupied with the puppy to care about where Blade may have been hiding. In fact, the two almost forgot what they were mad about when Blade returned to find them wrestling with Tenor outside Troy and Canvas’s home.
Troy tried to ask his older brothers what Canvas told them while he was gone, but none of them said a thing. Unfortunately, the smirks they had as they all said “Nothinnnngggg” at the same time just made Troy more nervous than before.
Jonas and Angela were strangely the last ones to arrive at the barn. When the two landed at the front of the home where the stallion’s studio was, Jonas looked at the massive muraled walls with a disapproving groan. “Hnnnn… I really don’t understand why he would decorate like this.”
“Well, he is an artist,” chimed Angela with a more positive tone. She paused to stare at the front doors with admiration as she said, “When you run a business from home, it doesn’t hurt to make yourself noticed, and this definitely helps to advertise his skills. No pony who’s looking for him would be able to miss all this.”
“I suppose.” Jonas shrugged his shoulders, and then his brows raised when he looked up at the two adjacent flags hanging from the roof. “Huh. I will admit, the flags are a nice addition.”
Angela giggled and rewarded that statement with a peck against the General’s cheek. “There you go. Isn’t it nice to say something positive?”
“What are you talking about?” Jonas asked in a slightly baffled tone as the two walked to the side of the barn where the living entrance was. “I say a lot of positive things! You remember when I was complimenting Princess Twilight’s castle during her tour?”
A coy smirk was on Angela’s beak when she said, “I remember your first statement was that the tree was more fitting for her.”
“I didn’t say that to her face! And besides, you saw how many books she owns! That library was a more appropriate home for her. I wasn’t being insulting!”
Jonas wanted to say more, but he begrudgingly closed his beak with an exasperated sigh. When the two went to the side yard of the barn, both of them were surprised to see Blaze and Blane lying on the ground panting in exhaustion. Tenor was passed out between them, clearly having gotten his workout for the day. Meanwhile, Blade was leaned against the side of the house with a beer in his claw. “Oi, don’t look at me,” he said as he put his other claw up in innocence. “Those two knocked themselves out on their own.”
“We’re not knocked out,” muttered Blaze with his head still in the grass. “Just tired.”
Jonas just stared down at his two sons briefly. Considering that it was because of a puppy and nothing they drank or smoked, the General was just content with the idea of a peaceful dinner. Meanwhile, Angela grew an enamored smile when she saw the puppy. “Awwww, come here, widdle guy!”
While Blade’s brows skewed from hearing his Mom’s tone of voice, the Gryphoness picked up Tenor gently with her claws. The puppy made a surprisingly large yawn which made Angela giggle sweetly. She turned towards her husband and asked, “You know what this dog reminds me of?”
Surprisingly enough, Jonas chuckled as well as he scratched the back of the puppy’s ears. “You mean back when we were stationed up in the mountain base?”
Angela seemed impressed that her husband remembered that with her brows raising. “Yeah, exactly!” She then went back to nuzzle Tenor as he began to wake himself back up. “Awww… I missed seeing all those Saint Bernards up there.”
Neither of them were aware that the door to the living space was now open. Troy and Lyle were both looking out from the doorway with the same baffled expressions that Blade had.
“Ummm, Mom?” asked Troy in a tone which implied he may have suspected Angela of being a Changeling. “You alright there?”
“Oh, it’s nothing.” Angela pointed a genuine smile back at her sons and put the dog back on the ground. “Just admiring your little puppy before dinner.”
Jonas looked towards Troy and added, “Speaking of which, what have you been feeding him? I hope Equestria is letting dogs eat more than protein pills!”
Troy just rolled his eyes. “Don’t worry, Dad. Equestrian dog food contains more than enough animal protein for him. Plus, I’m not the only one eating meat from the packages you two send…” Troy’s words began to fade as he focused his attention on what Tenor was going. Now fully awake, the puppy had a peculiar expression as he sniffed around Angela’s midsection.
The Gryphoness quickly realized what the puppy was doing and snatched him back up. “Ooh! I guess this little scamp was curious!”
Lyle’s head tilted with his eyes narrowed on her. “Ummm, what for?”
“Nothing, nothing,” said Jonas as he looked back his wife and motioned her to follow him to the house. He turned back to Troy and asked, “Is dinner ready yet?”
“Actually, yeah.” Troy pointed a talon back to the inside of the barn. “We were just helping Canvas set the table.”
Canvas’s voice called out from inside. “Okay, you guys can come in! I have beer in the cooler!”
Blaze and Blane shot right up from the ground at the mention of beer. The two tried to rush into the house first, but Blade’s quick turnaround was timed so the three ended up jammed in the doorway at the same time. As the three began to push and squirm against one another, clearly not thinking to pull back from the door, Jonas face-clawed with obvious disappointment. “Ugh… why does this always happen?”
“C’mon, guys,” said Troy as he shrugged and motioned the remaining Gryphons to follow him to the front. “We’ll go in through the studio.”
Even though Troy and Canvas were fairly unprepared for the Clawston family’s early arrival, the couple did manage to get one necessity in advance: an extra large dining table that was big enough to seat everyone comfortably. The living space may have felt a bit smaller after lugging the massive round table inside, but it was clearly needed after Canvas and all seven Gryphons got themselves seated. Plus, the hardwood table was just the right size to hold all the food needed for their impromptu feast. Among the various bowls and trays of side dishes, a gargantuan pot sat proudly in the middle of the table, which held a massive amount of chili.
There wasn’t much talk for the first ten minutes as everyone gorged on Canvas’s cooking, although the sounds of beaks smacking and loud grunts definitely filled any void. While the stallion was fine with eating his own dish of baked potatoes and broccoli with cheese, there wasn’t a single complaint from the rest of the family while they tore through multiple helpings of his main dish. Despite being a strict vegetarian himself, the pony felt rather proud that his concoction of ground beef and sausage was good enough to make a family of Gryphons attack it like a pack of hyenas.
Meanwhile, Tenor was happily eating from his own dish of high-quality kibble (with chunks of beef flank added for good measure). But instead of eating his meal at his usual spot by the record player, Tenor actually pushed his dish over so he was eating right beside Angela’s chair. The Gryphoness didn’t seem to mind one bit, but the puppy’s behavior was definitely still unusual.
Blaze scooped up a claw full of tater tots from one of the dining dishes to put on his plate. “Okay, I gotta ask,” he said while topping his plate with a ladle of chili, “where did you learn to cook chili like this?! Seriously, most Gryphons couldn’t make a pot this good!”
Canvas smiled with a proud blush on his cheeks. “Well,” began the stallion with a bashful shrug, “to be fair, chili is pretty similar to curry in a lot of ways. Just a lot of spices combined with a good broth. The only major difference is adding meat and beans to the mixture.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t be so modest, Canvas,” said Angela with a sincere smile on her beak, “This really is great.” She was already halfway through her second helping of chili with rice, and she turned her attention to Troy to add while pointing at him with her fork. “I think you have yourself a keeper.”
Troy and Canvas’s eyes both widened in surprise. Considering how frazzled the Gryphoness acted about their relationship the last time she was in Equestria, hearing her say a comment like that was nothing short of jarring. Fortunately, Troy was able to smile back and reply in a slightly flustered tone. “Wow, umm… thanks, Mom.”
“Yes,” added Canvas with a grateful smile on his muzzle. “Thank you for that.”
Blane, who was too preoccupied with with fifth bowl of chili to say anything before, wiped his beak with his foreleg while staring at his Mother with his eyes unusually wide open. “Ummm… Mom, are you dying?”
“What?!” shouted Angela and Jonas at the same time with shocked glances at their son.
“Yeah, what’s going on?” added Lyle in agreement. His eyes darted between his Mom and Dad like he was trying to peer for any reasons behind their confused expressions. “Because you two have been acting really weird since this morning!”
“Oh, so what?” Jonas asked condescendingly with a brow arched upward in Lyle’s direction. “Your Mom and I can’t look happy being with our whole family again?”
Lyle merely returned his Dad’s gesture with a deadpan stare and replied, “Well, it’s kind of a big contrast compared to how you guys acted last time you were here.”
Lyle wasn’t trying to purposely make a scene. Unfortunately, that statement was enough to turn the room eerily silent. While Angela looked away uncomfortably, and Jonas just narrowed his eyes on Lyle with his beak tightly shut, Tenor pulled his head up from his dish to stare up quizzically.
“Lyle, c’mon,” said Blade in a surprisingly held-back tone while nudging him from the side. “Don’t try to bring anything up right now. A lot of shit hit the fan the last time we had a fight during dinner here.”
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Blade actually has a point,” said Troy as he uncapped another bottle of beer from the cooler. He ignored his brother yelling “OI!” at him as he turned his focus towards Lyle. “Besides, I was wanting to hear what’s been happening while you guys were gone. Mom told me that you were working for an internship now.”
Canvas chimed in with a smile. “Oh yeah! For that comic book company, right?”
Angela’s previously tense mood began to relax with a relieved smile on her beak. Hoping that the tone in discussion was able to change from that unwelcome reminder earlier, Jonas drew a deep breath to himself and stayed silent.
“Hey, it’s nothing that huge.” Lyle tried to dismiss Canvas’s happy attitude with a swipe of his claw, despite the small blush he had on both sides of his now smiling beak. “I’m mostly just making coffee for the staff and stuff.”
“Oh, don’t you lie to me,” said Canvas with a smirk while pointing a hoof at the teenage Gryphon. “Angela said that you actually helped them out with some character designs!”
Lyle whipped his head over at his Mother to gripe. “MOM!”
“Well, it’s true,” stated Angela with a smile on her beak. “You know, you really shouldn’t try to downplay your contributions over there. I might not like the story they’re doing, but the fact that you’re helping out really is something to be proud of.”
“So come on,” added Canvas in a more persuasive tone of voice, “I really want to know more about it.”
“It’s really nothing much, okay?” Despite the roll of Canvas’s eyes, Lyle shrugged as he tried to explain himself. “I just offered some character suggestions! I have no idea if they’ll actually use them! Besides, even if they did, I really doubt that you would want to read the end result.”
“Oh, and why not?” Canvas jeered with both brows raised at Lyle.
Lyle just returned the stare and said, “Because the comic they’re working on is part of the Scarred series, called Scarred: Equestrian Nightmare. And if I remember, that was the comic you refused to read more than one page of.”
Canvas reeled back from Lyle with a look of shock. Even though he knew from the letters that Lyle was part of a comic publisher that dealt with more mature stories, he wasn’t expecting a Gryphon his age to be a part of that particular comic. “Wait, really?! Like, are you even allowed?!”
Lyle shrugged again. “Technically, they’re not paying me, so they’re not breaking any laws.”
Blaze stopped eating and pointed a talon at Canvas. “Wait a minute. How do YOU know about those comics?! Aren’t they illegal here?!”
Canvas shuddered and tried to go back to his plate and ignore any bad memories of that comic. “Lyle brought an issue of it with him, and I didn’t listen when he told me not to read it. All I can say is that I can totally see why it’s illegal.”
Blaze, Blade, and Blane’s eyes all narrowed on the stallion. Blaze was the first to ask with a smirk, “Which scene was it that made you stop? The family on the beach?”
“Was it just one of the cover pages?” asked Blade curiously. “Because a few of those are pretty hardcore, mate.”
“Ooh!” Blane raised a claw to add, “Was it the nursery!?”
Canvas just winced, not even wanting to know the context of those events. Before any other guesses could be made, Lyle turned to the triplets and just said, “The dolphin.”
All three of the the Gryphons cringed and stopped asking. “Yikes,” muttered Blaze as he went back to his plate. “That’d do it.”
Angela huffed and threw her napkin on the table in irritation, “Okay, if we’re done trying to ruin our appetites, I think we have more things to discuss.” After taking a breath, she turned her head to Troy with a more optimistic smile. “Starting with what it was you wanted to tell us tonight?”
Troy took a second before his eyes widened in sudden realization. “Oh, right!” A smile grew on the silver Gryphon’s beak as he looked towards Canvas to ask, “You want me to tell them?”
“Of course,” said Canvas with a warm smile back at him. “It is your accomplishment.”
“Alright, fine.” Troy began to blush, and he looked back to the rest of his family to begin. “Well, you guys remember a few months back when I had that audition in Canterlot?”
Jonas looked up from his plate while his beak was half-full. “You mean the one you lost?”
Troy’s happy tone instantly dropped as he glared back at his Dad. “I didn’t lose. They just didn’t think I was right for the role.”
Jonas’s brows raised for a split second before going back to his bowl. “Potato, potahto.”
Troy just groaned and tried to get his announcement back on track. “Anyway, about a week after that audition, I found out that one of the ponies judging sent my details over to Manehattan, and I did some auditions over there.”
That statement grabbed the rest of the Clawstons’ interest. Troy’s smile grew more giddy while all eyes were on him. “And unlike in Canterlot, I actually got a callback for a particular show on Bridleway. So, if things go right on my final audition in two days…”
Canvas was bobbing up and down in his chair, with his muzzle tightly shut to keep from blurting anything out. Troy was almost squirming in his seat as well, and took a brief pause before announcing with a blush on his cheeks. “I very well could be the very first Gryphon to have a lead role in Hinny of the Hills!”
Lyle and Angela both gasped in surprise, and the rest just became wide-eyed. “Oh my gosh!” shouted Angela before she rushed out of her chair. While Tenor barked loudly and chased after the Gryphoness, she ran around the table to give Troy a celebratory hug. “Congratulations!”
“Holy crap!” shouted Blade with a wide smile at him. “That’s bloody awesome! You know how many Bridleway mares I banged?!”
Blaze scoffed while downing his beer. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure that one who was over three-hundred pounds really wasn’t the lead for Witches, dude.” While Blade huffed and glared at him, Blade finished his bottle and added towards Troy, “But that really is awesome! I mean, I want to say I’m shocked, but the whole ‘gay’ thing makes getting a Bridleway role seem kinda feasible.”
That made Troy’s smile falter momentarily with a roll of his eyes.
“Plus,” added Blane with his own beer raised towards Troy, “you can sing like a mother-bucker! If anyone can be the first Gryphon on Bridleway, it’d be you!”
Despite that middle comment, Troy’s thankful smile back grew back for the three when he saw that none of them were lying at all. Canvas leaned in towards Troy’s seat and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “I agree one hundred percent.”
While Angela went back to her seat, Jonas shrugged his shoulders and said, “Well, I gotta admit, Troy. That’s…”
His beak stayed shut for a brief moment, but Jonas eventually sighed as Troy turned his attention towards him. “That’s really nice to hear, son. Good job.”
Troy stayed frozen briefly, like he was waiting for his Dad to add something negative to his statement. However, nothing else followed that remark. Even though the grizzled brown Gryphon didn’t have much of an expression on his face, his eyes didn’t give any hint of dishonesty with what he just said. Because of that, Troy let out a quick breath and said, “Umm… thanks, Dad.”
Blane decided to ask again, “Okay, are YOU dying?!”
“BLANE!” yelled Jonas angrily with both claws hitting the table. Everyone else jolted, but luckily nothing was spilled or toppled over. “Can you quit asking that?!”
“I’m sorry,” blurted Blane sincerely with his claws up in defense, “but I’m kinda with Lyle here! You and Mom are acting really weird!”
Jonas sunk his head into his claws and groaned long enough to practically say he was getting too old for this. Angela sighed as well and turned towards him. “Should we just tell them?”
“Tell us what?” asked Troy curiously. His brothers also looked towards Angela, clearly wanting to know too.
Seeing how they were acting, Jonas dropped his claws as he sighed in a more relaxed-sounding tone. “Oh, why not?” He looked to his wife with a gentle smile and gave an approving nod. “We might as well say it.”
Angela chuckled lightly with a grin on her beak, and took a breath before getting a third helping of chili. “Well…” As she piled the chili and rice onto her plate, the Gryphoness carried a chipper smile while saying, “Jonas and I found out something earlier this month. And even though I wanted to tell all of you at the same time, I was a little worried since it’s so close to the wedding. So before I say anything, I just want to assure you all that we’re not trying to steal Canvas or Troy's thunder on their big day.”
Unfortunately, as soon as Angela put her plate back down in front of her, Blaze shook his head and scoffed in disbelief. “Damn, Mom! You’re getting thirds?! You never eat that much in one sitting!”
“Yeah,” added Blane with a huff of his own. “It’s like you’re pregnant again.”
Angela dropped her fork. Both she and Jonas became silent as they stared at Blane wide-eyed. After about three seconds of silence, Canvas loudly gasped and covered his muzzle with both hooves while staring at Angela. “Ohmigosh!”
Jonas slammed his claws even harder on the table and shouted, “DAMMIT, BLANE! YOU RUINED THE SURPRISE!!!”
The streetlights in Ponyville were shining brightly enough to completely illuminate the cobblestone streets. Because of that, Lyra and Bon-Bon felt quite safe as they walked side-by-side on their way back to their shop. Bon-Bon carried a content, albeit tired smile on her face as her head leaned in lazily against her wife’s side. “Mmmm… I’m really glad we had a night out to ourselves.”
“Yeah,” hummed Lyra in agreement as she nuzzled Bon-Bon sweetly. “We really need to make that a more common thing.”
“What are you talking about?” Bon-Bon lifted her head back up to stare at her wife with a baffled furrow of her brows. “This is the second night this week that we went out somewhere nice.”
“Well, to be fair,” replied the unicorn with a roll of her amber eyes, “that first time was to help make up for that argument we had a while back. This one was just to--”
A thunderous crash from Sugar Cube Corner made both mares quickly jolt and duck in cover. While they laid down in the middle of the street with their hooves over their heads, they saw a bright flash of pink zoom past them with the accompanying sound of an overjoyed, screeching babble of noise.
“BabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabybabyBAAAAABYYYYYYY!!!”
And just as quickly as she appeared, Pinkie Pie was out of sight and within the darkness outside Ponyville. Bon-Bon looked over at Lyra silently, mostly in confirmation that what they saw was real. Meanwhile, Lyra paused briefly before growing a sweet smile and going, “Awwww… someone’s having a baby.”
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I called it! Whoes the stallion? I'm the stallion!!!
I'm honestly really happy for them. I hope it'll bring the family closer together. C:
Wooooooo!!!!
pinkie isn't going to go well.
I know that feeling. I've had moments like that several times.
Wow... the soon-to-be mother-in-law is pregnant, DANG
pinky tho ....
7138952
I called it too.
For some reason I couldn't stop laughing at this.
I think they might give the baby to Troy and Canvas, but it's just a hunch.
I hope they'll end up with a girl this time. 5 boys can drive anyone up the wall. I'm surprised Jonas and Angela still have all their feathers attached.
7142092
Troy and Canvas would most likely give it right back.
Pinkie's scene was already funny, but Lyra's complete underreaction is what sold it.
7142213 Nvm, I just realized how awkward it would be to raise your own sibling. Oops.
Lol. Called it.
Is Scarred an actual comic? Cause it sounds familiar.
7149905
It's a reference to the Garth Ennis series Crossed (do NOT google it!).
7150908 Oh yeah, now I remember.
Is the dolphin scene real? Let's find out.
((Yes I have been warned, blah, blah, blah, if I'm scarred for life it is my own fault.))
Fuck...
Just... What the fuck!?
WHO ENJOYS THIS SHIT!?
7151139
7150908
Personally I hate shit like that. Violence for the sake of violence that ries to be more then it is to propose the creator warped world view. Not to say I dislike violence, but just gore porn shit with no reason or plot drives me banana's. Like Scarred or Hatred
Scarred offers no reason for its nonsense then that weird blister shit removing inhibition and is done under the assumption people are as horrible as the guys writing that garbage, and Hatred does nothing at all. Who is that trench coat, what's his beef? He's evil, so he does evil shit? IS THAT ALL?
The Mask, at least the original comic, is an example of a good violent comic, talking about this very thing.
Fuck, Walter, all by himself, is a fucker who'd have sent those Scarred pussies running.
7150908 I was so curious, I absolutely had to search it up. And holy crap, I saw the dolphin, as well as some other very stuffed up crap. Like daaaaaamn. I'm not offended since it's just a comic, but I must admit that it really isn't my kind of thing either.