Welcome Home, Dear...

by TheVClaw

Rating: teen
Tags: Thriller, Changelings, Royal Guard, Violence, Twilight Sparkle, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Romance
Length: 10552

Shortly after Troy and Canvas' wedding, but before the Changeling Kingdom was freed from the clutches of Queen Chrysalis, Troy found himself alone with his husband one peculiar day. Or at least, the pony certainly looked like his husband...

[Note: This story is my official entry for the 2023 M/M Shipping Contest, as well as an entry in my Brushed Away series before Canvas' Cutie Mark Mission.]

It was a perfectly normal day in Ponyville for Troius Clawston, who was enjoying the honeymoon phase of his newlywed status with no complaints. After he married the stallion of his life, as well as acquired the prime job of his dreams out in Manehattan, he couldn't have been happier as a gryphon in Equestria.

However, while flying home from some errands in Ponyville, he's informed of an emergency sighting of a rogue Changeling Drone in the area. He's given a Royal escort home for his personal safety, and promised to be reunited with his husband as soon as possible. But as soon as he's left alone, he realizes that he's not actually alone...

Published 2023-12-03 22:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2023-12-03 22:50:00 UTC

Lunch is Ready

“Aaaaahhhhhhh… Man, this never gets old…”

It may have been years since he first moved to this nation, but the sights never seemed to diminish in quality. The silver gryphon was soaring high above all the rolling hills and boundless fields, his yellow beak carrying a truly content smile. His wings were fully extended out, while the handle of his satchel wrapped tightly over his chest and kept the bag from falling off his back. Gusting winds were streaming persistently past his flickering ears, emitting a high-pitched whistle that he had grown all too used to. Fortunately, he didn’t need any goggles to see while his eyes were narrowed in focus.

With a careful dip downward, the gryphon lowered his altitude by a few dozen feet, just enough to get a better scan of the roads and landscapes down below. He was only a couple miles outside Ponyville, but he quickly recognized the road that led towards his home. His smile widened as he kept his wings steady, and glided with ease across the tranquil skies. For a moment, the gryphon wanted to close his eyes and savor this moment while taking a deep brea--

“HALT!!!”

A sudden, authoritative voice instantly broke through the silence, catching the gryphon off-guard and making him squawk in a panic. He jolted out of his head quickly enough to stop in his tracks, and was left hovering in midair with his wings flapping frantically. He looked around all wide-eyed while a couple feathers flung off his wings, and quickly took notice of a group of pegasi flying straight towards him.

“What the…” He narrowed his golden eyes on the group of ponies coming in, unsure who they were at first. As soon as he caught the distinct gleam of polished metal across one of the ponies’ chests, he immediately recognized them as being members of the Equestrian Royal Guard. It looked to be a small platoon of soldiers, or maybe a private security force, who came flying in a unified formation. The gryphon’s eyes widened in a panic, and he remained hovering in place without lowering altitude.

“Please remain where you are…” The guard flying in the lead was holding a large megaphone in his hoof, while all the others were carrying either spears or crossbows. The gryphon almost freaked out for a second, but tried to keep calm when he realized who was flying behind the militia. Princess Twilight Sparkle could be seen flying in the middle of her group of ponies, resembling an armed escort of sorts. Luckily for the gryphon, the Alicorn made sure to fly in close behind the Guard taking the lead.

“I know this one. That’s Troius Clawston…” Twilight tried to whisper that discreetly, but the gryphon overheard it from the closing distance between them. Nevertheless, he kept his beak shut with a worrisome look by the time he was approached by the group. The Guard gave his megaphone to one of the others, and flew up to Troy with a stern and unrelenting stare. Twilight stayed behind at a respectful distance, but made sure to give him a friendly wave and a smile. “Hi, Troy! Ummm, how was your honeymoon?”

“... Uhhhhh…” Troy blinked a couple times in puzzlement, but he didn’t want to pause too long after the Princess’ question. His eyes darted a couple times before shrugging his shoulders. “I-It was great! Heh heh heh… We… Canvas and I had a great time...”

“Mmhmm…” Twilight nodded with a light hum, and narrowed her eyes the slightest bit. “Hmmm… Troy, can you tell where that honeymoon was? Just for confirmation.”

“Uhhh…” Troy was left drawing a blank for a second, but he didn’t want to falter too long while several Guards had weapons drawn. He quickly reassessed himself and stated, “I-It was in Las Pegasus. At the White Pearl resort.”

Troy tried to give a genuine-looking smile, but he was sure that it looked nervous because of Twilight’s little “entourage” hovering around her. Despite that answer pleasing Twilight enough to make her nod with a knowing smile, her Guards were still staring at the gryphon with firm, distrusting stares that made him feel really uncomfortable. The head Guard got up closer to Troy, and spoke in a stern tone to catch his attention immediately.

“Troius Clawston, where exactly were you flying from?”

“... Ummm…” Troy blinked and glanced back at Twilight, who just shrugged with an apologetic wince and tried to mouth out, ‘Just go with it.’ The other Guards were all staring at the gryphon with their eyes narrowing more intensely. Troy tried not to stare at any of their weapons while keeping his sights on the pony before him. “I was… I was just flying back from Ponyville.”

“And how long were you in Ponyville, Sir?”

Troy clenched his beak with uncertainty, but only hesitated for a second before guessing, “Ummm… about a half-hour, maybe? I actually flew with my husband into town, but he needed to drop off some paintings at the post office, so I just got some groceries and was on my way back.” He motioned back to the satchel hanging from his shoulder, which was clearly full enough to look a bit heavy.

The Guard tilted his head, seeming a little perplexed as he scanned the gryphon up and down. “Hmmm… and this husband of yours?”

“H-His name is Canvas. He’s an Earth Pony, so I was planning to fly back into town after dropping off the food. Is… Is something going on?”

Troy tried to look back at Twilight for help, and saw her put out her hooves reassuringly. “It’s perfectly fine, Troy. We just need to make sure it’s really you.”

With that last emphasized word, Twilight caught the gryphon off-guard when she lit up her horn with a bright lavender hue. Troy gasped as he felt himself being encased in a partially transparent haze of the Princess’ magic, wrapping over him completely like a bubble made of smoke. He almost yelled out in a panic, but the magic only covered him for a second or two before giving a bright flash. The aura was removed immediately after, with Twilight sighing in relief with a more natural smile. “Okay, it’s fine! No cause for alarm…”

The guards all sighed with equally gracious looks, but they all kept their weapons tightly drawn while circled around their Princess. Troy was no longer seen as a threat, but he still felt a bit confused while facing the group in midair. He tried his best to process what was happening when he asked, “Uhhh… should… Should I be worried or something?”

“No! I promise you’re perfectly fine…” Twilight proved that point by flying right up to him, and even giving him a hug in assurance. Troy was a little surprised at first, but was fine with hugging her back; after all, it had been a couple months since the wedding, and it was nice seeing her again. Regardless, Twilight pulled back and revealed a more serious look. “With that being said though, I would highly recommend that you head straight home, okay?”

“Ummmm… Okay? But I…” He tried to point a talon behind him. “... I feel like I need to ask what’s going on.”

One of the Guards tried to lean in and say something, but Twilight kept a hoof extended to shut them up. She took a second to process the gryphon’s point before shrugging her head. “Well… I’ll tell you what I can, but only if you promise to go straight home and stay there. Do you understand?”

Twilight tried to say that in a casual way, like a friend recommending a new cooking technique or something. However, Troy could tell that the Princess was trying to make herself insistent without resorting to any Royal Orders. He looked behind him briefly, but decided to just close his eyes with a reluctant breath. “Ughhh… Al… Alright fine…”

He turned back to her and stated, “I promise I will head straight home and stay there. Now what is going on?”

“There have been reports of a Changeling seen in the area, and we have reason to believe it’s hostile.”

Troy’s eyes widened in a panic. “WHAT?! You me--”

“And we are doing our best to maintain this issue and resolve it without any panic.” Twilight’s interruption was accompanied with a very strong glare that shut Troy right up. He looked around just long enough to see the Guards all staring broodingly, obviously taking this just as seriously as the Alicorn. The gryphon understood well enough, and sighed before giving a quick nod.

“R… R-Right, right… Sorry, I won’t say anything.”

“Thank you,” she said with a thankful, albeit very brief smile. “At the moment, we’re hoping to search through Ponyville first and branch out through there. I’ll have a couple of my Guards escort you home, and I promise I’ll have Canvas flown there after I find him in town. Will that be alright?”

Troy turned his head to see if he could see Ponyville from the distance; unfortunately, due to that gargantuan crystalized tree-castle thing that the Princess made a while back, the town was basically under its shadow off in the distance. A worried huff escaped his beak, but he had to hope that his husband was alright in such a populated area. When he looked back at the ponies, Twilight kept a sincere look that he knew well enough to trust.

“Hmmmm… well, I… alright then…” Even though he would’ve preferred to just head back to town with Twilight’s escort to retrieve Canvas himself, he knew he couldn’t justify asking that. Not to mention, his and Canvas’ home was only a short distance away. So after giving a hesitant nod, Troy reached out with a claw so he could shake Twilight’s hoof. “I’ll do just that.”

Twilight held onto his claw and said with utmost sincerity, “And I’ll get your husband, safe and sound.”

That was enough to make Troy smile weakly, and he allowed a couple of Twilight’s Guards to escort him away. While Twilight and the rest of the troops flew off in formation, the gryphon was led off in the opposite direction by two near-identical pegasi. Neither of the stallions said anything, but that was probably for the best while Troy flew between them with a tightened beak. He had no idea what could’ve been happening back in Ponyville, but he tried his best not to let that overwhelm his head with countless unnecessary thoughts.

The three eventually reached Canvas and Troy’s home, which stood out quite prominently against the forests and apple fields all around. While it may have originally been an old barn previously owned by the Apple family, it had since been turned to a brightly-decorated art studio for Canvas’ work. Various patterns and mural pieces were splashed all over the exterior walls, making it look like something a hippy would call their dream smoke-spot. Both of the Guards could be seen looking at the barn with peculiar stares, unsure what to think of the home’s deafeningly loud presentation; meanwhile, Troy easily landed back on the ground and waved up to the pegasi above.

“Thanks, guys!” He pulled out the key from his bag, and unlocked the front barn doors for them to see. “Alright, I’m good! You can get back to Twilight now.”

The Guards nodded and waved him off, not waiting for him to open the door before flying away. As the two ponies disappeared, Troy turned his head so they wouldn’t see his panicked look while exhaling shakily. His claws were shaking while fumbling with the door handles, but he managed to open one of them up and slip inside in a matter of seconds. He slammed the door shut behind him, and re-did all the locks to keep himself secure. Only after the last chain lock was in place, Troy closed his eyes and breathed out calmly. “Aaaahhhhhh… There we go…”

He turned around, and blinked a couple times to try and adjust to the darkness of his husband’s art studio. Despite it taking up literally half the barn’s interior space, the studio itself was fairly packed with stacks of canvas boards and paint cans scattered all around. And with the lights turned off, Troy had to carefully side-step past the countless tripod stands covered with tarp like he was going through fake display ghosts. “Ugh… Darnit, why doesn’t he use those hooks I got him for his birthday to hang these out of the way…”

He slowly waded his way through the studio, eventually making it past Canvas’ couch and gaming system. The combined scents of several paints and other chemicals lingered in the air, which only made his beak skew the tiniest bit in discomfort. Troy almost didn’t notice the large, burly Saint Bernard who was sleeping soundlessly across the worn cushions. The gryphon was able to avoid the massive drool-puddle he left on the floor, and even stepped past him without flagging up either of his ears. In fact, the dog seemed to be out like a light by the time Troy reached the partition wall separating the studio from the living space. He was just about to reach down and grab the doorknob, but froze when he looked upward.

Since the wall only went up halfway, Troy could see a lot of light coming from the other side in the living space. He tilted his head in confusion, since he could’ve sworn that he and Canvas turned off those lights before leaving. But after blinking a couple times, Troy shook his head with a scoff. “Oh, come on,” he muttered to himself, “Don’t get all paranoid…”

Troy opened the door, and walked into the living space without a second thought. He undid the satchel from his bag, and went to place it on the dining room table. However, even with the bag being clutched in both claws, Troy’s body froze up before he could let it go. He stared down at the table wide-eyed, where two placemats and silverware had already been set up…

“What the…” Troy couldn’t even blink. All he could do was stare at the setup, knowing for a fact that neither he or Canvas did that. The table was empty when they left earlier that day.

Right at that moment, the kitchen door opened up.

“Oh! There you are, honey. I almost didn’t hear you come in…”

Troy turned his head when he heard that unmistakable voice. In most instances, he would’ve been thrilled to hear his husband after coming home from a trip in town. But in that moment, all that the gryphon felt was a strong, undeniable force of tension that locked his heart up like a vice. His throat tightened up, and his pupils shrunk when he looked over at the open doorway.

“Hey, honey~” A teal stallion with a shaggy chestnut mane smiled cheerfully, even while a streak of flour was smeared across the bridge of his muzzle. He was also wearing his specially-made pink apron, which had a cartoon pig on the front and the words ‘Rub This Pork!’ in bold letters underneath. Troy was completely silent, and stared the stallion up and down with his eyes unblinking.

Meanwhile, the pony went up to the table, and took the satchel before walking right up to the gryphon. “Oh, lemme get those for you! Just sit down, and I’ll have lunch ready in a minute…”

Canvas smiled up at his husband warmly, and leaned up to give him a sweet little peck on the beak. Troy was frozen in place, and barely opened his beak by the time he felt the pony’s lips against him. The taste and feeling were unmistakable, and instinctively made his heart race with a superb warmth that made his feathers ruffle. But as soon as the stallion pulled back, that warmth was replaced with an intense briskness radiated out from the back of his spine…

“...C-Canvas?” Troy was left in a stunned stupor, his voice barely heard after the pony turned away. He disappeared back into the kitchen, which gave Troy just enough time to silently gasp and clutch his chest. He had no idea what was going on, but he had multiple red flags going off at once. The gryphon looked back at the open doorway to the studio, and used a tail to carefully close it shut before Tenor could wander in. He then peered back at the now closed door to the kitchen, and breathed out slowly with unease.

‘Okay… Okay, don’t panic… Don’t assume anything right away…’

Troy was thankful to keep his thoughts silent, and he stood in the middle of the living space with his eyes darting around. He tried to see if anything was amiss, but the home as a whole appeared untouched since he and Canvas last exited together. There didn’t seem to be any signs of a break-in, but that meant little when he knew how often the windows were left unlocked. And right now, it was fairly hard for the gryphon to guess whether or not today was one of those days.

He heard a faint humming coming from inside the kitchen, along with a familiar sizzle from something cooking on the stove. Troy could smell bacon clear as day being prepared on the skillet, which usually would’ve made his beak water by pure instinct. But despite that comforting aroma, his tongue felt like sandpaper behind his tightly-clenched beak. He took a glance over at the coat-rack by the door, and his eyes widened by the lack of any of his husband’s supplies.

“Hey, Troy?”

His heart nearly shot up into his throat to make him choke. Troy knew that he shouldn’t have been so worried, but being escorted by Royal Guards certainly made any assumptions worth confirming. In that moment, he realized that the Guards he just waved away were now long gone, leaving him completely alone. Alone with his sleeping dog in the other room, and his… stallion… in the kitchen.

“... Honey?”

That stallion who was still waiting for a response.

“O-Oh! Ummm… Yeah, hun?” He tried not to cringe internally, unsure whether or not that term sounded natural in his head. He knew that Canvas wouldn’t have second-guessed it, but it didn’t stop his mind from overplaying several different options already. Regardless, he managed to breathe out somewhat calmly and ask, “What… W-What’s up?”

Troy carefully walked past the kitchen door while it was closed, and tried to keep a casual tone of voice to avoid any awkward silence. Regardless of what was going on, Troy didn’t want to accidentally be rude or concerningly quiet around his husband. He went over to the record player, and glided his talon across the stack of vinyl sleeves carefully arranged in the shelf. Of course, his head was turned so he could keep a stern, wide-eyed stare on that door.

“So, did you get an escort back home by the Guards too?”

The kitchen door reopened, with Canvas poking his head out to give a sympathetic pout. “Geeze, how the heck did they let you keep your bag? Mine was confiscated for ‘decontamination.’ Was that a real thing, or did I just get robbed or something?”

Troy blinked a couple times, his beak open for a second. Even though he hadn’t been able to prepare any questions, that response seemed to answer a few that had popped into his head. He narrowed his eyes on Canvas, and asked, “Wait, you… You got stopped by Guards too?”

“Yeah! I wasn’t even finished shopping in town, if you can believe that…” Canvas rolled his eyes with an upset-looking scoff, and returned into the kitchen before the bacon could burn. “Ugh! I swear, as soon as you flew away, a bunch of Guards came in to scan us and check for that Changeling threat. I was lucky enough to get an immediate escort home, but I had to give up my bag to do it.”

“Wow, I uhhh… I wouldn’t have guessed that…” Troy was left temporarily confused, and he had to look down at the ground and collect his thoughts. First impressions alone, that sounded like a perfectly feasible excuse for Canvas to be back home right now. Not only did he confirm that he was in town with Troy just previously, but he already knew of the Changeling threat too. In an effort to keep his composure in check, he reached for a random record from their embarrassingly thorough ‘Talon Ripper’ catalog. “Yeah, I uhhh… I was actually stopped by Twilight Sparkle on the way home. It was--”

Troy froze for a second, his eyes widening in an instant. He realized that he met Twilight Sparkle when he left town. Twilight was on her way towards town, with her personal Guards behind her. Wouldn’t that mean she’d be the first to arrive? If so, how did Canvas meet up with the Guards before him? Or was it a different group at the same time…

Troy wasn’t sure how long his mind wandered off, but he realized his beak was still open without anything coming out. It was then that he also realized that he had taken an album out of its sleeve, and placed it inside the player without even reading the title. His claw was holding the needle tightly, while the player slowly stirred to life and spun the record around. He tried to close his beak when he turned his head, and kept what he hoped was a casual look on his face.

That was when the sound of distorted voices and fake sound effects came from the album, beginning the song that just so happened to be called… ‘Swarm’

He wasn’t sure if it was his choice of music, or his expression that was causing the pony to narrow his eyes on him suspiciously. Either way, he glanced over at the record player with a surprised pout and his brows raised. “... Huh. I don’t think you listened to that in a while…”

He paused long enough to give a light shrug, and then took that moment to place Troy’s satchel back on the table. “Well, I guess that explains why you still got to keep your bag. If Princess Twilight Sparkle herself was there, she likely would’ve been able to check it herself. I mean, who better than the pony who officiated our wedding?”

Canvas walked back to the kitchen once more, leaving Troy to stand with a claw tightly clutching the back of one of the wooden chairs. The record player was thankfully low enough to keep that thrash metal from blasting at full-force and endangering the gryphon’s eardrums. But still, with his head so close to one of the speakers, the thundering drums and piercing guitars made it hard for him to discern all the things he just heard.

“Just wait right there, honey! I’m almost finished in here…”

Troy needed a moment to compose himself, but slowly breathed out before walking back to the table. He carefully looked inside of his satchel, and didn’t notice anything missing or out of place. Aside from the groceries Canvas took already, all that was left was the gryphon’s personals, like his wallet and water bottle. And considering how briefly the pony had it inside the kitchen, there wasn--

‘Wait! My wallet!’

Troy reached inside his bag and pulled out his wallet. It was a simple brown, leather-made piece gifted to him by his Mom last Hearth’s warming. His Equestria and Gryphon Kingdom IDs were prominently displayed in the clear plastic window-slots, allowing anyone to read that info just by unfolding the wallet. And in a separate, fold-out slot that contained multiple photographs, the very first one was his and Canvas’ Wedding photo. Both of them were smiling in their matching suits, with Twilight Sparkle standing between them beneath the altar…

‘Okay, so… Is that why he mentioned her officiating? Was it because he saw that picture while rifling through my things? Wait… when did he call me by my name? Was that before or afte--NO!!!’

Troy clenched his eyes and shook his head. He put down his mag and wallet, and leaned against the table with his head hung low. He took a second to get himself together, desperately trying to avoid becoming paranoid. Was it weird he mentioned that detail just after being alone with his wallet? Was there any reason for him to assume that Canvas did something?

‘Is that really Canvas?’

Troy covered his face with a claw to hide his panicked wince. He was thankful that the kitchen door was closed, but he could only assume that a pair of eyes could easily be on him from somewhere. He dragged his talons down his face with a long, silent sigh while his beak was clenched tightly shut. The music may have been loud enough to hide his voice, but the tension still felt as genuine as being trapped in deafening silence.

“S-So! Ummm…” His eyes widened in shock, but he tried to accept the fact that his beak just uttered that comment out-loud. Canvas was in the other room preoccupied with cooking, and he was calling him out like he didn’t need more time to prepare. Prepare for… well, he wasn’t sure, but something. Right?

Before he knew it, he breathed out and heard himself ask out-loud, “When did you get back here? Because I… I’m kinda surprised that you got home before me…”

His heart shot up to his throat, but the record thankfully didn’t scratch or skip after that question. Nevertheless, there was an awkward veil of silence from the kitchen for a second or two after Troy made that point.

“... Well, they put me in one of those chariot-cart things. You know the ones, right? A couple pegasus Guards agreed to fly me back here so I could get lunch started.”

“O-Oh, ummm… Okay, yeah…” Troy nodded his head blankly, even though there was no way for the pony to see it through the door. He blinked a couple times and clenched his beak, needing a moment to think while the death-metal kept playing. He wished he could just stop the damn song, but that might make things suspicious. All he could do was take a couple breaths, and ponder that detail as logically as he could.

Do the Canterlot Guards have chariots to fly around ponies who don’t have wings? Sure, of course they do. And do they use those carts to transport civilians back to their homes, even in emergency situations? Perhaps, with exceptions maybe. But would a single stallion, who likely was one of many stuck in Ponyville miles away from home, be able to get a personal escort back without any issue? And from some other Guards that Troy didn’t see back in town, or during his flight here?

Wait, wouldn’t he have seen the chariot being flown around too?

His head darted back to the studio door for a second, but he thankfully didn’t hear Tenor stirring from his sleep yet. Even with the rich scent of bacon wafting in the air, the gryphon only heard the faint, blubbering wheezes of the dog’s breaths through his droopy muzzle. Troy almost huffed in amusement, since the sound of bacon sizzling alone would’ve gotten him up and… wide awake…

He blinked a couple times, now feeling a newfound sense of concern that hit him like a brick. He slowly walked back towards that doorway, making sure to step carefully and avoid making any noises. Troy kept an eye on the kitchen door when he reached out and turned the knob, successfully reopening the studio door as quietly as he could. When he poked his head back inside, he was grateful to see Tenor’s outline on the couch still moving in that dark, comforting shadow. There was even a visible pool of the Saint Bernard’s drool seeping down from the couch and leaving a puddle on the hardwood floor. The gryphon’s eyes followed the sloppy droplets that went from that puddle towards the dog bowls nearby; the water bowl was nearly empty, but strangely enough the bowl of dry kibble seemed to be untouched.

“Huh?” His head tilted worriedly. Canvas and Troy have definitely had their hooves and claws full with Tenor over the past year, but he wasn’t completely unpredictable. If there was a bowl of food available, the canine would devour it in seconds and leave nothing but slobber and a few half-chewed clumps behind. And with more of that delicious bacon scent drifting in from the kitchen, the fact that Tenor wasn’t even twitching was liable for concern. “What the…”

Before he could reach in to nudge Tenor awake, or try smelling the air more distinctly for anything other than paint, his head jerked back when he heard the kitchen door opening up. The aqua pony was still smiling when he trotted out with two plates balanced on his back. One had a simple dandelion salad, while the other was of two freshly-cooked grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches with a hooffull of pretzels on the side. Troy poked his head out of the studio by pure instinct to stare over at the plate; despite his stomach feeling like it was twisting into a knot, he couldn’t deny how good that lunch looked.

“Hehehehe~” The pony giggled with a light blush and rolled his eyes. “Should’ve known that’d get you…”

Canvas placed both plates on the table, and then went over to the record player when the song was finishing up. “Hmmm, would you mind if I played something different? I’m not sure how well your brother’s metal works with digestion, y’know?”

Troy blinked a couple times, his beak slightly agape in contemplation. “Uhhhh, s-sure, yeah…” He was grateful to have answered that quickly, since his head was still drawing a blank by the time he nodded. He tried looking around the main living space, mostly to see if there were any visual clues that would’ve led to that fact being obvious to anyone other than Canvas. But aside from a couple family pictures on the walls, nothing seemed to give suspicion to the pony’s remark.

‘Wait, how common knowledge is that? I mean, there are some ponies who know Blade is my brother, right? Or is that too obscure…’

Troy gave one last glance back in the studio, and breathed out silently with a worried wince before closing the door. He didn’t want to leave Tenor completely alone in the dark, but also really didn’t want him awake during this… whatever this was. While Canvas changed the records around, Troy kept a blank expression and went to sit himself down. His beak was watering a bit from the smell coming off those sandwiches, which helped to make his smile appear more genuine when he said, “T-Thanks for making this, babe.”

“No problem~” After getting the needle in place for the spinning record, Canvas walked over and kissed the gryphon on the cheek. Troy shivered a little with a heavier blush, but kept his smile sincere when new music began to play. While it may have not been the thrashingly unsubtle death-metal Troy played on a whim, the tone still felt unnaturally chaotic with Canvas’ odd selection. However, Troy also knew that his husband had just purchased that album earlier in the week, so it wasn’t too odd to decide to play it now…

“So, ummm…” Troy picked up one of the sandwiches with both claws, but he didn’t take a bite. Instead, he paused long enough to wait for Canvas to sit down across from him. The pony raised a brow when he noticed Troy wasn’t eating, which made him hesitate as well. That was when Troy quickly pointed over at the kitchen door. “Oh! Uhhh, lemme get us some drinks! One second…”

Since Canvas didn’t get any beverages from the kitchen, Troy used that as the perfect excuse to put down his sandwich and get up from his chair. The pony got up at nearly the same time and tried to intervene. “Now, wait a minute! I made lunch, I might as wel--”

“Exactly!” Troy interrupted his husband and skirted right around the table before another word could be said. “Y-You just made lunch! I’ll be right back, don’t worry!”

Troy managed to avoid looking back and seeing the stallion’s face, although he was sure his exit was setting off multiple alarms. Regardless of whatever Canvas was or wasn’t, he knew that his excuse was sloppily hasty. He practically stumbled into the kitchen by how frantically he pushed through the door, nearly skidding on the linoleum floor. He collected himself well enough to remain standing rigid; but after a sudden breath, he could hear Canvas getting out of his seat to check on him.

“Hey, are you alright? I thought I he--”

“I-It’s okay! It’s okay, I swear… I’m alright.” Troy breathed out as sharply and silently as he could, while his eyes remained wide-open and pointed at the door. A couple seconds of silence passed, which felt deafeningly longer to the gryphon’s heightened senses in that moment. The sound of a couple hoofsteps came up closer to the door, each one slightly louder than the last. Troy could barely hear it over the thundering in his chest, even while holding his breath. He hoped that the stallion wouldn't just barge in; but at the same time, Troy had to keep himself from feeling so guilty about it. After all, this was supposed to be his husband…

‘It… It has to be… It has to be Canvas, right?’

The kitchen door opened up, and the pony’s head poked in with a slightly worried stare. “Uhhh, is everything alright, dear?”

“Mmhm!” Troy luckily remembered to exhale while giving that instinctual response. While his head nodded without any conscious decision on Troy’s part, his tail reached out behind him to grab hold of the refrigerator door’s handle. The tan tuft of fur may have not looked too dexterous, but it provided more than enough grip to easily open the fridge without a single talon to be raised. Although, the gryphon made sure to motion back to the open fridge with his thumb while forcing a smile. “Y-Yeah, lemme just… g-get something from in here…”

He turned around to lean his head inside the fridge, hoping that it would be an adequate excuse to hide how uneasy he was looking. But as soon as the fridge’s bright lights hit his vision, he wasn’t able to wince from the discomfort when his eyes shot wide-open. He just turned his back to this pony. This “pony”... who may or may not be a--

“Nnnnghh! O-One sec…” Troy breathed out hoarsely, and hoped more than anything that his frustrated grunt didn’t come out too audibly. He may have had every right to be worried, but he also had no way of knowing whether or not this was even warranted. For all he knew, he could’ve been acting all paranoid and untrustworthy in front of his real husband right now. And while that might be understandable in retrospect, he had to worry about what damage this could cause to their relationship if he ended up being dead-wrong.

“Uhhh…” To avoid stalling too obviously, Troy reached over and grabbed a bottle of brown mustard from the fridge’s side door. “You uhhh… you want any sauces?” While waiting for a response, Troy tried not to shudder when he heard the kitchen door opening up a little more. The hoofsteps came into the kitchen, now just a couple feet behind him. Troy tried to keep his thoughts clear, but that was easier said than done when he knew exactly how many knives were within range of the pony’s hooves right now. His eyes darted across the other contents inside the fridge, just so he would be prepared for any answer.

On the top shelf were a jug of milk, and most of a six-pack of Equestrian Lager that Troy received as a gift from Big Macintosh for helping with cow herding the other week. Below those on the middle shelf were a near-empty carton of eggs, next to the fresh unopened carton that Troy just brought home, and a jar full of bacon grease and a glass vial. The bottom shelf was basically packed with cans of cola and pineapple juice, so it was easy enough to--

‘Wait, what was that?’

His eyes veered back to the middle shelf, and he reached out to carefully turn the glass vial around so the label could be seen. It was obviously something medical-grade, with a blocky black text against a white background to read ‘Xylazine’ clear as day. He blinked his eyes, having sworn he heard that name before somewhere. Regardless, he was more alarmed about the fact that he never saw that bottle before. He wanted to say that Canvas wouldn’t have seen that bottle either, but that was complicated when the pony was literally right behind him.

“Oh, I’ll take the ranch, please…” Canvas shrugged with a chipper smile, and hummed to himself while scanning the drink options. Troy could sense the pony’s presence as being much closer than before, despite not hearing enough hoofsteps to warrant the change in distance. Nevertheless, Troy made sure to snatch the half-empty bottle from the door and place it on the counter too. All the while, he tried to keep his head pointed away from him without suspicion. He averted his eyes briefly enough to see if anything else was needed from the sauces, mostly to stall the tiniest bit longer. But as soon as he looked away from the shelf, his ears twitched upon hearing an odd… twinkle of some kind. Almost like…

… like a magical aura.

Troy whipped his head back all wide-eyed, but froze when he saw the main contents of the fridge once more. The glass vial was gone. Just… gone. It was no longer there, like the gryphon had imagined it. He blinked a couple times, but that didn’t change the fact that it basically disappeared. A shadow could be seen moving past the inside wall of the fridge, which made Troy quickly yank his head around to see what was happening behind him.

“Hmm?” Canvas was standing upright with his head tilted, seeming slightly puzzled by his husband’s frazzled state. His eyes darted back and forth before he reached out a hoof for the ranch dressing. Troy tried not to veer his eyes down to any of the other hooves, although it would’ve been hard to accuse anything when none of the forelegs were moving. Canvas slowly brought the bottle back to his chest, while slowly narrowing his eyes on Troy. “... are you sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah, sorry. Ummm…” Troy turned back around to face him directly, the fridge door still open behind him. With the added illumination from the fridge’s interior light, a distinct gleam caught the gryphon’s eye. Just behind the pony, nearby the door where the kitchen counter ended, there seemed to be a few faint, black marks skidded into the linoleum floor. Troy also saw a couple distinctly-spaced scratches just along the bottom of the wall; it was only two or three scrapes, but they each had two or three parallel scratches within them.

“... I just got kinda p… p-paranoid, I guess…”

He wasn’t sure why he said that out-loud, but it made his heart nearly skip a beat from the sheer panic. His eyes darted back at Canvas, whose expression didn’t change in the slightest. That was, until a second or two passed before one of his brows raised amusedly. He then gave a carefree smirk to the gryphon, and huffed like that concern was just a joke. “Pbbt! Oh, come on, Troy… I promise you, I’m one hundred-percent myself. In fact…”

The stallion grew a more distinct grin across his muzzle, while his eyes narrowed on Troy more seductively. He took a couple steps forward, catching Troy off-guard and leaving him stunned in place. With the fridge still open behind him, he was basically trapped behind the appliance while Canvas got up close to his face. The pony didn’t show much subtlety when he perked his brows up at him and purred out, “I could easily prove it’s me physically if those Guards scared you so badly~”

“A-A-Ahhhh…” Troy tried to pull back while his eyes were averted. He winced and stopped himself, his eyes shut with involuntary remorse. In that split-second of hesitancy, the gryphon cringed when he saw the shadow of the pony’s head yank back so suddenly. When he finally did gaze back at him, the stallion was looking a little offended with his eyes wide-open. Troy hissed through his clenched beak and tried to hide his shame behind his ruffled cheek-feathers. “... s-sorry, I uhhh…”

Canvas’ face dropped rather abruptly, revealing a flat stare that matched his miffed voice. “... Seriously?”

“H-Hey, come on! I just talked with Twilight Sparkle herself five minutes ago!” Troy sighed and closed his eyes tightly. After exhaling long enough to drag his claw down his face, he took a breath and attempted to explain himself more calmly. “L-Look, I… I’m really sorry I pulled back like that. I ju--MMMPHH…”

Canvas didn’t wait for the rest of that apology, and took advantage of the gryphon’s open beak while his eyes were closed. Troy went wide-eyed with his pupils shrunken in an instant. While he stood petrified in place, the pony wrapped one of his forelegs tightly around the back of Troy’s neck. He held him firmly for nearly ten seconds straight, full-on making out with him with surprisingly intense passion. As if the sudden ferocity wasn’t jarring enough, Troy was unprepared for how long and intrusively the pony’s tongue plunged inside of his beak without warning. He tried to pull away, but all he could do was let out a muffled grunt around those enlocked lips. “MmmmMMMmmphhh…”

Canvas had his eyes closed the whole time, but they reopened with a lustfully half-lidded gaze when he finally finished. He still had a hoof around Troy’s head, and took his time when he pulled back from his open beak. Troy could barely move an inch, which may have been a silent blessing since it hid any strong shudders from his body. Meanwhile, the stallion seemed quite confident in his abilities when he raised one of his brows and asked, “So… You really think another pony could do that?~”

“Uhhhh…” He could barely even look at Canvas directly, but he felt compelled to continue facing him like it was a motion-activated trap. He was worried if he even pulled his sights away for a second, something else may disappear like that glass vial from the fridge. He hated how quickly he was second-guessing everything, but Canvas’ behavior was throwing him through some fairly big hoops. His eyes began to sting a little as he tried not to blink with those blue orbs peering back at him. “... d… d-didn’t you want to have lunch--”

‘Mmmrrrrmmmmmphhhhh…’

Troy’s deflection was interrupted by the sound of a low, but gutturally-strained murmur from outside the kitchen. Even with the closed door and partition wall in the way, Troy’s ears twitched when he overheard the Saint Bernard’s tired groan. The stallion whipped his head for a second, not seeming to realize how easily the gryphon could see his face from his higher angle. He only turned away from Troy for a second after hearing Tenor, but his face appeared… angry somehow…

… really angry.

“Nnnghh…” After letting out a soft exhale, Canvas softened his expression before turning back to his husband. “Hmph~ Of course the dog wakes up to the smell of bacon. You might wanna get back out there before he eats it all up!”

“Ha, ha! Heh…” Troy nodded with a forced smile, and hoped that his laugh sounded natural enough. Both of them could hear more whimpered groaning from Tenor, and then a muffled ‘Whump.’ The dog had fallen off the couch; and judging by the sounds of scraping paws, Tenor was struggling to get a grip on the hardwood floor. Troy saw the pony’s eyes darting away again, which made him clear his throat to both their surprise. He tried not to gasp when the stallion glanced back at him, but his open beak provided a counter when he pointed back to the fridge.

“Let me, uhhh… let me get my drink. Heh heh…” He blushed a little from how long it took him to get that damn excuse out of the way already. He couldn’t even look away from Canvas, who narrowed his eyes on him quite distinctly. Because of that, the gryphon reached back without seeing where his claw was going, and eventually clutched something cold and made of glass. He instantly recognized it as one of those beers from Big Mac, and sighed in relief upon slipping it out of the cardboard sleeve. He smiled timidly when he held out the bottle, letting Canvas see his choice for himself.

“Ahh, good choice~” The pony nodded with a smirk, before peering down at the other selections for a second. “Yeah, I don’t blame you for needing a beer this early. I dealt with just as much stress today.”

“Yeah, that’s… true…” His eyes widened before blinking a couple times. He looked down at the beer in his claw, and then back to the fridge. The sound of Tenor’s groaning became a bit louder, as did the frantic scrapes of his paws. A split-second thought entered the gryphon’s mind, which he tried his hardest not to reveal through his expression. He didn’t wait to second-guess the swift movement of his other claw, which reached into the fridge to grab another beer. “Actually, that’s a good point…”

Canvas was just about to reach down for one of the sodas, but he paused and glanced up at Troy’s second selection. The gryphon smiled and held up the other beer, like he was beckoning Canvas’ interest. “... you wanna join me?”

Time felt like it stood still for those next few seconds, leaving Troy in a deafeningly long bout of silence that lingered in his head like a tumor. His beak was thankfully closed already, so he was able to lock it shut in anticipation without the stallion seeing. He knew exactly what he just offered his husband, but he didn’t let his statement sound out of place in the slightest. If this was any other day, the pony would’ve likely asked if Troy was dropped on his head for even suggesting a beer. But in this particular case, Canvas just blinked a couple times with his muzzle skewed through a brief hum. “Hmmmmmm…”

The stallion looked away just long enough to glance at the clock on the wall. “... well, it is past noon…”

With that, the stallion shrugged and turned back to Troy with a smile. He happily took the beer from his claw, and used a free hoof to easily flick the cap off with a sharp hiss. Troy’s eyes shot wide-open, but the rest of his face remained still while he uncapped his own bottle. He managed to let out a relieved huff as he shot him a smile, and held out his bottle. “C-Cheers…”

The pony held out his own bottle to tap the tips with a distinct clink. “Cheers~”

Troy kept his eyes dead-set on him, even as he leaned his head back and began to pour into his open beak. The stallion, still smiling innocently, brought the bottle to his lips and took a hearty swig.

Outside the kitchen, Tenor’s groans paused long enough for him to take a couple breaths. In that moment of silence, Troy’s pupils shrunk at the sight of “Canvas’” throat easily guzzling down that alcohol without any personal qualms. He didn’t even look disgusted by the taste, and gave a satisfied sigh when he pulled the bottle away from his muzzle. “Aaaaahhhhhh~ That’s the spot…”

If the pony had looked up at Troy right then, he would’ve noticed the look of pure fear and unbridled realization in his eyes. However, the stallion’s ears perked up before his head could, just as they heard Tenor’s paws stumbling across the floor.

‘... woof woof woof! Wmph… WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!!’

‘BANG!’

Troy overheard the studio door crashing open, and the full weight of the Saint Bernard as he stumbled into the living room. His hectic barking sounded slightly slurred and groggy, which instantly made Troy realize where he heard that name on the vial he saw.

‘Xylazine… that’s… that’s tranquilizers.’

The pony turned his head with a more disgruntled grimace, looking straight at the kitchen door separating them from Tenor. The dog was barking louder with each struggled breath, most likely coming out of unconsciousness. Troy’s throat tightened up, as did the grip on his beer-bottle. His eyes widened when he felt his body, once again, taking full control away from his panicked and overwhelmed mind…

“Ugh! I swear, that dog shouldn’t be up so--”

‘SMASH!!!’

Troy nearly had a heart-attack when he saw how he physically reacted. He felt like a terrified spectator watching someone else overtaking his body, doing what he never could’ve done to the love of his life. Tears instantly welled at the corners of his eyes when he threw his right claw out at full-force, making sure to collide his bottle directly against that pony’s cheekbone. He knew deep-down that it wasn’t really Canvas, but it didn’t make the sight of it happening in slow-motion hurt any less.

The stallion was caught completely off-guard, with the beer bottle exploding across his face with extreme prejudice. Sudsy ale and broken glass erupted out from around the gryphon’s outstretched claw, going off like a homemade claymore right in his husband’s face. In that imposter’s face…

… Troy desperately hoped.

The strike happened in less than a second, and Canvas fell to the ground in a sudden thump. He landed in the middle of that pool of beer and broken glass, with a couple droplets of blood already trickling off his face. The blood expanded out across the beer, turning from red spots to pinkish blotches that slowly disappeared across the yellow-tinted floor. The stallion groaned with both hooves clasped tightly over his face, and he laid in a fetal position as he took a deep breath.

“... AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!”

The sound of Canvas’ shrill, overwhelmingly-pained cry snapped the gryphon’s heart in half. His knees buckled under his weight, and his defenses faltered enough for him to fall to the floor as well. He was thankfully away from the broken glass, but knocked over many of the fridge’s contents when his wings hit the shelves. One of his claws reached out shakily, but he held himself back while the stallion wailed out in pain.

“GNNNAAAAAAHHHHHH!!! Mnnnnnnnghhhhhh… T-T-Troy, whhhHHYYYYYYYYY!!!! WHHHYYYYYYYYYYY?!?!?! AAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!”

That piercing cry made tears instantly spill down Troy’s face. He couldn’t even look at the pony he hurt without hesitation, and he dropped the rest of his broken bottle. He threw both claws up to his face, and began to sob hoarsely through his talons with unbearable regret. He couldn’t even process the full-fledged barking that was echoing through the house, with Tenor absolutely freaking out.

‘BARK! BARK BARK!!’ A swift push of his paws threw the kitchen door open, just long enough for the dog to be seen for the first time awake. His eyes went wide-open in a panic, and his paws skidded against the floor as he tried to rush in to help. However, his nostrils flared out quickly enough to make him stop prematurely, and he let out a scared-wounding whimper. After looking over at the crying gryphon, he only needed a single glance at the bloody pony before going into alert mode.

‘WOOF!!! WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!’ Tenor barked violently loud at the pony, knowing the same thing Troy already discovered the hard way. The Saint Barnard was hunched in a defensive stance, and tried to get up beside Troy while growling at the intruder. His teeth gritted with drool seeping down his snarling maw. “RRRRRRRRRRRRGHHHHHHH…”

Troy’s teary eyes peered through the gaps in his talons, seeing the primal fury and instinct in his dog’s protective glare. Tenor wasn’t hindered by his emotions, and was growling murderously and ready to strike. Troy tried to pull back and get away from the fridge, not wanting to corner himself before his hu… not his husband…

“Hmmmghh…” His beak skewed badly, and he couldn’t look away from the pony he left crying all bloodied on the floor. The stallion was still groaning in pain through his clutched hooves, while his hind-legs tried to lift himself back to a seated stance on the floor. Troy was just about to open his beak and say something, even though nothing could come to his mind; but in that moment, all three of them overheard several knocks from the front door.

“Hello? Troy, are you there?” Princess Twilight Sparkle’s voice could be heard faintly through the wall.

“It’s me! I got Canvas out here with me.”

In that moment, Troy was able to finally stop crying.

“Can you come to the doo--”

“HEEEEELLLLLLPPPPPP!!!” The gryphon leaned out as hard as he could to hit his head against the kitchen door and push it open. As soon as it swung out on its two-way hinges, Troy screamed out at the top of his lungs, “HE’S HERE, HE’S IN HE--”

He suddenly felt a tight, chilling sensation that locked around the back of his neck. Several feathers were yanked right off his skin, but enough grip was taken with that aura to yank Troy out of the doorway. Just before being thrown to his back, he could only watch as a bright green aura of magic took hold of Tenor’s whole body. The massive canine was lifted off the ground with disturbing ease, and barely had a moment to move before being thrown across the kitchen. ‘HOOOOUUUU!!’

‘WHUMP!’

Tenor was tossed away from his gryphon with a painful yelp, and hit the wall hard enough to knock the wind out of him. Troy tried to lunge out for him, but a pair of familiarly teal hooves wrapped tightly around his chest from behind. It may have been “Canvas’” voice growling in his ear, but it sounded far more enraged and animalistic than anything Troy had heard from that muzzle. Blood was trickling down the stallion’s snarling face, while he glared down at Troy and kept his horn brightly lit.

“Yoooooouuuuuuuu…” Despite keeping Canvas’ appearance, he wasn’t hiding the chitinous black horn protruding from his forehead anymore. It was lit up to illuminate the whole kitchen in a ghastly green hue, while a couple strong auras went around the doorway and windows. The gryphon gasped and tried to thrash out of his grip, but he felt his throat suddenly clasp around his intruder’s aura. He instantly lost the ability to breathe. His eyes bulged open, while his claws reached down to grasp those forelegs. His talons sunk in without thinking, and were met with immense resistance just before cracking open like a lobster’s shell. He suddenly felt an immense, gushing warmth that made his claws and forelegs hot and wet at the same time. In response, the fake pony reeled his head back with his horn sputtering in luminosity. “GNNNNAAAAAHHHHHH!!!”

The changeling cried out in a high-pitched, insectoid hiss that matched the fangs that emerged in that enlarged maw. He was still trying to maintain his appearance, but his eyes glowed an ominous shade of green to further ruin the facade. With the magic temporarily removed from the door, they could hear the thunderous crash of wood crashing open.

“WAIT RIGHT THERE, WE--”

Twilight’s voice was cut off when the magic was brought back around the door. Troy squeezed his claws even tighter, not realizing how badly he pierced into both of the chitinous hooves to make them bleed out in a dark green ooze. The changeling cried out even louder and thrashed in his grip, but he didn’t try gripping Troy’s throat again…

Instead, the changeling grabbed hold of Tenor’s half-conscious body, and dragged him back towards him and Troy…

Another aura of green magic grabbed a knife from the counter as well.

“HUUUUHHHH!!!” Troy gasped and tensed up, deciding in that moment to let go of the Changeling’s hooves. His hind-legs wrapped around the changeling’s waist, but he still tried to lunge out for Tenor while keeping the intruder in place. All that did was leave the gryphon vulnerable, and he was thrown down face-first to the floor. He splashed against the puddle of beer, and he felt several parts of his torso and face sting in pain from the broken glass. He groaned out with his beak wide-open, but could only thrash against the ground while the changeling grabbed hold of Tenor.

‘CRASH!!!’

The kitchen door broke open in a sudden magical blast, the changeling’s magic not protecting it as well as he thought. Two of Twilight’s Guards rushed in with their crossbows drawn, startling Troy enough to not notice the kitchen window breaking as well. More Guards took defense at the other exit, trapping the changeling in place. Unfortunately, he already got himself up against a corner with the Saint Bernard wrapped around his hooves, and a kitchen knife against his throat.

“Troy?! TROY?!” An identical pony pushed his way through the soldiers, and got into the kitchen briefly enough to gasp in horror. The real Canvas got a good look at his imposter, whose snarling fangs and exposed horn remained exposed to make his appearance utterly terrifying. His pitch-black, hollowed hooves grasped Tenor without any give, and the stainless steel couldn’t be seen beneath that thick tuft of fur. Canvas fell to the floor with a heart-shattering gasp. “AAAAHHH!!”

“LET ME GO OR I KILL THE DOG!!!” The changeling’s raspy, distorted voice jeered out in a menacing growl, but it didn’t deter the Guards’ stares in the slightest. They kept their weapons drawn, which just pissed him off even more. He reeled back with Tenor in his grasp, making the dog yelp out again, and trashed hard enough for the blade to risk causing serious harm. Troy and Canvas were left utterly helpless to stop anything, with the gryphon still magically pinned and his husband behind the Royal Guards. The bug clutched his knife even tighter, eliciting another squeal from Tenor before he growled out, “I’LL KILL IT RIGHT NOW!!! LET ME LEAVE OR--”

‘Thunk!’

The changeling froze for a second, and his eyes blinked a couple times in instant silence. The fake-blue eyes turned to the natural compounded ones between blinks, just before a gust of bright green flames engulfed his entire body. In an instant, the fake Canvas was brushed away to reveal the lone changeling drone sitting in the corner. Unbeknownst to him, a small syringe was still sticking out of his neck.

“... Mnnnnghhhh… Nnnnnnffff…” His compounded eyes blinked a few times erratically, and his head twitched back and forth like his brain was short-circuiting. His hooves weakened in a matter of seconds, before the knife fell to the floor; thankfully, there didn’t appear to be any blood on the blade. Tenor was quick to slip out of the chitinous grip with a couple panicked yelps, right at the same time Troy was let out of that forceful green aura. The changeling remained sitting upright for only a moment more, his muzzle agape long enough to mutter one last comment when his magic gave out.

“... hhhhh… h-h-hooowwwww…. How did you…”

That question couldn’t be finished, and the changeling fell over to hit the ground face-first. After his ungraceful slump, a couple seconds passed before everyone overheard some soft snoring. Twilight Sparkle used her magic to pull the needle out of his neck, and also grabbed the vial of tranquilizer nearby. She sighed with a pensively bitten lip when she walked into the kitchen.

“Is everyone okay?” The Princess slowly looked around the room to scan the surroundings. Blood and broken glass was scattered across the floor, while the fridge was still open with everything cluttered around. The kitchen was left a complete wreck, but not as badly as the gryphon still hunkered on the floor. He didn’t even realize the real Canvas was back until he felt the pony hugging him dearly.

“Oh, Troy!!” Canvas clutched his eyes shut and cried in his husband’s embrace. Tenor whimpered and tried to lean in between the two, needing just as much consolation as either of them. Troy took a couple sobbing breaths upon feeling their shared warmth, and fresh tears streamed down his face once more. But unlike the ones that had spilled earlier, these were accompanied with a strong hug as he grabbed Canvas and Tenor in both claws.

The three remained in that tight hug for a while, with the stallion and gryphon sobbing in an intense mixture of trauma and relief. Twilight Sparkle made sure to keep the three within a sound-bubble of her own magic, while her Guards safely apprehended the changeling’s unconscious body. While the criminal was floated out strapped on a gurney, a pegasus Guard came up to the Princess’ side with a clipboard in his hoof.

“Yeesh…” He winced with a sympathetic skew of his head while looking between his notes and the damaged family. After a pained huff, he asked Twilight, “So, uhhh… what’s the protocol here, your Highness?”

“Well, first of all, I need to get Troy and Canvas into some trauma counseling as soon as possible.” After that point, which made the Guard shrug without complaint, the Princess sighed when she looked back at the three. Even in their soundproofed space, she couldn’t imagine how safe they’ll feel after the events that just transpired. Troy was clutching to both his husband and dog with all his might, his whole body quivering and unable to let them go.

“... but…” Twilight took a moment to remember who she was talking about, and breathed out to show a more optimistic smile. “... if I know them, I know they’ll be alright.”

“Hmmm… I certainly hope so…” The Guard tried not to sound too dismissive, but he couldn’t help looking around with a cringed look. Seeing the damage left all around, he asked one last question when he turned back to the couple. “Huh… So, like… how did he know it wasn’t his husband? I mean, I heard of five other couples in the area who got hit by that thing before this one fought back. Was it because he was a gryphon or something?”

Twilight didn’t roll her eyes to that assumption, but she still sighed with a light shake of her head. She smiled down at Troy and Canvas warmly and said, “No…

“It was because he knew who he loved.”

The End