Walking out of the train station with the stallion in tow, Rainbow Dash was surprised to finally meet Canvas's father. While she wasn't as close of friends with Canvas as she was with Troy, the mare was still surprised to not know much regarding the pony's family.

Looking back at the stallion, Rainbow could see a resemblance between him and Canvas, although it was rather difficult to tell through all the wrinkles and the sullen tone on his green face. Despite her attempts to start small talk with him, he didn’t seem to be very talkative and kept his gaze away from the Pegasus. Hoping to at least get some semblance of life from him, Rainbow stopped as she turned back to him, keeping an optimistic look on her face.

"So… what's your name?"

The stallion looked back to her for a second before looking away, speaking in a somewhat nervous tone of voice. "My… my name is Copper Fields."

Rainbow's face scrunched in a little as she tried not to giggle. "Copper Field? You know, if you say it right, it kind of sounds lik--”

"Yes, I'm very aware,” said Copper bitterly. "Like I haven't heard that one before."

Even though she was wanting to at least chat with Canvas's dad, Rainbow pouted a little as her eyes narrowed on him. "Dude, I'm starting to get sick of your attitude, alright?"

"Well, I'm not here to socialize, okay?"

Copper's tone was starting to get more upset as he talked with the Pegasus--the annoyed look on his face showed that he really meant what he said. Sighing, Copper put a hoof to his temple as he closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down before he spoke again.

"I'm sorry, I just… I just wanted to talk to my son."

Rainbow Dash sighed before she continued flying forward, keeping a slow pace a few feet off the ground while Copper walked on the ground by her. Looking at the stallion, Rainbow was growing more and more curious about him. She couldn’t recall one time when Canvas ever mentioned his Dad. Wanting to know more, the Pegasus hovered ahead of him as she started flying backwards, keeping him in her sights as she began to chat.

"So… you're Canvas's dad, right?"

Knowing this mare wasn't going to let up, Copper sighed before he nodded to her. "Yes, Canvas is my son."

"Alright… so, how does it feel knowing your son is painting for Princess Celestia?"

Copper bit his lip while blinking a few times, exhaling heavily as he looked back to his saddlebag. Looking rather saddened before he turned back to Rainbow, Copper tried keeping his composure as he spoke.

"I… I don’t know what to say. I…”

Looking down to the ground, Copper stopped walking as he breathed in deeply, while Rainbow hovered while looking at him. Noticing that Copper was looking especially bad right now, Rainbow landed back on the ground, walking up to him before he spoke again. Not sure of how to react, Rainbow only stood silently as Copper's voice came out in a faint whimper, like he was having difficulty speaking the words coming out.

"I… couldn’t be happier for him."

Hoping she wasn't going to be dealing with some sobbing stallion in the middle of town, Rainbow stepped back to avoid any random hug or something. Keeping a concerned look on her face, Rainbow spoke in a slightly curious tone as she kept her attention on Copper. "Are… are you okay, dude?"

"Yeah, yeah, I’m fine,” said Copper as he kept his gaze to the ground. Breathing in deeply one more time, the stallion looked back up to Rainbow Dash before he spoke again in a shaky tone. "I just… I haven’t talked to him in months."

Rainbow's eyes widened a little as she looked at Copper, remembering what happened to Canvas when he first came here. While she wasn't around when Troy found him, or when Twilight got him to the hospital, Rainbow Dash still knew how bad of a state Canvas was in when she filed he reports for the Weather Division. She only saw him a couple times when he was still unconscious in the hospital, but she knew that Canvas was hurt pretty bad before he got here.

And after hearing from a few ponies that a hate crime may have been the reason for the stallion's injuries, Rainbow's gaze on Copper became more cautious as her eyes narrowed on the green stallion.

"Hey Copper,” said the Pegasus in a more stern tone, "do you happen to know what happened to your son?"

Copper's eyes widened with worry as his face became paler, looking concerned as the mare kept her stare on him. As he shakily breathed out, Copper cleared his throat a little before responding, "I… I don't know what happened after he left town."

Looking away from the mare, Copper looked even more morose as he bit his lip again, causing Rainbow to grow more worried before he continued to speak. "Was… was it bad?"

Blinking a few times, Rainbow Dash was a little shocked to hear Canvas's father ask a question like that. Considering that he was supposed to be family, the Pegasus didn’t expect Copper to be unaware of how bad his son's situation really was. Keeping his worried gaze to the ground, Copper waited until Rainbow answered, as she spoke in a stern tone with slight disbelief.

"Yeah, it… it really was. He was in the hospital for like, two weeks because of exhaustion and stuff. He also had a shattered eye socket."

Copper shut his eyes and pulled hoof over his mouth, trying to hide his shame from the mare as he kept away from her gaze. Seeing how saddened the stallion looked at hearing that, Rainbow Dash stepped closer as she continued in a worried tone of voice, "How… how could you not know that? I mean, have you tried contacting him or anything?"

Keeping his hoof to his mouth, Copper slowly looked back to Rainbow with a troubled look in his eyes, not wanting to answer any more questions. Even though she was wanting to know more, Rainbow figured by how disturbed Copper looked at hearing about Canvas that he probably didn’t know anything about it. Biting her lip, the mare figured that she could try helping the guy out, thinking it might be good for the two to catch up.

"Don’t worry, I'll help you out. I think I saw Canvas arrive in town anyway."

Copper lowered his hoof as he kept a cautious gaze on the mare, looking rather surprised an Element of Harmony was willing to help out.

"Re… really?"

"Well, sure,” said Rainbow in a more upbeat tone of voice, "it looks like you really miss him, so I might as well."

Even though he still kept a troubled frown on his face, Copper slowly nodded to her as he looked down to his hooves on the ground. "Yeah, I… I really do."

Before the mare could try to learn more about Copper Fields, the sound of a loud “whoosh” came over them and the figure of a lavender alicorn came into view. Landing on the ground somewhat gracefully despite her lack of experience, Twilight Sparkle wiped some dirt off her hooves and addressed Rainbow Dash.

"Rainbow, are all the storm preps done for the north? Troy just got done with the south section a couple minutes ago."

"Seriously?" said the cyan mare in a stunned tone of voice. "How did he get that done so quickly?!"

Seeing Twilight's insistent stare as she waited for an answer, Rainbow Dash sighed before she replied, "Yeah, I just finished the north end."

Noticing Copper still next to her, who was suddenly looking more worried as he looked away from the Princess, Rainbow turned back to the lavender pony and pointed to him. "I was just talking with this guy a little bit. He said he's Canvas's dad, so I figured I'd help him out a little."

Hearing Rainbow's statement, Twilight Sparkle's eyes narrowed as she stared at the green stallion before her. Remembering how Celestia looked when she asked her about Canvas, the alicorn felt especially concerned as she now looked at one of the pony's parents. After seeing first-hoof how horrible the pony looked that night, one of the biggest questions Twilight had was where Canvas's family was when he was attacked.

Keeping her gaze on the stallion, who was growing paler while looking away from her, Twilight's eyes narrowed even more before she spoke in a serious tone of voice.

"Sir, are you Canvas's father?"

Copper only looked back to the Princess for a second while keeping his head away, nodding a little while he struggled not to shake in his hooves. Knowing how powerful the alicorn was, Copper hoped to high heaven that she wasn't aware of anything involving him and Canvas. Seeing his nod, Twilight stepped in closer to Copper as she spoke to him.

"Sir, I want to ask you some questions about what happened in Gallop Creek."

Now looking as white as a sheet of paper, Copper was visibly shaking as he turned his head back to the Princess, his rapid breathing coming out extremely shakily as he realized she knew something. Seeing how wide-eyed and scared the stallion was, Twilight's stare on him became more concerned before Rainbow put out a hoof.

"Twi, are you serious?" said the cyan mare as she looked at her with disbelief. "He just got into town, and you're going to ask him about that? I mean, he hasn’t seen his own son in months, for crying out loud!"

Seeing how disappointed Rainbow Dash looked about her suspicions, Twilight stepped back slightly, still keeping her gaze on Copper as she addressed her. "Rainbow, I saw first-hoof what happened to Canvas. I just want to know what happened to him that night, and I figured his father might know more than we do."

Seeing how the Princess was practically glaring at him, Copper bit his lip as he reluctantly kept eye contact with her, not wanting to look away and risk being turned to a pile of ash from her magic. As he breathed out quickly, Copper slowly sucked in more air through his nostrils as he closed his eyes, hoping he wouldn't get killed as he spoke. "I… I just wanted to--”

Before the stallion could say anything more, a loud gasp caught attention of all three of them. They turned to see Canvas next to the street corner a block away. Looking over at them, the aqua pony stood wide-eyed in terror before running off.

Before Canvas's saddlebag full of groceries could hit the ground, Copper rushed out towards him, pushing the two mares to the ground as he frantically ran toward his son.

"CANVAS!!! CANVAS, WAIT!!!"

As Copper ran off, calling out for his son, Twilight Sparkle quickly got back to her hooves and pulled herself off the ground alongside Rainbow Dash. Seeing that the cyan mare was only slightly dazed, Twilight shot open her wings as she flew off, hoping to catch up with Copper.

At hearing Twilight soar off without her, Rainbow Dash quickly got herself into the air as well, trying to figure out what the hay was going on.

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Troy was more than happy to get his job done so quickly. He perched himself atop a streetlight to catch his breath. Looking up to the grey skies above Ponyville, the Gryphon felt pretty proud of himself for getting everything done in such little time.

As he finished off his water bottle and tossed it in a nearby trash can, Troy began unbuttoning his Weather Patrol vest, wondering where he could find Canvas in town. Before he could lift his wings back up and surprise his coltfriend, the sound of several ponies speaking up in the distance caught Troy's attention.

While most of the noises he heard just amounted to ponies yelling “Hey!” or “Watch it!” Troy realized something was going on by the Market District. He repositioned himself on the streetlight. Just as he was about to fly up and investigate, a burst of Rainbow's trademark technicolor trail zoomed past him before stopping.

Seeing Troy looking at her, confused, Rainbow Dash shot back to him as she said frantically, "Troy, something happened! Twi and I need your help!"

"What happened?" asked the Gryphon as he got off the streetlight and began hovering in front of the mare. "What's going on?"

Before the cyan mare could reply, Twilight flew up to the two with a worried look on her face. "Rainbow!" shouted the alicorn with a slightly hysterical tone. "I lost him! Did you see him or Canvas anywhere?"

"What happened to Canvas?!” shouted Troy as he grabbed Twilight by the shoulders.

"I don’t know!" said the Princess as she managed to get his claws off of her. "Rainbow Dash was talking with some pony who said he was Canvas's father, an--"

"WHAT?!!”

Moving back a few feet from both mares, Troy hovered for a second with wide-open eyes before he shot off, flying toward the Market District instantly as his vest and several feathers flew off of him.

As they both hovered there, stunned for a moment at how fast the Gyphon moved past them, Rainbow was the first to move and flew off after him. Hoping she could find them, Twilight lit her horn and vanished from her spot in a flash of purple light, hoping her teleporting skills could prove to be better at finding Canvas or Copper.

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Shooting himself above the streets of Ponyville, Troy scanned the ponies underneath him as he tried to find Canvas. Because of the upcoming storm, there were far fewer ponies around the market district than usual. However, that didn't stop Troy from hearing the commotion going on from ponies up ahead.

Flying toward the source of the noises, Troy's eyes widened as he saw Canvas running through the crowds of ponies, pushing past them and looking absolutely terrified as he galloped as fast as he could. Before he could swoop down and get Canvas to a safe place, Troy noticed the green stallion running after him, running at just a frantic pace as Canvas as he yelled out to him.

"CANVAS!!! Canvas, please, I just want to talk!!"

As Troy saw the stallion for the first time, his pupils slowly began to shrink in, making his golden eyes turn into flaming orbs of pure intensity as he focused on Canvas's father. After knowing about what happened to his lover that night, and all the months he'd spent wanting to murder the bastard who almost killed him, Troy's glare turned to one of pure fury and hatred as his talons clenched together at the sight of him.

While Troy was usually a nonviolent Gryphon, nothing would've been able to keep his blood from boiling at the sight of Copper Fields. His body shot forward like a torpedo straight at the stallion. Ready to rip apart the pony limb-from-limb, Troy only saw red in his sights as he flew at Copper at full speed.

"Canvas, please listen to me! I'm no--"

Before Copper could finish his frantic plea to his son, his front hooves gave out as he fell to the ground, feeling something grabbing his hind-legs with a death grip. After he skidded on the dirt for a few feet, Copper looked back and saw a huge Gryphon holding him in place, looking at him with pure, murderous rage as his talons dug into him tighter.

Frozen by the sight of a Gryphon that looked like he was about to kill him, no words were able to come out of Copper's mouth before Troy pulled him back. Holding onto his rear hooves, Troy swung Copper's entire body in the air like a sack of potatoes before he directed the swing straight at the wall of a building.

Swinging the green stallion like a baseball bat, Troy made sure Copper hit the brick wall as hard as he possibly could, letting every ounce of rage inside of him come out as he felt the stallion's body smash against the wall. As Copper's head hit the ground after that brick-shattering impact, Troy kept a death grip on his hooves and looked down to the stallion that almost murdered the love of his life.

Before Troy could think that he killed the pony--which he honestly wouldn't have minded at that moment--Copper coughed up a large amount of blood and tried to breathe again. As stars danced around Copper's head, the stallion was sure that impact broke something as he felt the entire left side of his body throbbing in pain. Even though he was sure Canvas got away from both of them, Troy had spent too many nights thinking about the stallion to just fly away now.

Gripping Copper by his shoulders, Troy flew the both of them above the market district, holding his body like a limp bag as he shot towards the clock tower. Before Copper could realize he was now several hundred feet in the air, his body smashed against the side of the clock tower as Troy held him with his claws.

Digging his talons into Copper's shoulders deeply enough to draw blood, Troy kept his bloodthirsty glare inches from the stallion's face as he pinned him against the wall. Not noticing the small crowd of ponies underneath staring in horror, Troy bent in closer to Copper's face before he spoke, his words coming out as cold and severe as they possibly could in a venomous tone.

"Stay… Away… From… Canvas."

Copper coughed up more blood from his lungs as he tried to speak, not realizing his left eye was already swelling from his impact on the brick wall. Not wanting to get gored or dropped by the murderous Gryphon in front of him, Copper sputtered out his pleas as frantically as he could.

"P-p-please!!! I-I just wanted t-t-to talk with Canvas!!! I'm his fathaahh--"

Copper's words were immediately cut off as Troy's talons went around the stallion's throat, squeezing his windpipe shut as he kept him suspended over a hundred feet in the air.

"I KNOW EXACTLY WHO YOU ARE!!!" shouted Troy as he yelled inches from Copper's face, gripping him tighter as he heard the pony gasp for air. "I WAS THE ONE WHO FOUND HIM! I WAS THE ONE WHO GOT HIM TO THE HOSPITAL BEFORE HE COULD DIE!I WAS THE ONE WHO GOT HIM BETTER AFTER WHAT YOU DID TO HIM!!!"

Seeing the stallion's face begin to turn purple from the lack of oxygen, Troy's eyes narrowed on Copper as he kept his grip, channeling all of his hatred into his words as he looked Canvas's father directly in the eyes. No longer yelling, Troy's words came out as dark and chilling as he could, making sure Copper heard everything he was about to say.

"I should break every single bone in your pathetic body right now… After seeing what you did to Canvas… what you did to your own child…”

Troy moved his face in less than an inch from Copper's, staring right into the stallion's terrified eyes as he spoke as venomously as possible.

"You don't know how many nights I imagined slitting your throat."

Before Copper could pass out from suffocation, Troy removed his claws from the stallion's throat and grabbed him by the hooves again, stretching him out against the wall like he was being crucified. As Copper gasped for air, Troy kept his deathly gaze on him before speaking in an intensely murderous tone.

"If you ever, get near Canvas again… If you ever, put a hoof on him again…”

Troy peered in closer to Copper's face, making sure the pony was looking directly into his golden eyes as he completed his statement.

"If you ever, do anything, to hurt Canvas any more than you already have… I will find you. I will find you, and I will hunt you down like the animal you are..."

Gripping the stallion's hooves as tightly as he could within his talons, Troy's forehead was now touching Copper’s as he stared him down, pinning him against the clock tower while he spoke in the coldest tone of voice.

"… And I promise you, by everything that I hold dear to me...

“I...

“Will...

“Kill you…”

Seeing how intensely Troy was staring at him, Copper was shaking in pure fear as he saw that the Gryphon meant every single word. Even though the stallion was less than a second from soiling himself, Copper stayed frozen at the spot as Troy slowly pulled his head back, still glaring as the Gryphon said one final statement.

"You have two seconds to get out of town right now. And I never, ever, want to see you get near Canvas again, you scumba--"

Before Troy could complete his statement, a pair of cyan hooves grabbed the Gryphon by the shoulders, pulling him back while he still had a grip on the stallion. Flailing Copper around like a ragdoll, Troy could hear quite a few screams from the ground as he tried to get the Pegasus off his back and struggled to keep his weight in the air. Dropping several dozen feet before he could regain his balance midair, Troy struggled to keep holding on to Copper while Rainbow Dash tried to hold the Gryphon down.

"Put him down!” shouted Rainbow as she had her hooves wrapped around Troy's neck. "You're gonna kill him!"

After one more sudden turn in the air, Copper's hooves slipped through Troy's talons, making the crowd of ponies on the ground scream out in horror as they saw him plummet to the ground. Luckily, the drop wasn't nearly as high as it was when Troy pinned him against the tower, allowing him to fall into a nearby pile of garbage without killing him.

While the fall wasn't fatal, it was still painful. As Copper pulled himself from the bags of garbage underneath him, his torso and legs ended up particularly bruised from the impact. Even though several ponies rushed up to him to see if he was okay, Copper pushed them all aside as he bolted down the street, galloping as fast as he could in the direction he saw Canvas head off.

Seeing Copper still able to run, Troy's rage built up even more as he struggled to fly after him again, despite Rainbow Dash pulling at his hindlegs to get him to stop.

"Troy, what the buck is wrong with you?!” shouted the mare. "You need to stop acting li--"

"HE'S GETTING AWAY!!!"

With one last adrenaline-fueled burst, Troy pulled himself free from Rainbow's grip and shot ahead. Before he could move ten feet, Rainbow Dash appeared again in front of Troy, using her hooves to push against his chest as she yelled at him.

"Troy, get a grip on yourself!! I talked with him, he's just tryi--"

Using his claws, Troy grabbed Rainbow Dash by the shoulders before throwing her to the side, stunning the mare long enough for the Gryphon to get a second head start. Despite going a little further this time, Troy didn’t seem to notice the Pegasus as she flew up toward his side.

Using her quick reflexes, Rainbow Dash delivered a strong kick to the side of Troy's face, sending him crashing to the ground against the wall of a house. Even though the drop wasn't enough to seriously injure the Gryphon, it was still hard enough to make Troy stay still for a moment, trying to shake his head clear as Rainbow got up to his face.

"Don’t you EVER throw me like that again, you hear me?!”

Not caring about the mare's aggression towards him, Troy tried rushing past her as he saw Copper in the distance. Even though he was fueled by enough rage to kill a thousand Changelings right now, Troy was still unable to get away from the cyan mare as she pushed him against the wall. Extremely enraged by Troy's behavior, Rainbow Dash was just about to snap as she tried putting some sense in the Gryphon, who was still thrashing against her to get to Copper.

"Troy, I will seriously have you fired if you don't stop this right now!!"

"HE'S GOING TO HURT CANVAS!!!" screamed Troy as he thrashed harder, making the Pegasus look even more confused as she tried to keep him in place.

"What the hay are you talking about?! Do you even know who that guy is? He's Canvas's dad, for crying ou--”

"WHO DO YOU THINK BEAT HIM UP?!?!"

Looking right into the Pegasus's face as he screamed that last part, Rainbow's eyes widened in shock, not realizing her grip on Troy loosened immensely. Taking his chance, Troy pulled himself free in an instant as he shot off, leaving Rainbow Dash to stand at her spot absolutely stunned.

Even though she was usually confident in the worst situations, Rainbow was visibly shaking at that moment. She put a hoof to her mouth in the realization of what she just heard. Frozen in front of the wall, mortified with the shame of actually helping out somepony who would do something like that, Rainbow Dash didn’t notice a flash of purple light appear a few feet from her.

Twilight Sparkle immediately started looking around. "Darnit, this isn’t working!"

Seeing Rainbow Dash next to her, Twilight turned her attention to the mare, not noticing how devastated Rainbow looked at first as she tried to speak to her. "Rainbow Dash, were you able to see them anywhere? Do you know--”

Twilight slowly stopped speaking as she looked at Rainbow Dash, seeing how horrified the Pegasus looked as she stared forward at the wall. Realizing her friend was there, Rainbow slowly turned her head as her hoof stayed over her mouth, her eyes wide open in shock.

Turning to the alicorn, Rainbow Dash stood speechless for a moment, trying to recompose herself after unknowingly doing something for a pony like Copper. Still shaking slightly, Rainbow was starting to worry Twilight. The cyan mare slowly opened her mouth before speaking in a cracked voice.

"We… we're in trouble."

Next Chapter: Chapter Forty-Four: Confrontation (Part 2) Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 30 Minutes