Just outside the Ponyville town limits, dozens of ponies (as well as a few gryphons) were occupied with setting up everything for Troy and Canvas’ wedding ceremony. Even though there were several different choices for where the venue could’ve been, including by the pond where Troy’s first home in Equestria was, the couple eventually decided to have it set at a seemingly unexpected place. The field was a beautiful shade of green due to the early summer weather, and the blue skies were flawlessly clear courtesy of the storm teams, but the place itself seemed fairly random for the couple to choose. However, the reason Troy and Canvas picked this open field as their spot to marry was more sentimental than anything else, if not slightly morbid.

Of course, since the bush was long removed by the side of the road, it would’ve been hard for anypony to realize this was where Canvas was first found by his soon-to-be husband.

Nevertheless, the preparations still continued with little hesitation or questioning. The chairs were already set up, and the last of Blane’s floral arrangements were being meticulously prepared around the borders and the altar. Meanwhile, the gryphon himself was managing the operation while staring between the clipboard in his claws, and the florist ponies who were getting everything organized around him. Rarity wiped some sweat from her brow as she came up to him with a satisfied smile. “Well, it looks like we got the last of the lilies set up around the outside. Also, Roseluck and Daisy are just about finished with the decor on the altar.”

“Awesome!” Blane checked off the completed details from his board with a pen. “At this rate, we might get finished earlier than expected!”

“Oh, I wouldn’t get too cocky,” jeered the unicorn with a small smirk. “We still need to get the champagne glass arrangement organized, go over the guest lists to make sure everypony is in attendance, and then Twilight would still want us to triple-check all the lists to ensure everything is up to par.”

“Ugh, don’t remind me,” groaned Blane bitterly while rolling his eyes at that last detail. “I mean, I get Twilight is a Princess and all, but that girl is WAY too uppity about approvals and stuff! You should’ve seen how badly she flipped her lid when she saw the deep-fry station we were setting up at the reception!”

Rarity blinked a couple times in silence, but her eyes were still particularly wide as she stared up at the gryphon intensely. “Blane… what is a deep-fry station?”

“What, you never heard of it?!” Blane stared down at the mare in surprise and put down his clipboard. He rolled his eyes with a groan before saying, “Oh, it’s friggin’ awesome! Like, you have this giant vat of cooking oil, and a guy who’s making sure nobody gets too close to it. All you gotta do is bring whatever it is you want cooked, and the guy’ll dip it in this big thing of batter and deep fry it for you! It’s like, the ultimate way to cook things!”

Rarity’s eyes were now the size of dinner plates, and her clenched muzzle made it look like she was just seconds away from strangling Blane with her magic. After letting out a deep and shaky exhale through her nostrils, the unicorn’s left eye twitched when she finally opened her mouth and asked, “B-Blane… Would you mind explaining to me why that idea came to your head?”

Blane stared back at Rarity in confusion, not seeming to notice the distinct venom that was coming from her tone during that question. “Uhhh… Actually, Blaze came up with the idea. And Canvas was really into it because of the idea of deep-fried candy bars. So we--”

A high-pitched groan from the back of Rarity’s throat was enough to interrupt Blane, and she turned away while feeling like she was about to have a stroke. The gryphon wasn’t sure what the issue was, but he could hear Rarity mumbling between her agitated growls. “Dee… Deep-fried candy bars… At a wedding... And pizza as the entreè…”

Blane grew a goofy smile and unwittingly responded with, “Yeah, I know! It’s awesome, right?”

Rarity shot back around with a psychotic look in her eyes. “BLANE! I--”

The unicorn quickly stopped herself, and gritted her teeth while pulling away from the surprised-looking Blane. After taking a deep breath, Rarity began to walk away as she said, “I’m sorry, but I… I think I need a drink right now…”

Before she could disappear to someplace completely out of earshot of him, she overheard the gryphon shout out, “Aww, come on! It’s not that bad!”

After the mare left the venue, Blane huffed and muttered to himself while glancing back at his clipboard. “Maybe she should deep-fry whatever’s up her butt.”

Meanwhile, Rarity trotted over to a different spot of the field, where the reception was being set up. Most of the tables for attendees were already out and being arranged, and Gilda and Greta were busy setting up the cooking and heating elements for the long serving table (including the deep-fry station). A stage was being built at the furthest end, with several burly ponies getting the sound equipment prepared for Blade’s band. Two tents were erected to the side closest to the ceremony venue, and were meant to house Troy and Canvas before the ceremony so neither would risk seeing the other. Even though Canvas wasn’t here yet, Troy was occupied in his tent instead of looking around the reception area like his brothers.

Of course, when Rarity caught sight of where the remaining three gryphons were, her eyes shot wide open when she saw them gathered around something. As soon as she saw the little figurines at the top of what they were circled around, she gasped and ran towards the gryphons in a rampage, “HEY! Leave that cake alone!”

Mister and Missus Cake were only away from the cake for a second to get the decorative frosting, but the wife was the first to rush back towards it with a large spray bottle. Just a couple of spritzes were good enough to get the gryphons to reel back like a vampire against garlic. “I TOLD YOU BOYS TO STAY AWAY! Git! Git!”

Lyle ran off towards Troy’s tent like a kid trying to get away with being caught in the cookie jar. Blaze flew off elsewhere, but Cupcake could’ve sworn that Blade actually hissed before scurrying back to the stage area. The wedding cake, while still structurally sound, was now only half-covered in cream cheese frosting after the gryphons picked at it. Missus Cake groaned furiously and grabbed a large tin of the frosting to reapply the cake. “Oh for crying out loud, what is with gryphons and this frosting?!?”

Carrot Cake groaned in shared frustration and got a tin of his own as well. Rarity winced sympathetically at seeing the cake, and lit her horn to pick up a rubber spatula. “Oh, I’m so sorry about this. Do either of you need any help?”

Carrot Cake sighed and shook his head. “No, we’ll be fine. But thanks for the offer though,” he said in a sincere tone while applying the frosting on the chocolate base.

Of course, at seeing how much needed to be re-frosted, Rarity huffed in annoyance and looked back at Troy’s tent. “Ugh! I simply can not believe Troy’s brothers would do something like that! I mean, who in the right mind tries to eat a cake before it can be presented to oth… ers…”

Rarity’s statement fell flat just as quickly as her ears did. Upon realizing who she was saying that hypocritical comment to, the unicorn tried not to wince as she silently turned her head around. Mister and Missus Cake stopped their work and were both looking at Rarity with flat, unamused stares. Rarity grew an awkward smile and giggled meagerly. “Heh heh heh… I probably shouldn’t be one to talk, should I?”

“No,” said both of the bakers flatly.

Without saying another word, Rarity just nodded her head and left the two alone to finish fixing the cake. As she took a few breaths to keep herself from dwelling on that cringe-worthy interaction, she noticed two familiar figures soaring in from the skies. Angela and Jonas carefully landed on the soft grass between Troy and Canvas’ tents, making sure not to mess up the outfits they were already wearing. Jonas’ decorated military jacket looked absolutely immaculate due to that tailor’s hoofwork, making the gryphon look quite respectable with it on. Meanwhile, Angela’s light green gown fit the pregnant gryphoness’ form perfectly, making Rarity grin wide at the welcoming sight.

“Oh my goodness!” said Rarity as she trotted up to the two with an impressed look. “You two look amazing!”

“Oh, you,” responded Angela with a blush on her cheeks as she looked away from Rarity and waved a claw at her. “Your dress is the real star here.”

“Now don’t be acting like that,” stated Jonas with a supportive smile towards his wife. “A dress is only is nice as the girl wearing it.”

Rarity gave Jonas a thankful nod before saying to Angela, “I think I have to agree with your husband on that one.”

Angela involuntarily giggled before finally looking back at both Rarity and Jonas. “Oh, aren’t you both the charmers today?” With a grateful smile on her beak, Angela bent in towards Jonas to give him a loving peck. She then turned to Rarity and said, “You know what? I think I’m gonna check on that wedding cake and see--”

“Don’t you DARE!” shouted Cupcake from across the reception area. Angela reeled back in shock for a moment, and then huffed with a shrug.

“Fine,” said the gryphoness in an annoyed tone as she walked away from Jonas and Rarity, “I guess I’ll have to see Greta and her girlfriend for a snack…”

As his wife went elsewhere, Jonas sighed and looked around the reception area. “Well,” he said in a small huff, “I guess now’s as good a time as ever to try and talk with my son.”

“Well, he’s right over there,” said Rarity confidently as she pointed at the gryphon’s tent. “Lyle is in there too, I believe.”

“Alright. Thanks.” After giving the unicorn a thankful nod, Jonas talked towards the tent and stepped through the front flap. The inside of the tent was fairly simple, but still comfortable enough for Troy to sit in wait. However, despite the soft rug on the floor, the electric fan blowing fresh air in from the outside, and the small lounge chair placed right in front of it, Troy was haphazardly pacing around the interior of the tent like a fly trapped in an upside-down jar. Fortunately, it didn’t look like he was sweating badly enough to risk ruining the dark grey suit he was wearing. “Oh man, oh man, oh man, oh man…”

Lyle was just watching his brother with a bemused smirk while leaned against the chair. “Dude, come on!” he said with an optimistic tone of voice. “Every guy gets nervous before getting married! There’s nothing to freak out about!”

“I know, I know…” Troy stopped for a second to talk a calming breath with his eyes closed. Even though Jonas was now in the tent with them, neither of them seemed to notice him yet. Jonas took the opportunity to just watch curiously while Troy sighed in exasperation. “I’m not getting cold paws or anything, I swear. It’s just… It’s a lot to take in, you know?!”

“Well, I guess…” Even though Lyle had a more neutral expression, he tried to keep an understanding tone as he said, “Just remember, Troy. Whatever you’re feeling right now, Canvas is probably feeling it too.”

Troy paused and took that point in, waiting a few seconds before nodding his head. “Yeah, that’s true…”

Rarity’s voice interrupted the moment as she whispered close to the tent, “Troy! Canvas is here! Stay inside!”

Troy turned his head to the front of the tent. “Thanks Rar-GAH!”

Since they didn’t notice Jonas until just then, but Troy and Lyle jolted at seeing him appear seemingly out of nowhere. The General couldn’t help chuckling a bit as he rubbed the back of his head. “So, am I interrupting anything?”

“Uhhh…” Troy looked back at his brother and shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t think so.”

“Yeah,” added Lyle in agreement. “We were just chatting, you know?”

“Alright, good.” After glancing back at the closed tent flap, Jonas took a moment before turning to ask his youngest son, “Lyle, can you give Troy and I a few minutes alone?”

Lyle looked between Jonas and Troy for a brief moment before shrugging his shoulders. “Alright,” he said before pulling away from the chair. However, he made sure to give his brother an encouraging nudge against the shoulder first and said, “Just keep cool, alright?”

“Yeah, sure,” muttered Troy with a nudge back at him. After Lyle left the tent (and quickly snuck out of sight from the Cakes), Jonas exhaled as he looked around the tent awkwardly. Troy decided to speak before his father could. “So… are you here to give me marriage advice or something?”

Jonas looked back at his son with his brows raised. “Actually, yeah. I was.” Seeing that the lounge chair wasn’t taken yet, Jonas went straight to it so he could sit down. Troy didn’t look like he wanted to sit, and just continued to pace around the room. Seeing this, Jonas huffed with a smirk on his jagged beak. “You nervous?”

“Yeah,” said Troy without any hesitation as he exhaled deeply. “B-But not in a bad way!” he quickly added insistently back to his dad. “It’s just kinda overwhelming, you know?”

“Yeah, I do know,” answered Jonas with an understanding nod. “Just be lucky you don’t have to think about any upcoming kids like I did.”

Troy chuckled for a second while his pacing slowed down. “Yeah, I guess.”

“Hey, I’m serious.” As his voice turned more stern, Jonas looked up at his son from his seat and pointed a talon at him. “When I was in your position, I was just as nervous as you were. And I was actually a little younger than you! But even with that, AND raising five hatchlings, I’m still in a strong marriage with your mother. And you wanna know why?”

Troy stopped briefly and shot his dad a cheeky response. “Because grandpa would’ve castrated you if you tried to leave mom?”

Jonas’ expression quickly soured and became a dark glare. “You really wanna be a smart-ass right now?”

“Right, right. Sorry.” Troy took a cautious step back, not wanting to get smacked upside the head by his father. “G-Go on. I’m listening.”

Jonas’ eyes narrowed on Troy for a second, and then he let out a low, lingering sigh before continuing. “What I was going to say was… I was lucky. Your mother and I weren’t the only couple to get married young back then. Lots of gryphons in my platoon got hitched around that time too, and… most of them for similar reasons than myself. But even though a lot of them loved the girl they were married with at first, most of them still ended up divorcing after a few years.”

Troy was now staring at his dad with a more subdued, and fairly worried look on his face.

“Most of them broke apart for different reasons,” continued Jonas with a shrug of his shoulders, “but they all had the same issue which caused those problems to arise in the first place. And it was the same problem I was able to notice and avoid before it ever happened.”

Troy, who now turned back around to face his father directly, tilted his head as he asked, “What was it?”

Jonas stared back at his son for a second before giving his answer. “If you want your marriage with that stallion to last, you need to understand that when it comes to being married, you can’t treat it as the time to stop trying in your relationship.”

Troy blinked a couple times confusedly. “Wait, wha… What do you mean?”

“I mean, just because you’re going to be married, doesn’t mean you can stop being a good partner!” Jonas kept his sights straight on Troy as he continued in an insistent tone. “It’s like one of Lyle’s video games! You think you got to the last level, so you stop caring as much about the game and stop playing it as much. But marriage is NOT the last level! You still have a lot you need to do even after you put that ring on.”

By now, Troy was genuinely focused on what his dad was telling him. After picking up a nearby stool, the gryphon placed it in front of Jonas’ chair so he could sit in front of him face-to-face. “Like what?” asked Troy with interest.

“Well,” began Jonas with a tilt of his head, “first off, never assume you know what Canvas is thinking or feeling. You need to actually communicate with him! Listen to what he has to say, and remember it for later on. I might stay silent a lot of the time back at home, but I still listen to your mother whenever I can. That’s how I show her that I care, and that I acknowledge what she has to say.”

Troy was now leaned forward in his stool, nodding as he took a mental note of that. “Huh… what else?”

“Secondly,” continued Jonas sternly, “it doesn’t take much to show appreciation. I try to remember what Angela likes, but I also know that her tastes change from time to time. I keep myself up to date with those things, and I let her know that I’m paying attention. Sometimes I get her a little gift. Nothing too expensive or extravagant, but still something that I know she’d like. Most of the time, it isn’t even for any big reason; I just do it to let her know I was thinking about her.”

Troy nodded his head slowly with his eyes slightly narrowed. “That… makes a lot of sense.”

“You’re damn right it does! When you’re married for as long as I have, you have to keep things a little spontaneous at times. Otherwise things could get stale.” Jonas then leaned back in his seat as he kept talking. “Also, you need to keep things equal in your marriage. If one of you feels inferior to the other, that resentment is gonna seep out sooner or later. There’s never anything wrong with compromising or negotiation in a relationship. Of course, I think you and Canvas already have that figured out pretty damn well.”

Given the talk he and Canvas had the previous morning in the jail cell, Troy couldn’t help shrugging with a small smile. “Yeah, you have a point there.”

“But…” Jonas’ expression became firm while staring at his son with an insistent tone in his voice. “The biggest thing you need to remember, and I can’t stress this enough, is that everyone changes over time. I’m a completely different gryphon now than who I used to be when I married your mother. She was also different when I first met her! People change, and there’s nothing we can do to stop that. But no matter what, as long as you communicate with your husband, and you both actually put in effort to keep things strong between each other, the two of you can overcome any changes that come up. Just keep your utmost trust in him, and make sure he knows that he can always trust in you.”

Troy took a while to let all that information sink in, but it was clear that he understood as he nodded his head once more. Before Jonas could ask if he needed any clarification, Troy huffed and said in a surprised tone, “Wow. I… I really didn’t expect for you to give that kind of advice to me.”

Jonas narrowed his eyes on his son and asked, “And what’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well,” retorted Troy with a roll of his eyes, “remember when you tried to give me the sex talk?”

Jonas just scoffed. “Oh, don’t act like you didn’t learn a lot that day!”

“You literally just handed me a porno magazine!”

“Well, YOU were the one who kept trying to sneak into my room to read it! I figured you should learn what you were getting into!” After a few seconds, Jonas paused and looked away from Troy with a small sigh. “Of course… I guess that talk doesn’t relate to your relationship now, does it?”

That made Troy laugh pretty loud while covering his beak with a claw. Jonas couldn’t help chuckling a little too, and he waited for his son’s laughter to settle before adding, “Well… Just know that despite everything that’s happened, I… I really am happy that you’re getting married to someone like him.”

Hearing the sincerity in Jonas’ voice, Troy grew a shaky smile on his beak. Jonas then placed a claw on Troy’s shoulder and added with a smile of his own, “And no matter what happens, I wish you and Canvas the very best.”

Troy stood still for a couple seconds, feeling overwhelmed at the words his father just told him. But before he could lunge forward to give Jonas a hug, Troy was surprised when his dad made the action first. Jonas would’ve usually checked around to make sure he was alone, but at that moment, he couldn’t have cared less as he wrapped his claws around Troy’s back to give him a confident hug. Troy quickly hugged his father back, and his voice carried a shaky tone as he struggled not to cry through his clenched-shut eyes. “Th-Thanks, Dad. I’m… I’m really glad you’re here.”

“So am I, Troy…” Jonas then gave one last squeeze, his eyes tightening as he tried not to cry either. “So am I.”

---

Outside of the tents, Angela was surveying the reception area while chewing on a piece of chocolate-covered beef jerky she almost forgot was in her purse. She contemplated sneaking over to the wedding cake to see if any extra frosting was available, but one sharp glare from Missus Cake was enough for the gryphoness to know that her trigger-hoof on that spray bottle was itchy. So instead, Angela decided to head towards the ceremony section where she could see that many of the guests were already getting seated early.

On her way there, she walked past the tents that both Troy and Canvas were inside. Lyra and Bon-Bon were outside Canvas’, and the gryphoness could overhear the two whispering to one another about something.

“I’m just saying, honey,” said Lyra in a hushed tone to her wife. “We don’t know for sure if he’s really alright!”

“He promised us that he was fine.”

“Yeah, but it’s not like he hasn’t kept things from us before!”

“That was before we learned about everything. If there was anything wrong, I’m sure he would’ve told us by now.”

With her curiosity getting the best of her, Angela abandoned her earlier plan and went over to the two mares. “Hey there, girls.”

“Hm? Oh, hey Angela.” After seeing the gryphoness in her custom-made dress, Lyra’s eyes widened with an impressed look on her face. “Wha-how! You’re lookin’ good!”

Bon-Bon was staring at Angela with amazement as well, although she tried not to blush too obviously as she added, “Wow, I… I gotta hand it to Rarity. She really knows how to make you shine.”

Angela, still a little bashful about wearing something so formal, turned her head away with a smile from her friend’s compliment. “Oh, don’t make me blush. It’s honestly a little bizarre to be wearing something like this. I usually wear pants-suits when I have to be clothed.”

Bon-Bon giggled as her blush only grew. “I’m just saying, you look really nice.” Of course, as soon as she saw the cheeky grin that Lyra was giving her out of Angela’s sight, Bon-Bon quickly shot back a warning scowl to her wife. Fortunately, Angela didn’t see either expression when she looked back at them.

“Well, thank you both,” said the gryphoness sincerely with a smile. Of course, that smile lessened as she tried to change the subject. “Umm…” Her beak skewed slightly as she tried to transition into such a blunt statement. “Just so you know, I… I couldn’t help overhearing you two on my way here. If you girls don’t mind me asking, is something going on with Canvas?”

Bon-Bon and Lyra both turned worried fairly quick. “Well,” began Lyra as she looked back at her wife awkwardly, “I’m not sure if we should say anything about it.”

“Oh, come on,” Angela insisted as she looked between the two mares. “I’m going to be that stallion’s Mother-In-Law in less than a half-hour! I think I should know if something is wrong!”

“I don’t think anything is wrong,” retorted Bon-Bon in a less-than-confident tone of voice. “It’s just that, well…”

The mare paused with a bit lip, unsure how to word what happened without freaking Angela out. Lyra took a breath before lighting up her horn, hoping she learned that sound-bubble spell from Twilight correctly. Luckily, the unicorn was able to grow a dome that was just large enough to enclose over herself and the gryphoness. Bon-Bon was outside the bubble, but she was happy to see that her wife got the spell executed correctly; she couldn’t hear either of them as she saw her wife speaking about something. She may have not been the best when it came to reading lips (and definitely not beaks), but Bon-Bon saw Angela clearly gasp after Lyra finished her explanation.

“WHAT?!” shouted Angela inside the bubble, which made both of them instantly wince afterward due to the echo from the enclosed space. “Urgh… sorry.”

“It’s alright. Twilight warned me about that.” After rubbing her ears with a hoof, Lyra exhaled and said up to the gryphoness. “But yeah, his dad really did show up, but he’s gone now. Canvas said that their talk went alright, but we’re not a hundred percent sure.”

Angela blinked a couple times with a mix of worry and uncertainty on her face. After glancing over towards Canvas’ tent, Angela sighed and turned her attention back to Lyra. “Do you think it’d be alright if I talked with him?”

“A-Are you sure that’s a good idea?” the unicorn asked with a clear hint of protest in her otherwise calm-sounding voice.

“Listen, I know you want to give him privacy, but…” Angela took a hesitant breath while avoiding eye contact with the unicorn. “Well… given that neither of his parents are here, I just…”

The gryphoness’ words trailed off, clearly not comfortable with explaining that much further. Fortunately, Lyra was able to read between the lines enough to understand what Angela was getting at. After looking back at Canvas’ tent too, Lyra sighed with a sympathetic look on her face and put down her sound bubble. “Alright,” she said in a hushed tone as she turned back to Angela. “You can go in.”

“What?” asked Bon-Bon with a befuddled look, having only heard that statement and not everything else.

“It’ll be fine,” assured Lyra back to her wife. Meanwhile, Angela was already heading towards the tent. Before Bon-Bon could try to stop her, Lyra went up to her wife and added insistently, “It’s just something personal she wanted to do, okay?”

“Personal?” With the way Bon-Bon’s eyes narrowed on Lyra, it was obvious that she needed more info than that. Lyra just sighed before looking back at the tent, seeing that Angela was already inside.

“Well, I’m… fairly sure that Angela knows what he’s thinking about right now.”

---

The inside of Canvas’ tent was near identical to Troy’s, but the stallion wasn’t pacing around the inside of his like his future husband was. Instead, Canvas was seated on the lounge sofa with his head hung low. His eyes were a deep shade of red from the tears he already shed, and he was looking down at an old photograph in his hoof. Underneath the photo of himself as a colt with his parents, his heirloom necklace was hanging from his hoof and dangling just a few inches from the floor.

Angela made sure to step into the tent as quietly as possible, not wanting to disturb Canvas. However, when she saw how the stallion looked, she felt like her heart was going to break in half at the sight. Angela took a breath before making a small cough, which made Canvas instantly jolt and look up at her.

“H-Huh?!” he blurted before looking around the tent. “I-Is the wedding starting already?”

“N-No,” said Angela with a quick raise of her claw. “No it’s not. I just… wanted to see how you were…”

Canvas quickly sniffed and looked away from her while rubbing his eyes. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he muttered in a clearly untrue tone of voice. “I was just… sitting.”

Without saying much else, the gryphoness walked over to Canvas’ chair and sat down beside him. Canvas wasn’t sure what else to say, but he didn’t make much protest either. Angela looked down at the photo in his hooves, deciding not to say anything about it. Instead, her sights went to the necklace that made her tilt her head curiously. “What’s that?”

“Hm? Oh...” Canvas pulled his photo away for a moment as he brought up the necklace. The silver wings hung on its chain, still carrying a little shine even inside the limited light of the enclosed tent. Canvas briefly bit his pouted lip before saying in a soft voice, “This… used to belong to my Mom. It was passed down for generations from bride to bride, and… it’s supposed to ensure a happy marriage.”

“Awww…” Carrying a touched tone in her voice, Angela carefully held the silver emblem in two of her talons to inspect it. “That’s really nice, Canvas.” After looking at the item for a few seconds, Angela’s ear tufts came upward as she turned back to Canvas confusedly. “Wait, this is for the bride? Then… which one of you gets this?”

Canvas tried to chuckle with a small smile, but it came out more as a hiccupped exhale as he said, “I honestly have no idea…”

Angela started to giggle too, which eventually turned to both of them laughing while Canvas held his necklace and photo. Unfortunately, Angela’s laughter subsided after a few seconds when she heard the tone in Canvas’ voice change. When she glanced back at him, the stallion’s head was hung down again. His shoulders were still going up and down, but it was clear he wasn’t laughing anymore.

He was crying.

As soon as she saw Canvas sobbing, the gryphoness instinctively pulled him in for a caring hug. “Oh, Canvas! It’s alright…” Angela rested the bottom of her chin right on top of Canvas’ head, keeping him secure as she held him tightly within her claws. While Canvas continued to sob into her chest, she tried to make a few calming shushes and said, “It’s alright, Canvas. Everything is gonna be alright.”

“B-But…” Canvas’ voice came out timidly and muffled through the chest-feathers sticking out from Angela’s dress, but she could still hear him clearly say, “But I…I…”

He winced painfully as he pressed himself tighter against the gryphoness. “I miss her…”

Angela hugged him even tighter after hearing that, and didn’t dare let go as he continued to cry. “Canvas, it’s okay,” she said as her own voice started to become choked-up. “I know you miss your Mom, but I’m sure she’d be really happy for you today…”

As she spoke, the gryphoness’ eyes closed tightly before she added in a shakier-sounding tone. “Believe me, I… I know what it’s like. And… I know just how much it hurts…” A couple stray tears escaped from her eyes after she said that, and she exhaled painfully while holding the stallion. She then sniffed before reopening her wettened eyes. “Canvas, I… I can’t begin to imagine what it was like losing her so young. But I do understand what it’s like to lose a mother.”

“I know,” croaked Canvas while his muzzle pulled back slightly from Angela’s chest. “It’s just that… I really wish she was here today.”

“I know,” cooed Angela with another tight squeeze around him. “And believe me, I wish so too.”

For about a minute or so, neither of them said anything while holding each other inside of the tent. Canvas eventually stopped crying, but he still kept his eyes closed while cradled against the gryphoness’ chest. After a while, Angela glanced down at the necklace still wrapped in Canvas’ hoof. She picked up the emblem once more before asking the artist curiously, “So, Canvas… how much do you know about Gryphon Kingdom history?”

Canvas pulled away from Angela’s chest to wipe his face and look up at her with a puzzled expression.

“I mean, I know you learned a lot about my parents back in high school,” she added with a tilt of her head while looking away from him. “Troy kinda mentioned that. But…” She returned her sights back to Canvas with one of her brows raised. “Did you ever learn about how gryphons first made contact with ponies?”

“Ummm…” Canvas took a breath as he sat upright in his seat beside Angela, and looked down at the floor in thought. “Well… I know that Celestia and Luna first met with the Gryphon Kingdom leaders during an expedition, right?”

Angela shrugged her shoulders. “Technically yes, but that wasn’t the first time gryphons ever saw ponies.”

Canvas glanced back at Angela curiously, not having known that fact before.

“My grandmother told me this when I was just a child,” continued Angela as she leaned back in the chair with a claw against her belly, “but rumor has it, back when ponies were first making settlements at the edge of Equestria closest to the Gryphon Kingdom, gryphons were able to catch the slightest glimpses of the pegasus ponies in the skies as they collected clouds. Of course, since they had no knowledge of ponies, let alone magic, they had no idea who those winged creatures were. Over time, theories began to circulate about what they could’ve been; but out of all the ideas that gryphons suggested, there was one that seemed to stick around until they actually made contact with Celestia and her Equestrians…”

She kept the necklace’s silver wings between her talons, motioning towards it before looking back at Canvas to finish. “The idea was that those pegasus ponies, who managed to manipulate the weather and make entire civilizations out of nothing but clouds in the sky… were actually angels.”

Canvas took a second to let that fact sink in, which admittedly made him huff with a tiny smirk. “Really?” he asked with a hint of skepticism. “Angels?”

“What?” she asked with her claws up. “This was like, over a thousand years ago! Gryphons didn’t know who Celestia was.”

Canvas thought about that before pouting with a shrug of his neck. “Good point.”

“But still... “ Angela’s beak skewed momentarily as she stared back down at Canvas’ necklace. “I remember that my grandmother also told me that when it came to legends, there was always the slightest sliver of something real within them. Even if it was something completely outrageous or impossible, most of the ideas that stuck over time carried a little bit of reality in them…”

She then pointed a talon at the necklace before saying with a small smile pointed at the stallion. “And honestly? I’d like to think that in some small, tiny way… maybe pegasi really are angels in some way.” Angela moved in closer beside Canvas, and wrapped a foreleg around his back while finishing her thoughts. “And if that’s the case, I have no doubt that your mother is watching you from above right now. And she couldn’t be prouder of you if she tried.”

Canvas was looking down at his lap as she said those words, and he couldn’t keep himself from smiling as he made a couple hiccuped breaths. He was trying his hardest not to laugh, but he still looked up at Angela and said in a meager, but still cheeky tone, “That was really corny.”

“Oh, shut up!” Angela said playfully while pulling in the stallion from the side. Canvas was laughing again, but it was clear from his tone that he sounded a lot more at ease than before. He closed his eyes and pressed his head against the gryphoness’ side, his cheeks blushing as he smiled shakily.

“Th-Thanks, though,” he said in a hushed and sincere-sounding voice. “I… I really needed to hear something like that right now.”

Angela sighed and hugged the pony back with a smile of her own. “Oh, don’t be like that. Did you think I was just gonna leave you in here alone to cry before your big day?”

Canvas sniffed and rubbed his eyes with a hoof while beside her. “Well, no, but… It’s not like it’s just my big day.”

“I know,” said Angela as she brought her claw up to run along Canvas’ shaggy mane, “but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be there for you. Especially when you’re going to be part of this family.”

Angela took a breath as she pulled him in closer to give a genuine hug. “And believe me,” she added with more sincerity in her shaking voice, “After seeing how happy Troy is with you, I couldn’t be happier that you’re going to be his husband.”

After a brief pause, Angela exhaled as she closed her eyes while holding Canvas dearly. “... Or that you’re going to be my son.”

Canvas’ eyes shot wide-open, and he pulled back to look up at Angela with a surprised look. Even though he already knew that the Clawstons saw him as family, actually hearing Angela say something like that was beyond jarring.

Angela quickly put her claws out and said insistently, “Before you say anything, Canvas, I… I know that I’ll never replace your mother. And believe me, I don’t ever want you to think that I am. But…”

She put her claws back down and breathed out with a smile as she stared back at the pony in front of her. “But I really do care about you, Canvas. All of us do. And if you’d let me, I really do want to be there for you like a mom. But only if you want me to…”

After adding that reassurance with her last sentence, Angela sat with a hopeful and hesitant smile on her beak. Meanwhile, Canvas was frozen at the spot as he became overwhelmed with emotion. By the time he finally made a response, fresh tears were stemming from his eyes as he grew a trembling smile of his own.

Canvas was the first to lunge forward, hugging Angela as tightly as he could while sobbing against her shoulder with tears of joy. Angela did the same, but was able to keep her crying reserved to just a few more tears while hugging back with a grateful smile of her own. Neither of them were sure how long that hug lasted, but neither of them really cared either. For Angela, all that mattered was that she was able to help the one pony she knew her son Troy loved more than anyone else.

For Canvas, he was happy that he was finally being given a chance to have a mom in his life again.

Just as Canvas was able to stop crying happily, a “Psst!” from outside the tent caught both Canvas and Angela’s attention. “Hey guys!” whispered Lyra as her shadow could be seen through the tent’s tarp wall. “We need to get ready! The ceremony is just about to begin!”

Canvas breathed out heavily and pulled away from his Mother-In-Law. Angela pulled some tissues out of her purse, and offered Canvas one first before fixing herself. “W-Well,” she said shakily while collecting her breath, “I guess this is it, huh?”

“Mmhmm.” Canvas nodded his head while wiping his cheeks and eyes dry. Even though his eyes were still red, his smile was much more apparent when he looked back up at her. “So, how do I look?”

Angela just smiled back at him proudly and answered, “Trust me, Canvas. You look great.”

Next Chapter: Chapter Twenty-Nine: The Ceremony Estimated time remaining: 58 Minutes