There are only a few things in life which are more irritating than being woken up by a blaring alarm clock. One of those is waking up the very second BEFORE the alarm goes off.

Yet, like some cruel joke designed by Discord himself, this very thing has happened for the past three days without error for the silver gryphon upon his cloud. There weren't many things that Troy could say he legitimately hated, but he was really beginning to hate his recent sleeping habits. He also started to hate clouds, including the rather small one he made for himself to live in. Even though the cozy abode wasn’t necessarily uncomfortable, Troy was more displeased with the space because it wasn't made with a gryphon in mind.

It was difficult enough being a different species in a place where almost everyone else was a pony, right down to the point that hearing "everypony" and "anypony" was more common than “everyone” and “anyone.” However, having to live in a cloud instead of a nest just seemed to confirm that fact. Nothing felt like it was for him. Not his job at the Weather Factory. Not his limited interactions with the pegasi around Cloudsdale. Even his place of residence felt more like it was meant for some… pony. Everything felt temporary to Troy, even though he didn't want it to be.

Not after everything else.

Despite resistance from his body out of physical strain and protest, Troy managed to pick himself off his cloud bedding and freshen himself up. After a quick preening of his silver wings, he flew off to the nearby waterfall for some much-needed cleaning.

Troy found it rather odd that none of the pegasi took advantage of the fresh water these afforded. Then again, maybe pegasi were more reluctant over using a waterfall on ground level. Either way, Troy was a bit glad his cloud was out of the way of other ponies. Even though clouds weren't exactly the most private of living arrangements, the seclusion the gryphon had was rather comforting.

One of the best things about the waterfall was how it acted as both a shower and a mirror. After a quick rinse over his feathers and fur, Troy took a quick glance over himself: The silver feathers along his face were always a lot sleeker than those of other gryphons, and his smooth, yellow beak didn't exactly make him look more masculine back home; of course, the darker grey feathers along his chest to the top of his head were a decent indicator to ponies that he was, in fact, male―even if there were several pesky feathers that always seemed to find a way to cover his golden eyes.

The rest of his body was nothing special to Troy. However, it was starting to become rather annoying how often ponies would stop and stare at him. Some would look for uncomfortably long periods of time with curiosity, while others kept their distance in fear. Almost every pony who talked to him had questions. Most of them were simple enough, either regarding his diet or the culture of the Gryphon Kingdom; however, it was usually difficult to explain the biological aspects of gryphons, mostly because the questions asked about them were either extremely uncomfortable or unbelievably stupid. In less than a few months, Troy managed to distance himself enough from those things to live his life in a somewhat comfortable manner, even if that meant borderline-introverted seclusion.

As Troy flew up towards Cloudsdale with his mind on cruise-control and a satchel draped over his shoulder, he passed by several pegasi, happily waving back as they greeted him. In all honesty, Troy didn't want to be as secluded as he was, even if being more social meant dealing with countless questions like, "Is it true gryphons eat changelings?" (absolutely not, since their blood is toxic) or "Do gryphons lay eggs?" (well, yeah, duh). Even with the almost alien feel Equestria had to Troy, it still felt a lot… kinder than back home. It was tricky to find the right word to describe it, but “kind” felt like one of the best words.

When Troy finally arrived at the Weather Factory, he was surprised to see a rather large crowd forming around the entrance as two ponies stood at the top of the steps. It took less than a second for Troy to recognize the first pony as Rainbow Dash―with her cyan coat and multicolored mane―talking over the crowd with a large, red megaphone (as if she needed to be any louder). The pony next to her was a much bigger surprise for everyone there: the purple alicorn known as Princess Twilight Sparkle. He knew quite a bit about her coronation, which happened shortly after he moved to Equestria, but he never thought he would actually have the chance to see her up close. As he settled himself on a cloud near the back of the crowd, he began to listen to what Rainbow Dash was saying.

"Listen up, everypony!” As her voice boomed out through the megaphone, Twilight Sparkle was standing beside her with her horn brightly lit, and carried a pointing stick in her aura. Behind the two mares, a large map was hung up on a bulletin board with several areas marked with red borderlines. The Princess pointed to various sections of the map while Dash said, “As most of you guys may know, a large storm is being organized over the D, E, F, G, and H regions west of Ponyville. These might be a bit more intense than our usual routines, but they’ve been specifically designed to better help with farming efforts."

Troy could see several heads within the crowd nod, but the masses as a whole remained silent as she continued.

"However, it's been reported to me by Twilight here,” she said, raising her free hoof in Twilight Sparkle's direction, "that we don't have enough ponies to clear out the area before the storm begins."

At this moment, Twilight stepped forward to address the crowd. With the Princess’ presence on full display, Troy sat more upright out of instinct while his ears twitched attentively.

"Because of this, we are asking for any and all ponies willing to assist as volunteers. If anypony, or err… any creature is interested, then please step forward so we can have you listed for preparations."

The crowd had some rather mixed reactions, to say the least. While there were some ponies who immediately raised their hooves or began yelling to join in, a large majority looked less than enthusiastic about being a part of something this sudden. Not that Troy could blame them, though: there were about three dozen different projects being done all over Cloudsdale that needed their attention as much as a weather job did. Cleaning up a field before it rained didn't exactly seem like the most efficient use of everyone’s time on a Friday.

As he glanced up to the clock above the factory, Troy could see it was nearly eight. Definitely not much time to get ready, although he was sure nopony would really mind since a member of Royalty was at the front door. But even with that kind of distraction, he didn’t want to be late for his shift. With a quick stretch on his cloud, he spread his wings out as he prepared to fly toward―

"Hey, you! The gryphon!"

Troy turned back toward the stage as he heard Rainbow Dash, who was now flying toward him. As the crowd looked back, Troy worried about what the cyan pegasus wanted with him. He'd heard some rumors about an interaction she had with a gryphon that didn't go well, and he was less than curious to learn more about the details of that. But alas, Rainbow Dash approached him with a surprisingly blank look on her face, scanning him up and down. "So, gryphon guy, what's your name?"

Troy blanched for a moment before realizing she asked a question, and quickly responded, "Um, my name is Troius Clawston. I work snow division at the Rainbow Factory."

He was worried about whether or not to have added that last detail since she didn't ask for it; however, she didn’t seem to take note of it as she pursed her lips. "What's your wing power, Troy?"

"Um…” Troy tried to remember the last time he had his wing power measured, but it wasn’t like he usually needed to take notes during his physical exams. But since he had recently undergone a physical upon moving to Equestria, he was able to answer her accurately enough. “Eight… eight-point-seven, I think?”

Rainbow's eyebrows raised slightly. "You think you can help out with cloud formation today?"

"I… I guess I could?" Troy wasn't really planning to volunteer due to his work schedule, but he really didn't want to object to the pegasus hovering in front of him. Dash may have been two-thirds his size, but her reputation was intimidating enough to make him comply accordingly.

"Oh, that's great to hear!"

Troy looked past Rainbow Dash at the lavender alicorn flying toward them, who looked rather happy upon hearing their exchange. "We really need all the help we can get for this project, so thank you so much for your help."

Her statement was undoubtedly sincere as she smiled at him, which was just enough to put him more at ease about his sudden agreement. As Troy looked back to Rainbow Dash, he noticed she seemed more lively and pleased that he agreed. "Cleanup’ll start at ten AM at the D section. You know where that is?"

"Ummm…” Troy paused briefly to process his thoughts, but was quick to nod and say, “Sure, it's about... ten miles from the hospital, right?"

“Ehhh… more around fifteen, but yeah, that’s it.” Dash pulled out a sheet of paper and pen from under her saddlebag. As she hoofed it to Troy, he saw that it was a long signup sheet with a few names written at the top. Troy signed the first clear line available, even as he realized that he would now have to explain this new duty for the day to his boss.

"And you won't have to worry about your work schedule,” added the Princess, almost as if she could read his thoughts (and given her powers, it wouldn't surprise Troy in the slightest if she could). "Just tell your supervisor that you're going to be helping me and Rainbow Dash. I'm sure they'll understand." With her horn’s magic, she levitated a small Royal Excusal sheet toward him, surrounded by a distinct purple aura.

"Um… thank you,” was all Troy could muster as he took the small note from her magic, and placed it in his satchel. Troy nodded to them as he handed back the sign-up sheet. "Well, I gotta get to my shift. So... I guess I'll see you guys at ten, then?"

The two ponies nodded with smiles as he turned past them. He made his way towards the Factory, but he made sure to pause and give the ponies a friendly wave before going inside.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Even though he was only in the Weather Factory for less than two hours, time passed away faster than expected for Troy. After he told his boss about his spur-of-the-moment volunteer job for the day (followed immediately by a pegasus half his size yelling at him about jeopardizing the schedule for the winter season), Troy headed off to the fields west of Ponyville. He knew that his absence wouldn't look good on his work record, but he also knew that helping a newly appointed Princess would more than make up for it. Looking back, he wished he presented that Royal Excusal sheet in a more outgoing matter to shut his boss up about him leaving, instead of just meagerly pulling it out of his bag like a scolded kit. But regardless of his presentation, the look on that bitter pegasus' face was beyond priceless.

Note to self: invest in a good camera for moments like that.

As Troy reached the airspace above the clear, grassy field, he glided down to the ground where a respectably large crowd was forming. Most of them were earth ponies, which made sense, since the weather was supposed to be for the crops and upcoming harvest. With the summer season almost upon them, ponies had to put in as much work as they could for any upcoming storms. As Troy landed on the grass amongst the crowd, quite a few ponies stepped back from him before his claws even touched the ground.

Troy tried his best not to look around, knowing all too well that the large majority were just going to stare at him. He couldn't blame earth ponies for staring, since he was fairly sure that most of them had never seen a gryphon up close before; but still, it didn't help Troy's composure that he was the only gryphon among the group. He kept his eyes up to the sky to see when other pegasi would arrive and tried to convince himself that the hushed voices he heard nearby was just the wind.

After several minutes of watching more ponies arriving and congregating with each other, Troy sat down on the grass, his thoughts slowly drifting off to think about… Well, nothing specific, really. Just random things that drifted in and out of his head: books he'd recently read; what to make for dinner tonight; how many changelings he thought he could take in a fight; simple stuff like that.

As his thoughts drifted deeper, and he stared further off to more pegasi flying in from above, he didn't notice the young filly who had approached until she poked him in the side.

"Wha!" was probably the only discernible noise Troy could make as he jumped back, seeing that it was just a small, yellow earth pony with a red mane and matching bow, who now looked slightly alarmed.

"O-Oh! Ah’m sorry, mister!” she shouted with an adorably strong country twang in her accent. “Ah didn't mean to startle ya. Honest!" The little pony stepped back from Troy, and tried to give a nervous-looking smile to show some sincerity. Since he didn’t want to look like he intentionally scared the kid, Troy just shakily smiled back at her as he held up his claws (although in retrospect, that probably could've easily been misinterpreted in hindsight) to calm her down.

"It’s… It’s all right, kid. I should've been paying attention." Troy looked around to make sure nopony mistook that he was going to eat the poor child. "So, uhhh… what’s up?"

"Well…” The pony fidgeted a little, and glanced down at Troy's flank as she spoke. "How come ya don't have a cutie mark?"

"Oh,” Troy responded, quickly realizing that this pony didn't have a mark on her flank just yet. "Well… I’m pretty sure that gryphons don't get those. I think that's just a pony thing."

With the way her eyes narrowed, it seemed like the filly wasn’t too convinced. "So… how do ya figure out what your special talent is?"

Troy should've known she would ask something like that, but he wasn’t offended either. Compared to some of the asinine questions he'd heard before from adult ponies, this filly's question wasn't that difficult to comprehend or answer honestly. "Gryphons just have to figure out what they're good at for themselves,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “It can be a bit hard sometimes, since we can't see the proof like you guys can, but I haven't really had any problems with how my life has gone."

"So, whaddya do?"

"Oh, I work in the snow division at the Weather Factory."

The filly cocked her head to the side in slight confusion. "Ya mean like making snowflakes ‘n’ stuff?"

"No, that's not what I do,” Troy said, slightly chuckling at the thought of trying to make tiny snowflakes all day with his clunky talons. "What I do is grind large ice blocks down so that they can be converted to snowflakes."

"Oh, that’s neat!” she chirped with an impressed smile on her face. “Do you use your claws for that?"

Looking down at his talons, Troy could see why she would think that. Even though he wouldn't dare do it in public, he'd opened more than a few tin cans with just his claws after his can opener broke. The only reason he bought himself a new one was because he didn't want to dull his claws down too much. "No, they would get dull really quick if I did that. I just use a big ice scraper."

"Cool! Is there anything else ya can do?"

"Well…” Troy was unsure of whether or not to answer that question, mostly out of slight embarrassment. Fortunately, he didn’t have to give a suitable reply when he noticed an orange mare trotting towards them.

"Apple Bloom! What in tarnation are ya doin’ here?” The farmpony’s eyes narrowed on the little filly. “You're supposed to be helpin' Big Mac out with gettin' the wagons ready!"

The filly’s eyes widened. "Oh yeah! Ah gotta go!" She started to dart off, but before she made it too far she quickly stopped and looked back at the gryphon. "Thanks for talkin' with me, Mister Gryphon Man!"

"Not a problem,” Troy said while waving, trying not to laugh at the “Mister Gryphon Man” bit. "My name is Troy, by the way."

"Oh, alright! See ya later, Troy!" yelled Apple Bloom as she ran off to the line of apple trees in the distance.

"Ah'm awful sorry about my sis,” said the orange mare, looking slightly embarrassed. "Ah hope she wasn't too intrusive or nothin’."

"No, your sister was fine." Troy scratched the back of his head as he realized that conversation with her was one of the most pleasant (and longest) ones that he'd had since moving to Equestria. "She was just wondering why I didn't have a mark like you guys do." As he stared at the mare before him, he noticed that her flank had three red apples on it, explaining why Apple Bloom ran over to the apple orchard. Must’ve been a family thing.

"Yeah, Apple Bloom's been a bit obsessed over gettin' her cutie mark lately." As the mare spoke, she adjusted the brown Stetson on her head before holding her hoof out to Troy. "Name's Applejack! So, ya helpin' out with storm prep today?"

"Yes I am, although this is my first time." Troy shook her hoof, noting she had a surprisingly strong grip.

"Well, don’tcha worry none,” assured Applejack before she lowered her hoof back down. "Twilight is one o' the best organizers Ah've ever seen, so you're in good… um… claws, Ah guess?"

Before she could stammer on what was the proper term to say, Troy just smiled and nodded his head. Meanwhile, up above their heads, the very alicorn arrived through the thick wall of clouds with Rainbow Dash by her side. As Twilight descended toward the large crowd below, most of the gathered crowd paused and began to bow before her. But to many of the ponies’ surprise, she immediately stopped midair to hover, and held her hooves outward.

"Please don't bow to me, please!" Some of the ponies looked up at confusion upon hearing the Princess pleading for them to not do what was standard protocol. "It's just…” Twilight struggled to find the right words, but remained hovering in the air before speaking again. "I'm still not really used to this whole ‘Princess’ thing, and I'd rather not have everypony bowing down to me when I'm just trying to do my job." As she looked down at the crowd below, she could tell this was an odd request for them to hear. However, the mare breathed out pertly before adding, "I just want you guys to see me as an organizer today, not as a princess."

As Twilight said this, Rainbow Dash just groaned and face-hoofed. "Twilight, you ARE a princess!” she shouted while staring at her friend flatly. “And the last time I checked, princesses organize stuff. So just go with it already!"

"I'm fairly aware of my new position, Rainbow,” she said with a stern stare back at her. “I'd rather just be seen as a team leader than as a princess right now."

As Twilight said this, Rainbow Dash just looked at her with one eyebrow cocked up. "And a princess is different from a team leader… how?!”

Twilight opened her mouth to make a rebuttal, but nothing came out as she realized that, despite her petulance, the pegasus had a fair point. With a deep sigh, Twilight just closed her eyes before giving a rebuttal to both her friend and the crowd below.

"I just don't want everypony to treat me like Princess Twilight right now, okay? I want to help, and I can’t do that with everypony bowing down to me like I'm Celestia!"

With a low groan, Rainbow Dash merely slunk down, knowing she wasn't getting anywhere arguing like this. "Fine, fine, ‘organizer.’ Let's just get this started."

And with that, Twilight's organization skills came to light as she gave everypony and Troy their duties for the day. Troy's job was simple enough: moving the stratus clouds up to the stratocumulus clouds for better storm coverage.

Even though the job took several hours to complete, it wasn't difficult for the gryphon to accomplish at all. After the last of the clouds were placed among the dark grey blanket of sky above, Troy headed back down to the ground to see if he could help down below.

As Troy reached the ground and looked around, he found that most of the earth ponies and unicorns were already done with their jobs and had gone home. Since he felt like resting his wings a bit, he landed nearby on an old dirt road, which nopony had been on for years if the overgrowth was any indication. Troy was surprised that no one was around to check on things, but couldn’t scan anything too off that needed his assistance. The only landmark along the road was a nearby bush next to a sign that said “PONYVILLE 15 MILES - PONYVILLE HOSPITAL 14 MILES.”

Troy looked back up at the darkened sky, and saw that several pegasi were heading back up above the cloudline.

"Hey Troy!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she flew down to the ground. "Everything seems to be done, so you can go home now."

"Oh, okay. Thanks Rainbow!"

As Troy stretched his wings out, he looked back at the bush, which seemed almost out of place among the rest of the clear field. What really caught his attention was how the shadows underneath the bush darkened so unnaturally. Upon closer inspection, the gryphon noticed something small sticking out. It might’ve been just a branch or something, but something about it ate at Troy. Troy walked closer to the bush, seeing that there was, in fact, something there.

A small bag.

"Hey, gryphon!" Troy looked back up to see Rainbow Dash staring at him, while also flying upward like the others. "The storm's about to start! Move your flank!"

"I think I see something by that bush! I'm gonna check it out!"

"Well, hurry up!” she shouted with a clear tone of annoyance. “I'm not gonna wait!"

"Just go! I'll be fine!"

With that final word, Troy approached the bush, and heard Rainbow Dash's wings flutter off into the soon-to-be stormy skies. As Troy got in closer, he saw the large canvas bag that caught his eye. Even though it looked rather small in the distance, up close the gryphon could see that the bag was actually quite large. The bag held numerous paintings and canvases, and the tannish-brown fabric was covered with writing on every square inch―random symbols, words, and sketches―all of which looked like it was drawn on with an ink pen and meticulous precision (likely a unicorn’s handiwork).

While some of the etchings looked to have been added more recently than others, the bag itself looked rather worn out, with several tears at the seams and a few scuffed places where it’d been carelessly dragged along the ground.

Troy wasn't much of a detective, but he could tell that the bag probably belonged to an artsy kind of pony. He grabbed the strap with one of his claws, and could feel from the weight that the bag had a considerable amount of things inside. Knowing the rain would probably ruin this bag and whatever was inside, Troy began to pull the bag out from the bush. But as he pulled, he soon realized that the strap was caught onto something.

He used his free claw to reach into the bush to pull free whatever had snared the bag. When Troy felt the source holding the strap, he looked closer inside the bush to see what it was. The gryphon’s eyes widened in horror when he saw that the bag wasn't being held by a random branch or root.

It was a bloodied hoof.

With a horrified scream, Troy bolted back from the bush as he stared at the hoof. The appendage was now lying limp on the ground, and stuck out from underneath the bush like something from a horror comic. Slowly walking closer again, Troy saw that the fur on the leg was a bluish-green, abruptly changing to a garish mud-brown as it reached halfway up, and then changing again to a deep dark red at the end. Troy’s breathing hitched when he saw that the hoof itself looked like it was almost completely worn down, like whoever it belonged to had been dragged through thistles and loose stones. Trembling with an almost alien sense of worry, Troy reached with both forelegs into the bush to pull the hoof out.

Troy bolted back a second time, although this time only a foot. Lying in a fetal position, an earth pony was seen passed out under the bush with multiple bruises blossoming along his body. His coat, which Troy guessed was supposed to be the same aqua color as his legs, was matted down, and had patches of mud and dirt along his stomach and back. His other three legs were in no better shape, covered in mud and worn down at the hooves in a sickly red. His long mane looked to have originally been a chestnut brown, but now it was badly tangled and darkened, for Troy could see that a large part was matted to the pony's forehead with blood.

Troy was almost unsure of what gender the pony was, since its face was mangled beyond recognition. An almost-blackened coat of dried blood covered most of the pony's battered face, its left eye swollen shut with the flesh around it colored an especially nasty dark blue.

Troy's heart started to beat at levels he didn't think was physically possible for a gryphon, vacillating over what to do. He overheard the thunder beginning to rumble, and Troy immediately flew upwards into the sky, hoping to Celestia he wasn't too late. He began yelling for help as he soared higher, even though he knew the cloud coverage would diminish any sounds he made to the ponies above the clouds.

"SOMEBODY HEL―"

A loud boom! crashed through the sky, and Troy was mercilessly thrown back to the ground in a simmering, mewling heap. There was a protocol for operating during storm preparations, and one of the biggest rules was to never fly up to the clouds unless you had a death wish. The storm wasn’t supposed to start so quickly! Or maybe, with the adrenaline pumping through his system, Troy had lost track of time.

With a sharp stinging shooting through his whole body, especially across his right wing, Troy managed to get back to his legs after falling in the middle of the road. Troy groaned in pain as he regained his balance, his mind racing as to what to do. He limped back to the bush, reaching underneath. As his claws caught a good grip of the pony, Troy was relieved to feel the body was still warm. There was still a chance.

Troy pulled the pony out into clear view, and saw that the other side of the pony's face was even worse. Its right eye was swollen to about the size of a baseball, and the bruising looked pitch black under the limited light; a small sliver of blood seeped out from between the eyelids, much to the gryphon’s dismay. Troy tried his best to keep his composure while looking at the pony, hoping he wouldn't throw up. With a quick check of its pulse, he discovered that the pony was still breathing, although it was very, very weak.

Flinching at the sharp pain in his back and wings, Troy knew he was definitely in no shape to fly anywhere at the moment. He looked back up at the sign, paling at how far away the hospital was; he knew he could've flown that distance in his sleep, but fourteen miles on four legs was a hard enough feat to accomplish alone, let alone while carrying somepony who was hanging on by a thread.

As he looked back down at the pony, Troy knew there wasn't much time. He could hear the aqua pony slowly breathe out, sounding as if the very act of breathing was a struggle in its state. With a quick breath, Troy hoisted the pony up with his claws, and winced as he laid the earth pony on his strained back.

"I can do this. I…” Troy turned forward to the dirt road, just as the first drops of rain hit his face and the storm began. "... I have to do this."

Right as the rain started hammering down to the ground, the gryphon began to run.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Underneath the cloudline, the Equestrian landscape was being absolutely bombarded by the storm. Right up above it, the mood was just as overbearing, as every pegasus zoomed around the cloudscapes to make sure everything was in order before clocking out. Volunteer vests were put away, tools were returned and accounted for by maintenance, and among the crowds of tired ponies stood Twilight Sparkle, checking off everything on her clipboard.

With a purple aura of magic surrounding her clipboard and quill, Twilight was on her third look-through of all the completed tasks. Satisfied with her flawless line of checks, she glanced over to Rainbow Dash, who was ungracefully slouched down on a pile of clouds shaped into a reclining sofa.

"Rainbow, did you finish looking over the crew list yet?"

The cyan pegasus shifted her weight on the chair, and belted out a particularly loud snore.

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted, startling Rainbow Dash, who shot up from the chair with both her eyes and wings wide open. As quickly as she stood up, the pony's eyes slowly drooped as she readjusted to a state of passable awakeness.

"Wha... whatdoyawant?" grumbled the pegasus as she brought a forehoof to the back of her head and scratched her technicolor mane.

Twilight just sighed before reiterating her question: "Is everypony on the attendance list accounted for?"

Rainbow Dash responded with a purposely loud groan as she glared at Twilight. "THAT'S what you woke me up for?!" Looking more than upset about her nap being interrupted over a list, Rainbow Dash stumbled back to her cloud chair where the clipboard was, and hoofed it over to Twilight. "Okay, there! Everypony has been crossed off, see?”

She watched as the Princess looked over the list, humming to herself with her eyes narrowed studiously. Rainbow didn’t wait for confirmation as she dragged herself back to her chair, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep in before―

"Wait, where's Troius?"

"Who?" Rainbow asked as she looked back at Twilight, who was looking over the rest of the list before glancing back at the unchecked name.

"Troius Clawston. He's the only name on the list that isn't crossed off. Are you sure he's here?"

As she unravelled the cobwebs from her mind, Rainbow tried to remember who Twilight was talking about. After a few seconds, the pegasus' head shot up. "Oh yeah, Troy! The gryphon! Yeah, I saw him earlier."

Twilight's eyebrows furrowed with worry, and she asked, "You saw him?"

"Yes, Twilight! I saw Troy!" Rainbow then huffed with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “Jeez, I don’t think it’s too hard to remember seeing a gryphon around here.”

"Above the cloudline?” Twilight locked her sights on Dash more sternly than before. “Before the storm started?"

Rainbow Dash's eyes, first darting around as if trying to find the specific memory, suddenly shot wide open in shock. "Oh no! He―I think he's still down there!"

"WHAT?!” Twilight grabbed the pegasus with her forehooves. "What do you mean he's still down there!"

"H-He said something about seeing a bush or something by that road sign! I thought he would’ve gotten back by―"

Before Rainbow could finish, a bright flash of purple light appeared in front of her where Twilight was standing, leaving nothing in front of the pony afterwards. As Rainbow Dash looked around, she quickly realized what her egghead friend just did: the newly appointed Princess of Equestria just teleported herself into the middle of a severe-level thunderstorm!

Almost two hours had passed since the first raindrops fell. After all the animals were moved, and everypony managed to find shelter, the area under the rain was fairly empty. Celestia's sun had already dropped past the horizon a half-hour earlier, making the overcast skies that much darker over the land―almost pitch-black without the illumination of Luna's moon or stars. The field was completely still, save for the pounding rain that drummed every square inch that wasn’t already covered.

A flash of purple light appeared, bringing forth Twilight as she materialized at the road sign Rainbow Dash told her about.

She was immediately pelted by the heavy rain, but Twilight Sparkle illuminated her horn as she looked around the wet darkness around the bush.

"TROOOOOOOY!” called out the Princess frantically. "Where are you?!”

Realizing the state of her fur after only a few seconds out in the storm, Twilight quickly summoned a force field spell around herself. While it wasn't the most practical use of her magic, it certainly worked as an effective replacement for an umbrella.

With the added light from her dome, the pony looked around, hoping to see anything that’d indicate Troy was nearby. When she looked back at the bush, Twilight noticed something in the middle of the road. Upon closer inspection, she saw several singed feathers in the mud, confirming Twilight's worst fears: a lightning strike.

She knew how dangerous lightning could be even before she gained her wings, and she studied the dangers even more since she became a Princess. The Princess grew more worried about the gryphon, knowing that he could be in serious trouble. She noted the sign next to the bush, and guessed that if Troy was able to move, he would head to the hospital. With a quick change to her forcefield to allow it to move with her, Twilight spread open her wings and flew along the road.

With each step his paws and talons made in the increasingly thickening mud, Troy felt like he was going to pass out then and there. The darkness falling around him made it almost impossible to see further than a few feet, but he still tried to keep a steady pace with the unconscious pony propped on his back. His legs were burning intensely from the exertion. Each forced breath he took stung his lungs like he was inhaling pure ice. The freezing rain hitting his already-soaked fur and feathers only helped to emphasize how royally bucked this situation was.

He wasn't sure how long he had been running through the storm, but the unrelenting rainfall made it feel like an eternity. All he knew was the hospital was still a long, long way off.

As the gryphon slowed his pace to catch his breath, his heart felt as if it was going to burst at any moment. Even though his legs were practically begging to give out from the weight on his back, Troy kept his posture up as he struggled to keep his mind in focus. He needed to get help! Unsure of how much energy he had left in him, he painfully started to move his legs again, only moving forward a few steps before noticing a strange light humming down the path.

Looking back, Troy could only make out what he would describe as a floating ball of light speeding toward him. Twilight caught sight of Troy below, and alighted on the path before him. She dissipated the force field the moment her hooves touched the muddy ground, but she didn’t seem to care about her matted fur when she ran up to the gryphon.

"Troy!" shouted the soaking-wet alicorn. "Are you oka―”

Twilight went silent as her eyes grew in horror, noticing the hurt pony slumped on Troy’s back. Struggling to keep his balance, Troy tried to regain some strength to explain what happened. The pony on his back remained lifelessly limp, and was staining the gryphon's grey coat with the mud and blood from his own battered body.

After finally gaining enough air in his lungs to speak, Troy tried to tell Twilight that he needed help. Unfortunately, each word he spoke came out between several deep, exhausted breaths. "I… I found him… under a bush… He―”

Before Troy could finish, he saw the worried Princess light her horn once more. She illuminated herself with an especially bright, purple glow before a flash engulfed the both of them. For a brief moment, Troy was weightless―not particularly flying, but… floating, as if he were a mayfly trapped in a vat of viscous gelatin.

As suddenly as the sensation took him, it left; Troy then fell onto a cold floor with a wet and ungraceful thud. An even brighter light pierced his sight from above, leaving him unable to really see where he was. He could tell that there was no more rain, but that was about it. As his eyes readjusted, he realized he was no longer even outdoors, but now standing on a laminated tile floor as he heard Twilight nearby calling for help.

Troy felt the weight on his back being lifted off; two nearby unicorns carefully laid the injured pony across a stretcher, both of whom were wearing what looked to be hospital scrubs. Troy tried to say something, but his exhaustion left him barely able to even stand in that moment while the injured pony was pushed further into the building.

The gryphon looked around the white-painted room, and started to realize where he was at: judging by the lines of chairs along the walls, along with the several panicked ponies who were seated across them, it seemed that Princess Twilight had teleported them to the hospital, right in the middle of the waiting room.

The gryphon blinked a couple times as a bout of grogginess hit him with the force of a brick. His head started to spin violently, and he could only hear bits of what was being said by Twilight and the staff before he collapsed on the floor again. As the voices started to fade away, Troy's mind began to blank. Before he completely passed out, he could hear Twilight's relieved voice above him.

"You did a great job, Troy. You both are going to be just fine..."

After that, all Troy could feel was warmth and silence as the darkness encompassed him, and he finally let his aching body get some well-earned rest.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

"I swear to Celestia, if that clock goes off right now…"

Despite the attempts from the hamster in his head to stir him from his slumber, Troy stubbornly kept his eyes closed. As he tried to turn over, he noticed an odd restriction in his wings and back, and his bedding felt a lot firmer than usual. Slowly opening his eyes, Troy realized he wasn't on his cloud. In fact, he wasn't on any cloud at all; he was on a large mattress set on the ground with several blankets rolled around it, similar to a makeshift nest.

As he looked around the pale white-and-tan room, Troy saw from the window to his right that it was bright again outside, although the clouds still looked rather miffed. To his left, the gryphon saw a large table, on it a large arrangement of flowers, balloons and various cards; most of which said things like “Get Well Soon!” or “Great Job!” Troy scratched his head, confused as to why such an arrangement was lying there.

It all came flooding back into his mind: the storm, the bloodied hoof, the flash of lightning, the Princess... Troy instantly sat up in his mattress. All he could recall after the storm was a calm voice, and the ruffle of purple feathers before he blacked out. As he looked down at the bandages around his torso and wings, a noise jolted Troy when the door opened.

Troy looked up to see Twilight Sparkle entering the room. Behind her walked in a tan unicorn with a thick, chocolate-colored mane, glasses, and a heart monitor emblazoned on his flank. The stallion wore a white doctor's coat with a nametag titled "Stable M.D.” The unicorn lifted the stethoscope around his neck with his magic toward Troy's chest. Twilight walked up to Troy's side, overjoyed to see him awake.

"Oh, Troy, I'm so glad you're okay!" Before Troy could reply, the alicorn wrapped her forehooves around the gryphon in a surprisingly strong hug. Stammering, Troy’s heart raced just as quickly as it did when he was in the field. Of all the things he expected to happen in his lifetime, being hugged by Royalty was not on that list.

“P-Princess! I, um…” The gryphon’s face burned as he scrambled to respond.

Twilight pulled away from him, giving him a warm smile, saying, “It’s alright, Troy, you’re safe now.” She cast her eyes to his haphazardly strewn-together bedding, trying not to wince. "Ummm… I’m sorry about the accommodations. There weren’t any bed frames large enough for gryphons."

“It’s, uh, it’s fine, Princess,” Troy muttered. Twilight’s smile dipped slightly, almost imperceptibly.

But before anything else could be said, though, Doctor Stable stepped forward as he pulled the stethoscope from Troy’s chest. "Well Troy, you're very lucky to still have your wings right now,” he said, summoning a clipboard and scribbling across a sheet.

Troy's eyes widened, and he tried to turn his head around to glance at the bandages on his back. He attempted to flutter his wings, but they were restricted under the tight wrappings.

"The lightning strike didn't hit you directly,” Doctor Stable said. "You were only grazed. Nothing indicates that you’ve suffered any serious injuries." Troy closed his eyes and sighed in relief. The Doctor looked up from the chart to Troy, and gave him a slight smile. "In fact, you could actually leave the hospital today if you want. After a quick look-over, of course."

"That would be great, Doc." As Troy readjusted his weight so he could sit easier on the mattress, he looked back over to Twilight, who was now standing at the table and looking at the various cards. "How long was I in here?"

"Since last night,” said Twilight. “Although you've been unconscious for most of the day. It's almost four already."

Troy’s mind grinded to a halt, and he looked at the clock sitting above the doorway. As his eyes went back to the table, and all of the well-wishes and trinkets lined along it, Troy’s brows furrowed. "What's with all the cards and stuff?"

Twilight looked back at him as though he had sprouted a horn of his own on his forehead. "Seriously? After the news spread around about what happened, ponies wanted to show their thanks for what you did. I mean… you saved somepony, Troy! Who knows what would have happened if you weren’t there."

“THE PONY!” Troy immediately shot up from the mattress. Despite Stable's efforts to restrain him in fear of the bandages ripping open, he rushed over to Twilight. "What happened to him? Is he alright?"

Twilight's ears dropped slightly, which caused Troy’s face to fall.

"The stallion's condition is stable for now," Doctor Stable assured, annoyance clear in his tone from Troy’s actions. Removing his glasses with a forehoof, he said, "Honestly, he’s doing much better than he was when the two of you first brought him in. Although..."

“Although what?” Troy looked between both of the ponies as his expression grew more concerned. “Why is everyone beating around the bush!?” The gryphon winced as soon as the question came out of his beak. Twilight and Stable cringed as well, clearly catching the awkward wording in relation to what happened.

Doctor Stable wiped the lens on his glasses with a white cloth via his magic, sighing. "The pony had to undergo emergency surgery due to the extensive damage to his skull. Particularly his right eye socket.”

Troy’s throat tightened, even though he wasn’t too surprised given how bad the pony’s eye looked. "A large part of the socket was caved in,” Doctor Stable said, “and the internal bleeding could've caused serious damage if you hadn't found him." Stable levitated the cloth back into his coat pocket, and placed his glasses back on has he spoke. "Luckily, we were able to repair the skull and possibly save his eye... But that wasn't the most troubling thing."

"What…” Troy blinked a couple times. "What do you mean?"

Doctor Stable closed his eyes. "Well… The stallion was also showing signs of extreme dehydration and fatigue, and the state of his hooves was the worst I've seen in a long time." Troy could only nod as the unicorn went into more detail. "The muscles in the pony's legs were in rather bad shape from overuse, and combined with the signs of severe exhaustion, it would seem like…”

"Seem like what?" asked Troy. Twilight stepped in closer as she listened in, clearly concerned as well. After a brief pause, Stable looked between both of them before giving his answer.

"It would seem like... the pony had been running himself to exhaustion for days before you found him."

After letting the doctor's words hang in the air for a moment, Troy looked back to Twilight. Twilight had her muzzle clenched shut in worry, not wanting to show that she already knew about most of this. As he thought about the pony's condition, Troy asked her, "Do you… Do you think maybe he was chased by something? Like a dragon or a manticore, or...?" He waved his claws around as though to pull the answer none of them had from the air.

Twilight slowly shook her head, looking away into nothing as she tried to think about Troy's theory from a logical standpoint. "I don't think the pony was chased by anything that big. If there was something like that terrorizing ponies, there would've been a report of it somewhere." A purple forehoof came up to her chin as she pondered. "And if something was chasing him, I would think it would give up after a while. I don't think any creature would keep a pony running for days on end like that."

"I don't believe he was injured by a creature at all."

Troy and Twilight turned their heads back to Dr. Stable, who looked back at his clipboard as he explained: "The damage done to his eye was most likely done with a weapon or blunt object. And looking over the other bruises and injuries on his body, most looked like they were done by hoof."

"Whoa, wait a second!" Troy exclaimed. "Are you telling me that some pony did that to him? He could’ve died!"

The doctor solemnly nodded as Troy looked on in a state of utter disbelief. Gryphons may have been a more brutal species than their Equestrian counterparts, but even they rarely took things to such bloody extremes. For a pony to enact such violence against another pony was almost impossible to even conceive. There may have been fights here and there in Equestria, but most of them were just petty squabbles or arguments that almost never turned physical. And even if they did get physical, absolutely none of them would've ended like… that.

As he looked back at Twilight, Troy could see from her expression that she was feeling the same way. Unsure about how to respond, both were slightly taken aback when Stable spoke again.

"However, that’s merely a theory. The stallion is still unconscious, so at the moment I have no concrete idea as to what happened to him. I'm not sure when he'll be lucid enough to speak, but we'll be sure to let the both of you know as soon as it happens."

Doctor Stable looked over Troy one last time before giving him the okay to leave the hospital. Even though he was happy to leave the cramped room to get back to his cloud, his hopes fell when the doctor told him to stay off his wings for a couple of days.

As he packed all of the cards and a majority of the flowers into his satchel―as well as tying several of the balloons on the strap―Troy was surprised to find Twilight waiting for him when he left his room. Despite how jarring it felt to be so casually close to someone so renowned, Troy tried not to look to overwhelmed as he strolled alongside the Princess through the hospital halls. He was unsure of where he was going to stay while his wings recuperated, since he knew that he couldn't just simply fly home. But before he could work himself up about where he was supposed to sleep for the next few days, Twilight surprised him by asking, "So Troy, do you want me to get you a ride back to your place?"

Taken aback by the sudden offer, Troy said, "Oh! I-I couldn't, Twilight. You already helped me so much. I just... I don't want to impose or any―"

"It wouldn't be a problem at all to help you." Twilight said, smiling brightly. "I can arrange for a carriage to carry you back home, no sweat! If you don't mind, of course."

"Um…” Not knowing how to respond, Troy decided to just let her help out. He did want to get back to his bed again. "... I guess I wouldn't mind. After all, I wouldn't want to turn down an offer from a Princess."

Twilight giggled with an understanding shrug, and replied with, “Trust me, it’s a lot harder for me to ask for things as a Princess. You’re perfectly fine.”

Troy ended up smiling a bit more naturally, not expecting the alicorn to be so humble outside her royal duties. As they waited for Troy’s carriage, the two ended up having a rather nice conversation over how life in Equestria had gone for him so far. Troy was relieved to find Twilight to be incredibly down-to-earth and an absolute pleasure to talk to, whether the topic was about the intricacies of atmospheric electricity and manipulation (something Troy was elated to discuss at length with someone so passionate about the subject) or what brew of tea was the best cure for aching wings after a long day of flying (charming as she was, Twilight’s tastes were just unfortunate in Troy’s opinion).

Soon enough, the discussion came to a close with the arrival of the requested carriage, but its conclusion also included several thank-you's from the gryphon, for both the carriage and for her efforts the previous night. Of course, Troy was still rather stunned by Twilight’s generosity when his eyes fell upon the carriage she had arranged, which was piloted by four Royal Guards to fly him back to his cloud.

When he finally left the hospital, and waved down at the lavender alicorn below with a kind goodbye, Troy's mind slowly went back to the stallion still at the hospital. Despite Doctor Stable’s reassurances regarding his condition, Troy was still concerned about him. As the wind blew through the feathers on his face and chest, questions pummeled the gryphon's mind about the pony.

Did he do something bad?

Was he part of some crime?

Was it something serious?

Who the buck would clobber a pony like that?

Why?!

It wasn't until one of the guards caught his attention that Troy realized that he was back at his modest cloud. He made sure to thank the guards as he hopping from the carriage, offering them a kind farewell before walking into his abode. By the time the carriage left to return to Canterlot, Troy ended up dropping face-first onto his cloud bedding.

His body grew weaker, and his thoughts grew more discordant as the seconds passed. Troy knew he had a few days of confinement before he could fly again, but was grateful he had enough food in his kitchen to keep from starving during that time. With a deep sigh, the gryphon moved himself into a more comfortable position on the bed, despite his binded wings causing a lot of discomfort. Not to mention, Troy couldn’t help the growing difficulty with thinking about anything other than that pony.

Whatever happened, Troy thought as his eyes slowly closed to get some much-needed shuteye, I really hope that stallion will be alright...

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

For the next week, things changed rather drastically for Troy. After his wings got back into flying shape, he was overwhelmed by how much attention he'd received around Cloudsdale. The story about him saving a pony during the storm had spread all throughout the city, and the gryphon had become something of a local hero. While he wasn't used to the constant barrage of ponies asking about what happened or telling him how awesome he was, Troy was feeling a lot better about himself and his place in Equestria.

However, as the days passed, Troy started to become more and more worried. It'd been a week since he had gotten that stallion to the hospital, but he hadn’t received any news regarding an improvement in the pony's condition. He knew that the stallion was in really bad shape, but he didn't think it would take this long for him to get better. Was he in a coma? Did his condition get worse? Not knowing what to think, Troy couldn't focus on much else by the time he flew back to the hospital for a checkup.

"Everything looks alright, Mister Clawston." Upon hearing Doctor Stable's approval, Troy smiled and closed his wings back to his sides. "You're very lucky to have only lost a few feathers from that strike. Celestia knows what would've happened if you were just a few inches to the right or to the left."

"That's great to know,” Troy said, running his claws over his head. “Um… so, Doc… Is that pony alright? I mean, has he gotten better, or…”

Troy was afraid to finish the question, worried about whether or not the pony had actually gotten worse. Fortunately, Doctor Stable didn't look upset; in fact, he gave a fair look of optimism to the gryphon.

"Well, his physical condition has greatly improved since the last time you were here. His hooves have healed up nicely, and his legs are regaining their strength and shape. Even the fractures in his skull are beginning to heal after several rounds of regenerative magic, so I'm confident that he'll be back in good condition very soon."

"Alright, good! That’s… That’s good." Troy wasn't sure what much else to say. However, he could tell that the doctor wasn't telling him everything. "Is he… Is he awake?”

The doctor's ears dropped, his expression darkening as he chewed on the inside of his cheek. "He's been waking up for a short amount of time for the past few days before slipping back into unconsciousness. We're not sure why, but we're hoping that he'll be fully awake and talking soon."

As Troy let this new information sink in, the doctor placed his hoof on his shoulder. "Please try not to worry about it too much, Mister Clawston. His condition is getting much better, and I know he'll be up and walking again in no time at all. I promise I'll let you and Twilight know when he's awake so you can talk to him. I'm sure he'll want to speak with both of you as well."

Troy nodded, making sure to hold his tongue. However, even when the appointment was finished and he was able to leave without his bandages, his thoughts still buzzed around the injured pony. As the gryphon walked down the halls to leave the hospital, he came across an empty hallway. Among the lines of closed doors and fluorescent lighting, Troy looked up the archway above the hall, which carried a sign reading “Intensive Care.”

After looking around to make sure no one was watching him, Troy crept down the hall, sneaking quick glances through the window of each door. Most of the rooms were either empty, or angled too oddly for him to see anything noteworthy. Before he decided to just head back out, he looked in one last door at the very end.

When he looked inside, all he could see was a darkened room with a small light illuminating the hospital bed. In front of the bed lied something Troy recognized immediately: the brown art bag with writing he picked up from the storm. Troy almost forgot even picking up the bag, and he didn't even notice it on him as he ran through the storm that night.

Troy then glanced at the bed, and was finally able to see the stallion he saved. Unfortunately, the dim lighting just made the shape on the bed look that much more depressing: a large amount of bandages covered each of the pony’s legs, each of them spread out across the bed in all four directions. There were also bandages covering the right side of the pony's face, as a rather nasty-looking red tube poked out from underneath the wrapping. Troy could also see a few other small tubes sticking out from the pony's body, all connected to the equipment surrounding the bed.

As Troy observed the unconscious pony, he was finally able to see the cutie mark on the pony's now-clean aqua flank: a painter's palette with a small paintbrush underneath.

A painter? Troy thought to himself while blinking repeatedly in befuddlement. How the buck does a painter end up like that?!

Troy heard the voices of some ponies in the distance, and he quickly left the hallway. He may have kept that pony from being killed, but he didn’t want to be caught snooping around where he didn’t belong. As he reached the main doors of the hospital and into the fresh open air, the gryphon sighed in relief when he was finally able to spread his wings again. But alas, even as he soared off into the sky, the comforting sensation of flying was just barely enough to help Troy in that moment.

Even though Stable’s words comforted him, he was now thinking about what could’ve led to such a cruel fate for that pony. Troy tried to shake his head clear of those thoughts, and decided to head back to Cloudsdale to get some groceries before going home. It may have been a temporary distraction, but he already knew he’d have a lot on his mind that night.

As the day drew to a close, and Luna's stars shined brightly above Equestria, the Ponyville Hospital was fairly still for the evening. Not many patients were admitted―only a couple of ponies were in the waiting room to be seen for their ailments, and the staff was taking their time, ready to help at a moment's notice.

Meanwhile in the Intensive Care unit, the aqua stallion with the painting cutie mark laid still, the motions of his chest syncing with the solemn beeps of the heart-rate monitor. The pony may have awakened a few times earlier in the week, but most of those moments only lasted a few seconds before the webs of oblivion once again entangled his feeble consciousness.

Beep… beep… beep… beep… beep…

The steady rhythm of the beeps rang monotonously inside the room as the pony laid motionless. Save for the lights from the machines and the small lamp near the bed that illuminated the pony, the room itself was shrouded in dreary shadows. But slowly, the stallion's right forehoof began to move and scratch at the sheets.

Beep… beep… beep… beep… beep… beep…

While his eyes remained closed, his muzzle began to twitch and move. He tossed his head back and forth on the pillow slowly, and his breathing started to grow more erratic.

Beep.. beep.. beep.. beep.. Beep-beep-beep.. beep.. beep..

The pony gritted his teeth as he writhed on the bed, all of his legs struggling to move despite their thick bandages. His thrashing motions triggered the sensors on the machines, and the emergency call button automatically went off to the front desk staff. Meanwhile, the heart-rate machine started beeping faster.

Beep.. beep.. beep.. beep.. beep.. beepbeep.. beepbeep.. beepbeep.. beepbeep..

Two nurses rushed into the room and turned on the lights, finding the pony violently convulsing on the bed while his tubes were pulling at the machinery. The pony's face, eyes still clenched shut, glowed with fear and pain as the staff tried to wrestle his limbs down. The unicorn nurse levitated up a syringe while the pony's heavy gasping turned into groans and incomprehensible mumbles. The earth pony nurse kept her hooves planted on his flailing forelegs, and yelled at the other nurse for assistance.

"I need twenty-five C.C.s of morphine, stat!"

beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeep.

The syringe was quickly carried to the nurse through magic, and she grabbed it with her teeth, flawlessly removing the cap in one motion with a flick of the neck.

"Get Doctor Stable right away!" she commanded, her voice muffled through the syringe.

beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeep. beepbeepbeep. beepbeepbeep. beepbeepbeep.

As the unicorn nurse rushed out to the hall, shouting out Stable's name frantically, the second nurse was starting to have serious trouble holding the stallion down. His mumblings became louder with each passing second, sounding increasingly worrisome. His head thrashed around even more, and caused his long brown mane to start getting tangled with his bandages. Unable to get a good enough grip on the pony to administer the shot, the nurse called out for more help, the syringe still in her mouth. “I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE RIGHT NOW!”

Beepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeepbeep…

In one final burst of energy, the nurse was thrown off the bed by the stallion as he shot upright with cold sweat beading his face. He looked like a victim in some horror movie, and his uncovered eye was wide-open as he started screaming his head off.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!"

At the sound of the pony's screaming, Doctor Stable ran into the room with the nurse right behind him. He quickly grabbed the morphine from the other nurse's mouth with his magic as he tried to calm down the hysterical stallion. The unicorn nurse used her magic to grab all four of the pony's bandaged limbs, and held him onto the bed as he screamed in confused terror. But even under the doctor's orange aura, the panicked stallion still thrashed around hard enough to make the bed rock around on its legs.

"No! No! Nononono! NOOOOOOOOOO!"

Doctor Stable held down the pony as still as he could, and quickly administered the syringe into the pony's left foreleg. Despite how many times he many have administered an injection, he hoped that the pony’s writhing wouldn't break the needle off inside. As quickly as he removed the needle, the pony’s movements turned sluggish. Tears were now pouring from his uncovered eye, and the pony's screaming slowly went back to panicked mumblings. His heavy breathing soon turned to painful sobs as the drug took effect, and helped the pony to settle back down into his bed.

"No… No, no, no… I can't… I… Icantdothisan… anymnnh...”

With his last words being too unintelligible for the doctor or panicked staff to understand, they could only watch as the stallion fell back onto the bed. His breathing started to settle while the heart monitor slowed back down. Large parts of his long mane covered his face as his head rested on the pillow. Stable looked back at his staff, unsure of how to react to what had just happened, and could only say the first thing that came to mind: "So… what's the time right now? When did he wake up?"

The unicorn nurse looked up to the clock over the doorway. "Umm… A-At about 11:37, Doc.”

The stallion looked up to confirm her statement, and groaned as he placed his hoof to his forehead. "Darnit! I had ten PM in the betting pool!"

Some time later, the aqua pony stirred in his hospital bed once again. Fortunately this time, there wasn’t any screaming. He slowly lifted his hoof up to shield his eyes from the piercing light overhead, but realized they felt a lot… heavier than usual. Groaning as he lifted his head from the pillow, he could hear muffled voices nearby.

The stallion was surprised to see a veritable cloak of white and tan bandages where his greenish-blue coat was supposed to be. After lifting himself up until he was sitting upright on the bed, he saw that all of his other hooves were covered as well. He eventually moved his right forehoof up to his face, and felt the bandage over his right eye. He winced slightly at the pain, and he quickly dropped his hoof back down as the door opened.

Somepony in a white lab-coat entered the room, looking rather concerned to see the pony awake once more. He put up a hoof in a gentle, placating manner. "Please stay calm, sir. I'm a doctor. Doctor Stable. How are you feeling?"

As he looked around the room in fear and confusion, the pony opened his mouth to reply. "Where…” His eye widened from how weak his own voice sounded, and he cleared his throat before he continued. “Where am I?" After picking up his right hoof, the aqua pony felt around his head for his mane before he started stroking it, something Stable assumed was a nervous habit.

"Well, you're in a hospital, of course. Ponyville General Hospital, to be more specific."

The pony blinked a few times with his good eye, staring at the doctor with even more confusion. "I'm… I'm in Ponyville?" He looked back around the room and out the window, but all he could see from his angle was the night sky.

"That’s right,” said Doctor Stable with a nod, his expression remaining concerned. “And if you don’t mind, I’d like to ask you a few questions, starting with your name."

After a moment of silence, the pony breathed out and looked back at the doctor. "Ummm… My name is Canvas. L-Like the material." He went back to stroking his mane.

"I see." Stable levitated a clipboard from the front of the bed, mumbling to himself as he wrote down the name on the sheet. "Well, Canvas, you've been here for just over a week now. Can you recall anything of the time before you arrived here?"

When he looked up from the clipboard, the doctor noticed the pony's face turn slightly paler. It seemed that Canvas was temporarily lost in thought before shaking his head. "No… No, I… I don't remember much, Doctor."

Stable's eyes locked with his as he spoke more sternly. "Canvas, I need you to be honest with me. If there's anything you can remember, you need to tell us." Canvas hesitantly nodded after a moment, gulping nervously. "Can you tell me where you're from?" asked Stable, trying his best to keep a casual tone for the patient’s sake.

Canvas' ears lowered as he looked away from the doctor, looking like he just asked him if a relative had died. "I… don't really have a place right now..." When he looked back at Stable, Canvas could tell that wasn't the answer he was looking for. He closed his eyes before saying, "I… I used to be from… G-Gallop Creek..." He turned his muzzle away from the doctor, biting his lip while Stable wrote it down.

"I…” As Canvas tried to speak again, he waited until the doctor stopped writing before he continued. "I really don't remember much about what happened. I don't think I can tell you much right now..."

Stable merely nodded, surprising Canvas quite a bit. The doctor breathed out heavily before placing the clipboard on the bed. "Alright, I understand. You just woke up, so I don't blame you if your memory is still a little hazy. It is rather late, after all."

After looking up at the clock to see that it was past midnight, Canvas turned back towards the doctor with a small shade of guilt on his face. "S-Sorry..."

"Oh, don't be!" Stable suddenly seemed a lot cheerier as he smiled at Canvas. "I'm just glad to see you're awake again, although your sleep schedule might be a bit off for a while. You've been out for over a week, so I'm sure that Princess Twilight Sparkle will be glad to know―"

"Wait, what?!"

Stable couldn’t help smirking a bit at Canvas' shocked reaction, and chuckled to himself before continuing. "Yes, you were found during a storm preparation west of Ponyville last week. Princess Twilight was organizing the event, and she personally helped to get you here."

Canvas' jaw dropped, the bedridden pony only able to look at Doctor Stable in stunned silence. Canvas―the same as anypony who didn’t live under a rock―knew exactly who Twilight Sparkle was. But at the same time, to think that he’d been saved by someone like her…

"I… I have no idea what to say. I mean… The Twilight Sparkle actually saved my life?" Feeling like he was going to break down any second, Canvas just slumped back in his bed and started to twist his chestnut mane around his hoof.

"Yes, Princess Twilight brought you to the hospital,” repeated Doctor Stable. “One of the preparation’s volunteers―a gryphon named Troy―was the first to try and get you help. To my knowledge, he’s the one who found you before the storm started." Canvas looked back up at Stable as soon as he mentioned the word “gryphon,” with his brows raised in confusion. "He apparently ran quite a long ways through the storm with you on his back before Twilight found you both."

Again, Canvas blinked a few times before dropping his hoof from his mane. "So… A gryphon and a princess helped me?"

Doctor Stable just smiled, fighting down a chuckle.

A small smile of its own settled on Canvas’ face. "Ummm… Well, Doctor, that’s… quite a lot to take in."

"I'll leave you to rest for a bit,” Doctor Stable said, nodding toward a device within hoof’s reach of Canvas. “Just press the call button by the bed if you need anything from the staff." As the doctor turned to leave, he looked back at Canvas, who was now looking down at his hooves again. "And just remember, if there's anything you can remember…”

"Yeah, I know." Biting his lip again as he took in everything, he looked back up at the doctor just before he crossed the doorway. "Doctor?"

Doctor Stable looked back at him.

"Ummm… have a good night.” Canvas gave a sincere, albeit meek smile to Stable. “And thank you."

Stable gave a smile and a slight nod of his own before exiting the room, closing the door behind him.

Now alone, Canvas looked around the room, staring at all the equipment he was hooked up to before noticing the mirror on the wall to his right. As he looked at his reflection, Canvas saw for the first time how heavily bandaged his face was. He gently lifted a hoof up to his eye, and carefully tried to feel the bandages clinging to his fur. He knew he was in bad shape before, but just seeing how much damage was done to him cemented how badly everything went for him.

How badly he was treated.

Canvas' good eye began to well up as he looked away from the mirror. Not sure of what to do, Canvas lay back on the bed, and grabbed a pillow with his bandaged hooves to cradle in his forearms.

He buried his face in the pillow, and only the sounds of the equipment could be heard in the room as he cried.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

After the bandages on his hooves came off, now being almost completely healed (but still rather soft and sensitive), Canvas was allowed to leave the hospital after only two days. Despite Stable's efforts to contact both Twilight and Troy about Canvas, he was unable to reach either one: Princess Twilight Sparkle was apparently in the Crystal Empire for some important job (although Stable was unsure of what, since the dragon he contacted wasn't sure either), and Troy was sent to help with water transport to Appleloosa due to a severe drought earlier that year.

After the first night, Canvas was a lot more quiet around Stable and the staff, but he did stay polite whenever they checked in on him. The only thing that he wouldn’t talk about was how he got his injuries.

Even though Canvas insisted that he couldn't remember how he ended up with a shattered eye socket or how he ran his hooves raw, Stable was certain he didn't have amnesia. He didn't want to think the pony was lying, but as time passed, he felt more strongly that Canvas was hiding something.

Something big.

Regardless, the stallion remained fairly silent by the time he was given the okay to leave the hospital. But since Stable knew that Canvas would have to come back to have the stitches removed, he was hopeful that spending some time in Ponyville would calm Canvas down enough to talk about what happened. Fortunately, Canvas seemed more than alright with staying around Ponyville for the time being, and was surprisingly optimistic after his checkup with Stable was completed.

"I really can't say enough how grateful I am for everything you've done for me,” said Canvas as he lifted his bag from the floor. "I mean, I was getting worried about whether or not I could even use my hooves again."

The doctor only nodded as he used his magic to readjust the bandages on Canvas' right eye. "Believe me, I’m just as grateful. But if I’m being honest, Twilight Sparkle and Troius are the ones you should be thanking. They're the ones who found you in time for me to help. Plus, Twilight was generous enough to pay off your medical bills."

With a heavy sigh, Canvas adjusted the shoulder strap of his bag so it hung only a few inches off the ground. "Yeah, I still can't believe she did that! I mean, I know she's royalty and all, but it’s still shocking to think about, you know?" After feeling comfortable with the adjustments, he looked back up to Stable and asked, "Do you know when she'll be back from the Crystal Empire?"

Stable only shook his head as he wiped his glasses clean. "I'm not sure, but I’ve heard that she might be back later today. And I'll be sure to try contacting Troius again as well. I’m not too familiar with Cloudsdale’s scheduling, but I'm certain he should've come back from Appleloosa by now."

"Alright,” said Canvas with a smile, before he held out his freshly healed hoof. "And thank you again, Doctor Stable."

"Not a problem. Just remember to come back in two days to get the stitches removed." As he shook Canvas' hoof, his expression became more serious while eyeing the young stallion. "Just so you know, though… within these walls, anything that you tell me will remain confidential. If you can tell me anything―and I mean anything―about what happened, please let me know. I promise you'll be alright."

Canvas nervously nodded before he pulled his hoof back. He knew that the doctor was sincere in his promise, but it was clear from his expression that he didn't even want to think about what happened, let alone talk about it out loud. He might’ve been able to tell him when he came back for his next appointment; but for right now, he just wanted to get out of the hospital and breathe some fresh air. He also had quite a bit to do, starting with giving some well-deserved thanks to the two who saved him.

After being given his medication and directions on how to change his bandages, Canvas finally stepped out from the hospital’s front entrance. After spending so long cooped up in a sterile room, it felt absolutely incredible for Canvas to be outside, and to take in the fresh air as it brushed past his long chestnut mane. The stallion saw nothing but luscious green fields with magnificently tall trees, all under a clear blue sky as he walked along the road with a content smile. Everything looked just… perfect, and it took everything in him to keep from constantly pausing his steps to savor the elation he felt in that moment. Nevertheless, after he made sure his bag was comfortable on his shoulder, Canvas started his trek into town.

Canvas reached the town limits of Ponyville around noon, just as the hamlet became vibrant from ponies going on with their daily routines and lunch hours. As Canvas walked over the bridge into town, he could see just how bright and colorful the community really was: houses and buildings were painted in appealing shades of every color he could’ve imagined. Banners and signs decorated the streets above with vivid colors and designs, and helped to provide an uplifting tone that could improve anypony's mood.

As he walked around the quaint streets, Canvas could see how happy and kind ponies were as they passed each other; townsfolk were giving their greetings and compliments to each other without a single shred of sarcasm, pessimism, or insincerity in their voices. For the aqua pony, it all felt like something out of a story book, something he would’ve never thought he’d see in real life.

This certainly feels a lot better than Gallop Creek.

Canvas trotted along the Ponyville streets as he tried to keep his uncovered eye occupied on anything other than the ponies staring at him. He knew that the bandages on his face and knees (a suggestion from Dr. Stable to ensure there wouldn't be much stress on his legs) would attract some attention; fortunately, most of the ponies he passed were courteous enough to not do anything more than look. Canvas held his bag closer to himself, and tried to keep his mind focused on finding the library. He learned from some of the hospital staff that Princess Twilight Sparkle was living there, instead of a castle for some weird reason. But just as he reached the large fountain at the center of town, a sharp burst of pain struck Canvas' right hindleg, almost knocking him down as he grimaced at his now-throbbing knee.

Knowing his other legs would give out just as soon as the first one, Canvas looked around and noticed an empty bench near the fountain. Canvas gritted his teeth as he tried limping towards the spot, even as his other hindleg started to give out as well. Only a few feet from the bench, Canvas felt a sharp stinging hit his left foreleg, which caused him to yelp and drop to the ground. Wincing from his aching joints, Canvas tried to raise himself up before he suddenly felt himself being lifted from the ground.

"Are you alright, sir?" As he was hoisted up to his hooves by his torso, Canvas noticed who it was helping him up: a mint-green unicorn mare with a matching green and white mane that was styled surprisingly short. Her amber eyes looked at Canvas with worry as she held him upright. "Do you need to see a doctor?"

"N-No,” he said with a shake of his head, “I… I just got back from a doctor. I was just trying to get to that bench ove―"

Before Canvas could finish, he was lifted up by the mare’s aura of green magic and placed gently on the bench. As he adjusted himself, making sure to move his joints as little as possible, the pony walked over to him with a look of concern on her face. "Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor? You look like you're in pretty bad shape."

Canvas put his good hoof up, and glanced up at her with a quick smile. "No, I'm fine, really. I just didn't think I had to walk that far from the hospital.” After sighing to himself, Canvas maintained his reassuring smile as he said, “Trust me, I've been through a lot worse."

Even though Canvas didn’t intend for that statement to sound too troubling, he was quick to notice the pony eyeing his bandages. The stallion’s smile lessened, but he tried his hardest not to let anything too damning show in his expression. Since he didn’t want to worry the unicorn more than he already had, Canvas rested his back on the back of the bench. "Thank you for helping me, though. My name is Canvas." He held out his hoof, which the mare shook gently, minding the bandages.

"Lyra. Pleasure to meet you." She gave a smile to Canvas which looked genuinely kind. "So what brings you to Ponyville?"

"I actually came into town to talk to Twilight Sparkle,” Canvas said. “She was actually the one who got me to a doctor in the first place."

Lyra's eyes widened in startling realization. "Wait a minute! Were you that pony she found in the storm a week ago?"

At the mention of the storm, Canvas' ears dropped down as his smile fell to one of embarrassment. "Ummm… yeah, I… I guess I am."

"Wow, everypony's been talking about that!” Lyra leaned in closer to Canvas, and asked curiously, “What exactly happened? I’ve heard bits and pieces, but it’s all been kinda hearsay, you know?"

"I'm… I-I’m not really sure of how I got to the hospital,” Canvas said as he looked away from her sheepishly. “I was unconscious at the time. I honestly don't want to talk about it right now..."

Lyra blinked a couple times. "Oh, um… Alright, I understand. I didn’t mean to freak you out or anything.” She glanced over her shoulder before adding, “I think Twilight is supposed to be back in town pretty soon. I'm sure you'll catch her when she comes in. She’s kind of hard to miss."

Canvas nodded as he got more comfortable. Lyra looked up at the clock tower, nearly jumping out of her skin. "Oh shoot, I gotta get to work! Nice to meet you, Canvas. Be careful on those hooves!" she said before hurriedly galloping off.

"You too," Canvas said, cringing the moment the words came out of his mouth.

Now alone on the bench, he turned his attention towards the fountain in front of him. Canvas' thoughts started to drift back to what he needed to do: aside from thanking Twilight and the gryphon for saving him, he realized he didn't have anything planned after that. In fact, he didn’t really have anything at all.

His heart sank in his chest, and Canvas knew that despite his luck and his miraculous recovery, he was still no better off than before his hospitalization. He had no money. No job. Nothing to his name, other than his art bag. And worst of all, Canvas had no place to live.

Canvas felt his throat close up at that last one, knowing that what happened was, in fact, real.

No matter how much he wanted it to not be real, he knew that wasn't going to change anything.

I'm… I'm all alone.

Canvas struggled to hold himself together as the reality of his situation began to sink in. He really didn't want to think about that night, but the events loomed over his head like a black omen he couldn’t shake. He knew that if he didn't do something soon, he was just going to break down right there in the middle of town, in front of everypony.

Canvas grew desperate for anything to keep his mind distracted, and he quickly looked to see what was in his art bag. Canvas knew he didn't have much inside, since he barely had any time to pack beforehoof. But as he rummaged around the inside, he found his art supplies among his remaining work―the various paintings and drawings he'd made in his hometown.

Or at least, what was left of them.

Attempting to clear his head of any dreadful reminders, Canvas dug into the bag before finding the supplies he needed: a piece of graphite, a thick rubber band, another piece of graphite covered in cloth, and a large notepad of paper. Canvas placed the rubber band around his right hoof like a tight bracelet, and stuck the graphite under the band so it protruded from his foreleg like an extension of his body. He then grabbed his pad of paper and opened it to the first empty sheet, which was thankfully clear of any mud or blood stains. Canvas used his free hoof to rub the cloth along the paper, covering the originally white sheet with a fine layer of gray. When the new shade looked evenly toned enough, Canvas looked around for something to draw.

He just needed something, anything to draw.

Canvas took notice of the statue of Princess Celestia nearby the fountain, staring confidently off into the sky, the very picture of grace and implacability. Canvas took a deep breath before looking down at the paper. As soon as he placed the end of the graphite on the sheet, he drew a quick framework to match the statue’s position, leaving his lines as faint as possible so they would be easy to remove later. Satisfied with the way the lines turned out, he looked at the statue again, and that’s when he truly began.

As ponies walked past the center of town, many took notice of the aqua stallion as he drew, his eyes burning with focus. The shape of Princess Celestia started to take form on the paper, with her figure and face flawlessly replicated beneath his hooves. Canvas kept his attention solely on his work, his mind only concerned with his art.

Of all the things that could calm a pony down, whether it be a massage or a relaxing bath, nothing seemed to ease Canvas' mind better than his art. Though his long mane kept falling into his face (which he just blew away every three seconds without caring), a weight was slowly being lifted from his shoulders as all his frustrations and worries were channeled into his hoof, expressing himself and his feelings into the lines and shades of graphite in front of him.

He wasn’t sure how long he was drawing, but as the drawing of Celestia in his hooves neared completion, the maelstrom within Canvas’ being had settled into a tranquil stream of smooth, flowing contours. By the time a confident smile spread across his face, Celestia's figure looked almost exactly like the statue. And even as he heard various hoofsteps around him, he added the final bits of shading to make his sketch complete.

As he glanced between the paper and the statue, Canvas failed to notice when a pink mare saw him from across the block. He also didn't notice that when the next time he looked at the statue from his paper, the mare was now at the fountain, seemingly snapping into existence in a movement too quick for the naked eye to follow. As he finished the final shading on Celestia's mane (which was a tricky thing to do with a monochromatic medium), Canvas looked up one last time to look at the statue, only to see the face of the bright-pink mare inches away from his own.

"HI THERE!"

“AAAHHHH!!!” Canvas shrieked, and jolted off the bench suddenly enough to end up falling to the ground. "Ooooww…" Now his back and head were aching, along with his sore hooves now feeling even worse than before. As he struggled to lift himself, the pink pony was once again in his face, except now her cheery smile was replaced with a worried frown.

"Ohmigosh, I'm sooooooo sorry, mister! Here, let me help you!" Before Canvas could object, she lifted him up with her forehooves before plopping him back on the bench. Even though he was grateful, the stallion was left dumbfounded as to how she lifted him with so little effort. "You okay, Mister New Pony?"

Canvas wasn't sure how to respond, partially due to not being used to meeting a pony like this, but mostly because his head was still spinning a bit from the fall. "...Yeah, I think I'm fine."

"GREAT!"

Startled by her sudden, cheerful outburst, he could only stare in slightly unsettled silence as the mare started talking a mile a minute.

"My name is Pinkie Pie and I know you're a new pony because I know everypony and I mean everypony here in Ponyville, and I saw you sitting here drawing so I thought I should be the very first to welcome you because you looked kinda weird and upset like the first time I tried to eat fifty cupcakes in a row for breakfast and almost threw up everywhere but I still won fifty bits so it was totally worth it, and I wanted to make sure you were happy so what brings you here, what's with the thing over your eye, what's your name!"

Since her face was now only a few inches from his again, Canvas tried to move his head back before realizing she asked him a question (or twenty), and tried to answer. "M-My name is Canvas! I just got out of the hospital, and I was just waiting to see Twilight Sparkle ab―"

"OOOOOOHHHHH!!! I know who you are!” Pinkie beamed as she said, “You’re that pony Twilight found in the storm, right? I heard about that and I was like 'Whaaaat?' so I asked her what happened and she told me she found you and a gryphon and got you to a hospital and I was like 'Double-whaaaaaaat?’ so I wanted to throw you an ‘I’m super-duper glad you’re okay and not in a coma!’ party but she told me you were still in the hospital so I was all sad because I wanted to throw a party but now you're here and I know Twilight is gonna be here later today so I can finally throw a PARTYYYYY!!!"

Canvas wasn’t sure of how to react to this mare's borderline-insane manner of talking and moving around, and could only put his hoof up to get her to stand still. "Umm, thank you for the idea, but I just got out of the hospital! So I… I don't know if I would be up for a party right now."

Canvas' heart almost broke in half when Pinkie’s face fell. It was like he’d kicked a bunny right in front of her. "But… maybe some other time?” he quickly added as he shot her a sympathetic smile. “I was really just wanting to talk to Twilight to thank her for helping me out. I was actually drawing something to pass the time while waiting for her."

As he settled back on the bench, Canvas looked for his pad before he noticed Pinkie Pie was holding it. Her blue eyes were as wide as frisbees as she marveled at his sketch of Princess Celestia. "Wooooooow, this is really really, REALLY good!"

The stallion tried to snatch the paper back from Pinkie, since he was feeling slightly panicked at not having his artwork in his hooves. "C-Can you give that back please?” he asked with a flustered tone. Seeing that he was already looking a bit troubled, Pinkie was quick to hand the pad back; however, her face was also showing a new look of admiration after seeing his drawing skills.

"You’re a really good drawer, Canvas! I mean, I like drawing too but I can't draw nearly as good as that. How long did that take you to make?"

Canvas looked up at the clock tower to see how long it'd been since he started.

"Ten minutes?” be said to himself with his brows raised in surprise. “That can't be―"

"WHOOOOA! You did this in only ten minutes?!" As Pinkie looked at the sketch again (except this time sticking her head around Canvas to look from his angle), she looked at the artist with a huge smile. "What else can you draw?"

Surprised that Pinkie just asked one question this time, he stammered to think about what it was he usually drew, which was basically anything. "Umm… things in nature, random objects, maybe a pony―"

"OOH! Ooh, ooh! Draw me, draw me, draw me!"

Canvas looked at Pinkie, who was now raising her hoof like she was a foal asking the teacher to go to the bathroom. He didn’t say it out loud, but he was honestly surprised that she asked for something that would require her to stay still for more than two seconds. "I… I guess I could. Do… Do you want me to?"

"Abso-luppa-tivvy-dibbley!" shouted the pink mare as she threw her hooves up. "You can draw Celestia really well, so why not me? You were drawing stuff anyway, and I need something to do until Twilight arrives, too, so I figure we can both wait for her while you draw me!"

Even though he was unsure of whether or not he could keep this mare still enough to draw a good picture of her, she did make a good point: they were both waiting for the same pony, and he just finished his sketch of Celestia, so why not?

With a shrug and a slight smile, Canvas turned the Celestia sketch over to reveal a new sheet, using his cloth once more to make a new graphite layer. When he looked back up from the fresh pad, he saw Pinkie Pie in front of him, sitting on a small stool (which he was absolutely certain wasn't there before) and looking at him with a smile, like she was posing for a school photo. Chuckling under his breath, Canvas analyzed the basic shape of her face and fluffy mane, and began to draw.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Twilight Sparkle was really beginning to love this newly found feeling of flight, and cherished the wind flowing through her wings and mane as she soared over the land of Equestria on her way back to Ponyville. Given how sensational it was to glide through the serene skies without any issue, she could certainly see why Rainbow Dash was always so eager to go flying. However, despite how nice it was to appreciate her wings without a strong fear of heights, her serenity was interrupted when she heard her cyan friend call her back to reality.

"Hey, Earth to Twilight! We're nearly there!"

Twilight nodded to Rainbow Dash as she slowed her speed, feeling grateful to have her friend escort her on long flying trips like this. While she was hesitant at first to have the pegasus with her due to her need for speed, Rainbow proved to be a surprisingly good mentor when it came to helping her friend adjust to her new wings; Dash was still rather inclined to fly ahead of Twilight, but that just helped to give the alicorn a better incentive to strengthen her own wings to keep up. As the two flew across the clear blue skies, Twilight couldn't help but smile as she saw Ponyville come closer into view.

When they landed near Sugar Cube Corner, both ponies were surprised to not hear Pinkie Pie's usual antics from within the bakery. Usually, Mister Cake would have to escort Pinkie out in order to find a new hiding spot for his bags of coffee grounds by now. Although Pinkie had told her friends and the Cakes numerous times that she didn't like the taste of coffee, none of them wanted to give her any chance of getting into the stuff. Since she was curious to see what Pinkie was up to, Twilight decided to look around town to see where she was, while Rainbow Dash went to check on Fluttershy.

As the new Princess walked around the town, she gave her usual greetings to the ponies who passed her and wished her a good day. While her coronation changed a lot of ponies' outlooks on the former librarian, Twilight was happy that most of the ponies in town didn't try to change that much in her presence. They just acted the same way around her as they did before, albeit more polite nowadays. As Twilight basked in the relief of the whole town not bowing to her every time she left the library, she was surprised when she noticed one particular pony doing something she never thought she’d see:

Pinkie Pie was sitting still.

Twilight walked over to where Pinkie was sitting, and heard her talking with a familiar-looking aqua pony who had a bandage over his right eye. The pony seemed to be drawing Pinkie as she waxed lyrical about this, that, and the other, although it didn't look like he was paying much attention to what she was saying. Instead, his eyes were narrowed in concentration while sketching out the details of Pinkie’s face, occasionally whipping his head back to get strands of his long brown mane away from his snout. Twilight caught the butt of the one-sided conversation, and soon rolled her eyes when she realized what Pinkie was talking about.

"So then I found out that since Spike was a dragon, he didn't have any problems with spicy food or even lava and stuff! But Rainbow Dash didn't know that. So when Spike ate the ghost pepper without flinching, she was all like, 'I can totally do that if the baby dragon can!' and started chewing on three at the same time! Her face was getting totally red and sweaty and stuff, and she needed to chug down two whole gallons of milk just to be able to talk again! Then she got all mad because she thought Spike cheated! Of course, that was because he said it tasted like candy, so she..."

Looking back at the pony drawing through her ramblings, Twilight's eyes widened in surprise when she noticed his cutie mark: a light-brown painter's palette with four different colors of paint within it, and a matching paintbrush underneath with red paint on the bristle.

Twilight immediately knew who the pony was, even with how drastically different he appeared since the last time she saw him. While Canvas continued to sketch Pinkie’s features, neither seemed to notice her presence when she approached. After Twilight coughed into her hoof, Pinkie finally took notice of her, which lead to the mare bursting out of her stool and hugging Twilight like she just came back from the dead.

"Twiliiiiiight! I'm so glad to see you again! How was the Crystal Empire? Was it fun? Did you bring back anything?"

Struggling to breathe, Twilight patted Pinkie Pie on the back in a gesture that was both appreciative and pleading, the party pony mercifully pulling away with a smile. "The Crystal Empire was just fine. I just had to help Shining and Cadence with some law reforms, nothing too exciting."

As she looked back to the pony on the bench, Twilight was surprised to see he was still drawing in the pad, seeming entirely focused on shading the final effects on Pinkie's mane. Noticing Canvas' lack of attention to Twilight as well, Pinkie walked up and poked him on the head with her hoof, slightly startling him as he looked up at her, somewhat peeved. "W-What. What is it?"

"Guess who's heeeeere!" Hosting a huge grin, Pinkie Pie pointed her hoof to the Princess beside her.

Canvas nearly fell off the bench for a second time whilst trying to get to his hooves at the sight of Twilight. After quickly placing the pad and his graphite on the bench, Canvas stood in front of Twilight, unsure of what the proper protocol was for addressing royalty. Breathing heavily, Canvas was only able to stammer a few noises―which were supposed to be words―until Twilight gently put her hoof up.

"It's alright. There's no need to worry." As she extended her hoof, Canvas started to put out his own before realizing his hoof was covered in graphite. Twilight pulled out a handkerchief from her saddlebag with her magic, levitating it to Canvas.

As he tried to wipe off as much of the material as he could, he bit his lower lip before looking back up at Twilight. The Princess’ smile was just as warm and inviting as he would’ve imagined, which caused him to blush profusely in trepidation. The artist took a deep breath before speaking. "M-My name is Canvas. I-I heard that you helped save me. And… And I just wanted to talk to you, and, y’know… umm…”

Much to Canvas’ surprise, Twilight placed a hoof on his shoulder, and said with the sincerest expression of gratitude and appreciation, "It's perfectly fine, Canvas. I'm really glad to see that you're okay. Just... try to relax, okay?"

Canvas nodded, a bead of sweat falling down his forehead. "I-I just wanted to thank you for what you did for me. I mean, I-I have no idea what would've happened if you didn't get me to the hospital. A-And I… I'm beyond grateful for what you've done. Just… thank you.”

Glad to finally get those words out of his muzzle, Canvas saw Twilight blush slightly as she tried to keep her composure. "Well, you're very welcome. Although, I think Troy is more deserving of your thanks than I am. He was the one who actually found you out in the storm." Twilight's words became more enthusiastic as she recalled the events. "He was actually out in that storm for about two hours. And by the time anypony noticed he was gone, he was already halfway to the hospital! Frankly, I was shocked to see a gryphon run that far!"

Canvas blinked. "Wait, the gryphon ran?” One of his brows raised up in slight confusion. “Why didn't he just fly or something?"

Twilight flinched. "Well, ummm… he apparently got hit by lightning, and one of the bolts struck his wing.”

“What!?” Canvas’ eyes shot wide-open while gawking at the Princess. “Nopony said anything about that!”

Before he could work himself into a conniption, Twilight raised her hooves in a calming gesture. “The strike just grazed him! I swear, his wings are perfectly alright now.” Canvas still looked alarmed, but the stallion no longer looked like he was going to tear down every door in Ponyville to make sure the gryphon who saved him was alright. “Anywho, when I found him, he was carrying you on his back through the storm. I believe he ran about seven-point-eight miles by the time I reached him!"

Staring at Twilight in surprise and shock, Canvas wasn't able to come up with any real response to what she just told him. He knew that the gryphon helped him, but he didn't think he went through that much trouble. Canvas tried to blink a couple times to organize his thoughts, but could only stare at the ground before saying the first thing that came to his mind.

"Holy cow..."

The two mares giggled at his response, and Canvas looked back up as Twilight replied, "I guess that's an appropriate response. Even Rainbow Dash was surprised when I told her about it."

"So… you said the guy is alright now?"

Twilight nodded with a warm smile on her face. "Rainbow Dash told me he was fine a couple days ago. I believe he went to Appleloosa to help with the drought there, but he's supposed to be back in Cloudsdale by now."

"Yeah, that was what the doctor told me. Is there a way I can contact him? I’d like to… y’know..."

Twilight put her hoof to her chin in thought. "Hmmm… I can probably get Rainbow to find him for you, but she's at Fluttershy's right now." She then looked over at her friend to ask, "Pinkie, would you mind if we stopped by her place before we go for lunch?"

Pinkie quickly nodded with a huge smile. "Sure thing! OOH! We can bring Canvas with us!"

As they both turned back to Canvas, he looked down at his hooves and bandaged legs while thinking about Pinkie's request. Even though he would’ve loved to go with them, he was already feeling sore in his joints just from standing upright, and he knew that anymore walking would just make it worse. "Ummm… Thank you for the offer,” he said as he looked back at the two of them, “but I honestly don't think I should walk around much right now. My legs still feel pretty tense from leaving the hospital this morning."

Pinkie looked at Canvas with a saddened slump in her posture, though Twilight didn't seem as upset. "Well, that's understandable. I saw for myself how bad your injuries were, so it would be a smart idea to take it slow for the time being."

After saying their goodbyes, Canvas walked back to his bench and picked up the pad. Remembering what he was doing earlier, Canvas quickly grabbed the sheet and pulled it from the pad before running back to the mares. "Pinkie, wait! You forgot this!"

Pinkie took notice of the sheet in his hoof, and quickly trotted back to Canvas in excitement. "Oh, yeah! Hey Twilight, check out what Canvas did!"

Pinkie held the paper up proudly with both her hooves, giving Twilight the opportunity to see it herself. The sheet of paper displayed a drawing of the pink mare, boasting a toothy grin that perfectly encompassed how she looked in real life. Everything about the picture looked exactly like Pinkie Pie: her eyes were drawn with perfect symmetry and shading to match the blue pair of the mare's; her mane carried the same feel of volume and energy, even on the two-dimensional surface; and her face on the paper had the exact same look and emotion as the real counterpart. Simply put, Canvas' drawing of Pinkie Pie was absolutely flawless.

"Wow!" Looking up from the sheet held by her magic, Twilight caught sight of Canvas’ blush when he saw how much both of the ponies liked his sketch. "This is amazing! Did you draw this by hoof?"

"Umm… Yeah. I… I kinda have to hold the graphite on with a rubber band, but it works." When he saw just how impressed both of the mares were, Canvas tried looking away from them to hide his face. However, what he didn’t notice was that several ponies had overheard Twilight's praise, and were now walking in to look at the paper from behind her.

"Wow, that's really good!" said one mare as she admired Canvas' sketch. "That was seriously done by hoof?"

As he glanced back at the growing crowd looking at the sheet, Canvas’ heartbeat started to accelerate as more ponies asked him about his work.

"How long did that take to make?"

“You got Pinkie to stand still? How!”

“Why, you’re as talented as my grandson, young stallion. Silver, isn’t he as good as Feathernote?”

"I couldn’t even do that with my horn!"

“It’s witchcraft, I tell ya! Witchcraft!”

“I wish I could draw like that…”

"Pfft. It’s nothing special. I could do that, too, if I wanted; I just don’t have the time for it.”

“Can you do color pieces too?"

"Draw me next! I have money!"

The crowd continued to grow as more ponies saw the sketch and asked questions. All the while, Canvas looked back at Twilight Sparkle and Pinkie Pie with an extremely heavy blush on his face. Luckily, they started to look as overwhelmed as he was at the attention he was getting. "Alright everypony,” said the Princess authoritatively, "can you give Canvas some space, please?"

The other ponies quickly complied, giving Canvas some room as he thought about what that last pony said regarding selling more. Like a light bulb being turned on above his head, Canvas realized that he had a pristine opportunity right now. He needed to make some money, and he couldn’t really do much else with his legs leaving him mostly immobile. And if he could make some bits doing something he enjoyed, then why the heck not?

"Umm… did somepony say something about buying one?"

From the crowd, a white mare with a short, scarlet mane stepped forward. Canvas noticed that the mare had what looked to be a rose as her cutie mark.

"Yes, I was wondering how much it would cost if you drew one of me?" The mare blushed in slight embarrassment, mostly due to how the artist looked all bandaged up. "You see, I'm not really that great at taking pictures, but that one you did of Pinkie looks great! And I would love to have something like that."

As he looked around the crowd, Canvas could see that this mare wasn't the only one who wanted a sketch from him. By this point, it looked like about ten ponies were here besides Pinkie and Twilight. Even if he gave a cheap price, he knew he could easily make enough money to at least get a good meal before the day was over. So by the time he turned back towards the white and scarlet mare, Canvas bit his lip before he thought of a number.

"Well… I guess I can draw a sketch for… five bits?”

The mare smiled wide and said, "Perfect! That sounds fair."

A wave of relief washed over him as he saw that most of the ponies looked content with his price. When he finally looked back at Twilight and Pinkie, Canvas could only give them a light smile before saying, "Well, at least I have something to do while my legs get better."

The two mares nodded as the pony walked up to the stool in front of the bench. “Don’t worry, Canvas,” assured Twilight as she went off with her friend, “I’ll make sure Troy knows where you are.” After giving their goodbyes once again, Twilight and Pinkie went off to see Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy while Canvas sat back down.

Canvas started a new sheet, not noticing the small crowd that was forming behind his bench. Rubbing the graphite layer on the page, Canvas looked back at the white mare, who smiled when she saw he was ready to start.

"I think I'm ready. This will probably take five or ten minutes, but I promise it'll look great." Canvas placed the piece of graphite under the rubber band, and made a quick circle and framework of her face on the paper. "So, tell me a little about yourself. What's your name?"

"Oh, my name is Roseluck. I work over at the flower stand in the market district…"

While Roseluck cheerfully talked about her job, Canvas started drawing his second pony for the day. More ponies gathered around Canvas as they watched him start sketching the mare's face. A few filtered out of the crowd, curiosity sated, as they went about their day, but as he realized how much attention he was getting already, Canvas couldn’t help smiling to himself with a newfound feeling of optimism. Even if his prices were cheap, the artist was happy to know that this pony definitely wouldn't be his last.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Troy's oversized wings tore across the clear skies as the sun shined in front of him, drawing closer to the horizon as the day came to a close. While the wind blew past his ruffling grey feathers, the gryphon started to feel anxious when he saw Ponyville take shape. He was just getting back from Appleloosa when he heard from Rainbow Dash that the pony he saved had been released from the hospital. And despite not knowing much about the stallion himself, Troy was glad to finally be able to talk to him face-to-face.

When he landed on the hard, cobblestoned streets of Ponyville, it didn't take long for Troy to hear the clamoring of ponies near the center of town.

Meanwhile back at the fountain, Canvas was hard at work drawing the next pony in line: a pale yellow mare with a poofy orange mane, and carrying the image of a carrot on her flank. While the mare named Golden Harvest―or Carrot Top to her friends―spoke with Canvas about her gardening, the stallion's mind was focused on the sketch in front of him.

By this point, Canvas was in his own world, working diligently as his hoof and mind worked together in unity to transform the lines and shades of graphite into the ponies sitting in front of him. While his shrunken piece of graphite traced along the page and his drawing took better form with each passing stroke, a rather large crowd was forming behind Canvas as they watched him working. Some conversed with each other, but most of them kept silent as they watched pony after pony take shape on each passing page, growing fascinated with seeing the blank sheets turn into masterpieces.

Canvas wiped the sweat off his forehead with his hoof, seeming satisfied as he held his pad out and looked at the finished product. Glancing up, Canvas gave a quick, "Here you go," before showing her the sketch, feeling a great sense of accomplishment as her face lit up at the drawing.

"That looks amazing! Thank you so much, Canvas!"

"Not a problem, Carrot Top. Have a great day!"

The mare stood up and tossed five bits into a near-full change bag in front of him before walking back into the crowd with her sheet. Canvas gave her a quick wave before a navy-blue stallion took his place on the stool.

When he picked his pad back up, Canvas' smile dropped. The pad was now completely empty, save for the two cardboard pieces that served as the covers. He realized that he just went through his entire pad of paper in less than a day, but was unsure of whether to feel disappointed or impressed by such a feat. Canvas started to feel bad as he noticed how many ponies were still around, either waiting to be drawn or to watch him draw some more.

But after taking a deep breath, Canvas held up the empty pad for the blue stallion in front of him to see. "Um… I'm really sorry. I kinda ran out of paper."

Canvas cringed as he heard the groans of disappointment sweep through the crowd. He sheepishly looked back to the pony in front of him, but was slightly relieved to see that he didn't look too upset for the long wait―although, the bandages over Canvas' eye might have helped a little bit.

As he stuffed the empty pad back in his art bag, Canvas tried to think of what to do next, and only came up with one possible question to ask: "Ummm… Does anypony know where I can get some more art supplies?"

When Canvas looked around the crowd, he noticed that the sky was getting much darker than expected. He was surprised to realize how long he had been drawing, and almost didn't notice when a mare spoke up from within the crowd. "There's a stationery store next to the library, but I think it closed an hour ago. It should be open at eight tomorrow."

"Oh! Thank you,” he said, nodding in the voice’s general direction before closing up his bag. "Well, I guess I'll be here tomorrow as soon as I get more paper."

Canvas was relieved when he saw the ponies around him smile and walk off, with a few even giving some polite goodbyes. He then stretched his legs out on the bench, happy that they weren't feeling so sore anymore.

Troy waited until the crowd dispersed enough, before he finally came into view and walked over to the pony. He couldn’t help smiling in relief when he got a good look at the stallion for the first time, and was able to see how well he was healing up. Canvas didn’t instantly see the gryphon, and hopped off the bench to walk over to the fountain. It may have not been the most hygienic method to wash the thick layer of graphite off his hooves, but it seemed to do the trick while the artist smiled to himself.

Not wanting to scare the pony, Troy just stood by the bench as Canvas continued washing himself. Troy was impressed by how much better the stallion looked now in comparison to a week earlier. His hooves looked completely healed, and his body didn't show any major bruises anymore and aside from the bandages on his face and knees, the pony looked healthy.

Troy decided to let himself be known by the time Canvas dropped his clean hooves back on the ground. Coughing lightly, Troy waited as Canvas finally faced him, and blinked a few times in realization. While Canvas' eyes did widen a bit at seeing him, the pony didn't falter. Instead, he walked over to the gryphon while a nervous blush crept across his muzzle.

"Are you…” Canvas bit his lip as he asked, his heart racing as he walked up closer. "Are you Troius?"

"Uhh....yeah, that’s me,” said Troy meekly, scratching the back of his neck. “Just ‘Troy’ is fine, though." Troy then held out his right foreleg while a smile grew on the pony's face.

"M-My name is Canvas." While shaking the gryphon's claw, Canvas’ smile started to shrink a little from uncertainty. And as he felt his heart growing heavier in his chest, Canvas looked up into the piercing golden eyes of the gryphon who saved his life. His blush grew even heavier, but he was able to exhale shakily before speaking.

"I… I found out from Princess Twilight what you did to help me, and… I just wanted to thank you for what you did." His grip became tighter as he spoke, his voice getting shakier. "I mean… you had no idea who I was, and you still went out of your way to help me out like that, and… I just don't know what I can say. You… You saved my life..."

Tears began to well up in his blue eyes, which caused him to try to snort in an attempt to maintain his composure. Canvas tried his best to hold them back as he looked up at Troy, still gripping his claw. "Thank you. Just… thank you so much."

Troy didn’t know what to do as he listened to the stallion's words, and could only nod while the pony held onto his claw. While he was glad to finally hear him out, Troy wasn't exactly the best when it came to situations like this. But seeing how close to crying Canvas was, Troy tried his best to calm the pony down. Given the size difference between them, along with him being a gryphon, the last thing he wanted or needed was for anypony to think he’d hurt him.

"It-It’s alright, Canvas. I mean, you were really hurt out there and needed help. I would've done it for anypony." Troy let go of Canvas' hoof before resting his claw on the pony's shoulder, and gave him a reassuring smile. "Seriously, it's okay. I'm just glad to see you're not dead or anything."

Appreciating the gryphon's sentiment, Canvas nodded his head as he brought a foreleg up to his bandaged face, and wiped his uncovered eye. "Thanks. And if… if there's anything you need, just let me know. I mean… I owe you big time."

Troy held his claws up in protest, and tried to refute that offer as politely as he could. "Hey, come on now. You don't owe me anything. I mean… thank you for the offer, but I don't think there's anyth―"

A large noise that sounded like the muffled roar of a manticore rumbled from his stomach, cutting off Troy and catching them both off-guard. Troy tried not to look too embarrassed, and gave a sheepish laugh as Canvas started looking around the town.

"Say, Troy... you know of any good places to eat around here?"

Troy shook his head. "No, I don't. Honestly, this is the first time I've ever been in this town. Although…” Canvas' ears raised up as Troy tried to think. "I think Rainbow Dash told me of a café around here called the Corner Market or something. I think she said it was by Sugar Cube Corner."

"Great!" said Canvas as he picked up his art bag from the bench. "I know where that is. I walked past it on my way here." Canvas wrapped the strap of his bag over his shoulder, and then picked up the change bag before looking back at Troy.

"Let's go!" Canvas held up his bag of bits as he looked at the gryphon with a big smile on his face. "My treat."

The gryphon held his forelegs up and shook his head. "Whoa! No, no, I couldn't accept that!" Despite the pony already trotting off in the direction of the café, Troy tried to get out of Canvas buying him dinner. "I mean, you just got out of the hospital, and I'm sure you need that money for other things. You don't have to do this."

"I know,” replied Canvas as he looked back with a smirk on his face. "And you didn't have to run over seven miles through a thunderstorm with me on your back."

Clenching his teeth, Troy could only sigh as he realized Canvas made a pretty good point.

"Seriously,” the pony continued as paused with his smile dropped, "you saved my life, Troy. Despite what you might say, I do feel like I owe you for that. It… It just wouldn't feel right to leave it as it is, and buying you dinner is the least I can do."

Troy could only keep his beak shut at Canvas’ overwhelming insistence.

"Please. Just… Just let me do this for you."

Knowing that Canvas wasn't going to give up, Troy groaned under his breath before agreeing. "Fine. I… I am pretty hungry, I guess."

"Great! Let's go!" Canvas' smile came right back up as he resumed his trot, and Troy started to walk with him.

With the sun just leaving sight of the skies, and the streetlights around Ponyville flickering to life, only the sound of hooves and claws on the cobblestones could be heard as they walked side-by-side, moving under the twilit sky on their way to the café.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

While Ponyville was a moderately sized township, it was still small enough that not many ponies would be around after sunset. Most would just go back to their homes to relax or turn in early for bed. The few ponies going about their business that evening, however, would find themselves staring at Canvas and Troy walking along the main street.

The two made their way to the Corner Market Café, both becoming aware of all the attention they were getting; however, neither seemed to be sure of which one was the reason for it: the large gryphon, or the bandaged stallion.

As the café got closer in their sights, Canvas couldn't help but look up at the gryphon beside him. Troy was the first gryphon that Canvas had ever seen aside from pictures in books, so standing beside one was nothing short of surreal for him. The silver and grey feathers on the gryphon actually started to shine under the streetlights, making Troy look like he was almost glowing. Though he didn't want to get caught staring, Canvas couldn't help but gaze at the creature beside him, who kept his eyes ahead and was walking like a moving statue.

Meanwhile, Troy's golden eyes flicked to and from the pony walking alongside him. Canvas' long mane moved with his body, waving back and forth with each step he took. The gryphon also noticed a slight limp on his right forehoof, probably from his drawing frenzy earlier, which became a cause for concern for Troy when he considered their previous state. Since Troy was on the right side of the pony, he was able to get a good look at the bandage on Canvas' face. And because of that, his thoughts kept going back to what the doctor had told him.

A blunt object or weapon.

Did somepony really do that to him?

Why was he hurt that badly?

What happened?

As Troy's thoughts grew darker with each step, he almost didn't realize when they made it to the café’s front door.

The Corner Market Café wasn't anything special in Ponyville―just a small restaurant that had its fair amount of customers looking for a good meal at a fair price. The décor was a basic mix of white and green along with the tables and chairs. The white walls were decorated with various old signs and photos celebrating the origins of Ponyville and Equestria. When the pony and gryphon sat themselves down at a booth in the corner, a young unicorn mare with a pale-pink coat and powder-blue mane took their orders. Since Troy was considerably taller than the ponies who usually ate around here, he could look around most of the café from his height.

Troy became increasingly uncomfortable, feeling the eyes of the other patrons all over him and Canvas like parasprites. But when he glanced back at the stallion across from him, Troy saw that Canvas didn't seem to notice them, as he was preoccupied with straightening the bandages around his knees with his hooves.

When their food arrived, Troy didn't show much interest in his plate: a simple daffodil salad. While there were a lot of things in Equestria that Troy preferred over the Gryphon Kingdom, the food was not one of them. Troy never took into account how much he would miss the taste of meat when he moved into a vegetarian society. But after the first month, he was seriously considering snatching up an animal or two, just so he could have something to sink his beak into.

But on this night, Troy wasn't occupied with his collection of leaves and flowers―not because he wasn't hungry, but because he was focused on the ravenous nature of the pony in front of him.

Troy stared in disbelief at Canvas, who was muzzle-deep in a huge plate of cheesy hay-fries, devouring the mound in front of him like a released prisoner enjoying his first meal in freedom. The stallion grabbed the lily and petunia sandwich on his other plate, and stuffed half of it into his muzzle while it was still filled with half-chewed hay and cheese.

While most ponies would've found Canvas' gorging to be absolutely disgusting, Troy just watched in amusement as the stallion tore through his food like a starving wolverine. For the first time in months, Troy felt like he was eating with his family again.

Canvas licked the final pieces of melted cheese from his now-greasy hooves before noticing the gryphon staring back with a fork in his claw, eating his salad with an impressed grin on his beak. Canvas immediately blushed in embarrassment, and grabbed some napkins from the table while trying to wipe off the excess grease off his hooves and muzzle. When the gryphon chuckled at his desperate attempts to clean himself off, Canvas could only glance at him abashedly before muttering under his breath.

"Umm… Sorry. I haven't really eaten much today."

Troy could only snicker as he grabbed his drink. "I can see that! The last time I saw something eat like that, it was inside a cage at the zoo!" Canvas' face only got redder as Troy laughed some more before drinking his soda through a straw. "Seriously though, stop worrying. You still have better table manners than most of the gryphons I know. Must be nice getting some real food in you, now that you’re out and about." Troy seriously considered changing his definition of "real food” in relation to Equestrian cuisine as he stabbed his fork into his salad.

Canvas only nodded before drinking his glass of iced tea, grimacing as he remembered that green mess the hospital tried calling “food.” "Yeah, the only good thing that hospital had was the jello, and even that was pretty meh at best."

As he put his glass back down, Canvas noticed Troy looking at him with an upset look on his face. Just being reminded of the hospital and how Canvas looked was enough to make Troy feel uneasy. Realizing that Canvas noticed the change in his tone, Troy decided to bite the bullet: "So Canvas, um… Where are you from?"

Canvas looked slightly paler as he thought about Troy's question, stammering before answering, "I'm… I'm from Gallop Creek."

Troy stared at Canvas in disbelief, needing a couple seconds to comprehend what he just said. When Troy went south to Appleloosa, he remembered seeing a road sign for Gallop Creek, which was supposed to be twenty miles south from there. That meant if Canvas was telling the truth, he had to have travelled over two hundred miles before passing out near Ponyville.

Even though Troy wanted to think something like that would be impossible, his mind went back to the image of Canvas' hooves back in the storm, almost completely worn down and caked in dried blood. Troy shook his head with an open beak, and just looked back at Canvas while the pony grew more uncomfortable.

"Gallop Creek? You… You're telling me you ran all the way here from Gallop Creek?!"

Canvas looked away from the gryphon, and fidgeted his hooves as he struggled to think of a response. "Umm… well…”

"Canvas, look at me." Trying to keep his voice calm while still being stern, Troy kept his eyes on the pony as he looked back at him. "How could you have gone that far? Why? I mean… that’s a long friggin’ walk you had to take! Were you being chased or something?"

Canvas quickly shook his head and looked away from Troy again, biting his lip as he tried to keep his composure even when his eyes started welling up. "I… I-I wasn't being chased, I just…” Exhaling heavily, Canvas muttered, "Does it really even matter?"

Troy huffed, the feathers around his neck puffing out with concern. "Canvas, I just want to know what happened. I mean, you looked like a dragon used you to floss its teeth!"

"Okay, I really don't want to talk about this right now." When he shot a firmer stare back at the gryphon, Canvas tried to stay calm as he spoke in a bitter tone. "I just got out of the hospital, so can you please just drop it?”

"Yeah, and I was the one who got you there," Troy hissed with his head leaned in, not wanting to be overheard by the other patrons. "I just want to know what the heck happened, Canvas!"

Huffing, the stallion petulantly said, “Please, I… I don't want to talk about it." Canvas crossed his forelegs while slumping back in his seat, his eyes darting everywhere except the gryphon glaring at him.

"Yeah, you keep saying that,” said Troy flatly. “Can you please drop the excuses and just―”

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"

Not noticing the pony gripping the table like a shipwrecked foal clinging to passing debris, Troy reached his boiling point. "Canvas, I saved your bucking life! If it wasn't for me, you'd be dead! Did you think about that? Huh!? I think the least you can do is tell me what the buck happened!"

Canvas slammed his hooves on the table, and clenched his eyes shut as he shouted, "BUCK OFF, TROY!"

Canvas quickly covered his mouth with his hooves, shaking in his booth with his eyes as wide open as dinner plates. The rest of the restaurant was staring at them in dead silence. When he finally turned his head to the worried patrons, Canvas could only give a meek smile and a wave of his hoof. "Um…S-Sorry…”

At that point, Troy had sunken low into his seat, and tried to make himself look as small as possible as he looked at Canvas in guilt. "I'm… I'm sorry, Canvas." Canvas returned his look as he grabbed another napkin. "I shouldn't have tried to press you on like that. You're right, you just got out of the hospital. I just wanted to know...”

"It's alright." Troy stared at Canvas as he wiped his uncovered eye. "I just didn't… I didn't want to talk about it here. You are right, though. You should know. Especially after what you've done. I just… I'd rather talk about it in private, okay?"

Troy agreed with the suggestion, looking embarrassed as the waitress came to their table. "Is everything alright here?" Both of them quickly nodded as Canvas pulled out his bag of bits before asking for the bill.

The two stepped out of the café, still feeling the stares upon both of them as they left. Canvas readjusted the strap of his art bag on his shoulder before looking into his bag of bits. Noticing the pony counting his money, Troy tried making some small talk to get past the prior awkwardness.

"So… you have enough for a room?"

"I hope so,” Canvas said, not looking up as he answered. "I saw a hotel back in the town square, so I think I might go there for tonight."

"Cool. Uh, cool..." Troy struggled to think of something else to talk about. Upon seeing Canvas' old art bag, Troy decided to ask, "So, how long have you had that bag?"

Canvas looked up at Troy before glancing back down at his art bag. "Oh, this? I've had this bag for years! It's… It’s probably the most important thing I have right now..." The stallion sighed as he rubbed a hoof along the faded fabric and countless pieces of writing on it. There was a notable look of sadness in his expression, but Canvas' face brightened as he stared at his most prized possession. "It was actually a gift from my mom."

Lifting the strap up from his shoulder, Canvas stood on his hind legs as he held the bag in front of him with both of his hooves. "I-I remember she was always wanting me to be passionate about my art, and she got this for me right after I got my cutie mark." He didn’t notice the gryphon staring at him with a smile of admiration on his beak. Canvas sniffed as he tossed his bag back on his back. "It's the only thing I have left to reme―"

The bottom of the bag ripped out, and the dozens of sheets of paper he had inside flew out in every direction.

"NO!”

Canvas dropped his bag on the ground, a look of pure horror on his face as he tried to gather as many of his drawings and paintings as he could. “NO! Nonononononono!!”

Without hesitation, Troy shot open his wings and soared into the flying array of papers, collecting every piece that was darting around the sky. Seeing that Canvas already got most of the ones that landed on the ground, Troy walked back over to the pony's fallen bag. As he inspected the ruined bag, Troy eventually took notice of the paintings he was holding in his claws.

Most of them were in really bad condition: while the paintings themselves looked rather nice―at least to the gryphon―many of the sheets looked like they were covered in dried mud. A couple of them even looked like they were ripped nearly in half. He was unsure whether or not Canvas knew the state of these pieces, but he was positive that Canvas wasn't somepony who didn't take care of his art. He then saw that the bottom of Canvas' bag was still attached by one end, so Troy placed the sheets back inside before looking closer at the writings on it.

On the faded brown fabric, there were tons of different things written across the fabric in black ink. Among the various snippets of song lyrics and phrases, Troy also noticed dozens of different symbols etched on: peace signs, yin-yang symbols, drawings of emblems from Equestrian mythology, and various random sketches covering every inch of the bag.

Doing his best to keep the papers in the bag, Troy called out to Canvas as he tried to tuck the bottom of the bag back in. "Hey, Canvas, I think this can be fixed! You might need to get a few safety pins or something to hold it together, but I think you can stitch this back together if you have a sewing―”

Troy fell silent when he saw the inside of the bottom piece. Hanging away from the sides it used to hold onto, the inside of the bag's bottom was in the same shade of faded brown as the outside. However, it was completely clear of any etchings or written words. All except for one:

Right in the middle of the flap of fabric stood a single symbol, lightly drawn on with black ink all by itself.

Two intertwined male symbols.

“... kit.”

As Troy stared at the sign, he suddenly felt the bag get snatched from his claws. Looking up, he saw Canvas with his uncovered eye wide open, staring at the gryphon with a completely mortified expression. Canvas quickly stuffed the pile of papers he collected into the bag with the ones Troy already placed inside. The stallion clutched the bag tightly against his chest, and then took several steps away from the gryphon in a panic.

"Um, th-thanks, Troy." The terrified pony looked in every direction except at Troy, stammering as he picked up his change bag with his mouth. Breathing heavily, Canvas tried to talk through the bag of bits clutched in his muzzle, and used both hooves to hold onto his bag. "I―I fink am goin ta ga ta da hotel, ‘kay?"

"Wait, Canva―”

"AH GODDA GO!"

Before Troy could finish his words, Canvas ran off toward the town square, using one hoof to hold the bag to his chest as he galloped off.

The stallion quickly left his line of vision, and Troy just stood in the middle of the street, completely dumbfounded about what to do or think.

"Was that…” Troy thought out loud, trying to process what happened. “...Was that what I think it was?"

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

The swollen silver moon loomed over the land of Equestria, a silent sentry of the great beyond. The streets of Ponyville were now completely still, except for the gray gryphon who sat perched in a tree near Town Hall, mulling over the events from earlier. After seeing how terrified Canvas was when he saw the inside of the stallion’s bag, Troy couldn't stop thinking about what it meant. It had only been five minutes since Canvas bolted off, but Troy’s mind was stirring with various theories regarding what may have happened to him; of course all of his thoughts went back to that bag, and that one particular symbol.

Troy may not have known that much about Equestrian society before moving to Cloudsdale, but he wasn't an idiot. And while seeing that mark didn't change his opinion of the stallion at all, it was still a surprising thing to find out. But then his thoughts came back to how Canvas reacted to him discovering the symbol: pure fear.

Was that because of somepony else?

Was that why he ended up like that?

Troy quickly shook his head clear, knowing how insane an idea like that was. He may have understood how controversial a lifestyle like that would've been back home, but he honestly didn't think any ponies would have a problem with something like that. One of the biggest things that Equestria tried to uphold was the practice of love and tolerance. So if anyone was going to be alright with that kind of thing, it would be ponies.

At least, that was what Troy thought.

The gryphon eventually noticed the time was only a quarter until ten, although judging from the streets, most ponies would've thought it was way later than that. Troy was still unsure of what to do. He really wanted to talk with Canvas and let him know he didn't care about his… preferences, but he knew the stallion probably didn't want to talk with him tonight. Considering how frightened the pony looked, it may have been a bit too soon to check up on him.

But alas, Troy still hoped that he could catch up with him tomorrow. As he lifted himself off the branch to head back home, he paused when he noticed something drift past him.

A calm evening breeze carried what looked like a piece of paper past the gryphon’s face. Thinking back to all the sheets that came out of Canvas's bag, he figured that might’ve been one they missed.

He quickly jumped off the tree and glided over to the sheet, glad to see that it was something of the pony's. However, the paper in his claws wasn't a drawing or a painting. His eyes narrowed on the text across the thick sheet of paper, and he realized that he was holding a graduation diploma. The name and text declared it was for Canvas as a recent graduate of Gallop Creek High School. This clearly belonged to the stallion, but what surprised Troy even more was that, according to this document, Canvas was a Valedictorian.

Troy flew off toward the town square, hoping to find the hotel Canvas said would be staying at. He landed on an empty street, and was lucky to find the hotel in front of him: a modest brick building, which looked rather old in comparison to the rest of the town. Glad to see the building was still open, he stepped inside and walked up to the front desk.

He gently tapped the bell on the desk, and a short, elderly stallion with thick-rimmed glasses stepped out from the back room. After he adjusted his glasses, the pony blinked twice while looking at Troy before he gasped.

Afraid that he was going to give the pony a heart attack, Troy tried to give him a friendly smile, hoping to Celestia that it wouldn’t make him look any scarier. The pony looked the gryphon up and down with his spectacles, his mouth hanging open for several seconds before he muttered, "You're a big pony, ain’tcha?"

Blinking a few times in confoundment, Troy decided not to risk his luck and just go with it. "Um… Okay then… Um, hello. Did a stallion check in here recently? Brown mane, bluish-green coat, painting cutie mark?"

The pony sucked in his lips as he tried to remember, his eyes narrowed in concentration. "Huh… Not sure I've seen a pony like that. I remember checking in a stallion earlier tonight, but he had a chestnut mane and a greenish-blue coat."

Sighing in both irritation and relief, Troy held up the paper in his claw. "Can you tell me which room he's in? He forgot this and I wanted to give it to him."

The pony's head tilted to the side while staring at the gryphon in suspicion. "You staying the night? Because he's only checked in a single."

Troy shook his head. "No, I just wanted to give something back to him, and then I'll leave."

Troy waited as the pony stared at him for what felt like forever. Just as Troy was about to just give up and wait until the morning, the old pony give a quick smile, like he was reminded of a funny joke. "Oh, okay! He's in room B2, just upstairs."

"Thank you, sir,” said Troy as he headed to the stairway.

"Not a problem, madam!"

After a quick ascent up the stairwell, Troy found himself standing in front of the wooden door with a bronze engraving of “B2” above the peephole. Even after making it that far, Troy was growing nervous as to whether or not he should go through with this. He really wanted to talk to Canvas, but was this too soon? Would Canvas be willing to talk after earlier tonight? Taking a deep breath, Troy puffed out his chest confidently before knocking on the door.

Troy heard the sound of several hoofsteps come closer to the door before he heard Canvas' muffled voice. "Hello?"

"Um… It’s me, Troy." The gryphon heard only silence from the other side of the door, which caused him to sigh softly. Not wanting to give up after going this far, Troy spoke through the door again. "I… I found something of yours, and I just wanted to give it back to you." The gryphon kneeled down to the bottom of the door, and slid the diploma halfway through the crack.

"Oh!"

Happy to hear Canvas say something, Troy watched the paper disappear from under the door into the room. The door slowly opened up after a moment, until the chain lock kept it from opening any more than a few inches. Canvas poked his head through the opening, and gave the gryphon a weak smile from where he was visible.

"Th-Thank you. I was just looking through my papers and noticed that one was missing. I-I'm glad you found it."

"No problem." Troy rubbed one of his claws against the other, and tried to think of how to go forward with the conversation. He could see that, even through the small space, Canvas looked fairly uncomfortable. "Hey Canvas, I was, um..." Troy felt more tense as he tried to think of the right words to say. "I was wondering if.. if we could talk."

Canvas looked away from the opening, and Troy stayed close to the door in case he tried to close it. "I know you said you didn't want to talk about it before, but we're alone now, so―"

"It's kind of late, Troy." Although he was glad to hear Canvas respond at all, he wanted him to say something other than that. "Ummm… Maybe we can talk about this tomorrow or something?"

Troy stayed firmly by the door. "Please, Canvas. I'm not going to do anything. I promise."

Troy's heart sank as he saw the pony move further away. The gryphon took a deeper breath, and closed his eyes in worry of what might happen next.

"Listen Canvas, I… I saw what was in the bag."

He heard a gasp from the other side, and Troy quickly held his claws against the door as Canvas tried to slam it shut. It wasn't that hard for the gryphon to keep it open against Canvas's weight, but he didn't want the pony to try to keep him away like this. "Canvas, please! I'm not going to hurt you, I swear! I just want to talk!"

Troy slowly felt the door giving less and less weight from the other side, and hesitantly let go himself when he knew Canvas wasn't going to close it. As he waited patiently, the gryphon saw Canvas' face reappear in the opening, and looking up at Troy fearfully. He slowly planted one claw against the bottom of the door in case Canvas tried to close it again, and he took a deep breath before opening his beak.

"I just wanted to know… Are… Are you…”

The question should've been easy for the gryphon to ask upfront, but Troy was feeling a huge resistance in his mind as he tried to utter out that last word. He knew it wasn't bad or dirty, but for some reason, it still felt uncomfortable to say out loud. But despite feeling his heart pummeling against his chest like the steam engine on a runaway train, Troy swallowed some excess saliva in his throat before finally saying it.

Looking into Canvas’s frightened eye, Troy said, “... Are you, like… gay?”

A deathly silence filled the hallway, but Troy still stood at the door in wait of an answer. Meanwhile, Canvas kept his gaze on the floor between them, his hooves shaking in trepidation.

“...Y…Yes.”

Canvas exhaled, trying to keep himself together while keeping his eyes at his hooves. While the stallion felt a huge wave of relief at admitting it, he still felt terrified, and hoped that the gryphon in front of him wouldn't do anything bad.

Troy kept his claw at the door, knowing what he had to ask next. After seeing how scared Canvas was at admitting that, he was certain about what may have happened. The last thing Troy wanted to do was think how something like that would happen in Equestria of all places, but looking at the pony in front of him was good enough proof to the contrary.

“Was…” He knew that this question was going to be painful to ask, but Troy tried to keep his composure in hopes of finally knowing the truth. “...Was that why you got hurt?”

Again, a deep silence filled the void. Troy stayed in place until he heard something: a very light tap on the floor.

Troy looked down, and noticed a small drop on the hardwood floor, right underneath Canvas' hung head. As another teardrop fell, Canvas’ voice started to shake before he muttered in an almost inaudible creak.

“...Y-Yes...”

Canvas sniffed as more tears fell, his head still hung away from Troy's sight. The gryphon waited as he watched Canvas, and moving his claw back before asking one more question.

“Canvas…” Even though the stallion didn't give any indication that he heard Troy, he continued to speak with a cautious tone. "...Can you please open the door?”

Canvas twitched, and the gryphon hoped by everything in Equestria that he wasn't going to close the door on him. After what felt like an eternity, Troy's eyes widened as he saw the door begin to close. "Canvas! Please don't―”

Before he was able to finish, Troy felt his heart drop like a brick as he heard the door close against the frame. Looking down at his claws in dread, the gryphon just stood in front of the door, static permeating his cluttered mind. Troy wanted nothing more than to break down the door in front of him, but he felt fairly hopeless in that moment. He couldn't just leave it like this! He had to do something!

Just as Troy was about to do something he would probably regret, he heard a distinct click from the other side of the door. A second later, the door opened all the way in front of him, the chain lock now undone as the two stood in front of each other without any barriers. Canvas looked up to Troy with tears running down his face, his one blue eye now reddened from crying, the bandaged one now damp.

Not wanting to hold back anymore, the gryphon lunged into the room, wrapping his forelegs around the stallion and holding him tightly. Troy closed his eyes as he hugged him, and slowly felt Canvas' hooves lifting up from the ground. Canvas was still sniffling audibly, but his hooves continued to move up until they met Troy’s back. And as more tears fell down his face, Canvas clenched his eyes shut before hugging the gryphon back.

Troy could feel the pony's body shaking from his sobs, which caused him to hug Canvas even tighter; and with that, the last of Canvas’ shell fell apart as he finally let go. Even with the door still wide open, nothing seemed to matter as the pony began to sob into the gryphon's shoulder. Canvas clung onto him for a long while as he savored his warmth, and he was able to find exactly what he needed on his first night in Ponyville:

A friend.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Troy silently sat on the hotel bed as he heard the shower running from behind the closed bathroom door. He wasn't sure how long he held Canvas like that, but by the time the pony stopped sobbing, he told Troy that he needed to wash up and change his bandages. As he heard the faucet stop, which was then followed by the sound of hoofsteps moving around inside the bathroom, Troy looked around the rest of the small room. Along the dark brown walls were several cheap-looking paintings of things in nature, none of which seemed to match the pale-green carpet or faded blue blankets of the bed.

On top of the chipped, mahogany dresser across from the bed, Canvas' art bag was carefully laid out and emptied, with several safety pins applied to the bottom to keep it held together. Next to it laid two separate piles of Canvas' artwork, one being much taller than the other. It didn't take a doctorate for Troy to figure out that the larger pile consisted of all the pieces that were ripped or damaged. The gryphon wanted to look at the undamaged ones to see what Canvas had done before, but he decided to keep himself on the bed. After everything that happened, the last thing Troy wanted to do was intrude on Canvas’ privacy any more than he already had.

The bathroom door opened behind him, and Troy turned to see Canvas emerge from the cloud of steam within. His long mane was brushed back and held in a ponytail, and his head was hung low. He no longer had a bandage over his right eye. When Canvas raised his head, Troy couldn't help but wince.

Canvas had two long lines of stitches along his face: one went vertically along the right side of his eye, and another went horizontally underneath it. Both incisions were closed with what looked to be a dozen or so stitches, done in a thick, black thread that stood out on Canvas' light, aqua fur. His right eye was closed shut, and his eyelids looked slightly discolored. Troy wasn't sure if it was still healing from before the storm, but after seeing how horrible the eye looked back then, it was nothing short of a miracle to see it as well as it was now.

Troy stared at the pony's face with worry as Canvas exhaled deeply, walking over to the bed to sit beside the gryphon. Canvas kept his face forward, his stitches facing away from Troy's side as he tried thinking about what to say.

When Canvas turned his head to the gryphon and looked into his golden eyes, he saw nothing but care and concern within them. For some reason, Canvas started to feel a lot better as he looked at Troy, feeling somewhat safer with him like this. But since he knew that Troy wanted to know what happened, Canvas eventually turned back to stare straight ahead, and took a deep breath before explaining.

“I lived in that town all my life. Gallop Creek was... it was a farming town, I guess. Most of the ponies were just focused on their crops―alfalfa and wheat and stuff like that. I… I wasn't like them. I liked painting. I liked drawing. And I didn't care that much for that other stuff."

As Troy listened, he noticed the bitterness that was stemming in Canvas’ voice.

"And they hated that. They never liked what I was doing, always calling me names and treating me badly. It didn't matter what I did, even if I did try to help with the crops, they still made fun of me. Calling me things like sissy and pansy and… colt cuddler."

Canvas' face scrunched in at that last word, clearly hating the very taste of it. Troy knew that the term was a slur, but he honestly hadn't heard it much since coming to Equestria.

"All the time,” continued the stallion, bristling. "...All the bucking time! They just kept calling me that, even when I was just a colt..."

Canvas' eyes welled up, but he tried to keep talking through his cracking voice.

"But then... then I realized I was. After all the names and the punches and the pushing around, I tried so hard not to admit it to myself, but…”

While biting his lip, Canvas looked down at the floor as he kept going, trying as hard as he could not to start crying again.

“I… I liked stallions. And… I was so scared… scared of what would happen if they knew."

Troy clenched his fists around the sheets of the bed, trembling. “But… Tartarus, this is Equestria. Ponies… Ponies don’t…” His wings twitched restlessly. He knew not why, but the gryphon wanted to go out and hurt something. Somepony. To hell with what any of the ponies would think about a “savage” gryphon going medieval on one of those country bumpkins; if it kept another innocent pony from being left half-dead on the side of the road, he’d do it in a heartbeat.

Canvas lowered his gaze to the floor. "I mean… Gallop Creek was, like, way out of the way, compared to the rest of the towns around there. Most of the ponies were… not as loving as the ones in places like Canterlot or Cloudsdale or even Appleloosa. Out there, a lot of them still didn't trust Celestia taking in Luna, and thought she was a tyrant or something!"

Troy could only nod as he realized what Canvas meant. He'd heard that there were ponies like that scattered around Equestria, and he'd certainly heard more than a few crack-pot conspiracy theories surrounding Celestia and Luna, but he didn't think there was a whole town like that.

"But then…” Troy's attention went back to Canvas as he continued. "Then I just tried to focus on my studies. I did a bunch of advanced classes and stuff like that and… and eventually I found out I was at the top of my whole school."

A nostalgic smile wormed its way onto Canvas' muzzle at the memory.

"The town finally began, like… respecting me… Like for the first time, I was normal."

Canvas' smile suddenly dropped, and his eyes welled up once more.

"But... then I had to go and buck it all up."

Troy bristled at that. “From the sound of it, those egg-stompers had it out for you just for existing, Canvas. I doubt you bucked anything up.” Placing a claw on Canvas’ shoulder, Troy asked, “Why did I find you on that road?”

Canvas fidgeted a bit on the bed before taking a deep breath.

"When graduation came up, I found out I was the Valedictorian. And I felt great, like I finally did something that those ponies couldn't criticize me for, you know? And I thought, maybe… maybe I could finally say what I wanted to… without them caring anymore…”

Troy could only utter a quiet "Oh..."

Rubbing one hoof over the other, Canvas said, “I… I came out. I came out during my graduation speech."

Before Troy could say something to overcome the deathly silence, he heard a sniff come from Canvas. He looked over to see the stallion hunched over the bed and crying. Though he knew doing something like that had to have been incredibly brave, especially in a town like that, Troy could clearly see how badly it went for Canvas. It was written in every bruise.

A rueful, joyless grin pulled at Canvas’ muzzle, as though he had remembered a dark joke. "No one… No one said a thing. They didn't applaud, they didn't yell, they were just… silent. And then…”

Canvas started to shake as he tried to keep himself from sobbing.

"After graduation, I was c-cornered, and… and I got… I got…”

The pony's voice clenched up as he tried to say it.

"I got beaten up."

Not able to continue, Canvas' face fell into his forehooves as he cried, careful not to touch his stitches. "I was beaten, and nopony did anything! They just… They just watched!"

Canvas' sobs became louder as he felt a bitter mix of relief and remorse at finally admitting what happened. As the pony sat on the edge of the bed, trying to keep himself together, Troy finally lifted his foreleg across Canvas' back and held him to his side. The gryphon gently held Canvas' head to his feathered shoulder, feeling the pony's warmth while stroking his mane with his claws.

"It's alright, Canvas." Canvas cried harder, clearly overwhelmed by Troy's kindness. "You're alright now. You know that, right?"

Keeping his head on Troy's shoulder, Canvas nodded while trying to stifle his sobs. After wiping his eyes dry with a hoof, Canvas slowly looked up at Troy, who looked back with a smile of assurance on his beak. While it did hurt to talk about what happened, Canvas felt a lot better after getting it off his chest. The pony breathed in, happy that he could now breathe out without his chest convulsing from emotion, and his voice came out in a light whisper as he felt Troy's touch.

"Thank you, Troy. I… I really needed that."

"No problem."

As the two sat there in silence, Canvas looked toward the window, which showed the sleeping town of Ponyville. The stallion thought about everything that had happened, unsure of what he was going to do. He was in a hotel room now, but Canvas couldn't escape the bitter truth that he had nowhere to go after this. The future he thought he’d have was now just a distant fantasy. He was a stranger in a strange place, with only his work on the dresser and the stitches in his face to his name.

As Canvas sat with his mind spinning about how he was going to live his life, Troy took notice of his uncertainty.

"Hey Canvas.” The pony stirred back into reality and looked back at the gryphon. "Are you okay?"

Canvas slowly nodded, although Troy could tell he didn't feel that confident. "I just don't know what to do now. I mean, all I have is my bag and a few bits left. I mean… what am I gonna do?"

Troy could only shrug as he thought about Canvas' worries. "I'm sure you'll think of something, dude. You made a lot of money today just by drawing, right? Didn't you say something about doing that tomorrow?"

Canvas nodded as a brief smile spread across his face. "Yeah, I did. And there were a lot of ponies still in line when I ran out of paper. So… I guess I can keep drawing ponies for a while."

"You see, things are looking up already!" Troy gave the pony a light slap on the back to try to cheer him up. Fortunately, the smack wasn’t hard enough to hurt Canvas, or even deplete the smile growing across his face. "And from what I've seen, those ponies really liked talking with you. I mean, this town is pretty nice, don’t you think?"

Canvas nodded again, but his smile slowly went away. "It's just… What if…”

While Troy knew something like that wouldn't happen around here―especially with a Princess AND the Elements of Harmony around―he couldn't blame Canvas for still being apprehensive. He held the pony closer beside him, hopeful that he could calm his nerves.

"Listen, Canvas. You know just as well as I do that Ponyville is nothing like… like that, and you know that nopony is going to bother you about who you are, right?"

Canvas didn't nod that time. The pony brought a hoof up to the stitches on his face, feeling them stick out from his fur like a bitter scab.

"Listen…” Canvas dropped down his hoof before looking back at Troy, who was staring back at him with pure optimism in his eyes. "I promise you, nothing like what happened in Gallop Creek is going to happen here. And if anypony does mess with you, just let me know, okay?” He flashed his talons, which glinted threateningly in the low light of the room. “I’ll sort ‘em out."

Canvas' eyes widened, surprised at what Troy was saying he'd do for him.

"I mean it. If anypony starts giving you trouble, I'll take care of it."

"Really?” As Canvas looked at Troy, he could see in his golden eyes that he meant every word. "You would really help me like that?"

"Of course,” replied Troy with a smirk on his beak. "I mean, that's what friends do, right?"

Canvas blinked repeatedly. "I'm… You’re saying we’re friends?"

"Well… yeah." Troy looked at Canvas as if the response was obvious. He shrunk in on himself the slightest bit. "Aren't we?"

After taking a moment to process the gryphon’s sincerity, Canvas nodded back with a smile of his own. "Yeah, I… I guess we are."

Troy stayed for a little longer before deciding to leave, knowing that Canvas would need to reapply his bandages and get some sleep. The gryphon waved at the old hotel clerk as he stepped back outside, breathing in the fresh night air around him. Troy shot open his wings and soared off into the stunning night skies, his thoughts going back to Canvas and how everything went. When he reached his cloud, Troy reminded himself that he should talk with somepony about trying to get a job in Ponyville sometime soon.

Meanwhile back at the hotel, Canvas tried to remain optimistic following the conversation he had with Troy. After reapplying his bandages, Canvas looked into the mirror, feeling slightly better that he didn't have to look at his stitches right before going to sleep. The stallion then rested his back on the bed’s firm mattress, thinking back to what Troy said about having his back. While he was extremely grateful for what Troy offered him, he still felt a pit in his stomach as he thought about whether or not Troy was right about Ponyville.

As Canvas' eyelids grew heavier, he slowly laid his head against the pillow, trying not to think too much about the future ahead of him. Was it really worth it to stay in Ponyville? Could he actually make it on his own?

I didn’t run all that way just to end up back in Gallop Creek, did I?

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Dawn came, with the yawning sun shining into the hotel room and waking the stallion inside. Canvas groaned as he stirred in the bed, wanting nothing more than to rest a couple more minutes. However, the pony reluctantly raised his head as he remembered he had to make more bits if he wanted to stay in this hotel another night.

As he looked over to the clock on the nightstand, Canvas saw that it was a quarter past seven, which was just enough time to get ready and packed back up before heading to the stationery store. With a yawn, Canvas pulled himself off the bed and headed to the bathroom, feeling both surprised and extremely grateful that he didn't have any nightmares the night before.

While Canvas was just starting his day, Troy was already halfway through his exercise regimen up on his cloud. As he began his wing stretches, Troy felt happy that today was his day off after all that work he did in Appleloosa. And after everything that happened the previous night, he was hoping to talk to somepony about whether or not he could be transferred to weather patrol.

Troy figured he could also spend a little more time in Ponyville, and at least try to pull himself out of his cloud more often. While he didn't spend much time in places on the ground other than his waterfall, Ponyville seemed like a pretty nice town. And after his talk Canvas the night before, Troy figured he should check up on him to see how he was holding up.

After completing his stretches, the gryphon blasted off into the morning sky, smiling as he felt the newly risen sun warm his feathers. As Troy soared above Equestria, he noticed the unmistakable rainbow trail that could only come from one pony shooting off ahead of him. Troy remembered that Rainbow Dash was the captain of the weather patrol around Ponyville, so he figured she would be the best bet in helping him out. With the trail quickly dissipating in the distance, the gryphon barreled off to catch up with her.

Canvas made sure to buy as much paper as he could with his remaining bits, as well as some graphite pencils and a sturdier rubber band for his hoof. By the time he left the stationery store, he breathed in the brisk morning air with a smile before trotting off to the fountain.

When he arrived, the stallion looked into his reflection in the water to make sure his bandage was reapplied properly. Despite how badly his appearance made him want to wince, he was confident enough with his bandaging to try to look past it. Canvas pulled out a new pad of paper from his art bag, and placed it beside him on the bench in preparation for what he hoped was going to be a busy day.

Using the back of yesterday’s empty pad, Canvas pulled out a black marker from his bag and wrote down his prices for the day: 5 BITS PER PONY - 8 FOR TWO.

Canvas placed the sign next to him on the ground, figuring having an advert like that could help attract more customers. He heard hoofsteps approaching from behind him, and he hoped it wasn't some policepony coming to tell him he was breaking any rules. However, Canvas was relieved to see that it was actually the mint-colored mare from yesterday. The unicorn had a pleased smile as she walked over to Canvas, and paused for a moment to take note of his setup.

"Well hello, Canvas,” said the mare. "You're looking much better now."

Giving a quick shrug, Canvas put the rubber band over his hoof as he replied, "Thank you, um... Lyra, was it?" Looking up at the mare, he saw her nod in confirmation before he continued. "I was just getting ready to do some sketches for ponies today."

"Yeah, I saw the ones you did for Roseluck and Colgate last night. You’re a regular Titian!" Canvas blushed as he pushed the graphite under the band on his hoof, but he still shot her a gracious smile while she continued. "Seriously, I can't draw that well with my horn magic, and I was shocked when they said it was done by hoof! Anyway, you said you're going to be drawing ponies all day today as well?"

Canvas nodded and started rubbing the new, white sheet with the blackened cloth in preparation for his first customer’s arrival. "I sure am." Canvas looked back with a smile on his face. "You want one done? It's only five bits."

"Actually…” Lyra looked down at the sign, noting the prices. "I might have to ask Bon-Bon if she wants to be in a drawing with me. How long do you think you'll be here?"

"As long as I still have paper." Canvas patted the pad in front of him while smirking confidently. Lyra smiled at his assurance and nodded her head.

"Great!" said the mare before walking off. "Hopefully I'll see you back here when her shift ends."

"You will." Canvas smiled back as he continued to make the graphite layer an even shade of grey. "Tell your friends, too!"

Troy was hunched over like a gargoyle while perching on a nearby cloud, struggling to catch his breath. By the Divines themselves, the gryphon felt like he was going to hurl. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was hovering over him with a raised brow, looking rather confused at his request.

"So, let me get this straight,” said the cyan mare, watching the gryphon start ripping off pieces of the cloud to wipe off sweat with. "You want to be part of the weather patrol around Ponyville now?"

Troy merely nodded at the pegasus, unable to speak any full words. Even though he knew Rainbow was a national hero and star athlete, the gryphon had to wonder how the buck somepony could fly so fast without even breaking a sweat.

Rainbow Dash shook her head in skepticism as she thought about what he was asking of her. "I dunno, Troy. I mean, don't you have a good job at the Weather Factory right now? From what I heard, you're one of the best ice scraper guys they've had since Snowflake quit."

Troy shrugged as he remembered Snowflake, the freakishly huge white pegasus with a buzzcut who was bigger than he was. Troy wasn’t used to having to look up at a pony. He only met him a couple times when he trained Troy on how to do the job (which mostly amounted to the guy grunting or yelling "Yeaaahhh!"). Sometimes he wondered how the guy managed to keep his almost grotesquely muscular body in the air with wings that tiny, or why a pony with a dumbbell cutie mark had the name Snowflake, but he wasn’t going to say any of that to his face; the guy looked like he could bite into a boulder and spit out pebbles. Still, the pony was helpful in teaching Troy how to scrape ice, and getting him used to being around ponies his first month in Equestria.

"Yeah, I've heard that, but honestly…” As Troy thought about how to explain it to Rainbow Dash, he wanted to come up with a better reason than “I want to check up on a gay stallion in case he gets bullied again.”

“I just want to be more social, you know? I mean, I'm cooped up in that little freezer room all day, scraping blocks of ice, and I barely know anypony around there! I just want to try something new and… maybe make some friends or something."

This excuse wasn't necessarily a lie. He really was sick of being in a room by himself all day with nothing but an ice scraper, a block of yet-to-be-scraped ice, and his brooding, intrusive thoughts; and he really didn't like the fact that he only knew as many ponies as he had talons on his claws (eight, to be precise). When Troy thought back as to why he moved to Equestria in the first place, it made him feel kind of pathetic to still be as antisocial as he was back in the Gryphon Kingdom. When he glanced back at Rainbow Dash, the look of pity on her face told him that she wasn’t not considering it.

"Well…” While the pegasus contemplated what Troy told her, he became worried that she wasn't going to buy his excuse. "...I guess I can see if I can talk to somepony about transferring you. I mean, I did hear some good things about how you helped with the Appleloosa drought, so I don't think that you would be that bad on weather duty around here."

A huge smile grew across Troy's beak. He reached in to grab Rainbow Dash's hoof, shaking it vigorously. "Thank you so much for helping me out! I mean it, I really appreciate you doing this for me."

The mare quickly pulled her hoof back and looked at Troy with an annoyed expression. "I'm just going to ask, okay? I'm not saying you'll get transferred."

Quickly nodding, Troy gave a quick thank-you to Rainbow Dash as she went off to complete her weather duties. Before he could fly off to Ponyville to check on Canvas, Troy decided to get a quick meal in Cloudsdale to slake his hunger. That salad did barely anything for him, and after that dinner the two had last night, Troy had the strongest hankering for some cheesy hay fries. He was curious as to what all the hubbub was about.

As the sun began its slow descent from the top of the cloudless skies, the area around Ponyville's fountain was buzzing with excitement. After the attention Canvas' drawings got yesterday, the center of town was now filled with anxious ponies as they either watched or waited for his next sketch to be completed.

With a huge smile on his sweating face, Canvas focused solely on his art as he worked on the drawing of his current pony, forgetting how many he had drawn already just from today. The mare in front of him―a magenta earth pony with what looked to be a bundle of grapes as a cutie mark―was in the middle of a story regarding a stallion she met at the bar the other night. Canvas didn't notice when a tan mare approached him. A few murmurs sparked in the wary crowd as they parted for the mare:

“Uh oh, Mayor Mare’s here…”

“Here comes the hammer. Poor guy.”

“When’s the last time she’s shown us her tax returns again?”

“Dangit, and I was next in line!”

After trying to catch Canvas' attention with several throaty grunts, the grey-maned mare lightly tapped his shoulder with her hoof. Finally noticing somepony wanted his attention, Canvas looked up to see Mayor Mare, who was looking back at him through the pair of respectable reading glasses perched upon her muzzle.

Scrutinous dark-blue eyes peered into the stallion’s, her gaze that of a shark that caught the scent of blood in the water. "Good afternoon, sir,” said the mare, noticing the sign placed on the bench. "I'm actually the Mayor of this town, and I couldn’t help but notice your little stand here."

Canvas’ ears lowered, already having a good idea of what Mayor Mare was going to say.

"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, but ponies have to have a permit to conduct businesses like this here."

He winced at the Mayor's words, and most of the crowd groaned in worry about the stallion having to stop drawing, a few departing in agitation. Canvas dropped his head worriedly. He didn’t have the money for a fine! He was only scraping just enough together each night for a bed to rest his head on. "I… wasn't aware of that, ma'am. I'm sorry."

Mayor Mare noticed the drawing he was currently in the middle of, and her eyes widened at just how flawless a translation it was of the pony in front of them; of course, the mare herself looked like she was going to bolt off the stool at any moment and head for the hills. The Mayor glanced over at the large crowd before turning back to Canvas' sketch, and lowered her head close to the stallion as she whispered into his ear:

"Tell you what. You do one of me next, and we’ll forget about the permit for today, okay?"

Canvas' ears shot back up as he smiled at the Mayor, quickly agreeing with a hoofshake before finishing the magenta pony.

Troy opened his eyes, still feeling groggy as he laid stomach-down on a random cloud. His belly ached, and the gryphon had to take a mental note not to eat three whole orders of cheesy hay fries in one sitting before taking a nap. But those fries were so worth it.

As he looked around, Troy realized his quick nap wasn't as “quick” as he had hoped: the sky was now a familiar shade of pink, indicating it was almost dusk. He shakily stood back up on the cloud, even though his stomach groaned in protest, and awkwardly flopped off the cloud so he could fly back to Ponyville.

Meanwhile, Canvas was peacefully wiping the excess black dust off his hooves after finishing his last pony for the day. Taking a deep breath in relief as he rested his hooves, the stallion looked back to his huge stack of unused paper, going only halfway through it in the course of the whole day.

Even though Canvas was disappointed that he would have to get a permit to do this again (unless he could bribe the Mayor with another drawing, which he knew would be a fat chance), the pony still felt great after looking down at his larger bag of bits next to him, now completely full, and even overflowing slightly. He didn't get a chance to count his money yet, but he could already tell he had enough bits to stay at the hotel for at least a few more nights without any worry.

Canvas rested his back against the bench and closed his eyes to appreciate the first moment of serenity he felt all day; however, the artist then heard the sound of several hoofsteps coming towards his direction. When he opened his eyes, Canvas saw that Lyra was returning to the fountain with a cream-colored earth pony alongside her. Guessing that this was the “Bon-Bon” mare she was talking about, Canvas studied her curly blue-and-pink mane, which glimmered in a way only somepony who pretended to not concern herself with her appearance would. His eyes then trailed down to her cutie mark, an image of three pieces of candy.

Canvas felt pretty tired from drawing ponies all day, but he remembered his promise to Lyra. So after doing a quick stretch to re-energize himself, Canvas pulled out a fresh piece of paper and greeted the two mares. "Hey there, Lyra! I'm guessing this is Bon-Bon?"

Smiling at the stallion, Bon-Bon stuck out her hoof for Canvas to shake, her light-blue eyes twinkling with mischievous mirth. "Lyra already told you about me, huh?” she said, playfully bumping into her friend. “She’s told me a bit about you, too, you know.”

“Bonnie, don’t.” Lyra said, glaring at Bon-Bon with her cheeks puffed out.

“‘His work sends my spirit aflutter as my hooves dance ponderously across my lyre,’ ” Bon-Bon said, smirking.

“I’m warning you, Bon-Bon!” Lyra said, blushing.

Placing her hoof over her eyes, Bon-Bon tossed her head back theatrically. “‘My muse has been reawakened after so many lonely aeons beneath the umbrageous, impotent waves of seething lethargy! Hark, O winter-scented cherubim! Hear my soul as it pours its agony, its love, its blooming emotion into you, in tandem with that of the field-coated incubus as he―’ ”

Lyra shoved her hoof into Bon-Bon’s mouth, eyes wide and face red as she laughed nervously. “Haha! Bonnie, ever the jokester! She’s just yanking your leg, hahaha! Anyway, about that picture!”

Canvas looked between Bon-Bon’s smirking face and Lyra’s desperate, tooth-filled smile, fighting back a smirk of his own. He had to hide his mouth behind his hoof when he said, “So... your muse, huh?” with a chuckle that he only barely bit down.

“Oh, you don’t know the half of it, Canvas,” Bon-Bon said, her smirk threatening to stretch past the bounds of her face.

Lyra growled. “About that picture!” she said through gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes at the two.

Canvas raised his hooves in a placating gesture, snickering. “Okay, okay, I didn’t forget about the picture… or the ‘blooming emotion’ it’ll inspire.”

Lyra groaned, even when Bon-Bon nuzzled her teasingly.

Remembering that he had a second stool next to the bench for couples' sketches (which, surprisingly, didn't sell as well as he thought they would), Canvas pulled it out and placed it next to the other one in front of him. After nodding to the girls, Canvas started applying the graphite cloth to his paper while Lyra and Bon-Bon sat themselves down.

"I'm sorry we showed up this late,” said Lyra, looking embarrassed when she saw how dark it was getting. "Bon-Bon’s been testing a new recipe and got way too caught up with her work."

Bon-Bon gave the unicorn a glare before she replied, "For the last time, Lyra, the taffy was too thick to turn! And it’s not like you helped, you lazybones. It wasn't my fault it held us up!" Lyra made a sigh she was sure was supposed to be intentionally loud, so Bon-Bon scoffed once more. "Seriously, honey, you know I'm wanting to try this new pomegranate flavor, and I really think…”

While Bon-Bon talked, Canvas slowed down his wiping as he realized what he had just heard. This mare just called Lyra “honey.” He knew he shouldn’t assume, but the implications caused his guts to twist and his chest to hum.

As he finished his preparations, he tried to keep himself together, even though he couldn’t stop thinking about what this meant for him. For the first time in his life, Canvas would actually be talking to ponies like him.

There IS hope!

Canvas held the graphite in his hoof, and looked up to see Bon-Bon still arguing with Lyra about her candies. "This is just like the time you got all, ‘Oh, Bonnie! You’re too obsessive over your work!’ when I was perfecting the recipe for that kiwi candy! You don’t see me smothering you whenever you lock yourself away in your room with your ‘muse’ to tangle yourself up in that lyre of yours."

Gasping, Lyra said, “Don’t you dare bring Lilac into this! Her strings can sunder mountains and divide the heavens! Take it back!”

"Umm…” Although Canvas didn't want to interrupt, he was anxious to start talking to them. "I'm ready to start drawing."

Quick to get started, Lyra and Bon-Bon sat upright on their stools, smiling as he began drawing the basic shapes of the two. "So, tell me…” said Canvas, "How… How long have the two of you been friends?"

Though Canvas didn't want to ask a question that generic, he knew better than to just be upfront in asking about them. With the bitter memories of Gallop Creek still on his conscience, Canvas wanted to approach this delicately so he could test the waters.

"Oh, well…” Lyra seemed a little surprised at Canvas' question as she responded, "Actually, Bon-Bon and I are married."

Feeling his heart practically burst out of his chest, Canvas was swimming in ecstasy as he continued to draw. "Wow, really? That's… That’s great!"

With his out-of-the-blue happiness coming across as frantic and, frankly, frightening to the mare, Bon-Bon's eyes narrowed a little as she looked at the stallion suspiciously. "Are you okay, sir?"

Canvas stammered a little as he realized the girls might think they freaked him out. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine! It's just…”

Just what? The first time I ever met ponies like me? The first time in my life I actually feel like I'm not alone? Like I'm not some freak?

Canvas could only smile as he looked at the two mares. "You two make a great-looking couple."

Lyra and Bon-Bon both smiled graciously, which helped Canvas remain in high spirits as he went back to his drawing. "So, tell me,” he asked, "how did the two of you meet?"

"Actually, that's a great story!" exclaimed Lyra, looking excited as she glanced over at the mare beside her. "You see, a few years ago, I was performing in Canterlot as part of their Philharmonic Orchestra." She pointed to the lyre on her flank. Before Canvas or Bon-Bon could say anything, Lyra said, “And no there was no muse involved.” Canvas and Bon-Bon shut their mouths, still smiling. "Well, one night I was performing for a big show at Canterlot Castle, and Bon-Bon happened to be there as one of the caterers. I just finished a performance when I decided to get a drink…”

While Lyra and Bon-Bon continued on with their story, Canvas couldn't help but feel completely overjoyed as he drew the two of them. As the drawing started looking closer and closer to the two ponies in front of him, Canvas continued to listen, and was able to feel the love these mares had for each other while they reminisced about how they became a couple: Meeting in Canterlot, becoming quick friends, how that friendship blossomed into love, and how they ended up engaged. By the time he got the key details of their faces nailed down on the paper, Canvas' heart felt tremendously warmer as he realized how lucky these two really were.

As the final touches of the sketch were being completed, the stallion couldn't help but feel a tad envious at what these mares had. He wanted nothing more than to feel that way for somepony. Once the drawing was completed, Canvas felt a wave of optimism wash over him, realizing he actually might now get that chance.

“...And to think, I was planning to propose when I got the money for the ring later that week!" With a tear in her eye, the mint unicorn looked back at her wife with a big smile on her face. "But there she was when I got home, on her knees with the box in her mouth." Lyra leaned over and nuzzled the mare before sitting back down. Her eyes remained glued on Bon-Bon, whose smirk had settled into a far more heartfelt smile. "It was the greatest moment of my life."

Both mares looked back at Canvas, who had a tear coming down his cheek from his un-bandaged eye as well. "Wow. That's… beautiful. You two are… really lucky."

Canvas quickly wiped the tear away with his clean hoof, the couple going “Aaaaawwwww!” in unison at seeing him like this. "I mean it,” he added sincerely. “I'm actually kind of jealous of you two."

"Well, don't worry,” said Lyra while giving Canvas a kind, assuring smile. "I'm sure you'll find the right stallion when he comes along."

"Yeah, thanks,” he replied with a meager shrug. “I just don't kno―"

Canvas immediately stopped talking as soon as he realized what Lyra said. He stared at the two with wide eyes, motionless as he tried to figure out how she could’ve known something like that. "Wait, I… H-How did you…”

With a little smirk, the mint unicorn pointed to the bench where his art bag was. Canvas stared in shock as he saw the bottom of his bag was no longer held by the pins, and the inside flap was now hanging off the bench, displaying the two male symbols for everypony to see.

Canvas' eye twitched, his body frozen in place, and his mind desperately trying to comprehend just what the buck happened. The two mares became increasingly concerned at his sudden aura of fear, and Canvas could only stammer as he tried to think how long his bag was like that. "W-W-When did…”

"Canvas,” said Lyra, now slightly worried that the stallion might have a panic attack, "the… the bag was like that all day. I saw the symbol this morning. I thought you knew…”

The mare stopped talking while Canvas just stared at the bag with his mouth hung open. Even though he knew it was already too late, the stallion quickly stuffed the bottom back into the bag as he breathed heavily, feeling absolutely dumbfounded by his idiocy. When he finally looked back to the two, Canvas could only stutter out a few noises, which were supposed to be words. However, his babbling stopped when he felt a hoof on his shoulder, and he saw Bon-Bon giving him a confused look. "Canvas, what’s wrong?"

"I-I-I didn't…” Struggling to think, Canvas’ tail swished back and forth in agitation, and his muzzle wrinkled tightly as he tried to speak coherently. "Th-That-That wasn't… I mean, I didn't think…” His eye, watery and unfocused, jumped from alley to alley, searching for an escape.

"Hey." Lyra looked at him in worry, and took hold of his hoof to caress it consolingly. "Why are you acting like this?"

Bon-Bon looked back at the bag before looking at the stallion. "Were you worried about ponies seeing that? Why would you think…”

Bon-Bon's eyes slowly widened as she saw the fear in Canvas' face, before her gaze went to the bandage over his eye. Canvas tried to look away from the mare, and saw Lyra put a hoof to her mouth as she realized the same thing her wife did. He closed his eye in an attempt to look away from both of them, but he knew that they figured it out. Why he was scared. Why he felt that way about his bag being open like that. Why he had the bandage in the first place.

"Oh… Oh, Canvas…”

Canvas opened his eye when he felt Bon-Bon's forelegs wrap around him, holding him in the second hug he'd received since everything happened. The stallion simply put his head against her shoulder, staying silent as a few tears came from his uncovered eye. He was only in that position for about a minute before Bon-Bon let go, feeling extremely grateful that he didn't cry again like he did last night. As he wiped his eye with his hoof, he felt Lyra's hoof on his shoulder. He turned to see her with a gentle smile on her face.

"It's okay. I don't know what happened, but… it’s alright, Canvas."

Canvas quickly nodded to her before he managed to speak again. "Yeah, I know. I… I heard that before."

Canvas breathed out sharply before he gave them their drawing, which showed the two of them looking at each other with the same love and admiration they had when they were telling their tale. Both of them loved the drawing, looking grateful and impressed at how well he drew the both of them together.

Lyra asked whether or not he had a place to stay for the night, but Canvas pointed out he had enough bits to stay at the hotel for a while. Despite their insistence, Canvas refused to let them take him in, or to let them pay for the drawing, telling them that their story and kind words were more than enough. After another quick hug, Lyra and Bon-Bon left Canvas to be alone as he gathered his things.

As the stallion reapplied the pins to his art bag, he heard the sound of something being dropped into his bit bag. Canvas turned around to see nopony there. However, a folded note was now on top of the pile of bits. When he opened the note, Canvas smiled as he read what it said, feeling a tug on his heart:

If you need somepony to talk to, we will always be there to listen. Never forget that you have friends.
-Lyra & Bon-Bon

P.S. Bon-Bon needs somepony to test some candy ideas. Are you allergic to pomegranate?

Seeing that it was now almost completely dark, Troy felt a wave of disappointment as he landed in Ponyville. While he was sure Canvas was likely back at the hotel by now, the gryphon decided to head to the fountain anyway to stretch out his legs.

Troy reached the town center just as the streetlights lit up, revealing the aqua stallion as he stood by the fountain with a smile, looking at the note in his hooves. Troy blinked, pleased by the coincidence. As his claws clicked on the stones beneath him, Canvas noticed him approaching.

"Oh, hey Troy,” said Canvas, placing the note back in his art bag. "If you want a portrait done, it’ll have to wait till light. Kinda late out."

"Oh, no, I’m not here for anything like that! Figured I’d stroll through because, uh...” Troy tried thinking of a reason he was around, other than to check up on Canvas. "I found out I might get transferred to weather patrol around here, so I wanted to get the lay of the land," he said a little too insistently. The pony raised a brow.

"Uh huh." As Canvas replied with an obvious tone of skepticism, he gave the gryphon a wry smirk. "Well, I guess I can see why you would want to do that. I mean…”

"What?" Troy asked, confused at Canvas’ pause.

"You were right, Troy. Ponyville is a lot better." Canvas looked around the town with a smile as lights from the houses and buildings began to illuminate around them. Troy was transfixed by the way the shadows accentuated the glow of Canvas’ hopeful eyes, hidden as they were behind his scraggly mane. His smile, soft and longing, left Troy nearly breathless, even though he wasn’t chasing a rainbow trail this time. For some reason he couldn’t explain to himself, he really wished he had that camera right about now. Canvas looked at him, and Troy realized he’d been staring. "I'm really glad I came here."

Troy gave a slight smile, wings fluttering. "So… did something happen? You seem a lot less jumpy."

Canvas closed his eyes as he breathed in the cool air, and exhaled deeply before giving his answer.

"The nights really are beautiful in Ponyville."

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Canvas and Troy walked along the cobblestone street, the stars in the great vault above twinkling playfully as they observed the land below. The two passed other ponies going about their evenings, many of whom waved to Canvas, recognizing him from his work earlier that day.

Watching Canvas waving back with an enthusiastic smile on his face, Troy was relieved that the stallion was in such a good mood. He thought about what could have happened if he never talked to him at the hotel, and how distant Canvas would've been if he’d barricaded himself in that room, with only his demons as company as he shied away from the pain of the outside. The rumination prompted Troy to wonder if he was like that as well, whether his cloud was his sanctuary or his prison. But since he didn’t want to think about it too much, Troy kept his beak shut as he listened to Canvas talk about his day and how he came across Lyra and Bon-Bon.

"Talking with them like that just really put me at ease, you know?"

"Ponyville fits you like a glove, eh? I’ll definitely admit, it ain’t too shabby." Troy thought back to the weather job he wanted around Ponyville, and to his delight he still wanted to go through with it. Even though Canvas seemed alright and didn't really need him around, Troy remembered the reason he gave Rainbow Dash about wanting the job: he really did want to be more social, and right now, he was already getting on the right track with Canvas. "So they're married? Bet they’re the type that’s always making lovey-dovey eyes at each other and mwah mwah mwah!" he said, holding his taloned hands together against his cheek and burlesquing a lovestruck, googly-eyed hen.

Chuckling at the gryphon’s exaggerated display, Canvas said, "Yeah, they were a really sweet couple, too. I'm really glad I got to meet them."

Troy smiled pridefully as he bumped into the pony. "See, I told you! Things are a lot better around here. You just gotta relax a bit. You’re way too high-strung at times."

As Canvas nodded, he lifted a hoof to his art bag, making sure the safety pins were still holding the bottom together. Troy couldn’t help huffing with a befuddled look as he shook his head. "You know, you really should try investing in a new bag or something. That hunk of junk’s a sneeze away from falling apart."

"Absolutely not." Troy was surprised by how quickly Canvas shot the idea down, despite how ragged his current one was. "I've had this bag since I was a colt. It's… It’s sentimental to me."

"Well, your sentiment isn't gonna hold your paintings and stuff very well unless you do something about it, fast."

"Yeah, I know." While he didn’t want to admit it, the gryphon did have a point: the bag, even with all its memories, was only being held together with gum, toothpicks, and a prayer. When Canvas noticed one of the pins coming off already, he quickly refastened it. "I still can’t believe it opened on me like that today."

Though it did help Canvas with his interaction with Lyra and her wife, the stallion still seemed flustered about the whole situation. Noticing this, Troy cleared his throat to catch Canvas’ attention.

"So, let me ask you something.” The stallion turned to Troy as they walked. "Did anypony say anything about it before Lyra and Bon-Bon? Like, did any of the ponies make a big deal out of it?"

Canvas blinked a couple times, and slowly shook his head. "No, none of them.” His pace slowed as his eyes widened, realizing that Troy was right. Nopony cared about seeing that symbol. No one who was around Canvas seemed to mind that he was gay. As his smile grew, he turned excitedly to Troy, almost bouncing in place. "None of them cared about it. It… It wasn't a big deal to any of them!"

Canvas stopped walking, letting that revelation sink in. Now grinning like how he remembered Pinkie Pie did yesterday, Canvas started laughing out loud in the middle of the street about how pointless his worries were. “They didn’t care! They… Troy, do you know what this means!?”

Troy gave off a light chuckle to the sight, finding it hard to be weirded out when the stallion looked so overjoyed. Noticing the gryphon staring at him in amusement, Canvas composed himself after a couple of calming breaths.

"Sorry, I just…” Canvas wasn't sure how to complete his meek attempt at an apology. He felt a slight twinge of relief, however, when Troy lifted his claws to keep him from saying any more.

"It's alright, dude. At least you're not crying." Troy gave Canvas a small grin before he added, "You look a lot better when you're smiling anyway."

Immediately realizing how that may have come out, Troy grew flustered as Canvas blushed slightly. "I didn't mean it like, um… I just meant that you, er…”

Canvas tried to shake his blushing away as he replied, "No, it-it's alright! I got what you meant. I know you didn't mean it like…” Canvas bit his lip, honestly not wanting to complete that statement.

Feeling the awkwardness rising between the two of them, Troy looked around the town while rubbing down his feathers. "So… have you had anything to eat today?"

Canvas' stomach gurgled in response. The stallion giggled in embarrassment. "Well, it was a pretty busy day..."

Canvas scanned the town alongside Troy, trying to think of where to eat, noticing how empty the streets were. Odd. The stallion looked along the strangely dark buildings before what looked to be a pink flash caught his eye about a block away from them.

Troy said, "It might not be a good idea to go to that café again, Canvas. But I’m sure we can find someplace around here.”

Another flash of pink, this time much closer, came from the corner of Canvas' good eye. A cold sweat broke down his forehead, the muscles in his legs tensing. Shakily, he said, "Hey Troy, did you notice―”

As the stallion turned his head back ahead of him, he only saw a wall of pink. Pinkie Pie stood less than a foot from his face.

"Hiya, Canvas!"

The stallion shot back from the cheerful mare and crashed into Troy, who hardly even budged. Both of them looked dumbfoundedly at their surprise guest, with Canvas blurting out, "P-Pinkie! You scared me! Troy, tell her she scared me!" Troy opened his beak before shutting it, still processing what just happened.

Pinkie immediately looked worried. "Oh no! You weren't supposed to be surprised yet! I mean―” Pinkie's blue eyes nervously darted back and forth, before the mare once again adopted an ebullient (if sly) grin, her smile taking up an impossible amount of space on her face. "Wanna stop by Sugar Cube Corner? We’ve got yummiiies~"

Blinking a couple times, Canvas could hardly keep up with the mare's on-a-dime mood swings. He looked at Troy, who was still busy rebooting his system software, before returning his gaze to Pinkie. "Um… I guess so? I mean, I was a bit hu―"

Before he could finish, Pinkie started pushing both Troy and Canvas from behind with her hooves. "Then let's go! You can come too, Mister Gryphon!"

Not sure of how to deal with this new pony, Troy simply followed along this ride of madness, unsure of whether or not he was in immediate danger. "I have a name, you know! ‘Troy!’ "

"Pleased to meetcha, Mister Troy! I hope you like chocolate!"

By the time the three reached Sugar Cube Corner, Pinkie had taken pity on the limits of their delicate mortal flesh and allowed Troy and Canvas to walk without her prodding them along. The thought of running had crossed their minds more than once when their eyes met during the journey, but one look at the pink fiend’s all-seeing eyes, and her cheery smile that morphed into something far more sinister under the writhing shadows chased the idea away and ruthlessly savaged it before it could take form. While they doubted she would do anything too crazy, they also knew their place.

Canvas and Troy couldn't help but look impressed when they finally reached the bakery. Looking like a giant baked good itself, they could see from the huge building why Pinkie Pie was so energetic. Troy could feel his blood sugar skyrocket just by looking at the place. He may have started sweating vanilla extract if it wasn’t for Pinkie calling out to them.

"Well, come on in, guys! Wonder and sugary-sweet goodness awaits!"

Before either could respond or even move, Pinkie Pie bolted into the bakery, the door closing behind her. Canvas looked back at Troy in confusion before he hesitantly walked to the door. As he lifted a hoof to the door handle―which resembled a piece of red licorice―the stallion could hear a couple of hushed whispers from inside.

The stallion looked back to Troy, with the gryphon seeing a hint of worry on Canvas' face. Troy gave an “Are you kidding?” look to the stallion, causing Canvas to sigh with a slight smile before he turned back and opened the door.

As he walked inside, Sugar Cube Corner looked completely empty to the pony. All the lights were turned off, and the room was entirely silent. Canvas wanted to say something, but all the lights flicked on without warning, scaring the stallion half to death as the room was suddenly full of ponies who shouted, "SURPRISE!!”

Canvas fell backwards in fright, landing on his back as he tried to grasp what the buck was going on. He stared up at the ceiling―which looked like a huge graham cracker―before Pinkie's face appeared over his, nearly throwing him into a second heart attack. "So, were you surprised, Canvas? Were you were you were you were you?"

Before he could put his mind back together enough to make a response, Pinkie pushed Canvas back into a sitting position on the floor as he looked around the room at all the smiling ponies. He tightly clutched the art bag at his side while Pinkie began talking rapidly once more.

"I wanted to throw a party for you yesterday but you said that maybe we could do it another day, and now it's another day so I got this party together just for you! And your drawings were really popular so a lot of ponies decided to help out because they wanted to make you feel extra special about being here and to thank you for doing such a super-duper fantastitoozly with sugar on top job!"

Canvas stared wide-eyed at all the ponies, many of whom he recognized from drawing earlier, as well as the huge table of every sugary treat imaginable. Canvas' muzzle twitched, his eyes unblinking as he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. The stallion turned back to Troy, who was trying to pull his ruffled feathers back down and recompose himself.

When he looked back to Pinkie, Canvas saw that she was now holding a big chocolate cake, which she placed down in front of him. Glancing down at the cake, Canvas' hoof shot to cover his mouth as he saw what was written, not even noticing what Pinkie was saying.

"I talked to Bell Hopper at the hotel when he mentioned that Troy came by to give back your diploma, and he told me he saw on the paper that you were a Valley-Victor-something, which is apparently really really good, so I made you this!"

Feeling a tear come down his cheek, Canvas read what was on the cake in bright pink frosting:

"I… I…”

Canvas was too floored to really think of anything to say. After everything he'd done and everything he went through, this cake was the first thing he'd received to actually celebrate graduating high school. Even though this mare and everypony else here barely knew him, they still went out of their way to make him feel welcome in this town. They accepted him.

He tried covering his whole face in a poor attempt to hide his crying, but Canvas could only smile through his overjoyed sobs. "I… I don't know what to say…”

Canvas felt Pinkie lift him up without warning and pull him to her side, not seeming to notice or mind his tears as she smiled back at the crowd. "I know what you can say: LET'S PARTYYYY!!"

The room cheered, and Canvas wiped away his tears as the party began.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Ponyville was usually a fairly quiet place when it got dark. But if there was anything exciting going on after the sun went down, chances were pretty high that Pinkie Pie was somehow involved. While her wild and loud antics could easily irritate or bother most unsuspecting ponies, the citizens of Ponyville had come to accept―or, at least, stopped trying to avoid―her bubbly attitude, as well as her extravagant celebrations for any and every occasion she saw fit to throw a party for.

Since Ponyville could get boring without her parties, most of the town just let Pinkie Pie do what she wanted to give the community some well-needed excitement―not to mention she would probably do it regardless. Noise complaints were beneath her, and Mayor Mare didn’t want to try leashing her lest she find herself dragged along by it through the party pony’s high-octane revelry; the politician’s job was stressful enough―she didn’t need split ends on top of everything else she had to deal with. And, once again, the pink mare was giving the town another reason to have a good time as Canvas’ surprise party went down at Sugar Cube Corner.

Canvas didn't think of himself as the partying type, but he managed to loosen up pretty well after overcoming the initial shock from having a party just for him. As he chatted with the various ponies there, the stallion felt a lot calmer as he realized how friendly and approachable they really were.

While there were a few moments where Canvas felt a little uncomfortable, mostly when ponies asked about the storm or the bandage over his eye, he was able to keep most of those conversations simple and short, moving on to more positive things before they could really notice or care. When Canvas could finally take a break from talking and drink some punch, he furrowed his brows when his art bag was held up by a light-blue aura.

Canvas looked to his side to find a white unicorn readjusting the pins holding the bottom of his bag. With her flawlessly done face showing nothing but inquisitiveness, the beautiful mare looked over Canvas' bag with a mix of curiosity and strange admiration. Her meticulously styled purple mane bounced lightly as she nodded and shook her head, muttering to herself. Her blue eyes shined with the attentive gleam of a surgeon in the midst of an operation.

"Um…” Canvas didn’t feel comfortable with how this mare was handling his bag, and he didn’t want anything to damage it any more than it already was. “Excuse me?”

"Oh!" The unicorn looked up at Canvas before letting go of the bag, letting it rest back on his shoulder. "Forgive me if I'm intruding, darling,” said the mare with a surprisingly posh accent that sounded like something straight from the upper crust of Canterlot, "but I couldn't help but notice your supply bag. I actually recognize the style, even if its state is a touch… well, ‘ghastly’ is a strong word, no?”

"Umm… thanks?” Unsure of whether or not the mare was insulting him, Canvas decided to let it slide as she continued.

"Where did you acquire it? Because from what I can see, this is a positively sterling brand. In fact, many would call it vintage." Lifting up the top flap of it with her magic, the unicorn showed the inside tag that Canvas never took notice of: HT Goods. "I've been a long-time admirer of Hoity Toity's work, and I'm quite surprised to see something as rare as this being worn so roughly."

Canvas recognized the name Hoity Toity, knowing that he was a high-end fashion pony of sorts. While fashion never did catch his interest, he was surprised to find out his art bag was associated with him. Canvas also knew how expensive his stuff was, and he wondered how much the bag would've been worth if it wasn't ripped up and covered with years worth of random drawings and etchings. Of course, he wouldn't dare think of giving it up, but he couldn’t help but see his bag with a newfound sense of appreciation.

"Hoity Toity made this bag?" Canvas blinked a few times as he looked at the tag. "I never knew she went to so much trouble..."

"Hm?"

Not realizing he muttered that out loud, Canvas looked back at the mare who was watching him curiously. "Oh, um…” Canvas held the bag closer to himself. "I… I got this from my mom back when I was a colt. It was a gift for me after I discovered my talent in art. I knew it was a big thing for her to do, but…”

Looking down at the sorry state of the bag, the stallion's ears slumped down as he thought about what Troy said back on the street. "I should really get this repaired."

"Well, worry not!" Canvas looked back up at the unicorn, who now wore an enthusiastic smile. "My name is Rarity, of Rarity's Carousel Boutique! I've been told of your skills, and considering your current predicament, why don’t we help one another? I could use your assistance."

Canvas raised his brows curiously. "Assistance?"

Meanwhile, as the party was getting into full swing and Pinkie Pie was running another round of Pin the Tail on the Pony, Troy was perched near one of the snack tables. He was drinking yet another bottle of grape soda, watching the ponies around him, narrowing his eyes at any who strayed too close. It was his first time at a party like this, but the experience wasn’t nearly as harrowing as the gryphon would have pictured.

At first, most of the ponies kept their distance from Troy, since Gilda’s boorish actions at one of Pinkie’s previous parties had soured the image of gryphons everywhere in their minds. However, as more of them conversed with the gryphon, they realized that while he was a bit quiet, he was a lot nicer than expected. Before he knew it, several ponies were clamoring to speak with Troy, crowding the poor introvert, and he had to excuse himself just to catch his breath. Crowds were exhausting, and to him, if there were more than two ponies, it was a crowd. Go figure he had to entertain a dozen. Well, nothing a little more sugar couldn’t fix; he wasn’t sure how well Equestria’s healthcare system paid out, but hopefully they had some cheap insulin.

After tossing his fifth empty bottle into a nearby trash bin, Troy felt a nudge on his side. Turning around with a haunted look in his eye at the prospect of having to weather another torrent of questions as asinine as “What are gryphon beaks made of?”, “Why did the gryphon cross the road?” (he really disliked that one), and “If a gryphon eats an egg, isn’t that technically cannibalism?”, his weariness subsided when he found Rainbow Dash standing next to him with a grin on her face. "Jeez, thirsty much? At this rate, you’re gonna whiz purple, dude."

Troy scoffed. "Hey, it's a party. And you can’t blame me, these things are heaven for the taste buds." Rainbow shrugged as he grabbed a clawful of lemon drops. "Besides,” he said, popping one into his mouth as he spoke, “lemon drops make me thirsty."

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Man, I remember Gilda was a huge fan of lemon drops, too. I'm starting to think that's a gryphon thing or something."

Shrugging, Troy said, "Maybe. I just happen to enjoy sour stuff." He kept talking as he crunched on the candies in his beak. "So Rainbow, did they say anything about the, y’know, thing?"

Rainbow looked at him sympathetically. "Yeah… They said they'd think about it."

Troy sighed as he looked down, knowing that usually meant “no.” The more he thought about getting a job in the Weather Patrol, the more he began hating the idea of going back to that stupid ice room in the morning. It might’ve paid well, and it was certainly easy enough for him, but after spending all this time with Canvas and the other ponies, Troy really didn't want to be cooped up like that every day. The Weather Patrol would be a much-needed breath of fresh air.

"Although…” Troy looked back up at Rainbow, who took note of how down he looked. "If you do get a transfer, and that’s a big if, I'll see to getting you on the team real snappy-like. But you didn’t hear that from me."

The gryphon smiled as he nodded his head. "That's great to know, Rainbow." Though he'd heard things from other ponies around Cloudsdale about how hot-headed she could be when it came to work or training, even seeing it himself when they’d first met, it was hard for him to catch anything like that in who he saw standing next to him at that moment. "You know, you didn’t have to stick your neck out for me like this, but… I really do appreciate it. I owe you big."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes at Troy. "It's just a job, dude!" Looking down at the ground, the mare sighed before speaking again, now in a more sullen tone. "But um… there is something I’ve been meaning to tell you…”

Troy cocked his head to the side. "Careful, Rainbow, you might make somepony think you feel guilty just for being a decent pony. I know you’ve got this whole hard-as-steel persona going on, but past that? You’re alright," he said with a slight chuckle. When she didn’t respond, Troy furrowed his brows, the smile on his beak fading. “Hey, you okay?” Rainbow looked back up at him, her ears flat against her skull.

"It's just…” Rainbow clenched her eyes shut, afraid of seeing his reaction. “I was the one who made that lightning strike!"

Though the party was still loud around them, the space between the two suddenly fell silent. Shame, awful shame, pressed down on Rainbow, keeping her from looking Troy in the eye.

"I should've made sure to check the list, but I didn't, and I was the reason you couldn't just fly up to get help! And I…” The mare bit her lip, mostly to keep it from quivering. "...I'm really, really sorry, Troy."

Troy didn’t know what to feel: there was disbelief, denial, even a distant, dark feeling that howled calamitously at the mare that could have ended his career, if not his life, through stupid, stupid negligence just so she could punch the clock a few minutes early. He tightened his fist, the lemon drops in his palm cracking and grinding to dust.

But as much as he felt betrayed, the thing that stood out the most in this maelstrom of emotions swirling in his core was an overwhelming confusion. He’d never hated somepony, he’d never loved somepony. Tartarus, until he arrived in Equestria his every interaction was merely surface-level, so these feelings were still very new to him. But if he knew one thing about Rainbow Dash, it was that she didn’t have a single malicious bone in her body; that the mare had the mettle to forego her pride―something incredibly important to her―and show him, a gryphon, a predator, the softest part of her neck in deference, helped to prove that. If anything, Troy actually felt a strange kind of respect for her.

Biting back something poisonous, Troy took a deep breath and placed a claw on her shoulder. "Hey, it's alright. I mean, that strike just grazed me and―”

"But what if it didn't?!" Moving his head back from her sudden shout, he could only stand silent in front of her. She tapped her hoof against the side of her head, a baleful sneer twisting her visage. "Celestia, you can’t be this clueless. That could have seriously hurt you, or worse! And what about that guy in the bush, huh? What then!” Troy flinched as if struck at that; he hadn’t even considered Canvas in all this! Rainbow shook her head, her gaze desperate. “I just… I can’t just let that slide!"

Now looking like she really was going to tear up, Troy grabbed the pegasus by the shoulders. His talons dug into her coat, but only enough to be discomforting. "Rainbow, listen to me!" Rainbow looked up at Troy, both surprised and startled at his intensity. "You didn't know I was there. It may have been a mistake, but that's all it was! A mistake! I'm not mad about it, okay? I took that risk, and the danger was not lost on me when I did."

At Rainbow’s shock, Troy sighed before letting her go. He raised his trembling claws to his face, studying them. "I won’t lie, Rainbow, I… I’m not sure if I want to laugh, or punch something, or―” He held his breath for a moment, releasing a frustrated growl and massaging the space between his eyes. “I don’t know. It’s a lot to take in. Still though… major props to you for telling me.” He clapped a hand on her shoulder, and she looked at him in utter bafflement. Rubbing the back of his neck, Troy said, “But, uh, don’t let it happen again. I’ll deck you in the schnoz next time, and I’ll only feel a little bad about it afterward." The mare snorted at that, looking far less tense. She eyed him up and down as though she was seeing him for the first time.

He considered giving her a hug, but then he figured doing something like that with this mare could end up with him getting his beak broken. He liked his face just the way it was, thank you. So instead, the gryphon proffered a clenched fist, which she promptly bumped with her hoof, a smile growing back on her face.

Determination shined in Rainbow Dash’s eyes. "I'm gonna make sure you get that job, alright?" Troy nodded at Rainbow's promise, now seeing why she got the title of Element of Loyalty. However, her relieved smile quickly dropped as she stepped nearer, her expression severe. "But don't think I'll let you slack off under my watch, got it? If you're working for me, you're gonna work!"

Aaaand there was the Rainbow Dash everypony knew and loved. Troy quickly nodded, understanding her condition. Rainbow then sighed, looking happy to have gotten all that off her chest. “That kinda spunk’ll get you far, Troy; you oughta show it more often.” She then turned and walked off, disappearing into the sea of ponies at the party, some of whom had quieted down during her altercation with Troy. A few wary glances were passed between the eavesdroppers, but conversation once again picked up when it was clear no trouble would come of it.

Troy was too preoccupied to take notice of this. He didn’t know when he had grabbed another bottle of grape soda, but he found himself staring into his warped reflection in the inky, beckoning liquid. Golden eyes stared back. “You say that like it’s so simple,” he muttered to himself, frowning.

"I must say, Canvas, your paintings are simply dazzling!"

Rarity couldn't stop raving as she sifted through his collection of paintings, shuffling through them as she levitated them in her blue aura. She was ooing and ahhing, looking absolutely mesmerized, her eyes sparkling like she’d unearthed diamonds. Canvas was happy to show his work like this, even if it was for a seamstress he had just met. That said, Canvas was careful to only pull out his undamaged pieces, keeping the others tucked away in his bag. As she found herself especially entranced by a blue-and-purple abstract piece, Rarity felt a lot more confident about what she was asking of Canvas.

"I know this is an odd request, but I simply can’t find the time to do it myself due to a plethora of clients this month."

Canvas thought about what Rarity wanted him to do for her. The job itself was a fairly simple one―just painting a specific floral design for her bedroom―and yet the mare was offering a really generous pay for his time. As he looked at her design idea on a piece of paper she gave him, a surprisingly intricate style, almost like some sort of Zebra tribal motif, Canvas was confident he could finish this in less than a day.

"And for your time on this project, my good stallion,” Rarity said, once again lifting his bag gently with her magic, "I'll also repair your art bag, free of charge.” She winked. “We’ll tally it an ‘artistic exchange.’ "

With a big smile on his face, Canvas shook Rarity's hoof, careful not to mess up her hooficure. "Miss Rarity, I would be happy to help with your design." The unicorn's face beamed with excitement. Canvas put a hoof to his bandage, remembering what he had to do tomorrow. "I may have to visit the hospital first to get my stitches removed, but after that I'll be right over. Is that okay with you?"

Rarity nodded, but kept a muzzle on her curiosity. Like most of the ponies at the party, she was aware of the basics: Canvas was found hurt before the storm last week and was recuperating at the hospital until yesterday. Even though she wanted to know more about what happened (as did a lot of ponies in town), she knew better than to ask personal questions like that, especially with a tentative business partner. It was unprofessional. With a quick “thank you and congratulations” to the stallion, Rarity went back off to the party, happy to finally get this idea off the ground.

Canvas readjusted his bag, glad to know it’d be repaired as soon as tomorrow, before heading back to the table Rarity placed his paintings on. Walking over, Canvas noticed two more ponies looking through the stack, carefully studying each painting with interest. One was a fairly tall and skinny yellow stallion with a short, orange mane and freckles lining his muzzle, while the other next to him was a light-blue mare who was rather short and pudgy.

The mare quickly placed the painting she was holding back on the pile when she noticed Canvas, and readjusted her poofy pink mane. "I'm sorry, sir, I couldn’t help myself. But these pieces are so eye-catching!"

"Oh, it's alright." After his interaction with Rarity, he was feeling a lot more comfortable with ponies seeing his work. "I think Pinkie introduced us earlier. You're Mr. and Mrs. Cake, right?"

The mare nodded as the stallion looked up from the stack to talk with him. "Gotta say, I don’t have the chops to be a critic of these artsy things―I’m much more comfortable whipping up a nice pumpkin pecan cheesecake and keeping the ovens preheated, y’see―but in my humble opinion, young stallion, you oughta be doing a lot more than five-bit drawings on the street."

Canvas blushed slightly, but remained gracious as he smiled with a thankful nod. He remembered how unenthusiastic ponies were back in Gallop Creek, with the nicest compliments either being amused huh’s or nods before they just walked past. To go from that to practically everypony saying how well done they were was quite a change for Canvas, who now wished he could've lived in a community this supportive growing up.

Mrs. Cake cleared her throat. "My husband and I were wondering. How would you feel about painting something for us?"

Troy walked out of the bathroom, relieved that the party was finally over. Looking over the bakery, now clear of most ponies, he saw Mr. and Mrs. Cake sweeping up the fallen confetti and streamers strewn about the floor. Meanwhile, Canvas was helping Pinkie Pie put paper plates into a trash bag; despite objections from both Pinkie and the Cakes, the stallion insisted he helped clean up before heading back to the hotel. Realizing he was the only one not doing anything, Troy looked around before flying up to the ceiling, and helped to take down the various streamers and balloons.

With everything done in the main room, Pinkie gave Canvas a particularly bone-crushing hug before letting him leave to get some rest. Paradoxically, the stallion came out of it feeling less sore than before. Before Pinkie could open her forelegs again to do the same for Troy, the gryphon put out his claw for her to shake, opting not to involve himself in whatever black magic the mare was indulging in. He could tell Pinkie wanted to give him a hug, but she still had a big smile while shaking his claw with her hoof.

Before leaving, Troy saw Canvas shaking the hooves of Mr. and Mrs. Cake, talking with them about something.

"Alright, I might not get here until sometime in the afternoon, but I'll be sure to get it done before the kids come back, alright?"

The two ponies nodded as Canvas thanked them once again for the party, feeling relieved that he could leave Sugar Cube Corner and get some sleep. Canvas and Troy stepped back outside, waving back at the ponies inside the bakery, and both were surprised how cool the night air had become.

"So, Canvas…” Canvas glanced over at Troy, who looked exhausted following that surprise party. "What was that whole thing about?"

"Oh, that." Canvas rubbed his uncovered eye with his hoof, hoping he’d stay awake long enough to get to the hotel. He didn’t put all those bits into getting a proper room just to pass out on the street. "The Cakes asked me to help paint their nursery. Their kids are at their grandparents’ or something, and they wanted to get it done as a surprise for when they get back."

"Oh." Troy turned away from Canvas to quietly yawn. "The more bits the merrier, as they say. Who’d’ve thought you’d get so popular!"

Canvas nodded before he yawned loudly. The gryphon sighed to himself, hoping he didn’t cause that. Canvas yawned a second time before continuing.

"I'm also gonna paint something for Rarity at her boutique. She makes clothing and stuff, and she said she would actually fix the bottom of my bag if I painted something for her bedroom."

Troy smiled a bit, and tried his hardest to hold back another yawn. The gryphon looked down at Canvas' bag, which was now stuffed with leftover sweets and candies wrapped in plastic to protect the artwork. "Well, thank the stars for that. Won’t have to fret over that torn up travesty for much longer."

"I’m just taking your advice, Troy. You were right when you said sentiments weren’t going to hold this thing together." Canvas sighed before touching his bandage, making sure it was still secure. "I'm getting the stitches out first thing in the morning, so hopefully I can start looking out of this eye again soon."

Troy nodded, trying not to look upset as he remembered how that eye looked before, all swollen and black. He was surprised to imagine Canvas would still be able to see anything from it. Troy then thought about what Canvas said the other night, feeling his anger build up at the idea that some pony actually did that to him.

"Canvas, don't you think you should talk to the police about what happened?" Looking at Canvas with concern, Troy could see the stallion tremble a little bit as they walked.

"I… um…” Canvas looked away from Troy. The stallion's mind started spinning with the memories from that night, growing increasingly troubled as he tried to keep his focus on walking. As he tried to shake those thoughts away, Canvas felt them dissipate as he heard Troy’s voice again.

"Canvas, listen to me. If some ponies did that to you, especially for something like… that, you really should try to press charges or something! They shouldn't get away with that!"

"I know, it's just…” Canvas bit his lip, not wanting to think about that night anymore. The stallion stopped in the middle of the empty street, clenching his eye shut as he tried to keep himself calm. "I just…”

Canvas felt Troy's claws rest on his shoulder, feeling pleasantly surprised by how warm they felt on his coat. Breathing deeply, Canvas started feeling a lot easier with the gryphon by him, collecting himself before finishing his thoughts.

"It's just that coming here and meeting everypony has made me feel… it made me feel happier than I felt in a really, really long time." Canvas kept breathing heavily in an effort to keep himself from tearing up. "I want to put that stuff behind me right now. A-And I… I just want to move on with my life."

Looking up, Canvas could see from the gryphon's grave stare that this wasn't what he wanted to hear. Canvas looked back down to his hooves, and sighed deeply before he continued, hoping to keep Troy from digging further into any topics he’d prefer to let lie. "I know I should talk to somepony… And I will,” he said, pursing his lips together as he wondered if he actually would. "I just... It really hurts to think about it all, okay?!"

Canvas almost dropped to the ground, feeling like something punched him in the gut as he struggled not to cry. Troy instantly held onto him, not caring that he was outdoors or if somepony was watching. Canvas clung to Troy's shoulder for a few moments, not wanting to cause a scene in public, even though it was probably too late now. As he felt the gryphon's feathers brush against his fur, Canvas started to feel calmer as his sobs decreased, feeling a lot safer with him.

Canvas breathed in deeply as he let go of Troy, making sure his bandage wasn't too wet from crying before they started walking again. By the time they were in front of the hotel, Canvas was the one who finally broke the silence.

"I will talk to somepony about it. I… I just need to rest first."

"Well, that's understandable." Looking up at the clock tower in the distance, Troy saw that it was already almost a quarter to one. He sniffed the air, making a face. "And take a shower while you’re at it. You smell like banana bread and wet tree bark."

Even though he was still in higher spirits than before, Canvas scoffed before shooting the gryphon a flat stare. “Wow. Seriously, dude?”

“H-Hey, I’m just trying to be more upfront, alright?” Troy raised his claws up in sincerity, not wanting his friend to think that remark was too insulting between them. “Seriously, blame Rainbow Dash. She was the one who told me to show more ‘spunk’ or whatever.”

Canvas immediately looked away and tried his hardest not to snicker. He wasn’t very successful. “Ummm… Maybe you should use a different term than that one? ‘Spunk’ is sorta… suggestive.”

Troy needed a couple seconds to process what he meant by that, but his brows rose after a moment before he gave an affirmative “Ohhhh.” After smiling more naturally, he shook his head while rolling his eyes. “Oh, I’m gonna need a shower after that one! Jeez, and here I thought you were supposed to be a prude,” he said, playfully shoving the stallion, who couldn’t fight down a growing smirk.

After the two shared a quick hug and an exchange of goodbyes, Troy waited until Canvas disappeared past the front doors of the hotel before he flew off. Unfortunately, even with how happy the gryphon felt about his friend’s progress, his mind was still plagued with images of the frail, unresponsive stallion hooked up to life-support back in that hospital. The stallion who could have been brushed away into the night without anyone knowing, without anyone caring, if everything had gone according to schedule on that fateful day. His friend.

You’d better not be stringing me along, Canvas...

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Canvas never stopped running. He thought he saw the sun rise and set more than once, but at this point, his whole body was in enough pain to keep his mind from thinking. It looked like dusk (or maybe dawn) as the amber sun in front of him blinded his unswollen eye. His whole face throbbed as he felt blood dripping, although he wasn't sure from where. His lungs felt like they were going to explode at any moment, but he kept his hooves moving, not stopping for anything.

His hooves, which earlier stung and brayed like they were being ripped apart, were now just giving off a pulsing numbness as he galloped along. He was sure they were in bad shape, but he didn't want to look down to see. Canvas didn't know what road he was on, nor did he really care. All he knew was that he needed to keep running. For as long as it took.

Breathing was itself a herculean effort, his throat so clenched up and dry that each breath came out in a pained wheeze. As he opened his left eye, slightly less bruised and swollen than his right, he saw a sign in the distance for Ponyville. Something yanked his tail, causing him to yelp as he tripped over his hooves, landing in a mewling heap as the world spun. It was all he could do to stop himself from throwing up.

A shadow loomed over him, causing the pony to freeze, turning to find a figure pinning him down. He couldn’t see his face, but he immediately knew who he was. Trying to break free, Canvas could only watch in horror as the figure raised something over his head, the sun making it shine a ghastly shade of yellow. Canvas couldn't do anything; he couldn’t even scream. His mouth only opened in terrified silence as the figure shrieked gutturally before striking.

Canvas screamed and shot up as he opened his eyes. Breathing heavily, the stallion looked around. He was in his hotel room, a beam of light creeping in from Celestia's rising morning sun. Realizing it was just a dream, Canvas put his hooves to his head as he tried to calm down. Canvas closed his eyes and sighed as he sat in the silence of his room, afraid to think of what he remembered.

Before he could collect himself, a loud blaring noise broke out within the room. The terrified pony shot out of bed like a bullet, only to realize that it was just the alarm clock. Canvas turned it off with a groan, thinking about all he had to do today.

They can’t hurt you, Canvas thought. So why do you keep thinking about it! The ponies here are here for you… Aren’t they?

Sitting in the bare, white room, the sterile stench of disinfectant assaulted Canvas’ nostrils as an aura of magic moved over his face. Although the numbing spell Doctor Stable used was working, the stallion couldn’t help but wince as he saw the thread being pulled from his skin. He felt as if his whole face was being pulled apart by the doctor’s magic. Canvas bit his lips to cover his discomfort, which the doctor spotted right away.

"Are you alright, Canvas?” Dr. Stable asked, immediately cutting off his magic. “Are you feeling any pain right now?"

Canvas shook his head, being careful not to mess with Stable's progress. "No. It's just weird, you know?"

Stable nodded as he went back to removing the stitches, his face showing nothing but an unemotional focus as he pulled the last of the thread from Canvas' aqua fur. "Alright, I think that's it! It looks like your wounds have healed tremendously. Would you like to see?"

Canvas nodded, and Stable used his magic to levitate a mirror over from the counter. Levitating it in front of his face, Canvas could finally see his other eye without any bandages or stitches getting in the way. It was no longer swollen, but his right eye was still closed shut, and his eyelid was still slightly discolored. As Canvas put a hoof along his healed eye, Stable levitated something else from one of the drawers. "Though your eye is mostly healed, I still recommend that you wear this eyepatch over it until the bones are healed completely and the swelling goes down. You can make a game of it, if you want. Play pirate."

Seeing the eyepatch suspended by Stable's magic, Canvas nodded before grabbing it with his hoof, considering it for a moment before placing it over his right eye. He adopted a terrible accent, saying, "Arr, ‘tis fortunate for you, ye saltless scallywag. Though ye be a landlubbing softshell, yer assistance has me in a good humor! You’ll walk the plank another day, Doctor Stable."

Rolling his eyes with an amused smile, Dr. Stable said, “I take it back. You’d make an awful pirate.”

Canvas smirked. “I’ll have ye swab the poop deck for yer insubordination, stowaway! If not entertainin’ the sharks!”

“Stars above…” Stable muttered, shaking his head. Canvas chuckled.

Canvas glanced at the closed door, feeling a weight in his stomach as he remembered what he promised Troy. He also remembered what he said to the doctor the last time he was here, as well as how concerned Stable was when he asked about the cause of Canvas’ injuries. So after taking a deep breath, Canvas waited until Stable was done looking through his clipboard before speaking.

"So, Doctor…” Canvas looked down on the floor as he spoke. "You said that everything was… confidential… in this room… right?”

Doctor Stable looked back at the stallion with newfound interest, and placed his clipboard on the counter. "Yes, I did. Is there anything you wish to tell me?"

Stable waited as he watched Canvas fidget while sitting on the stool. Closing his eyes, Canvas took another breath before opening them again, and stared straight at the doctor.

"I… I want to talk about what happened."

With Sweetie Belle out of her mane, Rarity was finally able to relax after a rather hectic morning. Despite her best attempts to keep her little sister from trying to burn down her boutique whenever the fancy struck her to attempt to fry omelettes, the little gremlin always seemed to find a way into the kitchen when Rarity's back was turned. Making Sweetie’s cooking seem like it was edible was a mountain of a task, but Rarity always pulled it off with a grace that should’ve won her an acting award. After getting her cookware cleaned and her kitchen free from the rancid smell of eggs, tears, and for some Celestia-forsaken reason rubber, Rarity was happy when she heard knocking from her door.

The unicorn beamed when she saw Canvas at her front entrance, now with an eyepatch over his right eye and his art bag sagging at an alarmingly odd angle. It looked like the bottom would not hold for much longer.

Rarity also noticed that Canvas' mood was more sullen than expected, but she figured that the artist was just recovering from Pinkie Pie's antics from last night. Remembering the first birthday party she threw for her, Rarity shuddered. To this day she occasionally had nightmares about candy corn. She shook her thoughts aside as she let Canvas in.

"Why, good morning, Canvas. Your timing is impeccable. How was your appointment?"

Canvas readjusted the straps on his bag, and wiped his hooves before entering the immaculately clean boutique. "It was fine. Doctor Stable said that I have to wear this eyepatch for a little while, but other than that, I'm in good shape." Canvas kept a strained smile on his muzzle, hoping the unicorn wouldn't ask much more. Luckily, Rarity was quick to lead him across her shop, which was lined with dozens of arrangements of impressive-looking outfits.

After a quick trot upstairs, Rarity opened the door to her bedroom and showed Canvas the bare, white wall she wanted him to design. Canvas looked a bit bewildered as he glanced over at the bed, seeing how absolutely soft and supple the royal purple bedding looked, with a veritable sea of matching throw pillows one could sink into and lose one’s sense of up and down in. On the ground between the bed and the wall lay a small, clear tarp, with several small buckets of paint which were intricately arranged by color next to a small paint brush. Canvas was surprised to see that Rarity already had these things arranged for him before he arrived.

"I already picked out the colors I wanted for this design, and I wasn't sure what supplies you might already have. I do hope this is everything you need, darling."

Canvas nodded as he looked at the buckets, recognizing the brand of paint to be rather expensive. "Yeah, yeah, this is fine. I think I have everything I need at the moment."

Canvas pulled his art bag from his shoulder, pulling out his other supplies from inside. Since he paid for an extended stay at the hotel, Canvas was able to keep his paintings in the room, leaving only some spare paintbrushes and cleaning supplies in his bag (as well as some leftover treats from last night) before coming to the boutique. As the bag was finally emptied, Rarity carefully lifted it with her magic while Canvas started on the design, drawing it in full scale on the wall with a light graphite pencil strapped on his hoof.

"Take all the time that you need, and I'll get to repairing this bag for you." Looking at the various etchings on the expensive fabric, Rarity felt more than a little inclined to do more. "Would you be alright with me cleaning this while you're here?"

Canvas snapped his attention back to Rarity, biting his lip. "Um…” Rarity seemed confused as to why he was being so hesitant, and saw his eyes darting down at his bag like a gryphon watching its kit. "It's just that I really don’t want my markings to fade or anything."

"Oh, pish posh, my good stallion!” said Rarity, holding up a hoof in assurance. "I happen to know some spells which will clean the fabric while keeping the material sleek and pristine. I'll be sure not to harm your writings."

Sensing the unicorn’s confidence with her promise, Canvas felt trusting enough about her offer to nod reluctantly. "Ummm, alright, I guess. Thank you."

With a quick nod, Rarity closed the bedroom door, letting Canvas continue with the project in peace.

Even though she had several big projects to complete today, Rarity decided to fix the art bag first and foremost. This fashion catastrophe could not be allowed to persist! It was her duty to Hoity Toity, to Canvas, to fashion itself! She couldn’t call herself a seamstress so long as a single tear went unthreaded under her roof. She removed the pins and placed it on her sewing table, relieved to see that while the fabric was well-worn and ripped badly in some places, the repairs would be simple. She started by flipping the bag inside-out so she could reapply the bottom seams.

Meanwhile, Canvas finished drawing the basic layout.

He slowly drifted off into his mind, his focus lying solely on the wall before him, applying the colors onto it from the assorted paint buckets. As the colors spread across the plaster, slowly turning closer to the image laid out on Rarity's sketch, Canvas thought less about everything else around him.

Despite everything he'd been through and all the times he'd been hurt, nothing eased his mind better than his art: the refreshing smell of fresh paint and paper; the reassuring feel of the paintbrush held against his hoof; the sensation of creation happening before his very eyes. No matter what, ever since he was a colt, Canvas had never felt more calm and carefree than when he was painting.

However, as he focused on the piece before him, his interaction with Doctor Stable kept replaying in his mind: Canvas described what happened to the doctor, feeling very much the same way he did when he told Troy. While Troy felt a lot more comforting and supportive, Stable seemed a lot more neutral, not saying or doing much as Canvas went on. It wasn't until after he said everything that Stable finally spoke, offering a box of tissues to Canvas with his magic.

"Canvas, I'm glad that you told me this. It must have been difficult to recall something like that."

Canvas could only nod as wiped his eyes with the tissue, glad to actually wipe the tears from his right eye without a bandage in the way.

"Have you told anypony else about this?"

Canvas tossed the tissue into the nearby trash bin. "I… I told Troy a couple nights ago. But that's it."

Stable kept his gaze on Canvas, his expression stern. "Canvas, if what you're saying is true, then the authorities should be made aware of this." Canvas kept his eyes locked to the floor between them, not wanting to see the unicorn’s concerned glare.

Stable sat in front of him for a moment in wait, and eventually sighed when he received only silence from the distraught stallion. “What happened to you was a hate crime, Canvas. That can’t be ignored."

Canvas’ eyes welled up again, and Stable handed him the tissue box before speaking in a calmer tone. "Listen, nopony ever said this was going to be easy. It’s pretty bucking hard, actually. But, I hope you seriously consider talking to somepony who can help make sure this doesn’t happen again. To you or to somepony else."

Wiping his eyes before any new tears could form, Canvas slowly nodded while keeping his muzzle pointed away from the doctor. "I'll… I’ll see what I can do."

Stable rested a hoof on Canvas’ shoulder. “That’s all I ask.”

By the time Canvas' mind cleared again, he was already finished with the painting. He had to admit that after seeing the end result, the floral pattern looked amazing in full scale. After making a few quick improvements to add to the detail, Canvas began to clean his brushes, using a bucket of water that Rarity provided. He didn’t notice Rarity re-entering the room until he heard her gasp. When he turned around, he saw the unicorn staring at the design with a huge grin on her face.

Rarity’s excitement was tangible, a wave that emanated from her and warmed the room. The mare bounced on her hind legs as she clapped her hooves together like a filly at a magic show, squeeing. "My stars, Canvas! It looks absolutely marvelous!"

"Well, thank you, Rarity.” Canvas wiped off the excess water and paint off his brushes with his rag before noticing that Rarity was holding up his art bag with her magic. She levitated it in front of him like some sort of mythical relic, and she couldn’t help but giggle as she saw Canvas' jaw drop at the sight.

“I suppose we are both artists in a sense of the word,” she slyly said.

True to her word, the art bag was repaired back to mint condition. The mare wore a prideful smile as Canvas stared at it in awe. As he held it in his hooves, Canvas saw from the scrupulous stitching that this was no run-of-the-mill fair―this mare was the real deal, a prodigy at the top of her craft. To think all she’d asked for in return was a painting!

Additionally, the bag's fabric felt a lot softer, and he remembered what she said about cleaning it for him. Upon closer inspection, Canvas saw that all the years' worth of paint, food, and mud stains were completely gone, and the writings stood out all the more. Seeing how enthralled he was with her work, Rarity raised a hoof to catch his attention.

"I hope you don’t mind, Canvas, but I took the liberty of re-applying your markings with a fade-resistant ink. That way, you would be able to wash it regularly without worrying about it fading or bleeding into the surrounding fabric."

Canvas saw that the ink on his bag was freshly applied, the design appearing as if it had come printed on the bag when it was still fresh off the store shelf. She had gone over every inch of his work with the new ink; the end result looked completely natural and untouched.

But as he looked inside the bag, Canvas felt a weight in his stomach as he saw that she even did it for the mark on the bottom as well. The male symbols stood out to him with fresh ink like a neon sign, and Canvas looked back up to see Rarity smiling at him nonchalantly, like nothing was out of the ordinary.

"So, what do you think, darling?" she asked expectantly.

Blinking a few times in realization that a pony would actually do something this nice for him, Canvas could only smile as he looked back at his bag.

"I... I love it! It's absolutely perfect." Looking back up at Rarity, Canvas could see her trying to hold back her excitement at seeing his happiness. He felt like he was going to cry again, almost at a loss of words for her. In a move unexpected to the both of them, Canvas pulled the mare in for a hug. "Th-Thank you so much, Rarity."

Smiling, Rarity nuzzled the stallion. “The pleasure is all mine, Canvas.”

Rarity was insistent on paying him the price she’d promised from the night before, despite his efforts to refuse. Canvas would've been fine with just having the fixed bag as payment―especially since he still had a lot of bits saved from yesterday's work. However, Rarity still paid him the generous amount of bits they had agreed upon, as well as a plate of macaroons she baked (without Sweetie Belle’s help, she insisted, much to Canvas’ confusion) before letting him leave for Sugar Cube Corner.

Canvas arrived at the bakery at just around noon, much earlier than he previously thought he would, still feeling surprised at how well things went at Rarity's. Walking inside, the pony was taken aback by the overpowering smell of burnt sugar that hit his nostrils like a cloying pepper-spray.

Covering his muzzle with his hoof, he saw the Cakes frantically skittering around back in the kitchen. As he readjusted his weight while standing, Canvas ended up inhaling too much of the sweetened air, coughing a bit and catching the attention of Mrs. Cake.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Canvas! Pinkie Pie promised she wouldn't try making that brownie cannon during business hours! The dear is a baking savant, but there’s a time and a place!"

Looking around at the mass of ponies huddled into the shop, all of whom were in no better humor than he, Canvas gathered that they were in the middle of a lunch rush. "Oh, it's alright." Though Canvas' eyes started to burn, he just hoped it would be easier to breathe in the nursery. Plus, he figured that if Pinkie Pie did stuff like this regularly, then the Cakes had probably dealt with a lot worse than some burnt sugar, and that he should be grateful he came on this day.

After the Cakes did some necessary cleaning, Mr. Cake led Canvas upstairs to the nursery while his wife tended to the customers. Walking inside, Canvas saw that the nursery itself was pretty basic, with both cribs and all the furniture moved away from the walls. However, Canvas was surprised to see that the walls already had an appealing design element, with a trippy-looking swirl pattern going along the light purple and blue colors.

After looking at the sketch Mister Cake gave him (which wasn't as well-drawn as Rarity's), Canvas saw what they were trying to go for: using the swirling patterns already there, the Cakes wanted to theme the walls after outer space, with solar systems and stars across the walls.

Impressed by their idea, Canvas looked over the walls to think of what to do while Mr. Cake brought in the paint buckets. Looking through some books on outer space the Cakes already had, Canvas got an idea of how to pull it off before helping Mr. Cake lay down the tarp over the floor. Once everything was laid out and ready for Canvas, Mr. Cake closed the door to let him work in peace before going back downstairs to help his wife.

Even though the explosion from Pinkie Pie's new contraption made Sugar Cube Corner almost uninhabitable for about an hour, the Cakes luckily managed to get everything back to normal before the lunch rush ended. After a rather busy afternoon (and sending Pinkie off to do some errands to get her out of their hair), Mr. and Mrs. Cake saw that it was getting close to dinner time.

“That mare’s giving me split ends,” Mrs. Cake said, smiling exhaustedly.

Remembering the arrangements they already made, Mrs. Cake decided to go upstairs to check up on the mural for the kids. She lightly knocked on the closed door, but didn't hear anything inside. Throwing caution to the wind, Mrs. Cake slowly opened the door, her eyes growing wide as she saw the nursery’s new look.

All four walls of the room were adorned with hundreds of stars, arranged in patterns around the swirls to make the whole room look like a window to the universe. Upon closer inspection, she noticed that there were distinct constellations within the arrangements of stars, with very light lines painted to indicate which ones for the kids to see. The stars mirthfully twinkled in the enrapturing sea of pitch and purple, a breathtakingly faithful reflection of the Lunar Princess’ favored construction of her night sky.

Beholding it made her feel like a filly again, back when she ran through the fields at night and caught little fireflies in a jar so she could watch them buzz along, lighting each others’ way without a care in the world. To them, there was no jar; they were never confined. All that mattered was flying, because so long as they had wings, they could fly, and so long as they could fly, they were free. The night was beautiful for a firefly, because it meant they could shine all the brighter.

Mrs. Cake swore she could feel the brisk breeze blowing through her mane as she admired it all, and it was only the faint smell of burnt sugar that brought her back down to Earth. To think her foals would be lulled into a gentle sleep under such a wonder every night… The mare blinked, her eyes damp. Thank these painted smiling stars she caught Carrot, her own firefly.

On the wall next to the door was a stunning mural of the Horsehead Nebula, standing amongst the outer space background with vibrant shades of blue, yellow, and red. In the middle of the room lied a sleeping Canvas, small specks of paint covering his coat, his work speaking for itself. Mrs. Cake was made almost speechless by the room, only uttering out an, "Oh my goodness," before running back downstairs to fetch her husband.

Canvas slowly stirred himself back awake as he heard the voices of ponies nearby. Opening his eyes, he saw the Cakes staring at the nursery walls in utter amazement, looking especially impressed by the Nebula mural. Canvas rose to his hooves, his neck feeling a little sore after using his bag as a makeshift pillow, and the Cakes took notice, immediately shaking his hooves.

"I don’t have the words for it, Canvas! To think you did all this in one afternoon!"

Canvas nodded at Mr. Cake's praises, yawning a little as he tried readjusting his consciousness to reality. While the Cakes looked at more of his work, Canvas gave a profoundly strained stretch, glad to have gotten everything done. Mrs. Cake still looked rather tired, but she smiled when she cleared her throat and looked back at the artist.

"Canvas, would you like to stay for dinner tonight?” Canvas looked at her in surprise. Mrs. Cake gave him a kind smile. “You’ve worked yourself to the marrow, dear, and I couldn’t send you on your way hungry after all your help."

Canvas blinked a couple times, thoughtfully considering her offer. Mr. Cake chimed in as well.

"I think that's a great idea! Lyra and Bon-Bon are coming over tonight, and we would be more than happy if you joined us."

Seeing the couple’s delight, Canvas felt another tug in his heart as he realized how long it'd been since he'd been welcomed to something so personal. His thoughts went back to how he usually ate alone in Gallop Creek, being the only one at home when he got done with classes. Aside from his dinner with Troy the other night, Canvas honestly couldn't remember the last time he ate a meal with other ponies. Nevertheless, Canvas smiled as he nodded graciously at the smiling bakers’ request.

"I… I would love that. Thank you."

After the Cakes showed Canvas to the bathroom, he used their shower to wash off the excess paint splattered over his coat and mane. While brushing the tangles out of his mane, he heard several new voices and hoofsteps, which eventually made their way upstairs. When Canvas put a hoof to the doorknob, he heard two distinct female voices shout, "Holy cow!" making the stallion chuckle to himself. He opened the bathroom door, seeing Lyra and Bon-Bon staring awestruck at the nursery walls before noticing him.

"Canvas! I knew it. Only one pony could be responsible for this!"

Lyra ran up and hugged Canvas immediately. He was surprised at first by her greeting, but was quick to hug her back, finding himself getting used to the casual displays of affection unique to Ponyville. He felt acknowledged. Wanted. He squeezed the mare, letting her know he appreciated the gesture more than words could ever express. Lyra squeezed back, as though to say, “You’re not alone so long as I’m around, you big lug.” Once he let go of Lyra, Canvas saw that Bon-Bon was still looking at the mural of the Horsehead Nebula.

She nodded to herself. "Yup,” she said, popping the “p” as she tilted her head, her expression blank. “So this is what she meant about that muse..."

Canvas grinned sheepishly, rubbing his foreleg as he heard more hoofsteps coming up the stairs. All three ponies looked to see Mrs. Cake removing her apron. She gave a warm smile and directed a hoof to the stairs.

"Well guys, dinner's ready!"

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

For the first time since he could remember, Canvas was having a home-cooked meal with other ponies. He sat down at the dining room table with Lyra, Bon-Bon, and the Cakes; as he listened to their conversations and stories (including how the Cakes catered for Lyra and Bon-Bon's wedding), Canvas felt his heart grow warmer with how comfortable everything was. He'd known all these ponies for only a day or two, but they already felt like good friends. He was even able to converse with them when they asked him about how he got into painting without feeling like a leper.

He usually didn’t feel comfortable talking about how he got his cutie mark, but Canvas felt a lot more at ease with the two couples in front of him. While there may not have been many great memories from Gallop Creek, the moment he discovered his destiny in painting was one of the few good ones. After taking a quick drink from his glass of lemonade, Canvas cleared his throat and began his story.

"Well… back when I was a colt, my bedroom was right across from the town drugstore, so I just saw a brick wall from my window. Then one day, some idiots thought it would be fun to vandalize it. When I woke up and looked out the window that morning, I saw nothing but a bunch of swear words and other rude stuff spray-painted on it. Luckily, the guys who did it were quickly caught and got in huge trouble, but the paint that they used was some sort of specialized stuff that was really difficult to clean. And since the owner of the drugstore was an old stallion, he wasn't really able to do it himself."

Canvas took another sip from his glass, noticing the four ponies were now listening with great interest.

"Anyway, because it was a special kind of paint, they had to use a high-grade cleaning agent to get it off. However, it would have to take a month for the stuff to be delivered to town, which meant I had to see that graffiti from my bedroom every night. For some reason, it really, really bothered me, you know? Like, I don’t want to wake up every morning and see those phrases when I look out the window! So… I got myself some paint and figured I could cover it up myself. I mean, it was going to be washed anyway.

"So one night, while my parents were asleep, I snuck out of my room and started covering up the bad words with my paint. I don't know what happened, but I just didn't want to stop. I just kept going all night, adding more and more stuff to make the wall look better. I'm shocked that nopony saw me since I was pretty much out in the open, but by the time morning came, I made this huge mural over all the graffiti. Thankfully, I did this on a Friday night, so I was able to pass out in my bed by the time anypony saw what I did."

Canvas finished off his glass of lemonade before Lyra spoke. "So what happened? Did you get in trouble or anything?"

Canvas chuckled a little. "I honestly thought I was going to! I mean, the owner was absolutely furious that somepony else painted on his wall, and didn’t even care that it was a major improvement. I mean, I painted a lot of stuff that one night, mostly patterns in bright colors at first, but I just kept going with a few symbols and other things to add to it.

"When my Mom woke me up around noon, she saw me all covered in paint and passed out on the bed. I thought she was going to kill me for what I did, but she just hugged me right then and there. I didn't realize why until she pointed to this."

Canvas motioned to the paint palette and brush on his flank, looking at it with a sentimental smile.

"I… I was actually one of the last ponies in my class to get my cutie mark. I knew both my parents were worried about when I'd finally get one, but I remember Mom was so happy for me when it happened. One of the first things she told me afterwards was, 'I'm so proud of you.'

“She… She was my first fan."

Canvas grabbed a napkin from the table, and wiped his eyes while the others waited for the end.

"She talked with the drugstore owner for a while, and made sure he didn’t press charges. All she did was ask him whether what I did was better or worse than what those other kids did. He wasn't a fan of my mural, but even he admitted that it was at least better than a bunch of swear words.

"A few weeks later, everything from the wall was removed when the cleaning stuff came in. I honestly wasn't that upset, though. By then, I was really getting into making more paintings, so I didn't think too much about the drugstore. That was when she got me my art bag." Canvas looked down at his bag, which was lying neatly on the ground next to his seat.

Seeing that his story was over, Bon-Bon smiled as she said, "That's really sweet, Canvas. Your mother sounds like a great pony." She bumped into Lyra. “See? That is a supportive mare.” Lyra grumbled, scraping at her plate.

Canvas grabbed his napkin again, holding it against his eyes as he tried to keep his composure. "She really was."

While Canvas felt he made the dinner a bit awkward at the end of his story, everypony was quick to make him feel better by the end of the night. He collected his supplies (as well as some leftovers), gave the Cakes his thanks, and left with Lyra and Bon-Bon. Canvas closed his eyes while taking in the cool air of Luna's night, and felt a lot better about how his day went. As he walked with the two mares along the darkened streets, Lyra decided to break the silence.

"So, Canvas, I heard you were your school’s valedictorian. I know you’re a wizard with a brush, but you never told me you were a bucking genius on top of that!"

Canvas was a little surprised that she knew that, but he figured that word about it got around since the party.

"Um… Well, all I really did was just study a lot. Anyone could have done it if they wanted."

“That’s still really impressive, Canvas,” Bon-Bon said. “Don’t sell yourself short. I happen to know a certain hamhead who tried eating her cereal with a fork once.”

“Oh har har, Bonnie. You say that like you don’t trip over your own tail whenever you step out of the shower.”

Bon-Bon’s cheeks reddened. “That happens to lots of ponies! And that shower’s tiny!”

“You’re literally the only pony I’ve ever met who has that problem, Bon-Bon. And it happens every time! Honestly, that’s what’s really impressive here.”

Bon-Bon rolled her eyes. Canvas silently listened with an amused grin.

"So…” Lyra looked at the stallion with a curious grin. "Are you planning on going to college?"

Canvas’ eyebrows raised as he thought about her question. He knew he could probably do well in college, at least academically, but he never thought about it as a path to take. "Honestly, I don't think college is for me. I mean, I already know what I want to do with my life, and I don't feel like an art college would really help me out that much."

Lyra shrugged as she kept walking. "I can understand that. I knew a few art students, and I haven’t heard that many big success stories from them after they graduated. Plus, with your talent, you could probably teach those classes instead. I’d be first in line to ‘How to Unlock Your Third Eye with Le Canvas Magnifique,’ " she said with a flourishing wave.

Canvas gave her a sheepish smile. "Well, I'm thinking of maybe seeing if I can do more jobs around town. I mean, I had a pretty good day already."

Both mares nodded as Bon-Bon chimed in, "No doubt about it, you’ll find work. Well, unless the world’s gone mad or something. As soon as more ponies see what you did with that nursery, I wouldn’t be surprised if you get tons of offers by the end of the week!"

Canvas gave a light chuckle, feeling confident that she might be right. "Thanks, Bon-Bon. I appreciate that."

Suddenly, with a quick whoosh, a large, winged figure swooped past the three. It landed on the street in front of them, causing Lyra and Bon-Bon to jump back in surprise. Canvas, however, simply gave a flat stare at the figure’s showy antics for he knew who it was. Even in the dark, the stallion could recognize someone as distinct as Troy.

The gryphon shook his feathers and made a quick stretch before walking toward the three. Seeing the dark lines under Troy's eyes and the ruffled state of his feathers, Canvas could tell he had a busy day as well.

"Look who decided to drop in." The stallion gave himself a mental high-hoof for that one.

Troy slowly nodded, rubbing the tiredness from his eyes with his claw. "Canvas. Ladies,” the gryphon said by way of greeting. Bon-Bon and Lyra remained speechless at Troy’s sudden appearance. Ignoring them, the gryphon turned to Canvas and said, “The transfer went through, but it was like yanking teeth convincing the boss to allow it. Hardly spoke to the guy before today, but all of a sudden he’s talking my head off about how I’m ‘a valued member of the team.’ ” Troy gritted his teeth. “Buck off, you old tailkisser."

Seeing how agitated Troy was, Canvas decided to keep his muzzle shut about his own. "Well, at least you have a new job now."

Troy shook his head, pacing the ground. His tail whipped around in agitation. "Not quite. I have to train the new guy in ice scraping, and I'm positive my supervisor picked the absolute worst pony to take my place just to spite me!" Groaning under his breath, Troy rubbed his temples to calm himself down. "But it's alright,” he said, more to himself than anypony present. “It's a simple job, and I know I'll get him used to it by the end of the week." A dark expression dawned on the gryphon’s face. “Even if I have to shove the entire bloody ice block down his gullet.”

Troy ran a claw through the feathers on his head in a poor attempt to get them slightly less messy. He once again regarded the mares, his demeanor flipping in an instant. “Sorry you two had to bear the brunt of that. Work’s a pain and a half, y’know?” He adopted a charming smile. “Name’s Troy. So you’re Lyra and Bon-Bon, right? The pirate over here wouldn’t shut up about you two,” he smoothly said, pointing a thumb at Canvas.

Lyra, ever quick to warm up to a new face, was the first to speak up. "That entrance was so cool!” she said, latching onto and shaking her wife. “Ohmygosh, Bonnie, did you see that!?"

Bon-Bon gave a long-suffering sigh. “I saw it, honey.”

“Yeah, this is the gryphon who saved me during that storm,” Canvas said, knowing his friend had made an impression on the mares.

“Troy, you’ve got your hooves full with this one,” said Bon-Bon, nodding at Canvas. “I’m still trying to pick up the pieces of my head after that mind-blowing mural he painted at the Cakes’.”

Troy gave Canvas an amused glance. “That so? Guess I can say the same to you from what I’ve heard. Marriage is a pretty big deal! And I must say, Canvas wasn't kidding. You two do make a cute couple!~"

The two mares blushed and giggled. "Well, aren't you the charmer!" said Lyra, pulling her wife closer. "But she’s already taken."

While Troy and Lyra laughed, Bon-Bon looked up to the clock tower. "Oh shoot!" she shouted. "I have to get the taffy out at ten! I gotta go!"

Before anypony could say anything, she began to gallop off before quickly stopping, turning her head back to Troy with a kind smile. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Troy!" And with that, Bon-Bon was off, running into the night.

Lyra groaned as she laid a hoof across her face. "Ugh, that stupid taffy idea…” Looking back to Troy and Canvas, Lyra sighed. "Listen, she's probably going to need my help, so I'll talk to you guys later, alright?" The two nodded and made their goodbyes, watching the unicorn trot off after Bon-Bon.

Now standing alone together under the streetlights, Troy yawned and his tiredness came creeping back. Noticing how quickly his mood changed after the mares left, Canvas giggled and caught Troy's attention.

"What?" said Troy, trying not to sound agitated.

"Oh, nothing." A sly smirk spread across his muzzle. "I just didn't think of you as a prowler."

Troy shot up in surprise, holding out his claws in protest. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! You think I was flirting with them?"

"Why don’t you tell me, lady-killer?" With his smile growing wider, it was obvious that Canvas wasn't buying what Troy was selling.

"Seriously, that’s just how I act around mares. I’m not even into ponies like that, so bleh,” Troy said, sticking out his tongue at Canvas.

Canvas still raised an eyebrow in skepticism, which caused Troy to sigh with a roll of his eyes.

"Ponies tend to be intimidated by me. Y’know, the big, bad gryphon or whatever. It’s a real drag." Canvas' eyes narrowed a bit in confusion. "So I try acting more… pleasing like that, so ponies get used to me. It worked with those two, didn’t it?"

"Oh.” Canvas felt a little guilty at making an assumption like that, and his ears drooped down to the side of his head. "Um… Sorry. I didn’t mean to―”

"Don’t apologize." Troy held up a claw to stop him, a smirk of his own carving its way into his beak. "To be honest, it wouldn't be the first time a pony took it that way. At least there wasn't a jealous husband with a ketchup packet and a rubber chicken this time."

Canvas quickly covered his mouth in an attempt to not laugh too loud. Troy smiled. Seeing this side of Canvas made him feel lighter, like all the headaches of the day were worth it. He thought back to what he said to him yesterday, feeling odd that he was thinking the same thing right now: Canvas really did look better when he was smiling.

As Troy walked alongside the right side of Canvas, he kept looking toward the eyepatch, and the smooth, black fabric sticking out against the rougher aqua fur. The look didn't seem to suit the pony, but Troy kept his beak shut about it.

Though the silence was quite companionable, the eyepatch did stir a few questions in the gryphon. "So…” Troy drew a blank, but he knew he had to go on. "Did the doctor say anything else?"

He wasn't sure why he asked that, other than it came off the top of his head. However, he began to regret the question when he saw Canvas' face fall.

As he looked up at Troy with an unreadable expression, Canvas said, "Well, I… I told him what happened."

The atmosphere of the streets suddenly became heavy. He thought back to what he told Canvas the previous night, knowing in his heart of hearts he was the reason the pony said anything to him.

"He… He asked me about it before I left the first time. And when I went to see him today, I just felt like letting him know."

Troy nodded. He may have thought about what happened a lot before Canvas told him, but he was sure that the doctor thought about it even more. When one’s job involves looking over the health of the injured, questions are bound to burn brighter in cases like Canvas'. "So, what was the good doctor’s professional opinion?"

Once again, Canvas bit his lip. "He told me the same thing you did. About… About telling somepony about it." Though Canvas seemed a little bit better about bringing it up, Troy could tell he was still hesitant about actually taking the advice given to him. "I just… I…”

"Hey…”

Canvas focused on the gryphon, who had that same look of concern that Stable did. "Doing this won't change how everypony else will treat you here. I promise." Seeing the sincerity in his eyes, Canvas breathed out uneasily as he let Troy's words sink in. "But if you do tell somepony who can help, it could change things for the better back there."

Canvas looked down at the ground, slowly nodding his head. He knew that he was safe here in Ponyville, and he couldn’t deny that he hadn’t felt this accepted in a long time. However, it was still hard to think about what happened in Gallop Creek, let alone speak about it out loud. It was like a bad dream he wanted to forget about, but the more he focused on looking away, the tighter its grip on his mind became.

As Canvas tried to think of a clear answer among the bombardment of conflicting thoughts, he felt a gentle warmth on his shoulder. He saw a claw resting there, and he looked back up at Troy, who gave him a look of assurance. The clouds in his mind started to clear up. As he gazed into the gryphon's shining golden eyes, brighter and more magnificent than any treasure beheld, Canvas saw the only answer that remained. And with that, the artist knew what it was that he had to do.

"I… I gotta see somepony. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Blinking, Troy let him go. “If you’re sure,” Troy said questioningly, unsure of what the stallion was up to.

Canvas trotted off in a different direction than before, and Troy stared after him, hoping he had gotten through to the pony... Just as he opened his wings, he heard Canvas call out to him.

"Hey, Troy?"

Surprised, Troy looked over to see Canvas in the distance.

"Good luck,” he said with a genuine smile on his muzzle. “With the job, I mean."

Smiling a bit, Troy nodded as Canvas trotted back off into the night. He then flew off into the night sky.

Canvas didn't know much about the layout of Ponyville just yet, but he knew some of the basic landmarks. He felt confident as he moved toward Town Hall, for he knew what he was looking for, having passed it before. After making a right turn, Canvas sighed in relief as he saw the place ahead of him: a huge tree, which was supposed to house the Ponyville Library. Though he still felt hesitant, he knew he had to say something. He also knew that if anypony would be able to help him, it would be a princess.

Steeling himself, Canvas took a deep breath before walking up and knocking on the door.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Twilight Sparkle found it surprising to see a pony visit the library at this time of night. While Spike wasn't too happy having to answer the door so late in the evening, the alicorn was glad to let her assistant go back to bed when she saw who was at the door.

Twilight remembered Canvas from a couple days ago, and was pleasantly surprised to see him no longer wearing any bandages (though the pirate look did concern her somewhat). He seemed a little hesitant at first as he stood in the doorway, but his mood quickly changed to something more determined. Out of respect, Canvas bowed his head to her.

"Princess Twilight Sparkle, I… I wanted to talk to you about something."

Twilight might have been confused as to why Canvas wanted to talk to her this late, but she could see from the worry in his eye that whatever he had to say was important. She let Canvas into the library, and he looked around the space as if searching for anyone else.

"Is there something wrong, Canvas? I've been meaning to talk with you, but I knew you were busy around town recently."

Canvas only nodded as he continued to look around. Even though it was inside of a tree, the library looked surprisingly spacious, the walls lined with huge shelves of countless books. Among the familiar smells of pages and ink, the entire place felt perfectly still. He could tell why the Princess liked living here; it might’ve been a library, but it seemed like a more peaceful place than any castle.

"It's just that…” Looking back to Twilight, Canvas’ tongue turned to lead. He knew both Troy and Stable were right, but doing this was still a huge step for him. "I talked with Doctor Stable about… about how I got hurt. And he told me that I should talk with somepony who could help me."

"Oh. I see…” Twilight started to feel concerned as she observed how Canvas seemed unwilling to look at her.

Like Troy and Stable, Twilight was also worried about what happened to Canvas before the storm, but her busy schedule made it difficult for her to make any time to ask him. Seeing how much the stallion was fidgeting on his hooves in front of her, the Princess realized that this might be more serious than she’d thought.

She levitated two throw pillows to the both of them, and let Canvas sit down on one before sitting on the other. Even as she gave him a warm smile, Twilight could still see worry in the pony's face when he looked up toward the upstairs balcony. Thinking quickly, a purple glow came from Twilight's horn before it spread out, creating a large sphere of magic around them.

"It's a soundproofing spell. Nopony can hear us outside this space." Twilight kept a reassuring smile while Canvas looked at the purple forcefield around them.

Canvas was able to feel more comfortable, and took a deep breath before looking back at the Princess.

"Alright. It… It happened back in Gallop Creek…”

Twilight grew more worried as Canvas recounted his story, talking about how scared he was about coming out to the ponies in his hometown. She knew that some ponies had some objections to same-sex relationships or attraction, but she was shocked that it could've gotten this bad in Equestria.

As soon as he mentioned how he was abused because of it, Twilight hugged him, more for her own sake than his. Twilight may have been a princess for a while, and she knew that it meant greater duties, but none of Celestia's lessons truly prepared her for how to deal with something like this. Usually it was just ‘go out to the next aspiring villain, use the Elements, and, bang, that’s a wrap. Everypony pack up and go home until the next existential threat crawls out of the shadows.’ But what was she supposed to do about the shadows within the hearts of ponies? The shadows ingrained into the bedrock of society? Gallop Creek had an ugly face that was hidden from the world by virtue of it being out of the limelight; and that’s where shadows are able to expand, where nopony bothers to look. She couldn’t just blast this away with a spell and call it a day, no matter how badly she wanted that to be the solution.

Surprisingly enough, Canvas didn’t cry as he told his story to Twilight. While it did still hurt to talk about it, he also felt a lot safer within the forcefield alongside the Princess. Canvas kept his head pointed downward as he talked, mostly so he couldn’t see how stunned the alicorn looked at his admissions. It wasn't until she hugged him again that she finally said something.

"Canvas, I promise I'm going to do everything I can to help you."

Canvas hugged her back, and savored the tight grasp the Princess had to demonstrate how caring she was. He was breathing hard, but the stallion was able to hold back his tears upon hearing her promise. Unfortunately, it was still difficult for him to keep his composure as he realized that he finally had somepony who could help him.

Twilight took her time to comfort the stallion before letting him go, and stood back up to levitate several different books from different sections of the library. Canvas wasn't able to catch most of the book titles as they flew past his head, but certain keywords like “Law” and “Crime” caught his eye when he caught sight of the titles. His eyes widened with a look of realization, as it became clear what she was planning.

"You said that this occurred in Gallop Creek, right?" Her voice held a grim determination as Twilight started looking through her books of Equestrian law. "I'll make sure that Celestia knows about everything that happened first thing tomorrow, alright?"

Canvas nodded, seeing how focused the Princess was while she looked through the books scattered across her large desk. Her purple magic levitated multiple stacks at the same time, and Canvas was enthralled by how flawlessly she let the books and their pages fly around without difficulty or error. After picking up a quill and blank sheet of paper with her magic, Twilight turned her focus back to Canvas.

"Now, Canvas,” she said with a look of concern on her face, hoping Canvas could give her more answers, "I need to know... who attacked you that night?"

Canvas paled, for this was the first time anypony asked him that question. "I…” His lips quivered as he tried to give an answer, but it wasn’t long before he closed his eyes with a pained look on his face. Canvas wanted nothing more than to tell her, but as he felt his gut tying up in a knot, he knew he wasn't ready to go any deeper.

“...I wish I knew…”

Canvas waited until Twilight went back to writing on her sheet, hoping that she wouldn't dwell on that question. Seeing how flustered Canvas appeared, Twilight put her sheet and quill down and walked up to him. "Canvas, if you want me to help you, you have to tell me as much as you can."

"Don’t say that. Don’t. Say. That.” As he looked up at the concerned alicorn with a shamefully conflicted expression, Canvas wasn't sure of what he could say. "Do you know what it’s like?! To cry for help and be spat on for it? To be hated just for existing!?" Canvas slammed his eyes shut, and tried his hardest to contain himself so he wouldn't be full-on shouting. But alas, his words still came out rather loud between his whimpering breaths. "They… They saw me.. They all saw what was happening, and… a-and they just watched! Like it was just some street performance!"

Canvas plopped down on the floor. His head hung low in front of the Princess as felt his eyes tearing up.

"I… I I just felt so alone."

As he tried to breathe deeply, Canvas heard the sound of Twilight's hooves approaching him. The hoofsteps soon stopped, before he felt a gentle warmth as Twilight laid her neck over the top of his head. One of her hooves graced his back, and Canvas’ breathing hitched as he heard Twilight Sparkle's gentle voice speaking to him with a tranquil whisper.

"You're not alone anymore."

Canvas dug his head into her chest, and whimpered pitifully through his choked-up sobs. He’d shed so many tears that he was drained dry. Now, he just felt a wave of numb exhaustion as he comforted himself in her presence, as though to assure himself she was truly there. Twilight hugged him back, and didn’t say anything else while he coddled her in his time of need. While she knew this was no force the Elements could destroy, one thing she did know was that wherever shadows fester, her duty was to burn them away with light. And this stallion had gone so long thinking there was nothing in the world but darkness.

As Canvas began to settle down in her embrace, Twilight quietly lifted her quill with her magic, and began to write down on her parchment.

Dear Princess Celestia…

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Canvas opened his tired eyes as the sun beamed in through his window. Despite how thin the curtains may have been when it came to blocking sunlight, he had gotten used to how early the sun came in the mornings. Canvas did a quick stretch before lifting himself off the hotel bed and taking a look at his schedule sheet, surprised to find that he didn't have any appointments for the whole day. He already felt rested enough to be up for the rest of the morning, but the stallion threw himself back on the bed, and basked in the warmth of the morning light.

It’d been over a month since he’d spoken with Twilight Sparkle, and decided to extend his stay in Ponyville. Since that day, the Princess didn’t tell him much about what was going on. All he knew was that Celestia was investigating Gallop Creek, and that he didn’t have to worry about anything happening to him while he was in Ponyville. While a part of him wanted to know more details, Canvas was grateful that he was away from everything in that place. The more time he spent in Ponyville, the more he felt like the town was his new home. For the first time in his life, he truly felt happy with where he was.

Ever since Canvas made that mural for Rarity's room and the Cakes' nursery, more ponies had asked for his assistance for various jobs around town. Before he knew it, he was becoming the go-to-pony for most painting tasks around Ponyville. The pay may not have been as great as his drawing business was, but it was still more than enough to keep him afloat. Canvas was also happy to have friends as wonderful as Lyra and Bon-Bon. Aside from being great conversationalists, the mares were also quick to ask him for his help in Bon-Bon's experimental candy recipes, which he was more than happy to do.

As Canvas laid down, his gaze went to the two stacks of paintings on top of his dresser. Even with all the time he had to relax, he’d been too busy for any personal projects over the past few weeks. Because of his schedule, a lot of his damaged works were still left unattended. Canvas lifted himself up again with a deep sigh and walked to the stacks.

Canvas remembered precisely when he made each painting in his collection, as well as the state of his mind and emotions while making them. In a way, his art was a way to preserve the memories he had. But when he saw how the stacks looked now, his heart sank upon seeing how badly many of them looked. The mud stains on certain pages left a horrible shade of brown that conflicted with the paint streaks, now faded from water damage. As he reached the bottom, to the ones that were ripped apart, Canvas closed his eyes, with resentment and helplessness bubbling in his veins. He quickly put the stack back down, not wanting to think about how they were destroyed just less than two months ago.

Canvas looked over to his art bag, which was hanging neatly on a hook against the back of the door. He walked to it and looked inside to see what supplies he still had. He knew he had a lot to do the next day, but he tried to think about what he should do on his day off. When Canvas looked back over to his old art, he had an epiphany. Less than a couple seconds after an invisible light bulb lit up above his head, he grabbed his bag and some bits, and then left his room for the stationery store.

"You got all the clouds cleared out yet, Troy?"

Troy shot a glance at Rainbow Dash, and motioned his claws towards the large stack of cumulus clouds beside him. "Rainbow, if you need an optometrist, I know a guy. You have been squinting a lot lately."

She scowled at Troy, putting her hooves on her hips. "Don't get smart with me! I want to get everything done before noon so I can give a good report back to Cloudsdale."

"Oh, right,” said the gryphon, a knowing smirk on his beak, "and totally not because you have tickets to the Wonderbolts show today at one, right?"

Rainbow glared at Troy with a pout while he snickered to himself. "Just get it done, alright? Don’t forget who got you this job, Feathers!"

"Yeah, yeah." With a quick swipe of his talons, Troy broke apart half of the clouds almost instantly before working on the rest. Rainbow Dash wasn't lying to Troy when she said he would be working hard, but he was quick to finish the tasks given to him without much complaint.

As the last of the clouds disintegrated with a few slashes of Troy's claws, Rainbow raised her eyebrows and nodded her head. "Not bad! I just wish you’d keep up that kind of speed all day."

"Well, if I actually wanted to break a sweat,” said Troy, wiping the excess moisture off his claws, "then there wouldn't be anything left for you to do."

Rainbow scoffed and checked off her clipboard. "Don’t get too ahead of yourself, wise guy. I think we both know who does more around here."

"Remind me to thank Princess Celestia whenever I get to meet her." He gave a sly grin to the mare. Rainbow huffed with a small grin on her muzzle, before flying off to send the report. With the rest of the day off, Troy decided to see what Canvas was up to.

It took longer than expected for Troy to train the other pony on proper ice scraping, but he still managed to join the Ponyville Weather Patrol in less than a week. Many of the ponies seemed wary at first with a gryphon joining their crew, but he was quick to make himself useful. Before they knew it, even Rainbow Dash was impressed at how well Troy could manage even the most difficult duties, including breaking apart cumulonimbus clouds or maintaining storm pressures. With the number of weather complaints decreasing because of his help, many of Ponyville’s citizens quickly learned who Troy was.

Troy originally didn't plan to stick with Canvas that much after seeing how well he had adjusted to his new life; however, the gryphon found himself hanging out with him often after he started his new job. Thanks to Canvas' open schedule, he was able to have a meal or chat whenever he was done with work, and the two of them could share some great conversations and laughs around town. And ever since Canvas talked with Twilight about getting everything settled, Troy noticed how much happier the stallion looked as he went around Ponyville doing odd jobs.

Troy landed in the streets of Ponyville, clutching his parcel and giving his usual greetings to the ponies around him. Considering how he used to feel back in Cloudsdale, the gryphon really enjoyed how so many of Ponyville’s citizens had gotten used to his presence. As he walked around town, Troy didn’t see Canvas at his usual haunts. Luckily, when he reached the hotel, he saw that Canvas was still in his room through the open window.

Once again, Troy stood in front of the wooden door marked B2. He knocked twice, and heard hoofsteps from the other side before the door opened, revealing an exhausted artist who had a few splatters of fresh paint on his face. Canvas was quick to give him a big smile and said, "Hey, Troy. What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much." Troy caught the familiar smell of fresh paint coming from inside the room, figuring that Canvas was busy with another job. "So, whatcha doing this time? Another mural idea or something? The Cakes are still gushing about that whole space thing, y’know."

Canvas shook his head before letting the gryphon in, giving him a view of what he was up to. The bed and furniture were covered with a clear tarp, and several fresh paintings were held up by tripod stands in various parts of the room.

"Wow." Although this wasn't the first time Troy saw Canvas working on his art, this was the first time he saw him painting this many pieces at once. "Which pony are you doing all these for?"

Troy looked back at Canvas as he wiped off the paint from his face with a rag. "To be honest, I was redoing some of my paintings that got damaged."

"Oh." Troy looked at the paintings around the room once more, realizing he recognized some of the pieces from when he helped Canvas pick them up the night they first met. Since he only glanced through them when they were ripped or covered in mud, it was refreshing to see what they looked like untarnished. Troy also noticed a wastebasket in the middle of the room, with many of the ripped pieces crumpled up inside.

Canvas sighed, and Troy turned his attention back to him. "I just hated seeing how scuffed they were. I had a day off, so I figured I could at least get one big thing out of the way."

"I see…” Troy looked back at the fresh artwork around him, surprised he made so many in such a short amount of time. "You’re like a mad scientist, but with paint brushes instead of tesla coils and whatnot.” Sniffing the air, he rolled his eyes. “And you’re about just as hygienic. You smell like―"

“Banana bread and wet tree bark,” Canvas said along with Troy. “Clever you, Mr. Spunk.”

Troy’s eye twitched. “One of these days, Canvas, everypony will know you’re not the demure, squeaky-clean stallion you pretend to be.”

“Same could be said for you~” Canvas chuckled as he ran a hoof through his long, messy mane, realizing he forgot to shower today. "Yeah, I guess I've been a little into it today. It was honestly a lot easier to redo these since I already knew how they were supposed to look. I think each one took me less than an hour to complete."

Troy figured the pony might have done these a lot quicker than that, since there seemed to be more than a dozen standing around every open region of the floor. "Well, at least you're keeping your painting skills up. That's always a plus. Oh!"

Remembering what he came here for, Troy quickly opened his parcel, and pulled out a flyer. "I was doing some errands in Cloudsdale when I found this. I figured it might be a good way to make some extra bits."

Canvas raised both eyebrows as he read the flyer. The font looked a bit cheesy and the design was amateur at best, but the message still caught Canvas' attention.

Canvas looked a bit skeptical. "An art contest? Really?"

"Well, why not?" Troy kept his tone casual, but he had hoped Canvas would've been a little more excited about it. "You're really good at painting and stuff, and I figured you would like to get some extra exposure. Plus, the prize money is a neat incentive."

Canvas read the small print at the bottom, his eyebrows rising yet again. "Five hundred bits? That's actually pretty good for an art contest."

"That's what I thought!" At this point, Troy stopped trying to restrain his enthusiasm. "Seriously, just look at all these paintings you’ve done. This is pretty much free money!"

Canvas’ apprehension melted away at Troy’s excitement, and his smile slowly turned more intrigued. "You really think I should do this?"

"Canvas, if you try backing out of this, I will drag you there myself."

Canvas looked over the flyer again, a pleased flush spreading across his muzzle. "Well, it says here that it's being held in Ponyville in a week, so I guess it couldn’t hurt."

Troy wrapped his arm around the stallion and said, "That's the spirit!" Troy then tried to give Canvas a playful slap on the back, but realized too late that it hit the pony a little harder than he planned. The very moment he heard the stallion suck some air through his teeth, he quickly pulled his claw away and blurted, "Oops, sorry!" Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his head, giving a guilty grin while the pony rubbed the sore spot.

"It's alright,” he assured Troy while rubbing his back with a hoof, not looking too upset by the slight pinching by those talons. “I've been through worse." Before Troy could let Canvas' statement sink in too much, the pony looked back up at him. "I, uh, kinda skipped breakfast. Wanna meet me at Sugar Cube Corner after I take a quick shower?"

Troy nodded and bumped Canvas' hoof with his claw before leaving to let him get ready. Stepping back outside, Troy felt a lot better about telling Canvas about the contest, but that final exchange had left him a bit unsettled. He didn’t mean to remind the stallion about such an ugly part of his life. After seeing how much happier the pony had become in the past few weeks, he figured something like this could help him get his art noticed outside of Ponyville. Hearing the shower run from Canvas' open window, Troy flew to the bakery, taking in the warm summer breeze.

Canvas hummed as the warm water cascaded over his fur, the shower's steam slowly filling the bathroom in a fine mist. Troy's mention of the contest was a surprise to the pony, since he had no idea of it going on; although given how it was advertised, maybe it was because not many ponies were involved. His mind kept racing about whether or not to participate in the contest Troy told him about. He certainly had the skills, and the money would be nice as well, but all he could think about was what the recognition could mean for him. If he were to get noticed and become big in the art world, what would happen to him?

All his thoughts went back to Gallop Creek. Everything that happened to him in that town. That one night which made Canvas leave that wretched place for good. Running all that distance by himself, fueled only by his own self-loathing. Because all he wanted to do was run. Because he didn't want to think about what they did to him.

What he did to him.

The last thing Canvas wanted to do was think about him. The last time he thought about him was when he was running. He could still remember how his emotions cut into him like daggers, only to go away bit by bit the harder he pushed himself to run further. He was alone as he ran, but he still felt like he was being chased. Not by any actual pony, not by the one who hurt him and now haunted his nightmares, but by the heartbreak. By the sheer emotional pain that he wanted to keep as far away as possible.

Canvas looked down at the shower drain, seeing the leftover paint from his fur slowly come off of him and into the swirling water underneath his hooves. As the colors blended together, swirling within each other against the white porcelain, the stallion thought about why he made art in the first place. He always wanted to create, to make something new and exciting to contradict the darker parts of the world. In a way, the art he created helped to keep him sane while he was living there. But now, Ponyville gave him a brand new perspective of why he pursued his dream.

Instead of just painting to occupy himself, he could now paint to bring something new and joyous into the world. To go above what he thought was possible. To be able to show his true self without any opposition or fear. For the first time in his life, Canvas could do what he loved, and be loved for it.

As he turned off the shower, Canvas breathed the steam in deeply, truly feeling refreshed. Like a huge barrier had been removed from his psyche, Canvas knew what he wanted to do. More than anything, Canvas knew he wanted to do something amazing. He wanted to show the world who he really was. And, most of all, he wanted to make sure he could look back on where he came from and know that he broke free from what they said he couldn’t do.

Canvas stepped out of the hotel with his bag on his shoulder, feeling reborn. His future might not be certain, and he might not know where the road leads, but he still smiled as he breathed in a new day, happy to have a new goal on his mind.

He wanted to prove everypony in Gallop Creek wrong.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Troy perched himself on the edge of Sugar Cube Corner’s roof, and to the uninitiated he very well could have been mistaken for a gargoyle. Of course, most ponies already knew him as part of the weather crew, and simply waved or said hello. Troy was quick to wave back with a smile as he waited for Canvas, but was wondering to himself why he was taking so long. Canvas seemed a little hesitant about the art contest, but Troy assumed it was just the pony’s nerves.

Eventually, he saw Canvas wading through the crowd and to the bakery. His eyes narrowed as he blinked a couple times, and tried to discern how differently Canvas looked from earlier. He couldn’t put his talon on it, but he could swear Canvas looked a lot brighter. For a brief moment, Troy thought that the stallion was almost… glowing.

Just as Canvas passed through a thick array of ponies on the street, Troy flew down into an open area in front of him and landed, startling the stallion. Canvas then noticed the peculiar way the gryphon was looking at him, almost as if the artist still had some paint on his face. Troy's eyes bored into him with an uncomfortable intensity.

"Umm… hey, Troy!" His words came out somewhat nervously thanks to Troy’s dazed expression.

Troy shook his head clear before responding. "Oh, hey. Uh, sorry. My head was somewhere else."

With a shrug, Canvas said, "Happens to me all the time. You had me worried there."

Troy smiled again as Canvas relaxed. He wasn't sure why, but he always felt happier when the stallion was like that. Maybe it was because he felt like he helped Canvas get to this point in his life, and he was glad to see things going so well. Whatever the reason, Troy just felt glad to be here right now.

"Oh, hey guys!"

Canvas and Troy turned to see Lyra, who was trotting towards them with Bon-Bon in tow. Both of the guys gave a "Hey, Lyra," in unison. The unicorn was as cheerful as always, but her wife seemed a lot less enthusiastic. The lines under her eyes were all the evidence as to why.

"Bon-Bon, are you okay?" Canvas didn't want to seem intrusive, but he also wanted to make sure she wasn't getting too obsessed with her newest creation. The last time he visited the two for dinner, her experimental mango-flavored candy almost destroyed the basement.

"It’s nothing,” Bon-Bon said with a gruff as she slowly rubbed her eyes. "I was just trying to get some big orders done so I could focus on my candy booth for the art show next week. They just asked me to help out with it last night."

Canvas and Troy both looked at the mare in surprise. "Wow, really?" Troy said with a smile. "I was just telling Canvas about that going on! Speaking of which…” Troy turned his attention back to the stallion beside him. "Are you gonna do a piece for the contest?"

Canvas could see how hopeful Troy looked, and the two mares became interested as well.

"Actually, I think I will!” he said with a confident shrug, although his smile still seemed a bit nervous. “I mean, I have been wanting to do something bigger anyways, so I don’t see the harm."

"Attaboy!" Troy grabbed Canvas in a headlock, using his claws to mess with the pony's wet mane and make him giggle.

"Troy, c-come on! Hehehehe~ I just got my mane brushed!"

"Wait, did you sign up yet?" Lyra asked, even though she was blushing faintly at the gryphon’s display. "Because today is the last day for artists to enter."

"Really?!" Canvas pulled himself from Troy’s headlock, not noticing his mane was now in matted tangles. "Where is it?"

Lyra and Bon-Bon both pointed towards the center of town. "It's at town hall. Hurry!"

Not needing to be told twice, Canvas bolted off to sign up.

With Canvas on his way, Lyra and Bon-Bon turned their attention back to Troy, who was now preoccupied with wiping the excess moisture off his forelegs. The gryphon looked up to see the two staring at him with the most peculiar grins.

"So, Troy,” said Bon-Bon, trying to keep herself from giggling, "what was that whole noogie thing with Canvas about?"

“What?” he asked with a confused tilt of his head. “I’m just proud of the guy for coming out of his shell. This art show will do him some good, I think.” Troy stood on his hind-legs to stretch, and made the mares reel back as he locked his claws together behind his head.

Lyra may have been a little intimidated by the gryphon’s extended height, but was also struggling not to snicker under her breath. “So, you gave him a noogie to show him you’re proud?”

Troy blinked a couple times and shrugged. “Isn’t that what friends do?”

Lyra and Bon-Bon glanced back at each other with a new look of uncertainty in their faces. After a couple seconds of silence, Bon-Bon was the first to reply when they turned back to Troy.

"Umm… sure. We did."

"See? That's what I thought." While Troy smirked confidently to himself, the two ponies were surprised how their response flew over his head. Lyra looked like she wanted to say something, but decided to let it go with a shrug.

"At any rate, we were actually going to have lunch. Would you like to join us?"

Looking back to the crowd, Troy shrugged with a smile. "Ehhh… why not? I could use the company."

With that, the three walked into Sugar Cube Corner. While Troy's mind was mostly occupied with how long it would take for Canvas to sign up, Lyra and Bon-Bon were growing more curious about the gryphon who befriended him.

After a fairly uneventful week, long rows of vending booths were arranged along the streets in the center of Ponyville. Due to the higher traffic from out-of-town visitors, the streets were crawling with ponies crowding any available space they could. The Equestrian Art Show may have not been the most talked-about venue in comparison to events like Nightmare Night or the Summer Sun Celebration, but it was still a big enough event to get ponies excited.

The air was buzzing with the vibrant din of conversation and the aroma of various delicious foods; many ponies held their attention on the town square, where four large walls were raised to display the dozens of works entered into the show. Paintings and drawings of all different types were hung and displayed next to each other without much organization or theme. Though the pieces varied in every way―from theme, to color selection, to skill―all of them managed to stand out as they were admired by the crowds of curious ponies around town.

While the dozens of onlooking ponies congregated, their various mane and coat colors were twining together to look like a giant bowl of assorted candies from up above. Troy was perched on a tree branch as he surveyed the scene, not wanting to be cramped like the ponies below.. Even though he didn't mind being around crowds, he felt more than a little uncomfortable standing out amongst the sea of ponies. Being more than two feet taller than many of them, Troy knew he would stick out like a sore thumb; not to mention, he would likely get in the way of a lot of ponies behind him if they tried to look at the wall of artwork. He may have wanted to be social, but he didn’t want to inadvertently cause a scene either.

Troy dug into his box of nachos (definitely one of the better foods that ponies had), munching on the dampening chips and trying to spot Canvas within the crowd. He hadn’t been able to see him much in the past week, mostly due to how busy the week had been for both of them. There were definitely a lot of aqua coats and brown manes, but none of them belonged to his friend.

Though he was glad Canvas was fully healed nowadays, Troy kind of wished he still had that eyepatch from a few weeks ago, just so he could spot him easier though the technicolor equine crowd. Just as Troy was about to just go back down, he heard Canvas call to him from below.

"Hey, Troy!"

The gryphon looked down from his branch, and saw Canvas on the grass smiling back up at him. Despite his chipper demeanor, Troy noticed that Canvas looked rather tired, with large bags under both of his blue eyes. Troy glided down to the ground in front of Canvas, careful not to bump into any nearby ponies with his wings.

"Dang,” he said curtly with a shake of his head. “No offense Canvas, but you look like crap."

Canvas merely shrugged and swiped a few nachos from Troy's box. "Yeah, I know. I was busy with getting my painting done for this." The pony talked through the chips he’d stuffed into his maw. "Ah hada reawy good idea fah dis, and Ah wanded ta geddit done befoh da deabwhime."

He was sure the pony was somewhat sleep deprived, especially since it looked like those nachos might have been the first real food he ate in at least a day or two. But considering how long the line was to get his snack, Troy just nodded while he kept the rest of his box from Canvas' reach. Canvas sucked the remaining melted cheese from his hoof before looking around at the vending booths. "You know where Lyra and Bon-Bon are? I heard their candy is a big seller around here. And I’ve been meaning to try that pomegranate they had me test."

Troy shook his head. "I can’t say I do. I haven't really been in the crowd all that much, except to get myself a snack." Troy motioned to his box of nachos, pulling them back as Canvas tried to get to them. "Ew, dude! You just licked your hoof! Why can’t you get your own?"

"But the lines are too long!" Canvas whined. “Besides, it’s not like I have cooties or anything. Did I freak out when you tried my smoothie the other week?”

Even though that wasn’t the greatest comparison, the gryphon couldn’t say much in defense of his friend’s point. So after groaning under his breath, Troy stuck his box out to Canvas so he can get another hoofful. As Canvas gorged himself like an uncultured pauper, Troy looked back to the wall of artwork.

"So Canvas, which one is yours?"

"Top left." Canvas pointed to one of the walls. Despite being a considerable distance away, Troy's gryphon eyesight was advanced enough to see what the pony made.

Painted on a large canvas base, the piece appeared to be a landscape portrait of Ponyville at night. Under a pensive sky, Ponyville stood in an array of streetlights and colorful banner lights, illuminating the town in a beautiful soft-colored glow. Canvas had painted the night sky just as amazingly, tittering above the town as a backdrop for dozens of intricately painted constellations amongst the ocean of stars around them. On the top right corner, Luna's moon shone brightly above everything, with every crater and little detail painted with oil paints from Canvas' brush.

Troy's beak hung open with a look of awe, much to Canvas’ approval as he smiled to himself pridefully. Noticing the angle of the town in the painting, Troy turned his head to the large hill away from them that hung over the outside of Ponyville. With a large birch tree standing triumphantly at the top, Troy knew that a lot of ponies liked to sit under it and get a bird’s eye view of the town. And as he looked back at Canvas, the blush against his aqua fur was nothing short of incriminating.

"I… I kinda went up there the past few nights to paint that...” Canvas' gaze went back to the town square, watching all the ponies happily chatting and having fun. "I just wanted to paint something for Ponyville." A warm beam came across the stallion's face as he looked on at the town that helped him so much. "It really is beautiful, isn't it?"

Troy looked at the town and crowd with him, beginning to appreciate the beauty that Canvas was talking about. Though he may have saved Canvas in the first place, he knew that all of Ponyville helped to make Canvas into a better pony over the past several weeks. Turning back, Troy could see how gratefully Canvas looked at everything around him. All of the happiness, love, and care that Canvas received in that time really sank in, and he managed to use all of it as inspiration for the oil painting now displayed for all to see.

The chattering of the crowd began to die down as Mayor Mare appeared at the wall’s front. Several other older-looking ponies stood behind her, probably from Canterlot, each wearing either a tie or expensive glasses. The one closest to Mayor Mare, a dark-purple unicorn stallion with a top hat, levitated a large envelope with his magic to the Mayor before stepping back in line with the others. As she held the envelope in her hoof, Mayor Mare looked back out to the crowd with a graciously wide smile.

"Ladies and gentlecolts! I am pleased to announce the winners of the 56th Annual Equestrian Art Show!"

As the crowd cheered, Canvas and Troy walked their way through it to get closer. "But first,” continued the mare on stage, “I just want to thank everypony who participated for showing just how expressive and artistic Equestria can really be. Your determination, your talent, and above all, your passion has moved the hearts of everypony here. On behalf of them all, I would like to thank you for sharing the fruit of your labor with us. The judges for this year's proceedings have told me that this was hooves-down one of the best galleries they've attended in years!"

The crowd cheered once more. The judges gave formal waves to the audience, trying to keep themselves composed behind their stuffy exteriors. The crowd grew silent as they watched Mayor Mare open the envelope with her teeth, before she finally pulled out the cards inside.

"The third-place finisher for this year's Equestrian Art show is… Pokey Pierce! For his awe-inspiring painting of Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

One of the unicorn judges levitated the painting out to the front of the cheering crowd, showing a minimalistic oil painting of the princess flying upwards above a sunrise. The third-place winner―a dark-blue unicorn stallion with a silver mane, a safety pin on his flank, and a large blush on his face―slowly walked to the front. Canvas recognized the pony from a few casual interactions (mostly because he thought he was kind of cute), but he had no idea that he painted. The piece was a bit simple for Canvas' tastes, but it still looked rather nice. Canvas cheered on with the crowd as he waited for the Mayor to announce the other two winners.

"In second place is… Dinky! For her painting of a… um… blue box!"

The second painting was levitated next to the first one. It showed a watercolor image of what looked to be a blue telephone box shooting through outer space, with a grey pegasus mare looking out from the inside. Even more unusual than the painting was the artist, who turned out to be a little grey unicorn filly. She happily trotted to the judges with a huge smile as she stood next to Pierce. Despite how young the filly was, Canvas was rather impressed by how detailed the painting looked, almost as if it was something she saw for real.

"And the winner of this year's Equestria Art Show, and the grand prize of five hundred bits, goes to…”

As Mayor Mare read the final card, a huge grin popped up on her face before she enthusiastically announced the winner.

"Canvas! For his captivating painting of our very own Ponyville!"

The stallion froze for a few seconds as he heard the thundering applause around him, before he quickly shot up and shouted in glee. Canvas quickly moved his way through the crowd as his painting was levitated with the others, causing a few ponies in the crowd who hadn’t seen it before to marvel at the town’s rendition. All the while, Troy was standing on his hind-legs to tower over the crowd, and was smacking his claws enthusiastically in support of his friend’s win. “WOOOOO!!! Yeah, there you go, dude!”

Lyra and Bon-Bon, who were still stuck behind their candy stand, could still overhear Troy’s voice enough to blush and giggle to each other.

Mayor Mare was quick to put out her hoof for him to shake as soon as he appeared, only for Canvas to pull the Mayor into a large bear hug. After letting go of her (and leaving her a bit flustered), Canvas stood next to the other two happy winners while the judges stared in disbelief.

In all their years of critiquing and comparing artwork, never had they seen a painting as skillfully done as that from a mere earth pony. Many of the judges eyed the stallion suspiciously, and then joined in a huddle to murmur to one another. Mayor Mare noticed their behavior, and quickly walked over to them.

Meanwhile, Canvas let his victory sink in as he talked with the other two winners, both of whom seemed both happy and surprised by his win. Pierce shook Canvas' hoof as he glanced at his piece, unsure of what to think.

"Congratulations! Did you seriously do that by hoof alone?"

Canvas nodded and tried to look away to hide his blush. "Y-yeah. I… I don't think I ever did anything like this before."

"Well, it looks fantastic!" Pokey Pierce let go of the stallion’s hoof, and Dinky came right up to give Canvas a hoof-bump. Even though the mood was fairly chipper, Canvas and Pierce both looked toward the judges when they overheard their hushed bickering. The group was still huddled tightly, but the artists could hear what sounded to be an argument between the judges and the Mayor. While Pierce tilted his head in confusion, Canvas started to look worried as he heard one of them say “earth pony” through the bickering.

Before Canvas could do anything, Mayor Mare pulled out a sheet of paper from her purse, and held it out for the judges to see. Even though her back was turned to Canvas, he could see that she was holding the portrait he drew for her over a month ago.

After staring at the paper and back at Canvas, the group of judges looked at each other with disbelief. However, most of them reluctantly sighed as one of them pulled out a large bag and hoofed it to the Mayor. Looking triumphant, Mayor Mare walked back at Canvas and the runner-ups with the bag in her mouth before resting it on her hoof.

"Sorry about that. Unicorns and Canterlot bigwigs have big purses, but their minds can be quite narrow." With a smile, Mayor Mare hoofed the bag to Canvas. "I want to say I’m surprised to see you up here, Canvas." The look in her eyes, however, said she wasn’t.

Canvas clutched the bag of five hundred bits in his hoof, and looked between her and the crowd while hearing the crowd’s immense applause. The stallion was frozen in elation as he stared around him in disbelief, and looked at his painting which now had a big blue ribbon with the golden emblem “#1” on it.

Canvas' smile grew as tears of joy stemmed from his eyes and ran down his cheeks. Feeling happier than he'd ever been, Canvas threw his hooves up in the air to the lauding crowd.

This, Canvas thought, this is where my life really begins.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

"I TOLD you, dude! You were awesome!"

Troy couldn't stop raving as he hugged Canvas, almost choking the stallion when he finally got to him after the award ceremony. Canvas felt slightly uncomfortable by the gryphon's enthusiasm, but he didn't want to tell him to stop when he was acting so excited. Once Troy let him go, Canvas had to take a few heavy gasps for air. But alas, as soon as he saw Lyra and Bon-Bon running toward him, Canvas had a good idea what was going to happen again. Fortunately, Canvas was able to take a deep breath before both mares grabbed him in another hug.

Lyra seemed especially happy as she shouted with gusto. "Congratulations, Canvas! I knew you could win!"

Luckily, their hug wasn't nearly as long or intense, meaning Canvas could actually feel his hooves after being let go this time. Canvas moved a hoof to feel the bottom of his art bag, making sure his large bag of prize money was still inside. He felt relieved when he heard the jingling of bits, which caught Bon-Bon’s attention.

"Wow, I can’t believe you got five hundred bits in there! You can do a lot with that kind of money!"

Canvas nodded as he readjusted his art bag. He already had a good idea of what he wanted to do with his winnings, but he wasn't sure where he could go to make it happen. Canvas glanced over at the couple with a look of curiosity and asked, "Say girls, do either of you know whe--"

"Why, hello there!"

Canvas and the others turned their attention toward the new voice to see a confident brown stallion standing before them. The pony's slicked-back mane was a very dark tone of grey, almost like charcoal, which matched his thick eyebrows. He donned a blue collar around his neck, as well as a large, red necktie with a dollar sign on the front. On his flank, the stallion had the image of three money bags.

"I hope I'm not intrudin' or nuthin', but I was hopin' to talk to Mister Canvas here about his work."

Canvas didn't like being interrupted, but he figured he could ask his question later. The new stallion stuck out his hoof politely as he spoke with a confident drawl. "Name's Filthy Rich, although I prefer Mister Rich, for obvious reasons."

Despite his wariness, Canvas shook the stallion’s hoof, refraining the urge to judge. Mister Rich had a surprisingly sturdy grip, and maintained eye contact with Canvas while keeping a grin.

"Mister Canvas, I gotta say that you have a great painting skill there. Tell me, how long did it take you to paint that?"

Looking back at the wall, Canvas saw his painting prominently displayed next to the two runner-ups. He was told by the judges that the piece was planned to be displayed in a few other towns as an incentive for local painters. Even though he was unsure about letting something go so soon after working so hard on it, he felt a little better when they told him it would be back in a couple of weeks.

"Honestly, I did that in under a week," he admitted with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.

Filthy Rich's eyes widened, and he looked at the painting in shock. "Seriously? I'd find that hard to believe if you were a unicorn, but saying you did somethin' like that in a week by hoof is almost unreal!" Mister Rich looked back at Canvas with an even bigger smile. "If that's true, then there's no doubt I'd like to work with you!"

Canvas blinked a few times, needing a moment to process what he just heard from this pony. "Umm… excuse me?"

"Oh, of course! I should explain my type of business!" Mister Rich brushed something off his shoulder before speaking further. "You see, I make a living sellin' things for profit, and I've been meanin' to get into sellin' artwork. As you may have noticed, you got a lot of attention from those judges the moment they saw you weren't a unicorn."

Canvas shrugged again while trying not to look too apprehensive, even though he knew that the stallion had a point. Filthy Rich laid a hoof on his aqua shoulder as another pointed at his chest. "And I figure if I can help you get your name out there, you could really get a lot more money from your work!"

Canvas didn't like the idea of having his work looked at just because he was an earth pony. However, the artist couldn’t deny that this Filthy Rich seemed to know what he was talking about. "So,” replied Canvas hesitantly, "what is it you want me to do, exactly?"

"Well, that's easy!" Filthy Rich exclaimed while throwing his hooves in the air. The pony still had a big smile plastered on his face, even when his hooves hit the ground again. "If you’re willin’ to let me buy a few paintings from you, I’ll sell them at a slightly higher rate to the fancy art crowd, and I help you get your name out there so you can sell more!"

Canvas put a hoof to his chin as he hummed to himself in contemplation, and began to understand Mister Rich's business plans. While he didn’t quite agree with his method, Canvas knew this pony could likely help sell more of his paintings than he ever could on his own. He also knew that he needed to gain some exposure through his craft, so maybe having somepony else to assist him would be a smart move. When he looked back at his friends, Canvas could tell from their nods that all of them seemed optimistic with this idea.

Canvas turned back to Filthy Rich, who seemed rather keen on hearing the artist’s answer. He bit his lip in further contemplation as he paused briefly; after all, this could easily be one of the biggest decisions of his future.

Canvas took a deep breath, and then gave his answer with a nod of his head. "...Alright. I'll do it."

"Fantastic!" Mister Rich was quick to shake Canvas' hoof again in agreement. "So, do you happen to have some more of your work with ya? I’m willin’ to buy whatever you have available."

Canvas realized that his art bag was empty, which prompted him to motion a hoof back towards his hotel. "Actually, they're back in my room. Would you be alright with looking at them there?"

"Of course, that would be fine!” assured Filthy with a wave of his hoof. “I have plenty of time."

Though he knew this was something Canvas should do privately, Troy still felt compelled to make sure of his well-being. Lyra and Bon-Bon were waiting on a bench outside the hotel building, while Troy sat perched on a street lamp across the street from Canvas' window. The artist’s curtains were closed, so Troy was hopeful that he wouldn't be seen as intrusive to Canvas’ business deal. As for Lyra and Bon-Bon, neither of them really felt inclined to stalk their friend; however, since they already cleaned up and loaded up their candy stand, there wasn’t much else for the two of them to do for the day.

Meanwhile in room B2, Filthy Rich was looking through a large assortment of Canvas' paintings, which were all carefully laid out on the hotel bed for critique. The business-pony's attitude changed dramatically since their first meeting, as his smile was replaced with a more stoic look of focus. He scanned through each page with surprising intensity, and kept himself completely silent with a sullen expression on his face. The sudden change from happy to serious seemed like an odd quality to Canvas, but he figured that the stallion had to be more serious when money was involved. So instead of feeling intimidated, Canvas just stood to the side and waited patiently for Filthy’s assessment.

After looking through every piece on the bed, Filthy Rich carefully placed five paintings in a line near the edge before looking back at Canvas. "I would like to buy these five, if that's possible."

Since he was curious about what caught the stallion's interest, Canvas looked to see which five he picked. His eyes widened in surprise when he saw the choices, as all of them were paintings he’d repainted a week ago. What was more shocking was the fact that out of all the pieces Canvas repainted, the chosen five Filthy picked were all ones that were originally ripped to shreds. While the recognition felt great, Canvas was more than hesitant to just sell them like that.

Upon noticing Canvas’ uncertainty, Mister Rich cleared his throat. "Is something wrong, Mister Canvas? I assure you I'll offer a fair price for them."

"It's not that, it's just…” He didn’t want to go into detail on what happened to these paintings prior, but Canvas knew he had to say something. So after a quick exhale, the artist confessed, " Well... I just want to make sure these will be in good hooves. I actually finished these pieces a week ago, and they… they really mean a lot to me."

Mister Rich held his hoof up and gave a warm smile to quell Canvas’ concerns. "You have my word, Mister Canvas. Your artwork will be kept in pristine condition. Believe me, for the price I'm offering, the last thing I want to do is mess them up!"

Canvas' eyebrows perked up curiously at those last words. "So… what price are you offering?"

Filthy Rich gave a slyer grin before he picked up a blank sheet of paper from Canvas' dresser. He wrote down a number with a pencil in his mouth, and then folded the paper in half. Once he was done, he handed the note back to Canvas for him to read his offer.

After about five minutes on the streetlight, Troy decided it was too uncomfortable and glided back to the ground instead. He leaned his back against the post of the streetlight, and looked up at the window with a skewed beak. Lyra and Bon-Bon were now leaning next to each other, and were already half-asleep on the bench. Troy couldn’t even see a shadow through the curtains, and he sighed deeply as the wait for even the slightest sign of anything happening dragged on.

Just as he was about to close his eyes, Troy heard a very loud "WHOA!" come from Canvas' room. After shooting his wings open, Troy flew himself directly upwards so he was right across from Canvas' window. Fortunately, before Troy could think anything bad was happening, he felt a twinge of relief as soon as he heard Canvas exclaim:

"You got a deal!"

A few minutes later, Filthy Rich appeared from the hotel building with a satisfied smile on his face. The five paintings he purchased from Canvas were all rolled up, with each of them placed in a large tube and strapped to his back side-by-side. He noticed Troy hovering above him, who was trying his best not to look like he was stalking. Luckily, Mister Rich gave a quick nod before walking off into the streets of Ponyville. As soon as Filthy Rich was out of eyesight, Canvas appeared at the hotel’s front doors with the biggest grin. Bon-Bon noticed the stallion first, and nudged her wife so they could go check up on him.

Canvas was giggling to himself as Troy, Lyra and Bon-Bon all walked up to him. When they saw how happy he looked, all three were getting anxious to hear what happened. Meanwhile, Canvas had his eyes wide open with excitement, and his voice came out rather shakily with adrenaline.

"One… hundred… fifty… BITS!”

After shouting out that amount, Canvas started giggling like a madpony while bouncing on his hooves. Troy blinked a couple times in puzzlement, but the stallion’s excitement kept his smile from dissipating in the slightest. Even though he was surprised that Canvas would act this way about that kind of money--especially after he made five times that earlier in the day--the gryphon was still proud of his friend’s sale. "Hey, that's pretty good,” he said with an optimistic smile. “I mean, now you have like six--"

"Each."

Troy needed a second to process what Canvas meant with that interruption, but his head quickly reeled back in shock. Lyra and Bon-Bon grew equally as stunned, and were staring at Canvas with their jaws agape. Meanwhile, the artist started giggling uncontrollably, and his grin grew to Cheshire levels. "I just made. Over seven. HUNDRED MORE!"

Canvas couldn’t keep his hooves on the ground as he started hopping up and down, his giggles turning into full-blown laughter. While Lyra and Bon-Bon stood in frozen awe, Troy’s dropped beak soon turned to an extremely prideful smile. He quickly grabbed Canvas, and lifted him off the ground to spin him around the street in a huge hug. Canvas kept laughing gleefully, which ended up being addictive enough to make the gryphon join in. When the two mares could finally speak, Lyra was the first to respond with a shocked look on her face.

"Are you telling me that six of your paintings made you over one THOUSAND bits in less than a day?!"

"YES!!" The stallion shouted in elation as he let go of Troy, and excitedly trotted across the streets like an excited filly.

Lyra looked back at her wife, who was still stunned silent, and spoke to her with a faint voice.

"Hey, Bon-Bon?"

“... Ye-yeah?”

"I think I should start painting."

“... Me too.”

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Canvas eventually calmed down enough so that he and his friends could go celebrate without him giggling and hopping all over the place. As the four walked toward the market district, Canvas was still acting rather giddy about all the money he just made. Considering how dire his situation was just a month prior, the fact that his finances became so secure in an instant was enough to leave a giant spring in the stallion’s step. Of course, when he thought back to what he was going to ask his friends before Filthy Rich came along, Canvas was quick to turn his attention back to the married couple.

"Hey, Lyra? Bon-Bon?"

The two looked over at Canvas, now looking a lot happier as opposed to the shock they felt earlier. "Yeah?" asked Lyra with a cheerful smile. “What’s up?

"I was actually wondering…” As he scanned their surroundings during his trot, Canvas paused for only a couple seconds before asking, “do either of you know of any places to rent?"

Both of the mares gasped with extremely delighted smiles. "Ohmigosh!” exclaimed Bon-Bon with a bug-eyed glance back at him. “You mean you're finally going to live here?!"

"Ugh, finally!" said Troy, who looked equally as elated as the mares while they walked alongside Canvas. "I swear, I was probably gonna snap at Canvas if he wasted his bits on that hotel for another month."

“Thank you!” shouted Lyra with an appreciative nod up at the gryphon. “Bon-Bon and I tried to tell him the same thing!”

“Guys, come on!” griped Canvas as he rolled his eyes in exasperation. “It’s been a really busy month for me! I’d appreciate a little less criticism about how long I waited to decide on this.”

“Oh, we weren’t criticising you at all!” To prove that point, Lyra went in to give Canvas a tight hug that pulled the stallion off his hooves. As Canvas groaned from the strain and was caught in Lyra’s grip, the unicorn said with a gleeful smile, “Canvas, we’re soooooo happy you’re going to be living in Ponyville!~”

Bon-Bon went in to hug Canvas as well, which the stallion was more than happy to receive from the two. While he hugged both the mares back with his eyes clenched shut, none of the ponies seemed to notice the prideful smile Troy was carrying on his beak. The gryphon had already given more than enough hugs to Canvas following his art show win, so it was only fair that the mares shared some love as well.

By the time everyone’s congratulations were in order, Canvas was smiling wide when they reached the lines of vendors around the market district. Because of the art show, there were over twice as many ponies than usual, all of whom were looking for a quick meal after a long day outdoors. As he looked around, Canvas noticed that the shortest line seemed to be for a modest wooden stand with the words “Sweet Apple Acres” painted in red on the front. After waiting behind two other ponies, Canvas was greeted by a cheerful orange mare with freckles on her cheeks; she was also wearing an old brown Stetson, which helped hold back the long, blonde mane tied up behind her head. Troy’s face lit up when he saw the farmpony, immediately recognizing her from the storm prep.

"Hey there, Applejack!" he said with a wave of his claw, which caused the pony’s ears to perk up in surprise.

"Oh hey there!” she said with a cheerful nod as Canvas came up to her stand. Her eyes narrowed on the gryphon while pointing a hoof at him. “Um, your name’s Troy, right?"

Troy nodded his head, which made the mare sigh with a relieved smile. “Alright, good to know! Ah would’ve felt lousy forgettin’ that name after this long.” Applejack then turned her attention back to Canvas, who was busy staring at the various barrels of apples behind her. "And Ah certainly know who you are too! Congrats for winnin' that art contest, Canvas!"

Canvas smiled graciously. "Thank you so much, Applejack. Um, I would like to buy four Golden Delicious apples, please."

Applejack nodded as he put the four bits on the booth. Once they were exchanged for four apples, Canvas munched on one and gave another to Troy, who accepted it gladly. He then offered the last two to Lyra and Bon-Bon, only for them to shake their heads in declination. "No thanks, Canvas,” said Lyra. "We both had a big lunch."

Bon-Bon was quick to interject with a skewed eyebrow. "Besides, shouldn’t you be saving your bits for a place to live now?"

He knew Bon-Bon was right, but Canvas simply gave a shrug and put the two apples in his bag. "C'mon, it's just a couple apples. Although, I should see what a place would cost around here."

"Wait a minute!” Applejack’s brows rose up as she kept her focus on the stallion. “Are ya talkin’ about movin’ to Ponyville? Like, officially?”

“As a matter of fact, he is!” Bon-Bon came up to pull Canvas close to her side, and was smiling just as wide as her wife. “Hopefully we won’t need to live in a hotel room anymore!”

“Although he could’ve easily roomed with us to get the money for a place sooner,” chided Lyra playfully, which caused Canvas to roll his eyes with a brief whinny. Troy and Applejack both chuckled to that remark, but didn’t try to say anything in addition.

When Canvas finally turned back to Applejack, she was carrying a look of interest while smiling at him. "So, what exactly are ya lookin' for? Ah might be able to help dependin’ on what you need."

"Well…” Canvas hadn’t put that much thought to what he wanted specifically, mostly since he was grateful to have a roof over his head when he first came to Ponyville. But as of now, the artist realized that he had enough bits to actually spring for something to fit his preferences. "I guess if I can, I wouldn’t mind finding a place with a lot of open space. If I can find a loft or something, I can probably paint a lot more."

With that, Applejack's face lit up like he’d said something brilliant. "Is that so? Because Ah might be able ta help out if yer interested!"

In exchange for her help, Canvas agreed to help Applejack sell some apples at her stand, and also pack up the remaining ones for the trip back to Sweet Apple Acres. Because it took the rest of the day to help her out, Troy and the mares left and said their goodbyes shortly thereafter once they helped get the barrels on Applejack's cart. Fortunately for Canvas, the mare was honest when she said she had something for him to see.

After dropping the cart off in her barn, Applejack led Canvas up the dirt road that ran between the farm and Ponyville. Aside from the occasional tree or bush, not much seemed to catch Canvas's attention as they trotted between a couple of empty fields. However, the stallion’s interest was piqued when Applejack pointed out the place she had in mind: a large, abandoned-looking barn that stood by itself on the right of the road.

As he walked up to the old barn, Canvas could tell that nopony had been around it in years. The original red paint was now long gone, as it had been weathered off and worn down to reveal the grayed wood underneath. It had several windows along the side walls, but large planks of wood were screwed outside the frames to make sure nopony could sneak inside. A large, rusted lock held the large front doors together, but Applejack pulled out a ring of keys from under her hat before unlocking it with her teeth. After trying to pull out the doors with her hooves, Applejack looked back at Canvas awkwardly. "Uhhh… Ya mind helpin' me out here?"

"Oh! Sure." Canvas quickly went in to help the mare, and pulled on one of the door handles alongside her. With a long groan from both ponies, the barn doors slowly opened as the rusted hinges moved for the first time in years. A large cloud of dust blew out from inside, causing both Canvas and Applejack to cough before they could see the inside.

While the lack of light made it difficult to notice many of the cobwebs or spots in need of repair, Canvas could tell this place definitely had a lot of space.

Between the aged and dusted walls lay about thirty feet of matching wooden floors, even though most of it covered by several large pieces of rusted farming equipment. As he stepped inside, Canvas looked past a pile of broken plows to see the back end of the barn about ninety feet away. While the front of the barn was a wide-open area, the back third housed what looked to be a loft as a second floor. The top floor appeared to be full of worn saddles, and several unboarded windows shone a faint beam of light through the fine wall of dust now sitting upon them. From the loft, a staircase on the left side led down to the ground level, where even more used equipment sat underneath the loft space.

"Ah know it ain't much right now,” admitted Applejack with a shrug as she walked inside the space behind Canvas, “but we've really been lookin' to sell this space since we don’t need it no more. Considerin’ the taxes on this thing, it’s costin’ more money to keep it than what its worth."

Canvas nodded his head, but he still scanned the giant barn with a puzzled expression. Curious as to why the Apple Family had a barn like this outside their property, he decided to ask some questions when he reached the bottom of the staircase. "So, how long have you guys had this barn?"

"Well, a few years ago, Granny Smith got it into her head that she should try getting' into real estate after talkin' with that Filthy Rich fella." Canvas' eyebrows raised at the mention of Filthy Rich. While he certainly wasn’t going to say anything about the stallion who just helped him out so tremendously, he couldn’t help but worry a little as he looked around the dilapidated space.

"Now, don’t get me wrong,” Applejack said insistently while wiping some sweat from under her hat. "Ah ain’t sayin’ anything bad about Filthy Rich! Mister Rich is an honest stallion and all, but Ah swear that Granny does the silliest things after talkin' with him! She won this barn in a poker game, and was hopin' to fix it up and sell it at a higher price or somethin'. But then her hip went out a while later, and she wasn't able ta do nuthin with this place."

Canvas winced as he sucked some air through his teeth. "Ooh, sorry to hear that." Canvas couldn’t think of much else to say as walked back up the stairs, staying conscious of any creaks in the old wood.

"S' alright,” assured Applejack with a thankful nod. “She's doin' mighty fine nowadays. We've mostly been using this space for storage, but we've been lookin' ta sell it for a while now.”

"I can see that.” Canvas reached the top of the loft, and blew off a large amount of dust that was lingering on the mantle. "It doesn't look like anypony's been here in years."

“Yeah, you’d be right ‘bout that,” admitted AJ with another shrug. “But the last time Ah checked, the place itself isn’t in that bad of a shape. The foundation and supports are all still as strong as ever. It just needs some heavy cleanin’ and some light touch-ups here and there.”

Canvas looked out from the loft, and was able to see just how massive the barn really was. It may have been old, dusty, and probably in need of repairs, but he could tell that it could be a great place with some hard work. He walked over to the windows at the back of the loft, and used his hoof to wipe away a large line of dust. A bright burst of light entered the dark space in a concentrated beam, almost like some final burst of energy in the climax of a sci-fi movie. By the time Applejack got up the stairs, Canvas was wiping the rest of the dust off the windows with a rag from his art bag. When most of the dust had come off, Canvas turned around to look at the loft’s view once more.

With the extra light, Canvas could see that the barn was actually in decent shape despite the dust. There may have been some uplifted floorboards and a couple holes in the roof, but nothing that looked to be unfixable. Applejack seemed a little wary when she walked up beside Canvas, most likely expecting him to be a bit more hesitant about what she brought him out to see. But much to her surprise, Canvas turned to her with a satisfied grin and asked, "So, how much are you asking for it?"

Since there was still a lot of work to be done, Applejack’s eyes widened when she saw his optimistically wide smile. However, the farmpony was able to come up with a fair estimate while looking around the pace herself "Well, Ah won’t ask for a lot fer it, since we’re gonna need to fix it up ourselves. But if yer really interested, we can sell it for about… seven hundred and fifty bits?"

Applejack winced as she kept her gaze away from Canvas, not wanting to see his response to that price. While it may have been a really cheap estimate, a profit was still a profit for the farmer. Canvas stayed silent, but didn’t even show the slightest hint of a frown when Applejack finally looked back at him. Hoping she could close the deal, Applejack added sincerely, "And, if you’re willin’ to help out, we’ll this place fixed up before ya move in, at no extra charge."

"Hmm…”

Canvas continued to scan the barn, and rubbed the bottom of his chin with a hoof. Even though he already knew his answer, he didn’t want to seem too eager to buy a barn like this. But after taking a deep breath--and almost choking from the dust--Canvas turned back towards Applejack with a smile and held out his hoof.

"Miss Applejack, you have a deal!"

Applejack grew an eager smile before she spat on her hoof. After sticking it out to Canvas, the stallion didn’t need to be asked as he spat in his own hoof and shook on it.

After making sure everything was packed up, Canvas closed the door to room B2 behind him, feeling strangely sad that this would be the last time he’d be here. He walked down to the lobby, and found Bell Hopper laying asleep behind the front desk. He didn’t want to wake him up, so Canvas left his room key and a hoofful of bits as a tip before walking out. As he stepped out in the morning air, Canvas breathed in deeply, and savored the new day before heading off to his new place.

It had only been less than two weeks since Canvas bought the barn from Applejack, and helped with the renovation process as best as he could. However, despite how minimal the majority of the repairs actually were, Canvas still spent many early mornings and late nights helping to get the place back up to code. While working with Applejack and her siblings, they managed to get most of the junk out of the main space, and also clear out all the dust from the barn before the first day even ended. The rest of that time was spent making all the necessary repairs, as well as fixing the plumbing and electrical problems. But only three days prior to his current trek out to the barn, Canvas was told to stay put in Ponyville until the Apples got the finishing touches done. It didn't feel right leaving them to do work he could've done himself, but reluctantly, he agreed to wait for the reveal.

Canvas tried not to feel too overwhelmed as he trotted down the road by himself, but his hooves were getting more jittery with each passing step due to his excitement. After painting several pieces in his hotel room to occupy his mind, there was nothing to keep him from thinking about his new home. But before he could walk around the final curve on the road, Canvas was met by the sight of Applejack who was standing in wait with a grin. He could see some beads of sweat in her orange fur, and could only guess that they finished their work right on time

"There ya are, Canvas!" The mare panted as she wiped some sweat from beneath the brim of her hat. "Ya ready ta see the barn?"

"As ready as I'll ever be!" chirped Canvas giddily, who could barely stop walking while his hooves constantly moved about. Applejack chuckled to the sight of Canvas’ exuberance, and merely smiled as she motioned for him to follow her.

As they walked around the corner, Canvas was surprised to see that the outside of the barn looked exactly the same as before. The windows may have been unboarded and sporting some brand new frames, but the walls itself were still unpainted and greying with wear. Fortunately, Applejack spoke up before he could say anything about that unfinished detail. "Just so ya know, we decided to get the inside finished up before anything else. Besides, since you’re a painter and all, we figured you’d wanna try paintin’ the barn yourself for a personal touch."

Canvas honestly thought that them painting the barn would’ve been the ‘finishing touch’ Applejack talked about a few days ago. However, he was also grateful that Applejack put his skills into consideration like that. If he was being honest, he really did want to paint the barn himself, especially after seeing that huge blank wall along the left side that was just begging for an awesome mural.

"You know what? I’m more than fine with that,” assured Canvas as he shot Applejack a thankful smile. “I've actually been wanting to try painting this myself anyways."

Before Canvas could reach the front doors, Applejack motioned him to follow her as she went along the right side of the barn. Even though he wasn’t sure what she was doing, Canvas followed until he saw where she was heading. Right near the rear of the barn, a regular door was standing almost hidden at the far end of the wall. Applejack opened the door (smoothly, like it was just oiled) and held her hoof out to Canvas so he could enter first. Smiling warmly, Canvas took a deep breath before stepping inside.

The first thing that Canvas noticed, besides how bright the barn looked with the new coat of white paint along the walls, was how much smaller it looked now. On the left side, a large wall with a single door was now built down the middle of the barn; even though the wall worked as a divider for the front and back ends, it only went halfway up to the roof. As he turned back towards the barn’s rear end, Canvas could see another wall was running underneath the loft to his right, with two doorways on it. The first doorway, closest to the entrance, led to a bathroom with a working toilet, sink, and shower. The second doorway, nearby the refurbished stairs to the loft, led into a modest kitchen with a sink, and a clean oven and refrigerator he recognized from the equipment piled around before.

With a huge smile, Canvas rushed up the stairs while Applejack giggled by the doorway. When he reached the top, Canvas found that the open loft was completely bare and spotless, with a line of clean windows shining brightly across the whole barn. The hardwood flooring beneath his hooves was smooth and spotless, and not a speck of dust could be seen anywhere.

Canvas turned his sights to the rest of the barn, and quickly looked back at the dividing wall on the ground floor. From his vantage point at the loft, he was able to look over the top half of the wall and better appreciate his new space. Much like the loft, the front end of the barn was also completely bare, with the hardwood floors shining proudly underneath the sunbeams.

Canvas’ jaw dropped as he figured out what the wall across the middle of the barn was meant for. Since he was planning to use the extra space for painting, the Apple Family converted the whole front of Canvas' barn into his personal work space, and also a storage space for all his incoming art projects

"So, wha'cha think?” shouted out Applejack from downstairs with an optimistic smile. “Ya like it?"

Without hesitation, Canvas bolted down the stairs like a filly on Heart's Warming Eve. With an overwhelmingly joyous smile on his face, Canvas was close to tears as he lunged onto Applejack and pulled her in a massive hug. He stood on his hindlegs, and actually hoisted Applejack off her hooves as he spun her around the room.

"ThankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouTHANKYOOOUUUU!!"

"Whoa nelly!" Applejack was glad he was happy with their work, but she wouldn’t have expect him to be this excited about an unfurnished and unpainted barn. Nevertheless, the mare still tried to hug him back while saying in response, "Y-yer welcome, partner! But, uhhh… can ya please let me down?"

“OH!” Canvas quickly put Applejack back on the ground and pulled back a few steps, his aqua cheeks blushing into a fine purple. "Sorry, it's just…” Canvas looked around his barn, and barely registered the tear trickling down his face as he smiled at everything. "It's perfect."

After having a nice dinner with the Apple Family, who gave him enough leftovers to last him several days, Canvas was still on Cloud Nine when he went back to his new place. He held onto his new key with pride as he unlocked his door and entered the back half of his barn. And as he on the lights, Canvas smiled with a content sigh while looking around the clean space.

Though it was virtually empty right now, he still felt euphoric from the fact that this space was now his. Not to mention, since he still had plenty of bits to help furnish and decorate the place, he knew the current emptiness wouldn’t last long. As he walked up the stairs, Canvas pulled out a blanket and pillow from his luggage and placed them on the middle of the loft floor.

He then turned off the lights and laid down on his blanket, beaming in the darkness as he looked up to his ceiling. Despite how scary it felt to lay in such a spaciously dark barn by himself, only one thing could pass through the stallion’s mind to keep him happy:

I have a home.

Canvas sat back upright on the floor, and held his hooves up to his face as tears of joy came streaming down his cheeks. For the longest time, nothing had ever worked out as well for him as they had here in Ponyville. And after spending so much time among great friends, and staying in the town he'd come to call his own, he could finally say that he was truly living here.

I'm actually a citizen of Ponyville now, thought Canvas as he rested his head back on the pillow. Despite the hard floor, Canvas still kept a gracious smile as his eyes slowly closed into the depths of sleep. Before he went completely asleep on top of his blanket, one more thought graced Canvas' mind to leave him feeling truly content.

I'm no longer just a guest.

I actually have a home.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Yawning loudly, Troy slowly opened his eyes as he woke up on his cloud. Since it was his scheduled day off, the gryphon was able to appreciate waking up without a blaring alarm while the morning sun warmed his back. Troy groaned as he rolled off of his stomach, and he could feel the cooling mist of the cloud evaporating as they brushed against his warmed feathers.

Troy drew a blank as he looked up into the clear blue skies, trying to think of something to do. Usually, he would spend his days off with Canvas and try to do something fun. However, ever since the pony bought that old barn from Applejack, he'd been spending all his time either fixing the place up or making more paintings for Filthy Rich.

As he rolled back to his side, Troy looked out from the cloud’s edge to the waterfall nearby, which poured into a pristine lake below. With the lake at the bottom of a cliff amongst a grassy field, Troy could swear he saw this landscape from a painting somewhere back in the Gryphon Kingdom; heck, maybe that was why he liked having his cloud here. He always preferred the solitude in comparison to the hustle and bustle of Cloudsdale, so being in a little spot of nature like this helped the gryphon feel more relaxed.

Troy decided to start off by getting himself washed up; however, he couldn’t help but sigh deeply as he considered what he could do with his free time alone.

"Okay, that's everything, Mister Canvas."

The stallion nodded and signed the paperwork for the orange pegasus in front of him. Meanwhile, several other pegasus ponies continued to move in the new furniture he bought. Even though Canvas tried to stay frugal on his purchases (especially after buying all his art supplies for the barn walls), he still ended up spending a large portion of his bits on the bed and dresser being moved into the loft. Then came several other amenities for his place, like food and shampoo. He wasn’t broke again just yet, but Canvas hoped he would be able to sell some more paintings to Mister Rich soon.

After the movers left, Canvas walked upstairs to his loft, and sighed in joy as he looked upon his newly purchased king-sized bed. The mattress alone took up nearly half of the side wall it was up against, and already had a fluffy blue comforter and pillows on top to complete it. Canvas remembered when he went to Carousel Boutique to paint Rarity's wall, and he made a mental note to purchase himself a bed that looked as plush and luxurious as the fashionista’s. And now, he had his very own bed that was set to last him for a long time.

Canvas made sure that the movers were out of sight, and shouted in glee as he threw himself on the bedspread. He giggled to himself while rolling around like a dog in the grass, and savored the sensation of the soft, cushy bedding that served as his first major interior purchase.

After taking a quick shower under the waterfall, Troy shook himself dry and glided down to the ground. A modest field served as a clearing within the thick woods that surrounded the region, with Troy’s cloud resting on top to serve as the only shadow. Considering how pristine the lake and clearing looked, the gryphon considered himself lucky that no ponies had come around to claim it for themselves. He’d been living in this area for several months, but he’d only ever seen one pony come around here; and even then, that was just because the yellow pegasus was trying to look for her pet bunny. Other than that, Troy considered the region his own personal slice of heaven outside of Ponyville.

He started his morning stretches as he looked around, knowing that since he had nothing else to do, he might as well do something he hadn’t done in a while. Since everything seemed to be in the clear, Troy bolted off the ground to soar back up to his cloud. An eager grin spread across his beak, since he already knew exactly where he had stashed away his things for a quick and effortless setup.

Canvas sighed in trepidation as he stood outside his new home, and gawked at how much work needed to be done. The Apple Family may have done an amazing job fixing up the barn for him, but Canvas knew that he would need a ton of paint just to get the primer down himself. The barn was taller than most of the ladders the Apples had, so he knew he would need some assistance to help with getting it all painted. More specifically, he would need a pair of wings in order to do the job right.

A small skew could be seen across the stallion’s muzzle, mostly due to how awkward he felt about his plans. Nevertheless, the necessity of the matter was enough for Canvas to huff sharply to himself, and then trot off to look for his friend.

Troy was vague about where he put his cloud, but Canvas knew that it was actually somewhere nearby. As he looked through a map he had in his art bag, Canvas tried to see if it had anything regarding a waterfall. The last time he and Troy hung out at the bowling alley with his coworkers, he remembered the gryphon mentioning something about being near one.

After several minutes of scanning, Canvas noticed a familiar icon for one near a pond less than a mile from his home. Canvas noted which way it was with a compass, and then headed into the woods behind his house. He may have not been the most outdoorsy of ponies, but he hoped that his good sense of direction would guide him on the right path through the thick foliage.

Canvas almost felt like he was going through the Everfree Forest as he traversed through the dauntingly thick brush, and tried his hardest not to get scratched up by all the hanging branches. A couple squirrels scurried past the stallion, with both of them looking rather surprised to see anypony out here. Canvas almost considered turning back to double-checking his map, just in case he felt himself getting lost with how unfamiliar everything looked.

However, when Canvas stopped moving to check his bag, he realized the forest wasn't completely silent. Amongst the sounds of buzzing insects and branches rustling in the wind, the stallion began to hear something completely different in the distance.

Music.

On the ground underneath Troy's cloud, a vintage record player spun an even older-looking vinyl record. A booming orchestral arrangement was playing out from the cone-shaped speaker, which still sounded amazingly pristine among the crackles of the vintage audio. Meanwhile, Troy was soaring freely above the skies and gliding around to the music without a care in the world. Since he knew exactly when the vocals would begin during the song, the gryphon cleared his throat after making a pronounced loop over his cloud.

Canvas finally reached the clearing with a stroke of luck, but continued to look around for the source of that music. When he noticed the record player, Canvas looked around in confusion to see who the heck left an antique out in the middle of an open field. It wasn’t until he walked up to the player that he realized that it was not only super old, but looked to have been made from a non-Equestrian manufacturer. The knobs looked to be more attuned for claws as opposed to hooves, and the manufacturer logo was clearly in Gryphonian text. Next to the player was the case for the spinning record, with the sleeve well-worn with a painting of a clown on the front; Canvas’ knowledge of Gryphonian was novce at best, but he could read the words ‘Leoncavello-Pagliacci’ on the bottom.

Canvas blinked a couple times in confusion, before he heard a booming voice above him start to sing:

“Recitaaar! … Mentre preso dal delirioooo…”

Looking up to the skies, Canvas' eyes widened in shock when he saw Troy soaring high above. His flying looked absolutely majestic as he glided theatrically around his home, and didn’t even open his eyes while he sang along with the record.

“Non so più quel che dico… E quel che faccio! … Eppur… è d’uopo… sforzati! … Baaaah! Sei tu forse un uom!”

Canvas couldn’t understand a single word of what he was singing, but he instantly recognized the song as being a well-known opera track. He remained silent as to keep from disturbing his friend, and sat down next to the record as he listened. All the while, his wide-eyed gaze never left Troy while looking up at the skies, and he followed the seamless path the gryphon made among the cloudscapes.

“E se, Arlecchin… t’invola Colombina… Rridi, Pagliacco... E ognun, applaudirà!”

Canvas never had much of an interest in opera music growing up, but his jaw dropped as he heard his friend serenading those vocals with such a passionate intensity. Troy's singing voice was as smooth as the gliding of a hoof against freshly-pressed velvet, and came out with such a flawless mixture of power and grace. Meanwhile, the stellar movements of his body carried just as much tenacity and skill as his singing, as his soaring movements carried a level of experience that even Rainbow Dash would’ve considered to be impressive. Unaware of the unintentional audience watching below him, Troy spread his wings to full length as he belted out the big finish.

“Ridi, Pagliaaaaa-ccioooo…”

The final note of his ballad lasted for nearly half a minute, and left Canvas in complete silence by the time his friend’s beak finally shut. After the song faded out, Troy sighed in relief and nearly collapsed when he landed on his cloud. He used a chunk of the cloud to dab the sweat from his brow, and smiled from the satisfaction of being able to do that in peace. He then stretched his back upward as he bent down, hoping he didn't throw out his posture from his theatrical flying. Unfortunately, his eyes immediately shot open in shock when he looked down from his cloud, and he saw Canvas sitting down below.

Canvas' eyes and mouth were fully gaped like a goldfish while staring back at the gryphon, whose pupils shrunk to the size of pin-pricks from being discovered. Troy may have had some dark feathers across his face, but that didn't stop the violently-red blush from glowing over his face when Canvas threw his hooves up and applauded.

"Woooooooo!! Encore! Encore!"

Troy quickly hid himself away from Canvas' sight within the cloud, and groaned while covering his face with both claws. Even though he was glad the pony wasn’t laughing, he still felt absolutely mortified from hearing Canvas’ cheerful clapping. After shuddering uncomfortably in embarrassment, Troy tried to calm himself down and figure out how long his friend had been down there. Eventually, Canvas' clapping ceased so he could shout up to his friend.

"Aw, c'mon, Troy! That was awesome! I swear, you have nothing to be embarrassed about!"

A strong grimace shot across the gryphon’s face, and it took everything in him not to feel insecure from the stallion’s assurance. Slowly but surely, Troy popped his head out from under the cloud, and looked down at Canvas with a notable blush. As he looked around to make sure nopony else was there, his voice came out in an audible, but still feeble tone. "... How… H-How long were you sitting there?"

Canvas tried not to smirk in amusement, mostly since he felt a bit surprised at seeing his friend looking so shy. Fortunately though, the artist was able to keep from giggling when he replied. "Well… I only heard a little bit, but holy CRAP!~"

Canvas' sudden excitement caught Troy off-guard when the pony stood up to start raving. "Seriously, that was incredible! How long have you been singing like that? I mean, I couldn't sing that well if I spent years practicing, but YOU! Like... Sweet Mother of Celestia, that was amazing, Troy!"

Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his head, and his blush could be seen deepening in response to Canvas' high praise. As he kept his eyes away from the pony, he was able to gave a meek smile and say, "Um… Thanks, I guess. I mean, I… I thought I was alone…”

"Okay, seriously dude?!” Canvas’ voice turned insistent as he shouted up to the gryphon, “Can you at least come down to the ground? I’d rather not keep shouting in the middle of a field like a crazy pony.”

Even in his flustered state, Troy couldn’t help shouting down in response, “Yeah, Pinkie Pie would probably get mad at you for stealing her title.”

That little quip was good enough to make both of them laugh, and helped to get the gryphon in higher spirits. Troy reluctantly hopped off the cloud, and slowly glided down until his claws and paws touched the ground. He tried not to blush too heavily while looking at Canvas with an embarrassed expression. Meanwhile, the stallion just kept that big smile on his muzzle while staring back at Troy. Canvas then looked around to take notice of their surroundings, and said "Wow… I’m not gonna lie, you really do have a nice place, Troy."

"Thanks,” said the gryphon with a thankful nod, even though his sheepish squirming was more evident as he avoided eye-contact with Canvas. “L-Listen, I… I never really, like… sang in… in a situation like…”

While Troy tried to muster out any words that could come to his head, Canvas' brows rose up in response upon noticing the shakiness in his voice. "Wait a minute. Are… Are you telling me you never sang in front of anypony before?"

"Well… um…” Troy's blush grew even deeper when he tried to give an answer, and he rubbed his foreleg while keeping his eyes on the ground. "... Technically, I never sang in front of a pony, yeah. I mean… I’ve only lived in Equestria for a few months, after all...”

Canvas' smile grew even wider in astoundment, and he chuckled to himself while staring pridefully at his friend. "If that's so, then I'm really glad I have the distinction of being the first. If you ever put out an opera record yourself, I’ll be sure to tell ponies about that little fact~"

Troy’s eyes widened when he caught the sincere smile on Canvas’ face upon giving such a nice compliment. Not only was the pony refraining from laughing or pestering him, but he was able to show genuine appreciation for the candid performance he witnessed. Troy may have known that he had a good singing voice, but it still felt weird to know that one of his friends felt the same way. However, since he could tell how honored Canvas felt to have heard him in private, Troy could only smile back while his blush began to dissipate.

"So, Canvas, what the heck are you doing here!?” he asked with a befuddled huff, finally coming down from his embarrassment to take notice of Canvas’ unplanned appearance. “I mean, did I even tell you where I lived?! All I said was that I lived near a waterfall!"

Canvas shrugged his shoulders in response to Troy’s confusion, and was quick to pull out the map and compass from his bag. "Yeah, you technically didn’t tell me the exact location, but there aren’t too many waterfalls listed on this map of the region. And since you mentioned living nearby my new place, I put two and two together when I saw the lake right here."

Canvas pointed a hoof to the small indication on the map, which caused Troy to shrug with an impressed look on his face. The fact that his friend could find a private residence so easily felt a little unnerving, but it wasn’t like he could claim Canvas was invading his privacy either. After all, if he wanted to remain secluded, he probably shouldn’t have been blasting opera in the middle of the woods and flying about like a protagonist in a kid’s movie’s first musical number.

"But with that being said,” continued Canvas as he struggled not to wince, and looked away from Troy in anticipation for his request. “I, uhhh… I was kinda wanting to ask for your help sometime."

Troy raised his brows with interest, but he kept himself silent while Canvas put the map away. "The renovations to my place just got finished on the inside, and I already got myself moved in and everything. But I still needed to paint the outside myself, so... I was hoping to ask whether or not you could maybe… help me with that sometime soon?

Now Canvas was looking more timid between the two, mostly since he knew just how big of a project that would be for Troy to help with. "Wait, really?" asked Troy with a surprised look on his face. After blinking a couple times, he huffed with an astounded smile and said, “Wow, your place is already fixed-up? I’m not gonna lie, I would’ve expected you guys to need a month to get that place up to code!”

Even though he was proud of his newly-purchased property, Canvas couldn’t blame Troy for feeling that way about the barn’s former state. “Honestly, the exterior damages were the biggest issues the barn had. By the time we got everything cleared out, it took less than a week to make all the bigger repairs. I was planning to paint the barn myself, but… I kinda needed someone with wings to help apply the primer first.”

“Aaaaahhhhh…” Troy nodded in understanding, and tried his hardest not to look upset by his realization. While he certainly wasn’t going to refuse if Canvas asked for his help, the gryphon could only imagine how taxing such a project could be for his wings. However, considering where Canvas was previously living, Troy wasn’t one to complain about the stallion having his own place to call a home. “Well hey, at least you can paint it however you want!” he said optimistically. “Heck, you could even put some big mural on the side walls or something!”

"That was the idea!" Canvas said with an especially chipper tone. His smile widened even more as he looked up at his friend and asked, "So… you wanna see it?"

With Canvas grinning at him like a little colt wanting to show off a new toy, Troy couldn’t help smirking back as his curiosity got the best of him. "You know what? I’d love to see what you guys did with the place. Lead the way!"

"Great!" Canvas began to trot off back into the woods, but eventually stopped in front of the line of trees. As he looked around, Canvas started to appear confused while trying to remember his previous path. He could’ve sworn he remembered which clearing he exited the woods from, but now all the trees seemed to have looked identical to the aqua stallion. After a few seconds, Canvas slowly turned his head back to Troy with an sheepish blush on his face. "Umm…”

Troy sighed and looked at Canvas with a deadpan stare. "Canvas, did you seriously forget how to get back to your own house?"

Despite how embarrassing it was to answer such a stupid question honestly, Canvas cringed while nodding his head in guilty silence. Troy had to cover his beak with a claw, and tried his hardest not to laugh out-loud at his friend's mistake. "Oh man, Rainbow Dash would never let that go if she heard that!” he said with a brief chuckle and a shake of his head. As Canvas’ head lowered a little more in shame, Troy was quick to ask, “So, do you need me to fly you back?"

"Umm…” Canvas didn't expect Troy to make such an offer, and looked up at him with a confounded stare. "Wait, are… are you actually alright with doing that?"

Troy shrugged his shoulders rather casually, and then nodded his head back at him. "Well, yeah. I mean… I saw where the barn was, and it’s not like I can’t lift up things twice your weight. It seriously wouldn’t be a big deal. Besides... that's what friends do, right?"

Canvas felt a distinct warmth across his cheeks upon seeing Troy’s smile, which carried just as much sincerity as his assuring tone of voice. Even though he never would’ve thought of asking for such a favor, he also knew that his friend wasn’t one to veer away from close personal contact. And despite his own apprehensions, Canvas felt a lot easier about accepting the offer as he smiled back at him. "Ummm… Right."

Troy spread out his wings, and caused the wind shooting out to brush strongly against Canvas' fur. After a couple profound flaps of his wings, the gryphon hovered a few feet in the air as he maneuvered himself above Canvas. As the wind gusted around wildly beneath Troy’s wings, Canvas' long mane stirred around unprotected and got in his face.

Canvas tried to get the chestnut strands out from his eyes, but his heart suddenly began beating rapidly when he felt Troy's chest brush against his back. The gryphon’s claws came down and wrapped around his chest, which caused Canvas to gasp sharply from the close contact. The artist may have been hugged by him before, but the positioning now felt a lot more… intimate than he would’ve predicted. While Troy didn't seem to notice how nervous or overwhelmed his friend was getting, Canvas had to clench his eyes tightly shut when he felt his body being lifted off the ground.

In less than a few seconds, Troy flew the two of them high into the air, and well above the forest line as he headed toward Canvas' home. The stallion slowly opened one eye, and nearly had a heart attack when he saw how far the ground was from his dangling hooves. Canvas tensed up greatly as he clenched his eyes shut again, and he was trembling in fear before he felt Troy's claws gripping him tighter. Almost instantly, Canvas’ trepidation began to dwindle down as he felt how securely the gryphon was holding him, and realized how serenely they were gliding across the endless blue skies.

Even with how dangerously high he was, Canvas' heart rate actually began to settle down as he felt Troy's surprisingly warm body nestled against his back. He could also feel the high-altitude winds brushing against his fur, which caused Canvas to breathe in deeply while savoring his friend’s secure embrace. Just as his home was coming up within view in the distance, Canvas felt himself blushing hotly when he felt the beating of Troy's heart through his feathered chest, and he caught the gryphon’s soft and steady tempo.

Without even thinking, Canvas closed his eyes as he tried to feel that heartbeat as much as he could. As the rushing winds gusted loudly around him, the artist tried to breathe calmly while being held so firmly by his friend. Even with how scared he still felt, that looming fear wasn’t enough to counteract the trust he felt that his friend wouldn’t let him go. The flight might have only lasted a couple of minutes, but it felt much longer to the pony by the time he felt the winds change, and he opened his eyes to see his barn below.

Canvas shook his head, and quickly got himself recomposed while Troy lowered him down to the ground. When his hooves touched the cool grass along the side of the property, Canvas suddenly felt a bitter rush of cold wind creep across his back when Troy pulled away. After landing himself, Troy immediately winced in dread when he looked up at the massive wall of aged and unprotected wood.

"Hoo boy… I guess you really do need my help painting all this, huh?"

Canvas giggled guiltily and nodded his head, but remained hopeful Troy wouldn't be too upset about agreeing. But before either could say anything more, the sounds of fresh hoofsteps could be heard from the front of the barn. As the two looked over, Canvas was surprised to see Filthy Rich happily walking up to them with another stallion.

"Oh, there you are, Canvas! I tried knockin’ a few times, but I didn’t realize you were away from home."

“It’s alright,” assured Canvas as he walked up to the two with an apologetic smile. “If I knew somepony was coming by, I probably would’ve stayed home. I hope I didn’t leave you two waiting for too long.” As he smiled, Canvas’ attention turned towards the white unicorn standing next to Mister Rich. The posh-looking stallion was wearing a regal tuxedo jacket, had a monocle over his left eye, and sported a pencil-thin mustache that matched the light blue coat of his well-kept mane.

The stallion blinked a couple times as he stared at Canvas with a look of surprise. Fortunately, he was quick to smirk contentedly when he glanced back at Filthy Rich. "Well, I must say, Mister Rich. You certainly know how to impress me in the most unexpected ways!”

The unicorn then brought out a hoof to Canvas, and smiled politely as he introduced himself. "I was rather surprised when Mister Rich told me about you, but it's a pleasure to actually meet the creator of the most recent pieces of artwork in my collection. My name is Fancy Pants."

Canvas shook the stallion's hoof, and blinked a couple times upon recognizing his charming smile. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you as well. If I may ask, though… Are you actually the Fancy Pants? As in… the Canterlot Noble Fancy Pants?"

“Why, yes I am!” Fancy looked pleasantly surprised by the artist’s recognition, and narrowed his eyes when he asked, “Have we met before? Because I could’ve sworn I’d remember if we did.”

“No, I don’t believe we have,” admitted the artist with a shrug before letting go of the pony’s hoof. “I did a couple of painting jobs for Rarity at Carousel Boutique, and she mentioned you a few times in conversation.

“Aaaaahhhh…” Upon hearing that mare’s name, Fancy pointed a hoof at Canvas and said, “She actually showed me that wall portrait you made for her the last time I visited her shop. I wouldn’t have expected that to be from the same pony who made that Phoenix portrait, but I guess that only proves how varied your talents really are, Mister Canvas.”

Canvas began to blush as he smiled wider in response to Fancy Pants’ sincere praises. Meanwhile, Troy tried not to smirk to himself while watching the interaction nearby, and keeping himself silent out of politeness. Filthy Rich quickly interjected, and caught Canvas’ attention when he spoke with an enthusiastic smile. "I was in Canterlot last week for some business deals, and I ended up sellin' some of your paintings to this lovely gentlecolt. He was actually doin’ some renovations to his penthouse, so he ended up buyin’ two of your pieces in an instant! Of course, as soon as I mentioned you weren't a unicorn, he insisted on coming down to Ponyville to meet you himself!"

Canvas turned his attention back to Fancy Pants, who was quick to hold up his hoof to correct Filthy Rich. "For the record, I like to visit every artist I purchase a piece from. I can assure you, it has nothing to do with your race. But I must admit, it is rather refreshing to see such immaculate skills from such a young pony. You should be very proud of your work, good sir."

Canvas blushed even more and looked away out of bashfulness. Even though this stallion was a bit older than he would’ve preferred, Fancy Pants’ charming attitude made the artist feel more than a little flattered.

"Th-thank you, Sir." Canvas tried not to giggle, hoping his giddy reaction wasn't too obvious. “I-I’m not gonna lie, I wasn’t expecting for my work to be noticed by a Noble.”

Once again, Filthy Rich was quick to put himself into the conversation. "Now Canvas, I told him all about your art and how you won the Central Equestrian Art show. And because of that, he was interested in making a deal with you."

"Really?" asked Canvas and Troy at the same time, with both of their brows raised up in surprise.

"Well, yes,” said the unicorn, who used his magic to remove the monocle from his face. "But if you don’t mind, I would also like to see some of your other work first. It’s always good to look through an artist’s portfolio before making negotiations, after all."

Canvas nodded rapidly and fumbled for the keys inside his bag. "O-Of course! Sure! I was just about to show my friend Troy the place anyway." After Canvas motioned to the gryphon behind him, Troy walked up to the two while trying not to feel out of place.

"Um… hello,” Troy said as he brought out his claw, and tried to give the Noble a friendly smile.

Fortunately, Fancy Pants was quick to shake the gryphon’s claw, not looking phased at all by his presence. "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Troy. I take it that’s short for Troius?"

Troy blinked a couple times in surprise, and grew a more impressed smile when he said, “Actually, yeah! It is!”

Meanwhile, Canvas pulled the newly-renovated doors open with ease, and motioned to the three as he showed them his new workplace.

"Well guys,” he said with a kind smile, “come on in."

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Even with all the spending Canvas did to furnish his new home, most of his earnings went to stocking his brand new art studio with everything he needed. As Canvas opened the barn doors, Troy and the two stallions stared in awe at how much he had already done.

Along the three walls were large stacks of supplies, which all looked to have been purchased in bulk with Canvas’ earnings. Several towers of art cans were laid out along the left side of the studio, while several stacks of canvas boards leaned against the right. On the back wall, a large wooden shelf was built to hold all of Canvas' various supplies; paint brushes, rags, specialized paints, and other miscellaneous items were already arranged neatly with a level of organization that would’ve made Twilight Sparkle proud. In the middle of the room stood a worn-looking red couch, which seemed a little out of place among all of the brand new stuff.

"Dang!" Troy exclaimed, with his beak nearly going agape as he walked through the spacious studio with an impressed smirk. "How the heck did you get all of this done in a few weeks?"

Canvas blushed bashfully and shrugged a little. "Well, it wasn't easy,” he admitted sheepishly, “but Applejack and her siblings were really good at getting everything cleared out first. By the time the place was fixed up, I already had a lot of these supplies bought through special order."

With a flap of his wings, the gryphon leapt across the room onto the top of the wall. The resulting gust of wind caused many of the supplies to shake violently, with some almost toppling over. Canvas frantically ran around the room as random pieces of paper flew around, trying his hardest to make sure nothing too expensive toppled over. Troy didn't notice the commotion he caused when he landed, and was instead peering at Canvas’ living space behind the wall. "Man, those Apples know how to fix stuff up!"

"Could you not fly around like that, please!?" Canvas said with an exasperated tone, but refrained from sounding too upset while picking up the rustled papers. "I'd rather not deal with a bunch of wind messing up my stuff."

"Oops!" As soon as he looked behind him and saw the remaining sheets of paper being picked up by Canvas, Troy looked away and his head sank with guilt. "Sorry, dude."

"Well, I must say,” said Filthy Rich as he stepped inside, and stared around the studio with a look of bewildered fascination. "You really made yourself a nifty workplace here!"

"Well thank you, Mister Rich.” Canvas trotted over to the stack of boards, and sighed softly in relief upon seeing nothing was damaged. "Honestly, I couldn't have gotten all this without your help."

Filthy rolled his eyes with an appreciative smile, and was quick to say assuredly, “Hey, that’s just part of the magic of being an entrepreneur. Your paintings helped me a lot back in Canterlot, so it’s only fair I got to help you a little as well.”

“Well, I think we have very different definitions of the word ‘little,’ Mister Rich.” Canvas’ head was behind the stack or boards lying against the wall, so he wasn’t able to notice Fancy Pants’ lighthearted chuckle in response to his statement. Instead, Canvas pulled out a large board with his teeth, and carefully placed it against the front for the stallions to see. Fancy Pants’ brows rose with interest as he walked past Filthy to scan the painting first. Meanwhile, Canvas tried to give a confident smile while presenting his latest piece. "I actually got this one done right before I moved out of my hotel room. I figured you might like seeing my more abstract work."

Canvas stepped back from the painting he made, which allowed both stallions to get a closer look without crowding too awkwardly. The canvas board was about five feet high and three feet wide, with the background carrying a deep shade of cherry red across every inch. Against the rosy backdrop were several slashes of black paint strokes all randomly arranged, as well as a bunch of splash effects of white paint over that. Troy's head turned sideways, and his eyes narrowed in confusion from trying to make anything out of the random collage of colors. Filthy Rich put a hoof to his chin as he stared silently in contemplation, while Fancy Pants narrowed his eyes and peered in closer. The unicorn’s horn lit up so he could adjust the monocle over his eye, which helped the magnify the piece and give him a better assessment.

"Hmm…” Fancy Pants cocked his head to the side and tried to look from a different angle. As for Filthy Rich, it was obvious from his skewed muzzle that he wasn't as encaptured as the client he brought in. While Fancy hummed to himself and scanned every inch, Filthy looked back at Canvas with his thick eyebrows skewed.

"Um… are you sure this is what you wanna be showin' to a pony like this?" While he knew that Filthy wasn’t trying to sound too judgemental, Canvas still tried his hardest not to wince from the stallion’s perplexed tone. "I mean, it's alright, I guess. Trust me, I’m not tryin’ to be insulting or anything. But still, I mean… don't you think you should focus on more--”

"Well, I quite like it!"

Filthy Rich and Canvas both turned to Fancy Pants, who was now gazing at the painting with an exuberant look in his eyes. Filthy looked rather surprised by the older stallion’s response, but Canvas was struggling not to smile too excitedly. "I've always had an interest for interpretive pieces like this. Some ponies might not see the appeal, but I always found abstract art to be rather captivating. The right piece always seems to speak to anypony who looks at it, and not one pony sees it in the same way." Fancy Pants looked back to Canvas with a prideful smile before adding, "And I happen to know of an associate back in Canterlot who would love something like this!"

"Really?" Canvas' eyes shot open in delight as he smiled brightly, clearly happy about the prospect of already making a sale so soon. “I-I mean, uhhh… Should I provide some contact info or something?”

“Actually, I think I have an easier solution for both of us." The unicorn looked back at the piece, and then around the room to make sure the space had adequate lighting. "Hmmm… Would you mind if I take a picture to show her?"

Canvas blinked a few times in confusion, and tried to figure out how in Equestria this pony was going to do that. He couldn't see a camera anywhere on the stallion, and the only ones he had seen were bulky enough to require back harnesses to keep them in place. "Umm… sure, I guess...”

“Ah, thank you!” Fancy Pants lit up his horn, and used his magic to pull out a small-looking camera from the inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket. Canvas' eyes widened in surprise when he saw how tiny the camera was,which looked to be a hoof-held device. Even though technology had come a long way in recent years, the stallion still looked just as bewildered as Troy did. The gryphon was still perched atop the wall, and the way he stared at Fancy’s camera resembled the look an owl would give while his head skewed so strongly to one side.

With a quick flash of light, Fancy Pants took the photo in an instant before levitating the camera back into his pocket. As he adjusted his collar with his amber-hued magic, the unicorn froze for a moment and gasped in relevation.

"Oh that’s right!” Before Canvas or Filthy could ask what was up, Fancy turned back to Canvas with an optimistic smile. “I almost forgot, but I happen to know where she's going to be! I'm planning on meeting her at a social in Baltimare later this week. Have you ever been there?"

Canvas tried not to wince as he shook his head. “No, I honestly haven’t. Sorry.”

"Oh, don’t worry about that,” he assured Canvas with a wave of his manicured hoof. “There’s always plenty of time to travel for ponies your age. But if you're interested, I would love for you to attend the social as well."

Canvas had to do a double take, and reeled his head back in an attempt to keep from appearing too shocked. "W-wait, what!? Are… are you serious right now?"

“Absolutely,” said the unicorn with a nod, before he levitated a piece of paper and a pen out from his jacket. "I know this may seem a bit sudden, but I think your artwork is simply exquisite. And since you’re just starting your own business, this could be a great opportunity to get your hoof in the door. Not to mention, I’m certain that your paintings could make quite the splash among my associates and friends."

Canvas stood in a frozen state, and had to take a moment to properly process what this stallion was offering him. Did some rich unicorn just invite him to a huge elite social event? Just because of his art? Was this some elaborate dream crafted by Princess Luna herself? Or was it just a huge setup to a joke?

Fortunately though, Canvas could see the genuine interest on Fancy Pants' face, and could tell he was being sincere with his invitation. Even though he had heard stories about artists being used for others’ personal gain or exploitation, Canvas couldn’t catch anything ominous or two-faced when he caught sight of that charming smile. If anything, it truly seemed that Fancy Pants was wanting to help out a rising artist who he saw potential in.

Canvas eventually looked back at Troy, who was already smiling cheerfully for him. "You know what? I totally think you should do it, dude! I mean, you were hoping to find some more clients, right?"

I agree with your friend one hundred percent!,” said Filthy Rich with an equally convinced tone of voice. "I've known Fancy Pants here for years, and I can't think of too many ponies I trust more than him. So, what do you say?"

As Canvas looked around the room, he could feel his heart racing from the three pairs of eyes staring and waiting for an answer. Canvas looked down to the ground, and bit his lip briefly before taking a deep breath. This was a big chance for him, but so was everything else that happened over the past couple of months. Heck, he was lucky to even be alive, let alone in a situation with this much promise laid out before him...

It only took a few seconds of thought, but Canvas looked back at the unicorn with a confident grin before giving his answer: "Well… If you really feel like my work will make an impression, I’d be more than happy to accept your invitation."

Canvas’ hoof may have trembled a bit while shaking Fancy’s in agreement, but he couldn’t have felt happier about his decision by the time their deal was made.

Due to the scorching weather that struck Equestria without warning, the number of ponies waiting at the Ponyville Train Station was surprisingly small. Even though Cloudsdale’s weather teams tried their hardest to maintain the incoming summer heat waves, there were only so many clouds to spread around for shade and cooler temperatures. And since Ponyville’s teams had to place emphasis on the Schoolhouse for children’s safety, most of the town’s adults were trying to keep cool indoors as much as they could.

But regardless of how close temperatures were getting to three digits, neither the heat nor the lack of crowds seemed to faze Canvas too badly. Aside from a couple beads of sweat lingering across his brow, the stallion sat patiently by himself at the bench while waiting for his train to Baltimare. Several large canvas boards of his finished works were securely strapped together and sitting alongside his personal bags. The luggage fees may have been a pain, but Canvas was mostly grateful he wouldn't have to walk that far with the load until he reached the city.

Canvas instinctively wiped his head with his foreleg, and cringed a little when he saw how much sweat had already soaked into his fur. When he grabbed a water bottle from his art bag, he heard a quick 'whoosh' before a cool gust of wind suddenly hit him. The stallion shivered a little from that surprisingly pleasant (albeit short-lived) breeze, and he quickly looked up to the skies for the source.

A bright trail of rainbow light was already starting to fade as Rainbow Dash landed at the end of the train station. She wiped her brow before quickly trotting up to Canvas, even though she looked fairly exhausted from flying around in the heat unprotected.

"Hey Canvas!" she shouted, before she paused for a second and breathed out slowly. The mare then slowed down her pace as she continued walking, almost as if she regretted trying to move that quickly in this weather. "Hey, before you go to Baltimare, you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, I gue--” Canvas’ words stopped as Rainbow Dash came in closer, and his eyes widened in shock from how parched she appeared. Her cyan fur was damp and matted to her skin from sweat, which made her coat look a shade or two darker than usual. When she finally reached Canvas, he could hear her heavy panting as she tried to catch her breath. He quickly pulled out a second water bottle he was carrying, and hoofed it to her before he spoke again. "Here you go, Rainbow. You really shouldn't be pushing yourself."

"Oh, thanks!" Rainbow Dash's voice came out in a light gasp as she snatched the bottle, and she chugged half of it down in an instant. She gasped a few times, looking relieved to get some hydration in her system. After shuddering a little from the brisk relief to her drying tongue, Rainbow's voice came out slightly less raspier than before. "I just had to get some clouds over the retirement home. I usually have my sports drinks on me, but I went through all of them this morning."

Rainbow Dash took a few more breaths before finishing her bottle, and then tossing it back to Canvas. "So anyway, I was hoping to ask… What do you know about Troy?"

"Umm…” Canvas looked around for a second before glancing back at Rainbow with a raised brow. "What do you mean?"

"Well…” Rainbow wiped more sweat off from her face during her pause in words. "The guy's been working really hard the past few weeks, and he’s been making a good impression with the rest of the crew. And since he hangs out with you so much, I figure you might know what I could get him for his birthday next week."

"Oh, that’s a nice ide--Wait, WHAT!?" Canvas shot up from his seat with an extremely surprised look on his face. "His birthday is next week!?"

"Well, yeah." Rainbow answered with a shrug of her shoulders like it was common knowledge. Despite how bug-eyed the artist looked, she didn’t seem to notice how thrown back he was by that news. "I am his boss, you know! I kinda have to know his personal info."

Canvas may have been shocked to not know his friend’s birthday, but he couldn’t help shrugging back at her in response to that point.

"Anyways,” she continued with a wave of her hoof, "since you're his closest friend and all, I figured that maybe you know what he likes."

Canvas pulled his head back a little, and stared at Rainbow Dash in confusion. "Wait, you mean... I'm his closest friend?"

Now it was Rainbow’s turn to look confused. After blinking a couple times in puzzlement, she huffed with a cheeky smirk and replied, "Well, duh! Of course you are! I mean, he spends most of his time outside work with you! What did you think he was?"

"I…” Canvas’ words trailed off as he stared down at his hooves, looking absolutely dumbfounded. He knew that they hung out a lot, and they certainly had a lot of fun; but even though he considered Troy to be his best friend, he didn't think that their friendship was that mutual. He figured that since the gryphon lived in Cloudsdale for so long, that Troy probably had a lot of other friends there. Heck, it was weird enough to think that he was a closer friend to Troy than most gryphons back in his homeland. After shaking his head, Canvas stared at the mare suspiciously and asked, "If that's true, then why didn't he tell me about his birthday? I mean, that's kind of a big thing not to tell a friend, you know!"

Upon seeing how upset Canvas looked, Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and sighed in response. "Dude, it’s not like that at all. If anything, Troy probably doesn’t care about his own birthday.”

Canvas cocked his head in even deeper confusion. “Wait… How could someone not care about their birthday?”

“I have no idea,” she replied with a genuine shrug of confusion herself, “but gryphons have this weird thing about not celebrating their birthdays. I think they see it as being like… Narcissistic or something? I’m not entirely sure, but I remember that detail when I had a gryphon as a friend back in the flight academy. She was really weirded out by birthday parties and stuff.”

Canvas wasn’t sure how to feel about such a foreign concept, and had to look away from Dash while processing his thoughts. However, despite how weirded out he felt about his friend possibly not wanting to celebrate his own birthday, he was still mostly pondering the fact that he was Troy’s best friend. He may have known that the gryphon moved to Equestria a few months before they met, but he wouldn’t have fathomed he would’ve made such an impact in such a short amount of time. Was that why Troy hung out with him so often? Is that why he didn’t talk much about the friends he had back in the Gryphon Kingdom? But most of all… How lonely would Troy have been if he hadn’t found Canvas back in that storm?

Rainbow waited a moment while the stallion thought things over, and decided to give a response when she overheard the engines of the train in the distance. She placed a hoof on Canvas’ shoulder, and pulled him back to reality when she said, "Seriously though, Canvas? Troy really does like being around you. I…”

The mare bit her lip and looked around, making sure nopony was eavesdropping on them. "I shouldn't be saying this to you, but... I’m pretty sure you're the reason he's being so social now. I mean, not many ponies knew about him until that storm prep, and he'd been around Cloudsdale for a while before that. But ever since he helped you out and started hanging around Ponyville, he's been a lot more outgoing and stuff."

Rainbow then let go of Canvas’ shoulder, and added with a sincere smile, "I mean it, dude. He may have helped you first, but... overall, I think you’re helping him a lot more."

Rainbow Dash hoped that her words made an impact while Canvas stood with a befuddled look on his face. He and Troy may have developed a solid friendship from the start, but Canvas wouldn’t have assumed the gryphon saw him as much more than some pony he helped out. But after hearing Dash’s honest assessment about him, Canvas couldn’t help blushing from the realization. Troy may have just been a friend, but… something about that reveal really helped to put Canvas in higher spirits than before.

After a smile creeped on Canvas' muzzle, he looked up at Rainbow Dash to see she had a satisfied grin of her own. Before either could say anything, a blaring voice boomed over the train station’s speakers.

"Next train boarding! Baltimare! Next train boarding!"

Both ponies saw the train pull in from the distance, the steam engines chugging along as it began to make its arrival. As the steam engine entered the station at a crawling pace, plumes of smoke from its stacks rumbled up to the skies while steam emanated from underneath. Canvas quickly picked up his bags and artwork, and he began to haul all the things over his back while Rainbow looked up at the sky.

"Welp, this is my train!" Canvas made sure everything was on him as the train doors opened up. While several ponies made their way out of the passenger car, Canvas glanced back at the mare and said, "Hey, Rainbow."

"Hm?"

When she looked back at him, Canvas gave her a smile and a gracious nod of his head. "Thank you. You know... for telling me all that."

The pegasus shot a warm smile back at him, but didn’t feel the need to say anything else. Canvas climbed into the passenger car after it emptied out, and was one of the first ponies to get into a vacant seat. Before Rainbow could fly off and get back to work, she heard Canvas' voice call out to her from a train window.

"He likes opera!”

Dash paused as she looked at him, with her face carrying a mix of surprise and disgust. "Wait, really? Opera!?"

Canvas happily nodded, and tried his hardest not to giggle from her confounded look. "Seriously, he likes opera music!"

After taking a moment to process that detail, Rainbow Dash chuckled to herself and said, “You know what? That’s something I never would’ve guessed! Thanks, Canvas!”

The train doors eventually closed, and the engines fired back up to make its departure from the station. Rainbow may have been one of the only ponies still standing at that scorching station, but she made sure to wave Canvas goodbye before the train could leave. The artist happily waved back at her from the window, and then disappeared back through the window as the car began to move. Even though she felt fine enough to fly right off again, Rainbow Dash waited until the train was out of sight before she flew off.

“Hmmm…” The mare’s muzzle skewed in thought as she soared through the muggy skies, and she muttered to herself, “I wonder if Rarity has any good opera albums to recommend…”

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

"Thirty-six, thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine, and… forty!"

Canvas looked on with a tired, but satisfied smile as he marveled at the large wall of white paint cans in front of him. Because of his success in Baltimare, he was able to buy all the supplies he needed to finally paint his house. Canvas knew that it would take a lot of hard work, even for several ponies at once. Even though he had the time to start on it today, he didn't feel like doing anything that tricky after just getting back home to Ponyville.

Not to mention, he certainly didn't want to start any work on his friend's birthday.

Canvas headed toward the backwoods that would lead him to Troy's place. Since he remembered what happened last time he tried venturing through the thick foliage, Canvas pulled out several lines of orange rope from his art bag before trotting into the forest. He wasn’t an expert on wilderness survival, but he did learn a few pointers over the years; and in this case, Canvas made sure to tie one of the orange ropes to the base of a tree every twenty feet so that he could retrace his steps.

Once the forest line became more familiar, Canvas couldn’t help smiling to himself in success. But still, he continued to tie more rope to the trees he passed until eventually saw the clearing of that field. By the time he finally ventured out to the region that hosted Troy’s cloud, Canvas looked back contentedly to see the clear trail of orange that would guide him back home.

Despite how embarrassed Troy was the last time he was caught, Canvas was secretly hoping that his friend would be singing some more; of course, that was less to do with seeing a funny reaction from the gryphon, and more because his voice was legitimately really good. Canvas may have not been an opera aficionado himself, but he’d buy a record of Troy’s the moment it was released. But before he could think too much about that hypothetical, all he could hear was Troy’s snoring when he looked up to the gryphon’s cloud. He knew it was Troy's day off, but he was still surprised to see that he wasn't up yet. Canvas knew it was likely a bad idea to wake up a dozing gryphon, but he nervously cleared his throat before calling out to him

"Good morning, Troy!"

A disgruntled groan could be heard up in the cloud, and Canvas tried his hardest not to instinctively grow worried about his own well-being. Fortunately for the pony, after an irritated gryphon's head popped out from the cloud’s side, Troy's expression immediately went from annoyance to pleased surprise. Troy’s brows rose up as he glanced down from his home with a grinning beak to boot. "Oh, hey Canvas!"

Troy quickly flew down to land in front of Canvas, and appeared rather cheerful despite his ruffled feathers. "Where have you been, man?” he asked with a tilt of his head. “I thought that Baltimare trip was only going to be for a day or two! I was this close to asking Twilight if something happened."

Upon seeing how closely Troy was holding two of his talons together for emphasis, Canvas tried not to blush too guiltily while smiling back at him. "Well, it was supposed to be,” he admitted with a light shrug, “but that social went really well for me! The paintings I brought with me sold like friggin’ hotcakes, and I ended up taking a few commissions on the spot! It took me a few extra days to get all the clients’ works finalized, but the pay was more than worth it!”

Troy’s face lit up excitedly, and he put out his claw for Canvas to bump. “Dude, that’s awesome! I told you that trip would be worth it!”

“Yeah, I’ll fully admit you were right there.” Canvas smiled warmly as he bumped the gryphon’s clenched claw, and then he added with a cheekier tone, “Plus... With my extra earnings, I was lucky to get enough bits for your birthday gift."

Troy's eyes widened a bit before his face drooped down, and he groaned under his breath. "Ugh… Seriously, Canvas? You really didn't have to buy me a gift for my birthday."

Canvas raised his eyebrows while staring back at him in confoundment. "Wow, Rainbow Dash was right! Do you seriously not celebrate your own birthday?"

"Well…" When he saw how baffled the pony looked from that revelation, Troy looked away from him with an awkward skew of his beak. He started to straighten out the ruffled feathers across his neck as he tried to explain. "Back in the Gryphon Kingdom, most of us don't really see the point of it. I mean, it’s not like we don’t celebrate anything, but we don’t really see the reason to celebrate the day we're born. It just seems kinda narcissistic, you know? Like, 'Hey, I survived another year! Buy me something!'"

Canvas narrowed his eyes as he tried to fathom the gryphon's words. From the way he was gawking at the gryphon, it was like Troy just tried to explain quantum physics to him in traditional Zebrican. "Seriously? That's kind of a cynical way to think about birthdays, dude!"

Troy could understand how a pony could be so befuddled, but all he could do was shrug his shoulders in response. "Hey, that's just how I was raised. I mean, I get it's a big thing around here, but it just seems weird to me."

Canvas looked like he wanted to say something more about it, but he eventually sighed before nodding in understanding. He then regrew an optimistic smile before saying, "Well, considering that you’re my friend, it seems only fair to show my appreciation. And since you literally saved my life, I’m not gonna apologize for getting you a birthday gift."

If it wasn’t for that last part, Troy likely would’ve tried to say otherwise about accepting a gift. Bit given the circumstances, he mirrored Canvas’ grin all the same. "Well, thank you,” he said with a genuine nod of his head. “So… do you have it with you or something?"

"Actually, ummm...” Canvas made sure to look around before continuing his answer. "I can’t really give it to you now. But if you’re not doing anything, can you be at my place at eight tonight?"

Troy pondered the question for a moment, but didn’t seem too weirded-out by his friend’s request. "Well… I know I was supposed to help out at Lyra and Bon-Bon's place today for some candy tasting, but that's about it…"

Troy didn't notice Canvas’ smirk, which was most likely due to the pony knowing something his friend didn’t. But upon realizing his schedule was clear after that meeting, Troy nodded in acceptance to Canvas’ request. "Alright, that sounds good. I'll be there at eight."

Canvas' smile grew even bigger than before, and his tail wagged excitedly enough to smack against his cutie marks. "Great! I gotta get some other things done today, but trust me! I think you're really gonna like it!"

Since both of them had plans, Canvas and Troy said their goodbyes before the pony started heading back to the woods. However, he stopped at the treeline to turn back to Troy, and shouted out, “Oh! And one more thing! Be sure you come alone."

Given how insistently Canvas gave that clarification, Troy cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Umm… why?"

Canvas didn’t give an answer, and merely winked at him with a coy smirk and said, "Just trust me, okay?"

Troy wasn't sure what to think about Canvas’ request, despite his reassuring smile.But if the gryphon learned anything from the time he spent with Canvas, it was that he wasn’t the kind of pony to screw him over. After giving a quick sigh, Troy nodded back at him and replied, “Oh, alright then. I trust you, Canvas.”

The stallion shot his friend a thankful smile, and then waved him goodbye before disappearing back into the woods. When the pony was out of eyesight, Troy looked back up at his cloud, not sure of what he was going to do until the afternoon. After shrugging to himself, Troy said to nobody in particular, “Eh, I might as well shower before visiting Lyra and Bon-Bon. It’s not anything big is gonna happen…”

"SURPRISE!!"

“GAAAHHHH!!!” Just as Troy opened the door to Lyra and Bon-Bon's sweet shop, he shot back out into the street in shock. His pupils were as thin as pin-pricks as he stared wide-eyed back at the crowd of ponies inside the building. Most of the ponies looked surprised at his reaction, but they weren’t worried enough to keep a mass of giggles from following suit. Meanwhile, Troy’s feathers were so ruffled that he looked like a puffball with a beak.

After groaning under his breath, Troy quickly rubbed his feathers back down while the ponies kept snickering. Even though he should’ve realized it from the get-go, it turned out the whole ‘candy testing’ thing was just a ruse for a surprise party.

However, once Troy got his feathers straightened out and his heart rate back to normal, the party went alright when he finally went inside. He was fairly surprised that none of his coworkers or Rainbow Dash showed up (or Canvas, for that matter), but Troy didn't mind that too much as he conversed with Pinkie Pie and others who were there.

As he drank his third bottle of watermelon soda, Lyra and Bon-Bon walked up to him with cheeky smiles. Lyra had her horn brightly lit, which helped to hold two wrapped gifts in her aura. "Happy Birthday, Troy!" said Bon-Bon while pointing at the gifts.

“Oh! Uhhh… thank you!” Even though Troy wouldn’t say that the mares weren’t friends of his, he was still rather surprised that these two would go all-out for him like this. Since he considered the two to be more friends of Canvas than himself, Troy smiled meekly as they hoofed the gifts towards. "Wow, I… I don’t know what to say. I can't believe you two would do all this for me."

"Well, why not?" said Lyra with a skewed brow and sassy grin. "You're a really good friend to Canvas, so I don’t see why we wouldn't help out. Besides, Pinkie Pie was the one who did most of this."

The couple glanced back at the pink mare, who was now dancing on the shop counter with a lampshade on her head. Even though the mare’s antics were enough to incite a ton of laughter from the other patrons, Bon-Bon looked worried over whether the glass counter was going to hold Pinkie's weight. Meanwhile, Lyra just chuckled when she turned back towards Troy. "Seriously, I have no idea how she does this all the time without getting worn out. She just loves throwing parties, no matter the occasion."

"Yeah, I can see that,” Troy said while staring at the borderline-insane pony. After shaking his head in disbelief, he turned back to Lyra with a curious look. "Speaking of Canvas, though... I'm kinda surprised he's not here."

"Well, he did say something about getting some paintings started when we met him at the train station…” Lyra tapped the bottom of her chin with a hoof, and then looked up at Troy to ask, “Didn't he say anything to you?"

"Well…” Troy thought back to their conversation earlier that morning. Even though the topic of incoming paintings didn’t come up, he recalled what Canvas said about a gift for him tonight. "I did promise Canvas I’d be at his place at eight for something. He wouldn't tell me what, though."

"Oh, really?~" Lyra immediately grew a devilish-looking grin as she perked her brows suggestively. "Is it a date?"

Troy merely scoffed and rolled his eyes back at her. "No, it's not. Canvas is just a friend, alright? He just wanted to give me a birthday gift, and he wanted to show up alone."

Troy hoped that would end her suspicion, but that last detail of his answer made Lyra cheeky stare at him for a little longer. Fortunately, she did revert back to a regular smile, and let the gryphon’s response slide with a shrug while Bon-Bon turned back to Troy.

"So what are you waiting for?" asked Bon-Bon, who pointed a hoof at the unopened gifts still in Troy's claws. "It’s not the boxes themselves we’re gifting, you know! Presents have things inside of them~"

“Wow,” remarked Lyra while eyeing her wife coyly, “and you call me sassy.”

“Hey, it’s totally fine,” said Troy in assurance. “I probably would’ve said something like that if I thought of it.” The gryphon then went to open the first present, which gave Bon-Bon the chance to stick out her tongue teasingly back at Lyra. The unicorn huffed in response with a forgiving smile, and used her magic to pick up the shreds of yellow and blue wrapping paper Troy ripped from the box. A large smile grew on Troy's beak when he saw it was a large bag of Lemon Drops, which looked like they were freshly crafted by the candy-maker. "Wow! This is really thoughtful, Bon-Bon! Thank you so much!"

Bon-Bon grinned proudly back at him, Lyra tried to interject with a cautious expression on her face. "You better be careful, Troy. I swear the last time she made lemon candies, one of them tried to bite me!"

“Ugh!” Bon-Bon instantly turned to her spouse with a bitter scowl. "For crying out loud, can you quit saying that?! I keep telling you, the hard candy probably shrank in your mouth from the saliva or something! Seriously, how can candy even bite somepony? It's almost as crazy as the time you said you saw a human looking through our window!"

Lyra’s glare immediately turned serious as she eyed her wife intensely, and said with an unrelenting tone of voice. "There was a human. He was wearing a pink hat!”

The moment Troy saw Bon-Bon roll her eyes with an umanused groan, he returned his attention to the second gift before the two could start bickering. Unlike the first gift, the item in Troy’s other claw was a smaller box wrapped with a familiar mint-green paper. When he opened the top flap, Troy’s brows rose in surprise when he saw a small cassette player with a pair of matching headphones. "Wow, a walkman?” he asked with a huge smile growing across his beak. “That's awesome, Lyra! I've been meaning to get something like this for my flights."

Lyra quickly stopped her arguments about her ‘Mystery Human,’ and turned her attention back to the gryphon with a thankful smile. "Yeah, I figured you might enjoy something like that. Also…”

Using her magic, Lyra pulled out a small card from behind the counter and levitated it to Troy. "I wasn't sure what kind of music you liked, so here's a gift card for that music store in Cloudsdale. I've had it on me for a while, but I haven't been able to really use it for obvious reasons. I don’t want it to go to waste, so here you go!"

As he took the card with his claw, Troy’s eyes widened in shock when he saw the amount Lyra’s gift was worth. “Holy crap, forty bits?! This is really nice of you, Lyra!"

"Hey, that's what friends are for,” she said with a shrug and a warm smile up at him. “I know that we don’t hang out with you as much as Canvas, but we still really appreciate everything you’ve been doing. Not just for him, but for Ponyville too.”

A small blush came up across the gryphon’s cheeks, and Troy felt his chest get a little lighter. Even though he couldn’t say anything against Lyra’s claim, he couldn’t deny how nice they’ve been to him whenever they met up. Of course, when he caught that last part of the unicorn’s remark, Troy couldn’t help glancing around the shop with a touched look on his face.

With all the cheerful ponies hanging out and laughing without a care in the world, Troy’s smile grew wider when he thought back to when he started working on the weather patrol. Despite how strangely ponies may have first reacted to seeing a gryphon around town on the regular, Troy couldn’t deny how quickly it took for the town’s citizens to warm up to his presence. Unlike back home in the Gryphon Kingdom, ponies didn’t hesitate to show their kindness and generosity whenever Troy finished a hard day’s work. And while he still thought birthday parties were an odd thing to do, Troy couldn’t mind it one bit as he turned his attention back to Lyra and Bon-Bon. Instead, the gryphon tried his hardest not to look too emotion as a grateful beam spread across his beak.

"Yeah, it… It really means a lot to hear that. And you guys are really good friends too."

Lyra and Bon-Bon were quick to hug him. Troy closed his eyes as he hugged them back, making sure not to cling too tightly and accidentally hurt the mares. However, Troy then felt a large weight pressing down on his back, and heard Pinkie Pie’s voice as she shouted, "Oh, come on! I want to be part of the group hug too!"

After the party died down, Troy helped Lyra and Bon-Bon with cleaning up the shop, despite how much they tried to claim that wasn’t necessary; the cleanup wasn’t too taxing, but the gryphon was surprised by how many candy wrappers were strewn around the place. After a few final hugs and goodbyes, Troy decided to venture off to Cloudsdale to make use of his giftcard. The mare behind the counter at the record store seemed a little taken aback when he entered the place, but Troy didn’t try to feel too judged while scanning through the store’s music selection.

Troy was surprised by how much pricier tapes were in comparison to records, so he bought just a few opera cassettes for his flights. As he walked back to the counter, he also decided to get a tape placed near the register: a cassette with a grey mare on the cover holding a cello, titled ‘Octavia: Concerto in Canterlot.’

After his items were rung up, Troy added the batteries to his walkman as he walked out of the store. Then he put the Octavia cassette in, pressed play, and flew off.

Though Troy liked listening to opera while flying overall, doing it with a cassette and headphones was a much better experience than his previous methods. It used to be that if he wanted to fly around with music, he’d have to settle with soaring in circles around his record player on the ground. The sounds of the different instruments flowed to Troy's ears through those headphones, and carried a lot more clarity that made him grin the entire time he soared back towards his home.

When he reached his lake and cloud, Troy was pleased to see that nopony else was around. Since he was alone again, Troy quickly popped out the Octavia cassette (which was actually really impressive for an earth pony) while hovering in the air, and pulled out one of the other tapes in his satchel.

He grinned to himself as he selected one particular tape, titled ‘Verdi - Rigoletto.’ He may have not cared too much about birthdays, but he was willing to use his own as an excuse to listen to one of his favorite tracks. He quickly fast-forwarded the tape to search for a particular section, and his wings fluttered in the air when he found the specific song he was hoping for. Troy cleared his throat as he heard the orchestral arrangement begin to play in his ears with crystal clarity.

The vintage strings began to play out the beginning parts, and the gryphon spread his wings out as he flew around the clear skies. His body flipped around like an acrobat, but his headphones were able to stay secure on his head. Troy felt absolutely fantastic upon realizing he could go all-out while singing in the air, and have no fears of being unable to hear the music due to high winds. He couldn’t have appreciated the portability of his new device more than in that moment, since it could always be by his side and keep him from feeling restrained by the player's range of sound.

Since there wasn’t a pony in sight in the skies, Troy spun around like crazy as he let the music take over. His nerves tingled from the elating energy flowing through his body as he began to sing, and his operatic voice belted out passionately amongst the silent skies:

“La donna, mobileeee!! Qual piuma al vento!! muta d'accento, e di pensiero…
Sempre un amabileeee, leggiadro visoo… in pianto o in riso, menzognero…”

His voice grew even louder for the bigger part, and Troy started flying higher upward. Since he had no restraints, Troy felt ecstatic that he could fly this high while still hearing the music clearly from his tape.

“La donna, mobil… qual piuma al vento…”

Troy stopped when he was several hundred feet in the air, and hovered in the skies as he sang the next long verse.

“Muta d'acc - eeeeeento…”

Troy quickly shot down to the lake with his wings pulled in as he kept singing, his voice picking back up.

“E di pensier!!”

His wings shot back out just a few feet above the lake, and Troy glided over the shimmering water like an eagle keen on catching a fish with its claws. As the motion of his flight caused a sizeable wave to grow behind him, Troy continued soaring a mere few inches from the surface as he kept going.

“E di pensier!!!”

Troy quickly landed on the ground, leaving an impressive skid mark on the grass, and belted out the first big finish of the song to the nature around him.

“Eeeeeeee... E di pensier!!!”

With a huge grin on his face, and an unrelenting rush of excitement from the experience he found himself in, Troy shot back up to the skies as he sang the song’s second half. The gryphon performed several barrel-rolls and flips through the air, as his singing filled the serenity of the forest. As he reached the end of the song, Troy landed on the edge of his cloud, and lingered at the outside of his entrance as he got to the final big finish.

“EeeEEeeEE DIIII…”

After bursting inside of his cloud with a theatrical raising of his claw, Troy sang out the last part with gusto into the open room like he was on a grand stage:

“PEN-SIEEEEEEeeeaaaahhh!!!!”

Troy's voice went from a powerful belt to an inaudible screech halfway through the line. The very moment his eyes reopened, Troy ended up standing in his room with a look of frozen shock. Standing in front of him, in his living quarters, were Rainbow Dash and the rest of the weather team. Much like Troy, the ponies remained deathly silent while staring at the gryphon with their jaws wide open.

Above the group, a banner was hung from the top of the cloud structure that said, ‘Happy Birthday Troy!’

Of course, Troy didn't notice the banner, as he was too busy trying not to piss himself while still holding his claw up. He stayed silent as his beak hung open, the music from his cassette player could still be heard coming out of his headphones.

After what felt like an eternity, Troy slowly used his other claw to shakily press the 'stop' button on his walkman. Unfortunately, the abrupt pause to his orchestrals meant that he was stuck in a very awkward bout of silence while facing his work crew. The only sound that could be heard was the rapid breathing from Rainbow Dash's snout, whose face was scrunched in while trying desperately not to burst out laughing.

Troy’s feathers started to ruffle back out from his body, and his face began twitching uncontrollably by the time he tried to speak. Unfortunately, his voice came out in a very faint creak while gawking back at his coworkers.

"... Why… are you in my house…?”

Holding a hoof to her muzzle, Rainbow Dash clenched her eyes shut and tried to control her muffled snickering. The other ponies had to look away from the gryphon, mostly due to how stunned they were from the impromptu performance they just heard him performing outside. Meanwhile, Dash’s words came out in one quick breath as she tried to keep herself from cracking up.

"... Mmf… ggng… itwasasurpriseparty… mmhmmm…”

While the rest of the weather crew either just stood in shock or tried to muffle their own laughter, Troy's outward claw finally came down to the floor. Of course, his talons were still shaking alongside the rest of his body as he desperately tried to think of anything to say. Knowing very well that his cloud wasn't soundproof, he could only stand in his stunned state from the realization that his boss, as well as all his coworkers, just listened to him sing the entirety of ‘La Donna É Mobile’.

With his feathers now fully ruffled out, which drew even more snickering from his coworkers, Troy managed to speak once more. His voice was slightly more audible, but the strong twitches from his bulging eyes made it look like he was either going to have a heart-attack, or a response that would lead to several ponies being thrown out of his cloud.

"... I-I… already HAD a surprise party…”

Rainbow Dash's legs started shaking as she looked away from Troy, and several more chortles slipped from her clenched muzzle. She tried to nod to Troy’s point as she kept her eyes closed, but she already looked like she was laughing from how much her head was convulsing up and down. And dispute how badly she was struggling to remain silent out of respect, her response to Troy was basically the

"... That… Th-That was the surprise!”

Not able to hold it in any longer, Rainbow Dash fell to the floor with tears trailing down her face as she howled in laughter. Even though Troy looked like he was going to go into full-on murder mode against them, the rest of the weather crew couldn't contain themselves either. And less than a minute, the sound of Troy’s singing was replaced with the uproar of laughter that echoed far across the field below his cloud.

"Another round for my buddy here, the birthday boy!" shouted Rainbow Dash, who looked to be in high spirits with a hoof wrapped around Troy’s shoulder.

The weather crew cheered again while bunched together across the counter of the Cloudsdale sports bar. Troy couldn’t help smiling contentedly as well, and took another shot as he sat on his tiny stool. Despite how furious he felt at having his coworkers laughing at him in his own home, he managed to loosen up a little after they all quickly apologized afterward.

Troy didn't plan on doing anything else that afternoon, so he felt alright enough to agree to go with them to celebrate his birthday. After a few shots and some good laughs, Troy was really beginning to warm up to the whole ‘birthday’ thing.

Two of his coworkers, who were a pair of identical twins, started to chat with him at the bar. The duo, who Troy knew to be Flitter and Cloud Chaser, seemed especially interested to talk with him some more after the whole cloud incident. Despite their identical shades of light-purple coats and light-blue manes, the only real distinctive difference between them was the pink bow in Flitter's mane, which bobbed up and down as she cheerfully sang his praises. "So Troy, do you like, sing professionally or anything? Because you could totally get yourself a singing career with that voice!”

"Yeah, totally!" said Cloud Chaser as she dipped her head next to her sister's. "If you sold an album, we’d both buy copies of it the opening day!"

Even with how genuinely they complimented his talents, Troy just scoffed to himself and turned away from them. "No, no, I haven't. And I don't really plan to, thank you very much."

"Aw. come ooooooon!” whined both the mares in unison. When he glanced back at the twins, he saw that Flitter and Cloud Chaser looked legitimately disappointed in his response. The first twin continued, "Seriously, you should totally try singing at, like, concerts and stuff! I mean, I don’t even listen to opera, but I would totally pay a ticket for that!"

“A-And not as a joke either!” clarified Cloudchaser, which was followed with a firm nod from her sister. “Like, you could give a stellar performance if you really tried for it.”

"I can’t believe I'm saying this,” said Rainbow Dash, who caught Troy’s attention from his other side, “but I agree with both of them."

Troy turned his head back to Rainbow Dash with his brows raised in surprise. Considering how loudly she was cracking up from his performance just a couple hours ago, he wasn’t expecting her to compliment him now while munching on a plate of mozzarella sticks. After downing another deep-fried stick of goodness, the pegasus swallowed before she looked back at him with a smirk. "I mean, I hate opera! I honestly can’t see why Rarity or Twilight like it so much. But I have to say, you really do have a knack at singing the stuff, dude! I mean, I don't think I'd actually pay to listen to that kind of thing, but I know a lot of ponies would."

Troy may have been skeptical about his abilities to say the least, but he had to blink a couple times in confoundment of his coworkers’ praises. Not to mention, he could tell from Rainbow’s insistent tone that she truly meant every word she said to him. But as the gryphon stared off towards the bottles on the wall across from them, Rainbow huffed with a shrug of her shoulders and added, "I mean, I knew Canvas said you liked opera and all, but he never told me you, like, sang it!"

"Wait, when did he tell you that?" Troy may have been grateful to hear his friend didn't mention the singing part, but he was surprised that Canvas mentioned anything of the sort to his boss.

"I caught him at the train station before he went to Baltimare,” she replied with a casual shrug between bites of her mozzarella sticks. “I asked him what would be a good gift for you, and he told me you liked opera. How did you think I knew to get you that record?"

"Ohhhh." Troy slowly nodded, and was quick to recall the opera record she had gifted him back in his cloud. Even though she was still giggling when she presented it, she was also really glad when he mentioned it was one he was planning to buy. All the other gifts from his coworkers were thoughtful as well, and included a new satchel, some Wonderbolts patches from the twins, and a really nice pair of claw trimmers from Thunderlane. Nevertheless, the album collection of Cosí Fan Tutte from Rainbow Dash was claws-down Troy’s favorite present from the group.

And as he sat with his coworkers at the bar, Troy was beginning to feel less insecure about his hobby as more of them raved about his singing. At first, he thought that Canvas was just complimenting him because he was his friend; but now, the gryphon was trying his hardest not to blush as everypony else went on about how great he really was.

While half of them tried to get him to use the karaoke machine nearby (which was about as fruitless as teaching Pinkie Pie how to sit still), Troy glanced up at a nearby clock on the wall. His eyes shot wide-open when he saw that it was already close to seven o'clock.

"Yeesh, we've been here that long? Troy downed the remainder of his pint in one go, and was just about to get himself off his stool. “I gotta get back home so I can meet up with Canvas at eight."

"What for?" asked Rainbow Dash after downing her mug of root beer.

"Oh, he said he had a birthday gift for me,” he answered with a lighthearted shrug of his head, “so I'm gonna head there to see what it is."

"Oooohhhh, I see." Rainbow Dash gave the gryphon a cheeky grin, which looked very similar to the one that Lyra gave at his first party. Because of her tone, Troy paused before he could get out of his seat.

"Okay, what is it?” Troy wasn’t willing to put up with much more after the cloud incident, and was quick to shoot a warning stare back at her. “Seriously, I really don't see what the big deal is!"

Seeing his irritation, Rainbow Dash turned her expression a bit more serious, albeit still smiling a bit. Nevertheless, she still held her hooves up in innocence and said, "Nothing, nothing at all!"

Although he could tell there was something, Troy was just about to let it go before she added, "I'm just surprised to see you dating, that's all."

“UGH!” Troy’s groan was loud enough to catch the attention of several of his coworkers, who turned to see him rolling his eyes in annoyance. "Oh, come on! You too?!"

Troy looked fairly irritated at her assumption, and spoke up before Dash could get the chance to defend herself. "It is not a date, Rainbow! I'm just visiting a friend, and that's all he is! Just because I hang out with a gay friend doesn’t mean anything, and I think you would know better than to make assumptions like that!" He sighed deeply while glancing away from her, which kept him from noticing Rainbow Dash biting her lip in guilt.

"Umm…” Rainbow felt a little uneasy as she squirmed in her stool, but only needed to let out a light huff before saying sincerely, “I'm sorry, Troy. You're right. I shouldn't make assumptions like that."

"Nah, it's alright,” assured Troy apologetically with a wave of his claw. “I'm sorry for snapping at you. You didn’t deserve that. It's just that Lyra thought that too. It's really weird, you know?"

Even though he knew he had to get home soon, Troy decided to remain in his stool for a little while longer. Rainbow Dash nodded her head in understanding, and waited a moment to make sure he really wasn't mad at her. She was sure he was going to get snippy, but she couldn’t help saying with a shrug, “You know, the two of you do spend a lot of time together…”

"So? Is that so bad?" He didn't like where Rainbow was getting at, even though he knew she had a fair point. "He's a good friend, and he's pretty cool to hang out with. Besides, he’s really been helping me be more social recently, so I seriously don't see why everypony’s making such a big deal."

"It's not a big deal, it's really not,” said Rainbow before she finished her mug. Since she didn’t want any awkward silence between the two of them, she cleared her throat before asking, "So Troy, did he know about your singing thing?"

Troy chuckled under his breath, and even smiled in response to her question. "Yeah, he did. He decided to find me at my cloud right when I was in the middle of Vesti La Giubba." Troy huffed to himself, only to look back at his boss and see her staring confusedly back at him. "It's a song from Pagliacci, an opera made by Leo--oh, never mind!"

Troy brushed the rest of the comment away with a swipe his claw, while Rainbow Dash just shrugged her shoulders. Of course, after thinking about what Troy said, Rainbow cou;dn’t help giggling when she said, "Man, I bet he was surprised to hear you like that!"

A smirk came across Troy's beak as he remembered how Canvas looked.

"Yeah,” he said with a nod of his head. “His face was pretty cute."

When the bartender handed Troy another complimentary drink, Troy began to down it without realizing what he said. However, it didn’t take long before he suddenly spat it back out with a shocked look on his face. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was staring at him all bug-eyed, and looked like she was going to give another reaction like back in his cloud. The startled gryphon held out his claws and sputtered out a correction. "Priceless!! I meant priceless! His face was… priceless. You know, like, funny and stuff. I didn't mean like… like…”

Seeing how flustered he was getting, Rainbow's head hit the bar as she started laughing. A few of Troy’s other coworkers heard enough of his comment to struggle not to giggle as well, which just caused his face to turn even redder. Not wanting to deal with any more of her pestering, Troy grabbed his satchel and shot off his stool. He made a beeline towards the exit, and kept his head pointed to the ground as he shouted, "I gotta go, guys! See you at work!"

Troy didn't listen to the groans from his coworkers as he walked across the bar, and was instead trying desperately to avoid thinking about that slip of the tongue. By the time he reached the door, he didn't look back when he heard Rainbow Dash yelling for him.

"Troy, wait! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to laugh, jus--"

Her voice cut off as Troy closed the door behind him. Before any of the ponies could have the chance to reel him back to the bar, he spread his wings and flew off. He didn't want to ditch his coworkers like that, but he also didn't want to deal with the awkward aftermath of what he just said. Not to mention, it wasn't like he meant it or anything. It was just a fluke, or a miscommunication of words on the gryphon’s behalf.

While trying his hardest to shake his head clear of that mistake, Troy managed to get back to his lake in record time. He tossed his satchel into the cloud before heading for the waterfall. Since it was close to evening, the waterfall was even colder than usual as Troy plunged his head into the wall of cascading water. The freezing water was more than enough to jolt Troy's conscience from thinking of it any more, and he eventually sighed with a refreshed shiver while droplets rolled off his feathers.

After about ten minutes of lying under the waterfall in silence, Troy silently soared back up to his cloud. He was still shivering from the freezing temperature, but Troy was quick to shake himself off like a wet dog before stepping inside. His satchel remained on the floor, but couldn’t think to pick it back up while his mind remained numbly blank.

Troy eventually looked at his alarm clock to see it was almost eight. Even though he felt more than a little hesitant to see Canvas after what just happened, Troy knew better than to go back on a promise to his friend. But alas, he had to take a deep breath while checking his feathers, making sure they weren't too wet or ruffled. And by the time he stepped from his cloud and spread his wings open, Troy hoped more than anything that he could keep his head clear as he flew off to Canvas’ place.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Yeah, his face was pretty cute.

Pretty cute.

Cute.

Troy knew how dumb it was to fly with a clouded mind, but he still couldn't stop thinking about that one bucking word. That’d never happened before, so why did it happen then? Though he knew it was just a small mix-up of words, he didn't want to think about why that particular word popped up in the first place.

A gust of wind brushed past him as he soared through the dusk skies. Troy tried to focus on his surroundings while so high up in the air, mostly in hope that the slightest thing could shut up his stupid thoughts. But when he saw Canvas' house in the distance, Troy tried not to take notice of how quickly his heart sank into his stomach. While he certainly didn’t want to turn back like a coward, he also wasn’t sure of what to do when he got there. Surely that slip of the tongue wasn’t enough to make him feel awkward around the stallion.

Would it?

Troy was just about to cringe from that random thought slipping into his head, which only intensified the feelings he was trying so hard to avoid for this night. But before he could do anything to quell his uncertainties, the gryphon’s wings shot open as he stopped midair.

Troy's eyes widened in an instant, and a distinct scent caught his senses strongly enough to make his pupils shrink. It had been months since he left the Gryphon Kingdom, but that familiar aroma of salty savoriness still hit him like a bag of bricks. After taking several rapid sniffs like a bloodhound, his sights peered downward when he realized it was coming from Canvas' house. His left eye twitched without him even realizing it, and he shot to the barn like a bullet.

Meanwhile in the barn itself, Canvas was working studiously in his kitchen to get everything done before eight. Even though the process took a bit longer than he’d like to admit, the pony hoped that Troy wouldn’t be late. As the cast iron skillet sizzled the contents inside, Canvas tightened both his ponytail and his apron, not wanting to get hit with the scalding-hot splatter of that grease again. The smell that filled his home was borderline nauseating for the vegetarian, but he persisted enough to pull the last of the sizzling pieces out of the skillet with the tongs in his teeth. He then carefully placed them on the plate lined with paper towels, and brought down the dial on his stove to a simmer for later on.

Canvas was just about to bring the plate to the table, but he nearly dropped it when he jolted from a loud barrage of knocks at his door. The stallion yelped sharply enough to make his fur stuck out, but was grateful that he didn’t stumble after the preparations he made. He quickly rubbed his fur back down before putting the plate down, and smirked to himself when he went to answer the door.

“Hey there, birthda--GAAAHHH!!” Canvas inadvertently shrieked when he saw Troy at his door, even though he was expecting him to arrive. The gryphon’s stare was downright terrifying as he stood before him with a serious expression, and almost took up the entire doorway in his upright stance. Troy didn’t say anything as he eyed him down, which made it look like he was trying to break something down with his wide-eyed stare alone. As Canvas stood with a fretful look, he could see how much the gryphon’s eyes were darting around like a hawk looking for its kill.

"Umm… h-hey Troy!” he said while trying to recompose himself, and he shot the gryphon a friendly-looking smile. “S-So, I just got the--"

"I smell bacon."

Canvas took a second to blink in disbelief from his friend’s statement, but then gawked as he looked back at the kitchen. "S-seriously?! You can smell it from THAT far?! I didn't think gryphons could smell tha--"

Canvas wasn’t able to finish his comment before Troy's face loomed less than an inch from his. The stallion froze up again, and could only glance up at the gryphon staring him down like a hungry dog.

"Did you make bacon?" asked Troy, his voice bordering between stoic concern and unparalleled need.

Upon taking notice of his friend’s behavior, Canvas sighed with a smile before stepping a few steps back. "Just sit down at the table, buddy."

Canvas then trotted back into the kitchen, which left Troy the chance to calm himself down as he walked to a modest abode. Troy noticed that Canvas' living space was much more decorated than the last time he was here. Several small, framed pieces of artwork were now hanging on the walls, and a potted plant rested by the base of the loft stairs. There was also a large decorative rug draped on the floor underneath him, which seemed to go with the décor fairly well. And with the smell of bacon emanating in the air, Troy breathed in deeply as he sat down in his chair at the dining table.

His hind-paws tapped at the floor as he anxiously waited, feeling like a little kid at a restaurant in wait for the dessert cart to wheel by. Troy eyed the kitchen door when it opened, which revealed Canvas entering the main room with a large plate in his mouth. As he walked to the table, Troy's wings shot open when he saw that the plate was filled with a large pile of steaming bacon. The moment Canvas rested the plate on the table, he nearly burst out laughing when he caught sight of Troy’s enamored stare and gaped beak. Even though he figured a gryphon like Troy would get nostalgic about meat in a vegetarian society, it was hard not to giggle when he saw his friend staring at the bacon like it was the most magical item in existence.

"That's… that’s--that’s.. that’s… ba… baco… you made…”

"Yeah, I made you bacon,” said Canvas with a prideful grin. “Happy Birthday!"

With the way he shuddered with his claws fidgeting, Troy looked like he was going to eat the entire plate instantly. However, much to Canvas’ surprise, the gryphon didn’t hesitate to shoot a serious glare back at him. "Please do not tell me you killed an animal to make this for me!"

"NO!” Canvas instantly threw his hooves up in a panic, and waved them in sincerity as he shouted, “No, no, no, no! I swear I didn't do anything like that! When I was in Baltimare, I met a guy who sold me the meat! I promise, all I did was cook the meat. I wasn’t beating it or anything."

Troy would’ve sighed in relief from the stallion’s sincerity, but that last statement caused him to clutch his beak shut with both claws so he wouldn’t crack up. Meanwhile, Canvas tilted his head when he saw the gryphon’s immediate response, and he blinked a couple times before asking, “Uhhh… what did I do now?”

“N-Nothing! Nothing…” Troy was quick to wave his claw assuredly while trying to control his breathing, not wanting to get into explaining the context of why that got him to nearly start laughing. Instead, he turned his attention back to the plate in front of him, and stared at the pile of salty pork like it was a gift from Celestia herself. Troy began to salivate as he breathed out shakily, and his claws slowly loomed towards the pile. Even though his impulses were screaming at him to dig in, he struggled not to worry whether or not it would actually be meat, instead of some plant-based crap ponies would try to pass off as meat.

"Ugh! Dude, go ahead!” griped Canvas with a roll of his eyes while he stood by the table. “You’re looking kinda creepy leaning into the plate like that. Just eat it already!"

Troy didn’t need to be told twice, and instantly sunk his claws into the bacon. A primal groan came out of his beak before he tried shoving half of the pile into his open maw. Various chunks of bacon fell from his beak to sprinkle back onto the table, along with copious drippings of bacon grease that likely would’ve stained any tablecloth. Canvas could only stare in a mix of disgust and disbelief at the scenario he created but he refrained from saying anything while the gryphon gorged himself right beside him. But upon remembering what else he had planned, Canvas trotted back to the kitchen before he could get caught staring at Troy’s display. Although, the pony couldn’t resist looking back one last time, and giggled when he saw Troy laughing to himself with his head reeled back and his beak stuffed with half-chewed bacon.

Troy kept cramming as much of the salty gift from the goddesses as he could into his mouth, and could swear that he heard choruses playing in his head. After spending months in a society where eating meat was taboo, Troy savored every piece of the forbidden bacon on his tongue and grease-slathered claws. By the time he picked up and ate every piece of the pile, Troy couldn’t have cared less about how he looked when he started licking the remaining grease on the plate.

Canvas eventually came back to the dining table, and said with a sing-song tone, "Oh, Trooooyyyyy…”

"Yeah?" Troy's response came out as more of a moan than anything else, and his eyes were blissfully shut while he cleaned the remainder of his plate.

"I still have the pan ready, so how do you like this cooked?"

Troy's heart almost stopped when he finally looked up, and he dropped the plate in his claws. Only a few inaudible gasps could come out of his beak, as he was left in utter disbelief upon seeing what his friend was holding in his hoof: a five-inch thick, prime-cut steak.

"Gustav told me that this was one of the best cuts,” said the stallion as he looked down at the marbled slab with a curious shrug, “but I wasn't sure whether or not he was right…” Canvas' words trailed off as he saw Troy’s awe-stricken stare, which prompted him to huff with a smile and ask, "but I'm guessing by how much you're drooling that this was a good pick?"

Troy slowly nodded, his head slowly moving forward and his claws held out like he was going to eat it raw right there. Canvas cautiously stepped back and repeated his question. "So, ummm… Troy? How do you want this cooked?"

"Medium rare. Always medium rare." Troy didn't even look at Canvas, and kept his eyes glued to the steak like it was about to do a backflip. Canvas merely sighed with an accepting smile, and went back into the kitchen without asking anything else.

Cooking the steak took longer than Canvas expected, but Troy didn't seem to mind when it was finally brought out. He nearly snatched the plate from Canvas' hooves as soon as he came out the doorway, but was able to keep himself in his seat for the sake of politeness. By the time Troy started gnawing on the steak without any utensils, the talons of his claws pierced through the strip while the juices dripped down his forelegs. All the while though, Canvas just watched him from across the table with curious amazement as he quietly ate his garlic bread. Even though the whole concept of eating animals was beyond discomforting for the stallion, he didn't seem to mind watching Troy eating his steak. Of course, that was most likely due to how much Troy was savoring every bite with absolute pleasure, which was quite a confidence boost for the pony who never cooked such a thing before that night.

"Uhh…” Troy laid back in his chair in a dazed state, and the back of his chair creaked a little as he held a claw against his stomach. "I might not celebrate birthdays that much, but… I can safely say that’s the best birthday gift I’ve ever gotten."

Canvas was certain that may have been one of the only birthday gifts Troy could say he received, but that detail wasn’t enough to keep him from smiling cheerfully. "Well, I'm really glad you liked it,” he said as he picked up another piece of bread. "I was honestly a little worried whether or not I cooked it right, since I never cooked meat before."

"Dude…” Troy closed his eyes while holding out a greasy claw, and chuckled a little to himself while basking in the afterglow of his meal. “That steak… was absolutely perfect."

He may have been close to a food-coma, but Troy still managed to muster a genuine smile when he looked at Canvas. "Seriously, this was really thoughtful of you. Thank you."

"Oh, don't mention it,” Canvas said after swallowing a mouthful of bread. "That's what friends do."

Before Canvas could wipe off his hooves with a napkin, he quickly looked back up to Troy with a more serious expression. "Seriously though, please don't mention this to anypony. I'm pretty sure I'd get in huge trouble."

Troy smiled and nodded his head in understanding. But before he could say anything else, a distinct 'ding' came from the kitchen which made Canvas bolt up from his chair. "Oph! The cake's done!"

“Wait, what?!” Troy gawked at the stallion as he went off to the kitchen, mostly since he wasn’t sure whether he could eat anything else. "Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!” chirped the pony. “It's chocolate too!"

By the time half of the cake was eaten (mostly on Canvas' part), the smell of bacon was partially masked with the aroma of chocolate in the dining room. Because of that, Canvas felt a little more comfortable as he listened to Troy talk about his day. When he got to the part about what happened when he got home, Canvas couldn’t keep himself from laughing. Meanwhile, Troy just sat there with an embarrassed blush, which was almost deep enough to conceal his bashful smile.

"Seriously?!" exclaimed Canvas as he tried not to giggle. "The WHOLE weather team heard you?"

"Yeah…” Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his neck, trying not to look too humiliated. "Luckily they weren't too mean about it. A lot of them actually said I should sing professionally or something."

"Dude, you totally should!” exclaimed Canvas with a smile. “I seriously don’t see why you don't do that! In fact…” Canvas quickly lifted himself from his seat, and left Troy slightly confused when he rushed into his workspace.

After a few seconds, he came back with a flyer in his mouth, and hoofed it to Troy before sitting back down. "When I got back into town, I saw that the Ponyville Theater is planning to hold auditions for their next play in about a month."

Troy glossed through at the flyer, and then stared back at Canvas with a skewed brow. "Seriously? A musical?"

"Why not?” asked Canvas with a huff while smiling optimistically. “I mean, it’s not like Ponyville has any singing bans like Griffinstone or anything. I really think this would be great for you."

Despite understanding the pony’s point, Troy scoffed before placing the flier back on the table. "Ehhh… I don't think so."

Canvas tried not to look so sullen when he grabbed the flyer, but he still sighed while looking back up at the gryphon. "Troy… Do you remember when you found that flyer for the art show, and how insistent you were that I should go for it?"

Troy held his beak shut as he looked away, already knowing where Canvas was going with this. His beak skewed uncomfortably, but he couldn’t say anything while avoiding the pony’s stare on him.

"Seriously, Troy... that was one of the best things that ever happened to me.” Canvas looked back down at the flier in his hooves, and breathed out through his nostrils before adding, “And when I saw this flyer, I… well… I thought of you."

Troy slowly turned back to Canvas, and cringed a little when he saw how upset he looked. One of the last things Troy wanted to do was disappoint his friend, especially after he cooked meat for him. Not to mention, he could tell that Canvas didn’t just keep that flier to catch his friend’s interest; he kept it because he really believed in Troy’s abilities as a singer, just like the gryphon believed in Canvas’ abilities as an artist.

So with a low sigh, Troy closed his eyes before he broke the silence. "Oh, fine. I… I’ll see if… If I can audition."

"Awesome!" Canvas suddenly looked ecstatic again as he cut another piece of cake. "You want another piece?"

Troy shook his head and held his claws to his stomach. "Dude, you did more than enough." Seeing how bloated his friend was looking, Canvas shrugged before going back to his own plate. Troy waited until Canvas finished his piece before asking, "So, Canvas… Where did you learn to cook like that? I mean, I never saw you cook before."

"Well, I’ve never had a kitchen before,” he said nonchalantly, which caused Troy to shrug with an understanding nod. The stallion then added, “Honestly though, I mostly learned to cook for myself growing up, since I was at home alone so often."

"Seriously?" asked Troy. "Didn't your parents teach you to cook?"

"Well, not really…” Canvas’ voice became a little more somber. "Neither of them really knew how to cook, except for maybe those pre-made boxed dinners or whatever. And uhhh…” Looking down at the table, Canvas bit his lip before he said in a quieter tone:

"... And.. my Mom, she… she died when I was a colt…”

The mood fell deathly silent across the dining table, which caused Troy to sink his face into his claws in guilt. "Oh, buck,” he hissed to himself with a painful wince. He quickly looked back at his friend to say, “I'm sorry, Canvas, I shouldn't have asked! Seriously, I'm really sor--"

"It's alright,” Canvas said in an instant while holding up his hoof. "I never told you about it, so you couldn't have known. I mean… If anything, I should've said something beforehoof."

Canvas pushed his plate aside as he breathed in deeply. "Besides, it happened a long time ago. It's not like it happened last week or anything. I've gotten past it since then."

Unsure of what to say, Troy kept his beak shut as he looked down at his lap in remorse. Meanwhile, Canvas’ muzzle skewed a bit before he let out another weak exhale. "It.. it happened two weeks after she got me my art bag."

Both of them looked over at the bag, which was hanging on a hook between the kitchen and bathroom door. After a few seconds, Canvas turned his attention back to Troy while squirming in his seat.

"She… she died of an aneurysm while walking through town. I… I was still in school when it happened." Canvas put a hoof to his mouth as he squeezed his eyes shut, trying not to tear up. "I… I remember hearing how much she was loved by everypony in town. She did a lot of volunteer work for the school and weather duties, and… it really hit everypony hard when it happened."

Troy hated to see him like this, but he knew that Canvas had to let this out. Birthday or not, the gryphon listened patiently as Canvas kept talking, even when he saw tears running down his friend’s aqua cheeks.

"I… I remember that was one of the only times when ponies in town were legitimately nice to me. After the funeral… I was invited to a few dinners and stuff." After wiping his tears away, Canvas was able to smile a little. "Heck, even the ponies that usually messed with me backed off for a long time, but…” Canvas' smile slowly dropped. "... But that didn't last forever. After a while, I just kept to myself at home, either painting or reading. Eventually, I had to learn to cook something other than macaroni and cheese every night, and…”

Troy noticed how much Canvas' muzzle wrinkled up, which how apprehensive he looked about saying anything else. But before Troy could ask what was wrong, Canvas sighed softly with his eyes closed. "... And… my Dad, he… he wasn't home much after she died… We… We didn't talk much..."

Troy could tell that his friend wasn’t going to say much more, and waited only a moment before giving a sincere response. "Canvas, I'm really sorry."

"Th-Thanks...” He wiped his face dry with a napkin, and tried to lighten the mood when he said with a shrug, "Heh~ Honestly, I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to bring this up on your birthday."

"Hey, don't worry about it,” said the gryphon assuredly. “I already told you I don't really see the point of these things anyway." Even with his comforting smile, Troy could tell that Canvas still felt bad. "Besides, I'm glad you're actually talking to me about this kind of stuff. I didn't know that much about your family, so…"

From the way Canvas' face scrunched in, Troy decided to change the subject before things got too awkward again. "So, ummm… you want me to tell you about my family?"

Canvas’ brows rose up in surprise, and he looked around before saying with a shrug. "Uhh… sure! I mean, as long as it isn’t too personal or anything.”

"Nah, it’s all good.” Troy put his claws on the table and tapped his talons against the wood, trying to think of a good place to start. "Well, uhh... my parents both work in the shipping industry. My Dad used to be a Brigadier General for the gryphon military, but he retired since then. Now he helps my Mom manage their company, which ships feathers to be used as quills."

"Oh, nice,” said Canvas with a look of interest as he leaned into the table. “Any siblings?”

"Mmhmm. I actually have four brothers.” Troy smiled a little more naturally as he leaned back in his chair. “My three older brothers are triplets, and my younger brother, Lyle, is still a kid, I guess. I'm the second youngest but… well… I'm kind of the runt of the group."

Canvas' eyes widened, and his eyes scanned the gryphon up and down due to how vast their height differences were while seated across from each other. “Ummm… Okay, I’m not gonna lie. I really can’t imagine you as a runt.”

"Oh yeah? You should see how big the triplets are!" Troy chuckled under his breath as he thought about his brothers, and shook his head in nostalgia. "One of them, Blaze, is actually a professional Stormball player, although I think he's on break right now. Another, Blade, is the lead of a death metal band, but I really doubt you heard of them."

"What are they called?" he asked with his head tilted curiously.

"Gee, they keep changing their name, um… I think they're called Talon Ripper or something, but whatever. I'm not sure what Blane is doing right now, but he seems to be doing okay for himself. The last I heard, he actually bought a building to start up some business of some kind. I have no idea what, though."

Canvas’ eyebrow skewed, and his eyes narrowed on Troy suspiciously. "So let me get this straight… You have triplet brothers named Blaze, Blade, and Blane?" He tried to keep his expression stoic, but it was obvious from his hiccuping breaths that he was struggling not to laugh. Luckily though, it was hard for Troy to get upset when he saw how quickly Canvas’ mood was lightening up.

"Yeah, my parents were pretty young when the three were hatched,” he confessed with a roll of his eyes. “Mom was apparently really out of it after giving birth, so Dad had to name them himself."

Canvas folded his napkin as he tried not to chuckle, and put it on top of his abandoned plate. "So, do you talk with them much?"

Troy tried to look away from Canvas, but the pony could still see his smile slowly fading away. "Well… We try writing letters and stuff, but… things have been kinda tense for a while."

"How come?" Canvas didn't want to press anything that would make his friend uncomfortable, especially on his birthday; but after learning so much about his friend, the artist didn’t want their discussion to end so soon.

After a couple more taps against the table, Troy sighed deeply while pointing his beak away from Canvas. "Uhhh… I told you I was a runt, right? Well… because of that, I didn't have many friends growing up. So instead, I spent a lot of time with my grandparents."

Canvas could see sadness in Troy's golden eyes, but it wasn’t enough for him to ignore the faint smile that grew across his beak as well.

"I mean, they were awesome gryphons to hang out with, you know? Whenever I went to their place, they were always so accepting and kind to me. They also taught me a lot about opera, which is one of the reasons I got into it so much. And they… they were the biggest reason I wanted to come to Equestria."

"Really?" Canvas rested his head on his hooves. “How so?”

Troy’s smile widened a bit, but he still refrained from looking back at Canvas as he continued. “I remember when I was still young, they always talked about how great Equestria was when they visited. They actually met at the Canterlot Concert Hall during a big opera performance, and fell in love instantly. Of course, that may have been because they were the only gryphons there, but still… They actually went to that hall a lot, since they were both ambassadors for the Gryphon Kingdom."

Upon hearing that last detail, Canvas' eyes shot open. "Wait a minute!” The stallion stared at Troy like he just spouted a third eye on his forehead, and pointing a hoof at him when he asked, “Are you saying your grandparents are Niko and Helen Talonoch?!"

Troy almost fell out of his chair, and he gawked at Canvas with his beak dropped. "Yes! What the!? How the buck did you know that?!"

"Oh my gosh, I did a research paper about them my junior year of high school!" Canvas’ floored expression quickly morphed to an elated smile, and he hopped off his chair to pace around the room. "Holy crap, those guys did so much to help stop the gryphon and Equestrian conflicts! If it wasn’t for them, you likely wouldn’t have been able to move to Equestria in the first place! Oh man, I can’t believe I'm friends with the grandson of them!"

Troy wasn’t sure how to react to such a revelation, but he couldn’t help smiling with a touched blush. “W-Wow, I… I didn’t know you were so well-versed in Gryphon Kingdom history.”

"Are you kidding me?” asked Canvas as he shot a wide-eyed stare back at him. “That paper I wrote was one of the reasons I got accepted into advanced classes! I mean, I even tried contacting them for an interview, but…”

Canvas suddenly stopped talking as his smile dropped like a brick. One of his hooves came up to cover his mouth when slowly turned back to Troy, who immediately looked a lot more distressed. The pony looked away from him with his ears dropped, and he said sympathetically, "I'm… I'm sorry, Troy. I didn't mea--"

Troy held up his claws to interrupt Canvas’ apology, and took that moment to breathe in deeply. "It's okay. It happened a while ago."

Despite the fact that Troy used his own response back at him, Canvas could tell he was still upset. Meanwhile, Troy looked away from him before continuing in a more solemn tone.

"I remember… I remember how devastated she was when he died… I mean, you could tell how much she loved him. And I mean really loved him! Like, gryphons don't usually express their love that much, but they… they didn't care about standards like that. They really cared for each other all those years, and… it was just so painful when he passed."

Canvas quietly sat back in his chair, and didn’t say anything to interrupt his friend.

"I mean, she was so lively and cheerful before, but… after the funeral… she just turned silent. She barely spoke to anyone for that month afterward. Not… not even me..." Canvas thought he could see Troy's eyes moisten, but he couldn’t tell due to how much the gryphon was averting his gaze from him. "She… she just gave up. I mean, we all knew she had some medical problems before, but… as soon as that happened, the doctors couldn't do anything to help her. It just… it was advancing so quickly."

Troy looked at his satchel lying on the ground, and his new walkman sticking out of it. Thinking about the tape inside, Troy clenched his beak shut for a moment to process his thoughts.

"She… she loved opera. And even when I was a hatchling, she loved that I appreciated it at such a young age. But I… I remember on one of the last days…”

Troy put a claw up to his beak, and held it there so Canvas couldn’t see it tremble a little. "We… We all knew it was going to happen, but most of the family had other things to do. When I visited her, she was all alone, just lying in her bed... silent. And when I looked around, I saw that one of her records was completely worn out. I mean, she had that record for years, but I guess she kept playing it constantly after he passed. And eventually, she just wore down the vinyl completely. Her… her favorite song was Ave Maria."

Troy looked down, probably to keep Canvas from seeing his face. But alas, it was to no avail as the stallion saw a tear running down Troy’s cheek. "I knew she was alone for a while, so… I started to sing it for her. I didn't even think I could sing it well, but… I just sang it while she laid there. I… I remember I kept my eyes closed during the whole song. I didn’t think she was going to respond but..."

A second tear of Troy's hit the table. "W-When I opened my eyes, that… that was the first time I saw her smile since he died. She just… she looked so happy."

Canvas hoofed Troy a napkin, which he quickly grabbed to wipe his eyes.

"Thanks... Anyway, after she died, I honestly didn't expect much to happen for me. I was taking a few exams to get approved for a living permit for Equestria, even though both my parents didn't want me to leave. I think they were worried about how I would adjust or something, I dunno. But then, when we went to the reading of her will she… she left most of her money to me."

Canvas' head reeled back in surprise, and he blinked repeatedly while staring at Troy. He wouldn’t call himself an expert on the Talonochs, but he was still aware of how well-off they were. "Wait, seriously?!"

"Yeah,” said Troy, a new smile on his beak as he kept wiping his face. "Everyone was freakin’ shocked! Especially my brothers, who all refused to speak to me for a while. I didn't get everything, but I still got more than enough to make it easy to move here. After I got approved, I moved here while they were still upset with me. I mean… I think they got over it now, but it still feels tense."

As a deep silence passed through the room, Canvas was quick to fill the void. "I'm… I'm sorry, Troy."

"It's cool, dude,” he said with a wave of his claw. “I'm actually kind of glad to talk about it, you know? Like, it’s probably cheaper than a therapist session or anything."

“Not to mention, I doubt many therapists would have cake and bacon as well~” That remark got both of them laughing again, which helped to uplift the mood following their chat. After smiling back at Troy, Canvas glanced over at the wall clock without much thought. However, upon seeing how close it was to ten pm, the stallion gasped in a panic and jumped out of his chair. Troy did a double-take upon seeing his friend’s frantic behavior, and remained in his chair by the time Canvas was at the stairs.

"Troy!” he shouted as he looked back at him wide-eyed. “Meet me on the roof!"

"What?"

"Seriously, just meet me up there! Trust me!"

Despite his confusion, Troy was quick to hop out of his seat to head to the door. The gryphon figured that after what Canvas promised the last time he trusted him, that this would be worth his time as well.

In less than a couple of seconds, Troy flew up to the barn roof without any issue. He noticed the large wall of paint cans along the side of the barn, and groaned when he remembered what Canvas said about needing help with painting. The pony may have not asked him directly as of yet, but he could already tell that he would likely have to help out. Of course, after that meal Canvas prepared, it wasn't like he could say no without feeling like a massive jerk.

After carefully landing on the roof, Troy saw a hatch door a few feet away open up. Canvas crawled up with a large blanket in his mouth, which did nothing to cover the smile on his face. When he saw that Troy was already there, Canvas’ smile widened as he whipped the blanket open with a flick of his neck, and let it gently land on the roof. Meanwhile, Troy was starting to look around worriedly as his paranoia got the best of him, and he began to feel the same as he did when he flew to Canvas’ place earlier. Despite knowing better than to make any assumptions about his friend’s plans, Troy tried not to ponder whether or not Lyra and Rainbow Dash's suspicions were for real.

Canvas sat himself down on the blanket, and looked up at the night sky while Troy stood in confusion. But before he could try to ask what was up, a faint flash of light flew by from the corner of Troy's eye. As soon as the stars above caught his attention, Troy looked up and instantly understood Canvas’ intentions. The gryphon’s eyes widened in awe, and he gently sat beside Canvas without saying a word. They both looked to see the first few beams of light shoot past them. Troy remembered hearing something about this happening today, but he forgot all about it until now. And as a smile grew across his beak, Troy couldn’t have felt more grateful to be there as more white dots of light streaked among the stars.

Above the land of Equestria, under Luna's brilliant night skies, the gryphon and the stallion sat motionless as they watched the meteor shower flash above their heads. From the roof of Canvas' barn, both of them were able to get a perfect view of the hundreds of bright lights that soared across the cosmos, gracing the skies as they shot forward toward infinity. Troy looked up to the spectacle with silent amazement, and felt an incredible warmth stirring in his heart.

Troy’s gaze slowly veered back toward Canvas, where he was able to observe how the flashes were reflecting off the pony's blue eyes. The sight caused his feathers to ruffle out ever so slightly, but he was quick to fix that response with a hard shudder to pull them back in. That heaviness in his chest was still there, but the gryphon couldn’t feel a twinge of discomfort like he had before. Instead, all that Troy felt was something more… content, in a weird way. He wasn’t sure how to describe it, but it was more than enough to make him smile alongside his friend. Meanwhile, the stallion looked back at him with a smile on his muzzle as he said quietly:

"Happy Birthday."

Upon seeing how peaceful the aqua pony looked in the moonlight, the warm smile on Troy's beak grew wider as well.

"Thanks. This was a great day."

As both of them looked back up to the shooting stars, one of Troy’s wings reached out to wrap around Canvas' back. Canvas slowly rested his head against Troy's shoulder, and savored his warmth as they stared at the vibrant wonder of the night.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

With a loud ‘clunk’, the last of the white paint cans were tossed aside after being emptied out. After the strenuous day of work, the dozens of metal cans were laid out in a rather uncouth pile that towered over the adjacent trashcan by the road. Canvas reminded himself to contact the trash company and inform them before they made their run on Thursday. Since he could only imagine how taxing it would’ve been to work picking up garbage all day, the last thing he wanted to do was upset them even more with an unexpected mountain of paint cans.

As he turned his attention back to his home, Canvas couldn’t help sighing in satisfaction. The whole barn was completely painted in a uniform shade of white, which helped to make it stick out against the green fields like a giant marker. He may have had to wait a week after Troy's birthday, but Canvas was happy to get it all finished with the gryphon’s help. He then looked over at Troy himself, who was lying on his back in the grass; despite his well-toned physique, the gryphon was still panting heavily under the barn’s shade while his feathers were splattered in white paint.

Troy was absolutely exhausted as he rested his aching back and legs, but he was also glad that everything was finally painted over. Since Canvas couldn't fly or use any magic to paint higher than his hooves could reach, Troy had to paint a majority of the walls himself. Fortunately, the entire process itself went by surprisingly fast due to Canvas’ assistance, who was eager to help his friend out however he could. By the time the gryphon was able to relax in the cool grass, Canvas looked between him and the barn with a contemplative look.

"Hmmmm… Hey, Troy,” asked Canvas as he walked up towards him, "you want me to get you a drink or something?"

Despite his body's inability to move, Troy managed to shake his head weakly in response. "I'm fine, I’m fine... I think I'm just gonna take a nap right now."

"Umm... okay." Even though he didn’t want his friend to get dehydrated, Canvas couldn’t help shrugging his shoulders after hearing his reply. But before he could think to walk back into his home, the sound of hoofsteps at the front of his property quickly caught Canvas’ attention. Fortunately, by the time he trotted over to see who was around, the artist’s face lit up when he saw a familiar client.

“Oh, hey there, Fancy Pants!” said Canvas with a friendly smile, which seemed to match the unicorn’s as he looked up at the newly painted home with admiration. “Man, this is perfect timing! Troy and I just got finished painting the place with primer.”

"Well, it’s nice to know I’m not intruding on anything.” As he looked back at Canvas, Fancy Pants huffed with a friendly smirk upon seeing the pony’s paint-splattered fur. "Heh~ Honestly, I wouldn’t have expected you to paint your home white of all colors. But I must say, your place looks a lot more impressive with a fresh coat of paint."

"Well, thank you very much," said Canvas with a thankful nod. “Although I should point out, I definitely have plans to add more color to this place after the primer dries up.”

“Ooh, do you now?” One of the unicorn’s brows rose up with intrigue, and he couldn’t help asking in a cheekier tone, “Are you willing to tell me what you have planned? Or are you wanting to keep that a surprise for later on?”

“Definitely a surprise,” he retorted with a smirk of his own, which was more than enough to make Fancy Pants chuckle with an understanding nod. Canvas then pointed out a hoof back at Troy, who was just within Fancy’s line of sight while sprawled-out in the grass. "Honestly though, Troy was the one who did most of the work, so he should definitely deserve more praise than myself."

“Well, it’s still a marvelous job from the both of you.” Fancy Pants may have carried a warm smile when he gave that sincere remark, but his expression faltered a little when he looked on with worry at Troy’s state. "Ummm...is he alright though? He looks rather--”

Troy raised up his claw to indicate he was still alive, and then let it plop back down in the grass without moving from his spot.

"Oh. Well… that's good, I suppose…” After receiving that confirmation, Fancy redirected his focus back on the artist and said, “Nevertheless, I was meaning to talk with you about that social back in Baltimare. I've spoken with several of the ponies who hired you for your services, and I've heard nothing but great praises from them regarding your work!"

"Really?" The aqua stallion’s brows rose up in surprise, and he couldn’t help blushing with a bashful smile. "Oh, wow! Umm… I'm really glad to hear that! I gotta say, I was a little worried how well I’d be able to socialize in Baltimare."

"I can assure you right now, you were absolutely splendid." Fancy Pants’ smile remained as warn and charming as ever, which caused Canvas to look away from him due to his deepening blush. If Troy wasn’t in a semi-comatose state away from the two, Canvas was certain that his friend would’ve teased him about having a possible crush on the older stallion. Even though that idea was rather ludacris, mostly since Canvas had the pleasure of meeting Fancy’s wife at that social, he couldn’t deny that the unicorn could easily get a coltfriend if he swung that way. But regardless of the artist’s personal opinions, he kept himself silent on the matter while Fancy levitated a business card from his jacket.

“One of the ponies who saw your work insisted on me giving you this,” he said as he floated the card to Canvas with his aura of magic. “Her name is Glimmer Heart, and she works as an independent art assessor for up and coming artists. She manages most of her work in Canterlot and Manehatten, but she expressed great interest in branching out after seeing your pieces.”

As Canvas read through the details on the card, he remembered talking with the aforementioned mare at the social. Even though most of the unicorns there acted stuffy or pretentious in their social circles, Glimmer Heart was genuinely courteous in her discussions with Canvas. The older mare had a light-pink coat and a luscious green mane, which helped to accentuate the pearl necklace and golden earrings she was wearing that night. Even though he could tell from those accessories that she was successful, Canvas wouldn’t have expected to see the occupation of ‘Art Curator and Manager’ listed underneath her name on the business card.

"Glimmer told me that she was planning on opening an art gallery in about two months,” continued Fancy Pants as he pointed to the card in Canvas’ hoof. “It’s something she does every year to showcase young and rising talents, and she takes a lot of pride in seeking out ponies she sees potential in. And after meeting you back in Baltimare, she asked me if you would be interested in being a part of this year’s showing."

Canvas almost fell on his flank, and he used his free hoof to cover his gaping muzzle. "Wha-what?!” he blurted while struggling not to stumble over his wobbling knees. “I… I mean… REALLY?!"

Fancy Pants’ smirk became more evident as he chuckled and nodded his head. "Yes, really. Glimmer Heart showed a lot of interest when we were talking the other day, and she was hopeful that you might have a portfolio of your work."

"A portfolio? I…” Canvas’ smile faltered a bit as he blinked a couple times, before he bit his lip awkwardly and looked down at the ground. "I… I think I can get one made... Umm, when am I able to meet her?"

“Oh, uhhhh…” Now it was Fancy Pants’ turn to look a little wary. Since he wasn’t expecting the artist to not have a portfolio at the ready, the unicorn scratched the back of his mane awkwardly and said, "Well, I... I was actually planning on meeting her here in Ponyville this afternoon. When I told her about this quaint little township, she said that she had to see it for herself."

Canvas clutched his chest with a hoof, and had to take a couple breaths while processing what Fancy just told him. Even though he definitely had enough personal pieces to craft up a portfolio, the stallion couldn’t help feeling like a student who was unprepared for a surprise pop-quiz at school. Nevertheless, since he was just given an opportunity he would have to be insane to pass up, Canvas looked back at his barn wide-eyed and said, “O-Oh, okay then! Uhhhh… Alright, lemme see if I can get something worked up before then! When is she gonna be in Ponyville?”

"It’ll be a few hours at the least,” assured Fancy Pants as he put his hoof out, motioning for Canvas to head off without interruption. “Go right ahead and do whatever you need to do. Can you be at Sugar Cube Corner by five?"

“YEP!” shouted Canvas as he threw open the doors to his studio, and rushed in like the space was about to go up in flames. The stallion began to frantically look through his stuff, and picked up several of his finished paintings to get something resembling a portfolio done. As the artist hurriedly gathered various pieces of artwork together, Fancy Pants took notice of Troy as he rose back up like a zombie. The gryphon may have still been rightfully pooped, but he still gave a long stretch before getting back on his legs.

"Ughhh… You know what?” he said to nobody in particular with a groggy voice. “I'm just gonna head back home where it's a little quieter. See ya later, Canvas!"

"Alright, Troy!” shouted Canvas from inside the barn. “Thanks for your help! I owe you one!”

"No problem!" After nodding to Fancy Pants, Troy soared off into the skies to go over the forest line. But despite how exhausted he may have felt, Troy couldn’t help smiling in satisfaction when he glanced back at the freshly-painted barn below.

Even though the summer months were supposed to be hot, Rainbow Dash could’ve sworn that it was getting even hotter on purpose. As she laid atop her small cloud, she had to make sure that it wasn't evaporating too quickly due to the high temperatures. She could see the rest of the Weather Crew lying around on their own scavenged clouds, but none of them willing to move and risk getting a heat stroke before noon. But of all the members trying to stay cool and dormant, Troy seemed to be the least bothered by the heat. In fact, considering how casually he was seated while perched on the edge of his cloud, he looked like he was waiting for a train instead of sweating his beak off.

“Uggghhhhh…” Rainbow didn’t want to throw in the towel so soon, but even she could tell that little work was going to get done today. So after groaning tiredly, she stood up and addressed her team. "Listen guys, let's just go home! There's not much to take care of anyway, so--"

She couldn’t even finish her sentence before all the weather ponies zoomed past her. She had half the nerve to chase them down for suddenly being so energetic, but the breeze they created kept her from moving as she savored the rare, cool air. But while the pegasus shuddered from that brief bout of relief, Troy was the only member who remained as he stretched out on his cloud.

"Thanks for doing that for us, Rainbow,” he said with a gracious smile as he looked back at her. “Even Thunderlane was looking pretty rough after that Cumulus run.”

"Yeah, all of us were...” As she wiped some sweat from her brow, Rainbow Dash shot a confused glance at Troy before asking, "How come you look alright? Seriously, are gryphons better in hot climates or something?"

“Yeah, pretty much.” Troy nodded his head as he pulled his satchel over his shoulder. "Feathers are really good insulators, so it’s not too hard to keep myself cool. Plus, I live right by a waterfall, so I got myself a good refresher before I got here.”

“Well, aren’t you the lucky one?” she said with a partially envious scoff, which caused Troy to struggle not to smirk. Since her own wings felt a lot less matted in sweat than the rest of her body, Rainbow Dash wasn’t one to question Troy’s response. Instead, she decided to ask, "So, what's your plan for the rest of the day? Meeting up with Canvas again?"

Troy shook his head and groaned under his breath. "Nah, not tonight. He's been busy getting enough paintings ready for that big gallery in Canterlot. Ever since he talked with that Glimmer mare a couple weeks back, I've barely been able to hang out him."

"Well, shouldn’t you be happy for him?" asked Rainbow, who used a chunk of her cloud to dab her forehead like a cloth. "I mean, this is a pretty big thing for him, isn’t it?"

"Yeah, it's a great thing! I couldn't be happier for him!" Despite how sincerely Troy made that response, Rainbow Dash could sense the slightest hint of irritation when he added, "I'm just bored! I mean, whenever I try to meet up with him, he's either painting something or passed out on his couch in the studio! And I can’t hang out with Lyra or Bon-Bon either, because they're helping with the gallery as well."

"Wait, really?” asked Rainbow with her head tilted to the side. “How did they get involved?"

"Apparently, Canvas introduced them to Fancy Pants and Glimmer when they met up. And after they sampled some of their candies at the shop, Glimmer hired them as caterers on the spot."

"Oh dude, that's awesome!” she exclaimed with a cheerful grin on her face. “Those two have like, the best taffy ever! I thought Pinkie was exaggerating when she was gushing about…”

Upon seeing how badly Troy was trying to conceal his irritation, Rainbow’s words slowly trailed off before becoming silent. Ever since the gryphon started to work for her on the Weather Patrol, she could tell that Canvas was Troy’s usual go-to friend to keep himself occupied; and ever since that moment at the bar, Dash had a pretty good idea why Troy was so unhinged without Canvas around. Of course, considering how strongly he reacted to her accusations on his birthday, she was able to keep herself from bringing it up out of respect. But at that particular moment, the pegasus seemed keen on trying to help Troy out regardless.

"Hey, uhhh... if you're not busy today, I could use some help over at Fluttershy's.” As Troy glanced back at her with a raised brow, Dash gave him a light shrug and said, “She's been needing to cool down her animals due to this heat wave, so she asked me to help out when I had the free time. If you want, you can come with me."

Troy may have not been the best with animals, and didn’t even own a pet back when he lived in the Gryphon Kingdom. However, given the circumstances, he figured working with them would be better than listening to his opera records on his cloud all day. "Well... If you're needing some help, I guess I can do it."

"Nice!” said Rainbow with a cheerful smile, seeming hopeful this would get Troy out of his funk. "And don’t worry, she already met you a few times in town, so she probably won’t freak out about seeing a gryphon like she had with Gilda."

Since that was the third time he heard somepony mentioning that name, Troy felt compelled to ask, "Yeah, who's Gilda by the way? Ponies keep bringing her up around town, and I've been meaning to ask what actually happened."

"Ehhhh… It's kind of a long story, but whatever." The topic may have seen a sore moment for Rainbow Dash to recall, but she spread her wings open before motioning for Troy to follow her. The moment both of them shot off from their clouds, the two flew up to higher altitudes to get away from the heat. And as the summer weather pounded down upon Equestria, neither Rainbow Dash or Troy seemed to mind as they soared through the skies and chatted. "Okay, so I met Gilda during Flight Academy, and I thought she was really cool…”

Canvas bit his lip with a fretful look as he tried to stir the melted sugar as best as he could, but he couldn’t help feeling out of his element among all this sugary goodness. He might have been good at cooking basic things (and meat, surprisingly enough), but he didn't plan to be helping Lyra and Bon-Bon with preparations for Glimmer Heart's small social. Since there were still a couple weeks until the Canterlot Gallery, Canvas wasn’t one to turn down his friends when they asked for his assistance. Not to mention, considering how good Bon-Bon's candies were, Canvas was determined to help her get more attention outside of Ponyville.

As the dark-blue mixture in his saucepan began to thicken, he called out to Bon-Bon when the syrupy substance was able to coat the back of his spoon. "Hey Bon-Bon, I think this is ready!"

Bon-Bon quickly put down her tube of frosting and trotted over to Canvas' spot. "Oh, great timing! I just got the toppings ready for them."

As the three ponies worked diligently in the small kitchen, Bon-Bon carefully poured the sugary mixture into the trays laid out on the counter. Meanwhile, Lyra used her magic to levitate the other ingredients that were already prepared herself. Since the mares seemed to be handling things on their own, Canvas stepped away so he could look out the kitchen doors. Unlike the upcoming art show, this venue was just outside Canterlot due to the small guestlist; the ballroom wasn’t particularly large, but it still looked immaculately clean and regal for Glimmer’s event. Most of the tables and chairs were already in place, but the tablecloths and cutlery were all still in the kitchen. Canvas contemplated getting that task out of the way before the guests could arrive, but his head poked out of the doorway just long enough to get him noticed by the host.

"Canvas?” asked Glimmer Heart, who had a baffled look on her face the moment she caught sight of him from the corner of her eye. The unicorn floated her clipboard towards one of the empty tables, and grew a pleasantly surprised smile as she walked up to him. “Oh wow, I didn’t expect to see you here! Are you helping with the catering as well?”

Since he was caught, Canvas took a quick glance back in the kitchen to make sure Lyra and Bon-Bon were alright without him. He then exited the kitchen with a meager blush, mostly due to how out of place he felt as his hooves stepped onto the warm, red carpeting. Even though he was able to present himself properly back in Baltimare, he wasn’t sure how Glimmer would respond to seeing him covered in sweat while his mane was tied in a tight ponytail. But despite his appearance and growing tensions, Canvas kept a contently calm demeanor as he went up to the mare with a smile. "Hey there, Glimmer Heart. I know it’s a little sudden, but Lyra and Bon-Bon asked me to help them out with the candy-making tonight.

"You are?" asked the mare as she pulled back her green mane with her magic. "I must say, I wouldn’t have expected you to be an artist and a skilled cook!"

Canvas could tell from her chipper tone that she was glad to see him this soon before the gallery, which helped to make him smile more naturally in response. “W-Well, I wouldn’t call myself a chef or anything,” he replied humbly while shrugging his head. “But I wouldn’t have felt right about leaving them high and dry, you know?”

“Hey, I completely understand,” assured the mare insistently with a wave of her hoof. “I remember Lyra telling me how you befriended her and Bon-Bon, so it’s not much of a surprise you would want to help them out for this.”

Canvas recalled how that interaction went, and was really grateful for Lyra and Bon-Bon’s hospitality when they invited Glimmer for a taste-testing. Even though Lyra didn’t bring up everything about how she met Canvas (more specifically, she refrained from telling Glimmer about Canvas’ time in the hospital and recovery), the mare and her wife made sure to give an amazing impression by the time negotiations were made. Much like when he first met her at the Baltimare social, Canvas really appreciated how well Glimmer Heart presented herself as a colleague around others. And even now, as the artist took notice of a couple small wrinkles at the corners of the mare’s eyes, he couldn’t deny how well her natural beauty shone through without any disingenuous filters or a pound of makeup. All in all, Canvas really hoped that their professionalism wouldn’t get in the way of a possible friendship later on.

"Well then,” added Glimmer as she looked between Canvas and the kitchen door behind him, “while it is nice to see you before this event, I really hope this won't affect the paintings you're making for the gallery."

"Oh, of course not!” assured Canvas with a smile and a wave of his hoof. "This isn’t impeding on my schedule at all. In fact, I'm almost done with everything for my collection. I might need to add some final touches here and there, but it’s nothing I can't finish."

Despite her concerns, Glimmer’s expression softened at Canvas’ honesty. "Well, I'll take your word for it and let you get back to work,” she said with a smile and an approving nod. “Have a nice night, Canvas.

Canvas nodded back before making his leave, and heading back into the kitchen. The very moment his face was out of Glimmer’s line of sight, he bit his lip in an attempt to conceal his fretful wince. And even as he went back to preparing the trays of appetizers, his worrisome expression couldn’t be hidden from Bon-Bon. Even though she was glad to see him working, she grew concerned when she saw how drastically his mood changed following his chat with Glimmer Heart. Because of that, the candy-maker couldn’t help clearing her throat to catch Canvas’ attention.

"Hey, uhhh… Canvas? Is everything alright?"

Canvas couldn even look back at the mare, and clenched his eyes shut as he let out a strained exhale. "Ugh… I think I just lied to Glimmer Heart."

“Wait what?!” blurted Lyra as she poked her head out from the doorway of the freezer room.

“What do you mean?” asked Bon-Bon, who immediately put down her spoon to go up to Canvas. “What did you tell her?”

Canvas sighed while pinching the bridge of his snout with a hoof. "I… I told her that I was on schedule with my work, but… I’m honestly really behind right now.”

“Seriously?” asked Lyra as she went up to the artist as well. But unlike her wife’s concerned expression, the unicorn couldn’t help narrowing her eyes confusedly. “Because I remember visiting your studio the other day, and it looked like you had most of your paintings finished already.”

“Yeah, the smaller paintings are mostly done,” replied Canvas before he groaned in exasperation. “But I haven’t even started on my biggest one, which is supposed to be the headlining piece! I mean, I've tried to get something nailed-down, but I have no idea what to do with it! Even after I got my other stuff done, there's still that huge canvas board just staring at me!”

Due to how overwhelmed the stallion was becoming, Lyra and Bon-Bon couldn’t help turning back to each other with equally worried looks on their faces. Meanwhile, Canvas leaned himself against the edge of the counter as he dragged his hoof down his face. “I… I just don't know what to do! Heck, the biggest reason I came here was because I thought it could clear my head."

As an uncomfortable bout of silence loomed over the kitchen, Lyra shot a glance towards the doors to make sure nopony was eavesdropping on them. She then trotted up to Canvas before placing a hoof on his shoulder, and saying, "Hey, it's perfectly alright, Canvas. You're just having an artist's block right now. It's nothing to get worked up about." Unfortunately, even with the mare’s warm smile and honest assurance, Canvas sighed deeply while looking down at the floor.

"You know what?" Bon-Bon said while looking back at their half-finished trays. "How about you take a break? It seems like you need a breather after all the cooking you did anyway." When Canvas looked up at Bon-Bon, she made sure to add with a sincere smile back at him, "Seriously, it's alright. We can take over for a while. Just relax a little, okay?"

Canvas may have felt a little guilty about leaving the two so soon after his chat with Glimmer Heart, but he wasn’t one to go against Bon-Bon’s insistence. After giving the couple a quiet thanks, he headed out of the kitchen to refresh himself in the bathroom. The staff restroom was basically a tile-lined closet with a sink and toilet, but it provided just enough privacy for him to breathe and clear his head. Canvas readjusted his ponytail while the sink filled with water, since long strands of his mane had fallen back over his face while he was cooking. As he looked at his reflection in the mirror, Canvas pouted a little when he saw how matted his fur became from his sweat. Dark bags hung under his eyes, but that was more to do with his painting than his overall stress.

By the time the sink was full and he turned off the faucet, Canvas took a deep breath before plunging his face into the freezing water. After about ten seconds, Canvas pulled back up with a heavy gasp. He then used his hooves and a paper towel to help rub his face clean, which only took a few minutes before he felt significantly less flustered. When he finally looked at himself in the mirror again, Canvas was able to sigh before giving himself a healthier-looking smile. Even though he knew it was weird to talk to himself, the artist spoke to his reflection in confirmation. “Well… I guess Bon-Bon knew what she was talking abo--”

CLANG!!!

“Hey, put that down!”

“Lyra, what’s going on?!”

“Some guy just barged in, get over here!”

“You call THESE horderves?! What kind of arrangement is this?!”

Canvas’ thoughts were immediately stopped the moment he heard his friends’ distressed voices outside the bathroom door. Over Lyra and Bon-Bon's yelling, Canvas could overhear the slurred ramblings of some unknown stallion as well. He may have only been on “break” for a couple minutes, but the artist quickly rushed out of the bathroom to see what was going on. “Guys?!” he shouted out as he ran back towards his friends. “Are you alright?!”

The moment he got back to the kitchen, he was surprised to see an orange unicorn stallion looming over the mares with a bitter grimace on his muzzle. Canvas saw that he had a shot glass cutie mark, and greying mane that was sporting a very obvious combover. The pony was standing across from the two mares and yelling incoherently, while the couple carried very differing expressions on their faces. Bon-Bon looked petrified as she gawked at the pieces of candies strewn across the floor, many of which were now shattered to technicolor pieces against the white tiles. Meanwhile, Lyra was glaring at the stallion with gritted teeth like she was about to deck him in the face. “What the buck was THAT for?!” she shouted furiously back at the pony, not caring one bit about her language. “Do you know how long we spent making those?!”

"You call this food!?” shouted the stallion back at her as he pointed down to the ruined candies on the floor. “I wouldn't feed this to my dog!"

"Sir, you cannot be back here!" yelled Bon-Bon, whose expression turned equally as upset as Lyra’s the moment she glared up at him. "The event isn't supposed to start in a few hours anyway, so most of the food isn’t done yet."

"You think I care!?" he shouted back at her with a menacing gaze. Canvas was frozen in shock from the exchange he was seeing, but even he could catch the scent of booze on that stallion’s breath from a distance. He could only imagine how bad he must’ve smelled to the mares, especially when he added towards Bon-Bon, "I can do whatever I damn well please, dirt pony! So don't thi--"

"HEY!" shouted Lyra lividly, before she stormed up to the stallion to get right up in his face. "Don’t you DARE talk to my wife like that, you balding twerp! You have three seconds to GET THE BUCK OUT before you regret it!"

The stallion reeled back from her with a wide-eyed look a few seconds, most likely due to the shock of having somepony standing up to him. Unfortunately, it didn’t take long before a disgusted sneer came across his muzzle. "Oh, I see…” After scoffing with a roll of his eyes, he stumbled away from the mares while stepping over a couple of the candy shards on the ground. “Figures that this kind of garbage could be seen as food to a couple of filly-foolers!"

Lyra's horn lit up. "WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!” she screamed with a look of primal rage, while several knives from the backboard levitated behind her. Bon-Bon gasped in shock, but her mortified look didn’t stop all those knives from pointing towards the stallion and his arrogant sneer.

"Oh, what are you gonna do about it, you piece of tra--"

Without warning, the stallion was pulled back by his shoulders by a pair of aqua hooves, which threw him hard enough to pin his back to the wall. Before he could process what just occurred, Canvas was face-to-face with the pony while holding him in a death grip. The artist’s eyes were burning in unbridled rage, and his furious sneer was intense enough to leave Bon-Bon and Lyra standing in shock.

"Don't. Mess. With my friends."

Despite Canvas’ livid glare, the unicorn's cocky sneer came back up like he still had the upper-hoof. "Or what?” he asked snidely. “You really think you scare me, earth pon--"

Canvas pushed him harder against the wall, cutting off the unicorn's words as the artist’s face came in closer. "Do you think you can scare me?!” barked Canvas right back at him. “Do you honestly think you're the worst thing I've dealt with? I've fought off more ponies than you can count in my life, and all of them were more intimidating than you are."

The stallion may have tried his hardest to maintain an enraged glare on the artist, but his muzzle twitched the slightest bit when the intensity in Canvas’ voice settled in.

"I've been hurt before. I've gotten myself beaten up. I've been abused, spat on, and hurt beyond all recognition. But you know what? I'm still here. Despite everything that happened, I’M STILL HERE!! I don't care what you threaten me with, because I will get back up from whatever you try. And I will fight back, so you better hope you can get back up from what I do to you. So go ahead! Try me!! SEE WHAT THE BUCK HAPPENS!!"

The kitchen lay deathly silent. Canvas may have known how ridiculously inappropriate his behavior may have been, but he hoped that his words sunk into the bigot in front of him. Despite his growing scowl, the stallion eventually lowered himself before Canvas loosened his grip. Canvas finally let him go when he was sure the pony wouldn’t try anything, but he still kept a stern glare on him when he stepped back. As the orange pony began to walk toward the door, Canvas tuned back to Lyra and Bon-Bon and asked, "Are you two alright?"

The two mares slowly nodded, but neither of them could say anything while carrying stunned looks on their faces. Meanwhile, the stallion couldn’t resist pausing at the doorway, and turned his head back to the three. "I'm gonna make sure you all get fired for this, you litt--”

Canvas instantly reeled back at him with his face red in rage to scream, "I SAID GET OUT!!!"

Lyra may have been just as pissed as her friend, but she couldn’t help staring between the two cautiously to make sure things didn’t turn physical. The unicorn stood at his spot, and narrowed his eyes on Canvas like he was silently testing him. Bon-Bon looked equally as worried as her wife, and tried to calm down Canvas.

"Please, just let it go,” she pleaded to Canvas as she placed a hoof to his shoulder. "He's not worth it, Canvas. Just look away."

Gritting his teeth, Canvas slowly nodded at the mare before turning his head away. While Canvas breathed in deeply, the unicorn looked at the three with a smug grin as if he won. "That's right,” he gloated with a slurred voice. “Just get back to your job while you still have it. You don't want to mess with me."

Canvas breathed out in a silent groan, but kept his back to him as he bit his tongue. That action may have been enough to soften his furious grimace, but he ended up biting hard enough to risk drawing blood. Meanwhile, the unicorn reeled his head in closer as he gave a final jab. "Yeah, typical that you’d let a couple of dikes hold you by the balls, you bucking colt-cuddler!!”

At that instant, Canvas lost it. He broke away from Lyra and Bon-Bon with a primal yell, and rushed towards the panicked unicorn like a battering ram. He threw him through the kitchen doors, where he fell on his back on the floor of the empty ballroom. Before he could roll himself back up, Canvas pinned himself atop his chest to unload a heavy barrage of punches. The unicorn cried out as he tried to light up his horn, but he could only have it flicker uselessly as the artist’s hooves repeatedly pummeled at his face. Canvas was fueled by pure adrenaline and rage as he beat him without mercy, and didn’t seem to register the panicked screams of Lyra or Bon-Bon trying to break them up.

"CANVAS, STOP!!" shrieked Bon-Bon as she tried to wrap her hooves around his back. “LET HIM GO, STOP IT!!!”

Even with how hard the mare struggled to pull him back, Canvas kept going as blood began to stain his aqua hooves. Lyra had to light up her horn to use her magic, and managed to get a grip on Canvas’ hooves while Bon-Bon pulled his body. Canvas thrashed against the mint aura to push toward the stallion, and yelled out loudly in frustration. Because of that, he wasn’t able to hear Glimmer Heart screaming in a panic.

"OH MY GODDESS!!” she shrieked with a mortified look on her face. “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

As the two mares kept holding Canvas down, Glimmer Heart rushed over to the stallion with tears in her eyes. The beaten pony struggled to pull himself away from the enraged Canvas, but his mangled face was in dire need of an emergency room visit. The pink mare put a hoof to her mouth as she looked back at the three in shock. "How could you?!"

Canvas kept thrashing against his friends’ restraints as he yelled out, "Let me go! Let me go, he deserves it! Get off of me!"

"Canvas, what's wrong with you!?" shouted Glimmer Heart, looking absolutely appalled at him while holding the stallion in her forelegs. "He's my husband!!"

Lyra and Bon-Bon gasped in horror, clearly not having known that information prior to accepting this catering job. Canvas instantly froze, and had to blink a couple times while staring at Glimmer Heart in confusion. His petrified gaze went down towards the stallion, who was now coughing up blood and struggling to breathe. Canvas' pupils shrunk in terror, and his face began to pale as his breathing came out in rapid gasps. "He… he, he… he was--"

"I DON’T WANT TO HEAR IT!" Glimmer Heart was snarling in absolute rage, and her infuriated voice was enough to make Canvas’ legs buckle. Even with how mortified the three ponies looked, Glimmer couldn’t even look at them as she lifted up her husband with her magic. "Just get the buck out RIGHT NOW!!” she yelled while storming past the three, with the stallion clinging to her side and struggling to walk on his own hooves. “If you’re not out of here in two minutes I WILL call the police!!”

Without saying another word, the mare walked away while her husband desperately hung onto her back. As pony whimpered painfully and tried to handle his own weight, drops of blood left a morbid trail of red against the carpet that exited the main entranceway. Lyra and Bon-Bon looked back at each other in stunned silence, neither of sure what to do after that horrific display. Meanwhile, Canvas sat motionless on the floor with his eyes wide-open, and his jaw agape while quivering.

Bon-Bon was the first to look back down at Canvas, but any feelings of resentment or rage as a result of his actions immediately vanquished the moment she saw how he looked. Lyra took notice of their friend as well, and covered her mouth when she saw the tears streaming down his frozen face. The couple shared a look back at each other briefly, with both of them showing the same feelings of sympathy for Canvas after he defended them. Even with the ruined catering job, Lyra tried to console their friend as she placed a hoof on Canvas' back. "Canvas? Canvas, it's alright. We’re not mad at you, we swear."

The pony didn't move an inch but his muzzle started to wrinkle as his expression grew more distressed. That was when Bon-Bon stepped in to add, "Canvas, please don't blame yourself! None of us knew that he wa--"

Before she could finish, Canvas shot back to his hooves and ran out of the ballroom. His eyes were tightly clenched shut, but hot tears still trickled down his cheeks as he galloped away from his friends. The two mares tried to chase after him in a panic, and shouted out to him as he ran from the venue.

"CANVAS!! Canvas, wait!"

“Please come back!!”

“We’ll get through this, Canvas!”

“COME BACK!!”

Troy carried a content smile on his beak while staring up at the night’s sky, and took in the serenity of his home as he laid on the top of his cloud. Ever since that meteor shower, the gryphon tried to take some time out of his daily routine to appreciate the beauty of Equestria’s nature whenever he could. Troy breathed in the cool summer air, and sighed blissfully upon nothing but the gentle water falling from the waterfall. He closed his eyes, and let the serenity of the moment help to clear his consciousness. And in less than a few minutes, his lingering worries about his upcoming play audition were able to slip from his thoughts; he was also able to briefly stop thinking of Canvas, who had become particularly persistent in his thoughts as of recently.

Of course, before the gryphon could start to contemplate why that may have been so, his ears perked up when he heard the sounds of hoofsteps galloping through the forest nearby.

Troy opened his eyes to pull himself up, and looked down from his cloud as the sounds of heavy breathing and breaking branches came closer. Troy had to narrow his eyes and lean down the moment two darkened figures ran out from the woods. Even though the moonlight wasn't a great light source, it took Troy only a few seconds before realizing the figures were a very distraught-looking Lyra and Bon-Bon. The two looked like they had just run a marathon, but they were both looking up to the cloud wide-eyed in hopes of getting Troy’s attention.

"Troy!" shouted Lyra with her hooves at the sides of her muzzle. "Troy, we need your help right now!"

Troy could hear the frantic tone in her voice, and quickly soared down to the ground before landing with a loud 'thump'. "What is it?” he asked while looking between the mares. “What happened?"

While Lyra struggled to catch her breath, Bon-Bon spoke up in her spouse’s place. "Canvas got in a fight with some moron during that social! The guy was harassing us, so he fought him off, and now we think he lost his shot at that gallery!”

"What!?" shouted the gryphon as his head reeled back in shock. "Where's Canvas now!?"

"Back at his house!” shouted Lyra between heated breaths. “We tried to get in, but he locked the doors and windows shut. We knew you lived nearby, so we used the orange ropes on the trees to find you. We heard a lot of screaming and stuff breaking inside, and we're really worried about him!"

By that point, Troy was looking just as fretful as the two mares before him. After looking up above the forest line, his beak clenched in determination before looking back at the couple to say, "Don’t worry, I'll go talk to him!"

Troy shot off like a missile into the skies, and flew toward Canvas' home while Lyra and Bon-Bon stood alone in the field. Lyra eventually glanced back at her wife, and sounded uneasy when she asked, "Are you sure he'll be able to get to him?"

"He's Canvas' closest friend" said Bon-Bon reassuringly. "If anyone can help Canvas, it'll be him."

"I hope so…” Lyra didn’t want to look too worried, but she couldn’t help rubbing her foreleg anxiously with a hoof. “Should we go back and help?"

"No." Lyra was surprised at the swiftness of Bon-Bon’s reply, as well as the stern expression on her face. "Right now, I think we need to talk to somepony else."

"Who?"

"I’ll explain on the way to the train station. Just follow me!" Bon-Bon quickly rushed back towards the woods, and left her spouse standing awkwardly for a moment in confusion. Even though she wanted to chastise Bon-Bon for leaving her hanging without an explanation, Lyra rolled her eyes with a groan before running after her.

Troy was able to reach Canvas' barn in record time, and hovered in the air when he heard all the commotion down below. Much like Lyra said, Troy could indeed hear muffled yelling inside the closed-off studio. He landed on the ground and tried opening the doors, but they were tightly bolted shut against the frames. Troy’s worries intensified as Canvas continued to scream through the other side of the door, and he could hear various things either smashing or falling over. Fortunately for the gryphon, a light bulb turned on above his head before he looked up to the roof, and he opened up his wings.

Troy skidded onto the roof with his claws, and rushed over to the hatch door he remembered Canvas using before the meteor shower. Since the latch was unlocked, Troy flung the door open and jumped down without checking what was underneath. He was lucky to fall effortlessly onto the hardwood floor of the loft, where Canvas' screams could now be heard crystal-clear. Troy instantly bolted out of the loft, and shot into the artist’s studio where all the rampage was taking place.

None of the lights were on, but they weren’t needed to see how much damage Canvas had already done. The old red couch was flipped over, and was now lying against the front doors on its back. The wall of neatly-arranged paint cans Troy recalled seeing were scattered across the studio, with several of them broken open to leave giant puddles across the floor. There were also several large dents across the walls where large splatters of paint were strewn about, most likely from Canvas throwing them during his breakdown. The shelf that held all of Canvas' brushes was thrown to the ground, where dozens of wooden handles were scattered all over the floor. The large stacks of canvas boards were also thrown all over the room, many of which now broken in half or punctured by the stallion’s hooves.

And in the middle of all the chaos stood Canvas, who looked absolutely miserable as he stumbled around the room in confused anger. He didn’t even take notice of the gryphon perched in shocked silence above his dividing wall, and sobbed to himself through gritted teeth while tears matted the fur on his face.

Canvas aimlessly kicked a paint can, which sent it crashing against the wall before it busted open on the floor. Troy cringed when he took notice of all the damage, and quickly hopped off the wall to land in the studio. His presence finally caught Canvas’ attention, who yelped in surprise and jumped back with his fur raised up.

The artist looked beyond disturbed, and was struggling now to tremble fearfully for his friend to see. Troy tried to step towards Canvas slowly, and kept a reassuring look on his face as he spoke in a calm and collected tone.

"Canvas?” he asked softly. “Canvas, it’s just me. You don’t have to freak out, okay? Everything is gonna be alrigh--"

"NO IT'S NOT!!” screamed Canvas with his eyes clenched shut, which worried Troy even more. The pony stumbled away from Troy while his muzzle pointed to the ground, and he tried to speak as his voice came out in a panicked whimper.

"I bucked up... I… I bucked everything up! I was only trying to help Lyra and B-Bon-Bon, and… and… and now it's all ruined!”

"No it isn't!" Troy could tell that Canvas was going to lose it again, and ran up to pull the stallion in for a hug. Canvas was caught off-guard as he felt himself being clung to the gryphon’s chest, and hear him say assuredly, "Canvas, they told me about what happened! I know why you did it, and you didn’t do anything wrong, I swear.”

For a few seconds, Canvas could only stand in a frozen state with his eyes wide-open. Tears continued to trail down his face, and a couple sobs broke out as he leaned in weakly against Troy’s chest. He tried to hug the gryphon as best as he could, but his muzzle couldn’t stop twitching in panicked frustration. Before Troy could try to say anything else, Canvas groaned out in aggravation and shoved him away. The pony tried wiping his cheeks while stumbling a few steps back from the stunned gryphon, and tried to pace back around the destroyed room like a madpony.

“Canvas, COME ON!” shouted Troy as he tried to step in closer, only to cause Canvas to reel back even further. Despite Troy's pleads for him to stop, Canvas kept his distance before stopping dead in his tracks. His breaths were hoarse and panted as he peered at the large canvas board across the room from him. Since it was so large, Canvas couldn't just lift it up to break it like all the others. But as his rage continued to build up inside of him, Canvas quickly grabbed a fallen paint can and lunged it toward the white board.

“GNAAAHHH!!”

Troy could already tell where Canvas was trying to throw it, and hastily shot forward to grab the can before could it hit the board. He made sure to carefully place the can back on the ground as he yelled back. "Canvas! Canvas, please, stop doing this!"

"JUST SHUT UP!!" Canvas picked up another can, and chucked it with a furious roar towards the board. Fortunately, Troy was able to grab it once more with both claws, before he placed it on the ground beside the first.

"Canvas, I know you're upset!” he shouted sternly while holding a claw out at him. “But this can be fixed! You can still talk with that Glimmer mare and explai--"

"It doesn't matter!” Canvas screamed before grabbing yet another paint can. "It doesn't matter what the buck I do! No matter what, there will always be ponies like that! There will always be ponies that treat me like dirt, just because of who I am!!"

Canvas threw the can as hard as he could, but grew even more frustrated when Troy caught it without effort. The gryphon was struggling not to lose his patience, but he was gritting his teeth by the time he put the can back on the floor. "Canvas, don't say that! I know you’re freaked out, but you can’t let ONE jackass get to you! You have tons of friends back in Ponyville! You have ME!! You have a great life now, so DON’T YOU DARE ACT LIKE THIS!!"

The very last thing Troy wanted to do was raise his voice at him, but he couldn’t bear the thought of Canvas losing his faith in others so easily. After everything he went though, Troy knew that the artist had the means to move past this if he tried. Unfortunately, Canvas didn't seem to be listening to him, and kept picking up paint cans to throw at the board.

"It doesn't matter what the buck I do!” he shouted out between choking sobs, as his teary eyes narrowed in rage. “It doesn't matter where I go! It doesn't matter what the buck I do with my life, because there will always be ponies who will look at me and just see a colt-cuddler!! They'll just look at me like I'm nothing, even though they don’t know a DAMN thing about me! No, all they’ll do is say stuff like, 'That’s not natural!'"

Canvas lunged a can at the wall, not caring that Troy caught it as he went to grab another.

"Canvas, stop it!!"

"Or saying stuff like, 'You wanna kiss colts? WANNA GET A SEX CHANGE TOO?!?'"

Canvas threw another, aggravating Troy further as he continued to catch them before they could hit their target.

"Or, 'Stay away from my kids, Canvas!'"

Canvas threw another.

"Or, 'Why can’t you choose to like mares?' LIKE I WOULD BUCKING WANT TO!!"

Canvas threw another. After catching it, Troy was just about to lunge in and grab Canvas by the hooves. “THIS IS GOING TOO FAR!!”

"Or beating me up when I finally came out!!” Canvas screamed as he took hold of a can of silver paint, and held it high over his head while his eyes were clenched shut. “He didn’t even give me a chance to say anything, and just yelled at me, 'GET OUT OF MY HOUSE, YOU COLT-CUDDLER, YOU'RE NOT MY SON ANYMORE!!!'"

Canvas screamed with all his might as he tossed that can as hard as he could. But unlike all the others, the can struck the board at full-force while the gryphon stood completely motionless. Even when the can flew less than a few inches from his head, Troy didn’t register its thunderous crash while staring at his friend with his beak agape. The gryphon was left absolutely speechless, as did the stallion who froze up in shock. Canvas didn’t grab another paint can, and could only look down at the floor in stunned silence at what he just admitted.

About what actually happened that night in Gallop Creek.

Canvas stood in that spot for what felt like hours, and didn’t take notice of anything around him. Meanwhile, Troy slowly stepped forward with a terrified look of concern on his face. As he kept an unblinking stare on Canvas, Troy’s claws trembled a little as he finally understood his friend’s affliction. While he knew that Canvas went through a lot before moving to Ponyville, it wasn’t until that moment that Troy realized how bad things really were for him back home. Troy's heart sunk down into his stomach as thought back to those bandages the stallion used to wear, and how close he was to death in the ICU. His beak struggled not to quiver, but his eyes were already welling from thought of how long Canvas was dealing with all this.

Why he was so hesitant to talk about what happened.

Why he never talked about who hurt him.

Why he acted so distant when he mentioned his father.

Why he ran away for such a long distance.

Why he pushed himself so far.

As he stood before Canvas, Troy tried his hardest to break though his stunned state in order to get through to his terrified friend.

“... Ca… Canvas..."

Canvas didn't move an inch, and remained perilously frozen when Troy started to step in.

"Canvas?"

Again, Canvas didn’t budge or give any response to the gryphon. Troy winced worriedly before grabbing Canvas by the shoulders, and tried to shake the shock out of him. Canvas yelped out with a panicked cry, but Troy was looking just as frantic as he shouted,
"CANVAS, PLEASE! SAY SOMETHING!!"

Canvas finally blinked, and his pupils grew fuller as he looked up at Troy. He started breathing rapidly, and Canvas' bulging eyes began to well up. Troy wasn’t able to say anything else, and could only watch as tears started pouring down the artist’s face. Canvas began to whimper, and his muzzle scrunched in as his distress finally went past the point of no return. In less than a few seconds, Canvas' expression went from a state of shock to pure, tearful anguish.

Troy couldn't hold back as he pulled Canvas to his chest, and hugged him as tightly as he possibly could. Canvas began to sob loudly into his chest, and wrapped his hooves tightly around the gryphon’s back. Troy felt a growing sense of dread, but it wasn’t overwhelming enough to keep hugging the pony with all his might. Of all the theories he had about what happened to Canvas, Troy would've never thought it was something this mortifying.

No matter how badly he wanted to ignore it, the realization still clung to his mind as the terrible truth that Canvas was carrying for so long. He wasn't hurt by some random bully or some unknown drunk. In fact, Canvas wasn't hurt by some stranger at all.

He was hurt by his own father.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Also as a quick sidenote, the next chapter is going to be a flashback scene with strong themes of violence, domestic disputes and family trauma. Because of this, Reader Discretion is advised.

Canvas didn't say anything for a long time, and continued to sob silently while his head was buried in the soft feathers of Troy’s chest. His heart still felt tremendously heavy in his chest, but Canvas was able to stop shaking as he savored the gryphon’s body warmth, and listened to the rhythmic thumps of his heartbeat. Eventually, the forced gasps from Canvas' sobs settled down, which allowed him to breathe somewhat quietly.

Meanwhile, Troy remained deathly silent as he clutched the pony tightly within his claws. Despite how calm he may have felt within Canvas’ embrace, Troy's thoughts were racing past at lightning speed. He may have known that Canvas had a rough past, but he would’ve never guessed the pain went so deep. Not to mention, the gryphon hated to think that Canvas was hurt so badly by somepony that was supposed to be so close to him. Troy's relationship with his own father wasn't exactly great, but he couldn't imagine him doing anything that cruel or heartless.

The only thing Canvas was able to overhear was a brief sigh from above, before he felt Troy’s chin resting down on top of his head. Troy slowly lifted his claw and began to stroke Canvas’ long mane, hoping to alleviate his heartache by the tiniest bit.

Canvas clutched Troy tighter, and struggled not to whimper into his chest. He couldn’t bear to look up at Troy’s face, mostly due to the guilt he felt from never telling him the truth. While he might’ve been willing to give basic details, Canvas never wanted to tell the full story about his past. Of course, that was mostly due to how terrified the stallion felt about the memory; considering how close he was to death that night, Canvas didn’t want to be alone as the memories came flooding in.

"He…”

Canvas' voice came out in a cracked whisper, and he could feel Troy’s grip tightening in response. But as the gryphon remained silent, Canvas kept himself from raising his head up as he began to speak. Instead, he closed his eyes a little tighter to keep his tears held back, and hoped that Troy's embrace would make him feel more secure.

"... He was so proud of me before that night. For the first time after Mom… he… he actually looked happy..."

Troy heard a couple sniffles from the pony clinging to his chest, and then felt some additional warmth from Canvas’ tears soaking into his feathers. But alas, the stallion’s traumatized state couldn’t keep his muzzle from remaining closed in heartache.

"But then… after the graduation…”

Gallop Creek stood dormant as the rain hammered down relentlessly, which caused the grey houses and buildings to look even less inviting after the sun went down. As he slowly trotted down the dirt road, Canvas tried his hardest to keep his mind focused on getting home. Unfortunately, it was hard for him to focus on his steps when he felt his fetlocks becoming matted in a thick coating of mud. The graduation gown was doing a surprisingly good job of keeping most of his fur dry, but his face was still soaked underneath his cap. But even as his body shivered from the cold, Canvas had other worries on his mind. More specifically, he hoped he hadn’t made a huge mistake earlier.

Canvas made sure no rain got inside the art bag lugged over his shoulder, which now contained his new diploma. Despite how small Gallop Creek was, he still felt glad to receive such a high accomplishment as earning a Valedictorian status. But alas, any prideful feelings about his degree were badly weighed down by the looming dread he was feeling. While he wasn’t planning to stay in Gallop Creek for much longer, Canvas knew that he messed up any growing respect he had from the town after his speech.

Among the deafening silence and overheard murmurs following its conclusion, the most troubling thing Canvas noticed was the empty seat in the crowd where his father was supposed to be. He expected to see the dark-green stallion there, showing his support and providing at least one friendly face in the crowded auditorium; but instead, all that Canvas saw was an empty chair with the reserved note taped to the back: ‘Copper Fields’

Canvas was growing more worried as he got closer to his home, and only saw a black shadow among the night’s sky. He had tried to stay at the school until dark, but Canvas was unable to find his Dad after the ceremony. Instead, the poor stallion was left walking among the crowd for about an hour, which left him to feel various ponies’ stares digging into him like painful needles. He didn’t want to think that his father straight-up abandoned him, but Canvas certainly felt casted aside by the time he left the school by himself. When he finally reached his house with the rain still pouring down, Canvas only saw a single light inside through one of the windows; the stallion couldn’t help gulping when he recognized the window, and saw it was coming from his Dad’s personal study.

Canvas slowly walked in, and took off his gown and cap amidst the darkness. Just as he was placing down his art bag and clothing, he heard a thump from behind the closed door of the study. Canvas slowly walked toward the room, even as he felt a sense of dread in his chest growing immensely. When he cautiously turned the knob and opened the door, he wasn’t able to see anypony inside. All that he saw was the single lamp that was turned on beside his Dad’s empty recliner, while the rest of the room remained shrouded in darkness. Canvas’ muzzle tightened as he tried to adjust his eyes to the darkness, and carefully stepped into the room.

"... Dad?”

Canvas heard a floorboard creak behind him, and he turned around just in time to see a large figure in the shadows. The last thing Canvas was able to see was the glimmer of golden brown, which illuminated from his father's whiskey bottle before it collided with his face.

SMASH!!!

With a slurred yell from the stallion brandishing that bottle, half-empty glass vessel smashed with brutal force against Canvas' face. The pony fell to the ground hard, and blood spurting out of his snout like a water balloon. Canvas’ mind was caught in a temporary blank as he collapsed to the floor among the blood and broken glass, and his senses were overwhelmed by the acrid scent of alcohol that soaked into his fur. He coughed up a couple times to make more blood splatter on the floor, but he could barely process a thing before hearing his father’s hoofsteps drawing closer.

"GET THE BUCK UP!"

Due to how badly his ears were ringing from that strike, Canvas wasn’t able to hear his father’s enraged voice; and even if he did, the blow to his head left him semi-conscious and unable to move. Unfortunately, Canvas’ sense of terror kicked in just as he felt his father' hooves grabbing him by the shoulders; and before he could defend himself, the stallion was thrown with his back up against the wall.

Canvas’ left eye was already starting to swell from the impact of that bottle, so he was only able to see his Dad’s livid sneer for about a second or two. And as he held his son by the neck with a single hoof, Copper’s furious voice was accompanied by his breath reeking of alcohol.

"SO YOU'RE A COLT-CUDDLER NOW?!”

Canvas couldn’t even give a response before Copper started punching him repeatedly. The younger pony tried to cry out, but his Dad didn’t show any remorse as he continued to pummel his face with his free hoof. Canvas’ left eye was already in a bad state, but the first couple of punches blackened it to an alarming degree; meanwhile, his right eye was already beginning to swell, and more blood spewed from his battered muzzle.

After several more punches to his face, which stained Copper's green hoof with his son’s blood, he threw Canvas to the floor and started kicking him in the gut. With each vicious strike, Canvas coughed up more blood to leave the taste plastered in his mouth. Despite how horrified and abused he was getting, Canvas tried to speak out in gagging wheezes while struggling on the floor.

"… P-please… please… just… Dad, I--"

"SHUT YOUR MOUTH!!”

Copper grabbed his son by his long mane, causing his son to scream in pain as he was pulled up from the floor. Canvas desperately tried to move his hooves, Copper smashed his face against the wall. Several framed photos fell down from the force of the impact, none of this phasing Copper as he went down to grab him again. Before he could get his grip on him again, Canvas lunged forward with a panicked cry and pushed his father onto his back. He managed to stumble out of the study, but a steady stream of blood dripped from various parts of his face as he tried to run up the stairs.

"GET BACK HERE!!"

Canvas' heart was thundering fearfully, and the sound of his Dad’s voice caused him to stumble up the steps. He heard his father's hooves rushing up the stairs by the time he reached the top, while trickles of blood stained the carpet beneath his hooves. Canvas hoped he could reach his bedroom in time, and lock the door before anything else could happen. But as his vision grew more strained behind his swelling face, Canvas had to frantically use his hooves to feel his way down the hallway for his door.

Just as he touched the doorframe, a hoof suddenly grabbed Canvas by the back of his mane. Canvas tried to scream from that painful yank to his hair, which pulled him back for a second before his father threw his son's face against the doorframe. The impact struck Canvas’ snout directly, and caused him to temporarily lose consciousness as he was thrown to the floor.

Canvas was only out for less than a minute, but his head and face were throbbing in pain when he slowly woke up. His right eye was now swollen completely shut, and Canvas winced as his left eye tried to open around its own bruising. As his eye tried to adjust to the light, he could overhear his father's slurring grunts, as well as sheets of paper being torn. Canvas had to lean up against the wall as he struggled to get back on his hooves, and his ears twitched upon hearing his Dad’s enraged mutterings from his bedroom.

"A colt-cuddler!? A bucking cold-cuddler!? I'm not having that!! No way!! There's no BUCKING way!!"

Canvas' working eye could now see the light coming from his open bedroom. The moment he tried to stumble towards the light source, Canvas stared in horror as he saw his bedroom being torn apart. While his bed was overturned to lay in the middle of the room, all of his belongings were either being broken or strewn around by his drunken father.

Copper was holding a large stack of Canvas' paintings in his hooves, and was carelessly ripping each of them apart before his son's mortified eyes. Years upon years of his hard work were being destroyed right in front of him, many of which were pieces Canvas pridefully made after he discovered his calling as an artist. Even paintings he had made in dedication to his Mother were being destroyed, as shreds of canvas and paper fell to the floor by Copper’s hooves. Canvas no longer processed the throbbing pain in his face and body, and he ran towards Copper in a bolt of unbridled rage. “GNAAAAHHHHH!!!”

Unfortunately for Canvas, his primal yell caught Copper’s attention before he could strike. But even when Copper responded with another brutal decking of his hoof against Canvas’ face, the younger stallion only faltered a little before lunging again. Despite how badly injured he was, Canvas managed to push Copper off of his hooves, and caused him to drop the rest of his son's work.

Copper's head hit the edge of Canvas' dresser when he fell over, knocking him out cold. Canvas was panting frantically as he ran around his destroyed bedroom, and desperately tried to pick up every piece of his artwork before Copper could get back up. He wished more than anything that he was able to pack whatever he could to escape, all while cursing himself for thinking he could’ve ever trusted his Dad. But even with how utterly broken and betrayed he felt, all that Canvas could worry about was getting himself out of the house alive.

With tears dripping down the blood-matted fur of his face, Canvas stumbled out of his room, and nearly fell down the stairs as he made a beeline for the door. Canvas was able to pick up his art bag from the floor, and sobbed to himself as he crammed all the paintings inside without restraint.

Just as Canvas threw the bag over his shoulder, he screamed when he felt Copper’s hoof grabbing him from behind. He wasn’t sure how the older stallion could’ve gotten up so quickly, but the shock of the moment left his body limp in his grasp. Canvas tried to scream out for help, but Copper didn’t show any hesitation as he threw open the front door. He then shoved his son out of the house as hard as he could, which sent the pony flying out into the yard in the middle of the pouring rain.

Canvas fell face-first in the lawn, which was now basically a giant mud-puddle that further dirtied his fur and battered face. Canvas tried to raise his head while it was caked in mud, just as Copper threw his art bag out of the house as well. The bag struck Canvas right in the back of his head, and caused half of the paintings to spill out in the rain. Canvas was wheezing heavily through his sobs as he started grabbing as many pieces as he could, and shoving them back into his bag with his muddy hooves.

"GET THE BUCK OUT, AND DON’T YOU EVER COME BACK!!!”

The pony was only able to take one last glance back up at the place he called home. But when he turned around, Canvas saw his father holding the door while glaring at him, showing nothing but pure hatred and disappointment in his eyes

"...You're better off dead, you bucking worthless freak."

With that, Copper slammed the door, and turned off the front porch light to leave Canvas completely in the dark. The young pony could only lay frozen with his jaw agape, and tears still streaming from his swollen eyes. His sobbing intensified as he struggled to get back on his hooves. When he was finally able to stand under his own weight, Canvas was left in a stunned state when he turned away from his house. Due to all the commotion, his eyes widened when he saw all the other houses in the neighborhood had their lights on; none of the doors were open, but he could see the shapes of many ponies looking through their window blinds to stare at him.

"HELLLLLLP!!” Canvas cried out in desperation, tears streaming down his face while he stood alone on his front lawn. “PLEASE, HELP ME!!!"

Not a single door opened. Even as the stallion continued to cry out for help, the neighborhood slowly turned dark as each individual house began to turn off its lights. By the time the house across the street finally went dark, Canvas’ sobs receded as he stood in a mortified state of shock. Despite being casted aside for everypony to see, it didn’t take long for the pony to realize he was truly alone. Canvas grabbed his art bag from the mud, and held it tightly between his teeth as he galloped off.

He had no idea where he could’ve gone as he disappeared from his own neighborhood, but he knew he couldn’t stay in that blasted town. As far as he was concerned, even staying in Gallop Creek for another day would leave him in a worse state than he was in his former home. But alas, even with how brokenhearted he felt, Canvas tried to tread through the rain as the town limits came up in the distance.

There was only one place in Gallop Creek where Canvas could think to go, which happened to be the local graveyard--the place where his mother rested. Canvas ran all the way there as the storm died down, which left everything underneath him wet and stagnant by the time he reached his mother's grave.

Canvas dropped his bag and threw his hooves around the tombstone, bawling uncontrollably while holding his face against the marble. Not noticing the blood from his face was staining the drying stone, Canvas stayed in that spot for several minutes while gusting winds brushed against his back

Canvas laid against the headstone with a shattered heart, knowing that the only pony who could be there for him, the only pony who ever loved him, had died years ago. The winds blew even harder against Canvas' back, but they weren’t strong enough to keep him at his Mom’s grave. When he slowly raised himself back up, his voice came out in a faint whisper as he stared at the tombstone in defeat.

"I can’t do this, Mom. I… I just can’t do this anymore..."

Despite how hard the winds tried to blow Canvas back toward the stone, he hoisted his muddied bag over his shoulder and rushed out from the graveyard. He galloped past the town limits of Gallop Creek, which had turned deathly silent following the end of that storm. No matter how much his hooves started to hurt, Canvas couldn’t stop galloping as fast as he could. All he could do was close his eyes, and hope that the pain would eventually go away like the town he left behind...

"I… I didn’t have anything to live for… I had absolutely nothing…”

Canvas didn't look up a single time when he recounted what happened, so he couldn’t have noticed Troy’s shock. Meanwhile, the gryphon could only sit with his beak and eyes wide open, looking completely mortified as his body trembled in disbelief. Even by gryphon standards, Troy knew that what happened to Canvas was beyond horrible. But as he heard his friend whimpering louder, Troy kept himself silent while Canvas pushed his head closer against his chest.

"I just kept running. I knew I was hurting, but I didn't care! I just kept running until I couldn't move any more… I just wanted to get as far away as I could. I… I felt like…”

Canvas winced painfully as he clenched his eyes shut, and his teeth gritted tightly in apprehension. He knew he couldn’t keep it in, but he could also remember how horrible he felt when he galloped himself to exhaustion. And as his lips started to quiver, Canvas’ hooves gripped Troy's back a little tighter.

"I… I really felt like I wanted to die…”

The moment those words came out, Troy couldn't hold it in any longer. Tears finally escaped his eyes, and he hugged Canvas tightly in both claws while shouting, "Don’t say that! Please, don’t ever say that again!"

Canvas reopened his eyes when he heard the distress in his friend’s voice. But alas, the pony could only clench them shut again before stammering out a weak, "But… but, I--"

"I know you were hurt!” cried out Troy, who hugged him even tighter as a means to help console the stallion. “I know you've been through a lot, but please! Please don't say anything like that!"

He could hear the pony's muffled sobs through his feathered chest, which caused tears to continue streaming from Troy's eyes.

"Canvas, you're the best friend that I ever had! I can't imagine what I’d do if you weren't around. I… I can’t lose you."

Troy dipped his head down so that the bottom of his chin rested firmly on top of Canvas' head.

"Canvas, you're never going to be alone again. I swear, by everything that I hold dear, that I will always be here for you! You're my best friend, and you always will be! So please… please don't hold in anything like this again!"

Canvas gripped him tighter as he realized what his friend was asking of him. After all these months of trying to keep everything dormant in the back of his mind, Canvas was now being asked to let it all go in his best friend’s embrace. The pony's body began to convulse as he tried to stop his sobbing. Meanwhile, Troy just hugged him tighter, and kept his eyes closed as he gently whispered into Canvas’ ear.

"It's okay, Canvas. I'm here for you. Just… just let it out."

Canvas’ hooves clasped the gryphon’s back tightly, and he pushed his face as hard as he could against Troy's chest before he began bawling. After spending so long trying to move past the horrors that he’d experienced, Canvas never took a moment to vent out all the feelings that had been ruminating just underneath the surface. But now, with the closest friend he'd ever had by his side, Canvas was finally able to let it all go. Every ounce of sadness, frustration, devastation and pain bellowed out in an intense torrent of emotion as he cried out as loudly as he could. Even with his muzzle muffled through Troy's feathers, Canvas' cries still came out in deafening howls. That shook the windows of his trashed studio

As he sat on the floor and held Canvas through his heartbroken weeps, it didn’t take long for Troy to realize that he was crying as well. After learning how badly his friend was treated, and why Canvas looked the way he did before the storm, Troy couldn’t help sobbing alongside him when he could tell how traumatizing it was for the stallion. Nothing else seemed to matter in the destroyed workspace as Canvas and Troy held each other in the darkness, and held each other as close as they could through the pain.

Troy couldn't tell how late it had gotten. Since he was sitting in the middle of the darkened aftermath of drying paint and broken boards, the gryphon wasn’t even able to see the moon from the nearby window. All he could do was look down where Canvas laid on his lap, with his breathing coming out at a slow and resting pace.

With the moonlight shining in through the windows, Troy could see the matted fur on Canvas' face where the tears had dried up. His eyes were still a little puffy while closed, which caused Troy to feel even worse as he tried not to wince; it may have just been the result of Canvas’ earlier crying, but it also reminded Troy of how his eyes looked before that storm...

When he was hurt…

When his father…

Troy clenched his eyes shut and shook his head. He put a claw to Canvas' face, and tried to calm himself down as he felt the smoothness of the stallion’s fur. He was grateful that the bruises and stitches were long gone, but the bitter remains of his tears still served as a temporary reminder.

Troy tried not to wake the stallion, and carefully rubbed the matted fur smooth with a talon. Despite how tranquil Canvas looked as he dozed, Troy felt a heavy pressure in his gut when he thought about what Canvas went through. And even now, the gryphon felt like he was going to cry again if his thoughts went back to what Canvas said earlier.

About his father.

His bucking father...

Troy felt a strong wave of anger hit him, and his beak gritted shut as he tried not to tighten his grip around Canvas’ back. Meanwhile, his thoughts were growing more agitated as he reflected on everything he had learned about his friend. How could somepony do something that horrible to their own son? If Troy never noticed him that fateful day, Canvas could've easily died alone in that field with nothing to his name. Troy held the sleeping pony closer to his chest, silently vowing to hurt the bastard who did that to him; heck, if he wasn’t so concerned about the state of his friend, he’d likely make an overnight flight straight to Gallop Creek to beat Copper to a bloody pulp. Canvas may have been able to come so far past that hurt and rejection, but none of it could've happened if Troy never took that chance in the field. Because of that, Troy's thoughts could only focus on what horrible things he would do to the one who almost killed his best friend.

Who almost killed his own child.

Before his rage could build up any more, Troy felt a sharp pain in his back. Since he'd been sitting in that uncomfortable position for hours, the gryphon groaned silently while rubbing the small of his back with a claw. Looking behind him, Troy quickly took notice of Canvas' loft above the wall. He knew it would be tricky to move the stallion without disturbing his rest, but he certainly wasn’t going to leave him sleeping in the middle of his trashed studio.

Troy lifted himself up slowly so he wouldn’t wake up Canvas, and tried to keep the stallion’s head rested on his shoulder like a sleeping foal. Since the room was already in bad shape anyway, Troy knew a little breeze wouldn't do much more damage; so even as scraps of paper flew around the studio from his gusting wings, Troy quickly flew up above the wall and glided over to Canvas' bed.

After landing on his hind legs, Troy tried to walk bipedally as he carried Canvas to the bed. Once he was close enough, he carefully lowered Canvas' body to the mattress. However, while he was still asleep, Canvas' forelegs wrapped around tightly Troy’s neck to hold him closer. He let out a quiet whimper when Troy tried to let him go, which caused the gryphon to stand for a moment with a look of realization. Even though the idea felt a little weird, Troy wasn’t one to relent as he sighed to himself with his eyes closed.

Troy slowly lowered himself into the bed, while keeping Canvas securely nestled around his forelegs. He wasn’t able to get himself under the covers, but Troy rested his head on the pillow as the pony held him closer. Since the pony was still asleep, Troy could only blush when he felt Canvas nuzzling against his feathered neck. Even though the gryphon’s heart was racing from such an unexpected gesture, he was also too tired to think of pulling himself up from the bed; instead, he could only try to settle in while his claws rested soundlessly against the stallion’s back.

Troy wasn’t sure if it was because of his own exhaustion, the worries he felt regarding his friend’s emotional state, or just how comfortable the mattress felt underneath his and Canvas’ shared weight; but regardless of the reason, the gryphon couldn’t deny that in that moment, he honestly didn’t want to leave Canvas’ place to go back home. He may have still been blushing as he laid awake in another guy’s bed, but he didn't seem to care when Canvas nuzzled his neck again. Instead, Troy tried to settle his breathing as he slowly closed his eyes, and gave a brief nuzzle of his beak against the pony’s mane. The gryphon eventually grew a more contented smile by the time he nestled himself closer to Canvas, and the two were able to hold each other for some much-needed rest.

After all the chaos that happened that night, everything became calm and silent as Canvas and Troy dozed off in each other's embrace. And in those brief couple of hours before morning could come, the stallion and gryphon were both able to sleep soundlessly.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

When he finally awoke the following morning, Canvas hummed to himself upon feeling the warm blanket around his body. He kept his hooves latched around the large mass while his eyes were closed, and savored the warmth as he hugged tighter. The fur beneath his eyes were still matted from the dried tears from the previous night; but in that moment, all that Canvas could feel was a sense of comfort that he desperately didn’t want to pass.

However, as his blue eyes finally opened, Canvas felt his heart sink slightly when he saw nothing but a large pillow in his grasp. The warmth was simply the sunlight beaming through the window, causing Canvas to clench his eyes shut again and hug the pillow some more. But alas, despite his meager efforts, the artist wasn’t able to bring back that allusion which was already slipping from his post-dreamful mind.

Canvas' ears perked up when he heard the sounds of something sizzling, and things banging around in the kitchen. Canvas opened his eyes when the smoke alarm went off, beeping loudly. Troy's voice rang out from downstairs, "Shut up, you stupid fire thingie! I didn't set anything on fire this time!"

Several loud bangs erupted before the beeping suddenly ceased, sounding like a deflated whistle. After a few seconds of silence, he heard Troy groan, followed by something small hitting the floor. Canvas was now fully awake, and was quick to lift himself off the bed.

Troy stepped away from the skillet as he looked out from the kitchen, and toward the hoofsteps he heard coming from upstairs. Once Canvas appeared at the bottom, Troy's heart sank when he saw how badly Canvas looked in the sunlight. His long mane was a ragged mess, with several large tangles strewn around the chestnut locks. Though his eyes dry and no longer red, the tear stains on his fur were still visible, and accompanied by dark bags underneath his half-open eyes. The bottoms of his hooves were still stained with dried paint from the puddles he’d walked through.

As he clutched the door frame, Troy breathed in deeply before speaking. "Are… are you okay?"

Canvas slowly nodded and looked around the living area. Before the pony could say anything, Troy held out his claws. "How about you take a shower before doing anything else? Breakfast is almost done anyway."

Troy tried giving him a reassuring smile, but he was sure that a shade of worry was still on his face. Slowly nodding again, Canvas walked past Troy toward the bathroom. Once inside, Canvas closed the door behind him and headed straight to the bathtub, throwing the curtain back and turning on the water. As it got warmer, and a thick cloud of steam enveloped the bathroom, Canvas began to settle while recollecting what had transpired last night.

“Ughhh… Oh, goddess…”

Canvas struggled to keep himself upright as he recalled his confession to Troy. For so long, the stallion had tried to keep the horrible thoughts from that night as far away as possible, and used his artwork as a distraction. But like a nasty scar, those memories remained inside of Canvas, eating away at him while lying dormant. And with the intensity of a loaded spring, all of those painful recollections shot out right when he was at his lowest point.

Canvas breathed in the steamy air while feeling grateful for his friend, who managed to stay by him before things could get any worse. For the second time since leaving Gallop Creek, Canvas felt that Troy truly saved him from himself.

He eventually dried himself off and stepped out of the bathroom, letting a cloud of steam follow behind him. At that moment, Canvas gasped in horror as he remembered what else he did last night. He rushed into his studio, hoping to the Goddesses that nothing was too ruined. However, as Canvas skidded into the open space, his eyes widened in surprise.

Though it was now much smaller, the row of paint cans was neatly stacked back up along the wall, albeit some stains here and there. On the opposite wall, all of the canvas boards that weren't broken were back in place. A separate pile was made of other boards that were unbroken, but stained with paint laying beside them. On the back wall behind Canvas, the large shelf was propped back up, with every paintbrush meticulously placed back inside and reorganized. Next to it was a well-used mop and bucket, a detail that caused Canvas to notice that the hardwood floors were completely clean. His red couch stood proudly in the middle of the room again, making it look like nothing had ever happened.

When he looked back to the doorway, Canvas saw Troy standing there with a sheepishly guilty expression. “I… I decided to clean up a little while you were asleep. I tried my best, but it was a bitch to get all the paint from between the floorboards."

Canvas stared back at the studio in disbelief, needing a moment to take in how much Troy had done. He then looked back at him speechless, while Troy rubbed the back of his neck.

"I put the stuff that was too wrecked outside by the trash. Luckily, it doesn't look like any of your artwork was destroyed."

Canvas brought his gaze to the ground as he let everything sink in. He was extremely glad that none of his artwork was caught in his path of destruction; but at the same time, he was more shocked that his friend would do all of this for him while he slept. Before anything else could be said, the smell of something burning hit Canvas' nostrils, and he looked past Troy to the kitchen. A cloud of white smoke was coming out from the kitchen doorway, which caused Troy to shout out in shock and flew back inside.

"BUCK! Why did I break the smoke alarm!?"

Once the kitchen was cleared of smoke, and nothing was found to be seriously damaged (save for one melted spatula), Troy let Canvas sit down at the table while he prepared breakfast.

Troy's cooking skills were almost nonexistent, but he still managed to make some grilled cheeses and a plate of slightly burned fried potatoes for the both of them. As the two awkwardly ate across from each other, neither of them spoke, and let the silence take over so they could process their thoughts.

Canvas was mostly focused on how he could try to fix the mess he made with Glimmer Heart, despite knowing how pointless it would likely be. Whereas, Troy tried not to show an annoyed scowl as he thought about how long Canvas had kept his past from everypony. While he could understand not wanting to talk about something like that, Troy was feeling increasingly upset that Canvas didn’t bring it up at all. But before anything could be addressed, he heard Canvas speak after he finished his plate.

"Th… thank you for doing all of this…” Canvas was trying his hardest to smile across the table, but it was notably weak overall. “I still can’t believe you cleaned everything up like that."

Troy could hear how sore Canvas’ throat was after all the yelling the previous night. He figured that now wouldn't be a good time to start anything, which prompted him to sigh with a thankful nod. "It’s no problem, he said sincerely enough, “I just figured that after everything last night, the last thing you wanted was to wake up to a trashed studio. Plus, I was pretty hungry after I got everything fixed, so I decided to cook for the both of us."

Canvas kept a genuine smile in appreciation. "Well, this was really nice of you. Thank you." After pushing his plate aside, Canvas looked back at his workspace with his muzzle tightly clasped.

"I put your paintings and stuff on your couch, and I made sure none of them were ripped or anything. When I was cleaning up, it looked like you had those stashed somewhere before you went all Discord on the place."

"Yeah,” murmured Canvas. Last night may have been a horrifying emotional blur, but he remembered moving all his artwork to a corner, and covering it with a box before he went completely postal. He may have been an emotional wreck at the time, but he knew better than to ruin his own work.

"Honestly, I'm surprised I managed to keep my paintings safe in the state I was in,” said Canvas before he turned back to Troy. "I guess I just didn’t want to get my art destroyed again. If I wrecked my paintings, I…”

Canvas bit his lip, persevered with a sigh to finish. “I think if I did that… I would have just been doing what he did.”

Canvas closed his eyes, while Troy clenched his claws in frustration. Even though he cared for the stallion, much more than he thought he did beforehand, Troy was still irritated about not knowing any of this prior to now. Since the two had been friends for so long, Troy decided to stop letting it slide. After huffing audibly, Troy shot a firm stare back at his friend.

"How come you never told me about this?"

Due to how bluntly Troy asked that question, Canvas almost jolted a little in surprise. When he looked back up, Canvas was worried when he saw Troy’s glare intensify greatly. "Seriously, why the buck didn’t you ever tell me!?”

Troy's voice was much sterner, which caused Canvas to look away and meekly utter, "I… I did. I told you that I--”

"Yeah, you told me you got beaten up, but that was it! You never said it was your bucking dad who did that to you! Seriously, how could you not mention a huge detail like that? How can you just keep something like that hidden!?"

Despite his best efforts to keep himself subdued, Troy couldn't keep himself from yelling. Canvas kept his eyes clenched shut, his muzzle trembling in response to Troy’s berating tone. "Canvas, this is bucking serious! You just can't keep that kind of thing a secret when your friends are trying to help you! You should've told us!"

"I KNOW!!"

Troy froze with a look of surprise, not expecting Canvas to interrupt him with such a sudden blurb. Canvas looked up at Troy in anger, tears already building up at the corners of his eyes as he yelled in a cracking voice, "I know I should have said something, okay!? I know I should've told you, and I'm sorry! I'm sorry that I kept this from you, but you have no idea how hard it's been for me!!"

Canvas kept his glare on Troy between heavy breaths, not noticing the fresh tears streaming down his cheeks. Troy immediately winced in shame, and struggled not to avert his eyes from him.

"Seriously, do you know how hard it was for me to move on from that night!? The last time I thought about what he did to me, i-it was when I was running from that town! A-And back then, it because I wanted to just end it all! That was why I pushed myself like that! That was why I ran that bucking far!!"

Canvas' face scrunched up in a mixture of anger and guilt. Meanwhile, Troy just sat there in stunned silence. Canvas sunk his head into his hooves, whimpering morosely.

"I… I just wanted to forget it. I wanted to forget what he did to me, so I could try to move on. I didn’t want to think about it because… I didn't want to do that to myself again…”

Canvas sobbed softly, and kept his face down on the table when he heard Troy move out of his seat. The gryphon walked toward him, and placed a claw on Canvas' shoulder. He waited patiently until Canvas was able to look back up, and responded in a firmly reassuring tone. "Canvas, I know you've been through a lot, and… and you're right. I don't know how bad it was for you..."

As his expression grew more sympathetic, Troy used a talon to wipe the tears from Canvas' face.

"But that doesn't mean I won't help you. Canvas, I meant every word I said last night. You really are my best friend, and the last thing I want is to see you get hurt again. But if you want me to help you, you can’t keep these things locked inside."

Troy put his claws down, and Canvas nodded in silent agreement. His memories were still painful, but he knew he wasn't doing himself any good by holding them in. Canvas wiped off his face with his napkin, still listening to Troy speak.

"Canvas, if you keep those feelings bottled up, they're just gonna build up until they burst out and do some real damage. You saw what happened last night, right? I'm just glad I could help out before you hurt yourself too badly. And I want to help you, Canvas! I really do! But I can't do that if you can't open up."

“... H-How?” Canvas didn’t intend for that question to be asked so pathetically weak, but he was looking lost when he added, “… What do you mean?"

"I'm just saying,” Troy said as he put his claw back on Canvas' shoulder, "that you shouldn't drag your past with you like this. Even if you try to hide or ignore it, it's just going to get worse if you don't try to let go. I know I'm asking a lot from you, but… if you want to move on, you can’t keep avoiding your problems. You have to at least talk about it. And I promise, I'll always be here to listen when you do."

A sheepish, albeit genuine smile slowly grew across Canvas' face. Troy’s expression brightened as he smiled back, feeling a lot more at ease with him. He knew that his friend went through a lot, and wasn’t wanting to push things further than he already had; but at the same time, he could only hope that out of all the friends that Canvas had made since then, he could at least be the first one he could truly trust.

A sudden knock came from the door to surprise both of them. Troy quickly held up a claw to stop Canvas. "Don't get up. I'll get it."

Before Canvas could protest, Troy walked over to the door himself. He opened it to reveal Glimmer Heart, who was standing silently with a conflicted-looking wince. Her eyes widened before stepping back, not expecting to see a gryphon instead of the artist. Nevertheless, Glimmer quickly composed herself and cleared her throat.

"O-Oh! Ummm… Hello, there. I came to speak with Canvas about what happened last night. Is he here?"

Troy looked back at Canvas for a second, pausing in contemplation before he turned his attention to Glimmer. "Listen, there's been a lot going on right now, so I'm not su--"

"It's alright, Troy."

Both of them turned their attention to Canvas, who huffed in trepidation before walking toward the door. Troy cautiously stepped back from the two, his expression appearing equally as wary.

When Canvas stood opposite of Glimmer Hear, he tried his best to match the mare’s professional mannerisms through his meager voice.

"Glimmer Heart, I… I just want to start by apologizing for my actions. I know that I lost con--”

"Canvas,” said Glimmer, who was quick to interrupt him with a raised hoof. As the stallion cringed worriedly, she took a breath while her eyes were closed. "Let me start... When I got to the hospital, my husband, Hot Shot, was found to have a broken snout, and several stitches due to the lacerations. When I asked him about what happened, he told me that he tried to make a formal complaint before you harassed him."

Canvas bit his lip in anger and looked away with a strong grimace. While he barely knew the unicorn, he figured that the bigot would try to twist the story to make himself look like the victim. But before Canvas could retort, Glimmer kept her hoof raised as she continued.

"However, I also talked to your two friends, Lyra and Bon-Bon, who visited me earlier this morning." Glimmer pointed out from the doorway, directing to the aforementioned two. Canvas and Troy were surprised to see the couple waiting outside, both looking just as worried while carrying optimistic smiles.

"They told me a fairly different story,” continued Glimmer, with her voice carrying more hesitance, “in which my husband was harassing them, and you were defending the two."

As he caught the change in Glimmer's tone, Canvas nodded in hope he could be able to verify that detail. However, Glimmer was the first to confirm things when she took a couple steps back, and lit up her horn brightly. Her aura expanded out to conjure a large rectangular block of grey, fuzzy light between them.

"Before the social, I placed a surveillance spell around various parts of the ballroom, including the kitchen, for security purposes. I originally planned to have this in case anything was stolen or misplaced; however, when I heard Lyra and Bon-Bon's story, I looked back through the footage myself to see what really happened..."

With a quick flash, the screen showed a video feed of the kitchen, playing back the moment when Hot Shot began yelling at the two mares. Canvas may have been surprised about seeing legitimate proof in his favor, but he kept his muzzle shut while the confrontation played out. Meanwhile, Troy leaned in with widening eyes as he watched the encounter himself.

As soon as the word “filly-foolers” came out of Hot Shot's mouth, Canvas saw Glimmer cringe especially hard with her eyes pointed elsewhere. When the artist himself appeared on screen and proceeded to give his tirade, Canvas could overhear Troy mutter a "Whoa,” at seeing his friend’s intensity.

When Hot Shot made his final jab, with Canvas beating him down in the ballroom, the stallion looked away in guilt. Troy kept his eyes glued to the screen, and his beak dropped while struggling not to laugh.

"Dang!” yelled Troy, before he looked back at his friend with an impressed grin. "That is friggin’ badass, dude!"

Troy instantly regretted that statement, as he was quick to glance back at Glimmer Heart shooting a nasty glare. Troy sputtered out as he stepped back, his feathers ruffling out. "Sorry! I mean, I didn't mean like… I-I mean--”

"Just drop it.” Glimmer stopped the feed, the screen disappearing with a flash of her horn. She closed her eyes with a sigh, before she turned her attention back to the stallion.

"Canvas, I… I had no idea my husband would act like that.” When she reopened her eyes, Canvas could tell how utterly shameful she felt while speaking sincerely. “I may have known that he had a temper at times, but I have never heard him say such things to anypony when I was around. I'm not going to say that what you did was right, because it wasn't."

Canvas bit his lip and nodded awkwardly. Hot Shot may have been an absolute prick, but a couple of slurs shouldn’t have equated to a hospital visit.

"However, if there's one thing I absolutely cannot tolerate, it's intolerance. I would’ve never approved of him treating anypony like that, or for him to use that kind of language toward you and your friends. And for that, I am so sorry."

Canvas could only blink a couple times in stunned silence, his eyes widened immensely in surprise.

"My line of work depends on how I treat my clients,” she continued insistently, “and that includes how the ponies associated with me treat my clients as well. To say that Hot Shot’s actions were wrong would be an extreme understatement. And I just want you to know that I have absolutely no bias over anypony, and I certainly would not judge a pony for how they live their lives. I’ve told Lyra and Bon-Bon this as well, and apologized to them profusely for what Hot Shot said. While you may have reacted wrongly, my husband acted wrong first, and I feel it's my responsibility to apologize on behalf of the both of us."

Canvas needed a moment to process the honesty in Glimmer’s words, but eventually nodded before giving a response. "Oh, um… w-well, thank you,” he said genuinely. “I really appreciate you telling me all that. But I want you to know that I'm sorry as well for acting violently. I shouldn't have gone that far, and…”

With that pause, his gaze averted from Glimmer while lowering his head in remorse. “... and I completely understand if I'm no longer part of the gallery."

Troy, Lyra, and Bon-Bon looked at Canvas with shocked expressions, not wanting him to accept such a defeat after everything was resolved. However, while Canvas stayed silent and looked at the ground, Glimmer only needed a second before clearing her throat.

"That won’t be necessary, Canvas. I could tell that you only acted out to help your friends, which I can completely understand. And while I had seriously considered not keeping you in the exhibit…”

Despite how sternly she added that detail, Glimmer looked back at Lyra and Bon-Bon before looking at Canvas with more sympathy.

"I know that you're still a good pony overall. And… I'm willing to allow you to keep your place as part of the gallery."

Canvas put a hoof up to his mouth to contain his shocked gasp. Lyra and Bon-Bon were grinning wide as they hoof-bumped each other. Troy grabbed Canvas from behind, lifting him up so his hooves dangled from the floor. The gryphon may have taken notice of Glimmer’s surprised reaction, but he couldn’t have cared less while hugging his friend elatedly and smiling with pride. “Ha, HA!! Holy crap, YES!! That’s awesome!!”

"Really?!” By the time Canvas was lowered back down from the gryphon’s embrace, he was smiling just as wide while gawking back at Glimmer. “Th-thank you so much! I… I don't know what to say!"

"All that I ask,” said Glimmer with a warmer voice, "is that you focus on your work for the gallery. I'm giving you a second chance because I know you can do this, and I want to make sure I'm not making a mistake. Understood?"

Canvas stood upright, his grin fading into a more serious expression. “Yes I do, Glimmer Heart. I won’t disappoint you."

Satisfied by his answer, Glimmer Heart nodded back with a smirk. "Then I hope to see you in two weeks for the premiere."

Canvas and Glimmer shook hooves in agreement, with their interaction ending on a professional note by the time she finally left his home. But even with how much he tried to keep himself composed, Canvas was feeling absolutely ecstatic that he was getting another chance. As soon as Glimmer was out of sight, Lyra and Bon-Bon cheered in delight, and rushed inside to hug Canvas with blissful smiles. As the pony grimaced with a strained look from how tightly he was being latched, Troy could only chuckle while watching the three with amusement.

"We're so glad you're alright, Canvas!" shouted Bon-Bon as she kept hugging him. "We were so worried about you!"

"It's alright...” Canvas’ voice became weak with emotion by the time both mares let go of him. "I know things were bad, but… B-But I really do feel a lot better now." With that, Canvas turned his attention back to Troy, and smiled at him with the utmost gratitude he could muster in his expression. Troy couldn’t help smiling back, his cheeks blushing a little with pride.

"Well Troy,” said Lyra as she smirked at him as well, "we're really glad you were here while we got to Glimmer. How did you get in?"

"Through the hatch door on the roof,” answered Troy, pointing a claw up towards the ceiling. "I managed to calm him down before any of his artwork was destroyed."

"Oh yeah!" shouted Canvas as he rushed back to his studio. "I gotta get working on my big piece for the gallery!"

"Oh, of course!” Lyra’s eyes widened upon recalling their conversation last night, and remembering Canvas’ previous artists’ block. However, she eventually turned her attention from Troy, who was still inside the stallion’s home, to the ruffled bed that was left visibly used above in the loft. Lyra's eyes narrowed before grinning slyly, and looking back at Canvas with a smirk. "Hmmmm… I think Bon-Bon and I should head off so that you can get focused."

“Wait, what?” Bon-Bon blinked puzzledly back at her wife. "But Lyra, do you really think we--"

"It's alright, honey,” said the mint mare with a more insistent stare while smiling back at her. "I think they'll be just fine~"

With that, Lyra looked back at the two for a second while trying not to snicker. She was the first to exit Canvas’ place without much else to say, leaving the stallion alone in his studio. Bon-Bon may have followed her spouse, but she was still looking confused while glancing back at the stallion and gryphon. When the two were out of sight, Troy heard Lyra shout out one more thing from outside: "Have fun, you two! Hehehehe~"

“Oh, honey!” griped Bon-Bon’s voice with annoyance. “Don’t act like that!”

“What? I’m not saying anything~”

“I don’t care, this is not the time!”

“Ugh… Oh, alright, alright…”

By the time the mares finally left the home for good, Troy blinked a few times in confusion while processing Lyra’s statements.

"Wait, what did she mean by that?” he asked to himself, before looking back at the doorway of the studio. “Canvas, what do you…”

Troy’s words quickly trailed off, and his eyes widened when he caught the foreboding silence from his friend. Troy slowly stepped inside the studio to investigate, only to see the stallion’s back facing him. Canvas was standing completely still, staring up at the large canvas board leaning against the wall. Over the past few weeks, Canvas wasn't able to do anything with it due to a lack of inspiration. But as of now, the board had a large, grey paint stain splattered across the middle. Troy gasped with a claw to his beak, recalling how he had tried to protect that board the previous night; unfortunately, that was before Canvas struck the board with the paint can after admitting what his father had done.

Troy looked utterly mortified, but he could only imagine how Canvas was feeling in that moment. He could only see the back of Canvas’ head from his angle, while the stallion kept staring at the large splash of grey that stuck out from the white canvas. Even with the amount of time Canvas may have had to paint, the gryphon was aware how badly the artist screwed up the foundation for his biggest piece.

"Canvas, I… I'm really sorry..."

Troy tried to reach forward with a claw, hoping to get to his friend before anything could happen. But all of a sudden, Canvas' head jolted upward, as if a light bulb turned on within his conscience. His head started cocking to each side, while his eyes narrowed intensely on the splotch of grey paint before him. Confused by the sudden change in Canvas' posture, Troy stepped forward to get a glance at Canvas from the side.

“Ummmm…” Instead of devastation or anger, Troy could only see pure focus in Canvas’ eyes. The pony slowly moved around to stare at the board at differing angles, keeping himself silent in thought. Troy blinked a few times with a befuddled look, and tried to ask, “Dude, are you--”

"I GOT IT!!"

Canvas ran past Troy like he wasn’t even there, and grabbed a thick brush from the back shelf with his teeth. Then he ran over to the wall of paint cans, and grabbed several of the buckets with his hooves. Juggling all the items together, Canvas wobbled on his hindlegs back toward the board, and placed all the cans on the floor before opening the tops. Troy could only stare at the stallion in shock, not expecting to witness such a sudden burst of creativity right off the bat. “So… are you alright, Canva--”

"Yep!"

Troy wasn't expecting the stallion to even acknowledge him, let alone respond to his question so quickly. Canvas dipped the brush into one of the cans, and kept it in his teeth as he started painting part of the left side of the board with a bright shade of yellow. As the white canvas began to disappear behind that thick coat of paint, Troy could see how determined the pony was looking through his unblinking eyes.

"Well, ummm…” Troy awkwardly looked around the cleaned studio, and merely shrugged before saying, “I guess I'll get going then."

"Yeah, okay,” said Canvas with the brush still in his mouth. “Don’t you have that audition today?"

Troy's eyes shot open with another gasp. He looked back at the wall clock before shouting, "Oh yeah, I do! I need to get ready for that."

"Alright!” blurted Canvas quickly, not looking back at the gryphon while continuing his brushstrokes. “Don’t worry about me, I got this!”

Troy could tell that Canvas was in his zone, and probably wouldn’t respond to anything else by now. Despite not wanting to leave him alone, Troy didn’t want to ignore the audition when Canvas suggested it in the first place. So after giving an unnoticed wave of his claw, Troy gave a quick goodbye before walking out of Canvas’ workspace. But as he went to open the front door, Troy froze when he heard Canvas call out:

"WAIT!!"

Troy glanced back at the studio, just as Canvas rushed out with a frantic look on his face. He ran right up to Troy, and skidded to a halt while wide-eyed. After pausing momentarily, Canvas shot forward, and threw his hooves around Troy's neck for a tight hug. Troy may have been taken aback by such an abrupt gesture, but remained in place as he heard his friend whisper weakly, "Thank you, Troy. For… F-For everything. I just… I'm really glad I have you."

Troy breathed out with a gracious smile, and closed his eyes tightly while hugging Canvas in response. Neither of them said a thing during their long moment of embrace, not that anything needed to be said after all they endured the previous night. Troy wasn't sure how long they held that position, but it didn’t feel nearly long enough by the time Canvas pulled back. By the time both of them were back on all fours, Troy was grateful to see Canvas looking genuinely happy again.

"A-And, ummm… Good luck."

With that final statement from Canvas, Troy nodded with a smile as he left the barn. He made sure to close the door behind him, just as he heard Canvas galloping back into the studio. Troy breathed in the fresh air for the first time, pausing as he put a foreleg around his chest to relish the warmth he’d felt from Canvas.

His heart started racing before looking back at the barn, not seeing anything through the window. Even though he hadn’t expected to help out his friend so much over the span of a single night, Troy felt an immense bout of warmth spreading throughout his body as he smiled to himself.

He then glanced up at the sky, and felt a lot more energized as he spread his wings open. He may have not had any coffee yet, but he didn’t want to be late for his audition. Despite his nervousness, he couldn’t really focus on that after recalling the promise he made to his friend. Troy soared upwards to the morning skies, shooting back to his cloud to get ready. He felt nothing but a new wave of euphoria coursing through his body as the wind shot past him. Remembering what Canvas said to Glimmer Heart, Troy couldn’t help feeling the same way in regards to his own plans.

I won't disappoint.

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Outside the Ponyville Theater, a small crowd of ponies eagerly waited for the casting to be unveiled. Among the group included a grey pegasus who was standing quietly, with her eyes focused on two different spots: the left pointed at the empty bulletin board ahead of her, while the right gazed up at the skies above. As she waited anxiously, the blonde-maned mare wondered whether the sheet or her new friend would arrive first. Just then, the gryphon flew in from above.

As soon as he landed outside the crowd, Troy shook the sweat off his feathers following his hasty flight. The mare quickly tried to shuffle through the ponies to head towards him. Troy gave an enthusiastic wave as he walked over. "Hey, Derpy! How's it going?"

Derpy gave an equally bright smile back to the gryphon. "I've been pretty good, and Dinky says hi." She turned her crossed gaze back to the crowd, and stared in confusion at the bulletin board and its continued blankness. "Oh man, I can’t believe it's taking so long for the announcements to be made!"

"I know,” said Troy, easily able to see the board due to his height. "It's like the director had no idea what she was going to do for this."

"Probably,” noted Derpy with a light shrug. “I heard that happens sometimes. Do you think she was looking for the right play to include you?"

Troy struggled not to laugh, and rolled his eyes with a scoff. "Oh, yeah right. I really don't think that's gonna happen."

"Oh come on!" jeered the mare, who playfully jabbed at his shoulder. "Troy, you gotta be more confident in yourself! Ever since your audition, she's been keeping you on for every callback! I mean, that first song you did was absolutely brilliant!"

Despite Derpy’s persistent praises, Troy wasn't sure if he was good enough to be among the more experienced ponies around him. While the director definitely looked impressed after his first audition, Troy knew he had some big issues when it came to actually acting. In every callback he was picked for, Troy struggled to memorize his lines, and had no idea about the various stage directions. He knew that his renditions of the given songs were alright, though he’d never heard any of them before in his life. Regardless, Troy felt that being a decent singer wasn't going to be enough to be given a major role.

Well, Troy thought to himself, I can’t say I didn’t try.

The theatre doors opened up, and an earth pony mare with a light-orange coat and poofy white mane stepped out, whom Troy knew to be the director. She shuffled through the crowd with the sheet in her mouth, and waited until the ponies around her stepped back before stepping up to the bulletin board. Once she tacked the paper onto it, she walked back inside without saying a word, seemingly unaware of the impatient ponies pushing themselves to look at the list.

Derpy quickly flew upwards and hovered over the crowd, getting plenty of free space as one of the few pegasi present. Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she leaned in and read the names.

Before Troy could spread his own wings open to join her, the grey mare shrieked out in joy and barreled back towards him. She caught the gryphon off-guard as she tackled him to the ground, hugging him in absolute glee.

“OHMIGOSH!!!” she shrieked out elatedly. "I got the lead I got the lead I got the lead I got the leeeeeeeaaaaad!!"

Troy couldn’t help smiling wide to the mare’s good news, and hugged her back before managing to pry her off his chest. As the crowd dissipated, many of them looked disappointed as they sulked from the list of ponies in the cast; however, there were also a few that happily trotted off with content smiles. Troy made his way toward the board, leaving Derpy to dance around with her squealing still audible. As he bent in to read through the casting, started at the bottom of the list and worked his way to the top, until--

Troy's beak couldn't have dropped any quicker. His name, as clear as day, was at the top of the list alongside Derpy's. His left eye began twitching uncontrollably, his eyes blinking repeatedly in shock. Troy didn't notice at first when Derpy started hugging him again, even as she began cheering and hopping up and down.

"I can’t believe it! We're both leading! We're both leading together!!"

Troy couldn't help himself as he grew a large smile of his own, and he began jumping alongside the pegasus hugging him tightly. Even though he was stunned to say the least, his excitement was unbound at the prospect of his first performance ever being a lead role. Before he knew it, Troy was laughing when he held Derpy up and squeezed her, almost suffocating the mare before yelling out in joy.

"YES! Yes, yes, yes, yes! This is awesome! I can’t wait to tell--"

Suddenly, Troy gasped and dropped Derpy back down. He looked up at the clock tower nearby, his brows raising up in surprise.

"Oh shoot! I gotta get to the train!" After giving Derpy one more big hug, Troy flew off while shouting, "See you on Tuesday, Derpy!"

"Alright, have fun!" Derpy shouted back, waving her hoof while watching him leave. It was surprising to see him disappear so quickly after such big news, but she already knew he had big plans for the weekend. Before he could get out of earshot, she made sure to yell out, “Be sure to tell Canvas good luck on his art show!!”

Troy landed at the train station platform just in time, skidding to a halt with his talons grinding against the wooden floor. His entrance terrified half of the ponies around him, but the sweating gryphon didn’t seem to notice while his eyes were pinned at the train. He pulled out the ticket from his satchel, and was quick to give it to the wide-eyed ticket-collector before stepping on board.

Despite how spacious the train may have been, Troy’s size made him feel rather cramped while scanning the rows of seats he passed. While trying to find his friend, Troy turned around when he felt someone poke at his back.

"There you are, Troy!” Lyra had a relieved smile on her face after catching the gryphon’s attention. “We were wondering if you were gonna make it! Come on, the others are waiting back in the sleeper cars."

The two made their way to the cabin cars, with Troy muttering a quick “Sorry” each time his wings accidentally brushed against somepony in their seat. Once they reached the outside of the sleeper cars, Troy was surprised to find that the entrance doors were to the right. He opened the entrance to find a narrow hallway within, a row of doors on the left side leading into separate rooms. As he followed the unicorn mare, Troy entered one of the rooms where Bon-Bon was sitting by herself. Upon seeing the two, Bon-Bon quickly got out of her seat to hug Troy.

"There you are!" As the steam engines could be heard rumbling from outside, Bon-Bon looked just as happy as her wife about the gryphon’s lucky arrival. Troy looked around in confusion before sitting on the bench opposite of them, but tried to get himself comfortable as the train began to move.

"So, uhhh… where's Canvas at?” he asked before glancing out the window, seeing the Ponyville train station slowly passing his line of sight. “Is he in another car?"

"He's in the room next door,” answered Lyra. "I think he's asleep right now, so it might not be a good idea to wake him up."

"Oh, alright then." With that, Troy leaned back in his bench while Lyra and Bon-Bon chatted amongst themselves.

As the train moved faster along the tracks, Troy looked around the room some more with an appreciative smile. Due to the cabin’s spacious size, he could actually sit comfortably with Lyra and Bon-Bon without feeling like he was in a sardine tin. He could remember how cramped his seat was when he first took the train to Equestria from the Gryphon Kingdom, which was horribly cheap in comparison to this one. Since most equine amenities weren’t made for gryphons, it surprised him to find that something meant for ponies that could be so comfortable. Troy eventually stretched out across the bench with a pleased sigh, and sat in a more laid-back fashion.

"Man,” said Troy as he stretched out his legs, “this is way better than I thought it was going to be."

"I know,” said Bon-Bon, who scooted closer to her wife contentedly. "I’m pretty sure Glimmer Heart upgraded our tickets to make up for that whole Hot Shot incident."

Lyra groaned and slouched on her seat. "Ugh! Please don't remind me of that homophobic jerk! Seriously, I really felt like I was gonna deck that guy if Canvas didn't do it first."

Troy smirked as he recalled that footage he watched, and how many punches Canvas got in such a short amount of time. Considering everything that Canvas went through, Troy had to admire how tough the pony acted through that whole ordeal.

"Yeah, I get what you mean,” he said with a slight shrug of disbelief. “I mean, considering how badly he got her husband, I'm kinda shocked that Glimmer would do something like this at all."

“Well, what was she supposed to do?” asked Lyra while smirking with a tilt of her head. “Even if she went through with pressing charges against Canvas, she’d have to deal with a P.R. nightmare after her husband harassed us. If that recording went out, her reputation would likely be worse off than Canvas’.”

Troy didn’t say anything, but blinked a couple times before nodding in understanding. Sure, Canvas may have beaten that guy to a bloody pulp, but it was doubtful that most ponies would blame him after the way Hot Shot acted. However, his focus was quickly redirected towards Bon-Bon when she gasped in realization.

"Oh! I almost forgot!” Bon-Bon pointed a hoof at Troy and asked, “Did Canvas tell you what happened with them? The last I heard, Glimmer Heart actually divorced him!”

"Wait, what!?" Troy had to jolt his head while blinking wide-eyed. "Holy crap, really!? She dumped him for what he did?"

"Actually no!” Bon-Bon looked just as befuddled as the gryphon, and huffed before saying in addition, “From what I heard, she tried to get him to do couples counseling because of his anger issues. But during their first session, they got in a huge fight in front of their therapist, and he accidentally admitted to an affair!"

"Whoa!" Troy had to hold a claw over his beak to keep from laughing too loud. “Damn, talk about karma! Does Canvas know about that?”

"Well…” Lyra’s muzzle skewed in apprehension, and she turned her head to the door before answering Troy’s question. "We talked to him a little bit at the station, but I don't think he was listening too well. He was, like, really tired when he got here! He kinda looked like a zombie! He was even covered in a lot of paint, but he didn’t seem to notice it."

Troy blinked a couple times, before looking away from the mares with a contemplative expression. "Oh..."

Troy remembered when he last saw Canvas two weeks ago, right after the stallion had that sudden burst of inspiration. Ever since then, Troy wasn't able to see him at all while locked in that studio. While he knew the painting was a big deal for Canvas, Troy wouldn’t have expected him to be working on it the entire time. However, given how intense of an emotional downpour the artist experienced, the gryphon was sure that the isolation was something Canvas needed to do for himself, regardless of the risk.

“Hmmm…” Troy leaned back against the back wall, humming in thought about what Canvas may have done with all that time. Aside from that giant splotch of paint he last say, he couldn’t say he had any idea what the pony made for the gallery. Meanwhile, Bon-Bon cleared her throat to grab his attention.

"So what's new, Troy? We heard that you've been auditioning for the town musical this year!"

Lyra’s face lit up as she stared at Troy expectantly as well. Troy sighed with a roll of his eyes, and tried not to smile too bashfully. "Yeah, I have,” he admitted with a light blush. “In fact, I just got back from the casting announcements today, and I got the lead role!"

The two mares gasped in pleasant surprise, with Lyra hopping out of her seat excitedly. “Whoa, really?! Sweet Celestia, you must have been amazing at the auditions! What's the play? What role do you have?"

"Well, I don't know the play that well…” Despite how happy he was about his theatrical success, he looked away from the two in embarrassment due to his lack of knowledge in the craft. “... but it said I'm playing the Phantom or some--"

Troy jolted from how loudly they gasped that second time. "SERIOUSLY!?” shouted Lyra with her eyes nearly bulging from her skull. “You're playing the Phantom!? I… I can’t believe it! That's amazing, dude!"

Lyra shot forward and hugged Troy tightly, leaving him with a deeper blush that matched his confused smile. Bon-Bon just stared him up and down, needing a moment before saying her own piece. "You know what? I can actually see you playing that really well! I mean, the character kinda works for a gryphon, if you think about it.”

“Actually, yeah!” added Lyra after letting go of Troy. She looked back at her spouse and added, “Plus, Rainbow Dash said he had a great opera voice, so he can probably rock those songs without issue!”

Troy still couldn’t comprehend what exactly was so great about this ‘Phantom’ play, but given how optimistically the mares were raving about his news, he still smiled thankfully while Lyra returned to her seat.

"Well, I honestly never heard of this play before,” he confessed with a brief wince. “We don’t really have musicals back in the Gryphon Kingdom, so I'm kind of nervous about it."

"Oh, don't worry!" Lyra was quick to levitate her luggage bag from the rack above her. As she spoke, she opened one of the side pockets to rummage through her belongings. "I have a cassette of the soundtrack somewhere in my bag. I'll lend it to you if you need it."

"Really?" Though unexpected, Troy’s face lit up upon hearing that detail. Considering how he needed something to occupy his time before Canvas woke up, he shrugged his shoulders before taking the tape from her mint aura. "Well… I guess I can use my walkman to hear what all the hubbub is about..."

For the rest of the day, Troy rested across his bench while listening to the soundtrack through his headphones. Meanwhile, the two mares left the gryphon alone, and occupied their time with a deck of cards Bon-Bon had in her bag. As he listened through the tape, which included the actual play dialogue between songs, Troy could see why the show was so popular to ponies; in fact, after hearing some of the leads’ songs in particular, he was feeling downright excited to try his claw at them himself.

By sunset, Lyra and Bon-Bon were leaning against each other tiredly in their seat. Since he had already listened through the entirety of Lyra’s tape (as well as played back a couple of the songs on repeat), Troy decided to go to the room next door. As he lifted himself up, he caught the mares’ attention and said, "Hey, I'm gonna go check on Canvas, alright?"

"Alright,” said Lyra while snuggling with her half-conscious wife. “And you can keep listening to that tape if you want."

Troy smiled with a thankful nod, and silently left the room so they can have their rest.

Troy slid the door closed behind him, and put the walkman back into his satchel before looking into the next room. From the door window, Troy wasn't able to see anypony on either bench. But as soon as he slid the door open, the gryphon’s brows rose up when he saw Canvas lying on the floor. The artist was splayed out across the ground, still passed-out while using his art bag as a pillow.

Even with the limited light from the window, Troy could see the various colors of paint splattered all over the stallion’s fur. Canvas' long mane, which also had several splashes of colors matted to it, was covering a large part of his face as he slept. Because of that, a few strands blew out every time he exhaled weakly.

Troy was careful to step over the pony, and laid himself down across one of the benches while gazing down at Canvas. Due to how constantly his mane was blowing from his snout with every breath, Troy slowly reached down and pulled a couple strands away from his muzzle. Even as the train passed various structures, which caused dark shadows to zoom past the cabin’s interior, Troy kept his gaze on Canvas while his face was illuminated under the moonlight. The gryphon eventually rested his head on the bench, with his face less than a few feet from the stallion’s. Considering how long it had been since he last saw his friend, Troy couldn’t help staring in fascination from how peaceful the pony looked.

Canvas was resting without a care in the world, which made Troy smile in relief after everything that transpired two weeks ago. Without any tears matting his face, or any feelings of worry or frustration to take away his smile, Canvas simply looked at ease throughout his slumber. The chugging of the train engine, and the clacking of the wheels against the tracks, were the only things that overtook the silence of that moment. That, and Canvas’ calm breathing, which went at a gentle but steady rhythm.

Troy wasn't sure how long he was staring at Canvas, keeping silent as he admired his friend’s serenity. But as soon as the stallion’s muzzle began to twitch, and his eyelids began to flutter open, Troy quickly moved his head back to appear resting more casually.

“Mnnnghhh…” After stretching his back out and yawning loudly, Canvas slowly opened his eyes, looking around before he noticed Troy resting on the bench above him. “Huh… Oh, hey Troy…”

Canvas grunted as he got himself back on his hooves, with his knees wobbling a little from fatigue. Troy moved himself to a sitting position, which left more than enough room for his friend to sit beside him. Canvas slowly sat down beside the gryphon, ignoring the other bench across from them while blinking tiredly. Despite the fact that it was nighttime, Canvas still felt unbelievably tired as he grimaced from the bitter dryness in his mouth. Before Canvas could reach down to his art bag to find a water bottle, Troy handed him one from his satchel.

“Hmm?” As soon as he saw the bottle in Troy’s claw, Canvas smiled weakly and accepted the gesture. "Oh, thanks."

"S' alright,” said Troy with a light shrug of his shoulders. “You look pretty wiped out anyway."

“Yeah, I know…” Canvas took a few large gulps, nearly coughing as soon as he pulled the bottle from his lips. "I guess it’s pretty obvious, huh?"

The artist chuckled a little as he looked down at himself, and saw how much paint was splattered all over him. "Jeeze, I guess I should've taken a shower before coming to the train. I'd hate to think what Glimmer Heart will think when she sees me in Canterlot."

"Honestly,” said Troy while smiling optimistically, "looking like that would probably show her you've been working your flank off. If anything she'd probably admire that."

"You think so?" Canvas ran a hoof through his mane, wincing from how much of a tangled mess it became with the dried paint. "I guess that's the only impression I can hope for right now."

"Hey, don’t worry about it.” Troy relaxed on his side of the bench, and stretched out while keeping some distance from Canvas. “You're gonna be great at that gallery, I know it."

The stallion looked back at him with a gracious smile, not needing to question his friend’s sincerity in the slightest. Meanwhile, the gryphon looked back at him for a moment, before his beak skewed slightly in thought.

"So, Canvas…” He tilted his head curiously, and then asked, “why do you have a long mane?"

"Because I don’t cut it?" Canvas looked to his friend, a sarcastic tone matching his smirk. While Troy didn’t care much for smartass presonses (particularly Rainbow Dash's), Canvas' banter was valid proof that he was feeling a lot better following his rest.

"Well, what I mean is…” Troy noticed a small piece of dried paint, which was barely hanging on to a strand of Canvas' mane. He reached out to pick it away before he continued. "How come you don't cut it? I mean, it's probably a bit of a nuisance for you, isn’t it?"

"Well…” Canvas’ face displayed uneasiness, and his eyes averted from the gryphon while squirming weakly. "The thing is… the last time I had my mane cut, it… it was by my Mom..."

“... Oh…” Troy struggled not to cringe awkwardly as he looked away toward the window. “Right. That… That makes sense, I guess...."

He didn’t want to keep an uncomfortable bout of silence between them, but Troy wasn't sure of what to say. After readjusting the wings on his back, Troy looked back at Canvas and tried rewording his question. "I just meant, like... have you ever thought about cutting it? Or at least, trimming it a bit?”

Canvas slowly ran a hoof down some of the locks of his chestnut mane. Despite the skew of his muzzle, Troy was happy to see a brief smile on Canvas’ face as well.

"Yeah, it can be a little irritating. I've gotten it caught in more than a few things. Plus, it's a bit of a pain to wash, and especially annoying to dry, since it takes forever to do..." While seated on his side of the bench, Canvas sighed before letting go of his mane, and let it fall back across his shoulders. As he looked up to the ceiling, he appeared lost in thought for a moment.

"I guess… I guess that I just didn’t want to… you know... do anything to forget her..."

As another bout of silence began to seep in, Troy sighed once more. Given how sensitive the topic would be to address, Troy hoped that his response wouldn’t be taken badly.

"Hey, it's not like doing something like that will automatically make you forget her. I mean…” During his pause, Troy tried not to feel too distracted from Canvas glancing back at him. “... from what I've heard you say about her, it seems like it would take way more than a manecut to do something like that."

Canvas returned his gaze to the ceiling, but didn’t show any signs of a poor reaction. Pressing his luck, Troy decided to keep going. "Like… it’s obvious that you love your Mom more than anything. Shouldn't… shouldn't having her in your heart be enough?"

Canvas blinked once more, and breathed out slowly while letting those words sink in. He remembered what Troy said about not holding onto the pas. But obviously, Canvas knew that didn't include forgetting his own Mother. Until several months ago, losing his Mom was the worst moment of Canvas' life; but now, after regaining his footing in a new town, the stallion couldn’t deny how well he’d been able to move forward since. And despite all the changes that occurred, Canvas knew that he would never, ever stop thinking about her.

Eventually, Canvas bit his lips and slowly nodded. He looked back at Troy with an appreciative smile, while the gryphon showed the same expression beneath the moonlight. Despite their sensitive conversation, Troy was grateful that the stallion was still in high spirits.

"Yeah, I… I guess so…” Canvas needed a moment after making that response, but made sure to add a sincere, “Thanks."

"Hey, it's alright,” said Troy with a shrug of his head. “I'm just looking out for a friend."

Canvas nodded again, with both of them keeping their smiles and gazing at one another. The stallion observed how bright Troy's golden eyes were shimmering in the dark, which he could only assume was a benefit gryphons biologically possess. Meanwhile, the gryphon couldn’t stop thinking back to how Canvas looked when he was asleep, and how that gentleness was still evident in those bright blue eyes...

Neither one of them said a word during that moment, not that either of them paid much notice to the silence. The shadows from outside kept dancing around the two, but it was ignored just as easily by the two as their increasing heartbeats.

For a split-second, Troy’s head moved forward the slightest bit, as if some unknown force was making him move closer to Canvas. However, the pony quickly flinched before turning his head back to the door, not wanting to show the blooming blush on his face. "I-I-I, uhhh… Is the snack car still open?"

Troy blinked before he shook his head awake, not sure of what happened. "Well, umm… I think it might be?” The gryphon pulled back a little, not seeming to realize he was blushing as well. You... you can go check."

"Yeah! Yeah, I'll go do that. See ya later!"

Canvas quickly hopped off the bench, and threw the door open to rush out into the hallway. After the pony slid the door back behind him, Troy breathed out heavily while seated in the room alone. He looked back at the window with a confounded look, unsure how to explain why his heart was racing like crazy.

His eyes blinked repeatedly, and he had to shake his head a second time to try and clear his head. Not wanting to overthink things and ruin this weekend, Troy eventually pulled out the walkman from his satchel, and put on his headphones to listen to that soundtrack some more.

Meanwhile, Canvas was standing at the open platform between the train cars, his hooves tightly clutching the guard rails as they vibrated from the rumbling engines. He was panting just as heavily as Troy was, and tried his hardest to ignore the impulsive thoughts that went through his head. He clenched his eyes shut, but winced as he struggled to shake the image of Troy's face from his memory. Canvas could only focus on the strong winds gusting past his ears, which he hoped could keep him from hearing his own thoughts. After a brief swallow, the stallion began to breathe at a calmer rate the longer he remained outside.

By the time he managed to feel less flustered, Canvas opened the door to the adjacent train car, and tried to keep his mind blank while trotting past the aisles of seats. Since he could overhear the various chatter and noises from ponies around him, Canvas used that noise to help ignore his thoughts about Troy.

After everything the gryphon had done to help him out, the last thing Canvas wanted to do was endanger their friendship. If anything, losing Troy as a friend was more heartbreaking than that night he spent bawling in his embrace. But alas, as he kept moving forward to find the snack car, Canvas' thoughts slowly devolved to him chanting the same fact in his head over and over.

Troy's your best friend, Canvas.

Troy is your friend.

Just a friend.

… Right?

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Canvas wasn't sure how long he’d walked around the train car after that… moment with his friend. But despite his best efforts, the stallion couldn’t stop thinking about it. How quickly his heart began to race... how overwhelmed he’d felt... how long he’d stared at Troy...

But most importantly, Canvas couldn’t stop thinking about how intensely Troy was staring back.

He kept his head hung low as he finally returned to the cabin car, looking a little despondent after finding out that the snack car was closed. There wasn’t much else he could do that late in the evening, but he wasn't sure whether he was ready to face his friend again. Even though neither of them actually did anything, Canvas couldn’t get the image of the gryphon's golden eyes out of his mind. Or the peculiar way that he stared at him...

Canvas kept replaying the moment in his head over and over, thinking about what could've happened if he hadn’t reeled back from him. He didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he was certain that Troy had even been moving in closer. And with the way those golden eyes were piercing into his own, just the very idea that Troy would try to lean in for a k--

STOP IT!!

Canvas violently shook his head in the hallway, and was breathing heavily from how guilty he felt about his blasted conscience. As he stood outside the door, he wasn’t wanting to open it while repeatedly chanting the same thing in his head.

Troy is your friend.

Just a friend.

After letting out a hoarse breath, Canvas put a hoof to the door and slowly slid it open. The very moment he glanced inside, the stallion felt worlds better when he found Troy asleep on the bench. Canvas knew he wasn't going to get much sleep tonight, partially thanks to his long nap that afternoon; but at least now, he wouldn’t have to deal with any more awkward moments for the time being.

He sat down on the bench opposite of the gryphon, sighing as he realized he had to do something to pass the time until sleep came to him. Fortunately, as soon as he picked up his art bag, Canvas quietly began to shuffle around the inside for his supplies...

Just as Celestia's sun rose from the horizon to shine on a new day, the train slowed its engines down as Canterlot showed itself in the distance. The train began to shake slightly, which caused Troy to stir from his rest. Lying on the bench with his forelegs around his chest, Troy kept himself still from apathy as he opened his eyes and looked around. He was quick to take notice of Canvas, who was sitting silently and drawing in his sketchpad.

Before Troy could lift himself up, he was able to see how focused Canvas was looking as he drew with the graphite strapped to his hoof. Even in his half-awake state of mind, it didn’t take him long to figure out what Canvas was drawing; although, that was mostly since Troy was the only thing in the cabin besides the pony.

Troy knew he should’ve been unnerved about the fact that somepony was drawing him while he was asleep. But at the same time, he didn't seem to care enough to move from his comfy position, and simply stared back while Canvas kept drawing. The artist bit his lips in concentration, until his bottom lip escaped from between his teeth to form a small pout covered in saliva. As soon as he saw that glossy shine, Troy breathed out a little heavier. A small smile crept across his beak, and he wondered why he never noticed a detail like that before.

While he may have known that Canvas was passionate about art, seeing the pony like this up-close was a new experience for him. The way his eyes almost never blinked; how his hoof jerked and swished across the page like it had a mind of its own; how Canvas barely showed any emotion beyond determination. Troy was never much of an artist, but he could still appreciate how much care and talent his friend had for his craft. He remembered how supportive Canvas was when he heard him sing that one day; and considering how well things have been going since that play audition, Troy felt really grateful that his friend was taking advantage of his own talents as well.

Even though Troy didn’t want to interrupt, he felt his left wing beginning to cramp while nestled under his weight. After silently groaning under his breath, Troy slowly raised his wing outward. As soon as he saw that movement, Canvas gasped and tried to hide his sketchpad. Unfortunately, Canvas knew that he was caught as soon as he saw Troy’s smirk. The gryphon couldn’t help himself from chuckling coyly, especially when he saw how flustered Canvas looked this early in the morning.

"T-Troy! Oh, um... g-good morning!” Canvas tried his hardest to shoot him a friendly smile, which was far too wide to be natural. “I was just, um... trying to pass the time. Er, I mean... I didn’t mean to do anything weird, I just--”

Canvas stopped talking by the time Troy sat himself upright on the bench. As his friend leaned back in his seat, Canvas glanced away from him while biting his lip in worry. Luckily though, Troy kept his amused grin, while his eyes focused on the pad now clutched in Canvas' hooves against his chest. After cocking his head to the side, Troy finally made eye contact with Canvas again.

"So…” Troy yawned before he could finish, making him do a huge stretch before resting his back against the wall again. A second smaller yawn followed, and Troy continued.

"So, Canvas… Can I see it?"

Canvas' head reeled back with his eyes the size of saucers. Looking down at his sketch, he looked fairly worried about showing Troy what he’d made.

"Aw, c'mon!" Troy groaned, still needing a moment to fully wake up. "If it means anything, I promise I’m not mad, alright? Besides, I really want to see it."

Canvas looked away for a second before closing his eyes and sighing deeply. As his muzzle pursed tightly shit, he slowly held out the sketchpad with an extended hoof while averting his eyes. The pony blushed when he turned the pad around, causing Troy to blink a couple times upon seeing the piece he had created overnight.

Even in the monochromatic medium, Troy could see how incredibly well-detailed the sketch was. It consisted of Troy lying down on the bench asleep, a look of pure calmness on his face. The drawing was almost like a photo, what with it looking exactly like him in every way. Since most of his body was either silver or grey in real life, the shades of graphite were fairly identical to his own colors, further impressing Troy. Even with how weird it was to be sketched in his sleep, he couldn’t deny how nice he looked on that paper.

In fact, Troy had a genuine smile on his beak by the time he looked back at Canvas. "Wow,” he said, his tone growing happier with each word, "that’s… actually really impressive, dude. Even by your awesome standards, this was already stunning!"

Canvas blushed and looked away bashfully, but was still able to smile in response. "Well, I… I was mostly bored since I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t mean to do it without asking you, but…”

Canvas wasn't sure how to finish his statement, since he knew how creepy his actions may have looked. But for Troy, he still didn't look that upset by the time Canvas pulled the paper back.

"Hey, don’t worry about it,” he said assuredly with his smile unchanged. “I know you were asleep all day yesterday, so it’d make sense that you’d want to find something to do at night. I mean yeah, it's kinda weird…”

Before Canvas could wince from that honest opinion, Troy made sure to add sincerely, “but it's still a really, really, great drawing regardless! I'm actually kind of honored, you know?"

Canvas looked back surprised. "R-really?” he asked confoundingly. “You mean… you're not mad?"

"Nah. It's fine, dude.” To emphasize that point, Troy’s smile turned even warmer while the morning light illuminated his face. “That just shows how much you deserve to be in this gallery."

Canvas' blush may have been fairly noticeable, but he was able to smile back at his friend and say meekly, "Th-thanks, Troy."

Before either could say much more, the speakers from the train came on to announce the upcoming stop at Canterlot. Canvas and Troy picked up their bags, with the artist being the first to head for the door. Before sliding it open, Canvas turned back to Troy to say, "I have my paintings in the storage cars, so I gotta make sure they're alright."

Troy held out his claw in understanding. "Hey, I get it, Canvas. I'll see you at the station, alright?"

Canvas nodded before heading off, leaving Troy alone in the room once more. While tightening his satchel, Troy noticed the drawing of him that was left lying on the bench. He picked the page up to admire it once more, still feeling a little flattered at the thought of being an inspiration for Canvas’ impromptu piece. Before the train could come to a complete stop, Troy carefully rolled the sketch up, and placed it in his bag with the intent of returning it later.

By the time he finally exited the train Troy was surprised to see so many ponies gathered around the platform. As soon as his talons touched the wooden floor, he was instantly thrusted within a sea of technicolor ponies. They scooted and pushed their way around each other, making Troy feel completely out of place while catching the dozens of stares on him. Before he could think of flying to a high vantage point to perch and wait for his friends, he saw several Royal Guards patrolling the area, making sure that nopony (or gryphon) tried anything funny within Canterlot limits. Groaning under his breath, Troy was forced to walk around the ground floor among the ponies, excusing himself as he slowly reached inside the station.

It wasn't nearly as crowded as the platform, but the inside of the Canterlot Train Station was still densely-packed when Troy walked in. He walked over towards the center, and smiled in relief when he saw Lyra and Bon-Bon sitting next to each other on one of the benches. The couple were quick to wave at Troy once they saw him.

"There you are, Troy!" shouted Lyra as she propped herself up from the bench. "Did you actually walk through that crowd? I'm kinda surprised you didn’t just fly over them."

Troy scoffed before pointing a talon back outside. "What, with all those guards outside? I'd rather not get arrested for doing anything dumb, thank you very much."

Both mares shrugged in agreement, with Lyra resting herself back on the bench. "You know,” said Bon-Bon while nestling up closer to her spouse, “I heard that Twilight and her friends came to Canterlot today for some royal business. I'm not sure what it is, but I think their train showed up right before ours. Maybe that's why security is so heavy right now."

"Ah." Troy may have not been a natural Equestrian, but he still understood how important Twilight and the other five were after all their efforts over the years. But as he looked around the station, he hoped that it wouldn’t take Canvas that long to get all of his artwork collected.

As dozens of different ponies went past the three, none of them seemed to notice Glimmer Heart stumbling up to them. The pink mare was carrying a goofy smirk on her face, and trying her hardest to keep from falling over. It wasn't until she made a hiccup that Bon-Bon noticed Glimmer Heart leaning against one of the benches. "Theeeeeerrrrrrre you arrrrrrrreee!!!"

Before any of them could react, the unicorn threw her hooves out and hugged both Lyra and Bon-Bon. The mares yelped in surprise from Glimmer’s introduction, their muzzles quickly grimacing as they caught the strong scent of alcohol on her breath. After trying to let go of the two, Glimmer stumbled a little in her attempts to stand freely; this caused Troy to move in instinctually, and used both claws to hold her upright. When she finally took notice of the gryphon, she kept a drunken gaze on him for a few seconds before slurring, “You... You're a pretty, pretty bird! You… You remind me of a parrot I once owned."

She giggled from her own statement, while Lyra and Bon-Bon struggled not to crack up in second-hoof embarrassment. Meanwhile, Troy’s expression carried a mix of embarrassment, and slight offense to such a comparison. "No really!” assured Glimmer Heart as she stared up at him more directly, “You’re a cute guy. Way, way cuter than that other guy..." Glimmer's face immediately went from a drunk happy, to a drunk angry as she looked down at her hooves bitterly.

"Stupid Hot Shot... Mister sleeping with a mare half my age! What a jerk!" Glimmer Heart looked back up at Troy, and prodded her hoof hard against his chest. "You know how long I've been with that idiot? We've been together for--”

Glimmer poked at the feathered plume a few times, almost as if she was trying to count the number of years manually; but alas, she eventually gave up after another sudden hiccup. "Nevermind! I-I don’t think I can really do big maths right now, but it was a lot!"

Since none of them were expecting to see a drunk pony this early in the morning, they didn’t notice Fancy Pants galloping frantically into the station. As he ran up to Glimmer, Fancy used his magic to carefully pull her off Troy's chest. The white unicorn turned her around in his blue aura, and maintained eye contact while trying to get through to her.

"Glimmer Heart! I really need you to head back home and get some rest. You have to get ready for the gallery tonight, remember?"

Glimmer blinked a couple times with a blank look on her face. "Uhhhh... Oh, oh yeah. I… I gotta do that, don’t I..."

Before Fancy Pants could get Glimmer Heart to walk away with him, she suddenly pushed him away and looked back around the station. "I gotta talk to Cabinet! He… he needs a big hug for punching that prick! If he never did that I… I would have never--THERE YOU ARE, CABINET!!"

Glimmer stumbled over to the confused aqua stallion pulling a large cart behind him. Not sure of what was going on, Canvas just stood there baffled before Glimmer Heart threw him to the ground and hugged him. Canvas nearly gagged from the suffocation of her weight, as well as her breath smelling like a distillery. "Cabinet! You… you are my new hero. I… I kinda want to kiss you right now for saving me from mister cheating with an underaged slu--”

Fortunately for both ponies, Fancy Pants pulled the mare off Canvas with his magic before things could get more uncomfortable. He enveloped her whole body in his aura, leaving her levitated about a foot off the ground. The stallion looked unbelievably embarrassed as he glanced back down at Canvas, and extended a hoof to help him up.

"I'm so sorry about that,” said Fancy Pants as he got Canvas on his hooves. "Glimmer Heart's been having a rough time adjusting to the divorce."

"NO I'M NOT! I've been great since I dumped his stupid flank!" Glimmer Heart hiccuped once again as she tried to squirm within the aura. However, she ended up stopping when she noticed Canvas’ worried expression.

"Thank you Cabinet,” she said with a slurred tone of sincerity. “And I'm gonna love seeing you at the art thing tonight, so have fun!"

Fancy Pants turned her body around so she was no longer looking at Canvas, hoping that would stop her drunken monologue. Unfortunately, Glimmer Heart continued while being pulled away. "And take a bath, Cabinet! You smell like Hot Shot…”

With that, the mare passed out while still hovering in Fancy’s aura. Lyra and Bon-Bon got out of their bench, allowing Fancy to carefully lower her onto it. Canvas, still looking stunned about Glimmer's state, eventually lifted one of his forelegs and smelled himself. Canvas' face grimaced from a single sniff, confirming Glimmer’s suggestion fairly well. With all the pieces of paint still on his fur, Canvas couldn’t remember the last time he had a shower while working on his painting. While he looked down at himself, Fancy Pants walked towards the artist with an embarrassed look.

"Again, I apologize for Glimmer Heart's behavior. I hoped that the fresh air would help her a little, but I'm going to get her back home so she can rest."

Fancy Pants then lit up his horn, and pulled out a ring of keys from the inside of his jacket. He tried to give Canvas an apologetic smile as he floated the keys towards him. "My penthouse is at the Cadenza Suite a block away. How about you go over there so you can freshen up? I think the hotel Glimmer reserved for you is across town, so it might be more convenient to use my place."

Even though he took the keys with his hoof, Canvas still looked up at Fancy Pants reluctantly. "Is… Is that really alright? I mean, I don't want to impose or--"

Fancy Pants held out his hoof while his horn remained lit, using his magic to pick up Glimmer Heart once more. "I assure you, you won’t be imposing. The gallery is closer to my place anyway, so you can head there after taking a shower. Besides, I have one of your pieces on display there, so it would be nice for you to see where I put it.”

Since Fancy Pants was one of his most generous buyers, Canvas smiled a little before nodding in acceptance. "Well, I… I wouldn’t mind seeing how my art looks in a Canterlot apartment”

"Good. I'll be seeing you at the gallery then, Mister Canvas." With a polite shake of Canvas’ hoof, Fancy Pants gave a friendly smile before heading off. Even though he had a passed-out mare hovering in his aura, the stallion’s confidence allowed him to exit the station without any ponies batting an eye.

Canvas looked back at Troy and the mares, who were all still rather stunned from the unusual interaction they witnessed. But as they walked up to him, none of them could say much before Canvas bursted out laughing. Due to how surprised all of them were, it didn’t take long for Troy and the couple to start laughing as well.

"Oh, man that was crazy!” said Canvas as he looked back at his cart. "Well, I guess I gotta get these to the gallery."

"Oh, we can do that,” insisted Bon-Bon, who made sure to share a glance with her wife. "We were going to head straight there anyway to get preparations ready. You just get yourself fixed up for your big night. We'll make sure your stuff gets there safe and sound."

Canvas looked back at his cart one more time, pausing for a moment with hesitance. Fortunately, he trusted the mares enough to roll the cart of his covered paintings towards them with a thankful smile. "Well, alright. It would be good to get myself cleaned up as soon as possible anyway."

Bon-Bon smiled while Lyra levitated the cart over to them, leaving Canvas to glance back at Troy. Troy couldn’t help smirking while looking him up and down. "Yeah, you really do need a bath or something,” he noted with a shrug. “I'm just gonna head to the hotel and get my stuff unpacked before heading to that gallery thing."

Before Canvas could nod and make his leave, the gryphon’s brows rose before he reached for his satchel. "Wait! You… you left this back in the cabin."

Reaching into his satchel, Troy pulled out the sketch from the cabin. As soon as he unrolled the piece, Lyra and Bon-Bon shared peculiar looks to one another after seeing Canvas’ drawing. Troy tried to hand it back to Canvas, but was surprised when the stallion held out his hoof in dismissal.

"Actually,” said Canvas with a light blush, "I kinda left that there for you. I mean… It seemed only fair that you got to keep that one.”

Troy blinked a couple times, and then glanced back at the drawing meant to be a gift. After gazing over the detailed drawing once more, Troy couldn’t help but smile as he looked back at Canvas. "Wow… um, really?"

Canvas nodded with a sheepish smile, but his cheeks were growing too red for him to want to say for much longer. Before Troy could take notice, the artist began to head off with a wave of his hoof. “Okay, I'm gonna go to that Cadenza Suite. See you guys at the gallery!"

Canvas quickly rushed out of the station with his art bag, but made sure to look back to see the three waving him goodbye. After the pony was out of sight, Troy tucked the drawing back in his bag while the mares secured Canvas’ cart.

"Well Troy,” said Lyra, "I guess we'll be seeing you at the gallery later?"

"Yep, I just gotta unpack at the hotel. See ya later!"

Troy headed out while the mares got their things together. As soon as the gryphon was out of earshot, Lyra shot her wife a stare and whispered, “He drew a picture of Troy? That’s… kinda interesting, don’t you think?”

With the way the unicorn was grinning following her remark, Bon-Bon was quick to say with a firm voice, “Don’t even think about it, Lyra Heartstrings.”

“Oh, come on!” griped Lyra with a strong eye-roll. “You don’t even know what I’m thinking about.”

“Yes I do,” she said sharply enough to shut Lyra up. As she took hold of the front of Canvas’ cart, she began to lead the way out of the station with her wife in tow. “And considering how much work we have to do, I really don’t want you to try anything funny.”

“Pbbt…” After scoffing in response, Lyra looked elsewhere while muttering to herself, “Well, I wasn’t going to do anything during work…”

“I heard that!”

Canvas might have received some odd looks while walking into the Cadenza Suite in his dirty state; but luckily, nopony said anything as he headed up to the penthouse with Fancy’s key. When he actually entered the lavish abode, he was shocked to see how luxurious the place really was. Stylish furniture and ornate décor was strewn about the large suite, all standing before a huge window that gave a great view of the cityscape of Canterlot. Canvas took a moment to look around in pure amazement, never having expected to step hoof in such a place by invitation; but as he looked around, it didn’t take long before he noticed the wall by the window.

Above the white faux-leather chairs and crystal coffee table, Canvas' painting of a phoenix rising from its ashes was proudly hung above the spotless fireplace. Remembering that it was one of the paintings he repainted while at the hotel, it seemed quite appropriate that the painting of something being reborn would be placed here. After all, considering what happened to the original painting in Gallop Creek, it was truly a piece that had been reborn itself.

After admiring the painting and the immaculate suite some more, Canvas made his way to the bathroom for a much-needed shower. Much like the rest of the penthouse, Fancy Pants’ restroom looked absolutely immaculate from top to bottom. He almost felt bad using such a pristine porcelain bathtub, especially when he saw how much paint and grime washed off his fur the moment he turned the water on. Nevertheless, due to how powerful the showerhead was, Canvas wasn’t willing to feel too guilty while enjoying such a luxurious wash by himself.

Eventually, the water coming off the stallion became clear as he washed himself off. While there were several bottles of what looked to be very expensive shampoos arranged along the shelf by the tub, Canvas used the bottle of shampoo and conditioner in his bag. Although, the artist couldn’t help grimacing when he realized he was already almost out of conditioner again.

About twenty minutes later, Canvas turned the water off and stepped out, wiping some steam from the mirror to look himself over. While his mane was now clean of all the leftover paint, it was still tangled after his constant scrubbing. Groaning under his breath, Canvas pulled out his hairbrush from his bag to try to tend to that monster. Over the years he spent with long hair, Canvas hated how long it took to get his mane straightened thanks to all the tangles pulling against his scalp.

After almost ten minutes of brushing and re-brushing, Canvas looked at his wet mane in frustration, knowing it might still be wet by the time the gallery started. Before he could look around for a hair dryer (which would probably take another twenty minutes before his mane was dry enough), he overheard the sound of muffled laughter from outside the bathroom door. He used a towel to dry off the rest of him, and then put his bag back on before stepping out of the bathroom.

Once back in the living room, Canvas was surprised to find not only Fancy Pants and his wife Fleur--a very tall, white unicorn with a light pink-mane, whom even Canvas could see was beautiful--but Rarity as well. They were seated across from them on the couch, and and happily laughing at something Fancy Pants had just said. As soon as they noticed Canvas at the doorway, Fancy Pants called out to him cheerfully.

"Canvas! What an exquisite coincidence. I was talking with Rarity here about your painting."

Fancy Pants pointed a hoof to the phoenix painting, while Rarity looked at Canvas with a cheerful smirk. "Well, I must say,” said the posh mare, "I didn’t know that you sold a painting to Fancy Pants! It's quite an interesting feeling to know I received a commission from you before he did."

Fleur moved her head to look at Canvas from her spot on the couch. "Oh yes, the last time I visited Rarity in Ponyville, she showed me the design you made for her bedroom! I have to say, it's quite amazing!"

"Well,” said Canvas, blushing bashfully while rubbing the back of his neck, "to be honest, I was just following the designs that Rarity made."

"Oh, don’t act like that,” Rarity said with a wave of her hoof. "You're an outstanding artist, Canvas! And my friends and I already have plans to visit you at that gallery tonight!"

"Speaking of which,” said Fancy Pants as he raised himself from his couch, "my wife and I are supposed to visit Twilight there. We'll let you two get more acquainted as you prepare for the gallery."

As the unicorn and his wife made their way out, Fleur looked back at Canvas after noticing his wet mane. "If you want, the hairdryer is in the bottom shelf of the bathroom."

With a quick smile, the two stepped out, leaving Canvas and Rarity alone in Fancy Pants' penthouse. Canvas put a hoof to his mane, groaning at the thought of how long it would take to dry it out. Observing his irritated look, Rarity stepped forward with caution. "Canvas, is something wrong?"

"Oh, nothing,” replied Canvas, sighing before he let his wet mane plop down to his shoulder. "It's just…”

Canvas paused as he looked back at the unicorn, his muzzle skewing in thought. Remembering how good she was with detailing, Canvas blinked a couple times as his mind started ticking. After feeling his mane again, his brows rose up with a look of revelation.

"Ummm… Hey, Rarity.” Canvas turned to the unicorn, secretly hoping that he wasn't asking too much from the Element of Generosity. "I was wondering if I could ask for a small favor...”

Inside the penthouse’s bathroom, Canvas was seated on a folding chair with a worrisome look. His ears twitched each time he heard the constant snips of the scissors behind him. Said scissors were being held in Rarity's magical aura, while she wore a grin of Cheshire proportions due to her excitement. Canvas didn’t expect Rarity to be so willing to assist, as she almost threw him onto the chair with her magic the moment he mentioned a light trim. But as more strands fell to the floor, Canvas winced from the shears continuing to snip while Rarity talked eagerly.

"Canvas, you have no idea how long I've been wanting to do this! Ever since I first met you, all I wanted to do was fix this mess you called a mane! No offense, of course, but if my mother saw you? My goodness! She would probably say something like, 'That colt has more split-ends than a...’ Oh wait, how did it go?"

Rarity stopped for a moment, but was quick to exclaim, "Oh yes! She would say you had 'more split-ends than a Las Pegasus Divorce Court!’"

Rarity giggled at her own joke, while Canvas wondered whether it was a good idea to let somepony like her do this. The grin spreading across Rarity’s face made her look like a psychopath, and Canvas felt even more freaked out as her snips came closer to his scalp.

"Well, um… thank you for agreeing to do this for me." Canvas kept a cautious smile, not wanting to anger somepony with scissors so close to his head. "I was actually kind of surprised you would do this, but it means a lot."

"You're very welcome! And don't you worry a bit, Canvas,” Rarity said reassuringly. "You are going to look simply fabulous for the gallery! And I am so glad that you're finally getting your mane cut! What was it that inspired you to ask for this?"

"Well…” Canvas thought back to Troy and their conversation on the train, which caused his cheeks to blush a little. While it was still a big step for him, Canvas felt a lot better as more of his chestnut strands fell to the bathroom floor. "... I guess I just realized I didn’t need to have a long mane anymore. I mean, it was a big hassle to deal with all the time, and… I think I realized how much I needed this after talking with Troy."

Rarity's snips became less frequent as she came closer to completion. Since he wasn't able to see it himself with his back to the mirror (something Rarity insisted so it would be a surprise), Canvas had to put his trust in her as she kept cutting happily. While thinking over Canvas' answer, Rarity couldn’t contain her amused smirk.

"Well, this you certainly did need this, Canvas! And I must say, you already look great with the way your mane is coming out. I'm sure for a fact that your boyfriend will love to see this--"

"Wait, what!?"

Canvas' head shot upward, almost messing up the style she was working on. Rarity paused and glanced at Canvas with a confused look. "What? I'm just saying that Troy would like seeing you with--"

"Whoa!" Canvas threw his hooves up from underneath the towel tied around his neck. "Wait, wait, wait! Troy… Troy isn’t… he's not, like…”

As a heavy blush appeared on Rarity's face, Canvas bit his lip before sighing and closing his eyes.

"He's… he's just a friend."

Rarity looked extremely embarrassed at her assumption, and turned her head away while covering her mouth. "I'm so sorry Canvas, I… I just figured that since you… well..."

Noticing how upset the stallion looked, Rarity decided to stop her apology and went back to the manecut. "J-Just forget what I said, alright? I promise, I'll stay silent for the rest of this."

"Oh, it’s alright Rarity,” said Canvas with guilt. Despite how flustered he felt, he didn’t want to make a national hero feel bad about her mistake. "I mean, he… he is a great friend. He’s been there for so much, and… he means a lot to me…”

Rarity's snips came at an even slower pace while listening to his disheartened voice.

"I just… I just know he's my friend… and that's all that matters."

Closing his eyes, Canvas exhaled while trying not to wince. Even though he was glad to set things straight, it didn't explain why he felt so bad after saying it. It wasn't like he was lying, since Troy really was his friend; but at the same time, it wasn’t enough to keep the stallion from feeling upset.

Troy is your friend.

Just a friend.

After several more snips, Rarity's satisfied grin came back up as she stepped back and looked the stallion. Keeping a hoof to her mouth, Rarity was unable to contain her excitement. She used her magic to lift up Canvas' chair, and pulled off the towel with a sharp whip. "So Canvas, are you ready so see your new look?"

After breathing in shakily, Canvas nodded to Rarity’s question. She slowly spinned the chair around, while Canvas kept his eyes tightly closed. When the chair finally stopped and faced the mirror directly, Canvas slowly opened his eyes with a worrisome cringe.

However, Canvas' expression quickly changed when his blue eyes shot wide open, and he gasped with both hooves over his face. “H-HOLY!!”

The ballroom where the gallery would be held was mostly empty now, but that didn’t stop Troy from noticing the large levels of excitement when he walked in. Lyra and Bon-Bon could be heard laughing as they prepared their catering in the kitchen; meanwhile, Fancy Pants and Fleur happily chatted with Princess Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie standing next to her. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was walking around the ballroom with a bored look before noticing Troy.

"There you are!" said Rainbow Dash as she trotted over to him. "Where've you been, man? Lyra and Bon-Bon said you'd be here!"

"Hey, it wasn't my fault!” Troy readjusted the black tie around his neck, which was the only attire he was wearing before the formal event. "It took forever to walk over to the hotel and get myself ready! And when I tried to fly back here, I got stopped by one of the guards, who told me I was in a no-fly zone!"

"Oooohhh… Oh yeah,” said Rainbow, her head lowering sheepishly with a wince. "Yeah, I should’ve warned you about that. They never stopped me about it, but you know... what could they do? Arrest the Element of Loyalty?"

Troy shrugged, wondering how much Dash and her friends could get away with after saving Equestria so many times. Even after working for her for so long, it was still a little weird for him to know he was friends with a national hero and Royalty. Troy then noticed Lyra and Bon-Bon coming out from the kitchen, happily trotting together.

"There you are, Troy!" Lyra exclaimed. "I forgot that we were in a no-fly zone. Sorry for not telling you."

"Oh, that's alright,” he said with a more forgiving smile towards the couple. “I am a little thirsty, though. Is there anything to drink?"

"Actually,” Bon-Bon chimed in, "I saw a bunch of bottles of soda for the gallery back in the kitchen. I don’t think they'd mind if you took one."

"Cool. Thanks, Bon-Bon."

Troy headed back through the kitchen double doors, not noticing Rarity as she entered and stood at the main doorway. After clearing her throat, Rarity raised a hoof to the room and spoke out loudly:

"Attention! May I have everypony's attention, please?"

As Fancy Pants and the others turned their heads towards Rarity, Canvas' voice could be heard faintly from behind the entryway. "Seriously?! I didn’t want it to be a big deal, Rarity."

"Oh, don’t be embarrassed,” assured the unicorn as she turned back behind the doorway. "This is going to be fabulous. I promise."

Rarity then returned her attention to the group ahead of her, and cleared her throat once more. "Everypony, I would like to introduce to you all the new, and improved, Canvas!"

Directing a manicured hoof toward her side, Rarity looked over with a warm smile when Canvas slowly walked into view. As soon as he stood at the doorway, everypony gasped.

Against his aqua coat, Canvas was now wearing a light-blue dress shirt with a light-green tie. However, none of them seemed to notice that, as everypony’s eyes were directed as his freshly-styled mane. Now cut to a length so that it barely reached his shoulders, Canvas' chestnut locks shone vibrantly in the ballroom; the ends were sticking out with volume from the back of his head, while the rest of his hair was parted in the middle. The two sides came down along his face, just reaching his blue eyes as they stared back at the ponies in front of him.

After a few seconds of silence, Canvas was trying not to feel too nervous while smiling sheepishly. Rainbow Dash was the first pony to speak up with a smirk on her face. "Nice, man! You don’t look like a hippie anymore!"

"Rainbow!" Twilight shouted. "That's a bit rude, don’t you think?"

"What, for giving a compliment?” Rainbow scoffed as she looked back at the alicorn with skewed eyebrows. Twilight groaned and facehoofed, which didn’t seem to bother Rainbow when turned her attention back to Canvas. "Seriously, dude, you look a lot better with a short mane. It's a nice manecut."

"Thanks,” said Canvas and Rarity at the same time. As Rarity turned away from the stallion with a blush, Pinkie Pie and Bon-Bon rushed up to Canvas in amazement while Lyra ran back into the kitchen.

"Canvas!" Pinkie shouted as she grabbed him in a huge hug. "You look super-duper-kablooper AWESOME!" With that last word, Pinkie squeezed Canvas so hard that a loud wheeze came out of him, almost sounding like an accordion before Bon-Bon pulled her off.

"I gotta say, Canvas,” said Bon-Bon, putting a hoof to his mane, "this actually does look great on you! I mean, I liked your mane before, but this is definitely an improvement."

Canvas blushed heavily from the praise he was receiving, and had to look away from the mares with a light giggle. He knew it would take a while to get used to his new mane, but he was glad to have finally gotten it done without screwing up. But before he could give any replies or thanks, Canvas noticed Troy being pushed out of the kitchen doors by Lyra.

"Hey, come on! What's the big deal!?" Troy groaned while holding a bottle of grape soda in his claws. "I only took one! And Bon-Bon said it--”

As soon as Troy stumbled forward and looked ahead, his golden eyes widened when he saw Canvas’ new mane for the first time. The gryphon almost dropped his bottle in his claw, and his beak immediately went agape; however, he didn’t seem to notice when his wings popped out , almost hitting Fluttershy who was standing nearby. He also didn’t hear Rainbow Dash cracking up behind him, as he slowly walked up to Canvas with a stunned expression. He wasn't sure what he could say, but a few words were coming to his mind while staring at Canvas.

Much like Troy, Canvas was standing frozen with a wide-eyed stare, carrying a nervous look from his friend’s expression. Just like on the train, the artist wasn’t realizing how rapid his heart rate was becoming. And even as a notable blush appeared across the gryphon’s cheeks, Troy waited until he stood a few feet from Canvas before finally speaking.

"Wow… Ca-Canvas… you look…”

Amazing...

Stunning...

Remarkable…

Perfect…

You look perfect.

"... You look great."

With a smile growing on his beak, Troy tried not to huff in amusement when he saw Canvas' blush growing even deeper. His wings slowly pulled back towards his body, not that either of them seemed to notice. None of the ponies around them said anything, but there were quite a few looks being exchanged with one another from how the two were acting. Of course, the mood was luckily broken when Glimmer Heart slowly walked into the room.

"What the…” Glimmer’s words came out slightly slurred while holding an ice pack to her head. "What's going on? And who's the new guy?"

Just so any newer readers are aware, I've recently been undergoing a big project to turn the Brushed Away series into physical books for individual sale. Because of that, I just wanted to make a quick note for which chapters have been revised so far, including this one.

I want to give my deepest thanks, as well as some well-deserved credit to my followers helping me out with this process, as well as Double R. Forrest for their proofreading credits. And if anyone is interested in helping out with making this project a reality, I highly recommend checking out my Official Ko-Fi page dedicated to it.

Even though Glimmer Heart was fairly hung over by the time the gallery began, she was still quick to apologize to Canvas (as well as Troy and the mares) beforehand for her behavior at the train station. While she definitely had a strong headache, Glimmer was still able to make herself look more than presentable by the time the other artists and guests appeared, keeping her green mane in a (sort of) stylish bun to hide the fact it wasn't washed recently. After Canvas conversed with Twilight and her friends some more, he noticed that other artists showed up for the gallery. As he figured, while he looked at the other five artists who were part of this gallery, Canvas saw he was the only one who wasn't a unicorn.

Even though he already felt out of place as soon as he saw the others--especially while keeping his art bag by his side--Canvas tried keeping his composure as he walked up to the other artists. While the five of them were rather surprised to see an Earth Pony as one of the artists for the exhibit, a glance over to his paintings along the wall were a good enough indicator of his talents. Of the large number of various paintings among his part of the walls--some of which were pieces he’d remade from the hotel a few months ago--a large curtain covered the large project he was working on for the last two weeks. Looking over to the other artists' parts on the walls, he saw that each one had a curtain over their largest piece--they were supposed to be revealed later that night.

Talking with the other artists--four unicorn mares and one unicorn stallion, who were all around Canvas's age--Canvas ended up being bombarded with a surprisingly large amount of questions from them, mostly regarding how he was able to work with a hoof instead of a horn. While he figured that unicorns would probably ask questions like that, Canvas started to feel uncomfortable with how curious they were. Instead of looking and appreciating his art for what it was, the artists just seemed to look at him and his work like it was a pet trick or something. By the time most of the guests arrived and began to converse with each other by the walls of artwork, Canvas just wanted to get away from the unicorns and tried looking for his friend.

Meanwhile, while Troy was impressed by how large and luxurious the ballroom looked with its domed roof and ornate architecture, he was even more surprised about the open bar. Sitting on a stool near the end of the bar, the Gryphon was quick to take advantage of the gallery as he ordered a White Stalliongrad, knowing that being in an art gallery all evening might get really boring.

As more guests came in, Troy kept his spot at the bar as the various ponies came and went with their drinks. However, as more ponies started to become tipsy, Troy was becoming more and more aggravated by his high alcohol tolerance as he was asked various questions by drunk ponies. Among the various insane Gryphon questions that constantly hit him, like "Are Gryphon eggs an aphrodisiac?"--seriously, where the buck do ponies get that kind of information? (and no)--Troy also found out from the several ponies who tried petting him that touching a Gryphon was supposed to be good luck. After the seventh intoxicated unicorn tried touching his tail, a strong glare from Troy made sure nopony else bothered him for the rest of the night.

After shuffling around the large amount of Canterlot ponies around the ballroom, Canvas finally found Troy as he walked up to the bar. Getting on the empty seat next to Troy, Canvas ordered a ginger ale and noticed the large number of empty glasses around the Gryphon. Before he could say anything about it, Troy put up a claw with a smile as he reassured the pony.

"Don’t worry. Gryphon blood takes like, twenty times more alcohol to get drunk than ponies. That's why most Gryphonian liquor is banned in Equestria."

Remembering hearing about how Gryphon liquor could get to 300% proof, Canvas could only shrug as his ginger ale slid over to him. As he sipped his drink through a straw, he noticed Troy look at him with a smirk on his face.

"Before you say anything,” said the stallion as he looked over to Troy, "I don’t drink alcohol. I never have, and I never will."

Glancing at the wall of bottles ahead of him, Canvas only sighed as a bitter tone came on his face for a second.

"Never."

While Troy found it odd to see Canvas only have a ginger ale, he knew better than to say anything about it. Considering what happened to Canvas back in Gallop Creek, it wouldn't surprise Troy one bit if he never touched an alcoholic drink. Looking down to his empty glasses, some of which were being picked up by the orange aura of the unicorn bartender, Troy hoped he wasn't doing anything wrong by drinking by him. However, one glance back to Canvas eased Troy as he saw how the pony was smirking at him.

"What?" Canvas asked after taking another sip. "Dude, I've seen you eat meat. You really think a few glasses is weird for me to see?"

Turning away from Canvas for a second, Troy chuckled a little before looking back, his eyes locked onto Canvas's new mane. Ever since he’d seen the new manecut, Troy really paid attention to how Canvas looked. Because of the shorter mane, everything Canvas did seemed brand new, from the smallest movement, to the faintest smile. With all of that going on, Troy couldn't keep his eyes off his friend as he noticed Canvas give him a weird look.

"Let me guess,” said Canvas with a skewed eyebrow. "It's the mane, right?"

"Actually, yeah!" Troy grinned at Canvas a bit as a new White Stalliongrad was levitated over to him. "It's going to take a while to get used to."

"For you?" Canvas's condescending look became more apparent as Troy began drinking. "Dude, do you know how long it's going to take me to get used to this? I mean, it feels so weird to not have my mane move around my head like it used to!"

Troy shrugged as he finished his drink, placing the glass among the rest of them before replying, "I guess. But hey, think of how many bits you'll save on shampoo alone."

With that optimistic line, Canvas burst out laughing, making Troy feel even better as he saw Canvas's whole face while smiling. "Yeah, that's definitely a plus,” said Canvas as he finished his ginger ale. "Although, I was honestly spending more on conditioner. Seriously, my mane was impossible to brush without that stuff."

While sitting next to each other, both of them felt much better as they chatted, forgetting about all the weird stares and questions towards them at this place. While they both knew they were oddities at an event like this, they kept their frustrations to themselves as they sat a little longer. After having another ginger ale, Canvas decided to head back among the critics when he noticed a large crowd by his work.

Canvas spent a little bit of time next to his wall of artwork, hoping that somepony would talk with him about it and show their admiration; however, since he was an Earth Pony, most of the assumptions from the unicorns around him made it so very few would think that he was the one who did these paintings. As the night went on, Canvas was feeling less and less enthusiastic as he stood by his work, hearing all the praises by the ponies who assumed that it was done by a unicorn. Just as Canvas was about to head back to the bar to talk with Troy some more, the posh voice of a stallion caught his attention.

"Well, I say, is that one of my bags?!"

Turning around, Canvas saw a charcoal-grey Earth pony stallion standing before him, who boasted a rather large, ruffled collar and an overstyled white and silver mane. Lowering his purple sunglasses from his face, the pony looked at Canvas's bag with a mix of curiosity and disgust.

Looking over at the pony's cutie mark of a paper fan, Canvas's eyes widened as he realized he was standing before Hoity Toity, the one who’d made his art bag. Looking closer at the bag, Hoity Toity stared at the intricately placed drawings that covered every part of the fabric, looking rather surprised as he spoke again in his aristocratic manner.

"Young man, I don't know what I was hoping to see here tonight, but to see one of my rarest designs be turned into… this… was not one of them!"

Looking up to Canvas, who was now looking worriedly at the fashion pony, Hoity Toity carried a stern look on his face as he spoke towards the artist. "Who exactly are you?"

Feeling his heart racing, Canvas gulped down some excess saliva before he gave his answer. "My… my name is Canvas, sir. I… I'm one of the artists for this gallery." Holding a hoof out to his paintings on the wall, Canvas watched as Hoity Toity's gaze went over the various paintings. Even though he was worried about insulting the designer with his bag, Canvas's mood began to lighten as he saw the charcoal pony's mouth hang open with surprise while he stared at the artwork.

"Well, well, welllll,” uttered Hoity Toity as he looked back at Canvas. "You did these yourself?"

Seeing how impressed the stallion was, Canvas nodded as he gave a light smile. "Yes I did. In fact…” Canvas pulled his art bag around to his chest while leaving it on his shoulder, allowing Hoity Toity to have a better look. "I've had this as an art bag for years. I gotta say, it's kind of an honor to meet the pony who made this."

Looking at the bag from the front like this, the designer's glance went up to Canvas with a curious look on his face. "May I?"

Canvas nodded before Hoity Toity carefully opened the front flap of the bag, lifting it with a hoof as he looked at the tag inside. "I see…” After looking for a few more seconds, the pony closed Canvas's bag before looking back up at him with a perplexed look on his face.

"Mister Canvas, I have only sold ten of these bags, and looking at the tag, I see that this was the very first one."

Canvas's eyes widened as he looked down at his bag, staring in shock as he let Hoity's words set in. He knew from Rarity that this was a rare bag, but he honestly didn't think it would be that rare. Looking back at the designer, Canvas noticed the stallion looking at him with widened eyes, blinking a few times before speaking again.

"I… I believe I remember who I made this for."

Canvas stepped back as he heard Hoity Toity's revelation, breathing heavily as the pony continued.

"I remember a mare came to my shop--a dark-blue Pegasus, who had a pure-black mane and the image of a tornado as a cutie mark."

Canvas's hoof came up to his mouth in shock as he tried to keep himself from crying. Staring wide-eyed at Hoity Toity, Canvas realized that this stallion, who probably did orders for thousands of ponies over the years, still remembered the mare known as Blowing Winds. As he felt his eyes moisten, Canvas just stood there, stunned as he looked down to the floor, reflecting on the fact that Hoity Toity had met his mother.

"When she came in,” continued the stallion, "she told me that she was looking for a bag for her son, who just discovered his talent in art. Even though she didn't have much money, she was insistent in finding something good for him to use. Although I usually didn’t take requests from strangers, I… I felt like she deserved something worth my attention. So after a few days of work, I made an art bag. The very bag you have on your shoulder right now."

Canvas looked back down to his bag, tears now coming down his face as his hoof tried to hide his smile. Of all the things he expected would happen tonight, finding out about how important his art bag was to the pony that made it was not one of them. Slowly lowering his hoof, Canvas looked back up to Hoity Toity, tears running down his face, surprising the designer pony as Canvas managed to respond in a faint whisper, "That… that was my Mom."

Even with the large number of ponies around them either conversing or looking at artwork, Hoity Toity was still willing to move forward and give Canvas a quick hug, closing his eyes as he felt Canvas hug back. Before letting go of the designer, Canvas was able to utter one last thing.

"... Thank you for what you’ve done.”

Letting go of the stallion, Canvas was about to rub his eyes dry with a hoof before Hoity Toity handed him a handkerchief, looking like he was about to tear up himself as he gave a kind smile.

"It's quite alright."

After giving him a light pat on the shoulder, Hoity Toity began to walk off as Canvas dried his eyes, only saying one last thing to the pony before heading back through the ballroom. "And don't worry, you can keep that handkerchief."

Canvas only nodded before he looked up, seeing that the pony was already gone. Looking down to his bag, Canvas felt a great warmth flow through his body as he realized how much dedication and generosity went into making this very item a reality. Breathing in deeply, Canvas finished wiping his face dry as Lyra walked up to him.

"Are you alright?" Lyra asked with worry in her voice. "Bon-Bon is alright with her catering right now, so I thought I could check on you. I saw you talking with Hoity Toity, and I've heard a lot of things about him being overcritical."

"Actually,” said Canvas as he placed the handkerchief in his bag, "he was really nice."

"Oh, alright." Waiting until Canvas looked okay, Lyra began to grin a little as she peered her head in. "Hey Canvas, wanna see something cool about this place?"

"Um…” Thinking about what to do, Canvas looked back at his paintings before turning back to the unicorn with a smile. "Sure. What is it?"

"Follow me."

After moving their way through dozens of Canterlot-type ponies, Canvas and Lyra were standing underneath the large dome roofing of the ballroom. Underneath the center of the dome, a large ornate statue of Starswirl the Bearded stood in the middle of the ballroom, with many ponies around it as they chatted with one another. Looking around, Lyra glanced up to the ceiling before taking two steps back, making sure her distance was correct before she motioned Canvas to stand beside her.

"I've been to this ballroom before,” said Lyra in an excited tone, "and I found out from an architect pony about a cool feature this place has. Apparently, If you stand at a certain spot from the statue and speak, the acoustics from the dome will carry the noise to the exact opposite spot."

Despite Lyra's enthusiastic grin, Canvas looked at her with a confused look on his face. "Okay, so… so what?"

"So,” said Lyra as she noticed a pony across from them, "if you talk here, the pony over there will hear it like somepony was right next to him. Watch…”

Looking rather eager to show Canvas, Lyra peered her head in forward slightly before making a loud whisper. "Boogers!"

As Lyra pointed across the statue, Canvas watched as the stallion across from them stood alone, then suddenly jerked his head around as he heard Lyra's voice. Seeing how the pony reacted to the word "boogers" out of nowhere, Canvas held a hoof to his mouth as he struggled not to laugh. Seeing Canvas getting the idea, Lyra moved to another spot by the statue, standing across from a rather large unicorn mare in a gaudy, green dress as she made another whisper.

"There's a stain on your dress!"

Suddenly, the mare jerked her head before she started to look upon her dress frantically. Once again, Canvas tried muffling his muzzle as he started cracking up. Looking over to Lyra, Canvas saw her motioning to him, letting him take a shot at this. Looking around, Canvas noticed the perfect target: Rarity, holding a drink in her hoof while chatting with Fluttershy with a stallion standing nearby. Seeing that the stallion was next to Rarity, Canvas positioned himself, noting his spot from the statue and below the dome before he made a whisper in a lowered tone of voice.

"Nice flank!"

With both Canvas and Lyra looking, Rarity heard the voice and turned around in anger before throwing the drink in the random stallion's face and storming off. While both the stallion and Fluttershy stood stunned, Lyra and Canvas began cracking up at what just happened.

"That was awesome!" Lyra said as she hoof-bumped Canvas. "A little bit meaner than I thought, but still pretty funny."

"Yeah,” said Canvas as he checked to make sure no tears came from his laughter. "Actually, a weird thing happened with me and Rarity today."

"Really, what?"

"Well…” Canvas looked back to Lyra with a smirk on his face before he continued. "When Rarity was cutting my mane, she…”Thinking about what happened, Canvas started to snicker a little.

"... She actually thought that Troy was my boyfriend."

As Canvas began chuckling a little to himself, Lyra just looked at him in confusion before she spoke. "Wait… you mean he isn't?"

Canvas suddenly stopped giggling as he looked back to Lyra, his eyes wide open as he looked in surprise.

"N-no… No, he's not."

Seeing Lyra's eyebrows raise up in surprise at him saying that, Canvas looked away as he tried to comprehend why she would think that. He knew that he and Troy were close, but he didn’t think that it would cause more than one pony to make that assumption about them. As Canvas stood looking at the floor, Lyra began to get worried as she walked up to him.

"Canvas? Canvas, I just thou--"

"Troy is just a friend!"

As Canvas's head shot back up while saying that, Lyra only looked with more concern as she saw how worked up he was getting.

"I mean, yeah, he's a close friend, but he's just a friend! I mean, I don’t get why so many ponies think that about us! It's just weird, you know?! Troy is… he’s…”

Seeing how upset Canvas was looking, Lyra stepped a little closer as she began to figure out why Canvas was like this.

"He… he’s a friend. Just… just a friend."

As Canvas looked down to the ground again and sighed, Lyra slowly put a hoof on his back, hoping she wasn't going to upset him with the question she was about to ask.

"Canvas… do you...

“... Do you like him?"

Canvas's head shot back up as he backed up from Lyra with wide-open eyes. Despite how freaked-out Canvas looked, Lyra's face stayed stern as she kept her composure, hoping Canvas wouldn’t run away from the question. Breathing heavily, Canvas saw Lyra look at him with a serious expression, waiting for an answer. Even though he didn’t want to talk to her about this, he still tried to give an answer as he looked away from the mare.

"Troy… Troy is my friend. He's just… just a friend."

"That wasn't what I asked."

Looking back to Lyra, Canvas saw that she was still keeping her stern look. Breathing harder, Canvas started looking around with worry before Lyra walked up to him, keeping him in her sight as she spoke again in a calmer tone. "Canvas, it's just a question. You don't have to worry."

After exhaling deeply one last time, Canvas looked back to Lyra with worry as she asked again, this time giving a warmer look to him.

"Canvas, do you like Troy? Like… as more than a friend?"

Canvas began to shake as he bit his lip, not wanting to answer the question. Sighing deeply, Canvas opened his mouth as Lyra stood before him, feeling his heartbeat come out faster as he tried to answer.

"Well… well, I…”

All this time, Canvas kept saying to himself that Troy was just a friend. Knowing all that the Gryphon had done for him, the last thing he wanted to do was admit to himself that there was anything more than that. Even though he knew a lot about Troy, and knew that he was Troy's closest friend, Canvas had no idea whether or not the Gryphon could feel any closer to him than that. Clenching his eyes shut, Canvas felt his heart about to burst as he tried to admit the one thing he didn’t even want to admit to himself.

"I… I...

“... I do.”

Realizing what he just said out loud, Canvas felt Lyra put a hoof around his shoulder, keeping him by her side as she held him. His eyes blinking a few times while against Lyra, Canvas felt his heart get heavier as he realized how right that sounded. After all this time, after all the constant reassurances that Troy was just a friend to him, Canvas could only hug Lyra back as he realized how he truly felt.

I have feelings for Troy.

After a little while, Lyra let go to make sure Canvas was alright. Looking at the pony, Lyra noticed that Canvas was staring at the floor wide-eyed, staring off into nothing as he let that realization sink in. Lyra looked back to the bar in the distance, noticing something before she turned back to Canvas with a reassuring smile.

"Canvas, it's alright."

"But…” Even though he just admitted to himself that he liked his best friend as more than a friend, Canvas gulped before he spoke again, afraid to ask the question that kept him from admitting he liked Troy in the first place.

"What… what if he doesn't like me back? I mean… what if he can't have feelings for me? Like… like I do for him?"

"Why? Because he's a Gryphon?"

Canvas looked back to Lyra as he tried to clarify that wasn't the reason, but was unable to speak up before Lyra continued with an optimistic tone of voice, "Because I've met a ton of ponies who are in great interspecies relationships! I've known ponies who are with Zebras, Buffalo, Mules, all kinds of other species. I think I heard of one pony who was with a Diamond Dog…”

"Lyra, I didn’t mean tha--"

"In fact,” Lyra interrupted, "I was talking with Twilight once, who told me that her brother knows of a Reserve Guard Pony who's currently in a relationship with a Changeling!"

"Well, that's just fine bu--really, a Changeling?"

Canvas stared at Lyra for a second in slight disbelief before continuing.

"Huh… Well, I didn’t mean it like that, Lyra. I… just don’t know if… he… he would want to be with a guy."

Seeing how flustered Canvas looked at his concern, Lyra put a hoof to his shoulder before trying to reassure him. "Canvas, I've seen how he acts around you. I might not know much about these kinds of things, but… but I do think he likes you."

Even though he was still worried, Canvas stared at Lyra with a skeptical look before replying, "Really? How can you tell?"

"Well,” the unicorn began as she looked back to the bar, "remember how his wings shot open as soon as he saw you with your short mane?"

"Yeah… so?”

Seeing how Canvas was looking at her, Lyra's eyes opened a little as she realized he didn’t know what she was talking about. "Wait… do you not know about that?"

"About what?"

Blinking a few times wide-eyed in surprise, Lyra took a breath before she explained, "Canvas, when… when wings shoot open like that… it means that…”

Cautious to anypony eavesdropping, Lyra looked around before she whispered the rest into Canvas's ear. Pulling back, Lyra saw Canvas blush a little as he stared at her, wide-eyed. Standing a few seconds in a frozen state, Canvas blinked a few times before he finally spoke in a doubtful tone.

"Nuh uh!"

"Yeah huh!" replied the mare as she put a hoof to her hip with a smirk. "Rainbow Dash told me so!"

"Oh please,” said Canvas, cynical about her claim, "his wings also did that when I cooked him bacon! That doesn’t mean anything."

Canvas looked away from Lyra for a few seconds, feeling like he made a valid point before his eyes shot wide open, realizing what he just told a pony he did. Looking back to Lyra--who now had her eyes as wide open as his--Canvas quickly tried to "correct" his statement.

"A salad. I cooked him a salad. He… he really likes salads."

Sweating a little bit from worry, Canvas tried to smile to verify his statement, making Lyra blink a couple times before replying. "I… I'm just going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that.”

Lyra looked away from Canvas, breathing out heavily before she closed her eyes and turned back to him. Opening her eyes, Lyra breathed in before she tried to make her point.

"Okay, I didn’t want to do this, but I think you should see something."

Motioning Canvas to follow her, the mint unicorn made her way through the crowds again, leading him to a large mirror hung on the wall. Looking back to the bar to make sure this would work, Lyra turned her attention to Canvas as he looked around. confused.

"Okay, what is it, Lyra? What did you want to show me?"

"This."

Using her magic, Lyra's mint aura slowly pulled the mirror out to one side as she made sure it was angled right for Canvas to see.

"Canvas,” said the mare as she looked around to make sure nopony was watching, "I want you to look at the bar from the mirror."

Nodding at her, Canvas looked into the mirror while it was angled out for him. With his eyes focused on the reflection of the bar, Canvas wasn't sure what it was Lyra was talking about until he saw Troy. Even from the skewed angle, Canvas could tell as clear as day that Troy was sitting at the bar, looking right at him as Canvas looked back.

When Lyra saw that he noticed, she placed the mirror back as Canvas looked back to the bar behind him. As soon as he looked to Troy, the Gryphon quickly turned his head away, as if he didn’t want to get caught staring. Blinking a few times with an open mouth in shock, Canvas turned back to Lyra as she looked with a warm smile.

"Canvas, I've been walking around this gallery all night, and every time I noticed Troy, he was looking right at you. And when I saw his face, it was the exact same one Bon-Bon had when she looked at me before we got together."

Seeing how genuine her statement was, Canvas looked down as he tried to collect himself. Even though he wanted nothing more than for her to be right, Canvas still didn’t want to keep his hopes up too high. Even if what Lyra was saying was true, Canvas still didn’t know for sure if Troy really felt that way for him. Letting her words sink in, Canvas could only looked back to the mare before speaking in a faint tone.

"I… I gotta think about some things."

Seeing that she got to him, Lyra smirked a little as she nodded back. "Go right ahead. Just remember what I said."

Nodding in agreement, Canvas gave a faint smile as he slowly walked back to his part of the exhibit, his mind now spinning as he was left wondering what to do now.

Yeah, I know, I made a pretty blatant reference to How I Met Your Mother with the whole statue thing; however, it's going to be relevant, I swear.

I also made a small reference to An Affliction of the Heart, a great fic that I highly recommend checking out.

Seeing how many empty glasses were in front of him, Troy was surprised how weak Equestrian alcohol really was. Even after drinking so many different glasses of various drinks, Troy didn’t even feel the slightest buzz. As the bartender started pulling the empty glasses away--giving an obvious glare to the Gryphon for taking advantage of an open bar like this--Troy sighed and looked back to the crowds.

Through the large array of different ponies in fancy outfits and garments, the Gryphon was finding it difficult to see where Canvas could be among them. Even though he didn't take much notice of what was happening around the bar, he still recognized the technicolor mane in his eyesight as Rainbow Dash sat at the bar beside him.

"Hey Troy,” said the Pegasus before holding a hoof up for the bartender. "Yo, barkeep! Get me whatever my buddy's drinking!"

As she pointed to Troy, the bartender reluctantly made two more Sea Breezes, levitating the drinks to them while still glaring at the Gryphon. Seeing what Troy had been drinking, Rainbow Dash looked over to him with a skeptical smirk.

"Really, dude? A Sea Breeze? Seriously, that's something Fluttershy would drink!"

"Well,” replied the Gryphon as he picked up his glass, "I'm not drinking it for the buzz. I just wanted something that tastes alright."

Seeing him down his glass, the Pegasus mare shrugged as she drank hers as well. Even though she'd rather have something stronger, Troy wasn't kidding when he said it tasted good. Letting the sweetness and strong taste of vodka hit her tongue, Rainbow Dash finished her drink before looking over to Troy. Seeing him eying the crowd again, Rainbow looked over for a couple seconds before she said, "Canvas is by his exhibit."

"Oh, thanks."

After thanking her, Troy looked over and saw that the aqua pony was by his paintings again, although Canvas seemed to be on edge about something before a few ponies walked up to him. As Troy looked on for a few seconds, he suddenly realized that Rainbow Dash knew what he was doing, making him turn back to see the mare grinning at him. Not wanting to prove anything and build up her cocky attitude, Troy stammered a bit as he tried to disprove her assumptions.

"I wasn't… I… I… I was just trying, like--”

"Dude, cut the denial!” blurted the mare as she held out a hoof to him."I think we both know what's going on."

Troy groaned as he looked back across the bar away from Dash, not wanting to get in this discussion. "Seriously, can't I just have a drink in peace? Why are you so insistent on digging into me about this?"

"About what?" Rainbow asked as she kept a skewed eyebrow. "I'm just trying to keep conversation."

"Oh, don't give me that!" Troy turned back to the mare as he continued, "Ever since that slip-up at the sports bar, you keep trying to bring up little hints and jabs about me and Canvas, and it's really getting on my nerves!"

Rainbow Dash sighed as her smile dropped. "Listen Troy, I'm not trying to jab at you or anything. I'm just trying to point out something you might not realize yourself."

Troy face-clawed and tried to comprehend why Rainbow was talking to him like this. Resting his forelegs on the bar, Troy kept his face in his claw as it propped his head up. "Rainbow, please stop making assumptions like this. It is really annoying."

"Oh come on!" said the Pegasus, her tone starting to get more insistent. "Do you really think this is just an assumption? Dude, I've seen what you've been doing ever since you joined my crew, and from what I've seen, I think it's pretty apparent you like Canvas."

Troy groaned and rubbed his temples with his claws, not wanting to listen to his boss talk about his personal life.

"I'm not just talking about the sports bar--which I may remind you, I never brought up since I'm your friend,” said Rainbow Dash as she looked at him.

Knowing that she really hadn’t brought up that moment at the bar since it happened, Troy lowered his claw as he looked toward her, keeping a stern tone on his face as she continued.

"Ever since you joined my crew, you spend almost all your free time with Canvas. I mean, I spend a lot of time with my friends too, but I don't spend every day off with just one of them! I'm not trying to imply anything, but it really seems like you care about him."

"Well, of course I do!" said Troy with an obvious tone in his voice. "I saved his life, remember? I wanted to make sure he got better, and then when he did, he turned out to be a great guy."

"Uh-huh,” said the mare with a smirk on her face, "and how about that wingboner you got today?"

"What?!”

Even though he knew Rainbow could say things rather bluntly, he didn’t expect her to go for that kind of blow at him.

"Oh don’t give me that!" Rainbow protested. "You almost knocked out Fluttershy when your wings shot out like that, and don’t try to deny it!"

"Oh, for crying out loud, can you just shut up about this?!" As Troy looked over to Rainbow, he was beginning to look angry as he glared at her. "Gryphons don't even get those, that's a Pegasus thing!"

Despite how angry Troy was getting, Rainbow Dash only kept a look that said, "Are you kidding me?" After a few seconds of her stare, Rainbow opened her mouth as she spoke in a stern tone of voice. "Dude, I'm not a moron. I was best friends with a Gryphon. I know how the Gryphon body works, and I know what you just said is a lie. You got a wingboner."

The mare turned back to the bottles in front of her as Troy groaned again. Gripping his claws on the table, Troy was just about to leave when he heard Rainbow Dash ask one more question.

"Troy… remember when you told me why you wanted to be part of the Weather Patrol?"

Even though Troy didn’t want to listen to any more of the mare's words, Troy kept himself in his stool, breathing out slowly before he answered the question, "Yeah. I… I wanted to be more social. And I am."

"Sort of."

Surprised that she would say something like that, Troy looked at Rainbow Dash in confusion as she turned back to him, keeping a small smile on her face as she spoke.

"Troy, I know you just joined my crew so you could look over Canvas at first, which I allowed because I wanted to make up for that storm. But the more time you spent working for me, I saw that you've been there for him even after he was healed. Even after he managed to get a good life for himself, you still stood by his side whenever you could. And yeah, you have been more social around town and stuff, but I noticed something about you when you're with other ponies."

Now looking at her in curiosity, Troy stayed in his seat as Rainbow Dash continued, "I've noticed that whenever you're with other ponies, like my crew or Lyra and Bon-Bon, that you're usually pretty neutral. I mean, you smile here and there, but not nearly enough for me to see that you're actually happy. However, whenever I see you with Canvas, or talking about Canvas, or even thinking about him, I always see a smile on that beak."

As Rainbow Dash kept her smile, which actually looked a lot warmer than it usually did, Troy just sighed before he replied in a slightly irritated tone, "Okay, so what's your point?"

"My point,” said Rainbow as she kept smiling, "is that I can see that Canvas makes you happy. Happier than anypony else around here. I'm not trying to make fun of you, or criticize you or anything like that. I'm just being honest… That stallion makes you happy, and you should know that."

With that, the cyan mare got off her stool, leaving Troy at his spot at the bar. As Troy sighed in relief, he looked back around the mass of ponies in the ballroom. Not wanting to think about what Rainbow Dash just told him, the Gryphon's gaze slowly went back to Canvas's display. Looking over, Troy could see Canvas chatting with a few ponies, actually laughing a little as he talked about his art.

Even though he couldn’t hear what Canvas was saying from this far, Troy could still see that the pony was looking a lot happier. Thinking about all that the stallion has managed to do and overcome to reach this point, Troy sighed as he admired how great Canvas looked right now. Before he realized it, a small smile grew on his beak while looking at him, appreciating how far his best friend has come since that first day. With his attention on Canvas, Troy didn’t notice Rainbow Dash next to him again, sneaking up to the Gryphon before whispering in his ear.

"Told ya!"

Troy quickly swiped his claw in her direction in both surprise and annoyance, missing her as she speedily darted off, laughing. Getting sick of everything around him, Troy decided to stretch his legs, leaving from his stool while the bartender silently cheered to himself in relief.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Glimmer Heart looked up to the clock on the wall to see it was almost eight, grinning to herself when she knew the main event of the night was about to begin. Knowing how much money could be raised after this, Glimmer Heart cleared her throat as she stood in the middle of the ballroom by the statue. Levitating a microphone with her aura, Glimmer tapped the end a few times with her hoof, the sounds emanating around the ballroom as the ponies turned their attention to her. Seeing that she had everypony's attention, Glimmer Heart kept her horn lit as she began to speak into the microphone.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, I would like to thank everypony here for coming to this gallery. Every year, this event is held to showcase the best and brightest in the Equestrian arts, and it has always been my greatest pleasure to meet so many new, shining artists."

As Canvas stood by his artwork with a blush on his face, Glimmer Heart kept her caring smile to the crowd as she continued to speak.

"Because of this, I am honored to present the highlighting pieces of the six artists displayed for tonight."

Glimmer Heart's horn grew brighter as she turned her attention to the first collection of artwork, a white unicorn mare with a blonde mane standing proudly beside her.

"From Manehatten, I would like to present Gemini's piece, titled Heart of the City."

Using her pink aura, Glimmer Heart slowly opened the curtain displaying Gemini's biggest piece, a large painting of the Manehatten skyline. While the skyline was painted in a pitch-black with blue windows in a minimalistic fashion, the white background carried a large image of a pink heart, rising above the city like a sun. Looking at the large piece, Canvas thought the piece was rather striking, although a bit clichéd to be honest.

Glimmer Heart then walked over to the work of the second unicorn mare, a powder-blue pony with a purple mane in pigtails. While most of her paintings were adorned with enough glitter to make Pinkie Pie proud, it was done in a surprisingly tasteful fashion as the pink aura enveloped her curtain.

"From Las Pegasus,” said Glimmer, "here is Glitter Shine's painting, titled Shining in the Night."

Opening the curtain, many ponies looked in admiration as they saw a large painting of one of Las Pegasus's most well-known casinos, The Pharaoh, standing against the night as it shone against the Pegasus Strip. Canvas was especially impressed when he saw how the golden glitter was used against the large pyramid-shaped building, making it look like a natural part of the Las Pegasus cityscape as it glittered around the ballroom.

As Glimmer's aura reached the third curtain, many of the ponies turned their attention to the third mare, a yellow unicorn with a matching blonde mane in an expensive-looking green dress.

"From Appleloosa", began Glimmer Heart, "This is Country Comfort's piece, titled Buffalo Roam."

Opening the curtain, Glimmer revealing a large detailed painting of one of the buffalo migrations, which showed them running through the apple orchards in the brightest colors imaginable. Reminding Canvas of the old-fashioned paintings he's seen in traditional places, he was impressed to see a depiction of something that happens so quickly be made in such detail. As the mare stood with a light blush, Canvas wondered how long it took her to get all the little details just right.

Before he could think much about it, Canvas noticed the fourth curtain about to be opened, as the last unicorn mare stood anxiously by her work. Wearing a thick pair of fake glasses and a red, plaid scarf that clashed with her green coat, the mare kept her pink mane within her grey fedora as Glimmer introduced her.

"From Portlandia, I would like to show Vintage Vinyl's piece, titled Mane Stream."

As Glimmer Heart opened the curtain, many of the ponies stared in confusion or unease as they saw the unicorn's painting, which displayed what looked to be a pure-black stallion trying to pull himself out of a raging blue river against a red sky. Looking closer, Canvas saw that the river wasn't supposed to be water, as he noticed many different objects making up the blue surface the pony was pulling himself from, including a bunch of newspapers and garbage. While Canvas wasn't sure what to think of the meaning behind the painting, he could tell that it was at least an interesting one to look at.

Glimmer Heart then walked over to the wall of artwork by the only unicorn stallion in the exhibit, a surprisingly tall and thin red pony with a pure, white, spiked mane. If it wasn't for the large amount of hair gel or the piercings along both his ears and nose, Canvas would've thought of him as being kinda cute.

"From Baltimare,” said Glimmer as her magic went around the curtain, "here is Flamingo Fire's piece, titled Within Darkness."

Glimmer opened the curtain, making many of the ponies gasp as they saw Flamingo's painting. Showing the inside of a dark alley, the painting carried the image of a bloodied pony walking toward the viewer with a knife in its mouth, while a large cross-shaped scar went across its grinning face. While Canvas definitely didn’t expect to see a piece that dark to be displayed here--despite how macabre a lot of Flamingo Fire's other paintings looked--he had to admit that it looked pretty cool. Looking around to the crowd of Canterlot-type ponies with shocked looks on their faces, Canvas struggled not to laugh as he saw how uptight this crowd really was.

"And finally…”

As Glimmer Heart walked over to Canvas's display, the Earth Pony stood proudly with a smile on his face, looking at the crowd of ponies as they stared in confusion or curiosity. Even though he hoped nopony would try to deny he did this like the judges back at the art contest, Canvas kept his enthusiastic smile on his muzzle as Glimmer introduced him.

"From the town of Ponyville, this painting from Canvas is titled… Soaring Through Sound."

With everypony, including Troy, watching enthusiastically, the curtain opened to reveal Canvas's largest painting to date. While many of the ponies either went “ooh,” or “ahh,” or chatted with each other about what was there, Troy could only stare wide-eyed as he looked at the painting.

Looking like an abstract painting at first, the background was flooded with almost every color imaginable, all of them blending together in a sort of tie-dye motif as they swirled around to the highlighting part in the center. In the middle of the painting, among all the blending colors and hues that swirled in harmony, stood the image of a grey and silver Gryphon, with his wings and legs spread out in flight and his beak wide open.

Blushing heavily behind his feathers, Troy realized what Canvas had been painting all this time. Remembering how Canvas looked at him while he was singing Vesti La Giubba, Troy looked at the piece in a speechless state as he saw that his friend painted him, showing how he saw the Gryphon as he sung his heart out that day. Looking at the background, Troy realized that the swirling colors were there to represent his music, and how his voice and dedication helped to burst out so many different emotions and feelings so different from himself. While he may have just been seen as a grey Gryphon to most ponies, Troy found out that Canvas saw him for much more than that, as the pony painted what Troy had inside of him as well.

As the crowds began to move around again between the displays, Troy slowly walked over to Canvas's exhibit and looked at the painting at a closer glance. Looking at the Gryphon in the painting, Troy smiled a little as he recognized the shade of grey on the canvas board. While looking, Troy almost didn’t notice Canvas he walked up beside him, carrying a particularly deep blush against his aqua fur as he saw how Troy was looking at the painting. Glancing over to the worried pony, Troy kept a smirk on his beak while keeping his calm stare, looking back to the painting before he spoke.

"So,” said Troy as he noticed the grey paint that made up the shape of the Gryphon, "when you were looking at that grey slash of paint two weeks ago, you… you saw me?"

Biting his lip, Canvas slowly nodded as he looked away from Troy, feeling extremely embarrassed for waiting until now for him to see this.

"Ye… yeah… It… it just came to me."

As Troy turned back to the stallion, Canvas kept his gaze to the floor as he meekly spoke some more.

"I… I should've told you sooner. I… I’m sorry."

Troy gently placed a claw on Canvas's shoulder, making the pony look up to see Troy smiling down at him. "Don’t say you're sorry. You did a great job, and I'm glad everything worked out for you."

Canvas blinked a few times before finally replying, "Wait… you… you're alright with this?"

"Well, why wouldn't I be?" As Troy spoke, he kept a happy tone of voice as he looked back to the painting. "This is a really good painting, Canvas. Seriously, I'm really impressed by it. Besides…”

Troy turned his gaze back to Canvas, carrying a warm smile on his beak as he continued.

"... It’s really great to know I was your inspiration for this."

As Troy smiled at him, Canvas's blush grew even deeper as he smiled back. After realizing how he'd been feeling about the Gryphon in front of him, Canvas felt his heart beat even faster as he looked in Troy's vibrantly golden eyes. As the Gryphon's eyes peered back at Canvas with warmth and gentleness, the pony felt frozen at the spot as he felt his chest get warmer, wanting nothing more than to be closer to Troy. Before he could say or do anything, Canvas noticed Troy's eyes quickly dart back as his head turned behind him.

"Ooh,” said the Gryphon in an excited tone, "I think Bon-Bon just made more of those caramel things."

Even though Canvas knew by now about Troy's amazing smelling skills, he was still surprised the Gryphon would pick that up as he watched him quickly dart off through the crowds. After losing sight of Troy within the crowd of ponies, Canvas sighed as he looked back down to the ground, his heart feeling heavier as he didn’t want to let him go.

Before he could feel any more heartbroken, Canvas began to take notice as several ponies came up to him, all of whom looked rather interested in his art. Taking a deep breath, Canvas forced out a genuine-looking smile as he looked back up to the ponies, standing tall as he heard their praises.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After dealing with snooty ponies all night who were quick to criticize any visual imperfections of her food, Bon-Bon was happy to finally see Troy as he came up to her station, looking thrilled to see that her caramel-chocolate candies were just brought out. Since barely any of the Canterlot-type ponies really touched those, since they weren't “visually appealing,” Bon-Bon didn’t seem to mind as the Gryphon started quickly eating them from her platter. Seeing how happy Troy was looking, Bon-Bon cleared her throat to catch his attention before speaking.

"So Troy, how's the gallery going for you?"

"Nod bud." Troy finished chewing on the wad of caramel and chocolate in his beak before swallowing, allowing him to speak clearly. "I mean, it's a bit boring, but I'm really glad I came here with you guys. Did you see Canvas's big painting for this?"

"Well yeah,” said the cream-colored mare in an obvious tone of voice, "I did carry it here from the station, remember?"

Seeing how pleased the Gryphon was looking, a smile came up on Bon-Bon's face as she continued, "I was wondering what you would think about seeing that."

"It's awesome!" said Troy as he reached for some more of the chocolates. "I wasn't expecting him to paint something like that, but it's pretty cool, you know? It's neat knowing I was a big part of his work for this."

As Bon-Bon smiled and nodded, she didn’t notice her wife rush up to Troy, looking upset to see him here of all places. "Troy!" Lyra exclaimed in a frantic tone. "Why are you here? Shouldn’t you be talking with Canvas?"

"I did,” said the Gryphon in a confused tone of voice. "I talked with him about how I liked the painting, and then I came here when I smelled the chocolate being brought out."

While Bon-Bon's eyes opened in surprise that Troy could do something like that, Lyra facehoofed before she began looking around. Noticing something near the center of the ballroom, Lyra turned her head back to Troy, using her magic to wrap his body around in an aura before pulling him with her.

"Come on, birdbrain!" Before Troy could protest or respond, Lyra pulled him away from Bon-Bon's station, leaving the mare utterly confused as she looked down to her almost empty platter. After blinking a few times, Bon-Bon looked back to the crowd as she thought about what Troy said.

"Can a Gryphon really smell that far?"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because of the large number of ponies who’d come up to Canvas after his unveiling, the Earth Pony had to move closer to the center of the ballroom in order to not feel so overcrowded. While many of the artists had their own attention from Canterlot ponies regarding their work, none of them measured to the large mass of ponies around Canvas as he stood by the statue.

Among the sea of ponies asking him questions--many of them about his painting techniques, as expected--Canvas noticed the question of one particular mare within the crowd, coming out from an unknown part as they reached Canvas's ears.

"Canvas, what's your inspiration for your big painting?"

Even though he swore he recognized the voice, Canvas couldn’t see who it was until he realized most of the crowd had grown more silent. Having heard the question as well, many of the ponies around grew curious to the answer, waiting for a response as Canvas stood still. Realizing that he should answer, Canvas cleared his throat before looking around, breathing in as he started to speak.

"Well, I… I guess I can say my piece was inspired by my best friend…”

Feeling his heart grow heavier at saying “best friend,” Canvas felt like he should say more, mostly for himself, as he knew how important Troy really was to him.

"He… he found me several months ago… when I lost everything I had. I… I honestly felt like… I could have ended my own life…”

Canvas kept his gaze to the floor to avoid the worried looks and light gasps from ponies in the crowd, biting his lip a little before continuing.

"But, he… he found me… and he saved my life. He had no idea who I was or what happened to me, but… but he still saved me. And he stood by my side ever since."

Knowing how strongly he felt about Troy now, Canvas could feel his eyes moisten as he kept speaking.

"He became the best friend I ever had… and… he was there for me when I needed him the most. I… I honestly don't know what I would do without him.”

With his heart beating in his chest, Canvas wiped his eyes with a hoof to make sure he wasn't crying before he went on.

"I… I don't think there's anything I can do that can fully make up for everything he's done for me. He was always there for me since that day…and…”

And I love him.

Canvas's eyes shot open as that thought shot through his head. Standing silent for a few seconds, Canvas breathed out heavily as he realized how he truthfully felt about the Gryphon. Feeling how truly right that thought sounded in his head, Canvas began tearing up a little before he continued to speak.

"I… I just wish he knew… how… how much I really care about him. Because… because he means so much to me."

While Canvas began wiping his face dry around the ponies listening to him, Canvas didn’t seem to notice his position by the statue, or under the dome for that matter. Since the crowd of ponies blocked his sight, Canvas didn’t realize that on the opposite end from the statue, Troy was standing by himself with his eyes wide-open.

After Lyra dragged him to the spot and said asked Canvas the question, all the unicorn did was tell Troy to stay before walking off, leaving the Gryphon to hear every word Canvas said, like he was standing right next to him. As Canvas started answering more questions from the ponies, Troy stayed in the spot, silent, feeling his beak begin to smile as he realized how important he really was to his best friend.

Meanwhile, Lyra stood proudly by the entranceway of the ballroom, feeling ecstatic at seeing how grateful Troy looked to have heard all that. Seeing how he was smiling in that spot, Lyra almost didn’t notice as two particular ponies walked past her into the ballroom. Catching the glimpse of the shimmering mane from the corner of her eye, Lyra gasped before quickly bowing to the ground.

Soon after, everypony took notice as they hurriedly began bowing as well, letting their gratitude be known as the two alicorns entered the gallery. While Twilight Sparkle may have been at the exhibit near the beginning of the night, the Princess left for a little while for an unknown reason; now, the purple alicorn was back in the ballroom among the honored ponies, as she stood next to her mentor, Princess Celestia.

As the almighty alicorn stood among her subjects, her stunning, multicolored mane flowing around weightless in the ballroom, Celestia slowly raised a hoof to the room, allowing everypony to rise before she spoke in a warm voice.

"Good evening."

While nopony expected the Princess of the Sun to arrive at the art gallery, her presence was an amazing surprise for all the guests there. Despite the alicorn's insistence to just be seen as another guest while going around the gallery, many of the ponies kept themselves silent as they kept their distance from Celestia and Twilight Sparkle.

Even though Canvas had gotten used to being around Twilight over the past few months, to be in the same room with a goddess like Celestia was something he never thought he'd experience. As Canvas stayed nearby his wall of artwork, shaking with anxiousness about being near high royalty, he almost didn’t notice when Troy stood beside him, staring wide-eyed at the Princesses as they walked around the gallery.

While the Gryphon Kingdom was ruled under a monarchy separate from Equestria, Troy couldn’t think of a single Gryphon who would dare disrespect Celestia's ruling, or her powers when it came to raising and lowering the sun. Even though the Gryphon/Equestrian Conflicts had ended peacefully before he was even born, Troy knew there was still some unmentioned tension between older ponies and Gryphons because of those actions.

So now, with the Gryphon in the same room as the Princess of the Sun and her protégé, Troy felt a huge knot in his stomach at how he should act with them around. Looking over to his side, Troy saw that Canvas was looking way more nervous than him, leaving him to try to calm the pony down while Celestia admired Gemini's painting of Manehatten.

"Hey Canvas,” whispered Troy as he reached a claw to the pony's shoulder. Canvas immediately flinched at the touch before he realized it was just Troy, making him breathe hard as he looked up at him with worried eyes. Waiting until he calmed down a little, Troy tried to keep a calm tone of voice as he spoke. "Canvas, are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah,” said the pony in a shaky tone, "I'm just standing by my artwork on the biggest night of my life, waiting for the Goddess of the Sun to look at my achievements. What's to worry about?"

Seeing how flustered Canvas was getting, Troy looked back over to Celestia, who was now looking at Glitter Shine's work before he turned back to the stallion.

"Canvas, c'mon,” said Troy as he tried to give a reassuring tone. “You shouldn't be this worried. It's just the Princess. It’s not like anything bad is going to happen."

"But,” sputtered the pony as he saw Celestia come closer, "what if she doesn’t like my stuff? What if she says something bad about them, and nopony buys my work again?"

Despite how worried Canvas looked, Troy just looked at the pony with the strongest "Are you kidding me?" face he could give, shaking his head slightly before speaking up. "Canvas, do you seriously think that's gonna happen? I understand getting a little paranoid, but that's a bit extreme, don’t you think?"

Canvas kept his worried stare on the Princess, who just left Country Comfort's exhibit on their way to Vintage Vinyl's, before he turned back to Troy.

"I just… I'm really worried about what to do. I mean… I know Twilight was nice to me and everything, but… I jus--”

"Hey,” said Troy as he put a claw to Canvas's shoulder, "nothing bad is going to happen. I'm sure of it."

Canvas breathed in a little deeper as he looked up to Troy. Seeing how calm the Gryphon looked while staring at him, Canvas started to feel a little more at ease. Keeping his claw on the pony's shoulder, Troy couldn't stop staring as he saw how big Canvas's eyes looked, staring back at him with those shining pools of blue, which always looked so interesting to the Gryphon.

Slowly, Canvas's eyes began to relax a little as they started to look half-closed, making him look almost hypnotized as he looked at the burning gold hue of Troy eyes. While there were so many things Canvas wanted to tell Troy, none of them seemed to escape his mind as he smiled, keeping his gaze on the Gryphon he loved.

Slowly, Canvas began to hear the voices of Twilight Sparkle and Celestia as they reached Flamingo Fire's exhibit, making him and Troy turn to see the terrified unicorn before the two Princesses. While Celestia stared at the stallion's painting of a knife-wielding pony with an odd fascination, Twilight looked a little more uneasily as she looked with her.

"Well,” said Twilight as she turned back to Celestia, "it's probably a good thing I didn’t bring Spike with me. This would probably give him nightmares."

Hearing this, Flamingo Fire cringed a little and looked to the ground in guilt. However, Celestia kept her interested gaze on the painting as she spoke in a more optimistic tone.

"You know, I think Luna might enjoy seeing this. She's always been interested in the darker pieces of artwork."

At Celestia's comment, the red unicorn stood proudly once more as he gave a smile to the two, although it made him look slightly more terrifying with his piercings. After giving a kind nod and thank-you to the stallion, Celestia walked forward again with Twilight, making their way towards the wall of artwork made by Canvas.

As the two got closer, Canvas started shaking a little before Troy moved in closer. Feeling the Gryphon's feathers brush against his fur, Canvas started feeling a hundred times warmer and his heart started racing. While he certainly stopped thinking about the two alicorns coming up to them, Canvas was now feeling a completely different form of worry as he felt the warmth of his friend trying to calm him down. Closing his eyes, Canvas breathed in deeply before opening them, seeing Twilight Sparkle smile as she walked up to him.

"Good evening, Canvas,” said Twilight as she looked up to his wall of artwork. "It's nice to see you've been working hard since moving to Ponyville! I'm really glad to finally show your work to Celestia."

Looking up to see Celestia looking at his paintings, Canvas gulped some excess saliva as he tried to think of what to say. Before anything could come to mind, Canvas only stared wide-eyed as the Goddess looked to him with a kind smile. Raising a hoof toward him, Canvas realized that Celestia was offering it for him to shake, making him shake a little as he began to raise his own hoof to her.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Canvas,” said Celestia in a kind and warm voice. Even though Canvas had never met her in his life, he instantly felt calmer as she spoke, giving a calm and motherly feel to him as he shook her hoof. Looking up to her, Canvas saw that her smile was just as warm as her voice, looking at him the most genuine look of kindness as he slowly put his hoof down. Wanting to show his gratitude, Canvas gave a small bow to her before he spoke.

"Princess Celestia, it… it's truly an honor to meet you." Raising his head back up with a grateful smile, he turned back to Twilight as he continued, "And it's been an honor to know Twilight as well."

"I'm glad to hear that,” said Celestia as Canvas turned back to her. "And she's told me a lot about you as well."

Upon hearing that, Canvas grew worried, knowing exactly what it was Twilight Sparkle has mentioned about him. Seeing how determined she was about helping out Canvas when he told her about that night, he looked up to the Goddess with unease. The only one he ever told the full story to was Troy, who also stood with concern as Celestia noticed the pony's change in tone. Keeping her reassuring gaze, Princess Celestia looked down to Canvas's art bag, staring in curiosity before looking back to Canvas.

"Is that your art bag, Canvas?"

Looking down to the bag around his shoulder, Canvas nodded as he looked back up to her. Without needing to be asked, Canvas pulled the bag off his shoulder, handing it to her as her shining, white aura picked it up. Carefully opening the bag with her magic, Canvas looked in amazement as the Princess pulled out all the pictures inside, having them shuffle around midair as she glanced at each one. As the pages levitated around her aura, Celestia paused on one particular sketch, making her look with amusement as Canvas realized which one she was holding. Being able to see through the page from his side, Canvas realized that Celestia was holding the sketch that he made of her, the very first picture he drew after leaving Gallop Creek.

With a smile growing on her face, Celestia carefully arranged Canvas's pictures back together with her magic before placing them back in his bag and levitating it back onto his shoulder. With the pony staring worriedly, Celestia looked back over Canvas's paintings with a smile on her face, stopping her gaze on the large painting displayed in the middle. Seeing the Gryphon painted in the middle among the vibrant colors, Celestia looked towards Troy, making his feathers immediately ruffle out at having a Princess look at him. Holding a hoof to her mouth to keep herself from giggling, Celestia turned back to Canvas, while Troy quickly rubbed his feathers back down.

Looking up at Celestia, Canvas had no idea what to do or say. With his heart racing like a jackhammer, Canvas could only stand frozen on the spot as Celestia began to speak in a warm tone.

"Canvas, Twilight has told me about what happened, and it really makes me happy to see you doing so well."

Despite how gracious the Princess sounded when talking about him, Canvas still felt uneasy being in front of somepony who knew what happened to him. However, all of his worries immediately flowed away the instant he felt the Princess's hoof on his shoulder. Looking up to her, Canvas saw that she was looking back with the warmest smile on her face.

"Despite all that's happened to you, you still managed to move forward and accomplish so much in a few months. You really have an amazing talent, and you should be proud of what you've done."

At hearing Celestia's kind words, Canvas felt his eyes start to well up as he smiled at her. Glancing over to his friend, Canvas saw that Troy was looking at him with a small smirk, also seeming proud of him. Looking back at Celestia, Canvas saw her look at his artwork one last time before turning back to him, seeming confident at what she was about to say.

"Canvas, you really are a great artist, and I have no doubt in my mind that you can accomplish so much more.

“Because of that, I would like to ask if you would make a painting for my castle."

Among the large collection of gasps heard from within the ballroom at Celestia's request, Canvas stood frozen in front of the Princess, looking like he was going to faint at any second as he processed what she just said. Shaking in his hooves, Canvas started breathing rapidly as he looked to the ground, unable to come up with any full words to say to the Goddess in front of him.

"You… you-you w-w-w-wan… you want m-m-me t-to…”

Holding a hoof to his face, Canvas almost stumbled forward as he kept looking to the ground, seeing fresh tears fall from his eyes and hit the golden carpet, leaving small dark specks before he looked back up to her. Seeing Celestia keep her caring smile toward him, a smile shakily grew on Canvas's muzzle while tears came down his cheeks, as he slowly put the hoof down from his face. Feeling the carpet underneath him and the tears against his fur, Canvas realized that this was actually happening, that this wasn't a dream. Before he could start breaking down at any moment, Canvas bowed his head again towards Celestia, tears still escaping him as his voice came out in a shaky, yet most grateful tone.

"Your Majesty, it would be an honor."

As the ponies around the ballroom began to cheer--except the other artists, who just stared with dropped jaws--a grey Pegasus stallion with a green mane and large camera stumbled up to them. Seeing that the pony was from the Canterlot Press, Canvas quickly took position next to Celestia with the largest smile on his face, with Troy and Twilight standing next to them. After a quick flash of light, Canvas stood in absolute delight as he looked around the ballroom at everypony cheering, realizing that he’d finally made it.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the countless hugs Canvas got from his friends--as well as a few silent stares from the other artists--Canvas sat in pure bliss outside of the gallery, letting the cool air hit his fur while Troy sat next to him, holding him by his shoulder as guests began to leave. After everything was over, Canvas ended up selling most of his paintings that night, including his large one, which was bought by Hoity Toity.

Keeping his eyes closed as he savored the cool night, Canvas held Troy closer to him while he listened to the hoofsteps walk past. As Canvas savored how amazing everything went for him, Troy sat next to him in silence with a smile on his beak, looking down at the pony as he thought about how lucky they both were.

Meanwhile, a few blocks away, Celestia decided to walk back to the castle to appreciate the summer night before heading to bed, as two Pegasus Guards and her Most Faithful Student walked alongside her. While Celestia seemed content with everything that happened tonight, Twilight looked slightly unsure as she looked up to her mentor.

"Princess Celestia, do you mind if I ask a question?"

"What is it, Twilight?" Celestia asked in a calm tone as she looked over to her. While Twilight didn’t want to bring up anything inappropriate after such a nice evening, she still felt like she should ask about Canvas.

"When you were talking with Canvas, you said that you knew what happened to him."

Realizing what Twilight would ask, Celestia's light smile began to drop as she nodded. "Yes,” said the Goddess in a saddened tone, "I did look into what happened in Gallop Creek."

As they kept walking, Twilight saw that her mentor's face was now in a more sullen state, looking forward as her tone of voice came out more upset than before. "I found out what happened to him before he arrived in Ponyville, and… and I also know who hurt him."

"Really?” Twilight said in a heightened tone of voice. "When I asked him about it, he wasn't able to tell me who it was."

Celestia's pace slowed down a little as she looked back to Twilight, her gaze looking more grim as she replied to her.

"After looking into it, I wouldn’t blame him for not speaking about it. Even to a Princess."

While Twilight knew Canvas went through a lot, she didn’t expect Celestia to look this morose as this topic was brought up. Before she could say anything, Celestia continued to talk as she kept walking forward.

"After finding out about who hurt him, I asked Luna to verify the claims given to me from the townsponies in Gallop Creek. After looking through the memories and recollections of the ponies I interviewed, it became difficult for me to figure out what to do."

"What do you mean?" asked Twilight, confused. "If you know who did it, shouldn’t you do something to punish them?"

Celestia stopped walking, making Twilight and the Guards stand still as Celestia breathed in, sighing before she looked over to her student and spoke in a stern tone of voice.

"Twilight, after seeing everything that happened, before and after Canvas left that town, I realized that the issue was a lot more complicated than I first imagined. Even though I'm not sure what will happen in the near future, I can say with the utmost certainty that Canvas won't be attacked like that again."

Despite how confident Celestia looked with that last statement, Twilight still looked at her with confusion before asking one final question.

"I trust that you're right about this, but what does this mean for me? What should I do?"

After a long pause, Celestia placed a hoof on Twilight's shoulder, holding it there as she spoke to her.

"All that I ask is that you keep an eye out, Twilight Sparkle. I'm not saying anything will happen soon, or even at all. But if anything does happen, I want you to act accordingly. Do you understand?"

Even though Twilight wasn't sure what to do, she still nodded at the Goddess with a confident look in her eyes. "I understand, Your Highness."

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Because of how long Canvas and Troy stayed back at the gallery to talk with Glimmer Heart--as well as with the journalist, for his story for the paper--Lyra and Bon-Bon were already back at the hotel by the time the two finally started walking across Canterlot. While the streetlights were much brighter in Canterlot than in Ponyville, the meticulously paved stone streets still felt as empty this time of night than they did back home, which gave a nice sense of familiarity to Canvas as he happily trotted alongside Troy towards the hotel.

While the Gryphon looked forward as he walked with a smile, Canvas couldn’t keep his eyes off him as he stayed close. Underneath the bright streetlights, Troy's feathers shimmered like the most polished silver, illuminating the Gryphon in a light glow that was making Canvas's heart flutter. After everything that happened tonight, Canvas was almost hopping around the empty streets like Pinkie Pie, feeling beyond excited about how his gallery ended.

"I, I really can't believe this is happening to me!" exclaimed Canvas as he cheerfully looked up to Troy. "I mean, I knew this gallery was going to be big, but I didn’t think it was going to be THAT big!"

Seeing how ecstatic the stallion was, Troy kept his smile as he looked back at him, feeling relieved to see him this happy. "I'm really glad for you, Canvas. I mean it, this is a huge thing for you."

"Oh, this is way, WAY bigger than huge!" shouted Canvas as he grabbed Troy by the shoulders. "Do you know how many Earth Ponies have a piece of artwork in Canterlot Castle?! Seriously, guess how many!"

Despite liking seeing Canvas this happy, Troy started to feel a little uncomfortable as he was put on the spot to guess.

"Umm… I'm not su--"

"NONE!!” shouted Canvas as he let go of the Gryphon. "There are no Earth Ponies in history who have ever made anything good enough for Canterlot Castle!"

As he kept going, Canvas started pacing along the middle of the road as Troy only watched in amusement. "I'm going to be the very first Earth Pony to ever do something like this! I mean, this is bigger than anything I ever expected! I'm going to make history, I'm…”

Canvas turned back to Troy with a huge smile on his face, his eyes growing wide as he realized what he just said. "Troy, I'm going to make history!!"

Shouting out in glee, Canvas lunged onto Troy, hugging him as hard as he could (which wasn't nearly enough to choke the Gryphon) as he felt him hug back. While still keeping his hooves around Troy's back, Canvas moved his head back so he was looking straight at him, staring into his gold eyes as a large smile crept on his face.

Seeing how happy Canvas looked this close, Troy felt his heart begin to beat faster as he began to smile back, not noticing the feathers on the back of his head ruffling out. Before Canvas could move his head in closer, a large “whoosh'”could be heard as Troy's wings shot open. Seeing the Gryphon's wings stick out and almost shake from stiffness, Canvas tried perching his lips shut as he struggled not to laugh.

"Umm…” Troy slowly looked back to his wings with a tone of shame in his voice. "It's… it’s not what you think…”

Not able to hold it in anymore, Canvas let go of Troy and started cracking up. As Troy tried looking away, a guilty blush starting to spread across his face, he felt his wings slowly revert back to his body. Seeing how embarrassed Troy was looking, Canvas managed to stop laughing as he looked at him with a smile on his face.

"I'm sorry, dude,” said Canvas as he wiped his eyes with a hoof. "I just didn’t expect that to happen."

"Yeah, me neither,” grumbled the Gryphon as he looked away from him.

As soon as that awkward moment passed, the two began walking again as they got closer to the hotel. Walking along the stone pathways, Canvas and Troy looked over as they reached the edge of Canterlot, realizing they were at one of the ledges that looked over a large portion of Equestria. Under the shine of Luna's moonlight, both of them stopped as they admired the view of the miles upon miles of hills, all of which laid under the stunning backdrop of constellations and stars above. As the two leaned against the ledge and looked outward, Troy looked back to Canvas with a smile on his beak.

"You really did it, Canvas,” Troy said kindly. "You made it to the big time."

As Troy looked to his friend, Canvas stayed silent and looked outward, a slightly upset expression on his face. Slowly, a small grin came up on the pony's face as he spoke.

"I did. I… I really made it as an artist."

While Troy thought something felt off about how he said that, he didn’t want to put too much thought into it as he got off the ledge. "Well, you want to head ba--"

"And they said I'd never make it!"

Taken back by Canvas's sudden outburst, Troy started to get worried as Canvas stepped away from the ledge as well, looking over at him with anger on his face.

"Back in Gallop Creek, they always told me I'd never do anything with my talent in art! They constantly picked on me, and treated me like dirt, but now…”

Canvas looked away from Troy and started pacing around again, a weird grin growing on the pony's panting face before he looked back to him.

"You know what I want to do right now? I want to go back there! I want to go back to Gallop Creek, and walk up to every single one of those jerks and just… just… just rub it in their stupid faces!"

Stepping back from that last burst of anger from the stallion, Troy could only stand still as Canvas kept going, pacing around by the ledge as he kept letting off steam.

"After everything I went through, after everything I did and sacrificed, I wanted to be successful at this! I wanted to be a great artist, just so I can prove everypony back in that damn town wrong! And now I did it! I'm doing a painting for a goddess! A goddess!!"

Canvas quickly rushed back to the ledge, sticking his head out to the rest of Equestria as he started screaming his head off.

"You hear me, Gallop Creek?! I became a somepony!! I became more important than any of you morons ever could! I made it, and I did it without any of you losers!! You hear me, Gallop Creek?! You hear me, Dad?! SCREW YOOOOOOOOOU!!!”

Canvas dropped his head down and started breathing heavily, feeling glad that he finally got that out, while Troy stood beside him, speechless. Feeling like all his energy was drained out from that screaming fit, Canvas kept his gaze to the ground as he felt his eyes welling up again. Before Troy could say anything, he heard the sound of clanking armor coming towards them. Knowing what might happen if the Royal Guards saw them, Troy quickly snatched the exhausted Canvas and flew off.

Managing to get away from the sights of the Guards, Troy landed with the pony a block from the hotel. Resting the pony's hooves on the ground, Troy could only look with worry as Canvas stood still, breathing in and out heavily before he finally said something in a faint whisper.

"I… I'm glad I got that out."

Looking back over his shoulder, Troy made sure nopony saw them before he turned back to Canvas with an irritated look on his face.

"Dude,” Troy said as he caught his breath, "I know I told you to let these things out, but did you have to do it with a bunch of Royal Guards around?!"

Seeing how aggravated the Gryphon looked, Canvas only gave a sheepish grin before looking down at the ground. "I'm… I’m sorry, Troy."

Despite not wanting to forgive him that easily, Troy just chuckled under his breath and put a claw to Canvas's back. "It's alright. At least you're not bottling things up. Besides, we didn’t get caught, so that's good." Troy gave one last look behind him to make sure they weren't followed before he stretched his legs out.

"Plus,” said Troy in a more optimistic tone, "at least I got some exercise." Giving a grin back to Canvas, Troy saw that the pony was looking alright again as he giggled at Troy.

Seeing the hotel in the distance, Troy motioned Canvas to follow him as he walked forward. Staying silent for the rest of the walk, the two of them walked close to each other as they made their way to the hotel.

After unlocking the door with his key card, Troy entered the hotel room with Canvas close behind, hearing the pony whistle in amazement as he saw how nice the room was. While the hotel Canvas had back in Ponyville was just a single room and bathroom, this space was much larger and more luxurious. Looking over to the lounge area, Canvas saw a rather nice white couch that matched the carpet and a large glass door leading to the balcony outside. Before Troy could say anything, Canvas rushed out to the balcony, seeing that the room boasted a great view of Canterlot.

Looking back to where Troy was, Canvas noticed the bedroom on the opposite end of the space. Walking back over to him, Canvas noticed that there was only one bed. Even though it was king-sized--and had a nice, white comforter, which matched everything else--Canvas worried whether Troy would be alright with something like this. Looking over to him, Canvas saw Troy taking off his tie before placing it in his satchel.

"Just so you know,” said Troy before turning back to Canvas with a smile, "I don't mind sharing the bed."

Even though Canvas was surprised Troy would go for something like that, he secretly couldn’t be any happier and nodded in agreement. As he began taking off his tie and dress shirt, Canvas blushed as he realized he was finally alone with Troy. After what happened in the train last night, Canvas didn't want an opportunity like that to pass him again. As Canvas looked over to Troy, he noticed him sitting on the bed as he was about to put a tape in his walkman.

Peering over, Canvas saw that he was listening to the soundtrack to Phantom of the Opera, something he didn’t expect him to have. Noticing Canvas, Troy gave a him light smirk and put the walkman aside. Not wanting to bring up his new acting gig so soon after Canvas's accomplishments, Troy cleared his throat and tried to bring up a new subject. "So Canvas, you have any idea of what you're going to paint for Celestia?"

Canvas gave a skewed eyebrow as he realized Troy was being serious. "Are you kidding me? I just got the job a few hours ago!"

"But still,” said the Gryphon as he readjusted his spot on the bed, "you gotta have some ideas floating around your head right now, right?"

Biting the inside of his cheek, Canvas thought about it before he responded. "Well, maybe an idea or two, but nothing worth writing down right now. I'm seriously still reeling in the fact that she actually picked me for this kind of thing! I mean, I still can’t believe she looked through all my stuff and decided to trust me with this!"

Seeing how cheerful Canvas was getting again, Troy grinned before speaking up.

"Yeah, and considering you had all your stuff in that bag, it's probably a good thing you don’t draw porn or anything!"

Thinking his little joke could help lighten the mood, Troy noticed Canvas get eerily silent. The pony turned back to him with an embarrassed look on his face.

"Actually…”

Troy's eyes widened before he bursted off the bed, surprised at what Canvas was implying. "No way!"

"Well…” Canvas began in a sheepish tone as he looked away from Troy, "I only did a few small sketches. I was hoping she didn’t notice them, but…”

Troy's beak dropped as he saw how guilty the pony was looking. "Seriously?! You drew that kind of stuff?!”

Canvas looked away a little more as his blush grew even deeper.

"Honestly, I was surprised she didn’t banish me to the moon for the one I made of her and Luna…”

"WHAT?!" shouted the Gryphon he jumped up to him. "You seriously did that!?!"

Before Troy could snatch Canvas's bag and look for himself, Canvas began to snicker a little and kept his head away from him. Not able to hold it in, Canvas fell to the floor, laughing and looking back to Troy as he pointed at him.

"Oh man!" Canvas said through his laughter, "I can't believe you fell for that!"

Seeing how much he was cracking up, Troy felt a wave of relief--and also slight disappointment--when he realized Canvas was just messing with him.

"Okay, that's pretty good,” said Troy as he shrugged and looked back to the bag. “So you seriously don’t draw that kind of stuff?"

"NO!” Canvas shouted as he got himself off the floor. "Of course not! You really think I would do that kind of thing?!"

"Well, you certainly have the talent for it, I'm sure." As Troy kept his smirk on the pony, he decided to keep going. "Honestly, you could probably get a good acting job after doing that!"

Canvas's eyes shot open as he looked at Troy. "Oh yeah, your acting thing! How did that go?"

Surprised Canvas remembered that, Troy looked around worriedly as Canvas stared at him, curious.

"Oh come on, Troy,” said Canvas. "I didn't get to ask you before, so did you--”

Canvas stopped his question as he slowly looked back to the bed, looking at Troy's walkman with the Phantom tape inside. Putting two and two together, Canvas slowly turned back to Troy, wide-eyed as a smile came to his muzzle.

“... No… way…”

Seeing how big Canvas's smile was getting, Troy looked away, embarrassed as he realized he couldn’t avoid it now.

"Umm… yeah… I… I got the lead for that."

As a small smile spread across on his beak, Troy felt Canvas almost lift him up as he suddenly hugged him tightly.

"That's so awesome, Troy! I knew you could do it!"

Letting the Gryphon go, Canvas kept a smile on his face as he trotted to the bed and looked at the tape. "So you're playing the Phantom? That is awesome! I mean it, I listened to that musical all the time when I was younger!" Canvas looked back to Troy with a cheerful look on his face before he continued his praise. "Man, I bet your audition was amazing!"

"Well…”

Troy thought back to that audition day, surprised that things went so well for him then.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though Troy knew he was going to be an odd sight for everypony there, he didn’t take notice of any of the stares or whispers while he signed up outside the audition room. When he looked back to the rest of the ponies, he noticed that all of them were holding sheets of paper, which worried Troy; he had no idea what that was for. Before he could ask somepony, he heard a mare's voice behind him.

"Hey, you're Troy, right?"

Turning around, Troy saw a cross-eyed Pegasus mare staring at him--or at least one eye was--with a surprised smile on her face. "You're part of Rainbow Dash's weather crew, right?"

Even though he didn’t know the grey mare in front of him fairly well, he remembered Rainbow telling him about how she almost destroyed town hall once. "Umm… yeah. I think she mentioned you once,” Troy said.

Smiling at the Gryphon, the mare held out a hoof as she introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you, Troy! You can call me Derpy if you want."

While he was surprised she doesn’t mind being called that, Troy just shrugged as he shook her hoof with his claw. "Well, it's nice to meet you too."

"I gotta say,” said Derpy as she looked around, "I'm surprised a Gryphon like you is doing something like this."

"Well,” said Troy as he rubbed the back of his neck, "honestly, I was doing this because a friend suggested it."

"I can understand that. My daughter Dinky wanted me to do this too." Derpy smiled at Troy. Her head cocked to the side as she noticed he wasn't holding a song sheet. "So Troy, what song are you doing for your audition?"

"Oh, um…” Even though Troy knew this was a musical, he honestly didn't think much about his preparations. "I'm not sure. Maybe Nessun Dorma or something?"

Derpy looked at the Gryphon with a confused look on her face as she tried to understand what he said. "Nessa what? I don't remember that being in the list."

"What list?"

"Over there." Derpy pointed to a long table, which was filled with stacks of different song sheets. "You're supposed to do one of the songs over there, so the director can know who does the songs best."

Seeing the stacks, Troy felt a knot in his gut as he realized this was going to be tougher than he thought. As he walked over to the table, Troy saw that were ten different songs to choose from; however, there wasn't a single one that he knew at all. Seeing how worried Troy was looking, Derpy stood next to him while he looked between the different sheets.

"Is something wrong?" Derpy asked with a worried tone, "Are you good at any of these?"

"I have no idea!" said Troy as he looked over at Derpy. "I usually just listen to opera! I… I don't know any of these songs!"

"Seriously?" said Derpy in disbelief. "All of these are pretty well-known. You live under a rock or something?"

"No, the Gryphon Kingdom,” said Troy in a bitter tone. He knew that doing this would be a big change for him, but he didn’t expect it to be this drastic so soon. As he continued to shuffle between the sheets, Derpy tried to calm him down.

"Don't worry. I think we can find something for you."

As the two of them looked through the lists, Troy's claw stopped on one sheet when he read the title. Picking it up, Troy started reading the lyrics as the mare noticed, looking over his back as she saw what he had.

"Ooh!" said Derpy in an optimistic tone. "That's a really good one!"

"I guess,” said Troy as he looked through the words. Even though he had no idea how the song went, Troy certainly liked the lyrics it had. Remembering what just happened with him and Canvas, this song felt surprisingly fitting for this audition. Turning back to Derpy, Troy held the sheet in his claws and asked, "So Derpy, you know how this song goes?"

"Sure do!" said Derpy in a chipper tone. "In fact, I think a couple of ponies before you are doing that song too! You can probably listen in on them so you can see how you wanna do it."

"Really?" A smile came back on Troy's beak as he realized this could still work out for him. "Thanks!"

After sitting in the back of theater while auditions were held, Troy was able to hear several different ponies sing the same song he was doing. While most of them weren't exactly the best singers, Troy was still able to at least hear how the song went, and know how he was supposed to sing it. After several more ponies sang other songs to the director in front of them, Troy almost didn't hear when she called out for him.

"Clawston? Troius Clawston?"

Troy quickly got up from his seat as he replied, "That's me, ma'am. I'm Troy."

As he walked over to the front of the stage, the orange mare stared in surprise, not expecting a Gryphon to be auditioning. Troy walked up to the stage with the song sheet in his claw, still feeling nervous about doing a song he’d just learned. However, knowing how Canvas felt about him doing this, the Gryphon was insistent on trying his best.

"Well, hello,” said the director in a surprised tone. "Are you auditioning for the play?"

"Yes I am,” said the Gryphon in a worried tone. "To be honest, I… I've never done this before."

"Just do the song,” the director said sternly as she pointed a hoof over to the unicorn stallion at the piano. Troy handed the sheet over to him, hoping to Celestia he had all the words memorized. Before the stallion began the song, the director looked back over to Troy.

"So, Mister Clawston, what song are you going to be doing?"

"Umm… it’s called…”

Troy quickly looked back to the sheet on the piano to read the title, making the director facehoof before he looked back to her.

"It's called… 'Not While I'm Around.’”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So, can I hear it?"

Shaking his head back into reality, Troy looked over to Canvas as he realized the pony asked a question. "Wait, what?"

"Can I hear the song you did?"

While Troy wasn't expecting Canvas to ask that question, he seemed hesitant to do something like that, even with how eager the pony looked. "I…”

Remembering why he did that song in the first place, he honestly didn’t feel that comfortable singing it in front of Canvas. "I… I don't know, Canvas."

"Oh come oooooonnnn!" Canvas said, looking at Troy with a pout. "I won't make fun of you or anything, I swear!"

"I just…” Not sure how he could avoid Canvas's request, Troy just stood with his beak clenched shut as he tried to think of a good excuse. "I just… I don’t know if--”

"Please?"

Looking back to Canvas, who was now sitting on the bed, Troy felt his heart cringe as he saw how happy the stallion looked. As he anxiously waited for Troy's answer, Canvas stayed hopeful that he would do this for him before he asked again.

"Please, Troy? It… it would mean a lot to me."

Seeing how Canvas looked, Troy couldn’t help but feel guilty. Knowing there was no way out of this, the Gryphon sighed as he looked around, finding a good spot before he looked back to Canvas.

"Alright. I… I'll do it."

Canvas smiled and sat eagerly on the bed. Troy walked over to the middle of the lounge area, noting his place as he breathed in. Seeing how excited Canvas looked, Troy felt his heart beat a little faster as he thought about how he felt on that stage. After looking back at Canvas one last time, Troy closed his eyes as he tried to imagine himself in that theater again.

Even though he was now standing on a spotless, white carpet, Troy tried to imagine his talons against the hardwood floors of the stage as he slowly lifted his foreleg to his chest. Remembering how he felt at that moment, Troy recalled why he held his chest like that in the first place. As he heard the piano begin to play in his head, Troy imagined he was in front of that director again, feeling her judgmental stare as he held his foreleg to his chest to try to match that warmth he felt before.

To match that warmth he felt when he was holding Canvas that night.

Keeping his eyes shut, Troy swallowed some excess saliva in his throat as he imagined the music playing, clearing his throat before he opened his beak, letting the words come out.

Nothing's gonna harm yooouuu… Not while I'm aroooooound…

Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir… Not while I'm arooooound…

As he got more used to being alone in the room with Canvas while he sang, his voice started to come out louder as he sang some more.

Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadaaaaaayyyyyyyyssss…

I'll send them howling, I don't care… I got waaaaaaayyyyyyyyysssss…

Keeping his foreleg against his chest, Troy kept his head hung low as he pictured the warmth he imagined then. As the words kept coming out, Troy kept singing as he imagined he was back at Canvas's home, holding him against his chest as their heartbeats synced in the moonlight.

No one's gonna hurt yooooouuuu… No one's gonna daaaaarrrrrreee…

Others may desert you; not to worry, whistle, I'll be theeerrrrrrrreeeee…

Even though Troy only knew song for less than an hour before he performed it, he remembered how genuine his voice came out as be belted out the last lines, keeping the thoughts he had fresh in his mind while he kept his chest warm.

Demons may charm you with a smilllle… for a whilllle...

But… Iiiiiiin… Tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmeee!

Troy raised his head to the ceiling at that last note, keeping his eyes clenched shut as he slowly lowered his head back down and finished the song.

Nothing can harm yoooouuuuuuu… Not while iiiiiiiiiiiiiiii'mmm…

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaroooooooooooouuuuuuuunnnnndddd…

Breathing heavily, Troy stayed in that position for a while before he slowly opened his eyes, looking down at the white carpet below him. Looking back up, Troy saw Canvas sitting on the bed frozen, keeping a hoof up to his mouth as he stared intensely at Troy. Even from this distance, Troy was able to see a couple faint trails of tears stream down Canvas's face, as the stallion looked at the Gryphon with pure admiration.

“... W… wow…”

Seeing how blown away Canvas was, Troy felt his heart get lighter as he realized what he managed to do for him. Before either one could say anything, the sound of cheering and hooves clapping could be heard outside. Troy instantly felt his heart shoot down to his stomach as he turned his head to the balcony, his eyes growing wide as he realized Canvas never closed that door.

Running to the balcony, Troy could only look horrified as he realized that all the ponies around their hotel room had just heard him and were cheering from their balconies (as well as a few on the street) and applauding him. Troy's feathers instantly ruffled out as he slowly stepped back from the unexpected cheers.

"Wooo!”

"Encore!"

"Do another song!"

Closing the door shut to muffle the clapping and laughter, Troy turned back to Canvas, carrying a huge blush under his ruffled feathers as he saw the stallion struggle not to laugh on the bed. Keeping his tear-covered face away from Troy, Canvas struggled to breathe as he tried to speak. "I… swear to Celestia, I had no idea that door was open!"

Even though Troy felt like he was going to die of embarrassment, he started to feel a little better as he saw Canvas slowly stop laughing. As Canvas looked back at Troy, the pony's face went back to the grateful look he had before as he looked at his friend.

"Troy… I'm sorry about that, but… wow…”

Canvas breathed in, letting the silence speak for himself as Troy's feathers gradually went back down. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Canvas kept his eyes on his friend before he finished his statement.

"That… that was perfect."

Troy gave a small smile back before he looked away sheepishly, feeling happy that he made Canvas feel this good from his singing. Holding his foreleg back to his chest again, he started feeling that warmth inside as he thought back to what Canvas said at the gallery. Thinking about the pony's words by that statue, Troy tried to think about what to say. Troy wanted him to know that he really did care about him, remembering what Canvas said about wanting to make up for everything the Gryhpon did. As he turned back, Troy saw that Canvas was still smiling at him with a look of admiration, causing him to try to clear his throat before the stallion spoke first.

"Troy, I… I've heard that song before, but… that was way better than any other version I've heard. I mean… that was beautiful."

"Yeah, well…” Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his neck as he looked at his friend, breathing in as he tried thinking of what to say to him. "It's just that…”

I do care about you, Canvas.

You really do mean a lot to me.

I'm not sure why, but...

I really do like being with you.

"You don't owe me anything."

Hearing Troy's words, Canvas looked at him, confused as he tried to figure out what he meant. "Ummm… wait, what do you me--"

"Back at the gallery, I… I heard what you said. And… and you don't have to make up for anything."

Canvas's eyes widened in shock as he realized that Troy heard him when he was by that statue. Breathing harder, Canvas looked down at the bed while Troy kept going.

"Canvas, I've never known anyone I cared about more than you. You're a great friend, and--and that's why I like spending time with you. I mean… you're the biggest reason I've gotten friends here in Equestria."

Canvas looked back up to Troy, slightly confused. Even though he remembered what Rainbow Dash told him at the train station that day, Canvas wasn't sure how much he actually helped him out until Troy kept speaking.

"I mean… before I met you, I… I didn’t really have any real friends. I… I left the Gryphon Kingdom so I can have a good life and be happy like my grandparents did. But… but I wasn't able to really be social, you know? I… I had a hard time adjusting to Equestrian life. But then… when I found you before that storm… that was when I started to become closer to ponies around me. And when I finally started talking with you… you became my first real friend since I moved here."

Hearing Troy's words, Canvas felt his heart get heavier as he thought about what he was saying. He knew that Troy spent a lot of time with him, but he didn’t realize it was because of something like that. Feeling a smile grow on his muzzle, Canvas realized that he really did help Troy as much as the Gryphon helped him. Seeing the faint smile grow on Troy's beak, Canvas felt his heart begin to flutter again as Troy finished his statement.

"Canvas, I'm just saying that… you shouldn't think I don't care that much about you, because I do. I may have helped you a lot, but… you helped me too. I… .I really do care about you, and you really are important to me."

Canvas sat on the bed in silence as he smiled at Troy, feeling his heart beat faster as he let the Gryphon's words sink in. Breathing deeply, Canvas couldn’t stop thinking about what to say to him right now, what he'd been wanting to say to him for so long.

I love you.

I love you, Troy.

I love you so much.

Before any of the words could escape from Canvas's mouth, a knock came from the door, slightly startling the two of them before Troy broke the silence. "I'll get it."

Walking to the door, Troy opened it to see a unicorn maid with a large cart next to her, who looked a little frightened when she saw the Gryphon at the door.

"Oh, umm…” Despite her surprise at seeing Troy, the grey mare was quick to compose herself before she spoke. "I'm here with the room service?"

Troy turned back to Canvas, confused at seeing that the stallion looked the same way before he turned back to the maid. "Umm, I don’t think we ordered any room service."

"Oh, it's supposed to be a gift, from…” Using her magic, the maid's silver aura pulled out a card from the cart, levitating it in front of her as she read it aloud. "It's from a pony named Glimmer Heart. It says, 'Congratulations on a successful evening. Have a great night.’”

Troy looked back at Canvas with a surprised look on his face before he turned back to the maid, looking rather happy as he saw the large cart next to her.

"Really? That… that's really nice of her."

The maid smiled as she lit up her horn, using the aura wrapped around the cart to push it into the room as she replied, "I'll just leave it here for you two."

As Canvas hopped off the bed to look at the cart, the maid nodded to the both of them with a smile before she left. "Have a nice evening."

Troy waved goodbye to her before closing the door, walking over to the cart while Canvas started opening the silver platter lids. Looking at the arrangement, Canvas looked rather surprised as he saw how much stuff was delivered to them: two large bowls of strawberries (along with a bowl of whipped cream); a small bowl of cashews; a plate of assorted fruits; and a bucket of ice with several bottles of water.

However, a gasp from Troy caught Canvas's attention. He noticed the Gryphon staring at another large bucket of ice, which had two huge glass bottles sticking out. Pulling out one of the brown bottles with his claw, Troy looked absolutely ecstatic when he recognized the blue labeling and Gryphonian text. He looked over to Canvas with the biggest smile on his face.

"No freaking way!" Troy shouted as he held onto the bottle. "I couldn’t find this stuff anywhere in Equestria!"

Looking at the bottle, Canvas wasn't able to read the odd writing to know what the Gryphon was holding. "So… what is it?"

"Dude…” Troy said with his grin growing even bigger, "This is by far, without a doubt, the best root beer ever made! I mean it, I've tried some of the stuff you ponies have, but none of it even comes close to this!"

Troy quickly grabbed the second bottle and handed it to Canvas, surprising the pony when he realized how large it really was. As the near-freezing bottle started to already make his hoof cold, Canvas looked back to Troy, smirking a little as he saw how excited Troy was getting by holding something like this. Using a talon, Troy quickly popped off the tops of both their bottles, holding his out to Canvas as the steamy mist began escaping from the top.

"A toast,” said Troy with a grin on his beak, "to an awesome night."

Canvas grinned back as he held his bottle out to Troy's.

"And to an awesome friend."

With a loud 'clink' from the tops of the glass bottles touching, Canvas and Troy shared a drink. While Canvas was surprised by how extremely strong the taste was as it swished around his tongue, he quickly began to drink more as he enjoyed the fizzy sweetness hitting his taste-buds. Letting the bottle go from his lips, Canvas marveled at how little he actually drank before looking back to Troy, who let loose a long sigh as he savored the taste.

"Aaaaahhhhhhh, man! You don't know how long it's been since I had one of these bad boys!"

"Well, I gotta admit,” said the stallion as he held the bottle in his hoof with a smile, "this is actually really good stuff."

As the two kept drinking, neither of them noticed a small orb of mint-colored magic, hanging from above the doorway from the balcony.

While Canvas and Troy enjoyed themselves, Lyra sat in the lounge area of her hotel room, hoping she learned that spell from Glimmer Heart correctly as she lit up her horn. After a little bit of struggling, a rectangular screen like Glimmer's appeared in front of Lyra, glowing that familiar mint-green hue as the unicorn looked with satisfaction. While she tried to remember how the spell went to transfer to the view from the orb she snuck into Troy and Canvas's room, Lyra didn't notice Bon-Bon when she walked into the room.

"Honey,” said Bon-Bon in a confused tone as she held a piece of paper, "I just got back from the front desk. Why is there a charge of two hundred bits on our bil--"

Bon-Bon immediately stopped as she looked at her wife, noticing the screen before her expression immediately went from confusion to aggravation. As the mare glared back at her wife, Lyra tried keeping a sheepish grin as she stepped in front of the screen, hoping her body would somehow hide what Bon-Bon just saw.

"Lyra…” said Bon-Bon as her eyes narrowed at the blushing unicorn. "You better not be doing what I think you're doing."

"What do you mean?" asked Lyra as she darted her eyes around nervously. "I… I have no idea what you're talking about, honey."

“... Lyra,” said Bon-Bon in a more stern tone of voice, "you promised you were going to stop doing this!"

"Oh come on!" said Lyra as she tried to make herself look innocent. "You don't even know what I'm doing!"

"You're trying to pair together ponies again, aren't you?"

An awkward silence developed between the two as Lyra stood there, biting her lip and keeping a worried look on her wife before she finally spoke faintly.

“... Noooooo...

“... Only one them is a pony."

"Lyra!" shouted her wife as she face-hoofed. "I told you to stop doing this kind of thing!"

Despite how angry Bon-Bon looked, Lyra tried to keep her composure as she replied, "Oh, come on! At least let me explain!"

"Seriously?! You swore that you would stop doing trying to pair random ponies together, and you're doing it again! Do I have to remind you why that's a bad idea?"

Lyra sighed as she kept her horn lit up, not wanting the screen behind her to disappear. "I know what I said, but I really think tha--"

"Lyra,” said Bon-Bon in a serious tone of voice, "do I need to remind you of what happened when you tried pairing together Rarity and Fluttershy?"

Lyra cringed a little and looked away from her wife. "Yeesh, honey! You don't need to bring up that disaster! Those girls at the spa still giggle when they see me."

Bon-Bon put a hoof to her side as she kept going. "Or how about the time you tried to set up Caramel with Big Macintosh?"

"Okay,” rebutted the unicorn, holding up a hoof as she spoke back, "to be fair, I didn't know that Big Mac was already in a relationship wit--"

"Or when you tried it again with Applejack and Rainbow Dash?"

"They kissed!" snapped Lyra as she pointed at Bon-Bon with an insistent tone. "I swear to Celestia, I saw those two kiss!"

Having heard this excuse a hundred times before, Bon-Bon rolled her eyes as she kept going. "Whatever. How about the time you tried to set up Twilight Sparkle with Cheerilee? "

Once again, Lyra winced as she looked away with guilt. "Yeah, that was pretty bad. But again, I didn't know about Big Mac, and I never would've done it if--"

"You shouldn't be doing it at all!" Bon-Bon shouted as she threw her hooves up in frustration. "Every time you try getting involved in the lives of ponies like this, it ends up in a giant mess!"

Seeing how upset her wife was getting, Lyra sighed and looked away, feeling slightly guilty as she thought of what to say. Lyra turned her head back to her, standing silently in front of her screen while Bon-Bon finished.

"Honey, I know you want to help out your friends, and I'm happy that you want to do that. I love you--I really do--but this kind of thing has to stop before somepony really gets hurt."

“... I…”

Even though she already knew that Lyra was going to try to convince her otherwise, Bon-Bon stayed silent as she looked at her wife, watching as she looked back to her screen before turning back to her.

"I know I shouldn't be doing this kind of thing again, but I'm not going to interfere, I swear." Lyra pointed to the screen as she continued, "I already have the things set up for Canvas and Troy. All I was going to do now is watch, alright?"

Bon-Bon closed her eyes and groaned, hating that the unicorn was trying to do this. "Lyra,” she said as she opened her eyes, "I know you've been saying a lot about those two, but do you really think this is a good idea?"

"You saw how they are together!" Lyra insisted. "You know how much they care about each other! Heck, you saw that wing-thing Troy did, right? Or how he looked when he heard Canvas's speech by the statue?"

"Honey, I just don--”

"Just listen to me,” said the unicorn as she became more firm in her tone. "Canvas likes Troy, and it's pretty obvious that Troy likes him back. They care about each other, and they deserve to be together! And if you can tell me, without a doubt in your mind, that you don't think they have feelings for each other, then I'll stop. I'll turn off this screen, and stop right now."

Staring at her wife with a stern look on her face, Lyra watched as Bon-Bon looked between her and the screen. After a moment of silence, Bon-Bon sighed in defeat as she walked back to the bed.

"Just be careful, alright honey?"

"I always am,” said Lyra as she cheerfully sat back on the couch. Keeping her horn lit, a few sparks flew out as she tried to remember how Glimmer Heart performed the spell. In a green flash of light, the screen immediately changed to the view from the orb, showing a bird's-eye view of Canvas and Troy's hotel room.

"Yes!" cheered the mare as she looked up to the ceiling in relief, feeling happier as she started talking to herself. "I can picture it now! The two stare into each other's eyes as their faces get closer, and then they wou--”

BBBBRRRAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPP!!

Lyra looked back to the screen as the loud noise interrupted her train of thought. Looking at the screen, Lyra could hear laughter from Canvas and Troy as they held their bottles of root beer, before Canvas held his hoof up to catch Troy's attention. "Wait, wait! I feel another one!"

Sitting on the couch, Lyra could only stare at the screen as Canvas breathed in and out a few times, holding his hoof out before he opened his mouth again.

UUUUUURRRRRRRRRPP!!

After another loud belch, the two of them started cracking up again while Lyra sat, disgusted. She knew they were guys, but she didn't expect this to happen when she was setting up that cart for them. As the Gryphon prepared to beat Canvas's belch on the screen, Lyra didn't notice Bon-Bon staring at her, smirking as she spoke in a sarcastic tone.

"Good job, Lyra. You really are a matchmaker. Two hundred bits, so you can watch a burping contest. You're just like Princess Cadance."

The unicorn peered back at her wife with a sneer before seeing her condescending grin.

"Don’t give me that look,” said Lyra as she turned her attention back to the screen. "This honestly isn’t that different from when we first met."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BBBRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOPPP!!

After that impressively loud burp, Troy looked back to Canvas and the two of them laughed their heads off, sitting on the couch as they held their nearly empty bottles of root beer. As Canvas took another swig of the Gryphonian beverage he was really enjoying, Troy rested on the couch a little more and looked at his own bottle.

"Oh man,” said Troy in a saddened tone as he looked at how little was left in the bottle, "I really need to see where Glimmer Heart got this stuff. I couldn't find it anywhere in Cloudsdale."

"I'm kinda surprised,” said Canvas after putting his bottle down. "This stuff is really good. I bet it would sell well over at Sugar Cube--”

Canvas stopped talking as felt another burp coming up. Sitting up on the couch, Canvas breathed out a little as Troy watched with anticipation.

"This is a big one,” uttered the pony as he bent forward, putting his hooves on the glass coffee table in front of him as he felt it build up. "Wait, wait!"

Canvas opened his mouth wide while bent forward, anticipating something huge before it finally came out.

Uuurp.

As Canvas sat confused for a second at making such a small belch, Troy busted up laughing on the couch, holding a claw to his face as the other kept him from falling to the floor.

"Oh come on!" Troy exclaimed through his laugher. "Even my brother Lyle could burp louder tha--"

BBBBBBRRRRRRRUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPP!!

After Canvas burped with a force that almost shook the windows of the hotel room, Canvas slowly turned back to Troy, seeing that his feathers were blown back from something that loud and sudden. Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon-Bon stood in front of the screen with their jaws agape. Blinking a few times in a stunned state, Troy slowly opened his beak again as he tried to speak.

“... You… you win, dude."

After another few seconds of silence, the two dissolved into laughter again on the couch. After about a minute to calm themselves down, the two took another swig from their bottles, placing them on the table after finishing them off. Looking back to the cart, Canvas lifted himself off the couch as he walked over to it.

"It's pretty cool that Glimmer Heart would do something like this,” said the stallion as he looked over the display. "Although I have to wonder why she got so many strawberries."

Bon-Bon glared at Lyra, making the unicorn blush as she looked away.

Shrugging the thought away, Canvas picked up a strawberry with his hoof, holding it for a second before he tossed it up in the air. With Troy watching from the couch, Canvas opened his mouth as he saw the strawberry come back down, only for it to hit his eye before falling to the floor. Wincing a little, Canvas put a hoof to his eye as Troy struggled not to laugh. Hearing the Gryphon's muffled snickering, Canvas looked back to him while walking to the strawberry on the floor.

"What?"

As Canvas picked up the strawberry with his mouth and began chewing, Troy just looked at him with a smile before saying, "Dude, I could've done better with my eyes closed!"

Canvas gave a skeptical look to Troy as he turned back to him, swallowing the strawberry before replying, "Oh yeah?" The stallion said with a smirk, "I'd like to see you try!"

"Gladly!"

Troy lifted himself from the couch and walked over to the cart, giving a cocky grin to the pony as he picked up a strawberry from the bowl. Holding it between two talons, Troy placed the claws from his other foreleg over his eyes before tossing up the piece of fruit. Without any effort, Troy opened his beak and caught the strawberry. Opening his eyes again, Troy saw Canvas stare at him in disbelief, looking between him and the cart as he tried to stammer out a comment.

"I… I… thought… how did you… you cheated!"

"Oh, please,” said Troy in a more cocky tone as he looked at him with a grin on his beak. "I caught it fair and square. I'm just better than you at it, that's all."

Seeing how smug the Gryphon looked, Canvas quickly grabbed two strawberries from the bowl. Glancing at Troy with a determined look on his face, Canvas tossed both of the strawberries up one-by-one. As they came back down, the pony managed to catch both them in his mouth. As he chewed both of the pieces, Canvas gave his own smug grin back to Troy.

Seeing what was going on, Troy grinned at the pony as he reached for the bowl, knowing a challenge when he saw one. "Alright,” said the Gryphon in a more arrogant tone of voice, "I'll put in some effort this time."

Grinning at the stallion, Troy now held three strawberries in his claw, before he threw them outward with a loud ‘swish'. Shooting his wings open, Troy let the flying strawberries roll off his wing as they shot out in the air in different directions. Not caring about blowing anything over in the hotel room, Troy flew in a quick circle around the room, catching all three of them in less than a second. Landing back in front of a stunned Canvas, Troy kept his cocky smirk as he swallowed all three.

Even though Canvas had no idea how he was going to beat that, the pony kept a confident look on his face as he reached for the bowl. Holding another strawberry in his hoof, Canvas looked at Troy with a smirk on his face before he threw up the piece of fruit. Tossing it as hard as he could, Canvas prepared to catch it before he heard a loud 'splat’. He looked up to see that the strawberry was now stuck to the ceiling.

After a few seconds of silence between them, Troy fell to the ground as he started laughing, pointing at Canvas with his claw as he cracked up.

"Oh man!" shouted the Gryphon between laughing fits. "That… that was hilarious!"

Seeing how hard Troy was laughing, Canvas started to get more irritated as he reached for the bowl again. Picking up another strawberry, Canvas looked back to Troy while he was still laughing, making him even more aggravated. Without thinking, Canvas threw the strawberry at Troy, hitting the Gryphon right in the forehead. Troy immediately stopped laughing as he stared at Canvas with wide eyes, making the pony suddenly look terrified at what he just did.

"Did you…” Troy's golden eyes narrowed on Canvas as he lifted himself up, his face turning more serious as he looked at him. "Did you just throw a strawberry at me?"

Worried about his well-being after hearing the change in Troy's tone, Canvas looked away from him worriedly and stepped back.

"Um… I… I… I was getting… you know… a little annoyed, but…”

Looking back to Troy, Canvas grew even more worried when he saw the Gryphon staring at him intensely, his smile gone as he walked over to the cart. Keeping his gaze on Canvas, Troy used his claw to pick up one of the bowls of strawberries. A grin slowly began to grow on his beak. Knowing what he was thinking, Canvas narrowed his eyes and walked up to the cart as well.

"You really want to start this, Troy?" Canvas raised a hoof up to the cart, grabbing the other bowl as he kept his stare on the grinning Gryphon.

As Canvas held onto his bowl, Troy's eyes narrowed closer as he stared Canvas down.

"You're the one who started it,” Troy said, his grin growing even wider.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In less than a few seconds, the spotless, white hotel room became a battleground, as the stallion and Gryphon began assaulting each other with strawberries, staining every white surface of the place red as pieces of fruit flew around and splattered on the walls and furniture. Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon-Bon sat on the couch in their room, watching in enjoyment at the fruit fight occurring on screen.

Through the constant laughter and yelling, Canvas and Troy didn't seem to notice the mess they were making as they ran around the room, throwing strawberries at each other from the floor after they both ran out from their bowls. As the white walls and carpet got splattered with more pink stains from their battle, Canvas ran to the bed, giggling as Troy threw more squished strawberries.

Jumping on the bed, Canvas grabbed a pillow before turning back to Troy, using it as a shield as more strawberries bounced off the white fabric. As Troy ran up to the bed to throw some more, Canvas swung the pillow, hitting Troy as he bounced on the bed. Seeing that the pony had a new weapon in his arsenal, Troy grinned back and grabbed the other pillow. Breathing heavily, the two of them stood on the bed for a second, looking at each other with their pillows as they grinned at each other, both of them knowing exactly what was going to happen.

Now with a bowl of popcorn between them, Lyra and Bon-Bon sat on the couch comfortably as they watched the pillow fight on screen, the unicorn doing a spell to zoom in on the action. As the mares watched the feathers fly around the room while the two kept pummeling each other with pillows, Bon-Bon reached her hoof in for another helping of popcorn.

"I hate to admit it,” said Bon-Bon as she started munching on the popcorn, "but this is actually really entertaining."

"I know, right?" said her wife as she watched the screen with a smile on her face. "It reminds me of when we did this."

"Yeah,” said Bon-Bon as she watched with an eerie fascination. "It's almost scary how close this is to what happened on our honeymoon."

As Troy tried to make a particularly hard swing at the pony with his pillow--which was now half-empty due to how many feathers it had lost--Canvas ducked underneath it, taking the opportunity to lunge forward and tackle the Gryphon on the bed. Throwing him on his back, Canvas held Troy's forelegs against the bed with his hooves, the both of them breathing heavily as Canvas grinned at him. While Troy was surprised Canvas managed to pin him down, he didn’t mind at all as he looked at the smiling pony on top of him, who was panting heavily as he looked down on him.

"I,” grunted the pony between several deep breaths, "won!"

"Oh yeah?" Smirking at Canvas, Troy turned his head over to his side as his beak felt around the feathers on his shoulders. While Canvas sat on top of him, confused, the Gryphon managed to find a loose feather, preening it out with his beak before turning back to him. Holding a dark-grey feather in his beak, Troy grinned before moving his head in, using the feather to start tickling Canvas's chest. Unable to keep his position, Canvas began giggling loudly as his grip became looser, eventually making him let go to hold his chest before Troy lunged forward.

In one swoop, Troy managed to turn the tables, holding Canvas against the bed in the same way the pony did. Unable to move his hooves with Troy's claws holding them against the bed, Canvas kept laughing with his eyes closed as he laid under the Gryphon, not noticing how Troy's laughter was slowly stopping.

As he looked down on Canvas, giggling, Troy felt his heartbeat racing faster as he held him down, realizing he stopped laughing as he kept his eyes on him. Seeing his friend begin to settle down from his laughing fit, Troy kept his stare on him as Canvas opened his eyes again.

Looking back to Troy with a cheerful smile on his face, Canvas's grin began to fade slowly as he looked up, seeing how quiet the Gryphon was while staring at him. With his blue eyes open again, Troy couldn't help staring as he looked at Canvas like this. Seeing how happy and carefree the pony was, Troy realized this was one of the first times he'd ever seen him like this alone. Without any darkness surrounding them, or tears, or bandages, or stitches, or anypony to get in the way, Troy felt his chest beat faster as he stared into the flawless shade of blue that made up Canvas's wide-open eyes.

As the Gryphon kept Canvas pinned down, the stallion looked up at Troy, feeling his own heart beating like crazy when he peered into those golden eyes once more. As the pitch-black pupils around the seas of gold stared straight at him with intensity and wonder, Canvas breathed a little harder as he began to blush, not noticing that Troy was blushing as well. As the two continued to stare, Troy slowly let go of Canvas's hooves, letting his claws rest beside Canvas's head as he kept his gaze on him.

With his hooves now free, Canvas slowly lifted them up, letting them rest around the back of Troy's neck as he kept looking into his eyes. In an almost instinctive manner, Troy felt his own forelegs move against his will, pulling them towards Canvas as they met around the pony's head. As Canvas felt Troy claws at the back of his head, he felt a wave of warmth flow through his body as he gripped his hooves against the Gryphon's neck, using them to slowly pull his head up to him. Much like on the train the night before, Troy felt his head move forward as it reached closer to Canvas.

Keeping their eyes locked onto each other, Troy could hear his heart thundering in his chest, and felt Canvas's warm breath from his muzzle as it blew against his beak. Troy began to close his eyes, letting his body take over as his mind stayed blank, with only the sound of his heartbeat going through his head.

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...

Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock…

'Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock...’

With Canvas's face only a few inches from his, Troy's eyes opened as he realized the thumping sound wasn't his heart. A frantic knocking came from the door. As his mind came back into reality, he realized how close he was to Canvas before he pulled his head back, letting go of the stallion as he quickly moved to the other side of the bed.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Lyra held her face up against the screen in rage. "KISS HIM, YOU STUPID BUZZARD!!”

Breathing heavily, Canvas slowly sat up as he heard the knocking at the door.

"Hello?" said the voice from the other side of the door. "I think I left my wallet on the cart when I brought it in."

With his heart still racing, Canvas looked over to Troy, who was sitting on the bed with his back to him, not seeing that the Gryphon's eyes and beak were wide open in shock. With Troy frozen at the bed and breathing heavily, Canvas slowly pulled himself off while the knocking continued. With a multitude of feelings racing through Canvas, he quickly grabbed the wallet in anger before opening the door and throwing it out.

Slamming the door shut, Canvas rested his back against it as he kept his eyes shut, breathing heavily before he felt a gust of wind blow past him. Before he could open his eyes, the door to the balcony flew open as Troy rushed out. With a new wave of worry flowing through him, Canvas ran to the balcony, looking out from the ledge. Troy was already a small speck in the distance.

"Trooooooooy!” shouted the pony, trying to call out to him.

"TRROOOOOOOOOY!!!"

Realizing it was too late, Canvas kept his hooves against the ledge of the balcony as he looked down to the ground beneath him. Clenching his eyes shut, Canvas's hind-legs buckled underneath him as he kneeled against the balcony, breathing hard as he felt his heart push down to his stomach.

"Don't go…”

Canvas's voice came out in a faint whisper against the winds of the summer night, as he sat near the ledge in despair.

"Please don't go…”

Moving his hooves down so they were gripping the bars of the balcony ledge, Canvas struggled not to cry as he kept whispering to himself.

"Troy… please…”

“... I love you.”

Not caring about Canterlot being a no-fly zone, Troy soared as fast as he could against the night's sky. His heart felt like a cannonball in his chest as he tried clear his mind of what just happened. Knowing he could easily fly into something in his state, the Gryphon landed at a small collection of ponds in the middle of the city before clenching his eyes shut.

Gritting his teeth, Troy tried to think of anything other than what just occurred, not wanting to imagine what he almost did with his best friend. Troy's claws dug into the earth underneath him, ripping at the manicured grass as he tried to avoid thinking of anything.

What was I thinking?

What was I doing?

He's my best friend!

What was I about to do?

What...

What the buck is going on?!

Troy sat on the grass as he pulled at the feathers on his head, trying not to let his mind slip back to him and Canvas on the bed. Holding his head down to his chest, the Gryphon wasn't sure of what to do. He cared about Canvas, he knew that he did, but he felt his heart get heavier as he thought back to what he almost did with him. Even though he was his best friend, Troy couldn’t keep himself calmed down as he thought about Canvas, hoping to Celestia he could still face him afte--

"Troy, is that you?"

Hearing the mare's familiar voice, Troy felt his tensions grow even higher as he heard her fly over. Of all the things that just happened, the last thing he wanted to do was talk with Rainbow Dash. And after what almost happened with Canvas, he certainly didn't need her to pester him about their relationship some more.

The cyan mare landed on the ground by him, looking rather confused as she rested her wings. "What are you doing out here, Troy? Shouldn’t you be at your hotel room with Can--"

"SHUT UP!!” yelled Troy as he glared at the Pegasus. "JUST SHUT THE BUCK UP ALREADY!!!"

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped in shock, not expecting Troy to act like this as he stepped away.

"It's all your fault! It's all your bucking fault!!" shouted the Gryphon as he pointed to her, pacing around the pond while fuming. "Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?! Why couldn't you just stay out of my personal life?!”

"Troy, just calm down,” said Rainbow in a stern voice as she looked at him with worry, "I don't know wha--”

"You couldn't keep your little assumptions to yourself, could you?!" shouted Troy as he kept pacing and ranting. "No! You just kept pressing into me, with all the 'you like Canvas' here, and 'listen to your feelings' there! I was doing just fine before you said that stuff, and now everything's bucked up!!”

"Troy!" Rainbow said in a more aggravated tone, "I'm trying to be nice right now! Just calm down an--"

"I never tried to make any assumptions about you! I never said anything about you when you hung out with your friends, did I?! No! Because I keep my opinions to myself! Because I know better than to say anything about you that I don't know about! Because unlike you, I have the decency to keep my beak shut, than to intrude in on you or say you're a filly-foo--"

SLAP!

The Canterlot ponds became silent again as Troy stood in shock, feeling the strong stinging on his face from Rainbow Dash's hoof. Breathing heavily, the Gryphon slowly looked back to the Pegasus standing in front of him with an angry look on her face. Shaking a little from the realization of what just happened--and what he almost said to his own boss--Troy shakily sighed before he spoke again.

"I… I’m sorry… I'm really sorry."

The mare stood silent for a moment, looking at the ashamed Gryphon in front of her before she spoke, keeping her tone stern. "Troy, I am seriously close to pummeling you, so you better tell me what is going on, right now."

Knowing that Rainbow Dash was serious about her threat, Troy slowly nodded as he sat down, feeling his heart rate slow down as he attempted to speak.

"I… I don’t… I don't know what to do…”

Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked around, sitting down in front of him before she spoke again in her stern tone.

"Troy, I need you to be honest with me."

Troy looked at her with fear in his eyes, not wanting to think about what he could say. As he sat down post-shock, his mind kept reeling as his confusion built up, not knowing what he could say or do. Seeing how flustered Troy was looking, Rainbow kept a serious look on her face as she spoke again.

"Troy… is this about Canvas?"

After blinking a few times, Troy painfully sighed and slowly nodded, keeping his gaze away from Rainbow Dash while she kept speaking.

"Okay. Now… what happened?

Troy felt a knot in his stomach as he kept his eyes away from her. With the frustration building up inside of him, it was hard enough for Troy to admit to himself what happened, let alone to somepony else. Holding up a claw to cover his face, Troy couldn’t seem to open his beak to say anything. Despite his extreme reluctance, Rainbow Dash kept her glare on him as she spoke again.

"Troy, I'm serious. I know you're having some crisis right now, but I can’t do anything about it if you don't speak up."

Troy breathed in shakily and felt a strain in his gut, not wanting to bring this up with her. Slowly, his beak opened up as he tried to speak, his voice coming out faintly as he tried to muster out the right words.

"I… I… I think…”

Feeling the Pegasus's stare on him, Troy squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to admit what happened. Even though he didn't even want to admit it to himself, his mind went back to what he told Canvas after that night. He shouldn't keep things in, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause any more damage.

"I… think… I think that I… was…”

Breathing in one last time, Troy felt his throat tighten up before he finished, his voice coming out in almost a whisper as he finally said it.

"... I think… I was about to kiss him…”

Troy opened his eyes and stared at the ground, feeling like a small weight was off his chest from saying that. Exhaling heavily, Troy kept his gaze on the grass between him and Rainbow Dash, waiting for her to say something. However, only silence came between them before Troy felt her hoof rest on his shoulder. Looking up, Troy was surprised to see the mare looking at him with a light smirk, no longer looking angry as she spoke with a more relaxed tone.

"There. You said it. Was that so bad?"

Troy looked back down to the ground and blinked a few times, not expecting the mare to be so casual about this as he sighed in frustration.

"So, that's it?" Troy said as he looked back at her. "That's all you're going to say? No 'I told you so,’ or 'I knew it,’ or 'Applejack owes me twenty bits' or something?"

Rainbow Dash scoffed a bit as her grin grew a little bigger. Even though she figured Troy would be stubborn about his feelings for Canvas, she was glad that he actually tried something like that. While she honestly thought something like this should've happened earlier, she decided not to bring that up as she said in a relieved tone, "Dude, c'mon! I'm just glad that you admitted it!"

"Yeah…” As Troy kept his head hung low, Rainbow Dash could tell there was still something up with him. Having a good idea of what it was, she waited until Troy spoke again.

"It’s just that… I… I don't know what to do! I mean… I… I never thought that something like this would happen! I never… I never thought of doing something like that."

Troy kept his gaze to the grass as he thought about what happened. All this time, he just thought he cared about Canvas as a friend. While he knew about Canvas being gay from the very beginning, he honestly didn't think much of it, since he never thought it would be a problem. But now, the Gryphon was sitting there, freaked-out as he realized he almost started something that intimate with him. Never really thinking that this would happen, Troy just kept looking at the ground, confused as to what he should do. While he truly cared for him, could he really see himself with him in that way?

Sighing, Rainbow kept her hoof on his shoulder as she spoke, now in a much more caring tone as she tried to help.

"Troy, I want you to tell me something. How does Canvas make you feel?"

Troy blinked as he processed her question before turning to her with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how do you feel?" Rainbow asked as she let go of his shoulder. "When you're with Canvas, what do you think? I mean, what emotions do you have with him?"

The Gryphon looked back down to the ground and tried thinking of the answer. After a few seconds of silence, Troy slowly opened his beak, feeling his confusion slip away as he spoke.

"He… he makes me happy… I… I really like being with him. He always looks out for me and… and I really care about him… I… I like him…”

Those were the last words Rainbow Dash was able to hear from him. Troy continued to look to the ground, making inaudible whispers to himself as his beak clicked open and shut. As she waited for him to think it out, she noticed one of Troy's forelegs move up and wrap around his chest. After a little while, Troy's eyes widened up as his breathing became heavier, making the mare grin as she saw he finally figured it out. After blinking several times for clarity, Troy looked back to Rainbow Dash with a faint smile on his beak.

"Thanks, Dash. I… I gotta go!"

Before the Pegasus could get up from her spot, she felt a large gust of wind blow past her as Troy flew off. Smiling to herself, Rainbow Dash only managed to stand on her hooves before she felt another gust of wind before Troy suddenly hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, Dash,” said Troy as he squeezed her. "You really are a good friend."

"N-no problem." Because of the grip he had on her, Rainbow's words came out in a strained wheeze before Troy let go, looking at her with a slightly guilty expression.

"And I'm really sorry about what I said. I didn't mean any o--”

"Troy,” snapped the Pegasus, "I'm gonna punch you in the face if you don't fly to him right now! Do this, and we'll be fine! So go!"

Not needing to be told twice, Troy once again flew off back to the hotel. Soaring through the pitch-black night, Troy's heart felt much lighter, as his mind became crystal clear from his realization. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say to Canvas. As the hotel came up in the distance, Troy hoped he didn't mess up things too much with him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, the hotel room lay silent. All of the lights were turned off. As the strawberries strewn all over the floor were forgotten--including the one still stuck to the ceiling--Canvas was in the bathroom, lying on his back in the bathtub filled with warm water.

While he never really cared much about baths--Why soak in my own filth? he would think to himself--Canvas appreciated how the pool of water managed to muffle the sounds around him as he kept his ears submerged. Keeping his eyes closed, Canvas tried to keep himself calm.

Right after Troy flew off, Lyra and Bon-Bon tried coming to the room, worried about him--although he had no idea how or why they knew that. However, Canvas managed to talk them down by telling them he was just about to go to bed. Although they were extremely hesitant about leaving him alone, Canvas finally managed to get them to leave before he decided to take a bath. While he was glad to have some peace, his heart still felt extremely heavy as he thought about Troy.

Exhaling heavily, Canvas couldn’t stop thinking about how Troy looked when they were on the bed. Picturing how his golden eyes looked while they stared at each other, the stallion couldn’t keep his mind from thinking about what could've happened if they were never interrupted. Canvas wanted nothing more than to be with that Gryphon, to hold him in his hooves as he told him how much he loved him. But now, within the bathtub, Canvas couldn't have felt more alone, as he tried not to think of how quickly Troy flew away.

Thinking about his conversation with Lyra back at the gallery, all Canvas could think about was how right his worries were. Even though he tried so hard not to think of Troy that way, knowing it was likely he could never feel that way back, Canvas still fell in love with him. He still let his heart take in someone that close, despite how dumb it turned out to be in the end. Even with that stare Troy had with him, even with how close Canvas was to kissing him, that dream still shattered like the finest crystal, leaving the pony to feel terrible as he thought about what to do now.

Lifting himself from the bathtub and opening the drain, Canvas tried to think of what else he could do. Even though it felt like it happened a million years ago, Canvas knew he still had the painting for Celestia, which was more than great for him. And because of all the attention he received from the gallery because of that, he knew he would busy enough to keep his mind occupied. As he dried himself off with a towel (appreciating how quickly his short mane could be dried off with the towel alone), Canvas sighed and decided to head off to bed.

As Canvas walked over to the bed in the darkness, he hoped he could get some sleep, even though he honestly didn’t want to get near the bed after everything that happened. However, a loud crash caught his attention as he heard the sound of crunching metal out on the balcony.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though he knew he was flying pretty fast, Troy cringed a little as he saw how badly bent the balcony railing was from his hard landing. While he knew that would probably result in a nasty repair bill, he couldn’t care less as he moved forward and tried opening the balcony door, realizing it was locked. Not wanting to leave Canvas alone, especially after all the promises he made to always be there for him, Troy started banging on the glass door as he yelled out for Canvas in a panic.

"Canvas! Canvas, please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I flew off like that!"

Hearing the banging and pleads from the Gryphon, Canvas could only stand still in shock that he came back, keeping himself faced toward the balcony as he heard Troy keep yelling.

"Canvas, I shouldn't have flown off without saying anything! I know I messed up, but please listen! I…”

Clenching his eyes shut, Troy leaned against the door as he realized what he had to say. Even though he didn't want to admit to himself why he flew off in the first place, he knew the reason as he looked back to the door.

"I was scared. I was scared, okay?"

While Troy couldn’t see much past the curtain that covered the glass door, he could still see a figure walking toward the door slowly. Meanwhile, Canvas walked his way toward the balcony, staying cautious as he continued to listen to Troy's words.

"I… I was scared about what was going to happen, because… because I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Or what I wanted to do."

Looking through the glass door, Troy could see that a shape was right at the other side of the curtain. Breathing in, Troy held his chest out as he finished his statement, knowing what he wanted to say.

"But I know what I want to do now! I know what to do, and I'm not scared anymore."

As the curtain pulled open, Troy shrieked out as he saw a mare with facial cream and hair-rollers looking at him, terrified. As the mare screamed back, Troy quickly darted backward from the balcony, hovering a few feet from the building as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Troy…”

The Gryphon recognized the voice immediately as he looked up, seeing Canvas looking at him with worry from the balcony above the one he was at. Blinking in confusion, Troy tried counting the row of windows again to make sure he didn't mess up.

"Umm…” Canvas waited until Troy looked back at him hovering before he went on. "The lobby takes the first two rows of windows. That… that's why you were at the wrong one."

"Oh."

Before Troy could really think about what he just heard, the feeling of a hair-curler hitting his head caught his attention. The mare he woke up was now throwing things at him while yelling, "Get away from me, you monster!"

Blocking himself from the barrage of items, Troy quickly flew up to the balcony where Canvas was as he tried yelling back, "Ow! C'mon, I'm sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you!"

As he landed on Canvas's balcony, Troy could still hear the mare yelling from below him.

"And you better pay for what you did to my railing!"

Not wanting to deal with this right now, Troy went back inside the hotel room with Canvas, locking the door behind him before turning to the stallion. Even in the darkened room, Troy could tell that Canvas looked upset, which just made him feel even worse about how he acted. As he looked at Canvas with worried eyes, Troy took a deep breath before he spoke.

"Canvas… I… I'm sorry."

Canvas only nodded as he looked away. Before Troy could keep going, Canvas spoke up as he looked back at him.

"You… you said you were scared."

“... Yeah.”

Troy kept his gaze to the ground and tried to think of what he was supposed to say. As he looked back up to Canvas, Troy was able to see that familiar shade of blue in the pony's eyes, almost glowing in the room against the moonlight. Looking into his eyes, Troy felt his chest get warmer, feeling better as he knew what he had to say.

"Canvas, when I flew off, I… I got scared. I… I was scared about what was going to happen. Because… you're the closest friend I ever had, and… and I didn’t think I was doing something friends should do."

Canvas only blinked, keeping his worried stare on the Gryphon as he continued.

"But… but I realized why I… why I almost… why I almost did that…”

Feeling his heart beat faster, Troy gulped before he went on.

"You… you've been such a good friend to me, and… and I didn’t want to do anything to ruin that. I… I still wanted us to be close. But then… then I realized why I wanted to be close."

Looking at him through the darkness, Canvas could only see the glow of Troy's eyes against the shadow of his body, shining against the shadows around him as they looked forward at him. With his own heart beating faster as well, Canvas could only stand in his spot as Troy came closer, the moonlight shining on his face as he looked at the stallion with intensity.

"Canvas… I thought that I cared about you because you were my best friend… but… now I know… I know you mean more to me than that."

Canvas's breathing came out harder as he realized what Troy was saying, making his heart beat even faster while Troy kept going. Keeping his eyes on Canvas, Troy could feel tears start to appear as he kept talking.

"You… you mean more to me than any friend ever could, Canvas. You… you're more than just a friend to me…”

Troy stepped closer, until he was only a couple of feet from the stallion. With tears now running down his face, Troy felt his throat tighten up as he struggled to say what he came here for.

"Canvas… I…. I always want to be there for you… I want to be there because I care about you… because you mean so much to me… because…”

Troy started breathing harder as he tried to push those last words out.

“... Be… be… because… because, I…”

Clenching his eyes shut as tears still flowed from them, Troy knew he couldn't hold this in. His heart was beating faster than he ever thought it could.

“.... Be… be… be… because…”

As his beak constantly clicked open and shut from him trying to talk, his claws dug into the carpet underneath him. Knowing it was now or never, Troy kept his eyes shut as he fought against his mental restraints, wanting to tell Canvas what he should've said ages ago. What he should've realized long before being here.

"Because… be… because…

“... Because I love you!"

Opening his eyes slowly, Troy looked forward at Canvas, seeing the stallion frozen with his eyes wide open. Breathing heavily, Troy felt himself become weightless from his admission, a faint smile appearing on his beak as he realized what he said.

"I…. I mean it… I love you, Canvas."

After all this time, after all these months of thinking of Canvas as just a friend, saying those words out loud felt indescribable to the Gryphon. Realizing how right it sounded to him, Troy felt his heart beating fast as he kept speaking, not noticing that Canvas now had tears coming down his frozen face.

"I… I love you. I love everything about you. I… I love how you always try to make me happy… I love the way you smile… I love that no matter what, you always kept me by your side… and… I always want to be by your side."

As Troy looked down at his claws, smiling at himself for realizing how much Canvas made him happy, he didn’t notice when Canvas's hooves began to move forward. Breathing in, Troy began to look back up as he finished what he was saying.

"I never felt this way about anyone. Not for a Gryphon or a pony, or a mare or a stallion or anything! But I know what I feel. Canvas, I lo--"

Before any more words could escape Troy, Canvas lunged forward, grabbing the back of the Gryphon's head as he pressed his muzzle against his open beak. Keeping his beak open, Troy felt a wave of warmth he’d never felt before as Canvas's mouth moved to the right position, before the stallion's lips pressed hard against his beak. Holding him there in that position, more tears came from Canvas's clenched eyes as he savored this moment, loving every second as he finally kissed his best friend. Closing his eyes as well, Troy held onto Canvas as he pushed back, letting him kiss him deeper as they stood in the darkness around them.

Slowly opening his eyes back up, Canvas pulled back and stared at Troy, smiling at the Gryphon with tears of joy as he finally got to hold him like this. As tears matted his aqua fur, which glistened under the moonlight shining in, Canvas finally spoke in a faint, cracked voice.

"... I love you too."

In that instant, Canvas and Troy couldn't hold back as they held each other in embrace again, their faces intertwining under the glow of Luna's night. Neither of them moved from that position as they held each other as tight as they could, feeling their heartbeats begin to sync together as they kissed deeply. As the stallion's lips and the Gryphon's beak meshed together, neither of them dared let go, not noticing anything around them as they stayed in that space. Time stood still for the two as they came together, both of them knowing that, of all the time they spent as friends, nothing would compare to the moment when they realized they were something more.

Celestia's sun slowly began to rise above the horizon of Canterlot as a beam of light entered the silent hotel room of Troy and Canvas. As the room began to grow brighter, the morning light didn't disturb the aqua pony at all as he laid cradled with Troy on their bed. With his head buried within the warm feathers of Troy's chest, Canvas kept his hooves wrapped around the Gryphon's body as they both dozed. Slowly opening his golden eyes, Troy peered down on the sleeping pony as his claws held him to his chest, making him smile when he realized he was finally feeling that warmth he wanted again.

Troy closed his eyes again and hugged Canvas tighter, breathing in deeply as he noticed the scent of the stallion's mane. Smelling shampoo and the faint scent of fresh paint, the Gryphon moved his head in closer to the top of Canvas's head, savoring the warmth and comfort he felt as the sunlight shone against his back. As Troy breathed in silently, he listened to the faint sound of Canvas's heartbeat, feeling it thump in slow rhythm through the pony's body as he was pressed against him. Not wanting Canvas's heartbeat to change as he felt it against his own chest, Troy kept himself still as he held the sleeping stallion.

Twitching his muzzle a little, Canvas repositioned himself and hugged Troy tighter, nuzzling his face against the feathered chest. Feeling the warmth and softness of the Gryphon's body, Canvas slowly opened his eyes, his heart beating faster as he realized Troy was really there. Canvas quickly held Troy as tight as he could, feeling a huge smile grow on his muzzle at the realization that this was all real. Realizing he was now awake, Troy hugged him back, hearing Canvas breathe in deeply as he savored the moment of serenity with one he loved.

Keeping his eyes shut, Canvas kept his smile as he thought back to last night, holding Troy the way he always wanted as they kissed for the first time. Neither were sure how long they stood in each other's embrace within the middle of the hotel room, but they eventually made their way back to the bed as Troy carried the stallion. Once he picked Canvas up, Troy never seemed to let go; he kept holding him after lying on the bed. For most of the night, the two just stayed like that in the darkness, their bodies intertwined with each other as they kept kissing passionately.

Now awake again, neither the pony or the Gryphon said a word, letting the silence speak for itself as they laid together with their eyes closed. Nuzzling Troy's chest again, Canvas felt a wave of warmth flow through him as he felt the Gryphon this close, making him begin to kiss his feathered chest softly. Still holding him tightly, Canvas began to move his head up as he kept kissing Troy's body, slowly making his way up to the Gryphon's neck. Before he could go any further, the stallion noticed Troy looking at him, his golden eyes peering at him with the purest look of bliss as he smiled. Wrapping his hooves around the back of Troy's neck, Canvas pulled himself to the Gryphon, waiting until he opened his beak to kiss him deeply.

Of all the wonderful experiences Canvas had since coming to Ponyville, nothing came even close to how he felt as he kissed Troy. Thinking back to everything that happened in his life, the stallion couldn’t think of any moment that matched the happiness he felt when he was with him. Through all the heartbreak, through all the healing, through all the time taken to rebuild his life and leave his past, he always had that amazing Gryphon there by his side. With his caring smile, his dedication, and his undying support, Canvas couldn't think of anyone else he would rather be with than Troy, as he kept his lips pressed against his warm and tender beak.

Lying on his back as the stallion kissed him, Troy slowly rolled the both of them over, keeping Canvas's lips on his beak as he laid on his side. Holding onto the back of Canvas's head as they kissed, Troy still couldn’t believe how happy he felt right now. Thinking back to how much time he'd spent with the pony, Troy felt like an idiot for not realizing how long he truly loved him. With every word spoken through those months, with every moment shared, with every time Troy held Canvas close to him, the Gryphon felt increasingly guilty that it took this long for him to realize the stallion was so much more than just a friend to him.

Still holding each other as they laid on their sides, Troy slowly pulled back, looking at Canvas with half-open eyes as he saw how happy he was right now. As he looked into the tired blue eyes of Canvas, staring back at him with nothing but pure joy within them, Troy began to feel even worse about keeping himself in denial for so long. Not wanting to feel this bad with somepony so overjoyed, Troy wrapped his forelegs around Canvas, pulling him in a tight hug before he finally spoke.

"Canvas… Canvas, I'm so sorry it took me so long to do this. I wish I did this sooner. I wish I knew how I felt about you ages ago."

Hearing the sincerity in Troy's voice, Canvas’s eyes began to well up as he smiled, hugging the Gryphon back tightly as he said back, "Troy, it doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that you're here now."

Keeping his eyes closed, Canvas nuzzled Troy as he kept speaking.

"I love you, Troy. I love you more than anything, and nothing makes me happier than having you here right now."

As he heard how gentle Canvas's words were, Troy kept his grip on him as he replied, "I love you too, Canvas. I love you. I… I just wished I told you sooner."

"It's alright,” said Canvas as he pulled his head back, staring straight into the Gryphon's troubled eyes as he gave a gentle smile. "You shouldn’t worry what could've happened, Troy. It's like what you said to me: you shouldn't let the past drag you down."

Knowing he was right, Troy began to smile again as he moved his head in, letting Canvas kiss him once more. Before he could have the chance to pull him in again, Troy felt Canvas briefly pull his head back, keeping his eyes on the Gryphon's as he spoke in a faint voice.

"Troy, you've made me happier than anyone else in the world. You've always made me happy, and I have absolutely no regrets about any of it."

As Canvas slowly came closer again, he kept his eyes locked onto Troy's, letting the last of his words come out in a faint whisper.

"I'm just happy to have you now. And I never want to let go."

With that, Canvas closed his eyes as he kissed Troy deeply again, gripping him tightly as the two stayed in their embrace.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Bon-Bon was barely able to keep her eyes open as she stood beside her wife at the train station. Along with completing a huge catering job at the gallery the night before--which didn’t get her nearly as many interested clients than she hoped--she was barely able to sleep after what happened with Canvas and Troy. Even after she rushed with Lyra to Canvas to make sure he was alright, his insistence to be alone didn’t set well with her. While she knew Lyra felt horrible about how things turned out, the unicorn was still able to get more sleep than Bon-Bon, who only got an hour or two of rest after hearing a loud crash by their room.

Looking over at her wife, Bon-Bon was able to see that Lyra was still brooding about what happened. The mint unicorn kept her gaze to the ground as she stood by the platform, not paying attention to any of the ponies around her as she kept thinking about how much Troy screwed up.

"They were going to kiss,” muttered the mare as she kept looking at the concrete beneath her hooves. "They were totally going to kiss."

Seeing how upset her wife was, Bon-Bon sighed and gazed around the station, hoping that Troy or Canvas weren’t going to skip out on the train back to Ponyville.

"Don't beat yourself up about this, honey,” said Bon-Bon as she looked down to the unicorn. "You know this isn’t your fault."

"But still!" said Lyra in a louder tone than before. "It shouldn't have happened like that! Troy was going to kiss him! That's what he was supposed to do, but he just flew off like a chicken!"

"Um… chickens don’t fly, honey."

Despite her meager attempt to make a joke, Bon-Bon could tell she wasn't getting to her sullen wife. Not wanting to catch any of the anger simmering from the mare, Bon-Bon looked around the station from her spot again. Meanwhile, Lyra kept seething in frustration as she hung her head low and ranted to herself.

"I mean, what kind of an idiot would just fly off like that?! After everything he's done for Canvas, how could he just leave him alone so quickly?!"

Not hearing Bon-Bon gasp loudly, Lyra kept going.

"Seriously, who would just leave their friend hanging like that?"

"Lyra--”

"And he didn’t even say anything! He just rushed out of there before Canvas even noticed!"

"Lyra, look up--”

"I swear, I'm gonna punch that bird-brain in the face the moment I--"

"LYRA!"

Hearing her wife's last call to her, Lyra raised her head up to Bon-Bon with an aggravated look. "What?!"

Without saying a word, Bon-Bon pointed back to the station, making Lyra turn her head to see what she was pointing to. Lyra's eyes opened wide when she saw Troy, walking towards the two of them with Canvas close by his side. With the large smiles on their blushing faces and their close proximity to each other, it was obvious that the stallion and Gryphon looked really, really happy together. Blinking a few times, Lyra tried to comprehend what the buck happened after she turned that magic feed off and went to bed.

"Hey girls!" shouted Troy happily as he walked up to them, wrapping a foreleg around Canvas as they stood in front of the surprised couple. "You two excited about getting back to Ponyville?"

Unsure of what they were expecting to see, Lyra and Bon-Bon only blinked repeatedly as they stared at what looked to be a happy couple. With a smirk beginning to grow on her muzzle, Lyra looked with surprised disbelief before she responded, “Yeah, we are…”

Seeing how Troy was holding the stallion next to him, Lyra's grin grew even bigger as she realized something did happen, making her feel absolutely giddy as she spoke again.

"You… you two look really happy…”

Canvas and Troy began to blush a little as they saw how big the unicorn's grin was getting. Realizing their closeness was a bit obvious, Troy didn't care as he pulled Canvas closer to him.

"Yeah,” said the Gryphon as he looked down at Canvas with a smile, "we really are."

As Bon-Bon put a hoof over her mouth to cover her smile, Lyra just stared at them with an huge beam on her face, shaking with excitement.

"Oh my gosh!" squealed the unicorn as her hooves started moving on the ground with anxiousness. “Please, please tell me something happened last night!"

Canvas's blush grew even bigger before he looked up to Troy, carrying a smile on his face as he stared at him.

"Well,” muttered the stallion as he slowly became more distracted by the Gryphon looking back at him, "well… yeah…”

Lyra squealed out in joy and started jumping up and down on the platform. Not noticing the ponies around them staring, the unicorn started hopping around the two like Pinkie Pie, keeping a huge smile on her face as she started cheering to herself.

"I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"

Shaking her head at her wife's overexcited behavior in public, Bon-Bon kept her smile as she turned her attention to Canvas and Troy, who were still staring at each other lovingly.

"So guys,” asked Bon-Bon in an enthusiastic tone, "are the two of you together now? Like, are you boyfriends now?"

Hearing that word, Canvas's smile slightly dropped as he looked back at the mare, still not noticing Lyra as she kept hopping around and saying “I knew it!” to herself. Even with all the time he'd spent falling in love with Troy, Canvas never thought he would actually be in a situation where he could call him a boyfriend. Hearing the word in his head--especially in regards to the Gryphon next to him--Canvas's heart thumped harder, realizing how amazing it sounded. Blinking a few times wide-eyed, Canvas looked back to Troy, keeping a curious look on his face before Troy put a claw on his shoulder.

"I don't see why not,” said Troy in a loving tone as he looked at Canvas with a smile on his beak. Seeing how the Gryphon was looking, Canvas started breathing a little faster as a smile crept back up on his muzzle. Troy slowly brought his claw to the side of Canvas's face, holding it there as he spoke gently to him.

"So, Canvas… are we?"

Instead of just saying "yes" to his question, Canvas immediately shot forward to the Gryphon and grabbed his head, kissing him in the middle of the platform as Lyra stopped bouncing and stared in delight. It only took less than a second for Troy to start kissing him back, neither of them noticing or caring about the stares they were getting from the ponies around them as their train began to pull into the station.

With the wind from the train blowing around them, Canvas didn't mind at all as he kept his lips locked on Troy, the Gryphon he could now call his boyfriend. As the two shared their embrace in front of the two mares, Bon-Bon began to blush while Lyra looked at her with a smug grin on her face.

"See?" said the unicorn with a cocky tone in her voice. "I told you sending that cart to them would work!"

"That was you?!" said Canvas and Troy in unison as they quickly stopped kissing and looked at her.

Realizing what she just said, Lyra began to blush heavier than her wife as she saw Troy let Canvas go. Staring at the mare intensely, Troy slowly walked over to Lyra, scaring her a little as she saw how big his eyes were getting. While the train behind her halted to a complete stop, Lyra's back went up against it as Troy walked up to her, staring wide-eyed as his face got a few inches from her.

"Lyra…”

As Troy spoke in a cold tone, Lyra started shaking as she realized how large the Gryphon really was. Afraid for her well-being, Lyra could only lean against the train in panic as Troy slowly spoke.

"... Where… did you…

“.... Get that root beer?"

Even though Canvas and Troy originally planned to head straight to their cabin on the train to make up for lost time, Lyra pretty much pushed them into her and Bon-Bon's cabin, acting like a giddy school-filly as she demanded every single detail of their encounter. While her overexcited insistence made them both a bit uncomfortable, the two eventually relaxed as they talked with Lyra and Bon-Bon about how they ended up together.

As Troy recounted his discussion with Rainbow Dash, Bon-Bon took a mental note to make the Pegasus a ton of free candy for her help. By the time the story reached to how they kissed for the first time in their room, Canvas couldn't keep his subtlety in check as he began nuzzling the Gryphon's shoulder. Realizing the two were probably going to make out right then and there by the way Troy was nuzzling him back, the two blushing mares let them get back to their car, which the new couple did instantly once they were gone.

Since their ride back to Ponyville took a different route than the one to Canterlot, their train was able to arrive at the station before nightfall that day. As the train began to slow its descent to the Ponyville Station, Bon-Bon decided to check on the new couple and make sure they were ready.

Sliding her door open, the mare trotted over to Canvas and Troy's door, knocking a few times as the train vibrated some more. After several seconds of silence, Bon-Bon heard the sound of things moving around behind the closed blinds before the door slightly opened, as Troy's head popped out with his feathers ruffled beyond recognition. As the Gryphon stood unaware of how he was looking, Bon-Bon struggled not to giggle as she held a hoof to her mouth, waiting to compose herself a little before she spoke to him.

"Oh! Umm… guys, we're almost in Ponyville. You… you may need to freshen up."

With that, Bon-Bon trotted back to her cabin, laughing while Troy glanced at her with confusion. Closing the door behind him, the Gryphon looked back to his new coltfriend, whose shortened mane was now very mussed from their impromptu make-out session. Seeing how they both looked, Canvas and Troy struggled not to laugh as they looked away from each other, blushing heavily as both of them tried to think of what to say.

Finding the words first, Canvas looked back at his boyfriend with a cheeky smile on his face, still fighting the urge to giggle as he saw how messy Troy's feathers looked. “You… you look really cute."

Seeing how much the stallion was blushing, Troy's feathers ruffled out even more from embarrassment, causing Canvas to look down to the ground as he laughed out loud. Not caring about how either of them looked, Troy moved his head forward, nuzzling Canvas's face as his feathers brushed against the aqua fur. Before he could do anything more, both of them felt the train begin to slow down even more as the station came into view. Looking up to the Gryphon with a smile, Canvas gave him another kiss on the beak before grabbing his art bag, throwing it over his shoulder before he felt the train come to a complete stop.

After taking a moment to smooth out their fur and feathers, Canvas and Troy stepped off the train side-by-side. The Gryphon draped his wing over the pony to keep him closer. As the two walked out of the station, Canvas almost looked inseparable from the cheerful Gryphon, neither of them noticing a particular cyan mare shoot past above them.

Noticing Troy, Rainbow Dash shot her wings out to slow herself down, turning around midair as she saw Canvas beside him. Seeing how close they were as a new couple, a huge grin came up on the Pegasus's face as she saw that her friend hadn’t chickened out.

"Yo, Troy!" shouted the mare as she flew down to the ground in front of them, smirking as she glanced at the two. "So, how did it go? I'm guessing things went well?"

Blushing a little, Troy's wing pulled in his coltfriend closer as he looked down to him, smiling before he replied to the mare, "Yeah, it couldn't have gone better."

Keeping his smile on his beak, Troy looked back to Rainbow as he spoke with the utmost sincerity. "Thank you, Dash. I mean it. You really helped me out big time."

“Hey, it's cool. Don't sweat it, dude." As Rainbow Dash saw how happy the two really looked, the Pegasus smiled before she turned her attention to Troy. "Say Troy, do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Sure, what?"

The mare's eyes narrowed as she spoke, asking her question in a strangely curious tone. "When you got back to the hotel room and got together, what time did it happen?"

"Huh?" Troy asked with a confused look on his face, "What do you mean?"

"Would you say it happened after midnight?" By this point, the mare was looking rather insistent at knowing a detail like that, confusing the Gryphon even more as he looked down to his equally-confused boyfriend.

"I… uh… I… guess so… right?"

Even though Canvas wasn't sure why Rainbow Dash wanted to know, the stallion nodded in agreement as he said, "Yeah, I… I think it was after midnight."

"So it technically happened on a Sunday?" With that question, Rainbow's eyes were now open wider in anticipation as she waited for their answer.

"Um… yeah", said Troy as he blinked a few times in confusion, "I guess it was on a Sunday. Why are you so intereste--"

"YES!!" Rainbow Dash flew up above them, hovering in the air as she did a little victory dance.

Noticing how the two were looking at her with confusion, Rainbow Dash quickly recomposed herself with an embarrassed grin before landing in front of them again. "Sorry about that,” she said as she smoothed out her wings, looking away from them as a slight blush came up on her face. "It's just that… I… may have won a wager with some ponies."

”I knew it!" shouted Troy as he pointed a talon at her. "I knew you would make a bet about us! I even said that back at the pond!"

"Technically,” said the mare with a more insistent tone as she began to correct him, "you thought it was with Applejack for twenty bits. And… it was actually fifty."

Troy groaned and rubbed a talon to his temple, closing his eyes as he heard his boss go on.

"And while Applejack was in on the bet, a few other ponies got in on it, too."

"Other ponies?" asked Canvas, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Well…” While she wasn't expecting to bring up this to the two, she knew there really wasn't a way out of this as she kept going, rubbing the back of her neck as she looked away from them. "There's been a betting pool going on for which day you two would finally hook up. Applejack had fifty on it happening on a Saturday, and… I was the only one who had money going on a Sunday."

"Wait, the only one?" said the Gryphon in a more aggravated tone. "How many ponies were in on this?"

"Um…” Rainbow Dash started poking the air in front of her with a hoof, thinking about it as she counted in her head. Unsure, Rainbow cocked an eyebrow as she spoke in a hesitant tone. "Twenty… twenty-seven, I think?"

Canvas and Troy's jaws both dropped, both absolutely flabbergasted that something like this was going on. Not wanting his building anger to overtake him, Troy kept his eyes closed as he raised his talon to her, trying to keep his voice calm as he confirmed what she said.

"Twenty… seven?!"

Oblivious to their surprise, the mare kept going as she kept a cheerful, yet obvious tone. "Well, I think a few more may have joined in before you two went to Canterlot. I mean, it was pretty obvious that it was going to happen sometime! It started off as a bet with some of the other crew members, but then Applejack and Rarity wanted in on it, and then the Cakes, and before I knew it, I had to hire Spike to manage everything!"

Canvas only blinked a few times with his mouth still open, looking absolutely stunned as he spoke up. "Let me get this straight… You're telling me that there's been a major gambling ring going on regarding when Troy and I would end up together?!"

"Yeah." After answering Canvas's question rather quickly, like it was common knowledge, Rainbow Dash grinned widely as she looked at the two of them, before she spoke again in a gleeful tone.

"And I won a looooooot of money!"

Before Troy could reach out and strangle the mare, Rainbow Dash flew off in an instant, laughing as she went back into town to announce the success. As the Gryphon considered chasing after her, his anger subsided as soon as he felt Canvas nuzzle his chest. Breathing in and out a few times, Troy finally calmed himself down enough before he knelt down to the stallion, nuzzling him back as a smile came back on his beak.

"Don't worry about it,” said Canvas as he looked up to his boyfriend with a smile. "At least you got an awesome coltfriend out of it!"

Troy giggled a little before he used a claw to pull Canvas in, holding him close as he said in a more loving tone, "Yeah, I guess I can’t beat that."

As the two bent in and kissed once more outside the station, their moment was interrupted by the audible click of a megaphone being turned on. Rainbow Dash's voice boomed out from within the town.

"THEY DID IT! THEY KISSED ON SUNDAY!"

A large mass of groans could be heard after Rainbow's announcement, causing the aqua pony to blush a little as Troy's look of anger came back. Before the Gryphon could seriously contemplate going after the mare again, Troy heard Canvas sigh before they looked back to each other. Keeping a small smile on his muzzle, Canvas put a hoof to Troy's shoulder to calm him down again.

"C'mon, let's just get back to my place."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the sixth pony came up to them to confirm the day they kissed as they walked through town, Troy decided to just pick up his new love and fly them both to Canvas's home. Even though he wanted to get some things from Ponyville before heading home, Canvas didn't care as soon as he felt Troy's forelegs wrap around his body, giving the pony the same state of euphoria he felt the first time he was flown to his house.

As the wind flowed through his aqua fur against the sunset ahead of them, Canvas kept his eyes closed, savoring the amazing feeling of flight while Troy kept him to his chest. While the pony smiled in appreciation of this moment, Troy flew in silence, trying to stay composed while he looked ahead, still a bit upset.

While Troy also loved the feeling of flight while holding Canvas in his forelegs, his mind kept racing with random thoughts by the time he reached the barn. Landing on the ground by his door, the Gryphon still held on to Canvas, standing over him as he hugged the pony while trying to ease his mind. Even though Canvas didn’t want to let him go, he could still tell something was wrong as he looked up to Troy. With a worried look on his face, Canvas slowly let go as he kept his eyes on Troy, putting a hoof to his feathered shoulder before speaking.

"Troy? Troy, what's wrong?"

Realizing he may have upset his new boyfriend with how sullen he was looking right now, Troy sighed before he looked away, unsure of how to put it.

"I… I dunno."

Canvas brought his face closer to him as his other hoof went around Troy's back. He was now holding onto him, standing on his hindlegs as he kept a concerned gaze on the Gryphon. Before Troy could talk, Canvas gave him a light kiss on the cheek and gently hugged him, letting his warmth ease the Gryphon's tensions before he spoke to him.

"Troy, is it about what Rainbow Dash said? Because that doesn’t bother me at all."

"I know, it's just…” As Troy sighed again, he lifted a foreleg to hug Canvas back, holding him close to his chest as he felt his warmth against his feathers. Even though it was almost indescribable how amazing it felt to hold him like this, Troy still felt a large wave of unease. Taking a deep breath, Troy held onto his coltfriend before he said, "It just… it just makes me feel like a huge idiot for taking so long."

Canvas quickly let go of his boyfriend, keeping his eyes on him as he looked with worry. "Troy,” said the pony with a concerned tone, "please don’t say that! I told you, I don't have any regrets about the time we've spent together as friends, and you shouldn't feel bad about it. Why are you still upset?"

"I dunno,” said Troy as he looked away with a slightly annoyed look on his face, "maybe the fact that half the town knew I loved you before I did? That everypony knew I was gay before I realized it myself?"

Hearing his words, Canvas hugged Troy once more as he softly kissed his neck. While he was glad to finally have his friend like this, Canvas could understand how the Gryphon was feeling. Remembering how hard it was for him to come to terms with his own sexuality, the stallion kept his gentle hug on Troy, letting his caring warmth give his boyfriend the support he needed

"Troy, I know this is a big thing to adjust to. I've been there before, and I know how scary it can be. You should be grateful that you have friends who love you no matter what, and that you have someone who you can truly feel happy with. Because that's all that matters."

Even though he was still upset about the big wager, Troy felt a small smile grow on his beak as he realized Canvas was right. Considering how most of the ponies reacted to them as a new couple, Troy was grateful he was being given support for a change this big in his life. As he held Canvas closer, Troy bent his head down and used his beak to give a light peck to his chestnut mane, nuzzling it before he spoke again.

"Canvas, finding you was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. I really do love you. I just… I just feel like I was taking too long to see it."

"It's alright,” said Canvas as he looked up to the Gryphon. "You're not the only one. Troy, I didn’t realize that I was in love with you until the gallery. For the longest time, I tried to convince myself that you were just a really good friend to me, because… because I didn’t want to hurt myself for falling for someone who… who might not love me back."

The stallion slowly brought his head up to Troy's, keeping his eyes locked on the golden orbs shining in front of him as he continued,"But falling in love with you, and letting you into my heart, was one of the best things I could've ever done."

With that, Canvas gave a tender kiss to Troy's beak, feeling the Gryphon open it before he kissed deeper. With the warmth and taste of the stallion flooding his mind once more, all of Troy's worries vanished as he kissed Canvas back, wanting nothing more than to keep him like this for as long as he could. Thinking back to all the memories the two shared, Troy knew that Canvas was right: even though it took a while to see the light, to finally bask in the warmth of it was totally worth it.

Slowly, Canvas pulled his head back before looking at Troy, keeping a small smile on his muzzle as he spoke once more. "Besides, I think we've been catching up pretty quick, don’t you think?"

As he saw Canvas smirk at him, Troy grinned back and pulled the stallion closer, looking back at Canvas's home before turning his attention back to him.

"You got a point,” said Troy as his voice began to get more sultry. "And my first play rehearsal isn’t until Tuesday. I don't have anything to do tomorrow, so we could certainly use that time to our advantage."

"We certainly could,” said Canvas with a growing grin as he inched closer to the Gryphon. "We don't have to rush into anything huge right now, but we can certainly do a lot tonight and tomorrow for sure."

Troy's smile grew more seductive as he eyed his boyfriend, keeping his face a few inches from his as he spoke.

"So… what do you think?"

"Well…” Canvas looked down to the ground for a second in contemplation. "We both have some big things to do for the next month or two, what with you and the play and me with Celestia's painting. Because of that, it might be best if we wait a little before we do anything, well… big…”

"Oh,” said Troy as his grin lessened a little, realizing what the stallion was saying. "You mean…”

Canvas only nodded as he looked up to the Gryphon with worry.

"It's just….” The stallion tried to think of the right words. "It's just that we just became a couple, and… I think it might be best if we waited for… that… when the time is really right."

Knowing what he was getting at, Troy's kept a warm smile as he nodded in understanding. He knew that they were both going to be busy with their own things, regardless of their new relationship; even though he didn't want to keep his relationship going slow after spending so much time as just friends, Troy knew better than to rush into anything major after just one day. He wanted this relationship to work just as much as Canvas did, so he was willing to keep their relationship where it was as he looked down at the stallion.

However, Canvas kept his grin as he looked back up to Troy, looking at him sensually as he continued, "But like you said, we have all night tonight, and all day tomorrow. And we could still do a lot of making out in that amount of time…”

With his grin growing back to Cheshire levels, Troy picked Canvas up to his chest as he stood on his hindlegs, looking at him seductively as he kicked open Canvas's door. Giggling a little at being carried by his boyfriend like this, Canvas wrapped his hooves around the back of Troy's neck and kissed him on the cheek, feeling so secure as the Gryphon balanced himself on his hindlegs and walked them up the stairs to the loft.

While he never would've thought he would ever be in a relationship like this in his life, Troy didn’t care one bit as he looked at the shimmering blue that made up Canvas's eyes, smiling when he realized how extremely lucky he really was. As the two fell onto the king-sized bed and held onto each other, both of them savored the moment as they kissed once more, letting the night slip into their room while they celebrated their newfound love.

"CUUUUTTTT!!"

Hearing the director's voice scream out once more in a shrill tone, Troy felt a small shudder go through his spine. He slowly started to prefer his alarm clock over her tone of voice. While he knew rehearsals wouldn't be an easy thing to complete, hearing the orange mare's judgmental voice every two minutes was really starting to get to the Gryphon. As she walked her way back onto the stage, Troy relaxed a little from his pose, groaning under his breath as he already knew what she was going to say.

"Troy, for the last time, you need to have intensity when you appear in front of Christine!"

Breathing in deeply so he wouldn’t be tempted to raise his voice--especially after seeing her reaction when Pierce did so--Troy kept himself calm as he addressed the director.

"I understand, Stage Presence, and I've been trying to do so. I've even incorporated the cape more like you said."

"That's not what I'm talking about!" said Stage Presence in a more irritated tone. "You need to show more emotion in your performance. Remember who your character is supposed to be: a tortured soul who wants to keep his distance, but still show his musical genius to the world. You're a lone creature who is trying to make a visible impact in the world, and the only way to do so is through the mare you love!"

The Gryphon looked over to Derpy on the other side of the stage, who was wearing a plain white dress for practice before wearing the real one for the dress rehearsals. Noting that this cross-eyed mare--who was currently staring at the lighting above her with a slack-jawed gaze--was supposed to be his love interest, Troy sighed before looking back to the director, who looked on edge as she groaned under her breath. Troy flinched a little as he saw Stage Presence raise her hoof before she used it to smooth her frizzled white mane out and look away from the stage.

"I need to recompose myself,” said the Director as she began to walk off the stage. "Take five, and I expect to see some improvement when I come back!"

As soon as the doors of the auditorium closed behind her, Troy and everypony in the theater sighed in relief. Glad to finally have the chance to sit still for a few minutes, Troy immediately plopped down on the middle of the stage, being careful not to sit on the black cape he was wearing as Derpy walked up to him. Seeing how worried the grey Pegasus was looking, Troy sighed before speaking to her.

"Sorry, Derpy. I'm trying as hard as I can, but I'm not exactly used to this whole 'acting' thing."

"What are you talking about?" said the mare as she kept a quizzical gaze on the Gryphon. "You're doing a really good job in my opinion."

Thinking she was full of it, Troy stared back at Derpy with a skeptical look on his face. "Really? Then why has Stage Presence been down my throat since day one?"

"I can tell you why."

Troy and Derpy looked over to the source of the voice off the stage, which belonged to the dark-blue unicorn known as Pierce. As the silver-maned stallion walked over to Troy, he carried a look of slight disdain as he continued, "I've been in several productions with her as the director, so I can tell what she's thinking a lot of the time."

Curious to this unicorn's input, Troy kept his attention on Pierce as he continued.

"Whenever she watches and listens to ponies during auditions, she never changes her tone or the look on her face. She just keeps a blank stare and says 'Thank you,' after they're done, so nopony would get too overconfident about their performance. However…”

Pierce then pointed a hoof to Troy before he kept going.

"When you sang 'Not While I'm Around' during auditions, that was the only time I ever, ever, saw her smile! It was only there for a couple seconds, but I saw it clear as day! And when she said 'Thank you,’ it legitimately sounded genuine! With all the performances and auditions that she's witnessed, yours was the only one that made a positive first impression to her!"

Keeping a slightly annoyed look on his face, Pierce eyed the Gryphon with a hint of anger before closing his eyes. Calming himself down a little, the unicorn reopened his eyes as he finished his statement in a more tranquil tone of voice.

"Troy, the reason she's being so hard on you isn’t because you're doing a poor job. You actually are doing very well, especially for a first-timer. But the reason she's acting like this is because she sees potential in you. I think she really sees something in you for this show, and she doesn’t want you to get too lazy or full of yourself. If you want my advice, you should take every word she says to you by heart. She wants you to be great, so try to be so."

With that, Pierce walked away again, keeping his composure in check as he exited the stage. Not sure of what to say, Troy just kept his spot on the floor of the stage with a confused look on his face. As he thought about the unicorn's words, Troy wasn't aware of Derpy trying to catch his attention.

"Troy? Troy, are you alright?"

Troy nodded as he turned back to her, still looking confused as he stared at her for a few seconds. Trying to comprehend what Pierce was saying, Troy blinked a few times before he spoke to the mare. "I… I didn't think that at all."

"Well,” Derpy began as she looked up, thinking about it before she went on, "it kinda makes sense. You were great at that audition, so maybe she just wants you to reach your potential."

"Maybe.” Looking back to where Pierce exited the stage, Troy kept his confused look as he spoke. "I'm just surprised Pierce would say that to me. I mean, I thought the guy had it out for me since the first day of rehearsals."

"Well, he did say he's worked with her before. I think he really wanted to get the role you have." Looking back to Derpy, Troy kept his attention with a curious look on his face as she continued, "I mean, I honestly think he's better as Raoul for this, but maybe he just really wanted to be the Phantom, you know?"

Knowing that Pierce was more experienced with theater than either of them were as first-timers, Troy shrugged and figured her guess was as good as anything he could think of.

"Also,” continued Derpy as a slightly embarrassed smile came to her face, "I heard that he lost a lot of money because he had Monday in that betting pool."

Troy immediately groaned and put a claw over his face, not wanting to be reminded of that stupid bet. Even after two weeks, Troy still encountered ponies who looked legitimately upset that his relationship with Canvas started on a Sunday. While almost all of the ponies who talked with him looked sullen about the bet--especially since Rainbow Dash was still bragging about it--they were also happy and supportive that he finally got together with the stallion. Even though Troy didn't like that his self-discovery and realization was the subject of a town-wide betting pool, he couldn’t help but feel a little better as he realized how much happier he was since he actually did it.

But even with the pleasure in knowing that he was in a happy and committed relationship, Troy still felt sore about the whole betting pool incident. Noticing how irritated the Gryphon got at the mention of it, Derpy started to feel more embarrassed and tried to make up for it. "Just so you know, I had no idea about that going on until a week ago! And even if I did know about it before that, I wouldn't have participated in it."

Troy looked back to the mare with a grateful look in his eyes, knowing that her tone of voice was genuine in her statement. "Yeah. Thanks, Derpy."

"Not a problem,” said Derpy with a relieved smile on her face, looking glad to see Troy feel a little better after such a hectic day. "How is Canvas, by the way? I haven't seen him in town much since the two of you came back."

"Well,” Troy said as he stretched out his back while on the floor, "he's been spending most of his time working on that painting for Celestia. He's barely left his studio since starting on it. Even I haven't been able to talk with him much."

"Well that makes sense, don't you think?" Troy looked back at Derpy, who was keeping an understanding look on the Gryphon as she spoke. "I mean, it is a painting for the Princess of the Sun! Don't you think that's a pretty big thing to keep focus on?"

"Of course I do!" said Troy with an obvious tone of voice. "We even agreed to keep our relationship at a slower pace because of it! I mean, I've been staying at his place a lot since that, but he won't let me see his painting or the studio. It's just…”

Troy looked up to the same lighting fixtures Derpy was looking at, breathing in before he continued, "I just… I'm just glad I'm having this play to focus on. Otherwise, I don't know what I'd do without him."

"Aaaaawwwwww!" Derpy moved forward and gave the Gryphon a big hug, squeezing him surprisingly hard as she smiled. "You must really love that stallion, don’t you?"

"Yeah, I really do."

As soon as Derpy let go of him, Troy rested his forelegs behind him and leaned back, looking at the roof of the auditorium as he started to look more upset again, not liking to feel this alone without Canvas. "I really, really do."

"THERE! RIGHT THERE!"

Troy shrieked a little and fell to his back, not expecting to hear Stage Presence yell like that as she came running back into the stage. As she approached Troy, her eyes were wide open as she eyed the Gryphon with intensity.

"Right there! When you were staring at the ceiling like that! THAT'S what I want to see when you're playing the Phantom! Desire! Longing! A look of heartache! THAT is what I want to see when you interact with Christine!"

Blinking a few times as he lifted himself up and stared at the orange mare, Troy's eyes widened when he realized what she was trying to say. Even though he would've never thought to use something like that as a foundation for his character's emotional status, Troy could see where Stage Presence was getting at. While he couldn’t necessarily compare the struggles of the Phantom to his own desire to spend more time with his boyfriend (especially since he'd spent the night with him at his house several times this week alone), Troy knew he could use that feeling of longing to help him with this role.

Turning his attention back to the Director, Troy nodded with confidence and lifted himself back onto his legs, feeling better about himself as Stage Presence trotted back to her spot in front of the stage.

"Okay, places, everypony! Let's try the beginning of Act Two once more!"

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside the Ponyville Theater, a large crowd of ponies waited anxiously as the sun began to set in the horizon, all of whom were excited to see the premiere of the show that night. As the front doors opened and the auditorium started to fill with thrilled ponies, Troy poked his head out slightly from behind the curtain to see how many were coming in.

As the front rows quickly began to get filled (except for the several reserved seats in the very front), the Gryphon walked back to the darkened area behind the stage, breathing heavily with worry when he realized how big of a night this was going to be. Trying to keep himself calm, Troy pulled out a handkerchief from the pocket of his costume jacket, hoping to wipe off any excess sweat from his face before it messed with his makeup or face prosthetics covered by his mask.

"Ready for the big night, Troy?" Derpy asked in a cheerful tone as she happily trotted over to him, her lace dress moving gracefully with her body. As the Pegasus mare looked excited for the opening night, Troy was starting to look even more worried as he turned his attention to her.

"I… I hope so. I just… I just don’t know what to think right now! I've never done this kind of thing before, especially in front of the whole town! I just--”

Seeing how flustered the Gryphon was getting, Pierce quickly trotted over from his spot to him, putting a hoof to his shoulder as he said in a serious tone of voice,"Troy, listen to me! I know this is a big thing to deal with. Everypony gets stage fright, but it's nothing to worry about. Just do it like you did during the Dress Rehearsals, alright?"

Taking a deep breath, Troy nodded as kept his eyes closed, hoping to compose himself while Pierce trotted back off to the wardrobe. While Troy kept his eyes shut, he felt another hoof on his shoulder, opening his eyes to see Derpy there with an optimistic grin.

"Wanna know a little trick to get rid of stage fright?"

"Umm…” Surprised that the mare would have advice for something like that--especially since she was a first-timer, just like him--her confident smile was enough to make Troy want to listen. "Okay, what is it?"

Derpy looked around a little before she peered her head in, keeping a cheeky grin as she spoke in a whisper to Troy.

"Pretend everypony is naked!"

Derpy then began to giggle to herself, not noticing the Gryphon giving a confused look to her before he made a reply.

"Umm… isn't everypony already naked?"

Derpy's giggling began to die down as she looked back to Troy, before she looked down to the ground in realization that he was right. "Oh, yeah. I guess ponies usually are, aren't they?"

Troy immediately began to regret bringing that up, not wanting to make Derpy get stage fright because of him messing up her trick. However, Troy noticed in surprise as Derpy looked back at him with the same cheerful smile as before.

"Oh well! They're still naked out there, and that's good enough for me!"

With that, Derpy trotted off after giving Troy another hug, hoping that would calm the Gryphon down as he stood backstage. Thinking about what the mare was saying, a small grin began to grow across Troy's beak, making him giggle a little before he started talking to himself.

"Hehehehe… My boyfriend is naked out there…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon-Bon made their way past the ponies as they walked to the front, having received reserved tickets before anypony else due to Troy's connections. As they reached the front row, both mares were slightly surprised to see that Canvas wasn't at his reserved seat; however, a small, grey unicorn filly was happily perched in hers and cheerfully waved to Lyra and Bon-Bon. While Lyra got to her seat, Bon-Bon walked up to the filly with her own smile on her face.

"Why hello, Dinky! Are you excited to watch the play?"

"Uh-huh!" said Dinky as she nodded enthusiastically. "I can’t wait to see my Mommy sing!"

While Bon-Bon knew Derpy as a lot of things--particularly as the mare who kept breaking her merchandise every other time she showed up--she never would've expected the grey Pegasus to be a singer. Keeping her smile on her muzzle, Bon-Bon kept talking with a cocked eyebrow as she spoke with the filly. "So is your Mommy a good singer? I don't think I ever heard her."

"Yeah!" shouted the filly as she jumped up on her seat, now sounding really excited as she kept a huge grin on her face. "Mommy's one of the best singers in the world! She only sang at home alone because she was really shy about it, but I really really wanted other ponies to hear her, so I got her to audition for the play as my birthday present!"

Hearing this, Lyra and Bon-Bon both felt their hearts melt and went "Aaaawwww!" in unison.

"That is so sweet!" said Bon-Bon as she hugged the filly. "And I bet your Mommy is going to be great in this play."

"From what Troy told me, she really will,” said Canvas as he walked over to them. The three looked over as they noticed the stallion come toward them, keeping a smile on his face as he walked over to his seat.

Despite how freshly cleaned his mane and fur looked, it was obvious the pony was still sleep-deprived from the dark bags under his eyes. Even though he obviously looked tired, the stallion still had a eager and cheerful tone as he spoke to them. "Troy has said nothing but great things about her singing, so I have no doubt this is going to be a great night."

"I was starting to get worried, Canvas!" said Lyra as she got out of her seat and hugged the stallion. "It's nice to see you didn’t forget your Gryphon's big night!"

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't have missed this for the world!" As Canvas let go of the unicorn, he noticed Dinky and smiled at her. "Hey there, Dinky! You still making paintings too?"

"Yep!" said the filly as she cheerfully nodded. "Congratulations on the big Celestia painting!"

"Well, thank you!" After Canvas shook the filly's hoof, he turned his attention back to Lyra and Bon-Bon as they all took their seats. "I almost got the whole thing done. Hopefully I can get it done in time for this year's Grand Galloping Gala."

"Nice!" said Bon-Bon. "And I bet you'll be happy to spend more time with Troy after it's all done."

"Yeah, I certainly will." As Canvas got more comfortable in his seat, his smile dropped a little when thought about how the past month had gone. "Honestly, I just hope he's alright with how little time we've been spending together. I mean, he's been at my place more often than his own cloud, just so he can be around whenever I have free time."

"I'm sure he understands completely,” said Bon-Bon in a reassuring tone of voice. "You're making something for royalty! You two will have more than plenty of time when you get this done."

"True." Canvas glanced to the large curtain covering the view of the stage, an unsure look on his face before he turned back to Bon-Bon. "I'm just happy Troy's been doing this while I've been painting. I even helped him rehearse his lines a few times."

"Well, that's nice of you!" said Bon-Bon as she slowly grew a grin and bent in closer to the stallion. "I'm guessing you two practiced the kissing scene a few times?"

Canvas giggled a little and began to blush. "Sort of, but we kept getting distracted when that happened."

As the two giggled in their seats, Lyra pulled her head in and looked at Canvas curiously. "So, how do you feel about Troy kissing Derpy? Won't it be kinda weird to see your boyfriend kiss a mare?"

"Honestly, I don't mind,” said Canvas in a surprised tone. "I've seen the play before, so I know it's going to happen. I've talked with him about it, and we both agreed that it won’t be weird for him to do this for the role. Besides…" Canvas looked back to the curtain ahead of them before continuing, "I'm more worried about Derpy. I mean, kissing a beak is kinda tricky if you don't know how to angle it right."

Lyra shrugged as she sat back in her seat, none of them noticing a certain Pegasus mare peeking out from behind the curtain before going back behind the stage.

"Oh, Troooyyyy,” said Derpy excitedly, "they're all heeeerrreee…”

Troy felt his heart come up to his throat before he gulped. He took a quick peek through a space from the curtain. "Oh no,” said the Gryphon, "even the whole weather crew is here!"

Derpy looked out again, noticing that Rainbow Dash and the other Pegasus ponies were all on a balcony above the audience, perching themselves on the ledge while Troy stepped back, terrified.

"Hey,” said Derpy as she went back to the Gryphon, trying to keep him calm, "just remember what Pierce said. Pretend it's the dress rehearsal, and you'll be fine."

Keeping his attention on the mare to calm his nerves, Troy nodded as he breathed in and out. He then closed his eyes and tried to focus on anything except how big this night was supposed to be for him. Slowly, Troy reopened his eyes and peered out the curtain again, keeping himself hidden as he scanned the audience. It didn't take long for him to notice Canvas, who was sitting in the first row with the others as he happily chatted with Lyra and Bon-Bon. Seeing how happy the stallion looked, Troy's heart rate began to slow back down as he pulled his head back, smiling as he went back into the darkness backstage.

Breathing in deeply, the Gryphon felt himself getting more calm already and began to turn away from the curtain. However, his heart- ate shot right back up as soon as he saw Stage Presence directly in front of him, silently glaring as she pointed a hoof to his starting place.

As the lights around the audience began to dim, all the ponies quieted down, waiting anxiously as the cast got ready. Standing at his spot in his costume and mask, Troy began to feel his heart beat uncontrollably fast as he realized this was really happening. All of the hours of rehearsing his lines, singing, and choreography had all come to this night. Taking a deep breath, Troy closed his eyes and tried to ease his troubled mind, letting the brief silence sink in as he anticipated his moment.

As soon as the stage lights shined on, all of the Gryphon's worries and tensions immediately vanished--as if the bright lights burned them away in an instant, like a timberwolf through a wall of fire. And as the music started, Troy felt nothing holding him back as he began his very first performance.

Even though he was fairly exhausted from working on his painting almost non-stop, Canvas stayed wide-eyed on the edge of his seat as he watched the play. With the usage of dried ice for the fog effects, impressive lighting--which gave everything an eerie blue or dark-pink hue--and enough technical effects to require the work of a dozen different ponies backstage, everything looked absolutely fantastic as the performances went by on stage.

By the time Troy and Derpy's duet came up, the whole audience’s full attention was on the two as they flew down to the stage. Landing on the Viking-styled boat onstage, the music played in full swing from the orchestra pit below as Derpy stood at the front of the boat, while Troy pretended to push it slowly across the stage with his claw. As the strings underneath the fog pulled the two of them at a snail's pace, the Pegasus began to sing, her surprisingly fluent voice captivating the audience:

In sleep he saaang to meee…

In dreams he caaame…

That voice which calllls to meee…

And speaks my naaame…

While Derpy's amazing singing voice surprised everypony in the theater at the beginning (as well as Stage Presence when she first heard her in the auditions), her renditions of Think of Me and Angel of Music won them over by the time her duet with the Gryphon began.

Keeping themselves silent to not interrupt her singing, the ponies in the audience kept their attention on the cross-eyed mare as kept her pose on the boat and finished her verse.

And do I dreeeeaaam again?

For nooowwww, I fiiiiiiiinnnnddd…

The Phaaaaaaaaaaaannn… tom of the Op-e-ra is theeerrrrrrreeee…

Insiiiiiiide, my miiiiiind…

Even with the orchestra playing at full blast, the sounds of applause could be heard briefly before Troy's part came up. Keeping the side of his face hidden by the white mask (created by Rarity just for him) to the audience, Troy kept his gaze away from everypony as part of his character. With both his brooding figure and his operatic voice, Troy really managed to capture the essence of The Phantom as he began to sang.

Sing once, again with meeeeee…

A strange duuueeeeeet…

My power ooooooover yooouuu…

Grows stroooonger yeeeeeettt…

Above the audience from the balcony, Troy could hear a few of his coworkers cheering him on over the music, all of whom were rather excited to finally see him perform. Even though the news about his opera singing spread around a little after his birthday incident, not many ponies actually knew how good of a singer Troy was before this play began. Now with most of the town watching with enjoyment, the Gryphon felt absolutely ecstatic as he continued.

And though you tuuuurrrrrnnn from meeeee…

To glance, behiiiiiiiinnnd…

The Phaaaaaaaaaaaannn… tom of the Op-e-ra is theeeerrrrrreeee…

Insiiiiiiide, your miiiiiind…

As the music continued, the boat finally reached the other side of the stage before the two stepped off. Carefully avoiding the strings, Troy stepped near the back of the stage, keeping his gaze on Derpy. She sang out to the audience at the front of the stage, avoiding the Gryphon's stare as she sang her part again.

Those who have seen your faaace…

Draw back in feeeeaaaarrrr…

I am the mask you weeaarrr…

Moving his head in closer to her, Troy sang his part as one of his claws held onto his cape.

It's me, they heeeaaarrr…

Walking closer to her, Troy looked away from Derpy, both of them looking out to the audience as they sang in harmony.

My spirit aaaaaannndd my vooiiiiiiiceee…

In one, combiiiiiiiined…

Slowly, the two turned back to each other, keeping their harmonies as they sang out together on stage.

The Phaaaaaaaaaaaannn… tom of the Op-e-ra is theeeerrrrrreeee…

Insiiiiiiide, my (your) miiiiiind…

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Standing in the middle of stage with Derpy near the side, Troy felt the spotlights right on him, almost burning his retinas as the calm music began to play. Hearing the strings and harp playing in the orchestra pit below, the Gryphon kept his gaze onto the wooden floors of the stage, watching the artificial fog underneath him as he heard his part come up.

Watching from his seat, Canvas sat quietly as he kept his wide-eyed gaze on his love, feeling himself become lighter as soon as Troy began to sing.

Niiiiiiiight tiiiiiiimmme… shaarrrrrrpens…

Heightens each sensaaaation…

Daarrrrknesssss stiirrrrrssss, and wakes imaaaginaaaation…

Silently the seennnnses…

Abandon their defeeennnnses…

As the orchestra continued to play, Troy breathed in deeply before he continued, moving around the stage in a brooding manner as he sang gently towards Derpy.

Slooowwwly, geennnntly, night infers its spleennndor…

Graaassssp it, seennnse it, tremulous and tender…

Turn your face awaayyyy… from the garish light of daayyyy…

Turn your thoughts away, from cold, unfeeling liiiiiight…

And listen to… the music of the niiiiiight…

Moving closer towards the mare, who was keeping her gaze away from the Gryphon as she looked offstage per her role, Troy kept his emotional appearance in check through Stage Presence's advice. Giving a look of shameful desire toward her and the audience, Troy held his cape close to his body, using it to shield himself as he continued the song in a louder tone. Meanwhile, Canvas kept himself captivated with the Gryphon's voice, not noticing that he was starting to tear up at hearing him sing this well in front of other ponies.

Let your miiiiind, start a journey to a strange new world…

Leave all thoouuughts, of the world you knew befoorrrrreee…

Let your soul, take you where you long to… beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!

After the long belt he gave at that last line--which earned him several more large cheers from the weather ponies above--Troy hung his head down, breathing in before he looked back to Derpy and sang gently.

Only theennnnnn… caaaaan you belooonnnng… tooooo meeeeee…

Floating, falling, sweet intoxicaaaation…

Touch me, trust me, savor each sensaaaation…

Let the dream begin, let your darker side give in…

To the power of the music thaaaaaat I wriiiiiiiiiite…

The power of the music of the niiiiiiiiiiiiight…

The orchestra continued to play while Troy heard the whole audience start cheering, forcing him to lift his cape over his face for a second to hide his smile. Using it as an excuse to lunge closer towards the mare and keep in character, Troy quickly recomposed himself before he lowered his cape and sang right next to Derpy.

You alone… can maaaaake my song take fliiiiiight…

Help me make… the music ooooof the…

Troy closed his eyes, letting his final line come out as gently and beautifully as he possibly could as he walked back from the mare, letting his voice end the song right.

Nnniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight…

Before the Gryphon could even finish the last note of his song, he heard the entire audience roar with applause, including some extremely loud whistles from Rainbow Dash from the balcony. As the spotlight dimmed and allowed Troy to stand on the stage in darkness, a huge smile broke out on his beak as he let the moment set in. While he never thought he would ever have the confidence to ever do something like this on front of others, let alone an entire town, Troy couldn’t be happier as he lifted his head and looked out to the audience. Looking right at Canvas, Troy could see the stallion looking at him with the largest smile on his face, tears streaming down his cheeks while he clapped vigorously with his hooves.

In that moment, Troy saw how important Canvas truly was to him; he felt a huge wave of warmth in his chest without anything even there. Even though both his forelegs were holding him to the ground and nothing was against his chest, Troy could feel that same amazing warmth inside of him just by looking at that stunning stallion in the audience.

Before he recomposed himself to carry out the rest of the scene, Troy took a mental note as he looked back to Derpy on the stage, knowing what he wanted to do the instant this production was done. With the thought of Canvas wrapped around his mind, Troy felt absolutely weightless as he continued with his role, his heart racing faster with each passing minute in anticipation for the end of the show.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as the cast and crew took their final bow in front of the cheering audience everypony on stage went back to clean themselves up. Troy was practically a blur of feathers as he quickly got out of his costume and makeup. Even though Stage Presence was insistent in talking with him about his performance (particularly some small improvements he should work on before his next show), the Gryphon zoomed past before she could say a single word to him.

Bursting out the back doors of the theater like it was on fire, Troy scanned the ponies leaving from the front before seeing Canvas. He shot through the crowd and practically tackled the stallion. Squeezing the pony tight enough to easily cut off circulation, Troy clenched his eyes shut with the biggest smile on his beak as he hugged Canvas.

Even with his oxygen slowly cutting off, Canvas couldn’t care less as he hugged his boyfriend back, feeling overjoyed that the Gryphon actually did something this amazing. Slowing loosening his grip as he realized how tightly he was crushing him, Troy still held onto Canvas, resting his chin on top of the stallion's head as he heard the praises of ponies around him for his performance.

Before he could respond to any of them, he felt himself get pushed back from the aqua pony as Rainbow Dash and the rest of the Weather Team gathered around him, holding him in a huge group hug as they cheered him on.

"Dude, that was awesome!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she violently rubbed the feathers on his head. "That was totally worth buying a ticket!"

"Totally, Troy!" added Cloud Chaser as she looked up to him with a smile. "That whole play was really intense! Even Rainbow screamed when that Chandelier fell!"

"NO, I DID NOT!!” shouted Rainbow Dash as she turned to the pale-purple mare and her giggling twin. "I just flinched a little, that's all!"

"So, that was you?” Troy said as he looked at the cyan mare, keeping a mischievous smile on his beak while his eyes narrowed on her. "I thought I heard a girlish squeal from the roof when that happened!"

Rainbow's face started to turn red and rest of the Weather Crew started to laugh, which just made her angrier. She pointed a hoof at the Gryphon. "You better watch it, Feather-Butt! I still write your paychecks!"

"Yeah, yeah,” said Troy as he waved a talon in her direction, while he stretched out his wing to pull Canvas back next to him. Surprised that the Gryphon's wing was powerful enough to do something like that, Canvas stood still for a moment as he felt Troy's feathers against the side of his body. Loving the warmth Troy was giving off, Canvas nuzzled closer to the Gryphon's side as Lyra and Bon-Bon walked over to them with Dinky in tow.

"That was amazing, Troy!" Lyra exclaimed as she hugged the Gryphon. "I heard you had a great singing voice, but I wasn't expecting that at all!"

"Neither was I!" said Bon-Bon as she poked her head in behind her wife excitedly. "You were incredible as the Phantom! Seriously, that was one of the best performances I've ever seen!"

Blushing at the onslaught of compliments he was receiving, Troy noticed Dinky looking at him with a cheeky grin on her face. Giggling a little, the filly pointed at him with a hoof before she spoke.

"You kissed my Mommy!"

The others immediately started cracking up as Troy's blush grew even deeper, looking away from Dinky as Canvas wrapped a hoof around his back.

"Well, it sounds like your Mommy was very lucky!" said Canvas as he looked up to the embarrassed Gryphon with a smile. As Troy's blush began to go down while looking back at the stallion, Derpy's voice could be heard as she gleefully called out to her daughter.

"Dinky! There you are!"

Hearing the Pegasus's voice, Dinky immediately rushed to her mother and flew towards her, grabbing her midair before landing and hugging the filly tightly. With a huge smile on her face, tears of joy started to come from Derpy's eyes before she noticed the cheers around her. Still holding onto her daughter, Derpy looked up at the applauding crowd of ponies outside the theater before looking towards Troy with a grateful smile on her face.With her unicorn filly by her side, Derpy went up and hugged the Gryphon, both of them feeling incredible that they were able to experience something this big.

"You were great, Derpy,” whispered Troy as he held her with a smile.

"You too, Troy,” said the mare before she let go, letting her daughter hug her again as Bon-Bon stepped up with a smile on her face.

"Derpy, I'm gonna make sure you get something really good the next time you come to my sweet shop!"

"Awww… thanks, Bon-Bon!" Derpy gave a gleaming smile to the mare before lifting Dinky onto her back. "I'm just glad my little muffin here convinced me to do this. It feels so weird to know everypony just heard me sing like that. I'm a little embarrassed by this."

"You shouldn't be embarrassed at all!" said Lyra as she chimed in. "You have a great singing voice! Why haven't you done this sort of thing before?"

The grey Pegasus blushed and looked away from Lyra. "I guess I was just nervous. I…I wasn't sure how my voice sounded to other ponies when I sang."

"Derpy,” said Canvas as he poked his head out from Troy, sounding genuine, "your singing was absolutely amazing. I knew Troy was impressed by your voice, but hearing it for myself was way better than I ever imagined!"

"Well thank you, Canvas!" said Derpy with a cheerful smile. Seeing how close the pony was to his significant other, the mare blushed a little and her grin grew bigger. "And you're a very lucky pony to have someone as nice as Troy."

As Canvas nodded and looked back up to Troy with a smile, Derpy looked back at the theater to see Pierce coming out alone. "You know what?” She said as Dinky began to yawn on her back, "I'm gonna go chat with Pierce a little bit. He really helped me out with this role, so I should give him my thanks." With a smile, Derpy looked back to the others before trotting off. "See you guys later!"

As the other ponies waved Derpy and her daughter goodbye, Lyra and Bon-Bon turned their attention back to Troy as his wing held Canvas by his side.

"So Troy,” said Lyra in a chipper tone, "you wanna go somewhere with us to celebrate your successful night?"

"Well…” Troy looked back down to the stallion beside him, smiling before he responded to the unicorn. "You know what? Right now I really want to talk with Canvas about something…"

Curious about Troy's statement, Canvas looked up to him in amusement before the Gryphon spoke.

"But first,” said Troy he started to smirk at the pony, "seeing what Derpy was doing gave me an idea…"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"WOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOOO!!"

As the winds from the cool summer night flowed through his mane, Canvas didn't dare let go of Troy and wrapped his hooves tightly around the Gryphon's neck. While this wasn't the first time he'd flown with him, Canvas never experienced this kind of thing while lying on top of Troy's back.

Resting between the Gryphon's massive tan and grey wings, the aqua pony held onto his love tightly as they soared through the evening skies above Equestria. Feeling Troy's warm back against his fur, Canvas grinned like a schoolcolt as he realized he was doing something he never thought he would experience in his life: riding a Gryphon as he flew through the sky.

"This is so awesome!" shouted the pony with glee as he clutched Troy tighter. "You are the best boyfriend, EVER!!"

Seeing how giddy Canvas was getting, Troy couldn’t hold back his amusement as he laughed mid-flight, looking back to him with a smile on his beak. Knowing there was nothing but clear sky ahead of them, Troy moved his head back further towards the pony, closing his eyes for a moment as Canvas kissed him warmly above the fields outside Ponyville.

By the time they reached Canvas's home, Troy didn’t try to get Canvas off him as he walked in the door. Still riding the Gryphon's back like a little kid, Canvas kept a smile on his face as he looked forward at the cheerful Troy.

"Troy,” said Canvas in a faint tone of voice as he nuzzled the Gryphon's neck, "you were absolutely wonderful tonight."

"I know,” said Troy as he looked back to him with a grateful smile, "and you're the reason I even tried in the first place."

Not wanting this great feeling to end, Troy nuzzled him back before the pony slowly got off, stumbling a little as he got used to walking on his hooves again. As he watched Canvas stand back on his own legs, Troy smiled and pulled him to his chest, hugging him before speaking in a gentle tone. "Canvas… I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay…” The stallion slowly pulled his head back from the feathered chest in front of him and glanced up at Troy, noticing how nervous the Gryphon looked. "What is it?"

"Well…" Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his neck as he looked at Canvas, feeling his heart racing as he tried to think of a good way to start the question. "Canvas, I love you. I really love being with you, and… and I was thinking…"

Worried about what the question was supposed to be, Canvas kept silent as he listened to his boyfriend continue.

"Since I've been sleeping over so often, and… and since I've really gotten sick of sleeping alone on that cloud…"

Breathing in deeply, Troy gulped before he opened his beak again.

"I was wondering if I… if I can… move in."

Canvas's eyes widened in surprise, worrying Troy for a second before he saw a smile grow on the pony's muzzle. As the stallion lunged forward and hugged him, Troy felt his heart racing with glee as he hugged him back. Staying in that position, Canvas could barely contain himself as he said, overjoyed, “Re… really?”

"Well, why not?" asked the Gryphon in an optimistic tone of voice. "I mean, I've practically been living here recently, and the only time I go back to my place is to make sure my cloud hasn’t dissolved too much. Besides…"

Troy pulled his head back and peered his golden orbs straight into Canvas's shining, blue eyes. Holding his face closer to Canvas's, Troy kept his eyes half closed as he spoke gently to him. "Nothing would make me happier than to be with you. When I was on that stage… and I saw you looking at me… all I could think was how amazing it would be to wake up with you every morning."

Feeling his heart melt in his chest from Troy's golden gaze, Canvas pulled the Gryphon's head in and kissed him deeply. Letting his answer speak through his actions, Canvas kept his lips on Troy's beak as he felt him kiss back.

Knowing that this was actually going to happen, Troy felt a huge wave of happiness flow through him as he kept his coltfriend in his embrace, waiting until he felt the stallion pull back before he opened his eyes. Looking at the blushing pony in front of him, Troy felt a smile grow on his beak as Canvas finally spoke in an enthusiastic tone.

"So… when can you move in?"

Looking around the shimmering lake and the clear blue skies above it, Troy breathed in deeply as he savored this moment. Even though his cloud was now long gone, the Gryphon didn't seem to really miss it at all; he saw how stunning this area really was without it. Now that there was no evidence that anyone lived around here, the lake and waterfall seemed much more natural, as if it was supposed to be an untouched little paradise. However, Troy's feeling of serenity vanished as he heard Rainbow Dash's voice call out from the waterfall.

"DUDE! This lake is really cool! Why the hay didn’t I ever notice this place before?"

Troy could only shrug as he turned his attention to the Pegasus, who was now shooting herself across the lake, soaring only a few inches above the water as it rippled and waved underneath her. Picking up her speed as she reached the edge, the waves she was making turned into a large ripcurrent, causing Troy to shoot up into the sky to avoid getting hit by the rooster tail of water spray aimed straight at him. Even though he was able to dodge the wave before it splashed into the grass, it didn’t stop Rainbow Dash from laughing as she saw how quickly Troy reacted. As the Gryphon flew up to her height, Rainbow was quick to give a smirk before speaking to him.

"Man, your reflexes are way quicker than I thought! I'm kinda surprised you don’t try being a Wonderbolt or something."

Troy could only smirk back to the mare as he rolled his eyes and looked around the area that was formerly his place of residence. "Eh, stunt flying isn’t really my thing. Besides…" Troy turned back to Rainbow Dash, carrying a grin on his beak as he narrowed his eyes at her. "… I'd rather not kick your butt for that kind of position."

"You better not!" said the mare in a jabbing tone as she pointed a hoof to the Gryphon with a grin. "Plus, it seems like you caught the acting bug after that whole play thing."

"I think I really did!" said Troy as he smiled at her. "I mean, I didn’t expect to enjoy doing that kind of thing after all those rehearsals, but, man! Hearing that applause was totally worth it!"

"Yeah, hearing ponies cheer your name can totally do that." Rainbow then dropped her smile a little as she spoke to Troy in a more serious tone. "Just don’t let that kind of thing get to your head, dude. Seriously, I kinda know from experience."

"Yeah, I heard about that,” said Troy as he looked back at her. After spending six months in Ponyville, stories about some of the ponies had become common knowledge to the Gryphon, including the Mare-Do-Well incident. While he was surprised that Rainbow Dash's friends would do something that intricate and over-the-top just to teach her a lesson, he also knew Rainbow long enough to realize that she probably needed something that big for the lesson to stick. And considering how well-adjusted the mare was about the whole thing, Troy knew to keep her advice in mind. "Honestly, I wasn't thinking of doing anything huge with this acting thing. I might do some more shows here and there, but that's about it."

"I dunno",” said Rainbow Dash with a skewed eyebrow towards Troy. "I'm not much of a musical fan, but even I can tell you could be really big at it. Who knows, maybe you can even get a gig in Canterlot or something!"

"Doubt it,” said the Gryphon with a skeptical smirk on his beak. As he hovered in the air, Troy looked back to the forest, seeing his new home in the distance before turning to the mare. "Besides, there's no way I would go anywhere if it meant leaving Canvas."

Seeing how lovestruck Troy was, Rainbow Dash smiled at him before looking back at the waterfall. "I guess I can understand that, but did you really have to move to his place? I mean, I seriously want to make a second cloud home here if you're not using it! This isn’t that far from his barn, so it's not like you two were that separated. And you can’t tell me you prefer his shower over that huge waterfall!"

Troy chuckled a little, realizing Rainbow had a valid point. He'd only been living with Canvas for a couple of weeks now, and the only major complaint he could even think of was how small that bathroom really was. Even though the Apple Family helped place a larger outdoor shower at the back of the barn so he could get a decent wash, Troy knew that it was nothing compared to that waterfall. However, even a change like that was more than worth it.

He turned back to Rainbow Dash and said, "Honestly, I have no regrets about my decision. I'm living with the love of my life, I'm still close to work, I don't have to worry about my stuff falling through that cloud, and I'm not sleeping alone anymore. Plus, Canvas's bed is really comfortable!"

The mare could only give Troy a light smirk before she spoke. "So… is he still working on that painting for Celestia?"

"Yeah,” said the Gryphon as his smile dropped a little, "I'm really happy that he's so dedicated to something like this, but he's practically been living in that studio to get it done! And he's been insistent that no one sees it. He even bought a huge blind to cover it so I wouldn’t peek from over the wall!"

"Well, at least he's not slacking off,” said Rainbow Dash. "That Grand Galloping Gala is in less than two months, you know."

"Yeah, I know,” said Troy with a smile. "Canvas already got the tickets so I can go with him."

"Well, good for you!" Rainbow then bumped his shoulder with her hoof before asking in an optimistic tone of voice, "Got anything big planned for the night?"

"Well, I've been wanting to visit the Canterlot Concert Hall. I didn’t get the chance to go last time, so I'd really like to see it while we're there."

"Oh, alright." While she looked alright with his answer, Troy noticed a hint of underwhelmed surprise in Rainbow's eyes, making him suspicious as he eyed her.

"Why? Were you expecting me to say something else?"

"No, no it’s fine, Troy. I just…"

Rainbow Dash thought about her statement for a second before she looked back at him curiously. "I just expected you to be planning something big with your coltfriend in Canterlot. I mean, you two DID get together there!"

"Yeah,” said Troy as he realized what the mare was saying, looking a little disappointed as he spoke. "We should… but it's not like we can go back to that hotel. We kinda got banned from there after I bent that railing. Plus, we got in some trouble for all the stains we left in the room."

Rainbow snickered a little as she looked at Troy, making him quickly put up a talon to her before clarifying, "Strawberry stains! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Yeah, sure,” muttered the mare, looking away from him with a smirk.

"I'm serious!" said Troy in a more irritated tone of voice. "We were having a strawberry fight in the room. We also had a… pillow fight… which was another reason we got in trouble with housekeeping…"

Rainbow Dash kept a skewed eyebrow on the embarrassed Gryphon as she turned back to him, shaking her head in disbelief before she spoke in a dubious tone of voice. "So, let me get this straight. You had a strawberry fight… and a pillow fight… with a gay guy…"

"Yes." While he was sure Rainbow was going to add something to his statement, Troy honestly couldn’t come up with a better answer to her question than that as he waited for her reply.

"And you did this… before you realized you like dudes?"

"Shut up!" Troy waved a claw at her and looked away, not wanting to deal with her badgering as he tried to change the subject. "But, anyway, I wasn't sure what I wanted to do for the Gala. But you're right, I should do something special."

"Just give it a little thought,” said Rainbow as she put a hoof to his shoulder. "Despite how I mess with you, I can tell you two are a great couple. I just want you to be happy with him."

Troy turned back to Rainbow, keeping a smile on his beak as he replied, "Yeah… thanks." Troy then looked back at the waterfall, sighing a little before he looked back to Rainbow Dash. "Just so you know, I probably won’t be building a cloud here again, so you can do what you want with it if you’re interested."

"Nice!"

Rainbow Dash put out a hoof to Troy. He quickly clenched his talons to bump it in agreement.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Troy landed back in front of the barn, savoring the moment as he realized this was now his new home. Looking over the white walls--which were still blank, due to Canvas's busy schedule--the Gryphon hoped the two of them could do some extra painting to the place. While he wasn't a good painter by any means, Troy still felt like helping out with whatever mural Canvas decided to do for this. Hearing the faint noise of classical music from inside, Troy smiled a little as he opened the door.

Walking into the living quarters, Troy could hear his record of the Canterlot Symphony Orchestra playing on his record player, which was now resting proudly against the wall next to the door to Canvas's workspace. Looking over the shelf of records that stood next to the player--as well as a small rack of cassettes on top from Troy's growing collection for his walkman--the Gryphon felt a lot better about not living on a cloud anymore. He realized he'd no longer have to worry about his stuff falling through to the ground if the cloud wasn't concentrated enough.

Troy looked back to the other side of the room, seeing the space between the kitchen and bathroom doors, which held two large frames with newspaper headlines inside. The first one, from the Canterlot Press, was a large headlining spread that boasted a large picture of Canvas. The stallion smiled in the photo as he stood next to Celestia, with Twilight and Troy next to them. Above the picture, the title stood out in bold, black text as it displayed the large story:

Princess Celestia Inducts the Very First Earth Pony Artist for Canterlot Castle

Seeing how overjoyed Canvas looked in that picture, Troy smiled as he stared at it, slowly turning his head as he looked at the frame next to it. While the headline wasn't nearly as large or fancy, Troy still felt really proud as he looked over the framed front page of the Ponyville Tribune, showing a great picture of him and the rest of the cast from the play in full costume. Standing between Derpy and Pierce in the middle of the group photo (and towering over everypony by at least two feet), Troy was pictured smiling with his mask still on. The title was displayed underneath in a tasteful font:

Ponyville Production of “Phantom of the Opera” A Huge Success!

Above both of the frames, hanging on a small tack on the wall, was Troy's Phantom mask, which was given to him by Stage Presence after the last show ended. While the orange mare tried to make it sound like it wasn't much of a gift, telling him that it was made for his face anyway, Troy could tell that she was really trying to be nice to him after all the hard work he went through.

Looking at the white, porcelain mask as it hung securely against the wall, Troy felt absolutely incredible as he thought back to what Rainbow Dash said. Even though he knew he really could do this as a career if he wanted to, Troy couldn’t feel better with how his life had gone right now.

After all the years he spent listening to his grandparents, hearing their fantastic stories about being in Equestria, Troy could finally feel that same amazing feeling they did. Thinking back to how much those two Gryphons loved each other--despite some of the odd stares they got from others while in public--Troy felt his heart get lighter as he realized he now had that same type of love for someone. While it may have come from an unexpected source, the Gryphon couldn’t care less as his mind went back to Canvas, knowing the pony was back in his studio.

Realizing he was finally able to do something he wanted to do for a while, Troy hopped up on top of the wall to Canvas's workspace, perching himself as he looked over to the large blind Canvas put up as he heard the pony paint.

Clearing his throat, Troy felt a huge grin grow on his beak as he called out to Canvas, speaking in a loud and confident tone.

"Honey, I'm home!"

While many would've thought it to be silly to anticipate saying something that cheesy, Troy didn’t really care as he saw Canvas's head pop out with a smile on his face. Seeing the Gryphon perched on the wall, Canvas trotted over as Troy dropped back into the living space, waiting until the pony came out the door before grabbing him.

As the classical music continued to play on the record player near them, Canvas was quick to kiss Troy on the beak before hugging him. Pulling his head back from Troy's shoulder, Canvas kept a slightly embarrassed look on his face before he turned his attention to the record player.

"I… I may have been listening to some of your records while you were gone. It's a nice inspiration for my painting."

"Well, that's good to know,” said Troy as he nuzzled Canvas. "So…what do you think of my music tastes?"

"Well…" Canvas looked back to the large shelf of records before saying, "I found some of those records from your brother's band, Talon Ripper."

"Ooh." Troy winced a little as he remembered those being in his collection. Despite the tensions he had with his brothers regarding that stupid will, Blade was still insistent on mailing him a few of the new records their band released. While he never really listened to them, or any of the other Talon Ripper records he already had before coming to Equestria, Troy still held onto them, since they were from family. However, the Gryphon knew that Gryphonian Death Metal was probably a bad thing to leave lying around for a pony to hear.

"So,” said Troy worriedly as he kept his attention on Canvas, "you… you didn’t listen to those, did you?"

"Well…" Canvas's face scrunched in a little as he answered Troy's question. "I did listen to a little of one of the records. The one called… Manticore Massacre or something…"

Troy cringed at hearing that. Knowing how graphic the cover art for that record was alone, the Gryphon didn’t want to imagine how his boyfriend reacted to actually hearing the lyrics. "Oh boy. I… I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be!" said Canvas in a reassuring tone as he looked back to Troy with a smile. "I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I can tell your brother has some good lungs on him. Plus, it's kinda cool to know you're not the only songbird of the family."

Troy chuckled a little, realizing that Canvas was technically right. "Yeah,” said the Gryphon as he looked back at his coltfriend, "I guess Blade would be happy to know that. Although he would probably freak out if he knew I was with you."

"Whatever,” said the pony as he gave Troy a peck on the cheek. "I'm sick of caring about what others think."

"Me too."

With that, Troy moved forward as the two kissed once more, neither of them noticing that the record stopped playing next to them. As the silence enveloped them, Canvas's lips made a light smooching sound as they moved away from Troy's beak, leaving them both blushing before Canvas was able to say something.

"I…" The pony looked back to the open door to his studio before turning back to Troy with a sheepish smile. "I gotta finish my painting. I'm almost done with it."

"Of course,” said Troy with an understanding smile as he bent in and kissed him again.

After Canvas went back into his workspace and closed the door behind him, Troy exhaled as he kept a smile on his beak. At that moment, a million different thoughts raced through his mind about what he wanted to do right now. Thinking about Rainbow's suggestion to do something special for the Grand Galloping Gala, Troy decided to start on making dinner, hoping that he could use that as a way to help organize his thoughts.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pulling the garlic bread out of the oven, Troy was disappointed to see that, despite his best efforts, it was still burnt around the edges. Even though his cooking hadn’t improved very much since moving in with Canvas, Troy was finally able to make some meals for the both of them without setting off the smoke alarm any more.

As he turned off the burner and began pouring the steaming pot of noodles into the strainer in the sink, Troy didn’t notice Canvas standing at the doorway. Looking both tired and relieved, Canvas stayed at that spot for a moment before stepping in, the sound of his hooves against the linoleum floor catching Troy's attention. As the Gryphon kept his eyes on Canvas, his talon moved the simmering pot of marinara onto a cool burner before Canvas spoke in a feeble tone.

"Troy… I did it."

After taking a second to realize what he meant, Troy's eyes opened wide as he looked at the stallion, making Canvas's grin grow bigger before Troy replied, "You mean… you're done? With the painting?"

Keeping a huge smile on his muzzle, Canvas nodded quickly before he began to giggle. "Yeah, I just finished it!"

"That's awesome!" Troy exclaimed as he moved forward and hugged the pony. Holding him closely, Troy almost didn’t hear Canvas as his voice was muffled in his chest. However, Troy pulled back as he heard Canvas try to speak, looking up to the Gryphon as his voice came out in a light tone.

"You want to see it?"

Troy's eyes opened even wider. He stood silent for a few seconds and let the pony's question sink in. "Really?" he asked with a tone of slight disbelief. "You want me to see it… before Celestia?"

Canvas moved his head in closer, keeping his eyes on Troy as he spoke with a smile. "Yeah. I really do."

After making sure none of the burners were on and nothing was sure to get set on fire (he hoped), Troy followed Canvas as they walked out of the kitchen and into the studio. Walking up to the blinds, Troy noticed a few blankets lying on the worn red couch nearby, making him realize how much time Canvas spent sleeping in here to finish this piece.

Carefully, Canvas pushed the blinds aside to show the back of a large canvas board, five by seven feet tall and secured on a wooden tripod. When Canvas motioned him over, Troy slowly walked over to Canvas in front of the painting, his eyes widening as he saw what Canvas had been doing for over a month straight.

Troy's beak slowly dropped as he saw the painting against the canvas in fine oil paint : a large portrait of Princess Celestia as she stood at the top of a cliff. While the bottom of the painting showed a large wave of water from the ocean hit against the grey stones of the cliff, the Goddess stood at the top of it, staring out with a look of pride and determination as the sun began to rise above her. As her weightless mane shimmered in its multicolored hue, each individual strand seemed to glow against the darkened skies, which moved from a pure black to a vibrant pink the closer it got to the rising sun. Looking closer, Troy was absolutely amazed by how much detail Canvas put into this; he noticed that he actually put in every strand of fur along her flawless, white coat.

After looking at the painting for several minutes, dumbfounded, Troy was in a shocked state of mind before he looked back to his coltfriend, who was looking at the painting with a satisfied smile on his face. Wanting to grab his attention, Troy slowly moved his head in before he gently nuzzled Canvas's cheek.

"Canvas,” said Troy in a faint tone of voice, "it's amazing."

The Gryphon then pulled his head back, looking right into the pony's blue eyes as he spoke again.

"You're amazing."

With the painting in front of the two of them, Canvas felt his heart flutter as he bent forward, kissing Troy as deeply as he could as they both kept their eyes closed. As he savored how amazing the pony's lips felt and tasted on his beak, Troy also realized how much more sensual this kiss felt. As Canvas kept him in embrace, Troy could feel how much warmth and passion was flowing through the stallion as he kissed him, making him feel as warm and incredible as they did back in that hotel room.

When he finally pulled his lips away, Canvas looked right into Troy's shining golden eyes, keeping his face a few inches from him as he spoke deeply with desire.

"Troy… I love you so much…"

Canvas moved even closer, wrapping his hooves around the back of Troy's neck.

"I… I think I'm ready."

Troy's heart started racing incredibly fast, not needing to know what the stallion meant as his eyes widened.

"You… you mean…"

Canvas only smiled at the Gryphon before pulling him in once more, kissing him sensually again before he uttered a response.

"Yes. Troy, I… I really want to…"

Realizing that he and Canvas were finally going to move forward in their relationship like this, Troy was quick to lift the pony up with his claws as he held him close. Breathing heavily with a huge grin on his beak, Troy could barely keep his wings from shooting out in the studio before Canvas looked out from behind the Gryphon.

"Wait,” said Canvas in a half-exhausted tone as he looked in the direction in the kitchen, "didn't you just make dinner?"

"Screw dinner,” muttered Troy as he held him tighter and eyed him lustfully. "We can eat later."

Seeing how wound-up the Gryphon was getting, Canvas lost himself to pleasure as he kissed him once more, staying in Troy's grip as he held onto him. Walking on his hindlegs, Troy was careful not to hit anything with his wings as they made their way out of the studio.

Looking right into the stallion's beautiful eyes, Troy took his time as he carried him, not wanting this moment to end any time soon. Hoping to make this night as memorable as he could, the Gryphon held the stallion closely, savoring the immeasurable amounts of love he felt for him as they slowly made their way to the bedroom.

Feeling the morning light begin to come in through the window, Canvas turned his head away and stuffed his face against one of the pillows. Even though he knew he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep, Canvas stayed in that spot on the mattress, savoring the comfort between the blanket and the sheets. As he reached a hoof out to the other side, Canvas realized that Troy wasn't there, feeling only more of the softness of the blankets before he dropped his hoof in acceptance. His sigh was slightly muffled by the pillow. Canvas slowly opened his eyes as he adjusted to the brightness of the room.

Since Troy had moved into Canvas's home, one of the biggest changes that was made was to the pony's bed. Even though the king-sized mattress still laid in its original spot in the loft, the frame for it was long gone. It was replaced by a large assortment of blankets and comforters that surrounded the mattress lying on the floor.

While Troy was originally worried about what Canvas would think about his bed becoming a large, makeshift nest, he was pleasantly surprised when he saw how much the stallion enjoyed it. Since the nest made it so there was no hard landing from the bedding to the floor, Canvas ungracefully rolled his body over the wall of blankets that went around the mattress and plopped down on the hardwood floor underneath him.

Even though Canvas had plans for the day, his legs felt especially resistant on moving that morning. He laid still on the hardwood floor for a moment. Before he could close his eyes and attempt to take a light nap on the ground, the sound of orchestral music playing downstairs caught Canvas's attention. His ears picked up the voice of his lover singing downstairs.

La miiiiiiiiiiiii… a latizia infoooooondere…

Vorreeeeeeei nel suo bel coooooore!

While he never thought he would be the kind of pony to like opera, the Gryphon's voice had really helped Canvas to appreciate the music over these past few months. Even though he still didn’t understand a word of any of the songs, the stallion couldn’t care less as he kept his attention on Troy's voice, closing his eyes as he savored the Gryphon's enthusiastic singing from the kitchen.

Vorreeeeeeeeei destar co' palpiti…

Del miiiiiiiiiiiio beato amoooooorrrrre…

Slowly, Canvas began to force his legs to move again and reluctantly lifted his body up from the floor. Even though his body still felt way too tired to do much, Canvas's mind was wide awake at the moment, and his desire to be close to Troy was more than enough to overcome his body's apathy. As soon as his hooves adjusted to holding his weight, Canvas slowly trotted down the stairs, listening as Troy's voice became louder from downstairs.

Taaaante armonie nell'eeeeeteeereeeee…

Quaaaaaanti pianeti egli ha…

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Canvas saw that the record player was playing on full blast, which still wasn't enough to overpower the Gryphon's passionate voice. Smelling something good coming from the kitchen (a rare occurrence when Troy was cooking), Canvas pushed open the kitchen door, revealing Troy's feathered back. The Gryphon stood in front of the stove, singing to himself.

Aaaaah! Ir seeeeeco al cielo, ed ergermi…

Doooooove mortal, mortal non va!

Seeing two large stacks of pancakes already done as they sat on two plates next to the stove, Canvas's stomach growled a little, catching Troy's attention halfway through one of the verses.

Ir seeeeeco al cielo, ed eeeerg-…

Turning his head around, Troy noticed Canvas standing by the kitchen doorway, keeping a cheeky grin on his muzzle as he looked at the Gryphon. Even though he'd gotten used to singing in front of others--especially after that play performance--Troy still felt his feathers ruffle a little in embarrassment as he stood by the stove, making Canvas giggle a little.

"Hehe… you're weird, Troy."

Troy raised an eyebrow and looked over to Canvas with a smirk. "Seriously? I thought you liked me weird."

"I do,” said Canvas as he trotted into the kitchen, keeping a grin on his muzzle as he continued, "but if somepony told me several months ago that one day, an opera-singing Gryphon would be making me pancakes in my kitchen, I would assume that Discord was on the loose again."

Troy chuckled a little as he looked back to the skillet, realizing that the pony had a fair point. "I guess,” he said as he quickly flipped two of the pancakes. "But you gotta admit, I'm way better than an alarm clock."

Canvas's grin grew bigger as he threw his hooves around Troy's neck, speaking in a more seductive tone of voice.

"Troy, you're way better than a lot of things."

Troy scoffed a little as a smile grew on his beak, before he grabbed the stallion by the back to give him a proper morning wakeup. Without hesitation, the Gryphon pulled Canvas in as they shared their first kiss of the morning, neither of them noticing the pancakes in the skillet beginning to burn as their mouths meshed together.

Feeling Canvas's tongue begin to slip in through his open beak, Troy gladly accepted it as he pulled the stallion's head in tighter. Ever since Canvas finished the painting and had it sent to Canterlot two weeks ago, the two had been a lot closer within their home, taking advantage of the new physical additions of their relationship whenever they saw fit. However, before anything could happen this early in the morning, Troy pulled his head back, coughing a little as he grimaced a bit.

"Dude,” Troy said, trying to overcome the taste of morning breath in his mouth, "you should really brush your teeth first."

Canvas blushed a little and closed his mouth, realizing the Gryphon was right as he tasted his own breath. However, Troy was quick to make Canvas feel better as he pulled back in and nuzzled Canvas's cheek. Canvas smiled again at the feeling of his lover's feathers against his fur.

Suddenly, Canvas noticed a small patch of white smoke rising from behind Troy before speaking up. "Umm… Troy, the pancakes."

"OH BUCK!"

Troy quickly let go of Canvas and turned back to the stove, moving the skillet over to the other burner before he tried pulling out the now-ruined pancakes. Seeing that they were burned beyond recognition, Troy groaned under his breath before lifting the skillet from the stove, looking rather disappointed as he walked over to the nearby trashcan and tossed the burnt items inside.

Meanwhile, Canvas took the smaller stack of pancakes with the plate in his mouth and trotted out to their dining table. Happy that Canvas gave him the larger stack, Troy grabbed the bottle of syrup before putting down the skillet and following him.

Canvas and Troy sat in silence for a little while, letting the opera music continue to play on the record player nearby as they ate their breakfast. Seeing a rather large grin on Troy's face as he ate, Canvas eyed him curiously before saying something about it.

"Well, Troy, you're looking rather happy today."

Troy's grin grew even bigger before he replied, "Well, Derpy came over today to deliver our mail, and…" The Gryphon then pulled out a large yellow sheet, holding up as he carried a huge smile on his beak.

"… Our order finally came in!"

Canvas blinked a few times in confusion, trying to remember what they had ordered. Suddenly, the stallion's eyes shot wide open. The same smile Troy had spread across his muzzle.

"Dude! You mean the root beer finally came in?!"

"Yep!" said the Gryphon in a cheerful tone of voice. "I have to go into Ponyville and pick it up from the post office since it's so heavy, but it's finally here!"

While it had been too late for either of them to get that Gryphonian root beer from a store in Canterlot while they were there, Lyra was still gracious enough to give them the information so they could have it shipped to their home. However, due to the massive shipping costs and delays--especially for the huge order that Troy made--Canvas almost completely forgot about the order that they made over a month ago.

As he saw Troy holding up the receipt in his talons, Canvas was feeling especially excited since he was already planning to go into town today. Before Canvas could get himself ready to go into town with his boyfriend, Troy put up a claw before he continued, "I'll go get the order myself. I was planning to just fly the stuff over here anyways, and it's probably gonna be heavy enough by myself."

Despite wanting to get some groceries for dinner tonight, Canvas nodded as he realized Troy had a point. Even though he wanted to help him out, the stallion knew an Earth Pony could only do so much without the aid of flight. And considering how tired his legs still felt, Canvas figured he should at least wait until this afternoon to do anything, so he could build up his strength in the meantime.

Looking back to his studio, Canvas sighed before he turned and replied, "Alright, I guess I can do something until you get back. I've been wanting to get the chance to paint for fun again, anyways."

Hoping he didn't disappoint his coltfriend too much, Troy got out of his chair and bent forward, nuzzling Canvas lovingly before he spoke. "I'll be back soon, alright?"

Canvas only nodded as he gave him a smile, kissing him on the cheek before Troy left the barn.

In the months since Troy and Canvas became a couple, the summer months became a part of the past, as the autumn leaves began to appear across Equestria.

As Troy soared above the skies toward Ponyville, he saw how much the leaves had changed color in the recent weeks; the forests were no longer the huge sea of green they were before. Flying through the chilly winds, the Gryphon looked below and saw the massive splashes of different colors underneath his wings, ranging from the brightest yellows to the dullest browns. Seeing how stunning everything looked on the ground, Troy could understand why Canvas would want to paint something today, since inspiration seemed to be in the air already.

Speaking of inspiration, Troy's mind began to ponder during his flight, as he thought back to what Rainbow Dash told him about doing something special during the Grand Galloping Gala. While he knew he had to do something special for his stallion, Troy honestly couldn't think of anything big to do. Most of the romantic gestures he could think of were more appropriate for mares, and he knew he had to do something better for Canvas than flowers or jewelry.

As the autumn leaves began to reveal the town of Ponyville in the distance, Troy decided to put his worries on the back burner for a bit and headed to the post office.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Holding the paintbrush in his mouth, Canvas certainly felt a lot more at ease with his painting than he did before. Since the past few months had all been focused with getting paintings done for others, Canvas hadn't really found the time to do something for himself, or something just for fun. As he felt the handle of the brush between his lips, the end sliding against the canvas board and sending a slight vibration back to his mouth, Canvas felt a lot more relaxed and focused on the colors combining in front of him. Since this new painting helped to make him so calm, the stallion didn't seem to notice or care whenever he moved his head in too closely to the board, making a small smudge of paint stain his snout.

As his painting started to fill more of the white canvas with color to make a purposely abstract piece, Canvas almost didn’t notice when he heard a large “thump” from outside the barn. Hearing the door open from the living space, he heard a large amount of grunting from Troy as something heavy was dragged into the room.

With a big smile on his face, Canvas trotted over to the door from his studio, opening it to see a huge wooden crate in the middle of the main room. Holding a crowbar in his claws, Troy hurriedly pried the crate open, revealing the dozens upon dozens of large brown and blue bottles inside. Even though Troy looked like he was going to start chugging several of the bottles of root beer right at that moment, the Gryphon grabbed a few bottles in each claw before flying into the kitchen and opening the fridge.

"Ooh!" Canvas tried to catch Troy's attention while he tried to cool down the first batch of root beer, holding a hoof up as he said, "Put them in some ice with water and salt! That's supposed to make them cool down faster!"

Troy's head popped out from the kitchen with a surprised look on his face."Really?"

"Yeah,” said the pony with a more confident tone of voice, "I think I heard Twilight say something about that once. I think there's a cooler in one of the bottom shelves."

Nodding to his coltfriend, Troy went back into the kitchen, finding the large, red cooler before he started pouring in ice from the freezer.

"Oh man!" said Troy in an anxious tone of voice as he started putting the bottles of root beer in the ice. "It sucks that it took so long for this order to come in, but I don’t even care anymore!"

Troy turned on the faucet and grabbed the large container of table salt from the top shelf. As he poured the water and salt into the cooler, Troy almost didn’t notice Canvas standing in the doorway with a grin on his muzzle, hearing the ice already begin to crack apart and melt from the other things being added to it. As soon as the cooler was crammed with as many bottles as possible between the freezing slush inside the cooler, Troy turned back to Canvas with a grin on his beak, which scrunched in a little as he tried not to giggle.

"What?" Canvas asked with a confused look on his face, not realizing he still had a large glob of pink paint on his snout.

Trying not to crack up, Troy looked away slightly and tried to stifle his laughter. "You… you've been painting, haven’t you?"

Despite becoming even more confused from how his boyfriend was looking at him, Canvas only nodded as he kept his eyebrow skewed at him. "Yes… yes, I have…"

Knowing the root beer would still take at least five minutes before they're cool enough to drink, Canvas looked back to his studio before turning back to Troy. "Those will probably be good in less than ten minutes, so I'm gonna paint some more, okay?"

Troy only nodded with a smirk before he watched Canvas trot out of the kitchen, making his way back to the studio before Troy could giggle some more. Seeing the small cloud of freezing fog start to cloud around the lip of the cooler, Troy's grin grew even bigger, feeling especially happy that Canvas knew a neat little trick like that. Realizing that it probably would take a few minutes for them to cool, Troy decided to check up on Canvas and see what he was painting.

Walking into the studio, Troy was surprised when he saw Canvas painting with his hoof, using the paintbrush tied to it as he continued with his abstract painting. Not noticing the Gryphon for a moment, Canvas began to swish the brush across the board, giving the piece several aimless swirls of black lines across the pre-existing colors before he heard Troy's talons on the hardwood floor. Turning back to him, Canvas smiled and looked at Troy. His smile slowly diminished as soon as he saw the Gryphon start to giggle again.

"What is it?" said the stallion insistently, putting a hoof to his side as he looked at Troy with a slightly irritated look on his face. Before Troy could say anything, Canvas's eyes began to cross together and he finally noticed the pink paint on his snout.

While Canvas began to blush at the realization of why the Gryphon was acting this way, Troy almost fell to the floor as he busted up laughing. Holding himself up with a foreleg while he brought a claw to his face, Troy kept cracking up as Canvas's face grew redder.

The pony finally spoke up and rolled his eyes. "Okay, ha ha ha, very funny. So that's why you've been eyeing me like a vulture?"

Even though he had difficulty stopping his laughter, Troy still tried to look more serious as he eyed Canvas. "Dude… just so you know, calling me a vulture is kind of a big insult back where I'm from."

"Oh…" Not wanting to upset his boyfriend too much from his own ignorance, Canvas dipped his brush in the can of black paint before walking up to Troy and putting a quick slab across his beak.

"There,” said Canvas with a smirk as Troy stood there, dumbfounded. "Now you look like a toucan!"

While Canvas started to giggle at his own little joke, Troy's eyes narrowed on him before he reached a claw to an open can of paint. Still giggling, Canvas didn’t notice Troy dip his talons in the yellow paint before he slathered them on the pony's face. Canvas's laughing suddenly turned to a gasp as he looked at his boyfriend wide-eyed, not expecting him to do that at all.

"There,” said Troy with his own smirk on his beak, "now you look like… um… a pony covered in paint!"

Standing in silence for a few seconds, Canvas's shocked face slowly turned to a sly grin. His eyes narrowed and focused on the Gryphon. Without looking away, Canvas reached for an open can of paint, making Troy's eyes narrow on him as he did the same. Before Canvas's grin could grow to Cheshire levels, the stallion put up a hoof to Troy, making him pause.

"Wait."

Canvas quickly took the brush off his hoof before picking up a tarp sheet from the ground, holding it in his mouth as he draped it over his current painting. After looking around to make sure nothing important would get ruined, Canvas turned back to Troy with a devilish grin and held onto his can.

"Alright, now we can start!"

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Groaning under her breath, Rainbow Dash looked rather upset as she flew closer to Troy's place. Even though she knew she needed him for this task, she didn’t want to waste time flying here when she could get more done in Ponyville right now.

Seeing Troy and Canvas's barn ahead of her, the cyan mare landed on the ground, noticing that there were already some small paintings that had been added to the coat of white paint outside the home. While it was only on a quarter of one side of the home, the Pegasus could tell that there was already a bit of good stuff painted on it. Even though it mostly amounted to some small doodles and symbols in various colors, it certainly looked like something Canvas would do, matching the style of drawings he had on his art bag.

Before she could knock on the door to their living space on the side, Rainbow Dash heard some banging from the front in the studio. Knowing how busy Canvas was with his painting, the mare figured that he was just busy with a new piece, and that he probably wouldn’t hear her from the side door. Trotting over to the front of the barn, Rainbow didn’t bother knocking as she pulled one of the doors open, hoping the stallion could tell her where Troy was as she stuck her head in.

"Hey Canvas, do yo--WHOOOOA!!!"

Rainbow Dash shot her head out from the studio, flying back several dozen feet in shock as she looked away from the barn and started laughing uncontrollably.

"Sorry guys!" shouted the mare as she began to blush deeply. "I didn’t mean to see that, I swear!"

"Seriously, Dash?!" yelled Troy from inside the studio. "Haven’t you heard of knocking?!"

Before Rainbow Dash could reply, Troy walked out of the studio with an angry look on his face--which was slightly less intimidating, considering he was now completely covered in about ten different colors of paint. Holding a blank canvas board over the lower section of his body with his talons, Troy looked up to the giggling mare hovering in the air with an extremely aggravated look on his face before yelling at her.

"Seriously, Dash, what do you want?! This is my day off!"

"Yeah, I can tell,” said Dash as she looked away from Troy, holding a hoof out to him while she tried to keep herself from cracking up. "I knew he liked painting, but I didn’t expect that!"

As he heard the mare's snickering, Troy began to blush heavily over the annoyed look on his face, which was luckily covered by huge splotches of blue and green paint on him. Hoping to save his situation, Troy looked away from her as he said, embarrassed, "We were… we were having a paint fight…"

"Dude!" Rainbow Dash kept a hoof pointed at Troy as she kept laughing, struggling to keep herself in flight from her difficulty breathing. "That did NOT look like you two were fighting, Troy!"

"Well… it started as a paint fight…”Troy's dark blush was now distinguishable from the paint on his face. He looked down to the ground and fidgeted his talons together.

"But then we started making out in the paint, and one thing led to another--”

"Dude, I don’t want to know!" Feeling her laughter start to subside, Rainbow Dash tried to recompose herself before she looked back to Troy with a more serious look on her face. "I'm sorry for walking in on that, but we need your help with storm prep today."

"Seriously?" Troy asked, obviously annoyed. "I thought Thunderlane was taking care of the storm tonight!"

"He was,” said Rainbow as she put a hoof to the back of her neck, "but he threw out his wing getting the nimbostratus clouds ready. He needs to go to the doctor, and we still need to get this storm going so the leaves can be loosened enough for the Running of the Leaves next month."

Looking back to the open door of the studio--Canvas luckily out of sight from the two of them--Troy groaned as he realized this wasn't something he could just put off. Even though he wanted to spend a nice night alone with Canvas, Troy knew that he was needed for this task if Thunderlane was out of commission. Closing his eyes in frustration, Troy sighed before he looked back up to Rainbow Dash.

"Alright, fine!" Troy looked back to the studio, hoping he wouldn’t upset Canvas too much. "Just give me… twenty minutes to get cleaned up."

Canvas called out from inside the studio, "Make it forty!"

Rainbow Dash looked away as she tried not to giggle, while Troy replied back into the studio, "Thirty minutes?"

“... Okay, honey."

Troy looked back to Rainbow with a satisfied smile on his beak. "I'll be there in thirty minutes."

"Ugh,” said Rainbow as she kept her gaze away from Troy. "Fine, fine. Just clean yourself up and get your vest, alright?"

Troy nodded before Rainbow Dash flew off, heading back to Ponyville. The Gryphon still held the board over his body as he walked back into the studio. Canvas looked at him from behind the red couch, looking rather upset behind the large slabs of yellow and pink paint on his face as he stared at Troy.

"Seriously?" Canvas asked, irritated, "You had to take one of my good canvas boards?"

Looking down at the board, Troy looked back at Canvas with a skewed eyebrow before he replied, "You're seriously mad that I took this? Dude, I took your virginity, for crying out loud!"

Canvas looked even more upset as he glared at the Gryphon. "Wow. I can’t believe you actually went there."

Troy grew a sly smirk on his beak as his golden eyes narrowed on the stallion behind the couch. "I can say that exact same thing about what you did in the shower yesterday."

The aqua stallion began to blush heavily through the paint on his face and looked away sheepishly. "You… you said you liked that."

"Oh, believe me, I do,” said Troy as a grin came up on his beak.

With a loud “whoosh,” Troy's wings shot out fully in the studio as he looked down at Canvas. "And I know you're gonna like what I'm gonna do to you in the next thirty minutes."

Looking back to Troy with a cheeky grin on his muzzle, Canvas's eyes narrowed on the Gryphon before Troy flew towards him, tackling him behind the couch. Canvas started to giggle before a moan escaped him.

"Ooooohhhh… Troy…”

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While his "cleanup" took a little longer than he thought, Troy didn’t seem to mind as he landed in the center of Ponyville with Canvas on his back. Making sure his saddle bag was secure, Canvas gave a quick smooch on the Gryphon's cheek before he pulled himself off. After Troy gave the stallion one last nuzzle, he flew off to meet up with Rainbow Dash, leaving Canvas to do his errands for the day.

Looking around Ponyville, Canvas realized that, due to the storm prep and the dark-grey clouds being applied over the skies, many of the ponies around town were already in their homes. Although he didn’t mind getting a little wet from some rain, Canvas didn’t want to procrastinate and quickly trotted over to the market district.

After giving Troy the task of laying the nimbostratus clouds over the south side of town, Rainbow Dash completed her job as she laid the last of the clouds over the north section. As she landed on the ground and made sure there were no open spots, the mare stretched her wings out, satisfied that she was able to pull this off herself. Because of how much she'd been working, Rainbow managed to use up her entire canteen of water before ending her shift, making her rather parched as she looked around. Seeing the train station nearby, the Pegasus decided to fly over there, knowing she had enough bits to use the vending machines inside.

Figuring that nopony was around the station at that time, Rainbow decided to fly over to the open space of the platform, not realizing that a train just came by moments ago. Just as she was about to turn the corner where the machines are, the Pegasus flew right into a pony, making them both fall to the ground.

Lifting herself up, Rainbow Dash saw that she ran into a rather large green stallion with a messy brown mane, whose equally large saddlebag was now on the ground, all of the items strewn inside lying around the platform floor.

"Oh geez, I'm really sorry!" Rainbow was quick to help pick up some of the items of clothing, putting them into his saddlebag before the stallion snatched it up.

"I-I'm fine, okay?!"

Breathing heavily, the stallion pulled the saddlebag back onto his back before he started picking up the rest of the things himself, trying to avoid the mare as she stood there, embarrassed. While she should've felt a little angry at his rudeness, Rainbow knew better than to start anything with a pony she just ran into.

Looking at the stallion, Rainbow noticed how run-down he looked. Dark, heavy bags hung underneath his eyes. While the heavy wrinkles on his pale-green face could've indicated he was old, Rainbow could tell that the stallion was probably middle-aged at the most. His appearance looked more due from stress than time. Before he put his bag back on himself, the mare noticed what looked to be a golden leaf on his flank, which looked equally as worn as the rest of his pale green coat.

While Rainbow Dash didn’t want to intrude on anypony, the five-o'-clock shadow on his muzzle concerned the mare. She realized that he didn’t look like he'd slept or eaten in days. Noticing an old, rolled-up newspaper on the ground, Rainbow picked it up to give to him, before looking at which one it was.

Opening the paper, the Pegasus saw that it was from the Manehatten Post and displayed the picture of Canvas with Celestia that'd been sent to almost every paper in Equestria. Underneath the photo of Canvas's smiling face beside the Goddess laid the headline in a bold font:

Canterlot Castle to Receive its Very First Painting from an Earth Pony

Before she could start reading the article--or wonder why the hay sompeony was still holding onto a paper this old--Rainbow Dash felt the paper quickly get pulled from her hooves as the stallion snatched it away. Before she could say anything about his attitude, the stallion's face slowly went from annoyance to remorse. He slowly looked away from the mare and looked to the ground. Keeping his eyes on the hardwood ground underneath his worn hooves, the green stallion slowly opened his mouth as he spoke, his voice coming out in a cracked, deep whisper.

"I… I'm sorry. I… I just need that."

Rainbow Dash blinked a few times and tried to figure out what was up with this guy. Looking at his large saddlebag, his ragged appearance, and the newspaper, the mare cleared her throat before she said to him, "Um, sir… excuse me if I'm being rude or anything, but… Are you like a bum or something?"

The stallion glanced at the mare with a skewed eyebrow, looking like she just asked if he was a Changeling. "Excuse me?"

"Because I think there's a shelter nearby if you need to--"

"That's not why I'm here!" insisted the stallion as he secured the straps of his saddlebag. "I… I was here for something else."

With Rainbow Dash standing before him with a confused look on her face, the green stallion looked back to the newspaper in his hooves, looking at the worn headline picture gravely. Closing his eyes, the stallion sighed before he rolled the paper and put it back in his saddlebag, making sure he tucked it in carefully.

Narrowing her eyes as she tried understand what's going on, Rainbow cautiously put a hoof to the stallion's shoulder, catching his attention before she asked, "Hey, are you okay? I mean, what are you in Ponyville for?"

The stallion stayed silent for a few seconds and looked away from the Pegasus, glancing back to his bag for a second before she spoke again.

"Are…” Rainbow looked to the stallion's bag, remembering the paper he had before she continued, "Are you looking for Canvas or something?"

The stallion quickly shot his head back to her as he stared, wide-eyed. "You know him?!”

Breathing heavily, the stallion was starting to worry Rainbow Dash as he kept his gaze on her, waiting for an answer.

"Umm… yeah, I do,” said Rainbow cautiously as she looked away from the pony before her. "He… he's a nice guy. Why, are you looking for a painting from him or something?"

"No, no, no, no,” muttered the stallion as he shook his head, looking down to the ground. Still breathing heavily, the stallion closed his eyes while Rainbow Dash stood in front of him, waiting for his answer before he spoke in a more somber tone of voice.

"I'm not a client or anything. Canvas, he...

“... He's my son."

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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."

Reaching a section of Ponyville where nopony else was present, Canvas slowed down and caught his breath. Feeling his heart sinking down to his stomach, he turned his head back to make sure that stallion wasn't there. Breathing heavily, Canvas could feel himself shaking from fear, absolutely horrified that Copper managed to find him here. Even though he knew his recent success would cause some extra attention, the last thing that Canvas wanted was to ever see that stallion again.

Walking into a nearby alley, Canvas clenched his eyes shut as he held himself up against one of the brick walls, wanting to get back home as soon as possible. While he swore he saw Troy while he was running through the Market District, Canvas had no idea where the Gryphon was now. He wished nothing more than to be back with him again.

Remembering how much Troy helped him when he finally confessed what his father did to him that night, Canvas's chest started to ache as he realized his love wasn't around to hold him or help him out. Knowing that stallion was back in his life again, Canvas felt like he was going to start crying at any moment as he tried to forget that he was just running from somepony that almost destroyed his life.

Hearing several hoofsteps galloping up from the distance, Canvas ducked behind one of the trash cans by the wall, praying to any Princess listening that Copper wouldn’t find him. Slowly looking over the top of one of the cans, Canvas sighed in slight relief as he saw Lyra and Bon-Bon, looking around worriedly before they noticed him.

Even though he wanted Troy more than anyone else, Canvas still ran toward the mares as fast as he could, tears rolling down his cheeks as he latched himself onto them. Hearing the stallion's rapid breathing as he held onto them with both hooves, Bon-Bon was quick to try to alleviate him as she hugged back.

"Canvas, what's wrong?" asked the mare with concern. "We saw you running past our shop like something was on fire! Are you alright?"

Trying to slow his breathing down enough to talk, Canvas took a moment before he let go of the mares, still looking terrified as he spoke in a shaky voice.

"He… he… he found me…”

"Who found you?" Lyra asked worriedly. "What are you talking about?"

Before Canvas could answer as he turned to the unicorn, his eyes shot wide open as he screamed, running away for the two back into the alley as he saw who was behind them. Turning their heads to see what freaked out Canvas so much, Lyra and Bon-Bon saw the green stallion galloping towards them, looking rather ragged and slightly beaten as he screamed out to his son.

"CANVAS!!” shouted Copper as he tried hobbling to the alley he saw Canvas go in. "Canvas, I need to talk to you!"

Before he could get within ten feet of the entrance to the alley, a mint-green aura grabbed him by the neck. Lyra pushed him against the wall, pinning him there with her lit horn as she said in a serious tone, "Sir, I don’t know who you are, but you're really scaring our friend, so you better stop chasing him around!"

Struggling against the aura, Copper tried to pull himself off from the wall as he spoke in a frantic tone. "Ma'am, please! I'm his father, I just wanted to talk with him! I need to tell hi--"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!"

Hearing Canvas's voice from behind her, Lyra turned her head back to the alley, ducking just in time as a trash can came flying towards them. As the can struck Copper right in the gut, Lyra and her wife stepped back from the alley. Canvas kept screaming.

Even though they wanted him to stop acting out and causing a scene in the middle of the street, neither of the mares wanted to risk getting hit by Canvas's barrage of items as he kept throwing trash cans at Copper. After being nearly massacred by the Gryphon earlier, Copper barely felt the metal canisters as they struck him and sent garbage flying out while he desperately tried to speak to Canvas.

"Canvas, please!! I jus--"

"I SAID STAY THE BUCK AWAY FROM ME!!!"

As Canvas kept screaming his head off and throwing things at Copper to keep him away, ponies began to run over to the street when they heard the crashing and commotion. As a small crowd started to form and keep their distance from what looked to be a big domestic dispute, Troy swooped down and landed hard on the street, shaking the ground a little as he glared at Copper.

Before he could move forward and seriously hurt him, Troy noticed Canvas throwing everything he could at the stallion, seeing how furious the aqua pony was right now. As he looked back at Copper and saw he wasn't trying to move towards Canvas any more, Troy's eyes narrowed.

He kept his spot on the ground, realizing this was something his lover needed to do. Seeing the fury burning in his blue eyes, Troy stood silent by the growing crowd, not wanting to interfere as he saw that Canvas was finally about to face his past.

After throwing one more can towards Copper, missing his head by less than an inch as it smashed against the wall behind him, Canvas just stood at the entrance of the alleyway, breathing heavily as he glared at the stallion he once called his father.

Breathing shakily himself, Copper held up a hoof slowly and tried to talk with his son, his voice trembling with worry as he spoke.

"Canvas… Canvas, please… I… just want to talk."

"Talk… you… you want to talk?!"

As Canvas's yelled out that last part, his breathing came out in an oddly rapid rate of gasps, sounding like a whispered form of laughter as he kept his furious stare on Copper. As Canvas continued to speak, his voice came out increasingly louder, each word coming out harder and more frantic than the last.

"You just want to talk, huh? Well… doesn’t that sound bucking familiar?! 'I just want to talk, Dad.' 'Please, listen to me Dad.' 'Why are you yelling at me, Dad?!' 'Please let me go of me, Dad!!' 'STOP HITTING ME, DAD!!!' YOU REMEMBER THAT?!?!"

Copper only stood still as he took his son's verbal onslaught, wincing as he saw how enraged Canvas was becoming. Many of the ponies in the crowd could be heard gasping and looking worried as they heard Canvas's words, most of them not noticing when Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash flew in.

Before either of them could move through the crowd to break up the fight, a claw came out in front of the two to keep them in place. Keeping his eyes on the two ponies in front of him, Troy held the panicked mares back as he watched, hoping his love would finally be able to confront something that hurt him so badly.

Scrunching his face in a little, Copper breathed in before he tried speaking again, hoping he could talk his son down. "Canvas, I… I know I made a mistake. I should've ne--"

"A mistake?!" Canvas snapped before he started shouting furiously, "A MISTAKE?! YOU CALL WHAT YOU DID TO ME A BUCKING MISTAKE?!?!”

Growing more fearful, Copper started shaking as he tried to keep talking. Before he could open his mouth, Copper was interrupted as Canvas kept yelling at him in front of the growing crowd.

"You can NOT call what you did to me a mistake! Falling down the stairs is a mistake! Forgetting to deliver a bill on time is a mistake! Breaking a vase accidentally is a mistake! HOW COULD YOU SAY THAT BEATING AND THROWING OUT YOUR OWN SON WAS JUST A MISTAKE?!”

Hearing more horrified gasps from the crowd, Copper cringed as he looked away from his son for a moment, not wanting to see the aqua pony fuming at him. As he slowly turned back to Canvas, Copper's voice came out faintly, sounding almost like a cracked whisper as he tried to talk, a shameful look on his face. "I… I didn’t mean to hurt you like tha--”

"YOU SMASHED A WHISKEY BOTTLE IN MY BUCKING FACE!!!” Canvas screamed with all his fury as fresh tears streamed down his face. "YOU SHATTERED MY SKULL AND LEFT ME OUT TO DIE!!! HOW THE BUCK CAN YOU SAY YOU DIDN’T MEAN TO DO THAT?!?!"

Even though most of the ponies in Ponyville knew that something bad happened to Canvas, only Troy knew about it being Canvas's own father who did it. At hearing Canvas's infuriated cries towards Copper, there wasn't a single pony in the crowd who didn’t look horribly shocked as they looked at them.

Among the stunned faces and gasps from the crowd, Lyra and Bon-Bon looked especially horrified, staring at Copper, appalled as they remembered how their friend looked with those bandages on him. Putting a hoof to her mouth, Lyra's glare was burning straight into Copper as she recalled how scared Canvas looked because of that bag, now knowing the reason why he looked so terrified as a tear came down her cheek. Still in disbelief that something like that could happen, the unicorn's stare on Copper became more intense as she spoke out.

"That… that was you!?"

Hearing all the gasps and disgusted reactions from the ponies around him, Copper started shaking as he kept his attention on Canvas, not wanting to give up after coming so far. Even though he was sure somepony was going to try to stop him if he kept going, Copper tried to breathe in before he spoke in a whimper to his son.

"Canvas, I… I'm so sorr--"

"SHUT UP!" shouted Canvas as he glared at him. "Don’t you dare try to act like you're bucking innocent!!"

Copper pursed his lips shut, knowing that nothing was going to get through as he saw tears coming down Canvas's face. Even though a huge array of emotions was flowing through him at finally confronting his father, anger was coming out faster than the others as Canvas kept talking, his voice coming out both cracked and enraged as he spoke.

"I did everything for you… Everything I did, was to prove everypony back home wrong… To make you proud of me for once…”

Before Copper could interrupt Canvas to tell him otherwise, the aqua stallion kept going, not noticing his tears hitting the dirt underneath him as he kept his attention on his father. Even though he tried to keep his anger in front, Canvas's voice couldn’t hold back from sobbing as he yelled at Copper.

"You were never there for me after Mom! After she died, you… you barely even talked to me! You just left me alone for the longest time… you barely bucking acknowledged me!! But… when I was graduating… that was the only time you looked proud of me…”

Canvas looked down to the ground underneath him, seeing his tears hit the ground as he spoke in a more hushed tone.

"I… I thought you loved me…”

Copper tried stepping forward, looking especially horrible as he desperately tried to speak.

"Canvas, I always lov--”

"AND THEN YOU TOOK EVERYTHING AWAY FROM ME!!” Canvas screamed as he looked back up to Copper venomously. "YOU WERE ALL I HAD, AND YOU HURT ME WORSE THAN ANY OF THEM EVER DID!!!”

Breathing heavily, Canvas kept his bloodthirsty stare on his father, feeling more tears come out as Copper tried to speak in a more insistent tone.

"Canvas, I always loved you!" shouted Copper as he tried getting closer to Canvas, not caring about the ponies around him. He struggled to speak as clearly as he could through his cracked voice. "I know I should've been there more for you, and I wish I could change that! But, Canvas, you have to believe me, I never meant to do any of that to you!!"

Despite how genuine Copper's desperate pleas were, Canvas just kept his glare as he opened his mouth. Before the aqua pony could speak, his father kept going, now shouting as he frantically tried to explain himself.

"I was drunk, Canvas!! I was completely wasted that night, I barely remember a single thing that happened!!”

"So you think that excuses you from almost killing me?" said Canvas coldly.

Even with his newfound dedication in speaking to his son, Copper still winced as Canvas said that, faltering for a second before he continued, "Canvas, I'm sorry! I know what I did was horrible, but you have to believe me! I've been trying to look for you ever since that night so I can apologize!"

Canvas only shook his head in disbelief as he looked away from his dad, turning away as Copper's pleads grew louder.

"Canvas, I've been running everywhere in Equestria to try to find you!! I went to every single town I could find just to make sure you weren't dead!! I haven't slept or eaten in days! I spent every bit I had just to get a train ticket here!! I sacrificed everything I had because of you!!"

Canvas suddenly turned back to Copper with tears coming down his face, glaring at him as he spoke in a cold tone, whimpering.

"And I tried to kill myself because of you."

Another collection of gasps could be heard throughout the crowd, none of which noticed by Copper as he stood, frozen in a stunned state. Even though his mouth was hung open, no words came as he looked at his son, mortified, feeling an even larger wave of shame flow through him as he realized how bad his actions really were. Before he could speak up or try to apologize, Copper heard Canvas continue to speak through his aggravated tears.

"You took everything from me. You were the only thing I had after Mom, and you… you broke my bucking heart when I needed you most! Nopony in that town hurt me nearly as bad as you! None of them made me feel as horrible as you did! None of them ripped apart everything I've done in front of my eyes! None of them...

“None of them made me lose my will to live until you."

Copper's head was now hanging down to the ground in shame, his whole body shaking as he took in Canvas's words. Not caring whether or not he was looking at him, Canvas kept speaking as his tone got angrier, letting everything out that he wanted to say for so long.

"You remember what you said to me before you slammed the door in my face?! When you left me out in the bucking rain with nothing?! DO YOU?!"

Copper still kept his head lowered to the ground, not phasing Canvas as he kept speaking.

"I was always there for you. I was always, ALWAYS there for you! I was there for you after Mom died! I kept the house clean and made you dinner when you worked late! I worked my flank off to get a good education, so you wouldn’t have to worry about me when I left! I did everything I could to make you love me, but none of that mattered when I came out, did it?!

“No, I was just a 'worthless bucking freak,’ right?! I was 'better off dead,’ right?! YOUR BUCKING WORDS!!!"

Through more gasps from the ponies around him, Copper started shaking more, keeping his head glued to the ground and hiding his face as his son kept yelling.

"You know how that feels?! You know how it feels, to have the only pony who ever cared about you say something like that?! You were the only thing I had. YOU WERE THE ONLY BUCKING THING I EVER HAD!!! I never did anything to hurt you! I stayed in school, I didn’t smoke or do any drugs, and I did everything I could to be the perfect bucking son to you!! But what did it all mean to you? Huh?! Did none of it matter to you after that night? Was having a gay son so bad for you, that you had to treat me like a bucking punching bag before throwing me out in the rain?!”

Canvas caught his breath for a moment, not noticing the crowd standing in stunned silence while he kept his attention on Copper, breathing in before he uttered one final statement.

"How… how could you even stand there and say you're my father after doing that?"

"CANVAS, PLEASE STOP!!!"

Although he was little surprised to hear Copper yell like that, Canvas kept his angry eyes on him, not speaking, since he’d said everything already. As Copper slowly lifted his head, Canvas's eyes widened as he saw his father's face, not expecting to see what was underneath.

Tears. Many of them. All rolling down Copper's face as he stared at his son.

In all the years Canvas lived with his father, he always knew him to be a strong stallion. He barely showed much emotion, he didn’t speak much--especially after his wife's death. And he almost never, ever, cried. Canvas could only recall one time in his life where he ever saw Copper shed a tear or two, and that was after the funeral reception, when he thought he was alone.

But now, in the middle of town, with dozens of ponies watching, the sides of Copper's face were soaked with his own tears, matting his faded-green fur as he looked at his son. Carrying the deepest look of guilt and shame as he looked at him, Copper's voice came out in a pathetic whimper as he spoke to Canvas.

"Please… Canvas, please… I… I'm so sorry."

Despite seeing his father like this, Canvas didn’t falter as he kept his glare on him, not wanting to give any sign of weakness as he listened to Copper's cries.

"I know that I hurt you… I… I know that I did horrible things to you… But… but you have to believe me. I'm so sorry."

After a couple seconds of silence, Canvas only shook his head before he started walking away.

"Just stay away from me,” Canvas said as he began to walk towards the crowd. "Go back to Gallop Creek."

"Please, Canvas, just listen to me!" pleaded Copper as he tried rushing over to his son. "I can’t go back there, not after everything else!"

When Copper tried running over to his son, Canvas quickly threw his hooves up and pushed him away, throwing him to the ground before screaming furiously. "DON'T BUCKING TOUCH ME!!!"

As his breathing came out in gasping sobs, more tears began to show on Copper's face as his tone became more desperate. "Canvas, you're the only thing that I have! I don't have anything left!"

"NEITHER DID I!!” screamed Canvas as he turned back to Copper, keeping a particularly nasty tone while staring down his whimpering father, who was lying on the ground. "I didn't have a single bucking thing, so don’t you dare act like a victim!!”

Canvas began to walk out from the crowd once more, ignoring Copper, who tried to pull himself from the ground. Not noticing the dirt on his fur or tears matted on his face, Copper looked at his son with absolute desperation as he screamed out frantically.

"Canvas, please!!! I ca--”

"I SAID, LEAVE ME ALONE!!!" shouted Canvas as he kept himself turned away from him. "You already did enough damage!"

As Canvas lifted a hoof to move forward once more, Copper screamed out as loud as he could to stop his son.

"CANVAS. PLEASE, I'M BEGGING YOU!!!"

Canvas's hooves stopped moving and he stood frozen at the spot. Slowly turning his head back towards him, Canvas carried a surprised expression on his still-angry face as he looked over to his father. Still shedding tears, Copper only stood at his spot as he looked Canvas dead in the eyes, looking miserable when his voice came out in a whimper to his son.

"I never begged for anything in my life… But… but I don't have anything left, Canvas…”

Turning around so he was now facing Copper, Canvas kept a gaze on his father in silence as he heard him speak.

"I… I really have nothing left… I don’t even have a home."

Canvas's eyes widened a little as he heard Copper's statement, staring in slight disbelief as he tried to process what he just heard.

“... What… what do you mean?"

"I quit my job, Canvas!" shouted Copper as he tried pleading to his son again. "I haven’t worked since that night! I've spent all my time trying to find you! I went everywhere I could and I spent every bit I had! I…”

Copper's head hung low again, making his tears hit the dirt underneath him as he finished his statement.

“... I… I even sold the house."

Canvas's eyes opened even wider, growing more upset as he realized his childhood home was now gone.

"What?!"

"I sold everything I had!!” shouted Copper when he looked back up to his son while crying. "I gave up everything I had to try to find you! The moment I sobered up and realized what I did, I gave up everything to try and find you!!"

Canvas stood still for several seconds, letting his father's words sink in as he looked at him. Even with the tears and desperation on his face, Canvas couldn't see anything in Copper other than the bastard who destroyed his art and beat him so heartlessly. Despite hearing his father's sobs, Canvas began to walk away again before speaking in a cold tone.

"Well, now you found me. So go."

"CANVAS, PLEASE!!!” Copper screamed, his cries now came out in bawls to his son. "You're all that I have!! I can’t lose you, Canvas! I lost everything else in my life, and I can’t lose the only thing I have left that matters to me!I lost my job, I lost my house, I lost all of my possessions, and I lost your mother, but I CAN’T LOSE YOU!!!"

Canvas stopped walking, keeping his head away from his father while he heard his desperate begging. Feeling his anger building up, Canvas's hooves began digging into the ground as Copper kept bawling to him. With tears streaming from his eyes along his matted fur, Copper no longer cared about his own shame as he tried as hard as he could to keep his son in his life. Screaming through his sobs, Copper kept pleading to his motionless son while the crowd of ponies watched in silence.

"PLEASE!!! Please, Canvas, I'm sorry! I'm so, so sorry!! You're all that I have left!!! Please… please… don't leave me!! If I could go back in time and change things, I would, Canvas!!"

Canvas grit his teeth, feeling his rage beginning to seep out while his dad kept begging as loud as he could.

"I wish I could take back everything that happened that night, Canvas!! I wish I could go back and never do any of those things to you!! I WISH I COULD TAKE BACK EVERYTHING I DID!!! I WISH I COULD TAKE BACK EVERY WORD I SAID!!!"

At that moment, Canvas turned his head back to Copper, glaring at him as he spoke in a low and venomous tone.

"And I wish you died instead of Mom."

With his mouth hung open, Copper's pupils shrank into his welling eyes as he stood, speechless. In his frozen state, the green stallion was just as stunned as the rest of the ponies around him when Canvas began walking toward him. Feeling his hatred still building up, Canvas no longer yelled, and kept his voice as cold and soulless as he could while speaking to his father.

"I don’t care what you have to say to me, and I don't care how sorry you think you are. After everything you put me through, after almost killing me, you stopped being my father the moment you threw me out."

Not caring about how devastated Copper looked, Canvas walked right up to his tear-matted face, glaring into his eyes as he spoke as venomously as possible.

"You. Are. Dead. To. Me."

Not waiting to see his reaction, Canvas walked away again as more tears came from Copper's face, who was unable to make a sound or movement from his horrified shock. Without looking back, Canvas stopped for a moment and finished his last words to him.

"Stay out of my life. I never want to see you again."

With that, Canvas slowly walked his way out of the crowd. The ponies around him stepped back to let him pass. As he walked, nopony said a word as they watched him move away from Copper, many of whom too shocked or scared to confront him at that moment.

Seeing that Copper was finished with, Troy quickly made his way through the crowd and caught up with Canvas, keeping himself close to him as they walked. Even with Troy's wing over him, Canvas didn’t seem to react much as he kept walking away, making the rest of the ponies turn back to Copper in the middle of the street.

Even though there wasn't a single pony in that crowd who didn’t want to hurt that stallion for hurting his own child, nopony moved towards Copper as they saw how devastated he looked. Standing on the road in a frozen state, his mouth was still hung open as tears rolled down his stunned face, hitting the ground underneath his hooves as he let his son's words sink in.

After several seconds of still silence from the stallion, Copper let out a sob before his hooves gave out, making him fall on his flank as he started crying. While Copper began to sob in the middle of the street with his eyes clenched shut, many ponies began to walk off, either from guilt or from disappointment as they left him alone.

As Lyra and Bon-Bon rushed off to check on Canvas--not before Lyra gave one last glare to Copper--Twilight Sparkle stood at her spot, looking at the stallion with intense disdain before she felt a hoof touch her shoulder. Looking over, Twilight saw Rainbow Dash looking at her, motioning to follow her to leave.

Hearing Copper's sobs, Twilight looked back to him as she put a hoof up to Rainbow. Surprised at the alicorn's reaction, the cyan mare was about to say something before Twilight spoke.

"Rainbow Dash,” said the Princess in a particularly cold tone without looking over to her friend, "I want you to go to the train station and buy a ticket. Then come back here and give it to him so he can leave. Do you understand?"

Even though she was in slight disbelief that Twilight wasn't going to arrest Copper (or at least turn him into an orange or something), Rainbow Dash nodded in silence before she shot off, leaving the lavender pony alone as she stood in front of Copper.

Even though she felt a huge surge of rage flowing through her at finally meeting the pony who hurt Canvas like that, Twilight Sparkle didn’t move from her spot as she recalled Celestia's words, realizing what she meant when she said this was more complicated than she originally thought. While she knew she could easily have him arrested or detained, the look on his face was painful enough for the Princess to see that he went through enough, leaving her to stand at her spot as she watched in pity.

As she waited for Rainbow Dash to come back so she could leave Copper alone, Twilight stood at her spot, not saying a word as she watched him cry.

Canvas didn't utter a single word while he walked to the Ponyville town limits. Despite Troy keeping himself as close as possible to the pony, Canvas seemed unaware of anything around him as he looked forward, keeping a blank expression on his face that worried the Gryphon more and more with each passing minute. Even though he knew that his boyfriend would be in a distressed state after what just happened with his father, Troy was hoping to get some sign of emotion from Canvas by the time the town limits were behind them. Before Troy could take a chance by speaking to him, he heard Canvas start to breathe harder as his walking slowed down.

Looking over to him, Troy saw that the stallion was looking at the ground in a saddened state, looking like he was about to start crying as he stopped walking altogether. Hearing his lover's breathing come out faster, Troy knew what was going to happen, making him quickly move to the front of Canvas as he held him to his chest.

For a moment, Canvas stayed silent as his head sunk into the feathers on Troy's chest, worrying the Gryphon even more as he realized he didn’t know what else to do for him; however, Canvas's forelegs slowly began to rise up as they met around Troy's back, clutching him tightly before the sound of sobbing came out muffled through the Gryphon's chest. Troy slowly lowered his head, letting his chin rest on the top of Canvas's head as he spoke in a quiet tone of voice, hoping to calm the crying stallion down after everything that happened.

"It's alright,” Troy said as he began stroking Canvas's mane with his talons, "I'm right here, Canvas. I'll always be here for you."

Despite speaking as gently and sincerely as he could, Troy could still hear Canvas crying as he held him, making him hug tighter to help verify his promise.

"Canvas, it's okay now. You don’t have to worry about him anymore!"

"I know,” whimpered the stallion as he kept his face buried in his lover's feathers, "I just…"

Canvas paused for a moment, trying to remember what he was going to say as he slowly let Troy's warmth sink in.

"I… I just don't know what to do right now. I… I don't know how to feel right now."

Even though he certainly felt some gratitude for finally facing down his father like that, Canvas still felt extremely conflicted as he let what happened set in. Despite how badly Copper treated him that horrible night, hurting him back like that didn't give Canvas the feeling of satisfaction he thought he would get.

While the first few moments after he said all that felt absolutely gratifying to the stallion, that feeling faded the more he thought about what he did. Even though he couldn’t say he felt guilty about what he said to Copper, knowing that he truly meant every word as it came out as maliciously as possible, Canvas still wasn't sure if it was really worth doing. Before he could let his confusion sink any deeper, Canvas felt a talon lift up his chin as Troy had him look into his shining golden eyes, staring back at him with the utmost sincerity and beauty.

"Canvas, I know you went through a lot,” said Troy in a calm and soothing voice as a gracious smile came up on his beak. "But I'm really happy for you right now. You stood up for yourself, and you didn’t need any help to do it. You really are strong, and you managed to stand your ground against somepony who deserved it."

Despite how tranquil Troy looked as he spoke, Canvas still felt a weight in his gut as he remembered how his father looked. Seeing that tear-stained face in his mind, recalling all the things he said in front of everypony without any remorse or shame, Canvas couldn’t help but wonder whether his lover was right.

Did he really deserve that?

Even after everything else, was that…

Was that the right thing to do to him?

As Canvas stood motionless and lost in his thoughts, the Gryphon started to look worried as he saw how morose the stallion was becoming. Troy then held Canvas against his chest again, making the stallion blush as he savored his boyfriend's soft feathers against his fur.

"Canvas, there's nothing that matters to me more than you. No matter what happens, no matter what comes our way, I want you to know that I will always be here for you."

Hearing the Gryphon's soothing voice, Canvas felt his heart begin to warm up again, despite the looming pressure still holding it down in his chest. Slowly, Canvas lifted his head back up to see Troy's face, giving him a faint smile on his muzzle as he became lost in his eyes again.

Before any more words could be spoken, Canvas moved his head up to Troy's as they kissed under the overcast skies. Holding the Gryphon in place with his lips, Canvas tried to lose himself to his love for Troy. However, the growing tension was keeping him from truly enjoying the kiss, and he slowly pulled his head back.

As Troy looked at him with concern, Canvas started to feel even more upset, making him scrunch his face in before speaking to the Gryphon.

"Troy… I… I still don’t…”

The stallion took a breath before he could continue, clenching his eyes shut as he opened his mouth. "It just doesn’t feel right! I… I know I shouldn't feel bad for doing that, but… I just don’t know what to think about it."

"Canvas, look at me,” said Troy in a surprisingly serious tone. Looking up, Canvas saw Troy looking at him in a more intense stare, moving in closer as he spoke. "What Copper did to you was one of the worst things a parent could do. You know what happens to abusive parents like that in the Gryphon Kingdom?

“They get beheaded!"

Canvas's eyes widened a little, starting to feel more worried as he saw how intensely Troy spoke about this.

"Canvas, you were almost killed because of him! He almost murdered you! For something that wasn't your fault at all! If I never found you…”

Troy closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to keep himself from tearing up before he went on.

"Canvas, I've spent so many nights thinking about what you said about him, and… and all I could think about is how miserable my life would've been if you were never here. You… you made my life so much better and… and I know I couldn’t be happier with anyone else."

Even with the pressure still building inside him, Canvas couldn’t help but muster a weak smile as he saw how much he meant to Troy. Holding Canvas close, Troy started to look more sullen as he spoke, hoping to help Canvas overcome his confusion.

"But none of that would've happened if I never found you! Canvas… you can’t feel guilty about hurting somepony like him! After knowing how badly he treated you… after I held you that night when you finally talked about it… and I saw how much pain he put you through…”

Feeling tears coming out, Troy threw his forelegs around Canvas as he hugged him, struggling to control his building emotions before finishing his statement.

"Canvas, I can never forgive him for doing that! I can’t forgive someone who almost took you away from me like that! Not after all the time we spent together, not after falling in love with you so much! And I know that no pony who would do that to you should ever be called a parent!"

Realizing how strongly Troy felt about everything involving this, Canvas felt himself tearing up as well as he hugged him back. In that moment, Canvas could tell that what Troy was saying was right; even though the way he treated Copper was hurtful, Canvas knew that Troy was speaking truthfully about this. Despite seeing how much that stallion regretted hurting him like that, Canvas felt the same way that Troy did: he could never forgive somepony like Copper for causing him so much pain and sorrow.

As Canvas held the Gryphon tight and felt the tears hit the fur on his shoulders, Troy spoke in a whimpered tone and nuzzled his lover.

"Canvas, you shouldn’t regret what you said to him. I know you hurt him, but.. but he hurt you so much more."

Troy then opened his eyes as he pulled his head back, looking straight into Canvas's moistened blue eyes as he spoke.

"You can’t let this get to you. You did what you had to do… and you shouldn't think otherwise about that. You'll always have me… and I will always love you for being the brave and caring pony you are."

Exhaling, Canvas felt his heart get a lot lighter as he heard Troy's words. Realizing the Gryphon was right, Canvas could feel his tensions slip away as he moved in again, kissing him properly as he savored the moment for once. While the kiss was fairly brief, neither of them seemed to mind as they hugged again, sharing their warmth as Canvas felt easier about what happened.

As they stood at that spot in the middle of the road, holding each other tightly to overcome their shared troubles, the sound of hoofsteps interrupted the two as Lyra and Bon-Bon galloped toward them.

"Canvas!" shouted Lyra as she ran toward the stallion, looking especially distraught as she hugged him tightly. As Troy stepped back from them, he noticed Bon-Bon trying to catch her breath before she spoke.

"Honey!" wheezed the mare as she looked at her wife, panting between her words. "You… shouldn’t have… interrupted them!"

"I don’t care!" shouted the unicorn as she held on to Canvas. Looking like she was going to break down any second, Lyra kept her eyes on Canvas as she spoke in a saddened tone. "Canvas, I… Ican’t believe that happened to you! Wh… why didn’t you tell us?!"

Canvas's face scrunched in as he looked away, feeling a new wave of guilt from keeping this info from his friends. Remembering how Lyra and Bon-Bon were the first ponies to be there for him when he came to Ponyville, Canvas started to feel bad about not telling them any of this. Biting his lip, Canvas looked back to the mare in front of him, looking especially upset as he began to speak.

"I… I'm sorry I never told you. I… I tried to keep it away from everypony as long as I could… even myself…”

Canvas's gaze sunk down to the ground as he continued. "Only Troy knew about it, and that was just because I accidentally blurted it out to him after that moment with Hot Shot…”

Remembering how he acted that night, Lyra slowly nodded as she started to understand. Even though she wished he told them about this--especially after ensuring him they would listen to anything he said that first night they met--both the unicorn and her wife could tell this was something a lot bigger than either of them could've expected.

Looking back to her wife, Lyra saw that Bon-Bon understood as well as the mare walked up and placed a hoof on Canvas's shoulder. Keeping a calm smile on her muzzle, Bon-Bon carried a gentle tone of voice as she spoke to him.

"Canvas, you don't have to explain. I wish you told us about this sooner, but… but we get it. You went through something really terrible, and… and I can see why it would be hard to talk about."

With that, Bon-Bon bent in and gave Canvas a gentle hug, keeping him there as she spoke. "You're still a great friend, Canvas. And you always have been. Never forget that."

Feeling a faint smile creep up on his muzzle, Canvas hugged Bon-Bon back, holding her tightly as he tried not to cry again. "Th-thanks, Bon-Bon."

As soon as the mare let go, Troy was by Canvas's side again, holding him closely with his wing as they stood opposite Lyra and Bon-Bon. Canvas rested his head by Troy's side, hoping to savor his warmth some more before Lyra spoke up.

"Canvas,” said Lyra in a worried tone of voice, "do you two want to come with us? We were planning to make dinner, and you're more than welcome to join us tonight."

The unicorn looked over to her wife, seeing her nod in agreement before she turned back to Canvas.

"Besides,” said the mare in a more optimistic tone, "Bon-Bon was trying out a new flavor of hard candy."

Even with her small smile, Lyra could tell that Canvas had more pressing matters at hoof as he stood closer to Troy.

"That's really nice of you,” said Canvas as he spoke in a tired tone, "but right now I just want to go home and rest."

Seeing how exhausted the stallion was looking, Lyra sighed before nodding. "Alright, I understand."

After they each gave him one last hug, Lyra and Bon-Bon began to walk back into town. It wasn't until Canvas and Troy were about to walk away that Lyra turned back, looking at Canvas with a more insistent tone as she spoke.

"Canvas, I really think we should talk about this sometime."

As Canvas looked back at her, the unicorn spoke with a stern tone of voice as she showed she wasn't being flexible about this. "I know I'm asking for a lot, and I don’t want you to think you have to do something you don’t have to do. But I really think you should be more open about this with us, because, you know, we're your friends."

Canvas blinked a few times before he nodded, giving a faint smile to show he understood. Even though he really didn't feel like talking about this right now, he agreed that he owed the mares an explanation. Soon after, the two couples went back to their homes. Canvas walked with a better appreciation for his friends and Troy.

Feeling the pony under his wing, Troy hoped to make sure Canvas was really alright, not wanting to see his love deal with any more unneeded guilt. All of the Gryphon's worries about his coltfriend were put on hold as they reached their home.

Neither of them were sure what the heck to think when they saw who was waiting for them at their barn. Sitting in front of their door with her head hung low, Rainbow Dash sat motionless as Canvas and Troy walked up to her. Seeing how still the cyan mare was, both of them were sure she was asleep at their doorstep.

However, her head immediately shot upward at hearing them walk up to her, surprising them both as they saw how horrible she looked. With heavy lines under her saddened eyes and her mane still messy, the Pegasus looked absolutely miserable as she shot up to her hooves and ran to Canvas.

"Canvas, I’m so sorry!" shouted Rainbow Dash as she grabbed Canvas and hugged him as tight as she could, clenching her eyes shut as she spoke with the most sincere guilt in her cracking voice. "I had no idea he did that to you! I swear to Celestia, I would've never tried doing anything for him if I knew about that!"

Remembering how she was acting towards him for almost killing Copper, Troy was quick to put a claw to her shoulder, hoping to calm her down as he spoke. "Dash, you don't have to expla--"

"YES I DO!" screamed the mare as she let go of Canvas and looked over at Troy. Seeing that Rainbow looked like she was about to cry, Troy wasn't sure what to do as he just listened to her attempt at redemption.

"You tried to keep that guy away from Canvas, and I kicked you in the face! You knew who he was, and you knew what he did, but I kept you from helping your boyfriend when he needed you! I should've known you had a reason for being like that, but…."

Rainbow Dash hung her head to the ground as she paused, breathing heavily as she tried as hard as she could to hold back any tears from her magenta eyes.

"I…” The mare said in a more shaky voice than before, "I feel horrible… I… I let you down."

"No you didn't!" shouted Troy as he stared at Rainbow with a wave of anger, not wanting to see her act this way. "You didn’t know, and you were just trying to help! Rainbow, I'm not mad at you! I…”

Troy took a deep breath as he tried to go on, realizing how much his face still stung from her kick. Even though he was honestly a little upset at how much she tried to stop him, he knew it wasn't her fault for doing that; all she saw was him attacking some random pony, and she made sure no one got killed from it. Exhaling, Troy managed to ignore the growing pain on his face as he finished his statement.

"… I should've told you about this a long time ago. It's not your fault at all. If anything, it's mine for keeping this between Canvas and I."

Rainbow Dash lifted her head, looking at the Gryphon with her sullen eyes as she processed Troy's words. Seeing how genuine he looked, the mare began to look less saddened as Canvas stepped forward, putting his hooves around her in a hug as he spoke faintly.

"You don’t have to apologize. I know you were just wanting to help, and I'm not mad. You're still a great mare, and… you're still a loyal friend to Troy and me."

Canvas could hear Rainbow exhale a little heavier as she hugged him back, keeping him there for a second before she let go. Keeping her face away from both Canvas and Troy, Rainbow Dash wiped her face with a hoof before turning back to them, carrying a light smile on her muzzle as she tried to cover the slightly matted fur underneath her eyes.

Before she could try to apologize some more, a bright flash of purple light erupted several feet from the three of them. Twilight Sparkle appeared with a concerned look on her face. Seeing Canvas, Twilight gave a sigh of relief before walking up to him, keeping a faint hint of worry on her face before speaking to him.

"I took care of the situation, and I made sure he's taking the next train out of town, alright?"

Canvas nodded at her statement before noticing how troubled she still looked. Remembering how little he’d originally told her about his injuries that night, Canvas began to feel guilty that he kept information that vital from royalty, realizing how shocking it must have been to find out this way. Before he could open his muzzle and attempt to apologize for keeping this to himself, Canvas felt a hoof on his shoulder.

Twilight looked at him, keeping an understanding look in her eyes as she spoke. "Canvas, when I asked Celestia about what happened, she told me she knew who did it, and…”

Hoping to alleviate the new look of shame on Canvas's face from hearing that last statement, Twilight kept her hoof on his shoulder as she went on.

"... And she also said she understood why you wouldn’t talk about it to anypony. I didn’t know what she meant at first, but…”

Twilight's face scrunched in a little as she tried to hide how upset she looked before she pulled up her other hoof and hugged Canvas tightly, feeling just as saddened as she was when he first told her about that night at the library.

"... But I had no idea it was something that bad. Canvas, I'm so sorry something like that happened to you!"

Feeling his guilt building up, Canvas hugged her back as he said, "Twilight, I'm sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I should've told you when I was telling you abo--"

"It's alright, Canvas,” said the alicorn in a soothing voice. "I understand completely."

As the two let go, Canvas kept a worried look on his face as he remembered what happened. Seeing how horrible Copper looked when he told him off like that, Canvas realized that Twilight still had to deal with him as he walked away, making him feel worse as he thought it over. Knowing how nasty he acted towards him, Canvas hoped he didn’t cause any bad friction as he spoke towards the Princess.

"Twilight, I'm really sorry you saw me act that way towards him. I know he hurt me, but--”

"Canvas, you don’t…”

As Twilight kept her hoof up to keep him from speaking, her words faltered a little as she tried to ease Canvas's worry. While she honestly couldn’t say she wasn't stunned at how cold he acted towards a pony that was supposed to be family--especially knowing how painful something like that could be from her experience at the Royal Wedding--all she could think about was how horrible he looked that night in the storm. Remembering how badly beaten his face was, and how worn down his hooves were from running that far, Twilight couldn't blame him for lashing out at his attacker like that, even when the pony was already so beaten down himself.

"You don't have to explain. I can't say it wasn't shocking to hear you say those things, but… but it was also shocking to find out what happened to you. Canvas, I know you went through something horrible, and I do want you to talk about this with me sometime…”

Seeing how insistently she spoke that last past, Canvas nodded in agreement before she continued.

"But I know you've been keeping this in for a long time, and seeing him was probably really overwhelming for you. I…”

Honestly, Twilight wanted to say that she hoped Canvas might speak to his father again at another time, when they'd both calmed down enough to speak properly. Despite how much pain he went through because of Copper, she couldn't expect Canvas to be that well-adjusted after doing something like that.

However, the alicorn decided not to say any of this out loud, considering that it was probably too soon for him to even consider doing anything involving his father. Instead, Twilight paused a moment before she finished her statement, finding the right words for what she wanted to say to him.

"I really hope we can talk about this when you're in a better mood. I'm sure you need some rest right now, so I'll go back home if you're alright."

Nodding to confirm Twilight's assumption, Canvas kept a half-tired look in his eyes as he looked at both mares, holding a faint smile while Troy held him close to his side. Before Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to leave, the Pegasus looked over to Troy and spoke in a tired tone of voice.

"Troy, I really am sorry for kicking you."

"Don’t worry about it,” said the Gryphon as he held up a claw in understanding, putting a light smirk on his beak as he tried to lighten the mood. "You kick like a girl anyway."

Rainbow Dash stepped forward to try to make him flinch, making her smile a little as she saw how alright Troy really was. Feeling a little better, Rainbow stepped back before she spoke to him.

"You can take a few days off to stay home. The other guys can take care of the storm stuff, so just stay with Canvas for now. You earned it."

Pulling Canvas in closer, Troy nodded to the mare with a smile before she and Twilight went off, flying side-by-side as they made their way back to Ponyville. Seeing how darkened the skies were getting, Troy motioned to Canvas to stay by him as they went inside, walking into their home just as the thunder began to roar in the skies.

Seeing how tired the stallion looked, Troy didn't bother asking if he wanted dinner as he walked with the pony to the loft. Even though Canvas was silent as he trotted to their nest, he still kept a light smile on his muzzle as he felt the Gryphon by his side.

When Canvas crawled over the blankets to lie down on the mattress, Troy stayed right with the stallion and laid down alongside him, holding him close as thunder grew louder outside. As the room became darker from the clouds and the setting sun behind them, Troy felt himself grow tired as well as he held his lover's back against his chest, savoring his warmth as the first raindrops hit the roof of their home.

Even though he was completely exhausted, Canvas surprisingly couldn't get himself to sleep as he laid down in the nest. Hearing the storm grow louder outside, the soothing sound of raindrops did nothing to rest the stallion's mind, even as he felt Troy's warm body breathing slowly over his back. Canvas pulled the Gryphon's forelegs in tighter around his own chest, feeling his lover's heartbeat thump in a stunningly beautiful rhythm as his sleeping body kept hold of him.

Though he wanted to appreciate the pure bliss of having Troy hold him like this, Canvas still couldn't keep his mind at ease. His mind kept replaying the events that happened that day. Clenching his eyes shut, Canvas hoped to silence the tensions that were growing in his mind, as he kept picturing how devastated Copper had looked.

Suddenly, Canvas's eyes shot open as he realized he no longer felt Troy's heartbeat thumping against his back. As silence hung throughout the room, Canvas moved his body over so he could look over to the Gryphon, realizing that he was no longer moving in the nest. Before he could think something horrible just happened, Canvas paused and listened around him, realizing that the sound of rain was no longer hitting the ground or his home.

Looking over to the window, the stallion's eyes widened as he saw hundreds of raindrops hanging in midair, staying frozen in place as the moonlight glistened against them. Canvas lifted himself from the nest and looked at the unmoving rain, realizing that the moonlight shining in wasn't there before, almost as if the clouds of the storm moved away for the night to illuminate the space in the room.

Looking around, Canvas realized how eerily still everything felt, like time was paused for everything except him as he sat up in his nest. Breathing heavily, the pony began to feel uneasy and tried to piece everything together, not noticing the looming figure in the room before a booming female voice called out to him.

"Canvas."

Shrieking at the sudden noise in the deathly silent space, Canvas shot back from the source of the voice as he moved to the rear wall of blankets for the nest. Looking over to the foot of the nest, Canvas saw a large figure standing before him, completely darkened by shadows as its thin frame hung against the stillness of the night.

As his sights adjusted to the shape, Canvas slowly saw that it was the body of an alicorn, making his eyes widen as he realized who the body belonged to. The moonlight began to grow brighter in the frozen room. The mane of the figure began to glow against the shadows, showing the night's sky itself within it as it flowed against her dark blue coat.

As the alicorn's body began to take light against the darkness around her, Canvas began to shake as he saw who was in front of him.

Standing above Canvas in front of his nest was the Princess of the Night herself, staring at him with a stern tone within her blue eyes as she stayed silent. Keeping a serious expression on her flawless face, Princess Luna stayed silent for a moment as Canvas stared in shock, realizing a Princess was now in his bedroom.

Before he could motion to Troy and try to wake him up, Canvas saw Luna's chest puff out as she breathed in before speaking in an overwhelming tone in the silent room.

"Canvas, we need to talk."

Over the past few months, Canvas had encountered enough strange and unexpected events to fill a large book. However, even after encountering Princesses, becoming a huge painting star, and falling in love with an opera-singing Gryphon, Canvas still would've never thought that he would deal with something as surprising as an all-powerful Princess standing in his bedroom.

As Luna stood before him in all her majestic glory against the darkness, Canvas could only blink in silence while he tried to comprehend the fact that this was really happening, growing worried as to why she would be here in the first place. Before he could say anything to break the silence in the still room, Luna spoke to him in a more subdued voice as she kept a serious expression on her face.

"Do you know why I am here?"

Canvas slowly shook his head. His gaze went down to his bed while thinking about her question. Looking over to the Gryphon beside him, Canvas saw that Troy was completely still, frozen in time with everything else in the space that contained him and the Princess. Putting out a hoof, Canvas tried to reach out and touch his lover, only to feel a resistance between him and Troy. As he put a hoof out, Canvas saw a strange ripple come between the two, making him realize what was happening as he turned back to Luna.

"Am… am I dreaming?"

"Yes you are,” said Luna as she kept her stern tone of voice."However, I am indeed in this space with you. I am able to enter the dreams of ponies, as is one of my duties as the Princess of the Night."

Canvas nodded in understanding and sat up in the nest. While he'd heard of Luna being able to do things like this, Canvas would've never thought this would happen to him of all ponies. As he looked back down to his bedding (if it was really there), the stallion tried to comprehend this new situation thrust upon him. He was so preoccupied that he almost didn’t notice Luna as she spoke once more.

"Canvas, do you know the reason why I am here right now?"

Canvas almost shook his head again as he tried to think of a reason; however, his body resisted doing anything as his mind slowly realized the answer. As he remembered what happened to him that day, Canvas felt his heart grow heavy--his interaction with Copper Fields was most likely the reason Luna was here in his dreams.

As he looked back up to the Princess of the Night with his worried eyes, the firm expression on her face was enough for Canvas to know he was right. Before he could respond or even nod at her original question, Luna spoke once more in a stern tone.

"I want to speak with you about your father, Canvas."

At hearing that word, Canvas's face scrunched in and he looked away from Luna, not wanting to think of that stallion in that way. Remembering what Troy said on the way home, Canvas knew that he could never think of Copper that way after everything he'd done. Knowing first-hoof how much that stallion hurt him, and seeing how much he’d hurt his lover as well, Canvas couldn't think of that bastard as anything even closely resembling a father. Keeping his gaze away from the Princess, Canvas spoke in a faint and bitter tone as he addressed her.

"He's not my father."

A strong silence filled the frozen space as Canvas kept his face away from Luna. Remembering everything Copper did to him that night, Canvas felt no remorse for saying that about him. Before the Princess could respond, Canvas kept a harsh tone in his voice as he continued.

"I did everything for him. I spent so much time trying to make him proud of me, but it didn't matter to him."

Luna kept a blank expression on her face as she listened, which was unnoticed by the stallion while he kept his gaze down to his nest. Feeling his anger build up more at thinking about this, the guilt he was starting to feel about hurting Copper was gone as he kept speaking. Recalling everything to the Princess, Canvas's face began to scrunch in as he tried to cover his grief about that night, not realizing his voice was starting to crack as he went on.

"I spent so much of my life trying to be a good son for him, and… and he threw me out! He nearly beat me to death, he.. he destroyed my art! And he disowned me! He disowned me for something that wasn't even a choice! After everything I've done, he… he took away everything because… because I'm gay."

Canvas closed his eyes as he said that last part, unsure of whether or not that was an appropriate detail to bring up to the Princess. As the stallion tried to hold back any tears, Luna stood still as she listened to him speak out about this. Letting his own words sink in, Canvas's face slowly changed from sadness to an even stronger form of anger, as he realized how much pain he had to go through because of something so insignificant.

Exhaling deeply, Canvas opened his eyes again and felt his resentment for Copper growing even more, making him stop caring about politeness or civility in front of the Princess as he spoke in a cruel tone of voice.

"I...

“... I hate him."

Even though he had plenty more to say about him--although none of which was probably appropriate to say in front of royalty--Canvas kept his muzzle shut and let that statement sink in, making the room grow deathly silent while Luna stood still. While she expected something like this to occur, Luna was still rather surprised to see a pony act this hateful; however, her surprise didn't change the stoic look on her face as she spoke once more.

"Canvas, I know about what happened to you that night. I looked into the recollections of ponies from Gallop Creek, and I can understand why you would feel that way."

Surprised that a Princess would say something like that--especially on the subject of hatred--Canvas looked up to the alicorn while she spoke, noticing her insistent stare on him as she continued.

"However, I also looked into the recollections for what happened after that night as well. I saw what your…”

Luna paused for a moment, deciding to change her words as she saw how Canvas was starting to look more upset.

"…. What Copper Fields had done after you left. When he was talking to you today, he truly meant everything he told you, Canvas."

Canvas looked back down to his hooves, unsure of what to think of the Princess's words. Though he already figured Copper wasn't lying when he told him all of those things, Canvas knew it wasn't enough to forgive the stallion for his actions. Even when he found out Copper sold his house, it wasn't enough for Canvas to think of him as any more than the pony that beat his own child. Keeping his eyes away from Luna, Canvas kept to himself as he responded to her.

"It doesn't matter. He should've never done any of that to me in the first place. It doesn't change how I feel about him."

Breathing in, Canvas looked up to the Princess, keeping a stern look on his face as he spoke honestly.

"I meant every single word that I said to him."

After another moment of silence, Luna's gaze faltered a little as she sighed, closing her eyes for a few seconds before she responded in a more serious tone.

"Canvas, I really think you should see for yourself what happened to Copper after you left."

Seeing the look of intensity on her face, Canvas could tell that Luna wasn't being flexible about this. However, before Canvas could respond to her suggestion, the entire room began to ripple around them. His bedroom began to disappear and turn into another place.

Lifting himself to his hooves, Canvas no longer felt the blankets from his nest underneath him, as he found himself standing on a muddy road. Looking back up to Luna, Canvas realized they were now in Gallop Creek again and were standing out in front of his old home.

Looking over to the house, Canvas started to breathe heavily as he recognized the scene, seeing several torn pieces of his paintings outside in the front yard, all of which now were now useless, soaked wads in the wet grass. Looking around, Canvas could tell that this was supposed to be the morning after that terrible night. He saw the sun begin to rise behind him and Luna.

Glancing over to the drugstore next door, Canvas could see the shopkeeper putting his potted plants back outside, looking rather morose behind his grey-coated face as he looked over to Canvas's home. Standing in the middle of the road with Luna, Canvas realized that neither of them were seen by him as the shopkeeper went back to placing his plants by the front door. Suddenly, a blood-curdling scream caught the attention of both Canvas and the shopkeeper as they heard Copper crying out from within his home.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!"

The door to his old home burst open, almost breaking the hinges off as Copper ran out of the house, terrified. Even with his eyes shot wide-open, it was obvious that he just woke up from a major hangover as he galloped out to the street. Looking at him, Canvas felt himself grow more upset as he looked down to Copper's hooves, seeing them still stained with his blood before he ran out to the muddy road, screaming his head off.

"CANVAAAAAAS!!! CANVAAAAAAS!!!"

Copper ran right past both Canvas and Luna, leaving his front door wide open while he ran as fast as could down the road, frantically screaming out Canvas's name as he tried to find him. Looking over to the aqua stallion, Luna saw that Canvas was keeping a hateful stare on his father as he watched him run off, making her feel uneasy as she spoke to him.

"This was only five hours after you left town, Canvas."

Canvas breathed in deeply before he turned back to Luna, keeping an upset look on his face before she continued.

"It took your father less than a night to know that he did wrong,” said Luna as she tried to convince Canvas. "It only took a second of clarity for him to realize what he did to you."

Canvas looked away from Luna again and glanced at the destroyed pieces of art on the lawn, scrunching in his face as he saw where he’d lost everything. Not wanting to look at the other ponies in the neighborhood--who were all now looking out from their doors and windows at Copper as he kept calling out for his son--Canvas kept his gaze to the ground while Luna stood in front of him. With a glow of her horn, Luna made their surroundings ripple again, making Canvas see his hooves in a patch of wet grass before he looked up.

Seeing where he was, Canvas gasped when he realized he was in the graveyard. His eyes widened as he saw he was now by his mother's grave again. Looking at the headstone, Canvas winced as he put a hoof to his mouth, not wanting to see the stone in the morning light like this.

Looking away, Canvas tried to compose himself while the tombstone of Blowing Winds stood in the light, stained with Canvas's blood on the top corner when he was against the stone that night. As he turned away from his mother's grave, Canvas noticed the grave-keeper, a dark-purple Pegasus stallion, look around the property. Before he could notice the blood-stained grave, the stallion overheard the screaming of Copper as he ran into the graveyard, running toward his wife's grave while he called out for his son.

Knowing his son spent a lot of his time around here after she died, Copper ran at full speed towards the tombstone as his hooves brushed against the wet grass, washing away the mud and stained blood from his dark-green fur before he stopped and saw the grave. Seeing his son's blood stained against the stone, Copper almost fell to his flank as he put a hoof to his mouth, looking absolutely mortified as he saw the gravestone. With Canvas and the grave-keeper watching, Copper kept his hoof to his mouth and stumbled towards a nearby tree, looking away from the blood-stained grave while he threw up.

After taking a moment to breathe under the tree, Copper tried running toward the gravestone with tears coming down his face. However, a surprisingly strong gust of wind blew against the green stallion as soon as he got within ten feet. Feeling how strong the wind was blowing, both Canvas and the grave-keeper had difficulty staying in place as Copper was blown several feet from his wife's grave.

Luna didn't seem to have any difficulty against the winds as she kept her attention on Canvas, who was now looking at the situation with wide eyes as he held up a hoof against the wind. Looking over at the tombstone with terrified eyes, Copper spoke out in a remorseful tone as the wind kept up.

"I'm so sorry!" shouted the stallion as he tried looking over at the grave, his eyes struggling to stay open due to the wind as he spoke up. "I'm so sorry! I didn’t mean to--"

An even stronger gust of wind blew Copper onto his back, making him roll back onto his hooves as more tears started to come from his eyes. Looking out to the road that went out of Gallop Creek, Copper grew a determined look on his face before turning back to the grave, ignoring the wind blowing him away as he spoke.

"I'm going to find him!" the stallion called as he started to run off, keeping his eyes on the stone as he spoke. "I'm gonna find him, honey! I swear!"

With that, Canvas could only watch as Copper rushed out from the graveyard, running as fast as he could as he made his way to the town limits of Gallop Creek.

Not waiting to see a reaction from Canvas, Luna changed the scene once more, rippling the space around them before they ended up on top of a cloud. Even though he wasn't used to his hooves being on a surface like this--which made him feel like he was going to fall through at any moment--Canvas's attention quickly changed as he heard several galloping ponies underneath him.

With Luna standing silent, Canvas carefully looked down from the top of the cloud and saw several stallions running down a dirt road with a cart. Looking at them, Canvas immediately recognized them as old friends of Copper, who were now rushing as fast as they could down the dirt road. Looking around, Canvas realized that he and Luna were almost eighty miles from Gallop Creek, confusing him before he noticed a shape in the distance, making him widen his eyes as he saw what it was.

Passed out on the side of the road, Copper struggled to keep his hooves moving as he breathed as hard as he could. As soon as the other stallions ran up to him, Copper struggled against them as they tried to put him in the cart, thrashing against his own exhausted body as he tried to speak in a gasping wheeze.

"Godda findim!" croaked the green stallion as he tried to lift himself out from the cart. As his friends tried to keep him inside, Copper struggled as much as he could through his tired state while trying to shout, "Please… I gotta… I gotta find my boy."

"You need to slow yourself down, Copper!" shouted one of the stallions, a light-blue Pegasus Canvas knew to be Cloud Thresher. "We have a search party going on right now! We're trying to find your son, I swear, but you can't keep pushing yourself li--"

"I HAVE TO FIND HIM!" screamed Copper as he tried jumping out of the cart with the last of his energy. Knowing he could certainly die if he kept this up, Cloud Thresher threw the both of them into the cart, holding the thrashing stallion down with his hooves as he shouted to the others.

"Get to the hospital NOW! I'll hold him!"

Without hesitation, the other stallions began pulling the cart as Copper struggled against his friend's weight, screaming out as they went off down the road.

Hoping that Canvas was starting to understand, Luna moved them to another place, rippling the space so they were now within the waiting room of a hospital. Unseen by any of the other ponies, Canvas stood next to Luna as he saw Cloud Thresher pacing in the room, looking worried as he kept his gaze to the linoleum floor beneath his hooves.

Before he could start pulling at his orange mane, a group of ponies caught the Pegasus's attention as he ran to them. Seeing how morose the group looked, Cloud Thresher's worried look grew more obvious before they spoke to him.

"We haven’t found Canvas anywhere,” said a dark-grey stallion in the front of the group. "We managed to look at every town up to Appleloosa, but we haven’t found anything."

Cloud Thresher threw his hoof against the wall, grimacing as he took in this new info. Clenching his eyes shut, the Pegasus looked especially upset as he spoke back to them.

"Dammit! I can't tell him that! Copper's been running himself ragged for the past three days trying to fin--"

A shrill scream caught the attention of Cloud Thresher and the rest of the group. They looked over to see three nurses trying to hold down Copper, who was trying to leave the hospital. With his hospital gown still on and several tubes still attached to his body, the green stallion pushed himself against the three separate magical auras as they tried to hold him in place.

Ignoring their orders to stop, Copper kept trying to push himself, not noticing the squirts of his blood coming out from some of the tubes and staining the floor as he tried to run out of the hospital.

"Let me the buck go!!” shouted Copper as he managed to break free from the auras, making it a few more feet before two large Earth Pony security guards pinned him against the floor. With more blood coming out of him from the tubes, Copper tried punching one of the guards as his face was pinned against the floor.

"Get off me, Goddess-Dammit!!" screamed the stallion as he tried bucking the ponies off him; "I need to get him!!! I NEED TO FIND MY SON!!!”

A hypodermic needle carried by an aura quickly shot past Canvas and Luna, moving towards the struggling stallion before it was shot into his neck. As the dosage was quickly administered to Copper, Cloud Thresher could only look with growing unease as he watched his friend slowly move less against his restraints. After one last large jolt from the stallion--which made another squirt of blood shoot out onto the floor--Copper passed out on the ground, leaving everypony in the hospital room scared silent as they looked at the unconscious pony lying around his own blood.

As Canvas stood at the spot, stunned, Luna finally spoke up to gain his attention.

"This happened around the time Troy found you,” said the Princess as she watched Canvas slowly turn to her. "He was sent to the hospital three different times from exhaustion before you were found, Canvas. And from what I've seen, this was the first time he was able to sleep."

Canvas looked away from Luna, not wanting to look at her. He looked back to the crowd, watching as Copper's limp body was carried back to his room through several auras wrapped around him. Seeing the look of despair on Copper's unconscious face, Canvas kept a bitter scowl on his own as he looked at him with disdain.

Even with the way he was looking, Canvas's shaky breathing was still noticed by the Princess, letting her know that this was starting to get to him. Luna quickly changed the setting again, moving them back to the front of Canvas's home before she spoke.

"This happened a week later, while you were still unconscious at Ponyvile Hospital."

Canvas stayed silent as he took in the new space around him, noticing Copper standing in front of his home with a large cardboard box next to him. Seeing how faded his green fur was getting, Canvas could tell Copper had barely slept from the dark bags under his eyes. He stood by the side of the road, holding a bottle of bourbon in his mouth as it poured into the storm drain.

As he threw the empty bottle into the box, Canvas's eyes widened as he saw how many empty bottles were inside, making him realize what his father was doing. Reaching over to his last bottle of vodka--which Canvas remembered was a really expensive brand--Copper didn’t even hesitate as he opened it with his teeth and began pouring it into the drain as well.

Canvas always knew that Copper was a heavy drinker--a habit he picked up quickly after his wife died--and while he tried to get him to drink less from time to time, it was always a discussion that ended with him being told to mind his own business. But now, Canvas only stared wide-eyed as he watched Copper outside his home, pouring out his entire liquor cabinet as he looked increasingly worse without his son.

"He was trying to find you over a week straight after you left,” said Luna as she watched Canvas, staring at Copper while he began pouring another bottle down the drain. "This was the first time he came back home since you left, and this was the very first thing he did."

Canvas only blinked a few times as he tried to process seeing this, almost not noticing Cloud Thresher as he ran past him towards Copper.

"Copper, where the buck have you been?!" shouted the Pegasus as he ran up to him, his eyes widening as he saw what he was doing. "Oh, Sweet Mother of Celestia, are you seriously throwing out all your booze?! I haven't seen you for five days, and this is what you're doin--"

"NEVER AGAIN!!!” screamed Copper as he threw the empted bottle of aged scotch in the box among the others, hearing it smash against the glass before he grabbed another bottle.

"Never bucking again!! I never listened to him about it, and look what happened! I should've listened to my boy, I should've quit a long time ago!!!I should've quit before…”

Gritting his teeth, Copper clenched his eyes shut for a moment as he tried not to tear up, staying like that before he screamed and threw the bottle against the drain. As the bottle smashed open, sending shards of broken glass and whiskey everywhere, Cloud Thresher stepped back, terrified as he watched his friend start to break down in front of his home. While he knew this incident was really starting to get to Copper, the Pegasus was really getting worried as he walked up to him, not wanting to see him lose control over something like this.

"Copper, you have to pull yourself together!" said Cloud Thresher in a frantic tone of voice. "I know you feel horrible about this, and I'm so sorry about Canvas!"

The Pegasus put a hoof to Copper's shoulder, hoping to calm him down as he saw tears rolling down his pale-green face. "But Copper, you can't keep this up! You haven't been at work for a week, and the harvest is coming up! I know you want to find your son, and I'm trying to help as much as I can, but if you don't go back to work soon--"

"I already quit."

Cloud Thresher's eyes widened in shock as he heard Copper's statement.

"W-what?!"

"I quit,” said Copper as he grabbed the last of the full bottles, holding it in his hoof as he poured it out while speaking to the stallion. "I don't give a buck. I already pulled out all my savings so I can take a train in the morning. I figure he might have made it to Baltimare, so I'm heading there first."

"You… you can't be serious, man!" By now, Cloud Thresher looked downright dumbfounded as he tried to reason to his friend. "I know you want to get Canvas back, but don't you think this is going a bit too fa--"

"HE'S MY BUCKING SON!!!” screamed Copper as he grabbed the Pegasus by the shoulders and held him a few inches from his face,."Canvas is all that I bucking have, and I'm not going to lose him!"

Copper slowly pulled back from his friend, keeping his head hung low as more tears came down his face. As Cloud Thresher stood silent, he could feel Copper struggle not to sob as he held onto him, breathing hard as his voice came out in a whimper to the Pegasus.

"I bucked up… and I can’t live with myself. I just can't, Thresher!"

Despite not wanting to be seen hugging another stallion in public like this, Cloud Thresher held Copper close as he felt him cry against his shoulder. Even though he was just as surprised as the rest of the town over what Canvas did, he could understand why his friend would feel so guilty about reacting like this. Knowing how much this was eating at Copper, the Pegasus held him close for a few more seconds before letting go, making the stallion stare at him as he spoke.

"Copper, I know I can't stop you, but you need to think this over! Do you really think you can keep this up forever?"

Copper threw Thresher's hooves off him before stepping back, glaring at him for a moment before he looked back to the remaining bottle on the ground. As he heard him painfully sigh at the sight of the last bottle, Cloud Thresher breathed in to calm himself down, knowing his friend's mind was made up.

"I… I just hope you know what you're doing, Copper."

Copper only nodded before looking back at his friend, keeping a saddened look in his eyes before he picked up the last bottle. Holding the bottle of champagne in his hoof, the green stallion looked over at the Pegasus as he spoke.

"Cloud, I… I need you to take this."

Looking at the bottle, Cloud Thresher's eyes widened as he realized what Copper was holding. Remembering how the stallion had it unopened since his wedding, Thresher was shocked as he saw Copper was wanting him to hold onto something so personal to him.

"I… I can’t do that, Copper!" pleaded the stallion as he backed away. "You've had that since your wedding, man! I really don--"

"I can’t drain it,” said Copper in a saddened tone as he looked down to the bottle. "I can’t smash it, but I can't hold onto it."

Copper looked back up to his friend, seeing the Pegasus's hesitation before speaking in a desperate tone of voice.

"Please, Cloud Thresher. Just hold onto it for me."

Seeing how distressed Copper was as he held out the bottle, the Pegasus closed his eyes and sighed, knowing he couldn’t say no. He took the bottle from him. As he kept his gaze away from the green stallion, Cloud Thresher could still tell his friend was grateful for him doing this, making him feel slightly better before he spoke.

"I… I really hope you find your son, Copper. I really mean it."

Copper only nodded before he walked back to his home, leaving the box full of empty bottles out by the curb as Canvas stood by, dumbfounded. As Cloud Thresher flew off past Canvas and Luna, the Princess waited a moment while she saw Canvas process everything he just saw and heard. Seeing how his feelings were beginning to change about all this, Luna waited another moment as Canvas stood silent in front of his old home, hoping this got to him a little before she changed the scene one more time.

Rippling the dream around her, Luna brought them to the graveyard once more. Looking around, Canvas didn’t see anyone else as the sun began to set behind them. Looking at the gravestone, Canvas saw that his blood had been washed away a long time ago, leaving only a slight discoloration against the grey stone where it used to be.

Seeing how his own blood left an impression on the tombstone of his mother, Canvas felt his eyes begin to well up as he looked away, feeling like he almost scarred his Mom by doing that. Before he could say anything to Luna about going somewhere else, Canvas realized why he was brought here as he saw Copper walk past him. As he walked toward the gravestone with a large saddlebag over his back, another strong gust of wind blew against the stallion, not phasing him one bit as he continued toward the stone.

"This was two weeks later,” said Luna as she stood behind Canvas. "After spending all his savings to take the train to several different cities, he ended up selling his house to the bank to get more money."

Canvas turned back to Luna, wide-eyed and looking stunned as he realized how quickly his father sacrificed everything he had. Even though he was gone for almost seven months, Canvas didn’t realize that Copper gave up so much in less than one. Before he could turn back to see Copper at the foot of Blowing Winds' grave, Canvas noticed a bright figure flying in from the distance, making Luna turn to it as well as she continued to speak.

"This happened after Celestia ran an investigation in Gallop Creek regarding what happened to you. Copper was gone at the time, so she waited until he came back one last time to confront him."

As the Princess of the Sun landed at the entrance of the graveyard, her face gave a look of pure intensity as she walked past the rows of tombstones, making her way towards Copper as he sat in front of the grave.

With the wind still blowing against his face, Copper just looked at the headstone, staring at the stain his son's blood made with a look of pure shame. Opening one of the pockets to his saddlebags, Copper began looking around inside as he spoke to the tombstone.

"I don't know when I'll be back,” said the stallion as Celestia came closer, not noticing her as he saw what he wanted. "I don’t know if I'll ever be back…”

With that, Copper stuck his muzzle inside the pocket, keeping a determined look on his face as he pulled out a razor blade with his teeth. Seeing the razor in his mouth, Celestia paused for a moment, standing beside Canvas as they looked at him with worry. Looking back at the grave as the winds began to die down, Copper kept the razor between his teeth and finished his statement.

"... Bud… .Ah'm nod gunna stahp, honeh."

Copper than raised a hoof, holding it against his face as he closed his eyes. Staring wide-eyed, both Canvas and Celestia looked in stunned silence as they watched him use the razor, cutting open his hoof before he spat the blade back into his bag.

Wincing from the pain, Copper didn't notice a stream of blood running down his foreleg, keeping his attention on the grave marker as he pressed his hoof against the stone. Keeping his bleeding hoof in the exact spot his own son's blood was, Copper felt tears begin to roll down his face as he clenched his eyes shut, speaking with the utmost sincerity and pain.

"I swear… I bucking swear, I'm going to find him. I don't care how long it takes… I don’t care how much I have to give up… but I'm not going to lose him, honey… I'm not going to lose our boy."

Keeping his head hung low while his hoof was against the stone, a line of blood began to roll down the tombstone, not phasing Copper as more tears came down his face.

"I promise… I promise I will do everything I can to find Canvas! I… know you'll never forgive me for what I did…”

Copper opened his eyes once more, looking at his wife's grave with a look of pure self-hatred as he held himself against the stone, tears streaming down his face as the wind died down completely.

"... I am so sorry, honey… I… I know you'll never love me again…”

Copper pressed his head against the grave, clenching his eyes shut as he let that last statement sink in. After a few seconds of silence, Copper continued to speak as he finished his promise to Blowing Winds.

"... But I will find Canvas. That I will swear by with my bucking life! I… I just can’t lose him… I can’t lose him like I lost you…”

Several sobs escaped the stallion while he kept his bleeding hoof against the grave, leaving Celestia speechless as she stood beside Canvas. Before she could step forward again to confront Copper, Celestia watched as he removed his hoof from the stone, before he pressed it against his other hoof and kneeled down against the gravestone. Bowing his head, Copper's voice came out faintly as he closed his eyes, tears still streaming down his face as he spoke up to the heavens.

"I know I did wrong… and I know I don’t deserve anything for what I did… but… but I only ask for one thing…”

Keeping his hooves pressed together, Copper opened his reddened eyes as he looked up to the sky, staring up to the darkening heavens as he prayed.

"Please… please, Celestia…”

Celestia's eyes widened a little as she listened, not moving an inch as she listened to his desperate prayer to her.

"... I never asked for a thing in my life from you, but… please… please… make sure Canvas is safe…”

Bowing back to the grave, Copper kept his hooves together as he kneeled at the stone. Looking at Canvas the whole time, Luna saw that the aqua stallion also had tears coming from his eyes while he looked at his father with his eyes wide open. Not realizing the Princess he was asking for was right behind him, Copper's voice started to come out cracked as he finished his prayer.

".... Even if I never see him again… even if I die before I ever find him… please… please… don't take him away. Don’t… don’t let my child die before me…”

Exhaling deeply, Copper wiped his eyes dry with a hoof before lifting himself from the grave, turning away with his saddlebag as he left his bloodied hoofprint on the stone. As he began to walk back towards the road, Celestia's horn lit up, turning her invisible as she watched him walk past her. Even though she was set on at least arresting Copper, the Goddess didn't move at all as the stallion slowly limped out from the graveyard. As he began to walk down the road out of Gallop Creek, Celestia waited a moment before she took off her invisibility spell, sighing before she flew off in the other direction.

Standing by himself in the graveyard, Canvas's tears began to hit the grass underneath him before Luna walked up. Even though she didn’t try to hug him, the Princess still levitated a dark-purple cloth to the stallion so he could wipe his face.

Seeing the cloth held up by her dark-blue aura, Canvas slowly nodded before taking it, wiping off his tears as quickly as he could before giving it back to her. As he kept his gaze away from her, Canvas only stood in silence as Luna spoke to him.

"I know this is a lot to take in, but I hope you can see what this means for you."

Staring at the grave of his Mom with Copper's blood on it, Canvas didn’t reply to the Princess, feeling unsure of what to say as he felt a huge weight in his chest. Seeing how stricken with grief Copper was, all Canvas could think about was all the things he said to him in Ponyville as he realized how badly he treated him.

Closing his eyes, Canvas tried to think of how to react as all his memories circled around his head. That horrible night after his graduation mixing with his hateful words to him and his recollections of what he just saw, Canvas's eyes started tearing up again as he tried to wrestle everything together in his mind. Seeing the huge mental debate of confusion on his face, Luna hoped she could get him to listen as she spoke up.

"Canvas, I really feel you should tal--"

"IT DOESN’T BUCKING MATTER!!!"

Luna flinched for a second, surprised that Canvas would make a sudden outburst like that before he started screaming at her.

"Why are you showing me all of this?! After everything he did to me, after all the things he said, so you really think any of this HELPS?! He still beat me!! He still disowned me!!”

Canvas turned to the Princess, glaring as he kept shouting at her.

"Show what happened that night!! Show him when he was beating me senseless!! Show him as he was ripping up all my paintings!! Show him when he made me drive myself to bucking suicide!! Go ahead, DO IT!!!"

Even though she understood what was happening, realizing that Canvas was using anger as a mask for his confusion, Luna grew more agitated as he kept screaming at her.

"How could you try to show me this?! You really think seeing this will make me change my mind?!! You think this will make me think I can forgive him?! You can’t force me to accept an apology after he did something that wrong!! You can’t force me to just forgive him!! YOU CAN'T FORCE ME TO--”

"I AM NOT FORCING YOU TO DO ANYTHING!!!!"

Even though she didn’t want to resort to something as drastic as her Royal Canterlot Voice to take control of a situation, Luna could see from the stallion's stunned silence that it was effective enough.

As Canvas stood in front of Luna, wide-eyed, literally shaking in his hooves from her booming voice, he tried to breathe deeply to calm down, feeling his breaths come out rather shakily as well. After a moment of silence, Luna managed to calm herself down enough before she spoke, making sure her voice was more tranquil as she addressed the stallion sternly.

"Canvas, I am not going to force you to do anything. I know very well what Copper did to you, and I understand why you would not want to forgive him."

Even though he was still extremely scared of the Princess from her deafening yell a minute ago, Canvas nodded to her as he felt himself calm down.

"I can understand your pain, Canvas,” said Luna, starting to sound more sympathetic to the stallion. "I know what it's like. I can speak from experience what it's like to feel abandoned like that. And I know what it's like to feel pain from family, for a reason that doesn't seem just, and wanting to hurt them just as badly because of it…”

Realizing what she was referring to, Canvas stayed silent as he listened to the Princess. Even though he wasn't that familiar with the whole story of Nightmare Moon, Canvas knew enough to know what Luna was talking about, making him realize that she really could relate to him. However, Canvas didn’t expect what she was about to say next.

"However, if there's one thing I have learned, it is that accepting forgiveness is sometimes not nearly as hard as asking for it…”

Canvas only blinked a few times and tried processing her words, feeling unsure of what she meant before she continued.

"Canvas, I can understand the pain you went through because of your father; however, I can also understand Copper's pain as well."

Luna lowered her gaze to the ground, looking slightly more vulnerable as she spoke to Canvas in a more morose tone.

"I know how it feels to hurt somepony who did not deserve it… I know how it feels to hurt family… I know how it feels to realize I've done wrong, and to want nothing more than to be forgiven for my actions…”

Even though Luna wasn't looking at him, Canvas looked away for a moment, feeling hesitant of what to think as he realized what she was saying. Before he could reply, the Princess went on, keeping her head hung to the ground as she spoke about her past.

"I hurt… so many ponies… and…. I lost so many of them while I was banished. I never got the chance to redeem myself in time for many of my friends to see… I never got to show them that I got better in their lifetimes."

Even though she wasn't crying, Canvas could still tell how heartbreaking this was for her to say from her voice alone. As she slowly looked back up to Canvas, Luna kept a sullen look on her face as she explained why she brought this up.

"My older sister was the only pony left I could apologize to. After a thousand years, she was the only friend I had left… Even though I did something beyond terrible to so many ponies, and so many friends… she still forgave me… and that was the greatest thing to happen for me."

Seeing a glimmer of hope in her eyes as she looked at him, Canvas began to understand what she was going to say to him. Before he could nod or say anything, the Princess finished her statement, hoping to give a fair perspective as she spoke in an optimistic tone.

"It took me over a thousand years to realize I did wrong...

“It didn’t even take your father half a day."

While Canvas looked down to the ground, letting her words sink in, Luna slowly changed the setting, so they were now in a completely black void. Closing his eyes, Canvas breathed in as he thought about her words, seeing her point before she spoke once more in a caring voice.

"All that I ask of you, Canvas, is to not let your past take over your present. I know it can be hard, or even impossible to forgive. But I can tell you that, in the end, it is a much better choice than to hold a grudge."

As Canvas opened his eyes against the void around him, he looked up to Luna before nodding, understanding exactly what she meant as she gave a faint smile to him. Knowing that her deed was finished, Luna began to glow her horn, making the space between them shine brightly in a burst of white light. As it grew brighter by the second, Canvas put a hoof over his eyes as he tried not to get blinded.

After several seconds of clenching his eyes shut, Canvas realized he was no longer standing, and felt himself lying on his side. As he slowly opened his eyes, Canvas realized that he was back in his nest with Troy, who was still holding him tightly against his chest. Even though the Gryphon's breathing could be heard now, Canvas realized that the rain stopped, looking out the window to see a clear night's sky.

As Canvas rested his head on the pillow next to Troy, the stallion felt wide awake. He realized that his dream was beyond real. Looking over at the alarm clock, Canvas saw that it was almost five in the morning, making him realize that the sun would be up soon.

Realizing what he had to do, Canvas closed his eyes and savored the warmth of his lover one more time. After taking a moment to appreciate his serenity with Troy, Canvas slowly lifted the Gryphon's forelegs off him before he carefully raised himself out of the nest.

As he got to his hooves in the bedroom, Canvas took a deep breath, knowing what needed to be done as he began to walk down the stairs.

After Blowing Winds' funeral, Canvas didn't leave his bedroom at all during the reception. Even though he didn't want to see his son so depressed, Copper couldn't blame him for feeling so devastated, knowing how he loved his Mom dearly.

As he stood in his kitchen with his friends around him, Copper kept himself silent and tried to stay strong. After losing the love of his life, finding out about her death while he was still working, and then having to tell his son after pulling him out of school, the last thing the stallion wanted was any more heartache. Even with Cloud Thresher by his side, Copper Fields felt a throbbing pain in his very soul, which wasn't getting any easier after his fifth drink.

Although several of the neighbors were gracious enough to make some meals for him and his son, Copper barely responded to any of their gifts or kind words before they left. By the time Cloud Thresher finally left after the reception, Copper slowly walked back to his bedroom, seeing Canvas's door was still closed along the way. Not wanting to deal with anything else tonight, Copper just wanted to lie down as he let his wife's passing sink in. However, as soon as he looked at the empty bed, Copper's heart felt shattered as he realized it will always be like this now; even with his son still by him, Copper will be alone from now on.

Canvas's door slowly opened as the aqua-colored colt looked around to make sure nopony was left except his Dad. With his brand-new art bag hoisted over his shoulder--which was large enough to make it drag along the ground from his small body--Canvas slowly walked over to his Dad's bedroom, wiping off the tears from his matted face before he reached for the doorknob.

Opening the door, Canvas's eyes widened as he saw his father sitting on the bed, holding a picture of his wife before he noticed Canvas was there. Copper quickly looked away and put the frame back on the nightstand. Canvas still saw that his father was crying alone. Even though he expected his Dad to yell at him for not knocking, Copper just kept a saddened look on his face as he wiped his tears before turning to Canvas, breathing in before he attempted to speak somewhat confidently.

"C-Canvas, what… what is it?"

Clutching his art bag closely to his side, Canvas looked away from his Dad for a second before speaking, his young voice coming out shakily as he turned back to him.

"I… I can’t sleep, Dad."

Hearing this, Copper bit his lip as he realized what his son was going to ask him. Even though he usually would've said no, his heart couldn’t handle doing that tonight.

"Can… can I sleep in here with you tonight?"

Copper breathed in a for a moment, seeing how distressed Canvas looked as he asked that question. Without saying a word, Copper slowly nodded before his son rushed onto the bed, keeping his bag by his side as he crawled up to his father. Even though he wanted to say something about not having that bag in the bed with him, Copper stayed silent as the colt laid down next to him. Without hesitation, Copper pulled his forelegs out and held onto his son, clutching him tightly as they laid on the bed together.

Feeling his father holding him closely, Canvas pushed his face into his chest before he started to cry softly, not wanting to let go of the one parent he had left. Hearing his colt's muffled sobs, Copper hugged him tighter and used a hoof to stroke his mane, realizing how shaggy it was starting to get as he tried to calm down his son.

Even though he wanted Canvas to be strong about everything that happened, Copper stayed silent at that moment while he listened to his son's cries. Remembering how horrible losing a parent could be from when he was a teenager, Copper could only imagine how bad it must feel for Canvas, knowing it had to be even worse for a pony so young.

With his son still holding onto him, slowly matting the dark-green fur on his chest with tears, Copper reached out a hoof and turned off the lamp beside the bed. As the bedroom became shrouded in darkness, Copper was glad he still had Canvas, feeling grateful that he wasn't sleeping alone tonight.

Even with the warmth of his child helping to alleviate his pain, Copper knew this was going to be a really tough time for the both of them. Still stroking his son's chestnut mane, Copper spoke up in a faint voice as he spoke to him in the dark.

"Canvas, I want you to know that, whatever happens, no matter what, I'll always be there for you."

While the colt stayed silent, he still clutched to Copper tighter as he heard him continue .

"I know this is horrible, and… and I miss her too… but… You'll always have me. I promise."

As Copper clutched his son tighter, he began to realize that Canvas didn’t give much of a reaction to his statement. While the colt stayed silent against his chest, Copper realized his son was no longer really holding him, and was just lying limp against his body.

Though he wanted to think Canvas just fell asleep, he knew something was off as he felt his entire chest wet with something. Hoping it was just nothing, Copper slowly put out his hoof again and turned the lamp back on. As soon as the light reentered the room, Copper's eyes widened in terror as he looked down.

Canvas, now at his current age, was lying limp against his father's chest covered in blood, his face returned to the badly beaten and swollen state it was that Graduation night.

Screaming out, Copper shot back as Canvas's body fell to the ground, landing on top of a pile of his destroyed paintings as a pool of blood began to seep out from under him. Breathing rapidly in stunned terror, Copper realized he was back in his son's bedroom, completely destroyed from that night as his heart began to beat uncontrollably.

Looking down to his hooves and chest, Copper saw they were completely stained in his son's blood, making him shake, mortified, before he screamed.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Halfway through the horrified scream, Copper's eyes shot wide open as he fell off the bench, falling onto the hard, wooden floor while the remaining rainfall matted his fur again. As the cold ground shot the stallion back awake, Copper could only groan in agony as he slowly lifted himself up, managing to get back onto his hooves before he looked around.

Even though the train station usually had at least a few ponies, there wasn't a single soul around the almost pitch-black space, all of which was completely soaked by the storm that passed by several hours ago.

Because of the storm scheduled earlier today, no trains were able to arrive at the station until morning. However, none of this phased the stallion as he slowly slumped back to his bench. After hearing everything his son said to him, Copper became completely numb to everything around him, letting any interaction or feeling just pass by him like a phantom.

By the time Rainbow Dash came back with the train ticket, Copper sat completely silent in the middle of the street, barely noticing her or Princess Twilight Sparkle standing there as he laid in the street, completely broken. Even though the alicorn was grateful enough to check his injuries, making sure nothing was broken after his interaction with that Gryphon, Twilight didn’t say a single word to him the entire time. It wasn't until she made sure no bones were broken--although he had a fairly nasty black eye from when he hit that wall--that she levitated his saddlebag to him, placing the ticket inside of one of the pockets before saying only one thing.

"I think it would be best for you to leave."

Copper didn’t remember getting up from his spot on the street, or walking all the way back to the train station while the storm began. As the rain poured down on him, Copper couldn’t care less as his faded fur became soaked to the core. Even though he was still freezing from his wet fur, Copper didn't seem to notice or care about anything around him as he sat, becoming almost completely still before he reached a hoof into his bag.

Looking inside one of the pockets, Copper pulled out an old photograph of him with Canvas and Blowing Winds, all of whom looked extremely happy as they stood in front of their home together.

And I tried to kill myself because of you.

Looking at his son in the photo, Copper felt his heart drop to his stomach like a cannonball as he saw how happy the colt looked, standing beside his Mom with the biggest grin on his little face as he wrapped a foreleg around her.

I wish you died instead of Mom.

At the bottom of the photograph was that art bag she got for him, lying next to the colt as he carried it with him proudly. While he didn’t like that his wife spent so much money on something like that, the look on Canvas's face when it was given to him was beyond priceless. Looking back, Copper was glad she was so supportive of her son's talent, knowing that was probably a huge reason Canvas was so great at it today.

You. Are. Dead. To. Me.

As his son's cruel words replayed in Copper's head, the stallion shoved the photo back in his bag, not wanting to think about anything as he realized how much he gave up for this. After all the things he sold and sacrificed, after all the countless hours of searching town to town, none of it mattered when he finally found Canvas. Despite how much he sacrificed, including his own dignity as he literally begged for him to stay, all Copper could think about were the last words his son said to him.

Stay out of my life. I never want to see you again.

Recalling how honestly and coldly Canvas said those words before he walked away, Copper could only close his eyes and bury his face in his hooves, realizing how badly things had gone since that terrible night. Even though he knew talking with him wouldn't be an easy task by any means, Copper at least hoped something positive would come of it.

Now, the stallion could now only sit alone as reality began to set in, realizing that, along with everything else in his life, Copper truly had lost his only child.

And, worst of all, Copper knew that, despite any objections he could try to make, nothing would change the bitter truth that nopony could be blamed but himself.

Copper really didn’t remember much from what he did that night; however, waking up in a trashed home with bloodied hooves was more than enough to make him realize he did something horribly, horribly wrong. As time passed on and his memories slowly began to come back to him, Copper only felt increasingly worse as he recalled every soul-shattering moment after Canvas came back home.

When he began to remember every punch he’d thrown against his child, and every piece of artwork he’d tore apart in front of him, Copper felt his entire world crash down and shatter as he realized how intolerable his actions really were. Remembering the promise he made to his son that night after his wife's funeral reception, Copper was fueled by nothing but pure adrenaline and shame as he constantly moved ahead, knowing he couldn’t possibly live with himself before finding him again.

But now he was alone once more, letting his isolation sink in as he realized he really had nothing left now. Without his job, his home, most of his possessions, or even a foreseeable plan for the future, Copper knew he was in a bad situation after his son told him off. However, Copper also knew he couldn’t complain about any of this, knowing that this was exactly what happened to his son several months ago.

Feeling his soaked fur mat against his skin, making him even colder as he sat in the dark, Copper realized this was probably close to how Canvas felt after being thrown out, having to be alone while wet and hurting. Even though he couldn't compare his own physical injuries to what he did to Canvas, Copper still winced as he put a hoof up to his left eye, feeling how sore it was from his interaction with the Gryphon.

Knowing how hurt and alone he was right now, Copper only felt worse as he realized that he not only did this to his own child, but that he did it much worse than Canvas did to him.

Before he could tear up and let his guilt take over again, Copper heard the faint sound of hoofsteps in the distance, stepping against the wet wood as they came closer towards him. Sitting upright on the bench, Copper looked over as he saw a dark figure appear from within the shadows, standing at the entrance of the train platforms before stopping in his sights.

As the skies hung over the station in a pitch black, growing even darker from a new set of clouds coming in for a second downpour, Copper's eyes widened as he adjusted to the light, realizing who it was as the figure's hooves moved closer.

Moving into the faint moonlight illuminating the train station, Canvas was in front of his father again, looking at him with a stern tone on his face as he stood silently. After a moment of silence between them, Copper began to open his mouth, hoping to say something before his son spoke up.

"Why?"

Seeing how distraught his son looked, Copper blinked a few times and tried to understand what Canvas meant. Even though he wanted to answer any question his son was willing to ask him, Copper wasn't sure what Canvas was referring to with just that one word. Before he could question Canvas's statement, Copper saw his son's hooves grind against the platform a little before he spoke in a more disheartened tone of voice.

"Why did you come here? Why did you have to come back to see me? What… what were you wanting to do?"

As Canvas looked at his father with an upset look in his blue eyes, Copper faltered a little as he tried to think of the reason. Even though he had a lot of reasons at first for why he wanted to find him, Copper eventually realized that looking for something like forgiveness was beyond his grasp, especially when he started to remember all the things he did to him.

Taking a deep breath, Copper felt his guilt build up as he began to speak, hoping his son could see how honest his words were as they came from his muzzle.

"I… I just had to make sure you were alright, Canvas. I… I couldn’t live with myself after realizing what I did to you. I… I just wanted to try and… try and set things right."

Canvas only stood silent after hearing Copper's response, making the green stallion realize how pointless his answer sounded. Before Canvas could reply, Copper spoke again as he tried to add more to his weak answer, hanging his head as his words came out desperately.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry for what happened! As soon as I realized what I did, I… I knew I had to do something! I just couldn’t leave you alone and… and make you think I was that same pony… I… I never meant to hurt you…”

Before he could add more to his shame-filled statement, Copper heard his son begin to speak, asking the question he dreaded to hear as it came out as bluntly as possible.

"Then why did you do it?"

Copper looked back up to Canvas, noticing how his son was starting to look angrier as he repeated his question in a louder tone.

"Why did you hurt me like that?"

Copper squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip, knowing how terrible any answer he gave was going to be. Even with the million different excuses he could give, Copper knew none of them were good enough, making him resort to using the first one that came to his head.

"I… can barely remember anything after I got dru--”

"DON'T GIVE ME THAT!!!” shouted Canvas, making Copper flinch as he saw the sudden burst of anger from his son.

"I want to know why you acted like that to me!! I want to know that the buck was going through your skull while you were beating me!! Why?! Why did you do that to me?!?! What bucking reason could you have for almost murdering your own buckin--"

"I thought you were throwing your life away!!!"

Copper's eyes shot wide open as he realized what he just said, making Canvas stand speechless for what seemed like an eternity. As the train station grew silent once more, Copper knew he couldn’t just say something like that without explaining, making him look back to his son before he continued.

"I… I was so worried for you after your Mother died. I… I always knew you weren't like the other colts, but… but I always hoped that was just temporary. I… I wanted you to have a good life…”

Canvas only blinked as he looked at his father with a mix of confusion and disgust, his mind drawing a complete blank as he tried to contemplate what the buck Copper meant.

"I always thought I knew what your future was going to be like,” continued Copper as he looked down to the ground in guilt.

"I… I always pictured how your life would go. You would graduate, find a nice mare to settle down with, maybe have a few kids… I… always thought that was what was best for you."

Before Canvas could respond to his Dad's reasoning, unsure of how to feel about him thinking about his son's life like that, Copper kept going as his voice came out more upset.

"But then you… you made that bucking announcement. And I… I just didn't know what to think! After all the years raising you, seeing you grow and become stronger after she died… I… I never thought something like that was going to happen! I…”

Copper shut his eyes tighter and hung his head away from Canvas, not wanting to see his face as he spoke honestly.

"All I could think was how much harder your life was going to be after saying that! You… you already went through so much back in Gallop Creek, and I… I just thought you were wanting to make your life worse by saying something like that…”

Canvas started to look furious as he spoke out with a burst of anger. "And you thought beating me would HELP?!?!"

Copper cringed as he heard his son yell that to him. Feeling like he was going to start crying as he realized how horrible his excuse was, Copper's voice came out cracked as he finished his statement.

"I… I didn’t know what to do, Canvas! I… all I was thinking was that you were going to throw your life away, because you weren't going to live the life I thought you would… I… didn’t know what to do, so… so, I drank…”

Copper felt tears beginning to escape as he kept his head hung low, knowing how awful his reasoning was as he completed his words.

"I just kept drinking… and… and… and then, I lost control….”

Copper looked back up to his son, seeing Canvas glaring at him after hearing the reason for his actions. Even at seeing how shameful Copper looked at admitting that, Canvas just looked angrier as he spoke in a bitter tone.

"So… that's your bucking excuse?!"

"I don’t have an excuse!!” shouted Copper in a desperate tone. "Canvas, I can tell you a million different reasons why I did those things to you! I could blame it on the alcohol, or my confusion, or the shock at hearing you admit something like that to everypony, but none of that matters! I know that I can’t blame what I did on anything except myself!!!"

Despite wanting to tell him off again after hearing how asinine his father's reasoning was, Canvas kept silent as he saw several more tears come from Copper, hitting the ground before he spoke to his son in a sorrowful tone.

"I… I hurt you… and I know there's no apology or reason good enough for me to justify what I did. I…. I'm so sorry, Canvas."

As the looming silence hung in the air after that statement, amplifying the intensity of the space between the two, Canvas wasn't sure what to say as he looked at his father. While Copper closed his eyes and hung his head, Canvas thought that he wasn't going to say much more. The sounds of thunder in the distance began to break the silence between them.

However, before Canvas could try to reply, Copper's voice came out in a cold tone as he kept his gaze to the wooden planks below him.

"I know that you hate me."

As Copper said that, he didn’t need to look up to know his son wasn't going to argue with that.

As Canvas looked at his father, both upset and surprised that Copper would say something like that--even though it was true--the stallion continued to speak in a morose tone.

"And… and you have every right, Canvas. I was supposed to be there for you… I promised you that I would always be there after your Mother died… promised her that I would do that for you…”

Several teardrops hit the wood underneath Copper, not showing against the soaked platform as they blended in with the rainfall.

"But I failed,” said Copper as his voice became more faint, "I failed… failed you, and I failed your Mom… and… and I know… I know… that she would hate me too if she was here."

Canvas only stood silent in a stunned state, not expecting Copper to say something that raw. Even though he couldn't argue with any of what his Dad was saying, Canvas still wasn't sure how to respond as Copper kept speaking in a saddened state.

"I didn’t come back for forgiveness, Canvas. I… I know you have no reason to forgive me for what I did."

As the thunder began to roll in closer to the two, neither of them seemed to notice as Copper's voice became more sullen and defeated, knowing how honest his words were as they came from his tired muzzle.

"If you never want to see me again, I understand. After what I did to you, I… I don’t blame you. I'll leave… I'll leave, and I'll never try to contact you if that's what you want...

“I promise… I promise I'll stay out of your life forever."

When Copper said that last part, Canvas's eyes widened as he saw how sincere his Dad was. Even though it hurt Copper more than anything to say something like that, they both knew he truly meant it as the words came out of his mouth.

"But before I go,” said Copper in a slightly more determined tone of voice, not noticing the thunder growing louder as he went on, "I just want you to know that losing you was the worst moment of my life. Even more than your Mother… because… because hurting you was all my fault…”

As he spoke, Copper began to move his hooves forward, walking towards his son slowly as he looked at him. As Canvas stood still on the wooden platform, Copper looked at him with the purest look of sincerity and guilt as he spoke from the heart, wanting his son to know just how much he regretted everything from that night.

"Canvas, there hasn't been a single day since that night where I wasn't thinking about how horribly I treated you, and regretting every single second of it. I… I wish more than anything to undo everything that happened."

Canvas looked away for a moment, not noticing the storm clouds above growing thicker as Copper came closer.

"I was afraid of what you were doing with your life, but….” Copper said as he began to give a more optimistic look to his son.

"But I can say, without any hesitation, that I have never been happier to be proven wrong."

Canvas looked back to his Dad with a surprised look on his face, not expecting him to say that as he went on with a faint smile on his muzzle.

"Canvas, you… you managed to accomplish more with your life than I ever could've imagined! After only a few months, you… you were able to do more than anypony back home could do in a lifetime! You… you really pulled it off! And… and I know that's all a parent asks for… to know that their child is doing alright on their own…”

Canvas felt a weight in his chest as he let his Dad's words sink in, realizing he was feeling slightly better at hearing something like that. As the skies grew cloudier, Copper walked closer and spoke in a more caring tone to his son.

"Canvas, you… you really became an amazing stallion. You managed to move on after everything that happened, and do so much with your life without any help… I… I know your Mom couldn't be prouder of you for that."

Canvas only nodded as he felt tears run down his own face as well. As his father got within a few feet of him, Copper started to look saddened again before he spoke in a more guilty tone.

"I… I just wished I told you that sooner."

With that, Copper slowly bent in, raising a hoof as he held his son for the first time in months. As Canvas stood there, motionless, he felt his father's warmth as he held him in a tight hug, gripping him as he spoke in a sincere and painful tone.

"I'm so sorry, Canvas… I am so, so sorry. I always loved you, Canvas… and I always will…”

Copper's tears slowly ran down his face, hitting Canvas's shoulder as he continued to speak in a tender tone, knowing this may very well be the last time he ever will.

"No matter that you do with your life… no matter how you live your life… no… no matter who you love… I will always, always love you, from the bottom of my heart…"

Copper kept his grip on Canvas's still body as he clenched his eyes shut, hugging him as tight as he could as he finished his statement.

"You are an amazing son, Canvas. I never want you to forget that… and… and I'm so proud of you… after everything you accomplished… after seeing how strong you've become...

“... I truly am proud to call you my son."

Copper held Canvas for a another moment, squeezing him tightly as he savored every second. Knowing how this could be the last time they ever meet again, Copper felt hesitant to let go as he slowly pulled back.

However, Copper felt a slight resistance as he began to pull away, realizing that Canvas had lifted a hoof to hold him back. Keeping his head against Copper's shoulder, several tears escaped Canvas as he gripped his Dad tighter, struggling to hold himself together as he let his words sink in. Feeling beyond grateful to hear everything Copper told him, Canvas kept his grip on his father as he spoke in a faint voice.

"... Th… thank you…”

After a sudden burst of thunder, a large torrent of rain fell down across all of Ponyville. Neither Canvas or his father took notice, gripping each other as tightly as they could as they hugged within the morning storm. With tears escaping both of them as they cried, Copper began to bawl as he clutched onto his son, feeling his guilt pour out while he screamed out to him as loud as he could.

"I'm so sorry, Canvas! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorryyyyy!!!"

Canvas could only cry as he heard Copper's pleads, not saying a word as he hugged his Dad for the first time in over half a year. Feeling how much raw emotion and pain was coming from the stallion in front of him, Canvas couldn't hold back his tears either as he kept his hooves around Copper. Even though the past shattered their relationship beyond repair, neither father nor son thought about that as they stood alone in that station, only letting their warmth bond them together for that one sacred moment.

As Canvas put his forelegs back on the ground to regain his balance, Copper still held onto his son, wrapping his hooves around the back of his neck before he kissed him on the forehead. As he felt his Dad's tight grip on him, Canvas's focus slowly faltered as he looked down to the wooden planks underneath him, realizing something was off as he saw the lack of raindrops around them.

Realizing his body was still mostly dry--despite his wet father hugging him and matting his fur--Canvas looked up as he noticed there was no rain hitting either of them. Noticing the same thing, Copper slowly let go of his son as he looked around in confusion, before the two of them looked up to see a large hole in the clouds directly above them.

Even though his face was only visible for less than a second before shooting back behind the grey clouds, Canvas instantly recognized the Gryphon as he tried to stay hidden, making him realize he wasn't alone when he came to the station. Feeling worried as to what Canvas would say about him being here, Troy winced a little as he heard his coltfriend's voice call to him from the ground.

"Troy? Wha… what are you doing here?"

Knowing he was caught, the Gryphon moved head back out into view, giving a sheepishly guilty look to Canvas as Copper stepped back in worry. Remembering how furious Troy looked when he first met him, the green stallion started breathing heavily, hoping the Gryphon wasn't going to fulfill his promise by still being in town. However, Troy just kept a worried look on Canvas as he spoke to him.

"I… I found the letter, and I wanted to make sure you were alright."

Canvas blinked a few times in confusion, trying to figure out what Troy meant, since he never wrote a letter. However, Canvas still kept himself silent as he watched Troy speak, rubbing the feathers on the back of his head as he tried to keep himself innocent.

"I wasn't eavesdropping, I swear! I… just wanted to make sure you… you wouldn't get wet…”

Embarrassed that he may have ruined the moment between his lover and his father, Troy pulled back behind the clouds to stay out of the way, making Canvas turn back to his Dad, who was looking at him slightly worried.

"Ummm…” Copper was unsure what to say to Canvas at that moment. Even though he already figured that Gryphon knew Canvas--especially after his first encounter with him--Copper stood confused as he tried to figure out why he was acting that way around his son. Copper looked back up to the hole in the sky for a second, ignoring the sound of thunderous rain around him as he looked back down and spoke to Canvas.

"Is… is that Gryphon… is he a friend of yours?"

Canvas bit his lip and started to blush. Even though he wasn't afraid to tell his Dad about Troy anymore, Canvas still felt a little embarrassed as he realized how odd his situation was. Remembering what Copper was saying about expecting how his son's life would go, Canvas felt like he was going to start laughing any moment, knowing his answer was probably going to really surprise his Dad.

"Actually,” said the aqua pony as a small smile crept up on his blushing muzzle, "Troy… he…

“... He's my boyfriend…”

Copper's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates as he looked at his son, realizing Canvas wasn't pulling his leg by saying that. The stallion alternated between looking up at the hole in the cloud and back to Canvas, wide-eyed, feeling extremely dumbfounded as he let that information sink in.

After looking at his son one more time and seeing how happy he looked at saying that, Copper looked down to the ground and lifted a hoof, touching his black eye as he recalled how murderous that Gryphon acted towards him. Even though finding out that his son was in a relationship with a huge Gryphon was much more than just a surprise to him, Copper felt a light chuckle escape his muzzle as he touched his bruised eye, remembering what happened to him as he spoke in a lightened tone.

"That… that actually explains a lot…”

Copper looked back at Canvas, feeling slightly worried as he realized that the Gryphon who almost slaughtered him was now with his son. However, at seeing how happy the stallion in front of him looked, Copper's hesitation faltered a bit as he recognized the look on his son's face, seeing that Canvas really did have strong feelings for the Gryphon above them.

After looking up to the hole in the sky one more time, Copper turned his attention back to Canvas as he spoke hesitantly.

"So… do… do you…”

Even though he'd gotten used to the fact that he had a gay son months ago, Copper still felt a huge resistance when he tried to ask his question, as he realized this was the very first time he actually talked with him about it. Even though this also gave him a slight wave of guilt from all the time that could've been spent talking about this, Copper cleared his throat before he tried to speak, trying not to sound too unnerved as he asked his son the question.

"Do… do you… love him?"

Even though he heard how uncomfortable those last two words sounded from his father's mouth, Canvas kept a smile on his muzzle as he nodded to him.

"Yeah, I… I do…”

Canvas looked up to the hole in the cloud, seeing Troy's head peek out slightly before he peered down at him. As Canvas gave a gracious smile to Troy, Copper looked up and saw the Gryphon give a warm smile back to his son, staying like that for a second before moving back behind the clouds. As Copper looked back to Canvas, he saw a warm blush growing on his son's face, making him grow a light smile himself as he realized how happy his son really looked with him.

"Well,” said Copper as his voice became more comfortable, "that's all that matters, then."

Canvas was quick to give his father one more hug, glad to see Copper like this as the rainfall began to die down around them. Since the downpour was only scheduled for a few minutes, no major schedules were changed at the train station, making the sound of a train whistle in the distance interrupt the two from their hug.

Copper looked over to see a train coming in from the distance, making his heart sink as he realized that was his ride out of Ponyville. Looking back to his son, Copper held onto him one last time, wanting to do one last thing before he left.

"Canvas,” said Copper as he slowly let go of his son, reaching for his saddlebag with a hoof, "I wanted to give you something while I was here."

Copper pulled out a large manila folder from the bag, which looked overstuffed with tons of papers as he gave it to his son. As he held the folder in his hooves, Canvas's eyes widened as he realized what it was, making him almost tear up again as he looked back to his Dad with wide eyes.

"When I was cleaning out the house,” said Copper in a more saddened tone, "I found all the paintings you did that… that were still alright."

Canvas started to breathe harder as he clutched the folder to his chest, feeling a faint smile creep up on his face as he looked at his father with the most grateful look in his eyes. Thinking that all his artwork from Gallop Creek was destroyed forever, holding onto his surviving works like this was more than gratifying for the stallion, making him start to cry as he spoke to his Dad in a gracious and whimpered tone.

"Th… thank you…”

Copper bent in and kissed his son on the forehead before holding him close, with their heads touching each other as he spoke tenderly.

"I'm really am proud of you, Canvas. And… and I'm really happy for you."

As the train began to pull into the station, making a large cloud of steam appear around the two against the now rising sun, Canvas kept his father close as he savored this moment. Even though he knew things would never be the same between him and his father, Canvas still felt grateful that he decided to talk to him like this, knowing that this kind of goodbye was far better than what happened the previous day.

While the engines died down and the doors to the train opened up, Copper pulled back and looked into his son's eyes, feeling himself tear up as held onto this moment for as long as he could.

As the green stallion began to pull back and walk onto the train alone, Copper looked back to his son standing on the platform, who was staring back at him in silence as he kept a disheartened look on his face. Copper smiled before he said one last thing to Canvas.

"You… you look a lot better with a short mane."

A quick smirk spread across Canvas’s muzzle as he tried not to laugh, looking better as he replied to his Dad.

"Th… thanks…”

With that, Copper sighed before he stepped inside the train, keeping his eyes on his son as long as he could before he went to his train car. Even after everything Copper did to him, Canvas didn’t leave from his spot as he looked at the train, looking at his father through the windows of the passenger car as he took his seat.

Even after the train doors closed and the engines fired up again, Canvas didn't move an inch as the clouds of steam blew around him, keeping his eyes on his Dad as he stared back at him. As the train began moving, Canvas didn’t try to follow the train down the platform, keeping his hooves planted at his spot on the wooden planks as we watched his father leave for the last time.

Looking back from his seat, Copper looked out the window as tears rolled down his face, feeling his heart grow heavy as he watched his son shrink in the distance. As the morning sun shone behind the aqua stallion, Copper smiled as he saw the Gryphon fly down from above the sky, landing beside his son and holding him close before the two of them disappeared from his sight.

For the first time since that unforgiveable night, Copper breathed in deeply and laid back in his seat, savoring the warmth of the morning light on his wet fur as he finally felt at ease. With the reassuring thought that his son was alright, and that nothing else needed to be done, Copper finally closed his eyes as he heard the train move along the tracks, smiling faintly as his mind finally began to rest.

While the train moved towards wherever the ticket said it was going, Copper no longer felt any pain in his heart as he slowly fell asleep, knowing everything was finally at peace as he left his child to grow.

Despite Ponyville usually being fairly active early in the morning, the storm from earlier that night made most of the ponies in town stay in their homes, making the town look fairly empty as the sun began to rise. Even though they were both rather exhausted from everything that happened in the past twenty-four hours, Canvas and Troy still kept a regular pace as they walked back home together. Because all of the major storms had ended, every inch of Ponyville and the surrounding area was now covered in a thick mist of fog, helping to make the two feel more secluded as they walked through the brisk autumn morning.

Although neither of them could see any more than a few feet through the morning mist, Canvas and Troy knew they were beginning to reach the town limits of Ponyville again as they passed the last building. Due to everything that had transpired, Canvas was fairly silent as he let his encounter with his father set in, not noticing how silent the Gryphon was getting as he walked beside him.

It wasn't until they were less than a mile from their home that Canvas noticed Troy’s silence. Looking over, Canvas saw that the Gryphon was staring dead ahead, looking like he was avoiding eye contact as he kept a saddened look on his face. Worried about what this meant, Canvas put a hoof out to Troy to halt him.

Troy breathed out deeply before he slowly turned to the stallion, an upset look on his face, which worried Canvas even more. Before the stallion could try to ask what was wrong, Troy threw his forelegs out and hugged Canvas, gripping him tightly as he clenched his eyes shut. Unsure of what caused this, Canvas only stood on his hooves as he felt his boyfriend squeezing him tightly, not realizing how troubled the Gryphon was until he spoke.

"I… I'm sorry Canvas."

"Wha… why are you…”

Canvas couldn't think of what to say before Troy slowly let go of him, guilt on his face as he spoke to him.

"I… I was convinced that you didn’t need to see him anymore. But I… I saw how much better you felt after talking with him again, and… all I can think of now is how I almost kept you from doing that."

Seeing how distressed Troy looked as he explained, Canvas remembered what the Gryphon said to him earlier that day, realizing why it was making him so upset now. Even though Troy's words did almost convince him not to ever see his father again, Canvas knew he couldn't let his lover feel so guilty about it. He hugged him back tightly.

"Troy,” said Canvas as he kept his boyfriend clutched around his hooves, "it's alright. I would never blame you for something like that, and you know that I'll always love you."

Even though he still felt bad about what he said to Canvas, Troy felt a light smile come back on his beak as he hugged his coltfriend back. Feeling Troy's warm feathers brush against his wet fur, Canvas took a breath before he continued to speak.

"Honey, I know that you were trying to help when you said I shouldn't talk with him, and… and you weren't wrong about anything you said."

Troy pulled back a little as he looked down at the stallion with a confused look on his face. Wondering what his coltfriend meant, Troy looked at him curiously before Canvas continued in a more saddened tone.

"I… I don't think I can ever completely forgive him. I… I don’t know if I can even call him my Dad anymore…”

After seeing how happy he looked with Copper at the train station, Troy was surprised to hear Canvas say something like that; however, Canvas kept a more optimistic look on his face as he spoke some more.

"But… that wasn't why I decided to talk with him again. I… I realized that, despite everything that happened, I couldn’t just let things end that way. After all I went through, I was still clinging to my past and letting it take over me."

Canvas put out a hoof and grabbed Troy's claw, holding it as he looked up at the Gryphon with a faint smile.

"I didn't want to drag my past around me anymore. Even with everything that happened, I realized that, to really move on, I couldn't hold a grudge like that."

Troy began to smile back as he realized what the stallion was saying. Despite still feeling bad about being wrong about this, Troy didn’t mind as he looked into his lover's beautiful blue eyes, keeping his full attention on Canvas as he finished his statement.

"Troy, I realized something big last night. I realized that life is way too precious to waste, and I shouldn't use the time I have hung up on something that's already done. Life is way too short, and… and we should use the time we have to focus on what we really want, not what we could've had."

Understanding Canvas's words, Troy moved his head in and used a claw to stroke his chestnut mane. Knowing the stallion was completely right, Troy began to close his eyes as he saw Canvas bend in as well, making him feel better as he spoke faintly to the pony.

"I couldn’t agree with you more."

Shrouded by the thick fog around them, Canvas and Troy felt even closer as they shared a deep kiss, holding each other close as they warmed up together in the cold autumn air. Remembering what caused Troy to find him at the station, Canvas slowly freed his lips from his lover's beak before he spoke to him.

"Hey Troy,” said Canvas in a curious tone, "you said you followed me because of a letter?"

"Yeah,” said the Gryphon as he opened one of his wings, pulling out a sheet of paper with a claw as he handed it to him. "I woke up and realized you weren't there. When I rushed downstairs, I found this on the dining room table."

Canvas's eyes widened a little as he looked at the letter, seeing the royal-purple ink it was written in as he read what it said.

Troy,

Head to the Ponyville Train Station. You might be needed, but please do not interfere.

While he was surprised Troy would think he wrote this since this was nothing like his hoofwriting, Canvas stayed silent as he looked back up to his boyfriend, seeing how surprised the Gryphon looked when he realized the stallion didn’t write it.

"Wait a minute,” said Troy as his eyes began to grow wider, "if you didn’t write that, then who--”

"It's okay, don't worry about it,” said Canvas as he gave Troy a reassuring smile.

Looking down at the letter in his hoof, Canvas smiled a little and realized how much Luna helped him out. Knowing the Gala was in less than a month, Canvas grinned as he realized what he could do before then.

"Just so you know, Troy,” said Canvas as he looked back at the Gryphon, "I think I'm going to be in my studio for a while before the Gala."

While he wasn't sure why Canvas would say that, the grateful smile the stallion had on his muzzle was more than enough for Troy to know he was really feeling better after everything. Not wanting to interfere with his coltfriend's happiness, Troy only nodded in agreement before he bent in and kissed him once more in the morning mist.

Even though they stayed in that space for what felt like an eternity, the two eventually made their way back to their home, not caring about anything as they rested back in their nest. While Canvas was quick to rest snugly against the Gryphon's feathered chest, Troy was still awake as he held him close, savoring his warmth as he felt the morning light shine into the room. As the stallion's breathing came in a gentle rhythm against Troy's body, the Gryphon could only grin as he looked at Canvas, smiling as he saw how carefree his lover really looked as he dozed.

For the first time, Troy could truly see that Canvas was at peace.

Keeping his forelegs wrapped around his lover, Troy couldn’t sleep as he kept thinking about Canvas's words, replaying them in his mind as he realized how right they really were. Looking down at the sleeping stallion, Troy realized that life really was a precious gift, knowing that the one he was holding was almost taken away not too long ago.

If he never noticed him that fateful day, Troy knew he would've never felt as happy or fulfilled with his life as he was now. Closing his eyes, Troy pulled his coltfriend in closer, savoring his warmth as he realized how much this beautiful pony really made his life better. As he held him tightly, Troy could only think about that last thing Canvas said: life is too short.

Replaying those four words in his head over and over, the Gryphon's eyes shot open, still clutching the stallion as he discovered a revelation about himself. When he felt his lover's heartbeat gently thump against his body, Troy felt a smile spread across on his beak as he looked down at Canvas, realizing what he really wanted to do.

Looking at the aqua stallion he knew to be the love of his life, Troy's eyes moistened as he smiled at him, feeling even better to be with him before he closed his eyes. As the Gryphon began to rest alongside his lover in the morning light, Troy's mind started to become at ease when he realized what he needed to do, finally knowing what he could do in Canterlot as those four words helped him to rest.

Life is too short.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Opening his tired eyes, Troy moved his head in forward while lying in the nest, hoping to feel his stallion in his grasp so he could nuzzle him. However, as Troy's eyes adjusted to the darkness around him, he realized Canvas wasn't in the nest with him. Realizing it was nighttime, Troy groaned and rose to his legs, knowing his sleep schedule was going to be messed up because of this. As he reached the stairs, Troy suddenly stopped caring about any issues he had at that moment, his eyebrows raising as he saw Canvas at the bottom of the stairs.

Sitting in one of the chairs at the dining room table, Canvas's back was turned to Troy as he sat silently, only illuminated by a single light bulb above him as he looked down at the table. As Troy began to walk down the stairs quietly, Canvas didn’t notice as he kept his attention to what was in front of him. From his height, Troy was easily able to see what Canvas had, noticing the manila folder at the corner of the table before he came closer.

Covering every inch of the dining table, all of Canvas's artwork that had been given him at the train station was now in full view. Looking over Canvas's shoulder, Troy could see the various drawings and paintings his coltfriend did back when he lived in Gallop Creek, seeing the vast arrangement of talent the stallion really had. However, among all the stunning landscape paintings and charcoal etchings, Troy turned his attention to what was directly in front of Canvas, making his eyes widen as he realized Copper didn’t just give him his paintings back.

Separate from his artwork, Canvas looked down at the only open space on the table, which laid several photographs of him and his parents. Noticing tears coming down Canvas's face, Troy slowly bent in, holding his lover softly as he looked at the photos with him.

While most of them were the basic ones of Canvas as a colt--a really cute one too, Troy noted--the Gryphon's attention went to the one in the middle of the pile, standing alone as he saw Canvas staring at it. While the photograph looked fairly old, Troy peered in with interest as he saw a dark-blue mare with a wavy, black mane, smiling at the camera as she held the little Canvas in with her wing.

Seeing the small puddle of Canvas's tears underneath the photo on the table, Troy didn’t need to be told who this mare was supposed to be. Seeing how good-looking the Pegasus really was, Troy held Canvas in closer and hugged him, hoping to ease his heartache as he gently spoke.

"Canvas, your mother was beautiful."

Feeling his lover's warmth against his back, Canvas smiled faintly as he used a hoof to pull Troy in closer. Still looking at the photo of Blowing Winds, Canvas felt himself still tearing up as he spoke to Troy.

"I… I never thought I would see her face again. When I left, I…. I didn’t have a single photo of her…”

Troy hugged Canvas even tighter as he heard that, not wanting the stallion to feel disheartened as he continued to speak.

"I really am happy he gave me these… that… that was probably the nicest thing he could've ever done…”

While Troy still hated Copper with a passion, he couldn’t help but feel a little better about him as he saw the photos included in that folder. Despite still thinking of him as a horrible bastard for hurting Canvas all those months ago, Troy knew that this was indeed a great thing to do for his son, realizing how grateful the stallion looked as he kept his attention on the photo of his mother. Closing his eyes, Troy kept his forelegs around Canvas's chest, resting his head on his aqua shoulder as he held him in that space. As the two savored their warmth for a moment, Canvas broke the silence when he spoke to the Gryphon.

"Troy…”

Troy opened his eyes as he heard his name, looking down to the stallion as he responded, "Yeah, hon?"

"I…"

Despite knowing he really wanted to do this for himself, Canvas still felt a slight hesitation as he attempted to say it out loud. Hoping Troy would understand why he wanted to do this, Canvas took a deep breath before he spoke again.

"I… I need to do something before we go to that Gala."

"What is it?"

While he could tell Canvas was serious about something, Troy kept his beak shut as he listened to him, hearing his voice come out faintly as he said what he wanted to do.

"I…

“I need to see her again."

Over the next few weeks leading up to the Grand Galloping Gala, both Troy and Canvas were particularly busy as they made their preparations. For the stallion, things had been especially hectic as he got everything ready; along with the big project that he wanted to get done before the Gala--which he'd been just as private about as he was with his painting for Celestia--Canvas also had to deal with the onslaught of questions from ponies as news about his past circulated around town.

Even though many ponies were polite enough to avoid asking him about those things when he first moved into Ponyville, the recent fight he had with his father quickly spread around, making almost everypony curious. Even though he managed to keep his visits to town limited due to his new, secret project, Canvas couldn’t help but deal with ponies when he did go into Ponyville, making him explain the basic facts as clearly and simple as he could.

Even though he was sure his other friends were still upset that he’d kept this secret about him and his father from them for so long, Canvas was quick to tell them not only of what happened in Gallop Creek, but what happened at the train station as well. While Lyra seemed surprised Canvas would do something like that after knowing what Copper did to him, Twilight seemed especially happy that the stallion spoke with his father, knowing just how important family bonds could really be. After telling Twilight and the others about his proper goodbye to his Dad, word spread around town just as quickly as news of the fight did. It wasn't long before the questions about Canvas and his father died down a bit, allowing him to work on his project in peace as he prepared for the Gala.

Troy, on the other hand, was making preparations of his own before the Gala. Along with being fitted for tuxedos with his coltfriend with the assistance of Rarity, Troy had been keeping himself busy while Canvas worked in his studio. Knowing what he wanted to do for the big night, the Gryphon was being just as secretive as Canvas while he got everything ready. After making sure everything was in place--with a small bit of assistance from Rarity after she found out about his plan--Troy was surprised by how quickly time passed for the two of them before they had to leave.

While the Grand Galloping Gala was still a day away, Canvas was adamant about what he wanted to do beforehand as he waited at the train station early in the morning; fortunately, Troy was more than supportive of his course of action, understanding his lover's reasoning completely as he waited right beside him

Before the train could arrive to take them to their destination, the sound of galloping hooves caught the attention of the two. They looked back at the platform entrance, seeing Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash come up to them as Lyra and Bon-Bon followed behind. As the four mares approached Canvas and Troy, all of them kept a mix of excitement and slight worry on their faces, already being told of Canvas's plans before he went to the Gala. Hoping to ease any tensions that might be present, Twilight cleared her throat before she spoke to Canvas.

"Well, Canvas, I just want you to know that I completely understand why you want to do this. All I want to say is that you know you can contact me if anything happens."

Canvas gave her a light smile and nodded, although he was sure nothing would occur while he was there. Knowing that Celestia did a personal investigation in the town, Canvas figured that nopony in Gallop Creek would even dare to try and bother him this time. And since he didn't plan to stay in the town for very long, Canvas was confident that he would be alright, especially when he stayed close to the Gryphon beside him. Looking up to his boyfriend, Canvas grinned a little as Troy looked back down at him, both of them knowing that the Gryphon was basically being a bodyguard as he went with him into town.

"I think I'll be alright, Twilight,” said Canvas before he locked eyes with Troy. "I don't think I'll be there for that long, and I'd hate to think of anypony dumb enough to mess with me with this guy around."

Troy grinned and looked down at Canvas, happy that he was able to be the stallion's protector as they went on this little journey. While she didn’t want to interrupt the two gazing at each other (despite how sappy it looked), Rainbow Dash cleared her throat to catch their attention, waiting until they turned their heads to her before she spoke.

"Just so you know, Troy,” said the cyan mare as she looked at the Gryphon, "Rarity wanted me to tell you the alterations to your tux are ready, and that she'll give it to you as soon as you're off the train in Canterlot."

Troy's grin grew even bigger as he looked at the Pegasus, not noticing how much his tail was wagging before he noticed Canvas looking at him oddly, keeping a skewed eyebrow before Troy looked away from him, blushing. Hoping to recompose himself before anypony got suspicious, Troy looked back at Rainbow Dash as he spoke.

"Th-thanks for telling me that, Dash. Tell her I really appreciate it."

The Pegasus nodded, still keeping a slightly suspicious look on her face before Lyra and Bon-Bon walked past her. Walking up to the two, Lyra and Bon-Bon were quick to hug both Canvas and Troy, happy to wish them luck before their big night. Ever since they learned of Canvas's full past, the two mares had been especially insistent on becoming closer with both Canvas and Troy, feeling particularly grateful when Canvas told them as much as he could.

After everything was said and shared, the married couple felt a lot closer to their friends as they gave their best wishes at the station, keeping them close as Bon-Bon spoke up.

"You two have a great time in Canterlot!" Bon-Bon said as she gave an especially tight hug to Canvas. "And I hope things go well for the both of you on the way."

"Thanks, Bon-Bon,” said Canvas as he hugged her back. "It's a shame you two can't come with us."

"Don’t sweat it, Canvas,” said Lyra as she looked at him. "We've been there before, so it's not like I'm missing anything big. I'm just glad you both are going together."

Troy pulled in Canvas with a wing as he heard that, looking down at his coltfriend as he smiled at him. Feeling especially excited about the Gala, Troy looked back at the two mares with a grin as he spoke to them.

"I know it's going to be a great night,” said the Gryphon in an especially happy tone, "and we'll be sure to let you know of what happens as soon as we get back."

As the sound of an upcoming steam engine began to fill the train station, Canvas and Troy were quick to give some last-minute hugs to their friends, both of them feeling glad about what was going to happen. As the train began to board into the station, a large cloud of steam began to envelop all of them before the speakers clicked on. A booming voice made the announcement for all the ponies at the station:

Now boarding: All passengers for the train for Baltimare, Appleloosa, and Gallop Creek.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train was crowded at first as Canvas and Troy took their seats, making the Gryphon feel especially cramped as his height almost made his head touch the roof. Fortunately, having Canvas next to him made him feel a bit more comfortable as the train made its route through the towns, making the passenger car less crowded with each stop.

By the time the train departed from the Appleloosa station and the train car was nearly empty, Troy was surprisingly comfortable in his small seat. However, as the train came closer to his old town, Canvas was starting to feel more and more nervous as the landscape became more familiar.

As the deserts slowly turned back into large fields and farmland, Canvas started to look paler. He clutched his art bag and avoided looking out the window, catching Troy's attention as he saw how worried the stallion was. As Gallop Creek began to come closer to them, Troy wrapped a foreleg around his coltfriend and held him close, speaking in a gentle voice in an effort to ease his nerves.

"It's alright, Canvas,” said Troy in an especially caring tone as he began nuzzling him, "I'm going to be right next to you the whole time."

Canvas nodded and looked up at the Gryphon, trying to force a faint smile on his muzzle to cover his obvious hesitance about coming back here. As the speakers in the car announced their stop approaching, Canvas started to look even more flustered before Troy hugged him, keeping him in his forelegs as he spoke in a clear and insistent tone.

"Canvas, remember in the hotel room when you first told me about what happened to you, and you were worried about it happening again in Ponyville?"

Canvas nodded a little as a smile came back on his face, remembering how scared he used to be before meeting everypony who helped him out.

"When I was with you then,” continued the Gryphon, "what did I tell you?"

Canvas paused for a moment as he held himself against Troy, remembering his lover's words back when they were just becoming friends. Smiling as he recalled them, Canvas's voice came out faintly as he spoke.

"You… you said that if anypony messed with me… that you would take care of it."

"That's right,” said Troy as he pulled back his head and looked straight into Canvas's eyes. "And I meant it then, just like I mean it right now."

Seeing the sincerity in Troy's gorgeous golden eyes, Canvas felt lighter as he bent in and kissed him on the beak, feeling a lot more at ease as the train began to slow down. Despite still feeling resistant about returning to the place he'd come to hate for so long, none of the stallion's worries got to him as he looked straight into Troy's eyes, helping to ease his mind even when the Gallop Creek Train Station came into view.

As the train made its final stop for the morning route, arriving in Gallop Creek just before noon, Troy was quick to get up from his seat before his coltfriend. Waiting for him at the exit of the train car, Troy made sure the stallion was right by him before he opened his wing, holding it up like a shield as he looked at Canvas with caring eyes. Seeing what he was doing for him, Canvas felt especially grateful for his boyfriend being here as he moved in underneath the massive wing, savoring the immense warmth as they walked out of the train, side-by-side.

Even with his lover covered as they slowly made their way out of the station, Troy knew he was still going to attract a lot of attention, knowing that most ponies here have probably never seen a Gryphon before. As Troy considered just putting his coltfriend on his back and flying him to his destination, Canvas poked at his side to catch his attention, motioning him in a different direction before they could make it to the main road through town. Following his lead, Troy walked where Canvas was leading him, still keeping him snug under his wing as they went around the side of the first building along the town.

As they reached the back of the building, Troy saw that there was a small--although fairly unused--alleyway that led along the side of town. Seeing how empty and unused the alley was, Troy lifted his wing, allowing Canvas to step forward and lead the way as they walked together.

Keeping him close, Troy walked alongside Canvas while they made their way down the alley, noticing how grey and lifeless Gallop Creek looked as they walked past the open spaces between the buildings. "Man,” he muttered as he saw how unappealing Gallop Creek looked in comparison to Ponyville, "I can see why you left this place. This town is really depressing-looking."

"I know,” said the stallion as he avoided looking over to the main street, "but it doesn’t matter. That's not why I'm here."

Eventually, the two made their way through the town, managing to avoid anypony present as they went where Canvas was wanting to go. As the buildings behind them slowly shrank from view, the skies started to look brighter as they walked past a particularly green field.

By the time they walked past the black iron gates, Troy was surprised by how much more colorful this place looked compared to the town behind them. Remembering how Canvas told him he was here a lot after his Mom’s passing, Troy couldn’t blame him as he saw how serene and beautiful this place was. With the clear blue skies above them and shining green grass underneath, Troy couldn't help but see how ironic this all felt; of all the places in this lousy town, the one part that seemed the most lively happened to be the cemetery.

Walking along the lines of tombstones, Canvas slowed down a little when they reached a large oak tree, which gave a nice shade as he stopped underneath it. After taking a moment to feel the cool grass underneath his hooves, remembering how many hours he spent under this tree while he worked on his art, Canvas looked up with a worried glance to Troy as he spoke.

"Troy…” said the stallion faintly. "I…. I really want to be alone for this, first.”

Troy only nodded, understanding how big this moment was before he hugged him tightly. Hoping he was going to be alright for this, Troy stood underneath the tree as he let go and watched the stallion slowly walk forward again.

As he walked along the lines of gravestones once more, Canvas felt his heart grow heavier as he reached closer to the one he came for. As soon as his Mother's grave came within sight, a huge gust of wind blew against Canvas's back, making him move forward faster as he walked toward the stone.

Feeling his emotions take over, Canvas's walk quickly turned into an anxious gallop as the winds kept blowing against his back, eventually making him run as fast as he could as his bag flopped against his side before stopping at the grave. While the wind blew even harder around Canvas, caressing every inch of the stallion as tears came from his eyes, Canvas could only give a gracious smile as he sat down in front of the tombstone, savoring this moment as he read the text on the grave.

Blowing Winds
Caring Wife
Loving Mother
Dedicated Storm Worker

Before he left Gallop Creek, Canvas spent almost every day within this graveyard, either sitting beside her grave or underneath the tree nearby as he worked on his art. While his father was insistent about him being anywhere else but here, Canvas never listened to him, letting the gentle winds around the cemetery brush against him as he spent his years in this tranquil space.

Whenever he was here, no matter what the weather was, Canvas always felt a gentle breeze against him, especially when he was close to her grave. Now that he was back for the first time in months, the longest time he’d ever spent away from his Mom, Canvas felt the wind around him blowing harder than it ever had, brushing against him in every direction as he put a hoof up to the grave. Closing his eyes, Canvas waited until the winds settled, feeling them continue to caress his fur lightly before he spoke in a cracked voice.

"H-hi, Mom."

Looking at the stone, Canvas smiled as more tears came down, feeling glad that finally did this again after so long. Suddenly, a new gust of wind picked up, blowing especially hard around the top of Canvas's head as it went through his mane. Feeling the breeze tickle him slightly, Canvas's smile grew even bigger before he spoke some more to the grave.

"Yeah, I know… I had it cut a few months ago…”

Canvas kept his hoof on the grave, feeling the coolness of the stone against his fur before he looked at the top corner. Remembering seeing it in his dream from Luna, Canvas felt his heart grow heavy again as he saw the slightly discolored spot on the grave, standing darker than the rest of the stone as a bitter reminder of everything that happened.

Reaching out to the discolored area, Canvas touched the spot where both his and his father's blood laid before, realizing how much pain happened at the place his Mother was supposed to rest. Canvas's smile dropped as his head hung low at the grave, feeling new tears of sadness come out as a breeze hit against his back.

"It… it's been way too long, Mom…”

Canvas sniffed and tried to keep his voice strong, not wanting to seem too weak as he recalled everything that happened since the last time he was here. As Troy looked over from the tree with worry, Canvas struggled to speak clearly as he looked at the grave, knowing what he had to say.

"He… he found me… You can probably say a lot about him, but… but he was a stallion of his word…”

More tears escaped Canvas as he spoke, wondering whether Copper came back here before him to tell her of how everything went. As the breeze kept brushing against his back, Canvas kept talking as he recalled what happened.

"He…. he tried to talk with me, and… and I didn't want to at first… I… I said horrible things to him… I thought it would help me, but… but it just didn’t feel right…”

Canvas clenched his eyes shut as he kept speaking, trying to keep himself in control as he clutched the grave.

"I… I talked with him later and… and we said our goodbyes…”

As the winds began to die down, Canvas pressed his head against the stone, feeling his tears hit the grass underneath him as he continued.

"I don't think… I don't think things will ever be the same again, but… but I'm glad it ended the way it did… it’s just…”

Canvas could no longer hold himself together. He pulled up his other hoof as he hugged the tombstone, crying out harder as he spoke in a cracking voice.

"I just wish you were here, Mom! I… I really wish you were here before any of that happened! I know that… that you would've made everything easier…”

The winds suddenly blew harder again and hit Canvas's back, pressing him against the stone tighter as he cried. Feeling the winds hugging him, Canvas smiled as he felt the hard breeze on him, knowing that feeling was all that he needed to feel better.

After a moment, Canvas slowly pulled back from the grave, looking at the tombstone with a smile as he spoke in a more optimistic voice.

"I… I'm doing a lot better, though… I'm in a great town, called Ponyville… I know you would've loved it."

Still tearing up, Canvas touched the stone again as he smiled, recalling all the things that had gone well for him over these months.

"I have a great home, and… and I'm a successful artist… just like you said I would be."

Canvas then reached a hoof into his art bag, pulling out a copy of the Canterlot Press as he laid it in front of the grave. Laying it out so the headline of him with Celestia was in clear view, Canvas kept the largest smile on his tear-matted face as he continued speaking happily.

"I made history, Mom! I… I made a painting for Canterlot Castle."

A huge gust of wind quickly blew Canvas against the stone again, jarring him a little as his head bumped against the grave. As he pulled his head back, the winds were still blowing against the grave, holding the thick newspaper against it for several seconds before it fell back on the ground. Keeping a warm smile on his muzzle, Canvas lifted his hoof and pressed it against the stone, keeping a cheerful look in his wet eyes as he spoke gently.

"Also… I found someone."

The winds died down a little, worrying Canvas a little before he remembered what happened over a year ago. Back when he was still in high school, it took several months of denial and self-loathing before he finally realized who he was. Even though he was terrified about what would happen to him if anypony found out, one of the first things Canvas did was go to this graveyard, sitting in front of this grave as he spoke in almost a whisper. As soon as he said those two words to his Mother:

I'm… gay.

There was a long silence where nothing happened. No winds, no sounds, no indication of anything for the stallion as he sat there, alone. However, before Canvas could think he truly was alone, a strong gust of wind brushed against his back, letting him know that he really was alright.

Now, in front of the first pony he ever came out to, Canvas felt his heart racing faster as he spoke, wanting to introduce someone so important to him to the one he cared about so much. Gulping down any excess saliva in his mouth, Canvas kept a smile on his face as he spoke about the Gryphon to the grave.

"His… his name is Troy… he's a Gryphon… he's in the Weather Patrol, just like you… And… and I love him…”

As the winds picked up against his back, Canvas smiled as he felt the breeze, feeling just as glad for that as he did when he first talked about himself like this.

"He saved my life after I left here… and….he became the greatest thing to ever happen to me…”

With that, Canvas looked over to the tree in the distance, seeing Troy watching him before he put up a hoof. As he motioned for the Gryphon to come over to him, Canvas turned back to the tombstone as he heard Troy's wings open up. Keeping an eager, yet worried look on his face, Canvas felt especially nervous as he spoke back to the tombstone.

"I… I really want you to meet him…"

Troy landed several feet from where Canvas was, seeing the stallion keep his spot in front of the grave before walking forward. Without making a sound, Troy sat down beside Canvas, seeing the grave for the first time while he noticed how emotional his coltfriend looked right now.

As soon as he sat in front of the grave, another gust of wind began blowing around the Gryphon, brushing against his feathers. He saw Canvas looking over with a smile. Almost feeling like the winds were hugging him, Troy looked back at Canvas with a confused look on his face before the pony spoke up.

"I think she likes you, Troy."

Even though he didn’t want to think this was really some supernatural thing going on (especially since he hated the idea of ghosts and stuff), Troy smiled when he saw how glad Canvas looked right now. As Troy looked back at the grave of Blowing Winds, Canvas kept a slightly embarrassed tone as he spoke to him.

"You… you don’t have to say anything if you don--"

"It's alright,” said the Gryphon as he looked back at Canvas with a warm smile. "I did this before with my Grandparents. I understand completely."

As Troy put a foreleg around Canvas, the stallion rested his head on the Gryphon’s shoulder as they looked back at the grave. Sensing how peaceful his coltfriend felt at that moment, Troy felt a smile on his beak before he opened it, glad to share this moment with Canvas as he spoke to the stone.

"I… I'm really glad to be here right now. You have an amazing son… and I really do love him."

As the winds picked up around the both of them, Troy lowered his head toward Canvas, resting it on top of the pony's head as he closed his eyes. Feeling the breeze brush against his feathers, Troy savored the tranquility of this space as he held Canvas close, before speaking in a quiet and loving tone.

"I just want to say… that nothing makes me happier… than being right here… right now… with you by my side."

Hearing how warm and caring Troy's words were, Canvas held him closer and closed his eyes, savoring the warmth as he felt the gentle breeze against his fur. As the two held each other in front of the grave, neither of them said a single word to break the silence around them, letting the peaceful beauty of the moment speak for itself as the gentle breeze held them closer.

Eventually, Canvas slowly let go of Troy and looked back at the grave. Still smiling warmly, Canvas spoke in a faint voice as he made his goodbye.

"I… I have to go to Canterlot… they're premiering my painting there tomorrow night…”

Canvas then touched the stone one last time, feeling more tears come down his face as he spoke in a caring tone.

"I'll be back soon. I promise… I won’t be gone nearly as long as last time."

With that, Canvas lifted himself back to his hooves, feeling especially grateful he had a chance to do this as the winds blew around him some more. As Troy lifted himself up as well, Canvas bent forward to the tombstone, giving it a quick kiss before backing away with a smile.

After walking backwards several feet and keeping his eyes on the grave, Canvas slowly turned around and began to walk forward, moving back to the entrance of the cemetery as Troy walked by his side. As he began to walk along the lines of graves once more with his art bag by his side, Canvas felt Troy suddenly stop walking as he looked back.

"Stay here,” said Troy as he kept his eyes back on the grave. "I… I left my satchel there. I'll go get it."

Before Canvas could respond--or wonder why Troy said that in such an odd way--the Gryphon quickly flew back to the spot, picking up his bag as he placed it over his shoulder. As Canvas looked from the distance, Troy paused for a moment as he stood in front of the grave before he slowly bent his head in and began to speak to the stone with a smile on his beak.

Not able to hear what Troy said from this distance, Canvas became more suspicious as he began trotting back. Even though he couldn’t feel it from here, Canvas saw that a thunderous gust of wind was blowing around his lover by the stone before he began to kneel down in front of it.

By the time Canvas got within hearing distance, Troy had his eyes closed as he kneeled in front of the tombstone, moving his claws in an intricate manner across the stone while he muttered some words. While Canvas wasn't sure what he was saying, he was able to recognize that his boyfriend was speaking in traditional Gryphonian, uttering several more words as his talons brushed against the grave before lifting himself up.

As Troy began to walk back, his face grew slightly embarrassed as he saw Canvas staring at him in a confused manner. Looking away for a moment, the Gryphon rubbed the feathers on the back of his head as he spoke sheepishly to Canvas.

"I… I just wanted to say something…”

Troy then tried to walk away from the grave again before Canvas stopped him, holding a hoof out as he looked at him suspiciously. Knowing he had to say something, Troy kept a sheepish look on his face as he mumbled his reason, looking away from Canvas as he spoke faintly.

"I… I was doing the Chant of Remembrances, okay?"

Canvas kept a skewed eyebrow as he eyed the Gryphon, unsure of what to say before Troy continued to explain.

"It… it's a prayer that Gryphons use in memory of those who passed. I… I wasn't sure what you would've thought if I did it with you next to me…”

While Canvas was surprised his boyfriend would do something like that, he was more curious as to why Troy would think that was something to be ashamed of. Holding a hoof to his feathered shoulder, Canvas looked at Troy as he spoke in a curious tone of voice.

"So… what did you say?"

Troy hung his head a little, unsure of how to answer that before he spoke.

"Well… it's kind of hard to translate from Gryphonian… but, in simple terms, I said:

“No matter how high,
No matter how low...

“No matter how far,
Wherever you go...

“You are never forgotten.
We will always know

Of how bright you shone
To make us grow…”

Embarrassed at admitting that, Troy looked away from the stallion, not noticing how big Canvas's eyes had widened. Hearing Troy's statement, a large smile came up on Canvas's muzzle as he lunged forward and hugged him, feeling his heart get warmer as he spoke sincerely.

"Oh, Troooyyyy… that's beautiful!"

Knowing that the Gryphon was willing to say something so kind to somepony he cared so much about, Canvas tried to keep himself from crying as he held onto Troy. Seeing how happy his coltfriend looked at hearing that, Troy felt a little better as he hugged him back.

Even though he really did say that chant for her, Troy kept his beak shut as he held onto the stallion, not wanting to admit what else he said to the grave out of Canvas's earshot. Before Canvas could pull back, Troy looked around before he spoke.

"I'm really glad you're not freaked out about that. Most ponies get weirded out when I speak Gryphonian."

"Don’t worry about that,” said Canvas as he looked up to the Gryphon with a cheeky smile. "In fact, you sound pretty cute when you do that."

Troy's feathers ruffled out a little at hearing Canvas call him cute, making the pony giggle before hugging him again. As he held him against his chest, Troy realized they still had an hour until the next train would come to take them to Canterlot, making him worry a little as he looked down to Canvas.

"So… what do you want to do now? I mean, we still have a bit of time before the train comes."

Hearing that, Canvas sighed and pulled his head back, looking around the graveyard as he contemplated what to do. While he wouldn’t mind just hanging around here until the train arrived, Canvas couldn’t help but think of something else he could do while he was still in town. Even though he was unsure of whether or not to do it, Canvas looked up at Troy with a hesitant look on his face before he spoke bluntly.

"I was thinking… maybe...

“Maybe I can see my old home again."

Troy felt more and more uneasy as he walked with his coltfriend along the dirt road, knowing very well what happened to Canvas in this area. As the two walked side-by-side along the rows of grey and white houses, there were no other ponies visible from their homes or yards. Still, the Gryphon could feel the piercing stares from their windows as they went past.

Even though he figured this would happen in a place where no Gryphons had ever been present, Troy still felt a little uncomfortable as he followed the stallion, hoping that Canvas was doing the right thing. When a small, brick building came up in the distance, Troy noticed Canvas's trot change slightly. His hooves began to shake a little with each added step.

By the time they reached the drugstore, Canvas's shaking had reached his whole body, the stallion looking incredibly worried as he came up to his old home. Seeing the look of unease in the pony's face, Troy was quick to walk up to him, keeping his body right next to his in an attempt to calm him down. Even with feeling the warmth of his lover by his side, Canvas was still shaking more as they got closer to his home. It wasn't until the house was in clear view that Canvas's eyes widened, making him bite his lip as he looked at his childhood home.

Fortunately, the home was still there, standing tall in the neighborhood like nothing ever happened. The paint over the two-story house was still the same shade of off-white that Canvas remembered, with the dark-green shutters along the windows that gave some semblance of color around the place. The front lawn was shining with a vibrant shade of green grass, which was slightly overgrown due to the lack of attention.

Seeing what else was on the lawn, Canvas wasn't surprised the grass hadn’t been cut in a while: he noticed the “For Sale” sign still up. Canvas clenched his eyes shut as he saw that sign, realizing that his old home really was gone after he’d left.

Troy put a foreleg around the stallion, holding him tight as he saw how upset Canvas was. Keeping his eyes closed, Canvas slowly bent his head in towards Troy, letting the warm feathers brush against his face and help calm him down. Neither of them were sure how long they stood like that in the middle of the street in front of Canvas's old home; however, the sound of something banging from the drugstore behind them caught their attention.

As the two turned their heads back to the old brick building, a light-blue Pegasus shot out of the doors with his eyes wide open, looking absolutely shocked as he looked over at Canvas.

"CANVAS?!” shouted the stallion, his short, orange mane almost starting to shoot out at the sight of the aqua pony. "Holy buck, I can’t believe it!"

The stallion managed to run forward several steps, looking absolutely ecstatic to see the pony before Troy stepped out in front of Canvas. The Gryphon shot open his wings as he stood in a brooding pose to protect his coltfriend, making the Pegasus skid to a screeching halt as he saw Troy's burning glare on him. Thinking this Gryphon was going to rip his limbs apart, the stallion started shaking horribly as his breathing came out rapidly, making him unable to speak as he trembled on his hooves.

Canvas was quick to put his hoof out in front of Troy, keeping the Gryphon from doing anything before he said, "It's alright.” Canvas said in a worried tone to his boyfriend, "It's just Cloud Thresher, don't worry."

Canvas looked back over to Cloud Thresher, seeing how freaked-out the Pegasus looked before turning back to Troy. "He won't do anything. It's alright."

Hearing how insistent Canvas was in his words, Troy slowly nodded before he lowered his wings, keeping his eyes pinned on Cloud Thresher as he stepped back. Seeing that he wasn't going to end up as a fur rug in some Gryphon den, Cloud Thresher began to stop shaking as he looked back at Canvas, breathing in a few times before he spoke in a faint and shaky tone of voice.

"C-Canvas… I… I didn’t expect to see you here…”

Canvas only nodded as he looked at Cloud Thresher, keeping a slightly saddened look on his face before he looked back at the house and spoke.

"Yeah, I… I heard the house was for sale, and--”

"It was,” said Cloud Thresher in a more morose tone, rubbing the back of his own neck as he spoke sheepishly. "He… he really wanted to find you.”

Canvas bit his lip as he looked back at the Pegasus, sighing before he replied, "Yeah. He… he did.”

"I know,” said Cloud Thresher faintly. "He was here about a week ago…."

Canvas breathed in as he heard that, knowing that Copper probably would've done something like that. As the stallion stood silent next to his boyfriend, Cloud Thresher kept speaking in a more optimistic tone of voice.

"I met up with him and he… he told me about what happened, and… he mentioned you were doing really well…”

Cloud Thresher then looked at the Gryphon next to Canvas, a smirk appearing on his light-blue muzzle as he realized who he was. Even though Troy still kept a stern look on his face, Could Thresher couldn’t help but chuckle a little as he spoke some more.

"I… I guess he wasn't messing with me when he told me about the Gryphon."

Even though he chuckled lightly in an attempt to lighten the mood, Canvas and Troy kept silent before Cloud Thresher stopped, going back to his upset state as he spoke to Canvas.

"Canvas, it's… it's really great to see you again. I mean…. I'm really happy to hear you're doing so well."

Hearing the sincerity in the Pegasus's statement, Canvas gave a light smile as he stood beside Troy, nodding before he responded, "Thanks, I… I just wanted to…”

Canvas closed his eyes for a second as he breathed in, looking a little more upset as he continued his statement.

"... I wanted to see my Mom again… you know… before the Gala."

Cloud Thresher nodded in understanding, looking back in the direction of the graveyard for a second before turning back to Canvas.

"I get it,” said the stallion, trying to look happier as he kept talking to Canvas. "You… you actually made the front page of the paper for that Celestia thing…”

The Pegasus kept his smile for a second before his eyes widened a little, as if something went off in his head before he looked back to the drugstore.

"Actually,” said Cloud Thresher in a more excited tone, "wait right here!"

Before Canvas could respond, Cloud Thresher ran back into the drugstore as quickly as he’d exited. As Canvas and Troy stood there, slightly confused, they could hear the Pegasus's voice coming from inside the store, talking with another stallion inside.

After a moment of silence, the head of the grey-coated shopkeeper poked out from the door, noticing Canvas before his eyes widened in shock. As soon as the old stallion's head went back into the drugstore, the sound of things banging could be heard from inside before Cloud Thresher shot back out, holding a large frame in his mouth as he trotted to Canvas and Troy.

As Cloud Thresher propped the frame in front of the two, Canvas's eyes widened when he saw the newspaper headline inside, seeing that it was from the Gallop Creek Gazette a few months ago. Boasting the same picture of Canvas with Celestia that'd been in every other paper in Equestria, the framed newspaper carried a large headline above the photo, printed in a bold font as it displayed the big story.

Seeing how the story took up the entire front page, Canvas didn’t need to read the huge wall of text underneath the photo to know how important this was. Even with all the pain he’d experienced that dreadful night after his graduation, Canvas couldn’t help but smile a little as he saw that framed picture, realizing how Gallop Creek managed to not only see, but appreciate, his largest accomplishment since leaving.

Noticing how grateful the pony looked at seeing this, Cloud Thresher picked the frame back up, propping it against the side of the building before turning back to Canvas. Even though he wanted to stay positive, his growing guilt prevented him from keeping the smile on his face. It slowly went back down to a sullen frown before he spoke honestly.

"Canvas, I… I don't know what I could say right now…”

Cloud Thresher's gaze slowly went down to the ground, making him hang his head in guilt as he continued to speak.

"There are… no words… to describe how horrible I feel right now.”

Looking back to Canvas, Cloud Thresher carried the strongest look of shame as he kept talking, knowing what he had to say to the stallion who was almost killed less than a year ago.

"I should've helped you, Canvas. And…. and I know there's nothing I can say that can make up for not doing so. I saw what he did, but… but I didn’t do anything about it.”

Seeing how Canvas was looking back at him in disappointment--with a particularly strong glare from the Gryphon beside him--Cloud Thresher's voice came out more distressed as he spoke, feeling worse about himself with each passing word.

"I know I'm not the only one, but… I'm so sorry, Canvas… I just want you to know that.”

After a long bout of silence between them, Canvas slowly nodded to Cloud Thresher, breathing out before he spoke faintly.

"Th… thanks, Cloud Thresher. I… I know you helped him out a lot to try finding me, so… it's alright."

While Cloud Thresher was surprised to find out Canvas knew that, the Pegasus still grew a small smile back on his face as he nodded back. Looking back to the house behind the two, Cloud Thresher sighed before turning back to Canvas, keeping a more positive tone of voice as he spoke.

"Just so you know… I still have the spare key… you know, from when I used to foalsit you and stuff…”

Canvas's eyes widened a little as he saw the Pegasus lift his right wing, watching as Cloud Thresher bent his head back and pulled out a ring of keys from underneath his wing. Without saying anything, Cloud Thresher flew over to the house with the keys in his mouth, quickly finding the right one before he opened the front door.

As Canvas and Troy walked over to the front door together, Cloud Thresher stood beside it and looked at them with a guilty look on his face. "I…I know this doesn't make up for anything, but… it's the least I can do,” he said to Canvas.

Seeing the inside of the home, Canvas smiled a little as he looked back at Cloud Thresher, holding out a hoof before he spoke to him.

"Thanks for doing this, Cloud. You… you really were a good friend."

Seeing that Canvas really looked happy about this, Cloud Thresher smiled back as he shook his hoof, grateful that things were fine at the moment.

"Not a problem,” said the Pegasus before looking back to the house. "Just lock up before leaving, okay?"

Canvas only nodded before he stepped inside, trying to appreciate being back in his old home despite the stuffy air. Before Troy followed him inside, he gave one last nod toward Cloud Thresher, waiting until the Pegasus nodded back before he went inside with his coltfriend.

As Troy closed the door behind him, Cloud Thresher sighed before stepping off the front porch, glad that he got to see him one last time like that. While the Pegasus went back to the frame to give back to the shopkeeper, Canvas stood in the middle of the house, looking up at the stairs leading to the second floor as Troy walked up to him.

"You okay, Canvas?” Troy asked as he stood beside him. "I mean, I didn’t think you would be so alright with talking with him after everything."

"I know,” said Canvas as he slowly turned back to the Gryphon, "but… I talked with Twilight a week ago about what happened to me…"

Seeing the curious look on Troy's face, Canvas cleared his throat before he went on. "She told me about this thing called the Bystander Effect…”

Remembering what the Princess said to him, Canvas looked down to the ground as he tried to explain it as best as he could to the Gryphon. "Apparently, during a traumatic event, a large group who is watching something happen might not help out that quickly, or even at all. When a pony knows they're not alone in seeing something bad happen, they might not do anything because they think somepony else will. It… it's actually a big psychological thing that happens a lot in bad situations."

Even though Troy understood enough of Canvas's statement to nod, the Gryphon still felt uneasy as he thought about it. While the idea of Bystander Effect definitely made sense--especially after seeing it happen in Ponyville, when no one stopped the screaming match between Canvas and Copper--Troy hated thinking about it, knowing how easily his lover could've been killed because of the lack of help for him at that time.

"I mean,” continued the stallion, "I know it doesn’t excuse any of them for what happened to me, but… but, I get it."

Canvas looked back up at Troy, keeping a more optimistic tone as he finished his statement. "I don't know if I can ever forgive anypony in this town, but… there is one thing that makes me feel better…”

Canvas then put a hoof around the Gryphon's neck as he bent forward, standing in his old home as he spoke in a more loving tone of voice. "Of all the help I could've gotten that night… you...

“You were the best help I could've ever asked for."

Canvas then put his head on Troy's shoulder, holding him in a deep hug as they stood in the darkened room. As Troy hugged the stallion back, he knew that Canvas was right about that last statement. While he wouldn’t mind knocking out a few of the neighbors around here for not helping Canvas that night (despite that whole Bystander Effect thing), Troy felt better as he thought about all the help he gave him, realizing how differently things would've gone if he hadn’t found the stallion.

After all these months of becoming friends, knowing each other, and becoming happier with each moment they became closer, Troy knew that none of it could've happened if he wasn't the first one to help him. Even though he hated thinking about how much pain the stallion went through before that fateful day outside Ponyville, Troy knew how much love and happiness was able to occur after that day, making him feel better as he clutched Canvas in his claws.

After a moment of serenity between the two, Canvas slowly pulled back and looked around the house. Because of the blinds covering the windows, much of the house was rather darkened for the two, making the stuffiness of the unnoticed home feel even more uncomfortable as the stallion stood in the middle of the house. With the Gryphon close by his side, Canvas breathed in as he began to look around the space, hoping he was doing the right thing by returning to this place after so long.

Although he was glad to be back for this, Canvas still felt extremely uneasy as he looked around, remembering all the things that happened in this very spot the last time he was here. Even with Troy standing close to him, Canvas couldn’t feel any easier as his gaze went around the house, feeling his heart grow heavier as he saw the doorway to his father's study.

Though he felt his heart begin to sink down to his stomach, Canvas slowly walked over to the room, his breathing coming out harder with each passing step. Looking inside, Canvas saw the green room was completely bare. The walls were cleaned like they were brand new. Despite this place being the setting for the worst moment of his life, the study was now just a clean and empty room to Canvas, showing no sign that anything horrible happened in this spot.

After looking around for a moment, Canvas sighed before he slowly walked toward the stairs. With his boyfriend close behind, both of them stayed silent as Canvas walked up the stairs, looking down at each wooden step as he made his way to the second floor. Even though he hated to admit it to himself, Canvas expected to see at least a drop of blood or two, remembering how badly he was bleeding the last time he rushed up these steps. However, the stairs, much like the rest of the house, was immaculately cleaned and wiped down, looking presentable for any potential buyers. With only the sounds of his hooves creaking against the floorboards--and the much louder creaks coming from Troy as his heavier body walked up the old stairs--Canvas didn’t say a word as he walked down the hallway, breathing in before his hoof reached out to the doorknob to his old bedroom.

Closing his eyes, Canvas walked inside the room that used to be his own, not noticing the Gryphon standing at the doorway as he reached the middle of the empty space. Opening his eyes, Canvas's heart sank as he looked around the room, seeing how barren the space was now. Standing on the carpeted, blue floor, Canvas's face scrunched in as he looked around, seeing that there was absolutely nothing between the four blue walls.

Even though he knew exactly where everything had been--from the spot for his modest bed to where his painting easel used to be--Canvas could only look around, distraught as he saw that everything was gone. Hearing the pony's breathing coming out shaky, Troy quickly walked into the bedroom, lifting a foreleg to Canvas in an effort to calm him down.

With Troy by his side, Canvas couldn’t hold back anymore as fresh tears came from his eyes, streaming down his face as he threw himself onto the Gryphon. As Canvas sunk his head into the feathered chest, Troy clutched him tightly as he heard the stallion's muffled sobs, knowing how hard it had to be to see everything gone like this.

Even though he knew coming back was going to be difficult, Canvas didn’t realize how hard the reality would hit him as he stood in his old room, letting the bitter truth sink in that this was no longer a place of his own. After so many years of living in this town, Canvas couldn’t hold his tears back as he realized he really wasn't part of it anymore; despite being glad he finally broke free from this town and the ponies in it, Canvas still felt saddened as he realized how barren everything felt, like nothing really changed since he left.

Before he could speak up to his lover about this, feeling increasingly bad as he let the loss of his old home sink in, Canvas felt Troy's talons gently brush against his mane, calming him down before the Gryphon opened his beak.

As he stood with Canvas in the space, all Troy could think about was how similar this all felt to that one night as he held Canvas in his study after his breakdown. Remembering how much that night inspired him during his first audition, Troy knew exactly what he wanted to do for this moment. Keeping the stallion against his chest, Troy closed his eyes as he savored the warmth he felt within him, hugging Canvas tight as he began to sing softly.

Nothing's gonna harm yooooouuuuuuu…

Not while I'm aroooouuuuuund…

Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir…

Not while I'm aroooouuuuuund…

Hearing the Gryphon's soothing voice over him, Canvas closed his eyes and gripped him tighter, smiling as he savored how beautiful Troy's voice really was.

Demons are prowling everywhere, nowadaaaaayyyysss…

I'll send them howling, I don’t care…

I've got waaaayyyyyssss…

Remembering the audition, Troy knew this was really how he wanted to sing this song. Even before he even realized how much he loved the stallion he was holding right now, Troy knew how right that song felt when he thought about Canvas.

Knowing how perfect the lyrics sounded when he thought about that night, all that Troy wanted to do was hold Canvas like this as he sang, despite how much he tried to avoid that thought at the time. But now, with all of the denial and distractions gone, and all the painful memories brushed away, all that was left was the stallion and the Gryphon, holding each other in a loving embrace as Troy kept singing in a gentle tone.

No one's gonna hurt yoooouuuu…

No one's gonna daaaarrrrrreee…

Others can desert you, not to worry…

Whistle, I'll be theeerrrrreee…

Canvas began to smile as he pulled his head back, looking straight into Troy's vibrant golden eyes as the Gryphon looked back. Lifting a claw, Troy slowly wiped off the tears from Canvas's matted fur, looking into his shimmering blue eyes as he sang with a smile on his beak.

Demons may charm you with a smile, for a while…

But, in tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimmmmmmeeeee…

Keeping his singing voice gentle, Troy slowly pulled his head in, keeping his eyes locked on Canvas's as they bent in closer.

Nothing can harm you…

Not while I’mmmmm…

In that moment, Canvas closed his eyes as he bent in, locking his lips against Troy's beak as they held onto each other. Savoring this moment, Troy closed his eyes and kissed back lovingly, knowing that no other experience could ever come as close to the bliss he felt as he held onto him.

Neither one was sure how long they stood in Canvas's old bedroom, sharing their deep kiss as a faint light came in from the closed blinds. Neither Canvas or Troy cared as they stayed in that space, feeling like time was standing still until the Gryphon pulled back. Looking into the stunning shade of blue that made up Canvas's eyes, Troy kept a smile on his beak, feeling even better about what he was planning in Canterlot as he slowly finished his song to him.

Aaaaaaaaa… rooooooooooooouuuuuuunnnnnnd…

As the sun began to rise from the horizon, Celestia’s morning light started to brighten the cabin car as it chugged along toward Canterlot. Feeling the sunlight hit his face, Troy slowly opened his eyes while lying on the bench, groaning as he tried to get himself to adjust his sights to the light. Fortunately, the Gryphon began to smile again as he looked down at Canvas, seeing the stallion resting peacefully on his chest with a faint smile on his muzzle.

Looking at the pony sleeping on top of him, Troy felt his heart get lighter as he saw how serene Canvas looked, knowing how much the stallion went through in the past twenty-four hours. While the two didn’t stay in Gallop Creek for that long--something he was sure both of them were glad for--Troy knew that it was something his coltfriend really needed to do for himself.

Even though he really wanted to nuzzle the dozing pony right now, Troy didn’t move an inch as he watched Canvas on his chest, seeing how he breathed in and out in perfect rhythm in the morning light. With each breath that Canvas made, a faint whisper of air from his muzzle brushed against Troy's feathers, making the Gryphon feel even better as he savored the pleasurable tingle it gave him.

With his lover watching, Canvas's eyelids clenched in for a second, trying to avoid the new sunlight before the stallion slowly opened his eyes. As his shining blue eyes alighted on the Gryphon, Troy smiled as he watched Canvas begin to wake up, loving how adorable the pony looked when he was half-awake.

As his mind adjusted to the realization he was still on the train to Canterlot, Canvas gave a tired smile as he looked up and saw how happy Troy looked. Without even thinking, Canvas moved his head forward and wrapped his hooves around the Gryphon, kissing Troy's open beak deeply before he spoke softly.

"Troy,” said the stallion as he looked into Troy's golden eyes with pure admiration, "I'm really glad you were with me for this."

Without saying a word, Troy smiled as he bent in, letting Canvas kiss his beak once more before he spoke in a gentle tone of voice.

"And I would've done it a million times for you."

Seeing the sincerity in Troy's eyes, Canvas's smile grew even bigger as he hugged the Gryphon, clutching him tightly as Canterlot came into view from the window. Seeing the Canterlot Castle in the distance from his spot, Troy kept his smile as he hugged Canvas back, holding him snugly before he lifted himself on the bench.

Now sitting upright in the train cabin, Troy felt the train begin to vibrate as it started to slow down, not phasing Canvas one bit as he laid against his boyfriend in a half-conscious state. Even though he was still extremely excited about his big night, the stallion still felt rather tired as he nuzzled Troy's chest, hoping to get more comfortable before the Gryphon spoke up.

"So Canvas,” said Troy in a cheerful tone of voice, "how does it feel to make history tonight?"

Even in his tired state, Canvas still giggled a little as he looked up to his lover, seeing how happy the Gryphon looked before he replied, "It feels amazing.” Canvas said in a positive, yet tired tone of voice, "But I feel even better, knowing that you're by my side."

With a huge smile on his beak, Troy held Canvas against his chest, hugging him as tight as he could as the train began to slow further down. Remembering what Rainbow Dash said about Rarity waiting for him at the station, Troy's heart began to race faster as he knew what he was planning to do.

Closing his eyes, Troy held onto his coltfriend and nuzzled his mane, hoping to keep this moment for as long as he could before he spoke tenderly.

"I love you, Canvas."

Hearing Troy's caring voice say that as his beak brushed against his mane, Canvas felt himself well up a little as he smiled. He clutched the Gryphon tighter as he closed his eyes and spoke back to him faintly.

"I love you too, Troy."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the steam from the train engine began to envelop the station platform in a thick, warm mist, Rarity didn’t seem to mind one bit while she stood in her stylish trench coat, which was accessorized with a matching sunhat, as she watched the train doors open.

With her horn glowing with a hue of blue magic, the white unicorn held up two items of clothing, each wrapped in plastic and on hangers as they hung suspended from her aura. Keeping her attention on the train doors and her two pieces, Rarity barely paid much notice to Rainbow Dash as she stood beside her, looking rather bored as she tapped her hooves against the concrete platform. While she'd rather be flying right now (despite how tight security has been lately for the Gala, even for her), the Pegasus wanted to check up on Troy and make sure everything went smoothly for them.

After several ponies stepped off the train onto the Canterlot platform, Troy departed the train with Canvas in tow, both looking especially happy to see the two mares waiting for them. Since she expected Troy to greet her first, Rainbow Dash was surprised when the Gryphon made a beeline towards Rarity, keeping an excited look on his face as she levitated one of the hanging items to him.

"Here's your tuxedo, Troy,” said Rarity in a particularly cheerful tone as she carefully folded it with her magic and levitated it into his satchel. Keeping a cheeky grin on her face, the unicorn looked up to the Gryphon with a definite spring in her step as she spoke.

"And the accommodations are already in place inside."

Not noticing how both Canvas and Rainbow Dash looked confused as to why Rarity said that one word so differently from the rest, Troy just kept his own eager smile on his beak as he secured the satchel against his shoulder. Before Canvas could respond or ask what was going on, Rarity was quick to place the stallion's jacket into his art bag before speaking to him in a caring tone.

"And here's your suit, Canvas. I already made sure all the measurements were correct, but if anything feels off, just come straight to me so I can make any readjustments, okay?"

Despite thinking her behavior itself was a little off, Canvas kept his muzzle shut and nodded in understanding. As he closed his art bag with the tux inside, Canvas looked over to Rainbow Dash before speaking.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash, do you know if my package came into Canterlot yet?"

While Troy looked at his coltfriend with surprise on face, Rainbow Dash looked up as she tried to ponder Canvas's question. After a second or two of contemplation, the Pegasus's eyes shot open as she looked back at Canvas with a smile.

"Oh yeah! I think Twi picked it up from the post office herself, so it's probably at the castle by now."

"Great!” said the stallion as he carried a new, excited look on his face, confusing Troy even more before he spoke up.

"Wait, what package?"

Canvas's eyebrows rose as he looked up to the Gryphon, looking at him in slight surprise before replying, "Wait, I thought I told you. I was working on my other project in time for the Gala, remember?"

"Oooohhhhhh…"

While Troy realized the Gala had something to do with why Canvas was in his studio so much for the past two weeks (despite how many times he tried to entice him to the bedroom), he didn’t realize that it actually involved the Gala itself.

Also curious about Canvas's answer, Rainbow Dash was quick to ask, "Wait, what were you working on? I thought you finished that painting like, a month ago!"

"I did,” said the stallion as he turned back to Rainbow Dash, "but I decided to do something else for--”

Remembering the reason why he’d started his second project for the Gala, Canvas bit his lip as he thought about his answer, not wanting to give too much away about what he was making, or why he did it.

"... For… personal reasons. And I… wanted to have it at the Gala for somepony to see…"

Despite knowing his answer would probably just lead to more questions, Canvas kept his muzzle shut as he felt the Pegasus and Gryphon's stares on him. Fortunately, neither Rainbow Dash nor Troy said much after his statement, figuring that any more answers they would try to get would be as vague as the one he just gave.

Even with his curious gaze on his coltfriend, Troy turned his head to the clock above the train station exit, seeing that there was still plenty of time before the Gala as he spoke to Canvas. "Hey Canvas, we could probably make it to the Concert Hall if we start moving now."

Seeing the eager look in the Gryphon's face as he said that, Canvas couldn’t help but grin a little as he secured the art bag over his shoulder. Remembering how Troy mentioned wanting to visit that place, Rainbow Dash just smiled and watched the two begin to leave, not noticing how overjoyed Rarity was looking as she stood next to her. With the stallion close by his side, Troy looked back at the two mares as he smiled and waved at them.

"Thanks for helping out, Rarity!" said Troy as he and Canvas waved at them. "We'll see you both at the Gala."

With that, the two set off out of the station, heading to the Canterlot Concert Hall as Rainbow Dash stood beside Rarity. Seeing how antsy the unicorn looked at seeing them leave, Rainbow's curiosity got the best of her.

"Okay Rare, what's going on?" asked the cyan mare in an insistent tone as she eyed her with a raised eyebrow.

"Wha--I mean…" Rarity was quick to look away from the Pegasus's glare, making the white fur on her cheeks begin to blush as she tried to muster out a statement. Seeing how flustered her friend was getting, Rainbow narrowed her eyes as she realized something was going on.

"I… don’t know what you're talking about, Rainbow Dash. I--”

"Spill the beans, Rarity!" said Rainbow as she bent in, her face less than a few inches from the unicorn's as she spoke insistently. "Troy is my co-worker, so I should know whatever it is the two of you are up to!"

"I… I…” After a brief moment to keep herself from saying anything, Rarity puffed her chest out and turned back to Rainbow Dash, now carrying a insistent look of her own as she spoke to the mare.

"I cannot tell you of anything that is going on, Rainbow. I made a Pinkie Promise to stay silent about it, and I intend on keeping that, no matter what."

Not waiting for a response, Rarity walked away from Rainbow Dash, leaving the Pegasus standing dumbfounded as she tried to comprehend the sudden change in her friend. Not wanting this conversation to just cut off like that, Rainbow was quick to speak up to the unicorn as she stood near a trashcan.

"Oh come on, Rarity! I won’t say anything, I swear!"

"The answer is no,” said Rarity as she stopped and turned back to Rainbow Dash. "I made a Pinkie Promise. To break a Pinkie Promise means to lose a friend, remember?"

As the unicorn began to walk ahead once more, Rainbow Dash groaned and rubbed her temple with a hoof. Not one to be denied any good info, the Pegasus felt especially irritated as she tried to think of something to say. Knowing that Rarity wasn't going to say much more about it right now, the cyan mare pouted as she stood next to the trash can, muttering under her breath as she mimicked the unicorn's voice.

"’I made a Pinkie Promise, Rainbow Dash. To break it is to lose a friend--’”

Suddenly, Pinkie Pie's head popped out from inside the trash can as she shouted, "FOREVERRRRRRR!!!"

Rainbow Dash shrieked as she jumped up, landing on top of a lamppost as she looked down to the pink mare, who was still inside the trash can.

"What the hay, Pinkie Pie!?!?!” shouted Rainbow as she saw Pinkie looking up at her with her usual carefree grin. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

Pinkie's smile suddenly turned into a pout as she pointed a hoof to Rainbow Dash from the trash can. "And you tried to make Rarity break a Pinkie Promise! Shame on you, Rainbow Dash!"

Annoyed that the mare was so insistent on following a rule like that--although she'd learned over the years not to question anything Pinkie did--Rainbow dropped back down to the station platform, eying Pinkie Pie as she spoke with an irritated tone of voice.

"Pinkie, do you seriously just wait around at random places just to catch your friends doing stuff you don’t like?!"

Pinkie Pie blinked a few times as her head poked out from the trash can, a blank look on her face before she replied to the Pegasus.

"… Why? You don't?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though Canterlot was the thriving capital of Equestria, as well as the home of two Goddesses, the kingdom was surprisingly small in size, only boasting a few miles in length as it stood at the side of Canterlot Mountain. However, even with its small size, the massive amount of ponies and small one-way roads made it rather difficult to get anywhere in the city on time. Because of that, it took a considerable amount of time for Troy and Canvas to make it to the Canterlot Concert hall. Even though he was glad to reach a place so important to his family history, Troy's heart sank as he saw the state of the Concert Hall now.

While the stadium was still standing triumphantly over the beautiful landscape of Equestria, massive walls of scaffolding and clear tarp were hung the domed structure, covering it completely, like it was under quarantine. Seeing how upset the Gryphon looked over seeing this, Canvas trotted over to a sign in front of the main doors of the Concert Hall, wondering why a national landmark was in this condition. Hoping to ease his boyfriend's nerves, Canvas read the notice out loud to Troy to catch his attention.

"Notice: due to extensive repairs needed to the exterior of this building, no ponies are permitted to enter until further notice."

Troy groaned as he heard that, not wanting to turn back after moving around so many uptight Canterlot ponies to get here.

"Crap!" said the Gryphon as he walked up and saw the sign did in fact say that. "I really wanted to see this place!"

Knowing how important this place was to him, Canvas sighed and looked back to the large stadium, looking morose himself until he looked at the sign again. Reading the fine print, Canvas's eyes widened a little before a grin grew on his face. Reaching out a hoof to the door, Canvas's grin grew even bigger when he saw it wasn't locked. Keeping a sly smirk on his muzzle, Canvas looked back to the upset-looking Gryphon before he spoke up.

"Hey Troy,” said the stallion in a more whispered tone as he opened the main door a little, "come on."

Seeing what Canvas was suggesting, Troy's eyes widened as he threw his claws up in protest. Even though he wanted to see this place, he knew it wasn't worth ending up in a Royal Guard jail cell.

"Dude, are you serious?" asked the Gryphon as he looked at his coltfriend like he was insane. "I'm not gonna risk getting deported or something! The sign says--"

"The sign says 'no ponies,’”, said Canvas as he interrupted his boyfriend, keeping a grin on his muzzle as he continued. "I could get in trouble for going in since I am a pony, but you…"

Keeping his smirk, Canvas watched as Troy looked back at the sign, seeing that it didn't make any mention of Gryphons entering the property. Realizing the same thing Canvas did, Troy began to grin as well as he read the sign, appreciating the fact that his coltfriend noticed a loophole like that.

Looking around to make sure nopony was watching, Troy stepped up to the front doors of the Concert Hall, waiting until he was sure he was unnoticed until stepping over the ropes and heading in. Not wanting to leave his boyfriend alone, Canvas kept a smile as he looked around as well, checking that the coast was clear before following and closing the door behind him.

While the outside of the Canterlot Concert Hall was obviously in need of repair, it was almost impossible to tell from the inside. The luxurious main room was draped in the finest red carpets underneath the ornate columns along the walls. Even though it was empty, the lights to the main hall were still on as Canvas and Troy walked inside the large space, both of them noticing the faint smell of perfume within the entrance from the thousands of ponies who had been here before.

Looking around, Troy's eyes widened as he saw the walkways to the balcony seating, making the Gryphon smile before he rushed up to one of the hallways. With Canvas following--and having trouble keeping pace with his boyfriend--Troy ran along the hallways like a colt in a candy store, looking at the letters above each section as he moved past them. It wasn't until he nearly reached the end of the walkway that Troy stopped, keeping his eyes pinned on the doorway above one particular balcony seating before Canvas caught up with him.

Panting heavily, Canvas was unsure of what was making the Gryphon so excited until he looked up at the doorway. Seeing that the bronze lettering over the door showed the letter J, Canvas saw Troy's eyes widen as a smile grew on his beak, looking like he saw something amazing before he walked past the doorway.

As Troy's talons pressed against the soft, red carpet underneath him, his heart felt heavier as he stepped onto the balcony seating over the Concert Hall. While the view to the stage wasn't that great from this angle, Troy didn’t notice at all as he stood between the two rows of plush seating facing the right side of the stage.

Putting a claw over the foreleg-rests of one of the seats, Troy smiled and tried not to cry, knowing exactly where he was. While Canvas stood at the doorway, watching with happy, yet worried eyes, Troy stayed silent as he savored the silence of this space, knowing that this was the very spot that his Grandparents first met.

For the longest time, Troy's grandparents were the only real friends that he had growing up. Because of his small size and meek build, Troy was quickly shunned by a lot of the other Gryphons when he was young. While his father was determined to make him stronger through exercise and discipline, Troy's Grandma and Grandpa took a different route with him. Whenever the little Gryphon would visit them for whatever reason, the two would always be quick to make him feel welcome, no matter what happened to him earlier that day. As time went on, Troy eventually began to listen to more and more records from their collection, developing a real appreciation for the same classical music and opera they liked.

Even when he grew and became a more suitable size in comparison to his classmates--although he was still rather small when compared to his older brothers--Troy preferred hanging out with his grandparents, listening to their stories about Equestria and appreciating their great company.

While everyone in the family was saddened by their loss, Troy was especially distraught about it, remembering all the amazing things they told him regarding love and Canterlot. Now, with the greatest love he'd ever known in his life, the Gryphon was in the very spot where his Grandfather met his Grandmother, making him start to tear up as he stood in the vacant space.

Seeing how his boyfriend was looking, Canvas put caution to the wind and lifted his hoof, stepping inside the balcony as he slowly walked over to Troy. Even with the tears streaming down Troy's face, Canvas was happy to see the Gryphon keeping a smile on his beak as he looked around, savoring the space before noticing the stallion next to him.

Keeping a grateful smile on his face, Troy bent in to nuzzle his lover as he stood in this sacred spot, letting this moment sink in as he held Canvas close. As Troy nuzzled him with his eyes closed, Canvas's gaze slowly went over to the large stage below them, making him grin a little before turning back to the Gryphon.

"Hey, Troy,” said Canvas as he kept a warm smile on him, "I have an idea…"

Curious about Canvas's optimistic tone, Troy pulled his head back as he looked at his lover, feeling slightly confused before the stallion motioned over to the stage. Looking over at the large space underneath them, Troy's eyes widened as he realized what it was Canvas was suggesting.

Despite not wanting to do anything to catch the attention of anypony inside--especially any security guards--the reassuring smile on the pony's face was more than enough to know it was fine.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

While he didn’t want to fly around in a place like this (though it was large enough for him to do so easily), Troy knew it would be a more convenient method than following his coltfriend along the hallways to reach the stage. In a matter of seconds, the Gryphon's paws and claws went from the carpeted floors of the balcony to the wooden floors of the theater as he landed on the immaculate stage of the Canterlot Concert Hall.

While there were no spotlights on to light up the stage, it was still surprisingly well-lit as Troy stood on the spot, realizing that he was on a spot where thousands of great performers stood before. After a few seconds of silence, the sound of Canvas hooves caught Troy's attention as he saw the stallion running down the aisle to the stage.

Seeing Troy up on the biggest stage in Equestria, Canvas smiled and stopped at the front row of seats, keeping his eyes on the Gryphon as he spoke.

"So, Troy,” said the stallion with a cheerful tone as he slowly walked along the lavish seats facing the stage, "how does it feel? Think you can see yourself performing on this stage someday?"

Despite not noticing any sarcasm in Canvas's voice, Troy still scoffed a little as he look away from the stallion, not wanting to get his hopes up as he replied, "Oh come on! You really think I'm good enough for this place?"

As Troy looked back to the front row of seats, he watched Canvas sit in the middle of the row, keeping his eyes on the Gryphon before he spoke in a kind and confident tone of voice.

"Troy, I know you're good enough."

The Gryphon could only smile as the feathers on the back of his neck began to ruffle out. Not wanting to get caught looking this bashful--although a snicker from the pony proved that ship had already sailed--Troy quickly rubbed the back of his neck as he spoke.

"So…"

Looking around from his spot on the stage, Troy's eyes widened as he saw how massive this place really was. Among the hundreds of seats in front of him, and the dozens of balcony seats above, Troy's heart began to beat faster as he let everything sink in, knowing that this really was a once-in-a-lifetime moment for him.

As his mind imagined all of these seats occupied, he thought of what it would be like to be in front of this stage with thousands of ponies watching. A smile grew on Troy' beak as he realized how right that felt. Looking back to the stallion in front of him, Troy saw Canvas keeping a chipper smile on his muzzle, making him feel happier himself as he finished his statement.

"So, Canvas… do… do you have any requests?"

Canvas only kept silent with his smile for a moment before replying, "Just do what you want…. This is your moment."

Hearing that, Troy felt his feathers ruffle out a little again as he looked around the concert hall. Seeing the J Balcony to his left, Troy smiled as he focused on that spot, knowing that was where two of the most important Gryphons in his life first met.

Closing his eyes, Troy turned his head back out ahead of him as he savored the silence around him. Lifting a foreleg up, Troy placed it over his chest, letting the warmth come over him as he thought of what to do.

Hearing the familiar music in his head, the Gryphon felt his heart grow heavier as he realized which song he wanted to do; even though he hadn’t sang it or even listened to it since his grandmother's death, Troy knew that, in that moment, in front of the love of his life, it was the perfect song to sing

Breathing in, Troy slowed any excess saliva in his throat before opening his beak, letting the serenity of the stage take over as he began to sing.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

Graaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatia pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeennaaaaaaaaaaa…

As he heard his own voice come out on the stage, in the very space where so many great performers had sung before, Troy felt his eyes begin to well up as he went on, not noticing that Canvas was tearing up as well.

Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaa, graaatia pleeeeeeeeeeeeennaaaaaaaaa…

Mariiiiiiiiiiiaa, graaaaaatia pleeeeeeeeeeeennnaaaaaaaaaa…

Aaaaaveeeeeeee…aaaaaveeee dooooominuuuuuusssss…

Teeeeeeeeeeeeecuuuuuuuuummmmm…

Even with his eyes closed, tears were still streaming down the Gryphon's face while he sang, as he remembered how things went the last time he sang Ave Maria. With the image of his grandmother's smiling face in his mind, showing the most genuine look of happiness while lying in her bed, Troy was finding it difficult to keep himself composed while on the stage.

Beeeenediiiiiiiiiiiiiiiicta tuuuu in mulieribuuuuuuuuuuusssss…

Et beeeeeeeeeeeeenediiiiiictuuuuuuuuuuussss…

As his eyes stayed shut, Troy raised his head up to the roof of the Concert Hall, letting the music take over as he belted out the big lines.

Beeeenediiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiictus fruuuuuuctus, ventris

Tuuuuuuuuuuuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!!!

Troy lowered his head again as he breathed in, feeling his body become practically weightless after that last note. As he slowly opened his golden eyes, Troy was surprised to see Canvas right in front of him, standing on the stage with him as he carried a smile underneath those beautiful blue eyes.

As he looked at the stallion before him, more tears came from Troy's face as he smiled back, before he lifted a claw to hold against Canvas's face. As he used a talon to gently brush away the tears from the matted aqua fur on his lover's cheeks, Troy kept his eyes locked onto his, staring into those perfect pools of blue as he continued.

Tuuuiiiiiiiiiiiiiii Jeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuussss…

As he looked into Canvas's eyes, Troy held the stallion closer, wrapping his forelegs around the pony's back so they were now only inches away from each other. No longer caring that they were on the biggest stage in Equestria, neither one noticed anything around them as they held each other in loving embrace. Their eyes were locked between the Gryphon's vibrant gold and the stallion's calming blue.

As Troy bent his head in closer, now touching the pony's forehead, he slowly reached a claw into his satchel, hoping to find what he was looking for as he gently finished his song to Canvas.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaavvvveeeeeeeeeeeeee…

Mariiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa…

Even though the Concert Hall was completely silent, Troy could still imagine the thunderous applause in his mind, not phasing him one bit as he bent his head in further. As his heart began beating faster, Troy kept one claw inside his satchel while the other held Canvas's head in, closing his eyes as he kissed him deeply.

With his mind racing over what he wanted to do in that very moment, Troy wanted to make sure their kiss was perfect. He kept his beak locked against Canvas's tender lips as deeply and passionately as the first time they came together. As his talons grasped what it was he was looking for, still wrapped inside his jacket in the satchel, Troy began to tear up again as he pulled his head back, looking into Canvas's eyes with the utmost look of bliss and beauty as he spoke in a faint whisper.

"... Canvas…”

Before Troy could continue, a loud crash from offstage startled the both of them, making the two jump back as they looked at the side of the stage, wide-eyed.

As a light fixture rolled its way onto the stage, neither of them noticed the dozens more, which fell to the ground as they saw who was standing in the middle of it. Looking extremely embarrassed and wide-eyed, a grey Earth Pony mare with a straight, black mane was almost shaking as she stood at the side of the stage.

Before either Canvas or Troy could say anything, hoping this mare wasn't part of security or something (even though her petite figure was fairly good proof of the contrary), the mare began to speak in a shaky, but still deeply posh tone of voice.

"I… I'm sorry, I… didn’t mean to… interrupt you two…"

As Troy looked at the mare, his eyes narrowed on her as he tried to recognize her face, swearing that he’d seen her before. As his eyes lowered to the pink octave symbol on her flank, Troy's eyes widened in shock as he stepped back, looking rather surprised as he spoke up.

"Wait a minute! You…. you're Octavia! From… from Concerto in Canterlot!"

While Canvas stood beside the Gryphon, slightly surprised, Octavia just stood dumbfounded for a moment before replying to Troy with a smile.

"Umm… yes! Yes, I am! I must say, I'm rather surprised you know about me."

"Well,” said Troy as he looked away from her sheepishly, "I… kinda bought your cassette on my birthday."

"Well,” said Octavia with a pleased smirk on her face as she walked forward onto the stage, "I'm glad that someone bought a copy."

Before Troy could try to respond with a quick quip or something, he suddenly remembered the questionable situation he and Canvas were caught in. He quickly began to stammer out a response as he stood next to his coltfriend.

"Umm… just so you know, we… well…. we're… sorry, about--”

Octavia held up a hoof to stop Troy's rambling, waiting until he stopped before she responded in a more cheerful tone through her Canterlot accent. "You don't have to explain, gentlemen. I won't say anything."

Octavia then bent her head in closer to the two as she quickly whispered, "To be honest, I shouldn’t be here either."

As the two chuckled a little to lighten the mood, Canvas was the first to respond to Octavia, holding out a hoof to her as he spoke. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Octavia. We just wanted to visit this place before the Gala tonight."

Hearing that, Octavia's eyes widened as she shook the stallion's hoof, realizing who he was before saying in a surprised tone, "Oh yes, I know you! You're Canvas, right? I've read about your success in the paper."

Canvas's smile grew bigger as he put his hoof back down, excited to know he was becoming so well-known because of his art. Seeing how interested the grey mare was at meeting him, Canvas began to blush a little as he responded to her.

"Umm… yeah, I'm Canvas. Th-thank you for recognizing me."

"Well, how couldn’t I?" said Octavia as her tone became more cheerful. "Being the first Earth Pony to accomplish a task like that is pretty big! Plus…"

Octavia then looked back to the side of the stage, making Canvas and Troy notice the large cello propped against the wall in the shadows. Keeping a smile on her face, Octavia's voice came out more subdued and sincere as she looked back to Canvas and finished her statement.

"I know how difficult it can be to be noticed for those kinds of talents as an Earth Pony."

Remembering how most of the unicorns reacted to him back at the gallery, Canvas nodded as he replied, "Yeah… I'd hate to say it, but unicorns can really be uptight sometimes."

The mare giggled a little as she looked away from Canvas, blushing as she thought of something. Without realizing it, Octavia began to speak under her breath as she thought about Canvas's statement.

"… Not Vinyl Scratch…"

Realizing she said that out loud, Octavia immediately shook her head back to the two in front of her before she blurted, "Oh! Um… well… you two should probably get ready for the Gala. It might take a while to get past security this year, so…"

Realizing that it probably would take a while to get to the Gala after walking back and going through security, Canvas and Troy both nodded to the mare before looking back at each other. Even though Troy didn’t want to leave the Concert Hall yet, still wanting to do what he came here for, the Gryphon groaned internally as he looked around, realizing that the mood wasn't right any more.

As he secured his satchel on his shoulder, Troy tried to hide his disappointment and kept a faint smile on his beak, looking back at Canvas as he kept his art bag to his side. After the two made their goodbyes to Octavia and began to leave the stage, Troy looked down at his coltfriend while they walked side-by-side along the long isle of seats.

Looking at the stallion as he happily trotted along the red carpet underneath them, Troy breathed in as he looked back forward, keeping his satchel secure as he thought of what he wanted to do. Even though he wanted to do this here at the Concert Hall, Troy sighed as he walked, keeping a mental note that, no matter what, he wasn't going to get distracted like that again.

At the Gala, thought Troy as he kept Canvas close by his side. Tonight, I'll do it at the Gala.

Because life is too short.

Canvas groaned in frustration as he tried to fumble with the black tie tangled in his hooves. Despite his insistence to Rarity that he wanted a clip-on tie, the unicorn was even more insistent on Canvas having a real tie for the Gala. While he may have been great with his hooves when it came to painting or drawing, none of that mattered to the stallion as he tried to get the knots around his neck right, feeling like he was doing something as maddening as eating soup with chopsticks. After messing up his fifth attempt to get the knot right, Canvas groaned even louder, making his boyfriend take notice and walk up to him.

"Don't worry about it,” said Troy as he attempted to cover any chuckles of amusement as he grabbed Canvas's tie. "Let me get this for you. It's kinda easier to do this when you have talons."

Seeing how the Gryphon already had his tie and tuxedo jacket on, Canvas could see his point and stood upright for him, keeping his chest out as he let Troy try his claws at the necktie around him.

Keeping a warm smile on his beak, Troy quickly got Canvas's tie done right as it laid around his aqua neck. As the Gryphon adjusted the tie so it laid within the collars of Canvas's dress shirt, he didn’t seem to notice how much the stallion was blushing with a smile on his muzzle. When Troy finally looked back up to his coltfriend, he was only able to look into his blue eyes for about a second before Canvas bent in, wrapping his hooves around the Gryphon's neck as he kissed him deeply.

Though he was slightly surprised that Canvas would do this in one of the bathrooms of Canterlot Castle, Troy didn't care one bit as he immediately returned the kiss, holding the stallion tightly as his beak intertwined with his lover's lips. While he wouldn't have minded staying like this with him for the rest of the night, Troy only kept the kiss for another warm moment before he slowly pulled his beak back.

"You know,” said the Gryphon in almost a pant as he looked at Canvas with half-open eyes and a lustful grin, "if we keep going like this, I might end up ripping that cute little tux off of you."

"Oh really?" Canvas then pushed Troy against the tiled wall of the elegant bathroom, keeping him pinned against his hooves as he spoke in a more sultry tone. "Because that sounds more like a reward than a consequence."

As the two giggled while looking into each other's eager eyes, the moment was dampened when another stallion entered the bathroom, who shrieked at seeing them before shooting back out. The two looked back at each other with worried looks on their faces, realizing how much they looked like a couple of antsy teenagers on Prom Night with Canvas pinning Troy against the wall like this. It wasn’t long before they started cracking up and letting go.

Still laughing, Troy was quick to put a foreleg around Canvas, holding him closer as they left the bathroom. Even though he didn't want the two of them to get any odd looks from ponies at being seen this close, Troy didn't care as he looked at the stallion next to him, seeing his art bag hanged on his shoulder as it draped against his tux. Looking at Canvas, Troy felt his chest get warmer as he walked beside him, making him feel even more confident about what he wanted to do tonight.

Stepping out into the hallway in their matching tuxedos, Canvas giggled as he walked closer to Troy, keeping his eyes on the Gryphon as they started to make their way down the hall. Before they got five steps in, Rarity appeared at the end of the hallway, noticing the two before her eyes went wide in excitement. Shrieking out in joy, the unicorn ran up to the two of them as she yelled out in a happy tone of voice.

"There you guys are! I'm so happy to see you two like this, congrat--"

Rarity's cheerful banter stopped as she looked at Troy, seeing him make a quick "cut it" gesture across his throat as he looked at her, wide-eyed. Before Canvas could look back up to him and see what he was doing, Troy put his claws back down and looked at Rarity with a regular smile. While the stallion stood in confusion between the two, Rarity bit her lip as she looked at Troy, promptly realizing what he was motioning to her as she tried to finish her statement differently.

"I was going to say… congratulations on the painting, Canvas!” said the unicorn in a still cheerful, but slightly different tone. "I just saw it, and it looks marvelous!"

"Oh, um… thanks."

As Canvas looked at her with a light--and still slightly confused--smile, he didn’t seem to notice Troy as he nodded to the mare, a serious expression on his face as he eyed Rarity down. Knowing she shouldn't say any more, the unicorn quickly cleared her throat before speaking to them in a dainty tone of voice.

"Well, gentlemen, if you excuse me I'll… be going somewhere else…"

Before Canvas question how weird she was acting, Rarity quickly trotted back off down the hallway. As Canvas looked back to his lover in a confused state, he didn’t notice Rarity's head pop back out at the end of the hallway, glaring at Troy as she pointed at him with a hoof.

In less than a second, Troy looked back at her and made a talon's up gesture to indicate things are fine before she went back off. However, Canvas saw what Troy did, making him look back down the hallway just after Rarity disappeared and making him even more confused as he looked back to the Gryphon.

Feeling the stallion's blue eyes burning on him in suspicion, Troy could only muster a quick smile to fake innocence, leaving it there for a moment before Canvas sighed, rolling his eyes before he went back down the hall with him. Hoping Canvas wasn't getting too suspicious or annoyed, Troy quietly sighed in relief and walked beside him.

As the two walked side-by-side down the large hallway, both of them worried whether they should've gotten horseshoes or padding as they walked barefooted along the marble floors. The sight of Princess Celestia and Princess Twilight Sparkle made them both stop in their tracks.

As the Princesses walked up to Canvas and Troy with smiles on their faces, the couple smiled back as they made their quick bows to them. When Canvas looked back up at the two alicorns, he saw Celestia looking at him with a warm smile on her face, looking rather grateful to meet him as she spoke in a tender tone of voice.

"Well, good evening, Canvas,” said Celestia, not noticing the stallion's quick blush at hearing her voice as she continued, "it's nice to be able to see you before the Gala begins. I hope that security wasn't too intrusive for the two of you."

Looking back to his boyfriend, Canvas and Troy both looked kind of unsure of what to say to the Princesses in front of them. While they did manage to get back to the castle in less time than expected, the two still underwent a pretty thorough security check before being permitted into the castle. Even though both of them understood its importance for a night like this--especially considering how the Royal Wedding a couple years ago exposed some pretty big flaws in security--neither of them wanted to bring up the discomfort of being searched and having all their things looked through.

While Troy had an especially big bone to pick regarding how one of the Royal Guards opened up everything in front of them without thinking twice, he was still grateful that the unicorn didn't pull out what was in his jacket. He kept his beak shut as Canvas replied to the alicorn.

"Oh, it's alright,” said the stallion in an insistent tone as he kept a smile on his muzzle. "I totally get it. I'm just glad I was able to see the Castle before the Gala actually began."

"I'm very glad to hear that,” said Celestia in a warm tone as she smiled at the stallion, "because I was wanting to show you where I placed your painting."

Canvas's smile grew even wider as he heard that, not expecting to have the Goddess show him where his painting was personally. As Celestia motioned the two to follow her, Twilight kept her smile as she walked alongside Canvas opposite of Troy, looking over to the stallion as she spoke.

"I saw where she placed your painting,” said the lavender alicorn as she carried an excited tone in her voice, "and I can say that she picked a great spot for it!"

"That's great to know, Twilight,” said Canvas as he looked back towards her. Remembering what Rainbow Dash told him at the train station, Canvas was quick to make sure the cyan mare was right as he spoke to Twilight. "By the way, Rainbow Dash told me you picked up my package?"

Remembering Canvas's discussion about that (as well as his weak excuse), Troy peered in as he walked alongside the stallion and Twilight, listening in as the alicorn replied cheerfully, "Yes I did, Canvas. She's asleep right now, so I don't think she'll see it until tonight, but I left it in her quarters."

Although Troy was getting more confused and wondering who "she" was supposed to be, the Gryphon noticed how happy Canvas looked at hearing Twilight's response, making him decide to just stay silent for the moment as he smiled. Before anything else could be said, Celestia already walked into the main ballroom of Canterlot Castle, leaving the other three to follow and look inside the grand entrance.

Even though the large ballroom was still undergoing preparations for the Gala, with dozens of ponies either arranging the food or getting the stage for the band ready, the whole space felt eerily still as the Princesses walked through the suddenly silent space. Even with everypony stopping and staying silent in her presence, Celestia didn't pay much attention as she looked back at the two behind her, giving a warm smile before she spoke.

"Canvas,” said Princess Celestia in a happy tone of voice, "because of the Gala, I thought it would be best to place your painting here in the ballroom."

Pointing over to where she placed Canvas's greatest work, Celestia smiled as she saw the stallion's eyes widen, his jaw slowly dropping as he saw where it was hung. Walking over to the two large windows, which faced the garden outside, Canvas was shocked when he saw his painting of Celestia hanging proudly between the windows in the center.

Looking back at where this was in relation to the ballroom, Canvas realized that this really was a great spot for his painting; he saw that the main entrance to the ballroom was directly across from these windows, Canvas smiled as he looked back to his painting, realizing that this would be one of the first things ponies see when they enter the room for the Gala.

Before the overwhelmed pony could say anything to Celestia, Canvas looked back to her with his eyes welling as he saw the Goddess smiling back, looking pleased as she spoke in a warm tone of voice.

"You really did an amazing job, Canvas. And I want you to know that of all the ponies I could've chosen for this, I'm really glad it was you."

No longer being able to hold back, tears of joy started to run down Canvas's face as he let this moment set in. After everything he'd had to endure in his past, and after all the heartache he had to suffer before finding salvation, all Canvas could think about is how much he'd managed to accomplish by now.

Less than a year ago, Canvas was just a lonely stallion in an uncaring town, living each day in fear over wanting to really wanting to live his life for who he was. Now, with the love of his life by his side, the stallion was able to find everything he ever wanted in a matter of months: friends, a home, a real life, a mate, and a real sense of happiness and peace.

And now, with his greatest painting on display for royalty, Canvas could only stand in a stunned sense of joy as he let everything sink in. Along with making history by being the first Earth Pony to make a painting for Celestia, Canvas knew that, no matter what happened in his life, his art will always remain in this sacred space.

Knowing how much was almost taken away forever, the stallion couldn't say a word as he looked back to his greatest work, marveling in the fact that, even when he's long gone, that his art and his name will forever be immortalized in the framed painting in front of him. As Troy walked in closer to Canvas, holding him close before the stallion could fall over, the pony closed his eyes and savored the Gryphon's warmth, breathing in before he noticed Celestia walking over to him.

Even though lunging forward at a Princess could've easily been followed by a dozen guards tackling him, Canvas didn't care one bit as he quickly grabbed Celestia, hugging her with tears coming down his face. While both Troy and Twilight were both surprised to see the stallion do something like that--along with the other ponies in the ballroom, who looked rather shocked at this display--Celestia didn't falter for a second as she hugged him back.

Keeping the biggest smile on his face as it stayed against the Goddess's warm chest, only a few whimpers could come out of Canvas's mouth before he finally spoke, his voice coming out in a faint whisper.

"... Thank you… thank you so much, Celestia…"

The alicorn closed her eyes as she smiled, hugging Canvas back as she heard how appreciative the stallion's words were.

"You don't need to thank me,” said the Goddess in a loving tone as she slowly pulled her head back. As Canvas let go of the Princess, he looked up at her smiling face while he tried wiping tears off his matted cheeks, hoping to look presentable again as she continued to speak.

"You were the one who did this, Canvas. Nopony else can say that."

Hearing her humble words, Canvas could only nod and smile, trying not to cry again before he bowed to her. As the stallion raised himself back up, Troy quickly stood by his side again, wrapping a foreleg around Canvas as he kept a smile on his beak.

Seeing how happy the two of them looked together, Celestia smiled before clearing her throat, catching the attention of both of them as they looked back up to the Goddess. Seeing that she was now looking at him, Troy's heart began racing as Celestia spoke.

"Troius Clawston?"

Even though he wasn't a military Gryphon by any standards (despite his father's insistence as a child to toughen him up), Troy still stood upright with his chest out as he spoke firmly, "Yes, Ma'am!"

Canvas giggled a little as he saw how drastically his boyfriend changed his composure in front of royalty, which also made Celestia giggle a bit before continuing.

"It's a pleasure to meet you again. I didn’t get a chance to talk with you during the Gallery, but I want to say I had the great pleasure to know your Grandparents. The Talonochs were responsible for accomplishing so much between Equestria and the Gryphon Kingdom, and I have nothing but the highest respect for them."

Troy's stoic stance suddenly changed at the mention of them, making him smile a little as he looked at Celestia with a kinder look on his face. Seeing how genuine the Goddess looked as she said that, it was hard for Troy not to well up as he responded, "Th… thank you."

Celestia's smile grew warmer as she replied, "I can truly say that Niko and Helen were an amazing couple to work with. And I'm glad that I got to meet you as well."

With that, Celestia held out a hoof, making Troy stammer a little as he saw how kind this alicorn was being towards him. Lifting his claw, Troy felt a million different waves of excitement flow through him as he reached out and shook her hoof, realizing that he was one of only a few Gryphons to actually interact with royalty like this.

Feeling the warm hoof in his grasp, Troy kept his grateful smile as he looked up to the Goddess, seeing how legitimately kind Celestia looked from behind her light-lavender eyes, looking back at him with the utmost look of understanding and care. When he finally let go, the Gryphon tried as hard as he could to keep his composure as he stepped back, standing beside his coltfriend before he nodded to the Princess.

With a caring nod back to him, Celestia looked back to Twilight before she spoke to the couple. "I have some tasks to complete before the Gala begins, so I'll be heading off for the moment. Feel free to enjoy yourself for the time being."

As the two kept their enlightened smiles, Canvas and Troy were quick to give a final bow to the alicorns as they made their way out of the ballroom, making the other ponies working quickly get back to their jobs as soon as the Princesses left. Even with the sounds of ponies' murmurs and things moving around them, neither the stallion or Gryphon seemed to notice anything as they looked back at each other in glee.

Before either of them could say or do anything, the sound of a familiar mare's voice caught the attention of Canvas and Troy, making them turn over as they heard the Canterlot voice call out, "Canvas, there you are!"

Looking over at the direction of the voice, the two saw Octavia walk toward them, now wearing a pink bowtie around her neck as she said, "It's nice that I got to see you two again before the Gala begins. Was security rough on you guys too?"

Remembering the close call he had with the guard searching him, Troy made sure his jacket was on tightly as he responded with a groan. "Yeah, they were. Seriously, you would think they would've taken it down a notch after a year or two."

"Maybe,” said the mare as she kept a slightly frustrated look on her face, "but given how much has gone on in recent years--what with Discord, the Changeling Invasion, AND that whole Crystal Empire event--I can't blame the Princesses for being a little paranoid."

Despite how upset he felt about it, Troy still nodded in understanding to Octavia, realizing she had a valid point. Even though he preferred this nation over the Gryphon Kingdom, Troy had to admit that a lot of crazy stuff has happened over the years.

"By the way, sir,” said Octavia as she looked at the Gryphon curiously, "I haven't gotten the chance to ask for your name."

Troy's eyebrows rose a little as he looked at the mare before he lifted his claw and smiled as he spoke.

"Oh of course. My name is Troius. Troius Clawston, although most ponies just call me Troy."

"Charmed,” said Octavia as she shook his claw with her hoof. Looking around, the mare kept a slightly embarrassed look on her face as she continued to speak. "I wanted to say something back at the Concert Hall, but I figured things were already a little awkward after catching you with your… partner."

Both Troy and Canvas blushed a little as they looked back at each other, still feeling a little flustered that a musician like her caught them making out.

"But I just wanted to say,” continued the mare as a new look of interest came up on her face, "I couldn't stop thinking about that performance you did of Ave Maria."

The Gryphon blushed a little more as he looked away from Octavia, feeling embarrassed that she witnessed something that personal to him. Even though he could tell she was impressed by how she complimented him, Troy still blushed a little heavier as he spoke meagerly.

"You… you don't have to say tha--”

"I mean it!" said Octavia as a new tone of admiration came in her voice. "I've heard that song so many times from various ponies, but I have never heard it sung as beautifully as your rendition!"

Troy's eyes widened as he turned back to Octavia, looking surprised that such a high-caliber musician would say something like that about something he did on a whim. As Canvas stood beside him with a big grin on his muzzle, Octavia went on while Troy kept blushing.

"Mister Clawston, I can say with the utmost sincerity that you have a great talent. Have you ever done anything professionally?"

"Actually,” said Canvas as he intervened with a grin of pride on his face, "Troy here was the lead in Ponyville's production of Phantom of the Opera!"

Along with the blush on Troy's face, the feathers at the back of his head were now ruffling out as he looked away from both of them, trying not to look too flustered as he heard Octavia giggle a little. Feeling too embarrassed to say anything, Troy could only stand silent before he heard his coltfriend open up his art bag and pull out a copy of the newspaper article from that show.

Looking back, Troy could only look in growing discomfort as a musician he liked read the review of his play, making him turn over and glare at Canvas. Despite how upset his boyfriend looked, Canvas still kept his smile before Octavia spoke up, catching the attention of both of them as they looked back at her.

"Well, Troy, I'm impressed! I happen to know Stage Presence back when I studied Theater in Canterlot University, and I know that she has impeccable taste when it comes to talent."

Octavia then looked back to Canvas as she spoke to him. "Excuse me, do you happen to have a pen and paper?"

"Of course!" said the stallion enthusiastically as he dug into his bag, pulling out a pen and paper in his mouth as he handed them to Octavia.

Taking them with a hoof, the mare gave a smile back to him as she began to write down on the paper, holding the pen in her mouth as she quickly jotted down something. When she was finished, Octavia gave the pen back to Canvas before looking at Troy.

"I shouldn't be telling you this, but I happen to know of a big production happening in Canterlot in a couple months." The mare then handed the paper to Troy, waiting until he took it before continuing, "If you're interested, I think it might be a great opportunity for you."

With that, Octavia gave a warm smile and nod to the Gryphon before walking off, heading back to the stage as Troy looked at the paper in his talons. Looking over his boyfriend's shoulder, Canvas saw that the mare wrote down the date and address for an upcoming audition. He smiled as he looked up to the stunned Gryphon.

"Way to go!" shouted the stallion as he hugged Troy tightly. "You did it, honey!"

Even though he was still in light shock that one of his favorite musicians not only complemented his singing, but also give him insider info about a huge opportunity for him, Troy still managed to grow a huge smile on his beak before hugging his coltfriend back.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight Sparkle tried to keep an optimistic look on her face as she walked alongside her mentor along the halls of Canterlot Castle. After learning the full story of what happened to Canvas involving his father and Gallop Creek, the lavender alicorn was feeling more than a little concerned as she looked up to Celestia, realizing that she already knew about everything months ago.

Seeing the look of concern on her student's face, Celestia sighed as a new sullen tone came upon her own face, already knowing what Twilight was going to bring up with her.

"Princess Celestia,” said Twilight as she walked with her, "would you mind if we talked about something?"

The Goddess stopped for a second, looking at her student for a moment before nodding.

"Of course,” said Celestia, "but I take from your tone that it should be in a more private place?"

Seeing Twilight nod at her assumption, Celestia nodded back before lighting her horn, enveloping them both in a bright, white light before vanishing in the hallway. In an instant, the two Princesses were both within the tower overlooking the castle, appearing in a flash nearby the large telescope that looked up to the stars.

Looking around and seeing that they were both alone, Celestia looked back to Twilight, seeing how troubled the lavender mare looked before she spoke to her.

"Celestia,” said Twilight in a more concerned tone of voice, "I was wanting to talk with you about what happened with Canvas."

Celestia exhaled as she looked back at Twilight, sighing before she spoke. "I see…"

The Goddess looked away from Twilight for a moment, looking out the window to the tower as she saw it was already getting close to sundown. When she looked back at Twilight, Celestia kept a stern tone in her voice as she spoke to her.

"Twilight, did my sister happen to speak with you about my findings in Gallop Creek?"

Biting her lip, Twilight nodded a little before she replied, "Yes, she sent me a letter about a week ago about her involvement. She told me about how she helped Canvas, and--”

Despite not wanting to bring up a something like this to her mentor, especially since it still worked out in the end, Twilight still felt like she had to keep going as she finished her statement.

"… And she told me that…. that you let Copper go."

Celestia closed her eyes as she sighed, knowing what was going to be asked. Hearing how Twilight said that last part, the Goddess anticipated her student's question as she heard her speak honestly.

"I know that you had your intentions, and I'm not going to question them at all, but…"

Twilight hesitated for a second, exhaling nervously before she completed her question.

"… I want to know… why didn't you punish him?"

As the young alicorn looked up to her mentor with worried eyes, Celestia gave her a warm smile to calm her nerves, waiting a moment before she answered in a more serious tone.

"Twilight, when you wrote that letter to me about what happened, and I discovered who Canvas's attacker was, I was insistent about tracking him down. And when I went to see Copper Fields, I had every intention to prosecute him for his actions. However…"

The Goddess's head hung down for a moment, looking more saddened as she continued in an upset tone of voice.

"When I saw him at that graveyard, and I saw how truly ashamed he was for his actions without knowing I was there, I knew that no punishment would be enough. Seeing how much heartache he was going through, I knew that no punishment I could give would be worse than what he was already feeling himself."

Celestia looked back to Twilight, now carrying a more stern look on her face as she continued, "I didn't let him go out of pity, or because I felt sorry for him. The reason I let Copper search for his son was because I understood how he felt."

Twilight's eyes widened a little as she heard her mentor's statement, not expecting her to say something like that. Before she could try to ask what she meant, Twilight could only keep silent as Celestia went on.

"Twilight, in the thousands of years I've spent ruling this land, I have made more than my share of mistakes. Some of which were much bigger than others…"

As she spoke, Celestia's tone became more saddened, making Twilight look more distraught as she listened.

"But of all the mistakes I've made in my lifetime,” said the Goddess, "I can honestly say that the biggest regrets I have, are the ones where I hurt those who were closest to me."

Twilight only blinked, trying to process her statement before Celestia continued.

"Much like Copper, I know how painful it can be to hurt somepony close to me, and I how important it can be to seek redemption… When I banished my dear sister, I spent a thousand years in constant torment, wanting nothing more than to have Luna back in my life like I did before. And when I finally held her again when she was reformed, nothing could've expressed the happiness I felt when I had her as my sister again."

Despite wanting to speak up about what her mentor was saying, Twilight wasn't able to put a word in before the Goddess continued.

"Also… when I saw Copper's regret over hurting his child, all I could think about was… was how I acted at the Royal Wedding…"

Twilight tried to hide her cringe, not needing to know what she was referring to as she looked away from Celestia. Even though what happened at the Royal Wedding Rehearsal was definitely still a sore spot in her conscience, Twilight was able to get past that moment after some well-needed reflection, knowing that she should've at least talked with Celestia about her suspicions before barging in like that.

However, as she recalled how cold everypony acted towards her after her outburst, Twilight was surprised to see Celestia look this upset as she spoke about it now, realizing that it hadn't been brought up much since the wedding.

"I shouldn't have left you alone like that, Twilight,” said Celestia in a more distressed tone of voice. "Despite how you may have acted, it was no excuse for me to act that way towards you. And I truly am sorry."

Even though she already forgave everypony involved before the wedding even began, knowing that they were all tricked by the same foe, Twilight still felt a twinge in her heart as she heard Celestia say that, grateful that it was at least said upfront like this.

"And,” continued Celestia, "... I saw that same look of regret on Copper's face… as he made that blood oath on his wife's grave."

Celestia paused for a moment, hoping that her words were able to sink in. Before Twilight could speak up as she opened her mouth, Celestia was quick to put a hoof up to silence her before speaking again.

"I'm not saying that his actions are comparable to mine,” said the Goddess in a more insistent tone. "While I may have acted wrong, I can still say that I acted accordingly under those circumstances. Hurting my sister was bad, and hurting you was wrong as well, but what he did was unforgivable."

Seeing how Twilight closed her muzzle again, Celestia was glad she was able to bring up a point before her student could.

"However,” said Celestia as she put her hoof back down, "I could still tell that, no matter what I did to him, Copper wouldn't have felt any closure for his pain unless he spoke to his son. So with a quick deliberation, I decided that instead of putting him in jail, or banishing him someplace to make him wallow in pity, that I should at least give the stallion a single chance to redeem himself. And considering how things went, I have no regrets over that decision."

Thinking back to how things went for the two, and hearing what Canvas told her about their goodbye at the Ponyville Train Station, Twilight couldn't exactly deny the Goddess's statement. Seeing how her student was looking, Celestia was glad to see Twilight nod as she looked back at her, knowing that she was able to understand her motives.

Before the two of them could go back downstairs, the Goddess wanted to say one more thing, hoping that her faithful student could learn a new lesson before the Gala began.

"Twilight, I want you to realize that, sometimes in life, not every problem can be easily resolved, and that some issues can’t be looked at from an outside perspective. As we move on in our lives, we're going to face struggles and heartache which could be too much to bear, or which are too personal for others to get involved ourselves. But when those moments come, I want you to remember that, no matter what, there is always hope for good to come. Even if everything feels lost, or an answer might not be easy to find, I want you to remember that good is always possible, and that it's always best to follow the light when it shows itself."

Breathing in, Twilight thought about what Celestia was saying to her. Even though she wanted to make a rebuttal, the mare couldn't actually think of one. Thinking back to all her experiences, Twilight understood what her mentor was saying: that there always is hope when we least expect it.

And as she thought about Canvas, the stallion who almost lost everything--including his own life--Twilight smiled as she knew where he was now: accomplishing something no other Earth Pony could do, and finding true love along the way. Looking back to Celestia, Twilight kept a smile on her muzzle as she heard the Goddess speak.

"Do you understand what I'm saying, Twilight Sparkle?"

Without hesitation, the younger Princess nodded, keeping her smile as she answered in a confident tone of voice, "Yes I do, your Highness."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Waking up in her sleeping quarters, the dark-blue alicorn groaned as she lifted herself from her bed, realizing she had to make herself presentable for the Grand Galloping Gala tonight. As she lifted herself onto her hooves and stood on the marble floor below her, the sound of cheering ponies outside only added to Luna's frustration as she realized she was going to be late for the grand opening.

Despite not wanting to be tardy, Luna decided to not let it get the best of her as she headed for the bathroom, hoping to at least get herself washed up before the Gala was halfway over. Before she could reach her bathroom, Luna's gaze caught notice of a package standing by her bedroom door before she walked over to it.

Not expecting any mail, Luna began to grow suspicious as she looked at the brown box before her, hoping this wouldn’t be another stupid prank from Discord like last week. Staying cautious about whatever was in the thin box, Luna lifted it with her magic and noticed a letter taped onto it. Removing the letter, Luna's eyes widened as she opened it, realizing who this was from. As a smile came up on her muzzle, the Princess of the Night felt a great sense of gratitude as she read the letter, written by hoof in black ink.

Dear Luna,

Words cannot describe how grateful I am for what you've done for me. While I know things will never be the same between my father and me, I'm still glad that I followed your advice. And you were right: despite how much I went through because of him, it wouldn’t do me any good to hold a grudge. While I still don't think I can ever completely forgive him, I was glad to at least say my proper goodbyes.

You really are a wise pony, and I know that there's nothing I can say that can truly describe how thankful I am for your help. Because of that, all that I ask is that you accept this gift, as a token of my appreciation.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Canvas

Luna sighed in joy as she finished the letter, happy that she was able to help somepony like that. Looking back to the package before her, the alicorn carefully opened the box, using her magic to levitate the item out. Looking at the framed picture before her, Luna's eyes widened as she saw what Canvas had made for her.

Much like his painting of Celestia, Canvas made something similar for the Princess of the night; however, while his artwork of Celestia just had her standing over a cliff with a confident look on her face, the painting he made for Luna was much more active.

Painted with oil paint on a canvas backdrop, the picture showed an image of Luna as she flew upward against the night sky. Illuminated by the vibrant moonlight against her dark-blue coat, the Princess was shown looking up to the cosmos as her wings were spread out fully, flying upward as her stance showed that of pure grace and elegance. Along with her wings glowing against the moonlight, Canvas also painted a special constellation in the sky over her head, with the stars arranged to look like a halo was above her.

Looking at the painting, Luna smiled as she saw how Canvas portrayed her, realizing, that instead of just painting her as a Princess, the stallion made her look like an angel.

In that moment, Canvas the stallion made history twice that night. Along with being the first Earth Pony to ever make a painting for Canterlot Castle, on that night, Canvas became the first artist ever to have two paintings displayed in the castle.

While his painting of Celestia was hung in the ballroom for everypony to see, Canvas's second painting of Luna was hung in another place, standing proudly within the Princess's sleeping quarters for herself.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After all the preparations were done and everything was ready, the Grand Galloping Gala went off without a hitch. Celestia started the event, with Twilight Sparkle standing next to her side happily. As the night went on, both Canvas and Troy were surprised by two things.

First, both were surprised at how much attention Canvas's work had received by ponies. For a large part of the night, Canvas wasn't able to get away from his painting as ponies kept walking up to him, either congratulating his success or asking how he accomplished it. Even though he wanted to try some of the delicious-looking displays of food across the ballroom, the stallion almost felt trapped as ponies kept speaking with him, leaving Canvas to feel a bitter mix of frustration and pride as he kept hearing the praises for his work..

And since he couldn't move from his spot much, Troy was also feeling upset as he looked on, wanting to find the perfect moment before this night ended.

Second, of all the things Canvas and Troy expected to happen at the Grand Galloping Gala, neither of them expected the event to be so boring. Despite hearing from several of the girls how this night wouldn’t be nearly as fantastic as expected, neither the stallion or Gryphon expected the party to be this dull.

If it wasn't for the constant barrage of ponies asking him about Gryphon culture, Troy probably would've fallen asleep before the Gala ended. Luckily, Rainbow Dash was able to help him out as he felt separated from his coltfriend. He was invited to chat with her and Soarin from the Wonderbolts, who was wearing a surprisingly casual-looking suit jacket. As he talked with the two Pegasus ponies, Troy almost didn't notice when Canvas was finally able to break free from the crowds and get himself something to eat.

As he listened to Rainbow Dash talk about how she saved the Wonderbolts that one time--something he'd heard her brag about at work at least once a week--Troy felt a hoof poke at his side, looking over to see Canvas carrying a big smile on his face.

"Finally!" said the Gryphon as he wrapped a foreleg around Canvas and quickly nuzzled him. Hearing his coltfriend giggle a little at the feathers brushing against his face, Troy smiled as he pulled his head back and looked at him. "Seriously, I'm really glad you're here. I've really been getting bored tonight."

"Hey!" said the cyan mare with an offended look on her face. "I was telling a great story!"

"Which I already heard thirty times,” retorted the Gryphon as he looked back at her with a smirk on his beak.

As the Pegasus mare huffed and looked away from Troy with a pout, Soarin tried to hide his laughter at the Gryphon's comeback. Looking back to his coltfriend, Troy noticed that Canvas was slightly blushing as he stared at Soarin, making the Gryphon's eyes narrow a little before poking at the stallion's head with a talon.

Canvas flinched a little as he looked back to Troy, making him blush even more as he saw how suspiciously the Gryphon was looking at him. "Ummmm,” said Canvas in a sheepish tone of voice, "I… I wasn’t…”

Looking almost oblivious to Canvas's embarrassed look, Soarin was quick to put out a hoof to him. "You're Canvas, right? The pony who made that painting by the windows?"

As the Pegasus stallion kept his hoof out, Canvas slowly looked back to him and shook it, keeping meager smile on his muzzle as he felt his boyfriend's stare on both of them.

"Ummm… yes. I'm Canvas."

"Well, it's nice to meet you,” said Soarin in a cheerful tone of voice. "Troy's had a lot of nice things to say about you. You should be lucky to have him."

"Oh, believe me,” said Canvas as he let go of Soarin's hoof and looked back at Troy with a warm smile on his face, "I know I'm lucky."

Seeing how genuine his coltfriend's statement was, Troy let his light feeling of jealousy slide as he held the stallion closer. Seeing how lovestruck the two were, Soarin chuckled a little and turned back to Rainbow Dash, letting the couple get reacquainted as they walked away.

As Rainbow went back to finishing her story to Soarin (even though he was there when it happened), Canvas walked with his boyfriend back to the large tables of food. Feeling like he should at least try to clear the air, Canvas cleared his throat before he spoke up to Troy with a smirk on his face.

"Troy, just so you know, you're way cuter than Soarin ever was."

Looking down to his coltfriend, Troy gave a light smirk on his beak before he retorted, "Oh yeah? Then why were you blushing like that? The last time I saw your face get that red was when I wore those stockings for you."

Canvas quickly blushed heavily again as he looked away from Troy, trying to hide his face as he remembered how the Gryphon looked that night. After a quick giggle from the stallion, Canvas quickly recomposed himself before turning back to his boyfriend.

"It's just that… well…”

As they walked, Canvas stopped for a second as he looked down to the ground, feeling embarrassed as he said, "I… I used to have a really big crush on him back in high school."

Even though he was slightly ashamed to admit something like that, Canvas was surprised when he felt Troy put his foreleg around him, chuckling a little as he replied, "Eh, don’t worry about it! I'm not jealous of a wimp like him."

As Canvas looked up and saw how confident the Gryphon looked with his statement, he smiled back and nuzzled his chest.

"And you shouldn’t be,” said Canvas as his face brushed against Troy's tux,."Seriously, I'd rather have you than any Wonderbolt!"

Even though he was happy to have Canvas nuzzle him like this, Troy quickly stepped back a little as he felt the stallion's face brush too close to the side of his jacket. As Canvas looked up, slightly confused, Troy looked around a little and made sure his jacket was secure, realizing the night was going to be over soon before he spoke.

"I, I… I don't want to mess with the tux. I… I know Rarity worked hard on this for me and… and I don’t want it to get messed up."

Seeing how flustered the Gryphon was getting as he explained, Canvas's eyes narrowed on him in suspicion as he said, "So… was that why you looked so happy when Rarity gave you the jacket?"

"Ummm…” Troy tried to make himself look less nervous as he looked back at his coltfriend, forcing a smile on his beak as he answered, "Yes! She… she got the measurements wrong a couple days ago because the wing holes were meant for a Pegasus body…"

Troy pointed back to the openings on the back of his tux, showing that they were much bigger than what Pegasus ponies usually had on jackets. "So she… she helped me make the changes so they would fit, and… and that's it."

Canvas only blinked a few times as he saw Troy's odd-looking smile, making the Gryphon get even more nervous as he tried to think of something to do. Remembering how excited Rarity looked earlier today at what she thought happened at the Concert Hall, Troy hoped to all that was sacred that Canvas wasn't catching on. Hoping to distract him for a little longer, Troy cleared his throat before he spoke some more.

"I… I was happy to have a fitting suit. I… never really had one, since I'm a Gryphon and all…"

Luckily, Troy's worries faded a little as he saw Canvas's eyes light up, as if he suddenly remembered something.

"That reminds me!" said Canvas in a more elated tone of voice,."There's someone I want you to meet!"

Even though he was confused as to who Canvas was leading him to, seeing the stallion focused on something else was more than enough for Troy to play along while he looked around to find the right moment.

Walking over to the large table full of food, Troy was surprised to see how much was there, ranging from a vast array of sweets to a classy display of small bite-sized foods of every variety. However, before he could pick up one of the little cheese pieces placed on a toothpick, Troy's gaze went to where Canvas was pointing with a hoof.

Looking up to the other side of the table where the chefs and caterers were, Troy's eyes widened as he saw something he didn’t expect to see: another Gryphon. Boasting a much larger beak than his own--which happened to have a rather unappealing black moustache on it--the Gryphon, who was stirring some new contents in a pan, kept his beady eyes on his work, not noticing Troy as he worked on his next dish. Keeping a smile on his muzzle, Canvas tried to catch this new Gryphon's attention as he spoke up.

"Hey Gustav!"

The mustached Gryphon's head quickly darted up to Canvas, looking at him for a second before a smile came up on his slightly jagged beak.

"Why hello, Canvas!" said Gustav in a cheerful tone, his accent sounding like what Troy would figure Applejack would refer to as "fancy”. As Troy stood there, slightly confused as to where Canvas met another Gryphon, the stallion looked back to his boyfriend as he spoke.

"Troy, remember when I told you I met a guy in Baltimare, when I got you your birthday gift?”

Troy's golden eyes shot wide open as he looked back at Gustav, seeing the smirk on the other Gryphon's beak before a huge smile came up on his own.

"Well, well, well,” said Gustav as he looked back to Canvas, "so this was the friend you bought my products for…”

Troy put his claw out across the table to Gustav, looking at him with a huge smile on his beak as he said excitedly, "Sir, you have no idea how much you made my night with that! I mean, that steak wa--”

“SSSHHHHHH!” Gustav quickly looked around from his spot, making sure no ponies heard that before he turned back to Troy. After giving a quick glare to him for almost blowing his operation, Gustav shook Troy's claw before speaking in a hushed tone.

"Do not mention my extracurricular activities…"

Letting go of his claw, Troy nodded and gave an embarrassed look, realizing how dumb it was to mention the "S" word in public like this. Luckily, Gustav gave a slight smile to Troy as he continued.

“... And you're welcome."

As Gustav went back to his work with a satisfied grin on his beak, Troy smiled and looked back to Canvas, feeling even more in love with him as he realized how much the stallion had done for him as a friend. Thinking back to all the time they spent together, Troy's heart began beating even more as he looked at Canvas, wondering whether or not right now would be the right time.

Looking back to the rest of the ballroom, Troy smiled as he saw the large crowd of ponies around Canvas's painting, making him feel even better as he turned back and spoke to Canvas.

"So, how does it feel?"

Canvas's eyebrow skewed a little as he looked up to his lover, hesitating a little before he replied, "How does what feel? Because a lot of great things have happened today."

"Well, what I mean is…" Troy then held the stallion closer to him, grabbing him in his claws as he kept his gaze glued on the stallion's blue eyes.

"How does it feel… to be here on the biggest night of your life?"

"Well…" Without looking away from the stunning golden eyes in front of him, Canvas could only smile as he brought his head in closer. "The thing is… while this is a big night for me, I don't think this is the greatest night of my life…”

"Really?" said Troy with a curious look on his face, surprised by Canvas's answer.

"Yeah,” said Canvas as he moved his head even closer to the Gryphon's, "because the greatest night of my life… happened when I fell in love with you…”

With that, Troy opened his beak as Canvas kissed him, keeping him there for a moment as he felt the stallion's tender lips. Not caring about any odd stares they might be getting from the ponies around them, Troy kissed him back before pulling his head away, keeping his eyes on Canvas as he spoke in a loving tone.

"Well, Canvas… really hope I can change that tonight."

As Canvas's eyebrows raised up in curiosity, the stallion was about to say something before music began to play from the stage. Hearing the sensual piano start to play throughout the ballroom, Troy smiled as he looked back at the stallion, stepping back as he held out his claw to him.

"Canvas,” said Troy with a gentle smile on his beak, "may I have this dance?"

Even though he was surprised his boyfriend was up for something like dancing (especially in a public place like this), Canvas smiled as he put out his hoof.

"Troy,” said Canvas in a cheerful tone as he took his claw, "I would be happy to."

As the gentle music began to play from the band, the stallion and Gryphon stepped out onto the dance floor, joining the other couples as they came together. As the two stood on their hind legs, holding onto each other as the music continued, neither of them noticed anything around them as they closed their eyes in each other's embrace.

Despite the fact that many of the ponies in the ballroom were now staring at the two slow dancing--as well as some of the other couples, who began to falter on their own hooves--neither Canvas or Troy cared about anything but each other as they moved along to the music. As Troy kept his forelegs around the stallion's back, Canvas rested his head against the Gryphon's chest, savoring his warmth as they swayed side-by-side.

Even though he didn’t want to open his eyes and risk seeing any glares from the uptight ponies around them, Troy still looked down at the stallion he was holding, smiling as he saw how beautiful Canvas really looked tonight.

Neither of them was sure how long they danced together in front of that stage--although they knew several songs were played in full while they were out there--but it wasn't until Troy opened his eyes that he looked around, noticing the crowd beginning to dissipate within the ballroom. Hoping he wasn't too late, Troy looked around as he held onto Canvas, noticing Octavia on the stage as she began to put her cello back into her case.

"Octavia,” said Troy in a worried tone as Canvas began to let go of him, "don’t tell me the Gala's over!"

Octavia kept a skewed eyebrow at Troy in confusion before she replied, "Ummm… I don’t think so.”

Troy sighed in relief, looking back at Canvas with a smile before she continued, "If you're wondering where the ponies are going, Celestia is supposed to be doing something big for tonight that's happening outside."

Troy's eyes widened as he heard that, remembering what was supposed to occur at the Gala. Remembering how Rainbow Dash made him Pinkie Promise not to say anything about what Celestia was planning, Troy didn’t mention a word of it to Canvas. Since he originally planned to make his move at the Concert Hall, the Gryphon didn’t even think about this as an option.

But now, knowing what he wanted to do, Troy kept a tender smile on his beak as he looked at Canvas, realizing exactly where he could take him.

"Hey Canvas,” said Troy in a loving tone, "follow me…"

As Troy began to walk out of the ballroom with the stallion in tow, Canvas looked at him in confusion before he spoke up. "Where… where to?"

Troy looked back to his coltfriend with a smile on his beak, before he replied in a more carefree tone of voice, "Just trust me."

Seeing how Troy said that, Canvas could only smile in agreement as he followed him. As they made their way out of the ballroom, Troy managed to walk through the large crowd of ponies waiting outside as Canvas followed in tow.

With a new look of determination on his face, Troy's eyes were pinned on the one place he knew would be perfect, knowing that nopony would be present as they walked toward their destination.

Seeing that they were heading toward the platform Celestia used to raise the sun every morning, Canvas's eyes widened as he looked up at his lover, hoping that Troy wasn't going to get them in trouble as they walked towards it.

As they reached the stairs leading up to the platform, Troy looked back to Canvas with a smile on his face, looking ecstatic as a million thoughts went through his head. Among all the thoughts and feelings flowing through the Gryphon, the biggest ones were his hopes.

He hoped everything would plan out like he thought.

He hoped nopony was going to interrupt them this time.

He hoped this moment would be as perfect as he imagined it would be.

But mostly…

He hoped that Canvas would say "yes".

"HALT!"

Before Troy could even lift the velvet rope draped across the steps leading up to Celestia's Sun-Raising Platform, two Royal Guards immediately appeared before him and Canvas.

"... Buck,” muttered the Gryphon as he let go of the rope.

Even though he should've expected a place like this to be guarded--especially on the night of the Grand Galloping Gala--Troy was too focused on other things to consider something like this happening. As Troy and his coltfriend looked over to the two Pegasus ponies donned in armor, neither of them said a word in front of the Guards, knowing that they were in trouble as one of them spoke.

"This is a restricted area,” said the grey-coated Guard in a firm tone of voice, "please head back to the Castle immediately."

Troy looked back up to the steps behind him, feeling his frustration begin to seethe over as he saw how close he was. Not wanting to let this opportunity slip by, the Gryphon turned back to the Guards as he opened his beak, worrying Canvas as he saw the serious look on his lover's face.

"We weren't going to do anyth--”

"Silence!" barked the brown-coated Guard in a brash tone. "You have been ordered to return to the Castle!"

Even though the last thing he wanted to do was seem like a threat to these Guards, Troy's claws began to dig into the grass underneath him, worrying Canvas even more as he saw how aggravated the Gryphon was getting. Before Troy could do anything he would probably regret, the unmistakable voice of Rainbow Dash came out from behind the Guards, startling the two as she came up to them.

"Hey, Guards!" shouted the cyan mare with a peeved look on her face. "Whaddya think you two are doing to my friends?"

"These two were attempting to trespass onto restricted property,” said the brown Guard as he turned and stood before Rainbow Dash, not noticing how worried the grey Guard was looking at seeing the Pegasus mare before them. "We have ordered them to return to the Gala, and they have been hesitant in leaving."

Even though the mare still looked a bit irritated at seeing Troy and Canvas get hassled like this, she knew that her co-worker knew better than to try anything stupid like trespassing on royal grounds. Passing the two Guards, Rainbow Dash walked straight up to Troy as she spoke in a stern tone of voice.

"Troy, just what in the hay are you trying to pull?"

"Dash,” said Troy as he put his claws up in an attempt to calm down the mare, trying to speak in a calm tone to hide his growing worry. "I was just wanting to go to the platform with Canvas. I wasn't goi--”

"Why?" asked the mare in a more annoyed tone as she got up closer to the Gryphon, poking at his chest with a hoof as she spoke brashly. "Dude, you've been acting really weird lately! I want to know why you've been acting so freaky the past couple weeks, and I'm not letting you go until y--"

As Rainbow Dash kept poking at Troy's chest, the Gryphon's eyes widened in a panic as her hoof stopped at one spot of his jacket. Leaving her hoof on the Gryphon's chest, Rainbow's eyes widened as she looked back up to Troy as she suddenly realized what he was going to do. Looking down to his jacket for a split second, the mare cracked a quick smile back at Troy for a moment before turning back to the two Guards with a more serious expression on her face.

"Guys, let my friends go up to the platform, right now!"

The two Guards widened their eyes in surprise at hearing that, not expecting the mare change her mind so quickly. Not wanting to break protocol, the brown Guard kept his stance as he addressed Rainbow Dash in a bold tone of voice.

"Ma'am, I cannot let these two pass onto restricted property!"

As his fellow Guard started to look worried, Rainbow Dash kept a skewed eyebrow to the brown Guard as she replied, "What's that? Are you disobeying the Element of Loyalty?"

Even though the grey Guard looked away from her uneasily, the brown Guard stood his ground as he kept his eyes on her, even though his demeanor looked slightly less confident as he replied in a less stern tone.

"I… I am supposed to Guard this region, and make sure that nopony tres--"

"Dude,” said the mare as she walked up closer to the guard, making him more nervous as she spoke bluntly, "I helped save this nation while you were still in training! Multiple times! And I'm telling you that you better let my friends pass before I--"

"Rainbow Dash!" shouted a posh voice from behind the Guards, making Rainbow Dash look past the nervous Guards as she saw Rarity trotting up towards them.

"Do you really think it's a bright idea to use your title like that? Did you not learn anything about why it's wrong to try boosting your own ego?"

Rainbow Dash was about to make a retort towards Rarity, but nothing came out when she opened her muzzle. After a couple seconds, the cyan mare shut her mouth in defeat, knowing that her friend was right.

As Rarity noticed Canvas and Troy, both of whom were standing with unsure looks on their faces, the unicorn grinned as she looked at Troy, immediately realizing what it was he was going to do when she noticed the platform behind them. Knowing what Celestia had planned in a few minutes, Rarity turned back to the Royal Guards as she kept a calm but stern look on her face, speaking in an equally kind and insistent tone.

"Gentlecolts, Troy and Canvas are good friends of Rainbow Dash and myself back in Ponyville. I can assure you that these two will not do anything of ill intent. All they want to do is see the platform, and I will personally make sure they won’t be there for long. I promise that nothing bad will happen, and you have my word that Celestia will not know anything about this."

Despite the unicorn's truthful words, both Guards seemed hesitant to just let them go on their way. However, after the two looked at each other with concern, the brown-coated Guard turned back to Rarity as he spoke in a serious tone of voice.

"Five minutes."

Rarity was quick to give a smile to the Guard as she replied, "That will be more than enough time. Thank you."

As the two Guards walked off, still looking back at them while they headed back to the Castle, Rarity was quick to turn and nod to Troy in approval, snapping him back to reality before going to the steps.

Lifting the rope up with a claw, Troy looked back to Canvas as he kept a warm smile on his beak, hoping to alleviate the pony's worries as he stood opposite the Gryphon with unease. Before Canvas could say anything or give protest, he noticed Rainbow Dash and Rarity looking at him with smiles on their faces, motioning him to go on as they started to get giddy for some reason. Even though he was starting to get confused, one look back at Troy quickly calmed Canvas's nerves. He saw him looking back with a smile as he spoke in a gentle tone.

"It'll be fine, Canvas,” said Troy as he kept the rope lifted up, "trust me."

Taking a deep breath, Canvas took one last look around before he stepped forward, heading up the stairs to the platform after going underneath the rope. Before Troy could follow his coltfriend up the stairs, the Gryphon looked back at the two mares as they stared at him with excitement.

Walking up to Troy, Rainbow Dash kept a cheeky grin on her muzzle as she patted his chest with her hoof, touching the same spot she felt beforehand before she whispered cheerfully, "Go get him!"

Not caring that she figured out what he was going to do, Troy smiled at Rainbow Dash before going under the ropes and reaching the steps. After looking back at the happy mares one last time, Troy turned back to the steps as he puffed his chest out, wanting this moment to be perfect as he began to rush up the stairs.

As the two watched the Gryphon make his way up to Canvas on the platform, Rarity turned her attention back to Rainbow Dash with a smirk on her muzzle, waiting for her to notice before she spoke in a cheeky tone.

"So, Rainbow Dash,” said Rarity as her eyes narrowed on the mare with a smile, "I take it that you know what Troy's going to do?"

"Yeah,” said the Pegasus as she turned to Rarity, grinning as she tried not to look too giddy. "I felt what he had in his jacket while I was poking him."

Realizing how both Troy and the unicorn were acting regarding his tuxedo, Rainbow Dash's eyes narrowed on Rarity as she spoke in a more sassy tone. "I'm guessing you had something to do with that?"

Blushing a little, Rarity giggled before she replied, "Well… I may have held onto it for him before he came to Canterlot, but I believe he already had everything planned out before I could help."

"Well,” said Rainbow Dash as she looked up to the night's sky, smiling as she saw what was about to begin above Canterlot, "feather-butt certainly picked a great time to do it."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Reaching the top of the steps, Troy caught his breath while he walked up to the platform, his eyes widening in surprise as he saw how elegant this spot really was. Despite being a fairly small stage for the Princess to raise the sun, the Gryphon was surprised when he looked down to the marble floor underneath his claws.

Looking at the intricately designed pattern of Celestia's sun emblem across the floor of the platform, Troy's eyes widened even more in shock as he realized it was laid in pure gold, standing out brightly against the grey marble even under Luna's moonlight. Before he could marvel any more at the platform underneath him, Troy looked back up as he saw Canvas standing on the middle of the stage with his eyes open wide as he looked up to the starry skies.

Because of Celestia's insistence to make this final event a surprise, only a select few ponies (including the Elements of Harmony) were told about what she had planned at the end of the Grand Galloping Gala. As she stood atop from her tower, looking down at the large mass of ponies below her, Celestia gave a smile as she lit up her horn, making her whole weightless mane begin to glow against the moonlight.

In a sudden burst of light, Celestia's mane shot out in all directions from the tower as the multicolored glow of it slowly began to flow into the night skies. Spreading out against Luna's star-spangled night like a splash of paint against the smoothest sheet of canvas, Celestia's glow of green, blue, and purple began to flow in shimmering beauty above Equestria, making all the ponies below marvel in wonder as they took in this rare sight.

The Aurora Borealis--a spectacular display of light against the night that was as beautiful as it was rare--began to illuminate Canterlot in its gentle glow. While Canvas looked at the skies above in fascination from the platform, getting a perfect view of the sight from this spot, he almost didn’t notice Troy walk up beside him.

Slowly, Canvas turned over to the Gryphon, noticing that Troy was looking straight at him with a loving smile on his beak. Seeing that the Gryphon managed to pull off showing him something this amazing, a smile came up on Canvas's face as he spoke sincerely.

"Troy,” said Canvas as he looked up to his lover, "this is perfect!"

As he saw how the glowing hues of majestic color reflected against the stallion's blue eyes, Troy found it difficult to keep his composure as he stood before him, tears streaming down his face before he opened his beak.

"Canvas,” said Troy in a shaky, yet overjoyed tone, "you… are the one that's perfect."

Hearing the Gryphon's statement, Canvas felt like he was going to well up as he smiled back. Before he could say anything to him, Canvas only watched as Troy stepped forward, keeping his eyes locked onto Canvas as he spoke in a caring tone.

"Canvas, I… I can honestly say… that nothing… nothing… has ever made me happier in my life than you have."

Now standing only a couple feet from the stallion, Troy's loving gaze became warmer as he continued to speak, feeling his heart beating faster with each passing word.

"I have no idea how my life would've been if I never found you, but… but I know that it wouldn't have been as great. I may have saved your life, but… you saved me as well….”

Feeling tears of joy come down his face, Canvas no longer looked up to the Aurora Borealis above them as he kept his eyes glued to Troy, seeing the majestic glow against his golden eyes as he spoke with the utmost tone of sincerity and affection.

"I love you, Canvas. I never would've thought in a million years that I would ever feel this way about anyone… especially a stallion… but I do. I love you, and I know what I want to do…”

Feeling his own heart begin to race faster, Canvas's smile grew even bigger as he looked up at Troy. Lifting a foreleg to his chest, Troy lightly placed his claw over his jacket as he continued to speak.

"Canvas, you mean more to me than anything else in my life. You gave me more purpose and motivation than I ever thought I had, and I… well…”

Troy's claw went into his jacket as he kept his eyes on Canvas, noticing how the pony's breathing was starting to come out more rapidly. Realizing he couldn't turn back now, Troy felt no resistance or hesitation whatsoever as he continued.

"I know we've only been together a few months, but… life is too short. Just like what you told me, I… I shouldn’t focus on what I could've had, and… and I know what I want to do. I...

“... I want to spend the rest of my life with you."

As Troy pulled his claw back out of his jacket, Canvas put a hoof up to his muzzle and tried not to break down crying right there. Keeping a loving smile on his beak, Troy tried to keep himself together as he stood before the love of his life while holding a small black box in his claw.

"Canvas,” said Troy as his voice started to come out more shakily, "there's something I want to ask you…”

With that, Troy's hindlegs moved downward as he kneeled before Canvas, making the stallion cry even more as he kept a smile on his muzzle. As Troy held the black box in one claw, the other reached out as he gently held Canvas's hoof, looking up to the stallion's overjoyed face before the Gryphon closed his eyes and hung his head.

With tears streaming down his face, Troy kept his smile as recited his lines, feeling ecstatic to finally say them out loud to Canvas after all the countless times he spent rehearsing them when he was alone.

"By Princess's Will…
Through Good Or Ill…
Our Souls Entwined…
Until The End Of Time…"

Opening his golden eyes as they kept streaming tears, Troy looked up to Canvas, seeing how happy the pony looked as the aqua fur on his cheeks became matted with tears. With his heart beating fast enough to make others worry about a heart attack, Troy kept his attention on the stallion as he spoke, his voice coming out in a faint creak as he tried not to become too emotional.

"Canvas… my best friend… my love… my soul mate…”

Troy opened the box in his claw, making Canvas begin to weep as he stood before the Gryphon. Inside the black box, lined against the purest black velvet, laid a stunning hoof band made out of pure white gold. Engraved in the band, in intricate detail, was the image of Canvas's paint palette cutie mark as it was intertwined with the image of a silver feather.

Keeping a hoof over his muzzle, Canvas could barely keep himself upright as he stood before Troy, trying to contain himself while the Gryphon kneeled before him. Looking into the Gryphon's welling eyes, illuminated by the glow of the Aurora Borealis above their heads, Canvas could barely move as Troy kept the purest look of happiness on his tear-stained face.

Holding onto his hoof, Troy looked into Canvas's beautiful blue eyes as he breathed in, taking a moment before he spoke faintly to the stallion he loved.

"Canvas… will you marry me?"

Canvas didn’t even need a second to think about it before he lunged forward, hugging the Gryphon as tight as he could while screaming out at the top of his lungs.

"YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSS!!!!"

Falling on his back onto the floor of the platform, Troy hugged Canvas back tightly as more tears of joy came down both their faces. Wrapping his hooves around Troy's neck, Canvas clenched his eyes shut as he hugged the Gryphon, holding his head against Troy's chest as he kept speaking in a weeping shriek of joy.

"Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yeeeeeeeesss!!!"

As Troy lifted his head up, Canvas slowly opened his eyes and pulled his head back, looking straight at Troy as he spoke faintly with a smile on his face.

"Yes… I'll marry you, Troy."

Moving back up so he could sit upright, Troy closed his eyes and held onto Canvas, kissing him as deeply as he possibly could as the Aurora Borealis shone above them. As Canvas sensually kissed him back, neither of them said a word as they sat in that space.

Keeping his hooves gripped around the Gryphon, Canvas never wanted this moment to end as he stayed in Troy's grasp. After everything that's happened in his life, Canvas couldn't have felt happier as he kissed Troy, realizing that, of all the amazing moments that occurred in these past months, nothing could ever compare to this. Troy truly meant everything to Canvas: first he was his savior, then a friend, then a best friend, and then… a mate.

And now, as he felt Troy place the band on his hoof, Canvas couldn't hold back his overwhelming glee as he looked up at the joyful Gryphon. Looking into his golden eyes, Canvas knew he could never find another soul as amazing as Troy: his friend, his soul mate, his true love.

And, now… his fiancé.

As the sun began to rise over Canterlot once more, everything was completely still within Canvas and Troy's room. Along with being invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, Canvas was also lucky enough to get a room for the night in Canterlot Castle. Resting in the lusciously soft bed in the middle of the large guest room, Canvas only felt pure bliss as he kept his eyes closed, smiling as his face brushed against Troy's warm chest. Feeling the Gryphon's soft feathers, Canvas wrapped his hooves around Troy's body tighter and listened to his sleeping heartbeat. As Canvas readjusted his hooves to get more comfortable, his eyes slowly opened when he felt what was still on his left hoof.

Moving his hoof back so he could see, Canvas smiled as he saw the golden band resting on it, shining brightly against the morning light coming in through the window. As the stallion marveled at the beautiful engagement band against his aqua fur, Canvas's gaze slowly went back up to the Gryphon sleeping beside him, making his smile grow bigger as he saw Troy's face.

Even though he should've known something was up because of how odd Troy had been acting the past few weeks--especially with how much he was talking with Rarity regarding his tuxedo--Canvas didn’t care one bit anymore as he marveled at the Gryphon resting before him, feeling himself start to well up as he thought about how much his friend truly meant to him.

Canvas honestly thought that everything that happened could've just been some amazing dream; at any moment he would wake up back in that field, covered in the bruises his father gave him. However, as he felt Troy's breath gently exhale through his beak and brush against his fur, Canvas felt his heart grow warmer as he looked up at him, knowing that nothing could ever be as real as this.

Even though it felt almost surreal how much had happened in the past few months for the stallion, Canvas savored how lucky he truly felt as he pulled his head in towards Troy. As his lips gently met Troy's beak, Canvas closed his eyes and let everything sink in: having a great life, amazing friends, a loving home, a talent that now gave him a legacy…

… And now, having someone to call his husband.

Even with his lips against the Gryphon's beak, Canvas still smiled as he thought about that word, loving how amazing it sounded to him. While he never would've expected Troy to propose this soon, Canvas knew that he did it at the absolute best moment.

Still remembering how the Aurora Borealis shone stunningly above the two, and how the bright lights illuminated against Troy's shining golden eyes, there was no way Canvas could've ever said no. And now, with the immaculate, golden band resting on his hoof perfectly, Canvas felt absolutely wonderful as he kissed Troy, keeping his lips locked onto him as he felt his fiancé begin to stir awake.

When Troy opened his tired eyes, his heart immediately began to melt as he looked into the eyes of the stallion, making him feel as happy as he was last night. Remembering how hard his heart was beating when he finally got up the courage to propose to Canvas, the Gryphon couldn't have felt happier as he laid next to the pony now, still savoring the happiness he felt as he held onto his new fiancé.

Even though he never would've expected doing something like this several months ago (especially for someone like Canvas), Troy kept a smile on his beak as he hugged the pony on the bed, knowing that being with him was the best decision he could've ever made. Canvas may have not been a Gryphon--or even a female, for that matter--but none of that ever mattered to Troy as he held him close to his body. Thinking back to how much of a great friend Canvas had been to him over the past few months, Troy knew that no one, of any species or any gender, could ever match how he felt for the stallion before him.

Holding onto each other on the silk, lavender sheets, neither of them said a word as they rested in silence, only letting the sounds of their faint breathing and heartbeats carry around the room as they laid on the bed. Slowly, Canvas opened his eyes as he looked down to his hoofband once more, smiling as he marveled at the white gold shining against his fur.

Seeing how happy Canvas looked with his engagement band on, Troy kept a grateful smile on his face as his fiancé looked back up to him. As the morning sun shone brightly into the room and illuminated the two inside, neither of them could see any sign of doubt or regret as they looked into each other's eyes, smiling as they realized how utterly perfect everything felt for them.

Troy bent in and opened his beak, letting the stallion kiss him deeply once more as he savored the feel of his lips against him. After a long moment of silence, heightened by their kiss, Troy finally spoke as he opened his eyes, looking into Canvas's blissful eyes as he opened his beak.

"Good morning, beautiful."

Canvas giggled a little at hearing that, making Troy feel even happier before he nuzzled the pony. Still lying beside him on the bed, Troy slowly pulled his head back before he continued in a loving tone.

"So… can you say that last night is now the best night of your life?"

Canvas blushed as he looked up and smiled at Troy, almost glowing against the morning light before he replied:

"Absolutely."

Canvas gave one more quick smooch to the Gryphon's beak before he rested his head against Troy's chest, nuzzling it as he hugged him. Before the two could fall asleep against each other in the bed once more, Troy sighed as he noticed how bright the morning was getting already. Knowing that they would have to take the train back to Ponyville today, the Gryphon groaned slightly before he held Canvas closer, closing his eyes before he spoke in a tired and gentle tone.

"So, Canvas… what time is our train supposed to be at the station?"

"Ummm…” Canvas kept his eyes closed as he twitched his muzzle a bit, thinking it over before he responded, "I… I think it's supposed to be at ten."

"Okay…”

Keeping his fiancé cradled against his chest, Troy opened his eyes slightly as he looked over at the clock on the wall, checking the time before closing them again.

"Wait,” said Canvas as he rested his face in the Gryphon's feathers, "… what time is it now?"

"A quarter past nine…”

"Oh…”

For exactly three seconds, Canvas and Troy rested together peacefully, keeping their eyes closed before Troy's words really sunk in. Realizing what time it was, both their eyes shot wide open at the same time, realizing they only had 45 minutes to get to the train station before they shouted out in unison:

"OH BUCK!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Despite not wanting to look stressed or cause a scene in the halls of Canterlot Castle, the newly engaged couple didn't keep track of their worry as they frantically ran down among the marble floors, hoping they could make their way out of the castle and to the station in time.

"Why didn't you set the alarm clock, Troy?!” shouted Canvas as he galloped down the halls, his art bag flopping at his side with each rushed step.

"It wasn't my fault!" shouted Troy back as he ran beside him. "The alarm clock broke!"

"What?" Canvas asked ahe looked back to his fiancé while running, "When did it break?"

"This morning, I think,” said the Gryphon, giving a sheepish smile on his beak despite running at high speed through the Castle. "I think when the clock went off, I broke it while still half asleep. Sorry."

Canvas only groaned as he turned his attention back ahead of him, galloping as fast as he could as they reached the main hall. "I swear, dude! If I wasn't still happy about marrying you, I would be so much madder at you right now!"

"Good to know,” replied the Gryphon, grinning as the main door to the castle was in their sights.

Although they only had thirty minutes to get to the station, Troy was happy that they were able to get ready and packed in such little time. Before they could reach the front doors and make their way through Canterlot, the all-too familiar voice of Princess Celestia called out from behind them.

"Oh, good morning, Canvas!"

Even though they were under a little pressure due to the little amount of time they had, both of them still skidded to a halt as they heard the Goddess's voice. They instinctively turned back to her to make a quick bow. Hoping they weren't violating any big rules by running through the Castle like this, Canvas tried to make himself look noble through his rushed bow when he looked back up to the alicorn. Luckily, Celestia didn’t look upset or disappointed at all as the walked up to the two, looking over to the Gryphon as she spoke kindly to him.

"And good morning to you, Troy."

After his bow, Troy nodded to the Princess and stood back up, trying not to look too anxious as they stood still just a few feet from the door. Not seeming to notice their restlessness as they looked up at her, Celestia kept a warm smile as she turned her attention back to Canvas.

"Canvas, I heard from my sister that she received your gift to her. Luna wanted me to tell you that she greatly appreciates your painting."

Despite still feeling pressured by the ticking clock in his head, Canvas smiled as he heard Celestia's praise from Luna. While the stallion stood happily, Troy looked over at him with a surprised look on his face, not expecting his fiancé to have done something like that. Even though he knew Canvas was working on something for the Gala--and was also told the letter had been from Luna herself--Troy didn't think to put the pieces together like that.

Now knowing what Canvas had been doing the past few weeks after his encounter with Copper, Troy gave a light smirk as he looked at him, feeling rather impressed that the pony would use his talents to make a thank-you like that.

"A painting, huh?” said the Gryphon as he caught Canvas's attention. "So that's what you've been so busy with!"

Realizing he never really told Troy about his project, Canvas began to blush as he looked back to him, giving a meek smile on his muzzle as he tried to reply, "Ummm… yeah. I… I thought it would be a nice way to show my… appreciation."

"Well, I think it worked,” said Celestia in a cheerful tone. "I heard that she actually had it placed in her bedroom."

Canvas looked back at the Goddess wide-eyed as she said that, shocking him as he realized he now had two paintings in Canterlot Castle. Speechless by this new information, Canvas almost buckled under his hooves before Troy put up a claw, holding his fiancé upright as he tried to muster out a response to Celestia.

"W-wow!" uttered the pony as he looked up at the Goddess's smiling face. "I… I don’t know what to say!"

"I'll tell her that you're happy to hear about it,” said Celestia as she looked at the two. "You really did an amazing job, Canvas. I'm glad to see that your art has gone so well. Congratulations."

As Canvas smiled while looking back down, feeling absolutely ecstatic while Troy held him close to his side, Celestia's gaze went down to the golden band on the stallion's hoof. Immediately knowing what that was supposed to be, and who it was from, the Goddess gave a warm smile as she looked at the two before her, waiting until they noticed her gaze before she spoke in a sincere tone.

"And congratulations to the both of you."

Looking down to his hoofband, Canvas blushed and gave a smile to the Princess, feeling even happier that the alicorn was glad about their engagement. Even with how cheerful the stallion looked, Troy looked away from both of them in slight embarrassment, hoping that Celestia didn’t know where he’d decided to make his proposal to Canvas. Despite his worries, Troy was still glad as he saw how genuine Celestia looked in her approval, keeping her warm smile as she spoke once more.

"I'll see to it that Twilight helps with your arrangements."

Canvas and Troy looked back to each other as they smiled in slight disbelief, unsure of how to react for a moment before they turned back to her.

"Wow,” said Troy as he held his fiancé in closer, looking up to Celestia as he spoke in a surprised tone. "Th-thank you! I…”

Before Troy could finish his fumbled statement, he noticed the large grandfather clock on the wall near the Princess, making him widen his eyes in worry as he realized how little time they had.

"Ooh, ummm…" Troy quickly secured the satchel on his shoulder as he looked down to Canvas, seeing that he still had everything on him before turning back to Celestia. "I… I'm really sorry, but we gotta catch our train…"

Hearing that, Canvas quickly shot out of his euphoric feeling as his panic set back in, realizing they could very well miss their train as he looked up to Troy in worry. Looking over to the clock and seeing the time, Celestia gave a light grin as she looked back to the two before her as they tried to get everything together before leaving.

Despite having a tight schedule, the Goddess put out a hoof to make Canvas and Troy stop rushing for a moment, making them worry a little before she said, "Allow me to help you two…"

Celestia lit her horn, making Canvas and Troy only see a bright flash of light for a moment before they became engulfed in it. Feeling the familiar form of weightlessness in that space, Troy immediately realized what was going on as he held onto Canvas, closing his eyes before he felt his weight begin to come back to him.

While he almost felt like he was dropping the last time he was teleported somewhere--although, to be fair, he wasn't expecting it when Twilight Sparkle did it during that storm--Troy didn’t feel any major drop or change this time around, feeling like he arrived rather gracefully as Celestia's light went away.

Looking around this new area--and noticing how freaked-out Canvas looked from having experienced teleportation for the first time--Troy smiled as he saw where Celestia brought them. Despite the dozens of ponies around them looking shocked or surprised to see the Princess of the Sun immediately before them, neither Canvas or Troy noticed as they realized where they were as they stood before Celestia at the platform of the Canterlot Train Station.

"Here you go,” said Celestia kindly. "I better get back before I worry the guards or staff. But, once again, congratulations, and have a great day."

As Troy and Canvas nodded at the Princess with a smile, Celestia once again lit her horn, disappearing from the station in a flash of light just as quickly as when she arrived. While the couple stood side-by-side on the platform, all of the ponies around them just stood speechless, trying to comprehend what the buck just happened. As most of the other train-goers kept their distance (most out of fear that the Goddess was going to show up again for whatever reason), Canvas just smiled to himself and leaned in towards Troy, resting his head against the Gryphon's side and feeling his warm feathers against him.

When Troy looked down to his fiancé, he noticed that Canvas was staring at the band on his hoof, smiling before he looked up at the Gryphon with a curious look on his face.

"So,” said Canvas as he tried to think of what to say, "… how long were you planning to propose to me?"

Troy chuckled a little as he looked away, slightly embarrassed about how impulsive his answer was going to sound.

"Actually, I… decided to do it after you talked with me, about why… why you went to talk with him…"

Canvas's eyebrows rose a little at hearing that, immediately knowing what Troy was talking about. Before Canvas could question why his encounter with his father caused the Gryphon to be inspired like that, Troy looked back down to him before he spoke in a caring tone.

"You told me that it's better to live our lives for what we want, and not for what we could've had. And you know what?"

Troy peered his head in closer to the stallion, smiling as he held onto him and looked right into Canvas's gorgeous blue eyes.

"When I was holding you later that day, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to be with you, Canvas. I wanted to spend my life with you by my side…

“… And I wanted to have you as my husband."

Canvas practically melted at that last statement, giving a warm smile before he lunged forward and hugged Troy tightly. As Troy hugged his fiancé back, he felt Canvas's left hoof raise up again as the stallion looked back at the white gold wrapped around it.

"So…” Canvas asked as he sounded more surprised, "You managed to get this in two weeks?"

"Well… yeah,” said Troy meekly before Canvas slowly stepped back, looking up at the Gryphon with a surprised look in his eyes before he responded.

"But… how could you afford this? I mean…"

Canvas looked down to the ring again before he spoke, sounding even more astonished with each passing word as he looked at the golden band. "I mean, this had to have cost a fortune! Where… where did you get the money for this?!"

Troy just chuckled again as he smiled, lifting a claw to ruffle his fiancé's mane before he replied, "Aw, come on, Canvas! I had a little bit saved up. I told you about the inheritance I got, right?"

Canvas's eyes widened as he looked back up at Troy, looking absolutely shocked by his fiancé's answer.

"You… you spent your inheritance money on this?"

"Well,” began the Gryphon as he bent his head in to Canvas, nuzzling him before he said cheerfully, "I didn’t spend all of it on that ring. I still have a lot left over, which I figured we could use for our wedding."

As Troy pulled his head back, he saw that Canvas still looked taken aback by the Gryphon's statement. Hoping to calm the pony's nerves, Troy smiled as he bent his head in and looked into Canvas's eyes once more.

"Besides,” said Troy in a caring tone with a smile on his beak, "I wanted to seize the moment. And buying that ring… was the best thing I could've ever done with that money."

Canvas didn't even take a moment to swoon at his fiancé's words before he lifted up his hooves, wrapping them around the back of the Gryphon's neck before he bent in and kissed his beak deeply. As all the ponies on the platform either stared or looked away with embarrassment, the two kept their kiss on each other as the train for Ponyville pulled into the station.

As the large cloud of steam enveloped the two as they stayed in embrace, it wasn't until the train doors opened that the engaged couple finally let go, looking into each other's eyes lovingly before they stepped into the train car.

Canvas barely moved as he laid his head against Troy's shoulder, savoring the warmth of his fiancé's feathers as the train moved along the tracks through Equestria's countryside. Feeling the stallion's head bob along the vibrations running through their cabin car, Troy smiled as he bent his head down, nuzzling Canvas lovingly as the shadows from outside shot past them.

As he felt the Gryphon hold him close, Canvas slowly opened his eyes and lifted his left hoof, keeping a warm smile on his muzzle as he looked at the golden band against his aqua fur. Looking at the shimmering ring on his hoof, Canvas sighed as he marveled at the white gold, smiling when he realized what this meant for him and Troy.

"I just can’t believe it,” said Canvas in a faint whisper, catching Troy's attention as he sat beside him. "I mean, I… really don't know what to say right now. I… I didn't expect anything like this to happen to me. I didn't think my life would change so much when… when I left Gallop Creek…”

Troy's smile slowly dropped as he looked down at his fiancé, feeling a little more morose as he was reminded of how horrible things were before. Just as the Gryphon was about to reply, Canvas continued to speak as his tone became more positive, smiling as he kept his eyes on his engagement band.

"But now… it all feels so amazing."

Closing his eyes, Canvas hugged the Gryphon tightly, keeping his face against his fiancé's feathers before he kept speaking in a faint tone.

"I made history… I got my life back… I fell in love…”

Troy smiled as he bent his head down again, nuzzling the pony before Canvas raised his head. As he looked into Troy's golden eyes, Canvas kept the warmest smile on his face as he finished his statement.

"And now… I'm going to be Canvas Clawston."

Troy's eyes widened a little at that last part, feeling surprised as he realized what Canvas was saying.

"Wait,” said Troy in a slightly flustered tone, "you… you want to take my name?"

"Well, yeah,” said Canvas in a more obvious tone of voice as he smiled at Troy. "I mean, I don't really have much of a last name, so why not?"

Troy shrugged a little as he smiled back, realizing the stallion had a fair point.

"Plus, you were the one who proposed,” said Canvas in a chipper tone as he leaned in closer, narrowing his eyes on the Gryphon as he spoke. "You managed to give me so much, Troy. You helped me out when I needed someone, and you stood by my side ever since…”

Wrapping his hooves around Troy, Canvas only kept his face a few inches from the Gryphon as he looked at him, showing the deepest look of affection and care as he finished.

"I love you, Troy. You saved my life… you saved my soul… and…

“Nothing would make me happier, than to spend the rest of my life with you."

While the train car chugged along towards Ponyville, Troy held the stallion against him as they shared a tender kiss, feeling all his worries and thoughts slowly vanish as he felt Canvas's warm lips. Holding him like this, Troy knew that nothing would ever feel as right as this moment.

Whenever he was with Canvas, he felt like the pony was truly an artist inside and out. Much like all the pieces of artwork that Canvas made, Troy always felt like the stallion did the same kind of painting for his own soul. Whenever he felt any doubts, any displeasure, or any form of unhappiness in his life, Troy always had this pony to clear his mind. Whenever he held Canvas close, or kissed his lips, or looked into his perfect blue eyes, nothing ever mattered to the Gryphon.

Troy always felt that Canvas really painted his conscience clean, keeping his mind clear of any doubt or distraction as his love swept in like the smoothest paint, leaving only happiness behind as everything else was brushed away.

Feeling almost intoxicated by Canvas's love, Troy could barely keep his eyes open as he felt the stallion's lips pull back. When he finally managed to open them and look forward, Troy saw his fiancé looking right back at him, smiling before he spoke in a caring tone.

"So, Troy… what do you think? Does… does Canvas Clawston sound alright?"

The Gryphon could only smile as he nodded, making the pony look a lot happier as he hugged him once more. As he gripped Canvas tightly with his claws, Troy chuckled a little before he spoke.

"Canvas Clawston, huh? That… that actually does sound pretty nice."

Despite liking the new last name for his fiancé, Troy's beak still skewed a bit as he looked out the window, realizing what this meant having to do.

"Oh man,” said Troy in almost a groan as he held Canvas, "my parents are going to freak out so much!"

Canvas began to giggle a little before pulling his head back, looking at Troy when he saw the Gryphon chuckling as well. Before Canvas could say anything to lighten the mood, Troy kept a smile on his beak as he looked into Canvas's eyes.

"Oh well,” said Troy as he pulled Canvas in. "As long as I have you."

Canvas rested his head on Troy's shoulder, closing his eyes as he began to rest against him. Before he could begin dozing off in the cabin car, Canvas said one last thing to his fiancé, smiling as his voice came out in a meek whisper against the vibrations of the train.

"As long… as I have you…"

While Troy knew he was definitely going to have some problems regarding his family with this, he couldn't have cared less as he felt the stallion resting against him. As he sat in the moving train car, holding onto the love of his life, Troy kept a smile on his beak and slowly closed his eyes.

Before he could rest alongside Canvas, Troy rested his head against his fiancé’s, loving his warmth as he let that last statement roll through his mind. Hearing it in his head, Troy knew it was absolutely right; it didn’t matter what others may have thought, or how odd their love may have looked, or whatever may come for the two of them in the future.

As long as I have you, Canvas, thought Troy as he clutched onto the stallion, letting their warmth share as they began to rest together on the train.

As long as I have you.

Holy crap, I'm finally finished!!! AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

Alright, now that I got that out of my system, let me just say a few things to my readers.

To everyone who has been reading my story, and stayed with it through all this time, I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. As someone who never tried writing like this before, it's been a rather daunting and restless experience, making sure this story went along alright. I've actually had this love story in my head for a LONG time, so to finally write it, let alone complete it, has been a great experience for me. And to look back, see what I've made, and read all the positive feedback regarding it, I don't know what else I could say but thank you. You guys are awesome! Also, if you liked this story, spread it around! Link it to friends, or to places that might appreciate it! It's always nice to pull in new readers.

Oh, and I want to give a massive thanks to Bad_Seed 72, who went out of her way to proofread all 54 chapters of this for me. She's super awesome, and definitely deserves to be appreciated! Also, her stories are great, so check them out.