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.