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.