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.