• Published 17th May 2013
  • 11,082 Views, 780 Comments

Brushed Away - TheVClaw



For Troy the Gryphon, life in Equestria wasn't exactly as fulfilling as he imagined on his own. However, after volunteering to help out with a storm prepping project, he discovers a pony who helps to change everything.

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Chapter Forty-One: Making A Masterpiece

Troy looked around the shimmering lake and the clear blue skies above it. His cloud was now long gone, but he didn't miss it at all; instead, he found enjoyment in the gorgeous view that came without it. The lake and waterfall seemed more natural, like an untouched paradise. Troy's feeling of serenity vanished, however, as soon as he heard Rainbow Dash call out from the waterfall.

"DUDE! This lake is so cool! Why the hay didn’t I ever notice this place before?"

Troy shrugged to himself. Rainbow streaked across the lake, soaring only a few inches above the water as it rippled and waved underneath her. When she reached the edge, she picked up her speed, the waves beneath her turning into a large rip current. Troy shot up into the sky to avoid getting hit by the rooster tail of water. He managed to dodge, but it didn’t stop Rainbow Dash from laughing. Troy flew up to her height and her smirk.

"Man, your reflexes are way quicker than I thought! I'm kinda surprised you’re not trying out to be a Wonderbolt."

Troy smirked back and rolled his eyes. "Eh, stunt flying isn’t really my thing. Besides, I'd rather not kick your butt for that kind of position."

"You better not!" Rainbow said playfully. "Heh. Not like you would, anyway. Seems you’ve caught the acting bug after that play bit."

"Honestly, I think I did!” Troy smiled more naturally upon thinking of his recent success. “I mean, I didn’t expect to enjoy it after all those rehearsals, but, man! Hearing that applause was totally worth it!"

"Yeah, hearing ponies cheer your name can do that." Rainbow’s smile dropped momentarily, and she became serious. "Just don’t let that kind of thing get to your head, dude. I know from experience."

"Yeah, I heard about that.” Spending six months in Ponyville made certain stories become common knowledge to Troy, including the Mare-Do-Well incident. He was surprised that Rainbow Dash's friends would do something that intricate and over-the-top just to teach her a lesson, but he also knew Rainbow long enough to know she likely needed something that big for the lesson to stick. "Honestly though, 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. 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 on Bridleway!"

"Doubt it. Besides, there's no way I would go anywhere if it meant leaving Canvas."

"I guess I can understand that, but did you really have to move into his place? Seriously, I’d 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 would be that far apart. Not to mention, there’s no way you can tell me you prefer his shower over that huge waterfall!"

Troy chuckled. He'd only been living with Canvas for a couple of weeks now, and the only major complaint he could think of was how small the bathroom was. While the Apple Family did help place a larger outdoor shower at the back of the barn for him, Troy knew that it was nothing compared to that waterfall. Still, even a change like that was more than worth it.

"I have no regrets about my decision,” said Troy. “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' bed is really comfortable!"

"So… is he still working on that painting for Celestia?"

"Yeah… I'm really happy that he's so dedicated to it, but he's been practically living in that studio since he started; and he's been insistent that no one sees it! He even bought these huge blinds to cover it so I wouldn’t peek over the wall!"

"Well, at least he's not slacking off. That Grand Galloping Gala is in less than two months, you know."

"Yeah, I know. Canvas already got the tickets so I can go with him."

"Well, good for you!" Rainbow bumped his shoulder with her hoof. "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..." Troy noticed a hint of underwhelmed surprise in Rainbow's eyes, making him suspicious.

"What? Were you expecting me to say something else?"

"No, no it’s fine, Troy. I just…"

Rainbow Dash stayed silent in thought for a moment before looking back at him curiously. "I just expected you to be planning something big with your coltfriend in Canterlot. You two did get together there!"

"Yeah... ” Knowing that Rainbow was right, Troy began to feel disappointed. "We should, but it's not like we can go back to that hotel. We kinda got banned from there after I bent the railing. Also, we got in trouble for all the stains we left in the room."

Rainbow snickered, and Troy quickly put up a talon in clarification. "Strawberry stains! Get your mind out of the gutter!"

"Yeah, sure.”

"I'm serious! 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 kept a skewed eyebrow, and shook her head in disbelief. "So, let me get this straight. You had a strawberry fight… and a pillow fight… with a gay guy…"

Troy grew a light blush. "... Yes."

"And you did this… before you realized you like dudes?"

"Shut up!" Troy looked away and tried to change the subject. "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.” Rainbow put a hoof to his shoulder. "Look, I may mess with you, but you two are a great couple. I just want you to be happy with him."

Troy turned back with a smile. "Yeah… thanks." He looked back at the waterfall, pondering the view for a moment longer. "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 in front of the barn, savoring the knowledge that this was his new home. He looked over the white walls, and hoped the two of them could do some extra painting for them when their schedules cleared up. He wasn't a good painter by any means, but he still wanted to help make the place their own. As he walked closer, Troy smiled when he heard the faint noise of classical music from inside.

Opening the door and walking into the living room, Troy could hear his Canterlot Symphony Orchestra record playing on his record player. The vintage relic from the Gryphon Kingdom was now resting proudly against the wall next to the door to Canvas' workspace. He looked over the shelf of records next to it, as well as a small rack of cassettes for his walkman, He suddenly felt a lot better about not living on a cloud anymore. No more water damage, and no more maintaining condensation to keep his stuff from falling through.

Troy looked at the other side of the room, seeing the space between the kitchen and bathroom doors that held two large frames with newspaper headlines inside. The first one, from the Canterlot Press, was a large headliner that boasted a large picture of Canvas. He was smiling 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 reading:

Princess Celestia Inducts the First Earth Pony Artist for Canterlot Castle

Troy smiled as he stared at Canvas’ joyous expression, before slowly turning his head to look at the frame next to it. While the headline wasn't nearly as large or fancy, Troy still felt proud of his framed front page of the Ponyville Tribune, showing a picture of him and the rest of the cast from the play in full costume. Standing between Derpy and Pierce in the middle (and towering over everypony by at least two feet), Troy was pictured smiling with his mask still on. The title, displayed underneath in a tasteful font, read:

Ponyville’s Latest Theater Production A Huge Success!

Above both of the frames, hanging on a small tack on the wall, was Troy's Phantom mask, given to him by Stage Presence after the last show ended. The director tried to make it sound like it wasn't a gift (telling him that it was made for his face anyway), but Troy could tell that she was really trying to be nice to him after all the hard work he went through.

Troy felt incredible as he looked upon his achievements. He thought back to what Rainbow Dash said, and the prospect of making a career out of acting. He could very well make it happen, but why bother when he never felt better with his life right now?

After all the years he spent listening to his grandparents, and hearing their fantastic stories about being in Equestria, Troy could finally feel that same amazing feeling they did. He now had that same type of love for someone, just like them. It didn’t even matter if it came from such an unexpected source like Canvas.

At that moment, he felt eager to do something he wanted to do for a while. The gryphon felt a huge grin grow on his beak as he cleared his throat and called out to Canvas.

"Honey, I'm home!"

While many would've thought it to be silly to anticipate saying something that cheesy, Troy didn’t care when he saw Canvas' head pop out with a smile. The stallion happily trotted over to greet him.

Canvas was quick to kiss Troy on the beak before hugging him. Once done, he pulled his head back with a look of slight embarrassment. He then turned his attention to the record player, still playing.

"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… I found some of those records from your brother's band, Talon Ripper."

"Oof..." Troy winced. Despite the tensions he had with his brothers regarding that stupid will, Blade was still insistent on mailing him the new records their band released. He never really listened to them, or any of the other Talon Ripper records gifted to him, but Troy still held onto them since they were from family. That said, Troy knew that gryphonian death metal was probably a bad thing to leave lying around for a pony to hear.

"So, you didn’t listen to those, did you?"

"Well…" Canvas' face scrunched. "I did listen to one of the records for a bit. The one called… Manticore Massacre?"

Troy cringed. He knew how graphic the cover art was alone, and he didn’t want to imagine how his boyfriend reacted to hearing the lyrics. "Oh boy. I-I'm sorry."

"Oh, don't be! I wasn't a huge fan of it, but I can tell your brother has some good lungs on him. It's kinda cool to know you're not the only songbird of the family."

Troy chuckled. "Yeah. I guess Blade would be happy to know that. Although he’d probably freak out if he knew I was with you."

"Oh, whatever.” Canvas gave Troy a peck on the cheek. "I'm sick of caring about what others think."

"Me too."

The two kissed once more, neither of them noticing that the record had stopped playing. As the silence enveloped them, Canvas' lips made a light smooching sound when they pulled away from Troy's beak, leaving them both blushing.

"I…" Canvas looked back at 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. He leaned in and kissed him again.

Canvas went back and closed the door behind him. A million different thoughts raced through Troy’s mind about what he wanted to do. Some of those went back to Rainbow's suggestion about doing something special for the Grand Galloping Gala. In the end, Troy decided to start making dinner, hoping it would help organize them all.


Troy pulled the garlic bread out of the oven, only to be disappointed that, despite his best efforts, it was still burnt around the edges. His cooking hadn’t improved much since moving in with Canvas, but at least Troy was finally able to make some meals without setting off the smoke alarm.

Troy turned off the burner and began pouring the steaming pot of noodles into the strainer in the sink, not noticing Canvas standing at the doorway. The stallion looked both tired and relieved. He stood in place for a moment before stepping in, the sound of his hooves against the linoleum floor catching Troy's attention. He turned toward Canvas and moved the simmering pot of marinara onto a cool burner. His coltfriend spoke feebly.

"Troy… I did it."

Canvas' grin grew bigger, and Troy’s eyes widened. "You mean… you're done? With the painting?"

Canvas nodded quickly and giggled. "Yeah, I just finished it!"

"That's awesome!" Troy hugged Canvas, holding him closely. He almost didn’t hear Canvas’ muffled voice through his chest. Troy pulled back upon hearing Canvas’ attempt at speaking, however.

"You want to see it?"

Troy stood silent for a few seconds, letting the pony's question sink in. "Really? You want me to see it… before Celestia?"

Canvas moved his head in closer, keeping his eyes on Troy. "Yeah. I really do."

After making sure none of the burners were on and nothing was sure to catch on fire, Troy followed Canvas out of the kitchen and into the studio. Walking up to the blinds, Troy noticed a few blankets lying on the worn couch nearby, a testament to how much time Canvas had spent sleeping in the studio.

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. Canvas motioned Troy over, who slowly walked around to be in front of the painting. His eyes widened and his jaw dropped as he gazed upon what Canvas had been laboring over for over a month straight.

The painting against the canvas was done with the finest oil paint. A large portrait of Princess Celestia stood triumphantly at the top of a cliff. The bottom showed a large ocean, and a wave crashing against the grey stones of the cliffside. Meanwhile, the Goddess stood majestically from up above, staring out with a look of pride and determination as the sun began to rise above her. 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. Upon closer inspection, Troy was amazed to see how much detail Canvas had put into it, down to every strand of fur along her flawless, white coat.

He looked at the painting for several minutes, utterly dumbfounded, until finally, he looked back at his coltfriend looking upon his creation with satisfaction. Troy slowly moved his head in to gently nuzzle Canvas' cheek.

"Canvas,” said Troy, his voice as faint as it was sincere, "it's amazing."

Troy then pulled his head back, looking right into the pony's blue eyes.

"You're amazing."

Canvas felt his heart flutter as he leaned forward, kissing Troy as deeply as he could while they both kept their eyes closed. Troy could sense how much more sensual this kiss felt, all the warmth and passion that was flowing through the stallion as he kissed him back.

When Canvas finally pulled his lips away, he looked right into Troy's shining golden eyes. He kept his face a few inches from him, and spoke in a voice deep 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 rate instantly skyrocketed.

"Y-you mean…"

Canvas only smiled before pulling him in and kissing him again.

"Yes. Troy… I really want to."

Troy and Canvas were finally going to move forward in their relationship. The gryphon was quick to lift his pony up with his claws. Breathing heavily with a huge grin, Troy could barely keep his wings from shooting out. Canvas looked out from behind him toward the kitchen.

"W-Wait! Didn't you just make dinner?"

"Screw dinner,” muttered Troy, holding him tighter and eyeing him lustfully. "We can eat later."

Canvas lost himself to pleasure as he kissed his boyfriend once more. Troy walked out the studio on his hindlegs, careful not to hit anything with his wings.

Looking right into the stallion's beautiful eyes, Troy took his time as he carried him to the bedroom, not wanting this moment to end any time soon. He hoped to make this night as memorable as he could...

Author's Note:

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.

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