//------------------------------//
// Chapter Two 
// Story: Brushed Away: Canvas' Cutie Mark Mission 
// by TheVClaw 
//------------------------------//


Three Hours Later


It had just reached mid-morning in Canterlot, and the sun was shining beautifully over the regal city. Just outside Canterlot Castle, a couple Royal Guards were standing at attention outside the main doors. Both of their ears could be seen twitching incessantly, mostly due to the constant sound of leathery flapping just above their heads. Meanwhile, Equestria’s newest Royal Advisor was hovering anxiously in wait, his wings fluttering against his back and his claws holding onto a long parchment he was reading over studiously. 

“Hmmmmm…” Spike, who as of recently became the highest-ranking dragon in all of Equestria (at least by legal standards), sighed to himself as he scanned over the list of tasks he and Twilight Sparkle had to complete that day. The vast number of unchecked boxes caused his lips to purse in tightly, but he tried not to feel too overwhelmed. Though his newfound duties made his previous work look like foal’s play, the only thing going through Spike’s mind was the delay of an important appointment. One of his claws flicked the side of the parchment impatiently as he gazed upon the stunning view of the Equestrian landscapes below. “Jeeze, I hope they don’t hold us up too long,” he muttered under his breath. “By this point, I’ll never get my bubble bath.”

Both of the Guards rolled their eyes in response, but said nothing about it out-loud. Off in the distance, a small speck in the sky quickly caught Spike’s interest. The dragon’s eyes widened as he flew up a couple more feet, giving him a slightly better vantage point to see who was coming in. As the speck grew larger, it didn’t take long before the Guards could see who it was too. At the front, two pegasus Guards were soaring in with a large carriage latched behind them: a Royal Escort. Strangely enough, even as the escort flew in closer, it was hard for Spike to make out who was in the carriage.

That was because Canvas was hunched down on the carriage floor, clinging for dear life with his eyes clenched shut. “Nnngh… Sweet mother of Celestia, when is this thing going to touch ground again!?!”

The very moment Canvas’ carriage carefully landed before Canterlot Castle, the stallion bursted out to flop ungraciously onto the ground. Both of the pegasus guards groaned in a mixture of exhaustion and annoyance, and were quick to unlatch themselves from the chariot while Canvas was busy hugging the cold marble. “Oh, Moons yes!” he exclaimed . “Ugh, I can’t believe I agreed to take that instead of the train…”

As the tired pegasus Guards walked back into the castle, the Guards standing by the door struggled not to giggle at Canvas’ antics. Meanwhile, Spike hovered down towards Canvas with a puzzled look. “Wait, are you seriously afraid of heights?” he asked while trying not to sound too confused. “How the heck could that be?! I saw you riding on your husband’s back like, a hundred times!”

Canvas paused briefly enough to catch the dragon’s point, and blushed as he pulled himself up. Right after his remark though, Spike addressed his Guards, “I mean that literally, you two! His husband is a gryphon. I didn’t mean anything suggestive, alright?”

Both Guards averted their eyes, trying to keep their muzzles straight. Fortunately for Spike, Canvas caught his attention again as he explained himself. “I mean, I’m not usually afraid of heights. I’ve just never been that high up before. And especially not in a tiny little carriage while wind is gusting all around me!”

Spike glanced over the castle’s front balcony, which gave a stellar view of Equestria that went for several dozen miles. Upon seeing how high the castle really was in comparison to Ponyville, Spike cringed in regret. After landing the ground to rest his wings, Spike looked back at Canvas and said, “Well, remember when Twilight first got her wings? She was still learning how to fly when I was riding on her back without any protection, and she flew straight from up here to Ponyville! If anything, you should be lucky you had a safer trip.”

From the way Canvas’ muzzle wrinkled tightly, it seemed that he had a few opinions of his own that would contest the dragon’s. However, the stallion refrained from saying anything offensive off the top of his head towards Twilight’s Royal Advisor. Instead, he took a second before sighing with a roll of his eyes. “Well… Okay yeah, that does sound a lot worse. And… It really means a lot that you and Twilight arranged for somepony to pick me up, so thank you.”

Canvas may have been rightfully frazzled, but his gratitude was sincere enough to make Spike smile. “Hey, it’s no problem,” he said with a shrug of his shoulders. “I mean, we did move the Cutie Map up to Canterlot recently, so it seemed only fair to arrange some transport for someone already in Ponyville, you know?”

Canvas nodded with a more natural smile. As he reflected back on how quickly Twilight gave a response to his Cutie Mark activating, he was genuinely impressed by the Princess’ swiftness for action. Canvas wasn’t even halfway to the Castle of Friendship before two Guards swooped down with a carriage, and requested him to come along for the summoning. While he may have much rather had just bought a train ticket instead, Canvas could understand why Twilight and Spike wanted him in Canterlot ASAP. 

“Anyway, come on!” Spike’s wings flapped loudly as he zoomed up and hovered in the air to be at eye-level with Canvas. “Twilight’s already waiting by the Cutie Map to give you your intel!”

With that, Spike flew back to the open doors of the castle to lead the way. Both of the Guards pulled their spears aside, allowing Canvas to follow the dragon briskly. Since Tenor was back in Ponyville to be looked over by Fluttershy, Canvas only had to worry about his own pace as he trotted behind Spike down the spacious halls. Although, that in itself was hard for Canvas to solely focus on while his attention was being grabbed by the lavish architecture that adorned the walls and ceiling. 

“Whoooaa…” Canvas may have trotted down the halls of Canterlot Castle before, but he was still taken aback by the sheer magnitude of the place. Spike chuckled to himself when he overheard Canvas’ reaction. “I gotta say,” remarked Canvas with an impressed shake of his head, “I wouldn’t have guessed that you and Twilight would ever find a place as nice as the Castle of Friendship. But I guess I was wrong.”

“Well, we technically have lived here before Ponyville,” noted Spike. “Buuut I can see what you mean. The old castle really was awesome.”

Canvas’ eyes widened. “Hey, since we’re able to talk, I was meaning to ask something. When Twilight was crowned as Ruler, how come she didn’t just change the capital from Canterlot to Ponyville? All of my In-Laws thought that was gonna happen when Tirek blew up this place.”

“You know, I actually suggested that same idea,” Spike admitted. “Though I was thinking more about Twilight being with all her friends when I asked her about it. But from what she told me, it would be impossible to change capitals that easily, since there’s a ton of legal red tape that would take decades to comb through. Not to mention, it would be a huge economic blow to the country to switch out one city for another, and Twilight wasn’t willing to start her rule with something like that.”

“Yeah, I suppose so…” Canvas may have thought his family’s theory was a fair one, but hearing Spike’s perspective really helped to add some much-needed logic to the equation. He may have been the brightest stallion back in his high school, but Canvas knew that his personal knowledge of law and leadership was nothing compared to Princess Twilight’s. Plus, considering how many ponies made a living in Canterlot, it probably would’ve been selfish of Twilight to uproot centuries of tradition for the sake of being a little closer to her friends. “Soooo, can you tell me anything about my Friendship Mission?” he asked curiously.

“I honestly don’t know much,” answered Spike with an apologetic shrug back at the pony. “I was actually in the kitchen when Twilight messaged me about it. All she said was for me to send an escort for you, and a telegram to your husband so he knew what was up.”

“Oh, thanks for doing that!” said Canvas thankfully. “And… I’m guessing that Troy wasn’t summoned too?”

Spike could see the disappointment in Canvas’ expression, and sighed when he shook his head. “Sorry, dude,” he said sincerely. “I’m pretty sure it was just you.”

“Oh…” Canvas knew that ponies had gone on solo Friendship Missions before (including the very dragon hovering above him), but that wasn’t enough to keep his worries away. Despite how relatively safe most of the Cutie Map summonings were, the stallion was secretly hoping that he wouldn’t have to solve a friendship problem all alone. But alas, with his husband back in Manehattan, and their dog safely being tended to at Fluttershy’s cottage, all that Canvas could do was ponder what the map would want with somepony like him. Unfortunately, as soon as that question came into his head, it was followed by a myriad of other concerns that caused his face to redden immensely.

By the time he and Spike reached the entryway to the Throne Room, Canvas had to take a couple deep breaths to prepare himself for wherever he was slated to go. He tried his hardest not to make any assumptions, but the fact that it was only him was leaving him to guess a few locations right off the bat. But instead of trying to ask Spike about that detail, his attention was brought towards the large pedestal at the end of the room that carried two large chairs. On the left was a lavish-looking bench, while right beside it was the massive throne that carried the engravings of Twilight Sparkle’s cutie mark. And right beside those two empty seats, the Alicorn herself was standing among a group of ponies who were all circled around her with various forms in their magical auras.

“Alright, just a couple signatures here… and, here…” Twilight Sparkle may have been wearing her Royal Regalia and crown to emphasize her new title as Ruler, but her look of concentration was more than familiar to Canvas of her time as a librarian. The Princess’ horn was brightly lit while holding three separate quills in her lavender magic, each moving about individually to sign the multiple forms hovering in front of her face. Spike landed back on the ground to stand beside Canvas, and the two waited silently while watching Twilight hard at work. “Hmmm… that looks about right,” she muttered while scanning the last of the lengthy documents, before she nodded her head and gave the bottom line her signature. “And we got it! Thank you all for agreeing to have this exchange on such short notice.”

“No, thank you, Princess Twilight Sparkle!” One of the Nobles circled around her gave an overly gracious bow, and was tightly clutching his signed form to his chest. “It means absolutely everything for us to be in your presence, your Majesty~”

Twilight tried her hardest to give a thankful smile towards the grovelling Nobles. From Spike and Canvas’ perspective, however, the Princess looked unbelievably uncomfortable. Fortunately for the Alicorn, as soon as the ponies got up on their hooves again, they quickly walked backwards out of the Throne Room, all the while repeatedly bowing their heads. Canvas couldn’t even look at them without wincing, and instead tried to keep his attention on the Princess herself. Luckily, Canvas’s presence was more than enough to make Twilight smile naturally again. “Oh, there you are, Canvas!” 

She quickly trotted up to the two, and kept her sights on Canvas as she asked, “Was the flight up to Canterlot alright? I know it was a little unconventional, but I also know from experience how important these summonings can be.”

“Oh, it’s perfectly alright, Princess Twilight,” assured Canvas with a weak smile. “The flight was actually pretty nice.”

Canvas didn’t need to glance over to Spike to feel his judgemental stare. Fortunately, the Advisor didn’t attempt to call out Canvas on his lie before Twilight spoke. “Well, as long as you’re here, we don’t have any time to waste!” 

She motioned her head for the two to follow, and lit up her horn as she walked towards the middle of the Throne Room. Several of the Guards posted around the perimeter stepped back to give the Princess some additional room, which allowed Canvas to see the large circular groove that was embedded in the middle of the floor. A bright surge of magic emitted from the tip of Twilight’s horn, and Canvas’ eyes widened as he witnessed that circular grove illuminate with the same lavender hue as her aura. Then, the Alicorn reeled her head back, her magic condensing into a singular stream that took hold of the groove, and raised it up from the ground slowly. 

“Whoa…” Canvas blinked in confoundment, not expecting to see that the Cutie Map was actually installed into the floor of the Throne Room. He remembered how back at the Castle of Friendship, the table was simply placed in the middle of its throne room for anypony to come by and see. But for this castle, it seemed that Twilight took advantage of the massive construction efforts that occurred following the Legion of Doom’s defeat. While the Princess finished lifting up the table to reveal Canvas’ quest, Spike smirked pridefully upon seeing the stallion’s stunned reaction. 

“Heh~” said the dragon, crossing his arms over his chest. “I knew that convincing her to build the Cutie Map into the floor would be worth it.”

Canvas paid no heed to Spike’s comment, but continued to stare at the table as it fully surfaced. All seven of the Elements’ chairs (including Spike’s) were also lifted up to surround the table, even though none of them were planned to be used yet. As soon as the map was fully unsheathed, a sudden blast of Twilight’s magic struck the middle of the blank stone, activating its power. And with that, Canvas reeled back in surprise as he saw the gargantuan topography of Equestria spring to holographic life across the surface. “H-HOLY!!”

He knew that the Cutie Map had such abilities, but seeing them up-close was a completely unexpected experience. The entirety of Equestria, as well as most of its surrounding nations, were all situated within the circular confines of the large table. When Canvas leaned in closer to get a better look, his muzzle went agape from the sheer detail that he could see within every square inch. Everything from the smallest house in the streets, to the thickest plumage of forests around the mountainscapes, were all shown in pristine quality to leave the stallion speechless. If he were to even try painting a map of Equestria this precise, it would likely take years for him to complete it in its entirety; but right here, the map was able to show it all with the flash of Twilight’s horn. 

“So according to the map,” said Twilight, catching Canvas’ attention. “It seems that your Cutie Mark is directing you to go… here.”

Canvas looked over to where the Alicorn was pointing, and quickly saw the glowing avatar of his cutie mark hovering with a spin over its destination. The stallion may have been initially worried about such a reveal, but his eyes widened in surprise before he let out a very relieved sigh. “Oh, thank goodness!” he exclaimed as his knees buckled, forcing him to grip the side of the table to keep from falling. While Twilight and Spike shot a look at each other, the artist had to take a couple deep breaths with his eyes closed. “Whooo… Okay, I’m good… Sorry, I was just really worried I was being sent to Gallop Creek.”

That admission got Twilight to roll her eyes and huff with a smile. “Yeah, don’t worry, Canvas. Believe me, if you were, I would’ve given you a warning before you came here.”

She then looked back at the map itself, specifically at Canvas’ Cutie Mark floating over the miniature skyline of one of Equestria’s cities. Spike had to fly up in the air to get a good look. “Wait a minute, is that Baltimare?”

“Mmhmm,” said Twilight as she turned back to Canvas. “And I believe you’ve been there before, haven’t you?”

Canvas nodded in affirmation, but his expression seemed fairly confused as he stared down at his icon on the map. “I mean, I’ve been there a few times in my life, but… Honestly, the last time I was in Baltimare was years ago…”

The more he stared at that familiar city, the more baffled Canvas felt about the Cutie Map’s choice for his summoning. He didn’t want to question the magical mechanics of such a device, but that was mostly because he was sure that nopony truly understood how it worked. When he looked back at Twilight and Spike, he seemed unsure about what to say in response to his mission. But at the same time, the stallion couldn’t help but ask, “Wait, so… What am I actually supposed to do when I get there?”

The Princess and her Advisor looked at each other for a moment before giving the same shrug of their shoulders in unison. “Truthfully, it’s not really something that we can predict with this process,” said Twilight apologetically. “I really wish I had more to tell you, Canvas. But from the information we currently have, all we can really say is that you were destined to go there.”

“Yeah, but like… Where?!” Canvas didn’t want to raise his voice, but he was already feeling a bit overwhelmed. “No offense, but that city is huge, your Highness! How am I supposed to find one friendship problem in a place that big?”

Spike, for all his lack of experience with the Cutie Map compared to Twilight’s, tried his best to quell Canvas’ nerves. “Ehhhhh… I mean, usually it takes a while before ponies actually find the problem they were destined to solve. When Rarity and Applejack were summoned to Manehattan, they were there for a whole weekend.”

Though he knew a weekend wasn’t that long for a magical quest determined by fate, the idea still made Canvas’ muzzle skew uncomfortably. Fortunately, Princess Twilight was quick to add her own input to better ease his mind. “And with every summoning I’ve been able to witness, I always saw one consistent trait that ensured that every mission was a success. Do you know what that is?”

Canvas meekly shook his head when he glanced back at her with a bitten lip. Twilight answered with a warm smile. “Every time someone was summoned by the Cutie Map, they were able to accomplish their mission through the traits they possessed. Whether it’s from one of the Elements using their traits, an old connection being reformed, or even just repairing a friendship problem that they caused…”

Spike’s head lowered guiltily and his eyes averted from the two. He was not keen on being pointed out as an example.

“...Every single one of them had everything in them to figure out what to do, or to set things in motion to help somebody else in need.” Twilight reached out to place a hoof on Canvas’ shoulder, and looked him in the eyes with a genuine smile. “And after everything you’ve been able to accomplish, Canvas Clawston, I have absolutely no doubt that you can find your own way to make this mission a success.”

Canvas blushed deeply as he nodded. He then took a couple steps back from Twilight, closing his eyes shut and breathing deeply in an attempt to calm himself. Spike landed on the edge of the map so he could be standing equal to Twilight, but refrained from saying anything.

“W-Well, I…” Given how tightly Canvas’ face was scrunched in, it was obvious that he was still feeling hesitant at best about his abilities. But by the time his breathing came out smoothly, his reopened eyes showed something different. A second later, he gave the two a deep and respectful bow. “... I promise I won’t disappoint you, your Highness.”

Both Twilight and Spike grew relieved smiles, but the Princess was the first to step forward and give Canvas a hug. “Oh, you don’t have to be so cordial about it,” she said reassuredly, catching Canvas by surprise as he was wrapped tightly in her hooves. “Just do your best, and return to Canterlot when you solve your friendship problem.”

After overcoming his stunned state, Canvas sighed with a smile as he hugged the Alicorn in return. “Sure thing, Twilight… I promise.”

Spike went in to hug Canvas from behind, causing him to giggle from their overwhelming kindness. Nevertheless, by the time the three finally pulled apart, Canvas looked to be in much higher spirits than before. “Now before you go,” said Twilight as she floated out a small ticket with her magic. “I already made arrangements to book you an express train to Baltimare. From my estimations, you can get there by noon if you’re alright with a quick teleportation spell to the station.”

“Wow, really?” asked Canvas, who couldn’t help raising a brow with a smirk. “You know, I remember Celestia did that very same thing for Troy and I when we first attended the Grand Galloping Gala together.”

The Alicorn’s eyes widened in surprise, but a thankful smile soon followed. “Well, it’s nice to know I’m following in her hoofsteps so easily.”

“You know…” Spike looked up at Canvas with a sly-looking smirk. “Considering how he had such a nice flight here by chariot, maybe he could just take another flight to Baltimare~”

Canvas shot the dragon a wide-eyed glare, but it was only met with a shit-eating grin from the Royal Advisor. Luckily for the two, Twilight didn’t notice either of their reactions as she stated, “Well, I already purchased his ticket, so that shouldn’t be necessary. Besides, the train is just as fast under these circumstances.”

“Y-Yeah, totally!” blurted Canvas, who was a little too quick to nod in agreement. “The train is completely fine.”

Despite the dragon’s cockiness, he still rolled his eyes before relenting. “Oh, alright, alright…”