//------------------------------//
// Chapter Thirty-One: Kind Words 
// Story: Brushed Away 
// by TheVClaw 
//------------------------------//

Glimmer Heart was quick to apologize to Canvas, Troy, Lyra and Bon-Bon for her behavior at the train station. Fortunately, all of them were understanding of her situation, and accepted it graciously. Once that was done, the gallery was officially opened. Even while dealing with a hangover, Glimmer was still able to make herself look presentable once the other artists and guests appeared, including tying her mane into a stylish bun to hide the fact that it wasn't washed recently. Meanwhile, Canvas came to a somewhat surprising realization when he saw the other five artists who were part of this gallery: Canvas was the only one who wasn’t a unicorn.

Canvas walked up to the other artists to greet them, remaining courteous even as they expressed their puzzlement over an earth pony participating with them. Luckily, with a single glance over at his paintings, the group could tell that he was equally as skilled with a paintbrush. Of the large number of paintings among his section of the walls, a large curtain was covering the largest piece. Coincidentally, it was the one he’d been working on for the last two weeks. Curtains were hiding the largest pieces of the other five artists also, for they were supposed to be revealed later that night.

As he conversed with the other artists―four unicorn mares and one stallion, all of whom were around his age―Canvas was bombarded with a large number of questions. Most of them, however, revolved around how he worked with a hoof instead of a horn. Eventually, despite his expectations of such questions, Canvas became uncomfortable real quick. Instead of appreciating his art for what it was, they just seemed to look at him and his work like it was a pet trick. By the time most of the other guests arrived, Canvas just wanted to get away from them and find his friend.

When the exhibition began, Troy was firstly impressed by how large and luxurious the ballroom looked with its domed roof and ornate architecture. After all the stories he remembered hearing from his grandparents, he had to take a moment to marvel at the sheer beauty of the Canterlot scene that caught their interest decades ago. What surprised Troy even more, however, was the fact that this art gallery had an open bar. Troy was quick to take advantage of such a perk. He took a seat near the bar’s end and ordered himself a White Stalliongrad. Troy usually wasn’t much of a drinker, but he was expecting the venue to get boring pretty fast.

As more guests came in, Troy kept his spot at the bar while the various ponies came and went with their drinks. The minutes passed, and ponies sitting nearby started getting tipsy. Troy, unfortunately, became more aggravated at his own high alcohol tolerance. It didn’t take long before a couple attendees tried asking various questions in their drunken stupor; the most ludicrous being an inebriated stallion who asked if gryphon eggs were an aphrodisiac, which was definitely a first for Troy. Then, at one point, a couple of mares tried to literally pet Troy, like touching a gryphon was some sign of good luck. After the seventh time he felt some pony ‘accidentally’ touching his tail, a strong glare made sure the stools beside his own would remain empty for the rest of the night.

About an hour into the event, Canvas finally pulled away from his display to find Troy. He hopped on the empty seat beside him, and ordered a ginger ale before noticing the large number of empty glasses around his friend.

"Don’t worry,” Troy said insistently. “Gryphon blood takes like, twenty times more alcohol to get drunk than ponies. That's why most gryphon-based liquor is banned in Equestria."

Canvas shrugged in acceptance. He remembered hearing how gryphon liquor could get to 300% proof before filtering. He had absolutely no idea how such an impossibility could be done, but he wasn’t one to question it either. The bartender slid over the ginger ale, and Canvas sipped it through a straw. He then noticed Troy throwing a smirk in his direction.

"Before you say anything,” said Canvas. "I don’t drink alcohol. I never have, and I never will…”

The stallion glared strongly at the wall of liquor bottles shelved across from them. Seconds later, Troy nodded while Canvas muttered under his breath. “Never."

It didn’t surprise Troy one bit if Canvas never touched an alcoholic drink, considering what happened to him back in Gallop Creek. He then looked down at his empty glasses and winced, suddenly fearful of enjoying booze in front of him. Fortunately, one glance back at Canvas and his own smirk helped to ease Troy.

"What? Dude, I've seen you eat meat. You really think a few glasses is gonna freak me out?"

Troy chuckled, and his eyes locked onto Canvas' new mane. Ever since he’d seen the new manecut, Troy was constantly catching himself staring at him. Thanks to the shorter mane, everything Canvas did seemed brand new to the gryphon; from the smallest movement to the faintest smile. It was hard for Troy to veer away from the artist now that he was right beside him.

"Let me guess,” said Canvas with a skewed eyebrow. "It's the mane, right?"

"Actually, yeah!" Troy smiled at Canvas. A new White Stalliongrad was levitated over to him. "Not gonna lie, it's going to take a while for me to get used to."

"For you?!” Canvas’ eyes and grin grew in unison. “Do you know how long it's going to take for me to get used to this? I mean, it feels so weird to not have my mane so heavy!"

Troy shrugged and finished his drink in one go, placing the empty glass among the rest of them. "Yeah, I guess…. But hey, think of how many bits you'll save on shampoo alone."

Canvas burst out laughing. Troy smiled even wider in response, not seeming to realize his cheeks were blushing slightly. "Yeah, that's a plus. Although, I was actually spending more on conditioner. Seriously, my mane was impossible to brush without that stuff."

Canvas stayed at the bar long enough to enjoy another ginger ale, while his friend practically drained the event’s vodka budget by himself. Eventually, the artist decided to head back when he noticed a large crowd by his work.

Canvas stayed next to his section alone, mostly in hopes that somepony would talk to him about his work and show their admiration. Sadly, since he was an earth pony, most of the murmurs he heard from nearby attendees weren’t assuming that he was the one who did them. As the night went on, Canvas was feeling less enthusiastic while hearing praises from ponies assuming a unicorn did his work. Just as he was about to head back to the bar, the voice of a posh stallion caught his attention.

"Well, I say! Is that one of my bags!?"

Canvas quickly turned around, and saw a charcoal-grey earth pony stallion standing before him. He boasted a rather large ruffled collar, as well as an overstyled mane of white and silver. The stallion lowered his purple sunglasses, blinking repeatedly while staring at Canvas' bag with a mix of curiosity and disgust.

Canvas snuck a glance at the pony's cutie mark, consisting of an ornate paper fan. His eyes widened, recognizing that he was standing before the bag’s original designer: Hoity Toity. The posh stallion leaned in, his eyes narrowing as he gazed upon the intricately placed drawings that covered every part of the fabric.

"Young stallion, I don't know what I was hoping to see here tonight, but to see one of my rarest designs be turned into… this was not one of them!"

Canvas cringed hard, staying silent as the stallion made eye contact. "Who exactly are you?"

"Um. M-My name is Canvas, sir. I… I'm one of the artists for this gallery." He held a hoof out toward his paintings, trying his hardest to give a ‘prideful’ smile despite his nervousness. Canvas watched as Hoity Toity's gaze glanced over to the wall, and his face turned into one of surprise. He hoped the reaction was a positive one.

"Well, well, well.” Hoity pulled off his sunglasses entirely, and stepped in to take a closer look. “You did these yourself?"

Upon seeing how impressed he was, Canvas nodded with a more relaxed smile. "Yes I did. In fact…” Canvas pulled his art bag around so it was draped over his chest, allowing Hoity Toity to get a better look. "I've had this as an art bag for years. I gotta say, it's kind of an honor to meet the pony who made this."

Hoity glanced at Canvas curiously. He pointed a hoof at it and asked, "May I?"

Canvas nodded before Hoity Toity carefully opened the front flap, lifting it with a hoof to look at the tag inside. "I see…” He closed the bag and stared back at Canvas with a perplexed smirk.

"Mister Canvas, I have only sold ten of these bags. And just by looking at the tag, I can see that this was the very first one."

Canvas quickly looked down at the bag hanging over his chest. Rarity had told him that it was a rare design, but he never would’ve assumed it would be that rare. He looked back at Hoity, who was now as wide-eyed as he was.

"I…” Hoity Toity pointed at the stallion, his words pausing in thought. “I believe I remember who I made this for."

Canvas stepped back, covering his mouth with a hoof. Hoity stayed silent briefly, his peculiar stare making it clear that he knew he struck a nerve. 

"…I remember a mare came to my shop years ago. She was a dark-blue pegasus, with… with a pure black mane and a tornado for a cutie mark."

Canvas' hoof remained tightly clasped over his mouth, but his eyes struggled to stay open whilst welling at the corners. This designer, who probably did orders for thousands of ponies over the years, still remembered the mare known as Blowing Winds, his mother. Canvas was absolutely floored.

"When she came in, she told me that she was looking for a bag for her son… who had just discovered his talent in art. Though she didn't have much money, she was insistent on finding something of good quality for him to use. I usually didn’t take requests from walk-ins, but I… I felt like she deserved something worth my attention. So after a few days of work, I ended up designing a custom art bag... That very bag you have on your shoulder right now."

Tears were openly streaming down Canvas’ face. He tried his hardest to cover his whimpering smile with his hoof. Of all the things he expected would happen tonight, finding out how important his art bag was to the pony that made it was not one of them. When he finally lowered his hoof, the sight of his teary smile was enough to make Hoity cover his own muzzle. The designer glanced back at Canvas’ art, coming to the same revelation as the stallion before him. The artist faintly whispered. "That… that was my Mom."

Hoity Toity didn’t hesitate to lean in and give Canvas a brief hug. The younger stallion practically threw his hooves around him, his eyes clenched shut while his cheeks were matted in tears. Hoity looked close to crying himself, judging by his emotional smile. Canvas spoke once more. "Thank you... Thank you so much...”

"I-It's quite alright…” Once the two let go, Hoity took a couple quick breaths to keep his composure. He reached into his collar to pull out a handkerchief, which he used to carefully dab his face. Canvas was about to rub his own cheeks dry with his foreleg, but Hoity Toity hoofed him his handkerchief while carrying a warm smile. “Here you go. And don't worry, you can keep that handkerchief.”

With a light pat on the shoulder, Hoity Toity walked off without another word. Canvas nodded thankfully, wiping his face dry before Lyra walked up to him.

"Are you alright?" Lyra said, having noticed Canvas’ tear-matted face. "Bon-Bon’s doing alright with her catering, so I thought I could check on you. I saw you talking with Hoity Toity, and I've heard a lot of things about him being overcritical."

"Yeah, I’d believe it,” said Canvas, who huffed to himself before placing the handkerchief in his bag. "Honestly though, he turned out to be really nice."

"Oh, alright then..." Lyra took a moment to glance back to where Hoity Toity trotted off to. She then leaned her head in, shooting him a devilish smirk. "So, Canvas... wanna see something really cool?"

No attendees were coming up to him, so Canvas shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "Um… Sure. What is it?"

"Follow me."

Lyra and Canvas moved their way through dozens of ponies, until they eventually found themselves standing underneath the large dome roofing of the ballroom. Here with them stood a large ornate statue of Starswirl the Bearded, where many other ponies stood around and chatted with one another. Lyra stared up at the ceiling before taking two steps back, making sure her distance was correct. She then motioned for Canvas to stand beside her.

"I've been to this ballroom before,” whispered Lyra excitedly, "and I found out from an architect about a cool feature this place has. Apparently, If you stand at a certain spot near the statue and speak, the acoustics from the dome will carry the noise to the exact opposite spot."

Canvas seemed more confused than intrigued. "Okay, so… so what?"

"So,” Lyra glanced past the statue, spotting somepony across from them. “If you speak here, that pony over there will hear it like somepony was right next to him. Watch.”

Lyra leaned her head in slightly, and whispered loudly. "Boogers!"

Canvas watched as the stallion across from them suddenly jerked his head around, looking like he was just brushed up by a ghost. He had to cover his mouth to keep from laughing, not expecting to see such a response. Meanwhile, Lyra chuckled to herself mischievously as she moved to another spot, standing across from a large unicorn mare in a gaudy, green dress.

"There's a stain on your dress!"

The mare’s head gave a jerk, and then she spun around frantically to look for the nonexistent stain. Canvas couldn’t even watch this time, having to turn away while laughing muffledly. Lyra motioned for him to join in with an eager grin. Canvas peered around the ballroom for a moment before finding the perfect target: Rarity, who was holding a drink in her hoof and chatting with Fluttershy. A stallion was standing close beside the two, keeping to himself and checking his watch. Canvas positioned himself carefully and whispered. "Nice flank!"

Rarity gasped and turned around in anger. Much to her friend’s shock, the mare threw the drink in the random stallion's face before storming off. Both the stallion and Fluttershy stood there completely stunned, neither of them noticing Lyra and Canvas cracking up across the room.

"Okay, that was awesome!" Lyra said after giving Canvas a hoof-bump. "A little bit meaner than I would’ve gone, but that was still really funny."

"Yeah...” Canvas watched as Fluttershy helped dry the confused stallion off with a cloth. "Actually, a weird thing happened with me and Rarity today."

"Oh, really now? What happened?"

"Well…” Canvas tried not to snicker while smirking. "When Rarity was cutting my mane, she…”

After the briefest pause, Canvas scoffed. “... She actually thought that Troy was my boyfriend."

Canvas chuckled to himself, shaking his head in disbelief. Meanwhile, Lyra just looked at him in confusion. "Wait… you mean he isn't?"

Canvas stopped giggling in an instant. He gawked back at his friend. "W-What? He… No! No, he's not."

Lyra's eyebrows raised in surprise. Canvas turned away to hide his deepening blush. He wouldn’t have guessed that more than one pony would come to that kind of assumption, especially not on the same day; and especially not from someone as close as Lyra. The unicorn tried to reach a hoof out to him apologetically.

"Canvas? Canvas, I just thou--"

"Troy is just a friend!"

Canvas’ outburst caused the mare to jolt back. While she stared back at him with concern, Canvas’ hoof was shaking a little as he pointed back at her and stammered nervously. "I-I mean, yeah! He's a close friend, but he's just a friend, okay?! I don’t get why so many ponies think that about us! W-What, is it because of me?! Am I not allowed to have a platonic friend who happens to be a guy!? It's just weird, you know?! Troy is… he’s…”

Canvas looked down at the floor. Lyra, seeing his distress, tried to step in closer.

"He… he’s a friend…” Though he tried to state it as clearly as he could, his whimpering tone made it clear that he was showing some doubt. Even when he felt Lyra’s hoof resting against his back, he could only sigh before closing his eyes. “… J-Just a friend…”


"Canvas… do you…” Lyra’s lips pursed shut for a moment. She took a look around to make sure nopony was eavesdropping. Once she was sure they couldn’t be heard, she spoke cautiously. “... Do you like him?"

Canvas' head shot back up. He backed away from Lyra with a hesitant look. Lyra kept her composure, standing in place in hope that he wouldn’t run away from her question. Seeing that she wasn’t getting in too close again, Canvas muttered weakly. "Troy… Troy is my friend. He's just a friend..."

"That wasn't what I asked."

Canvas winced. He looked back at Lyra, who kept her stare surprisingly firm. The stallion’s breaths became more audible, and his eyes darted away from her frantically. Lyra didn’t try to touch him, but she moved in a little closer. "Canvas, it's just a question... And I promise you, I won’t say a word about it to Troy."

Canvas exhaled deeply, and kept his eyes tightly shut.

"Canvas, do… Do you like Troy? Like… as more than a friend?"

Canvas couldn’t look her in the eyes. But even so, he tried his hardest to respond. "Well… well, I…”

Even in that moment, Canvas wanted nothing more than to continue repeating to himself that Troy was just a friend. Knowing all that the gryphon had done for him, and how accepting he had been since they first met, Canvas really didn’t want to admit to himself that there was anything more than that. He had no idea whether or not Troy could feel any closer to him than that. The last thing he wanted to do was feel anything too severe about him, only to know deep-down that it could never be reciprocated. Canvas felt like his heart was about to burst. Lyra’s hoof on his back wasn’t enough to ease the tension he was feeling within. Nevertheless, Canvas let out a nervous breath as he tried to say the one thing he didn’t even want to admit. Not even to himself. "I… I…”


Lyra wrapped her foreleg around his shoulder to pull him in closer. Canvas pressed his head against her chest with a heavy sigh. “... I do...”

The moment that last word escaped his lips, Canvas felt like a massive weight tugged down on his heart had been pulled to his stomach. At the same time, though, he couldn’t deny how right it sounded out-loud. After all this time, all the constant reassurances he tried to give to himself, Canvas could only hug Lyra back as he realized how he truly felt.

I have feelings for Troy.

Lyra waited while she hugged Canvas tightly, knowing that he was likely processing a lot. When she finally pulled back, she saw that he was staring at the floor wide-eyed. Lyra glanced back at the bar in the distance, her brows quickly flagging up in surprise. She then turned back to Canvas with a reassuring smile, and told him, "Canvas, it's alright. I promise you, everything will be okay."

"But…” Canvas gulped nervously. Even after what he’d just admitted to himself, he was afraid to continue with his train of thought. "What… what if he doesn't like me back? I mean, what if he can't have feelings for me? Like… like I do for him?"

"Why? Because he's a gryphon? Because I've met a ton of ponies who are in great interspecies relationships! There are ponies all over Equestria who are with zebras, buffalo, mules, all kinds of other species. I think I heard of one pony who was with a diamond dog…”

"Lyra, I didn’t mean tha--"

"In fact, I was talking with Twilight once, and she told me that her brother knows a pony Reserve Guard who's currently in a relationship with a changeling!"

"Well, that's just fine but--really, a changeling?"

Canvas stared at Lyra for a second in slight disbelief, and then shrugged. "Huh… Well, I didn’t mean it like that, Lyra. I just don’t know if… he… he would want to be with a guy."

Lyra kept her hoof on him while smiling confidently. "Canvas, I've seen how he acts around you. I might not know much about guys, but… I really do think he likes you."

Canvas tried to stare back at Lyra in skepticism, but she could see the faintest glimmer of optimism in his eyes. "Really? How can you tell?"

"Well… Do you remember how his wings shot open as soon as he saw you with your short mane?"

Canvas narrowed his eyes in confusion. "Uhhh...Yeah, so?”

“Wait… do you not know about that?"

"About what?"

After blinking in surprise, Lyra took a breath before blushing. "Oh. W-Well, uhhhh… Canvas, when… when wings shoot open like that… it means that…”

Lyra looked around, and then whispered the rest into Canvas' ear. The stallion quickly pulled back, his blush just as notable as his bug-eyed expression. "N-No way!"

"Yes way! “ Lyra tried not to chuckle at Canvas’ reaction. “Rainbow Dash told me so!"

"Oh please.” Canvas was still blushing, but he tried to dismiss her point with a roll of his eyes. “His wings also did that when I cooked him bacon! That doesn’t mean anything."

Canvas looked away from Lyra, feeling like he made a valid point. Then his eyes shot wide open, instantly realizing what he just told a pony he did. He turned back to Lyra to see her just stunned as him, and quickly tried to ‘correct’ his statement.

"A salad! I cooked him a salad. He-he really likes salads..."

Canvas tried to smile as a sign of confidence, but was clearly sweating a little. 

"I… I'm just going to pretend I didn’t hear any of that...” Lyra closed her eyes briefly to take a breath, not wanting to press that issue at the moment. "Okay, I didn’t want to do this, but... I think you should see something."

Motioning Canvas to follow her, the mint unicorn made her way through the crowds again. Canvas reluctantly followed behind her until the two reached a large mirror hung on the wall. Lyra glanced back at the bar to make sure this would work, and smiled before turning her attention to the confused artist.

"Okay, so… what is it, Lyra? What did you want to show me?"

"This..."

With a bright flash of her horn, Lyra's mint aura slowly pulled the mirror outward from one of its sides. Once it was angled right for Canvas to see, she glanced back at Canvas to whisper discreetly. “Now, I want you to look at the bar from the mirror."

Canvas nodded and turned to gaze into the mirror. With his eyes focused on the bar’s reflection, Canvas wasn't sure what it was Lyra was talking about until he saw Troy. Even from the skewed angle, Canvas could see as clear as day that Troy was sitting at the bar, and looking right at him as Canvas looked back.

Canvas gasped silently, but tried not to instinctively turn around to glance at Troy directly. When Lyra saw that he noticed, she carefully placed the mirror back in place. Canvas then gave a cautious glance back at the bar to see what would happen. As soon as he looked over, Troy quickly turned his head away, as if he didn’t want to be caught staring. While the artist stood in shock, Lyra was glancing over at the gryphon as well.

"Canvas, I've been walking around this gallery all night. Every time I noticed Troy, he was looking right at you. And when I saw his face, he had the exact same look Bon-Bon had for me before we got together."

Canvas looked down at his hooves again. He wanted nothing more than for her to be right, but he also didn’t want to keep his hopes up too high. 

"I… I gotta think about some things..."

Lyra wanted to smirk confidently, but instead just nodded in acceptance. "Go right ahead. Just remember what I said, okay?"

Canvas gave a weak smile, and slowly walked back toward his section of the exhibit. Though his heart was still racing in a mixture of unease and anticipation, he could only hope that he could have a clearer head soon enough...