Brushed Away

by TheVClaw

Chapter Eighteen: Leaving the Past

Canvas opened his tired eyes as the sun beamed in through his window and its thin curtains. He had gotten used to how early the sun came in the mornings. He did a quick stretch before lifting himself off the hotel bed and taking a look at his schedule sheet, surprised to find that he didn't have any appointments for the whole day. He already felt rested enough to be up for the rest of the morning, but the stallion threw himself back on the bed, choosing to bask in the warmth of the morning light.

It’d been over a month since he’d spoken with Twilight Sparkle, and decided to extend his stay in Ponyville. Since that day, the Princess didn’t tell him much about what was going on. All he knew was that Celestia was investigating Gallop Creek, and that he didn’t have to worry about anything happening to him while he was in Ponyville. A part of Canvas wanted to know more details, but he was grateful that he was away from everything in that place. The more time he spent in Ponyville, the more he felt like the town was his new home. For the first time in his life, he truly felt happy with where he was.

Ever since Canvas made that mural for Rarity's room and the Cakes' nursery, more ponies had asked for his assistance for various jobs around town. Before he knew it, he was becoming the go-to-pony for most painting tasks around Ponyville. The pay may not have been as great as his drawing business was, but it was still more than enough to keep him afloat. Canvas was also happy to have friends as wonderful as Lyra and Bon-Bon. Aside from being great conversationalists, the mares were also quick to ask him for his help in Bon-Bon's experimental candy recipes, which he was more than happy to do.

His gaze went to the two stacks of paintings on top of his dresser. Even with all the time he had to relax, he’d been too busy for any personal projects over the past few weeks. Because of his schedule, a lot of his damaged works were still left unattended. Canvas lifted himself up again with a deep sigh and walked to the stacks.

Canvas remembered precisely when he made each painting in his collection, as well as the state of his mind and emotions while making them. In a way, his art was a way to preserve the memories he had. But now, his heart sank at the sight of so many of them in such bad condition. The mud stains on certain pages left a horrible shade of brown that conflicted with the paint streaks, and said streaks were now faded from water damage. As he reached the bottom, to the ones that were ripped apart, Canvas closed his eyes, with resentment and helplessness bubbling in his veins. He quickly put the stack back down. He didn’t want to think about how they were destroyed just less than two months ago.

Canvas looked over at his art bag, hanging neatly on a hook against the back of the door. He walked to it and looked inside to see what supplies he still had. His thoughts returned to his old art, and he had an epiphany. He grabbed his bag and some bits, and then left his room for the stationery store.

---

"You got all the clouds cleared out yet, Troy?"

Troy shot a glance at Rainbow Dash, and motioned his claws towards the large stack of cumulus clouds beside him. "Rainbow, if you need an optometrist, I know a guy. You have been squinting a lot lately."

She scowled at Troy, putting her hooves on her hips. "Don't get smart with me! I want to get everything done before noon so I can give a good report back to Cloudsdale."

"Oh, right,” said the gryphon, a knowing smirk on his beak, "and totally not because you have tickets to the Wonderbolts show today at one, right?"

Rainbow glared at Troy with a pout while he snickered. "Just get it done, alright? Don’t forget who got you this job, Feathers!"

"Yeah, yeah." With a quick swipe of his talons, Troy broke apart half of the clouds almost instantly before working on the rest. Rainbow Dash wasn't lying to Troy when she said he would be working hard, but he was quick to finish the tasks given to him without much complaint.

As the last of the clouds disintegrated with a few slashes of Troy's claws, Rainbow raised her eyebrows and nodded her head. "Not bad! I just wish you’d keep up that kind of speed all day."

"Well, if I actually wanted to break a sweat, then there wouldn't be anything left for you to do."

Rainbow scoffed and checked off her clipboard. "Don’t get too ahead of yourself, wise guy. I think we both know who does more around here."

"Remind me to thank Princess Celestia whenever I get to meet her." He gave her a sly grin. Rainbow huffed with a smirk of her own, and flew off to send the report. With the rest of the day off, Troy decided to see what Canvas was up to.

It took longer than expected for Troy to train the other pony on proper ice scraping, but he still managed to join the Ponyville Weather Patrol in less than a week. Many of the ponies seemed initially wary with a gryphon joining their crew, but he was quick to make himself useful. Before they knew it, even Rainbow Dash was impressed at how well Troy could manage even the most difficult duties, including breaking apart cumulonimbus clouds or maintaining storm pressures. With the number of weather complaints decreasing because of his help, many of Ponyville’s citizens quickly learned who Troy was.

Troy originally didn't plan to stick with Canvas that much after seeing how well he had adjusted to his new life, but the gryphon found himself hanging out with him often after he started his new job. Thanks to Canvas' open schedule, he was able to have a meal or a chat whenever he was done with work, and the two of them could share some great conversations and laughs around town. And ever since Canvas talked with Twilight about getting everything settled, Troy noticed how much happier the stallion looked.

Troy landed in the streets of Ponyville, clutching his parcel and giving his usual greetings to the ponies around him. Considering how he used to feel back in Cloudsdale, the gryphon really enjoyed how so many of Ponyville’s citizens had gotten used to his presence. As he walked around town, Troy didn’t see Canvas at his usual haunts. Luckily, when he reached the hotel, he saw that Canvas was still in his room through the open window.

Once again, Troy stood in front of the wooden door marked B2. He knocked twice, and heard hoofsteps from the other side before the door opened, revealing an exhausted artist who had a few splatters of fresh paint on his face. Canvas was quick to give him a big smile and said, "Hey, Troy. What's going on?"

"Oh, nothing much." Troy caught the familiar smell of fresh paint coming from inside the room, figuring that Canvas was busy with another job. "So, whatcha doing this time? Another mural idea? The Cakes are still gushing about that whole space thing, y’know."

Canvas shook his head before letting the gryphon in, giving him a view of what he was up to. The bed and furniture were covered with a clear tarp, and several fresh paintings were held up by tripod stands in various parts of the room.

"Wow." Although this wasn't the first time Troy saw Canvas working on his art, this was the first time he saw him painting this many pieces at once. "Which pony are you doing all these for?"

Troy looked back at Canvas as he wiped off the paint from his face with a rag. "To be honest, I was redoing some of my paintings that got damaged."

"Oh..." Troy looked at the paintings around the room once more, recognizing some of them from when he helped Canvas pick them up the night they first met. Since he only glanced through them when they were ripped or covered in mud, it was refreshing to see what they looked like untarnished. Troy also noticed a wastebasket in the middle of the room, with many of the ripped pieces crumpled up inside.

Canvas sighed, and Troy turned his attention back to him. "I just hated seeing how scuffed they were. I had a day off, so I figured I could at least get one big thing out of the way."

"I see…” Troy looked back at the fresh artwork around him, surprised he made so many in such a short amount of time. "You’re like a mad scientist, but with paint brushes instead of tesla coils and whatnot.” Sniffing the air, he rolled his eyes. “And you’re about just as hygienic. You smell like―"

“Banana bread and wet tree bark,” Canvas said along with Troy. “Clever you, Mr. Spunk.”

Troy’s eye twitched. “One of these days, Canvas, everypony will know you’re not the demure, squeaky-clean stallion you pretend to be.”

“Same could be said for you~” Canvas chuckled as he ran a hoof through his long, messy mane, realizing he forgot to shower today. "Yeah, I guess I've been a little into it today. It was a lot easier to redo these since I already knew how they were supposed to look. I think each one took me less than an hour to complete."

Troy figured the pony might have done these a lot quicker than that, since there seemed to be more than a dozen standing around every open region of the floor. "Well, at least you're keeping your painting skills up. That's always a plus. Oh!"

Remembering what he came here for, Troy quickly opened his parcel, and pulled out a flyer. "I was doing some errands in Cloudsdale when I found this. I figured it might be a good way to make some extra bits."

Canvas raised both eyebrows as he read the flyer. The font looked a bit cheesy and the design was amateur at best, but the message still caught Canvas' attention.

56th Annual Equestrian Art Show

Open to All Ponies in the Central Equestria Area

All Ponies Welcome to Display Their Artwork

Grand Prize to the Winner!

Canvas looked a bit skeptical. "An art contest? Really?"

"Well, why not?" Troy kept his tone casual, but he had hoped Canvas would've been a little more excited about it. "You're really good at painting and stuff, and I figured you would like to get some extra exposure. Plus, the prize money is a neat incentive."

Canvas read the small print at the bottom, his eyebrows rising yet again. "Five hundred bits? That's actually pretty good for an art contest."

"That's what I thought!" At this point, Troy stopped trying to restrain his enthusiasm. "Seriously, just look at all these paintings you’ve done. This is pretty much free money!"

Canvas’ apprehension melted away at Troy’s excitement, and his smile slowly turned more intrigued. "You really think I should do this?"

"Canvas, if you try backing out, I will drag you there myself."

Canvas looked over the flyer again, a pleased flush spreading across his muzzle. "Well, it says here that it's being held in Ponyville in a week, so I guess it couldn’t hurt."

Troy wrapped his arm around the stallion. "That's the spirit!" Troy then tried to give Canvas a playful slap on the back, but realized too late that it hit the pony a little harder than he planned. The very moment he heard the stallion suck some air through his teeth, he quickly pulled his claw away and blurted, "Oops, sorry!" Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his head, giving a guilty grin while the pony rubbed the sore spot.

"It's alright,” he assured Troy, not looking too upset. “I've been through worse... I, uh, kinda skipped breakfast. Wanna meet me at Sugar Cube Corner after I take a quick shower?"

Troy nodded and bumped Canvas' hoof with his claw before leaving to let him get ready. Stepping back outside, Troy felt a lot better about telling Canvas about the contest, but that final exchange had left him a bit unsettled. He didn’t mean to remind the stallion about such an ugly part of his life. After seeing how much happier the pony had become in the past few weeks, he figured something like this could help him get his art noticed outside of Ponyville. Upon hearing the shower run from Canvas' open window, Troy flew to the bakery, taking in the warm summer breeze.

---

Canvas hummed as the warm water cascaded over his fur, the shower's steam slowly filling the bathroom in a fine mist. Troy's mention of the contest was a surprise to the pony, since he had no idea of it going on. His mind kept racing about whether or not to participate in it. He certainly had the skills, and the money would be nice as well, but all he could think about was what the recognition could mean for him. If he were to get noticed and become big in the art world, what would happen to him?

All his thoughts went back to Gallop Creek. Everything that happened to him in that town. That one night which made Canvas leave that wretched place for good. Running all that distance by himself, fueled only by his own self-loathing. Because all he wanted to do was run. Because he didn't want to think about what they did to him.

What he did to him.

The last thing Canvas wanted to do was think about him. The last time he thought about him was when he was running. He could still remember how his emotions cut into him like daggers, only to go away bit by bit the harder he pushed himself to run further. He was alone the whole time, but he still felt like he was being chased. Not by any actual pony, not by the one who hurt him and now haunted his nightmares, but by the heartbreak. By the sheer emotional pain that he wanted to keep as far away as possible.

Canvas looked down at the shower drain, seeing the leftover paint from his fur slowly come off of him and into the swirling water underneath his hooves. As the colors blended together, spiraling within each other against the white porcelain, the stallion thought about why he made art in the first place. He always wanted to create, to make something new and exciting to contradict the darker parts of the world. In a way, the art he created helped to keep him sane while he was living there. But now, Ponyville gave him a brand new perspective of why he pursued his dream.

Instead of just painting to occupy himself, he could now paint to bring something new and joyous into the world. To go above what he thought was possible. To be able to show his true self without any opposition or fear. For the first time in his life, Canvas could do what he loved, and be loved for it.

Canvas turned off the shower, breathing the steam in deeply, and feeling truly refreshed. Like a huge barrier had been removed from his psyche, Canvas knew what he wanted to do. More than anything, Canvas knew he wanted to do something amazing. He wanted to show the world who he really was. And, most of all, he wanted to make sure he could look back on where he came from, and know that he broke free from what they said he couldn’t do.

Canvas stepped out of the hotel with his bag on his shoulder, feeling reborn. His future might not be certain, and he might not know where the road leads, but he still smiled as he breathed in a new day, happy to have a new goal on his mind.

He wanted to prove everypony in Gallop Creek wrong.

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 the editors helping me out with this process: SirReal, and Double R. Forrest. 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.

Comments

[GeodesicDragon]

I've read up to this point in one sitting, because this story has grabbed my interest.

It's very rare to see M/M stories between ponies, so to see one between a pony and a gryphon is quite interesting.

Keep up the good work!

[ThatBatJess]

4373221 And with OC character's too, not between Braeburn and shining armor or something like.

[Geeknerd]

This story is perhaps my favorite on the site, Canvas is very relatable and so is Troy