A Blank Canvas

by Bardsworth Brony

Chapter Thirteen: In Which a Difficult Decision Must Be Made

The main course was almost ready. Sketch was just about to pull it out of the oven when Applejack appeared next to him, nuzzling his neck. She had been finding every opportunity to do that, and he certainly didn't mind.

"You just about done, sugar cube? The chickens'r gettin' restless," she asked, brushing up against him.

"By 'chickens' do you mean Pinkie Pie?"

"How'd you guess?"

"I can hear her whining all the way from the living room. Just have to let it cool a bit," he answered, and gave Applejack a peck on the ear.

"Ugh, could you two stop being all lovey-dovey for two seconds?" Rainbow Dash was standing in the doorway with a sick look on her face.

"Ya don't like it, ya don't need t'be out here with us," Applejack said and blew a raspberry at the pegasus.

"Trust me, I'll be gone before you can get any grosser. I just wanted to say that somepony's at the door looking for Sketch. Says his name's Avant-Garde"

"Avant-Garde?" Sketch repeated the name, trying to remember where he had heard it before. "Uh, all right, let me finish up here and I'll be right out to talk to him."

"Who is it?" Applejack asked after Rainbow Dash left the kitchen.

"Not sure. The name sounds familiar, though." Sketch pulled the casserole from the oven and set it on top of the counter. "Should only need about ten minutes to cool. Hopefully whatever this Avant-Garde wants will be quick."

He made his way through the living room, where Pinkie Pie was dramatically "dying" from hunger, flat on her back with her legs sticking up in the air. When Sketch reached the front hall he found a golden-haired stallion with a short orange mane flipped over in a stylish manner. "Mr. Sketch?" the stallion asked, looking overtop a pair of rectangular glasses.

"Uh, yes. Just Sketch is fine."

"I'm Avant-Garde, the owner of the Canterlot Cutting Edge Art Gallery."

Sketch's eyes went wide and he felt his jaw drop. "You… you're the one that Artsy was on his way to see when he…"

"Yes," Avant-Garde nodded sadly. "Artsy was a fine pony, both personally and professionally. The loss of him was nothing short of devastating to the art community."

"So… why are you here?" Sketch asked without thinking, and then shook his head. "I'm sorry, please come in."

He led Avant-Garde into the living room, where the conversation quieted until all that was left was Pinkie Pie's dramatic groaning. That lasted until Rainbow Dash kicked her lightly and she squeaked, jumping to her feet and catching sight of Avant-Garde. "Oh, hello! Are you gonna eat with us?"

"We're, uh, having a dinner party," Sketch explained.

"I'm terribly sorry to interrupt," Avant-Garde said, nodding in the direction of each of the ponies. "I'll try to make this as quick as possible." He turned back to Sketch. "When Artsy was on his way to see me, it was to discuss a business opportunity. Unfortunately, because of his sudden passing away, that opportunity never happened, and subsequently the position has not been filled just yet. I had the opportunity to be at the Midwinter Ball in Canterlot a few weeks ago and I was enamored with the painting that Princess Celestia had acquired at the auction. I was finally able to contact her and inquire as to the artist and his whereabouts, and Her Highness directed me to you."

"Woo-hoo, you're famous, Sketch!" Pinkie Pie cried out. Sketch could only blush.

"I did a little poking around," Avant-Garde continued, "And found out that you were actually Artsy Brushstroke's protégé. A friend of mine had attended your gallery showing here in Ponyville and purchased one of your paintings, and mentioned that he spoke to you."

Sketch recalled the brown-haired pony to whom Twilight had told of Sketch's connection to Artsy. "Wow," he breathed. "Small world."

"Indeed," Avant-Garde said with a smile. "Anyway, the reason I'm here is that I want to offer you the opportunity that Artsy Brushstroke was not able to take. I want you to be a resident artist at my gallery."

The room fell silent, except for Pinkie Pie who was humming a song to herself until Rainbow Dash gave her another kick. After taking a moment to let the art gallery owner's words sink in, Sketch asked, "What… what exactly does that entail?"

"Well, it means you would take up residence at the gallery. You would live, work, and exhibit your art exclusively there. The gallery sees thousands of ponies a year from all over Equestria, and your work would be guaranteed to get major exposure."

"I would… live there? In Canterlot?"

"Exactly. So what do you say?"

Sketch glanced over to Applejack, but her expression was impossible to read. He glanced at each one of the other ponies in the room, and each one had a look of apprehension on their faces, waiting to hear Sketch's response. "I… I need to think about this. It's a big decision."

"I understand completely. Unfortunately, I can only give you until tomorrow morning to make up your mind. I'm taking a train to Manehattan to meet with another artist. Should you decline, I will be offering her the resident artist position. But I hope I will be telling her that the position has been filled. I think we could have a very good working relationship, Sketch. My train leaves at eight o'clock tomorrow." With that Avant-Garde nodded in the direction of the others and said, "Good evening to you all."

Once the door closed, Pinkie Pie said, "So can we eat yet, or what?"

***

The conversation at dinner was superficial. It was clear that everypony wanted to talk about Sketch's opportunity, but no one would bring it up. Sketch remained silent for the most part, saying "Thank you" whenever somepony complimented his cooking. He didn't eat much himself; he could only manage a few bites and then pushed the rest of the food around on his plate while mulling over the situation.

Finally, when they were eating dessert – a carrot cake with cream cheese frosting – Twilight spoke up. "Sketch, you have to take that job. It's what you've been working towards your whole life!"

"I'm inclined to agree with Twilight on this," Rarity added. "As one artist to another, opportunities like this don't happen everyday."

"And I wanna say that this carrot cake is amazing!" Pinkie Pie said with a coating of frosting on her upper lip.

Sketch didn't respond. What Twilight and Rarity had said rang true. He had worked hard for a long time and now this opportunity had come to him. But could he take it? Could he leave Ponyville, his friends, and… He looked at Applejack, who looked back at him and smiled. Again, her expression was impossible to read. He wanted her to say something, anything, but she kept quiet.

With a sigh, he finally said, "I need more time to think about it." He added with a small smile, "In the meantime, eat up some more cake before Pinkie devours it all." Thankfully, that broke the tension and everyone helped themselves to a second slice.

***

After everypony had left, Sketch and Applejack cleaned off the table and started doing the dishes. Unable to stand not hearing Applejack's opinion, he confronted her on it. "Applejack, what do you think I should do?"

She finished rinsing off a place before she spoke. "Ah think you need to do what's gonna make you happy, sugar cube." She must have noticed the look on Sketch's face at that because she shook her head and said, "Ah know ya want me to give you somethin' more than that, Sketch, but it wouldn't be right. Ah don't wanna sway you one way 'r the other. This is too important. It's a decision you have to make on yer own."

"I hate it when you're right," Sketch responded in a quiet voice.

Applejack leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. "You better get used to it 'cause ah'm always right." Sketch chuckled at that and went back to drying the dishes.

After a few minutes he said, "What if… what if you came with me?"

"Ah can't do that, Sketch," Applejack shook her head. "The family needs me. This here farm would fall apart if ah left. Besides, Canterlot ain't no place for a pony like me."

So there it was. Sketch was left with the odious task of choosing between his dreams and the one he loved. And he needed to make the decision in less than ten hours.

***

All around him sat his paintings, the work that Sketch had poured himself into throughout the months he had spent in Ponyville. He had hoped that being near them would help him make his decision, but he was no closer to closing the book on that than he was before trekking up to his studio. The anxiousness that he was feeling had grown tenfold since the offer had been made to him, and he was beginning to feel physically ill from the stress.

On the one hoof he could live an artist's dream. He had worked hard over the years to achieve a place in the artistic community, and now he was being offered the opportunity to live and work in that community. He would get paid for doing what he loved and receive recognition for it. It would even serve as a tribute to Artsy Brushstroke, the one who had helped him get there.

On the other hoof, however, was the happiness he felt in the life he was currently living. He had a home and he had friends. He had a family that, while not tied to him by blood, was closer to him than his real family had ever been. More than that, though, was that he had found love.

A loud clanging from down in the barn startled Sketch from his tense reverie. Curious, he climbed down the steps and saw Big Macintosh putting away some tools. Grateful for a bit of distraction, Sketch said, "Burning the midnight oil?"

He received the typical, "Eeyup."

A thought struck Sketch and he approached the large red pony. "Hey, uh, could you spare a minute or two, Big Mac?"

"Eeyup."

"My mentor used to tell me that those who say little usually have the most important things to say. I was hoping you might help me make a decision. I was presented with an opportunity today, but I don't know if I should take it or decline it. How would you go about making an important decision?"

Big Mac sat back on his haunches and rubbed the underside of his chin. With a faraway look in his eyes, he spoke. "The way ah've always seen it, there are two different types of opportunities. The first are the ones we work towards, the ones we spend years of hard work and dedication towards achieving. The second are the ones that happen purely by random chance. The difference between the two is that if ya miss the first type of opportunity, you can always keep on workin' and another one'll appear. But ya don't have that guarantee with the second kind of opportunity."

Sketch reeled, first by the fact that the pony had spoken so much, and second by the power of his words. "Wow… thank you, Big Mac."

"Eeyup." With that the red pony walked out of the barn, leaving Sketch to ponder the farm pony's speech.

***

The door to the barn creaked open, letting in the morning sunlight and a burst of cool air. Sketch turned, huffing and puffing, to see Applejack standing there with a confused look on her face. "Sketch, what in tarnation are ya doin' out here?"

"Well," Sketch answered once he caught his breath. "You once said I was far from being the best applebucker you ever saw. That means I have a lot of practice ahead of me if I ever want to be the best."

"Practice? What in Equestria are you…" she paused. "Yer not takin' Avant-Garde's offer?"

Sketch shook his head, sitting back on his haunches. "I met him at the train station this morning and told him that I had a better opportunity here on the farm."

Applejack gave him an incredulous look. "As an applebucker?"

"No, as a pony with friends. And a pony in love."

"Sketch, you… ah mean, ah hope ya didn't…"

"It was my decision, Applejack."

"But what about yer art?"

Sketch shrugged. "I can still paint and I can still do gallery showings. But I don't want to tie myself down anywhere but here." He stood up and made his way over to the bewildered orange pony. "And I don't want to tie myself down to anyone but you."

There was a moment of hesitation before Applejack's eyes became wet and she smiled. She kissed Sketch and then nuzzled his cheek. "Ah'd never have said it before you made yer decision, but I didn't want you to go, sugar cube."

"They're in here!" a familiar voice shouted. "And they're being all gross again!"

"Oh fer cryin' out loud, Rainbow Dash, grow up," Applejack said and rolled her eyes.

The whole group came trotting into the barn, all talking at once. Sketch calmed them all down with a gesture of his hoof until all they could hear was Pinkie Pie singing a nonsense song. When she realized they were all looking at her she said, "Oops, sorry!"

"I've decided I'm staying," Sketch said simply.

"But darling," Rarity spoke first, "Your artwork! You're giving up a huge opportunity to share it with the world!"

"Yeah, Sketch, and you're missing out on something you've always wanted!" Twilight added.

"But I've already gained something I've always wanted," Sketch countered, drawing puzzled looks. "I've gained friends. Each one of you has become a part of my life that I couldn't bear to let go of. Sure, maybe I'd have made some friends there in the gallery, but… well, I'll be honest. A lot of those artists and collectors are pretty fake."

"He has a point," Rarity nodded.

"And I remembered something that Artsy had told me once. He said that a cutie mark doesn't define a pony; it gives him character, and what he does with that character is what defines him."

There was a hush and then Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Well, I guess that means there isn't going to be a farewell party. It's going to be a 'staying here' party!" They all laughed and Sketch was glad that the tension was gone.

"All right, ah'm gonna have to ask y'all to skedaddle," Applejack said. "Sketch here has decided he wants to train to be the best applebucker around, so ah'm gonna have to get to trainin' him right away."

"You're a brave pony, Sketch," Rainbow Dash said and the all laughed again. With that each pony hugged Sketch before they left, saying how glad they were that he was staying.

Before Twilight left she said, "You still need to stop over so we can finish our discussion on the Renaissance era." Sketch risked a glance at Applejack, and she smiled at him and nodded.

"Sure thing," he responded and hugged her.

Once the door to the barn closed, Sketch turned to Applejack. "Well," she said, "Let's get to it."

"Wait, you were serious?" Sketch raised an eyebrow.

"Of course ah was. Ah don't kid around when it comes to applebuckin'."

"I thought maybe you… that we… hoo boy, what have I gotten myself into?"

Applejack grinned and kissed Sketch on the cheek. "Ah'll tell you what – you give me a good mornin' worth of trainin', and ah'll give you a good afternoon worth of, as Rainbow Dash calls it, 'bein' lovey-dovey'."

"I'll see what I can do," Sketch returned the grin.

"Now, from what ah saw when ah came in earlier, you're leanin' a little too far forward before the kick." She started showing Sketch how to correct his mistake, and even though Sketch was paying close attention, he couldn't stop thinking about how truly happy he was for the first time in his life.

The End

Comments

[TheMyth]

Sequel?

[Bardsworth Brony]

1296645
I do have an idea, so if the demand is there and I get the idea to a place where I can execute it well, you'll see Sketch again.

[TheMyth]

1297332
A Romance/Slice of Life would be nice... hehe imagine a wedding and a baby

[FireSpy]

Why are there only 230 odd views to this? Very in e.

[marmelmm]

Bravissimo!

[Haver]

Good