Chapter Thirty-Four: Not While I'm Around
After unlocking the door with his key card, Troy entered the hotel room with Canvas close behind. The pony couldn’t help whistling in amazement when he saw the lavish space Glimmer Heart reserved for them. Compared to the hotel Canvas had back in Ponyville, this suite was much larger and more luxurious. A plush white couch that matched the carpet was placed in the lounge, and a large glass door led to the balcony outside. Canvas rushed out to the balcony to find that the room boasted a great view of Canterlot.
Looking back in the suite itself, Canvas froze when he noticed the bedroom on the opposite end; more specifically, the fact that there was only one bed. It may have been king-sized with a beautiful white comforter, but Canvas was worried whether Troy would be alright with the sleeping arrangements.
"I already know what you’re gonna ask,” said Troy, taking his tie off. "and I don't mind sharing the bed."
Canvas was surprised, but secretly happy. He took off his own tie and dress shirt, but blushed when he realized he was finally alone with Troy. After what happened on the train last night, Canvas didn't want an opportunity like that to pass him again. Canvas looked over at his friend, who was now sitting on the bed and about to put a tape in his walkman.
Canvas could see the cover of the cassette case laying by the player. It was the soundtrack for the acclaimed Phantom musical from Bridleway. Troy took notice of Canvas’ peering peepers, and quickly tucked the player away. The last thing he wanted to do was steal Canvas’ thunder if he had to explain why he had it. Thus, Troy tried changing the topic of discussion. "So Canvas, you have any idea of what you're going to paint for Celestia?"
Canvas skewed his eyebrow. "Are you kidding me? I just got the job a few hours ago!"
"Well yeah, but you gotta have some ideas floating around your head right now, right?"
Canvas bit the inside of his cheek in thought. "Well... maybe an idea or two, but nothing worth writing down. I'm still reeling over how she actually picked me for such a thing! I mean, she looked through everypony’s designs, and still decided to trust me with that!"
Troy grinned, and responded cheekily. "Yeah, and considering how you had all your drawings in that bag, it's probably a good thing you don’t draw porn!"
Canvas went eerily silent. “Uhhh… Actually…”
Troy's eyes widened, and he instantly burst off the bed. "No way!"
"Well… I only did a few small sketches. I was hoping she didn’t notice them, but…”
Troy's beak dropped. "Seriously!? You draw that kind of stuff!?”
Canvas looked away with a blush.
"...I was surprised she didn’t banish me to the moon for the one I made of her and Luna…”
"WHAT!? What the buck did you draw?!?”
Before Troy could snatch his friend’s bag to look for himself, he overheard Canvas struggling not to snicker. After a couple seconds, Canvas couldn’t hold the charade any longer, and fell to the floor laughing. "Oh man! I can't believe you fell for that!"
Troy felt a wave of relief (and slight disappointment) at the realization that Canvas was just messing with him. "Okay, that's pretty good. So you seriously don’t draw porn?"
"NO! Of course not! You really think I’d do that!?"
Troy shrugged. "Well, you certainly could have the talent for it. Otherwise, you could probably get a good acting job after pulling that prank on me!"
"Oh yeah, your acting thing! How’d that audition go?"
Troy winced, and he used a claw to rub at his foreleg without saying a word. "Oh come on, Troy,” said Canvas almost pleadingly. “I didn't get to ask you before, so did you--”
Canvas stopped short. He slowly looked back toward the bed, where Troy's walkman laid with the Phantom tape inside, and put two and two together.
“... No. Way.”
"Umm. Yeah… I got the lead for that."
Just as a guiltily small smile spread across his beak, Troy felt Canvas almost lift him off the ground in a tremendously strong hug.
"OH MY GOSH!!! That's so awesome, Troy! I knew you could do it!"
After letting him go, leaving Troy fairly flustered, Canvas trotted over to the bed and grabbed the tape. "So you're playing the Phantom? I listened to that musical all the time when I was younger! Man, I bet your audition was amazing!"
"Well…”
Troy thought back to that day, surprised that things went so well for him then.
Troy knew he was going to be an odd sight for everypony there, but he paid no heed to the stares and whispers while he signed up outside the audition room. Looking back at the rest of the crowd, he noticed that all of them were holding sheets of paper, which caused him to worry somewhat. Due to his inexperience, he had no idea what that was for. Before he could ask somepony, he heard a mare's voice behind him.
"Hey, you're Troy, right?"
Turning around, Troy saw a cross-eyed pegasus mare staring up at him―or at least one eye was―with a surprised smile on her face. "You're part of Rainbow Dash's weather crew, right?"
He didn’t know the grey mare all that well, but he remembered Rainbow telling him about how she almost destroyed town hall once. "Umm… yeah. I think she mentioned you before. You’re, uhhh… Derpy Hooves, right?”
“Yep!” She held out a hoof as she introduced herself. "It's nice to meet you, Troy! You can just call me Derpy if you want."
Troy was surprised she didn’t mind being called that, but he shook her hoof regardless. "Well, it's nice to meet you too."
"I gotta say, it’s pretty cool to see someone like you out here. You don’t see many gryphons in the performing arts, you know?"
“Yeah, I get what you mean. Honestly, I’m only doing this because a friend suggested it."
"I can understand that. My daughter Dinky wanted me to do this too." Depry’s head tilted. "So Troy, what song are you doing for your audition?"
"Oh, um…” Troy felt even more out of his element. “I'm not too sure, actually. Maybe Nessun Dorma or something?"
Derpy looked at Troy in confusion, having no idea what he said. "Nessa what? I don't remember that being in the list."
"What list?"
"Umm… the list over there?" Derpy pointed to a long table filled with stacks of different song sheets. "You're supposed to do one of the songs from that selection, so the director can know who can sing them best."
Seeing the stacks, Troy felt a knot in his gut. He walked over to the table, seeing that there were ten different songs to choose from; but much to his dismay, there wasn't a single one with a title he recognized. Derpy stood next to him while he looked between the different sheets, observing his growing worried state.
"Is something wrong?” she asked cautiously. “Are you good at any of these?"
"I have no idea!" Troy said, looking back at Derpy. "I usually just listen to opera! I… I don't know any of these songs!"
"Wait, seriously!? All of these are pretty well-known. You live under a rock?"
"No, the Gryphon Kingdom. Oh crap… Oh crap, oh crap, oh CRAP!”
As he continued to shuffle through the sheets, Derpy tried to calm him down. "Don't worry. I think we can find something for you. There are a lot of auditions, so there might be some time."
The two worked together as he scrolled through the lists. A few minutes later, Troy's claw stopped on one sheet when he read the title. He then picked it up and started reading the lyrics. Derpy looked over his back to see for herself. "Ooh, that's a really good one!"
"I hope so...” He had no idea how the song went, but Troy couldn’t deny that the lyrics caught his interest. After what just happened between him and Canvas, this song felt surprisingly fitting. Turning back to Derpy, Troy held the sheet in his claws and asked, "So, uhhh... you know how this song goes?"
"Sure do! In fact, I think a couple of ponies before you are doing that song too! You can probably listen in on them so you can see how you wanna do it."
"Really?" The plan seemed feasible enough, so he smiled gratefully. "Thanks!"
Troy sat in the back of the theater while auditions were held, listening as several different ponies sang the same song he was doing. While most of them weren't exactly the best singers, Troy could still figure out how the song was supposed to go. Soon enough, he had a good idea how he wanted to sing it. Troy almost didn't hear when the director called out for him.
"Clawston? Troius Clawston?"
Troy quickly got up from his seat. "That's me, ma'am. I'm Troy."
As he walked up to the stage front, the director stared at him in surprise, not expecting a gryphon to be auditioning. With the song sheet in his claws, Troy still felt nervous over doing a song he’d just learned. However, upon remembering how much Canvas wanted him to do it, Troy knew he had to try his best.
"Well, hello,” the director said, intrigued. "Are you auditioning for the play?"
"Yes I am. To be honest, I… I've never done this before."
"That’s perfectly fine. Just take a couple breaths, and do the song.” She pointed a hoof over to the unicorn stallion at the piano. Troy handed the sheet over to him, hoping to Celestia he had all the words memorized.
"So, Mister Clawston, what song are you going to be doing?"
"Umm… it’s called…”
Troy quickly looked back at the sheet to read the title, making the director facehoof.
"It's called… 'Not While I'm Around.’”
"So, can I hear it?"
"Wait, what?"
"Can I hear the song you did?"
Troy wasn't expecting Canvas to make such a request. "I…”
He knew he performed really well back at the audition, but the reason he chose the song in the first place left him apprehensive. "I don't know, Canvas..."
"Oh come on!" Canvas whined, looking at Troy with a pout. "I won't make fun of you, I swear!"
"I just… I don’t know if--”
"Please?"
Troy looked back at Canvas now sitting on the bed, and struggled not to cringe at how happy he looked. "Please, Troy? It… it would mean a lot to me."
Troy couldn’t help but feel guilty. So, instead of prolonging the inevitable, he sighed and looked around for a good spot. "Alright. I… I'll do it."
Canvas smiled eagerly. Troy walked over to the middle of the lounge and breathed in. Seeing how excited Canvas looked made Troy’s heartbeat a little faster. Strangely enough, one of his first thoughts was about how he felt on that stage. It made Troy close his eyes, as he tried to imagine himself in that theater again.
He heard the slow, melancholy piano begin to play in his head. He felt the director’s judgmental stare upon his brow. But above all else, he slowly lifted his foreleg to his chest to remember that warmth he felt.
The same feeling of warmth he experienced when he held Canvas that night.
Troy swallowed as the music played on in his head, and he cleared his throat before opening his beak. With his eyes closed, his voice didn’t falter as the words came out naturally without pause. He then imagined he was back at Canvas' studio, holding him against his chest, their heartbeats synced in the moonlight. The lyrics, deep and meaningful, were serenaded with the utmost sincerity to the only pony watching.
Canvas didn’t say a word, his muzzle tightly shut while listening to Troy’s beautiful voice. He could hear the sheer, genuine emotion belting from Troy’s beak as he recited the lyrics with true understanding.
The recital lasted for less than a couple minutes, but it felt much longer for the gryphon by the time he reached the climax. Though the song was meant to be a gentle ballad from one loving soul to another, he sang the last couple lines with his operatic prowess. Every word that came out felt truthful, as if he was speaking to the stallion listening. His claw clutched his chest tighter. When he reached the finale, he had to clench his eyes shut to keep them from tearing up. He let the gentle melody of his mind’s piano play to the conclusion, and only then did he open his eyes once more.
Troy stared down at the white carpet below his talons for some time. When he finally raised his head, Troy saw Canvas sitting completely still with a hoof over his mouth. He could even see two faint trails of tears stream down Canvas' face as he looked upon him in pure admiration.
“... W-Wow…”
Troy felt his heart thundering. But before either of them could say anything to break the silence, the sound of cheering and hooves clapping could be heard outside. Both of them gasped. Troy turned his head toward the balcony and, much to his horror, saw that Canvas never closed the sliding glass door.
Troy rushed to the balcony in a panic, dismayed to see a sizable number of ponies cheering from the balconies of nearby buildings. There were even a few standing out in the street below the hotel. Troy’s feathers ruffled out in mortified shock as the ponies saw him coming out, and shouted their praises.
"Wooo!”
"Encore!"
"Do another song!"
Troy quickly closed the door shut and pulled in the curtains, eliciting many disappointed groans that were just barely muffled through the glass. When he turned back to Canvas, he was carrying a huge blush under his ruffled feathers. The stallion struggled not to laugh. "I… I…” Canvas fanned his hooves, his breaths weak due to his squeaky tone of voice. “I swear to Celestia, I had no idea that door was open!"
Troy felt like he was going to die of embarrassment. He covered his face with both claws while Canvas laughed into his pillow. Fortunately, the artist was quick to recollect himself. "Troy, I'm sorry about that, but… wow…”
Canvas let the silence speak for himself. While Troy's feathers gradually went back down, he wiped the tears from his eyes, and gave his friend an undoubtedly touched smile.
"That… that was perfect."
Troy could only give a small smile in return before looking away sheepishly. He held his foreleg back to his chest again, trying to collect his breaths as best as he could. He then started thinking back to what Canvas said in his speech at the gallery. More specifically, about wanting to make up for everything he did.
"Troy, I've heard that song before, but… that was way better than any other version I've heard. That was beautiful."
"Yeah, well…” Troy was feeling more flustered by the second, and he let out a meager chuckle. “It's just that…”
I do care about you, Canvas. You really do mean a lot to me.
I'm not sure why, but… I really do like being with you.
"You don't owe me anything."
Canvas’ head reeled back for a second, clearly confused. "Ummm… wait, what do you me--"
"Back at the gallery, I… I heard what you said… and I just want you to know that you don't have to make up for anything."
Canvas' eyes widened in shock.
"Canvas, I've never known anyone I cared about more than you. You're a great friend, and… you’ve helped me just as much as I helped you. I mean… you're the biggest reason I've put an effort to make friends here in Equestria."
Canvas recalled what Rainbow Dash told him at the train station long ago. Even after that, he still couldn’t grasp just how much he actually helped the gryphon out. Meanwhile, Troy continued.
"I mean, before I met you, I… I didn’t really have any friends. All I had was my family, and not much else. I left the Gryphon Kingdom so I could have a good life, and be happy like my grandparents did. But… I wasn't able to be so social, you know? Everything felt so alien to me, and I had such a hard time adjusting to Equestrian life. But then… when I found you in that storm, that was when I started to become closer to ponies around me. And when I finally started talking with you… you became my first real friend since I moved here."
Canvas felt his heart growing heavier. He knew that Troy spent a lot of time with him, but he hadn’t realized how much it impacted the gryphon. A smile grew on his muzzle, which he tried his best to cover with his hoof. After worrying all night about whether Troy could feel so deeply for him, Canvas couldn’t have felt more grateful for the words coming out of that beautiful beak.
"Canvas, I... I'm just saying that you shouldn't think I don't care that much about you, because I do. I may have helped you a lot, but… you helped me too. I really do care about you, and you’re just as important to me as I am to you."
Canvas sat on the bed in silence, unable to discern how rapidly his heart was beating in his chest. He couldn’t stop thinking about what to say to him right now, or rather, what he'd been wanting to say to him for so long.
I love you.
I love you, Troy.
I love you so much.
Those three words. The mood was so perfect now. But just as he was about to open his muzzle, a knock came from the door. The two were slightly startled, but Troy broke the silence first. "I'll get it."
Troy walked up to the door, leaving Canvas to slump his head into the pillow and conceal his disappointed groan. A unicorn maid with a large cart next to her stood at the door’s opposite side.
"Oh! Umm…” The grey mare was momentarily surprised to see a gryphon, but her cordialness held strong. "I'm here with the room service?"
Troy turned back to Canvas, both of them looking fairly confused. "Umm... I don’t think we ordered any room service."
"Oh, it's supposed to be a gift, from…” Using her magic, the maid pulled out a card from the cart and read it aloud. "It's from a pony named Glimmer Heart. It says, 'Congratulations on a successful evening. I hope you two have a great night.’”
"Wow, really?!” Canvas hopped off the bed with a gracious smile. “That's really nice of her."
The maid smiled and used her magic to push the cart into the room. "I'll just leave this here for you two. Have a wonderful evening."
Troy waved goodbye before closing the door, and walked over to the cart where Canvas was already opening the silver platter lids. The pony found himself amazed at how much stuff was delivered to them. Amongst the assortment were two large bowls of strawberries, a bowl of whipped cream, a small bowl of cashews, a plate of assorted fruits, and a bucket of ice with several water bottles crammed inside.
A gasp from Troy caught Canvas' attention. He turned to see the gryphon staring at another large bucket of ice, which held two huge brown glass bottles. When he pulled out one of them, Troy looked ecstatic upon recognizing the blue labeling and gryphonian text.
"No freaking way!” He looked over at Canvas with the biggest smile. “I couldn’t find this stuff anywhere in Equestria!"
Canvas wanted to be excited as well, but he couldn’t read the odd writing to know what the gryphon was holding. "So… what is it?"
"Dude…” His grin became much giddier as he chuckled devilishly at the bottle. “This is by far, without a doubt, the best root beer ever made! For real, I've tried some of the stuff you ponies have, but none of it even comes close to this!"
Troy quickly grabbed the second bottle and handed it to Canvas, its size surprising the pony. He had to hold it with both hooves. At first, he was apprehensive about Troy’s claim, but the gryphon’s excited grin was more than contagious for Canvas. Troy quickly popped off the tops of both their bottles with a talon, and then held his bottle out to Canvas as a steamy mist escaped from the top.
"A toast,” he said with a prideful grin "to an awesome night."
Canvas smiled back with sincerity, and held his bottle out to Troy's.
"And to an awesome friend."
With a loud 'clink', Canvas and Troy shared a drink. Canvas was taken aback at first by how strong its taste was as it swished around his tongue; but much to his surprise, he quickly began to drink more, enjoying the fizzy sweetness hitting his taste-buds. Once the swig was complete, Canvas marveled at how little he actually drank before looking back at Troy, who let loose a long sigh of satisfaction.
"Aaaaahhhhhhh, man! You don't know how long it's been since I had one of these bad boys!"
"Well, I gotta admit, this is actually really good stuff."
As the two kept drinking, neither of them noticed a small orb of mint-colored magic that hung above the balcony doorway...
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3 updates on the same day? Awesome! I really can't wait for them to kiss.
I'm glad you actually described Troy's audition, I had missed not reading about it before, but it fit the ungoing events at the time. Cannot help but wonder what the director might have said or what look she had on her face after his performance.
I can only agree with ratdeathtrap. Knowing how they feel for eachother it's likely only a matter of time before one of them finally admits it. That buildup in knowing it will happen at some point, or desiring for it along with the characters, is probably one of the great strengths of your story, capturing a very relatable hesitation in admitting loving a friend as more.
Now what could that mimt green orb be? A microphone or spycam perhaps. It's presence not being noticed at least implies something ominous.
Alrights, let's see here, two people (not people but u know what I mean, it's 3am I'm to tired to think) and they have mutual yet unrevealed, yet soon to be, love for one another. Sharing a room. And they where just brought several big bowls of strawberries and whipped cream.... I can't wait
i228.photobucket.com/albums/ee119/1nt3rc3pt0r/Meme/freddie-mercury-so-close-pose1.jpg
I'm starting to hate you for how much you're leading us all on and never delivering! GAH!
just kidding.
Initiate Morgan Freeman voice
They later found out it was a condom...
I love the song choice, it made the moment really special, and hilarious afterwards.
But seriously, stop leading on so much. By now everyone and their dog knows what's going on.
JUST KISS ALREADY.
Here i am ready to read a random makeout session. On to more teasing!
I really hope the magic is from a matchmaker friend and not a blackmailer.
The anticipation, even though I've read this lots of times lol
Second read through and I'm still shouting at them. Troy, you blind bird!
I'm not familiar with the musical theater audition process, is it normal to audition for a musical using songs that aren't from said musical.
(just in case someone reading this doesn't know "Nothing's Gonna Harm You" is from Sweeney Todd not Phantom of the Opera)
It's almost 5:30 in the morning and I got family stuffs starting at 11. I'm going to be tired and irritable but I'm going to be doing while thinking of this fic or maybe even the sequal. Onward! Sleep is for the weak.
Just smooch already!
9307867
You should really head to bed, buddy. My stories will still be here after you spend time with your family. ;)
8414275
When I auditioned for "Oklahoma" we just sang whatever song we wanted. Some sang songs from "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "South Pacific". But, yeah, most directors ask that you sing songs from the actual musical.