Lyra sat in the lounge of her hotel room with her muzzle skewed in concentration. She hoped that she learned that spell from Glimmer Heart correctly. After a bit of struggling, a rectangular screen appeared in front of Lyra, glowing that familiar mint-green hue while the unicorn looked on in satisfaction. She then tried to remember how the spell transferred the view from the orb she snuck into Troy and Canvas' room. As her horn continued to glow, she didn't notice Bon-Bon when she walked in.
"Honey, I just got back from the front desk. Why is there a charge of two hundred bits on our bil--"
Bon-Bon stopped when she noticed the screen, her expression switching from confusion to aggravation immediately. Upon spotting her wife, Lyra went and stood in front of the screen, wearing a sheepish grin while hoping her body would somehow hide her antics.
"Lyra…” said Bon-Bon, her eyes narrowing. "You better not be doing what I think you're doing."
Lyra’s nervous grin became wider as her eyes darted back and forth. "W-What do you mean? I… I have no idea what you're talking about, honey."
“... Lyra, you promised you were going to stop doing this!"
"Hey! You don't even know what I'm doing!"
"You're trying to pair together ponies again, aren't you?"
An awkward silence developed between the two.
“... Noooo... Only one of them is a pony."
"HONEY! I told you to stop!"
"Oh, come on! At least let me explain!"
"You swore that you would stop trying to pair random ponies together, but now you're doing it again! Do I have to point out the multiple reasons why that's a bad idea?"
"Listen, I know what I said, but I really think that--"
"Lyra, do I need to remind you of what happened when you tried pairing Rarity and Fluttershy together?"
Lyra cringed and looked away. "Yeesh, honey! You don't need to bring up that disaster! Those girls at the spa still giggle when they see me."
"Or how about the time you tried to set up Caramel with Big Macintosh?"
"Okay, to be fair, I didn't know that Big Mac was already in a relationship with--"
"Or when you tried it again with Applejack and Rainbow Dash?"
"They kissed!” shouted Lyra with great insistence. “I swear to Celestia, I saw those two kiss!"
Bon-Bon rolled her eyes, having heard that excuse a hundred times before. "Whatever. How about the time you tried to set up Twilight Sparkle with Cheerilee?"
Once again, Lyra winced in guilt. "Yeah... that was pretty bad. But again, I didn't know about Big Mac, and I never would've done it if--"
"You shouldn't be doing it at all!" Bon-Bon threw her hooves up in frustration. "Every time you try getting involved in the lives of ponies, it ends up a giant mess!"
Lyra sighed and looked away, feeling somewhat shameful for making Bon-Bon upset.
"Honey,” Bon-Bon said more calmly. “I know you just want to help out your friends. And believe me, I'm happy that you want to do that. I love you, I really do, but this has to stop before somepony really gets hurt."
“... I…”
Lyra looked upon her vacant magical screen for a moment.
"I know I shouldn't be doing this again, and you have every right to be mad at me for it. But I’m willing to Pinkie Promise you I’m not going to interfere directly!" Lyra pointed at the screen. "I already have things set up for Canvas and Troy in their room. I was just going to watch, alright?"
Bon-Bon closed her eyes and groaned. "Lyra, I know you've been saying a lot about those two, but do you really think this is a good idea?"
"You’ve seen how they are together! You know how much they care for each other! Heck, you saw that wing-thing Troy did, right? Or how he looked when he heard Canvas' speech?"
"Honey, I just don’t--”
"Just listen to me, please? Canvas likes Troy, and it's pretty obvious that Troy likes him back. They care about each other, and they deserve to be together! And if you can tell me, without a doubt in your mind, that you don't think those two have feelings for each other, then I'll stop. I'll turn this screen off right now."
Bon-Bon was left wide-eyed for a moment in confoundment, not expecting for her wife to give such a strong argument. The mare looked between Lyra and the screen, her lips tightly pursed in contemplation. After a moment of silence, Bon-Bon sighed in defeat and walked back to the bed.
"Just be careful, alright, honey?"
"I always am,” said Lyra cheerfully, sitting back on the couch. A few sparks flew out of her horn as she tried to adjust the spell. In a green flash of light, the screen changed, showing a bird's-eye view of Canvas and Troy's hotel room.
"Yes! I can picture it now! The two stare into each other's eyes as their faces get closer, and then they--”
BRAAAP!!
Lyra suddenly looked back at the screen. Both she and Bon-Bon could hear laughter from Canvas and Troy as they held their bottles of root beer. Through the magical feed, Canvas held his hoof up to catch Troy's attention. "Wait, wait! I feel another one!"
Lyra could only stare as Canvas breathed in and out a few times, holding his hoof out before opening his mouth again.
UUUUURP!!
Another loud burp later, and the two of them started cracking up again. Lyra felt absolutely disgusted, her mouth left agape with a heavy cringe. Sure, they were guys, but she didn't expect this to happen. Lyra didn't notice Bon-Bon staring at her with a coy smirk.
"Wonderful job, Lyra.” she said sarcastically. “You really are a matchmaker. Two hundred bits, so you can watch a burping contest. You're just like Princess Cadance."
The unicorn peered back at her wife with a sneer.
"Don’t give me that look!” She then glanced back at the screen, and gave a light shrug. “This isn’t that different from when we first met."
BRAAAUUOOOP!!
Both Troy and Canvas were laughing their heads off, sitting on the couch and holding their nearly empty bottles. Canvas took another swig, while Troy examined the labeling of his own bottle.
"Oh man,” said Troy with a sigh, slightly saddened over how little was left. "I really need to find out where Glimmer Heart got this stuff. I couldn't find it anywhere in Cloudsdale."
"I'm kinda surprised,” said Canvas. "This stuff is really good. I bet it would sell well over at Sugar Cube--”
Canvas stopped talking when he felt another burp coming up. The stallion sat up and took several breaths, while Troy watched with anticipation.
"This is a big one...” He bent forward, putting his hooves on the glass coffee table in front of him. "Wait, wait!"
Canvas opened his mouth wide, anticipating something huge until finally-
Urp.
Canvas sat confused, his eyes blinking repeatedly after such a measly display. Troy busted out laughing, holding a claw to his face while the other kept him from falling off the couch.
"Oh come on! Even my brother Lyle could burp louder than--"
BRRUUUUUUUUUUUUP!!
Canvas’ burp erupted out without warning for at least five seconds, carrying a force that almost shook the windows. Several more seconds of deathly silence followed. The blushing stallion looked back at his friend wide-eyed, and the gryphon looked equally as stunned. Lyra and Bon-Bon stood in front of the screen with their jaws agape. Eventually, Troy spoke.
“... You… you win, dude."
After another bout of silence, the two dissolved into laughter once again. Even Lyra and Bon-Bon couldn’t help laughing from their room, as disgusting it may have been. Once Troy and Canvas calmed down and finished their bottles, the stallion got up to inspect the rest of their room service gifts.
"It's pretty cool that Glimmer Heart would do something like this. Although I have to wonder why she got so many strawberries."
Bon-Bon glared at Lyra, making the unicorn blush.
Canvas picked up a strawberry, holding it for a second before tossing it up in the air. With Troy watching from the couch, Canvas opened his mouth as the strawberry came back down, only for it to hit his eye and fall to the floor. Troy struggled not to laugh as the pony winced, rubbing his eye for a second with a hoof. Upon hearing his friend’s snickering, Canvas looked back at him while walking toward the fallen fruit.
"What?"
Canvas picked up the strawberry with his mouth and ate it.
"Dude, I could've done better with my eyes closed!" said Troy.
Canvas gave him a skeptical look. "Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!"
"Gladly!"
Troy lifted himself from the couch and walked over, bearing a cocky grin as he picked up a strawberry for himself. Holding it between two talons, Troy placed his other claw over his eyes and tossed up the fruit. Without any effort, Troy opened his beak and caught it. Opening his eyes again, Troy saw Canvas staring at him in disbelief, looking between him and the cart.
"I… I thought… how did you--you cheated!"
"Oh, please. I caught it fair and square. I'm just better than you at it, that's all."
Canvas quickly grabbed two more strawberries. Giving Troy a determined look, Canvas tossed both strawberries up one-by-one. As they came back down, the pony managed to catch both of them in his mouth. Canvas gave his own smug grin back as he chewed his victory.
Troy reached for the bowl once more, knowing a challenge when he saw one. "Alright, I'll put in some effort this time."
Troy now held three strawberries in his claw. He threw them outward with a loud ‘swish,’ before shooting his wings out to bounce them in the air in different directions. Not caring about blowing anything over in the room, Troy flew around in a quick circle, and caught all three of them in less than a second. He landed back in front of a stunned Canvas, a cocky smirk on his beak.
Canvas had no idea how he was going to beat that, but he kept a confident front as he reached for the bowl. Holding another strawberry in his hoof, Canvas looked at Troy with a smirk of his own, and then threw it upward as hard as he could. Canvas prepared to catch it with an impressive body-roll, but froze when he heard a loud 'splat’. Troy and Canvas both looked up to see that the strawberry was now stuck to the ceiling.
Shortly after, Troy fell to the ground laughing, pointing at Canvas with his claw.
"Oh man! That… that was hilarious!"
Canvas grew irritated at Troy’s uproarious laughter, and he reached for the bowl again. Picking up another strawberry, Canvas looked back at Troy and his continuous mirth. Without thinking, Canvas threw the strawberry at Troy, hitting him right in the forehead. Troy immediately stopped laughing, and his stunned stare back at Canvas terrified the stallion.
"Did you…” Troy's golden eyes narrowed on Canvas as he lifted himself up. "Did you just throw a strawberry at me?"
Canvas looked away from him worriedly and stepped back.
"Um… I-I was getting… you know, a little annoyed, but…”
Canvas looked back at Troy, growing even more worried at the gryphon’s intense stare. Keeping his gaze on Canvas, Troy walked back to the cart and used his claw to pick up one of the strawberry bowls. A grin slowly grew on his beak. Knowing what he was thinking, Canvas narrowed his eyes and walked up to the cart as well.
"You really want to start this, Troy?" Canvas grabbed the other bowl, growing a sly-looking smile of his own.
Troy's eyes narrowed closer, and his grin grew wider.
"You're the one who started it.”
In less than a few seconds, the spotless, white hotel room became a battleground. The stallion and gryphon were laughing like a couple of kids as they assaulted each other with strawberries, staining every white surface red while pieces of fruit flew all around and splattered everywhere. Meanwhile, Lyra and Bon-Bon sat on the couch in their room, watching the fruit fight on the screen in enjoyment.
Through the constant laughter and yelling, Canvas and Troy didn't seem to notice the mess they were making. Even when both of them emptied their bowls, they improvised by picking up random smashed pieces from the floor or furniture to refill their ammo. As the white walls and carpet got splattered with even more pink stains, Canvas ran to the bed giggling as he tried to avoid Troy’s barrage of strawberries.
Canvas jumped on the bed and grabbed a pillow, using it as a shield against the fruity onslaught. Troy ran up to the bed to throw some more, which provided Canvas the perfect opportunity to smack him across the head. All that it did was make the gryphon bounce across the bed in surprise. Seeing that the pony had a new weapon in his arsenal, Troy grabbed the other pillow. The two of them stood on the bed for a second, breathing heavily and smirking at each other, both knowing exactly what was going to happen.
Now with a bowl of popcorn between them, Lyra and Bon-Bon sat on the couch comfortably as they watched their friends’ pillow fight. The unicorn made sure to use a spell to zoom in on the action, her grin as wide as could be in excitement. They watched the feathers fly while the two kept pummeling each other. Bon-Bon reached in their bowl for another helping.
"I hate to admit it, but this is actually really entertaining."
"I know, right? It reminds me of when we did this!"
"Yeah... It's almost scary how close this is to what happened on our honeymoon."
As Troy tried to make a particularly hard swing at the pony, Canvas ducked underneath it just in the nick of time. He took that opportunity to lunge forward, and tackled the gryphon on the bed. Canvas threw him on his back, holding Troy's claws against the bed with his hooves. The two remained in that questionable position, breathing heavily. Troy looked surprised that Canvas managed to pin him down, but didn’t mind as he looked at the smiling pony on top of him.
"I,” grunted Canvas between several deep breaths, "won!"
"Oh yeah?" Troy smirked and turned his head over to his side. His beak felt around the feathers on his shoulders until he found a loose feather, preening it out before turning back to a confused Canvas. Troy moved his head in, and used the feather in his beak to tickle Canvas' chest. Canvas giggled loudly and his grip became looser, eventually making him let go to clutch his chest with both hooves. As soon as the stallion’s weakness was exposed, Troy lunged forward.
In a single impressive swoop, Troy turned the tables as he got the pony on his back instead. Canvas was unable to move his hooves while Troy's claws held them against the bed, so all he could do was keep laughing with his eyes closed. Of course, he didn’t seem to notice when Troy slowly stopped laughing himself.
Troy could feel his heartbeat quicken as he stared down at Canvas in silence. By the time Canvas was finally able to stop giggling, the gryphon was fully blushing as he admired the view of his friend in such a vulnerable and… cute-looking state.
Canvas looked back up at Troy with a cheerful smile, but it slowly faded as he observed the quiet gryphon above him. With the stallion’s eyes open again, Troy couldn't stop staring at that flawless shade of blue around his large black pupils. Even when Canvas started to blush, Troy could only see how happy he looked underneath him. There was no darkness surrounding them, or tears, or bandages, or stitches, or anypony to get in the way. It was the same feeling he had when he was with Canvas that emotional night.
Meanwhile, Canvas was growing equally as flustered as he peered up at the gryphon. Those pitch-black pupils surrounded by seas of gold stared straight at him with intensity and wonder. Canvas breathed a little harder and his blush deepened. Troy slowly let go of Canvas' hooves, letting his claws rest beside his head.
With his hooves now free, Canvas slowly lifted them up, letting them rest around the back of Troy's neck. In a nigh-instinctive manner, Troy felt his own claws move against his will toward Canvas, until they met around the back of the pony's head. As Canvas felt the gryphon’s careful grip, he felt a new wave of euphoric warmth flowing through his body. He gripped his hooves against the gryphon's neck, using them to slowly pull his head up toward him. Much like that night on the train, Troy could feel his neck craning down to get closer to Canvas.
They kept their eyes locked on one another the whole time, their minds completely blank of anything. Troy could hear his heart thundering, and he could feel Canvas' warm breath brushing against his feathers. Troy began to close his eyes, letting his body take over while his thoughts remained purely vacant. Canvas closed his eyes as well, his bottom lip quivering as badly as the rapid beating in his chest...
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...
Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...
Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock…
'Knock, knock, knock, knock, knock’
With Canvas' face only a few inches from that beak, Troy's eyes opened when he realized the thumping sound wasn't his heart. Instead, it was the sound of frantic knocking coming from the door. Troy’s mind came back into reality, and his eyes shot wide-open as he pulled his head back. Catching Canvas by surprise, Troy got off the stallion and quickly moved to the other side of the bed.
"NOOOO!!!!" Lyra held her face up against the screen in pure, unbridled rage. "KISS HIM, YOU STUPID BUZZARD!!”
Canvas slowly sat up, his thoughts were thoroughly frazzled as he tried to process what exactly went wrong. His blushing face just barely concealed the look of horrified realization that came from their interruption.
"Hello?" said the voice from the other side. "I’m so sorry to interrupt, but think I left my wallet on the cart when I brought it in."
With his heart still racing, Canvas looked over at Troy, who was sitting on the bed with his back turned to him. Because of that, he couldn’t see Troy’s eyes and beak wide open in shock. Canvas quickly pulled himself off the bed while the knocking continued. And with a multitude of feelings racing through him, Canvas frantically grabbed the wallet in anger before opening the door.
“NNGHHH!!!” Canvas threw the wallet as hard as he could, and slammed the door shut before the maid could even let out a brief “Ouch!” in the hallway. He rested his back against the door, keeping his eyes shut. He then suddenly felt a sharp gust of wind blow past him, and heard the door to the balcony fly open. Canvas gasped in horror when he caught the briefest glimpse of Troy’s back, now flying away from the hotel. A new wave of panic flowed through Canvas. He ran to the balcony, but alas, Troy was already a small speck in the distance.
"Troy!... TROOOOY!!!"
It was too late. Even if Troy did hear his friend’s screams, it was unlikely he’d come flying back. Canvas’ hooves clasped the ledge tightly, and his eyes clenched shut. His hind-legs buckled underneath him. He breathed hard as he felt his heart push down to his stomach.
"No… No, no, no, no, no… Don't go…”
Canvas' voice came out in a faint, despairing whisper against the winds of the summer night
"Please don't go…”
Nothing could now stop the tears from trailing down his cheeks.
"Troy… please…
“... I love you.”