Celestia's sun rose slowly above the horizon of Canterlot, and a beam of light entered the hotel room of Troy and Canvas. Even as the room grew brighter, the morning light didn't disturb the pony at all, who laid cradled with the gryphon on their bed. Canvas’ head was buried within the warm feathers of Troy's chest, and he kept his hooves wrapped around his body as they both dozed. Slowly opening his golden eyes, Troy peered down at the sleeping pony he held close, smiling to himself in pure contentment. He finally felt that warmth he cherished once more.
Troy closed his eyes again and hugged Canvas tighter, breathing in deeply. He took note of his mane’s scent, smelling shampoo and faintly fresh paint, and moved his head in closer to the top of Canvas' head. He listened to the faint sound of Canvas' heartbeat, feeling it thump in a slow rhythm as he was pressed against him. Troy kept himself still while holding the stallion lovingly, content with listening to that ever-so-steady beat.
Canvas’ muzzle twitched before he repositioned himself, hugging Troy tighter and nuzzling his face against the feathered chest. Upon feeling the warmth and softness of Troy's body, Canvas slowly opened his eyes. His heart leapt in joy from knowing that the gryphon was really there, and a huge smile grew on his muzzle.
Canvas kept his eyes shut, his thoughts ecstatic as he remembered last night. Neither were sure how long they stood in each other's embrace during that first kiss, but they eventually made their way back to the bed together. He could recall Troy carrying him to the bed, and he never let him go as they made out passionately. For most of the night, the two just stayed like that in the darkness, their bodies intertwined while kissing each other in unbridled joy.
Even now with the two awake, neither of them said a word, letting the silence speak for itself. Canvas nuzzled Troy's chest again, feeling a wave of warmth flow through his body. He then began to kiss his feathered chest softly. While doing so, he moved his head upward, slowly making his way up to Troy’s neck. Before he could go any further, the stallion noticed Troy looking down at him, his golden eyes peering at him with the purest look of bliss. He quickly wrapped his hooves around the back of Troy's neck and pulled himself up toward him, waiting until the gryphon opened his beak to kiss him deeply.
Of all the wonderful experiences Canvas had since coming to Ponyville, nothing came even close to how he felt when he kissed Troy. Nothing could match the happiness he felt when he was with him. Through all the heartbreak, all the healing, and all the time it took to rebuild his life and leave his past behind, he always had that amazing gryphon right there by his side. With his caring smile, dedication, and undying support, Canvas couldn't think of anyone else he’d rather be with.
Troy laid on his back while the stallion kissed him, until he slowly rolled the both of them over onto their side. He held onto the back of Canvas’ head and kept his lips on his beak the entire time. He was still reeling from finding the truth of his feelings, but he was mostly grateful for how happy he felt right now regardless. Thinking back to how much time he'd spent with Canvas, Troy felt like an idiot for not realizing how long he truly loved him. With every word spoken during those months, every moment they shared, and every time Troy held Canvas close to him, he felt increasingly guilty that it took this long for him to find out the stallion was so much more than just a friend to him.
Troy slowly pulled back, looking at Canvas with half-lidded eyes. He took in the pure joy that resonated from within those pools of blue staring back at him, which also made his regret run deeper. Troy wrapped his forelegs around Canvas, and pulled him in a tight hug.
"Canvas… I'm so sorry it took me so long to do this. I wish I did this sooner. I wish I knew how I felt about you ages ago."
Canvas’ eyes welled up over such sincerity, and he hugged Troy back without a shred of remorse. "Troy, it doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that you're here now..."
Canvas paused to nuzzle Troy again, still smiling contentedly in his embrace.
"I love you, Troy. I love you more than anything, and nothing makes me happier than having you here."
"I love you too, Canvas… I just wish I told you sooner."
"It's alright.” Canvas pulled his head back, staring straight into the gryphon's troubled eyes. "You shouldn’t worry what could've happened, Troy. It's like you told me: you shouldn't let the past drag you down."
Troy smiled again. He knew the stallion was right. He moved his head in for another kiss, but Canvas pulled back.
"Troy, you've made me happier than anyone else in the world. You've always made me happy, and I have no regrets about anything before today."
Canvas slowly came close, his eyes remaining locked onto Troy's. Just as he was about to kiss him again, the last of his words came out in a faint whisper.
"I'm just happy to have you now. And I never want to let go..."
With that, Canvas closed his eyes, and his lips locked with Troy’s beak once again. Troy closed his eyes as well, sighing blissfully as he tried to let his previous feelings of guilt slip away from his conscience.
Bon-Bon could hardly keep her eyes open as she stood beside her wife at the train station. She could barely sleep after what happened with Canvas and Troy. Canvas’ insistence to be alone didn’t sit well with her either. She wanted nothing more than to double-check on him and make sure he was alright, but she knew that they couldn’t exactly confirm too much without revealing Lyra’s controversial surveillance spell.
Looking over at Lyra, Bon-Bon could see that she was still brooding over what happened. The unicorn kept her miffed glare to the ground.
"They were going to kiss,” Lyra muttered through a bitter grimace. "They were totally going to kiss."
Bon-Bon sighed and looked around, hoping that neither Troy nor Canvas were going to skip out on the train back to Ponyville.
“Yeah, I agree with you, but you really shouldn’t beat yourself up over it, honey. You know this isn’t your fault."
"But still!" Lyra stared back at Bon-Bon. "It shouldn't have happened like that! Troy was going to kiss him! That's what he was supposed to do! But instead he just flew off like a chicken!"
"Um…Chickens don’t fly, honey."
Lyra kept seething in frustration with her head hung low, her wife’s meager jokes proving ineffective. "I mean, what kind of idiot would just fly off like that!? After everything he's done for Canvas, how could he just leave him alone so quickly!?"
Lyra didn’t hear Bon-Bon gasp loudly.
"Seriously, who would just leave their friend hanging?"
"Lyra--”
"And he didn’t even say anything! He just rushed out of there before Canvas even noticed!"
"Lyra, look up--”
"I swear, I'm gonna punch that bird-brain in the face the moment I--"
"LYRA!"
"What!?"
Bon-Bon pointed back toward the station’s entrance, and Lyra’s gaze followed. Her eyes shot wide open upon seeing Troy walking toward the two of them, with Canvas close by his side. They were both wearing large, blushing smiles. “No… Way…”
"Hey girls!" shouted Troy happily. He wrapped a foreleg around Canvas as they came up and stood in front of the surprised couple. "You two excited about getting back to Ponyville?"
Lyra and Bon-Bon simply stared at each other in stunned silence. When the two turned back to Troy and Canvas, all they could see was what looked like a happy couple. With a growing smirk, Bon-Bon looked on with surprised disbelief. “Yeah, we are…”
Lyra observed how tightly Troy was holding Canvas. She was feeling giddy. "You two look… really happy right now.”
Canvas and Troy blushed at her enthusiasm, but didn’t pull away from one another. In fact, Troy pulled Canvas in closer.
"Yeah,” said Troy, looking down at Canvas with a smile. "We really are."
Canvas smiled right back at Troy, and confirmed their new relationship with a nuzzle against the nape of his neck. Bon-Bon put a hoof over her mouth to cover her smile, while Lyra openly beamed, shaking with excitement.
"Oh my gosh! Please, please, please tell me something happened last night!"
Canvas' blush deepened, and he gave the two a small nod. "Well… I-I guess you can say that, yeah.”
“EEEEEEEEEEEE!!!~” Lyra squealed out in joy and started jumping up and down, hopping around the two like Pinkie Pie. She didn’t take notice of the ponies around them staring while she cheered to herself. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!"
Bon-Bon shook her head at her wife's overexcited behavior, but kept her smile for Canvas and Troy. The guys were still staring at each other lovingly, so she cleared her throat. "So... are the two of you together now? Like, as boyfriends?"
Upon hearing that word, Canvas' smile slightly dropped in worry. Even with all the time he'd spent falling in love with Troy, Canvas never thought he’d actually be in a situation where he could call him a boyfriend. Still, as he played around with that word in his head, Canvas' heart thumped harder over how amazing it sounded. And when he looked back at Troy curiously, he was relieved to see him looking just as pleased with the idea as he was.
"I don't see why not,” said Troy, putting a claw around Canvas’ shoulder and looking down at him confidently. Canvas breathed faster with a matching smile of his own. Troy slowly brought his claw to the side of Canvas' face and held it there. "So, Canvas… are we?"
Instead of using words, Canvas shot forward to kiss him there and then. It took less than a second for Troy to start kissing him back, neither of them noticing or caring about the other ponies staring. Even Lyra stopped bouncing around like a lunatic, and looked at the two in sheer delight. “Daaaawwww!~”
Even when the train pulled in, Canvas still kept kissing the gryphon he could now call his boyfriend. Bon-Bon blushed at the spectacle. Lyra looked back at her with a smug grin.
"See? I told you sending that cart to them would work!"
"That was you!?” said Canvas and Troy in unison, who quickly stopped kissing and gawked at her in shock.
Lyra blushed heavier than her wife. Troy let Canvas go, and stared the mare down intensely with bulging eyes. He slowly walked over to Lyra, causing her to back away with a slightly fearful expression. The train behind her halted to a complete stop, and Lyra's back went up against it. Bon-Bon was just about to intervene when his face was only a few inches from hers.
"Lyra… where did you find that root beer?"