Canvas was fairly exhausted from working on his painting almost non-stop, but that didn’t stop him from hanging on the edge of his seat as he watched the play. With the usage of dry ice for the fog effects, lighting that gave everything an eerie blue or dark-pink hue, and other technical effects that required the work of a dozen different ponies backstage, the performance looked fantastic.
By the time Troy and Derpy's duet came up and they flew down onstage, the whole audience’s attention was captured. They landed on the viking-esque boat at one side of the stage, and the music came in full swing from the orchestra pit below. Derpy stood at the bow, while Troy pretended to push it slowly across the stage with his claw. As the strings underneath the fog pulled the two of them at a snail's pace, Derpy began to sing, her surprisingly fluent voice captivating the audience.
Dinky was barely able to control herself, having to bite her hooves to keep from squealing in absolute glee. Derpy's amazing singing surprised everypony from the beginning, and now it had won them over completely. Even Rainbow Dash was floored by the mare’s hidden talent, and couldn’t stop smiling from the rafters up above. Everypony was compelled to remain silent as she performed with an aura of pure professionalism.
The sound of applause could be heard briefly above the background music before Troy's part began. He kept the side of his face hidden by the white mask created by Rarity just for him, and he kept his gaze away from everypony as per his character. With his brooding figure and his operatic voice, Troy truly captured the essence of The Phantom.
Troy could hear a few of his coworkers cheering him on from the balcony. Even after the news of his opera singing spread around after his birthday, it still didn’t convey to most ponies how good of singer Troy really was. Now, with most of the town watching, the gryphon felt ecstatic.
The boat finally reached the other side of the stage, and the two stepped off. Carefully avoiding the strings, Troy stepped near the back, keeping his gaze on Derpy whilst she avoided Troy’s well-practiced stare.
Troy walked closer and looked away from Derpy, both of them looking out toward the audience as they sang in harmony. Their duet worked wonderfully, their voices meshing beautifully against the booming orchestrals beneath them. Ponies attempted to sneak photos from their miniature cameras, risking the theatre’s rules against such actions. Some unicorns were even lighting up their horns to record the show with their magic. By the time their first duet came to a climactic close, the entire theater was raving, all celebrating their luck at seeing such an event first-hoof.
Standing in the middle of the stage, with Derpy near the side, Troy felt the spotlights right on him, his retinas almost burning. The calm music began, with strings and a harp leading; and Troy kept his gaze onto the wooden floor, watching the artificial fog underneath him.
Canvas sat quietly as set his sights on his love, feeling himself become lighter as Troy began to sing. The gryphon’s ballad started slowly, his voice lingering in a deep and lumbering tone. His operatic vibrato matched the song perfectly, giving his character far more depth than the costume he was wearing.
Troy moved around the stage in a brooding manner, moving closer toward Derpy as she kept her gaze away from him. Troy kept his emotional appearance in check, as per Stage Presence's advice. He wore a look of shameful desire directed toward her and the audience. He held his cape close to his body, using it to shield himself. Canvas didn’t even notice that he was tearing up over such a performance from his lover.
The last line of his ballad became a long belt, earning him more cheers from the weather crew. Rainbow Dash pumped her hoof ecstatically, stopping only after receiving a warning glare from Stage Presence down below. Troy hung his head down, breathing in before he looked back at Derpy, and sang more gently.
Troy heard the whole audience cheering, forcing him to lift his cape over his face for a second to hide his smile. He used this as an excuse to lunge closer toward Derpy and stay in character. He quickly recomposed himself before lowering his cape and coming up right next to Derpy. His voice turned to a faint, lingering creak by the time he reached the end, but he did not allow his voice to crack under the pressure.
Troy closed his eyes, letting his final line come out as gently and beautifully as he possibly could while backing away from her. Before he could even finish, the entire audience roared with applause, and Rainbow Dash whistled loudly. As the spotlight dimmed, allowling Troy to stand on the stage in darkness, a huge smile broke out on his beak. He’d never thought he would have the confidence to do something like this in front of so many, but he couldn’t be happier. When his eyes fell upon Canvas, Troy could see him wearing the largest smile, tears streaming down his cheeks as he clapped vigorously.
In that moment, Troy truly saw how important Canvas was to him, and a wave of warmth flowed through his chest.
Troy took a mental note as he looked back at Derpy, knowing what he wanted to do the instant the show was done. With that, Troy felt weightless as the play continued, his heart racing faster with each passing minute in anticipation for the end.
As soon as the cast and crew took their final bow, everypony on stage went back to clean themselves up. Troy was practically a blur of feathers as he quickly got out of his costume and makeup. Stage Presence was insistent on talking with him about his performance, but Troy zoomed past her before she could get a single word out.
Troy bursted out the back doors of the theater like it was on fire, scanning the crowd until he found Canvas. He shot through the crowd and practically tackled him, squeezing the stallion tight enough to easily cut off circulation.
Canvas couldn’t care less about the gryphon’s tight embrace while hugging his boyfriend back, feeling overjoyed at what Troy just accomplished. Eventually, Troy did loosen his grip, and rested his chin on top of the pony’s head as he heard the praises from ponies around him.
Before he could respond to any of them, he felt himself get pushed back from Canvas as Rainbow Dash and the rest of the weather team gathered around him, holding him in a huge group hug.
"Dude, that was awesome!" shouted Rainbow Dash, violently rubbing the feathers on his head. "That was totally worth buying a ticket!"
"That was amazing, Troy!" added Cloud Chaser. "The whole play was really intense! Even Rainbow screamed when that chandelier fell!"
"NO, I DID NOT!! I just flinched a little, that's all!"
"So, that was you?” said Troy, looking at Rainbow mischievously. "I thought I heard a girlish squeal when that happened!"
Rainbow's face turned red. The rest of the weather crew laughed, which just made her angrier. "You better watch it, Feather-Butt! I still write your paychecks!"
"Yeah, yeah. “ Troy waved a claw while he stretched out his wing to pull Canvas back next to him. Canvas stood still for a moment, surprised by his wing’s strength; but once he recognized the sensation of Troy's feathers against his body, he relaxed. Canvas nuzzled closer into his warmth as Lyra and Bon-Bon walked over with Dinky in tow.
"That was amazing, Troy!" exclaimed Lyra, hugging Troy. "I heard you had a great singing voice, but I wasn't expecting that at all!"
"Neither was I!" said Bon-Bon. "You were incredible as the Phantom! Seriously, that was one of the best performances I've ever seen!"
Troy blushed at the onslaught of compliments he was receiving. He then noticed Dinky looking at him with a cheeky grin. Giggling, the filly pointed at him.
"You kissed my Mommy!"
The others immediately cracked up as Troy's blush grew even deeper and he looked away. Canvas wrapped a hoof around his back.
"Well, it sounds like your Mommy was very lucky!" said Canvas. Derpy's voice could be heard as she gleefully called out to her daughter.
"Dinky! There you are!"
Dinky rushed to her mother. Derpy grabbed her midair before landing and hugging the filly tightly. With a huge smile on her face, she cried tears of joy before she noticed the cheers around her. She looked around at the applauding crowd before setting her gaze upon Troy. Derpy went up and hugged Troy, both of them feeling incredible that they were able to be a part of such an experience.
"You were great, Derpy,” whispered Troy.
"You too, Troy,” said Derpy before she let go, letting her daughter hug her again. Bon-Bon stepped up.
"Derpy, I'm gonna make sure you get something really good the next time you come to my sweet shop!"
"Awww… thanks, Bon-Bon!" Derpy gave a gleaming smile, and then lifted Dinky onto her back. "I'm just glad my little muffin here convinced me to do this. It feels so weird to know everypony just heard me sing. I'm a little embarrassed by it."
"You shouldn't be embarrassed at all!" said Lyra. "You have a great singing voice! Why haven't you done this sort of thing before?"
The grey pegasus blushed and looked away. "I guess I was just nervous … I wasn't sure how my voice sounded to other ponies when I sang."
"Derpy.” Canvas poked his head out from under Troy’s wing. “Your singing was absolutely amazing. I knew Troy was impressed by your voice, but hearing it for myself was way better than I ever imagined!"
"Why thank you, Canvas!" Seeing how close Canvas was to his significant other, Derpy blushed and her grin grew bigger. "And you're a very lucky pony to have someone as nice as Troy."
As Canvas nodded and looked back up at Troy with a smile, Derpy looked back at the theater to see Pokey Pierce coming out alone. "You know what? I'm gonna go chat with Pokey a little bit. He really helped me out with this role, so I should give him my thanks." Derpy looked back at the others before trotting off, Dinky yawning on her back. "See you guys later!"
The other ponies waved Derpy and her daughter goodbye. Lyra and Bon-Bon turned their attention back to the happy couple.
"So Troy,” said Lyra, "you wanna go somewhere with us to celebrate your debut?"
"Well…” Troy looked back down at the stallion beside him. "You know what? Right now, I really want to talk with Canvas about something."
Canvas looked at him in amusement, one of his brows rising curiously.
"But first,” he added, a devilish smirk creeping across his beak, “seeing what Derpy was doing gave me an idea…"
"WOOO-HOOOOO!!"
As the winds of the cool summer night flowed through his mane, Canvas didn't dare let go of Troy. His hooves gripped around the gryphon’s neck tightly, his eyes watered from the cold winds brushing past his face. This wasn't the first time he'd flown with him, but Canvas never experienced it while lying on top of Troy's back.
Resting between the gryphon’s massive tan and grey wings, he grinned like a schoolcolt as he experienced something he never thought would happen in his life
"This is so awesome! You are the best boyfriend, EVER!!"
Troy couldn’t hold back his amusement as he laughed mid-flight, looking back at Canvas’ giddiness. Knowing there was nothing but clear sky ahead of them, Troy moved his head back further, closing his eyes for a moment as Canvas kissed him warmly above the fields outside Ponyville.
When they reached Canvas' home, Troy didn’t try to get Canvas off him as he walked in through the door. Canvas kept a smile on his face while riding his back like a little foal.
"Troy,” said Canvas faintly as he nuzzled the gryphon’s neck, "you were absolutely wonderful tonight."
"I know, and you're the reason I even tried in the first place."
Not wanting this feeling to end, Troy nuzzled Canvas back before he slowly got off, stumbling a little as he got used to walking again.Troy smiled and pulled him to his chest, hugging him before speaking gently. "Canvas… I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay.” Canvas slowly pulled his head back and glanced up at Troy, noticing how nervous he looked. "What is it?"
"Well…" Troy rubbed the feathers on the back of his neck. "Canvas, I love you. I really love being with you, and… I was thinking…"
Canvas kept silent, but he couldn’t help biting his lip slightly.
"Since I've been sleeping over so often, and… since I've really gotten sick of sleeping alone on that cloud… I was wondering if... if I can… move in?"
Canvas' eyes widened in surprise, before he smiled and lunged forward. He hugged Troy as tightly as he could, prompting him to hug back in return. Canvas could barely contain himself. “Re-really?”
"Well, why not? I mean, I've practically been living here for the past few weeks, and the only time I go back to my place is to make sure my cloud hasn’t dissolved too much. Besides…"
Troy pulled his head back, his golden orbs piercing straight into Canvas' shining, blue eyes. "Nothing would make me happier than to be with you. When I was on that stage, and I saw you looking at me… all I could think about was how amazing it would be to wake up with you every morning."
Canvas felt his heart melt, and pulled Troy's head in to kiss him deeply. Letting his answer speak through his actions, Canvas kept his lips on Troy's beak as he felt him kiss back. Troy felt a surge of happiness flow through him, keeping his coltfriend in his embrace even when Canvas pulled back and spoke enthusiastically.
"So, when can you move in?"