Not caring about Canterlot being a no-fly zone, Troy soared as fast as he could against the night's sky. His heart felt like a cannonball in his chest as he tried clear his mind of what just happened. Knowing he could easily fly into something in his state, the Gryphon landed at a small collection of ponds in the middle of the city before clenching his eyes shut.

Gritting his teeth, Troy tried to think of anything other than what just occurred, not wanting to imagine what he almost did with his best friend. Troy's claws dug into the earth underneath him, ripping at the manicured grass as he tried to avoid thinking of anything.

What was I thinking?

What was I doing?

He's my best friend!

What was I about to do?

What...

What the buck is going on?!

Troy sat on the grass as he pulled at the feathers on his head, trying not to let his mind slip back to him and Canvas on the bed. Holding his head down to his chest, the Gryphon wasn't sure of what to do. He cared about Canvas, he knew that he did, but he felt his heart get heavier as he thought back to what he almost did with him. Even though he was his best friend, Troy couldn’t keep himself calmed down as he thought about Canvas, hoping to Celestia he could still face him afte--

"Troy, is that you?"

Hearing the mare's familiar voice, Troy felt his tensions grow even higher as he heard her fly over. Of all the things that just happened, the last thing he wanted to do was talk with Rainbow Dash. And after what almost happened with Canvas, he certainly didn't need her to pester him about their relationship some more.

The cyan mare landed on the ground by him, looking rather confused as she rested her wings. "What are you doing out here, Troy? Shouldn’t you be at your hotel room with Can--"

"SHUT UP!!” yelled Troy as he glared at the Pegasus. "JUST SHUT THE BUCK UP ALREADY!!!"

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped in shock, not expecting Troy to act like this as he stepped away.

"It's all your fault! It's all your bucking fault!!" shouted the Gryphon as he pointed to her, pacing around the pond while fuming. "Why couldn’t you just leave me alone?! Why couldn't you just stay out of my personal life?!”

"Troy, just calm down,” said Rainbow in a stern voice as she looked at him with worry, "I don't know wha--”

"You couldn't keep your little assumptions to yourself, could you?!" shouted Troy as he kept pacing and ranting. "No! You just kept pressing into me, with all the 'you like Canvas' here, and 'listen to your feelings' there! I was doing just fine before you said that stuff, and now everything's bucked up!!”

"Troy!" Rainbow said in a more aggravated tone, "I'm trying to be nice right now! Just calm down an--"

"I never tried to make any assumptions about you! I never said anything about you when you hung out with your friends, did I?! No! Because I keep my opinions to myself! Because I know better than to say anything about you that I don't know about! Because unlike you, I have the decency to keep my beak shut, than to intrude in on you or say you're a filly-foo--"

SLAP!

The Canterlot ponds became silent again as Troy stood in shock, feeling the strong stinging on his face from Rainbow Dash's hoof. Breathing heavily, the Gryphon slowly looked back to the Pegasus standing in front of him with an angry look on her face. Shaking a little from the realization of what just happened--and what he almost said to his own boss--Troy shakily sighed before he spoke again.

"I… I’m sorry… I'm really sorry."

The mare stood silent for a moment, looking at the ashamed Gryphon in front of her before she spoke, keeping her tone stern. "Troy, I am seriously close to pummeling you, so you better tell me what is going on, right now."

Knowing that Rainbow Dash was serious about her threat, Troy slowly nodded as he sat down, feeling his heart rate slow down as he attempted to speak.

"I… I don’t… I don't know what to do…”

Rainbow Dash sighed as she looked around, sitting down in front of him before she spoke again in her stern tone.

"Troy, I need you to be honest with me."

Troy looked at her with fear in his eyes, not wanting to think about what he could say. As he sat down post-shock, his mind kept reeling as his confusion built up, not knowing what he could say or do. Seeing how flustered Troy was looking, Rainbow kept a serious look on her face as she spoke again.

"Troy… is this about Canvas?"

After blinking a few times, Troy painfully sighed and slowly nodded, keeping his gaze away from Rainbow Dash while she kept speaking.

"Okay. Now… what happened?

Troy felt a knot in his stomach as he kept his eyes away from her. With the frustration building up inside of him, it was hard enough for Troy to admit to himself what happened, let alone to somepony else. Holding up a claw to cover his face, Troy couldn’t seem to open his beak to say anything. Despite his extreme reluctance, Rainbow Dash kept her glare on him as she spoke again.

"Troy, I'm serious. I know you're having some crisis right now, but I can’t do anything about it if you don't speak up."

Troy breathed in shakily and felt a strain in his gut, not wanting to bring this up with her. Slowly, his beak opened up as he tried to speak, his voice coming out faintly as he tried to muster out the right words.

"I… I… I think…”

Feeling the Pegasus's stare on him, Troy squeezed his eyes shut as he tried to admit what happened. Even though he didn't even want to admit it to himself, his mind went back to what he told Canvas after that night. He shouldn't keep things in, and the last thing he wanted to do was cause any more damage.

"I… think… I think that I… was…”

Breathing in one last time, Troy felt his throat tighten up before he finished, his voice coming out in almost a whisper as he finally said it.

"... I think… I was about to kiss him…”

Troy opened his eyes and stared at the ground, feeling like a small weight was off his chest from saying that. Exhaling heavily, Troy kept his gaze on the grass between him and Rainbow Dash, waiting for her to say something. However, only silence came between them before Troy felt her hoof rest on his shoulder. Looking up, Troy was surprised to see the mare looking at him with a light smirk, no longer looking angry as she spoke with a more relaxed tone.

"There. You said it. Was that so bad?"

Troy looked back down to the ground and blinked a few times, not expecting the mare to be so casual about this as he sighed in frustration.

"So, that's it?" Troy said as he looked back at her. "That's all you're going to say? No 'I told you so,’ or 'I knew it,’ or 'Applejack owes me twenty bits' or something?"

Rainbow Dash scoffed a bit as her grin grew a little bigger. Even though she figured Troy would be stubborn about his feelings for Canvas, she was glad that he actually tried something like that. While she honestly thought something like this should've happened earlier, she decided not to bring that up as she said in a relieved tone, "Dude, c'mon! I'm just glad that you admitted it!"

"Yeah…” As Troy kept his head hung low, Rainbow Dash could tell there was still something up with him. Having a good idea of what it was, she waited until Troy spoke again.

"It’s just that… I… I don't know what to do! I mean… I… I never thought that something like this would happen! I never… I never thought of doing something like that."

Troy kept his gaze to the grass as he thought about what happened. All this time, he just thought he cared about Canvas as a friend. While he knew about Canvas being gay from the very beginning, he honestly didn't think much of it, since he never thought it would be a problem. But now, the Gryphon was sitting there, freaked-out as he realized he almost started something that intimate with him. Never really thinking that this would happen, Troy just kept looking at the ground, confused as to what he should do. While he truly cared for him, could he really see himself with him in that way?

Sighing, Rainbow kept her hoof on his shoulder as she spoke, now in a much more caring tone as she tried to help.

"Troy, I want you to tell me something. How does Canvas make you feel?"

Troy blinked as he processed her question before turning to her with a confused look on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, how do you feel?" Rainbow asked as she let go of his shoulder. "When you're with Canvas, what do you think? I mean, what emotions do you have with him?"

The Gryphon looked back down to the ground and tried thinking of the answer. After a few seconds of silence, Troy slowly opened his beak, feeling his confusion slip away as he spoke.

"He… he makes me happy… I… I really like being with him. He always looks out for me and… and I really care about him… I… I like him…”

Those were the last words Rainbow Dash was able to hear from him. Troy continued to look to the ground, making inaudible whispers to himself as his beak clicked open and shut. As she waited for him to think it out, she noticed one of Troy's forelegs move up and wrap around his chest. After a little while, Troy's eyes widened up as his breathing became heavier, making the mare grin as she saw he finally figured it out. After blinking several times for clarity, Troy looked back to Rainbow Dash with a faint smile on his beak.

"Thanks, Dash. I… I gotta go!"

Before the Pegasus could get up from her spot, she felt a large gust of wind blow past her as Troy flew off. Smiling to herself, Rainbow Dash only managed to stand on her hooves before she felt another gust of wind before Troy suddenly hugged her tightly.

"Thanks, Dash,” said Troy as he squeezed her. "You really are a good friend."

"N-no problem." Because of the grip he had on her, Rainbow's words came out in a strained wheeze before Troy let go, looking at her with a slightly guilty expression.

"And I'm really sorry about what I said. I didn't mean any o--”

"Troy,” snapped the Pegasus, "I'm gonna punch you in the face if you don't fly to him right now! Do this, and we'll be fine! So go!"

Not needing to be told twice, Troy once again flew off back to the hotel. Soaring through the pitch-black night, Troy's heart felt much lighter, as his mind became crystal clear from his realization. He knew exactly what he wanted to do, and he knew exactly what he wanted to say to Canvas. As the hotel came up in the distance, Troy hoped he didn't mess up things too much with him.

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Meanwhile, the hotel room lay silent. All of the lights were turned off. As the strawberries strewn all over the floor were forgotten--including the one still stuck to the ceiling--Canvas was in the bathroom, lying on his back in the bathtub filled with warm water.

While he never really cared much about baths--Why soak in my own filth? he would think to himself--Canvas appreciated how the pool of water managed to muffle the sounds around him as he kept his ears submerged. Keeping his eyes closed, Canvas tried to keep himself calm.

Right after Troy flew off, Lyra and Bon-Bon tried coming to the room, worried about him--although he had no idea how or why they knew that. However, Canvas managed to talk them down by telling them he was just about to go to bed. Although they were extremely hesitant about leaving him alone, Canvas finally managed to get them to leave before he decided to take a bath. While he was glad to have some peace, his heart still felt extremely heavy as he thought about Troy.

Exhaling heavily, Canvas couldn’t stop thinking about how Troy looked when they were on the bed. Picturing how his golden eyes looked while they stared at each other, the stallion couldn’t keep his mind from thinking about what could've happened if they were never interrupted. Canvas wanted nothing more than to be with that Gryphon, to hold him in his hooves as he told him how much he loved him. But now, within the bathtub, Canvas couldn't have felt more alone, as he tried not to think of how quickly Troy flew away.

Thinking about his conversation with Lyra back at the gallery, all Canvas could think about was how right his worries were. Even though he tried so hard not to think of Troy that way, knowing it was likely he could never feel that way back, Canvas still fell in love with him. He still let his heart take in someone that close, despite how dumb it turned out to be in the end. Even with that stare Troy had with him, even with how close Canvas was to kissing him, that dream still shattered like the finest crystal, leaving the pony to feel terrible as he thought about what to do now.

Lifting himself from the bathtub and opening the drain, Canvas tried to think of what else he could do. Even though it felt like it happened a million years ago, Canvas knew he still had the painting for Celestia, which was more than great for him. And because of all the attention he received from the gallery because of that, he knew he would busy enough to keep his mind occupied. As he dried himself off with a towel (appreciating how quickly his short mane could be dried off with the towel alone), Canvas sighed and decided to head off to bed.

As Canvas walked over to the bed in the darkness, he hoped he could get some sleep, even though he honestly didn’t want to get near the bed after everything that happened. However, a loud crash caught his attention as he heard the sound of crunching metal out on the balcony.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Even though he knew he was flying pretty fast, Troy cringed a little as he saw how badly bent the balcony railing was from his hard landing. While he knew that would probably result in a nasty repair bill, he couldn’t care less as he moved forward and tried opening the balcony door, realizing it was locked. Not wanting to leave Canvas alone, especially after all the promises he made to always be there for him, Troy started banging on the glass door as he yelled out for Canvas in a panic.

"Canvas! Canvas, please! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry I flew off like that!"

Hearing the banging and pleads from the Gryphon, Canvas could only stand still in shock that he came back, keeping himself faced toward the balcony as he heard Troy keep yelling.

"Canvas, I shouldn't have flown off without saying anything! I know I messed up, but please listen! I…”

Clenching his eyes shut, Troy leaned against the door as he realized what he had to say. Even though he didn't want to admit to himself why he flew off in the first place, he knew the reason as he looked back to the door.

"I was scared. I was scared, okay?"

While Troy couldn’t see much past the curtain that covered the glass door, he could still see a figure walking toward the door slowly. Meanwhile, Canvas walked his way toward the balcony, staying cautious as he continued to listen to Troy's words.

"I… I was scared about what was going to happen, because… because I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do. Or what I wanted to do."

Looking through the glass door, Troy could see that a shape was right at the other side of the curtain. Breathing in, Troy held his chest out as he finished his statement, knowing what he wanted to say.

"But I know what I want to do now! I know what to do, and I'm not scared anymore."

As the curtain pulled open, Troy shrieked out as he saw a mare with facial cream and hair-rollers looking at him, terrified. As the mare screamed back, Troy quickly darted backward from the balcony, hovering a few feet from the building as he tried to figure out what was going on.

"Troy…”

The Gryphon recognized the voice immediately as he looked up, seeing Canvas looking at him with worry from the balcony above the one he was at. Blinking in confusion, Troy tried counting the row of windows again to make sure he didn't mess up.

"Umm…” Canvas waited until Troy looked back at him hovering before he went on. "The lobby takes the first two rows of windows. That… that's why you were at the wrong one."

"Oh."

Before Troy could really think about what he just heard, the feeling of a hair-curler hitting his head caught his attention. The mare he woke up was now throwing things at him while yelling, "Get away from me, you monster!"

Blocking himself from the barrage of items, Troy quickly flew up to the balcony where Canvas was as he tried yelling back, "Ow! C'mon, I'm sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you!"

As he landed on Canvas's balcony, Troy could still hear the mare yelling from below him.

"And you better pay for what you did to my railing!"

Not wanting to deal with this right now, Troy went back inside the hotel room with Canvas, locking the door behind him before turning to the stallion. Even in the darkened room, Troy could tell that Canvas looked upset, which just made him feel even worse about how he acted. As he looked at Canvas with worried eyes, Troy took a deep breath before he spoke.

"Canvas… I… I'm sorry."

Canvas only nodded as he looked away. Before Troy could keep going, Canvas spoke up as he looked back at him.

"You… you said you were scared."

“... Yeah.”

Troy kept his gaze to the ground and tried to think of what he was supposed to say. As he looked back up to Canvas, Troy was able to see that familiar shade of blue in the pony's eyes, almost glowing in the room against the moonlight. Looking into his eyes, Troy felt his chest get warmer, feeling better as he knew what he had to say.

"Canvas, when I flew off, I… I got scared. I… I was scared about what was going to happen. Because… you're the closest friend I ever had, and… and I didn’t think I was doing something friends should do."

Canvas only blinked, keeping his worried stare on the Gryphon as he continued.

"But… but I realized why I… why I almost… why I almost did that…”

Feeling his heart beat faster, Troy gulped before he went on.

"You… you've been such a good friend to me, and… and I didn’t want to do anything to ruin that. I… I still wanted us to be close. But then… then I realized why I wanted to be close."

Looking at him through the darkness, Canvas could only see the glow of Troy's eyes against the shadow of his body, shining against the shadows around him as they looked forward at him. With his own heart beating faster as well, Canvas could only stand in his spot as Troy came closer, the moonlight shining on his face as he looked at the stallion with intensity.

"Canvas… I thought that I cared about you because you were my best friend… but… now I know… I know you mean more to me than that."

Canvas's breathing came out harder as he realized what Troy was saying, making his heart beat even faster while Troy kept going. Keeping his eyes on Canvas, Troy could feel tears start to appear as he kept talking.

"You… you mean more to me than any friend ever could, Canvas. You… you're more than just a friend to me…”

Troy stepped closer, until he was only a couple of feet from the stallion. With tears now running down his face, Troy felt his throat tighten up as he struggled to say what he came here for.

"Canvas… I…. I always want to be there for you… I want to be there because I care about you… because you mean so much to me… because…”

Troy started breathing harder as he tried to push those last words out.

“... Be… be… because… because, I…”

Clenching his eyes shut as tears still flowed from them, Troy knew he couldn't hold this in. His heart was beating faster than he ever thought it could.

“.... Be… be… be… because…”

As his beak constantly clicked open and shut from him trying to talk, his claws dug into the carpet underneath him. Knowing it was now or never, Troy kept his eyes shut as he fought against his mental restraints, wanting to tell Canvas what he should've said ages ago. What he should've realized long before being here.

"Because… be… because…

“... Because I love you!"

Opening his eyes slowly, Troy looked forward at Canvas, seeing the stallion frozen with his eyes wide open. Breathing heavily, Troy felt himself become weightless from his admission, a faint smile appearing on his beak as he realized what he said.

"I…. I mean it… I love you, Canvas."

After all this time, after all these months of thinking of Canvas as just a friend, saying those words out loud felt indescribable to the Gryphon. Realizing how right it sounded to him, Troy felt his heart beating fast as he kept speaking, not noticing that Canvas now had tears coming down his frozen face.

"I… I love you. I love everything about you. I… I love how you always try to make me happy… I love the way you smile… I love that no matter what, you always kept me by your side… and… I always want to be by your side."

As Troy looked down at his claws, smiling at himself for realizing how much Canvas made him happy, he didn’t notice when Canvas's hooves began to move forward. Breathing in, Troy began to look back up as he finished what he was saying.

"I never felt this way about anyone. Not for a Gryphon or a pony, or a mare or a stallion or anything! But I know what I feel. Canvas, I lo--"

Before any more words could escape Troy, Canvas lunged forward, grabbing the back of the Gryphon's head as he pressed his muzzle against his open beak. Keeping his beak open, Troy felt a wave of warmth he’d never felt before as Canvas's mouth moved to the right position, before the stallion's lips pressed hard against his beak. Holding him there in that position, more tears came from Canvas's clenched eyes as he savored this moment, loving every second as he finally kissed his best friend. Closing his eyes as well, Troy held onto Canvas as he pushed back, letting him kiss him deeper as they stood in the darkness around them.

Slowly opening his eyes back up, Canvas pulled back and stared at Troy, smiling at the Gryphon with tears of joy as he finally got to hold him like this. As tears matted his aqua fur, which glistened under the moonlight shining in, Canvas finally spoke in a faint, cracked voice.

"... I love you too."

In that instant, Canvas and Troy couldn't hold back as they held each other in embrace again, their faces intertwining under the glow of Luna's night. Neither of them moved from that position as they held each other as tight as they could, feeling their heartbeats begin to sync together as they kissed deeply. As the stallion's lips and the Gryphon's beak meshed together, neither of them dared let go, not noticing anything around them as they stayed in that space. Time stood still for the two as they came together, both of them knowing that, of all the time they spent as friends, nothing would compare to the moment when they realized they were something more.

Next Chapter: Chapter Thirty-Seven: More Than Friends Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 46 Minutes