Celestia's sun slowly began to rise above the horizon of Canterlot as a beam of light entered the silent hotel room of Troy and Canvas. As the room began to grow brighter, the morning light didn't disturb the aqua pony at all as he laid cradled with Troy on their bed. With his head buried within the warm feathers of Troy's chest, Canvas kept his hooves wrapped around the Gryphon's body as they both dozed. Slowly opening his golden eyes, Troy peered down on the sleeping pony as his claws held him to his chest, making him smile when he realized he was finally feeling that warmth he wanted again.

Troy closed his eyes again and hugged Canvas tighter, breathing in deeply as he noticed the scent of the stallion's mane. Smelling shampoo and the faint scent of fresh paint, the Gryphon moved his head in closer to the top of Canvas's head, savoring the warmth and comfort he felt as the sunlight shone against his back. As Troy breathed in silently, he listened to the faint sound of Canvas's heartbeat, feeling it thump in slow rhythm through the pony's body as he was pressed against him. Not wanting Canvas's heartbeat to change as he felt it against his own chest, Troy kept himself still as he held the sleeping stallion.

Twitching his muzzle a little, Canvas repositioned himself and hugged Troy tighter, nuzzling his face against the feathered chest. Feeling the warmth and softness of the Gryphon's body, Canvas slowly opened his eyes, his heart beating faster as he realized Troy was really there. Canvas quickly held Troy as tight as he could, feeling a huge smile grow on his muzzle at the realization that this was all real. Realizing he was now awake, Troy hugged him back, hearing Canvas breathe in deeply as he savored the moment of serenity with one he loved.

Keeping his eyes shut, Canvas kept his smile as he thought back to last night, holding Troy the way he always wanted as they kissed for the first time. Neither were sure how long they stood in each other's embrace within the middle of the hotel room, but they eventually made their way back to the bed as Troy carried the stallion. Once he picked Canvas up, Troy never seemed to let go; he kept holding him after lying on the bed. For most of the night, the two just stayed like that in the darkness, their bodies intertwined with each other as they kept kissing passionately.

Now awake again, neither the pony or the Gryphon said a word, letting the silence speak for itself as they laid together with their eyes closed. Nuzzling Troy's chest again, Canvas felt a wave of warmth flow through him as he felt the Gryphon this close, making him begin to kiss his feathered chest softly. Still holding him tightly, Canvas began to move his head up as he kept kissing Troy's body, slowly making his way up to the Gryphon's neck. Before he could go any further, the stallion noticed Troy looking at him, his golden eyes peering at him with the purest look of bliss as he smiled. Wrapping his hooves around the back of Troy's neck, Canvas pulled himself to the Gryphon, waiting until he 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 as he kissed Troy. Thinking back to everything that happened in his life, the stallion couldn’t think of any moment that matched the happiness he felt when he was with him. Through all the heartbreak, through all the healing, through all the time taken to rebuild his life and leave his past, he always had that amazing Gryphon there by his side. With his caring smile, his dedication, and his undying support, Canvas couldn't think of anyone else he would rather be with than Troy, as he kept his lips pressed against his warm and tender beak.

Lying on his back as the stallion kissed him, Troy slowly rolled the both of them over, keeping Canvas's lips on his beak as he laid on his side. Holding onto the back of Canvas's head as they kissed, Troy still couldn’t believe how happy he felt right now. Thinking back to how much time he'd spent with the pony, Troy felt like an idiot for not realizing how long he truly loved him. With every word spoken through those months, with every moment shared, with every time Troy held Canvas close to him, the Gryphon felt increasingly guilty that it took this long for him to realize the stallion was so much more than just a friend to him.

Still holding each other as they laid on their sides, Troy slowly pulled back, looking at Canvas with half-open eyes as he saw how happy he was right now. As he looked into the tired blue eyes of Canvas, staring back at him with nothing but pure joy within them, Troy began to feel even worse about keeping himself in denial for so long. Not wanting to feel this bad with somepony so overjoyed, Troy wrapped his forelegs around Canvas, pulling him in a tight hug before he finally spoke.

"Canvas… 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."

Hearing the sincerity in Troy's voice, Canvas’s eyes began to well up as he smiled, hugging the Gryphon back tightly as he said back, "Troy, it doesn’t matter anymore. All that matters is that you're here now."

Keeping his eyes closed, Canvas nuzzled Troy as he kept speaking.

"I love you, Troy. I love you more than anything, and nothing makes me happier than having you here right now."

As he heard how gentle Canvas's words were, Troy kept his grip on him as he replied, "I love you too, Canvas. I love you. I… I just wished I told you sooner."

"It's alright,” said Canvas as he pulled his head back, staring straight into the Gryphon's troubled eyes as he gave a gentle smile. "You shouldn’t worry what could've happened, Troy. It's like what you said to me: you shouldn't let the past drag you down."

Knowing he was right, Troy began to smile again as he moved his head in, letting Canvas kiss him once more. Before he could have the chance to pull him in again, Troy felt Canvas briefly pull his head back, keeping his eyes on the Gryphon's as he spoke in a faint voice.

"Troy, you've made me happier than anyone else in the world. You've always made me happy, and I have absolutely no regrets about any of it."

As Canvas slowly came closer again, he kept his eyes locked onto Troy's, letting the last of his words come 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 as he kissed Troy deeply again, gripping him tightly as the two stayed in their embrace.

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Bon-Bon was barely able to keep her eyes open as she stood beside her wife at the train station. Along with completing a huge catering job at the gallery the night before--which didn’t get her nearly as many interested clients than she hoped--she was barely able to sleep after what happened with Canvas and Troy. Even after she rushed with Lyra to Canvas to make sure he was alright, his insistence to be alone didn’t set well with her. While she knew Lyra felt horrible about how things turned out, the unicorn was still able to get more sleep than Bon-Bon, who only got an hour or two of rest after hearing a loud crash by their room.

Looking over at her wife, Bon-Bon was able to see that Lyra was still brooding about what happened. The mint unicorn kept her gaze to the ground as she stood by the platform, not paying attention to any of the ponies around her as she kept thinking about how much Troy screwed up.

"They were going to kiss,” muttered the mare as she kept looking at the concrete beneath her hooves. "They were totally going to kiss."

Seeing how upset her wife was, Bon-Bon sighed and gazed around the station, hoping that Troy or Canvas weren’t going to skip out on the train back to Ponyville.

"Don't beat yourself up about this, honey,” said Bon-Bon as she looked down to the unicorn. "You know this isn’t your fault."

"But still!" said Lyra in a louder tone than before. "It shouldn't have happened like that! Troy was going to kiss him! That's what he was supposed to do, but he just flew off like a chicken!"

"Um… chickens don’t fly, honey."

Despite her meager attempt to make a joke, Bon-Bon could tell she wasn't getting to her sullen wife. Not wanting to catch any of the anger simmering from the mare, Bon-Bon looked around the station from her spot again. Meanwhile, Lyra kept seething in frustration as she hung her head low and ranted to herself.

"I mean, what kind of an idiot would just fly off like that?! After everything he's done for Canvas, how could he just leave him alone so quickly?!"

Not hearing Bon-Bon gasp loudly, Lyra kept going.

"Seriously, who would just leave their friend hanging like that?"

"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!"

Hearing her wife's last call to her, Lyra raised her head up to Bon-Bon with an aggravated look. "What?!"

Without saying a word, Bon-Bon pointed back to the station, making Lyra turn her head to see what she was pointing to. Lyra's eyes opened wide when she saw Troy, walking towards the two of them with Canvas close by his side. With the large smiles on their blushing faces and their close proximity to each other, it was obvious that the stallion and Gryphon looked really, really happy together. Blinking a few times, Lyra tried to comprehend what the buck happened after she turned that magic feed off and went to bed.

"Hey girls!" shouted Troy happily as he walked up to them, wrapping a foreleg around Canvas as they stood in front of the surprised couple. "You two excited about getting back to Ponyville?"

Unsure of what they were expecting to see, Lyra and Bon-Bon only blinked repeatedly as they stared at what looked to be a happy couple. With a smirk beginning to grow on her muzzle, Lyra looked with surprised disbelief before she responded, “Yeah, we are…”

Seeing how Troy was holding the stallion next to him, Lyra's grin grew even bigger as she realized something did happen, making her feel absolutely giddy as she spoke again.

"You… you two look really happy…”

Canvas and Troy began to blush a little as they saw how big the unicorn's grin was getting. Realizing their closeness was a bit obvious, Troy didn't care as he pulled Canvas closer to him.

"Yeah,” said the Gryphon as he looked down at Canvas with a smile, "we really are."

As Bon-Bon put a hoof over her mouth to cover her smile, Lyra just stared at them with an huge beam on her face, shaking with excitement.

"Oh my gosh!" squealed the unicorn as her hooves started moving on the ground with anxiousness. “Please, please tell me something happened last night!"

Canvas's blush grew even bigger before he looked up to Troy, carrying a smile on his face as he stared at him.

"Well,” muttered the stallion as he slowly became more distracted by the Gryphon looking back at him, "well… yeah…”

Lyra squealed out in joy and started jumping up and down on the platform. Not noticing the ponies around them staring, the unicorn started hopping around the two like Pinkie Pie, keeping a huge smile on her face as she started cheering 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!"

Shaking her head at her wife's overexcited behavior in public, Bon-Bon kept her smile as she turned her attention to Canvas and Troy, who were still staring at each other lovingly.

"So guys,” asked Bon-Bon in an enthusiastic tone, "are the two of you together now? Like, are you boyfriends now?"

Hearing that word, Canvas's smile slightly dropped as he looked back at the mare, still not noticing Lyra as she kept hopping around and saying “I knew it!” to herself. Even with all the time he'd spent falling in love with Troy, Canvas never thought he would actually be in a situation where he could call him a boyfriend. Hearing the word in his head--especially in regards to the Gryphon next to him--Canvas's heart thumped harder, realizing how amazing it sounded. Blinking a few times wide-eyed, Canvas looked back to Troy, keeping a curious look on his face before Troy put a claw on his shoulder.

"I don't see why not,” said Troy in a loving tone as he looked at Canvas with a smile on his beak. Seeing how the Gryphon was looking, Canvas started breathing a little faster as a smile crept back up on his muzzle. Troy slowly brought his claw to the side of Canvas's face, holding it there as he spoke gently to him.

"So, Canvas… are we?"

Instead of just saying "yes" to his question, Canvas immediately shot forward to the Gryphon and grabbed his head, kissing him in the middle of the platform as Lyra stopped bouncing and stared in delight. It only took less than a second for Troy to start kissing him back, neither of them noticing or caring about the stares they were getting from the ponies around them as their train began to pull into the station.

With the wind from the train blowing around them, Canvas didn't mind at all as he kept his lips locked on Troy, the Gryphon he could now call his boyfriend. As the two shared their embrace in front of the two mares, Bon-Bon began to blush while Lyra looked at her with a smug grin on her face.

"See?" said the unicorn with a cocky tone in her voice. "I told you sending that cart to them would work!"

"That was you?!" said Canvas and Troy in unison as they quickly stopped kissing and looked at her.

Realizing what she just said, Lyra began to blush heavier than her wife as she saw Troy let Canvas go. Staring at the mare intensely, Troy slowly walked over to Lyra, scaring her a little as she saw how big his eyes were getting. While the train behind her halted to a complete stop, Lyra's back went up against it as Troy walked up to her, staring wide-eyed as his face got a few inches from her.

"Lyra…”

As Troy spoke in a cold tone, Lyra started shaking as she realized how large the Gryphon really was. Afraid for her well-being, Lyra could only lean against the train in panic as Troy slowly spoke.

"... Where… did you…

“.... Get that root beer?"

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