Life in Technicolor
Twilight lay next to Caramel, basking in his presence. He had been a great source of relief to her ever since her coronation one year prior. Being a princess had taken a great toll on her, both body and mind. Without Caramel, Twilight would have been lost a long time ago.
The two looked out over Canterlot from their place atop Violet Hill, Twilight's quiet place where she could escape from her job of being princess when it began to wear on her too much. Violet Hill was just as much a part of Twilight as Spike or Caramel. She had spent so much time there that the green grass and the tall trees felt like a second home to her. The place had even been named after her -violet for the color of her coat- because of her excessive use.
Canterlot looked sad and empty from where Twilight lay. Of course, the mountain-city was neither sad, nor empty. It was anything but empty. In fact, it was more crowded than ever. Within the past couple of months, there had been a large spike in the city's population. No pony was sure why it was happening, and none cared. They just marched on, going about their daily business.
Sad was not the best way to describe the city either, even though it was starting to degrade. Ever since Celestia and Luna had flown east to help the Griffons in their great war, the city had been slipping. Canterlot's economic situation had been slowly starting to slide, and eventually almost one in four ponies was without a job. Many of Canterlot's citizens blamed Twilight for their problems. She wasn't sure why they blamed her, but she didn't mind. She was the leader after all.
Caramel reached his foreleg around Twilight and pulled her close. She accepted the gesture graciously. The two hadn't been getting along for some time, and Twilight was glad to see Caramel was beginning to forgive her for spending so much time working. They weren't technically married -being royalty, Twilight could only marry a prince- but Celestia, and much of Canterlot, accepted their partnership. According the Celestia, being with a "common-pony" greatly helped Twilight's standing among the people, but that wasn't why she loved Caramel; she loved Caramel because he was the greatest pony she knew.
Twilight shifted her gaze to the south end of the city, where the poorest of the citizens lived. As uneasy as the thought made her, Twilight began to think about revolutions. She knew that there were probably many ponies living there who wanted to overthrow her. The thought scared Twilight. Not because she was afraid of stepping down, but because of what would become of Equestria.
Twilight moved even closer to Caramel and placed his wing around him. She turned and faced him, staring at his light brown mane.
"Caramel?" Twilight asked quietly.
"Yeah?"
"Do you think everything is going to turn out okay?" Twilight knew it was a strange question, and there was no good way to answer it. He could lie and say yes, or he could say no and they could sit in silence again.
"Yes. I think everything is going to be okay." Caramel said. There was a distinct tone of seriousness in his voice, something that Twilight was beginning to hear with increasing frequency.
Great, Twilight thought bitterly, he chose to lie. Lying wasn't something Caramel did often, but he did alter the truth sometimes to make somepony feel better. Twilight normally liked it, unless he was trying to make her feel better.
Twilight returned her view to the city. "Do you really think so Caramel?"
He nodded. "Yes, Twilight. I know that I may lie to make others feel better -and I know that you were just thinking that too- but I truly believe everything will be okay. Whether or not everything will end well for us, that's a different question. For example," he said, removing his foreleg from around Twilight. He stood and stretched as he continued, "many revolutionaries would be happy to see us dead. But let's face it, that really isn't all that great for us."
"Oh, it isn't?" Twilight said playfully as she rose from her place on the grass. A smile came to her face as she continued her joking. "You mean we don't want the revolutionaries to kill us? I would say I've been doing something wrong then."
Caramel smiled, which warmed Twilight's heart. She loved it when he smiled. "Well," he said lightheartedly, "I personally prefer the way where we end up with the happy ending, which means everypony ends up with the happy ending."
Classic Caramel, she thought, always trying to make everypony happy. Twilight stared at the stallion. She could see that he was happy, even though the two lovers had had a very bad string of luck recently. Between all of their fights, all of the death threats, and the numerous signs of revolution, Twilight was surprised that Caramel still managed to find time to be happy.
Twilight smiled at Caramel. "I love you Caramel."
He returned her smile and hugged her. "I love you too Twilight."
They broke their embrace and Twilight began to walk towards the castle. She could almost feel her happiness slowly ebbing away as she left Violet Hill. It was as if the small hill was the only place in the whole world where she could be truly happy, just sitting in the sun with Caramel.
After a few minutes, they arrived at the castle. Twilight let out a sigh. She didn't want to return to the real world; she wanted to stay in her utopia of sunshine and love. The large wooden door that stood before her was all that separated sadness and happiness.
Caramel stood beside her. The sun was beginning to set, and the light was shining off of his brown mane. "Twilight, I know this is hard for you, but I know you can do it." She nodded. "You're Twilight Sparkle after all. You aren't some common earth pony like me. You're a princess after all." He moved in front of Twilight and opened the door for her. "Now, go in there and be great mon amour."
Twilight put on her best fake smile and walked through the door, reentering her world of pure sadness.