//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: The Question of All Questions // Story: Violets are Blue // by hell00001 //------------------------------// Violets are Blue Chapter 3 Just as the sun began its descent behind the canopy of the Everfree Forest, Lilo and Carbon came stumbling into their apartment laughing and giggling. With them they carried several bags of sweet kettle corn, the stuffed kitten Carbon had won for Lilo, and removable tattoos covering their entire body, which all was deposited on the floor in front of the doorway in favor of a quick kiss. Carbon shut the door behind them, shutting out the dull sounds from the carnival that still rang through the entire city. The carnival ran long into the night, staying open so that ponies attended the late night shows comprised of a luau, dancing, and even some not safe for foals entertainment. The day may have been one kind of adventure, but the nightlife of the carnival held an entirely new atmosphere that brought out some of the most exciting aspects of life. Ponies from all corners of the nation came to the carnival for the festivities that took place during the night, and most tugged along entire families with them. Canterlot had been absolutely jam-packed for the event. When they broke away from their kiss, Carbon led Lilo through their living room and to the kitchen, depositing the kettle corn and the stuffed kitten on the counter. She hopped up onto his back and nibbled his ear, her tail swishing back and forth. Carbon gasped and his free ear flopped back. “We’re going back to the carnival, right, Carbon?” Lilo asked, who had long since changed back into her changeling form. “Of… course we are,” Carbon replied, distracted by Lilo’s ear nibbling. “I just thought that we should… Okay, that feels nice.” Lilo giggled and stopped nibbling his ear to nuzzle her muzzle into his mane. “We should what?” “Oh, uh.” Carbon paused, blinking a few times. “Oh, so that we could bring all of our stuff back here. It would be nice to walk through the evening part of the carnival without having to worry about carrying a bunch of kettle corn, right?” Lilo buzzed her wings happily. “Yeah, that would be nice. Oh oh, we’re going to be going to the lu… luau? That big party? The one with the fire shows and exotic earth pony dancers?” Carbon chuckled and nodded his head. “The Equestria Carnival wouldn’t be a carnival if we missed out on the luau. The music, the food, the dancing, and then the fireworks afterward. You’re in for quite a treat.” “Thank you so much for doing this for me, Carbon,” Lilo said as she threw her forelegs around Carbon’s neck, giving him a big kiss on the back of the head. “Hey, anything for you, Lilo,” Carbon said, fluffing up his wings. “You’re my little changeling bunny.” Lilo squeed and hugged him harder, little chitters rumbling in her throat. “Carbon, what do you think about marriage?” Time slowed down for Carbon and the air around him felt as if it had dropped several degrees in temperature. He slowly turned back to look at Lilo, a small, nervous smile spread across his face, but he was unable to look Lilo directly in the eye. His mind raced frantically, conjuring up a multitude of ideas to use. “Marriage?” he asked, his voice unsteady. “That, uh… that thing that ponies do when they want to indefinitely commit to a relationship? With the party and rings?” Lilo cocked her head and the smile she initially had slowly wiped from her face. “Well, yes. I mean, it’s just a question. I want to know what you think about it.” “Ponies are sworn to live their lives in holy matrimony,” Carbon continued, clearly having missed what she said. “They first start on a honeymoon, but then it spirals out from there to vacations, working to support each other, coming home each night to find the other waiting. Constantly you are in the other’s presence, living and working.” “Carbon.” “Families are started!” Carbon paced back and forth in the kitchen with Lilo on his back, staring at the floor. “Think of that! Foals, grandfoals, we’d eventually be grandparents since we would be so old from the commitment. Years and years and years away. We would have stories to tell, foals to babysit, ponies that would eventually need to take care of both of us.” “Carbon…” “And then there is all of the legal paperwork you have to go through. Documents and documents of wills, assets, child papers. We would be more involved and intertwined with Equestrian government.” “Carbon!” Lilo finally shouted, buzzing her wings irately. Carbon stopped pacing and looked back at her once again, snapped out of his rambling. Lilo gave him a hard stare, then took a deep breath. “Carbon, is there something wrong?” Lilo asked. “I just asked you what you thought on marriage, not what marriage is.” “Oh, no, sorry,” Carbon said as Lilo hopped off of his back and stood in front of him. “Marriage is something I haven’t given much thought, to be honest. I’ve been so wrapped up in integrating you into pony society and dedicating myself to making you as safe and as comfortable as you could be that I haven’t even thought that maybe that prospect was, well, open. It sounds like a fun idea, but…” Lilo stepped closer and looked up at him, her ears flopping back against her head. “But what?” “Nopony has legally married a changeling in these two years since changelings were admitted into pony society,” Carbon said. “Changelings are hardly seen within Equestrian cities aside from the ones towards the south. I don’t even know if laws are in place that would allow such a union to take place.” Lilo nuzzled him up under his chin and said, “That’s all I wanted to know. You’ve done so much for me these past few years, from whisking me off of the streets all the way to finding me a job and taking me to carnivals and plays. You’ve done more for me than I thought was possible in a pony, I… I don’t know what to say. You’re so absolutely wonderful, Carbon. If you had never found me, I don’t know where I would be right now. I love you.” “Thank you, Lilo,” Carbon said as he kissed her at the base of her horn. “Thank you so much.” They both stand in each other’s nuzzling embrace for several moments, content with the silence that descended upon the apartment. The noises from the carnival slipped back into both of their ears, loud music and ponies cheering thundering through the streets. The serenity behind the whole city was intoxicating, leaving the two snuggling ponies in a state of bliss. “Carbon?” Lilo finally asked. “Yeah, Lilo?” “What would it be like to get old?” Carbon smiled. “To get old with you? I surmise that it wouldn’t be just a life we were living, but an artist’s endeavor. Our lives and work being the lines, my witty comments and your laugh being the brush strokes, and the love that we show together being the colors. What we have, Lilo, is a masterpiece, and it can only truly be seen between ourselves. Getting old with you would just mean that the masterpiece would come nearer and nearer completion.” “That is so corny, Carbon,” Lilo giggled, kissing him on the neck, “but it’s beautiful, as well. I never want to let go of what we have.” “Neither do I,” Carbon replied, giving her one last hug before adding, “What do you say we head back to the carnival? We don’t want to miss too much of the luau now.” Lilo nodded her head vigorously and broke into a brisk trot for the door before Carbon could say anything more, changing back into her Rosebud disguise. Carbon followed after her, chuckling to himself, and the gears within his head turning. He made sure to lock the door behind them. ‘Marriage, huh?’