“Bean! Wake up, Bean!”
Bean suddenly found himself airborne for a moment after Celestia jumped on the bed, and he let out a large ooph when he landed.
“Good, you’re up.” Celestia carelessly tossed the blankets off the bed and nuzzled her husband. “C’mon!”
“Hello to you too,” he muttered with a laugh. “What has you all worked up this morning?”
“There’s so little to do and so much time to do it in!” she proclaimed. “And you promised to make breakfast! I want to see what you concoct. Come!”
Bean tried to make sense of the first part of her statement while he yawned and stretched, but the effort failed and he promptly gave up. He did snicker at her enthusiasm; while he knew she liked his cooking, he didn’t know it was that popular.
“So, have you had one cup or two?”
“Cup?” Celestia repeated while straightening her tiara. “Cup of what?”
“Coffee?”
“Oh!” she tittered. “None today, I don’t need it.”
“Huh,” he offered to that with a grunt. “Maybe you do. Either that, or I’m going to have you help me with breakfast, just to burn off some of that energy.”
“I would be delighted to help you, love,” she replied. Her magic snagged him as he hopped off the Equestria Princess-sized bed, floated him over to her lap, and she happily began brushing his mane while her wings wrapped around him. “Please forgive my enthusiasm. You have, once again, made my night most satisfying, and I slept so well that I feel like I could move five suns and six moons all at once.”
“That good, huh?” he chuckled, and she nipped both of his ears quickly.
“And more. We’re going to set something literally on fire one of these times.”
“And what is the likelihood that the thing that combusts is me?”
“I would never!” she replied, her wings tightening around him so that he was protected from anything that might hurt him. “Nothing shall harm you while I am here, my precious Bean, especially me. Besides, I would like to think I have some control.”
Bean tilted his head back and nipped at her neck. “For the most part you do.”
“I could say the same about you,” she laughed. “Breakfast calls. Come! We shall review the moves I showed you yesterday, shower, and then we shall win over my beloved nephew with your astonishing cooking skills. He won’t know what hit him.”
* * ✹ * *
“So, I figured out what the difference is between regular food and Empire food.”
“Oh, really?” Celestia flipped the hash browns in her frying pan quickly. “What have you determined?”
“Empire food is more concentrated, if that makes any sort of sense. Take these donuts, for example. I haven’t put a thing in here that is unusual, but I actually had to halve the normal amount of sugar I put into these things, lest I smite mine patrons with hyperglycemia. I couldn’t even sniff the stuff without shaking a little. The foods here are super potent.”
“That brings up a question that has been tossed around in scholarly circles,” Celestia remarked with a toss of the crêpes suzette. “What is it about the Crystal Empire that causes that?”
“What do you think?”
Celestia’s wings shrugged. “I have only theories, but the most likely one to me is related to the Crystal Heart. Since there is such a concentration of love here, and it flows from here outward, it seems that it would affect other things as well.”
“Love is supposed to be one of the great mystery ingredients in cooking,” Bean replied. “Mom and Dad always said you could smell a chef who didn’t love his craft from five miles out. You may well be perfectly correct, as well as perfect.”
“It’s a good thing we have the Princess of Love here, isn’t it?”
“Yeah, but then that makes me wonder about a great many things.”
“Like what?”
“How much of it does she control, to start.”
“Very little, actually,” Celestia replied. “She controls love about as much as you do. Her talent is to show ponies were love is, how to find it, and how to share it. That love then fuels the Crystal Heart, and then that spreads from here to Equestria.”
“Is the opposite true? Can we feed back into the Crystal Heart outside of the Empire?”
Celestia offered a curious look of interest with another flip of the hash browns. “I admit I haven’t thought of that. It does make sense that the flow of love could be like a two way street, but I think the strength of it breaks down the further away you get from the source.”
“Like how food smells. Great up close, but indistinguishable at a distance.”
“Right. You should commission a study into the matter. If that is the case, we may be able to power the Heart remotely, and that would be a great boon in an emergency.”
“I can do that kind of thing, can’t I?”
“You can indeed,” she replied with a quick peck on his cheek. “Watch your donuts, they’re done.”
“Whoop! I got it, thank you!” he offered in sing-song.
“Well, I think we’re just about done here,” Celestia replied. “Shall we summon the guests?”
“We should, but remember it’s bad luck to eat with your customers.”
“Why is that?” she asked. Her magic quickly began plating the food, and Bean assisted as he answered.
“Probably no real reason. It’s just a chef thing, kind of like having a lucky horseshoe or something.”
“Let’s risk it for today, and then see what happens. I stand by my commitment from this morning, and if some nasty little bit of bad luck wants to afflict you, I shall drive it away.”
“I bet you would,” he laughed. “Though it would really bite the bark if there was some truth to the statement.”
* * ✹ * *
“So, when will Pinkie Pie be joining us?” Bean asked before scooping up a large bite of his wife’s delicious hash browns.
“I believe she will be here just after breakfast, so she should be on her way now,” Celestia replied. “Part of this afternoon will be dedicated to finalizing plans, so you stallions will have some time together to do whatever.”
“I plan on returning to Canterlot as soon as you are done interrogating me, Aunt Luna,” Blueblood offered. “I’ve been away for far too long, and there is much work I need to catch up on.”
“You’re not going anywhere.” Luna’s voice was icier than a windigo’s sneeze. “To send the train to Canterlot and back again is a waste of resources, and I’ll have none of it. You’ll return with the rest of us.”
Blueblood’s response was nothing more than a nod, and Bean could see the discontent on his face.
“Is the Empire really so disagreeable, dear cousin?” Cadence asked. “Auntie Celestia and Uncle Bean are busier than all of us, and yet they’re staying for a full day.”
“The Crystal Empire is fine,” Blueblood replied evenly, “but I see no reason to stay here when my talents would be of greater use in the engagement of other endeavors. I understand the desire to show Prince Bean ‘the sights’ and to acclimate him to the whole of his newfound kingdom, but I have already familiarized myself with the essentials of this area. Unless there is something of vital importance that I have not been made aware of, I fail to comprehend how what will be shared today will be of use.”
“You know everything that the Empire holds?” Celestia asked. “That is most impressive. I find something new every time I come here, and yet you have unlocked every secret in so few visits.”
“Don’t twist my words, dear Aunt,” Blueblood replied. “I said I know the essentials. I see little need to become familiar with more trivial matters.”
“How many ponies currently reside in the Empire?” Celestia bit into a donut.
“Do you wish to include the ponies out in the rural areas and those working the farms, or just ponies within the boundaries of the Empire proper?”
“However you want to count it.”
“I couldn’t say precisely without a census, but…”
“Fine, fine.” Celestia waved a hoof at him. “You don’t know, and that’s understandable. Here’s the real question: of those ponies who do live here, which one of them is non-essential?”
“Obviously none of them. All are important and vital to Equestria.”
“So, you know every single pony that lives within the Empire then?” Celestia concluded. “You did just say you were familiar with all of the essentials and that all ponies are essential.”
“My dear Aunt, one day you will quit playing games with what I say.” Blueblood sniffed. “I quite obviously meant the major features and landmarks of the Empire, not the inhabitants.”
“Really? I do believe the residents are just as important as the Crystal Heart, for example. It is their love that powers it, after all.”
“And I have suddenly remembered why I left Canterlot in the first place.” Blueblood shook his head in disappointed amazement. “There is just no end to the way you can manipulate a phrase, is there? You’d have me believe Prince Bean is blue simply because I remarked it was a nice day.”
“Don’t be silly. I only point out what is truth,” Celestia replied. “And I see no reason why a Prince or a Princess should remain aloof from their subjects. We are here for them, after all.”
“As am I, dear Aunt. As am I.”
“Good.” Celestia took another bite of her donut. “Tell me, what do you think of breakfast?”
“It is barely acceptable. The hash browns are somewhat burnt, and the crêpes are rather bland and uninspiring. I’m a bit surprised, because usually Chef Amberlocks provides a exquisite offering. She seems to be aiming for mediocrity today.”
“That would be, but only if she had cooked the meal.”
“Ah, yes.” Blueblood leaned back in his chair. “This meal was prepared by the Chef Prince, was it not? Forgive my unflattering assessment of your skill, but it is the truth.”
There was a sudden reduction of oxygen in the room as three princesses and a prince inhaled to protest, but Bean beat them all to the first word, and with a chuckle to lead off.
“Well, you can’t win ‘em all.”
“Quite,” Blueblood replied. “May I humbly suggest that you allow properly trained and qualified ponies to handle meal preparations in the future?”
“I’m sure I’ll have to since the Princess and I are usually too busy in the mornings to allow me the time.”
“Perhaps you should show him how you make your pancakes, Aunt Celestia?” Blueblood suggested over the top of his teacup. “I’m sure you could give the Prince a few food pointers and help out his methodology.”
* * ✹ * *
“I love my nephew. I love my nephew. I love my nephew…”
“Forgive my impetuousness, but that’s not much of a mantra, love.” Bean wrinkled up his nose and gave it a wriggle, which had the desired stress-relieving effect.
“Don’t you give me that,” Celestia replied with a giggling nuzzle for him. “It’s not a mantra. It’s a reminder.”
“Might be easier to tie a string around your hoof. Less talking at the least.”
“If I do that then I’d be a walking ball of yarn.”
“Oh! Mee-yow!” Bean offered with a swat of his hoof in her direction, and then both of them broke down into a shared giggling fit.
“Why did you take the blame for breakfast?” Celestia then asked. “His criticism should have been directed at me.”
“That would be an unspoken rule of chefdom: what is cooked by one is cooked by all. A customer or a food critic doesn’t say ‘oh, the part of the dish by Chef Bean was excellent, but I found the portion that was prepared by Chef Beet was lacking in flavor,’ it’s always the establishment as a whole: ‘the Zuerst prepared a most excellent dish of chips,’ or whatever. So if one chef does well, then all the chefs did well, and visa versa. Besides, I’m used to taking the heat for a badly cooked meal. You may remember that I may be a decent cook but I’m a lousy chef. Anytime a customer complained about one of my messed-up meals, I had to go out and try to explain what had happened. Blueblood’s criticism was small beans compared to what I have dealt with.”
“Still, you should have told him I made the hash browns.” Celestia pouted. “You may remember I hate not taking responsibility for my actions, be they large or small.”
“Next time then,” he offered with a kiss. He then put his hooves around her neck and smiled as he gazed into her eyes. “So what is on the agenda now?”
“Kissing and snuggling, if you keep this up,” Celestia cooed. “Officially, we are to meet with Shining and Cadence to begin our tour of the Empire now. Pinkie Pie is most likely with them, and I am fairly certain she will accompany us as well. You will be introduced to the crystal ponies by Princess Cadence, and then there will be time for you to go get lost in the crowd and to meet as many ponies as you can.”
“I bet I give the sergeants a fit whenever I do that.”
“They’re getting used to it, and they planned ahead for it this time,” Celestia replied. “They have secured the area, so it won’t be a problem for you to just wander around. I believe we will then take the tour proper, where we will be shown the major landmarks of the Empire, and that will conclude with a visit to the Crystal Heart.”
“Is it really as impressive as everypony makes it out to be?”
“It is,” Celestia replied with a peck for him. “I think you will quite enjoy both it and the day.”
“If I’m with you, I would be happy staring at drying paint.”
“You would?”
“Yeah. You’d get bored, make it dry, and then we could go do something fun,” he laughed.
“I probably would!” she laughed with him. “C’mon, let’s get going. There’s a lot to see, and I know the locals are really looking forward to meeting you.”
~*~
Bean took in a deep breath of the crystal air about him, and he offered the most genuine smile he could muster while he walked out onto the balcony and into the bright sunlight with his beloved and the rest of the entourage. A sizeable crowd was assembled below, and the technicolor blending of their coats and manes was a sight he would never forget, even if he tried to. Celestia waved to a few ponies as she exited with him, as did Shining; and Cadence moved out a few steps in front of the group with her wings held high in pride.
“Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” she shouted. “Good morning, and happy Wednesday!”
Bean’s smile grew as the gleeful cheer reverberated in his ears and off the walls. He could almost swear he could smell the love the crystal ponies were emanating at that moment.
“Today, my dear friends, we are most pleased to have the opportunity to introduce you to the newest member of our family, and to your new prince. I’m sure all of you know the circumstances behind Princess Celestia’s marriage to Baked Bean, and I can say without a sliver of hesitation that these two are headlong in love. Prince Bean is a most kind, curious, and thoughtful stallion, and he has held nothing but respect and adoration for all the ponies he has met. My own personal introduction and interactions with him tell me he is a pony of the highest quality, just like all of you!”
Another cheer erupted, and Bean tried to make mental notes of what Cadence was saying for future use. She really had a way with words.
“Prince Bean?” Cadence turned slightly and offered a hoof to him, and Bean walked up to be beside her. While he had not been warned this would happen, he had expected it, and he had determined to follow the advice he had been given before:
To speak from the heart.
A hoof went to his Celestial Crystal, and then his smile grew to outlandish proportions.
“My friends, thank you!” Bean called out, and he was a bit surprised at how good the acoustics were. “It is I who is honored and humbled to be with you here today. I have heard nothing but the finest reports from all ponies who have told me about you and your most exquisite kingdom, and even that has not fully and adequately portrayed the love and harmony that I feel here now with you.
“I can see it in your eyes, my friends. This is a proud empire, a strong empire. This is a herd that has stood up to the darkest of overlords and then boldly proclaimed ‘no more! We are the Crystal Ponies, and we will never again be shackled to the evils that you would plague us with!’”
That drew a large cheer and applause out of the crowd. Bean nodded while looking over the crowd, and when they had settled down again he resumed.
“The ponies I see before me today are the types of ponies I hope to be: strong-willed, courageous, kind, and loyal. I could apply all of the traits of the Elements of Harmony to you, and many more besides! I am the commoner here, my friends, and you are the true nobles!”
Another cheer, and this was even louder than before. Bean could get used to public speaking if it always went like this.
“Now, as Princess Cadence mentioned, I’m sure you all know about how my nose managed to get me married to, who I believe, is the most wonderous mare in Equestria,” he offered with a light laugh. “While Celestia is the greatest thing that has ever happened to me, the opportunity to be among and to learn from ponies like yourselves is a marvel, a wonder, and a great boon as well. While I do not yet possess the sophistication, grace, or elegance that your fair rulers already have, I can promise you that I hope to achieve that one day. It may take five hundred moons, but I will try. But know this: I have learned much from you already simply from reading and studying your history. With your stalwart example to guide me, and with the luminous guidance of our Princesses to teach me, I’m sure to at least be a half-baked noble at some point in my life. With you, and beside you, I wish to make the Crystal Empire—and Equestria as a whole—the envy of the whole world. I pledge to you that I will do all in my power to ennoble you, to enable you, and to uplift you. In the end, it is my most sincere hope that we will rise together, as one, under the banner of Equestria and the banner of the Crystal Empire!”
The roar of approval that slammed into Baked Bean nearly swept him off his hooves while simultaneously making him deaf, and he loved it.
“Not bad!” Shining offered in a shout from his side, and with a matching smile. “You’ve got a gift for working the crowd! C’mon, let’s get you down there!”
~*~
It only took a minute to move through the interior of the castle and down to street level. Another large cheer erupted when the doors flew open and Bean nearly flew out through them in his eagerness to make new friends. The first pony to greet him—a nice turquoise stallion who held a peach-cream colored foal in his magic—was met with a hearty hoofbump, a quick hug, and a deep smile. Bean took a moment to find out his name was Crystal Hoof, and he thanked him for being there to welcome him into the Empire.
This was then repeated dozens of times. Bean tried desperately to reach as many ponies as he could, to touch their hooves and to share a word or two when he could. He tried very hard to take an extra moment to go down to the eye-level of any fillies or colts that he met, learn their name, and then to ask them what they liked and how things were going for them in their lives. He wanted to connect with them, to hear them: they were the future of the Empire, after all. If a few words and a smile could help motivate them to overachieve in life, it would well be worth the time he was investing now. There were grand dividends that could be reaped, provided he did everything he could here and now.
He was most confused, but yet pleasantly surprised, when he almost literally ran into a familiar pair of blue eyes in the crowd.
“Pinkie Pie!” he cheered.
“Bean!” Pinkie replied with a manic grin, and the two of them shared a quick hug and hoofbump. “You are rockin’ this! I had to wait in line just to get off the train; there’s so many ponies who want to meet you!”
“I’m glad you made it! How was the trip?”
“It was peachy-keen! I’m two and five-eighths steps closer to that elusive cherrychanga now, plus I was able to figure out the grand unification theory! It’s amazing how inspiring trains are!”
“It sounds like it!”
“Well, what are you talking to me for?!” Pinkie shoved him towards another pony. “You’ve met me already. Go say hi! We’ll talk later!”
She simply bounced away after that, and Bean chuckled quickly before seeing he had been pushed towards a rather nervous looking filly and her mother. With a gentle smile, he went down on his belly and attempted to look the pale green pegasus in the eye. She turned her head away, however, and a small whimper escaped as her wings moved to try and cover her face.
“Oh, Emerald!” her mother chided. “Forgive her, Prince Bean. She’s usually not this shy.”
“It’s all right, I don’t mind,” he replied up to her with a quick wink and then turned back to Emerald. “Hey, what’s up? You ok?”
“Mm-hmm,” she mumbled.
“I’m Baked Bean. It’s nice to meet you, Emerald,” he offered a hoof to bump. “I apologize for being so yellow. I’m afraid I can’t help it.”
“I don’t mind,” Emerald said softly, and a brown eye peered out from between the feathers. “Is your name really Baked Bean?”
“Bit silly, isn’t it?” he offered a tiny laugh. “I’ll let you in on a secret, but don’t tell anypony, ok?”
“Ok?”
“Princess Celestia’s favorite color is yellow, so I dye my coat to make her happy.”
“You do not,” Emerald protested, and her wings slowly retreated.
“Don’t like that one? How about this: I ate too many bananas as a colt. It changed my fur, and I smell like one now too.”
“Nuh-uh!” Emerald giggled lightly.
“No still. Hmm. What if I said I was really a sunflower, and Princess Celestia picked me out of all the others ‘cause of how yellow I was. I still pull seeds out of my mane sometimes.”
“You’re a horrible liar, Your Highness.” Emerald giggled.
“I am, never could tell a good lie. Here’s a true statement, though. I am very pleased to meet you. I bet you’re a straight A student in school.”
“Well,” she stammered, “I do have one B. But math is hard!”
“Tell me about it!” Bean let out a knowing groan. “The worst part is when they stick the alphabet in it.”
“They do?!” Emerald gasped in shock.
“Yeah! Horrible, isn’t it? X, Y, and Z mostly, but there’s times when it looks like someone spilled alphabet soup on your math homework! They really should have a law against such things.”
“Yeah, you should totally write one! No letters in math!”
“Soon as I can I’ll whip something up, but the only problem is the Princess has to sign off on this, too. Think she’ll let me do it?”
“Give her a big kiss and she will,” Emerald stated knowingly and with a huge grin. “That’s what dad does anytime he wants something from mom. Like, the other day, he wanted to go bowling, but mom was like ‘you need to clean out the garage first,’ and then he gave her this huuuuge smooch, and then she got all wobbly in the legs and said ‘ok, but you’re going to have to do better than that when you get home!’”
“That sounds like a winning strategy,” Bean gave a wink to Emerald’s mom, who looked embarrassed but still amused. “I’ll give the Princess a ginormous smooch and hopefully it’ll work. Hoof bump for good luck?”
Emerald smacked his hoof, and Bean let out a small yelp of pain as he sat up and shook the injured appendage. “Yow! You’ve got some power! Do you work out?”
“No, but maybe you need to!” she giggled.
“I know it!” he laughed. “Soon as I can I’ll get on that. Maybe I should start with horseshoes, that seems to be about what I can handle.”
Emerald giggled again, and Bean gave her mane a quick ruffle before standing.
“Missus Emerald’s Mom, you have a fine young daughter here,” he offered. “She is clearly a product of excellent parenting, and I commend you for you skill. Think you could give me some pointers?”
“I could, if you really would like some,” she giggled. “Thank you so much, Your Highness. This really means a lot to us.”
“My pleasure, entirely.”
* * ✹ * *
“You know, I really need to watch my assumptions,” Bean remarked.
“How so?” Shining asked.
“I’m in the Crystal Empire, so naturally that means anything and everything related to it is crystal; but yet here we are, wrapping up a tour of a factory that produces sofas and quills. I should have realized you would expand your industries.”
“It hasn’t been easy,” Shining admitted. “Sombra’s economy consisted of foundries and mines; it wasn’t very diverse. Celestia has been wonderful about sending technical experts to get us up to speed here. Honestly, we just need to increase production capacity, and then the Empire’s gross domestic product will skyrocket.”
“Not an easy task, I’m sure,” Bean added. “Just the infrastructure alone has got to take a figurative and literal ton of horsepower to get up and running.”
“Right now we’re working on extending our capacity to get goods to market. It can take upwards of three weeks to ship something by wagon, but if we can increase our rail network we could cut that to days, and maybe even hours. It would also make it a lot easier to get the raw materials we need here.”
“Imports and exports are always a hassle,” Celestia remarked from behind them. “But I know the Baltimare and Ohayo Railroad is conducting railbed surveys, Numnah Southern is in the process of regulatory approval, and for some odd reason the Denspur and Roan Grande is trying to find a way to build through the Northern Mountains, not around them like the others. But as they come others will follow as well, and I am confident that we will soon see a huge boom of Crystal Empire products across all of Equestria.”
“I hope so. I bet that would bring a lot of new jobs and wage increases in the private sector,” Bean added, “plus the tourism would be a boon, too.”
“I would love to have more ponies visit,” Cadence replied to this. “But we should get back to the palace. It’s almost time for the thing.”
“What thing?” Bean asked, but he received naught but smug, knowing smiles in return. “Oh, c’mon! I don’t like conspiracies against my royal self!”
“You’ll like this, my love,” Celestia offered. “It is a good surprise.”
“Well, okay,” he muttered. “But I believe that only because you say so.”
He slowed his pace just enough for her to come up alongside of him, and he smiled deeply as her wing draped over him and nipped one of his ears.
“How do you think Wysteria is handling her ‘vacation?’” Shining asked while they exited the factory.
“I believe she is having an enjoyable time,” Celestia replied. “Otherwise she would have returned by now. I believe she will find that Discord was right, and that she really did need to relax. I know she’s been pulling her mane out in her efforts to get the wedding party and our honeymoon organized, but I think Cadence, Pinkie Pie, and myself can handle many of the details, and her workload should be greatly diminished when she does return.”
“Do we know when she’s coming back?” Bean asked.
“She indicated in her letter it was a three day vacation, so most likely tomorrow. If I don’t hear from her I’ll send a letter to see if she decided to extend it or if Discord forced her to.”
“I don’t think he would,” Bean offered. “If he said three days, it’ll be three days. For all of his chaos, he comes across as pretty reliable to me.”
“I would still be cautious,” Shining replied. “We are talking about the being who ruled over Equestria with unrest and unhappiness, and who nearly corrupted all of the Element Bearers.”
Was there a note of pride in the voice of Twilight’s brother? Bean wasn’t sure, but the way the edges of Shining’s mouth slowly migrated upwards seemed to confirm it.
“I’ll keep that in mind, but I’m sure he won’t try anything,” Bean remarked. “At the very least, he’d have to answer to Fluttershy.”
“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie blurted while bounding past. “And Fluttershy would be super disappointed if he did! It would be like when Twilight confronted Applejack about her baked bads, which we will never speak of again.”
“When did you get here, Pinkie?” Bean asked.
“Oh, about ten seconds ago.”
“But… how? Never mind.”
“So, are you as super excited for your surprise as I am?” Pinkie asked with an amount of glee that had to be illegal. “I can’t tell you what it is, of course; ‘cause that would ruin the surprise and there’s nothing worse than a ruined surprise, but when Princess Celestia wrote to me and said what the surprise was I went ‘gasp!’ and I knew it would be such a super-awesome surprise that I had to be there, even though I was already invited to be here to help plan the wedding party; but then I was all like ‘does Baked Bean have any thoughts on what he wants at the party,’ ‘cause it’s your wedding too, and I know I would feel horrible if I wasn’t included in the plans for a party that included me, ‘cause that kinda-sorta happened once…”
“She does need to breathe at some point, right?” Bean asked while Pinkie proceeded with her spiel.
“I think we clocked her at five minutes once.” Cadence chuckled.
~*~
“Is this the surprise?” Bean asked with a laugh.
“It’s part of it,” Celestia replied.
Bean went into a quick trot for a moment, but then smiled as he found himself in the midst of hugs and hoofbumps from all of the Elements of Harmony. He really should have seen it coming, but he had to admit that it was nice to see all of his new friends again.
He always did like making new friends.
“What are you all doing here?” he asked once all the greetings had been offered.
“Duh!” Rainbow Dash got the answer out first. “We’re here to help plan your wedding!”
“But I already am married,” he countered.
Rainbow scoffed. “Yeah, technically. But c’mon, you gotta let everypony else be part of it!”
“You’ve got me there,” he laughed.
“I invited all of the Elements here with Pinkie Pie,” Celestia commented with a smile. “I don’t think I could have a wedding party without all of them as my bridesmaids. Thank you all for coming, I appreciate you taking the time to help me and Prince Bean with our plans.”
“But of course, Darling!” Rarity spoke for the whole group. “Now, let’s get to work, shall we?”
“One thing first,” Celestia replied with a sly smile. “I believe Princess Cadence and Prince Shining Armor had something else they wished to show Prince Bean.”
“Oh, yeah! The Crystal Heart!” Bean exclaimed in understanding. “Is that it?”
“Indeed, but I think we can kick it up a notch,” Cadence replied. “My Prince, have you ever wondered how the crystal ponies gain their unique crystalline coats?”
“I have not, but now I’m dying to know.”
“Every year we hold a Crystal Faire to renew the spirit of love and harmony in the Empire, and this in turn helps them to protect the Empire from harm. The process of renewing the Heart sends out a magical wave that gives everypony the distinctive crystal appearance.
“But I propose that the love and harmony that now exists between you and Princess Celestia is worthy of celebration as well, and so I, along with all of the citizens of the Crystal Empire, would like you to join with us in a special renewal of the Heart at this time. Would you be willing to join us in this ceremony?”
“Your Highnesses, I would deeply honored to join with you in such a ceremony,” Bean replied with a deep bow to both her and Shining Armor. “Please, show me the way.”
~*~
Bean’s smile couldn’t be any larger if he had tried.
When Cadence had said that every citizen of the Crystal Empire wished to join in with the Renewal, she meant every citizen. They stood as a pleased crowd now, with a main walkway to the Heart clear for the new royal, but as he passed them they would fill in the space behind him. Once at the Heart—which Bean found to be phenomenal—he was instructed to stand just to the right of it, and Celestia just to the left. There were only a few inches between them, and Bean felt tears beginning to tickle the corners of his eyes as he once again became lost in those deeply charming and perpetually loving pools of magenta that only became more enrapturing with each view. Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy took up positions to the side of Bean; Rainbow Dash, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie to Celestia’s side, and once they were all ready, each of the Elements took a knee before the Prince and Princess.
“Citizens of the Crystal Empire!” Cadence shouted. “Prince Baked Bean, and Princess Celestia! May their love for each other remain as strong as our love for them!”
Both Bean and Celestia leaned slightly forward to boop noses, and the Crystal Empire smiled and knelt before them as one. Blue pools of light formed underneath each pony as they did so, and those pools quickly merged with each other and became rivers of love that flowed both outward throughout all of the Empire and inward towards the Heart. Bean was vaguely aware that the Crystal Heart had begun to spin rapidly, but he was far more interested in the surge of delight that was now spreading from Celestia’s nose upon his own and down through his coat.
It wasn’t until after they had pulled away from each other and heard Rarity giggling and squealing slightly in joy that Bean realized something was different. Celestia had now taken on a very crystalline hue, and he was a bit surprised her regalia had been affected as well. She gave him a quick wink before he took a look at his foreleg, and then back over himself, and he was interested to see the changes his own appearance had taken on.
“So, what do you think?” he asked after a moment.
“Wow,” Celestia offered with a laugh, and the crowd broke out into a huge cheer as the two shared a passionate kiss.
* * ✹ * *
“You did good with the crowd today, my love.” Celestia settled into the bed, and smiled when her Bean moved under her wing.
“Thanks. I was just trying to do what I would want if I were them, especially the little fillies and colts. I would have blown away to even have a royal wave at me, so I hope that my talking with them and joking around leaves an indelible memory they can enjoy telling to their grandfoals.”
“I do believe it will.”
“So, how long will this crystal coat last?” Bean asked with a glance over his foreleg again.
“I believe the effect will wear off shortly after we leave the Empire tomorrow,” Celestia replied with a quick nuzzle for the precious delight that she held close. “We would retain this appearance for longer if we were to stay, however.”
“Do you like this look?”
“It is a nice, but I would not want you to remain this way. I fell in love with the plain and regular Bean, and it is the plain and regular Bean that I desire.”
Bean hummed a note of happiness to that. “Plain and regular you shall have, then. Hopefully it doesn’t become a disappointment later.”
“I doubt that it ever could,” she said softly to him with a kiss. “What did you and Shining Armor do while I was busy?”
“Let’s see. There was the bowling alley, and the mini-golf, and the archery range—”
“How did that go?”
“Oh, I’m a natural,” he replied with pride. “As in I naturally kept drawing the bow back too far and smacking myself in the cheek, and I naturally couldn’t hit the target, but somehow I could hit anything five feet of to the side of it.”
“Do you need me to kiss your cheek better?”
“Please?” Bean asked, and he giggled a bit when she both kissed and nuzzled the afflicted part. “Oh, but that was the wrong cheek! It was my right one.”
“What?” she feigned surprise and horror. “Oh my goodness! Here, here.”
Bean then found himself under an unrelenting barrage of kisses that alternated between left and right, and he loved it.
“There! Better?”
“Much,” he replied with a return kiss to her cheek now. “How did the planning go?”
“I believe we actually have everything finalized, and things are moving forward wonderfully. Wysteria should have very little work to do when she returns; most of what needs to be done is being handled by Cadence and Pinkie, with assistance from the other girls as well.”
“Good. I’m looking forward to it, you know. I bet it’s going to be a party like never before.”
“That is the idea,” Celestia giggled. “But I am a little concerned that we are leaving you out of this. It is supposed to be our wedding party, after all.”
“Don’t worry about that, my love. What I wanted to have happen has already been included, so I am content.”
“What did you want?”
“You.”
“Well, aren’t you easy to please?” she scoffed, and Bean gasped.
“What?! You said the word!” He put a hoof in front of him in faux alarm. “Who are you, and what have you done with my Celly?! She would never use such a horrible word!”
She nuzzled him with a laugh. “It’s still not my favorite word, but perhaps I am being a bit too uptight about that. A good marriage has compromises in it, Luna tells me, so I believe I can tolerate the use of aren’t, but only if it is used properly.”
“And your feelings on ain’t?”
“One thing at a time, my love,” she replied. “Really, though. Is there something you would like to have at our wedding? I want you to have what you want, too.”
“I want family to be there,” he offered, “and they have already been invited and will be there. I want friends to partake of our joy, and that will happen too. I want good food, which Chef Beet will cover most excellently, and I want lots of happiness, which is guaranteed with Pinkie Pie as part of the planning. Really, I am happy with what will be, even if I don’t know all the details. If there is something else, I will let you know.”
“You had better,” she replied with a stern look. “Please don’t ever hold back from me, dear Bean. Don’t acquiesce just for the sake of my perceived happiness. Always tell me your thoughts, your innermost desires. Share your dreams and hopes with me, tell me of your plans and musings. Leave everything open for me, and I will do the same for you.”
“I will, for now and for always, my love,” Bean replied with a soft and delicate kiss. “So, since you mention that, I do have one proposal for you.”
“You do?”
“A most important one, yes. Have you ever considered the utter perturbation of mathematics that occured when the alphabet was introduced into it? I have heard from several two ponies that such a thing must corrected immediately.”
Celestia paused for a moment in a clear effort to keep from chortling out loud. “You mean you wish to outlaw, somehow, the basic mathematical principle of algebraic equations?”
“Now, don’t be too hasty in your rejection of the notion,” Bean offered with a teasing grin. “Let me lay out the case against it before you…”