“Goodness, who could be knocking at such an early hour?” Bluebell muttered to herself while she tied off her robe and descended the stairs. “This must be rather serious. I do hope nothing has happened to my Hokey.”
“Bell? Oh, I hope you’re here,” Pokey’s voice came through the door with another rapid burst of knocks. “Please open up! This is serious!”
Bluebell slowly opened the door, and she gave Hokey Pokey a confused look through a yawn. “Hokey? I thought you were in the Crystal Empire. What’s wrong, my sweet?”
“Oh, good,” Pokey ripped his helm from his head, and he glanced up and down the hallway like he was expecting something to attack him at any moment. “There’s a threat that’s just come up; I’ve been sent ahead to round up the guards and bring them to the Palace. I need you to leave Canterlot, get as far away as you can. You’ll be safe if you do.”
“Safe? Threat?” she repeated with ample confusion. “Hokey, you’re not making any sense. What’s going on? Why do I need to leave?”
“Tirek!” Pokey blurted, and he clenched his eyes shut tightly while he groaned in pain. “L-lord Tirek has returned. He’s coming to steal the magic of all ponies. If you leave, he can’t get yours. You need to flee, head to the hills. There’s a small village under construction northwest of Manehattan called Our Town: you should head there. Tirek doesn’t know about it, and you’ll be safe. I’ll come get you when this is all over.”
“Oh my,” Bluebell replied with a hoof to her mouth. “Do be careful, my Hokey. This Tirek sounds dreadful!”
“Don’t worry about me, take care of yourself. I couldn’t live with myself if I knew something had happened to you.”
“I’ll leave as soon as I can, my Hokey. Go, do what you need to.”
Hokey Pokey began to leave, but then he turned back and met Bluebell’s green eyes directly. “Before I do, I want you to know that… well, that is, I’d like to talk to you about something when this is done. Something important, about us and the future.”
“We can discuss whatever you like, of course. I’ll wait for you until the end.”
Pokey then quickly leaned in, and he gave Bluebell as passionate a kiss as he could in ten seconds, pressing his lips against hers so energetically that they bumped noses. He then blushed while he replaced his helm, then sprinted down the hallway without another word.
Bluebell gently shut the door, touched a hoof to her lips, then inspected the kiss she’d just been given. She’d never been kissed like that before. It was… pure, somehow. Honest, even if it had hurt her nose a little. She had felt more genuine love in that kiss than she could have collected in a week of walking around Canterlot.
“That idiot wants to propose to me,” she muttered, and she shook her head. “Interesting. Thorax! Wake up, you dolt!”
“My Queen?” Thorax answered, and he emerged from the cupboard under the stairs with a tired yawn. “What is it?”
“Go fetch Mandible and Bob. We’re leaving.”
* * ✹ * *
Bean had decided rather quickly that he did not like Lord Tirek.
His eyes darted over the page he was reading one more time, and he forced a calm breath before he glanced up to Celestia.
“So, you’ve dealt with Tirek before, if I’m understanding this book right.”
“Yes, but the last time we defeated him, Luna and I used the Elements of Harmony,” Celestia replied while she fired off a message scroll off with her magic. “We do not have that luxury this time, so our strategy must adapt to the circumstances.”
Bean swallowed hard. “What do we do? Can we use magic against a creature that steals it?”
“There may be a way, but I am hopeful that we do not have to resort to that,” she said while scribbling furiously on another piece of parchment. “If we can catch Tirek before he grows too powerful, we can stop him and whatever dastardly plan he has concocted.”
“So we just need to find him, then.” Bean thought for a moment, and then he brightened. “Well, we know he’s in Canterlot, so the guards can lock down the city. Being the… um, what kind of creature did you say he was, again?”
“In form, he most closely resembles a centaur, love. Though that is being generous with the term.”
“Centaur, okay. But the guards could stop him since he sticks out, right?”
“I hope so, but I fear Tirek will be able to steal their magic as well.” Celestia fired off her current scroll, then turned to him. “However, I believe there is one who is better suited than any of us to handle this situation.”
“Really? Who?” Bean asked. “I mean, who could be better to deal with this than you and the other princesses?”
“You know, it’s rather rude to shove a scroll up my nose while I’m trying to sleep, Celly,” Discord’s disembodied voice came before he popped into the palace with a flash, said scroll still in his nostril and one foot tapping in irritation. “This had better be good.”
“My apologies, Discord, but time is of the essence and I needed to rouse you as soon as possible. Our need is most desperate, and you are the only one who can help us.”
Discord smiled with this, and he pulled the scroll out with a gleeful laugh. “Oh, really? Moi is the only one who can help? Well, isn’t this just a delightful turn of events. Please, do tell, my dear Princess. What is so dire that only I can assist?”
Celestia met his gaze with a serious frown. “Lord Tirek has returned.”
“Tirek?” Discord tapped his chin with a claw. “Tirek, Tirek. I know I’ve heard the name. Don’t tell me! I’m sure I’ll remember; it’s right there on the tip of my tongue.”
His tongue then stretched out of his mouth unbidden, and a smaller Discord, who was wearing a mortarboard, was sitting on the tip of it. Professor Discord then turned, and a chalkboard appeared next to him, filled with tiny illustrations of Tirek and some historical notes.
“Brother of Scorpan, Lord of Vordak and Haydon? Tried to steal pony magic, banished to Tartarus by your favorite Princesses?”
“Tath’s ith!” Discord replied to the miniature, and he pulled in his tongue quickly. “I remember him. No fun at all, always so serious. He really needs to learn how to loosen up.”
“I believe you can track him, Discord,” Celestia began to explain. “When he steals pony magic, a great deal of chaos magic is generated as a by-product. With your affinity to such, I believe that you can feel where he is, and then help us to apprehend him.”
“You want me to bring him in?”
“If possible, yes. I will provide you with whatever you need to complete this mission, but it is imperative that he is captured quickly. Every fleck of magic he steals makes it more difficult for us ponies to subdue him. He will soon grow too powerful for us to overcome.”
“Too bad that Tree wanted its little trinkets back, isn’t it?” he replied with a sly grin. “But let’s say I help you. What’s in it for me, hmm? What does Discord get for being such a good friend?”
“You will receive our undying thanks and gratitude, Discord,” Celestia said with some exasperation in her words.
“Oh, come now,” Discord pouted and folded his arms. “That’s the best you can do?”
“There will be parades, Discord,” Bean interjected, and both the Princess and the Draconequus turned their attention to him. “Huge parades, right down the middle of Canterlot. Can’t you just see it? There will be confetti everywhere, and large floats with huge Discords made out of papier mâché.”
Discord stroked his beard thoughtfully. “Go on.”
Looking over to Celestia, Bean could see her concerned and worried look about where this could lead, but she nodded and he took that as a cue to continue.
Bean grabbed a nearby chair and stood on it to properly wrap a foreleg around Discord’s shoulders. “And just think! There could be glorious songs written to praise your name, sonnets about your heroic attributes and daring good looks. We ponies might even commision paintings of you, and sculptures. Wouldn’t that be something, to look at a statue of yourself, rather than being one?”
“That would be rather nice, for a change,” Discord said.
“And then the feasts! I’ll get all the chefs in the palace together and we’ll cook up gobs of whatever you want. You name it, I’ll personally bake it. Shoot, I’ll make it rain chocolate milk out of cotton candy rainclouds, if you like. I’m sure Pinkie Pie and I could figure it out. And the popcorn! Mountains of popcorn, and all of it just for you!”
“Not bad, not bad. But I’m still not sold. What’s the absolute best thing you can offer to entice me?”
Bean paused for a moment, but then he smiled broadly. “Discord, if you will help us capture Tirek, then you will have Fluttershy’s thanks.”
“Oh, you’re bringing her into this, are you?”
“I am. Just imagine poor little Fluttershy, all alone in her cottage with her little animals huddled all around and on top of her in fear. Can’t you see the fear in her eyes when Tirek comes, and how he’ll hurt her when he takes her magic? You wouldn’t let him do that, would you?”
“How dare he!” Discord roared, and he shook Bean’s hoof furiously. “Bean-o, you’ve got yourself a deal. I provide the Tirek, you provide the party favors.”
“It’s a deal, my friend.”
“Thank you, Discord,” Celestia added with a nod of her head. “We are indebted to you.”
“My, it’s a shame this didn’t happen when I first broke out, isn’t it?” Discord giggled. “Celestia, indebted to me? What fun!”
“Now, what can we do to help you with this task?” Celestia’s eyes returned to him. “What will you need; what supplies can I provide to you?”
“Oh, I’ll send you the bill, don’t worry,” Discord replied with a wink before a Twilight-style mane appeared on the top of his head. “But first, I think I need to channel my inner Twilight and do some research. Won’t take long, I promise. I’ll have your big baddie back here before you can say ‘Baked Bean!’”
And with a snap of his talon, Discord disappeared.
“Baked Bean,” Bean softly said, and then he chuckled. “And I told you ponies channel Twilight, Shining.”
“Come, my love,” Celestia called with an outstretched wing. “We should eat while we wait. There is much we will need to do once we return to Canterlot, and we will need our strength.”
* * ✹ * *
Celestia couldn’t hold back her soft smile while her wing traced little lines across Bean’s back. He had tried to stay awake for as long as he could, but it was clear he wasn’t going to go for much longer during breakfast. His eyes had been droopy, and he had nearly gone face first into his hashbrowns more than once during the meal. Celestia had then gently teleported him back to the guest room before explaining the situation to Twilight, and he had remained asleep when they had made the quick trip to the train to return home.
He was trying so hard to fulfill his dual role as Prince of Equestria and husband of Celestia, and she worried sometimes that he was trying too hard. She knew it would take several years, if not decades, before he would be completely trained and acclimated to the first role, and he was performing far beyond Celestia’s wildest dreams in the second. In the short few months they’d been together, he’d proven himself to be far more thoughtful, caring, and loving than anything she could have hoped for. Her own marriage was far better than what Luna had with Star Struck at this same point in her marriage, but perhaps the lack of a proper war at the moment might account for that.
Still, her beau had not shown any of the stubborn crassness the earth stallion from the Emerald Hills had displayed all those years ago. Star Struck, in the beginning, had been obstinate and unyielding, and he would buck and bite at any change that came his way. Celestia had always thought that Luna enjoyed arguing and wrestling with him over the issue of the moment, until Luna was able to ‘convince’ him to acquiesce.
There were times the wrestle turned physical and occurred behind sealed doors, much to the relief of all who lived and labored within the palace.
But Bean? He was polite, a far better listener, and was content to simply go with the flow. This did not make him submissive, but rather, it gave him a quiet dignity and a reserved aura of intelligence. Bean had the willingness to observe and form conclusions based on things as they were, not as they seemed.
Celestia had to be fair in her musings, and she did admit to herself that she had grown to love Star in time. He had tempered out and mellowed with age, especially once their wee rascal had been born, but mostly Celestia had loved Star because he made Luna happy. If Star had gotten nosy with Celestia first, the ink for their signatures on the divorce papers would have been dry before the sun had set on the first day. With Bean, she had taken some not-so-secret delight in tossing them into her bedroom fire just before the trip to Salt Lick for the family reunion. Bean was yet to show any of the weaknesses or character flaws that Star had. Every moment of his waking hours were spent loving her and doing whatever was asked of him, without fail and without question, and even many of his nights were spent ensuring that Celestia was well taken care of.
A thrill of delight ran up her spine with the thought of what had happened last night before her horrid vision, but then another tingle followed behind it and down to her hooves. It was unlike anything she’d ever felt before, and it filled every bit of her with… with understanding, yes. Celestia had been alone with her body for centuries, and knew it intimately. Every place on her wings where feathers tended to grow in slightly bent, the little catch in her right rear leg where she had fallen down the stairs as a filly, the way her right eyebrow was ever so thinner than the left, which had made her change manestyles to cover it so long ago she could not even remember what it was like the other way. She could trace every muscle and tendon, her good moods and her crabby times, but this was not any of those. It was a feeling deep in her heart, and as she brushed her wings across her chest to revel in the sensation, she could feel...
Her wing stopped its slow circles against her barrel, and her eyes widened.
She was pregnant.
She could not deny the feeling, or could she un-think the thought.
Her. Princess Celestia. No, Celly. Was. With...
She rubbed her belly with her wings again, unable to even think the final word.
Celestia’s stomach tumbled slightly, and her breath stilled to near nothingness. For a millennia she has overseen life, guided it along and done all within her power to give it harmony and peace. She had been present for the birth of Luna’s wee rascal, and she had loved being a central figure in Twilight Starbright’s life. She had watched life progress, from within the intimate bonds of family and from her perch as the head of an entire civilization and species, for well over a millennia. It had a natural ebb and flow, broken up at times by famine and war, but it progressed all the same, renewing and reviving itself in each newborn’s first breaths right before her eyes.
But for the first time in forever, she had created life. She was not observing it, she was not gently coaxing it along. Within her, a new foal was beginning to form, to take shape and to eventually make a grand appearance in the world of Equestria.
Celestia forced herself to take slow and even breaths. One hoof reached in to touch her chest with an inhale, then move outward with the exhale. She knew from experience that panic would not help her to conquer this, just at it had never served her in the past. Logic and reason were needed, along with an impartial evaluation of what was to happen.
Yes, the thought of having a foal of her own frightened her. There was no shame in admitting it. Luna herself had panicked when Starswirl had given her the positive pregnancy results of his prognostications, and for a time, he was known as ‘the Hairless’ before graduating to ‘the Patchy.’ There were so many unknowns, so much that could go wrong and so much that would be different. She would need to adjust her schedule to accommodate her new little one; perhaps even to the point of withdrawing from teaching at her school for a time. Her young daughter would need supplies, toys, books of every sort and on every subject. A room or two would need to be requisitioned for a nursery and a classroom.
Celestia’s smile began to return with her logical ordering of needs. With logic and order came reason, and with reason came measurable and positive results. A foal. A foal of her own. A little princess that would be hers, created by her and beloved by her. Her own little Epiphany.
“Epiphany,” Celestia whispered the name to herself, and the peaceful warmth within her doubled with the additional tumble in her tummy. “Epiphany Vanilla Bean. Nilla for short.”
Her smile couldn’t be any larger if she had tried. She felt like she was learning the name of her young unborn one already, rather than creating a name of her own. She would be a magnificent Princess, one who would be spoken of in reverence and delight for centuries to come.
Celestia’s blood then turned into veins of ice when Bean snorted and shuffled a bit next to her. Celestia could not imagine her own life without Bean, let alone what bringing and raising a second life into the world would be like without him. Epiphany would need Bean as her father, just as she would need Celestia as her mother, and there was a very real chance that Tirek would... well, he might not pay any attention to just one more colorful earth pony, but he could easily harm or even kill a prince to hurt a princess in turn. Bean was in far more danger here than he realized, and she would need to send him away to keep him safe, should the unthinkable become reality. Tirek would not harm her, of course. He would remove her from her throne, but he would want revenge, and the sadistic joy he could experience from banishing her to Tartarus would be too alluring to pass up.
But Bean was nothing to Tirek, and he would be dealt with as such. Celestia never wanted to experience the agony of explaining why Bean was no longer with them.
“Celly?” Bean’s soft words broke her inward reflections and stemmed the swell of emotions running through her. “Are you crying?”
“Am I?” Celestia gently touched her cheek, and she recoiled ever so slightly. She had been crying and had not even noticed.
“Hey, hey, hey.” Bean’s soothing words came before she could reply further, and his rich baritone voice warmed the blood within her again. He gently took one of her hooves in both of his while he continued. “You have done everything you can at this point. I know it’s a bit nerve-wracking to put Discord in charge of finding Tirek, but I have a feeling he’s going to come through for us. For all of us.”
“All of us?” she repeated, her wings tightening around her sides, until she realized that he meant all of Equestria. “Oh, yes. I believe he will prove the depths of his friendship with this task.”
She dried her eyes and shook her head. Duty demanded her full attention now, and she would not shirk from it. Once Tirek was back in Tartarus, where he belonged, then Celestia would speak to Doctor Horsenpfeffer about gaining an official medical confirmation of her condition. Bean would be invited to attend with her, of course, and she smiled deeply when she thought of his reaction to the news.
“Do you think Discord has run into any problems?” Bean asked softly, his gaze on the wall. “I honestly thought he’d be done by now.”
“No need for worries, my love,” said Celestia with a soft kiss for his cheek. “Tirek is still weak and vulnerable, so his strategy must be to strike at night, where it is easier to hide in shadows. I believe Discord will set a trap for him then, and by tomorrow morning, this should all be a happy memory.”
* * ✹ * *
Baked Bean’s heart was hammering hard enough in his chest that it threatened to punch a hole in his sternum, and he could feel his Celestial Crystal bouncing with the beat. His left rear leg had taken up the scared salsa again, and he simply started at the messenger in disbelief.
“All of them?” Celestia asked with a calmness that Bean knew was taking every last ounce of willpower to maintain.
“Yes, Your Highness. Emergency medical protocols are in place, but it’s the same as the other instances. Not one Wonderbolt escaped with their magic.”
Discord, how could you, Bean thought to himself. I thought we were friends.
Earth ponies. Unicorns. And now the Pegasi. From top to bottom and from end to end, Discord had taken Tirek on a magic-stealing spree across Equestria that boggled the mind with its speed.
Bean then wrapped his foreleg around Celestia, and her wing hugged him back tightly. Her head dipped, and her eyes closed. The burden of leadership was on full display for Bean, and he hated what he was seeing.
Nopony or creature had a right to inflict such pain on his beloved wife.
“Thank you, Corporal,” Celestia replied after several long moments. “Inform Captain Armor to prepare for the worst.”
“Yes, ma’am,” the Corporal saluted, and then left the hall in a brisk trot.
“It is far worse than we feared,” Luna stated the obvious. “It seems that there is nothing that can stop Tirek now.”
“No, there has to be something,” Bean replied, and his mind began to reel. “We can’t just let him win. Maybe the Elements of Harmony can be taken from the tree, but then we put them right back once Tirek is taken care of.”
Celestia’s wing retreated. “I do not believe the Tree of Harmony will give up the Elements of Harmony, Bean.”
Bean hopped off the throne and began pacing in front of it in thought. “Well, then maybe we trick Tirek. He’s got to have some sort of weakness we can exploit. What about his brother? Maybe we could summon him real quick, and he can give us an idea of what to do.”
“Scorpan is—”
“Or maybe we steal it back,” Bean continued on with an increased pace to his steps. “There was one book I read in the archives—”
“Bean.”
“—that said there was some sort of staff that could absorb magic. Maybe we could go find that, or maybe—”
“Bean!”
“—we could use the portal to the hew-mon world, somehow. If we have magic, they must have some too, and the hew-mon Element Bearers might be able to assist us, or we could somehow—”
“BEAN!”
Baked Bean stopped dead in his tracks, and he looked to his wife with some of his hurt showing on his face. “I know they’re not good ideas, but we need to do something. I can’t just sit here and wait for Tirek to win.”
“Nor can I,” Celestia replied. “But Tirek’s defeat is not a burden that rests with you.”
Bean staggered back a step. “What do you mean? Of course it is. I want to protect Equestria, just like you do.”
“I need you to listen to me very carefully.” Celestia’s gaze was cold and absolute, and Bean’s ears splayed flat against his head while she continued. “The best thing you can do for Equestria is to leave.”
“Watch very carefully, and see what she excludes you from tomorrow, and the day after that.” Blueblood’s words began to thunder in Bean’s ears, and he fell back on his haunches in disbelief. “With every passing moment, she moves to distance you, to remove you.”
“Leave?” Bean whispered.
“Tirek is after all magic: Earth, Unicorn, Pegasus, and even Alicorn. He will come here eventually to steal our magic, and when he does, you will be in grave danger. There is a safehouse beneath the ruins of the old Castle, and you must remain there until Tirek has been taken care of. Sergeants Pokey and Clover will escort you, and I will send for you when it is safe to return.”
Bean wanted to protest. He wanted to shout, to scream, to stomp around like a petulant colt and yell at the top of his lungs. He could help, he could fight. He could summon guards, or direct the placement of troops somewhere. Leaving Celestia’s side was the worst possible thing that could be asked of him, and her suggestion that he do so left his whole body feeling numb.
But instead of doing what he felt like doing, he simply nodded. “All right. If you feel like that’s the best course of action, I’ll leave.”
“Thank you,” Celestia simply replied before turning to Luna. “Time is short, Sister. We must quickly find the spell that is needed to transfer our magic to Twilight, and she must be summoned immediately. She will then be able to hide until…”
“Sir?” Sergeant Clover tapped Bean on the shoulder. “Will you come with me, sir?”
Bean slowly stood, and his steps were laden with emotion. Blueblood had been right. He was right about the swamp water; the lack of usefulness. He was right about his Celestia wanting another.
The fire had grown cold and died on Bean without him even realizing it.
“Wysteria and Trixie will be evacuated with you, sir,” Clover called over her shoulder while they entered the hallway. “Once at the safehouse, we will be able to… sir?”
Bean had stopped, and his gaze was on one of the windows. “Sergeant, what do you think my wife’s plan is?”
“I couldn’t say for sure, sir.”
“Take a guess, then.”
Clover swallowed. “Well, Tirek probably doesn’t know there’s a fourth princess, sir. If Princess Twilight takes all alicorn magic, then he can’t steal it. How that remedies the situation is beyond me, sir.”
“I see. How long do you think it will take before Tirek sees this window when he gets here?”
Clover’s eyes followed Bean’s outstretched hoof. In bold technicolors—most of them purple—the glass before them depicted the glorious ascension of one Princess Twilight Sparkle, in the glory that only stained glass could truly capture.
“Uh, well…” Sergeant Clover coughed. “This is in the main hallway, so within minutes, I suppose?”
“I see,” he repeated with a nod. “Now, having said that, I imagine he’s going to be rather perturbed when he finds out what my wife did. It is entirely reasonable, to my uneducated mind, that he will go after the fourth princess as soon as he realizes there is one. So, how do you feel about a little mutiny?”
“Mutiny, sir?”
“I refuse to believe the best thing we can do at this point is to hide Alicorn magic and then flee. There’s got to be more we can do, but we need time to figure out what, or at least to give Princess Twilight a chance to formulate a plan.”
“So, what are you proposing exactly, sir?”
Bean’s countenance turned grim while his gaze went back to the stained glass. “We stall Tirek as much as possible. Throw whatever we can at him, and keep him from finding Twilight if we can. I don’t know about you, but I won’t be able to look at myself in the mirror from this point forward if all I do in a crisis is hide.”
“Princess Celestia is trying to protect you, sir. Should the worst happen to the Princesses, you will be the one to take their place in ruling Equestria.”
Bean scoffed. “If the worst happens to them, there will be nothing left for me to rule over. I will spend the rest of my days in hiding, forever running from an enemy I should have faced. No, Tirek must be dealt with, now. I would rather die knowing I tried to do something, as opposed to living with the knowledge that I did nothing.”
Clover nodded slowly and with a pleased smile. “So, what are your orders then, sir?”
“Give me your spear. If I’m going to keep Tirek from learning about Twilight, then I need to remove the rest of the windows. Hopefully he’ll think it’s some safety protocol we use during invasions. You make sure Wysteria and Trixie are evacuated safely. Tell Pokey we need…”
Bean trailed off, and his eyes darted back and forth. Mentioning Trixie’s name had given him an idea, a wonderfully terrible idea that would never work.
“Sir?” Clover asked after a moment. “What is it?”
“Go get Trixie, and bring her to the carriage hangar. She’s an illusionist by trade, so she’s bound to know a few tricks we can use to stall and misdirect Tirek.”
“But what if Discord interferes, sir?”
Bean drew in a heavy breath. “Then we deal with him if it happens. Hopefully, he’ll be too busy helping his new friend to notice us.”
“Understood, sir.” Clover passed her spear to Bean, then saluted. “You have twenty minutes before I’ll be forced to return.”
Bean nodded, and his gaze went back to the stained glass window before him. He idly wondered how much it had cost to create such a masterpiece while Sergeant Clover’s hoof steps diminished, but once they were gone, he reared up slowly and squared his shoulders to the glass.
“I’m sorry, Twilight.”
The spearhead passed through the center of the colorful mosaic like it wasn’t even there. Shards of glass and metal rained down on Bean, threatening to draw blood with their descent, but there was no hesitation in Bean’s strokes across the whole of the window. Within a few short moments, all that remained of the formerly glorious art was a few broken and twisted bits of metal within an empty frame.
Bean’s efficiency against the remaining windows in the hall was astonishing. Window after window fell in rapid succession to Bean’s spear and to his lifeless, mechanical movements. Starswirl the Bearded and The Pillars of Equestria, The Rise of the Element Bearers, Luna, Cadence and Shining Armor’s wedding, the Royal Seal of Equestria. All of it and more was removed from history with broad sweeps and determined thrusts from the Prince of Equestria.
All but one, that is. When Bean stepped up to the last window, he paused. A single tear welled up and trickled down his cheek while he looked over the sunflowers, the magnificent Boop of Destiny, and his new cutie mark. It was the greatest things in his life, all in one.
Bean glanced down at his flank while he raised the spear and brought it behind his back to prepare for an overhead swing. He inhaled, and closed his eyes.
“Forgive me, my Love.”
When Baked Bean left the hallway, he was very careful not to step on any of the white or yellow glass that littered the hallway. There was a chance it would be all that would remain of his life with her.