Princess Celestia was going at a steady pace flying, allowing a current of air to flutter through her toga and mane, flapping against the side of her body. She was hunting for another stallion and mare for Twilight. Still, for now, she was flowing through the air and just enjoying herself, not being surrounded by guards watching her every movement. She then saw an interesting sight: a massive red-coated stallion enjoying a picnic with a cute pink-coated mare. The alicorn princess then sat on top of a cloud above them and watched the couple. She could tell they were looking awkward and about as if they weren't sure why they were there.
The pink-colored mare looked around with a worried look on her face as she asked, "So, did you write this letter?"
The red-coated earth pony shook his head and gave a. "Ey'nope."
The mare took a more scrutinized look at the letter, and Princess Celestia could see that the hoof writing could have been more organized. The mare snickered as she said, "I apologize; I think your sister and her friends got it in their heads; I needed a Special Somepony."
"Ey'yup."
"And I believe they thought it was supposed to be you."
Big Mac blinked, astonished, then squeaked, "Ey'yup."
It didn't take long, but Princess Celestia started to put things together from the various friendship lessons. She recognized the big red-coated stallion as Applejack's Big Macintosh and the pink-coated mare as the teacher Cheerilee. She then caught on that it had to be the Cutie Mark Crusaders who were the ones who set them up. She couldn't help but agree that they would make for a cute couple and need a push to get with each other. The princess alicorn then took aim with her bow, nocking two arrows in place as she pulled back the string above the two and aimed it right at them. Princess Celestia then let the bowstring loose, and the arrows shot at the two unsuspecting Earth Ponies. She watched as the arrows slammed into her targets with ease. It wasn't long until the two seemed lost in each other's eyes.
Cheerilee squeaked in pain, then rubbed her flank with a hoof and whispered, "Ya know…maybe those fillies we're seeing something I haven't?"
Big Mac slowly nodded his head and gave an "Ey'yup."
Cheerilee began to flash her bedroom eyes at the stallion and whispered, "Well, I just can't help but be fascinated by you…so why don't we take this picnic somewhere more private."
"Ey'yup."
Then with the two placed each other's heads together as they slowly walked off into the sunset.
Princess Celestia just watched, entirely captivated by the scene and applauding herself for another match made in heaven. But then she heard somepony shout. "Hey, watch out!"
The alicorn turned her head around and just then saw a blue blur of feathers slam into her. Then as the mare recovered herself, she looked down to see her quiver of arrows spilling out and watched them fall to the ground below.
Meanwhile, Princess Cadance knocked on the door at her Cousin Prince Blueblood's manor. She heard two stallions talking, and she knew something was going on and asked, ", Um, Prince Blueblood?"
The prince opened the door, was happy to see Princess Cadance, and welcomed him in, "Hello, Princess Cadance; I wasn't expecting you."
"Well, it is Hearts and Hooves Day, and I just wanted to see what you were up to," Princess Cadance responded rather quickly.
"Hey, Bluey!? Where did you go?"
"I'm coming, sweetums, just talking to my cousin!" Blueblood chimed.
Princess Cadance wanted to laugh but kept her composure and asked, "Well may I come in?"
Her Cousin lowered his head as he seemed bashful and whispered, "Well…you see, I'm in the middle of something," He then got rather suspicious and asked, "Why are you even here? Why aren't you out with Captain Shining Armor?"
Princess Cadance gulped, then quickly lied, "I just wanted to see you; can I hang out with you now?"
"Sure…"Blueblood grumbled, then added, "Well, you're here now; come on in; my coltfriend and I were just having lunch."
Blueblood was still suspicious and annoyed, but it seemed there was nothing he could say to dissuade her from leaving. They then entered the kitchen and sat amongst each other, and Princess Cadance was surprised by the food laid out before them. It was a lovely feast with rich roast squash; turnips drowned in butter, and a plate of tofu loaf in the center of the table. It looked lovely, but Princess Cadance had to remind herself she wasn't here to eat; it was to save her Cousin and this royal guard from the enchantments placed on them. She then sat down and enjoyed the meal with them, diving into the food with her Cousin and his lover. It was sweet to see the two gushing over each other and feeding each other scraps of food, and that was when she noticed the two arrows glowing from their butts. Princess Cadance saw it as the perfect opportunity to remove the projectiles. As she lit her horn, the mare nonchalantly pulled the arrows from their flanks and stowed them away. She then casually drank a cup of wine and waited for the enchantment to dissipate, leaving the two to blink and look around in confusion.
"Wh…what is going on here!?" Prince Blueblood exclaimed, somewhat astonished about where he was and what was happening.
The guard he was courting started to get somewhat nervous rather quickly and stammered, "I apologize. I must have gotten lost."
"Nonsense, we were having a great time!" Blueblood exclaimed as he got up and said, "Please, I am as confused as you; why don't you stay and dine with me."
The guard looked at him with a smile, sat down, and drank his wine as he claimed himself. Meanwhile, Prince Blueblood sat down to continue his meal, then turned to face Princess Cadance and asked, "Are you going to stay? I do apologize for us overtaking the conversation. Are you here to say hello? How will you be staying longer?"
Princess Cadance rose and said, "Oh no, this was delicious, and thank you for allowing me to share in your meal. Before I take my leave, I should ask, have you seen Princess Celestia around?"
Both stallions paused, then shook their heads as Prince Blueblood responded, "No, I have not seen my aunt since she rose the sun this morning?"
The royal guard also shook his head and said, "I haven't seen her since this morning, either. Is something wrong? Is she missing?"
Princess Cadance waved a hoof to mitigate any panic and responded with a sheepish grin, "Oh no, I just wanted to find her and give her something for Hearts and Hooves Day. She's probably out and about; I'll find her eventually."
Prince Blueblood nodded, then raised his glass and said, "Well, if you do see her, give her my regards."
"Yes, please make sure she is well. We all know how gloomy she gets on this holiday," the soldier responded.
"Of course, thank you for your hospitality," Princess Cadance responded. She took off from her Cousin's manor and looked up into the sky. The mare spotted several tendrils of magic that now seemed to spread out into the sky above as she groaned, "Oh, Auntie Tia, what did you do now?"
Princess Celestia groaned as she looked all over the field, trying to see if she could find any of the arrows, but she seemed unable to find any. She then scratched the back of her flank with a wing as there was an irresistible itchy feeling. It must be just a bug bite. Celestia then looked up to see the pegasus that crashed into her fluttering above her and instantly recognized Rainbow Dash. She looked worried but seemed to relax as the princess got up and sighed, "oh, thank Celestia, you're ok!"
"Well, good to know you thank me for being ok," Princess Celestia chuckled to herself. She slowly approached her hooves and fixed her toga around her body, feeling a bit embarrassed being dressed. But then she found the bow but the arrows…the arrows were all missing.
She approached the pegasus and asked, "Rainbow Dash, did you see a bundle of arrows nearby?"
The pegasus explained, "Well when I crashed into you, I saw a dozen arrows falling around you. I was able to get you before hitting the ground, but one of them scraped by you, and then one hit me."
"Wait, is the arrow still in you!?" Princess Celestia asked.
Rainbow Dash scoffed, shook her head, and said, "Of course not! I pulled it out and tossed it."
"You didn't see where the others went!?"
"No, sorry, but I was too busy making sure you were ok."
Princess Celestia wanted to slam a hoof into her face for being so stupid and clumsy, not paying attention, and knowing how these arrows work; they're going to cause chaos among the ponies of Ponyville. But her anxious thoughts seemed to fade as she was slowly being enticed by Rainbow's magenta-colored eyes and seemed to be pulled towards them. The princess slowly approached her and whispered, "Rainbow Dash, has any Pony ever told you how beautiful you are?"
"Come on, Princess, your way more gorgeous than me, especially in that toga," Rainbow Dash squeaked out as she hid her face with her wings. It made Celestia chuckle; seeing the usually overconfident pegasus acting so bashful, she slowly came over and hugged her, "Oh, Rainbow Dash, there's no need to be so bashful. But I do need your help."
"Of course, princess, I'll do anything!"
Princess Celestia turned her head and squeaked, "I…I need help finding the arrows that fell from my quiver…but let's do it separately. I'm not sure if I can focus on looking for them with you around."
Rainbow Dash flew right into the princess' face and asked, "But princess, I don't want to be away from you. Can't we look for them together?"
The alicorn princess barely heard anything the daredevil said as she slowly trotted into her face, kissed her cheek, and said, "Listen, we're not really in love; we're being influenced by magic. Please find these arrows quickly."
Rainbow Dash gave a painful sigh and said, "ok, Princess, but once we find all these arrows, you better come find me."
"I will, now please hurry!" Celestia squeaked as she pushed the pegasus and flew off with tears filling her eyes. She knew this wasn't real and that the enchantment from the arrows that grazed her and Rainbow Dash was causing these emotions to arise. But at the same time, she at least was stronger than how she was when she broke up with King Sombra, and she'll endure this as well. The princess wiped the tears from her eyes and flew towards Ponyville with a determined look to fix her mistakes and find the arrows before anypony else went through what she was feeling now.