It smells like turpentine and tastes like apple juice
It had been a nightmare to install a telephone line inside a castle made out of crystal, but Starlight was glad for it as she dialed the number that was only reserved for emergencies.
It only took three rings for some creature to answer. “Starlight, what’s happening?”
“Spike!” Starlight yelped, glancing up and down the hallway guiltily. “Is Twilight there?”
“She’s in a meeting with the Saddle-Arabian dignitaries, can't exactly barge in at the moment,” he said quickly, his tone serious. “Unless it’s an emergency.”
“It is an emergency, just…not the end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it kind of emergency, b-but still a big deal…!”
“…With you, everything is a big deal.”
“Spike, not helping,” Starlight rebuked and stepped closer to the receiver, panic seeping into her voice. “Tell me, do you know anything about elixirs?”
She heard some rustling in the background and a quiet sigh, most likely settling in after hearing the dread in her tone. “A little bit, used to help Moondancer and Twilight with them from time to time, why?”
“Well, I tried my hoof in brewing one of them—”
“Sweet Celestia, who’s at the hospital right now?”
“No one! I stayed away from the poisons and the really dangerous ones!”
“Ok then, what did you brew?” Starlight was silent long enough for him to wonder if she had hanged up. “Hey, are you there?”
“…Potio amor vitae.”
There was a pause on his side. His old ponish was a little rusty, but he helped Twilight through many nights of research to piece together a rough translation in his head. “Potio is potion…vitae means life, I think, and amor…Starlight!”—she flinched at his tone— “You made a love potion!?”
“It was one of the most benign elixirs in there!” She said and with that, her explanation tumbled out like a landslide. “An ex-schoolmate of Sunburst’s sent him this book, saying she needed help translating it, but since he’s so busy I offered to translate it for him instead! I made it just to see if my translation was correct—and before you accuse me, I wasn’t planning on giving it to any creature, I swear! I put the potion in a pitcher since I ran out of bottles and left it on the library table because I wanted to fetch a couple of books to compare the results, but when I got back Sunburst had drunk it all and said that it was good and asked me what it was! I freaked out and ran and now he will fall in love with me and this will ruin my friendship with him and when I give him the antidote, he will hate me forever and he will move out and quit and I will have to look for another vice-headmare and—!”
“Starlight!”
“Sorry,” she breathed, her stomach squirming with dread. “I just, I don’t know what to do or how he will react, Spike I’m scared!”
“Ok, just breathe and let’s think rationally,” Spike said and he coached her through some breathing exercises before he continued. “Alright, tell me about the potion so I can look for it in the library and search for an antidote.”
“It’s a really strong one, supposedly an ‘elixir of everlasting love’,” Starlight scoffed slightly at the pretentious title. “It smelled like turpentine when I was brewing it, and Trixie claimed it smelled like fabric softener, I thought the smell alone would deter anyone from drinking it.”
“But shouldn’t it smell good? Being a love potion and all?”
“This elixir is love in its purest form, hard to stomach for most.” Starlight explained. “Think of it like a spice—no, more like an ingredient for a cocktail, something that on its own it doesn’t taste very good. Like, you could drink scotch and whisky with nothing else but unless you got a tolerance for them, you would throw it up, right? That’s why you mix it with other things to make it easier to swallow.”
“Alright, so it’s a really strong spice,” she heard him mumbled alongside the faint scratching of a quill against paper. “Then why did it smell so different to you and Trixie?”
“Because since I brew it, the potion is pure love directed at me,” Starlight sighed. “Every creature feels differently towards someone, that’s why you have to hide it in foods or drinks, you never know how it will smell or taste to them.”
There was a pause on his side and Starlight could practically hear his eyebrow raised in skepticism. “Starlight, did you hear what you just said? If he drank it without complaint, I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”
“Huh?”
“Never mind, look,” Spike said quickly, cutting her off, “unless he starts puking and convulsing all over the place, I don’t think he will be mad at you, it was an honest mistake. Besides, he’s a wizard, he would totally understand that these things happen and won’t hate you for it.” His chuckle tumbled through the wire. “I mean, he was pretty impressed when you told him you traveled through time.”
A light smile curled on her lips at the memory. “But he was pretty miffed that time I turned us into foals…”
“Does he hold it against you?”
“No, but—”
“Then I don’t see why this is any different,” Spike said resolutely. “I’ll look for an antidote and send it to you—though I honestly don’t think you will need it—in the meantime, tell him what happened and keep an eye on him just in case, if things go bad, take him to the hospital and call me.”
Starlight nodded and swallowed nervously. “Ok, I’ll call you later, thanks.”
“Only if it’s an—” Starlight hanged up, feeling jittery and anxious all over as she made her way to the library.
There was just one detail she didn’t mention to Spike—a little fact about herself that she hadn’t told anyone, not even Trixie or Maud or Twilight knew, and it made this whole mess even worse for her.
She really, really like Sunburst, more than just a friend, and she was torn up inside about this.
On the one hoof, a part of her would love it if he started reciting love sonnets and declaring his everlasting love for her, it was just something a girl dreams of when they’re in love. But on the other, the side of her that was the loudest and the most negative, told her that it wouldn’t matter because those words wouldn’t be coming from him, but from the effects of a love potion. She might as well brainwash him into loving her for all the good those saccharine words would do.
She inched slowly towards the library doors. Thankfully they were partly open, giving her a chance to see what waited for her on the other side. Her ears perked at the sound of smooth rock-and-roll playing from the record player, and she easily found Sunburst where she left him, sitting on the table surrounded by books and parchments, his head bobbing to the music, looking…calm, content, like himself.
Starlight looked away, blinked, rubbed her eyes, blinked one more time, and looked again.
The music kept playing and Sunburst switched books, humming along to the lyrics.
As relieved as she was that her friend wasn’t hurling and convulsing on the carpet, or chasing her down like a mad-pony while screaming her name, she couldn’t help but stare with utter confusion. She wasn’t one to brag, but her spell work had always been impeccable—she knew that she hadn’t made a mistake while brewing the love potion, and with the amount he drank he should have felt the effects by now. She looked behind him, where her table was, still covered with her notes and books and the empty pitcher, she needed to check them over and find an answer.
The door didn’t creak as she pushed it open, a spell of binding on the back of her mind just in case seeing her triggered the enchantments. She cleared her throat loudly to be heard over the music.
“Hey, Sunburst,” Starlight called out nervously. “How are you?”
Sunburst looked up. Their eyes met and she tensed, waiting for a sheen of obsession to cover his eyes before he decided to jump her, and Starlight had half a mind to make a dive for the door when he beamed and spoke. “Pretty good, actually, I just made a huge breakthrough in this history paper I’m working on! With this, I’m going to blow away all those old croons in the Historic Society this weekend.”
“Okay,” Starlight said, taking another tentative step towards him, more confused than warry. “I’m just gonna…gather my things and…”
She pointed at the table behind him, towards the empty jug. When Sunburst saw it, his ears lowered with shame and he scratched the back of his neck guiltily.
“Oh, sorry about that, I just meant to take a sip, but it was just so good that once I started, I couldn’t stop!” He grinned sheepishly. “You should patent it and sell it. It would be a hit!”
“Ha-ha, yeah…” She laughed awkwardly; she would keep his suggestion in mind if she ever wanted to change her residence from a sparkling castle to a moldy cell. “Just out of curiosity, what did it taste like to you?”
“It tasted like…” Sunburst frowned pensively at the bookshelves that lined the walls. “Well, at first I thought it was pomegranate juice, it smelled strongly of it when I walked in, but when I drank it, it tasted kind of…fruity, I guess?”
“Fruity?”
“Yeah, like the apple juice we used to drink as foals, or the apple pie we split between us last thursday, and the candy apples we ate during the fair…” He trailed off with a faraway look on his face, but then the record player switched to a more upbeat song, shaking him out of his stupor. “W-What I’m saying is that it tasted like apple juice.”
Starlight nodded, letting him hide in his books and papers again while Starlight went for her notes. Pomegranate and apple juice? She didn’t even know he liked those fruits, and why would the love potion evoke those aromas and flavors for him? She guessed that fruit juice would be easier to swallow than turpentine and fabric softener, but why would it smell good to him? How could he tolerate something so strong…?
Tolerate.
Unless you got a tolerance for them, you would throw it up, right?
Starlight gasped, loud enough for Sunburst to jump in his chair and turn around to check on her. “Wow, what happened—!”
“Sunburst!” Starlight whirled around, leaning over with a wide grin on her face. “You’re in love with me!”
His glasses slid down his snout and fell to his lap, but he was too busy gaping at her fuzzy image to notice. “Huh.”
“You’re in love with me,” she says with more confidence than she thinks she ever said anything and the rest comes out in the rush. “You downed an entire jug of love potion and yet you’re not acting any different! And I know for a fact that my translation was accurate and I followed the directions to a tee, and if the potion smelled and tasted good to you it means you were in love with me before you drank it!”
Sunburst picked his glasses and slipped them on, but his gaping wasn’t any less intense. “Wait—that was a love potion!?”
“Yes!” Starlight nodded. “And I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have left something like that lying around, and I wasn’t going to try it on anyone or anything, heck, Discord would have mounted my head on the wall if I touched any of Fluttershy’s animals.” She slumped on her chair with a sigh. “I totally understand if you’re mad at me though, it was stupid of my part to leave it out in the open, I’m really, really sorry.”
“I…well, if there’s anyone to blame it’s me, I shouldn’t be drinking things that I find lying around.” Sunburst cleared his throat, blushing a little. “And, yeah, I do like you Starlight, a lot.”
“…Oh.”
His blush increased and he looked down at his hooves. “Unless you don’t, which is perfectly alright! I understand if you just want to remain friends—”
“No!” Starlight yelped, her own face heating up to a shade of red that matched his own. “I really like you Sunburst, and if you want to be more than friends…then I’m willing to try.”
His blush didn’t lessen, but his grin eased the last bit of her anxiety and Starlight smiled back.
“Then, would you like to come with me to the Historic Society meeting this weekend?” He continued quickly before she could protest. “It’s taking place at a really nice hotel, after the meeting we can go to the restaurant for dinner and then we can do whatever you want.”
“Is this a spur-of-the-moment decision, or were you planning on this?”
“Been planning for it for weeks actually,” Sunburst laughed nervously. “I wanted to use the nice scenery to tell you, to make it special, but I guess the library will have to do.”
A bright spark of dragon flame appeared before Starlight and she reached out her hoof to catch a scroll, she opened it and read the contents quickly before she looked at Sunburst. “It’s the antidote for the love potion,” she looked at him with concern. “Are you sure you’re feeling alright? I could make it for you if you want.”
“I don’t need it,” Sunburst said, putting his hoof over hers and pushed the scroll down. “I never felt better.”
Happy (belated) Starlight Glimmer day! I wrote this quickly and yet didn't make it in time for the holiday 
, so if it seems a little rush, that's the reason. I hope you enjoyed it though!
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Dawww, that was sweet.
10732999
I was going to say this, but I've been beaten to the punch!
10733098
The love potion smells acrid unless you are used to experiencing it, and the smell of love for Starlight smells like turpentine to her, oh no!
10732999
10733098
I accept all the dawws I can get
10733445
It smells acrid to her because it's love directed at herself, which in part is a fail-safe from the potion so you don't accidentally ingest it and start making out with your reflection, and the other is that Starlight has some self-esteem issues and needs to be a little kinder to herself that's the way I thought about it anyways.
I am a simple man. I see starburst, i like.
RIOTFEST.ORG/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/deadandlovingit.gif
10733981
A man of culture I see 😏
Jokes aside, this was a cute Starburst story. The accidental love potion shenanigans was classic Starlight.
Its a very nice short story.
You often write such great StarBurst. This one totally lives up to your high standard.
And I could totally go for seeing that date...
Just saying
10734152
10734148
Thanks! Filling this site with cute StarBurst is my ultimate goal
🎵I took my troubles down to Madame Rue
You know that gypsy with the gold-capped tooth
She's got a pad down on Thirty-Fourth and Vine
Sellin' little bottles of Love Potion Number Nine🎵
Adorable, as always. A great way to brighten up my evening! And happy belated Starlight Glimmer day. Here's to another year of our favourite, neurotic dork.
Great ending. Still... he needs to see a poison specialist ASP or you going to have to write a squeal to this story.
10734518
🎵But when I kissed that cop down at Thirty-Fourth and Vine
He broke my little bottle of Love Potion No. Nine🎵
10734536
Thanks! Every day is Starlight Glimmer day for me anyways but I wanted to be in sync with the fandom for once 😅
10734576
I'm pretty sure he's fine, maybe a bit of indigestion and migraine in the morning, but who knows, if people want to see more then we could see how he fares...
10734299
You do a great job of it sir
10734518
🎵I told her that I was a flop with chicks
I been this way since nineteen fifty six🎵
🎵She looked at my palm and she made a magic sign
She said "What you need is, Love Potion Number 9"🎵
Enjoyable!
Pretty cute, and the reason the potion "failed" makes sense, love potions are usually said to produce "false love" acting crazy being a side effect, surely true love trumps false love so really bringing love with the person the potion is trying to make you love means the effects and side effects are nullifyed.
10824865
Most works of fiction I've read agree that there's no such thing as a true love potion. Since true, honest love that lasts a lifetime is too complicated for a simple potion to replicate perfectly.
Is this a reference to Madly Madagascar?
11089946
The title is actually based on this song from the 60's
11090044
I watched Madly Madagascar with my sister yesterday, that’s why I thought it was because of that. Good song though. Now that I hear the song, Madagascar was definitely based off the song. Thank you.
Aww that was really cute so it looks like Starlight made a love potion and she wasn't going to test on anybody but then Sunburst accidentally drink it and now she doesn't know how the effect will so just in case she called Spike for any antidote just in case but once she would turn to the library Sunburst was actually acting pretty normal and no side effects apparently he actually is in love with Starlight even with or without the love potion and that's why it didn't affect him too much because he's already in love with her but she still apologize for not thinking that somebody would drink it and he also apologized not to drink anything when it's not drinkable but hey it turned out pretty well again I think they are so cute together this was a pretty nice story keep up the good work.
11131942
Yeah the only good thing about the thing was it brought them together considering who knows how long it would take for them to get together.
She basically dragged his feelings out in the open by force due to an unfortunate accident, caused by her own carelessness. Some folks might have had some issues with that, but Sunburst is like 'I've known her since foalhood, this isn't even in the top ten of weirdest things to happen with her around'. And with regular bugbear attacks, villains reappearing after a thousand years of whatever (seriously, a thousand years ago must have been such a busy time!), the Everfree spouting magical beasts left, right and center... I can understand why Spike so nonchalantly implies that this is no big deal.
It was a funny story. And cute as well. If the show would not have shied away from romance as much as it did, this could easily have been an episode. (And no, a wedding or a newspaper article confirming a fandom ship as canon does not count.)
Thank you.
The premise definitely was concerning given Starlight was making a love potion but given she wasn’t actually going to test it, it’s fine.
Cute story.