> Love Countdown
>  by Glimglam
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Clock is ticking, Twilight.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	And to think that this all started as a simple experiment, Twilight reflected sadly, her best friend Rainbow Dash pinned helplessly to the ground underneath her. It was already about to happen again, she realized. But she couldn’t help herself; she had to fall in love. With every number, with every tick…
 

11:54


- 1 -

 
…She would fall in love all over again.
 
“So Rainbow, have I mentioned how SEXY you are looking to me right now?”
 
“…Twilight, you’re kinda freaking me out.”
 
“I hope so. Now kiss me, daredevil.”
 
“Wait, I didn’t mean—MMPH!”
 

~~~O~~~



10:54


“It’s ready!” declared Twilight, flipping through her checklist once more as she read the spellbook through. “Goodness, it sure took long enough to study this thing…”
 
The unicorn grinned widely, looking over the setup she had placed in preparation for the spell. Casting circle, mana tray… yep, everything was there. Perfect. She checked off the “Check EVERYTHING” box on her list, and nodded.
 
Spike was standing off to the side of the room, setting up the remainder of the arcane reflectors—sheets that absorbed or deflected stray bolts of magic. The fact that Twilight even suggested that she needed these worried him a bit.
 
“Twilight,” he began, “why do you need this stuff, again? I thought that this spell wasn’t supposed to be dangerous…?”
 
Twilight rolled her eyes. “It’s a spell that has to be self-inflicted, Spike,” she explained. “If any stray pulses are let free and wasted, then it could interfere with how effective it is.”
 
“Okay, but that doesn’t answer my second question.”
 
“It’ll be fine, Spike!” the unicorn reassured, shaking her head and laughing. “Jeez, relax a little! It’s just a little mind alteration spell. What could go wrong?”
 
Spike chuckled bitterly in response.
 
“I mean, come on. Who wouldn’t be curious about what it’s like being in love?” She sighed dreamily, noticed that her assistant was staring at her strangely, and quickly cleared her throat. “It’s one of those ‘countdown’ spells too, so, the effects are supposed to be temporary.”
 
“Goody…”
 
With all the components of the spell in place, Twilight was ready to cast the spell. Not taking any chances, Spike dashed behind the spell-proof sheets, electing to wait until everything was finished exploding.
 
“Alright, ready!”
 
Focusing all of her magic to a single point, the unicorn began to concentrate. Slowly, surely, she gathered all of her energy; shaping it, preparing to utilize it.
 
Recanting the letters and runes that she memorized, Twilight finally released the spell. A blast of purple magical energy burst forth from her horn, spreading out and surrounding her like a cocoon. For a moment, it remained this way, until the spell suddenly died away, leaving a very-much unharmed Twilight.
 
“…Well, that was interesting,” she remarked. “I don’t really feel any different…”
 
Spike sighed with relief, stepping out from behind the covers. “At least nothing blew up this time,” he commented as well, chuckling. “There’s nothing left behind for me to clean up.”
 
Twilight nodded as she turned to look at her assistant. “I suppose you lucked-out then, Spi—”
 

11:00


- 10 -

 
She stopped dead in her tracks, and her eyes widened. A sudden heat rose to her cheeks and she felt her mouth drop open slightly.
 
“…What’s the matter?” asked Spike, arching a brow. “Why are you staring at me like that?”
 
…Wow. He is HOT.
 
“No reason, Spiky,” cooed Twilight, regaining a cool composure as she sauntered over to the baby dragon. “I’m just admiring your stunning good looks, is all.”
 
Her assistant didn’t seem to catch the seductive edge that Twilight now seemed to possess. “Well, yeah, I guess I do look pretty good,” said Spike, chuckling as he shrugged modestly. “Rarity doesn’t know what she’s missing with me, honestly.”
 
 “Oh, who needs Rarity?”
 
“Who needs—OOF!”

Spike quickly found himself pressed against the wall, with a very sultry-looking Twilight standing above him. “Why settle for her,” the unicorn purred, “when you can have a girl that’s “book smarts” and “look smarts”?”
 
“Uh…” The dragon didn’t need to watch one of the videos that Twilight hid under her bed to understand what was going on here. And frankly, it was making him feel rather uncomfortable. “Twilight, are you feeling alright?”
 
Twilight’s eyelids lowered, and she smiled predatorily. “Never been better, Spiky,” she said, licking her lips. “Now why don’t you show me how much you’ve learned to use that little lizard tongue of yours…?”
 
“Y-yikes!”
 
Just as Twilight dove in with her lips, Spike managed to squirm his way out of her grip and run to the front door.
 
“Oh, Spike! You rascal, you!” called Twilight, following the dragon as he ran. “There’s nothing wrong with a little advice on how to properly treat a mare, is there?”
 
Sweet filly Luna, wondered Spike, what the heck has gotten into Twilight? All of a sudden, we were THAT close to sucking face?! Gross, man! GROSS!
 
Just as Spike was about to open the front door and run to get the others, there was a knock, followed by said door opening right in front of him.
 
“Mail call!” said the pony at the door, a gray pegasus with a blonde mane, and then started fishing a letter out of her bag.
 
Twilight seemed surprised by this new arrival, but her expression quickly shifted into one of annoyance. “Derpy, I know that you’re just doing your job and all, but would you mind giving us a little privacy?” said the unicorn, placing her hooves on the dragon’s shoulders and making him jump. “Me and Spike here were just about to get down and—”
 
“No we were NOT!”
 
“Such a gentledrake, isn’t he? Anyway, if you don’t mind, would you—”
 

11:06


- 9 -

 
“—keep standing right there, while I get a good look at that sexy flank of yours?”
 
Spike was stunned. “…wait, WHAT?”
 
Derpy still had her head in the mailbag, and her reply was a muffled, “Mmmph mhh canf mmu rmhph phhmmph?”
 
“Perfect,” said Twilight, smiling slyly as she leaned over to ogle the mare’s child-bearing rear. “I wonder if those bubbles really do mean what I think they mean…”
 
The baby dragon caught himself looking where Twilight was as well, and smacked himself. “I don’t believe this,” he muttered sourly.
 
After finding the letter that she was looking for, Derpy removed her head from the mailbag, spat it out, and then asked, “Bubble say what now?”
 
“You talk too much, Derpy,” the unicorn purred, stepping up to the pegasus as she ran a hoof down her neck. “I was expecting a special delivery, but I suppose you’ll have to do.”
 
And just like that, Twilight lunged in and kissed Derpy. On the lips.
 
Spike’s jaw almost hit the ground. “Wait, WHAT?!”
 
As far as Twilight was concerned, this was incredible! She pressed into her, hooves reaching around Derpy’s neck as she locked lips with hers. Tongues danced and wrestled with the other as they passionately moaned into each other’s mouth. Kissing! Who knew that it could set off such fireworks in her brain? Such passion? It was amazing. It was glorious.
 
And by the goddesses, she wanted more.
 
She finally pulled away to take a breath, and gave Derpy a smoldering look. “Well then, muffin. How did I taste, hmm?”
 
The mailmare, for one, was ramrod-stiff. Her eyes were wide, and surprised. No one had ever kissed her like that before! Well, not for a long time, anyway. But it definitely wasn’t from a girl! She wasn’t even sure what to think of it. So, she spoke the first thing that came to mind. “P-pretty… pretty yummy.”
 
Twilight giggled playfully, touching her snout to Derpy’s and winking. “In that case, would you like to know what other parts of me taste like—”
 
“Uh… sugarcube? What’n the hay do you think you’re doin’?”
 
The two “lovers” and single dragon looked towards the source of the new voice. It was Applejack, who just so happened to be passing by the Library with a cart of apples in tow.
 
“Oh AJ, do you mind?” whined Twilight, tilting her head towards the still-somewhat-shell-shocked mare. “We were having a tender romantic moment, and then you had to go and kill it!”
 
“Twi, ain’tcha ever hear of “public display”?” the orange mare pointed out dully. “Keep stuff like that indoors, would ya kindly? It’s alright to go around showing your mate a little lovin’—”

“MATE?!” exclaimed Spike, all of his involuntary education on such a topic rushing to the forefront of his mind as his normally-purple face turned beet red.
 
“—and while I can’t say I approve of the way your doorway is “hinged” towards preference an’ all, I’ll still respect that, as your friend. But again, keep that stuff inside, alright?”
 
“Yes, mom,” groaned Twilight, rolling her eyes. “Jeez, you really know how to take all the fun out of stuff, don’t you Applejack?”
 

11:12


- 8 -

 
“…Although,” she continued, suddenly opting to amble over toward the earth pony, “maybe that’s just because you really don’t know what having real fun is like, don’t you?”
 
Applejack tensed up at her approach, already sensing that something was amiss. “Er… Twilight, I’m pretty sure I know how to have fun when I want to,” she retorted, holding out a hoof to halt Twilight’s advance toward her. “Important phrase there bein’, “when I want to”. There’s a time for fun, and there’s a time for work, y’know.”
 
“Oh AJ,” Twilight sighed, shaking her head and smirking, “you must be so tense and tired from all that work. Don’t you think you’ll need somepony to help… relieve you of all that pent-up stress? I have ways…”
 
“Th-that won’t be necessary, sugarcube,” said Applejack, her face reddening from the oddly seductive edge that was now in her friend’s voice. “Besides, I don’t quite swing that way, anyhow. Sorry to disappoint.”
 
Twilight shrugged, and winked. “You never know what a mare’s company is like until you try it, Jackie.”
 
“…Jackie?”
 
Now AJ was sure that something wasn’t right with her friend. Kissing all over Derpy, then turning around and trying to seduce her, and calling her Jackie… yeah, she must’ve gone nuts. Again. With a sigh, the earth pony quickly thought of an idea.
 
“Actually, if ya don’t mind, would ya mind accompanying me to the… fancy white palace?” she proposed, hoping that Twilight would fall for it in her stupor.
 
“I’ll go anywhere you want me to go, AJ,” Twilight concurred, and her smile widened. “Even to places that you’ve never dared trespass.”
 
Hoo boy. I’ll give it to her, she’s a right temptress.
 
Nodding quickly, trying to hide her blush, Applejack led Twilight away from the Library (with the unicorn occasionally tugging at the earth pony’s tail with her mouth for some reason). Spike and Derpy were left behind, with the former individual still trying to process what had just happened.
 
After only a moment’s thought, the painfully obvious answer asserted itself. “…Yeah, something did go wrong with that spell. I just know it,” he ground out, slapping his face and groaning.
 
Derpy, meanwhile, was still a bit puzzled by the passionate, invasive kiss that was forced upon her. She licked her lips, thought for a moment, and nodded. “That,” she concluded, “was pretty weird.”
 
Spike sighed. “Tell me about it.”
 
“Oh, okay. Well, for one, you gotta ask a girl on a date first before you start goin’ up and kissing them all over the face and licking inside the—”
 
“Not literally! Jeez…”
 

~~~O~~~



11:21 AM

 
“…And then I took her here, we waited inside this room, you came inside to see her, and then she started hittin’ on you.”
 
The nurse on-duty at Ponyville General Hospital, Nurse Redheart, rolled her eyes. “Yes, that one detail has become quite apparent to me,” she grumbled, glancing over at the mare currently leaning against her and playing with her mane. “I’m not sure how much longer I can just grin and bear this…”
 
“If you really want to grin,” Twilight purred, tenderly nuzzling the nurse’s neck, “then maybe we should both get on that gurney and make like rabbits, hm?”
 
“…That’s not what such equipment was intended to use for, Miss Sparkle.”
 
“Well, why not give them a quick stress test to make sure? C’mon, you’ve already got the nurse outfit and everything; it’ll be perfect! Hel-lo nurse, am I right?”
 
Redheart groaned and facehoofed. Applejack frowned at her friend’s sudden promiscuousness, and couldn’t help but feel extremely worried. “Can’t you at least take a guess at what’s wrong with Twi?” she pleaded, and Redheart sighed.
 
“It’s obviously a magical ailment of some kind, but I don’t know which,” she explained, nudging Twilight away as she read over her medical clipboard again. “I thought it might have been Love Sickness at first, but, that’s only brought upon by consumption of potions or certain magical herbs. Neither of which she had been eating or drinking recently. The only other explanation I can offer is perhaps she self-inflicted a spell of some kind, but I can’t possibly imagine why she would do such a thing in the first place…”
 

11:24


- 6 -

 
“…So, at this rate, I’m not sure what else I can say. Spells will wear off in time, so for now, I would suggest keeping her quarantined until—errr… what is she doing with my bagel?”
 
Applejack turned to follow the nurse’s befuddled gaze, and raised an eyebrow. “What in tarnation…?”
 
For whatever reason, Twilight was cradling and gently caressing a bagel that had, moments ago, been resting on the tables. Presumably, it was intended to be an on-duty snack, but the unicorn appeared to be harboring… different feelings towards it. (None that actually involved any real snacking, at any rate.)
 
“Oh bagel,” she whispered tenderly, stroking the smooth exterior of the donut-shaped bread, “run away with me. I can make you happy, with or without butter.”
 
Twilight smiled affectionately, and leaned in to give the bagel a tender kiss. “You complete me, bagel. You make me whole.”
 
Both witnesses were dumbstruck, with mouths hanging open at this display. Neither seemed capable of speech as the unicorn lovingly embraced, kissed, and even licked the pastry. Finally, Applejack broke the silence with a simple question.
 
“…Is she seriously hittin’ on a bagel?”
 
Redheart groaned. “So much for my snack…”
 

~~~O~~~



11:27

 
Come on, there’s GOTTA be an explanation for what went wrong here!
 
Spike grumbled irritably as he flipped through the pages of the spellbook Twilight had been reading. Much of the spelling was somewhat illegible, at least to him, while others made no sense at all. How was it even possible to read a spell off of this?
 
“Jeez, I don’t even know how half these words are supposed to be pronounced,” Spike observed, narrowing his eyes as he tried to read one of the words. “…As-oh-for-but-ee-look-a? The heck?”
 
Sorely tempted to burn the book from all the frustration it was giving him, the baby dragon irately flipped through the pages with blistering pace, desperate to find something. Anything.
 
“Junk, junk, junk, junk, ju—hey, what’s…”
 
Settling down on a single page at last, Spike started to read: ‘The Love Countdown is a powerful spell, originally used in the pre-Celestial Era as a last-ditch means of finding a soul mate. Through its use, the caster will be automatically drawn to the first individual they lay eyes on, and every six minutes for an hour, they will lose interest in that individual and unconsciously seek a new one immediately—but never to the same individual twice.’
 
“Hm,” grunted Spike, nodding to himself. “That actually explains why she went from me, to Derpy, and then to AJ so fast…”
 
‘Early, inefficient versions of the spell were flawed, with the caster often falling in love with both inanimate objects and/or creatures not of the same species. Gender and even age seems to be an irrelevant factor in the spell’s influence, seeking anything and everything capable of reciprocating the caster’s feelings.’
 
Oh boy, Spike thought, grimacing. I sure hope Twi doesn’t start acting that way around boulders or something…
 
‘The Countdown’s effects last for an hour, at the end of which the caster will fall into a state of permanent infatuation towards the individual that best accepts and returns the caster’s feelings—’
 
Spike stopped reading, playing the sentence he just read over in his mind again.
 
State of permanent infatuation…

Permanent infatuation…

Permanent…

“PERMANENT?!”
 
The book was unceremoniously dropped to the floor as the dragon sprinted out the Library door, panting and panicking as he went.
 
“I’ve gotta find Twilight!” he exclaimed, not even bothering to close and lock the door behind him as he bolted. “She could be in really big trouble!”
 
As Spike ran to locate the lovesick mare, he neglected to realize that he left the book lying open, on the floor. The remainder of what he had been reading said:
 
‘Modern variations of this spell, luckily, lack such permanence, due to the many risks that are involved with such usage…’
 

~~~O~~~



11:30


- 5 -

 
“…Mmph?”
 
Twilight stopped herself, and looked down at the thing that was pressed against her lips for some reason. Her eyebrow quirked with confusion, and she realized that she was holding a simple, plain bagel.
 
And she was kissing it.
 
With apprehension, she slowly set the pastry back down on the floor, and looked at the two ponies staring at her with thoroughly-appalled looks.
 
Oh Luna, she thought to herself. This is really awkward…
 
After a moment, Twilight braved herself enough to speak. “Uh… was I actually doing that just now?” she queried, kicking the saliva-covered bagel under a counter and grinning sheepishly.
 
“…Er, ‘fraid so, sugarcube,” said Applejack, biting her lip with trepidation. “You feel all right now?”
 
“I guess so,” muttered Twilight, guiltily looking between both her friend and the irritated nurse. “I don’t really know what was coming over me, honestly. I just felt so… so confident, and saucy; like I would do anything to lure somepony into doing… stuff.” She cringed. “Ugh, I’ve never felt so embarrassed before…”
 
Nurse Redheart shook her head. “If you’re feeling well again now,” she began, “then I suppose it’s alright for you to leave.” She narrowed her eyes at the unicorn. “Also, if you ever so boldly suggest we engage in coitus on a patient’s bed again, I’ll write you up for the asylum, Miss Sparkle.”
 
Twilight paled. “Uh… did I really say that?”
 
“Twi, you don’t even know the half of it,” Applejack said, shaking her head and frowning.
 
Just as the two of them were about to leave the office, the door abruptly burst open, revealing to Twilight a very pink and very… attractive mare, standing behind it.
 
“SURPRISE!” the pink pony cheered, giggling. “Hi Applejack! Hi Twilight! I heard that you two were at the hospital, and I was all worried and stuff! Because, you know, hospitals are for sick and hurt ponies, so I thought, “Omigosh! AJ and Twilight might be sick or hurt!” So, I went and got some paint…”
 
Twilight was no longer listening to the ceaseless torrent of words that Pinkie Pie was spouting; she was instead enthralled by the mare herself.
 
That soft, plush pink coat… That poofy, candy-pink mane… That plump, rounded figure, owed to her diet of sweets… And those beautiful, blue eyes… she lost herself in them.
 
She was… sweet. Yes, that was the word. Sweet and sexy. Just the way that she liked it, Twilight realized. Her eyes glazed over as she stared in awe at Pinkie, losing herself in her incessant, yet melodic voice…
 
“...and then I decided, “Nah, that’d NEVER work!” and then figured I’d give you a “Get Better Sooner” party instead, but now I saw that you’re both perfectly okay, so, it’s alright! Glad that you’re not sick or hurt, girls! Awesome! Anyway, I gotta go back to the bakery, ‘cuz I’m still on my shift and all, but I’ll see ya later! Buh-bye!”
 
With a cheerful chorusing of “Lalala”, Pinkie Pie bounded away down the outside hallway. Applejack blinked, not sure what to make of her friend’s sudden appearance. Twilight blinked as well, wondering what had happened to the beautiful mare that she was looking at moments before.
 
“Well, shoot… Pinkie sure likes to show up when ya never expect it, don’t she?” commented AJ, turning to Nurse Redheart. “We’ll just be on our way, ma’am. Much obliged for the help.”
 
Redheart wasn’t looking back at her; her gaze was still stuck on the doorway. “Don’t thank me just yet,” she grumbled, pointing at something. “Not when we still have a problem.”
 
Applejack did not understand what she meant at first. But as soon as the earth pony followed the nurse’s pointed hoof, and noticing that Twilight was missing from the room, her heart sank.
 
“Dagnabbit, not again!”
 

~~~O~~~

 

11:35

 
“So, Pinkie…”
 
“Yeah?”
 
Twilight grinned deviously. She had to give chase to this gorgeous mare, and goodness gracious did she run fast, but now that she was all caught up, here in Sugarcube Corner… the real fun could begin at last. The unicorn found it terribly difficult to contain herself, and she giggled involuntarily.
 
It was just too easy.
 
“Why don’t you come on over here,” she began, bearing down on Pinkie Pie like a starving, horny predator, “and give mama a little sugar, sweetie.”
 
“Oh, okay!” replied Pinkie, her naïveté enacting itself in full force as she completely misinterpreted her friend. “I got brown sugar, white sugar, icing sugar, sugar dumplings, sugar pies, sugar cakes, sugar fl—”
 
Twilight promptly silenced her with a kiss. A very hard, very forceful one, at that. Hungry, and needy; as if this kiss would decide the fate of Equestria.
 
“Mmmph?!” came the muffled exclamation of shock from Pinkie, not returning the kiss in any way but not making any attempt at fighting it. She just let it happen, not entirely sure what to make of this.
 
Lost in the embrace, the lovestruck unicorn moaned with pleasure as she closed her eyes. Sparks flew in her brain as she kissed her sweet, sugary, sexy partner…
 

11:36


- 4 -

 
…and then stopped. Twilight opened her eyes again, staring straight into the eyes of her pink friend. Their mouths were still pressed together, and the unicorn could even feel her tongue still lost inside Pinkie’s mou—
 
Gross, gross, gross, GROSS!
 
Snapping back to reality, she jerked her head back, breaking free of the kiss. Her face became one of shock and horror as she realized what she had just done. “Oh—oh no!” she cried, letting go of Pinkie and backing away. “I’m so sorry! I couldn’t control myself, I just…!”
 
Pinkie Pie blinked once, then twice, and laughed. “Wow, Twilight! That was one HECK of a surprise!” she blurted, laughing as if nothing was amiss. “You sure got me good! I was not expecting that at all! You’re good!”
 
“I’m…” Twilight’s brain fizzled out as she processed her friend’s reaction. “…what.”
 
“That was some prank!” clarified Pinkie, still laughing. “Nice one! Oh, hey, maybe I should try that one on Dashie sometime, too!” She giggled at the thought, and shrugged. “Anyway, see ya later Twilight! I got to get back to work!”
 
And with that, the pink pony bounded off into the bakery’s back room, leaving a very dazed and confused Twilight standing there.
 
…Okay, I suppose I lucked out with Pinkie, she thought to herself, taking the time to ponder what was happening to her. But what if it happens again? Every time I hear the number counting down, I just… snap out of it. And then, as soon as I see somepony else… I’m all over them! What the heck is going on, here? When will it end?
 
She gulped. Who… who else will I end up falling for?
 
Shaking her head, Twilight turned towards the exit, wondering how long this would last—and stopped cold. Her heart sank at the sight of three familiar fillies entering Sugarcube, at that exact same moment.
 
“CUTIE MARK CRUSADER BAKERS, YAY!”
 
Oh sweet Celestia, why.
 
“Wait, I thought we tried baking already?”
 
No.
 
“Have we?”
 
No no no.
 
“Heck, I dunno. We don’t keep checklists anymore.”
 
Not THEM.
 
“Yeah. We needed that space for the thinking spot.”
 
Anypony else but them…!
 
“It was worth it, though!”
 
“Oh, totally!”
 
“…So, we’re still baking?”
 
“Duh, of course!”
 
“Oh. Okay!”
 
Twilight tried to look away, to try and avoid something that she knew she would regret—but it was already far too late. Her eyes were already transfixed on the filly in the center of the group; a little orange pegasus, with fuchsia hair. She immediately took notice of her presence.
 
“Oh look, it’s Twilight. What’s up?”
 
She felt a familiar burning in her chest, and felt herself shuddering. The unicorn began to imagine the soft, yielding flesh of the young foal against her own, the smooth, light coat… Everything about what she was beginning to think and feel was just wrong, so very and incredibly wrong.
 
And she loved it.
 
“Oh, Scootaloo… would you mind coming on over here for a moment?”
 

~~~O~~~



11:40

 
Consarnit, this ain’t good, Applejack thought, biting her lip nervously as she galloped through Ponyville. If she ain’t at Sugarcube Corner, then where in the hay could she have run off to now?
 
Rounding a corner in the street, the earth pony looked down the other way to check for her friend, and then turned to face forward again—only to collide with somepony else.
 
“OW! Dang it, watch where you’re goin’!” chided Applejack, glaring at the offending—dragon? “Wait a minute, Spike? Where’ve you been?”
 
The baby dragon got back to his feet, groaning. “Ugh, I was looking for Twilight,” he explained urgently. “She’s in big trouble!”
 
The earth pony snorted. “Yeah, I kinda figured that,” she muttered sourly. “She’s been tryin’ to seduce dang near anyone that she catches her eye on. Last I saw her, she was chasin’ after Pinkie. But I was just at the Corner, and she told me that Twi left there just a minute ago with my sister and her two friends.”
 
“The Crusaders?” said Spike, rubbing his head with thought. “So, if Twilight went with AB, Sweetie, and Scoot, then…” His eyes widened with horror. “…Oh no. Ohhhhhhh no. That is NOT good.”
 
Applejack nodded, trying her best to hide her sickened expression. “Exactly. We gotta find her—and right quick, too.”
 

11:42


- 3 -

 
Spike nodded. “Alright, so… where do we start?”
 
“Maybe we should split up. I’ll take the west side of town, and you go on over to the east si—”
 
A distant scream interrupted the farmer. Startled, they both turned to look down the street. Lo and behold, Twilight came running down the lane, looking extremely distressed.
 
“I CAN’T BELIEVE I ACTUALLY CHASED HER!” she downright screamed, a deranged look in her eye as she galloped along. “I ACTUALLY WANTED TO DO THINGS TO HER! WHAT WAS I THINKING?! AAAAAAAAH!”
 
Applejack and Spike both watched, dumbfounded, as the unicorn sprinted away, crying and freaking out over what had happened. She did not even see or acknowledge that they were standing there.
 
Moments later, the Cutie Mark Crusaders themselves came trotting along as well. Surprisingly, and perhaps quite fortunately, the only thing that they appeared to be was more confused than scared.
 
“What’s the matter with her?” asked Sweetie Belle, looking over at her friends with a questioning look.
 
Scootaloo shrugged. “I dunno,” she said, waving a hoof dismissively. “I figured she just wanted to play some kind of weird game of tag or whatever.”
 
“Can ya even get a cutie mark for being chased?” wondered Apple Bloom aloud.
 
“What would that even look like?”
 
“…A wheel? Or a hoof? I dunno.”
 
Spike looked up at Applejack, and shrugged helplessly. “Well, at least we know that they’re alright…”
 
“Yeah, that’s true,” the orange mare conceded, sighing. “But she’s still not right in the head. We gotta find her, and get her some proper help.”
 
“Oh—right!” The dragon had almost completely forgotten about what he had read in that book. He quickly explained to AJ about the spell that Twilight had used, to which the earth pony shook her head and sighed.
 
“That’s Twilight for ya, always goin’ off and using her fancy magic without care…”
 
“Worse; if we don’t do something to help before this hour is up, then her being all “in love” and stuff could be…” Spike gulped. “…permanent.”
 
“P-permanent?” The mere notion sent a chill up the farmer’s spine. Imagining Twilight going head-over-hooves in love with just about everypony in town… it was a rather disturbing thought.
 
From down the road, they could hear another scream, accompanied by somepony shouting, “Get your stinking hooves off of my Lyra, you hussy!”
 
“Yeah! Tell her, Bonnie!”

“We can always share, you know!”
 
Spike facepalmed while Applejack grunted with exasperation. “We ain’t got a minute to lose, then!” she declared firmly, pointing at the distant hands on the clock tower. “Clock’s a-tickin’, Spike!”
 

~~~O~~~

 

11:51


- 2 -

 
“So tell me, Rose,” Twilight purred seductively, brushing her tail against the flower pony’s face as she circled her like a vulture. “What’s your favorite kind of flower?”
 
“Um…”
 
Not waiting for an answer, the unicorn sidled up beside Roseluck, nuzzling her shoulder as she “mmm’d” with delight. “Because I can tell you what mine is, you know…”
 
Roseluck gasped as she felt Twilight’s tail brush a little too close to a particularly sensitive point. “A-ah! Oh dear, uh… I…”
 
While the scene might have been tense, for Twilight, the mood was quickly broken by a voice from above. “Look out beloooooow!”
 
Twilight stopped her romantic ministrations, and turned to look up with confusion. “What the—”
 
CRASH!
 
The scene around Twilight and Roseluck was transformed into a dust cloud—out of which, both Twilight and a certain rainbow-maned pegasus came tumbling. The two of them rolled along the street for several yards before coming to a rest, with Twilight managing to remain on top of her.
 
“What the… R-Rainbow Dash?!” exclaimed the unicorn, narrowing her eyes and gritting her teeth with irritation. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
 
“Just dropping in on you, is all,” said Dash, smirking at her wordplay. “S’not like I was interrupting anything, was I?”
 
An icy glare was the response to that.
 
Rainbow’s smirk fell away. “Uh… so, I did interrupt something,” she muttered, biting her lip. “S-sorry? I guess?”
 
Darn it Rainbow, Twilight mentally snarled, why’d you go ahead and bother me from…
 
Realization struck her. Where was Roseluck? Twilight turned and looked around the street, but the red-maned pony was nowhere to be seen. (Unbeknownst to Twilight, she had already fled the scene during the chaos of the crash.) Only then, did she finally snap out of her stupor, and realize what had what had happened.
 
Oh, no. I practically molested poor Roseluck.
 
She remembered that her left midsection ached quite badly too, and she winced. That was quite a kick that “Bonnie” had packed, Twilight noted.
 
And I even went as far as to suggest a threesome with Lyra and Bonbon.
 
She looked down at Rainbow Dash, and her heart sank as she realized what was going to happen next.
 
And to think that this all started as a simple experiment, Twilight reflected sadly, her best friend Rainbow Dash pinned helplessly to the ground underneath her. It was already about to happen again, she realized. But she couldn’t help herself; she had to fall in love. With every number, with every tick…
 

11:54


- 1 -

 
…She would fall in love all over again.
 
“So Rainbow, have I mentioned how SEXY you are looking to me right now?”
 
“…Twilight, you’re kinda freaking me out.”
 
“I hope so. Now kiss me, daredevil.”
 
“Wait, I didn’t mean—MMPH!”

To Tartarus with whether it was wrong or not; Twilight enjoyed every second of it. She finally had a mare pinned to the ground, and was passionately making out with her. Bodies pressed together, eyes closed, and letting herself soak in the delight that she was experiencing.
 
Rainbow Dash, despite the oddly-pleasing tingle she felt, was panicking. Twilight, kissing her?! Twilight wasn’t even into mares (as far as she knew), and neither was she! There was no way this could have been happening. No way.
 
And yet… there was something that felt good about this.
 
Thanks to Twilight’s insistence, Rainbow soon felt herself returning the kiss. Fire blazed in her mind; the pegasus applied more force, and the pleasure doubled. She wrapped her forelegs around the unicorn’s neck and moaned, joining Twilight in bliss. Why did something so wrong feel so right?
 
After what seemed like eternity — a wonderful, heavenly eternity — the two pulled away from each other. Panting, smiling, and giggling like schoolfillies. Twilight sighed, somehow feeling… unsatisfied. Perhaps, we could… hmm…
 
Rainbow Dash’s mind was still reeling from what they had just done. Sweet nimbus, she thought, finding it hard to concentrate all of a sudden. That was AWESOME. It was so weird, but it felt SO cool. That’s what it’s like to kiss, huh?
 
But, somehow… she didn’t feel right.
 
Twilight is my best friend though, the pegasus wondered, her fulfilled smile fading. I shouldn’t be doing THAT kind of stuff with her, right? That’s supposed to be what all the lovey-dovey couples do, and we’re not like THAT.

She bit her lip anxiously as she saw Twilight leaning towards her again, her eyelids flying half-mast as she trailed her hooves down her body…
 

12:00


- 0 -

 
…Right?

“TWILIGHT! RAINBOW! STOP!”
 
Both mares, startled, looked up just in time to see Applejack running full-steam towards them. Mere instants later, the farmer tackled Twilight off of Rainbow Dash, sending the two of them tumbling further down the road.
 
Dong… dong… dong…
 
The bell tower rang, signaling the onset of noon. Spike trailed behind the orange mare, watching her and Twilight as they both slowly climbed back to their hooves. “Oh no,” he whispered fearfully, “I hope we’re not too late…”
 
Rainbow Dash was dumbstruck by what just occurred. “Uh… hey guys,” she said hollowly, swapping looks between AJ and Spike. “What’s going on?”
 
“She is going on,” the earth pony explained, frowning at the mare still trying to gain her footing. “She’s been running all over Ponyville, and put her hooves all over anypony she sets her sights on. Darn spell made her all ga-ga goo-goo, and now… well, I dunno.”
 
Twilight finally managed to stand again, and she looked up at her three friends. She blinked. “What… what just happened?” she asked blankly, putting a hoof to her head. “Gah, my head hurts… and so does my flank…”
 
“Love spell? Running all over Ponyville?” pointed out Spike rather dully. “Ringing any bells, Twi?”
 
At this, the unicorn’s body went rigid. “That… actually happened?” she asked, her pupils shrinking to pinpricks. “That wasn’t a dream?”
 
“It sure as hay did,” Applejack informed her curtly. “Just ask about, oh, half of Ponyville. They’d be more than happy to fill you in.”
 
“…”
 
Twilight threw herself face-down to the ground, covering her head with her forelegs and groaning.
 
“This is SO embarrassing!” she whined pitifully. Always the loyal assistant, Spike came alongside her and patted her on the back comfortingly.
 
“If it’s any consolation,” he said in a consoling tone, “I did actually appreciate it when you complimented my looks.”
 
Rainbow Dash was not any less speechless than when AJ and Spike first showed up. She blinked a few more times, and finally broke the silence with, “So, uh… I take it you aren’t actually into mares?”
 

~~~O~~~

 
“…And therefore, you should always be wary when taking risks,” Twilight read aloud as she wrote the letter. “Know the possible repercussions of what you seek. But in the most trying of times, it’s a relief to know that friends are always available to help you get past the challenges you face.” She paused, and mentally tacked on, As well as be understanding when you try to force yourself on them in a undeniably non-platonic manner…
 
She shook her head, and signed her name. “Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.”
 
Twilight carefully wrapped up the scroll, and set it aside on a table. Spike could send it later, when he got back from the store.
 
Remembering that she had received some mail earlier that day, the unicorn levitated the letter that the mailmare had left on the floor over to her. After brief consideration, she opened it and read the contents.
 
Dear Twilight,

Do you think we could go out for a muffin sometime? Or bagel? :/??? I kinda wanted to hang out with you and stuff. I think you’re pretty cute. :3

Love,
Derpy

PS: <3

Twilight smirked. Familiar warmth rose up in her chest as she read the letter, recalling the mare that she had the pleasure of seeing earlier today.
 
Carefully setting aside the letter, the unicorn fetched herself a new sheet of parchment, dipped her quill in the ink well, and began to write:
 
Dear Derpy,

I appreciate the kind comment. I think you’re cute as well, and as you might already tell by our earlier meeting, I’d like to hang out as well. In fact, I think I might have to take you up on that bagel offer…
 
 

THE END