> Love is in the Air, Literally
>  by Nexas
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> You can't run from love
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You're never to attempt a stunt like that ever again."

"It would have worked if you hadn't stopped me, Rarity was so impressed and did you see the look on her face?"

"That look of abject horror? Yeah, I've seen it a few times."

Twilight Sparkle; a purple unicorn of considerable talent, dragged her scaly assistant, Spike back through the doors of their tree house. Spike was clawing at the ground, digging his dragon talons into the wooden floors trying to escape from his sister figure's magic grip. She was dragging him home after she caught him trying his newest plan to win Rarity's affection.

They finally came to a stop in the middle of the room, Twilight dropping Spike on the floor and magically shutting the door behind her.

"C'mon Twi." Spike stood up, shaking the dirt off his scales. "Do you even know how long it took to put all of that together?"

"Nope." She replied plainly. "Although I'm a bit concerned about how exactly you got those sharks."

"Doesn't matter. We only need to get them back to Fluttershy before she notices."

"I have to take care of it." She pointed a hoof at the Dragon. "You have to stay here."

"What?!"

"If I let you out again, you'll try some other dangerous thing like, like..." She paused in thought. "I don't know, you'll do something like wrestle a manticore again!"

"That would have also worked if you hadn't stopped me."

"Now I would stay and lecture you about how doing these stunts won't help you win her over, but I smell smoke so I have to go."

In a flash of magic, Twilight was gone.

"Well now that that's out of the way..."

Twilight suddenly teleported back in front of Spike.

"Don't think this is over." She poked his stomach with a hoof to get the point across, she teleported away again, Leaving Spike alone, this time for good.

"Well, on to plan..." He paused in thought. "Plan Y."

He scratched his chin in thought but came up with a blank; he had tried so many things that he was out of ideas. Where could he possibly find new ideas to help him?

Taking a moment to look around him, he remembered that he lived in the town library and promptly slammed the palm of his hand into this face.

After a moment of self-deprecation, he started searching through the many shelves that lined the room, listing the titles of the books as he glossed over them.

"Dimensions and the Multiverse, Three Thousand Flavours of Pie, How to make Friends..."

He stopped and looked at the hardcover book; it looked brand new and wasn't touched.

"I should probably tell Twilight about this book." He muttered, making a mental note and moving on.

"Hearts and Hooves?" He noticed another book; its cover decorated in a multitude of pink and red hearts. He reached for the large book and pulled it of its place, setting it on the ground. It looked pretty old and had seen use recently.

He opened the cover of the book and flipped through the pages; most of them chronicled the holiday that the book was named for. He was just about to put the book away when he noticed a page that caught his eye.

"How to make a love potion?..."

***

"A tuft of cloud, a bright rainbows glow, stir with a pegasus feather..."

He lowered the feather he had taken from a sleeping Rainbow Dash into the pot and stirred the ingredients carefully.

"Fast not slow."

Spike stood in front of the tiny stove in Twilight's kitchen; jars of the ingredients he needed surrounded him as he mixed them together into the pot in front of him.

The liquid began to glow in the pot; changing colors from a rainbow to a bright pink. Leaning over, Spike smelled some of the fumes coming up from the mixture; it was sweet and made him want to confess his feelings to sompony.

It was perfect.

He chuckled mischieviously; all he would need is a small amount and Rarity would finally return his feelings. He reached down with a small bottle in hand and scooped some of the mixture into the bottle, capping it off with a cork.

He held the bottle up to the window; the light shining though the bottle creating a pink glow and laughed maniacally.

"Soon, Rarity will be mine!" He laughed.

"Spike?"

"Ah!" He shrieked, the bottle nearly falling from his claws. After a moment of fumbling he finally caught the bottle again, holding it tightly as he walked back into the main room. Twilight stood in the doorway; her fur was singed from the fires and there was some small bite marks from the sharks but all in all she looked okay.

"Well, we finally got the fires out and I apologized to Fluttershy about the sharks." She reached up and extinguished a small fire in her mane. "It's a good thing you're like my brother Spike, or I would really..."

She noticed her Dragon assistant standing in the doorway to the kitchen, holding something behind his back.

"Spike?"

He could not hide the smile on his face. "Yes Twilight?"

"What are you holding?"

"Oh, this?" He showed her the bottle. "This is plan Y."

She pointed to outside. "I thought that the flaming-shark-jump-thing was plan Y."

"Well this is plan Z then." He said . "I used a recipe to make this love potion so Rarity will finally fall for me, pretty cool huh?"

Twilight gasped. "A love potion?! Spike those are dangerous! Didn't you read the story that came with the recipe?"

"I uh, may have skimmed it." He said. "Maybe."

"Spike, that love potion has driven entire kingdoms into chaos!" She waved her arms in the air frantically for emphasis.

"Um..." Spike tried to speak.

"Chaos!" Twilight repeated.

"But it's just a little bit." He pleaded. "It's not that bad."

Twilight facehoofed. "Ugh, Spike you cannot just..." She gasped again, noticing a strange mist flowing out of the kitchen behind him. She quickly pushed past him to get a good look; the pot Spike had been making the love potion in had started to evaporate and was quickly starting to engulf the room in pink smoke.

Twilight looked back at her assistant and briefly wondered if it was too late to trade him in for another assistant.

"Spike..." She growled, glaring at her not-brother angrily.

"Don't worry!" He tried to sound convincing. "I can fix this!"

"Then get over her and-Ah!"

Twilight was suddenly assaulted by a powerful blast of love mist, the pot was beginning to bubble and froth, it looked as if it was about to blow.

Twilight staggered; disoriented by the blast of mist.

"S-spike...?" She struggled to speak.

"Twilight?"

She opened her eyes and looked at him; her eyes weren't the usual violet coloring and were instead replaced by a flashing stream of pink, purple and red over and over again.

She smiled in a lopsided, enamoured fashion.

"I...love you."

Spike groaned. "Oh no..."

And then the house exploded.
> One of those days
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Oh..."

Spike groaned as he slowly came too; his entire body felt heavy and tired. Slowly but surely he managed to open his eyes.

He was still in Ponyville, which was good.

And he wasn't dead, which was also good.

Looking up from his position on the ground, he realized that a half-dozen Ponies surrounded him; all of them either looking down at him or over in one direction he could not see, all of them with a shocked expression on their faces.

Slowly and with a lot of effort, he rose to his feet; his tired muscles straining from the effort. When he finally stood up, he got a good look at what everypony had been staring at.

His house.

Well, Twilight's house.

It wasn't as damaged as Spike thought it would have been, which was weird considering that the explosion was strong enough to send him out of the house and a few feet away. The front door was completely destroyed, little more than a few shards scattered around the front of the building, every window was shattered from the force of the explosion, even a few windows in other Ponies homes were cracked, and some of the thick wooden walls of the tree house had holes blown in them.

Spike looked at the destruction and sighed, it was okay, Twilight had magic insurance in case of things like this happening. Looking back he realized that nopony was looking at the destruction at all.

They were all looking at the pink mist that was pouring from the building. It poured from ever opening in the house, some of it rolling along the ground while most rose up into the air, forming a sort of giant cloud.

Spike gulped.

A number of the Ponies had stepped forward to investigate the strange mist that spread out towards them, some of them being so brave as to smell the mist that spread around them.

"Stop!"

Everypony stopped and turned to the panicking Dragon who was stepping gingerly away from the mist.

"Don't go near the mist!" He shouted to them.

"Why?" A mint colored unicorn asked, Spike recognized that she was Lyra; the town musician.

"SPIKE!!"

Suddenly, out of the mess that used to be their house, stumbled Twilight Sparkle. The unicorn, despite being at the epicenter of and explosion, was none the worse for wear then she already was. She staggered over the ruins of her door and pointed a weak hoof at her assistant.

"Where do you think you're going, dream boat?" She grinned wildly, a crazed look in her eyes.

All of the Ponies gasped.

Spike nearly puked.

"Dream boat?" He gagged.

All of the Ponies turned back to the Dragon, staring at him with eyes demanding an explanation but everypony suddenly began to cringe, some of them clutching their heads in pain.

"Oh no..." Spike whispered again. He looked down at the mist that still reached out for him; the Ponies must have taken in enough to be affected.

One by one, the Ponies slowly stopped cringing and opened their eyes; a swirling mix of purple, pink and red replacing their usual eye color.

They were all looking at Spike.

"Oh no..." He repeated.

Lyra stopped clutching her head and opened her eyes; they too were a mess of pinks and reds.

"Hey Spike." She giggled. "I just love how your scale color contrasts your spines."

Spike stuttered, feeling the panic setting in again. "Uh...thanks?"

Other Ponies slowly stepped towards the Dragon, they too gave him compliments and praise. Spike was getting very uncomfortable under all of the Ponies half-lidded gazes.

"Lyra?"

Spike turned to the sound of the voice to see an Earth Pony standing behind him; she had light beige fur with a dual-colored mane, one part pink and the other part dark blue. Her cutiemark was three wrapped candies. 

Spike instantly recognized her as Bon Bon; one of the rival candy makers in Ponyville to Pinkie Pie and Lyra's marefriend.

"What's going on here?"

Oh dear.

"Lyra, what are you doing at the library? What's that mist?" She asked her marefriend.

Lyra ignored her and kept moving towards the Dragon; the fires of love in her, and all of the other Ponies, eyes.

"Lyra?" Bon Bon pushed past the Dragon to in front of the unicorn.

"Get out of my way, the love of my life is right there!" She growled, pointing in the direction of Bon Bon, who blushed.

"Awww!" She cooed. "That's so sweet of you."

"Move!" She yelled at the Pony, shoving her away and pointing at the cowering Dragon. "He's the love of my life!" Multiple Ponies shouted the same thing in agreement.

"ME?!" Spike yelled.

"HIM?!" Bon Bon shouted unbelievably at her marefriend, more confused than angry.

Before they could say anything else, the ponies behind Lyra were suddenly lifted into the air and tossed aside into a big pile. Twilight stood behind all of them; her horn glowing brightly and her eyes burning with jealous rage.

"Is it just me or does she look angry?" Bon Bon whispered to Spike.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Twilight growled at the other unicorn as she approached.

"I'm spending time with my schmopy-doo." Lyra replied calmly.

"Schmopy-doo?" Spike gagged again.

"But...but I'm your schmopy-doo." Bon Bon despaired.

"No, He's mine!" Twilight shouted at the musician.

"No, mine!" Lyra shouted back.

The two faced each other; their horns glowing dangerously and emitting sparks as their eyes glared daggers at the other.

Bon Bon watched the scene unfold with mixed anger and curiosity. She slowly turned her attention to Spike, who was also watching the scene.

"What did you do?!" She whispered demandingly.

Spike chuckled sheepishly. "Well, I may have made a love potion but this!" He pointed a claw at the group of enamoured mares and colts creeping towards him. "This is not my fault!"

"Really?" Bon Bon snarked, raising an eyebrow questioningly.

"Yes! I-Ah!"

Spike was suddenly plucked from the ground and pulled through the air to Lyra, who hugged him tightly.

"Be with me, Spike!" She insisted. "Together we'll make beautiful music!"

A swift rabbit punch from Twilight sent Lyra flying back, dropping Spike in the process, who was just scooped up again by his not-sister.

"Be with me Spike! We fit together like the sticky ends of recombinant DNA."

"Uh..." Spike did not know how to reply to that.

Before Twilight could recite another pick up line from 1000 scientific dating lines and more, she too was sent flying back, this time by an irritated Bon Bon who picked up Spike, put him on her back and ran off.

"Where are we going?" Spike clung to her mane in fear, looking back at the group and the expanding cloud.

"Anywhere other than there!" Was all she replied.

Back behind them, Twilinght and Lyra were slowly getting to their hooves.

"Look!" Lyra pointed at the Earth Pony and Dragon, racing off into the distance. "That Pony's trying to take Spike for herself!"

"That will not stand!" Twilight shouted teleporting to her hooves instead of just standing up. She pointed a hoof at the group of Ponies. "We must destroy the pony that stands in the way of our love!"

The other Ponies cheered at this, running off after Bon Bon. Lyra and Twilight hung back.

Lyra giggled. "Nothing will stop us from getting Spike back!" She too then ran after the duo. When she was out of earshot of the other unicorn, Twilight let out a bout of insane cackling.

"Wrong, unicorn. Soon, Spike will be all mine!" She muttered under her breath before teleporting after the group.

Little did she know that the musician was muttering the exact same thing about her.

***

"I...think..we lost...them." Bon Bon panted, dropping behind one of the buildings of Ponyville to hide and rest, Spike dropped off her back and sat beside her.

"This is all my fault." He sighed, now everypony in Ponyville was going to be affected by the love potion and who knows what was going to happen.

Well, he did know but he really didn't want to think about it.

There was an old stone well near them, Spike stepped towards the well and leaned against it.

"What am I going to do?"

"Wow, You're the most popular guy in Ponyville now Spike!"

Spike shrieked, jumping away in shock from the voice. Pinkie Pie; party Pony extraordinaire and all around strange Pony somehow stood beside him, she looked completely fine save for a strange mask that hung around her neck.

She giggled in her always cheerful way. "Sorry if I scared you Spike." She turned to the other Pony present. "And sorry to you too, Bon Bon."

Bon Bon was against the wall of the building clutching her heart and breathing heavily.

"Pinkie..." Spike slowly composed himself again. "How did you find us?"

Pinkie took a moment to look around at their surroundings, thought for a moment and shrugged.

"No idea, but that's not important."

She plopped a party hat of the small Dragon. "We need to celebrate your newfound popularity!" She blew on a party horn that, like the pink Pony, had come out of nowhere.

Spike swatted it away. "Pinkie this is serious!"

"We need to get everypony that's not under the spell out of town!" Bon Bon added.

"Ohhhhhhh! Serious story then." Pinkie mumbled before smiling again. "Don't worry, I'll help!"

"Pinkie...What are you wearing around your neck?" Bon Bon asked, pointing to the strange mask that hung on her neck.

"Oh! This is my emergency breathing mask!" She grabbed the mask and positioned it on her face with a snap; it was a simple gas mask, with one respirator and two large black eye windows that kept the Ponies eyes from being visible.

"I have them stashed around Ponyville for love mist outbreaks!" She reached behind her back and gave them two identical gas masks.

"Of course you do." Was all Spike could respond with while Bon Bon just stared at the Pony as if she grew a second head. They both took a mask and strapped them on.

"...Huuuuhh......Huuuuhh.....Huuuuhh...Huuuuhh..." Pinkie breathed deeply, making it hearable and raised a hoof towards Spike.

"Spike, I am your babysitter." She spoke in an uncharacteristically low voice before breaking into high pitch giggles. 

"Did you get that reference?" She laughed, her laughter muffled by the mask. "Did you? Did you?"

"Oh yeah, totally." He replied with sarcasm.

"Hey." Bon Bon pointed at Spike's hand. "What's that?"

Spike looked down and to his great surprise, saw that he was still holding the love potion in his claws.

"The potion!" He cried, holding the bottle up. "If I can get this to Rarity, I can still-"

He was cut short when a gust of air blew the bottle out of his open hand and into the well. Pinkie, Bon Bon, and Spike peered into the well, it was to' dark to see but they could very clearly hear the cracking of a breaking bottle and the splashing of water.

"Well there goes plan Z." Spike mumbled.

"And we're back to comedy."

Pinkie jumped up and pointed in a general direction, as cheerful as ever. "Well, looks like it's like to go to Sweet Apple Acres!"

"The home of the Apple family? Why would we need to go there?" Bon Bon asked confusedly.

"Because." Pinkie explained. "That well and all of the wells in Ponyville connect to the water system the Apples use for their crops."
> Sweet rainbows
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The disaster of the love cloud was far from over and little did they know that it was going to get even more complicated.

Rainbow Dash; fastest flyer in Equestria and the Element of Loyalty was fast asleep in her bed of clouds. The Pegasus had spent all of yesterday rearranging the weather clouds around Ponyville and had crashed into bed, not to be wakened even by the next morning's light.

Her alarm clock sat beside her bed; each tick from the clock piercing the quiet air. Suddenly, the ticking grew into a loud ringing as the alarm went off. The sound made the rainbow-haired Pegasus stir, woken from her dreams of flight by the machine. 

Dash slowly raised an arm and blindly felt her way towards the sound, knocking a few things over in the process. She eventually found the offending noise maker and did what anypony would have done.

She punched it.

The punch sent the clock sailing across the room and into one of the cloud walls, it went right thought the wall, making little more noise than a 'pfft'. With the noise gone, Dash settled back down into bed.

"..."

"Dang it, now I'm awake."

Now awake from her actions, Rainbow Dash threw off her covers, jumped to her hooves and ran to the stairs.

After her long day of work, she had been given the day off and had planned on seeing if she could sleep till the day after but now that changed so she quickly decided to rather practice her flying moves and play with Tank; her pet turtle.

Sorry, Tortoise.

She raced down the steps to the living room and the front door, not even stopping to open it, she burst through the cloud door into the bright day.

She stepped onto the small area jutting out from the house, took in a deep breath of air and paused, something was wrong, she could feel it. Since her house overlooked the town, she could see everything in the area.

And she didn't believe what she saw.

A pink cloud. A massive pink cloud hanging over Ponyville.

Dash rubbed her eyes but the pink cloud didn't go away.

She looked down into the town; Ponies walked around, not a care in the world as usual. It was almost as if they didn't care about it.

Slowly realization crept into Dash's brain, starting up all of the warning alarms.

If this cloud is here, then she'll get in trouble for it and have to do overtime!

Stretching out a few of her joints, Dash unfurled her wings before running and diving off of her cloud house. She loved doing this; the wind rushing past her, whipping her hair back, the feeling of exhilaration as the g-forces built up acceleration. She wished that this feeling could last forever but the ground coming up to greet her was a deal-breaker.

Bracing herself, she pulled up at the last moment, using all of the combined g-force, she rocketed upwards and towards Ponyville.

As she neared the town and the pink cloud, she briefly wondered if the cloud was made of cotton candy, maybe Discord had reappeared but that thought was quickly tossed away as she neared the cloud and began to smell something; oddly enough she began to smell things like sweets and perfume, lovey-dovey stuff.

Dash nearly gagged; this thing needed to go and it needed to go now.

She charged the pink cloud; preparing to crash into it and push it away. With a fierce cry, she crashed into the cloud.

And passed right through it.

Dash quickly realized that she was still flying through the cloud and tried to come to a stop but something went wrong.

She couldn't breathe; the inside of the cloud was thick and stuffy and to make matters worse, she could see nothing but pink.

Slowly she began to lose consciousness, black mixing with the pink in her vision and eventually overtaking it.

None of the Ponies below, under the love spell or otherwise, noticed the unconscious rainbow colored Pegasus that shot out of the opposite side of the cloud and away from the town.

***

"How much longer is it?"

"Not that long. Soon we'll be there and......"

"...Pinkie?"

"Twitcha-twitch! Twitcha-twitch!"

"Take cover!"

"What?! From what-."

Pinkie Pie and Spike quickly got out from under their cover and surveyed the damage.

"Huh, a clock." Said Pinkie matter-of-factly. She reached down and picked it up, giving it a shake; the broken bits and bobs rattling inside. 

"Well, maybe I can use it as a maraca." She mused.

"Ow..." Bon Bon groaned. The victim of assault-by-clock had been struck right on the head and had been sent face first into the dirt.

"We don't have time for this!" Spike muttered, helping the Earth Pony out of the dirt. "We need to get to Sweet Apple Acres!"

"Ugh...Will...will they be okay?" Bon Bon asked.

"The Apples?" Pinkie considered this question for a moment. "Oh yeah, they'll be finea as long as they don't eat any of the watered apples."

"..."

The three took off in the direction of the farm as fast as they could.

***

Applejack was just in the middle of her chores when she felt it; a deep rumbling in the ground that left as fast as it appeared. That had been a few hours earlier and she was still thinking about it.

It had just reached the time where she washed the picked apples so they were clean for shipping. She trotted over to the water tank which already had a few dozen apples floating in it already; the tank was connected to the water system that ran under Ponyville.

Applejack's brother, a Pony of a few words sat beside the tank, taking apples out and drying them.

"Howdy, brother." She called to her sibling. "Is the crop ready for shipping?"

Her brother didn't say anything, which didn't really surprise her.

"Well, if ya'll aren't gonna say anything, I guess-"

"Ah don't think that these apples are good."

The farm mare was shocked; not only was her brother saying that a crop of apples weren't good but he was actually using more than one word to express it.

"Oh come on." She laughed. "How bad can they be?"

Her brother didn't say anything and instead turned to her, an apple balancing expertly on his hoof.

She gasped in shock.

The apple wasn't red, it wasn't even green.

It was pink.

She inspected it closely before laughing.

"That's a good one, Big Mac. What did you do? Paint it?"

"It wasn't me." He continued. "It's the water."

He pointed to the tank of water and revealed that every apple floating in the water was the same color; pink.

Applejack stared at the bobbing fruit, mouth agape. Her bother simply nodded.

"Eeyup."

"You think there's something in the water?" She questioned. "Never know what they're putting in it now a days."

She picked an apple up in her hooves and tossed it to her brother. "Well we might as well try one." She shrugged. "Who knows, maybe it'll be a new best seller."

Applejack picked up another apple and prepared to take a bite.

"Stop!"

A hoof suddenly slammed into Applejack's backside, sending the apple in her mouth flying out. She whipped around to see Pinkie, Spike and a third Pony; all of them were wearing gas masks around their necks.

"Pinkie?!" Applejack coughed. "What in the hay are you doing?!"

"Applejack!" Pinkie shouted, despite the closeness of her friend. She seemed to be panicking. "Don't eat the apples! They're poisonous!"

Applejack gasped again. "Poison?!" 

"Guh..."

Behind Applejack, Big Macintosh was lying on the ground trembling; an apple with a distinct bite mark had fallen at his side.

"Big brother!" Applejack was instantly at his side.

"Don't let him see you!" Bon Bon shouted.

Pinkie and Bon Bon quickly jumped out of the way, pulling Applejack with them. They disappeared just in time for Big Mac to open his eyes.

He was looking at Spike.

The Dragon waved nervously. "Um...Hi?"

A large smile slowly grew on the red Pony's face.

"Eeyup." He said suavely.

Spike whimpered.

The big Pony slowly got to his hooves and walked towards the dragon; a fire in his eyes that Spike had seen far too much of today.

Spike couldn't move; he was paralyzed with fear. He close his eyes and waited for the worst.

*CLANG*

A metal noise rang out. Spike opened his eyes to see what happened.

Big Macintosh stood in front of him; stock still and unblinking. He started to lean forward, the same dazed look on his face. Spike was nearly flattened but Pinkie reached in and pulled him away. Applejack stood behind her unconscious brother, a metal bucket in her mouth which she spat out.

"Alright, spill it." Applejack demanded. "Ah wanna know why my brother suddenly got a taste for little Dragons."

Spike was to traumatized at the moment to answer so Bon Bon stepped in. "Spike made a love potion and now most of Ponyville is under its spell. Twilight, lyra..." She pointed at the downed Pony. "And now your brother."

"Love potion..." Applejack sighed and threw her hat down. "Not again!"

Spike was finally calm enough to speak. "Again?"

"Mah little sister and her friends had done this kind of thing before." She explained. "I wears off after a few hours if the lover don't see the love-ee."

"Not with this much love potion." Pinkie shook her head.

Applejack put her hat back on. "Well shoot, what are you gonna do?"

"We need to make an antidote, where's Applebloom, maybe she can help."

"She's out of town with Granny Smith." She looked down at Macintosh. "Which is probably a good thing."

Pinkie panicked. "Now what do we do?"

Applejack thought for a moment and grinned. "Let's go see Fluttershy, she probably has the ingredients ya'll need for an antidote."

Suddenly, another rumbling shook the earth, making the Ponies and Spike flinch.

"What was that?" Applejack asked, tiredly. What else could go wrong today?

"It came from over there." Spike pointed to beyond the farm, in the masses of apple trees.

***

It took a while but the four finally found what had made the noise.

"Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash was lying in a small crater, dirt and apples were strewn every which way and more than a few trees were missing branches or even utterly destroyed.

Applejack ran to her friend and knelt in front of her. The multicolored Pony was out cold.

"C'mon, sugercube, wake up!" She shook the Pegasus who groaned in response. The others watched from the corner.

"Why did she crash?" Bon Bon asked.

"She must have been flying and ran into a cloud or something."

Pinkie shook her head. "That's silly, and besides; there's not a single cloud in the sky today, only..."

Realization was painted on each of their faces.

"Applejack!" Spike called to her.

The Pony in question couldn't hear them; she was too busy concentrating on her friend who was just starting to wake up.

"...Apple...jack?" Dash mumbled.

"Are you alright, sugercube?" Applejack asked, concerned for her friend.

A small grin grew on the Pegasus's face and she batted her eyes. "I am now."

She then leapt up, wrapped her arms around the farmer and pulled her close, their lips meeting.

***

"Just one more stitch and...done!"

Rarity sat in her boutique, hard at work putting the finishing touches on a dress. She hadn't left the boutique all day as she sometimes did when her orders piled up.

Come to think of it, she hadn't seen any of her friends today at all, she thought. She quickly made a mental note to call them up at the nearest available time.

Suddenly, a knocking came from the front door of her building.

"Co~min! She chimed, lowering her needles and thread and trotting to the door, she quickly checked her mane and appearance before swinging the door open.

She gasped in surprise. "Why Twilight! It's so good to see you today. Would you like to come in?"

Twilight smiled wickedly. "Oh yes, I'd like that very much."
> It's always the quiet ones
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time seemed to stand still as Rainbow Dash and Applejack kissed. Spike, Pinkie Pie and Bon Bon watched the scene unfold; mouths agape, an awkward silence draped over all of them.

Somewhere in the distance, a dog howled.

After a minute, Rainbow Dash pulled away from the farmer and took a deep breath.

"Wow..." She gasped, licking her lips. "You even taste like apples."

Applejack didn't respond; her brain was too busy overheating.

"Applejack?" Pinkie hesitantly called.

"Jackie?" Dash asked, concerned. "Are you okay dear?"

Applejack took one look at the Pegasus that kissed her, took in a breath...

And punched her as hard as she could.

Dash flew backwards, into the same tree that stopped her when she crashed. She collided with the massive tree and slumped over onto the ground, knocked out.

"That was mah first kiss, you sorry excuse for a feather duster!" The farmer screamed at the Pegasus; her face red as one of the apples that hung on the trees. She drew back for another punch but was stopped by Pinkie.

"Wait Applejack!" Pinkie pleaded, hanging onto her pulled back arm. "Even though she's all lovey-dovey, it's still Rainbow Dash!"

Applejack looked back and forth at the downed Rainbow Dash and Pinkie. Eventually her expression softened.

"Right, Ahm sorry, Pinkie."

She looked over to the Pegasus on the ground and sighed. "Sorry Dash..."

She looked back to the group, Pinkie putting a comforting hoof on her shoulder. "We need to fix this."

"Let's get to Fluttershys." Bon Bon added. "And make an antidote to this."

Suddenly, a loud voice roared somewhere far behind them, shaking the trees and making everypony cringe.

"And we'd better hurry." Applejack said hastily. "Big Macintosh just woke up and Ah think he's looking for us."

Everypony took off as fast and quietly as they could towards the direction of Fluttershy's cottage.

"Hey applejack." Pinkie whispered. "Can I ask you a question?"

Applejack groaned. "Fine, what is it?"

Pinkie snickered. "Did she taste like skittles?"

"Shut up."

***

"It really is so good to see you today Twilight."

Rarity and Twilight stood inside the Carousel Boutique. Rarity was asking Twilight how she was doing.

"Oh you know, fine I guess." She replied dryly, not taking her eyes off the Pony that her Spike had affections for. She loathed this Pony; she wasn't as smart as her, her magic wasn't as strong and as purple. What did Spike see in her that wasn't in herself?

"I actually haven't been outside all day." Rarity continued. "Has anything outstanding happened today?"

"Well, I guess you could say that." Twilight smirked to herself.

Rarity was about to inquire about what Twilight was smiling about before she smelled something. It smelled sweet and lovely and it emanated from Twilight.

"I say, Twilight." She sniffed the air. "Are you wearing some kind on perfume? I've never smelled anything like it."

"Of course you haven't!" Twilight pointed dramatically at the fashionista. "Because that is the smell of love! And you have never been in love!"

Rarity paused in confusion. "Love?" She thought for a moment, and then her eyes lit up with excitement. "Twilight! You're in love?! Oh this is just grand!" She beamed with happiness, trotting over to the other unicorn, oblivious of her anger. "Who's the lucky stallion? Is it somepony I know?"

Twilight couldn't hold it in anymore. "It's Spike!" She shouted triumphantly.

"Spike?" She echoed, confused. "Has Spike found somepony as well?"

"YES!" Twilight screamed, quickly losing her composure. "ME!"

"You?" She was horrendously confused at this point. "You and...Spike?"

"Yes!" She groaned, exasperated. "Spike is my little schmoopy-do."

"Shmoopy...?" Rarity tried to comprehend all of this new information. "Twilight? Are you okay?"

"Of course I'm fine!" Twilight screeched, her eye twitching. A threatening grin was plastered on her face. "But you're not going to be if you persist on trying to take Spike away from me!"

"What?" Was all that Rarity could manage.

Picking Rarity off the ground with her magic, Twilight pushed her into the wall.

"Don't play coy with me!" Twilight threatened the other unicorn. Rarity noticed that the scent that she had smelled earlier did in fact come from Twilight and it was practically coming off of her in clouds as it she had bathed in it. Twilight was so close that Rarity could only breathe in the fumes.

"Take a good whiff of this smell." Twilight scowled. "It will be the last thing you smell if you don't leave Spike alone."

Rarity couldn't reply, her head was pounding too hard from the scent.

"Hmph." Twilight let go of Rarity, dropping her to the ground and walked to the door. She flung it open dramatically and pointed to Rarity.

"Leave Spike alone!" 

With that final threat, she stormed off, leaving the unicorn on the floor to watch her go.

"Leave Spike alone..." The unicorn mumbled. A grin grew on her face and a distinct glint in her eye. "No problem  ...Twilight."

***

The four finally reached Fluttershy's cottage, bordering the Everfree forest. Pinkie had given Applejack a gas mask, where she got it from was anypony's guess.

As they passed the many cages and small houses where all of the animals Fluttershy took care of lived, they noticed that the animals were acting rather strangely. Many of the animals stayed close together with another of the same type and there were even animals together with other species.

They approached the door to the cottage and knocked.

"H-hello?" Fluttershy answered, timidly as ever. She perked up when she noticed her friends. "Oh! Applejack, Pinkie, Spike why are you here?"

"Howdy, Fluttershy." Applejack greeted her hastily with a tip of a hat. "Can we come in?"

The timid Pegasus suddenly jumped out and slammed the door behind her.

"NO!" She screeched, barring the door with her body. She noticed the shocked expressions on the groups faces and instantly shrank down, hiding her face with her long pink mane. Her voice was little more than a whisper.

"Um...I mean...you shouldn't go in. All of my animals are..." She blushed brightly. "...mating."

Bon Bon whistled, looking over all of the cages and houses again. "All of your animals?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Well either that or they're...getting friendly, like Angel here."

She turned and showed the group her back left hoof; her pet bunny, Angel was clamped onto her shin, humping fervently away at her ankle.

Bon Bon and Spike burst into laughter causing Fluttershy to blush even harder.

"Oh, it's okay sugercube." Applejack reassured her. "This day has been strange for all of us."

"Yeah!" Pinkie happily jumped in beside her. "Applejack made out with Rainbow Dash!"

"R-really?" Fluttershy snickered quietly.

Applejack glared at her pink companion. "Ah thought Ah told you to clam up about that."

But it was enough to bring Fluttershy out a little. "Why did that happen?"

"The same reason that your animals are acting up." Bon Bon explained, she jabbed Spike's side with a hoof. "Spike her created a love potion and now it's out of control."

"But all I was doing was giving my thirsty animals some water."

"That will do it." Pinkie nodded. "There's love potion in the water system."

"Ya'll didn't drink any of the water, did you?" Applejack asked.

"Oh no, after the first of the animals began acting strange, I haven't had a drop."

"We need an antidote to the potion." Spike pointed to Applejack. "Applejack thinks that you have the necessary ingredients."

She nodded meekly. "I suppose that I have something."

Without another word, she slipped back inside the house. As they waited, sounds of struggle and animal cries could be heard from within. Fluttershy suddenly burst out again; covered in fur and feathers, she was holding a jar in her mouth.

"Sorry I took so long; one of my animals fell in love with my medicine cabinet." She gave the jar to Spike; it contained a green pulpy liquid that sloshed about in the glass.

"It's from a plant called the Heartbreaker in the Everfree forest." She explained. "Just make the potion again and add this. It will negate the effects of the other potions."

"Thanks sugercube." Applejack thanked the yellow Pegasus. "C'mon, ya'll, we need to go make that potion."

"NOT IF I HAVE ANYTHING TO SAY ABOUT IT!!"

A voice shouted at them. Everypony looked up to see a unicorn standing on Fluttershy's roof, standing on her hind legs with her arms crossed.

"Lyra!" Bon Bon instantly recognized her marefriend.

"I don't know what you're planning; ponies but you're not taking my Spikey-wikey away from me!"

"Lyra, please calm down!" Bon Bon pleaded. "You're not in the right on mind. You're under a spell!"

Lyra scoffed. "Spell? The only spell I'm under is the spell of true love. I will have Spike..."

She suddenly lifted a huge bomb-like thing over head, her face twisted in rage.

"...AND NOPONY'S GOING TO STOP ME!!"

"What is that?!" Fluttershy squeaked in fear.

"It's a love bomb." Lyra explained. "It's filled to the brim with love gas!"

"Gas masks, now!" Pinkie shouted. Everypony strapped on their masks.

"If Spike won't love me now, I'll make him love me!"

Lyra tossed the bomb at the group, it exploded on impact. The pressurized love gas enveloped the group for a full minute before dissipating into the air.

The group looked around; none of them were hurt or were affected by the gas as they had worn their masks.

"Fluttershy!"

Oh dear.

The Pegasus was already getting weakly to her hooves, her eyes were just opening.

Spike cringed on impulse, waiting for the inevitably love- crazy Pony targeting him.

"Excuse me? Bon Bon?"

To his surprise, the Pegasus had timidly approached the Earth Pony.

"Um, I was kind of wondering if you would maybe like to go out with me or something?"

Bon Bon couldn't help but smirk, even when hypnotized; the town's resident animal keeper was kind.

"Uh...Sorry Fluttershy but I already have somepony I really like."

She pointed up at the unicorn on Fluttershy's roof, who was currently trying to rip birdhouses off the cottage and throw them at the group.

"Though she is getting on my nerves right now." She noted. "But I digress. I'm sorry but no-Ah!"

Bon Bon was suddenly tackled to the ground by Fluttershy. 

"Fluttershy!" She complained. "Please get off...of...me..."

Her voice trailed off as she noticed the look on Fluttershy's face; pure rage.

"LOVE ME OR ELSE!!!" Fluttershy roared.

"Meap." Bon Bon squeaked.

She tried to struggle the Pegasus off but she was a lot stronger than she looked. Fluttershy had pinned her to the ground.

Suddenly, a rope shot out and ensnared Fluttershy, dragging her off of Bon Bon. Applejack, holding the other end of the rope in her mouth quickly pulled Fluttershy down and went to work hogtieing the snarling Pegasus.

"The jar!"

Everypony looked over to Spike who was staring at the ground; the jar had been busted open in the explosion and the contents were all along the ground now.

"Well that's not good." Pinkie noted.

Applejack looked back at the angry Pegasus that strained against the ropes. "Neither is that."

The rumbling of a lot of hooves alerted the group of sudden danger. Looking out towards Ponyville, they could make out a mob of love-struck Ponies, led by Twilight heading right for them.

"And that's even worse." Spike mumbled.

"Where do we go now?!" Bon Bon panicked.

"Into the forest!" Applejack pointed to the trees. "We can lose them in there!"

"Into the haunted forest?!" Spike shouted in disbelief. "Are you crazy?!"

"If you want to stay here, be mah guest."

Spike took one look at the advancing horde and jumped on Pinkie's back as they raced off into the forest.

***

Back on Sweet Apple Acres, the love apples still floated in the water tank, still pink from the potion.

A golden aura suddenly enveloped three of the apples and they floated out of the tank.

"Hmm." Princess Celestia murmured as she investigated the strange fruit. She turned her head towards the town of Ponyville; the massive pink cloud hanging in the air.

"Not again."
> Into the woods
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"You can't escape my love, Spike!"

"RUN FASTER!"

The group of Ponies and Spike raced through the trees of the Everfree forest, Spike clinging to Pinkie's mane for dear life. They had escaped into the woods just as Twilight had arrived at Fluttershy's cottage, leading the mobs of love-struck ponies.

Luckily, they had gotten a head start when Twilight and Lyra started fighting over Spike.

"That Lyra has a really strong right hook." Applejack commented as they sped away from the fight.

"She works her arms a lot." Bon Bon explained. "She says that it's for when she finally gets hands."

The three risked an unbelieving glance back at the Earth pony.

She shook her head. "Yeah, I don't know either."

Eventually, the group had escaped the hordes, and finally had some time to rest. They came to a stop in a small clearing and everypony nearly collapsed; exhausted from the long chases today. Spike sat cross-legged against a tree, staring down at his hands.

"What are we going to do?"

"Huh?" 

"The jar of Heartbreaker." He explained glumly. "I accidently dropped it and it broke."

"What?!" Bon Bon stood up and fell down again, weak but shocked. "That was our only hope of turning things back to normal!"

"Calm down, all we need to do is find more of that plant." Applejack said. "We find more, we can make the antidote."

"But we don't know what it looks like!" Bon Bon panicked. "We wouldn't know it even if we saw it!" She pointed a hoof to the sky that was barely visible through the tree tops. "And it's not like it's going to fall out of the sky!"

Just as she finished talking, the tree branches above them began to shake and suddenly a figure dropped down onto Spike.

"Wow!" Pinkie jumped to her hooves, still having as much energy as always. "It's not like a million donuts are going to fall out of the sky!" She shouted to the trees and waited for the pay of that which would never come.

"Ow..." Spike groaned, crawling out from under the figure that had flattened him. Applejack recognized the Pony almost instantly.

"Zecora?!"

The Zebra quickly scrambled to her hooves, a light blush on her face.

"Forgive me for that nasty fall that was not the entrance I wanted at all."

Bon Bon gasped, stepping away from the Zebra that had fallen from the sky.

"You're that scary Zebra that lives in the Everfree!"

Zecora glared incredulously at the candy pony. After a moment, Applejack broke the silence.

"Zecora, we need your help. All of our friends are being turned into love-crazed maniacs because Spike here was dumb enough to make a love potion."

"Spike, a love potion?" She grinned. "For a certain pony, you must have much devotion."

"Um...yeah." He blushed.

Pinkie jumped in; a mess of flailing arms and fast words. "And now, most of Ponyville is in love with Spike and some are even in love with us!"

Zecora tried and failed to stem a chuckle. "Forgive me; it seems by your dismay that you have had a long day?"

Pinkie slumped over onto the ground, suddenly showing lack of energy. "You have no idea."

Zecora turned and waved a hoof at the group to follow. "Come with me, I may have a solution that you must see."

Weakly, the group stood up and pressed on after the Zebra.

***

Zecora's tree hut loomed in front of the group. Despite the various paints and markings that covered it, the hut was perfectly camouflaged. As they walked in, they noticed the cauldron in the middle of the room was bubbling with a strange liquid inside. The huge masks staring down at them made Bon Bon uneasy.

Zecora circled the hut murmuring in the language of her homeland as she searched through the shelves and pots that were arranged around the room in a nonsensical pattern. After a lengthy search, she finally found what she was looking for and showed it to the group.

A plant. A single type of plant. It was black and wrinkled and looked as though it had been dead for a few weeks but each of the group could notice that the plant was still potted.

"The Heartbreaker plant!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Zecora nodded. "This plant will help you with its seed, to prepare it though; more time I need."

Spike could feel his hopes fading. "What do you mean; more time?"

Zecora walked over to the cauldron and slowly lowered the plant into it.

"The plant will take some time to brew, I apologize but that's all I can do. While waiting for the potion for those obsessed, your friends can think things over and rest."

With that, she stopped talking and went back to her work. The four looked at each other, looking for a reason to not rest but also feeling the strain at the same time. Eventually everypony decided that Zecora was right and settled down to sleep in various parts of the room. The last to rest was Spike, who sat in one corner, thinking about just what had gotten him into all of this trouble.

It had started with sharks and fire, he remembered that much.

***

The group was awoken by a multitude of shouting.

"Ponies!" Zecora shouted. "The lovers are advancing on this room; you must escape before you face your doom!"

"What the hay's going on?!" Applejack shot up and ran to one of the windows and was terrified of what she saw.

The hordes of love-struck ponies were advancing on the hut.

"Oh no!" Bon Bon cried. "We need to get out of here!"

Spike pointed at the cauldron, the plant still sitting inside it. "But the potions not ready yet!"

"Don't worry." Pinkie waved them off with a smile. "I'm sure that they can't get in-"

Without notice, a Pegasus crashed through the roof of the hut, lodging herself in the hole she created.

"Applejack!" The Pegasus said joyfully.

"Rainbow Dash?!" Applejack looked up at the familiar Pegasus.

Dash smiled blissfully, despite the predicament she was in. "It took a long time but I finally found you darling!"

"We have to leave now!" Spike ran to the front door and flung it open, only to find-

"Twilight!"

Twilight Sparkle stood outside the doorway, grinning ear to ear at the Dragon.

"I finally found you, Spike." She exclaimed, reaching towards him. "Now you're all mine!"

"Twilight!"

Right before she could reach though, she was tackled away from Spike.

"Rarity?!" Spike stared at the unicorn that had driven him to make this disaster in the first place. She had pinned Twilight to the ground.

"Twilight, I can't contain myself any longer!" She tearfully declared, dramatically. "I love you more than life itself! Please be mine!"

"Get off of me, you obsessive compulsive fashion star!" Twilight shouted in rage at the unicorn, attempting to kick her off to no avail.

The group watched this scuffle with mild surprise.

Applejack grinned cheekily at the Dragon. "Well Spike, looks like you took too long and somepony else caught Rarity's eye."

"Shut up, Applejack." He said dully. They noticed that the other ponies were getting closer to the hut every second.

"Okay." Applejack watched the horde advance, growing fear crossing her face. "We need to get out of here now!" She turned back to the room. "Zecora, ya'll should probably come with u..."

To her surprise, the room behind them was empty of all Zebra-type creatures.

"Zebra sense..." She muttered under her breath.

"We need to get out of here!" Bon Bon shouted. 

"But they're coming from the front!" Spike added.

"Pinkie!" Applejack yelled to her friend. "Make a back door!"

The pink mare saluted. "Sure thing!"

Building up momentum, Pinkie sped towards the wall of the hut and crashed right through it, leaving behind a Pinkie shaped hole. Bon Bon was the first to step through the hole but stopped and looked back.

"What about the Antidote? We need to wait for it to be ready!"

While she was talking, Applejack had ran over to the cauldron and plucked the plant out with her teeth, tossing it over to her.

"Or that." Spike noted jumping on to Applejack's back. "We can do that."

The group ran out of the hut just as the hordes crashed through it. Once again, they were chased through the trees.

"We need to get back to Ponyville!" Spike shouted over the cries of the Ponies behind them. "We'll make the antidote there!"

Pinkie and Bon Bon who were running in front of them looked back, Pinkie turning fully around and running backwards.

"Mmmph mmm!" Bon Bon, who had the Heartbreaker in her mouth, mumbled.

"Bon Bon agrees." Pinkie translated for her. "We really need to hurry, whose lovey-doveys are catching-Spike!" She gasped abruptly. "Look out!"

"Huh?" Spike turned around just in time to see a hoof heading towards his face, knocking him and Applejack to the ground. The last thing Spike saw before darkness consumed him was the Ponies surrounding him and Applejack, Pinkie and Bon Bon running off.

***

"Wakey, wakey, Spike."

"Uh..." Spike moaned, slowly coming to. The first thing he noticed was Lyra in front of him.

"Ah!" He screamed, he attempted to back away from the unicorn but found that he had been tied up to a pole sticking out of the ground, looking around he found that he was on a hill near Ponyville, the town in question visible nearby. Lyra stood in front of him with the horde of Ponies behind her. Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

"You don't know how hard you're making it for yourself." Lyra chided. "All of this hard-to-get stuff is starting to get on my nerves." She laughed at this while Spike was feeling sick. "If I didn't know better, I'd think you were actively trying to avoid me!"

She pointed her horn threateningly at him. "You wouldn't do that, would you?"

He gulped, nervously. "Uh..."

"Well it doesn't matter." Lyra stood up and reached behind her, pulling out a small ball shaped item. "After I love-bomb you, you're going to be mine and nopony else's."

Spike struggled again, fearing for his life as well as his love life.

"And don't try struggling." Lyra stomped a hoof and the group of ponies behind her each pulled out a love-bomb of their own. "I won't miss, not at this range."

She pulled back. "Ready..."

The other ponies pulled back as well. "Aim..."

Spike briefly wondered if a forced, mind controlled relationship would really be so bad.

"FIRE!"

Lyra and her followers let the bombs fly, they flew through the air towards Spike and he braced for the inevitable love gassing.

But it didn't come.

Spike risked a look up and found the bombs floating in the air above him, each of them covered in a golden aura.

"When Twilight told me that a love potion had been used in Ponyville, I had thought that to be the end of it."

Spike gasped. "Princess Celestia!"

The sun princess floated down to the group, landing between Lyra and Spike.

"Princess!" Spike sighed in relief. "I'm so thankful that you got her in time!"

"Don't start." She glared down at the Dragon. "I know that the love potion is your fault. You'll get your dues after all this is over."

He groaned. "Great."

Celestia turned back to Lyra. "Get out of the way, Princess, you're keeping me from my love!" Lyra shouted at the sun goddess.

"Lyra, you're not in the right of mind." Celestia calmly stated. She still cared about her subjects but had seen this kind of thing way to many times.

"Is anypony when they're in love?!" She shrieked at the Princess.

"Lyra please, all of you." Celestia urged. "You need to let me help you."

"You can help us by getting out of our way!" Lyra spoke, her horn glowing dangerously with sparks.

"Lyra, you can't beat me." Celestia responded, emphasizing her point by making her horn glow almost blindingly.

To her surprise though, Lyra smiled evilly.

"Wanna bet?"

To Celestia's great shock, the bombs she was holding above her exploded, she couldn't even cry out before the pressurized love mist inside washing over the Princess. Lyra laughed maniacally, with a flash of her magic, the mist was washed away from the Princess, leaving the Alicorn, slumped over on the ground, shaking and trembling horribly.

Lyra stepped up and poked the princess. "Wake up." She commanded.

The princess shook her head.

"Then I'll have to do it for you."

Lyra strained and focused all of her power on the Alicorns tightly shut eyelids, slowly pulling them open.

"No..." Celestia strained.

"Yes." Lyra chuckled.

"No!" Spike shouted.

With a last burst of magic, Celestia's eyelids flew open. Her body froze, it stopped trembling and shaking altogether.

"I..."

"Yes...?" Lyra asked, a big sneer plastered on to her face.

"I..." Celestia struggled once again for a moment but stopped and looked up; a small smile on her face and shades of red, pink and purple in her eyes.

"I love you."

Spike could almost feel his soul dying.

Lyra laughed triumphantly and pointed at Spike. "If you love me, you'll make him love me!"

Celestia stood up, turned around and looked at Spike.

She smiled darkly.

Spike screamed.
> Things get complicated
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Spike kept screaming.

"Honestly love, you have some impressive lungs." Lyra complimented the Dragon. "I bet you have a lovely singing voice." She walked over to Celestia, who was staring down the Dragon,. "Our music will be beautiful when you love me."

"I'm not going to love you!" Spike screamed at her, straining under the ropes that held him down.

She patted Celestia's side. "That's why I have the Princess now. I can make you love me."

"You can't do that!" He pleaded.

She tilted her head questioningly. "Why not?"

She stamped her hoof and Celestia started to focus, her horn lighting up with magic. Streams fo magic came out of the horn and shot towards Ponyville, where the love cloud still hung in the air. The magic wrapped around the cloud and to Spike's shock and horror the cloud started to move towards them, moving in a stream of love mist, pulled by magic.

The mist swirled over the mob of Ponies and up to Spike, Lyra and Celestia, curling though the air like a massive snake. It slowly climbed the hill and came to a stop right behind Celestia, towering above her and pointing towards Spike.

"Any last words before we're together forever?" Lyra giggled happily.

"A few but Twilight's told me to never say them." He muttered.

Celestia launched the mist at Spike, firing it at him in one long wave.

"I hate pink." Spike grumbled, bracing himself for the impact.

The wave was just about to hit him when Lyra cried out.

"Stop!"

The wave halted and everypony looked at her, confused. Celestia tilted her head confusingly.

"Did I do something wrong dear?"

"No, you were exceptional, but I just thought of a brand new plan!" Lyra grinned ear to ear at the thought that entered her head. She leapt onto Celestia's back and whispered into her ear. A grin slowly grew on the princesses face as well. She spread her wings and flew up into the air.

"I'll be right back!" Lyra shouted back to Spike. "I have to prepare a proper gift for my love!"

With that she and Celestia soared away, the love mist drifting behind them. Leaving behind Spike who was still tied to a pole, to watch them go.

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"

Without warning, Applejack, Pinkie Pie and Bon Bon ran up from behind him, screaming at the top of their lungs and clad in what looked like kitchen pots and pans along with their gas masks.

Bon Bon struck a fighting pose. "Lyra, I don't want to hurt you but you'd better give spike back or...or..."

Bon Bon lowered her makeshift weapon, a frying pan, and inspected her surroundings more clearly, coming to the eventual, obvious conclusion that her marefriend wasn't here.

"She's not here." She glumly noted.

Applejack lowered her weapon and sighed. "Really? Ah wanted to give her a whopping."

Bon Bon glared at the farmer.

"Ah-Ah mean, Ah wanted to help her and...stuff."

Pinkie, who was the weapon that Applejack had wielded, lowered her own weapon as well.

"So she's not here?"

"You just missed her." Spike chimed in.

The three turned and realized for the first time that they had blindly ran past the Dragon they were going to rescue.

"Spike!" The three shouted, taking off their gas masks. Applejack walked over and untied him.

"Where's Lyra?"

"She was here earlier; Princess Celestia had stepped in to save me."

Applejack looked around. "Celestia was here?" She must have come to help."

"Hooray!" Pinkie cheered.

"Where is she?" Applejack asked excitedly.

He pointed to the sky where the Alicorn was flying away. The others looked up in the direction.

"There she is!"

"But why is that cloud of love stuff following her?"

"And why is Lyra on her back, laughing insanely?"

Everypony went silent as they came to the same conclusion.

"Spike..." Applejack spoke slowly, not taking her eyes off the swirling mist that got farther and farther away. "What's going on here?"

Spike looked nervously at the three earth ponies.

"Princess Celestia...got hit with the love potion."

Their hopeful expressions quickly dropped.

"Hurroo." Pinkie said quietly.

"Now the princess is under the spell?!" Applejack exclaimed.

"And she's in love with Lyra."

"Oh come on!" Bon Bon screamed. She ripped off her makeshift armor and threw it to the ground. "First she fell in love with that little squirt-"

"Hey!"

"And now our Princess is in love with her?!" She stared at the ground despairingly. "How am I supposed to compete with a sun goddess?" 

"Why is she leaving?" Applejack asked.

"All she said was that she needed to prepare a proper gift." Spike shook his head, trying to figure out what that meant exactly.

"She's probably going to prepare for your royal wedding."

The three turned to Pinkie, who was still watching the long trail of mist, float away.

"What makes you say that?" Bon Bon asked the pink Pony.

Pinkie pointed in the direction of the ever-shrinking love cloud.

"Because she's heading in the direction of Canterlot."

"..."

"WHAT?!"

"CANTERLOT?!" Applejack screamed, throwing her hat to the ground. "Really?!"

"I guess we need to go there and stop them."

Bon Bon shook her head, exasperatedly. "And I thought things couldn't get worse."

"And it's about to get a lot worse." Pinkie pointed again. "Look!"

She had pointed to the base of the hill, where the horde of love struck Ponies had finally realized that their leader was gone and had decided to have Spike for themselves instead. They climbed up the hill, and over each other, to try and get to the Dragon.

The group fearfully stepped away from the advancing mob.

Spike gulped. "It could be worse."

Applejack glared at him. "How can it get any worse?!" She frantically shouted.

He shrugged. "Twilight could be here?"

***

"RAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!"

A tree flew into the air of the Everfree forest, pulled down by gravity a moment later, the loud crunch of splintering wood echoed off the trees.

Twilight Sparkle roared in fury.

"You made me lose my SPIKEY WIKEY!!!"

Twilight effortlessly ripped a tree straight out of the ground with her magic and with another fierce cry, she flung it at the focus of her anger; Rarity.

Rarity was strung up by her legs a few feet off the ground, her body held up by magically controlled vines. She constantly swayed back and forth, oblivious to her lover's intent. Every time Twilight had attempted to crush her with a tree, she either dodged the attack or in Twilight's rage, she threw to hard and the tree was sent far away.

"Oh Twilight!" Rarity cooed. "I didn't know you were into things like this!"

"Shut up!" Twilight growled at the white unicorn. "It's your fault that my true love got away!" She suddenly got quiet, a look of despair on her face. "Now that musician probably has him."

Rarity stopped swinging and looked at her new lover sympathetically.

"Awwww, would my Sparkle kitten like it if I help her find Spike?"

"No!" Twilight shouted at her. "You'll screw it up or you'll try and kill him or something!"

"Kill him?" Rarity gasped. "I am a Pony of etiquette, I abhor violence."

She winked at Twilight.

"But I am all for spreading the love, if you know what I mean."

"Unfortunately, for once I do." Twilight glared at Rarity, full of contempt for her once-friend. "But no." She refused. "I will find Spike alone and will crush anypony who stands in my way!" To emphasize her point, Twilight magically ripped a tree from the ground and compressed it into a flat disk before shooting it at Rarity, cutting through the vines that held her up and sending her crashing to the forest floor in a jumbled heap.

Twilght stormed off, mumbling to herself about various magic tracers and teleportation spells.

"Twilight!" Rarity called to her lover, she struggled to stand up in the mass of vines. "Wait for me please!"

"I will find you Spike." Twilight muttered to herself. "And nopony's going to stop me."

***

After a moment of planning, the group had finally come to the conclusion that the best course of action would be to head to Canterlot by train and administer the antidote there.

The problem was getting there before the love horde got them first.

"Keep running!" Applejack shouted as they raced through Ponyville, trying to outrun the hordes of lovers trying to kil them or worse. "The train station is this way!"

"No it's not!" Bon Bon shouted back, Spike clinging to her flying mane for dear life. "That way leads to the post office, the station is this way!"

"Are you doubting mah navigation talents?"

"What if I am?"

"Guys?" Spike asked meekly. "Now's probably not the right time to argue."

"Hey girls?" Pinkie called from behind them. She seemed to be dragging her hoofs a bit.

"Try to keep up Sugercube." Applejack told her.

Pinkie shook her head, the tip of her hair whipping back and forth. "No, no, no, no. I mean I'm trying to keep up but one of the lovey-dovey ponies caught up to me and is clinging to my tail by its teeth." She paused for a moment. "Should I be worried about that?"

"Don't be, we'll pry it off when we get to the train." Applejack reassured her.

"If we get to the train."

"Alright, that's it!" Applejack shouted at Bon Bon. "Ah know exactly where Ahm going!"

"No, I do!" Bon Bon shouted back.

"Actually, you're both wrong." Pinkie hopped up in between them, each hop accompanied by a rythmic thumping behind her. She pointed in her own direction. "The train station is right there."

The two looked in Pinkie's pointed out direction and realized that she was right, the station was just ahead of them and they hadn't noticed.

"See? It's right there." She repeated happily.

"So it is." Applejack duly noted; mentally facehoofing.

The train station was strangely empty, zero Ponies lined the usually full ticket booths and the sides of the track where the Ponyville train sat were completely barren. The train itself sat silently on the tracks, nopony seemingly around to even operate it.

Spike and the girls raced up the steps to the platform.

"Alright, this is the time when freeloaders get off." Applejack said. She walked over to Pinkie and the pony that was still attached to her tail, raised her hoof and knocked the pony away, sending with it a chunk of Pinkie's tail.

"Now that that's out of the way." Applejack continued, eying the quiet locomotive. "Does anypony know how to drive a train?"

"Oh, oh, I do!" Pinkie raised her hoof, hopping up and down.

Applejack eyed the pastry chef confusingly. "Really? You can drive a train?"

Pinkie hopped ahead of the group, the part of her tail that was bit off growing back with a *poof*.

"I expect so." She noted. "It's that sort of day."

With the sounds of love starved hordes on their heels the group decided not to argue and took off after her.

***

"Commander, any news on my sister?"

"Negative Princess, she hasn't reported back yet."

Princess Luna paced the courtyard of the royal castle, her mane full of stars, glittering in the sunlight. Celestia, her sister had left to Ponyville for some strange reason that Luna couldn't fathom nor would her sister tell her. All she had said was that she would be going to investigate why her prized student, Twilight Sparkle hadn't sent her a friendship letter in quite some time.

That had been a few hours ago.

"We need to scramble the troops, Commander." She had insisted. "We need to find my sister."

"With all due respect, your highness, the Princess is probably fine, all we need to do is wait."

Luna was distraught, something was wrong; she could feel it in the wind.

"I have to do something!" She exclaimed, her wings unfurling with a powerful gust of wind. "There is something very wrong today! I have to find-"

"Princess Celestia! Coming in from the west!" One of the guard towers suddenly cried out. Luna, closed her wings and ran to the wall to get a closer look, the other soldiers following her.

She instantly recognized her sister, flying towards the battlements, radiating light.

But something was off.

For one, there was a pony riding on her back, Luna quickly noted that it was a unicorn and Celestia was flying in a lazy fashion, swaying blissfully back in forth to the tune of a silent music

For two, there was a strange pink cloud that seemed to follow her.

"Commander?"

"Yes Princess."

"Do you see a pink mist snaking behind Celestia?" She hesitantly asked the armoured Pegasus.

"Yes Princess." He nodded, as confused as Luna but not showing it.

"Thank goodness." She sighed. "I thought I was the only one."

She spread her wings again and took off towards her sister. As she neared, Celestia came to a stop, the mist curling around her.

"Dear sister!" Luna cried. "You have finally come back from Ponyville!"

Celestia smiled. "Yes Luna, you would not believe what has happened."

"What is that strange mist?" Luna asked, she tried to inspect the mist but something inside Luna told her that it was dangerous.

"It's the scent of love, dearest Luna." Celestia told her, taking a deep breath of the mist and exhaling dreamily.

Luna was growing confused. "Love? What do you mean?"

"Oh Luna, it's the most wonderful thing!" Celestia giggled merrily. "I went to Ponyville to investigate and came back with the love of my life!" She turned sideways, allowing Luna to see the mint unicorn on her back. "Meet Lyra, the love of my life!"

Lyra smirked at Luna and waved a hoof daintily. "Charmed."

Luna was tremendously confused. "Celestia? Are you having..." She paused, composing herself. "...urges again? You know that we have guards trained for that."

Celestia waved her off. "No, no Luna, this is true love." 

"Speak for yourself." The unicorn name Lyra added, she leaned towards the moon princess, grinning wickedly. "I have come here to prepare the greatest gift I can muster for my love."

"...And that is?" Luna asked hesitantly.

Lyra threw up her arms into the air dramatically. 

"An entire kingdom!" She shouted "With me as the queen and him as my king!"

Luna glared at the overenthusiastic unicorn. "You can't be serious." She said.

"Oh yes I am." The musician proudly proclaimed. She ran a hoof through the mist that surrounded her. "And with this love mist, I'm going to spread the love in Canterlot." She narrowed her eyes. "Whether they want it or not."

She pointed at Luna.

"Starting with you!"

Luna's horn glowed defensively. "You can't stop me."

Lyra laughed gleefully, with a hint of malicious intent. "You don't know what ponies will do for love. Celestia?"

Celestia lowered her horn at Luna, her eyes fiery with anger. Luna was shocked by the sudden change of expression from her usually loving sister.

"...Tia...?"

Before she could say anything else, the mist that surrounded Celestia suddenly slammed into her, knocking her back a couple of feet through the air.

Luna quickly righted herself just in time to see the mist building up above her sister into a massive ball. She had nowhere to run.

"Celestia!" Luna screamed. "Please stop this!"

"Sorry Luna." Lyra told her. "But you know what they say; love is the strongest thing there is."

With that, Celestia launched the ball of mist at the dark Alicorn. Luna had no time to react before she was engulfed by the mass. She ended up trapped inside the ball, the heaviness of the mist compared to the air outside pulling it downward towards Canterlot. Luna thrashed inside the mist, trying to break free of the pink cloud but caught completely by surprise. As she breathed she found the mist to smell sweet but at the same time horrible, it almost hurt her.

Back on the castle grounds and even in the city that surrounded it, citizens and guards were begining to notice the approaching pink asteroid and had begun to either panic or stand and watch, curiously as the mist fell.

"W-what do we do Commander?" One of the guards asked the Commander as the watched the ball fall towards them.

He shook his head. "There's nothing we can do."

The love mist asteroid collided with the castle.

Canterlot errupted.

The ball of compressed love mist had come apart when it had crashed into the castle, the mist shooting out even to the farthest corners of the city. The explosion of compressed mist had damaged the castle; breaking almost all of the windows and breaking off multiple balconies and towers of the castle. The Ponies of the city had finally decided that now was a time to panic and were trying to run from the spreading mist but without anywhere to run.

Luna shot out of the ball when it had exploded, unfortunately smashing into the side of the castle and falling to the ground far bellow with a crash.

"Ugh..." She groaned, she felt horrible; her body was sore from the sudden attack and her head was swimming from the mist. Using all the strength she could muster, she lifted her head up and opened her eyes.

Her sister stood over her, gazing down at her downed sister with an expression that despite the love potion still showed concern.

"...Tia..." She muttered before darkness overtook her.
> Love train
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

After a minor incident involving the forward and reverse switch, Pinkie had actually managed to get the train up and running and on its way to Canterlot. The train ride fortunately gave the group some time to think.

The group sat in one of the passenger cars, Applejack was fast asleep in the back of the car, her hat over her face to block out the light. Pinkie opened the door to the engine room and stepped out; her normally bright pink fur smudged by black coal.

"That should keep it going." She wiped her brow, only getting more black dust on her face. "And hopefully not exploding." She cheerfully added.

Spike sat in one of the seats, staring down at the Heartbreaker plant in his hands despairingly.

"Spike?" Bon Bon, who sat in the seat across from him called to him. "Is something wrong?"

"What are we going to do?" He asked quietly.

She tilted her head questioningly. "What do you mean?"

He was silent for a moment before looking up at her. "What are we going to do when we get to Canterlot?"

"We're going to save everypony silly." Pinkie told him. "That's what we have the antidote for!"

"But how?"

The two earth ponies looked at each other, confused.

"We're going into the biggest city in Equestria." He elaborated. "A pony that loves me is building some kind of army for our wedding, one of the rulers of Equestria, who has power over the sun, and her sister may be next!" Spike had jumped up in his seat, his face filled with anger. "And you think we can stand a chance against that?!"

Nopony said anything, a heavy silence hung over the room every so often broken by Applejack mumbling in her sleep.

"Well...yeah!" Pinkie finally answered. "Even when you're alone, you need to keep going for the sake of your friends. Discord tried to tear us apart and almost succeeded too but Twilight chose not to give up and we shouldn't either."

"Yeah!" Bon Bon added. "I'm not about to give up on Lyra."

Spike watched in startled confusion as the two ponies talk about how they wouldn't stop until their friends and loved ones were normal again. He looked down at the plant that was the key to this horrible mess.

And strangely enough, he found himself to be grinning.

Maybe they can do this.

Suddenly a resounding crash rocked the passenger car, knocking everybody out of their seats and on to the ground.

"What in tarnation!?" Applejack babbled, she had been knocked out of her chair and sent crashing to the floor.

Another resounding crash shook the car, it seemed closer than before.

"It's getting closer!" Spike shouted.

"We got that." Bon Bon dryly noted.

"That sounded like the car behind us." Applejack estimated. "It'll be here any moment, be prepared for anything!"

The group waited and steeled themselves for the eventual crash but it didn't seem to come.

"Huh?" Pinkie looked back at her tail that had begun to twitch erratically. "Twitcha twitch!" She shouted.

"Here it comes!" Applejack shouted. "Everypony take cover!"

The group quickly ran for cover, Bon Bon included and just in time for the roof of the car to break open. The dust quickly cleared and they could finally see what had caused all of the senseless destruction.

"Applejack?" Rainbow Dash called. When she noticed the Earth pony in the Stetson her face lit up with joy. "Applejack!"

"Of course it's Dash." Spike grumbled from underneath the seat he was using as cover.

"Well, Ah wasn't prepared for this." Applejack murmured. After a moment she climbed out from under her chair and looked up at the Pegasus lodged in the ceiling. "Rainbow Dash, what are ya'll doing here?"

"I've been looking for you babe!" She replied as she struggled to get through the hole she was trapped in. "I've been looking all over Ponyville for you!"

Applejack sighed, the smallest hint of a smile on her face. "Well Ah have to admit; that is kind of sweet."

Just then, the door to the car was violently ripped off its hinges.

Everyone looked at the hole in the wall where the solid metal door once was in horror.

"By the way." Dash added unsurprised. "I brought somepony along."

A pink blob suddenly peered through the open hole.

"Um...is Bon Bon in here somewhere?" Fluttershy mumbled.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!" Bon Bon screamed in horror, jumping behind Pinkie Pie for protection.

"She's right here Fluttershy." Dash pointed to the cowering Earth Pony.

Fluttershy hopped into the car, instantly growing anxious under the looks the group was giving her. Mumbling something that sounded like an apology she walked over to Bon Bon, who was using Pinkie as a divider between them.

"Hi." She said quietly to the earth pony. "I just wanted to apologize for acting up a little before."

"You just ripped a six inch metal door off its hinges with you bare hooves!" Bon Bon shrieked after a moment of silence.

Fluttershy looked back at the once-door and blushed, hiding her face behind her mane. "Uh...sorry." She whispered.

While they were talking, Spike and Applejack were conversing quietly with each other.

"What do you think we should do?" Spike whispered to the farmer.

She shrugged. "Ah think we should bring them along."

"What?!" Spike jumped back. "But they're insane!"

The glare from Applejack shut him up. "They're still our friends and besides, maybe we can control them."

She looked up to Rainbow Dash. "Hey Rainbow!"

The Pegasus in question was currently attempting to push herself through the hole she was stuck in, to no avail. "Yes dear?"

Applejack wore a tight smile, strained by the Pegasus's words. "We're going to Canterlot for a...uh...very important mission." She chose her words carefully. "Would ya'll like to join us?"

Rainbow Dash finally broke through the ceiling, landing at Applejack's hooves. "Really?!" She jumped up quickly.

Applejack nodded. "But you have to behave yourself there, alright?"

"Right, right whatever." She latched on to Applejack excitedly. "A mission with my marefriend! This is going to be so awesome!" She squeaked.

"Yeah..." Applejack muttered, prying Dash off of her. "Try not to do that."

She turned to Fluttershy, who was trying to get close to Bon Bon while Bon Bon was trying to keep them separate by placing Pinkie Pie between them. They were going in a continuous circle; Fluttershy trying to walk around Pinkie while Bon Bon was contiuously turning Pinkie to face the Pegasus while she was behind her.

"Whee!" Pinkie cheered. "It's like a ride!"

"Bon bon!" Applejack called. "Get Fluttershy to come with us!"

"Are you insane?!" She shouted back. "I don't want her near me!"

Pinkie was unexpectedly ripped from Bon Bon's hooves and threw aside by a suddenly very angry Fluttershy.

"Take me with you." She growled.

"Okay." Bon Bon squeaked.

After she agreed, Fluttershy's angry visage dropped instantaneously and she sat quietly next to Bon Bon, something that she found to be even scarier.

"Well, now we have two more ponies to help us." Pinkie noted from her new position of under the luggage rack, upside down. "Things are on the up and up!"

Any other words were cut off as yet another crash shook the car.

"Now what?!" Spike cried.

Applejack turned to Dash. "You didn't bring anypony else, did you Sug-uh, Dash?"

Dash shook her head vehemently. "Nopony else dear."

Spike looked up through the hole in the ceiling. "Well then who could that be?"

"SPIKE!" A familiar voice screamed from outside.

"Oh no..." Spike muttered.

"Twilight." Applejack confirmed.

"I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE! I CAN SENSE YOUR PRESENCE!"

"Come now Twilight..." Another voice could be heard saying. "Do you really need to scream every word like that?"

Pinkie recognized the second voice. "Is that...Rarity?"

"I thought I told you to stop following me!" Twilight shouted.

"Twilight is coming for me!" Spike panicked. "What do we do?!"

"Again; why don't you just control her?" Applejack asked.

Her question was shot down quite literally when a bolt of purple magic smashed through the door that connected the passenger cars together. Twilight stood in the doorway; pure anger on her face.

Spike ducked behind Applejack. "Yeah, that's not going to happen."

"Alright, friends." Twilight glared at each of the Ponies one by one. "Hand over my Spike and nopony gets hurt."

Nopony said anything until Applejack turned to Pinkie Pie.

"Pinkie? The train seems to be slowing down, why don't ya'll go and speed it up."

"Speed it up?" Pinkie asked, confusedly. "But the train is going fast enough."

Applejack glared at her. "Just do it."

Pinkie quickly excused herself and left. Applejack turned back to Twilight.

"Twilight?" Applejack stepped slowly and carefully towards the unicorn, her voice full of concern. "Ya'll need to calm down."

"Calm down?" Twilight snorted derisively at the farmer. "I have been running around half of Equestria, looking for the love of my life who has been avoiding me for Celestia knows why." She slammed her hoof down in rage, managing to shake the car a little. "And you want me to calm down?!"

"Twilight please." She pleaded. "Try to calm down and come to your senses."

"All of my senses are fine!" Twilight glared at the Earth pony once more.

Applejack sighed. "So there's no getting through to you then?"

"Please get out of my way, Applejack."

"If this is what you want."

Applejack made to move out of the way for Twilight but in a split second she had twisted around so her back was facing Twilight. Before Twilight could react, Applejack's hind legs shot out and connected with Twilight's face, sending her flying back into the passenger car behind her.

"Sorry about this, sugercube." Applejack shouted over the rapid movements of the train. She reached down and undid the coupling, dethatching the cars behind them and leaving Twilight stranded. With the combined loss of cars and the added fuel Pinkie was giving the engines, the train sped off quickly and was soon out of sight while the line of engineless cars came to a grinding halt.

Applejack turned back to the group; each of them looking at her with a different level of awe.

"Now..." She started. "Can we please get this mission underway?"

Rainbow Dash leapt forward and wrapped Applejack in an embrace. "That's my girl!"

It was at that moment that Pinkie Pie came back from the engine room. "Alright-y Applejack, I did what you said but I really don't see why..." She trailed off as she noticed the destruction in the room she had left only a moment ago.

"Awww...did I miss something?"

***

Twilight sat on the edge of the train car, the train with Spike in it had gone behind a mountain ridge and out of sight. Rarity walked up and sat down beside her.

"Troubles dear?"

Twilight looked up at the pony that had followed her despite her repeated threats.

"I need to find my love." She said simply.

"Hmph." Rarity huffed. "I am all for spreading the love but let me remind you that you have sompony of your own species right here that loves you."

"I need to find Spike." Twilight ignored her.

Rarity was about to say something else but the car they were in suddenly began to move, despite not having an engine. Rarity looked up and found Twilight standing in the middle of the car; her horn glowing brightly. The car was covered in a magic aura and slowly began to move, breaking away from the other cars.

"Twilight?!" Rarity asked confusedly before a band of magic shot out and wrapped around her mouth, quieting her.

"It's time I get my Spikey wikey back."

***

After the Twilight Sparkle attack, the group had sat back down into what was left of the seats and waited for when they finally got to Canterlot. Applejack went back to sleep in the back with Rainbow Dash sneaking in beside her. Fluttershy also fell asleep in her seat beside Bon Bon; Bon Bon herself didn't want to risk going to sleep, afraid that the Pegasus next to her might eat her in her sleep or something. Spike had taken his seat again with the antidote plant and Pinkie Pie was still in the engine room, overseeing the maintenance.

Sometime later, Pinkie Pie walked back into the room, oblivious to a small fire burning at the tip of her mane.

"Guys!" She bounced up and down excitedly, waking up the others.

"Wha-?" Applejack stirred, rising in her seat and brushing Rainbow Dash off.

"What is it Pinkie?" Spike asked.

"Canterlot is close and coming up fast!" Pinkie smiled.

"Well that's great." Bon Bon replied.

"Yeah but there's one small problem with that." Pinkie added.

Applejack's eyebrows raised in realization. "You can use the train brakes when we're there, right Pinkie?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Brake means stop moving, right?"

"Brace for impact!" Applejack shouted, latching onto the seat in front of her.

"I'll protect you dear!" Dash pledged, latching onto Applejack.

"I'll protect you too Bon Bon." Fluttershy said, trying to grab the Earth Pony.

"Stay away from me!" She screamed.

Spike jumped up and looked out the window; the grand city of Canterlot loomed in the distance and was getting closer by the second. The closer they got though; spike noticed that something was wrong. The castle was damaged, cracks ran up the entire building and out of every window and opening poured the familiar pink mist that had been harassing them for this entire adventure. The entire city seemed to be soaked in the stuff much like how Ponyville was.

"Here comes the station!" Pinkie, who was also looking out the window cried. "Hold on!"

Spike quickly pulled his head back in and braced himself for the crash alongside everypony else.

They waited and waited and waited still but nothing came.

"Pinkie?" Bon Bon called, her eyes closed and braced for the crash.

"Yeah?" Pinkie replied, also bracing herself.

"Aren't we supposed to be crashing?"

"Yes and I'm sorry for that."

"But we're not crashing Pinkie."

At this, Pinkie opened her eyes and looked around. "So we are!" She said surprised.

Everypony else opened their eyes and found that the train was not in fact crashing and instead had come to a stop right outside of Canterlot station. They quickly strapped on their masks and Spike carried the antidote plant and they hesitantly stepped out of the car through the gaping hole that was once the door and looked around.

"Look at this!" Spike pointed at the train. Everypony looked and were surprised to see that the train was in fact still going, the spinning wheels of the locomotive lifted off the ground by a golden aura.

Applejack inspected the floating, spinning wheels. "But who could do this?"

"I did."

The group spun around at the sound of a voice behind them.

Spike gasped. "Princess Celestia?!"
> Crashing a wedding
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The scene in Canterlot was one of utter confusion. Ponies; citizens and guards alike swarmed the courtyard of Canterlot castle. Each of them under the sway of the love mist and taking orders from the ponies they fell in love with. In the midst of all this, Lyra was waving her hooves around pointing at things and shouting orders.

"Hang those streamers lower!" She shouted to a pair of Pegasus. They instantly obeyed with a few cries of 'sorry!' and 'anything for you!'.

"Ma'am." The gruff voice of a royal guard called her. She looked and found that he and a few other guards were carrying a few tied up civilians and at least one guard on their backs, all of them wore blindfolds. "We have brought a few more."

"Excellent work, Commander." Lyra applauded, stepping down from the steps of the palace, kicking up the love mist that hung low to the ground. After she had landed at the castle with Celestia, an entire platoon of guards charged at her with intent to catch her.

They had failed.

"Please put them down on the ground, facing me."

The guards did as they were told and placed the prisoners down on the ground. The prisoners were each in a state of panic.

"What are you doing?!" One Female Pegasus demanded. "Do you know who I am?! You had better let me go this instant!"

Lyra sighed, these snooty locals seriously got on her nerves.

"What's going on here?!" A guard blindly shouted. He looked to be younger than the other guards, a rookie. "Release us at once!" He demanded.

"Calm down, good sir." Lyra said calmly, almost caringly. "You will be released in due time." She looked up at the guards and nodded. The guards nod back, crouching down and undoing the prisoners blindfolds.

"Well that's better." The pony from earlier raised her head, slowly opening her eyes. "I would like to know what kind of hooligan is behind this...this...Oh my."

She fell silent as her eyes finally registered the unicorn in front of her and her angered expression morphed into an expression of sweetness.

"I say...." She stuttered. "Now that I see you, you certainly are stunning."

Lyra grinned. "Why thank you, you're too kind." She looked over to the other prisoners who had also opened their eyes and were staring at her, each of them complimenting her in some form or another.

"Please, please!" She waved them silent, a hint of enjoyment at their sudden change from fear to praise. "Your words are very kind but we must get to work!" She started to walk away and motioned for them to follow. They all followed excitedly after the new focus of their affection, the Pegasus from earlier walked beside her.

"Work?" She tilted her head confusingly. "Work on what darling?"

Lya couldn't contain her smile and hopped with glee. 

"My royal wedding!" She giggled.

"Wedding?" The Pegasus faltered for a moment, nearly tripping over her hooves. "Oh my...this is all very sudden."

"Uh...yes." Lyra nodded quickly. "It is very sudden so you must help us prepare." She turned to the group behind her. "All of you must help us prepare for my wedding."

It took a moment for their love-addled brains to register her words but they finally got the picture. They ran past her, off to preform duties for the preparation of the matrimonial ceremony.

"Hold on there." Lyra reached out and stopped the young guard that had spoken up earlier.

"Ma'am?" The guard asked.

She pointed over to the platoon. "I need you to go out with the other guards and round up other ponies, preferably guards and bring them back here, blindfolded of course and make sure they don't see you."

He saluted. "Yes, of course."

He trotted over to the platoon who also saluted the musician. They turned from Lyra as one and ran off, spreading their wings and taking off, sending a plume of mist into the air as they left.

Lyra watched the soldiers go, the expression of glee still on her face.

"Yes..." She said to herself. "When the wedding is finally prepared, I will have my love, Spike married and we will live happily ever after and nopony will stop us!"

She burst into mad laughter that could be heard throughout the empty streets. This lasted for a full minute before she regained her composure. Pulling all of these strings was difficult but she'd do it in the name of love.

She walked back to the where the ceremony was being prepared; it was time for her to get fitted for her wedding dress.

***

"Princess Celestia?!"

The group looked on at the sun princess that had saved them; she looked, to put it lightly, like a mess. Her rainbow mane was unkempt and messy, though it still waved like a flag in the wind. Heavy bags hung under her eyes and her usually shining armor dull and grimy.

Spike jumped behind Applejack. "She's here to take me away!"

"No." She said. "I'm not."

Celestia spoke with a strained voice, as if she was having difficulty even speaking.

"Princess?" Applejack stepped forward, concerned. "Are you okay?"

"No." Celestia strained. "It has taken a while and no small amount of focus but I am finally able to fight off the love spell."

She turned her head to her city; the sounds of buildings crashing down and cries of help mixing with cries of adoration filled the air where mist floated and mixed with smoke and fire.

Her eyes were full of sorrow. "I really didn't want this to happen again."

"Princess?" Pinkie asked, lifting a hoof as if she was in school.

"Yes Pinkie Pie?"

"Were you there at the original love potion disaster?" She asked.

"How do you know about that?" Spike asked. "You didn't even read the book."

She turned to him, confused. "What book?"

"Yes." Celestia nodded. "I was there when the disaster struck, it was..." She brought a hoof to her chin in thought, turning the years back in her thoughts. "At least a couple hundred years ago, Luna wasn't here." She sighed. "Which makes her getting hit even worse."

The group gasped.

"Princess Luna was shot?!" Bon Bon cried. Celestia nodded.

"She's not in love with me, is she?!" Spike asked, horrified at the prospect.

"Why would she be in love with you?" Applejack asked. "Ya'll weren't even here."

He shrugged. "Stranger things have happened today."

"No, no, she's not in love with you." Celestia confirmed. "But now she is unable to fight the spell like I am."

"Well who is she in love with?" Bon Bon asked.

Celestia was silent for a moment; an experienced face reader might have been able to see the brief look of embarassment on it. "That's not important." She eventually said. "But you need to go and stop this before it gets any worse!" As she talked, she brought up a hoof and slammed it down; accidently taking her magic off the still moving train and sending it flying away, a crash could be heard in the distance.

"L-like I said." She continued, slightly embarrassed. "Before it gets any worse."

"We have the antidote." Spike said, holding it up for her to see. "But how are we going to get it to everypony when there's only one?"

"Get to my castle." Celestia told them. "Go into kitchen three and use the big cauldron that should be big enough for the entire city."

"Dear sister!" A voice suddenly rang out.

"What was that?" Pinkie looked around for the creator of the noise.

"Nothing." Celestia said quickly. She looked around hastily. "You should be off now, the fate of Equestria hangs in the balance."

"Is that you dear? I've been looking everywhere for you!" The same voice cried out again.

"Okay, now Ah know Ah heard something." Applejack stated.

"No! No you didn't." Celestia continued, now constantly looking over her shoulder. "Now, you and your friends really must be going."

"My love? Are you here?"

Celestia's face now showed desperation. "I order all of you to leave at once!"

"Celestia!"

The Princess was about to move them herself when a pony suddenly jumped her from behind, latching onto her neck and squeezing her tight.

"Princess Luna?" Pinkie exclaimed.

Luna hung on her sister, gazing dreamily into her sister's eyes. "I looked everywhere for you!" She spoke sadly. "Where have you been?"

Spike noticed that Celesia's eye had begun to twitch.

"Oh, you know, dear sister." Celestia replied sharply, putting emphasis on the word 'sister'. "I was simply looking for the ponies that weren't affected by the love poison."

"It's not a poison, Tia." Luna denied as she nuzzled the uncomfortable Alicorn. "Tis a blessing!"

Celestia looked back and found the group of ponies and Spike staring at the two in complete shock.

Applejack slowly leaned over and covered Spike's eyes.

"Hey!"

A very awkward moment of silence washed over the group.

"Uh..." Pinkie raised her hoof again, albeit hesitantly.

"One word." Celestia threatened the group while Luna hung at her side. "One word and each of you goes to the moon." She glared at them before her expression softened and she sighed. "Having to deal with ponies falling in love with you, again even..." She attempted to push her sister away but she clung tightly. "...especially ponies you know, is horribly troublesome."

"Tell me about it." Applejack grumbled as she tried to pry Rainbow Dash off her body.

"I guess we need to get to the castle now." Spike noted.

"But how are we going to get in?" Bon Bon asked. "Lrya's probably going to be there as well."

The group went silent as they racked their brains for a solution to this roadblock in their plan. Spike didn't think through, instead, he was looking down at the plant in his hands; the dry, wrinkled, gray plant that was the only way to stop this disaster. The disaster he had created.

Slowly, a look of grim determination grew on his face. He suddenly shot up and dashed for the city.

"Spike?!" Bon Bon shouted. "Where are you going?!"

Spike stopped and looked back at the ponies that he had endangered with his mistakes.

"You guys stay here." He shouted to them. "I have to do this alone."

Before they could reply, he had raced off into the city, all the mist he kicked up as he ran eventually making him disappear. The group looked at the area where he was standing and then to each other.

"Well..." Applejack sighed through her gas mask. "Ah guess we need to go after him."

The others nodded glumly, almost annoyed by Spike's heroic action.

"We'd better hurry." Bon Bon added. "He's probably gonna get captured again."

The five turned to chase after their friend but Celestia stopped them.

"Wait!" She cried, stopping the ponies in their tracks. She looked at each of them sternly. "Before you leave, I have something very important to request of you." She walked over to Applejack, leaned down and looked her in the eyes.

"Take her with you." She whispered.

"Ahm...sorry?" The farmer asked confusedly.

"My sister, you must take her with you." Celestia ordered, pointing to the princess still hanging onto her. "If she stays here with me, she will certainly break my focus and the spell will retake me." She glared down at the earth pony. "Do you really want that?"

Applejack gulped loudly. "No sir, your highness."

"Excellent!" Celestia smiled her angry glare from earlier diminishing to nothing. "Luna?" She glanced at her sister, who still dangled at her neck. "Would you mind doing something for me?"

"Oh yes Tia!" Luna finally released her sister and bounced in front of her. "I would do anything for you!"

Celestia still smiled though it seemed a little forced at this point. "I can see that, sister." She spoke through gritted teeth, once again emphasizing the word 'sister'. She waved a hoof to the five ponies. "I need you to protect these friends of mine, can you do that?"

Luna responded by jumping up and kissing her sister on the cheek. "But of course Tia, I will do anything you tell me!"

Celestia looked back at the group of ponies, who were currently trying to find something else to look at.

"Just..." Celestia groaned weakly. "...just go."

***

"My lady!"

A royal guard raced through the structurally weakened castle of the royal solar sisters, now the royal palace of princess Lyra and her soon to be prince; Spike. 

The guard stumbled through the many hallways of the castle; crashing through and stepping on the many pictures, tapestries and knicknacks that once hung on the walls but now littered the floors. Finally, the anonymous Pegasus guard reached the musicians dressing room.

"Princess!" The guard yelled as he ran into the room, not even stopping to open the door and instead crashing through it. "I have important-oh my..."

The love-addled guard's words drifted away as he noticed the Princess's atire; a gorgeous white dress with golden trim, musical notes danced across the dress in beautiful patterns.

The unicorn turned and struck a pose. "What do you think?" She asked, almost radiating happiness. "I think the royal designers did pretty well."

The guard stuttered, the hint of a blush on his white muzzle. "You...you look amazing, my lady."

She nodded appreciatively as she looked herself over in one of the full body mirrors. "Thank you very much. Now..." She turned back to the guard. "You said something about something important?"

He nodded, clearing his throat. "Yes, one of the guards reported a train pulling into the station."

"A train?" She pondered before clapping excitedly. "Must be late guests for the wedding! Send out the other guards to investigate."

"Yes, your highness." He saluted and quickly left the room, stepping carefully through the hole in the doors. Lyra turned back to the mirrors to prepare the finishing touches of her apperance.

"This day is going to be perfect..."
> Boom
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The train station was once again silent, everypony that had been there was now long gone and doing other things. Nopony was around to notice the lone train car silently roll into the station, strangely enough, not pulled by an engine. The car came to a perfect stop at the platform and the doors swung open, a purple unicorn stepping out. The unicorn was a disheveled mess; her mane was frayed and messy, her left eye had the black markings of a shiner and her nerves just seemed to be on end.

"This day was going to be perfect..." She sighed, looking over the broken city that stood before her. Nopony was at the station to greet her but then again, she didn't feel very friendly right now.

"Mmmph!" A white unicorn stepped out of the car after her, a band of purple magic around her mouth. "Mmph, mmm!"

"Rarity, I really don't know what you're saying." Twilight Sparkle sighed, shaking her head at the love-struck unicorn that had followed her all the way here. "Nor do I care."

He eyes slowly turned back to the city, the broken castle still standing in the distance. 

"This is where it all ends."

***

Spike the dragon ran through the streets of Canterlot, the plant still in his claws, kicking up the mist that grabbed at his feet with each step. The streets were strangely empty; no noises could be heards for all around save for the sharp breaths that Spike made as he breathed through his gas mask.

As he walked, he began to notice the destruction around him; Windows and houses broken, carts overturned, pies left on the ground and spoiled. the whole city was a mess.

"All my fault..." He sighed. All this had happened just because he wanted to improve his relationship with Rarity and now with her pining for Twilight it was even worse. He had messed up everypony when the potion had spread; Twilight, Lyra, all of ponyville and even Princess Celestia had been affected and it was all his fault.

The sounds of thundering hooves suddenly filled the little dragon's ears and echoed off the street's houses. Something was coming this way and it was coming fast. Spike quickly dived into one of the alleyways and hid himself just in time for the thundering hooves to arrive.

A group of royal guards, their armor clanking and gleeming in the sunlight as they moved, they ran into the middle of the street and began searching the area around them.

"I swear I heard something down this way!" One of the guards said as they searched.

"We have to keep searching." Another guard ordered. "The princess ordered us to find whoever was on that train."

Spike's gasp was muffled by his mask. Who ever was on the train? He thought. That was us! Maybe Princess Celestia sent them to help us! Spike jumped out of the shadows and into the open. "Hey!" He called to the guards, waving his arms in the air.

All of the guards turned in the direction of the noise at once, their eyes finally focusing on the baby Dragon not too far away from them.

"You!" One of the guards finally reacted after a moment, pointing a hoof at him. The guard paused. "Who are you?"

"I'm Spike!" He pointed to himself. "I was on the train that arrived earlier."

The guard brought a hoof to his chin in thought. "Spike..." He mumbled before his face lit up with a sudden understanding. "He's the one." He said to the other guards that nodded in agreement. They stepped towards the dragon. "We were going to get you later but now that your here that makes it much easier."

Spike was suddenly confused. "The princess called you earlier? But she didn't even know what was..." His voice drifted away as he finally noticed something that made his already cold blood even colder.

"Wait..." He stuttered. "You're...you're not wearing gas masks." He realized.

The guards continued to advance towards him. "Princess Lyra was expecting you."

"Princess Lyra?!" Spike gasped.

The guards were now standing in front of him, glaring down at the dragon. "You are late for your wedding."

Spike tuned and bolted in the opposite direction, running away as fast as his little legs could carry him. He could already hear the guards chasing after him. He was freaking out; he was all alone and now a group of trained, hypnotized guards were after him.

"No need...to...worry..." He panted. "All I need to do is outrun the guards and-"

A royal guard suddenly slammed into the ground in front of Spike, the guard's white wings spread wide to prevent the dragon from avoiding him. With nowhere to turn and not enough time to react, Spike slammed into the guard's legs, knocking the wind right out of his lungs.

"Oh yeah..." Spike groaned. "Wings..."

Spike slumped over onto the ground as the guards surrounded him, looking down at him from above. one of them pulled a hoof back, positioning it over Spike.

This whole, heroic sacrifice thing probably was a bad idea. Was all he could think of before the hoof came down on him.

***

"Do you see anything, Fluttershy?"

"Uh, no, sorry."

Applejack and the others searched through the streets for their friend that had unceremoniously deserted them. Pinkie, Applejack and Bon Bon searched the ground while Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash and Princess Luna flew above them looking for clues. In the time that they had been searching and with the asistance of a hammer from Pinkie, Luna had been able to regain most of her focus.

Bon Bon pounded the ground in frustration, knocking up a plume of mist. "This is getting us nowhere!" She shouted.

"Quiet!" Applejack hissed at her. "Ya'll might alert the guards!"

"FRIEND APPLEJACK." Luna thundered. She dropped out of the sky, slamming in to the cobble street with a resounding crash that rivaled her voice in noise levels, the sound wave knocking all of the mist around them away. "WE HAVE NEWS."

"LUNA!" Applejack shouted in the Alicorn's face. "Inside voice!"

Luna stepped back, surprised at the Earth pony's words. "Uh...I apologize." She stuttered, her voice a lot quieter now, little more than a whisper.

"What news did you have?" Pinkie jumped in, happy as ever despite their current predicament. "Did you find something?"

"We..." Luna said quietly, embarrassed now. "We didn't find anything; the mist is masking everything around us."

Applejack facehoofed. "Well that's just-Ah!"

A fast blur had collided with Applejack, sending the both of them crashing into the ground in a heap.

"Applejack!" The blur, who was actually Rainbow Dash spoke happily. "I'm getting really tired of spending all this time away from you." She attempted to nuzzle her love but was halted by Applejack's gas mask. "Why don't you take this off?" She tried to remove it and Applejack quickly pushed her away.

Applejack had a headache. "Did you find anything, Dash?"

"Well...uh, no sorry." Dash rubbed the back of her head sheepishly.

Applejack sighed. "Does anypony have some good news?"

"Um, Applejack."

Applejack flinched at the voice despite the quiet tone it carried. Fluttershy fluttered to the ground slowly and landed without a sound.

She groaned. "You don't have anything either, do you?"

Tears welled up in the Pegasus's eyes, hanging her head and allowing her long pink hair to shroud her face. She walked dejectedly over to Bon Bon.

"I'm sorry." She whimpered to the Earth pony.

Bon Bon reached out awkwardly and patted her shoulder. "It's...okay." She told Fluttershy. "You...you did your best."

Luna rubbed her head, as if experiencing a headache. "There must be some sort of clue."

Pinkie pointed a pink hoof at the ground. "You mean like that?"

Everypony looked at the ground and to their surprise, on the ground where Pinkie had pointed, now visible because the mist had been cleared away, was a purple scale, a purple dragon scale.

Pinkie peered down at it. "It looks like it belongs to Spike!"

Fluttershy snatched up the scale and inspected it, turning it over and sniffing it. After a moment she stood up, a look of thoughtfulness on her face.

"Okay, four guards, each of them Pegasus, carrying Spike in that direction..." She pointed in the direction that led into the city. "And he really needs a bath."

Everypony stared at her incredulously.

She blushed under the attention. "I'm an expert animal tracker."

"That direction leads to the castle." Luna noted.

As soon as Luna had noted this, loud bells began to sound off in the distance.

Dash looked up in the direction of the noise. "What's that?"

"It is the royal wedding bells." Luna explained while rubbing her head to try and ease herself of her headache. "They are only to be rung when one of the royals are getting married."

Luna blushed slightly. "It has never been rung before."

"So somepony's getting hitched and it's not ya'll." Applejack thought out loud.

Bon Bon gasped. "It must be Lyra!"

"Come on!" Applejack ran towards the sound of bells. "We have a wedding to crash!"

The others quickly took after her; Bon Bon quickly by her side and Princess Luna and the two other Pegasus flying after them.

"We're going to a wedding?" Pinkie talked to herself as she brought up the rear. "But we don't have a thing to wear!"

***

Spike slowly began to stir, an aching pain in his head from the guard that had hit him. The gas mask had absorbed most of the punch but it had still knocked him out. He was on the ground, he knew that much, He could feel the cobble underneath him and felt love mist clinging to his arms.

He didn't feel particularly capable of getting up just yet so he settled for opening his eyes. After a small amount of effort, his sore eyelids eventually opened and Spike looked up from his position on the ground, dark splotches dancing around his vision.

He still had his gas mask on, that was good.

Lyra was looking down at him, that was not good.

He shouted. "Ah!" And attempted to crawl away from the dragon obsessed mare, only to find him and her surrounded on all sides by royal guards. The royal castle stood behind Lyra, casting a shadow over the ponies.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk." Lyra said aloud, staring down at Spike. "Spike, don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding?" Her horn glowed soft green and Spike was lifted into the air and into the unicorn's arms. "But I guess since you just couldn't stay away, I'll just have to allow it." She grinned happily, squeezing the dragon.

It had taken a moment but after Spike's vision had cleared up, he had noticed that Lyra was wearing a rather beautiful dress. The kind of dress that one would wear if they were getting...

Oh...right.

Lyra pointed with a hoof. "And look at how many ponies showed up!"

Spike strained to look in the direction she was pointing in, the guards moving away to allow him a look. He quickly realized that he was in Canterlot square, on the steps outside the royal castle, the castle itself looked devastated, broken pillars and windows with love mist pouring out of every opening. The area around them had been decorated quite extensively with streamers, flowers and the like, the direct opposite image of the castle behind them. Ponies stood behind a line of guards, screaming compliments to the musician.

"They all came here to see us in our happiest moment!" She said as she squeezes Spike again in glee.

"Yeah..." The strangled dragon groaned. He suddenly realized something that made him gasp in surprise. "The plant!" He gasped. "Where's the plant?!"

"Oh you mean the wedding gift you got me?" She giggled. "It's over with the other gifts, it's a bit dead but a little bit of water and some love and it will be right as rain!"

'A bit of love'. He scoffed inwardly, looking over her shoulder he saw the plant sitting in a glass vase atop a mound of very hastily wrapped gifts, as if the givers had grabbed what was nearest them and wrapped it up without a care. He swore he saw a half wrapped pony lying in the pile.

"But enough of that." Lyra set Spike down and the guards circled him once again. "It's time for the ceremony to begin!"

"Begin?!" Spike gasped, he quickly scanned the area for an excuse out of this. "But...but I don't have a tux!"

"Doesn't matter." She waved him off. "Besides, I don't want to wait for that too."

He had to find some way to stall. "Hey uh, is everypony here in love with you?"

"The citizens of this city care for me if that's what you mean."

From somewhere in the crowd, a pony cried out. "I love you, Lyra!"

Lyra ignored them and continued talking. "But none of them will ever sway my love for you."

"So these guards..." He pointed to the many Pegasus that surrounded them. "They're in love with you too?"

"It's more of a loyalty thing." She explained dryly. "Apparently the guards took an oath to the other princess or were threatened or something." She shrugged. "They don't like to talk about it."

"Okay..." Spike didn't know how to respond to that. "But how about-"

"Enough!" Lyra shouted fiercely, suddenly angry. "I know what you're doing; you're trying to be 'hard to get' again." She reared up and slammed the ground in front of him. "But I'm not going to take that anymore!" She roared. "Guards! Positions!"

The guards quickly went to work. They spread out along the corners of the square and stood still, watching the every move of the other ponies, Spike couldn't escape.

"Now..." Lyra turned her attention back to Spike. "It's time to recite the vows, then we will be married and you can finally take off that ridiculous wedding veil."

"Wait!" Spike panicked. "Doesn't there have to be somepony official who officially weds us?"

"Well..." Lyra thought aloud. "I am a princess so I can actually do that myself but I'd rather not."

"You have too!" Spike pleaded. "Please!"

Lyra glared at him but eventually yeileded. "Fine." She groaned. She turned and cleared her throat. "We are gathered here today..."

As she continued talking, Spike desperately searched for a way out. Guards lined every exit and he obviously wouldn't be able to evade them if they gave chase.

"Then this is it then." He muttered hopelessly. "It's over."

With nothing else to do, he turned back to Lyra and calmly awaited his matrimonial fate.

Lyra continued, obviously bored. "...And if there is anypony that has a reason to object to this, speak now or-"

"WE OBJECT!"

Something crashed into the middle of the square, sending ponies, guards and decorations flying away in a tornado of mist and wind. When the mist cleared, four ponies stood in the square, posing as a team and each with a look of determination on their faces.

"Guys!" A pink pony hopped into the square, not even batting an eyelid at the destruction around her or the guards she hopped over. "Aww! You started without me!"

"Pinkie!" Applejack groaned. "We said 'on three', not 'after three'!"

"What is the meaning of this?!" Lyra demanded.

"We're stopping your wedding, Lyra." Bon Bon answered. She stopped for a moment and thought. "Honestly, I never thought I would have to say that."

"Everypony!" Lyra screamed at the top of her lungs. "Attack them!"

The guards and the citizens of Canterlot stepped towards the group at the orders of their new princess. In the confusion, Spike ran over to the group.

"Glad you guys could make it." Spike told them.

Applejack nodded. "Are you kidding? Ah wouldn't miss a royal wedding for the world."

The ponies advanced on them, not running straight for them but taking their time.

"So..." Spike began. "Any ideas?"

Bon Bon looked up to the princess. "Princess Luna? Couldn't you take them all out?"

Luna moaned, her head was still causing her pain. "I could but there's to many of my subjects to simply subdue and I do not want to hurt them."

"Then what do we do?!"

Spike looked out and realized something; all of these ponies loved Lyra.

"Hey!" He shouted louder than the others, causing the pony hordes to fall silent. He grinned at his idea.

"Who here loves Lyra the most?" He asked.

The question washed over the silent crowd, a few of them repeated the question to themselves.

A hoof raised into the air. "I do!" A pony shouted in the crowd.

"No you don't!" Another voice cried out. "I do!"

"No, I do!" 

The statement repeated a few more times, as more and more of the ponies started to claim the same thing, tempers began to rise and it wasn't long before the first punch was thrown and the entire crowd degenerated into violence.

"No!" Lyra shouted. "My subjects! Stop this at once!"

"Quickly!" Spike cried, jumping onto Luna's back. "Into the castle!"

The six quickly raced to the mighty castle doors, snatching the heartbreaker out of its vase along the way. As soon as they were inside the castle, Luna magically slammed the stone doors shut behind them.

"Spike, You go make the anti-love thing." Applejack ordered. "We'll hold them off!"

Spike did as she said and ran off down the misty hallways, leaving the five mares to guard the door.

"Do you think you can hold it, Princess?" Bon Bon asked the straining Alicorn.

Luna nodded proudly. "Of course! I possess magic above any other-"

A white hot spark of pain ran through Luna's head, causing her to cry out in pain and almost drop her magic control of the doors, just as it was rammed from the other side.

She held her head with a hoof. "Grab anything you can and barricade the door."

***

The square was in chaos, ponies fighting other ponies and Lyra in the middle of it, barking orders at the royal guards that she still controlled.

"Break down those doors!" She screamed to the guards that were ramming the doors. "I don't care if you have to run into them head first, just get them open!"

A guard stopped and turned to her. "We could get it open a lot easier if we didn't have to worry about them." He pointed to the crowd of ravenous ponies, who were beating everything near them senseless.

"Well get them to stop!" Lyra ordered.

No sooner had she said this then the crowds of ponies were suddenly lifted into the air and flung around the square, they landed in piles, unhurt but unconscious.

Through the dust and love mist walked a familiar and very angry unicorn.

"Twilight." Lyra growled.

Twilight wore a face of tranquil rage, walking slowly towards the castle doors and Lyra. Any guards that attempted to stop her were magically lifted without a thought on the unicorn's part and flung aside.

"Twilight Sparkle!" Lyra shouted at the unicorn drew near. "We meet for the last time!"

Twilight ignored her and continued walking; she was almost to the steps.

Lyra faltered at the unicorn's ignorance but quickly replaced it with anger. "No!" She shouted, jumping to in front of the doors. "You will not pass! Spike is mine and this is my wedding!" She screamed.

Twilight stopped at the top of the steps, only a few feet away from the furious bride and looked up at her, glaring at Lyra with a smug grin. Lyra roared and charged Twilight, only to be tackled to the side by a white unicorn.

"Thank you, Rarity." Twilight said as she stepped towards the doors.

***

Kitchen three, the big cauldron.

Sweet mother of Celestia.

It was huge; a massive iron thing that took up a third of the room. It had its own step ladder for Celestia's sake!

But most of all, it would do.

Spike stood over the cauldron, pouring ingredient after ingredint into the bubbling mess. For some strange reason, Celestia seemed to have a surplus of the ingredients necessary for the love spell. He would have to ask her about that.

When he finally had enough ingredients, he dumped the entire plant into the stew, turning it a sickly greenish brown.

He wiped his brow, now all he would have to do is wait for it to finish.

"Hey Spike."

Applejack stood in the doorway, there was panic in her eyes through the mask she wore. "Is the love thing finished yet?"

"Almost, the antidote still needs to heat up til it can be used." He explained. "Is the door holding?"

"Well of course." Applejack smugly grinned. "We have boarded that thing up with almost everything in the castle, not to mention the magic Luna is using to hold it closed." She chuckled. "Ah'd say that nopony is getting in here."

A massive explosion rocked the castle, knocking dust from the ever expanding cracks and blowing out what was left of the windows, the splintering of wood and the cries of other ponies filled their ears.

Applejack felt her smugness fade away. "...never mind." She added quietly.

Spike quickly went back to the antidote. "Who is it?"

Applejack peered into the hallway and was terrified at what she saw. "It's Twi, and she looks mad." She looked into the hallway again as the unicorn got closer.

"Twilight..." Applejack spoke slowly, cautiously. "Ya'll need to calm down, let's just take a deep breath-"

Applejack was ripped off the ground and flung out of sight, leaving her hat behind on the ground.

Spike cried out in fear, the potion was still not done; it would need to get incredibly hot before it was ready.

"Spike..."

Spike whipped around, Twilight stood in the doorway, her body a mess but an expression of absolute success on her face.

"I win Spike." She said happily, stepping over Applejack's hat and into the room. "You're mine and nothing can stop that."

He looked back to the bubbling brew. "Wanna bet?"

"Enough of these games!" Twilight shouted. "You can't run away anymore!"

"I'm not running." He turned back to the cauldron and ripped off his mask. "Not this time."

Twilight screamed and charged Spike, while he drew in a large breath and belched a burning green flame at the antidote.

And then the castle exploded.
> The End
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The skies above Sweet apple acres were clear as Rainbow Dash soared through them. She barreled through the air and dived for the many apple trees that lined the ground, rushing right through the tops of the trees and shaking the branches as she flew by, knocking the many apples off their branches and into the buckets below.

"Nothing but net." She said as she landed and walked to the buckets. "Well, nothing but bucket."

"Pretty good." Dash looked behind her and saw Applejack walking slowly towards her, cringing with each step. "But not as good as Ah am."

"Applejack, you shouldn't be out here." Dash warned. "your leg is broken and you can't work."

Applejack glanced down at the white cast on her left front leg, back in the castle, Twilight had flung her into a very hard wall and had hurt her leg pretty bad. Twilight had not stopped apologizing since then even though Applejack had accepted her apology the first time. Unfortunately, they still needed to replace the current stock of apples and with her indisposed and Big Macintosh...somewhere, Rainbow Dash had volunteered to do the work herself, it was the least she could do.

Applejack shifted off her leg. "Ah know and Ahm happy that you were knocked out in the blast or ya'll would have ripped Twilight to shreds. But Ah can't just sit in the house and do nothing while you don't know the proper skills of apple bucking."

"Proper skills?" Dash scoffed. "You're kidding."

"Maybe Ah am." She shrugged. "But Ah know poor bucking skills when Ah see one."

"Of course."

The two looked at each other in silence before Dash broke it.

"I'm sorry, sorry about the whole 'falling in love with you and kissing you thing'."

Applejack smiled warmly. "It's alright; everypony was getting all crazy from that love stuff. And besides..." Applejack walked over and put her bad leg over Dash. "You were a very good first kiss."

Dash blushed slightly at the earth pony's words. Applejack laughed at this.

"Now c'mon." She started walking away. "We need to find mah brother so ya'll can finish on time."

Dash quickly wiped the blush off her face. "If we find him first, where is he anyways?"

"Don't know." Applejack shrugged a second time. "Last Ah saw him he was taking the antidote, took ten guards to restrain him. When it finally took effect, he gave us one look, started screaming and sped off. Ah think he's just embarrassed."

The two walked under the trees, unaware of the unusually large red apple hiding in the tree above them.

***

"Oh my, thank you for helping me."

"No problem Fluttershy, it's the least I can do."

The scene in Fluttershy's yard was chaotic, awash with animal cries and the angry cries of ponies. Fluttershy had been tasked with giving her animals the antidote and Bon Bon had chosen to help her.

"Angel, please listen." Fluttershy pleaded with her pet bunny who had returned to humping her ankle furiously. She had suffered minor injuries from the explosion and had a few bandages over her body. "You have to take your medicine."

"Here, let me." Bon Bon reached over and pulled the bunny off of Fluttershy's leg with her teeth, stuffing the glass vial in his mouth before he could react. After a moment, the bunny looked up at the both of them and down at the vial sticking out of his mouth and he simply hopped away but not before throwing the empty vial at them.

"Just have to show him some tough love." Bon Bon laughed.

Fluttershy giggled softly. "I guess." She stopped, looking down at the ground. "Um, I kinda wanted to apologize again for-"

"Stop." Bon Bon silenced her with a hoof. "If I hear one more apology from anypony, I may just go mad. It wasn't your fault that you were brainwashed and crazy, no offense." She stated.

"None taken." Fluttershy nodded. "I'm just really happy that it's over."

"Not quite though." Bon Bon looked back to the various unusual animal couples that were scattered through the yard. "I have the horrible feeling that you'll soon have more babies on your hooves then even you will be able to deal with."

Fluttershy nodded again, a big smile on her face. "I don't suppose that you would like to be a proud owner of a few dozen adorable babies?"

"Only if you teach me how to rip doors off their hinges like you do." Bon Bon smirked back.

***

"Ow...ow...ow!" Spike groaned in pain.

"Will you hold still?" Twilight Sparkle said to her said to her sort-of-brother. "You're not even hurt, scales are impervious to explosions."

"Well it still stings." Spike whined before yelping when Twilight slammed down a bandage on his arm. The two sat on the ruins and rubble of Canterlot castle, the castle had quite nearly self-destructed because of Spike, the tops of the mighty building and what few towers were left had been blown clean off leaving the entire city blanketed in a green fog that had fallen to the ground, mixing with the pink mist to create a light blue mist that had quickly acted on the love-crazed hordes, turning them back to normal.

Twilight sat on the ground as she tended to her assistant's nonexistent wounds, the blue mist swirling along the ground around her and clinging to her fur.

"How are you feeling?" She looked up at her assistant.

He shrugged. "As good as somepony who was caught in an explosion could feel, you?"

"Pretty good, I guess I had a defense spell active." Twilight wiped her bandaged nose. "But my nose is killing me." She looked down to the mist. "And this stuff doesn't help at all. Smells like rotten eggs and disappointment."

"Well isn't that a clever description."

Princess Celestia stepped gingerly through the rubble of her home towards her prized student and Spike. She bent down and took in a deep breath of the mist, sighing happily. "Finally, my headache was starting to kill me." She looked over her student. "How do you feel, Twilight?"

"I feel fine Princess." Twilight responded. "But it's going to take forever to grow my tail back."

She chuckled quietly. "Well, It's good to see that both of you are alright. The antidote was recovered successfully and is being administered to the public as well as mind wipes for the ponies that really want to forget this happened." She looked to Twilight. "Twilight, would you please go and help the guards and Luna give out the antidote. I will look after Spike."

"Of course Princess Celestia." Twilight replied, bowing awkwardly and quickly moved through the rubble and out of the castle, mumbling something about finding a spell to regrow her eyebrows. Soon enough, the two were alone.

Spike looked up to the Princess. "Uh..."

She motioned for him to follow. "Come with me."

He followed after the princess hesitantly. They walked down a ruined hallway that had surprisingly survived the blast mostly intact, Celestia came to a stop at the end of the hall, her back to Spike and looking up silently at a stain glass window that had holes blown through it, light shined through the holes as well as what was left of the glass, creating a rainbow of color.

"P-princess?" Spike called hesitantly. "I...I want to apologize for...blowing up your castle."

"That's quite alright Spike." She replied, not turning to him. "It was necessary in finishing the antidote; I wouldn't have sent you in here if I didn't know this would be the outcome." Her horn glowed softly and a piece of glass levitated up to her face, she inspected it calmly. "And I guess I had to renovate this dusty old place sooner or later."

"Are..." He struggled to find the words. "Are you going to tell everypony? About what I did?"

"That's nothing to worry about." She shook her head. "There was way too much confusion earlier and I doubt that even if those high-class ponies even saw you, they wouldn't know who you are." She looked back at him and smiled warmly. "I'll make sure they believe that I was at fault for it."

Spike gasped. "You?! You can't do that, I have to be responsible!"

Celestia was astounded at the dragon's determination to make up for his mistakes but held firm. "Really, it's alright. This certainly isn't the first time that myself and Luna have taken credit of a problem and soon enough this entire problem will be nothing more than an weird memory and a bout of awkward laughter."

"Excuse me?" A voice called. The two turned and found Rarity standing in the opening of the hall, a cast around her waist.

"Am I interrupting or may I speak with Spike?"

"Of course you can." Celestia said, motioning for Spike to go. He quickly ran down the hallway to meet with Rarity, coming to a stop in front of her.

"So..." He began.

Rarity stared down at him. "I heard that you were the one that started this."

Spike hung his head sadly. "Oh..."

"I also heard..." She continued, pulling him into a hug. "...That you were the one that stopped it."

"Um...well...yeah." He stuttered, turning a deep shade of purple.

She smiled down at him. "That was extremely brave, what you did and I for one am very grateful."

He stared at her in shock. "R-really?"

She nodded. "Now, I don't appreciate that you deliberately made a love potion, especially since you wanted to use it on me..."

Spike briefly wondered how she knew all of this.

"...And I find it more than a bit creepy that you wanted to use it to gain my affection..." She continued. "But I'm still your friend and I still like you." She held him in a tight but caring hug. "And I am deeply impressed at the lengths you would go to get me to like you."

She set Spike back on the ground, leaned down and kissed him on the scaled forehead, much to the dragon's surprise.

She smiled at him. "Give it a few years, grow up a bit, and get a little wiser, we'll have dinner."

With that, she turned on her hooves and walked out of the palace, leaving a very stunned Dragon on the floor, a look of confusion and bliss on his face. Celestia, having watched the whole thing from afar, walked briskly up beside the Dragon, a massive smile hidden badly on her face.

"Well," She stated, looking back and forth from Spike to the disappearing mare. "Looks like you got your wish after all."

"Yeah..." He sighed happily.

"Of course, there's the problem of your punishment."

"Yeah...Wait!" He shot up, realizing what she said. "Punishment? But I saved Equestria!"

She gave him a dry look. "You also destroyed half of it."

He suddenly felt scared in the Alicorn's presence. "What are you going to do?"

"Oh, I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe a week or two encased in stone, or even a day on the moon." She mused.

Spike tried to keep his knees from shaking.

"Actually..." Celestia looked down at him. "I think I have the perfect punishment for you."

Celestia stood before the dragon, her horn glowing brightly and Spike closed his eyes, bracing for the weightlessness of the moon while simultaneously striking a good pose if he was turned to stone.

Celestia's horn was glowing so brightly that Spike could see it through his closed eyes. After what seemed like forever despite being only about half a minute, Celestia finally released her magic in a flash of light that made Spike cry out. He fell back, his eyes closed tight. Another moment past with Spike on the ground cringing, he felt around him, his eyes still closed and found to his surprise that he wasn't made of stone. He took in a breath and figured out that he wasn't on the moon either. Slowly and nervously he opened his eyes to see what exactly had happened.

Before him, floating in the air between the princess and Spike was a simple wooden broom. Celestia looked over the broom at Spike, smiling in a mishievous way.

"Gotcha." She laughed.

He looked back and forth, from the broom to the princess's laughing face, trying to think of a proper reaction to this.

"What." He finally managed.

"This is your punishment." She explained, levitating the broom into Spike's hands. She motioned to the room they were in. "You have to clean it."

"This...room?" He paused, confused.

"The entire castle." Celestia told him.

A piece of the ceiling suddenly broke off and smashed into the ground in front of Celestia.

"What's left of it."

She turned and stepped out of the room, stopping only to glance back at Spike.

"Oh don't look so downtrodden." She told the Dragon. "You're no the only one who has to do this you know."

Without an explanation she was gone, leaving Spike to his work. He looked down at the floor, coated in dust and dirt and sighed. Taking the broom in his hands he started to sweep the floor.

"Well, I guess it could be worse." He muttered.

"Oh!" Celestia stepped back into the room. "I almost forgot!"

Her horn lit up once more and into the room floated the mint colored unicorn that Spike instantly recognized as Lyra. Celestia plopped the unicorn down on the ground and materialized another broom out of thin air, levitating it over to Lyra who groaned.

"Why do I have to do this?" She whined. "I wasn't the one who made the love potion."

"No but you were the one who hypnotized me and tried to take over Equestria." Celestia retorted calmly, handing her the broom which she took with another loud groan. Celestia smiled regardless and took her leave once more.

Spike continued sweeping the floors, sighing contentedly.

"What's with you?" Lyra noted as she levitated the broom around her, sweeping in circles. "Aren't you mad? You're a hero and you're stuck on janitor duty." 

"I know." He explained. "This is simply the way I have to make up for my mistakes, besides..." He brought a hand up to his forehead where Rarity had kissed him, rubbing it happily. "I finally got Rarity to like me."

Lyra stared in mild surprise at the dragon as he continued to rub his scalp in bliss. "If you want to get a room, I'm sure there's at least one not destroyed."

"You don't understand my love!" He shouted at her, pointing for emphasis.

"And I never will." She calmly took her broom and walked away.

Spike watched her go and diligently returned to his cleaning. He rubbed his forehead again but cringed when he bent his sore arm. He looked down at the various bandages on him and sighed.

"Love hurts."