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Clang!
Shards of glass shattered itself on the wooden floor and the concoction splashed the scarlet carpet with itself, splotches of the drenched spots immediately surfaced, heavily evident from the dry points.
“Oh my Celestia, now I have to fill another batch.” Starlight Glimmer exclaimed with much distress.
It was another peaceful day in ponyville, just like any other. But not in Starlight’s chamber, oh no.
An earth pony -Braeburn, was it?- had asked her to help in winning the heart of another. Starlight has read books about it, the methods of love and they did try out most of them but for some reason, the universe kept on finishing it with a flop.
He was saddened, as Starlight could remember. Also, this was her chance to help out somepony and expand her friend list. She won’t let him down, she couldn’t.
Growing desperate, she have turned to using magic instead.
Pop!
She secures the tiny bottle with a cork and levitated it with her as she runs outside, minding Twilight’s presence in the process. Braeburn has been staying at Sweet Apple Acres as a vacation and intends to stay there until Starlight has found some kind of solution.
The unicorn hops on the train and settled herself on the seat near the window.
Kshhh…
After some time, the caravan pulled over and stopped exactly at the place she was hoping for. Enthusiastic at the results, she happily trotted towards the huge red barn.
Using her horn, she took out the bottle and removed the plug. In a moment of miscalculation, her left hoof knocked itself against an unnoticed rock and she clumsily stumbled upon the hills.
Subconsciously, she let go of the bottle and it flew out of her reach without her realizing. Quickly, she propped herself up and dusted the dirt off her mane.
Her teal eyes immediately perceived of a fast moving object via peripheral vision. It was the open flask.
It looped through the air and as it slowed down, the viscous fuchsia liquid dripped out and fell into an open barrel of cider. The empty glass finally landed on a tousle of bushes, unsuspected.
“Oh no.” She muttered to herself and galloped as fast as she could to close in on the barrel.
o///o
Her blonde mane followed her outside to see the barrel of cider. Some folks ordered five barrels of apple cider as their refreshments for some kind of reunion event, Applejack couldn’t remember what it was exactly.
The only thing she knew of, at the moment, was that it was time to try out this particular batch of cider. She brought two wooden mugs due to the fact that Rainbow ‘volunteered’ to taste test with her.
Fizz…
She turned the valve and poured the cider to the mug, satisfied at the scent it gave. Applejack then placed it down on the small table near her and started filling out the second cup.
It filled itself quickly and when she turned around to put it beside the other mug, she noticed the latter was now empty of the cider she knew she had just poured.
“Rainbow Dash…” Applejack weakly called.
A sky-blue Pegasus emerged from a susceptible bush and laughed, “I wasn’t the one who drank it so can you pour me another?”
Applejack sipped hers for a bit before replying with a lopsided smile, “If you weren’t the one who drank it, why would I be pouring you ‘another’?”
“AJ, you see …” Her magenta eyes went above, a nervous smirk wrung on her face but she wouldn’t be able to find her excuses up in the clouds.
The earth pony rolled her own eyes and scoffed, “You don’t need to lie about it, and I know how much you like our cider.”
“I mean, who doesn’t?” The other asked whilst absent-mindedly pouring herself another cup and consuming it in the process.
“Ahh no! Don’t drink that!”
Another voice came from the direction opposite to the barn and their mugs suddenly disappeared, faint sparkles of cyan twinkled afterwards. It was a sign of a spell.
“Starlight, what are you doing?” The Pegasus flying overhead crossed her arms and asked the newcomer, who was panting and sweating heavily.
“Umm…” Her teal eyes shifted back and forth to observe the two. Then, she suddenly gave a forced smile, “Nothing, but can I just-”
With a spell, she made the whole barrel disappear. “Thanks. I’ll be sure to help you later if you want, I just needed that barrel. Also, do you guys feel different or anything? Like, anything at all? Applejack, what do you think about Rainbow?”
Emerald and magenta met with visible confusion and Applejack responded for the both of them, “She’s a cider-hoarding Pegasus who is a pain at times.”
“Says the pony who’s too honest for her own good.” Rainbow retorted back.
“So, nothing changed in you two?” Starlight asked them again.
“Uhh, why the hay would something be?” Applejack asked slowly as if she was unsure of what she was questioning.
“No reason.” The unicorn said tightly, her nervous grin widening and she straightened out her back before teleporting herself away.
A train of tranquility passed at that.
“What was that about?”
“I’m lost at sea as you are but I do hope she’ll acknowledge the corn soon enough.” Applejack responded confidently.
“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about her. What I’m currently worried about is the fact that she just took our barrel.”
“It’s fine, Sugarcube. You have a brewing expert as a friend, I can just make more.”
o///o
The blinding light vanished and the sight around her completely changed.
Starlight was back at the castle of friendship and a scent of a particular beverage permeated the air. It was coming from outside, but shouldn’t it be in her room? She was sure to have teleported it here.
The unicorn ran hastily out and what met her vision was a purple dragon hugging a comic book lovingly and a confused alicorn behind him. An empty mug of cider was spilled on the carpet not far from them.
“Starlight, did you do this?”
“I uhh…” She looked over at Spike slowly, “It…wasn’t meant for him.”
“Then, where in Equestria would you use that cider for?” Twilight approached her.
Sigh…
“I was about to give it to Braeburn because I offered him my help in winning somepony’s heart. We ran out of options and I had to-” Starlight sighed again, “I’m sorry.”
The alicorn seemed to contemplate something before breaking the silence, “Starlight, he doesn’t need any potion to get noticed by someone. No pony does. I’m sure she acknowledges Braeburn for who he is. In fact, I think the reason why your efforts lead up to nothing is because it wasn’t something that he would do. It was because she appreciates him for who he really is, not the flirty and excessive pony that he was recently. Do tell him that.”
Her teal eyes lowered to the floor, a tender smile tugged at her lips, “Yeah, I’ll tell him that. Thanks.”
Twilight nodded heavily, approving her words. “Now, let’s get the antidote, shall we?”
…
And they proceeded to do just that. Twilight and Starlight managed to trick Spike into drinking a cup of juice with the antidote mixed in it. The unicorn prepared a remedy for the love potion, after all. She wasn’t totally reckless.
“Good. Spike’s back.” Starlight heaved a sigh of relief before sucking them back as quick as it went out. “Wait-”
Twilight eyed her, “What’s wrong? We already dealt with the barrel of love potion-induced cider, threw the wooden mugs and cured Spike. What else is there?”
“Applejack and Rainbow Dash consumed them before and there were no effects. Why would it only work now?”
“Hmm…maybe it takes a while after you consume it?”
“I don’t know but let’s check on them.”
…
Both of them followed the enticing scent of the cider.
“Hey, guys!” Rainbow Dash was the first to greet them as they entered the kitchen. She was sitting on the table watching Applejack beside her, who was filtering the cider with a mesh strainer. “Just making some cider since somepony took a whole barrel that was meant for taste testing.”
Starlight chuckled in a worried manner, an understandable unease enveloped her. The princess of friendship was not going to like where this was going.
Twilight on the other hand, “So, you two don’t feel anything different? Like, at all?”
The production of apple cider halted as both the Pegasus and earth pony scrunched their face in uncertainty. The two had the same question in mind, “Why do y’all keep asking that?”
“It’s just-”
Twilight started but Starlight managed to cut her off with an incessant rant.
“I accidentally poured a potion in the barrel which causes the consumer to feel really jittery. Kind of like coffee but I brewed it for studying-late in-the-night purposes.”
She finished with a huge smile that hung from ear to ear. Inwardly chanting a mantra that they’ll buy her lies and that Twilight would take her hint to leave it there.
They didn’t seem to react, so she continued. “Well, that’s all. Now, we got to get going. Seems my potion failed. See? No effect. Come on, Twilight.”
“What do you mean by-”
She forcefully dragged her outside the barn by levitating her with her horn. The moment they were out of Rainbow and Applejack’s hearing range, she let the alicorn down.
Twilight dusted herself of the dust as she stood up, “What was that about? We need to give them the cure. Who knows what could happen?”
“No, it’s not that. I think the potion worked.”
“But, how could that be?” The princess’ brows knit themselves together as she thought hard for the possible cause. Twilight let out a faint gasp before suggesting, “Are you saying that they already like each other and that’s why it…?”
Starlight faced her with a hopeful expression, “Well, all I’m saying is that it could be. I mean, why else would it have no effect on them?”
“But, they don’t seem to realize, though.”
“And neither did us.”
Clang!
Just then, the noise of clattering kitchen utensils came from the kitchen where Rainbow and Applejack was.
“Oh yeah? I sooo can make better cider than you.” A haughty voice exclaimed, one they knew too well.
A scoff came before the other replied, “Bring your ace then, Rainbow.”
“Oh I will, AJ.”
A series of banters followed after that and the barn grew noisy because of it. The two girls outside the barn listened with utmost amusement.
“Starlight.”
“Hmm?”
Twilight sent her a knowing smile, “I think we were right.”