Spike dragged his feet behind him as he made his way back home. His day was wasted as he desperately tried to find Twilight and speak to her about the cupcake. But he always got the same answer everytime he asked somepony where she was. So having no other places to look, he decided to call it quits and return to his home. He had a small sliver of hope that Twilight was already there, but he strongly doubted it. He stepped up to the front door and turned the knob. The door opened and he walked inside. The house was almost maddeningly quiet as Spike's footsteps echoed loudly throughout the whole house. He looked in the front room, kitchen, and bathroom, but saw no sign of Twilight. His last place to check was her bedroom. He climbed the stairs and entered the room. Empty. He sighed as he turned around and left the room, closing the door behind him.

"I'm never gonna get a chance to tell Twilight what's going on." He said depressingly. "It's probably too late to warn her now, but I still feel like I could have informed her in time. Guess I was dumb for thinking that."

It was then that he heard a loud groan coming from outside, accompanied by footsteps. The footsteps drew close to door before stopping for a moment. The door swung open a moment later and a very wobbly Twilight Sparkle entered the house. She stumbled a bit before falling onto her stomach. Spike quickly rushed down the stairs and helped her up when he saw this.

"Thanks, Spike." Twilight said as she tried to maintain her balance.

"You're welcome." He replied. "What happened to you?"

Twilight looked away from Spike while sporting a slight blush. She couldn't tell him what she did with her friends today. She didn't want anypony to know about it, let alone him. He was still too young to know about that kind of stuff anyway. Realizing this, she figured it was better to lie to him about it.

"I was just busy helping my friends with their preparations for the party." She lied with a grin. "Oh I helped them alright. Helped them get their rocks off."

"Oh. Ok" He responded.

"So, what have you been up to today?" She returned the question.

"Believe it or not, I was trying to find you so I could tell you something." He informed her.

"What did you want to tell me?" She said with a curious look on her face.

"That...I...um." He hesitated.

"You what?" Twilight persisted.

"I...ugh..." He stammered while rubbing the back of his head.

Twilight made a gesture for him to keep going. Spike continued to stand there and mumble. He wanted to tell Twilight what he did, but was afraid of the repercussions he would receive. He twiddled his fingers and looked at the ground. His cheeks burned as he tried to speak but no words came out. Eventually, Twilight grew tired of him stalling.

"Look, Spike. I've had a VERY rough day. So since you're not gonna tell me what you want to tell me, I'm going upstairs to take a nap and I'm not getting up until it's time for the party." She said in aggravation as she trotted past him.

Spike grabbed her tail at the last second and got her attention. "Wait, Twilight." He said.

Twilight turned around and put her hooves on her hips while grimacing at him.

Spike took a deep breath and spoke. "That cupcake you ate this morning was infused with a plant that makes you fall in love with a random pony you see." He confessed.

"Huh?" Twilight said in disbelief.

"I wanted Rarity to love me back, so I went to the Everfree Forest and found this plant that induces a love spell." He said shamefully.

"You did WHAT!?" She asked outrageously.

"The cupcake was meant for Rarity, I swear." He explained. "But when I found out that you ate it, I ran all around town trying to warn you about it. I promise I didn't do it just to prank you or something."

"I'm not mad about the fact that you indirectly fed me a love potion." She proclaimed. "I'm mad about the fact that you blatantly disobeyed my wishes! I told you not to use magic for love. The reason was because I didn't want you to do something reckless like this!"

"I'm sorry, Twilight. I really am." He apologized.

"Do you know what I've been doing all day Spike?" She asked in an unsettling tone, her face becoming dead serious.

"No." He said as he shook his head.

"Earlier, I said that you were too young to know about adult pony things. But your actions as of late have convinced me otherwise, so I'll tell you what I've been doing. Thanks to your flagrant negligence, I've been NAILING all my friends!" She exploded.

"What!?" Spike replied, flabbergasted by that statement.

"That's right." She confirmed. "I went over to their houses to oversee their duties for the party, but I ended up sleeping with all of them instead. Do you have any idea of the things I did to them? Do you know what they did to ME!? Do you, Spike!?" She asked as she barreled down on him.

Spike cowered before his mother figure. He had never seen her get that mad at him before. She was usually more calm and reserved. Even in the rare occasions when she did get exceptionally angry with him, she still did it in a collected manner. But now, she was screaming at him like he just committed murder. She snorted loudly while staring him down venomously. Her angry faded a bit when she saw a few tears fall on the wooden floor. She looked a little more closely and saw that Spike's eyes were dimmed with tears. For the first time in his life, he felt legitimately afraid of her. She came down on him looking like she was ready to blow up the house again. And fact that she was shouting at him didn't help either. She smoothed her mane down and sighed heavily. Even she had to admit that she got a little too heated there. Nonetheless, Spike continued to weep quietly. Twilight approached him slowly and raised his chin so that he was looking her in the eyes.

"Spike, I didn't mean to blow up at you like that." She said sincerely. "I let my anger get the best of me, and I'm sorry for that. But you should really be more mindful whenever somepony tells you not to do something. They're not doing it to be spiteful, they're just looking out for you. You have to understand that there could have been more serious consequences. Who knows what could have happened if I continued to trot around, or if the princess showed up? But thankfully, neither of those things happened. Be that as it may, we still have to do something about this cupcake problem because I would prefer not getting a sudden urge to mate with the first pony I see for Celestia knows how long."

Spike wiped his nose and sniffled. "Alright. But I feel like I should apologize too. I threw cation to the wind and did the very thing you told me not to do. I'm really sorry, Twilight. Please forgive me?" He pleaded.

"Oh, Spike." Twilight said as she kissed him on the forehead and hugged him tightly. "There's nothing in the world you could do that would make me not forgive you. You're like a son to me. And I'll love you no matter what."

Spike wrapped his arms around Twilight's neck and hugged Twilight back. "Thank you Twilight."

"Now, what was the name of that plant you found?" She asked him after they broke their embrace.

"Lovers Desire." Spike answered.

"That's the name for it!?" She said at this shocking revelation. "Luna Almighty, Spike. You're telling me that name didn't raise any red flags for you?"

"No." He shrugged. "I assumed that it was made to create a heavy sense of affection in a pony."

"Spike, do you even know what a lover is?" She inquired.

"Isn't it somepony who likes you?" He asked as he answered her question with a question.

"Well yes, but not exactly." She responded. "It's somepony who you're involved with physically, and sometimes sexually." She added with a blush.

"Oh." He said, dumbfounded by her statement.

"I'm pretty sure I've got a book that could shed some light on this mysterious plant." She stated as she looked over her bookshelves, searching for a book that might aid them."

She soon came across the book she wanted: Whimsical Witchcraft: The Encyclopedia of All Things Magic. She picked up the book with her magic and skimmed through it. She quickly turned to the chapter that talked about spells and potions. After going through countless pages, she found the one she needed.

"Ah, here it is." She said informatively. She then began to read the passage aloud:

Lovers Desire: A plant that's been known to cause who ever ingests it to lust for the first pony to make direct eye contact with them. This is only limited to adult ponies as it has no effect on fillies or colts. The effected pony will feel overwhelmingly attracted to the pony they see, no matter their gender. Their mind will become a slave to their sexual desire and push them to mate. In order for this happen, they have to make direct eye contact with a pony for at least 5 seconds; But in some cases, it can happen instantly. Once this happens, they won't have any control of their actions. Their body with simply resort to its primal instinct. But the plant not only effects the pony who ingested it, but the pony they came in contact with as well. They too will have the overwhelming urge to engage in sexual behavior. Their body will move of its own accord. In some cases, they tend to fight this urge. But once the effected pony makes direct physical contact with them, they start to feel the effects. How quickly the effects kick in depend on how much physical contact is made, as well as what kind of physical contact. Certain things, like hugging or kissing, cause the effects to occur at a steady pace. But more suggestive things, like groping or licking, cause the effects to happen faster. Thankfully, the effects go away briefly for the effected pony, and completely for their partner once both ponies reach orgasm. Even though this is the case, the effects will kick back in once the original effected pony sees another pony. The original effected pony will have no memory of the act they committed, while their partner retains their memory of what of happened. The reason for this is currently unknown. As of this moment, there is no known cure for this plant. Ponies who come in contact with it are adviced to stay clear of it for its effects may be permanent. Research for a cure has proven fruitless so far.

Twilight's body froze once she read those last few sentences. The thought of her being stuck like this forever was more than she could bear. Her assistant noticed her stunned expression and tried to snap her out of it. But this was not necessary because Twilight was determined. She wasn't ready to give up just because a book told her that there might not be a cure. Where there's a will, there's always a way.

"What now, Twilight?" Spike asked his caretaker.

"We're gonna go to Zecora and see if she knows about a cure." Twilight announced.

"But, didn't the book say that there wasn't a cure?" He reminded her.

"Spike, this book was made around the time that Celestia and Luna were getting their first heat cycle. The information in it may be FAR outdated by now." Twilight reasoned.

"Alright, but I don't think I needed that gross visual though." He said with a sick expression on his face.

"Come on. There's not a moment to lose." She said as she used her magic to levitate Spike onto her back and made her way to Zecora's hut.

Once they arrived at Zecora's hut, Twilight told her everything that she had done with her friends, much to Spike's displeasure. After she heard the full story, Zecora put a hoof to her chin.

"That does sound very lewd. But it's a good thing you're quite shrewd." She spoke in her usual cryptic tone.

"I know. There's no telling what would have happened if I didn't go straight home after visiting my friends." Twilight said.

"Hold on." Spike chimed in. "So since we now know what the plant is, could somepony tell me why it even exists in the first place?"

"It was made so that a pony can have fun for a day. But by the end of it, they may need to pray." Zecora said as she blushed slightly.

"You could have run this by me when I came over here yesterday you know." Spike said with irritation in his tone.

"I tried to but you fled. It is not my fault that you were mislead." She shot back.

"Oh. Right." Spike said as rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Please tell me there's a cure." Twilight pleaded as she grabbed Zecora's shoulders.

"Yes, a cure does exist. But this time, I hope you get my gist." She said, flashing Spike a look of annoyance.

"Where do we find it?" Twilight beseeched her.

"The plant you seek is near Lovers Desire, but trying to retrieve it may cause you to tire. If you get too close, the plant will go on defense. But you may be able to outsmart it with a little common sense. Much like Lovers Desire, the plant will denfend itself with thorns. You could easily defeat with the use of your horn." Zecora responded in rhyme scheme.

"What does this plant even look like?" Spike butted into their conversation.

"The plant is purple with a stem that is black, and once you find it, be ready to attack." Zecora reminded them.

"We'll keep that in mind. Come on Spike, let's roll." Twilight said as she turned to leave.

"But before you go, I must tell you to make great haste. For if you take too long, you trip will be a waste." Zecora stopped her.

"What do you mean by that?" Twilight asked as she turned back around to face Zecora.

"The plant only grows when the sun is high, once it sets, the plant will wither and die." Zecora enlighten her.

"And since things work differently in the Everfree, the suns sets sooner than normal doesn't it?" Twilight concluded.

Zecora nodded her head in response.

"Then there's no time to waste, Spike." She stated before she fired up her horn and teleported herself and Spike out of Zecora's hut.

After they left Zecora's hut, they made their way deeper into the Everfree.

"Alright, Spike. Where did you find the Lovers Desire." Twilight asked him as he ran alongside her.

"I think we're going in the right direction." He said with uncertainty. "These surroundings look kinda familiar to me."

"I hope you're right." She said nervously. "Because I'd hate for this to be all in vain."

Right as Twilight finished her sentence, they heard a loud growling sound, causing them to stop dead in their tracks. The growling was accompanied by footsteps heading in their general direction. Twilight quickly grabbed Spike and jumped into a nearby bush, cupping a hoof over his mouth to keep him quiet. As the footsteps got closer to them, Twilight had to put a hoof over her own mouth to prevent herself from screaming. She turned head to look out of the bush to see what had been following them. It turned out to be a Timberwolf. It had heard them talking and was tracking them down. Both Twilight and Spike held their breaths as the Timberwolf sniffed the area that they just occupied. Its nose soon led it to the bush they were hiding in. Twilight's heart nearly stopped when she felt the wolf's breath on the back of her head. She closed her eyes and silently prayed the beast didn't discover them. The wolf growled angrily and let out a snort. Twiligh could feel her heart thudding in her chest now as she continued to keep her eyes closed.

"Please don't find us. Please just ignore us and leave. We don't have time for this." Twilight thought.

A few moments later, the wolf sniffed the bush one last time before turning tail and leaving. Both Twilight and Spike breathed a sigh of relief as they heard the wolf's footsteps got further away. Once they were sure that they were safe, they exited the bush and made a break for it.

"Hey, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"Yeah, Spike." Twilight answered.

"Why didn't you teleport us out of that mess?" He questioned.

"Because I didn't want to use my magic until I was certain that the Timberwolf would attack us." She responded.

"Alright then." He said, accepting her answer.

Spike lead Twilight to the area where he found the Lovers Desire. It was significantly darker here then it was the first time he came here, possibly due to the fact that the sun was setting. Twilight used her horn to light up the area so that she and Spike could see. They scanned the area, looking for the plant Zecora had informed them of. Since the area was relatively small, there weren't very many places to look. Spike stopped when he saw a strange-looking plant that might have been the one they were looking for.

"I think I found it Twilight." Spike said, pointing to it with his claw.

Twilight trotted up next to him to get a better look at it. She shone her light on it, and sure enough, that was the plant they wanted. It was a small purple flower with a row of thorns surrounding it, just like Zecora said. It didn't look very foreboding at first glance, but they had a feeling that it was capable of doing some serious damage.

"Should I just try to grab the plant?" Spike asked his mother figure.

"I wouldn't." She warned him. "There's no way of predicting what that thing is gonna do."

"Well, it's worth a try." He said as he walked up to the plant.

"Be on your guard." She reminded him.

Once Spike was directly in front of the plant, he swallowed hard as he bent down to pluck it. Not knowing if the thorns would react or not was putting him on edge. But he pushed that fear deep inside of him as he wrapped his claw around the plants stem. He looked back at Twilight, who gestured for him to continue. He paused and took a deep breath before tugging on the plant with all his might. The plant came out of the ground with almost no effort. Both Twilight and Spike shared a perplexed look on their faces.

"That was it!?" Twilight asked incredulously. "It was that simple!?"

"I guess." Spike shrugged. "Looks like Zecora was wrong for onc-" He started to say but was interrupted by a vine grabbing him by the ankle.

The vine lifted him into the air and began to swing him around. Twilight thought fast and tried to blast the plant with magic, but was smacked into a tree by another thorny vine. The attack left her feeling discombobulated as she struggled to maintain her balance. She didn't have time to do so as the same vine that assaulted her grabbed her by her waist and launched her into the air. It threw her high above the trees as she flailed helplessly in mid-air. It wasn't long before another vine came charging towards her. Though she didn't have time to use her magic, she had just enough time to put her hooves up and block the attack. She was left with 3 deep gashes in her forearms as she was sent crashing back down into the earth. Thankfully, she used her magic to cushion the impact a bit. Spike, for his part, was still being swung wildly through the air. The vine that had held him was digging itself deeply into his ankle as tiny droplets of blood leaked out. But despite all this, Spike still clutched the plant to his chest. He knew the plant was what the thorns were after, but he wasn't letting go of it for anything. He had already screwed up enough lately, but he wasn't gonna mess this up. The vine, having gotten sick of Spike's resilience, threw him to the ground forcefully. Luckily, Twilight was there to catch him with her magic before he hit the ground.

"Thanks, Twilight." Spike said.

"You can thank me later. We've still got to deal with these thorns." Twilight said stoically.

4 vines came charging at Twilight and Spike all at once. Twilight quickly put up a magic shield, deflecting the oncoming attack. But she didn't notice 4 more vines shoot of out the ground and strike her. They slashed her across her back, effectively flooring her. The vines then turned their attention back to Spike as they rushed towards him. Spike went on the defensive and breathed fire at them. They swiftly dodged the fireball and grabbed him by both his legs. They then started to lift him into the air and slam him back down on the ground. Spike became more bloody and injured the more they did this. After 5 slams, Twilight had gotten back to her hooves and saved him.

"Leave him alone!" She shouted as she blasted the vines powerfully.

The vines recoiled slightly but immediately lashed at Twilight afterwards. She teleported out of the way and reappeared above the vines. She then magically conjured a sword, grabbed it with her hooves, and sliced the vines in half. The vines wiggled around helplessly as they slowly began to regenerate themselves. While they did, more vines reached out at the pair. Twilight used her magic sword to block and cut the vines as they came toward her and Spike. One vine tried to swipe at her, but she ducked underneath it and severed it as it went by. Another came at her and she did a backflip to avoid it. After it stuck itself into the ground, she quickly lurched forward and cut it in half. One more sped towards her and Spike, attempting to skewer them.

"Get behind me, Spike!" She ordered him as she took a powerful stance.

Spike graciously did as he was told and hid behind her. The vine continued to rush at them. Twilight narrowed her eyes as she prepared herslef to counterattack. Once the vine was mere inches from stabbing them, she put her sword up in front of her at the last second. The vine split in half as it moved against Twilight's sword. Twilight held her ground as the vine was perfectly cut down the middle. Spike stood there in awe at what he was witnessing. The vine soon gave up and backed away from the two with its two halves limply dangling in the air. Spike then looked up at Twilight and praised her for her valor.

"Nice moves, Twilight." He complimented her. "I had no idea you could move like that."

"Thanks." She replied. "Danger has a way of bringing out the best in a pony."

Their banter was cut short as a vine grabbed them both and flung them into a tree. Twilight hit the base of the tree with a resounding thud, while Spike hit a tree branch and dangled from it. Without giving them a moment to rest, the vine lunged at them. Despite their injuries, they dodged out of the way. The vine destroyed the tree on impact, smashing it into pieces. Twilight quickly used her magic to put a chain around the vines to hold them in place. The vines squirmed and struggled as they tried to break the chain.

"We have to get to the root of this problem." Twilight declared.

"You mean the vines themselves?" Spike asked.

"No, the LITERAL root." She explained. "It we can find the root of theses things and cut it, that should stop the vines entirely."

"Oh. I got you." Spike said, catching on now.

"I'll keep these things busy, while you dig for the root." She stated.

"Yes ma'm." He saluted.

Once they finished putting their plan together, the vines broke the chains. Spike sprinted towards the area where he grabbed the plant, still clutching said plant in his claws. The vines reacted violently to this and tried to attack him. Twilight teleported in front of Spike and made a path for him, slicing vines left and right. After they reached the area, Spike got down on all fours and stared to dig while Twilight protected him. Realizing what they were planning to do, the vines barreled down on the two of them all at once. Twilight knew her sword wasn't going to block all of them at the same time, so she opted to put a magic barrier around herself and Spike instead. The vines were effectively stopped by the barrier. But that didn't stop them from bashing against the barrier relentlessly. Twilight cringed in pain each time the vines hit the barrier since maintaining the barrier was taking a lot out of her already. Spike continued to dig furiously for the root to the vines. He had already made a seemingly deep hole in the ground by this point. The vines got resourceful and burrowed deep into the earth. They resurfaced a short while later inside of the barrier.

"Spike, catch!" Twilight shouted to him as she conjured a shield and threw it to him.

Spike caught it instinctively and thanked her for it. After this, the vines wasted no time in assaulting them. Twilight used her sword again to fight off half of them, while Spike used his shield to protect himself from the other half while he continued to dig.

"Spike, do you think you could speed up the process a bit?" She said impatiently. "It's increasingly difficult to maintain a magic barrier while fighting off multiple opponents."

"Well digging a hole while preventing yourself from being impaled is no walk in the park either!" He shot back.

The vines continued to attack Spike's shield, putting multiple dents and slash marks on it. He knew this shield was eventually gonna fall apart from wear and tear, so he decided to just get rid of his adversaries. He put the shield down and breathed a massive fireball at the vines that had been pestering him. The flames roasted the vines and left them charred and frail. Spike then used his shield to bash them into dust. But he knew they would regenerate themselves soon, so he quickly went back to digging at full speed. He made even more progress than before, making the hole he created 3 feet deep now. He could barely see and his claws were caked with dirt, but he wasn't going to let that slow him down. Unknown to him, one of the vines he destroyed earlier had fully recovered and slithered into the hole. But right as it was about to grab him, Twilight leapt into the air and stabbed the vine into the ground from above. This stopped the vine dead in its tracks as Spike continued to dig. It wasn't long before he hit something thick and lanky. He felt around for a bit and found more of them.

"I think I found the root Twilight!" He shouted to her.

"Well what are you waiting for? Cut it!" She demanded.

He then took his claw and attempted to sever the roots. But when he did this, they quickly grew back before his eyes. He face palmed himself and slid his hand down his face with annoyance.

"You gotta be kidding me!" He vexed.

"What's the problem?" He heard Twilight ask him.

"These roots have the same regenerative abilities as the vines." He dejected.

"That means you have to pull them up by force then." She responded.

Spike let out a loud groan as he dug around the root to get a good grip. He then wrapped his hands around the root and stared to pull them upward. He grunted and strained as he used all his might to pull the root out of the ground.

"Twilight, I could really use you help right about now." He stressed.

Twilight took the hint and put down the magic barrier so that she could use her magic to help Spike uproot the vines. The vines realized the pair were trying to uproot them and attempted to stop them. They slashed Twilight across her hindlegs and back. They also lashed at Spike and cut him across his torso and arms. They blenched from the pain but still continued to pull the vines up. Slowly, but surely, Spike and Twilight's teamwork were getting the job done. The root was steadily being pulled up, causing the vines to get sucked underground as a result. Twilight began to move backwards with Spike in her magic grip in an effort to help speed up the process of uprooting the vines. The vines pulled against Twilight and Spike in a last ditch effort to thwart their plan. They both got pulled forward slightly but were able to gain some ground and move backward so more. It was like they were in a game of tug-of-war. Twilight and Spike pulled back in order to pull the vines up while the vines pulled forward so that they could prevent themselves from being uprooted.

"These things just don't know when to quit." Spike said with aggravation thick in his voice.

"Come on, Celestia-damn you!" Twilight swore.

While the vines were proving to be quite persistent, they were no match for the combined efforts of Twilight and Spike. They had the root almost completely pulled up by this point. The vines made one last attempt to stop them by attacking them again.

"Oh no you don't." Spike said before inhaling deeply and spitting out the largest fireball he could muster.

The fire burned the vines severely as they shriveled up intensely. They gripped the root tightly and gave one last mighty pull. The vines came completely out of the ground from the hole Spike dug and laid there limply. Both Twilight and Spike gave a groan of relief for they had successfully uprooted the vines. They fell onto the ground with exhaustion while breathing heavily.

"We did it." Spike said breathlessly.

"Yeah." Twilight gasped. "Now all I have to is....ingest the cure."

Spike reached behind himself and retrieved the plant. He had tied the plant around his tail before he tried to uproot the vines. He tossed the plant to Twilight, who caught in her mouth. She then swallowed the plant down quickly. They looked up and saw that the sun had almost completely come down, plunging the Everfree into darkness.

"And not a moment too soon." Twilight stated.

"So, you ready to head back yet?" Spike asked.

"Really?" She asked with agitation in her tone. "We just got banged up, man handled, and almost killed by ruthless vines. We almost ran out of time. And we had a giant game of tug-of-war that we almost lost. No to mention the fact that I used every ounce of magic that I had. So do you really think that after all that, we would just brush it off and go home like nothing happened!?"

"I was joking Twilight." Spike smiled. "If you'd rather just lay here until we're well enough to walk, that's cool with me."

"I'll take you up on that offer." She replied with a smile of her own.

Author's Note

Sorry for the MAJOR delay with this specific chapter. I've been very busy lately, plus this is the longest chapter in the story. I wanted it to be spectacular as well as to make for being on hiatus for so long. So here is, I hope you liked it!