Yay! So, here's the next chapter! Yes, I know this installment was kind of delayed, and I apologize for that. To be honest, I'm not that pleased with this chapter. I don't like how it turned out. Don't worry, I'll make it better next time. :))

For those of you who wouldn't mind answering, I have a question for you: Should I have Spike making the "love potion" pretty drawn out or condense it and make it a chapter or two? I have stuff plannned out, but it can be shortened or lengthened according to your wishes. Please review and let me know what you think! And be honest!

Thanks for reading and thanks for the people who faved! :)) You guys are awesome and all deserve a...cupcake! (evil laughter in background) Just kidding, the GOOD kind of cupcakes! Okay, useless-info-thing-before-chapter-that-no-one-reads is now done. Over and out!

*Update* Yeah, so I finished this at like two in the morning the other day, posted it, and then the next day, I noticed A LOT of missing words and mistakes. I hate missing words and mistakes. So I uploaded a revised version of it to capture the avatar and restore my honor. So now, if there are still missing words and mistakes...I'm gonna be pretty embarrassed. Sorry about the errors to all of you fellow grammar nuts out there!

The chirruping of birds and the whispers of trees passed on by a gentle breeze is what brought Spike out of his restful repose. He stretched out his arms and arched his back to get out his morning kinks, then, sitting up in bed and allowing the covers to slide off him, he surveyed Zecora's hut with sleepiness still hovering over his eyes.

Zecora was nowhere to be seen, and while Spike puzzled over where she could be, the door was suddenly nudged open, squeaking slightly upon its rusting hinges, and Zecora entered her home with a bag full of star-shaped leaves clutched between her teeth.

She acknowledged his wakefulness with a curt nod after setting the bag down carefully, so as not to spill the leaves. "Deed you sleep well, and good dreams deed you dwell?" she kindly asked.

Spike stretched a final time and let his arms drop lethargically to his side. He grinned sheepishly, "Yup, it was definitely an awesome amount." Zecora didn't say anything, and Spike squirmed awkwardly. He didn't like these quiet lapses of hers, they made it uncomfortably silent. Besides, he needed to get home, and fast, if he wanted to make sure he got there before Twilight woke up.

"Weeell, I should probably get going now, you know, so that I can get home without Twilight noticing I was gone?" he confessed, rushing at the end of his phrase as he twiddled his claws and gave Zecora a side long glance.

She allowed a corner of her lip to curl into a half smile. "Dat would be best, beefoh she wakes frome rest."

Spike let out a relieved breath of air that he had been holding in, glad that Zecora hadn't chastised him for coming here without Twilight's permission. She actually seemed to look rather amused, which perplexed Spike because he saw nothing amusing about the situation at all.

"Well…I'll be going then," he announced as he jumped off from the cot and made his way to the entrance of the hut.

Zecora stepped aside for him and slightly bowed her head in a gracious manner to see him out the door, something any good host-pony would do.

Spike lifted a leg to step outside, but something caught in his mind, and he let his leg hover cautiously in the air, too hesitant to let it be swept away by the forest just yet.

"But, you're sure that the Strangling Nightshade only comes out at night…right?" Spike nervously inquired, just to verify, for safety's sake.

Zecora nodded her head confidently, and gave out a rich, deep laugh that wiped away Spike's doubts of the forest.

"I weesh you luck wid yoh mageec potion, my 'ope foh you ees as beeg as de ocean," she sincerely assured.

Spike puffed himself up and loftily waved her comment away, faking unnecessary modesty.

"Oh please, I don't need an ocean of hope," he smugly responded, but then paused and thought it over. "…but a lake of hope would be okay, I guess."

He made his way out the door with a cocky air, pumping his fisted claws at his side in time with his steps.

Zecora laughed and shook her head at the sight of him. He surely was one proud dragon.

She reached out her nose to nuzzle the door shut behind him, but before she could do so, Spike popped his head back in and gave her a bashful sideways look. " Thanks for…everything. You're really great, you know, for doing all that for me." And with that, he hastily scampered on his way, with all evidence of his previous haughtiness gone without a trace.

Getting out of the forest was much easier than getting in the forest, which is what Spike came to realize. It was as if a pathway had been carved for him between the trees, and the once menacing branches that had lashed out at him the night before now haloed his head with leaves glowing in the warming sun. Don't get him wrong, there was still a surreal feel about the place, but there was a definite improvement that the day seemed to bring about that the night demoted.

It seemed to take mere moments to work his way out of the maze of the Everfree Forest, and this boosted his already inflated ego. He swaggered along at an easy pace back to the library, his and Twilight's humble abode. He sauntered up the walkway towards the entrance, ready to walk in to start the day's preparations. He thought for sure that he got the better of Twilight; she would be none the wiser of his little late-night adventure.

But suddenly, without warning, Twilight emerged from inside the house by bashing the front door open with a severe kick of her hind legs. She swiveled around dangerously and stiffly, her eyes aflame with a deep-set anger. Looking Spike mechanically up and down, she fumed with rage. Twilight felt her blood boiling. Through a window, she had seen Spike coolly walking back to their home, and at first she felt immense relief that he was alright and unscathed, but then the anger at him leaving in the middle of the night overwhelmed her. What in Equestria had he been thinking?

Spike halted mid-step. He sensed the tension surrounding Twilight and she looked really ticked. He knew that this wasn't good, and he braced himself for the worst. How could he be so stupid and just leave like that? Sure, it was worth it, but he should have at least hid some pillows under his covers to make Twilight think he was actually there! What in Equestria had he been thinking?

"So, Spike," Twilight began, her voice trembling under the strain of keeping it level, "where've ya been?" She began tapping a front hoof impatiently, awaiting his excuse that she didn't want to hear.

Spike gulped in the face of Twilight's threatening expression, and he piddled with his feet and stared at the ground a bit.

"I'm waiting," Twilight rolled her eyes in exasperation.

Spike flinched and avoided looking at Twilight at all costs. "Well, uh, you see, Twi, I…wanted to make the potion and…" he let his sentence trail off, knowing that Twilight wouldn't want to hear any of it.

Twilight chomped her teeth down and ground them together and regarded Spike with contempt. It was all about that stupid potion! She trembled: the pebble that started the avalanche. She let her pent up fury out in a snarling vent of needle tipped words, sharpened and thrown with precision. With each one that she let fall, she let fall with purpose and intensity, piercing Spike and causing him to take a step back on multiple occasions.

"SPIKE! You presumptuous… pretentious… vainglorious ignoramus! What catalyst could have possibly led you to the approximation that it would be paragon to traipse about without notifying anypony your whereabouts? Your enterprises were incontrovertibly inconceivable, so naturally, everypony was perturbed! Pinkie Pie initiated a search party, for pony's sake! I have been bothered to the precipice of illness because of your shenanigans!" Twilight has a very extensive vocabulary, and she brings out her choicest words subconsciously whenever she is really really mad, and right then, she was really really mad. Spike could barely understand half of what she was saying, but he didn't need a dictionary to know that those words were meant to hurt him, and hurt him they did. He put up a shield of steel, but her icy tone easily penetrated it, and he was left open and defenseless to whatever she could throw at him. Whatever pony said that words could never hurt you clearly had never been around Twilight when she was on a yelling rampage. This went on for quite a bit so that Spike began to incredulously wonder how many words there could be left for her to use.

"Spike! You just make me so-so-" and she deflated and withered to the ground and started to cry, having let out her anger in a frenzy of a storm.

Spike had been covering his eyes with his hands at this point, but upon hearing Twilight's sobs, he peeked through his claws, disbelieving of his ears. He awkwardly looked down at her slumped form on the ground.

He swallowed hard then let out a meek "Twi?" before returning to his cowering. Who knew when she would explode again?

"Oh, Spike," she choked, "I was so worried about you! I went upstairs last night, you weren't in your bed, and I…I just didn't know what to do! I looked everywhere I could think of, I woke up everypony in Ponyville! I even thought of alerting Princess Celestia! Spike, after our fight, I was so scared that you just…left me. And I need you so much, and I know that I've been piling a lot on you lately but…but I just…" Twilight managed to get all of this out between chokes and tears, and finished while wiping her eyes with her hooves. Sniffing she looked up at Spike and smiled weakly. "I'm glad you're alright," she whispered.

Spike was frozen for a moment; he didn't know what he should do. All he could think to say was: "So…Pinkie Pie started a search party, huh?"

Twilight laughed half-heartedly. "Well, parties are her specialty." She stood up slowly and turned her attention to Spike, who at the moment was just standing with his claws clasped on top of his head as a result of his former cowering position. Realizing they were still like that, he promptly took them down and placed them self-consciously behind his back.

The scales on his face blushed a rosy red and he ignored Twilight's teasing grin. "What? You're scary when you're angry," he admitted, none too pleased.

Twilight smirked jokingly at him and gave a quick shake of her mane to regain her composure. She pawed at the ground with a hoof, trying to calm herself and reassure herself that Spike was alright. Then it hit her. Everypony was still looking for him. Oops.

Twilight's eyes widened. "Oh my brony! Spike!" Spike jumped at the unexpected mention of his name, and held up his hands to shield himself as he winced away from her. "I've got to tell everypony you're here! I've got to tell everypony you're okay!" Twilight reared on her hind legs before cantering off towards the center of town, where somepony was bound to be.

Spike slapped himself in the face as he observed Twilight running, none too gracefully, I might add. He cupped his claws around his mouth and yelled out with all his might, "TWI! You can teleport, 'member?

He saw her stop short, drop her head in self-shame, then disappear to reappear who knows where.

He giggled and shook his head, then turned to head inside the library. Once inside, he looked about him in shock; the place was turned upside down! Twilight had pulled down every book, and they were opened to certain pages and organized in some sort of order only she could understand. Maps of Equestria were pasted on every wall with red markings scribbled all over them, probably indicating where the search party should search for him. On the floor there was a big stack of flyers with his picture posted on them below the words "Missing Dragon! Likes gems! Please contact Twilight Sparkle!"

Spike was touched that Twilight went through all this trouble for his sake. She really cared about him, and she was showing it in the only she could: by organizing things. Spike looked about him once more and chuckled at Twilight's endeavors. Then he realized that he'd be the one cleaning up the place, so he let out an annoyed moan as he let his shoulders slump and arms sag. He furrowed his brow and trudged past the mess. He didn't really feel like cleaning, and besides, something was nagging him in the back of his mind, as if there was something he had to do but had forgotten about. He tapped a claw to his chin as he paced up the stairs, then when he stepped on the broken stair he looked down and it came to him: the potion! He knew that the very idea of it had caused enough trouble already, but then he wondered if Rarity was worried about him while he was gone, and the thought of her weeping and looking forlorn over him entered his mind. His heart did a flip and he tore off the floor board and snatched for the potion book and hurriedly skimmed the pages for his answer, and there it was. His heart was pounding as he thought of the possibilities of it all; Rarity, fawning over him as he fawned over her, and he re-read the instructions with relish.

Liquid Love

(3) hearts of wild roses, matured

(1) chip of gold, having sat in a pile of rubies during a full moon

(1) pinch of fresh sage

(1) smooth rock obtained from a river bed that leads to a waterfall

(4) oz of sleeping dragon's breath

(1) half a cup of rainwater that fell during the night of a waxing moon

(2) strands of your lover's hair

(2) strands of your hair

The strength of a mule

The hope of a stranger

The desire of passion

-Combine first four ingredients into a pot, preferably pewter, and cover for two days, keeping it outside during the day but inside during the night. On dawn of the third day, empty sleeping dragon breath into cauldron then cover quickly. Simmer over a low flame for a week to ensure proper exposure of dragon breath (the heat stirs the breath around the pot). Carefully pour rainwater in two additions, waiting ten seconds between additions. Heat over low flame till it reaches a rolling boil. Drop hair strands into pot. Stir nine times clockwise, then nine times counterclockwise, using a silver spoon stirred by strength surrounded by hope and desire. Allow pot to sit for three days to allow potency to reach maximum. Give to lover to drink. Can be refrigerated up to a week. -

Spike couldn't believe how he lucked out with the dragon's breath. I mean, what are the odds that he'd be a dragon making this? There was the issue of him not having any hair, but he figured he could find a way around that. And now that he looked at it again, the potion didn't seem all that difficult. Sure, it was involved and time consuming, and he had no idea where he would get strength, hope, or desire, but it would be well worth it, well worth it indeed.