"What's wrong, Spike?" I asked calmly.

"Nothing...I don't really want to talk about it..."

"That bad, huh? Here, hang on a second, I'll be right back."

After a few moments in the kitchen, I brought out a fresh cup of Chamomile tea for Spike.

"Here," I said patiently. He slowly reached for it, and said, without looking up, "thanks."

He took a sip, and sighed.

"I lost my chance," he said to me. He paused a moment, then, sensing I was puzzled by his vagueness, he added, "with Rarity, I mean. I missed my opportunity. She's already going out with somepony."

I frowned, but tried to keep a positive attitude. I opened my mouth to respond, but Spike continued.

"It's funny, though...I don't think it would have worked out anyway..."

"Wh...why not?" This comment worried me for some reason.

"Maybe I should start from the beginning...I spent the day helping out at Rarity's shop...you know, being her mobile pincushion...and when she finished the dress she was tailoring, she tried it on and asked me how it looked. Well...I tried to say it looked beautiful, but my thoughts slipped out and I told her she looked beautiful...

"Now to her that was probably just another compliment, but in my mind I had just confessed everything, so my words turned to soup and the rest of the thoughts followed out my mouth. I told the whole truth, starting with the crush and ending with the question 'will you go out with me'.

"At this point, I expected her to reject me completely. But instead, she smiled at me kindly and told me she was already seeing somepony...hearing this, I drew up my last bit of confidence and asked her who the lucky stallion was...but what she did next surprised me..."

I cocked my head and with a quizzical expression, asked "what did she do?"

"...she laughed, not at my question but rather, it seemed, at herself. And then she told me; the 'stallion' was actually a mare. She said it might just be her way of coping with her disappointment at Prince Blueblood, but that it seemed right, and that they felt comfortable around each other. The only thing I can't remember now is the name. I want to call her Colgate, but that doesn't sound right..."

I didn't want to jump to any conclusions, but a thought occurred to me and on a whim I inquired.

"When did they start seeing each other?"

"I think she said it was about a week ago...why?"

"No reason," I lied. There was something weird going on, I was sure of it. It was one thing when the question just came down to how I viewed sexual preferences, but this was different. There was no arguing with the fact of the matter: about a week ago, three of my friends had become attracted to other ponies of the same gender despite having no previous inclination towards homosexuality. It couldn't just be coincidence.

Something happened a week ago, and I needed to find out what.

"Spike...would you mind taking a note for me? To the princess?"

"Sure, I'll drop all of the issues in my life right now and help you," as he finished his sentence, I saw his eyes turn from blind malice into sheer remorse, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that...but I'm still not quite back on my feet, you understand..."

"Spike, I think you should know that Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy are going out with each other."

Spike thought it over, and after drawing some mental conclusions, responded "yeah, so?"

"They started seeing each other about a week ago."

I saw the gears turning as Spike mulled over this last statement, and after a moment it clicked for him.

"So you're saying something's up?"

"Yeah. And I'm thinking the Princess may know something about it. Or at the least, she'll be able to provide assistance. Either way, I need to find out what happened a week ago to trigger this change."

"Alright, well...hang on," Spike retrieved a scroll and a freshly inked quill, "go ahead."

" 'Dear Princess Celestia...' "

It was about an hour before we received a reply. Much to our surprise, it wasn't in the typical beige parchment with a gold seal, but rather an indigo-colored papyrus of some sort. The seal was silver. Spike opened the letter and read aloud:

Twilight Sparkle, my elder sister is currently away from Canterlot for reasons I am not at liberty to divulge. However, I would like to assist you in this matter, as I have received accounts of similar occurrences in other areas, all originating about a week ago.

There is no doubt in my my mind that some outside force is causing this change and I would very much like to find the root of this issue in case it has the potential to affect other aspects of Equestrian society. It may very well be that if this outside force is able to influence sexual orientation it may just as easily affect other mental aspects of the personality, and perhaps even modify the world itself. We literally have no clue as to the extent of this anomaly's range of influence.

If you and your friends wish to investigate this matter, I invite you to use the Canterlot Royal Library for research. Send a reply as soon as you can stating the number of ponies who will be joining you, and I will charter a transport chariot to fly you here.

Signed, Princess Luna

"So who all will be coming with?" Spike asked.

"I'd like all my friends to help out here, but...I'll have to talk to them first."

"Maybe now's a good time to get on that," Spike grinned eagerly.

With a sigh, I took up Spike on my back and set out.

"Sweet Apple Acres will be our first stop."

"Why's that?"

"Well, Applejack's the only pony who doesn't know about any of this yet."

"Then wouldn't it be better to start with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, to make sure they're okay with word getting out? I mean, just a thought. With Applejack's southern upbringing, you never know how she'll react to something like this."

I pondered this option for a moment.

"That's actually a good idea, and probably the most respectful choice in this situation. Plus, with Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash on board, it might be easier to tell the others."

"So...where would we find them?"

"I'd guess Fluttershy's place. The two of them are probably still hanging out right now, and Fluttershy is afraid of heights so Rainbow's place would probably be out of the question...

"So Fluttershy's place, then?"

"Yep, sounds like a plan!"

And with that, we started off towards the meadow. We were barely out the door of the library, however, when a blur of pink bounced at us. In an instant Pinkie Pie's muzzle was right in my face and in all the confusion of her scattered approach only one sentence reached my ears intact.

"We need to talk, now!"

With a sigh, I turned back and invited her inside the library; and for the third time that day I'd find myself boiling water for tea...