“I’m a Swiftie,” Brian Young, Fate: The Winx Saga’s showrunner, tells Tudum.

Those three words are powerful enough to mobilize all of Taylor Nation in the human world, as well as Fate’s Otherworld. In Season 2, Episode 2, Swifties and horse girls are in for a feast when Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams” (Taylor’s version, of course) plays during the romantic scene between Bloom (Abigail Cowen) and Sky (Danny Griffin). Just like the first line of the song goes, Sky suggests getting out of town, and he takes his girlfriend to the idyllic hills and meadows where he grew up. As the dreamy ballad plays on, Alfea’s power couple gallops through the greenery on horseback. Clearly, it’s not too late for Sky and his white horse to come around.

How did the Fate team secure the rights to such a powerful needle drop? For Young, the initial idea literally felt like a wild dream. “I watched the director’s cut of Episode 2, which has Sky and Bloom on horseback, and it was literally the day that Taylor’s version of ‘Wildest Dreams’ came out,” he says. Young then emailed music supervisor Matt Biffa to see what strings they could pull. “Look, we can’t afford this, but this is what it should be,” Young told Biffa, referring to the1989 track.

Luckily enough, Biffa was already acquainted with Swift’s mom and brother, Andrea and Austin. As he recalls, Swift’s publisher reached out to him during lockdown to see what projects they would collaborate on with the 11-time Grammy winner. “They are the most charming family that you’ve ever met. Austin basically says, ‘We’re totally open for cool stuff, and there are no bad ideas, so if you need anything, drop me a mail,’ ” Biffa says of his call with the Swift family.

One of those ideas was, of course, to include “Wildest Dreams” in Season 2. Some people write letters to Santa to get what they want. Young, on the other hand, penned a letter to Swift herself. “I basically just said it was kismet. It was bizarre that it happened,” says Young. In his letter, the showrunner explained that the song was “the embodiment of teenage wish fulfillment. It’s also got a little bit of tragedy in it, knowing that this moment is perfect, but in the future, it’s teenage love.”

It was that letter — and some persuading by Biffa that the scene was a thematic and demographic fit — that helped seal the deal. “The show looks awesome, so let’s go for it,” Biffa recalls Austin Swift responding.

Fate’s second season includes other memorable needle drops from Lorde, Charlie XCX, Halsey and Grimes — and securing the rights to those hits was largely thanks to Swift. “It then becomes much easier to get Charlie XCX, Grimes and all those other artists. Once you’ve got Taylor on board, it opens doors, for sure,” Biffa adds.

We know all too well that a Swift ballad is the cherry on top to every love story. “Teenage love is fragile and not necessarily durable,” Young says. While young romance can be treacherous at times, the Fate couple always finds a way to let the sparks fly in spite of the danger of the Otherworld.

Season 2 Fate: The Winx Saga premieres on Sept. 16.