It's Witchcraft

by Gruekiller

Prologue: An Enchanting Evening

“Love is in bloom!”

Twilight Sparkle was enjoying herself.

“A beautiful bride, a handsome groom!”

The changelings were defeated, the siege upon Canterlot was raised, and the wedding ceremony afterwards was positively beautiful. And now, as the reception carried on late into the evening, Twilight sang a love song atop the stage.

“Two hearts, becoming one!”

There wasn’t a single head in the audience that wasn’t bobbing as everypony cheered on the new couple. Even the princesses couldn’t seem to resist the urge to dance.

“A bond that cannot be undone!”

And so the lavender unicorn sang her heart out before the throng of ponies. Despite her brother’s reassurances that she had a wonderful voice, Twilight had never been very sure of her lyrical abilities. Right now, she found herself hard-pressed to care. The day was saved, her brother married the mare of his dreams, and the music carried on…

“You’re starting a life and making room, for us…”

---

The song was over, and the night was no longer young. Twilight had stepped down from the stage an hour ago to the applause of hundreds of ponies. She was still reeling from the exuberant praise that ponies she didn’t even know showered upon her for her song. Sapphire Shores – the Sapphire Shores! – had even complimented her as she left the stage. Lofty praise, considering it came from the pony whose song Twilight had been covering to begin with.

Now, the stage was occupied by the DJ and a black-maned pony, performing a sort of turntable-cello duet – an unorthodox pair, to be sure, but the soothing tune they performed together certainly seemed to have the desired effect on the audience.

A calm tune – a slow dance.

Plenty of stallions had asked her to dance earlier in the night, when the tunes were still energetic and happy. But now that the atmosphere had taken a turn for the romantic, everypony already seemed to have somepony else to dance with.

She smiled as she inspected the crowd from the refreshments table, taking note of Rainbow Dash and Soarin’. The male pegasus held the multichromatic flyer close as they swayed gently to the music – by the look on the cyan pony’s face, Twilight could tell Rainbow Dash was very pleased with her lot in life at the moment. Good for her, the young librarian decided supportively. She knew her athletic friend had been pining after the Wonderbolt for months.

Somewhere off in the crowd, she could even see Spike, and Rarity’s little sister, Sweetie Belle, dancing together. That is, of course, if shuffling awkwardly next to each other and wearing matching blushes counted as ‘dancing together’. Twilight let out a small chuckle.

Her expression grew wistful. Yes, everypony, it seemed, had somepony.

Everypony except her.

So there she stood, for a moment, drinking from a glass of punch she’d levitated to her mouth, until somepony spoke. “Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight turned, vaguely recognizing the voice. A mint-green unicorn stood next to her, smiling. A white daisy was tucked in her normally messy green-and-white mane, which was suitably tamed for the formal occasion. She wore a yellow dress, which, Twilight thought, brought out her golden eyes beautifully. “Lyra?”

The other unicorn seemed pleased by the recognition. “I was worried you’d forgotten, now that you’re such a celebrity! Defeating evil alicorns, spirits of chaos, changeling queens…” She winked. “Quite the busy couple of years you’ve had.”

Twilight blushed at the praise, ears shrinking back bashfully. “Oh, well... I couldn’t have done it without my friends…” Lyra giggled at the librarian’s reaction, stepping over to fetch herself a glass of her own.

Twilight recalled Lyra Heartstrings mostly as a classmate of hers at the School for Gifted Unicorns in Canterlot. She had always struck her as a talented student and sorceress, if somewhat of a dreamer, prone to distraction and flights of fancy, as well as some eccentric habits. She had, in any case, always seemed friendly enough, and, Twilight reflected, it was always nice to see an old friend.

“I haven’t heard much from you since school,” Twilight remarked. “What have you been up to?”

Lyra shrugged a little, taking a sip of punch. “I moved to Ponyville a year back to work on my music. You know, away from all the noise and bustle of the big city.”

This was greeted with a blink from Twilight, who smiled. “No kidding! I live in Ponyville, too!”

The green pony deadpanned for a moment. “Yes, I know.” She chuckled at Twilight’s embarrassed expression, all smiles once again. “I’ve seen you around town a few times, but I’ve never had the chance to say ‘hi’.”

Twilight still looked a bit dejected. “You mean I’ve lived in the same town as you for a year and never noticed?” She scuffed the ground with a hoof. “Well, I feel silly.”

Lyra giggled again. “Don’t worry about it too much! I've been told I'm sometimes hard to notice.” She tilted her head over to look at Twilight. “I loved your performance earlier, by the way,” she enthused. Twilight smiled gratefully.

“You mentioned you’re a musician? Why didn’t you perform yourself?”

The mint-green musician lifted her shoulders again in a shrug. “I was still being fished out of those crystal caverns. I only just got back to the surface – with the help of the royal guards, of course.” She allowed a wry smile.

Twilight covered her mouth with a hoof, aghast. “Oh gosh-!” She stammered. “That was you!” She waved her hooves frantically, scrambling to apologize. “I’m so sorry! So, so-“

Lyra cut Twilight off, a concerned expression on her features. “There’s no need to apologize, really! You did what you had to, to get the Princess to safety. I was kinda…” she sat back on her haunches for a moment to spin her hooves in circles around her ears, “… wacky, at the time. Besides, me, Minuette, and Twinkleshine are all fine.”

Giggling at the little charade, Twilight found her earlier melancholy rapidly fading. The two stood, smiling at each other in companionable silence for several moments.

Lyra broke the silence, blurting, “Do you want to dance?”

Twilight blinked twice in response, taken off-guard.

“I mean-“ Lyra began amended herself hastily. “This is a dance, isn’t it? I didn’t bring a date with me, and… you didn’t either, did you?”

Twilight shook her head.

“Then, nice as it is to talk, shouldn’t we be out on the dance floor instead?” Lyra flashed a nervous grin.

If there was one thing with which Twilight Sparkle couldn’t argue, it was logic. Hesitantly, she nodded, and then smiled at Lyra. “Sure.”

Grinning – almost looking relieved, Twilight thought – Lyra guided her away from the refreshments table and out onto the dance floor. The pair stopped amidst the crowd. Glancing around furtively, Twilight bit her lip. To tell the truth, most of her trepidation owed to the fact that she was a horrid dancer. She’d made a bit of a fool of herself at the Canterlot Garden Party a month or two prior, and she dreaded the thought of embarrassing herself again.

Lyra seemed to notice Twilight’s nerves getting the best of her, giving her a sympathetic smile. “Follow my lead,” she whispered softly.

Where most ponies have difficulty preparing themselves for a slow dance – it calls for the two ponies to stand on two legs, an uncomfortable position for a quadruped – Lyra did so with ease, helping Twilight to stand up as well. The purple unicorn wobbled, muffling a squeak of surprise as she tried to steady herself. Thankfully, Lyra managed to catch her, letting Twilight support herself by leaning against the slightly taller pony. Lyra smiled encouragingly.

Trying to hide the blush she was sure was apparent on her face, Twilight stammered, “So, uh… what now?” Lyra responded merely by resting one hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, and the other took hold of the unicorn’s left hoof.

Gently, the two began to sway to the music.

Twilight stared at her hooves, and nearly lost her breath. She was… dancing! And dancing well, by Celestia! There wasn’t a hint of her usual stumbling or flailing. Instead, she felt as though she was gliding as Lyra guided her to the steady thrum of the music.

The two swayed and stepped together, librarian leaning on lyrist all the while. As the music carried on, Twilight found herself smiling at her dancing partner, and discovered Lyra smiling back. The whole world around her seemed to melt away. It was at once forever, and all too soon when the music ended. The cellist took a well-practiced bow, and the DJ pumped her hoof to the cheers of the audience.

Twilight blinked, as though dazed. “It’s over?”

Lyra craned her neck, glancing behind her at the stage. It was already being vacated by the musicians, who seemed to be embroiled in an argument about something. “I guess so,” she said wistfully, gently helping Twilight back onto all fours.

“It looks like the reception is ending. The bride and groom will be leaving,” Twilight remarked, glancing around at the departing guests. Sighing, she scuffed her hoof on the ground again, smiling at Lyra. “… I should go see my brother and Cadance off,” she said. Stepping forward, Twilight wrapped her in a hug, causing the green unicorn to tense up in surprise. “Thank you for the dance, Lyra. It was really nice seeing you again.”

Twilight walked away, unaware of the blush on Lyra’s cheeks. The musician smiled, watching Twilight leave. “… Really nice seeing you,” she repeated to herself.

---

It was past midnight onboard the Friendship Express. The passenger car rattled gently as the locomotive rumbled over the tracks, the pale moonlight faintly illuminating the inside. Catching some rest for the remainder of the trip back to Ponyville, eight ponies and one baby dragon slept soundly; but rest had yet to find Twilight Sparkle. By all rights, she should have been exhausted – such a long day, fighting changelings, and all. But her fitful mind still hadn’t allowed her any chance to doze off.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders slept, still in flower-filly raiment, one particular white filly resting closer to the librarian’s draconic assistant than the others. Rainbow was out like a light, a smile still on her lips as she snored loudly. Her other four friends, all snoozing peacefully. And here sat Twilight Sparkle, thinking.

About the changelings, one might expect, or her brother and Cadance. And yet, it was not these which crossed her mind, but one question, repeating incessantly:

What was it about that dance?

Three hours on, and Twilight still couldn’t think of anything but the dance she had shared with her old classmate. Try as she might, the impeccably rational pony could make no reason of this whatsoever. What was so special about dancing with Lyra? What’s a dance between friends? Just… friendly friends, doing friendly… stuff.

… Right?

No, Twilight Sparkle was not even fooling herself.

The more she thought about it, the more she realized that she’d really only accepted the earlier invitations to dance out of courtesy. She’d just danced awkwardly next to the stallions, and there’d been no sort of spark whatsoever. The dance with Lyra had been… different.

There had been an undeniable connection between the two unicorns when they had danced, one which, Twilight realized, had left her attention resting solely upon the green unicorn – a fact which she found rather disconcerting.

The bookworm prided herself on her attention to detail, her ability to pick up on the smallest things around her at any given time, and to remember them with unerring accuracy. But when she tried to think of anything else that had been going on as she danced with Lyra – the couples dancing next to them, even the music – she drew a total blank.

All that came to mind was the softness of Lyra’s fur, the gentle green and white swirl of her mane, that hoof resting atop Twilight’s shoulder, those beautiful, golden eyes… It was almost… bewitching.

Twilight sat up, eyes widening.

Oh, sweet Celestia. There’s only one explanation.

… I’ve been hexed!

---

In Ponyville, a green unicorn was similarly trapped in her thoughts. Never one to travel by rail, Lyra was still spent from the teleport back home. Long-distance teleportation, a rare skill among unicorns, had always been a talent of hers. Presently, however, her thoughts were as far from magic theory as they could be as she lounged on the couch.

She thought of Twilight Sparkle, that wonderful, impossible mare – Element of Magic, heroine of Equestria, student of Princess Celestia herself… and, most importantly, the beautiful, brilliant mare she once admired from afar, but had never had the courage to tell.

Her feelings had faded away somewhat as she saw the lavender unicorn less and less over the years, as Twilight grew more and more ensconced in her studies under the Princess, and eventually stopped attending the School for Gifted Unicorns altogether. Lyra had been devastated – forever, she was sure, denied the opportunity to admit her feelings.

But seeing her tonight – seeing her defeat the changelings, hearing that melodious voice sing, seeing Twilight Sparkle in all of her radiant beauty… How could Lyra resist? Her infatuation was re-kindled, burning stronger than ever before.

Bon-Bon raised a brow over at her swooning room-mate. In her accented voice, she inquired, “Lyra? Are you being ill?”

“Something like that,” Lyra returned dreamily. “I’m in love.”

Comments

[Gruekiller]

[asylum1388]

First time I've seen this pairing.

Now I'll admit, I was skeptical at best when I saw this in the new stories, but so far I like it. I'll keep watch on it for now and see how it goes.

[TwilightSkeenSparkle]

Good Good Good. please keep it relatively clean though Pleeeaaasse. I love this shipping and want to keep enjoying it. But of course its your story and you can do what you want. Just i hope it stays relatively clean so i can continue to enjoy it as you update.

[DashFire61]

oohhhh I LOVE IT

[Melkor]

Bon-Bon raised a brow over at her swooning room-mate. In her accented voice, she inquired, “Lyra? Are you being ill?”

What accent is that supposed to be? I automatically thought it was Russian.

[EvilTaco7655]

[Violet CLM]

Small note: you probably shouldn't call her Minuette in chapter 1 and Colgate in chapter 5.

[Magatsu Orpheus]

1708983
I can't recall exactly, but I know at least one of her voices had an accent. To be honest, the only one I can remember is the "Man trying to sound like a woman" voice she had in Call Of The Cutie.