Lyre Under The Leaves
Lyre Under The Leaves
by Sinister Voice
Once upon a time in the magical land of Equestria …
It was a beautiful early morning, nary a cloud floating in the sky, leaving Celestia’s sun to shine happily down on the land and the ponies.
Somewhere not far from Ponyville, in a little forest near the Everfree, a mint green Unicorn mare sat near a little shimmering lake on a forest clearing. A golden lyre between her hooves she made a small tune float across the still waters. The lovely melody even made the wood’s critters approach the clearing to watch and listen to this visitor in their dominion, but the Unicorn did neither see nor care, her eyes closed, completely concentrating on the movements she made on the lyre’s strings.
Rustling in the bushes suddenly disturbed the harmony of the moment. Startled, the woodland creatures fled back behind the trees. The Unicorn’s eyes flew open, searching for the source of the disturbance.
A cream-coloured pony with a dark blue and pink mane and tail then stumbled onto the clearing; silently cursing while she tried to shake some leaves out of her mane. Then her eyes fell onto the lyrist. Her cheeks reddened slightly, ignoring the leaves still stuck in her hair, and quickly trotted closer to the other mare.
“Lyra. Finally, I found you. Do you knmmmm …,” her words were cut off by the lips of the unicorn, suddenly pressing against her own and she happily obliged the sudden show of intimacy.
“Hey Bon-Bon, Sweets. Sit down with me and listen.” Lyra smiled brightly as she separated herself from her marefriend, oblivious to the anger the Earthpony had shown before.
Said anger slightly returned as she remembered the reason that let her stumble through the woods and bushes in search of her lover.
“Now, we can’t just sit here and laze all day. You were supposed to help me out at the shop and never even showed up!”
Lyra just blinked, staring blankly into Bon-Bon’s eyes until realization finally hit her. Her ears and eyes went down and an embarrassed reddish hue spread across her cheeks while she sheepishly gazed at the other mare and mumbled: “Sorry, Sweets.”
“Now come on. Celestia knows how many customers have already left because I have to spend my time looking for you. And if you behave until closing time…,” she turned and swished her tail under Lyra’s nose, slowly walking back into the forest and with a dreamy smile the Unicorn followed the cream-coloured pony with the dark blue and pink mane and tail.
Several pairs of glowing eyes blinked open in the bushes and the shadows between the trees, following the two mares leave.
As they arrived back in Ponyville the town was already buzzing with life. Most of the shops had already opened up and ponies were busily walking around, transporting goods and going after their businesses. Bon-Bon almost galloped the whole way with Lyra following a few steps behind her, trying to keep up. In her mind she was still dreamily plucking the lyre’s strings and humming softly to its tune.
Finally, they breathlessly arrived at Bon-Bon’s shop; Lyra loved the cream-coloured mare but her special confectioneries and the fact that she had become Bon-Bon’s favourite guinea pig for her new creations were taking their toll on the lyre-flanked Unicorn’s weight.
They opened the door, then both entered the shop and while Bon-Bon directly went into the back Lyra’s gaze wandered over the cupboards and vitrines, like every time she entered. There were big glasses filled with Bon-Bon’s namesakes wrapped in sparkling papers, others had lollypops stuffed inside them and on plates were little mountains of other sweet delicacies, like chocolates with and without the most different kinds of fillings and icings; strawberry, raspberry and cherry, lemon and apple and many other different kinds like carrots and peppermint and even some filled with liquor. In one glass there were the peppermint sticks made by Twist in just as many colours and tastes as the wrappings and bonbons in the store.
Lyra inhaled deeply the smell of sweets, the same sweet smell Bon-Bon always had in her mane and that even penetrated their cushions at night. Oh how she loved it. Lazily, she then trotted behind the counter and did what her marefriend had ordered her to do: she watched the shop, waiting for customers while Bon-Bon prepared a new batch of products.
After a bit of a slow morning, they had, after all, missed their early customers – the little colts and fillies who just didn’t want to wait until after school to satisfy their urge for something sweet. The day was nonetheless busy.
Lyra yawned and when she opened her eyes again there was a blur of pink before her eyes.
"Hiyah!" Pinkie Pie, Ponyville's premier party planner suddenly appeared out of nowhere, making Lyra jump slightly.
After a moment to calm her hammering heart she smiled slightly and turned to the – now bouncing – mass of pink coat, mane and tail.
"Hey Pinks. What can I get you?" The lyrist turned shopkeeper asked. "The usual?"
Giggling happily Pinkie shook her head. "Nopie. I'm here to pass along an order for Sugarcube Corner...," then she stopped her bouncing – midair – before she remembered something else and just continued to bounce. "Oh yeah and the usual."
During her up and down a small note suddenly flew out of her cotton candy mane and right to Lyra who caught it in the golden glow of her horn glancing at the order written down on the paper slip.
"I'll send it down to you as soon as Bons finishes the next batch. Anything else you want now?" Lyra asked.
Thankfully, it was not Bon-Bon who encountered the bubbly pink party pony, although she was their best customer most of the time Bon-Bon just couldn’t stand Pinkie.
Pinkie left – with a lollipop in her mouth and three more sticking out of her tail – other ponies too seemed to remember their urge for sweets and dropped by one after the other. And, of course, as school finished the little colts and fillies had to compensate what they couldn’t buy that morning.
Finally, while the sun sent its last rays over the horizon, Bon-Bon and Lyra sent their last customer out into the evening and closed the shop.
They both walked slowly upstairs to the small cozy apartment they shared above the shop. The first thing Lyra spotted as she walked through the door was, as always, the little wine-red couch, taking over the middle of the room. This was where she tried to go, eager to lie down and relax, only to be stopped by a tug on her tail that made her stumble.
She turned and saw Bon-Bon still holding the pale green and white hairs in her mouth.
When their eyes met she mumbled: “Nok sho fasht Mish.”
She then released her lover’s tail from her grip. “You are going to help me prepare dinner.”
With that she passed the Unicorn, walking to the open kitchen in the corner of the room - making it into a combination of living room, dining room and kitchen.
Lyra followed though a bit unwilling today, but cooking with Bon-Bon was always fun and – in some sort – its own reward. The meal afterwards certainly was.
The cream-coloured mare had already arranged most of the ingredients and cooking tools on the counter when Lyra finally arrived next to her. Bon-Bon however, did not again comment on her lazy tardiness and instead smiled softly at her, leaning over and nuzzling her before they started to prepare the meal.
After their dinner and a bit of tidying up – cooking with Lyra tended to produce the most interesting effects on her immediate surroundings, like stains on the ceiling, the walls and Bon-Bon’s coat – the two made themselves comfortable on the old couch in the middle of the room. Lyra grinned sheepishly to the exhausted Bon-Bon who eased her head on the cushions and regarded the Unicorn and sighed before closing her eyes, it had been a long day for the Earthpony. A soft golden shimmer suddenly began to appear around Lyra’s horn and her lyre, surrounded by the same shimmer floated to her. After a moment a soft tune sounded through the small apartment, eliciting a content smile from Bon-Bon and with a flick their tails intertwined, both of them smiling with closed eyes, enjoying each other’s company and the melody.
The next morning Lyra awoke to Bon-Bon shifting next to her in bed. Blinking she opened her eyes, the room still dark - only dimly illuminated by Luna’s moon shining through the window. Slowly and carefully she rose, trying not to disturb her lover’s slumber. However, as her hooves hit the ground the wooden floor creaked and sighing Bon-Bon shifted. Lyra inhaled sharply, only to immediately relax again as she saw Bon-Bon’s face still happily oblivious to her doings. The mare’s hooves searched for the mint green form that was supposed to be next to her, though only finding and happily accepting a pillow as replacement for cuddling.
Lyra suppressed a chuckle while watching this. Lovingly she gazed another skipped heartbeat at the love of her life and her deranged mane, looking even curlier than during the day. Then she left, her lyre silently floating in a golden light behind her.
Again her hooves led her to the small forest and to the small lake where she sat down and inhaled the fresh air. Then, with the first signs of dawn, she began to produce soft tunes out of the golden instrument, twin to the mark on her flank.
Like always she closed her eyes while playing and – just like the days before – eyes lit up in the wood’s shadows, slowly creeping closer to the clearing and the oblivious lyrist. Carefully the creatures left their hiding and approached the mare: normal animals mostly but there were others – creatures not normally seen by ponykind – beings of legend and dreams. They were all small and chubby although they appeared in many various forms.
Some were walking only on their hind legs, others on all four or even more legs; some were even flying, some with some without wings. Even if they looked ghostly with their transparent bodies and their eyes and mouths being nothing more than little spots of black, they seemed harmless almost cute, stumbling and tumbling over roots and each other in order to get closer to the visitor in their domain who produced these beautiful sounds.
Oblivious to her strange audience, Lyra continued to charm sounds out of the lyre which in turn charmed the animals and spirits of the forest, now standing silently in a small circle around the unicorn.
On the other side of the lake leaves began to rustle, shaken by a wind that was not there and the formerly still water rippled with movement, as if something disturbed the surface while passing. Only slowly did it take a form visible to the eye.
Walking on top of the water with four long legs was a giant ethereal being as tall as a tree; most of its body seemed to be that of a deer with a short tail and hoofed hind legs; its front legs, however, had paws like a wolf; its antlers were the crown of a tree shifting through the seasons with each passing moment: in one they were green and full of life, rustling in an otherworldly breeze; the next they turned red, yellow and brown - just to slowly float down and to vanish before they could touch the ground and just one heartbeat before the leafless wintery branches turned to spring and small blossoms sprouted.
Looming over the other creatures, the spirit regarded the mare who still did not open her eyes and continued to play, slowly lowering its head until both their heads were level with the other. The spirit blinked as one of the falling leaves dissolved too late and touched the horn alight with golden magic.
Eyes just as golden shot open, meeting the gaze of ethereal eyes and the music ebbed down. Not one sound could be heard while golden eyes stared into black eyes, then not even a heartbeat later, the spirit reared back and vanished as if blown away by a wind unfelt. The others, the animals and small spirits too began to flee, rushing back into the dark and the shadows of the forest, between the trees and into the scrub.
Lyra blinked, stunned by what she had just witnessed. She slowly turned her head, watching as the last of the animals vanished and the last spirit dissolved in the wood.
After sitting in the clearing for some time Lyra, finally, rose again, shaking her head as questions over questions swirled inside. Again she waited, unable to decide what she should do and so she sat down again, gripping her lyre and touching the strings.
Nothing happened – well not quite – a single tone rang from the golden instrument but no melody, no song came to the mare’s mind. Again she sat in silence until she finally managed to rise again and to leave the forest for the moment.
Far too many things – too many questions - occupied her mind.
Just what were these creatures? The small pudgy ones? That tall one that had somehow woken her from the play-induced trance? It seemed old, so very old. As she looked into its eyes she could almost feel the eons that it had seen. Had she really managed to attract these... these... creatures with her music? Not only that but the animals of the forest too? Sure some ponies had their way with animals – For example Fluttershy, the Pegasus mare that lived just outside of town. Animals seemed to go to her if there was anything that ailed them and it was said she could stare down or reason even the most ferocious beast. But her talent wasn’t anything like it, she was a musician and not even one that could play that many instruments. Sure she was relatively good with string instruments – especially harps and, of course, her lyre. But she often struggled when trying to write and compose a new song. There was just no way she could charm animals and... sprits?
She sighed and walked straight into Bon-Bon. Without really realizing where she went Lyra had walked back into town – arriving just in time for the mare to open her shop – or more correctly its front door.
“Good morning Lyra. You were in the forest again, weren’t you? Well, at least I won’t have to look for you tod... Are you alright Lyra?” Bon-Bon’s voice suddenly went from mildly annoyed to concerned while she talked, regarding her lover slowly from horn to hoof.
These words finally yanked Lyra out of her stupor and, blinking, she looked to Bon-Bon, just now realizing where she was. Her ears turned back, flat on her head and warmth spread in her cheeks – Making her look like a filly that was just found with a hoof in the cookie jar. She swallowed and with a slow nod she tried to smile. There was no reason for her to trouble Bon-Bon with her thoughts, not now at least. She knew that the other mare loved her just as much as Lyra loved her and she could tell her everything – just not now, when there was the whole day still waiting for them.
“I’m fine Sweets.”
The day went by in a blur, customers coming and going; refilling the showcased sweets, helping Bon-Bon in the kitchen, talking and laughing with ponies that came in just to see one of the two. Nonetheless, in the back of her mind the questions remained and whenever there was a moment of silence they burst forth, only to be pushed back by the chime of the door or the sound of Bon-Bon’s voice.
When they closed Lyra pushed her lips against Bon-Bon’s. “I have to do something, bye Sweets.”
She finally had managed to find a solution, or at least remembered somepony who could help her find an answer. Bon-Bon still blinked and watched with a frown as Lyra galloped away – not giving the slightest explanation to either her strange behaviour this morning – or the whole day for that matter, Bon-Bon had caught her more than once staring holes into the air, thinking – nor her sudden exit. With a sigh she closed the door, trotting to the stairs that led to the apartment above. She hated when Lyra didn’t tell her anything – well at least there seldom was anything that worried her.
Lyra galloped through the streets of Ponyville – straight to the old hollow tree that served as both the town library and home for its librarian, Twilight Sparkle. Twilight Sparkle who knew almost everything – or if there was something she didn’t know she would research it like a madpony. If it was something like the creatures in the forest, she surely had heard or read about them, maybe even met them herself. You never knew with the purple Unicorn who was Princess Celestia’s personal student.
After a short knock on the door Lyra entered. It was a public building after all and the library was still open there should not have been a reason to knock. Her gaze wandered the room in front of her, books laying almost everywhere – Just what had happened here – then she saw the hole in the wall? Bark? Whatever! Something must have crashed inside here and caused the mess – this something probably being Rainbow Dash, the Pegasus seemed to have a problem with doors – and landings, although she was a fantastic flyer - you didn’t need to be a flyer yourself to see that.
Lyra opened her mouth to call out to Twilight just as the Unicorn walked into the room, a cover for the hole floating behind her in a magenta glow.
“Oh, hi Lyra. How can I help you?”
“I wanted to ask you something... but if you are busy I can come some other time...”, a silence followed her words as her eyes again wandered over the mess in the room.
“Oh don’t worry. What is it you want to ask?” Twilight walked to her, careful not to step on any of the books in her way. In the meantime the tarp she was magically carrying hefted itself over the hole, staying there as if glued to the remaining wall.
“Ehm... Actually...”, Lyra inhaled and without stopping retold the tale that happened this morning.
…
“... and then they ran away.” She reached the end of the story.
Twilight sitting in front of her had summoned a quill and scroll, scribbling away while Lyra told her tale. After a short moment, and a rereading of the story with furrowed brow, Twilight sighed and looked to the fellow Unicorn.
“I’m very sorry Lyra but...”, she trailed off looking around, a soft glow suddenly lifting several books and floating them in front of Twilight.
“No, no, no... mh... Maybe the Princess...”
Lyra still stood near the entrance where she had first stopped, never leaving the position during her talk with Twilight. And now she was apparently forgotten by the overeager librarian that now walked among the chaos of books – reading several at the same time, muttering and writing a letter – somehow she also managed to mutter the words she read compare them and dictate a letter to herself – at the same time.
With a sigh the mint green Unicorn turned and left – Twilight was in research mode and would probably only stop when she had found an answer – or passed out.
Later that evening Lyra lay next to her marefriend – awake and on her back, unable to find sleep as the unanswered questions still made her head spin.
A ground and movement to her side made her look to Bon-Bon, the Earthponies eyes open and watching her in the dim moonlight.
“Are you going to tell me what bothers you? Or do I have to worry over you worrying without a clue?
Lyra winced slightly at those words and turned completely to her lover. “I’m sorry Sweets. It’s just... just... nothing. Something happened and made we wonder... Nothing you have to worry about.” She smiled softly, scooting closer and pulling Bon-Bon into her forelegs.
“It just doesn’t match you to worry this much.” Yawning, Bon-Bon cuddled against Lyra’s chest, drifting off to sleep.
The Unicorn sighed, looking down to her lover and again trying to find sleep.
The next morning Lyra woke up refreshed, although the questions still haunted the back of her mind. The strangest thing was, however, that she was alone, the sun already risen over the horizon. Next to her was a small note, written in Bon-Bon’s mouth writing.
‘You have the day off – clear your head and be back for dinner. Love B’
Therefore Lyra left the small cozy apartment, not through the shop but another exit that let her out just next to the shop. The only thing she took with her was her lyre, safely in her saddlebags. Again she wandered without direction, letting her hooves decide the way she took.
She walked through the streets and then, without realizing that she had left the town, wandered into the forest.
She only looked up again, realizing just where she was, when she almost walked into a tree. Wary, Lyra looked around but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She was alone. Out of habit she sat down by the small lake, soft golden glow floating her lyre into her hooves and with the first sound she closed her eyes.
At least she was able to play again.
Slowly, even more reluctant than the days before, the animals encroached upon the mare. This time however Lyra was not quite as oblivious to her surroundings as she normally was. She slowly opened one eye, seeing some animals coming closer, but she continued her play, letting the sound fill the silence of the forest.
After some time she saw the first spirit appear at the edge of the clearing. The creature slowly seemed to pass out of the roots of a tree and then stumbled to the ground. Then the spirit walked closer. Curiously Lyra regarded the strange creature, staring into black eyes, while her hooves danced across her lyre’s strings. More and more spirits walked and flew from the trees, forming a circle around the Unicorn.
Finally even the great spirit appeared, again at the other side of the lake and walked slowly across the lake. Its black eyes met the open golden eye of Lyra and it stopped. A small smile on her lips she continued her play, now opening her second eye too and openly looked at the spirit. A sheer endless moment passed, only the music seemed to still follow the normal rules of time. Then the spirit took the next step, water rippling under its touch.
That night Lyra slept peacefully, more so than she had in a long time. Bon-Bon’s worries were dispersed, although Lyra still did not want to talk to her, well she would tell her – she always did... At least it couldn’t be anything bad – she always told her these things in a heartbeat, sobbing. So she sighed and nuzzled the sleeping Unicorn before she too found her way into the realm of dreams.
It was morning and Lyra was gone – as was her lyre. Figures. Bon-Bon sighed and rose from the bed.
At the same time somewhere not far from Ponyville, in a little forest near the Everfree, a mint green Unicorn mare sat near a little shimmering lake on a forest clearing. A golden lyre between her hooves she made a small tune float across the still waters.
The lovely melody enjoyed by the wood’s creatures that had gathered to listen to her play; normal animals mostly but there were others – creatures not normally seen by ponykind – beings of legend and dreams. They were all small and chubby although they appeared in many various forms. Some were sitting on their haunches, others on their bellies; some were even floating in the air, some with some without wings. Even if they looked ghostly with their transparent bodies and their eyes and mouths being nothing more than little spots of black, they seemed harmless almost cute how they attentively listened to the lyrist’s song.
Laying among them was a another spirit, a giant ethereal being as tall as a tree; most of its body seemed to be that of a deer with a short tail and hoofed hind legs; its front legs, however, had paws like a wolf; its antlers were the crown of a tree shifting through the seasons with each passing moment: in one they were green and full of life, rustling in an otherworldly breeze; the next they turned red, yellow and brown - just to slowly float down and to vanish before they could touch the ground and just one heartbeat before the leafless wintery branches turned to spring and small blossoms sprouted.
With a smile Lyra regarded her strange audience, continuing to charm sounds out of the lyre which in turn charmed the animals and spirits of the forest.
Now that was a nice way to begin the day, maybe she should tell Bon-Bon... soon...
