I shifted nervously, trying to keep distance from Lyra as she sat beside me. In return, I gained a confused glare from the mare. I just feigned a smile and she continued, pursing her lips. By the time she got into that goofy sitting pose on her rear on the bench, I stared back at the book before me. It was an interesting story really, but there was this feeling and a strange sense that made my mane itch. It wasn't anything related to what I was reading of course, books just never had that kind of an effect on me, no matter how gripping the tale was.
No, it wasn't books. It was Lyra. I don't know what it was, but she was really bothering me lately. Well not me, but something in me. It was hard to explain it. I just knew that there was something about her that was off. I looked back at her, but I just saw the unicorn sitting beside me sipping from a thin straw in a bottle of apple cider. Just like she normally did. But there was something about her. I couldn't figure it out. Something told me it was her eyes, but they were gold like always. Something said it was her mane. But it was the same. Hell, I even told myself she was trying to kill someone in town, but that was one of the ideas that died as fast as it had come.
The leading theory now? She's a witch. That's not some kind of suspicion that I have, I swear to Celestia herself that it's true. It would explain why she's never around or why she spends so much time in the basement. The thing is, whenever I sneak in the basement to see what Lyra is doing, she just sits there motionless and stares at the wall. So yeah. There's something weird going on with her. And I needed to figure out what it was. I mean, I spent the whole week trying to figuring out how to find out what I thought was wrong with her, but haven't come up with anything. I just knew there was something wrong. Well, not me, but something in me.
But the real problem was figuring out how to expose her. I looked around to see if there was anypony who could help me or have any idea of where Lyra went to at night. I doubted Ditzy had any idea, judging from her lack of attention to Rainbow Dash, who was scolding her about something. Rarity was much too busy making dresses this week so there wasn't a chance she'd know anything. Maybe Caramel? Noteworthy? Maybe she was just seeing a stallion? No, she doesn't swing that way. At least I don't think she does.
Maybe there was a spell that could be cast? Now me being an earth pony, I can't cast spells of course, but there was probably somepony in town capable of casting high-end spells.
Light bulb. Why didn't I think of this earlier?
"Hey Lyra?"
"Hmm?" She turned her head to me, letting the straw slip out of her mouth.
"I'm gonna leave real quick," I said, getting my hooves off the bench and on the dirt ground. "I'll be back real quick."
"Umm, okay?" She raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay Bon Bon? You've been acting... like, different."
"Oh, I'm fine," I answered. "Don't go anywhere. Oh and watch my book too."
"Don't really have any place to go,"
"Princess Twilight," I did a quick bow, earning a smile and a roll of the eyes from the purple alicorn.
"Please, just Twilight," She responded, gesturing for me to enter. "What do you need?"
"I..." Thinking for a brief moment, I tried to think of how to word this. "I need.... Do you have a spell or something that can make a pony just admit something, or tell the truth or something of that nature?"
I followed Twilight into the library, closing the door behind me. She levitated books in front of her, skimming through the titles of each of them, saying 'no' to the books that were irrelevant to my situation. Then she snapped herself out of her trance. She glanced at me for a moment. "What do you need this for exactly?"
"I have a strange feeling about Lyra and I just want to get the truth out of her," I responded. "It's a personal issue really."
Twilight nodded, continuing to look at her books. "Aha! I got it!"
She lay a book down on a podium and flipped through the pages. I tilted my head, wondering what she had found. She pulled out a box from under the podium, opened it and pulled out a necklace. She floated it to the side and continued to flip through the book, though I was still scratching my head because of the fact that she had a whole box full of jewelry.
"This is something I personally wanted to try for a while!" Twilight said in excitement. Her eyes scanned through the page, eventually lighting her horn up and enveloping the necklace in an arcane aura. I was blinded by the light that soon followed. My hoof did little to block the light, even with my eyes closed.
"There we go!" Twilight said eagerly. The necklace was... still a necklace. Gold chain. Purple pendant. Nothing special.
"What did you do exactly?"
"Enchantment!" Twilight exclaimed. "Get Lyra to wear this and she should be unable to lie. Might not work though. This is the first time I did this after all."
Before I left Twilight said, "You should come back after you're finish with that I'd really like to know if it worked!"
Lyra sat still, like she hadn't moved or done anything other than sip her cider from the cup. She just sat there blankly, staring off into space.
"Hey Lyra," I said. "I got something for you."
"Ooh really?" Her eyes lit up and she shot up off the bench. I revealed the necklace to her and she let out a squee of joy. "Oh, you shouldn't have! Oh you're the bestest friend ever!"
I watched with a devious grin as she put it on. I noted a slight shiver coursing through her as she put it on. "I feel different."
I dismissed the comment and sat down on the bench, Lyra coming over to sit beside me. Luckily, Lyra managed to keep my book safe, the novel untouched, bookmark still where I left it and everything. We sat quietly, save for the occasional page turning and sipping from Lyra. I tried to figure out how to question her, but so far I only drew up blanks. Whenever I did figure it out, I just couldn't go ahead and ask her without making myself sound awkward. Then again, she did have an anti-lying necklace on, with a slight chance of not working. Oh, what the hell?
"I'm sorry about the way I've been acting lately," I said, hoping Lyra would be pulled in the way I wanted her to be.
"It's fine. Mind telling me what it was all about?" She asked. "If you're comfortable with it."
Yes! "Well, to be honest," I started. "I...had this nagging feeling in the back of my mind that's been bugging me from time to time, and a hunch that tells me you're a witch. I know it's silly right?"
"Well, there's nothing to worry about Bon Bon," Lyra said, making my heart pound faster and faster. "Because I know nothing about witchcraft."
My heart stopped. That wasn't what I wanted. I wanted her to say yes personally. I don't really know what I'd do if she did, but I just wanted to get a 'yeah Bon Bon I'm a witch, oh well!' from Lyra, not a 'no I'm not a witch'. Damnit.
"Well, why do you spend so much time in the basement or out of the house?" I asked, tilting my head.
"Well, I go to the basement just to clear my head really. It's cool and quiet. Same for going outside. I just need to clear my head, with all the crap happening here, especially after what happened between me and Rose."
I thought it was best not to bring that back up. The last time I tried to talk about it, Lyra just walked away angrily.
"Still. I find it strange that you thought I was a witch."
"Yeah," I muttered. "I'm sorry about that."
"It's fine."
I watched as Bon Bon went upstairs to the bedroom, smiling. I waited for the door to close before I let out a relieved sigh. The smile still on my face, I took off the silly necklace she got from Twilight. It didn't do her very well that she tried to be all sneaky by going around town and eventually into Twilight's place. Which was practically right in front of me. For once, my laziness actually paid off and staring off into space helped me spot Bon Bon knocking on Twilight's door. Thank Celestia.
Thank Celestia Twilight used an enchantment spell for the first time. A burst of light that bright wouldn't come from a pony who already knew an enchantment spell. That flash of light helped signaled me to put up an anti magic barrier just in case something bad happened, years of studying helping me accomplish that.
I smiled as I opened the door to the basement, closing it as gently as I could and made my descent. I shot a blast of magic at the wall and watched it fade away, revealing the numerous plants and forbidden tomes handed down to me from my mother, all sitting on two tables and a bookshelf. Yep. She was a witch. As was her mother, and her mother before her. And so was I.
All of this hidden because of a simple spell. I smiled as I grabbed a mortar and pestle a few ingredients and went to work. I smiled at the thought that Bon Bon almost caught me. Close call. I went to work, chuckling at the awkward conversation in the park earlier. Maybe one day I'll show her what I've got going on down here. But that's a time for another day.
