“Eyes On You”
Chapter four: Caring
Trixie glanced curiously between Rainbow and Twilight, her mouth forming a little ‘o’ as she watched. Rainbow looked as if Twilight had just banished her favourite puppy to the moon, whilst Twilight’s eyes had gone unnaturally wide – as if her little outburst had shocked even herself.
“Y-You’re taking her side?” stammered Rainbow, her voice squeaking a little with the surprise it held.
Twilight quickly fumbled to form a response. “Uh, w-well, I mean, um--” Her face reddened steadily as she continued to trip over herself. “I-It’s not like Trixie actually meant for that to happen. A-and it was really Snips and Snails who--”
“I don’t believe this!” said Rainbow, her eyes narrowing as she rounded on Twilight. “You’re going to take her word over one of your best friends’?”
“I-I’m not taking anyone’s word!” Twilight argued, leaning forward to counter Rainbow’s glare. “I was there, I saw what happened. So did you! If you just calm down and think about it, there’s really nothing--”
“Calm down?” repeated Rainbow loudly. “I’m calm – I’m totally calm! I just can’t believe that my friends think I’m too mad at Trixie to think straight!”
“Rainbow, nopony thinks that!” tried Twilight desperately.
“Trixie does,” Trixie chimed in.
“Not helping!” snapped Twilight, shooting her a quick glare.
“Y’know what? Forget this!” said Rainbow, rearing up and throwing out her hooves in exasperation. “You girls can stay and hang out with your new buddy Trixie – I’m going home!” With that, Rainbow kicked off from the ground and flapped off towards the exit, leaving the group once again in stunned silence. She stopped in the doorway and looked back. “Fluttershy, you coming or what?” she asked aggressively.
Eyes widening as she was addressed, Fluttershy looked to Rainbow and opened her mouth to respond. After a moment, she closed it again and offered a faint, forced smile to the others as she followed Rainbow to the door. Twilight looked as if she desperately wanted to say something to stop them, but her mouth was refusing to let the words escape.
Trixie, like many of the other now-silent party-goers, watched Rainbow and Fluttershy disappear out the door. With them gone, all eyes turned back to Twilight and Trixie’s group.
“Come on y’all, nothin’ to see here,” said Applejack suddenly, stepping forwards to smile at their audience. “Let’s all get back to the party, y’hear?” For a moment, she was met only with silence and a few odd looks. Then, the other party-goers offered shrugs or smiles in response and went back to whatever they were doing before. Applejack turned back to her friends and breathed a sigh. “Well, that happened…” she said awkwardly. “You okay there, Twi’?”
“Want a cupcake?” said Pinkie randomly.
Twilight looked far from ‘okay’. She was staring down at the table with a look of utter devastation on her face. “What did I do?” she muttered, eyes unblinking.
“Oh darling, you didn’t do anything!” Rarity assured her, stepping closer and laying a hoof on Twilight’s back. “It was just a little… misunderstanding. I’m sure that Rainbow Dash will be quite alright.”
“Yeah, I bet she’ll be back to her regular self in the mornin’,” Applejack added with a kind smile. As soon as the words left her mouth, she frowned thoughtfully. “Although, it does seem a might strange for her to, uh--”
“Flip out?” Pinkie offered helpfully, throwing Applejack a grin.
“Uh, yeah, that,” Applejack agreed uncertainly.
“Oh, I expect she’s just tired – what with all the extra work she’s been taking on lately,” said Rarity.
Trixie watched with mild interest as Twilight’s three friends spent the next few minutes trying to console her. Personally, Trixie didn’t see the big deal – it seemed almost as if Twilight had never gotten into an argument before. Although, she had gotten into this one on Trixie’s behalf, and Trixie felt as if she should say something.
“Twilight, I--”
“Ohmygosh!” Pinkie interrupted loudly. “I almost forgot the cake!”
“Cake?” Trixie repeated with interest, her mind suddenly going off at a tangent. Pinkie Pie zipped off, disappearing into the crowd as the others either exchanged seriously questioning glances or breathed tired sighs.
“Cake, everypony!” came a yell from the centre of the room, barely a few seconds later. All eyes turned to see Pinkie Pie standing beside a pink-sheeted table, upon which was the most Great and Powerful cake that Trixie had ever laid eyes on. It was three layers tall, smothered in blue and silver icing – matching the colour of Trixie’s coat and mane perfectly. Around the edges, there were eight large, decorative candies – each shaped to look identical to the carved moonstone clasp that adorned her cape. It was actually sort of mesmerizing to look at…
“Hey, wait!”
The voice snapped Trixie back to her senses. She blinked in surprise as she found herself stood next to the cake, her muzzle merely inches from the delicious-smelling frosting. Looking around, she saw that many of the other party guests found themselves in similar situations, though Pinkie was gesturing for them to move back. Then she turned to smile at Trixie. “Trixie gets to cut the first slice,” she declared cheerily.
Trixie gave an approving grunt and drew her muzzle into a smirk as she looked around at their impatient faces. She magically lifted a knife from the table and held it above the cake, where she hesitated. It was almost a shame to ruin such a work of Trixie-coloured art, but there was no doubt in her mind that it would taste as delectable as it looked.
She drew the knife down through the thick layers of cake, cutting herself a generous slice. Many of the party guests watched with drool dripping from their mouths as Trixie lifted the slice into the air. But just as she went to take the first bite, there was a flash of pink, a rush of air, and the cake was gone.
“Hey!” she snapped, rounding on Pinkie, who had stolen the slice away to the table at which her friends were sitting.
“Here ya go, Twilight!” Pinkie declared, kneeling down so that the slice of cake on her head was at Twilight’s eye level. Twilight finally looked up from the table, as if snapped out of a trance, and eyed the cake curiously. Trixie made to object as Twilight took the cake in her own magic, but something made her hold her tongue for a moment.
Twilight bit down on the cake, to gasps from the audience she was obviously unaware of. For a moment, she just chewed in silence whilst Trixie was too stunned to argue. And then Twilight smiled – her cheeks still bulging with cake. It was the smallest, goofiest smile that Trixie had ever seen, and yet somehow it had the power to make her bite her tongue.
“Woohoo! She likes it! Okay everypony, dig in!”
Trixie only vaguely acknowledged the scuffling of hooves as she stood there, watching Twilight’s unfairly adorable smile as she took another bite of the cake slice. Of Trixie’s cake slice… ‘Say something!’ she willed herself. But no words came to her.
It wasn’t until Twilight looked up to meet Trixie’s eyes that she managed to snap out of her stupor. Barely managing an indignant “Hmph”, Trixie broke her stare and turned towards the cake table again, finding it surrounded by a throng of ponies. Pushing her way through the crowd, she soon came to the table, only to see that it had already been looted. A few meagre crumbs and a frosting-covered knife – which looked as if somepony had already tried to lick it clean – were all that remained of the cake.
“Oh-- Whatever!” huffed Trixie resignedly.
* * *
The rest of the party didn’t turn out to be quite as exciting or Trixie-centric as Trixie had hoped. Twilight seemed to cheer up a little, but whether that cheer was genuine or just for the sake of her friends, Trixie didn’t know. Not that Trixie cared of course – Twilight was just a cake-stealing, magical know-it-all!
Trixie blinked in surprise as that line of thought crossed her mind. ‘Where did that come from?’ she wondered.
“…Sorry girls, but I really should get going now. It’s getting late.”
“Aw, but Twilight--”
Trixie turned towards the voices and saw Twilight offering an apologetic smile to Pinkie Pie, who was wearing an exaggerated pouty face.
“I promise I’ll stay longer at the next party, okay?” Twilight negotiated.
Pinkie huffed and hung her head a little. “Okay,” she conceded. Her frown lasted barely a second before she gave Twilight’s neck a playful nuzzle and bounced off to rejoin her party guests.
Twilight turned and bade goodnight to her other two friends before heading towards the door. For a moment, Trixie thought that she was going to leave without a word, but she came to a sudden stop about half way across the room. Trixie was quick enough to avert her gaze and pretend to be interested in something on the far side of the room as Twilight’s hoofsteps started towards her.
“Um, Trixie?” said Twilight. Trixie turned to her with a casual grunt, as if she’d just noticed her approach. “I’m… going home now,” she said simply.
Trixie was tempted to say ‘Goodnight’ and leave it at that, but as she stared at Twilight’s half-expectant expression, she paused to think. When she did think about it, she didn’t actually remember the way back to the library – it would be pretty difficult to get back there on her own, in the dark no less.
“Alright,” said Trixie, to Twilight’s apparent surprise. “Trixie will be out in a minute.”
“O-Oh, right,” stammered Twilight. “Well, I’ll wait outside then.” With a quizzical smile, Twilight turned on the spot and trotted off across the room. Trixie watched her until she disappeared through the bakery’s door, then breathed a heavy sigh.
“…‘scuse us,” came an accented voice from Trixie’s left. She looked around to see Applejack and Rarity standing there with faint smiles on their faces.
“Yes? What do you want?” said Trixie tiredly.
“Oh, nothing really,” said Rarity in a casual tone. “We just wanted to ask how you were… settling in.”
“Settling in?” Trixie repeated in question.
Rarity and Applejack glanced at each other, then Applejack took a step forward. “Well, we were wonderin’ how you were gettin’ along with Twilight – we didn’t exactly talk about it much this evenin’.”
Trixie narrowed her eyes. “What exactly are you getting at?” she said accusingly.
Rarity stepped forwards next. “It’s just that we thought you might be feeling a little jealous,” she said frankly.
Trixie felt her face flush at the sudden accusation that was so close to the mark. “J-Jealous?!” she exclaimed, trying to make it sound as if such a thought was ridiculous. “What could the Great and Powerful Trixie possibly have to be jealous of?”
“Well, ya got to admit – the way she took care of that Ursa was mighty impressive,” said Applejack. “I bet she made ya feel a little silly, huh?”
Trixie scoffed. “Of course not! Trixie knows that Twilight Sparkle could never have done that if Trixie hadn’t weakened the Ursa first.”
“Weakened it?” repeated Applejack sceptically.
“Yes.”
Rarity and Applejack glanced at each other again. “So… you and Twilight are getting along well then?” asked Rarity with her brow furrowed in confusion.
“That’s right,” Trixie found herself saying. “For your information, Trixie and Twilight Sparkle are getting along very well. Shows what you know,” she added spitefully.
“Oh… well--” began Rarity, the beginnings of an uncertain smile on her face.
“That’s, uh--”
“Yes, yes,” said Trixie dismissively, deciding to take advantage of her small victory while she could. “Now, if you don’t mind, Trixie is leaving to walk Twilight Sparkle home. Good night.”
The pair of them offered uncertain goodbyes as Trixie limped away from them, towards the door. Her face still felt a little hot after that little conversation. ‘Is it really that obvious that I’m jealous of Twilight Sparkle?’ she wondered with a frown. If that was the case, then she would have to be more careful – she had a reputation to protect, after all. But would that still be possible after she did what she’d come back to do?
Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as she stepped outside into the night air and saw Twilight Sparkle waiting for her beside the door. She looked up at Trixie with a smile. “Ready to go?” she asked warmly.
Trixie opened her mouth to respond and once again found herself shutting it without a word. She gave a quick nod, which seemed enough to satisfy Twilight Sparkle. The two of them started off down the trail, Twilight slowing down enough for Trixie to keep pace with her.
“So, uh, did you enjoy the party?” asked Twilight sheepishly.
“Trixie has been to better--” She paused to give a huffy little grunt. “Trixie didn’t even get any cake…”
Twilight gave a little giggle at that. Trixie turned to glare at her questioningly. “I thought that might happen,” said Twilight with a smile. She gave her horn a little flick and a small something, neatly-wrapped up in a napkin, appeared in front of her. Trixie watched curiously as Twilight magically unwrapped the object, revealing the larger half of the cake slice that she had been eating earlier. “Here, I saved some for you.”
“Oh,” said Trixie, a little taken aback. “That was… generous of you.” Twilight simply gave a little smile and waited for Trixie to take the cake from her. Slowly, Trixie reached out with her magic and grasped hold of the cake. She felt an electric prickle in her horn as her magic crossed with Twilight’s, but it stopped as soon as Twilight let go.
Trixie eyed the cake for a moment, then leant forwards to take a bite. She slowed down a little to revel in creamy taste, with a hint of mint – she could definitely see why it had cheered Twilight up. But that made it even harder to figure out why she had saved some for Trixie…
Finding herself staring thoughtfully at Twilight again, Trixie chose not to look away this time. Twilight half-turned to meet her eye and gave an uncertain smile. “What?” she asked curiously.
“Back at the party,” Trixie began, thinking back to when she’d met Twilight’s friends. “Who was that colourful pony?”
Twilight’s eyes widened in comprehension, then she breathed a heavy sigh and hung her head. “Rainbow Dash. Like I said, she’s one of my best friends. Or, at least, she was… we’ve never fallen out like that before.”
“Then why did you take Trixie’s side?” asked Trixie with a furrowed brow, starting to understand less and less about Twilight every second the conversation went on.
“I didn’t take anyone’s side!” said Twilight, her voice rising a little. After a moment, she calmed down with a huff. “I just-- I don’t know,” she admitted. “It slipped out.”
“Trixie… sees,” she said awkwardly, though that wasn’t exactly true. Twilight Sparkle certainly was a strange unicorn…
The two of them said nothing more as they made their steady way down the trail. It wasn’t long at all before they came to the door of the library and Twilight magically opened it to let them in. It was a lot warmer inside, and Trixie saw Twilight’s mouth twist into a smile as she looked over the neatly stacked bookshelves around them – apparently glad to be home.
“Well, I don’t know about you, Trixie, but I’m exhausted,” said Twilight as she strode into the centre of the room. “I think I’m going to make myself some tea and then get some sleep. Would you like some?”
Trixie shook her head and started towards the stairs. “Actually, Trixie is going straight to bed,” she said decidedly. If she was honest, walking on three legs was starting to get a little difficult and she couldn’t wait to finally get the chance to lay down and relax – but of course she wouldn’t tell Twilight that.
“Oh, alright. Goodnight then,” said Twilight, offering one last smile as she set off for the kitchen.
“Goodnight, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie offered without thinking. Luckily, she was already tired enough that her voice sounded strained… at least, she hoped so.
Trixie made her steady way up the stairs, smiling at the thought of curling up in bed. But, as she was just about to turn into the stairwell proper, Twilight called out to her.
“Hey, Trixie?”
Turning on the spot, Trixie furrowed her brow at Twilight, who was looking up at her from the kitchen door.
“Thanks for letting me walk you home,” said Twilight, offering an honest smile.
Trixie felt a little twinge in the back of her mind, but she didn’t have time to figure out what it was. She cleared her throat. “Actually, it was Trixie who walked you home, Twilight Sparkle,” she said haughtily, turning her nose up with a little smirk.
Twilight gave another little giggle. “Right. Well, thank you,” she repeated with another smile.
Trixie turned again to make her way around the corner and out of sight. As she continued the climb to her room, she allowed herself a little smile of her own.
* * *
The night held no dreams or surprises for Trixie, and the following morning saw her wake with a bearable – but nonetheless annoying – ache in her legs. She gave an irritated groan as she rolled out of bed and steadied herself on three hooves, before glancing over at the cape folded neatly on her bedside tree stump. A moment later, she decided to leave it there for now – she wasn’t quite feeling up to being Great and Powerful this early on a Monday.
‘I need a mirror,’ she thought idly as she pulled open the door with magic and stepped out onto the landing. She descended the stairs in a kind of lazy trance, vaguely pondering the source of the rhythmic tapping noise coming from below. When she came out into the lobby proper, her half-lidded eyes found their way to the purple unicorn pacing around the floor – Twilight's mane looked just as bedraggled as Trixie's felt.
“Looking for a mirror?” Trixie teased, smirking as she descended the last few steps. Twilight Sparkle didn't seem to register Trixie's voice – she just kept rounding the room in a great circle. Trixie came to a stop in the middle of the room and furrowed her brow at Twilight. “...Are you sleepwalking?” she mused aloud.
Twilight Sparkle glanced up at her very briefly. “Oh, hi Trixie,” she muttered, before going back to her rounds. “Sleep well?”
“Well enough,” said Trixie distractedly. “What are you doing?”
“Nothing,” said Twilight, even as she completed another lap. “Just thinking.”
“What--” Trixie began, but she promptly shook her head and decided it was too early. “Whatever. Trixie is hungry,” she said abruptly. Twilight merely grunted in acknowledgement. With a huff, Trixie turned in place and headed for the kitchen.
Like the rest of the library, it was eerily clean – surfaces polished to a shine and utensils all hung or stacked in order of size. Trixie rolled her eyes at the sight, wondering how anypony could be so obsessively tidy.
“I know, right?” came a coltish voice from Trixie's left. She gave a start as she caught sight of the vaguely familiar purple-green dog-thing walking across the room before her, clad in a flowery apron and holding a wooden spoon. “She makes me tidy this three times a day,” it grumbled.
“A-And you are?” said Trixie accusingly, trying to hide her surprise.
The creature came to a stop and met Trixie's eye. “I'm Spike!” he reported proudly, thrusting a claw towards his chest. “Personal, number one assistant to Twilight Sparkle! And I already know who you are...” he added with an obvious hint of dislike in his voice.
“W-Well of course!” said Trixie, flicking back her mane and pretending not to notice his rudeness. “Everypony knows the Great and Powerful Trixie.”
“Uh huh,” grunted Spike with disinterest, continuing across the room and clambering up onto a stool beside the kitchen sink. “I've got to get back to making breakfast, since Twilight is... being Twilight. So, if you don't mind...”
Trixie glared at him for a moment before an idea struck her. “No, Trixie doesn't mind. Be a good little assistant and make Trixie some pancakes, will you?” With that, she turned to head back into the lobby. Spike grumbled something, but Trixie could only make out '--as bad as Twilight...' before she got out of earshot.
Twilight Sparkle was still pacing around in a circle, looking more and more anxious by the second. Trixie did her utmost to ignore her, climbing up to sit on a stool beside one of the reading tables and magically grabbing a random book from the nearest shelf to keep herself busy.
Barely a minute had passed before the constant clopping of Twilight's hooves against the wood had driven Trixie to her wit's end. “Do you mind?” she snapped, a little more aggressively than she'd intended.
“Huh?” Twilight grunted vaguely. “No, go ahead.”
Trixie rolled her eyes again. “Twilight Sparkle,” she called out clearly. That got Twilight's attention – she stopped pacing to offer Trixie a questioning smile. “You're wearing a hole in the floor,” said Trixie plainly.
Twilight glanced down at her hooves, then huffed. “Sorry...”
“What could possibly have the Great Twilight Sparkle so nervous?” Trixie asked, a little scornfully.
“Nervous?” repeated Twilight in question. “Oh, I'm not really nervous, it's just--” She broke off and took a sudden interest in the far wall. “It's nothing.”
“Fine,” said Trixie, a little disappointed for not getting a real answer. “Then will you please stop pacing? It's driving Trixie insane!”
“Right, sorry,” said Twilight, trotting over to join Trixie at the table.
“And--”
“I know – 'stop apologising',” Twilight interrupted with a half-honest smile as she took a seat on the stool opposite Trixie. Offering only a grunt in response, Trixie turned back to her book – which was, to be honest, entirely uninteresting. Not to mention that it wasn't exactly easy to read with Twilight Sparkle sat across from her like she was.
After what felt like forever spent waiting for Spike to finish breakfast, Trixie could finally tolerate Twilight's pouty face no more. She closed her book with a huff, dropped her forehoof on the table and stared across at Twilight. It took a moment for Twilight to notice, at which point she furrowed her brow at Trixie. “What?”
“Is this about your friend?” Trixie asked bluntly.
“Y-You mean Rainbow Dash?” she stammered, stirring a little atop the stool. “I... yeah, I guess it is...” She trailed off into a mutter and looked down at the table with a frown.
Trixie rolled her eyes. “Trixie doesn't see why you're so worked up about it. She'll get over it eventually.”
Twilight furrowed her brow at Trixie. “Over what?” she asked.
“Her jealousy of Trixie,” Trixie clarified with a flick of the mane. “It's really quite common.”
It was Twilight's turn to roll her eyes. “Are you always this full of yourself?” she asked flatly, the hint of an accusation in her voice. Trixie's eyes widened at the sudden directness as Twilight went on. “Rainbow's just mad at you because you made her look bad in front of all those ponies--”
“That's jealousy!” Trixie retorted. She wasn't quite sure why she said it, perhaps she was just arguing for the sake of arguing...
“No, it's not,” said Twilight, her cheeks flushing a little as she shook her head. “It's her way of telling you that you were being a jerk!”
Trixie gawped, taken aback by the outburst. Twilight Sparkle seemed to be a little shocked herself, though she was forcing herself to maintain the glare she held upon Trixie.
“O-Oh, really?” snapped Trixie after regaining her senses. She felt her own face starting to grow hot too. “Well doesn't that make you a jerk too? After all, you did do exactly the same thing to Trixie!”
“What?!” Twilight snapped. “That's what you think?!”
“Yes, that's what I think!” Trixie almost shouted.
“Breakfast!” sang Spike, coming out of the kitchen with two trays balanced on his claws.
“Not now!” Twilight and Trixie yelled together. He promptly zipped back into the kitchen with a frightened look on his face.
Twilight glared at Trixie with obvious enmity. “Trixie, I only used my magic to protect my friends – I did what I had to! You, on the other hoof, used your magic to sabotage Rainbow Dash and make yourself look better!”
“Y-You still made Trixie look bad!” retorted Trixie desperately, though she knew it was a weak argument.
“No, Trixie – you're the one who did that!” said Twilight, thrusting a hoof towards her. “--When you just stormed out of town like you did! If you'd just stayed to apologise and explain--”
“Apologise?” Trixie interrupted. “I thought you said it wasn't my fault!”
“Not for damaging the town, for hurting my friends' feelings!” Twilight clarified loudly.
That word was slow to settle over the lobby, and the silence that ensued saw Trixie's glare recede a little out of surprise. Surprise, and a little pang of guilt that wrenched at her chest.
“Trixie... hurt them?” said Trixie in a subdued tone.
Twilight's own expression seemed to soften as she took in Trixie's words. After a moment, all that remained of her glower was the frown – coupled with a pair of melancholy eyes.
“Yes,” said Twilight with a vague nod. “And you hurt me too, Trixie.”
“Why do you care so much?” Trixie found herself asking. She'd meant it to come out as an accusation, but quickly found that she just didn't have the energy.
Twilight looked down at the table in thought for a moment before she met Trixie's gaze again. “Because they're my friends,” she said earnestly. “And I love them. Surely you understand that?”
To be honest, Trixie didn't understand. The word 'friend' was one she hadn't really used in a long time. There was only one pony for whom she cared so, and He was hardly a friend. This seemed to be another oddity of Twilight Sparkle's – and that, along with the uncertain undertone in Twilight's voice, told Trixie that there might be something more to this.
“Is that all it is?” Trixie asked suspiciously, making sure to keep her voice at a reasonable level.
Twilight furrowed her brow for a moment in a question that she quickly dismissed. With a nod and a faint smile, Twilight confirmed. “Yes - it is, I promise,” she said, this time with certainty. Trixie frowned at her for a little longer, before deciding that she was content to settle for that answer – for now, at least…
* * *