“Eyes On You”
Chapter eight: Jealousy
Trixie pretended not to notice Twilight’s excitement as the two of them finished up their pancakes – that way, she didn’t have to admit that her smile was for more than just the sweet breakfast…
‘Friend… Twilight Sparkle is Trixie’s friend… my friend…’
No matter which way she looked at it, the whole idea was ridiculous – how this could possibly have happened, she didn’t know. What she did know was that she liked it. Hearing Twilight Sparkle call her ‘friend’ gave her a sort of warm, bubbly feeling in her chest and made her want to laugh, but not because it was funny… it was hard to explain…
Twilight Sparkle rose from her seat so suddenly that Trixie almost choked on her food. “G-Going somewhere?” she choked.
“Just over here,” said Twilight, trotting over to the nearest bookcase. “I just remembered a book in here that might help us.”
Trixie cocked her head. “Help us?”
Waving a hoof dismissively, the purple unicorn started to levitate books down from the higher shelves. “You know, to walk. Together,” she said as she looked over their covers. Trixie rolled her eyes and turned back to her food.
“Trixie doesn’t think we’ll need any ‘help’, Twilight Sparkle.”
“I know,” said Twilight. “But it can’t hurt to be thorough, right?”
Trixie shrugged – it didn’t really matter to her. When she remembered that Twilight was looking in the opposite direction, she added a succinct “No.”
“Glad you agree,” Twilight chirped. “Now, where is that book… Ah, Spike!” She spun around to smile at the baby dragon who had just emerged from the top of the stairwell. “Have you seen our copy of ‘Dancing, a filly’s guide’?”
Trixie’s eyebrows shot up and she threw a questioning look at Twilight, but the bookish mare still wasn’t looking at her. For his part, the half-asleep Spike suddenly stood to attention, looking thoroughly busted. “I, uh… I think Rainbow Dash checked it out last week…” he said, scratching at his neck.
Twilight gave him a deadpan look. “…Rainbow Dash…”
“Yeah!”
“…Checked out a textbook?”
“Um, yes?”
“…On dancing?”
Spike went silent, managing only a nod and an utterly emotionless expression. Twilight’s lips crept up into a smirk. “Did you take it?”
The whelp stared at her, unblinking as his cheeks started to change colour. “…I don’t know.”
Twilight brought a hoof up to her mouth and giggled quietly behind it, and Trixie couldn’t help but smirk along with her. “A-Alright, Spike, never mind – we’ll look for it later,” said Twilight. “For now, I have a mission for you.”
At the word ‘mission’, Spike’s demeanour completely changed. He was standing beside Twilight in a flash, saluting dutifully. “At your service!”
“I’d like you to go find Rainbow Dash and tell her that I’ll be a little late today, so I’d appreciate it if we could meet up at the schoolhouse rather than the diner,” Twilight recited. “After that, please go to the Carousel Boutique and see if Rarity needs any help with her work.”
“Understood!” said Spike, struggling to look businesslike despite the grin forming on his face. “Anything else?”
“If you finish all of that, you’re free to use your initiative. Oh, but don’t come back to the library before lunch,” Twilight added hurriedly.
Spike tilted his head. “Uh, why not?”
“Because…” Twilight exchanged a look with Trixie, before leaning in closer to Spike. “Because Trixie and I are going to be doing girl stuff.”
“…G-Girl stuff?” Spike repeated, backing off a little and casting a worried glance at Trixie – who, catching on, quickly smiled and nodded to confirm his fears.
Twilight gave her an approving smile before turning back to Spike. “Yeah, you know – Braiding our hair, styling our tails--”
“I’m gone!” squealed Spike, shooting from the room like a bullet. As the front door slammed shut behind him, Twilight chuckled and shook her head.
“That should keep him busy for a while,” she said.
Trixie nodded and smirked. “Well played, Sparkle… What was that about meeting at the schoolhouse?”
Returning to her seat across from Trixie, the purple unicorn gave another dismissive hoof wave. “Oh, Fridays are visiting days. Rainbow Dash and I go down to the schoolhouse to give lectures--” She broke off and smiled at the ceiling. “Well, I give lectures… Rainbow mostly just handles the entertainment side of things.”
“…Why?” said Trixie, creasing her brow.
Twilight shrugged. “Because it’s fun! And the teacher – Cheerilee – thinks we’ll be a good influence on the children, seeing as we’re the Elements of Harmony and all.”
Satisfied, Trixie grunted and turned back to her plate – only to find that it was empty…
Twilight peered over. “Oh, you’re finished?” she sang, the excitement returning to her voice. “Great, then shall we get started?”
“Eager, much?” Trixie teased, rising to her hooves. She glanced around the room, just to make sure it was clear, before nodding. “Trixie supposes this is as good a time as any.”
Practically bouncing with every step, Twilight trotted up to her side. “Okay! Hoof, please!”
Trixie raised an eyebrow, but smirked all the same as she steadily lifted her good hoof and let Twilight slide underneath. Trixie grunted as she shifted her weight onto Twilight. It was an awkward position, to say the least, and Trixie wasn’t even sure that ponies were meant to bend that way in the first place. Nonetheless, the two of them managed to find a balance after a moment, and they exchanged a sidelong smile.
Trixie creased her brow as a thought crossed her mind. “Twilight Sparkle… what did you want a dancing textbook for?”
Twilight shook her head, almost head-butting Trixie as she did. “It doesn’t matter, I just thought it might help…”
Trixie stared at her.
“…You know, since this is kind of like dancing?” Twilight continued.
“What?” said Trixie, drawing back. “N-No it isn’t!”
“Sure it is! We have to co-ordinate and share balance… one of us leads and the other follows…”
Trixie felt her face starting to heat up. “B-But it’s not dancing… right?”
“…No?” Twilight guessed, giving Trixie a funny look. “Did you want it to be?”
“No!” Trixie snapped, her cheeks flushing obviously now.
“…Are you sure?”
“Yes! Let’s just go now, alright?”
Trixie forced her eyes away and focused them on the opposite wall. She felt Twilight staring at the side of her head – probably wondering why Trixie was suddenly acting so strangely. To be honest, it was a little silly. But even so…
“Okay then…” said Twilight, her voice refocusing Trixie on the task at hoof. “Why don’t we try moving over to that bookshelf?” She nodded straight ahead.
Trixie blinked. “Y-Yes. Let’s do that.”
An awkward silence fell over the room. Twilight and Trixie stood motionless beside the breakfast table. After what felt like minutes, Twilight finally cleared her throat. “It’s alright, you lead.”
“Trixie was planning to!” said Trixie defensively. “Just… hold on a moment.”
Twilight gave her a ‘reassuring’ smile. “Don’t be afraid to lean on me, Trixie – I won’t fall down.”
Trixie snarled at her. “Alright, we’re going!”
Leaning forwards as gently as if they were dancing – which they weren’t – Trixie started towards the bookshelf. She’d half been expecting Twilight to stumble and send them both falling to the ground, but the bookish unicorn reacted almost immediately. She moved with Trixie, keeping the pressure off so that the showmare could walk on her bad hoof without too much trouble.
It wasn’t exactly a pleasant walk – every step still gave her a twinge of pain through her leg – but this time it was only the tiniest prickle. She had to admit that it was a lot easier this way than trying to walk on her own, as she had done the night before. And more comfortable too – having the chill wind replaced by a gentle, fluffy warm thing at her side was a definite improvement...
Shaking herself, Trixie tried to refocus. With Twilight’s help, she was making steady progress across the room – it was maybe a minute or two before they reached their target. As they came to a halt, Twilight pulled back just enough to look Trixie in the eye.
“Doing okay?” she asked.
“Y-Yes, Trixie is fine…” The warm smile with which Twilight regarded her made the blush on Trixie's cheeks feel that much more obvious. “…That way next!” she said hurriedly, picking a direction at random and tugging on Twilight.
As they started moving again, Twilight creased her brow. “You don’t want a rest?”
Trixie shook her head emphatically. “No.”
“Okay,” said Twilight, turning to smile forwards again. “If you do, just say so. I don’t mind.”
“How can you be so relaxed, Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie found herself asking, a hint of annoyance creeping into her voice.
Twilight chuckled a little. “That’s simple – I like dancing.”
All at once, Trixie stomped the ground, yelped and fell forwards, pulling Twilight with her. Fumbling hooves flew all over the place and, the next thing Trixie knew, she was collapsed atop Twilight, who was, herself, sprawled out on the library floor.
Gaping down at the dazed purple unicorn, Trixie worried that she might have given her a concussion. A moment later though, Twilight blinked up at her, then snickered, before finally breaking down into a giggle fit. Either Trixie had given her a concussion, or Twilight was in for an earful of scolding...
Trixie beat her good hoof against Twilight's chest. “You said you wouldn't fall over!” she yelled, though her voice came out a little shakily. Twilight giggled harder, trying in vain to grasp at her sides.
Trixie's face felt as if it was glowing red, and all she could manage was to gaze down at Twilight in exasperation. And then she felt a bubbling in her chest. Her body started to rattle. She bit her lip, but it did no good...
A tidal wave of giggles welled up inside her and overflowed, leaving the two unicorns paralysed with laughter on the lobby floor. Trixie had no idea what she was doing, she only knew that she couldn't stop whilst Twilight's mirth was infecting her – utterly irresistible.
For the longest time, they just laid there – laughing – and when it finally started to die down, Trixie had to wipe her eyes on her foreleg to dry the tears. She put a hoof beside Twilight's head and pushed herself up so that she could look her attacker in the eye with a beaming smile.
Twilight smiled back more honestly than Trixie had ever seen. When Twilight opened her mouth to speak, an alarm went off in Trixie's head. For once though, the sudden urge to make a quip or jibe was strangely easy to resist. She ignored it, eager to see whether Twilight would do the same.
She did. After barely a few seconds, Twilight closed her mouth, in favour simply staring up at Trixie.
“Nothing to say?” Trixie asked smugly. “Aren't you going to ask whether Trixie is 'okay'?”
Twilight paused – probably for dramatic effect – before shifting beneath Trixie. “I don't think I need to,” she chirped.
The answer brought a bright smile to Trixie’s face. Revelling in the cuddly warmth against her middle, Trixie felt more comfortable than she had in a long time…
Crash!
The sound snapped both of them back to reality. Trixie jumped to her hooves and stepped aside so that Twilight could do the same. “What in the hoof was that?!” said the purple unicorn, dashing over to the window.
Trixie followed her as quickly as she was able and peered out. It took her a moment to figure out that the mass of yellow colouring the street was actually hay – which had apparently come from the wagon in the middle of the trail. Said wagon looked as if it had been torn apart by some kind of explosion, and the stallion who had presumably been pulling it was scratching his head in utter puzzlement.
Pushing open the window, Twilight called out to him. “Are you alright, sir?”
He looked over at her and frowned in thought for a moment. “I think so… Don’t rightly know what happened but I reckon I’m still in one piece…”
“Thank goodness. Would you like a hoof with your wagon or--”
“No, thank ya kindly, miss. This here’s my mess – I’ll be the one to clean it up.”
Twilight smiled and nodded politely before pulling back inside. For her part, Trixie had found something interesting in the sky. When she squinted, she could just about make out a quickly fading rainbow-trail, leading off into the distance…
“Trixie, are you coming?” asked Twilight.
Shaking her head, Trixie stepped back and closed the window before turning to Twilight. “Trixie thought she saw something…”
“Really?” Twilight cocked her head and made to take another look out of the window. “What was it?”
Trixie opened her mouth to say, but her tongue held itself. Twilight didn’t need to know – it probably wasn’t even important anyway. Although, there was only one aptly-named pony she knew that could’ve made such a trail…
“…It’s nothing,” she decided finally. “Let’s just get back to what we were doing.”
* * *
In the company of Twilight Sparkle, the next few hours passed quickly for Trixie. They managed several circuits of the lobby without any more interruptions or tumbles, and they were starting to make progress on the therapy front. At least, that's what Twilight kept insisting...
When the time came for Twilight to take her leave and join her other friend at the schoolhouse, she asked that Trixie come along. Despite her reservations towards Rainbow Dash, Trixie found herself agreeing, if only to see what was so 'fun' about lecturing a class full of children.
The two of them strode down the trail, staying close but not touching, and eventually drew near to the school building. A certain rainbow-maned pegasus was waiting for them, hovering just outside the door. She did not look happy. Her fetlocks were folded across her chest and she was holding her glare firmly on Trixie all the way up the path.
“Rainbow! Sorry I'm late!” Twilight chirped, trotting forward and smiling up at her.
Rainbow turned her glare on Twilight. “What is she doing here?” she spat, throwing a hoof towards Trixie. “Since when do we bring tag-alongs?”
Trixie rolled her eyes. “If that was supposed to be an insult, then you'd better try harder. Besides, Trixie isn't a ‘tag-along’, she's Twilight’s 'friend'.”
“Yeah?” grunted Rainbow, meeting her eyes again. “Decided that this morning, did ya?”
“Yes, actually!” said Trixie, turning her nose up.
“Rainbow...” whispered Twilight unsubtly. “Didn't we talk about--”
Rainbow interrupted her with a hoof wave. “Yeah, yeah, I didn't forget. But--”
The door to the schoolhouse swung open a little, revealing the questioning face of a purple-ish earth pony mare. When she saw the three of them, she smiled welcomingly. “Oh, Twilight! Rainbow Dash! I wasn't expecting you for another few minutes! Are you feeling alright, Twilight?”
“I'm just fine,” said Twilight, creasing her brow and smiling awkwardly. “Why do ponies always get surprised when I'm not exactly on time?” The earth pony exchanged a look with Rainbow Dash, but they both stayed silent. “Oh! Where are my manners?” Twilight continued. “Cheerilee, this is Tr-- I mean, the Great and Powerful Trixie. And Trixie, this is Cheerilee – she teaches here at the school.”
“Oh my! The mare from the story?” said Cheerilee, excitement obvious on her face.
Trixie gave her a questioning look. “...Story?”
“The very same,” chirped Twilight. “Do you mind if she joins us for visiting today?”
Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Was that an open question?”
Twilight gave a nervous sort of laugh as Cheerilee glanced between the two of them. “Ahaha... Would you excuse us for a moment?” Without waiting for an answer, she trotted around the corner of the schoolhouse. Though obviously reluctant, Rainbow followed her, leaving Trixie alone with Cheerilee in awkward silence.
“...What story?” said Trixie finally.
Cheerilee cocked her head to one side in curiosity. “Oh? I thought Twilight would have told you...” Trixie shook her head. Blinking off her surprise, the teacher pony adopted her smile again. “Well, last week, Twilight and Rainbow Dash – mostly Rainbow Dash – told the story of how Twilight came to your rescue in the Everfree forest.”
Trixie cringed. “Rescue?” she repeated through gritted teeth.
“I'm sure that the children would love to ask you some questions about it,” Cheerilee went on, completely ignoring her. “In fact, I've already had a few of them come up and ask me if you were alright – they're a very sweet group, really.”
Trixie glanced towards the corner around which Twilight and Rainbow had disappeared. She could almost make out what they were saying... “That's... nice,” she said vaguely, trying to focus on Twilight's voice.
“Would you like to come in and meet them?” Cheerilee offered. “If you'll just give me a moment, I'll go and get them ready for your visit.”
“Uh huh,” grunted Trixie.
Once Cheerilee had disappeared through the door, the pair of bickering voices became a lot clearer. Trixie took a few cautious steps closer and pressed herself up against the wall, listening in.
“--I don't understand! I thought you said we were okay, that you were going to take it easy on her!”
“We are! And I am! Or, I was... Until this morning anyway...”
“What do you mean? What changed this morning?”
“Pfft! Don't act so innocent, Twi' – you think I don't know what's goin' on?”
“I... I have no idea what you're talking about--”
“Girl stuff? Really? That was some kind of girl stuff, Twilight.”
“What? ...Did you talk to Spike?”
“Yeah, then I came over to your place to see what the deal was and what did I find? You two dancing around the library like a pair of fillies!”
Trixie's face began to grow warm again at the very mention of dancing, but she quickly shook it off and leant in to listen more closely.
“It wasn't like that, Rainbow! I wouldn't abandon you so that I could play with Trixie!”
“Uh huh. Well that's sure how it looked to me. And how about this – I rub my eyes to check that I'm not seeing things, and next thing I know, you're on the floor, laughing your flanks off. Go on, explain how that's not playing.”
“Rainbow, please! What's gotten into you?”
“I... nothing! ...Alright, fine then – what were you doing?”
“I-I... Oh, well, we... um...”
Trixie bit her lip as Twilight continued to stammer and Rainbow simply waited in silence. Unable to contain her curiosity, Trixie took another step forward and peered around the corner. Rainbow Dash was hovering in midair, glaring daggers at poor Twilight, whose ears were flattened and eyes near-tearful.
“Please, tell me,” Rainbow spat, throwing a hoof out in exasperation. “Unless it's something you'd rather keep between you and Trixie.”
“I... I can't,” said Twilight, shaking her head. She looked up at Rainbow pleadingly. “She trusted me, I can't tell you what we were doing. I'm sorry...”
Rainbow rolled her eyes cruelly. “Yeah, I figured as much...” She started to fly away, then turned right back around and flew up to Twilight. “You know what? I trusted you, Twi'. I hope whatever you were doing was a big deal, 'cause--”
“She was helping me!”
Before she knew what she was doing, Trixie was around the corner and glaring down Rainbow Dash, who retreated in surprise.
“She... what?” said the pegasus, regaining her balance and returning Trixie's glower.
Trixie demonstrated her bad hoof by rolling it out. “My leg is hurt! I need to walk on it normally or else it won't heal properly. But I can't do that on my own – Twilight was helping me so that it didn't hurt so much when I tried to walk, you stupid pegasus!”
The anger in Rainbow's eyes melted away, until all that was left was a stunned, blank stare. Her jaw loose, she slowly floated down to the ground and landed on her haunches. Trixie's face was searing hot, and she didn't soften her glare for a second.
“O-Oh...” croaked Rainbow, her gaze falling to the ground. She turned to look over at Twilight for confirmation. The purple unicorn just stared solemnly back at her…
Ever so slowly, Rainbow leaned forwards, spread her hooves out in front of her and finally buried her face in them. “...Ponyfeathers...”
With Rainbow unquestionably 'out-of-it', Trixie took a soothing breath and turned to check on Twilight. Her face said that she had no idea what to think. To be honest, Trixie couldn't blame her – first Rainbow's outburst, then Trixie's own... the poor mare probably needed to lie down with some chocolate to clear her head...
Putting one hoof after the other, Twilight staggered across the war-torn playground towards Trixie, though it was as if she was looking past her, rather than at her. As she drew near, Trixie felt like she should say something to break the silence, but no words availed her. Finally coming to a stop in front of her, Twilight leaned in, completely wordless, put her head beside Trixie's and planted a warm kiss on her cheek.
Mesmerized, Trixie managed only a blank stare as Twilight pulled back and turned next towards Rainbow Dash, still not meeting her eyes. The bookish unicorn shambled up behind the defeated pegasus, fell to her knees and put her fetlocks around Rainbow's neck. It was possibly the most awkward-looking hug that Trixie had ever seen, but neither of them made any attempt to move out of it.
Silence...
Trixie carefully lifted her bad hoof to touch the spot where Twilight had kissed her. Such a simple, random gesture... and somehow it said so much...
'I know how hard that was for you...'
'You were very brave to admit that you needed help...'
'...Thank you.'
Lips curling up into a smile, Trixie watched in silence as Twilight embraced Rainbow. Obviously, Twilight thought that she deserved a random gesture too. Maybe she did... Or maybe Twilight was just especially 'kind'.
A noise drew Trixie's attention to a window that she hadn't noticed, built in to the side of the schoolhouse. It was packed with young colts and fillies, pressed up against the glass and watching. Cheerilee's face could be seen over their heads – she was biting her lip and looking at Trixie for help.
Drawing on her talents as a showmare, Trixie cleared her throat, flicked back her mane and turned to frown at the children. “Well?” she said. “Where is our applause? Surely you don't expect Trixie to put on a unique, improvised performance for you all, without receiving at least an applause in return?” She threw a meaningful glance at Cheerilee, who caught on quickly.
“Y-Yes! Of course! Come on, class – an applause for the Great and Powerful Trixie and her, er... performance!”
“Aw, they were just acting?” groaned a filly with a tiara in her mane. “Boring.” Despite her complaints, she joined in on the applause – although a little less enthusiastically than the others.
Even if it was muffled by the glass and coming from a very small group in the first place, Trixie couldn't help but smirk proudly as the applause reached her ears. Turning to Twilight, she found – to her surprise – that the purple unicorn was looking right back at her with a wide smile on her face, even as she continued to hold Rainbow Dash close to her chest…
…There was definitely something special about that mare.
* * *