Eyes On You

by UnlicensedBrony

3 - Breaking The Ice (Twilight)

Twilight Sparkle gave her reflection a goofy smile as she magically drew the brush through her bed-mane. The peaceful Sunday morning silence was pierced only by the snores of a certain baby dragon – still curled up in his basket at the foot of Twilight’s bed. Normally, she would tell him to stop being so lazy and enjoy the day but, after such a good night’s sleep, she was feeling particularly merciful.

Setting down her hairbrush, she turned on the spot and strode out of the room, closing the door softly behind her. Her only thoughts as she took the stairs at her leisure were of what she was going to make herself for breakfast. At least until she came to the open door to Trixie’s bedroom.

Curious, she peeked inside and saw the empty bed with its sheets thrown aside clumsily. There was no sign of Trixie, her cape, or even the plate on which Twilight had brought her dinner the night before. “Trixie?” she called out uncertainly as she stepped into the room. She poked her muzzle underneath the bed for good measure, even though Trixie probably wouldn’t fit under there anyway.

Brow still furrowed in confusion, she left the room and trotted off downstairs. When she at last came out into the lobby, she let out a breath she wasn’t sure why she was holding in the first place. Trixie, clad in her newly-returned cape and with one foreleg still cast-bound to her chest, was perched on a stool beside a table – upon which was an open book.

“Um, what are you doing?” asked Twilight as she hopped down the last few stairs. “How did you even get out of bed?”

Trixie looked up at her with a haughty glare. “For your information, Twilight Sparkle, Trixie still has three good hooves – she isn’t as helpless as you think.”

Twilight rolled her eyes. Trixie obviously hadn’t taken any of their conversation yesterday to heart. “I don’t think you’re helpless, Trixie,” she said impatiently, striding across the room towards the kitchen door. “But I do think you should be resting.”

“Trixie will decide when she needs to rest, thank you,” she said coldly.

Twilight mockingly parodied Trixie in silence whilst making her way into the kitchen. She really wasn’t feeling up to starting an argument that early in the morning. Besides, Trixie was a grown mare and, as Twilight had said yesterday, she had no interest in demeaning her.

With a shake of her head, Twilight turned her attention back to the task at hoof. The kitchen was all in perfect order, except for the plate beside the sink – no doubt left by Trixie. To Twilight’s surprise though, she found it glistening clean – polished to perfection, almost. Eyebrows raised, she put it to one side and grasped a second one from the cupboard before setting about making breakfast.

She hummed a gentle tune as she went through the process, which she’d memorized from a cookery book the day before. Several pancakes were soon sizzling away atop the stove, leaving Twilight with a proud smile on her face. On instinct, she turned around to look back into the lobby, where she saw Trixie watching her. When their eyes met, Trixie quickly looked away, pretending to be reading her book. Twilight frowned for a moment, but soon put it out of her mind and went back to her cooking.

When, after several minutes, she’d managed to make a decent amount of pancakes, she split them onto the two plates and magically carried them into the lobby along with a pair of forks. “I hope you’re hungry,” she said with a smile. Trixie looked up from her book as Twilight set the two plates down on her table. “You don’t mind if I sit with you, do you?”

Trixie’s face said that she minded very much. She opened her mouth as if about to argue but, after a moment, she composed herself and shrugged. Twilight magically pulled over a stool of her own and hopped up onto it as Trixie closed her book and dragged her plate closer.

“Thank you,” Trixie muttered, not meeting Twilight’s eye. “For the food, that is.” Twilight offered her another smile before grasping her fork and digging into her breakfast. “Not that Trixie couldn’t have managed on her own,” she added hastily.

“Of course,” Twilight agreed through a cheek-full of pancake which hid her smirk. She watched and waited patiently as Trixie picked up her fork and hesitated, staring at the pancakes.

“Cinnamon-apple again?” Trixie asked.

Twilight swallowed her mouthful and nodded. “Yeah. Why? Don’t you like them? I can make something else if you--”

“No, that’s fine!” said Trixie quickly, snatching the plate in her magic as Twilight reached for it. Seeing Twilight’s raised eyebrows, she cleared her throat and flicked back her mane before digging in.

Brushing it off as ‘Trixie being Trixie’, Twilight turned back to her own food. “So, do you mind if I ask what you were doing in the Everfree forest?” she asked casually.

“Trixie could ask you the same question,” Trixie replied snappily.

That’s a yes then… thought Twilight with a roll of her eyes. “I was on my way back from visiting my friend Zecora,” she said before taking another bite of pancake.

“Oh.” Trixie paused for a moment in thought. “Well, Trixie was on her way to Ponyville,” she said.

Attention perked, Twilight looked across at her with interest. “Really? How come?”

Trixie looked back down at her food. “Just passing through,” she lied obviously, taking an unnecessarily large bite of her pancake to avoid having to elaborate.

Twilight took the hint and decided to drop the subject – though she had to admit that Trixie’s strange response made her even more curious. She idly chewed her food as she racked her brain for something else to talk about, but nothing sprung to mind. With nothing better to keep her occupied, she found herself staring at Trixie’s cast in thought. Personally, she’d never had a broken limb before – those kinds of injuries were pretty rare. At least, they were outside of the Everfree forest…

“Do you want to talk about anything?” Twilight tried, eager to get her mind off of the unpleasant subject as quickly as possible. “I mean, back in the tent, you looked like you wanted to say something…” She trailed off. Trixie paused mid-mouthful and stared at her plate as if she was considering something. Eventually, she shook her head, drawing a silent sigh from Twilight. “Are--”

A rapping on the front door surprised Twilight. She and Trixie exchanged a quick, questioning glance before Twilight got to her hooves and went to answer it. As she pulled open the door, she was met by a blindingly cheery grin.

“Hi, Twilight!” chirped Pinkie Pie loudly. “Hope I’m not interrupting your breakfast – which it looks like I am – but I just had to come over and give you these this morning!” She extended a hoof, upon which laid a pair of paper slips.

Twilight took them in her magic and held them up with a furrowed brow. “Pinkie, you invited me to your party last week, remember?” she said with a questioning smile at her friend.

Pinkie giggled. “Look closer, silly!”

Frowning, Twilight did as she was asked. “…Surprise,” she read slowly. “You are invited to Pinkie Pie’s ‘Welcome to Ponyville Trixi--’” She broke off and raised her eyebrows in realisation. “Uh, Pinkie Pie, I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”

“Why not?” said Pinkie with a cheerful sort of half-frown. “Don’t you remember how much you loved your ‘welcome to Ponyville’ party?”

“Um, yes, that’s kind of my point--”

“Ohmygosh!” Pinkie exclaimed, looking past Twilight with wide eyes and slack jaw. “The Great and Powerful Trixie!” In a flash of pink, she shot past, grabbing back one of the invitations as she went.

Twilight gawped as she turned to see Pinkie leaning over Trixie’s table with a massive grin on her face. Trixie, on the other hoof, was leant back on her stool and regarding Pinkie as if she were a crazy pony. Twilight remembered the feeling with a sigh.

“Hi, Trixie! I’m Pinkie Pie! Do you remember me, huh? I was at your show last time you were in Ponyville – in the front row! Remember? With the magic and the fireworks and the big, scary Ursa stomping through town and-- Oh, pancakes!”

Twilight’s hoof met her face as Pinkie helped herself to her lovingly-crafted breakfast. Twilight strode up to the table and gestured towards Pinkie. “Trixie, this is my friend Pinkie Pie,” she explained tiredly. “She’s not big on subtlety…”

“Trixie can see that,” muttered Trixie, wide-eyed as she watched Pinkie devour Twilight’s pancakes, two at a time. After a few more seconds, Pinkie thrust the plate at Twilight.

“Want one?” she offered generously with a smile. Twilight shook her head, after which Pinkie wasted no time in swallowing the last pancake. Then she turned to Trixie again. “Oh, I almost forgot!” She hoofed over the party invite with an expectant smile.

Trixie took the slip of paper in her magic and scanned it cautiously. “…A party?” she said finally, looking up at Pinkie with a furrowed brow.

“Oh, say you’ll come – please!” Pinkie begged, putting her hooves together pleadingly. “I promise it’ll be super fun, and I’ve always wanted to throw a party for somepony like you! But of course I couldn’t – because there is nopony like you, except you!”

Trixie looked a little surprised at first, then she flicked back her mane with a smirk. “Well, Trixie can’t argue with that,” she said proudly, prompting another eye roll from Twilight.

Pinkie gasped. “So you’ll come?”

Trixie nodded. “Alright, my pink admirer – Trixie will come to your party. But it had better be--”

“Woohoo!” yelled Pinkie, so loudly that both Twilight and Trixie cringed in surprise. “Thanks, Trixie. I’m going straight to the soap stall! See you tonight!”

“Soap?” Trixie repeated quizzically, but Pinkie had already bid a hasty farewell to Twilight and dashed out through the door. She turned to Twilight and furrowed her brow. “What did Trixie just agree to?”

“You don’t want to know,” said Twilight with a sigh. She lifted her now-empty plate with her magic and set off towards the kitchen. “I’ll go make myself some more breakfast.”

She had just reached the door when Trixie called after her. “Twilight Sparkle?” she began. Twilight turned to her with eyebrows raised expectantly. “How do you have a kitchen in your library?”

Twilight stared for a moment, then offered a sheepish grin.

As the day went on, Twilight took to reading her own book across from Trixie – something she quickly found herself absorbed in, as always. Twilight tried a few times to start a conversation, but it was obvious that Trixie wasn’t interested in talking. That said, she didn’t seem that engrossed in her book either, because Twilight kept catching her looking across the table at her, only to look away again when she offered a smile in response.

The Sun was already low in the sky when Twilight and Trixie left for the party that evening. Twilight closed the door behind her and turned to Trixie with a frown. “Trixie, I know you can take care of yourself, but do you really want to limp all the way to the party?”

Trixie, who had been magically adjusting the clasp on her cape, met Twilight’s eye with a dangerous look. “If you think that Trixie is going to let you carry her, you’re going to be disappointed.”

“Well, you could at least lean on me to help you balance,” Twilight tried. She offered a smile that she hoped was reassuring. “I promise that no-one will think you’re any less ‘Great and Powerful’ for--”

“Don’t bother, Twilight Sparkle,” said Trixie with a haughty flick of her mane. “Trixie knows what you’re trying to do, and it won’t work.” With that, she started steadily down the street without a backwards look.

Twilight shook her head and trotted up alongside her. “Um, Sugarcube Corner is the other way,” she said. Trixie stopped with a deadpan expression on her face, then limped around in a circle and headed off in the other direction, Twilight at her side. “And what is it that I’m ‘trying to do’?” Twilight asked with her brow furrowed.

“As if you don’t know,” said Trixie in an accusing tone. “You’re trying to make yourself look better at Trixie’s expense.”

“T-That’s ridiculous!” said Twilight loudly, feeling her face grow hot. “I just want to help! How many times do I have to say it?” She tried to meet Trixie’s eyes, but she had her head turned to the other side, deliberately avoiding her. “Are you really that mad about the Ursa Minor thing?” she asked hotly. She regretted it almost as soon as the words had left her mouth – it was petty and mean, even if she really did want to know the answer.

Trixie shot her a scowl. “You think this is about that?” she snapped. “You think too highly of yourself, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight scoffed. “Look who’s talking!”

With a scoff of her own, Trixie shook her head and faced forwards again. Twilight’s triumphant smirk lasted only a few seconds before she started feeling a little guilty. The silence dragged on until Sugarcube Corner appeared around the next corner, at the sight of which Twilight gave a huff. “Sorry,” she grumbled, half-hoping that Trixie wouldn’t hear her.

“Would you stop that?” said Trixie suddenly. Twilight turned to regard the side of her head with furrowed brow.

“Stop what?” she asked.

“Apologising,” Trixie clarified, still not meeting her eye. “After all you’ve done for Trixie, it--” She broke off and huffed. “Just don’t.”

Surprised by the sudden tangent, Twilight found herself slowing down a little, letting Trixie pull ahead. Had Trixie just thanked her? Even if it had been a rather hostile way of saying it, it made her feel strangely warm. She shook her head and caught up quickly, managing to keep her smile to a mere whisper.

The two of them came to a stop in front of the door. As Twilight lifted a hoof to knock, she gave Trixie a sidelong look. “You might want to brace yourself,” she warned. Trixie furrowed her brow as Twilight rapped on the door, but she didn’t have time to ask a question before it burst open, covering them both in a wave of confetti.

“Surprise!” yelled Pinkie Pie, rearing up on her hind legs and flinging out her hooves in welcome. “Well, sort of… I mean it’s not really a surprise party since I gave you an invitation but I bet you were still surprised when I jumped out like that and said ‘Surprise!’, weren’t ya?”

“Hmph, nothing surprises the Great and Powerful Trixie,” lied Trixie confidently – despite having jumped back in fright at Pinkie’s appearance.

“Ooo, that sounds like a challenge!” said Pinkie, leaning in to beam at Trixie jovially. A moment later, she bounced aside and gestured into the bakery with her hoof. “Come on in – enjoy the party!”

Twilight caught a sidelong glance from Trixie. She offered a smile in response, then politely gestured for Trixie to go first. With another flick of the mane, Trixie limped over the threshold and into the brightly lit bakery. Following her, Twilight threw a quick smile to Pinkie before turning to see how overboard she had gone this time.

Surprisingly, it wasn’t that bad. Only about two dozen ponies were milling about the room – either dancing, chatting or helping themselves to the cake and punch atop the confection tables scattered around. Twilight wondered whether Pinkie had finally figured out that inviting the whole town to a party in such a small space was a bad idea. Twilight did a double take as she saw Rarity waving her over from across the room, a welcoming smile on her face.

Naturally, she returned the smile and started towards her friend, but she stopped after a few steps. Casting a look back, she saw that Trixie was caught amidst a small group of ponies, all of whom were bombarding her with welcomes and introductions as she stood, dumbstruck. With a smirk on her face, Twilight decided to leave her to it.

“Good evening, Twilight,” said Rarity daintily as Twilight approached the table at which she and Applejack were standing.

“Hi, girls,” greeted Twilight, smiling at each of them before moving to pour herself a glass of punch from the bowl on the table.

“Gosh, Twi’ – I ain’t never seen ya touch that stuff since, uh…”

“The hot sauce incident?” Twilight offered helpfully. Applejack nodded, and Twilight huffed in response. “I guess it’s just been one of those days.” She lifted the glass and took a sip, half-expecting her mouth to explode from the strength of the flavour, and half not caring whether it did. To her indifferent surprise, it was just normal punch.

“Whatever do you mean by ‘just one of those days’, darling?” asked Rarity, cocking her head a little.

“Oh, it’s just been a little weird, with Trixie, you know…” said Twilight vaguely as she took another sip of her drink.

“I reckon we don’t,” said Applejack matter-of-factly, ladling herself a glass of punch as well. “We ain’t seen hide nor hair of you since Friday. Hay, we wouldn’t even know Trixie was stayin’ with ya if Pinkie Pie hadn’t told us.”

“Really?” wondered Twilight aloud, thinking back over the weekend. Now that she thought about it, she hadn’t seen any of her friends other than Pinkie over the weekend. “Oh,” she grunted. “Well, sorry about that. I guess I’ve been kind of busy.”

Applejack waved a hoof dismissively. “It ain’t nothin’, Sugarcube. Now what were you sayin’ ‘bout things bein’ weird?”

Twilight glanced between her and Rarity, both of whom were now watching her with expectant looks. After a moment under their gaze, she sighed and set her glass down on the table. “Fine. It’s just that Trixie’s been a little… difficult,” she said lamely.

Rarity and Applejack exchanged a quizzical glance. “Define ‘difficult’, darling,” said Rarity with a faint smile.

“Narcissistic, unappreciative, argumentative--” Twilight listed.

“Uh, define ‘difficult’ in regular speak, Twilight,” said Applejack, frowning.

Twilight sighed. “It’s like she's convinced herself that I’m in this for some kind of personal gain,” she said, with a hint of exasperation slipping through in her voice. “She’s so proud that she pushes me away whenever I offer to help, she avoids my questions and loses her temper and…” She paused, thinking back to the conversation she’d had with Trixie just before arriving at the party. “And then she suddenly turns around and acts like a completely different pony. It’s frustrating!”

“Sounds to me like you’re sweet on her,” said Applejack with a huge smirk, before taking a sip of her punch.

Twilight gawped. “A-Applejack!” she moaned, feeling a little flustered all of a sudden.

“Now Applejack, really – you should know better than to tease Twilight,” said Rarity, though she was doing a poor job of hiding her own smile.

Applejack gave a quiet chuckle. “Sorry, Twi’. But speakin’ honestly, I reckon Trixie’s just feelin’ a little down after getting her leg hurt an’ all. She’ll warm up to y’all eventually.”

Twilight scoffed. She’d said the same thing to Spike just two days before, but she was already starting to think that she might have been wrong.

“Quite,” said Rarity with a smile. “And I’m sure that Twilight-- Oh!”

She cut herself off and peered around Twilight, towards the entrance. Turning, Twilight saw Fluttershy trotting across the room towards them, her charming smile half-hidden by her mane. Behind her trotted a rather grumpy-looking Rainbow Dash, who was glancing around as if looking for somepony.

“Ya made it!” said Applejack, offering a smile in greeting.

“Hi, Fluttershy,” said Twilight. “What’s wrong with Rainbow?”

Fluttershy shot a glance behind her, then smiled sheepishly at Twilight. “Oh, she didn’t want to come – because of--”

“Trixie,” Rainbow broke in, flapping her wings as she hopped up to the table and viciously ladled herself a glass of punch. “I mean, why are we throwing a party for that… that…”

“Showpony?” said Pinkie helpfully, appearing beside Rainbow Dash with her typical, cheesy grin. Rainbow scoffed and took a sip of her drink in silence.

“Aw, come on, RD,” said Applejack, a smirk creeping onto her face. “You ain’t still sore about Trixie showin’ you up, are ya?”

“She didn’t show me up!” snapped Rainbow loudly. “She cheated and used her magic to make me look stupid!”

Applejack shrugged. “Same difference.”

“There’s a big difference!” said Rainbow, shooting her an irritated glare. “How would you like it if--”

“Trixie!” said Applejack loudly, looking over Rainbow’s shoulder. “We were just talkin’ ‘bout you!”

All eyes followed Applejack’s to the mare approaching their table. Trixie flicked her mane back with a smirk as she got closer. “Yes, Trixie gets that a lot,” she said proudly.

Rainbow snickered into her glass. “I’ll bet,” she muttered. She went silent when Rarity shot her a dangerous look.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Ahem, Trixie, these are my friends,” she said, waving her hoof around at all of them. “You’ve met Pinkie Pie--”

“Hi!” chirped Pinkie with a playful wave.

“And this is Applejack--”

Applejack tipped her hat. “Howdy.”

“Rarity--”

“Charmed,” said Rarity, flashing a polite smile.

“Fluttershy--”

Fluttershy flinched as Twilight spoke her name. “Um, hello…” she managed quietly, retreating further behind her mane.

“And Rainbow Dash.”

“…”

An awkward sort of silence descended over the table as everyone waited for Rainbow’s greeting. Twilight, quickly realising that it wasn’t coming, cleared her throat and turned to Trixie with a smile. “And everypony, you remember Trixie.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Trixie corrected her.

“Pfft, more like the Great and Powerful Loudmouth,” muttered Rainbow audibly.

“Rainbow Dash!” hissed Rarity in a scolding tone.

“Well, she is!” Rainbow argued hotly.

“If you have something to say to Trixie, then spit it out,” said Trixie, glaring at Rainbow. “Unless you’re afraid, of course,” she added with a smirk.

Rainbow’s eyes narrowed at that. “Yeah, I’ve got somethin’ to say,” she said fiercely, her wings unfurling as she turned to look Trixie in the eye. “You’ve got a lot of nerve coming back here after what you pulled.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “And what exactly did Trixie ‘pull’?”

“You know what!” said Rainbow loudly, throwing out a hoof in frustration. “You’re the reason that half of Ponyville was trampled a few weeks back! If you hadn’t come to town, then that Ursa never would’ve showed up!”

“That wasn’t her fault!”

Another silence fell over the table, though this time it was more stunned than awkward. All eyes were on Twilight, but it still took a moment for her to figure out what had happened.

‘Ohmygosh, did I say that out loud?’