Eyes On You

by UnlicensedBrony

19 - Complications, Part Two (Twilight)

Twilight was pleasantly surprised to see that the whole place was well-lit by the hundreds of bright candles adorning the great, circular walls that surrounded them. The mechanism driving the lift brought it close to the wall and guided it down in a spiral around the edge of the gargantuan chamber, towards the distant floor below.

It was a slow, steady ride, and Twilight didn't really care to look over the edge, knowing how high up they still were. So, besides staring blankly ahead, she found little to occupy herself other than the stallion standing next to her...

She glanced over at him. He looked attentively back. There was a pregnant pause.

“...You tripped on purpose, didn't you?” said Twilight.

Flaire was silent for a long moment, as if giving her a chance to think about it. When the moment passed, his lips curled into a wise smile. “If I did, it was only because you deserved the victory,” he said quietly.

Twilight's ears drooped a little. “Oh...”

“Don't delude yourself into thinking I let you win,” Flaire continued. “From the moment I fell off of that ramp, you were the clear victor. I don't know whether I would've fallen or not, but it wouldn't have mattered anyway, with all the time I lost. If you hadn't stopped to help me up...”

“Yeah, I guess,” muttered Twilight, though her frown didn't leave her.

“Speaking of which, I wanted to tell you how grateful I am that you did stop,” Flaire continued. “Losing like that would've been terribly embarrassing. Thanks to you, I got a chance to finish gracefully, at least.”

Twilight shook her head dismissively, but she couldn't stop a tiny smile. “You're welcome. But really, I couldn't just leave you there. I'd feel terrible if I did.”

“Not everypony can boast that,” said Flaire. He grunted and smirked in thought for a moment. “Hmm, I wonder if Trixie would've done the same in your place.”

“I doubt it,” said Twilight brightly. “But I'm not Trixie.”

Flaire nodded, still smirking to himself. “No, you're not...”

Another expectant silence fell between them, as if the mention of Trixie's name was doomed to prompt some kind of question from Twilight. She was reminded of the talk they'd had the other day, when the showmare had told the story of her past with Flaire. She was also reminded of the feeling that Trixie was holding something back from her – hiding some piece of the puzzle.

It probably wasn't important, if it was even anything at all, but curiosity got the best of the lavender unicorn in that moment. She turned to regard the stallion with questioning eyes.

“Flaire,” she said. “What happened between you and Trixie? To make her, you know...”

“Hate me?” Flaire finished for her. “Your guess is as good as mine. We didn't part on the best of terms, but it was nothing like this.” He let out a deliberately loud breath. “It has been years though, and I suppose time has a habit of warping the way we view our memories, for better or worse.”

Twilight nodded slowly. “For the worse, in Trixie's case. I think I know the feeling.”

Flaire raised an eyebrow. “Really? Well, she seems to have warmed up to you, at least. Mind letting me in on your secret?”

“There's no secret,” said Twilight, shaking her head. “It was really just a matter of time, I guess. We just-- I don't know... It just happened, as we spent more time together. Not that she made it easy for me.”

A gentle laugh escaped Flaire. “Yes, I can believe that. She's always been very strong-willed...”

Twilight smiled and nodded as some of the memories started to come back to her. The 'talk' she'd had with Trixie in the hospital tent, the dumbstruck look on the showmare's face when Twilight returned her cape, her reluctance to let Twilight help with her therapy... But for all the trouble she'd been given since Trixie came back to Ponyville, Twilight knew that she'd do it all again in a heartbeat.

“Twilight Sparkle,” said Flaire thoughtfully. “I wonder if you might be able to help me with something.”

“Mm?” Twilight grunted, turning to give him an intent smile.

Flaire himself wasn't looking back at her, but staring out over the edge of the lift. “You must understand,” he began. “Despite our rivalry, Trixie and I have always been close. I do still care about her dearly.”

“O-oh, is that so?” said Twilight, her smile unconsciously falling.

“It seems like everything I say serves only to annoy her,” Flaire continued. “It would mean a great deal to me to regain her trust and companionship. But I fear that she may be too blinded by her bias to give me the chance.”

Twilight gulped as he turned to give her a meaningful look.

“S-so, you want me to help you-- Oh, that's, um-- I'm not sure...”

“Don't feel obligated,” said Flaire coolly. “You owe me nothing. If you are happy to help, then I will be incredibly grateful, and in your debt. If not, then no matter – I will find another way to regain my sister's trust. In either case--”

“Wait,” said Twilight, finding herself refocused in an instant.

Flaire shut his mouth and raised his eyebrows.

Twilight gave a quick head shake by way of apology. “Sorry, but did you say 'sister'?”

“I did,” said Flaire. “You sound surprised--” He paused for a moment, to give her a searching look. Then he made a comprehending sort of noise. “Ah, I see. Trixie 'forgot to mention' that we were siblings?”

“What?! Trixie is your sister?” Twilight almost shouted. “But you-- That's not-- I thought--” She stammered wordlessly as her mind worked in overdrive. After a moment, her eyes widened in realisation. “Oh my! She's your sister!”

Flaire chuckled. “It's not that surprising, is it? Can't you see the resemblance?”

Twilight chanced a quick look over him. His coat's intensity always had reminded her of Trixie's, only it was green instead of blue. And now that she thought about it, behind the striking power of Flaire's eyes was a vague sort of familiarity...

She shook her head. “Well, now that you mention it... But it's still a shock – I mean, from the way Trixie talked about you, I always assumed that the two of you were--” She hesitated with her mouth part open, and took a moment to think about it. Growing up together, sharing dreams, the closeness, the rivalry... It made sense.

“But I don't understand,” said Twilight. “Why wouldn't Trixie tell me?”

Flaire shrugged. “If she truly hates me as much as she seems to, then she's probably ashamed. Or embarrassed.”

Twilight stayed silent. It all fitted, didn't it? She'd always tried not to think too hard about Trixie and Flaire's relationship – it was in the past, after all – but hearing that they were 'close' had always made her feel kind of funny. She'd never even considered that it could be the 'brother and sister' kind of close...

The thought brought a tiny, impulsive smile to her lips, which confused her far less than it probably should have.

“Does that make a difference to your decision then?” said Flaire, breaking the silence. “That we're siblings? Will you help me?”

Twilight looked over at him, taken away from her reverie. He wasn't smirking, nor smiling. He actually looked quite genuine. If all he wanted to do was make amends with Trixie – his sister – then surely there was no harm in helping him? Trixie might even appreciate it in the long run...

“I'll... think about it,” said Twilight, with a decided smile.

Flaire nodded. “That's all I ask. Thank you.”

The lift touched down at last, and Twilight was all too happy to step down onto the solid stone floor again. The chamber in which they found themselves reminded her very much of the other waiting room in its medieval atmosphere – with the impressively powerful magical candles casting a dim, rustic light all around. It felt a lot larger though, especially since the ceiling stretched all the way up to the very top of the pillar.

In the centre of the room was a long table, adorned with a veritable feast of food and drink – fruits, salads, pies, several different types of bread... Twilight wasn't particularly hungry, but just the sight of so much delicious food was enough to convince her to help herself anyway.

Behind them, the lift jerked upwards and started spiralling back up towards the roof, probably so that it was ready to bring down the next pair. Twilight spared it a brief glance before turning her eyes back to the table. She approached it and walked down its length, idly taking in the details.

“Impressive,” Flaire commented, following her. “I suppose we're in for a long wait, if they went to all this trouble.”

Twilight offered a grunt and a nod. “I think I'd rather be out in the stands though,” she said. “Watching the others, I mean.”

“As would I,” said Flaire. “But I suppose it would be rather awkward for them to get us down from the pillar, across the arena and up to our box before the next pair could begin.”

“I suppose so,” Twilight granted, coming to a stop next to a large salad bowl.

Flaire walked right around to the other side and took the place opposite her, magically pulling a bowl of grapes over to himself and flashing Twilight a smile.

The two of them fell into a silence – not quite uncomfortable, but not quite comfortable either. Twilight couldn't really think of anything she wanted to say – besides some comments about the weather which she opted to keep to herself – so she settled for picking at her salad, and idly wondering what to make of the looks Flaire kept throwing her...

From there, there was little to do other than wait. It wasn't all that long before the lift came down again, carrying Earth Twister and Nightshade with it. The atmosphere in the room certainly livened up once the victorious Earth Twister got to talking about 'how awesome that event was', and describing the whole thing in remarkably unnecessary detail, whilst stuffing himself with as much food as he could get his hooves on.

Desert Rose and Bay Dasher arrived next, the former taking a seat beside Flaire whilst the latter found his place next to Nightshade. When asked who had won, Bay Dasher nodded at Rose, but said nothing. Twilight thought that he might've been upset, but promptly changed her mind when she saw the frown he always seemed to wear morph into a smile as he pulled three separate bowls of food towards him.

The fourth pair to arrive was Sandstorm and Violet, each of whom took seats by their respective partners. Sandstorm and Twister quickly became engulfed in their own conversation, and they naturally sounded very pleased that they had both emerged victorious from their challenges.

At this point, Twilight's mind was focused heavily on Trixie. She'd been thinking about her ever since Twister and Nightshade had arrived, but now those thoughts were prominent. After Twister's story, she found herself very eager to see how Trixie would handle the pillar climb, and disappointed that she wouldn't get the chance.

An idea sprang to mind just as she was pouring herself a glass of water. She stared at the liquid in her cup for a moment, letting the thought take shape, before lighting up her horn and reaching for the water jug.

She lifted the water itself out into the air, where it formed a swirling sphere. Seven pairs of eyes turned to watch with interest, but Twilight didn't pay them any mind. She pictured one of the giant water screens outside, and the unicorns who channelled it, trying to mimic the spell as best she could.

The water bent into a flat rectangle shape quickly enough, but the important part of the spell was not so easy. She tried to imagine a birdseye view of the stadium, but all that appeared on the screen were a few coloured lights. She knew that there were magical cameras recording images for the screens, but she wasn't sure how to locate and lock onto them, without anything to go by.

After a moment of struggling and shifting her magic, Flaire spoke up.

“May I?” he said simply.

Twilight blinked dumbly at him. “...Um, sure.”

The blue-eyed stallion smiled and lit up his horn, reaching out to cross his magic with Twilight's. Their auras touched, and Twilight had to stifle a sharp breath as an electric tingle ran through her horn. He didn't try to wrench the spell from her, it was more like he was gently guiding her magic along with his – as if holding her hoof and showing her through the motions. He ushered her focus outwards, and helped her to make sense of the presences she felt.

There were several cameras, at different angles around the stadium. Apparently they were easy to find after all, if one knew how to look. She reached out and touched one of those that were moving, and immediately an image began to take shape on the screen before her.

“Whoa! Way to go, you two!” Twister commented through a mouthful of apple pie. “Why didn't you do that before?”

“I... didn't think to,” Twilight muttered distractedly, looking past the screen at Flaire, who was giving her that look again.

'What's he staring at?' she wondered. 'And why hasn't he let go? The spell is stable...'

As if sensing her thoughts, Flaire softly released his magical grasp, and the glow from his horn faded away. For a split-second, Twilight regretted the thought, since she was overcome by a brief but definite sense of cold and aloneness. It was only a split second though, and she felt rather silly as soon as it had passed.

She shook herself.

The image on the screen zoomed in on a pair of unicorns dashing up the ramp, and Twilight quickly turned it so that everypony could see. The two competitors were only about a quarter of the way up, so Twilight hadn't missed too much.

Her heart gave a jump as she saw that Trixie was in the lead, though Cherry Blossom was following close behind. There was no sound, of course, but Twilight could imagine the cheers and shouts of the crowd – punctuated by the announcer's voice over – as the two of them galloped up the pillar and magicked their way past obstacles.

Some of the traps they faced were completely different to those that Twilight and Flaire had to go through, and Twilight started or gasped every time Trixie tripped one. True to form though, the showmare made quite a fantastic performance of getting through each one just by the skin of her teeth.

A massive cloud of midges ambushed her about a third of the way up, throwing her off balance. She startled them back with a flash of light, then sent out a whirl of fireworks to disperse the swarm...

A few checkpoints later, her section of the ramp tipped to one side, sending her sliding towards the edge, as it had done with Twilight. Thinking fast, the showmare summoned up a rope and magicked it towards the pillar – wrapping it around a light fixture and using it to pull herself up...

Twilight found herself very tense as she watched, silently willing her partner onwards and upwards. 'Come on, Trixie. You can do it!' She knew it was silly, but part of her hoped that her thoughts would somehow reach the azure mare and spur her on.

With all her attention focused on Trixie, Twilight didn't spare so much as a glance for her opponent, nor an ear for Earth Twister's running commentary. They weren't important anyway.

Trixie passed the twentieth checkpoint with a few seconds' lead on Cherry. Things were looking good. At least until she ran into the next trap...

Some kind of stretching crevice opened up on the wall just ahead of Trixie, but she didn't see it in time to react. She was caught right in the middle of the wave of water that burst forth from the gap – much like the final trap that Twilight and Flaire had faced, except that its current flowed straight over the edge of the ramp, rather than running down it.

Trixie staggered and barely managed to regain her balance under the force of the water that ran higher than her knees. Even then, she seemed to be struggling just to keep from being taken by the current.

Twilight's whole body seemed to tense up in anxiety as she leant closer to the screen. “Come on, Trixie,” she muttered under her breath. If she were in that position, she would use a water parting spell, like Flaire's. But Trixie probably didn't even know that spell. There had to be something else she could try.

'Just hold on,' Twilight willed her. 'You'll think of something.'

Trixie's horn lit up at last, but nothing seemed to happen. Her rear hoof slipped. She stumbled backwards, but managed to catch herself about a hoof's distance from the edge.

The camera zoomed in as she barred her teeth and focused her magic again, this time sending out a purple glow over the water surrounding her. It was hard to say for sure, but from what Twilight could tell, it seemed that Trixie's spell had slowed down the current of the water...

With obvious effort, the showmare managed a step forward. Then another.

Twilight's lips curled into a grin as her partner seemed to be making progress. But it was short-lived...

A second crevice opened up above the first, and more water spilled from it, sending a tidal wave towards Trixie. She was quick enough to reach out with a telekinesis spell to stop it, but the strain it took was obvious in her stance. The threatening wave grew larger and larger, and her attempts to hold it back were ultimately in vain.

Her spell failed, her hooves slipped, and the wave came crashing into her.

Trixie was thrown from the pillar.

“No!” Twilight cried, leaning forwards so viciously that she bumped her chest on the table. Her first instinct was to teleport out there and catch her, but the spell was only half-way cast when Trixie's fall began to slow down.

Twilight stayed her magic and watched with wide eyes as Trixie started to float steadily down towards the arena floor, curled up with her legs hugging her body and her eyes scrunched up tight. Since her horn wasn't glowing, this had to be one of the arena's safety spells. Twilight let out a muted breath of relief.

As Trixie neared the ground, her body twisted in midair so that she could land on all four hooves. She touched down, and a moment passed before she opened her eyes and glanced around slowly, looking bemused.

The image slowly faded out into nothingness, leaving a blank screen of water hovering in midair above the refreshment table. Obviously, this confirmed that Trixie was out of the running... The screens outside would probably switch now, to showing Cherry Blossom from another camera's perspective, but Twilight wasn't particularly interested in watching her. And nor, apparently, were the others – since they made no objection when she let the water drop back into the jug.

A strange sort of silence hung in the air. Twilight glanced around at the others. Earth Twister and Sandstorm had their lips pursed and were purposefully keeping their eyes locked on the table. Violet was hiding behind Bay Dasher and Nightshade, who were still eating, as if they hadn't even been watching. Desert Rose had her eyes closed and was cuddling up to Flaire, who was the only one that offered Twilight a sympathetic smile.

Twilight herself wasn't sure what to think. Trixie had lost... she couldn't imagine how the showmare would be feeling right now. And to lose like that – not even having a chance to finish the race – must have made it even worse.

'What do I say to her?' Twilight wondered, staring into her salad bowl. 'I could tell her that it doesn't matter, since I won against Flaire, and that should still leave us ahead statistically. That'll help, right?'

There came a distant thudding sound from overhead, signalling the start of the lift's descent – presumably meaning that Cherry Blossom had finished the race and was on her way down. But where was Trixie?

The door in the far wall opened up with a loud creak. All eyes turned to look down the table towards it.

Over the threshold strode the azure unicorn herself, with her head held low and her damp cape trailing behind. Twilight instinctively bounded over to her.

“Trixie! There you are, I--” She broke off and slowed down as she got nearer to Trixie, only just taking in the details.

The showmare was looking decidedly less than Great and Powerful with her untidy hairdo and ruffled coat. Faint wisps of steam still rose from her back, a telltale of a heat spell which she must have used to dry herself. And, most prominently of all, she did not look happy.

“...Are you alright?” Twilight asked, biting her lip as she waited for the answer.

Trixie glared at the ground to Twilight's side. “What do you think?”

Frowning at the response, Twilight lowered her head and tried to meet Trixie's eye with a sympathetic look. “Oh, Trixie, it's not your fault. That could've happened to anypony.”

“Really? Did anypony else fall off the pillar?” Trixie grumbled.

Twilight pursed her lips.

“...That's what I thought,” said Trixie, her shadowy glare deepening.

“But it's not your fault!” Twilight repeated. “Really, it was just bad luck. I thought you were amazing.”

There was a short pause before Trixie chanced a look up at her. “...You saw me?”

“We had a screen,” Twilight explained. “So, yes – I saw the whole thing. And you really did look brilliant.”

Trixie grunted. “I still lost...” She glanced over towards the table, then back at Twilight. “What about you? Did you beat him?”

“...Yes,” said Twilight timidly.

Another pause, though this one felt eerily long. Twilight wondered whether that was the wrong answer, despite her best guess being that Trixie would be happy to hear that Flaire lost. Maybe she would have preferred it if she and Twilight had both lost together?

At long last, Trixie blinked. “Well... good, I guess,” she muttered emotionlessly, before turning her eyes to the table. “...I'm going to get some pie.”

With that, she ambled past and headed for the table. Twilight opened her mouth, but ended up simply watching as Trixie fixed each of the others with a firm glare, until they were forced to avert their eyes. Flaire was the only one she couldn't scare off, so his mercifully subdued smirk followed her all the way to her place, not far from where Twilight had been sitting.

'She doesn't seem that upset,' Twilight mused optimistically, as Trixie pulled a plate of apple pie towards her. 'Maybe I should let her have her pie for now, and cheer her up later...'

Across the room, the lift touched down and Cherry Blossom hopped from the platform. Like her partner, she stayed silent, but she did flash a wide, shining smile as she skipped over to take a place beside him.

Twilight had been expecting Trixie to throw the new arrival a very dirty look, or at least a glare to match that which she'd given the others, but she did no such thing. She just levitated a slice of pie to her lips and took a generous bite.

Just as Twilight made to join her, the door opened again, this time with such force that it actually slammed into the wall. The small, spiky-haired stallion from before trotted inside with a wide grin on his face.

“Oh, my, Celestia! That was so awesome, I don't even know where to start!” he said excitedly. “Seriously, best performance I've seen since that chimaera thing. You all did awesomely-- Oh, and, uh... tough break, Trixie.” He gave the showmare a sympathetic look.

She snarled at him.

“So, anyways!” he continued. “Let's get right down to business this time. I mean, I could talk to you guys for hours if I didn't have a job to do and-- Oh right. Okay, so the next event's gonna be a bit different – and you've all got the whole day tomorrow to prepare for it.”

Twilight raised her eyebrows in interest, and a couple of the others muttered to one another.

“I've got a letter here for each pair, with details on the next event--” He reached into his saddlebag, pulled out five envelopes and tossed them onto the end of the table. “Make sure you read them ASAP, so you give yourselves enough time to prepare. Well, I mean, you don't have to prepare. You could always just chill out if you're confident enough.”

“Is there some reason that you can't just tell us what the event is, like before?” said Trixie.

“Nopony told me what it is,” said the stallion, with a shrug. “Apparently, it's on a need-to-know basis, and I don't need to know. I guess they think I'm just a glorified messenger. Which I am, kind of. But hey, I'm not complaining!”

Trixie rolled her eyes and took another bite of her pie.

“Anyway, once you've got your letters, you can all feel free to leave whenever you want,” he said, looking around at them all. “They've opened up a tunnel in the arena wall, so you can just walk straight out. There's chariots outside to take you wherever you want to go. Or you can walk, it's a nice enough day.”

At that, Violet and Nightshade grabbed their letter and started towards the exit, obviously eager to get outside. Flaire and Rose looked at one another, then steadily made to follow them.

Twilight looked over at her partner. The azure unicorn was still only half way through her slice of pie, and Twilight didn't like to interrupt her. There was really no need to rush anyway.

Having already eaten much of a bowl of salad herself, Twilight trotted down the length of the table to collect her letter, finding herself quite curious as to what the next event would entail.

Flaire was there, whispering something to Rose as he passed her the letter. When he'd finished, she nodded, gave his neck a quick nuzzle, then turned to trot towards the exit. Flaire himself didn't move, he simply flashed a smile in Twilight's direction.

The lavender mare gulped unconsciously before returning it.

“Kind of cloak and dagger, huh?” she joked timidly.

“Indeed,” he grunted.

Twilight gave a short chuckle, raised her eyebrows and magically grasped the envelope addressed to herself and Trixie. It wasn't very weighty, only a single piece of paper, if Twilight knew her writing materials. And Twilight knew her writing materials.

“Twilight, I wonder,” he began in a hushed voice. “That thing we talked about...”

“Huh?”

Flaire subtly nodded in Trixie's direction.

“O-oh,” said Twilight. “Right now? But... I don't know, she's not in a very good mood.”

“Hmm, I suppose,” Flaire granted. “We aren't exactly going to have many more opportunities though. After the Display, I'm sure she'll be out of Manehattan like a flash to get away from me.”

“I... guess that's true,” said Twilight, biting her lip in consideration.

“What do you want, Flaire?” came Trixie's voice from behind.

Twilight gave a start and turned her head to watch Trixie draw up alongside, still wiping pie crust from her lips with a napkin. After a moment's pause, she lowered it to reveal a smirk.

“Still can't accept that my partner beat you?” she teased.

“On the contrary,” said Flaire, casting a quick look at Twilight. “I was actually just trying to renegotiate my offer with Twilight.”

Trixie blinked, then creased a brow suspiciously. “What offer?”

“Well, since you already have plans for lunch 'forever', I thought that I might ask you both to join Rose and I for dinner instead,” he said slyly.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Don't you ever give up?”

Twilight caught another subtle glance from Flaire. She curled her lip in thought for a second. There was no harm in trying, right?

“Um, actually, I thought it sounded like quite a good idea,” Twilight said, offering Trixie a smile.

A dark, awkward silence fell over the three of them as the words were processed.

Trixie threw her a look of utter disbelief. “What?”

“Well, you said you haven't seen each other in a long time. Don't you think it might be worth taking some time to catch up?” said Twilight. Flaire offered her an appreciative smile, spurring her on. “I mean, you might not get to see each other for a long time after this--”

“No,” said Trixie bluntly. Her eyes weren't quite glaring, but they were certainly not pleased.

Twilight managed only a faint smile. “Okay. You don't have to if you don't want to. I was just trying to--”

“I said forget it!” Trixie broke in, taking Twilight by surprise. Now she was glaring. “If you want to cuddle up to the enemy, that's fine – it's your decision. But don't drag me into it!”

Twilight's mouth fell open a smidge as Trixie blew an angry puff of air through her nose.

“I--”

“I'm going back to the hotel,” Trixie declared, spinning in place and stomping off towards the door. She left a deadly, stunned silence in her wake.

Twilight stammered wordlessly, trying to make sense of what had just happened. Trixie hadn't yelled at her like that since the first time she'd returned to Ponyville. It was different this time though. Twilight was stunned – not with shock, or with fear, per se. It was more like dread... panic.

Shaking herself, Twilight looked to Flaire, who looked as if he wasn't sure how to feel.

“I-I'm sorry!” she stammered out, before turning to dash after her partner. “Trixie, wait!”