//------------------------------//
// 26 - A Loose End (Trixie) 
// Story: Eyes On You 
// by UnlicensedBrony 
//------------------------------//


“Eyes On You”

Chapter twenty-six – A Loose End


“Ugh, thank goodness! I thought we'd never get away,” Twilight groaned as she stepped into the hotel room, stopping for breath just inside.

Trixie followed after her and closed the door with a flick of the tail. The smile on her lips was weary, but it was a smile nonetheless. She felt just as tired as Twilight, but she'd be lying through her teeth if she said she hadn't enjoyed every minute of the post-victory parade.

“You signed up for this when you decided to help me win the Display, you know,” said Trixie.

Twilight huffed and started off down the hall, heading straight for the bedroom. “I know, I know,” she grumbled. She didn't sound overly irritated, but she obviously wasn't in a playful mood.

After rolling her neck and checking that the door was shut behind her, Trixie followed Twilight into the bedroom. Twilight had barely a few seconds' lead, but when Trixie stepped into the room, it was just in time to see the purple unicorn flop down upon the bed – face first – and let out another groan.

Trixie's lip curled to the side in question. “Are you sure you're alright?”

There was a moment of silence. Trixie simply stared at the back of her partner's head, whilst Twilight herself tried to inhale the lovely pink blankets. And then, seemingly out of the blue, Twilight began to shake with a silent giggle.

“Alright?” she said, rolling onto her side to flash Trixie an enormous grin. “I feel incredible! I'm just so exhausted. If I'd have known they were going to make us celebrate all afternoon...”

Trixie rolled her eyes playfully. “It's not like we had to do anything other than wave and shake a few hooves.”

“That's easy for you to say,” Twilight chuckled. “You're used to this kind of thing, but I've never had that much attention. I never knew how tiring it was.” She rolled herself onto the edge of the bed and sat up. The medal around her neck was engulfed with a purple glow as she used magic to lift it off and drop it down on the bedside table.

Trixie just smiled and shook her head as she moved around to the other side of the bed. 'I know what you mean...'

She came to a stop as she reached her own bedside table, looked past the firefly lamp and smiled down at the golden hoof mirror that lay atop it – her present from Twilight. It wasn't every day that something so wonderfully magical came into Trixie's possession, and she hadn't had a chance to use it as much as she would've liked, what with the Display taking up all of her time.

So she took the chance now, while she could, to lift the mirror with her magic and watch the image within swim into focus.

At first, it showed nothing but a plain image of the room's ceiling. But a second later, as Twilight turned her head, Trixie saw herself 'reflected' in the mirror – a radiant, blue unicorn with a lush, silver mane from whose neck hung a glinting, platinum medallion. The unicorn was smiling, and she only seemed to get happier as she felt the rush of emotions that came with seeing herself through Twilight's eyes.

Trixie stared in wonder and warmth at the mare in the mirror for what might've been minutes, before finally putting it to one side and turning to face Twilight. She was met with the most lovely of smiles and a glistening pair of violet eyes that held so much kindness and caring. It was just as beautiful a sight as that which the mirror held... maybe even more so.

Lifting the medal from her own neck and setting it down on the table, Trixie climbed into bed herself and laid her head back on the pillow. She took a deep breath through her nose and let it out in another blissful sigh. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so... fulfilled.

“I'm still mad at you, you know?” said Twilight, though her voice told nothing of the sort.

Already smirking, Trixie turned to find a very poor imitation of a grumpy frown on Twilight's face. “Mad at moi?” she said, already knowing perfectly well. “What ever for?”

Twilight gave her a deadpan look. “Did you have to kiss me in front of the Princess?”

Trixie's smirk widened mischievously. “Did you have to enjoy it so much?” she countered.

At that, Twilight's cheeks went red, and though she tried to hold her grumpy face steady, there was definitely a smile creeping through.

“Yes, well,” Twilight huffed, “I guess I can forgive you. It was kind of exciting to win, after all.”

“And...?” said Trixie.

Twilight looked defiantly up at the ceiling and tried desperately to suppress her grin. “And... I did kind of like it,” she muttered.

“Mhm,” Trixie grunted in affirmative, the grin now filling her own face.

If, two months ago, somepony had said to Trixie that she was going to end up kissing Twilight Sparkle in front of a princess, and later sharing a double bed with her, she would've told them that they were out of their mind. And now, that was exactly what had happened, and it seemed like the most normal, natural thing in the world.

Twilight shifted on the bed. “The hotel offered to put us up for another week, free of charge,” she said quietly.

Trixie's smile didn't fade, so much as it mellowed out a bit. She took a breath through her nose before replying. “And what did you tell them?”

“I turned them down,” said Twilight, almost apologetically. “I really would like to spend another week here with you, without the pressure of the Display, but, well...”

“They're all waiting for you back in Ponyville,” Trixie finished for her.

Twilight nodded. “I just really miss my friends. I know it's only been a week, but I haven't been away from them for this long since we all met! And I can't wait to tell them about all this. They're going to be so proud!”

The smile on Trixie's face froze for a split second. 'Proud...'

'I'm proud of you, Trixie', Flaire had said...

Trixie blinked, then shook herself, hoping that Twilight hadn't noticed her hesitation. “O-of course they're going to be proud – their best friend just won one of the most prestigious magical competitions in Equestria!”

Twilight gave a little giggle. She rolled her head to the side to smile into Trixie's eyes. “With help, of course.”

There was a moment's pause, in which Trixie wondered whether to take being called 'help' as a teasing jab, or just Twilight being cute and meaning to say 'thank you'. Deciding that it was the latter, Trixie simply smiled back.

“So,” said Twilight, “you're not upset that I won't be staying in Manehattan?”

“Not really,” said Trixie, with a casual shake of the head. “I changed my mind about that stable across town – I wasn't planning on staying anyway.”

“Oh, I see.”

A sliver of uncertainty swam across Twilight's face as she broke eye contact and looked down at the sheets. She was still smiling, but it was easy for Trixie to tell that something was wrong. 

'Maybe she was hoping I'd try to convince her to stay for another week?'

Trixie considered it, but what she'd said was true – she rather fancied a change of scenery. It seemed strange, even to her, since it was here in Manehattan that she was likely to reap the most benefit from her new title as Champion. There would be fans coming up to her in the street, ponies offering her gifts and free lodging wherever she went, and even big names offering to pay for her to put on magic shows for them.

And yet, she still didn't particularly feel like staying.

Twilight looked up to meet Trixie's eyes again, reminding her that she'd been silent for a bit longer than was normal. With a tiny flick of the head and a pointed cough to refocus herself, Trixie fixed her partner with a sly smile.

“Well, Twilight Sparkle, if this is to be our last night in Manehattan,” she began dramatically, “then we should at least do our best to enjoy it.”

Twilight blinked twice and paused. Though a smile clearly tugged at her lips, she kept her mouth in a firm line. “Did you have something special in mind?”

“As a matter of fact...” Trixie shifted a little closer to Twilight on the bed.

Twilight's pokerface broke, and the smile overcame her.

It was then, with a smirk, that Trixie channelled a now quite familiar spell through her horn. It lit up and cast a hint of its signature, magenta glow over Twilight's face, causing the adorable unicorn to make a questioning face at Trixie.

In an appropriate, magical flash, a corked, tinted bottle appeared in midair just above the two of them, filled with a clear liquid. Another, gentler flash, and two champagne flutes appeared beside it.

Twilight looked up at the bottle, blinked, and then smiled at Trixie. “You're getting awfully good at that,” she said.

Trixie simply gave a modest little shrug.

She uncorked the bottle with magic, sat upright against the headboard and poured them each a glass of Manehattan's finest champagne.

“Here's to Manehattan,” Trixie toasted. “For bringing Twilight Sparkle and I – two fiercely different unicorns – together as friends and partners.”

Twilight bit her lip to hold back a giggle. “We're not all that different,” she said, sitting up next to Trixie and taking one glass in her own magical grip. “I think that working towards the Display just helped us to realise that.”

Trixie nodded grantingly. “Sounds good to me.”

Twilight mimicked the nod. “Of course it does,” she said, clinking her glass against Trixie's in a toast. “Now, tell me about that light spell of yours...”


* * *


When Trixie awoke the following morning, it wasn't a dreamy or romantic sort of feeling that greeted her – despite the warm, cinnamon scent of Twilight's mane, in which her nose was buried. Nor was it a headache from too much wine the night before – they'd only had one glass each. 

Her eyes drifted open slowly, and she blinked a couple of times into the gentle darkness of their bedroom. It was very early. By all rights, she should've nestled back down and gone straight back to sleep for another three or four hours.

But she didn't. Instead, she rolled onto her back and drew a slow but noisy breath through her nose. She didn't really feel like going back to her dreams.

Staring at the ceiling of the hotel room, she found her mind beginning to fill with melancholic thoughts. Somewhere along the line, 'this' had become familiar. Waking up in a proper bed, with plush pillows and big, warm, heavy blankets. She'd gotten used to it. Opening her eyes to find herself in a proper bedroom, with walls and windows and a ceiling that was something other than the roof of a travelling caravan or stable. She'd gotten used to that too.

And now, over the past few days, waking up next to someone – next to Twilight. It was starting to feel like she was getting used to that, too.

It wasn't normal. Not for Trixie. She was a showmare. A traveller. A loner. This kind of living was something other ponies took for granted, and Trixie prided herself on being different from the norm. Or, at least, she used to.

Trixie crumpled her nose and rolled her head to the side. Her eyes settled on the firefly lamp on her bedside table. She hadn't covered it before falling asleep, but the insects within had stopped glowing, so there was no more light. She couldn't help but wonder how they felt about their living arrangements.

Were they comfortable, living under the same roof all the time? Did they feel trapped? Did they like to sneak out and do their own thing, to be free?

Both curious and concerned for the fireflies, Trixie magically reached out to open the hatch on the top of the lamp. As soon as they felt the movement, the little lightning bugs lit up and zipped towards the opening, escaping into the room proper.

Trixie watched them flit around for a moment, enjoying the open air, before they buzzed over towards the doors that led out onto the balcony. They dipped through a parting in the curtains and disappeared. After a moment of staring after them, Trixie noted that there was a gentle breeze tugging at the curtains – obviously the door had been left ajar just an inch.

For a brief few seconds, she considered putting it from her mind and shutting her eyes again. But, her head seemed to be having none of it this morning. And, as an aside, she kind of wanted to see where the fireflies were running off to.

Gently pulling herself away from Twilight's warm aura, Trixie slid out of bed and strode over to the balcony doors, pulling them open just wide enough to step outside before closing them behind her. The view from the balcony told that the Sun had a good hour left before it was ready to rise, and as Trixie stepped up to the edge and rested her hooves on the ornate railing, she was met with the picture of a sleeping Manehattan.

This still felt reasonably new, at least. She'd only been in Manehattan for a week, and in the past, Trixie had sometimes stayed in towns and cities for two or three before moving on – though it was rare that she kept company for any longer than that. She didn't stay in touch with anyone once she'd moved away from a place. She'd never had any reason to.

Trixie's eyes settled on a particular building as they scanned the city – one she hadn't even known that she was looking for. The Train Station.

The gears began turning in her head. 

She saw the escaped fireflies buzzing off into the city proper, in search of new horizons.

Her face squared, and she let out another sigh through her nose...





'Twilight,

There's something I have to do. I'll be at the train station. See you later x'



After hastily scribbling a kiss on the end of the note, Trixie lay it down on Twilight's bedside table, kissed the sleeping unicorn on the forehead, and hurried out through the door.



* * *


The first hints of dawn light were just creeping over the horizon when Trixie arrived at the platform she was looking for. A few dozen ponies were already hanging about on the platform ahead, all in varying stages of tiredness, and all presumably waiting for their trains.

Trixie was there for one pony in particular.

Her eyes roamed the platform, and it didn't take her long to find him. There, straight ahead and at the very edge of the platform, stood Flaire. He was talking quietly with Rose as the two waited for their own train, and neither of them had noticed her.

Trixie hesitated for all of three seconds before flicking back her mane and starting towards them.

Her hooves felt heavy, as if she were trying to walk with steel horseshoes. She might've blamed it on the early hour, if she didn't know full well that she was wide awake and full of energy. Something about walking towards him, here and now – just waiting for him to turn around and see her – made Trixie feel uncomfortable. Not because she thought he was going to make a scene or perhaps try to put her down. In fact, it was more that she had no idea of what to expect.

It was unnerving, and Trixie didn't like it.

Sure enough, Flaire did turn, and saw Trixie approaching while she was still a fair distance away. He didn't offer a look of surprise, or shock, or anything like that. All that Trixie received was the tiniest hint of a smile as Flaire looked back to Rose and said something to her in a low voice.

Rose's gaze shot curiously over to Trixie, before returning to Flaire. She gave him a look, as if asking whether he was sure. He simply nodded.

With an understanding smile and a nod of her own, Rose turned and made her way down the edge of the platform, towards a nearby bench. Flaire, on the other hoof, started to make his way towards Trixie.

They met half-way.

There was a long silence.

“I wasn't expecting to see you again,” said Flaire. “And something tells me you haven't come to gloat.”

“No,” said Trixie. She wasn't interested in small talk or trading barbs with Flaire today. Only one question remained, and then all business between them would be finished for good. “I have to ask you something before you leave.”

Flaire looked over her face, as if sizing it up. “Alright,” he said, inclining his head as he did. “Go ahead.”

“As if I need your permission,” said Trixie indignantly. “Am I supposed to believe everything you said yesterday? About us 'still being brother and sister', despite everything?”

Flaire smiled and nodded sagely, as if he'd known she was going to ask. He probably had known, and Trixie wouldn't have been surprised if he'd had a whole speech written out for the occasion.

“Believe it or don't, Trixie,” he said. “It's the truth. I invited you here because I missed my sister. Is that so hard to--”

“Because you missed me?” Trixie repeated. “You've got a funny way of showing it. A normal pony would just invite their sister to dinner or something.”

Flaire let out a chuckle. “Well, ours was never a 'normal' relationship, was it?”

“With you constantly trying to one-up me, you mean?” Trixie threw back.

“It seems to have had a positive effect in the long run,” said Flaire. He shook his head. “No. What I meant is that, sadly, I knew that challenging you was the only way I could guarantee that you'd see me.”

Trixie's lip curled and she had to fight herself to keep from stomping the ground in frustration. She managed to bite it back.

“And Twilight?” she said. “If you were just missing me, then what drove you to try and get between me and my partner?”

“Well, it wasn't just that I missed you,” said Flaire, with an annoying half-smile. “I was curious to see how you were doing after all this time. How you'd grown, what you were up to--”

“And?” said Trixie, failing to see how this had anything to do with Twilight.

Flaire's smile seemed to soften a little. “And I can see that you clearly have grown, and changed for the better. You embody traits now that I've never seen in you before. And I suspect that Twilight Sparkle is very much responsible for that.”

“Which is why you were so eager to get between us, of course,” Trixie spat. She couldn't believe he expected her to buy this.

“Like it or not, Trixie,” Flaire said, cool as ever, “I am your big brother. It's my job to make sure that you're safe, and that the pony you've fallen for is serious about you.”

Trixie felt an uncomfortable heat in her face. 'The pony I've fallen for? As if that's any of his business!'

“W-well, I hope you're satisfied!” she snapped, showing teeth.

“I am.”

“Good! Then stay out of my personal business from now on.”

Flaire shook his head, still smiling. “I have no intention of interfering any further. I got what I came for – I got to see my sister again, and found that she has grown into a strong young mare. A pleasant surprise.”

Trixie could only stand there, eyes narrowed and seething rebelliously, as she heard the first rumbling of train wheels since she'd got to the station. A passenger train was pulling in, making its way up along the side of the platform they stood on.

Flaire turned to watch as it ground to a halt with the typical screeching of wheels. Presumably, this was his train.

As the doors opened and passengers began to disembark, he looked back to Trixie with another half-smile on his face. “Well,” he said, “this is my train.”

The silence held between them. Ponies strolled past and around them, some still leaving the train whilst others began to board it. But despite his obvious attempt to end the conversation, he didn't move. Nor did Trixie.

She didn't know what to say. She wasn't sure there was anything to say. Much to her annoyance, the heat of her anger was already beginning to die down, and she found herself finally beginning to consider the look on Flaire's face. He was hiding something, as always, but Trixie couldn't put her hoof on it. If she didn't know better, Trixie would say that he was actually being genuine.

His smile seemed to fade as the seconds went on. He lowered his gaze to the platform, and turned his head to one side as if he was trying to convince himself to leave. Or perhaps trying to convince himself not to.

At any rate, it was him that finally broke the silence. After most of the other ponies had finished boarding the train, once again leaving them in relative quiet, he cleared his throat and piped up. “I... I know that I've made a mess of things, Trixie,” he said. His words were quiet, measured, and strangely 'un-Flaire-like'. “As I said, I've always meant the best, but--”

“All aboard!” came a yell from down the platform.

The voice seemed to snap Flaire out of some kind of daze. He looked to his left, and Trixie followed his eyes to see Desert Rose climbing aboard the train. Rose flashed Flaire a look just before she got on board.

When his eyes made their way back to Trixie, they seemed to have regained a bit of their edge. “Well, at any rate,” he said, “I'm sure I'll hear about you in the news from time to time. You're a celebrity now, after all. I... think I can trust that you and Twilight will take care of one another. I know that you're in good hooves now. And that's... all I need to know.”

With that, he gulped and stood there, simply watching Trixie and letting the words sink in. Then he nodded, turned and made for the open train doors.

Trixie was left in his wake, her mind just about beginning to reboot. She watched his tail swish back and forth with his stride as he walked away. And his words did sink in.

In the past, she knew that she would've just shrugged off what he'd said, turned and walked away herself, with her nose high and flank swinging. She still felt the urge to do that, even now, but it wasn't overpowering. She found herself giving thought to his stance, his tone...

She closed her eyes. A long moment passed.

Trixie took a deep breath, opened her eyes and strode forwards. “Flaire!”

Flaire stopped just short of laying a hoof onto the train. Slowly, he turned his head to face Trixie, his expression indifferent.

Trixie flourished her horn and flicked it upwards, bringing forth a single slip of paper from thin air. Flaire eyed it as it floated down in front of his face, obviously not sure what to make of it. “What's this?”

“This is where you can find me if you need to send another letter,” Trixie explained, her tone and face both set straight.

Flaire scanned the paper over a couple of times, and then looked back up at Trixie, confused.

“I wouldn't want you spending all your consolation prize money on another courier to track me down,” she said.

Flaire's expression went from confused to dumbstruck. “Trixie...”

“Stay in touch if you want,” she said, interrupting before he could say anything. Then she took a step closer and narrowed her eyes. “But if you even think of turning up for a surprise visit--”

“I wouldn't dream of it,” said Flaire quickly. With that, and a gentle smile, he took the paper with his own magic and stowed it inside his saddlebags.

“All aboard, last call!”

Flaire stepped up into the train car, but stayed by the door. He smiled at Trixie. “Thank you, Trixie,” he said. “I'll speak to you soon.”

Trixie tried to keep her face dead straight, not wanting to show any sign of emotion, just in case he was bluffing. And if he was, there'd be Tartarus to pay when they next met. “Goodbye, Flaire,” she said.

And that was that.

An attendant galloped along the edge of the platform, closing and locking the train doors one-by-one. As Flaire's was closed, he stepped up to the little, round window in the door and looked out at Trixie. She stayed where she was, watching as the train began to roll along the platform.

She lost sight of Flaire's eyes in seconds, and after seconds more the train rolled all the way out of the station. Gone.

The now-alone Trixie closed her eyes again and took a deep breath. That hadn't been at all like what she was expecting. She felt like she'd done the right thing. As to whether that was a good thing or a bad thing, she supposed she'd just have to wait and see--


“Trixie!”

The yell made Trixie's ears stand up straight. She turned to look over her shoulder, towards the platform entrance, and saw an unmistakably purple figure darting about between the ponies queuing for tickets, knocking aside the ones who weren't swift enough to move.

Trixie raised an eyebrow as Twilight Sparkle broke free from the crowd and caught sight of her.

“Trixie!” she yelled again, breaking into a run. “Wait!”

Trixie had barely opened her mouth and taken a step forward before Twilight disappeared in a flash of white light. A second later, the panicked purple pony re-materialised right in front of her, throwing out her fetlocks to wrap herself around Trixie.

Stunned with surprise, Trixie slowly reached up to pat Twilight on the back, mouth slightly agape as she wondered what was going on.

“D-don't go!” Twilight panted, her voice racked with heavy breaths. “Not yet. W-we still have to fill out the documentation for the newspaper! A-and it'd be rude to leave without saying goodbye to the Princess. And the hotel needs your signature for us to check out and... and I haven't even said... said--” She started breathing too heavily to form words, and squeezed Trixie harder to keep from falling over. Twilight had obviously run all the way here from the hotel, and though the bookish mare was in pretty good shape, all things considered, she clearly hadn't paced herself.

Trixie's lips curled up into an understanding smile. She leaned into Twilight's embrace and ran a hoof through her midnight-striped mane. “And where exactly do you think I'd be going?”

There was an inappropriate pause as Twilight struggled through the next few breaths. “Y-you left a note,” she breathed.

Trixie blinked. She went back over the note in her mind and tried to picture what she might've said to make Twilight think that...

'Ah.'

If she could've rolled her eyes or flicked her mane to effect, Trixie would have. As it was, she just had to put as much 'Trixie' into her voice as she could. “Please, if the Great and Powerful Trixie were leaving, she wouldn't just scribble a note and vanish. You know me better than that.”

It was hard to notice, but Twilight's breathing started to slow down a little almost straight away. Relief showed through in the way that her grip loosened and her chest seemed to relax. “You're not... leaving?” she said.

“Of course I'm not leaving!” said Trixie. “Well, unless of course you think you need a break from all this Greatness and Power--”

“No,” said Twilight, shaking her head against Trixie's coat. “Absolutely not.”

Feeling Twilight shift against her, Trixie moved back and allowed her partner to stand up straight. Their manes brushed against one another's faces as they pulled apart, sending an electric warmth through Trixie's cheek and down her back. Twilight looked up at Trixie with a pair of lavender eyes, silently searching for something.

“...So, everything's alright?” Twilight asked, breathing through her nose now.

Trixie curled her lip and thought about that. Was everything alright? Her exchange with Flaire had gone fairly smoothly, but whether or not it was a good idea to allow him to find her remained to be seen. Besides that, there was the fact that it was ridiculously early in the morning. And she was kind of hungry. And her body was just starting to remind her of how much effort she'd put into the past week by breaking out with groaning aches.

But then, when she really thought about it, standing there and looking into Twilight's gently shimmering eyes, there was really only one answer she could give.

Trixie smiled, and she nodded. “It is now.”


* * *