The whole forest was peaceful while they walked among the trees, taking in the sights and sounds of the woods. The canopy blocked much of the sun, but what shone through brought about beautiful shapes of light over the damp moss-covered bark and the forest floor.
Much of their time was filled by Trixie expounding in graphic detail the full horror of the tests she had to undergo. She made sure to emphasis that she barely made it out alive, after all, dying of boredom had been a legitimate danger.
Meanwhile, whenever asked, Dash vehemently insisted she had spent the entire morning doing paper work for her new position, but what the papers were actually about changed in each telling. It always ended in Dash making a dismissive comment, followed by another question on the tests.
At first, Trixie had suspected they were headed towards the mountains, which made her slightly fearful that rock-climbing was not entirely out of the picture.
M-maybe she wishes to show Trixie the cave of the dragon they chased out? Maybe it left something behind, like gems, or a ring Dash wishes to present to Trixie?
She couldn't tell if the horrors of the climb would be worth receiving such a gesture from Dash. Luckily, she didn't have to contemplate for long as Rainbow took a quick left turn, followed a minute later by another, leading them away from the mountains.
Slowly, it began to dawn on Trixie: they were walking along the edge of Ponyville. Whatever Dash had planned must have been on the other side, but she’d planned this roundabout forest route to spare Trixie another trip through the town itself.
Smiling with that realization, Trixie gave Dash another nuzzle as they took yet another left. In addition to the usual chirping and rustling, Trixie noticed the sound of a gently flowing river in the background.
“Enjoying yourself?” Dash asked, as she returned the affection with a stroke of her wing through Trixie’s mane, before it came to rest on her back again.
For any other type of trip, this route was just atrociously indirect, but Trixie was not going to complain about having to walk a little longer, if she got to spend it like this. Trixie did have one little issue though. As enjoyable as their walk was, the roots and uneven ground made it near impossible to walk next to Dash for more than a few seconds without tripping.
Trixie gave a small nod in reply to the question. “The view, sounds, scents, Trixie think it’s all just wonderful… Oh, and the forest is okay too, she supposes.” Winking playfully, Trixie watched Dash change colors.
Despite her obvious blush, Dash rolled her eyes. “You are such a cheeseball! Do you get all your lines out of those trashy romance stories?”
Trixie felt as though she’d been caught red-hooved. Her cheeks burned furiously. “W-what! No! O-of course not!” She scrambled for some type of defense. “Sure, Trixie knows a fair number of those types of stories, for her job! And yes, maybe she had spent more than a few nights reading novels that were perhaps not exactly Shakeahoof, but that hardly means… uhm, well, that is….” Trixie started to lose focus as the grin on Rainbow Dash’s face just kept getting bigger. She sighed. “…Trixie believes this hole is deep enough as it is now. Just bury her.”
“Hah! You totally do! Oh, oh, wait! Is that where you got all your ideas on romance from?” Dash was already chuckling just from the idea alone.
There wasn’t much point denying it now, though Trixie begrudgingly glared at Dash for asking. “Yes, okay! Are you happy now? Trixie never had a marefriend, or coltfriend, so she read about it instead!” she all but screamed indignantly, sure her face had to be on fire at this point.
“Ohmygosh! No wonder you had a plan for how you thought we were supposed to go about this!” Dash sniggered, that cursed grin never leaving her face. There was not the slightest attempt to hide the mirth in her voice. “Was that why you thought if you just kept kissing me it would work out eventually? That’s too good!” Dash burst out laughing.
“T-that was not what Trixie thought! And even if it was, it totally worked! Who are you to talk anyway? Trixie knows you don’t have any experience to begin with! All you’ve ever done is hang around Fluttershy and scare off suitors.”
“Hey! I got plenty of second hoof experience, thank you! Pressing your lips all over another pony works? Pfft, yeah right, you’re lucky you’re not bad looking, Trixie. Any pony else might have had you put in jail." Dash laughed, and took another left.
However, Trixie froze solid, and nearly dislocated Dash’s wing as she snagged on her neck while Dash tried to walk forward.
“Besides, Fluttershy scares off plenty of ponies on her ow—Ow! Hey! What gives?” She took a quick half-step back, and shook her wing loose while looking over her shoulder.
“J-jail?” How could she have forgotten about something so important? Trixie couldn’t believe what a fool she’d been. When she was told she would be better soon, her only thought had been of how to make some bits so she could stay with Dash and Fluttershy, but her problem was much bigger than that. “T-they’ll come to take Trixie away soon.”
“What?” Dash took another step back so she was besides her. “Whoa, Trixie, relax. I was only kidding, I didn’t actually report you for that or anything.”
Trixie lifted her head up to look at Dash, taking in the sight of the beautiful, worried pegasus, and committing it to memory as best she could. There was no telling how long she would have to do without that sight soon. “No, don’t you get it? Trixie is still a criminal.”
“Uh, oh, I kinda forgot about that.” Dash admitted, and raised a hoof to scratch the back of her head sheepishly. “You weren’t worried about it as much, so I guess it slipped my mind.”
Trixie wasn’t sure how much she really should be telling Dash, but she could really use somepony to talk to. How was she ever going to be more open with her if she didn’t put some trust in her? “…That’s because Trixie wasn’t so worried about the law, she still had trump cards to play.”
“Trump cards? Well why didn’t you say so? Don’t worry me like that geez.” Dash groaned.
“W-well… Trixie doesn’t really have them anymore.” She sighed, and looked down at her hooves to avoid Dash’s questioning look. In a near monotone, she explained her plan. “…One of the Elements of Harmony pursued and attacked Trixie, hurting her badly. It would be a big scandal if that got out. The Ponyville hospital allowed Trixie to be at the mercy of her attacker, and the incident repeated, which makes Ponyville itself responsible for Trixie’s suffering as well.”
Trixie could feel Dash tense up beside her. She couldn’t bring herself to look Dash in the eye to check, but she was sure she was hurt to be reminded of the incident. After a moment, she took the silence as a sign to continue. “When Trixie is taken to court, she would be able to reveal that, and claim she must be compensated. It would probably cause big problems for the element bearers and for Ponyville. The whole thing would take all the focus off Trixie as a villain, and make her the victim. Especially, if Trixie spins a horrible tale. Nothing too devoid of truth, just some tweaked details.”
“You, you wouldn’t, would you?” Dash asked hesitantly.
Trixie lifted her gaze up to Dash’s eyes. “Oh, Trixie would have. You’d never get into the Wonderbolts with a criminal record. Nurse Redheart would have been fired. Fluttershy would be an accomplice after the second time, and while Trixie doubts Fluttershy would get punished by the law, she would probably get her peaceful life ruined by journalists.” She rattled off the little list, then let out a long sigh. “…And Trixie would be so busy saving her own plot, that she’d only realize what she’d done afterwards.”
It took Dash a second to respond, presumably she was too shocked to even think straight after that. However, her eventual response was completely predictable: anger. “You’re going to do all that!?”
In any other circumstance, having Rainbow Dash angry at her would have been terrifying, and if Trixie was honest with herself, it still was a little bit. “No you foal! That’s the problem! Trixie can’t do that now that she actually cares what happens to them, to you! Now Trixie will just be on trial, they’ll bring out all the stupid rumors to wreck her credibility, and she’ll be guilty!”
Dash’s scowl broke up, as she gave Trixie a confused look. “Huh? Wait, so, what are you gonna do then?”
Faking a sudden keen interest in the leaves around her hooves, Trixie avoided eye contact. “Trixie doesn’t know… If Trixie runs, she can’t ever come back. But, if she stays, they’ll take her away anyway…” She couldn’t stop her shoulders from shaking as she spoke. “T-Trixie’s scared, Dash.”
Familiar warmth wrapped over Trixie’s shoulders. With surprising strength, Dash’s wing pulled Trixie against her. “You’re not going anywhere.” There was not a single hint of doubt in her voice. “I promise.”