Trixie could not have asked for more. Just a few simple words, and one wing around her. That was all it took. Simply knowing she had a real ally by her side made her feel so much stronger. Wrapping her hooves around Dash, Trixie held on tight. “Thank you.”
Not a single one of Trixie’s problems had been solved. She was not even given any hint as to a possible answer. By all rights, she should have been every bit as worried as she had moments ago, but she wasn’t. Instead, she felt as though, somehow, her problems had become that much more manageable. She could never have imagined, just how much of a difference it would make, to have somepony in her corner.
After a moment, she reluctantly let go of Dash, and pushed away. “But, what are we going to do?”
Dash shrugged. “I dunno.” Of course she would have no actual idea on what to do. Merely showing a look of determination, Dash grinned. “I just know nopony is taking you away. They’ll have to answer to Rainbow ‘Attempted Murder’ Dash first!”
Blinking in surprise for a moment, Trixie folded her ears flat. “Uhm, Trixie hopes you know that… s-she would never actually try that, erm ‘plan’, even in the past… The Cautious and Calculating Trixie would have come to her senses.”
“Heh, no you wouldn’t, but it doesn’t matter now. Don’t worry about it.” She had all the subtlety of a jackhammer, as per usual. “So, uhm, are you okay now? I mean… I dunno any of that legal stuff, but I’m sure Twilight could help, and there’s other… options.” Rainbow Dash looked characteristically scheming for a moment as she spoke, then shrugged as though it was too much trouble. “Eh, we can bust that cloud when we get to it.”
Twilight again. Why did she keep coming up so much? The full story of the Elements of Harmony, the location of Trixie’s books, and now legal advice. That was only counting the things Trixie needed from Twilight by now. Most, if not all, of which she was reluctant to go and ask her for.
If all Twilight did was give legal advice, that might work out, but based on what Trixie was told, Twilight had already proven she was not above using her position to ask Princess Celestia for personal favors. Trixie was not sure if she would classify as desperate enough to make a gamble like that just yet, but it was perhaps her best chance to stay in Ponyville.
Ultimately, Trixie had to agree with Dash’s sentiment. Trixie will ‘bust that cloud’ when she gets to it. She looked up at Dash. “Yes. Trixie is sorry for troubling you. Going one more day without a solution won’t matter, especially if it’s today… if you still wish to keep going?” she asked nervously.
“Pff, as if I would let you get off so easily! I put a lot of effort into this day, and you’re gonna suffer through it, whether you like it or not.” Grinning, Rainbow Dash motioned to the road ahead. “Come on!”
Trixie snickered, unable to control herself. Dash had a talent for making her feel better in the strangest ways. “Oh, curses. Well, Trixie supposes she’s stuck with you then. Let’s get this over with.” Following Dash’s lead, Trixie resumed the seemingly endless trek through the forest.
“Heh, and don’t you forget.” Dash smirked, but her face turned a little softer as she spoke while looking the other way. “Oh, uhm, one more thing… I’m used to you nagging all the time so, uh… you can do that more often, if something’s bothering you, I mean, you know.”
Briefly stunned, Trixie was only pulled out of the daze when she noticed Dash kept walking, and hurried after her. Once she’d caught up, she gave a quick nuzzle against Dash’s neck, and whispered, quietly enough to deny it, “Thanks, Dash, you’re the best.”
“Dash, you are the worst!” Trixie sprinted over the path through the forest at top speed, in a vain attempt to outrun the torrential waterfall that rained down upon them. She kept her saddlebags hovered over her head in hopes of at least saving her something of the manestyle she put so much effort into.
“How was I supposed to know!? Cloudchaser’s not scheduled to douse this part of the forest for at least two days!” Dash yelled back, both wings folded up above her head to shield herself as they galloped through the leaves.
Trixie groaned. How was it possible that Dash was this much of an airhead? She feared for the future of the weather team. “You foal! You switched those days with her yourself! THAT’s why she’s here now!”
“Oh yeah! Hehe, woops?” There was an irritatingly cheery tune in the mare’s voice. Dash leapt over a tree branch, sliding through the mud as she suddenly made a sharp left turn. “This way! We’re almost there!”
Trying to shield herself as much as possible, Trixie followed in hot pursuit.
From one moment to the next, the trees gave way to a grassy field, and the rain suddenly stopped. A quick look up confirmed the sun was shining brightly, and even the grass they were running along was perfectly dry.
Trixie skidded to a halt. Had she not been soaked to the bone, she might have thought she’d imagined the rain. Glancing over her shoulder, Trixie flinched away from what she thought to be a wall of water chasing after her, but it did not follow. It was as though she was staring at a murky aquarium just a few steps away from her. “That’s, uh, pretty localized.”
Trotting up next to her, Dash nodded. “Well yeah, it’s not like every drizzle is the same you know. These little ones are pretty easy to control. All you need to do is keep the clouds in the right place, control the humidity in the surrounding area, an—”
Menacingly, Trixie whirled around on Dash, leaning in close so she was face to face with her. She forced her words out between clenched teeth while water dripped down her muzzle. “Does Trixie look like she cares about the finer points of weather management right now?”
Dash flinched back as Trixie rounded on her, but quickly rediscovered that confident smirk of hers again while she listened to Trixie rant. By the look of bemusement on Dash’s face, Trixie could only guess Dash had considered the rain refreshing rather than annoying. “Whoa, relax, Trixie. It’s only water.”
Trixie glared at Dash, perfectly aware that she had already admitted pegasi were simply not bothered by any kind of weather. She pushed in closer, trying to make Dash step back as she yelled, “’Only water’ Trixie’s fla—mpf!?” A sudden kiss interrupted her rant, leaving Trixie too stunned to properly react.
Just as Trixie caught on, and tried to return the kiss, Dash pulled back, licking her lips with an impish grin while looking at Trixie. “Still mad?”
Blushing deeply, Trixie stumbled forward a step with the sudden lack of resistance. She wanted to yell at Dash for interrupting her, but it was absolutely no use; the fire that had been in her gut was firmly defeated by the invading army of butterflies. “Bwuh? Uh, uhm, y-yes. Trixie’s still mad, totally. S-so, you should, uhm, try again.” She scrapped one of her hooves through the grass.
“Mhm, I don’t know.” Dash drawled while she looked Trixie over examiningly. “You don’t really look mad…” She paused, teasingly letting the words hang in the air while she watched Trixie put on the best attempt at a scowl she could manage at the moment. “Heh, better safe than sorry.” Dash relented, leaning in for a second one.
Closing her eyes, Trixie felt a rush of warmth all through her body the moment Dash’s lips touched hers. It was a sensation she would never get used to, or grow tired of. Stolen kisses were one thing, but long, drawn-out shared ones like this had her head spinning. Somewhere in the back of her mind, Trixie was pretty sure there was something she was supposed to be upset about, yet if it was that important, surely she would have remembered?
Once they broke away, Trixie could not stop smiling. A warm fuzzy feeling had stayed behind in her chest. Upon opening her eyes, Trixie found Rainbow Dash staring back at her, half lidded, with the same smile. “…Trixie’s not mad anymore.”
“Heh, too bad.” Dash chuckled softly, then motioned over her shoulder. “So… what do you think?”
The question briefly confused her. “What does Trixie think of what?” She leaned to the side a little to look past Rainbow Dash. She had not actually paid any attention to her surroundings since escaping the rainy forest.
The lush green fields stretched on for a little, but then dipped downward and faded into the sandy shorelines of a small lake. Or perhaps it should be called a large pond, Trixie was not sure, but the bottom line was there was yet more water.
Before she had time to groan dismissively at the idea of going swimming, her eyes fell upon a spot on the beach directly behind Dash. A big white and red checkered blanket was spread out over the sand. Four stones held the corners of the blanket down, and in the middle stood a wicker picnic basket.
Trixie looked around briefly to try to find the owners, but when she discovered there was nopony else around, she swayed back so she was in front of Dash again with a quizzical look. “Did you… prepare that? Are we here to have lunch?” For the second time, Trixie felt as though this was not the same Rainbow Dash that she knew.
Dash looked a little unsure of herself, her smile faltered just slightly as Trixie questioned her. “Y-yeah, aren’t you hungry? It’s been a while since breakfast, and we walked all the way… Shall we?”
“So, no swimming competition, waterskiing, or fighting sharks? Are you sure?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. Even without the sharks, something was definitely fishy.
Dash laid her ears back and chuckled awkwardly. “I’m sure, but, uhm, hey, we could totally do those things if you want?”
Finally catching on to Dash’s discomfort, Trixie scrambled to say something positive “No, no! It’s fine! Great! It’s great! Trixie can’t wait!” Eager to show Dash she really did appreciate her preparations, Trixie pulled her towards the beach. “Let’s go. You’ve got to show Trixie what you brought! It’s just that Trixie didn’t think… well, you keep surprising her today. That’s all. Trixie didn’t really take you for a romantic, no offense.”
All of Dash’s energy was quickly restored as she followed along with Trixie, then dropped down on the blanket with a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I’m just full of surprises, huh? Speaking of which, I’ve got two more I want to give you. Though I guess you already kinda know about one of them, I’ll save that one for last.”
Trixie sat down besides Dash on the blanket, giving a few swift pats on the blanket to sort out a few lumps in the sand below so she could sit comfortably. Rainbow Dash was being mysterious again, and, to Trixie’s embarrassment, it was working. “Do not keep The Patient and Enduring Trixie waiting. What is it? Did you bake something? Trixie is not sure she is ready to go back to the hospital so soon.”
Shooting Trixie a mock dirty look, Dash turned to flip open the basket and reached inside, apparently she was just as eager as Trixie was to get this underway. “For the record, I didn’t make any of this stuff. Sugarcube Corner is famous for having awesome snacks, but when I came in Pinkie Pie curled up her tail, and her left hind leg turned to jelly, so, uh, actually, never mind. I guess you could just say she ‘recommended’ these to me.” She turned around to present Trixie her find.
“Really? Curly tail and a jelly leg? Are you messing with Trixie? She still does not believe that Pinkie pony actually exi—” Trixie’s eyes went wide, certain her jaw must have hit the blanket, as she stared slacked jawed at the treat Rainbow Dash was holding out.
There was simply no way, absolutely no way, that this was just dumb luck. She had to be a sleep talker, or mentioned it at some point, or more likely demanded it, but Trixie could not recall anything of the sort. It had to be a hallucination, yet there it was, plain a day!
After a moment, she found her voice again.
“Peanut butter chocolate muffins?!”