There was no one around but she, herself, and Twilight, which was exactly how she liked it. Any more, and there was suddenly rules, like how they couldn't sneak snacks from the kitchens, or how whatever they wanted to do was too dangerous or "uncouth" for a Princess. And any less, and there was just Rainbow Dash, sitting around, being bored and having to do something dumb, like having to do homework explaining the theory for cloud bucking or something like that.
No, it was best when it was Just the two of them, on an adventure they weren't allowed to be on, to lands unexplored and seas unmapped. The perfect adventure for two best friends for what Twilight determined was to be all eternity.
BFFAE's. It was a huge mouthful, sure, but Dash grew to like it, even if it sounded ultra-dorky. Yeah, saying it aloud sounded like she was choking to death on the alphabet, but what it meant was just... right. All nice and final, with absolutely no wiggle room to suddenly change, like how the rest of the world was. It was a kind of consistency that one could make plans around.
Best friends for all Eternity. And even though Dash wasn't an egghead like Twi was, even she could understand how totally awesome something like that could be.
And, as for the aformentioned plans, Dash had spent all week thinking it up and sorting one out, one that they were currently trying to enact. A trip, just the two of them, to her favorite swimming hole, all the way down by the tiny, ultra-snoozefest town of Ponyville. And, better yet, it was meant for just her, the Princess of book, and swimming. Nopony else. No boring, uptight moms, no lame-joking, groan-worthy dads, no worry-wort personal maids, and no ultra-scary Princesses.
Just the two of them, with nothing but the wings on their backs. Oh, and some snacks that she had snuck over the previous day. All in all, Dash believed that it was a well thought out plan, one that even her stickler of a friend could appreciate, once she finally told her about it. And all they had to do to enact said plan and start said adventure was escape. A simple enough job. Easy as cake.
“Dash! Can.. we... slow down?”
The Pegasus in question let out a groan at the implications, and shook her head in exasperation. Oh yeah, there was that one, tiny little snag; She forgot that her best friend was a complete and total baby, and running for long periods of time was a difficult to manage thing for someone who did little more than book. And, once again, Dash was forced to slow down, regroup, and let her less physically fit compatriot catch her breath.
And, if she didn't, they would get caught due to either Twilight making enough noise to wake even her mother up with her panting and whining, or trip up and simply fall behind and get spotted. Or, worse, Dash could genuinely lose her in the labyrinth that was the lower levels of the castle, and in doing so, make the whole trip idea moot.
So with that in mind, the filly looked around the hall for several seconds, looking for a decent spot to hide, before finally spotting something. A pile of crates, all sitting there in such a way that two small fillies, one awesome and one book, could hide behind. Not the best hiding spot in the world, but enough to keep them out of sight for a couple minutes while Twilie the wondernerd caught her breath.
"Alright, we can rest for, like, one minute, but we gotta get going again."
All the purple filly gave her was a nod of acceptance and a pained whisper of thanks, and Dash decided to stare back, hoping for a little more than that.
What, no hug? Her being nice definitely deserved a hug. She was a great friend, dang it.
But, after a moment of waiting, Dash gave an all suffering shrug, before clambering behind the previously spotted crate, half-dragging Twilight along with her as the purple filly tried to catch her breath. She didn't know why she felt so disappointed; Twilight always had been a stickler for hugs, and right now probably wouldn't be the most appropriate time. They were in a rush, and were supposed to be sneak-snonking out of the castle. And hugging was not sneaky, even if they were somehow really cool.
So, Dash settled with watching her friend tiredly pant while slumped against the crate for a moment, pondering what they should do next. They had been lucky so far, managing to get into the lower levels of the castle, where there was much less staff, and as such, much less chance of being spotted by somepony. It should theoretically be easier from here.
You know what? Dash was gonna call it now; the rest was gonna be super easy.
But, even if the rest was gonna be easy, they had still found themselves lacking in what they needed to find; a window. Yeah, they needed a window like a dragon needed a breath mint, as there was no unguarded doors in the lower levels, a fact that Dash knew completely from experience. But as her luck would have it, windows weren’t apparently welcome in the less splendor-filled parts of the castle, making their escape so much harder.
But, luckily, the filly known as Rainbow Dash liked a challenge. And, even better, she liked high stakes, because the truth was that if they got caught, it was like, a insta-grounding.
Do not pass go, do not collect allowance. She’d probably even get banned from the castle again too, meaning that she’d have to leave poor Twilight alone with all her books and studies and lists of what she should do for a whole week, with only that stuffy maid Cadence to keep her company.
"We're almost out, Twi. We just gotta find a window."
The purple alicorn nodded weakly, before looking around a little. "Uh... there should be one... just down the hall."
Of course. She should've asked Twilight from the beginning; She knew the castle inside and out, probably because she lived here and everything. Of course she would know how to get out of it easily.
So, yes, her plan was clear; Follow Twilight, who would lead them to salvation. A brilliant plan, if ever there was one. They couldn’t afford to get caught by anyone, so the best plan would be to follow the purple one who booked and wrote, and definitely not get caught.
Especially not by one of the Royal guards. A maid could be sweet talked if they were either new and/or busy enough and Twilight put on the "I'm adorable" charm, but a guard always knew what was up, and were completely immune to her best friend's cuteness.
So, all they had to do is not get seen by any guards.
Like the one that was about to walk by the pair, and probably already knew what was up.
“Um, Dash?”
The blue Pegasus barely heard the words before she shot over and pulled the tiny Princess into a tight hold, using a wing to cover her mouth as she drug the two of them further behind the stack of crates. Maybe, they’d get lucky, and the guard wouldn’t have heard her.
They’d just have to-
*CHOMP*
“OW!”
Dash couldn’t help but let out a yelp, and almost immediately, the crate that hid them from view was lifted into the air by a very unamused, yet similar looking guard.
“Hello, Rainbow Dash. Princess.”
Dash was torn between trying to give the familiar looking guard a innocent smile and glaring at Twilight. But ultimately, she chose Twilight. The guard, gleamer plate or Shining armor or whatever could wait.
Besides, she was already caught, so at this point it didn’t matter. Twilight deserved her ire. And to think that she put all this effort into sneaking her out of the castle without even telling her where they were going. Secrets were hard, dangit!
“You bit my wing!”
Twilight, on the otherhoof, just glared back with equal intensity, as if she was the one who had been wronged.
“Well, you tried to smother me!”
And it was for a good cause. Sometimes, somepony needed to take one for the team. “You bit my wing!”
The pair continued to give each other death-glares, all while the guard continued to give the pair a look of bored disappointment, his eyes going from one to the other as the pair argued. But, after a long moment of bickering, the guard finally spoke up.
"Dash, didn't you just get allowed to return today?"
The rainbow maned pegasus didn't respond, instead choosing to glare some more at Twilight. Dang it, now her wing hurt, and was covered in nerd-slobber. And Twilight was just sitting there, like she totally deserved it or something.
The gall. Pegasi wings were special, and not just anypony was supposed to chew on them!
"You stay out of this!"
The guard seemed mildly surprised at the purple alicorn's outburst, but beyond that, he didn't seem all that interested in staying out of the shouting match, instead choosing to lift the pair of unruly fillies into the air with his magic.