“Shining Armor, do you take Princess Cadence to be your loving mare, forever and always?”
Shining Armor hesitated with his answer. When he finally spoke, he answered nervously.
“I…do not”
The entire wedding hall erupted with gasps, tears, and protests. This was a royal wedding, in Canterlot Palace! Refusing or being out of form was unacceptable. Nopony said no or stuttered or anything like that.
Celestia glared at Shining Armor angrily. “And what are your reasons for this refusal?”
Shining Armor was sweating profusely. He backed away and stammered through his answer.
“I…I…”
At this point Celestia’s stare burned through Shining Armor’s skull like a laser. He immediately ran toward the back of the sanctuary, through the guards, and out of town.
* * *
Cadence was in tears, crying ceaselessly over the rejection of her fiancé. After the ‘dilemma’ at the wedding, she had been whisked away to her quarters to recuperate. She was not doing well though. Some guards had been sent to comfort her, but she quickly commanded them, “Out!” How could he do this to me? Cadence thought. I’m the prettiest, wealthiest princess in all of Equestria! Nopony refuses me! Especially not a peasant like Shining Armor!
She quickly got up, pulled herself together, and headed for the throne room to speak to Princess Celestia.
“Your Highness,” Cadence bowed in her presence.
“Speak, Princess Cadence,” Celestia commanded. “What do you have that requires my attention?”
“I want him dead,” Cadence said calmly.
“Shining Armor?” Celestia questioned.
“Yes.”
“Well then,” Celestia considered for a moment. “Very well. We will hunt him down at once.”
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Cadence bowed and trotted back to her quarters with a grin on her face. This was going to work out after all, she thought.
* * *
Shining Armor stopped running and tried to catch his breath. What did I just do? , he thought. The entire palace guard is going to try and hunt me down!
He knew there was only one place where he would be truly safe. Harmony, he thought. With an affectionate sigh he cantered off in the direction of Ponyville, towards Harmony’s house.
The forced marriage between him and Princess Cadence was not something he was at all in favor of. Ever since he had met Harmony, an earth pony who lived in the farmlands of the outskirts of Ponyville, he had fallen madly in love with her and vowed to never marry another, even the wealthiest, prettiest princess in all of Equestria. Oh Harmony, we will soon be together. He smiled at the thought.
Later, Harmony’s home came into view. Shining Armor gave a sigh of relief. Finally, he thought. Fortunately, on the short trip to Harmony’s, Shining Armor didn’t meet any guards, and anypony who he passed barely took notice of him. It was not unusual for strange ponies to pass through Ponyville.
Harmony happened to step outside at that moment, and she did a double take when she saw Shining Armor trotting toward her. She immediately dropped the bucket of seeds she was carrying.
“Shining Armor, “she whispered to herself. Her eyes lit up as she realized that her lover had escaped the arranged marriage after all. She began to run towards Shining Armor and they met in a loving embrace.
“You made it!” Harmony said into his ear.
“Only for you, my love,” Shining Armor said and held Harmony tighter.
The two walked back to Harmony’s house. Shining Armor began to feel something he had never felt before. Freedom, he thought. I’m finally free.
* * *
Back at Canterlot Palace, Cadence was preparing herself. She was-with no doubt-going to kill him. That bastard, she thought, refusing me? He couldn’t do better if he had a choice. But Cadence knew that Shining Armor would be a hard one to pin down. He had a lot of friends and relatives scattered all throughout Equestria that would shelter and hide him without a second thought. But I have the entire Canterlot Royal Guard, she realized, some of the best trained guard-soldiers in all of Equestria. We’ll find him… She laughed to herself as she thought of Shining Armor’s fate. He’ll be like putty in my hooves…
* * *
After their dramatic meet-up, Shining Armor finally explained the entire ordeal to Harmony.
“I need to hide. The palace guards could be here as soon as tomorrow!” Shining Armor urged Harmony. “Do you have a place I could hide?”
Harmony thought for a second.
“Of course! The crop cellar! It’s full of barrels and boxes for storage, so there should be no problem hiding you in there.”
After scouring the crop cellar for the best place to hide, Harmony found a very large, empty box that Shining Armor could easily stay in. They both nudged the box into a corner and Shining Armor stepped in.
“Perfect,” he said with a smile.
“Good.” Harmony said. “I’d better get some sleep. Good night and good luck.”
“I can’t thank you enough, love.” Shining Armor said to her. They kissed goodnight and Shining Armor went to sleep. Harmony closed the box and went to bed.
* * *
Morning finally rolled around. It was a dark, gloomy day. Preparations for the scouting party were coming to a close.
“My scouts are almost ready.”Darkblood, captain of the guard, told Celestia.
“Very good. Get them moving as soon as you can.” Celestia said as she walked back into the palace.
“Of course, Your Highness.” Darkblood bowed and walked back to ready his troops. He had chosen his fastest and strongest stallions for this special task. Darkblood chuckled to himself and grinned. Shining Armor can run but he can’t hide for long. Not against me. That thought gave him hope and a burning desire to kill Shining Armor. Darkblood was Cadence’s big brother, and would do anything to see her satisfied. In this case, that would mean killing her ex-fiancé. He smiled at the thought.
* * *
Shining Armor awoke to find himself being vigorously shaken by Harmony.
“Wha…What’s going on?” Shining Armor said sleepily.
“You have to get moving now!” Harmony said sternly. “The Royal Guard is searching every house between here and Canterlot. You need to get out of here!”
“Where can I go? I’ll never be able to outrun them.” Shining Armor questioned, now fully awake.
“I’ve already got the supplies you’ll need to survive and I’ve already made a route for you.” Harmony showed Shining Armor a map of Equestria. “You’ll head north.”
Shining Armor’s eyes grew wide in shock. “That will take me to the Everfree Forest! I can’t survive in there!”
“You’ll have to. It’s the only place the palace scouts won’t search.” Harmony reasoned. “I’m sorry.”
Shining Armor’s head swam. This could be the last time that I ever see Harmony! I can’t let that happen.
“Harmony?”
She turned around to face him. “Yes?”
Shining Armor took a breath. “You’re coming with me.”
Harmony just stared with her mouth open. “Someone has to stay here, and it’s not going to be you.”
Shining Armor thought for a second, and said: “I know that your farm is dear to you, but I can’t live out there.” He gestured northward. “Together we can survive. Our love will keep us alive.”
Harmony just sighed. “Fine.” She said sarcastically. “Get over here. We have to pack.”
Shining Armor just walked up to her, turned her head towards him, and passionately kissed her.
Harmony just stood with her eyes wide.
* * *
“Come on! Let’s go!” Darkblood was yelling at his scouts. “If we want to find him, we need to move!”
Ever since they had started searching, they had found nothing but clueless pony after clueless pony. Nopony even knew who Shining Armor was! This search is going nowhere! Darkblood thought with a sigh as he cantered off to the next house. It seemed that the most common answer was ‘Who?’ or ‘Shining Armor? Who would name their colt that?’ These ponies really need to get out more. Darkblood thought.
* * *
It felt like they had been trotting in circles all day. Shining Armor and Harmony had been walking through the Everfree Forest constantly since sunrise in an attempt to escape the guards. Every tree looked the same, so there was no telling how far they’d been or which way they were going. In this situation, ‘lost’ was an understatement. In fact, they had no intentions of ever going back, so they didn’t care where they were, as long as they were as far away from Ponyville as possible.
“You have any idea where we are?” Shining Armor asked, with a nervous edge to his voice.
“I’ve been in these woods before, but never this deep,” Harmony said, glancing around for a landmark or a recognizable object. “I’ve no idea.”
There was nothing to do but keep going, until night had engulfed the Everfree forest and neither Shining Armor nor Harmony could see their own four hooves. Then, and only then did they rest for the night. Little did they know, they were in for a surprise in the morning.
* * *
Darkblood was extremely frustrated.
He had been searching all day long in this little town and had found nothing. Not even a trace of Shining Armor! He was ready to give up.
“Hey, what about that one?” One of his scouts pointed to a farmhouse on the edge of Ponyville.
“That’s the only one left. We’ll have to search it.” Darkblood said with hope.
As his scouts approached the farmhouse, they noticed that it had been uninhabited for a few days. The door had been left open, and items were strewn everywhere inside. But what was the most surprising was what was found outside the house.
“Darkblood, sir, come take a look at these.” One of his scouts beckoned for him.
“What is it?” Darkblood questioned when he arrived.
“Tracks, sir. Pony tracks. Two sets.”
He was right. Shining Armor’s large hooves were easily distinguishable in the soft mud of Harmony’s abandoned fields.
“Scouts! Follow these tracks, into the woods!” Darkblood ordered his troops.
The tracks led into the thick Everfree Forest, one of the most hostile places in Equestria. Darkblood shuddered as he remembered the last time a scouting went in there. Not this time, he thought. Not my soldiers.
Fortunately, even though it was getting dark, the scouts moved along. Darkblood, prepared for anything as usual, had brought torches for this exact reason. Unbeknownst to him, Shining Armor and Harmony were not prepared, so they were forced to rest for the night. Darkblood had gained the upper hand. He chuckled to himself as he began to canter along the path.
* * *
“This is the Canterlot Royal Guard! Do not move!” Darkblood shouted to Shining Armor as he held a pike to his chest.
Shining Armor awoke with a start. He looked at Harmony, who was in the same situation. The look in her eyes seemed to say: We’ll find a way out of this.
“You are both under arrest. Shining Armor, you are under arrest for abandoning a royal arranged marriage, and for evading guards who have a warrant to arrest you. Your friend there”-he poked Harmony with his pike-“Is under arrest for protecting and housing a runaway, as well as evading guards with an arrest and search warrant.”
Shining Armor bowed his head in defeat. He, in bringing Harmony into the woods with him, had gotten her-as well as himself-captured by the royal guard. He sighed and gave in to Darkblood.
“Now,” Darkblood said, “Since we have orders not to kill you on sight, you and your friend-“
“Harmony,” Shining Armor interrupted.
Darkblood glared at him and gave him another jab with his pike. “You and Harmony will follow us back to Canterlot Palace. We will blindfold you until we get you to your prison cell.” Darkblood pulled out two pieces of cloth and gave them to his scouts to blindfold Shining Armor and Harmony. They were promptly blindfolded and began to follow Darkblood back to the palace.
* * *
“Princess Celestia, the messenger is here to see you.” Celestia’s advisor informed her.
“Bring him in.” Celestia replied from her throne.
“Right away, Your Highness.” He bowed and left to fetch the messenger.
After a minute or so, the messenger walked in and bowed before Celestia.
“I have news from Darkblood’s scouts, Your Highness.” He reported.
“Well, speak! What is it?” Celestia replied.
“Darkblood and his scouts have captured Shining Armor and what appears to be an accomplice of his. ‘Harmony’ is her name.”
“Very good. Tell Darkblood, when he gets here, that I want Princess Cadence to be the first one he sees when he is unblindfolded.
“Yes Your Highness, right away.” The messenger bowed and walked out of the room.
* * *
Shining Armor had been following Darkblood for quite a long time. He had no idea how close they were to Canterlot, or to anywhere else, for that matter. He was partially relieved when he heard the doors of the palace open. He began to wonder what the strange echo he heard was. It suddenly occurred to him. I’m in a stone hallway, so we must be in the castle dungeons.
After a bit more walking, and a couple of flights of stairs, he heard the opening of a rusty cell door. He was pushed inside and he heard Harmony emit a small yelp as she fell onto the floor of the cell. He also heard an unfamiliar mare’s voice say: ‘Very good. I’ll take it from here.’
Shining Armor heard the guards leave, and the unknown mare walked to his cell and locked the door shut.
“You can take your blindfolds off now.” She told Shining Armor and Harmony.
Shining Armor was totally unprepared for what he saw. Princess Cadence, his ex-fiancé, was standing right in front of his cell. Shining Armor was speechless.
“Welcome back, Shining Armor. Hope you had a nice trip. I see you found a new friend.”
Harmony just hung her head and tried not to cry.
“I have plans for you. Both of you.” Cadence said with a smile. “Have a nice night.”
Cadence put out the torches on the walls.
Harmony yelled from her cell at Cadence. “You’ll never get away with this, whatever you’re going to do! Someone will save us!”
Cadence just laughed. “Oh, but the best part is that I will get away with this. Nopony will ever save you. And don’t even try to escape. I can guarantee that the cells are impenetrable, and that half of the guard will not hesitate to kill you if you manage to set one hoof out the door. Sleep tight!” Cadence left with an evil laugh.
Shining Armor had nothing to do but sleep. He thought to himself: What have I gotten myself into?