Shining Armour trots out of the door and into one of the many courtyards of the castle he was located in. The cobblestone path beneath his hooves were standard for such a such as this place as well as the well groomed grass that took up the sides of the path up to the massive stone walls that separated the castle from the rest of Canterlot. His wary expression told his subordinates that this was no time to bother their captain. He sighed and kept trotting to the same destination he sought after every session with that... thing. It was wearing him down every single time he spoke to it.
It just sounded so much like...
“Something on your mind, Captain?” a regal voice asked knocking his thoughts down a flight of metaphorical stairs.
“Your Highness!” he exclaimed. Little did anypony know, he almost screamed like a filly. He hated it when she did that. She somehow manages to sneak up on him only when he is thinking. It was annoying.
“Calm down, you know I got you again fare and square.” The princess was referring to a bet of which he never agreed to. It involved the aforementioned alicorn scaring the literal piss out of him and when she called him upon his fear he denied it in spite of losing control of his bladder momentarily. The sun goddess said that if she could do it again he would be forced to fess up to his wife about it. He refused but she continued to do it anyways. To this day Shining Armour hasn’t told a soul about his accident and he planned to keep it that way.
“I never agreed to anything, your majesty.”
Celestia raised an eyebrow at him in annoyance. “You are a prince now, Shining Armor. you don’t have to call me by my title. I’d prefer if you didn’t”
The guard captain rubbed the back of his head with a hoof. “Sorry... old habits die hard.”
“I know all too well.” she said with a slightly forlorn look. “I’ll stop beating around the bush. Did you gain any new information?”
The unicorn shook his head. “Nothing, just the same answer I get everytime.” Shining looked away while he spoke which drew attention from Celestia.
“Hmm. It seems she is tougher to crack than I had expected... Is there something on your mind, Captain?”
“Oh, its nothing really.” Shining Armour only received a glare and he shuffled on his hooves. “Ugh... fine. Its just... she keeps telling me that she is Twilight. The worst part about this is that she acts just like her too... and speaks like her.” he said with a sigh and looks down. “And the longer I go on, the more I believe her. It is starting to hurt me physically to be doing this to her. I can’t help but to see my sister whenever I yell at her asking her the same question over and over again... What if she really is Twilight?” Shining’s voice almost turned into a whine as he looked at his monarch hoping for an answer.
The princess only sighed and looked away. “I was afraid of this.”
“Your Highness.. er, Celestia?”
“Don’t get me wrong, Captain. You’ve done a fine job in your interrogation. I only had you do it because I was afraid of what I would do to her if I so much as laid eyes on her... but I guess my hoof has been forced.” Celestia looked directly into the distressed unicorn’s eyes and spoke calmly. “I don’t blame you for feeling this way. Humans are masters of deception and play on feelings to gain trust. I know from experience.” The princess gains a determined look on her face and straightens out. She starts walking away and towards the dungeon entrance which was placed on a cliffside adjacent to the castle itself. “This is a human and I want to know what she has done with my student... Take the rest of the day off Shining Armour. You deserve it.”
The guard captain stood there. If there was anything he could have said in response, it evaded him. He watched as the alabaster princess walked to the entrance of the dungeons (catching the two positioned at the door off guard which he would have reprimand them for later) and walked in without giving them so much as a glance.
Shining Armour came to the realization that he probably had the dumbest look on his face and regained his composure. Part of him is glad that he is receiving a break but at what cost? Everything inside of him screamed out that was truly his little sister in there. She told him things that only Twilight would have any right of knowing; friends of his, important parts of his life, the day he got his cutie mark, and that one time with the incident with poison joke that was never to be spoken of again... EVER.
But... the other part of him is telling him to trust Princess Celestia’s judgement. She’s never steered him wrong as long as he’s know her. Could she be wrong now? Just this one time, is it possible that she is completely wrong? The more he humored the possibility, the worse he felt about this entire situation.
However, there is still the possibility that she is not who she says she is which means she knows where Twilight is. How he felt towards the human conflicted so greatly that it has started to induce a mild headache.
The captain rubbed his temples briefly before setting out for home. Maybe Cadence would know how to approach this predicament... scratch that. She is still pretty tore up about Twilight’s disappearance and bring up this revelation would spell bad things for her emotions. That leaves very few ponies he could even speak with about this kind of information without breaching protocol.
Shining Armour found himself inside of the eastern wing of the castle when he finally came out of his thoughts. The stallion made his way past the two guards stationed on either side of the doors he walked through to find his and his wife’s room. He didn’t bother looking around for any grasp of his surroundings and trudged straight the large bed in the middle of the dark room.
He removed his golden armor with a small amount of difficulty and placed it at the foot of the bed before unceremoniously plopping down into the bed. He shuffled a bit the gather some blankets and sat still awaiting his trip into fruitful sleep.
Sudden movement briefly sent a chill down his spine until he recognized the sound of Cadence’s soft breathing. She was still asleep but instinctively moved closer to her husband, putting a smile on his face. She managed to scoot to a position where she could rest her head next to Shining Armour’s beating heart. Cadence sighs while he falls into thoughts of what the future holds. He wondered if he’d ever see Twilight again. What would become of the Elements and their bearers if the worst were to happen? He could only imagine how lost and helpless Twilight is feeling wherever she is being held captive...
A tear...
There were few things that could make Shining Armour truly cry. This was one of those things. Suddenly Cadence groans a little before nuzzling into his chest. The tears stop as he kisses her on her head. She too knew the pain he felt. With that, the white unicorn’s eyes close and he drifts off into sleep next to his loving wife.
They both dream of Twilight.