Nocturne
Chapter 8
What she means to him? Everything
The day of his wedding, the day he became the Captain of the Guard, the day he received his letter of acceptance into the guard. In all of these days, there was always one there, Twilight Sparkle. But why? What connection the two had, Nightmare wondered. Being forced remembering these was a very painful experience for Shining Armor.
“What does she mean to you!?” Nightmare demanded with all of her authority. All Shining Armor could do was let out an agonized cry. “I hope you know that I never ask.” Nightmare said reminding the tortured Unicorn. “All you have to do is tell me and this will be over.”
“No…” He replied with his usual rebelliousness.
“If that is what you desire…”
Nightmare continued to search through his memories. His emotional, physical, and psychological strength has weakened significantly since he was brought in. Yet, he still kept his rebellious behavior.
“You have held on this long, I will commend you for that.” Umbra had said as he was catching his breath.
“I don’t need your commendation…” the stallion said panting.
“Right, you need Celestia’s.” Nox said, “All you need is for her to pat your head and give you a medal and you go off happy as the little dog you are.”
“If I wasn’t chained down…”
“What would you do; you, a single colt in a cage against three immensely powerful beings? If you weren’t necessary, you would be dead, you should be grateful.” Nox reminded him of the situation he was really in, but as long as he did not talk, he would remain necessary, therefore alive, Shining Armor thought.
Shining Armor let out another pained scream as Nightmare continued to search.
“Why can’t I find what she is to you?” Nightmare demanded as she released him again from the spell.
“You can’t find what you don’t understand…” This was the second time she had been told by another what she did and did not understand; she already grew tired of it.
“I spoke with your little Princess Celestia, you know.” Nightmare said as-a-matter-of-factly.
“You don’t deserve to even utter her name…” he said as he was holding onto consciousness as best he could.
“For your sake, I will pretend I did not hear that. Before an ungrateful guest so rudely interrupted me, I spoke with her. She said the same thing you did. All think they know who I am, pure evil, a never ending nightmare, but they do not know a thing. Do not speak what you do not understand. You do not know who or what I was before I became what I am now. All of that has led up to now and it has made me stronger than you could ever imagine.” Nightmare shocked Shining Armor for his insolence.
“It’s really a wonder how you survived past the third day; I must know your secret.” Nightmare entered his memory once again, and found something.
“You’re her big brother… She is your little sister…” Nightmare fully realized the connection. She contemplated in her head what to do.
“Wait,” Nox spoke up, “That purple little girl his sister?” Nox looked at Umbra.
“It appears so; it makes sense when you think about it.” Umbra replied to Nox’s unguided question. “Both are really powerful and both have connection to their Princess.”
“It seems to me that she is what is keeping him strong, Mother.” Umbra had pointed out.
“But what to do about this…” Nightmare pondered relentlessly.
Nightmare brought herself to realization, “There is only one thing to do.” As she brought her horn to his forehead, it glowed with a dark, dreadful aura; even being in its presence made one feel uneasy. Shining Armor let out a pained cry, and the chains rattled violently as he twitched on the ground; finally, he fell unconscious.
“What did you do to him, Mother?” Nox questioned. “In due time my child… all in due time…”