Shining Armor

Shining Armor is a male unicorn pony, Twilight Velvet and Night Light's son, Twilight Sparkle's older brother, Princess Cadance's husband, and Flurry Heart's father. He is the former captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, serving under Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and bears the title of prince as a result of his marriage to Cadance. He first appears in the two-part season two finale alongside Cadance. In the season three premiere, he and Cadance are appointed as the rulers of the Crystal Empire.__TOC__
==Development and design==
Lauren Faust was involved with the inception of the story where Shining Armor first appears. Faust came up with several aspects of Shining Armor's character, such as his name, powers, and being Twilight Sparkle's brother.
Shining Armor shares his pony and human designs respectively with Steel Masquerade and with "Coach Rommel".
==Depiction in the series==
===Season two===
 Shining Armor first appears in A Canterlot Wedding - Part 1. Princess Celestia invites Twilight Sparkle, his younger sister, to the wedding of Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Twilight is upset that Shining Armor did not write to her directly, and doesn't recognize who his bride is. In the song B.B.B.F.F. ("Big Brother Best Friend Forever"), Twilight remembers how she was very close to Shining Armor until she moved to Ponyville and lost touch with him. Twilight fears that they will become even more distant after he marries someone and starts a new family.
Shining Armor later tells Twilight he was unable to tell her of his engagement in person due to a threat on the safety of Canterlot; he adds that Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is Cadance, Twilight's former foal-sitter. At the request of Princess Celestia, Shining Armor used his magic to create a protective barrier around Canterlot and keep it there constantly. Twilight states that only Shining Armor can conjure up the shield.
 Twilight tries to tell Shining Armor that something is wrong, but Queen Chrysalis, having taken the place of and impersonating Cadance, interrupts and takes Shining Armor into another room. Twilight, peeking through the door, sees the fake Cadance casting a spell on Shining Armor that makes his eyes glow green. The next day, Twilight confronts the impostor Cadance at the wedding rehearsal and accuses her of evildoing in front of Shining Armor and her friends. After Cadance runs off in tears, Shining Armor contradicts Twilight's accusations, saying that the spell Cadance cast on him was to ease his chronic headaches from maintaining the magical shield around Canterlot. Shining Armor is so upset with Twilight that he takes away her position of Best Mare and suggests that she should not come to the wedding at all.
Chrysalis traps Twilight in the catacombs under Canterlot and states that she has plans for Shining Armor.
Shining Armor, fully under Queen Chrysalis's magic, is in a trance-like state at the wedding. Twilight and the real Cadance burst into the hall, and Shining Armor is reunited with his true bride. Cadance's magic breaks the spell on Shining Armor, but by now the changeling army has broken through Canterlot's defensive shield and is invading the city. Shining Armor tries to perform a spell to repel the changelings, but he doesn't have the power. Cadance tells Shining Armor that her love will give him strength, and their combined magic spreads outward and blasts all the changelings and their queen out of Canterlot.
 With peace restored to Canterlot, another wedding is planned with the real Cadance. Shining Armor makes Twilight his Best Mare again. He jokes that Cadance only agreed to marry him after he told her she'd be gaining Twilight as her sister. At the wedding, Princess Celestia declares that the power of Cadance and Shining Armor's love is undeniable, and pronounces them "mare and colt." The couple waves to the cheering crowds from a castle balcony and kiss.
After a wedding reception montage, Shining Armor thanks Twilight for her help, and leaves the reception with Cadance in a carriage.
===Season three===
 Shining Armor next appears in The Crystal Empire - Part 1. When Princess Celestia receives word of the Crystal Empire's return, she instructs a guard to inform Shining Armor as well as his wife, Princess Cadance. Upon their arriving in the Arctic North of Equestria, he greets the Mane Six at the train station before they run to the Crystal Empire in an attempt to escape the shadow form of King Sombra. As the others enter the forcefield protecting the empire, Shining Armor stays back to buy more time, but his horn becomes encrusted with Sombra's black crystals, impairing his unicorn magic. He reunites with Cadance in the castle and stays by her side throughout the remainder of the episode, comforting her in her weakened state as she struggles to maintain the protective forcefield around the Crystal Empire.
He is shown once again when the Mane Six return from the library to tell him their plan about the Crystal Faire. After Twilight discovers that the Crystal Heart is a genuine relic, she tells Shining Armor and Cadance that the real Crystal Heart is missing.
 When Spike and the Crystal Heart fall from the top of the tower, Shining Armor throws his wife in the air, right toward them. When Cadance catches the heart and the Crystal Ponies use it to defeat King Sombra, Shining Armor's horn is restored. After the Crystal Empire is restored, Shining Armor jokes to Twilight that she has to stop saving him, as it has become rather embarrassing. Cadance and Shining Armor become the new rulers of the Crystal Empire.
 Shining Armor next appears in Games Ponies Play, training a group of Crystal Ponies for the Equestria Games. He briefly meets Ms. Peachbottom, whom everyone had mistaken for the Equestria Games inspector, and is shocked when she admits she is just a tourist, not to mention embarrassed when she shamelessly flirts with him. He is later present when the real inspector, Ms. Harshwhinny, announces that the Crystal Empire will be hosting the next Equestria Games.
Shining Armor appears in Magical Mystery Cure. He talks to Twilight during her princess coronation and has watering eyes, which he insists aren't tears but "liquid pride."
===Season four===
 In Pinkie Pride, Shining Armor makes a portrait cameo on Pinkie Pie's wall during his wedding reception with Cadance. Shining also appears in Equestria Games. He announces the opening of the games, and acts as commentator for the events. During the games, as Spike volunteers to sing the Cloudsdale anthem, Shining reminds Spike that they only play the anthem for the winners. After one of the ice archers accidentally shoots an arrow into a cloud causing it to become solid and sink down towards the stadium, Shining orders security to cut the unicorn disabling spell that unicorns had to use before entering the stadium.
In Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2, Shining notices the sun moving around funny as Twilight attempts to raise it. Discord suddenly teleports next to Shining, who calls him a traitor for allying himself with Lord Tirek. He tries to attack Tirek but has his magic stolen instead. At the end of the episode, his magic is returned to him after Twilight and her friends use the Rainbow Power against Tirek.
===Season five===
In Slice of Life, Shining Armor appears at Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda's wedding, getting overemotional at their impending nuptials.
In The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows, Shining Armor and Cadance announce that they are having a baby, and they reveal this to Twilight through a scavenger hunt.
===Season six===
 In The Crystalling - Part 1 and Part 2, after Cadance gives birth to a foal, Shining Armor becomes ill-rested and stressed from his sudden role as a father. However, Twilight and her friends help him through his dilemma. He and Cadance later give the baby the name Flurry Heart.
In The Times They Are A Changeling, Shining Armor leads the royal guards on a search for a changeling in the Empire, harboring deep resentment toward changelings after the events of the royal wedding. When Spike approaches him and the others on the changeling Thorax's behalf, Shining Armor moves past his resentment and welcomes him to the Empire.
In To Where and Back Again - Part 1, Shining Armor is stated to have been captured by the changelings along with Cadance and Flurry Heart. At the end of Part 2, he is rescued along with the other captives, and he joins in celebrating the Sunset Festival in Our Town.
===Season seven===
 In Celestial Advice, Shining Armor appears at Starlight Glimmer, Trixie, Thorax, and Discord's medal-awarding ceremony. In A Flurry of Emotions, he and Cadance ask Twilight to babysit Flurry Heart while they attend an art show hosted by Shining Armor's old royal guard friend Spearhead.
In Once Upon a Zeppelin, he is invited on a zeppelin cruise with his family. He enjoys it for the most part, although he occasionally suffers from airsickness (something he repeatedly denies).
===Best Gift Ever===
In the hour-long special My Little Pony Best Gift Ever, Shining Armor visits Twilight for Hearth's Warming alongside Cadance and Flurry Heart, and he quickly realizes that Twilight is over-stressed by holiday plans. When Flurry Heart adds some extra ingredients to a magic pudding recipe, Shining Armor and Cadance help fight against it. After the pudding is dealt with, Shining Armor, Cadance and Flurry Heart join Twilight and her friends in celebrating Hearth's Warming.
===Season nine===
 In The Beginning of the End - Part 1, Shining Armor is captured along with Cadance and Flurry Heart when King Sombra attacks the Crystal Empire, eventually being freed when the Mane Six defeat Sombra with the Elements of Harmony.
In Sparkle's Seven, Shining Armor challenges Twilight to a final round of their childhood "supreme sibling" contest, by having her test the defenses for Canterlot castle that he came up with, and try to recover the "supreme sibling" crown from the throne room. Despite her best efforts, Twilight fails to outthink Shining Armor, but to the surprise of both, Spike (with some help from Princess Luna) claims the crown for himself. Impressed, both Shining Armor and Twilight agree that Spike is the true "supreme sibling". In The Point of No Return, he appears as a colt in Twilight's macaroni family portrait.
In The Ending of the End - Part 1, Shining Armor, along with Cadance, is informed by Twilight that Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow are on the loose and instructed to serve as Equestria's final line of defense if the Mane Six fail to stop them. In Part 2, he and Cadance offer to assist the Mane Six in the final battle, but Twilight tells them to protect Flurry Heart as "Equestria's last hope".
In The Last Problem, Shining Armor attends Twilight's coronation ceremony. He also briefly appears in Twilight's group shot during The Magic of Friendship Grows.
===Clip shows===
The scene when Shining and Cadance arrive at Twilight's castle in The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows reappears in Cakes for the Memories. In Harvesting Memories, Shining appears in flashbacks of A Canterlot Wedding - Part 2 and Sparkle's Seven.
==Depiction in Equestria Girls==
The human version of Shining appears in My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Friendship Games as an alumnus of Crystal Prep Academy who encourages his sister, Twilight's human counterpart, to participate in the Friendship Games as he once did. He also displays an attraction to Cadance, the school dean. In the "Dashing Through the Mall" segment of the special My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Holidays Unwrapped, he makes a background appearance standing in a line at the mall.
== Depiction in Pony Life ==
Shining Armor appears in the My Little Pony: Pony Life episode Little Miss Fortune, as a ringmaster at the Crystal Empire Carnival's traveling circus. He briefly hires Rainbow Dash to put on some acts.
==Depiction in Generation 5==
In the My Little Pony: Make Your Mark episode Father of the Bridlewood, Shining Armor is briefly depicted in a painting.
==Depiction in the comics==
In the IDW comics' story The Fall of Sunset Shimmer, a younger Shining Armor appears playing with a younger Twilight and Princess Cadance in the background. In the story arc Neigh Anything, Shining Armor and Cadance tell Twilight and her friends the story of how they met and fell in love.
In , Shining Armor and Twilight try to track down a ghost that's haunting the Crystal Empire castle.
In the story arc Reflections, an alternate universe version of Shining Armor - who appears sicklier than his main universe counterpart - appears on cover A of and page 11 of alongside an alternate Cadance; Shining Armor is mentioned by Princess Celestia in Issue #20. In , Shining Armor appears on pages 3 and 5.
In the story arc Siege of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor is forced to deal with the return of King Sombra and an alliance of villains that includes Chrysalis and her changelings, Iron Will, Lightning Dust, Flim and Flam, and Sombra's childhood friend Radiant Hope.
In , Shining Armor goes with Prince Blueblood to Yakyakistan to establish trade agreements with the Crystal Empire. After he sours relations with the yaks and Blueblood salvages the situation with his diplomatic experience, Shining Armor asks Blueblood for ambassador advice. In , he appears on pages 12, 17, and 18. In , he plays a minor role in helping Cadance overcome her self-esteem problems. In , he appears on page 20 walking through Ponyville with Cadance and Flurry Heart.
In chapter 3 of the My Little Pony Annual 2017, Shining Armor and Cadance are forced to deal with a changeling attack on the Crystal Empire, with Shining Armor being frustrated at not being able to face the creatures directly. He subsequently learns of and goes looking for ancient defensive spells prepared by Princess Amore and passes a test she had left behind for any such seeker, enabling him to obtain a potion that proves key to defeating the changeling invasion.
Shining Armor also appears on page 24 of the My Little Pony Holiday Special 2017 comic. In , Shining Armor appears taking part in the final battle against Queen Chrysalis' evil changelings and the Decepticons, protecting the Crystal Empire's magical items from Shockwave.
In , Shining Armor leads the defenders of Canterlot when the Knights of Harmony attack. His magic is nullified by Balor, and he is brainwashed by Morrigan soon after. In , he appears on page 30 kissing the cheek of a bandaged-up Cadance, after the Knights of Harmony have already been defeated.
==Other depictions==
===Animated shorts===
Shining Armor is briefly mentioned by Twilight Sparkle in Starlight the Hypnotist, with Twilight recounting a childhood experience where he told her that the spots on a ladybug's back were extra eyes, instilling a longheld fear of them in his sister.
In Baby Flurry Heart's Heartfelt Scrapbook, Shining Armor appears in "The Royal Wedding", "Saving the Crystal Empire", "The Crystalling", and "The Magic of Friendship".
In Fundamentals of Magic, Shining Armor appears in episode 5, "When Magic Goes Wrong".
===Chapter books===
Shining Armor appears in Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell, in which Twilight approaches him and Cadance over her worries about becoming a princess.
===My Little Pony (mobile game)===
Shining Armor, Breezie Shining Armor, Chaos Shining Armor, and Young Shining Armor are available playable characters in Gameloft's mobile game. The game sometimes lists him as Prince Shining Armor. An early preview of the game listed him as Shining Armour instead of Shining Armor. Shining Armor also serves as an enemy boss during the Siege of the Crystal Empire event and a helper during the "Crowns and Chaos" event. Young Shining Armor is the protagonist of the "Presentable in Periwinkle" storyline, the story of which involves Shining Armor and Cadance recounting the history of them becoming a couple-with some variations-to Ember. Chaos Shining Armor serves as both an enemy minion and a helper during the "Crowns and Chaos" event, the story of which sees him among the various characters combatting and/or being affected by out of control chaos magic.
====My Little Pony mobile game descriptions====
Shining Armor:
Twilight Sparkle's big brother Shining Armor is Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. He is also married to Princess Cadance.
Breezie Shining Armor:
He's basically the size of one of his O&O miniatures now--which he is VERY excited about.
Chaos Shining Armor:
Even without being infused with wild magic, Shining Armor is used to chaos--he raised Flurry Heart, after all!
Young Shining Armor:
Back in his school days, Shining Armor was less of a Royal Guard and more of a 10th-Level O&O Palading--but he managed to make Cadance his very special somepony nonetheless!
===Promotional material===
In a video uploaded by The Hub's YouTube channel during the week between the screening and airing of A Canterlot Wedding, Katherine Kallinis mentions "The Hub's My Little Pony Royal Wedding of Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor".
The home page of Treehouse TV's My Little Pony Royal Wedding Contest site states "Princess Cadance, niece of Princess Celestia, and Prince Shining Armor, brother of Twilight Sparkle, are getting married".
The Meet the Ponies page of an Australian My Little Pony Wedding promotional site uses fanart of Shining Armor, lists him as Shining Armour and reuses the large talking Princess Cadance toy's packaging description stating "Princess Cadance can't wait to marry her prince, Shining Armor".
On May 16, 2013, the official European Spanish My Little Pony Facebook page posted fanart of Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle along with the question "¿Sabéis cómo se llama el futuro marido de la princesa Cadance, que también es el hermano mayor de Twilight Sparkle?"
===The Elements of Harmony guidebook===
SHINING ARMOR is the Unicorn captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard as well as the coleader of the Crystal Empire alongside his wife, Princess Cadance. He's also Twilight Sparkle's protective older brother, whom she affectionately calls her "BBBFF" (Big Brother Best Friend Forever).
====Volume II guidebook====
SHINING ARMOR is Twilight Sparkle's older brother, Princess Cadance's husband, and Flurry Heart's father. He's also the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. With so many important titles, it's no wonder he's an inspiration to many of his loyal subjects. Though he appreciates their adoration, his wife and child command his attention the most. Shining Armor is devoted to his family and seeks to protect them at any cost.
==Merchandise==
 Shining Armor was put in multiple 2012 playsets, always paired with Cadance and often themed around their wedding:
*A "Pony Princess Wedding Castle" playset, featuring a plastic castle and Playful Pony characters Shining Armor and Princess Cadance.
*The Miniature Collection contains a Pony Wedding set, with Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, and Twilight Sparkle.Official Facebook page "My Little Pony Miniature Collection"
*A Target exclusive playset with Shining Armor and Princess Cadance Fashion Style ponies,Equestria Daily: "Shining Armor and Cadance Fashion Style toy Target Exclusive" which states the couple "lead the Crystal Empire together".
He is also mentioned on the large talking Princess Cadance toy's packaging, which states "Princess Cadance can't wait to marry her prince, Shining Armor".
The Guardians of Harmony line includes a toy of Shining Armor in royal guard armor.
Shining Armor is listed as possessing a seventh Element of Harmony, Love, in the 2012 My Little Pony trading cards; the initial release additionally lists it as his pet. The element is also attributed to Princess Cadance.
In the Enterplay collectible card game's expansion set Canterlot Nights, Cherry Fizzy's card #29 C states that "Cherry Fizzy has been friends with Shining Armor since their first day of basic training", and Twilight Velvet's card #66 C states that Shining Armor "was Captain of the Guard in Canterlot, and is now Prince of the Crystal Empire".
In the My Little Pony Equestria Girls: Canterlot High Tell-All (Replica Journal), Shining Armor is mentioned as Pinkie Pie's secret crush.
==Personality==
Throughout his appearances, Shining Armor is portrayed as kind, caring, and protective. He has a very close relationship with his little sister Twilight Sparkle, and he is warm and loving toward his fiancée (and later wife) Princess Cadance. True to being the captain of the royal guard, he is also stern at times, as seen in Games Ponies Play and Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2. Despite his professionalism, Shining Armor has had moments of immaturity, like bawling his eyes out in Slice of Life and coddling his previous childhood possessions in The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows, and playfulness, like setting up scavenger hunts for Twilight in The One Where Pinkie Pie Knows and talking like a baby in A Flurry of Emotions. In Sparkle's Seven, he is shown to be very competitive, especially towards Twilight. And despite a flashback to their youth showing he wasn't as academically skilled as his sister, he is shown to be very skilled in planning the new castle defenses, and able to anticipate every aspect of Twilight's plan to evade them.
In the IDW comics' Neigh Anything story arc, Shining Armor is shown to have been socially awkward, shy, and nerdy in his academy years.
==Appearances==
In the theme song sequence beginning with The Maud Couple, Shining Armor and his family appear in the throne room with Celestia and Luna after they receive the letter.
==Quotes==
==Gallery==
==See also==
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==References==
ar:شاينينغ أرمور
de:Shining Armor
es:Shining Armor
gl:Shining Armor
id:Shining Armor
it:Shining Armor
ja:シャイニングアーマー
ko:샤이닝 아머
nl:Shining Armor
pl:Shining Armor
pt:Shining Armor
ru:Шайнинг Армор
sr:Šajning Armor
th:Shining Armor
uk:Шайнінґ Армор
Category:Canterlot Academy students
Category:Parents
Category:Royal guards
Category:Royalty
Category:Sparkle family
Category:Supporting characters
Category:Crystal Prep Academy students
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