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 season two finale, A Canterlot Wedding Battle, alongside Cadance. In the season three episode, The Core of the Crystal Empire, he and Cadance are appointed as the rulers of the Crystal Empire.

## 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".

## Depictions in the Series

### The Friendship Continues

Shining Armor first appears in A Canterlot Wedding Battle. 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.

### Rebooted

Shining Armor next appears in The Core of the Crystal Empire. 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."

### The Princess of Friendship

In Pinkie Pride, Shining Armor makes a portrait cameo on Pinkie Pie's wall during his wedding reception with Cadance. Shining also appears in Game to the Fame. 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, 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.

### Marks of Possession

In Slice of Life, Shining Armor appears at Cranky Doodle Donkey and Matilda's wedding, getting overemotional at their impending nuptials.

In Peak-a-Boo, Shining Armor and Cadance announce that they are having a baby, and they reveal this to Twilight through a scavenger hunt.

### The Changing Effect

In Crystal to Fame, 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, Shining Armor is stated to have been captured by the changelings along with Cadance and Flurry Heart. At the end, he is rescued along with the other captives, and he joins in celebrating the Sunset Festival in Our Town.

### The Pillars of Time

In The Hands of Time, 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).

### The Best Gift Ever

In the hour-long special *LEGO Ninjago & 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 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.

### March of the Oni

In The Beginning of the End, 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 Lloyd'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, 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. 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 Fate of Lloyd, Shining Armor attends Twilight's coronation ceremony. He also briefly appears in Twilight's group shot during The Magic of Friendship Grows.

## 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. 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 Peak-a-Boo, and playfulness, like setting up scavenger hunts for Twilight in Peak-a-Boo and talking like a baby in A Flurry of Emotions. In Lloyd'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.

## Appearances

### *LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: Masters of Friendship*

#### Season 2: The Friendship Continues

* 34. "A Canterlot Wedding Battle - Part 1"
* 35. "A Canterlot Wedding Battle - Part 2"

#### Season 3: Rebooted

* 46. "Games Ponies Play"
* 47. "The Core of the Crystal Empire - Part 1"
* 48. "The Core of the Crystal Empire - Part 2"
* 49. "Magical Mystery Cure"

#### Season 4: The Princess of Friendship

* 60. "Pinkie Pride"
* 65. "Game to the Fame"
* 67. "Twilight's Kingdom - Part 2"

#### Season 5: Marks of Possession

* 76. "Peak-a-Boo"
* 77. "Slice of Life"

#### Season 6: The Changing Effect

* 82. "Crystal to Fame - Part I"
* 83. "Crystal to Fame - Part II"
* 94. "The Times They Are a Changeling"
* 96. "To Where and Back Again: Operation Land Ho!" (mentioned)
* 97. "To Where and Back Again: The Way Back"

#### Season 7: The Pillars of Time

* 98. "The Hands of Time"
* 109. "A Flurry of Emotions"

#### Tales from the Monastery of Spinjitzu

* 1. "Master Class" (painting)
* 2. "Green and Gold" (painting)
* 3. "The Weekend Drill" (painting)
* 4. "Elemental Rider" (painting)
* 5. "Blue Lightning" (painting)
* 6. "Samurai X-Treme" (painting)

#### Season 10: March of the Oni

* 140. "The Beginning of the End: The Darkness Comes"
* 143. "Lloyd's Seven"
* 144. "The Point of No Return" (photo)
* 163. "The Ending of the End: The Fall"
* 164. "The Ending of the End: Endings"
* 165. "The Fate of Lloyd" (flashback)

#### LEGO Ninjago & My Little Pony: Decoded

* 1. "Legacy"
* 2. "Vehicles and Mechs"
* 3. "Legendary Places"
* 4. "Ninjago and Equestria's Most Wanted"
* 5. "The Digiverse and Beyond"
* 6. "Elemental Masters and Magic"
* 7. "Beasts and Dragons"
* 8. "Rise of Garmadon"
* 9. "Prophecy of the Chosen One"
* 10. "Greatest Battles"
* 11. "The Sixteen Realms"
* 12. "The Magic of Friendship"
* 13. "The Future Timeline"

In the theme song sequence beginning with The Jade Princess, Shining Armor and his family appear in the throne room with Celestia and Luna after they receive the letter.