Shining Armor Superstar!

Getting the Band Back Together

The evening moon was long past risen, shining the reflected sunlight into any open windows in the castle. Wisps of shadows shot across the corridors in a hurried gallop, four guards in number, all from different parts of the castle. Any guards that noticed them gave no chase, as it was not uncommon for their superiors to be roaming the castle grounds this late.

Unlike other nights, however, this was an unusual time for Prince Shining Armor to order an emergency meeting. What made this meeting even stranger were the guardsponies selected to attend, though they had no way of knowing who would be in the room. The sound of hoofsteps galloping down the corridor to the captain's quarters heightened the lieutenant's nerves. He waited as he could count three other silhouettes entering the pitch-black room, following close behind them and entering himself.

The clapping hooves on the floor ceased, the creaking of chairs signaling to the lieutenant that everypony was seated that needed to be here. As he stepped forward and shut the door behind him, his hooves made soft echoes across the floor, alerting the others in the room that somepony was walking among them. His voice then spoke into the darkness.

"Anypony know why the Prince summoned us here?" A sudden chorus of gasps escaped the mouths of the other guards. Their fright quickly turned into relief, as they registered his familiar voice.

"Don't scare us like that, Lieutenant Sentry! And turn the dang lights on, you've been here before!"

Flash Sentry walked over to the lamp standing adjacent to the captain's desk, pulling down the switch and illuminating the room. This office became very familiar to Flash when he was assigned to the Crystal Guard; tall mahogany bookshelves lined every wall of Shining Armor's private study, with nothing else to match it but the desk, lamp, quill and inkwell. A single table anchored to the middle of the room where Shining would sit with foreign dignitaries or officers to discuss policy.

Sitting at the far end of the table, however, were three ponies he had not expected to see gathered in one place.

Shining Armor's second lieutenant, Signal Flare, was originally an evening guard for Princess Luna's Night Court before being relocated to the Crystal Empire. His gray coat and brown mane glistened with sweat, along with his crescent moon and red firework flare cutie mark. He had received it by helping his guard signal for help when Changelings had nearly infiltrated the Lunar Tower where Princess Luna rested.

Signal Flare's subordinate, Brave Lance, wore his white coat and maroon mane well, accompanied by a cutie mark with a golden lance sitting atop a bronze crest similar to Shining Armor's shield. Flash Sentry's subordinate, Power Sword, presented a beige coat and a green mane with a stripe down the middle that shone like emeralds; his cutie mark was a mythril sword penetrating a rock that had split in two.

Flash Sentry gave a light chuckle to Power Sword. "Come on, 'King Arthurmane', when we are off-duty, call me Flash. Like you used to, remember?"

That's when it had occurred to Flash Sentry: this specific collection of ponies were all his closest companions in his days at the academy. Back then, during their academy days, they had a very different understanding of one another. They were neither inferior nor superior to one another; they were simply friends. Friends who used to be in one of the hottest boy bands in the universe!

But that was almost eight years ago, back when they were cadets in the academy. Their singing 'careers' began before they enrolled to become royal guards, and they were certainly hard-pressed to keep it a secret. However, once they submitted their applications to join the Guard Corps., their names were sure to become known all over Equestria. The masks they wore would, quite literally, be removed, as that was how they maintained anonymity on-stage.

Fortunately, Princess Celestia, knowing the kind of success they were having as a band (and being a closet fan herself, as it turns out), afforded them specific times in the year to continue their concerts, as long as it didn't interfere with their duties as junior guards. Eventually, they all had to make a choice to end all of their tours and take a full-time position in the Corps. Since then, 'S.A.R.G.' has not performed at a single venue. While the days of adoring, screaming fans were long behind them, they still managed to stick together through it all.

But why would Shining Armor specifically call the four of us down here?

Signal Flare voiced the same concern that Flash just thought. "Hey, Flash, you notice who is here, right?"

"Yes, I do. Lance, do you?"

Lance shrugged his shoulders, not giving any more deep thought to the coincidence. "Maybe the Prince needs some bro time for once? It is his first anniversary coming up, maybe he needs to unwind after all of his party planning for the Princess."

Flash Sentry was left unsatisfied with their responses as they heard the office door swing open. The Prince had arrived. All of the guards fell prostrate before their Prince-friend as a sarcastic chortle escaped Shining Armor's lips.

"Ha ha ha. 'Oh look, it's the Prince, let's bow before his royal royalness!' Come on guys, get up!" The guardsponies rose from their submissive bows and sat down again. "You expected this meeting to be THAT formal? Look who I called here, my best friends in the world, neigh, the universe!"

Signal Flare gave Shining Armor a look of confusion. "With you, we never know how you'll make an entrance. Remember the last time you called me in with Brave Lance? I couldn't believe-"

Shining Armor rose a hoof to his second lieutenant. "Now, it may not have been your fault, but you in charge when Sir Tourmaline tripped over Brave's weapon and fell into the mud..."

"BUT HE KEPT YELLING IN MY FACE ALL DAY!" Brave Lance shouted and released an exaggerated sigh across the room to his Captain, causing Shining Armor to deadpan his next words.

"It was hoofball. A international hoofball exhibition. You have no other duty but to maintain your composure, you know crazier things happen at those gam-wait...did you actually MEAN to trip him?"

Brave Lance was now quaking into his chair, fearfully responding. "W-w-ell, you s-s-see...OH Captain, that was three MONTHS ago! Please tell m-me that's not wuh-why we're here?"

Shining Armor and the others in the room kept quiet for a solid three seconds before bursting into tearful laughter. Power Sword kept shouting how frightened Lance's face looked, while Flash Sentry poked at his cutie mark.

"Oh, Sir Brave Lance, your name and your expression don't seem to agree. I'm sure it was very 'gallant' of you to introduce the President of the International Hoofball League to that very timid puddle!"

Shining Armor's laughter subsided after the good minute of jeering Brave Lance received. "Hahaha, okay guys, I needed that. Sorry it was at your expense, Lance."

Lance's red cheeks glowed continuously through the entire exchange. "I should be used to it by now, but that day just never goes away, does it? I hate you guys. So much. So very much."

"We love you, too, Lancelot." Lance shot a comical glare at Flash Sentry, who look into the sky, whistling a playful tune.

Shining Armor coughed into his hoof, alerting the others seated across from him that he was ready to begin.

"Of course, I have called you four here for a very specific reason. As you all have been made aware, thanks to countless weeks of me freaking out about it, the first anniversary of my marriage with Princess Cadence is coming up this week. I want this first anniversary to be spectacular and unforgettable for her, so I am planning a huge festival for the Crystal Empire to enjoy on that day. And I need your help to make it happen."

The four friends nodded in unison, turning their attention back to their friend, who gave them a nod in confirmation.

"Good. For this event, we will need to leave the Crystal Empire tomorrow, and return the afternoon of the carnival, shortly before nightfall."

Flash Sentry and the other guards sat there with blank expressions before Flash spoke up. "We are just going to leave the Empire for an entire week, with no Prince, and no senior officers watching the castle. Have you gone insane in the membrane, Shining?"

"Nope. I have every countermeasure in place. We are going first thing tomorrow morning." Shining Armor looked pleased with himself, which didn't ease the concerns of his friends.

Signal Flare lifted a hoof, being acknowledged immediately by his Captain. "Sir...what exactly is the purpose of us leaving the Empire for a whole week? What will that accomplish in regards to the carnival? Won't Cadence be concerned that you are leaving the week of your anniversary?"

Shining Armor simply smiled. "Cadence already knows we'll be gone this entire week, but I assured her that we would return the afternoon of the carnival. I asked Princess Celestia to send a summons for us to attend an 'international civil rights conference' with major world leaders. Of course, we won't be attending such a conference ourselves, since it doesn't exist."

The four guards jaws dropped, but not long after that, it was Brave Lance's turn to speak. "Then why would Celestia agree to deceiving your wife like this?"

Power Sword seems to nod in agreement, but Shining Armor was just getting started. He casted a spell to soundproof the boardroom before leaning forward, uttering the six words he desired to say all of his life as a guard.

"We're getting the band back together."

They all shot up out of their seats and shook up and down, wearing a mixture of giddiness and shock on their faces. Quiet hoofbumps echoed across the room as they ran up to where Shining Armor was seated, barraging him with questions.

"How will we keep it secret from Cadence? What will you tell her when we get back?"

"Does Princess Celestia or Princess Luna know what we're up to?"

"How does my face look? I'm not an old geezer, am I?"

"Brave Lance, quit whimpering! You're still in your twenties, get a hold of yourself!"

"It doesn't hurt to ask, Power Jerk!"

"Shining, how are we going to be ready in a week? We haven't performed in almost eight years!"

Shining Armor waved his hooves in front of his face. "Settle down, guys! We'll be fine! I got our old agent in Canterlot and our vocal strength coach ready to get us back into the swing of things. It'll be great!"

But the flurry of questions continued in the same frenzied manner.

"What is our setlist going to be? Oh, there are so many songs we can use?"

"Does anypony even remember we were a band? Maybe we should outsource the concert to another record label! Can we get Mane'sync to do this instead?"

"What happened to BRAVE Lance, huh?! Why would we let those futzes on-stage anyway, you know Cadence can't stand them!"

"Chamillionmare? Tom Stallion and the Heartcrushers? Mandrake? I hear there is this awesome Prance electronic duo, Daft Pony, that the treasury could easily afford!"

Shining Armor had his hooves clasped to his ear before unleashing a deafening "ENOUGH!" to his friends.

"Guys, it'll be fine! We will be ready, why are you all so scared?!"

Flash Sentry approached Shining Armor and placed a gentle hoof on his friend's shoulder. "Listen, Shining, we are really afraid that we won't be like we were eight years ago. Our voices were amazing back then, and the crowds certainly agreed; jeez, even Princess Celestia herself was a long-time fan. And Cadence...well, she loved us, but you know the real reason we decided to disband, right?"

Brave Lance had another thought in mind. "I don't know about you Flash, but I'm just afraid to get on stage, PERIOD."

Power Sword scoffed at Lance's statement. "I don't even know how you still have that name, 'Brave' Lance. What a misnomer, remember how brave you used to say you were? 'SO BRAVE!' you said."

Brave Lance continued his isolated argument with Power. Flash Sentry simply ignored them, continuing to speak to Shining Armor. "We know it was partly because our duties were increasing, but we knew you had a thing for Cadence back then...had we continued with the band, she might have held out for one of us instead of seeing how much more you loved her. We always have your back, no matter what. You got that, 'Prince Armor'?"

Shining gave his friend a tight squeeze before releasing him and addressing the others. "Thank you, though your theatrics weren't necessary...it means the world to me that you are helping me like this."

Shining Armor gave everyone a tearful smile, except Brave Lance, who received a vicious glare, startling him. Shining walked over to him and gave him a sharp noogie on the head, causing Lance to shake furiously in his Captain's grasp.

Laughing heavily, Shining released his mark and set him down on the chair again. A thought suddenly passed through the Prince's mind as he turned to his bandmates.

Soundproof room. Band's back together. Maybe we can-

"Anyone up for practice?"