Shining Armor Superstar!

The Ten-Thirty to Canterlot

The train station was buzzing with activity as Princess Cadence, Prince Shining Armor and four of his most trusted guards waited for their ride. Word of the Prince's attendance to an international conference on civil rights spread out farther than he had anticipated. Several crystal ponies strode up to the royal couple with a barrage of questions about what the Prince would address at this meeting.

Proposals that Shining Armor was absolutely unprepared to give, he quickly realized.

"Um...well, you see, I will not be addressing anything during the conference."

One of his subjects, Glitter Shine, was flabbergasted at her sovereign's response. "You mean you have nothing to say, Your Highness? But surely you have thought of something to address!"

It would take an incredible eye to see that Shining Armor was shivering with fear inside, saying to himself the three words he knew could help him escape this.

Don't be stupid. Don't be stupid. Don't be stupid.

Rubbing the back of his neck, he glanced down and muttered a short reply. "Uh...that might be because this was on such short notice."

Cadence tilted her head, giving her husband a confused look. "Honey, you said you received the letter a month prior-"

Fix this, you buffoon, before you get caught. "DID I SAY A MONTH? Sorry honey, I meant to say...a week! Yes. One week ago yesterday. Sorry I confused you, dear! Won't happen again, hahahahaha."

Cadence gave Shining a serious look, before Shining Armor shot his head upward, a look of surprise on his face.

"Slavery."

Cadence looked intrigued for once. "Slavery, Shining? Why in the hoof would you address slavery?"

Think, Armor, think. Use that brain your parents conceived. "The Crystal Empire used to be enslaved. I'm going to discourage slavery from ever happening. See? So stop saying I'm unprepared!"

"But honey, nopony ever said-"

Shining frantically shook his head side to side. "Don't say it! I won't hear another pony say it again. Case closed. Done."

Princess Cadence, hopelessly lost in thoughts about her husband's topic of choice, simply shrugged it off.

Awesome. She didn't press the matter. *HOO WHOO* Well, that's the ten-thirty train.

"Cadence, I promise I'll be back in time for the festival. You don't need to worry about that."

Shining Armor gave his Princess a firm peck on the lips before trotting after his four hoof-picked guards. Cadence simply waved goodbye, but not before blowing her Prince a kiss and a wink for good measure.

Cadence gave her eyebrows a little wave. "I'll be waiting for you at the castle when you return, so we can have some 'fun'."

Shining Armor blushed madly, getting a few whistles from his guards. He snapped a glare at them, scaring them into the train car, but not before Cadence corrected him. "As in the carnival, Shining Armor. Don't get any ideas, mister, we have the whole weekend!"

Shining gave a childish grin, blowing her three more kisses in the air, much to the irritation of the conductor. "Your Highness, sorry to be rude, but...I called for passengers FIVE MINUTES AGO!"

That startled Shining Armor onto the train, with the last few blasts of the horn signaling their departure.

Deceiving Cadence was the last thing he wanted to do to start the week before their anniversary; in order for his plans to work, deception was the unfortunate remedy to a scheme ailing with complexity. Princess Celestia could hold some blame at least for the subterfuge taking place, though unless his revival concert blew his wife away, his plot was in danger of taking massive damage after this was all over.

I can't brood over that the entire trip, the band needs me to lead! Get it together, Shining Armor.

The train ride to Canterlot provided a unique opportunity for the five reunited band mates to dive deeper into their master plan. Power Sword's face was animated, acting out some of their old stage routines from back in the day. Brave Lance attempted their patented 'Pony Pop' dance, with each attempt always ending anywhere from the cabin next door to even tumbling into one of the steward's food trays. Shining Armor, embarrassed for his friend, offered to pay for the food when the stewardess shot a hoof at Brave Lance.

"Hey, I know that dance! Wasn't that from...S.A.R.G., that's it! I had NO idea anypony followed them anymore."

This is bad! I have to cover our tracks fast! How in Tartarus did we find the one fan that knows us? Well, not 'us' us, but 'them' us.

Shining stepped in front of Brave Lance to rebut her claim. "Oh. Well, we don't really keep track of them anymore."

The stewardess just blinked. "Then how did he know most of their moves, even to the smallest degree? He looked like the real thing for a moment! That's pretty good for stallions who 'don't keep track of them', don't you think?"

Shining conjured an artificial laugh, rubbing the back of his head. "I guess this lug just doesn't know when to stop. What an unhealthy obsession, boy bands-ahem! Brave Lance! ATTEN...SHUN."

Brave Lance sprung to his feet and stood perfectly still. "Sir!"

"Return to the cabin before you embarrass all of us further. That's an order, private!"

Lance simply saluted his Captain, and both stallions returned inside the cabin, leaving the stewardess in disbelief.

"Jeez, stallions can be so insecure about their masculinity...they wouldn't pass for a boy band, no sir..."

"First of all, I'm not a private, 'Captain', I'm a corporal. Secondly, how did we end up with a S.A.R.G. fan on this train? That was way too close!"

Shining waved off Lance's concerns. "You're always bent out of shape, Lance. We'll get through this without our identities leaking to the public, I swear it. At least until we perform, that is..."

"I hope you're right about this one, Shining, because this is already off to an edgy start." Flash Sentry rose from his seat in the cabin, walking outside to use the restroom.

The remainder of the trip was restful, with Shining Armor seated next to a snoozing Signal Flare who would intermittently pop bubbles with his lips. Shining just sat with his leg propping his head to look outside the cabin window. Sunrise was well underway, the glow undressing the shady hills beneath Cloudsdale to reveal the golden corn and wheat fields that danced along the landscape.

This was his third favorite sight in all of Equestria, outside of his lookout in his castle and the grassy knoll in the backyard where he and Twilight stargazed from late at night into the early morning. The crops swayed back and forth with the breeze cooked up by the pegasi earlier in the morning. Cloudsdale  pegasi not only controlled local weather events such as thunderstorms and blizzards, but manipulated farther reaching mechanisms such as convergent and divergent air currents in the upper atmosphere. The cool summer breezes were a byproduct of such climate controls.

It took most of the day, but the train finally pulled into the station adjacent to Canterlot's financial district. The streets were lined with hundreds of ponies doing their ritual dining and shopping, hopping from store to store with bags of overpriced goods in tow.

Behind Shining Armor, Power Sword waved at Brave Lance to his left, pointing a hoof in the direction of a mare carrying a mound of bags from Marey Kay. She suddenly turned around and galloped back to the store, having forgot something important. Brave Lance saw the mare's gargantuan eyelashes and lips, causing him to stumble and stifle a fit of laughter before Shining turned to face him. Acting as if he saw nothing, Brave Lance's disposition returned to 'guard mode' before his captain suspected a thing.

Shining Armor traveled down the dozen or so blocks with his guards flanking him on every side, as is customary for a royal escort, though hardly anypony cared to stop at his arrival. Prince Shining Armor was not an uncommon sight in Canterlot back when he was a Captain of the Canterlot Guard; he would often give every corner of the city a personal evaluation week after week just to maintain his high standard of security. Outside of the debacle with his own wedding, he held onto a pristine track record, even meriting him the Equestrian Silver Cross after his 'retirement' from Canterlot's division of the guard.

Their 'delegation' from the Crystal Empire finally arrived at the gates of the castle. The two guardsponies flanking the gate crossed their pikes, preventing their entrance onto the castle grounds. The guard on the left sounded off first.

"Halt! What is your business at the castle today?"

Shining Armor looked over to his left at the guard. "We are here representing the delegation from the Crystal Empire for the civil rights conference. Princess Celestia sent us this special summons one month ago."

Shining handed the summons to the guard, who motioned over to his companion to allow them into the castle.

The left guard nodded to Shining Armor. "Enjoy your time here in Canterlot, Your Highness."

Shining and his guards strode onto the castle lawn, making their way to the main hall leading up to the throne room. The guards standing at the double doors kept the five of them from entering until the current appointment reached its conclusion. Shining Armor watched as the left door opened, with Fancy Pants and another suit leaving the chambers with a suitcase of documents.

Once they were permitted entry, the stallions approached the throne, bowing together just a few feet away from the first step. Princess Celestia gave a gentle smile, climbing off her perch and stepping down to where her 'former' guards lay prostrate.

"Please, rise my humble guards. You know you are here as my personal guests, after all."

After they rose from the ground, Celestia gave each of them a quick examination before continuing.

"I'm thrilled to have you all here, but I need to make certain of something first. Granite Bulwark, if you would escort the nobles out, all obligations have been met for today. If you please..."

A stallion guard at her right saluted, leading the court nobles out of the throne room before shutting the doors.

Celestia turned back to the group, feigning a look of disgust. "Shining Armor, I am so disappointed in you."

Shining gagged a bit before coughing furiously in embarrassment. "I am so sorry, Your Highness, I was thinking about it the whole ride, and I feel awful-"

"I can't believe you are actually getting the band back together, and you didn't even send me a VIP pass to the concert! Honestly, I've been your fan since you had acne!"

"...come again, Celestia?" Shining Armor was expressionless, unsure if the Princess was genuinely disappointed, or just kidding around.

"You are going to invite Luna and myself to the concert, are you not? It would be a shame to miss the big reveal."

Flash Sentry and Signal Flare quickly nodded to each other, dragging Shining to the side.

"What is it, guys?"

"Look..." Flash motioned to Celestia, then whispered into Shining's ear. "Having Princess Celestia there to see Cadence's reaction would be great, but we still have to figure out how to lay low while we are here in Canterlot. Tell her she can go, but let's stay focused, okay?"

"That's why you are my lieutenant, Flash." Shining nodded, turning his attention back to the Princess.

"Your Highness, we would be honored if you attended, but first we must make certain that-"

"WOO HOO! S.A.R.G. IS BACK! COME ON, MY LITTLE PONIES! DANCE! SHAKE THOSE PLOTS!"

Celestia began to scream out lyrics from one of their songs, skipping around the room to each guard on post. Whenever she approached one of the guards, he looked unsure whether he should abandon all restraints and dance with their monarch, or remain at attention. Celestia didn't seem to care, so when one of the guards stood stiff, she picked them up with her magic, and brought them close enough for her to 'shake her moneymaker'.

♪ Well, I'm trotting up to your riiight, gettin' funky when I get near you, keep it going when it gets hyyype, whole party's startin' to rock harder- ♪

As she made her way around the throne room, the band just sat there, mouths hanging open, faces panning the room and following her every move. Shining Armor shook off the initial shock and called out to Princess Celestia.

"Your Highness." Celestia boogied up and down in front of the door guards.

"Your Highness." The epitome of grace and majesty continued to tear up the dance floor.

"CELESTIA, I HAVE APPLE PIE, STOP DANCING!" The alabaster incarnation of Soul Train ceased her funk parade in the halls and calmly approached Shining Armor.

Celestia's face glowed a lovely red orchard. "I apologize for ignoring you, Shining Armor. I was just...caught up in the moment."

Shining breathed a deep sigh. "Celestia, I thought we agreed to have some discretion about the purpose of us being here. Now these guards won't shut up about the fact that the prince and his royal guard friends had a boy band that made their Princess 'cut the rug' in their faces."

The Princess turned to face the steel-faced guards she antagonized with her righteous dance moves. "Any word of these events leaves this room, your pink slips will be personally delivered by Discord himself. Understood?"

She could hear audible gulps around the silent chamber, signaling that the message had been received. Echoing the threat of summoning Chaos Incarnate didn't seem to phase Celestia one bit.

Celestia giggled happily. "There. Anything else, gentlecolts? The studio will be ready for you all to practice this evening. Supersonic emphasized this morning his excitement in having you all flex your vocal chords for him one more time."

Signal Flare coughed, receiving the attention of his sovereign.

"Your Highness, how are we supposed to remain incognito while we are here in Canterlot?"

The Princess turned her head back to her throne, levitating a massive brown bag from behind the chair and laying it in front of the stallions. They peered inside, and jerked their heads back, looking up at the Princess. Shining Armor couldn't believe what he saw.

"You aren't serious, are you, Celestia?"

She gave the Prince a mischievous smirk. "The press is expecting S.A.R.G. at their photo shoot this afternoon. You should probably make your way there now before you are late."