With a long sigh, Shining Armor slumped into the seat at his desk. It was the end of the day shift, which meant it was almost time for him to go back home where Cadence would be waiting with supper on the table. The thought of his fiancée brought a smile to the white stallion’s face, as it always did. Life seemed so much better when you had a special somepony to share it with. For a moment Shining Armor was content to sit there and think about the beautiful mare that would soon be his wife. The report on his desk soon cried out for his attention, however, and the stallion reluctantly turned his thoughts back to work.
Ever since he had been informed of the threat against Canterlot a couple of weeks ago, he had maximized security and ordered the different squadrons under his command to submit reports on the day’s activity every evening. In front of him was today’s report, which was only one page long and lying face-down on the otherwise bare wooden desk. Shining Armor used his magic to turn the paper over and hold it up, taking the time to read the entire thing since it was so short. After a moment he pushed the paper off to the side. Nothing to report, as usual.
Shining got back onto his hooves, pushing the chair back in as he prepared mentally to step outside. As the captain of the royal guard, he had an image to maintain. If anypony saw him at anything but his best, even if he was off duty, morale would drop instantly. The other guards needed to see that he was cool and confident in the face of immediate danger if they were to be expected to be the same. It was his job to protect the palace and, by extension, the whole of Canterlot, so he had to act the part. After all, protecting other ponies was what Shining Armor did best.
Once he had put on a mask of calm determination, the captain of the royal guard stepped outside and began his walk home. Members of the patrols around the castle snapped to attention and saluted as he walked by, and he nodded to each of them in turn. After a short while he reached the threshold of the palace. Taking advantage of the castle gates’ higher ground, he paused to check on the force field he was in charge of erecting in order to protect Canterlot and its inhabitants. There was no visible damage, and Shining hadn’t felt any disturbances in the spell today. That, again, was the same as always.
Satisfied nothing was amiss, Shining Armor lowered his gaze to the thriving city that lay before him. It was about six o'clock, and many of the ponies who worked in the day were also on their own ways home. A warm feeling of utter happiness bloomed in Shining Armor’s chest: all of those ponies could go about their daily lives without fear because he was protecting them, and the sight of all the city’s inhabitants safe from danger made the stallion as happy as he was when he was with Cadence. Here in Canterlot, protecting ponies who couldn’t protect themselves was where Shining Armor knew he belonged.
With a smile, he thought back to the day he had gotten his cutie mark, a shield with a six-pointed star inside it and three five-pointed stars above it. It had been quite a few years ago, before Cadence had been Twilight’s foalsitter and when Shining Armor had still been a colt himself. He had been on his way to pick Twilight up from daycare and walk her home as he usually did. Walking home with little Twily was Shining Armor’s favorite part of the day; Twily would always excitedly tell him about all the things she had read while he listened politely. Every now and then he’d make a comment, but mostly he was happy just to listen to his sister as long as she was happy.
That day, though, he saw that something was wrong. A unicorn colt that appeared to be a couple of years older than Twily had taken her favorite book, one of the Daring Do series, and was holding it just out of her reach, teasing and ridiculing her for not having any friends while he held her at bay with a forehoof. Every time Twily lit up her horn to try to take the book back, the colt roughly shoved her back and used his own magic to rip the book away from her.
In a flash, Shining Armor had teleported between the bully and his little sister, using his own magic to tear the book out of the younger colt’s grasp. For good measure, he had leaned down and stared the bully right in the face.
“Back off,” Shining Armor had all but growled, “and I don’t ever want to see you bothering my sister again.” The younger colt’s pupils had contracted to pin pricks before he finally nodded and quickly fled.
Snorting in satisfaction, Shining Armor had turned to face his younger sister, who was starting to stand back up. “You okay?” he had asked as he gave her book back.
“Uh-huh.” The filly nodded. “Thanks for scaring off that big meanie.” Twily had looked up at Shining Armor and smiled, her violet eyes sparkling with gratitude and some measure of awe.
In reply, Shining had leaned down and nuzzled his baby sister. “Any time,” he had whispered with a smile. Standing there, basking in the warmth of his little sister’s gratitude, Shining Armor had known that protecting other ponies was what he was meant to do.
Shining opened his eyes again, looking back down at the city. With a chuckle, he fondly remembered how the two of them had walked all the way home before either of them had realized that the colt had gotten his cutie mark. Their parents had been the first to notice, and they had congratulated him by fixing his favorite dessert, Dutch apple pie. Just the thought of it made his stomach growl, and Shining Armor continued his walk home with a newfound sense of nostalgia.
Another sensation soon broke in, though: an ache deep within his chest that wrapped bands around his heart until the white stallion felt he could barely breathe. The unicorn struggled to keep a poker face while he waited for the familiar feeling to pass. Only this time, unlike before, it didn’t go away. It stayed, growing in intensity until Shining Armor felt he couldn’t bear it any more.
Giving his head a good shake, the stallion sped up his pace a little. He needed to go on a walk before he went home tonight, calm down a little and get his feelings back under control. That, and he had some thinking to do. Twilight had been gone for a while now, and Shining Armor was missing her more than ever.
The white unicorn let his hooves take him where they would while he sadly remembered all the time he had shared with Twilight: sitting in the hospital, staring in wonder at the little bundle of cloth-wrapped fur that was his baby sister and smiling when his mom told him her name. Then there was the day she had learned to say his name, “Shiny.” The colt had tried to get his baby sister to use his full name, but the foal insisted on Shiny, most likely because it was easier to say.
A small chuckle escaped his lips when Shining Armor remembered the Hearth’s Warming a couple of years later when he had gotten little Twily her favorite toy, Smarty Pants. The lavender filly had practically tackled him into an aggressive hug, and she had to be reminded that she still had more gifts to open.
Some time later, Shining Armor had taught Twily how to fly a kite. The white colt had basically flown the kite for her and then handed the younger unicorn the string, but she picked up on it pretty quickly. Once she had been shown what to do, the filly did it by herself on her first try. Shining Armor was only half surprised; Twily had always been a bright little unicorn.
It hadn’t been long after that when Twilight had been taken in as a student to Princess Celestia herself. Shining Armor had been at the Guards’ Academy that day, training with the other colts that had also decided they wanted to be soldiers. The white unicorn had felt the magical blast from out in the courtyard, as had every other unicorn in the city. He hadn’t known what to make of it until he got home that evening to find little Twily bouncing around the room like she had springs attached to her hooves, yelling “YES YES YES” over and over again while her parents simply smiled and watched.
Shining Armor hadn’t even had time to ask what had happened before he had been tackled by his little sister. “I’m going to be Princess Celestia’s personal student in magic and look here I got my cutie mark!” the lavender filly had shouted in his face before turning to show him she was telling the truth. A large six-pointed star surrounded by five smaller ones now adorned her flank. The white colt had just smiled and pulled the little unicorn into a hug, congratulating her on having such an amazing day.
After that, things had settled down relatively quickly. Twilight went to the palace in the day to study magic with the princess, and Shining Armor went to the castle courtyard for his training at the Guards’ Academy. The pair of unicorns always walked to and from the palace together, simply enjoying each others’ company in the mornings and talking about their day in the evenings. The stallion didn’t always understand what his little sister was talking about, but he was always glad to listen as long as she was happy. Just like before, his walks with Twilight were the highlight of his day. A few years of this routine came and went, and little Twily began to grow up from an adorable filly into a bright young mare in front of Shining Armor’s eyes.
But as much as the white stallion had wanted to stay with his little sister, things changed. After graduating from the Guards’ Academy and earning an initial position as a member of the patrol, Shining Armor began to stay at the castle barracks instead of home, and Twilight started to stay in the palace itself with the Princess. The two no longer shared walks to and from the castle, and they rarely saw each other during the day, if at all. Even when they did, whenever the stallion happened across his younger sister during the day, it was when he was on duty and therefore couldn’t stop to talk with her like they used to. These turned into awkward exchanges that usually involved Twilight cheerfully greeting the stallion and only getting a terse nod in response. The look on his little sister’s face the first time this happened had hurt the stallion, but he was able to find her later and explain why he couldn’t talk to her. She had understood, but she didn’t seem too happy about it. Shining Armor didn’t like it much either.
It eventually got to the point where the only real time the siblings had together was on holidays, since Shining Armor’s new responsibilities as a Lieutenant included working weekends. The unicorns treasured the time they had together, rare and valuable as it was to both of them. Thankfully, the stallion reflected, Twilight hadn’t changed too much. To him, she was the same filly he had grown up with, even if by now she was a young mare. They made sure to go on walks whenever they had the chance, Twilight telling the stallion of her studies and Shining Armor telling his sister about his duties and all the bad guys he caught.
It was a couple of years ago when Shining Armor was promoted to Captain of the Royal Guard. Princess Celestia had commended the stallion on his prowess both as a soldier and a magic wielder, and he had said he could think of no higher honor than to humbly accept. She smiled and told him that he would begin his new job starting tomorrow morning and then had given him his leave.
Overjoyed, the white stallion had gone straight to his sister’s quarters in the palace to tell her the good news. He found the door unlocked, and stepped in only to find an empty room. From what Shining Armor knew about his sister, the lavender unicorn was in the library, so he decided to go there next. He used a side passage reserved for guards as a shortcut so he could catch her before she left. With a small smile, the white unicorn had wryly thought that she was likely to stay in there all night anyway.
Once the stallion arrived, he politely asked the librarian if Twilight Sparkle was there. The place was so large, Shining Armor doubted he would find his sister by himself. The mare behind the desk had smiled apologetically and said no, she wasn’t there. She had left a while ago, probably to go back to her quarters considering the time.
More than a little disappointed, the Captain of the Guard had left the library and made his way back to the barracks. It was almost curfew for soldiers, and the stallion silently cursed himself for forgetting in his excitement that he could have teleported. He had wanted to tell his sister the news of his promotion first, but odds were she would find out the next morning when Princess Celestia made the announcement to everypony else.
The next day, Shining Armor had barely been able to stand still while the Princess ceremonially announced his promotion to Captain of the Royal Guard. As soon as the ceremony was over, he had galloped to his little sister’s room as fast as he could. He skidded to a stop and pounded on the door, only to have it swing open, as it was already ajar. The stallion had stepped in, feeling a bit sheepish, but the feeling quickly passed when he saw his sister.
Twilight was packing her things.
The young mare looked at her brother sadly, but turned away without saying anything. Shining Armor thought he saw tears brimming in her eyes, and he had immediately stepped forward to comfort her.
“Twilight, I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to tell you about my promotion earlier, but I only found out last night, and....” The stallion had trailed off when Twilight turned back to face him. She stared for a moment, her gaze meeting his, before she finally spoke.
“The princess is sending me to Ponyville,” she stated flatly, the purple unicorn’s voice showing none of the fear in her eyes. “She wants me to check on the preparations for the Summer Sun celebration and make some friends.”
The news had surprised Shining Armor, but he had done his best to comfort his little sister. “Hey, that isn’t so bad,” he had said. “I make new friends all the time. I’m sure you’ll do fine.”
To be honest, Shining Armor had been relieved when he found out that was all, and that his little sister would be back in a couple days. This would be a good experience for her; even if the poor mare was half-scared out of her wits now, she’d be better off once she made some new friends. He had stayed a little while longer to talk with Twilight while she packed the rest of her things, but his new duties as captain soon called him away. He said goodbye and even made some time to see her off when she left in the chariot that afternoon. Of course the stallion was a bit anxious to see her go, but he knew she’d be fine. After all, she would be back in a couple of days.
Except she never came back. She stayed in Ponyville to continue studying “the magic of friendship” after she and her new friends defeated Nightmare Moon.
Shining Armor was proud of his sister, but her absence left an empty feeling where his heart should have been. It was the same one he was feeling now. He had to wonder if she felt the same way, having been gone for so long. She had left, what was it, two years ago? It felt like much longer.
With a bit of a jolt, the white stallion realized he had stopped walking. He looked around for a moment to determine where exactly he was, and a glance over his shoulder gave him his answer: he was just across the street from the daycare center where Twilight used to stay. Taking a closer look at exactly where he was standing, Shining Armor found that he was on the same route that he and Twilight had taken home when she was still a filly.
After quickly glancing around to make sure there weren’t any guards to see him, the white stallion let his stoic mask fall away and hung his head. All those years walking with his little sister were long gone, and all he had left were the memories. One in particular stood out in his mind, now: the day after he had gotten his cutie mark, about where he was standing now, he had had a serious talk with his little sister. He closed his eyes and let the memory wash over him, determined to let this one happy moment in time be the last one in his mind before he went home.
Shining Armor had picked Twilight up from daycare as usual, but the filly seemed distracted and somewhat melancholy. After a few moments of silence, the white colt had finally spoken up: “Is something bothering you, Twily?” He had used her nickname in an attempt to cheer her up, but the lavender unicorn had just looked at him sadly.
“You remember what happened yesterday?” his little sister had asked.
“Yeah,” Shining Armor had answered warily. He gave his little sister a concerned look. “Did that colt bother you again?”
The lavender filly shook her head. “No... but yesterday he made fun of me for not having any friends.” She had looked down for a moment, then turned back to him, almost pleadingly, waiting for him to say something that would make it better.
The white colt had stopped and turned to put his hoof reassuringly on the filly’s shoulder. “Twilight,” he had begun, “you are a very smart young filly. I’m sure if you wanted to, you could make plenty of friends.”
The lavender unicorn had opened her mouth to object, but Shining Armor cut her off. “I know you prefer to read your books, and that’s fine, too. I can’t make you go out and make friends with every pony you meet. But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll always be here for you.” The white colt had leaned down so he could look his sister in the eyes. “Always,” he repeated softly.
The filly had held his gaze for a moment, then broke out into a smile. “So, you’ll be my Big Brother Best Friend Forever?” she asked.
The white colt had laughed and straightened back up. “Of course I will, Twily! As long as you stay my Little Sister Best Friend Forever.” The lavender unicorn had laughed in return, and the pair had continued their walk back home. What Shining Armor wouldn’t give for things to be like they were back then....
This time, he was walking alone.
