Rewatch Observations Pertinent to Lore · 10:54pm Dec 29th, 2020
1. In "A Canterlot Wedding Part 2", Shining Armor has four groomsmen, in order: Caramel, a minor background pony named Cherry Fizzy, Noteworthy, and another minor background character named Meadow Song (who is apparently removed to make room for Twilight in the second, real wedding). These would sensibly be close friends of Shining Armor. It's also worth remembering that Minuette, Twinkleshine, and Lyra* were similarly Cadance's original bridesmaids, implying a similar close relationship.
*It's further worth noting that Lyra appears to be present next to Bon Bon at the original wedding shortly after she was supposedly under mind control in the caves. Although most likely a crowd-filler error as was common in the early seasons, it has the ready canonically-compatible explanation that the Lyra in attendance at the wedding was a changeling.
2. At the end of "The Crystal Empire Part 2", by the time Twilight makes it back to Canterlot to talk to Celestia, there's already a stained-glass window of Spike retrieving the Crystal Heart. Although the explanation production-wise would again likely be mundane (thematic visual without thought to the logic of it being there) it does lend in-universe to the possibility that the stained-glass windows in Canterlot Castle are magical in nature; filling in to depict important events without pony input.
3. Ending this with more flashback music:
