Strictly speaking, Canterlot Central Terminal was only two of the three. Yes, it was in Canterlot and a rail line ended there, but the actual central hub of the Equestrian rail system lay at the base of the Canterhorn. The strategic value of being able to deploy disaster relief and defensive troops anywhere in the nation was a fantastic boon, but asking every train route to climb up the mountain was the sort of thing that could send engineers into hour-long rants.
“You okay, Shining?”
Shining Armor sighed as the question forced him out of his nice, distracting train of thought (heh) and back to the floor of Canterlot Central. He’d much rather think about military logistics than his feelings, but some topics were unavoidable when engaged to the Princess of Love. The pink wing spread over his withers helped ease the sting. “It’s just… I was the last to know in all of this.”
Cadence blinked, eyebrows raised. “Really?”
“I didn’t find out Twilight was leaving Canterlot until her chariot was already on the runway. Barely had time to say goodbye." Shining sighed, eyes on the past. "But I was actually proud of her.”
“Because she was pulling her head out of her books?”
Shining grinned. “Well, that and that’s how Princess Celestia usually sets up covert missions." He looked around. There were few other ponies hanging around the arrivals/departures board, but he still leaned in close to Cadence. "You hear it all the time from the spooks: ‘Hey, we’ve got a problem. Here’s a vague description of what’s going on, now go do this even more vaguely related task.'" He pulled back, grinning even wider. "But, you know, more regal.”
She tittered into a hoof. Just seeing her smile helped relieve some heartache. “And the vaguer it is, the more important the mission. That’s how it’s always worked for me." Cadence shook her head. "Remember the time she had me sit in front of a mirror for three days?”
“Officially speaking?" Shining straightened up, adopting a thousand-yard stare he'd refined over many night watches. "No, Your Highness. No, I do not.”
“And that’s why you’re captain of the guard.”
“Oh yeah. I don’t remember half of what I know.” Shining's smile faltered as his mind went back to the earlier topic. “But I really didn’t know Twily wouldn’t be coming back.”
That got him a nudge in his ribs. “You’re making it sound like she’s dead. Ponyville’s only eleven minutes away.”
“It’s still the furthest we’ve ever been from each other. You can’t just turn off being a big brother. Or a parent. Dad’s throwing himself into his work so he doesn’t have to think about his little filly living next to the Everfree.” Shining shuddered. Now that he'd said it, he was imagining what untold horrors Twily might encounter in her new home.
“What about Velvet?” asked Cadence.
“You kidding? Mom’s jealous. Probably wanted a piece of Nightmare Moon herself." Shining frowned. He'd arranged his worries in his mind like soldiers, and the next row in the parade came marching through. "And that’s the other thing; Twilight’s attuned to an Element of Harmony. That’s big Destiny stuff, with a capital D.”
“We always knew she was meant for great things.”
“Yeah, but I figured she’d just revolutionize magic in some lab where she’d be the biggest danger to herself. My little sister fighting monsters and mad princesses like some O&O adventurer?" Shining shook his head. "I never even imagined that.”
Cadence patted him on the withers. “Well, hopefully they’ll be few and far between. And you have to admit, going by the last letter she sent, she’s happier than she’s been in years.”
“It’s not like I was going to try to order her back home. I’m just getting used to her not being here anymore.”
That got a flat look and another poke in the ribs. “It’s been a moon, Shining.”
He could only shrug. “And it’ll be longer until I stop worrying.”
“You, your sister, your father…" Cadence sighed even as she smiled. "I’m marrying into a whole family of worrywarts.”
And there came the one problem recruit bringing up the rear. “That reminds me, you told her about the engagement, right?”
Cadence balked at Shining. “I thought you—“
The arrival board clattered as new information rolled into place, accompanied by a magically projected announcement. “11:32 local now arriving on Track 4.”
“That’s her train!” Shining galloped for the right platform.
He barely noticed the shout behind him. “Shining! Ugh, a whole family of crazy worrywarts.”
And somehow, she managed to give up on that every-30-moons contingency on the exact cycle before it would've come in handy. Should've realized that Luna was the start of the thousand-year deferments coming due... (I pointedly don't bother headcanoning most of Sunset's past because she had an entire song about leaving it behind; this one comes courtesy of the hopefully-still-alive Oliver.)
Shining's POV as a big brother! Cool!
Ah. Nice one.
Shining Armor is an underrated character. Assuming he married at the expected age, he was the Captain of the Royal Guard, possibly the head of Equestrias armed forces, at the ripe old age of 20+Something.
He married an Alicorn. Fathered the first Natural Alicorn in history, and is the elder brother to one. He has familial ties to the entire Pantheon. In the event of all Alicorns in the world vanishing, he's the dejure ruler of two nations. Though nobody seems to have told him (hey, how's that for a oneshot?) He's the single most powerful mortal in the world, wielding u unprecedented political power. His sister is the living embodiment of magic and his brother will grow into an Elder Dragon the size of a mountain. He throws dice with the Lord of Chaos and is the lover of the Alicorn of Love.
More than that? If either Celestia or Luna went just again, would be follow orders blindly? Nah. The madlad would arrest the Sun Incarnate of he thought she was under the influence of dark magic.
Evidence also suggests that while Twilight, Starlight and Sunset all possess more skill and offensive magic than he, he possesses more raw arcane strength than any Non Alicorn of his generation. He's faces Sombra one vs one and lives, and is capable of holding back an entire channelling army by himself. He arguably *is* the living embodiment of his O and O games. Twilight may be Celestias student but either one of them had Destiny with a capital D, and could have probably saved or destroyed the world many times over.
The guy is no slouch is what I'm saying.
I'm curious how their parents deal with it. Between the three of them, they could probably overthrow the diarchy if they wanted to...
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Given that we've already referenced the late Terry Pratchett in this collection, I believe the correct phrasing is "would arrest Celestia for treason".
The mirror cameo was awesome!
I like how your snippets flesh out the show so well, they could be from the show itself
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Hey, Celestia dragged the mirror up to the Empire for some reason. It's possible that the guard assigned to watch it knocked off early, and was subsequently transferred to Yakyakistan to count penguins. (Yes, it's the North Pole and Equestria wasn't then on friendly terms with Yakyakistan. That is, as you may have already surmised, the point.)
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Your entire analysis of Shining is great, but this is my favorite part. Really drives home just how phenomenal the guy is in his own right.
I mean, the diarchy kind of forced them to overthrow it. Also, Twilight Velvet's no magical slouch either, and we have no idea what Night Light's capable of. Really, it seems like if Celestia hadn't made that family heirs to the kingdom, they might have taken it for themselves.
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Thanks much! It's always interesting to look at suddenly introduced part of canon and see how they'd interact with what came before them.
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Maybe Night Light founded S.M.I.L.E.
I mean. Night Light was a stay-at-home Dad who was conspicuously absent sometimes duing Twilight and Shining's childhood usually timed well with monster attacks. He definitely didn't know anything about time travel.