Shining Armor walked through the mostly empty halls of the Canterlot castle where other guards like himself kept a watchful eye on any visitors to the castle. However, there had recently been an incident…the return of Luna. A momentous occasion of course, but the Castle of the Two Sisters still had to be investigated to make sure Nightmare Moon was gone for good. This left the castle with only half the guard to watch it, and unfortunately, he was one of the guards left behind. It made him a bit sad, if not jealous. All of this was Twilight's doing in the first place…it would've been nice to go down to the Sister Castle and see her. Oh well. Right now he had other things to do, such as go to Queen Celestia who had personally called for him. It's probably gonna be about Twili. Which is fine, but I probably won't have the answers, he thought disdainfully.

He looked up ahead to the golden doors leading to the Queen's study. He found it strange she didn't want to meet in the throne room, but it's not like he was going to ask about it. He nodded to the two recruits hovering by the door, and they let him in without question.

Shining Armor peeked his head in, a little embarrassed to impede on Celestia's personal space like this… but he was surprised to see it was a big but quaint room lined with books, a large desk, some floor papers and…heh, a shelf of wine bottles. That put him at ease a bit, so he stepped in and closed the door behind him. It took him a moment to realize there was a balcony off to the side where she sat, staring up at the afternoon sun.

He cleared his throat in an attempt to get her attention, but it didn't work.

"Hello, Your Majesty… you summoned me?" he called, and she finally perked up.

Celestia looked over her shoulder, and appeared tired…but offered a cordial smile regardless. "That I did, Shining Armor." She beckoned him over with her large wing, so he allowed himself to come over to her side. He squinted and tried to look up to see whatever she was staring at as well, but ended up burning his retinas and wincing. She chuckled and decided to block the rays so he wouldn't do it again.

"So, what did you call me for?" Shining Armor asked and blew some hair out of his face. "Oh! And congrats on getting your sister back, by the way… you can always count on Twili, even for this kind of crazy stuff. Hard to believe she did it with the help of others, too." He laughed to himself, thinking about how antisocial she could be. Then he quickly caught his talkative behavior. "Ah, excuse me, Queen…you needed something, right?"

Celestia nodded, and luckily didn't seem to mind his small chat. "Yes…I hate to make it sem like favoritism, but you Sparkles are very reliable newbloods in the Canterlot elite. Your family is just seeking to lead a genuine life… you all work hard, what with your father being an astrologist, your mother being a doctor, Twilight with her studies, and you with your training…."

Shining Armor smiled bashfully and looked down. "You flatter us, Your Majesty."

She smiled at him, but it didn't last long. Her tone became soft and serious, so he straightened up immediately. "What I'm saying is that I trust you and your family more than other Canterlites. You're a wonderful guard, not littered by ulterior motives or secret resentments. There are some ponies join the guard because they want riches, or want an excuse to hurt other creatures. Some try and use it to get close to me or get in positions of power. But I can see that your heart is pure, Shining Armor, and…" She took a deep breath. "That is why I'm going to trust you with a monumental task."

"Uh oh. Am I on cleanup duty or something? You didn't have to butter me up, Your Highness," he jested in an attempt to lighten the load whatever she was going to drop on him, and luckily she gave a laugh.

"Haha, no, Shining! I… I want you to be Luna's personal bodyguard."

He froze. Uh…what? Sure, he was a great guard an all and climbed through the ranks fast, was dedicated to his work and had never missed a day, but… he wasn't even a knight yet, or a captain or anything. He was just a high potential recruit! Surely this was a mistake? Or as she had blatantly said herself, favoritism?

"Oh. Oh my Celes-" Shining began, but shoved his own hoof in his mouth. He cleared his throat loudly. "I….uh, I mean, what an honor, really, but shouldn't you have somepony more…qualified? Maybe older? I'm in my twenties, and Luna's in her….thousands."

"Last time I checked, I didn't have any guards that were in their thousands," Celestia chuckled and ruffled his hair a bit with her hoof. "Plus, the fact that you're young is exactly why I need you to be her bodyguard. Everything has changed since she was last on Equestria. The language, the landscape, and those who live within it… I want you to help her little by little each day to get accustomed to what must be a new world to her. You're very patient and kind, so I trust you won't hurt her in any way…" Her face became grim. "…or allow her to be hurt by others."

This did not ease Shining Armor's worries even a little bit, and he even hopped to his hooves in alarm. "W-what do you mean?! Is there a list of ponies after her that I should look out for?"

"Not that I know of, but what I do know is not everyone is as happy as I am to have my sister back," she sighed and patted him back down with her wing. "What I wouldn't do to be by her side day and night to catch up with her, but things are a bit overwhelming for both of us last now. The last time we saw each other, we never thought we'd see each other again… Twilight has resurfaced some magical artifacts I never thought I'd see again, and…" She shook her head to herself, and looked down to him. "It doesn't matter. What matters is I know you'll do just fine in my place."

Shining Armor could see it in her eyes now, exactly how hard she had thought about this. She didn't want to give him this hefty responsibility, but…he was the only one who could do it. Deep down, he knew that as well. He was proud that she understood just how loyal he was, how dedicated he would be to protecting Luna, even if initially, it seemed daunting. So he stared back…put on his serious face, and saluted.

"Yes I will, Your Majesty, no matter what! You have my word that your sister will be safe with me!" he declared loudly and bowed his head in resolution.

He wasn't sure if he actually heard Celestia sniffle… and before he could dwell on it, she said in a warm, grateful voice only a goddess could muster, "Thank you, Shining Armor… Really. Thank you."

—

celestia happily offered him wine afterwards but he politely declined lol. more for her and Novo, then

I always wondered what tf Shining is doing when he's not included onscreen…so I made it up! I figured Luna returning had a massive impact in Canterlot. I mean, for horses' sake, they country had a whole holiday centered around fearing her. There was no way she just settled down, everything was chill and called a day… and well, from what I can tell, Shining isn't doing much of anything either…so boom! Personal bodyguard! I think it makes a lot of sense hehe so uh yeah Woohoo

also i didnt proofreed this i dont know how to read