Shining Armor

Shining Armor is a unicorn stallion and Twilight Sparkle's older brother. He is also Captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard. His cutie mark is a blue shield with a red six pointed star in the middle, it also has three light blue stars above the shield. He appears in A Canterlot Wedding, the two-part finale of the second season of My Little Pony Friendship is Magic, alongside Princess Cadance, his wife.

Personality
Although very close to his younger sister Twilight Sparkle who he calls "Twiley", he has evidently lost touch with her as a result of her relocation to Ponyville. Initially, he is happy to see Twilight again upon her return to Canterlot, asking her to be his Best Mare at the wedding.

Similar to Twilight, Shining Armor is very dedicated to the responsibilities set aside for him, due in part to his role as the Captain of Canterlot's Royal Guard. This is shown through his casting, and constant updating of his magical barrier, and security at the behest of Princess Celestia to the point where he sacrifices much of his time to prepare for his wedding. That said, also like his sister, he is as devoted to his loved ones as he is to his duties, evident through his childhood with Twilight.

However due to a spell cast upon him by Chrysalis, he is put under her control. As a result his excitement and happiness quickly turns to frustration and anger as his sister - unbeknownst to everyone - correctly decries the Changeling Queen, in the form of Cadance, as evil and unworthy of her brother. He reprimands his sister, says that she's not best mare, and not to come to the wedding. After the Changeling Queen's deception is exposed and he is rescued from her control he returns to his old self and both siblings reconcile.

He is deeply in love with Princess Cadance. An example of this is when he mistakenly reprimands Twilight for her accusations of the imposter and tells her not to come to the wedding. This is also noted by Queen Chrysalis, who, after defeating Princess Celestia, declares that his love for Cadance (which she had been feeding on) is more powerful than she credits it for. These same feelings of love are what give Shining Armor the strength to recast his barrier, expelling Chrysalis and her Changeling minions from Equestria.

Magic
Like his sister, Shining Armor appears to have the capacity to perform exceptional feats of magic. A key plot point of A Canterlot Wedding revolves around his unique ability to project and sustain a defensive magical barrier around the entirety of Canterlot. Although this feat gives him severe headaches, his ability to perform the spell at all evidences a good deal of talent, training, or both.

Besides this, though, the extent of Shining Armor's magical capabilities is not elaborated on.

Merchandise
A "Pony Princess Wedding Castle" playset, featuring a plastic castle and Playful Pony characters Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, is set to be released August 2012. Shining Armor is the first male Playful Pony to be released since the 80's.

Gallery

 * Shining Armor image gallery