The night was young and the stars were just coming out, and the royal city of Canterlot glistened in their light. Tonight perhaps more than any other night, this city was a centre for Equestrian society. For this night, was the Grand Galloping Gala. One of the most anticipated events of the year. Everypony worth their salt wanted to be invited to this prestigious event. A time when the elite of Canterlot gathered in one place. Those found at this celebration truly were the best of the best, the cream of the crop. An event that any single person would give their own right hoof to be a part of.

And he hated every minute of it.

Shining Armour, Captain of the Equestrian royal guard, stood there, decked in his usual purple armour, alongside two of his guard-ponies, both unicorns, and watched the new arrivals to the party step up the city steps one by one. It was among his duties as captain to oversee that security for such a newsworthy event ran smoothly. Of course, as the captain of the guard, he himself was expected to mingle with the guests, being a pony of such high office.

In truth there was nowhere else in Equestria he'd rather not be at. As far as Shining was concerned, this party was nothing more than a place for the rich and powerful to strut around like they owned the place, bragging to their friends and cohorts about how worthy they are to be here. The two Princesses, Shining knew, were not like that, but the rest of the Canterlot nobility, save for a few here and there, were not so, well, noble. Even as Shining looked at the newly arriving guests he saw the same thing every time, looks of smug superiority on their faces. It was like this every year. The guests would come, they'd greet him and he'd have to say hello back to them through gritted teeth. He knew they didn't care who he was or what he did, it was his title that made him worth their time and he knew it. But still, it wouldn't be appropriate to simply walk off, even though he'd like nothing better than to do just that.

It's only one night, he told himself. One night and I'll be back to where I belong, among my troops, seeing to the protection of the city. One night of utter tedium and discomfort for him. There were very few times when he hated his job, and this was one of them. At least, that's what he would be thinking if it wasn't for this particular Gala. For this year, the celebration had one thing going for it. One thing that made him tough it out and put up with all the pomp and arrogance of the nobility.

His sister was coming home.

It had been nearly a year since Twilight had decided to stay in the village of Ponyville, and not a day had gone by when he hadn't thought about her. It was difficult to adjust to her absence at first, but he'd managed to get past it. The transition had been made somewhat easier for him by Twilight's letters, which she'd send every week, around the same time she'd sent her weekly reports to Princess Celestia. He'd enjoyed hearing about how she was getting on and making new friends.

Shining Armour had been incredibly proud of her in this particular regard. Whilst it was untrue to say that Twilight was an unfriendly pony during the years he'd known her, she'd always kept to herself most of the time, seeing no need to make friends. Of course, his relationship to her had been the exception during those times, and even Twilight herself had once said to him that he'd be the only friend she ever wanted. And although such sentiment had been moving for him, especially as her brother, he was much happier knowing that Twilight was making new friends elsewhere.

And speaking of which, he'd heard that said friends would be arriving with her to the Gala this evening. None of them had ever visited Canterlot before, nor had he ever been to Ponyville, so this would make tonight the first time he'd ever get to meet any of them, which was a prospect he looked forward to greatly. So, for her sake if nothing else, Shining Armour put up with tonight's duties. Greeting the guests, the elite, with all the politeness and manner expected of a captain.

It was well past nine o'clock when his patience was finally rewarded. For there, entering through the massive doors of the Gala hall, was Twilight Sparkle herself.

Needless to say he was glad to see her. But looking behind her, he saw what had to be the friends he'd read about. Two pegasi, another unicorn and two earth ponies. All six were draped in rather elegant-looking dresses, no doubt made for this special occasion. It was quite a crew, he couldn't deny that. Looking down in front of them, he saw that Spike the dragon had showed up too. The young dragon began speaking to the six ponies before they suddenly, much to Shining's shock, suddenly darted in six different directions. Although rather confused at this action, his concern was soon dismissed when he saw that the direction his sister was running in too her right towards him. Smiling, he used his magic to levitate his helmet off his head and handed it to one of the guard-ponies flanking him, who dutifully took it off him with his own magic.

That done, Shining Armour ran forward towards his sister. The two of them met each other at the bottom of the flight of stairs in the hall's entrance room, and the smiles the two of them had were almost too big for their faces.

"Hey there, BBBFF." Twilight said enthusiastically.

Shining's smile, if possible, somehow managed to get even bigger. It had been far too long since he'd heard that nickname. Reading it in letters simply wasn't the same as hearing it from his sister's mouth.

"Good to see you again, Twily." He said in return.

Despite the many ponies of high standing all around them, the two siblings hugged each other for the first time in months. But they couldn't hug forever, so they soon backed off slightly.

"Did you get here okay? No traffic or anything?" Shining asked, trying to find a suitable question to ask.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, still smiling.

"Really? That's the first thing you ask me after so many months?"

Her brother shrugged his shoulders at this remark, and the two laughed together at this rather awkward moment.

"I trust you're looking forward to tonight?" He asked earnestly.

Twilight nodded.

"More than I can say. A personal invite from Celestia is not something that can't go unappreciated. I can't tell you how much this party means to me."

That statement was something Shining Armour couldn't help but groan at in his mind. Unlike him, this was Twilight's first time at the Gala. She had no idea how dull this thing could get. But looking into those big and happy eyes, he just couldn't bring himself to say otherwise.

"I'm sure it'll be fine." He said.

Then another thought came to mind for him.

"So, how have you been in Ponyville?"

Twilight chuckled as her brother asked this question. In truth she'd been through quite a lot since moving there. Not a day went by when something interesting or dangerous didn't happen. She'd said as much in her letters, but even so, he was probably looking for a more personal description of her time there.

"I've had a wonderful time. Sure there were a few bumps in the road here and there, but I wouldn't have traded my time there for the world."

Shining smiled proudly. He was glad his sister was having such a good time there. Then his thoughts turned to the ponies that had arrived at the Gala with her.

"So those ponies who were with you a moment ago. I assume those are the same five you've been writing about?"

Twilight nodded once more.

"Yep. Those are my new friends. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity."

Shining's eyebrow raised at the mention of the last name.

"Rarity? Oh I remember now. You said in your letters that she was the one who made your dresses for this evening, right?" He asked.

"Yep, including this one. What do you think?"

Shining gave his sister's outfit a good look. It was clear that it was made by someone with a great eye for aesthetics. Blue was a good colour for her, and the stars were most appropriate, given her love of astronomy. Shining was no fashion expert by any stretch of the imagination, but he knew what looked good when he saw it.

"It suits you." He replied honestly.

Twilight smiled back, clearly grateful at her brother's compliment.

"Thanks. I'm sure Rarity will appreciate the kind words, given how much effort she put into them. She was really happy to have the opportunity to be here tonight. They all were. They've all got big plans."

Shining Armour looked around in the various directions the five of them had run off into.

"I can see that. I do hope the six of you aren't planning to spend the entire evening apart from one another?"

Twilight looked behind her to see where he was looking.

"It's okay. I'm sure we'll meet up again at some point. Besides, we've all got really important things we need to be getting on with."

Just then, Twilight gained an expression on her face that said she'd just remembered something very important.

"And speaking of which, I'd better go there now!"

Twilight looked past her brother and caught sight of a doorway that led into the royal hall, where Celestia was currently greeting the Canterlot nobility.

"I hate to go so soon, Shining, but I really need to get going."

Shining looked behind him to see where she had been looking, before gaining a knowing look on his face. He knew his sister well enough to know what she was planning. She utterly adored her teacher, Celestia, and undoubtedly would want to spend some time with her during the festivities. So, knowing this, he looked back at her and smiled.

"Very well. I'll see you later perhaps."

She smiled back. Then Shining Armour saw her do something he'd never seen her do before. She raised a hoof and made a "X" sign on her chest.

"Cross my heart and hope to fly..."

Then she used that same hoof and placed it over one of her eyes.

"...stick a cupcake in my eye."

Her brother raised an eyebrow, a look of complete confusion on his face. Twilight laughed at this sight before saying one final thing to him.

"Long story. I'll explain later. See you around!"

She ran past him and up the flight of stairs behind him. He was still confused but couldn't help but laugh to himself. It was good to see his sister so happy. As much as he wanted to tell her how unlikely it was that any of them would have a good time here tonight, it wasn't in his nature to spoil his sister's enthusiasm for anything. He thought to himself how much he'd like to spend the whole party with her, but thought better of it. After all, she's been looking forward to this night for ages. It wouldn't be fair on her to have her older brother watching her like a hawk the whole time.

So, no longer able to see her, he walked back to his original post and took his helmet back from his guard-ponies. Placing it on his head, he dismissed any worrying thoughts about his sister and her friends.

After all, he told himself, what trouble could the six of them possible get into?