gilded (adj): having a pleasing or showy appearance that conceals something of little worth

Sick in bed with nothing better to do, Shining Armor meditates on the parts of himself that the public doesn't know. When a weakness from the past threatens to manifest itself, Shining begins to fall into despair, wondering if he is truly the figure that Twilight and Cadance see him as. But, even in the wake of illness, there shall always be hope...