And that was when Cadence realized… she had married an absolute idiot.

PGG  
GUARD

@DanielTepesKraus  
That also happens in real businesses. Great employees get promoted and become terrible managers that run the company to the ground.

@BigBlueberry  
“Defiantly”?

@Background Pony #2903  
Men are from Mars, women are BLU Team.

@Homfrog  
We can also see the mask if we’re spectators.

ET’S AH BLOO-DAY SPAI!

@Homfrog  
@Justice4243  
Woooaaaaaah.

@Homfrog
 
Somehow I interpreted this that we’re all changelings.

if we can see the mask we’re on her team guys

@Silent Wing  
Screw that, we can get more siblings! Maud > Shining.
 
… then again, I’d kill M.A. Larson’s greatest enemy just for another Trixie episode…

@Jarkes @Silent Wing It’s kinda funny but I’m starting to see Shiny more and more like Littlepip with regards to his talent, as he seems to be good at only this one thing.

@Silent Wing
 
This. So much this. Also, you might want to check this story out.

@DanielTepesKraus  
Not like we have to worry now. He’s the husband of a princess (not necessarily making him a prince), and as we’ve noticed, who’s only profession currently is being a coach. Think about it, what have we seen Shining Armor do lately? He went back to Canterlot to help with the guards, probably to set an example, and failed to defend himself or run like he should have. He can’t even come back and reminisce without screwing up what could have been a slight delay in Tirek’s advance, therefor aiding Twilight’s endeavor against him.
 
But whatever, he’s great for shipping and clopfics, so I’m not complaining until he screws up again. If he doesn’t get a moderately prominent role in Season 5, I’m going to cry.
 
I also want Twilight’s parents to have speaking roles. I want there to be a damn episode where Twilight comes home for a day or two to relax.

@Background Human  
Potentially, but my point remains valid. He’s not a good captain. Which sucks because he is one of my favorite characters.

“I’m beginning to think my husband is an idiot.”
 
5 days later.
 
“Yeah, he’s defiantly an idiot.”

@DanielTepesKraus  
Nah, it’s just the Peter Principle: he’s a good soldier who got promoted to a shitty officer.

@Kappe  
What I mean, is he’s the Captain of the guards. In other words their leader. It’s his job to not only command them, but also organize, deploy, and train them. Not only that, but they were in a state of readiness; they had been flipping warned of an imminent attack (I swear Chrysalis did that just to make fun of Shiny, I can’t prove it but I swear to God that’s what happened).
 
Under his training and command, they lost the capital city of the entire empire, country, (whatever you want to call Equestria) in seriously like five minutes.
 
Compare that to the mane 6. Elements of harmony or not, they’re still six citizens with no formal military or combat training (except Rarity potentially knows martial arts). These six citizens took down close to fifty changelings, all at once, with no weapons, no armor, no organization, and being completely caught off-guard. They probably could have put up a pretty decent fight against the huge swarm in the palace, but flat-out surrendered because they knew it was a lost cause.
 
You have nobody but Shining Armor to blame for that. If the guards are that bad at their jobs, it’s his fault for recruiting shoddy ponies, poorly training them, or any combination thereof. Even if their leader had been compromised for weeks, they still should have been able to put up a much better fight against Chrysalis’ forces due to their training and numbers. They weren’t even a threat to her; her plan hardly concerned them much farther than ‘you changelings, go and slime them up or something. I’ve got Shiny and Celestia.’
 
Now to his credit, he’s a powerful and brave pony in his own right. That doesn’t make him a good captain, that makes him a good combatant. There’s a difference. That’s what I was getting at. And that’s what almost gives the nepotism theory actual credit. A very incompetent leader promoted to a leadership position, who happens to be dating a princess and the sibling of the country’s leader’s protege? If that was in real life, it would be plastered all over the media.

@Chrysalislover  
Never underestimate the power of a paper plate mask.

@Kappe
 
We get so few (prominent) male characters that when do get a new one, people pour in their headcanons like no tomorrow.
 
Plus, it’s just funny. Really not much to it.

Here’s what I do when in doubt: I pull out my flamethrower and spray generously. If they catch on fire and burn to death, they were evil and a spy. If they’re just annoyed, they weren’t one, and I have to explain why I tried to light them on fire. It’s worked out well so far.

@DanielTepesKraus

Okay Celestia isn’t that too happy at him Twilight too