Shining Armor snapped the tome he'd been reading shut with a half sigh, half groan of frustration and placed it on top of the growing pile of discarded books on his desk.

It'd been the better part of a month since he'd began his research into the sub branch of Mind Magic known as Oneiromancy. He'd learned a few things here and there, but nothing that would help him with what he really needed. What was worse was that Celestia was starting to get suspicious.

He'd managed to keep his studies discreet well enough so far, but the Solar Princess was no fool, and she most definitely knew the colt was up to something. Shining Armor grimaced at the thought of Celestia finding out, knowing full well that the protective Princess would never allow him to do what he'd intended to do with the knowledge.

As he thought on any possible solutions to his dilemma, he cast an idle glance towards the softly glowing golden crystal encased in glass atop his desk. He found his mind wandering back to Celestia and her secret affinity, as it had every so often during his research. She probably would've been able to help far more than any of the tomes he'd been reading, but he couldn't bring himself to ask.

What Shining Armor had wanted to do was incredibly risky, but at the same time, he felt it was necessary—especially after Celestia had told him more about her sister. It was plain to see that Celestia missed Luna terribly, and the pain, regret, and guilt in her eyes as she went on about the Princess of the Night only convinced him all the more that what he was doing was the right decision.

Unfortunately, his search had hit a wall, and he was running out of resources. He'd taken a few trips down to the Canterlot Public Library in town, and had even gotten permission to peruse the Royal Archives for information, but to no avail.

Shining let out a loud yawn before turning to the window with a grimace. Celestia had already lowered the sun for the night and would no doubt be checking on the colt soon. He didn't know why, but lately Celestia had been coming to visit more often in the evenings just before she turned in, despite what she'd told him before about visiting at night.

While it was unexpected, Shining didn't say anything about it, and had in fact not minded it in the slightest, at least, not once he'd learned to hide the contents of his studies beforehoof. The first couple of times, there'd been some close calls and one particularly embarrassing misunderstanding, but thankfully he'd managed to keep his research a secret.

His research aside, Shining Armor still didn't know how to feel about how drastically his life had changed, or about the Princess and the fact that she'd adopted him as her son... her heir technically. He gave a small disbelieving chuckle at the thought, still unable to wrap his mind around the fact that he was technically next in line for the throne, even if he'd never actually get a chance to take it up.

Celestia was an immortal after all, and he didn't see her abdicating or being forced off of it any time soon. Nightmare Moon may have been a threat, but if it came down to it, he figured Celestia wouldn't let her familial bond with her sister get in the way of protecting 'her little ponies', even if it would kill her inside to fight against Luna.

In any case, he still had several feelings to sort out, and had buried those feelings under constant research and his own drive to do what he thought was necessary. Over the last few weeks, and as Princess Celestia had come by to visit more and more, his bitterness towards the mare had melted away for the most part, leaving him feeling oddly hollow and unsure.

He hadn't been out and about for any reason other than to gather more resources for his research, and still spent most of his time in his room, something he had gotten used to over time. Every so often he'd gaze down at the town from his personal balcony, or even up at the moon at night when he felt he was losing his resolve.

It was far from an ideal way of life, but he couldn't bring himself to focus on anything else with the very real threat of Nightmare Moon looming over him and the rest of Equestria. He had to do something, and right now, this was the only thing he could think of in his position. He was in no way powerful enough to take on the dark mare, but if he could just find a way to protect himself within his own subconscious mind, then maybe...

His thoughts were interrupted by a soft knock on his bedroom door, and he started at the sudden noise. With a practiced flick of his horn, he floated his pile of books back over to their respective places on the shelves, save for one, and called for Celestia to enter.

He'd been careless, lost in his thoughts as he was, but managed to make it look as though he'd been reading up on crystal enchantment. It wouldn't have been a complete lie, as he really had taken an interest in the practice and had actually done some reading on it.

Celestia entered the room, and Shining was about to greet her, but the look on her face made him pause and furrow his brow in bemusement.The Princess glanced around the room silently, her gaze stopping on the bookshelves for a brief moment before settling on the colt.

"Good evening, Shining Armor," Celestia greeted, her stoic frown not matching her pleasant tone in the slightest, "I trust you're well?"

"Yeah, I'm... fine," Shining replied with a quizzical frown of his own, a bit unsettled by Celestia's professional demeanor, "are you okay? You seem kind of... stiff."

At that, the Princess's mask faltered and she sighed before looking back at Shining, her frown turning apologetic.

"I'm sorry, Shining Armor, but... I'd like to show you something, and it's..." she struggled with her next words for a moment before speaking again, "...it's very personal, and I... well, it's difficult for me, but it's something I feel you should see, given what you now know."

"What is it?" Shining asked with a tilt of his head. Both his curiosity and worry piqued, Shining hopped off his chair and trotted over to the hesitant Princess, "is it about the Elements of Harmony?"

Celestia's eyes widened slightly for a brief second and she gave an amused chuckle another second later.

"I see your 'research' is going as well as ever," she remarked, wearing a knowing grin that Shining didn't like one bit. She cleared her throat and shook her head, speaking in a more measured tone, "but no, Shining, this isn't about the Elements of Harmony, though we will be having a discussion about that at some point in the near future."

Shining Armor grimaced, but Celestia ignored that and turned to exit the room, shuffling her wings as she stepped out.

"Come," Celestia commanded, "we don't have far to go, but I'd rather do this quickly and discreetly... in fact..." she stopped just outside the doorway and her horn briefly flash a brilliant golden yellow, "...there we are. Now, let us continue."

After blinking the spots out of his eyes, Shining Armor looked around to see that nothing of note had changed. He frowned in confusion as he followed Celestia out of the room, and a moment later he spoke up, unable to stifle his curiosity at what the Princess had just done.

"So, what was that all about?" Shining whispered as the two of them quietly made their way down the darkened corridor, "what did you do?"

"Just made it a bit easier for us to move around unnoticed is all," Celestia whispered back cryptically, "nothing to worry about. As I said, I'd rather not be seen wandering about, lest there be questions."

"If you wanted discretion, why not just teleport us where we need to go?" Shining continued, "and where are we going anyway? Why all the secrecy?"

Celestia remained quiet for a long moment, long enough that Shining wondered if the Princess had even heard him. She hadn't even turned around to face him, and just as the impatient colt was about to ask again, Celestia gave a sudden, but quiet reply.

"I did not get where I am today by being a daft mare, Shining Armor," Celestia said, her voice taking on a stern edge as she turned a disapproving eye towards the stunned colt, "do not think for a moment that I am unaware of your research into Oneiromancy."

Shining stumbled to a stop, his heart skipping a beat at both Celestia's words and the look she gave him. Caught off guard, he fumbled for an explanation, but Celestia raised a hoof to forestall him. Once he'd quieted down, she continued down the corridor once more, motioning for the colt to follow.

"I gave that enchanted crystal to you for a reason, Shining Armor," she continued, "I don't know what you intend to do with that kind of knowledge, but I can't allow you to simply dive headfirst into dream related magic on your own."

Celestia's frown deepened and she slowly shook her head, not taking her eyes off the path ahead as she spoke.

"Such magic is not meant to be self-taught by anypony save my sister, for the realm of dreams is, and remains, hers even now, as you no doubt saw that night."

Shining Armor winced as he thought back to that nightmare and those cold blue eyes. It had taken a few days for the sudden flashes of Nightmare Moon's visage to disappear from his mind after that night, and they didn't completely stop until Celestia had given him that crystal.

He hadn't suffered from the sudden images since, thankfully, but the memory of the dark alicorn's fanged, sinister, and almost mocking grin still haunted him. Rather than cow Shining Armor however, the visions only reminded the colt of why he needed to learn this magic.

Not only that, but despite himself and his complicated feelings towards the mare that would play at being his new mother, Shining couldn't help but remember the desperation on Celestia's face as she practically begged him to tell her about his dreams.

The raw emotion on her face had pulled at him in a way he hadn't expected, and, if he was being completely honest with himself, he knew exactly who he was doing this for most of all, and it wasn't himself, or even the ponies of Equestria in general.

It was for Celestia.

It was so he wouldn't have to see that heart-wrenching, soul crushing desperation ever again. It made him think about the look his own sister might've given him had he been there when her magic had gone out of control, and he couldn't stand the thought.

"I know how dangerous Oneiromancy is, Celestia," Shining Armor finally replied, turning to look at the Princess with as much determination as he could muster, "I know it's risky... but I can't keep hiding from Nightmare Moon forever. I appreciate what you did for me with the crystal, but..."

Shining Armor trailed off and Celestia watched him for a long moment before giving the colt a sad, understanding smile.

"...You don't like not being in control of your own mind, is that it?" Celestia guessed. Upon receiving only silence in return, Celestia chuckled and shook her head, "it certainly is galling, I'd imagine, and I can understand why you'd want to personally do something about it, but still, Shining—"

"It's more than that!"

Shining shouted, before wincing at his own volume. He looked around, and his heart leapt into his throat as he saw one of the castle staff pass right by. He furrowed his brow in confusion a few seconds later as the maid kept on trotting as though neither he nor the Princess were even there.

"What—"

"An effect of the Wallflower spell I cast earlier," Celestia replied distractedly, most of her attention focused on Shining's outburst, "Shining Armor, what do you mean? What other reason do you have for undertaking your own studies on the subject of dream magic?"

After some outwardly silent deliberation, and an intense internal struggle, Shining Armor finally relented with a frustrated growl. He turned to fully face the bemused Princess with a determined scowl, but when he spoke, it was with no small amount of hesitance.

"...I wanna talk to Nightmare Moon—without all the creepy nightmare stuff affecting me," Shining responded, "It... it's not that I don't believe you... but I still wanna hear her side of the story—I wanna hear what she went through from her perspective, and if I can just get her to listen and... and open up, then maybe..."

Celestia's eyes widened for a brief moment, but another second later, she sighed and closed her eyes, a small rueful smile adorning her face.

"I figured that might be the true reason behind your actions," she muttered before speaking a little louder, her smile growing less rueful and more grateful as she worked out Shining's true intentions, "Shining Armor, I appreciate what you're trying to do, really, but it's just too dangerous an attempt on your own."

"Yeah, but..." Shining grit his teeth and stomped a hoof in frustration, "Princess, I—"

"Which is why I'm going to help you every step of the way."

Shining Armor blinked, his aggravation and conviction giving way to complete bewilderment.

"...What?"

Rather than explain, Celestia came to a stop and turned to face Shining, causing the colt himself to stop. It was only now that he noticed they'd reached the end of the corridor.

Which corridor he wasn't sure, but they were both standing before a seemingly blank, off-white, nondescript wall—a complete dead-end at the end of the hallway. Shining was about to ask where they'd gone when Celestia lit up her horn, speaking to him as she did so.

"If you'll look behind you, you'll see none other than the door to my own chambers," Celestia explained nodding towards a point just past the colt. As Shining turned to face a large, ornate white door bearing the Solar Monarch's cutie mark on the opposite side of the hall, Celestia spoke again, "and if you look before you, you'll see nothing but a solid wall."

Sure enough, Shining couldn't see anything out of the ordinary about the wall they stood before, save for the fact that the wall existed here at all. The corridor they had apparently traveled through ended in the center of this hallway, and the way it was designed, there should've been a door on either side of the hall, but there was only Celestia's room.

That's when Shining Armor began to get an idea of what might've been going on. At the look of realization on Shining Armor's face, Celestia gave another chuckle and the golden glow of her horn brightened ever so slightly.

"It appears that you've worked out what is wrong with this picture," her smile suddenly fell away, replaced with a somewhat melancholy frown. When she next spoke, her tone was far more subdued, "...allow me to rectify the situation."

Before Shining Armor could process the change in Celestia's demeanor, the entire wall flashed with the same bright golden light as the Princess's own magic. Once the light died down, Celestia stepped forward and placed a hoof in the middle of the wall.

"Oh, and to answer your earlier question of why I didn't teleport us here," Celestia said, almost as an afterthought, "it's because I've put wards in place in certain parts of the castle to prevent teleportation for security reasons, and this happens to be one of those warded areas. Aside from that, I wanted to talk to you on the way here."

To Shining's amazement, a strange scrawl faded into existence on the wall around Celestia's hoof, and spread outwards, the odd script glowing bright gold. A moment later the wall rippled like water and completely vanished a moment later, the structure disintegrating with an audible hiss.

The wall was now completely gone, revealing another ornate door in its place. As far as the shape went, it was a mirror of Celestia's but aside from that, it couldn't have been more different.

The door itself was a deep, dark blue, and where Celestia's door was adorned with her cutie mark of a sun, this door was marked with what looked to Shining like a large blot of ink with a pure white crescent moon in the middle.

A strange sense of serenity seemed to wash over the colt as he gazed upon the door, and it took him a moment to realize what he was actually looking at. Once he did however, he turned towards a grim faced Celestia with a look of disbelief.

"I want to see my sister... I want to see Luna again, Shining Armor," Celestia said in a near whisper. Her words were aimed at the colt, but her eyes never left the door before her, "I want to see her as she was. I want to apologize, and tell her I was the one in the wrong... but I can't do that as things stand now."

She paused and let out a deep despondent sigh before finally turning to Shining Armor.

"If you're really that serious about this, then you'll need all the information you can get regarding Luna," Celestia explained, "as you no doubt have guess already, this is my sister's room. I personally made it for her should she... ever return to rule by my side. Nopony save for you and I, know of its existence."

"But how?" Shining replied, still somewhat stunned at what he was seeing, "I mean, two ends of a hallway, and only one has a door? Sure, it's not that strange, but you'd think somepony would get curious and start snooping around? And aside from that, how did even you build an entire room without anypony noticing?"

"Shining, I take it you haven't forgotten what my affinity is, yes?" Celestia replied seriously, "the only reason you got this close to the wall without turning around to see to some other suddenly far more important business, is because I allowed you to."

"What? How does that..." Shining's eyes widened before narrowing as he glared at the Princess, "you didn't..."

"In this case, I felt I had to," Celestia replied, a look of guilt crossing her face, "I want nopony to know of this room until the time is right, and my sister is once more herself."

Shining Armor went to reply, but thought better of it. He didn't like it, but in this case, he could somewhat understand her actions, and it was probably more of a static spell she'd placed on the wall to keep nosy ponies away which, again, he could understand.

Using Mind Magic so that she could build a room on her own without anypony's notice? That one might've been a little less acceptable in Shining's opinion, but once again, as long as she hadn't hurt anypony in the process, it was something he could let slide... but only just.

"Alright, fine, I'll let it go," he answered instead as he turned back to the door, "but... you're really going to help me? Talk to Nightmare Moon, I mean?"

"My sister might have dominion over the Realm of Dreams, but Mind Magic is my affinity," Celestia replied, "which means I can protect you from her influence should the need arise, and it will," she nodded towards the door, "in this room however, is much of what you'll need to prepare yourself, for there are things I cannot help you with when the time comes."

"Such as?" Shining asked with a raised eyebrow.

In lieu of an actual reply, Celestia's horn glowed once more and Shining heard the muffled sound of tumblers shifting somewhere within the door before it slowly and quietly swung open, the doorknob encase in a soft golden glow. As she magically pulled open the door, Celestia smiled down at the colt.

"Why don't we head inside and you can find out for yourself?"

Next Chapter: Into the Depths Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 57 Minutes