For the next few days for a certain amount of time each evening, Shining was allowed to peruse Luna's room and make use of the tomes held within. This was done under Celestia's strict supervision, and wasn't without its caveats; conditions regarding what he was and wasn't allowed to learn which Shining wasn't too pleased with, but begrudgingly accepted nonetheless.

The room Celestia had made for her sister was surprisingly bare bones given what Shining had expected. There was a large, if simple looking four poster bed, an empty desk next to the bedside, and a window leading out to a balcony much like his own room. The colt had inquired about the window, but Celestia had assured him there was nothing to worry about as far as the room being exposed to other ponies.

More importantly, the one thing the room did have were bookshelves. There wasn't much else in the way of furniture besides the bed and desk, but there were rows and rows of bookshelves, and they were fully stocked. Shining had what he thought was an impressive collection of books in the room Celestia had given him, but Luna's room was far larger and thus, could—and did—hold many more.

Apparently the Solar Princess had decided to leave most of the furnishing up to her sister should she relinquish her title of Nightmare Moon, and return to rule alongside her. When asked, Celestia had explained that most of the books sitting upon the shelves were recovered from the ancient Castle of the Two Sisters located deep in the Everfree Forest. Others were collected in secret by the Princess over the years—books from the modern age she thought her sister might enjoy.

Shining Armor was all too eager to pick through the assorted tomes, and the fact that Celestia was on board with his idea and even willing to teach him what he'd know to help was more than he had hoped for. With the Princess watching over him, he'd wasted no time in resuming his research, and after a week or so, he'd already made significant progress on the subjects of oneiromancy and dream manipulation.

The spells he'd come across were entirely beyond his ability to cast, but for what Celestia had planned, that didn't matter. Shining himself didn't care that he couldn't use the spells, only that he learned everything he could about his chosen subject. By the time he confronted Nightmare Moon again, he wanted to make sure he knew as much as the fallen Princess herself about dreams. He wanted to make sure he and Nightmare Moon would be on equal ground when they met, he wanted to—

"An impossibility," came Celestia's blunt response when the colt had expressed his feelings on the matter, "where the knowledge of oneirology and oneiromancy are concerned, my sister outstrips you by several millennia," she shook her head, "no, Shining. You will have to make due with learning what you can in the next few weeks and nothing more than that."

Shining wanted to argue, but he knew Celestia was right. It still galled him and only made him want to try that much harder, but he accepted that his goal may have been a bit too lofty. What the Princess said next however, drew his interest and gave him something else to focus on.

"I know you wish to understand my sister, and there will be opportunities for you to learn more in that regard," she smiled one of her knowing smiles, "but your talent, or rather your affinity lies elsewhere, and it's that affinity that you must focus most of your studies on."

"My affinity?" Shining had asked, dumbfounded at first before remembering what Celestia was talking about, "oh that's right, I completely forgot!"

It had been during the seminar Shining had attended back then, before the school had been destroyed by his sister's deadly magic surge. Each unicorn in attendance had their magical affinity determined by way of an Orb of Insight, a ponymade artifact that revealed—in a rather spectacular fashion, what branch of magic a unicorn had a particular aptitude for.

Shining himself had shown a particularly strong affinity for Light Magic, which would've put his talent in direct opposition of that of Luna's. Luna's affinity, according to Celestia, had been Dark Magic, and it was clear to Shining that the Solar Princess put at least some of the blame regarding her sister's fall at the hooves of her sister's magical affinity.

What mattered more to the colt was that his own affinity might've give him some kind of edge, provided he studied up on it as Celestia had suggested. And so it was that Shining dove into his work, learning as much as he could about dreams during the evening while throwing himself into his studies on Light Magic during the day.

All the while, Celestia was there whenever she had the opportunity to be, which wasn't very often during the day. Still, she found time to teach him a few things about both subjects and had allowed him free reign of the thaumatology section of the Royal Archives in his spare time.

While he'd known of his own affinity, Shining Armor hadn't actually put any real thought into learning much about it until now. He certainly hadn't been lacking for intelligence, but when it came right down to it, study and research had always been his sister's area of expertise and passion.

He himself had done quite a bit of studying and research lately, and he found he didn't mind. It made him feel closer to Twilight, like he was working enough for the both of them. That said, it wasn't as though he didn't find Light Magic fascinating to study either. On the contrary, he was astonished by the possibilities that one Branch of Magic alone could provide.

"Light Magic and Dark Magic are essentially two sides of the same coin—equal yet opposite," Celestia had explained one night, "one Branch generally brings light, life and hope while the other..." she grimaced in distaste, "...the other tends to bring only darkness, death and despair to both the caster and the victim."

Shining winced at that; Celestia's decision to use the word 'victim' rather than a less morbid alternative not lost on him in the slightest.

"Light Magic is magic capable of manipulating photon energy in various ways. You can create light, take it away, bend it to your will to make illusions, travel at light-speed and accomplish many other feats," she continued, "at the same time, in many ways, it holds the power to heal, protect and create."

From what the colt had read in the following days, there was no Branch of Magic that compared to Light Magic when it came to Healing Magic and Barriers. There were offensive Light Magic spells to be certain, but Light Magic for the most part was used to help rather than harm. Many of the spells involved were of a supportive nature and Shining for one didn't mind that in the slightest.

On and on Shining went; his muzzle almost always in a book, hardly resting, only eating when Celestia and her aides forced him to, and completely oblivious to the world around him for the most part. It had gotten to the point that Celestia began to worry, and eventually she decided she needed to do something about it.

The Princess understood how important it was for Shining to learn more about Light Magic, Oneirology and Oneiromancy, but in reality, there was no rush. She'd told the colt that if Nightmare Moon were to return, it wouldn't be for several years yet. On top of that, he had the dream banishing crystal she'd made, so there was no fear of nightly visits by the twisted mare.

It had only been roughly a week and Shining was already running himself ragged, as though he were on borrowed time. When she'd asked, Shining had told Celestia that he enjoyed the work, but the ageless alicorn knew better. She knew the real reason Shining had thrown himself into his work, and she'd be damned to Tartarus before she let the colt isolate himself and drown his pain in work any more.

The Princess herself had already been down that road more than once, and knew for a fact that it led nowhere good. If he wanted to study that was all well and good, but Celestia decided that Shining needed something more than research to keep his mind occupied.

That was when a plan began to form in her mind; something to keep Shining busy while at the same time dragging him out of the shell he'd created around himself. The constant solitude and laser focus on his research was beginning to affect his health and she felt it was high time she said something on the matter.

---

"No way."

Celestia gave a quiet, weary sigh.

She'd arrived late one night and had once again caught the colt in his room with three different books open and furiously scribbling down notes as he poured over the tomes at his desk. To her dismay there were several more books stacked high around him. Knowing what Celestia already did about Shining's feelings on the matter, there was no real good way of broaching the topic she wanted to discuss.

She'd offered to reinstate Shining into the Junior Reserve Captain's Training Corp program and he'd refused, as she knew he would. Generally the program was meant for students still in school who'd meant to join the Royal Guard, but in this case, Celestia was willing to make an exception for Shining.

Evidently her efforts were wasted, as Shining hadn't bothered to let her finish speaking or even look up from his work before he rejected the offer. Celestia had expected Shining to show some resistance, but she wasn't going to be dissuaded so easily.

"Shining Armor—"

"No, Celestia," Shining interjected, finally turning around to face the Princess, his eyes hard and his frown firm and resolute, "there's no way I'm joining the Royal Guard, not after..." his frown faltered and he shook his head before turning back to his notes, "I'm not doing it. I can't... and you know why."

"Shining, please," Celestia pleaded, making her way into the room and over to where the stubborn colt sat, "I know how important this research is—perhaps more than anypony else," she held up one of the textbooks in her golden magic and frowned at it before frowning down at Shining in his chair, "but I've already told you that you need not rush yourself."

"Yes," Shining agreed through gritted teeth, "but you also told me that fortune favors the well prepared. I fully intend on facing up to Nightmare Moon, but I'm still just a colt. I need as much preparation as I can get in the amount of time that I have and that means I can't waste any time."

"I know what I said, Shining Armor," Celestia replied, gently placing the book back down on the desk, "and now I'm saying that if you keep going at this pace without giving your mind a chance to rest or focus on other things, you're going to burn yourself out, and if that happens, I guarantee you won't be of use to anypony."

"I can handle it," Shining argued. He rubbed at his tired, itchy eyes and squinted as he tried to make out the text in one of the tomes, "I'm making a lot of progress here, and if I stop now—"

"If you stop now, nothing horrible will happen," Celestia gently placed a hoof down on the page Shining was reading and pushed the book away, "if you stop now and get a good night's rest for once, I'm fairly certain Highhoof's Fourth Layer Theory will make much more sense in the morning."

Shining blinked slowly and turned to the Princess.

"How did you—"

"Trust me, Shining, I've met Harding Highhoof," Celestia replied with a small chuckle, "that stallion was literally crazy about Barrier Magic, and his work isn't something you can understand with a mind addled by sleep deprivation."

Shining frowned and looked back down at his own work. He hated to admit it, but that particular problem had indeed had him stumped for the last couple of hours or so. With a mountain of reluctance on his part, Shining sighed and marked his page before closing the book.

"Alright fine," he conceded, "so maybe I could use some more sleep, but that doesn't mean I want to enroll in the JRCTC program again," his expression turned quizzical and a bit hurt, "why would you even suggest that?"

"Because, if I remember correctly," Celestia replied, moving to sit beside his bed, "joining the Royal Guard was your passion. It was something you'd worked so hard to accomplish before the incident. You poured your own blood, sweat and tears into making that dream a reality even before the seminar," she gave the colt a soft smile, "you need something other than endless research to keep you occupied and if I'm being honest, I hated seeing you lose that drive."

"What I was passionate about," Shining countered with a grim scowl, "was protecting my sister and the rest of my family. Now that they're gone, there's no reason for me to join the Royal Guard, simple as that."

"Shining Armor, I know for a fact that isn't the entire reason you chose that path," Celestia challenged, "over these last couple of months, short though the time may have been, I've learned quite a bit about you. I know that somewhere beneath all the pain you carry, there's a brave and selfless colt that wants to protect not just his family, but anypony who doesn't have the power to protect themselves."

"I'm not joining the Royal Guard!" Shining suddenly snapped, though Celestia heard the slight waver in his voice, "I don't care what you think you know, I'm not joining the Guard... I can't."

"Yes, you can," Celestia replied, her smile growing all the more understanding as she looked Shining in the eye, "I'm worried about you, Shining Armor, and while working as part of the EUP isn't guaranteed to be the safest job out there, I know you'd be a lot happier than you are now.

"It still hurts, the memory of that explosion, the misplaced survivor's guilt of not being there and being able to protect your sister," Celestia's smile grew more melancholy and she turned away from Shining to look out the window and into the night sky, "I know because I've felt it too," she cast Shining a side glance, "...you're not the only one who lost loved ones that day, Shining Armor."

Shining Armor wanted to argue, but what could he say to that? It was true and they both knew it. To deny the fact or try to justify why his loss was so much greater than anypony else's would've made him sound like a self centered foal.

"There is a time for mourning, but that time has long since passed for you I think," Celestia continued, trotting back over to Shining. She pulled him off the chair and into a hug as she spoke. Shining's body stiffened slightly, but he resisted the urge to push the mare away, "I know it's hard, and the pain probably won't ever go away completely, but you need to move on with your life."

She pulled away and leaned down to look Shining in the eye, her warm smile gone and replaced with a stern frown.

"You need to find peace and stability in doing something you love—in being with others who will support and care for you, and this..." she nodded towards the messy desk, the amount of books piled up on top seeming suddenly daunting to the colt, "...this might bring you the knowledge needed to do what needs to be done, but it won't bring you peace or stability, and right now, that's far more important."

Shining looked from the desk to Celestia, his mouth slightly open and his mind sifting through the Princess's words. He hated to admit it, but Celestia was right. He knew she'd been right from the beginning but he hadn't allowed himself to accept the fact. She'd been trying to tell him the same thing for days if not weeks now, and he wasn't sure why it was only now sinking in... but it was.

Sure he'd lost his entire family and hadn't any other family who would take him in like many of the others who'd been orphaned by that tragic event. Sure what happened to his family had devastated him on a fundamental level, sure he was bitter that the Princess hadn't saved his family, but when he really stopped to think about it, she'd gone through much the same.

No, Celestia had gone through much worse than he had, and it was only now that he realized it. Celestia cared for her subjects as though they were her own children; Shining had been around her long enough by now to know that, and when the school was destroyed she must've felt the same as he did back then—as he was still feeling even now.

But she'd pushed past her sorrow, unlike him.

She had the wherewithal to set her own grief aside for the sake of Shining Armor. She'd adopted him, despite whatever consequences that may have caused and Shining had returned the favor by pushing her away and drowning in his own grief.

One could argue that it wasn't really fair to compare a colt just barely into his teenage years to an ageless demigoddess when it came to experiences in dealing with grief, but in the end, that didn't matter. Celestia had been doing her best to try to get Shining to move on, and it wasn't like she wasn't right to, and with those words the Princess had spoken, he understood.

Celestia had mourned and grieved and moved on, and if Shining Armor was going to get anywhere, he needed to do the same. The vast difference in their experience was irrelevant, especially when faced with the threat of Nightmare Moon's return. It wasn't just for his own peace of mind that he needed to change, it was a necessity if he wanted to help Celestia reconcile with her sister.

And if he couldn't convince Luna to change and she returned to Equestria as Nightmare Moon...

"You're right, I'm not the only pony who lost their friends and family back then," Shining finally replied in a quiet tone, "and you were also right about why I wanted to join the Royal Guard in the first place. I thought I'd accepted that what happened wasn't my fault but all I really did was push the blame on you while still blaming myself anyway."

"And I don't fault you one bit for that," Celestia replied, placing a comforting hoof on his shoulder, "we were both distraught and unsure then, but I think we can move past that now, don't you?"

"Maybe," Shining replied with a halfhearted shrug, "I think I still need some time to sort some things out, but..." he gave a great sigh and looked up at Celestia, his jaw set, "at the very least I can enroll in the JRCTC program and see where things go from there."

He didn't mention that it might've actually been a good idea given what he might have to face in the future.

Unaware of his thoughts, Celestia beamed at his words; her smile glowing like the sun itself and Shining found himself looking away as though it was too bright to handle. He gave a half surprised, half irritated grunt as the Princess raised him up into another, tighter hug.

"That's good enough for me," she replied, setting the complaining colt down and smiling gratefully down at him, "as long as you make an honest effort, that's good enough for me, Shining. Now I think it's time you got some actual rest, so come on," she nudged Shining towards the bed, "off to bed with you."

"Alright already," Shining grumbled, hopping up onto the bed and making himself comfortable, "you made your point, I don't need to be treated like some five year old in a daycare center."

Celestia only chuckled as she magically pulled the bedroom door open and began making her way out. Just as she was about to exit out into the hallway, she paused and half turned to look back at Shining.

"Ah, before I forget," she smiled one of those smiles and Shining frowned, not liking that smile one bit, "I know I'm more or less acting as your teacher right now, but I've decided to officially take on another student as well. Arrangements are still being made, but she'll be arriving sometime next week I believe," her smile widened a touch before she turned and slipped the rest of the way out of the room, "that aside, I hope you sleep well, Shining Armor."

And just like that, she was gone.

Shining blinked, then frowned, then groaned in exasperation.

"Seriously?"

Next Chapter: Beyond the Gate Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 5 Minutes