"You want to do what?"
Shining Armor gave the sleepy looking unicorn stallion who had just entered his room an incredulous look. He had seen this stallion around before, though they hadn't spoken until now. One thing that stood out about the unicorn to Shining Armor was how he always looked like he never got enough sleep.
Whenever he saw the golden coated, brown maned stallion, he had a half-lidded, baggy-eyed gaze and a slow gait. He also took an uncomfortably long time to respond when spoken to and when he finally did, he spoke in a slow, deep, deliberate, drawl. Shining Armor had in fact noticed that a lot of things this stallion did were slow and deliberate.
It was because of this that the colt was now regretting his reflexive outburst at the stallion's news. Shining Armor had to stand in the doorway for a good half a minute before the unicorn stallion spoke again.
"It ain't like ah wanna do this, kid," the stallion finally replied, "but the orders are comin' from up top so ah got no choice. Miss Gale wants me ta teach ya more about Light Magic seein' as how it's your affinity an' all, an' ah know the most about it out of anypony here."
"But why though?" Shining asked, "don't get me wrong, I may not be nearly as into magic study as my sister, but I can appreciate proper magical education. Why now though? Frigid Gale hasn't mentioned anything about wanting to teach me Light Magic -- or that it was even my affinity."
The stallion slowly blinked and stared at the colt impassively for several long moments before he finally replied.
"Look, kid," the golden unicorn continued with a sudden yawn, "ah don't know what Miss Gale is thinkin' an' it ain't mah place nor mah desire to know. All ah'm here to do is teach ya about Light Magic an' gauge whether or not ya have a head fer it -- though given it's yer affinity, I'd assume ya would."
Shining Armor frowned but bit back his annoyance for now. He had no idea what Frigid Gale was playing at, wanting him to learn Light Magic. He knew he had an affinity for that particular branch of Magic, but hadn't really cared to learn more about it beyond a few useful Healing spells here and there.
Learning more about Light Magic wasn't what annoyed him however. What did irritate him was the fact that he hadn't managed to figure out how to deal with Frigid Gale yet. As far as Shining was concerned, these lessons would only be a distraction from what he was trying to accomplish.
Then there was his actual 'teacher'...
Shining had decided he didn't care much for the stallion. He seemed lazy and disinterested in just about everything around him. The colt had noticed that whenever there was any major work being done around the base, the golden unicorn was conveniently absent.
Shining Armor honestly doubted the stallion would make a good teacher.
"Oh, name's Peach Pit by the by," the unicorn stallion said suddenly, "ya'll can just call me Peach... or Pit... don' really care which. Either one's fine by me."
"Peach Pit?" Shining Armor asked curiously, "sounds more like an earth pony name."
After another eternity Peach Pit replied with a wry chuckle.
"Ah'd imagine so, seein' as how ah was raised by earth ponies," he responded, "hard as it is ta believe lookin' at me now, I'm a country colt, born an' raised."
"Yeah I... never would've guessed," Shining replied flatly before letting out a resigned sigh, "alright, what do I have to do?"
"Just follow me an' ah'll show ya," Peach Pit replied, taking a step back out of the room before turning and trotting away down the hall, "don't dawdle now, ah ain't got all day."
Shining Armor somehow doubted that. Nevertheless he begrudgingly followed after the stallion and together the two of them headed down the hall and to a spiral staircase that led them further down. They passed the floor Shining recognized from when Gale had escorted him to see the evidence that his sister was alive, and kept going.
Further and further down they went and Shining was beginning to wonder just how deep this place ran. At this point he imagined they were either in a large multi-story building or somewhere deep underground, and Shining had the distinct feeling it was the latter.
"So... just what do you know about Light Magic, kid?" Peach Pit asked as they continued to descend, "ever practice it before?"
"A few times, but not extensively," Shining Armor replied, "I don't really know too much about it to be honest."
Peach Pit gave a slow understanding nod after a moment.
"Ah suppose that makes sense," he replied, "colt yer age probably don't have the patience to learn just how useful an' powerful Light Magic can really be."
They finally reached the bottom of the staircase after several long minutes of descending and Peach Pit stopped at a large set of dark mahogany double doors with large brass knockers on either side. He turned his sleepy gaze towards Shining and grinned.
"As far as magical affinities go, you an' me got lucky, kid," he said before turning back to the door and pushing it open, "from what ah heard, you were lookin' to become one o' them Royal Guards, right?"
He stepped through the large doorway and Shining followed after him as he continued to speak.
"Upholdin' justice, defendin' the Crown and protectin' the folks ya care about from harm," Peach Pit chuckled, "yeah, ponies with an affinity fer Light Magic tend to be that way. Noble, just, always lookin' out fer others," he gave an amused chuckle, "I mean shoot, kid, it's all right there in yer name."
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at the tired looking unicorn as they trotted down another hall -- this one much darker than the others he had been down. Curious to see where the stallion was going, he remained silent.
"I'm generalizin' o' course, but it really does tend ta work out that way," they turned a corner and continued down the dark path, "really though? There ain't no better magic affinity ta have if ya wanna protect somethin'. That's what Light Magic excels at, kid."
"It does?" the colt asked in surprise, "I've only read enough about Light Magic to know that it has some of the most powerful Healing spells of any branch of Magic. I didn't bother learning much more than that because a lot of it looked like it was out of my league."
"Now don't go sellin' yerself short just yet, kid," Peach Pit replied as they reached another set of double doors at the end of the dimly lit hallway, "Light Magic might be a bit more difficult to learn, but it certainly ain't the most difficult -- not like Elemental Magic or Time Magic," he shuddered slightly, "oof, just thinkin' about Time Magic makes mah head spin."
Shining Armor chuckled a bit despite himself. If he was being honest with himself, he was beginning to warm up to the weary looking unicorn. There was something about his slow, easygoing manner of speech that put him at ease the more he listened.
The colt actually found it a bit odd just how quickly he had grown accustomed to Peach Pit.
"As long as yer willin' ta learn what ah've got ta teach ya," Peach Pit continued, "ah guarantee ya'll will come out a better spellcaster than any old Royal Battlemage could ever be."
He set a hoof on one of the doors and glanced down at the colt with a lazy smirk.
"Gotta be strong if ya wanna protect that sister o' yours when ya finally find her, right?"
As the golden unicorn stallion pushed the door open, Shining Armor realized then that he may have been wrong in his initial assessment of everyone here. While a majority of the ponies and griffons he had seen and met were surly and brooding, Shining had managed to find some very colorful and even friendly characters in the mix.
It reminded him that there was still hope for Frigid Gale and the rest of her organization, he just had to find out how to approach the monumental task of bringing out the good in the vengeful thestral mare. He had thought long and hard on what she had told him, and realized that he couldn't just take Gale's word for it.
He needed more information from a different source, but he had no idea how he was going to find out -- that is, until Peach Pit fully opened the doors before him.
Shining Armor gaped at the room on the other side of the doorway.
The room was massive.
Not only was the room stupidly large, but even from the entrance, he could see endless rows of shelves holding various boxes of differing shapes and sizes, an absurd amount of books on display, and ponies restlessly moving to and fro between all of it. He could see several sets of stairs leading up four different floors where there were even more shelves full of odds and ends.
At one end of the room there was a large open space with rows upon rows of long desks and tables stacked with more books, parchment, and odd gadgets the colt couldn't describe. There were ponies, griffons, and even the occasional diamond dog all reading or working tirelessly on something or another.
"Ah don't much like this place," Peach Pit mused, observing the frantic activity within the room with a slight frown, "bit too noisy fer me, but ah suppose ah'll have ta get over it," he turned to Shining Armor, "this is where we'll be spendin' most of our time fer the next few weeks or so while ah show you the ropes."
Shining Armor didn't reply, still stunned and somewhat intimidated by the sheer scale of the place.
Peach Pit chuckled and looked back to the large room.
"I may not like all the hustle an' bustle that goes on in here," he commented, "but even ah can't deny that it's a mighty impressive sight."
He trotted inside and gestured for the awestruck colt to follow.
"Kid... welcome ta the Old Archives."