There's a little light in every darkness

Chapter 3

~Sometime later~

I walked alongside Luna's student, Midnight, who was kindly showing me around the castle and the school which we would both attend as normal students. Its design and colors were so similar to that of the castle, I wouldn't think of it as a school at first glance. I noticed the odd looks we received from other students but they weren't looking at me, it was at Midnight. I was curious to know the reason.

"Midnight, why are they looking at us like that?" I spoke quietly to her. She didn't say anything at all to me. She walked faster and had her head lowered, I could hear her lightly sniffling as if she was about to cry.

I assumed it must have been a sensitive matter and didn't press further. The tour of the school and the castle went by rather quickly after that. Most likely because Midnight was rushing the tour as she struggled not to cry. We ended the tour at the royal gardens surrounded by an assortment of various flowers.

"Solar...I'm sorry if I rushed too quickly for the tour, I-I just.." Her voice quieted down as the tears she had held within let loose and she began crying. There was nopony else around and I couldn't leave her in a vulnerable state like this. I thought on the possible actions I could take in order to make her feel better. Many actions were of couples but there was at least one action I felt was acceptable. I stepped close to her and wrapped my left hoof around her neck, hugging her gently and speaking gently.

"It'll be okay...just let it out, I'm here for you."

I heard her gasp but soon after, her crying resumed and I remained with her the whole time. It was a minute of crying before she managed to calm down and pulled away from me. Her eyes were still watering and they were red but she had a small smile on her face.

"Are you feeling better?" I asked with concern for her.

"Y-Yeah I'm fine...thanks Solar...I hope I didn't cause you any discomfort."

"No, you did not cause me any discomfort Midnight. Though I didn't overstep my bounds by hugging you did I?"

"No...it was nice Solar. Um anyways I should probably go, see you later." Before I could reply, she rushed off and left me alone. There was something going on relating to her but I had no idea what it could be. Having nothing to do for the day, I remembered the location of my room and headed over there.

As I neared my new bedroom, I saw Princess Celestia was awaiting my arrival. It was a bit perplexing as to why she would be waiting for me here instead of summoning me to the throne room.

"Princess, what are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were doing and to thank you."

"Thank me? Thank me for what?" ' Did i do something nice for the Princess? No I don't think so...' I thought to myself as it looked to me that my new mentor was enjoying my struggle to comprehend.

"Luna and I both wanted to thank you for what you did for Midnight."

'What? How do they know about that?' I didn't expect them to know so soon or really at all. After all, it was just a minor gesture of kindness I showed her or at least that's what I believed it was. "You don't have to thank me Princess, I was merely doing what I observed other ponies doing when one pony is upset or sad."

Her smile was warm and gentle, I assumed because she liked my response. "Solar, may not realize it yet but what you did for Midnight was much more than a simple gesture of comfort. Instead of simply leaving her, you chose to stay and comfort her."

"It would be wrong of me to simply leave her when she had treated me kindly since we met." I meant it as well because she could have pretended to be nice but something about her made me believe that she was genuinely being kind to me. Whether that kindness was because I'm going to be studying under Princess Celestia or if it was for a possible friendship was still unclear to me.

"I'm glad you decided to stay with her Solar. Midnight is a special pony and because of it, many choose not to be friends with her."

"Why? What happened to her?"

"I can't tell you that but, she will probably tell you someday. What I can tell you is that she is a shy, kind pony who has little to no friends. She'll try to appear tough in public but if she grows to trust you as more than a study partner then you will see more of what you saw earlier...a mare who just wants to have a friend and like her for who she is."

"I will give my best efforts to treat her differently than the others treat her and attempt to form a friendship with her."

"Thank you Solar, I must go now but you'll find a few books to give you a basic view on what you'll learn."

"Very well, I'll make sure to read them all...goodbye Princess."

I opened my bedroom door and headed inside as she left. It appeared to be a typical guest room of the castle if it weren't for the thirty or so books stacked neatly by the bed.

"I suppose I better get started with my studies..." I climbed up onto the bed and grabbed a book titled "The basics of magic: A unicorn's guide to basic spells." I opened it up to the first chapters and quietly read out loud to myself as I spent the night reading what I could to prepare for life as a student.