Midnight Rose gazed out the window of her tower room. With the panorama of Canterlot laid out before her, she wondered how she'd gotten so lucky as to have been hand-chosen by Princess Luna to be her personal student. With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, maybe she could even become a princess some day, just like Twilight Sparkle had done.
While Luna was Midnight's idol, Twilight Sparkle was her hero. She had a perfect life. Parents, a brother, five close friends, a dragon for a personal assistant...And now she was a princess. What more could a pony ask for?
Though in some aspects, Midnight's life was perfect, too. She now had the chance to become just like Twilight Sparkle. She didn't have a family, but Midnight hoped that Luna would be able to take on a bit of a motherly role, as Celestia had done for Twilight.
Midnight turned and looked around her room. Everything was beautiful, perfect. The bed was a generous king size, she had a walk-in closet full of fancy dresses, a personal servant, and full access to the entire castle! That is, if she didn't get lost while she was exploring. The castle was massive, and had so many long corridors, Midnight had lost track of which way she'd come.
This was Midnight's third day living at the castle. The only thing she missed from the orphanage was Slate. She'd hoped that they would make up before she left for the palace, but he'd been studiously avoiding her. Irregardless, she was certain to make newer, better friends here at the castle. Sure, she and Slate had been close. They'd shared their hopes and dreams with each other. Their fears, hobbies, loves, hates... They were best friends.
A single tear traced a wet path down Midnight's cheek as she used her magic to reach for a piece of parchment and a quill.
Dear Slate,
I know you and I haven't been on the best of terms recently, but you didn't allow me the chance to reconcile our friendship. I'd like to put what happened in the past. We had a friendship that I'm not willing to simply throw away. In hopes that you accept my apology, I suppose I'll tell you a bit about the palace. It's beautiful, Slate. I wish I could share this gift with you. Everything is trimmed in gold or silver, or made from silk or satin or velvet. This is nothing like our dull life at the orphanage. Here, there's always something exciting going on. Just yesterday I saw a flock of griffins flying in from their empire. The maid Luna and I share, Heart Song, tells me that Equestria's peace contract with the Griffin Empire is on the brink of expiring.
But enough about me. How is life back home? How are your flying lessons going? Do you know if you're going to Flight Camp yet? Let me know!
I have to go now, my lessons are about to start. I miss you, Slate. Give Miss Dandelion my regards. I hope to hear from you soon.
Love always, Midnight Rose
"Midnight?" A voice said from the door. The purple filly looked up to see Luna standing over her, looking concerned. "Is everything alright?"
"Yes, ma'am, I was just writing to Slate," Midnight said, quickly wiping her eyes.
"You two were very close, I can see," Luna said, kneeling next to Midnight. Midnight said nothing, only nodded. Her words, usually her best asset, were failing her. And then suddenly, everything began spilling out.
"Slate found out he had an uncle that could have taken him in, but refused to. Slate was really upset and when I told him he was better off at the orphanage anyway, he started yelling at me that it was his one connection to his parents. They died in a house fire when he was little. He told me I didn't have to deal with that grief and I said I'd never even met my parents; they gave me up at birth. After that, we both said some pretty mean things, and we haven't spoken since."
Luna rubbed Midnight's back with a comforting hoof, letting the filly cry into her shoulder. The princess levitated the letter to Heart Song, who was floating in the doorway.
"I want this letter delivered to the orphanage immediately. I want it to be personally handed to the Pegasus colt by the name of Slate," Luna said sternly. Heart Song nodded and zipped down the stairs.
"Thank you, Princess," Midnight murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes.
"Art thou ready to begin thy lessons?" Luna asked, slipping back into her age-old speech.
"Yes, ma'am," Midnight said, smiling wearily.
"Very well. Hold on to my leg," Luna said, standing up and firing up her magic. Midnight did as she was told, clutching Luna's leg tightly. Luna squinted her eyes shut and let her magic flow around them. Then, after the sensation of being compressed and pulled and compressed again, Luna opened her eyes.
The willow grove stretched out before them, the various ponds reflecting the midday sun. Luna realized Midnight was still holding tight to her leg, her eyes clamped shut.
"You can open your eyes now, Midnight," Luna chuckled. Midnight flushed and sprang backwards. The filly brushed stray pieces of her mane out of her face.
"When do I learn to do that? To teleport?" Midnight asked.
"All in good time, Midnight, all in good time," Luna said vaguely. "How are your levitation skills?"
To demonstrate, Midnight set her magic on a pond, and lifted a pulsating sphere of water. While levitating it, she looked to Luna to see how she had done.
The princess of the night was impressed. Not many fillies of her age were able to lift a non-solid object, and hold it in the air for a prolonged amount of time, while at the same time projecting their attention elsewhere. Wishing to test the filly further, Luna said, "Split the sphere into two spheres." Midnight did exactly that. Soon, she was lifting four spheres with ease.
"You may let them go now," Luna said. The spheres dropped back to the pond with a splash. Midnight shook herself, proud of how she had so obviously impressed the princess.
"Now what?" Midnight asked excitedly. Feeling her stomach growl in response, Luna glanced at the sun. It appeared to be about noon.
"Lunch," Luna answered.