Look to the Stars 3

"That Special Somepony"

"So, what's her name?" my best friend Comet Tail asked, taking a sip of his coffee.

"Who? What…what do you mean?" I asked, worry shooting through me.

"You've obviously met 'that special somepony'! I've never seen you look at one of Pinkie Pie's cupcakes so intently without gobbling it up," he answered matter of factly.  

"Okay, fine. Her name's Merry May. She works at the weather factory. I…I've had a crush on her for a while, and I worked up the nerve to talk to her in the line for the pegasus meeting." I answered, blushing.

"Awww! So you talked to her? What did you say?" he asked, leaning closer to me over the table.

"Well, she seemed kind of nervous," I answered, looking at my cupcake, "but she told me that I could come visit her."

"Maybe she has a crush on you too?" Comet Tail suggested, sipping his coffee as he waited for my reply.

"I don't think she knew I even existed until I talked to her," I responded, a touch of sadness in my voice.

"Oh. Well, you should totally visit her. Oh, and take her something. What does she like?" Comet Tail asked.

"I... I don't know," I said, but inside I knew exactly what to get her.

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I woke up the next morning and groggily got out of bed. I had spent the last day wandering around my house, trying to figure out what to do.

What if he didn't keep my secret? What if I became the laughing stock of Ponyville? But what if he did? What kind of relationship would that spark? Would we be friends? Or would he use it to blackmail me? Was the fragile little life I'd built here over?

Deep down, I knew he would keep my secret, but that triggered the greatest fear of all.

What if he was right? What if I could be great? What if I could do this… as my job? Be an official astronomer? Sell my star maps, and be… sorta kinda famous?

I didn't know what to do. Maybe a day at work would clear my head? Working around the spectra is boring, but calming. I quickly packed my saddle bags and took off, riding the wind currents.

"Merry May?"

I turned around to see Parasol flying towards me, a concerned expression on her face.

"Parasol?" I called, lagging back so she could catch up to me.

"Are you okay? I was so worried! Rainbow Shine was totally okay with you missing a day.

She didn't even count it as a sick day," Parasol whinnied, finally catching up to me.

"That's awesome," I responded, "she's such a nice supervisor."

"So, why were you really out yesterday?" Parasol asked.

"What do you mean?" I responded, fear flickering in my stomach. "I... I was sick. Why would I lie about that?"

"Something big has happened, Merry. That's why you skipped work yesterday. I see it in your eyes, plus your voice wasn't scratchy at all over the phone yesterday."

"Oh," I answered quietly. I didn't really know how to respond to that.

"I'm sorry Merry. I… I just… I feel like we're drifting apart. We used to be so close!

And now you're lying to me so you can stay home from work? Please Merry, I just want to know what's going on," Parasol said earnestly.

"Okay." I sighed sadly. Star Hunter had said that I should do this. And what better test subject was there than my best friend?

"I… I love the stars. Almost every night, I sneak out to this special hill and record which star is where, and draw maps of the constellations. Last night, I saw this stallion there. His name is Star Hunter. He… he told me that I should try telling everyone about my passion for the stars, and that I could make a lot of money from it. And I… I just don't know what to do. I mean, what if I can't do it? I want to so badly, but what if I become famous? What if all my friends don't want to be my friends anymore? What if it's not how my story is supposed to go? I'm just so confused," I finished, tears in my eyes.

"Oh Merry," Parasol responded, pulling me over onto a cloud. "I think it's wonderful that you like stars. Your story is whatever you make of it, no matter what anypony else might think. You should totally sell your maps! I don't think it would be a bad idea at all. Nopony would love you any less for it."

Her words shocked me, and it took a while for them to sink in. My eyes widened as I realized how supportive she was being. She thought it was a good idea! She didn't laugh! She thought I could do it!

Happiness began to course through me, and tears of joy welled up in my eyes.

"Really?!" I answered. "You think I should do it? Oh Parasol! That means so much to me!"
"I think next time you see Star Hunter, you should ask him if he knows anypony that would publish your star maps."

"Good idea." I said, taking off from the cloud. "We… we better head to work."