The Start

“The Start”

A journal! The leather cover was colored blue and decorated with stars. I flipped the cover over to see the inside. Each page held a little chart that let me record the date, constellation, brightness, and coordinates! My face light up at the sight of it! It was the perfect gift for a pony who liked stars, and Star Hunter knew it. “Look on the back,” he suggested, smiling.

I flipped it over, and quickly realized what he meant. Imprinted at the bottom were the words:

Property of Miss Merry May.
If found please return to 23 Sunflower Street, or call 816-2342.

I was smiling so hard I must have looked like an absolute idiot. I tried to reposition my facial muscles into a less embarrassing position, but failed miserably. “Thank you so much!” I cried happily, and wrapped Star Hunter in a hug. “I can’t remember that last time that somepony did something this nice for me!”

“You deserve it,” he answered, responding to the hug enthusiastically. “I’ve never seen a pony like you before. So brave and beautiful. I mean, somepony has to do something like this for you. Might as well be me.”

Excitement flickered in my stomach. “You… you think I’m beautiful?” I asked, backing out of the hug.

“Yes. Yes, I do Merry. I think you’re more beautiful than Celestia herself,” he answered, looking into my eyes.

“Re…really?” I stuttered, looking at his kind face.

Then the unthinkable happened.

He kissed me.

At first I was so surprised that I didn’t respond and just stood there like a cockatrice victim. Then I realized what was happening. Smart, brave, handsome Star Hunter was kissing me. He loved me, and thought I was beautiful. And I realized that I loved him too. So I responded enthusiastically, kissing him happily. After a minute or two, we broke apart. I sighed happily and looked at him, not knowing what to say.

“I… I’m so sorry,” he said, bowing his head and backing up a step. “I just got caught up in the moment. I… I’ll leave now if you want me to.”

“No… no, don’t leave!” I implored him desperately. “I… I’ve never had a stallion treat me like this before. You’re so gentle and kind; please don’t leave me alone again.”

“You… you feel the same way about me?” he asked cautiously.

“I… I think I do,” I answered, taking a cautious step towards him. “But this is all so… so overwhelming. Can we… can we take it slow?”

“Of course!” he answered, nuzzling me affectionately. “But I’d better get going. I’ve got an appointment with my publisher to plan.”

“When can I see you again?” I asked, helping him strap his saddlebags onto his back.

“I’ll call you. Maybe dinner sometime? My number’s 816-4215. And be sure to keep an eye out for my publisher. He’ll probably send you a letter inviting you to lunch or something.”

“Goodbye!” I called to him as he walked out the door. Suddenly, he stopped and spun around.

“I… I’ve had a crush on you… for a long time,” he admitted quickly. “I worked up the nerve to talk to you in the line at the meeting. And… and it was just luck that I found you at that field. Having you… having you care for me back… it’s all I’ve ever wanted. Thank you, Merry May.”

Then he stretched his wings, took flight, and was gone.

I landed on my porch and flung my door open. I shut it with a bang, and ran into my living room, collapsing on my couch and giggling happily. Everything I’d dreamed of had just come true. Merry May loved me! She thought I was gentle and kind! I wanted to call Comet Tail, but it was dinnertime and I was starving. Eating would have to come first.

I trotted into my kitchen and pulled some carrots, chives, potatoes and noodles out of my fridge. I chopped them all up (except for the noodles) and heated up a small pot of water. Once it was hot enough, I put them all in, added some salt, and waited for my soup to cook. The tempting aroma quickly filled my house. I licked my lips and started pacing to see if that would make the time go by faster. It didn’t. I decided to go outside and look at the stars for a bit. According to my calculations the stars shouldn’t have changed, but I decided to check anyway. At least it wouldn’t smell like soup.

The fresh night air felt good on my fur. I shook my mane happily and trotted to the other side of my porch where my telescope sat. I looked through it, reading the coordinates of each constellation off my chart. If they weren’t dead center in the telescope, then my calculations had been wrong and I would have to re-record the positioning tonight. If they were, then I got a break. I brought my telescope to the coordinates for the constellation of Orion, one of my personal favorites. I checked the coordinates, which were off from my calculations by half a degree, but that could mean a lot of things. My coordinates might not be spot on, or my telescope could have moved, or the stars might have shifted just the tiniest bit. I decided to check the rest after dinner to make sure I was right.

I trotted inside and over to the pot on the stove. I used a cloth to take the hot cover off, and spooned myself some nice hot soup. I set it on the table to cool and turned the burner off. I blew on my soup to cool it a little more and went to get a spoon. When I returned to my bowl I was pleased to find it was cool enough to eat now. I moved my spoon to my hoof, and happily slurped down the warming broth. Before I knew it the bowl was empty, so I carried it and the spoon to the sink, washed and dried them, then put them back in the proper drawers.

This done, I went outside to check on my constellations again. The others were all were true to my coordinates, so I just recorded the new coordinates for Orion, then covered my telescope with its protective blanket. It was late, and I really needed to get some sleep.

I hopped into the shower for a few minutes, then dried myself off and snuggled up in bed. I read for a little while, then turned my light off and thought of Merry May until I fell asleep.
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