Falling For Our Stars

by bobdat

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Four

Instead of a relaxing night’s sleep, I found my friends getting dressed and ready to go to a party.
“There’s a big party downstairs,” Fly informed me when I got back. “Only for seventh-years, and apparently some of the dorm matrons are going.”
“Last chance to see everypony,” Miri reminded me. “By this time tomorrow, some ponies are going to have left.”
She didn’t name anypony in particular, but everypony knew she meant Rarity specifically. I wanted a good night’s sleep ready for the early start tomorrow, but I also didn’t want to throw away my last ever chance to see all of my school friends.

I wore a simple dress that Rarity had designed for me in a year gone by. It was a silky grey material, and it complemented my mane and tail without being overstated.
“Oh, you’re wearing one of mine?” Rarity said happily. “I’m so glad you like it.”
“I like all of the dresses you’ve designed for me,” I told her. “I’ll be wearing them for years.”
Fly and Miri agreed, but then we quickly went back to adjusting our make-up and manes because Rarity seemed to be about to burst into tears and we didn’t want to set her off.
“Here, wear that thin scarf,” Rarity told me, going through my clothes and finding the white scarf she meant. “That’ll go perfectly. You look a little monochrome but it’s a classic look.”

Once Miri had finished hogging the bathroom, I tried to arrange my mane to make it look a bit nicer, but it didn’t really want to behave. Instead I just made sure my make-up looked good and touched it up where it needed some, which was pretty much everywhere.
“Hey, what do you think of my dyeing my hair blue?” Miri asked.
“No,” Rarity replied flatly.
“What about… not dyeing it?”
“I thought you looked nice before you started dyeing it,” Fly said.
“I’ve never seen it not dyed,” Rarity replied almost immediately.
“Hmm. I think I’ll stick to red.”

We took all of our remaining hidden snacks to the party, which was on the floor below, away from younger fillies. Our arrival was greeted by cheers, which were mainly aimed at Miri, but the rest of us enjoyed them anyway.
“Is it true that some dorm matrons are coming?” I asked Miri.
“Yeah. Apparently, they like to come and say goodbye to the ponies who they looked after,” she explained. “I don’t know when they’ll get here, though.”
I dropped our snacks on the table in the middle of the corridor, which was groaning under the weight of contraband that needed to be used up. I noticed that Miri had already visited and picked up some of the best stuff.

There was music courtesy of a stereo at one end, and there seemed to be as many ponies dancing as there were ponies in tears. It was emotional to have to leave, but I hoped the occasion didn’t end up too sad.
“Come on, let’s dance a bit,” Fly said, tapping me on the shoulder. “I’d like to try it somewhere that I’m not wearing a costume or a formal dress.”
“Okay,” I replied, glancing over to see Miri and Fly saying hello to some of the other seventh-years from their classes. “Maybe we can get Miri and Rarity to join in later.”

Once we were in the rhythm, Fly decided to speak to me.
“Have you told Rarity how you feel?” she asked, sounding a little worried.
I shook my head. “I don’t know how to. When I told her in the holidays she seemed unhappy, remember?”
The song changed to something thankfully a little less energetic.
“I know, but this is your last chance. You can’t tell her in a letter, and you might not see her for ages.”
This made me sad. “I don’t know… I don’t want to ruin the end of school.”

I was surprised when Fly spoke more forcefully than she usually did. “Cat, you have to tell her. I found out from Miri that Rarity is confused why you’re acting weirdly around her. If you tell her tomorrow and it ruins your friendship, it’s better that she knows than she thinks you don’t like her or something.”
“Maybe. It’s just so hard to find the words.”
“You need the right moment,” Fly said, stopping dancing and taking me to one side. “You can probably ask after the concert.”
“Do you think that would be the right time?” I asked, now feeling a rising panic. It was like agreeing to jump off a cliff.

“You’ll be feeling happy from the concert, and Rarity will be emotional about going home. You won’t get a better chance.”
I nodded, my tummy full of butterflies. I sneaked a glance at Rarity, but she was busy talking to somepony I recognised from my English class.
“I’ll help if I can, but this is your last chance. You should take it.”
“I will. I’ll try.”
Fly seemed satisfied, so we went back to dancing, waving and saying hello to ponies I recognised and had spent time talking to in lessons and the common room.

The highlight of the night was when the dorm matrons arrived, dressed up for the occasion. We gave them a round of applause, which reduced them to tears, which reduced nearly everypony else to tears. After all of the detentions and snap room searches over the years, I did not expect to find myself hugging our dorm matron and wiping away tears, but it happened that way. I was going to miss the ritual ‘lights out’ warning. When the dorm matrons saw the big pile of biscuits and chocolate that we’d assembled, they laughed.
“We know you find places to hide it, it’s amazing where you put it all,” one of them said. “Every year you seem to find new places.”

I spent the rest of the night with Rarity, Miri and Fly. It was starting to dawn on us that we didn’t have much time left as a group, and all the years of memories were bearing down on us like a heavy weight.
“Do you want to find someplace quieter?” Miri suggested. “I’ve seen everypony here, we can go back to the dorm?”
We all seemed to agree with that, but when we arrived back at our door, I felt more tears welling up. I didn’t want to sit there all evening crying, but it seemed like I just couldn’t close the floodgates. Fly gave me a hug and I smiled at her.

We stayed up and reminisced about times past at Buckingham. Miri had the best memory so she told most of the stories, and I found that most of my tears had turned to laughter once I’d heard the story of the time Fly dropped her food at breakfast in the first year, and the time Miri got lost during fireworks and got caught climbing in through a window. We didn’t really talk about the sad stuff, like going back home, and just concentrated on the fun times we’d had together. I told everypony about the time that Rarity and I were stranded in Maneminster during the power cut, minus the part about kissing Rarity that she still didn’t know about.
I eventually fell asleep, feeling much happier but still with a little sadness that this was our last night at school together. I’d already given cards to give to the other three, all of them containing a long message about how much I was going to miss them, and received them in return.

When I woke up on the Saturday, it was quite early. I had a lot to do. I would have preferred to spend the entire day on a shopping trip in Maneminster with them, just messing around and eating ice cream, but I had to go and get ready for the concert, which meant I’d miss seeing them for most of the day. But the excitement and nerves for the concert soon took over, and I didn’t envy the other two helping Rarity to pack all of her clothes. She was already beginning to worry about leaving something behind when we were all dressed and ready to go.

First thing was the formal leaving ceremony. We all had to dress smartly, and there would be speeches from the head mare and from the head filly (Miri had apparently prepared something in secret), and then after that we’d have the day off until the concert in the afternoon. I was going to do some practice in for the rest of the morning and then spend my time with the band until the concert started, because they needed looking after. For most of them it was their first time playing in from of an audience and it could be scary, even as part of a group.

“Well everypony, you’ve come through a lot to get to this day. Some of you have been here since you were first-years, some have joined since then, but you’ll all done wonderfully and made the school proud,” the head mare told us once we were all seated. Miri had disappeared.
“I’m confident that your exam results will be excellent, and you can all be proud of yourselves. You’ve done Buckingham a service, and you’ll all be remembered along with the many ponies who have gone before you.”
“Now, next is an unusual speech from your head filly, so please give her a round of applause.”
We all craned our necks to get a glimpse of Miri, but when she appeared she was dressed normally and wasn’t even carrying notes, which suggested something especially unusual.

“Hi everypony!” she said, leaning casually on the podium. “So, normally the head filly just gives a speech about how well we’ve done in our exams and how hard everyone worked, but I’ve decided that you’ve probably heard enough of that. So instead, I’ve prepared this for you.” She produced a black box which I recognised as the kind of thing they have at the cinema for showing films. Everypony murmured, wondering if Miri had made a film.
“It’s not a film,” Miri said, quickly, “But it is a lot of photos of everypony. I tried to make sure I have a photo of everypony here.”
She switched it on and a picture appeared on the wall, this one showing Miri pulling a pose.
“Had to start with me.”

She went through everypony in the year, giving their names and making a few comments, mainly amusing. The pictures were amazing; they went back years. Most ponies appeared in a group shot, but occasionally Miri would single somepony out. I wondered if she was going to save her roommates for last, but she came round to us in the middle.
“Okay, so here I am again, this time with the other ponies in my dorm. There’s Cat, voted ‘pony most in need of a mane transplant’ by a poll of over one million ponies. Fly, who is so clever that I’ve got a grade higher in every subject just by being around her, and then Rarity. Remember the name Rarity, because when you’re wearing her designs in twenty years, you can tell everypony that you knew her at school.”

I was touched by Miri’s thoughtfulness, even if she’d poked fun at me, but when the photo changed it was a close-up of my mane.
“Seriously, medical attention is needed here.”
I couldn’t help but laugh along with everyone, ducking my head so I didn’t have to see all of the ponies turning in their chairs to look at my reaction. I had no idea when she’d obtained that picture.
Miri continued and eventually worked her way through everypony, earning a lot of admiring glances, mainly for the fact that she could remember everypony’s name.

“So, hopefully you enjoyed that, and it’ll give you something to remember from your otherwise boring time at Buckingham,” Miri grinned, before passing back over the the head mare while we all applauded her.
“I didn’t know she’d had time to do that,” Fly whispered to me.
“Where did she get those old photos?” I asked, but neither of us had an answer.
“Okay everypony, so I’d just like to finally thank you for a fantastic seven years at Buckingham. I know we said you could go now, but we need a photograph to go on the wall of all of you. Could you please go out to the front of the school and try to line up in height order?”

It did occur to me, now that I thought about it, that every leaving class at Buckingham had a photo up on the wall outside the head mare’s office, and they went back years. I filed out with everypony else, keeping an eye on Rarity because we were almost exactly the same height.
“I’d better go,” Fly said when we arrived out on the drive. “Good luck for the concert if I don’t see you before.”
“Thanks,” I said, waving at her as she joined the tallest ponies. Rarity and I stuck in the middle, with Miri going to the front when she arrived.
“Okay everypony, just line up on the grass. You shorter ponies need to sit on the grass, and those in the middle take a seat,” a stallion holding a big camera said.

Rarity and I sat next to each other, smack in the middle of the photo. I couldn’t see Fly, but Miri was sat on the grass in front and to the left.
“Big smile everypony!”
He took about eight photos, then made us smile again, and took eight more.
“Okay, wonderful. You can go.”
“Surprisingly painless,” Rarity commented as we trotted back towards school.
“I’ve got to go and do some piano practice… I’ll see you later,” I told Rarity, knowing that I wouldn’t see her for more than a few minutes before she left to catch her flight.

There were tears in the corners of my eyes as I headed to the practice room, hoping they wouldn’t impair my vision when I tried to read the music. However, the practice room didn’t have a piano in it, and it occurred to me that it must have been moved to the hall so it could be put on stage. I changed direction and headed for the stage, annoyed that I wouldn’t be able to practice if ponies wanted to set up the stage.
Thankfully, when I got there, there was no sign of anypony. The stage was already set, more or less, and the only thing lacking were instruments. The piano sat there to one side, so I sat in front of it and warmed up. It took an hour, but I played the piece three times without a mistake and decided I was ag good as I was ever going to be. It was time to go and see the band.

There was a lot of nervous chatter in the music room when I arrived, hoping that my own nerves weren’t going to show.
“Okay everypony, so we’re first on, which means we need to get it right now. Please tune your instruments and then we’ll run through each song in turn until we’re perfect,” I said giving Serenade a smile.
“Are you playing in the concert, miss?” somepony at the back asked.
“I’m playing the piano at the very end,” I informed them. “You’ll probably be forced to listen.”
“Can we hear it?”
“Not until the concert. Now come on, let’s do some tuning.”

Despite the nerves, they seemed to play well. Serenade was on particularly good form, and quite often she managed to carry everypony else, which was good because it made any mistakes seem smaller. She was definitely talented and I could see her being the school’s top musician by the time she was a sixth- or seventh-year.
“Okay, that was brilliant,” I said after a particularly good performance. “Play like that and it’s wrapped up. Now we’d better get packed up and go over to the hall so we can get ready.”
They seemed excited to finally be going towards the stage. Once they’d left, I felt a pang of sadness because I couldn’t see my friends until afterwards.

We waited backstage for the cue to come out. Everypony had their instrument and their music clutched tightly, and there were stands set up on the stage. Apparently the head mare was going to do an introduction before we all started, so I waited through that, feeling nervous and jumpy. I had the baton in my magic and I kept practicing waving it, looking faintly ridiculous but hoping that the entertainment would help the others get over their nerves.
“Okay, so let’s begin! First up is the junior band, with two pieces I’m sure you’ll enjoy,” a familiar voice said, and I realised that Miri was compering the concert.

I trotted onto the stage, leading everypony into their right positions and making sure none of them had forgotten anything. With all the music turned to the right page and ready to go, I stepped back. Having my back to the audience actually made it a lot easier, although I had to look at their nervous faces and try to make them feel a little better.
1, 2, 3, 4, and… I waved the baton to the beat and the tune started, sounding better in the big hall than it ever had in the practice rooms. Nobody seemed to make a mistake and I kept them all in time, nodding to them when it was their turn to start or stop. It all ran smoothly and I felt a weight being lifted, even though I noticed some minor mistakes.

The second tune went just as well as the first, and when we finished the round of applause from behind me was definitely loud. I turned and bowed, and then led everypony back off the stage. They were buzzing with the excitement and relief that always came after a successful performance, but with my own performance still to come, I couldn’t join in.
“Well done everypony,” I said, smiling. “You did an amazing job! You need to go and put your instruments away, then go into the back of the hall and find somewhere to sit for the rest of it.”
They did as instructed. The rest of the concert was solo performances from older fillies, with the senior band playing after the interval. Unfortunately, it all built up to my final performance, which just added pressure.

The interval was time for me to get a bit of a warm-up on the piano, playing the tune but not actually pressing the keys. I seemed fine, and I took the opportunity to see where my friends were sitting in the audience. They seemed to be towards the back, although I couldn’t see if Rarity was with Fly or not. I waved and Fly waved back.
The senior band trotted out and I left, taking deep breaths and trying to stay calm.
“You’ll be fine,” Miri said to me, appearing backstage after introducing the band. “You did a great job at the start.”
“I just hope I don’t make a mistake,” I replied, tapping one of my forehooves on the ground nervously. “Do you know where Rarity is sitting?”
“She’s next to Fly, but she nipped out during the interval,” Miri replied.

Before long it was time for me to go out. Miri introduced me and I stepped onto the stage, walking over and sitting down at the piano. It looked as familiar as ever. I looked out into the audience. There were hundreds of ponies; mainly fillies from the school, but some parents and teachers scattered about. I could just about make out Fly, though the glare from the stage lights was doing its best to hide the audience. I smiled at her, even though nopony could tell except her, and then I took a deep breath and started to play. The piece was quite long, so I made sure I regulated my breathing so I didn’t get an attack of the nerves. I could see Rarity in my mind’s eye, and I wondered what she would think of my performance. I made sure I did my best for her, and I put everything I had into playing. It flowed smoothly from the keys, and I stopped thinking about the audience and only thought about the sheet music. It was easy to remember and I worked through it, covering the pages quickly and turning them with a burst of magic whenever the time was right.

I didn’t make any mistakes, and when I reached the end, finishing with a long note, the audience applauded. I blushed and bowed my head, and the applause went on, led by Mr Bluejay in the front row. I got up and headed backstage, glad it was over, but Miri stopped me.
“So, fillies and gentlecolts, you may or may not know but Cat here has secured a place next year at the prestigious Princess School! Certainly quite a talent. In return for her hard work with the junior band, I have the pleasure of giving her this card!”
The card was in an envelope, so I didn’t open it, and Miri continued.
“The card is from all the ponies in the junior band, thanking you for your work. Now everypony, that’s the end of the concert. I hope you enjoyed it!”

The card, once opened, had been signed by everyone in the band. I noticed that Serenade had adorned her name with tiny hearts, and I smiled a little. Mr Bluejay came up to me whilst I read it.
“I’m glad you did well, Cat,” he said, giving me a pat on the shoulder. “The music department got you this to say thank you.”
He handed me a white box, which when opened contained a tiny model of a piano, made out of a silvery metal.
“It’s from everyone, really. Your friend Miri picked it out for you. Congratulations on everything.”
The piano had my name and the date engraved in the back, and when I saw Miri directing some ponies, I rushed over and gave her a hug.
“Thank you,” I said, trying to blink back tears and pointing to the box. “It’s lovely.”
She just smiled and hugged me back.

Fly was somewhere in the ponies heading out of the hall, so I went to go and find her, but Serenade waylaid me.
“You were amazing! I hope I can play that well someday,” she enthused. “Except the trumpet, not the piano.”
“I’m sure you will be able to, if you practice enough,” I told her, smiling. “You were really good in the band.”
“Thank you, Cat. Will you give me more lessons next week?”
She seemed happy so I didn’t want to disappoint her, but I had to.
“Sorry Serenade, but this is my last day at Buckingham. I’m going home tomorrow. But you can get lessons with the music teachers and there are a few sixth-years who are good.”

I found Fly at the back of the hall, waiting for me. I got another hug from her.
“Wow! I am amazed. That was just brilliant,” she said, looking over at the stage. “You’re really very talented, Cat.”
“Thanks Fly,” I replied, swallowing the lump in my throat. “I think I’m going to cry before long.”
Fly giggled. “That’s okay, you deserve it after that.”
I paused. “Do you know where Rarity is?”
“No, sorry. She disappeared at the end of the concert.”
“Is she in the room?”
“Probably.”

Just as I made to leave, Fly stopped me, and I noticed that despite her brave exterior, she looked as if she was about to burst into tears.
“Are you okay?” I asked, trying my best not to let her set me off.
“Yeah, I think so…” she said, but the tears started and I pulled her into a hug.
“Don’t worry,” I said, but I wasn’t really sure what to say that would comfort her. She sobbed again which meant that I started to cry as well, laughing at the strangeness of the situation.
“I’m sorry,” Fly said, sounding pathetic, and I hugged her tighter.
“It’s fine. I was going to start sooner or later.”

Once Fly had managed to calm down enough to string more than two words together, she looked at me, her eyelashes wet.
“I’m going to miss you, you know that?” she said, dabbing her eyes with her feathers.
I smiled. “I’ll miss you too.”
“You’ll visit?”
“When I have time. There’s no way I wouldn’t,” I reassured her. “And during the holidays.”
She seemed to cheer up a little, and she waved her wing towards the doors. “You should go…”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah. I’ll have time to see you tonight and tomorrow, but there’s not long left to see Rarity.”

I gave her an encouraging kind of smile and hugged her again, wondering just how much I was going to miss her when we were apart. Six week summer holidays were one thing, but I had always known that I was going to see her again afterwards. This time, we’d only be able to spend weekends or odd days together. It was weird to think that somepony who I’d seen nearly every day of the year would soon be gone, and then that got me onto thinking about Miri, and worse, Rarity, and then I could feel myself starting to tear up again, so I shook myself out of it.
“I’ll go,” I said softly, squeezing her hoof. “Wish me luck?”
She nodded. “Good luck.”

The walk back to the dorm felt like nothing, and I was soon walking along the corridor, using my magic to rearrange my messy mane into something more respectable. I opened the door to our dorm and found Rarity sitting on her bed, her eyes looking a little red.
“Are you okay?” I asked for the second time in ten minutes, sitting down on the bed next to her.
“I don’t think so. I just can’t believe this is all over,” she replied, tears still on her cheeks. “I have to go in ten minutes.”
“Well, make sure you write to all of us. First thing you do when you get back.” I smiled even though I didn’t feel very cheerful. I think I would have cried again, but my tears seemed to have dried up. Sobbing uncontrollably wasn’t very dignified either, so I just hugged her and held her close.
“I will. Make sure you write too.”

We just sat there for a minute, my hooves around her while she tried to dry her eyes. I wanted to tell her how I felt about her, but she didn’t seem in the right mood to accept it. So I just stared at her, holding her close and hoping that I could somehow telepathically tell her what I was thinking. My last chance was rapidly disappearing.
“Cat?” Rarity’s voice was different; the upset had gone and it was somehow clearer.
“Hm?”
“Did you give me that Hearts & Hooves Day card in Mareis?”
I blushed, but the time for denials and friendship-saving exercises had passed. “Yeah, I did.”
“It was lovely, thank you.”

There was another pause, and I opened my mouth to speak, but she sat up and looked at me before I could say anything.
“Yes, I gave you yours. I don’t know, something changed when we were in the rain…”
“I know… I’d felt something before that, though.”
“Me too, but I didn’t know what to say. I hoped you’d tell me when we were walking near your house, but I got scared.”
I smiled. “I should have.”
Her expression changed to a sad smile. “You know, we can’t be together. It just won’t work.”

I nodded, tears suddenly forming. “I knew that,” I replied, truthfully.
“I do feel something for you, Cat. You’re pretty and talented and funny, and I would love to be with you. But I’ve got to go back to Ponyville.”
“It’s okay,” I choked, tears escaping my eyes.
Rarity was crying too, but she pulled me into another hug. We just sat there, our hooves around each other, for the longest time, before she leant back.
“I’ve got to go now… I’m so sorry.”
“No, no, it’s fine.”
“You’ll find somepony right for you, Cat. I promise.” She smiled as best she could and I did the same.

“I… I love you, Rarity,” I said, between tiny sobs. “When we were in that p-power cut, and you were asleep… I kissed you.”
Rarity wiped away one of my tears with a hoof. “I know,” she whispered. “I let you.” She leant in and kissed me, my eyes closing. It only lasted a second, but I knew I’d remember that second every day that I lived. She pulled away and I smiled, and we hugged again. This time I didn’t feel so unhappy, and for the first time there was a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. Tears turned to excitement.

The door burst open, and Fly and Miri were standing there, both of them looking tearful. Miri bounded forwards and joined our hug, closely followed by Fly. I couldn’t help the tears any more, but this time they seemed to be happy tears.
“I’ve got to go,” Rarity said again, finally moving and picking up her suitcase.
“We’ll go with you,” I said automatically. “At least to the front of the school.”
Rarity nodded and Miri helped her with her suitcase. They disappeared out of the door and I sat on my bed, staring at the bed that had been Rarity’s until a moment ago.
“Ready to go?” Fly asked, offering me a hoof.
I took it. “Ready for what?”
“I don’t know. Everything.”
I got to my hooves. “Maybe.”