"What are you doing here?"
Good question. What was Star Tracker doing standing at the front steps of the castle? Twilight's mind wandered for a moment as she wondered how the navy blue, freckled stallion could smile so widely. It made his face look like it could split in half.
"H-hi, Twilight! I don't know if you remember me-"
How could she not? The memory, only a week old, was still fresh in her mind. The deal with Iron Will, the constant bumping into Star Tracker ever since he'd won the prize to be an honourary family member of the Sparkles, all those crazy 'princess duties', almost missing out on every of her family's fun...
Of course, things had gotten better, but only after she'd broken down and even snapped at Star Tracker. They made things up, learnt their lessons, and spent the rest of the cruise having fun. And although he decided to leave her and her family be to enjoy their time together, they still found one way or another to include him in some of their activities. When they said their goodbyes as the zeppelin docked back at Canterlot, she thought that would have been the last she'd see of him in a while.
"-but I just dropped by Ponyville... I wanted to pay you a visit. I got you something!"
He turned towards his saddle bag and pulled something out with his teeth. Twilight used her magic to accept the book, then stared and gasped.
"Is that-?"
"The Complete Study of Uncharted Territory Outside Equestria?" Star finished for her and hopped excitedly. "I know!"
"But the copies of this book are extremely rare! How did you get your hooves on one of these?" Twilight asked, her eyes shining as she flipped through the pages of the book.
"Oh, I've had that in my collection for a long time," he answered, beaming when he saw how fascinated Twilight was with the book. The book did not sell out well as it had several negative critiques, and as a result, only a few copies existed in the world. When evidence was discovered that the texts in the book might have been real, it was too late. And the author, who had remained anonymous, had never been found. He knew she would love it.
Twilight looked surprised. "Really? That's amazing! It looks almost brand new! And you're... giving it to me?"
This pony sure knows how to keep his books, she thought in approval as she gave him a grateful hug.
"Thank you so much! I can't wait to read it! Actually, would you mind if I read it now? This chapter looks intriguing!" she giggled, then cleared her throat and stepped back. "Err, why don't you come in? We can talk better over tea."
He'd already dashed in before she even finished her sentence.
"Whoa, this place is bigger than I'd imagined! How many rooms are there?" he asked in amazement as he stared around him, just barely resisting the urge to explore as he followed Twilight into the tea room. "I'm in Twilight Sparkle's castle. I'm having tea with Twilight Sparkle. This is the best day of my life!!" he squeed. "This is going in my journal later!"
Twilight smiled, feeling amused, as she got the tea ready.
"Wow, you make the tea yourself?" he peeked over her shoulder, then grinned apologetically and stepped back. "Heh, sorry. I'll, err, sit down!"
Soon, Twilight brought the tea set over.
"I'm only one pony," she said in answer to his earlier exclamation. "Just because I'm a princess now doesn't mean I have to get other ponies to do things for me all the time. Though, having a number one assistant has been really helpful!"
After she set things down - and dealt with a small accident that occurred when Star tried to get up to offer to help when he didn't need to and almost upset the teapot - she sat down opposite the stallion.
"So, what brings you to Ponyville?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea.
"Oh, well..." he rubbed the back of his head and looked embarrassed. "It... it was you. Mostly. I loved the Friendship Journal you and your friends wrote, and I really enjoyed being with you and your family. You've all been so nice to me.
"I want to learn more about friendship from you. And... I really wanted to see you again. Ponyville sounds like a nice place to live in too! I figured staying here for a bit would give me more to write about, just like other places I've been to."
Twilight wasn't sure she should be disturbed that he came all the way here mainly to see her, or curious that he implied that he did not have a permanent home and he did not seem to be planning on making this little town one. Or elated that he was another one of the very few ponies who read their friendship journal the way she meant it to be. And that he wanted her to teach him more about friendship!
"Thank you for coming to me. My door is always open if you ever need help," she finally said with a smile. "As it is to all the citizens of Ponyville. I hope you'll enjoy your stay here."
"I sure will! The house I found gave me a good view of twilight," he winked and grinned that wide smile again. "This is gonna be great! I have so many questions!"
They spent the rest of the hour chatting about her adventures. Awkwardly. Somehow Star still could not get over the fact that Twilight was talking to him and had offered to help him with friendship and kept making excited noises and apologising everal times. Twilight had never really gotten used to this sort of attention even after all this time.
Eventually she had to get him out of the castle as dusk drew near, telling him it was getting late and he should go. That did not even seem to dampen his mood. He just cheerfully skipped down the streets, with a promise to return tomorrow.
Twilight really hoped she would not regret this.
Author's Note
This is just a short, experimental chapter. It's my first time writing an actual fanfiction. I'll (hopefully) get more in the future. Hope you'll like it! Critiques and advice welcome. Preferably together. Thanks.
Lost. They were hopelessly lost.
Why had he allowed them to talk him into that camping trip? They never liked him. Still, he had longed to be accepted. For a moment, he thought he'd have friends at last.
But after that mean trick, they were lost in the forest along with him. As the cold night drove on, their hope slowly diminished. Strange creatures lurked in the dark, gazing at the colts in an almost hungry manner. What if they were devoured?
*****
"Ooh, this is so exciting!!"
Twilight nearly leapt ten feet into the air. "Gahh!"
She glared at the offending blue stallion as he grinned at her. At first in elation, then in apology when he realised he'd overstepped his boundaries again.
"Star Tracker? What are you doing here?"
She'd just gone to pick up some of Owlowlicious favourite treats, for Celestia's sake!
Star Tracker chuckled nervously. "I was... buying some groceries! Then I saw you and I wanted to tag along. Even princesses do common duties, huh? That is so cool! You're just like a real pony! Err, I'm sorry if I scared you."
Twilight frowned, took a deep breath, then spoke again. "First of all, that was not 'tagging along'. You have to inform the pony in question of your doing!" And in this case, me! "Having you just pop out of nowhere can be a little bit... unnerving," she explained gently.
"But... what if you had said no?" he asked.
Twilight mentally face-hooved. Hadn't anyone ever taught him things like that? She was honoured that he needed her help about friendship... but he barely even seemed to understand the basics! Then again, that was pretty obvious from the way he acted on the ship, even with her family.
Still, she liked a challenge. And she was determined not to back down from this. She just hoped she did not have to keep watching her back.
"Star Tracker, if friends say no, that doesn't mean they hate you," she patiently explained. "You just have to respect their boundaries, physically and emotionally. In these cases, they would normally not say no, but it's always better to ask first. Besides, I would have asked you to come along. We could have talked more if you hadn't been shadowing me."
She hoped Star Tracker had gotten that. He looked elated at being implied that she was a 'friend'. Did his cheeks ever hurt from smiling that widely?
And was it truly that big of a surprise? She definitely did consider him a friend. Twilight was not a difficult acquaintance to make. And an even harder to make an enemy out of. She was always quick to forgive and extend the hoof of friendship. Of course, she'd never been this close around people crazy over her. Well, maybe except for Minuette but Star Tracker made her look tame.
After a while, Twilight cleared her throat and stepped around him to walk off.
"I'd love to chat, but I have to go. The mayor wants a meeting with me later. I can't be late."
"Twilight, wait!" Star Tracker called to her. "I was thinking, you've been so nice to me yesterday. I really enjoyed tea with you. Would you like to have lunch with me later? I'd love to return the favour."
"That is sweet of you," Twilight smiled. "But I'm having lunch with my friends."
Her face brightened. "That's it! I can introduce you to my friends! They'd love to meet you!"
"But-" Whatever Star Tracker wanted to say died in his throat. His eyes widened. "You... told your friends about me?"
"Of course! I always share everything with them!"
Oh no. Here comes an explosion.
"I'll see you at lunch!" she said hurriedly. After giving the address, she galloped home.
The meeting went rather well. After a nice stroll around town with Spike (although he was confused as to why she kept watching her back), it was time for lunch.
Turns out, Star Tracker had been more punctual than she was. He just had been hanging around, sweating nervously and looking around. The waiter was about to toss him out when Twilight arrived and got him settled in a chair.
"You know, you could just find a place to sit down first," she suggested with a grin. Star Tracker blushed and nodded shakily.
"Hey Twilight!" a rough, spunky voice called out. A blue pegasus with a shock of rainbow mane fluttered down on onto the seat next to Twilight. Then she stared at Star Tracker intently. "Who's this new guy? Never seen him around before!"
Then there was a loud gasp. "A NEW pony?"
For one second, they couldn't see where that shrill, high-pitched voice had been coming from. Then there she was, popping out from under the table. Star Tracker hadn't been prepared for this as much as the other two ponies were, and he fell off his chair in surprise.
And then she pinned him down.
"N-nice to... meet you," he grinned and waved a hoof nervously.
"Nicetomeetyoutoo!! Where're you from? Ooh, you're a traveller? That's so cool!"
Star Tracker looked stunned and turned to Twilight, but she just shrugged. "Some things are better off unsolved."
"I gotta throw a Welcome to Ponyville party!"
"Whoa there, sugar. We haven't even had lunch yet."
"Oh, goodness! Pinkie darling, get off that poor stallion before he chokes! You poor dear. Your mane is all messed up!"
Star Tracker felt blue magic surround him and set him on his hooves as Pinkie jumped off him. Then a comb floating across to... comb his mane?
"Thanks! Ehehheh..."
This was sooooo cool! He was looking at the actual Elements of Harmony! The heroes of Equestria! And they were talking to him! Definitely the best day of his life!
"Ya sure he's not already... choking?" An orange pony stared into his face with concern. "Ya alright there?" She waved a hoof in front of his face, but there was no response.
Then there was a bright flash and a buttercream pegasus appeared. That snapped him out of it. He yelped and ducked under the table.
"Fluttershy?" Twilight exclaimed.
"Oh my. I'm so sorry. I was running late, and Discord offered to give me a lift," she explained, a small blush forming on her cheeks. She gazed down at the table, offering him a hoof to get up. "Hello. I don't think I've seen you before. Who are you?"
He stood up so fast he knocked his head on the table. Rarity gasped and used her magic to grab hold of the decorative vase that threatened to shatter on the floor. Twilight could not help herself and let out a giggle.
"Girls, this is Star Tracker. Star Tracker, meet-"
"FluttershyRarityRainbowDashPinkiePieApplejack!!" he finished at a speed that would amaze Pinkie Pie. "It's so nice to finally meet you all at last! I loved your Friendship Journal! It taught me so much!"
"Waaaaaait a second. Aren't you that pony who was on the flying ship with Iron Will and won the grand prize to be an honourary member of Twilight's family and kept sticking close to her and she stomped on your hoof by accident then she apologised and you two became friends?" Pinkie Pie asked. "I gotta change it to a Welcome Twilight's Friend to Ponyville party instead!!"
"We're so glad to hear about another pony learning from our stories," Fluttershy smiled.
"Yeah! That's awesome!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Which one of my stories was your favourite?"
"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight frowned at her.
"Just kidding!" she chuckled.
Lunch was surprisingly really fun. He enjoyed chatting with the girls and discussing parts of the journal he didn't understand or disagreed with. They were all so nice. And by the end of lunch, he was invited to Ratity's boutique, the forest outside Fluttershy's home, and Applejack's farm. Not to mention this party Pinkie kept reminding him of. She never even told him the venue!
"So, what did you think?" Twilight asked Star Tracker as they walked back to the castle.
"The part about you going crazy when you almost missed a week finding a friendship lesson was more hilarious hearing it!" he chuckled. "It was really downplayed in the journal, huh?"
"I meant my friends," she said dryly.
"Oh, uh..." his ears lowered and Twilight briefly wondered if she should snap him out of it, but then he looked up with a happy smile. It was different from those crazy, cheek-splitting grins. He actually looked... genuinely happy. Like he never felt this way before. Thinking back... that was the same way he looked with her family.
"They were all so nice and friendly. You're so lucky to have them. It must be nice to have friends."
Huh?
"Well, we're here. I'm going to continue sightseeing. See you later, Twilight," he went on, not noticing her look. He then turned and trotted off.
Twilight was about to call to him, then stopped herself. She had more time to talk to him later, when Pinkie Pie threw that party at his house.
Author's Note
I ALMOST decided not to write this week. But I didn't want to disappoint my readers. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Again, critique and advice are welcomed!
