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!