Luster Dawn is carrying stacks of chopped wood with her telekinesis. “Well, that’s the last of them.” She replied as she placed the piles of wood in the bag.
“Thanks.” Her black griffon friend responded. “Now my parents will be able to make dinner tonight.”
“You’re welcome, hope you repay me back in the future.”
“Give me more time and I’ll promise it will happen.” The black griffon then lifted off, while carrying his bag of wood. As he heads back to his hometown, Luster Dawn heads back to Canterlot. It wasn’t a ludicrous day, but she did what she had to help her friends.
“Yet another day, and my teacher will be most proud.” She thought happily. “I can’t imagine if there was only one pony who’s all alone.” As she entered through the gate of her hometown, she saw ponies helping each other out. Not a single one is either by his or herself doing their job. Equestria had never been so much better for any creature in Equestria.
Before she headed to the castle of Canterlot, she saw a pony with long but messy hair walk past her which caught her attention. “Hey mister, do you need any help?” She asked.
When the colt stopped himself, he turned around and gave Luster a flown look. The day he had was nothing but ordinary, same old daily time without anything new. “It’s fine, I’m going home right now.” He said a quiet tone.
“What’s wrong? Having a bad day or something?” Luster wondered.
“Not really, it’s just like every other day for me from the last decades.”
“Wait, did you say, the last decades?” All the colt did was nod as he returned back to his walk. “Wait! Don’t you think somepony should help you out?”
“Well yes, but not all the time. It’s just usually me when I’m in my house.”
Luster became more curious by the second. She never met a pony who’s so hollow-minded, whilst also visually depressed. “Do you need any help?”
“I finished cleaning the dishes last night, but I was too tired to put them away.”
“You want me to help?”
“Sure.” As the colt and unicorn agreed with each other, they headed to where he lives.
When they entered inside the building, Luster immediately put the dishes away after the colt took her to his kitchen. The colt sat down on his sofa and felt relaxed. “I want to thank you for putting the dishes away.” He spoked.
“Well, putting them away is a lot simpler than washing them clean.” Luster called back. “What’s your name?”
“My name is Star Tracker.”
“Star Tracker? That’s a good name.” Luster then closed the cabinet with all the dishes stacked inside. When she entered the living room, she sat down on one of cushions at the corner of the room. “So Star Tracker, you’ve spent most of your life helping others, but without making any friends?”
“Not completely true.” Tracker responded. “I did make friends when I was a teenager, but considering we are older, we decided to go our own way in life.”
Luster knew what he was talking about, but still didn’t believe he took the direction that’s the most hollow. “Have you been making more friends recently?”
“No. I haven’t.”
“Really?” Luster blinked. “Did you ever help anypony?”
“Yes, but not for friendship, only for the bits needed to afford staying here.” Tracker took a drink of water while returning to his sentence. “I was more happy to help when I was younger but now, life just hasn’t been the same.”
Luster is speechless from Tracker’s words. Out of all the ponies she saw in Canterlot, only one became an outcast from making any friendships. She’s hopeful Tracker isn’t mad or depressed, but the way he feels right now, something must have happened to him.
“Have you ever heard of Twilight Sparkle?” She asked which caused Tracker’s ear to perk up.
“Yeah, who hasn’t?” He smiled.
“Do you ever feel inspired by the things she did?”
“I can name a lot of the things she did that were inspirational.”
“Really? Then how come you didn’t do most of the things she did?”
Star sighed to himself. “Are you going to keep asking me so many questions?”
“I’m just trying to help. Why aren’t you making any friends?”
Silence hung in the air in the living room with the two ponies as quiet as mice. While the unicorn waited for her question to be answered, the colt took his time to think. For spending time inside the home he stayed in most of the time in Canterlot, it was a long time since he had a conversation with somepony who’s younger than him.
“I’m ashamed of what I was.” He answered. “I was Twilight’s biggest fan before she became the ruler of Equestria. I met her when I won the raffle on the zeppelin. Let’s just say my excitement and joy got the better of me.”
The unicorn continued to listen, while the colt tried to remember his past. “When I finally knew that she was only taking a vacation with her family, I decided to leave her alone. I only saw her once when she became the next ruler but since then, a lot has changed.”
He then stopped talking as he lowered his head, not even looking at Luster at all. This caused Luster to feel more concern on how Star Tracker is feeling. “Do you want to talk to Twilight? I can fill you in by introduction.”
“I guess it can help me on what I’m feeling right now.” Star Tracker stands up from his sofa while Luster does the same.
“Promise me on this, I helped all my friends from the way I treat them.” Luster smiled.
Back at the throne room, The former Princess of Friendship just finished helping with the schedules of tomorrow. It’s been almost a full day since she last talked to Luster Dawn about the friendship lessons she did. When she heard the throne room door being pushed open, she saw her student Luster walking down as the door behind her closed.
“Twilight.” Luster spoke to her teacher’s attention.
“Yes Luster? I expected you to be here an half an hour ago.” The princess replied.
“Don’t worry, nothing bad happened, but I came across a pony who’s...lonely.”
This made Twilight blink. “Lonely? Luster I understand ten percent of the population are trying to make friends, but Canterlot is one hundred percent loneliness free.”
Luster chuckled to herself upon hearing her teacher. “Well, then you probably didn’t take the time to do a list of ponies you met in Canterlot.”
“I’m not blind, I can remember what any pony looks like.” Twilight being unamused. “Is there something you want to show me?”
The pink unicorn was hoping her teacher would say that. “As a matter of fact, I do.” She then turned around. “You can come in now.”
Her guest listened as he opened the throne room door, revealing himself to the ruler. Twilight couldn’t remember who he was after such a long time from their last encounter. It’s one of those things she didn’t try to remember during her zeppelin vacation.
Star Tracker didn’t flinch when he saw Twilight again, nor nervous about the move he does next. As he stopped right by Luster, he took a deep breath while asking one question. “Do you remember me?”
Twilight had to refresh her memory before asking a simple, but odd question. She got off her throne and flew to the two ponies. “I’m not sure if I remember you.”
“You should.” Luster replied. “He told me he’s your biggest fan.”
“Biggest fan?”
“She’s right.” Tracker added as he placed down the only thing he brought along before he left. His raffle prize necklace. When Twilight looked at it, she started to remember there was a raffle contest on the cruise and only one pony became an honorary member in her family for one day. She then put her attention on Star, which caused him to back away.
“Star...Tracker?”
“That’s my name.”
“Twilight,” Luster spoke to Twilight’s attention. “Out of all the ponies I came across in this town, he’s the only one who had no friends.”
With everything out in the open, Twilight finally catches on from her past. However she wouldn’t believe Tracker would become lonelier over time. “How come you're the only pony who hasn’t made any friends?”
“Because I wanted to learn from my mistakes. And those mistakes are how I misjudged you.” This only caused the princess to become more confused. “Even since you became the next ruler, I was happy, but the more I think about it, I should learn to tone down my habits.”
“Is one of your habits being obsessed with me?”
“Yes, but that’s not all.” Tracker blushed. “The more I think about it, I have to grow up to be a better pony. Doing a journal, thinking about the next time I want to meet you...makes me want to improve.”
Twilight and Luster continue to understand what the old colt is confessing. “So what made you shy away from making any friends.”
“Because if there’s one thing I wanted you to be impressed with, it's making as many friendships as I can, but then I realized, impressing you with quantity over quality is wrong.” He then looked away from Twilight while trying to finish his confession. “When I try to do less...the more I feel I don’t need help from anypony.”
After that, The Princess Of Friendship, along with her student were stunned to hear the truth from the colt. “So that is why you only help for bits and not for friendship.” Luster commented.
“I still need a place to live, my life is still worth living like everypony else.”
Twilight kept her silence after knowing Star is the only shallow pony in her town. She wanted to help, but she did nothing after her departure from him, but she did think of a solution for his problem.
“I will say that it is nice that you’re still willing to help others with the job you have, but there’s always more than that, but not what you think.” Twilight responded. “You must have been overthinking the idea of trying to do the right thing, you gave up on trying to achieve your main goal.”
Tracker knew that every word Twilight said is always right. “Well you're not wrong, but I didn’t know what to do.”
The princess then placed her hoof on Tracker’s shoulder. “There’s nothing wrong with making friendships with others just for giving them help. However, giving up isn’t the right thing to do. If you told me what friendships you wanted to have back at the zeppelin, you wouldn't haven’t been in this state at all.”
“Then what am I supposed to do?”
“Start over, you still have time, even if a lot has changed, it will never stop you. As far as I’m concerned, you keep your habits to yourself so much, you keep your true identity hidden from others who would appreciate it greatly.”
For the first time in forever, Tracker learned something that could solve his problem. He felt so mature and lonely, it made his past feel more hollow then himself. “Maybe I can start showing my true self by tomorrow.”
“Good choice.” Luster smiled. “I really hope you take advantage of what you’re doing.”
“I’ll be fine. Just by looking at how happy the ponies I work with are, I might make one friend within the next week.”
“Then, good luck.”
Star Tracker then turned around and made his way out of the throne room.
“Star Tracker.” The princess spoke which caused the colt to stop himself. “It’s always a pleasure to meet somepony I almost forgot..”
All that Tracker did is smile from hearing that phrase from the pony he adored when he was a teenager. “Well now you can see me as a less desperate fan than what I was before, but I still respect you.” He then walked out of the throne room as he headed home for the day, leaving the two girls who were impressed.
“I want to know Twilight.” Luster turned to her teacher.
“Yes Luster?” Twilight turned to her student.
“When he was your biggest fan, was he trying to show how much he appreciates you?”
This made Twilight remember more of her time with Star Tracker. “Believe me, when he won the raffle, he was trying to make every moment memorable since he only had one day with my family.” She giggled. “But I will admit, If I was in his hooves and Celestia was in mine, I would've done the exact same thing.”
“When you were young like him?”
“Yes but waaaay younger than him, if you know what I’m talking about.”
