"There," Tristan announced, taking a step back, "All finished."
Within an afternoon and some of the evening, the unicorn had completed every task on Twilight's to-do list. The drains inside the tree-house had all been unclogged, the furnace had been fixed, and now, all the faulty wires in the library had been repaired and once again carried their circuits without a hitch. He levitated his new tools back into the bag, placing them in their respective sleeves and pockets.
"And just in time for dinner!" Spike added, making his way into the room. "I hope you've worked up an appetite!"
Tristan nodded and hovered his tool bag next to the far wall as he followed Spike back into the kitchen. With the table set and the food already distributed between the three plates, the boys sat down in their respective seats, exchanging looks of excitement while another unicorn joined them.
"How's the list coming along?" Twilight asked, her eyes fixed intently on Tristan. She levitated a forkful of roasted greens into her mouth.
"It's already done," Tristan beamed. He puffed out his chest in pride and also began eating.
Twilight paused to blink. "You're finished?" she asked in disbelief. "I figured you would have taken all night!"
A confident smile crept across Tristan's face as he shoveled more of his meal into his watering mouth. He offered no verbal response to his marefriend, but simply bounced his eyebrows. Spike ignored the conversation and quickly devoured the rest of his dinner and tossed the dishes into the sink. The loud clatter that followed tore the two unicorn's attention from each other and directed it to the purple streak that flew past them.
"Where are you going?" Twilight called.
"Just gotta go see about something!" Spike returned. "I'll be back in a few minutes!"
The Element of Magic shook her head in confusion. "What has him acting so strange?" she asked.
Tristan shrugged, then remembered his talk with Applejack. "I'll talk to him when he comes back."
"I've tried talking to him," Twilight replied, "But I can never get anything out of him. He's definitely hiding something."
Tristan smirked. "Maybe he needs a guy talk."
"A... guy talk?"
"Yup," Tristan confirmed. "He's about that age, you know."
Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened and her jaw dropped from the horrifying thought. "You don't mean..."
"I'm afraid so," Tristan laughed. "But don't worry a bit. I'll handle this."
Twilight levitated her's and Tristan's dishes to the sink and gave him a warm nuzzle. "Thank you. I'm heading off to do some quick reading and then I'm going to bed."
Tristan happily returned the nuzzle. "Goodnight."
Twilight walked a ways before turning her head towards him with a soft giggle. "Sleep tight! Don't let the Parasprites bite!"
With a raised eyebrow in suspicion to these "Parasprites", Tristan watched Twilight climb the stairs to her bedroom. He kept his attention fixed on the darkness until he heard the faint shutting of the door. A sigh of content escaped him and he stretched in his seat. The idea of sleep after his long day sounded more than pleasant. The unicorn tidied up what was left of the dinner mess and began towards his bedroom when a different door was heard being shut.
"Oh, hey, Tris," Spike quickly said, blushing. "Hitting the hay, huh? I'm feeling pretty tired, too. I'll see you in the morning!"
Spike made an attempt to run, but Tristan stopped him in his tracks with a foreleg. Spike glanced up quickly, only to be greeted by Tristan's knowing smile. Seeing this made the baby dragon's face even redder than before.
"Let's chat."
Morning came early for Twilight Sparkle, who stirred gently in the limbo between conciousness and slumber before stretching her limbs in all directions. She yawned and sat herself upright in her bed, taking another short moment before rubbing her eyes and forcing them open. The sun still sat behind the other buildings in Ponyville and the purple-coated mare, who was now lethargically making her way to her vanity, was pondering the events that took place in her mind during the night.
What could that have meant? she thought to herself, running a brush through her unruly mane. I've never had a dream like that before. And Tristan...
She gently placed her brush back onto the vanity and inspected her mane. Do I tell him about it? He was there, after all. Twilight sighed. I'll just keep to myself. I'm sure it was just a one time thing and it'll probably never happen again.
The unicorn somberly made her way down the stairs, taking notice of the sun's slightly changed position in the sky. The new found sunlight streamed in through the window and illuminated the path to the library's kitchen. Twilight let out another soft yawn before preparing to open the library.
Soon afterwards, as Twilight was re-shelving books, Tristan's bedroom door gently clicked open. The startled librarian whipped around quickly, but breathed a sigh of relief as it was only her sleepy assistant wobbling her way.
"What're you doing up so early, Twi?" Spike asked drowsily.
Twilight glanced away. "I'm always up this early," she lied.
"Not this early," Spike pressed. "Did you have a bad dream or something?"
The unicorn's face grew a little red. "Um, yes. That's it."
"Okay. I'm gonna get a start on breakfast, I suppose."
"You do that."
With Spike busy in the kitchen, the librarian made a quick glance at Tristan's bedroom door, which remained open. She stared into the darkness that lay past the door, then, as a soft smile crept across her face, magicked the door shut again.
Gentle nudging shook Tristan from his slumber. He groaned in rebellion, but eventually rolled over to meet the eyes of Spike, the dragon responsible for his awakening. Tristan blinked in silence.
"Tris," Spike began cautiously, "It's noon."
Tristan blinked again. "It is?" he asked, somewhat shocked.
Spike nodded.
"Why did you let me sleep in so late?" Tristan yawned.
"Twilight's orders," the baby dragon replied. "She said you deserved the rest. I wish she'd let me sleep in every now and then..."
Tristan chuckled and sat himself up in the bed. After a few moments, he climbed off of the bed and stretched out, slight crackles sounding throughout his body.
"One more thing," Spike added, rubbing his arm, "About last night...."
"Don't worry, kiddo," Tristan said with a wink. "Guy Code."
Spike raised an eyebrow. "Guy Code?"
Tristan nodded and led the way out of the bedroom. Spike followed behind him into the library's main room, where Twilight Sparkle sat levitating several books in front of her. The baby dragon made a hasty move for the door, but not before being noticed by the purple unicorn.
"Where are you going?" Twilight asked, not so much as lifting her eyes from her books.
"I'm going to take over for him," Tristan answered, "It'll be alright."
"Are you sure?" Twilight asked nervously, finally taking her attention from her reading. She looked back to the door and saw that Spike had disappeared from sight.
"I'm positive," the former human replied.
Twilight accepted the situation and placed bookmarks in all the books before levitating them onto the table that sat in the middle of the room. She was instantly reminded of another situation that needed addressed.
"Did you talk to Spike last night?" Twilight asked. "What's going on with him and the fillies?"
Tristan let a small laugh escape him before answering. "Sorry," he apologized. "Can't tell ya."
Twilight frowned. "Why not?" she asked, concerned.
"Guy Code."
"Guy Code?"
"Yup. Guy Code," Tristan confirmed. "But I promise it's okay. Nothing to fret about."
Twilight could feel herself getting slightly annoyed with having a secret kept from her. She pushed the feeling away, trying to take Tristan's word that it wasn't as big of a deal as she was making it out to be. With a sigh of defeat, she stood up from her workstation.
"Let's go grab some lunch," she said. "You can begin your library duties afterword."
Tristan smiled and nuzzled his marefriend. The moment was quickly broken by a knock at the library door.
"Come in!" Twilight called.
The door was gently pushed open and Fluttershy entered the library. She kept most of her face hidden behind her mane as if she was in some sort of trouble.
"Hi, Twilight," she quietly said before coming to a stop just inside the library. "I-Is this a bad time? I'm sorry if it is..."
"Nonsense, Fluttershy!" Twilight cheerfully greeted. "Come on in. What brings you by?"
Fluttershy seemed to perk up some as she approached the two unicorns. "I was wondering if you had seen Rainbow Dash recently," she began. "I'm afraid I can't find her anywhere. She wanted me to meet her today to talk about something."
Twilight furrowed her brow. "I haven't seen her. In fact, I don't think I've seen her since the other day."
"You're kidding," Tristan said in disbelief. "That's not like her at all."
Fluttershy whimpered, her eyes beginning to give way to hardly noticeable tears. "I hope nothing had happened to her..."
"Nonsense!" Twilight quickly replied. "I'm sure she's just fine."
At that moment, another knock was heard at the door. Fluttershy jumped at the sudden interruption.
"Come in!" Twilight called again.
Applejack quickly rushed in and kicked the door shut behind her, a barely missed Spike following close behind. "Have y'all ran into Rainbow Dash? She was s'posed help me on the farm today an' Ah haven't seen her."
"That's what Fluttershy was just telling us," Tristan replied. "Nopony's seen her at all."
Fluttershy whimpered once more. "Twilight, I'm worried..."
"Alright, nopony panic," Twilight said, attempting to comfort her friends, "I'm positive she's okay. If it'll ease you, we'll go out and look for her."
Tristan nodded in agreement. "Right. What's the game plan?"
"Ah say we split up," Applejack suggested. "We'll cover more ground that way. Ah'll head back over to Sweet Apple Acres to see if she's shown up yet."
"Tris and I will start at Sugarcube Corner," Spike added. "Maybe Pinkie Pie knows something."
"And I'll take Fluttershy with me to check out a few other spots around Ponyville," said Twilight. "We'll meet back here in one hour. Hopefully she turns up by then."
Fluttershy's eyes began watering again, but nodded in understanding. The makeshift search party then quickly exited the library and fanned out in hopes of finding the Element of Loyalty before someone else did.
Shorty after their departure, Tristan and Spike arrived at Sugarcube Corner. Spike climbed down from Tristan's back and the two entered the establishment as calmly as they could. Once inside, they noticed that the bakery had been empty of customers, a rare event on a day such as today. The two approached the counter and peered over the glass case of sweets and pastries in hopes of finding their pink-coated friend on the other side. Tristan was disheartened to see that the back of the store appeared just as empty as the front.
"Look's like she's not here," Tristan said.
"Who's not here?"
Tristan and Spike jumped and quickly turned to find Pinkie Pie herself standing directly behind them. Spike breathed a sigh of relief.
"Good, we've found you," Tristan replied, happy to see her.
"Oh. Were we playing Hide and Go Seek?" Pinkie asked. She shook her tail in excitement. "You win! Now you go hide!"
"We don't have time for games right now Pinkie," Spike retorted. "We're looking for Rainbow Dash. Have you seen her around?"
"Is she playing, too?"
"I wish," Tristan sighed. "Applejack and Fluttershy came by the library looking for her. I'm sure she's-"
"Oh, she's probably still with the Wonderbolts!"
Spike scratched his head. "The Wonderbolts? Why would she be with them?"
Pinkie Pie giggled. "Sillies, they sent her an invitation to watch one of their practice sessions!"
Tristan, too, had become confused. "But, aren't the Wonderbolts in Cloudstown or something?"
"Cloudsdale," Spike corrected.
"Right. Couldsdale."
"Nope," Pinkie replied. "She said the other day that she had gotten a letter from them to meet in Whitetail Woods."
"Whitetail Woods? That's kinda fishy." Tristan asked.
The two stood in thought, then turned to each other in horror as they arrived to the same revelation.
"WHITETAIL WOODS!"
Pinkie Pie bounced. "Yup! Whitetail Woods! Kind of an odd place for the Wonderbolts to practice isn't it? It's not very spacious at all for them to zoom around in, and I heard that a crazy pony-"
"Thanks, Pinkie!" Tristan called as he dashed out of Sugarcube Corner with Spike clutched closely to his back.
"You're welcome!" Pinkie returned, waving a hoof. She turned towards the direction of the kitchen and shook her head in amusement.
"They must be playing a super exciting game of Hide and Go Seek."
"Whitetail Woods!" Spike said, still in disbelief. He bounced around violently as Tristan galloped at full speed towards the woods. "I knew there was something up with that Swift Gleam! I knew it!"
"God knows what he's up to with Rainbow Dash," Tristan replied. "How could Rainbow Dash be captured so easily? She's one of the toughest ponies I know!"
"I know! Then again, I don't think you understand how easily influenced RD is by the Wonderbolts," Spike informed.
"They're like her kryptonite, apparently."
"Her what?"
"Nevermind. Look, we're almost to the woods. Be on your best guard."
Tristan slowed to a trot as he made his way through the treeline and into the woods. His eyes darted back and forth, weary of any and all movement. Every falling leaf, every crawling insect never escaped Tristan's attention. Spike stood atop his back, hoping to gain a better view of their surroundings, and the two carefully proceeded deeper and deeper into the woods.
Meanwhile, back in Ponyville, Twilight and Fluttershy had just arrived at the Carousel Boutique in hopes of recruiting a certain fashionista to their search party. The bell made a delightful ching as they entered Rarity's home business.
"Just a moment!" her voice called, sing-song in fashion.
Rarity trotted down the stairs and met her friends in the main lobby of the building. She offered them a warm smile, but upon observing their expressions of worry, the unicorn felt that something was amiss.
"Twilight, Fluttershy!" she greeted, "How nice of you to stop by. Is everything alright?"
"Not exactly," Twilight began. "We're looking for Rainbow Dash. Nopony's seen her for a couple days now and some of us," she motioned towards Fluttershy, "are getting worried."
Rarity put a hoof to her mouth. "Oh, dear. I'm afraid I haven't seen her, either."
"Can you help us find her?" Fluttershy blurted. Upon realizing her outburst, she retreated behind her mane. "T-That is, if y-you want to. I won't be upset..."
"Oh, darling," Rarity said, giving her friend a comforting pat on the back. "I'm sure she's just fine. Rainbow is certainly one to handle herself."
"That's what I've been telling her," Twilight informed. "Nothing at all to worry about."
"But alas, I'm swamped with work, or I would join you," Rarity sighed.
Twilight was struck with revelation. "Swamp! Maybe we should check Froggy Bottom Bog?"
Rarity shivered from the thought. "Er, yes. Maybe she's there," she agreed, trying to sound as convincing as possible. "I think I heard something about Pinkie Pie heading that way later on. Maybe you two will bump into her?"
Twilight nodded and escorted the yellow pegasus out of the Carousel Boutique, their course changed towards the direction of Froggy Bottom Bog. Rarity watched as her friends left, then magicked the door shut behind them, quickly returning to her work.
Despite several minutes of searching, Tristan and Spike had nothing to show for it. The woods seemed as empty as ever. Tristan sat, defeated, near a small stream and allowed the baby dragon to dismount. Spike waddled around and fell beside the unicorn.
"What are we gonna do?" Spike asked, the worry in his voice growing.
"Keep looking, obviously," Tristan replied, panting. "We can't give up on her. Not now. But first, I need a drink."
Tristan scooted closer to the stream and began to drink from its crisp, clear waters. Spike watched for a moment before he himself began to cup the water in his claws and drink. The cool rush of the water could be felt as it traveled from his tongue into his stomach and it sent a small chill throughout his body. This refreshing sensation was interrupted, however, by another sensation that was quite the opposite.
"Tris, do you smell something?"
"Oh, no," Tristan retorted quickly, "You're not blaming it on me this time."
"Not that," Spike groaned, "That."
Spike pointed to a vague smoke trail that floated a good distance above them. Tristan jumped to his hooves and studied the smoke before following it to what he assumed was the source. His eyes widened and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end, signaling that this may be the break they needed.
"Spike! Hop on!" Tristan demanded.
The dragon made no hesitation to climb atop the unicorn's back. Once Tristan felt Spike's still-surprising weight on his shoulders, he began galloping north-east, the direction from which the smoke was coming.
Hang on, Rainbow Dash. We're coming.
Spazzy Says!
I'M BACK, BITCHES!!!
....
Okay, nobody get up to say hi all at once...
But seriously, thank you guys for being so supportive during the hiatus of this story. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate reading all your comments asking about the continuation of "Making Adjustments".
I know that you guys were all like
While I was all like
Also, I know this is a bit of a short chapter, but short chapter is better than no chapter to me, and hopefully you guys agree.
So thank you all again for being so Celestia-damn awesome.
As per usual, I have some excuses to follow this shitstorm:
Number 1: Writer's Block From Hell (aka, Don't Piss Off the Readers Syndrome)
I wanted to continue the story after the airing of Season 3, but the Twilicorn event threw me for a loop that I couldn't get out of for a long time. I want to continue this in my own way and let the events pan out in my own choosing. If I lose followers for that, I deeply apologize, but this is the direction I must go. A few things WILL NOT be canon. But then again, I'm pretty positive 98% of the stories on this website aren't following the canon, so WHATEVER!
Number 2: Getting Back Into Music
As some of you may know, my first love and primary passion has and always will be music. Writing it, practicing it, performing it, furthering my music career is my foremost priority, annoying my fiancee and writing falling shortly behind it. After a year and a half of not being on stage and not being accepted into ANY band in my area, I decided to take matters into my own hands and start my own project. With time, I hope to have enough members to play shows and write more music in a shorter time. I already have a couple songs in the making, so if you would like to follow my band on Facebook or Twitter, I would seriously appreciate that too.
Well, I best be off. I have a wedding to attend in a few hours and I'm not nearly dressed for the occasion. Don't forget to leave comments or shoot me a message telling me what you think of the chapter, and thank you guys again for your (seemingly) undying support. I normally don't say this until the second date, but I love you all and I'm glad to have you guys reading my chicken-scratch stories. Please, please, please....
Keep Being Awesome!
Michael "Spazzy Jamz" Price
BY THE MOON AN UPDATE!
Now to read.
2526681 'Bout time, right? I thought so, too!
2526304 I care about feedback too... actually, I would, but those who read my stuff are not even bothered to say something like this: ''This was acceptable, you shall be spared.''
But as long as they're not complaining, I'm doing what I'm doing...
And by the way... new chapteeeeeer~! Sweet!
2526696 I'll jot a note down to take a look at your work later! Gotta help each other out, yo!
2526704 NONONONONO! I didn't mean like that!
You doN't have to! Seriously, no!
2526712 It's cool, bro! I've been looking to get into some new fics, anyway. What genre do you normally write?
Firstly, welcome back to the land of the living! I had given up hope of seeing an update!
THANK YOU!!! It's nice to see that I'm not the only one to point this out!
Now the chapter..........Rainbow set Swift Gleam's home fire, didn't she?
2526731 d2tq98mqfjyz2l.cloudfront.net/image_cache/1346724000736537.jpg
2526720 Ehh... here's the problem. For a long time now, I've written adventure. (One of them has a sex scene as humans and after great battles, there is always a ''fatallity''... it's gory.) My favorite is human in Equestria, but... I kinda started to find other fics fun too? I don't know, my newest story is a romance one and I'm working on two other story. Also doing my own universe when i have the time, so I'm pretty busy with the romance one.
I'm talking my time with the romance one. My mood swings are annoying, so I have to be COMPLETELY relaxed and calmed, so I can write in the best quality. (As in best quality, nicely explaining and describing. I'm hungarian and I still have problems with the commas...)
So... I don't know if you can find any of it to your liking...
But I do appreciate your help! My heartbeat increased when I read your response... still a bit nervous from attention.
2526740 And this shall be the music playing whilst they are running for the smoke!!
2526749 Something new each time, huh? It's always good to dabble in a bit of everything, you know! I look forward to reading them!
2526763 OH GOD YES
dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1460_131771312961.gif
2526772 O_________________________________________o I... I'm just...
In all seriousness, I'm speechless. There haven't been anything new, just the same old record and now! I know, it's ''just'' wishing luck and I SHOULD BE AIMING FOR THE LIKEZ ASDFGHBRGLKPH! (I'm just joking by the way, don't take it seriously. With one follower, I was REALLY nervous, so I don't know how I will deal with more views in the future... IF I ever get views...)
You single comment just made my day. Others would think it's worthless and all, but it felt... nice. I mean, REALLY nice. And now I need to calm myself down before I start hypereating in my excitement.
I wish you the very best for the future!
~Adam
Ok now that I've read it here's what i have to say:
Awesome! Now don't don't take as long with the next chapter.
p.s. this is you:
It's good to see you again.
2526839
A) NEVER, and I mean this in the most important way, NEVER try to be like another author. Even though the saying goes "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery", I highly doubt that's true for the world of literature. People don't want another ROBCakeran53 or anything like that. They want FRESH, NEW, ORIGINAL. I'm not saying it's bad to have influence from other authors (Christopher Moore and Adam Rapp, myself), or that you you shouldn't even look up to other authors. I'm saying that YOU make they story the way YOU want it. Don't make another Sergeant Sprinkles story (Please. "Cupcakes" was enough for me ), make a Dhuradhan story!
and
2) Good luck with your writing!
~Michael
2526879
x'D ALL OF MY YES!
2526884
Good to be seen again, sir!
2526903 That's it! Enjoy my tears of joy!
2526913 Lol, it's all good, man. I just got pulled out of my own funk (as you can tell), so I'm glad I can return the favor!
2526930 Alright, alright... but still, my tears are yours! ... I don't think that sounded wrong... maybe...
2526942 I shall keep them in a small vial on my desk with pride. Right next to the jar that contains
THE HEART OF A CHILD
dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw4819-13367674014927.png
2526959 O.O... :D Yaaay!
So you have returned, "opens a armored door revealing a room filled with weapons and explosives" lets rock and roll
- good to have you back
2526903 If you think Cupcakes is bad. Avoid The Experiments of Twilight Sparkle and Twilight's Dollhouse like the plague. I am heartless so I didn't feel much from those stories.
Hohohohoo, I'm expecting him to be the hero and save Dash. I wonder if there will be some fighting or such... or at least some intense moment!
2527031 Good to be back, sir.
2527062
2527327 Oh, there's gonna be a heroic move, alright.
Just not from him ;)
2528160 Ah damnit, I was hoping for that. Nevermind, at least the intense moments will be there and that's enough for me.
2528189 I think you'll be pleasantly surprised :)
2528157 I know I am heartless because I read The Experiments of Twilight Sparkle while eating pizza. Wasn't grossed out or anything.
2528610 I'm easily grossed out/scared, so it honestly wouldn't take much. Like I said, Cupcakes was enough.
Yep, Swift Gleam has killed all of my interest in this story.
2528620 If you expose yourself to that stuff enough you will build a resistance. I started to kill my feelings of empathy and sadness with Half Life 2 games. God those where good games.
Oh, this updated!
Really, I was happy to see an update here, welcome back I guess, or something alike, heh.
I did a full reread of this sequel, as, well, I didn't want to miss out on details, it has been a while since I read this.
Anyhow. This fic is really good, My Little House Guests is still high amongst my favorite Human/Pony (can't say HiE, can I?) fics, and reading it continue is fun. You're taking a both interesting and enjoyable look at Tris- Star Skipper's adjustment to Equestria, and how his life is progressing.
This is overall a really enjoyable read.
By the way, (nowadays*) when (re-)reading fics I like, I tend to try finding minor errors while reading (stuff like commas, dots, uppercase/lowercase letters etc). Would you like a PM or something with any small stuff like that I found during my reread?
*MLHG and this fic are amongst the first ones I read after discovering this fandom/show, heh
Thanks for writing this and putting it up for everyone to enjoy!
M
Also: if this comment fails to make sense, I blame it beeing ridiculously late where I am, heh.
2528328 I like it that way...
I'm sure that I am not the only one to have said it, but...
I CRY FOR MOAR!
2529248 If you wouldn't mind so much, I would enjoy a PM. Gotta improve any way I can, right?
AWWW YEAHHHH!!!! New Chapter!
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0rzimfWGD1rnpa5yo1_500.jpg
denver.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw1619-a93Cs.jpg
Yeah I know what you mean with writers block. Im facing similar season 3 problems but I think i got a plan...
2531722 I'm just saying to hell with integrating Season 3 at all. 98% of the stories here don't correspond with it, why should mine?
holy bollocks burger, this story dun gun finally updated!
*starts Reading*
...
*finishes Reading*
fuck, now i need to wait agian for moar...
2532845
In the process!
2533182 good, now dont you dare disapoint the emperor
2535450
I won't let you down.
2533523
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2526942>>2526959
You now have liquid pride shining armor would be proud twilight agrees
2532845i know exactly how you feel.
2532845 2541374
Coming soon guys! Check mah bloggy!