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.

"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."

Twilight Sparkle's eyes widened and her jaw dropped from the horrifying thought. "You don't mean..."

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."

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

"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.

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."

"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.

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."

Fluttershy whimpered, her eyes beginning to give way to hardly noticeable tears. "I hope nothing had happened to her..."

At that moment, another knock was heard at the door. Fluttershy jumped at the sudden interruption.

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."

"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."

"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.

Tristan and Spike jumped and quickly turned to find Pinkie Pie herself standing directly behind them. Spike breathed a sigh of relief.

"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?"

"I wish," Tristan sighed. "Applejack and Fluttershy came by the library looking for her. I'm sure she's-"

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?"

"Nope," Pinkie replied. "She said the other day that she had gotten a letter from them to meet in Whitetail Woods."

The two stood in thought, then turned to each other in horror as they arrived to the same revelation.

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.

"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.

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.

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."

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.

"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.

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.

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.

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

Making Adjustments

by Spazzy Jamz

Taken