Making Adjustments

by Spazzy Jamz


The Fourth Annual Ponyville Ball

"What about this one?"

"Yeah, that one's fine. Now let's get outta here before-"

"Just fine? I don't want fine, i want-"

"Dude, you're being too paranoid. That's normally my job. Trust me, it's perfect."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure. Will you just buy it already?

"Yeah, okay. You're right."

"..."

"...Or maybe-"

"Oh, come on!"

"Okay, okay. I'll take this one, please."


Weeks had passed, and the Fourth Annual Ponyville Ball was here. The town was bustling as its citizens were making the final preparations for the big night. Sugarcube Corner and Sweet Apple Acres had joined forces in the name of concessions, with Applejack overseeing production and Pinkie Pie overseeing the tastiness of each batch. Rarity had locked herself away in the Carousel Boutique to finish up the last of her dress orders before turning her full attention to the ensemble that she would be sporting.

Over in Town Hall, the rest of the gang is busy doing their part as well. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash zoomed about the ceiling and balconies as they decorated the area with streamers and balloons of purple and silver, the event's colors. Back on the ground, Twilight Sparkle, along with her trustworthy clipboard, was making her rounds to ensure that everything was running as smoothly as possible.

"Can we get those tables moved to this side of the hall, please? How's stage set-up coming along? We only have a few more hours until sunset, ponies! Let's get a move on!" Twilight wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead. She glanced around and saw that the boys, Tristan and Spike, had been missing. "Rainbow Dash! Fluttershy!" she called. The respective pegasi halted their duty and swooped down to her.

"Yeah?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Have you seen Spike or Tristan around? They said they went off to check on everypony else, but that was hours ago," Twilight worriedly replied.

Fluttershy gave a reassuring smile. "I'm sure they're fine," she said. "They're probably on their way here right now."

"We're back!"

Twilight turned to find that the voice belonged to Tristan, who had returned from his task with and exhausted baby dragon atop his back. Her mood was visibly improved by their arrival and she waved them over.

"Hey!" she greeted, "We were just wondering about you two. I was starting to get worried."

Spike hopped off Tristan's back and scoffed at the purple unicorn. "Worry? About us?"

"Yes, I worried. Especially since it's you two"

Tristan held a hoof to his chest. "Ouch, Twi," he replied, miming his pain, "That hurts a little."

"I'm sorry," Twilight sighed, "There's just been a lot of weird stuff going on lately and I wouldn't want anything to happen to you two, or any of my friends for that matter."

Tristan approached her and wrapped her up in a hug. "It's okay," he comforted, "Nothing else is gonna happen. Smooth sailing from here on out."

Spike knelt down and knocked on the floor.


After a long day's work and weeks of planning, the Fourth Annual Ponyville Ball had officially begun. All the townsfolk had arrived dressed to impress and, much to Twilight's relief, everything was going off without a hitch. The music, supplied by the local orchestra, floated about the air as the ponies danced and mingled with one another. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had taken their dancing above the crowd, and most of the other pegasi had done, to make room for everyone else below. Rarity was conversing with a couple of out-of-town ponies who were much more interested in her dress than the actual conversation. The whole town seemed to be having a grand time, except for one, who had been far too busy working to enjoy hardly any of it.

"Come on, babe," Tristan insisted, now wearing his Rarity-made tux, "You deserve to be having just as much fun as anypony else tonight."

Twilight kept her eyes glued to the clipboard. "I'm fine, Tristan," she retorted, "I'm getting plenty of enjoyment making sure everything goes perfect."

"If that's not the biggest load of B.S. I've ever heard...."

"What's B.S.?"

"Nevermind." Tristan magicked the clipboard from her magic's grasp. "Everything will be fine. You go home and get ready. Rarity made that beautiful gown for you and I'm sure she'd hate to see it go to waste."

"But-"

"Trust me, okay?" Tristan leaned in and gave a soft kiss to Twilight's cheek, followed by a soft smile.

"Oh, I can't say no to you," she replied, nuzzling him. "Okay. I won't be gone very long."

"Take your time."

Tristan waved as Twilight galloped for the front door. After she had left the building, he skimmed over the list she had made. Spike sauntered over and took a peek at it for himself.

"Do you think you can handle it?" Spike asked, who was wearing a similar tux.

Applejack and Pinkie Pie had also joined them, and the farm mare gave an encouraging, however rough, slap on the back.

"You'll do just fine," Applejack chimed. "An' if ya want, we'll help ya out!"

"Yes-sir-ee-doodle-bob!" Pinkie agreed.

"It's just for a few minutes, guys," Tristan assured, "What could possibly go wrong?"

"Man, don't you read comic books? You never say that, because sure enough-"

"HELLO, MY DARLING PONY FRIENDS!"

The music stumbled to a stop. The ponies conversations fell silent, and all attendants turned to a balcony where a shadow stood. It's devilish grin pierced through the small void and the character stepped into the light. He flipped his long, maroon and navy-blue mane and the light caught a glint from the buckle on his black vest.

"Swift Gleam?!" Tristan realized.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy swooped down and landed aside Tristan, and Spike hid behind him. The Element of Kindness took to a facial expression that seemed to be the exact opposite of such, causing the silver unicorn to inch away out of fear for himself.

"And I would like to give a special salutations to Ms. Dash and company," Swift Gleam continued, "Thank you so much for being here."

Rainbow Dash snarled, "I thought we told you to take a hike!"

"Ah, my love," Gleam replied, making sure to give a glance to Fluttershy, who was inches from losing her cool. "I did take I hike, and I met a new friend! Someone who has the same interests as I, and by interests I mean punishing your friends for the shame they've caused us!"

"Us?" Tristan questioned. "What do you mean, 'us'?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Gleam grinned. He clapped his hooves and all the doors and windows sealed shut. The plates and tables began swirling through the air, coated in a light-blue cloud of magic. The ponies trapped inside screamed in horror, and the tables were released from their spell, sending them flying across the hall.

"I've seen that magic before," Tristan recalled, "But that was-"

"Hello, Tristan, darling! It's been so long!"

Tristan watched in his own personal horror as a light-blue, silver-maned unicorn descended from the balcony directly across from Swift Gleam, laughing manically as she drifted downwards, directly placing herself in front of Tristan.

"Trixie?!" he exclaimed, feeling his grasp on the situation slip away. "B-But, how? Twilight... Princess Celestia..."

Pinkie Pie stepped forward and raised a hoof. "I think I know just what happened."

Rarity shot a glare at the pink earth pony. "Sweetie, I don't think-"

"After being harshly defeated by Twilight, no doubt locked up back on Tristan's world, and figuring that Princess Celestia was coming for you, you somehow managed to break out, change your human appearance, flee the city, evade the princess and her guards, and bring yourself back to Equestria, where you woke up in Whitetail Woods, was again captured, except by Swift Gleam, then you told him about how Twilight ruined your life and he told you about how Fluttershy ruined his life and then you both were like, 'But wait! Twilight had a guy with her and Fluttershy had a stallion with her, too!, and you both deduced that it was none other than Twilight's coltfriend and our bestest friend, Tristan! Although, his name is Star Skipper here so he can fit in easier, because, let's face it, Tristan is a super weird name for a pony, but that's beside the point. You saw that the Fourth Annual Ponyville Ball was tonight and you teamed up and now you're here to rain down pain and humiliation to the ones who have done the same to you! Did I get it right? Do I win? What's my-"

Pinkie's ranting was cut off by a blast of magic that sent her flying across the hall. She landed with a crash into a group of other ponies. Applejack and Rarity immediately bolted towards her.

"I swear, Pinkie Pie, you can be so annoying," Trixie calmly said.

"You won't get away with this!" Tristan shouted. "When Twilight gets back, she'll-"

"Do nothing," Trixie interrupted, "There's no way for her to get in, and the outside of Town Hall is riddled with traps, thanks to my cohort. It's just you and me now!"

Trixie threw a blast of magic which struck Tristan and sent him flying. Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash zoomed through the air and caught him just before hitting another balcony. They gently lowered him back to the floor.

"You okay, Tris?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"I'm fine," Tristan achingly replied, "You two go take care of Gleam. I'll face Trixie."

Fluttershy gasped at the thought. "You can't! I'm sorry to say this, but she's a lot more powerful than you! You'll be-"

"I have to at least try," Tristan retorted, "You guys can't keep fighting for me. I'll hold her off until Twilight can figure out a way in. Now go!"

Rainbow Dash nodded to Fluttershy and they both took off through the air once again, this time making a beeline for Swift Gleam. His smug expression of entertainment was quickly replaced by one of panic as he witnessed the two pegasi zooming towards him. He made a hasty retreat for the shadows once more, and the mares followed close behind.

"We're ending this now, Trixie!" Tristan boomed.

"You're absolutely right!" said Trixie. Using her magic, she picked up a large collection of tables and hurled them at Tristan. He buckled down, concentrated, and shot a blast of silver magic that deflected the oncoming furniture. His eyes widened at the stunt he had just pulled, just as surprised as his opponent that he could have done such a thing.

"Someone's been practicing!" Trixie exclaimed. The thought of defeating Tristan had become, in her mind, like squashing a helpless bug. However, she was beginning to see the situation as trying to swat an annoying pest. "Let's see how you deal with this!"

Trixie fired another direct blast to Tristan, who simply dodged it and began closing the space between them. Trixie saw his oncoming charge and let loose a feverish volley of magic. Tristan froze and, once again, hunkered down. He desperately focused and surprised himself yet again when he made a small magic barrier just big enough to shield him from the attacks. There were large explosions and soon the area around Tristan was enveloped in smoke and dust. As the others coughed and hacked at the pollution, Trixie kept vigilant, looking for any sign of victory or otherwise.

She was quickly answered with a beam of silver magic that pierced through the smoke and was quickly heading in her direction. She instinctively shot a similar beam back and the two met, their magic pushing against each other in a contest of sheer will and power.

"Give it up, Shay!" Trixie demanded, "You'll never defeat me!"

"I'm not backing down from you anymore!" Tristan protested. "I'd rather be sent to the moon!"

"Wish granted!"

Trixie sent every ounce of energy she had into her magic, which was beginning to overtake Tristan's easily. Tristan saw the powerful force heading his direction and did his absolute best to slow the inevitable, but it wasn't enough. His doom was inches from his face. He closed his eyes and heard himself whisper aloud.

Someone...help...

It was at his bleakest moment when he heard something that resembled a poofing noise. He figured it was his body becoming dust or his actual arrival to the moon. Expecting to see the emptiness of space, Tristan slowly opened one of his eyes to find that he had not died, nor was he transported to the moon's rocky surface. Much to his surprise, he saw that he was actually still in the Town Hall. Even more surprising, he found that Trixie's magic was being pushed back towards her, and at an astonishing pace.

"No!" Trixie exclaimed. "No! Stop! Please!"

Trixie was blasted away, nearly unconscious from the force of the explosion. She was caught mid-air by a cloud of gold magic. Tristan fell to his knees from exhaustion and slowly looked back to find the golden magic's source.

"Princess Celestia!" Pinkie Pie cheered. "Woohoo! She's here! She saved Tristan! Yay! Three cheers for the princess!"

The Princess gave a soft chuckle. "No need for that, my little pony. I'm just glad I could make it in time."

"But how?" Tristan asked, "How did you know what was happening?"

"Well, I did have a little tip from an anonymous citizen," she replied, giving an inconspicuous wink in Spike's direction, "And besides, the Ponyville Ball is one of my absolute favorite annual events! I'm afraid I missed it last year, so I had intended to come all along."

"Well, it's a darn good thing ya showed up when ya did, Princess," Applejack added, "Or else Tristan here woulda been halfway to the moon right now."

"Speaking of which," Celestia turned and approached the captured Trixie until their muzzles were inches apart, "You've been causing far too much trouble for far too long, Trixie Lulamoon. I have a special place for you and your friend and you're going to be there for a very long time."

A handful of royal guards burst through the front entrance of Town Hall with a bruised-up Swift Gleam already in custody. One of the guards approached the prisoner-to-be with a sort of steel cone with a lock. He magicked the cone on top of Trixie's horn and the lock was applied.

"Just to make sure you behave yourself," Celestia smirked, "You'll be sporting this Horn Lock, which renders your magic useless. Maybe during your time away, you can think of how to make your magic useful for others. Take her away, please."

The golden cloud of magic dissipated and the guards escorted Trixie and Swift Gleam out of the building.

"Mark my words, Tristan Shay," Trixie muttered to herself, "I will take my revenge. Whatever it takes, I'll- Ow!"

"Quiet!" one of the guards barked.

Celestia watched the guards and the prisoners leave Town Hall with an expression of stone. Once the doors closed, Tristan remembered another pony who would soon make her way back to Town Hall.

"Twilight!" Tristan panicked, "She's going to be here any minute and see that the place is a wreck and she'll be like, 'You had one job', and the night will be ruined and-"

"Star Skipper, please!" Celestia interrupted. She exhaled and resumed speaking in a much more clam tone. "I've sent Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to occupy Ms. Sparkle until we've dealt with the troublemakers and cleaned up. Shall we get to work?"

Tristan nodded and, with the combined forces of Tristan, Celestia, Spike, and the remaining Elements of Harmony, Town Hall was picked up, cleaned, and set back in order as if no life-threatening battle had taken place. The orchestra had even began playing again, and the ponies all slowly started to dance and mingle once more. Celestia leaned down next to Tristan.

"Do you still have it?" the princess asked.

"Yup!" Tristan excitedly replied, his attention fixated on the front door of the building. "Right here in my tux pocket! Just gotta wait for the right time and-" Tristan stopped his train of thought and widened his eyes, expressing his shock to the princess. "How did you-"

"Oh, just some gossip floating around," Celestia replied, adding a wink.

It was about that time when Twilight Sparkle had entered Town Hall once again. Her flowing, midnight-blue down trailing ever so softly behind her. She approached Tristan and gave him a loving nuzzle.

"You look phenomenal," Tristan complimented, "But I've been getting used to that."

"Aww, thank you!" Twilight replied, a blush setting in across her face. "And you've managed to keep everything in order! I'm so proud of you!"

"I'm proud of you, too. I have the most amazing, caring, and definitely the smartest marefriend anypony could have ever asked for."

"Tristan, you're so-"

"Hold on, I'm not done yet."

Twilight looked puzzled. "Okaayy?"

Princess Celestia gave the signal and the orchestra stopped playing. All attention was focused towards Tristan and Twilight.

"A year ago, I was stuck in the bottom of the barrel. I had no direction, no motivation, and ultimately, I had no-one. But then, I was given the gift of friendship by the arrival Spike and the others. But most importantly, I was given the gift of love by means of you. And even though we've only known each other a short time, I feel like I'm ready to take on everything this world can throw at me, just as long as you are right here by my side. So I'll just ask this one question..."

Tristan magicked from his inside tux pocket a silver ring with a modest, yet impressively radiant diamond affixed to it. He knelt down before Twilight, his body shaking all over from nerves. Twilight gasped and tears instantly began to well in her eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle, love of my life, will you marry me?"

The room fell completely silent, the crowd surrounding the couple seemed to be on edge until an answer was given. A pin dropped, and Pinkie Pie knew, because she could hear it. Twilight stood before Tristan, almost paralyzed from the flood of emotion that swelled inside her. Moments passed in silence, until the dramatic tension became too much for one unicorn to bare.

"For Celestia's sake, darling!" Rarity burst. "Answer the poor boy!"

Twilight covered her mouth with a single hoof and began nodding, her eyes now fountains of the happiest tears. "Yes, Tristan. Yes, yes, a million times yes!"

The two embraced as the crowd around them cheered. Rarity, sharing in the emotional value of the sudden proposal, began crying hysterically, and was in the process of being comforted by Spike and Applejack. Rainbow Dash sensed her own tears coming, but made an ill attempt to hide them. The orchestra took this as their cue and began playing again, this time a soft ballad.

Tristan pulled back from the embrace and offered a hoof out to Twilight. She smiled and placed a hoof of her own in his, and the two proceeded to dance. The rest of the crowd followed suit. Fluttershy danced with Rainbow Dash, Rarity with one of the out-of-towners from before, and Applejack with Spike, which brought a couple glances of curiosity. The Fourth Annual Ponyville Ball, despite a massive hiccup, was a spectacular success for everyone involved.