Triple Trouble
Twilight Sparkle woke up before Tristan the next morning, being extra careful not to wake him as she climbed out of bed. She allowed Spike to sleep in as well and quietly made her way to her vanity, where she tugged and pulled at her mane with her brush until she was satisfied with its appearance. The purple unicorn yawned as she opened the door and glanced back to Spike and Tristan, both snoring away contently. She smiled and headed down the stairs and towards the kitchen for a much needed cup of coffee.
A few moments later, Tristan gently stirred, groaning. He slowly opened his eyes and flinched at the bright sunlight that flooded in through the window. More groans came from the sleepy unicorn as he held himself up, noticing the bed he lay on. Tristan rubbed his head, feeling a slight headache growing inside. He couldn't remember for the life of him how he got in a bed, or, more importantly, whose bed it was.
He looked around the room. The floor, walls, and even the ceiling appeared to be bare wood, almost like he was inside a tree. Upon further investigation, he saw Spike, sleeping in a basket on the floor just feet away. The baby dragon tossed and turned, pulling the blanket over his head. Tristan smiled a little, but his smile faded quickly as his brain began putting two and two together. Just then, Twilight re-emerged through the bedroom door, smiling while levitating a cup of coffee.
"Good morning, sleepyhead!" Twilight greeted. "I assume you had a good time last night?"
Tristan said nothing, but simply continuing to stare in Twilight's direction with even wider eyes and a dropped jaw.
"Are you okay?" Twilight asked, approaching the bed. "You look like you just saw a ghost."
Tristan swallowed before speaking, not removing his eyes from Twilight as she sat the coffee on the nightstand. "H-How did I get here?"
Twilight sighed. "Berry Punch spiked the refreshments last night," she replied, "You were pretty out of it. I had to practically carry you all the way home."
"Did... uh... did anything h-happen... y-you know..."
Twilight furrowed her brow in thought, then, upon realizing Tristan's inquiry, shot her eyes wide open. "Oh, no, no, no!" she said, quickly shaking her head, "Nothing happened at all. You passed out before I even got you upstairs." The purple unicorn glanced away, blushing. "Besides, I couldn't just leave you on the floor. I don't have a spare bed and Celestia forbid you fit in Spike's with him."
Tristan breathed a sigh of relief, then reached for his coffee. He looked over at the lone hoof that hovered near the warm mug and sighed.
"Right. No hands."
Twilight giggled. "Try using your magic again," she reminded, "Practice makes perfect!"
Tristan opted instead to reach for the mug with both hooves, carefully applying just enough pressure to both sides in order to hold it. "I'm going to practice with something that won't leave me in second-degree burns, if that's cool with you," he retorted, sipping slowly at his beverage.
"Fair enough," Twilight replied with a smile. She looked down and gently nudged Spike. "Wake up, Spike. We have a lot to do today."
Spike groaned and rolled away from her. "Five more minutes," he replied groggily.
"Not today, Spike. I have some errands to run and I'm trusting you and Tristan with the library while I'm gone, especially since the CMCs will be here researching for a school project."
Tristan took another sip of coffee with an expression of curiosity. "CMCs?" he repeated.
"The Cutie Mark Crusaders. They're just three little fillies. About Spike's age," Twilight informed, "They're normally not too much trouble."
Spike groaned more before summoning the strength to climb out of bed. "I'll get breakfast started," he said lethargically.
The baby dragon stomped out of the room as Tristan carefully sat his coffee back down onto the nightstand and climbed out of bed. Twilight smiled as she, without the need to carry him, walked with Tristan out of the bedroom.
After a well-prepared breakfast courtesy of Spike, Twilight levitated her saddle bags onto her back. Spike remained in the kitchen to finish up dishes and Tristan followed the purple unicorn out to the main room of the library, marveling at the ceiling-high shelves of books.
"Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo should be here in a couple hours," Twilight informed, checking her to-do list, "If they need help finding any books, just ask Spike. He knows where everything is located."
"Kid does a lot of work, doesn't he?" Tristan asked, taking his attention from the bookshelves.
"But of course," Twilight replied, "He is my assistant after all. But I really should get going. I'll more than likely be gone most of the day, so I'll see you whenever I get back." She gave Tristan a light kiss on the cheek and turned to leave with a chuckle. "Get some practice in while I'm gone!" she called. She pushed open the library door and proceeded outside. Tristan smiled and found himself rubbing the cheek that had been kissed.
"So are you two a thing now or what?" Spike asked. His presence came suddenly to Tristan, causing the unicorn to flinch a little.
"I-I'm not entirely sure," Tristan replied. "I mean, we haven't exactly made it official or anything."
"You mean you haven't asked her to be your marefriend?"
"I... uh, well... no. But after everything that's happened so far, is it really necessary?"
"Maybe you two should go on a date or something and find out."
"You think so?"
Before Spike could answer, the door burst open and in bounced three small ponies. They stood about Spike's height and were all wearing wide, cheerful grins on their faces.
"Hi, Spike! Hi, Tristan!" they greeted in unison.
Tristan's eyes widened. "How do you know who I am?!" he asked, surprised.
The yellow earth pony giggled. "Applejack told me all about ya!" she cheerfully replied. "She said you'd done come to Equestria from your world!"
Tristan raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "How do you know AJ?"
"Why, Ah'm her sister!" she said, flipping her red mane. "Can't ya see the resemblance?"
"Oh, right!" Tristan remembered. "You must be Apple Bloom!"
Apple Bloom bounced. "Eeyup! An' this here is Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo! We've heard a lot about ya, ya know?"
The filly unicorn was next to speak. "Rarity has told me about you, too!" she beamed. "My sister says you took care of her and her friends while they stayed with you!"
Tristan cracked a small smile, somewhat delighted that he had become so well known. "Sounds like you guys have heard quite a lot," he said, chuckling.
"We also heard that you were Twilight's coltfriend." Sweetie Belle remarked, bouncing an eyebrow.
Tristan blushed at the sudden statement. The three fillies giggled to themselves, then began chanting in sing-song voices.
"Twilight and Tristan, sittin' in a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"
The song was repeated a few times before the trio concluded with even more giggling. Tristan looked down at Spike, who was making a failed attempt to hide his amusement. Hoping to change the subject, he turned his attention to the orange pegasus filly, who flapped her tiny wings giddily. "I take it you're related to Rainbow Dash somehow?"
Scootaloo snorted in amusement. "Psh, I wish!" she replied, jealousy hanging in her words, "She's only the coolest, awesomest, most radical pegasus in all of Equestria!"
Tristan chuckled at the remark, then remembered their reason for being there. "Twilight said you guys wouldn't be over for another hour or so," he stated, "What brings you here so early?"
His question went unanswered as the fillies scattered, taking to the shelves of books, pulling one after the other onto the library floor.
"Hey!" Spike shouted, "I have to fix those!"
The baby dragon ran wildly around the room, frantically reshelving the books that had been tossed about. Tristan smiled and walked back into the kitchen for something to practice his magic with.
Tristan sat at the kitchen table, his sights fixed upon one of Twilight's quills. He had been sitting there for nearly half an hour and all he had to show for it was moving the writing utensil about an inch to the right. Deep down, Tristan could feel himself get more and more agitated by his constant failure. He shook his head.
Gotta keep trying, he thought.
He focused on the quill and did as Twilight had instructed him. He imagined the quill taking off like the menu, floating in the air and doing a quick little twirl for show. He repeated the process in his mind and saw the quill shiver to life once more. This time, Tristan kept his excitement contained as he willed it up into the air. It gently floated a mere foot from the table's surface.
And now, he smirked, The grand finale...
"TRIS!"
The unicorn jumped, sending the quill rocketing upward and sticking itself into the kitchen's ceiling. Tristan growled inaudibly before turning to Spike, who stood before him with worry. He collected his composure before answering the breathless dragon.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"Apple... Sweetie... Scoot... Whitetail," the dragon panted.
"You aren't making any sense, Spike," Tristan said, "Breathe."
Spike took a few deep breaths and started over. "Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo ran off to the Whitetail Woods! I tried chasing them down, but they were just too fast for me."
"Whitetail Woods?" Tristan asked, somewhat confused, "What's wrong with that?"
Spike threw his claws up. "Only the fact that a crazed psychopath lives in those woods!" he shouted.
Tristan pictured the situation in his mind: The three fillies, cowering against a grotesquely disfigured tree as a shadow loomed over them. He shook the image from his mind and jumped out of his seat. "What are we gonna do?!"
"We have to go after them!" Spike replied, as if the answer was obvious.
"I have no clue where Whitetail Woods even is!" Tristan retorted.
Spike mulled it over in his head, remembering that he had read about the woods before. "It's on the other side of town," he informed, "But we have to hurry! Knowing those three, they're probably already there!"
Tristan nodded in agreement. The baby dragon ran to his side and made a flying leap atop the unicorn's back. Tristan grunted and gave his unexpected passenger a bemused look.
"What?" Spike asked.
Tristan shook his head and made a beeline for the library door. As they ran out, Spike quickly spun around slammed the door shut behind them. Tristan stopped a few feet outside the library and looked around for the quickest possible route. Spike pointed north and the two sped off.
Sweetie Belle glanced around nervously as she followed Scootaloo and Applebloom through the woods. They walked along a beaten path that appeared to have not been used for quite some time. The sunlight barely pierced through the tree branches in certain spots, making the already faded path even harder to follow.
"Are you sure it's safe to be here?" the unicorn asked.
Scootaloo shot back a smirk. "Of course it is!" she replied. "Why wouldn't it be?"
"Because I heard a crazy pony lives back here"
"A crazy pony? Really, Sweetie Belle?"
"Yeah. I heard that somepony lives back here and that he preys on anyone who enters his territory."
Apple Bloom snorted. "That's just an old mare's tale, Sweetie Belle," she assured. "You should quit worryin'! We gotta get first-hoof experience for our project if we wanna impress Miss Cheerilee! Who knows, maybe we'll even get our Cutie Marks!"
Sweetie Belle raised an eyebrow to the earth pony, but decided that she was probably right. Her mind set on the task that lay before her, and the possibility of earning her Cutie Mark, the unicorn tossed all worries away and began to hum a tune. The fillies continued down the path, carefully studying their surroundings. Little did they know that from under the cover of a nearby tree's shadow, they themselves were being studied.
Breathless, Tristan and Spike finally reached the edge of Whitetail Woods. It appeared to look like any other forest Tristan had ever seen, contrary to the mangled trees he had envisioned earlier. Still, he carefully placed a hoof through the treeline, followed shortly by another. Spike swallowed nervously as Tristan proceeded further into the trees.
After a few minutes of wandering in thick brush, the two finally came across a beaten path. Tristan looked up at Spike, who shrugged in return. They decided to follow the path in hopes that it would lead to the three fillies.
"Do you think they're okay?" Spike asked, glancing around.
Tristan sighed. "For both of our sakes, let's hope so," he replied dryly. "I'm sure Twilight would have my head if she found out about this, let alone AJ and Rarity."
Tristan continued down the path, checking every passing object for any clues that could lead them to the runaways. Spike stood atop Tristan's back, hoping to get a better view of their surroundings.
"Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!" Spike called.
"Apple Bloom!" Tristan shouted, "Where are you guys?"
The calling continued for a short while until their shouts were answered with an even louder scream. Terror overcame Spike. He looked down at Tristan, but the unicorn had already returned to his previous all-out sprint.
Spike clung to Tristan's neck once more, keeping a keen eye out for the source of the screaming. Tristan blazed down the path as fast as his pony legs would take him. Fatigue soon began to set in for him. He couldn't remember the last time he had ran so much. An alert from the baby dragon took his mind away from his physical limitations.
"I see them!" Spike shouted, pointing ahead, "They're right there!"
Adrenaline kicked in as Tristan quickly closed the distance between him and the fillies. He was soon able to see Scootaloo and Apple Bloom standing in a small clearing staring upwards in horror. Spike tried looking through the trees for the target of their attention, but the low, thick clusters of leaves made it impossible for him to see anything higher than him. The two finally skidded to a stop next to the two Crusaders. A clear expression of relief washed over them.
"Thank Celestia we found you guys!" Spike said. He hopped from his breathless mount and landed on the lush forest floor. "Where's Sweetie Belle?"
Scootaloo frantically shot a hoof upward. Spike followed the direction of the hoof and nearly jumped out of his scales at what he saw. From a tree branch just above him, suspended by an old rope, was Sweetie Belle. She thrashed to and fro, attempting and failing to untangle herself from the trap she had found herself in.
"Help! Get me down!" she cried.
Spike quickly began to scale the tree's massive trunk, using his claws to dig into the bark for a decent grip. He climbed until he was about an arm's length away from the branch that lay under the rope and began slashing at it. It took a few attempts, but he was finally able to snap the rope, sending Sweetie Belle falling.
The unicorn filly landed on the ground with a painfully audible thud. Her friends rushed to her side as Spike slid back down the tree trunk and joined them.
"You alright, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked. "Are ya hurt?"
Sweetie Belle stood and shook off the leaves and dirt. "I'm fine," she replied, her voice trembling.
"Who the hay done this?!"
"I dunno. I didn't see anypony."
Tristan's eyes darted around, looking for the suspect. Nearby, a twig snapped, capturing the group's attention. Tristan snorted and glared in its direction.
"Who's there?!" he called. He could feel his jaw clenching up again and his heart racing as a shadowy figure emerged from behind a bush. It chuckled and sauntered over into the small clearing, appearing as a maroon-coated pegasus mare wearing a black vest. It flipped its long maroon and navy-blue mane to the side and proceeded towards them.
"Who are you?" Tristan demanded.
"Yeah, lady, what gives?!" Spike added.
The pegasus took on an expression of annoyance. "I'm not a mare!" it boomed. "I'm a stallion, thank you very much!"
Tristan cocked his head to the side, confused. "You are?"
"Yes, I am! That I can assure you!"
Spike scratched his head. "But you look-"
"I know I look like a mare, but I'm not!" he shot back harshly, his brown eyes glaring at the baby dragon.
Spike flinched a little at the pegasus's words. Tristan took a step forward, still not sure who, or what, he was dealing with and exhaled. "You never answered my question," he pressed. "Who are you?"
The pegasus flipped his mane again, fixing his attention on the unicorn. "My name is Swift Gleam, if you must know." he replied. "Who are you and what are you doing in my woods?"
"My name is Star Skipper," Tristan informed, "I'm here to retrieve the fillies, the same ones that you seem to be creeping on and capturing."
Swift Gleam's expression softened into a smirk. "It's not like I was gonna eat her or anything," he stated, "I was gonna let her go eventually. Just having a little fun."
"You trap ponies for fun?!" Spike asked, bewildered.
"Pretty much," Swift replied.
"How is that fun?!"
Swift chuckled to himself before answering. "The thrill of the hunt," he said, glancing over at Sweetie Belle. "Every time its a challenge, and I love a good challenge."
Tristan placed a hoof in front of Sweetie Belle and slid her behind him, never taking his eyes off of Swift. "You've had your fun, and I've got the fillies," he said, "So lets just go our separate ways and avoid any more trouble. You should really re-think your idea of fun, you know."
Spike turned the Cutie Mark Crusaders around and began to lead them back to the forest entrance. After a few seconds of watching Swift Gleam, Tristan turned and followed them.
"I'll see you all later!" Swift called. "Bring me some chocolate chip cookies next time!"
Tristan stopped for a second, then looked back, but Swift Gleam had disappeared. Tristan scanned the area around him, then uneasily returned to walking with Spike and the fillies.
"Hey, Tris," Spike said, climbing back onto the unicorn, "What do you think he meant when he said, 'I'll see you all later'?
"I dunno," Tristan replied, "But I honestly don't think I want to know. Dude gives me the willies."
"I hope we have cookies."
The fillies burst through the door of the library with Spike and Tristan following close behind. Spike hopped from Tristan's back and shut the door. He laid against the door, then sighed as he slid down into a sitting position.
"I'm exhausted," Spike complained.
"You're exhausted?!" Tristan asked, "I was the one who ran all the way there! You rode on my back they whole time!"
"Riding can get exhausting, too."
Tristan sighed and took a seat at one of the chairs positioned by the table in the main room. Spike had went back to work reshelving books and the fillies all sat in a circle on the floor next to Tristan, chattering on about future Cutie Mark Crusades. Minutes later, the door was surrounded by a magenta aura, then flung itself open.
"Hello, everypony!" Twilight Sparkle greeted. She trotted happily across the floor to Tristan and levitated her saddle bags onto the table. She nuzzled Tristan and smiled, trying to ignore the giggling that emanated from the younger ponies. "How was your day?"
Tristan glanced over to the fillies, then to Spike, then back to Twilight.
"Eh," Tristan shrugged, "Kinda boring."
Twilight chuckled and turned to the fillies. "Did you find everything you were looking for?"
"Eeyup!" Apple Bloom quickly answered.
"Sure did!" Sweetie Belle chimed.
"Everything we need!" Scootaloo added.
Twilight smiled a bit more. "That's great! What was your project on, anyway?"
Sweetie Belle bounced up. "We were supposed to learn more about-"
"Aw, ponyfeathers!" Apple Bloom blurted. "Ah gotta get on home! Ah jus' remembered some chores Ah didn't get done!"
Following the lead of Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo jumped up and galloped to the library entrance.
"Bye, Twilight!" Apple Bloom shouted.
"Bye, Spike!" Sweetie Belle called.
"Bye, Tristan!" Scootaloo exclaimed.
The fillies were gone in a second. Spike walked back over to the door and shut it once more. He then proceeded to waddle back over to the bookshelf at which he was working. Twilight returned her attention to her saddlebags and began unpacking. Tristan remembered his talk with Spike earlier that day and cleared his throat nervously.
"U-Um, Twilight?" Tristan asked shakily.
"Yes?" Twilight responded, still unpacking and checking its contents.
"D-Do you think that... um... w-well... maybe we could... you know... go out-"
"On a date?!" Twilight squealed, whipping her head around.
"W-well, yeah," Tristan said. "I mean, if you want to. I just think that we should de-"
"I would love to!" Twilight shouted. She wrapped her hooves around Tristan's neck and embraced him tightly. Twilight kept him squeezed together in her arms for a good while before releasing, allowing Tristan to breathe once again.
"I've never been on a date before!" Twilight continued, "I'm so excited! We can go tomorrow evening! I know just the place!"
"Great!" Tristan replied. A wave of relief washed over him.
"Mhm! Oh, and Rarity would like to see you tomorrow, so we can go after you're done there."
"Rarity?" Tristan asked, confused. "What would she need with me?"
"Oh, she just needs a model for her stallion line she's designing. Nothing major."
"Oh. Well, okay," Tristan remarked. A small grin spread across his face. "So, tomorrow then?"
Twilight nuzzled Tristan again, then smiled warmly.
"Tomorrow."
Spazzy Says!
Yes, I've changed the name of my chapterly author's notes into something a tad more original.
First off, I really want to apologize to you guys for making you all wait so long for this. Like I said in my blog, I've been dealing with a lot of personal issues, which only added onto my crazy work schedule and some other things I'd rather keep to myself. Thank you for understanding.
Secondly, in case you haven't figured it out yet, this was the chapter that I used Decrylian's OC in as a result of that little contest I had. Super special thanks to him for letting me use it. I hope I was able to bring him to life the way he imagined.
Finally, thanks again for reading. Do stick around for the next chapter, when Twilight and Tristan go on their very first date! How cute! But not before Tristan finds out from Rarity why she really turned down Spike. And Rainbow Dash reveals a secret that could have made this story go a completely different direction! What the what?! I guess you'll just have to find out for yourself!
Keep leaving those comments, everypony, and more importantly, keep being awesome!
-Spazzy Jamz
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Congratulations on the feature bro.
1644524
The what?
1644524
Holy crap! How did that happen?!
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It was in the feature box. It's gone already it seems, but it was there, I saw it, I clicked the link and I came to congratulate. (Like a modern day Ceasar, except I did it somewhat out of order and I didn't really conquer anything.)
1644576 once i saw this had updated i dropped everything i had and started reading it.
oh and keep up the good work, i cant wait to see what happends next.
btw do you knew whenn you will be able to post the next chapter, im aware of your currently busy life but i just whanted to know how often you may be able to update this story.
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That's so cool! And thank you!
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Thank you! And as far as updates go, I try to get a new chapter out at least every week, give or take a few days :D
1644608 then i shall wait patiently for moar
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Your patience is well appreciated.
1644719
I still don't even know how I got it featured!
1644727
It's an ancient arcane formula. None of my stories have been featured, even though they're disturbingly well-liked.
Well Spazzy, you have made me miss another lesson in school again... *sigh* (I actually don't care that much because this is one day of a two-day week before thanksgiving....)
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1644763
Lol, my bad, bro
Awww, how could you skip the awkward wake up scene! How could you!
At first I thought that the crazy pony in the woods would be Trixie
But I guess she is faring better than that. I wonder what influence the crazy pegassus will have in the next chapters - I doubt he's some random hobo.
And yay! You got the punctuation right in this chapter
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I tried to take your criticism to heart, so I'm glad you approve! :D
Gah, the questions in your own "Spazzy Says" (Nice idea btw :D )
I was looking forward for this continuing, after reading the Spazzy Says, Im at a lack of words of how much Im looking forward to it
--
Anyhow, gratz on the featured, you deserve it! :)
Stangely, yesterday night I was looking for something like My Little House Guests for reading (was almost planning to reread it (I might do sometime soon
))
Hm, well, I ended up on far stranger stories when filtering on Human-tag and sorting after rating.. Lets.. Ill leave that there, Im not sure I want to remember where I ended up ^^---
Anyhow again.
Great chapter, and fun one too :)
Nice to see you being able to continue this series, as I mentioned, was looking for something alike yesterday, and failed (sigh, miserably)
I couldnt find anything to leave criticism on, so Ill leave this with that this was a great update, and looking forward for more :)
M
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Thank you! And I'm glad my story is (somewhat) one of a kind!
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Good job with my OC, I'm happy whith your work and I hope you are too
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I'm happy that you're happy with the work I'm happy with! Happy happy happy!
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50 bits says Swift Gleam's gonna be creeping on their date
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[youtube=l8JCX9E0bEI]
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I take the bets
Swift Gleam..a pegasus that sounds kinda cool...
RD...a pegasus with a unknown crush.....
Nah, it can't be that simple.