Disclaimer: I don't own My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, but you guys all knew that already. I am the creator of several original characters in my stories, they were designed for my use but if you like, PM me. I'm usually cool with people using my characters.
Author's Note: Just another quick apology to anyone who read this story early on, the line breaks did not format properly so someone commented that sections of the story were confusing. I'll try to fix this in the future.
Chapter 2: A Couple Conversations
"Rainbow dear, not that I would ever try to dissuade you from wearing dresses given your dispositions but this seems very uncharacteristic of you."
It was early morning now and Rarity has spent the last 12 hours or so helping Rainbow Dash deal with upcoming arrangements for her, Rarity believe Rainbow called it a get together, but Rarity wasn't an imbecile. Rainbow Dash was looking at this as if it were a special evening.
"Look Rarity, I know dresses aren't my thing but I haven't seen Ace in 10 years. I just want to make sure I look good." Rainbow Dash wasn't lying, but unlike a lot of the time, she was trying to look 'good' to impress someone which Rarity was right, isn't normal for her. She didn't expect him to catch her so off guard though. She really liked Ace when they were children, but when you're children you don't notice that inch of height he has on you...
I think that's because I was taller.
Or the change in his eyes...
Red and Orange like fire.
Or the fact that somehow his wing has been fixed, and you two could fly together again just like when you were children. Rainbow Dash paused on the thought, was it really that important to her. The way she was acting, it was almost like just the ability to fly again made him the single greatest colt in the whole universe. She looked over her shoulder at the dress Rarity was carefully checking on her person.
The dress was a solid magenta, one that Rarity had carefully matched to the beautiful shade of her eyes. It hugged fairly tight to her neck and forward body with holes that Rainbow Dash had insisted on to allow her wings to go through. The rest of it had Rarity's frilly flair but amused Rainbow Dash because of the sheer number of times Rarity thought she had decided on the right shades to use for the rainbow trim, just to pin it up and decide that it was hideous. The clock on the wall told Rainbow Dash that it was three in the morning and Pinkie Pie's snores from the corner confirmed that fact.
"Alright dear, I think have figured out exactly how I'm going to colour it. I think I'm going to do the simple thing-"
"And match it to my cutie mark."
"- and match it to... ahem." Rarity gave a side-eyed glance at Rainbow Dash, who was obviously stuck somewhere in between incredible excitement and awkward annoyance. Rarity would have much preferred to work without the two fashion uninterested ponies interfering in the process but thankfully Sweetie Belle did her the magnificent favor of distracting Pinkie Pie with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Of course, now her excitable friend was snoring loudly in the corner and Rainbow Dash was still awake, inspecting every detail, oh well, you can't win them all.
"So... not that I'm one to pry. But you come to me in a rush, insisting that I make you a dress, which again dear, concerns me. Pinkie Pie is telling me you need it to impress a colt but won't give me any other details." Rarity walked around so she could look right into Rainbow Dash's eyes.
"So tell me the truth about this, colt." Rarity's stare made Rainbow nervous, as if Rarity was about to steal her soul or something.
"Look Rarity, I know it's strange that I of all people want to get dolled up like you like to impress a guy. I mean I'm not trying to impress him, not that way. Ace and I are really old friends and I haven't seen him in a long time and I just know he's probably going to wear something nice for his show and I kind of want to look like his da-friend." Rainbow hoped Rarity didn't catch the odd ending of that sentence. Okay, so the word that came to mind was date, who cares, Rainbow was a girl. Last she checked, girls were perfectly within their boundries to like boys.
"Of course by friend, you mean date. I understand Rainbow Dash, I really do. Just trust me, some men aren't worth going to all the trouble for." Rarity thought unfondly back to the boneheaded prince.
"I appreciate the concern Rarity, but I'm not doing it for him. I'm doing it for me." Rainbow smiled at Rarity, appreciate for once that the two very different ponies could have a true friend moment.
"Well, he's a performer, and judging by the poster... quite a good one. I can't say enough for your remarkable good taste." Rarity used her magic to bring the poster over to them.
Come and see the magnificent Three Trick Ponies under the big top at their own private miniature travelling Circus!
"I have to say, I don't find the name Three Trick Ponies particularily impressive, but it's better than being great and powerful." Rarity spoke softly, although the last few words were clearly acid tipped. Rainbow Dash just snickered at her apparently still strong grudge against the long since missing Trixie.
"Do you know anything about his co-performers dear?" Rarity asked curiously.
"Not really, they didn't come up in conversation yesterday." Rainbow Dash replied.
"Admittedly the other colt on the poster looks kind of handsome himself." Rarity said calmly while showing Rainbow Dash the poster.
"Well, you have fun admiring him tomorrow night. For now, let's just get this finished before Celestia raises the sun." Rainbow Dash was getting antsy and the talk about the circus wasn't help her with her nervousness.
"Yes, of course. We'll have plenty of time tomorrow to enjoy your Ace of Spades, and his colleagues..." Rarity was looking intently at the poster.
9am that Morning
Ace walked through the small midway that had been set up leading to the Big Top and the performer's tent attached to it. He noticed a bunch of gray ponies with black manes and sunken, glassy eyes still setting up the carnival games. He'd thought that after seeing them a few times he'd get used to them but he wasn't that fortunate. He picked up his pace across the dirt so he didn't have to look at them any longer than was necessary. He thanked Celestia that the midway was that short, because it was probably more unnerving to him than anyone else. He ducked into the red and yellow performers tent the second he came up to it and walked briskly past a light blue pegasus colt with a navy mane who was sitting on some boxes tossing a showman's knife up in the air and catching it with his front hooves. A few steps into the tent Ace stopped, and looked up to his right at a shabby wooden target attached to the first middle post of the tent.
"I'm not getting spiked in the ass Pierrot, throw the knife before I walk by." Ace spoke softly, the light blue pegasus leaned his face out of the shadows and revealed that he already had black triangles painted above and below his eyes pointing up if above, and down if below. He let go of his knife and gave Ace a bemused look as it floated in front of him with some sort of magical power despite him not being a unicorn.
"Oh Ace, you're my buddy. Why in Equestria would I spike you in the ass?" Pierrot asked, smiling the most obnoxiously wide and fake smile.
"Because you sir, are a jester, and find even the most irritating things funny. On a side note, your levitation is getting a whole lot better." Ace changed the subject mid-sentence to try to get Pierrot to stop aiming at him, which Pierrot's one squinting eye was a sign of.
"Ace, don't play dumb. Sure I might have some control, but it's her. It's always her, and you know our powers get stronger when she's mad." Pierrot made sure to put the emphasis on the word mad, keeping his ear to ear clown grin wide and winking at Ace before using magic to toss the knife and stick it bullseye on the target. He pointed towards the door to the second part of the tent still wearing that stupid grin. "Good luck, Ace."
Ace kicked the center pole on his way by making Pierrot's knife fall out of the target. He noticed Pierrot give him a 'what gives' face right before he ducked into the second part of the tent where she was most likely going to take a huge chunk out of him. He wasn't sure if he thought that literally, or figuratively at the moment. He walked in and noticed a not uncommon lack of light, two soft lanterns burned with a blue flame behind a small desk. The chair behind it completely empty, or at least so it appeared.
"How nice of you to finally join us Ace, I honestly thought by the way you were looking at her that you just weren't going to come home..." A female disembodied voice spoke through the tent, a loud laugh from the other section made it clear that she wasn't making this a private conversation. One of the lanterns behind her desk changed colours to a fiery orange and suddenly, from within the flame burst a full black filly with a fiery red and orange mane that at first was actually made of fire before fading into fur. She was fairly tall, having at least half a foot on Ace and she was sporting a less than impressed sort of smile.
"... of course, I knew for a fact that you would come back. You have a little too much riding on this to do otherwise." She spoke with a dignified lick in her tongue knowing that by about this point Ace's once injured wing would now be burning with pain. At any moment she could just take it from him and that forged a special kind of loyalty.
Ace tried to avoid showing his discomfort but he could only hold it for so long before the pain in his wing became unbearable. He bowed to her quickly before she walked up to him and lifted his chin with one hoof planting a soft kiss on his cheek. She smiled a dark and evil smile before receeding the pain and letting Ace up to his feet.
"Ace, all I've done for you Pierrot is show you love and compassion. I gave you your wings back and blessed you both with magical power and yet, even still your heart draws you to another." She spoke her line with obvious sarcasm apparent in her voice, she knew for a fact that to everyone else she sounded as peaceful and a flowing stream, despite her less than peaceful origin.
"You know Hexen, you almost talk like I didn't get you exactly what you wanted. You know Celestia's student will inevitably get a ticket from Rainbow Dash. You seem a little high strung, taking care of all those mindless drones giving you some trouble?" Ace was more than willing to get snarky at this point, since Hexen was not sparing the use of her power against him. Plus she needed him bad enough that she wouldn't go through with anything too severe, he hoped.
"No Ace, it's not the mindless drones. It the two drones I have with minds that are giving me so much trouble." She pushed him out of her section of the tent with one hoof, trying her best to still act sultry. "Just go get ready for the show, oh and Ace..." She raised her other hoof and Ace's wing burned hotter than ever before while she stared intensely into his eyes. It made Ace nervous, as if Hexen was about to steal his soul or something.
"... It's Lady Hexen, and don't you forget it." And with a flick of the hoof his pain subsided and he was out of her sight.
Ace found himself on his stomach lying in front of a now standing (and laughing hysterically) Pierrot. He offered a hoof to Ace, and Ace sheepishly accepted the help back to his feet. Pierrot still could not stop laughing at the chewing out that Ace had just received, mostly because he knew that it was only a matter of time before the roles would be reverse. Pierrot's penchase for poorly timed humour usually got him on Hexen's bad side.
"You know... for a princess. She's a royal bitch." Ace said with a wink.
"Literally..." Pierrot replied. Only for a feminine ahem to be heard through the tent. Pierrot smirked.
"Your turn." Ace said with a smile.
"Doin' it for you buddy." Were Pierrot's last words before he ducked into Hexen's part of the tent.
Author's Note: So there is chapter 2, not much more I can say about it. When I originally organized the story in my head, this chapter didn't exist, so it may be a good point for feedback. Please R&R, all it can do is make my writing better.