"Robin and I are going to go study in the meadow. Plus, Black and Napoleon can get some exercise." Ace replies to Steve's question. She was shoving her books into her bag, as well as some snacks. After meeting up with Robin, the two girls plan on riding Ace's horses to a meadow Ace had found.

"Well, make sure you don't forget Star. I know she's pregnant, but she still needs exercise." Steve says as Ace walks out.

"I won't!" In a few minutes, she's riding her bike toward Robin's house. Ace's barn was only a 5 minute bike ride from Robin's. The girl was waiting on her bike as Ace pulled up.

"Got all your stuff?" Ace asks.

"Yep!" Robin replies excitedly.

"Then let's go." Ace starts off, Robin following. Within 5 minutes, the farm looms into view. The Wilders, an old couple who owns the farm, had allowed Ace to keep her horses at their farm on one condition: she had to fix the three worn-down stalls in the barn. With Steve's help, she had fixed the stalls in a month. Now, Ace visited the Wilder farm whenever she could. The Wilders didn't mind her frequent visits as long as she cleaned up after herself.

The horses were currently in the pasture, grazing on the grass. The large black horse lifts his head when Ace whistles. Neighing, he trots over to the fence. The other two, an older grey horse and a dark brown horse with a white "star", followed.

"Woah, he's big." Robin comments as the black horse comes forward. He easily could jump the fence, but never had.

"He is. Black was just a foal when I got him." Ace says, rubbing his snout. "I was his mother in a way. Napoleon has been around for quite a while. Star was my 9th birthday present."

"Cool!" Robin reaches up to Napoleon, who immediately neighs thoughtfully at her. Robin notices Ace had climbed into the pasture. "Did you name Black and Napoleon after the horses in that book, The Black Stallion?"

"Yes. That's one of my favorite books." Ace replies before turning to Star. The mare was clearly pregnant, and backed away from Ace at first. "It's okay, Star. I just want to check on the baby." Ace explains. The mare seemed to nod and walks right over. While running her hands along Star's abdomen, Ace notices Robin standing with her mouth open. "What?"

"You can talk to animals?" Ace laughs.

"Of course. I've always been able to." Robin squeals in excitement, causing Black and Napoleon to back up suddenly, ears back. Black neighs at Robin. Ace rolls her eyes.

"Black, be nice. She didn't know you hate high noises." Robin throws her hands over her mouth.

"Sorry." She mumbles through her fingers. Napoleon seems to chuckle. Ace stands up.

"You prefer bareback or saddle?" Robin looks over in confusion.

"Saddle. Why?" Ace grins.

-30 minutes later-

"I still don't understand how you ride Black bareback. It looks painful." Ace was perched atop the large horse, guiding Star and Napoleon, who carried Robin.

"You get used to it." Ace responds.

"So, it did hurt?" Ace nods.

"Only during the first week." Robin nods in understandment. Ace sees that they've arrived. "We're here." Ace hears Robin's gasp as she takes sight of the meadow. Thousands of colorful flowers dot the meadow. A clear spring runs along the middle, curing toward the direction of the main river. But the most amazing thing about the meadow was the wildlife. Dozens of deer spot the meadow, grazing on the lush grass. Squirrels chase each other around the legs of the deer, while birds fly high above.

"Oh my gosh. This is amazing!" Robin exclaims. Ace dismounts, letting Black wander. Robin follows suit. "Won't they get lost?"

"No. They stay close by. Come on, I've got a great spot." Ace leads the way over to a fallen log. She goes to sit down, but immediately jumps back up when chattering starts. A skunk appears, looking agitated. "Oh, sorry, Flower. Yes, yes, I know you live here. Just slipped my mind. Sorry if I woke the young ones." The skunk huffs, then disappears back into the log. Ace sighs. "Sorry about that. Flower can have a temper."

"It's...it's fine." Robin replies, shaking off her surprise. "Let's get studying."

~~ ~~ ~~

"You are going to homecoming, right?" Robin looks at Ace. Her friend seems to start fidgeting.

"I...I wasn't planning on it." Ace admits. Robin gasps.

"But you have to go!"

"Why? No one's going to ask me. Plus, I'm not into stuff like that." Ace says without looking up.

"Well, you're going because I want to hang out with you." Robin says, careful not to spill anything.

"And even if I did go, I don't have anything to wear." Robin smiles at this statement.

"Oh, we'll fix that today."

~~ ~~ ~~

"Just come out already, Acelia."

"No. I told you before, I don't wear dresses." Robin sighs at her friend's statement.

"But you need one for homecoming!" Ace's head pops out from the dressing room.

"I don't see why we have to go to homecoming. We could just hang out at the Tower." Robin shakes her head.

"Nope. We're going. Now, let me see the dress you have on." Ace sighs.

"Fine." Ace steps out from behind the curtains. Robin smiles. The dress was perfect, with a sea green flowy skirt. The top was sleeveless, with the green popping out from behind the silver glitter. Ace's complexion seemed to pop.

"It's perfect." Robin says.

"You really think so?" Robin nods.

"Let's get you some shoes and jewelry."

At the end of the night, Acelia was now in possession of a dress, a pair of glittery silver heels, and a silver leaf hairband. Robin had insisted on buying all of it.

"A gift from me." She says with a smile.

"Thank you. I'll make it up to you, though." Ace looks over. "What dress did you get?"

"The purple one. I got black heels and some jewelry too. This was a lot of fun. We need to do this more often."

"Yes ma'am to that."