Ace awoke slowly, groaning with discomfort from his current position. He lay on his back upon what appeared to be a medical cot, and as he looked around the room, he grew more and more worrisome for his health. Hanging from the walls were creepy-looking masks whilst bottles and vials of every colour lined any and every surface. A huge, wrought-iron cauldron sat over a fire-pit in the middle of the room, a sickly green liquid bubbling away while a cloaked figure stood stirring, occasionally adding a plant or herb. Whoever it was appeared to be singing a little song to them self as they worked, too.

"Little dreamer leaving for your quest, you face a rugged pa~th you'll have to carve on your own…"

Ace noted that the figure had a definite feminine tone to it's - her - voice.
"Uh… is this a bad time?" he asked, slowly raising himself to sit on the edge of the cot. The cloaked figure whipped around so quickly that she almost seemed to have been facing him the whole time, her face shrouded in shadow, two glowing yellow orbs peering from the depths of the darkness. Ace swallowed down the fear that the figure instilled in him and stood up, realisisng that he was, in fact, taller than the woman by roughly two inches.

The woman reach towards her hood, gripping it's edge and throwing it back. This act revealed a mohawk of charcoal-grey and snow-white stripes. Her skin was covered in short, coars looking fur sporting the same colour scheme as her mohawk and her nose and mouth were elonated slightly into a short muzzle. Several gold rings adorned her neck.
"It would seem you have a knack for stealth," she said, eyes softening into a look Ace ascociated with concerned nurses. "Though the concern still lies with your health."
"Wha..." Ace never got to finish that thought as the girl lifted him up - surprisingly easily - before laying him on the cot again. When he tried to sit up, she merely pushed him back down. Eventually, Ace resigned himself to lay back and let the strange woman do her thing. And it was when he felt her soft, fur-covered hands run along the left side of his chest, stoping at each rib and applying the slightest pressure, that he realised she had removed his shirt.

"Who are you?" he asked, watching with trepidation as the woman moved from his left side to his right, repeating the process. ""What are you doing?"

The woman reached behind her, grabbing a bottle of yellow liquid, before replying. "My name, my friend, is Zecora." she said before pouring some of the liquid onto his upper arm, which he now noticed had a long (but thankfully shallow) cut running from his shoulder to his elbow. "And I am treating your wounds which, while minor, still come in a plethora."

Ace just nodded before looking around the room. He didn't comment on her strange look, or the strange ornaments, or the strange liquid in the strange cauldron. I don't want to be rude, he told himself, but in reality he was just scared she would put him in the brew. He jumped when Zecora hit a particularly sensitive spot on his wrist, turning to find her eyes studying him.
"You know," she said, looking back to her task. "when somepony gives you their name, it is quite impolite to not do the same."
"Sorry," Ace chuckled, scratching at a spot just behind his ear with his free hand. ""I was just sort of... intrigued by your choice in decorations. I'm Ace."

Zecora nodded in understanding. It wasn't the first time that somepony took an interest in the masks and potions lining her walls. At least he isn't calling me an Evil Enchantress! She couldn't resist a small chuckle at the memory, which caused Ace to smile a little subconciously.

"Well then, Ace, I am quite glad to say," Zecora said, standing and moving to what appeared to be a wooden coat rack. "That all of your wounds appear A-Okay!" She then grabbed Ace's tee-shirt off of a hook and tossed it to him, prompting him to pull it over his head. He frowned a little when he noticed the large tear in the front.
"Damn it…"
"I apologise for the clothing tear," Zecora began, her back to him as she placed her cloak on a hook. Underneath he saw that she was wearing an earth-brown suede jacket over a black vest top, a pair of earth-brown jeans and pink socks. She looked back at him as she pulled on a pair of black hiking boots. "But I know where you can get more clothes to wear. A friend of mine, quite a fashionable mare, cares about clothes almost as much as her hair!"

Zecora laughed openly at her own joke, handing Ace his own boots and his over shirt, which was shredded more so than his tee. Ace sighed, grabbed his gloves from a desk by the door, and followed Zecora out of her hut, muttering all the while.

"Rassa frassa… favourite shirt… stupid luck…"

Spike was a simple man, by dragon standards. He liked books, he only gathered enough gems and jewels to feed himself, and he did everything in his power to protect his friends.

So when he heard somepony screaming from the direction of the Everfree Forest, he dropped his basket of freshly dug rubies and dashed towards the source.

What he found was, quite frankly, disturbing. Zecora had walked into town which, by now, was perfectly normal. The creature - as that was all it could be described as from that distance - was not normal. It looked like something out of one of the dragon's particularly gruesome comics, where the bad guy had kidnapped and skinned a pony, somehow keeping them alive. I need to re-read that one, Spike thought idly as he prepared to leap at the creature.

He was stopped, however, by Zecora's hand, as she had apparently not stopped walking.

Ace had heard the scream and jumped, freezing in place. It was only now, as he willed himself to move, that he took notice of the seven foot tall dragon and instantly (and figuratively) crapped himself. Though, for some odd reason, he did feel an odd pull from the drake…

"Spike, Ace, I believe you have met," Zecora stated, breaking the silence between the three and beckoning both males to follow as she continued on her way. Ace immediately fell into line, offering his hand to Spike as the drake matched his pace. Spike took the offer and the two apprehensive men share a firm handshake. Zecora sighed. "Now grow up and realise there is no need to fret. Ace here simply need some new clothes, the reason for which he quite clearly shows."

"Hey!" Ace cried indignantly, pulling at what remained of his shirt. "…t'aint my fault…"
"So you're going to Rarity's" Spike asked, brow raised. He thanked a cream-furred girl with two-toned hair the colour of rose petals as she handed him his basket of rubies.
"Indeed we are, Spike my dear." She turned and gave the drake a look, cutting him off before he had fully opened his mouth. "And yes, you can come, to lift any fears."
"Cool."

Author's Notes:

So I'm trying out a new colour-coded speech system, to help make writing conversations and/or witty battle banter easier. This will only apply to main characters, so don't be confused by some people speaking in normal black colouring. I hope for your feedback, but I'm likely gonna stick with it either way, so sorry if it annoys you.

Also, yes, I am alive. Writers block hit, then exams rolled around, but now I've finally managed to force something out. And it's only just begun!