The Equestrian Warden

When my eyes adjusted to the light I looked around in amazement. Around us was a large stone arena, larger then any cloud arena that the pegasi had, and probably made with great delicacy and care. If I didn’t know it was an arena I would have mistook it for a city.

How many years did it take to make this I wonder?

In the stands were earth ponies. I had never seen so many earth ponies in one place before. In the walls around the arena were statues of earth ponies holding weapons in their teeth and wearing battle armor. If they were meant to look intimidating they diffidently succeeded. We looked up and and we saw one earth pony with an unusually large beard, staring down at us from a tall balcony with many well-dressed ponies behind him. Somehow his voice boomed throughout the entire stadium.

“Welcome, to the Proving Grounds! Where Earth ponies young and old can fight to prove their worth to their race, and their ancestors!”

The earth ponies cheered but a small motion from the old colt quickly quieted them down. Next to me the bat pony whispered,

“That’s the proving master. He oversees and announces all the fights.”

I nodded to her but looked up when the proving master spoke again,

“Today however is a glorious occasion for our young warriors. For on our borders we captured a pegasi making deals with the Carta, the very criminals that plague our great city of Orzammare today!”

The earth ponies booed as they looked down at me, but the bat pony just had a look of amazement and horror in her eyes.

“YOU’RE in league with the Carta. The most powerful criminal organization in earth pony history.”

“I’ll tell you about it later.”

I said not wanting to explain my history with the Carta just yet. She seemed to get the hint and the proving master continued.

“This pegasi is a stain upon earth pony culture. He is a threat to us all. But fear not my fellow earth ponies, for I have the honor of presenting the warriors who will slay this feathered fiend. May I present to you.

Prince Thunderhooves of House Thunder, and his second in command Lord Onyx of the Warrior Clan.”

A gate on the other side of the arena slowly opened, and out stepped the biggest earth pony I had ever seen. He wore golden armor which was probably enforced with many layers of steel. A helmet covered his face, making him look more like a walking armory then an actual living pony. However, I noticed that on the side of his armor was the image of a lightning bolt.

“Look at the size of those hooves!”

The bat pony whispered fearfully and I saw that she had a point. This earth pony had some remarkably large hooves, and I dreaded to think about what those hooves would do to me if he got too close. So this was Prince Thunderhooves. Beside him stood another earth pony fully armored, except he wore no helm so we could actually see his face. His face was as black as charcoal with bright purple eyes, and white ashen hair. His armor was much like the princes, however it was a darkish grey, and instead of a thunderbolt he bore a sword and shield on his flank. He also had a dangerous looking sword sheathed on his side, probably the one he would use to cut us down.

The crowd cheered as Thunderhooves struck a pose, while Lord Onyx simply waved. Fear shot through me as I watched the two earth ponies.

“The fight will begin shortly. Warriors and outcasts prepare yourselves.”

“I have a feeling the outcast part was for us.” The bat pony muttered darkly.

“Do we get any weapons?”

As if to answer my question two earth ponies approached us holding a chest between them with the handles in their mouths. They quickly set it down and departed. The bat pony walked over beckoning with her tail to follow. When she opened it all we saw was what I could only describe as junk. There was single set of armor, if you could even call it that was nothing but a bunch of scrap metal hammered and nailed together and missing certain pieces.

I noticed the dry blood on some parts of the armor that unnerved me, and judging from the many dents and scratches this wasn’t the first time it had been used. The only weapon inside was a small rusted sword that looked practically useless. The bat pony beside me sighed and her face showed exactly what I was feeling. Fear, regret, and frustration at the odds of us even making it out of here alive. She obviously had no hope of us getting out of here alive, and that alone made me take action.

“Take the armor.” I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering.

“What?”  She looked at me in surprise.

“You heard me. Take the armor. Let’s face it. You obviously know a lot more about this then me, and I don’t have a clue how to fight. You’ll have a better chance to live if you take this.”

I knew it probably wasn’t true. The armor would probably shatter from just one hit from Thunderhooves, but what else could I do.

“What about you?” she asked, I was surprised to hear concern in her voice.

“Don’t worry. Maybe if I’m lucky your gods will give me a quick death.” It was a bad attempt at a joke, but small smile still formed on her face.

“Fine, I’ll take the armor, but you take the sword.”

“Won't you need a weapon-“ I stopped when she flashed me her sharp  three inch fangs. Although I didn’t know how well they would fair against armor that thick they were still formidable.

“My father always told me that I came out of my mother bloody and screaming, so I should die the same way. I think the same goes for you.”

That’s one hell of a father.

I nodded and slowly bent down and grabbed the hilt of the sword between my teeth. It tasted foul! I looked at her and I could see her smiling at the disgust on my face. I set the sword down on the stone floor, and bowed my head in respect.

“If you don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” She looked at me with uncertainty, “If we’re going to die, I think we should at least know each other’s name.”

She smiled warmly and bowed her head.

“Azura. Yours?”

“Comet.”

We both smiled at each other sadly, when the proving master spoke again.

“First one to fall is vanquished. Fight!”