The Equestrian Warden

Once again I woke up in my cell. The cell was still dirty, and the bars were still rusty. The only difference was the fact that I was covered in bandages. My friends the skeletons were still there in all their boney glory. However, a familiar voice spoke from outside my cell.

“C-comet!?”

I looked up at the bars to my cell before slowly pulling myself up. I groaned as I stepped on my hooves and I realized that my hooves weren’t bandaged tight enough. The second I took a step I collapsed in a rather pathetic heap. Her voice was firm but worried,

“Stop moving Comet! I’ll come to you.”

I looked at the metal bars in confusion, but I could hear her shuffling in her cell and then at that very moment I heard a small clank. Silence. I looked around confused. Then I heard that familiar clank only this time it was in my cell! I turned just in time to see a pile of skeletons being pushed up until they fell away to reveal a small grate. The grate quickly opened and a small head popped out so I was looking at two big red eyes.

“Hey!” she said cheerfully, surprising me.

She seemed a bit…different. When we first spoke she was more curious then suspicious. Then when she found out we were fighting together she didn’t seem to be very interested in who I was until we got to the arena. Probably the only time we actually bonded was in the arena. Now here she was all cheerful, it was…an okay change.

“Hey.”

I said weakly and immediately she was by my side. She checked me over quickly and she growled in frustration and anger.

“Those bastards didn’t even bandage you correctly.”

She looked at the wound on my hoof and I was surprised when she licked the gashes. I quickly pulled my hoof away and was surprised to see hurt in her eyes. Guilt prickled at me, but I still flashed her a questioning glance.

“Sorry, my saliva has healing properties. One of the props of being a bat pony mage. I’m sorry Comet.”

Oh. That’s why. I didn’t want to admit it but after seeing what she did to Prince Thunderhooves and Lord Onyx I was a little skeptical about letting her anywhere near my blood. But I guess letting her check me over wasn’t too bad, considering that she basically saved my life. I extended my fore hooves out to her hesitantly and she looked at me surprised but smiled in such a sweet way that all my guilt quickly melted away. And soon my pain followed as she cleaned my wounds with her forked tongue and even over my chest to heal my broken ribs.

“I admit, when I left you to fight Thunderhooves I really didn’t expect to see you giving it to his highness big armored ass.” She purred in amusement.

“Thanks?” I said hesitantly.

I must have made a weird face because she tried her best to hold in a small giggled and a snort. It was good seeing her like this. Though I was still wondering,

“How did you get in here Azura?”

“Oh, every one of these cells has these grates connecting them. The pony that was in this cell, I think she was a unicorn, managed to unlock theme with her magic. We talked a little before she got killed off in the arena.”

Oh. I was surprised when she blushed and tried to give me a serious look.

“Is something wrong Azura?”

A gentle blush touched her cheeks and she blinked several times before looking at me again.

“In the fight you got a fracture and a lot of your face was bloodied badly. I was wondering if you’d let me…help you.”

I felt my face and I just noticed that it was bandaged as well. What did she mean by that...oh. I looked at her in surprise but she was looking away in embarrassment. I cleared my throat,

“Well if it helps me heal faster…”

She nodded and took a deep breath before gently unwrapping my bandages. I tried my best to look at anywhere else but her, however I couldn’t stop myself from blushing when I felt her tongue start to gently lick my black eye. I took a couple deep breaths, but that honestly didn’t seem to help.

I closed my eyes as her warm tongue gently trailed over a couple cuts on my cheek. I was surprised by how warm it was, and how gentle her strokes were. The black eye and scratches actually felt like they were healing. Her tongue gentle made its way to the fracture on my head, and I swear I could feel the fracture start to heal itself.

“Feel better?”

I opened my eyes and found myself looking deeply into her red eyes that seemed to be glowing with pride. There was a small blush on her face and she smiled warmly at me. I smiled back and nodded.

“Thank you Azura.”

She giggled and gently nuzzled my cheek.

“Glad I could help.” She whispered.

We looked at each other for a couple seconds before I cleared my throat.

“Soooo, what happened after the fight.”

She shook her head and smiled in embarrassment.

“Right…the fight. The guards separated us before I could heal your wounds and threw us back in our cells. I wanted to help you sooner, but the guards insisted they were going to bandage you up. And by the looks of it they did a pretty piss poor job.”

I nodded. That’s about what I expected.

“Umm, Comet…” regret flashed on her face, “Are you…afraid of me?”

I looked at her surprised.

“No, should I be?”

She looked at me for a long time before turning away.

“Maybe…Comet, are you scared of blood magic?”

So that’s what this was about.

“I can’t say I was surprised. Your people invented it.”

Suddenly her eyes flashed yellow and she leaned forward so close that our muzzles were nearly touching. However, she barred her fangs and hissed in a low threatening way. Her large bat wings spread out wide to make her look bigger, and I had to admit that they worked.

“That’s not true! My race didn’t make blood magic. That’s a myth and a lie!”

I gulped as she glared at me with those dangerous eyes. I needed to calm her down.

“Shhhh, everything is ok. I'm sorry, I didn’t know. In the history book-“

“The books are wrong!” She growled. I took a deep breath and looked into her eyes and whispered,

“I guess they are.”

She took a couple deep breaths before her wings slowly tucked in, and the yellow slowly left her eyes. Along with the yellow went all of her anger and soon sadness clouded her eyes instead.

“I'm so sorry. I don’t know what came of over me.”

She looked away, ashamed of herself. I took a deep breath and thought quickly. I needed to find some way to cheer her up. I looked at her for a good minute before an idea finally formed in my head.

“I like them.”

“What?” she looked at me in confusion.

“Your wings. I think they are wonderful specimens.”

She looked at me for a couple seconds before she pressed her hoof against her face. At first I thought she face hoofed. But then I realized that her shoulders were shaking. She was laughing!

“Wow! I've heard ponies comment on my wings before, but I’ve never heard anyone call my wings specimens before!”

She wasn’t even trying to hold it back. I felt hurt start to swell in my chest. I didn’t know what else I could say. My eyes went wide when I realized that she was blushing. She was trying to hide the blush with her hoof.

The hurt quickly left and a small smile found its way to my mouth. She finally managed to calm down, and she smiled back at me.

“Thank you.”

“My pleasure.”

We smiled like idiots for a couple seconds until we both heard the familiar sound of a metal door being opened from outside my cell.

“Someone’s coming!”

She whispered, and I swear have never seen a pony move so fast in my life. She shot towards the grate but before she reached it the door to my cell swung open. A pony in a white cloak stood in the doorway looking straight at me.

“Hello.”