Read The Bridge
 
“I was ordered by Prince Shining Armor to release and escort the prisoner to Princess Cadance for interrogation. May I have the cell key, the prince demanded he be moved twenty minutes ago.”
 
She reached out, hoping the sound of urgency might cause them to slip up. Unfortunately Lockdown wasn’t sloppy, even in front of a pretty face or risk of a superior. The fact he could see the prisoner had freed themselves from some of their shackles already was most definitely not putting him at ease. Dusk Shift picked up on her officer’s body language as he reached behind himself for his hoofcuffs. She slyly moved and circled around Blade Dancer, keeping her distance as Lockdown approached.
 
“The princess or prince would have directed such orders over to me if one was made… Mi’lady, this is a very dangerous prisoner and I’d like to escort you to one of the royals to verify that order. Just following protocol.”
 
Blade Dancer tensed up slightly, even if she didn’t show it. She stared at the approaching stallion as her ears kept track of the circling pegasus despite not hearing any more steps. Even quiet wing beats still gave off noise.  
“I am sorry, Sir. But that cannot happen. There is a matter of grave importance to the empire and Princess, whether you’d believe me or not. If you don’t give me the key, I will need to take it by force.”
 
Lockdown kept his voice calm as he unbound his hoofcuffs from his belt.  
“Now now madam, no need to get hasty. I understand you and the subject probably spent some time together and every mare has, emotional needs… But I can’t just let him out willy-nilly without it coming straight from a ruler’s mouth… Let’s just, take you to the Princess, and get this sorted out before it becomes a dangerous situation.”
 
Blade Dancer could hear Dusk Shift drawing closer, knowing the duo was trying to sandwich her between them. Her eyes narrowed as her wings flared out, briefly giving Lockdown thought to pause.  
“I… am not.. shallow… This has nothing to do with me or him, and everything to do with my duty.”
 
“And what’s that?”
 
Blade Dancer tilted her head down as she felt the air shift on her wings. Dusk Shift was diving at her right now.  
“To protect the monarch and citizenry…”
 
The red and white mare whipped around and drew her wing blades. Twisting out of the way with the grace of a ballerina, she dodged Dusk Shift’s lunge and smashed the blunt of her weapon into the back of the smaller mare’s head. It wasn’t enough to knock her out as intended, but the stunned pegasus then colliding helmet first into a nearby cell was enough to accomplish that. Blade Dancer was about to take to the air when Lockdown bit down on her long tail. One harsh yank later and she fell to the ground back first and crashed onto the floor.
 
“TRAITOR!”
 
Blade Dancer yelped in pain, her helmet rolling off from the impact. She barely had time to try and roll out of the way when Lockdown hurled Dusk Shift’s spear at her. The sharp point of the spear that had been aimed at her shoulder instead raked across her face from her right cheek to her right ear. The pegasus flapped her wings to spring off the ground while lashing out with her leg, kicking Lockdown square in the jaw. Using the rest of her momentum to continue before he had the chance to counter, she brought down both of her wing blades side first onto either side of his head. The flat metal smacked into Lockdown’s helmet with a loud crash before he dropped to the ground, out cold.
 
Not wasting a moment, Blade Dancer dropped back down and dug through Lockdown’s belt and satchel to yank free a large, gleaming key. She looked at the key, then down to the unconscious guards and let out a loud sigh; shaking her head with a sad expression.
 
If this is somehow a farce, I am so getting banished for this..
 
Slow clapping caught her attention as she approached the cell. Xenilla sat behind the bars, free of his now demolished restraints; slowly applauding what he’d just seen.  
“Quite impressive…”
 
Blade Dancer ignored his remark as she tinkered with the lock. After some trial and error she managed to slide the key in right and turn it. A clicking sound seeped out from the bars and the crystals in front of the cell ceased to glow. She’d turned the spell off.
 
Xenilla got up as Blade Dancer opened the door. He stopped upon noticing the large cut across her face.  
“You are injured…”
 
The guardsmare, still surging on endorphins, hadn’t felt her wound yet. She touched her forelimb to her face, pulling it away to see blood staining her pale fur. Didn’t feel too bad to her.  
“Oh it’s nothing, just a scratch. I’ve had-”
 
Xenilla put his forelimb to her chin, silencing her as he looked over the slash. Blood trickled down more and more at every twitch of her eye and facial muscles. Blade Dancer, her natural pain killers beginning to subside, began to wince. It was pretty deep.  
“Hmp… First time anyone has been harmed on my behalf…”
 
The unicorn’s shoulder patches flickered with light as energy surged out of them, down his free hoof, and into the ground. Emerging from the floor was small, brightly glowing blue crystal no bigger than a small pen. It freed itself from the floor and levitated up towards the mare’s face. Instinctively she backed away, but a firm grasp around her shoulders and chest by Xenilla held her in place. Telekinetic energy constricted and shattered the glowing gem into a shimmering dust. The dust glittered with brilliance as it gently poured into the wound. Blade Dancer, still frozen in place, felt a slight tingling and numbing sensation go across her face. The wound pushed itself back together from the inside out, and within moments; closed without as much as a scar.
 
Xenilla let go of the mare as she ran her hoof over her face. Other than some dried blood clinging to her fur, it felt no different than the uninjured side of her face. The unicorn walked past her a few steps, heading for the exit.
 
“How did you?… Do that?”
 
“Healing crystal, hyper accelerates cellular regeneration… Call it a favor.”
 
Blade Dancer couldn’t fight a smile as she turned around, picking up her wing blades before starting after her cohort.  
“Thanks…. Now, let’s go save the princess!”