//------------------------------// // 127. Dramatic Entrance // Story: Azure Edge // by Leaf Blade //------------------------------// Fluttershy didn’t mind at all walking a sleepy Spike to his and Twilight’s hotel room so that Twilight could have a little more time chatting with Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy was getting sleepy herself, so she planned on turning in as soon as she escorted Spike back to his room. But as Fluttershy’s hand hovered over the knob to Spike and Twilight’s door, a rancid feeling overwhelmed Fluttershy’s stomach. Fluttershy’s magic was woefully weak now that she was out of the forest, but she wasn’t exactly helpless or anything— she was still a dragon, after all— and Fluttershy’s magical specialty was in healing and detecting life. She knew immediately when there was someone inside a room she was about to walk into. And she could tell by the feeling in her gut that the last thing she wanted to do right now was open that door and possibly put Spike in danger. Fluttershy took her hand away from the door and slowly walked back. “Is something wrong, Fluttershy?” Spike asked drowsily, and even his quiet voice was enough to make Fluttershy nearly gasp. “Nothing’s wrong, Spike,” Fluttershy lied with a smile on her face. “I just forgot something is all, will you walk with me back to Twilight, please?” “Yeah, sure,” Spike smiled and nodded his head, which drooped forward a little too much cuz he was so sleepy and he suddenly lurched back. “Don’t worry, Fluttershy, I’ll keep you safe in this dark spooky inn.” “Thank you, Spike,” Fluttershy giggled, taking Spike’s hand and carefully walking down the hall toward the stairs back to the lobby. “I appreciate th—” Fluttershy stopped dead in her tracks as her ears perked up at the sound of a door latch, and then a door slowly creaking open. Fluttershy turned her head and saw the door to Twilight’s room wide open, and she felt her hand becoming clammy and sweaty, before she realized that wasn’t her hand, but Spike’s. Spike tried to put on a brave face, but Fluttershy could tell by his shaky smile that he could tell something was gravely amiss. “Spike,” Fluttershy said calmly, taking a step between him and the open door, “go downstairs and get Twilight.” “I don’t think that’s a good idea, Spike,” a gruff high-pitched female voice spoke, as the woman herself appeared from behind Twilight’s door. And while the very short ‘pegasus’ woman was shrouded head to hoof in black leather armor that concealed even her face— leaving only her orange wings visible— Fluttershy could see through her disguise simply by looking into her glittering amethyst eyes. She was a dragon. “Who are you?” Fluttershy asked sternly. “What are you doing in my friend’s room?” “My name’s not important,” the assassin said, flicking a pocketknife in her hand, “and let me make one thing perfectly clear: if that kid tries to make a break for the stairs, I’ll kill him. If you both value your lives, you’ll tell me where Twilight Sparkle is and let me be on my way.” “Spike, stay put,” Fluttershy spread her wings and took a defensive stance against the assassin. “I won’t let her lay a finger on you, or on Twilight. I promise.” “Look, lady,” the assassin hissed, “don’t make this harder for yourself. I only care about Twilight Sparkle.” “Then it’s very unfortunate,” Fluttershy said coldly, staring daggers into her enemy, “that you found me instead.” The assassin clicked her tongue before suddenly disappearing, but while Fluttershy was disoriented for a fraction of a second, she realized that the assassin was just fast; unfortunately by the time she realized this, the assassin had already zipped past Fluttershy with her knives drawn, and she was lunging at Spike. Fluttershy grabbed the assassin by the back of her collar just in time to yank her away from Spike, before slamming her head hard into the wall, the assassin slashing her knife across Fluttershy’s stomach in the process, Fluttershy wincing in pain but getting over it quickly. The assassin followed up her slash by jumping up and flapping her wings, squirming out of Fluttershy’s grip before punching Fluttershy hard in the nose and causing her to lurch back a step. The assassin stabbed Fluttershy in the stomach before grabbing her by the neck, floating off the ground and lifting Fluttershy off the ground an inch as well, as the assassin tried to crush Fluttershy’s throat—after all, her disguise may have been small, but she too still had the strength of a dragon. Fluttershy struggled against the assassin’s grasp, but there wasn’t much she could do against the strength of another dragon, and she didn’t have much magic that she could use. She did have a sword though. Fluttershy drew the sword that Pinkie Pie and Applejack made for her from its scabbard, and the assassin clicked her tongue, throwing Fluttershy away and toward the ground where she landed with a painful thud. The assassin turned her gaze behind her and smirked at Spike, who was now standing unprotected with Fluttershy too far away to reach him in time. Spike simply stomped his hoof and stared the assassin down, and Fluttershy was impressed by his courage; she could see a little bit of Twilight in his gaze too, and Fluttershy wondered if Twilight would be proud of him too. Didn’t really matter though if Fluttershy couldn’t protect him, and she realized the only way she could save him was by doing the one thing she was afraid to do more than anything; she would have to transform into her true form. And she was willing to do it too, if it meant saving Spike. But as the assassin lunged at him with her knives, the sound of clashing steel told Fluttershy that her drastic solution wouldn’t be necessary, and as she stood to her feet, she couldn’t have been more relieved to see Rainbow Dash standing in front of Spike, having deflected the assassin’s knife with one of her own. “Sorry I’m late, you two,” Rainbow said with a grin as she pushed the assassin away and stood defensively in front of Spike. “Guess Rarity’s really rubbing off on me and I just had to make a dramatic entrance.”