//------------------------------//
// Demon- Quadraginta 
// Story: The FlutterDash Group Collab 
// by Dalek Saxon 
//------------------------------//


Written by Quadraginta



***


She collapsed onto the floor, gasping for breath, choking back sobs. Bleeding slightly from small nicks located over her body, bleeding more profusely from deeper wounds, she was not in good shape. And her job was not yet over.

It had begun earlier that day, when she had accepted the job request. The job request to end the life of the demon that occupied the ruined castle of the North. They had been expecting a fighter to accept the job request. a warrior. One trained in combat. Not....not her. Not Fluttershy.

'What have I gotten myself into?' she choked in between sobs. Her friends had tried talking her out of it. They tried and tried and tried, but alas, it was in vain. They knew that there was no stopping her. There was no stopping Fluttershy from rescuing her lover.

Courageous, athletic Rainbow Dash, in the clutches of a vicious demon. How this could have happened, Fluttershy did not know. She didn't even know how she was going to save her in the first place, however, as soon as she and the two royal hired men stepped through the gates of the ruined castle, she knew there was no turning back.

And now here stood Fluttershy, right outside the door to the demon's abode. Alone. She had come this far. She wasn't about to turn back. She was going to rescue Rainbow Dash, if it killed her!

With new resolve in her soul and determination burning in her eyes, she bucked open the two double doors as hard as she could. A loud bang sounded throughout the room, and echoed off down the hallways. Fluttershy examined the room in detail.

It was surprisingly bare. The cobblestone walls were featureless, save for their growing layer of moss. Standing in the center of the room was the demon. He was completely black, save for a patch of white on it's belly. It resembled a dinosaur in many ways, with it's scaly hide and a single horn that was on it's forehead. It reared it's ugly head and roared loudly in greeting to Fluttershy's sudden appearance.

A sudden flash of cyan appeared in Fluttershy's peripheral vision. She didn't need to turn her head to know who it was. That, and she needed to keep her attention on the demon at all times. A surprise attack was the last thing she needed.

They examined each other, pony examining demon, and vice versa, sizing up their opponents. Fluttershy, in the eyes of the demon, seemed to be light and airy, and likely to be faster. The demon, however, seemed too bulky to be fast. At least, it seemed that way, until it suddenly charged Fluttershy.

She barely had time to dodge; she just realized she was on the ground to the side, and the demon's fist was embedded deeply into the wall behind her.

She quickly got back onto her feet, only to have to dodge once more. Not good. The demon was too fast. Too impossibly fast. But out of this constant repetitive cycle of getting back up and dodging, she noticed something. One of the demon's scales was protruding slightly more outwards than the others. This scale is on it's back.

This gave Fluttershy an idea. She got up once more, but instead of jumping to the side to dodge, this time, she jumped upwards. She landed on the demon's back. The demon stumbled around, confused. It doesn't seem to notice that the pegasus had landed on her back.

Not daring to wait any longer, Fluttershy bit down on the scale and then wrenched her head back, tearing it free. The demon howled in pain. It's roars only grew louder as Fluttershy plunged the scale into the soft, purple flesh that was now exposed from the missing scale.

The demon's roar suddenly ended, and it fell forward. Fluttershy hopped off it's back, checking to see whether it was really dead. She waited. And waited. And waited. But it did not move.

It seemed to be dead. The scale she tore off was rather long, so maybe it pierced the demon's heart when she stabbed it. If it even had one.

That didn't, though. What did matter was her lover, still chained to the wall. She turned to face Rainbow Dash. Fluttershy almost let out a small gasp when she saw the state she was in. She appeared horribly emaciated, and she was deathly thin.
Fluttershy gently placed one hoof on Rainbow Dash's cheek. She then placed her hoof underneath her chin and lifted her head upwards. The cyan pegasus's eyes flickered open.

"F-Fluttershy...?" And then they closed again.

"Don't worry, Rainbow Dash." said Fluttershy. "You're safe now. I killed the demon that kidnapped you. I got you. You're safe now. Just relax."

And then Fluttershy went over to the demon and tore the scale out of it's back. Using it's serrated edge, she cut the chains off of Rainbow Dash, and then carried her out of the ruined castle, and flew her back to Ponyville, where she obtained medical attention.

And from that day on, Fluttershy was revered as a hero.