AN: Kataya is the version of Fluttershy from my story Chaotic Harmony... and no she doesn't die.
Kataya watched as the children scampered off towards the food court, their moods a little brighter. She was surprised with herself actually singing in front of a bunch of total strangers. Five years ago she would have never done that. Though, five years ago she would have already died alone on that world, being too shy to even approach the two humans.
“Damn, Pony Girl, that was impressive,” Debby said.
Kataya's cheeks flushed brightly as she hid behind her mane more out of habit than actual timidness (though that did play a role), “Oh, thank you. Ponies always tell me I have a nice voice.”
“Well, they're right,” Seth said.
“You might want to be careful with that voice,” Curt said, teasingly, “That voice and you're cuteness can make guys fall for you in a heartbeat.”
“I'm sorry, but I'm already spoken for,” quipped the mare.
“And he's a lucky guy,” Debby gave her feathered friend a light pat on the back.
“I take it he asked you out,” Curt chuckled.
“Oh... how did you know?” asked Kataya.
“You're a pretty timid chick, Kat,” Curt answered.
“Oh... well, my name does mean Fluttershy, but I guess-” she suddenly cut herself off, gasping as a sudden vision hit her. She still had no control of the “gift”, unlike her grandmother, and it would hit her out of nowhere at seemingly random times. She saw fire, pain and.. “The children!”
The others were too stunned by her sudden outburst to react to her suddenly taking off toward the food court.
“What the hell?Hey, Kat! What's wrong!” Debby called as she and the others tried to catch up, but they had no chance against the faster pegasus.
They watched as she turned into the food court... and a fireball erupted around her.
“Kataya!” Seth, Curt, and Debby all yelled together, pleading for what they saw to have been some horrible dream or an illusion.
Before they could reach the destruction, the zip-crack of gunfire drew their attention. They had a duty to protect the citizens of the station that could still be saved. They would mourn their friend later. With that in mind, they drew their pistols and took cover, firing at anything with scales.
“You pieces of shit!” Curt yelled, putting down three dratali with three shots. He pulled his head back just as several shots whizzed past. He looked back at the blazing inferno that claimed his newest friend, memories of the past week flooding his mind. He remembered how she approached them, timid and shivering slightly. It made his heart melt. She confused him, the way she was so shy, yet had a strength that was always there.
As he thought about his fallen friend, he couldn't help but picture her. He imagined her walking through the blaze toward them with an enraged scowl... Wait, I've never seen her angry.
“You!” Curt's breath caught as the image shouted, drawing the attention of the others. “You heartless bastards!”
The three soldiers watched in awe as the pony walked toward them, the flames licking at her harmlessly. Her narrow, slitted eyes furious with anger. Her eyes... they changed? Her mane and tail whipped in the furious drafts created by the fire. Her wings, spread wide in anger, seemed to grow, the thick bird-like wings thinning to more resemble a bats. A fore-hoof slammed down on the metal floor outside the burning food court, claws extending and tearing into the metal. As her body left the glaring hell, the others could finally see her for what she had become. Along with those changes they saw before, her snout had elongated and her teeth sharpened to razor points, and golden scales that shone like the sun covered her face and sides.
With a battle cry that sent chills through their spines, she charged with speed they didn't think was even possible. The dratali snapped out of their stupor and opened fire. A pair of adepts that had just joined the battle quickly started flinging spells at the mare. Bullets and spells alike found nothing but air and metal as the agile pegasus moved as if she knew where they would land before they were even fired.
One of the adepts began gathering magical energy between his palms, planning on taking everyone out at once. Unfortunately for him, Kataya noticed and launched herself at the caster. He looked up just in time to see a golden claw arc toward him, tearing his face open and ending his life. Without missing a beat, she flung the body at the other adept and pressed the attack as he was forced to dodge his comrade. He turned back toward the pony only to find she was no longer there. Pain erupted from his neck as the pony's teeth clamped down, but only for a moment as she crushed it with just a bit more pressure.
The blood filling her mouth excited her. She was an apex predator, a dragony, and they were now her prey. They knew it to, if the fear in their eyes was anything to go by. Fear... they didn't know fear, but they would, very soon. There were only three left, and they were all standing side by side. Kataya launched herself from the corpse and flew toward the three. They were child murderers, and deserved the worst death she could give them. She stopped just in front of them, and felt the magic pool in her eyes. They gazed into her cyan pools, and found Hell staring back. They felt their hearts race, as if those eyes were pumping fear directly into their souls, which wasn't too far from the truth. No matter the horror, they couldn't look away. It wasn't as if they were just compelled to look, but rather they were physically unable. One by one, they succumbed to the Stare, their hearts overworking themselves until they could no longer beat and stopped.
With the violence in the immediate area at an end for the moment, Seth, Curt, and Debby slowly emerged from their cover -as well as their shock- and slowly approached their not-as-furry-as-before friend.
Debby was the first to find her voice, “Kat? What... what..?”
Kataya sighed, “I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I didn't want to scare you. I'm a dragony, part dragon, part pony... I’m my own worst enemy.” She chuckled at her little joke before her fear crept up, “Y-you don't think I’m scary do you?”
“Scary?” Debby laughed, “Are you kidding, this is awesome! Dragons kick ass! Do you know any full dragons?”
The dragony giggled, “I'm dating one.”
Debby's eyes widened, “Wow... how does that work... you know, in bed?”
“Okay, ladies,” Seth interrupted before the conversation really got out of hand, “We need to get moving. Let's get to the dock so we can get out of here. Kat, you think you can handle a gun with those claws or yours?”
“Oh yes, I've shot a rifle before. My friend made a few a while ago.” At the others confused expressions, the dragony explained, “My friend, Shiro, used to be a human from another dimension, that was inexplicably transported to my world and transformed into a tiger by his chaos magic.”
Curt raised an eyebrow, “Sounds like the plot of a bad story.”
“Anyway! Lizards are trying to kill us,” Seth once again tried to get them back on track, “Kat, take one of the dratali rifles. Curt, Debby, you too.”
Better armed, the quartet made their way towards the hangar. Kataya wasn't as good with the weapon as her companions, but she held her own. The entire time, the dragony sang a deep hauntingly beautiful melody. The others were confused by this, but didn't question it. Besides, something about it calmed them, helped them focus. Eventually they made their way to the docks, and found the place guarded by a towering metal beast preventing anyone from getting to the ships.
“Shit!” Curt said, “They have a fucking Titan.”
“A titan?” Kataya asked, looking around the corner they took cover behind.
“A big metal death machine,” Curt explained.
Kataya gave it a curious glance, “Jynx's gundam is better.”
“Who's what now?” Debby asked, confused.
A flash of light drew their attention back to the mech, the remains of an aviva family falling to the deck.
“What was that?”
“A laser. A concentrated photon beam,” Seth explained.
“Photon?” Kataya's eyes snapped back to the machine, “As in light?”
“Kind of like using a magnifying glass to burn ants,” Debby put in.
A grin tugged at the dragony's lips, “You guys wait here, I'll take care of this.”
Without waiting for their response, she took off. Seth, Curt, and Debby watched in horror as she stopped in midair, her wings spread out. Curt tried to rush out to stop her, but was stopped by Debby's hand on his shoulder. He looked back at her, seeing the fear in her own eyes, but there was something else there... trust. She trusted that their new friend knew what she was doing, and so would he.
As they watched the mech raise its weapon, it seemed as if the world dimmed, as if all the light was being drained... all except one point.
Kataya seemed to glow like a beacon in the dark, something the titan's pilot either didn't notice, or didn't care about. He just fired his laser. Their fear was replaced by awe as the beam of light split apart into a dozen different shafts of light, all swirling and twisting around the intended target. One after the other they merged at a single point; the open, upturned mouth of the shining dragony. The storm of light settled into a single orb, and for a moment, all was quiet... before the mare unleashed the fury of a sun dragon upon the armored adept, tearing through the machine as if it were a child's toy.
The dragony fluttered down, unsteadily, as her friends ran to meet her.
“What the hell was that!?” Debby asked.
Breathlessly and staggering slightly, Kataya answered, “Sun dragon... breath weapon... absorbs light...” she let out a drunken giggle, “I used solarbeam... it was super effective!”
And with that, her eyes rolled back and she fell unconscious from exertion.