The Host of Insanity

I feel myself getting weaker by the second as the crimson pool around me slowly expanded. I manage to move my head around, though it nearly takes all of my remaining energy. As I do, I feel my skin rub together with the feeling of tree bark, or scales. I look over at the new arrivals, the Mane 6, or more specifically, Fluttershy.

I manage to crack a smile, once again noticing my strange skin texture, as I remember the moments that changed our lives forever...

I finally made it into the club, my anger turned to a blend of self pity and self loathing. The club was no different than the ones on Earth, there were tables with booths, the bar itself, and a DJ played in front of a raving crowd of ponies on a technicolor dance floor. I ignored the smell of sweat and alcohol as I waded through the crowd to the bar.

“Waddya havin’?” The bartender asked without turning around.

“Uh...ya got one for romantic confusion? Emotional tragedy would also work.” I replied, tossing a full bag of bits on the countertop.

“Oh, one a’ those days eh? Alrighty then, I recommend Manticore Pride’s: Infamous. Easy to drown in, and hard to escape from. It's the best thing for these kinds of situations, unfortunately it's also the most expensive we have-”

“I’ll take a keg,” I said throwing four more bags of bits on the counter, silencing further conversation, “I’ll be in that booth.” I pointed to the next closest one to the dance floor.

I turned and headed to the booth as the bartender prepared to bring the keg to my table. I looked around, spotting vaguely familiar ponies in the various groups. The keg was brought to me not long after I sat down and I poured myself a large mug full. I drained it quickly before refilling it, this time I decided to take it slower, that is until I saw none other than Fluttershy walk through the door, her normally timid behavior seeming to have vanished.

Screw going slow. I thought, chugging my second glass before going in for a third.

I was pointedly not looking at her, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw her look around for something before walking over to the bar. I saw her talk to the bartender, before he finally pointed to me. She turned and saw me, getting a look of determination and slight anger on her face before heading over to me.

Before she made it, she was interrupted by a group of incredibly familiar stallions in faux leather jackets. I couldn’t make out what they were saying, but I could tell they weren’t there to chat. I watched her face change from confused to embarrassed to angry all in the span of a couple of seconds.

Wait a second...angry? I thought, turning to get a better view of the situation.

Sure enough, Fluttershy was standing there, listening to the stallions talk, her face getting redder by the second as the fire behind her eyes was fed by their nonsense, slowly turning into an inferno. This was somepony else, I’m not sure how I knew, but that wasn’t Fluttershy, she had a different feel about her, she had changed since I last saw her...

That’s when I noticed something, half of her face was fuzzy, like a bad quality video. I looked closer, the fuzzy part of her face also had a completely different set of emotions pertaining to the situation, where the other half was offended and angry, this side was embarrassed, flustered and uncomfortable. That’s when it hit me, the angry side was Butchershy, or some variation of her, the side that Fluttershy kept cooped up inside her and hid from the world. Just like Pinkie and Pinkamena, the struggle for dominance had been shifted in favor of the lesser known consciousness.

There was a flash and I could see everypony’s alternate personalities, each hidden behind what society had molded them into, each one desperately wanting to be broke free. There weren’t just two personalities per pony either, there were many, some kept deeper than others, and all of them were looking at me, their pleading eyes begging to be let free. I could sense each of their unique energies and was suddenly very aware of my own tendrils of magic reaching out to them. Each tendril started at my chest and connected to each of the personalities, just waiting for the magic required to activate and release them. I could feel their emotions as well, most were sad and some were angry but the others were a myriad of emotions, each one flaring my annoyance with the stallions in the leather coats more and more.

As my anger rose, I could see my magic tendrils turn a slight red, and the personalities flared with anger. I could not only ‘unlock’ certain hidden aspects of ponies, but I could also influence and sometimes completely change the feelings and will of others. Or at least that is what I could understand in the twenty second span it took to analyze my situation.

Finally having enough with the annoying rambling the group was doing, I walk over, holding the keg on my shoulder and the mug in my hand, before clocking one of the stallions with the mug, instantly sending him to the floor. The other five spun around and took up stances.

“If we’re gonna fight, can we take it outside so I don’t break anything besides your bones?” I asked politely, glancing at Fluttershy to see her smile in gratitude and apprehension for the coming fight.

I was waiting patiently for my opponents to come forward, and had amassed quite a crowd in the process. While I waited, I began to feel the alcohol affect my system, my vision became blurry on the edges, but more focussed in the center. Then they returned, they seem to have expanded their ranks from six, to about...thirty six, give or take a few. One was regally dressed, or more specifically was wearing the most ‘leather’. Along with his jacket, he also wore boots, gloves and a vest. I assume he is the leader of the group, but I was uninterested in him, I’m interested in the fellow beside him. The stallion in question was massive, easily a foot taller then me, with muscles that made me twitch in anticipation.

This is going to be much more fun than I thought. I thought, grinning at the gargantuan pony.

“Listen guys, here is how it is going to go,” I said, “I am going to fight each and every one of you however I feel, starting at one, moving on to two, then three and so on, ending with Tiny over there. If I defeat every single one of you, I get all of the bits you have on you and you have to disband your little gang. If I lose, I will willingly accept any form of punishment you can come up with, deal?”

“Deal.” The leader replied after some thought.

I’ve been craving this for way too long. I thought to myself.