“Applejack,” says Fluttershy. She stands up and narrows her eye on Mama. “Take Zephyr to the bridge.”

“What're ya gonna do?” asks Applejack.

Fluttershy marches forward and activates her helmet and cutter.

“I'm going to kill her,” says Fluttershy.

“What! You're crazy!” says Applejack.

“This is the only way to be whole.”

Mama cackles and revs her saw as she approaches Fluttershy, and Fluttershy turns her march into a full gallop, nostrils flaring, breathing scratchy and vision blood red.

Arcos Hieroglyph, Star Tracker, Pyro, Mama, the Frail Stallion.

They all must die.

They will die!

Fluttershy's yell is scratchy and psychotic as she rushes Mama, and when the unicorn shoots a saw at her she dodges it, not missing a beat as the saw blade zooms past her. Mama giggles and slips another saw blade into her weapon, but before she can fire, Fluttershy tackles her and they roll over each other into the dark hallway. There is no light in the hallway, only dark silhouettes of her and the psycho. Fluttershy can feel her fur trying to stand inside her suit when she gets back on her hoofs, and her heart thumps in her chest as excitement floods her veins.

Mama gets up, and Fluttershy rams her into the wall and punches her in the maw, just to be blasted back with an energy discharge. Fluttershy hits the wall behind her, and she growls and charges Mama again. Mama revs her saw, illuminating her maniac smile as her levitation guides her weapon, and Fluttershy pushes it up when she shoots it. The saw blade launches into the ceiling, showering the two with sparks, and Mama pushes against Fluttershy, forcing her down the hallway on her hind legs. Fluttershy soon trips over herself and Mama lands on top of her and slams her weapon against Fluttershy's helmet.

Fluttershy’s visor cracks and her ears ring, and Mama goes for another hit but is kicked off. The unicorn flips over and lands awkwardly on her side and Fluttershy gets up and stomps on her head. There is a crack and Mama twitches, and Fluttershy retracts her helmet, bites on Mama's tail and drags her deeper into the dark hallway.

Her heart is beating fast, now.

Her breathing is heavy, and her thoughts are a blur.

She hears laughter. Is it hers or Honey's?

Is someone calling her?

Who cares! Mama must die!

Arcos Hieroglyph, Star Tracker, Pyro, Mama, the Frail Stallion.

They all must die.

They will die!

She will make sure they die!

Mama suddenly rolls on her side and shoots Fluttershy in the chest with her magic beam. The impact knocks the air out of her lungs and sends her flying into the ceiling. Dead light bulbs shatter from her hitting them, and when she lands on her stomach, Mama uses her magic to pull her up by her mane and slugs her in the face.

Fluttershy’s vision is knocked into a scramble, and she is tugged back up and punched again. Lots of blood flows out of her mouth, dripping to the floor and staining her yellow fur in red, but she doesn't feel the pain. She feels nothing but the desire to kill Mama. She must kill her. Needs to kill her, and that is what she will do.

Mama goes for another punch, and Fluttershy blocks it, head butts her and while the unicorn back pedals, Fluttershy rams her. The force sends Mama and Fluttershy rolling down the stairs. The two bounce off of the walls and steps, and Fluttershy's vision becomes a blur of red lights and dark colors, and when she lands at the bottom, both mares grunt, shift and cough, with Mama releasing a pained giggle soon after.

Fluttershy pushes herself up, but before she can do anything, she is wrapped in an aura tentacle and thrown against the wall. She is lifted and thrown against the other wall, and then the ceiling, and when she lands her ears are ringing and blood is caking her eyebrows and eye bandage. Then she is kicked on her back and Mama jumps on top of her, laughing with a saw blade in her magical grip.

“Sing with me, Troublemaker!” says Mama. “Twinkle, twinkle little star! How I wonder what you are!”

Mama presses herself down on Fluttershy and aims the saw at her face while Fluttershy pushes against her face.

“Up above the world so high! Like a diamond in the sky!”

Fluttershy's throat bobs as the blade touches it.

“Twinkle, twinkle little star!”

Fluttershy quickly retracts her hoof and slams it under Mama’s chin. Her head snaps up and broken teeth fly out as her magic flickers out. The saw blade clatters to the floor, and Mama giggles painfully as thick ropes of blood drip out of her mouth, and Fluttershy rolls Mama beneath her and stomps on her horn. The horn shatters and Mama's giggle turns into a shriek of pain as translucent green fluid soaks her forehead and mane, and Fluttershy steps off of her and grabs the saw blade on the floor as the unicorn thrashes on the ground.

Fluttershy picks up the blade. Its sleek metal reflects the red light in the hallway, and Fluttershy looks at Mama, chest heavy and her cauterized throat burning. Fluttershy narrows her eye and limps towards Mama, and when the unicorn stands up, she slashes Mama's throat. Mama gags and coughs with blood squirting out of her ripped throat. She stumbles backwards, presses her hoof against her wound, her eyes losing color as blood and green horn fluid mix, and with a vicious yell, Fluttershy rams the saw blade into Mama's chest and then punches her in the maw. Mama drops, gurgles, and then falls silent.

“Fluttershy!” calls Applejack.

Fluttershy stares at the body, chest heaving and teeth grinding.

“Fluttershy!”

The lights above flash on, and Fluttershy's hardened expression melts to horror as she looks at Mama's corpse.

Steps bang down the stairs and Fluttershy stumbles back, collapsing and hyperventilating as she looks at Mama's lifeless eyes.

Applejack runs into view with Zephyr behind him, and she skids to a stop and sees Mama's corpse. She stares at the corpse for a second before she gallops to Fluttershy's side and looks her in the eye while Zephyr looks at the corpse.

“Hey, Fluttershy, can ya hear me?” asks Applejack, stroking her mane gently.

“Wow, you wrecked her,” says Zephyr. “Definitely not the sister I knew.”

Fluttershy looks at Zephyr, and then at Applejack.

“I... I did harm.” Fluttershy takes a deep, shaky breath and coughs in her hoof. Her throat feels like it is going to rip again, and she blinks tears away as she looks at her hoofs. “I'm not supposed to do harm and I killed somepony!”

“Hey, look at me. Look at me!” says Applejack.

Fluttershy looks at her, sniffling and shaking.

“You did what you had to do, okay? I wish ya didn't do it alone, but she already killed one of us and couldn't be allowed to live. No telling how many she hurt or who else she would hurt.” Applejack smiles. “You saved us, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy swallows and Applejack pulls her in for a hug.

“You'll be alright, I promise. We'll get out of here and then everything will be fine. You'll see,” says Applejack.

Fluttershy gulps and reluctantly returns the hug, but even though Applejack is trying to give her comfort, she can only see Mama’s corpse. But the more that she looks at the corpse, the more the shock fades.

Mama is dead.

That leaves Arcos Hieroglyph, Star Tracker, Pyro, and the Frail Stallion.

When they are dead, then everything will be fine, but she is one step closer to fixing everything, one step closer to being whole, and that brings her to smile and hug Applejack tighter.

Author's Note

Fluttershy is fine. Absolutely fine. We should not be worried about her at all.