Two Heads aren't always Better Than One
I can't remember how this happened or how I got here. Everything is a blurry mess, and it's hard to focus.
Fluttershy laid on the cracked ground of what seemed to be a prison. She raised her head to look around at the vast lands of -- nothing. The scenery looked like a desert that at multiple intervals had warped briefly into the Everfree.
She was unsure if it was because her head was spinning, or if she was surrounded by magic, the feeling that followed every warp was control -- of somepony?
After her strength began to return to her, Fluttershy attempted to stand; her legs weak from some unknown activity. Her legs trembled and shook like gelatin on a bumpy carriage ride; they looked unsteady as the yellow pegasus attempted to step forward.
Her strength had returned to her legs the moment a warp had occurred. Fluttershy stood there out of breath and confused. A warm thick liquid oozed down her chin and dripped onto her hooves. Before the warp took her back to the mysterious desert she saw her friends huddled together in a hollowed-out tree, hiding -- but from who?
Dazed, Fluttershy stood amongst the dry, cracked ground surrounded by cacti once again. Why were my friends hiding? Am I in danger too? Do they know about this desert? Fear crept into the back of Fluttershy's mind. Who sent me here? Was it Grogar? Tirek? Is Nightmare Moon back and trying to separate the Elements of Harmony?
"Hello?!"
Her soft voice echoed throughout the empty desert as it would have if she was in a cave. The fear that crept into her mind began to spread -- she was alone.
The weakness she felt when she first awoke had returned, but more prominent than before. She couldn't keep her balance and found herself struggling to stay on her hooves.
I have to get back to my friends.
That one thought raced through her mind. She lifted her front right hoof an inch off the ground, placing it down again as she fell forward. Snap!
The sickening sound of her ankle breaking under her own weight echoed as her voice had done moments before through the vast desert. The mare was on her side again, able to see her ankle had swollen five times its usual size but; no pain. Her left hoof laid beside her broken ankle, and she tried to lift her left hoof to nudge her right. After many attempts, she was successful and gave her ankle a small nudge -- still nothing.
Am I in a dream?
The familiar sight of a warp relaxed Fluttershy, she was going back to her friends -- or so she thought. As the desert turned into the Everfree Forest she noticed something fading away with the desert that wasn't a cactus. It looked like -- a pony?
Fluttershy felt her strength return to her legs as she did after every warp. Only this time -- immense pain followed. She screamed and immediately lifted her hoof from the ground.
My ankle!
She looked down at her right ankle and to her horror -- it was shattered.
"Oh--oh dear! H-how did this?" Her voice was shaky and she was in complete shock. Fluttershy looked up to see she was in front of her friends at the hollow tree. The thick liquid that was on her chin before was still there, but it felt like there was more. She also had a strange, metallic taste in her mouth that made her gag.
As she was gagging, the thick liquid erupted from her mouth, covering her hooves and the ground. It splashed onto the tree and onto her four friends that still sat huddled together in fear. She stood amongst the thick brown liquid that she had vomited seconds ago. She stared into it, her consciousness began to slip back.
Out of instinct, Fluttershy set her right hoof down for balance -- pain shooting through her leg and she screamed again. The pain kept her from entering the desert again, but she was also unable to take control of her body. She floated in what seemed to be a dream-like state between her conscious and unconscious. She could hear her friends sobbing and whispering to themselves back in the Everfree. She could feel the thick goo around her hooves and the dirt under her that began to absorb it. The thick mud prevented her body from being tipped over as she felt movement around her -- no..from under her.
That pony I felt like I was controlling was me all along...but what was I doing? What's under me in that gross slop? On no..is it an animal? Did I vomit all over an innocent animal? Oh dear, I hope it's alright! I have a lot of apologizing to do once I can control myself again...wait...
She remembered there were only four of her friends in the tree...she had five main friends and Spike...Where was her other friend?
I can't remember who was in the tree so I can't remember who was missing. IS something going on out there?
As Fluttershy began to panic something caught her attention from where her friends were; movement. She heard Twilight call out softly, but not to her...
"Dash? Rainbow Dash? For Celestia's sake..please be alive..."
Fluttershy started to panic -- her wings flapped frantically as she tried to move toward the sound of her friend's voice.
"Twilight! Rainbow Dash! I'm coming!" She cried out, trying to fly as fast as she could. She saw a light ahead of her and she flew faster than she had in her entire life. The light in front of her grew brighter as she got closer to it.
Fluttershy burst through the light, expecting to open her eyes to see her friends and a wounded Rainbow Dash...but she was still flying -- and back in the desert.
"NO!" She screamed, her frustration echoed around the desert. She turned to go back through the light -- but it was gone. Fluttershy flew around the desert in a desperate attempt to try and find a way out, but everywhere she looked she saw the same thing--a vast desert filled with cacti, hardened cracked ground, rocks, and shimmers from the naturally formed glass.
Fluttershy started to feel weak once more, however, her wings had not been affected by the sudden fatigue. She flew around the desert, her keen eyes watched for any sign of warping so she could go back and help her friends and check on Rainbow Dash.
She saw it again --
Behind the sand dune close to where Fluttershy keeps getting pushed back...it looked like a pony. She flew over, cautious but curious, so she could see what stood there. As she approached the figure, her strength started to return to her legs, however, the pain also came and went like an intense throb.
Fluttershy landed beside the figure, she realized it was a silhouette of a pony. It was staring at a break in the dune it stood by, the pony never moved or said anything to acknowledge Fluttershy until she stepped toward the dune.
"So...you came back."
It was her voice.
Fluttershy gasped and stepped backward, the pain shot through her ankle and made Fluttershy whimper in response.
"I knew you would." The silhouette spoke again, no emotion in her voice at all.
"What are you talking about? I don't even know who -- or what you are? Where am I? Where are my friends? Is Rainbow Dash still alive?" Fluttershy's voice quivered as she spoke to the other pony. The pony turned its head toward Fluttershy.
"You of all ponies should know."
Fluttershy gasped, stepping back again but careful not to use her wounded leg. Her back left leg stepped into the area that drained her strength. She quickly hopped back toward the other to stay where she could walk.
"W-what do you mean?" Fluttershy asked, starting to feel afraid of the completely black pony in front of her, "I really don't know what's going on out there..."
The silhouette turned its face back to the crevice it was looking into.
"More like you don't WANT to know." The silhouette morphed into a faded version of her with empty eyes that seemed to be crying. Fluttershy was shocked and she limped toward the other.
"Y-you're me? But why am I crying?" Fluttershy asked, staring at herself. For some reason she did not want to look through that crevice, she knew deep down inside, that she knew the reason why.
"Because you left when they needed you most. We left when they needed us most."
Fluttershy was overcome with unbearable sadness and guilt. She sat on the ground, starting to cry uncontrollably. She slammed her right hoof on the ground, the pain was unable to phase her. She felt a jolt and heard her friends scream.
Fluttershy looked up at the other version of her. She was still staring through the crevice on the side of the dune, but her coat was more faded...almost colorless. The sadness swept over her again. She couldn't help but slam her hoof into the ground, but this time harder. Another jolt -- her friend's screaming was louder and lasted longer.
The pain...the pain is my way out of here...
Fluttershy looked up at the other her. She had morphed...to a more sinister version of Fluttershy. Her mane was tangled, her coat was dripping with blood -- blood!
That goo that I vomited...was BLOOD!
Fluttershy shook her head when she felt another wave of guilt and sorrow wash over her. She had to keep looking at the other version of her. She had no control. THUD!
She slammed her hoof on the ground again, the jolt was more violent this time. Her friends were pleading for their lives, but she could only hear Rarity and Pinkie. Where were the others?
Fluttershy opened her eyes again and stared in horror. Her other self was standing in front of her, her wings were ragged and torn, and a crazy smile stretched across her face that revealed pointed and jagged teeth stained with blood and fur. Blood pooled around Fluttershy as she stared, snout to snout, into the eyes of the maniac standing in front of her.
"You are starting to remember...or at least..realize what is happening?"
The monstrous Fluttershy did not move her lips as she spoke, that wretched crazed grin was still plastered on her face. The only part of the pony's face that moved were the eyes and eyelids. They had dilated after every couple of words, and the eyelids pulled back, making the eyes bug out of her skull.
"What are you?" Fluttershy whispered. She wanted to run, to hide, to get away from this demon.
"I'm YOU, you silly goose! I am what you ripped from yourself. I am your anger, your temper, your BAD side. I am the little voice in your head that tells you to KICK Angel Bunny down the stairs every time he talks back to you or treats our friends badly. I am the one cleansing the world right now...ONE. ISSUE. AT. A. TIME."
Fluttershy couldn't believe it...this was her bad side. The side she wanted to get rid of completely...the one that she asked Twilight to help her get rid of -- wait!
I asked Twilight to use an experimental spell on me to get rid of my bad side...to absolutely make sure my temper wouldn't harm anyone I cared about...then...
Fluttershy looked past the other to the dune.
"I remember..." She whispered softly. Fluttershy limped over to the dune, the tears started to flow again.
"What are you doing?"
"Something I should have done from the beginning."
Fluttershy sat in front of the dune and looked through the crevice. She gasped in horror as she held her hooves to her mouth.
She could see through her own eyes as her teeth tore into rarity's flesh, the unicorn struggled and screamed while Fluttershy ripped a large chunk of skin and muscle from Rarity's throat. Her screams were muffled by the sound of Rarity gargling and choking on her own blood. She tried to use magic to heal herself, but Fluttershy stomped on rarity's horn, breaking it off the pony's head. To Fluttershy's horror, she watched herself begin to eat Rarity while Rarity was still alive, her broken ankle not bothering her.
Fluttershy looked away as her body consumed her friend.
"Is--is that what happened to the rest of my friends?" Fluttershy asked as she peered at the ground and at the puddle of her own tears mixed with the blood from the other who stood behind her.
"Yes."
Fluttershy trembled. "You said we abandoned them when they needed us most...why would you say that when you are the one killing everyone I have ever known and loved?"
Fluttershy's voice raised, as she glared at the other. She could feel anger swelling up within her. She watched her bad side step back away from her.
"What have you ever done to help me or my friends?! From what I can remember you have always made me think of myself as not a very good pony! You made me think I was no better than all of the enemies we have faced! You're not my anger nor are you my temper! You are the vile pony I NEVER wanted to be! YOU MADE ME THIS WAY! YOU MADE ME KILL ALL MY FRIENDS!" She screamed and advanced on the pony, pushing it close to the barrier.
"You may think that but what about the spell? The experiment?"
"It failed! Don't you remember? It failed! Twilight tried the spell, forgot an ingredient in the potion and it didn't work! That was the most embarrassing two seconds of my life after I drank that potion!" Fluttershy stopped. "How did you ever gain control of me?"
"After you drank the potion, you snapped."
Fluttershy remembered she was so angry that her friend was not able to help her she did indeed snap. She recalled aggressively attacking Twilight, screaming that she wasn't trying hard enough. Twilight escaped her initial attack, but Spike...Spike was killed by the large bookshelf Fluttershy pushed over.
She chased Twilight down through Ponyville, even taking flight when the Princess of Friendship did. The others heard Twilight's screams for help and came rushing. Multiple towns ponies got in the way, only to be slaughtered mercilessly through Fluttershy's chase.
Big Mac had blocked Fluttershy and bucked his cart at her in an attempt to slow her down. She dodged the cart but grabbed it and pushed it back at the red stallion. The sheer weight of the cart plus the speed Fluttershy was at pushed Big Mac into a market stall which caused a pitchfork display to impale him.
Fluttershy noticed the others escape into the Everfree Forest, but she felt the need to rest and eat. But it wasn't her usual sweet treats--no. She felt like switching her diet up a little bit. She began to feast on Big Mac's still warm corpse.
The memories came back in swarms as Fluttershy stood between the crevice and the other.
"You see? You're the reason I am here. You're the reason your friends are dead. You are the one who broke us apart by trying to kill me."
Fluttershy glared at herself through her tears as she remembered every single kill--even Rainbow Dash.
"That may be...but I am going to do my best to save whoever is left!"
Fluttershy then heard Pinkie Pie begging. She went to the crevice to look.
Pinkie Pie was already hurt as she was curled up into a ball at the very back of the tree.
"Please...Fluttershy...stop. This isn't you. Please...don't eat me please. I'm sorry if I did anything I didn't mean to. Oh, Celestia somepony help me." Pinkie Pie was sobbing as Fluttershy got closer. Fluttershy looked over at her other-self. She rushed at the demented form and grabbed her before she hugged her.
Pain, screams, fear, sadness, confusion, anger, disgust...everything erupted at once as the desert shifted and warped around them. The evil side of Fluttershy screeched loudly as Fluttershy held onto her.
"I'm sorry I threw you away! You are a part of me! I love you as much as I love my friends! I ignored you and wasn't there when YOU needed me!"
Fluttershy was spinning as she held onto herself. She felt nauseous and dizzy as everything around them went inky black. The other Fluttershy's screeches subsided as her vision went black.
Fluttershy sat in blood-soaked mud in front of her still-living friend Pinkie. The pink mare stared at Fluttershy confused, fearful, and worried.
"Fluttershy?" Pinkie squeaked, her face was drenched with blood and tears.
"Y-yes Pinkie?" Fluttershy replied, her voice hoarse as she sat there, looking down.
"Is...is it--you?" Pinkie asked, cautiously moving so she was on her hooves.
"It's always been me Pinkie." She whispered.
"What do you mean?" Pinkie was terrified again. The sweet yellow mare in front of her killed and ate all their friends--on purpose?!
"I mean...it was another side of me. A side I never wanted to be. The side I tried to kill, but instead. It managed to kill me. I'm so sorry Pinkie Pie." Fluttershy sobbed loudly as the royal guards swarmed the hollow tree. Shining Armor looked down in horror.
"Twili!" He cried out after he saw his sister. He ran over to her remains. Her horn was snapped off like Rarity's and her wings were ripped and torn off of her body. She was left in a twisted mess like a timber wolf would leave. Shining Armor held his dead sister and cried into her carcass.
"Sir! Over here!" One of the guards called back. Shining Armor left his sister's remains and walked over. He saw Pinkie Pie as she ran toward them, tears in her eyes.
"Pinkie Pie! What's going on? What Happened to everyone?!" He asked as she stopped in front of them. She hit behind the prince and pointed her shaking hoof toward Fluttershy.
Shining Armor was in shock when he saw Fluttershy sitting there covered from head to hoof in blood, fur, and stray flesh from her victims. He shook the initial surprise off then nodded to his men who restrained her and led her off, assigned pegasi soon arrived to collect the dead bodies.
There was a mass funeral later that week to honor all of Fluttershy's victims. There was not a dry eye on any pony who attended. Celestia could not say anything as she scanned all twenty-six of her dead subject's portraits, her eyes falling on the four deceased elements of harmony. She held a tissue up to her eyes and sobbed as Luna rubbed her sister's back as she too failed to hold her own tears back.
Fluttershy watched this from her barred window at the mental institute. It was very kind of Celestia to hold the funeral at the cemetery closest to the hospital, but then again she could also have done that to remind Fluttershy every day of what she had done.
"Fluttershy, I am sorry for interrupting, but your medication is ready." The nurse said through the door.
"Oh, it's perfectly fine. Thank you." Fluttershy said as she took the medications from the tray that came through a special slot as well as the cup of water. Once she was finished she set the cup back down on the tray and the nurse slid the tray back towards herself.
"Your lunch will be here soon dear. Please try and relax." The nurse walked off muttering to herself.
"How could somepony eat another pony? What do we even taste like?"
Fluttershy walked back to the window and looked out in time to see them lowering the caskets. Her gaze fell on the portrait of Scootaloo. A sharp grin stretched across her face as she giggled.
"They taste like chicken."
Author's Note
For those confused about the title, the "two heads" I am referring to is an analogy for the conflict Fluttershy is having with herself.
