14 Elements of Insanity - Ch. 8 Butchershy

"Twilight, you're being paranoid." Spike said.

    "No I'm not, and I will prove it." Twilight said.

    Twilight and Spike were on their way to Fluttershy's house. Spike, of course, disapproved of this, but Twilight knew it had to be done. She didn't even know what was wrong with her friends. 

    When she got to Fluttershy's cottage, she immediately noticed the environment looked different from usual. The sky was gray and dull, the grass was dark, the cottage had wooden planks nailed onto them and no animals were in sight. 

    Twilight and Spike exchanged glances before hesitantly heading towards the door. Twilight knocked and soon heard hoof steps coming towards the door. The door fully opened, revealing Fluttershy. But it was too dark to see her appearance. 

    The only thing Twilight could see was her outline and her aquamarine eyes. 

    "H-Hey Fluttershy. Can we talk, please?" Twilight asked.

    Fluttershy stood there got a second, staring at Twilight. Twilight nervously grinned and sweating while Fluttershy stared at her. Eventually, Fluttershy stepped aside to allow Twilight and Spike to enter her cottage. 

Twilight immediately noticed all the lights were turned off, and the only lights in the cottage were there were a lot of candles. Each candle was either burgundy, gray, or black. A small portion of animals were trembling with fear in the corner of the cottage. 

"So, Fluttershy. How have you been?" Twilight asked. 

"Fine." Fluttershy answered. 

Her voice was a tad bit deeper than usual, but still sounded like her usual voice. 

"Stay out of my shed." Fluttershy said. 

Twilight and Spike blinked twice in confusion. Fluttershy then looked down at the purple and green dragon known as Spike.

"Have you been a good dragon, Spike?" Fluttershy asked.

"Uh, yeah-"

"You haven't been mean to other ponies, have you, Spike?" 

Spike was starting to feel uncomfortable, if he wasn't already.

"N-No, ma'am?" Spike said.

Spike never really called Fluttershy ma'am, so it felt weird. But he didn't want to take any risk. Fluttershy then looked up at Twilight.

"Would you two like some tea?" Fluttershy asked.

"S-Sure." Twilight said.

Fluttershy headed towards the kitchen, but then stopped.

"Oh, don't forget. Stay out of my shed." Fluttershy said.

Fluttershy entered the kitchen to prepare tea. Twilight and Spike secretly went to the backyard. Twilight noticed the shed door was slightly cracked open.

"Twilight, this isn't a good idea." Spike whispered.

Twilight ignored the nervous and frightened Spike, and continued walking towards the shed. She peeked inside the dark shed. She slowly stepped inside while Spike followed. Twilight soon found the light switch and flipped it on. She immediately regretted it however. Twilight and Spike gasped after noticing what was hanging on the walls. Dead animals had been ripped apart and their flesh was nailed to the wall. Some of the animals' stomachs were ripped open and the organs were nailed next to the body. 

Blood dripped on the floor and in the corner was a stack of bloody brains from dead animals. They took a few steps inside, staring and gagging at the disturbing scene. Fluttershy couldn't have done this, it just couldn't be. A small table held ears, tails, feet, wings and arms of the creatures she killed. Twilight and Spike examined the room, and just as they were about to run out, the light flickered and a familiar voice was heard behind them.

"Heyyyyyyyy, guys." Fluttershy said. 

Twilight and Spike shot their heads around. They finally got a full view of Fluttershy. Her hair was cut short, her ribs were shown and she was standing on her hind legs with a big butcher's knife in her hoof, that looked as if it talked to her. She had an insane grin and her eyes were shrunk insanely. 

"What I tell y'all about COMING IN MY SHED!" Fluttershy yelled.

She raised her butcher's knife high in the air, ready to slam it through Twilight and Spike's skull. Twilight and Spike screamed before running out of the way. Fluttershy continued attempting to slice them in half with her butcher's knife. Twilight attempted to use her magic, but for some strange reason, it wouldn't allow her. Everytime she tried, her horn would glow for a second, and then a dark glow would overcome her unihorn and send a massive headache to her head, preventing her from performing any spells or lifting any object using levitation. 

Eventually, Twilight and Spike ran out of the shred. Twilight needed to find a way to reform Fluttershy. So while running around the backyard, Twilight tried to reason with her. 

"Fluttershy! Stop!" Twilight said. 

Fluttershy skidded to a stop and held the butcher's knife high in the air. 

"My name is not Fluttershy anymore. My name is Butchershy! The Element of Kindness!" Fluttershy yelled. 

"Kindness?! This isn't kind at all!" Twilight yelled. 

"You should've been kind enough to respect my rules and stay out of my shed! I'm only kind to those who deserve it! Now, die!"

Fluttershy, or should I say, 'Butchershy,' tried one last attempt to chop them up with her knife. But it accidentally got stuck in the ground. Butchershy struggled, trying to pull it from the dirt. Twilight and Spike ran back to their home, regretting they ever visited Butchershy. When they got home, they immediately fell to the ground. Their hearts were racing and their heads ached of confusion, shock and fear. They were sweating rapidly and breathing heavily. Finally, they gathered enough strength to carry themselves to the bedroom. 

"Now do you believe me?" Twilight asked.

Spike nodded. Twilight then winced after noticing she had a large cut on her leg. Butchershy must've cut her with that knife. Spike immediately grabbed a medical kit and healed the wound. He added a bandage and allowed Twilight to rest. She pulled the blanket over her body and was left in deep thought of Spike. It was silent for a moment, until Twilight broke the silence. 

"Did Fluttershy really k-k-k-kill those animals?" Twilight asked. 

Nopony hadn't said 'kill' before in a while. Spike nodded. 

"And, are ALL my friends acting this way?" Twilight asked. 

Spike shrugged. He didn't feel like talking at the moment, for he was still in shock. Why would somepony, especially one as delicate and innocent as Fluttershy, suddenly start killing animals and attempt to kill their own friends?

Twilight pictured Fluttershy in her head, but that picture was soon replaced with Butchershy. She could replay the entire scene in her head. Twilight sighed. 

"Spike. Get some rest. We're going to have a big day tomorrow."

"Why?" Spike asked. 

Twilight sighed again. 

"We're going to visit Applejack."