Ch. 13 - Thorns & Sweet Scents
“Can I just-”
“No.”
“But it wouldn't be any-”
“No.”
“Pretty please with sugar on-”
“Will you just leave already?”
Fluttershy shook like a leaf. She was at her wits end. For all the life of her, she couldn't get the human girl to let her do anything or say anything. It was...demoralizing.
Was this how Twilight felt? Was this what led to her losing it and diving into the girl's mind? Would Fluttershy end up the same way before too long? These questions frightened the butter yellow pegasus. “I just want to help you, Painwheel,” she squeaked.
“You can help by going away,” Painwheel said sternly. She looked haggard, her brow moist with sweat, brown hair matted.
“But why?” Fluttershy asked, eyes growing moist. “What did I do to you that was so terrible?”
“You took my will away, that's what!” Painwheel exclaimed, raising her voice. Her hands gripped the arms of her chair.
“What?!” Fluttershy said, shrinking. “But I-”
“No buts!” Painwheel said, her crooked teeth barred. Those red eyes, set in black, ogled the pegasus contemptuously. “Back in the fight, you did something to me. Something with those...those eyes of yours. They made me weak! Made me crumble and do whatever you wanted! Took away my ability to think and feel and act the way I wanted!” Painwheel trembled, gritting her teeth. She winced, flesh in her arms quivering. “Aah!” she hissed.
“Painwheel!” Fluttershy gasped, running the human's side. She tried to place a hoof on Painwheel's elbow. “Don't strain yourself so much! You'll make the pain worse!”
“You don't know my pain!” Painwheel shouted, violently pushing back with her elbow, causing the pegasus to recoil fearfully. “None of you really knows what it's like to feel this way! So stop acting like you're so empathetic! You disgust me!”
Fluttershy clutched the hoof she tried to touch Painwheel with. Tears began flowing from her eyes. Her voice cracked, “I...I'm sorry...I'm just trying to help, Painwheel...”
“Well fat lot of that you're doing,” Painwheel mumbled. Her own eyes glistened with moistness, but this born of anger. “You come into my life, saying you want to help. And then you break into my head...and...and you fuck around with my mind. My free will. You...and Twilight Sparkle...you're both the same.
“You're both just like him.” Painwheel whispered now, voice croaking. “Just like Brain Drain...damn you and her and him...”
Fluttershy collapsed to the floor. Fresh, full tears emptied out on the ground, the pegasus choking out sobs. “...you...you're r-right...”
“...hmm?” Painwheel said, looking down at the pony.
“You're right,” Fluttershy repeated, looking up. “I've b-been going on about how I w-want to help you. Yet all I've done so far is hurt.” She sniffed, rubbing her nose with her foreleg. “I had no idea my Stare...that you'd suffered so. Using my Stare hurt you really bad, didn't it?”
“...yeah, it did,” Painwheel said softly. She too sniffed.
“I'm s-sorry,” Fluttershy bawled, leaping to her hooves and embracing Painwheel around the waist. “I'm so sorry Painwheel! I'm such a terrible pony!”
The pale, bare flesh flinched under Fluttershy's touch. “Oomph!” Painwheel said, watching the pony weep on her. “...uh...” Her expression softened considerably. “Um...it's okay...I'll accept your apology, so long as you stop crawling on me all the time...”
A pink-maned head shot up, down-flat ears standing up hopefully. “...y-you will?”
“...sure?” Painwheel said, one eyebrow raised. “I guess...?”
“Oh thank you!” Fluttershy said, making to leap up and wrap her legs around Painwheel's shoulders. But a momentary pause causes her to reconsider, and she breaks away, blushing. “Sorry.”
Painwheel sighed. “It's alright,” she said, closing her eyes. “...I guess I can't hold it against you. I was going on a rampage and trying to kill you and your friends.”
“Yeah...” Fluttershy said, scratching the back of her head. An awkward silence ensued, before the pony spoke again. “So, who is Brain Drain?”
“Huh?”
“Brain Drain. You compared me and Twilight to him, so I wonder what he did.” Fluttershy shivered. “I hope it's not too bad, that you'd think of me like that.”
Pondering the point, Painwheel shrugged. “Actually, I probably wasn't being fair. Brain Drain wasn't as bad as you.”
“Oh...oh dear...” Fluttershy said, ears drooping against her skull. “Does that mean I'm...?”
“He was so much worse.”
Fluttershy let out a sigh of relief. “Goodness,” she said, smiling minutely. “That's good to hear...oh wait no!” She suddenly started trembling, contrite as could be. “I didn't mean to say it was good you-”
“Fluttershy?”
“I, um...what?”
“Calm down,” Painwheel said. She sighed again. “I get what you mean.”
“So was he really so bad?”
“He really was. Brain Drain was a bastard.” When Fluttershy flinched under the curse, Painwheel continued, “He's a cyborg with a brain visible under a glass skullcap. He was the one who ordered me turned into...this.” She looked down at her own form. “He's also psychic. When I first woke up the way I am now, I couldn't think straight. It hurt so much, and I was so angry. I went off on anything around me, with aimless fury. Then Brain Drain started feeding commands into my head. Told me where to go, what to do...who to kill...”
Fluttershy gasped. “Oh goodness! How horrible!”
“Mm hmm,” Painwheel hummed, nodding sadly. “I've fought many horrible people and things. Some even what you'd call demons.” Painwheel frowned somberly. “But Brain Drain was no mere demon. He was the devil himself. If I had the chance right now, I'd go and kill him myself. Count on it.”
Fluttershy gulped loudly. “M-maybe it would be better to talk about something else...”
“And...done!”
Spike ladled steamy chicken soup into a bowl, sitting on a tray. He hopped down from his step stool and picked up the tray. “This stuff smells so good, even I kind of want to try it,” Spike said, licking his lips. As a dragon, he was perfectly capable of consuming flesh. But he was also raised by ponies, and thus had few opportunities to do so.
If Painwheel didn't end up liking the soup, he would clearly have no choice but to eat it himself. No sense in letting good food go to waste.
As he made his way to the basement door, he counted it odd how quiet it was. Earlier of course, Spike heard shouting. He almost got worried, but the shouting stopped. Spike didn't actually know which of their friends came over that day, but it would seem Painwheel calmed down after a while.
Spike waltzed into the basement, taking the stairs down. He shouldn't worry so much. Painwheel was making progress he was sure, and especially with whichever pony came to visit. So long as it wasn't Fluttershy, they would probably be in the clear.
“Hey Painwheel, it's lunch time! Guess what I cooked for you today.”
“Ooh! Whatever it is smells scrumptious!”
Spike froze in his tracks. It was Fluttershy. Fluttershy came to visit. The same Fluttershy with a love for animals. The Fluttershy who would die or freak out if she knew one was served in a soup with beans and carrots.
The dragon gulped. “O-oh. H-h-hi F-fluttershy,” he stammered, the tray shaking in his claws. “What are you...I mean, what are you two doing down here?” He tried to put on a smile, but could already tell it wasn't a good mask.
Fluttershy didn't seem to notice. “Oh, Painwheel and I were just talking about flowers!” she said, smiling. “Did you know she kept a garden back at home with all kinds of them!” She turned around to Painwheel again. “Which ones did you say you planted, Painwheel?”
Painwheel shrugged. Her face looked a little puffy, but she seemed fairly calm and collected. “I liked to plant Buttercups, Freesia, and White Lilacs*, and my mom preferred Magenta Zinnias, Tulips, and...Queen Anne's Lace**...” The human frowned at that last one. Spike raised an eyebrow. What was that about?
Then again, he didn't have much time to worry about a flower he'd never even heard of. “Well, I guess you have a lot of talking to do, so maybe I should just come back.”
“Oh no, don't do that!” Fluttershy said, waving a hoof. “You went to all that trouble to make Painwheel lunch. It would be a shame to let it go cold. Wouldn't it, Painwheel?”
“Oh, uh, yeah, I guess,” Painwheel said, snapping out of her funk. “I am pretty hungry.”
Spike frowned. Great, no way to sidestep the issue.
“So what did you make, Spike?” Fluttershy said, attempting to step close to the tray. Her nostrils flared, so as to take a big whiff.
Spike swung the tray behind him, holding it away from the prying eyes – and nose – of the pegasus. “Oh nothing, it's really nothing,” he said, releasing a nervous laugh. “Just some beans and carrots...and some other stuff. You know, vegetable soup.” Sweat rolled down his scaly brow. “Nothing offensive or out of the ordinary here. Just good old vegetable soup. He he.”
“Oh, well okay then,” Fluttershy said, puzzled. “Can I help you feed her?”
“No!” Spike said, causing the pegasus to jump. “I-I mean, no, I've got it. Plus, I have hands, so it'll be easy for me. No need for help here, I got it.”
“...are you sure?”
“Positive!” Spike said, walking past Fluttershy – keeping the tray on the opposite side of his body as he went. Setting the tray on the side table, he stepped in front of it so Fluttershy couldn't peek. More sweat yet poured down his face, the young dragon fighting to hold a confident affectation up. “I'm sure we'll be just fine.” He paused, mind racing. Had to get her out of the house. “Is there anything you've been meaning to do, Fluttershy? This might take a while. Painwheel can be a pretty messy eater.”
“I am not!” Painwheel interjected, pouting. “I'm a great eater! Etiquette was one of the things I excelled at!”
“...he he,” Spike chuckled, darting eyes back and forth between the two girls. “I stand corrected...but Fluttershy, don't you need to feed your chickens or something?”
“No,” Fluttershy said, casually. “I fed all my chickens this morning before I came in.” By this point Spike was almost ready to scream. However, “But now that I think about it, I've been meaning to drop by the hardware store and buy some nails. That fence for the ferret enclosure needs to be fixed.” She smiled softly. “Thanks for reminding me, Spike! I guess I'll be seeing you soon, Painwheel.” He waved, winging her way to the top of the balcony and exiting through the door.
Spike sagged in place, nearly falling to the ground. Air escaped his lungs in a relieved sigh. “Thank Celestia she finally left,” he said, wiping away cold brow sweat.
“And why did she have to leave, exactly?” Painwheel asked, frowning. “I'm hungry, sure, but I was actually having a nice conversation. What gives?”
“What gives...” Spike began, picking up the tray of food, “is that I didn't make you vegetable soup.” He lifted it up so the human could see the contents of the bowl up close. “I made you chicken soup. Chicken!” He was whispering now, darting an eye to the basement door.
“...oh...so?”
“Aside from having to go to great lengths to get it, since ponies have kind of a thing against the slaughter and sale of animals?” Spike asked, picking up a spoon and stirring the bowl's contents. “How about because Fluttershy is the greatest animal lover ever, and would go crazy if she found out what was in this.”
“...thank you,” Painwheel said, expression softening to one of gratitude. “I haven't had chicken in...a long time.”
Spike beamed in satisfaction, scooping up a spoonful of soup with a carrot, some beans, and a bite-sized chunk of chicken breast. “Don't mention it. You've been through a lot, so it's only right you be treated.” He moved the spoon into Painwheel's waiting jaws, the latter greedily savoring the taste of bird flesh. Spike smiled at the human hum happily. “Glad you like it. And so long as Fluttershy doesn't find out, we'll be...”
“SPIKE!” came a shriek from upstairs.
“...just fine...” Spike cringed, shoulders sagging. He knew he should have been more careful where he put that pot of soup.
I think Fluttershy would probably be the most understanding about Painwheel eating meat. I mean, in this one episode she killed a bunch of fish to fed her meat eating animals in a cannon episode... I find it really strange that Fluttershy, wouldn't be cool with it, I mean Spike is a baby so shouldn't the adult be the one doing the killing of the animals? Fluttershy who's job description is taking care of animals, wouldn't let a manticore or bear starve to death, and to keep her bigger critters healthy she would have to feed them meat... Other than that though, it was an amazing chapter to thanks for the work.. :D
So....when do the cmc become skullgirl minions?
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Hey! Hey, you! Yeah, you on the left! What are you talking about!? Explain yourself!
Anyway, while I hope that doesn't happen, such an occurrence would be great for a comedy. "Cutie Mark Crusaders: Evil Minions! Yay!" Then they would proceed to drive their dark overlord insane while trying to serve him or her and eventually cause the evil doers downfall.
As for the actual chapter, it was nice. The transition between "I hate you!" to "I'm sorry," was a little sudden, but not overwhelmingly so. Overall, I'm liking the progression, but I wouldn't mind a pony centric chapter at some point in which we see more of what they think of the situation. How would they react to Fluttershy telling them the scary monster likes gardening? What would Rarity have to say about that comment on etiquette?
Well keep up the good work. Oh, and on the subject of cello playing, Carol is a musical themed name... Just sayin'.
4161567 so next is either peacock or samson*referencing personality not actual character but that would be neat if they somehow made it just in time to takedown skullmare derpy* right?
4097706 great work looking forward to the next part.
-medice medado
I still find it odd that people think that the ponies of Equestria would freak out over meat eaters. Aside from Fluttershy feeding her carnivorous animals fish, the ponies are never shown to have anything against meat eaters, or indeed the eating of meat. Sure, we may not see any pony on screen eat meat, but that doesn't mean that they don't. Honestly, I think the only reason that they're never shown in an episode consuming chicken or pork and whatnot is because the targeted demographic (you know, 'little girls') might be confused at the sight of their cute little ponies that they enjoy watching dive into a steak or a cheeseburger.
4161297 Keep in mind, it was mostly Spike's assumption of how Fluttershy would react that drove this little plot cul-de-sac. He thought Fluttershy would react badly, and ran around behind her back to avoid offending her. Fluttershy herself, in that last bit, was more surprised to find chicken meat in a dish. If she was angry at all, it's because she wanted to know if Spike killed any of her chickens while she wasn't looking to make the soup.
After all, she understands the needs of meat eaters, but she still loves her animals. There's a reason she feeds her carnivores fish (such creatures being oddly beneath most people's/pony's empathy, somehow).
Heh...Chicken...hehe Any who, will you be mentioning either Squiggly or Big band? I know they only been added to the roster only these past months but still they be a lovely little add in to even hint to. Also your personal opinion did you have someone from the "To Put In" Roster of Skull Girls that you really want to show up and be playable?
Again, the usual thank you for your time and effort in this story, your doing great and the views show it!
4163853 I'd love to include either of them, but Painwheel's story mode came before they were introduced as playable. I tried to hedge as close as possible in flashbacks to who Painwheel actually fought. So if I'm supplying Word of Me, Squigly and Leviathan were around, but since the Skullgirl got destroyed by Painwheel, they didn't do a whole lot. Whereas Big Band wanted to fight Painwheel, but Peacock attacked first, so he took it upon himself to evacuate everyone in Lab 8. Relocate to somewhere else.
Too bad Doctor Avian didn't heed Band's advice and go with. That's the canon for Turning Wheel, anyway. The problem is that while I'd love to have all these great, interesting characters show up, this is ultimately Painwheel's story.
As for who I'd love to see added to the game, my picks are Annie, Brain Drain, Feng, Minette, Aeon or Venus, a playable Marie, and Isaac.
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I guess I just kind of assumed... You know what they say about that, eh.. Anyway thanks for chapter 14, great stories like this are usually abandoned....
Don't you think that Painwheel is being to forgiving? If I was in her place, I'd just say fuck ponies and fuck their "friendship".
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I have absolutely no idea how Eliza won out over Marie, who would've revealed the canon story. Seriously, who cares about another Parasite host when we could get the legitimate canon!?
I think you mean 'believe it'