20 - Unfettered
Ch. 20 - Unfettered
The top floor of a building – conveniently empty, thank Faust – rose shakily from where it toppled. Bricks flaked off from the point of severance, like crumbs from a baked clay cookie. The violet aura lifted the structure, casting a shadow over the abomination five meters square.
Thudding bricks against the street at its five hooves drew the creature's attention. It lazily examined the broken chunks of masonry, not seeming to make the causal leap that would make a living creature look up. Only when the magic cut out did the sound attract its attention. “Urryyy?”
Fittingly, structural damage it caused crashed down upon the zombie, buckling with the impact and collapsing inward with a joyous cacophony. Great dust clouds rose up, settling to the ground just as the weaponized top floor settled into its new pile form.
“...and...guh...” Twilight Sparkle swallowed, gasping, “...and stay...stay down...” She heaved and sagged, bent low towards the ground. Sweat soaked her matted fur.
For a moment the mound of masonry held still; a freshly filled grave. Remnants of a window curtain fluttered in the wind, its bright colors muted by the overcast sky. A sky growing progressively darker as the sun prepared for Celestia's ministrations.
Then, the mound shifted – shuddered. Twilight dared to hope it was merely some internal beam bending under the weight, or – better still – that the creature's bulk collapsed completely, its stolen bones snapping.
No such luck. “...urrr....uuurrr....uuuuuuu...UUUUURRRYYYYY!”
The grave exploded, air crowded by a low, violent bass and a thousand bricks. Rearing on its haunches, the misshapen abomination roared into the air. Jagged teeth barred, it stamped down on the remaining brickwork, sending yet more rubble flying. Mismatched eyes focused on Twilight.
“OH COME ON!!” yelled the alicorn princess, scowling in exasperation.
She took flight, souring above a charging monster. As it turned around in circles, trying to find its quarry, Twilight Sparkle sparked up her horn again. The violet aura engulfed the pile of masonry, raising a great cloud of loose bricks.
“JUST STAY DOWN ALREADY!” Twilight screamed, launching her myriad payload. Packed clay flew, impacting against her assailant. Unfortunately, much of the bulk parted around the target like river water against a strong stone.
“Urrry!” the zombie exclaimed, staggering back but remaining upright. Rotting head whipped about, shaking away bricks that clattered impotently to the ground. It locked sunken eyes on Twilight, and began scrambling for another charge. Thankfully, it slipped and stumbled on loose bricks, crashing down.
Panting, Twilight retreated to a higher altitude. She would need to go really high or...
“Huff...huff...can't...” Twilight wheezed, nearly falling then and there. Her muscles ached, her heart raced. Worst of all were her wings. She hissed, straining to keep flapping to spite the pain. Couldn't stop now. Had to get higher. Had to...
“Need some help?”
Twilight gasped as a set of legs wrapped around her from behind. As she greedily relaxed into the embrace, she looked behind. “Rainbow...Dash!” she coughed.
“See you have a little trouble over here,” Rainbow Dash said, smirking. “Or have you not been keeping up with those flying exercises like I taught you?”
“Rainbow Dash!” the alicorn gasped, “Fly...fly up! Higher!” Her voice was breathy and fearful.
“Relax, Twilight,” Dash said, looking down at the creature. “Whatever that is, there's no way it can catch us up-”
“URRRRYYYY!” the creature screeched, bending down. Muscled cobbled from several ponies contracted, straining under the bulk. Sparks erupted from the horns sticking out of its flesh. Then, with one mighty push, it launched into the air, subtle aura waves flying out like a splash.
“Watch out!” Twilight screamed, but Rainbow Dash frantically flapped backwards some meters. The two ponies watched the creature arc through their previous location before falling back to the ground.
They winced as it landed, accompanied by a loud, visceral snap; they watched it further as it limped along for a few seconds, before raising its now broken back leg. More snaps and crunches could be heard as the flesh warped and stretched, bones pushing against the inside of the skin. A magical sheen played over the surface, with sparkles peeking through the seams holding disparate bits together. Waving and jerking, the leg finally stamped the ground resolutely, perfectly realigned.
“...what the hay is this thing!?” Rainbow Dash exclaimed, eyes wide and jaw slack.
“Just fly higher, Rainbow Dash!” Twilight said. “It will just keep trying to jump at us if we're not at a higher altitude!”
“How do you know that?” Dash asked as she carried the alicorn higher. “Twilight, what-”
“I don't know what it is!” Twilight said, wiggling out of Dash's grasp and resuming her own flapping. They both looked down, watching the creature spot them, rear up, and jump again. This time, they were well out of its reach, as it snapped impotently towards them at the peak of its arc. Apparently it took four tries before that fact registered in its moldering brain. Looking around lazily, it started wandering away.
“...I don't know what it is we're dealing with, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said more softly, frowning. “I can only guess aspects of its nature. What I do know is...is...is that Applejack?”
Down below, the orange farmpony trotted into view. She slowed to an uneasy shuffle, examining the devastation. “...what in tarnatio- WHAT IN TARNATION!?”
“UUUUURRRRYYYYY!” the monster screamed, barreling towards the farmer.
Applejack dove to one side, letting her assailant run past. It twisted and tried to change directions, but merely ended up slamming side-first into a glass shop window.
Wincing at the sound of shattering glass, Applejack cringed in horror. “What in the name of Granny Smith's chronic lumbago just happened?” she breathed, confused. Her eyes locked on the storefront, then bugged out as the giant of a pony staggered out, shards of glass sticking out of its body everywhere.
“Uuurr...rrryyy....” it growled, approaching.
“Holy moley,” Applejack whispered, backing away. She tried to laugh, and maybe forced a weak chuckle out. “Wow...you...sure are a biggen', ain't ya?”
“RRAAARRR!” the creature roared in answer, preparing another charge.
A multi-colored blur flew in, grabbing the farmer and carrying her away.
“Gah! What!?” Applejack shouted, flailing in the air. “Rainbow Dash? What the hay!” she said, looking at the pegasus that bore her aloft. The farmer looked down at the shrinking undead figure, then up towards a very tired-looking librarian.
“Got her,” Dash said to Twilight, holding the farmer up as she flapped in place.
“Got who? Me!?” Applejack said, looking to Dash, then to Twilight, then down to the grounded creature, then back to Twilight. “Twi! What's going on here?” She flinched as the creature starting frog-jumping up and down below them, snapping as it went. “What in Sam Hill is that?”
“I think it's constructed from bodies stolen from the Ponyville cemetery,” Twilight explained, still winded. “It started attacking ponies...” she began, carefully omitting the detail of who it was specifically targeting, “...so I had to engage it. Anything living seems to drawn it into violent assault. But the thing is too strong and hardy; it won't go down.”
“Why didn't you...ugh...just use magic?” Rainbow Dash said, struggling under her not insignificant burden.
“I DID use magic,” Twilight said forcefully, scowling. She sighed, exhausted. “I tried every spell I could think of to contain it, break it, or destroy it. Nothing is working. It seems...” The alicorn princess winced, studying the creature's last futile attempt to reach the group before giving up and wandering off, “...it seems to be able to absorb magical energy sent against it, and appropriate it for its own use.
“Every spell I wove at it, the...thing...just weathered it, then sucked up the spell like a sponge. You know that leaping trick it was doing?”
“Yeah...” Applejack said.
“Oh yeah,” Rainbow Dash said, frowning. “Nearly grabbed us out of the air.”
“It couldn't do that at first,” Twilight said, pointing at it in the distance. “It wasn't nearly as fast or as strong as it is now.” She sighed heavily, a guilty look on her face. “I only made the thing more dangerous the more I tried. Magic beams? Snares? Befuddlement? Nothing worked. Just made it stronger.”
“Twi...” Applejack said, looking at her friend sadly.
“Okay,” Dash said, “But what about...”
“Tried that,” Twilight said, pointing groundward to a pile of ropes. All shredded.
“...okay, but how about...”
“Tried that too.” Twilight pointed to a water tower tank, unmoored from its tower. Shredded.
“...um...” Dash continued, uneasily.
“And that.” Twilight pointed to the creature itself, which upon closer inspection had a visible iron spike jutting from its back. “After a while, I realized my best bet was just throwing things at it, in hopes it would just...break...but targeting vital organs does nothing. In all likelihood, it doesn't even use them. Blunt damage has been equally ineffective, and...that's where I got stuck.”
“Oh come on, the thing is made of...p-pony...p-parts...” Dash argued, stopping to sputter out words that, upon further review, chilled her to the bone. A shiver ran up her spine. She shook her head. “It can't be that tough.”
“Rainbow,” Twilight said flatly, “I dropped the top of a building on it. It's still moving. It's using the magic it's absorbed to mend injuries. It's that tough.”
“What do we do then, Twi?” Applejack asked, keeping a weary eye on the beast.
“So long as it has the supply of mana it stole, the zombie will continue to operate,” Twilight explained.
“Then all we have to do is wail on it until it gets tired and stops?” Dash asked. “Piece of cake.”
“No, not a piece of cake,” Twilight said, scowling. “We have no idea how long it would take to run it down, or even if it couldn't keep moving after the mana infusion is exhausted. My scientific opinion is that we don't have the ability to win a war of attrition, which is exactly what would end up happening. We'd need to be assaulting it constantly just to make a dent in it, especially because it isn't going to wait for us if we left to rest. It's going to go after innocent ponies. It's why I kept fighting it as long as I did.”
The other two winced at this. Their blood ran cold. “So how do we stop it, then?” Applejack asked.
Twilight Sparkle considered it for a moment, rubbing her temples with her hooves. After a full minute, she looked away, towards her tree home. “...I think I know what to do...what I need to do.” She turned to the others. “Girls, I need you two to keep the creature busy while I work something on my end. Can you do that?”
Rainbow Dash blinked, then her brow furrowed hard. “How much time do you need?”
“I don't....I'm not sure, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “Minutes? An hour? No...no, if my plan hasn't worked out in an hour, it probably won't work at all. So yeah, an hour at most.”
“We can do that,” Dash said, looking down at the earth pony in her hooves. A wry smile appeared on her lips. “Or is that going to be too much for you, AJ?”
Applejack snorted. “Just put me down, Dashie, and we'll see who can last longer.”
“Thank you both!” Twilight said, watching the two most competitive members of their little group descend. “And be careful! It's beyond dangerous!”
“Don't worry, Twi! We'll be careful!” Applejack called back. The two went into a dive towards their quarry. As she saw Twilight – battered and tired like Big Macintosh after apple-bucking season – fly away to accomplish whatever clever ploy she had in mind, Applejack considered her own ploy. Admittedly, probably not as clever, but Applejack knew better than to try out-planning Twilight. “Hay Dash.”
“Yeah?” responded Rainbow Dash.
“Throw me at that varmint. Hard like.” She smirked. “You can do that, can't ya Dashie?”
“Just get ready to stick the landing!” Dash smirked in return, increasing her speed enormously.
Below, a zombie ambled about, scanning for movement. The only thing in its line of sight was the crumpled heap of an earth pony. But it wasn't moving, so it might as well have been a pile of dirt. “Uuuuhh...”
“Incoming ya dog-eared galoot!”
“Ruh?” the zombie said, turning its head drunkenly. It was just in time to get four hooves right into its face, moving at sixty miles an hour.
“Son of a...ugh...”
Twilight Sparkle staggered through the library that was her home, heaping scorn and curses on the books scattered on the floor. She had time earlier to clean up, and now paid for her procrastination. Paid in nearly tripping over stacks of curious volumes of forgotten lore.
The rough landing outside helped matters little. She could ill afford the delays, however. Twilight threw wide the basement door.
“Rarity? Is that you?”
Twilight slowly inched towards the stairs.
“Did you forget something? ...hello?”
The stairs might trip her up, causing her to fall. With a sigh, Twilight spread her aching wings and jumped down the rest of the way. She came to rest in front of the seated, bound human.
“...oh...” said Painwheel, assuming a frown and furrowed brows. “It's you.”
“Painwheel, I need to talk to you,” said the alicorn princess.
“Go away,” Painwheel said, craning her neck so as to remove the pony from her sight.
“It's important.”
“Not to me.”
“Painwheel, I know we've had our...problems...”
“Problems?” Painwheel said, eying the alicorn sideways. “You call what you did to me just a 'problem'?”
“Painwheel, we really don't have time for this,” Twilight said, fidgeting.
“Then when is a good time? When were you going to fit our 'problems' into your busy schedule, Your Highness?” Painwheel said, lacing the proper greeting with as much scorn and bile as she could muster while still remaining dismissive and uncaring. It was a thin line indeed. “How about we talk about-”
“Celestia damn it, Painwheel, my friends could die!”
Painwheel turned her head forward, for the first time really seeing her captor. Saw the sweat-drenched fur, the wobbly stance, the trembling muscles. The cuts, the bruises, the matted hair, and bloodshot eyes. And how in all this, the mare sagged. Truly sagged. A body carried like a mare four times her age and ground down by life. Even the tone of the objection was raspy, born more of desperation than anger.
Black and red eyes were alight. “What happened to you?”
“Painwheel, there is a creature – a monster made of flesh stolen from the dead – walking around Ponyville, attacking townsponies,” Twilight explained slowly, deliberately. “It is stronger and potentially more deadly than almost anything I've ever faced. And I can't stop it.
“But you can.”
“No.”
“What?” Twilight said, blinking.
“I said no.” Painwheel turned away again. “Find someone else to fight.”
“Oh come on!” Twilight whined, hazarding a step forward on shaky hooves. “Innocents are dying, my friends – your friends – are fighting for their lives just to buy time! You have to help!”
“Why the hell do I 'have' to do that?”
“Because it might be the Skull Heart!”
The human shot around again. She ignored the sharp pain in the neck, her parasites' objections to such sudden movement. “I...but...what?”
“The Skull Heart!” Twilight repeated, exasperated. “...I think. I only know the Skull Heart from your memories, but it could still be. You haven't seen it since you entered Equestria, right? What's to say it couldn't craft itself a new form, or summon some rudimentary minion? Seems not unlikely, given the time frame. And if so, you're partly respon-”
“No!” Painwheel yelled, gritting her teeth. She struggled against her bonds, the flush of agony in her flesh only fueling her anger. “Don't you dare blame this on me! I didn't try bringing the Skull Heart here! I didn't want to come here to begin with! So fuck you!”
“...Painwheel, I'm sorry, I know that was out of line and...”
“Fuck your sorry! Where was your sorry when you were raping my mind!?” Painwheel yelled, then twisted her neck to look away again. She huffed and puffed, letting herself settle back down. “I don't care if it is the Skull Heart. I don't care if it's a Skullgirl born again, or whatever. I'm not going to fight it. It's not my problem.”
Twilight gaped, mouth opening and closing rapidly in her attempt to find the words. She shook her head. “Painwheel, I know what I did was awful,” Twilight said, her voice beginning to hurt from the strain. “What I did was terrible, but especially to you. And I know I have no right to ask you to forgive me. But Painwheel....Painwheel please look at me!”
Grudgingly, Painwheel turned back to look at the alicorn.
“Painwheel,” Twilight said, eyes growing wet, “I'm not asking for your forgiveness here.” She crawled forward so she had to look up to meet the human's eyes. Twilight sat on her haunches, and clapped her front hooves together. “I'm asking for your help. Because I need it. All of Ponyville needs it.”
Against her will, Painwheel's face loosened to a sad, guilty frown. Then she shut her eyes, scrunching her face and shaking her head. “...I know...” she whispered, “but that's not what I want.”
“What do you want, then?” Twilight asked, shaking her clamped hooves closer.
“...I want...” Painwheel whispered, eyes clasped shut, “...to be free...”
“What?”
“I WANT TO BE FREE!” Painwheel screamed, tearing her eyes open. The force of the answer caused Twilight to stumble backwards in alarm. “I want to be free! I'm sick and tired of being everyone's slave! Their puppet! They're...God-damned...fucking...WEAPON!
“That's all I've been! I weapon to be used by others in their wars!” Painwheel's body shook violently, accompanied by shooting pain. She powered through it. “By Brain Drain against Lab 8. By Valentine in some backwards doublecross against the Skullgirl. And now even by you! I hate it!” She started screaming, angry tears running down her flushed face. “I want to be free from being a weapon! From being used! From these damned restraints!” She pulled against the wrist and neck and ankle bands that chained her to the chair. “Free from this society! From your fake friendships! Free from my PAIN!”
“Painwheel...” Twilight whispered, tears starting to form in her own eyes.
“...free...from my pain...” Painwheel continued, voice cracking. Shut, baggy eyes couldn't stop a well of tears from flowing down her face. She breathed heavily for a while, knuckles white from clutching the chair arms so hard. Gradually, she calmed down, leaning heavily back. “...I'm not going to fight the Skull Heart,” she said hoarsely, turning away. “I did my share of that already. Get some other killing machine to fight for you...”
Twilight Sparkle lay where she fell, staring at the human. She could not but stare for a small eternity. Then, slowly and shakily, she rose to her aching hooves. Twilight looked to the ground, stealing glances at Painwheel. She shook her head in disgust – disgust at herself – and turned around, rubbing a hoof to her weary face. Her foreleg tried admirably to brush away the tears. She sighed, looking back at Painwheel.
Twilight's lips trembled sadly. She blinked. Then stepped closer, horn beginning to spark and crackle.
It was harder this time, summoning the magic. More mana did she pump out in that fight than Twilight was used to. She recalled vaguely the anecdotes of foolhardy unicorns injuring themselves from overcasting. A fear the former unicorn thought she outgrew long ago when she took a fuller measure of her own power, and found it in generally in excess of what she could ever realistically need at any given time. She could feel the pain now, running up her horn and down into her brain (and to a lesser extent running along the matrix of magic lines that permeated her pony body). Could feel, in that spot somehow both behind her and in her and below her, and how empty the well felt. Felt woozy; light of head, confounding her concentration.
Felt the awful, indescribable vice grip on her heart.
She lit her horn; the aura flickered. Twilight clapped one eye shut in the effort.
Painwheel heard the working as it began, and turned facing forward in time to see the horn touch the foot of the chair. It flashed violet, then shifted to a golden yellow. The human shut her eyes, shaking her head in surprise. Her heart, not altogether relaxed from her previous emotional outburst, raced. She clutched the arms of the chair.
But she felt nothing, and opened her eyes, looking down. The tangle of glowing chains shattered and dissolved into wisps of light. Unconsciously, she cringed, feeling with quiet surprise as her body moved unhindered.
She looked at the alicorn. “...I don't understand...”
Twilight took several steps back, giving the human room. “You're right,” she said, shaking her head. “I should have done that long ago...and I have no right to ask you to fight on our behalf.” Twilight motioned towards the exit with a jerk of the head. “So there you go. You're free. You can do what you want.”
Painwheel rose uneasily, legs nearly buckling out from under her. She had to steady herself on the back of the chair. Joints popped audibly in multiple places, and the parasites squirmed painfully with the enhanced movement. Then she wobbled under the weight of the Buar Drive coming undone from its containment. She looked back to see it, letting it spin once or twice to test the movement.
Twilight Sparkle sighed sadly, looking down. She shut her eyes. At least she did one thing right.
Then she heard the metallic clatter, and felt the blade coming to rest against her neck.
“...uh?” Twilight chocked, eyes shooting open. The blade rose slowly up, and instinctively Twilight retreated with it. Her chin rose up as far as it could go just as she fell onto her flank. The Buar blade pressed against the flesh of her throat. A light tingle came from where they connected, making her wonder frantically if it drew blood. Her eyes traveled from the blades on over the metal cord and to the severe face of Painwheel.
Twilight shivered, eyes wide. The urge to swallow was enormous, but...she feared so to gulp. Would it be enough to cause the blade to bite deeper? Or would it be all the provocation Painwheel needed?
Painwheel's eyes bored into Twilight's skull, scarlet drill bits set in obsidian sockets.
Their sights remained locked onto and into each other. The pure, primal stare of predator and prey. And like the prey animal she was, Twilight froze. And just like the predator animal she was, Painwheel remained poised, coiled like a spring. Ready to pounce, and deliver death. The only sound of note was the sound of beating hearts, hers and hers.
Twilight shut her eyes first. On a visceral level, she longed to bolt. As is, she allowed a bated breath to flow out. She waited, cold sweat running down her back.
Painwheel waited, eyes finally playing over the submissive mare's form. She waited, sucking in breath. Then she sighed, shutting her eyes in turn. She willed it, and the blade retreated, leaving the naked throat with a single drop of blood.
Twilight Sparkle blinked, stifling a befuddled groan in her throat as she clutched at it with her hoof. The watched the human step back, then walk past.
Twilight inspected the small blood smear that came away on her foreleg, then turned to see Painwheel ascend the steps and exit the basement.
Painwheel got eight meters outside the library – which really was a literal tree house – before she heard the commotion in the distance. She looked up at the sky, cloudcover parting to reveal a sea of stars. The moon was out, just peeking from behind a wispy cloud. And there, near the center of town, she spotted a multi-colored trail in air. It was making right for the ground.
She had only a moment or so to wonder at the odd sight before a massive explosion went off over the source of the commotion.
“What the fuuuuuuu-!” Painwheel said, staggering back, hair whipping around as a shock wave washed over her. Balance remained an issue, so she fell over, catching herself only with the Buar Drive. She used it to boost herself back to her feet, running fingers through her messy brown hair.
The waves of color had yet to finish spreading before a low, guttural voice rang out in the distance. This was followed by several crashes, which sent clouds of dust billowing up.
Painwheel blinked. She shook her head, turning to walk in the opposite direction. Three steps was all she took before she stopped, looking over her shoulder. In the distance, the cries of ponies went out.
The human groaned, placing her face in her hands and rubbing it with all her might. She sighed, turning around and marching towards the fight.
Let's get this over with.
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well this is gonna be fun
Painwheel sending her Bauer Drive at Twilight was a really good move by the author... caught me off guard, but also was so completely in character that it made sense why she did it, though it's so insane that you still realize that Painwheel is kinda crazy.
4828881
I'm surprised she doesn't have a Multiple-Personality-Disorder on top of it.
Trauma, Betrayal, PTSD, Reconditioning, Modification, Mind control, oh and she's seen more blood then any vet from a war. It's to be expected.
Here we go. This is going to be awesome.
Can we expect another Skullgirls character?
There isn't really way to them to get to Equestria, or know or (would have) motivation to get Painwheel. Did Brain Drain die? I don't remember?
Random idea: How would Painwheel interact with Fukua?
In the words of the author and Beetlejuice,
4829398 All of these are valid points, and would be illogical behavior in a rational fighter.
Painwheel is not rational. She's been driven into a psychotic rage, and had a very big last couple days on top of that. Fighting a half-dozen opponents, all potentially deadly to even her, and in their own unique ways. And running a gauntlet of them, all in one day? That would tax experienced fighters.
Speaking of, Painwheel really isn't an experienced fighter. The events of her story mode, barring whatever training she received in the short months prior in Lab Zero (or possibly just Brain Drain implanting the combat skills), were the full extent of her real fighting experience. One really stressful, fight-filled day. And most of those fights were one-on-one.
Before all that? A teenage schoolgirl. Who gardened. A tactical genius Painwheel is not, even without a stress/pain-fueled rage on top of it.
4830076 Probably not. Aside from the fact that it would be a bitch to figure out how to get other characters to Equestria, this is, first and foremost, Painwheel's story. It's specifically about her. Anything more would be beyond the scope of what I want to do (right now).
That being said, non-canon omake chapters are not out of the question.
4830253 I expected as much that the only would Painwheel.
4830253
I'm not asking for it (personally, I hate her), but it wouldn't exactly be the hardest thing ever to fit Fukua into this story. I mean, if I'm correct, her story takes place in Filia's dreams. Maybe this whole thing is just a result of Filia dreaming about Carol with a pony plushie next to her...
(Props if you get the partial reference there.)
Nice