Outsider's Game: Turning Wheel

by Bluecho

03 - Arresting Warrant

Ch. 03 - Arresting Warrant

---

“And so then Apple Bloom comes up and asks me for a...a...ah shoot!”

Applejack shook her head, pounding a hoof against the ground. “Ah can't plum remember what it was called. Somethin' about carbonation, I think.”

“Carbonation? Really?” asked Twilight Sparkle, walking alongside her friend. Following just behind was Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Twilight scratched her head.

“Naw, I ain't sure,” said Applejack. “That's the problem. Carbonator. Carburetor? I think it's that one.”

“Oh, well in that case it's...”

“Swell,” interjected Rainbow Dash, her shoulders sagging mid-flight. “Another Twilight lecture. Wake me when it's over, will you Fluttershy?”

The yellow pegasus simply mumbled a noncommittal response, not seeking to offend either party.

Twilight for her part merely rolled her eyes. “Anyway...a carburetor, or Atomizer, is a small device used to break liquid into small particles that can then be suspended in air.”

Realization suddenly dawned on Applejack, causing her to halt in place. “So that's where Granny Smith's perfume bottle went. Oh, Apple Bloom is going to get a stern talkin' to when ah get back...just as soon as ah figure out what she used it for.”

“Eh, I'm sure Bloom and her friends just wanted to become Cutie Mark Crusader perfume specialists or something,” commented Dash, idly floating on past the now-stopped group. When she peaked behind, she doubled back to stick with her friends.

“Didn't they already do that...?” whispered Fluttershy, before a loud scream made her jump.

The cafe owner ran up to the assembled ponies, panting and sweating like a pig. “Princess! Princess!” he called, carefully hopping over the floored Fluttershy. “Princess Twilight!”

“Whoa, slow down!” Twilight said, trying to calm down the terrified stallion. “What's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost.”

“A GHOST!?” Fluttershy yelped, frantically looking back where the stallion came. Seeing nothing, she threw her arms over her head, curling into a fetal position.

The stallion huffed and puffed, gasping for breath. “Wasn't a ghost. Wish it were. Ghosts don't attack my restaurant. Don't smash stuff up and eat off ponies' plates.” He looked straight into Twilight's eyes, as serious as he could. “It was a monster!”

“A monster?” Twilight exclaimed. “What kind of monster? What did it look like?”

“It...it stood on its hind l-legs...” he said, shaking like a leaf. “Had horrible red eyes. Stood just taller than a full grown stallion. It looked all bony, except it had these powerful muscles. And it was angry! Angry and hungry!”

“Did it try ta eat anypony?” Applejack asked, growing agitated.

“Well no, but it didn't take kindly to anyone at my cafe being around,” he said, looking over his shoulder. “Since it scared everypony off, I was just going to let it eat its fill and leave. But then it started growling at some innocent mare.” He was growing more frazzled, a few tears running down his face. “I t-tried to scare it off, but it swung its t-tail at me...oh that tail! It was so awful! I ran away after that, and the monster might still be loose!”

“Outrageous!” shouted Rainbow Dash, working herself into a fume. “Come on girls, we need to trounce this monster!”

“Wait...”

“We can't have another beastie loose on our streets!” Applejack affirmed, cocking her hat.

“No really...wait...”

“Something like that doesn't ring any bells,” said Twilight, stroking her chin thoughtfully. “At least it's nothing I've read about. This thing needs to be studied.”

“Wait!” Fluttershy shouted, drawing everypony's attention. When she had it, Fluttershy struggled under their eyes, squirming. But then she regained her resolve, saying, “That creature sounds like it was just hungry and malnourished. For all we know it was driven to desperation...you know, if it decided to walk into Ponyville and all. We should be gentle about...”

“Gentle smentle, Fluts!” Rainbow retorted. “A monster tried to attack ponies. We gotta take it down.”

“Dash is right,” Twilight said, a statement that made Rainbow glow with pride. “But so is Fluttershy.”

Rainbow's pride deflated. “Wait huh?”

“We can't just let a dangerous, unknown creature wander around town, that much is certain,” Twilight explained. She looked up to the airborne pegasus. “Rainbow Dash, I need you to find Rarity and Pinkie Pie. We might need all the help we can get. In the meantime, we'll go ahead and see if Fluttershy can't talk the beast down. Can you do that? For me?”

Dash looked annoyed, snorting. “Fine, but I still think I should fly in first to hit the thing.” Showing admirable restraint, she didn't defy marching orders, instead flying away from the direction the cafe owner came from. She had a suspicion where their errant friends could be found.

“Alright, Applejack and Fluttershy, form on me!” Twilight said, walking forward. “We'll look all over town if we have to. Let's move!”

As her two friends joined the running, Applejack worried. “Ah just hope Apple Bloom and her friends ain't getting into any trouble. Ah couldn't stand it if they found the monster first.”

---

“Woo! This is so much fun!”

Scootaloo screamed with joy, feeling the wind in her mane as the Cutie Mark Crusaders rode their automobile contraption through the streets.

“Ah know, right?” Apple Bloom stated, watching the buildings fly by. “Wonder why nopony else decided to build something like this?”

“Maybe they were all too afraid of speed?” said Sweetie Belle, looking down at the ground they traversed over. Watching such motion made her a bit nauseous, though, and she turned away to check the engine. It billowed smoke like a small brush fire. “You think it's supposed to do that?” she said, pointing back to the engine.

“Don't know,” said Scootaloo, before turning her head back to the road and barely managing a turn on their primitive steering rod to avoid a running pony pedestrian. “Gah! Where did that pony think he was going?” She looked forward and saw a number of other ponies frantically fleeing, all away from the same direction. “What the hay?”

“What do ya'll think the commotion is?” Apple Bloom asked. “Do ya think ponies heard about us and wanted to see for themselves?”

“I don't...wah!” Scootaloo yelped as their vehicle hit a bump in the road. They swerved around a fair bit, the miniature pegasus trying to regain control. It was only when they ran straight through a newspaper stand that she managed to straighten their course.

“Ah!” shouted Sweetie Belle, clawing newspaper from across her face. “Maybe we should stop the machine!”

“Maybe you're right,” said Scootaloo, looking around their rudimentary control system. Within seconds, her concern turned to confusion. “Wait, how do we stop the cart?”

“What?” asked Apple Bloom. “What do ya mean how do we stop the cart?”

Scootaloo's pupils shrank. “Oh Celestia, there's no break! We never put a break into the cart!”

“Oh...” whispered Sweetie Belle, her spirits dropping considerably. “I knew there was something we forgot.”

“We don't have any way to stop this thing!” Scootaloo shouted, gripping the control rod with both hooves. “We can't stop!”

The three fillies started screaming.

---

Applejack swore she could hear screaming somewhere in the distance. “Heads up ya'll. I hear something!”

“Oh, I hope somepony isn't getting hurt,” said Fluttershy, flapping as hard as she could to keep up with her friends. The three had run up and down the streets looking for the creature, but found nothing.

But someone did find them. Rainbow Dash flew overhead. She called down to them, “Girls! I found Rarity and Pinkie Pie! They'll meet us a little ways over in that direction.” She pointed a hoof down a side street.

“Thanks Dash!” Twilight yelled, directing her group down the indicated avenue. “Anything else?”

“Yeah,” Dash said, flapping over the rooftops to she could see over the buildings. “I think I saw the monster. Not sure, it was pretty far off. But I knew you wanted to wait to engage. You're welcome by the way.”

“Thanks!” Twilight shouted. “Also, what's with that screaming?”

“Don't know,” Rainbow said. “I'm going to join back up with the others. See you later!” With that, she zoomed ahead, leaving the others to catch up.

In the distance, the screaming continued.

---

The screaming just wouldn't stop. It was giving Painwheel an even worse headache. And it was getting closer.

Pissed off as she was, the anti-Skullgirl weapon almost relished a chance to stop the noise. With her bare hands, if need be. What confused Painwheel was why the screams were distant. Plenty of people – human and pony alike – vocalized their fright upon seeing her. That just made sense. And they were at least sensible enough now to bolt or hide as she walked past. But what was going on in this town that separate terror occurred in the distance that could somehow outweigh her?

Rounding a corner, Painwheel was almost certain she could hear the squeal of tires on pavement. And a rapidly approaching smoke column hanging above it. “The hell?” Painwheel said.

Then a ramshackle cart with a ramshackle engine block roared into view. Upon it strode a pale horse, alongside a sunny yellow one and a pumpkin orange one. Three fillies, desperately trying to control their death wagon and screaming bloody murder. And they were driving straight towards Painwheel.

“What the fuck!?” Painwheel yelled, diving away from the path of the oncoming automobile. But then a thought entered her mind: these stupid kids were going to get themselves – and everyone else – killed. It had to be stopped. If only to silence their voices.

First she dropped to all fours. Then, she extended the Buar Drive to it would intersect with the cart. But instead of starting a spin, she had the blades switch forms. It's fairly obvious to anyone stupid enough to fight Painwheel that her Buar Drive's primary function is as a rotary saw for cutting her opponents to ribbons. But few realize she can have the four individual blades turn or shift into different configurations. One of them was to stack the four together to produce one, thick scythe blade for applying extra mass to one hit. Another is to fold their bent points inward to produce what amounted to a massive, sharp hand.

More than a few infuriating opponents found themselves unexpectedly grabbed and pulled in for more personal punishment. If she hadn't been so enraged, she might even enjoy their surprise.

It was a simple matter of applying the same basic technique to the moving cart as it rolled past. The blades sank deep into the wood, causing the fillies within to jerk forward.

But momentum is a cruel mistress, and Painwheel felt herself being pulled along. “What...?” She tried to maintain her footing, but she merely slid on the surface.

“Aaaaah!” the fillies shrieked, looking back and forth between their current heading and the creature hampering them.

“Can't...stop...” Painwheel grunted. There was no helping it. Contracting her muscles, she felt shooting pain course through her arms and legs. She felt the breech of her skin as the Gae Bolga parasites extended their black hooks out and sunk into the ground. They produced barbs that arrested the force that would free them, causing her to stop completely.

It was...unpleasant.

But it worked as intended, and the tires on the cart began spinning in place, anchored as they were. Seeing her handiwork, Painwheel pulled the cart back, preparing for a heavy feat. “RRAAGGH!”

With that, she lifted the automobile over her head and sent it flying in the other direction. Looking up, she saw the three little ponies tumble out and land with the sound of 'poof' on the ground some meters away from the cart when it came down.

“Dang...” said Scootaloo, groggily. “What happened?”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders wobbled to their hooves, looking over to their wrecked vehicle.

“Wow...” Apple Bloom said, seeing their masterwork. She rubbed a scratch on her foreleg. “That could have gone better.”

“Do you think it'll still run after this?” Sweetie Belle asked, her voice popping.

As if in answer, the flaming engine exploded, showing the surrounding few meters in shrapnel, though not far enough to hurt anypony. The engine faced away, so the bottom of the cart absorbed some of the blast. With that, the entire cart burst into flames.

“...yeah, I don't think so...” Scootaloo stated, pupils shrinking. The three stood there watching the blaze. “Looks our automobile is a bust. But hey, at least we're okay. Right girls?”

A low, guttural growl from behind caused the fillies to turn around. They looked up, meeting the gaze of a very angry human.

Painwheel looked down upon them. Stupid kids. Could have gotten themselves killed. What business do little kids have building and operating powered cars? None, that's what! She ought to...

…to what exactly? Painwheel began to question her own rage, something she was not want to do. What would she do to the kids, honestly? Kill them? Painwheel shook her head, resetting her gaze back on them. Whatever she did, she couldn't just let them walk away like that. She was the adult here...after a fashion...so she should met out a good scolding.

“Stupid!” she growled, watching as they cowered in a huddle. “What the hell was that? You could have killed someone! Stupid kids. I ought to...grah!” She barked, and the three whimpered together. Perhaps now they knew their...

“GET AWAY FROM THEM!”

Painwheel spun around to see...wow, six mares arrive on the scene. And when they didn't look afraid – as more than one certainly did – they looked absolutely pissed.

Maybe scolding the kids wasn't such a good idea.

Comments

[Sirob1687]

Holy Hell i cant wait for moar Moar MOar MOAr MOAR MOAR!!!!!

pretty please

[Spoojy214]

Nooooo damn you and your cliffhangers
WANT MOAR!!!

[Tattered Ribbon]

wow hey this is pretty good.

[the one guy on the left]

Ok i know this is corny as hell but I'm hooked!

[Oubliette]

Cutie mark Crusaders Time Travelers!
How much you wanna bet thatthemtrying that would accidentally summon an Elder God?

[light snow]

See the reason I don't like the CMC is because all they ever do is get in trouble, and trouble for others.

[Oubliette]

Rereading this after a hundred or so hours of Skullgirls play, I wonder why Painwheel didn't have a flashback to the Toontown Swag Wagon(Double's Bandwagon ult). That is the bane of my existence when I play Painwheel.

[Edguy0009]

4616377
In one fic one of them is an elder god and I'm not telling you which one.

[Dark reaper]

10268807

In which story exactly? You can give a link!