6: Burning Passion
Pyro hummed happily to himself as he rapidly chopped meat, vegetables, and potatoes as he stood at the kitchen counter. He took his time with each chop, as he was in no rush to finish. The entire group had just had breakfast, after all, and he was preparing dinner. He'd decided a nice, rich, thick stew would be perfect for feeding the huge group. Besides, it let him show his skills in the kitchen off. Spy's recommendation placed him as the primary chef for the group, and he loved how easily his candy cane sunk into the mouths of BLU cherubs-
He paused, closing his eyes as he shook himself again. He didn't need the delusion here. He didn't want it here. He wanted to be normal, healthy, stable. He wanted to be a good parent to Fluttershy. She needed to grow up healthy if she was to take him to Rainbow Land.
Opening his eyes, he once more saw his knife, meat, and vegetables. He turned to his left. There she sat, the rainbow child that so disturbed and invigorated him. She stared up at him, the living rainbow pouring off of her in gentle waves, filling the air around her with foreign color. As he held his hand out to her, she nuzzled him. He gently stroked her head. His mind and body calmed.
He turned back to his work, cutting the ingredients to proper size. He then began braising the beef while he sautéed the vegetables and potatoes, getting everything to the right level of cooking while he prepared the stock. Here he let the rainbows back in carefully, watching the ebb and flow of Rainbow Land as it showed him right when to shift each and every lollipop to make the sparkles become the colors he wanted as they fell into the pot of gold, candies sparkling as they leaped from the pot before falling back in. Happily he added stardust, sprinkles, balloons, marshmallows, butterflies, and apple juice. Taking his mirror, he plunged it into the pot of gold to stir the sparkles into a rainbow slushie, perfect for toppings.
He felt the touch of a small hoof on his arm, and turned. Rainbow Land faded away slowly as he saw Fluttershy staring at the stock pot, her mouth beginning to water. He turned his eyes back. The stock had reached the right heat setting, and the seasonings he'd added were making it release a truly mouth-watering aroma...if his gas mask allowed him to smell it, at any rate.
He happily lifted his spoon from the pot, taking a very small bit of stock with it, holding it carefully over his hand. He blew through his mask several times to cool it, then held it out to Fluttershy to taste. It had been discovered the previous day that, while Fluttershy refused to eat anything made of meat, meat flavors were perfectly fine, and drew her in. So the meaty base of the stock for the stew was perfectly okay for her.
She blew on the spoon a few times herself, then carefully lapped the stock from it. She smiled happily, obviously loving the taste. Pyro smiled happily under his mask. He always enjoyed seeing the smiles he spread, whether with his food, his rambunctious behavior, or his rainbow wand...
He turned back to the pot, stirring a bit more as he made sure nothing stuck to the sides of the pot. Setting the spoon aside, he let the pot simmer to slow cook the stew till evening. He then began preparing a cold lunch for everyone. He struggled to keep himself from slipping back in.
It was hard, so very hard...so much harder than it had been. He'd always believed that Rainbow Land was a product of his own mind, and that conviction allowed him to control when he was in the delusion and when he was in reality. However, Fluttershy made him question. She was real, but she was of the Rainbow Land. Did that mean the Rainbow Land was real?
These questions made the line between the delusion and reality blur, as he began to wonder if it really was delusion. What could Rainbow Land be? If its energy poured from Fluttershy's body, she was from it. If she came from it, it was real. If it was real, then did he somehow slip into it when the world he knew was more than he could take? Where was Rainbow Land, then? Here and not here at the same time?
"HRRRGH!" he finally groaned out, clutching his head as he sank onto his rear, letting the floor catch him. The questions never stopped. He understood so much, could read the world so well. When the team had broken up before the onslaught of the robots, he had made several fortunes running various companies, though he hadn't enjoyed it. He was brilliant, but he couldn't communicate with anyone...and the questions tore his mind apart with their inability to find answers.
A concerned mewl came from his lap. Fluttershy sat there, her forehooves rested against his chest as she stretched up, nuzzling his mask as she stared worriedly up at him.
Pushing his own pain aside, he quickly stroked her mane and under her chin, struggling to reassure her. The more he thought about these things, the harder they were to answer or face...but just spending time with Fluttershy helped him to push it aside. As he held and caressed her, it almost felt like the rainbow light she gave off infused him, pushing aside his stress and replacing it with joy. Standing up, he held her under one arm as he finished making everyone's preferred cold lunch.
Setting them aside, he then prepped another dish of baby food for Fluttershy. They had all agreed that, since they had no idea what sort of creature she was really, they would feed her when she was hungry, until she was full, and then treat her like any infant. He'd felt her stomach rumbling under his hand, so he fished out a clean spoon and began to feed her, still holding her. She really liked being held while she ate.
Once she finished eating, he sat and cuddled her. She didn't like moving around too soon after eating, so he pulled out a coloring book. Laying it down on the table, he pulled out the crayons. He then colored with Fluttershy. She wasn't big enough to hold the crayons yet, but he got around that by doing a color-by-number style. He'd point to an area on the picture, Fluttershy would point to the crayon, and he'd use that color until she pointed to another. They both loved doing this as a leisure activity.
After a time, though, she began to futz, as she wanted to move. Setting her down, he pulled out what he had prepared for this moment. A brightly colored, fluffy ball quickly drew Fluttershy's attention. Seeing her looking up at it in wonder, he dropped it. As it bounced on the floor, it tingled.
Fluttershy ducked behind his boot, hiding from the noise. When it didn't come again, she stepped out carefully, staring at the ball. After a bit, she slowly walked towards it, and gently batted it with a hoof. It tingled as it moved in response to her hoof. She pulled back, but not as far. Walking forward, she batted it again. As she realized the noise came as a response to the ball moving, and she could move the ball, she became curious and excited. She began batting the ball rapidly in eagerness as she chased it across the floor.
Pyro laughed happily as he sat down to watch, keeping a careful eye on her as she played. Her innocent exuberance eased his troubled mind. Perhaps answers weren't as important as joy.
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cool
Daww...
s3.postimg.org/cp1by3vmb/image.jpg
Nice.
I like how it delves into the mind of the Pyro and how one's mind can be truly devastated and saved by the smallest things around them. Very well done.
4533988
Thanks.
Pyro is a double edged sword to write for. On the one hand, he can be easy to write adequately, if you just go with what has been given with the materials, or just write an outside perspective of him. To write him really well...to dive into his mind...it's a challenge.
4533994
I must say, you have truly overcome that challenge. I took Psychology for a while, and I must say, this is one of the finest workings infusing writing and the subject. Very well done.
..My..My heart..
Good god, you're making me laugh at the antics of the team, then feel for the Pyro's inner thoughts, then killing me with Shyabetes.
Make up your mind, man!
4533994
I have always been fascinated with abnormal psychology.
and I must say, this chapter reminds me of an educational video I once watched
(note: its fairly disturbing event with limited senses)
all in all... very well done.
Just an FWI but pyro has been unofficially been diagnosed with schizophrenia and being male by gametheory
Huzzah for Fluttercat!
Perhaps Pyro has the ability to see magical energy. His brain doesn't know how to interpret it properly, so it conjures up images that are related to magic instead. Instinctively, he knows what it is, but with not having had an instructor...well, we've got him as he is. This theory would actually explain why, when he does one of his taunts, he launches a small spray of fire from his hands.
While he believes magic is real, he doesn't think that he himself can use it, and so it limits his ability to recognize it for what it is, as well as his abilities with it; sort of like imagining that you're in pain on a chosen area of your body. There might be nothing actually wrong with you, but you're so convinced that you're injured that it actually hurts (I did this with my left knee for several months after banging it on a metal bar. It stopped hurting once I convinced myself there was nothing wrong with me. Took forever, though; not easy to unlearn something.)
rock and roll
4534122
SERIOUSLY, TF2 DOES NOT FOLLOW REAL LIFE LOGIC, GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULLS PEOPLE!!!! YEEESH!!
BULL.
There were feels when Pyro was struggling with his mind, Fluttershy's concern adding to said feels.
Then it gave way to sheer adorableness through their leisurely activities
4534239 orly? Check out the Pyro's symptoms and schizophrenia's and you will find that they are almost a perfect match. Mental disconnect, visual and auditory hallucinations along with delusions including animals. All schizophrenia.
4534122 Yes, but it's a Theory, an educated guess.
Plus fics don't really need to follow the rues of what they are based on; it's how fan-fics came to be.
We need Demo for next chapter.
Pretty please?
4534006
Wow. High praise indeed.
4534262
Fluttershy can eat things made using meat - such as a beef stock - but she won't eat the meat itself. So when she's old enough to be served a helping of stew, she'll either eat around the bits of meat or someone will pick them out for her. The paragraph where Pyro let her taste covered that.
*wipes tears away* ahem, right...um football, sports, testosterone, meat, shotguns.......
If you tell anybody I was crying you will be DEAD......
Not big surprise.
4534289
..... 
tf2 is a game who's nine classes reagularly defy the laws of physics and reality itself, not to mention the insane australians being super smart punch happy muscle gods. the soldier can fly around the battlefield by shooting explosive rockets at his feet and can increase his damage output by playing a trumpet. the sniper throws jars of his own piss at people to not only extinguish fires, but also make them more susceptible to damage, the scout can defy the laws of physics by jumping in the air while in the air, demoman can fight on equal terms with the explosive mercs with a sword and shield instead of a grenade launcher and stickybomb launcher, the engineer is able to make sentry guns out of scrap metal, the spy can turn invisible and can pull a mystique by completely changing into another person, the pyro can use compressed air to reflect rockets and arrows, medic created a gun that shoots healing energy and has a crossbow that heals allies, but hurts enemies, and heavy can regain lost health by eating a sandwich... what im trying to say is, game theory did not even have the right to 'deduce' pyros gender because i the game is so insane it would probably be wrong.
...and with that, rant over.
4533994
You pull it off wonderfully. You've portrayed all the Mercs well, but I feel like Pyro is especially good.
I find myself especially interested in his subplot, and it'll be interesting to see where that leads. Especially once the Administrator's plans progress, and everything goes to hell in a handbasket.
This story was gold now is diamond!!
So cute! I want to see how she reacts around Spy or Demoman
Woo yea!
D'aaaawwww, this was so adorable! Also, food for thougths about Pyro, his storyline seems to have importance to the endgame, I think. Anyway, who's next?
-Zeph
4534778 This story is not diamonds....
IT IS MAGIC! MAGIC UNICORN FARTS AND LOLLIPOPS AND RAINBOWS AND CANDY CANES AND GUMDROPS AND SPARKLES AND FRIENDSHIP!
4534107
"Make a list!"
"Make a longer list!"
Dammit Twilight! I just want some goddamn coffee!
EDIT: Goddamnit.... Now I have an idea for another story...
Also, that was..
AWESOME! All I get are voices in the back of my head who attempt to coerce me into doing things. I sometimes see things, usually a trick of my eyes in the shadows or something or a simple second long hallucination. I don't have a 'potentially dangerous enough case to warrant medication' or it is 'the effects of an overactive imagination'. Personally, I just make friends with the voices in my head and let them bicker and argue amongst themselves while I laugh at them.
I love this story so much (and that it's updated quickly)
. Also, I'm guessing that when we get to the Engineer's part, or some other time during the story, that it's revealed he knows more than he puts on (just a guess/thought). 
Got a felling that the Engineer is a Brony, Must be something in his life that has made him know about her (family, children other...). Plus how scout handled her too surprised me. I thought that he was the Brony of the 9.
I was happy pyro was first cause his story with fluttershy is just so interesting. His struggles with reality and fantasy is just well written
Cant wait to read more.
4536952 Ladies like a man who's good with kids; don't know about Engineer though.
it's nice so far. keep up the good work!
4539177
Yes, Helen is the announcer.
4536952
That theory sounds good to me.
Hmm I'm scared for flutter shy with Helen
My heart wasn't ready for such a dangerous amount of adorableness.
This proves it, people! A little bit of daily FIM is therapeutic! Just look at these results:
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= 
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(okay, so it doesn't work for EVERYbody, but 3 out of 4 ain't bad!)
A very nicely done chapter!
4534050 It exploded, didn't it?
4548380
s3.amazonaws.com/rapgenius/filepicker%2FZa9kYbmHRKeZSLkBdJcB_flatline.jpg
>>Honey Blossom
oh shes the woman in purple right?..she is in some team fortress 2 videos right?..because i think ive seen her
These Daww levels are much too high.
Yea in meet the medic when the screen flips over to Archimedes top right you can see her blurry tho
Cuteness level OVER 9000
(Idk why I went super saiyan thar)
Man this is a fantastic story!
ABANDON SHIP!!!!! THIS IS CUTE OVERLOAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Seriously though, I am really loving this story.
Was that ball Scout's baseball or not?
Stardust?
Sprinkles?
Balloons?
Marshmallows?
Butterflies?
Apple juice?
A Mane 6 course dinner?
4613396
I like how Rarity looks glad about being a marshmallow.
Where did that come from, the Rarity and Marshmallow thing?