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Pound and Pumpkin Tales 2

by Never2muchpinkie

Chapter 68: 8-13: Home at last

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With a flash of Twilight’s horn they were outside Fluttershy’s cottage. Mayhem opened the door immediately, and his lip quivered as he saw her sitting down reading her book. “Mommy!”

He poofed over to the surprised mare, hugging her and crying.

“Oh, no,” she said sadly, putting her hooves around him. “Something went terribly wrong again, didn’t it?”

“N-no!” he cried out.

“Quite the opposite,” said Twilight, walking into the house and closing the door with her magic. “He got to have his playtime, but there were a few unexpected incidents. He helped a girl who was suffering terribly with guilt, and that in turn helped her entire family.

“He also helped me with my own issue. He showed he truly earned his redemption.”

“Wow,” said Fluttershy. “It sounds like you had quite the day. If you helped so many ponies then why do you seem so miserable?”

He looked up at her, tears still streaming down his eyes. “I’m just…” He sniffed. “I’m so happy you’re my mommy!”

She gave him a warm smile, a few tears coming down her own eyes. “I’m happy about that too.”

“I-I-I… I tried to kill you the day of your party. I hurt Pound and Pumpkin and everyone there, but after everything was over, and the twins were healed, you… y-y-you stood up for me.

“You could feel my heart even then, and-and rather than condemn me you asked for me to be let out. You said that you felt bad for me, even though I had just done something so horrible.

“And t-that’s not all!” His voice began to come out shaky. “You gave me a name when I didn’t have one, letting me be my own person apart from Daddy. And… and…” He began to sob, sounding on the verge of breaking down again. He squeezed tighter. “And you also gave me my first hug.

“E-even then, when I didn’t understand love, I could feel it. I could feel you meant it, and weren’t just pretending to care. And after that you began to look after me and teach me more about love.

“You didn’t have to do that.” He wiped the tears from his eyes. “You didn’t have to do any of this, but all this time you’ve been looking after me. Even when I screwed up again you still treated me with love by being mean to get me to stay and take responsibility for my actions.”

He set his head on her shoulder as he began to gently sob again. “You’re the reason I made all my friends. You’re the reason I was able to help Spring Meadow and her family, as well as Twilight. It was all you!”

He squeezed her tight. “I don’t know if it’s a big deal to you, but it’s everything to me! I might not have been born from you, but I wouldn’t exist if not for you wanting to give me another chance.

“I love you! I love you, Mommy!”

“I love you too, Mayhem,” she said serenely, letting out a little sob. “I never expected to be a mother. I didn’t think I could handle it… but then you came into my life. I knew you would need me from the first day, that moment when you looked to me as if to ask my permission to play with Pound and Pumpkin.

“At first… I just saw you like a smaller Discord. You were just someone I had to help. When you started calling me mommy I didn’t think much of it at first. If it helped you I didn’t mind. I didn’t see you as a son at first. I was effectively just foalsitting Discord’s kid.”

She pulled him back, staring into his eyes. “I don’t know when exactly the shift happened, but at some point I began to feel like I really was your mother in everything but blood. I loved having you cuddle with me at night. I began to get a warm feeling whenever you called me mommy. You made the daily task of caring for the animals easier, doing everything and anything you could think of to make my day better.

“You could be a bit of a hooffull at times, but I don’t regret it for an instant.” She kissed his forehead. “I’m so happy to call you my child.”

Mayhem gave her a warm smile.

“I sure would like to hear about what happened today.” She saw his face fall, but before he could say a word she continued, “However, right now I feel like you just want to cuddle some more and settle down.” Now she could see the relief on his face as she pulled him closer again.

“You’re right, Mommy. It’s not that I don’t want to tell you. I do! I really do! I know you’re gonna be so proud. I’m just feeling emotionally drained with everything that went on.”

“I understand. You can tell me when you’re ready.”

It was quiet for a little while as they snuggled.

“I’ve gotten you home safely,” said Twilight, “so I’m gonna head out and you leave you two alone.

“Goodbye.”

“Wait!” Mayhem cried out as her horn lit up.

He poofed out of Fluttershy’s hooves and appeared in front of her, hugging her. “You can leave if you want to, but I just wanted to make sure I said thank you again for being there for me today. If you hadn’t been supporting me all day I don’t know if I could have done everything I did today.”

Twilight returned the hug. “You’re very welcome.”

Mayhem got antsy, pulling away from her as soon as she released him. “Sorry, Twilight. I love you, but right now I just want my mommy.”

“I’m not offended.”

Mayhem floated back over to Fluttershy, who put her hooves out and held him again. “Bye, Twilight.”

“Thank you, Twilight,” said Fluttershy. “Mayhem has been pretty down lately, what with what happened last week. I’m glad you came up with the plan you did to get Mayhem out of the house and able to cause a little chaos. He might be a little down now, but I can tell he’s feeling better.”

“You’re welcome, Fluttershy.”

Twilight bit her lip, wondering if she should bring up Mayhem being at the cutecenera. After a few moments she decided against it. Mayhem had gone above and beyond today, helping two families get back on track. Maybe it wasn’t quite right to keep it a secret, but after all the growth he showed she didn’t want to see him regress.

In the end, his statement about being told to keep his identity a secret showed that Fluttershy likely just did it out of sympathy. He also expressed the desire to keep on fighting to be able to see them openly again, so she didn’t think he would, on his own, defy the parents to sneak out to see them.

Looking at it on a scale, no benefits at all would come from spilling the beans. It would only have bad, possibly disastrous, consequences. If she told the parents, and they became angry enough to permanently ban him from seeing their children, it would devastate him. If he lost the reason he was fighting, seeing his friends again, his heart would crumble. He would either give up and become a guilt-ridden recluse like Spring Meadow, or become so frustrated and full of pain he’d turn into a vengeful, wrathful being of destruction, neither of which she was willing to risk.

It was safest for everyone if she just kept silent. She had felt obligated to tell the parents about Mayhem’s actions because he had put their children’s lives at risk. What he had done here was really no worse than breaking curfew or stealing some ice cream. It was so minor it wasn’t worth blowing him up over it when compared to the good he had done.

She’d keep quiet about this as long as Mayhem didn’t make a habit of sneaking out to visit them.

With a final farewell she teleported out.

After about twenty minutes Mayhem finally spoke again. “I feel better now. I do want to tell you about today, but… would you mind waiting for a little bit?”

“I’ve already been waiting, haven’t I?” said Fluttershy.

“I don’t know if you’re going to get upset, but I want to tell my friends first. You already know a little bit, but they don’t know anything at all. I don’t want to keep them waiting. I want them to know everything is alright so they don’t worry about me.”

“That’s fine.”

Mayhem went and grabbed his journal, writing for a while. After he put down his pen he returned to her.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. Would you like me to give you my memories of today?”

She shook her head. “No. I’d rather hear it from you directly.”

“It would be a lot easier the other way.”

“I don’t want to just take the easy way when it comes to you. Sure, with your magic I could know everything in a second, but that takes away what makes it special to you.

“I want to hear everything. The good and the bad, the things you felt… all of it.”

“What did you mean about taking away what makes it special?”

“Your memories are a treasure, and I want to enjoy the journey with you as you tell me all about it. Just giving me everything would take away some of the real magic of the experience.”

“I… don’t really get it. What would change between telling you and letting you see it?”

“Because magic itself doesn’t create bonding experiences. What matters is the heart and soul you put into it.

“I’m going to explain things, and the first part of what I say may sound hurtful, but please just try to listen to everything before getting upset.”

“Um… okay.”

“For me, on a personal level, I have no interest in what you did today. After all, I wasn’t there for it. I didn’t get any wishes, so why should I care about it just looking solely at myself?”

That was a hurtful statement, and he tried real hard to not let it get to him.

However, I care about and love you. I know that today was important to you, and so it’s important to me because it matters to you.

“Where the bonding comes in is showing we’re willing to share our time with each other. I’m willing to sit here as long as I need to in order to get the whole story. And you show you value me by wanting to share your heart and experiences with me.”

“But isn’t that what I’m already trying to do?”

“Let me put it another way. When you make a fantasy game do you have every little detail planned out?”

He shook his head. “No. I think it’s boring if I know everything ahead of time. I like the mystery of not knowing what’s coming next.”

“Exactly. If you snap and give me all your memories that’s boring for me. There’s no mystery, no buildup, no wondering what comes next or how you solved a problem. It’s just all there in one big chunk so I’ll already know how every situation ended.

"I want to experience this journey the same way you did: in little bits and pieces. That way I'll get to enjoy the excitement and mystery of not already knowing all the details.”

Mayhem nodded. “Oh! I get it. I see what you mean now. So, okay, I’ll tell you all about it.”

***

Sometime later Pound and Pumpkin heard the familiar buzzing of their magic journals, and they both let out excited squeals. They had been so impatient, wanting to hear all the details of Mayhem’s first playdate session.

The pair were downstairs, helping to clean up the store for the day. They both ran to sit on the couch and opened their journals, flipping through until they found the relevant page.

Pinkie sat next to them. Even Cup and Carrot reluctantly walked over to hear about things. If they were going to allow their children to play with him again they needed to hear that he was making progress.

The pair at first were giddy, big smiles on their faced as they read in their heads.

“That’s so cool!” said Pound as he read about the pirate adventure.

“I know, right?” said Pumpkin. “I’m actually a little jealous.”

They kept reading, flipping pages from time to time, joyful all the while, when suddenly their smiles disappeared and they began to look sad.

“Oh my gosh!” said Pound. “That’s horrible.”

A tear came down Pumpkin’s face, an old guilt building up in her stomach. “That poor girl.”

“What?” said Cup anxiously. “What happened? What did he do?”

Pound looked up at his mother. “He said that after all the kids left, and he was about to go home, another girl who was friends with one of the children came pounding on the door begging for a wish for her brother.”

More tears came down Pumpkin’s eyes. “She was a new flier, and she got so frustrated at her parents babying her that she decided to prove herself by jumping off a high cliff. She got caught in a strong breeze and lost control.

“Her brother managed to save her, but he smashed his head into the mountain and was in a coma for three months.”

All three of the adults winced.

“She was filled with so much guilt.” Pumpkin hugged her brother hard. “I know that pain. The whole reason Twilight got us into school was because I sent Pound to the hospital when I lost control of my magic. He nearly died!

“And I still remember that fear when you tried to prove yourself by jumping off the flagpole that first day. If things had been just a little different I would have been the one in her place.”

Pound hugged her back. “That was a long time ago, Pumpkin. I hope you’re not still holding onto that.”

“I’m not. I haven’t thought about that for a while, but just hearing about this filly makes me remember my feelings from back then.”

Cup and Carrot had a genuine interest in things now, and felt their hearts aching in sympathy. Pound was able to bring himself back from the brink of death due to Princess Luna and his own willpower, but there was a brief period where he had stopped breathing. They hated the idea of watching their children suffer.

The twins were reading aloud now so their family could follow along, eager and hopeful that Mayhem had been successful. It was an emotional rollercoaster, hearing Spring bounce between anger and sadness.

Even before Mayhem brought up the similarity they could already compare Spring’s actions to Flurry’s.

They let out a loud cheer when they finally got to the conclusion, seeing Spring ready to begin again.

“Oh!” said Pound as he flipped the page and saw the photo embedded in the pages.

They both looked warmly at the picture, happy tears coming down their eyes.

“He just looks… so happy,” Pumpkin said cheerfully.

“That’s the look of a job well done,” said Pinkie. “It was quite the tale. Honestly, I’m a little surprised at how much he was able to accomplish.”

“Same here,” said Cup. “I guess he’s coming along.”

“Sounds like it,” said Carrot.

Pinkie picked up the book, looking at the photo more closely. “Oh, I just wish I could have set up something special to celebrate. I could have made it so much more extravagant.”

“I’m sure you could, Auntie Pinkie,” said Pumpkin. “But it seems like it would have been too much for her.”

“I know…”

The twins grabbed their quills, expressing their happiness and wishing him the best until they could see him again.

***

Flurry felt warm as she finished reading. “I’m so happy he was able to help Spring Meadow.” Her eyes faded out a bit. “After all, I know how bad it can feel to hold in so many awful feelings.”

Starlight rubbed her head. “Well, I don’t think we have to worry about him anymore. It seems like he’s walking down a new road just like I did.”

Flurry nuzzled her, then looked up at her mother. “So… what about you, Mom?”

“Hmm?” Cadance replied. “What about me?”

“Aunt Twilight is so much older than me, with powerful magic and so much experience, and it sounds like even she has some of my old feelings inside her.”

“Oh. That.

“It’s just something that exists inside us. As princesses we are entrusted with the well-being of our people. Unfortunately, we just have to accept that the best we can do is keep up a general level of happiness among our subjects. We cannot possibly know of every single problem.

“We can always be there for them if they request our aid, but as just one pony we can’t be everywhere at once and asking every pony if they have a problem we can help them with.

“I’ve had this princess gig for a lot longer than Twilight, and I’ve basically internalized this truth. However, just like her, it can pop up in times of stress. You have this feeling that you should be doing more, even when you’re doing all you can already.

“During those times I tend to rely on Shining here to set me straight if I can’t talk myself past those thoughts.” She rubbed her husband’s head. He kissed her cheek in return.

Flurry looked towards her cutie mark. “The power of togetherness conquers all.”

She hopped off her chair. “I’m going to go compose my reply.”

“Okay,” said Shining. “Thank you for sharing this with us.”

“You’re welcome, Daddy,” she said happily.

***

“Mmm…” Fluttershy had a neutral expression on her face. “So you told Twilight about me sneaking you into Flurry’s cutecenera.”

Mayhem felt a pain in his heart. “I didn’t mean to…

“No… that’s a lie. I knew exactly what I was saying. I just didn’t care. The only thing that mattered to me right then was doing anything and everything to help Spring because I thought her feelings were so similar to mine.

“I didn’t mention you, though. I just told her I snuck in.”

“Is that so? Well, tomorrow I’ll go answer for that.”

“What? Why?”

“Because it was my idea in the first place. I was the one who pushed you to go against the rules because I felt bad for you.”

“But there’s no sense in both of us getting in trouble, Mommy.”

“Today was a day that brought about great joy. You got to enjoy fun times and save someone in need. Most importantly, you made a lot of new friends. I’m not going to let you take all the heat for this when it could disrupt all the progress you just made and push you even further away from your friends.”

“But I don’t want to see you get in trouble! Just let me-”

He broke off as her eyes narrowed. She wasn’t giving him the Stare, but her gaze was intense. “No!” she said firmly. “I won’t hear another word about this. I committed this wrong, and it falls on me to answer for it.

“No matter what happens my number one goal is to protect you. I might have to bow my head in apology and beg for forgiveness, but I absolutely won’t let my choices ruin things for you. I refuse!”

She was blazing now, and he knew he couldn’t argue with her. “Okay, but…” He gulped, tears brimming in his eyes. “But I need you! What if she takes you away from me?”

She rubbed his head. “Mayhem, Twilight is one of my best friends. She’s not going to separate us. She knows very well what that would do to you.

“She’s not going to banish me to the moon or something ridiculous like that. Like I said, the worst she’ll likely do is make me apologize to the parents for defying their wishes. Even if they get angry at me that’s fine, so long as you don’t get punished for it.

“Frankly, it doesn’t really concern me. It’s a matter for tomorrow.

“I’m much more interested to hear how you got through to Spring Meadow.”

He thought of Twilight, and he just couldn’t picture her doing anything bad to Fluttershy. Even though he was nervous about Fluttershy getting chewed out by the parents, he knew that at least Twilight would be understanding.

He put it out of his mind and finished telling the story, ending up with Twilight explaining why he had done more than he thought he had done.

“Wow!” said Fluttershy. “You really did have a big day.”

“Mommy, what do you think? Do you feel like Twilight does?”

She nodded. “Each of us has our own life to lead. We cannot spend our whole lives focusing on just one problem or our own journeys will come to an end.

“We do all the good we can for ponies in need, then we leave them.”

Mayhem stared at her for a bit.

She could see a thought pulling at him, and then felt a stab in her heart as his face screwed up in pain. “What? What?”

Tears came down his eyes as he shivered. “Does… does that mean eventually you won’t be my Mommy anymore?”

“Why are you asking that?”

“You… you said you can’t spend your whole life on just one problem, and once it’s over you leave them. But… but isn’t that why you took me in in the first place? So…” His lip quivered as he whimpered. “S-so… if I progress too much are you going to just move on from me?”

“Oh, Mayhem.” She began to cry as she held him to her. “Don’t be ridiculous. Our relationship has evolved far past just helping you learn about the magic of friendship. You’re no longer just someone I want to help. You’re part of my family now, and I couldn’t imagine life without you.

“Please don’t say such things. I’ll never abandon you. Just like I told you last week, I want to be your mother forever.”

The relief he felt was immense. Fluttershy’s endless love and support was like his home base. Without it he felt like he wouldn’t be able to function and go off to help others.

Something began to nag at him. It hadn’t come to him last week at Flurry’s party, but now that they had talked about it again there was something he remembered that he had to know.

“Mommy?”

“Yes, Mayhem?”

He stared at her for a little while. “Cup Cake said that I… I have trouble being honest with my feelings. So I… I… I want to be honest now, even if I am scared you’re going to get upset.”

Fluttershy put her serious face on. “I’m happy to hear that. I want you to be truthful with me. Unless you told me you didn’t want me to be your mother anymore I don’t think there’s much you can say that would devastate me.”

Gathering up his courage he said, “When I was at the cutecenera, before my friends recognized me, Tree Leaf said something about my fake name of Havoc. He said it was unusual for a pony name, which makes sense. I’m only a little bit pony, not that he knew that.

“The name I chose as a disguise is just a synonym of the name you gave me: Mayhem. Tree Leaf said that with that name it’s like my parents expected me to cause trouble for everyone.”

“For the longest time I… I was just happy to have a name. I never really gave it any thought, but…” Mayhem broke eye contact, looking at her stomach. Tears slowly began to drip onto his legs. “Is… is that true? Is that why you gave me the name Mayhem? Was it just a reminder of all the trouble I caused the day I came out into the open?”

Fluttershy held him close. “Thank you for being honest with me,” she said, a little tremor in her voice. His question did hurt a bit, but she was glad he asked it rather than keeping it inside.

“I remember when I first gave you that name. You thought it over for a bit, and then jumped up in delight.” She let out a little snicker, making Mayhem look up at her. “Well, it’s not really funny, but you took the name I gave you and acted like some heroic character even though you had bad intentions. ‘I am Mayhem! Everyone fear me!’ “

Mayhem let out a little moan. “Back then… I thought it was a perfect name. I was still mad about losing. I wasn’t won over yet. I still wanted to keep going with my original plans.

“That name seemed scary… a perfect name to call myself as I spread terror to ponies. But then… then you gave me that hug. I couldn’t understand it at first, but I really did like it. I wanted more of it, and then… that urge to cause pain and fear began to feel less important. I… I felt like you understood me, and for the first time I felt like I didn’t want to hurt someone so nice.

“Then… Pound and Pumpkin offered to play with me, and we ran around chasing each other. It felt… nice. I felt a lot of my frustration go away from just being free. After I experienced love and friendship my plans to try to do what I did again faded into the background. I just wanted more and more of it, and my thoughts just became about making you smile and seeing you happy.”

She rubbed his cheek. “And you’ve done that a lot,” she said warmly.

He smiled back at her, but then it faded. “But… even after I changed you still kept my name the same.”

Her smile faded as well. “Don’t be sad, Mayhem. That name is not a punishment, nor is it meant to be an endless reminder of the day we met. I told you when I gave you that name that I wanted to give you a name that complements your nature, as well as your partner. Discord and mayhem are words that complement each other, and being that you are a part of him it’s a fitting connection.

“When you returned from your superhero adventure and we settled everything Twilight said something important. She said that chaos isn’t necessarily a bad thing so long as it’s handled well, and she brought up when we had that huge snowball fight inside Sugarcube Corner during the twin’s party.”

She kissed his forehead. “Mayhem is in your nature. It’s a part of what makes you you. It’s what makes you special. Whether that power is used for good or bad is up to you, but mayhem, in itself, is not a bad thing.

“Your very existence can be considered a form of mayhem. You’re living magic, with a full personality. You get tired and sleep. You get hungry and eat.

“Coming into my life can be considered mayhem. One day I had no children, and the next day I did. You brought a lot of changes into my life.”

She kissed him again on the cheek. “Don’t ever think I would be so cruel as to give you a name that I thought would hurt you. I love you, Mayhem, from the bottom of my heart. You’re my son, from now until forever.

“However, if that name is now causing you distress then I’ll happily come up with a new one for you.”

Mayhem snuggled up close to her, silent for a few minutes. Fluttershy didn’t intrude on the quiet.

“I…” He paused. “I want…” He stopped again for about ten seconds. “That name was the first gift you ever gave me.” He looked up at her, his eyes shimmering with tears. “It was the first gift that anyone ever gave me. It was the first nice thing anyone had ever done for me.

“I trust you from the bottom of my heart, and I believe that you didn’t mean any harm. I don’t want to throw away what you gave to me. I want to be Mayhem forever.”

“Are you absolutely sure?”

He nodded. “I wouldn’t ever take a new name from someone else, but even if it was you that gave me another name I don’t think it would feel the same. It wouldn’t mean as much as it did the first time.” He put a claw to his heart. “Back then I was just an empty blob of chaos. You made me into a person with just a name and a hug. I don’t ever want to forget what that moment meant for me.”

“I see. I’m glad to hear that.” He let out a squeal as she tickled him with her wing. “I didn’t want to have to come up with a new name either. You’d always be Mayhem to me. You’re my little spawn of chaos, after all.”

Mayhem laughed, pulling away from her. “I have wings too!” He extended his wings, ready to tickle her back, but then he paused. “Nah.” They went back to normal as he sat back on her lap.

He nuzzled up against her. “With granting wishes, helping Spring Meadow, helping Twilight, and telling everyone about today I think I’m actually chaos’d out.”

“Oh, my!” Fluttershy said in mock surprise. “You? Tired of chaos?”

“I think I’ve met my quota for the week.”

“Oh. No tickles for me? I feel so left out.” He looked up at her with a downcast expression, and she quickly said, “I’m kidding. Don’t get upset.” She forgot how sensitive he could be to her feelings.

His face relaxed. “I think I just want to go to sleep. I’m kinda beat.”

She nuzzled his nose. “Well, it’s good to know that Twilight’s plan has been successful. As long as you keep exploring new things you won’t ever return to that naughty Mayhem from the past.”

“I sure hope so,” he said with a yawn, closing his eyes.

Fluttershy gently bobbed, closing her eyes as well as she enjoyed his warmth against her. She suddenly squealed as she felt something rub up against her.

Looking down she saw his wings against her sides, forcing giggles out of her even though his eyes were still closed.

He stopped after a few more moments. “Chaos is best when it’s a surprise,” he said sleepily.

She caught her breath before chuckling a little. “Alright, you got me.”

“Now you got some tickles.” He reluctantly opened his eyes. “Can we go to the rocking chair?”

“I think that sounds lovely.”

She got up holding him, flying upstairs to her room and sitting in the rocking chair.

She went back and forth, humming a simple tune as the little draconequus drifted off to sleep, him already wondering what surprises next week was going to bring.

Author's Notes:

It looks like an ending, but only for that day's adventure. We still have to see if Twilight was right. What's going to happen the next week when they see Spring Meadow again?

Next Chapter: 9-1: The one in the shadows Estimated time remaining: 9 Hours, 7 Minutes
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