“Hee hee heeeee!” Pound was flying in big circles around the edge of his room. Ever since he had accomplished his first real flight he had seldom been on the ground when he could help it.
“Oh, yeah! Look at me! Who’s the best in the world?”
Pumpkin bit her lip. Pound had been insufferably proud all day of his accomplishment. As aggravating as it was to hear him constantly hyping himself she kept her patience. Her brother had had to wait far longer than her before he started to make significant progress in his racial ability.
“Future Wonderbolt in training here! All bow before my greatness!”
She took a deep breath. He would get over it in time.
“What? You thought I was ugly? Well, how are these swan feathers looking to you now? Jealous? You should be.”
She rolled her eyes. At least she sure hoped he would.
“Rainbow Dash? Who’s that?”
She was fairly certain his bragging would be cut short the next day when he ran into Drill Bit. From what she gathered Pound had only gotten himself onto the level of his least talented classmates. When he was forced to confront the reality that he still had a long way to go she was sure his humility would return. So she would let him have this day absorbed in his victory.
‘Besides,’ she thought, looking up at him with a silly grin, ‘the two of us both wished for this. The two of us both have humongous potential within us, and every day we’re getting a little bit stronger.’
She put a hoof to her horn. ‘My magic has gotten strong enough that I can lift up other ponies for a short while. At first I struggled just to lift up a pencil. I wonder what Pound will be capable of with more practice?
‘Who knows? Maybe one day people really will forget Rainbow Dash for him.’
“Pound, Pumpkin!” Cup called out from downstairs. “Come over here. We need to talk to you."
“We didn’t do it!” Pumpkin responded as they walked into the kitchen. “Well, I know I didn’t do it. Pound probably did, though.”
“Hey!” Pound said, “I didn’t do it either.” He looked at his mom. “So what’s ‘it?’”
Cup genially rolled her eyes. “You’re not in trouble.”
“That’s right,” said Carrot, sitting next to her. “Take a seat, you two. There’s something important we need to discuss with you.”
The twins looked at each other, wondering what it could be. “What you think?” Pumpkin whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
“Maybe we’re going on a vacation,” he responded back.
“One way to find out.” The two of them grabbed a chair and sat down in front of their parents.
“Okay, so what’s up?”
“Well, both of you have been growing up-”
“We know that!” Pound said excitedly, unable to stop himself from flapping his wings and hovering over his seat for a few seconds. “We just turned seven!”
“Exactly,” said Carrot. “And with more age comes more privileges.”
“Ooh!” Pumpkin said, liking where this was going. Pound was similarly excited.
“Now, the biggest thing of all is something that you might not want, which is why we’re leaving it up to you.”
“Why wouldn’t we want to be allowed to do more cool stuff?”
“Because it would mean a pretty big change in your lives.”
Pound shrugged. “We’ve been going through some big changes anyway. That’s life.”
Carrot chuckled. “Listen to him. He sounds like he’s our age.”
“Well, enough with the suspense already,” said Pumpkin. “What’s the big surprise?”
“Well, it all comes down to a simple question. Pound, Pumpkin… how would you two like your own room?”
The two glanced at each other before turning back to him. “What are you talking about, Dad?” asked Pound. “We already have our own room. We’ve had it since we were born.”
Cup was the one snickering now. “No, you silly kids. What would you say to not having to share a room anymore? You would have your own individual rooms.”
“How would that work?” asked Pumpkin. “All the rooms are already taken. Well, I guess you could always put Pound in the pantry closet.” She smirked at him.
“HEY!” he complained, but then his gaze turned thoughtful. “Actually, that doesn’t sound so bad. Reading comics by flashlight, a lot of privacy, and if I want a snack there will always be one right above my head. I don’t even have to go to the kitchen.”
Pumpkin’s head snapped toward him. That actually sounded kinda cool. “Hey! Who said you get to decide? I want the closet.”
“Well, too bad. You offered it to me, and I accept. So there.” He stuck his tongue out at her.
“Yeah, well, what are you gonna do about your giant dog? Tiger Lily is small, so she’d fit perfectly with me.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, what are you gonna do about her litterbox? You want that thing sitting on your bed? And I can so share my bed with Champ. I already do it every night.”
“I’ll just put it on a higher shelf. Cats like to be high up anyway.”
Cup and Carrot both just stared at their argument before they put their hooves to their heads and started laughing. Their kids were another year older but just as ridiculous.
“No one’s moving into the closet!” Cup said incredulously. “Honestly!”
The twins abruptly stopped their argument, then immediately paired up again. “Probably just wants the closet for herself,” Pound muttered under his breath to her.
“What, is she that tired of Dad?” she muttered back.
Carrot rolled his eyes. “Your mother happens to love me a lot, thank you very much. Now can we get back on topic?”
“Fine,” said Pound, crossing his hooves, “but I better not catch either of you sleeping in the closet.”
“You have my word,” said Cup, trying not to sound too sarcastic.
“So what’s the plan, then?” asked Pumpkin. “Like I said before we’re already using all the rooms. The bottom floor is for the shop and the living room, me and Pound share a room and so do you two, and Auntie Pinkie has the top floor.”
“Well, a little bit of work will fix that. Your room is fairly large to start with, so what do you say you divide it in half and call it your own? We’d have a wall installed between your halves of the room and install another door so that Pumpkin can get out.”
“But why would you do that?” asked Pound, pouting a little. “What’s the point? I thought you wanted us to be close. Why are you trying to separate us?”
“This would give you both some extra privacy. When the two of you are angry at one another one of you always avoids your room if the other one is in there, and it’s hardly fair to either of you when it’s where you keep all your stuff.”
“And,” said Carrot, “while your personal friends get along with each other, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the ability to just hang out with them alone. Not every hangout has to involve the both of you. “
“Now,” added Cup, “the two of you are still young, so this isn’t much of a concern yet, but the two of you are a boy and a girl. Like, say Pumpkin wanted to braid Peppermint’s hair. That doesn’t seem like an activity Pound will be very interested in as a boy. However, with a wall between you it will drown out the noise so it doesn’t force Pound to go elsewhere.”
The twins looked at each other. “That… doesn’t sound so bad,” Pound admitted. “But me and Pumpkin are super close.”
“Yeah,” said Pumpkin. “We’ve lived together since we were born. I don’t know if I want a big wall put up between us if I’m not angry at him.”
Carrot snorted. “This from the kids who were just arguing about who gets to move into the closet.”
The twins laughed awkwardly. “Well, I just got caught up in the moment,” said Pound. “I don’t think I’d actually want to live in the closet.”
“Yeaaaah,” said Pumpkin, “same here. It might be fun for a day, but then it would get annoying."
“Anyway," said Pound, "what happens when the two of us want to play with each other? We have one closet on my side and a toybox on Pumpkin’s side. Do we have to keep running back and forth between rooms just to grab something we want? It seems really annoying.”
“Hmm… I can see your point there," said Carrot. “How about this? It won’t be an actual wall dividing the room.”
“Then what?” asked Cup.
“You remember the gym in high school, Honey-Bun? To accommodate for two classes scheduled at the same time it could be divided in two.”
“Oh! Right.”
“How does that work?” asked Pound.
“Foldable panels.”
“Think of it like a huge sliding door that’s hooked up to a track on the ceiling,” said Carrot. “When it’s open the panels stack neatly at the end. When you want to close it you just pull on the end of it and push it until it reaches the other end of the room and clicks into place.”
“Oooh,” said Pumpkin. “That sounds cool. So when we want to play with each other we can, and when we want some privacy we pull the wall closed. ”
“Right,” said Cup. “So both of you are on board?”
They nodded.
“OKAY, THEN!” came the joyful voice of Mayhem as he poofed into sight, making the twins jump.
“Whoa!” said Pound, catching his breath. “Where did you come from?”
“Oh, I was a bug on the floor.”
“Why?” asked Pumpkin.
“Well, your parents told Daddy about their idea, and he was fine with it, but he knows that the three of us are good friends so he sent me instead. AND he gave me an extra bunch of magic so I can make your ideal room for you.”
He grabbed the two of them in a hug. “It’s only been a day, but I was already missing you two anyway.”
The two of them hugged him back. “We love you too, Mayhem,” said Pound warmly.
“Same here,” said Pumpkin.
Mayhem grinned widely. “Well, let’s get to it!” he cried out as he went to teleport them upstairs, but then stopped.
He walked up to Cup and Carrot, bowing to them. “I just wanted to thank you again for giving me another chance to be a better draconequus. I know the first time we met I was a mean, spoiled brat who didn’t understand about love and friendship.” He put his arms behind him, levitating the twins until they were on either side of them, putting his arms around them. “But now I do, and I couldn’t be happier about it.”
Cup grinned down at him. “I saw you were being very mature at the party.” She patted his head. “Keep up the good work, Mayhem.”
He beamed, flashing his teeth at her, before vanishing with the twins.
They arrived in Pound and Pumpkin’s room. “Alright, you two!” He cracked his neck, then his hands. “Let’s begin. To start with…” He snapped, creating the foldable panel walls that Cup and Carrot had been talking about.
Pumpkin observed it, then tried it out. When folded up it didn’t take up too much room. Only about six feet wide, and four feet long.
When it was deployed it did what it was supposed to: put up a barrier between the two halves of the room.
“What do you think, Pound?”
“I think it needs a few little changes,” he replied.
“Like what?”
“Well, for one, I think it needs to be able to lock in place when it’s out. Otherwise, if we’re in a bad mood, it just needs a little push and we can just come right in to annoy each other.”
“Makes sense. What else?”
“I think the panel near our beds should have a door. Then we can still visit each other without moving the wall.”
Pumpkin frowned. “Then what’s the point of having the wall lock? And doors only open one way. Even if we put a lock on the door too one of us is always going to be able to come in to bother the other.”
“Oh…” Pound sucked on his cheek. “Yeah, I see your point.”
Mayhem chuckled. “No worries. I got you covered.” With another snap he created a place for the panels to lock into as well as the door. “Go on the other side and try it out.”
So she did. Now there was a wall between her and Pound. She opened the door by her bed, only to still see paneling blocking her from crossing over.
A few seconds later the panel opened, and now she could see Pound’s side of the room.
“Both of you get your own door that locks,” said Mayhem. “Only when both of you open the door can you go through. It’s the same with the place where the panels lock in.”
“That’s a smart idea,” said Pound.
“Thank you, thank you,” he replied with a little bow. “Anything else?”
“Oooh!” Pound exclaimed, his eyes lighting up. “Can you decorate our ceiling?”
“Sure. What’cha want?”
“I want me in a Wonderbolts costume! Oh! And I’m riding a dragon! Ooh, ooh, ooh! And I’ve got adoring fans cheering for me. And-and nearby is some other horrible monsters that I’ve taken care of. Like a hydra, and an Ursa Minor. ”
Pumpkin stifled a laugh. He really was going overboard with the little bit of talent he had discovered, but she was determined to let him have his moment. Maybe it would inspire him to keep going on if he had a bad day.
“Done, and done!” Mayhem summoned paint cans, opening them up and pouring them down his throat. He took in a deep breath, his body swelling up a bit, then he exhaled hard, paint flying up at the ceiling.
At first it was just a goopy mess, but even as they watched the colors separated until they became exactly what Pound had described.
Pumpkin blinked. She hadn’t expected it to look so cool. It was almost three-dimensional, like it was coming out of the ceiling. “My turn, my turn!” she said impatiently.
Mayhem grinned. “You bet.”
“Um, um, um… hmm…” She tried to think of what would be cool enough. Pound had made something completely ridiculous, so she figured she might as well too.
“I got it! Make us and our friends into superheroes with cool costumes, like the Power Ponies. And Tiger Lily and Champ can be our sidekicks.”
“I like that one!”
Pound watched, interested to see what he would do with the idea. His idea had been simple, but Pumpkin’s would require some creativity.
Mayhem scribbled in the air for a bit, before hitting it with both arms like a volleyball set. It hit the ceiling, forming an image.
Pound and Pumpkin just stared at the ceiling for a little while, before letting out a little, “Woooow.”
Their costumes were based upon their names. For the most part that just involved their namesake being tattoed all over the costume. Peppermint got candy canes, Tree Leaf had foliage. Masky had different masks scattered across it. The twins had cake launchers strapped to their wrists.
Tiger Lily was also dressed up, floating next to Pumpkin. Pound was on Champ’s back, little after-images of the pair behind them, as if Champ had super speed.
Even Flurry Heart was there, a Crystal Heart mask on her face and her wings even larger than before, wrapped protectively around the air in front of them.
“That is so awesome!” said Pound.
“You said it! I didn’t think it would look this cool.”
Mayhem chuckled appreciatively, a smug look on his face.
Pound’s head tilted. “Hey, wait a minute. Where are you, Mayhem?”
He laughed evilly. “I’m glad you asked, Pound.” Swirling his finger in circles he made a mini hurricane, which blew away a dark part of the ceiling, revealing Mayhem on the opposite side, wearing a dark costume and a simple bandana with eyeholes cut out in front of a dark castle, his arms crossed and his cape blowing dramatically in the wind. Lightning was coming out of clouds above the castle, illuminating dozens of creatures behind him.
Pumpkin’s eyebrow went up. “So… what? You turned against us? Why are you all evil looking?”
“Because!” he said simply. “When I first met you I wasn’t a good person. A good friend fights for you, to pull you out of the darkness. Just like Mommy, and all of you.”
Pound nodded. “I get it. So we’re fighting to rescue you from yourself?”
Mayhem nodded too, hugging the two of them. “Yep. Because all of you are my best friends, and I know that you would do whatever it takes to help me.”
The twins thought back to Pinkie’s Pinkie Promise to them. She promised that even if they turned evil she would still believe in their goodness, and it was that belief that allowed them to overpower Mayhem when he tried to make them destroy the ones they loved. They could understand that feeling perfectly.
With their ceiling murals done not much was left to do. Pumpkin got her own door and Pound got his own closet. After that they both got to pick out their own colors for their sides of the room. Pound picked orange, while Pumpkin picked green.
With their rooms suited to their style, the twins took a few minutes just to appreciate the changes. They had shared the same room since they were born, and as babies had shared the same crib sometimes. Now they were growing more independent and responsible. Their room now felt like their own. Now they could choose not to share it with each other if they didn’t feel like it.
Since he had gone through all the trouble of helping them out they played with Mayhem for a while until he left to go visit Fluttershy.
After that they showed off their redesigned rooms to their family, who were quite impressed.
For a time both of them sat on their beds, looking at their ceiling murals, feeling quite content.
“Hey, Pound?” said Pumpkin from her side of the room.
“Yeah?” he responded.
“Being seven is already awesome.”
Pound chuckled. “It sure is.”
“And you remember what our parents said? They said that this was the biggest change. That means there’s other stuff we’re gonna get to do too.”
Pound beamed. “You’re right. I wonder what other privileges we’re gonna get. Maybe we can stay up later.”
“Who knows? Right now this is enough.”
“I agree. We got to style up our room exactly how we wanted it. We picked out our own colors, own ceilings, we have our own door, and we can have privacy whenever we need it.” He let out a sigh. “Today was just awesome.”
Pumpkin sighed too. “Hey, Pound?”
“Yeah?”
“I love you.”
Pound was in too good a mood to playfully react with disgust. “I love you too, Pumpkin.”
When it was time for bed both of them embraced the chance to test their new boundary.
“Rah! I hate you,” Pound said jokingly.
“Grr! I hate you too,” Pumpkin replied in the same tone.
“That’s it! I want a wall between us.”
“You got it!”
Smiling widely at each other the whole way they pulled the paneling until it locked into place and they couldn’t see each other anymore.
“Goodnight!” they called to each other, going to their beds.
Cup, Carrot, and Pinkie found it a little odd to go into a separate door to say goodnight to Pumpkin after seven years of their only being one door there.
When the lights went out the two of them were delighted to find that their murals glowed in the dark. It didn’t have as much detail as it would in the light, but it was like having a constellation on the ceiling.
Once more they just stared at their ceilings, glad for what they had been given. Both of them now had their own, private rooms.
‘This is the life,’ thought Pound, his hooves behind his head. ‘Just me, all by myself.’ He lifted his head a bit. ‘And Champ too, of course.’
‘I’ve got my own room now,’ Pumpkin mused. ‘It’s all mine, and I don’t have to share it with anyone. Well, except for Tiger Lily.’ She rubbed the cats head, getting an appreciative purr in response.
Pound turned on his side, staring at the new wall. Pumpkin did the same.
Later on, as Cup was heading to bed, she noticed both of the twins doors were open. She peeked into Pound’s room, an eyebrow going up. His bed was empty. The bathroom was empty too.
She walked over to Pumpkin’s door, pushing it open more, and her heart melted at the sight. Champ was curled up around Tiger Lily at the foot of the bed, while Pound and Pumpkin were under the covers, snuggled up close to one another.
A warm tear came down her cheek, and she quietly shut the door as she went to her room, her heart light as a feather.