"You want to ask for a wish?" Twilight asked the filly on her doorstep, extending her wing and putting it around her. “What’s troubling you?
“Actually, let’s start with your name.”
She hugged Twilight, saying, “I’m Spring Meadow.
“I just… I want to make a wish for my older brother Forest Meadow.”
“What kind of wish?”
The filly shuddered. “My brother was in a terrible accident a few months ago, and it’s all my fault!”
Twilight got a mournful expression, hugging the filly properly. “I’m sorry to hear that.”
“What happened?” asked Mayhem.
“I didn’t listen,” said Spring as she pulled out of Twilight’s grip. “I was still a new flier, and I thought I was better than I was.
“My parents told me to be cautious and not fly too high. I got annoyed at them, thinking they were just babying me.” Her eyes clenched shut, followed by her entire body as she held herself. “S-s-so I went up to a high place to show off how good I thought I was.”
Mayhem bit his lip. He thought he could see where this was going. “You fell… didn’t you?”
She gave a jerky nod. “A hard breeze came up, and I lost control of my wings. My brother… he… he…” She put a hoof to her face, quietly sobbing. “He was nearby and saw me falling, and he raced down to save me.
“He… he succeeded. He did save me, but…” She sniffed, looking at the ground. “He had to go fast to get there in time, and he couldn’t stop his momentum as we got near the ground. He flipped over onto his back to keep me safe. He tried to fly horizontally to lower his speed until he got control, but it didn’t work. He crashed, slamming head first into the mountain I had jumped from.”
Twilight and Mayhem both winced.
She wiped her eyes. “He’s been in a coma ever since. I… I can still remember everything! Just like it was yesterday! The blank look in his eyes, the blood coming from his head; I see it every time I close my eyes! Every night I have nightmares about it!
“It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!” She began bawling, losing herself in her emotions.
Mayhem was crying along with her as he hugged her. He could certainly understand the feeling of hurting someone you cared about.
Twilight walked forward a few steps and joined in, wrapping both her hooves and wings around the pair. It was obvious Spring was in a lot of pain. It was for times like this that she had allowed Mayhem to remain.
After a few minutes, when Spring calmed down a little, Twilight released her.
Spring looked up at her, sniffing. Wiping her eyes she said, “My friend Sweet Pea told me about Mayhem and her adventures today.” She took in a shaky breath. “When I heard about what he could do I immediately took off, knowing that this could be my only chance to finally have my brother back.” She gulped, more tears coming down her eyes. “I had to get here before he went home or I might never get another chance.”
Now Twilight understood why Spring was so worked up she wouldn’t even take a moment to catch her breath before speaking. She was living with so much guilt and hurt inside.
Spring turned towards Mayhem. “It’s not too late, is it? Will you help my brother?”
“Of course I-” Mayhem paused, his face clenching. “Twilight, I want to help! It’s okay, right?”
She looked down at him, confused. “Why would I ever tell you not to help someone?”
“I told you that you’re in control of me today. I don’t want to go off using my power on others without your permission.”
She took a breath, taking a mental step back before she called him ridiculous for thinking he needed to ask permission to help someone suffering. She had to remind herself he was still feeling guilty over losing control of his magic and putting his friends through such terrible experiences. He was only trying to be obedient, finding it easier to just ask permission to know he was doing the right thing.
“Of course I’m going to give you permission to help her.”
Spring hugged Twilight. “Thank you!”
“However, before we do that there is one thing we have to take care of first.”
Spring looked up with a frown. “Can’t it wait?”
Twilight shook her head. “You said that when you heard about Mayhem’s abilities you ran away from home and came right here. Your parents are already concerned enough about your older brother. We don’t need them panicking over you too.”
Twilight and Mayhem crossed the threshold of the castle, closing the door behind them. “Okay, so where do you live?”
Spring glanced around, then let out a heavy breath. “I… I don’t know how to get back from here. I was in such a rush I didn’t even care about how I was going to get back.”
“That’s not a problem. May I take a little peek inside your memories to see where your house is?”
She nodded. “Whatever gets us to my brother faster.”
Twilight’s horn lit up, and she touched it to Spring’s forehead. She located the house inside her memories.
"Oh!" said Twilight. "You live right next to Sweet Pea. That makes things simple. Let's go to your parents."
The filly looked at the ground. “They’re not home anyway.”
“They left you home alone?” Twilight asked with concern.
She shook her head. “No. Me and Sweet Pea are neighbors and our families are really close. Especially because me and Sweet Pea are the same age, and my older brother and her older brother are too.
“My parents have been spending a lot of time at the hospital, hoping my brother would wake up, so I stay at her place most of the time.”
“Even so, we still need to make them aware of where you are and that I’ll be watching over you.”
Spring knew it was pointless to fight it. The more she complained the longer it would take. “Fine then.”
With her magic she set Spring upon her back, then put a hoof on Mayhem and teleported the three of them, arriving in front of a house.
She knocked on the door. A short while later it opened.
“Hello?” said a mare anxiously. As she recognized Twilight her eyes widened and she quickly bowed. “H-hello, Princess! T-to what do I owe the pleasure?”
Twilight lifted Spring and put her on the ground.
“Spring Meadow!” said the mare, hugging the filly close. “You’re alright!
“You gave me such a scare!”
She released Spring, looking over at Twilight. “Thank you so much for bringing her back.”
“Of course.”
Sweet Pea came up shortly after. “There you are! Why did you run away like that?” After a moment she noticed who was behind her. “Twilight, Mayhem… what are you doing with her?”
Mayhem laughed awkwardly. “Well, not to make you feel bad, but she ran away because of you.”
“Me?” she asked incredulously. “All I did was tell her about how you had granted our wishes for fun times.”
“Can you not think of anything she would desperately want to wish for?” asked Twilight.
Sweet Pea looked up at her, and then the realization sunk in. “You mean… her brother?”
She nodded.
“But… but how can he help? All he can do is make realistic illusions… right? His power is just for playing games.”
“I tried to downplay Mayhem’s powers as just making imaginary things real for games, but his powers are a little more than that. He can manifest his powers on reality if he chooses.”
Sweet Pea’s mother blinked. “Seriously? Then he can really help him?”
“That’s what we’re about to try. We’re going to head to the hospital right now, but I just wanted you to know she was safe. Will you entrust her to my care?”
“Of course!” she cried out emotionally. “I’ve had to watch Spring suffer for so long. If she can finally be free of her burden then do it!” A tear came down her eye. "My son has been miserable too without his best friend."
Sweet Pea herself was getting emotional. She threw her hooves around Mayhem. “I was scared of you when I first met you, but I know you’re more than that.” She sniffed. “Please… please help my friend.”
He felt moisture on his shoulder, and when he pulled back he could see tears swimming in her eyes. He looked up at her mother, seeing the heaviness on their features.
Instinctively he copied Flurry, putting a hoof to his heart. He thought of seeing his friends at Flurry’s cutecenera, and how they were also in pain from not being able to see him. The situation was different, but the feelings were the same.
He was piecing together how valuable each friendship was, and how pain wasn’t only limited to the person hurting. Every person that shared a piece of their heart suffered right along with them. With just one accident two families were devastated.
He sniffed, saluting at them. “Of course I will.”
That made the two of them smile.
“Let’s go, Twilight!” Mayhem said emotionally. "There's so much pain going around. Let's turn it into happiness."