//------------------------------// // 8-11: Unsaved? // Story: Pound and Pumpkin Tales 2 // by Never2muchpinkie //------------------------------// It took a few minutes before everyone had settled down enough to separate. Mayhem floated over to Spring, sitting down next to her. Her eyes were red from crying, but there was a calm expression on her face. She didn’t look like the world was sitting on her shoulders anymore. “Feeling better?” he asked. She turned to him and gave him a hug. “I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “For what?” “For hitting you before.” Mayhem chuckled as he hugged her back. “You are forgiven, as long as you do one thing for me.” “What’s that?” “My wish is the same as your brother’s.” A tear gently came down his eye. “I just want you to be happy, so don’t hide anymore. “Without all that self-hatred blocking your view are you starting to see all the love surrounding you again?” She nodded. “Thank you… for helping my brother.” “Of course. I was happy to do it, especially when I got to help someone else who was suffering needlessly.” “I won’t forget this,” she said with a sniff. “Your powers can basically do anything, so I doubt I could ever be of any help to you, but if you ever need me I’ll be there.” Mayhem squeezed her tighter. “Don’t be ridiculous. Of course I need you. “My powers just make stuff. Making stuff out of thin air, making things vanish, changing the state of things… but there are things only you can do that my powers can’t even touch. One of those things is making friends to strengthen my heart. “I told you about how I hurt my friends when I lost control. The whole reason Twilight is letting me grant wishes is to keep my powers in check. She wants my heart to grow stronger by forming more bonds with other ponies so I never betray them again. “Just like I said before, our powers are only at their greatest when we all come together with one heart. I want us to share our hearts with one another so we can hold each other up when we’re feeling down or unsure.” He pulled away from her, looking at her with teary eyes. “Will you be my friend?” She nodded. “Will you be mine?” He nodded back, and then they hugged again. “I want to grant your wish too,” she said in a dreamy tone. “It’s the least I can do after what you’ve done for us.” Forest grinned as they split apart. His sister’s smile didn’t look so forced now. He pulled the little draconequus towards him and hugged him. “Thank you, Mayhem, for taking care of my sister. Even if I don’t see you after today my heart is with you as well.” Still and Clear joined in the hug. “We’ll add our own hearts too,” said Clear. “You saved both our children today. We got our son back, and Spring is finally smiling again.” “Thank you so much,” said Still. “Our gratitude is eternal.” Mayhem’s eyes shimmered as tears rolled down his cheeks. He had fought past the hate and changed it into love. Flurry popped into his mind, thinking of how she had done the same for him. Twilight smiled warmly at the scene. She could see how much this meant to him. Spring got up and hopped off the bed. “Today is a very special day!” she said in an excited voice. Some of it faded as she continued. “My brain is still fighting me, but I don’t want to let it control me anymore. “I want to celebrate Forest’s return in style! I want to have so much fun that my negative feelings will have to go away.” “That sounds lovely,” said Still. “Let’s get Sweet Pea’s family and make a day out of it.” “Yeah!” Spring called out excitedly, pumping a hoof, though just like before her enthusiasm waned a bit right after. The shackles of her guilty feelings had weakened greatly, but a part of her still felt like one good pull would lead to her sinking into those feelings again. Clear picked her up and held her close. “Keep fighting, Spring.” Forest got up, testing his legs. Standing was no issue. In fact, he felt as good as he had ever felt. They called in one of the doctors. Twilight told them that Mayhem had helped to cure him, but kept his powers vague so as to undercut how great they were. Forest was given a full examination. After the doctors were satisfied they wrote up his release papers. Once everything was finalized they left the hospital. Forest unfurled his wings and took to the air, glad to be able to stretch his wings. After a minute he descended and grabbed Spring, throwing her on his back before taking off again. She held him around the neck as the two just flew around for a little while. “I’m just feeling so joyful right now, Sis,” he said, turning to her with a grin before looking forward again. “It just feels so magical to be with you again.” She nuzzled his neck. “Same to you. It just wasn’t the same without you around.” “I’m just going to guess that after my accident you haven’t flown much, if at all?” “No,” she said heavily. “What do you say we go flying together tomorrow? We’ll work on your flying so you learn to have more control.” She began to shake a little. “I’m… I’m not ready for that yet.” He stopped and began hovering, looking at her. “I know that the past hurts, but you can’t let it control you forever. Besides, if you become a better flier then you won’t need me to rescue you when you lose control. Isn’t that a great way to protect me from having another accident?” She stared at him for a little while. “O-okay, Forest.” He smiled at her. “Come on. Fly with me now.” “But everyone is waiting for us.” “I don’t think they’ll mind waiting another minute. We have Mayhem and Twilight down there, so there’s no danger in us doing this together.” She looked down at the pair, and after another minute she unfurled her wings and hopped off his back. She flapped to be on the same level as him, her heart already racing. He took her hoof in his. “Come on. Just for a little while.” With a touch of reluctance she joined in, holding his hoof tightly as they flew. The feeling of his hoof was comforting, but it was still scary. Not being up in the air itself, but just the thought that things could turn out the same way. She didn’t think she wanted to fly. She wasn’t sure it was safe to ever fly again. Mayhem’s words flitted through her mind, calling her a coward for thinking of abandoning her brother. “She told me that if I really cared about my friends and what our relationship stood for then, instead of running away, I would do all I could to make it up to them.” She couldn’t undo the past. She couldn’t stop her brother from ever having had an accident. What she could do is exactly what he said: improve her skills so it wouldn’t be her fault her brother got hurt again. She felt a little determination flaring up inside her, and rather than just letting her brother take the lead she went and pulled him along. “There you go!” Forest said as they descended a bit then rose. It wasn’t long before her nerves got the better of her. “I can’t do anymore!” Forest tugged on her hoof, pulling her to him as he hugged her. “That’s fine. I’m just happy that you were able to do that much. “It’s like I said at the hospital. I know this isn’t something you’re going to overcome right away. I’m happy with bite-sized progress, as long as you’re still willing to walk alongside me.” “I want to land!” she said anxiously without returning his hug. “Okay.” He angled downward and settled on the ground. Spring took in a few shallow breaths, now returning his hug. “She’s still going to need more time,” Forest said genially. “She’s trying to fight, but she doesn’t have the strength right now. So, as she said, let’s spread some cheer and strengthen her heart.” “Oh, Spring,” said Still, trying to keep up a happy demeanor to keep Spring’s spirits up. Spring sat on Forest’s back, leaned over with her head against his and her hooves against his neck as they walked. She felt relieved to be back on solid ground. She had her eyes closed, just enjoying his company and the knowledge he was back. A short while later they arrived at Sweet Pea’s house and knocked on the door. “Hello?” said Specter as he opened the door. His eyes widened. “Forest! You’re really alright!” The two hugged. “It’s good to see you again too,” Forest replied. Specter’s voice caught the attention of the others in the house, and it wasn’t long at all before they had all gathered. “You did it,” Sweet Pea said, tears in her eyes. “You really did it.” “Of course I did,” Mayhem said, grinning. “I said I would, didn’t I?” The filly hugged him. “Thank you. “I’m so glad I met you today. Not only did you show me an amazing time but you helped my best friend.” Mayhem returned the hug, a tear coming down his eye. “You’re welcome.” Sweet Pea’s mother added her own hooves to the mix. “I want to thank you as well for following through. We’ve lived next to Spring’s family since the two of them were babies, and our families have grown up together. “We’ve been just as distraught over everything that’s been going on with them as they have.” Mayhem could feel their hearts melding with his, and more tears came down his eyes. When he was let go Specter rubbed his hoof back and forth on his head. “So, you’re the little guy that got me my best friend back, huh? Thanks a lot.” He put his hoof out, and Mayhem pounded it. “It’s just crazy to think about,” said Sweet Pea’s dad. “Our daughter has been gushing about how much fun she had and what you could do. It was wonderful to see her so happy, but then to hear you could change things in the real world… it just blew my mind. “Our families are together again at last.” Mayhem nodded. “I was happy to help, but it’s not over yet.” “Not over?” asked Sweet Pea. “Forest is awake and out of the hospital. What’s left?” Mayhem lifted his arms and confetti came raining down. “The celebration, of course! Spring has been feeling responsible for her brother’s accident, but she wants to embrace this second chance and try to put the past behind her.” “I’m down for that!” said Sweet Pea, hugging her friend. “Let’s have some fun.” Clear suggested going to Sugarcube Corner. Twilight spoke up at the awkward look on Mayhem’s face. “Sugarcube is more about desserts.” She rubbed her tummy. “Me and Mayhem have spent the last few hours with the other children, so I’d rather go to a place that serves actual meals.” “Oh, are you hungry, Princess?” said Still. “I know a good restaurant that makes some of the best hayburgers you’ll ever eat.” Twilight licked her lips, wiping away a bit of drool. She had a real weakness for hayburgers. “Sounds great.” Mayhem smiled as Twilight winked at him, saving him from having to explain why he couldn’t go there. He might have told Spring about his past in earshot of her family, but he didn’t want Sweet Pea and her family to know about everything right as they were about to party. When they walked inside the restaurant the workers rushed to get a table ready when they saw Twilight at the front of the group. They were given a circular table. They all ordered some food and then began to chat amongst themselves until their meals arrived, then they all dug in. When Spring was full she pushed her plate away. She wasn’t super hungry. She mainly just ate because everyone else was. Even so, she was happy just to be around everyone. She looked around, seeing she was the only one done. They were all so focused on eating no one was paying attention to her. ‘Like they’d want to pay attention to me anyway. I could have had these happy times earlier if I hadn’t been so stupid.’ Tears came down her eyes. Even with all her close relations nearby she suddenly felt very alone. “If you don’t want your hay fries I’ll take them,” said Still with a chuckle as he shoved one in his mouth. He looked at her, expecting her to protest, but then he saw the expression on her face. “Hey! What’s wrong, Spring?” That got everyone looking at her. Forest picked her up, sitting her on his lap as he put his hooves around her. “Come on, Sis. No tears. We’re all here for you, so don’t get upset.” She sniffled. “I’m sorry. I started feeling like I shouldn’t be happy again.” He nuzzled her cheek with his own. “Just stay on my lap, okay? We’ll keep working on lifting your heart out of the darkness.” Sweet Pea moved her chair closer to Spring. “I’m here too. We’re not going to let this beat you.” Still and Clear got up as well, hugging her until she felt better. “Sorry,” Spring said again. “It’s just hard for me. All this time I’ve felt responsible for what happened to Forest. I’m trying to let go of that guilt, but it’s hard.” “You don’t have to apologize,” said Specter. “Just know that our love is there for you. I mean, you’ve spent so much time at our house lately you’re like my second little sis.” “You’re not alone!” said Mayhem. “So keep fighting!” “I… I know," said Spring. "Just… please tell me again.” “I love you!” said Forest, and her parents said it in kind. The words, plus the closeness to her brother, settled her down. When they finished their meals they decided to go to the park to walk off their dinner. Spring and Sweet Pea chased each other around, and had a contest with Specter and Forest to see how far they could skip rocks across the lake. Spring laughed as her brother messed up his throw and it immediately sank. Even though he did the worst he wasn’t bothered in the least just because of hearing his sister’s laughter. Mayhem made more rocks for them, and the five of them competed for a while as the adults chatted amongst themselves. When they grew bored of that Spring sat and dipped her back legs in the water and gently swirled them around. As the water stopped rippling and stabilized she could see her reflection in the water, the gentle smile adorning her face. She felt happy. Genuinely happy. But almost as soon as she acknowledged that she felt it being pulled away by guilt. Who was she to think she deserved to be happy? Monster monster monster. Her breathing grew shorter as her old feelings began to engulf her. Just before they took root completely her brother’s face passed in front of her, speaking of his wish for her happiness. She had told him she wanted to grant it so he wouldn’t blame himself for her negative feelings. Her parents had told her they still loved her too. She began to pull away from the negativity, but it was too heavy to fight on her own. “I need hugs!” she said as she began to gently sob. Her anguished tone caught everyone’s attention, and they quickly swarmed around her as she got up, throwing herself in her brother’s hooves. “Save me!” she said as she looked into his eyes. “It hurts. I… I have to… to keep fighting. I want to… to make you smile.” Forest hugged her tightly to himself as the others lent their hooves as well. “Good! You keep on fighting those bad feelings. We’re all here with all our hearts and love. We’re not going to let this beat you.” Spring let out a shuddering breath as she cried, already feeling her bad emotions loosening their grip on her. “I love you, Sis.” Her parents added in their own feelings. It took a few minutes, but she got her composure back. “Say it again. Please.” “I love you!” “I just really needed to hear that. ‘”I’m sorry I keep ruining the good mood.” “Hey, hey!” said Sweet Pea. “None of that. We’re like family, and whatever you’re going through I’m gonna go through it with you.” “Here, here!” said Specter. “Please,” said Spring. “Let’s… let’s keep going. I don’t care what it is, but I want to do something fun.” “What do you have in mind?” “Anything! I don’t care.” Twilight whispered in Mayhem’s ear, and the draconequus got a grin on his face. He giggled. “You’re gonna love this. It was a big hit at my friend’s birthday party.” He swirled his claw in a circle, and the area one hundred feet around them was transformed into a winter wonderland. It was an odd sight for sure. Not just because it was out of season, but just because it was so localized. There were trees partly outside the zone that were half full of leaves. “Ooo!” Sweet Pea called out. Now it was like getting some free wishes. She felt a little bad for the other three friends she had made today who had to miss out. Specter looked around in amazement. “Shoot. Sweet Pea told me about what she went through today. Seeing it for myself it’s no wonder she was so excited.” “No kidding,” said their mother. "This is pretty cool," said Spring. “What do you say?” said Forest, giving his sister a squeeze. “You ready?” She nodded, pulling out of his grip. She made a snowball, and chucked it at Sweet Pea. It hit, and Sweet Pea made one in return. Soon enough she was laughing again as everyone joined in. The park wasn’t too crowded, but they did have a few bemused ponies wander by, staring open-mouthed at the sight. Mayhem floated over to one of them, snapping some winter clothes onto them. “Hey there!” he said brightly. “Want to join in?” “Am I dreaming?” said the stallion. “Nope! I just made some changes to the area. “Play with us! There’s always room for one more when it comes to fun.” He lifted the scarf he was wearing, having trouble believing what he was seeing, but after a few seconds he shrugged. “Why not?” Every time a new pony came by Mayhem coaxed them into joining. It was a huge free-for-all, snowballs going every which way. He felt a sense of deep satisfaction at all the chaos going on. In time they all got drenched and cold, at which point Mayhem dried them all off and created warm towels for them to lay on. Their extra guests thanked him for the fun times and went on their way. Spring was lying down on the towel. It felt like it had just come out of the dryer and it was so comfortable. Her racing heart began to slow as she caught her breath. When her heart rate was back to normal she just stayed lying down enjoying the warmth and thinking about the past few minutes of fun. She felt content. This was how life was supposed to be, sharing happy times with her family and friends. ‘Yeah, unlike the miserable times you caused by not listening, trash!’ Spring flinched and shot up, going to her brother's towel and shaking him. “Forest! Forest!” His eyes opened. “What’s wrong?” he asked with concern. “Hugs! I need hugs right now!” He quickly sat up and held her to him. “There, there. I’m here. “What happened?” “Those… those bad thoughts were coming for me again. Please! Please say it again.” “I love you, Spring!” he said with all the love he could muster. “I love you, and I always will.” Her shaky breathing grew steadier as she hugged him back, relaxing into his grip. He rubbed her back. “You’re my special, precious sister. There’s not a speck of hatred for you in my heart.” Still and Clear walked over to add in their feelings too. She let their words wash over her, her self-hatred retreating back into the darkness as their light shined in her heart. She didn’t need as long to bounce back this time. “Thank you, everyone. I’m sorry I keep making you worry.” Clear ruffled her mane. “It’s fine. Those past thoughts can surface a million times, but every time let’s knock those foul lies back to where they belong: far away from you.” Still kissed her forehead. “All of us are here for you no matter what.” Spring moved away from her brother and stood up. “I… I think I just want to go home. Every time after we play and it gets quiet I just keep feeling guilty about being too happy. I’d feel better off just being close by my family doing something simple. “Right now I just can’t be alone. Even if you’re just a short distance away I start feeling those nasty thoughts, so I want to sit on your laps and just get lots of hugs. I think I need that a lot more than playtime. “I know… I know I said I wanted to celebrate and do lots of fun things, but I… I just can’t do it today. I’m just still feeling so weak.” Her eyes grew shiny. “Please don’t be upset with me.” Sweet Pea walked up and hugged her. “Come on, Spring. Don’t cry. All of us just want you to be happy. “We can try again another day. It’s no big deal.” Mayhem was moving up and down, feeling uncomfortable. “Well, if you want to go home then you can, but I don’t want to end things on a sad note.” With a snap a cart appeared next to him with cones and empty buckets. “How about some ice cream for the road?” Spring nodded. “I’d like that.” He grabbed one of the cones. “Alright. What flavors would you like?” “Chocolate and strawberry.” “Coming right up!” He poofed on a white vendor outfit, snapping to fill the tubs with various flavors. After he created Spring’s cone Sweet Pea asked if she could have sprinkles. Mayhem nodded as he made her cone with some rainbow sprinkles, then continued to take everyone’s order. Just like with the snowball fight Mayhem was feeling really generous, so when a mare and her two children came by he asked if they wanted some free ice cream. The two kids instantly gave their mom a pleading expression, and she quickly relented, even if she was baffled by his appearance. Twilight felt pleased as she slowly ate her vanilla cone. Spring ate her cone in silence. She was enjoying it, but she felt antsy at the same time. She looked at Forest. He felt her glance and looked over at her. He closed the distance between them and put a hoof around her without her having to say a word. The contact settled her enough that she ate the rest of her cone in peace. When they all finished Mayhem walked over and gave Spring a hug. “Would you mind doing one thing for me before you leave?” “What’s that?” He summoned a polaroid camera. “Can I just get a picture of all of us together? I want to keep it as a memento of today.” She nodded. Mayhem stood between Spring and Sweet Pea in the front, an arm around both of them. The two brothers stood right behind their sisters, while the rest of the adults stood behind their children. Twilight was in the middle of them in the back. “Alright!” said Mayhem. “Now smile. Three… two… one… CHEESE!” There was a flash, and the photo came out. He grinned as he took the picture. Everyone looked happy, though Spring’s smile was a little forced. She had tried her best, though. Mayhem made copies of the picture for all of them. “Thank you, Mayhem,” Spring said as she took her copy. “I can never repay you enough for what you did for me.” She hugged him. “Thank you! Thank you!” Mayhem returned her hug. “You’re welcome. “Hey, next week do you want to…” He paused, then went to Twilight and whispered in her ear. He didn’t want to just do this without permission, or Twilight might get upset with him. Twilight nodded. “I think that would be fine.” Mayhem looked relieved. Now that he had that out of the way he said, “Granting wishes to children is gonna be a once a week thing. Do you want to join Sweet Pea for next week’s session?” “Ooo!” Sweet Pea said. “I’d love it if you were there with us. You already got to experience a little bit of it, but it’s so much fun what he can do.” Spring nodded. “Yes, I think I would.” “Great! I’ll see you next week, then,” said Mayhem. She nodded again. “Goodbye.” “Bye, Mayhem!” Sweet Pea said with a wave. After the rest of the farewells the two families left. They had only been walking a short while when Spring pulled her brother to a stop and hopped onto his back. “Well,” said Twilight, “I think that’s everything for today.” With a flash they returned to the castle. “Today had some unexpected visitors and some twists and turns, but I’m happy for them. No child should have to suffer like she did. “I think I’m gonna go curl up with a good book.” She put a hoof on his shoulder. “So what about you? Unless someone else wants to come banging on my door I think you can finally go home to tell Fluttershy about today.” Mayhem didn’t move or speak. After a little bit he pulled out the group photo, looking at Spring’s face. “Today was unexpected,” he said quietly. “Everything went amazing. You didn’t have to step in at all to tell me to stop or use your magic to force me to do anything. “I even got to help someone in trouble and made so many ponies happy…” He got a somber look on his face. “It was everything I could have dreamed of.” Twilight looked at him curiously. “Hmm? Are you feeling bummed that it’s over?” He shook his head. “No… it has nothing to do with me. It’s about her.” “Spring Meadow?” He nodded, then looked up at her, tears in his eyes. “Twilight, did I even save her at all?” His question baffled her. “What’s going on in that head of yours? Why would you ask that?” “I thought I did everything right! I heard about when Pound and Pumpkin ran away, and when Peppermint slapped her brother and her dad hit her in return, and when Masky was having family troubles. I was inside of Daddy when my friends were dealing with Flurry’s problems, but I could see through him. “All of them except Flurry were the same. They had a bad situation with their families. They yelled, they cried, they got out their feelings, and then it ended up with a lot of tears and hugs, and then that was it. After they got past the tears they were happy and things became good. “I followed the exact same steps as those other situations.” He sniffed, tears beginning to slide down his face. “So why did only my situation turn into a failure?” “A failure?” Twilight still wasn’t sure what he was thinking. It seemed to run at odds with everything they had accomplished. “Spring had a lot of pain inside. She yelled, she got angry, she got sad. In the end she made up with her brother, everyone understood, she ended up in a group hug and cried. But even after that, even after she made up with her family and got all those bad feelings out, she still kept falling into the darkness. She’s still blaming herself and constantly needing to ask for hugs and reassurance that’s she not a monster.” He hugged himself, quietly sobbing. “What did I do wrong, Twilight? I just wanted to be like my friends and save someone like they saved me. I tried so hard, but it feels like I failed. Why did it turn out so different for me?” Now she understood. It seemed today was going to have one last bit of excitement after all. Her book would have to wait.