Twilight knocked on the door to Sugarcube Corner and opened it, walking in and closing it behind her.
Cup was waiting there, a solemn look on her face.
Mayhem hopped off Twilight’s back, his heart gently thumping. “Hi,” he said awkwardly, giving her a feeble wave.
She didn’t acknowledge his greeting. She jerked her head in the direction of the living room. “Come,” she said in a firm tone.
Mayhem followed her, Twilight right behind him.
When they arrived Cup sat down in an armchair and patted her lap. “Up,” she said in the same authoritative tone.
Mayhem started to walk, but then paused and looked at Twilight. “This is between me and Cup, so promise me you won’t interfere.”
Twilight took in a slow breath. “I can’t do that.”
He sucked on his cheek. “You told me that you don’t solve problems directly. You just help mend broken connections. You getting in the middle of this won’t help things.”
“I’m not trying to interfere. I believe Cup deserves to speak her mind, even if what she says is unpleasant to hear. That’s what you desire too.”
“Exactly! So-“
“However,” she said, cutting over him, “as an outside party I don’t want things spiraling out of control. You saw with Spring Meadow how lingering feelings can fester and grow stronger over time. There comes a point where venting is no longer productive, but destructive.
“If it gets to the point where she is being needlessly cruel or seems like she’s out of control then I must step in to restore balance until she’s calm enough to proceed.
“I’ll do my best to stay out of it, but I’ll intervene if I have to. That’s all.”
Mayhem slowly shook his head. “Fine,” he said reluctantly. “Speaking honestly, I don’t really care if it does come to that. I still wouldn’t want you getting in the middle of this.”
“I understand your feelings, but you feeling bad doesn’t mean you should subject yourself to any negativity just because you feel you deserve it. That point of view didn’t do Spring any favors.
“Whatever happened in the past, you are a child while Cup is an adult. That’s a fact I cannot ignore.
“Here’s another one. Powerful emotions sometimes lead to explosive expenditures of magic, and I can’t risk the safety of my subjects if I have the means to stop it.”
His resistance faded. “I understand, Twilight.”
He turned away from her and walked over to Cup, climbing onto her lap as she asked.
He met eyes with the mare, feeling a little scared. He had experienced Fluttershy’s Stare before on the day the event that started all this happened. Her gaze had been so intense it had terrified him.
Cup’s gaze wasn’t on quite that level, but he did feel intimidated. He felt like messing with mother’s was a real bad idea.
“That was an interesting conversation you both had,” said Cup, “but the two of you are both ignorant. You think I brought you here ‘to vent?’ You think I want to yell and scream and talk about how bad a person I think you are or something? Not even close. You’re not that lucky.”
Mayhem’s eyes moved away from her for a moment before looking back up at her again. “What… what do you mean?”
“I’m not out for revenge. As Twilight said, I am an adult talking to a child. What I have to say is nothing more than the truth. If you don’t like what I have to say I’ll tell you right now that I don’t care. I am far past caring about your feelings. I told Twilight to make sure you understand that I’m not going to mince words and be gentle.”
Mayhem nodded. “She told me that.”
“Good. So I’ll start off by saying that I don’t like you. Two times now you almost caused my children to die. I don’t think you should expect that I would feel any differently.”
Mayhem shook his head. “No… I don’t.”
“That being said, I don’t hate you. In the end you are still a child new to the world and still learning about restraint and growth. If you were older this conversation wouldn’t be happening. I wouldn’t be giving another chance.
“Twilight has kept me up to date on your weekly adventures. My children have too. While I’d be happy not to have you in our lives anymore my children still care for you. They have respected me by not pushing me to give you another chance, so I feel enough time has passed that I can finally give it.
“I wanna make it clear that I’m doing this for them, not you. I’m still furious at you, and I am far from being willing to forgive you for what you did. I don’t know if I ever will fully get over your actions. You acted like a total lunatic, sadistic and cruel.”
A tear came down his eye. “Yes, I did. I know that.”
Her eyes narrowed to slits. “I am being extremely generous in giving you a third chance. I am NOT giving you a fourth. ABSOLUTELY NOT!”
Mayhem flinched as she yelled.
“I don’t have the authority to punish you, but I have a duty to do what’s right by my children, regardless of how they feel about it. Twilight might feel obligated to give you extra chances so long as you’re remorseful afterward, but I’m not. If you ever act like a maniac and put my children’s lives in danger like that again then this door is closing for good.
“I don’t care if Pound and Pumpkin tell me they hate me and throw a fit. I don’t care how you beg and plead. I’ll take that friendship notebook of theirs and burn it right in front of them without a shred of guilt to make sure you’re purged out of our lives completely.”
Mayhem gulped.
“And I’m not going to stop there. If, after Twilight has gone out of her way to give you time every week to go crazy with your magic, you can still be that destructive and cruel, then nothing will ever convince me that you’re truly safe to be around.
“If it comes to that I’m not letting you just get off with this just being a secret between us. I’ll make sure the parents of the children know about the danger you pose. I know for sure I wouldn’t allow my children to play with someone who has repeatedly shown a lack of self-control that has nearly been deadly.
“I told Twilight I didn’t think it was right to keep it a secret to start with, but she countered that she was going to be there supervising the whole time. If she can’t keep you in line then it’s all the more reason to make the truth known.
“And you can complain that it means you’d lose contact with all your new friends, but as I said before, I don’t care what you think. If you could still act like you did in the past then clearly just having friends and guilt over what you did isn’t enough to change you.”
He didn’t like what she was saying, but he couldn’t argue with it. If he was a lingering danger to his friends then he couldn’t really be their friend.
He was pulled out of his thoughts as Cup lifted him and set him on the ground, getting up and turning her sights on Twilight.
“That goes for you too, Twilight!”
Twilight blinked in surprise. Cup was giving her the same expression she had just been giving Mayhem.
“You’re the one in charge, and I can’t order you around, but friendship doesn’t solve everything. If that creature goes on another rampage I’m holding you responsible. If you want to keep repeating a method that clearly isn’t working just because you can’t give up on believing in the goodness of others then who needs you?”
Mayhem’s mouth hung open. He couldn’t believe she was attacking Twilight now.
Twilight was shocked too. Cup had definitely gotten much better about not being so formal around her ever since she had begun to play a significant role in Pound and Pumpkin’s lives, but there was always still a little bit of reservation.
Cup seemed to read her mind. “Something wrong? Surprised that I’m not treating you with reverence?
“The safety of my children is always more important than anything else, and for you that should be the case on a grander scale as the princess of Ponyville. If Mayhem proves himself a dangerous element after this, and you’re willing to put all of Ponyville in danger just for the hope that one day he won’t be, then I’m definitely not going to respect you as a princess.
“Why should I respect you when you could be putting my children, or other parents children, at risk by acting foolish and not giving up on what is clearly a hopeless case?”
Twilight took in a slow breath. “That was oddly refreshing. Now I understand how Flurry could be happy with Crystal yelling at her.
“I always told you not to put on airs around me and just treat me like anyone else. I’m glad you’re finally listening to me, even if it’s in a negative way.”
She sat down. “I can certainly understand what you’re saying. I don’t even disagree with most of it.
“I can’t prioritize Mayhem at the cost of Ponyville. I really don’t want to give up on him entirely, but if he does grow out of control like that again I’ll have to be much harsher in his punishment this time around. I mainly went easy on him because I got to see how deep his regret ran and I wanted to focus on helping him improve rather than punish someone who was repentant, but just being sorry isn’t enough to mitigate things if one repeatedly falls back into the same patterns.”
Cup’s expression grew slightly more mellow. “Well, at least you get that.”
She looked over at Mayhem. “Tomorrow is Saturday, so I’ll expect you around nine. You can have breakfast with us and then do what you want afterward, but I want Twilight here to keep an eye on you.
“You shattered my trust in you. Just because I’m giving you another chance doesn’t mean at all that I trust you. I told you at the start that I’m only allowing this because for some crazy reason my kids still think fondly of you even though you went nuts and almost killed them.
“I’ll be keeping a close eye on you as well to see how you behave. I can’t even begin to tell you how long it’s going to take to regain my trust, if you ever do.”
Mayhem gave a somber nod. “I understand, Mrs. Cake.”
“Well, I’ve said what I wanted to say. Remove yourself from my sight. I’ve had all I can take of you today. I have to prepare myself mentally to have you over most of the day tomorrow.”
Mayhem let out a little sigh. He wasn’t surprised by anything she said, but it did still hurt a little to see how mad she still was at him.
He walked towards Twilight, ready to jump on her back and teleport back home, when his attention was suddenly directed back towards her as he heard a loud thump and the sound of breaking glass.
The coffee table by the fireplace had been flipped over, the stuff that was on it having broken.
“Cup!” called out Twilight.
The mare was panting, and she let out a frustrated cry as she bucked the armchair over. “WHAT’S THE POINT?” she yelled, seemingly to herself.
Twilight teleported over, putting a hoof on her. “Hey, hey! Relax!”
“Relax? RELAX? How am I supposed to relax?
“Oh, it felt so good for a moment, saying all the things I wanted to say, but it doesn’t amount to anything. I can’t do anything about him or make anything I said stick.
“So what if I burned their little friendship notebook? He can just make a new one, or reform it. He could even make it invisible to anyone but them.
“So what if I barred him from seeing my children permanently? He could perfectly disguise himself as one of their friends, or sneak into their school.
“So what if I went around and told whoever about his past misdeeds? He can just go in their minds and erase their memories.”
Cup was panting hard, tears coming down her eyes. “I can’t stand this sense of powerlessness I feel!” She turned her gaze to Mayhem. “All I ever wanted was to live a normal life, but because of FREAKS like you I almost lost my children twice! Counting the accident where Pumpkin dropped a bookcase on Pound, that makes five near-death experiences I’ve had to suffer through as a mother, and that’s five too many. Now I have to wonder if the next one is finally going to stick, and it would be my fault for being unable to protect them!”
She fell to the ground, her head buried in her hooves as she began sobbing.
Mayhem began to cry himself as he felt the pain of her heart. His mind automatically turned to Spring Meadow and his journey through her heart. Just a few months without her brother had almost destroyed her with guilt, and she hadn’t even actually killed him. He could only imagine that Cup and Carrot would suffer far worse.
He walked over as Twilight tried to comfort her. “You don’t have to worry,” he said. “I’m not going to come over tomorrow.”
Cup glanced up at him with tear-stained eyes.
“Through my experiences I’ve been learning how important the heart is and how deep bonds can go.
“I told Twilight that my dream, the thing I’ve been fighting so hard for, is to be able to see my friends openly again.” He glanced at the floor, putting a hoof to his heart. “But I’ve already hurt you deeply.” Some tears came down his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you again just for my own selfish desires.
“I don’t want you to force yourself to tolerate me. You’re clearly not ready for me to be back in your life, and Pound and Pumpkin don’t know about this conversation, so let’s just leave it at that.
“I do still have the notebook to talk to them, and I have my new friends to pass the time with.
“Maybe in another few months we can try again.”
Cup wiped her eyes, staring at him.
He looked up at Twilight. “Let’s go, Twilight.”
He felt surprised as Cup suddenly grabbed him in a hug. He didn’t know how to respond.
“You just don’t listen, do you?” said Cup, sniffing. “I told you already that you’re not getting off that easily. You’re not that lucky.
“You don’t get to just run away. You think simple time is going to change how I feel? Stories from others also aren’t going to affect me. The only thing that is going to convince me that you’ve truly changed is seeing your behavior with my own eyes, and putting it off isn’t going to do me any favors.”
She released him, getting up and sitting on the couch. “I’m sorry,” she said.
Mayhem just felt more and more confused. “About what?”
“I told myself that I wasn’t going to get overly emotional today. I was going to lay down my thoughts and feelings, being blunt, but I was just going to stick to the truth. I wasn’t going to resort to personal attacks, like when I called you a freak during my breakdown.”
“That didn’t really bother me. I was more focused on your pain.”
“That doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make it right. Calling you out is fine, but resorting to insults isn’t. I am still an adult dealing with a child. Not that it’s fine if it’s another adult, but I do need to be mature.”
She let out a sigh.
Mayhem tapped his hoof on the floor a few times, feeling uncomfortable.
“Go on, Mayhem,” said Twilight. “I can see a thought pulling at your mind.”
“Um…” He let out a little moan. “Well… I mean…” He let out a slow breath. “I’m nervous.”
“About what?”
“I’m working really hard to improve, but I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I feel like if I cause so much as a scratch I’ll lose my friends for good.
“Cup already told me she doesn’t like me and would be glad if I wasn’t in her life, so-”
“Hey!” Cup said sharply, making him flinch. “Don’t sell me short, okay! I’m not taking back what I said, but I’m still going to give you the same opportunity I would give anyone else.
“You really didn’t listen before. I was a kid myself too. I know accidents happen while playing, or kids can get overexcited. That’s not what I’m concerned about. I never said if you cause my kids the slightest amount of pain then you’re done. I said that if you start acting like a homicidal maniac that would be it.
“Don’t twist my words.”
Mayhem nodded. “Right. Sorry.”
“Mayhem,” said Twilight. “There’s something I’d like to try. Go stand in the middle of the room.”
“Um, okay.” He moved to a clear area away from the furniture.
Twilight glanced around. "Well, maybe before that I should fix things up." Her horn began to glow, setting the furniture upright and fixing the broken plates. "That's better."
"Now on to you." A beam shot out of her horn towards him, hitting him in the chest.
Mayhem’s expression immediately went blank, then a few seconds later his arm quickly began to vanish.
Twilight let out a little growl, hitting Mayhem again.
His arm didn’t come back, but he was able to move again.
He blinked. “What just happened? I felt like I just took a mini-nap.” He looked down. “Hey! What happened to my arm?”
Twilight sighed. “Well, that was a bust.
“Back when we first concocted the plan for your reformation Carrot asked if I knew a spell to restrain magical power. I dismissed the idea of using such a spell at the time since you are magic rather than a true living being.
“I thought it would be worth it to give it a shot to see what happened, since I thought Cup would be more at ease if you couldn’t use your magic, but it went exactly as I theorized it would back then. You went unconscious and began to vanish.
“Now it’s confirmed that magic suppression doesn’t work on you. That’s unfortunate.”
“Maybe not so unfortunate,” said Cup. “At least we know that as long as you can get the spell off he can’t resist afterward.”
“I guess that’s also true.”
She glanced over at Mayhem, her expression not quite so rough. “I feel a little bit better now that I vented, but I’m still feeling a bit agitated, so let’s end things here for today.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow.”
“Goodbye,” said Mayhem. He bowed. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me,” Cup replied. “Just prove yourself to me.”
Mayhem nodded. “I will.”
He headed out the front door, Twilight behind him.
With a flash of her horn they were outside Fluttershy’s house.
Mayhem had a forlorn look on his face.
Twilight rubbed his head. “What’s wrong? I thought you’d be more excited. I know Cup didn’t exactly give you a warm welcome, but-”
“It’s not that. I’m just worried that you’re gonna get tired of me.”
Twilight’s eyebrow rose. “How’s that?”
“You’re a princess with lots of royal duties, and you have to waste time supervising me everywhere when I’m not at home. First at the weekly sessions, and now Cup wants you there every time I go visit my friends.
“It feels like I’m just becoming a bother to you.”
Twilight shook her head. “Mayhem, this is my job. My role as princess is to not only spread new friendships, but mend the old.
“As much as I try to downplay it, I do have to acknowledge the danger you pose. Ultimate power in the hooves of a child is an extremely dangerous combination. I don’t hold your past against you, as I didn’t against Starlight, but a part of reformation is guiding the repentant towards bettering themselves.
“I trust Fluttershy to do that when you’re with her, but when you’re out and about then it falls on me to observe and make sure you’re still taking the right path.
“It has nothing to do with if I’m getting tired of you. I don’t have that luxury, since it could be putting others in danger if I adopted that mindset.”
Mayhem bit his lip. “Well… I could give Mommy some power. That way it doesn’t have to be you all the time.”
“I’d rather do it myself. As Cup said, seeing things with your own eyes is preferable to hearing about things from others.
“Besides, you’ve seen the way mothers are. They’re very protective of their children. Cup may not trust Fluttershy as the one keeping an additional eye on you since she may feel Fluttershy would be lenient on you.”
“Mmm.” Mayhem got a thoughtful look on his face. “But wouldn’t Mommy be even more likely to make sure I don’t get out of line since she wants to protect me?”
“Well, that does make sense, but you have to see it from her point of view. In the end, we don’t want two mom’s fighting about their children.”
Mayhem felt a bead of sweat come down his face. He had seen both Fluttershy and Cup in their protective modes. He could only imagine how heated things would get between them.
“I see you’re imagining it. It won’t end well. It’s just safest if I’m the one being your guardian.”
He nodded. “Okay, Twilight.”
They went inside. Fluttershy looked like a nervous wreck.
When she saw him she hopped up and immediately pulled him into a hug.
She didn’t say a word, but he could tell the hug was more for herself than him.
When she let him go she asked, “What happened to your arm?”
“I tried to see if magic suppression would work on him,” said Twilight. “As I thought it won’t work on him in the traditional sense. It only makes him vanish.”
Fluttershy went over to a cabinet, opening it and pulling something off the shelf. She put a whistle to her mouth and blew. The sound that came out was like a cacophony of many animal sounds.
Twilight blinked. “Uh, what was that?”
She seemed to get her answer a few seconds later when Discord poofed into the room. “You called?”
She pointed at Mayhem. “Fix his arm.”
Preempting him, Twilight explained what had happened.
Discord shot a stream of magic at Mayhem, and his arm returned. “Ah, well. It was worth a shot.”
“I’m not in the mood for ‘bonding through stories’ today,” Fluttershy said in a grim voice. “Just give me the memories.”
“Okay, Mommy,” Mayhem replied, snapping.
Fluttershy closed her eyes as she digested what she had seen. She let out a little sigh. “Well, that’s not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I think that’s the best you could have hoped for.”
Mayhem nodded. “Yeah, it could have gone a lot worse.”
“So I guess I’m just here to be used, huh?” said Discord. “Ask me for a favor and then exclude me from what’s going on. Didn’t even consider I might want to see those memories too, hmm?”
Mayhem blushed. “Sorry, Daddy.” He snapped again, giving Discord the memories of his chat with Cup too.
“Ah. Fascinating.”
“She’s still mad, but she wants me to prove myself to her.”
“Can you do it?”
“Yes! I’m not going to blow this.” He looked up at Twilight with a warm smile. “After all, I have the best teacher in the world.”
Twilight blushed a little. “Thank you, Mayhem.”
“You’re welcome.”
Mayhem began to shake in excitement. “It’s… it’s finally happening!” He let out a happy shout.
Seeing his brightening disposition caused Fluttershy to feel better too.
“Ah,” Discord said wistfully. “I want to make a joke about interfering with things, but even I’m not that heartless.”
Mayhem laughed. “Don’t kid yourself. You’re just not brave enough. You know better than to make Mommy mad.”
“Hmph!” Discord sucked on his cheek. “Whatever you have to tell yourself.”
Mayhem flew over to Fluttershy and gave her a big hug. “I’m gonna make you proud, Mommy. It’s time to put all my training to use.”
She returned it. “That’s right. You’ve done very well for yourself, so go prove to Cup your sincerity and growth.”
“I will!”